The aim of this thesis is to test the hypothesis that by increasing the amount of waste material that is reused and recycled, the UK construction industry can become more sustainable. Construction waste reclamation is increasing as a result of demonstration projects, encouraged by the landfill tax and the impending primary aggregates levy. However, much of the recovered material is used for low-grade purposes and there is still a reticence to embrace its widespread use in higher specification applications as a direct substitute for primary materials. Applying sustainability principles to construction waste management requires a lifecycle approach whereby the social, economic and environmental impacts are considered of both the raw and secondary materials chain. Using data from a number of case studies, a lifecycle assessmenmt odel was created within which the impacts from five alternative waste management scenarios were compared. The impacts were evaluated using economic valuation and multicriteria techniques to provide an overall picture of the relative sustainability of the alternative options. Sensitivity analyses were used to test the validity and robustness of the results in the light of data uncertainty and other variations. The results suggest that managing construction waste further up the waste management hierarchy will result in a more sustainableU K construction industry. The financial costs follow a similar pattern, which raises the question of why recycled materials are not more widely substituted for primary materials. It is concluded that there may be additional factors that are difficult to include within an LCA such as market and information failures, the timing of materials supply and demand and industry confidence. Unless addressed, such factors will continue to limit the extent to which secondary materials replace primary materials in the industry and therefore the sustainability benefits that can be realised

This thesis investigates some of the properties of valuation rings. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with the basic properties of commutative rings and ideals in rings. Unless otherwise stated, all rings considered in this thesis are commutative rings with a unity.

Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems. Ecosystem service valuation (ESV) is the process of assessing the contributions of ecosystem services to human well-being. Its goal is to express the effects of changes in ecosystem services in terms of trade-offs against other things that also support human welfare. Ecologists tend to use biophysical-based methods while economists have developed preference-based tools for ESV. In this dissertation I attempt to bridge these two worlds by writing six papers using methods and insights from both disciplines. In paper 1, my coauthors and I (thereafter “we”) reviewed (1) what has been done in ESV research in the last 45 years; (2) how it has been used in ecosystem management; and (3) prospects for the future. One conclusion is that researchers and practitioners will have to transcend disciplinary boundaries and synthesize methodologies and tools from various disciplines in order to meet the challenge of ecosystem service valuation and management. Ninety-four peer-reviewed environmental economic studies were used to value ecosystem services in the State of New Jersey in paper 2. We translated each benefit estimate into 2004 US dollars per acre per year, computed the average value for a given eco-service for a given ecosystem type, and multiplied the average by the total statewide acreage for that ecosystem. The total value of these ecosystem services was estimated as $11.6 billion/year and we believe that this result is conservative. This aggregate value of New Jersey’s ecosystem services is a useful, albeit imperfect, basis for assessing and comparing these services with conventional economic goods and services. In paper 3 we present a conceptual framework for non-market valuation of ecosystem services provided by coastal and marine systems and review the peer-reviewed literature in this area. Next we selected a subset of this literature and conducted the first meta-analysis of the ecosystem service values provided by the costal and nearshore marine systems in paper 4. Using regression we found that over 75% of the variation in willingness to pay (WTP) for coastal ecosystem services could be explained. Our metaregression models also predicted out-of-sample WTPs and showed that the overall average transfer error was 24%, with 40% of the sample having transfer errors of 10% or less, and only 2.5% of predictions having transfer errors of over 100%. In the final two papers our focus is on the linkage between biodiversity and ecosystem function (BEF) which connects ecosystems with human welfare. In paper 5 we first present an overview of the main concepts and findings from a decade of the BEF literature. After a discussion on how agrobiodiversity relates to stability and resilience in agricultural systems at both the species and the landscape scales, we conclude with observations on the research needs in assessing the BEF relationship and the implications for agrobiodiversity ESV research. Finally, in paper 6, by using multiple regression analysis at the site and ecoregion scales in North America, we estimated relationships between biodiversity (using plant species richness as a proxy) and Net Primary Production (NPP, as a proxy for ecosystem services). We tentatively conclude that a 1% change in biodiversity in the high temperature range (which includes most of the world’s biodiversity) corresponds to approximately a 1/2% change in the value estimate of ecosystem services.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, 2002. / This thesis presents a new approach to the measurement of consumer brand equity outcomes. The approach links financial performance with consumer behaviour to acknowledge the true source of a brand's strength. The methodology developed can be used to value brands for a variety of purposes ranging from corporate accounting, to taxation, to trademark protection and to capital market analysis. Its most significant application might well become the re-positioning of marketing as the leader of a company-wide activity that contributes to and protects shareholder wealth. The study concludes that the function of marketing has become too introspective and is in danger of allowing its essential role of building and maintaining brands to be taken over by the company as a whole. Brands today are becoming the responsibility of the board and marketing is increasingly seen as a function that deals with certain extemal agencies and buys their services. The author has studied the extant valuation methodologies and has found that they avoid incorporating consumer perceptions of brands: the main reason why brands exist and thrive. The explanation for this is to avoid what the financial community call the "soft issues". And yet it is these so called "soft issues" that determine the value of the brand. Brand equity is defined as the value a brand adds to a non-branded, or commodity, version. This value is invested in the brand by its users and to ignore this in a valuation methodology is to omit a key variable. The methodology presented in this thesis deals with this fundamental requirement and departs from the conventional approaches in four substantive ways: • It uses the Capital Asset Pricing Model to estimate the cost of capital which acts as a proxy for the commodity or non-branded version. • An adapted Delphi approach iteration survey isolates the super profits attributable to the brand from the other profit generating resources. • By analysing the category in which the brand sells according to four defining variables - longevity, leadership, barriers to entry, and vulnerability - time markers are set for notional category dominant and marginal brands. • Survey based consumer data provides quantitative statistics that are reduced to Brand Knowledge Structure (BKS) scores. These are substituted for the dominant and marginal brand markers to establish the Brand Expected Life. The brand value, captured by this approach, is the capitalised present value of the future cash flows. In developing a valuation approach that incorporates consumer behaviour a metric has been developed that links marketing activities directly with shareholder value; which raises the status of the marketing function and which provides the company with a tool to measure return on marketing investment and monitor the value of what in many cases is the firm's most important asset.

