During the last century, the significant increase in electricity demand, and its consequences, has appeared as a serious concern for the utility companies, but no essential change has been applied to the conventional power grid infrastructure till now. Recently, researchers have identified efficient control and power distribution mechanisms as the immediate challenges for conventional power grids. Hence, the next step for conventional power grid toward Smart Grid is to provide energy efficiency management along with higher reliability via smart services, in which the application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is inevitable. ICT introduces powerful tools to comply with the smart grid requirements. Among various ICT properties, the telecommunication network plays a key role for providing a secure infrastructure. The two-way digital communication system provides an interaction between energy suppliers and consumers for managing, controlling and optimizing energy distribution. We can also define the smart grid as a two-way flow of energy and control information, where the electricity consumers can generate energy using green energy resources. The main objective of this thesis is to select an effective communication infrastructure to support the smart grid services by considering wireless and optical communication technologies. Fiber-wireless (FiWi) networks are considered as a potential solution to provide a fast and reliable network backbone with the optical access network integration and the flexibility and mobility of the wireless network. Therefore, we adopt the integration of the wireless sensor network (WSN) to Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON) as a broadband access network to transmit smart meter data along with the Fiber To The Home/Building/Curb (FTTX) traffic through the shared fiber. Finally, we present and analyze the simulation results for the aforementioned infrastructure based on our adopted priority-based FTTX-WSN integration model.

The aim of this study to explore the green products purchases intentions of the young & native Swedish consumers. Many studies have done on the green products and consumers of green products. Researcher also focused on the consumers’ and their purchase intention based on the age. Some studies conducted only on the young consumers of a particular country. However, this study focused on the young consumers of Sweden. Attitude, knowledge and friends and family influences are considered as the three basic factors of this study. I tried to investigate the influence of these three factors on the green purchase intentions of young Swedish. The Theory of Planned Behavior is used to predict human behavior. The theory is on the basis of three factors, those factors are attitude to the behavior, subjective norms and perceived behavior control. As mentioned before that I have considered three factors for this study and theses three factors are related with the other three factors of the Theory of Planned Behavior. This research used quantitative method, and quantitative method requires large numbers of sample. To fulfill the quantitative method’s requirement on sample numbers, I have considered 190 young Swedish from different places of Umeå and Stockholm. Analysis of the consumers’ response showed me positive response of young consumers on green products. The TPB helped me to explain my three factors as these factors are related with the factors of TPB. All the factors I have considered are positively explained and supported by Theory of Planned Behaviors. Findings of this study describes that Swedish are environment conscious consumers. They have positive knowledge, attitude on green product and intention to buy green products. As this study was based on young Swedish and they have showed their positivity on the green products and indented to purchase green products in future.

This thesis explores the ways in which the body is positioned within consumer society. The development of body ideals in Western societies is examined in order to point out consumers’ occupation with appearances and their bodies as signifiers of success. The three case studies (A&F, Calvin Klein Underwear and fitness magazines) will enable a close analysis of contemporary society and its engagement with the body. I argue that today the body acts as a signifier for people’s narcissistic obsession with the surface, and that the body itself has come to exhibit characteristics of a commodity in consumer society.

During the last century, the significant increase in electricity demand, and its consequences, has appeared as a serious concern for the utility companies, but no essential change has been applied to the conventional power grid infrastructure till now. Recently, researchers have identified efficient control and power distribution mechanisms as the immediate challenges for conventional power grids. Hence, the next step for conventional power grid toward Smart Grid is to provide energy efficiency management along with higher reliability via smart services, in which the application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is inevitable. ICT introduces powerful tools to comply with the smart grid requirements. Among various ICT properties, the telecommunication network plays a key role for providing a secure infrastructure. The two-way digital communication system provides an interaction between energy suppliers and consumers for managing, controlling and optimizing energy distribution. We can also define the smart grid as a two-way flow of energy and control information, where the electricity consumers can generate energy using green energy resources. The main objective of this thesis is to select an effective communication infrastructure to support the smart grid services by considering wireless and optical communication technologies. Fiber-wireless (FiWi) networks are considered as a potential solution to provide a fast and reliable network backbone with the optical access network integration and the flexibility and mobility of the wireless network. Therefore, we adopt the integration of the wireless sensor network (WSN) to Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON) as a broadband access network to transmit smart meter data along with the Fiber To The Home/Building/Curb (FTTX) traffic through the shared fiber. Finally, we present and analyze the simulation results for the aforementioned infrastructure based on our adopted priority-based FTTX-WSN integration model.

