>Magister Scientiae - MSc / The water quality in many Cape Town Rivers and streams is a major challenge. Kuils River is subject to multiple land use impacts from upstream to downstream because of rapid urbanization in its catchment area. The main pollution sources are urban and industrial, organic matter from litter under the road-bridge, and golf course. However no systematic efforts have been made to evaluate and improve the health of the river in term of management. To assess impacts on water quality, this study was conducted from 4th September to 27th November 2012 in 5 selected sites in the upper reach of the Kuils river. The main aim was to compare the health of the river in 2012 with that found in 2005 using physical and chemical characteristics and the South Africa Scoring System (SASS). The statistical analysis showed a significant difference between and within sites. The water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen concentration, total dissolved solids (TDS), and salinity were collected in situ by YSI 30 meter. To evaluate nutrient (nitrate and phosphorus) concentrations water samples were analyzed at UWC laboratory using spectrophotometer. In addition human activities, basic conditions (7.13 to 8.76), high total dissolved solids (416 to to 916.5 mg L¯¹) and salinity (0.31 to 0.71 mg L¯¹) concentrations were influenced by Malmesbury shales. Nitrate (0.1 to 3.1 mg L¯¹) and phosphorus (0.11 to 5.27 mg L¯¹) concentrations and the decrease in dissolved oxygen in November 2012 showed eutrophic conditions of the river. In the tributary site phosphorus (1.32 to 3.62 mg L¯¹) concentrations revealed hypertrophic condition compared to South Africa guideline. Macroinvertebrates sampled showed a total of 28 taxa grouped in 11 orders were sampled. Poor habitat diversity and water quality degradation were principal causes of low species diversity. The South Africa Score System version 5 (SASS5) and Average Score per Taxon (ASPT) indicated that the river is seriously impacted in 2012 compared to 2005 where water quality was in poor condition. The SASS and the ASPT scores were less than 50 and 4.2 at all sampling sites in most part of sampling period.

This thesis gives an overview of the principles of a points system for evaluating the drivers (point system) and statistics of accidents in road transport of the Czech Republic.. The operating principle of the points system is supplemented by graphical analysis of drivers who have received some penalty point and also overview of European countries with similar systems. The thesis contains the results of public research on the topic "point system". At the conclusion of this thesis is an analysis of time series of basic indicators of accidents on the roads of the Czech Republic supplemented by analysis of the impact point system for accident and its consequences on people's lives.

Nowadays, the use of credit scoring models in the financial sector is a common practice. Credit scoring plays an important role in profitability and transparency of lending business. Given the high credit volumes, even a small improvement of discriminatory and predictive power of a credit scoring model may provide a substantial additional profit. Scoring models are applied on the through-the-door population, however, for creating them or adjusting already existing credit rules, it is usual to use only the data corresponding to accepted applicants for which payment discipline can be observed. This discrepancy can lead to reject bias (or selection bias in general). Methods trying to eliminate or reduce this phenomenon are known by the term reject inference. In general, these methods try to assess the behavior of rejected applicants or to obtain an additional information about them. In the dissertation thesis, I dealt with the enlargement method which is based on a random acceptance of applicants that would have been rejected. This method is not only time consuming but also expensive. Therefore I looked for the ways how to reduce the cost of acquiring additional information about rejected applicants. As a result, I have proposed a modification which I called the enlargement method with sorting variable. It was validated on real bank database with two possible sorting variables and the results were compared with the original version of the method. It was shown that both tested approaches can reduce its cost while retaining the accuracy of the scoring models.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-01-21T11:38:26Z No. of bitstreams: 1 thaizrubertischmal.pdf: 2268904 bytes, checksum: 877a1db5ed9f8d6d7c9869b75edccfc8 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-01-25T18:44:30Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 thaizrubertischmal.pdf: 2268904 bytes, checksum: 877a1db5ed9f8d6d7c9869b75edccfc8 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-01-25T18:44:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 thaizrubertischmal.pdf: 2268904 bytes, checksum: 877a1db5ed9f8d6d7c9869b75edccfc8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-05-22 / Doença aterosclerótica coronariana (DAC) ainda é a principal causa de morte nos países ocidentais, apesar dos grandes avanços no seu diagnóstico e terapêutica nas últimas décadas. No Brasil, cerca de 30% dos óbitos são por doença cardiovascular, sendo que 