The American horseshoe crab (HSC), Limulus polyphemus, is one of four species of horseshoe crabs found throughout the world, and the only one found in North America. It is an economically and ecologically important species throughout its native range from Maine to the Yucatan Peninsula. Harvested for fertilizer and livestock feed in the 19th century, the species is now harvested as bait for whelk and eel fisheries, and for their blood by the biomedical industry. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) started to formally manage HSC in 1998 with its Interstate Fisheries Management Plan (IFMP). Unique emphasis and harvest limits have been placed on the Delaware Bay stock, as it is commercially exploited and a critical food source for the threatened red knot, Calidris canutus rufa. Previously, estimates of relative and total abundance of HSC in the Delaware Bay area were based on a design-based approach using a stratified random sampling design. In Chapter 1 of this work, I developed hurdle models for each of the six HSC demographic groups to standardize catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) and estimate relative abundance using a model-based approach. It was determined that while the two approaches resulted in mostly convergent estimates of relative abundance, external factors such as month, time-of-day, and average depth have major effects on the observed CPUE of all demographic groups. Chapter 2 involved the development of hurdle models for the three species of bycatch frequently caught in our trawls, channeled whelk (Busysotypus canaliculatus), knobbed whelk (Busycon carica), and summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus). It was found that channeled whelk relative abundance has been at a historical low since 2016, while summer flounder has been at a consistent high. Recent estimates of knobbed whelk relative abundance have been less variable than previously seen, with estimates since 2016 being similar to those seen before 2012. These results provide the first estimates for whelk population trends in the mid-Atlantic region and add to the growing knowledge of summer flounder relative abundance in the area. In Chapter 3, I applied the hurdle models developed in Chapter 1 to estimate the total abundance of HSC in the Delaware Bay area. For this work, I developed two spatio-temporal variograms to estimate bottom temperature and bottom salinity at unmeasured cells per month in the time series. The results showed that night estimates of total abundance were consistently higher than daytime estimates, and estimates from September or November resulted in the highest estimated catch for all demographic groups. The results suggest that when comparing September model-based estimates at night to those of the design-based approach, nearly a third of all previous design-based estimates significantly underestimated the total abundance of HSC in the Delaware Bay area. This result suggests that the ASMFC can recommend increased harvest limits for mature individuals if that action aligns with the goals of their adaptive resource management (ARM) framework. / Master of Science / The American horseshoe crab (HSC), Limulus polyphemus, is one of four species of horseshoe crabs found throughout the world, and the only one found in North America. It is an economically and ecologically important species throughout its native range from Maine to the Yucatan Peninsula. Harvested by the millions in the 19th century, the species is still harvested as bait for whelk and eel fisheries, and for their blood by the biomedical industry, on the order of hundreds of thousands. Formal management of HSC by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) began in 1998, and allowable catch and landings have decreased since 1999. A strong focus has been placed on the Delaware Bay population, as it is the center of HSC abundance and provides a critical food source for the threatened red knot, Calidris canutus rufa, while also being commercially exploited. To effectively manage the species, it is important to accurately estimate relative and total abundance so that proper harvest limits can be set. Previously, estimates of relative and total abundance of HSC in the Delaware Bay area were based on a design-based approach using a stratified random sampling design. In Chapter 1 of this work, I developed hurdle models (a generalized linear model that models the probability of observations and the observed positive counts using two separate regression models that are then combined) for each of the six HSC demographic groups to remove the effect of external factors (year, latitude, longitude, depth [inshore/offshore], topography, average trawl depth, time-of-day, month, bottom temperature, bottom salinity, and distance from shore) on our observed catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) and estimate relative abundance using a model-based approach. It was determined that while the two approaches resulted in mostly convergent estimates of relative abundance, factors like month, time-of-day, and average depth had major effects on the observed CPUE of all demographic groups. Chapter 2 involved developing similar hurdle models for three species of bycatch frequently caught in our trawls, i.e., channeled whelk (Busysotypus canaliculatus), knobbed whelk (Busycon carica), and summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus). It was found that channeled whelk relative abundance has been at a historical low since 2016, while summer flounder has been at a consistent high. Recent estimates of knobbed whelk relative abundance have been less variable than previously seen, with estimates since 2016 being similar to those seen before 2012. These results provide the first estimates for whelk population trends in the mid-Atlantic region and add to the growing knowledge of summer flounder relative abundance in the area. In Chapter 3, I applied the hurdle models developed in Chapter 1 to estimate the total abundance of HSC in the Delaware Bay area. To do this, the bottom temperature and salinity had to be estimated for each geographic cell. This was accomplished by developing two spatio-temporal variograms which allowed me to estimate either variable at an unmeasured point and time based on its spatial and temporal distance from a measured value in a process known as spatio-temporal kriging. The results showed that night estimates of total abundance were consistently higher than daytime estimates and that estimates from September or November resulted in the highest estimated total abundance for all demographic groups. The results suggest that when using September model-based estimates at night to compare against the design-based approach, nearly a third of all previous design-based estimates significantly underestimated the total abundance of HSC in the Delaware Bay area. This outcome could justify ASMFC increasing recommended harvest limits for mature individuals if that action aligns with the goals of their adaptive resource management (ARM) framework.

