A pragmatic approach to intellectual property and development : a case study of the Jordanian copyright law in the internet age

On October 4, 2004, Brazil and Argentina requested that WIPO adopt a development-oriented approach to IP and to reconsider its work in relation to developing countries. In October, 2007, WIPO member States adopted a historic decision for the benefit of developing countries, to establish a WIPO Development Agenda. Although there have been several studies related to IP and development that call for IP laws in developing countries to be development-friendly, there is little research that attempts to provide developing countries with practical measures to achieve that goal. This article takes the copyright law in Jordan as a case study and shows how, in practical terms, a pro-development-oriented approach could be implemented in the copyright laws of developing countries. It provides specific recommendations for developing countries to ensure that their IP laws are aligned with and serve their social and economic development objectives.

Book review of Wang, Y., & Pizam, A. (Eds). 2011. Destination Marketing and Management – Theories and Applications.

A contentious issue in the field of destination marketing has been the recent tendency by some authors to refer to destination marketing organisations (DMOs) as destination management organisations. This nomenclature infers control over destination resources, a level of influence that is in reality held by few DMOs. This issue of a lack of control over the destination ‘amalgam’ is acknowledged by a number of the contributors, including the editors and the discussion on destination competitiveness by J.R. Brent Ritchie and Geoffrey Crouch, and is perhaps best summed up by Alan Fyall in the concluding chapter: “...unless all elements are owned by the same body, then the ability to control and influence the direction, quality and development of the destination pose very real challenges’ (p. 343). The title of the text acknowledges both marketing and management, in relation to theories and applications. While there are insightful propositions about ideals of destination management, readers will find there is a lack of coverage of destination management in practise by DMOs. This represents fertile ground for future research.

Development and validation of the consumer disillusionment toward marketing activity scale

This study examines disillusioned consumers. The theory proposes that this is a group learning to lower their expectations of firm integrity and who, to avoid being let down, ignore marketing activity directly from the firm. This kind of exchange orientation develops as a response to consistent failure in perceptions of firm integrity. The research includes six studies, including over 600 adult consumers, to outline the development and validation of a measure of consumer disillusionment toward marketing activity. Completing the process provides a valid and reliable four-item measure. In addition, the study includes the assessment of the nomological validity of the construct. The nomological validation includes using cue utilization theory to predict that disillusioned consumers favor advertising that provides evidence of verifiable integrity. The validation experiment uses print advertising containing high and low verifiable integrity stimuli. Results confirm the theory with disillusioned consumers focusing less on the firm as source of information. Further, these consumers respond more favorably than non-disillusioned consumers to third party endorsers who serve to verify the firm's attempts to show integrity.

Dynamic optimization of migration topology in internet-based distributed genetic algorithms

Distributed Genetic Algorithms (DGAs) designed for the Internet have to take its high communication cost into consideration. For island model GAs, the migration topology has a major impact on DGA performance. This paper describes and evaluates an adaptive migration topology optimizer that keeps the communication load low while maintaining high solution quality. Experiments on benchmark problems show that the optimized topology outperforms static or random topologies of the same degree of connectivity. The applicability of the method on real-world problems is demonstrated on a hard optimization problem in VLSI design.

Mobile valuations : the Internet's impact on traditional valuation services

Preparing valuations is a time consuming process involving site inspections, research and report formulation. The ease of access to the internet has changed how and where valuations may be undertaken. No longer is it necessary to return to the office to finalise reports, or leave your desk in order to undertake research. This enables more streamlined service delivery and is viewed as a positive. However, it is not without negative impacts. This paper seeks to inform practitioners of the work environment changes flowing from increased access to the internet. It identifies how increased accessibility to, and use of, technology and the internet has, and will continue to, impact upon valuation service provision into the future.

Internet interventions for treatment of alcohol related problems

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: The primary objective of this review will be to assess the effect of internet and mobile phone alcohol-related interventions on reducing participants' alcohol consumption. Secondary objectives will include assessing the impact of the interventions on symptoms of alcohol-related disorders and degree of alcohol dependence, the effects on functioning, and patient acceptability. The review will also assess whether there are different outcomes for different diagnostic groups, and which intervention approaches or components (including therapeutic support) may be contributing to any positive effects.

The role of the internet and digital technologies in the struggle for recognition of the forgotten Australians

Our contemporary public sphere has seen the 'emergence of new political rituals, which are concerned with the stains of the past, with self disclosure, and with ways of remembering once taboo and traumatic events' (Misztal, 2005). A recent case of this phenomenon occurred in Australia in 2009 with the apology to the 'Forgotten Australians': a group who suffered abuse and neglect after being removed from their parents – either in Australia or in the UK - and placed in Church and State run institutions in Australia between 1930 and 1970. This campaign for recognition by a profoundly marginalized group coincides with the decade in which the opportunities of Web 2.0 were seen to be diffusing throughout different social groups, and were considered a tool for social inclusion. This paper examines the case of the Forgotten Australians as an opportunity to investigate the role of the internet in cultural trauma and public apology. As such, it adds to recent scholarship on the role of digital web based technologies in commemoration and memorials (Arthur, 2009; Haskins, 2007; Cohen and Willis, 2004), and on digital storytelling in the context of trauma (Klaebe, 2011) by locating their role in a broader and emerging domain of social responsibility and political action (Alexander, 2004).

