Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study sets out to evaluate the possible influence of increasing and declining markets on the returns of dividend-investing strategies. This study’s objective, therefore, was to evaluate the possible influence dividend pay-out policy has on share return. Secondary objectives serve to investigate how the size of cash dividend payments, measured in dividend yield (DY), influence share value, especially during bull and bear markets respectively. In order to address the stated objectives of this study and prevent possible survivorship bias, the sample included listed and delisted shares for the period 1995 to 2010. Initially, all firms that were listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) during the period under review were considered, both that were listed at the end as well as firms that delisted. However, due to the nature of the financial structures of firms in the financial and basic industries, the study did not include their data. The final sample consisted of 291 firms, providing 22 927 monthly observations. Dividend-investing strategies were constructed using non-dividendpaying (Portfolio one) and dividend-paying firms (Portfolio two). Portfolio one and two were then further deconstructed into four groups based on monthly DY rankings. Portfolio one was represented by Group 1, whilst Portfolio two was grouped into the lowest, medium, and highest DYs and classified as Group 2 to Group 4 accordingly. The results obtained from statistical analyses performed in this study indicate that the level of DY appears to influence returns positively. Furthermore, after investigating the results obtained during opposing market scenarios, some important findings resulted. During bear markets no significant difference in abnormal risk-adjusted returns was observed for the portfolios and four groups, however, in bull markets the return for Portfolio two, specifically Group 4, was more than double the result for the non-dividend payers. This study, therefore proposes that firms should have a DY in the range of the highest market DY average for bull markets specifically. From the perspective of the potential investors, the study suggests that dividend-investing could allow for the generation of positive risk-adjusted returns during bull markets. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie evalueer die moontlike invloed van stygende en dalende markte aangaande opbrengs op dividend-investerings strategie . Die studie se primêre doelwit is om die invloed van dividend uitbetalings op aandeel opbrengste te bestudeer. Sekondêre doelwitte ondersoek hoe die grootte van ‘n kontant dividend, soos gemeet in dividend opbrengs, die aandeel-waarde beïnvloed, spesifiek tydens bul en beer markte. Om oorlewingsydigheid te voorkom, sluit die steekproef genoteerde sowel as gedenoteerde firmas in vir ‘n tydperk van 1995 tot 2010. Aanvanklik was alle sektore van die Johannesburg Aandele-beurs (JSE) ondersoek, maar weens die komplekse kapitaal struktuur van finansi le en die basiese nywerheid sektore was hul aandeel inligiting uitgesluit. Die finale steekproef het ‘n totaal van 291 firmas ingesluit en 22 927 maandelike waarnemings verskaf. Dividend-investerings strategie was saamgestel deur nie-dividend-betalende firmas (Portefeulje een) teenoor dividendbetalende firmas (Portefeulje twee) te vergelyk. Die twee portefeuljes was ook verder onderdeel in vier groepe volgens maandelikse dividend opbrengstes. Portefeulje een was verteenwoordig deur Groep 1, terwyl Portfeulje twee opgedeel was volgends laag, medium, en hoë dividend opbrengstes en geklasifiseer as Groep 2 tot 4 onderskeidelik. Die resultate van die statististiese ontleding van hierdie studie dui moontlik daarop dat die vlak van dividend opbrengs aandeel waarde positief beïnvloed. Nadat die spesifieke bul en beer markte ontleed is, was belangrike resultate waargeneem. Tydens beer markte was daar geen beduidende verskil tussen die risiko-aangepaste opbrengstes van die twee portefeuljes en vier groepe nie, maar tydens bul markte het die opbrengstes van Portefeulje twee, spesifiek Groep 4, meer as dubbel dié van die nie-dividend betalers getoon. Die studie stel dus voor dat ‘n firma tydens bul markte moet poog om ‘n dividend opbrengs te handhaaf wat die hoogste gemiddeld van die mark verteenwoordig. Vanuit die belegger se oogpunt, stel die studie voor dat dividend investering stategie moontlik gebruik kan word om positiewe risikoaangepaste opbrengstes te genereer, veral tydens bul markte.

