Anti-Abortion Speech

Did you know that there are about 3,700 abortions a day in the US? So approximately 1. 3 million unpunished and LEGAL murders are occurring every year. I personally think that is absurd. Abortion is wrong and I am going to tell you why you shouldn’t get one or support them because of the adoption option, the after effects and the simple fact that it’s murder. I am a Catholic so, obviously my church strongly opposes abortion. I think that abortion is morally wrong and a highly debated topic in which there is a crystal clear answer. One must wonder why a woman would seek out an abortion when there are other more humane options available. Adoption, of course, is the main option. Adoption is a win- win situation. The mother will be able to pursue her goals before she was pregnant and not have the burden of a child before she is ready and at the same time, bring tremendous joy to the adoptive parents. There are situations where the birth mother can be actively involved if she desires. This is called an open adoption. There are various degrees from the child seeing the birth mother every day, to just writing letters. Another type of adoption is the closed adoption. In it, the mother knows nothing of the adoptive parents. Adoption can shelter the mother from mental and physical issues that she would experience if she went through with an abortion. Over 100 physical complications have been associated with abortion. Some complications include infections, endotoxic shock, convulsions and even sterility. The psychological effects are even more prominent. Studies within the first weeks after abortion show 40- 60% of women reported negative reactions such as guilt, nervous disorders, sleep disturbances and regret. Some even required psychotropic medicine. â€Å"I was an emotional wreck. The following day I was empty, sad, and numb. I knew that day I had made a huge mistake. I wished with all my heart I would have done things differently,† Carrie Camilleri said. The emotional and physical pain experienced by the patients also comes to some abortion doctors. A lot of the time, abortionists start to realize that what they are doing is morally wrong. They begin to show emotional and physical signs after every abortion they perform. Dr. McArthur, a former abortionist said, â€Å"Abortion started to get to me in my dreams. I had a recurring nightmare in which I delivered a healthy, newborn baby. I held the baby up and faced a jury of faceless people, asking them what I should do with the baby. ‘Thumbs up or thumbs down? ’ On the floor underneath the baby was a bucket of water for drowning the baby if the jury gave a verdict of thumbs down. I never put the baby in the bucket because I would always wake up. † Obvously, this man was disturbed and eventually quit the practice. Both the pain of the woman and the doctor pale in comparison to the fate of the unwanted baby. Abortion is murder. I went to dictionary. com and searched â€Å"life. † It defined life as â€Å"an organismic state characterized by capacity for metabolism, growth and reaction to stimili. And doesn’t a fetus possess all these things? So therefore it is alive. I also searched â€Å"murder† which was defined as â€Å"the brutal or inhumane killing of a human being. † Abortion is just that. I’m not going to go into detail but, basically in most abortions, the doctors chop the baby into pieces then pull it out with plier like tools. So, to those of you who think abortion isn’t painful to the baby, just imagine your baby sibling or cousin. Look through their eyes. Would it be painful to them? So, as you see, abortion is morally wrong because of the physical and emotional effects on both the doctors and patients and the fact that it is murder and therefore should not be supported. Also, abortion is a stupid decision when there is the rewarding option of adoption available. I encourage all of you to evaluate your standing on abortion. And maybe even participate in the pro life movement. Thank you for listening.

Chapter 20 Problem 1

Week 5 – Financing Strategy Problem Problem 1 – Chapter 20 Firm A has $10,000 in assets entirely financed with equity. Firm B also has $10,000 in assets, but these assets are financed by $5,000 in debt (with a 10 percent rate of interest) and $5,000 in equity. Both firms sell 10,000 units of output at $2. 50 per unit. The variable costs of production are $1, and fixed production costs are $12,000. (To ease the calculation, assume no income tax. ) A. What if the operating income (EBIT) for both firms? Sales/Revenue: 10000 * 2. 50 = 25000 Variable Cost: 10000 * 1 = 10000 Fixed Production Cost: 12000EBIT = sales/revenue – variable cost – fixed production cost = 25000 – 10000 – 12000 = $3000 B. What are the earnings after interest? InterestEarnings after interest Firm A: 0 3000 – 0 = $3000 Firm B:5000 * 10% = 500 3000 – 500 = $2500 C. If sales increase by 10 percent to 11,000 units, by what percentage will each firm’s earning s after interest increase? To answer the question, determine the earnings after taxes and compute the percentage increase in these earnings from the answers you derived in part b. Sales/Revenue: 11000 * 2. 50 = 27500 Variable Cost: 11000 * 1 = 11000Fixed Production Cost: 12000 EBIT = sales/revenue – variable cost – fixed production cost = 27500 – 11000 – 12000 = 4500 Firm A Firm B Interest 05000 * 10% = 500 Earnings after interest (prior) 3000 – 0 = 3000 3000 – 500 = 2500 Earnings after interest (after) 4500 – 0 = 4500 4500 – 500 = 4000 Increase/decrease % 50% 60% D. Why are the percentage changes different? Firm B had a higher increase in profit because they had a higher net % change and lowered their interest income through their debt financing.

Advocacy Case Study Essay

In this article it speaks about how teachers within the Atlanta Public School System have become the greatest advocates for their students. The author says that one of the greatest blessings of his professional life is the opportunity that he has to speak with hundreds and hundreds of his Special Education colleagues. Before and after his seminars, Lavoie has had conversations and discussions with countless teachers from coast to coast and everywhere in between. These conversations have truly been a joy, and these on-the-fly exchanges has given him an updated perspective on the changes and challenges in America’s classrooms. These conversations are an ongoing source of information and inspiration for Lavoie. They have confirmed his long-held belief that some of the finest people on the planet are toiling daily in America’s classroom and particularly within Special Education programs. Most of the conversations amongst the teachers are reassuring and reinforcing, but occa sionally there are conversations that are troubling and disheartening. The disturbing conversations remind Lavoie that the inclusion battles of the 1970s continue in many American school districts and that the rights of struggling kids continue to be violated and ignored. Lavoie worked as a school administrator for thirty years and has always felt that teachers’ willingness to defend and advocate for students should be encouraged and reinforced not discouraged and criticized. One of the most sacred responsibilities of a Special Education teacher is to advocate for his/ her students and their needs. We need to be voices for the voiceless. Regardless of grade level. For the past several years, Lavoie have delivered a seminar entitled â€Å"Other People’s Kids: The Ethics of Special Education.† In this workshop, he outlines a dozen basic ethical tenets that must be understood and followed by those of us who toil in the vineyards of Special Education. These tenets involve confidentiality, collaboration and parental interactions. But the main emphasis of the workshop is the premise that â€Å"The professional’s PRIMARY loyalty and commitment is to the CHILD.† Be an advocate for your students. If you don’t who will. In a perfect world, no teacher should be criticized for defending, protecting, or advocating for a child. But, the world is imperfect and teachers often find that they are asked to compromise students’ servi ces in order to maintain budgets and other real-world  constraints. Teachers face this conundrum daily. But as we all know some things that are simple are not always easy. Teachers are encouraged to please be the number one advocate for your students. References Lavoie, R. (2014). Fighting The Good Fight. How to Advocate for Your Students without losing your job.