<p>Commercial and regional brewers are increasingly investing in sustainability equipment that reduces input use, operating costs, and environmental impact. These technologies often require significant upfront costs that can limit market access to microbreweries. One potential solution for these brewers is to market their product as sustainable and charge a premium for their product to offset some of the costs. A stated preference choice experiment of a nationally-representative sample is undertaken to elicit consumer willingness-to-pay (WTP) for sustainability attributes in beer, thus determining whether a market for sustainably-made beer exists. The facets of sustainability, including water reduction, energy reduction, and landfill diversion, are portrayed through eco-labels affixed the front of the primary packaging (aluminum can or glass bottle). Multiple specifications are employed to handle model shortcomings and incorporate discrete heterogeneity. Across all model specifications, <a>consumers show a positive and statistically significant marginal WTP for landfill diversion practices and carbon reduction practices, ranging from $0.40 to $1.37 per six-pack and $0.67 to $1.21 per six-pack, respectively. </a>These results indicate consumers do in fact place value on beer produced using sustainable practices, and the demographics of consumers with the greatest WTP are similar to that of craft beer consumer.</p>

對於資金的大量需求是汽車行業維持生產和銷售的主要特徵；運用消費金融業務擴大汽車廠家的產銷規模，成為了汽車消費財務服務產生的基礎。 最早的汽車消費財務服務業務，起源於1907年的美國，伴隨著汽車在美國、德國、日本等汽車行業發達國家的普及，汽車消費財務服務的業務規模也急劇擴大。在汽車消費財務服務的沿革過程中,汽車製造廠商藉助自身獨有的專業化和規模化優勢, 投資了汽車財務服務公司，逐漸成為國際汽車消費財務服務的經營主體。 汽車消費信貸 (Hire Purchase) 和汽車融資租賃 (Operating Lease) 是汽車財務服務的主要業務型式。隨著消費觀念的改變，汽車財務服務的業務重心也漸漸從消費信貸移轉到融資租賃。 融資租賃是將傳統的租賃提升到貿易與金融相結合的方式，透過「融物形式」達到「融資目的」的一種交易方式。融資租賃逐漸成為現代企業設備融資的重要形式之一，甚至在面對金融海嘯的衝擊時，扮演「拉動內需導航儀」的角色，對現代經濟的影響越來越大。 本文以多國籍企業的國際型車廠角度，闡釋消費財務服務的業務以及功能，並進一步分析汽車財務服務公司的快速發展現狀，以及多元化和產業化的發展趨勢。在內容的編寫上，先針對過去臺灣地區，對於提高汽車產業競爭力之歷史做回顧，並說明目前臺灣地區，汽車產業的現狀與優勢，再以企業五力分析，研究政策制定與產業趨勢的關係，並強調政策推動之方向與管理資訊的內容及其重要性。 最後，本文結合了不同發展階段和時期的國內經濟和汽車產業的發展特徵,剖析了當前限制汽車消費財務服務進一步發展原因，提出了推動汽車消費財務服務在我國發展繁榮的條件和建議。 / Capital intensive is the key character of vehicle industry in its production and sales cycle. Employ consumer finance to expand sales and manufacture scale is the strategic intent among vehicle industry which paved the way to flourish the Vehicle Financial Services (VFS) Business. VFS Business was originally from America in 1907. Like emergent market, VFS extends the business along with the vehicle universalism in USA, Germany, Japan and even other developed countries. Through the pipeline control, the Vehicle Manufactures fully take the advantage from their core competence, get involved into Financial Services business and then earn the operating ownership accordingly. Hire Purchase (HP) and Operating Lease (OL) both are the major business models for VFS. Time is changed. The business was mainly focus on HP, but shift to OL followed by the Consumption Concept changed. OL is a kind of transaction which develops the traditional leasing into trading and financing, by pass the purely money financing. OL is currently playing the key role for cooperate equipment leasing. Further more, OL was also the key driver to pull the domestic demand, great help to Economy Status. This article is trying to illustrate the consumer financial services and features from Multinational Vehicle Manufacture point of view. Meanwhile, it also further analyzes the strong growth on VFS business as well as diversification and industrialization trends. Structure wise, we started out the historical review for improving competitiveness on Taiwan market, got on the current SWOT, and then turned point to Porter's 5 Forces Analysis. We went through all the way from “country policy development linked with vehicle industry trends” to stress “the importance on cooperate policy and information management”. Eventually, this article lists down the market development from different stages, profiles the domestic economy together with industry characteristic, dissects the obstructions on VFS from further development, ends up with movement proposal.

