Thesis (M.Com. (Finance))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Economic and Business Sciences, 2016 / This study aims to investigate the presence of the low market risk (beta) anomaly in the Johannesburg Stock Market (JSE). Finance theory suggests that with higher return comes higher risk. However, several studies have reported evidence of low risk anomaly in global markets where portfolios containing low beta shares delivers superior risk adjusted returns compared to market index and high beta shares' portfolio. This study will explore various risk return relationships on the JSE and test a variety of potential explanations of the anomalous behaviour of the low beta premium. Three explanations have been identified as potential factors that contribute to the persistence of the Low Beta Anomaly. These include; Net International Equity flows (NIEF), Idiosyncratic Risk and Market Concentration. The results are consistent with international literature indicating a persistent Low Beta Anomaly on the JSE. However, the results also indicate that in periods of turmoil, high beta shares outperform low beta shares i.e. during the Global Financial Crisis. Although some significant relationships are found between the low minus high beta differential and NIEF. NIEF is unable to suitably explain the anomaly. Idiosyncratic risk results are mixed depending on the model used to calculate the idiosyncratic risk estimates. Despite being a significant issue on the JSE, Market concentration does not explain the Low Beta Anomaly. As the superior performance of the low beta portfolios remains once the portfolios returns have been adjusted for the different variables however magnitude ofthe outperformance ofthe low beta portfolio was to a lesser degree. / AC2016

Background and objectives There has been a steady annual increase in the number of deliveries performed at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in recent years. A 2004 audit found that approximately one third of deliveries conducted at the hospital were of women who had referred themselves and were low risk and as such did not require delivery at a specialist centre. A triage down-referral system back to midwife obstetric units was implemented in 2008 to address the problem of low-risk self-referrals at the hospital. This study was conducted after the establishment of the triage system to find out whether the establishment of the triage system had been accompanied by a decrease in the proportion of self-referred women presenting to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in labour, and to assess delivery outcomes in these patients. Literature review The literature review was conducted using Pubmed and MDConsult using the key words self referral, triage, gatekeeper, low-risk pregnancy, maternity / labour and referral systems. Relevant references were accessed via the University of the Witwatersrand eJournal portal. Appropriate articles cited by other authors were also reviewed. Appropriate websites were also used and referenced. Methods This was a retrospective descriptive study which included all women presenting in labour to the hospital maternity admissions area. The study population was clinical case-files of all births that were admitted in labour from 1 May to 31 May 2010. A simple random sample of these files was drawn. Results One hundred and eighty two intra-partum admissions were sampled. Thirty-five (19%) of these women were self-referred. Seven out of the 35 (20%) required caesarean sections. Five more (14%) needed oxytocin augmentation of labour, and one more (3%) had a vacuum delivery. Twenty women (57%) did not develop any complications during labour and could have been delivered at their midwife obstetrics units. During the month of the study, the triage down-referral system attended to 171 women and down-referred 83 (49%). Conclusion The establishment of a triage down- referral system has been accompanied by a curtailment in the number of low-risk pregnancies presenting self-referred at the referral hospital labour ward, compared with the audit in 2004.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(社会健康医学) / 甲第23384号 / 社医博第117号 / 新制||社医||11(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科社会健康医学系専攻 / (主査)教授 佐藤 俊哉, 教授 滝田 順子, 教授 万代 昌紀 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Public Health / Kyoto University / DFAM

abstract: Despite the societal importance of activism, the understanding of activist intentions remained limited (Liebert, Leve, & Hu, 2011; Klar & Kasser, 2009). The current study used the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to examine two structural models of low-risk activist intentions and high-risk activist intentions (Ajzen, 1991). The traditional TPB model was tested against a hybrid commitment model that also assessed past activist behaviors and activist identity. Participants (N = 383) were recruited through social media, professional list-serves, and word of mouth. Results indicated a good model fit for both the traditional TPB model (CFI = .98; RMSEA = .05; SRMR = .03; χ2(120) = 3760.62, p < .01) and the commitment model (CFI = .97; RMSEA = .05; SRMR = .04; χ2(325) = 7848.07, p < .01). The commitment model accounted for notably more variance in both low-risk activist intentions (78.9% in comparison to 26.5% for the traditional TPB model) and high-risk activist intentions (58.9% in comparison to 11.2% for the traditional TPB model). Despite this, the traditional TPB model was deemed the better model as the higher variance explained in the commitment model was almost entirely due to the inclusion of past low-risk activist behaviors and past high-risk activist behaviors. A post-hoc analysis that incorporated sexual orientation and religious affiliation as covariates into the traditional model also led to a good-fitting model (CFI = .98; RMSEA = .04; SRMR = .04; χ2(127) = 217.18, p < .01) and accounted for increased variance in low-risk activist intentions (29.7%) and high-risk activist intentions (18.7%) compared to the traditional model. The merits of each of the structural models and the practical implications for practice and research were discussed / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Counseling Psychology 2019

INTRODUCTION: HIV disease is thought to be cluster in specific areas rather than be evenly distributed. A study to show a significantly higher HIV risk in certain geographical areas would be beneficial for resource allocation purposes. AIM: The purpose of this study is to describe the demographics of the study population, describe the demographics of those participants that tested HIV-positive, and determine the associations between zip code of residence, HIV infection, and risky behavior. METHODS: Data were collected by Georgia State University’s Center of Excellence for Health Disparities Research for The Geography Project. Univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were performed on select variables. A p-value of < 0.05 and a 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to determine significance. RESULTS: Participants in high risk groups zip codes were roughly 6.7 times more likely to have been given an HIV-positive result prior to the survey (OR=6.717, CI=1.989-22.683, p=.000), 4.4 times more likely to have been infected with HIV at the time of the survey (OR=4.402, CI=2.109-9.187, p=.000), and 1.4 times more likely to have more than 3 sex contacts in the 6 months prior to the survey (OR=1.425, CI=1.075-1.890, p=.014). The association between HIV and persons that identify as transgender was extremely significant (OR= 28.335, CI=8.305-96.678, p=.000). DISCUSSION: The results indicated that participants in the high risk zip codes group were at a higher risk for HIV infection and having 3 or more sex contacts in the 6 months prior to the interview.