Global Financial Meltdown Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Global Financial Meltdown - Essay Example 2) The downfall of Iceland In the case of Iceland, it was a perfect place for a family to live till the government decided to deregulate the banks and let multinationals exploit their natural resources. The result was a disastrous impact on the environment and the banks collapsed due to which unemployment tripled and many of the people lost their life savings. When the largest banks were privatized, they borrowed money totaling to 120 billion dollars which was roughly ten times the size of the economy. These banks and their activities were supported by American auditors such as KPMG and credit rating company which rewarded them highest form of grading; Triple A’s. In the end, regulators formed the role of mere spectators and did nothing. 3) Destructive growth of United States financial sector After the Great Depression, the financial sector was strictly regulated; most of the banks were local and were not allowed to use depositor’s money for any sort of investment. But then the investment banks went public and that is when the financial sector went berserk. The investment bankers now were owners of huge amounts of public money. When President Reagan came into power, he with his treasury secretary who was a CEO of Merrill Lynch, began a thirty year deregulation plan. The first firms to be deregulated were savings and loans companies. These firms were deregulated which provided them with a permit to use depositors’ savings for risky speculation purposes. They failed and many went to jail. Deregulation continued in Clinton’s era and by the late 1990’s you could identify the major financial firms. The deregulation activity was overseen by a Harvard economic professor Larry Summers, an economist Greenspan and Robert Rubin a former CEO of investment bank Goldman Sachs. This clearly shows us how economics was exploited for personal gains, politics was being influenced by the financial sector and the academia corrupted. Further on, th e documentary (Ferguson, â€Å"Inside Job†) informs us about how financial firms became so strong that they could breach a law, be exempted by it for a year and then a new law is passed to facilitate their interest. The merger between Citicorp & Travelers is a mirror image of the above statement. While the financial sector continued to become powerful, the internet bubble crash gave the economy a huge blow. We realize through the documentary that the internet bubble was pre-planned because investment banks were involved in promoting firms which they knew would surely fail. Conversations between the personnel of investment banks termed those firms as useless while they were describing them as perfect investment opportunity to the public. With deregulation taking place and the technology advancements occurring; derivatives entered the economy. They were engineered in order to make more profit, but in reality it was explosive material that would make the market highly volatile. In order to avoid any discussion over its regulation, a bill was passed in favor of de-regulation of derivatives. As the industry was even more powerfully dominated by a few gigantic investment banks, security and insurance companies and credit rating agencies than before; financial sector became even more complicated. 4) Complicated financial products engineered to grow profits Inside job gives

Blu-ray Vs HD-DVD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Blu-ray Vs HD-DVD - Essay Example DVD or 'Digital Versatile Disc' or 'Digital Video Disc' has been round the corner for quite a while now, but Blu-ray is a relatively newer technique. With the arrival of every new technique, a debate starts taking place whether the immediate predecessor has lived its useful life or not. Similar debate is taking place in the IT industry with arrival of Blu-ray storage device. Advanced version of DVD is known as HD-DVD. This High Definition DVD or High Density DVD has more storage than a normal DVD. But with the arrival of Blu-ray question marks are being raised on its useful life as well. In fact there's lot more to these types of debates, other than technological issues. Now in the market driven economies, the newer versions of any product/ technology are being patronized by some big corporate house, therefore industrial rivalry takes a central stage on such matters. Similar is the case of Blu-ray Vs HD-DVD. Blu-ray technology developed by Sony and others has started gathering suppor t from companies like Phillips, while Toshiba is going ahead with newer experiments in the HD-DVD series. As always happens consumer happens to be the ultimate beneficiary of this cutthroat competition. In fact the speed of change in technology is so fast and furious that while on the one hand the HD-DVD, introduced in 1997, is still being experimented with for more storage, the Blue-ray Disc (BD) has arrived with a bang. Which way to go The name Blu-ray is in fact a combination of 'blue', for the color of the laser that is used, and 'ray', for the optical ray. It is worthwhile here to mention that the earlier disc recorders, readers use red laser ray. The letter "e" in "blue" was purposefully left off, according to the group of manufacturers, as an everyday word cannot be trademarked, thus Blu-ray was born. Blu-ray Disc (BD), a next-generation optical disc format is jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a group of the world's leading consumer electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers (including Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK and Thomson). This format too will support enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition video (HD) besides storing large amounts of data. There are basically three types of Blu-ray formats planned: i. BD-ROM for pre-recorded media such as software, games and movies ii. BD-R (recordable) for HDTV recording and PC data storage iii. BD-RE (rewritable) for HDTV recording and PC data storage Some of the distinctive features of Blu-ray are; This format offers more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and can hold up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on a dual-layer disc. That implies more than two hours of high-definition video or about 13 hours of standard video on a single sided BD while enough to hold about 4.5 hours of high-definition video or more than 20 hours of standard video on a double sided BD. BD can record high-definition television (HDTV) without any quality loss The listener/user can instantly skip to any spot on the disc Most interesting feature of this format is that we can record one program while watching another on the disc We can create playlists for quick access to our preferred data bank We an also edit or reorder programs recorded on the Blu-ray disc A BD automatically search for an empty space on the disc to avoid recording over a program. BD

Stratigic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Stratigic Management - Essay Example Although it has the highest rates of spending, the returns are very low even as 16 percent or 44 million people are uninsured (Mendenhall, 2006). Although the health care industry was slow in adopting strategic management, external factors coupled with dramatic changes in Medicare instigated from various sources including legislative, demographic shifts, new technologies, economic and market changes forced the sector to adopt and implement stratagems in cope with the continuously changing environment. Some of the challenges facing health care are poor information technology, lack of innovation, security and confidentiality issues, accuracy and laboratory testing among others compelling the industry to embrace modern strategic methods. According to the Baldrige National Quality Program (2006), a competent health care should be founded on the following key components: visionary leadership; patient-focused excellence; organizational and personal learning; valuing staff and partner; agility; focus on the future; managing for innovation; management by fact; social responsibility and community health; focus on results and creating value; and systems perspective. This are effected by implementing the following seven components: leadership; strategic planning; focus on patients, other customers, and markets; measurement, analysis, and knowledge; management; human resource focus; process management; and results (Hertz, 2006). The strategic management execution requires focus on the organization core competencies that emphasizes the implementation of its finest aspects that are unique, distinct and are not prone to imitation. Similarly, the organization must identify its core or shared values as well as analyzing its criti cal success factors or a working formula including the leadership aspects that compliment organization competencies (Grant, 2003). A

Photovoltaic cells Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Photovoltaic cells - Research Paper Example PV cells energy conversion efficiency has now crossed mark of 20 percent. Several companies, universities and research institutions are doing intense research and development work to reduce the cost further so that its economics fare favorably to other competing energy systems. There has been considerable headway in the research and it is quite likely that it will become one of the most prominent technologies among all renewable sources of energy in next 10 years. Being eco friendly, it has the capacity to meet the current and future energy needs of mankind. Introduction Photovoltaic Cell is a technique to generate direct current through solar radiation using semiconductors. The PV cell technology is useful to produce electricity particularly, at the location where grid system is not available. This paper will study the technology, types of photovoltaic cells, current status, its economics, engineering issues, technological advances, future scope and the direction that the industry m ake take. Off-the-Grid Systems Off-the-grid system is useful when electricity demand cannot be met through grid due to its isolated locations. The benefit of the off-the-grid system is that it is self reliant, not dependent on any outside source, using some renewable source of energy such as solar. ... Solar radiation falls on PV cell to energize the electron producing DC current. Inverter converts DC current to AC. Energy is stored in array of batteries. The efficiency of photovoltaic cells is a key parameter to convert solar energy into usable energy. Van Geet home is a typical off-grid system for generating energy based on solar power. It is a remote location near Denver in Colorado. Several renewable-energy features along with energy-conservation measures have been incorporated in this home. The design of this home is studied as an ideal research home. It has photovoltaic based solar power system. The house is said to have achieved 89% energy savings. The system uses 1000-watt amorphous silicon PV with a tracking controller. It surpasses the norms of 70% HVAC and energy savings for Building America research homes. It has been now recognized as a model home and taken for further study and research as energy saving designs in US. (Barley et al 2004) Below mentioned diagram shows a typical off-grid energy system. Source: http://homepower.com/basics/solar/#MainDCDisconnect Mobile homes also use similar PV based energy system to meet their energy needs. Major components in such systems are PV Cells, Charge controller, Battery Bank, and inverter. PV Cells Working of Photovoltaics Solar energy is converted to electricity through photovoltaics. The technology exploits the photoelectric property of certain material that absorbs photons of light to release the electrons. These free electrons cause electric current to flow that can be used for our needs (Knier 2002). PV Cell is a chief component and the heart of such energy systems. More than 50 percent of the cost of the energy system is attributed to PV module. For this reason, the

