The Quantification of Damages caused by breach of the European Union Competition Law and Private Enforcement of its Compensation Abstract Effective competition is key issue for achieving the economic prosperity of the internal market, improving the quality of production and maximizing employment. On the contrary restriction of the competition can lead to inefficient allocation of resources, loss of economic welfare and damages to both competitors and consumers. Achieving and maintaining of the effective competition is therefore one of the main objectives of the European Union. This can be achieved through means of public and private enforcement. While pubic enforcement has, in particular, punitive and deterring function, private enforcement has, in particular, compensatory function. Despite these differences both categories complement each other. That is why this thesis deals with the relationship between private and public enforcement. On 26 November 2014, the European Union adopted Directive 2014/104/EU, which partially harmonises private enforcement in relation to the right to compensation for damages caused by a breach of competition law. The aim of this work is to analyze the positives and negatives of this harmonization. The dissertation also deals with the comparison of two reference transpositional...

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the subjective and objective career success perceptions of music school graduates who now identify as professional musicians. This study approached that purpose in four ways. First, the study examined how musicians conceptualized success compared to the literature. Second, the study investigated how musicians conceptualize how success is shown in themselves relative to how it appears in others. Third, the study examined if and how musicians attribute the success that they have achieved in their careers to the institutional preparation they received at academic institutions. Fourth, the study investigated the possibility that geography may play a role in sculpting the perceptual values and qualifiers of success in musicians. This study was informed by the literature surrounding the area of careers, career success, career development as it pertains to musicians, and career success as it pertains to musicians. A survey was the research tool utilized for this descriptive study, and the survey was constructed and facilitated via Qualtrics Software. The survey included 26 Likert-type questions and seven open-ended questions. The sample population used for this study was 326 participants from the New York City Chapter of the American Federation of Musicians Union. The data that was collected from the survey was organized, analyzed, and synthesized to discover emerging themes and answers to the guiding research questions. The findings of this study suggest that musicians understand and value the points of the comparison that those outside of the field of music may use to value and evaluate their own careers. The findings of this study also suggest that musicians may perceive some of the underlying components that make up career success differently in themselves that they do in others. Further, support is provided in this dissertation for the understanding that objective career success and subjective career success are linked in a way that is underrepresented in the literature, and thus is underrepresented in the discussion of the two concepts.

Le résumé en français n'a pas été communiqué par l'auteur. / Le résumé en anglais n'a pas été communiqué par l'auteur.

Communications regulatory frameworks are established to achieve affordable pricing, consumer welfare, innovation and competition. A regulatory framework is therefore endowed with regulatory governance measures and regulatory incentives to enable it to achieve these purposes. In applying these measures and incentives, the framework becomes effective, or ineffective, if the framework fails. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory study was to assess the perceptions of the stakeholders on the effectiveness of the types of governance measures and incentives implemented in Namibia because stakeholders are involved in the success or failure. The study of perceptions are important because they offer insight of informed stakeholders of how policies, laws and regulations are implemented for whom those policies, laws and regulations are designed, implemented and meant to impact. Such insights can inform the design of recommendations on how these measures and incentives can be improved to make the regulatory framework more effective, as it has done in this study. One of the main findings of the research was the perceived conflict of interests between the ICT policy role of the Ministry of ICT and its shareholder role over Telecom Namibia, negatively impacting on competition and putting privately owned licensees at a market disadvantage. The conclusion was that this regulatory governance design measure conflicts with the regulatory framework and requires legislative amendment and a re-design of the framework to achieve the regulatory purpose of competition and improve Namibia’s regional and global competitiveness.

The aim of this research is to explore the regulation of interconnection in Rwanda by investigating whether the current interconnection regime has ensured fair and reasonable interconnection rates that can enhance efficiency and effective competition. A qualitative research approach was used and the data were collected using semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis. The findings reveal that although RURA adopted a cost-based interconnection approach to ensure a fair and reasonable interconnection rate, its poor implementation resulted in an inefficient level of fixed and mobile interconnection rates. The study found an inconsistent application of the regime by incumbents, lack of sufficient regulatory capacity and lack of clear and comprehensive policy instruments. More recently, RURA is making efforts towards adopting a new regime to address the current interconnection rate issues in Rwanda. This study demonstrates that the current interconnection rate regime requires extensive rethinking about appropriate costing models and regulatory capacity, in order to enhance market efficiency and promote effective competition.

