Thesis (Ph. D.)--Indiana University of Pennsylvania. / Includes bibliographical references.

In today’s data-driven society, also called the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Text and Data Mining (TDM) has become an essential tool in managing the booming Big Data in its different sizes and forms. It is also an inherent part of AI research using machine learning, where these techniques highly depend on datasets derived from TDM to self-learn and to make autonomous decisions. Through the lens of copyright and related rights, TDM may be used to train AI for the purpose of AI-driven creativity, where AI has already helped in actualizing paintings, compose music and to produce movie trailers. However, since TDM typically involves extraction and/or copying of works and other subject matter protectable by copyright and related rights – in order to create datasets relevant to each AI project – it is at risk of infringing the exclusive right of reproduction and sui generis database right under the EU acquis. Indeed, TDM used for the purpose of AI-driven creativity may not necessarily amount to an infringement, if the restricted act is covered by prima facie an available exception or limitation. Several pre-existing exceptions and limitations under the EU acquis, i.e. temporary act of reproduction, scientific research, normal use of a database, extraction of insubstantial part from a database and the mandatory exception for computer programs, have been examined as possible candidates to screen unlicensed TDM activities from copyright and related rights infringement. However, this thesis observes that due to their narrow scope and the legal fragmentation caused by the voluntary implementation of some of the exceptions, these are not fully adapted to cover unlicensed TDM and thus creating legal uncertainties for AI developers. In this regard, in order to transfers the fundamental principle of copyright and related rights into the digital age and to compete with legal systems that offer a more friendly environment for TDM (e.g. US, Japan and UK), the European legislator adopted the Digital Single Market Directive 2019/790 (DSM Directive) comprising two obligatory TDM exceptions in articles 3 and 4. However, despite the reduction of several legal uncertainties and the diverging national implementations of the pre-existing exceptions and limitations, the adopted regime has significant shortcoming that may hinder the AI development in Europe. Ultimately, this thesis concludes that despite following an approach that better fits the digital environment, the DSM Directive fails to address the new era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to which AI belongs.

Gamingindustrin utgör idag en stor, globaliserad marknad, där spelutvecklingsprocessen kan medföra utgifter som uppgår till flera miljarder svenska kronor. En viktig del av moderna spel är det grafiska användargränssnittet, s.k. GUI, som är den interaktiva, grafiska yta med vilken en spelare interagerar. GUI utgör slutprodukten av spelets sammantagna delar och avgör hur spelupplevelsen uppfattas av användaren. GUI:s immaterialrättsliga skydd är villkorligt och fragmenterat, vilket är oproportionerligt till GUI:s betydelse för gamingindustrin.  Det huvudsakliga syftet med uppsatsen är att belysa vilka immaterialrättsliga lagar som skyddar en GUI idag, samt att föreslå på vilket sätt skyddet kan förbättras. I uppsatsen undersöks även de amerikanska immaterialrättsliga lagarna som berör det grafiska användargränssnittet. Undersökningen utförs med avsikt att studera vilka rättsnormer som möjligtvis kan komplettera den svenska lagstiftningen, och därmed förbättra GUI:s skydd i en svensk kontext.  Framställningens disposition har till ändamål att besvara uppsatsens frågeställningar på ett systematiskt och ordnat sätt. Först har den svenska upphovsrättslagen och andra immaterialrättsliga lagar som är av intresse undersökts. Vidare har relevanta europeiska rättsakter tagits upp och redogjorts för. Slutligen har den amerikanska immaterialrättsliga lagstiftningen, samt viktiga prejudikat studerats. Undersökningen har uppvisat ett behov av att tydliggöra GUI:s ställning inom den svenska upphovsrätten, eftersom det nuvarande skyddet präglas av vissa brister. Exempelvis har domstolar inom både EU och Sverige inte definierat vilka element som kan ingå i ett användargränssnitt, vilket gör att frågan om GUI:s skydd lämnats ofullständigt. Kontentan av vad som presenterats är att GUI behöver ett bättre skydd, vilket kan åstadkommas på två olika sätt. Tillförandet av en ny verkskategori i upphovsrättslagen kan ge GUI den ställning som motsvarar dess roll i gamingindustrin. Alternativt kan GUI erhålla ett s.k. sui generis-skydd, som kan likna det EU-rättsliga skyddet för databaser. Åtgärderna lyfter ömsesidigt GUI:s roll som något unikt och essentiellt för framtida teknikutveckling.

