In [DS1,2,3], Denker and Sato initiated a new point of view to study the problem. They identified the Sierpinski gasket as a Martin boundary of some canonical Markov chain and used the associated theory to consider the problem. In this thesis, we will extend their result so as to be applicable to all single-point connected monocyclic post critically finite (m.p.c.f.) self-similar sets. / In the first chapter, we review some basic facts of the self-similar sets and the Martin boundaries, and we prove that every m.p.c.f. self-similar set K is homeomorphic to the quotient space of the symbolic space associated with K, moreover, the homeomorphism is a Lipschitz equivalence for some special m.p.c.f. self-similar sets. / In the second chapter, we first prove that the quotient space of the symbolic space associated with K is homeomorphic to the Martin boundary with respect to the state space associated with K if K is a single-point connected m.p.c.f. self-similar set. Combining this result and the result in the first chapter, we conclude that every single-point connected m.p.c.f. self-similar set can be identified with the Martin boundary of some canonical Markov chain. Then for the 3-level Sierpinski gasket, we prove that there exists a one to one relation between the strongly P-harmonic functions on the 3 state space and K-harmonic functions constructed by Kigami. / In the third chapter, we define a new Markov chain on the pentagasket K which is a single-point connected m.p.c.f. self-similar also. Under the new Markov chain, we prove that K can be identified with the Martin boundary of the new Markov chain and that there exists a one to one relation between the strongly P-harmonic functions and the K-harmonic functions. / One of the fundamental problems in fractal analysis is to construct a Laplacian on fractals. Since fractals, like the Sierpinski gasket and the pentagasket, do not have any smooth structures, it is not possible to construct it from the classical point of view. Hence, until now there is no systematic way to define such a notion on the general class of fractals. / There are two approaches for the problem which have achieved some success in certain special situations. The first one is a probabilistic approach via constructing Brownian motions on self-similar sets. The second approach is an analytical one proposed by Kigami. He approximated the underlying self-similar set K by an increasing sequence of finite sets equipped with the discrete Laplacians Hm in a consistent way. He showed that if K is strongly symmetric, then Hm converge to a Laplacian on K. / by Ju, Hongbing. / "March 2008." / Adviser: Lau Ka Sing. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-03, Section: B, page: 1702. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 91-94). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

In chapter 1, we focus on the full potential equation in an infinite nozzle with some decay cross-sections and prove the existence and stability of the transonic shock wave; which is a solution to a free boundary value problem for a quasi-linear mix-typed partial differential equation with the position of shock as a free boundary. To achieve this conclusion, we reduce it to a free boundary value problem for a quasi-linear elliptic equation in an unbounded domain. The crucial step in our analysis is to derive some uniform a priori estimates in such a domain. Then we apply the fixed point theorem to establish the existence of solutions to the full potential equation. / In chapter 2, we study the short time existence of discontinuous shock front solutions of the pressure gradient system which is the Euler system without inertial terms, where the initial data can have shock discontinuities of arbitrary strength which lie on a given smooth initial surface with arbitrary geometry. These shock solutions are constructed via a classical iteration scheme. The key step is to obtain the uniform stability for the related linearized equation by calculating the Lopatinski's determinant, which enables us to modify the technique of Majda and establish the local existence of solutions to the pressure gradient system without the structural constraints as for the full Euler system. / In this thesis we study two kinds of multi-dimensional shock phenomena for the compressible fluid dynamics. / Xie Feng. / "December 2005." / Adviser: Zhou Ping Xin. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-11, Section: B, page: 6446. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-80). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

This study focuses on the analysis of collective meaning associated with secondary school-teachers' and outdoor practitioners' beliefs about the value of outdoor education in the city-state of Singapore. A phenomenographical approach was employed to map the qualitatively different ways in which people understand, perceive, or experience various aspects of outdoor education. By conducting in-depth interviews with school-teachers and outdoor practitioners (n=11), a range of beliefs about the value of outdoor education were revealed. Through a phenomenographic analysis framework, three conceptions were identified that detail the participants' collective meanings of the value of outdoor education; namely (a) belief in the value of outdoor environments in providing affordances for authentic, realistic learning, (b) belief in its value in fostering social emotional growth, physical and mental robustness, and (c) belief in the value of outdoor education as preparation for students' futures. A secondary research question considered the factors that influence the beliefs of the two sets of actors, teachers and outdoor practitioners, who are the focus of this study. The analysis and discussion focus on the context and meaning of the values ascribed to outdoor education as well as the factors that influenced the beliefs. The findings indicate that school-teachers and outdoor practitioners have strong beliefs about the value of outdoor education. This strong intrinsic belief is constructed through 'sense-making' of their own experiences in the outdoors. This suggests that there is value in investing in the continuing professional development of school-teachers and outdoor practitioners in their outdoor education practice, so that this increased capacity in their complementary roles can bring about the added value of outdoor education to students. Several recommendations for policy, practice as well as further research in the field are offered.

