Market efficiency and calendar anomalies in the Russian stock market

Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on tarkastella esiintyykö Venäjän osakemarkkinoilla kalenterianomalioita. Tutkimus keskittyy Halloween-, kuukausi-, kuunvaihde-, viikonpäivä- ja juhlapäiväanomalioiden tarkasteluun. Tutkimusaineistona käytetään RTS (Russian Trading System) indeksiä. Tarkasteluaika alkaa 1. syyskuuta 1995 ja loppuu 31. joulukuuta 2005. Havaintojen kokonaismäärä on 2584. Tutkimusmenetelmänä käytetään pienimmän neliösumman menetelmää (OLS). Tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että Venäjän osakemarkkinoilla esiintyy Halloween-, kuunvaihde- ja viikonpäiväanomalioita. Sen sijaan kuukausi- ja juhlapäiväanomalioita ei tulosten mukaanesiinny Venäjän osakemarkkinoilla. Tulokset osoittavat lisäksi, että suurin osaanomalioista on merkittävämpiä nykyään kuin Venäjän osakemarkkinoiden ensimmäisinä vuosina. Näiden tulosten perusteella voidaan todeta, että Venäjän osakemarkkinat eivät ole vielä tehokkaat.

Dynamics of Appropriability - Finding a Balance between Efficiency and Strength in the Appropriability Regime

Building and sustaining competitive advantage through the creation of market imperfections is challenging in a constantly changing business environment - particularly since the sources of such advantages are increasingly knowledge-based. Facilitated by improved networks and communication, knowledge spills over to competitors more easily than before,thus creating an appropriability problem: the inability of an innovating firm to utilize its innovations commercially. Consequently, as the importance of intellectual assets increases, their protection also calls for new approaches. Companies have various means of protection at their disposal, and by taking advantage of them they can make intangibles more non-transferable and prevent, or at leastdelay, imitation of their most crucial intellectual assets. However, creating barriers against imitation has another side to it, and the transfer of knowledge in situations requiring knowledge sharing may be unintentionally obstructed. Theaim of this thesis is to increase understanding of how firms can balance knowledge protection and sharing so as to benefit most from their knowledge assets. Thus, knowledge protection is approached through an examination of the appropriability regime of a firm, i.e., the combination of available and effective means ofprotecting innovations, their profitability, and the increased rents due to R&D. A further aim is to provide a broader understanding of the formation and structure of the appropriability regime. The study consists of two parts. The first part introduces the research topic and the overall results of the study, and the second part consists of six complementary research publications covering various appropriability issues. The thesis contributes to the existing literature in several ways. Although there is a wide range of prior research on appropriability issues, a lot of it is restricted either to the study of individual appropriability mechanisms, or to comparing certain features of them. These approaches are combined, and the relevant theoretical concepts are clarified and developed. In addition, the thesis provides empirical evidence of the formation of the appropriability regime, which is consequently presented as an adaptive process. Thus, a framework is provided that better corresponds to the complex reality of the current business environment.

Analyzing the cost-efficiency and performance of a payroll department by benchmarking

Tämän diplomityön tavoitteena oli analysoida Stora Enson palkkakeskuksen ja sen henkilöstöhallinnon järjestelmän, SAP HR:n, kustannustehokkuutta ja suorituskykyä. Tutkimuksessa käytettiin apuna benchmarkingia. Viisi suurta suomalaisyritystä osallistui benchmarkingiin. Benchmarkingin pääkohteena oli yritysten välinen kustannusvertailu. Kyselyssä perehdyttiin myös yritysten järjestelmien suorituskykyyn. Tuloksien perusteella Stora Enson palkkakeskus tarjoaa kustannustehokkaan ja kilpailukykyisen ratkaisun, joka menestyy hyvin vertailussa muihin suomalaisiin yrityksiin.