Towards configuring the Internet for social development in the Philippines

The Internet is one of the most significant information and communication technologies to emerge during the end of the last century. It created new and effective means by which individuals and groups communicate. These advances led to marked institutional changes most notably in the realm of commercial exchange: it did not only provide the high-speed communication infrastructure to business enterprises; it also opened them to the global consumer base where they could market their products and services. Commercial interests gradually dominated Internet technology over the past several years and have been a factor in the increase of its user population and enhancement of infrastructure. Such commercial interests fitted comfortably within the structures of the Philippine government. As revealed in the study, state policies and programs make use of Internet technology as an enabler of commercial institutional reforms using traditional economic measures. Yet, despite efforts to maximize the Internet as an enabler for market-driven economic growth, the accrued benefits are yet to come about; it is largely present only in major urban areas and accessible to a small number of social groups. The failure of the Internet’s developmental capability can be traced back to the government’s wholesale adoption of commercial-centered discourse. The Internet’s developmental gains (i.e. instrumental, communicative and emancipatory) and features, which were always there since its inception, have been visibly left out in favor of its commercial value. By employing synchronic and diachronic analysis, it can be shown that the Internet can be a vital technology in promoting genuine social development in the Philippines. In general, the object is to realize a social environment of towards a more inclusive and participatory application of Internet technology, equally aware of the caveats or risks the technology may pose. It is argued further that there is a need for continued social scientific research regarding the social as and developmental implications of Internet technology at local level structures, such social sectors, specific communities and organizations. On the meta-level, such approach employed in this research can be a modest attempt in increasing the calculus of hope especially among the marginalized Filipino sectors, with the use of information and communications technologies. This emerging field of study—tentatively called Progressive Informatics—must emanate from the more enlightened social sectors, namely: the non-government, academic and locally-based organizations.

Internet and e-commerce law, business and policy

Over the last two decades, the internet and e-commerce have reshaped the way we communicate, interact and transact. In the converged environment enabled by high speed broadband, web 2.0, social media, virtual worlds, user-generated content, cloud computing, VoIP, open source software and open content have rapidly become established features of our online experience. Business and government alike are increasingly using the internet as the preferred platform for delivery of their goods and services and for effective engagement with their clients. New ways of doing things online and challenges to existing business, government and social activities have tested current laws and often demand new policies and laws, adapted to the new realities. The focus of this book is the regulation of social, cultural and commercial activity on the World Wide Web. It considers developments in the law that have been, and continue to be, brought about by the emergence of the internet and e-commerce. It analyses how the law is applied to define rights and obligations in relation to online infrastructure, content and practices.

Perceptions of visitor relationship marketing opportunities by destination marketers : an importance-performance analysis

Customer relationship marketing (CRM) initiatives are increasingly being adopted by businesses in the attempt to enhance brand loyalty and stimulate repeat purchases. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which destination marketing organisations (DMOs) around the world have developed a visitor relationship marketing (VRM) orientation. The proposition underpinning the study is that maintaining meaningful dialogue with previous visitors in some markets would represent a more efficient use of resources than above the line advertising to attract new visitors. Importance-performance analysis was utilised to measure destination marketers’ perceptions of the efficacy of CRM initiatives, and then rate their own organisation’s performance across the same range of initiatives. A key finding was that mean importance was higher than perceived performance for every item. While the small sample limits generalisability, in general there are appears to be a lack of strategic intent by DMOs to invest in VRM.

In pursuit of tourism destination brand loyalty : visitor relationship management orientation of destination marketing organisations

The proposition underpinning this study is engaging in meaningful dialogue with previous visitors represents an efficient and effective use of resources for a destination marketing organization (DMO), compared to above the line advertising in broadcast media. However there has been a lack of attention in the tourism literature relating to destination switching, loyalty and customer relationship management (CRM) to test such a proposition. This paper reports an investigation of visitor relationship marketing (VRM) orientation among DMOs. A model of CRM orientation, which was developed from the wider marketing literature and a prior qualitative study, was used to develop a scale to operationalise DMO visitor relationship orientation. Due to a small sample, the Partial Least Squares (PLS) method of structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data. Although the sample limits the ability to generalise, the results indicated the DMOs’ visitor orientation is generally responsive and reactive rather than proactive.