Harmonization of Environmental Costs and Investments Reporting

The objective of this Master’s Thesis is to examine the current state of environmental costs and investments reporting at Stora Enso in the Business Area of Printing and Reading. Differences and the factors causing the differences in environmental costs and investments reporting are examined in order to further harmonize the reporting between the mills. Research method is a case study, which comprises 11 paper mills. Environmental costs are studied from year 2012 and environmental investments from year 2011 or from 2012 depending on the mill. The results show that there are two types of differences such as actual and harmonisable affecting to environmental costs reporting. Actual differences result from factors such as location and technical features of the mill. Harmonisable differences represent differences, which distort the actual differences. Factors that cause harmonisable differences are identification and traceability of environmental costs as well as interpretation of the instructions. Estimation of the environmental share of indirect environmental investments causes differences between the mills in environmental investments reporting, as it has to be done case-by-case judgments. A further research could consider a detailed examination of the data registering process in order to further improve traceability of environmental costs. Furthermore, identification and reporting of potential savings could be studied from environmental point of view as resource efficiency is an increasing interest.

Harmonization of immune biomarker assays for clinical studies.

Assays that measure a patient's immune response play an increasingly important role in the development of immunotherapies. The inherent complexity of these assays and independent protocol development between laboratories result in high data variability and poor reproducibility. Quality control through harmonization--based on integration of laboratory-specific protocols with standard operating procedures and assay performance benchmarks--is one way to overcome these limitations. Harmonization guidelines can be widely implemented to address assay performance variables. This process enables objective interpretation and comparison of data across clinical trial sites and also facilitates the identification of relevant immune biomarkers, guiding the development of new therapies.

The Analysis of Accounting Multipliers: The NAMEA Approach in the Case of Catalonia

The aim of this paper is the analysis of the Catalan economy (2001) with the use of a National Accounting Matrix with environmental accounts (NAMEA) for the Catalan economy with 2001 data. We will focus on the analysis of the emission multipliers and we will also analyse the impact of a 10% reduction in greenhouse emissions on emission multipliers. This emission-reduction percentage would bring the Catalan economy into compliance with the maximum emissions level allowed by the Kyoto Protocol. We consider three possible scenarios that would allow this goal to be met. First, we will simulate a 10% reduction in regional emissions and a 5% drop in the endogenous income of the multipliers' model (production, factorial and private income). Second, we will simulate a 10% reduction in emissions and a 10% increase in endogenous income. Finally, we will simulate a 10% reduction in emissions and a 5% increase in endogenous income. Additionally, we will analyse the decomposition of the emission multipliers into own effects, open effects and circular effects to capture the different channels of the emission generation process. Keywords: NAMEA, emission multipliers, Kyoto Protocol.

Harmonization of research and control in schistosomiasis

I have been employed by several different organizations during over 30 years working on schistosomiasis, the majority spent in endemic areas of Caribean, South America, Africa and the Western Pacific. Much of the work is best classified as applied research but sometimes it strayed to the extremes of either public health control programmes or pure research. Over this period, there have been several significant research developments that have altered our whole approach to control. Ideally, research and control should complement each other but, in reality, they sometimes have conflicting objectives. Public health workers understandably wish to provide immediate, shot-term protection to the communities in their care, but research workers may, within ethical limits, reasonably want to observe untreated communities for extended periods in order to understand the underluing process of transmission, disease pathogenesis and immunity to help develop more effective control measures. An example of this situation has occured recently in Senegal where water development projects seem to have favoured the introduction and spreed of Schistosoma mansoni in the Senegal River Basin. I have been asked to be the scientific consultant to the newly formed ESPOIR programme, linking European research organizations and the Senegal Ministry of Health, to reconcile the conflictiong aims of public health workers, wishing to use whatever funds can be obtained for an immediate chemotherapy to try to eliminate the focus, at present confined to the vicinity of a relatively small, commercially run sugar irrigation scheme; and research workers who see a rare chance to study the development of immune mechanisms in a adults in a community not previously exposed to the infection. This information could prove invaluable in understanding the development of immunity and the pathogenesis of disease, leading eventually to the development of vaccines to revolutionise the future approach to schistosomiasis...

Harmonization of immune biomarker assays for clinical studies.

Assays that measure a patient's immune response play an increasingly important role in the development of immunotherapies. The inherent complexity of these assays and independent protocol development between laboratories result in high data variability and poor reproducibility. Quality control through harmonization--based on integration of laboratory-specific protocols with standard operating procedures and assay performance benchmarks--is one way to overcome these limitations. Harmonization guidelines can be widely implemented to address assay performance variables. This process enables objective interpretation and comparison of data across clinical trial sites and also facilitates the identification of relevant immune biomarkers, guiding the development of new therapies.

Teaching, research and service: Experience and opinions of accounting Spanish academics

Research, teaching and service are the main activities carried out in almost all European universities. Previous research, which has been mainlycentred in North-American universities, has found solid results indicatingthat research and teaching are not equally valued when deciding on facultypromotion. This conclusion creates a potential conflict for accountingacademics on how to distribute working time in order to accomplish personalcareer objectives. This paper presents the results of a survey realisedin two European countries: Spain and the United Kingdom, which intendedto explore the opinions and personal experience of accounting academicsworking in these countries. Specifically, we focus on the following issues:(i) The impact of teaching and service on time available for research;(ii) The integration of teaching and research; (iii) The perceived valueof teaching and research for career success and (iv) The interaction betweenprofessional accounting and accounting research. The results show thatboth in Spain and in the United Kingdom there is a conflict between teachingand research, which has its origin in the importance attached to researchactivities on promotion decisions. It also seems evident that so far, theconflict is being solved in favour of research in prejudice of teaching.