50% ocorrem em adultos entre 30 e 69 anos de idade. A elevada mortalidade e morbidade da doença coronariana implicam em alto impacto socioeconômico, visto que tais casos incidem em sua maioria, sobre indivíduos economicamente ativos. A faixa etária mais frequentemente acometida é dos 50 aos 65 anos. Porém, tem-se observado um aumento significativo no número de casos em pacientes mais jovens. Neste trabalho analisamos um banco de dados de pacientes jovens, abaixo de 45 anos, que foram encaminhados para realização de angiotomografia coronariana para esclarecimento de quadro de dor torácica ou de exames provocativos alterados. Os objetivos eram estimar a prevalência de doença coronariana obstrutiva e não obstrutiva nessa população jovem local; estimar a correlação dos achados anatômicos com os fatores de risco para doença cardiovascular; discutir a validade do escore de cálcio para o rastreio de doença coronariana desta população, comparando-o aos resultados da angiotomografia coronariana. Inicialmente 181 pacientes foram identificados, mas 6 deles foram excluídos por apresentarem diagnóstico prévio de DAC. Os 175 pacientes incluídos foram analisados para presença de placa aterosclerótica na angiotomografia e quantificação do escore de cálcio. Foi feita uma correlação dos achados anatômicos com os fatores de risco para doença cardiovascular, inicialmente em análise bivariada a partir de cada fator com o desfecho e, posteriormente, em análise multivariada controlando pelos fatores associados mais significativos. Desta forma pode-se chegar às estimativas de prevalência para diferentes perfis de pacientes. A idade média foi de 38 ± 7 anos, sendo 76% homens. A prevalência de DAC foi estimada em 37,7%, sendo o exame normal em 109 pacientes (p < 0,001). Placas obstrutivas foram detectadas em 3,4% dos casos. Os pacientes eram sintomáticos em 60,6% dos casos, sendo a tomografia normal em 70,8% deles (p < 0,001). A análise dos fatores de risco mostrou significância estatística para presença dos fatores dislipidemia, tabagismo e sexo masculino. O escore de cálcio foi igual a zero em 147 pacientes, porém 38 apresentavam DAC. A sensibilidade para o método foi estimada em 42%, especificidade 100%, valor preditivo positivo 100% e valor preditivo negativo 74%. Os tipos de placas foram identificados, sendo observada a predominância de placas não calcificadas (p = 0,04). Os dados apontam que a prevalência de DAC em indivíduos jovens e do sexo masculino com fatores de risco para DAC não é desprezível. Portanto, medidas preventivas e de rastreamento dos fatores de risco devem ser iniciadas mais precocemente do que é recomendado atualmente pelo sistema de saúde público. Além disso, o escore de cálcio mostrou ser uma ferramenta diagnóstica de baixa sensibilidade e baixo valor preditivo negativo para pacientes jovens. / Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the main cause of mortality in developed countries despite the great advances in the diagnosis and treatment in the last years. In Brazil, 30% of all-cause mortality is related to cardiovascular disease and 50% of these patients are adults between 30 and 69 years-old. The high morbity and mortality implies an important economic burden to the country. The most affected ages are between 50 to 65 years old, but an increasing number of younger patients have been noticed. We analized the data of patients under 45 years old that underwent coronary angiotomography evaluation due to chest pain or altered provocative tests. Objectives: estimate the prevalence of coronary artery disease, and its correlation to known cardiovascular risk-factors; discuss the use of coronary calcium scoring as a tool in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease in young patients. Methods: 181 patients were identified but 6 of them were excluded due to previous diagnosis of coronary disease. In our study, 175 patients we enrolled and analyzed for the presence of atheromatous plaques in the coronary arteries and quantification of calcium scoring. The plaques burdens were correlated to the known cardiovascular risk factors in bivariate and multivariate analyses. The prevalence of CAD was estimated and correlated to the different risk factors. Results: the mean age was 38 ± 7 years old, and 76% were men. The prevalence of CAD was estimated in 37.7%, and 109 patients had normal results at the coronary angiiotomography (p < 0.001). Obstructive plaques were identified in 3.4% of the cases. 60.6% of the patients had symptoms but the exam was normal in 70.8% of these cases (p < 0.001). The risk factors that had statistical significance were hypercholesterolemia, smoking and male sex. The calcium scoring was zero in 147 patients, but 38 of them had CAD. The sensitivity of calcium scoring was estimated in 42%, specificity 100%, positive predictive value 100% and negative predictive value 74%. Non-calcified plaques were the most common type of atheromatous plaque (p = 0.04). Conclusion: We conclude that the prevalence of CAD in young male individuals with coronary risk factors is not so low. Early diagnosis of risk factors and preventive actions are necessary, even before the recommended age by our health system. Also, the calcium scoring seems not to be an adequate diagnostic tool in young patients due its low sensitivity and negative predictive value.

