Using a sample of 141 U.S. small-cap industrial firms, I examine the firm characteristics that influence its use of foreign exchange derivatives to hedge exchange rate risk. Companies in the industrial sector produce goods and services that are used for the production of another final product. The performance of this sector is closely correlated to the level of demand from the final consumer. I find firm size, the amount of foreign sales, and firm liquidity influence the firm's decision to use foreign exchange derivatives to hedge exchange rate risk. For those firms that hedge exchange rate risk using derivatives, a second test examines the firm characteristics that influence the extent of its hedging activities. I find the extent of hedging is influenced by the amount of foreign sales, the amount of foreign assets, and the number of foreign subsidiaries the firm operates. A final test examines whether certain firm characteristics influence its decision to use options as part of its hedging operations. I find no evidence that the firm characteristics examined herein influence that decision.

自從一九七三年普遍實施浮動匯率以來，已有許多理論強調資產市場在匯率決定上所 扮演的角色，其中包括有強調資產完全替代之貨幣方法柔不完全替代之資產選擇方法 等。然而這些理論皆謂匯率係由外生變數所決定，本文之重點所在，即擬一改以往匯 率外生決定之觀念，而將之內生化。其內容大致如下： （一）對於匯率決定之各種理論稍作回顧整理，並探討其間之主要差異。 （二）鑑於匯率變異性之擴大，本文將匯率之決定內生化，利用非線性差分方程為工 具，分析匯率之變動是否有chaotic 現象。 （三）為了理論之證實，本文亦擬利用模擬試驗方式來作實證分析。

本研究運用Vasecik、ARMA與VEC三種時間序列模型，以蒙地卡羅法，模擬未來五年台幣利率、美元利率與新台幣兌美元匯率的隨機漫步過程，並分析壽險公司的資產、負債與業主權益價值，在利率與匯率的隨機過程中所受到的影響。 藉由蒙地卡羅模擬之隨機漫步過程，本研究發現在利率模型方面，Vasicek利率模型因具有均數回歸的特性，較VEC模型擁有更穩定的隨機漫步過程；在匯率模型方面，VEC模型因同時考量長期影響與短期影響的效果，較ARMA模型擁有較穩定的漫步過程。 在負債面的模擬結果中，當利率下跌時，保單應提列準備金價值的成長速度較利率上升時快，此點反應壽險公司在低利率的環境下，將面臨較嚴峻的資本要求；同時，藉由歷史資料以Vasicek債券評價模型估計之利率期間結構，整體結構呈現負斜率與凹口向上的走勢，在此情形下，短期利率的值較長期利率的值高，保單應提列的準備金價值較原始估計時更高。 在長期的低利率環境中，上述現象反應於長期保單的價值變化尤為明顯。本研究建議在進行保單的精算訂價時，不應僅以預定利率做為保單全期的折現因子，而應將長期的利率風險納入考量。 同時，匯率的變化亦嚴重衝擊壽險公司的業主權益，在模擬結果中，當匯率落於風險值時，壽險公司配置於美元資產的減損將造成業主權益呈現虧損，此點亦反應當壽險公司將資產配置於海外時，必須謹慎地評估外匯避險的相關策略。 整體而言，在本研究中，將資產配置偏重台幣的投資策略擁有較穩定的業主權益價值，並在短期擁有較佳的風險轉換報酬能力；另一方面，將資產配置偏重美元的投資策略在長期擁有較佳的風險轉換報酬能力，然而，也因其擁有較高的風險值，壽險公司可能面臨較嚴重的損失。本研究建議壽險公司在進行海外資產配置時，應謹慎地將利率風險與匯率風險納入考量。 / This article uses Monte Carlo simulation method to forecast the random walk process of Taiwan interest rate, US interest rate, and Taiwan US dollar exchange rate between next five years. The simulation base on three time series model：Vasecik, ARMA and VEC. Through the random walk process, this article aims to analyze the influence in asset, liability and equity by the change of interest rate and exchange rate. In this paper, we find that the Vasicek interest rate model has a more stable stochastic process than the VEC model, which because of the effect by mean reversion. On the other hand, because the VEC exchange rate model takes both long-term and short-term impact in concern, it has a more robust stochastic process than the ARMA model. Through the simulation results of the liabilities, we find that when the interest rate fell, the reserve value of insurance policy will rise faster, which makes life insurance companies face more severe capital requirements in the low interest rate environment. Besides, we also find that the interest rate term structure in the Vasicek Bond Pricing Model displays negative slopes with concave upward, which means the value of short-term interest rate higher than the value of long-term interest rate. In this situation, the reserve value of insurance policy will become much higher than the value original priced. In the long-term low interest rate environment, the impact of interest rate risk has more effect in the long-term insurance policy. This paper suggests that when pricing the costs of insurance policy, we should not only use one interest rate as the full term discount factor. The better way is to discount with the interest rate term structure. Overall, in this paper, the asset allocation strategy, which focus on Taiwan commercial bonds, has both better performances in value at risk and better ability to covert risk into revenue in the short term. On the other hand, the asset allocation strategy, which focus on US commercial bonds, has better ability to covert risk into revenue in the long run. When conducting overseas asset allocation, we suggest that life insurance companies should carefully consider interest rate risk and exchange rate risk.

