M.Comm. / Stakeholders in the process of transfer of immovable property often argue that transfers take too long. This perception impacts unfavourably on investments in property, as well as on the effective management by conveyancing attorneys of their practices. Different views exist, however, as to how long transfers actually take in practice and as regards the period of time that would constitute a reasonable duration for a typical transfer. The purpose of the study is firstly to establish, by means of empirical research, how long transfers should take, given the factors that influence their duration, and secondly to determine how long transfers actually take in practice. The study identifies the factors that influence the duration of transfers. Based on the observations of practising conveyancers, it then proceeds to establish that typical transfers (transfers resulting from certain defined property transactions) should be registered within 6 to 12 weeks (42 to 84 days) from the date of sale. Some conveyancers prefer to express the duration of transfers in months rather than weeks, and state that two to three months (60 to 90 days) represent a normal spectrum of duration for typical transfers. A model is then developed, based on PERT (Programme Evaluation and Review Techniques), that determines the minimum and maximum duration that could reasonably be expected with regard to typical transfers. These periods are calculated as 35 days and 97 days respectively. A reasonable, "average" period for typical transfers is calculated as 63 days. Based on the above findings, the study recommends a duration of 60 to 70 days as a reasonable time span for typical transfers. This period constitutes a theoretical benchmark against which the duration of typical transfers may be measured. The thesis then proceeds to calculate the real duration of typical transfers, based on information regarding transfers that had actually been registered in South African deeds offices over a period of seven years and ten months. With the aid of electronic data it is calculated that typical transfers take an average of 90.15 days from conclusion of sale to date of registration. The median of duration is determined as 85 days and the mode as 70 days. A ten day incrementalX analysis reflects the ten day category of 61 to 70 days as the category in which the most typical transfers occur. Certain trends regarding the duration of transfers are established. Sectional title transfers are on average registered 1. 7 days faster than freehold transfers. A year-on-year comparison shows a reduction in the figure for average duration of typical transfers during the years 1995 to 1999, but average duration increases substantially in 2000 and 2001. In some deeds registries transfers are on average registered faster than in others, but no relationship is found between the volume of registrations in a particular deeds office and the average duration of these transfers. A relationship is found to exist, however, between the price bracket of a property and the duration of the transfer. Broadly speaking it can be said that the higher the price, the shorter the duration of the transfer. At first glance it appears that, generally speaking, transfers actually take as long -or ·as short- as they are in theory supposed to take. Further analysis show, however, that a mere 35.28% of typical transfers are registered within 70 days or less. Only 54.46% of typical transfers take 90 days or less to register. The fact that so many actual registrations fail to meet the theoretical standards described in the study leads to tre conclusion that the unfavourable perception about the duration of transfers has some merit. The thesis recommends that conveyancers use the findings of the study as management tools in the day to day management of their conveyancing practices. A follow- on study that addresses the unfavourable perception about the duration of transfers in more detail is also recommended.

This Master's thesis explores people's behaviour when searching for real property to buy or to rent using the Internet. It examines the specifics of real estate sale or rental process and searches for various ways of using modern trends and technologies in this process. Goals of this thesis are to identify most frequent ways of people's behaviour when searching for real property on the Internet, map the search mechanisms used in current real estate offering websites in the Czech republic, test their user-friendliness based on own analysis and find the criteria responsible for perceived quality of a real estate offering website. The thesis also makes recommendations for a potencial newcommer sto the czech real estate offering website market.

