In this dissertation, I try to advance our understanding of how managerial discretion and corporate financial flexibility affect various corporate outcomes such as failure, excessive (sub-optimal) continuation, firm growth and investment, in three novel ways. First, I show that the empirical effect of finance is not merely a misspecified real influence but rather that the financial structure of firms matter for firm growth and investment where the real effects of finance arise out of the imperfect substitutability between internal funding and external private credit. Second, using managerial mergers and acquisitions (M&A) investment decisions as an identification mechanism, I find that managerial discretion combined with corporate financial flexibility may lead to distortions in corporate investment and financing policies, and those distortions cost the various stakeholders of the firm dearly. Furthermore, using another sample of distressed firms worth more dead than alive, I, along with a co-author, show that most of these firms continue operations long after the optimal exit time. The failure to liquidate costs the typical sample firm over three years 8.7% of its assets in lost earnings relative to the industry median. Finally, I find that capital market does not fully internalize the costs associated with managerial sub-optimal behaviors in the short run. Although the market disciplines managerial sub-optimal behaviors in the long run, the market disciplinary mechanisms may not be swift enough to forestall falling values for the various stakeholders of the firm. Succinctly, the findings in this dissertation suggest that managerial discretion and corporate financial flexibility entail real consequences for various firm dynamics. The traditional line of argument, ``Blame It on the Market," may not be well grounded, and firms need to carefully examine their investments and financing policies in good times to cushion against systematic shocks in bad times.

<p>In modern engineering there is a considerable interest in predicting the behavior of post-buckled structures. With current lightweight, aerospace, and high performance applications, structural elements frequently operate beyond their buckled load. This is especially true of plates, which are capable of maintaining stability at loads several times their critical buckling load. Additionally, even structures such as cylindrical shells may be pushed into a post-buckled range in these extreme applications. </p><p>Because of the nature of these problems, continuation methods are particularly well suited as a solution method. Continuation methods have been extensively applied to a range of problems in mathematics and physics but have been used to a lesser extent in engineering problems. In the present work, continuation methods are used to solve a variety of buckling and stability problems of discrete dynamical systems, plates and cylinders. The continuation methods, when applied to dynamic mechanical systems, also provide very useful information regarding the modal behavior of the structure, including linearized natural frequencies and mode shapes as a by-product of the solution method.</p><p>To verify the results of the continuation calculations, the commercial finite element code ANSYS is used as an independent check. To confirm previously unseen stable equilibrium shapes for square plates, a set of experiments on polycarbonate plates is also presented.</p> / Dissertation

Recently the phenomena of Bose-Einstein condensates have been observed in laboratories, and the related problems are extensively studied. In this paper we consider the nonlinear Schrödinger equation in the laser beam rotating magnetic field and compute its corresponding energy functional under the mass conservative condition. By separating time and space variables, factoring real part and image part, and discretizing via finite difference method, the original equation can be transformed to a large scale parametrized polynomial systems. We use continuation method to find the solutions that satisfy the mass conservative condition. We will also explore bifurcation points on the curves and other solutions lying on bifurcation branches. The numerical results show that when the rotating angular momentum is small, we can find the solutions by continuation method along some particular curves and these curves are regular. As the angular momentum is increasing, there will be more bifurcation points on curves.