Basel Accord Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Basel Accord - Essay Example The paper tells that the Basel Committee on Bank Supervision (BCBS) was originally established in the 1970s to tackle the new challenges of banking across international boundaries. It became apparent that the failings and collapse of one country's banks was now being felt in other countries all over the world. It was obvious that intervention and prevention was necessary. In the 1980s, the United States Congress, pushed domestic regulatory agencies to set and enforce standards, including a fixed proportion of capital a bank must hold, or capital adequacy. This is how the Basel Accords began. The accords have been adapted and expanded in attempts to meet needs and to speak to aspects that previous version of the accords may not have addressed sufficiently. In order to understand the Basel Accords better it is useful to review them individually in order to better compare and contrast the variations. The BCBS determined that bank capital would be organized into 2 separate tiers. Tier 1f ocuses on the higher-quality capital, those that represents items of the lowest priority of repayment and easiest to absorb when lost. Most of Tier 1 involves â€Å"core† capital, or common equity, which arises from actual ownership in the bank, like common stock, undivided profits, and surplus monies. Tier 2, also called supplementary capital, include certain reserves, and term debt. The capital under Tier 2 can be divided into 2 more sublevels; the upper focuses on maintaining characteristics of being continuous, like preferred capital, and equity. The lower level, is the least costly for banks to issue because it pertains to debts with a time of maturity of at least 10 years.(Eubanks, 2010) Basel I was the first attempt made to establish a standard of regulating international banking and it came under a great deal of criticism. Opponents felt that the Basel I Accord approach to â€Å"risk-weighing assets.† They claimed that this system is too broad and lacks the fin ite specialization to address all of the unique risks that apply to the differing assets held by the bank. As a response the BCBS released a revision to the accord called the â€Å"International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards: Revised Framework,† which is, also, known as Basel II.(Larson, 2011) Basel II Basel II differs from Basel I in a distinct way. It introduced a section of â€Å"Pillars,† which intended to rectify the capital adequacy issues with Basel I. Pillar 1, specifically, deals with the procedures of calculating the required capital within banking organizations. This accord will determine risk potential based upon the totality of their credit risk, market risks, and operational risks. Pillar 2, ideally, was placed to increase, both, accountability and transparency with the banking system. Pillar 3 works to require banking institutions to disclose risk exposures, allowing for better assessment of the needed safety to help create a

Collective Bargaining Dispute Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Collective Bargaining Dispute - Research Paper Example The main focus of the dispute is the request for wage increase and the problem of teachers not doing administrative work.The negotiations have been going on for a year and five months already but no resolution has been reached (Strandberg, 2012). A third party has been brought in to assist in the dispute’s settlement.A need for an acceptable collective bargaining agreement between the two parties must be structured in such a way that both associations will be satisfied with the resolution of the various issues on hand. The dispute stems from the situation wherein the teachers are not doing administrative work such as writing report cards, supervising recess and other administrative tasks(Strandberg, 2012). Furthermore, the teachers are requesting for a 15% wage increase over three years but the employers are not willing to give such an increase because the government has a â€Å"net-zero mandate†(Strandberg, 2012). British Columbia Teachers Federation President Susan Lambert claims that the other teachers in Canada are receiving higher salaries compared to what they are receiving(Knickerbocker, Teachers table new reduced package to kick-start negotiations, 2012). They are citing inflation as one reason for their request for a wage increase. On the other hand the British Columbia Public School Employers Association maintains that increasing the teachers’ salary would be a violation of the government’s net-zero mandate for public sector unions(Steffenhagen, 2012).An increase may only be granted if there is any realized savings from the contracts. One believes that the teachers’ refusal to write report cards is unethical because as a teacher that is their duty. It is, however, not illegal for them to ask for a wage increase. It may be considered unethical on the part of the British Columbia Public School Employers Association to

Story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Story - Essay Example When Myoba saw his mother, she told him to be on time for his training, your father will be waiting. But first, go and gather coconuts for the morning breakfast†¦ you are not king yet, you are still my son. And take Suhuma with you to help. He promised to get ready right away, and start looking through the forest Myoba went out to do what was asked of him and took Suhuma with him. As they walk through the forest, they gathereed a few coconuts here and there, drinking from as many as they collected them. Myoba’s favorite taste was that of coconut, and it’s hard to resist how delicious it tastes when fresh. After a while they split up to try to get the job done faster. Myoba says, you go this way and I’ll go that way. Myoba points in one direction and tells Suhuma to go that way, then wanders off in the opposite direction. Suhuma, obediently heads off in the direction pointed to him. He wanders a little further looking for fresh coconuts when suddenly his hind legs get caught in something. Immediately something sharped pricked in his neck and he fell unconscious. Meanwhile, Myoba is still looking for the coconuts that he was to get for breakfast. And he thought that he has been gone for too long. He also released that he had not heard Suhuma for a long time, so he called out â€Å"Suhuma!, Suhuma! Where are you? Have you found Coconuts?. But there was no answer. Myoba, dashed in the direction Suhuma had headed and to his horror he found steel chains and wooden traps. He also saw tracks of wheels and he silently followed them He walked for about 2 miles when he heard voices. It was a foreign language! Suhuma peered through the leaves and saw his worst nightmare coming true.He had come to the poachers camp. Now, Africa is well known for its beautiful animals and these poachers were frequently targeting the poor jungle beasts.At once Myoba knew that these were the bad men that his father had warned him about. King Bomani had often told myo ba to stay away from these men from over the sea who used deadly weapons like guns. However this had never impressed Myoba who had never seen guns up close.But as his eyes searched for his friend, he saw pale men with weapons. This must be the guns that my father told me about! He thought. Myoba saw animals in cages. But, he knew it would not be easy to rescue his friend and the other animals alone. He had no time, so Myoba rushed back to his village as fast as his legs could take him. Back at the village, his father reasoned with Myoba saying that the men were too dangerous and would have to chalk out a plan before doing anything. Myoba was too desperate and there was only one person who would understand and help him, Thembah!. Myoba explains everything that he saw and intended to do to Thembah. They decided to take a chance and seek help from King Oozba, Tembah’s father and ruler of Maganti. But here too Myoba was disappointed. No one wanted to confront the poachers! Valuab le time was running out and Myoba feared that the poachers would take of Suhuma and the other animals across the sea! So, he and Thembah decided to take matter into their own hands. The two rushed over to the camp and though of a plan. Now, Thembah was an incredible imitator. She could imitate animal calls and bird calls. She made a roaring sound hoping the poachers would

Drug policy in Mexico and Colombia Research Paper

Drug policy in Mexico and Colombia - Research Paper Example South America, in stark contrast to its other counterpart North America or U.S.A, the world of riches as we know it, has long being plagued with the curse of poverty and deprivation coupled with alarmingly low levels of overall development. It is known that poverty, chronic unemployment and underemployment and illiteracy often give birth to crimes and Latin America has been no different. In Mexico, unemployment is around 20% while underdevelopment is just the double of unemployment (Gilbert 22). Drug trafficking, with all its vices in this context has been alleged as the prime concern spreading its â€Å"wings† with each passing day not only in Latin American nations but also in the U.S and the whole world. Countries like Mexico and Colombia have been the main architects of drug trafficking throughout the American sub-continent. In the early’80s Colombia used to be the main exporter of drugs and narcotics throughout the world, but with the Colombian government policy ge tting more stringent, Colombian drug-lords started using Mexico, mainly due to its suitable geographic locations to export drugs through Mexico to the U.S. (Rosin, 2). Mexico One prime social policy taken by the Mexican government towards curtailing the drug trafficking is to decrease violence in the Mexican drug market and reduce increasing crime frequency to controllable levels (Venda Felbeb-Brown,1). The ongoing drug war in Mexico is mainly an armed conflict among the several drug cartels fighting each other for market control and also with the Government armed forces installed to fight drug trafficking. Mexico is the main supplier of heroin in U.S. ... ijuana DTO, the Gulf DTO and the Juarez DTO, the smaller organizations being the La Familia(Venda Felbeb-Brown, 5).Further actions taken by the Presidents Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderon pitted the DTOs against the government as well as raised the competition in the market thereby destabilizing it even more. According to the Government data, this drug related violence has till date resulted in the death of more than 34,000 people in the last four years since President Felipe Calderon took charge. The president has used his army troops to combat the drug cartels. Mexican government said that the figures are proofs of desperation of the mafia getting pressurized by the security forces (â€Å"Mexico's drug war: Number of dead passes 30,000†, Dec 16, 2010). Now, the policy taken by the Government to reduce drug trafficking should be constitutional in a way that it should try to bring in some organization in the drug market which is otherwise very unorganized with high transaction costs that undermines the drug market itself. The illegal Mexican drug market really needs an intermediary or regulator to control the frailties of the market. The form of the stabilizer will depend on several factors, one of which is the state itself. There are various possibilities that can be discussed: With the surfacing of one or more DTOs having sufficient control over their territories so as to be able to secure their domains if need be. They should be having adequate control and can impose regulations to carry on their businesses, decrease transaction costs and reach a point of common agreement with newly acquired controls and new-formed boundaries so as to reduce violence. Such territorial division was predominant in Mexico prior to the early 2000s.Such an aspect of evolution is missing

