Since the dividend irrelevance theory of Miller and Modigliani (1961), academics and practitioners still have little understanding of the managerial incentives underpinning dividend policy. Black (1976) observed, “The harder we look at the dividend picture, the more it seems like a puzzle, with pieces that just don’t fit together.” <br /> <br /> This thesis aims to shed additional light on the dividend puzzle. Accordingly, two theoretical models have been developed to help explain why firms pay dividends or repurchase their own shares. The models consider the case in which the managers of a high-quality firm (firm H) and a low-quality firm (firm L) choose to use corporate cash flows to pay dividends, repurchase shares, or invest in a real project from which they can earn private benefits. I focus on the case in which firm H has a positive NPV project whereas firm L has a negative NPV project. <br /> <br /> In the first model, developed in spirit of Isagawa (2000), I show that paying dividends is a dominated strategy for firm H, regardless of the managerial weight parameter. If the manager is myopic, firm L will choose to repurchase shares at the detriment of existing shareholders. If the manager is farsighted, on the other hand, firm L will choose to pay dividends. I also consider the case in which investors are irrational in that they do not update their beliefs upon observing one firm repurchasing shares while the other firm paying dividends. The model shows that, in inefficient market, firm L will not mimic given that firm H repurchases shares since it cannot obtain any benefit from doing so. <br /> <br /> In the second model, built on Fairchild and Zhang’s (2005) work, in which the managerial payout decisions depend on the relative magnitudes of dividend and repurchase catering premia, I demonstrate that a myopic manager of firm H may pass up a positive NPV project in order to cater to investor demand for dividends or share repurchases (an adverse selection problem). In addition, I show that the agency cost of free cash flow can be mitigated if the dividend-catering premium is sufficiently high. That is, firm L’s manager will have a strong incentive to return excess cash to shareholders rather than invest it in a negative NPV project. <br /> <br /> Then, I investigate dividend changes in Thailand over the period 2002-2005. To test the signalling and free cash flow hypotheses, I first analyse profitability changes around dividend changes and benchmark them with control firms, and examine the relation between dividend changes and the past and future profitability. Consistent with Benartzi et al.’s (1997) evidence in the U.S., dividend changes in Thailand do not signal future profitability but rather the past performance. Then, I examine the determinants of dividend changes and firm’s decision to change dividends. I also investigate the short-run and long-run stock price performance of dividend-changing firms, and the relation between announcement returns and hypothesised independent variables. Finally, I examine firms’ investment behaviour following dividend changes. The results do not support the view that dividend changes signal future profitability. Overall, the findings are broadly consistent with the free cash flow hypothesis rather than the signalling hypothesis. <br /> <br /> Additionally, I provide preliminary evidence on open-market share repurchases (OMRs) in Thailand over the period December 2001 to January 2007. I find that stock prices react positively to OMR announcements and continue to increase in the longer term, suggesting that stock market underreacts to the signal conveyed by the managers of repurchasing firms. Comparing the actual repurchase cost with the costs of benchmark portfolios, I find that the actual repurchase cost is the lowest. This finding suggests that the managers of repurchasing firms have substantial ability to time the market.

