This study assesses the impact of the Basel III regulatory framework on interbank contagion. It focuses on the direct interbank contagion that spreads via interbank foreign claims among national banking sectors. A balance sheet-based network model employs the quarterly consolidated banking statistics, collected by the Bank for International Settlements, to simulate the consequences of credit and funding shock under stressed market conditions. Compared to the Basel II, the Basel III regulatory framework reduces the probability of interbank contagion (following a simulated default of one banking sector) from 31% to 14% and lowers the impact of contagion by 63% in terms of average loss for a banking sector. The simulations under both regulatory frameworks show that relatively smaller banking sectors can trigger severe interbank contagion comparable to large banking sectors. Throughout the 2005-2009 period, the Basel III regulatory framework stabilizes the fluctuations of the scope of interbank contagion.

This thesis is concerned with consolidated financial statements presented under IFRS. I decided to focus on the basic theoretical framework and the procedures applied in the consolidation of financial statements. Part of the thesis deals with specifics of individual statements and practical examples.

In the course of 2002 and 2003, the Australian Government introduced a fundamental change to the taxation of corporate groups. The new tax consolidation legislation allows wholly-owned groups to be regarded as one homogenous entity for income tax purposes from 1st of July 2002. After making an irrevocable decision to implement the elective consolidation provisions, a group, consisting of a head company and at least one other wholly-owned entity (company, trust or partnership), lodges a single income tax return and pays a single set of PAYG instalments over the period of consolidation. The assessment of the policies, principles and rules governing the implementation and operation of the consolidation regime reveals far-reaching implications for the accessibility of tax attributes and changes to the tax cost / adjusted values of capital / depreciating assets. Tax accounting systems and corporate governance guidelines established by groups are also affected. Groups deciding against the implementation of the consolidation rules, on the other hand, face the removal of previous grouping concessions, such as loss transfer provisions, CGT asset roll-overs and inter-corporate dividend rebates. Furthermore, a number of modified anti-avoidance and integrity measures affect intra-group transactions undertaken outside the consolidation regime. This thesis identifies and analyses the areas of taxation, accounting and corporate governance which are relevant for the initial consolidation decision. The following analysis is structured with primary regard to legal concepts stipulated by the consolidation legislation. However, frequent references to policies underlying the relevant provisions, for instance the wholly-owned approach, allow a deeper understanding of the consolidation core rules and the effects arising for groups deciding to implement them. Finally, this thesis also provides a comparative perspective through the discussion of consolidation policies and rules delivered by German tax legislation, accounting regulations and corporations law.

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Liquefaction is a phenomenon that occurs in loose saturated sand deposits that are subjected to earthquake loading. This phenomenon can cause massive displacements and significant destruction. Many methods for mitigating liquefaction have been proposed and investigated including compaction, drainage, and grouting. One such liquefaction mitigation technique involves the addition of bentonite fines to the pore spaces of a loose, saturated sand via permeation of an engineered clay suspension. This method of soil improvement has provided the basis and motivation for this research. Also, the effect of plastic and non-plastic fines on the static and cyclic response of sands is somewhat contradictory throughout the literature. Thus, the primary objective of this study was to characterize the affect of an engineered bentonite pore fluid on the undrained monotonic response of loose, saturated Ottawa sand in order to determine its feasibility for use as an effective method for liquefaction mitigation. The permeation of engineered bentonite suspensions is proposed as a passive site remediation technique. Thus, the suspensions were delivered to loose Ottawa sand specimens in the laboratory by permeation in a newly designed three-way split mold. This split mold was used to create easily tested specimens that would have an initial soil fabric similar to that expected after permeation in the field. The bentonite suspensions were treated with sodium pyrophosphate to reduce the initial yield stress and viscosity in order to allow for permeation. Three different bentonite suspensions were utilized throughout this study each having different properties and delivering slightly different amounts of bentonite to the loose, saturated sand. The affect of this engineered pore fluid on the undrained shear response of loose, saturated Ottawa sand was compared to the undrained shear response of clean sand and dry-mixed sand and bentonite. The specimen preparation method (dry-mixed or permeated) was shown to have a significant effect on the response of the sand specimens. While the dry-mixed specimens produced larger and more sustained positive pore water pressures than the clean sand (resulting in an increased tendency to flow), the permeated specimens showed a marked decrease in the generation of excess pore water pressures, displayed a more dilative response, and thus resulted in a soil structure that was less likely to flow. Finally, the results of tests on specimens permeated with engineered bentonite suspensions show that there is little to no change in the effective friction angle at critical state. A method for effectively testing permeated soil specimens was developed in this study. This method has laid the framework for further investigations into the use of engineered bentonite suspensions for liquefaction mitigation by permeation grouting. / text