一、研究目的：南北朝之經學，以五經正義為匯歸。隋代之經學，在南北朝義疏之學走向唐代五經正義之學中，實具關鍵之地位。劉焯、劉炫二氏為隋代之大儒，五經正義中：詩經、書經、左傳等皆據二劉先生之著作為底本，加以刪削而成，故以「劉焯劉炫之經學」為題，探討此一幽隱之轉折。 二、研究文獻：史傳書錄記載劉焯之經學著作有三種，劉炫之經學著作有十三種，然於唐未間先後亡佚。今日有佚文可得者，劉焯僅尚書義疏一種；劉炫亦僅尚書述議、毛詩述議、春秋左氏傳述議、春秋規過、春秋攻昧、孝經述議等六種。歷來輯者若不謨、郡瑛、薛承宣、黃奭、馬國翰、陳熙晉等雖有輯本，然蒐集範圍過窄，所據底本非佳善，文孛迻錄有失真，故未稱完善，故必重輯其佚文，以求完備。 三、研究方法：劉焯劉炫之著作，今率皆亡佚，僅有典籍援引，故必藉由輯佚，重輯其佚文，又必透過經學史之觀點，將其定位，以探究其經學之底蘊，最後亦必將二氏之思想，置於思想史中見其卓識，故此題融入輯佚、史學、經學、哲學等之全程觀點。 四、研究內容與成果：（一）說明本題以劉焯劉炫作綜合研究之因，闡述本題研究之四項價值，檢討以往研究之成果，並陳述本題之主旨與研究方法。（二）說明劉焯劉炫所處之時代背景與學術風尚。（三）依史傳參證劉焯劉炫之生平，考輯其著作。（四）重輯劉焯劉炫經疏之佚文，計得尚書佚文一百一十條，毛詩佚文八十二條，春秋左傳佚文四百十十八條，孝經述議佚文一百九十一條，合計八百又一條。（五）分就尚書學、詩經學、春秋左傳學、孝經學等四章，依重輯之佚文，就其形式與內容全面 考察之，且評論其得失。（六）簡述本題論述之要點，二劉先生治經之特色與對經學之貢獻，並說明本題研究之不足與今後研究之方向。 經學（尚書－毛詩－左傳－孝經）－隋代－劉焯－劉炫

Economic development in Sri Lanka has relied heavily on foreign and domestic investment. Digital databases are a new and attractive area for this investment. This thesis argues that investment needs protection and this is crucial to attract future investment. The thesis therefore proposes a digital database protection mechanism with a view to attracting investment in digital databases to Sri Lanka. The research examines various existing protection measures whilst mainly focusing on the sui generis right protection which confirms the protection of qualitative and/or quantitative substantial investment in the obtaining, verification or presentation of the contents of digital databases. In digital databases, this process is carried out by computer programs which establish meaningful and useful data patterns through their data mining process, and subsequently use those patterns in Knowledge Discovery within database processes. Those processes enhance the value and/or usefulness of the data/information. Computer programs need to be protected, as this thesis proposes, by virtue of patent protection because the process carried out by computer programs is that of a technical process - an area for which patents are particularly suitable for the purpose of protecting. All intellectual property concepts under the existing mechanisms address the issue of investment in databases in different ways. These include Copyright, Contract, Unfair Competition law and Misappropriation and Sui generis right protection. Since the primary objective of the thesis is to introduce a protection system for encouraging qualitative and quantitative investment in digital databases in Sri Lanka, this thesis suggests a set of mechanisms and rights which comprises of existing intellectual protection mechanisms for databases. The ultimate goal of the proposed protection mechanisms and rights is to improve the laws pertaining to the protection of digital databases in Sri Lanka in order to attract investment, to protect the rights and duties of the digital database users and owners/authors and, eventually, to bring positive economic effects to the country. Since digital database protection is a new concept in the Sri Lankan legal context, this research will provide guidelines for policy-makers, judges and lawyers in Sri Lanka and throughout the South Asian region.

