This thesis intends to analyze and clarify the legal position regarding abuse of a dominant position and particularly tying practices. The practice is central within European competition law and has been highly discussed in literature recently. In Article 102 TFEU it is explicitly stated that supplementary obligations which have no connection with the subject of such contracts, shall be considered as a way of abusing a position of strength. Although the method is often reasonable and very common within many business areas, it might be pursued as a tactic of excluding competition. The General Court’s decision in Microsoft led to some confusion as regards to the European approach towards tying practices. Prior to that judgment, the EU Courts appeared quite negative to the practice and seemed determined that the practice was in fact anticompetitive. For an example, in Hilti the Court found it sufficient that the company had deprived its costumers of a choice. The effects on competition were not analyzed in great detail and in most cases the EU Courts fined the undertaking involved in such business methods. However, in Microsoft the General Court took a new approach and focused on the actual effects that followed from the practice. Many argues that European competition law has moved from a per se approach to a rule of reason approach. In my opinion however, it seems relatively unclear whether or not this new approach shall apply to all versions of tying or if it was applied due to the certain circumstances involved in Microsoft. The tying practice involved a form of technical tying, i.e. an integration of two distinctive products. Cases prior to Microsoft mostly concerned a form of contractual tying and were treated very differently by the EU Courts. My opinion on the matter is therefore that it is not possible to declare a clear legal position regarding the practice of tying. There is a need for new judgments and official guidelines since the current situation deprives companies of legal security as concerns the practice of tying within European competition law.

Organische-Anionen-Transporter (OATs) sind maßgeblich an der Ausscheidung von körpereigenen und körperfremden Substanzen über die Niere beteiligt. In Ratten, einem häufig verwendeten Tiermodell in präklinischen Studien, ist bekannt, dass die basolateral lokalisierten Organischen-Anionen-Transporter 1 (Oat1) und 3 (Oat3) in männlichen Tieren stärker und darüber hinaus Testosteron abhängig exprimiert werden. Beide Transporter sind an der Ausscheidung von organischen Anionen, einschließlich negativ geladener Medikamente wie zum Beispiel Adefovir, Furosemid oder Penicillin, beteiligt. In den menschlichen Nieren zählen der OAT1 und der OAT3 zu den klinisch relevanten Transportern, deren Funktionen im Laufe neuer Medikamentenentwicklung berücksichtigt werden sollten. Für das Antibiotikum Penicillin wurde bei Frauen ein vermehrtes Auftreten von Nebenwirkungen im Vergleich zu Männern gezeigt. Dieses erhöhte Risiko könnte möglicher Weise auf einer geschlechtsabhängigen Expression des OAT1 und OAT3 zurückzuführen sein. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es, den molekularen Mechanismus, der für die höhere Oat1 und Oat3 Expression in den männlichen Rattennieren verantwortlich ist, zu identifizieren. Mit Hilfe von Luciferase assays wurde die Aktivierung von Ratten und menschlichen Oat1/OAT1 und Oat3/OAT3 Promotoren untersucht. Hierzu wurden zunächst Oat1/OAT1 und Oat3/OAT3 Promotorkonstrukte generiert, welche unterschiedlich lange Promotorregionen enthielten, und diese anschließend transient in OK oder LLC-PK1 Zellen transfiziert. Mittels Co-Transfektion potentieller transkriptioneller Regulatoren konnte deren Einfluss auf die Promotoraktivität von Oat1/OAT1 und Oat3/OAT3 untersucht werden. Zur Identifikation geschlechtsabhängig exprimierter Gene in der proximalen Tubuluszelle der Rattennieren wurden von vier männlichen und vier weiblichen Tieren je eine Niere präpariert und deren RNA mit Hilfe eines microarrays und real-time PCR analysiert. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit konnte gezeigt werden, dass die bereits bekannte männlich dominierende Expression von Oat1 und Oat3 in Rattennieren nicht durch den klassischen Testosteron/Androgenrezeptor vermittelten, transkriptionellen Mechanismus reguliert wird. Vergleichbar zu den Ratten Oat1 und Oat3, zeigten auch die menschlichen OAT1 und OAT3 Promotoren keine Aktivierung durch den Testosteron/Androgenrezeptor-Komplex. Während der Suche nach geschlechtsabhängig exprimierter transkriptioneller Regulatoren in der Rattenniere, konnte die Expression des Transkriptionsfaktors B-cell CLL/ lymphoma 6 (BCL6) erstmalig als männlich dominierend identifiziert werden. Die bereits bekannten Aktivatoren der Oats/OATs Expression, hepatocyte nuclear factor 1α (HNF1α), HNF1β und HNF4α zeigten keine geschlechtsabhängige Expression. Zudem konnte gezeigt werden, dass BCL6 die Promotoren der Ratten und menschlichen Oat1/OAT1 und Oat3/OAT3 aktiviert. Die BCL6-vermittelte Aktivierung von Oat1/OAT1 und Oat3/OAT3 erfolgt nicht über die bislang vorhergesagten BCL6-Bindungsstellen, aber möglicher Weise über Protein-Protein Interaktionen mit den Transkriptionsfaktoren HNF1 oder cAMP response element binding protein (CREB). Zusammenfassend konnte gezeigt werden, dass der Transkriptionsfaktor BCL6 einen vielversprechenden Regulator der geschlechtsabhängigen Expression von Oat1 und Oat3 in Ratten darstellt. Es ist anzunehmen, dass BCL6 ebenso die humane OAT1 und OAT3 Expression reguliert.

