Les marchés financiers occupent, depuis des décennies, une place importante dans notre société. Pourtant, ils présentent des risques accrus auxquels font face la majorité des institutions financières. Les crises, les krachs, les bulles et les turbulences financières jalonnent l’histoire de ces marchés et les déstabilisent fréquemment. En effet, l’existence des anomalies et des biais psychologiques, allant à l’encontre de l’hypothèse d’efficience, remettent en question la théorie financière et révèlent de façon rigoureuse les inefficacités des mécanismes de gestion financière et de contrôle du risque du marché. Confrontés à ces évolutions, le comité de Bâle II recommande la Value at Risk comme une nouvelle vision réglementaire des risques. Ce processus d’innovation financière, introduite par la banque JP Morgan dans les années 90, a connu une grande reconnaissance en finance, mais elle est aussi sujette à des controverses continuelles. Pour surmonter les limites de la VaR, nous proposons un nouveau cadre d’analyse de la VaR basé sur des processus fractals. Tenant compte des anomalies et des facteurs de risques du marché financier, qui induisent des rendements par nature non-gaussiens, nous introduisons la VaR en fonction du modèle multifractal à changements de régime markovien de Calvet et Fisher. L’approche VaR-MSM qui modélise la volatilité multifractale à différentes fréquences constitue un aperçu différent d’évaluation du risque du marché. En appliquant ce modèle sur l’indice boursier français le CAC 40, les résultats obtenus révèlent que la VaR-MSM a surpassé assez nettement les autres modèles d’évaluation de la VaR. / Financial markets occupy an important place in our society. However, they present increased risks to financial institutions. Crises, crashes, bubbles and financial turbulence often destabilize these markets. Indeed, the existence of different anomalies and psychological bias, going against the hypothesis of efficiency, put into question financial theory and present an inefficiency of financial and risk management. Faced with these effects, Bale II committee recommended Value at risk as a new financial instrument of risk management. Value at Risk, introduced by JP Morgan Bank in the 90, have a great recognition in finance, but it is also a subject of controversy. To overcome the VaR limits, we propose a new framework based on fractal process. Taking into account abnormalities and risk factors of financial markets, which induce non-Gaussian returns, we introduce the VaR with a Markov-switching multifractal model proposed by Calvet and Fisher. The VaR-MSM approach presents multifractal volatility at different frequencies. We apply this model to the France CAC 40 stock market index. The results clearly show the advantages of VaR-MSM compared with other models of VaR evaluation.

Evaluations are often an expectation that funders have for non-profit organizations such as Winnipeg’s child advocacy centre, Snowflake Place for Children and Youth (Snowflake Place). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Snowflake Place through the use of a mixed methods case study evaluation employing the tenets of utilization-focused evaluation. A total of 30 interviews were conducted, with individuals from key service providing partners of Snowflake Place and non-offending caregivers of children who were forensic interviewed at Snowflake Place. This study also analyzed the data tracked by Snowflake Place on its service recipients. The results show that although the organization has only been operating for three years, Snowflake Place is able to provide consistent high quality services such as forensic interviews. Results indicate that Snowflake Place has the potential to improve upon the overall positive experiences of both service providing partners and service recipients. / February 2017

The following internship report is an overview of the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC). As a requirement of the Arts Administration Graduate Program at the University of New Orleans, I completed a 480-hour internship spanning three months in the center’s development and membership department. This report combines observational research with the knowledge gained from my studies and subjective research to provide an analysis of the CAC’s current position, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and provides recommendations on how the center can address specific issues with operations and financial management in order to grow as an organization in the future.

