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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
401

Three Essays on Monetary Policy, Excess Reserves and Credit Supply

Salgado Moreno, Mauricio 22 March 2023 (has links)
Diese Dissertation besteht aus drei Essays, welche den monetären Transmissionsmechanismus via das Kreditangebot von Banken in einem Umfeld mit Überschussreserven analysieren. Im ersten Aufsatz wird die Effekten der 2008 Handlungsrahmens Änderungen der Fed auf den Transmissionsmechanismus untersucht. Ich schätze die Reaktionen in der Periode vor 2008 und zeige, dass den Bankkreditkanal aktiv ist. In der Periode nach 2008 steigen Bankkredite nach eine Geldpolitikkontraktion. Ich habe ein Regimewechsel-TANK Modell entwickelt, um den Transmissionsmechanismus über beide Systeme zu vergleichen. Das Modell zeigt, dass nach einem kontraktiven Schock unter dem alten System die Produktion sinkt, und, dass unter einem neuartigen System das Kreditangebot stimuliert. Dies ist aufgrund einer Friktion der Fall, die durch die Liquiditätsmanagementkosten der Banken verursacht wird. Im zweiten Aufsatz analysiere ich ob der Bankkreditkanal in den USA nach der Finanzkrise vorhanden ist. Dieser Kanal stützt sich auf die Annahme verbindlicher Reserveanforderungen. Ich finde Belege für den Kreditvergabekanal vor der Finanzkrise. Seit der Krise ist der Bankkreditkanal nicht mehr vorhanden. Stattdessen ist eine kontraktive Geldpolitik jetzt mit lockereren Liquiditätsbeschränkungen verbunden, und somit mit einem Anstieg der Bankkredite. Im dritten Aufsatz, D. Zander und ich identifizieren heterogene Bankenreaktionen auf geldpolitische Schocks in den USA. Unter Verwendung von einem informationsrobusten Instrument, zeigen wir, dass der Grad der Bargeld-Liquidität systematisch beeinflusst, wie Banken infolge eines geldpolitischen Schocks ihr Kreditvergabeverhalten ändern. Wir finden, dass nach einem kontraktiven Schock hochliquide Banken mit einer Ausweitung der Kreditvergabe reagieren, während weniger liquide Banken eine gedämpfte Antwort zeigen. Wir zeigen, dass das Vernachlässigen von Informationseffekten zu qualitativ unterschiedlichen Ergebnissen für liquide Banken führt. / This dissertation consists of three essays that analyze the monetary transmission mechanism via banks’ credit supply to the real economy under an environment of excess reserves. The first essay, examines the effects of the Fed’s 2008 operational system switch on the transmission mechanism of monetary policy. In the pre-switch sample the bank-lending channel is shown to be active, while in the latter sample, bank loans increase after a monetary contraction. Additionally, a regime-switching TANK model is used to compare the transmission mechanism across both systems. Under the old-style system real activity declines after a monetary contraction, while under a new-style system, monetary tightening stimulates credit supply, due to the presence of a friction introduced by banks’ liquidity management costs. The second essay analyzes whether the bank-lending channel is still present in post financial crisis U.S. data. This channel relies on the key assumption of binding reserve requirements, which is at odds with post-crisis data. Using a two-step regression approach, I find evidence supporting the lending channel in the subsample prior to the crisis. Moreover, since the crisis the lending channel is no longer active. Instead, monetary tightening is associated with looser liquidity constraints, and thus, with bank lending growth. The third essay is joint work with D. Zander. We identify heterogeneous bank reactions to monetary policy shocks in the U.S. using macro-econometric techniques and micro-level data. Using an informationally-robust instrument we show that the degree of cash-liquidity systematically influences banks’ lending behavior. Concretely, after a contractionary shock, liquid banks (those with excess reserves above 1% of assets) react by expanding lending, whereas less liquid banks have a muted response. We show that neglecting to control for the information effects of monetary policy, yield qualitatively different results that are at odds with economic theory.
402

