In this thesis, I present three microscopy studies of surface growing Escherichia coli (E. coli ) microcolonies. All experiments were carried out by growing microcolonies on agarose pads, and imaging their growth using phase contrast, fluorescence and confocal microscopy. In the first project, the importance of spatial structure and growth strategies between competing populations of E. coli was studied. An agarose pad was seeded with bacterial cells and their colonisation success tracked. Cell lag-times and local cell density were found to play important roles in determining the eventual success of a colony. Arrangements of neighbouring cells were found to be partially responsible at high cell densities. These results were reproduced using a simple simulation, which also highlighted the importance of exponential expansion in determining colonisation success. The second project investigates the effect of confinement on growing microcolonies restricted to one plane (2d growth). Colonies were grown in agarose microchannels with different aspect ratios, and in unconfined environments. In particular internal physical colony structure and genealogical structure was studied by using single-cell tracking. Results showed that relatedness between cells was directionally biased (cells tended to be more closely related to cells at their poles, than to their side) regardless of the amount of spatial restriction. Furthermore, confinement caused cells to align with each other more, and induced high cell velocities at the colony edges driven by cell expansion. In the final project, growth of secondary layers in growing colonies of E. coli was studied. Cells initially grew as a monolayer, before invading the agarose bulk, producing a secondary layer. By analysing time-lapse movies, this layer was found to initially expand rapidly well in excess of cell growth rates and initial colony expansion rates, before slowing down. The initial secondary growth rate likely depends on the colony area at agarose invasion. Furthermore, the colony area when colonies invaded the agarose depended on their rate of growth, suggesting a complex interplay between forces exerted by the agarose, and by the colony.

In today's globalised hypercompetition dominated world, companies are often fighting for survival. This theses tries to verify, if a way out could be found in the usage of strategic elements used in military approaches. Inspiration is sought in Sunzi ("The Art of War"), Carl von Clausewitz ("On War") and Nicollo Machiavelli ("The Prince"). The company's goal is to generate profit and managers should aim to achieve this goal by using every available information and opportunity, preferably without direct competitive encounter. "The Art of War" and other timeless military works give us today more then ever an inspiration how to succeed in today's hard business world.

Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 1986. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Economics.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / This study was designed to test two hypotheses: I. Dominant and Deferent persons derive more satisfaction from working in a cooperative social climate than from working tn a competitive social climate. II. Dominant and Deferent subjects derive more satisfaction from working with co-workers whose needs are complementary to their own needs than from working with co-workers whose needs are similar to their own needs. These hypotheses were deductions from a conceptual framework based on Murray's need system. The task used in this experiment was a modified version of the Yerkes memory-reasoning task. It required the subjects to determine which switch positions on two switch boxes had to be selected in order to get all eight lights on identical panel boxes lighted once and only once. Ninety-six male college students were selected as subjects on the basis of scores they had obtained on a quasi-sociometric questionnaire designed to measure manifest needs Dominance and Deference. Forty-eight Dominant and forty-eight Deferent students were selected and assigned to groups so that three types of dyads were formed: one type composed of two Dominant persons, a second type composed of two Deferent persons, and a third type composed of one Dominant and one Deferent person. The first two types represent dyads where the needs of the co-workers are similar. The third type represents a dyad where the needs of the co-workers are complementary. For each type of dyad, half of the pairs were given cooperative and half were given competitive instructions. Thus six experimental conditions were formed. Assignment of subjects to conditions was determined by matching individuals and dyads on the basis of abstract-reasoning ability. Precautions were taken to prevent prior knowledge of co-worker, time when task was performed, and manner of administering instructions from affecting the results of this study. An end-of-session questionnaire was used to measure the dependent variable, satisfaction. Four types of satisfaction were measured: general satisfaction, satisfaction with the co-worker, satisfaction with the social climate, and satisfaction with the task. A 2 x 2 x 2 x 4 analysis of variance design was used to analyze the data collected. The first hypothesis was supported. The second hypothesis was not supported; in fact the relevant mean values were in a direction opposite to the one predicted. There were a number of significant findings which had not been predicted from the conceptual frame-work . It was discovered that Dominant persons consistently derive greater satisfaction than do Deferent persons and that the major contributors to the difference in level of satisfaction for these two groups are their reactions to the social climate and their reaction to the co-'trorkers. Dominant persons are more satisfied when they cooperate than when they compete regardless of whether the needs of the co--worker are similar to or complementary to their own. The Deferent person, however, derives more satisfaction from competition, but only if he is competing with another Deferent person; he prefers cooperation with either type co-worker to competition with a Dominant co-worker. In order to determine whether the unexpected findings occurred as a result of procedural shortcomings in the study, three procedural checks were made. These checks revealed that: (1) there were definite indications that subjects did interact during the experimental sessions in a manner consistent with their measured manifest needs, (2) one-third of the subjects indicated that they had not worked in a manner consistent with instructions given to establish the social climate and (3) over one-half of the subjects indicated that they had not correctly perceived these instructions. Findings two and three above led this writer to conclude that the results of this study can be accepted only if it is ascertained that the same results would have been obtained if the apparent misunderstandings and misperceptions of the social climate instructions had not existed. It was pointed out that such determination can be made only after future research had been conducted. Recommendations were made for such research where primary attention would be directed toward eliminating the procedural shortcomings of the present study. It was pointed out that specific theoretical modifications would be necessary in order to explain the results of future studies 'tvhich are consistent with the results of the present study. / 2031-01-01

