In the search for companies to distinguish themselves from the mass, so called non-traditional trade marks have become increasingly popular, and in particular colour marks. It is now clear that abstract colour marks can be registered as trade marks, and the number of registered colour marks has increased considerably in recent years. However, it remains a lot more uncertain, mainly due to lack of case law, what the extent of colour marks’ scope of protection is. Are colours actually worth protecting? The purpose of this thesis is to examine the scope of protection of registered abstract colour marks from an EU perspective. Through this examination it will also be established whether colours are worth protecting. The essential function of trade marks is to indicate the origin of products. Signs that are capable of being represented graphically and capable of distinguishing goods and services from one undertaking from those of other undertakings can be registered as trade marks. Colours can fulfil these criteria in certain circumstances, however, colours can practically never have distinctive character per se. Instead, they must have acquired distinctive character through use. Since it is quite difficult to register colour marks, a colour mark proprietor should be prepared to have the validity of his trade mark challenged if he issues proceedings for infringement. There are a few national cases from EU Member States that have concerned infringement of colour marks, and in all of these the plaintiff was successful in claiming infringement. Through the decisions in these cases, general legal principles and statements made in literature, the scope of protection of colour marks has been examined. Infringement of a colour mark occurs in three different situations: where there is likelihood of confusion, where there is double identity and where there is dilution of a trade mark with a reputation. Some of the most important findings are that confusingly similar colours include adjacent shades, but in order to prove likelihood of confusion, the infringing colour must probably be perceived by the public as an indication of origin and other signs that appear together with the colour must probably be taken into account, which limits the scope of protection to some extent. However, since colour marks must almost always have acquired distinctive character through use, consumers are used to perceiving that colour as a trade mark in relation to those types of goods/services, and are therefore more likely to do so also when the colour is used by the third party. Furthermore, there have to be an individual assessment in each case in order to determine whether surrounding signs exclude a likelihood of confusion, where all factors should be considered, including the distinctiveness of the colour mark and how clear and prominent the other signs are. In situations of double identity, the infringing sign does not have to be used as a trade mark, which is advantageous for colour mark owners. Furthermore, identical colours can possibly include other shades if they are so similar that the difference is barely perceptible in a direct comparison. Colour marks can often qualify as trade marks with a reputation, since the assessment of whether trade marks have a reputation is similar to the assessment of whether trade marks have acquired distinctive character through use. Trade marks with a reputation has an extended protection meaning that if a third party uses a sign that is identical or similar to a trade mark with a reputation, and that use without due cause takes unfair advantage of, or is detrimental to, the distinctive character or repute of the trade mark, then that use constitutes infringement. This applies both in relation to identical, similar and dissimilar products, however, it will probably only apply in relation to identical or similar products when it comes to colour marks, due to the extensive use of colours in the market. The extended protection could be relevant in particular in situations where likelihood of confusion cannot be proven, because the public does not perceive the infringing sign as a trade mark or because of surrounding prominent signs. This examination shows that the scope of protection of colour marks is not great, it has some weaknesses. However, it is definitely not worthless either, which clearly shows in the fact that the plaintiffs were successful in claiming infringement in all of the infringement cases. By registering a colour as a trade mark, a company can to some extent stop others from using the same or similar colour, and it will also most likely have a discouraging effect. However, some carefulness should still be applied in relation to colour marks, since this is still a very new phenomenon and additional case law can take another direction. But considering how the situation looks today, colours are worth protecting as trade marks.