Lumbar spinal stenosis : Body mass index and the patient's perspective

Knutsson, Björn January 2015 (has links)
During recent decades, lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) has become the most common indication for spine surgery, a change that coincides with a higher worldwide prevalence of overweight and obesity. Thus, surgical treatment of LSS in the overweight and obese population is common and increasing in scope. The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate whether body mass index (BMI) is related to the development of LSS, and whether BMI is linked to outcome after surgery for LSS. We further evaluated whether there are specific experiences of LSS from a patient perspective. Data were obtained for all patients registered in the Swedish Spine Register who had undergone surgery for LSS between January 1, 2006 and June 30, 2008. After adjusting for differences in baseline characteristics, patients with obesity showed both poorer results after surgery and a higher rate of dissatisfaction than patients with normal weight (odds ratio 1.73; 95% confidence interval, CI, 1.36-2.19). Furthermore, patients with obesity in the cohort reported modest weight loss at follow-up (2.0 kg; 95% CI, 1.5-2.4), and only 8% reported a clinical important weight loss 2 years after surgery. Our analysis of 389,132 construction workers, showed that overweight (incidence rate ratio, IRR 1.68; 95% CI, 1.54-1.83) and obesity (IRR 2.18; 95% CI, 1.87-2.53) were associated with an increased future risk in developing LSS when compared with patients with normal weight. To gain insight into the patients' perspective of LSS, we performed interviews with 18 patients who were on a waiting list for LSS surgery. The transcripts, analyzed with content analysis, revealed that living with LSS is a physical, mental and social challenge in which resources to cope with the condition are of major importance. In summary, obesity is associated with poorer results after surgery, and patients with obesity report modest weight loss during follow-up. In addition, obesity is associated with an increased risk to develop LSS. Our findings revealed that being a patient with LSS, naturally involves considerable suffering and pain, but it also implies being a person with his or her own resources who is able to cope with these adverse conditions.
403

