The increasing yield of municipal solid waste (MSW) is one of the main by-products of modern society. Among various MSW treatment methods, plasma gasification in a fixed-bed melting reactor (PGM) is a new technology, which may provide an efficient and environmental friendly solution for problems related to MSW disposals. General objectives of this work are to develop mathematical models for the PGM process, and using these models to analyze the characteristics of this new technology. In this thesis, both experimental measurement and numerical analysis are carried out to evaluate the performance of both air gasification and air&steam gasification in a PGM reactor. Furthermore, parameter studies were launched to investigate the effect of three main operation parameters: equivalence ratio (ER), steam feedstock mass ratio(S/F) and plasma energy ratio (PER). Based on the above analysis, the optimal suggestions aiming at providing highest syngas calorific value, as well as system energy efficiency, are given. Six experimental tests were conducted in a demonstration reactor. These tests are classified into two groups: air gasification (case 1 and 2) and air&steam gasification (case 3 to 6). In all these cases, the plasma gasification and melting of MSW produced a   syngas with a lower heating value of 6.0-7.0 MJ/Nm3. By comparing the syngas yield and calorific value, the study found out that the steam and air mixture is a better gasification agent than pure air. It is also discovered that the operation parameters seriously influence the operation of the PGM process. A zero-dimensional kinetic free model was built up to investigate the influence of operation parameters. The model was developed using the popular process simulation software Aspen Plus. In this model, the whole plasma gasification and melting process was divided into four layers: drying, pyrolysis, char combustion&gasificaiton, and plasma melting. Mass and energy balances were considered in all layers. It was proved that the model is able to give good agreement of the syngas yield and composition. This model was used to study the influence of ER, S/F and PER on average gasification temperature, syngas composition and syngas yield. It is pointed out that a common problem for the PGM air gasification is the incomplete char conversion due to low ER value. Both increasing plasma power and feeding steam is helpful for solving this problem. The syngas quality can also be improved by reasonably feeding high temperature steam into the reactor.   In order to provide detailed information inside the reactor, a two-dimensional steady model was developed for the PGM process. The model used the Euler-Euler multiphase approach. The mass, momentum and energy balances of both gas and solid phases are considered in this model. The model described the complex chemical and physical processes such as drying, pyrolysis, homogeneous reactions, heterogeneous char reactions and melting of the inorganic components of MSW. The rates of chemical reactions are controlled by kinetic rates and physical transport theories. The model is capable of simulating the pressure fields, temperature fields, and velocity fields of both phase, as well as variations of gas and solid composition insider the reactor. This model was used to simulate both air gasification and air&steam gasification of MSW in the PGM reactor. For PGM air gasification, simulated results showed that when ER varies from 0.043 to 0.077, both the syngas yield and cold gas efficiency demonstrated a trend of increasing. This is explained mainly by the increase of char conversion rate with ER. However, the increase of ER was restricted by peak temperature inside the fixed-bed reactor. Therefore, it is not suggested to use only air as gasification in the PGM process. The influence of plasma power is not obvious when PER varies from 0.098 to 0.138.  The positive influences of steam addition on cold gas efficiency and syngas lower-heating-value are confirmed by the simulation results of PGM air&steam gasification. The main effect of steam addition is the rouse of water shift reaction, which largely accelerates the char conversion and final yields of hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The effect of steam injection is affected by steam feeding rate, air feeding rate and plasma power. Based on the above modeling work, Interactions between operation parameters were discussed. Possible operation extents of operation parameters are delimitated. The optimal points aiming at obtaining maximum syngas LHV and system CGE are suggested.