Evaluation of energy efficiency and best available techniques in pumping processes

The potential for enhancing the energy efficiency of industrial pumping processes is estimated to be in some cases up to 50 %. One way to define further this potential is to implement techniques in accordance to definition of best available techniques in pumping applications. These techniques are divided into three main categories: Design, control method & maintenance and distribution system. In the theory part of this thesis first the definition of best available techniques (BAT) and its applicability on pumping processes is issued. Next, the theory around pumping with different pump types is handled, the main stress being in centrifugal pumps. Other components needed in a pumping process are dealt by presenting different control methods, use of an electric motor, variable speed drive and the distribution system. Last part of the theory is about industrial pumping processes from water distribution, sewage water and power plant applications, some of which are used further on in the empirical part as example cases. For the empirical part of this study four case studies on typical pumping processes from older Master’s these were selected. Firstly the original results were analyzed by studying the distribution of energy consumption between different system components and using the definition of BAT in pumping, possible ways to improve energy efficiency were evaluated. The goal in this study was that by the achieved results it would be possible to identify the characteristic energy consumption of these and similar pumping processes. Through this data it would then be easier to focus energy efficiency actions where they might be the most applicable, both technically and economically.

Testing Futures Market Efficiency and Optimal Hedge Ratio Estimation: Evidence from Futures and Options on RTS

This study investigates futures market efficiency and optimal hedge ratio estimation. First, cointegration between spot and futures prices is studied using Johansen method, with two different model specifications. If prices are found cointegrated, restrictions on cointegrating vector and adjustment coefficients are imposed, to account for unbiasedness, weak exogeneity and prediction hypothesis. Second, optimal hedge ratios are estimated using static OLS, and time-varying DVEC and CCC models. In-sample and out-of-sample results for one, two and five period ahead are reported. The futures used in thesis are RTS index, EUR/RUB exchange rate and Brent oil, traded in Futures and options on RTS.(FORTS) For in-sample period, data points were acquired from start of trading of each futures contract, RTS index from August 2005, EUR/RUB exchange rate March 2009 and Brent oil October 2008, lasting till end of May 2011. Out-of-sample period covers start of June 2011, till end of December 2011. Our results indicate that all three asset pairs, spot and futures, are cointegrated. We found RTS index futures to be unbiased predictor of spot price, mixed evidence for exchange rate, and for Brent oil futures unbiasedness was not supported. Weak exogeneity results for all pairs indicated spot price to lead in price discovery process. Prediction hypothesis, unbiasedness and weak exogeneity of futures, was rejected for all asset pairs. Variance reduction results varied between assets, in-sample in range of 40-85 percent and out-of sample in range of 40-96 percent. Differences between models were found small, except for Brent oil in which OLS clearly dominated. Out-of-sample results indicated exceptionally high variance reduction for RTS index, approximately 95 percent.

Applying Nordic Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Solutions in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia

RENSOL (Regional Energy Solutions) project deals with the use of energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions in Kaliningrad Oblast to tackle climate change. Overall objective of the RENSOL work package 1 is to build awareness and knowledge on solutions for energy efficient buildings and street lightning applications. The project report describes available solutions to improve housing energy efficiency.

Improving Cost-Efficiency and Reducing Environmental Impacts of Intermodal Transportation with Dry Port Concept – Major Rail Transport Corridor in Baltic Sea Region