Improved Energy Efficiency and Fuel Substitution in the Iron and Steel Industry

Johansson, Maria January 2014 (has links)
IPCC reported in its climate change report 2013 that the atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gases (GHG) carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, and nitrous oxide now have reached the highest levels in the past 800,000 years. CO2 concentration has increased by 40% since pre-industrial times and the primary source is fossil fuel combustion. It is vital to reduce anthropogenic emissions of GHGs in order to combat climate change. Industry accounts for 20% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions and the iron and steel industry accounts for 30% of industrial emissions. The iron and steel industry is at date highly dependent on fossil fuels and electricity. Energy efficiency measures and substitution of fossil fuels with renewable energy would make an important contribution to the efforts to reduce emissions of GHGs. This thesis studies energy efficiency measures and fuel substitution in the iron and steel industry and focuses on recovery and utilisation of excess energy and substitution of fossil fuels with biomass. Energy systems analysis has been used to investigate how changes in the iron and steel industry’s energy system would affect the steel plant’s economy and global CO2 emissions. The thesis also studies energy management practices in the Swedish iron and steel industry with the focus on how energy managers think about why energy efficiency measures are implemented or why they are not implemented. In-depth interviews with energy managers at eleven Swedish steel plants were conducted to analyse energy management practices. In order to show some of the large untapped heat flows in industry, excess heat recovery potential in the industrial sector in Gävleborg County in Sweden was analysed. Under the assumptions made in this thesis, the recovery output would be more than three times higher if the excess heat is used in a district heating system than if electricity is generated. An economic evaluation was performed for three electricity generation technologies for the conversion of low-temperature industrial excess heat. The results show that electricity generation with organic Rankine cycles and phase change material engines could be profitable, but that thermoelectric generation of electricity from low-temperature industrial excess heat would not be profitable at the present stage of technology development. With regard to fossil fuels substituted with biomass, there are opportunities to substitute fossil coal with charcoal in the blast furnace and to substitute liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) with bio-syngas or bio synthetic natural gas (bio-SNG) as fuel in the steel industry’s reheating furnaces. However, in the energy market scenarios studied, substituting LPG with bio-SNG as fuel in reheating furnaces at the studied scrap-based steel plant would not be profitable without economic policy support. The development of the energy market is shown to play a vital role for the outcome of how different measures would affect global CO2 emissions. Results from the interviews show that Swedish steel companies regard improved energy efficiency as important. However, the majority of the interviewed energy managers only worked part-time with energy issues and they experienced that lack of time often was a barrier for successful energy management. More efforts could also be put into engaging and educating employees in order to introduce a common practice of improving energy efficiency at the company. / Halterna av växthusgaserna koldioxid (CO2), metan och kväveoxider har under de senaste 800 000 åren aldrig varit högre i atmosfären än vad de är idag. Detta resultat redovisades i IPCCs klimatrapport år 2013. CO2-koncentrationen har ökat med 40 % sedan förindustriell tid och denna ökning beror till största delen på förbränning av fossila bränslen. Ökade koncentrationer av växthusgaser leder till högre global medeltemperatur vilket i sin tur resulterar i klimatförändringar.  För att bromsa klimatförändringarna är det viktigt att vi arbetar för att minska utsläppen av växthusgaser. Industrin står för 20 % av de globala utsläppen av CO2 och järn- och stålindustrin står för 30 % av industrins utsläpp. Järn- och stålindustrin är i dag till stor del beroende av fossila bränslen och el för sin energiförsörjning. Energieffektiviseringsåtgärder och byte av fossila bränslen mot förnybar energi i järn- och stålindustrin skulle kunna bidra till minskade utsläpp av växthusgaser. Denna avhandling studerar åtgärder för effektivare energianvändning och möjligheter för bränslebyte i järn- och stålindustrin. Avhandlingen fokuserar på återvinning och utnyttjande av överskottsenergier och ersättning av fossila bränslen med biomassa. Energisystemanalys har använts för att undersöka hur förändringar i järn- och stålindustrins energisystem skulle påverka ekonomin och de globala utsläppen av CO2. Avhandlingen studerar också betydelsen av energiledning och nätverkande för att uppnå en effektivare energianvändning. Fokus har här varit på att studera hur energiansvariga resonerar kring varför energieffektiviseringsåtgärder genomförs eller varför de inte genomförs. Djupintervjuer med energiansvariga vid elva svenska stålverk genomfördes för att analysera denna fråga. För att ge ett exempel på den stora outnyttjade potentialen av överskottsvärme från industrin analyserades potentialen i Gävleborgs län. Möjligheterna att använda överskottsvärmen som fjärrvärme eller för att producera el analyserades. Här visar resultaten att fjärrvärmeproduktionen skulle bli mer än tre gånger så stor som elproduktionen. En ekonomisk utvärdering gjordes där tre tekniker för produktion av el från lågtempererad industriell överskottsvärme jämfördes. Resultaten visar att elproduktion med organisk Rankine-cykel eller en så kallad fasändringsmaterialmotor kan vara lönsam, men att termoelektrisk elproduktion inte är lönsam med dagens teknik och prisnivåer. Det är möjligt att ersätta en del av det fossila kolet i masugnen med träkol och på detta sätt introducera förnybar energi i stålindustrin. Man kan också ersätta gasol som används som bränsle i stålindustrins värmningsugnar med syntesgas eller syntetisk naturgas (SNG) som produceras genom förgasning av biomassa. Under de antaganden som gjorts i avhandlingen skulle det dock inte vara lönsamt för det skrotbaserade stålverk som studerats att ersätta gasolen med bio-SNG. För att uppnå lönsamhet behövs i detta fall ekonomiska styrmedel. Hur olika åtgärder påverkar de globala utsläppen av CO2 beror till stor del på hur framtidens energimarknad ser ut. Elproduktion från industriell överskottsvärme skulle minska de globala CO2-utsläppen i alla scenarier som studerats, men för de andra åtgärderna varierar resultaten beroende på vilka antaganden som gjorts. Resultaten från intervjustudien visar att svensk stålindustri anser att energifrågan är viktig, men det finns fortfarande mycket att göra för att effektivisera energianvändningen i denna sektor. Flera av de intervjuade arbetade bara deltid med energifrågor och de upplevde att tidsbrist hindrade dem från ett effektivt energiledningsarbete. En rekommendation till företagen är därför att anställa en energiansvarig på heltid och/eller fler personer som kan arbeta med energifrågor. Det bör också läggas mer resurser på att engagera och utbilda anställda för att på så sätt introducera en företagskultur som främjar effektiv energianvändning.
404

