Thèse doctorat : Génie des Matériaux : Villeurbanne, INSA : 2007. / Titre provenant de l'écran-titre. Bibliogr. p. 220-234.

Background: Ever since Sharpe, Treynor and Jensen advanced the methods of fund performance evaluation in the 60’s it has been a popular field of study in academia. As the intricacies of fund performance was untangled it became clear that paying for active management doesn’t yield higher cost adjusted returns. An Index investment strategy is the most sensible approach and it’s the associated cost which separate index vehicles. Exchange traded funds have risen as a competitor to the conventional index mutual fund but the research evaluating these is very scarce. The research conducted comparing the costs of the two vehicles do not take into account implicit transaction costs that in turn depend on specific market microstructure designs and could affect the cost relationship. The problem: Do liquidity and market structural disparities between markets affect the cost relationship between exchange traded funds and index mutual funds, through the implicit transaction cost? Objective of the research: The objective of this paper is to examine whether structural differences between markets affect implicit transaction costs to the extent that the cost relationship between index funds and exchange traded funds differ from earlier findings. Method: The need to generalize the findings prompted a quantitative approach to the research. Comparative examination will be done on the microstructure and liquidity of two different markets. The transaction costs will then be measured with statistical means and incorporated in a cost comparison model. Result and conclusion: There are architectural and liquidity differences between the two sample markets allowing for systematic differences in transaction cost, which were found but were not a significant contributor to the tracking error cost of the index mutual funds. The Swedish ETF do not get more profitable as the investment sum increases. A finding which contradicts earlier findings and is likely a consequence of the Swedish tax-laws for capital gains as well as the higher levels of management fees for ETFs. ETFs might still be a worthwhile investment since they possess unique qualitative benefits.

No description available.

Thesis (MTech. : Engineering Metallurgy.)--Tshwane University of Technology, 2010. / Establish a qualitative and quantitative comparison between the parameters of the laser used in manufacturing a 120 mm curvature in HSLA steel parts and the micro-structural changes in the steel part. Subsequently, the final microstructure will be used to determine the reason for the poor fatigue performance of the HSLA steel after laser forming.

The present dissertation investigates the relationship between the structure and thermoelectric properties of ZnO based materials, with a focus on trivalent element doping on engineering the microstructure and altering the electrical and thermal transport properties. Within the solubility range, the addition of trivalent elements, such as In3+, Fe3+ and Ga3+, is observed to increase the electrical conductivity of ZnO and decrease the thermal conductivity. / Engineering and Applied Sciences

No description available.

This paper measures the channels by which private information is incorporated in prices in the equity and option markets. Using a mispricing events approach and conditioning on the option market being the cause of the mispricing event, I analyse the subsequent behaviour of both the options and equity markets and I find that options markets play an important role in the price discovery process. When conditioning on option caused mispricing events, the equity price adjusts towards the options price to reconcile the prices. I find that around 40% of the option caused mispricing events contain information, and the equity prices adjust 35-40%, depending on the exchange, of the maximum discrepancy before prices reconcile. When the equity market causes the mispricing, the option market follows due to the autoquote mechanism. Additionally, I use Monte Carlo to assess the suitability of the Hasbrouck (1995) Information Share and Gonzalo-Granger (1995) Component Share measures in the option-equity context. I find that neither metric is suitable, however the Putnins (2013) Information Leadership metric is and the options market has on average a 35% information leadership share.

The research in this thesis aims to develop new mechanistic knowledge for coating processes at 2024-Al alloy surfaces, ultimately to aid the design of new protective coatings. Coatings formed by phosphating, chromating, and permanganating were characterized especially by scanning Auger microscopy (SAM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy . The objective was to learn about growth (nm level) as a function of time for different coating baths, as well as a function of lateral position across the different surface microstructural regions, specifically on the μm-sized Al-Cu-Mg and Al-Cu-Fe-Mn particles which are embedded in the alloy matrix . The research characterizes coating thickness, composition, and morphology. The thesis emphasizes learning about the effect of different additives in zinc phosphating baths . It was found that the Ni²⁺ additive has two main roles : first, the rate of increase in local solution pH is limited by the slower kinetics of reactions involving Ni²⁺ compared to Zn²⁺, leading to thinner zinc phosphate (ZPO) coatings when Ni²⁺ is present. Second, most Ni²⁺ deposition occurs during the later stages of the coating process in the form of nickel phosphate and a Ni-Al oxide in the coating pores on the alloy surface, increasing the corrosion resistance. Aluminum fluoride precipitates first during the initial stages of the coating process, followed by aluminum phosphate, zinc oxide, and finally ZPO. When Ni²⁺ is present in the coating solution at 2000 ppm, ZnO predominates in the coating above the A-Cu-Fe-Mn particle while ZPO dominates on the rest of the surface. The Mn²⁺ additive gives a more even coating distribution (compared with Ni²⁺) across the whole surface. The Mn²⁺ -containing ZPO coating is similar to the chromate coating in terms of evenness, while there is more coating deposition at the second-phase particles for permanganate coatings. The oxides on the Al-Cu-Fe-Mn and matrix regions are similar before coating, thereby confirming that a variety of observed differences in ZPO coating characteristics at these regions arise from the different electrochemical characteristics of the underlying metals. Upon exposure to a corrosive solution, the ZPO coating provides more protection to the second-phase particles compared to the matrix.

