Discover More About Sea Kelp

What is kelp? Is it different than seaweed or algae? Actually, kelp is the general term that refers to  124 species of brown algae that are in the Order Laminariales. While kelp may look like a plant, it is classified in the Kingdom Chromista. Kelp is a type of seaweed, and seaweeds are a form of sea algae. The kelp plant itself is made up of three parts: the blade (the leaf-like structure), the stipe (the stem-like structure) and the holdfast (root-like structure). The holdfast grips a substrate and anchors the kelp to keep it secure despite moving waves and currents. The Value ​of Kelp Forests Kelp grows in forests in cold waters (usually less than 68 F). Several kelp species can make up one forest, the same way that different species of trees are found in a forest on land. A multitude of marine life lives in and depends upon kelp forests such as fish, invertebrates, marine mammals, and birds. Seals and sea lions feed on kelp, while grey whales may use it to hide from hungry killer whales. Seastars, kelp crabs, and isopods also rely on the kelp as a food source.   The most well-known kelp forests are the forests of giant kelp that grow off the coast of California, which are inhabited by sea otters. These creatures eat the red sea urchins that can destroy a kelp forest if their population is not controlled. Sea otters also hide from predatory sharks in the forests, so the forest also provides a safe haven as well as a feeding habitat. Many Common Uses Kelp is not only useful to animals; it is helpful for human beings, too. In fact, you probably even had kelp in your mouth this morning! Kelp contains chemicals called alginates that are used to thicken a number of products (e.g., toothpaste, ice cream). For example,  bongo kelp  ash is loaded with alkali and iodine and is used in soap and glass. Many companies derive vitamin supplements from kelp, as it is rich in many vitamins and minerals. Alginates are also used in pharmaceutical medications. SCUBA divers and water recreationists also enjoy the kelp forests. There Are About 30 Different Species There are about 30 different species of kelp: Giant kelp, southern kelp, sugarwack, and bull kelp are just a few kinds of kelp. Giant kelp is, not surprisingly, the largest kelp species and most popular or well-known. It is capable of growing 2 feet per day in the right conditions, and up to about 200 feet in its lifetime. Threats to Vital Kelp Forests There are several things that threaten kelp production and the health of vital kelp forests. Forests can become degraded due to overfishing. This can release fish into different areas, which can cause overgrazing of the forests. With less kelp or fewer species available in a sea, it can drive out other animals that rely on the kelp forest as their ecosystem or cause other animals to eat the kelp instead of other creatures.   Water pollution and quality, as well as climate changes and introductions of invasive species, also are threats to kelp forests.

06-12c Outsourcing Services Inc - 1000 Words

Case 06-12 Outsourcing Services, Inc. Outsourcing Services, Inc. (OSI), a SEC registrant, provides a variety of EDP and payroll processing services to third parties. OSI recently has introduced a new service line to provide product help-line support services through customer service representatives (CSRs) who are employees of OSI. On January 1, 2004, OSI entered into a service contract with Company X. Pursuant to the terms of the contract, OSI’s CSRs will provide technical support for Company X’s products. The contract has an initial term of one year and is not cancelable by the customer. After the initial year, the contract is renewable at negotiated market rates. Prior to starting this new service line, OSI hired independent consultants†¦show more content†¦Cost Deferral Policy In the past, OSI had not entered into transactions in which significant up-front costs were incurred in connection with the set-up and origination of its contracts, and, accordingly, O SI has not adopted a policy for accounting for these types of costs. OSI has indicated it plans to adopt a policy of deferring all up-front costs related to this contract including system set-up costs, sales commissions, and other contract acquisition costs. Management of OSI believes they will recover these costs and generate substantial profits through their call revenue (initial term and renewal periods), and the up-front costs incurred are a necessary investment in the contract. Based on customer lifting studies performed by an outside consultant and other industry statistics, OSI expects its contract with Company X to extend beyond the initial contract term and estimates a customer life of approximately 4.5 years. The total fees (set-up fee and call revenue) over the customer life are expected to exceed the direct costs of the contract, including amortization of the deferred costs before any indirect or Selling, General, and Administrative costs. Copyright 2005  © Deloitte Development LLC All Rights Reserved. Case 06-12: Outsourcing Services, Inc. Page 3 Required: †¢ Question 1: Is the accounting policy proposed by OSI to deferShow MoreRelatedExxon Mobile Capstone40455 Words   |  162 Pagesnatural gas; and recovery of hydrocarbon liquids. Firms may operate oil and gas wells on their own account or for others on a contract or fee basis.6 Supplier Power: Suppliers are mining and drilling equipment manufacturers. They provide support services on a fee or contract basis. The demand for oil drilling rises as the price of crude oil rises. As the demand rises, suppliers can charge a higher price per hour; hence, supplier power is cyclical. In an up cycle, the suppliers have power; in a down