The diploma thesis deals with analysis of selected low-risk investments, with wich we can appreciate our savings. It is building savings, pension insurance, passbooks, time deposits, government bonds and savings accounts, while special emphasis is laid on savings accounts. The main goal of the diploma thesis is to estimate annual revenue of the above mentioned low-risk investments, while taking into account such factors as tax relief or government contribution for some of them. Subsequent survey is focused on knowledge and use of savings accounts.

Past research has focused extensively on the influence of temperament and mother-child interactions for the development of psychopathology. However, there is a paucity of research that has examined the role of natural variations in temperament and mother-child interactions on socioemotional outcome in samples of low-risk typically developing children. Furthermore, most research has investigated temperament and mother-child interactions in separate studies. Accordingly, the present work addressed three issues: 1) the short-term and long-term continuity of temperament and joint attention in typically developing children; 2) the predictive value of temperament and joint attention for socioemotional outcome in typically developing children; and 3) joint attention behaviours in a clinical sample of children. Temperament was assessed through maternal report on the Infant Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ) beginning when children were between 18 and 3 7 months of age while joint attention was assessed through direct observation. All the IBQ subscales showed 9-month continuity and 4 of the 6 IBQ subscales showed moderate to high stability. Although there was 9-month continuity for all the joint attention measures, only 4 out of the 7 joint attention behaviors showed low to moderate levels of stability. There was little 4-year continuity or stability of temperament. Cross-sectional relations were found between temperament and socioemotional outcome at both 18 and 37 months of age as well as 69 and 88 months of age. Established joint attention, measured when children were between 18 and 37 months of age, significantly predicted internalizing behaviours in typically developing children between the ages of 69 and 88 months. Significant differences in joint attention were also found in a clinical sample of children with internalizing disorders between the ages of 5 and 8 years. The present results suggest that some ofthe same temperament and joint attention behaviours that are associated with atypical development are also associated with typical variations in socioemotional development. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

During the last decade, substantial advances have been made in the understanding of the complex molecular, immunological and cellular disturbances involved in the initiation as well as evolution of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). In 85% of the mainly frail and older patient population, anemia is present at the time of diagnosis and is thus a major therapeutic challenge. High rates of primary resistance to erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs), the currently only approved standard therapy to treat anemia in lower-risk MDS, demand the development of novel and effcient drugs with a good safety profile. Luspatercept, a ligand trap of activin receptor II, is able to promote late stage erythropoiesis even in patients failing prior ESA treatment. The presence of ring sideroblastic phenotype defines a subgroup of patients with higher response rates. Additionally, recent developments in clinical research using HIF-1 or telomerase modulation by roxadustat or imetelstat are promising. Other areas of translational research involve targeting the inflammasome by anti-inflammatory drugs in order to improve anemia. These efforts will hopefully pave the way for new targeted treatment options for anemic low-risk MDS patients.

This longitudinal study assessed education achievement outcomes among a cohort of eighth graders for whom future college-level academic success would be predicted. The sample was drawn from the NELS:88 database and was comprised of students who scored in the top quintile on a mathematics achievement test and who were identified as representing the top two quartiles of a measurement of socio-economic status. This group, identified as low-risk for academic failure, was predicted to attain a bachelor's degree by the age of twenty-six. A subgroup from among this sample did not attain a bachelor's degree by age twenty-six. In the interest of illuminating features of latent vulnerability, differences between the two groups were explored. Data from the nationally representative sample of 2,355 students was analyzed using several approaches. Results suggest that certain vulnerabilities which may be considered to be dormant (e.g., negative self-concept), eventually have negative effects on academic outcomes for the non-graduating group despite predictions to the contrary. These adolescents exhibit features of latent vulnerability. / Educational Psychology

no / This paper investigates the impact of corporate risk levels on aggregated, voluntary and mandatory risk disclosures in the annual report narratives of UK non-financial listed companies. We find that firms characterised by higher levels of systematic, financing risks and risk-adjusted returns and those with lower levels of stock return variability are likely to exhibit significantly higher levels of aggregated and voluntary risk disclosures. The results also show that firms of large size, high dividend-yield, high board independence, low (high) insider (outsider) ownership, and effective audit environments are likely to exhibit higher levels of aggregated and voluntary risk disclosures than other firms. Similarly, mandatory risk disclosures are influenced positively by firm size, dividend-yield and board independence and negatively by high leverage. The results suggest that managers of firms exhibiting greater compliance with mandatory regulations have a greater propensity to make voluntary risk disclosures. When we distinguish between high- and low-risk firms, we find that high-risk firms appear to be more sensitive to underlying risk levels, resulting in more disclosure of both voluntary and mandatory risk information than in the case of low-risk firms. The results generally support the present UK emphasis on encouraging rather than mandating risk disclosure. Nevertheless, under this regime, the voluntary risk disclosures of some firms, e.g., those characterised by higher-volatility market returns, do not reflect their underlying risk levels.