La classification des personnes publiques s’est bâtie sur une distinction dualiste avec d’un côté, la catégorie des collectivités territoriales et de l’autre, celle des établissements publics. A cause des réticences du juge et de la doctrine, la question de l’existence de nouvelles personnes publiques est restée scellée jusqu’à la troisième voie ouverte par le législateur et l’apparition des groupements d’intérêt public (GIP). Les GIP ont été les premières structures qualifiées de personnes publiques innomées. Ensuite, la jurisprudence a consacré l’institution juridique de personnes publiques sui generis à l’image de la Banque de France. Dans les années 2000, le législateur a étendu la liste des personnes publiques innomées en créant une nouvelle forme d’autorité administrative indépendante, les autorités publiques indépendantes dotées de la personnalité morale. Ces personnes publiques ont été créées en vue de moderniser l’action administrative. Elles sont parfois présentées comme des nouvelles formules juridiques venant concurrencer l’établissement public devenu, semble-t-il, une formule désuète au regard des impératifs de la modernisation de la gestion publique. Toutefois, les nouvelles personnes publiques se différencient difficilement de l’établissement public. En effet, ces nouvelles structures sont dotées de la personnalité publique et elles sont soumises au principe de spécialité. Par conséquent, il est possible de rapprocher les nouvelles personnes publiques de la catégorie classique de l’établissement public. En définitive, la grande souplesse et la diversité du statut des établissements publics permettent de dégager l’existence de plusieurs catégories d’établissements publics parmi lesquelles il convient de ranger les nouvelles personnes publiques spéciales. / Classification of public entities is built on a dualistic distinction with one hand, the category of local authorities and the other, that of public establishments. Because of the reluctance of judge and doctrine, the question of the existence of new public entities remained sealed until the third path opened by the legislature and the emergence of public interest groups (GIP). The GIP were the first structures of qualified persons unnamed public. Next, the jurisprudence has dedicated legal institution sui generis public persons in the image of the Bank of France. In the 2000s, the legislature has expanded the list of unnamed public by creating a new form of independent administrative authority, public authorities with independent legal personality. These public entities were created to modernize administrative action. They are sometimes presented as new legal formulas from competing public establishment became, it seems, an outdated formula under the imperatives of modernization of public administration. However, the new public figures hardly differ from the public establishment. Indeed, these new structures have the public persona and are subject to the principle of specialty. Therefore, it is possible to bring new entities public the classical category of public establishment. Ultimately, the flexibility and diversity of the status of public establishments can identify the existence of several categories including public institutions should store the new special public entities.

Despite of the historical significance of Six Dynasties (220--589)---a turbulent time between Han and Tang Dynasty---research on jades of the period remains a neglected overlooked topic. Short of systematic studies, our understanding of the functional change of jades from religious rituals to daily life and decoration is greatly lacking. The current thesis studies jades excavated from tombs and collected in museums, by identifying their dates, characteristics, and styles through comparison and stylistic analysis, and discusses the use of jades through three centuries of change. / The thesis begins with an introduction of important jade finds from 1949 to 2009, followed by three chapters (chapter 2--4) illustrating the jade culture of the Six Dynasties. Chapter 2 is a case study of a jade pendant set. This examination provides important implications on the stylistic origin and changes of jades in the Six Dynasties. Chapter 3 explores the cause of functional differences in jades produced and used by Chinese and non-Chinese people and their influences on Tang Dynasty jades. Chapter 4 discusses ingestion of jade as a religious quest for immortality under the impact of Daoism. The final chapter concludes the thesis with an investigation into the scarcity of jades from this period to define the significance of Six Dynasties jades in the broader history of Chinese jades. / 褚馨. / Adviser: Jenny F. So. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 72-04, Section: A, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 192-206). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Chu Xin.

La presente tesi fornisce un contributo originale al dibattito esistente tra gli economisti industriali sul rapporto tra concorrenza e asimmetrie informative. Infatti, l’obiettivo principale di questo lavoro consiste nell'investigare, da un punto di vista teorico (e supportato dall'evidenza empirica), come alcune barriere informative presenti nel mercato influenzano le strategie imprenditoriali in diversi contesti competitivi, fornendo implicazioni di policy per autorità garanti della concorrenza e a tutela del consumatore. Nello specifico, il primo capitolo esamina gli incentivi di una impresa dominante in un mercato a monte a offrire contratti di esclusiva ad un monopolista nel mercato a valle, quando vi è incertezza riguardo alla domanda finale dei consumatori. Nei capitoli seguenti, invece, l’analisi si caratterizza dalla presenza del concetto comportamentale di "avversione alla perdita", particolarmente rilevante nelle decisioni di acquisto dei cosiddetti "beni di esperienza". In questi mercati le imprese possono decidere liberamente di permettere test sui propri prodotti prima del loro acquisto, modificando quindi l’utilità attesa dei consumatori. Il secondo capitolo analizza le strategie di vendita per un monopolista. Il terzo capitolo, invece, esamina l’equilibrio di mercato in un contesto competitivo e come l’utilizzo di test sui prodotti possa essere adoperato come strumento collusivo. / This dissertation provides an original contribution to the existing debate between industrial economists on the relationship between competition and information asymmetries. Indeed, the main goal of this work consists in investigating, from a theoretical point of view (and supported by empirical evidence), how some informational frictions in the market affect firm’s strategies in different competitive environments, providing policy implications for competition and consumer protection authorities. Specifically, the first chapter looks at the incentives of a dominant firm in an upstream market to offer exclusive dealing contracts to a monopolist in the downstream market, when there is uncertainty about consumer demand. In the following chapters, instead, the analysis is characterized by the presence of the behavioral concept of "loss aversion", which is particularly relevant in the purchase decisions of the so-called "experience goods". In these markets, firms can freely decide to allow product experimentation before purchase, thus modifying the consumers' expected utility. The second chapter analyzes the monopolist's sales strategies. The third chapter, instead, examines the market equilibrium in a competitive environment and how product experimentation can be used as a collusive device.

