Cave organisms are classic examples of regressive evolution, as many disparate taxa have evolved similar convergent phenotypes in subterranean environments. While recent phylogeographic and population genetic analyses have greatly improved our understanding of the evolutionary and biogeographic history of cave organisms, many questions remain unanswered or poorly investigated. I investigated several evolutionary and biogeographic questions in a model system for regressive evolution and studies of ecological and evolutionary mechanisms, amblyopsid cavefishes. In chapter I, I used recently developed methods to delimit species boundaries and relationships in a widely distributed cavefish, Typhlichthys. I show that species diversity in Typhlichthys is currently underestimated and that the view of a single, widely distributed species is not valid. Rather, several morphologically cryptic lineages comprise the diversity in this clade. In chapter II, I examined regressive evolution and potential re-evolution of an eyed, surface form in amblyopsid cavefishes. Whether evolution is truly irreversible, known as Dollo’s Law, has become a question of increasing interest, as several recent studies have made claims that complex structures can be recovered after loss. Phylogenetic and ancestral character state analyses of amblyopsid cavefishes are consistent with re-evolution of eyes and pigmentation and recolonization of surface habitats in the surface-dweller Forbesichthys, providing an opportunity to rigorously discriminate between re-evolution and parallel evolution of cave phenotypes. Despite strong support for re-evolution and contradiction of Dollo’s Law, eye histological evidence and analyses of molecular evolution in the eye gene rhodopsin are consistent with Dollo’s Law supporting at least three independent subterranean colonizations and eye degeneration. Phylogenetic reconstructions of character evolution can occasionally produce strongly supported yet misleading results. In chapter III, I examined the biogeography and speciation of Typhlichthys. Phylogenetic and divergence time analyses support monophyly of Typhlichthys with the majority of cladogenic events occurring in the late Pliocene to Pleistocene, implicating climate change as the primary mechanism driving diversification. Biogeographical analyses, examination of molecular variation in rhodopsin, and structuring of genetic variation with hydrological boundaries, support multiple colonization events by a broadly distributed surface ancestor that subsequently went extinct rather than a single colonization event followed by subterranean dispersal and vicariance.

This thesis consists of three self-contained essays in the fields of banking and portfolio choice. Banking and Optimal Reserves in an Equilibrium Model: I address the question of reserves in banking, particularly the fact that reserves are substantially larger than the stipulated reserve requirements by Bank of International Settlements. My contribution is to show that when the underlying values of borrowers are correlated, banks should hold positive reserves, regardless of the regulation. I use a derived distribution for debt portfolios to show that intermediation in a debt market will outperform direct lending, even if intermediaries are allowed to default. The model used is a generalization of Williamson (1986), with Costly State Verification as asymmetric information. By using a factor model for the value of entrepreneurs' projects, I introduce a positive probability for banks to default. It is shown that, in equilibrium, banks choose to hold capital reserves that are almost large enough to eliminate the expected auditing cost for their depositors. The reason is that auditing does not provide any utility and hence, the cake to be split between banks and depositors is enlarged by reserves as an insurance against bad outcomes. It is also shown that the more correlation there is in the debt portfolio, the larger is the optimal reserve level. This could explain why small regional banks in Sweden often have more than twice the reserve level of their nation-wide competitors. Optimal Rebalancing of Portfolio Weights under Time-varying Return Volatility: This paper considers horizon effects on portfolio weights under time varying and forecastable return volatility. The return volatility is modeled as a GARCH-M, which is sufficiently general to encompass both constant and time varying means. The analysis confirms earlier results, namely that there are no horizon effects when the stochastic process, which governs asset returns, has a constant mean. However, when time varying and forecastable volatility is included in the mean equation, there are horizon effects. I show three features to be of importance for the horizon effect: First, the size of the parameter on conditional volatility in the mean equation and second, persistence in conditional volatility. Third, the asymmetry in volatility has some effect. In addition, the parameter of relative risk aversion is important. For low levels of risk aversion, only very small effects on portfolio weights are present; when the level of risk aversion increases, so does the effects on portfolio weights. Portfolio weights increase for the first 2-3 years when the investment horizon is increased; the total effect slightly exceeds 10%. Can Parameter Uncertainty Help Solve the Home Bias Puzzle? A well-known puzzle in international finance is the equity home bias. This paper illustrates a mechanism where exchange rate estimation risk causes equity home bias. Estimation risk is introduced into a standard mean-variance portfolio framework by having return time series with different lengths. We argue that the exchange rate return history, which is a part of the local currency return on a foreign investment, is likely to be substantially shorter than the available return histories of equity indices due to, for example, exchange rate regime shifts. To econometrically deal with return histories of different lengths we utilize a framework devised by Stambaugh (1997). The impact of estimation risk on an optimal portfolio is tested with data from Sweden and the U.S. Our results suggest that explicitly accounting for estimation risk causes the domestic investor to increase his fraction of domestic assets. While the introduction of exchange rate estimation risk is not powerful enough to explain the whole home bias observed in data, the results of this paper illustrate a mechanism that is often overlooked in discussions of international portfolio diversification.

