SEB Merchant Banking provides to its institutional customers a true market neutral product called Dynamic Manager Alpha (DMA). The DMA is constructed by a long position in an exceptionally well performing mutual fund and a beta adjusted short position in an appropriate index. The key to making the product market neutral is adjusting with the correct beta, since the beta changes, it is very important to have a good model for predicting beta in the future. This master thesis begins with describing what beta is in a CAPM sense. It then continues with recognizing the so called “Two Beta Trap”, which separates two kinds of beta. The first is in CAPM sense, with a market portfolio represented by the whole market. The second is a “best fit” beta where the market portfolio is the index which explains as much as possible of the fund returns. It is this second way of calculating beta that is used in this thesis and therefore beta can be viewed upon like a hedgeratio. The purpose of this thesis is to predict the future beta for mutual funds with as high accuracy as possible. The starting point has been historic OLS (Ordinary Least Squares) estimation of beta. From earlier studies and own studies in this thesis a lot of different techniques for predicting beta has been tested. For example the eriodicity in the returns, the interval length, different regression methods as LAD (Least Absolute Deviation) and IRLS (Iteratively Reweighted Least Squares). Also different adjustments to beta have been tested for better catching the momentum in beta and general mean reverting tendencies. The results of the studies show that when possible, returns calculated with daily compounding is not favorable. For daily but especially weekly returns, LAD and IRLS are superior to OLS in predicting beta. Adjusting techniques have a positive effect in predicting beta, especially for weekly returns. Monthly returns seem to be most stable and have the smallest prediction errors, but with the right model and adjustment, betas with weekly returns have almost as good characteristics. Since the prediction model needs to have a fast response to market changes, returns calculated with short compounding is favorable. It is therefore very encouraging that the results from this thesis have showed great improvements in prediction of beta for returns calculated with weekly compounding.

<p>SEB Merchant Banking provides to its institutional customers a true market neutral product called Dynamic Manager Alpha (DMA). The DMA is constructed by a long position in an exceptionally well performing mutual fund and a beta adjusted short position in an appropriate index. The key to making the product market neutral is adjusting with the correct beta, since the beta changes, it is very important to have a good model for predicting beta in the future.</p><p>This master thesis begins with describing what beta is in a CAPM sense. It then continues with recognizing the so called “Two Beta Trap”, which separates two kinds of beta. The first is in CAPM sense, with a market portfolio represented by the whole market. The second is a “best fit” beta where the market portfolio is the index which explains as much as possible of the fund returns. It is this second way of calculating beta that is used in this thesis and therefore beta can be viewed upon like a hedgeratio.</p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to predict the future beta for mutual funds with as high accuracy as possible. The starting point has been historic OLS (Ordinary Least Squares) estimation of beta. From earlier studies and own studies in this thesis a lot of different techniques for predicting beta has been tested. For example the eriodicity in the returns, the interval length, different regression methods as LAD (Least Absolute Deviation) and IRLS (Iteratively Reweighted Least Squares). Also different adjustments to beta have been tested for better catching the momentum in beta and general mean reverting tendencies.</p><p>The results of the studies show that when possible, returns calculated with daily compounding is not favorable. For daily but especially weekly returns, LAD and IRLS are superior to OLS in predicting beta. Adjusting techniques have a positive effect in predicting beta, especially for weekly returns. Monthly returns seem to be most stable and have the smallest prediction errors, but with the right model and adjustment, betas with weekly returns have almost as good characteristics. Since the prediction model needs to have a fast response to market changes, returns calculated with short compounding is favorable. It is therefore very encouraging that the results from this thesis have showed great improvements in prediction of beta for returns calculated with weekly compounding.</p>

This research develops an equipment failure prognostics model to predict the equipment’s chance of survival, using LAD. LAD benefits from not relying on any statistical theory, which enables it to overcome the problems concerning the statistical properties of the datasets. Its main advantage is its straightforward process and self-explanatory results. Herein, our main objective is to develop models to calculate equipment’s survival probability at a certain future moment, using LAD. We employ the LAD’s pattern generation procedure. Then, we introduce a guideline to employ generated patterns to estimate the equipment’s survival probability. The models are applied on a condition monitoring dataset. Performance analysis reveals that they provide comprehensible results that are greatly beneficial to maintenance practitioners. Results are compared with PHM’s results. The comparison reveals that the LAD models compare favorably to the PHM. Since they are at their beginning phase, some future directions are presented to improve their performances.