Práce se snaží stanovit tržní hodnotu vlastního kapitálu společnosti CAC LEASING,a.s. k 31.12.2005. Obsahuje strategickou a finanční analýzu a finanční plán této společnosti. Hodnota podniku je stanovena pomocí výnosových metod (KČV, DCF) a metody srovnatelných transakcí.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:10:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2079.pdf: 5520930 bytes, checksum: b9ac124f0da83256f7486d60ad494ac6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-09-16 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / Fuel cells are considered the most promising way for generating electrical energy in a near future. The economic fuel cells viability is directly related to the reduction of its operating temperature which is related to the properties of the electrolyte. In this work ceramic nanopowders of Ce0.8Y0.2O1.9 e Ce0.8Gd0.2O1.9 obtained by chemical synthesis were sintered through two-step sintering to obtain dense bodies with submicormetric grain size, in order to improve the grain boundary electrical conductivity of ceria-based electrolytes. Grain and grian boundary conductivities are dependent on grain size besides sintering schedule. The formation of secondary phases indicates that the improvement in grain boundary conductivity is related to the microdomains dynamics in microstructure. Ga2O3 addition was not effective in the densification of Ce0.8Y0.2O1.9 e Ce0.8Gd0.2O1.9 ceramics and it was deleterious to grain boundary conductivity, although it improved grain conductivity comparing to Ga2O3 free samples. An alternative to improve the electrical conductivity of ceria-based electrolytes is the formation of nanometric doped ceria amorphous carbonate composites. The composites were characterized and the components were set in different arrangements to evaluate the existence of interfacial effedt between the phases. The electrical characterization of these sets does not indicate the existence of this interfacial effect. / As pilhas a combustível são apontadas como uma das mais promissoras formas de geração de energia elétrica para um futuro próximo. A viabilidade econômica das pilhas está diretamente condicionada à redução da sua temperatura de operação e esta está relacionada às propriedades do eletrólito. Com o objetivo de melhorar a condutividade elétrica do contorno de grão de eletrólitos cerâmicos baseados em céria, no presente trabalho pós cerâmicos nanométricos das composições Ce0,8Y0,2O1,9 e Ce0,8Gd0,2O1,9, obtidos por síntese química, foram sinterizados pelo processo em duas etapas para obtenção de corpos densos com tamanho de grão na faixa submicrométrica. A condutividade do grão e do contorno de grão mostraram não só dependência do tamanho de grão, mas também relação com o caminho de sinterização. A formação de fases secundárias indica que a melhoria na condutividade do contorno de grão observada está relacionada com a formação de microdomínios na estrutura. O uso de Ga2O3 como aditivo de sinterização não se mostrou efetivo na densificação de Ce0,8Y0,2O1,9 e Ce0,8Gd0,2O1,9 e se mostrou prejudicial à condutividade do contorno de grão, embora tenha melhorado a condutividade do grão em relação às amostras não aditivadas. Uma forma alternativa de melhorar a condutividade de eletrólitos baseados em céria é a formação de compósito céria dopada nanométrica carbonato amorfo. Os compósitos foram caracterizados micro e estruturalmente e foram montados conjuntos com os componentes em diferentes configurações para avaliação do efeito de interface entre as fases. A caracterização elétrica dos componentes em separado e dos conjuntos montados não indica existência de efeito interfacial.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:12:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 3296.pdf: 5077679 bytes, checksum: fe2995795d550b8472d994e69567ff00 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-09-10 / Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos / Rare earth doped ceria has a great potential to be used as electrolyte in temperatures around 800 °C in fuel cells due to its higher electrical conductivity than YSZ. However, the reduction of Ce+4 to Ce+3 in low oxygen partial pressure has introduced limitations for using doped ceria electrolyte due to electronic conduction. Among the several ceria solid solutions, CeO2-ZrO2-Y2O3 attracts attention because its stability at temperatures around 800 °C and oxygen partial pressures up 10-18 atm. On the other hand, ceria solid solutions are very sensitive to the purity of the raw material. For these reason, it is common to find secondary phase along the grain boundary blocking the electrical conduction. For these electrolytes, impurities control the grain boundary conductivity. In this work, powders (Ce0,9-xYx)Zr0,1 and (Ce0,9-xGdx)Zr0,1 with 0.10 ≤ x ≤ 0.24 were prepared by oxides mixing. The effect of successive calcinations and the addition La2O3 was evaluated. Samples obtained by isostatic pressing, were sintered between 1450 and 1600 ° C with two hours of soaking time. Sintered samples were characterized by density measurements, X rays diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and impedance spectroscopy. Among all samples, those doped with 12 mol% of co-dopant aliovalente (Y2O3 ou Gd2O3) showed similar electrical behavior. For these samples it was observed a large increase of grain boundary electrical conductivity for calcined compositions and doped with La2O3 resulting a total electrical conductivity of 4,4x10-4 S.cm-1 at 450 °C in the same order of magnitude of electrolytes Z8Y prepared for this work. Compositions containing Y+3 and La2O3 showed higher electrolytic domain compared to the other investigated compositions. / Céria dopada com terras raras apresentam grande potencial para serem utilizadas como eletrólito em pilhas a combustível em temperaturas próximas a 800 °C devido à maior condutividade elétrica comparada à YSZ. Entretanto, a redução do íon Ce+4 para Ce+3 em baixas pressões parciais de oxigênio limita a utilização de eletrólitos baseados em céria dopada devido à condução eletrônica. Entre as várias soluções sólidas, CeO2-ZrO2-Y2O3 têm atraído atenção por causa da estabilidade em temperaturas ao redor de 800 °C e em pressões parciais de oxigênio de até 10-18 atm. Entretanto, soluções sólida de céria são muito sensíveis à pureza das matérias primas e por esta razão, é comum encontrar fase secundária silicosa no contorno de grão bloqueando a condução elétrica. Para estes eletrólitos as impurezas controlam a condutividade do contorno de grão. Nesta dissertação, pós de (Ce0, 9-xYx)Zr0,1 e (Ce0,9-xGdx)Zr0,1 com 0,10 ≤ x ≤ 0,24 foram preparados via mistura de óxidos. O efeito de calcinações sucessivas e a adição do aditivo seqüestrante de sílica La2O3 foram avaliados. Amostras obtidas por prensagem isostática foram sinterizadas entre 1450 e 1600 °C com patamar de duas horas. Amostras sinterizadas foram caracterizadas por medidas de densidade, difração de raios X, microscopia eletrônica de varredura e espectroscopia de impedância. Dentre todas as amostras, aquelas dopadas com 12 %mol de co-dopante aliovalente (Y2O3 ou Gd2O3) apresentaram comportamento elétrico semelhante. Para estas amostras foi observado um grande aumento na condutividade elétrica do contorno de grão para composições calcinadas e aditivadas com La2O3 refletindo em uma condutividade elétrica total de 4,4x10-4 S.cm-1 a 450 °C da mesma ordem de magnitude de eletrólitos de Z8Y preparados neste trabalho. Composições contendo Y+3 e aditivadas com La2O3 apresentaram maior domínio eletrolítico comparada às outras composições investigadas.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / IEEE 802.16 standard, also called WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access), is one of the most promising technologies for BWA (Broadband Wireless Access) networks. The IEEE 802.16 standard provides specification of MAC and physical layer. The standard adds to the BWA networks some advantages over other technologies, such as wide area of coverage, even in areas of difficult access or without conventional network infrastructure, as is the case of some urban and rural regions in Brazil. IEEE 802.16 standard is developed with Quality of Service (QoS) in mind. For that purpose it was created a connection oriented standard, where different applications are differentiated into multiple classes of service, in accordance with the parameters required by each application. However, the standard does not define how to implement the Connection Admission Control (CAC) algorithm, which is a fundamental requisite for obtaining QoS. The CAC algorithm is responsible for accepting or rejecting a new connection request depending on the resources already allocated in the network. Thus, the CAC must reject requests for connections that might