Some studies have shown that managers concentrate large fractions of their wealth in the equity of their own firm. In this paper we use a unique dataset and investigate how Swedish owner-managers invest remaining wealth conditional on a major investment in their own firm. We find no[JR1] evidence that owner-managers seek diversification benefits when they invest remaining wealth. Instead some owner-managers invest remaining wealth in the industry where they already have a substantial capital investment. We conclude that some owner-managers seek to exploit their industry-specific superior information when they invest wealth not tied up in their own firms. / <p>QC 20130515</p>

This paper studies via experimental setting whether diversification discount exists and what factors affect the magnitude of the discount. The results suggest that experience before decision increases the likelihood of exercising the real option of conglomerates. People are also more likely to convert if it is less risky to do so.

Background: In an increasingly globalized environment, corporations perform transactions across borders on a day-to-day basis. As multinational corporations expand their businesses the number of currencies in their operations increases. The consequence of operating with several currencies is the risk associated with currency fluctuations. Sandvik AB is a worldwide corporation where activities are conducted through representation in more than 130 countries. Currency exposures are controlled through risk management where financial derivatives are applied to protect the corporation from potential losses caused by fluctuations. Sandvik AB recently implemented a hedging strategy entitled Layered Basket Option hedging. The strategy is a combination of a layered- and a basket option approach to maximize the effect of the hedge. There is a limited amount of previous research regarding Layered Basket Option hedging and Sandvik AB is the first corporation to actively practice this strategy. Purpose: The purpose is to investigate and provide information about how currency risk most effectively is hedged for the multinational corporation Sandvik AB. Furthermore, we want to evaluate if Sandvik’s recently implemented hedging strategy, Layered Basket Option hedging, is the best-suited strategy for them and if there are any improvements to be made. This thesis will further investigate the importance of currency hedging for multinational corporations, which are dependent on reporting to their stakeholders. Hopefully, this thesis will also facilitate the communication of Sandvik’s currency strategies throughout the organization and make it more comprehensible. Method: Exchange rates on daily basis for the period 2002-2012 were collected from Bank of Canada and Reuters database. The collected data was thereafter used as a basis to perform calculations to determine if Layered Basket Option hedging is the optimal solution for Sandvik AB. Conclusion: The results of this study highlight the benefits from applying a Layered Basket Option hedging strategy and the strategy succeeds to reduce the volatility caused by currency fluctuation. The results indicate that the combination of a layered- and a basket option approach successfully creates a suitable strategy for Sandvik AB. Furthermore, this thesis has recognized that there exists room for improvement by actively allocating currencies according to their weights and correlations to fully exploit the effects from the strategy.

The Four O'clock Family (Nyctaginaceae) has a number of genera with unusual morphological and ecological characters, several of which appear to have a "tendency" to evolve repeatedly in Nyctaginaceae. I present a molecular phylogeny for the Nyctaginaceae, consider taxonomic implications, biogeographic patterns, and the evolution of cleistogamy and gypsophily. These characters have each evolved multiple times in the xeric-adapted genera of the family. Further progress towards understanding these phenomena requires specific investigation of the ecology of pollination and gypsum tolerance. In the genus Boerhavia, an intensively sampled phylogeny based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and nitrate reductase (NIA) sequences provides new insights into relationships among species in the genus, and identifies a clade of annual species centered in the Sonoran Desert. Phylogeographic patterns are present in the genus that may reflect both relatively ancient vicariant events as well as the post-Pleistocene expansion of the Sonoran Desert. Many species in this group are found to be genetically cohesive, however two annual species complexes are found which species were nonmonophyletic. Since several mechanisms can potentially lead to the finding of nonmonophyletic species, Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLPs) were used to examine the structure of genetic variation in the two complexes. These data show that in these two groups, different evolutionary mechanisms are needed to explain the distribution of genetic diversity within and among populations. A complex comprised of Boerhavia spicata and B. xanti shows little evidence of genetic divergence between the species in Sonora, a pattern which may indicate recent contact between two very closely related forms. In contrast, high genetic structure between populations is found in the other complex, which contains the species with umbellate inflorescences. This complex includes several nominal species with highly restricted distributions, whose evolution may have been facilitated by low gene flow among populations. Little evidence was found for associations of inbreeding within populations, and floral traits which might be expected to influence outcrossing rates. / Dissertation