Physical health Essay Example for Free

Physical health Essay 1. Discuss the meanings Steve now places on health and physical activity. Steve doesn’t put much meaning on his health, either mentally, physically, emotionally or socially. He hasn’t got his family to encourage him to get out and participate in sport, so he let himself go and does not get motivated. From his point of view his health is good and is living the â€Å"good life† because he hasn’t got support to get his life back to what he was. The â€Å"good life† from his view is to go out every weekend or night and party out late. He drinks alcohol and smokes so he is ruining his health every day, but he doesn’t see it is a problem. He might not have got taught the right health ways and think he can do whatever he want because he is young and free. This will affect him later in life but he doesn’t seem to care as he is living how he has wanted to, his family were the ones encouraging him to do this, and without them around he doesn’t feel the need to do it. 2. Demonstrate how Steve’s lifestyle choices could be affecting his physical health. List any possible future problems. Steve’s lifestyle choices are affecting all areas of his health but one in particular that could affect his life span and that is his physical health. He started smoking and drinking. His dating life could also be a problem. His job can cause problems to his health. They are all decreasing his physical health. Every time he smokes he is increasing his chance of getting lung cancer. His drinking is going to affect him heavily later as he will end up with all sorts of problems, example- he could once turn up to work drunk and do everything wrong, resulting in him having no job. His dating life could result in somehow contracting a sexually transmitted infection. His job is affecting his health, as his job doesn’t require much; he just sits down all day, he could end up with bad pains all through his body. They all cause future problems to Steve an d by doing all these things he is decreasing his life expectancy, giving him a shorter life than expected. 3. List the changes in his social circumstances that have influenced the changes in Steve’s health and physical activity levels. Steve social circumstances have changed affecting the way he lives now, causing him to change. He has changed as he has moved out of home, leaving his family out of his life without them pushing him to do his best he found new friends who do what he is doing. His job has changed his social circumstances as he can have a night out and do what he needs to, his work friends should be encouraging him that he needs to take more pride in his job. When he finished school he might have lost all of his friends that were impacting him in a good way with the training and playing of different sports. His social circumstances have changed his life because he left school and not having family made him think he could live however he wants and not care. 4. Describe the possible outcomes for Steve’s emotional health is he continues with his current lifestyle. Emotional health refers to the ability to express emotions when they are appropriate and control them when they are not. If Steve continues with his behaviour he may not be able to control his emotions, his self-esteem will be very low. He won’t be able to see him as he is, he will see his self-image as worse than it actually it because of his low emotional health and low self-esteem. His late night partying will put down his emotional health is he keeps going with his routine, he will continue to think girls will fall for him but sometimes they will not, possibly causing his emotional health to deteriorate. His health on the health continuum will be very low, as he isn’t being able to control all of his health especially the physical and emotional health. If he picks up more exercise and does committee to his job he will have better emotional health stabili ty, meaning he will be able to control his emotions and express them accordingly to the situation. 5. Identify the 5 action areas of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion and describe what each area means in your own words. Developing personal skills: is about improving the individuals skills, developing a better understand for the individual to help them better their health. It helps the individual find ways to help better their health, giving them more confidence about their health. Creating supportive environments: is about the environment and making it better. It’s about creating a better environment for a person to be able to do what they want. It’s got both physical and social aspects, like a park for exercising or close friends supporting you in a big sporting event. Strengthening community action: is about getting the community involved to better the health of those within the community. The ideas from the community are called ‘bottom-up’ meaning the community comes up with the ideas and tries to get help to impose them in the areas, and a ‘top-down’ is when the ideas are coming from the government on what they think will better the health of those in that community. Reorientating health services: is about trying to invest more money into prevention rather than a cure. They believe if they can put more money into prevention then they will save more money. It doesn’t dismiss the importance on health care, as you can still get diseases genetically, but this is about trying to prevent those who get diseases that they can prevent by choosing better lifestyles. Building healthy public policy: is about the rules, laws and legislations. It is about the government and organisations that work towards better health, emplacing rules and laws, example- restricted smoking location within public places, or in schools where they have the ‘no hat, no play’ policy. 6. Recommend ways Steve can improve his health by following at least 2 of the 5 action areas of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. Give specific examples. Steve can improve his health in any of the five action areas, but the two that he should increase in are developing personal skills and creating supportive environments. Those two areas will help build up his health again. Developing personal skills is all about the individual and what they can do better for their health. Creating supportive environments is all about physical and social sides. It is increasing the family/friends bond for them to support you. Steve can develop his personal skills by going back to do some vigorous exercise. He needs to go and get help, and see if sleeping with different women can cause him to have a sexually transmitted infection. With him developing his personal skills, he can change his life around, making it better for him to live. Steve can create a supportive environment with his friends and family by getting them to help him change out of his bad habits. With his family by his side it can help him to make the right decisions. The physical side of a supportive environment can be getting his friends or family to go out and exercise with him. The two action areas developing personal skills and creating supportive environments can change his life around for the better, bettering his life expectancy, he then will put a better look on his health instead of wanting to always live the â€Å"good life,† he can go out sometimes but always going out is not good for his health. If his family and friends help him to go and see a doctor they can help him change his life around.