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: “Inflation is as violent as a mugger, as frightening as an armed robber and as deadly as a hit man.” – Ronald Reagan It is widely publicised that inflation-linked instruments provide a hedge against rising inflation. This has led investors to assume that high inflation creates an opportunity to beat the market when investing in this asset class. This assumption is based on the belief that higher inflation creates higher returns. It is due to this belief that a research question was formulated to determine if inflation is in fact a determinant of inflation-linked bond returns. This research study investigated, as a first objective, the relationship between the South African prime lending interest rate and the South African consumer price index inflation between 2000 and 2013. The Augmented Dickey-Fuller test was applied to test for unit roots between interest and inflation. This test was extended to six other emerging countries that, together with South Africa, are issuers of government inflation-linked bonds. The researcher’s intention was to compare the relationship between interest rates and inflation in South Africa with that of the six other countries. Surprisingly, the results indicated that South African inflation and interest are non-stationary. After testing for cointegration, it was concluded that there is no relationship between the prime lending interest rate and inflation in the data set and most of the variation can be explained by means of the autocorrelation of residuals in previous periods more than the prime lending rate. As a second objective, the same methodology was applied to determine whether there is any relationship between the South African consumer price index inflation and the South African government inflation-linked bond returns. The results indicated that the series is not cointegrated which means that no relationship exists between inflation and inflation-linked bond returns. The third objective looked at alternative factors that could explain what the real determinants of inflation-linked bond returns are. It was concluded that the trend in inflation is really the source of inflation-linked bond performance, with the effects of the lead and lag periods causing capital losses and profits.

Due to legal, economic and socio-environmental factors, reverse logistics practices and extended producer responsibility have developed into a necessity in many countries. The end results and expectations may differ, but the motivation remains the same. Two significant components in a reverse logistics system -product recovery options and return channels - are the focus of this thesis. The two main issues examined are allocation of the returned products to recovery options, and selection of the collection methods for product returns. The initial segment of this thesis involves the formulation of a linear programming model to determine the optimal allocation of returned products differing in quality to specific recovery options. This model paves the way for a study on the effects of flexibility on product recovery allocation. A computational example utilising experimental data was presented to demonstrate the viability of the proposed model. The results revealed that in comparison to a fixed match between product qualities and recovery options, the product recovery operation appeared to be more profitable with a flexible allocation. The second segment of this thesis addresses the methods employed for the initial collection of returned products. A mixed integer nonlinear programming model was developed to facilitate the selection of optimal collection methods for these products. This integrated model takes three different initial collection methods into consideration. The model is used to solve an illustrative example optimally. However, as the complexity of the issue renders this process ineffective in the face of larger problems, the Lagrangian relaxation method was proposed to generate feasible solutions within reasonable computational times. This method was put to the test and the results were found to be encouraging.

We examine the existence of dividend clienteles in Sweden using a unique dataset containing yearly information on age, gender, income and portfolio composition of about 200 000 Swedish stockholders. The data covers the years between 2005 and 2010. More specifically, we investigate whether investor preferences for dividends differ depending on their age or income. Furthermore, we seek to establish if there are any differences in performance, based on abnormal return, between investors with different dividend yields. We find that age clienteles exist in Sweden; older investors hold stocks with higher dividend yields and invest a larger portion of their portfolio in dividend paying stocks than younger investors. We do not find support for the existence of income clienteles; low-income investors tend to invest in stocks with a higher dividend yield than high-income investors. However, we find that different income groups hold about the same portfolio weight in dividend paying stocks. Overall, we find no significant differences in performance within or between various age or income groups. The main finding of this paper is the identification of age clienteles in Sweden.

Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB (LKAB) är ett statligt industriföretag som verkar inom gruvbranschen. Företaget arbetar i dagsläget aktivt i syfte att förebygga ohälsa på arbetsplatsen.Trots detta proaktiva arbete är både fysisk och psykisk ohälsa på arbetsplatsen ofrånkomligt och det är därmed viktigt att utveckla en väl fungerande rehabiliteringsprocess. En arbetslivsinriktad rehabiliteringsprocess innefattar arbetsträning, anpassning av arbetsplatsen samt förändrande arbetsuppgifter eller utbildning. I denna process har individens närmaste chef en central roll. Studien syftar därför till att förmedla de ansvariga chefernas uppfattningar och upplevelser av företagets rehabiliteringsprocess. Insamlingen av datamaterial har utförts genom tolv kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer och bearbetningen genomfördes därefter utifrån en fenomenografisk analysmetod. Forskningsfrågorna behandlade chefernas uppfattningar och upplevelser av den nuvarande processen samt deras roll och ledarskap. Vidare undersöktes även de förbättringsområden som kunde identifieras. Studiens huvudresultat visade både likheter och skillnader mellan chefernas uppfattningar och upplevelser. Flertalet chefer upplevde den nuvarande rehabiliteringsprocessen som fungerande medan andra chefer upplevde att den fungerande mindre bra. Flera förbättringsområden identifierades där önskan om tydligare struktur genomsyrade samtliga förslag. Studiens resultat visade även likheter och skillnader i chefernas ledarskap. Analysen av chefernas uttalanden genererade två ledarprofiler där de tillhörde antingen en ledarprofil som karaktäriserades av stödjande egenskaper eller en profil som karaktäriserades av både stödjande och delegerande egenskaper. De chefer som tillhörde den sistnämnda profilen tenderade att anpassa sin ledarstil efter individ och situation. Detta flexibla arbetssätt kunde kopplas till situationsbaserat ledarskap vilket utifrån tidigare forskning  visat sig leda till goda resultat.

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The abundance and diversity of carbohydrate and protein resources in the southern Cape of South Africa may well have aided the survival of modern humans through the harsh climatic conditions of the late Pleistocene. Until now, the carbohydrate resources, in particular the underground storage organs (USOs) of some plant species have not been described from a forager’s perspective. This is baffling when one considers that the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa harbors the highest diversity of geophyte (herbaceous plants which possess USOs) species in the world. I report on USO distribution and abundance in the southern Cape of South Africa and on the effort, nutritional return and energetic return rates of harvesting these USOs. To determine their distribution and abundance, I assessed identity and abundance in a hundred 25m2 plots. These data, along with biomass data of every species sampled, allowed me to quantify the variation of this potential food source over different habitat types in the southern Cape landscape. Furthermore, I observed the time it took for human subjects to gather a sample of six USO species in three different vegetation types and in two seasons. Proximal analyses of the nutritional content of each of these species provided data which, when combined with foraging time, enabled a basic quantification of the return rate of energy (in calories) per time unit. There is high variability in the distribution of edible USO abundance and biomass across the study area, with some sites having very high biomass. Such biomass hotspots are likely to have been targeted by foragers, returning biomass values comparable to other studies which have been conducted on extant hunter-gatherer communities. Due to considerable variation over the landscape, the hotspots of biomass did not correlate significantly with any abiotic variables we measured. This suggests that hotspots of high biomass may have been challenging to find, unless the cognitive skills required to locate such patches were sufficiently developed – certainly excellent knowledge of the landscape