The study aimed to examine high school student usage of licensed databases available through public libraries in Atlanta-USA. A descriptive quantitative survey was conducted via a web-based questionnaire among 135 East Cobb high school students. The findings revealed that most students are aware of these licensed databases, but their usage is low (1:10) compared to Google. However, as students advance in grade levels, their database usage increases and GALILEO is the most-used licensed resource. Factors that influence student database usage include: specific academic needs; teacher instruction to use specific databases and frequent Digital Information Literacy (DIL) instruction. Most students receive DIL instruction at school, but their DIL skills are still inadequate. To increase usage of licensed databases as reliable information resources, the study recommends collaboration between public libraries and high schools, including incorporation of Generation Y's digital information preferences such as Google-type simplified interfaces, cutting-edge technology and time-saving search features. / Information Science / M.A. (Information Science)

Combien d’enfants ont rêvé de devenir un jour footballeur professionnel, tennisman ou pilote de Formule 1 ? Combien étions-nous au soir de la finale de la Coupe du monde 1998 derrière les « Bleus » ? Magie, phénomène social, vecteur d’intégration… On pourrait disserter bien longtemps sur les vertus du sport. Toutefois, le revers de la médaille est beaucoup moins réjouissant, sauf pour le juriste. En effet, on assiste ces dernières années à un processus de prise en compte du sport par le droit étatique. Le sport ne peut plus rester hors du droit. Cette pénétration du droit a forcément des incidences sur les droits fondamentaux reconnus aux sportifs. Pourtant il semble que la doctrine ne se soit que très peu intéressée au sportif, « qui est un citoyen comme les autres avec des droits imprescriptibles ».Si le principe selon lequel le sportif dispose des mêmes droits fondamentaux que tout citoyen semble largement admis, il convient de ne pas rester imperméable à la revendication d’une exception sportive. En effet, le mouvement sportif vit comme une intrusion l’appréhension du sport par le droit étatique. L’opposition entre la Commission européenne et les instances du football, concernant le système des transferts, est une preuve récente de cette réticence. Ainsi une spécificité sportive empêcherait l’application normale de la règle de droit. Qu’en est-il du point de vue des droits fondamentaux du sportif ? Existe-t-il une exception sportive en matière de droits fondamentaux de sorte que reprenant une expression de Hauriou, on pourrait considérer les sportifs comme des « citoyens spéciaux » ? Plusieurs problèmes se posent. Tout d’abord, il conviendra de s’interroger sur l’existence d’une spécificité sportive dans la reconnaissance de droits au sportif. En effet, la question est celle de savoir si le sportif est titulaire des mêmes droits que tout citoyen. Une fois les droits du sportif déterminés, la question de l’effectivité de ses droits se posera. N’existe-t-il pas une particularité sportive dans l’exercice des droits fondamentaux, de sorte que si le sportif bénéficie en principe des mêmes droits que tout citoyen, il ne pourrait pas les exercer de la même manière ? Ainsi l’effectivité des droits du sportif serait atténuée.La mise en œuvre d’une spécificité d’application en matière de droits fondamentaux révèle une protection catégorielle qui rompt avec l’universalisme traditionnellement attaché aux droits de l'homme. La recherche de l’effectivité des droits des sportifs est pourtant pertinente. Mais elle conduit le juge à reconnaître le caractère fondamental d’un droit, indépendamment de la norme qui le supporte en fonction de l’importance qu’il revêt dans le cas d’espèce. La démarche du nouvel acteur de la scène sportive montre une remise en cause de l’acception formelle de la notion de fondamentalité au profit d’une acception matérielle. Sauf à reconnaître l’existence d’un droit au sport formellement fondamental. Car « il est plus intéressant de s’interroger sur l’existence du même droit, au niveau où sont normalement reconnus les droits fondamentaux, c'est à dire au niveau constitutionnel » ( ). Même si aucun texte à valeur suprême ne consacre un tel droit, « il ne faut pourtant pas s’en tenir à ce décevant constat » ( ). Car son émergence est perceptible. L’intérêt est considérable puisque le droit au sport recouvre la quasi-totalité de la nomenclature des droits de l'homme ( ). Sa mise en œuvre devient nécessaire à la prise en compte de la spécificité sportive. / How many children dreamed to become a day professional football player, a tennis player or a driver of Formula 1? How much were we in the evening of finale of the World cup 1998 behind the French Team ? Magic, social phenomenon, vector of integration … We could talk indeed for a long time about the virtues of the sport. However, the other side of