Currently, a variety of methods are available to monitor anurans, and little standardization of methods exists. New methods to monitor anurans have become available over the past twenty years, including PVC pipe arrays used for tree frog capture and Automated Digital Recording Systems (ADRS) used to remotely monitor calling activity. In addition to ADRS, machine-learning computer software, automated vocalization recognition software (AVRS), has been developed to automatically detect vocalizations within digital sound recordings. The use of a combination of ADRS and AVRS shows the promise to reduce the number of people, time, and resources needed for an effective call survey program. However, little research exists that uses the described tools for wildlife monitoring, especially for anuran monitoring. In the study, there were two problems addressed relating to AVRS. The first was the poorly understood relationship between auditory survey methods and physical survey methods. I tested this problem by using current auditory monitoring methods, ADRS and the AVRS Song Scope© (v.3.1), alongside more traditional physical monitoring methods that included drift fences, a PVC pipe array, and visual encounter transects. No significant relationship between physical and auditory community population measures was found. Auditory methods were also effective in the detection of call characteristic differences between urban and rural locations, further suggesting an influence of noise pollution. The second problem addressed was the call identification errors found in auditory survey methods. I examined the influence of treatments including the ADRS location, listener group, species, and season on the error rates of the AVRS Song Scope© (v.3.1) and groups of human listeners. Computer error rates were higher than human listeners, yet less affected by the treatments. Both studies suggested that AVRS was a viable method to monitor anuran populations, but the choice of methods should be dependent upon the species of interest and the objectives of the study.

<p>In the search for companies to distinguish themselves from the mass, so called non-traditional trade marks have become increasingly popular, and in particular colour marks. It is now clear that abstract colour marks can be registered as trade marks, and the number of registered colour marks has increased considerably in recent years. However, it remains a lot more uncertain, mainly due to lack of case law, what the extent of colour marks’ scope of protection is. Are colours actually worth protecting? The purpose of this thesis is to examine the scope of protection of registered abstract colour marks from an EU perspective. Through this examination it will also be established whether colours are worth protecting.</p><p>The essential function of trade marks is to indicate the origin of products. Signs that are capable of being represented graphically and capable of distinguishing goods and services from one undertaking from those of other undertakings can be registered as trade marks. Colours can fulfil these criteria in certain circumstances, however, colours can practically never have distinctive character per se. Instead, they must have acquired distinctive character through use. Since it is quite difficult to register colour marks, a colour mark proprietor should be prepared to have the validity of his trade mark challenged if he issues proceedings for infringement.</p><p>There are a few national cases from EU Member States that have concerned infringement of colour marks, and in all of these the plaintiff was successful in claiming infringement. Through the decisions in these cases, general legal principles and statements made in literature, the scope of protection of colour marks has been examined. Infringement of a colour mark occurs in three different situations: where there is likelihood of confusion, where there is double identity and where there is dilution of a trade mark with a reputation.</p><p>Some of the most important findings are that confusingly similar colours include adjacent shades, but in order to prove likelihood of confusion, the infringing colour must probably be perceived by the public as an indication of origin and other signs that appear together with the colour must probably be taken into account, which limits the scope of protection to some extent. However, since colour marks must almost always have acquired distinctive character through use, consumers are used to perceiving that colour as a trade mark in relation to those types of goods/services, and are therefore more likely to do so also when the colour is used by the third party. Furthermore, there have to be an individual assessment in each case in order to determine whether surrounding signs exclude a likelihood of confusion, where all factors should be considered, including the distinctiveness of the colour mark and how clear and prominent the other signs are.</p><p>In situations of double identity, the infringing sign does not have to be used as a trade mark, which is advantageous for colour mark owners. Furthermore, identical colours can possibly include other shades if they are so similar that the difference is barely perceptible in a direct comparison.</p><p>Colour marks can often qualify as trade marks with a reputation, since the assessment of whether trade marks have a reputation is similar to the assessment of whether trade marks have acquired distinctive character through use. Trade marks with a reputation has an extended protection meaning that if a third party uses a sign that is identical or similar to a trade mark with a reputation, and that use without due cause takes unfair advantage of, or is detrimental to, the distinctive character or repute of the trade mark, then that use constitutes infringement. This applies both in relation to identical, similar and dissimilar products, however, it will probably only apply in relation to identical or similar products when it comes to colour marks, due to the extensive use of colours in the market. The extended protection could be relevant in particular in situations where likelihood of confusion cannot be proven, because the public does not perceive the infringing sign as a trade mark or because of surrounding prominent signs.</p><p>This examination shows that the scope of protection of colour marks is not great, it has some weaknesses. However, it is definitely not worthless either, which clearly shows in the fact that the plaintiffs were successful in claiming infringement in all of the infringement cases. By registering a colour as a trade mark, a company can to some extent stop others from using the same or similar colour, and it will also most likely have a discouraging effect. However, some carefulness should still be applied in relation to colour marks, since this is still a very new phenomenon and additional case law can take another direction. But considering how the situation looks today, colours are worth protecting as trade marks.</p>

In dem vom Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung über den Projektträger VDI/VDE-IT geförderten Vorhaben "Wirksamkeitsbeurteilung von Transferformen zwischen Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft für die Branchen Produktionstechnik, Umwelttechnologie und Materialforschung" wurden unterschiedliche Formen und Wege des Wissens- und Technologietransfers zwischen Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft analysiert und beschrieben, um Erfolgsmuster für deren Zusammenarbeit aufzuspüren.

