This thesis aims to examine the impact of transfer market habits on top European soccer clubs through three measures of sporting success. Using 2013-2018 data from Transfermarkt.com, Deloitte, and Forbes, including data on teams from 9 different European countries, this paper will be used to enable regressions on UEFA competition performance, club valuation, and social media followers. Using these three linear regressions, this thesis will attempt to determine the effectiveness of transfer market spending in improving key metrics of club performance. This thesis ultimately suggests a positive relationship between transfer spending and success in UEFA competitions as well as increases in club valuation. The results in this paper also suggests that this increased success in Europe leads to greater brand value through a significant social media impact.

It is demonstrated that for certain markets where traders have constant elasticity of substitution utility (CES) functions, the existence of a price equilibrium can be determined in polynomial time. It is also shown that for a certain range of elasticity of substitution where the CES market does not satisfy gross subsitutability that price equilibira can be computed in polynomial time. It is also shown that for markets satisfying gross substitutability, equilibria can be computed in polynomial time even if the excess demand is a correspondence. On the experimental side, equilibrium computation algorithms from computer science without running time guarantees are shown to be competitive with software packages used in applied microeconomics. Simulations also lend support to the Nash equilibrium solution concept by showing that agents employing heuristics in a restricted form of Texas Holdem converge to an approximate equilibrium. Monte Carlo simulations also indicate the long run preponderance of skill over chance in Holdem tournaments.

Some of the most striking changes in the production and marketing of dairy products have occurred since World War II. Dairy farming, for instance, has become more specialized and more commercial. Modern techniques of refrigeration, bulk handling, and transportation have made it possible for market milk to be shipped many miles without appreciable loss of quality.

El presente artículo explora las experiencias de trabajo y percepciones individuales en relación con la subtitulación interlingüística de un conjunto de profesionales de Lima, Perú. El estudio se realizó a partir de métodos cualitativos: doce entrevistas semiestructuradas a cuatro grupos de participantes — empresas y profesionales de traducción, y empresas y profesionales de comunicación audiovisual—. Aunque los participantes asumen que la subtitulación no tiene un mercado establecido en la capital peruana, opinan que se trata de un nicho con una demanda en crecimiento. Asimismo, existe una diferencia respecto al modo de trabajo de las empresas y profesionales de traducción y de comunicación audiovisual, concretamente, en las etapas del proceso de subtitulación y el uso de protocolos, además de otros criterios para asegurar la calidad del servicio. / The following article explores the work experiences and individual perceptions of a group of professionals from Lima (Peru) regarding interlingual subtitling. Such study was conducted using qualitative methods. A total of twelve semi-structured interviews were made, including four groups of participants: companies and professionals of the translation field, as well as companies and professionals of the audiovisual communication field. Although participants believe that subtitling does not have an established market in the Peruvian capital, they do think that it is a niche with a growing demand. Likewise, there is also a distinction between the way translation and audiovisual companies and professionals work, particularly with regard to the subtitling process and the use of guidelines, as well as other criteria used to ensure the quality of the service. / Revisión por pares