medal is much less happy, safe for the jurist. Indeed, we attend these last years a process of consideration of the sport by the state law. The sport cannot stay any more outside the state law. This penetration of the law has necessarily incidences on the fundamental rights recognized by the sportsmen. Nevertheless it seems that the doctrine that is little interested in the sportsman, " who is a citizen as the others with inalienable rights ".If the principle according to which the sportsman arranges the same fundamental rights as every citizen seems widely admitted, it is advisable not to remain impervious to the demand of a sports exception. Indeed, the sports movement lives as an intervention the apprehension of the sport by the state law. The opposition between the European Commission and the authorities of the football, concerning the system of transfers, is a recent proof of this hesitation. So a sports specificity would prevent the normal application of the legal rule. What is it from the point of view of the fundamental rights of the sportsman? Is there a sports exception in fundamental rights so that taking back an expression of Hauriou, we could consider the sportsmen as " special citizens "? Several problems settle. First of all, it will be advisable to wonder about the existence of a sports specificity in the recognition of rights for the sportsman. Indeed, the question is the one to know if the sportsman is a holder of the same rights as every citizen. Once the rights of the sportsman were determined, the question of the effectiveness of its rights will settle. Is not there a sports peculiarity in the exercise of the fundamental rights, so that if the sportsman benefits as in principle from the same rights as every citizen, he could not exercise them in the same way? So the effectiveness of the rights of the sportsman would be eased.The operated of a specificity of application in fundamental rights reveals a category-specific protection which breaks with the universalism traditionally attached to human rights. The search for the effectiveness of the rights of the sportsmen is nevertheless relevant. But it leads the judge to recognize the fundamental character of a right, independently of the standard which supports it according to the importance which it takes on in the special case. The initiative of the new actor of the sports scene shows a questioning of the formal meaning of a word of the notion of fundamentality for the benefit of a material meaning of a word. So as to recognize the existence of a right by the formally fundamental sport. Because " it is more interesting to wonder about the existence of the same right, at the level where are normally recognized the fundamental rights, that is at the constitutional level ". Even if no text with supreme value dedicates such a right, " You should not nevertheless be held in it disappointing report ". Because its emergence is perceptible. The interest is considerable because the law for the sport recovers the quasi-totality of the nomenclature of human rights. Its stake in work becomes necessary for the consideration of the sports specificity.

Trata do tema da higiene da habitação urbana paulista. Objetiva analisar em fontes documentais originais como a moradia foi incluída nas iniciativas governamentais estadual e municipal - para melhorar o estado sanitário da cidade de Campinas/SP, entre 1880 e 1934. Trabalha com a hipótese de que as medidas tomadas pelo governo de São Paulo e pela municipalidade, no final do século XIX, sob a organização do regime republicano e para combater as epidemias de febre amarela, estiveram fundamentadas nos princípios do urbanismo sanitarista europeu, que foram sistematizados na legislação sanitária estadual e edilícia municipal, embasando as práticas relacionadas à higiene das habitações e orientando a atividade edificativa em Campinas. Analisa o panorama da construção civil em Campinas por meio do procedimento administrativo que autorizou as licenças para construção de moradias, que foi formalizado na legislação edilícia e organizado na Repartição de Obras, identificando os protagonistas na concepção e na análise dos requerimentos e dos projetos arquitetônicos. Verifica que a expressiva maioria das obras foi conduzida por construtores não diplomados, sem formação acadêmica nas escolas tradicionais de engenharia e arquitetura, mas que foram licenciados conforme a normativa que estabeleceu a regulamentação profissional. Conclui que essa normativa municipal, atendendo aos preceitos da legislação sanitária estadual e dando suporte ao aparato sanitarista, foi decisiva para promover reformas e orientar a construção de novas habitações em Campinas/SP, ao estabelecer a obediência às determinações técnicas de aspecto, de solidez e de higiene, principalmente relacionadas à impermeabilização, à insolação e ao arejamento das edificações urbanas. / The theme of this thesis is the hygiene of urban housing of São Paulo state. It objectives to analyze, based on