and botany would have been crucial if survival depended on locating these diet items. USO species belonging to the Iridaceae family had the highest overall and average biomass in the area, so it is not surprising that this family is best represented amongst USO plant remains found in the archaeological record. Little effort (time) was required to obtain the six species of USOs we observed, although the weights obtained were also low. The nutritional returns of the six test species were higher than in other studies. The return rates per simulated foraging event in this study therefore compare favorably to the anthropological observations of extant hunter-gatherer communities. The lines of evidence presented in this thesis therefore lend support to the hypothesis that the USO resources of the southern Cape would have provided a large component of the carbohydrate requirements for sustaining hunter-gatherer communities. The data set presented in this thesis can be considered a baseline for future studies. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die digtheid en diversiteit van koolhidraat- en proteïenhulpbronne in die Suid-Kaap van Suid-Afrika mag die oorlewing van die moderne mens beïnvloed het tydens die ongunstige klimaatstoestande wat geheers het deur die laat Pleistoseen. Tot op hede is die koolhidraathulpbronne in die area nie beskryf vanuit ‘n kosversamelaar se perspektief af nie, spesifiek nie die koolhidrate wat deur ondergrondse stoororgane (OSO's) van sommige plantspesies verskaf kan word nie. Dié feit is verstommend as mens in ag neem dat die Kaapse Floristiese Streek van Suid-Afrika die hoogste geofietspesies (kruidagtige plante met OSO's) diversiteit ter wêreld het. Ek rapporteer oor die verspreiding en digtheid van OSO's in die Suid-Kaap en op die inspanning, voedingswaarde en energie-opbrengskoerse verbonde aan die oes van dié OSO's. Verspreiding en digtheid is bepaal oor ʼn honderd 25m2 plotte. Dié data, saam met die biomassa-data van elke spesie wat geïdentifiseer was, is gebruik om potensiële voedselbronne te kwantifiseer in verskillende habitattipes in die Suid-Kaap. Ek het verder die tyd wat dit neem vir mense om die ses geïdentifiseerde OSO-spesies te oes in drie verskillende habitatte en twee seisoene waargeneem. Voedingswaarde-data, tesame met OSO-oestyd-data, is gebruik vir die basiese berekening van energie-opbrengskoerse van spesies deur middel van proksimale analises. Daar is hoë variasie in die verspreiding, digtheid en biomassa van eetbare OSO's gevind in die studie-area, met sommige plotte wat baie hoë biomassa bevat het. Hierdie areas van hoë biomassa sou heel waarskynlik deur kos-versamelaars geteiken gewees het, en gevolglik hoë opbrengste van biomassa bied, wat vergelykbaar is met die biomassa-waardes wat waargeneem word binne areas waar huidige jagter-versamelaar-gemeenskappe tans oorleef. As gevolg van die aansienlike variasie wat waargeneem is oor die landskap het die hoë-biomassa-areas nie beduidend gekorreleer met enige abiotiese veranderlikes wat gemeet is nie. Dit dui daarop dat hoë-biomassa-areas moeilik kan wees om te vind, tensy kognitiewe vermoëns wat noodsaaklik is om kolle van hoë biomassa te vind ontwikkel was. OSO-spesies wat aan die Iridaceae-familie behoort het die hoogste algehele en gemiddelde biomassa in die area gehad. Dit is dus nie verbasend dat dié familie die beste verteenwoordig word in die argeologiese rekord van OSO-plantoorskot nie. Min inspanning (tyd) was nodig om die OSO's van die ses geïdentifiseerde spesies te bekom, alhoewel die massa wat bekom is ook laag was. Die voedingswaarde-opbrengs (per eenheidsmassa) van die ses toetsspesies was hoër as in ander studies. Die energie-opbrengskoers per versamelingsgebeurtenis het gevolglik ook gunstig vergelyk met die antropologiese waarnemings wat van huidige jagter-versamelaars gemeenskappe gemaak is. Die resultate van hierdie studie ondersteun die hipotese dat die OSO-hulpbronne in die Suid-Kaap 'n groot komponent van die koolhidraat-vereistes van jagter-versamelaar-gemeenskappe sou gewees het. Die datastel wat in dié tesis aangebied word kan as 'n basisverwysing dien vir toekomstige studies.