compromise the QoS of admitted connections. This way, this work presents the proposal of a CAC algorithm based on threshold for the IEEE 802.16 networks. Moreover, the performance of the proposed CAC algorithm has been analyzed through modeling and simulation using the NS-2 (Network Simulator). To perform this step, the proposed CAC algorithm has been implemented in the WiMAX module of the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology). The results showed that the CAC algorithm is efficient and it is able to provide QoS in terms of bandwidth and delay, under different scenarios. / O padrão IEEE 802.16, também conhecido como WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access), é uma das tecnologias mais promissoras para o acesso banda larga sem fio (BWA Broadband Wireless Access). O padrão IEEE 802.16 fornece especificações das características da camada de acesso ao meio (MAC) e física. Agrega às redes BWA algumas vantagens em relação às outras tecnologias, tal como, ampla área de cobertura, mesmo em regiões de difícil acesso ou sem qualquer infra-estrutura de rede convencional, como é o caso de algumas regiões urbanas e rurais brasileiras. O padrão IEEE 802.16 foi desenvolvido com Qualidade de Serviço (QoS) em mente. Para conseguir tal objetivo, criou-se um padrão orientado a conexão, onde as várias aplicações são diferenciadas em múltiplas classes de serviços, de acordo com os parâmetros solicitados por cada aplicação. Porém, o padrão não define como deve ser implementado o algoritmo de Controle de Admissão de Conexões (CAC Connection Admission Control), que é um requisito fundamental para obtenção de QoS. O algoritmo CAC é responsável por admitir ou rejeitar uma solicitação de uma nova conexão dependendo dos recursos já alocados da rede. Desta forma, o CAC deve rejeitar solicitações de conexões que poderiam comprometer a QoS das conexões admitidas. Em vista disto, neste trabalho apresenta-se uma proposta de um algoritmo de CAC baseado em threshold para as redes IEEE 802.16. Além disto, o desempenho do algoritmo de CAC proposto foi analisado através de modelagem e simulação, utilizando o simulador de redes NS-2 (Network Simulator). Para realizar esta etapa, o algoritmo de CAC proposto foi implementado no módulo WiMAX do NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology). Os resultados obtidos demonstraram que o algoritmo de CAC é eficiente e apresentou-se capaz de prover QoS em termos de largura de banda e atraso, sob diferente cenários. / Mestre em Ciências

Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais / The IEEE 802.16 standard is designed to provide wireless broadband connectivity for both xed and mobile users in a wide coverage area with high rates of data transfer. The main feature incorporated by the IEEE 802.16 standard is the quality of service (QoS) provisioning by means of packets scheduling, trac policing and connection admission control (CAC). Since the IEEE 802.16 standard does not dene the policies for admission control and packet scheduling, in this paper we propose a QoS provisioning mechanism which consists of a novel scheduling algorithm for uplink trac and a dynamic CAC scheme for IEEE 802.16 networks. The proposed scheduling mechanism serves the requests queues in a cyclical mode and is based on a static bandwidth reservation mechanism in order to separate the real-time and non real time ows. The CAC policy is proposed for the real-time service class with variable rate and is based on a delay prediction scheme which uses the buer size information in SSs. Through modeling and simulation, we evaluated various network scenarios in order to test the eciency of CAC and scheduling mechanism. From the results, it was found that the proposed mechanism is able to meet the maximum delay requirements of the maximum delay bound for real time ows and minimum throughput for streams of non-real time. Moreover, it was found that the proposed mechanism is able to avoid the bandwidth starvation of low priority ows. / O padrão IEEE 802.16 é designado para prover conectividade em banda larga sem o para usuários xos e móveis em uma ampla área de cobertura com altas taxas de transferência de dados. A principal característica incorporada por esse padrão é a provis ão de qualidade de serviço (QoS) aos usuários nais, garantida por meio de algoritmos para escalonamento de pacotes tanto na estação base como nas estações de