The principal focus of the present study was to examine the factors critical to the development and maintenance of a competitive advantage for education institutions operating in international markets. International education involves over 1.3 million students' world wide, and injects billions of dollars into the economies of supplier nations. Despite its importance, little empirical research is available on the international marketing of education. This study draws together research from services marketing, industrial and organisational economics, strategic management and various studies and reports relating to the management and marketing of international education.Commencing with an overview of the international market for education, the study examines the education sectors of leading supplier nations particularly Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. It then describes the education sector of Australia and its international education industry in depth.Following a review of the relevant literature that relates to services marketing and e development of sustainable competitive advantage, a theoretical model as to how an education institution might achieve competitive advantage in international markets is proposed, along with several research propositions.' The findings of a survey of 315 education institutions in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and United States are then outlined. Initial descriptive statistics suggest that:1. Australian tertiary institutions are less confident about their international market recognition than are their Canadian, American, New Zealand or United Kingdom (CANZUK) counterparts;2. Significant differences exist between the five supplier countries in the importance they place on targeting certain markets;3. Australian tertiary institutions were somewhat more pessimistic about the growth in their ++ / international student body that were their CANZUK counterparts;4. Australian institutions were significantly more concerned over government support and policy than were their CANZUK counterparts;5. Student word of mouth referral was identified as the most effective form of promotion for international education;6. Australian tertiary institutions were significantly more positive about the value of recruitment agents and mass media advertising than were their CANZUK counterparts.An exploratory factor analysis of the survey data found a series underlying dimensions measuring various aspects of an institution's perception of its marketing and strategic planning processes. These "factors" were used to generate twenty-six derived variables that were used for subsequent analysis. An examination of these factors was undertaken, both statistically and through a series of in-depth interviews with fifteen education institutions in Australia.Two regressions were used to estimate the relationship between the dependent variables of Cost Leadership and Differentiation (which are measures of generic positioning strategies adopted by the institutions), and a range of independent variables measuring institutional perception of their external and internal environments. A structural equation model was also used to estimate the relationships between these two regressions. This found that the adoption of generic positioning strategies appears to be determined by institutional consideration of:1. Market Factors - a measure of institutional consideration of the importance of buyer bargaining power when developing business strategies;2. Market Outlook - a measure of institutional consideration of the importance of the level of market saturation within the industry when developing business strategies;3. Experience and Psychic Distance - a measure of institutional consideration of the ++ / importance of knowledge or experience of foreign markets, cultural differences and foreign recognition of programs when developing marketing strategies; and4. Resource Factors - a measure of institutional consideration of the importance of internal resources when developing business strategies.The selection of Cost Leadership appears to be determined by the first three of these variables, while selection of Differentiation appears to be determined by all four. These findings support the propositions that industry structure and foreign market structure are determinants of the generic enterprise strategies adopted by education institutions seeking competitive advantage in international markets.A discriminant analysis was undertaken to examine the relationship between adoption of a generic enterprise strategy and marketing strategies. This found an association between differentiation strategies and marketing strategies. Institutions which adopted differentiation strategies (e.g. uniqueness of programs and/or concentration on niche markets) were more like to be classified by high activity on two variables:1. Promotion and Recruitment - a measure of the perceived actual performance of the institution in its use of agents, expenditure on advertising and promotion, possession of offshore recruitment offices, use of government promotional agencies and size of international student enrolments.2. Marketing Activity - a measure of the importance to market success placed upon the use of agents, spending on advertising and promotion, possession of offshore recruitment offices and teaching programs, international alliances and enrolment of international students.A third regression estimated the relationship between the dependent variable Market Success (a measure of the enrolment growth, financial benefit, demand and optimism over future growth) and twenty-five independent ++ / variables derived from the factor analysis. This suggests that Market Success be determined by institutional consideration of Resource Factors, adoption of Differentiation positioning strategies and the possession of key "distinctive competencies " as:1. Image and Products - a measure of the perceived actual performance of the institution in terms of its reputation for quality, level of market profile, strength of financial resources, size and influence of its alumni and range of courses and programs;2. Coalition and Forward Integration - a measure of the actual performance of the institution in its possession of international strategic alliances and offshore teaching programs.Further, the institution's Market Success was also found negatively correlated with two additional variables:1. People and Culture - a measure of the perceived actual performance of the institution in its encouragement of innovation, customer orientation, effective use of information technology, the quality and expertise of its staff and its level of technical superiority;2. Mass Advertising - a measure of the institution's perception of the effectiveness of promotion via TV, radio, newspapers and magazines.These findings support the propositions that generic enterprise (at least those involving differentiation) and market entry strategies are significant determinants of market success. They also support the proposition that quality of image, market profile, coalition formation and forward integration into the export channel are likely to strengthen an institution's competitive advantage. Although not measured directly, these distinctive competencies may provide a source of sustainable competitive advantage as they provide potential barriers to imitation by competitors. Such barriers produce isolating mechanisms, which assist the institution to sustain a competitive edge in the market.Several ++ / managerial and research implications emerged from this study. The importance of developing a sound understanding of the student consumer were highlighted, along with the need to effectively measure and communicate an image of quality to the market. Saturation within international education markets is growing and future growth is likely to be dependent on market segmentation and the adoption of differentiation strategies. Those institutions with superior market experience will be better placed to make effective decisions regarding their competitive positioning. In doing so, the more successful are likely to give consideration to supply-demand imbalance and the general management of internal resources (e.g. staffing, facilities and programs).Successful institutions are likely to be those that adopt differentiation strategies that enhance their image and reputation as quality service providers build upon a sound financial base and make effective use of their Alumni and student word of mouth networks. Such institutions will also be likely to have offshore teaching programs and valuable strategic alliances that enhance their marketing and service delivery.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of deregulation on financial market efficiency in Sri Lanka. The concept of efficiency used here is due to Fama (1970) who defines an efficient market as one in which prices fully reflect all available information. Given the significant expansion of Sri Lanka???s financial markets in the post deregulation period, efficiency is investigated in the context of these markets. To this end, the study employs a number of standard tests for market efficiency including; the expectations hypothesis of the term structure, the Fisher hypothesis, uncovered interest parity, speculative efficiency, real interest rate equalization and tests of capital mobility. Although the overall results presented in this study suggest that Sri Lanka???s financial markets are not fully efficient, the evidence provides significant insight to the performance of these markets. The main policy lesson to be learnt from this analysis is that financial deregulation will not automatically promote market efficiency unless accompanied by positive policy action to reinforce the impact of these reforms. In conclusion therefore, the study makes a number of recommendations which could help to reinforce the impact of financial deregulation on market efficiency.