Digital Marketing User Experience for Amazon.com

Question: Describe about the Recognition of Problems, Pre-Interaction of Alternatives, and Post consumption evaluation of Amazon.com? Answer: Introduction With changes in the form and appearance of the digital world, the experience of users has to be considered as being imperative in nature. The experience of user has been becoming an extremely popular feature in the landscape of digital experience. But as marketers of the digital world, there is lack of clarity in viewing the experience of customer, and how this experience results in affecting the work being done by the marketers. The experience of digital users should not only be considered as the interface for the marketers. The growth in the space of digital world, specifically mobile phones, is a change and a trend that has been gathering a lot of esteem (Weiser, 2009). A number of organizations in the digital world have been seeking creativity with the interaction of expertise who have been helping to build responsive apps and websites and developing or fine- tuning the strategies of digital world. There are a number of regulations that are providing guidance to the digital compa nies for revamping their presences on the web. Hence, it can be stated that even the government authorities have been helping the organizations in enhancing the experience of the users (Leifer, 2008). Greater optimism regarding the complete landscape of business has resulted in bigger budgets of marketing. As the experience of users is extremely important for the success of digital businesses, this report will help in understanding a number of different perspectives from that of the users. This report will be reflecting the experience of users in digital marketing with respect to this subject and drawing conclusions pertaining for the strategy of marketing from the perspective of Amazon.com (selected organization). Recognition of Problems Cognitive style is a major factor of influence in the information seeking by the users. Because of the diversification of information, the sources of digital libraries have been becoming one of the most significantly used services on the web (Chaffey et al, 2012). The current digital libraries have been becoming extremely complicated systems in comparison with the traditional sources of library. However, a number of individuals have been using the digital libraries. This is due to the fact that the platforms of digital libraries help in making information available to the users in a direct manner through both sources, internet and intranet (Johnson, 2009). Internet and intranets are used for the dissemination of information, digital libraries have been serving the audiences in the broader context (Cannings, 2013). In simple words, it can be stated that the users of digital library seem to be having higher degree of variability with respect to their skills, knowledge and background. H ere, Amazon.com can be quoted as an experience that I had when recognizing a problem. I was not able to look for Note II Galaxy, Samsung mobile phone from the website of the company. I even tried to look across the different categories but I could not find it. I needed to purchase the phone and Amazon.com helped create a digital library platforming enabling me to access available data directly with the help of internet and intranet availability. Search for Information Digital Library is referred to as focus being created on collecting the digital source that can be including video material, audio material, visual material and text, being stored as the formats of electronic media, along with the sources to organize, store, and retrieve the media and files consisting the collection of library. There are a number of variations in the sources of digital libraries with respect to scope and size, and there can be maintenance by organizations, individuals, or affiliations with the developed physical buildings of library or academic institutions (Fishbein, 2006). Majority of the digital libraries are focused on providing an interface of search that allows the availability of resources. In the typical sense, these resources are invisible web or deep web as more frequently, the location of these becomes difficult by the crawlers of search engine (Turner, 2012). Majority of the digital libraries have been creating site maps or special pages for allowing the search engines for finding each and every resource available. There are two basic strategies that can be used to search for federating the digital libraries. These include, searching previously harvested metadata, and distributed searching. In the most typical sense, distributed searching is known to be involving a client that sends a number of requests of search that is in parallel dimension of a number of different services within the federation of digital libraries (GHI, 2009). The gathering of results can be done, duplicates are clustered or eliminated, and the items that remained are presented and sorted back towards the clients. On more frequent basis protocols are used in the searching for distribution. An advantage in relation to this approach can be identified as that the tasks intensive towards resources to index and to store are left aside with respect to the related servers within the course of federation (Leifer, 2008). A disadvantage towards this particular approach is the mechanisms of search is restricted by the varying indexing and capabilities being ranked of each and every database, therefore, to make it difficult for assembling a combination of results that consist of the most importantly available items. There are a number of regulations that are providing guidance to the digital companies for revamping their presences on the web (Weiser, 2009). Hence, it can be stated that even the government authorities have been helping the organizations in enhancing the experience of the users. Greater optimism regarding the complete landscape of business has resulted in bigger budgets of marketing. Searching over the metadata harvested previously at Amazon.com, includes searching index that is stored locally related to the information, the collection of which has been done previously from the libraries within the scope of the companys website for users. In the most typical sense, the computing devices at the website of the company consist of important elements such as the walls of interaction between products and services present for purchase such as tablets, tabletops, smart phones and techniques of interaction such as multiple touch, pen, tangible or gestural input. When there is performance of search such as in the case of Amazon.com , the mechanisms of search does not need to be making any connections with the libraries in digital form being looked for, it already seems to be having a representation in its local form related to the information (Fishbein, 2006). This particular approach will be needing the indexing being created and mechanism being harvested that is conducting operations on regular basis, making connections to each and every single digital library and to question the entire collection for making discovery of updated and new resources (Katina, 2013). On frequent basis, this is used by the libraries of digital source in order to allow that there is harvesting of metadata. An advantage with respect to this approach is that the mechanism of search has complete control over ranking and indexing algorithms, with the possibility to allow more consistency in the results. A disadvantage is that the indexing and harvesting systems are hi ghly intensive towards resources and therefore, identified as being expensive. Pre- Interaction of Alternatives With changes in the form and appearance of the digital world, the experience of users has to be considered as being imperative in nature (Lusted, 2011). The experience of user has been becoming an extremely popular feature in the landscape of digital experience. But as marketers of the digital world, there is lack of clarity in viewing the experience of customer, and how this experience results in affecting the work being done by the marketers. The experience of digital users should not only be considered as the interface for the marketers (Fishbein, 2006). Blended interaction, a new framework of concept that can be considered for explaining when the user interfaces are being perceived by the users, as being natural or not just as in the case of Amazon.com. Blended interaction is used at the company and it contributes in providing a highly accurate and novel description with respect to the characteristics of interactions taking place between the computer and the human. In the particular sense, the notion related to conceptual blends can be used for explaining how users have their reliability over the real and familiar world concept, whenever there is understanding for using the new technologies of digital form (Leifer, 2008). The spaces of interaction are considered to be ubiquitous environments of computing for a collaboration that is supported by the customers, which follows the base and the pre- existing skills are enhanced that include cognitive, social, spatial and motor skills related to the groups of users (Turner, 2012). In the most typical sense, the computing devices such as the walls of interaction, tablets, tabletops, smart phones and techniques of interaction such as multiple touch, pen, tangible or gestural input, are integrated into the establishment of non- digital practices of work and the environments of work like libraries, design studios, and meeting rooms (Fishbein, 2006). The goal is focused on the achievement of an ideally unobtrusive and nature support of computation in the duration of collaborative tasks and activities like decision making, analysis, ideation or presentation (Sigfusson et al, 2013). The virtues related to digital and physical artifact are in combination with the desired properties for the achievement of different interactions with the computer and the human. These include, searching previously harvested metadata, and distributed searching. In the most typical sense, distributed searching is known to be involving a client that sends a number of requests of search that is in parallel dimension of a number of different services within the federation of digital libraries. There are a number of variations in the sources of digital libraries with respect to scope and size, and there can be maintenance by organizations such as Amazon.com, individuals, or affiliations with the developed physical buildings of library or academic institutions (Leifer, 2008). Majority of the digital libraries are focused on providing an interface of search that allows the availability of resources. In the typical sense, these resources are invisible web or deep web as more frequently, the location of these becomes difficult by the crawlers of search engine. The successful designing of this types of interactive spaces are known to be posing a broad range of issues and challenges that show concern towards a number of technological issues, but in the specific sense, with yet unanswered questions of research regarding the interaction between computers and humans, and the design of interaction being used. However, a number of individuals have been using the digital libraries (Weiser, 2009). This is due to the fact that the platforms of digital libraries help in making information available to the users in a direct manner through both sources, internet and intranet. Internet and intranets are used for the dissemination of information, digital libraries have been serving the audiences in the broader context. In simple words, it can be stated that the users of digital library seem to be having higher degree of variability with respect to their skills, knowledge and background (SWG, 2011). Purchase and Consumption There are a number of regulations that are providing guidance to the digital companies for revamping their presences on the web. Hence, it can be stated that even the government authorities have been helping the organizations in enhancing the experience of the users. Greater optimism regarding the complete landscape of business has resulted in bigger budgets of marketing (Turner, 2012). The process in which buyer makes a decision, there are a number of stages and steps involved that the purchaser will be going through before the final decision of making purchases is actual made. The process for the decision of buyers at Amazon.com to consume and the process of decision for buying from the company has similar consideration with each other. In the most obvious sense, core towards this particular process is the consideration of the fact that in general sense, purchase is more related to the value provided by the terms of money and that the business or the consumers will be taking time for actually assessing the alternatives involved. Post consumption evaluation The phrase satisfaction of customers consists of two main concepts. The consumer shows concern towards the process of consumption that the consumers will be going through. Satisfaction shows concern towards the process of evaluation that each and every single customer will be going through. Hence, the processes of evaluation and consumption at Amazon.com must be the main focus of any specific attempt for the conceptualization of showing dissatisfaction or satisfaction with the services (Johnson, 2009). When there is performance of search at Amazon.com, the mechanisms of search does not need to be making any connections with the libraries in digital form being looked for, it already seems to be having a representation in its local form related to the information. This particular approach will be needing the indexing being created and mechanism being harvested that is conducting operations on regular basis, making connections to each and every single digital library and to question the entire collection for making discovery of updated and new resources. Divestment Digital Library is referred to as focus being created on collecting the digital source that can be including video material, audio material, visual material and text, being stored as the formats of electronic media, along with the sources to organize, store, and retrieve the media and files consisting the collection of library with respect to Amazon.com (Johnson, 2009). There are a number of variations in the sources of digital libraries with respect to scope and size, and there can be maintenance by organizations, individuals, or affiliations with the developed physical buildings of library or academic institutions. Majority of the digital libraries have been creating site maps or special pages for allowing the search engines for finding each and every resource available. There are two basic strategies that can be used to search for federating the digital libraries (Leifer, 2008). These include, searching previously harvested metadata, and distributed searching. In the most typical sense, distributed searching is known to be involving a client that sends a number of requests of search that is in parallel dimension of a number of different services within the federation of digital libraries. Amazon.com also favors a digital library set up that is contributed by variety of servers that help users from across the globe to inter-relate and connect to obtain services from the company. The gathering of results can be done, duplicates are clustered or eliminated, and the items that remained are presented and sorted back towards the clients. On more frequent basis protocols are used in the searching for distribution. An advantage in relation to this approach can be identified as that the tasks intensive towards resources to index and to store are left aside with respect to the related servers within the course of federation. Conclusion The spaces of interaction are considered to be ubiquitous environments of computing for a collaboration that is supported by the customers, which follows the base and the pre- existing skills are enhanced that include cognitive, social, spatial and motor skills related to the groups of users (Turner, 2012). In the most typical sense, the computing devices such as the walls of interaction, tablets, tabletops, smart phones and techniques of interaction such as multiple touch, pen, tangible or gestural input, are integrated into the establishment of non- digital practices of work and the environments of work like libraries, design studios, and meeting rooms. Amazon.com is one such organization that has been offering enhanced user experience on Digital marketing by following steps of digital marketing application appropriately. The gathering of results can be done, duplicates are clustered or eliminated, and the items that remained are presented and sorted back towards the clients. On more frequent basis protocols are used in the searching for distribution (Weiser, 2009). An advantage in relation to this approach can be identified as that the tasks intensive towards resources to index and to store are left aside with respect to the related servers within the course of federation. Cognitive style is a major factor of influence in the information seeking by the users. Because of the diversification of information, the sources of digital libraries have been becoming one of the most significantly used services on the web. The current digital libraries have been becoming extremely complicated systems in comparison with the traditional sources of library. However, a number of individuals have been using the digital libraries especially from the leading business organization known as Amazon.com. References Blackwell, A.F. (2007). Metaphor in Diagrams, PhD Thesis, University of Cambridge, Cambridge. Carter, B. Brooks, G. Catalano, F. and Smith, B. (2007),Digital Marketing for Dummies, John Wiley Sons Clark, D., (2012),The End of the Expert: Why No One in Marketing Knows What They're Doing, Forbes, archived fromthe original on 4 November 2013 Brinkley, C. (2012).Digital marketing is growing in Australia, but so is the skills gap, Econsultancy, archived fromthe originalon 21 October 2012 Dourish, P. (2004). Where the Action Is: The Foundations of Embodied Interaction, First MIT Press Paperback Edition edn. MIT Press. Fishbein, M. (2006). "Attitude, Attitude Change, and Be-havior: A Theoretical Overview," In Attitude Research Bridges the Atlantic, P. Levine, ed., Chicago: Ameri-can Marketing Association Johnson, M. (2009). Philosophy in the flesh: the embodied mind and its challenge to Western thought, Basic Books, New York. Kates, M. (2013),Making digital and traditional marketing work together. E-consultancy, archived fromthe original on 25 November 2013 https://www.iccwbo.org/advocacy-codes-and-rules/areas-of-work/marketing-and-advertising/digital-marketing-communication/ Leifer, L. (2008). The Design of Implicit Interactions: Making Interactive Systems Less Obnoxious. Design Issues, 24 (3), pp. 72-84. Ryan, D. Jones, C. (2009),Understanding digital marketing: marketing strategies for engaging the digital generation, Kogan Turner, M. (2012). The Way We Think: Conceptual Blending and the Mind's Hidden Complexities, EUA Basic Books. Basic Books. Weiser, M. (2009). The computer for the 21st century. Scientific American, 3, pp. 94-104. Cannings, C . (2013). 7 Key benefits of blog marketing . Available:https://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/113659/blogging/7_key_benefits_to_blog_marketing_for_your_business.html. Last accessed 18 Dec 2013. Chaffey, D. Ellis-Chadwick, F., 2012.Digital Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice.5 ed. Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd. GHI 2009, Advantages of Using LinkedIn for Professional Networking [Online] Available at:https://www.greenhostit.com/company/green-blog/96-social-media/336-linkedin-advantages-business-networking Katina, B. (2013). The Advantages of Webinar. Available:https://www.ehow.com/list_7495125_advantages-webinar.html. Last accessed 18 Dec 2013. Lusted, M (2011). Social Networking. Minnesota: ABDO Publishing. 89-92. Sigfusson, T. Chetty, S., 2013. Building international entrepreneurial virtual networks in cyberspace.Journal of World Business,Volume 48, pp. 260-270. SWG 2011, The Advantages of Organic SEO Over Pay-Per-Click Advertising [Online] Available at:https://southernweb.com/2012/01/organic-seo-over-pay-per-click-advertising/