assinantes e também políticas para controle de admissão de conexões (CAC). Pelo fato do padrão não especicar políticas para a implementação desses mecanismos, propõe-se nesse trabalho um novo algoritmo de escalonamento uplink na estação base que é capaz de atender as principais classes de serviços denidas pelo padrão e também uma política de CAC din âmica baseada em predição de atraso. O mecanismo de escalonamento proposto atende as las de requisições de forma cíclica e baseia-se em um esquema de reserva estática de largura de banda para separar os uxos de tempo real, não tempo real com o requisito de taxa mínima e não tempo real sem requisitos de vazão (tráfego de melhor esforço). Já a política de CAC foi proposta para a classe de serviço de tempo real com taxa variável e baseia-se na predição do atraso médio calculado de acordo com o estado de ocupação dos buers nas estações assinantes. Avaliou-se, por meio de modelagem e simulação, vários cenários de redes com o intuito de testar a eciência do mecanismo de escalonamento e CAC. Pelos resultados obtidos, vericou-se que o mecanismo proposto é capaz de atender os requisitos de atraso máximo limitado para uxos de tempo real e vazão mínima para uxos de não tempo real. Além disso, constatou-se que o mecanismo proposto é capaz de evitar o bandwidth starvation dos uxos de baixa prioridade. / Mestre em Ciências

Abstract Efficient management of rather limited resources, including radio spectrum and mobile-terminal battery power, has been the fundamental design challenge of wireless networks and one of the most widespread research problems over the years. MAC (Medium Access Control) for packet access and CAC (Call Admission Control) for connection-oriented service domains are commonly used as effective tools to manage radio resources, capacity and performance of wireless networks while providing adequate QoS (Quality of Service) to mobile users. Hence, analysis and synthesis of efficient MAC and CAC schemes for advanced wireless networks have significant academic and practical values. This dissertation addresses that topic and presents seven separate contributions of the author: four on adaptive MAC schemes for centralized PRN (Packet Radio Networks), referred to as SPA (Smart Packet Access) and three on CAC schemes for cellular networks, referred to as SCA (Smart Call Admission). These contributions are published in eighteen original papers by the author, which are listed and referred to as Papers I–XVIII in this thesis. In SPA, the first contribution, reported in Papers II and IV, studies implementation losses of adaptive feedback-control MAC schemes for the uplink of DS-CDMA (Direct-Sequence Code Division Multiple Access) PRN in the presence of various system imperfections. The second contribution, reported in Papers XI, XII, XV and XVI, proposes a bit-rate adaptive MAC scheme for DS-CDMA PRN, referred to as SPR (Smart Packet Rate). The third contribution, reported in Papers III, XIII and XIV, develops two alternative MAC schemes with adaptive packet-length over correlated fading channels in DS-CDMA PRN, referred to as SPL (Smart Packet Length). The fourth contribution, reported in Papers XVII and XVIII, develops alternative adaptive MAC schemes for optimal trade-offs between throughput and energy consumption of TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) applications in advanced cellular networks. These include a so-called SPD (Smart Packet Dispatching) for HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) and, again, SPL for LSPA (Low Speed Packet Access). Moving on to SCA, the first contribution, reported in Papers V and VII, provides a simple and accurate analytical method for performance evaluation of a class of fixed-assignment CAC schemes with generic guard-channel policy and queuing priority handoffs in cellular networks. The second contribution, reported in Papers VI, IX and X, proposes a simple and effective SCAC (Soft-decision CAC) scheme for CDMA cellular networks. This is evaluated against fixed-assignment and measurement-based CAC schemes with a simple and reliable method provided as a part of the contribution. The third contribution, reported in Papers I and VIII, incorporates alternative QoS differentiation paradigms and resource partitioning into CAC, defines GoS (Grade of Service) for multimedia cellular networks, and provides an in-hand tool for efficient capacity and GoS management.

