What's happening in European supply-chains?

Many multinational companies are supposedly viewing Europe as one region and re-shaping their approach to the supply of products to customers. Several factors are thought to be driving this trend, notably the degree of merger and acquisitions activity; the need for improved financial performance; the pressure to reduce inventories and costs, facilitated by improvements in communication and information technology systems. All of this is in the context of European market and monetary harmonisation. This paper investigates the extent and effect of the amanegement of supply chains on a pan-European baisis by multinational business. A survey was used to examine changes, both made and anticipated. to operational strategies, processes, organisational structures and physical infrastructure across a range of businesses and industry sectors. Cost reducation, driven by the need for profit and shreholder return, was found to be the priority for developments in supply chains.Many businesses reported consolidation of manufacturing and distribution activities whilst retaining discrete country-by-country organisational structures for managing customers and markets.Logistics Service Providers were seen in a traditional role as suppliers of commodity warehousing and transport services and lacked true pan-European capability. Despite the often-vaunted concept of a pan-European business model, individual businesses wwere seen to be negotiating their own path to balancing economies of scale with customers' service needs and expectations.

A study of the Zhiqing identity

More than seventeen million Chinese urban youth (Zhiqing in Chinese) went to the countryside, lived and engaged in agricultural work there during the Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside (UMDC) Movement (1967-1981). Although this movement was officially terminated in 1981, it has left an imprint on these people – the Zhiqing identity by which they are still characterized as a unique group in Chinese society and a special generation in Chinese history. Historical and sociological perspectives are combined in this study. By applying Glen H. Elder’s life course approach, the study reveals how Zhiqing’s life trajectories are embedded in the social history and identifies a series of interrelated factors that made Zhiqing into a unique generation. With the guidance of Henri Tajfel’s social identity theory, the study uncovers the emergence of the Zhiqing group and the Zhiqing identity, explains individuals’ acquisitions of the Zhiqing identity and analyzes how it has kept influencing individuals’ lives during and after the UMDC Movement. Using Zhiqing’s life stories allowed the researcher to combine the historical and sociological aspects in her examination of Zhiqing’s identity issues. In each life story, the narrator reviewed his/her life experience, reflected on socio-historical changes and expressed his/her emotions and ideas about identity issues. Utilizing methods of in-depth interview and thematic analysis, the researcher completed the study and presents this thesis as one interpretation on the Zhiqing identity, which, as according the researcher’s hermeneutic stance, is open to further discussion and future research.

Empirical Evidence on Relationships between Ex Ante Innovation Pursuit and Post-M&A Performance in the Vietnamese M&A Industry, 2005-2012

This research aims to communicate new results of empirical investigations to learn about the relationship between determination of controlling an acquired firm’s capital, assets and brand versus its capability of innovation and ex post performance of the rising Vietnamese M&A industry in the 2005-2012 period. The analysis employs a categorical data sample, consisting of 212 M&A cases reported by various information sources, and performs a number of logistic regressions with significant results as follows. Firstly, the overall relationship between pre-M&A pursuit’s determination on acquiring resources and performance of the post-M&A performance is found significant. There exist profound effects of a ‘size matters’ strategy in M&A ex post performance. When there is an overwhelming ‘resources acquiring’ strategy, the innovation factor’s explanatory power becomes negligible. Secondly, for negative performance of post-M&A operations, the emphasis on both capital base and asset size, and the brand value at the time of the M&A pursuit is the major explanation in the post-M&A period. So does the absence of innovation as a goal in the pre-M&A period. These two insights together are useful in careful M&A planning. Lastly, expensive pre-M&A expenditures tend to adversely affect the post-M&A performance. As a general conclusion, this study shows that innovation can be an important factor to pursue in M&A transitions, together with the need to emphasize and find capable and willing human capital, rather than a capital base (equity or debt) and existing values of the acquired brands.