Angels In-between. The Poetics of Excess and the Crisis of Representation

Cosma, Ioana 07 March 2011 (has links)
This dissertation examines the reconfiguration of the limits of representation in reference to the intermediary function of angels. The Modernist engagement with the figure of the angel entailed, primarily, a reconsideration of the problem of representation as well as an attempt to trace the contours of a poetics that plays itself outside the mimetic understanding of representation. My contention is that this transformation of literary referentiality was not simply a disengagement of art from reality but, rather, from the truthfalsity, reality-fiction, subject-object dichotomies. The angel, defined as the figure of passage par excellence, but also as the agency that induces the transformation of the visible in the invisible and vice versa, appears both as a model/archetype and as a guide towards the illumination of this intermediary aesthetic. Working with the joined perspectives from angelology, contemporary phenomenology, and poetics, this dissertation is an extended overview of the notion of intermediary spaces, as well as an attempt to probe the relevance of this concept for the field of literary studies. In the first case, this dissertation offers a theoretical background to the concept of intermediality, seen in its theological, phenomenological, aesthetic and ethical significances. In the second case, it presents the reader with a heuristic apparatus for approaching this problematic in the field of literary interpretation and provides examples of ways in which such an analysis can become relevant. The primary texts discussed here are all examples of attempts to redefine the notion of representation away from the truth-falsity or subject-object oppositions, as well as to create an aesthetic space with its own particularities, at the limit between visibility and invisibility, excessive presence and absence. Nicholas of Cusa’s “Preface” to The Vision of God proposes an ethics of reading defined by admiratio (the consubstantiation of immediacy and distance) under the aegis of the all-seeing icon of God. Louis Marin’s reading of the episode of the Resurrection reveals that history and narrative arise from the conjunction of the excessive absence of the empty tomb of Jesus and the excessive presence announcing the resurrection of Christ. Sohravardî’s “Recital of the Crimson Angel” is a presentation of the space-between of revelation, between cognitio matutina and cognitio vespertina. Walter Benjamin’s “Agesilaus Santander” restores the connections between the exoteric and the esoteric under the patient gaze of “Angelus Novus”. Paul Valéry’s Eupalinos, ou l’Architecte explores the aesthetic of “real appearance” in the space-between the image and the perceiving eye. Poe and Malamud’s short stories reveal the affinities between poetic language and angelophany. Elie Wiesel’s Les portes de la forêt expands the apophatic itinerary from the self to the radically other in a hermeneutical gesture which has the angel as its initial and final guide. Finally, Rafael Alberti’s Sobre los ángeles shows that the aphaeretic function of poetic language is very similar to the apophatic treatment of the world as representation; in this last sense too, the angels are indispensible guides.
405

"Enough! or too much" : forms of textual excess in Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge and De Quincey

Kellett, Lucy January 2016 (has links)
My thesis explores the potential and the peril of Romantic literature's increasingly complex forms through a close comparative study of the works of William Blake, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Thomas De Quincey. These writers exemplify the Romantic predicament of how to make vision manifest – how to communicate one's imaginative and intellectual expansiveness without diminishing it. They sought different strategies for increasing the capacity of literary form, ostensibly in the hope of communicating more: clarifying meaning, increasing accessibility and intensifying original experience. But textual expansion – materially, stylistically and intellectually – often threatens more opportunities for confused and partial meanings to proliferate, overwhelming the reader by dividing texts and undermining attempts at coherent thought. Expansion thus becomes excess, with all its worrying associations of superfluity. To further complicate matters, Burke's influential tenet of the Sublime makes a virtue out of excess and obscurity, raising the problematic spectre of deliberately confused/confusing texts that embody an aesthetic of incomprehension. I explore these paradoxes through four types of 'textual excess' demonstrated by the writers under discussion: firstly, the tension between poetry and prose adjuncts, such as prefaces and notes, in Wordsworth and Coleridge; secondly, De Quincey's indulgent verbosity and struggle to control the freeing shapelessness of prose; thirdly, Wordsworth's and De Quincey's parallel experiences of revision as both uncontrollably diffusive and statically concentrated; and lastly, Blake's more deliberate, systematic attempt to enact a literary Sublime in which the reader is forced out of passivity by the competing demands of verbal and visual media. All are motivated and thwarted in varying degrees by their anxious preoccupation with saying "Enough", and the difficulty of determining when this becomes “Too much”. These authorial dilemmas also incorporate larger concerns with man's (over)ambition at a time of rapid and unprecedented economic, social and intellectual acceleration from the Enlightenment to industrialism. The fear that the concept and process of 'progress', or 'improvement', marks deficiency rather than fulfilment haunts Romantic writers.
406