Joint ventures are a widely used form of interfirm collaboration, which possess some characteristics of both mergers, in which two or more firms come permanently under common control and cease to be distinct, and agreements, which impact the competitive behaviour of firms that remain independent of each other. Due to their hybrid economic nature, it has always been controversial what types of joint ventures should be regarded as mergers under competition law, and how the fact that the parent firms remain independent outside the cooperation should be incorporated into traditional merger analysis. In the EU, only full-function joint ventures are treated as mergers under the Merger Regulation. However, unlike amalgamations and acquisitions, these joint ventures are subject to an additional analysis under Article 101 TFEU to the extent that they lead to the coordination of the competitive behaviour of the parents. This thesis aims to critically analyse this approach to the substantive appraisal of joint ventures under the EU merger control regime, based on its consistency with the general rules of EU competition law and with relevant economic theories, in a comparative perspective with the US competition law regime. In this regard, the thesis shows that (i) the full-functionality criterion assuming that full-function joint ventures are autonomous from an operational viewpoint has some negative implications for the competition analysis of joint ventures; and (ii) the fact that the parent firms retain activities in the joint venture’s market, or in other markets, does not seem to be properly incorporated into the analysis under the Merger Regulation. This thesis seeks to propose some alternatives and solutions with respect to these problematic issues and, thereby, contribute to the body of knowledge and debate about joint ventures which have been, and will be, one of the most intricate and controversial topics of competition law.

For many years tax competition models and empirical analysis have been showing taxation as a key variable in FDI location decisions. Countries reduce taxation to attract firms in order to create employment and economic development. Firms locate their investments where the net return on capital is higher due to a lower tax burden. But tax competition is not optimal because the lowering of the tax burden causes an inefficient allocation of capital and provision of public goods. Thus, it requires coordination of tax policies in an economic area such as the European Union (EU). <br /> Despite data not showing a complete “race to the bottom” in tax rates, the predictions of the model are widely believed by businessman and the public opinion. But tax competition has been exclusively based on neoclassical theory where imperfect decisions by managers and certain features of the decision making process such as uncertainty are assumed to be not essential. The same applies when considering incompatibility with FDI theory. <br /> A complementary approach, based on the Heiner model, underlines the central role of uncertainty and the relevance of cognitive characteristics in managers´ FDI decisions. By applying an inductive and qualitative method through questionnaires, interviews with managers and statistical tests, the reliability of the behavioural model is confirmed. Furthermore, location decisions are shown to be significantly explained by heuristics and biases arising from the uncertainty faced by managers. <br /> But the role of taxation in these decisions appears less significant than is usually considered. From a sample of 112 Portuguese FDI operations only 4 are explained by fiscal variables. Then, if managers do not rely on taxation to decide the location of their firms´ investments abroad, countries should not emphasize this variable when implementing policies to attract FDI and the main argument for corporate tax integration in the EU vanishes.