Thesis (M.M. (ICT Policy and Regulation))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Public and Development Management, 2013. / Cannot copy abstract

In the following theses, I would like to focus on bodybuilding preseason with competitive ambitions, describe the preparation in detail, explain the sequence, main attributes, synchronization, correct posing and common mistakes. In addition, I aim to compare variances of individual categories and particular competitions from amateur to professional level under the rules of IFBB (International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness). My thesis might clash with rules and categories of other organizations such as NABBA (National Amateur Body-Builder's Association), INBA (International Natural Bodybuilding Association) and others, therefore IFBB was purposefully mentioned. I searched thru publications, discussed the given topic with Czech bodybuilding and fitness stars, and utilized my personal experience which I collected as competitive bodybuilder and trainer in variation of bodybuilding categories. I wished to introduce the sport that has become my lifestyle to the wider audience.

Financial and industrial economists are increasingly recognising the interaction between capital structure and firms' strategies in the product market. A debate exists regarding the nature of the relationship between firms' product market power and financial leverage. Particularly, researchers have asked whether the relationship is positive, negative or non-linear. This thesis contributes to this research agenda by developing game-theoretic models, and conducting empirical tests. Specifically, the thesis examines the effects of market power on a firm's use of long-term debt.

Employability is highly topical in UK Higher Education. There is related literature debating the purpose of higher education, learning and skills, contextual social and economic issues and policy matters for the sector as a whole, but no published work on the ways in which universities organise themselves to deal with this particular issue. This study examines the organisational responses of universities to the issue of graduate employability at this pivotal time for English higher education, when the environment is linking employability to institutional success to an unprecedented degree. The study considers key contextual factors including the debate around the relationship between “the knowledge economy” and the demand for graduates, the ways in which success in employability is understood and measured, the impact of recession and the tension between student consumerism and partnership in an environment in which “consumer information” is linked directly by government to notions of return on personal investment and value for money as tuition fees increase. The key questions addressed are: how is the employability offer conceptualised, constructed, managed and measured and what choices about organisational configuration and capability are being made and acted upon? The study required detailed analysis of the relationships between institutional mission and top-level goals, declared strategy for delivery and delivery structures and the roles of key individuals and teams and so, this enquiry is based upon in-depth case studies of five universities, using data on graduate destinations, published statements and strategies and interviews with relevant post holders (with a particular focus on the role of the head of the professional career service). The case studies and analysis relate the organisational responses to the underlying driver of positional competition. The study uses the role and position of careers services as the starting point for attempting to understand the organisational responses in each case.

This study examines the linkages and factors influencing relationships between universities and companies in Thailand’s automotive cluster and seeks applicable models and ways to improve the linkages among government, universities, national research institutions and firms in order to enhance innovation and competitiveness in the industry. Based on the ideas of the knowledge economy and a “triple helix model” of relationships among government-industry-university, this study uses multiple data collection methods, including questionnaires and in-depth interviews, with descriptive analysis to investigate the relationship among government, university and industry in Thailand’s automotive cluster in Samutprakarn province which emerged in 1990s to become a leading industrial sector of the country that the government has emphasized on. Findings from this research show universities, as important players in the knowledgebased cluster, have three major schemes to serve the cluster, in collaboration with government, organization/institute and industry. Those are 1) to produce graduates highly relevant to the need of related sectors and 2) to conduct basic and applied research, and 3) to collaborate with organization/institute and industry to create new technology/innovations. However, there are challenges for any university to substantially support the cluster. These challenges are 1) universities do not produce highly qualified and industrially relevant graduates, 2) universities do not understand and accommodate the nature of industry, 3) universities do not have sufficient resources, 4) universities are not recognized as a critical player in economy, and 5) universities do not seriously cooperate among themselves and with other related sectors. To deal with the challenges above and to enhance universities’ competitiveness/ relevance in the automotive industry, my study recommends that universities could be improved by establishing a track record, culture and strategic plan to enhance trust and mutual recognition from the Thai automotive cluster. It is this trust and recognition that could lead to collaboration and eventually transform the automotive cluster into a knowledge-based and competitive cluster. In the longer-term, universities that adopt a mission to serve industry should be developed to become an effective component of the ‘triple helix’ or an entrepreneurial university by 1) committing themselves towards collaboration with industry and other players for mutual benefit and industrial growth, 2) understanding the demands and culture of industry, 3) developing niche technology and translating this into patents/licensing, 4) providing consultancy and collaborating with industry and government through an entrepreneurial spirit, 5) supporting business incubation services and spin-offs, 6) enhancing continuity of cooperative and entrepreneurship education, 7) recruiting and developing industrially-experienced and research-active staff, and 8) accommodating competitive facilities for R&D. In addition, a governmental intermediate organization (such as Thailand Automotive Institute) should be identified as the central organization in improving competitiveness of the cluster that should be given greater autonomy and flexibility to support the coopetition of different players with greater efficiency and effectiveness.