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Bakgrund I snart ett halvt sekel har aktier med lågt beta visat sig generera hög avkastning i förhållande till risk. Denna observation brukar benämnas lågriskanomalin och ända sedan fenomenet uppmärksammades av Black 1972 har olika studier försökt förklara orsaken till dess förekomst. Empiriska resultat har inte bara visat på att lågriskaktier presterat bättre än vad teorin förutspår, utan till och med visat på ett negativt samband mellan risk och avkastning. Detta är i rak motsats till traditionella avkastningsmodeller som exempelvis CAPM, vilken hävdar att avkastning är en direkt funktion av systematisk risk – beta. Syfte Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka förekomsten av lågriskanomalin på den svenska aktiemarknaden och analysera huruvida anomalin kan förklaras av den tredje ordningens centralmoment, skevhet. Vidare syftar uppsatsen till att testa och analysera möjligheten att hantera skevhetsrisk genom att inkludera denna som en variabel i en tredimensionell optimeringsmodell. Genomförande Studien bygger på insamlad kurshistorik mellan åren 1998–2018 för samtliga aktier som har ingått i indexet OMXSPI. Totalt har 9650 risksorterade portföljer skapats, där loggning genomförts av portföljegenskaper och analysmått. Sambandet mellan lågriskanomalin och skevhetsrisk har testats genom hypotestester baserat på inkluderandet av en tredimensionell optimeringsmodell samt Three-moment CAPM.   Slutsats Resultaten visar att aktier med lägre beta i genomsnitt har presterat signifikant bättre än högbetaaktier sett till både riskjuterad- samt faktiskt avkastning. Förhållandet mellan risk och avkastning har således varit negativt för den undersökta perioden. Vidare påvisas en signifikant riskaversion mot skevhetsrisk, men trots detta tyder samtliga av studiens tester på att skevhet är otillräckligt för att förklara detta fenomen. Genom tredimensionell optimering visas även hur portföljspecifik skevhet kan hanteras utan att ge signifikant försämrad avkastning. Dessa resultat faller i linje med att lågriskanomalin uppstår som en konsekvens av ett ineffektivt utbud- och efterfrågesamband och kan därmed ses som ett argument mot den effektiva marknadshypotesen / Background For nearly half a century, stocks with low beta has shown to generate high return relative to risk. This observation is called the low risk anomaly and ever since it was observed by Black in 1972, different studies have tried to find an explanation for its presence. Empirical results have not only found that low risk stocks outperform in terms of riskadjusted returns, but also that the relationship between risk and return seem to have a negative correlation. This is the exact opposite of what is suggested by traditional financial models, such as CAPM, which claim that return on assets is a direct function of the its systematic risk – beta. Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the presence of the low risk anomaly on the Stockholm stock exchange and analyse if it can be explained by the third central moment, skewness. Further we intend to test and analyse if it is possible to control skewness risk by including it as a variable in three-dimensional optimization. Methodology The thesis is conducted by acquiring historical stock prices for the years 1998–2018 for all shares included in the index OMXSPI. To answer the underlying research questions, 9650 risk-sorted portfolios are created where portfolio performance indicators are being logged. Furthermore, the relationship between the low risk anomaly and skewness-based risk is examined through hypothesis testing, which depend on a three-dimensional optimization model as well as the Three-moment CAPM. Results The results of this study show that stocks with low beta has significantly outperformed high-beta stocks in terms of both risk-adjusted as well as actual return. This implies that the relationship between risk and return has been negative during the time period investigated. Furthermore, the results show a significant aversion towards skewness risk. However, all of the tests indicate that skewness is insufficient in the explanation of the low risk anomaly. It has been shown by three-dimensional optimization that it is possible to control portfolio skewness, without a significant loss in return. These results are in line with the conclusion that the low risk anomaly is an effect of inefficiency in supply and demand and can therefore be seen as an argument against the efficient market hypothesis.