Value co-creation enhances employers' branding through the engagement of organisations' corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and employees' behaviours, such as performance, loyalty and satisfaction. Although a growing body of research has explored the notion of value co-creation, the current understanding of the interrelationship between value co-creation and corporate social responsibility is underdeveloped. There is fierce academic debate surrounding the concept of value co-creation, calling for further theoretical and empirical work on this field. Furthermore, the concept of employer branding is still a nascent area in management and marketing scholarships and requires further conceptual nourishment. Although significant studies have covered the role of organisations and consumers in value co-creation resulting in employer branding, there has been little research to address the role of employees in value co-creation, dictating further assessment of their role in the process of value co-creation and participation in employer branding in a CSR context. Therefore, this thesis seeks to identify and analyse how, and to what extent, efforts to become socially responsible can co-create value for internal stakeholders and contribute to employer branding. As such, part of the theoretical foundation for this research is built on CSR. Subsequently, relevant conceptual avenues pertaining to the co-creation of value, corporate branding and employer branding are explored and analysed. An extensive literature review is undertaken to inform the robust development of an initially proposed conceptual framework of the main factors that impact upon this process. The proposed conceptual framework has set a broad guide for the researcher regarding the empirical fieldwork involved. The context for the research explores the notion of value co-creation within employer branding in the Omani hotel sector. To analyse value co-creation in depth, a qualitative interpretive multi-case study approach is adopted. The research also considers aspects of managerial philosophies and employees' perceptions regarding their organisations' current and future CSR activities, and how these activities impact value co-creation for stakeholders. The findings indicate that value co-creation has three major elements - it is dynamic and iterative, it requires dialogical interactions among various parties, and it leads to dualistic outcomes. The adoption of CSR increases the employees' satisfaction, whereas a lack of understanding of the CSR activities leads to the co-destruction of value, which in return affects the organisational turn-over in the long run. Therefore, creating awareness about the importance of the implementation of CSR is considered crucial, as it will benefit the organisation and improve the level of performance and loyalty of the internal stakeholders. The researcher proposes an original conceptual model on this tripartite nature of value co-creation and an analysis of how value co-creation can lead to the development of sustainable and socially responsible employer branding. An employee-oriented perspective towards value co-creation is introduced as an endeavour to enrich the area of research and address current conceptual deficiencies. The research also advances scholarship by critically assessing the role of employees as an independent but integral entity in the value co-creation process, establishing clear and robust links between CSR, value cocreation and employer branding.

Civil infrastructure systems form the backbone of modern civilization, providing the basic services that allow society to function. Effective management of these systems requires decision-making about the allocation of limited resources to maintain and repair infrastructure components and to replace failed or obsolete components. Making informed decisions requires an understanding of the state of the system; such an understanding can be achieved through a computational or conceptual system model combined with information gathered on the system via inspections or sensors. Gathering of this information, referred to generally as sensing, should be optimized to best support the decision-making and system management processes, in order to reduce long-term operational costs and improve infrastructure performance. In this work, an approach to optimal sensing in infrastructure systems is developed by combining probabilistic graphical models of infrastructure system behavior with the value of information (VoI) metric, which quantifies the utility of information gathering efforts (referred to generally as sensor placements) in supporting decision-making in uncertain systems. Computational methods are presented for the efficient evaluation and optimization of the VoI metric based on the probabilistic model structure. Various case studies on the application of this approach to managing infrastructure systems are presented, illustrating the flexibility of the basic method as well as various special cases for its practical implementation. Three main contributions are presented in this work. First, while the computational complexity of the VoI metric generally grows exponentially with the number of components, growth can be greatly reduced in systems with certain topologies (designated as cumulative topologies). Following from this, an efficient approach to VoI computation based on a cumulative topology and Gaussian random field model is developed and presented. Second, in systems with non-cumulative topologies, approximate techniques may be used to evaluate the VoI metric. This work presents extensive investigations of such systems and draws some general conclusions about the behavior of this metric. Third, this work presents several complete application cases for probabilistic modeling techniques and the VoI metric in supporting infrastructure system management. Case studies are presented in structural health monitoring, seismic risk mitigation, and extreme temperature response in urban areas. Other minor contributions included in this work are theoretical and empirical comparisons of the VoI with other sensor placement metrics and an extension of the developed sensor placement method to systems that evolve in time. Overall, this work illustrates how probabilistic graphical models and the VoI metric can allow for efficient sensor placement optimization to support infrastructure system management. Areas of future work to expand on the results presented here include the development of approximate, heuristic methods to support efficient sensor placement in non-cumulative system topologies, as well as further validation of the efficient sensing optimization approaches used in this work.

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The goal of diploma thesis is valuation of Racio, s.r.o. Thesis is divided into 6 parts. The first part contains characteristics of the company. In strategic and financial analysis are valuated ekonomical and non-economical aspects of relevant markets, competitors and impacts on Racio's financial situation. At the end of thesis is made financial plan and business valuation. DCF in APV is basic method of valuation. As a support of valuation is used market comparation.