Transportation plays a major role in the gross domestic product of various nations. There are, however, many obstacles hindering the transportation sector. Cost-efficiency along with proper delivery times, high frequency and reliability are not a straightforward task. Furthermore, environmental friendliness has increased the importance of the whole transportation sector. This development will change roles inside the transportation sector. Even now, but especially in the future, decisions regarding the transportation sector will be partly based on emission levels and other externalities originating from transportation in addition to pure transportation costs. There are different factors, which could have an impact on the transportation sector. IMO’s sulphur regulation is estimated to increase the costs of short sea shipping in the Baltic Sea. Price development of energy could change the roles of different transport modes. Higher awareness of the environmental impacts originating from transportation could also have an impact on the price level of more polluting transport modes. According to earlier research, increased inland transportation, modal shift and slowsteaming can be possible results of these changes in the transportation sector. Possible changes in the transportation sector and ways to settle potential obstacles are studied in this dissertation. Furthermore, means to improve cost-efficiency and to decrease environmental impacts originating from transportation are researched. Hypothetical Finnish dry port network and Rail Baltica transport corridor are studied in this dissertation. Benefits and disadvantages are studied with different methodologies. These include gravitational models, which were optimized with linear integer programming, discrete-event and system dynamics simulation, an interview study and a case study. Geographical focus is on the Baltic Sea Region, but the results can be adapted to other geographical locations with discretion. Results indicate that the dry port concept has benefits, but optimization regarding the location and the amount of dry ports plays an important role. In addition, the utilization of dry ports for freight transportation should be carefully operated, since only a certain amount of total freight volume can be cost-efficiently transported through dry ports. If dry ports are created and located without proper planning, they could actually increase transportation costs and delivery times of the whole transportation system. With an optimized dry port network, transportation costs can be lowered in Finland with three to five dry ports. Environmental impacts can be lowered with up to nine dry ports. If more dry ports are added to the system, the benefits become very minor, i.e. payback time of investments becomes extremely long. Furthermore, dry port network could support major transport corridors such as Rail Baltica. Based on an analysis of statistics and interview study, there could be enough freight volume available for Rail Baltica, especially, if North-West Russia is part of the Northern end of the corridor. Transit traffic to and from Russia (especially through the Baltic States) plays a large role. It could be possible to increase transit traffic through Finland by connecting the potential Finnish dry port network and the studied transport corridor. Additionally, sulphur emission regulation is assumed to increase the attractiveness of Rail Baltica in the year 2015. Part of the transit traffic could be rerouted along Rail Baltica instead of the Baltic Sea, since the price level of sea transport could increase due to the sulphur regulation. Both, the hypothetical Finnish dry port network and Rail Baltica transport corridor could benefit each other. The dry port network could gain more market share from Russia, but also from Central Europe, which is the other end of Rail Baltica. In addition, further Eastern countries could also be connected to achieve higher potential freight volume by rail.

Permanent magnet synchronous motor for industrial inverter applications - analysis and design

During the latest few years the need for new motor types has grown, since both high efficiency and an accurate dynamic performance are demanded in industrial applications. For this reason, new effective control systems such as direct torque control (DTC) have been developed. Permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM) are well suitable for new adjustable speed AC inverter drives, because their efficiency and power factor are not depending on the pole pair number and speed to the same extent as it is the case in induction motors. Therefore, an induction motor (IM) with a mechanical gearbox can often be replaced with a direct PM motor drive. Space as well as costs will be saved, because the efficiency increases and the cost of maintenance decreases as well. This thesis deals with design criterion, analytical calculation and analysis of the permanent magnet synchronous motor for both sinusoidal air-gap flux density and rectangular air-gapflux density. It is examined how the air-gap flux, flux densities, inductances and torque can be estimated analytically for salient pole and non-salient pole motors. It has been sought by means of analytical calculations for the ultimate construction for machines rotating at relative low 300 rpm to 600 rpm speeds, which are suitable speeds e.g. in Pulp&Paper industry. The calculations are verified by using Finite Element calculations and by measuring of prototype motor. The prototype motor is a 45 kW, 600 rpm PMSM with buried V-magnets, which is a very appropriate construction for high torque motors with a high performance. With the purposebuilt prototype machine it is possible not only to verify the analytical calculations but also to show whether the 600 rpm PMSM can replace the 1500 rpm IM with a gear. It can also be tested if the outer dimensions of the PMSM may be the same as for the IM and if the PMSM in this case can produce a 2.5 fold torque, in consequence of which it may be possible to achieve the same power. The thesis also considers the question how to design a permanent magnet synchronous motor for relatively low speed applications that require a high motor torqueand efficiency as well as bearable costs of permanent magnet materials. It is shown how a selection of different parameters affects the motor properties. Key words: Permanent magnet synchronous motor, PMSM, surface magnets, buried magnets

Sheeting efficiency improvement through production planning and control development.

