This research delves into wireless communication systems, with a particular focus on initial access processes, channel modeling, and beamforming strategies. The study involves meticulous channel data collection across diverse urban, suburban, and rural terrains, each presenting unique propagation challenges. The research also simulates a typical communication network with four base stations, adjusting their configurations to suit the varied terrains. A central focus is the implementation of the cell search methodology, including the exploration of random beamforming at both system and cell levels. The findings indicate that the cell-level system configurations do not yield significant performance improvements over the baseline configuration. Furthermore, potential increased costs associated with this strategy are noted. However, it is essential to highlight that this project serves as a critical exploration of the potential benefits of random beamforming at the cell level within non-public network scenarios. While the improvements observed are minimal, the insights gained from this research are poised to guide future research endeavors and contribute to the elimination of uncertainties in the field of wireless communication. / Denna forskning fördjupar sig i trådlösa kommunikationssystem, med särskilt fokus på initiala åtkomstprocesser, kanalmodellering och strålformningsstrategier. Studien involverade noggrann kanaldatainsamling över olika urbana, förorts- och landsbygdsterränger, var och en med unika spridningsutmaningar. Forskningen simulerade också ett typiskt kommunikationsnätverk med fyra basstationer som justerade deras konfigurationer för att passa de varierande terrängerna. Ett centralt fokus var implementeringen av cellsökningsmetoden, inklusive utforskning av slumpmässig strålformning på både system- och cellnivå. Resultaten indikerade att systemkonfigurationerna på cellnivå inte gav signifikanta prestandaförbättringar jämfört med baslinjekonfigurationen. Dessutom noterades potentiella ökade kostnader förknippade med denna strategi. Det är dock viktigt att betona att detta projekt fungerade som en kritisk utforskning av de potentiella fördelarna med slumpmässig strålformning på cellnivå inom icke-offentliga nätverksscenarier. Även om de observerade förbättringarna var minimala, är insikterna från denna forskning redo att vägleda framtida forskningsinsatser och bidra till att eliminera osäkerheter inom området trådlös kommunikation.

Thèse de doctorat présentée en vue de l'obtention du doctorat en psychoéducation (Ph.D) / Externalizing behaviour problems are among the most prevalent motives for consultation of psychosocial services and are associated with significant negative consequences. Given that parenting practices are among the most important risk and protective factors in the development of externalizing behaviour problems, several parenting programs have been developed. A preventive approach should be prioritized to maximize the benefits of these programs and limit the consequences of externalizing behaviour problems. However, recruiting parents to these programs in a prevention context remains a pervasive challenge. In addition, many professionals in Quebec have limited access to French-language resources on effective practices to manage externalizing behaviour problems, as they are typically found in manuals for evidence-based programs that require costly training. In light of this, the general objectives of this thesis are to evaluate the ÉQUIPE parenting program in a prevention context, examine the factors predicting parental refusal to participate in the prevention study evaluating this program, and to better equip professionals in their clinical practice with parents. The first thesis article is a randomized controlled trial (RCT) aimed to evaluate the ÉQUIPE program in the prevention of childhood externalizing behaviour problems and to test whether the intervention's effects are explained by the improvement of parenting practices. The results suggest that program participation is associated with parents' improved ability to provide structure and set limits, as well as with enhanced child cooperation. Indirect effects of the program through parents' ability to structure and set limits were also demonstrated on child cooperation and externalizing behaviour problems. The second article aimed to evaluate whether sociodemographic characteristics, as well as other children and parent characteristics, were associated with parental refusal to participate in the RCT evaluating the ÉQUIPE program. Results show that lower perceived parental efficacy and better quality of marital relationships were associated with the refusal to participate in the RCT. Finally, the clinical chapter aimed to better equip professionals working with parents of young children displaying externalizing behaviour problems. This chapter highlights the latest knowledge of early childhood externalizing behaviour problems, assessment methods, best intervention practices for parents of children at-risk or manifesting externalizing behaviour problems, as well as the studies on the efficacy of