The commercialization of festivals has eroded their real significance free essay sample

A festival is an occasion for rejoicing and celebration. It conjures up scenes of gaiety and merrymaking. It is an occasion for family rejoicing and community celebrations. Festivals break the monotony of life, bring peace and joy to the masses and above all promote social interaction and harmony. All nations have their religious and colorful festivals. Being a multi-religious, multilingual and multi-racial country, Indians celebrate a number of festivals all through the year. However, Indian festival are known to attract the world due to their harmony variety, color and excitement. But now we see their significance has been eroded by their commercialization. Now these have become just important occasions, to promote personal and commercial purpose. We know, Indian festivals are as varied as the people themselves. All communities, all religions and all nations have their festivals. But nowhere do they form such an integral part of life as they were earlier used to be. These festivals can broadly be divided into three categories—national or political, religious and seasonal. Most Indian festivals usually have their origin either in religion or in the myths and legends of popular faiths. Some are connected with the memory of venerable men and events and are, therefore, commemorative in nature. They are intended to keep alive the memory of those days and personalities and inspire people to emulate their examples. But now, real purpose have been abandoned. In the name of those men and occasions, celebrating the event have become a means to attract funds, provided in the name of those functions. National festivals, like the Republic Day, the Independence Day, Gandhi Jayanti and others are supposed to be celebrated with great patriotic fevour. These have been declared as national holidays and are celebrated in all parts of the country and in the state capitals with a lot of pomp and show. The organizer of these functions never bother to follow the principles of those great men, i. e. , of simplicism and non-violence, they rather fight with their coordinators to be ahead in the lime light. The capital, New Delhi is the seat of national celebration on all occasions. It witnesses one of the most majestic parades on the Republic Day. Apart from the Armed Forces, school children from across the country also participate in the parade. The normal practice is that the states exhibit their talents depicting the states resources or recent achievement and the best one achieve rewards. But now, it is an open fact that achievement has nothing to do with the reward. One, who has great source of authority, places can get the place in the line. Moreover, the glory of those reward doesn’t last long. The winners steal the media’s show for the time being. After a time, they are lost in commercial gloom as the commercializing agents make hay while the sun shines. The same is the case in religious festivals. Diwali is celebrated all over India. On this day, the people worship Lakshmi, the goodess of wealth. On this day, everybody illuminates his house with rows of lights. Every town or village appears gorgeous on this night of mirth and festivity. Lights of all descriptions from the ordinary clay lamp to the costliest chandelier are artistically displayed with splendid effect but the ordinary clay lamp to the costliest chandelier are artistically displayed with splendid effect but to show personal supremacy. In the larger cities, gas and electric lights of various colours and degrees of luminosity make the night as bright as midday without bothering that they are, more or less, misusing the necessary resources. Vocal and instrumental music, stage performances and cinema shows keep people awake till late hours. Fireworks are displayed on house-tops and the frequent whizzing of sky-rockets and explosive bombs continue to be heard from sunset to midnight. ICSE Guess Papers Package The divine glory of the festival seems to have been lost behind all this show. For young merry-makers, the Diwali night is the ideal night. They spend lavishly on crackers and have sumptuous feasts. They never prefer to do some efforts to make the day memorable for those who have not pocket –power to celebrate it. Sweets are consumed in huge quantities but not for sacred purposes. Juniors gift them to seniors to make them happy so that, in turn, they would get their favor. Many desecrations like these have crept into the celebration of this festival. The season of festivals is at its peak each year during the months of October and November. There may be poor souls lost in hectic routine having no idea of festive season. There are ump teem ways to remind one that the festival months have arrived. To begin with there would be numerous tents on roadside with bhajans blaring from the loudspeakers and temporary stalls serving piping hot food on payment. Then there are innumerable Dandiya with DJs that go on for nine days. It’s time for brisk business for all. Shops, big and small display ‘For Sale’ or other schemes to attract customers. Most of the Indian festivals which have come down to us from antiquity are connected with the course of nature and the fruits of the soil. Many legends from Hindu mythology have been associated with festivals. The relationships are the essence of celebrations. But does this spirit exist in today’s fast paced competitive, nuclear families?

Crime In The Netherlands Essays - Wijchen, Batenburg, Cult, Sect

Crime In The Netherlands Over the years, there has been much discussion regarding the relationship between crime and religious sects. How were crime justified? Where and how were the robberies committed? In the article Crime in the Netherlands in the sixteenth century Janzma studies the issue of robbery in relation to the Appelman-Batenburg group and the followers of Johan Willems by exploring the socioeconomic and political conditions responsible for their survival. According to the author, the Appelman-Batenburg sect was more organized than most since they had organized a criminal network of spies, locksmiths and goldsmiths. This would ensure that the loot would be well hidden and new operations could be planned. Secondly, their raids were carried out in secrecy. Since they were scattered, this allowed the group to disperse over a greater surface area. According to the author, this was a wise move, since it allowed the members to continue to steal while learning of the fate of other leaders which had been caught. On the other hand, the Johan Willem sect were more concentrated in the area around Wetzel, Guelders and Overijssel. This group comprised mostly of people who had been members of the Appelman-Batenburg group as well as those who had escaped the siege of M?nster.Unlike the Appelman-Batenburg sect, the John Willem group stole mostly from churches however did also steal from houses and monasteries. However, like the Appelman-Batenburg, they did carry out their raids in secrecy. In addition, the author also discussed the theme of violence. Although violence was rarely used during the raids, it was not uncommon for members to kill their victims or even other members to avoid being recognized. In addition, the author adds that for the Appelman-Batenburg sect, murder was also used as a ploy to not rouse the suspicion in the neighbourhood in which they robbed. The main difference between these two groups is seen in the way in which justification to commit these acts were perceived. For the Appelman-Batenburg, robbery was seen only as a temporary act. According to the author, once the town had been seized, they used it as a base from which the sinful world could be punished. They held the view that the church property belonged to them. The author adds that since the Appelman-Batenburg sect was being persecuted and killed by monks, they used robbery as a form of vengeance against the church as well as the Eucharist as well as to persuade unconvinced members to set aside their objections. On the other hand, the author states that Johan Willems group viewed themselves as God's people. They believed that a new kingdom was to be established by God with the aid of Johan Willems and that the practise of robbery and plundering would come to an end once the kingdom was founded. A final theme discussed by the author was survival of the groups. According to the author, there were two main reasons why the groups managed to survive : geography and recruitment. Since both sects were scattered, there were more possibilities to hide from the authorities. As well, the war rendered certain areas unsafe which allowed the groups to expand in more geographical areas. Recruitment for both sects contributed greatly to their survival because of the war and religious developments. According to the author, many new recruits were peasants and citizens who were dispossessed and held for ransom who would not hesitate to join them as a form of survival. In conclusion, the theme of crime in the Netherlands is a very vast one and difficult to fully understand without conducting a more thorough study of the socioeconomic and political conditions of the times as well as the study of other groups. This article serves as a introduction to the subject at hand and offers the readers the possibility of further study. As well, the article teaches us about the vulnerability of humans and their quest for survival in times of desperation. To end, could these movements have served as a background for today's society? History

Mexican essays

Mexican essays We would like you to know we are not all docile nor revolutionaries but we are all survivors. . . We do not all pick lettuce, run assembly lines. . . We do not all sneak under barbed wire or wade the Rio Grande. These are the facts. . .(Castillo). Ana Castillo, the author of this poem, proves a point that as a race we all come here to the United Sates in search of a new life. We come here to survive and as Mexicans, we suffered a great deal. There has always been something there encouraging them to succeed in life, their family. Parents try their best to encourage their sons and daughters to succeed in life and take advantage of the opportunities they never had. Mexican parents work hard to give their families the best life, by creating and sharing great memories with them. Therefore, one can relate back to what ones childhood was like and what fond memories one keeps of them. Looking at what the present holds for us and what the future might bring makes one think that in order to succeed one has to overcome those fears of failing. Interestingly enough, my past experiences made me realize the world we live in is full of opportunities as well as the mistakes that we make that guides us how to choose the correct path. Therefore, as I look at my memories of my past I realize that I choose the correct path. My parents both came to the United Sates when I was one and a half years old and moved to Redwood City where we lived for the beginning of my life. Living in those apartments made me realize that not everyone chooses the right path. Growing up on those streets was the hardest challenge I had to overcome. Watching gang members destroy and ruin their lives over some insignificant symbolic mask that they wear that gave them power and made people like me and others scared of them. Looking back into my past I remember how one of my friends decided to take the wrong path and become part of a gang. I clearly remembe...