Most countries in the world are working hard to attract more foreign direct investment. Identifying the key determinants of foreign direct investment is therefore seen as a crucial task for policy makers. Compared to other parts of the world, the performance of Sub-Sahara African countries in attracting foreign direct investment is poor. This study deals with identifying the determinants of foreign direct investment inflow in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study employed panel data analysis: pooled ordinary least square method, fixed effects and Random Effect methods. Fourteen Sub-Saharan Africa countries were sampled for the study. Trade openness, gross domestic product, gross domestic product growth, gross domestic product per capita, telephone line (per 100 people), gross fixed capital formation, inflation and the lag of FDI are explanatory variables while the stock of FDI inflow is dependent variable. The analyzed data covered for the period 1986-2010.  The study finding shows that trade openness, gross domestic product, inflation, and lag of FDI are the most significant determinants of foreign direct investment inflows to sub-Saharan Africa.

This thesis provides a discussion on some analytical and empirical models of online auctions. The objective is to provide an alternative framework for analyzing online auctions, and to characterize the distribution of intermediate prices. Chapter 1 provides a mathematical formulation of the eBay auction format and background to the data used in the empirical analysis. Chapter 2 analyzes policies for optimally disposing inventory using online auctions. It is assumed a seller has a fixed number of items to sell using a sequence of, possibly overlapping, single-item auctions. The decision the seller must make is when to start each auction. The decision involves a trade-off between a holding cost for each period an item remains unsold, and a cannibalization effect among competing auctions. Consequently the seller must trade-off the expected marginal gain for the ongoing auctions with the expected marginal cost of the unreleased items by further deferring their release. The problem is formulated as a discrete time Markov Decision Problem. Conditions are derived to ensure that the optimal release policy is a control limit policy in the current price of the ongoing auctions. Chapter 2 focuses on the two item case which has sufficient complexity to raise challenging questions. An underlying assumption in Chapter 2 is that the auction dynamics can be captured by a set of transition probabilities. Chapter 3 shows with two fixed bidding strategies how the transition probabilities can be derived for a given auction format and bidder arrival process. The two specific bidding strategies analyzed are when bidders bid: 1) a minimal increment, and 2) their true valuation. Chapters 4 and 5 provides empirical analyzes of 4,000 eBay auctions conducted by Dell. Chapter 4 provides a statistical model where over discrete time periods, prices of online auctions follow a zero-inflated gamma distribution. Chapter 5 provides an analysis of the 44,000 bids placed in the auctions, based on bids following a gamma distribution. Both models presented in Chapters 4 and 5 are based on conditional probabilities given the price and elapsed time of an auction, and certain parameters of the competing auctions. Chapter 6 concludes the thesis with a discussion of the main results and possible extensions.

This research examines the relationship of initial public offer (IPO) underpricing and intrinsic value in the Australian fixed-price setting. The first stage of the research contains a review of major underpricing theories (asymmetric information, institutional explanations and theories of ownership and control) and relates these theories to the Australian institutional setting. A baseline model of underpricing is developed from analysis of Australian empirical IPO literature. The second stage of the research is the disaggregation of underpricing into mispricing (MP) and misvaluation (MV) components. MP captures the extent of the issuer‟s influence on underpricing and is measured as the difference between the intrinsic value of an IPO share and its offer price. MV captures the extent of investors‟ influence on underpricing and is measured as the difference between the intrinsic value of an IPO share and its market price at listing.Mispricing is modelled with issuer-related variables that have hypothesised associations with offer price. Results show a proxy for IPO market sentiment and the size of the IPO relative to industry median market capitalisation make significant contributions to the explanation of mispricing. Misvaluation is modelled with investor characteristics that have hypothesised associations with market price. A proxy for general market sentiment and the level of mispricing make significant contributions to the explanation of misvaluation. The third stage of the research integrates results from the disaggregation of underpricing with the baseline model.Several conclusions can be drawn from the results. First, with respect to mispricing, issuers incorporate their knowledge of current IPO market conditions when establishing offer price, with more positive mispricing observed during hot IPO markets. Further, issuers taking relatively larger companies public tend to overprice their issues. This result persists even after controlling for potential scale effects. Second, with respect to misvaluation, overpriced issues (i.e. positive mispricing) are also overvalued by the market. This result provides an indication that price is not a suitable proxy for value. Third, prior Australian research [Cotter, Goyen & Hegarty (2005) and How, Lam & Yeo (2007)] reports a negative association for mispricing and underpricing. Consistent with US results (Zheng, 2007), no relationship isobserved for this sample. Overall, the results from this research indicate that investor-related factors are the primary drivers of underpricing.This research makes eight major contributions to the body of knowledge. The first is the novel approach of disaggregating underpricing into mispricing and misvaluation components. Second, mispricing is modelled and it is demonstrated that previously hypothesised issuer-related factors do not explain mispricing. Third, misvaluation is modelled, providing some interesting insights into the role of market sentiment in the underpricing context. Fourth, the relationships of mispricing, misvaluation and underpricing are investigated. Fifth, the Australian institutional setting is compared to that of the US and implications for future research are identified. Sixth, the baseline model of underpricing consolidates variables developed from prior Australian literature, providing a yardstick for comparison in future underpricing research. Seventh, evidence shows issuers exploit high market sentiment with positive mispricing in the fixed-price setting. The final major contribution relates to the role of institutional investors in the fixed-price setting. Contributions to the IPO literature on ownership and control, signalling, asymmetric information theories of ex ante uncertainty and agency theory are also made with tests of key variables in the mispricing and misvaluation models. Finally, evidence on the role of institutional investors in the fixed-price setting and on the role of demand (informed and total) sheds light on the underpricing puzzle.

