Investing in commodities may have important benefits for investors but only in the last few decades have they started to think more about this possibility. Furthermore, large investors are more inclined to change their own personal view. Therefore, understanding the benefits that commodities could give to an investment portfolio might alleviate investors’ concerns. Several previous studies, as Belousova and Dorfleitner (2012) suggest, that the commodities with higher benefits are precious metals and gold, in particular. The purpose of our work is to understand which possible benefits are for equity investors and if they are common for certain commodities with different physical characteristics. The first part of our empirical work focuses on the main descriptive statistics of the return distribution (mean, variance, volatility, skewness, kurtosis and correlation) for 8 stock indices and 7 commodity futures. The main goal of this is to understand the differences among the commodities and between the commodities and the stock indices. In the second part of the empirical work, we test the safe-haven and the hedge properties of these commodities on a weekly basis for all of them with stock indices, and we do the same on a daily and monthly basis for only commodities which are negatively correlated on average with the stock indices. In the last part of our work, we combine these 7 commodities, following the principles of Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOM), in order to create a well-balanced and well-diversified commodity index. Additionally, we create some mixed portfolios using this index and a different stock index every time. After that we look at the volatilities and the returns of these mixed portfolios with different weight combinations. Our main goals in this section are to understand the characteristics of the commodity index in comparison with stock indices and then, finding which weight combinations give the mixed portfolios the optimal risk-return trade off. Understanding which are efficient weights, can lead to conclusions about the weight that commodities should have in a portfolio according to the risk tolerance of the investors.  The research is done considering three time frequencies: daily, weekly and monthly; in line with the ones used by Baur and McDermott (2010). The sample size differs among these three different time basis. In fact, daily data started in January 2007 and the other two time frequencies data began with January 1997. All the time samples ended in March 2016. The results of the first part show that gold is the only commodity with a volatility similar to the stock indices (it also has a higher average return) and that on the daily, weekly and monthly basis. Whereas, the other commodities are much riskier than stock indices since they have higher volatility for all the three time-frequencies analyzed.  The results of the second part suggest that only gold is both a safe-haven and hedging commodity in line with the methodology used by Baur and McDermott (2010), but only for DAX 30 on a weekly basis. Furthermore, our results also show that natural gas is strong hedge in some cases such as natural gas for STI (Singapore) on a monthly basis or gold for Nikkei 225 on daily, weekly and monthly basis. Other commodities are neither safe-haven nor hedge in any case, except for silver which is a safe-haven commodity for DAX 30 and Sensex which at its worst, 1% and 5%, declines in the market respectively. The results of the last part of our work show that all the minimum variance mixed portfolios (the ones with the weights give the lowest risk) - made on a weekly basis - reduce the portfolio volatility and make the portfolio returns higher than the stock indices returns in 5 cases out of 8. Additionally, the results show how investors, who add a well-balanced and well-diversified commodity index to their portfolios, are able to observe several weight combinations and choose the one which suits their risk tolerance. Moreover, our results show that the optimal-weight combinations for commodity weights are lower than 0,5 only for FTSE 100 and S&P 500 (both values are 0,49) and higher than 0,62 but lower than 0,7 for DAX 30, Nikkei 225, Hang Seng, Sensex, SSEC. Furthermore, the optimal weight for STI is 0,54.

As Web services grow in maturity and use, so do the methods which are being used to test and maintain them. Regression Testing is a major component of most major testing systems but has only begun to be applied to Web services. The majority of the tools and techniques applying regression test to Web services are focused on test-case generation, thus ignoring the potential savings of regression test selection. Regression test selection optimizes the regression testing process by selecting a subset of all tests, while still maintaining some level of confidence about the system performing no worse than the unmodified system. A safe regression test selection technique implies that after selection, the level of confidence is as high as it would be if no tests were removed. Since safe regression test selection techniques generally involve code-based (white-box) testing, they cannot be directly applied to Web services due to their loosely-coupled, standards-based, and distributed nature. A framework which automates both the regression test selection and regression testing processes for Web services in a decentralized, end-to-end manner is proposed. As part of this approach, special consideration is given to the concurrency issues which may occur in an autonomous and decentralized system. The resulting synchronization method will be presented along with a set of algorithms which manage the regression testing and regression test selection processes throughout the system. A set of empirical results demonstrate the feasibility and benefit of the approach.