Hypothyroidism: Causes, Effects and Treatments

Hypothyroidism: Causes, Effects and Treatments Hypothyroidism is a condition characterized by abnormally low amount of the thyroid hormone synthesis. This may be due to a thyroid problem or any other reason. Thyroid hormone affects growth, development, and many cellular processes. Inadequate thyroid hormone has many consequences for the body (1, 2, 3). Thyroid gland and thyroid hormone synthesis Thyroid gland has two lobes connected by an isthmus. It attaches to the thyroid cartilage and trachea. Therefore it moves with swallowing. Thyroid gland consists of follicles lined by a cuboidal epithelial cell layer. These follicles filled with colloids.Parafollicular cells situated in between follicular cells which secrete calcitonine (4, 9). Thyroid gland synthesizes mainly two hormones. They are L-thyroxin/tetraiodothyronine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3).T3 is the active form that acts at the cellular level and T4 is the prohormone.Iodide enters the thyroid follicles primarily through a transporter. Thyroid hormone synthesis occurs in the follicular space through a series of reactions, many of which are peroxides-mediated. Thyroid hormones stored in the colloid in the follicular space that is released from Thymoglobulin by a hydrolysis reaction which occur inside the thyroid cell (4, 5, 8). E.g. Thyroglobulin (Tgb), monoiodotyrosine (MIT), diiodotyrosine (DIT),  Triiodothyronine (T3), tetraiodothyronine (T4) (5). If there is hereditary defect of enzyme in above process, Thyroid hormone synthesis could not occur. So its leads to congenital goiter and often results in hypothyroidism (6). Regulation of the synthesis of thyroid hormones Thyroid hormone synthesis is regulated by another gland located in the brain called pituitary. In turn the pituitary gland in part regulated by the thyroid hormone via feedback mechanism and other gland called hypothalamus. The hypothalamus secretes thyrotropin hormone (TRH), which give a signal to the pituitary gland to release thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). TSH in turn sends a signal to the thyroid gland to release thyroid hormone. If some defect occurs in one of these levels, a lack of production of thyroid hormones can cause a deficiency of thyroid hormone (hypothyroidism) (4, 5, 8). Hypothalamus TRH down arrow Pituitary- TSH down arrow Thyroid- T4 and T3 The rate of thyroid hormone synthesis is regulated by the pituitary gland. If there is an insufficient amount of thyroid hormone circulating in the body to normal functioning, the release of TSH from the pituitary increased in order to stimulate more thyroid hormone. However, when there is a large amount of thyroid hormones in circulation, TSH level decreases and pituitary attempts to reduce the production of thyroid hormone. In people with hypothyroidism have low levels of circulating thyroid hormones (4, 8). Physiological effects of thyroid hormones Cardiovascular system increased cardiac output and heart rate. Skeletal system increased bone turnover and resorption. Respiratory maintains normal hypoxic and Hypercapnic drive in respiratory centre. Gastrointestinal increases gut motility. Blood increases red blood cell 2, 3-BPG facilitating Oxygen release to tissues. Neuromuscular increases speed of muscle contraction and relaxation and muscle protein turnover. Metabolism of carbohydrates increases hepatic Gluconeogenesis/glycolysis and intestinal glucose Absorption. Metabolism of lipids increased lipolysis and Cholesterol synthesis and degradation. Sympathetic nervous tissue increases catecholamine Sensitivity and ÃŽÂ ²-adrenergic receptor numbers in heart, skeletal muscle, adipose cells and lymphocytes (1, 2, 4, 7, 8). Reduces cardiac ÃŽÂ ±-adrenergic receptors. If there is a defect in the synthesis or regulation pathways or thyroid lead to many disorders. They are mainly divided in two parts. They are hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. Hyperthyroidism, or an overactive thyroid, is the overproduction of thyroid hormones T3 and T4, and most often caused by the development of Graves disease which is an autoimmune disease in which antibodies are produced which stimulate the thyroid gland produces excessive amounts of thyroid hormones. This disease can lead to the development of toxic goiter due to the growth of the thyroid gland in response to the absence of negative feedback mechanisms. This is manifested by symptoms such as thyroid goiter, protruding eyes (exopthalmos), palpitations, excessive sweating, diarrhea, weight loss, muscle weakness and unusual sensitivity to heat. Appetite is increased (2, 4, 7). Classification of Hypothyroidism Hypothyroidism is often classified by association with the indicated organ dysfunction (4). Type Origin Primary Thyroid gland The most common forms are Hashimotos thyroiditis which is an autoimmune disease and can be occur in radioiodine therapy for hyperthyroidism (4, 7, 6). Secondary Pituitary gland Occurs if the pituitary gland does not release enough thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) to stimulate the thyroid gland to produce enough thyroid hormones. Although not every case of secondary hypothyroidism has a clear-cut case, it is usually caused by damage to the pituitary gland, as by a tumor, radiation, or surgery. Secondary hypothyroidism accounts for less than 5% or 10% of hypothyroidism cases (4, 7, 6). Tertiary Hypothalamus Results when the hypothalamus fails to produce sufficient Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH). TRH prompts the pituitary gland to produce thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). Hence may also be termed hypothalamic-pitu(4,7,6) Autoimmune Atrophic (autoimmune) hypothyroidism. The most common cause of hypothyroidism and the associated with antithyroid auto antibodies leads to lymphoid infiltration Cancer and eventually atrophy and fibrosis. It has been six Times more common in women and the incidence increases with age. This can be associated with other autoimmune Diseases such as pernicious anemia, vitiligo and other endocrine disorders. In some cases, intermittent Hypothyroidism occurs when recovering from illness, antibodies which block the TSH receptor can sometimes be involved in the etiology(5, 7, 10). Hashimotos thyroiditis. This form of autoimmune thyroiditis, again, more common in women and the most common in the late. The average age is atrophic changes with regeneration, leading to the formation of goiter. This may be usually firm and Rubber but can vary from soft to hard. TPO antibodies very high amount (>1000 IU / L). Patients can be euthyroid or hypothyroid, but they can pass through the initial phase of the toxic Hashi toxicity, Levothyroxine therapy. The goiter may reduce the even if the patient does not Hypothyroid (7, 8, 10). Postpartum thyroiditis. Typically, this is a temporary phenomenon Observed after pregnancy. It can cause hyperthyroidism, Hypothyroidism or the two sequences. It is believed to cause changes in the immune system necesnecessary.In case of pregnancy, and histologically lymphocytic thyroiditis. The process is usually self-limiting, but when Conventional antibodies are there is a strong chance this procedure of permanent hypothyroidism. Postpartum Thyroiditis may be misdiagnosed as postnatal depression. Thyroid function test is done to detect this situation (4, 7). Defects in hormone synthesis Iodine deficiency. Dietary iodine deficiency still exists in some areas as endemic goiter where goiter, occasionally massive is common. Patients may be euthyroid or hypothyroidism depending on the severity of iodine deficiency. The mechanism is considered borderline hypothyroidism leading to TSH stimulation and thyroid enlargement against iodine deficiency continues (4;7). Iodine deficiency is this still a problem in the Netherlands, the Western Pacific and South. East Asia for example, the mountainous regions of the Himalayas and Africa. Some countries affected by iodine deficiency, for example, China and Kazakhstan take measures providing iodine  in salt, but others, such as Russia, have not yet done so. Of The 500 million with iodine deficiency in India about 2 million suffering from cretinism.Dyshormonogenesis is a rare disease is due to genetics. Defects in the synthesis of thyroid hormones, patients Develop hypothyroidism with goiter. One particular family Form is associated with sensorineural hearing loss due to the removal Mutation of chromosome 7, resulting in a defect Transporter Pendrin (Pendred syndrome author) (4, 5). Hypothyroidism causes many symptoms. The term myxedema refers to the accumulation of mucopolysaccharides.In the subcutaneous tissue. The classical pictures are Slow in working, dry hair, thick-skinned, deep voice, Weight gain, cold intolerance, bradycardia, and constipation. These features make the diagnosis easy. Milder symptoms, however, more common and difficult to distinguish from other causes Nonspecific tiredness. Many of the cases on the biochemical detection (4, 6, 7) Screening Particular difficulties in diagnosis may occur in certain circumstances: Children with hypothyroidism may not classical Properties, but often have a slow growth rate, poor School performance and sometimes arrests of pubertal Development. Young women with hypothyroidism may not show obvious signs. Hypothyroidism is excluded in all Patients with oligomenorrhea / amenorrhea, Menorrhagia, infertility and hyperprolactinemia. the elderly show many clinical features that are difficult Distinct from normal aging (7, 10, 11). Investigation of primary hypothyroidism The Serum TSH is the examination of choice, a high TSH level Confirmed primary hypothyroidism. A low free T4 level confirms the hypothyroidism is (and is also essential for TSH to close a deficiency and clinical hypothyroidism is strongly suspected  and TSH is normal or low).Thyroid and other organ-specific antibodies are present (7,10). Other exceptions are the following: Anemia, usually normochromic and normocytic In type but can macrocytic (sometimes this is by Associated pernicious anemia) or microcytic (in women, By menorrhagia) increased serum aspartate transferase levels, from Muscle and / or