In the Karnali valley of west Nepal, detailed mapping, thermobarometry, quartz-petrofabrics, vorticity analysis, and thermochronology delineate three tectonometamorphic domains separated by structural and metamorphic discontinuities. The lowest domain, the Lesser Himalayan sequence, is weakly metamorphosed and preserves evidence of primary sedimentary features and a polydeformational history. The Greater Himalayan sequence (GHS) is pervasively sheared and metamorphosed and overlies the Lesser Himalayan sequence along the Main Central thrust. The Greater Himalayan sequence is sub-divided into two tectonometamorphic domains that display contrasting metamorphic histories. The lower portion of the Greater Himalayan sequence contains garnet- to kyanite-grade rocks whose peak metamorphic assemblages developed during top-to-the-south directed shear and a metamorphic pressure gradient that increases up structural section. The upper portion of the Greater Himalayan sequence contains kyanite and sillimanite-grade migmatites that preserve polymetamorphic assemblages and a metamorphic pressure gradient that decreases up structural section. The upper and lower portions of the Greater Himalayan sequence are separated by a metamorphic discontinuity that roughly coincides with the bottom of the lowest migmatite unit. Vorticity estimates indicate roughly equal contributions of pure and simple shear during deformation of the upper and lower portions of the GHS. Quartz petrofabrics suggest deformation temperatures are equivalent to peak metamorphic temperatures in the lower Greater Himalayan sequence. These observations are consistent with channel flow tectonic models whereby the upper portion of the Greater Himalayan sequence is ductily extruded to the south while ductily accreting the subjacent lower portion of the Greater Himalayan sequence across a metamorphic discontinuity. 40Ar/39Ar thermochronology indicates Miocene homogeneous cooling of the Greater Himalayan sequence. Cooling rates of the GHS and the homogeneous cooling profile suggest east-west extensional exhumation followed peak-metamorphism and south-directed shearing and supports the hypothesis of the southeast propagation of the Gurla-Mandhata-Humla fault system into the Karnali valley. / Thesis (Master, Geological Sciences & Geological Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2010-09-20 09:23:07.103

Field mapping and, structural, microstructural, and chronological analyses confirm the existence of a segment of the Gurla-Mandhata-Humla fault, an orogen-parallel strike-slip dominated shear zone in the upper Karnali valley of northwestern Nepal. This shear zone forms the upper contact of, and cuts obliquely across the Greater Himalayan Sequence (GHS). Data from this study reveal two phases of GHS deformation. Phase 1 is characterized by U-Th-Pb monazite crystallization ages (~26–12 Ma, peak ~18–15 Ma), consistent with typical Neohimalayan metamorphic ages, and the final stages of south-directed extrusion of the GHS. Phase 2 is characterized by south-dipping high-strain foliations and intensely developed ESE-WNW trending, shallowly plunging mineral elongation lineations, indicating orogen-parallel extension. Thermochronology of muscovite defining these fabrics implies that the area was cooling and experiencing orogen-parallel extension by ~15–9 Ma. Mineral deformation mechanisms and quartz c-axis patterns of these fabrics record a rapid increase in temperature from ~350°C along the shear zone, to ~650°C at ~2.5 structural km below the shear zone. Such temperature gradients may be remnants of telescoped and/or flattened isotherms generated during south-directed extrusion of the GHS. Overprinting ESE-WNW fabrics record progressive deformation of the GHS at lower temperatures. Progressive deformation included a significant component of pure shear, as indicated by symmetric high-temperature quartz c-axis fabrics and a lower-temperature vorticity estimate (~59% pure shear). A transition in c-axis fabrics from type I to type II cross-girdles at ~ 1.2 km below the fault could indicate a transition from plane strain towards constriction. Together, these data suggest orogen-parallel extension was occurring as a result of transtension. This study reveals a transition from south-directed extrusion of the GHS to orogen-parallel extension between ~15–13 Ma. Comparing these data with tectonic events across the Himalaya reveals an orogen-wide middle Miocene transition, coeval with the uplift of eastern Tibet. This is consistent with interpretations invoking radial spreading of Tibet and east-directed lower-crustal flow to explain orogen-parallel extension. Our study leads to the suggestion that a transition affecting mid- to lower-crustal processes may be responsible for the cessation of south-directed extrusion of the GHS and onset of east-directed lower-crustal flow. / Thesis (Master, Geological Sciences & Geological Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2012-09-23 02:16:09.326