In this thesis the maintenance scheduling optimization problem of a multi-component system is formulated as a multi-objective stochastic dynamic problem, which is solved by first transforming the multi-objective formulation into a single-objective one via the weighted-sum method, and then using an iterated two-stage stochastic linear programming approach to solve the stochastic problem. The main application is the maintenance of a commercial gas turbine aero-engine. The model determines optimal opportunistic replacement schedules considering both deterministic and stochastic engine configurations. The proposed methodology provides maintenance planners with a decision tool that simultaneously minimizes the expected total cost of providing the maintenance service, and the expected total number of service interruptions due to maintenance during a finite horizon. The analysis presented in this thesis considers the indentured configuration of a modular aero-engine and investigates the sensitivity of the solutions to variations in a number of critical parameters.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the occurrence of pre-merger accrual and real-based earnings management in UK mergers and acquisitions and to examine the effect of these practices on the firm's share performance around the announcement date of the bid. The sample consists of 225 UK public acquirers engaged successfully in merger and acquisition activities between 1990 and 2009. The findings of this study are consistent with those of Erickson and Wang (1999), Louis (2004), and Botsari and Meeks (2008) in providing significant evidence of upward pre-merger accrual-based earnings management by stock-financed acquirers. This study extends its analysis by comparing the magnitude of pre-merger accrual-based earnings management in pre- and post-Higgs periods. The results reveal that stock-financed acquirers in the post-Higgs period show a lower magnitude of pre-merger accrual-based earnings management than that in the pre-Higgs period. The study also examines real manipulation and I find that cash bidders engage in pre-merger real earnings manipulation through lower discretionary expenses, possibly to enhance cash availability for the bid. The results indicate that this is more prevalent in the post-Higgs era. The findings in this study confirm that the recommendations set out in Higgs Report play a crucial role in mitigating accrual-based earnings management activities for UK stock-financed bidders. However, no such evidence is found for real account manipulation. In examining the impact of both accrual and real manipulation on the share performance around the merger announcement date, I find that there is significant positive impact of the pre-merger accrual-based earnings management on the share's performance for UK stock-financed acquiring firms, but not for cash-financed ones. This positive relation is statistically significant for stock-financed acquirers before the Higgs Report period while it is insignificant in the post-Higgs era. I also find that, among the three real earnings management measures (abnormal cash flows from operations, abnormal production costs, and abnormal discretionary expenses), there is a significant positive relation between pre-merger abnormal discretionary expenses and share performance for stock acquirers only. On the contrary, the reduction in discretionary expenses level is associated with an increase in the share value for cash-financing acquirers. Overall, the evidence in this study shows that the effects of real earnings management on the market performance of stock acquirers around the announcement date of the bid are significantly less than the effects of accrual earnings management.

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This thesis addresses the commercialization decisions of academic scientists. Although there is a great deal of research on environmental, university and individual determinants of the formal technology transfer mechanisms, this thesis addresses a gap in the literature by studying how technology characteristics affect the selection of university technology transfer mechanisms. For this purpose the insights from main theoretical sources were combined: a) the economics of technological change and b) the diffusion of innovations theory and a conceptual framework that considers eight characteristics of technology was developed. The technology characteristics derived from the two theoretical sources are: pervasiveness, tacitness, complexity, system dependence, relative advantage, compatibility, trialability and observability. These characteristics were then related to the choice of four technology transfer mechanisms by academic scientists. The study covers UK university scientists who have been involved in commercialization between 2005 and 2015. In the first stage, qualitative data were collected through 14 semi-structured interviews. The qualitative data analysis confirmed the predictive power of most factors in the conceptual framework and six new variables were also as potential predictors: patentability, inimitability, effectiveness of patents for the technology, capital intensity, independence, and technology dynamism. In the second phase, a questionnaire was developed and the quantitative data from 331 academic inventors were used to verify the result of the qualitative study. The quantitative data analysis suggests that the technologies that lead to the formation of a new company (either through formal or informal spin-offs) are complex and academics perceive higher profitability resulting from the commercialization of the technology. More novel or more system dependent technologies lead to the formation of formal university spin-offs and the technologies that are less novel or less system dependent are more likely to be transferred to a new company via informal spin-offs or to an existing company via licensing or consulting activity. In addition, when technologies are more capital intensive or patents are more effective for protection of them from imitation, they are more likely to be transferred formally via licensing or formal university spin-offs. The data analysis also confirms that higher dynamism associated with a technology leads to the creation of informal spin-offs and less patentability of a technology significantly predicts the engagement of academics in consulting activity. The thesis concludes with implication for theory and practices.

