The purpose of this thesis is to analyze differences between IPOs with integer (e.g. $20,00) and non-integer (e.g. $20,32) offer prices on the post-decimalization US market. Research on IPOs suggests that there are viable differences between, and valuable information within, integer and non-integer prices. However, proposed effects on the information content of prices as a result of decimalization on US markets in 2001 motivates more up-to-date research on the subject. Our findings show that, while integer IPOs have higher initial return, uncertainty and offer price levels, there is no proof of different information content conveyed within integer and non-integer prices on the post-decimalization market. Consequently, suggesting that neither integer or non-integer prices provide valuable information to market participants, and in extension that decimalization may have influenced the IPO market. / Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att analysera skillnader mellan börsnoteringar med teckningskurser formulerade i heltal (t.ex. $20,00) och icke-heltal (t.ex. $20,32) efter decimaliseringen på den amerikanska marknaden. Tidigare studier har funnit stor skillnad mellan, och värdefull information inom, heltals- och icke-heltalskurser. Efter decimaliseringen på den amerikanska marknaden 2001 har studier dock funnit att prisers informationsinnehåll kan ha förändrats, vilket motiverar mer aktuell forskning inom ämnet. Våra resultat visar att även om börsnoteringar med heltals-kurser har högre initial avkastning, osäkerhet och teckningskursnivå, finns det inga tecken på att det är någon skillnad i informationsinnehåll mellan heltals- och icke-heltalskurser på den amerikanska marknaden efter decimaliseringen. Våra resultat antyder att det inte finns någon värdefull information för marknadsaktörer i huruvida en börsnoterings teckningskurs är formulerad i heltal eller icke-heltal, och i förlängningen att decimaliseringen kan ha påverkat marknaden för börsnoteringar.

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Tidigare antaganden om att flertalet valmöjligheter generellt sätt är överlägset färre är ifrågasatt, och effekter som informations- och valöverflöd är numera välstuderade fenomen. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka vilka effekter som informations- och valöverflöd har på individuella investerare som handlar på de två svenska aktiemarknaderna Nasdaq OMX Stockholm och First North. Överflödet kännetecknas av att individer har begränsade möjligheter att hantera mycket information, vilket gör att beslutsfattningsförmågan försämras. Underprissättning av bolag som börsnoteras föranleder traditionellt sett hög initial avkastning första dagen, då aktiviteten och optimismen från individuella investerare på börsen är stor. När flera företag introduceras under en vecka på OMX Stockholm eller First North undanröjs underprissättningstrender då effekter av överflöd blir påtagliga för individer, som blir passiva. I enlighet med teorierna indikerar resultaten att individer på OMX Stockholm upplever informations- och valöverflöd eftersom antal investerare liksom initial avkastning är betydligt lägre för bolag som noterats under veckor med två eller fler börsnoteringar. Trots att de deskriptiva resultaten för First North tyder på underprissättning, och generellt antyder samma effekter av överflöd som för OMX Stockholm, kunde denna studie inte säkerställa resultatet statistiskt. Resultaten på OMX Stockholm ger bland annat starka indikationer på att den initiala avkastningen kan förväntas vara lägre för bolag som introducerats under samma vecka som andra bolag.

