Hedge funds and China’s stock market: a study on factors influencing investment decisions by fund managersThe research was conducted using a web-based questionnaire sent to all Asia-related hedge funds, worldwide. Analysis of the collected data revealed that the factors influencing the portfolio investments made in China by fund managers differed from the factors which influence investment in global and emerging markets. While market conditions, market timing and changes in earning estimates are the top three influencing factors on investment decisions on global stock exchanges, fund managers are more influenced by global trend, potential growth and company size when dealing with China’s stock market. Research results also support the hypotheses that there are relationships between size of fund, trading style and personal expertise of managers and the factors influencing investment decisions.The international hedge fund industry and China’s stock market are two fast-growing entities of global capital markets. Stronger interaction between these two institutions in the future would create important implications for the financial world. The objective of this research is to identify factors that influence investment decisions by hedge fund managers in relation to China’s stock market.The following implications can be extracted from this research:(1) If China’s stock market is classified within the Emerging Markets Index, adjustments are necessary and provision should be made reflecting investor criteria for China.(2) Global trends and the potential growth of China were the two most attractive factors influencing investment decisions, suggesting a ‘herding’ tendency and ‘attention-grabbing’ bias of hedge fund managers.(3) Company evaluation remains important to hedge fund managers, suggesting that Chinese government regulators should implement reforms to improve quality of listed firms.(4) Gaps in the research on China’s stock market as well as the outcomes of this research indicate that further studies on the international hedge fund industry and China’s stock market could reveal new perspectives and enhancements to the current body of knowledge on these subjects. This thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the research context and research justification. The research problem and questions are identified, and the theoretical framework and hypotheses are constructed. Chapter 2 presents an overview of the hedge fund industry and China’s stock market. Chapter 3 examines the literature: factors that influence investment decisions in global, emerging markets and in particular, China’s stock market. A framework of an 8-step decision-making process was developed. Chapter 4 researches alternative methodologies and presents a justification for the selection of the research methodology. Chapter 5 summarises the results of the data analysis and interpretation. Chapter 6 discusses the conclusions, implications, contributions and limitations of the research. Recommendations for further research are also included.The outcomes of this research are expected to benefit all participants of the global financial industry, including institutional and individual investors; executives in banking, insurance and securities businesses; financiers of listed firms and multinational corporations; government regulators and independent research analysts. Other beneficiaries will be academics and the media.

In 2005 the wine importer and supplier Pernod Ricard Sweden acquired Allied Domecq, a company with a wide assortment of wines. However, due to Pernod Ricard Sweden’s strategic focus on spirits the last decade they now experience a lack of knowledge of how to best sell and endorse wine to restaurants. After thorough research of present academic literature we have found that there is a theoretical gap of knowledge regarding the relationship between wine suppliers and restaurants and the interactions between them. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to gain a deeper understanding of the influences on organisational buying behaviour when purchasing in a B2B environment. We have investigated what criteria and services are more important for restaurants when purchasing wine, in order for the supplier to understand the behaviour of the buyer and act accordingly. A qualitative research has been conducted where 18 high commercial value restaurants in the region Mälardalen in Sweden were interviewed via telephone. The interview questions consisted of both open-ended questions and close-ended Likert scale questions, in order to receive both deeper answers including the respondents’ own opinions and comments, as well as preference data and attitude measures. In the analysis of our data we have discovered the importance of offering a concept and not just a product to the restaurants. In this concept the price in relation to quality is vital, as well as value adding activities such as education, which is important since there is a lack of documented knowledge among the persons responsible for the purchasing of wine. Support and sales meetings have proven to be efficient ways for the supplier to communicate their message to the restaurants rather than the use of traditional communication channels e.g. TV and printed advertisement. Furthermore, we have observed that the relationship between the supplier and the restaurants is crucial. This is due to the fact that most high commercial value restaurants only have one supplier and their emphasised need for the business to run smoothly. Therefore, previous experience of the supplier and the established degree of trust are highly influencing factors. We believe that if the results of our study are taken into consideration, the supplier has a great chance of becoming successful and creating profitable long-term relationships with high commercial value restaurants.