Lee Wai-yee. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-103). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Literature Review --- p.4 / Chapter 2.1 --- Trade Models --- p.4 / Chapter a. --- Ricardian model --- p.4 / Chapter b. --- Heckscher-Ohlin model --- p.4 / Chapter c. --- Specific Factor model --- p.5 / Chapter 2.2 --- Policy Implications --- p.5 / Chapter 2.3 --- Factor Mobility --- p.5 / Chapter 2.4 --- Imperfect Competition and Trade Policy --- p.6 / Chapter 2.5 --- Capital Taxation --- p.7 / Chapter 2.6 --- Unemployment --- p.9 / Chapter 2.7 --- Concluding Remarks --- p.13 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Capital Taxation under Perfect Competition --- p.13 / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.13 / Chapter 3.2 --- The Model --- p.16 / Chapter 3.3 --- Comparative Static Analysis --- p.20 / Chapter 3.4 --- Welfare Analysis --- p.23 / Chapter 3.5 --- Conclusions --- p.26 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Capital Taxation under Imperfect Competition --- p.27 / Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.27 / Chapter 4.2 --- The Model --- p.28 / Chapter 4.3 --- Comparative Static Analysis --- p.36 / Chapter 4.4 --- Welfare Analysis --- p.40 / Chapter 4.5 --- Conclusions --- p.44 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Capital Taxation and Unemployment under Perfect Competition --- p.47 / Chapter 5.1 --- Introduction --- p.47 / Chapter 5.2 --- The Model --- p.48 / Chapter 5.3 --- Comparative Static Analysis --- p.53 / Chapter 5.4 --- Welfare Analysis --- p.57 / Chapter 5.5 --- Conclusions --- p.59 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- Capital Taxation and Unemployment under Imperfect Competition --- p.61 / Chapter 6.1 --- Introduction --- p.61 / Chapter 6.2 --- The Model --- p.62 / Chapter 6.3 --- Comparative Static Analysis --- p.68 / Chapter 6.4 --- Welfare Analysis --- p.74 / Chapter 6.5 --- Conclusions --- p.77 / Chapter Chapter 7 --- Conclusions --- p.79 / Appendices --- p.83 / Appendix I --- p.83 / Appendix II --- p.83 / Appendix III --- p.84 / Appendix IV --- p.85 / Appendix V --- p.86 / Appendix VI --- p.87 / Appendix VII --- p.88 / Appendix VIII --- p.88 / Appendix IX --- p.89 / Appendix X --- p.90 / Appendix XI --- p.91 / Appendix XII --- p.92 / Reference --- p.93

This thesis analyses the competitive aspects of bank merger transactions under the law of the United Kingdom ('UK') and the United States ('US'), including the applicable law of the European Union ('EU'). This thesis, also, covers bank mergers and competition in view of the financial crisis 2007-08 that is known as the Global Financial Crisis ('GFC'). The analysis under UK and EU law focuses on competition issues in the banking and financial sector, notwithstanding that competition laws in these jurisdictions apply broadly to all sectors of the economy. The US law analysis is based on competition law from federal antitrust and bank regulatory authorities, case law, as well as consumer protection regulation. This thesis establishes a comparative framework for understanding the competition provisions, examination methods of mergers, administrative proceedings, and case law development among the UK law, applicable EU cases, and US agencies and courts. It highlights potential improvements in the analysis of banking competition and the financial sector as whole. The ultimate goal of any proposed improvement should be to make banks and other financial institutions provide more efficient services and less costly products to consumers, while reducing systemic risk and preserving the soundness and safety of the financial system. The GFC led UK and US policy makers to introduce a number of laws and regulations aimed at addressing excessive bank risk taking and improving financial regulatory enforcement. The increasing interconnection between competition law and bank regulation means that the competition and banking regulators are well positioned to play an active and wide-ranging role. The actions taken by the UK, the US as well as other national and international bodies, upon the occurrence of the GFC, were arguably necessary and perfectly justifiable on regulatory and financial stability grounds. The GFC revealed a number of significant regulatory and central bank failures, and especially in terms of defective regulation, supervision, resolution, support and macro prudential oversight. A substantial amount of work has been undertaken to correct all of these. It is arguable that sufficient action has been taken to remove the worst threats that arise with 'too-big-to-fail'. This paper takes a comparative approach and examines the applicability of competition laws, policies, and methods in bank mergers in the UK and the US. It, also, discusses how to improve these laws, polices and methods to make them more efficient and better equipped to preserve and enhance competition in banking and financial system.

Kwok Kit Tong. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-73). / Title --- p.1 / Acknowledgment --- p.2 / Table of Content --- p.3 / Abstract --- p.4 / Experimental Report --- p.5 / References --- p.68 / Tables --- p.73 / Figures --- p.89 / Appendix --- p.96

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