In Initial Teacher Training (ITT), one of the technologies rapidly being adopted to support the development of trainee teachers is the e-portfolio. Research into successful use of e-portfolios beyond their function as a repository has been scanty to date. The purpose of the current study was to extend the boundaries of understanding of e-portfolios beyond this function. This was undertaken through two in-depth case studies where e-portfolios were used as a pedagogical tool intended to support the development of reflective practice on a one year postgraduate ITT course, during two years of investigation in one university A mixed-methods approach was adopted to capture the richness of participants’ self reports of their experiences, statistical data regarding interactions on the e-portfolios and analysis of reflective writing. Data were collected and analysed from questionnaires, student and tutor interviews and interactions with the e-portfolio together with analysis of the content of reflective e-journals, with a special emphasis on the place and depth of reflection. What emerged was a rich contextual understanding of e-portfolio use by trainee teachers and tutors and the problematic nature of conceptualising and assessing reflective thinking, together with the extent to which the development and depth of their reflective thinking had been supported by e-portfolio use. The results confirm previous concerns related to the training requirements of users and also the time needed for students and tutors to engage in interactions. Further they imply that the prerequisites of successful use of e-portfolios, as a pedagogical tool, to support the development of reflective thinking include common agreement about what constitutes reflection and reflective thinking embedded within a strong, rigorous and well theorised conceptualisation of course structure and content. Implied also is the need for a well understood and transparent framework to assess the depth of reflective thinking that should complement the competencies that underpin Standards, and support the professional development of teachers.

The primary focus of my PhD is to quantify the spatial distribution of star-forming environments from optical to radio wavelengths using data from the Hubble Space Telescope, the Very Large Telescope, the Spitzer Space Telescope, the Herschel Space Observatory, and the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory. Towards the end of my PhD study I have developed theoretical models. With these observational and theoretical avenues I have led a series of research projects to (1) quantify the initial spatial structure of pre-stellar cores and proto-stars, (2) test whether massive stars can form in isolation or not, (3) and develop a theoretical model on how young massive clusters form. These research projects have been fruitful as my collaborators and I have shown that pre-stellar cores and stars form in a smooth continuum of surface densities from a few to thousands of stars per pc^2. These two works have important implications on our understanding of what a young stellar cluster is and how star forming environments can evolve to form field star populations or gravitationally bound clusters. In my second study my collaborators and I found evidence for isolated massive star formation in the active star forming region 30 Doradus, in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The result impacts the field of the initial mass function and star formation models. Massive stars forming in isolation is consistent with a stochastically sampled initial mass function. Additionally, the result would put constraints on theoretical models on massive star formation. Continuing my work on massive star forming environments my collaborators and I have developed a theoretical model on how young massive clusters form. From the models we argue that feedback energies can be contained by the gravitational potential well of the massive progenitors. Furthermore, we predict the physical properties the massive cluster progenitors in terms of initial gas mass, radii and flux brightness to enable a search for these objects in Galactic plane surveys and upcoming telescopes. Using the common thread of spatial distribution analysis of star formation I describe my future research plans, which entails studies on extragalactic scales in the conclusion.

