Legal issues in promoting FOSS in R+D projects - Policy, Organisation and Management

Creating and using FLOSS in R+D projects raises several legal issues, which need to be managed as soon as possible - preferably during the project planning stage. Challenges in the areas of project structure and policy, licenses and licensing, exploitation strategies, community management, and FLOSS-friendliness in general all have their legal aspects, which are commented here. Some recommendations are made for assisting in the use of FLOSS in R+D projects, especially in multiple party consortiums.

The environmental effectiviness of alternative agri-environmental policy reforms : theoretical and empirical analysis

Selostus: Maatalouden ympäristöpolitiikan reformien tehokkuus ravinnepäästöjen vähentämisessä - teoreettinen ja empiirinen analyysi

Argemone mexicana decoction versus artesunate-amodiaquine for the management of malaria in Mali: policy and public-health implications.

A classic way of delaying drug resistance is to use an alternative when possible. We tested the malaria treatment Argemone mexicana decoction (AM), a validated self-prepared traditional medicine made with one widely available plant and safe across wide dose variations. In an attempt to reflect the real situation in the home-based management of malaria in a remote Malian village, 301 patients with presumed uncomplicated malaria (median age 5 years) were randomly assigned to receive AM or artesunate-amodiaquine [artemisinin combination therapy (ACT)] as first-line treatment. Both treatments were well tolerated. Over 28 days, second-line treatment was not required for 89% (95% CI 84.1-93.2) of patients on AM, versus 95% (95% CI 88.8-98.3) on ACT. Deterioration to severe malaria was 1.9% in both groups in children aged </=5 years (there were no cases in patients aged >5 years) and 0% had coma/convulsions. AM, now government-approved in Mali, could be tested as a first-line complement to standard modern drugs in high-transmission areas, in order to reduce the drug pressure for development of resistance to ACT, in the management of malaria. In view of the low rate of severe malaria and good tolerability, AM may also constitute a first-aid treatment when access to other antimalarials is delayed.

Accounting system for activity standard costs formulation in ERP environment

Toiminnanohjausjärjestelmän implementointi ja sen mukanaan tuomat muutokset tuotekustannuslaskentaan asettavat haasteita yritykselle. Metallitoimialalla toimivassa yrityksessä on havaittu samat haasteet implementoitaessa SAP R/3 toiminnanohjausjärjestelmää ja sen tuotekustannuslaskentatoiminnallisuutta. SAP R/3 tuotekustannuslogiikka tarvitsee tietoa järjestelmän ulkopuolelta, minkä huomioimatta jättäminen vaikuttaa suoraan laskentatarkkuuteen. Diplomityössä kehitetään sekä standardoitu prosessi että laskentajärjestelmä, joiden avulla pystytään laskemaan tarvittavat niin toimintokustannukset eri teräspalvelukeskuksen kuormituspisteille kuin kustannustenvyörytysarvot. Lasketut arvot muodostavat tarvittavat tekijät SAP R/3 tuotekustannuslaskennan master dataan. Tavoitteena on edesauttaa läpinäkyvän kustannustiedon muodostumista. Diplomityö pohjautuu ns. vesiputousmalliin (SDLC). Ensin tunnistetaan reunaehdot ympäristöstä, jossa tuotekustannuslaskenta toteutetaan. Tämä asettaa joustamattomia komponentteja kehitettävälle laskentajärjestelmälle. Joustavat komponentit sen sijaan antavat vapautta laskentajärjestelmälle. Yhdistämällä joustamattomat ja joustavat komponentit saavutetaan järjestelmä, jolla voidaan täydentää SAP R/3 tuotekustannuslaskennan puutteellisuutta.

Regional Innovation Policy: Effect on SMEs in Five EU-Regions

Valtaosa eurooppalaisista yrityksistä on pk-yrityksiä, mutta tästä huolimatta seudullisen innovaatiopolitiikan vaikutusta juuri pk-yrityksiin on tutkittu melko vähän. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on luoda yleiskuva pk-yritysten näkemykseen oman seutunsa innovaatiopolitiikasta viidellä EU:n alueella sijaitsevalla seudulla. Kirjallisuuden perusteella rakennettiin seudullista innovaatiopolitiikkaa kuvaava kysely, johon joukko pk-yrityksiä viideltä seudulta vastasi. Kyselyn tulokset kuvailtiin graafisesti, minkä lisäksi etsittiin vastauksiin vaikuttaneita tekijöitä ja yhteyksiä yritysten vastausten välillä. Tutkimus oli luonteeltaan lähinnä kvantitatiivinen. Tutkimus osoittaa, että seudullisessainnovaatiopolitiikassa on vielä paljon kehitettävää, jotta se tavoittaisi kattavasti pk-yritykset. Pk-yritysten tietoisuutta tulisi lisätä, sillä nämä eivät yleisesti ottaen näytä pitävän seudullista innovaatiopolitiikkaa menetykseen vaikuttavana tekijänä tai siihen liittyviä yhteistyömahdollisuuksia tärkeinä omalle toiminnalleen. Erot innovaatiotoiminnan seudullisessa roolissa tulivat esiin tuloksissa. Yritysten vastauksia selittäviä tekijöitä löydettiin, samoin yhteyksiä vastausten välillä, mutta varsinaisten johtopäätösten tekeminen edellyttänee laajempaa tutkimusta

