No description available.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how e-business might be integrated into a strategical framework. The strategical framework was based on the Nilsson and Rapp (2005) strategical framework, and e-business strategies were mainly based on customer relationship management strategies that are used in e-commerce companies. We selected Gröndals Apotek, Nu3 and Apotek Hjärtat as our sample, semi-structured interviews as our method and we found that given the external factors in the business environment, retaining and extending online marketing strategies could be integrated into the corporate strategy without taking into consideration of the firm-size. In addition, we found that e-business acquisition strategies such as SEM and blogs were more useful for different firm-sizes in order to create strategic congruence of integrating e-business into the corporate strategy. Lastly, online customer service and pricing were two features that could be appropriate features in the integrated online marketing strategies that aim’s in displaying the competitive advantage.

It is a conventional wisdom that since the start of the Chinese economic reform in 1978, the domestic saving structure in China has changed significantly. Previous studies of household saving in China (for example: Qian, 1988, Feltenstein et al, 1990, and Wakabayashi and Mackellar, 1999) have usually relied upon the Keynesian absolute-income hypothesis, Duesenberry’s relative-income hypothesis, and Friedman’s permanent-income hypothesis. This thesis uses the Modigliani-Brumberg life-cycle hypothesis to examine the determinants of household saving behavior in the Peoples’ Republic of China during the period 1978 to 2003. The research uses modern cointegration techniques to examine the impact on saving rates of economic growth, age dependency, wealth, the real interest rate, social security payments and unemployment (as a proxy for income uncertainty). Autoregressive distributed lag models are constructed and tested. The results find that economic growth, the real interest rate and social security payments have the expected effect with significant parameters; age dependency has the expected sign but in one model is not statistically significant; and that unemployment is not significant. The most surprising result is that increases in household wealth are associated with increased saving rates, which may help explain very high economic growth rates in China post 1978.

Orientador: Flavio Alessandro Serrão Gonçalves / Resumo: A estimação do tempo de vida útil de um transformador de potência pode viabilizar a melhoria do uso do ativo, bem como do planejamento quanto a sua confiabilidade frente ao seu impacto no sistema elétrico de potência por falhas. Neste contexto este trabalho realiza uma análise das principais metodologias de avaliação para ciclos de vida útil de transformadores de potência. As análises utilizam dados de medição de grandezas elétricas, medições de temperatura, além das quantificações dos elementos químicos e físicos presentes nos isolantes líquidos dos transformadores. O desenvolvimento concentra-se no estudo e reprodução de 2 metodologias, a primeira embasada na avaliação de um indexador de saúde dos transformadores e uma segunda metodologia que utiliza uma análise combinatória de indexador de saúde com posterior tratamento estatístico, para as reproduções das metodologias foram utilizados dados de operação, manutenções preventivas e corretivas referentes ao parque instalado de 290 transformadores em operação, com potências nominais entre 12,5 MVA e 50 MVA e com tensões em seu enrolamento de alta tensão de 69 kV e 138 kV, de uma distribuidora de energia. Posteriormente à reprodução dos modelos de forma massiva, foram avaliadas as suas respostas quanto aos dados e realizadas análises críticas do desempenho das máquinas frente as metodologias utilizadas. / The estimation of the useful life of a power transformer can enable the improvement of the asset’s use, as well as the planning of its reliability in relation to its impact on the power system due to fails. In this context this work performs an analysis of the main evaluation methodologies for power transformer life cycles. The analysis uses electrical measurement data, temperature measurements, as well as quantification of chemical and physical elements present in the liquid insulation of the transformers. The development focuses on the study and reproduction of two methodologies, the first one based on the evaluation of a health index of the transformers a second methodology that uses a combinatorial analysis of health index subsequent reprocessing of the methodologies, operation data, preventive and corrective maintenance were used for 290 installed transformers, with rated power between 12.5 MVA and 50 MVA and with voltages in its high voltage winding of 69 kV and 138 kV from an energy distributor. After the application of the models in a massive way, their answers results were evaluated and critical analysis of the performance of the machines were carried out against the methodologies used. / Mestre

Digital preservation is a relatively new subject to Swedish archives. Alhough computers have been used for a long time, preservation has been made on paper and stored on shelves. These days a lot of cities in Sweden have investigated how to best secure the digital information for the future through electronic archiving, e-archives. One option is to hand in the information as soon as possible, but to let the producer keep the information ownership yet some time. The idea is to let the producers of the information answer questions and hand out material, since they are more competent on their field. This thesis analyzes how five different cities have organized the submission of information. I have used archiving models and interviews. For comparison the cities creating their e-archives have been set against Stockholm. There archive has been up and running for some time. The conclusion is that the solution using a transfer archive could be useful, if the material has got a lot of secrecy and one needs specific knowledge to handle the questions. The theoretical framework has been the life cycle model versus the records continuum model. Swedish city archives embrace the continuum approach early in the creation of the information, but the archivists believe in the life cycle model where all long term preservation comes to the point where no further changes can be done, to protect the authenticity of the information. Two years master’s thesis in Archive, Library and Museum studies. Archival science.