original documentary sources, how it was included in government initiatives - state and local - to improve sanitary conditions of the city of Campinas/SP, between 1880 and 1934. It works with the hypothesis that, the measures taken by São Paulos government and by the municipality - in the late nineteenth century - under the republican regimes organization and to fight yellow fever epidemics, were based on the European principles of sanitarian urbanism, which were organized in sanitary and constructive legislation, providing input to practices related to housing hygiene and guiding Campinas building activity. Examines construction scenery in Campinas through the administrative procedure that authorized permits for housing edification, which was formalized in constructive legislation and organized in the municipality, identifying the protagonists in the conception and analysis of requirements and architectural projects. It verifies that the significant majority of the work was conducted by non-graduated constructors, without academic degree in traditional schools of engineering and architecture, however were licensed according to rules that established the professional regulation. It concludes that these municipal rules, taking into account state laws provisions and supporting the sanitary apparatus, was decisive to promote reforms and guidance for the construction of new private urban houses in Campinas/SP, when establishes obedience to aspect, solidity and hygiene technical determinations, mainly related to buildings waterproofing, insolation and ventilation.

Trata do tema da higiene da habitação urbana paulista. Objetiva analisar em fontes documentais originais como a moradia foi incluída nas iniciativas governamentais estadual e municipal - para melhorar o estado sanitário da cidade de Campinas/SP, entre 1880 e 1934. Trabalha com a hipótese de que as medidas tomadas pelo governo de São Paulo e pela municipalidade, no final do século XIX, sob a organização do regime republicano e para combater as epidemias de febre amarela, estiveram fundamentadas nos princípios do urbanismo sanitarista europeu, que foram sistematizados na legislação sanitária estadual e edilícia municipal, embasando as práticas relacionadas à higiene das habitações e orientando a atividade edificativa em Campinas. Analisa o panorama da construção civil em Campinas por meio do procedimento administrativo que autorizou as licenças para construção de moradias, que foi formalizado na legislação edilícia e organizado na Repartição de Obras, identificando os protagonistas na concepção e na análise dos requerimentos e dos projetos arquitetônicos. Verifica que a expressiva maioria das obras foi conduzida por construtores não diplomados, sem formação acadêmica nas escolas tradicionais de engenharia e arquitetura, mas que foram licenciados conforme a normativa que estabeleceu a regulamentação profissional. Conclui que essa normativa municipal, atendendo aos preceitos da legislação sanitária estadual e dando suporte ao aparato sanitarista, foi decisiva para promover reformas e orientar a construção de novas habitações em Campinas/SP, ao estabelecer a obediência às determinações técnicas de aspecto, de solidez e de higiene, principalmente relacionadas à impermeabilização, à insolação e ao arejamento das edificações urbanas. / The theme of this thesis is the hygiene of urban housing of São Paulo state. It objectives to analyze, based on original documentary sources, how it was included in government initiatives - state and local - to improve sanitary conditions of the city of Campinas/SP, between 1880 and 1934. It works with the hypothesis that, the measures taken by São Paulos government and by the municipality - in the late nineteenth century - under the republican regimes organization and to fight yellow fever epidemics, were based on the European principles of sanitarian urbanism, which were organized in sanitary and constructive legislation, providing input to practices related to housing hygiene and guiding Campinas building activity. Examines construction scenery in Campinas through the administrative procedure that authorized permits for housing edification, which was formalized in constructive legislation and organized in the municipality, identifying the protagonists in the conception and analysis of requirements and architectural projects. It verifies that the significant majority of the work was conducted by non-graduated constructors, without academic degree in traditional schools of engineering and architecture, however were licensed according to rules that established the professional regulation. It concludes that these municipal rules, taking into account state laws provisions and supporting the sanitary apparatus, was decisive to promote reforms and guidance for the construction of new private urban houses in Campinas/SP, when establishes obedience to aspect, solidity and hygiene technical determinations, mainly related to buildings waterproofing, insolation and ventilation.