Univ., Diss.--Frankfurt (Main), 2004.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Johns Hopkins University, 1934. / Vita. "Reprinted from [Johns Hopkins University] Studies in Historical and Political Science, series liv, no. 2."

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Johns Hopkins University, 1934. / Vita. "Reprinted from [Johns Hopkins University] Studies in Historical and Political Science, series liv, no. 2."

Master of Science / Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering / Mei He / Thermobifida fusca, an aerobic moderately thermophilic, filamentous soil bacterium is capable of producing butyric acid. Butyric acid is a 4-carbon short chain fatty acid that is widely used in the chemical, food, and pharmaceutical industries. Currently, butyric acid is primarily produced through petroleum-based chemical synthesis, but could be a candidate to be produced by fermentation. By producing through a fermentation platform, production of butyric acid can be shifted from a non-renewable to a renewable source. In an effort to make T. fusca produce a high yield of butyric acid, multiple fermentation parameters were explored and optimized. The effect of different carbon sources (mannose, xylose, lactose, cellobiose, glucose, sucrose, and acetates) on butyric acid production was studied, where cellobiose produced the highest yield of 0.67 g/g C (g-butyric acid/g-carbon input). The best stir speed and aeration rate for butyric acid production were found to be 400 rpm and 2 vvm in a 5-L fermentor. The maximum titer of 2.1 g/L butyric acid was achieved on 9.66 g/L cellulose. Fermentation was performed on ground corn stover as a substrate to evaluate the production of butyric acid on lignocellulosic biomass, and the optimized conditions resulted in a titer of 2.37 g/L butyric acid. The butyric acid synthesis pathway was identified involving five genes that catalyzed reactions from acetyl-CoA to butanyol-CoA in T. fusca. A study into the transcriptomics of T. fusca was begun by growing T. fusca under a variety of fermentation conditions, isolating the messenger RNA, and performing a sequence of the mRNA using whole transcriptome shotgun sequencing. The results of sequencing of various samples were plotted to determine correlation across numerous fermentation parameters. This correlation based analysis determined that the carbon to nitrogen ratio has the largest overall impact on gene transcription of T. fusca among all of the fermentation parameters studied. Overall, the work from this study proves that production of butyric acid is possible from a renewable cellulosic feedstock.

M.Tech. / The study explores the role of interior designers in the design and implementation of retail stores. Through application of case study methodology, the process of retail design within the Group Property Development Department of Edgars Consolidated Stores (Edcon) was established and the role of interior designers within this process determined. The context of the case is the clothing and footwear retail market in South Africa. Presently, this market is dominated by several large holding companies that constitute the greater part of the leading retail brands in the country. The foremost South African clothing and footwear retailer is Edcon. The case study for this research study is the Group Property Development Department of Edcon that manages the leasing, conceptualisation, design development and construction of all new and refurbished retail stores for all of Edcon’s retail chains. Literature describes retail design as a complex activity that involves many role players who make use of expert knowledge and a variety of skills that contribute to the successful implementation of a retail brand identity through the design of retail stores. The literature review further indicates that most of the published research on retail design is in retail management, marketing and psychology. However, the consideration of the contribution of interior designers, as role players in retail design, is not documented or described in existing literature. Retail design is a field of practice that is well established in the interior design profession. Interior designers are able to support retailers by increasing the benefits of retail design in the course of retail differentiation and strategic leadership. The importance of retail design in the interior design profession is confirmed through this research study as it reveals that nine higher education institutions, affiliated with the South African Institute of the Interior Design Professions (IID), include retail design projects in the interior design curricula.