Reactive and Preventive Healthcare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reactive and Preventive Healthcare - Essay Example Is it appropriate for an individual to show concern about one's blood pressure, once one suffers a heart attack Is it sensible to care about one's food habits and lifestyle, once a person develops a peptic ulcer Nearly 50 percent of the Americans suffering from chronic ailments could trace their maladies to faulty lifestyles and non-compliance with the lifestyle adjustments prescribed by the healthcare personnel (American Heart Association: Online). There is no denying the fact that in such cases, reactive healthcare is like purchasing an umbrella after the rains are over. This premise does not obliterate the relevance of reactive healthcare. Still, preventive healthcare is certainly superior, as it attacks a disease at its very genesis. There are some facts, which command a general acceptance in the local and global medical community, and do not require any statistics to achieve credibility. It is a known reality that cigarette smoking causes cancer, heart diseases and a plethora of other ailments. According to the American Heart Association, in the period 2000-2004, approximately 443,000 US citizens died of smoking related illnesses every year (Online).

The Fairer Sex Video Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Fairer Sex Video - Assignment Example On the contrary, when Chris came for the same car, he was told it cost 9200 hundred dollars. Surprisingly, when he asked for the road test, the car dealer did not hesitate but gave him the car to drive by himself. The final price for the car had depreciated to 8900 hundred dollars. It is evident that gender bias has taken central position in certain businesses, and women are the ones mostly falling victims. At the golf club, Julie was denied a chance to book for a convenient time to play golf. She was being persuaded to book during odd hours; whereas, Chris was able to get two bookings reservation at convenient hours even after coming late. Income inequity is also influenced by gender bias. This is evident based on the research whereby ladies are offered low position jobs and charged highly for services. For instance, when Julie went for the job interview, she was intimidated with questions about her boyfriend instead of keeping the conversation professional. In addition, she was offered a secretary job, instead of the managerial work she had applied. The second instance is when Julie went to buy a motor vehicle. The shop attendant named a hefty price just because the customer was a lady. When Chris went for the same car, he was offered a much lower price. This evidently shows how women are charged highly for certain services. Discrimination can be eliminated through enactment of laws that majorly aim at protecting victims. This can be seconded by encouraging/educating people not to tolerate or entertain gender bias. It will be worthwhile for the managers to make gender biasness a business issue. The qualified women should be considered over men with less qualification. The hiring systems should also be changed. Qualifications come with ambition and dedication to the work. Most women are often ambitious because they have what it

MOTIVATION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

MOTIVATION - Essay Example 2010). As such, motivation is may be referred to as an inner drive, which arouses action or behavior in a particular manner. Motivation is characterized of having three components: intensity, persistence and activation. Intensity is seen in the ability of an individual to have vigor and concentration in pursuing attainment of a given goal. Persistence depicts a continuous effort that individual places in a goal irrespective of the various obstacles that may exist in the process of pursuing this goal. Finally, activation depicts the process or decision of behavior initiation, which is geared towards attainment of the goal. Motivation is characterized of various theories. Drive reduction theory is one of these theories, which argue that people tend to act such that their needs are reduced and a constant psychological state is maintained (Jiming & Xinjian 2013). An example is that, people will eat so that the need for food is reduced. Homeostasis, which depicts maintenance of a constant physiological equilibrium, is a common idea in this theory. The other theory is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory, which suggests that people are highly motivated because of the needs hierarchy. The first level is characterized of physiological needs like security, safety, water and food, the second level is characterized of social interaction needs like need to belong, the third level is characterized of self-esteem needs like need for individuals respect, and the fourth level is characterized of self-actualization needs like needs for one to realize his or her full potential. Maslow has a believe that people will only have an attention for higher needs in times when lower needs have been satisfied satisfactorily (Hayenga & Corpus 2010). These needs of people include learned needs and innate needs, which are influenced significantly by culture and society. There are limited innate needs that include elimination of wastes, oxygen, water and food, and numerous learned needs that include power, autonomy, and achievement. The determination of the level of needs among people is based on the values or perceptions, which people may perceive to be essential in their life. Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation Intrinsic motivation depicts a motivation facet that is triggered by enjoyment or interest in the task being performed. This motivation exists internally within an individual and does not depend on desires for reward or external pressures such as recognition for the performance (Mirabela-Constanta & Maria-Madela 2011). Intrinsically motivated individuals tend to focus on completion of their tasks in a willingly manner in order to improve their skills level and increase capabilities. People in an organization may be intrinsically motivated in case of: Them attributing the performance results to factors, which are under their control, or autonomy, If they posses self-efficacy beliefs, skills of making them the best agents of attaining the key goals of the or ganization, and Have the ability of mastering the culture and ethics of the organization towards attainment of a better performance. Extrinsic motivation on its own is focused on outcomes of performing a given activity. This indicates that extrinsic motivation is not inherent in an individual, but emerges from outside an individual (C?nar et al. 2011). Examples of common extrinsic motivation include rewards like bonus for an improvement in the performance level of an individual. Another example is competition, which triggers an individual to focus on attaining better results in the field of work in comparison to the other individuals in the same field. Comparing extrinsic to intrinsic motivation