Concern regarding the health effects of indoor air quality has grown in recent years, due to the increased prevalence of many diseases, as well as the fact that many people now spend most of their time indoors. While numerous studies have reported on the dynamics of aerosols indoors, the dynamics of bioaerosols in indoor environments are still poorly understood and very few studies have focused on fungal spore dynamics in indoor environments. Consequently, this work investigated the dynamics of fungal spores in indoor air, including fungal spore release and deposition, as well as investigating the mechanisms involved in the fungal spore fragmentation process. In relation to the investigation of fungal spore dynamics, it was found that the deposition rates of the bioaerosols (fungal propagules) were in the same range as the deposition rates of nonbiological particles and that they were a function of their aerodynamic diameters. It was also found that fungal particle deposition rates increased with increasing ventilation rates. These results (which are reported for the first time) are important for developing an understanding of the dynamics of fungal spores in the air. In relation to the process of fungal spore fragmentation, important information was generated concerning the airborne dynamics of the spores, as well as the part/s of the fungi which undergo fragmentation. The results obtained from these investigations into the dynamics of fungal propagules in indoor air significantly advance knowledge about the fate of fungal propagules in indoor air, as well as their deposition in the respiratory tract. The need to develop an advanced, real-time method for monitoring bioaerosols has become increasingly important in recent years, particularly as a result of the increased threat from biological weapons and bioterrorism. However, to date, the Ultraviolet Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (UVAPS, Model 3312, TSI, St Paul, MN) is the only commercially available instrument capable of monitoring and measuring viable airborne micro-organisms in real-time. Therefore (for the first time), this work also investigated the ability of the UVAPS to measure and characterise fungal spores in indoor air. The UVAPS was found to be sufficiently sensitive for detecting and measuring fungal propagules. Based on fungal spore size distributions, together with fluorescent percentages and intensities, it was also found to be capable of discriminating between two fungal spore species, under controlled laboratory conditions. In the field, however, it would not be possible to use the UVAPS to differentiate between different fungal spore species because the different micro-organisms present in the air may not only vary in age, but may have also been subjected to different environmental conditions. In addition, while the real-time UVAPS was found to be a good tool for the investigation of fungal particles under controlled conditions, it was not found to be selective for bioaerosols only (as per design specifications). In conclusion, the UVAPS is not recommended for use in the direct measurement of airborne viable bioaerosols in the field, including fungal particles, and further investigations into the nature of the micro-organisms, the UVAPS itself and/or its use in conjunction with other conventional biosamplers, are necessary in order to obtain more realistic results. Overall, the results obtained from this work on airborne fungal particle dynamics will contribute towards improving the detection capabilities of the UVAPS, so that it is capable of selectively monitoring and measuring bioaerosols, for which it was originally designed. This work will assist in finding and/or improving other technologies capable of the real-time monitoring of bioaerosols. The knowledge obtained from this work will also be of benefit in various other bioaerosol applications, such as understanding the transport of bioaerosols indoors.