The purpose of this work is to develop a continuum theory that may be used to predict the effects of anisotropic boundary vibrations on loose granular assemblies. In order to do so, we extend statistical averaging techniques employed in the kinetic theory to derive an anisotropic flow theory for rapid, dense flows of identical, inelastic spheres. The theory is anisotropic in the sense that it treats the full second moment of velocity fluctuations, rather than only its isotropic piece, as a mean field to be determined. In this manner, the theory can, for example, predict granular temperatures that are different in different directions. The flow theory consists of balance equations for mass, momentum, and full second moment of velocity fluctuations, as well as constitutive relations for the pressure tensor, the flux of second moment, and the source of second moment. The averaging procedure employed in deriving the constitutive relations is based on a Maxwellian that is perturbed due to the presence of a deviatoric second and full third moment of velocity fluctuations. Because the theory is anisotropic, it can predict the normal stress differences observed in granular shear flows, as well as the evolution to isotropy in an assembly with granular temperatures that are initially highly anisotropic. In order to complement the theory, we employ similar statistical techniques to derive boundary conditions that ensure that the flux of momentum as well as the flux of second moment are balanced at the vibrating boundary. The bumps are hemispheres arranged in regular arrays, and the fluctuating boundary motion is described by an anisotropic Maxwellian distribution function. The bumpiness of the surface may be adjusted by changing the size of the hemispheres, the spacing between the hemispheres in two separate array-directions, and the angle between the two directions. Statistical averaging consistent with the constitutive theory yields the rates at which momentum and full second moment are transferred to the flow. In order to present results in a form that is easy to interpret physically, the statistical parameters that describe the boundary fluctuations are related in a plausible manner to amplitudes and frequencies of sinusoidal vibrations that may differ in three mutually perpendicular directions, and to phase angles that may be adjusted between the three directions of vibration. The focus of the results presented here is on the steady response of unconfined granular assemblies that are thermalized and driven by horizontal bumpy vibrating boundaries. In a first detailed study of the effects of the boundary geometry and boundary motion on the overall response of the assemblies, the anisotropic theory is reduced to a more familiar isotropic form. The resulting theory predicts the manner in which the profiles of isotropic granular temperature and solid volume fraction as well as the uniform velocity and corresponding flow rate vary with spacings between the bumps, angle of the bump-array, energy of vibration, direction of vibration, and phase angles of the vibration. In a second study, we solve the corresponding, but more elaborate, boundary value problem for anisotropic flows induced by anisotropic boundary vibrations. The main focus in presenting these results is on the differences between granular temperatures in three perpendicular directions normal and tangential to the vibrating surface, and how each is affected by the bumpiness of the boundary and the direction of the vibration. In each case, we calculate the corresponding nonuniform velocity profile, solid volume fraction profile, and mass flow rate.

Les interactions entre décharges Nanosecondes Répétitives Pulsées et des écoulements de gaz laminaires sont étudiées. L’influence d’écoulements d’air stationnaires et instationnaires sur les régimes de décharges NRP est étudiée et les résultats interprétés au moyen de nombres adimensionnels afin de mettre en évidence l’effet synergétique du nombre d’impulsions appliquées, ainsi que de la puissance des pulses, sur le régime de décharge NRP observé. Une étude de l’effet de flammes méthane-air laminaires prémélangées sur des décharges NRP est ensuite présentée. Dans les deux configurations expérimentales utilisées, un effet de la flamme sur les décharges NRP en régime couronne est démontré. De plus, l’influence du mélange de gaz entre les électrodes sur la forme des décharges plasma est démontrée. Enfin, l’effet de décharges NRP en régime couronne sur des flammes plates laminaires prémélangées est étudié. Les décharges NRP entraînent un déplacement de la flamme vers l’amont. Des simulations numériques de flammes axisymétriques sont ensuite réalisées.Cette étude met en évidence l’effet des décharges NRP sur une flamme et donne des indications sur le phénomène à l’origine de cet effet, à savoir l’augmentation de la vitesse de flamme laminaire par le biais de la génération de chaleur et d’ozone par les décharges plasma. De plus, l’étude démontre l’effet opposé de mélanges réactifs sur les décharges NRP. Les décharges NRP sont modifiées par le phénomène de convection du gaz entre les électrodes ainsi que par la constitution de ce gaz. / The interactions between Nanosecond Repetitively Pulsed plasma discharges and laminar reactive flows are investigated.The influence of steady and unsteady air flows on the regimes of NRP discharges is investigated. The results are interpreted with the use of characteristic dimensionless numbers; this analysis allows to highlight a synergetic effect between the high-voltage pulses as well as the power of the pulses on the NRP discharge regime observed. Then, an investigation of the effect of laminar premixed methane-air flames on NRP discharges is presented. An effect of the flame on the NRP corona discharges is displayed; this effect is a function of the proximity of the flame to the discharges. the influence of the inter-electrode gas mixture on the shape of the plasma discharges is also visually assessed. Finally, the effect of NRP corona discharges on laminar premixed flat flames is investigated. The NRP discharges induce a displacement of the flame in the upstream direction which is verified with numerical simulations.This study displays the effect of NRP discharges on a flame and gives insights as to the phenomenon underlying this effect. Moreover, the study highlights the opposite effect of reactive mixtures on the NRP discharges. The visual modification of the NRP discharges is a function of the transport of the inter-electrode flow and of the nature of the gas itself.