Alkyl pipéridine démixantes pour le captage du CO2 : approche thermodynamique / Demixing Alkyl piperidines for CO2 capture : A thermodynamic approach

Lowe, Alexander Rowland 12 December 2016 (has links)
L'augmentation de la concentration de dioxyde de carbone (CO2) dans l'atmosphère depuis la révolution industrielle a conduit à l'augmentation de la température moyenne du globe. Pour limiter l’accroissement des températures atmosphériques moyennes, la quantité de dioxyde de carbone émise dans l'atmosphère doit être réduite. Une des solutions envisagée sur les sources fixes est le captage et le stockage du CO2. Ce procédé d’absorption/désorption, bien connu dans le traitement du gaz naturel, est onéreux et peu efficace pour le traitement du gaz des sources fixes et doit être optimisé. La solution proposée s’appuie sur l’utilisation de solvants démixants, présentant une séparation de phase équilibre liquide-liquide (LLE) en solution aqueuse en fonction de la température. Ce manuscrit présente une étude réalisée pour la famille des alkyl-pipéridines connues pour ses séparations de phase. Cette étude permettra d’évaluer l’influence de la taille, de la positionet du nombre de substituants sur les propriétés thermodynamiques d’intérêt pour le procédé. Pour étudier les LLE des solutions aqueuses démixantes, en particulier dans le cas des solutions chargées en gaz, deux instruments ont été mis au point. Il a été possible de démontrer que les changements opérés sur les diagrammes de phase des amines sont liés aux réactions chimiques mises en jeu lors de la dissolution du CO2. Pour les alkyl-pipéridines tertiaire on observe la température de démixtion diminue avec l’addition de CO2, allant avec la formation de carbonates. Avec les alkyl-pipéridines secondaires la température de démixtion augmente, ce qui est lié à la présence en solution de carbamates qui stabilisent la solution aqueuse. Le comportement des amines secondaires très encombrées, qui ne peuvent donc pas formées de carbamates, est similaire à celui des amines tertiaires, ce qui est cohérent avec les conclusions précédentes. Une étude approfondies des propriétés thermodynamiques d’excès (VE, CpE et HE) des alkyl-pipéridines en solution aqueuse a également permis de démontrer des relations structure - propriétés. La position du substituant sur le cycle pipéridine a une influence considérable et prévisible sur l’intensité des propriétés d’excès, alors que la nature de l’amine (secondaire ou tertiaire) va influencer la position de l’extremum de cette propriété. Enfin, une modélisation thermodynamique rigoureuses des solubilités et des enthalpies de dissolution du CO2 dans les solutions aqueuses de pipéridines a permis de déterminer les constantes de formation des carbamates dans les solutions aqueuses de 3- et 4-méthylpipéridines. / The increase of carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the atmosphere, since the industrial revolution has led to the rise in the average global climate temperature. To prevent the escalation of global climate temperatures the amount of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere must be reduced. One solution is carbon capture and sequestration which removes CO2 from fixed sources. The absorption/desorption cycle is well known for the treatment of acid gas, but is expensive and not as efficient for the treatment of gas from fixed/industrial sources. A solution to this problem is the use of aqueous demixing amine solvents which present a liquid-liquid phase equilibrium (LLE) as a function of temperature. This manuscript presents a study done to measure the LLE and thermodynamic properties of the alkyl piperidine family, which can be used for carbon capture processes. This work evaluates the effect of the size, position and number of alkyl substituents on the thermodynamic properties of interest in the carbon capture process. To study the LLE of aqueous demixing solutions, particularly gas loaded solutions, two novel apparatuses were developed. The results demonstrate that the changes in the amine phase diagrams are related to the chemical reactions involved with dissolution of CO2. The tertiary alkyl piperidines displayed reduced demixing temperature with the addition of CO2 due to the formation of carbonate species. The secondary alkyl piperidines display an increasing demixing temperature which is related to the formation of carbamate species which stabilizes the solution. Secondary alkyl piperidines that are severely sterically hindered, which cannot produce carbamates, behave similarly to the tertiary amine which is coherent with the preceding conclusion. The structure property relationship concerning the excess thermodynamic properties (VE, CpE et HE) of aqueous solutions were studied in depth. This revealed that the position of the substituents on the cyclic ring has a considerable and obvious influence on the intensity of the excess properties, along with the class of the amine, whether secondary or tertiary, will influence the positions of the extrema of the excess property. To conclude, a rigorous thermodynamic model based on the CO2 solubility and the enthalpy of solution for CO2 in aqueous solutions of alkyl piperidine, allowed for the determination of the carbamate formation constants of 3- and 4-methylpiperidine.
407

