This thesis contains three essays. In the first essay, I provide new evidence on the failure of the Q theory of investment. The Q theory implies the state-by-state equivalence of stock returns and investment returns. However in the data, I find that investment and stock returns are negatively correlated. I also show that a production economy with time-to-build can explain these empirical facts. When I compute Q theory based investment returns on simulated data of the time-to-build model, they are uncorrelated with simulated stock returns, as in the data. Moreover, the model replicates the empirical negative correlation between stock returns and investment growth which some researchers have interpreted as evidence for irrational markets. In the second essay, I analyze the equilibrium effects of investment commitment on asset prices when the representative consumer has Epstein-Zin utility. Investment commitment captures the idea that long-term investment projects require not only current expenditures but also commitment to future expenditures. The general equilibrium effects of investment commitment and Epstein-Zin preferences generate endogenously time-varying first and second moments of consumption growth and stock returns. As a result, the first and second moments of excess returns are endogenously counter-cyclical, excess returns are predictable, and the equity premium increases by an order of magnitude. This paper also offers novel empirical findings regarding the predictability of returns. In the real and simulated data, the lagged investment rate helps to forecast the mean and volatility of returns. In the third essay, we embed a structural model of credit risk inside a consumption based model, which allows us to price equity and corporate debt in a single framework. Our key economic assumptions are that the first and second moments of earnings and consumption growth depend on the state of the economy which switches randomly, creating intertemporal risk, which agents prefer to resolve quickly because they have Epstein- Zin-Weil preferences. Our model generates co-movement between aggregate stock return volatility and credit spreads, consistent with the data, and potentially resolves the equity risk premium and credit spread puzzles.

Denna rapport beskriver det arbete vi gjorde hos Ninetech i Karlstad. Målet med vårtarbete var att skapa en applikation som hämtar information rörande resultat av automatiskabyggen i pågående projekt. Sammanställningen av olika projekt skulle visas löpande. Vårtarbete kan beskrivas som två delar, en praktisk och en teoretisk del. Den praktiska delenbestod av att skapa en applikation som visar status på de olika projekt som Ninetech förtillfället arbetar med. Denna applikation är tänkt att köras dagligen på en skärm synlig förpersonalen. Skärmen är också tänkt att visa gästande kunder statusen på deras projekt.Applikationen visar bl.a. information om tester som körs på de olika projekten.I den teoretiska delen skapades ett dokument som Ninetech kan använda för att introducerasin personal till att arbeta med automatiska tester. / This report describes the work we did at Ninetech in Karlstad. The purpose of our workwas to create an application that collects information about the results of automated builds inongoing projects. The combined information of projects should be presented continuously.Our work can be described as two parts, one practical and one theoretical part. Thepractical part consisted of creating an application that shows the status of Ninetechs currentprojects. This application is supposed to run daily on a screen viewable for the employees.The screen will also show visiting customers the status of their project. The application showsinformation about tests in the different projects among other information.In the theoretical section a document was created. This document can later be used byNinetech to introduce their personnel on how to work with automated tests.

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Most of machine industry in Taiwan use ¡§Build to order¡¨ which start the production process until receiving orders. The key of ¡§Build to order¡¨ can be successful or not is quickly response to demand changes. If the production system can¡¦t keep up with changes in customer demand, it won¡¦t be able to process successive demands. Then the backlog will be more and more. So in ¡§Build to order¡¨, whether production system can adjust for changes in customer demand quickly or not is an important issue of ¡§Build to order¡¨. Kanban System is a mode of production which Toyota JIT system develops. It uses kanbans to control capacity of each workstation strictly. In order to achieve pull system, it uses kanbans to authorize production. Traditional push system must change production plans frequently, and maintain a certain stock between production processes. Pull system uses demands of back-end process to pull the production of front-end process. To achieve the so-called ¡§Just-in-Time¡¨ concept, the system must output the right number of products at the right time. This study uses system dynamics. According to relevant literatures and models, this study constructs Kanban system with industrial properties. According to demand changes and number of kanbans, this study simulates and analyzes the effectiveness after implementing the Kanban system. Then this study makes some management recommendations. Conclusions and findings:(1)Under the situation of normal demand changes, Kanban system can achieve quickly response and stability of production systems.(2) Under the situation of excessive changes in demand, implementing Kanban system will increase the backlog.(3)The number of kanbans represents production needs which are additional planned. The system should minimize the number of kanbans to avoid wastes.