During the last century, the significant increase in electricity demand, and its consequences, has appeared as a serious concern for the utility companies, but no essential change has been applied to the conventional power grid infrastructure till now. Recently, researchers have identified efficient control and power distribution mechanisms as the immediate challenges for conventional power grids. Hence, the next step for conventional power grid toward Smart Grid is to provide energy efficiency management along with higher reliability via smart services, in which the application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is inevitable. ICT introduces powerful tools to comply with the smart grid requirements. Among various ICT properties, the telecommunication network plays a key role for providing a secure infrastructure. The two-way digital communication system provides an interaction between energy suppliers and consumers for managing, controlling and optimizing energy distribution. We can also define the smart grid as a two-way flow of energy and control information, where the electricity consumers can generate energy using green energy resources. The main objective of this thesis is to select an effective communication infrastructure to support the smart grid services by considering wireless and optical communication technologies. Fiber-wireless (FiWi) networks are considered as a potential solution to provide a fast and reliable network backbone with the optical access network integration and the flexibility and mobility of the wireless network. Therefore, we adopt the integration of the wireless sensor network (WSN) to Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON) as a broadband access network to transmit smart meter data along with the Fiber To The Home/Building/Curb (FTTX) traffic through the shared fiber. Finally, we present and analyze the simulation results for the aforementioned infrastructure based on our adopted priority-based FTTX-WSN integration model.

Inspired by neurobiological systems, Spiking Neural Networks (SNNs) are gaining an increasing interest in the field of bio-inspired machine learning. Neurons, as central processing and short-term memory units of biological neural systems, are thus at the forefront of cutting-edge research approaches. The realization of CMOS circuits replicating neuronal features, namely the integration of action potentials and firing according to the all-or-nothing law, imposes various challenges like large area and power consumption. The non-volatile storage of polarization states and accumulative switching behavior of nanoscale HfO₂ - based Ferroelectric Field-Effect Transistors (FeFETs), promise to circumvent these issues. In this paper, we propose two FeFET-based neuronal circuits emulating the Integrate-and-Fire (I&F) behavior of biological neurons on the basis of SPICE simulations. Additionally, modulating the depolarization of the FeFETs enables the replication of a biology-based concept known as membrane leakage. The presented capacitor-free implementation is crucial for the development of neuromorphic systems that allow more complex features at a given area and power constraint.

Made available in DSpace on 2010-04-20T20:14:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 1998-09-04T00:00:00Z / Este trabalho apresenta o conceito de derivativos e suas principais características. Desenvolve uma revisão bibliográfica da análise dos fatores que afetam a liquidez de contratos derivativos agrícolas, principalmente contratos futuros. Avalia a liquidez dos contratos futuros agrícolas negociados na Bolsa de Mercadorias & Futuros (BM&F) e os principais fatores que afetam esta liquidez. Compara a negociação de contratos futuros agrícolas da BM&F com bolsas de commodities norte-americanas que possuem contratos similares.