There has been a steady growth in the traffic generated by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), and by 2020 it is expected to overload the existing licensed spectrum capacity and lead to the problem of scarce resources. One method to deal with this traffic overload is to access unlicensed and shared spectrum bands using an opportunistic approach. The use of Licensed Shared Access (LSA) is a novel approach for spectrum sharing between the incumbent user (i.e., the current owner of the shared spectrum) and the LSA licensee (i.e., the temporary user of frequencies, such as an MNO). The LSA system allows the incumbent users to temporarily provide the LSA licensee with access to its spectrum resources. However, licensees must adopt vertical handover and traffic steering procedures to vacate their customers from the LSA band without causing interference, whenever this is required by the incumbent. These procedures should be carried out, de facto, before the base station is turned off as a part of a rapid release of unscheduled LSA band facing evacuation scenarios. Thus, in this dissertation, a cognitive mechanism is proposed to make decisions in advance to find the best target network(s) for evacuated customers in connected mode and with active traffic per class of service. On the basis of these decisions, the vertical handover and traffic steering procedures are carried out for the best target network(s), which are selected in advance and undertaken immediately to avoid interference between the licensee and incumbent services. Furthermore, this guarantees the seamless connectivity and QoS of evacuated customers and their traffic respectively, during and after the unscheduled evacuation scenarios. A performance evaluation conducted in a simulating scenario consisting of one LTE-LSA and three Wi-Fi networks, demonstrated that the proposed solution could be completed within the time required for the unscheduled evacuation, as well as, being able to ensure the QoS and seamless connectivity of the evacuees. The total execution time obtained during the performance evaluation of the proposed solution was around 46% faster than of two related works and could thus avoid interference between the licensee and incumbent services.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T16:58:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Neusa da Silva Cardoso de Oliveira.pdf: 887429 bytes, checksum: 4ababeccf89d027441fb9f7b07ac9033 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-10-18 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The aim of this study was to investigate the student s perception of their process of education by the Special Program of Pedagogical Education and verify if it has been contributed to the characterization of teaching s profession. Besides, it was analyzed the courses contents program and the education process implemented, in order to evaluate how non-licensed teachers education has been occurring, in the present moment of Superior Education Reform discussion. Analysing data collected, we tried to comprehend how the researched Special Program of Pedagogical Education contributes to educate Mathematics teachers as well as to their practices improvement. Data gatering included questionnaires application next to this Program students (many had already teached, even no license); documents analysis (laws, resolutions, curriculum, evaluations and program contents) and interviews realized with selected students among those who composed the analyzed program class. In general, collected data analysis allow that subjects, students-teachers of the course investigated, believe that the course is not enough to an adequate education of a Mathematics teacher and data has pointed that mayor perception is that they do not feel qualified to the profession job. It was possible to perceive, however, that there was behavior and motivation changes to these people in relation to the perception of the need and the importance of a continuous education, but also of the absence of profound knowledge about mathematics contents to be teached by these teachers. Group activities and active participation of students, as well as academic texts readings seem to be the more remarkable aspects to these students. The importance of playing mathematics games and other activities which may aid students learning was other element perceived as of high importance during the Program. Being so, we understand that the Special Program of Pedagogical Education of this institution brings important and significant elements to Mathematics teachers education, but insufficient to professional job, specially concerning to specific Mathematic contents, absent