The need to empower student teachers with positive teacher-student relationships (TSRs) competencies resonates with the fact that students are not merely cognitive but also emotional and social beings. Indeed, the interactions of the cognitive, emotional and social dimensions work to impact on their learning and performance. The benefits for positive teacher-student relationships within and outside class contexts cannot be overemphasised. Students are hard-wired with the need to connect in relationships with their teachers. Teacher-student relationships determine students’ school engagement, their adaptation to developmental changes and their motivation to learn. Also, TSRs influence students’ discipline, stability to social adjustments, value orientation and their identity formation and development. Undeniably, the building of positive TSRs and teaching and learning processes are essentially mutually inclusive. To be able to form and sustain positive TSRs, student teachers need well-developed knowledge, beliefs, and self efficacy attributes. This comparative study of Tanzania and Germany argues that positive teacher student relationships form a critical requirement for effective teaching, learning, and holistic development of students in schools. To this end, the initial teacher education has a duty to nurture the TSRs attributes alongside other teacher competencies. Despite the acknowledgement of the necessity for positive TSRs by researchers, educators, and administrative authorities, literature provides no evidence of the contribution of the initial teacher education to the positive TSRs abilities. The existing studies on TSRs have focused mainly on TSRs in schools and on the problems related to unhealthy TSRs (Giles, 2008; Jones, 2009; Knoell, 2012; Raufelder et al., 2013; Sands, 2011; Wubbel et al., 1993) and others. This disjuncture between the reported problems faced by teachers in forming and sustaining positive TSRs and the opportunity for initial teacher education to empower student teachers for positive relational exchange frames this study. The study employed a combination of the conceptual change, self-efficacy, and goal contents theories. The utilisation of the theories was justified by the study assumptions that in order to produce teachers who are capable of handling positive TSRs in schools, the initial teacher education has to transform, orient, and reorient student teachers on the relational exchange knowledge. Secondly, apart from the pro-relational knowledge, student teachers ought to demonstrate improved self-efficacy as a yardstick of their preparedness and commitment to positive TSRs. Lastly, the study examined the implication of student teachers’ motivational reasons for joining teaching on their TSRs self efficacy. Motivational dynamics have been proven to influence teachers’ occupational satisfaction and their behaviours (Weiss & Kiel, 2013; Vansteenkiste & Ryan, 2013). Hence, the motivational reasons held by student teachers to join the teaching profession were viewed as an important construct which also may influence the student teachers’ self-efficacy for positive TSRs. This study sought to answer the following question: Does the university¬¬ based initial teacher education contribute to positive TSRs (competencies) among student teachers? To ascertain for this role, the study investigated and compared student teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, perceived self efficacy, as well as the approaches employed in this regard. The study was anchored on the Pragmatism epistemology and ontology. The study used qualitative and quantitative techniques to study two typical cases, namely; the Universities of Leipzig and Dar es Salaam, in Germany and Tanzania respectively. The study deployed both probabilistic and non-probabilistic sampling techniques to arrive at the sample size N=721 for student teachers; both final-year (n=548) and beginners (n=173) and eight (8) university teacher educators. Findings of the study show the presence of significant changes in the student teachers\' knowledge, beliefs, and perceived self-efficacy for positive TSRs. Comparatively, student teachers in Germany revealed higher levels of the TSRs knowledge and perceived self-efficacy than their Tanzanian counterparts. However, the qualitative findings revealed inadequacies in TSRs knowledge among the final-year student teachers in both countries. The beginner student teachers in Germany demonstrated higher command in positive TSRs knowledge and self efficacy than their Tanzanian counterparts. It was further unveiled that the student teachers’ knowledge had a significant association with their self-efficacy for positive TSRs. The approaches employed in promoting positive TSRs competencies include the teaching practice, educational courses and role modelling. However, these approaches were constrained by the strict focus given on academic performance, lack of clear orientation on the nature of positive TSRs, and overlook of important and potential aspects of initial teacher education. Despite having approaches to promoting positive TSRs abilities, teacher educators demonstrated varied and contradicting perspectives of what constitutes the nature and character of positive TSRs. The study considered contradicting perspectives among the hurdles to the effective orientation of the positive TSRs. Moreover, findings indicated that student teachers in Germany and Tanzania joined the teaching profession as a result of intrinsic and extrinsic motivational reasons. It was found out that the intrinsic motivation reasons were more important among German student teachers. Conversely, extrinsic motivational reasons were relatively more important among student teachers in Tanzania. The analysis of motivational reasons indicated a strong positive association (Cramer’s V .175) between intrinsic motivational reasons and perceived self-efficacy for positive TSRs. The study concludes that although positive TSRs feature in the initial teacher education, its implementation has suffered inconsistency, underrepresentation, and misinterpretation by teacher educators and student teachers. The study recommends for an integration of a compulsory positive TSRs content or module to address for depth, breadth and evaluative treatment of the competencies (the proposed framework of integration has been suggested). Moreover, the study recommends for the redefinition and reaffirmation of the positive TSRs phenomenon in the theoretical and practical aspects of the university based initial teacher education.