Effects of Harmonization of Railway Infrastructure

Effects of Harmonization of Railway Infrastructure Abstract Historically, rail transport systems in Europe have been running as per national standards through the monopolistic and vertically integrated state owned operators. Most of the railway network in Europe is designed for different technical and operational standards of the member states, which makes it impossible or expensive for rail transport across borders. With a vision of achieving a single European railway network, in 1991, the European commission adopted a policy of revitalizing the railway sector to harmonize the technical and operational standards across the member states. This policy promotes a single set of Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSIs)todefine common railway system architectureanda common approach to railway safety management. The long-term objective of such a policy is to open up the rail passenger and freight market for competition and promote the rail transport as sustainable means of transportation. The future of the rail supply industry in Europe is linked to the creation of sustainable transport system, which can only be achieved by increasing the competition in the industry to provide cost effective solutions. Harmonization of the railway networks in Europe will be one of the important driving forces in shaping the rail supply industry in Europe. This paper analyses the current structure of the German rail supply industry and how the industry may evolve given the current drive for interoperability through harmonization of standards and technologies. The policies of interoperability were conceived during the early 90s, but the impact of such policies are yet to be seen due to the lack of co-ordination between the manufactures, the regulatory mechanism, insufficient funding and the political will. Though the rail supply industry of Europe is in favour of achieving the common technical standards, the resulting market dynamics due to the common European market remains unanswered. 1. Introduction The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effects of harmonization of railway infrastructure in Europe on the rail supply industry in Europe with focus on Germany. Various directives and regulations of European commission have set off a series of dramatic changes in the European railway sector. The liberalization process has seen unbundling of the vertically integrated state owned operators. The directive of interoperability is enforcing the member states to transition from the existing signalling systems to common rail traffic management systems across Europe. Besides the control systems, there is significant thrust by the European commission to harmonize the technical and operational standards of the other components of the railway infrastructure like the tracks, electrification, power supply substations etc. These would render common product characteristics across the infrastructure segments with some exceptions in the stations and tunnel construction as the nature of these requ irements varies depending on the local needs and resource restrictions and also these components doesnt contribute to the desired interoperability. Thus the harmonization process would increase the size of the accessible market for companies in rail supply industry. Hence harmonization is bound to have a significant effect on how the industry is structured and the competition within the industry. The German railway infrastructure is the key component of the entire railway transport industry, where in the state owned operator and Logistics Company, Deutsche Bahn AG owns the entire infrastructure. Deutsche Bahn AG (DB) has a monopoly on the upstream of the value chain of German railway industry and at the same time DB exists as a monopsony at the downstream of the value chain. Thus, DB is a single buyer of the infrastructure services and products with very high bargaining power over their suppliers. The processes of harmonization and liberalization in the European railway sector have been shaping the complete value chain of industry. The increasing competition among the railway operator has brought in many benefits to the consumers and also to all other stakeholders involved in the industry. The German rail supply industry is highly fragmented with small to large companies involved in different segments of infrastructure services. The Fragmented nature of the industry has given rise to aggressive competition in the industry with many large players trying to claim their stakes in the market. The presence of only a single buyer, Deutsche Bahn, has defined the competition as price oriented, with many infrastructure companies trying to innovate on the technology and process to provide the infrastructure as per the national standards and at lower costs. This paper will discuss the benefits of the standardization in the industry and would also discuss how the rail supply industry in Germany may restructure to the changing market dynamics once the single European market is in place for the railway sector. Chapter 2 of this paper presents entire value chain of the German railway transport industry. This will be followed by the description of the key stake holders of the industry and the interaction mechanism between them. Further the analysis will focus on the railway infrastructure part of the value chain. The analysis in this section will try to evaluate the forces that drive the industry and the bargaining power of the decision makers. Chapter 3 of the document discusses process of harmonization through the EU directives of interoperability and safety. The analysis here will try to explain the various regulation, time frames and governing bodies involved in the process. The discussion will also highlight the progress of harmonization and the issues and obstacles to achieving the desired targets of interoperability. Chapter 4 will discuss the benefits of harmonization to the industry and chart out the current strategic environment of the German rail supply industry. This section will include a note on the key causal factors and actors influencing harmonization and will develop and discuss few scenarios as to how the industry may evolve post harmonization of the railway infrastructure in Europe in general and Germany in particular. The analysis in this section will draw inferences from the views of some opinion leaders and academics who are involved with the industry. Finally the conclusions of the study will be presented in the chapter 5 which will summarize the findings and hypothesis of chapters 3 and 4 respectively. The conclusion will highlight the limitations of this research paper and will also suggest further research options concerning the rail supply industry. 2. The Value chain of German Railway Industry 2.1. Over view of value chain The German railway industry is composed of various players along the value chain. A brief overview of the Railway industry value chain is as shown the figure1. The first link in the value chain of German railway industry is the infrastructure construction, which includes the building and maintaining various infrastructure components that support the railway network. The infrastructure components can be track, electrification, power supply substation, electro mechanical works, signalling and command control, railway stations, maintenance and upgrade of tracks and public announcement, displays, ticketing devices etc. Many private companies as well as the subsidiaries of DB are active in this part of the value chain. The second component of the value chain is the infrastructure management, which is driven by many stake holders, but is controlled mainly by DB Netze, which owns the complete mainline and high speed railway network in Germany. The infrastructure for the urban transport is usually owned by the urban transport operators. The governing bodies like Federal Railway Authority of Germany and the Public Transport Authorities of the various states are the key decision makers for infrastructure management. The most important component of the value chain is the network operation and logistics. This segment of the industry caters to the rail transport market, by providing services to the end customers. The main players in this segment are the Deutsche Bahn, which is a monopoly with around 85% of market share in Germany. The liberalization process has led to the advent of few private operators, who lease the infrastructure from the DB Netze. The urban transport operators are active players in the metro/ tram segment of the railway transport market. The last link of the value chain includes the end customers, which is constituted of both the passenger and freight transport market. Customers are the central focus for the various reforms in the industry as the growth is dependent on the ability of the industry to provide the transport services at affordable prices in comparison with other alternatives like road and air transport. The details of different segments of the rail transport market and the related statistics are provided in Appendix 1. As seen from the figure 1, the intensity of the competition increases as we move up the value chain from the network operators to the infrastructure suppliers. The process of liberalization has induced competition amongst the operators, but the very high sunk costs involved, have erected a strong barrier for new entrants. Further up the value chain, there are many players involved in infrastructure management and infrastructure construction due to the attractive market size. Though the liberalization process has contributed to the opening up of this market, historically many small and big players are involved in this part of the value chain leading to an increased competition. 2.2. Key players of German railway infrastructure management To understand the rail infrastructure industry in Germany, It is essential to understand the various stakeholders in the industry and their contribution and importance in driving the market dynamics. Figure 2 is a schematic of the industry structure with a focus on infrastructure management. 2.2.1. European Commission European Commission is a governing body which is one of the important demand drivers for the infrastructure market. The federal and local governments of the member states in the European Union are obligated to adhere to the regulations and policies devised by European Commission. European commission reviews and responds to the transportation needs of the member states of EU, which has the construction of modern, safe and integrated railway network in Europe as priority to fuel the growth of intra and international trade among the EU members. Hence, the reformatory regulations and their periodic reviews lie within the gamut of European commissions functions. European Commission has set up the European Railway Agency (ERA) to oversee the creation of integrated European railway network by enforcing and implementing safety and interoperability through standardizations and harmonization. ERA works as a coordinating body between the railway sector companies, national authorities, European Commission and other concerned parties. ERAs main task is to develop common technical standards and approaches for the European railway systems and infrastructure. ERA is also the system authority for the implementation of the European Rail Traffic Management Systems (ERTMS) project. Source: Adapted from the article separation of operators from infrastructure 2.2.2. Governments The German government oversees the overall transport sector through the Federal ministry for Transport, Building and Urban affairs. The Federal Railway Authority (Eisenbahn Bundesamt: EBA) is the supervisory authority for 30 railroad traffic operators and for 5 infrastructure companies mainly for the Deutsche Bahn AG. The functions of EBA include issuing licenses for infrastructure companies, providing investments and funding for infrastructure projects, making railroad access discrimination free, facilitates innovation within the accepted safety standards, ensures value creation for customers and also checks for unfair competitive practices. The supervisory authority of the urban transport lies with the 31 Public Transport Authorities (PTA) in the different federal states of Germany. The duties of the PTA are similar to those of EBA, but within the context of urban transport. PTAs work in conjunction with EBA for the infrastructure planning and funding activities at the local level. The political decision makers own the responsibility to define the legislative framework to fully integrate the European railways, in terms of enhanced market access, interoperability and safety rules. A sound legislative framework that works in tandem with the EU commission is expected to accelerate the harmonization process. 2.2.3. Network Operators/ Owners In Germany most of the mainline and regional rail networks infrastructure are owned and operated by the DB Netze AG , DB Regio Netz Infrastruktur GmbH, DB Station Service AG, DB Railionand the DB reise und touristik , who are all directly owned by the Federal Government. The DB Netze AG is responsible for track installations, coordination of network usage time tables and pricing. The DB Station Service AG operates, maintains and develops the passenger stations and also ensures the provision of services to travellers and railway undertakings. The DB Regio Netz Infrastruktur GmbH is responsible for local and regional traffic operation and infrastructure management. DB Railion is responsible for operation of freight traffic and DB Reise und touristik is responsible for long distance traffic operation. Besides these many new private traffic operators like Veolia Transportation, TX logistics, AKN Eisenbahn AG, Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn GmbH, S-Bahn Hamburg GmbH, etc have entered the German railway market. Railway operators are responsible for improving the quality of services in terms of information accessibility, customer comfort, reservation and ticketing, network accessibility, availability of services, punctuality and reliability. The infrastructure managers or the network owners are responsible for optimising the capacity utilization of the available network infrastructure; ensure fair and non discriminatory access to network for all railway undertakings and also to ensure operational efficiency and safety. 2.2.4. Infrastructure providers Infrastructure providers are the companies that supply the railway transport industry with various infrastructure services like the rolling stock, track, electrification, maintenance etc. The infrastructure providers can also be termed as rail supply industry focused on the infrastructure development as per the standards and regulations set by the other stakeholders listed above. The rail supply industry is responsible for organising themselves to provide the ready to use equipment and infrastructure needed by the railway undertakings and infrastructure managers. The research and development of new products to promote the process of harmonization depends on the capabilities of rail supply industry. 2.2.5. Associations and Organizations Many organizations and agencies of the railway industry in Europe work closely with the EU and the national governments of the member states to support and promote the rail transport by setting technical standards and promoting fair competitive practices in the industry. Some of the important associations and agencies that are relevant to the rail supply industry are UNIFE, ERRAC, UITP, UIC, CER, EFRTC etc. Details of these associations are provided in the Appendix 2. 