Prior research on line of business concentration has employed a number of measures, including the often used Hirschman-Herfindahl Index (HHI), which typically does not account for correlation across lines of business. In the first essay of the dissertation, based on the methodology used in modern portfolio theory, I develop a modified version of the HHI that accounts for potential line of business correlation. I test this more refined method using statutory insurance data, and find that the value of the modified HHI differs significantly from the value of the traditional HHI. This shift in concentration is non-linear, and provides greater detail on the diversification decision of firms. I also find that a number of firm characteristics, including size, premium growth, other forms of concentration, and organizational form, significantly affect the difference between the modified and traditional HHI values. Finally, I provide an initial test of the modified HHI using a prior study that employed the traditional HHI. The modified measure alters the results of this study. This dissertaiton has important implications for researchers studying firm concentration related to a variety of firm factors, as well as to insurers considering diversification decisions into independent versus related lines of insurance. Enterprise risk management (ERM) is being implemented more frequently by insurance firms, and regulators and ratings agencies are placing greater emphasis on the effectiveness of firm risk management. The second dissertation essay uses ERM ratings data from Standard and Poor's Ratings Direct combined with the NAIC property and casualty insurance annual statements to identify insurers that do and do not obtain ERM program ratings. I examine which firm characteristics are associated with obtaining an ERM rating, test if ERM rated firms jointly manage firm risk using multiple risk management techniques, and test if ERM rated firms are more resilient to shocks than non rated firms. I find that several firm characteristics are significantly related to an ERM rating, including larger and publicly traded firms. I find that the risk management techniques of ERM rated firms are jointly significant in explaining firm risk, while there is no finding of joint significance for non-ERM rated firms. Finally, I find that firms with an ERM rating experience on average fewer shocks and better performance in the variables that underlie shocks than non-ERM rated firms. I perform ERM tests on a larger sample than most prior research, develop testable hypotheses related to ERM, and provide a structure for future researchers to identify ERM behavior. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Risk Management/Insurance, Real Estate, and Legal Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2012. / June 27, 2012. / correlation, enterprise, insurance, interrelated, management, risk / Includes bibliographical references. / Kathleen A. McCullough, Professor Directing Dissertation; Pamela Coats, University Representative; Patricia Born, Committee Member; Cassandra R. Cole, Committee Member.

This dissertation provides international and U.S. specific perspective on the far reaching influence of the private health insurance market. The first essay posits that the private health insurance market creates incentives which influence intermediate healthcare infrastructure components which ultimately influence health outcomes. Using panel data from multiple OECD countries, the results of univariate, multivariate, and DEA analyses all provide evidence that the private health insurance market has a positive influence on the relation between healthcare infrastructure components and health outcomes. The second essay examines the hypothesis that private health insurance market operations influences medical malpractice insurance market operations and vice versa. The analysis in the second essay, which utilizes panel data from various sources such as the NAIC, U.S. Census Bureau, and the CDC, indicates that higher levels of private health insurance losses are associated with lower levels of medical malpractice insurance losses. Further, higher levels of medical malpractice insurance losses are associated with lower levels of private health insurance losses. Taken in their entirety, this dissertation contributes to the literature by providing evidence on the influence of health insurance market operations and its interrelatedness with health outcomes, healthcare delivery, and the medical malpractice insurance market. The analysis presented here is also aids policymakers, physicians, insureds, and other health insurance market participants in evaluating the potential consequences of regulations and other factors which influence the private health insurance market. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Risk Management/Insurance, Real Estate, and Legal Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2013. / March 6, 2013. / Includes bibliographical references. / Patricia H. Born, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Cassandra R. Cole, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Garry Fournier, University Representative; Randy E. Dumm, Committee Member; Kathleen A. McCullough, Committee Member; Lawrence S. Powell, Committee Member.