these interventions. / Les problèmes de comportements extériorisés à l’enfance sont parmi les motifs de consultation les plus prévalents et peuvent générer d’importantes répercussions. Plusieurs programmes de soutien à la parentalité ont été développés, considérant que les pratiques parentales sont parmi les facteurs de risque et de protection les plus importants. Une approche préventive doit être privilégiée pour maximiser les bénéfices de ces programmes et limiter les conséquences des problèmes de comportements extériorisés. Or, le recrutement des parents reste un enjeu omniprésent pour participer à un programme de soutien à la parentalité en contexte de prévention. En plus, plusieurs intervenants au Québec ont un accès limité aux ouvrages en français portant sur les pratiques efficaces pour gérer les problèmes de comportements extériorisés. En effet, ces pratiques se trouvent généralement dans les manuels d’animation des programmes probants requérant une formation couteuse. À la lumière de ces constats, les objectifs généraux de cette thèse sont d’évaluer le programme de soutien à la parentalité ÉQUIPE en contexte de prévention, tester les facteurs susceptibles de prédire le refus des parents de participer à l’étude évaluant ce programme et d’outiller les intervenants dans leur pratique auprès des parents. Dans le cadre d’un essai contrôlé randomisé (ECR), le premier article de la thèse visait à évaluer l'efficacité du programme ÉQUIPE pour prévenir les problèmes de comportements extériorisés à l’enfance et à tester si les effets de l'intervention s'expliquent par l’amélioration des pratiques parentales. Les résultats indiquent que la participation au programme est associée à une meilleure capacité des parents d’assurer une structure et de fixer des limites ainsi qu’à une meilleure coopération de l’enfant. Des effets indirects du programme via la capacité des parents à structurer et à fixer des limites ont également été démontrés sur la coopération et les comportements extériorisés de l’enfant. Le deuxième article visait à évaluer si les caractéristiques sociodémographiques ainsi que les caractéristiques des enfants et des parents étaient associées au refus des parents de participer à l’ECR évaluant le programme ÉQUIPE. Les résultats montrent que la perception des parents d’un moindre sentiment d'efficacité parentale et d’un niveau plus élevé de bonheur dans la relation conjugale était associée au refus de participer à l'ECR. Enfin, le troisième ouvrage est un chapitre clinique ayant comme objectif d’outiller les intervenants travaillant auprès des parents d’enfants manifestant des problèmes de comportements extériorisés à la petite enfance. Ce chapitre met en lumière les connaissances les plus récentes sur les problèmes de comportements extériorisés à la petite enfance, les méthodes d’évaluation, les pratiques à promouvoir auprès des parents d’enfants à risque ou manifestant des problèmes de comportements extériorisés ainsi que les études d’efficacité de ces interventions.

Data assimilation arises in a vast array of different topics: traditionally in meteorological and oceanographic modelling, wind tunnel or water tunnel experiments and recently from biomedical engineering. Data assimilation is a process for combine measured or observed data with a mathematical model, to obtain estimates of the expected data. The measured data usually contains inaccuracies and is given with low spatial and/or temporal resolution. In this thesis data assimilation for time dependent fluid flow is considered. The flow is assumed to satisfy a given partial differential equation, representing the mathematical model. The problem is to determine the initial state which leads to a flow field which satisfies the flow equation and is close to the given data. In the first part we consider one-dimensional flow governed by Burgers’ equation. We analyze two iterative methods for data assimilation problem for this equation. One of them so called adjoint optimization method, is based on minimization in L2-norm. We show that this minimization problem is ill-posed but the adjoint optimization iterative method is regularizing, and represents the well-known Landweber method in inverse problems. The second method is based on L2-minimization of the gradient. We prove that this problem always has a solution. We present numerical comparisons of these two methods. In the second part three-dimensional inviscid compressible flow represented by the Euler equations is considered. Adjoint technique is used to obtain an explicit formula for the gradient to the optimization problem. The gradient is used in combination with a quasi-Newton method to obtain a solution. The main focus regards the derivation of the adjoint equations with boundary conditions. An existing flow solver EDGE has been modified to solve the adjoint Euler equations and the gradient computations are validated numerically. The proposed iteration method are applied to a test problem where the initial pressure state is reconstructed, for exact data as well as when disturbances in data are present. The numerical convergence and the result are satisfying.