during all Program / A presente pesquisa teve por objetivo investigar a percepção dos alunos sobre seu processo de formação por meio do Programa Especial de Formação Pedagógica e verificar se o mesmo vem contribuindo para a caracterização da profissão docente. Além disso, buscou-se analisar o conteúdo programático do curso e o processo de formação implementado, a fim de se realizar uma avaliação sobre como a formação de professores de Matemática não-habilitados vem ocorrendo, no momento atual de discussão da Reforma do Ensino Superior. A partir dos dados coletados, buscamos compreender de que maneira o Programa Especial de Formação Pedagógica pesquisado contribui para a formação de professores de Matemática bem como para a melhoria de sua prática. A coleta de dados envolveu a aplicação de questionários junto aos alunos desse programa (sendo que muitos já exerciam a docência mesmo sem a habilitação); análise de documentos (leis, resoluções, grade curricular, avaliações e conteúdo programático) e entrevistas realizadas com alunos selecionados dentre os que compunham a turma do programa analisado. De modo geral, a análise dos dados obtidos permite afirmar que os sujeitos, alunos-professores do curso em questão, acreditam que o curso não é suficiente para uma formação adequada de um professor de Matemática e os dados apontaram que a percepção da maioria é de que não se sentem qualificados para o exercício profissional. Foi possível perceber, entretanto, que houve mudanças de comportamento e motivação nesses sujeitos com relação à percepção da necessidade e importância de uma formação contínua, mas também da ausência de conhecimentos profundos sobre o conteúdo matemático a ser ensinado por esses professores. Atividades desenvolvidas em grupo e participação ativa dos alunos, bem como as leituras de textos acadêmicos parecem ser os aspectos mais marcantes para esses alunos. A importância da aplicação de jogos matemáticos e de outras atividades que possam auxiliar a aprendizagem dos alunos foi outro elemento percebido como de grande importância durante o Programa. Desta maneira, entendemos que o Programa Especial de Formação Pedagógica dessa instituição traz elementos importantes e significativos para a formação de professores de Matemática, porém insuficientes para que esses alunos sintam-se preparados para o exercício profissional, principalmente no que diz respeito aos conteúdos específicos de Matemática, ausentes durante todo o programa

Many barber salons and other small businesses in the United States fail to succeed beyond the first 5 years. The factors responsible for the low survival rate of salons may include the limited training and education levels mandated by state certification requirements. The purpose of this multiple case study was to identify business strategies successful barber salon owners use to overcome the business management and staffing challenges associated with a small pool of skilled barbers and the high turnover in a low wage profession. The theory of transformational leadership served as the conceptual framework. The data collection included interviews of 3 successful barber salon owners who met the study participation eligibility criteria of licensed, registered, operating a salon business in the Indiana region for more than 5 years, and over the minimum age of 25 years. The 4 themes emerging from the interview data analysis were (a) barber salon operating structures, (b) salon leadership and managerial strategies, (c) licensed barber skill enhancement, and (d) salon operating strategies effectiveness and sustainability. The data analysis also involved the triangulation of the primary research against secondary data from the Small Business Administration and barber industry reports. The expertise and knowledge shared by the interviewees could serve the quest of barber salon businesses in the Indiana region to overcome the profitability and financial sustainability challenges of this industry. The study findings may potentially contribute to positive social change by improving the economic standing and welfare of barber salon owners and professionals in the community.

