The pricing of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) is an area of interest to practitioners and academics alike given the empirical regularity of investors in IPOs making very large first day returns. These first day returns are as a result of share underpricing. Academics have explained the underpricing phenomenon in terms of ex ante uncertainty, namely the risk of pricing, off take and issuing of such shares. In an attempt to predict the degree of the phenomenon much work has been done in linking underpricing to company, issue and market related factors that are known prior to the listing (ex ante as opposed to ex post information). In the case of junior mining companies, underpricing is exacerbated by a lack of financial information making these issues difficult to value since such unseasoned companies have no past earnings history on which to base predictions of future earnings. Given this context, this study identified relevant factors from secondary sources which could be used to proxy the level of ex ante uncertainty and therefore correlate with the degree of underpricing. The analysis firstly sought to ensure that underpricing exists for the issues, market and time period of interest. Secondly the presence of a “hot issue” period (Ritter, 1984), which is exclusive to the natural resources sector, was investigated. Finally the relationship between underpricing and the relevant factors was explored using hypothesis testing about means and regression analysis. It was found that underpricing does indeed exist for junior mining listings on the Toronto Venture Exchange (TSX-V) between 2005-2007. This said no evidence of the “hot issue” period could be found. In terms of linking company, issue and market related factors to the degree of underpricing this study failed to identify any significant predictors. It is argued that junior mining listings on the TSX-V may be a special case since some of these factors have successfully been used, by other researchers, to predict the degree of underpricing of mining IPOs. The fact that junior mining IPO’s listed on the TSX-V show a constant degree of underpricing over time implies that investors do not build market specific factors (market sentiment and commodity price) into the listing price. Rather investors seem to demand a constant degree of underpricing regardless of the market situation to compensate them for the “unknown” exploration risk. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

The purpose of the present study was two-fold: (1) to investigate various degrees of counselor-offered empathy in initial interviews, in order to determine whether consistently high levels of counselor-- offered empathy in the initial therapy interview causes high levels of client anxiety, and (2) to determine whether increased client anxiety or the levels of counselor-offered empathy that the client receives in the initial counseling interview affects the client's likelihood to continue in counseling following one session. To accomplish the purpose of the study 27 high-anxiety and 27 low-anxiety undergraduate, incentive volunteers were seen in an initial counseling session by one of three psychology, graduate-student counselors. During the interview the counselor offered the clients one of three predetermined levels of empathy (high, medium, or low). The subject's state-anxiety level was measured prior to the interview and during the interview by two paper and pencil, self-report measures, and also by heart rate. The likelihood to continue in counseling following the initial interview was also measured by a specially designed questionnaire. Results revealed that there were no differences between the anxiety scores of the subjects receiving high, medium, or low counselor-offered empathy. No relationship was found to exist between the subjects' anxiety scores and their choice to terminate or continue counseling after the initial interview. However, an interaction effect upon the subjects' likelihood to continue in counseling was found to exist between their trait anxiety level and the level of counselor-offered empathy which they received.

The effects of tokens as reinforcers on IQ test performance was investigated in 45 preschool Head Start children. There were 63 children assessed using the Slosson Intelligence Test for Children (SIT), and based upon these scores, were divided into three IQ groups: low, average and high. There were 15 children randomly selected from each group and within each of these groups, subjects were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: Control (C) , Pretest experimental (E1), and no pretest experimental (E 2). The C and E1 groups were administered the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), Form A, according to standardized procedures. Three weeks later all groups were assessed using the PPVT, Form B, with a token being contingent on correct responses. Three weeks later all children were assessed with a standardized administration of the PPVT, Form A. Results showed that tokens given contingent upon each correct response increased the IQ scores for the initially low IQ subjects, but had no significant effect on the scores of the average and high IQ subjects. The increase in the IQ scores of the low IQ subjects was stable over time. The effectiveness of the reinforcer was empirically demonstrated.