Darbe yra nagrinėjami du paplitę darbo sekų modeliai – BPMN ir Windows Workflow Foundation (WF), bei tiriama, kaip BPMN darbo sekas transformuoti į WF vykdymo modelį. BPMN ir WF yra iš esmės skirtingos kalbos ir pagrindinė transformavimo problema yra susijusi su nestruktūrizuotų ciklų eliminavimu, t.y. jų konvertavimu į proceso atžvilgiu ekvivalenčias struktūrizuotas konstrukcijas. Darbe pasirinktas žinomas algoritmas, skirtas panašioms ciklinėms konstrukcijoms transformuoti naudojant tęstinumo semantiką. Jis buvo adaptuotas BPMN modeliui. Algoritme naudojama tęstinumo semantika buvo praplėsta atsižvelgiant į BPMN ir WF modeliuose esančias konstrukcijas bei patobulinto algoritmo ypatumus. Buvo sukurti nauji algoritmai, skirti nagrinėjamai transformacijai atlikti. Transformavimo algoritmui patikrinti buvo sukurta programa, leidžianti tęstinumo semantika užrašytą BPMN darbo seką transformuoti į pavidalą, nesunkiai konvertuojamą į WF. Atliktos eksperimentinės darbo sekų transformacijos parodė, kad sukurtas algoritmas yra veiksmingas. / This paper analyzes the two most widely used workflow models – BPMN and Windows Workflow Foundation (WF). It also analyzes how a BPMN workflow can be transformed into a WF execution model. BPMN and WF represent two fundamentally different classes of languages and the basic problem is related to convertion of unstructured cycles to their structured equivalents. A known algorithm used for similar cyclic constructions transformations using continuation semantics was chosen. This algorithm was adopted for the BPMN model. The continuation semantics were extended in regards to BPMN and WF model constructions and the specifics of the improved algorithm. Finally, in order to solve the transformation, three new algorithms were created: algorithm for BPMN workflow specification with extended continuation semantics; algorithm for transforming the specification to structured model; algorithm for converting structured model specification to WF model. A specialized program, which transforms extended continuation semantics to a structured model, was written to test the transformation algorithm. Testing this program with exemplary transformations proved that the transformation algorithm was working correctly.

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Axiomet lokal överlägsenhet har en särställning i svensk armétaktik. Det är utifrån lokal överlägsenhet gårdagens, dagens och morgondagens militära chefer utbildas. Det är också enligt lokal överlägsenhet morgondagens strider är tänkta att föras. Nu när hotbilden från en kvalificerad, reguljär motståndare genomgår en rennäsans undersöks därför den svenska taktikens grunder i den här studien. Dessa grunder har tydligt influerats av  de finska krigserfarenheterna från krigen 1939-1944 och det är först efter andra världskriget axiomet lokal överlägsenhet dyker upp i svenska reglementen.   Analysen har gjorts genom en fallstudie på tre taktiska nivåer, utifrån tre olika stridssätt och på tre olika finska strider under fortsättningskriget. Dessa har analyserats utifrån principerna bakom lokal överlägsenhet. Resultatet visar axiomets nära relation till anfallet, viktiga bakomliggande faktorer samt den stora variation i växelverkan som sker mellan de ingående principerna. Resultatet visar också på att det inte finns någon principiell skillnad i hur lokal överlägsenhet förstods på olika taktiska nivåer. / The axiom local superiority has a superior position in Swedish military tactics. It is from local superiority both the officers of today and tomorrow are trained and educated. It is also from this perspective the battles of the future are intended to take place. This study aims to, now when the threat from a qualified, regular opponent undergoes a renaissance, investigate and examine the fundamentals of the Swedish tactics and military approach. These foundation stones have been strongly influenced by the finish war experience obtained during the Second World War, and it is first after the war the axiom local superiority is to be found in the Swedish military’s regulations.   The study has been carried out through a case study on three tactical levels. These levels have been based on three distinguished battle techniques and three different Finnish battles during the Continuation War. These battles have been analyzed from the principles of local superiority. The result shows the axiom’s close relationship to the attack, important underlying factors and the great variety in interaction between the fundamental principles. The result also shows that there is no principal difference in how local superiority is understood on different tactical levels.

In this thesis, bifurcation phenomena in dynamical systems with cosymmetry and Hamiltonian structure were investigated using numerical methods. Several numerical continuation methods and test functions for detecting bifurcations were presented. The numerical results for various examples are given using a numerical bifurcation analysis toolbox.

Thèse (M.Ed.) -- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, en association avec Universidade do Estado da Bahia, 2005. / Bibliogr.: f. [117]-121. Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Michigan, 1988. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 196-200).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Michigan, 1988. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 196-200).