TWENTIETH CENTURY VARIATIONS ON BORROWED THEMES

Mergers and acquisitions are words that are usually associated with the modern business world. Such joint efforts toward improvement, however, existed long before our time, in the form of musical partnerships. It was not unusual for composers to share in each other's works, borrowing themes and recreating them to generate new meanings; in the process, new masterpieces were often created. My performance project, Twentieth Century Variations on Borrowed Themes, explores the fruits of such labor. The main objective of this project is to demonstrate how certain composers of the twentieth century have taken famous themes and used them to create variations, imbuing their own creative ideas, musical styles and pianistic challenges. This objective was accomplished by performing three recorded public recitals. These programs consisted of early to late twentieth century pieces that are based on borrowed themes, either in theme and variations form, fantasia form, paraphrase form, or transformal variation form. I have selected the pieces based on their artistic merits and technical challenges, thus allowing me to grow as a pianist and artist. In addition, I wanted to choose some pieces that are rarely performed, as I believe the public delights in hearing unfamiliar gems. The first recital consisted of the music of two legendary pianists: Variations on a Theme of Chopin by Rachmaninoff and Goldberg Variations by BachIBusoni. The second program featured Grand Fantasy on Gershwin's Porgy and Bess by Earl Wild, Sonatina No. 6 (Fantasy on Bizet 's "Carmen") by Busoni, and Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, op.43 by Rachmaninoff. Some unusual and seldom-performed pieces, as well as a familiar favorite, were spotlighted in the third recital. The pieces performed on this program were John Rea's Twenty-one Transformal Variations on the "Kindersznen " by Robert Schumann (Las Meninas), Muczynski's Desperate Measures (Paganini Variations), Busoni's Elegie No. 3 (Turandot 's room), and Rhapsodie Espagnole by LisztIBuson. These composers artfully breathed new life into the material borrowed from others, and in the process, the "borrowed" themes became undoubtedly and uniquely their own music.

Investigation and Development of a Fully 3D Tilt Capable Hybrid SPECT - CT System for Dedicated Breast Imaging

X-ray mammography has been the gold standard for breast imaging for decades, despite the significant limitations posed by the two dimensional (2D) image acquisitions. Difficulty in diagnosing lesions close to the chest wall and axilla, high amount of structural overlap and patient discomfort due to compression are only some of these limitations. To overcome these drawbacks, three dimensional (3D) breast imaging modalities have been developed including dual modality single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and computed tomography (CT) systems. This thesis focuses on the development and integration of the next generation of such a device for dedicated breast imaging. The goals of this dissertation work are to: [1] understand and characterize any effects of fully 3-D trajectories on reconstructed image scatter correction, absorbed dose and Hounsifeld Unit accuracy, and [2] design, develop and implement the fully flexible, third generation hybrid SPECT-CT system capable of traversing complex 3D orbits about a pendant breast volume, without interference from the other. Such a system would overcome artifacts resulting from incompletely sampled divergent cone beam imaging schemes and allow imaging closer to the chest wall, which other systems currently under research and development elsewhere cannot achieve.

The dependence of x-ray scatter radiation on object shape, size, material composition and the CT acquisition trajectory, was investigated with a well-established beam stop array (BSA) scatter correction method. While the 2D scatter to primary ratio (SPR) was the main metric used to characterize total system scatter, a new metric called ‘normalized scatter contribution’ was developed to compare the results of scatter correction on 3D reconstructed volumes. Scatter estimation studies were undertaken with a sinusoidal saddle (±15° polar tilt) orbit and a traditional circular (AZOR) orbit. Clinical studies to acquire data for scatter correction were used to evaluate the 2D SPR on a small set of patients scanned with the AZOR orbit. Clinical SPR results showed clear dependence of scatter on breast composition and glandular tissue distribution, otherwise consistent with the overall phantom-based size and density measurements. Additionally, SPR dependence was also observed on the acquisition trajectory where 2D scatter increased with an increase in the polar tilt angle of the system.

The dose delivered by any imaging system is of primary importance from the patient’s point of view, and therefore trajectory related differences in the dose distribution in a target volume were evaluated. Monte Carlo simulations as well as physical measurements using radiochromic film were undertaken using saddle and AZOR orbits. Results illustrated that both orbits deliver comparable dose to the target volume, and only slightly differ in distribution within the volume. Simulations and measurements showed similar results, and all measured dose values were within the standard screening mammography-specific, 6 mGy dose limit, which is used as a benchmark for dose comparisons.

Hounsfield Units (HU) are used clinically in differentiating tissue types in a reconstructed CT image, and therefore the HU accuracy of a system is very important, especially when using non-traditional trajectories. Uniform phantoms filled with various uniform density fluids were used to investigate differences in HU accuracy between saddle and AZOR orbits. Results illustrate the considerably better performance of the saddle orbit, especially close to the chest and nipple region of what would clinically be a pedant breast volume. The AZOR orbit causes shading artifacts near the nipple, due to insufficient sampling, rendering a major portion of the scanned phantom unusable, whereas the saddle orbit performs exceptionally well and provides a tighter distribution of HU values in reconstructed volumes.

Finally, the third generation, fully-suspended SPECT-CT system was designed in and developed in our lab. A novel mechanical method using a linear motor was developed for tilting the CT system. A new x-ray source and a custom made 40 x 30 cm2 detector were integrated on to this system. The SPECT system was nested, in the center of the gantry, orthogonal to the CT source-detector pair. The SPECT system tilts on a goniometer, and the newly developed CT tilting mechanism allows ±15° maximum polar tilting of the CT system. The entire gantry is mounted on a rotation stage, allowing complex arbitrary trajectories for each system, without interference from the other, while having a common field of view. This hybrid system shows potential to be used clinically as a diagnostic tool for dedicated breast imaging.