Lawrence Lessig在Free Culture一書中探討了法律、新興科技以及媒體產業如何形成許可文化的制度，來控制我們的創作自由和取用公共財的權利，他指向一個核心問題：私益(private interest)與公益(public interest)之爭——在網路科技與智慧財產權交互作用之下的自由文化中，私益與公益如何達到平衡狀態？ 「音樂」具有可被數位化的特性，是傳播自由文化的理想範例，而筆者意欲探求的是：以臺灣的音樂產業為例，是否有可能在自由文化中形成一個讓「獲利」與「分享」並行不悖，甚至相輔相成的運作模式？最重要的是，這個模式要能發揚自由文化帶給大眾的公益，也要保障音樂工作者的私益。而在音樂產業中，「獨立音樂」次領域向來重視創作自主性，而自由文化鼓勵發想創意，兩者或許有媒合的空間，故本研究聚焦於獨立音樂。 本研究視臺灣的獨立音樂產業為資訊內容的生產與消費過程，運用Bourdieu的場域理論、資本理論、再製理論等學說，找出有哪些因素影響自由文化和獨立音樂的發展，並且探討贊成∕質疑自由文化這二種立場之間的辯證過程，以及各種利益如何折衝、妥協，從何達成平衡點。故本研究的目的包括：擬將探討結果回饋至對自由文化的省思，此為研究目的之一；嘗試建立一個自由文化中的音樂商業模式，此為研究目的之二。 本研究以深度訪談法訪談四種不同類型的獨立音樂創唱人（包括完全獨立的個體戶、社運歌曲創作者、大型唱片工業體系以外的獨立廠牌、大型唱片公司釋放出來的音樂人才，共訪談五組個人與團體），以及五家數位授權音樂網站（KKBOX、ezPeer、Omusic、StreetVoice、iNDIEVOX），並輔以參與觀察法和分析次級資料，來說明主要研究發現。 在「場域內行動者對於自由文化的認知」方面，本研究發現，「自由文化」這個名詞還不夠普及，這種現象反映出兩個事實：（一）受訪者對於自由文化的認知是分歧的：Lessig所言之自由文化是「在相當程度上開放他人據以再創造的文化」（Lessig, 2004／劉靜怡譯，2008，頁57）；然而，獨立音樂創唱人的認知則是創作行為上的自由、自由文化要能保障授用雙方的自由、自由文化等同CC授權制度、自由文化是一種行銷廣宣工具、自由文化等同網路賦予大眾使用的自由；授權音樂網站經營者們則認為「自由文化的核心概念是『服務』」。（二）Lessig的自由文化理念與實務有差距：研究結果發現，受訪之獨立音樂創唱人的開放心態和行為，要比Lessig「保守」許多，大多是停留在提供免費聆聽，少數開放下載，而其目的多半是為了廣告與宣傳效益。 在「獨立音樂創唱人的線上／線下活動與資本應用策略」方面，可以看出獨立音樂創唱人經營創唱事業的幾個重點：（一）線上∕線下資本會互相流動和兌換；（二）獨立音樂創唱人專注創作，唱片公司致力發行，二者保持地位對等的平衡關係；（三）獨立音樂創唱人有成為專職的趨勢。 在「想像一個自由文化中的音樂經營模式」方面，本研究根據各家授權音樂網站的經營特色，以及配合獨立音樂創唱人的需求、大眾的公益考量，擘畫了一個自由文化中的獨立音樂商業模式，其規劃重點在於：（一）免費與付費並存；（二）虛擬與實體並行；（三）著作權安定運作秩序；（四）經紀事務拓展人脈。整體而言，此模式試圖建構一個整合網路發表平台、付費授權網站、經紀公司的場域，各行動者之間要維繫的是一種夥伴關係，而非從屬關係。 / In his book Free Culture, Lawrence Lessig investigates how the legal system, modern technology, and media industry shape a permission culture to define our rights of consuming public goods and our freedom of creation. He orientates his core research question towards the dispute over the relative importance of private interests and public interests. In other words, how do we balance private interests against public interests under the dual impacts of the Internet technology and intellectual property rights in a free culture? “Music” can be digitalized, and it is a prime example of free culture propagation. This thesis examines the music industry in Taiwan and thereby explores the possibility of shaping an operational model that makes “profiting” and “sharing” compatible with or even complementary to each other in a free culture. More importantly, such a model should be able to promote the public interests generated from a free culture and, at the same time, secure the private interests of musicians. “Independent music,” as a subfield in the music industry, always emphasizes autonomy in creation, and a free culture encourages creation and innovation. Accordingly, we may couple independent music with free culture, and this thesis primarily deals with their relationship. This thesis treats Taiwanese independent music as a process of information production and consumption. It adopts Bourdieu’s theories about field, capital, and reproduction to identify the effective factors in the development of free culture and independent music. In addition, this thesis investigates the dialectical process between defending and challenging free culture, and how a variety of interests negotiate, compromise, and finally strike a balance among themselves. Therefore, this thesis aims to, on the one hand, use the research findings to reflect on free culture and, on the other hand, establish a music business model in a free culture. This thesis employs in-depth interviews, participant observation, and secondary data analysis to answer my research question. I interviewed four types of independent music composers/singers (a total of five cases of individuals and bands who are wholly-independent individuals, composers of social movement songs, independent brands outside the system of the large-scale record industry, or musical talents released from major record companies) and five licensed digital music websites (KKBOX, ezPeer, Omusic, StreetVoice, and iNDIEVOX). Regarding “the inside-field actors’ understanding about a free culture,” this thesis finds that the term “free culture” is not as popular as it is expected to be. This phenomenon implies two critical points. Firstly, the interviewees perceive the term free culture in different ways. According to Lessig (2004: 30),”Free Cultures are cultures that leave a great deal open for others to build upon.” However, for composers/singers of independent music, a free culture implies the freedom of creation. A free culture should be able to guarantee the freedom and rights of both original creators and users. It is equivalent to the Creative Commons licensing scheme. It is a tool of marketing and advertising. The freedom embedded in a free culture is similar to that offered by the Internet. In contrast, for managers of licensed music websites, “service” is the core concept of a free culture.” Secondly, there exists a gap between Lessig’s idea of free culture and practice. The research findings indicate that the composers/singers of independent music interviewed by the author are more “conservative” than Lessig. With the primary goals of advertising and propagating independent music, most of their works remain free for listening, while some of them are free for downloading. Concerning “the independent music composers/singers’ on-line/off-line activities and their strategies of