Regional Innovation Policy: Effect on SMEs in Five EU-Regions

Valtaosa eurooppalaisista yrityksistä on pk-yrityksiä, mutta tästä huolimatta seudullisen innovaatiopolitiikan vaikutusta juuri pk-yrityksiin on tutkittu melko vähän. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on luoda yleiskuva pk-yritysten näkemykseen oman seutunsa innovaatiopolitiikasta viidellä EU:n alueella sijaitsevalla seudulla. Kirjallisuuden perusteella rakennettiin seudullista innovaatiopolitiikkaa kuvaava kysely, johon joukko pk-yrityksiä viideltä seudulta vastasi. Kyselyn tulokset kuvailtiin graafisesti, minkä lisäksi etsittiin vastauksiin vaikuttaneita tekijöitä ja yhteyksiä yritysten vastausten välillä. Tutkimus oli luonteeltaan lähinnä kvantitatiivinen. Tutkimus osoittaa, että seudullisessa innovaatiopolitiikassa on vielä paljon kehitettävää, jotta se tavoittaisi kattavasti pk-yritykset. Pk-yritysten tietoisuutta tulisi lisätä, sillä nämä eivät yleisesti ottaen näytä pitävän seudullista innovaatiopolitiikkaa menetykseen vaikuttavana tekijänä tai siihen liittyviä yhteistyömahdollisuuksia tärkeinä omalle toiminnalleen. Erot innovaatiotoiminnan seudullisessa roolissa tulivat esiin tuloksissa. Yritysten vastauksia selittäviä tekijöitä löydettiin, samoin yhteyksiä vastausten välillä, mutta varsinaisten johtopäätösten tekeminen edellyttänee laajempaa tutkimusta.

Supply chain integration: studies on linking customer responsiveness and operational efficiency in logistics policy planning

Abstract The research problem in the thesis deals with improving the responsiveness and efficiency of logistics service processes between a supplier and its customers. The improvement can be sought by customizing the services and increasing the coordination of activities between the different parties in the supply chain. It is argued that to achieve coordination the parties have to have connections on several levels. In the framework employed in this research, three contexts are conceptualized at which the linkages can be planned: 1) the service policy context, 2) the process coordination context, and 3) the relationship management context. The service policy context consists of the planning methods by which a supplier analyzes its customers' logistics requirements and matches them with its own operational environment and efficiency requirements. The main conclusion related to the service policy context is that it is important to have a balanced selection of both customer-related and supplier-related factors in the analysis. This way, while the operational efficiency is planned a sufficient level of service for the most important customers is assured. This kind of policy planning involves taking multiple variables into the analysis, and there is a need to develop better tools for this purpose. Some new approaches to deal with this are presented in the thesis.The process coordination context and the relationship management context deal with the issues of how the implementation of the planned service policies can be facilitated in an inter-organizational environment. Process coordination includes typically such mechanisms as control rules, standard procedures and programs, but inhighly demanding circumstances more integrative coordination mechanisms may be necessary. In the thesis the coordination problems in third-party logistics relationship are used as an example of such an environment. Relationship management deals with issues of how separate companies organize their relationships to improve the coordination of their common processes. The main implication related to logistics planning is that by integrating further at the relationship level, companies can facilitate the use of the most efficient coordination mechanisms and thereby improve the implementation of the selected logistics service policies. In the thesis, a case of a logistics outsourcing relationship is used to demonstrate the need to address the relationship issues between the service provider andthe service buyer before the outsourcing can be done.The dissertation consists of eight research articles and a summarizing report. The principal emphasis in the articles is on the service policy planning context, which is the main theme of six articles. Coordination and relationship issues are specifically addressed in two of the papers.

Automated formulation of optimisation models for steel beam structures

Over 70% of the total costs of an end product are consequences of decisions that are made during the design process. A search for optimal cross-sections will often have only a marginal effect on the amount of material used if the geometry of a structure is fixed and if the cross-sectional characteristics of its elements are property designed by conventional methods. In recent years, optimalgeometry has become a central area of research in the automated design of structures. It is generally accepted that no single optimisation algorithm is suitable for all engineering design problems. An appropriate algorithm, therefore, mustbe selected individually for each optimisation situation. Modelling is the mosttime consuming phase in the optimisation of steel and metal structures. In thisresearch, the goal was to develop a method and computer program, which reduces the modelling and optimisation time for structural design. The program needed anoptimisation algorithm that is suitable for various engineering design problems. Because Finite Element modelling is commonly used in the design of steel and metal structures, the interaction between a finite element tool and optimisation tool needed a practical solution. The developed method and computer programs were tested with standard optimisation tests and practical design optimisation cases. Three generations of computer programs are developed. The programs combine anoptimisation problem modelling tool and FE-modelling program using three alternate methdos. The modelling and optimisation was demonstrated in the design of a new boom construction and steel structures of flat and ridge roofs. This thesis demonstrates that the most time consuming modelling time is significantly reduced. Modelling errors are reduced and the results are more reliable. A new selection rule for the evolution algorithm, which eliminates the need for constraint weight factors is tested with optimisation cases of the steel structures that include hundreds of constraints. It is seen that the tested algorithm can be used nearly as a black box without parameter settings and penalty factors of the constraints.