This study looked at the environmental factors present during testing for the spring 2004 administration of the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) in an attempt to quantify some of the factors that were previously only qualitatively reported. Five factors were examined for their ability to predict passing percentages of students on the CASHSEE at the school level. The results indicated that socioeconomic status was the only significant predictor.

Cette Thèse de sciences de gestion, se propose d’élucider les difficultés que rencontrent les acteurs du système bancaire comorien et apporter des solutions afin de lui garantir sa solidité, stabilité et enfin sa pérennité. Elle est divisée en deux parties. La première porte plus particulièrement sur le cadre national et internationale du système bancaire comorien. La deuxième met en évidence les banques comoriennes confrontées à la transparence financière et aux exigences de supervision prudentielle. Le premier titre de la première partie, tâche à mettre en lumière l’organisation actuelle du système bancaire comorien inspiré du modèle français (chapitre 1) et l’apport du développement récent de la finance islamique (chapitre 2) afin de combler le retard de la banque conventionnelle. La réorganisation de la Banque Centrale des Comores et la mise en place de la banque islamique locale, peuvent contribuer au changement radical du système bancaire comorien. Le deuxième titre, permet au régulateur et prêteur en dernier ressort (Banque Centrale des Comores) de prendre le modèle des normes prudentielles internationales proposées par le Comité de Bâle (Bâle II et III), pour réguler le système bancaire comorien afin de lui garantir sa solidité, stabilité et enfin sa pérennité (chapitre 1). A travers ces recommandations du comité de Bâle, nous avons apporté des solutions en élaborant la Matrice Msahazi Credit Scoring Corporation, destinée aux analyses des données des banques comoriennes contre un risque endogène (Chapitre2). Nous avons aussi élaboré d’autres matrices que les banques comoriennes se serviront pour la notation interne, des risques de contreparties (entreprises et particuliers) afin de lutter contre le risque exogène. La deuxième partie de cette Thèse suggère deux autres solutions : la première est l’exigence de transparence financière des banques comoriennes (Pilier 3 : Bâle2 et 3) afin de lutter contre les malversations financières orchestrées par certains agents (titre I). Le premier chapitre introduit l’objectif de la communication financière de manière générale et la manière dont le comité de Bâle (Bâle 2 et 3) recommande les banques de communiquer leurs informations financières (méthodes d’évaluations des risques et fonds propres). Le deuxième chapitre propose aux banques comoriennes et aux autorités de contrôles, les techniques de notation financière pratiquées au niveau internationale pour distinguer le niveau de solvabilité de la contrepartie. La deuxième solution, nous avons donné à la Banque Centrale des Comores, des techniques pour renforcer la supervision prudentielle (Pilier 2, Bâle 2 et 3), (titre II). Le premier chapitre exige d’une part la direction et le conseil d’administration de la banque de définir les techniques de contrôles, d’indentifications, d’évaluations, gestions des risques et les objectifs de fonds propre à atteindre. D’autre part, l’autorité de contrôle (Banque centrale des Comores) doit passer au crible tous ces outils de contrôle. Au deuxième et dernier chapitre de la recherche, nous avons proposé à la Banque Centrale des Comores des nouvelles méthodes de supervision prudentielle afin de garantir la solidité, stabilité et pérennité du système bancaire. Nous avons l’espoir que l’ensemble de ces suggestions contribueront à préserver la solidité, stabilité et pérennité du système bancaire comorien afin de financer le développement de l’économie comorienne et sortir le pays de la pauvreté. / This thesis on busness management, aims to elucidate the difficulties faced by the stakeholders of the Comorian banking system and to provide solutions to ensure its soundness, stability and sustainability. The thesis is divided into two parts. The first focuses specifically on the national and international context of the Comorian banking system. The second, highlights how the Comorian banks should adapt to the financial transparency and prudential supervision requirements. The first title of the first part, tries toshed light on the current organization of the Comorian banking system based on the French model (Chapter 1) and the contribution of the recent development of Islamic finance (Chapter 2) to close the gap in conventional banking. The reorganization of the Central Bank of the Comoros and the establishment of the local Islamic bank can contribute to a radical change in the Comorian banking system. The second title allows the regulator and lender of last resort (Central Bank of the Comoros ) to take the model of international prudential standards proposed by the Basel Committee (Basel II and III) to regulate the Comorian banking system in order to guarantee its soundness, stability and finally sustainability (Chapter 1). Through these recommendations of the Basel committee, we have provided solutions by developing Msahazi Credit Scoring Matrix