Inledning: Intresset för kvinnor i styrelser väcktes hos flera länder på grund av att Norge införde en kvoteringslag för att uppnå 40 % av det underrepresenterade könet i börsbolagens styrelser. Sverige har år 2017 uppnått 38 % av de underrepresenterade könet i börsbolagens styrelser utan att införa en tvingande kvoteringslag vilket tyder på att en annan regleringsprocess tillämpades. Utvecklingen visar på att det har skett en beteendeförändring hos aktörerna i samhället, då jämställda styrelser nästintill har uppnåtts. Detta lämnar utrymme för en studie av tillvägagångssättet i en regleringsprocess där den allmänna debatten och en institutionell förändring av normer och regler i den svenska regleringsprocessen beaktas. Problemformulering: Hur påverkar institutionaliserings- och regleringsprocessen arbetet för att uppnå en beteendeförändring i samhället, gällande utvecklingen av andelen kvinnor i de svenska börsbolagens styrelser? Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att öka förståelsen om institutionell förändring betraktat från ett regleringsperspektiv genom att följa utvecklingen av andelen kvinnor i de svenska börsbolagens styrelser i relation till den allmänna debatten och den regulativa processen. Metod: Forskningsansatsen som använts i denna studie är abduktion. Institutionalian bidrar med tidigare forskning angående jämställdhet i styrelser. Den teoretiska referensramen består av teorier som uppmärksammar en regleringsprocess, en institutionaliseringsprocess och aktörer. Studiens empiriska analys utgår från en kvalitativ metod där det empiriska materialet består av sekundärdata från databasen Mediearkivet. Detta har kompletterats med offentliga dokument i form av departementsutredningar, motioner, remissvar och statliga offentliga utredningar. Slutsats: Studiens resultat anger att i en regleringsprocess måste de icke-statliga aktörernas debatter gällande en regleringsfråga beaktas och att en fullständig självreglering inte kan tillämpas. Dessutom har studien visat att en institutionaliseringsprocess ingår och synliggörs i en regleringsprocess och att det är denna process som är nyckelfaktorn för att uppnå en hållbar beteendeförändring. Slutligen anges att det är debatterna mellan starka statliga och icke-statliga aktörer som initierar en institutionaliserings- och regleringsprocess för att åstadkomma en institutionell förändring. / Introduction: The interest in women on boards started in many countries due to the introduction of a quota law in Norway in order to achieve a 40 % representation of the underrepresented sex in listed companies’ boards. In 2017, Sweden has achieved a 38 % representation of the underrepresented sex in the listed companies’ boards without introducing a compulsory quota law, which indicates that another regulatory process was applied. This development shows that there has been a change in the behavior among the actors in society, as equality in the company boards has almost been reached. This leaves room for a study to investigate the approach in a regulatory process in which the general debate and institutional change of norms and rules in the Swedish regulatory process are taken into account. Problem: How does the institutionalization and regulatory process affect the work to achieve a change of behavior in society, regarding the development of the proportion of women on boards of listed companies in Sweden? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of institutional change, observed from a regulatory perspective by following the development of the percentage of women on the boards of listed companies in Sweden, in relation to the general debate and the regulatory process. Method: The research approach in this study is abduction. The “Institutional” contributes with previous research on gender equality on boards. The theoretical framework consists of theories that put attention to a regulatory process, institutionalization process and the actors. The empirical analysis of the study is based on a qualitative method where the empirical material consists of secondary data from the database “Mediearkivet”. This source has been supplemented with public documents in the form of departmental investigations, motions, referral and public state investigations. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that in a regulatory process, it is necessary to observe the debates regarding government issues between non-governmental actors, and that complete self-regulation cannot be applied. The study also shows that an institutionalization process is included and visible in a regulatory process, and this process is the key factor in achieving sustainable behavioral change. Finally, it is stated that the debates between strong governmental and non-governmental actors are crucial in the initiation of an institutionalization and regulatory process which in turn achieves institutional change.