Wong, Chun Yin. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 45-46). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 2 --- Weather Risks and Weather Derivatives --- p.4 / Chapter 2.1 --- Weather Risk --- p.4 / Chapter 2.2 --- Weather Derivatives --- p.6 / Chapter 2.3 --- Importance of Long Term Forecasting --- p.7 / Chapter 3 --- Modeling the Temperature --- p.9 / Chapter 3.1 --- Stationary Long-Memory Time Series Model --- p.13 / Chapter 3.2 --- Use of Temporal Aggregation Model --- p.19 / Chapter 4 --- Weather Derivative Valuation Models --- p.26 / Chapter 4.1 --- List of Assumptions --- p.27 / Chapter 4.2 --- Valuation Formula --- p.30 / Chapter 4.3 --- Forecasting power of daily temperature model --- p.32 / Chapter 4.4 --- Empirical Result --- p.37 / Chapter 5 --- Summary and Conclusion --- p.43 / Bibliography --- p.45

Background: Associated with the change in the regulations in 2009 concerning how goodwill should be handled in the acquisitions, brand valuation is increasingly recognized. Goodwill will now be identified and the brand will therefore be separated to be individually evaluated. The valuation has a problem with a number of factors that will influence the choice of method, to obtain a reliable value  Aim: The purpose of this study is to examine the method used for brand valuation associated with the acquisition situations. In addition, it aims to gain a better understanding of brand valuation and its problems. Method: The study has a qualitative basis, where three key people of brand valuation have been interviewed. These work as valuation specialists at various accounting firms, this to get answers that could be compared. Working from an abductive approach has enabled that the study's purpose was achieved. Results: The result that we can demonstrate through this study is that brand valuation is not an exact science. Valuers will base the valuation on their own personal preferences and available data. However, we saw that all respondents in one way or another applied a method. The value of a brand that is calculated through the method is therefore considered more reliable than when using another method. From this study we observed that it takes a number of factors which will be different from valuer to valuer. Depending on each valuers views on these factors the choice of valuation method will be affected.