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No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Luiz Alves Jr.pdf: 640831 bytes, checksum: 63a6f4da7dee84ca741e9567c860b77e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-08-14 / Fama & French (1993) Three Factors Model is an extension of the Sharpe-Lintner & Black (1972) asset-pricing model, the CAPM. In this model, the market value and ratio price to book value of the firms are incorporated as explainable variables to the CAPM, adding to the market-risk factor β of the model. The Three Factors Model was originally developed to the American stock market and then successfully rolled-over to several different countries markets. Some studies have been done to the Brazilian case however the lack of data has compromised the results. The aim of this work is to test the Fama & French (1993) model to the Brazilian stock market using a new methodology to build the portfolios. The innovation in this work is the usage of a moving data-base that incorporates new stocks to the portfolios as they debut in the stock market and reaches the liquidity parameters for the model. In the previews works, the databases were made of fixed sets of stocks. This methodology aims to mitigate the lack of data problem in the Brazilian stock market. The period of analysis is from 2000 to 2011, and the stocks used to build the portfolio are those with reliable data and the ones that present at least one trade per 2 months. The analysis of the Three Factors Model were made using the Black, Jensen & Scholes (1972) linear regression approach, the same applied by Fama & French (1993) in their work. Sixteen portfolios were used as the dependent variables. They were built trough the crossing of 4 groups of stocks organized according to their market value (ME) and their ratio price to book value (ME/BE). Two portfolios were built as the independent variables. They are a set of stocks that mimic the market value risk factor, the SMB portfolio, and the price to book-value risk factor, the HML portfolio. The method used to estimate the parameters of the equation was the Ordinary Least Square. The results found for the Brazilian stock market were very similar to the ones found by Fama & French (1993). The first one was the same empirical contradictions of the CAPM found by Fama & French (1993) for the American market. The Betas from the CAPM had no apparent relation to the expected return of the stocks. Next, the Three Factors Model presented a higher explaining (R²) power to the portfolios returns and was statistically significant to 15 of the 16 tested portfolios. The coefficient of the regressions related to the risk factors SMB and HML presented, in the vast majority, the same signals of the ones found by Fama & French (1993). A small discrepancy was found in some HML coefficients and it was explained by the performance of the Brazilian economy and stock market in the period. At last the Three Factors Model proved itself a much better tool to evaluate the risk factors of Brazilian stocks then the CAPM. / O modelo de três fatores de Fama & French (1993) é uma extensão do modelo de precificação de ativos de Sharpe (1963), Lintner (1965) e Black (1972), o CAPM. Em Fama & French (1993), o valor de mercado e o valor contábil das empresas são adicionados como variáveis explicativas ao fator de risco de mercado β do CAPM. O objetivo deste trabalho é testar o poder explicativo do modelo de três fatores para o mercado acionário brasileiro. A inovação deste trabalho foi a utilização de um universo de ações móvel, no qual os títulos que são lançados na Bovespa no período de análise vão sendo incorporadas à base de dados conforme atingem os requisitos do modelo. Trata-se de uma abordagem inovadora, já que tradicionalmente o universo de ações que compõe a amostra é rígido do início ao fim do período de análise. Esta abordagem foi desenvolvida com o intuito de mitigar o problema de falta de dados do mercado acionário brasileiro. O período de análise foi de 2000 à 2011, e as ações utilizadas foram todas aquelas que possuíam um histórico confiável e apresentaram pelo menos um negócio à cada dois meses. A análise do Modelo de Três Fatores foi realizada utilizando a metodologia de séries temporais de Black, Jensen e Scholes (1972), da mesma forma que Fama & French (1993). Como variável dependente foram utilizadas 16 carteiras, oriundas do cruzamento das ações dividas em 4 percentis iguais pelos seus valores de mercado (ME), e 4 percentis iguais pela razão valor de mercado pelo valor contábil (ME/BE). Como variáveis independentes foram construídas duas séries de retorno que replicam os fatores de risco valor de mercado, SMB, e a razão valor de mercado pelo valor contábil, HML. Estas foram construídas pela diferença dos retornos das ações de maior ME e menor ME; e pela diferença do retorno das de maior ME/BE, pelas de menor ME/BE. O método de estimação dos coeficientes das regressões utilizado foi o dos mínimos quadrados ordinários. Os resultados do Modelo encontrados para a bolsa brasileira foram similares àqueles encontrados por Fama & French (1993). O Modelo apresentou maior poder explicativo para os retornos dos portfolios analisados que o CAPM, e mostrou-se estatisticamente significante para 15 das 16 carteiras. Os coeficientes das regressões relativos aos fatores de risco SMB e HML apresentaram, em sua maioria, os mesmo sinais que os encontrados por Fama & French (1993). Foi encontrada uma discrepância relativa ao sinal do fator HML para as carteiras de maior ME/BE, cuja explicação está atrelada ao momento da economia e mercados no período. Por fim, o Modelo e a discrepância foram reavaliados dividindo-se o período de análise em pré e pós-crise de 2008. O modelo mostrou maior poder explicativo para o período pós-crise que para o pré-crise. A mesma discrepância do sinal de HML foi encontrada no pré-crise, entretanto não foi verificada no pós-crise.