liver increased serum creatine kinase levels, with associated myopathy Hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia Hyponatremia due to an increase in ADH and reduced Free water clearance (7, 10). Treatment Replacement therapy with levothyroxine (thyroxin, that is to say, T4) is Data for life. The starting dose will depend upon the severity of the failure and the age and condition of the patient, especially their cardiac function: 100ÃŽÂ ¼g per day during the Young and fit, 50ÃŽÂ ¼g (up to 100ÃŽÂ ¼g after 2-4 weeks) for the small, old or weak. Patients with ischemic heart disease Illness an even lower initial dose, especially if the Hypothyroidism is a severe and prolonged. Most doctors Would then start with daily 25ÃŽÂ ¼g and performing serial ECG, increasing the dose at 3 to 4-week intervals as angina Not occur or worsen and the ECG is not Deteriorate(8,10,11). Monitoring The goal is to recover well within T4 and TSH The normal range. The adequacy of the replacement is reviewed Clinical and thyroid function tests after at least 6 weeks at a constant dose. If serum TSH remains high, the dose of T4 Should is increased in increments of 25-50 g à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¬ the tests Repeated 6-8 week intervals until TSH returns to normal. Complete suppression of TSH should be avoided atrial fibrillation and the risk of osteoporosis. The usual The Maintenance dose is 100 to 150 g à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¬ administered as a single daily Dose. An annual thyroid function test is recommended this is usually done in the first line, often assisted and in response to the district thyroid registers (5, 8, 11). Clinical improvement T4 cannot start 2 weeks or more and complete resolution of symptoms 6 months. The need for lifelong therapy should be emphasized and the possibility of other autoimmune endocrine disease development, Especially Addisons disease or pernicious anemia, Should be considered. During pregnancy, an increase of T4 Dosage of about 25-50ÃŽÂ ¼g is often necessary to maintain normal TSH and the need for replacement during optimal. Pregnancy is highlighted by the finding of the reduction of Cognitive function in children of mothers with elevated TSH during pregnancy. A few patients with primary hypothyroidism complain incomplete symptomatic response to T4 replacement. Combination T4 and T3 replacement is advocated in this Context, but randomized clinical trials show no consistent Benefit from the quality of life symptoms (4, 8). Borderline hypothyroidism or Compensated euthyroidism Patients are often seen with a low-normal serum T4 levels and slightly elevated TSH values. Sometimes this follows surgery or radioactive iodine therapy when it can be reasonably seen as compensatory. Treatment with levothyroxine is normally recommended where the TSH is consistently above 10 mu / L, or if possible symptoms, high titers of thyroid Antibodies or lipid abnormalities are present (4, 8, 10). When the TSH is only marginally increased, the tests must be repeated three to six Months later. Conversion to overt hypothyroidism is more common in men or TPO antibodies are present in Practice, vague symptoms in patients with marginal Elevated TSH (less than 10 mu / L) rarely responds to treatment, However, a therapeutic trial of substitution may be required to confirm that the symptoms are not related to the thyroid gland(4,8,10). It is also is considered to be the best time (TSH level normalization, the ideal case, the former) Pregnancy, in order to avoid the side effects of the fetus.Myxedema coma severe hypothyroidism, especially in the elderly, may be with confusion and even coma. Myxedema coma is very rare. Low temperature is often there, the patient may have severe heart failure, hypoventilation, hypoglycemia, and hyponatriemia.The best treatment Controversial, there is no data, most doctors recommend T3 oral or intravenous injection, a dose of à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¬2, and 5-5 grams every 8 hours then, such as the above-mentioned increase. High-dose intravenous cannot be used (4, 7, 8). Other measures, although there is no proof of Include: Oxygen (by ventilation if necessary) monitoring of cardiac output and pressure Gradual warming Hydrocortisone 100 mg intravenously 8-hour Glucose infusion to avoid hypoglycemia. Myxedema madness Depression is common in hypothyroidism but rarely with severe hypothyroidism in the elderly can the patient be said demented or psychotic, sometimes with prominent delusions. This may occur shortly after starting T4 replacement (6, 5). Screening for hypothyroidism the incidence of congenital hypothyroidism is Approximately 1 in 3500 births. Untreated, severe Hypothyroidism produces permanent neurological and Intellectual damage (cretinism). Routine screening of the newborn with a bloodstain, like Guthrie test, a high TSH level as an indicator of primary detecting Hypothyroidism is efficient and cost effective; cretinism is prevented if T4 is started within the first few months of life. screening of elderly patients for thyroid dysfunction a low pick-up rate and is controversial and not currently recommended. However, patients who have undergone Thyroid surgery or radioactive iodine should receive Regular thyroid function tests, should be as those who Lithium or amiodarone therapy (6, 5). Signs and symptoms early hypothyroidism is often asymptomatic, can have very mild symptoms. Subclinical hypothyroidism normal levels of thyroid hormones, thyroxin (T4) and triiodo thyroxin (T3), moderate to high thyroid-stimulating hormone, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) conditions. TSH and low free T4 at a higher level; the symptoms are more obvious in clinical hypothyroidism (4, 6, 5). Hypothyroidism may be associated with the following symptoms: Early cold intolerance, increased sensitivity to cold Constipation weight gain, water retention bradycardia (low heart rate less than 65 times per minute) Fatigue decreased sweating Muscle cramps and joint pain dry, itchy skin thin, brittle nails Quick thoughts Depression muscle tension difference (hypotonia) female infertility and problems in the menstrual cycle Hyperprolactinemia and galactorrhea elevated serum cholesterol(10,11) Late goiter slow speech and a hoarse, breaking voice deepening of the voice can also be noticed. Reinke edema. Dry puffy skin, especially in the face Thinning of the outer third of the eyebrows (sign of Hertoghe) Menstrual cycle abnormalities Low basal body temperature thyroid related depression(10,11) Uncommon Impaired memory Impaired cognitive function (brain fog) and inattentiveness. A slow heart rate with ECG changes including low voltage signals. Diminished cardiac output and decreased contractility slow reflexes Yellowing of the skin due to impaired conversion of beta-carotene to vitamin A (carotoderma) Difficulty swallowing(dysphagia) Shortness of breath with a shallow and slow respiratory pattern(dyphnea) myxedema madness (a rare presentation) Decreased libido due to impairment of testicular testosterone synthesis Gynecomastia(enlarge breast tissue) Loss of hearing(10,11) Diagnosis thyroid function test the only validation test diagnosis of primary hypothyroidism is thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxin (T4) level. However, these levels can be varying without thyroid disease (10, 11). High TSH levels, the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormone levels (primarily thyroxin (T4) and a small amount of iodine Thyroid three original leucine (T3)). However, measuring just TSH can diagnose secondary and tertiary thyroid function loss, resulting in the following recommended a blood test, if the TSH is normal hypothyroidism remains skeptical(10,11). Free triiodothyronine (ft3) Free thyroxin (ft4) Total T3 Total T4 Additionally, the following measurements may be needed: Free T3 from 24-hour urine catch Antithyroid antibodies for evidence of autoimmune diseases that may be damaging the thyroid gland Serum cholesterol which may be elevated in hypothyroidism Prolactin as a widely available test of pituitary function Testing for anemia, including ferritin Basal body temperature(4,8,10) Exams and Tests A physical examination may reveal a smaller than normal thyroid gland, although sometimes the gland is normal size or even enlarged (goiter). The examination may also reveal: Brittle nails Coarse facial features Pale or dry skin, which may be cool to the touch Swelling of the arms and legs Thin and brittle hair A chest x-ray may show an enlarged heart (12, 13). Laboratory tests to determine thyroid function include: TSH test T4 test(10,12,13) Lab tests may also reveal: Anemia on a complete blood count (CBC) Increased cholesterol levels Increased liver enzymes Increased prolactin Low sodium(8,13) Treatment The treatment of hypothyroidism is levorotatory forms of thyroxin (thyroid hormone) (L-T4) and triiodo thyroxin liothyronine (L-T3). Thyroxin is a name, and in the USA, the most common form of thyroxin tablets. Thyroxin is a doctor of the most common drugs, wherein a synthetic thyroid hormone predetermined. This medicine can improve symptoms of thyroid deficiency such as speech delay, lack of energy, weight gain, hair loss, dry skin, cold feeling. This will also help in the treatment of goiter. It can also be used to treat certain types of thyroid cancer, surgery and other medicines. Both synthetic and animal thyroid tablets available, and may be required in patients with the additional thyroid hormone (8, 10). Daily doses of thyroid hormone, doctors can monitor blood pressure, in order to help ensure that the correct dose. Thyroxin is the best 30-60 minutes before breakfast, because some foods can reduce absorption. Calcium can interfere with absorption levothryoxine. Compared with water, the coffee can be reduced about 30% of the absorption of thyroxin. Some patients may be anti-thyroxin, in fact, they do not have good absorption sheet to solve the problem by spraying. There are several different treatment options for thyroid replacement therapy (8, 10, 12, 13). T4 only such treatment methods include supplementary levothyroxin separately, a synthetic form. This is the