Syfte: Denna uppsats behandlar en undermedveten kognitiv bias vilken benämns som ”anchoring effect” eller förankringseffekten. Effekten uppenbaras då människor tenderar att lägga för mycket tillit till den första informationen som görs tillgänglig vid olika typer av beslutsfattande. Teoriramen för detta forskningsområde är tämligen utbredd med drygt 40 år av studier som på senare tid börjat undersöka förankringseffektens påverkan vid förhandlingar. Dessutom finns utbredda konstateranden för att betydande kunskap inte lindrar effekten i någon större omfattning. Däremot föreligger bristande forskningsslutsatser kring hur kunskapsvarians vid förhandlingar  påverkar förankringseffekten. Till följd av detta avser studien att undersöka nedanstående syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur förankringseffekten påverkar utfallet i en förhandlingssituation, när kunskapsvarians råder mellan parterna gällande det aktuella förhandlingsområdet. Metod: I studien genomfördes ett experiment med totalt 44 deltaganden. Experimenten utgjordes av prisförhandlingar gällande en fiktiv bostad, där varje enskild deltagare fick genomgå två förhandlingar vardera. Den första förhandlingen avsåg en lägenhetsförsäljning och den andra en villaförsäljning där parterna agerade säljare respektive köpare. I experimentgruppen förelåg det kunskapsvarians då tredjeårsstudenter från fastighetsmäklarprogrammet mötte studenter med annan utbildningsbakgrund. I kontrollgruppen ställdes motsatsvis deltagare från samma utbildning mot varandra för att skapa mindre skillnader i kunskap beträffande det aktuella förhandlingsområdet. Resultat & slutsats: Resultatet i denna studie tyder på att deltagare vars kunskap stod dem till förfogande, alstrat förmånligare överenskommelser i jämförelse med deltagare med låg kunskapsnivå. Detta trots att deltagarna vars kunskapsnivå var låg, erhållit fördelen av förankringseffekten då de fick lägga det första budet. Resultatet indikerar därmed att förankringseffekten kan lindras till följd av kunskapsvarians vid förhandlingar. Förslag till vidare forskning: Vidare forskning bör utgå från liknande förhandlingsexperiment där forskaren i första hand eftersträvar att generera större kunskapsskillnader mellan parterna i förhandlingen. En större omfattning av denna studie torde således resultera i ökade statistiska klarheter vilket torde vara gynnsamt för det aktuella forskningsområdet. Uppsatsens bidrag: Studiens bidrag är att forskningsresultaten tyder på en lindring av förankringseffekten vid kunskapsvarians inom förhandlingar. Detta till skillnad från tidigare studier där olika kunskapnivåer inte visats ha någon större betydelse. I och med att ingen tidigare studie undersökt detta förhållande har denna studie lyckats identifiera ett tydligt forskningsgap som bidragits till. / Aim: This paper is about a subconscious cognitive bias referred to as "Anchoring Effect". The effect is revealed by the fact that people tend to put too much trust in the first information that is made available in different types of decision-making situations. The theory framework for this research area is fairly widespread with over 40 years of studies, and lately the research has begun examining the anchoring effect in different types of negotiation dyads. In addition, there are widespread findings that significant knowledge does not mitigate the effect in any notable degree. However, there is a lack of research findings regarding how differences in knowledge within negotiations might affect the anchoring effect. Therefore, this study intends to investigate the following: The purpose of this study is to investigate how the anchoring effect is affecting the outcome of a negotiation, when the parties have different levels of knowledge regarding the negotiated area. Method: This study has conducted an experiment with a total of 44 participants. The experiments have involved simulated price negotiations regarding a condominium and a residence property. Each participant performed two negotiations each, one for respective dwelling place. In the experimental group, there was a difference in knowledge when third year students from a real estate brokering program negotiated with students from other programs. In contradistinction to the experimental group, the control group included students with similar education background in order to create minor knowledge differences within the negotiated area. Result & Conclusion: The result of this study shows undeniably that the experiment participants with greater knowledge have generated more favourable agreements, compared to the participants with lower relevant knowledge. Even though the participants with lower knowledge had the advantage of presenting the initial offer in the experimental group. Thus, a mitigation of the anchoring effect has been identified as a result of differences in knowledge within the negotiations. Further research: Further research should be based on similar negotiation experiments with focus on creating greater differences in knowledge between the participants. This in combination with a larger replica of our study should enable increased statistical clarities with fruitful outcomes in this research field. Contribution of the thesis: The theoretical contribution of our study is primarily the fact that the anchoring effect tends to be mitigated by variance in knowledge within negotiations. Considering that no previous studies have examined this before, we argue that a clear research gap have been identified and that our findings has contributed to the theoretical framework.