利用預測分析-篩選及檢視再保險契約中之承保風險 / Selecting and Monitoring Insurance Risk on Reinsurance Treaties Using Predictive Analysis

吳家安, Wu, Chiao-An Unknown Date (has links)
傳統的保險人在面對保險契約所承保的風險時,常會藉由國際上的再保險市場來分散其保險風險。由於所承保險事件的不確定性,保險人需要謹慎小心評估其保險風險並將承保風險轉移至再保險人。再保險有兩種主要的保險型式,可區分成比例再保契約及超額損失再保契約,保險人將利用這些再保險契約來分散求償給付時的損失,加強保險人本身的財務清償能力。 本研究,主要在於建構未來損失求償幅度或頻率的預測分佈並模擬未來支付求償的損失。簡單重點重複抽樣法是一種從危險參數的驗後分佈中抽樣的抽樣方法。然而,蒙地卡羅模擬是一種利用大量電腦運算計算近似預測分佈的逼近方法。利用被選取危險參數的驗前分佈來模擬其驗後分佈,並建構可能的承保危險參數結構,將基於馬可夫鏈蒙地卡羅理論的吉普生抽樣方法決定最適自留額,同時運用於再保險合約決策擬定過程。 最後,考慮於不同的再保險契約下來衡量再保險人的自負財務風險。基本上我們研究的對象是針對保險人所承保的風險,再藉由上述的方法來模擬、近似以量化所衍生的財務風險。這將有助於保險人清楚地瞭解其承保的風險,並對其承保業務做妥善的財務風險管理。本研究提供保險人具體的模型建構方法並對此建構技巧做詳細說明及實證分析。 / Insurers traditionally transfer their insurance risk through the international reinsurance market. Due to the uncertainty of these insured risks, the primary insurer need to carefully evaluate the insured risk and further transfer these risks to his ceding reinsurers. There are two major types of reinsurance, i.e. pro rata treaty and excess of loss treaty, used in protecting the claim losses. In this article, the predictive distribution of the claim size is constructed to monitor the future claim underwriting losses based on the reinsurance agreement. Simple Importance Resampling (SIR) are employed in sampling the posterior distribution of risk parameters. Then Monte Carlo simulations are used to approximate the predictive distribution. Plausible prior distributions of these risk parameters are chosen in simulation its posterior distribution. Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method using Gibbs sampling scheme is also performed based on possible parametric structures. Both the pro rata and excess of loss treaties are investigated to quantify the retention risks of the ceding reinsurers. The insurance risks are focused in our model. Through the implemented model and simulation techniques, it is beneficial for the primary insurer in projecting his underwriting risks. The results show a significant advantage and flexibility using this approach in risk management. This article outlines the procedure of building the model. Finally a practical case study is performed for numerical illustrated.
408

Can intangibles lead to superior returns? : Global evidence on the relationship between employee satisfaction and abnormal equity returns.