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:50:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 3161.pdf: 4637531 bytes, checksum: 4c53d765063e54a9fc0993350014649e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-06-18 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / The complexity assigned to the strategy term has been largely discussed in the literature. The large amount of theoretical contributions to this issue, brought by several knowledge areas; the different tools proposed by academicians and consultants to operationalize its concepts, the plurality of actors that play their roles inside the organizational field are just some examples of the building blocks of such complexity. Also relevant to this discussion is the movement named Strategy as Practice , initiated by European researchers in order to bring a sociological focus to organizational strategies, considering them as something a company does instead of something a company has. Thus, the main goal of this thesis is to identify and compare how Brazilian companies actually practice their competitive strategy, and to what extent/in which way such practice is aligned with the main firm s idiosyncratic variables and with their competitive environments. In order to achieve such goal, this work took advantage of a mixed research method, with a survey with companies listed on Brazilian Stock Exchange and six case studies. Concerning industry perception and company praxis, the main findings indicate that: (1) the internal and external views of competitive advantage are, indeed, perceived as complementary regarding firm strategies; (2) even in more traditional industries, companies perceive their environment as dynamic, due to companies´ mobility, group consolidations or internal rivalry; (3) even in industry with high barriers to entry, firms regularly adopt a surveillance approach to monitor newcomers; (4) innovation tends to be more focused on process than on products, and there is a gap between intended and implemented innovation; (5) the perception of resources and competences spread throughout company networks suggests that controlling these resources may be more important than owning them; (6) at least in the studied companies, low relevance has been assigned to knowledge as a strategic advantage. Regarding strategy practices: (7) an annual strategy planning cycle takes place, focused on formulation activities and perceived as static in nature; (8) workshops and performance meetings were the most often identified strategic events; (9) strategy tools were perceived as highly effective and mainly targeted at structuring analysis and ensuring strategy implementation, with special emphasis to the abundance of financial tools and lack of creativity ones. Concluding, concerning practitioners: (10) it could by empirically identified the existence of an organizational structure responsible for companies strategic planning, generally close to financial areas; (11) those generally involved in strategic activities show a primarily analytical profile, with low presence of women; (12) senior executives have developed their careers mainly inside the company or inside the industry, with relevant business knowledge, while middle management plays its role by implementing decisions made by high executives; (13) consultancies tend to be highly used, and their recontracting is contingent upon the patterns of their involvement in the strategy process; (14) business press has been assigned low relevance, being substituted in some cases by financial releases or by information from industry entities. / A complexidade do tema estratégia tem sido amplamente discutida por diversos autores na literatura. O grande conjunto de contribuições teóricas ao tema, prestadas pelas mais diversas áreas do conhecimento; as diversas ferramentas propostas por acadêmicos e consultores para a operacionalização de seus conceitos; e a pluralidade dos vários atores deste espaço organizacional são apenas alguns exemplos dos fatores constituintes desta complexidade. Relevante também ao tema é o movimento Estratégia como Prática , iniciado por pesquisadores europeus no sentido de trazer um enfoque sociológico às estratégias, considerando-as como algo que as empresas fazem e não algo que as mesmas puramente possuem. Desta forma, o principal objetivo desta tese foi identificar e comparar como as empresas brasileiras efetivamente praticam sua estratégia competitiva e como esta prática está alinhada com as diversas variáveis intrínsecas às firmas e aos seus ambientes competitivos. Para tanto, foi empregado um método de pesquisa combinado, com a realização de survey junto às empresas da BM&F Bovespa e seis estudos de caso. No que se refere à compreensão setorial e à práxis das empresas, as principais conclusões do trabalham apontam que: (1) as visões internas e externas da origem de vantagem competitiva são, de fato, percebidas como complementares no que tange às estratégias da firma; (2) mesmo em setores mais tradicionais, as empresas os percebem como dinâmicos, seja por mobilidade de empresas, por consolidação de grupos ou por rivalidades internas; (3) mesmo em setores com elevadas barreiras à entrada, as firmas adotam postura de vigilância permanente sobre novos competidores; (4) a inovação tende a ser mais focada em processos que produtos, e existe uma lacuna entre inovação pretendida e aquela efetivamente implementada; (5) a percepção de recursos e competências espalhados na rede indica que talvez seja mais relevante controlar do que efetivamente possuir tais recursos; (6) ao menos nas empresas estudadas, baixa relevância pode ser atribuída à questão do conhecimento como diferencial estratégico. No que se refere às práticas, tem-se que: (7) na maioria das empresas existe um ciclo anual de planejamento estratégico, com foco em atividades de formulação e que são percebidos como estáticos; (8) workshops e reuniões de resultado foram os eventos estratégicos mais frequentemente identificados; (9) as ferramentas de estratégia foram percebidas como de alta eficácia e principalmente voltadas para estruturação de análise e garantia de implementação, com destaque para abundância de ferramentas financeiras e escassez de ferramentas de criatividade. Por fim, acerca dos praticantes tem-se que: (10) ficou evidenciada a existência de uma estrutura organizacional com responsabilidade sobre planejamento estratégico da empresa, geralmente próxima a áreas de finanças; (11) os profissionais envolvidos possuem perfil eminentemente analítico e com baixa presença de mulheres; (12) o executivo sênior desenvolveu sua carreira eminentemente na empresa ou no setor, com relevante conhecimento do negócio, enquanto a média gerência assume papel de implementadora de decisões da alta direção; (13) as consultorias tendem a ser bastante utilizadas e a recontratação das mesmas é contingente à forma do envolvimento no processo estratégico da companhia; (14) a imprensa de negócios assume pouca relevância, sendo substituída, em alguma medida, por releases financeiros das empresas ou informações de entidades setoriais.