Background/Objective: Reperfusion injury is a serious consequence of blood flow reestablishment after myocardial infarction (MI) mediated by reactive oxygen species and neutrophilic cellular damage. Following MI, the left ventricle (LV) undergoes remodeling characterized by progressive wall thinning and cavity dilatation. Heme-Oxygenase-1 (HO-1) dependent decrease in oxidative stress may attenuate injury in part by inhibiting transcription factor NFκB-mediated inflammation. Hypothesis: I hypothesized that upregulation of HO-1 by hemin administration confers acute and chronic cardioprotection against I/R injury in rats and attenuates LV remodeling post-MI. I proposed the HO-1-dependent decrease in oxidative stress attenuates post-ischemic myocardial injury in part by inhibiting NFκB-mediated inflammation. Methods: Six week old male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to sham, vehicle, or hemin-treated groups. Vehicle and hemin were administered intraperitoneally once daily for 3 consecutive days prior to left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery occlusion. Administration resumed 48 hours post-operatively and continued once every 3 days. Infarct size was determined by H&E histological analysis and fibrosis was quantified by Masson’s Trichrome staining. Transthoracic echocardiography was used to assess LV parameters and wall motion. Results: Hemin increased HO-1 expression, decreased infarct size and fibrosis, and attenuated LV remodeling in the short-term (4 days post-infarction). The decrease in infarct size and area of fibrosis in the hemin group was accompanied by a decrease in NFκB activity. No significant difference in infarct size and area of fibrosis between hemin and vehicle-treated groups was observed at 3 months. LV diameter and cardiac function did not differ significantly between the two groups at 3 months despite an attenuation of anterior wall thinning in the hemin group. Conclusion: HO-1 upregulation by hemin administration conferred acute cardioprotection and attenuated LV remodeling, possibly by inhibiting NFκB-mediated inflammation. However, chronic treatment with hemin did not prevent long-term post-infarction LV remodeling. It is possible that cardioprotection afforded by HO-1 upregulation is strong enough to curtail inflammation post-reperfusion and prevent LV remodeling acutely, but is not robust enough to protect the myocardium to the same degree in the long-term. Future research should focus on optimal HO-1 upregulation to attenuate long-term LV remodeling due to reperfusion injury. / Thesis (Master, Physiology) -- Queen's University, 2007-09-25 19:01:33.87

Genom denna studie har vi för avsikt att få en större förståelse kring gestaltningen av maskulinitet. Detta kommer vi att uppnå genom att analysera samtida medierepresentationer av män, i form av tv-serien Boys. Syftet med studien blir således att undersöka hur maskulinitet gestaltas i Boys. De teoretiska begrepp som kommer användas i studien är hegemonisk maskulinitet och homme-com, där vi med hjälp av en tematisk analys kommer studera fyra avsnitt från serien. Den tematiska analysens fria karaktär i det att den tillåter forskaren att använda olika teoretiska ramverk var en bidragande orsak till valet av metod. Analysen har varit driven av en induktiv karaktär då vi förvisso har med teman som kommer från våra frågeställningar men vi har även med andra teman som fått vår uppmärksamhet under analysens gång. I serien Boys uttrycks en intimitet och känslomässig relation mellan karaktärerna, där vi kan se en mansroll under förändring. Det är inte så enkelt som att säga att det finns en hegemonisk maskulinitet i tv-serien Boys. Det finns snarare flera olika nyanser av maskulinitet representerade i serien. Vissa av dem uppmuntrar utåt sett jämställdhet, men reproducerar emellertid ändå patriarkala ideologier, om än omedvetet. Detta trots deras intention att motarbeta dessa krafter. Därför landar en av de viktigaste slutsatserna kring serien i att hegemonisk maskulinitet är ett mer komplext begrepp än vad som tidigare diskuterats. Det finns därför ett behov av att forska vidare kring ämnet för att kunna slå fast exempelvis vad som egentligen utgör en hegemonisk maskulinitet.