Studiens syfte var att få utökad kunskap om hur socialrådgivarna som arbetar på Ungbo i Halmstad upplever sina förutsättningar att tillmötesgå behoven hos de ungdomar som får bistånd från verksamheten samt hur de tolkar sitt uppdrag. Ungbo är ett boendestöd för ungdomar/Unga vuxna som är i behov av boende och stöd i varierad utsträckning. Studien är kvalitativ och insamling av data har skett genom intervjuer av de socialrådgivare som arbetar på Ungbo i Halmstad.   Slutsatsen av studien är att socialrådgivarna har samma syn gällande verksamhetens mål men när det gäller tillvägagångssätt emot det gemensamma målet skiljer sig uppfattningarna åt. Socialrådgivarnas uppfattningar om deras förutsättningar att tillmötesgå ungdomarnas behov är varierande även om majoriteten påtalar bristen av en arbetsmodell eller tydligare direktiv att arbeta efter vilket tyder på att de upplever sitt handlingsutrymme som för stort. Gränserna är otydliga men trots detta upplever de friheten i sin yrkesutövning som positiv. Det handlingsutrymme som finns att tillgå räcker inte till för att täcka ungdomarnas behov eftersom verksamheten inte ligger i linje med samhällsutvecklingen och att konceptet Ungbo bör ses över för att kunna möta ungdomarnas behov i dagens samhälle. / The purpose of this study was to gain increased knowledge about how social advisers who work for Ungbo in Halmstad perceive their capabilities to meet the needs of young people receiving assistance from the business and how they interpret their mission. Ungbo is a housing support for young people / young adults who are in need of accommodation and support to varying degrees. The study is qualitative and data collection has been done through interviews of the social advisor who works for Ungbo in Halmstad.The study shows that social advisers have similar views regarding the goals but in terms of approach to the common target different views about. The social adviser’s perceptions of their ability to meet the needs of young people are varied although the majority highlights the lack of a working model or explicit directive to work after indicating that they feel their freedom of action as excessive. The boundaries are blurred, but nevertheless feel the freedom in their work as positive. All of Social Advisers also complain that business is not in line with social development and the concept of Ungbo should be reviewed to catch up with society

The first paper examines the value of a statistical life (VSL) for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) victims. We found VSL values to be higher for OHCA victims than for people who die in road traffic accidents and a lower-bound estimate of VSL for OHCA would be in the range of 20 to 30 million Swedish crowns (SEK). The second paper concerns hypothetical bias in contingent valuation (CV) studies. We investigate the link between the determinants and empirical treatment of uncertainty through certainty calibration and find that the higher the confidence of the respondents the more we can trust that stated WTP is correlated to actual WTP. The third paper investigates the performance of two communication aids (a flexible community analogy and an array of dots) in valuing mortality risk reductions for OHCA. The results do not support the prediction of expected utility theory, i.e. that WTP for a mortality risk reduction increases with the amount of risk reduction (weak scope sensitivity), for any of the communication aids. The fourth paper presents a cost-benefit analysis to evaluate the effects of dual dispatch defibrillation by ambulance and fire services in the County of Stockholm. The intervention had positive economic effects, yielding a benefit-cost ratio of 36, a cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) of € 13 000 and the cost per saved life was € 60 000. The fifth paper explores how different response times from OHCA to defibrillation affect patients’ survival rates by using geographic information systems (GIS). The model predicted a baseline survival rate of 3.9% and reducing the ambulance response time by 1 minute increased survival to 4.6%. The sixth paper analyzes demographic determinants of incident experience and risk perception, and the relationship between the two, for eight different risk domains. Males and highly educated respondents perceive their risks lower than what is expected compared to actual incident experience.

