An alternator is a self-stabilizing system which consists of a network of concurrent processors. One of its properties is that any two processors of an alternator system cannot execute the critical step at the same time if they are adjacent. This exclusion property transforms the alternator design problem into the coloring problem. And an alternator is said to be 1-fair if no processor executes the critical step twice when one or more other processors have not executed the critical step yet. The simplicity of routing message and the capability of fault tolerance of de Bruijn networks attract us to design 1-fair alternator on them. In this thesis, two algorithms are proposed to solve the coloring problem on the de Bruijn network. The first one uses $2ceil{log_2k}+1$ colors to color the $k$-ary de Bruijn graph with two digits, while the second one uses $p+1$ only colors, where ${{p-1}choose{floor{(p-1)/2}}} < k leq {pchoose{floor{p/2}}}$. We also prove that the second coloring method is optimal when $k = {pchoose{floor{p/2}}}$. In other words, the chromatic number of the $k$-ary de Bruijn graph with two digits is $p+1$, where $k = {pchoose{floor{p/2}}}$. Furthermore, the extension of our coloring method can be applied to the $k$-ary de Bruijn graph with three or more digits.

Abstract Internet is one of the most important inventions of the twentieth century. Not solely a new media, internet also deeply involved multiple aspects of human life. New ways of providing information, crime, communication patterns, and even trade are just some of the examples how internet alters our lives. As a good case in point, the appearance of internet digital music had revolutionized the way we contact with music. It had threaten the tradition music market, and make up a new issue of copyright violation debates. In April, 2000, National Cheng-Kung University happened a MP3 event that is a typical argument about internet and copyright violation. There are two opposite opinions noted, one attitude recognized the event as already violating the copyright, whereas the other point of view was that it is still in the scope of reasonable application. The issue of violating music copyright by the internet has become an unavoidable international problem, and will become more and more common in the future. Therefore, it is very important to understand what kind of new copyright subjects had evolved in the internet music, and how to adequately apply the obligations of copyright to protect the benefits of both the author and the audience. This study includes six chapters. The major issue will focus on internet digital music, its copyright, the exceptions, and the violation conditions. The first chapter introduces the background information and general concept about internet and copyright. The second chapter discusses the topic of internet digital music, its specificity, and how the internet has changed the pattern of music transportation. Then, the third chapter scopes the recognition of copyright reproduction and transportation defined by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the United States of America, and how this definition has influenced the internet music and its utilization. The forth chapter further discusses the exception of internet music copyright protection. What is reasonable fair use and compulsory license is explored. The copyright rules in Taiwan is greatly affected by USA and international treaties, thus Berne Convention, Rome Convention, Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), and the law in USA are inspected and reviewed. The fifth chapter concentrates on the copyright and its violation in different cases of the internet music application programs, web stations, and hardware. Detail investigation and debate of the MP3 event in National Cheng-Kung University is also included. The last chapter summarizes the above discussion of internet copyright and provides suggestions for modifying the related laws in Taiwan.

No description available.

The AmazonCoop--a cooperative that mediates trade between Brazilian Amazonian indigenous groups and the transnational cosmetics firm The Body Shop--seeks to use the market opportunities provided by neoliberal economic globalization to achieve sustainable development in indigenous villages, with mixed results. While the cooperative provides significant material benefits, it fails to achieve the social goals of democracy, participation, and self-development embodied in the cooperative principles. In this paper, I examine AmazonCoop in the context of historical globalizations on Brazil's "extractive frontier," demonstrating substantial continuity between contemporary and historical political economies. I use this historical anthropological analysis to discuss the potential contributions of cooperatives to development, the relationships between historical and contemporary globalizations, and the political-economic landscapes on which indigenous people can pursue their interests.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)/ International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) proposed Conceptual Framework solidifies stewardship as a primary financial reporting objective. Concurrently, fair value (FV) continues to be emphasized in FASB and IASB standards. In this study, using data from real estate firms in the UK, I test whether FVs provide stewardship-relevant information incremental to information provided by historical costs. Measuring stewardship by changes in CEO cash compensation and FVs through revaluations of investment properties, I find FVs provide stewardship information beyond historical costs; however, FVs must be supported by external appraisals to be useful. Further, FVs help to explain the traditional association between stock returns and compensation. The actual realization of FV changes through sale continues to be rewarded through compensation, meaning the full compensation value of FV changes is not given until realized. FV changes provide more useful stewardship information when FV estimates are of higher quality or when the CEO is more strongly governed. I also find that higher sensitivity to management effort, proxied by firm growth opportunities, makes FV changes more stewardship-relevant. Overall, I conclude that for UK real estate firms, FVs are useful for assessing management's stewardship with improvements in estimate quality and sensitivity to management effort increasing stewardship-usefulness; however, historical costs continue to be relevant for stewardship. My thesis provides insight into what information best captures management stewardship.