The purpose of my Master's Thesis is to determine the value of the football club Tottenham Hotspur as of 25th November 2011. The company is listed on AIM stock exchange. The main focus in theoretical part is on different financial ratios needed for the analysis of the company and on the methods of evaluation. Practical part is devoted to analysis of the historical data of the company in the period 2007-2011. Base on that I make a projection of the income statement and balance sheet for the years 2012 - 2015. For the calculation of the value of the company method of the discount free cash flow to capital is applied. As a result of my calculation the value of the company is 316 439 k. GBP, that means 1,12 GBP per share. Stock is traded approximately for the price that is half of the value calculated. The company seems to be interesting investment opportunity.

Este trabalho revê e sintetiza os conceitos para definição de competitividade. Identifica os modelos usados para avaliação da competitividade de empresas e países, como também as fontes de competitividade associadas a cada modelo. Traça-se a evolução do conceito de competitividade, incorporando os avanços do conhecimento de diferentes campos do conhecimento e, mais especificamente, áreas da administração ao longo do tempo, que integrados, contribuem para desenvolvimento de abordagens iterdisciplinares mais completas e coerentes para avaliação da competitividade. Um vasto número de variáveis, estruturais, organizacionais e gerenciais vem sendo usado para explicar e avaliar a competitividade das empresas. Dentre essas variáveis, encontram-se os aspectos financeiros das empresas. Observa-se que há uma necessidade de se desenvolver modelos e teorias que combinem as diferentes abordagens de forma que se obtenha uma posição mais completa, e prática, da competitividade das empresas. Este trabalho não ignora, portanto, a necessidade de uma abordagem iterdisciplinar para avaliação de competitividade. Mas concentra-se no estudo de aspectos financeiros e sua inter-relação com outros aspectos da competitividade empresarial e dos países. Busca-se aqui compreender e avaliar a contribuição da teoria de finanças para abordagens mais completas sobre o tema competitividade. O trabalho propõe uma contribuição para o desenvolvimento de um modelo de competitividade financeira de empresas. Essa contribuição preliminar busca uma definição para a competitividade financeira e a identificação de fatores externos (país) e internos a empresa que contribuem para sua competitividade, sob a ótica financeira. / This study reviews and sumarizes the concepts related to competitiveness. It identifies the models used to evaluate the competitiveness of firms and countries, as well as the sources of competitiveness related to each model. The competitiveness concept´s evolution is traced, adding the advances of knowledge from different dields and, more specifically, from Management. Over time, the integration of these pieces of knowledge contributes to the development of more complete and coherent interdisciplinary approaches for the evaluation of competitiveness. A wide range of structural, organization and managerial variables has been used for explaining and evaluating the competitiveness of firms. Among these variables, one can find the firms´ financial aspects. It is oserved that there is a need to develop models and theories that combine the different approaches, in such a way that a more complete and practical definition of firms´competitiveness is obtained. Thus, this study does not neglect the need to have an interdisciplinary approach for the evaluation of competitiveness. Contudo, it focuses on the study of financial aspects and their interrelationship with other aspects of firms ant countries´competitiveness. This study aims to understand and to evaluate the contribution of the financial theory for more complete approaches to the competitiveness subject. This study offers a contribution to the development of a finacial competitiveness model of firm. This initial contribution seeks to a financial competitiveness´definition and to the identification of a firm´s internal and external (country) factors that contribute to its competitiveness, from a financial approach.

No setor elétrico brasileiro as fontes renováveis de energia têm se tornadas atrativas do ponto de vista do investidor devido não só aos incentivos de política de governo, como também por exibirem uma elevada competitividade, além da sinergia proveniente da complementariedade energética entre essas fontes. Por outro lado,a tomada de decisão de investimento em empreendimentos de geração tem se caracterizado cada vez mais como um processo complexo e arriscado, devido à potencial perda financeira decorrente de um fluxo de caixa bastante irregular, fundamentalmente em função da interação no mercado de curto prazo. Este trabalho descreve o problema e a solução para um investidor caracterizado por sua aversão ou apetite ao risco otimizando os recursos com restrição de risco (VaR, CVaR mesclado com conceito do CFaR). Os resultados mostram que para parâmetros usuais que condicionam o risco financeiro, tais como,(i) a taxa de investimento, (ii) preço de contrato de venda e (iii) custo de investimento, o modelo busca a solução para a melhor alocação de investimento, representada por um portfólio ótimo de projetos, respeitando limites fixados para o montante a ser investido e o risco financeiro correspondente. De forma geral, a conceituação da medida de aversão a risco e sua implementação no modelo de otimização desenvolvido permitiram obter resultados robustos para o tipo de problema abordado e a diversidade de situações analisada a partir de estudos de caso. / Brazilian electricity sector in renewable energy sources has become attractive from the investor point of view not only because of government policy incentives, but also to exhibit a high competitiveness beyond energy synergy from the complementarity between energy sources. However, the decision making of investments in generation capacity has come to characterize a complex and risky process, because of the potential financial loss resulting from a highly irregular cash flow, mainly due to the interaction in the short-term market. This paper describes the problem and solution for the risk averse investor optimizing financial resources constrained risk (VaR, CVaR merged with the concept CFaR). The results show that for the risk factors, as for instance, investment rate, sales price and cost of investment contract, the model responds within the limits of tax risks. In general, the concept of measure of risk aversion and its implementation in the optimization model developed is shown robust to the type of problem addressed.