The formula method of allocation was used in the Commonwealth of Virginia to fund institutions of higher education from 1968 until the recession of 1990. Prior to the early 1990s recession, operational funding for institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth was derived from a framework for staffing guidelines, faculty peer-group benchmarks, and a student tuition policy. Revenue shortfalls caused by the recession were insufficient to fund the resources demanded by the guidelines or funding formulas. This led to the discontinuance of the funding formulas that had guided Virginia's higher education funding for more than two decades (Report of the Joint Subcommittee on Higher Education Funding Policies, 1999). The purpose of the study was to find out how and why the decision was made to discontinue formula funding of institutions of higher education. The decision-making process at the state level is often complex, uncertain, and difficult. The emphasis of the study was to examine the rationale for discontinuing formula funding for resource allocation to institutions of higher education.The study explored why the Commonwealth of Virginia made this important decision. The subjects of the study are the state-level decision-makers responsible for funding institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Information on how and why the Commonwealth of Virginia reached the decision to discontinue formula funding could only be obtained by in-depth interviewing of the participants in the decision-making process. Data were analyzed using the four streams of Cohen and March's decision making model. Triangulation of the data served as a means of data validation. Conclusions and recommendations for future study and practice are included. The major findings were that were many complaints regarding the former formula funding model. The model was a demand driven, rigid input based model that was not linked directly to state revenues. The model was not mandated by the Code of Virginia as was K-12 formula. As required with time-sensitive matters, decisions have to be made to address the issues at hand. The funding formulas were simply discontinued in the face of adversity. Consensus was basically that the demand driven formulas were the wrong methodology given the recession and demands for attention in other areas. / Ph. D.

The odd symplectic Grassmannian IG := IG(k, 2n + 1) parametrizes k dimensional subspaces of C^2n+1 which are isotropic with respect to a general (necessarily degenerate) symplectic form. The odd symplectic group acts on IG with two orbits, and IG is itself a smooth Schubert variety in the submaximal isotropic Grassmannian IG(k, 2n + 2). We use the technique of curve neighborhoods to prove a Chevalley formula in the equivariant quantum cohomology of IG, i.e. a formula to multiply a Schubert class by the Schubert divisor class. This generalizes a formula of Pech in the case k = 2, and it gives an algorithm to calculate any quantum multiplication in the equivariant quantum cohomology ring. / Ph. D.

My dissertation scrutinizes the implications of a harmonized European corporate tax system for firms' and businesses' decision-making. Specifically, I examine the cross-border consolidation of profits and losses, the design of the apportionment formula applied to allocate the consolidated tax base to single group entities, and the locational investment decisions that are mainly driven by the consolidation of the tax base and its allocation to the group entities. All of my analyses are conducted using model-theoretical methods and simulations, a partial equilibrium business perspective is maintained throughout. (author's abstract)

by Nancy Cheung. / Abstract in Chinese. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1980. / Bibliography: leaves 84-87.

The Jacobian Conjecture is a long-standing open problem in algebraic geometry. Though the problem is inherently algebraic, it crops up in fields throughout mathematics including perturbation theory, quantum field theory and combinatorics. This thesis is a unified treatment of the combinatorial approaches toward resolving the conjecture, particularly investigating the work done by Wright and Singer. Along with surveying their contributions, we present new proofs of their theorems and motivate their constructions. We also resolve the Symmetric Cubic Linear case, and present new conjectures whose resolution would prove the Jacobian Conjecture to be true.

The Jacobian Conjecture is a long-standing open problem in algebraic geometry. Though the problem is inherently algebraic, it crops up in fields throughout mathematics including perturbation theory, quantum field theory and combinatorics. This thesis is a unified treatment of the combinatorial approaches toward resolving the conjecture, particularly investigating the work done by Wright and Singer. Along with surveying their contributions, we present new proofs of their theorems and motivate their constructions. We also resolve the Symmetric Cubic Linear case, and present new conjectures whose resolution would prove the Jacobian Conjecture to be true.

Introduction: Sexual hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) is a protein that binds to androgens and oestrogens, especially testosterone. The fraction of testosterone that is not bound to SHBG is the biologically active fraction which makes its determination more relevant than determining the total amount of circulating testosterone. It is difficult to measure the plasma concentration of free testosterone; therefore calculations using the concentrations of testosterone and SHBG are used to estimate the amount of free testosterone. A few calculations include the concentration of albumin because testosterone also binds to albumin. The main aims of this study were to verify a method for the determination of SHBG and to calculate a reference interval for free androgen index (FAI, testosterone/SHBG) in women. Other calculations for determination of the free testosterone fraction were compared. Methods: Testosterone, SHBG and albumin were measured in serum from 20 men and 100 women. Testosterone and SHBG was measured using immunoassays on a Roche Modular E instrument (ECLIA). Albumin was measured with a c8000 Architect instrument. Four calculations, two with only testosterone and SHBG and two with testosterone, SHBG and albumin were compared.  Results/Conclusion: The verification of the SHBG method was successful which means that the method can be taken into routine use. A reference interval for FAI was constructed. It was difficult to show if other estimation of free testosterone would work better than FAI in clinical practice. This is discussed.