Submitted by Guilherme Bragança (guilherme.braganca@bnymellon.com.br) on 2009-12-16T17:43:53Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_Guilherme Lima Bragança.pdf: 298406 bytes, checksum: 068b151da0b1307c876da3401fd552e2 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Gisele Gammaro(gisele.gammaro@fgv.br) on 2009-12-22T13:33:19Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_Guilherme Lima Bragança.pdf: 298406 bytes, checksum: 068b151da0b1307c876da3401fd552e2 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2009-12-22T13:33:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_Guilherme Lima Bragança.pdf: 298406 bytes, checksum: 068b151da0b1307c876da3401fd552e2 (MD5) / A teoria tradicional de Tobin (1958) sugere que todos os investidores possuem o mesmo portfólio de ativos arriscados, chamado de portfólio de mercado. A proporção entre esse ativo arriscado e o livre de risco dentro de cada portfólio dependeria apenas do grau de aversão a risco de cada agente. No entanto, as imperfeições existentes no mercado de capitais, permitem que a heterogeneidade dos agentes econômicos influencie nas suas alocações de portfólio. Este trabalho avalia o efeito de características econômicas e sócio-demográficas dos investidores de fundos administrados pelo BNY Mellon Serviços Financeiros em sua inclinação a tomar posições em fundos agressivos. Através da análise do conjunto de resultados observados através de três diferentes modelos econométricos, concluiu-se que a evidência empírica para a realidade brasileira, vai, em boa parte, ao encontro da teoria econômica sobre a alocação ótima de portfólio.

Title: Myodynamics of the support phase during different take-off tasks in human locomotion Objectives: Six types of take-off movement were analyzed in terms of support limb kinematics, take-off dynamics and muscle activation, in order to identify differences in motor control. Methods: 14 male athletes (22.6 ± 4.4 years; 182.4 ± 5.3 cm; 74.7 ± 6.2 kg) took part in laboratory experiment. Each athlete performed six different take-off movements (running, acceleration - first and second step, long jump take-off, high jump take-off and take-off to the hurdle). System Qualisys was used to analyze kinematics of the support limb. Dynamic of the suport phase was measured with Kistler 9281 EA force- plate. ME6000 apparatus was used to measure the muscle activation. Results were processed and statistically evaluated in Matlab (MathWorks, Inc) environment. Pair ANOVA, T-test and Friedmann test were performed to identify differences between take-off movements. regression analysis was introduced to find the relationship between parameters. Results: Significant differences in take-off dynamics are realized with not so significant differences in kinematic and electromyographic parameters. high jump and long jump take-offs acted most specifically in comparison with other types of take-offs. Two typically...

The aim of this thesis is to provide a comprehensive overview of the main approaches to modeling data loaded with redundant zeros. There are three main subclasses of zero modified models (ZMM) described here - zero inflated models (the main focus lies on models of this subclass), zero truncated models and hurdle models. Models of each subclass are defined and then a construction of maximum likelihood estimates of regression coefficients is described. ZMM models are mostly based on Poisson or negative binomial type 2 distribution (NB2). In this work, author has extended the theory to ZIM models generally based on any discrete distributions of exponential type. There is described a construction of MLE of regression coefficients of theese models, too. Just few of present works are interested in ZIM models based on negative binomial type 1 distribution (NB1). This distribution is not of exponential type therefore a common method of MLE construction in ZIM models cannot be used here. In this work provides modification of this method using quasi-likelihood method. There are two simulation studies concluding the work. 1