A LabVIEW Platform for Preclinical Imaging Using Digital Subtraction Angiography and Micro-CT.

CT and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) are ubiquitous in the clinic. Their preclinical equivalents are valuable imaging methods for studying disease models and treatment. We have developed a dual source/detector X-ray imaging system that we have used for both micro-CT and DSA studies in rodents. The control of such a complex imaging system requires substantial software development for which we use the graphical language LabVIEW (National Instruments, Austin, TX, USA). This paper focuses on a LabVIEW platform that we have developed to enable anatomical and functional imaging with micro-CT and DSA. Our LabVIEW applications integrate and control all the elements of our system including a dual source/detector X-ray system, a mechanical ventilator, a physiological monitor, and a power microinjector for the vascular delivery of X-ray contrast agents. Various applications allow cardiac- and respiratory-gated acquisitions for both DSA and micro-CT studies. Our results illustrate the application of DSA for cardiopulmonary studies and vascular imaging of the liver and coronary arteries. We also show how DSA can be used for functional imaging of the kidney. Finally, the power of 4D micro-CT imaging using both prospective and retrospective gating is shown for cardiac imaging.

Private equity and employment - the Davos/WEF/Harvard study

The World Economic Forum at Davos has published a major study showing that workplaces of firms taken over by private equity have 10% less employees 5 years after the takeover, than other similar workplaces. The rate of plant closures, opening, acquisitions and disposals is twice as high as in other firms, and the net effect is still a job loss of 3.6%-4.5% after only 2 years, compared with other firms. Firms taken over by private equity are also more likely to go bankrupt than publicly quoted firms.

Ocean Virtual Laboratory: A new way to explore multi-sensor synergy demonstrated over the Agulhas region

Ocean Virtual Laboratory is an ESA-funded project to prototype the concept of a single point of access for all satellite remote-sensing data with ancillary model output and in situ measurements for a given region. The idea is to provide easy access for the non-specialist to both data and state-of-the-art processing techniques and enable their easy analysis and display. The project, led by OceanDataLab, is being trialled in the region of the Agulhas Current, as it contains signals of strong contrast (due to very energetic upper ocean dynamics) and special SAR data acquisitions have been recorded there. The project also encourages the take up of Earth Observation data by developing training material to help those not in large scientific or governmental organizations make the best use of what data are available. The website for access is: http://ovl-project.oceandatalab.com/

'Leaving Nothing to Chance'?: Joint Tenancies, The 'Right' of Survivorship and Unilateral Severance

The joint tenancy with its inherent right of survivorship is the most prevalent form of co-ownership in the common law world today. Most couples will be joint tenants of a family home, while relations (such as siblings) who purchase property together may opt for this arrangement. Inter vivos acquisitions aside, the huge intergenerational transfer of wealth within families on death can result in a joint tenancy, and it may also be a convenient estate planning device. The fact that property automatically vests in the surviving joint tenants on death is the reason why many people choose this form of co-ownership. However, there is one serious disadvantage. A joint tenancy is an inflexible form of landholding where relationships sour or family circumstances change over time, and co-owners want their respective `shares' of the property to pass to someone else on death. Where consensual severance is not possible, one joint tenant can sever unilaterally. The latter mechanism is vital in terms of giving effect to the wishes of the severing joint tenant, especially in situations of discord or a breakdown in relations with their fellow co-owners. However, unilateral severance also has serious implications for the non-severing joint tenant(s) who expected to inherit property through survivorship, and can impact significantly on ownership of the home and other family property. This article looks at unilateral severance as a means of subverting the right of survivorship. The focus is on personal and inter-family relationships, and the various legal issues and policy considerations associated with unilateral severance across the common law jurisdictions of Britain, Ireland, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. It assesses the various methods of effecting unilateral severance and proposes specific measures, as well as considering novel arguments for preventing unilateral severance based on contractual agreements to the contrary and proprietary estoppel.

Evolution of Organisational Structure and Capabilities in Internationalising Banks: The CEE Operations of UniCredit's Vienna Office

Cross-border integration is the central management issue for banks that expand internationally, and this is especially true in Central and Eastern Europe, where the pace of internationalisation through mergers and acquisitions has been rapid. A critical challenge in cross-border integration is aligning a multinational company's formal organizational structure with the distribution of capabilities across its subsidiary units, and this issue is explored by tracking the co-evolution of organizational structure and capabilities during the internationalisation of a large banking network into this region. Our focus is the Vienna head office of Bank Austria Creditanstalt, which was acquired first by HypoVereinsbank (Germany) and then UniCredit (Italy). Despite its formal role being downgraded during these changes, the unit continued to develop its distinctive capabilities. The key insight our article offers is that managing cross-border integration is not simply about recognizing the value of the distinctive capabilities of individual units and designing formal structures that successfully align with them. It is also about understanding the need for dynamic interaction between formal corporate structure and individual units' desires to retain power and influence, which have significant implications for the development of their organizational capabilities.