The nearshore waters off the Oregon coast (< 73 meters) are a region of high productivity and economic value, with a variety of habitats that include rock outcrops. Temperate reef habitats are important to many commercially important fishes inhabiting the Pacific coast, including canary rockfish (Sebastes pinniger) and yelloweye rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus), which are currently listed as "overfished" by the Pacific Fishery Management Council. Along the Pacific coast of North America, nearshore rocky reefs have been designated as essential fish habitat (EFH), while comprising approximately just seven percent of Oregon's territorial sea. Despite this EFH designation, the use of visual (SCUBA, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), human occupied vehicles (HOVs)) and non-visual (bottom trawl) survey methods within this region has been infrequent and scattered, providing limited information on species-habitat associations and species assemblages within nearshore waters. It is logistically difficult and costly to survey nearshore reefs. The factors that have led to the paucity of surveys include the depth (too deep for SCUBA surveys but too shallow for larger survey vessels), high seas limiting available days for field work, and the high-relief nature of the habitat (precluding the use of bottom trawls). In an effort to better understand species-habitat associations and community structure of Oregon's nearshore reefs, an autonomous underwater drop-camera termed the "video lander" was employed at the Three Arch Rocks reef, a nearshore reef off of Oceanside, Oregon. Video lander footage was used to identify and groundtruth habitat types, as well as species assemblages over two distinct seasons: spring/summer (n=272) and winter (n=108). Many species-habitat associations were statistically significant: yelloweye rockfish (large boulder p<0.0073), canary rockfish (small boulder p<0.0006), kelp greenling (Hexagrammos decagrammus) (bedrock outcrop p<0.0162), and quillback rockfish (Sebastes maliger) (large boulder p<0.0016). Summer and winter surveys revealed similar habitat associations and distributions for these species. I found no significant difference in species composition between the northern and southern regions of the reef (Bray-Curtis dissimilarity index (BCDI) = 71.71, ANOSIM p>0.1447), but a significant difference between spring/summer and winter seasons was identified on the outer section of the reef, due to the presence of spotted ratfish (Hydrolagus colliei) in the winter (BCDI =76.41, ANOSIM p < 0.0155). My study shows that data provided by the video lander can fill existing gaps in our understanding of nearshore distribution and habitat associations of temperate rocky-reef fishes off the Oregon coast. / Graduation date: 2013

A glacier responds to changes in climate by subsequent retreat and advance as a result of changes in snow inputs and outputs. Understanding these changes is important because shrinking glaciers limit and diminish local water resources. They contribute to alpine runoff in the late-summer months by delaying the maximum runoff until late in the melt season. A comprehensive glacier and perennial snowfield inventory has not been completed for the Three Sisters in Central Oregon. Using aerial photography, Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), previous studies, and historical ground based photographs these glacier and perennial snowfields were defined and their surface area change was quantified along with surface area and volume change for the 15 named glaciers for multiple years. The glaciers and perennial snowfields totaled 9.03 ± 1.65 km2 in 1949 and decreased to 7.1 ± 1.16 km2 in 2003 giving a total loss of -1.914 ± 0.974 km2 ( 21%). The 15 named glaciers totaled 12.43 ± 0.417 km2 in ~1900 and decreased to 5.65 ± 0.135 km2 in 2003 giving a total loss of -6.70 ± 0.439 km2 (54%) with more loss occurring in the early part of the century. It's estimated that the 15 named glaciers lost roughly 61% of volume from 1900 to 2010. From 1957 to 2010 their surface's dropped in elevation on average by -8.9m, losing an estimated 71.96 x 106 ± 2.87 x 106 m3 (53%) in total volume, seen across accumulation and ablation zones, with more loss happening from 1957 to 1990. There was no relationship found between topography and area. A small correlation was found between slope and increased volume change. Debris cover on glacier surfaces has increased and showed a correlation between decreasing area loss (no correlation with volume changes).

<p>    </p> <p><em>P</em>-wave Efimov physics for three equal mass fermions with different symmetries has been modeled using two-body interactions of Lennard-Jones potentials between each pair of Fermi atoms, and is predicted to modify the long range three-body interaction potential energies, but without producing a real Efimov effect. Our analysis treats the following trimer angular momenta and parities, L^Π = 0⁺,1⁺,1⁻ and 2⁻, for either three spin-up fermions (↑↑↑), or two spin-up and one spin-down fermion (↑↓↑). Our results for the long range behavior in some of those cases agree with previous work by Werner and Castin and by Blume <em>et al.</em>, namely in cases where the s-wave scattering length goes to infinity. This thesis extends those calculated interaction energies to small and intermediate hyperradii comparable to the van der Waals length, and considers additional unitarity scenarios where the p-wave scattering volume approaches infinity. The crucial role of the diagonal hyperradial adiabatic correction term is identified and characterized. For the equal mass fermionic trimers with two different spin components near the unitary limit are shown to possess a universal van der Waals bound or resonance state near s-wave unitarity, when p-wave interactions are included between the particles with equal spin. Our treatment uses a single-channel Lennard-Jones interaction with long range two-body van der Waals potentials. While it is well-known that there is no true Efimov effect that would produce an infinite number of bound states in the unitary limit for these fermionic systems, we demonstrate that another type of universality emerges for the symmetry L^Π = 1⁻. The universality is a remnant of Efimov physics that exists in this system at p-wave unitarity, and it leads to modified threshold and scaling laws in that limit. Application of our model to the system of three lithium atoms studied experimentally by Du, Zhang, and Thomas [Phys. Rev. Lett. <strong>102</strong>, 250402 (2009)] yields a detailed interpretation of their measured three-body recombination loss rates. </p>