Ballout, Rami, Nygård, Fredrik January 2013 (has links)
Subject background and discussion: In recent decades, issues of human rights, labor and environmental change has been hot topics world wide, which also has influenced the financial market. More and more investors use socially responsible investing (SRI) screens when constructing their portfolios. One form of SRI screen is to choose companies that have satisfied employees. Existing theory says that employee satisfaction is an intangible asset to the firm that will positively affect a firm’s performance in the future. Intangible assets are often unrecognized by the market and thereby not incorporated in the stock price. The efficient market hypothesis has been studied and debated for several decades. Proponents of the EMH argue that all available information is incorporated in the stock price, thus it is not possible to systematically beat the market. However, EMH is controversial, since research has shown different results regarding the possibility to make abnormal return from various investing strategy. Research question: Is it possible to make abnormal returns by investing in a portfolio of worldwide firms with top scores on the SRI screen employee satisfaction? Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to examine investor’s possibility to make abnormal return with controls for multiple risk factors by investing in worldwide firms with top scores in employee satisfaction. One sub-purpose is to examine how the market values intangibles depending on the degree of market efficiency. Another sub-purpose of the study is to test two different portfolio weighting methodologies, equally- and value weighted, and observe the differences between them. Theory: This study deals with the efficient market hypothesis and the concepts of SRI, employee satisfaction, intangible assets and several risk-adjusted measurements. Method: We have chosen to perform a quantitative study with a deductive approach to answer our research question. We used a sample size of 696 firms based on “Great Place to Works”- lists of companies with high employee satisfaction to construct sex portfolios with different holding periods and strategies. These portfolios have been explored and tested significantly with both equally and value weighted methods. Result/Analysis: The study finds significant evidence of an average annual abnormal return of 3,66% and 2,43% for our main portfolio over the market for equally- and value weighted, respectively, using the three-factor model. When adjusting for momentum, thus employing the four-factor model, all the predictive variables still identify strong persistence in the abnormal return, with statistical significance. Conclusion: The results show that it is possible to make abnormal returns, during the observed time period, regardless of the weighing methodology, although the equally weighted received higher abnormal returns. Thus, the market efficiency appears to be in weak form and does not fully value intangibles.
409

On magnetic amplifiers in aircraft applications

Austrin, Lars January 2007 (has links)
<p>In the process of designing an electric power supply system for an aircraft, parameters like low weight and low losses are important. Reliability, robustness and low cost are other important factors. In the Saab Gripen aircraft, the design of the primary power supply of the electric flight control system was updated by exchanging a switching transistor regulator to a magnetic amplifier (magamp). By introducing a magamp design, weight was saved and a more reliable power supply system at a lower cost was achieved.</p><p> In this particular case, with the power supply of the electric flight control system in the Saab Gripen fighter, advantage could be taken of a specific permanent magnet generator (PM-generator). The frequency of the generator offered the perfect conditions for a magamp controller. A key parameter in designing magnetic amplifiers (magamps) is low losses. New amorphous alloys offer new possibilities of the technique in designing magnetic amplifiers, because of their extremely low losses.</p><p> The core losses are evaluated by studying the equations and diagrams specifying the power losses. The core losses are evaluated and compared with the copper losses in the process of optimizing low weight and low losses. For this an engineering tool is developed and demonstrated.</p><p> Evaluations of the hysteresis characteristics for the magnetic alloys, as well as modeling and simulation of the core losses, are presented in this work. The modeling of the core losses includes hysteresis losses, eddy current losses and excess losses as well as copper losses. The losses are studied dynamically during realistic operational conditions. The model can be used for any generic analysis of hysteresis in magnetic circuits. Applications of magnetic amplifiers in aircrafts have been demonstrated to be a feasible alternative</p>
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Soil chemical and biological changes through the N2 fixation of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) - A contribution to the research of tree neophytes / Bodenchemische und -biologische Veränderungen durch die N-Fixierung der Robinie (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) - Ein Beitrag zur Erforschung von Baumneophyten

Berthold, Dirk 29 July 2005 (has links)
No description available.

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