The dissertation concerns about the path loss calculation of Radio Frequency (RF) propagation models for 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) Network to prefer the best Radio Frequency propagation model. The radio propagation models are very significant while planning of any wireless communication system. A comparative analysis between radio propagation models e.g. SUI model, Okumura model, Cost 231 Hata Model, Cost 231-Walfisch Ikegami and Ericsson 9999 model that would be used for outdoor propagation in LTE. The comparison and performance analysis has been made by using different geological environments e.g. urban, sub-urban and rural areas. The simulation scenario is made to calculate the lowest path loss in above defined environments by using selected frequency and height of base station antennas while keeping a constant distance between the transmitter and receiver antennas. / Asad Saeed C/O Muhammad Awais Hovslagargatan 47 LGH 1004 19431 Stockholm Sweden Mob: 0046723333734

Il est des notions servant d’architecture aux opérations d’épargne tellement anciennes, voire un tantinet désuètes et « exotiques », qu’elles finissent par n’intéresser qu’une poignée de spécialistes. C’est le cas de la tontine qui occupe une place résolument atypique et différenciée. Son traitement est tout aussi significatif que paradoxal. À son évocation, contrairement aux autres techniques juridiques et malgré sa relative confidentialité, n’importe quel particulier est capable de tracer une trame, peu ou prou précise, mais néanmoins avec une constance dès lors qu’il s’agit de ses deux points cardinaux que sont la survie, comme condition exécutoire, et la mort, comme condition résolutoire. Mais là s’arrête la bonne intuition et commencent un ensemble de malentendus ainsi qu’une certaine amphibologie. De prime abord, l’histoire de la tontine ne peut être écrite au singulier. Elle a changé d’objet à trois reprises, de 1653 à nos jours. Quand bien même son régime est parvenu à se stabiliser, la tontine est redevenue multiforme, faisant intervenir alternativement la vie et le décès comme fondement de l’extinction des obligations. Ensuite, sa représentation est toujours occultée par des récits des abus alors que la loi du 17 mars 1905 est parvenue à les sécuriser définitivement. Enfin, les démarches d’introspection ont été continuellement ramenées à la comparaison avec l’assurance vie. Peu convaincantes, elles butent toutes sur le postulat intangible qui sépare la tontine de l’assurance. De là, il faut définitivement se convaincre que la tontine est une opération d’épargne sui generis, définie par huit éléments constitutifs, dotée d’un droit spécial et couverte par le Code des assurances (articles R.322-139 à R.322-159). / There are architectural notions related to savings’ plans so ancient, even indeed slightly outmoded and « exotic », that they end up interesting only a handful of specialists. This is the case of tontine which fills a resolutely atypical and differentiated niche. Its processing is as significant as it is paradoxical. In fact, unlike other legal techniques and despite its relative confidentiality, any individual is capable of drawing a more or less accurate yet constant framework, that it includes two cardinal points which are survival as an execution clause, and death as a cancellation clause. But good intuition stops there and a whole series of misunderstandings begin, as does a certain amphibology. At first sight, tontine history cannot be written in a singular mode. Tontine has changed its object three times, from 1653 to this day. Although its system had become reliable, tontine merged again into a many-faceted profile, applying alternately, life and death events as a foundation of obligation extinction. Furthermore, tontine representation is always overshadowed by a sulphurous reputation even though the March 17th 1905 bill managed to definitely secure these operations. Finally, introspection initiatives have been continuously reduced to a comparison with life insurance. Unconvincing, they always trip over the intangible premise which separates tontine from insurance. From there, it is unequivocal that tontine is a sui generis savings’ plan, defined by eight constitutive elements, endowed with a specific legal system and covered by the insurance code (articles R.322-139 to R.322-159).