This thesis examines the efficacy of markets, using both quantitative and qualitative methods in a complementary way. Specifically, it starts (in Part II) by using the results from a quantitative analysis of initial public offering (IPO) underpricing as a barometer for corporate governance failure. This quantitative work identified Russia, China and India as extreme outliers. The data set used for this work was the cross-section sample of 45 countries developed by Loughran, Ritter & Rydqvist (2008). More broadly (in Part III), the thesis takes the lead of the quantitative evidence to examine, in a qualitative framework, possible sources of corporate governance failure in China, India and Russia. This was done categorically, under the headings of Globalisation, Corporate Governance, Institutional Structure and Competitive Strategy. Data were gathered by eldwork in China, India and Russia, and these findings were then benchmarked against findings from further fieldwork in the United Kingdom. This created a unique 56,000 word database, which was used for both cross-site and within-site analysis. This indicates how both unique attributes (e.g. rule of law, transparency, regulation, etc.), and common attributes (e.g. transition from a socialist/Marxist regime, market immaturity, asymmetric information etc.), combine to explain the different morphologies of corporate governance in these three countries. The quantitative analysis (Part II) consists of exploratory data analysis (EDA) and econometric work. The exploratory data analysis establishes, through graphical means and regression techniques, a negative correlation between IPO underpricing and globalisation (as measured by the KOF index, see Dreher, 2006). Building on this, the subsequent econometric modelling suggests that economic, demographic and institutional factors are all significant determinants of IPO underpricing. The qualitative analysis carried out in Part III of the thesis, builds on and extends the quantitative analysis of Part II. This is consistent with the multiple method approach, which combines both quantitative and qualitative analysis to achieve a synthesis of findings. The qualitative analysis uses evidence from semi-structured interviews with finance professionals and opinion makers, as well as evidence from additional primary and secondary sources, which was also made available through fieldwork contacts. This analysis emphasises the especial importance of board composition, information flows, the judicial system, the stock exchanges, and financial regulators for forms of corporate governance.

The influence of initial stocking and physiologically aged cuttings (taken from 1-year- old and 5-year-old parents) on corewood modulus of elasticity (MOE) in 6-year-old Pinus radiata D. Don was studied in a Nelder-design experiment in Rolleston, Canterbury. In the same experiment, the influence of initial stocking on MOE in 5-year- old Eucalyptus nitens was also investigated. The study incorporated 19 different stocking levels ranging from 207 to 40,446 stems/ha. Green dynamic modulus of elasticity was assessed in standing trees using the TreeTap stress-wave method over the lower part of the stem (0.3 – 1.9m) for 151 P. radiata trees and 115 E. nitens trees. The interaction between species and stocking significantly influenced MOE (P<0.001). MOE of P. radiata increased by 55% (or 3.9 GPa) between 271 and 40,466 stems/ha, and by 41% (or 2.2 GPa) between 271 and 4370 stems/ha. MOE of E. nitens was also influenced by stocking but the slope was significantly lower indicating that the effect of stocking was less pronounced than for P. radiata. Over the usual range of stockings for E. nitens there was an insignificant relationship between stocking and stiffness (P=0.335). Trees were also assessed for DBH, height, and stem slenderness (height/ DBH). None of these latter variables had a significant influence on MOE after the effects of stocking and species were accounted for. No effects of physiological age of cuttings were detected in this study. The findings of this study highlight the importance of stocking as a tool that forest managers can utilize to regulate corewood stiffness in P. radiata trees. These results also suggest that for E. nitens, where wood stiffness is a priority, forest managers could reduce establishment costs by planting at much lower initial stockings. This study also highlights the superior stiffness of E. nitens in direct comparison with P. radiata, with many trees in the experiment already exceeding stiffness thresholds for structural timber in New Zealand.