This paper analyzes the return connectedness between the biotechnology sector and other financial assets for 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2018, using an empirical approach from both time- and frequency-domain. The results reveal that the connectedness between the biotechnology sector and other financial assets are decreasing with time, entailing high diversification opportunities in the long-run. Our results also suggest that the spillover effect from the biotechnology sector is higher than the spillover effect to the biotechnology sector, proposing that the sector affects other financial assets to a greater extent than they affect the biotechnology sector. Concurrently, we found that the net directional connectedness is negative for the sector, which means that it does not transmit shocks to others since it is not subject to significant return or volatility shocks. This implies that the systematic risk connected to the biotechnology sector is lower than previous studies argue for. Thus, our main finding is that investments in the sector has safe haven properties, indicating that they are independent towards other sectors. By investing in the biotechnology sector, investors contribute to society and supports the R&D, leading to development of vital drugs. In light of this, we argue that investments in the sector are socially beneficial. Building on these insights, investments in the biotechnology sector are of importance when investing in a prosperous world.

Thesis advisor: Elizabeth Twomey / As our world continues to evolve as a global community, schools must prepare students to live, work, and thrive in a diverse society. Teaching the acceptance of diversity to our students is a significant step in building a safe and peaceful culture within our school communities. Teaching the acceptance of diversity to a generation of young people is a significant step in building a peaceful world. This qualitative case study examined an anti-bias education initiative that empowered students to become leaders and activists in their high school. The findings of this study revealed that the diversity education initiative did not have an immediate impact on school culture, but the students who took active leadership roles encountered a transformational experience. The student leaders demonstrated substantial growth in the skills and understandings essential to anti-bias activism. Significant to this development was heightened awareness of discriminatory language and behavior, a more comprehensive view of diversity and its role in community, and the ability to engage peers in dialogue about challenging diversity topics. In a dialogic exploration of individual differences, student leaders discovered the commonality that connects all humanity. This insight led them to affirm individual identity, to conceptualize the richness that diversity adds to community, and ultimately to embrace diversity as fundamental to community. The findings of this study point to the incremental nature of school culture change and the need to institutionalize a diversity education/student leader effort as a long-term initiative in order to achieve substantive school improvement. The findings compel educators to provide leadership opportunities for students, cultivating their ability to become productive citizen-leaders in an increasingly global community. This is the subject matter of their lives, an authentic curriculum that activates their knowledge, their ability, and their responsibility to transform their world (Starratt, 2008). This dissertation captures the lived experiences of a group of students who led this diversity education initiative, and how their reflections inform educational policy, practice, and leadership. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Administration.