2.3. Overview of German rail supply market Worldwide, total rail supply market volume exceeds â‚ ¬ 120 bn. Of which, the size of the rail supply market in Germany is estimated to be around â‚ ¬ 6.3 bn. Based on the railway network type and usage characteristics, the rail supply markets can be further classified as High speed and very high-speed lines, conventional and regional rail lines and the urban rail transport networks. While Deutsche Bahn is the single customer in the high speed and very high speed lines and the conventional and regional lines segments, the different public transport authorities are the customers in the urban rail infrastructure market. High speed and very high-speed lines: These are usually the rail networks that spans across the borders to enable faster connectivity across Europe. The high speed lines between the important cities within the country also fall into this category, as they have the future potential to be integrated with cross border traffic. In Germany, this segment is currently small in size and is expected to grow especially due to the increasing need of cross border traffic. Conventional and regional lines: These are usually referred to as main lines and consist of the rail networks that connect the different regions with in a country. So, the entire regional rail transport networks that support the intra train transport with in a country and the freight transport networks can be grouped into this category. Currently this segment is built and operated as per the national standards set by the Federal railway authority and the volume of this network is very huge and is highly heterogeneous and is also operationally underutilised. Urban rail networks: This market segment consists of metros and the commuter/sub urban rail networks which support the public transport with in a city. The product requirements within this segment can vary depending on the local geographical characteristics and funds availability. This segment is mostly independent of and incompatible with the other segments and so provides many avenues of differentiation for the companies that are active in this segment. As of now there are no regulations enforcing harmonization of these networks. 2.4. Structure of rail supply industry in Germany The rail supply industry in Germany is classified into four segments namely; Rolling stock, Infrastructure, Signalling and control system and services. Figure 3 represents a schematic of the different segments of the German rail supply industry. Rolling stock: The products in this segment are characterized by all the vehicles that run on the railways like locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons. Due to the high capital investments, this segment usually consists of large companies like Bombardier, Siemens and Alstom. Infrastructure: This segment is characterized by the infrastructure components like tracks, electrification and stations. Many companies with diversified products serve in one or more of the components of this segment. Signalling and control systems: The infrastructure components like the track side signal installations, on board control equipment, control stations etc are grouped as signalling and control systems. Services: This segment includes the service and maintenance for all the other segments. This segment also comprises the project management and turnkey solutions. In Germany most of the maintenance and project management is carried out by the subsidiaries of Deutsche Bahn. 2.5. Segmentation of the German rail supply market Putting the rail supply market and the rail supply industry segmentation together will provide a complete segmentation matrix, which will help in the better understanding and analysis of the market. The segmentation matrix is provided in figure 4. Figure 4: German rail supply Market Segmentation matrix In the above matrix, the shaded regions indicate an overlap of product and service similarities in the different infrastructure components and the market segments of the railway industry. 3. Harmonization For a successful, larger and integrated Europe, the availability of efficient transport systems is essential for supporting sustainable economic growth and social development. Passenger and freight transportation by rail is a potentially effective instrument to combat congestion, pollution, global warming and traffic accidents. These negative externalities undermine the capability and efficiency of European economy and the health of future generations. The growing European Union and the globalization of the world economy have necessitated an international transport market, to support the outpacing economic growth. Today, the rail sector faces an ever increasing demand of accommodating higher transport volumes, a result of transport growth, and of policies favouring competition in the sector. Rail transport in Europe is a future-oriented industry, striving to offer attractive, affordable, safe, clean, competitive and reliable transport mode. Harmonization is the process of standardization of infrastructure components like types of track gauges, different types of power supply, speed control systems, train safety systems and technologies as well as the job profiles of drivers. The objective of harmonization is to achieve interoperability between the heterogeneous railway networks of the member states with in EU. Harmonizing products and technologies through innovation is a necessity for the rail supply industry to deploy its potential, and for its stakeholders to deliver cost-effective services for intermediate and final clients. 3.1. Need for harmonization Prior to the formation of European Union, the railway systems in Europe were run at the national level and were managed and operated by vertically integrated state owned companies. These railway systems were designed under different national operational rules, policies and standards. This resulted in the lack of interoperability in the railway transport sector which hampered the goal of growth in European economy through increased trade activities amongst the member states. The EU thus envisaged a goal of unified railway transport network across the EU member states to promote the trade and thus foster the economy. This goal transformed into a number of directives and regulations to achieve a Trans European network. 3.2. Components of harmonization To transition from the heterogeneous railway networks to a homogenised railway transport infrastructure across Europe, different components of harmonisations were evaluated by the European commission. European commission defined the homologation process in terms of interoperability, safety and signalling systems. 3.2.1. Interoperability Interoperability of the rail systems renders a safe and uninterrupted movement of trains, while accomplishing the required and specified levels of performance. Interoperability rests on all the technical, operational and regulatory conditions that must be met in order to satisfy the essential requirements. Interoperability has been mandated by several EU directives. The first one is the Directive 96/48/EC, which was passed in 1996 and is only concerned with the interoperability of the Trans- European high speed rail system. The second one is the Directive 2001/16/EC, which applies interoperability to lines within the trans-European transport network and other infrastructure facilities. Both these directives were later modified by the directive 2004/50/EC along with the corrigendum for the former directives. Most recently the directive 2008/57/EC was passed to include the community railway systems within the scope of interoperability. A consolidated history of regulatory framework evolution concerning interoperability in European railways is provided as Appendix 3. To overcome the technical fragmentation of rail networks, the interoperability directives provided that the Community legislation is gradually establishing mandatory so called Technical Specifications for Interoperability, commonly referred to as TSIs. The European Railway Agency owns the responsibility to draw up and revise the TSIs, on the basis of inputs provided by the member states and other stakeholders of the railway sector. Several subsystem constituents of interoperability of railway transport for both conventional and high speed lines are as below: Infrastructure( track works, tunnels, bridges and stations) and energy (electrification system) Operation and telematic application for passengers: related equipment and procedures to enable a coherent operation of different subsystems and also the requirements of professional qualification for the skilled labour involved in operations. Rolling stock: vehicle dynamics, superstructure, on board command and control system equipment, current-collection devices, traction units, energy conversion units, braking, coupling and running gear and suspension, doors, man/machine interfaces, passive or active safety devices. Maintenance: procedures and processes, technical documentation, related equipments, logistics centres for maintenance work. 3.2.2. Safety Safety is one of the important components of the railway systems which is highly regulated at both national and EU level. Safety is one of the prime concerns of the customers of rail transport and hence there is a special focus on the safety standards which have to be designed in line with the interoperability directives. Hence common safety standards, practices and targets have to complement interoperability to successfully achieve the desired homologation of the trans-European railway network. The European commission issued many directives to mandate the safety methods to support the harmonization process. These directives include Directive 2004/49/EC, Directive 2007/59/EC, the directive on certification of train drivers and other relevant EU legislation. ERA acts as a supporting organization to the European commission to develop the further implementation plans for the EU directives by networking with the national bodies of the member states. ERA has structured four different business sectors concerning railway safety and provides central support to the stakeholders involved in the complete process from formulation of regulation to implementation and periodic reviews. The four different segments are: Safety Assessment: developing common safety methods for risk evaluation and assessment and common safety targets according to articles 6 and 7 of the Directive 2004/49/EC. This unit assists each member state to define their safety targets and develop a methodology for calculating and assessing the achievement of those targets. This unit also collaborates to define safety requirements for TSIs and to support technical opinions to be given to European commission. Safety Certification: define, develop and evaluate implementation of common safety methods for certification of railway undertakings as well as certification for train drivers and authorization of infrastructure managers. The objective of this unit includes proposing a migration strategy towards a single Community Safety certificate. Safety Reporting: Monitors and analyzes the development of safety on Europes railways and disseminates information, reports biennially on the safety performance of railways within the European Union. Functions also include developing and maintaining public databases of safety related documents such as safety certificates, licenses, national safety rules, investigation reports and indicators. Responsibility of coordinating with the national investigation bodies concerning safety and facilitating information exchange between them lies with this unit Safety Regulation: Functions include, validating the notification of national safety rules, register and notify the national safety rules accepted by the commission, analyze the way in which the national safety rules are published, maintain the communication protocol between the member states and the responsible organizations for railway regulation. 3.2.3. ERTMS The command control and signalling systems is an important instrument that should also be harmonised to support the much required interoperability of the trans-European railway network. ERTMS is considered to be a first major step in fostering the creation of single European railway market. ERTMS would also address the increasing costs of operation due to the incompatible and obsolete signalling systems across Europe. Currently around 20 signalling systems are in place across Europe, most of which are adopted by the network operators of the member countries as stipulated by national standards. These different signal systems impose a restriction on the rail transport across the borders of the member states of EU, as the costs of incorporating compatibility with the international networks increases. A common standards and systems for intra as well as international rail traffic management in the EU member countries would enhance the attractiveness of rail transport making it affordable and environment friendly. The idea of common traffic management systems for European railways was conceived during the late 1980s, but the process of drawing up technical specification was started during 1998, following the interoperability directive of 1996. The ERTMS specification was approved by EU in 2000, followed by which, between 2005 and 2008, the implementations plans were charted out for the six freight corridors across Europe and the memorandum of understanding was signed between the EU, member states and the other railway stakeholders. The implementation plan was devised considering the national implementation plans of the member states, which was then consolidated taking into consideration the priority for the freight corridors connecting different member states. The proposed completion of implementation of ERTMS across Europe is by the end of 2020. UNIFE and a consortium of railway signal equipment manufacturers are working closely with the European commission and the infrastructure managers of member companies for the development and implementation of cost effective technical solutions concerning ERTMS implementation. 