Cette thèse s'intéresse au rôle des analystes financiers lors de la couverture des introductions en bourse dans un contexte international. Nous traitons de la valeur informationnelle des couvertures des analystes et de leur conséquence sur la performance à long terme des entreprises nouvellement introduites en bourse. Nous examinons si les recommandations des analystes financiers permettent de réduire le comportement irrationnel des investisseurs en situation de forte incertitude. Nous espérons qu'en réduisant les asymétries d'informations, les analystes financiers aident les investisseurs à mieux cibler la valeur de l'IPO. Cette thèse s'articule autour de deux parties : la première est consacrée au positionnement théorique et à nos hypothèses de recherche ; la seconde se focalise sur la vérification empirique d'un échantillon d'IPOs internationales (Etats-Unis, Angleterre, Allemagne et France) sur la période 1991 à 2005. Les résultats révèlent une sous performance des IPOs plus sévères pour les orphelines (sans couverture des analystes) que pour les non orphelines. Il apparaît que la couverture des analystes est importante pour les IPOs mais que le marché n'en perçoit pas toute la valeur. D'autres analyses soulignent que cette meilleure performance des non orphelines provient du nombre élevé de couvertures. Nous établissons que les recommandations des analystes sont significativement reliées à la performance à long terme des IPOs. Ainsi, nous vérifions le rôle crucial des analystes financiers dans la production et l'interprétation des informations. / This thesis explores the role of financial analysts' coverage on IPOs in an international context. We deal with the informational value of research coverage and the consequence on long run performance of newly public firms. We examine whether financial analyst recommendations allow alleviating the irrational investors' behaviour in the context of strong uncertainty. We expect that by reducing the information asymmetry, financial analyst recommendations help investors to define progressively the true value of the IPO. The thesis is organized in two main parts: the first part presents a survey of literature and define research hypothesis. The second part consists in an empirical validation of an international sample of IPOs (US, United Kingdom, Germany and France) over the 1991-2005 period. The results reveal that long run underperformance is much severe for orphans' IPOs (without financial recommendation) than non orphans' IPOs. The evidence suggests that analyst coverage is indeed important to issuing firm but the market do not fully incorporate the perceived value of this coverage. Further analysis reveals that this outperformance by non orphan stems from high coverage. We establish that analyst recommendations are significantly related to long run performance of IPOs. Hence, we corroborate the crucial role of financial analysts in producing and interpreting IPOs' financial releases.