I Sverige finns cirka 60 tjejjourer som ideellt arbetar för att stötta och stärka unga kvinnor vars psykiska ohälsa fortsätter att öka. Statistiskt sett så finns klara samband mellan den psykiska ohälsan bland flickor i Sverige och orsak till varför de stödsökande hör av sig till tjejjourerna och andra ideella organisationer. Syftet med studien var att beskriva vad jourerna gör för att förbättra den psykiska ohälsan bland flickor samt att beskriva faktorer som påverkar det ideella arbetet på tjejjourerna enligt de aktiva medlemmarna. En kvalitativ intervjustudie användes som metod. Sju intervjuer genomfördes på aktiva medlemmar på olika tjejjourer och analyserades med hjälp av en innehållsanalys. Resultatet baseras på två teman jourverksamheten och den utåtriktade verksamheten samt fem kategorier, jourens uppbyggnad, stödsökande, resurser, förebyggande arbete och samverka. Tjejjourernas stödbidrag, anställda och aktiva medlemmar påverkar i vilken utsträckning de har möjlighet att arbeta förebyggande. Hjälp till självhjälp samt att stötta och stärka var prioritet i jourverksamheten trots att behov finns i den utåtriktade förebyggande verksamheten. Studien visar på att det läggs allt mer ansvar på landets tjejjourer från bland annat myndigheter att ta hand om tjejer som behöver stöd. Samarbetet i kommunerna mellan tjejjourer och andra instanser behöver förbättras. Det viktigaste förebyggande arbetet sker på skolorna och kommunen bör uppmärksamma att tjejjourerna kan betraktas som ett komplement i detta forum. / In Sweden there is about 60 organisations that works voluntary to support and empower young woman whose mental illness continues to increase. The purpose of this study was to describe factors that affect the volunteer work at these organisations by the active members. A qualitative interview was used as method. Seven interviews conducted on the active members in different organisations and analyzed by a content analysis. The results are based on two themes,- organisation activities and external activities as well as five categories, organisation structure, support seekers, resources, prevention and interact. The girls voluntary organisations are affected to wich extent they are able to work preventively by the support contributions, employees and active members. Self-help and to support and strengthen was the priority in the organisations although there is a need in the external prevention activities. The study shows that there are more and more responsibility on the girls organisations from other authorities. The cooperation in the municipality between the voluntary organisations and others needs to be improved. The most important preventive work is done at school and the municipality should be aware that girls voluntary organisations can be seen as complementary in this forum.

<p>In 2005 the wine importer and supplier Pernod Ricard Sweden acquired Allied Domecq, a company with a wide assortment of wines. However, due to Pernod Ricard Sweden’s strategic focus on spirits the last decade they now experience a lack of knowledge of how to best sell and endorse wine to restaurants. After thorough research of present academic literature we have found that there is a theoretical gap of knowledge regarding the relationship between wine suppliers and restaurants and the interactions between them. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to gain a deeper understanding of the influences on organisational buying behaviour when purchasing in a B2B environment. We have investigated what criteria and services are more important for restaurants when purchasing wine, in order for the supplier to understand the behaviour of the buyer and act accordingly.</p><p>A qualitative research has been conducted where 18 high commercial value restaurants in the region Mälardalen in Sweden were interviewed via telephone. The interview questions consisted of both open-ended questions and close-ended Likert scale questions, in order to receive both deeper answers including the respondents’ own opinions and comments, as well as preference data and attitude measures.</p><p>In the analysis of our data we have discovered the importance of offering a concept and not just a product to the restaurants. In this concept the price in relation to quality is vital, as well as value adding activities such as education, which is important since there is a lack of documented knowledge among the persons responsible for the purchasing of wine. Support and sales meetings have proven to be efficient ways for the supplier to communicate their message to the restaurants rather than the use of traditional communication channels e.g. TV and printed advertisement. Furthermore, we have observed that the relationship between the supplier and the restaurants is crucial. This is due to the fact that most high commercial value restaurants only have one supplier and their emphasised need for the business to run smoothly. Therefore, previous experience of the supplier and the established degree of trust are highly influencing factors.</p><p>We believe that if the results of our study are taken into consideration, the supplier has a great chance of becoming successful and creating profitable long-term relationships with high commercial value restaurants.</p>

<p>Purpose and research questions</p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to investigate influencing factors on the choice of tailoring of ERP systems during implementation. The research questions to answer are what types of adjustments can be made to the system to make it fit with the organisation, together with what factors influence the choice of these adjustments and how?</p><p>Research methodology</p><p>To fulfil the purpose and answer the research questions the study has been carried out in line with the hermeneutic circle. This has been done in three sequences. A pre-understanding of the phenomenon has been obtained by a literature study in the first sequence. In the second sequence interviews with IFS AB and Systeam AB have been carried out, analysed together with the pre-understanding and a model has been created. During the last sequence Sogeti Sverige AB has been interviewed to verify the model.</p><p>Research findings</p><p>The different ways of tailoring an ERP system are configuration, bolt-ons, extended report-ing, screen masks, workflow programming, user exits, ERP programming, interface development, new software package and package code modification. Tailoring types 1-8 and 10 were found in the literature while new software package was found in the empirical study.