This paper presents an empirical analysis of top executive compensation from intellectual capital perspective using data from US listed companies and aims to examine whether executives get appropriate compensation. I propose a pay-contribution compensation scheme and extend previous research on agency theory, by exploring how executive compensation contract design may be based on the firm’s intellectual capital (IC). Such features would serve the core purpose of compensation design, which is to create long-term firm value. But inappropriate compensation scheme cannot motivate individual ICs to contribute fully and deteriorate firm value eventually. I view CEO, CFO, COO, CMO, CSO, CTO, CHOs as individual intellectual capital of firms, and through examining key indicators from financial contribution, organizational contribution, relational contribution and growth contribution, I find that their total compensations, total incentive compensations and total cash compensations are not significant on their functions for all executives, implying that free rider problem may exist. I conduct two steps regression models: the first step is to reveal free-rider problem based on the significant relationship between executive compensation and his/her role contribution, and the second step is to examine whether executive compensations rewarded by his/her role contribution have significant influence on firm valuation. The outcome of model 1 shows that CEO and CSO have no free-rider problem, while CTO and CHO may have potential free-rider problem, CFO and CMO may have the risk of free-rider problem, and COO may have moderate free-rider problem. The outcome of model 2 shows that CEO and CFO compensation rewarded by role contribution have significant influence on firm valuation; COO, CMO and CHO compensation rewarded by role contribution have moderate influence on firm valuation; while CTO compensation rewarded by role contribution have little influence on firm valuation and CTO compensation rewarded by role contribution have no influence on firm valuation. My result is consistent with agency theory since free rider may cause executive inertia, reduce individual IC productivity, and impair firm value. The findings suggest that pay-contribution compensation contracts and remuneration schemes focus on different executive positions and strategic roles of individual intellectual capital to avoid free rider problem.

This thesis presents the design, analysis, and numerical and experimental evaluation of nonlinear controllers for co-operation among several hydraulic robots operating in the presence of significant system uncertainties, non-linearities and friction. The designed controllers allow hydraulically driven manipulators to (i) co-operatively handle a rigid object (payload) following a given trajectory, (ii) share the payload and (iii) maintain an acceptable internal force on the object. A general description of the kinematic and dynamic relations for a hydraulically actuated multi-manipulator system is presented first. The entire mathematical model incorporates object dynamics, robot dynamics, hydraulic actuator functions and friction dynamics. For the purpose of simulations, a detailed numerical simulation program of such a system is also developed, in which two three-link planar robot manipulators resembling the Magnum hydraulic manipulators manufactured by ISE, interact with each other through manipulating a common object. The regulating control problem is studied next, in which the desired position of the object and the corresponding desired link displacement change step-wise. Initially, a controller is designed based on a backstepping technique, assuming that full knowledge of the dynamics and kinematics of the system is available. The assumption is then relaxed and the control system is analyzed. Based on the analysis, the controller is then modified to account for the uncertainty of the payload, robot dynamic parameters and hydraulic functions. Next, the regulating controller is extended to a tracking controller, which allows the object to follow a given trajectory and is robust against parameter uncertainties. Additionally, an observer is added to the controller to avoid the need of acceleration feedback. To investigate the effect of friction force, the above controllers are examined by introducing the most recent and complete LuGre friction model into the system dynamics. The tracking controller is then redesigned to compensate the effect of friction. Observers are designed to observe the immeasurable friction states. Based on the observed friction states and estimated friction parameters, an appropriate friction compensation scheme is designed which does not directly use velocity in order to avoid the need of acceleration feedback by the controller. Finally, the problem of “explosion of terms” coming from the backstepping method is solved by using the concept of dynamic surface control in which a low pass filter is integrated to avoid model differentiation. Simulations are carried out for analysis of the control system and verification of the developed controllers. Experimental examinations are performed on an available hydraulic system consisting of two single-axis hydraulic actuators.

The products of the Cdx genes, Cdx1, Cdx2 and Cdx4, are known to play essential roles in many developmental processes including neural tube closure, axial elongation and patterning the anterior-posterior axis of the developing embryo. Cdx1 and Cdx2 are both expressed in the endoderm of the embryo and persist throughout adulthood in the intestinal epithelium, but their functions and mechanisms of action in this lineage are poorly understood, in part due to the peri-implantation lethality of Cdx2-/- mice. To circumvent this limitation, a conditional loss of function strategy was used to inactivate Cdx2 in the intestinal epithelium. These conditional mutants were also crossed to Cdx1-/- mice, which are viable and fertile, to examine potential functional compensation between these family members. The major findings of this study are that Cdx2 regulates patterning and differentiation of the small intestinal epithelium, while Cdx1 does not appear to make a contribution to either process. Furthermore, Cdx operates upstream of Notch ligand Delta-like 1 (Dll1) in endoderm and mesoderm derivatives, demonstrating that Cdx function is similar in different lineages. Finally, Cdx2 cannot fulfill the requirement for Cdx1 in regulation of its own promoter in the intestine. This is the first in vivo evidence that these two family members have context-dependent functional specificity. Altogether, this study underscores critical roles and mechanisms of action for Cdx members in the developing intestine and mesoderm.