This article seeks to explain the problem of literacy in Peru (1); it focuses on the lack of information regarding how children learn or acquire writing skills, which allows initial literacy. It proposes to universities and educational institutes to incorporate into their curricula a closest approach to child development, specifically the period of the first seven years, crucial in the reader and writer training. Also, it invokes to decline traditional practices, which determine the failure of active and reflective readers from initial education and explain in part why the university and Peruvian professionals read little or write short texts. Along this line, it outlines the difficulties of the student to use writing as a personal way of processing information and as a tool to interact with their environment. In the last section there is a list of the concepts and processes that should use an education that respect the evolutionary processes, affective and communicative ones, related to initial literacy. The psychogenesis of literacy it of great importance in order to understand the problem: this issue has political and economic implications, because if a child does not understand what he/she reads he/she will be limited in their employment opportunities; at the same time, a developing society with poor levels of reading comprehension, such as Peru, will have complications when inserting in a globalized economy. / Este artículo busca explicar el problema de la lectoescritura en el Perú1; se enfoca en la carencia de información respecto a cómo los niños aprenden o adquieren el sistema de escritura, que posibilita la alfabetización inicial. Propone a las universidades e institutos pedagógicos incorporar a sus currículos un enfoque más próximo al desarrollo del niño; concretamente, al periodo de los primeros siete años, cruciales para su formación como lector y redactor.Asimismo, invoca a declinar las prácticas tradicionales, que condicionan el fracaso de lectores activos y reflexivos desde la educación inicial y que explican, en parte, por qué los universitarios y profesionales peruanos leen poco o se limitan a escribir textos breves. En esa línea, expone las dificultades que tiene el alumno para emplear la redacción como una forma personal de procesar información y como una herramienta para interactuar con su entorno. En la última parte, se enumeran los conceptos y procesos mínimos a los que debería recurrir una educación que respete los procesos evolutivos, afectivos y comunicativos, vinculados con la alfabetización inicial. Resulta de enorme importancia, para entender el problema, la psicogénesis de la lectoescritura: este problema tiene implicancias políticas y económicas, pues un niño que no comprende lo que lee es un niño que estará limitado en sus oportunidades laborales; del mismo modo, una sociedad en vías de desarrollo con niveles deficientes de comprensión lectora, como la del Perú, tendrá complicaciones para insertarse en una economía globalizada.

This study investigates the effects of insider entrenchment on Chief Executive Officer (CEO) compensation in firms conducting an initial public offering (IPO). The sample comprises 220 US firms that went public between 1996 and 2002. Corporate governance choices regarding entrenchment are captured by six provisions in the corporate charter and bylaws, as well as five anti-takeover statutes, which may or may not be in effect in the state of incorporation. Firm-level items are supermajority requirements for charter amendments, bylaws amendments, and merger approvals, along with the presence or absence of a staggered board of directors, poison pills, and golden parachute agreements. The anti-takeover laws examined are Business Combination, Control Share Acquisition, Fair Price, Poison Pill Endorsement, and Constituencies Statutes. A factor analysis reveals three distinct components of entrenchment: firm- and state-level external entrenchment and firm-level internal entrenchment. External entrenchment is related to market control over management by means of corporate takeovers; internal entrenchment relates to shareholder control over management by means of their voting power. Evidence is found for a positive association between entrenchment at IPO and subsequent CEO cash and total compensation. These relationships are driven by firm-level external entrenchment. Firm-level external entrenchment is also significantly and positively associated with CEO stock-based compensation. The positive effects of entrenchment at IPO on CEO compensation appear not to be transitory and remain constant for at least five years post-IPO. Furthermore, entrenchment at IPO is shown to affect CEO pay-for-performance sensitivity. On balance, entrenchment reduces the sensitivity of CEO compensation to stock returns and returns on assets. The results of this study underscore the crucial importance of insiders' governance decisions made at the time of the IPO. Little support is found for a re-balancing of components of the CEO's compensation contract in response to entrenchment as predicted under the optimal contracting theory of compensation contracts. The findings of this study are almost entirely consistent with the managerial power theory, according to which entrenchment at IPO causes a permanent shift in bargaining power, which enables CEOs to influence compensation contracts in their favor.

This diploma thesis deals with the undervaluation of initial public offerings on the Russian market during the period of 2003-2014 using the ordinary least squares method. The main emphasis of the thesis lies in the development of primary emissions on the Russian market. Moreover, the previous literature is diversified by combining theory of asymmetric information with the analysis of market cycles. We have proved that shares are undervalued on average with the help of the latest figures from the Russian IPO market. By the subsequent analysis of the undervaluation phenomena and factors like age of the institution, size of the institution underwriters, market cycles, supply price of the issued shares, sector of the institution and P/E, P/CF indexes, we have arrived at the conclusion that the Russian IPO market is still developing. We have also demonstrated that in the case of high activity on the IPO market, the so called ¨hot period¨ on the market, and in the case of overpriced shares, the Russian IPO companies undervalue their shares. According to the analysis of the Russian IPO market, the main stress has been put on the companies that belong to the industrial and energy sectors and the analysis has also shown that the reputation of the underwriters does not influence the undervaluation of the...