Down with MNE-centric theories! Market entry and expansion as the bundling of MNE and local assets

Both Anderson and Gatignon and the Uppsala internationalization model see the initial mode of foreign market entry and subsequent modes of operation as unilaterally determined by multinational enterprises (MNEs) arbitraging control and risk and increasing their commitment as they gain experience in the target market. OLI and internalization models do recognize that foreign market entry requires the bundling of MNE and complementary local assets, which they call location or country-specific advantages, but implicitly assume that those assets are freely accessible to MNEs. In contrast to both of these MNE-centric views, I explicitly consider the transactional characteristics of complementary local assets and model foreign market entry as the optimal assignment of equity between their owners and MNEs. By looking at the relative efficiency of the different markets in which MNE and complementary local assets are traded, and at how these two categories of assets match, I am able to predict whether equity will be held by MNEs or by local firms, or shared between them, and whether MNEs will enter through greenfields, brownfields, or acquisitions. The bundling model I propose has interesting implications for the evolution of the MNE footprint in host countries, and for the reasons behind the emergence of Dragon MNEs.

China’s National Security Review: a tit-for-tat response?

China is gradually taking its place as a major regulator, exercising concurrent jurisdiction of the national security review along with the US and EU over high-profile cross-border mergers and acquisitions. The National Security Review (NSR) regulatory regime of foreign acquisitions has attracted significant attention recently with the establishment of China's counterpart to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Due to the intensified activities of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) that are closely linked with states, CFIUS's broad discretion to deal with China's SWF-based investment may have a far-reaching impact on China's implementation of the newly enacted NSR regime. It is essential to design a mechanism that allows SWFs to maximise their positive attributes while safeguarding the apolitical integrity of the marketplace. Any disproportionate use of the NSR regime would inevitably bring about more unintended consequences, such as tit-for-tat protectionism. This represents an imminent threat to the tenuous recovery from the recent economic crisis, largely because of the increasingly intertwined and interdependent nature of the global financial markets. It is of utmost significance to evaluate the extent to which the updated legislation strikes a reasonable balance between preserving genuine national security interests and maintaining an open environment for investment.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa genotypes acquired by children with cystic fibrosis by age 5-years

Background

We describe Pseudomonas aeruginosa acquisitions in children with cystic fibrosis (CF) aged ≤5-years, eradication treatment efficacy, and genotypic relationships between upper and lower airway isolates and strains from non-CF sources.

Methods

 Of 168 CF children aged ≤5-years in a bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL)-directed therapy trial, 155 had detailed microbiological results. Overall, 201/271 (74%) P. aeruginosa isolates from BAL and oropharyngeal cultures were available for genotyping, including those collected before and after eradication therapy.

Results

Eighty-two (53%) subjects acquired P. aeruginosa, of which most were unique strains. Initial eradication success rate was 90%, but 36 (44%) reacquired P. aeruginosa, with genotypic substitutions more common in BAL (12/14) than oropharyngeal (3/11) cultures. Moreover, oropharyngeal cultures did not predict BAL genotypes reliably.

Conclusions

 CF children acquire environmental P. aeruginosa strains frequently. However, discordance between BAL and oropharyngeal strains raises questions over upper airway reservoirs and how to best determine eradication in non-expectorating children.

O que o estado português quis conservar: a avaliação e aquisição de documentos de arquivo em Portugal nos séculos XIX e XX

Esta dissertação procura identificar os desígnios que orientaram as decisões do Estado português em relação à aquisição de documentos de arquivo, com o objectivo de verificar se esses desígnios se formalizaram numa política de avaliação e aquisição de documentos de arquivo coerente e sistemática. A análise incidiu no Arquivo Nacional e nos arquivos distritais durante o período cronológico que abrange o século XIX e a primeira metade do século XX. Partindo da discussão teórica presente nos discursos de arquivistas e investigadores, da evolução das práticas no Arquivo Nacional e das incorporações realizadas nos arquivos distritais, esta tese defende que existiu uma visão constitutiva dos arquivos enquanto repositórios documentais da memória da nação. No entanto, esta visão não se concretizou numa política arquivística articulada e estrutural; ABSTRACT:This dissertation aims to identify portuguese state’s goals that guided its intervention on acquisition of archival records. Our purpose is to verify if those goals meant a coherent and systematic appraisal and acquisition policy. Our analysis took as object Portugal’s national and regional archives from nineteenth to twentieth century’s first half. Beginning from theoretical discussion that can be seen on archivists and investigators speeches, National Archive’s practices and acquisitions occurred in regional archives, this thesis sustains that there was a vision on the archives as national memory documental repositories. However, this vision was not translated on an articulated and structured archival policy.