</p><p>The factors influencing the choice of tailoring are coming from three domains: the customer, the consultant and the system. The factors from the customer are attitude towards customisation, costs, knowledge, process design, time and user needs. Attitude towards customisation, customisation possibility and knowledge are coming from the consultant domain. Complexity, external software, functionality and maintenance are finally coming from the system domain. All factors were derived from the literature except knowledge in the customer domain, which was found during the empirical study.</p><p>Some factors influence the choice of specific tailoring types, while others influence the choice between light and heavy tailoring types. There are also factors that do not directly influence the choice of tailoring. Instead they act as prerequisites for the tailoring types. This leads to the conclusion that the influencing factors can not be seen in isolation; it is the combined influence from all of them that decides the choice of tailoring types.</p> / <p>Syfte och forskningsfrågor</p><p>Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att undersöka influerande faktorer på valet av anpassning av ERP-system under implementering. Forskningsfrågorna att besvara är vilken typ av anpassningar som kan göras av systemet för att det ska passa med organisationen, tillsam-mans med vilka faktorer som influerar valet av dessa anpassningar och hur?</p><p>Metod</p><p>För att uppfylla syftet och besvara forskningsfrågorna har studien utförts i linje med den hermeneutiska cirkeln. Detta har gjorts i tre sekvenser. En förförståelse har erhållits genom en litteraturstudie i den första sekvensen. I den andra sekvensen har intervjuer med IFS AB och Systeam AB genomförts, analyserats tillsammans med förförståelsen och en modell har skapats. Under den sista sekvensen har Sogeti Sverige AB intervjuats för att verifiera modellen.</p><p>Forskningsresultat</p><p>De olika sätten att anpassa ett ERP-system är configuration, bolt-ons, extended reporting, screen masks, workflow programming, user exits, ERP programming, interface develop-ment, new software package och package code modification. Anpassningstyperna 1-8 och 10 påträffades i litteraturen medan new software package hittades i den empiriska studien.</p><p>Faktorerna som influerar valet av anpassning kommer från tre domäner: kunden, konsulten och systemet. Faktorerna från kunden är attitude towards customisation, costs, knowledge, process design, time och user needs. Attitude towards customisation, customisation possi-bility och knowledge kommer från konsultdomänen. Complexity, external software, functionality och maintenance kommer slutligen från systemdomänen. Alla faktorer är härledda från litteraturen, förutom knowledge från kunskapsdomänen kund som påträffades under empiristudien.</p><p>Några faktorer influerar valet av specifika anpassningstyper, medan andra influerar valet mellan lätta och tunga anpassningstyper. Det finns också faktorer som inte direkt influerar valet av anpassning. De är istället förutsättningar för anpassningstyperna. Detta leder till slutsatsen att anpassningstyperna inte kan ses isolerade; det är den kombinerade influensen från alla faktorer som bestämmer vilka anpassningstyper som kommer att väljas.</p>

Abstract Travel time reliability is defined as the consistency or dependability in travel times during a specified period of time under stated conditions, and it can be used for evaluating the performance of traffic networks based on LOS (Level of Service) of the HCM (Highway Capacity Manual). Travel time reliability is also one of the most understood measures for road users to perceive the current traffic conditions, and help them make smart decisions on route choices, and hence avoid unnecessary delays (Liu & Ma, 2009). Therefore, travel time reliability on urban arterials has become a major concern for daily commuters, business owners, urban transportation planners, traffic engineers, MPO (Metropolitan Planning Organization) members as congestion has grown substantially over the past thirty (30) years in urban areas of every size. Many studies have been conducted in the past on travel time reliability without a full analysis or explanation of the fundamental traffic and geometric components of the corridors. However, a generalized model which captures the different factors that influence travel time reliability such as posted speed, access density, arterial length, traffic conditions, signalized intersection spacing, roadway and intersection geometrics, and signal control settings is still lacking. Specially, there is a need that these factors be weighted according to their impacts. This dissertation by using a linear regression model has identified 10 factors that influence travel time reliability on urban arterials. The reliability is measured in term of travel time threshold, which represents the addition of the extra time (buffer or cushion time) to average travel time when most travelers are planning trips to ensure on-time arrival. "Reliable" segments are those on which travel time threshold is equal to or lowers than the sum of buffer time and average travel time. After validation many scenarios are developed to evaluate the influencing factors and determine appropriate travel times reliability. The linear regression model will help 1) evaluate strategies and tactics to satisfy the travel time reliability requirements of users of the roadway network--those engaged in person transport in urban areas 2) monitor the performance of road network 3) evaluate future options 4) provide guidance on transportation planning, roadway design, traffic design, and traffic operations features.