Dans le cadre de cette étude, nous nous sommes intéressés aux infirmières soignantes qui possèdent un diplôme d’études collégiales ou un baccalauréat. L’infirmière est celle ayant reçu une formation collégiale et la clinicienne, une formation universitaire de premier cycle. Au niveau législatif, selon que l’infirmière soit titulaire ou non d’un baccalauréat, le champ de pratique autorisé demeure le même. Cependant, l’étendue de la pratique pourrait varier selon la formation reçue et le poste occupé. Cette étude descriptive et interprétative de type qualitatif avait pour but de décrire l’étendue de la pratique des infirmières et des infirmières cliniciennes dans une unité de médecine et de chirurgie et d’identifier les facteurs organisationnels influençant l’étendue de la pratique. Le cadre de référence ayant été utilisé est le cadre d’analyse de l’étendue de la pratique conçu pour le Collège des infirmières autorisées de la Nouvelle-Écosse (CRNNS, 2005). Selon ce cadre, l’étendue optimale de la pratique des infirmières se divise en 4 catégories distinctes, soit le processus de soins infirmiers, les pratiques relationnelles, le leadership ainsi que l’enseignement et le transfert des connaissances. La collecte de données a été conduite au moyen d’entrevues individuelles semi-structurées auprès de 8 informateurs clés soit trois infirmières et trois infirmières cliniciennes d’une unité de médecine et de chirurgie et de deux gestionnaires. Les résultats semblent montrer que les différentes composantes de l’étendue de la pratique sont mobilisées tant chez les infirmières que chez les infirmières cliniciennes interviewées. Toutefois, les résultats semblent montrer que certaines composantes, soit le leadership et le transfert des connaissances, semblent davantage mobilisées chez les infirmières cliniciennes. De plus, l’étude a permis d’identifier les différents facteurs organisationnels qui semblent influencer l’étendue de la pratique des infirmières et des infirmières cliniciennes. La charge de travail semble être le principal facteur d’influence. Nous avons aussi pu constater l’influence certaines composantes reliées à l’environnement de travail et à la composition et aux caractéristiques des équipes de soins. / The goal of this descriptive and interpretative study was to first describe the scope of nursing practice of registered nurses with a Bachelor’s degree in nursing and those with a nursing diploma in a medical and surgical unit of a regional hospital. The second goal was to identify the organizational factors that influence the scope of nursing practice in that unit. The framework that has been used is the Framework to Analyse Scope of practice, made for the College of Registered Nurses in Nova Scotia (CRNNS, 2005). According to that framework, the full scope of practice of the registered nurse is divided in 4 components: the nursing process, the professional nursing relationships, the leadership and the fonction of teaching and knowledge transfert. For this study, 8 interviews have been realized. The participants were: 3 nurses with a nursing diploma, 3 nurses with a bachelor’s degree and 2 administrators. The results seems to show that all the components of the nursing scope of practice seems to be used by the nurses with a Bachelor’s degree in nursing and those with a nursing diploma. But, the results seem to show that the nursing scope of practice is not fully extended in that unit. We remarked also that two elements of the nursing scope of practice, the leadership and the teaching and knowledge transfert, are more used by nursed with a Bachelor’s degree, compared to those with a nursing diploma. The principal factors which seem to influence the scope of nursing practice in this unit are the nursing workload and some components according to the work environment and to the composition and caracteristics of the nursing teams.