3.3. Process of Harmonization For successful harmonization of European railways, close cooperation of the institutional bodies, political representations and also commitment of the railway operators and rail supply industry are required. The harmonization and standardization process to achieve European railway interoperability can be grouped into two stages: 3.3.1. Directives to Standards The directives of the European Commission are transformed into the TSIs by ERA, which are then validated against the standards requirement at the national and the EU level by relevant standardization organization like CEN, CENELEC and ETSI. At the end of this stage a detailed documentation of the standards, while adopting the TSIs are produced. Figure 5 provides and illustration of this process. Source: Dealing with standardization in liberalized network industries by Dr Marc Laperrouza 3.3.2. Standards to Products Once the directives are turned into standards, the next challenge is to transform the standards into the products. The standards are again reviewed by the ERA and then passed over to the European Union for the legal process. Once the compliance with legal process is established, the standar Effects of Harmonization of Railway Infrastructure Effects of Harmonization of Railway Infrastructure Abstract Historically, rail transport systems in Europe have been running as per national standards through the monopolistic and vertically integrated state owned operators. Most of the railway network in Europe is designed for different technical and operational standards of the member states, which makes it impossible or expensive for rail transport across borders. With a vision of achieving a single European railway network, in 1991, the European commission adopted a policy of revitalizing the railway sector to harmonize the technical and operational standards across the member states. This policy promotes a single set of Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSIs)todefine common railway system architectureanda common approach to railway safety management. The long-term objective of such a policy is to open up the rail passenger and freight market for competition and promote the rail transport as sustainable means of transportation. The future of the rail supply industry in Europe is linked to the creation of sustainable transport system, which can only be achieved by increasing the competition in the industry to provide cost effective solutions. Harmonization of the railway networks in Europe will be one of the important driving forces in shaping the rail supply industry in Europe. This paper analyses the current structure of the German rail supply industry and how the industry may evolve given the current drive for interoperability through harmonization of standards and technologies. The policies of interoperability were conceived during the early 90s, but the impact of such policies are yet to be seen due to the lack of co-ordination between the manufactures, the regulatory mechanism, insufficient funding and the political will. Though the rail supply industry of Europe is in favour of achieving the common technical standards, the resulting market dynamics due to the common European market remains unanswered. 1. Introduction The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effects of harmonization of railway infrastructure in Europe on the rail supply industry in Europe with focus on Germany. Various directives and regulations of European commission have set off a series of dramatic changes in the European railway sector. The liberalization process has seen unbundling of the vertically integrated state owned operators. The directive of interoperability is enforcing the member states to transition from the existing signalling systems to common rail traffic management systems across Europe. Besides the control systems, there is significant thrust by the European commission to harmonize the technical and operational standards of the other components of the railway infrastructure like the tracks, electrification, power supply substations etc. These would render common product characteristics across the infrastructure segments with some exceptions in the stations and tunnel construction as the nature of these requ irements varies depending on the local needs and resource restrictions and also these components doesnt contribute to the desired interoperability. Thus the harmonization process would increase the size of the accessible market for companies in rail supply industry. Hence harmonization is bound to have a significant effect on how the industry is structured and the competition within the industry. The German railway infrastructure is the key component of the entire railway transport industry, where in the state owned operator and Logistics Company, Deutsche Bahn AG owns the entire infrastructure. Deutsche Bahn AG (DB) has a monopoly on the upstream of the value chain of German railway industry and at the same time DB exists as a monopsony at the downstream of the value chain. Thus, DB is a single buyer of the infrastructure services and products with very high bargaining power over their suppliers. The processes of harmonization and liberalization in the European railway sector have been shaping the complete value chain of industry. The increasing competition among the railway operator has brought in many benefits to the consumers and also to all other stakeholders involved in the industry. The German rail supply industry is highly fragmented with small to large companies involved in different segments of infrastructure services. The Fragmented nature of the industry has given rise to aggressive competition in the industry with many large players trying to claim their stakes in the market. The presence of only a single buyer, Deutsche Bahn, has defined the competition as price oriented, with many infrastructure companies trying to innovate on the technology and process to provide the infrastructure as per the national standards and at lower costs. This paper will discuss the benefits of the standardization in the industry and would also discuss how the rail supply industry in Germany may restructure to the changing market dynamics once the single European market is in place for the railway sector. Chapter 2 of this paper presents entire value chain of the German railway transport industry. This will be followed by the description of the key stake holders of the industry and the interaction mechanism between them. Further the analysis will focus on the railway infrastructure part of the value chain. The analysis in this section will try to evaluate the forces that drive the industry and the bargaining power of the decision makers. Chapter 3 of the document discusses process of harmonization through the EU directives of interoperability and safety. The analysis here will try to explain the various regulation, time frames and governing bodies involved in the process. The discussion will also highlight the progress of harmonization and the issues and obstacles to achieving the desired targets of interoperability. Chapter 4 will discuss the benefits of harmonization to the industry and chart out the current strategic environment of the German rail supply industry. This section will include a note on the key causal factors and actors influencing harmonization and will develop and discuss few scenarios as to how the industry may evolve post harmonization of the railway infrastructure in Europe in general and Germany in particular. The analysis in this section will draw inferences from the views of some opinion leaders and academics who are involved with the industry. Finally the conclusions of the study will be presented in the chapter 5 which will summarize the findings and hypothesis of chapters 3 and 4 respectively. The conclusion will highlight the limitations of this research paper and will also suggest further research options concerning the rail supply industry. 2. The Value chain of German Railway Industry 2.1. Over view of value chain The German railway industry is composed of various players along the value chain. A brief overview of the Railway industry value chain is as shown the figure1. The first link in the value chain of German railway industry is the infrastructure construction, which includes the building and maintaining various infrastructure components that support the railway network. The infrastructure components can be track, electrification, power supply substation, electro mechanical works, signalling and command control, railway stations, maintenance and upgrade of tracks and public announcement, displays, ticketing devices etc. Many private companies as well as the subsidiaries of DB are active in this part of the value chain. The second component of the value chain is the infrastructure management, which is driven by many stake holders, but is controlled mainly by DB Netze, which owns the complete mainline and high speed railway network in Germany. The infrastructure for the urban transport is usually owned by the urban transport operators. The governing bodies like Federal Railway Authority of Germany and the Public Transport Authorities of the various states are the key decision makers for infrastructure management. The most important component of the value chain is the network operation and logistics. This segment of the industry caters to the rail transport market, by providing services to the end customers. The main players in this segment are the Deutsche Bahn, which is a monopoly with around 85% of market share in Germany. The liberalization process has led to the advent of few private operators, who lease the infrastructure from the DB Netze. The urban transport operators are active players in the metro/ tram segment of the railway transport market. The last link of the value chain includes the end customers, which is constituted of both the passenger and freight transport market. Customers are the central focus for the various reforms in the industry as the growth is dependent on the ability of the industry to provide the transport services at affordable prices in comparison with other alternatives like road and air transport. The details of different segments of the rail transport market and the related statistics are provided in Appendix 1. As seen from the figure 1, the intensity of the competition increases as we move up the value chain from the network operators to the infrastructure suppliers. The process of liberalization has induced competition amongst the operators, but the very high sunk costs involved, have erected a strong barrier for new entrants. Further up the value chain, there are many players involved in infrastructure management and infrastructure construction due to the attractive market size. Though the liberalization process has contributed to the opening up of this market, historically many small and big players are involved in this part of the value chain leading to an increased competition. 2.2. Key players of German railway infrastructure management To understand the rail infrastructure industry in Germany, It is essential to understand the various stakeholders in the industry and their contribution and importance in driving the market dynamics. Figure 2 is a schematic of the industry structure with a focus on infrastructure management. 2.2.1. European Commission European Commission is a governing body which is one of the important demand drivers for the infrastructure market. The federal and local governments of the member states in the European Union are obligated to adhere to the regulations and policies devised by European Commission. European commission reviews and responds to the transportation needs of the member states of EU, which has the construction of modern, safe and integrated railway network in Europe as priority to fuel the growth of intra and international trade among the EU members. Hence, the reformatory regulations and their periodic reviews lie within the gamut of European commissions functions. European Commission has set up the European Railway Agency (ERA) to oversee the creation of integrated European railway network by enforcing and implementing safety and interoperability through standardizations and harmonization. ERA works as a coordinating body between the railway sector companies, national authorities, European Commission and other concerned parties. ERAs main task is to develop common technical standards and approaches for the European railway systems and infrastructure. ERA is also the system authority for the implementation of the European Rail Traffic Management Systems (ERTMS) project. Source: Adapted from the article separation of operators from infrastructure 2.2.2. Governments The German government oversees the overall transport sector through the Federal ministry for Transport, Building and Urban affairs. The Federal Railway Authority (Eisenbahn Bundesamt: EBA) is the supervisory authority for 30 railroad traffic operators and for 5 infrastructure companies mainly for the Deutsche Bahn AG. The functions of EBA include issuing licenses for infrastructure companies, providing investments and funding for infrastructure projects, making railroad access discrimination free, facilitates innovation within the accepted safety standards, ensures value creation for customers and also checks for unfair competitive practices. The supervisory authority of the urban transport lies with the 31 Public Transport Authorities (PTA) in the different federal states of Germany. The duties of the PTA are similar to those of EBA, but within the context of urban transport. PTAs work in conjunction with EBA for the infrastructure planning and funding activities at the local level. The political decision makers own the responsibility to define the legislative framework to fully integrate the European railways, in terms of enhanced market access, interoperability and safety rules. A sound legislative framework that works in tandem with the EU commission is expected to accelerate the harmonization process. 2.2.3. Network Operators/ Owners In Germany most of the mainline and regional rail networks infrastructure are owned and operated by the DB Netze AG , DB Regio Netz Infrastruktur GmbH, DB Station Service AG, DB Railionand the DB reise und touristik , who are all directly owned by the Federal Government. The DB Netze AG is responsible for track installations, coordination of network usage time tables and pricing. The DB Station Service AG operates, maintains and develops the passenger stations and also ensures the provision of services to travellers and railway undertakings. The DB Regio Netz Infrastruktur GmbH is responsible for local and regional traffic operation and infrastructure management. DB Railion is responsible for operation of freight traffic and DB Reise und touristik is responsible for long distance traffic operation. Besides these many new private traffic operators like Veolia Transportation, TX logistics, AKN Eisenbahn AG, Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn GmbH, S-Bahn Hamburg GmbH, etc have entered the German railway market. Railway operators are responsible for improving the quality of services in terms of information accessibility, customer comfort, reservation and ticketing, network accessibility, availability of services, punctuality and reliability. The infrastructure managers or the network owners are responsible for optimising the capacity utilization of the available network infrastructure; ensure fair and non discriminatory access to network for all railway undertakings and also to ensure operational efficiency and safety. 2.2.4. Infrastructure providers Infrastructure providers are the companies that supply the railway transport industry with various infrastructure services like the rolling stock, track, electrification, maintenance etc. The infrastructure providers can also be termed as rail supply industry focused on the infrastructure development as per the standards and regulations set by the other stakeholders listed above. The rail supply industry is responsible for organising themselves to provide the ready to use equipment and infrastructure needed by the railway undertakings and infrastructure managers. The research and development of new products to promote the process of harmonization depends on the capabilities of rail supply industry. 2.2.5. Associations and Organizations Many organizations and agencies of the railway industry in Europe work closely with the EU and the national governments of the member states to support and promote the rail transport by setting technical standards and promoting fair competitive practices in the industry. Some of the important associations and agencies that are relevant to the rail supply industry are UNIFE, ERRAC, UITP, UIC, CER, EFRTC etc. Details of these associations are provided in the Appendix 2. 