This research investigates why some individuals make better decisions in risky investments than others and what individual/socio-demographic characteristics influence in making these decisions. Three research questions with nineteen hypotheses were developed for the investigation. The first research question was (RQ1) Which demographic factors (gender, age, ethnicity, education, and investment experience), decision making styles and personality traits affect financial risk tolerance, financial literacy and risky decision making? Second research questionw as (RQ2) Is there any significant relationship between financial risk tolerance, financial literacy and risky decision making? And the third and last research question was (RQ3) Which combination of demographic factors (gender, age, ethnicity, education, and investment experience), decision making styles and personality traits predict financial risk tolerance score and financial literacy score? The investigation included two risk decisions making experimental tasks i.e. Iowa gambling task (IGT) and the balloon analogue risk task (BART) and an online questionnaire in which 244 UK respondents participated. The participants included professional (71%) and nonprofessional (29%) investors. Mixed factor ANOVA, one way ANOVA, Pearson correlation and multiple regression were used to analyse the data. (RQ1) There were no significant differences in the gambling task performance based on financial knowledge, investment experience, personality traits and demographics. There were significant differences in basic and advances financial literacy based on gender, age and investment experience. (RQ2) The results of the mixed factor ANOVA showed that there was no significant main effect of financial risk tolerance on the Iowa gambling task performance but a significant interaction was found to be present. Thus, financial risk tolerance high or low does not affect the risky decision-making task performance. The results of mixed factor ANOVA results show that same level of perceived financial knowledge and actual financial literacy was significantly related to better performance on the Iowa gambling task. Therefore, overconfidence or under confidence about one's level of financial understanding affects performance on risky decision-making tasks. (RQ3) 28% variability in the financial risk tolerance score is explained by the predictors gender, financial literacy score, spontaneous decision style, extraversion and investment experience. The regression model showed that gender, financial risk tolerance score, rational decision making, intuitive decision making and investment experience cause 38% variability in financial literacy score. The participants did learn to make better selections in the gambling task but still majority 56% of them displayed impaired performance. Based on the findings of the research it is recommended that the importance of financial literacy and investment experience should be considered when the financial consultants prepare the investors profile. It is also recommended that the assumptions for measuring healthy performance on the Iowa gambling task should be evaluated carefully when applied to healthy participants in such a way that the individual differences are also incorporated.

An integrated fraework of Park and Ghauri (2011) of developing technological capabilities will be replicated and examined from Multinationals to subsidiaries doing business in Morocco. This research identifies the key elements that affect the ability of subsidiaried in Morocco to cultivate technological capabilities through imported technology. The main objective of this research is to investigate the role of Multinationals in contributing technological capabilities to subsidiaries established in target markets. It will replicate the same conceptual framework used by PArk and Ghauri (2011), and take into consideration the external factors, government support, the recipient technology infrastructure, and the technology transfer mode. It will be relevant to investigate how these external factors are crucial to Moroccan industries for the development of their technological capabilities. They argue that three fundamental constructs influence technology acquisition in SMLFS: firm-specific resources of knowledge acquirers that include human capital, intent to learn and international experience; trust and organizational compatibility (trust, compatible organizational culture, and business relatedness); and collaborative support by knowledge transferors that included active assistance of foreign acquiring firms in technology management, and the participation of foreign expatriate experts. Not only endogenous factors can contribute to the development of technological capability of the firms established in Morocco, but external factors can also play a significant role in determining the development of technological capability of SMLFs. A review of existing literature shows that no previous study has replicated the Park & Ghauri's model of technological capabilities in Morocco. This model was only replicated in Indonesia, India and South Korea but not in Morocco. In terms of North African countries, an academic research focusing on the Egyptian can industry has been done but not in Morocco, so that is why it is interesting to conduct this study. The main objective of this research is to investigate whether Multinationals contribute towards the enhancement of technological capabilities of subsidiaries established in foreign markets, especially in Morocco. Given that drivers promoting technology acquisitions from acquiring firms have been largely neglected in the literature, this research attempts to identify key factors influenceing this phenomenon. Although many studies have discussed knowledge exchange through international acquisitions (IAs), little attention has been given to small and medium sized local acquired firms (SMLFs). Park and Ghauri (2011) have used a list of all Korean firms acquired by foreign MNEs from Foreign Direct Investment published by the Ministry of Knowledge and Economy (2008).

Two selected towns in coastal Andhra

Social security measures in public sector

Andhra Pradesh State financial corporation

Human resources development