Šio mokslinio tiriamojo darbo tema „Atsakomybė pagal turizmo paslaugų sutartį: teismų praktikos analizė“. Darbe atskleidžiamos sutartinių santykių pagrindu kylančių teisinių ginčų galimos priežastys, vadovaujantis teismų praktikos išsamia analize - sistemiškai nagrinėjami atsakomybės pagal turizmo paslaugų sutartis ypatumai. Be kita ko, magistro baigiamajam darbe pateikiama turizmo paslaugų teikimo sutarties samprata, esminiai sutarties požymiai bei trumpai aptariami reglamentuojantys teisės aktai. Taip pat atskleidžiama atsakomybės pagal turizmo paslaugų sutartis specifika ir probleminiai klausimai. Analizuojama Lietuvos teismų praktika, atskleidžiant teismų praktikoje formuojamą atsakomybės pagal turizmo paslaugų teikimo sutartis problematiką, turizmo paslaugų teikimo sutarčių šalių teisių ir pareigų apimtį. Teismų praktikos nagrinėjimas vykdomas išskiriant kylančius teisminius ginčus į atskirų kategorijų (atskirus požymius turinčias) civilines bylas: dėl netinkamo paslaugų teikimo (kokybės, apimties ir asmenų atžvilgiu), dėl klaidinančios ar nepakankamos informacijos suteikimo, dėl kelionių organizatoriaus aplaidumo ir netinkamo atsisakymo vykdyti sutartis požymių. Mokslinio tiriamojo darbo pabaigoje pateikiamos išvados apie esamą teismų praktikos kryptį, jos formavimą ir atitikimą Bendrijos ir tarptautinės teisės aktams, taip pat vertinamas su tuo glaudžiai susijusio turizmo paslaugų sutarčių atsakomybės klausimo teisinio reglamentavimo išsamumas, nustatomos jo spragos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The theme of this scientific research work is "The liability by the tourism services contract: analysis of jurisprudence". The work highlights the contractual relationship arising from the possible causes of legal disputes, in accordance with a detailed analysis of jurisprudence – there have been systemically investigated issues of liability by the tourism service contracts. Furthermore, in the final master work there has been presented the concept of tourism service contract, the essential features of the contract and briefly described the legislation. Also there has been presented specifics of tourism and problematic issues about liability by the contracts. There has been made the analysis of the Lithuanian jurisprudence, revealing the formation of the jurisprudence (case-law) of liability by the tourism service contracts, the problems of tourism service contract’s parties rights and obligations. Analysis of the jurisprudence has been made by the distinction arising legal disputes in a separate category (with different features) civil cases: cases for the inadequate provision of services (because of the quality, coverage and persons), for misleading or insufficient information that was provided, for the travel organizer's negligence and for improper refusal to carry out the contracts. At the end of the scientific research work, there have been made the conclusions about the present direction of the jurisprudence, its development and compliance with Community and... [to full text]

The aim of this thesis is to describe and understand the introduction of entrepreneurship and enterprise projects in primary and secondary schools in the North of Sweden and to identify and analyse the driving forces and actors behind this process. In particular the influence and significance of education policy at supranational, national and subnational level for the introduction of entrepreneurship and enterprise in education are analysed. The main questions of the study have been: • How and why have entrepreneurship and enterprise education come to the schools in the northern region of Sweden, in particular within the framework of the PRIO1 project? • How were important stakeholders involved at the subnational level and how did they reason and act in relation to the introduction of entrepreneurship and enterprise in the schools? • How are the concepts of entrepreneurship and enterprise education presented in policy documents at different policy levels? The study wants to report on changes in education policy during recent years. Especially the emergence of international policy convergence and new forms of governance are among the factors that are considered. Drawing on a conceptual framework of structure and agency, the analyses in the empirical studies are informed by a combination of theoretical fields. Important contributions are rendered from the education policy literature. The first method consists of a policy study of documents produced by organisations at different levels (supranational, national and subnational). The purpose