The ongoing harmonization process aims to incorporate IFRS regulations into the Swedish accounting. As a consequence investment property’s starting from 2005 may be valued using the fair value method, in accordance to IAS 40. This involves major changes for listed property enterprises that from now on can value a large extent of their assets to fair value. All parties don’t appreciate this progress, opponents to fair value have expressed great concern that fair value don’t work in practice. They claim that fair value measurement is too subjective and unreliable, and that it will malfunction during periods of financial turmoil. Further they claim that it is not suitable with the European accounting tradition, consisting of a high degree of conservatism and prudence. This thesis aims to examine the accuracy of fair value measurement in the case of Swedish investment property firms. This is done by identifying realized value changes in the corporate annual reports, which will indicate how well the estimated value is consistent with the realized exit price of the property. The findings of this thesis indicate that there exist an average deviation of 11,6 percent between the book value and the realized exit price. Further this study finds no evidence that the financial turmoil in 2008 complicates the use of fair value in any significant way. However, the study provides a clear indication that conservatism and prudence still influence Swedish accounting. This given that 94 percent of the book values were lower then the realized exit price.

Much of the literature on ethical consumption focuses on the potential of individual actions, such as buying fair trade products, to produce large-scale change. This thesis instead examines collective actions by exploring the discourses and interactions of alternative food movements in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Drawing on interviews with members of these networks, it argues that ethical consumption initiatives encourage the circulation of particular social and ethical values through the community. Community identity and place are made and marketed through networks of value that foster responsibility in and for the food system. Collective identity alters daily routines of consumption in order to channel benefits back into the local economy. A sense of place that includes responsibility for the food system sometimes leads to collective political action, but it also creates tension among and between different organizations and individuals who make claims to “the local” as a moral, social and geographical space.

This research study, motivated by the difference in opinion between the Joint Working Group of Standard Setters (JWGSS) and the Joint Working Group of Banking Associations (JWGBA), generates empirical evidence on preparer and user preferences for fair value accounting for all financial instruments. Australian and Singaporean respondents’ perceptions on the measurement of financial instruments at fair value and the recognition of changes in fair value as gains or losses in the Income Statement are obtained. This study provides better understanding of the perceptions on the international proposals for change by examining possible explanatory factors for respondents’ views. There is ongoing controversy regarding the appropriate accounting for financial instruments. Perceived shortcomings of the mixed measurement model resulted in an all inclusive fair value accounting standard proposed by the JWGSS (2000). This was met with strong criticism from the JWGBA, established in response to this proposal (1999a). An understanding of actual preparer and user views is thus important for standard-setters to determine the most appropriate and acceptable accounting standard for financial instruments, particularly for the complex financial institutions industry in these two prominent financial markets of the Asian Pacific region. A positivist-objectivist approach is chosen as the theoretical perspective of this research study because of its ability to help explain real world phenomena. Both qualitative (interviews) and quantitative (surveys) methods are used in tandem to derive evidence on user and preparer perceptions. This integration of methods is important to achieve a better understanding of the issues at hand. Evidence collected from the interviews and the preparer and user surveys are analysed with univariate and multivariate statistical tools to determine the level of support (or opposition) for fair value accounting for all financial instruments and to identify factors that explain user and preparer views. Results show that on average, preparers neither strongly support nor strongly oppose the fair value accounting proposal, while users are slightly more supportive. However, respondent users and preparers tend to have similar perceptions on most of the contentious issues raised in this international debate, sometimes giving credence to the JWGBA position while other times agreeing with the JWGSS. On average, users and preparer responses are similar but there is substantial variation within each group. Findings indicate higher support for fair value accounting when the trading and banking books are perceived to be not different, fair values for non-traded financial instruments are reliable and when there is comparability across entities. This thesis generates empirical evidence on the highly topical issue of accounting for financial instruments in the midst of international accounting standard setting movements toward fair value accounting. The lack of variation between users and preparers affirms the robustness of the qualitative characteristics espoused by the IASB framework for financial reporting. Results show that achieving these qualitative characteristics is far more important than trying to fulfill the different needs of various groups. This slight support for fair value accounting is part of a bigger tapestry of a slow but steady movement towards fair value measurement in financial accounting and reporting.

Universiẗat, Diss., 2005--Göttingen.

Thesis (doctoral)--Georg-August-Universität zu Göttingen.