This dissertation examines several aspects regarding the claims handling practices of life insurance companies within the U.S. insurance industry. Life insurers have some flexibility as to how they process life insurance claims and which settlement options they make available for the beneficiaries. The decisions and choices made by insurers can increase the possibility that the life insurance company can negate coverage which would be paid to beneficiaries and, if paid, may increase the risk to the beneficiary's life insurance proceeds. The first essay examines insurance claims that are denied or resisted by a life insurance company and investigates whether these claims are evidence of a change in underwriting practices. Specifically, it looks to determine if insurers that deny and resist claims are foregoing the standard practice of underwriting a life insurance contract prior to policy issuance and, instead, are utilizing a post-claim underwriting process, whereby the policy is underwritten after a claim has been submitted. If an insurer post-claim underwrites a life insurance claim, the initial underwriting expenses should be reduced and the post-claim investigation expenses should increase. Based on the U.S. company level data for the period of 2003 through 2010, I provide evidence that the insurers that have lower underwriting expenses and those with higher investigation/claim expenses have a greater number and a greater average dollar value of denied and resisted claims. This reduction in expense in the initial underwriting process, coupled with an increased level of investigation/claim expenses, is a clear indication that these insurers are limiting the underwriting of policies during the application process and prior to policy issuance and are, instead, utilizing the post-claim underwriting process. The second essay focuses on insurance companies' utilization of retained asset accounts as a settlement option. Increased competition from banks and other financial institutions has forced life insurers to find new and innovative ways to obtain and retain capital. Retained asset accounts are a newer form of life insurance settlement option in which the insurer holds death proceeds in its general account until the beneficiaries are ready to withdrawal the funds. While beneficiaries are compensated with interest on the accounts, the funds are subject to the financial risk of the insurer and are only partially covered by state guaranty funds. Given the characteristics of the retained accounts, the primary interest of the essay is to examine whether the interest rate paid to the owners of retained asset accounts is positively correlated to the insurer's level of risk. Results show that those insurers associated with greater financial risk compensate the owners of retained asset accounts through the payment of increased interest payment on the funds held in the account. In addition, larger and more financially stable insurers are more likely to utilize retained asset accounts as a life insurance settlement option. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Risk Management/Insurance, Real Estate and Legal Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2014. / March 21, 2014. / Capital, Claims, Insurance, Life, Retained, Risk / Includes bibliographical references. / Kathleen A. McCullough, Professor Directing Dissertation; Jeff Paterson, University Representative; Cassandra R. Cole, Committee Member; Charles Nyce, Committee Member.

Thesis presented in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Management (in the field of Public Sector Monitoring and Evaluation) to the Faculty of Commerce, Law, and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, March 2018 / The purpose of this research was to assess beneficiaries’ perceptions regarding improvements in their safety and residential quality of life following a housing intervention programme in Itsoseng Informal Settlement. Initially, this study interrogated literature to comprehend assessments carried out in various housing interventions. Maslow Hierarchy of Needs, Quality of Life Theory and Max- Neef Human Needs Theory of Development were the theoretical frameworks used to understand how beneficiaries perceived the upgrading programme. Improvement in their residential quality of life is realised through the possibilities that are available to satisfy their crucial needs. For this reason, this research focused on assessing the beneficiaries’ perceptions on their safety and residential quality of life following the upgrade programme. Univariate analysis, bivariate analysis, paired sample t-test statistics and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was utilised to analyse the perceptions of beneficiaries following a housing upgrade. The findings showed a good level of agreement between beneficiaries regarding their safety and residential quality of life, and there were no significant difference in the perceptions of male and female beneficiaries. Open-ended questions gave insight on the need to further improve beneficiaries’ satisfaction, particularly regarding services such as electricity, clinics, schools and safety walls. Pulling all these things together, the study highlighted the need to prioritise the preferences of beneficiaries, complemented by a comprehensive improvement on safety and residential quality of life to ensure user satisfaction. Insights from the findings further highlighted that holistic improvement in housing conditions, safety, basic services, building a good sense of belonging and tenure security is crucial and goes a long way towards enhancing improvement in the residential quality of life. This study facilitated the recommendations on improvement in the design of the houses in order to satisfy human needs rather than just focusing on the physical aspects of the house. This further allowed this study to emphasise that development is about people not objects, and that it is vital to steer the development process. / XL2019

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published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

Yan Wai-hin. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 92-95). / Chapter Chapter I. --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter II. --- Literature Review --- p.5 / Chapter Chapter III. --- Model Formulation --- p.25 / Chapter Chapter IV. --- Empirical Analysis --- p.46 / Chapter Chapter V. --- Conclusion --- p.85 / Appendix --- p.91 / References --- p.92