Thesis (M. Sc.(Anthropology))-University of Pretoria, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Shear walls are one of the most effective methods of resisting these lateral forces caused by seismic or wind load. The placement of these walls can be very influential on how the structure behaves. Since the end return of a shear wall is perpendicular to the lateral force, it is neglected for the purpose of resisting later force. This study will investigate whether or not the effect of end return on the rigidity of shear walls can be neglected. Two different building frames will be modeled using Finite Element Analysis software to see how they behave differently. Hand calculations will also be incorporated to check and verify the results obtained by the computer models. The moment of inertia is expected to be an important factor calculating the deflection of the shear wall due to bending, and the end return may significantly impact the magnitude of the moment of inertia. The objective of this study is to determine the effect of the end return on the rigidity of a shear wall.

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Abstract In 2019 e-commerce market become one of the most important part to push the global economic growth especially in China and US. In 2020 Covid-19 has widely spread around the world which caused a severe economic crisis, but e-commerce market has gained benefit from it. In this study will discuss how e-commerce will perform in future and how e-commerce reacts and defend in this crisis. This study used method of discounted cash flow to track the fundamental information of EC market as representative of Alibaba and Amazon, also used event study method to test influence of COVID-19 in the whole industry

Thesis advisor: Pierluigi Balduzzi / Essay one of this dissertation investigates the relation between fundamental idiosyncratic volatility and stock returns idiosyncratic volatility using data from 56 countries over 1980-2014. I find a strong positive relation between fundamental idiosyncratic volatility and idiosyncratic volatility of returns. This association, however, seems to be entirely driven by the developed economies and I find no effect in the emerging markets. Specifically, fundamental idiosyncratic volatility does not lead to more idiosyncratic return volatility in countries with poor legal institutions and weak shareholder protection laws. The second essay examines the effect of accounting standards on return predictability by using a variance decomposition approach, and is joint work with Pierluigi Balduzzi, Gil Sadka, and Ronnie Sadka. We decompose returns into a cash-flow news component and a discount-rate news component, and investigate cross-sectional and time-series changes in the contribution of each component to return variations. We also decompose returns for 20 industries in three subsample periods to examine the effect of accounting standards on different industries over time. Our results contribute to our understanding of the effect of accounting practices on accounting variables and return predictability. The third essay studies the effect of short-selling on stock price informativeness. Morck, Yeung, and Yu (2000), in their pioneering study of international differences in stock price synchronicity, emphasize the effect of market development on the ability of investors to incorporate firm-specific information into prices. I use a unique institutional feature in the Hong Kong market to investigate one of the important tools investors use to incorporate information into prices and hence, reduce stock price synchronicity; short-selling. Examining the cross-sectional and time-series variation in short-sale constraints in the Hong Kong market, I find that following the removal of short-sale constraints, stock prices become more informative and move less in tandem with the market. My findings contribute to our understanding of the impact of short-sales constraints on stock price informativeness. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Carroll School of Management. / Discipline: Finance.

In today's society there is an increasing globalization. This may create a challenge for publicly- owned firms to make its stocks more attractive in the market for the investors all around the world. One method firms could use to attract new investors is through engagement in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities; which has in the recent years received a lot of notable attention. On the occasion that there exist different types of CSR activities it would be beneficial for firms to receive broader knowledge about the different impacts that the different activities have on a firm's stock price. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the literature by investigating if different types of CSR activities have different degree of impact on a firm’s stock price; and if so, which type of activity that would be more preferable for firms to undertake in order to increase their stock price. The effect of a firm’s engagement in CSR activities was studied by the use of an event study. The event study was centered on a firm’s announcements of CSR activities of type environmental, ethical and philanthropic. All the firms considered in the study are American firms and they were all listed on the New York stock exchange (NYSE). The time period used in the study were the years between 2006 and 2016. However, the year of 2008 was excluded because of the financial crisis. To measure whether CSR has an effect on a firm’s stock price a t-test was conducted based on the cumulative average abnormal return (CAAR). A sign test was also performed based on the number of positive CAR’s in the estimation window compared to those in the event window. The cumulative abnormal return (CAR) was also considered in order to draw further conclusions. The study found that a firm’s engagement in CSR did overall, have a positive effect on a firm’s stock price. Further, by studying the results from the various activities; the results show that a firm’s engagement in environmental and ethical CSR activities also have a positive effect on the stock price. Meanwhile, it appeared that philanthropic CSR had no impact on the stock price. To answer the question of which type of CSR activities that is the most beneficial for a firm to engage in if they intend to increase its stock price is to invest in environmental CSR activities.

This thesis provides an empirical analysis of the relationship between the value premium and financial distress. Measures of leverage and default are used as proxies for financial distress. Using both an international data set, 1991 to 2006 and a long time series data set for the United States, 1927 – 2007, the thesis adds knowledge about the role of the value premium in asset pricing theory. Generalised autoregressive conditional heteroscedastic modelling (GARCH) is used and information gathered on the volatility of the value premium. A vector autoregressive (VAR) framework and Granger Causality tests are utilised in order to offer a deeper examination of the relationship between risk premium and economic activity. The results add further evidence to support the view that the value premium appears to be linked to variables associated with financial distress, although it is noted that this does not necessarily mean that participants in financial markets behave rationally.

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The thesis describes a stochastic procedure developed for assessing risk and reducing uncertainty inherent in the investment decision making process. It is proposed that the two most important profitability financial ratios in relation to investment decisions are the return on equity and the return on assets respectively. In order to exploit their use as criteria for risk measurement and uncertainty reduction, a stochastic formulation is adopted in which these ratios are expressed in probabilistic terms. A density function to describe their behaviour is derived; it is found that density distribution analysis for both ratios indicate that the Weibull distribution apart from being the most flexible and adaptable model of all those considered, provides the best overall fit to the data. It is accordingly used in the latter part of the research for evaluating industrial sector and company investment risk.

The thesis describes a stochastic procedure developed for assessing risk and reducing uncertainty inherent in the investment decision making process. It is proposed that the two most important profitability financial ratios in relation to investment decisions are the return on equity and the return on assets respectively. In order to exploit their use as criteria for risk measurement and uncertainty reduction, a stochastic formulation is adopted in which these ratios are expressed in probabilistic terms. A density function to describe their behaviour is derived; it is found that density distribution analysis for both ratios indicate that the Weibull distribution apart from being the most flexible and adaptable model of all those considered, provides the best overall fit to the data. It is accordingly used in the latter part of the research for evaluating industrial sector and company investment risk.