of this analysis is to capture the ideas and arguments that have been used but also to understand the context and driving forces for the introduction of entrepreneurship and enterprise in education. Starting from the supranational level, the analysis focuses mainly on two organisations, OECD and EU. These organisations were chosen because they are widely regarded as leading organisations in setting the supranational policy agenda for education. The document study consists of a selection of OECD documents that have been released during the period 1970 - 2006, as well as a selection of EU documents. The EU documents cover the last 15 years. Attention is paid to several documents at the national and subnational level as well. The second method is an interview study. The interview study aims to focus on some of the key stakeholders (agents/actors) that have been participating in the formation (initiation, financing and realisation) of a county wide project “PRIO1”, Priority Enterprise in Västerbotten, in the North of Sweden. In order to understand why and how these actors at the subnational level have become involved in the process, there exists a need to hear their arguments. The document study shows that there is interplay between the different levels, but intertextual aspects have also become visible. The policy drive and policy scope show the concatenation but also the complexity of the policy development. Education is increasingly related to economic policies, in particular through labour market policies. Although the concepts of Entrepreneurship and Enterprise have developed within the economic sector, they are penetrating the education and training systems of many countries. From the results presented in this study, it seems that lifelong learning has become the guiding principle for the amalgamation of education and the world of work, while learning is no longer equated with just schooling. The opening of the school towards the surrounding world is a characteristic development in all this, but it is also a process that certainly is stipulated by agencies and actors at different levels, as is shown in this study. The interviews with some stakeholders at the subnational level show that the promotion of entrepreneurship and enterprise in education is related to arguments for economic and societal development. The interviews also reveal some of the “bottom-up” aspects of the policy process. One of the important results of this study is that the education policy studies have to include the level beyond the national borders. The interplay between the different policy-levels (supranational, national and subnational) needs more attention in order to understand the transformation of the education system.

The existing audit risk model does not take business risk into account. The aims of this study are, firstly, to do research on the necessity of taking business risk into account in the audit risk model, and secondly, to indicate the influence of business risk on the audit risk model and on the scope of an audit. In this study, both audit and business risks were researched and it was determined that the existing audit risk model only considers the probabilities that auditors can give incorrect opinions. This study proposes a method whereby an auditor can consider both his own business risk and that ofhis client in determining an audit risk that is acceptable to him and in determining the scope ofhis audit. In addition to the probabilities of incorrect decisions by auditors the consequences thereof are also considered, thus limiting the auditor's engagement risk. / Die huidige ouditrisikomodel neem nie besigheidrisiko in ag nie. Die doel van hierdie studie is eerstens, om die noodsaaklikheid van die inagnerning van besigheidsrisiko in die ouditrisikomodel te ondersoek en tweedens, om die invloed van besigheidsrisiko op die ouditrisikomodel en op die omvang van 'n oudit aan te dui. In hierdie studie is literatuur oor ouditrisiko en besigheidsrisiko ondersoek waaruit aan die lig kom dat die huidige ouditrisikomodel net die waarskynlikhede in ag neem dat ouditeurs foutiewe menings kan uitspreek. Gevolglik stel die studie 'n metode voor waardeur 'n ouditeur beide sy eie besigheidsrisiko asook die van sy klient in ag kan neem tydens die bepaling van 'n ouditrisiko wat vir hom aanvaarbaar is en tydens die vasstelling van die omvang van sy oudit. Daardeur word nie alleen die waarskynlikhede nie, maar ook die gevolge van foutiewe besluitnemings deur ouditeurs oorweeg en 'n ouditeur se aanstellingsrisiko sodoende beperk. / Auditing / MCom (Ouditkunde)