Arkitus on kartongin jatkojalostusmuoto, jonka tehokkuus muodostuu monen tekijän vaikutuksesta. Tämän työn tavoitteena oli parantaa arkitustehokkuutta tutkitussa kahden folioleikkurin arkittamossa tuotannonsuunnittelun ja tuotannonohjauksen kehittämisellä. Kartonkitehtaan sisäisessä jalostusketjussa arkitus on viimeinen vaihe, mikä tekee siitä pitkälti riippuvaisen edeltävistä konevaiheista, eli kartonkikoneista ja PE-päällystyskoneista. Pelkkä arkituksen tuotannonsuunnittelun huomiointi ei siis vielä takaa hyvää lopputulosta arkitustehokkuuden kannalta. Folioarkitustoiminta on hyvin asiakassuuntautunutta. Arkkikoot määräytyvät asiakkaiden omien tarpeiden perusteella, jolloin eri arkkikokojen kokonaismäärä kasvaa huomattavan suureksi. Viime vuosien trendinä on ollut tilauseräkokojen pieneneminen. Näiden tekijöiden yhteisvaikutuksena arkituksen tuotantoprosessille on ominaista erilaisten asetusten aiheuttama katkonaisuus. Lisäksi pelkästään yhden millimetrin muutos arkin leveydessä voi usein vaikuttaa arkitustehokkuuteen hyvinkin merkittävästi. Näistä syistä arkituksen tuotannonsuunnittelun apuvälineeksi tarvitaan tarkkuuteen ja joustavuuteen kykenevää tietojärjestelmää. Tehokkaan tuotannonohjauksen tueksi tarvitaan lisäksi erilaisia leikkuri- ja kartonkilaatukohtaisia raportteja. Työn teoriaosassa käsitellään tarkemmin arkitustoiminnan ominaisuuksia ja sen tehokkuuteen vaikuttavia tekijöitä. Lisäksi käsitellään tuotannonsuunnittelun ja tuotannonohjauksen periaatteita ja toimintoja.

Regenerated cellulose ultrafiltration membranes in the treatment of pulp and paper mill process waters

Ultrafiltration (UF) is widely applied in different separation processes in the pulp and paper industry. The growing need to protect the environment, a lack of pure water and an interest in producing high-value chemicals from compounds present in process waters will probably lead to an increase in the use of UF in the pulp and paper industry. The efficiency and cost-effectiveness of a UF process depends on the applied membrane. The membrane should have a high and stable filtration capacity, a particular selectivity and a long operational lifetime. To meet these requirements a membrane should have a low fouling tendency. In addition, it should withstand the prevailing operational and chemical conditions. This thesis evaluates the performance and applicability of the regenerated cellulose (RC) membranes 00030T and C2 in the treatment of pulp and paper mill process waters based on the requirements above. The results demonstrated that both the tested RC membranes fulfilled well the requirement of high filtration capacity. In addition, in the filtration of a paper mill clear filtrate (CF) the RC membranes were not as greatly affected by variations in the CF quality as a polysulphone membrane. Furthermore, due to their extreme hydrophilicity and weak charge the fouling tendency of the membranes can be expected to be low in pulp and paper mill filtration applications. It is, however, known that fouling cannot be totally avoided even when the membrane is chosen very carefully. This study indicated that carbohydrates influenced negatively on permeability and caused fouling in the filtration of groundwood mill circulation water. Thus, a pre-treatment effectively reducing the amount of carbohydrates might help to maintain a stable capacity. However, the results of the thesis also showed that the removal of some of the possible foulants might just increase the harmful effect of others. Multivariate examination was useful in the understanding of the complicated factors causing the unstable capacity. The thesis also revealed that the 00030T and C2 membranes can be used at high pressure (max. tested pressure 12 bar). The C2 membrane, having a sponge-like substructure, was more pressure resistant, and its performance was more stable at high pressure compared to the UCO30T membrane containing macrovoids in its substructure. Both tested membranes can, according to the results, also be used at temperatures as high as 70°C in acidic, neutral and alkaline conditions. However, the use at extreme conditions might cause faster ageing of the membranes compared to ageing in neutral conditions. The thesis proved that both the tested RC membranes are very suitable for pulp and paper mill applications and that the membranes can be utilised in processes operating in challenging conditions. Thus, they could be used in more demanding applications than supposed earlier.