Natural life history of cephalopods have been puzzling marine biologists for a long time. Fishery scientists also met with great difficulty in managing resources of squids as well as cuttlefishes. The lack of the accurate equation defining growth through time is one of the major reasons. This was due mainly to no stable characteristic for age determinations. It was known that in anatomy, stripe layers of cuttlebone are similar in embryonic development as shells of the bivalve, which has been used for age determinations. This study suggested that by taking the stripe marks on the bottom surface of the cuttlebone as quasi-daily-aging characters, it is possible to define the trend of growth of cuttlefish by (either a von Bertalanffy or Gompertz) growth equation. A semi-automatic computer processing system was designed and organized to measure the stripe area lengths (SAL) and lengths of stripe margin (LSM) for all stripe marks upon individual cuttlebone (analogous to scale reading in fishery research for the same purpose) of ¡]Sepia pharaonic Ehrenberg¡A1831¡^. A total of 21 cuttlebones were measured and the data analyzed. It appeared that the growth of the cuttlefishes are still on the stage of acceleration, and is not suitable to be represented by the VBGF curve traditionally used. Using SAL= and LSM= ' as length indicators respectively, two Gompertz growth equations were respectively estimated as followed. = 30.00*exp[-3.73*exp(-0.012*t)] ' = 23.18*exp[-4.27*exp(-0.015*t)] Two functional linear regression formulas were also prepared as: = -1.2684 + 0.7729 * L ' = -0.7829 + 0.6297 * L The above formulas can be used for the transformation between SAL (or LAM) and body length. The well-known Rosa Lee¡¦s phenomenon was not found either based on the character of SAL or LSM, implying that during the trend of growing, the mortality of Sepia pharaonic were not significantly different among different sizes of organisms. It was expected that with this breakthrough in technique and theory, additional knowledge on the populations biology of cuttlefish can be known in more detail.

Bakgrund: Den effektiva marknadshypotesen är ett vida accepterat begrepp inom den finansiella sfären men trots sin centrala roll har den fått motstå mycket kritik. Ett flertal anomalier har identifierats vilka är en kritik till marknadens effektivitet. I takt med anomaliernas framväxt har intresset för investeringsstrategier ökat. Går det att generera en överavkastning genom en förbestämd strategi där marknadens ineffektivitet utnyttjas? Vi finner det därför av intresse att studera Greenblatts (2010) Magic Formula och om det är möjligt att generera en överavkastning genom att tillämpa investeringsstrategin. Syfte: Studien syfte är att analysera huruvida investeringsstrategin Magic Formula kan generera överavkastning jämfört med den globala aktiemarknaden samt om det föreligger några prestationsskillnader mellan de olika europeiska aktiemarknaderna. Vidare ämnar studien analysera hur ombalanseringsfrekvensen samt val av tidsperiod påverkar Magic Formula-portföljens avkastning. Metod: För att genomföra studien har en kvantitativ strategi med en deduktiv ansats använts. Det har genomförts en tidsserieundersökning där portföljer har konstruerats och analyserats baserat på dess avkastning och risk som statistiskt säkerställts genom parvisa t-test samt regressioner. Studien har genomförts på den europeiska marknaden under tidsperioden 2007-04-01 till 2017-04-01. Slutsats: Av 18 Magic Formula-portföljer presterar 14 portföljer sämre än jämförelseindex, sett till årliga medelavkastning samt total avkastning. Tre av de 14 portföljerna gav en signifikant lägre avkastning. Finanskrisen hade stor påverkan på resultaten. Exkluderas denna tidsperiod presterade endast 11 portföljer sämre, dock utan statistisk signifikans i resultaten. Studie har även funnit att en längre tidsperiod mellan ombalanseringarna tenderar att generera en högre avkastning. / Background: The efficient market hypothesis is a widely spread concept throughout the financial sphere, but despite of its central roll it have had to withstand a lot of criticism. Anomalies have been identified which are a criticism against the markets efficiency. The interest of investment strategies has grown as of the emergence of the anomalies. Is it possible to generate abnormal returns through a pre-determined strategy, where the market inefficiency is exploited? We therefore find it interesting to study Greenblatt’s (2010) Magic Formula and if it is possible to generate abnormal returns by implementing the investment strategy. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze whether the investment strategy Magic Formula can generate abnormal returns compared with the global stock market, and if it is possible to identify any performance differences between the European stock markets. Furthermore, the study aims to analyze how the re-balancing frequency and the time period effects returns from the Magic Formula. Methodology: To implement the study we have used a quantitative strategy with a deductive design. We have implemented a time series analysis where portfolios have been constructed and analyzed based on its return and risk. The results have been statistically tested through pairwise t-tests and regressions. The study is conducted on the European market from 2007-04-01 to 2017-04-01. Conclusion: 14 of the 18 Magic Formula portfolios have performed worse than the benchmark, according to annual average return and total return. Three of the 14 portfolios have had a significant lower return. The financial crisis affected the results greatly. If we excluded this time period only 11 portfolios performed worse, however without statistical support behind the results. Our results also suggest that a less frequent re-balancing of the portfolio generates higher return than a more frequent re-balancing.

Diplomová práce pojednává o návrhu kapotáže vozidla Formula Student. Vozy této kategorie se každoročně učástní série mezinárodních závodů všech zůčastněných studentských týmů. Úroveň návrhu se posuzuje jak v dynamických tak ve statických disciplínách. Tato práce popisuje proces návrhu tří koncepčních variant společně s rozpracováním finální varianty pro fázi výroby. Navíc je zde prezentován koncept obsahující aerodynamický paket, který slouží jako výhledová studie možného vývoje vozidla.