This study investigated the long-run investment performance of 411 South African IPOs during the period 1992 to 2007. Consistent with historical studies, no evidence of abnormal performance was found on a calendar-time approach using the Fama- French (1993) three-factor model. While the long-run performance did not differ materially, factors such as financial and industrial industry classifications were found to impact after-market performance of IPO portfolios. It was found that large new company issuances within the Financials and Industrials categories produced abnormal returns, but on a collective basis there was no evidence of abnormal performance. In particular, a positive relationship was found to exist between book-tomarket ratios and IPO performance in the financial and industrial sectors, but there was scant evidence on a collective basis. Market conditions were found to have an impact on IPO performance. In periods of market buoyancy, IPOs performed well and in periods of market distress, IPOs‟ performance suffered. The implications of this study are that investors, in making decisions on whether or not to invest in new issues, should not expect to make superior returns to the market over a five-year period by investing in IPOs. IPO performance after the five-year period was not part of the scope for this study and may form the basis for future studies. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

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京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第24788号 / 医博第4980号 / 新制||医||1066(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 伊達 洋至, 教授 松田 道行, 教授 後藤 慎平 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

No / Initial ranging is the primary and important process in wireless networks for the customer premise equipments (CPEs) to access the network and establish their connections with the base station. Contention may occur during the initial ranging process. To avoid contention, the mandatory solution defined in the standards is based on a truncated binary exponential random backoff (TBERB) algorithm with a fixed initial contention window size. However, the TBERB algorithm does not take into account the possibility that the number of contended CPEs may change dynamically over time, leading to a dynamically changing collision probability. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to address this issue. There are three major contributions presented in this paper. First, a comprehensive analysis of initial ranging mechanisms in wireless networks is provided and initial ranging request success probability is derived based on number of contending CPEs and the initial contention window size. Second, the average ranging success delay is derived for the maximum backoff stages. It is found that the collision probability is highly dependent on the size of the initial contention window and the number of contending CPEs. To achieve the higher success probability or to reduce the collision probability among CPEs, the BS needs to adjust the initial contention window size. To keep the collision probability at a specific value for the particular number of contending CPEs, it is necessary for the BS to schedule the required size of the initial contention window to facilitate the maximum number of CPEs to establish their connections with reasonable delay. In our third contribution, the initial window size is optimized to provide the least upper bound that meets the collision probability constraint for a particular number of contending CPEs. The numerical results validate our analysis.

<p> This thesis consists of studies carried out on the Nickel-Cobalt alloy system. The surface segregation behaviour has been studied over the range of composition from 14 to 90 atomic percent Nickel using Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES). An analysis procedure has been developed that is based on computer simulation of observed spectra using pure metal standard spectra and has resulted in excellent matches. Nickel has been observed to segregate over the entire range of compositions studied and the driving force for segregation has been investigated by monitoring the equilibrium surface composition over a range of temperatures from 813 to 1100 K. The enthalpy and entropy of segregation has been determined on single grains of orientations (111) and (210) in a sample of composition 56.0 atomic percent Nickel as well as on the (111), (100) and (110) faces of a 50.0 atomic percent Nickel single crystal.</p> <p> The initial stage of oxidation has also been studied here using Scanning Auger Mapping and digital image processing. The initial stage of oxidation carried out in-situ has been shown to proceed via an island nucleation and growth mechanism which has been confirmed by imaging islands based on the oxygen Auger signal. A preliminary study of the effects of temperature and pressure on the island growth stage of oxidation has been completed and results are reported.</p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Numerous women embark on migration journeys, driven by aspirations to secure enhanced opportunities for themselves and their families. However, they often encounter significant impediments due to intersecting systems of oppression related to gender, race, immigration status, and other social dimensions. This study aims to elucidate the experiences of immigrant women during their initial settlement period. Employing Community-Based Participatory Research and Arts-Based Research approaches, the research used the photovoice method, with collages and storytelling, to explore the experiences of twenty immigrant women. Grounded in an intersectional feminist framework, this thesis presents findings based on visual and narrative data gathered from a creative empowerment program at Newcomer Women Services Toronto. Three predominant themes emerged: (1) pre-migration expectations and post-migration realities, (2) welcome and reception of settlement support, and (3) barriers experienced during initial settlement. The study offers a detailed examination of a range of experiences, both positive and adversarial, that immigrant women navigate throughout their migration journey. The research implications include recognizing the holistic needs of newcomers and providing a comprehensive support system to foster a more inclusive and equitable experience. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

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