Introdução: O conhecimento sobre a concentração de fluoreto nas águas de consumo humano é importante para a prevenção e controle da cárie e da fluorose dentária nas populações. Objetivo: Descrever as características dos estudos e os resultados por eles produzidos sobre monitoramento dos teores de fluoreto nas águas de consumo humano publicados em revistas científicas especializadas no período de 2008 a 2012. Método: Foi realizada uma revisão sistemática da literatura científica na qual foram incluídos estudos na forma de artigos que apresentassem temática centrada no monitoramento da concentração do fluoreto na água de consumo humano. Os estudos foram identificados por busca bibliográfica nas bases de dados: LILACS, PUBMED/MEDLINE e EMBASE. Artigos, com qualquer tipo de desenho metodológico, publicados nos idiomas português, inglês e espanhol, foram incluídos. Resultados: Quarenta e oito artigos foram incluídos para a extração das características e resultados referentes à pergunta da pesquisa. Conclusão: A atividade de monitoramento estava articulada à vigilância como ação do Estado em dezoito estudos (37,5%). O método eletrométrico foi usado em 39 (81%) estudos. Apenas dois estudos utilizaram o método da Alizarina, sugerindo-se o seu desuso. A classificação em categorias de tipo \"adequado\" e \"inadequado\" (dicotômica), a qual reduz as opções de interpretação e atribuição de significado às características das amostras, predominou na apresentação dos resultados. / Introduction: Knowledge on the concentration of fluoride in water for human consumption is important for the prevention and control of dental caries and dental fluorosis in populations. Objective: To describe the characteristics of the studies and the results on monitoring of fluoride levels in water for human consumption published in specialized journals in the period 2008-2012. Methods: A systematic review of the scientific literature was performed. Only articles on monitoring of fluoride concentration in drinking water were included. Studies were identified by literature searching in databases: LILACS, PUBMED / MEDLINE and EMBASE. Articles with any type of methodological design, published in Portuguese, English and Spanish were included. Results: Forty-eight articles were included for the extraction of features and results related to the research question. Conclusion: The monitoring activity was articulated to the surveillance as an action provided by the State in eighteen studies (37,5%). The electrometric method was used in 39 (81%) studies. Only two studies used the method of Alizarin, suggesting its disuse. The dichotomous categorization \"appropriate\" and \"in appropriate\" which reduces the options of interpretation and attribution of meaning to the sample characteristics predominated in the presentation of the results.

Bakgrund: Det råder brist på sjuksköterskor i dagens hälso- och sjukvård, vilket resulterar i att antalet erfarna sjuksköterskor minskar och det blir svårare för nyutexaminerade sjuksköterskor att få stöttning i sin nya profession. Övergången från student till ansvarig sjuksköterska beskrivs av många som utmanande och intensiv. Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva upplevelsen av mentors betydelse för nyutexaminerade sjuksköterskor under det första arbetsåret på en medicin- och geriatrikklinik. Metod: Kvalitativ semistrukturerad intervjustudie och en induktiv metod har använts. Vilket innebär att studien utgått från deltagarnas egna erfarenheter och upplevelser. Elva nyutexaminerade sjuksköterskor som arbetar på ett länsdelssjukhus i södra Sverige intervjuades. Resultat: Genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys framkom tre teman med tillhörande underteman. Sjuksköterskans arbetssätt är första temat (sjuksköterskans förhållningssätt, tidspress och ansvar). Andra temat är säker vård (patientsäkerhet, kommunikation och vetenskaplig evidens) och tredje temat är samspel (struktur, tillgänglighet och support). Slutsats: Mentor är av betydelse och en trygghet för nyutbildade sjuksköterskor under första tiden som kliniskt verksamma. / Background: There is a lack of nurses in today's healthcare. Which results in the number of experienced nurses decreases and it becomes more difficult for newly graduated nurses to get support in their new profession. The transition from student to responsible nurse is described by many as challenging and intensive. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to describe the experience of mentors' importance for newly graduated nurses during the first year of work in a medicine and geriatric clinic. Method: Qualitative semi-structured interview study and an inductive method has been used. Which means that the study is based on the participants' own experiences. Eleven newly graduated nurses were interviewed who worked at a county hospital in southern Sweden. Result: Through a qualitative content analysis, three themes emerged with associated sub-themes. The nurse's way of working is the first theme (nurse´s approach, time pressure, responsibility). The second theme is safe care (patients’ safety, communication, scientific evidence) and the third theme is interaction (structure, availability, support). Conclusions: In the study we found that mentors are of importance and safety during new nurses the first time in the business.