The Third Chapter: The aim of this research is to study individual choices of precau- tionary saving and long-term care spending when an individual faces the uncertainty of after-retirement health shocks. To do this, an improved two-period life-cycle model is employed. This paper also explores how individual choice affects economic development and capital accumulation in an overlapping generation economy. The study shows that the rise in the possibility of getting after-retirement health shocks will result to an increase in long-term care expenditure and the level of precautionary saving. The steady state will also increase in this case. The Fourth Chapter: The increasing and intensifying long-term care (LTC) demand brings great financial pressures for both governments and individuals. From the public perspective, the underlying economic question is how adequate real resources can be re- distributed to support long-term care need and how efficient the policies targeting is. As many LTC policies are accessed through means tests, individuals saving behaviour can be affected. This paper examines and compares the welfare effects that different means- tested policies have on individuals. We did this by embedding life-cycle models with after-retirement health shocks. Means-tested policies of long-term care, one with a top- up choice, and one without, were then simulated. The results show that the means test regime with a top-up option can bring a higher social welfare. Under this scheme, a higher means test threshold can decrease societys dependency on a social benefit system and increase social welfare. The Fifth Chapter: Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance are the dis- ability cash benefits provided for people who are over 65 in the U.K. As the government plans to divert more public resource from these benefits to means-tested local care ser- vices, it is important to understand the effects and targeting of these cash benefits first. Using the survey data from English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, this study examines the relationship between the receipt of disability cash benefits and recipients’ character- istics among those who are over 65 in England. Although income is not a key factor to decide on the receipt of the benefits in the criteria, the results show that it still has a self- selection process where the benefits are given to those who are both most in need and on low incomes.

It is a conventional wisdom that since the start of the Chinese economic reform in 1978, the domestic saving structure in China has changed significantly. Previous studies of household saving in China (for example: Qian, 1988, Feltenstein et al, 1990, and Wakabayashi and Mackellar, 1999) have usually relied upon the Keynesian absolute-income hypothesis, Duesenberry's relative-income hypothesis, and Friedman's permanent-income hypothesis. This thesis uses the Modigliani-Brumberg life-cycle hypothesis to examine the determinants of household saving behavior in the Peoples' Republic of China during the period 1978 to 2003. The research uses modern cointegration techniques to examine the impact on saving rates of economic growth, age dependency, wealth, the real interest rate, social security payments and unemployment (as a proxy for income uncertainty). Autoregressive distributed lag models are constructed and tested. The results find that economic growth, the real interest rate and social security payments have the expected effect with significant parameters; age dependency has the expected sign but in one model is not statistically significant; and that unemployment is not significant. The most surprising result is that increases in household wealth are associated with increased saving rates, which may help explain very high economic growth rates in China post 1978.

This work analyzes the saving and consumption behavior of agents faced with the possibility of unemployment in a dynamic and stochastic life cycle model. The intertemporal optimization is based on Dynamic Programming with a backward recursion algorithm. The implemented uncertainty is not based on income shocks as it is done in traditional life cycle models but uses Markov probabilities where the probability for the next employment status of the agent depends on the current status. The utility function used is a CRRA function (constant relative risk aversion), combined with a CES function (constant elasticity of substitution) and has several consumption goods, a subsistence level, money and a bequest function. / Diese Arbeit modelliert das Spar- und Konsumverhalten von Individuen in Deutschland mit einem Lebenszyklusmodell. Dabei hat das Modell zwei Besonderheiten, erstens trifft die Möglichkeit arbeitslos zu werden nicht jeden Agenten des Models mit der gleichen Wahrscheinlichkeit, sondern wird von Bildungsabschluss und dem Beschäftigungsstatus des Agenten beeinflußt und zweitens weicht die verwendete Nutzenfunktion von den Standardnutzenfunktionen ab und implementiert Vererbung, Geld, verschiedene Güter und Subsistenzlevel. Der Optimierungsalgorithmus basiert auf Dynamischer Programmierung.

The scope of this dissertation is to investigate the impact of pension reform on the financial incentives to retire for private sector workers in Austria. How do financial incentives embedded in the Austrian pension system affect individual retirement behavior? Was pension reform effective in changing these financial incentives in order to affect retirement behavior? How would future reform scenarios impact retirement behavior? Micro-estimating the impact of financial incentive measures on the probability of retirement shows that the behavioral response to financial incentives in Austria is relatively large in international comparison. Simulations demonstrate that pension reform was ineffective in providing incentives for delayed retirement. However, there are future reform scenarios that would have a huge impact on retirement behavior by altering the financial incentives.

This dissertation consists of three essays. The first essay studies how health risk affects individuals' economic decisions due to changes in productivity, required medical expenditures, available time and survival probabilities implied by changes in health status. It assesses the role of these four channels in determining labour supply, asset accumulation and welfare using a life-cycle model calibrated to the U.S. economy. I find that all channels and the interactions between them have large implications for the macroeconomic variables studied. Health has larger effects for the non-college than college educated, explaining a significant fraction of the difference in labour supply, degree of reliance on government transfers and asset accumulation across education groups. Improving non-college health outcomes to approach those of college graduates results in large welfare gains, higher labour supply, and significantly lower reliance on government welfare programs. The second essay studies the evolution of wage inequality in the United States between 1980 and 2002 in a framework that accounts for changes in the employment of physical and cognitive skills and their returns. I find that within education-gender groups, average employed cognitive skills have remained constant, while average physical skills have declined. The returns to high levels of cognitive skills have increased dramatically, while returns to low levels of cognitive skills and physical skills have remained approximately constant. Skills account for approximately half of the increase in the college wage premium, and for a small but growing fraction of residual wage inequality. The final essay studies the sorting decisions of students with different levels of analytical and verbal skills into college fields of study. I build a model where each field tests and perfectly reveals to potential future employers only the students' skill that is intensively required in that field. Students' expected wages after graduation are a function of their revealed skill levels and firms' expectations of the unrevealed skills given the chosen field. I show how the size of each field and the average talent it attracts depend on the average skill levels, on skill dispersion and on the degree of correlation between skills in the student population.