This thesis deals with abusive tying practices and its concept under European Union law and United States of America law. Author tries to define concept of abusive tying practices and find necessary elements for legal assessment of tying. Moreover, author carries on the comparative analysis of the Microsoft tying cases in European Union and in United States of America, in order to find whether same elements of tying practices conditions the same outcome in the case law. / Šis darbas nagrinėja piktnaudžiaujančio susiejimo praktiką ir jos sąvoką pagal Europos Sąjungos ir Jungtinių Amerikos Valstijų teisės aktus. Autorė bando nustatyti piktnaudžiaujančio susiejimo veiklos koncepciją ir rasti susiejimo teisiniam įvertinimui reikalingus elementus. Be to, autorė atlieka lyginamąją analizę Microsoft susiejimo bylos Europos Sąjungos ir Jungtinių Amerikos Valstijų teismuose, su tikslu nustatyti ar tie patys elementai abiejose jurisdikcijose lemia tapačią teismų praktiką.

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Service organizations need to respond rapidly to both changes in the market and customer expectations. One way of accomplishing this is through service innovation enacted to achieve competitive advantage. This study applies a service-dominant logic (SDL) lens to describe how a service organization may achieve service innovation through value co-creation that is facilitated by agile distributed methods. Literature on value co-creation is somewhat limited; although a few studies have provided guidance on what is needed to achieve value co-creation, no study has yet presented how this might be achieved. Therefore, using a single-site case study in the context of a large service organization, this study examines how value is co-created and the role that agile distributed methods play in this process. This research seeks to contribute to practice by providing service organizations with recommendations for achieving value co-creation. It contributes to theory by advancing our understanding of value co-creation processes; moreover, by using the context of an SDL, it presents a framework that maps elements of service innovation to agile distributed practices.

This work deals with legal aspects of collective dominant position under Article 82 of the Treaty establishing European Community (hereinafter- EC). The purpose is to reveal a legal definition and main features of collective dominant position. The author examines features and criteria which are established in the jurisprudence of EC institutions. The author examines features and criteria which are established in the jurisprudence of EC institutions. The author also indicates that the criteria for establishing collective dominance are not fully scrutinized under EC competition law. Moreover, the practice of EC institutions is analyzed not only under Article 82, which prohibits abuse of a dominant position, but also under Merger regulation to that extent which is necessary to reveal the main topic. Further the work presents problems which are found under these two institutions of EC competition law.

Ett föränderligt medielandskap fordrar en anpassning från företagens sida och därmed ett nyanserat sätt att skapa marknadsföring. I en värld där konsumenter tenderar att vara alltmer aktiva i köpprocessen uppkommer nya typer av marknadsaktörer. Studien undersöker hur detta nät av aktörer samarbetar för att skapa en marknadsföringskampanj anpassad efter det rådande medieklimatet. Centrala begrepp för undersökningen är nätverk, resurser och samskapande av värde som tillsammans utgör utgångspunkten för studiens analysmodell. Med utgångspunkt från Volvos framgångsrika marknadsföringskampanj Made by Sweden har fyra intervjuer med representanter från aktörer som varit med i arbetet bakom genomförts. Studien visar att ett integrerat och organiskt samarbete där tillämpningen och integreringen av gemensamma resurser som kunskap och kompetens uppfattas som en av kampanjarbetets mest fundamentala grundstenar. Avslutningsvis kan även interaktionen med konsumenter i sociala medier ses som en viktig kunskapskälla i kampanjarbetet och en vägvisare för hur och i vilka kanaler kampanjen skulle kommuniceras. Kampanjens framgång stavas, med andra ord, inte bara Zlatan Ibrahimovic utan kräver att företag förvaltar de förutsättningar som finns för att skapa någonting större.

Atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter are the most common sustained arrhythmias, however their underlying mechanisms are yet to be fully characterised. This thesis evaluates the electrophysiological and electroanatomical substrate of the atria in patients with these arrhythmias. Experimental studies of atrial fibrillation have demonstrated effective refractory period shortening and conduction slowing as a result of atrial fibrillation giving rise to the concept that "atrial fibrillation begets atrial fibrillation". However, cardioversion to prevent electrical remodelling does not prevent progression of disease, suggesting a "second factor" drives this process. Chapters 2 and 3 evaluate the atrial substrate in patients with "lone" atrial fibrillation. These studies demonstrate such patients, remote from an arrhythmic event, have prolongation of atrial refractoriness, conduction slowing, impairment of sinus node function, site-specific conduction delay, lower voltage and a greater proportion of complex electrograms compared to reference patients. These abnormalities constitute the "second factor" critical to the development and progression of atrial fibrillation. Atrial flutter has a close inter-relationship with atrial fibrillation and these rhythms frequently co-exist. Atrial fibrillation often occurs in patients with heart disease known to demonstrate abnormal atrial substrate; whether similar substrate exists in patients with atrial flutter to account for the co-existence of both arrhythmias is unknown. Chapters 4 and 5 evaluate the atrial substrate in patients with atrial flutter, remote from arrhythmia, demonstrating structural abnormalities characterised by loss of myocardial voltage, conduction slowing and impaired sinus node function, without reduction in atrial refractoriness. These findings implicate a common substrate as the cause of the close inter-relationship between these arrhythmias. There is a frequent association between atrial arrhythmia and sinus node disease for which several mechanisms have been postulated. In addition, there is a size discrepancy between the anatomical sinus node and the much larger functional sinus node complex. little is known about normal sinus node function or the effects of remodelling due to arrhythmia. Chapter 6 characterises sinus node activation to determine the nature and extent of the functional sinus node complex in patients with and without chronic atrial flutter. The functional sinus node complex demonstrates dynamic shifts in activation with preferential pathways of conduction to atrial myocardium. Patients with atrial flutter demonstrate lesser voltage, longer conduction times along preferential pathways and a smaller functional sinus node complex. These findings provide insights into the function of the human sinus node in health and disease. Sites of complex fractionated atrial electrograms and highest dominant frequency are implicated in maintaining atrial fibrillation. Chapter 7 determines the minimum recording duration that accurately characterises electrogram complexity and activation frequency. An electrogram duration of 5 seconds is required to accurately identify these sites. Chapter 8 evaluates the relationship between sites of fractionation and high frequency activation during atrial fibrillation. Greater fractionation and higher dominant frequency are seen in persistent atrial fibrillation and left atria. Preferential areas of high dominant frequency are observed in paroxysmal but not persistent atrial fibrillation. Areas of complex fractionated atrial electrograms are found adjacent to sites of high dominant frequency. / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Medicine, 2009

The present body of research examined adult bilinguals who acquired a second language (L2) from an early age and who subsequently developed language dominance in that language. The question investigated is whether such "early L2-dominant bilinguals" attain a native level of proficiency in their second language. This possibility was explored by comparing bilinguals who had Cantonese L1 (logographic, morphosyllabic), Vietnamese L1 (alphabetic, morphosyllabic) or some "Other" L1 (alphabetic, non-morphosyllabic) to English monolinguals on various tasks in English (L2). The ability to process spoken stimuli was examined using phoneme deletion, spelling-to-dictation, and auditory comprehension tasks. The results showed that bilinguals from all backgrounds had greater difficulty than monolinguals on tasks that required sublexical skills, with the morphosyllabic groups performing the most poorly. The processing of print was investigated using reading aloud and reading comprehension tasks. In contrast to the auditory tasks, only Cantonese L1 bilinguals displayed any discernable difference from monolinguals on reading. Cantonese L1 bilinguals did, however, outperform monolinguals on orthographic memory tasks, such as the spelling of idiosyncratic L2 words. The findings therefore indicated that L1 linguistic structure influences L2 processing in adulthood, despite the former having become subordinate. In order to elucidate whether transfer effects arise solely from early exposure to L1, or whether L1 maintenance also plays a role, the L1 and L2 proficiency of a separate sample of Cantonese L1 bilinguals was examined. However, no meaningful relationship between L1 and L2 proficiency was found. Finally, a sample of late bilinguals were also tested in order to determine whether the L1-specific effects observed in early bilinguals are simply an attenuated version of those in late bilinguals,. The results revealed that the development of language dominance in L2 does lead to qualitatively different outcomes in L2 for early bilinguals. The findings from the present research are most consistent with the Competition Model (e.g., Hernandez, Li, & MacWhinney, 2005), which espouses the notions of L1 transfer and entrenchment to explain second language acquisition. Overall, the research indicates that native attainment in L2 is not assured for all early L2-dominant bilinguals.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, 2004. / Härtill 3 uppsatser.