2.3. Overview of German rail supply market Worldwide, total rail supply market volume exceeds â‚ ¬ 120 bn. Of which, the size of the rail supply market in Germany is estimated to be around â‚ ¬ 6.3 bn. Based on the railway network type and usage characteristics, the rail supply markets can be further classified as High speed and very high-speed lines, conventional and regional rail lines and the urban rail transport networks. While Deutsche Bahn is the single customer in the high speed and very high speed lines and the conventional and regional lines segments, the different public transport authorities are the customers in the urban rail infrastructure market. High speed and very high-speed lines: These are usually the rail networks that spans across the borders to enable faster connectivity across Europe. The high speed lines between the important cities within the country also fall into this category, as they have the future potential to be integrated with cross border traffic. In Germany, this segment is currently small in size and is expected to grow especially due to the increasing need of cross border traffic. Conventional and regional lines: These are usually referred to as main lines and consist of the rail networks that connect the different regions with in a country. So, the entire regional rail transport networks that support the intra train transport with in a country and the freight transport networks can be grouped into this category. Currently this segment is built and operated as per the national standards set by the Federal railway authority and the volume of this network is very huge and is highly heterogeneous and is also operationally underutilised. Urban rail networks: This market segment consists of metros and the commuter/sub urban rail networks which support the public transport with in a city. The product requirements within this segment can vary depending on the local geographical characteristics and funds availability. This segment is mostly independent of and incompatible with the other segments and so provides many avenues of differentiation for the companies that are active in this segment. As of now there are no regulations enforcing harmonization of these networks. 2.4. Structure of rail supply industry in Germany The rail supply industry in Germany is classified into four segments namely; Rolling stock, Infrastructure, Signalling and control system and services. Figure 3 represents a schematic of the different segments of the German rail supply industry. Rolling stock: The products in this segment are characterized by all the vehicles that run on the railways like locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons. Due to the high capital investments, this segment usually consists of large companies like Bombardier, Siemens and Alstom. Infrastructure: This segment is characterized by the infrastructure components like tracks, electrification and stations. Many companies with diversified products serve in one or more of the components of this segment. Signalling and control systems: The infrastructure components like the track side signal installations, on board control equipment, control stations etc are grouped as signalling and control systems. Services: This segment includes the service and maintenance for all the other segments. This segment also comprises the project management and turnkey solutions. In Germany most of the maintenance and project management is carried out by the subsidiaries of Deutsche Bahn. 2.5. Segmentation of the German rail supply market Putting the rail supply market and the rail supply industry segmentation together will provide a complete segmentation matrix, which will help in the better understanding and analysis of the market. The segmentation matrix is provided in figure 4. Figure 4: German rail supply Market Segmentation matrix In the above matrix, the shaded regions indicate an overlap of product and service similarities in the different infrastructure components and the market segments of the railway industry. 3. Harmonization For a successful, larger and integrated Europe, the availability of efficient transport systems is essential for supporting sustainable economic growth and social development. Passenger and freight transportation by rail is a potentially effective instrument to combat congestion, pollution, global warming and traffic accidents. These negative externalities undermine the capability and efficiency of European economy and the health of future generations. The growing European Union and the globalization of the world economy have necessitated an international transport market, to support the outpacing economic growth. Today, the rail sector faces an ever increasing demand of accommodating higher transport volumes, a result of transport growth, and of policies favouring competition in the sector. Rail transport in Europe is a future-oriented industry, striving to offer attractive, affordable, safe, clean, competitive and reliable transport mode. Harmonization is the process of standardization of infrastructure components like types of track gauges, different types of power supply, speed control systems, train safety systems and technologies as well as the job profiles of drivers. The objective of harmonization is to achieve interoperability between the heterogeneous railway networks of the member states with in EU. Harmonizing products and technologies through innovation is a necessity for the rail supply industry to deploy its potential, and for its stakeholders to deliver cost-effective services for intermediate and final clients. 3.1. Need for harmonization Prior to the formation of European Union, the railway systems in Europe were run at the national level and were managed and operated by vertically integrated state owned companies. These railway systems were designed under different national operational rules, policies and standards. This resulted in the lack of interoperability in the railway transport sector which hampered the goal of growth in European economy through increased trade activities amongst the member states. The EU thus envisaged a goal of unified railway transport network across the EU member states to promote the trade and thus foster the economy. This goal transformed into a number of directives and regulations to achieve a Trans European network. 3.2. Components of harmonization To transition from the heterogeneous railway networks to a homogenised railway transport infrastructure across Europe, different components of harmonisations were evaluated by the European commission. European commission defined the homologation process in terms of interoperability, safety and signalling systems. 3.2.1. Interoperability Interoperability of the rail systems renders a safe and uninterrupted movement of trains, while accomplishing the required and specified levels of performance. Interoperability rests on all the technical, operational and regulatory conditions that must be met in order to satisfy the essential requirements. Interoperability has been mandated by several EU directives. The first one is the Directive 96/48/EC, which was passed in 1996 and is only concerned with the interoperability of the Trans- European high speed rail system. The second one is the Directive 2001/16/EC, which applies interoperability to lines within the trans-European transport network and other infrastructure facilities. Both these directives were later modified by the directive 2004/50/EC along with the corrigendum for the former directives. Most recently the directive 2008/57/EC was passed to include the community railway systems within the scope of interoperability. A consolidated history of regulatory framework evolution concerning interoperability in European railways is provided as Appendix 3. To overcome the technical fragmentation of rail networks, the interoperability directives provided that the Community legislation is gradually establishing mandatory so called Technical Specifications for Interoperability, commonly referred to as TSIs. The European Railway Agency owns the responsibility to draw up and revise the TSIs, on the basis of inputs provided by the member states and other stakeholders of the railway sector. Several subsystem constituents of interoperability of railway transport for both conventional and high speed lines are as below: Infrastructure( track works, tunnels, bridges and stations) and energy (electrification system) Operation and telematic application for passengers: related equipment and procedures to enable a coherent operation of different subsystems and also the requirements of professional qualification for the skilled labour involved in operations. Rolling stock: vehicle dynamics, superstructure, on board command and control system equipment, current-collection devices, traction units, energy conversion units, braking, coupling and running gear and suspension, doors, man/machine interfaces, passive or active safety devices. Maintenance: procedures and processes, technical documentation, related equipments, logistics centres for maintenance work. 3.2.2. Safety Safety is one of the important components of the railway systems which is highly regulated at both national and EU level. Safety is one of the prime concerns of the customers of rail transport and hence there is a special focus on the safety standards which have to be designed in line with the interoperability directives. Hence common safety standards, practices and targets have to complement interoperability to successfully achieve the desired homologation of the trans-European railway network. The European commission issued many directives to mandate the safety methods to support the harmonization process. These directives include Directive 2004/49/EC, Directive 2007/59/EC, the directive on certification of train drivers and other relevant EU legislation. ERA acts as a supporting organization to the European commission to develop the further implementation plans for the EU directives by networking with the national bodies of the member states. ERA has structured four different business sectors concerning railway safety and provides central support to the stakeholders involved in the complete process from formulation of regulation to implementation and periodic reviews. The four different segments are: Safety Assessment: developing common safety methods for risk evaluation and assessment and common safety targets according to articles 6 and 7 of the Directive 2004/49/EC. This unit assists each member state to define their safety targets and develop a methodology for calculating and assessing the achievement of those targets. This unit also collaborates to define safety requirements for TSIs and to support technical opinions to be given to European commission. Safety Certification: define, develop and evaluate implementation of common safety methods for certification of railway undertakings as well as certification for train drivers and authorization of infrastructure managers. The objective of this unit includes proposing a migration strategy towards a single Community Safety certificate. Safety Reporting: Monitors and analyzes the development of safety on Europes railways and disseminates information, reports biennially on the safety performance of railways within the European Union. Functions also include developing and maintaining public databases of safety related documents such as safety certificates, licenses, national safety rules, investigation reports and indicators. Responsibility of coordinating with the national investigation bodies concerning safety and facilitating information exchange between them lies with this unit Safety Regulation: Functions include, validating the notification of national safety rules, register and notify the national safety rules accepted by the commission, analyze the way in which the national safety rules are published, maintain the communication protocol between the member states and the responsible organizations for railway regulation. 3.2.3. ERTMS The command control and signalling systems is an important instrument that should also be harmonised to support the much required interoperability of the trans-European railway network. ERTMS is considered to be a first major step in fostering the creation of single European railway market. ERTMS would also address the increasing costs of operation due to the incompatible and obsolete signalling systems across Europe. Currently around 20 signalling systems are in place across Europe, most of which are adopted by the network operators of the member countries as stipulated by national standards. These different signal systems impose a restriction on the rail transport across the borders of the member states of EU, as the costs of incorporating compatibility with the international networks increases. A common standards and systems for intra as well as international rail traffic management in the EU member countries would enhance the attractiveness of rail transport making it affordable and environment friendly. The idea of common traffic management systems for European railways was conceived during the late 1980s, but the process of drawing up technical specification was started during 1998, following the interoperability directive of 1996. The ERTMS specification was approved by EU in 2000, followed by which, between 2005 and 2008, the implementations plans were charted out for the six freight corridors across Europe and the memorandum of understanding was signed between the EU, member states and the other railway stakeholders. The implementation plan was devised considering the national implementation plans of the member states, which was then consolidated taking into consideration the priority for the freight corridors connecting different member states. The proposed completion of implementation of ERTMS across Europe is by the end of 2020. UNIFE and a consortium of railway signal equipment manufacturers are working closely with the European commission and the infrastructure managers of member companies for the development and implementation of cost effective technical solutions concerning ERTMS implementation. 3.3. Process of Harmonization For successful harmonization of European railways, close cooperation of the institutional bodies, political representations and also commitment of the railway operators and rail supply industry are required. The harmonization and standardization process to achieve European railway interoperability can be grouped into two stages: 3.3.1. Directives to Standards The directives of the European Commission are transformed into the TSIs by ERA, which are then validated against the standards requirement at the national and the EU level by relevant standardization organization like CEN, CENELEC and ETSI. At the end of this stage a detailed documentation of the standards, while adopting the TSIs are produced. Figure 5 provides and illustration of this process. Source: Dealing with standardization in liberalized network industries by Dr Marc Laperrouza 3.3.2. Standards to Products Once the directives are turned into standards, the next challenge is to transform the standards into the products. The standards are again reviewed by the ERA and then passed over to the European Union for the legal process. Once the compliance with legal process is established, the standar