Integration and Implementation of Accounting Information Systems in Global Companies Case: The UPM-Kymmene Group

Tämän tutkielman tavoitteena on perehtyä globaalin yrityksen laskentatoimen tietojärjestelmien yhtenäistämiseen ja käyttöönottoon esimerkkinä UPM-Kymmene konsernin projekti. Tutkielmassa sovelletaan hermeneuttista tutkimusotetta. Teoreettisesti aihetta tarkastellaan globalisoitumisen ja laskentatoimen tietojärjestelmille asetettavien vaatimusten pohjalta, sekä järjestelmän muutosprosessin eri vaiheissa huomioon otettavien muuttujien perusteella. Yhtenäisen laskentatoimen tietojärjestelmän tuomat edut globaalille yritykselle ovat ilmeisiä. Ennen yhtenäisen projektin kehittelyä on olennaista tutkia lähtökohdat projektin onnistumiselle ja suunnitella projektin eri vaiheet huolella. Tutkielmassa havaitaan myös, että globaalissa yrityksessä tulee huomioida eri yrityskulttuurit sekä tulosyksiköiden erilaiset toimintatavat. Johtopäätöksenä todetaan, että sekä yritysjohdon että tulosyksiköiden sitoutuneisuus projektiin ja yhtenäiset tavoitteet ovat oleellisia projektin onnistumisen kannalta.

Decades of population genetic research reveal the need for harmonization of molecular markers: the grey wolf Canis lupus as a case study

Following protection measures implemented since the 1970s, large carnivores are currently increasing in number and returning to areas from which they were absent for decades or even centuries. Monitoring programmes for these species rely extensively on non-invasive sampling and genotyping. However, attempts to connect results of such studies at larger spatial or temporal scales often suffer from the incompatibility of genetic markers implemented by researchers in different laboratories. This is particularly critical for long-distance dispersers, revealing the need for harmonized monitoring schemes that would enable the understanding of gene flow and dispersal dynamics. Based on a review of genetic studies on grey wolves Canis lupus from Europe, we provide an overview of the genetic markers currently in use, and identify opportunities and hurdles for studies based on continent-scale datasets. Our results highlight an urgent need for harmonization of methods to enable transnational research based on data that have already been collected, and to allow these data to be linked to material collected in the future. We suggest timely standardization of newly developed genotyping approaches, and propose that action is directed towards the establishment of shared single nucleotide polymorphism panels, next-generation sequencing of microsatellites, a common reference sample collection and an online database for data exchange. Enhanced cooperation among genetic researchers dealing with large carnivores in consortia would facilitate streamlining of methods, their faster and wider adoption, and production of results at the large spatial scales that ultimately matter for the conservation of these charismatic species.

Harmonization of training and assessment of medical specialists in physical and rehabilitation medicine across Europe - The contribution of the UEMS Board of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine

Background.- The main goals of the European Board of Physical and Rehabili-tation Medicine (EBPRM), founded in 1991 as the third speciality board of theUnion of European Medical Specialists (UEMS), are to harmonize pre-graduate,post-graduate and continuous medical education in physical and rehabilitationmedicine (PRM) all over Europe. The harmonization of curricula of the medi-cal specialities and the assessment of medical specialists has become one of thepriorities of the UEMS and its working groups to which the EBPRM contributes.Action.- The EBPRM will continue to promote a specific minimal undergraduatecurriculum on PRM including issues like disability, participation and handicapto be taught all over Europe as a basis for general medical practice. The EBPRMwill also expand the existing EBPRM postgraduate curriculum into a detailedcatalogue of learning objectives. This catalogue will serve as a tool to boostharmonization of the national curricula across Europe as well as to structurethe content of the MCQ examination. It would be a big step forward towardsharmonization of European PRM specialist training if an important number ofcountries would use the certifying MCQ examination of the Board as a part ofthe national assessments for PRM specialists.

Diesel/biodiesel soot oxidation with ceo2 and ceo2-zro2-modified cordierites: a facile way of accounting for their catalytic ability in fuel combustion processes

CeO2 and mixed CeO2-ZrO2 nanopowders were synthesized and efficiently deposited onto cordierite substrates, with the evaluation of their morphologic and structural properties through XRD, SEM, and FTIR. The modified substrates were employed as outer heterogeneous catalysts for reducing the soot originated from the diesel and diesel/biodiesel blends incomplete combustion. Their activity was evaluated in a diesel stationary motor, and a comparative analysis of the soot emission was carried out through diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The analyses have shown that the catalyst-impregnated cordierite samples are very efficient for soot oxidation, being capable of reducing the soot emission in more than 60%.

Harmonization of policies and training systems in Europe for urban development – The Experience of LUDA Project

The work developed in LUDA’s project has clearly showed that, in a European economic and cultural diversified frame, crossed by recent and not so recent historical challenging processes, the issues of the urban affairs certainly have different layouts, but, as a matter of fact, we can assume that in their essence they are common to all regions. Identifying a set of common problems is not difficult: the Luda’s; the disadjustment between people and goods mobility, the difficult articulation between space and development sustainability the fragile features of the urban space in its complexity, the responsible social management of current migrations etc.