In most road infrastructure networks, the two prevalent types of pavements considered during the pavement type selection (PTS) process are flexible and rigid. Thus, these two structures are the most commonly constructed in the road industry. A consideration of a different pavement alternative is proposed in this study. Composite pavements, which are in essence a combination of a rigid base overlaid with a hot-mix asphalt (HMA) surface course, have the potential to meet the technical and economic requirements that are sought in the PTS process. For that reason, technical and economic evaluations were performed to justify the consideration of composite pavement systems in the PTS process. At the technical level, composite pavement design guidelines from various transportation agencies were obtained and followed to design their respective composite pavement structures. A mechanistic analysis based on the multi-layer linear elastic theory was performed on different composite structures to understand the behavior they present when compared to traditional pavements. In addition, distresses affecting composite pavements such as fatigue (bottom-up and top-down) cracking, rutting, and reflective cracking were modeled and investigated using sensitivity analyses. At the economic level, a deterministic life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) based on Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) guidelines was performed. This LCCA compared two proposed composite pavements (one with a cement-treated base [CTB] and the other with a continuously reinforced concrete pavement [CRCP] base) to traditional flexible and rigid pavement structures. Furthermore, sensitivity analyses involving discount rates and traffic volumes were performed to investigate their effect on the present worth (PW) computation of the four pavement alternatives. Results from this study suggest that composite pavements have both the technical and economic potential to be considered during the PTS process. / Master of Science

L'objectif de ma thèse est d'étudier mathématiquement un indicateur de rupture de volatilité très utilisé par les praticiens en salle de marché. L'indicateur bandes de Bollinger appartient à la famille des méthodes dites d'analyse technique et donc repose exclusivement sur l'historique récente du cours considéré et un principe déduit des observations passées des marchés, indépendamment de tout modèle mathématique. Mon travail consiste à étudier les performances de cet indicateur dans un univers qui serait gouverné par des équations différentielles stochastiques (Black -Scholes) dont le coefficient de diffusion change sa valeur à un temps aléatoire inconnu et inobservable, pour un praticien désirant maximiser une fonction objectif (par exemple, une certaine utilité espérée de la valeur du portefeuille à une certaine maturité). Dans le cadre du modèle, l'indicateur de Bollinger peut s'interpréter comme un estimateur de l'instant de la prochaine rupture. On montre dans le cas des petites volatilités, que le comportement de la densité de l'indicateur dépend de la volatilité, ce qui permet pour un ratio de volatilité assez grand, de détecter via l'estimation de la distribution de l'indicateur dans quel régime de volatilité on se situe. Aussi, dans le cas des grandes volatilités, on montre par une approche via la transformée de Laplace, que le comportement asymptotique des queues de distribution de l'indicateur dépend de la volatilité. Ce qui permet de détecter le changement des grandes volatilités. Ensuite, on s'intéresse à une étude comparative entre l'indicateur de Bollinger et l'estimateur classique de la variation quadratique pour la détection de changement de la volatilité. Enfin, on étudie la gestion optimale de portefeuille qui est décrite par un problème stochastique non standard en ce sens que les contrôles admissibles sont contraints à être des fonctionnelles des prix observés. On résout ce problème de contrôle en s'inspirant de travaux de Pham and Jiao pour décomposer le problème initial d'allocation de portefeuille en un problème de gestion après la rupture et un problème avant la rupture, et chacun de ces problèmes est résolu par la méthode de la programmation dynamique . Ainsi, un théorème de verification est prouvé pour ce problème de contrôle stochastique. / The aim of my thesis is to study mathematically an indicator widely used by the practitioners in the trading market, and designed to detect changes in the volatility term . The Bollinger Bands indicator belongs to the family of methods known as technical analysis which consist in looking t the past price movement in order to predict its future price movements independently of any mathematical model. We study the performance of this indicator in a universe that is governed by a stochastic differential equations (Black-Scholes) such that the volatility changes at an unknown and unobservable random time, for a practitioner seeking to maximize an objective function (for instance, the expected utility of the wealth at a certain maturity). Within the framework of the model, Bollinger indicator can be interpreted as an estimator of the time at which the volatility changes its value. We show that in the case of small volatilities, the density behavior of the indicator depends on the value of the volatility, which allows that for large ratio of volatility, to detect via the distribution estimation in which regime of volatility we are. Also , for the case of large volatilities, we show by an approach via the Laplace transform that the asymptotic tails behavior of the indictor depends on the volatility value. This allows to detect a change for large volatilities. Next, we compare two indicators designed to detect a volatility change: the Bollinger bands and the quadratic variation indicators. Finally, we study the optimal portfolio allocation which is described by a non-standard stochastic problem in view of that the admissible controls need to be adapted to the filtration generated by the prices. We resolve this control problem by an approach used by Pham and Jiao to separate the initial allocation problem into an allocation problem after the rupture and an problem before the rupture, and each one of these problems is resolved by the dynamic programming method. Also, a verification theorem is proved for this stochastic control problem.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T16:44:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Leandro Augusto Petrokas.pdf: 6508310 bytes, checksum: 436cb5d8e8eaff84b2bf0f56ca3fd7bd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-05-07 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This study aims at assessing the technical analysis is capable of producing superior financial results to the model buy and hold, which recommends the purchase and sale of shares in the medium or long term, without the use of specific tools or criteria to guide such decision. The sample was composed of fourteen shares, in eight different sectors of the economy, the survey period was from 2000 to 2010 and the tests were conducted with five key indicators of technical analysis. It was decided to test whether the simple moving average of 233 periods could increase the profitability obtained by the signs. The impact of generating a buy signal in the returns of five actions, through the event study methodology and, finally, estimated the average duration of the operations performed by the signals studied. The results indicated that in a case 350, 61 only in the yield obtained with the signals of the technical analysis was superior to that obtained by the model buy and hold. By means of the chi-square, it was found that this frequency is not statistically equal to half the cases, therefore, conclude that technical analysis was not able to produce superior financial results to the buy and hold. The results showed that there was no significant improvement in profitability with the use of simple moving average of 233 days as a filter rule, therefore, was not statistically significant differences in mean returns obtained by each signal, with and without the filter. The event studies revealed that only one of the five events analyzed was a statistically significant and positive impact on stock returns. The analysis of the duration of the operations indicated that profitable operations have a longer duration when compared to non-profit for all signals except the IFR, when there was an opposite behavior of this pattern / Esta dissertação tem como objetivo principal avaliar se a análise técnica é capaz de produzir resultados financeiros superiores ao modelo buy and hold, o qual preconiza a compra e a venda de ações a médio ou longo prazo, sem utilização de critérios ou ferramentas específicas para nortear esse tipo de decisão. A amostra foi composta por quatorze ações, de oito setores diferentes da economia, o período da pesquisa foi de 2000 a 2010 e os testes foram realizados com cinco dos principais indicadores (sinais) da análise técnica. Optou-se por testar se a média móvel simples de 233 períodos seria capaz de aumentar a rentabilidade obtida pelos sinais. Foi avaliado o impacto da geração de um sinal de compra nos retornos de cinco ações, por meio da metodologia de estudo de eventos e, por fim, avaliou-se a duração média das operações realizadas pelos sinais estudados. Os resultados indicaram que dentro de 350 casos, somente em 61 a rentabilidade obtida com os sinais da análise técnica foi superior à obtida pelo modelo buy and hold. Por meio do teste do qui-quadrado, constatou-se que tal frequência não é estatisticamente igual à metade dos casos, portanto, conclui-se que a análise técnica não foi capaz de produzir resultados financeiros superiores ao buy and hold. Os resultados evidenciaram que não houve melhora significativa na rentabilidade com a utilização da média móvel simples de 233 dias como regra de filtro, pois, não foi constatada diferença estatisticamente significativa nas médias das rentabilidades obtidas por cada sinal, com e sem o filtro. Os estudos de eventos revelaram que somente em um dos cinco eventos analisados ocorreu um impacto positivo e estatisticamente significativo nos retornos das ações. A análise da duração das operações indicou que as operações lucrativas possuem uma duração maior quando comparada às não lucrativas para todos os sinais, exceto no IFR, quando se verificou um comportamento oposto desse padrão