Author's `Characterization of subgradients: 1` (31 leaves) in pocket / Bibliography: leaves 229-231 / 231 leaves : 1 port ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, 1986

Researchers have over-concentrated on the relationship between bank stock returns and interest rate changes without paying much attention to the impact of interest rates on non-bank financial institutions, in particular the insurance and real estate industries. This research attempts to examine the sensitivity and importance of interest rates and stock market price behaviour on non-bank financial institutions across three countries: the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. The results provide a different perspective on the relationship non-bank financial institutions have with the fixed income and equity markets, and sheds new light on their long-run interaction. For the insurance market, interest rate movements seem to be just as important as the stock market in explaining the variation of insurance portfolio returns in the United States. However, there is only a weak relationship between interest rate changes and insurance portfolio returns in the United Kingdom and Australia. The liquidity problem in the United Kingdom and small sample size issues in Australia may have influenced the final results. In addition, size and profitability of the insurance companies do influence the significance of interest rate coefficients. This suggests that the financial makeup of a firm can modify or influence the sensitivity of stock returns towards interest rate changes. For the securitised property market, once structural breaks are accounted for, the results show that securitised property is driven by both interest rate and stock market changes, regardless of the type of financial institutions being examined. Evidence also points to companies with different leverage ratios and companies that are tax-exempt entities are still all influenced by both the equity and fixed income markets over the long-run period, although the influence these factors have does vary across time. A major contribution of this study clearly points to the relative weightings that portfolio managers may now consider to be appropriate with regard to their holdings of bonds, equities and non-bank financial institutions in their portfolios for both their tactical and strategic asset allocations. For example, it may not be a wise decision to invest significant amounts of capital in both securitised properties and fixed income securities given that both instruments are co-integrated in the long-run. Although this research was primarily conducted prior to the current economic situation, some of the major conclusions from this research are particularly relevant today. Moreover, with better understanding of the sensitivity among security prices and various financial risk factors, financial managers are able to manage and control their companies’ risk exposure towards interest rate risk and stock market conditions more effectively and efficiently. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1371959 / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Adelaide, Business School, 2009

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Baylor University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-66).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McMaster University, 2005. / Advisor: Ian Hambleton. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 74-75). Also available via World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Akron, Dept. of Mathematics, 2007. / "May, 2007." Title from electronic thesis title page (viewed 4/28/2009) Advisor, Ali Hajjafar; Faculty readers, Linda Marie Saliga, Lala Krishna; Department Chair, Joseph W. Wilder; Dean of the College, Ronald F. Levant; Dean of the Graduate School, George R. Newkome. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Toronto, 1996. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.