Corporation, intended to analyse data of Comorian banks against endogenous risk (Chapter 2). We have also developed matrices other than Comorian banks used for internal rating of the counterparty risk (companies and individuals) to fight against exogenous risk. The second part of this thesis suggests two alternatives: the first is the requirement of financial transparency for Comorian banks (Pillar 3: Basel Conventions 2 and 3) in order to fight against embezzlement orchestrated by certain agents (Title I). The first chapter introduces the objective of financial reporting in general, and how the Basel Committee (Basel 2 and 3) asks banks to disclose their financial information (methods of risk assessments and equity). The second chapter provides credit rating techniques practiced at international level to the Comorian banks and supervisory authorities in order to distinguish the level of creditworthiness of companies and clients concerned. The second alternative we have given to the Central Bank of the Comoros is the techniques for strengthening prudential supervision (Pillar 2, Basel 2 and 3), (Title II) . The first chapter requires both the management and the bank's board of directors to define control techniques, identifications, assessments, risk managements and core capital goals. On the other hand, the supervisory authority (Comoros Central Bank) has to go through all these control tools. In the second and final chapter of the research, we propose to the Central Bank of the Comoros new prudential supervision methods to ensure the soundness, stability and sustainability of the banking system. We hope that all of these suggestions will help to preserve the soundness, stability and durability of the Comorian banking system in order to finance the development of the Comorian economy and lift the country out of poverty.

IntroduktionSME:s är en stor bidragande roll för den svenska välfärden genom stora skatteintäkter och arbetstillfällen. Det nya Baselregelverket har de senaste åren lett till en större svårighet för SME:s att få finansiering av bankerna. Bankerna är mer restriktiva vid finansiell utlåning eftersom dem själva behöver uppfylla kraven om kapital och likviditetshantering. Samtidigt har pandemin drabbat SME:s ekonomiska ställning negativt och finansiering i form av krediter kan vara en avgörande roll för företagens överlevnad. SyfteSyftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur covid-19 påverkat kreditbedömningen hos kreditgivare till SME:s. MetodStudien utgår ifrån en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi med en deduktiv ansats där empirin har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. SlutsatsStudien visar på att pandemin har kommit att påverka kreditbedömningen genom att majoriteten av bankerna har större acceptans för försämrade siffror. Större vikt läggs på SME:s framtida affärsmöjligheter genom att studera branschen i stort. Vidare har långvariga kundrelationer underlättat bankernas kreditbedömning. Statliga åtgärder och regleringar har inte haft någon väsentlig påverkan på kreditbedömningen under pandemin. KunskapsbidragStudien är ett empiriskt baserat kunskapsbidrag ämnad för att öka förståelse och kunskap om pandemins effekter på kreditbedömningen till SME:s. Denna studie har även kommit att bidra till ett nytt perspektiv på forskningsområdet och att fylla det forskningsgap om brist på forskning kring kreditbedömning i svensk kontext under pandemin. Hur kreditgivarens kreditbedömning går till under pandemin är ett kunskapsbidrag för många aktörer. / Introduction SME's play a major contributing role to Swedish welfare through large tax revenues and jobs. The new Basel regulations have in recent years led to a greater difficulty for SMEs in obtaining financing from the banks. Banks are more restrictive in financial lending  because  they  need  to  meet  the  requirements  for  capital  and  liquidity management. At the same time, the pandemic has negatively affected SME's financial position and financing in the form of credit can play a crucial role in corporate survival.  Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate how covid-19 affected the credit rating of creditors to SMEs.  Method The study is based on a qualitative research strategy with a deductive approach where the empirical data has been collected through semi-structured interviews.  Conclusion The study shows that the pandemic has affected credit ratings by the majority of banks having  greater acceptance of deteriorating figures. Greater emphasis is placed on SME's future business opportunities by studying the industry as a whole. Furthermore, long-term customer relationships have facilitated the banks' credit assessment. Government measures and regulations have not had any significant impact on the credit assessment during the pandemic.  Contribution The study is an empirically based knowledge contribution intended to increase understanding and knowledge about the pandemic's effects on the credit assessment to SME's. This study has also contributed to a new perspective in the field of research and to fill the research gap on lack of research on credit assessment in the Swedish context during the pandemic. How the creditor's credit assessment is done during the pandemic is a knowledge contribution for many actors.