This thesis investigates the continuing significance of the internal labour market construct for shaping human resource management practices in an international investment banking organisation. By adopting a historical perspective this study departs from existing literature and presents new explanations for understanding internal labour market theory in the investment banking industry. It also adds to existing scholarship on labour markets by considering more human resources indicators than have been previously used to differentiate labour market types. A range of approaches have been adopted. The BZW/ ABN AMRO case study has been investigated using both qualitative and quantitative methods and longitudinal and cross-sectional data. The theoretical framework elaborated has two dimensions. The first involves a model which highlights the importance of the organisational historical context for analysing the origins and functions of internal labour markets. It draws attention to certain recurring interrelated features that ultimately result in the adoption of internalised market arrangements. This aspect of the model also highlights the importance of emerging patterns in internal labour market structures that become evident over time. The second part of the framework involves a typology that establishes the existence of three different labour market types. The study revealed that a historical perspective is extremely valuable for understanding the origins and functions of internal labour markets, and for identifying two internal labour market types, the firm and occupational internal labour market types and also the occupational labour market type or external labour market. It was concluded that despite the claim made by various scholars that internal labour market arrangements are in decline, the dramatic changes experienced by the investment banking industry have proven that these arrangements are very resilient.

Human capital and screening theories of the role of education in the labour market have similar predictions about individual behaviour and labour market outcomes. This makes it difficult to test between the theories. Nevertheless, the task of doing so is important since the social return to education is likely to be small unless education adds to productivity as human capital theory, but not screening theory, assumes. Education may only convey information about likely individual productivity under screening. It serves this function because individual productivity is difficult for employers to observe. In fact, there is very little evidence from existing tests of the theories that education does not add to productivity. However, few of the tests that have been undertaken between the theories are convincing. The three empirical chapters of this thesis contain tests of some aspects of the theories.

This thesis examines the stock market price variations associated with physical asset expenditure announcements in Australia. With the exception of the study of Chen and Ho (1997) in Singapore, most capital expenditure studies in other markets investigate the announcement effects associated with changes in budgeted capital expenditures. The fact that there is almost never any firm level capital budget announcement in Australia presents a unique opportunity to examine individual physical asset expenditure announcements. ¶ Three primary hypotheses pertaining to growth opportunities, free cash flow theory, and the capital market monitoring argument are developed and tested. These arguments are formulated to explain the abnormal return variations associated with physical asset expenditure announcements. The growth opportunities hypothesis posits that the abnormal returns at physical asset expenditure announcements are positively related to a firm's growth opportunities. Both free cash flow theory and capital market monitoring hypothesis postulate that the abnormal returns at physical asset expenditure announcements are negatively related to a firm's free cash flow, and cash flow respectively. Other control explanators are incorporated from the merger and takeovers literature. ¶ Event study methodology is used to examine the abnormal returns associated with physical asset expenditure announcements. Two sets of data, intraday and daily, are used to investigate the market reaction. Intraday returns are calculated on a time-weighted approach and two methods are used to calculate intraday abnormal returns. The first method defines abnormal returns as the difference between actual returns and market returns. The second method defines abnormal returns as the difference between market-adjusted returns and market-adjusted returns on a control portfolio. Daily abnormal returns are calculated using the market model. ¶ Both univariate and multivariate analyses provide strong support for the growth opportunities hypothesis. The results suggest the quality of firms' growth opportunities is the key variable determining the direction and magnitude of the abnormal returns at announcement. Support for the capital monitoring argument and the free cash flow theory is mixed, generally with a lack of support. The free cash flow variable is found to be significantly negatively related to abnormal returns, only when a finer dummy is used in the multivariate regression. All other control variables are found to be insignificant in explaining the stock market variations once the growth opportunities variable is included in the regression. ¶ This thesis makes the following contributions. First, this thesis presents the initial empirical evidence concerning physical asset expenditure announcements in Australia. Second, the thesis shows that the quality of a firm's growth opportunities is the key factor in determining the direction and magnitude of abnormal returns around physical asset expenditure announcements. These results also suggest that the equity market in Australia reacts to physical asset expenditure announcements which contain information pertaining to growth opportunities rather than the relative size of the physical asset expenditure transactions to firm value. Third, support for the capital monitoring argument and the free cash flow theory is not strong. Fourth, all other control variables are found to be insignificant in explaining the stock market variations once market to book ratio is included in the regression. Fifth, the results suggest that prior research which fails to segregate market to book ratio and free cash flow proxy into finer partitions may have possibly underestimated the market to book and the free cash flow effects.