Rates and energies of consumption (C), egestion (F), assimilation (A), respiration (R), growth (Pg), production of exuviae (Pev), and production of egg masses (Pr) and associated efficiencies, and the effects of seasonal temperature, weight and metamorphic stage upon these factors were examined for a typical individual and cohort of Corydalus cornutus (L.) from a stream in North-Central Texas (330 23'N, 97*5'W). Dobson flies are apparently univoltine in the study area, with 11 larval instars. Emergence, oviposition and hatching occur from late May to August. The typical dobson fly hatches in mid-June, grows rapidly until November, and resumes rapid growth in March, reaching full adult size prior to leaving the stream to pupate in early June. Adult females must feed to provide energy to yolk eggs, produce egg-mass coverings and continue somatic maintenance during their week of reproductive endeavors. Metabolic compensation enables larval dobson flies to maintain preferred and fairly constant rates of R during winter (201-451 pl g-1 h~1; 5-15 C) and summer (985-1173 pl g- h1; 20-30 C); with a seasonal acclimatization change point between 15-20 C. Reduction of rates of R through undercompensation during the winter when food is scarce and through partial compensation at high temperatures during the summer conserves energy which is allocated to P, resulting in high ratios of P/R (1.94) and P/A (66%) for the individual larva and, to a lesser degree, for the cohort (P/R = 1.07, P/A = 52.3%, P/B = 9.96). Rates of C, F, A and R, but not assimilation efficiency, were influenced by temperature and size. The energy budget for a typical dobson fly during the 47 wk as a larva was: C = 4167, A = 3442, F = 725, Pg = 2075, Pev = 198, and R = 1169. Ova respired 0.107 cal wk-1, prepupae 357 cal wk~ 1 , male pupae 509 cal wk~ 1 , female pupae 454 cal wk~1 , male adults 625 cal wk-l1 and female adults 735 cal wk-1 . The prepupa and pupa shed exuviae of 144 cal and 120 cal respectively. The average female produced 667 cal of eggs and 185 cal of egg-case material, which totaled 54% of adult female A. The annual energetics of the cohort of larvae was: C = 39,150, A = 32,642, F = 6876, Pg = 13,052, Pev = 3608, Pr= 359-409 and R = 15,982 cal m- 2

by Guan-xin Li. / "January 1999." / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 223-225). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese.

This research focuses on developing optical sensing systems for 2D and 3D spatial monitoring of temperature and concentration distribution profiles of complex or reacting gas flows. Non-invasive, species specific and sensitive nature of monitoring allows spatial information to be extracted from harsh environments with poor physical access, allowing validation of computational models or process monitoring. This is suitable for processes like combustion engines or sealed atmospheric cloud chambers. A novel line-of-sight (LOS) Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy(TDLAS) system using a preselected laser diode centred at 7212.88 cm-1 was first designed to monitor the change of relative humidity (water vapour concentration) during an expansion process within the Manchester Ice Cloud Chamber (MICC), operating from atmospheric pressure, down to 0.7 atm. The experimental results were validated with an Aerosol Cloud Precipitation Interaction Model (ACPIM) simulation, feasible for tomography applications. The MICC shares similar combustion monitoring challenges such as minimal optical access or reactive gas flows. The TDLAS system developed for the MICC was then used as a foundation design for a TDLAS tomography setup capable of conducting temporal two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) concentration and temperature imaging. This system uses the principle of two-line thermometry, centred within the near infrared (NIR) region of 7181.93cm-1 and 7179.8 cm-1. The laser was divided into 4 simultaneous parallel beams using a 1 × 4 fiber coupler (4 LOS). Using a motorised platform, the beams were projected at 0.5° interval, from 0° to 179° angle within 3.6 s, around the exhaust of two asymmetrical shaped flame burners. A total of 360 projection slices comprised of 1440 integrated absorbance data were used per tomogram reconstruction. By solving for the spatial distribution of temperature first, the concentration distribution of water vapour could be then calculated. Reconstruction algorithms (Filtered Back Projection, Fourier Slice Reconstruction and Direct Fourier Reconstruction (DFR)) were compared using a range of criteria. The DFR method was selected as the best method at 700 zero padding, with a spatial in-plane resolution of 1-2 lp/cm, pixel resolution of 128 by 128, thermocouple temperature validations of ±5°C and a relative mean error performance of 8.12%. The concentration could not be validated due to the lack of a mass spectrometer.3D volumetric monitoring results took 36 seconds to complete, and was constructed using 10 interpolated parallel, 1 cm height interval spaced tomograms. Independent vertical slices along the x-axis and y-axis could also be extracted. The temporal results were also successfully conducted and consisted of a quick succession of 16 experiments at a temporal resolution of 0.28 frames per second. A tomographic system that performs 3D and 2D temporal sensing was successfully developed and validated. Although 3D work was conducted using planar imaging or hyperspectral tomography, no work has been conducted so far using NIR TDLAS systems to date.