current standard treatment of mainstream medicine. A combination of T4 and T3 in This treatment method involves the combination simultaneously manage two synthetic L-T4 and L-T3 (8, 10, 11). Dried thyroid extract Dried thyroid extract is an animal thyroid extract; the most common is from porcine sources. It is also a combination therapy, containing a natural form of L-T4 and L-T3. Dealing with controversial T4 T3 generation has been investigating the potential benefits, but has proved to be no conclusive combination therapy benefit. Laboratory Medicine Practice Guidelines in 2002, the clinical biochemical state of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences during pregnancy: L-T4 dose should be increased (usually 50 micrograms / day) maintained at 0.5 ~ 2.0 mIU / L and serum serum TSH FT4 within the normal reference interval the upper third.Doctors tend to assume that if your TSH is in the normal range, sometimes defined as high as 5.5 MIU / L has no effect on fertility. But there is an approximately 1.0 MIU / L, TSH level in healthy pregnant women (8, 12, 13) Subclinical hypothyroidism there are a series of biochemical and point thyroxin treatment, the typical treatment of hypothyroidism symptoms views. Reference range has been debated. As of 2003, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (ACEE) that within the normal range of 0.3-3.0 MIU /L. There is always an excess risk of hyperthyroidism. Some studies suggest that subclinical hypothyroidism does not require treatment. In 2007, the Cochrane Collaboration, a meta-analysis found that, in addition to the no benefit of thyroid hormone replacement lipids and left ventricular function in 2002 meta-analysis checks whether subclinical hypothyroidism may increase the risk of heart disease increase, some of the parameters previously thought, a slight increase, and recommended to be updated for the current recommendations for further research  with the end point of coronary heart disease (11, 12, 13). Replacement therapy The connection has been a slow release combination of T3 and T4, supporters will be able to thyroid dysfunction symptoms and functional quality of life. This is still a matter of debate, refused by the traditional medical community (3, 8, 10). Remember, the important thing when are taking thyroid hormone are: Do not stop taking the drugs, and when you feel better. Continue the medication completely guidance of a doctor. If change the brand of thyroid drugs, let doctor know. levels may need to be checked. Some dietary changes can change your body absorb thyroid drugs. Contact your doctor, if you eat a lot of soy products, or in the high-fiber diet. Thyroid medicine best on an empty stomach, and if any other drugs before one hour. Do not take the thyroid hormone supplement fiber, calcium, iron, multivitamins, aluminum hydroxide, sulfuric acid agent, cholesterol, or in combination with a bile acid drugs(4,13). Start taking replacement therapy, the doctor tells, if there are symptoms of increased thyroid activity (hyperthyroidism), such as Palpitations Rapid weight loss Restlessness or shakiness Sweating Myxedema coma is a medical emergency; the thyroid hormone the body becomes very low. Intravenous replacement thyroid hormone and steroids. Some patients may need support therapy (oxygen, breathing assistance, fluid replacement) and intensive care (8, 10, 11). Outlook (prognosis) in most cases, thyroid levels to normal, and appropriate treatment. However, thyroid hormone replacement for the rest of life.Myxedema coma can result in death (12, 13). Possible complications Hypothyroidism, myxedema coma, the most severe form is rare. This can be caused by infection, illness, exposure to cold, or certain medications in untreated hypothyroidism (12, 13). The symptoms and signs of myxedema coma include: room temperature Reduce breathing low blood pressure Hypoglycemia unresponsive Other complications include: Heart disease Increased risk of infection Infertility Abortion(8,12,13) Untreated hypothyroidism are at increased risk: gave birth to birth defects heart disease, the higher the level of LDL (bad cholesterol) heart failure Too much thyroid hormone treatment are at risk of angina or a heart attack, as well as the risk of osteoporosis(the bone thinning)(11,12,13). Network Management System: Light Weight SNMP Implementation Network Management System: Light Weight SNMP Implementation Chapter 6 Implementation Initially the Java (JDK 1.6) and Netbeans IDE 5.4 should be installed in a system. Then the SNMP4J API should be added to the Netbeans library. The Mysql-JDBC sever should be added to the library for using the database purpose. Then the SNMP is tested in the same system for working condition, afterwards the destination devices are enabled with SNMP agent and are tested. The system should have the requirements as follows. 6.1 About NetBeans: NetBeans IDE is a developer tool for application development technologies. The IDE includes a multi-language editor, Profiler, Debugger and also tools for developer requirement. The IDE provides templates to create Java EE, Java SE, and Java ME applications. A variety of technologies and frameworks are supported. The language-aware editor detects errors while you type and suggest user with documentation popups and smart code completion with the speed and simplicity. To identify and solve problems in your applications, such as deadlocks and memory leaks, the IDE provides a feature rich debugger and profiler.When user is testing applications, it provides tools for Testing, as well as code analyzers and, in particular, integration with the popular open source Error detecting tool. NetBeans is an integrated development environment (IDE) for developing primarily with Java, but also with other languages, in particular PHP,C/C++, and HTML5. It is also an application platform framework for Java desktop applications and others. The NetBeans IDE is written in Java and can run on Windows, OS X, Linux, Solaris and other platforms supporting a compatible JVM. The NetBeans Platform allows applications to be developed from a set of modular software components called modules NetBeans began in 1996 as Xelfi (word play on Delphi), a Java IDE student project under the guidance of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at Charles University in Prague. In 1997 Roman StanĆºk formed a company around the project and produced commercial versions of the NetBeans IDE until it was bought by Sun Microsystems in 1999. Sun opensourced the NetBeans IDE in June of the following year. Since then, the NetBeans community has continued to grow. In 2010, Sun (and thus NetBeans) was ac quired by Oracle. 6.1.1 NetBeans Platform: The NetBeans Platform is a reusable framework for simplifying the development of Java Swing desktop applications. The NetBeans IDE bundle for Java SE contains what is needed to start developing NetBeans plugins and NetBeans Platform based applications; no additional SDK is required. Applications can install modules dynamically. Any application can include the Update Center module to allow users of the application to download signed upgrades and new features directly into the running application. Reinstalling an upgrade or a new release does not force users to download the entire application again. The platform offers reusable services common to desktop applications, allowing developers to focus on the logic specific to their application. Among the features of the platform are: User interface management (e.g. menus and toolbars). User settings management. Storage management (saving and loading any kind of data). Window management. Wizard framework (supports step-by-step dialogs). NetBeans Visual Library. Integrated development tools. NetBeans IDE is a free, open-source, cross-platform IDE with built-in-support for Java Programming Language. 6.1.2 NetBeans IDE: NetBeans IDE is an open-source integrated development environment. NetBeans IDE supports development of all Java application types (Java SE(including JavaFX), Java ME, web, EJB and mobile applications) out of the box. Modularity: All the functions of the IDE are provided by modules. Each module provides a well defined function, such as support for the Java language, editing, or support for the CVS versioning system, and SVN. NetBeans contains all the modules needed for Java development in a single download, allowing the user to start working immediately. Modules also allow NetBeans to be extended. New features, such as support for other programming languages, can be added by installing additional modules. For instance, Sun Studio, Sun Java Studio Enterprise, and Sun Java Studio Creator from Sun Microsystems are all based on the NetBeans IDE. 6.2 Platform selection: Java is an object oriented application programming language developed by Sun Microsystems in the early 1990s.Java application is typically compiled to byte code, although compilation to native machine code is also possible. At runtime, byte code is usually either interpreted or compiled to native code for execution, although direct hardware execution of byte code by a java processor is also possible. The version of java used to run the application is JDK1.6.This is because the APIs used in this application specifies this requirement. 