This research will compare why two such comparable countries like Slovenia and Croatia have taken different paths towards consolidating democracy. The two countries on the same day in 1991 declared independence from Yugoslavia but only Slovenia managed to successfully consolidate democracy during the 1990s. The purpose of this study is to analyze what differences and similarities Croatia and Slovenia have had which has made them take different paths towards consolidating democracy. The theoretical framework will apply Linz and Stepans theory on consolidating democracy from the countries independence in 1991 until Croatia in 2013, like Slovenia in 2004, became member of the European Union. The results demonstrate that Croatia during the 1990’s were governed by a party and president in a non-democratic way while Slovenia since its independence has implemented all the necessary tools for a successful consolidation of democracy. In 1999 Croatia’s president died and this was the start of a new era in Croatian politics. In 2000 the ruling party was defeated by a coalition which immediately begun to integrate Croatia with the European Union and in essence started to consolidate democracy.

M. Tech. Civil Engineering / Asphalt mixes are commonly used for paving roads around the world. They consist of mainly bitumen and aggregate materials, which may differ depending on the type of asphalt mix. The shape properties of aggregate particles relevant for the performance of asphalt mixes include the form, angularity and surface texture. There are concerns about the standard test methods used to quantify the shape properties (i.e. angularity, surface roughness, flatness, elongation and sphericity) of aggregates used for road pavement design and construction. These test methods have been reported as time and labour intensive, and have several limitations including human error, lack of accuracy, and repeatability of test results. Although results obtained from these tests have been linked to performance, however these links are questionable. Recently, various researchers and practitioners have indicated that advanced and automated approaches such as imaging and laser scanning techniques would better quantify the shape and surface properties of aggregates. For instance, researchers at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) found that a portable three-dimensional (3-D) laser scanning system can be used to accurately quantify the shape properties of aggregate particles that are relevant to the performance of asphalt mixes. The overall objective of this study was to use a 3-D laser scanning technique to quantify the shape properties of aggregate materials and relate them to performance of laboratory compacted asphalt mixes.

Rwanda experienced one of the most horrendous atrocities in our modern history in the summer of 1994 when a genocide occurred within the country, and in the aftermath the nation had to deal with this history and rebuild its society. This essay examines the reconciliation in post-genocide Rwanda with the aim of investigating potential power mechanisms during this process. The study researches the policies implemented by the government of Rwanda during this process and what effect they potentially can have on the reconciliation in the country. The focus is on the policy of National Unity and Reconciliation and two of the main instruments within this government policy, which are Gacaca and Ingando. The analytical framework for this study is Steven Lukes’ theory on three-dimensional power, which was applied as an analytical lens to examine the power exercise by the RPF government. The essay used an abductive approach to research the subject and a case study as the chosen method for the study. The results of the research confirms that there are several instances of power exercise, both within the two and three-dimensional concept of power as described by Lukes. Certain aspects of the RPF’s policies aimed at reconciliation can be seen as power exercise by the government and potentially be problematic for a successful reconciliation process.

Commercial fishing in the Baltic Sea has led to decrease in abundance of large predatory fish and as a result the predation pressure on smaller fish species has been reduced. Three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) is among the species that have benefited from reduced predation pressure. Sticklebacks are a small fish species that spends its juvenile stage in coastal habitat and its adult stage in the open sea with a yearly migration from the sea to coastal habitat and lakes for spawning. Sticklebacks have been shown to have a negative effect on fry of coastal species, such as perch (Perca fluviatilis). Therefore an increase in stickleback abundance, as a consequence of reduced predation pressure, can potentially further reduce abundance of fry of coastal species, such as perch. On the other hand sticklebacks could be subject to predation from adult perch. This two-species interaction is studied in the perspective of general ecological IGP (intra guild predation) theory. In order to determine how the observed increase of three-spined sticklebacks negatively or positively affects the growth of different stages of perch, a time series of operculum bones from perch collected by the coastal monitoring program prior to the increase of sticklebacks and up until present was analyzed. Three areas along the Swedish coast showing increased stickleback abundance (Gaviksfjärden, Norrbyn and Holmön) were compared to areas that had no sticklebacks or only a small increase in abundance (Kinnbäcksfjärden, Råneåfjärden, Långvindsfjärden) prior and after the general increase in stickleback density. In addition to the growth analysis, a dietary analysis of perch was carried out in order to determine to what extent perch utilize sticklebacks as a food source. I found that there were significant differences in regard to perch growth between the two time periods; however there was no significant difference in growth between the control areas and the stickleback areas except for perch of medium size. Further, this difference in growth between the control and stickleback areas was present both before and after the stickleback increase and could therefore not be tied directly to stickleback increase. Consequently, results from a multiple regression showed that stickleback abundance was not able to significantly explain the observed changes in perch growth. The dietary analysis showed that larger and intermediate perch tend to consume sticklebacks as well as benthic fauna and other fish species while smaller perch tended to feed exclusively on smaller invertebrates. This study concluded that the increase in stickleback abundance had only a very weak effect on perch growth.

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