The Venture Capital Invested Business Model ¡VThe Case Study For D Venture Capital Company Abstract Post-investment management is one of the critical phases of the investment process and is typically the most time consuming. Venture Capital Invested forcus in high-tech firms ,the difference between Venture Capital and tradition company is Venture Capital have hight risks and returns more than tradition company¡C From allocation to withdrawal and returns process by Venture- capital-backed Firms ( all the time approximately 3∼8 year), after post-investment management including the time which covers is very long, and have huge influence for the investment result. After the investment, how to involve the management, manages strength of strong and the weak is a big challenge for Venture capital of human resources assignment. The method is studying documents and the more case study have the conclusion. The onclusion is Venture capital have strategic valuation by the analysis base. And by the analysis base extend todifference business model. This research proposed as the market size to be big and the department market mainstream product, either is had law litigation by Venture- capital-backed Firms . Venture capital will involve leading manage to reduction lawsuit perio. When Venture- capital-backed Firms management team displays direction of the management idea difference even the deviation board of directors, Venture capital put into mostly the time involvement management even the consideration sells off stocks, makes a profit brings to completion. Post-investment management is one of the critical phases venture-capital acts as a member of board directors.¡Bthe assistance enterprise financing¡Bmonitoring financial report and structue¡Bthe agreement on urgent problem and the initiation business strategy.Ventur-capital invested jusd do the consults of managemen when initial investment t and as a member of board directors. But when appears emergency alert from financial report either presents the crisis or the management question, Venture Capital will involvement human affairs, adjustment of the organization and the direction of management The reseach conclusion is venture Capital still sell the stockholder as the main purpose and the returns method. Keywords¡G Venture Capital¡BStrategic Valuation

ABSTRACT This study calculates the intrinsic value of the dry bulk shipping company by using the free cash flow (FCF) model[1]. This intrinsic value provides a solution for investors to overcome the stock market mispricing. Furthermore, this study uses Freight Forward Agreement (FFA) prices as the future prospect indicators for the dry bulk shipping industry. Usually, wrong estimating future prospects result in wrong valuation outcomes. By adding this future indicator, the accuracy of valuation outcome can be better enhanced. Finally, by using average stock market price as criteria, this study compares the biases among the different valuation models. The FCF model coupling with the FFA prices as future indicators has a minimum bias. It explains that FCF model coupling with the FFA prices is more effective for the investors to calculate the intrinsic value.

<p>This doctoral thesis consists of five self-contained essayspresented to the Faculty Board of the Royal Institute ofTechnology. Property valuation is a central issue that forms acommon thread in the analysis in these essays. In the thesisproperty is considered in a mixed asset context in an attemptto build a bridge between valuation, property investment andfinancial theory. The object of the thesis is to value propertyfor finance, sales and purchases and investment. Theinvestigation of the thesis extends traditional valuation withan integrated approach using econometric technology.</p><p>Essay I estimates the market value of townhouses underdevelopment in a North American city. The traditional hedonicregression model is used to predict the value of the complex asa whole, as well as of the individual unit. The role of theproperty tax in explaining property valuation is indicated andthe valuation errors of the predicted values estimated in theessay relative to the prices realized in the market suggest thefeasibility of regression analysis for preconstructionappraisal.</p><p>Essay II investigates the implicit prices of property valuesin the Beijing residential market. An uncertainattribute—"perceived construction risk" enters the modelas a proxy for a consumer's subjective probability ofconstruction quality. Public facilities are found to reduce thevalue of residences and consumers would be willing to pay ahighly substantial amount of money to protect themselves fromthe risk of poor construction quality.</p><p>Essay III studies the long-term relationship between housingprices and property stock prices under the Swedish rent controlsystem from 1980 to 1998. The Vector Autoregressive (VAR) modelwith a subsystem approach is used to test cointegration and theError Correction Model (ECM) and Granger Causality are alsotested. The tests provide evidence of co-movement between thehousing market and property stock market and suggest the roleof rentals in raising the speed of movement towards thelong-term equilibrium of asset prices.</p><p>Essay IV models the volatility of property stock returns inthe Swedish market from 1990 to 1999. The GeneralAutoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (GARCH) model isapplied to capture time-varying volatility and the GARCH-Mmodel is used to price this volatility. The vacancy rate isfound to help explain persistent volatility and risk spillovereffects from the bond market and the direct real estate marketare expected.</p><p>Essay V analyzes the inflation hedging ability of Swedishproperty stocks from 1980 to 1999. Two expected inflationrates—UND1x inflation and GARCH inflation—andcointegration technology are used for this study. For theperiod as a whole, no inflation hedging behavior is found, butfor the period of 1986–1993 when the vacancy rate was low,short-run inflation hedging is indicated.</p>

Inaug.-diss.--Erlangen. / Lebenslauf. "Literaturverzeichnis": p. 93-98.