published_or_final_version / Economics and Finance / Master / Master of Economics

published_or_final_version / Economics and Finance / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Throughout North America, many species of aerial insectivorous birds – birds that capture flying insects – have exhibited sharp declines, with tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) experiencing a 2.8% annual decline in Canada since 1989. The timing of these declines coincides with major changes in agriculture, perhaps signaling a potential causal link. Declines may be influenced indirectly by agriculturally-driven reductions in the abundance of the swallow’s main diet of aerial insects through increased agrochemical use, wetland drainage and cropping intensity. My objectives were to determine how aerial insect abundance and biomass vary across an agricultural landscape in the Canadian Prairies, and determine how breeding tree swallows respond in terms of (i) foraging behaviours and return rates, (ii) body condition, and (iii) selected physiological responses (i.e. oxidative stress and feather corticosterone). Artificial nest-boxes were erected at each of 5 sites with varying levels of agricultural intensification in south-central Saskatchewan, 2012-2014. Insect abundance and biomass were monitored daily using passive aerial samplers at each of the sites throughout the breeding season. Tree swallows adults (n = 596) and nestlings (n = 1107) from each nest were captured, banded, measured and blood and feather sampled to determine condition and physiological status. In 2014, radio frequency identification (RFID) technology was employed at a subset of nest-boxes to determine adult foraging rates and durations. Despite strong differences in land use characteristics among sites, insect abundance and biomass varied by year but were similar between heavily cropped and grassland references sites. Regardless, birds responded to temporal changes in prey abundance and differences were found in measurements of foraging behavior and physiological measures of oxidative stress. Adult foraging rate (number of nest visits/hour) was primarily influenced by wind and nestling age, but was also positively related to daily insect biomass. Foraging intervals (i.e., length of time spent on each trip) differed between agricultural intensities; birds on agricultural sites spent more time away from the nest box, presumably foraging, suggesting reduced nest attentiveness. Return rates were primarily predicted by body condition and brood size from the previous breeding season, but were also higher on grassland sites, suggesting that agricultural sites may be less favorable. Older adults (based on banding records) and females displayed a higher body condition than did younger individuals and males, respectively. Measures of physiology (i.e. total antioxidant counts and oxidative damage) in both adult and nestling swallows were primarily driven by temporal changes in insect biomass and abundance. Similarly, adult body mass and physiology were related to local insect availability, but not land use (agriculture/grassland). Measures of nestling feather corticosterone were unrelated to any of the explanatory variables. These results provide valuable information pertaining to components of individual quality, foraging behaviour, and return status in response to prey availability under differing agricultural land use regimes, which may help to inform conservation strategies for a variety of insectivorous bird species of conservation concern.

The ability to work can be reduced if a person has health problems which may lead to periods of sick leave. In Sweden sickness certification is issued by physicians. Many general practitioners (GPs) find sickness certification to be problematic. Some studies indicate that collaboration with other health care professions could be beneficial. The aim of the thesis was to provide knowledge on how the work with the sick leave process in primary health care can be improved and how occupational therapists’ (OT) assessment could be used prior to the decision on sick leave and rehabilitation. Initially seven focus groups were held, four with OTs and three with physicians. The discussions in the focus gropes were analysed by qualitative content analysis. An intervention project was initiated, where four health care centres in northern Sweden tested a working approach where sick listed patients were offered a supplementary assessment of activity and work-related problems by an OT. Data on sick leave, sickness certificates and patient questionnaires were collected from intervention health care centres (IHCC) and other health care centres (OHCC). Interviews were conducted with patients, GPs and OTs. The quality of the information in the collected sickness certificates was evaluated. Average values of sick leave were compared between the IHCCs and the OHCCs in the county. The interviews with sick listed patients were analysed by qualitative content analysis. In order to analyse the implementation of the intervention the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, CFIR, was used. An overall theme and four categories emerged from the focus groups. The theme expressed work ability as an obscure, complex and unique concept. The four categories illustrate the affecting factors and confirmed the complex structure of work ability: the person, the context of life, the work, and the society. No significant differences between IHCCs and OHCCs in data on sick leave or the mandatory information in the certificates were found. Thirty-four percent of the collected sickness certificates did not contain all requested information. More certificates issued for women than certificates issued for men lacked the required information. Full-time sick leave was significantly more often prescribed for male patients than for female. Two themes revealed that highlight important areas for persons on sick leave in their healthcare encounters. The theme ‘Trust in the relationship’ contains categories describing the patients’ feelings of participation, being believed, confirmed, and listened to. The second theme ‘Structure and balance’ contains the participants’ views on important factors that could facilitate the return-to-work process such as a structured plan and support to balance activity. The analysis with CFIR clarified that coaching and education for all the users are crucial to get fidelity when new interventions are tested as well as involvement by the clinical department manager. The work with sick leave issues in primary health care can be improved by developing cooperation with several different professionals. To achieve an increased cooperation new working approaches are required. These working approaches must be anchored in management and requires an applied implementation strategy. More focus on the quality of encounters with healthcare professionals can also improve the sick leave process in primary health care centres. The healthcare encounters must build on a mutual trust and sick-listed persons’ return to work can be facilitated by providing a clear structure in the process and support in occupational balance. For issuing sickness certification further education about the descriptions of functioning and the tasks included in the patient’s work is needed. A better gender awareness in the health care encounters is also necessary.