Ma, Man Shun. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-76). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.6 / Chapter 2 --- Basic notions in Riemannian geometry --- p.10 / Chapter 2.1 --- Basic manifold theory --- p.11 / Chapter 2.2 --- "Connection, curvature" --- p.19 / Chapter 2.3 --- Submanifold theory --- p.29 / Chapter 3 --- Basic facts in symplectic and complex geometry --- p.33 / Chapter 3.1 --- "Symplectic manifolds, Lagrangian submanifolds" --- p.34 / Chapter 3.2 --- Kahler and Calabi-Yau manifolds --- p.39 / Chapter 3.3 --- Calibration --- p.49 / Chapter 4 --- Mean curvature flow --- p.52 / Chapter 4.1 --- Basic equations in Lagrangian immersions --- p.53 / Chapter 4.2 --- Evolution equation for --- p.57 / Chapter 4.3 --- Evolution equations for H and θ --- p.62 / Chapter 5 --- Lagrangian angle of a foliation --- p.67 / Chapter 5.1 --- "Proof of equation (5.1), (5.2)" --- p.68 / Chapter 5.2 --- Main theorem --- p.70 / Chapter 5.3 --- Examples of invariant solution --- p.73 / Bibliography --- p.75

by Yiu Chun Chit. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-82). / Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.7 / Chapter 1.1 --- Riemannian Manifolds --- p.7 / Chapter 1.1.1 --- Completeness --- p.8 / Chapter 1.1.2 --- Curvature tensor --- p.9 / Chapter 1.1.3 --- Holonomy --- p.11 / Chapter 1.2 --- Simply-connected Manifold of Nonpositive Sectional Curvature --- p.11 / Chapter 1.2.1 --- Topological structure --- p.12 / Chapter 1.2.2 --- Basic geometric properties --- p.13 / Chapter 1.2.3 --- Examples of nonpositively curved manifold --- p.20 / Chapter 1.2.4 --- Convexity properties --- p.23 / Chapter 1.2.5 --- Points at infinity for M --- p.27 / Chapter 2 --- Symmetric Spaces --- p.36 / Chapter 2.1 --- Symmetric Spaces of Noncompact Type --- p.36 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- Symmetric diffeomorphisms --- p.36 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- Transvections in I(M) --- p.38 / Chapter 2.1.3 --- Symmetric spaces as coset manifolds G/K --- p.39 / Chapter 2.1.4 --- Metric on TpM and the adjoint representation of Lie group --- p.41 / Chapter 2.1.5 --- Curvature tensor of M --- p.43 / Chapter 2.1.6 --- Killing form and classification of symmetric spaces --- p.44 / Chapter 2.1.7 --- Holonomy of M at p --- p.44 / Chapter 2.1.8 --- Rank of a symmetric space M --- p.45 / Chapter 2.1.9 --- Regular and singular points at infinity --- p.46 / Chapter 2.2 --- "The Symmetric Space Mn = SL(n,R)/SO(n,R)" --- p.46 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Metric on TIMn --- p.47 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Geodesic and symmetries of Mn --- p.48 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Curvature of Mn --- p.48 / Chapter 2.2.4 --- Rank and flats in Mn --- p.49 / Chapter 2.2.5 --- Holonomy of Mn at I --- p.49 / Chapter 2.2.6 --- Eigenvalue-flag pair for a point in Mn(∞ ) --- p.50 / Chapter 2.2.7 --- Action of I0(Mn) on Mn(∞ ) --- p.52 / Chapter 2.2.8 --- Flags in opposition --- p.53 / Chapter 2.2.9 --- Joining points at infinity --- p.53 / Chapter 3 --- Group Action --- p.56 / Chapter 3.1 --- Action of Isometries on M(oo) --- p.56 / Chapter 3.1.1 --- Fundamental group as a group of isometries --- p.56 / Chapter 3.1.2 --- Lattices --- p.58 / Chapter 3.1.3 --- Duality condition --- p.59 / Chapter 3.1.4 --- Geodesic flows --- p.61 / Chapter 3.2 --- Action of Geodesic Symmetries on M(oo) --- p.62 / Chapter 3.3 --- Rank --- p.66 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Rank of a manifold of nonpositive curvature --- p.66 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Rank of the fundamental group --- p.68 / Chapter 3.4 --- Rigidity Theorems of Locally Symmetric Spaces --- p.69

The possibility of commercial natural gas production from gas hydrates has been tested by researchers and industry for more than ten years. Depressurisation of gas hydrates in porous and permeable sandstones has successfully produced water and natural gas. However long term sustainable production is still elusive. Catastrophic sand production into the wellbore has terminated at least three of the significant depressurisation trials including the 2013 trial at the Daini-Atsumi knoll, Nankai Trough, offshore Japan. Sand production is generally thought to be the result of mechanical and hydrodynamic instability, however it appears the failure mechanism is not the same for all reservoirs and the location of reservoir porosity and pressure on the normal compression line for sands could be a controlling factor. Sand production in reservoirs at shallow depths and low confining stresses (less than 10 MPa) are likely to be influenced by fluid flow effects like those described by the Shields (1936) diagram. The relative density of the formation may also affect the nature of the sand production in these reservoirs. The Daini-Atsumi knoll is a structural high on the outer ridge of the Kumano forearc basin, offshore Japan. Hydrate saturations of 50 to 80 % occur within three geological units of the Middle Pleistocene Ogasa group. This group is made up of deep water sediments including sediment gravity flow deposits distinguished by alternating silt and sand layers. The presence of these alternating layers could have influenced the sand production seen during the trial. This reservoir heterogeneity at the 2013 Daini-Atsumi knoll gas hydrate production trial site was characterised using the descriptions of geological units, analogues and statistical techniques. Scenarios of this heterogeneity were tested in a high pressure plane-strain sand production apparatus. The results of these tests suggest the boundary shear stress of the fluid on the grains is a significant control on sand production for the Daini-Atsumi Knoll reservoir and the layering and grainsize structure of the sediments encourages sand production. Relative density of the sediments appears to impact the nature of the sand production where denser sediments show more localised movement. These results indicate that even minor weaknesses in sand control devices will result in uncontrollable sand production rates from the Daini-Atsumi Knoll gas hydrate reservoir. Managing the fluid flow rate in the reservoir and selectively completing coarser grained zones at the base of sand layers could help limit sand production in future trials.