using capital,” this thesis points out three critical points in their career management. Firstly, the on-line capital and the off-line capital flow to and exchange with each other. Secondly, these composers/singers devote themselves to creation, and record companies concentrate on issuing their works. Composers/singers and record companies maintain a peer status and a balanced relationship. Thirdly, the “composer/singer of independent music” seems to become a potential profession. With regard to “envisioning a music business model in a free culture,” this thesis designs a business model based on the managerial features of licensed music websites, the needs of composers/singers of independent music, and public interests. The model contains the following characteristics. Firstly, non-payment coexists with payment. Secondly, virtuality runs parallel with reality. Thirdly, copyrights stabilize the order of operation. Fourthly, agency transactions help establish connections among independent music composers/singers and people who are able to provide better performance opportunities. In general, this model seeks to open up a field that integrates platforms of Internet publication, paid licensing websites, and agencies. The relationship among the actors is equal rather than hierarchical.

The study aimed to examine high school student usage of licensed databases available through public libraries in Atlanta-USA. A descriptive quantitative survey was conducted via a web-based questionnaire among 135 East Cobb high school students. The findings revealed that most students are aware of these licensed databases, but their usage is low (1:10) compared to Google. However, as students advance in grade levels, their database usage increases and GALILEO is the most-used licensed resource. Factors that influence student database usage include: specific academic needs; teacher instruction to use specific databases and frequent Digital Information Literacy (DIL) instruction. Most students receive DIL instruction at school, but their DIL skills are still inadequate. To increase usage of licensed databases as reliable information resources, the study recommends collaboration between public libraries and high schools, including incorporation of Generation Y's digital information preferences such as Google-type simplified interfaces, cutting-edge technology and time-saving search features. / Information Science / M.A. (Information Science)

There has been a steady growth in the traffic generated by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), and by 2020 it is expected to overload the existing licensed spectrum capacity and lead to the problem of scarce resources. One method to deal with this traffic overload is to access unlicensed and shared spectrum bands using an opportunistic approach. The use of Licensed Shared Access (LSA) is a novel approach for spectrum sharing between the incumbent user (i.e., the current owner of the shared spectrum) and the LSA licensee (i.e., the temporary user of frequencies, such as an MNO). The LSA system allows the incumbent users to temporarily provide the LSA licensee with access to its spectrum resources. However, licensees must adopt vertical handover and traffic steering procedures to vacate their customers from the LSA band without causing interference, whenever this is required by the incumbent. These procedures should be carried out, de facto, before the base station is turned off as a part of a rapid release of unscheduled LSA band facing evacuation scenarios. Thus, in this dissertation, a cognitive mechanism is proposed to make decisions in advance to find the best target network(s) for evacuated customers in connected mode and with active traffic per class of service. On the basis of these decisions, the vertical handover and traffic steering procedures are carried out for the best target network(s), which are selected in advance and undertaken immediately to avoid interference between the licensee and incumbent services. Furthermore, this guarantees the seamless connectivity and QoS of evacuated customers and their traffic respectively, during and after the unscheduled evacuation scenarios. A performance evaluation conducted in a simulating scenario consisting of one LTE-LSA and three Wi-Fi networks, demonstrated that the proposed solution could be completed within the time required for the unscheduled evacuation, as well as, being able to ensure the QoS and seamless connectivity of the evacuees. The total execution time obtained during the performance evaluation of the proposed solution was around 46% faster than of two related works and could thus avoid interference between the licensee and incumbent services.