Dynamic analysis of belt-drives using the absolute nodal coordinate formulation

Belt-drive systems have been and still are the most commonly used power transmission form in various applications of different scale and use. The peculiar features of the dynamics of the belt-drives include highly nonlinear deformation,large rigid body motion, a dynamical contact through a dry friction interface between the belt and pulleys with sticking and slipping zones, cyclic tension of the belt during the operation and creeping of the belt against the pulleys. The life of the belt-drive is critically related on these features, and therefore, amodel which can be used to study the correlations between the initial values and the responses of the belt-drives is a valuable source of information for the development process of the belt-drives. Traditionally, the finite element models of the belt-drives consist of a large number of elements thatmay lead to computational inefficiency. In this research, the beneficial features of the absolute nodal coordinate formulation are utilized in the modeling of the belt-drives in order to fulfill the following requirements for the successful and efficient analysis of the belt-drive systems: the exact modeling of the rigid body inertia during an arbitrary rigid body motion, the consideration of theeffect of the shear deformation, the exact description of the highly nonlinear deformations and a simple and realistic description of the contact. The use of distributed contact forces and high order beam and plate elements based on the absolute nodal coordinate formulation are applied to the modeling of the belt-drives in two- and three-dimensional cases. According to the numerical results, a realistic behavior of the belt-drives can be obtained with a significantly smaller number of elements and degrees of freedom in comparison to the previously published finite element models of belt-drives. The results of theexamples demonstrate the functionality and suitability of the absolute nodal coordinate formulation for the computationally efficient and realistic modeling ofbelt-drives. This study also introduces an approach to avoid the problems related to the use of the continuum mechanics approach in the definition of elastic forces on the absolute nodal coordinate formulation. This approach is applied to a new computationally efficient two-dimensional shear deformable beam element based on the absolute nodal coordinate formulation. The proposed beam element uses a linear displacement field neglecting higher-order terms and a reduced number of nodal coordinates, which leads to fewer degrees of freedom in a finite element.

Solution scanning as a key policy tool: identifying management interventions to help maintain and enhance regulating ecosystem services

The major task of policy makers and practitioners when confronted with a resource management problem is to decide on the potential solution(s) to adopt from a range of available options. However, this process is unlikely to be successful and cost effective without access to an independently verified and comprehensive available list of options. There is currently burgeoning interest in ecosystem services and quantitative assessments of their importance and value. Recognition of the value of ecosystem services to human well-being represents an increasingly important argument for protecting and restoring the natural environment, alongside the moral and ethical justifications for conservation. As well as understanding the benefits of ecosystem services, it is also important to synthesize the practical interventions that are capable of maintaining and/or enhancing these services. Apart from pest regulation, pollination, and global climate regulation, this type of exercise has attracted relatively little attention. Through a systematic consultation exercise, we identify a candidate list of 296 possible interventions across the main regulating services of air quality regulation, climate regulation, water flow regulation, erosion regulation, water purification and waste treatment, disease regulation, pest regulation, pollination and natural hazard regulation. The range of interventions differs greatly between habitats and services depending upon the ease of manipulation and the level of research intensity. Some interventions have the potential to deliver benefits across a range of regulating services, especially those that reduce soil loss and maintain forest cover. Synthesis and applications: Solution scanning is important for questioning existing knowledge and identifying the range of options available to researchers and practitioners, as well as serving as the necessary basis for assessing cost effectiveness and guiding implementation strategies. We recommend that it become a routine part of decision making in all environmental policy areas.

The potential impact of new effervescent alendronate formulation on compliance and persistence in osteoporosis treatment.

Osteoporotic fractures are a public health problem and their incidence and subsequent economic and social costs are expected to rise in the next future. Different drugs have been developed to reduce osteoporosis and the risk of osteoporotic fractures, and among them, antiresorptive agents, and in particular oral alendronate, are the most widely utilized. However, one of the most common problems with antiresorptive drugs is poor adherence to treatment, which is associated with a high fracture incidence and with an increase in hospitalization costs. One of the main reasons of poor adherence to these treatments is the occurrence of adverse events, mainly at gastrointestinal (GI) level, including dyspepsia, dysphagia, and esophageal ulcers. In light of these considerations the aim of this paper is to perform a literature review to show the pathophysiologic bases of GI alendronate-induced adverse events and how new bisphosphonate formulations like effervescent alendronate can improve compliance and persistence to treatment and decrease the fracture rate incidence in osteoporotic patients.