El enfoque experimental es el corazón de algunos de los desarrollos más interesantes de la economía. Básicamente, los experimentos se utilizan para generar datos controlados. El término "datos controlados" se refiere al hecho de que la mayoría de los factores en los que influyen las conductas se mantienen constantes, y solo un factor de interés (el "tratamiento'') cambia a la vez. Este es el punto crítico para hacer una inferencia causal. A veces, este proceso de generación ocurre de forma natural (es decir, un "experimento natural''). Sin embargo, la mayoría de las veces, el investigador es el encargado de desarrollar y controlar el proceso de generación. Todas las áreas de la ciencia (incluida la economía) deben considerar todas las metodologías que se pueden aplicar. La teoría, los experimentos de laboratorio, los experimentos de campo, los experimentos online, la neuroeconomía, la investigación observacional y social, las encuestas y más, contribuyen a nuestra comprensión del mundo. En el primer capítulo de a tesis, se presentan resultados experimentales sobre subastas. Se consideran dos tratamientos experimentales: si el comprador prefiere más la calidad a la dimensión del precio, o si este último importa más que la calidad. Los participantes se asignan al azar a uno de estos dos tratamientos y se emparejan en grupos de cinco. Juegan una subasta de períodos múltiples, donde la calidad es exógena asignada en cada ronda y los sujetos presentan una rebaja al precio base anunciado. Las pujas se transforman en puntuaciones que combinan la calidad exógena y la rebaja. El vendedor con la puntuación más alta gana la subasta. Los resultados sugieren que, cuando el peso de la rebaja es mayor, los participantes pujan más cerca del equilibrio. Sin embargo, la probabilidad de obtener un resultado eficiente es mayor cuando se pone más peso en la calidad. En el segundo capítulo analizo los resultados de un experimento en línea en el que los sujetos juegan cuatro versiones del juego Stag-Hunt. Hay tres tratamientos: línea de base, retraso de tiempo y retraso motivado. En el segundo, los sujetos deben esperar 40 segundos antes de elegir una decisión. En el tercero, deben esperar 40 segundos y escribir un texto para motivar sus decisiones. Al final del juego, los participantes informan sobre creencias, preferencias de riesgo y una medida de confianza. El resultado principal es que los sujetos optan por colaborar menos cuando deliberan más. La explicación es que este tratamiento ayuda a los sujetos a comprender que esta es la opción más segura. En el tercer capítulo, los autores estiman el impacto de un programa educativo basado en juegos destinado a promover el uso sostenible del agua. Esto se hizo en la ciudad de Lucca, con miles de alumnos de 2º a 4º de primaria. Los hallazgos indican que los estudiantes del grupo de tratamiento (participantes del programa) mostraron una mayor conciencia sobre el consumo de agua respecto a aquellos estudiantes que no participaron en el programa. Además, encuentran que el efecto positivo aún se observa después de seis meses, lo que sugiere que los programas educativos basados en juegos pueden ser un instrumento eficaz para promover comportamientos prosociales en el consumo de agua.

Author of this diploma thesis deals with application methods and risk analysis for financing of the sport club. The goal is to analyse and describe the present situation of financing the sport club. Output of this thesis is the proposal leading to improvement of the financial situation of the club.

This diploma thesis deals with the information strategy of the company EURPAL Ltd. (spol. s r.o.), whose current strategy seems to be outdated. Thanks to the analysis of the current state and the proposals of usable measures, an improvement in the information strategy of the company should be achieved through the implementation of the information system. The object of this thesis is first to introduce the company and its structure, then to use analyses to identify possible risks and finally propose measures, that can be used to help prevent these risks, or that can at least be used to mitigate their impacts.