6.2.1 Reasons for Using Java Java was chosen as the programming language because of its versatility. It is an object oriented programming language with the following important features. a) Platform Independent-The concept of Write-once-run-anywhere (known as the platform independent) is one of the important key feature of java language that makes java as the most powerful language. The programs written on one platform can run on any platform provided the platform must have the JVM. b) Simple There are various features that make the java as a simple language. Programs are easy to write and debug because java does not use the pointers explicitly. Java provides the bug free system due to the strong memory management. It also has the automatic memory allocation and de-allocation system. c) Robust Java has the strong memory allocation and automatic garbage collection mechanism. It provides the powerful exception handling and type checking mechanism as compare to other programming languages. Compiler checks the program whether there are any errors and interpreter checks any run time error and makes the system secure from crash. All of the above features make the java language robust. d) Distributed The widely used protocols like HTTP and FTP are developed in java. Internet programmers can call functions on these protocols and can get access the files from any remote machine on the internet rather than writing codes on their local system. e) Portable The feature Write-once-run-anywhere makes the java language portable provided that the system must have interpreter for the JVM. Java also has the standard data size irrespective of operating system or the processor. These features make the java as a portable language. f) Dynamic While executing the java program the user can get the required files dynamically from a local drive or from a computer thousands of miles away from the user just by connecting with the Internet. g) Secure Java does not use memory pointers explicitly. All the programs in java are run under an area known as the sand box. Security manager determines the accessibility options of a class like reading and writing a file to the local disk. Java uses the public key encryption system to allow the java applications to transmit over the internet in the secure encrypted form. The byte code verifier checks the classes after loading. h) Performance Java uses native code usage, and lightweight process called threads. In the beginning interpretation of byte code resulted in the slow performance but the advance version of JVM uses the adaptive and just in time compilation technique that improves the performance. i) Multithreaded Java is also a multithreaded programming language. Multithreading means a single program having different threads executing independently at the same time. Multithreading programming is a very interesting concept in Java. In multithreaded programs not even a single thread disturbs the execution of other thread. j) Architecture Neutral The Java compiler generates byte code instructions, to be easily interpreted on any machine and to be easily translated into native machine code on the fly. The compiler generates an architecture-neutral object file format to enable a Java application to execute anywhere on the network and then the compiled code is executed on many processors, given the presence of the Java runtime system. 6.3 About SNMP: Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is an application–layer protocolusedfor exchanging management information between network devices.SNMP is one of the widely accepted protocols to manage and monitor network elements. Most of the professional–grade network elements come with bundled SNMP agent. In the following figure the SNMP manager, SNMP agents and MIBs (Management information base) are the major parts of architecture. Here the manager will send the get-next request for particular OID (object identifier) to the agent. The SNMP agent will retrieve the information from the MIB for a particular OID and will send the response to the manager. If any warning message occurs in the agent side, agent will send the trap notifications to manager. 6.4 Use of API: The SNMP4J API should be added correctly to the tool which the user is using in the project. It may be eclipse or Netbeans. Basically the APIs which needed in our project are JFreechart, Mysql and the SNMP4J. JFreechart APIs are added into the tool by their jar files, it should contain the JCommon and JFreechart JAR files and the documentation. These should be added into the library here. Mysql JDBC Connector JAR files should be added into the library for using the database. 6.5 Modules of project: A) The following code snippet explains how the set of all the IP address and MAC address are retrieved for the given input switch. That is the all the devices connected to the particular switch is retrieved and stored. for (i = 0; i Node nodSwi = nodesSwi.item(i); if (nodSwi.getNodeType() == Node.ELEMENT_NODE) { Element element = (Element) nodSwi; String MacAddress = xjava.getValue(MacAddr, element); String MacAddressEnd = xjava.getValue(MacAddrEnd, element); out.println( ); out.println( SL no ); out.println( IP Address ); out.println( MAC Binding ); stroid_result = MacAddress; do { stroid_result = ip.CreateOID(ipAddress, stroid_result, port); temp = stroid_result.substring(stroid_result.indexOf(.) + 20, stroid_result.length()); ipA = temp.substring(temp.indexOf(.) + 1, temp.indexOf(=)); MacAddr = temp.substring(temp.indexOf(=) + 2, temp.length()); stroid_result = stroid_result.substring(0, stroid_result.indexOf(=) 1); if (!stroid_result.contains(MacAddressEnd)) { out.println( + ++i + ); out.println( + ipA + ); out.println( + MacAddr + ); } } while (!stroid_result.contains(MacAddressEnd)); out.println( ); out.println( ); out.println( ); } } B) The following code is typed and tested in the JSP file. Here the connectivity discovery module is explained and the connection between the ports and the devices are identified. stroid_result = MacAddress; do { stroid_result = ip.CreateOID(ipAddress, stroid_result, port); temp = stroid_result.substring(stroid_result.indexOf(.) + 20, stroid_result.length()); ipA = temp.substring(temp.indexOf(.) + 1, temp.indexOf(=)); MacAddr = temp.substring(temp.indexOf(=) + 2, temp.length()); stroid_result = stroid_result.substring(0, stroid_result.indexOf(=) 1); if (stroid_result.contains(MacAddress)) {//Port Index objip_MacResult[index] = new ClsOid_Input_Rslt(); objip_MacResult[index].Str_Macaddress = MacAddr; objip_MacResult[index].Str_Ip = ipA; m++; index++; } } while (!stroid_result.contains(MacAddrEnd)); /*TO GET MAC ADDRESS AND PORT COUNT*/ do { stroid_result = ip.CreateOID(ipAddress, stroid_result, port); temp = stroid_result.substring(stroid_result.indexOf(=) + 2, stroid_result.length()); stroid_result = stroid_result.substring(0, stroid_result.indexOf(=) 1); if (stroid_result.contains(Mac)) {//Port Index count++; } } while (!stroid_result.contains(MacEnd)); ClsOid_Input_Rslt[] objMac_PortResult; objMac_PortResult = new ClsOid_Input_Rslt[count]; /*TO GET MAC ADDRESS AND PORT */ do { stroid_result = ip.CreateOID(ipAddress, stroid_result, port); temp = stroid_result.substring(stroid_result.indexOf(=) + 2, stroid_result.length()); stroid_result = stroid_result.substring(0, stroid_result.indexOf(=) 1); if (stroid_result.contains(Mac)) { objMac_PortResult[index] = new ClsOid_Input_Rslt(); objMac_PortResult[index].Str_Mac = temp; m++; index++; } if (stroid_result.contains(PortNum)) { if (index > n) { index = (n 1); } objMac_PortResult[index].Str_PortNum = temp; n++; index++; } } while (!stroid_result.contains(MacEnd)); HashMap map = new HashMap(); /* TO GET IPADDRESS, MACADDRESS AND PORTS */ out.println( ); out.println( IP ADDRESS PORT NUMBER ); for (int Macportcount = 0; Macportcount { String Macaddress = new String(); String MacPort = new String(); MacPort = objMac_PortResult[Macportcount].Str_Mac; for (int IpMaccount = 0; IpMaccount Macaddress = objip_MacResult[IpMaccount].Str_Macaddress; if (MacPort.equals(Macaddress)) { if (!map.containsKey(objMac_PortResult[Macportcount].Str_PortNum)) { map.put(objMac_PortResult[Macportcount].Str_PortNum, objip_MacResult[IpMaccount].Str_Ip); } else { map.remove(objMac_PortResult[Macportcount].Str_PortNum); map.put(objMac_PortResult[Macportcount].Str_PortNum, uplink); } } } } Set> set = map.entrySet(); for (Map.Entry me : set) { out.println( + me.getValue() + ); out.println( + me.getKey() + ); } out.println( ); out.println( ); out.println( ); } C) The following code is to explain about the device type discovery of the network. The device type and the switch type are identified using this code. stroid_result = Service; stroid_result = ip.CreateOID(ipAdd[ipCount], stroid_result, port); temp = stroid_result.substring(stroid_result.indexOf(=) + 2, stroid_result.length()); stroid_result = stroid_result.substring(0, stroid_result.indexOf(=) 1); if (temp.contains(7) || temp.contains(6)) { out.println(Switch Type :L3 ); } else { out.println(Switch Type :L2 ); } /*code for Type of Switch ENDS*/ /* the device type discovery code starts from here*/ stroid_result = name; stroid_result = ip.CreateOID(ipAddress, stroid_result, port); if (stroid_result.indexOf(=) > 0) { out.println( ); stroid_result = print; stroid_result = ip.CreateOID(ipAddress, stroid_result, port); stroid_result = stroid_result.substring(0, stroid_result.indexOf(=) 1); if (stroid_result.contains(print)) { out.println( ); out.println(); } else { stroid_result = Numberofuser; stroid_result = ip.CreateOID(ipAddress, stroid_result, port); stroid_result = stroid_result.substring(0, stroid_result.indexOf(=) 1); if (stroid_result.contains(Numberofuser)) { out.println( ); out.println(); } else { out.println( ); out.println(); stroid_result = name; stroid_result = ip.CreateOID(ipAddress, stroid_result, port); temp = stroid_result.substring(stroid_result.indexOf(=) + 2, stroid_result.length()); out.println( + temp + ); out.println( ); out.println( ); } } 6.6 Execution part: Here JDK 1.6 with Netbeans 6.9.1 tool is used, SNMP API(SNMP4J) [11], and Jfreechart for graphical representation. The system is developed and tested on Red Hat Linux 5.4 operating system with 2.80-GHz, Intel Pentium 4 CPU with 512 MB RAM. The approach is tested in the subnet of a network or can say that department of an organisation. In this subnet found number of devices connected to the switches, their details and also the connection between them. These are tested multiple times and physically verified. The problem we faced is that some devices are having multiple Mac Addresses so it is difficult for the system to find the connectivity of the device to port. Except this everything is working well enough. The major thing done is when the device is not supporting for SNMP then tried to get the details of that system by ICMP echo requests. The time taken to discover the devices connected to switch are compared with the previous research. And it is very less compared to other research. In very short time nearly 8-9 seconds we can discover all the devices connected to the switch in the network.

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