The role of metal ions in selective and sustainable processes

Sustainability and recycling are core values in today’s industrial operations. New materials, products and processes need to be designed in such a way as to consume fewer of the diminishing resources we have available and to put as little strain on the environment as possible. An integral part of this is cleaning and recycling. New processes are to be designed to improve the efficiency in this aspect. Wastewater, including municipal wastewaters, is treated in several steps including chemical and mechanical cleaning of waters. Well-cleaned water can be recycled and reused. Clean water for everyone is one of the greatest challenges we are facing today. Ferric sulphate, made by oxidation from ferrous sulphate, is used in water purification. The oxidation of ferrous sulphate, FeSO4, to ferric sulphate in acidic aqueous solutions of H2SO4 over finely dispersed active carbon particles was studied in a vigorously stirred batch reactor. Molecular oxygen was used as the oxidation agent and several catalysts were screened: active carbon, active carbon impregnated with Pt, Rh, Pd and Ru. Both active carbon and noble metal-active carbon catalysts enhanced the oxidation rate considerably. The order of the noble metals according to the effect was: Pt >> Rh > Pd, Ru. By the use of catalysts, the production capacities of existing oxidation units can be considerably increased. Good coagulants have a high charge on a long polymer chain effectively capturing dirty particles of the opposite charge. Analysis of the reaction product indicated that it is possible to obtain polymeric iron-based products with good coagulation properties. Systematic kinetic experiments were carried out at the temperature and pressure ranges of 60B100°C and 4B10 bar, respectively. The results revealed that both non-catalytic and catalytic oxidation of Fe2+ to Fe3+ take place simultaneously. The experimental data were fitted to rate equations, which were based on a plausible reaction mechanism: adsorption of dissolved oxygen on active carbon, electron transfer from Fe2+ ions to adsorbed oxygen and formation of surface hydroxyls. A comparison of the Fe2+ concentrations predicted by the kinetic model with the experimentally observed concentrations indicated that the mechanistic rate equations were able to describe the intrinsic oxidation kinetics of Fe2+ over active carbon and active carbon-noble metal catalysts. Engineering aspects were closely considered and effort was directed to utilizing existing equipment in the production of the new coagulant. Ferrous sulphate can be catalytically oxidized to produce a novel long-chained polymeric iron-based flocculent in an easy and affordable way in existing facilities. The results can be used for modelling the reactors and for scale-up. Ferric iron (Fe3+) was successfully applied for the dissolution of sphalerite. Sphalerite contains indium, gallium and germanium, among others, and the application can promote their recovery. The understanding of the reduction process of ferric to ferrous iron can be used to develop further the understanding of the dissolution mechanisms and oxidation of ferrous sulphate. Indium, gallium and germanium face an ever-increasing demand in the electronics industry, among others. The supply is, however, very limited. The fact that most part of the material is obtained through secondary production means that real production quota depends on the primary material production. This also sets the pricing. The primary production material is in most cases zinc and aluminium. Recycling of scrap material and the utilization of industrial waste, containing indium, gallium and geranium, is a necessity without real options. As a part of this study plausible methods for the recovery of indium, gallium and germanium have been studied. The results were encouraging and provided information about the precipitation of these valuables from highly acidic solutions. Indium and gallium were separated from acidic sulphuric acid solutions by precipitation with basic sulphates such as alunite or they were precipitated as basic sulphates of their own as galliunite and indiunite. Germanium may precipitate as a basic sulphate of a mixed composition. The precipitation is rapid and the selectivity is good. When the solutions contain both indium and gallium then the results show that gallium should be separated before indium to achieve a better selectivity. Germanium was separated from highly acidic sulphuric acid solutions containing other metals as well by precipitating with tannic acid. This is a highly selective method. According to the study other commonly found metals in the solution do not affect germanium precipitation. The reduction of ferric iron to ferrous, the precipitation of indium, gallium and germanium, and the dissolution of the raw materials are strongly depending on temperature and pH. The temperature and pH effect were studied and which contributed to the understanding and design of the different process steps. Increased temperature and reduced pH improve the reduction rate. Finally, the gained understanding in the studied areas can be employed to develop better industrial processes not only on a large scale but also increasingly on a smaller scale. The small amounts of indium, gallium and germanium may favour smaller and more locally bound recovery.