This thesis is an empirical investigation into the control mechanisms of headquarters (HQ) exercised over their subsidiaries and is conducted with the help of primary data collected from 147 Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) operating in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Following on from the literature review, this study proposed that the headquarters-subsidiary mechanisms could be linked to agency theory (with the 'classical' principal-agent relationship as its core) and to resource dependency theory (implying relations between the subsidiary and other partners based on interdependence). Our results show that the agency and resource dependency mechanisms are indeed used side by side and complementary to each other to exercise control. The Headquarters-subsidiary model used in this study has four components of control in it: personal centralised control (PCC), bureaucratic formalised control (BFC), output control (OUT) and informal control (INFO). These controls (as an agency mechanism) provide a solid platform on which other mechanisms can be built. The complementarities of these control mechanisms may be linked to earlier studies that show that successful organisations combine tight control with more open, informal and flexible information and communication exchanges. A focus that bends too much towards formal control or too much towards informal control may threaten a company's existence. Our research provides an empirical explanation on this premise. The study found that Anglo-Saxon countries heavily use impersonal types of control mechanisms, specifically bureaucratic formalised control and output control. Compared to the US, the level of control in Oriental subsidiaries is less; or, put differently, the latter enjoy a greater degree of autonomy than US subsidiaries. Once a unit is operational, Oriental parent companies grant many more degrees of freedom than US parent companies. When we deconstructed the results for Europe, comparing German and British MNEs as a group to Oriental MNEs, we found that the latter exercised greater overall control. With regard to output and bureaucratic control, we found that both US MNEs and those from the Middle East exercised greater control than Oriental MNEs. The study drew the aspect of international transfers into the picture and investigated the role of expatriates in controlling subsidiaries. It has been recognised that expatriates can form both direct and indirect means of control. In executing direct types of control, expatriates directly supervised decisions taken at subsidiaries. The study found that this role is particularly strong in MNEs from Asia-Pacific countries and German MNEs, and is much less important in subsidiaries of Anglo-Saxon MNEs. We found that subsidiaries of German MNEs experienced a very high level of control; indeed, the only control mechanism that German MNEs did not implement among subsidiaries was control by socialisation and networks. German and Japanese MNEs are perhaps more rooted in business systems concerned with the management of issues internationally than American or British companies. The second group reflected that Anglo-Saxon countries heavily used impersonal types of control mechanisms, specifically bureaucratic formalised control and output control. When we deconstructed the results for Europe, comparing German and British as a group to Oriental MNEs, reveals the latter as possessing greater overall control. With regard to output and bureaucratic control, we found that both US MNEs and those from the Middle East exercised greater control than Oriental MNEs. Headquarters can strategize to implement control by the informal and social means method by positioning a sizeable number of managers from the home country within the subsidiary. Indeed, our results revealed this as true. It seems that their presence has positive and significant effects on most levels of control: personal, output, bureaucratic and informal. Contrary to this, however, we found that the presence of a sizeable number of expatriates (as opposed to headquarters managers) leaded to greater autonomy in subsidiaries. In terms of strategy and structure, we indicated that the three distinct organisational models identified for MNEs could be recognised in our study. Control INFO was significantly, positively related to global strategy, multi-domestic and transnational strategy compared with PCC, BFC, and OUT control mechanism. Conversely, BFC had a significant, negative and weak relationship with global strategy and transnational strategy, and no relationship with multi-domestic strategy. In general however, we can deduce the existence of a tendency for global, transnational and multi-domestic MNEs to use indirect control mechanisms and informal control suited to their integrated organisational models to a larger extent. Our results confirmed previous studies in the field of organisation theory, in the sense that size is an important explanatory factor for differences in control mechanisms. In contrast to these studies, however, a dominant effect was found only for the indirect control mechanisms. Few detailed studies that have investigated the effect of size on the two indirect control mechanisms; in actuality, most previous studies have focused on the direct control mechanisms (personal centralised control and bureaucratic formalised control) only. As such, our study reconfirmed the importance of the variable size, but concluded that it is mainly associated with higher levels of indirect control. The age of the subsidiary does not seem to have a significant influence on the type of control mechanism that is exercised by headquarters towards a particular subsidiary. Our study investigated the importance of various MNE characteristics in an attempt to explain performance differences between MNEs. The advantage of this study is that many of the characteristics that have been identified in previous literature as being important factors influencing performance were included in our research design, in order for us to be able to answer the other research questions. This therefore allowed us to assess the relative importance levels of different variables in explaining performance differences between companies, such as: country of origin, industry, size, interdependence, local responsiveness, knowledge flows, and the strategy and structure of the MNEs.