Masters thesis deals with the SIMATIC, which is the process control system from Siemens. Simatic belongs to the group of so-called programmable logic controllers (English Programmable Logic Controller). It is a microcomputer that processes the instructions in real time. I have designed a control algorithm and HMI visualization in my Masterś thesis. Moreover,my attention is focused on PLC S7 - 300. The S7-313C is used for implementations. The proposed solution has been tested and operated in real conditions

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This thesis surveys all the found British settings of A. E. Housman's A Shropshire Lad (1896) but concentrates on the period after 1940, which, the author believes, has not previously received critical attention. A new study is timely especially because of a renewed interest among composers in the poet's highly influential lyric collection. The author found about 110 British composers with about 340 settings of individual poems not listed in previous Shropshire Lad catalogues. This number adds more than fifty per cent to the known repertoire. The search was not restricted to art song; it found, in addition, multi-voice settings, settings in popular styles and non-vocal music. Largely because of the work of broadly trained musicians, there is now a much wider range of medium, style and compositional technique applied to A Shropshire Lad. There are also new ways in which words and music relate. Different catalogues in the thesis list settings according to period, genre, poem and composer. The author hopes to broaden the British canon of Shropshire Lad music, which, despite recent commissions and competitions, is still mostly limited to the major composers of the English musical renaissance (the early decades of the twentieth century). Accordingly, the catalogues let performers know how to obtain the settings. In preliminary chapters, the thesis attempts a literary examination of A Shropshire Lad and reviews the already-researched pre-Second World War settings. It then divides the post-1940 period into two parts–a Decline (to c.1980) and a Renewal (since c.1980)–and surveys them. The compositions of this period are placed in three tonal-stylistic streams of development: a mainstream tonal with ultraconservative and atonal tributaries. Then follow detailed literary-musical analyses of post-1940 songs, song cycles, collaborative sets, and multi-voice settings. A final summary draws together the conclusions of the individual chapters, summarizes and evaluates the achievement of the post-1940 composers, and suggests how further research might be carried out. / Art History, Visucal Arts & Music / D. Litt. et Phil. (Musicology)

This thesis consists of a novel, eighteenth, and an exegesis, The ‘Lad Lit’ Dilemma: Institutional influences on creative writing practice. It will address my research question; how did institutional factors surrounding the publishing category of Lad Lit influence my creative practice in drafting and re-drafting the novel eighteenth? eighteenth is the story of Will Swift, a seventeen year-old Brisbane university student. Will is part of a close group of friends from high school. When he falls for Kate, family friend of his mate Simon, his first semester of study becomes more complicated than he might have expected. Will’s movement through these issues and character development is represented symbolically through four eighteenth birthday parties. The project’s exegesis then analyses the changing nature of the publishing industry in the last twenty years, and the implications of these changes for creative writers. Together, the two elements of this practice-led research will articulate the shift in the balance between the cultural and commercial imperatives of publishers, explain the impact of this shift for the publishing category of Lad Lit, and explore the ramifications of this for creative writing practitioners.

This thesis surveys all the found British settings of A. E. Housman's A Shropshire Lad (1896) but concentrates on the period after 1940, which, the author believes, has not previously received critical attention. A new study is timely especially because of a renewed interest among composers in the poet's highly influential lyric collection. The author found about 110 British composers with about 340 settings of individual poems not listed in previous Shropshire Lad catalogues. This number adds more than fifty per cent to the known repertoire. The search was not restricted to art song; it found, in addition, multi-voice settings, settings in popular styles and non-vocal music. Largely because of the work of broadly trained musicians, there is now a much wider range of medium, style and compositional technique applied to A Shropshire Lad. There are also new ways in which words and music relate. Different catalogues in the thesis list settings according to period, genre, poem and composer. The author hopes to broaden the British canon of Shropshire Lad music, which, despite recent commissions and competitions, is still mostly limited to the major composers of the English musical renaissance (the early decades of the twentieth century). Accordingly, the catalogues let performers know how to obtain the settings. In preliminary chapters, the thesis attempts a literary examination of A Shropshire Lad and reviews the already-researched pre-Second World War settings. It then divides the post-1940 period into two parts–a Decline (to c.1980) and a Renewal (since c.1980)–and surveys them. The compositions of this period are placed in three tonal-stylistic streams of development: a mainstream tonal with ultraconservative and atonal tributaries. Then follow detailed literary-musical analyses of post-1940 songs, song cycles, collaborative sets, and multi-voice settings. A final summary draws together the conclusions of the individual chapters, summarizes and evaluates the achievement of the post-1940 composers, and suggests how further research might be carried out. / Art History, Visucal Arts and Music / D. Litt. et Phil. (Musicology)