Life insurance policies are not equally profitable is sense of expected value. In practice, profitability is an output of complex cash flow models, which need utilizing special systems and the run time of such calculation can be significant if number of policies is high. Therefore we consider variables, which change most frequently, stimulate the profitability model with several values of these variables and then we search for a regression model to explain the changes. We apply Gamma regression on the data. But what if there exist some policies which are negative? Then we determine these policies with logistic regression applied on data censored to the binary form. Loss of these policies is modelled using symmetrical Gamma model. These three models, when considered together, can be viewed as a single model, which is a generalization of the well known zero inflated count model. The most interesting part of inference in such model is diagnostics. We show that the basic types of residuals - Pearson, deviance and quantile - can be defined. We also build an ordinary linear model and we compare utility of these two approaches. While building models, we meet various statistical issues like dimension reduction of yield curve or dispersion proportional to sum insured. 1

Title: Myodynamics of the support phase during different take-off tasks in human locomotion Objectives: Six types of take-off movement were analyzed in terms of support limb kinematics, take-off dynamics and muscle activation, in order to identify differences in motor control. Methods: 14 male athletes (22.6 ± 4.4 years; 182.4 ± 5.3 cm; 74.7 ± 6.2 kg) took part in laboratory experiment. Each athlete performed six different take-off movements (running, acceleration - first and second step, long jump take-off, high jump take-off and take-off to the hurdle). System Qualisys was used to analyze kinematics of the support limb. Dynamic of the suport phase was measured with Kistler 9281 EA force- plate. ME6000 apparatus was used to measure the muscle activation. Results were processed and statistically evaluated in Matlab (MathWorks, Inc) environment. Pair ANOVA, T-test and Friedmann test were performed to identify differences between take-off movements. regression analysis was introduced to find the relationship between parameters. Results: Significant differences in take-off dynamics are realized with not so significant differences in kinematic and electromyographic parameters. high jump and long jump take-offs acted most specifically in comparison with other types of take-offs. Two typically...

Bakgrund: Betydelsen av investeringsbedömningen kan inte överbetonas till följd av dess långsiktiga fördelar för företagets giltighet och operativa funktionalitet. Beräkningsmetoder som används för investeringsbedömning bistår med nödvändig kunskap för att underlätta beslutsfattande samt för att skapa sig en tydligare bild över det föreslagna investeringsprojektet. Företag investerar för att upprätthålla sina ekonomiska mål och värderingen av olika investeringsalternativ spelar således en central roll för företagets ekonomiska fortlevnad och utveckling. Kapitalinvesteringar är ofta omfattande och förväntas generera värde på lång sikt, vilket formar företagets ekonomiska fokusområden. Detta belyser viktigheten av en kvalitativ bedömning för olika investeringsalternativ och deras respektive utvecklingsmöjligheter. Syfte: Genom att undersöka användningsområdet för kalkylräntan avser studien att öka kunskapen för sambandet mellan kalkylräntebestämningen och investeringsbedömningen. Detta som ett delsyfte till att undersöka vilka metoder som några svenska industri- och fastighetsföretag använder. Studien avser även vidare att beskriva och analysera företagens investeringskalkylering och kapitalstruktur. Metod: Studien har antagit en kvalitativ forskningsansats med semistrukturerade intervjuer med svenska industri- och fastighetsbolag. Respondenterna valdes ut genom ett målstyrt urval och vidare beskriver metoden hur insamling av det empiriska materialet har gått till. För att besvara studiens problemformulering har det empiriska materialet analyserats med den teoretiska referensramen. Slutsats: Studiens resultat visar tydliga skillnader i relation till den klassiska kapitalteorin och att långsiktiga strategiska investeringar i viss utsträckning tenderar att inkräkta på investeringar som kan generera en högre internränta och således vara mer ekonomiskt lönsam, men som är av mindre strategisk betydelse för bolaget. Detta strider mot teorins förutsättningar om att uppnå en normativt optimal kapitalstruktur. En viktig aspekt av det är att företagen försöker bibehålla en helhetlig bild av investeringarna där förutsättningar för nyutveckling ska uppmärksammas, vilket i regel inte strider mot kapitalteorins antaganden. Men i relation till det kan dock investeringskalkyler endast förse bolag med en begränsa uppfattning av investeringens ekonomiska konsekvenser. / Background: The importance of the investment appraisal cannot be overemphasized as a result of its long-term benefits to the company's validity and operational functionality. Calculation methods used for investment assessment assist with the necessary knowledge to facilitate decision-making, as well as to create a clearer picture of the proposed investment project. Companies invest to maintain their financial goals and the valuation of different investment alternatives thus plays a central role for the company's financial survival and development. Capital investments are often extensive and expected to generate value over the long term, shaping the company's financial focus areas. This highlights the importance of a qualitative assessment for different investment options and their respective development opportunities. Purpose: By examining the area of use for the discount rate, the study intends to increase knowledge of the connection between the discount rate determination and the investment assessment. This as a partial aim to investigate which methods some Swedish industrial and real estate companies use. The study also intends to describe and analyze the companies' investment calculation and capital structure Method: The study has adopted a qualitative research approach with semi-structured interviews with Swedish industrial and property companies. The respondents were selected through a targeted selection and the method further describes the collection of the empirical material. In order to answer the study's problem formulation, the empirical material has been analyzed with the theoretical frame of reference. Conclusion: The results of the study show clear differences in relation to the classic capital theory and that long-term strategic investments to a certain extent tend to encroach on investments that can generate a higher internal rate of return and thus be more financially profitable, but which are of less strategic importance for the company. This goes against the theory's prerequisites for achieving a normatively optimal capital structure. An important aspect of it is that the companies try to maintain a holistic view of the investments where the conditions for new development must be noticed, which as a rule does not contradict the assumptions of the capital theory. However, in relation to that, investment calculations can only provide companies with a limited idea of the financial consequences of the investment.

