Person to Person in Germany

While still in the midst of their study abroad experiences, students at Linfield College write reflective essays. Their essays address issues of cultural similarity and difference, compare lifestyles, mores, norms, and habits between their host countries and home, and examine changes in perceptions about their host countries and the United States. In this essay, Andrea Pakula describes her observations during her study abroad program at Nürtingen-Geislingen University in Nürtingen, Germany

Organisational Structures in Network Industries – An Application to the Railway Industry

This paper analyses the incentives to upgrade input quality in vertically related (network) industries. Upstream investments have a biased effect on the downstream companies and lead to vertical product differentiation. Different vertical structures such as vertical integration, ownership and legal unbundling lead to different investments. We find that, without regulation, vertical integration and legal unbundling regimes provide highest investment incentives and lead to highest welfare. However, we also find foreclosure in the downstream market if the potential degree of horizontal product differentiation of the entrant is low. Under ownership unbundling, investment incentives are lower but there is never foreclosure of the entrant since this would worsen double marginalisation. When the network operator is subject to a break-even regulation, the investment incentives are crowded out under legal and ownership unbundling whereas they remain nearly unchanged under vertical integration. Welfare and co umer surplus decrease under legal unbundling, but increase under the two other regimes.Vertical Integration, Investment, Foreclosure, Regulation

Person to Person in Austria

While still in the midst of their study abroad experiences, students at Linfield College write reflective essays. Their essays address issues of cultural similarity and difference, compare lifestyles, mores, norms, and habits between their host countries and home, and examine changes in perceptions about their host countries and the United States. In this essay, Andrea Pakula describes her observations during her study abroad program at the University of Vienna in Austria

Biased Quality Investments and Organisational Structures in Network Industries – An Application to the Railway Industry

This paper analyses the incentives to upgrade input quality in vertically related (network) industries. Upstream investments have a biased effect on the downstream companies and lead to vertical product differentiation. Different vertical structures such as vertical integration, ownership and legal unbundling lead to different investments. We find that, without regulation, vertical integration and legal unbundling regimes provide highest investment incentives and lead to highest welfare. However, we also find foreclosure in the downstream market if the potential degree of horizontal product differentiation of the entrant is low. Under ownership unbundling, investment incentives are lower but there is never foreclosure of the entrant since this would worsen double marginalisation. When the network operator is subject to a break-even regulation, the investment incentives are crowded out under legal and ownership unbundling whereas they remain nearly unchanged under vertical integration. Welfare and consumer surplus decrease under legal unbundling, but increase under the two other regimes

Universality of Measurements on Quantum Markets

We reason about possible future development of quantum game theory and its impact on information processing and the emerging information society. Two of the authors have recently proposed a quantum description of financial market in terms of quantum game theory. These "new games" cannot by themselves create extraordinary profits or multiplication of goods, but they may cause the dynamism of transaction which would result in more effective markets and capital flow into hands of the most efficient traders. We focus upon the problem of universality of measurement in quantum market games. Quantum-like approach to market description proves to be an important theoretical tool for investigation of computability problems in economics or game theory even if never implemented in real markets.

HUOLLON KEHITTÄMISSUUNNITELMA

Euralaisella LVI-Helin Oy:llä on pitkät perinteet satakuntalaisessa ja suomalaisessa LVI-alan rakentamisessa. Yritys on perustettu 1959 ja nykyään se kuuluu osana hol-lantilaista Imtech - konsernia osaksi Euroopan suurinta teknisten alojen toteuttajaa. LVI-Helin Oy:n pääasiallinen toiminta on LVI-urakoinnissa ja tarve kehittää myös huoltourakointi emoyhtiön vaatimalle tasolle on kova. Opinnäytetyössä kehitettiin LVI-Helin Oy:n huoltoprosessia. Ongelmana yrityksellä oli, ettei sillä ollut toimivaa käytäntöä yhdelle sen tärkeistä ydinprosesseista, vaan lähes kaikki toiminta keskittyi yrityksen pääprosessin LVI-urakoinnin ympärille. Opinnäytetyön tärkeimpänä tehtävänä oli kehittää ja selkeyttää huollon prosessia sekä asentajille, että työnjohdolle. Tärkeimmät kehityksen kohteet olivat selkeät huolto-ohjeet, sekä huoltourakointiprosessi. Huoltourakointiprosessissa tarkemmin keskityttiin huollon tarjouslaskentaan, laadit-tiin yritykselle huoltokalenteri, paneuduttiin yrityksen käyttöönottamaan mobiiliso-vellukseen Reslink Oy:n kehittämään ajanhallintaohjelmistoon ja laadittiin ehdotelma ympärivuorokautiselle huoltopäivystykselle. Työssä laadittiin myös huollon tarjouslaskentaan tarkoitettu urakkatarjouslaskuri sekä huolto-ohjeet julkisten kiinteistöjen sekä omakotitalojen huoltoa varten.SERVICE DEVELOPMENT PLAN A company from Satakunta, Eura LVI-Helin Oy has long traditions in Finnish HVAC-industry. It was founded in 1959 and nowadays it is part of the largest technical solutions providing companies in Europe, a Dutch company Imtech. LVI-Helin’s main focus has been on HVAC contracting and the need to upgrade also the service and maintenance process to the same level at the main company has been great. In this thesis companies’ service and maintenance process was developed. The main problem was that it had no good practice on one of its important main processes, but almost all of the effort was focused on the primary process HVAC-contracting. The main criteria in this thesis were to upgrade and make the maintenance process more clearly to the installers and the leaders of the service. Most important things that were under development were clear maintenance guide and service contracting process. On the service contracting process a maintenance offer calculation was developed, a maintenance calendar for companies use was made, a mobile based time controlling software was checked and a proposal for twenty four seven maintenance duty was made. The controlling system was taken in use at LVI-Helin in early this year and was founded by a Finnish company Reslink Ltd. Also a maintenance construction calculator and specific guides on public and house maintenance for the staff were included in the thesis

A case of a traumatic chyle leak following an acute thoracic spine injury: successful resolution with strict dietary manipulation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chylothorax is a rare form of pleural effusion that can be associated with both traumatic and non-traumatic causes. Thoracic duct ligation is often the treatment of choice in postsurgical patients; however the optimal treatment of this disease process after traumatic injury remains unclear <abbrgrp><abbr bid="B1">1</abbr></abbrgrp>. We present a rare case of a thoracic duct injury secondary to a blunt thoracic spine fracture and subluxation which was successfully treated non-operatively.</p> <p>Case Presentation</p> <p>A 51 year old male presented as a tier one trauma code due to an automobile versus bicycle collision. His examination and radiographic work-up revealed fractures and a subluxation at the third and fourth thoracic spine levels resulting in paraplegia. He also sustained bilateral hemothoraces secondary to multiple rib fractures. Drainage of the left hemothorax led to the diagnosis of a traumatic chylothorax. The thoracic spine fractures were addressed with surgical stabilization and the chylothorax was successfully treated with drainage and dietary manipulation.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This unusual and complex blunt thoracic duct injury required a multidisciplinary approach. Although the spine injury required surgical fixation, successful resolution of the chyle leak was achieved without surgical intervention.</p