Bakgrund: Säker vård är ett viktigt begrepp inom hälso- och sjukvården. Begreppet är ett av de sex kärnkompetenserna vilket innebär att sjuksköterskor ska ha rätt kunskap för att öka säkerheten och kvalitén inom vården. Genom att ha god kommunikation och att minska stressen inom akutkliniker upprätthålls säker vård.  Syfte: Att beskriva sjuksköterskans upplevelse av vad som påverkar säker vård inom akutsjukvård.  Metod: Genomförandet var en litteraturöversikt med kvalitativ metod och utformades med en induktiv ansats. Resultatet formades av tio kvalitativa artiklar. Resultat: Det finns yttre förutsättningar och inre upplevelser som spelar stor roll i sjuksköterskans arbete kring säker vård. De yttre förutsättningarna är beroende av kunskap och tidigare upplevelser, tydlig dokumentation och kommunikation och organisation och standardisering. De inre upplevelserna inriktar sig på att ha kontroll över en situation och att känna sig stressad.  Slutsats: Utifrån inre upplevelser och yttre förutsättningar påverkas patientens säkerhet, speciellt inom akutkliniker. För att uppnå en säker vård på en akutklinik krävs en god kommunikation. Andra nämnda områden är minskad stress, ökad bemanning och bra samarbete mellan sjuksköterskor för att främja säker vård. På akutkliniker är dessa upplevelser ett problem då sjuksköterskorna aldrig kan förutse dagens omvårdnadsåtgärder. Det leder i sin tur till att stressfaktor hos sjuksköterskor ökar som bidrar till brister i kommunikationen.

During stormy weathers ships searched for safe havens to stay until the storm had subsided. In much similarity to these ships, investors on the financial markets search for safe assets when the markets start to shake. What could be considered a safe asset seems to be a never-ending discussion but many points out gold as one. However, no further observations of gold as a safe haven on the Swedish financial market has been made. The purpose of this research is to examine if gold could act as a safe haven in Sweden. The data used in this research is daily returns from OMXS30 and the 10-year Swedish government bond, where all returns also has been denominated in U.S. dollar. Further, statistical model has been used. The result show that gold potentially could act as a ‘safe haven’ for denominated stock returns but not for bond returns. Further, the result show that gold could act as a hedge for stock and bond return (non-denominated). The study concludes that gold does not act as a safe haven for stocks or bonds in Sweden. However, gold show weak safe haven attributes for denominated stock return.

The aim of this study is to measure the effectiveness of Altman’s Z-Score model using Non-performing assets (NPA) as a benchmark stability indicator. To do that, this paper examines if Altman’s Z Score Models capture the decline in financial health of the banks caused by the NPAs, using a two-fold analysis i.e., in advance through prediction and when the distress period is ongoing. The findings of this paper would suggest that: 1. During the distress period: The Z-Scores only marginally capture the distress caused by the NPAs, which is in line the findings of Almamy et al that the predictive ability of the model goes down during the crisis period. 2. For the future: The results of the statistical t-tests indicate that, the Z-Scores do not have the predictive ability to capture the future NPAs. Two different models that are developed by Altman - one for non-manufacturing firms and the other for the emerging markets, are used to test, if one model is more suitable than the other to the Indian banking sector. The findings of this paper suggest that, due to the uniqueness of the Indian banking sector during the NPA crisis, the ‘Emerging market model’, does not produce any significantly better results. Therefore, there is further scope to develop a tailor-made model suitable to the Indian banking sector.

The situation in Bosnia and Hercegovina escalated in 1992 and resulted in a war which lasted until 1995, when the end of the war was marked by the signing of the Dayton agreement. The war consisted of conflict between the different groups within the country, with ethnic cleansing as one of the methods being used. In order to keep the peace in the region, the United Nations established the United Nations Protection Force in Yugoslavia. The UNPROFOR were at first meant to keep the peace within Croatia, but as the war broke out in 1992, parts of the force were repositioned to Bosnia. The purpose of this essay is to evaluate whether the UN and UNPROFOR managed to reach the goals set for the intervention in the town of Srebrenica, which was the first city in Bosnia to receive the status as a ”safe area”. In order to establish wheter the goals were met and the effects they had, the instrument of analysis consists of two evaluation models. The goal of the essay is to reach an understanding of the goals of the intervention and to provide with an analysis which can provide with an understanding for this, and perhaps also other interventions conducted by the UN.   In the final part of the essay, the presented material is discussed and analyzed in order to reach the purpose of the study. Concludingly the study finds that the goals for UNPROFOR in Srebrenica were not met.