Cette thèse de doctorat examine les principales défaillances du marché du travail qui entraînent que les travailleurs n’arrivent pas à obtenir la pleine rémunération potentielle qui corresponde à leur capital humain. Il y a « inefficacité salariale » lorsque le salaire obtenu est inférieur au maximum atteignable. Dans un tel cas, les salariés reçoivent un salaire injuste par rapport au capital humain disposé. Cela décourage à investir dans son capital humain ce qui aura tendance à réduire la productivité totale, à affaiblir la compétitivité et à nuire à la croissance économique du pays. La contribution que nous apportons à travers ce travail est de trois ordres. Dans un premier temps, nous proposons un nouveau regard par rapport à l’intégration des jeunes sur le marché du travail. Plutôt que d’examiner si les individus obtiennent un contrat de travail stable ou non, nous adoptons une approche qui s’intéresse à la qualité de l’appariement « emploi – compétences » de jeunes entrant fraîchement dans la vie active. Nos travaux fournissent des résultats empiriques qui mettent en évidence les différentes théories de recherche d’emploi. Dans un second temps, en raison du considérable défi que représente l'identification et l'évaluation des pratiques discriminatoires sur le marché du travail, nous proposons une approche innovatrice et efficace pour examiner le phénomène du plafond de verre (barrière invisible à l’accès des postes de décision mieux rémunérés). Dans la dernière partie de cette thèse, nous proposons un modèle économétrique théorique qui améliore la correction du problème de biais de sélection pour les modèles de frontière stochastique. / This doctoral thesis addresses issues related to employees’ imperfect information on the labour market and discrimination, generally all direct consequences of labour underpayment or “earnings inefficiency”. Workers are in a situation of earnings inefficiency when they do not receive the full potential remuneration corresponding to their human capital endowment: unfair pay for greater stock of human capital. This situation is problematic from a policy-makers point of view as it could weaken work incentives, discourage investments in human capital, and harm economic growth and competitiveness. It could also widen inequality within the society and contribute to the increase in relative poverty.The contribution we make through this work is threefold. First, we examine the integration of young people into the labour market from a new angle. Instead of examining whether individuals obtain stable employment or not, we use an approach that focuses on the quality of the job matching for young people entering the workforce and lacking labour market information. This first chapter provides empirical evidence on job search theories. In a second chapter, because of the considerable challenge of identifying and assessing discriminatory practices in the labour market, we propose an innovative and effective approach to examine the phenomenon of the glass ceiling (an invisible barrier to management positions associated with higher earnings). Finally, the last part of this doctoral thesis is devoted to improving the econometric approach we use. We propose a theoretical econometric model that improves correction for sample selection bias with stochastic frontier models.