In the past, Taiwan¡¦s economy is growing very fast and city development is flourishing. But with time evolved, the urban development experienced from fast growing to mature, and now gradually decline. Therefore the key of urban development now focuses on the improvement of urban life¡¦s quality not to increase the quantity. This research is major in how to integrate real estate investments trusts into urban renewal. We probe into the urban renewal regulation, laws of real estate investments trusts and study some previous similar cases to understand restriction and difficult encountered in the operation. Besides we analyze its strengths and weakness compare with other raise found ways. The major conclusions of this research are: 1.For some poor resource city, adopting REITs to raise found can efficiently carry on urban renewal. 2.In the past, there are no any cases that using REITs to do urban renewal and quite complicated to undertaking, but it really a feasible method. 3.Adopting urban renewal investment can alleviate public finance, flexible real estate commerce and offer a long-term investment for the people. 4.Integrating urban redevelopment investment and BOT can get more efficiency.

The Design-Build delivery method has gained popularity in the construction industry in the 21st century among clients seeking singular responsibility, shorter delivery time frame and management of complex works. In this exploratory study, a model that considers the effects of project technical system on the project organisation structure has been proposed. Project technical system comprises of two dimensions: technical uncertainty and technical complexity, while integration, organisational differentiation, information processing and project size were considered as dimensions of the project organisation structure. Several hypotheses linking the relationship between technical uncertainty, technical complexity and project structure has been developed. A self-administered questionnaire was developed as the data collection instrument. Field data were collected from design-build projects in the civil and architectural construction industry in Taiwan, and analysed at the project level. The technical system-structure relationships were tested statistically mainly by multiple regression. Results indicate that various scholarly perspectives of uncertainty have a common underlying construct. Several inter-correlations among components of the technical system were identified, and interactively they affect the project organisation structure. Technical uncertainty was found to be a better predictor of information processing and internal integrative efforts than technical complexity. Less structured and flexible information processes and coordinative mechanisms were favoured under high levels of technical uncertainty and complexity. Technical complexity was found to partially predict organisational differentiation, particularly by the interacting effects of project scope and concurrency. The level of technical staffing could be explained by project scope and technical differentiation of the complexity dimension. Lastly, the results were mixed for technical complexity as a predictor of the extent to which project work is subcontracted. The findings of this study contributed to the understanding of the relationships between technical system and organisation structure in complex Design-Build projects. Various managerial implications were outlined. The model proposed in this study can be extended to include project effectiveness, which may lead to the identification of key structural arrangements that contribute to improved project performance.

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Abstract Recently, the engineering scale has been generating larger and larger, and the engineering content tends to be more complicated as a result of the rapid development of engineering techniques. There were so many defects incurred in traditional contracting method by separating and entrusting design and construction service work to different contractors. The owner of petrochemical industry therefore tends to adopt ¡§design-build contracts¡¨ in order to reduce engineering management manpower, shorten work duration, clarify engineering obligation and liability, advance engineering quality as well as save engineering cost. Engineering contractors have to go through the proposal preparation process and then the open bid or individual negotiation to bid for ¡§design-build contract¡¨. After being awarded, the successful contractors have to establish the objectives of projects as per contract and exert management expertise to enable the plant-building work being completed on schedule and under the fixed budget. And then hand over the plant to owner in smooth process and achieve the objectives simultaneously. Through literature review, theoretic structure of petrochemical plant¡¦s design-build projects and practical cases, this research integrates the theory of project management and sums up seven management methods as follows: (1) Proposal preparation; (2) Contract signing; (3) Project planning; (4) Project execution; (5) Project control; (6) Handing over engineering; and (7) Project closed-out for engineering contractors. These comprehensive management methods are aimed to achieve the five goals of engineering project, i.e. quality, schedule, cost, safety and the interaction with owner. Finally, the research makes some conclusions and recommendations to which the contractors can refer in undertaking design-build projects in the future.

The purpose of this study was to examine how teachers act when it comes to play with constructions in preschool. The purpose was also to find out what kind of material the children have to work with and what they do with the things that the children made.   The study was based on qualitative semi-structured interviews. Semi-structured interviews was choosen  to get out as much information as possible, with open questions in a semi-structured interview you can get the information that is relevant for the study.   The results show that there are different kind of material available in preschool, but knowledge of the subject is missing and demanded by teachers. The material are pretty similar, some of the teachers use material from the forest while others don’t. This could be because of the access to the forest. / Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur pedagogerna arbetar när det gäller konstruktionsleken i förskolan. Syftet var även att få reda på vilket material barnen har är använda sig utav samt vad som görs med det som barnen har konstruerat.   Genomförandet bygger på kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer. Semistrukturerade intervjuer valdes just för att få så mycket information som möjligt, med öppna frågor i en semistrukturerad intervju kan man få den informationen som är relevant för undersökningen.   Resultatet visar att det finns olika material att tillgå i förskolorna men kunskap inom ämnet saknas och efterfrågas utav pedagogerna. Materialet är någorlunda lika, vissa pedagoger använder sig utav skogsmaterial medans andra inte det. Detta verkar bero på tillgång till skogen

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