Measuring and improving production efficiency of paint filling and packing line

Tutkittu yritys on suomalainen maaleja ja lakkoja kansainvälisesti valmistava ja myyvä toimija. Yrityksessä otettiin vuonna 2010 käyttöön uudet tuotannon ja toimitusketjun tavoitteet ja suunnitelmat ja tämä tutkimus on osa tuota kokonaisvaltaista kehittämissuuntaa. Tutkimuksessa käsitellään tuotannon ja kunnossapidon tehokkuuden parantamis- ja mittaustyökalu OEE:tä ja tuotevaihtoaikojen pienentämiseen tarkoitettua SMED -työkalua. Työn teoriaosuus perustuu lähinnä akateemisiin julkaisuihin, mutta myös haastatteluihin, kirjoihin, internet sivuihin ja yhteen vuosikertomukseen. Empiriaosuudessa OEE:n käyttöönoton ongelmia ja onnistumista tutkittiin toistettavalla käyttäjäkyselyllä. OEE:n potentiaalia ja käyttöönottoa tutkittiin myös tarkastelemalla tuotanto- ja käytettävyysdataa, jota oli kerätty tuotantolinjalta. SMED:iä tutkittiin siihen perustuvan tietokoneohjelman avulla. SMED:iä tutkittiin teoreettisella tasolla, eikä sitä implementoitu vielä käytäntöön. Tutkimustuloksien mukaan OEE ja SMED sopivat hyvin esimerkkiyritykselle ja niissä on paljon potentiaalia. OEE ei ainoastaan paljasta käytettävyyshäviöiden määrää, mutta myös niiden rakenteen. OEE -tulosten avulla yritys voi suunnata rajalliset tuotannon ja kunnossapidon parantamisen resurssit oikeisiin paikkoihin. Työssä käsiteltävä tuotantolinja ei tuottanut mitään 56 % kaikesta suunnitellusta tuotantoajasta huhtikuussa 2016. Linjan pysähdyksistä ajallisesti 44 % johtui vaihto-, aloitus- tai lopetustöistä. Tuloksista voidaan päätellä, että käytettävyyshäviöt ovat vakava ongelma yrityksen tuotannontehokkuudessa ja vaihtotöiden vähentäminen on tärkeä kehityskohde. Vaihtoaikaa voitaisiin vähentää ~15 % yksinkertaisilla ja halvoilla SMED:illä löydetyillä muutoksilla työjärjestyksessä ja työkaluissa. Parannus olisi vielä suurempi kattavimmilla muutoksilla. SMED:in suurin potentiaali ei välttämättä ole vaihtoaikojen lyhentämisessä vaan niiden standardisoinnissa.