本論文研究目標為：1. 描述台灣股票市場中訂單簿（order book）的若干特徵。2. 分析訂單流 (order flow) 與訂單簿間交互作用的均衡關係。 3. 探討流動性消耗者與流動性提供者如何進出市場而維持市場機能。 本研究資料來自台灣證券交易所。台灣股市的市場結構迥異於世界其他大部分的市場，採取自動化、間斷時間 (auto-electronic, periodic call) 的撮和方式：單子全部集合在交易所的電腦系統中，依照價格優先、時間優先的原則，每隔45至60秒批次執行撮和。Handa及Schwartz (1996年) 指出，這種市場結構和其他連續撮和的市場有著根本上的不同，尤其是訂單流的匯總方式與市場結清價的形成過程，但目前較少有研究提及。 在過去的文獻中，1995年Biais、Hillion及Spatt以巴黎股市中CAC 40指數的成分股為樣本，首開訂單流與訂單簿間交互作用的研究。他們直接觀察並描繪訂單在各價位的分佈情形，發現當買賣價差 (bid-ask spread) 比較大或訂單簿比較薄（亦即市場流動性較差）時，接下來會有比較多的限價單(limit orders)進場提供流動性；相反地，當spread比較小的時候，接下來會有比較多的市價單(market orders)進場消耗流動性。雖然他們有注意到買賣單、限價單、市價單對價格推升或壓低的作用，但對於引發這些變化的因素卻沒有進一步的闡釋。 1998年，Handa、Schwartz及Tiwari清楚地指出，短暫價格波動 (short-term volatility) 在促進市場達到流動性均衡方面扮演關鍵的角色。由於有基於流動性動機而進場的投資人，此時市價單與限價單成交所造成的短暫價格波動正好補償限價單交易者所面臨的資訊不對稱風險，吸引限價單進場並提供流動性；而有立即性(immediacy)需求的投資人就會下市價單而消耗流動性。1999年，Foucault把Handa等人的推論發展為賽局模型，強化下單決策與價格形成的理論，並建議以訂單流的組成成分進行實證。 這些理論在2000年Ahn、Bae和Chan發表的研究中獲得實證的支持。該文以市場深度差作為市價單限價單組成成分的代理變數，首先驗證短暫價格波動的確是使市場達流動性均衡的重要因素：當價格向上波動，將吸引限價單流入市場提供流動性；而流動性的增加將減緩價格的波動。並進一步分析價格形成過程，發現若價格波動由賣方引發，則限價賣單為流動性提供者；若價格波動來自買方，則限價買單為流動性提供者。 本研究不同於前述研究之處，其一在於台灣股票市場結構的不同。因為所有的單子，不論是新進入或殘留的、不論是買還是賣，全部都集合在電腦系統中等待撮和，因此限價單不見得是流動性提供者，市價單也不見得是流動性消耗者。其二在於直接觀察訂單分佈情形，比Biais等人更深入研究訂單變化、比Ahn等人更清楚地分析變化的過程。 本論文將市場中的單子區分為新委託單(new orders)、殘留單(stale orders)及成交單(executed orders)三大類，取得每個撮和時點前、後買賣雙方在各價位的分佈和變化情形。結果發現，大部分的新委託單並沒有立即成交（約40%沒有立即成交）；成交單中殘留單與新委託單成交的比例在任何時間區間都遠高於新委託單互相成交的比例。也就是說，殘留單對市場流動性的均衡扮演關鍵的角色。