The thesis describes the stock exchange environment, the system and its basic operating principles. The thesis further focuses on the stock exchange data and its analysis. The author describes the development of the technical analysis; he mentions the classical theory and the classical graphical methods, the modern graphical methods, the technical indicators and finally the latest analytical methods, the so-called Artificial Intelligence. The research focuses on the real stock market prediction using the artificial intelligence methods and knowledge of the modern technical analysis.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Risk Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

The rapid growth of the Internet has shaped up the global economy. The stock market information is thus more and more transparent. Although the investors can get more helpful information to judge future trend of the stock market, they may get wrong judgments because the stock market data are too huge to be completely analyzed. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop an artificial stock market analyst by employing the information technology with high speed and performance, as well as integrating the artificial intelligence techniques. We exploit case-based reasoning to simulate the analysts in using history stock market data, employ the artificial neural network to imitate the analysts in analyzing the macrofactors of stock market, and apply the fuzzy logic to humanize the artificial stock market analyst in making judgments close to the real stock market analysts. The artificial stock market analyst would use the modified case-based reasoning system combined with the artificial neural network, and incorporate the designed membership functions for macrofactors of stock market. We expect the system to improve the accuracy of Taiwan electric stock price prediction by applying macrofactors from the technical analysis indicators and financial crisis factors, and make better stock trading strategies.