Nowadays, most of the TV stations in Taiwan have the same acts, which are involving in online business, but different in scopes. Some of them are running all kinds of different tasks online, such as e-commerce, ad-sells, pay per view and information offering. However, others are just providing the information offering service. According to this, we can notice that there has no identical processing procedure in the industry. Every firm has its own strategy about running business online. And it seems like the different entry strategies have play a important role in it. Thus, the study focuses on knowing how TV stations decided to run online business and formulated their entry strategies while conducting the diversification management. Within that, it also contains issues of strategic goals, business scopes and performance evaluations which will also be discussed in the study. This article uses case study approach and analyses two TV stations¡¦, Formosa Television and TVBS, diversification strategies. Combining the results and theories with secondary sources, we suggest that: (1) TV stations¡¦ Internet strategies are based on digital strategies. (2) The Internet plays a support function to the TV stations. (3) Diversification defines the scopes of the Internet business. (4) Owners¡¦ attitude. (5) Popularity decides the marketing platforms. (6) Functional resource-based view. (7) Program division decides the results of the promotion. (8) A mixing departmental performance assessment. (9) Unique performance assessment between different strategic activities.

With the changing economic structure, from the textile, food, petrochemicals, steel,to high-tech industry, capital and technical requirements are gradually increasing. With the liberalization and internationalization, market competition was intensified. The large conglomerates have strong financial, human, technical resources and capabilities, who are more competitive to face the intense environmental change. Taiwan 100 Group's asset size is 600 times than 40 years ago. As a result, large conglomerates grasp Taiwan's economic lifeline. The majority of conglomerates engaged in diversification, but which resources and capabilities can engage in what kind of diversification to deliver competitive advantage for conglomerates is an important subject. Therefore, this study chooses two long history and successful business group in Taiwan, which are Far Eastern Group and Yuen Foong Yu Group. To investigate that what kind of resources and capabilities they use to implement diversification strategies. Then escalating group¡¦s resources and further expand the scale of the groups. According to this study, the analysis showed that the Far Eastern Group and Yuen Foong Yu Group, technology, human resources, assets, industry position, industry business experience, management ability, organizational ability, are the key resources and capabilities to perform any kind of diversification strategies.

When an enterprise has developed to a certain scale and anticipated an impressive expansion, business transformation and diversification are unavoidable decisions. How to measure targets or strategies of business transformation and diversification by quantifiable performance measurements or non-quantifiable performance evaluation systems and make adequate modifications would be crucial issues. This study applied Balanced Scorecard ¡qKaplan and Norton, 1996¡r to the Taiwan Sugar Corporation ¡qTSC¡r as a case study. Balanced Scorecard is a tool provides a strategy framework for implementation and control, and transforms company¡¦s visions and strategies into measurable indexes with four dimensions. In order to synchronize the Balanced Scorecard sheet and strategy map of TSC, the study used statistics method to analyze questionnaires and technique of in-depth interviews. Started with analyzing the results of TSC diversification, the study expanded cause-effect relationships of eight major strategic themes, and combined 13 strategic objectives and 45 strategic key performance indicators. The study has two major findings: 1.The current management system and performance measurement of state-owned business are influenced significantly by the government agency. Furthermore, the state-owned business also emphasis too much on financial and internal business process performance indicators, thus customer needs and needs for learning are sacrificed. As the result, the transform mission and strategic target, which focus on value of customers, can¡¦t be connected. 2.Through planning and designing Balanced Scorecard for TSC and transforming organizational strategic objectives into actionable objectives and key performance indicator, we found that Balanced Scorecard is an integrated strategic management tool. Using this tool, the state-owned business can effectively move from ¡§budget performance measurement system¡¨ to ¡§performance management strategy system¡¨. The establishment of Balanced Scorecard has brought TSC the following substantial benefits: 1.Improving the unclear decision making mechanism 2.Establishing strategy focus organization 3.Reducing the gap of current achievement evaluation systems 4.Transforming to customer-focused management mechanism Key words: Business transformation, Diversification, Balanced Scorecard, TSC

After entering WTO, Taiwan faces the challenges of globalization. At the same time, migration of manufacturing industries to mainland China seems to be an endless trend. To avoid failure, firms have to make constant changes, expand their sizes, and seek strategies for sustaining profit growth under the severe competitive environment of today¡¦s global markets. To maintain competitive advantages, small and medium enterprise have to leverage their resources and competences for sustainable profitability and growth by careful strategies formulation. The diversification processes to expand a firm¡¦s size and business fields are related to its competence and its efficiency of leveraging resources. This research is about the relationship between resources based view and diversifying strategies. Based on the diversification process of company L, we explore the strategies for the case company by considering changes in industry environment and the company¡¦s conditions ,with the evaluation of the company¡¦s competence and resources. The findings are: 1. The fields of new businesses for diversification of a company are restrained by their existing resources. 2.The diversification will be more likely to success, if the products to be carried in the new business are highly connected to the company¡¦s current customers. 3.The new business will eventually need new resources ,which will be accumulated and become one of the firm¡¦s important resources.