Eighteen subjects each performed fifty-five trials which consisted of assuming an initial stance and then in response to a visual stimulus running to either the left or right. For each trial both the foot width spacing and orientation of the feet were varied. Direct and indirect measurements were taken of selected temporal and kinematic parameters. The conclusions were that no interactions or differences exist among foot width spacing, foot orientation, and direction of movement; the jab step start is the preferred initial movement; the preferred foot width spacing is 46.6 centimeters; the preferred angular orientation of both feet is approximately 1.36 radians.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by CNS inflammation and axonal demyelination. In addition, axonal pathology has also been reported in MS and may be responsible for the functional deficits associated with this disease. Based on preliminary data from our laboratory, we propose that a specific domain of the neuron, known as the axon initial segment (AIS), is targeted in MS. Consistent with our work from the human tissue, we have also observed disruption of AIS integrity in a murine CNS inflammatory model and observations strongly implicate reactive microglia as mediators of AIS disruption. In contrast, a murine model of demyelination did not exhibit AIS pathology but reactive microglia were prevalent. Since we propose that reactive microglia drive AIS disruption in our inflammatory CNS model but observe no AIS pathology following demyelination even in the presence of reactive microglia, we propose that reactive microglia in these models exhibit different interactions and molecular profiles. To test this hypothesis, we employed immunofluorescence labeling combined with confocal microscopy to quantify microglia reactivity and microglia-AIS interaction. Additionally, we conducted a microarray using RNA isolated from microglia from both the inflammatory and demyelinating models. Our findings show that microglia are reactive prior to pathology in both models and that the extent of AIS-microglial contact is similar between the models but significantly increased as compared to naïve mice. Our microarray data reveal a substantial difference in gene expression indicating functional differences between the reactive microglia in the inflammatory and demyelinating models. Finally, following functional enrichment analysis of microarray data, the complement pathway emerged as a potential contributor to the AIS pathology observed in EAE.

The thesis aims to apply the theoretical approach of IPOs and financial services firm valuation on the Czech subsidiary of KBC: ČSOB. The theoretical part reviews the process of IPO with typical features of IPOs, and the pricing of IPO is discussed with the focus on theory of banks valuation. The empirical part of the thesis provides a financial analysis of the ČSOB, business plan and the valuation of the bank as of 30 September 2010 with the price of the actual IPO. This part aims at practical application of the theory of IPO and valuation. Al in all, the aim of the thesis is to apply theoretical knowledge of the IPOs on the practical case of ČSOB. Various analyses such as of KBC, ČSOB, Czech banking market, development of IPOs in CEE are used in order to apply and determine the reasons for the IPO, its timing, price and potential structure of investors.

The aim of this study is to present venture creation as an alternative form of alleviating poverty and contributing positively to the economic growth of every African government. This study draws to the attention of policy-makers, the importance of venture creation in emerging economies. The author goes on further to highlights the challenges with the current models used for financing/funding new ventures, in an emerging African economy. The objective of this paper is to also highlight what needs to be done by policy-makers, to create a thriving economic environment for emerging entrepreneurs. This study seeks to highlight some of the prospects, as well as some of the impediments, experienced by the venture capital industry and start-up enterprises. The environment in which the creation of new ventures operates under in emerging African markets is reviewed, and the exit of those enterprises when they mature and graduate from a small, private company, to a publicly held company - through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) process, is examined. The benefits of exiting these ventures through an IPO, versus the more aptly applied private placement exit method, are also discussed. The impact that the behaviour and psychology of investing have on the investment trends in African economies is also discussed. The author used the qualitative research methodology to achieve the results presented in this paper. The outcomes of the study are outlined in chapter four of this paper. The respondents to the survey indicated the importance of the venture capital sector and the critical role that policy makers should be playing. There were no clear responses around the human behaviour in determining the suitable exit platform. What came out clearly in this study; was that each region in the African economy will use a different exit platform driven mainly by the economic environment. The author goes on further to conclude on the outcomes of the study and suggest further research on the topic on venture capital and initial public offerings. The participants who responded to the survey agreed with the literature reviewed, in particular around the adequate form of financing for starting up new enterprises.