Bakalauro baigiamajame darbe nagrinėjama optimalaus akcijų portfelio sudarymo problema OMXV rinkoje. Teorinėje darbo dalyje analizuojami portfelio sudarymo teoriniai ypatumai, nagrinėjamos fundamentaliosios ir techninės analizių derinimo galimybės, moderniųjų portfelio teorijų taikymo principai. Praktinėje dalyje atliekama fundamentali šalies, atskirų ekonomikos sektorių ir įmonių finansinė veiklos analizė. Siekiant nustatyti atrinktų akcijų kainų kitimo perspektyvas atliekama techninė akcijų kainų grafikų analizė. Techninės ir fundamentaliosios analizių sintezės pagalba taip pat įvertinus akcijų laukiamus pelningumus, riziką ir tarpusavio koreliacijos ryšius nutarta formuoti akcijų portfelį iš 4 įmonių akcijų. Taikant šiuolaikines portfelio teorijas rasti optimaliausi akcijų portfelių variantai trim investuotojų tipam: konservatyviam, nuosaikiam ir agresyviam. Siekiant tikslingai įvertinti taikytus metodus analizuojami portfelio rezultatai po 3 mėnesių laikotarpiu stebėjimo. / Undergraduate thesis provides the results of solving optimal stock portfolio construction problem in OMXV stock market. The theoretical part analysis theoretical portfolio formation internals, considered possibilities of fundamental and technical analysis combination, application of modern portfolio theories principles. The practical part of the thesis made fundamental analysis of country, individual sectors of the economy and financial performance analysis of companies. On purpose to identify perspectives of share prices changes in future made graphs technical analysis. In assistance of technical and fundamental analysis synthesis as well as assessment of the shares expected profitability, risk and internecine correlation agreed to develop a portfolio of 4 stocks. Application of modern portfolio theory found optimal portfolios versions for three different types of investors: conservative, moderate and aggressive. In order to specifically evaluate the used methods analyzed the results of the portfolio after a 3-month observation period.

Although a pair trading is well known among South African agricultural commodity traders, there are no comprehensive documented accounts for the selection and trading of agricultural commodity pairs in South Africa. The majority of agricultural commodity pairs traders take positions based on their personal view of price movements, without testing for a statistical relationship between the paired commodities that will guarantee that their prices will move back to a common mean. To remedy this lack of method regarding the pairs selection and pairs trading processes, a comprehensive pairs selection process was developed and is documented in this thesis. During the pairs selection process, several agricultural commodities were put through a rigorous evaluation process to test for any long-run statistical relationships between them. This was done to ensure that only pairs with stable long-run statistical relationships were included in the final pair’s portfolio that was compiled. In order to test the profitability of this pair’s portfolio, several fundamental and technical indicators were used to determine entry and exit points. Although some of these indicators did not render satisfactory results, the RSI and Bollinger bands succeeded in realising an acceptable profit. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Risk Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Although a pair trading is well known among South African agricultural commodity traders, there are no comprehensive documented accounts for the selection and trading of agricultural commodity pairs in South Africa. The majority of agricultural commodity pairs traders take positions based on their personal view of price movements, without testing for a statistical relationship between the paired commodities that will guarantee that their prices will move back to a common mean. To remedy this lack of method regarding the pairs selection and pairs trading processes, a comprehensive pairs selection process was developed and is documented in this thesis. During the pairs selection process, several agricultural commodities were put through a rigorous evaluation process to test for any long-run statistical relationships between them. This was done to ensure that only pairs with stable long-run statistical relationships were included in the final pair’s portfolio that was compiled. In order to test the profitability of this pair’s portfolio, several fundamental and technical indicators were used to determine entry and exit points. Although some of these indicators did not render satisfactory results, the RSI and Bollinger bands succeeded in realising an acceptable profit. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Risk Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

[Truncated abstract] This thesis examines and compares the performance of three classes of stock trading strategies in the Australian stock market from 1980 to 2002. ... The first segment of this thesis examines some simple technical trading rules with a twostep methodology ... Our standard test results show that technical trading rules generate excess returns higher than that of the buy-and-hold portfolio equivalent prior to 1991, but generate lower returns in the period post-1991. Bootstrap test results also show that addressing nonnormality, time-dependence and conditional heteroskedasticity in the data reverses the standard test outcome of predictability ... In addition, our sub-sample results also show technical trading rules becoming less profitable over time ... The second segment of this thesis examines trading rules based on the forecasts of four time-series models: the AR(1), AR(1)-GARCH(1,1), AR(1)-GARCH(1,1)-M and AR(1)- EGARCH(1,1) models. These time-series trading rules were examined with standard t-tests and found to be significantly less profitable compared to technical trading rules. Subsample results also show the time-series trading rules losing profitability over time, which supports the conjecture that the Australian stock market became increasingly efficient over time. The third segment of this thesis examines trading strategies based on various combinations of technical trading rules and time-series models ... Due to the weak performance of the time-series trading rules, our results show that combining technical rules with time-series models do not lead to improved forecast accuracy. Sub-sample results again show a strong decline in profitability post-1991, suggesting that technological advancements in the ASX since 1991 enhance market efficiency such that the above simple stock trading strategies are no longer profitable.