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Pharmacy Practice))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Pharmacy Practice))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Hedge funds and China’s stock market: a study on factors influencing investment decisions by fund managersThe research was conducted using a web-based questionnaire sent to all Asia-related hedge funds, worldwide. Analysis of the collected data revealed that the factors influencing the portfolio investments made in China by fund managers differed from the factors which influence investment in global and emerging markets. While market conditions, market timing and changes in earning estimates are the top three influencing factors on investment decisions on global stock exchanges, fund managers are more influenced by global trend, potential growth and company size when dealing with China’s stock market. Research results also support the hypotheses that there are relationships between size of fund, trading style and personal expertise of managers and the factors influencing investment decisions.The international hedge fund industry and China’s stock market are two fast-growing entities of global capital markets. Stronger interaction between these two institutions in the future would create important implications for the financial world. The objective of this research is to identify factors that influence investment decisions by hedge fund managers in relation to China’s stock market.The following implications can be extracted from this research:(1) If China’s stock market is classified within the Emerging Markets Index, adjustments are necessary and provision should be made reflecting investor criteria for China.(2) Global trends and the potential growth of China were the two most attractive factors influencing investment decisions, suggesting a ‘herding’ tendency and ‘attention-grabbing’ bias of hedge fund managers.(3) Company evaluation remains important to hedge fund managers, suggesting that Chinese government regulators should implement reforms to improve quality of listed firms.(4) Gaps in the research on China’s stock market as well as the outcomes of this research indicate that further studies on the international hedge fund industry and China’s stock market could reveal new perspectives and enhancements to the current body of knowledge on these subjects. This thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the research context and research justification. The research problem and questions are identified, and the theoretical framework and hypotheses are constructed. Chapter 2 presents an overview of the hedge fund industry and China’s stock market. Chapter 3 examines the literature: factors that influence investment decisions in global, emerging markets and in particular, China’s stock market. A framework of an 8-step decision-making process was developed. Chapter 4 researches alternative methodologies and presents a justification for the selection of the research methodology. Chapter 5 summarises the results of the data analysis and interpretation. Chapter 6 discusses the conclusions, implications, contributions and limitations of the research. Recommendations for further research are also included.The outcomes of this research are expected to benefit all participants of the global financial industry, including institutional and individual investors; executives in banking, insurance and securities businesses; financiers of listed firms and multinational corporations; government regulators and independent research analysts. Other beneficiaries will be academics and the media.

Hedge funds and China’s stock market: a study on factors influencing investment decisions by fund managersThe research was conducted using a web-based questionnaire sent to all Asia-related hedge funds, worldwide. Analysis of the collected data revealed that the factors influencing the portfolio investments made in China by fund managers differed from the factors which influence investment in global and emerging markets. While market conditions, market timing and changes in earning estimates are the top three influencing factors on investment decisions on global stock exchanges, fund managers are more influenced by global trend, potential growth and company size when dealing with China’s stock market. Research results also support the hypotheses that there are relationships between size of fund, trading style and personal expertise of managers and the factors influencing investment decisions.The international hedge fund industry and China’s stock market are two fast-growing entities of global capital markets. Stronger interaction between these two institutions in the future would create important implications for the financial world. The objective of this research is to identify factors that influence investment decisions by hedge fund managers in relation to China’s stock market.The following implications can be extracted from this research:(1) If China’s stock market is classified within the Emerging Markets Index, adjustments are necessary and provision should be made reflecting investor criteria for China.(2) Global trends and the potential growth of China were the two most attractive factors influencing investment decisions, suggesting a ‘herding’ tendency and ‘attention-grabbing’ bias of hedge fund managers.(3) Company evaluation remains important to hedge fund managers, suggesting that Chinese government regulators should implement reforms to improve quality of listed firms.(4) Gaps in the research on China’s stock market as well as the outcomes of this research indicate that further studies on the international hedge fund industry and China’s stock market could reveal new perspectives and enhancements to the current body of knowledge on these subjects. This thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the research context and research justification. The research problem and questions are identified, and the theoretical framework and hypotheses are constructed. Chapter 2 presents an overview of the hedge fund industry and China’s stock market. Chapter 3 examines the literature: factors that influence investment decisions in global, emerging markets and in particular, China’s stock market. A framework of an 8-step decision-making process was developed. Chapter 4 researches alternative methodologies and presents a justification for the selection of the research methodology. Chapter 5 summarises the results of the data analysis and interpretation. Chapter 6 discusses the conclusions, implications, contributions and limitations of the research. Recommendations for further research are also included.The outcomes of this research are expected to benefit all participants of the global financial industry, including institutional and individual investors; executives in banking, insurance and securities businesses; financiers of listed firms and multinational corporations; government regulators and independent research analysts. Other beneficiaries will be academics and the media.