<p>In this dissertation I study the role of limited commitment in dynamic models. In the first part, I consider firms that face uncertainty shocks in a principal-agent setting but have only limited ability to commit to long-term contracts. Limited commitment firms expedite payments to their managers when uncertainty is high, a finding that helps to explain the puzzling large bonuses observed during the recent financial crisis. In the second part, I examine a dynamic investment model where firms invest in a risky asset but cannot hedge the risk of their investment because they lack the ability to commit to future repayments of debt. Once firms have access to exogenous supply of risk free assets they may, on the aggregate level, invest more in the risky asset because risk free technology allows them to grow richer in equilibrium. This result helps to explain the asset price booms in emerging countries when those countries experience substantial capital outflow.</p> / Dissertation

The National Football League’s salary cap constrains the available resources each franchise is allotted to spend on player personnel. I examine the effects of executive management’s compensation allocation strategies on team performance from 2006 to 2013. The findings suggest that spending more than the league-average on offensive lineman hurts overall team performance. Spending above the league average on both the offensive line and quarterback positions negatively affects offensive performance as well. This supports previous research stating that taking a superstar-approach to cap distribution negatively affects team performance. Furthermore, I find evidence of increased compensation inequality among players under the Collective Bargaining Agreement of 2011 compared to that of 1993.

We study compensation functions for an infinite-to-one factor code $\pi : X \to Y$ where $X$ is a shift of finite type. The $p$-Dini condition is given as a way of measuring the smoothness of a continuous function, with $1$-Dini corresponding to functions with summable variation. Two types of compensation functions are defined in terms of this condition. Given a fully-supported invariant measure $\nu$ on $Y$, we show that the relative equilibrium states of a $1$-Dini function $f$ over $\nu$ are themselves fully supported, and have positive relative entropy. We then show that there exists a compensation function which is $p$-Dini for all $p > 1$ which has relative equilibrium states supported on a finite-to-one subfactor. / Graduate / 0405 / antoniol@uvic.ca

The thesis examines the claims that may be brought against express trustees for pecuniary compensation. It contends that a difference of principle divides this conventional category in two. Some compensation claims complain that the trustee has breached one of his duties and seek to charge him with reparation for whatever ensuing loss has been suffered by the beneficial interests. These claims resemble claims for damages founded upon a tort or breach of contract. Other compensation claims overlook whatever breach there may have been and demand that the trustee account and perform the trusts, in money where this cannot be done in specie. This second type of claim resembles a claim for the specific performance of a contract, bearing in mind that specific performance may be given with compensation where the defendant cannot deliver what he has promised. The claims are cumulative subject to the principle of full satisfaction.

ABSTRACT Bergman Trygg, E. 2014. Investigating the effect of monetary compensation on Human-Elephant Conflict, A qualitative study in Idodi and Pawaga Divisions, Tanzania. Department of Social and Economic Geography, Uppsatser: Kulturgeografiska institutionen, Uppsala University. The purpose of this study is to investigate how a compensation scheme affects farmers’ attitudes toward elephants, the Tanzanian government and the concept of conservation. Another purpose is to see what respondents know about the scheme in relation to what is written in the scheme documents. This was done by conducting 20 qualitative interviews with farmers in five different villages in Idodi and Pawaga Divisions, Tanzania. Respondents were divided into two groups: One who had received compensation and one who had not. This aimed to distinguish differences between respondent groups, hence evaluating the efficacy of the compensation scheme and how it affects their attitudes. More interviews were conducted with victims or their relatives who had been attacked by wild animals in order to see what these victims knew of the scheme and how authorities handled attacks.      Results showed small differences between the groups. Both had positive attitudes toward elephants and conservation, contradicting to what is presented in earlier studies. Attitudes toward the government were mainly negative due to suspicions of corruption. There were more positive attitudes toward the government among respondents who had received compensation. Knowledge of the scheme was low compared to what is written in the scheme documents.   Keywords: Human-elephant conflict, compensation scheme, attitudes, farmers, Tanzania   Supervisor: Bert Eriksson.

This abstract is written on the 11th of September 2006---the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon by Al-Qaeda. These attacks are taken to be a turning point in the relationship between Islam and the West. For the author, these attacks, the overwhelming counter-attacks by some of the western states on some Islamic states, as well as the endless Palestinian-Israeli disputes, are the result of misunderstanding and misconceptions that Islam and the West have of each other. / While politics and politicians are destroying means of communication amongst these nations by the creation of such a state of war, scholars should exert their best efforts to build bridges of understanding and tolerance. / This thesis is but a single brick in the much needed bridge of communication and understanding between the great civilisations of west and east. It seeks to show how the world's various legal traditions can benefit from each other. It attempts to do so by introducing the Islamic system of diyah and showing how it can interplay with and impact on the interpretation of international law. The example chosen is the existing set of air carrier liability conventions. 9/11 reminds us that attacks on air transport have been a chosen means of sowing conflict. / Yet peaceful use of air transport is among the most practical ties that bind the world together. Air carrier liability conventions render international air transport possible. The thesis shows how Islamic diyah can productively interact with these conventions. It can act as a median point at which the two extremes of the Warsaw System prescribing limited liability and the Montreal Convention prescribing unlimited liability can meet. The thesis shows as well how diyah can provide a useful methodology for integrating air carrier contractual and extra-contractual liability regimes. / To assist the reader unfamiliar with Islamic-fiqh, the thesis it is divided into two parts. The first is devoted to an introduction to Islamic-fiqh, and the second treats the interaction of diyah with the air carrier liability conventions.

Chief executive officer’s (CEO) compensation and its optimal level is an interesting and important topic. How successful and skilled are shareholders monitoring and making changes in its level and its mix? Ownership dispersion is an important determinant of it. In this study we try to answer this question from the perspective of institutional shareholders as they hold a substantial part of equity in firms. The paper sheds light on institutional ownership dispersion effect on CEO total and cash compensation in Sweden. Analysing data from the 26 largest companies listed on Stockholm Stock Exchange over the time period 2004 - 2008 we find that institutional ownership concentration decreases top executive officer’s total and cash compensation. We also find that small institutional shareholdings are positively associated with chief executive officer’s total and cash compensation. Overall this relationship suggests that institutions are powerful monitors of corporate governance.