This article analyses current trends in the use of anonymity services among younger Swedes (15-25 years old) and focuses on individuals engaging in illegal file sharing in order to better understand the rationale behind both file sharing as well as online anonymity, especially in relation to enforcement of copyright. By comparing the findings of a survey conducted on three occasions (early 2009, late 2009 and early 2012), we measure the fluctuations in the use of anonymity services among approximately 1000 15-25-year-olds in Sweden, compare them with file sharing frequencies and, to some extent, trends within legal enforcement. The article also suggests that the key to understanding any relationship between copyright enforcement and fluctuations in online anonymity can be found in the law's relationship to social norms in terms of legitimacy by showing a correlation between file sharing frequency and the use of anonymity services. The findings indicate that larger proportions of frequent file sharers (downloaders) also use anonymity services more often than those who file share less. However, in comparison to the earlier surveys, the strongest increase in the use of anonymity services is found in the groups where file sharing is less frequent, suggesting that reasons for actively making oneself less traceable online other than avoiding copyright enforcement have emerged since the initial two surveys in 2009. Further, the overall increase (from 8.6 per cent to 14.9 per cent) in using anonymity services found for the whole group of respondents suggests both that high file sharing frequency is a driver for less traceability, as well as a larger trend for online anonymity relating to factors other than mere file sharing of copyright infringing content -for example, increased governmental identification, data retention and surveillance in the online environment. The results are analysed in Merton's terminology as file sharers and protocol architects adapting in terms of both innovation and rebellion in the sense that institutional means for achieving specific
Purpose -The purpose of this study is to understand more of online anonymity in the global file sharing community in the context of social norms and copyright law. The study describes the respondents in terms of use of VPN or similar service related to age, gender, geographical location, as well as analysing the correlation with file sharing frequencies. Design/methodology/approach -This study is to a large extent descriptively collecting data through a web-based survey. This was carried out in collaboration with the BitTorrent tracker The Pirate Bay (TPB), allowing the authors to link the survey from the main logo of their site. In 72 hours the authors received over 75,000 responses, which gives the opportunity to compare use of anonymity services with factors of age, geographical region, file sharing frequency, etc. Findings -Overall, 17.8 per cent of the respondents use a VPN or similar service (free or paid). A core of high frequency uploaders is more inclined to use VPN or similar services than the average file sharer. Online anonymity practices in the file sharing community are depending on how legal and social norms correlate (more enforcement means more anonymity). Research limitations/implications -The web-based survey was in English and mainly attracted visitors on The Pirate Bays' web page. This means that it is likely that those who do not have the language skills necessary were excluded from the survey. Practical implications -This study adds to the knowledge of anonymity practices online in terms of traceability and identification. This means that it shows some of the conditions for legal enforcement in a digital environment. Social implications -This study adds to the knowledge of how the Internet is changing in terms of a polarization between stronger means of legally enforced identification and a growing awareness of how to be more untraceable. Originality/value -The scale of the survey, with over 75,000 respondents from most parts of the world, has likely not been seen before on this topic. The descriptive study of anonymity practices in the global file sharing community is therefore likely unique. IntroductionIdentification is key to the enforcement of law. Likewise, to be able to choose when to be identified is key to the protection of privacy and the individual's integrity, in order to escape regimes of surveillance. These are two sides of a battle that are increasingly fought by digital means, corresponding to the greater extent to which our lives are connected to and mediated through a digital terrain. When it comes to the global file-sharing community, there has been no clear picture of its relation to issues of anonymity and online traceability. To the extent that the global file-sharing community relates to BitTorrent peer-to-peer file sharers, and to the extent that this community uses various techniques for being less traceable online, this study adds descriptively to the understanding of these matters. This study was conducted through a survey carried out in collaboration wi...
This article studies contemporary Australian copyright and contrasts this to a large-scale online survey on file sharing in order to analyse the seemingly parallel and non-compliant legal and social norms that they represent. Furthermore, a selection of 3,575 Australian respondents to an online survey is compared to a near global group of over 96,000 respondents, allowing determining distinctive traits of the Australian respondents. For example, the latter use offline methods for sharing and receive rather than distribute content to a higher extent in comparison to the global group of respondents. Furthermore, Australian respondents also have slightly less predominance of male sharers.
Purpose: A lot of effort is put into diminishing the CTV‐PTV margin and providing Adaptive RT in order to spare normal structures adjacent to the PTV. The purpose of this work was to test the hypothesis that bootstrap method can be used to estimate cumulated dose distribution, representing the whole treatment and that the quality of this estimation is independent on the CTV‐PTV margin. Methods: For 25 prostate patients treated in our clinic daily set‐up errors were recorded. For each patient treatment plans for three techniques were prepared: 3D‐CRT, IMRT and VMAT. We prepared plans for different CTV‐PTV margins, for asymmetric margin (0.4, 0.7, and 0.7 cm for lateral, cranial‐caudal, and AP respectively) and than for several symmetric ones of 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0 cm. For each treatment plan and each fraction the dose distribution was calculated with the isocenter corrected for the set‐up error. Cumulated Dose Distribution (CDDall) was calculated as the sum of all dose distributions for each single fraction. Estimated Dose Distribution (EDDn) was calculated with bootstrap methodology. The EDDn and CDDall were compared using the 3D gamma concept (2mm and 2%) for each pair of dose distributions. The Result was treated as acceptable if at least 95% of voxels with gamma index ≤ 1 were obtained. Results: For 3D and IMRT EDDn calculated from at least 8 (3D) and 7 (IMRT) first fractions (EDDn>7 and EDDn>6), for all patients, but one, acceptable results were obtained. For VMAT our requirement was fulfilled for all patients and EDDn>2. Statistical tests show no significant difference between gamma results for different CTV‐PTV margins. Conclusion: The cumulated dose distribution CDDall can be estimated from at least 8 fractions regardless of the technique and CTV‐PTV margin. For VMAT technique the cumulated dose distribution may be estimated with 3 fractions.
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