Pricing anomalies in the Finnish stock market

The aim of this thesis is to examine whether the pricing anomalies exists in the Finnish stock markets by comparing the performance of quantile portfolios that are formed on the basis of either individual valuation ratios, composite value measures or combined value and momentum indicators. All the research papers included in the thesis show evidence of value anomalies in the Finnish stock markets. In the first paper, the sample of stocks over the 1991-2006 period is divided into quintile portfolios based on four individual valuation ratios (i.e., E/P, EBITDA/EV, B/P, and S/P) and three hybrids of them (i.e. composite value measures). The results show the superiority of composite value measures as selection criterion for value stocks, particularly when EBITDA/EV is employed as earnings multiple. The main focus of the second paper is on the impact of the holding period length on performance of value strategies. As an extension to the first paper, two more individual ratios (i.e. CF/P and D/P) are included in the comparative analysis. The sample of stocks over 1993- 2008 period is divided into tercile portfolios based on six individual valuation ratios and three hybrids of them. The use of either dividend yield criterion or one of three composite value measures being examined results in best value portfolio performance according to all performance metrics used. Parallel to the findings of many international studies, our results from performance comparisons indicate that for the sample data employed, the yearly reformation of portfolios is not necessarily optimal in order to maximally gain from the value premium. Instead, the value investor may extend his holding period up to 5 years without any decrease in long-term portfolio performance. The same holds also for the results of the third paper that examines the applicability of data envelopment analysis (DEA) method in discriminating the undervalued stocks from overvalued ones. The fourth paper examines the added value of combining price momentum with various value strategies. Taking account of the price momentum improves the performance of value portfolios in most cases. The performance improvement is greatest for value portfolios that are formed on the basis of the 3-composite value measure which consists of D/P, B/P and EBITDA/EV ratios. The risk-adjusted performance can be enhanced further by following 130/30 long-short strategy in which the long position of value winner stocks is leveraged by 30 percentages while simultaneously selling short glamour loser stocks by the same amount. Average return of the long-short position proved to be more than double stock market average coupled with the volatility decrease. The fifth paper offers a new approach to combine value and momentum indicators into a single portfolio-formation criterion using different variants of DEA models. The results throughout the 1994-2010 sample period shows that the top-tercile portfolios outperform both the market portfolio and the corresponding bottom-tercile portfolios. In addition, the middle-tercile portfolios also outperform the comparable bottom-tercile portfolios when DEA models are used as a basis for stock classification criteria. To my knowledge, such strong performance differences have not been reported in earlier peer-reviewed studies that have employed the comparable quantile approach of dividing stocks into portfolios. Consistently with the previous literature, the division of the full sample period into bullish and bearish periods reveals that the top-quantile DEA portfolios lose far less of their value during the bearish conditions than do the corresponding bottom portfolios. The sixth paper extends the sample period employed in the fourth paper by one year (i.e. 1993- 2009) covering also the first years of the recent financial crisis. It contributes to the fourth paper by examining the impact of the stock market conditions on the main results. Consistently with the fifth paper, value portfolios lose much less of their value during bearish conditions than do stocks on average. The inclusion of a momentum criterion somewhat adds value to an investor during bullish conditions, but this added value turns to negative during bearish conditions. During bear market periods some of the value loser portfolios perform even better than their value winner counterparts. Furthermore, the results show that the recent financial crisis has reduced the added value of using combinations of momentum and value indicators as portfolio formation criteria. However, since the stock markets have historically been bullish more often than bearish, the combination of the value and momentum criteria has paid off to the investor despite the fact that its added value during bearish periods is negative, on an average.

Search advertising for small Finnish tourism company in Russian Internet – Experimental study: Google AdWords versus Yandex.Direct

Yandex is the dominant search engine in Russia, followed by the world leader Google. This study focuses on the performance differences between the two in search advertising in the context of tourism, by running two identical campaigns and measuring the KPI’s, such as CPA (cost-per-action), on both campaigns. Search engine advertising is a new and fast changing form of advertising, which should be studied frequently in order to keep up with the changes. Research was done as an experimental study in cooperation with a Finnish tourism company and the data is gathered from the clickstream and not from questionnaires, which is recommended method by the literature. The results of the study suggests that Yandex.Direct performed better in the selected niche and that the individual campaign planning for Yandex.Direct and Google AdWords is an important part of the optimization of search advertising in Russia.

The effects of a language intervention program on the phonological and word awareness skills of language-delayed kindergarten children

Over the past decade, research has suggested that phonological and word awareness skills (i.e., the ability to reflect on and manipulate the components of language) are important for early reading acquisition. This study examined the phonological and word awareness skills of language-delayed kindergarten children at the beginning and end of a language intervention program using five tasks. The results were compared to the performances of average kindergarten children who did not participate in the language intervention program. There were significant performance differences for all tasks, favouring the average children, at the beginning of the intervention program. However, at the end of the training interval, the languagedelayed children performed as well as the average children.

El Outsourcing en la dinámica de sistemas hacia mercados extranjeros

Este trabajo recopila literatura académica relevante sobre estrategias de entrada y metodologías para la toma de decisión sobre la contratación de servicios de Outsourcing para el caso de empresas que planean expandirse hacia mercados extranjeros. La manera en que una empresa planifica su entrada a un mercado extranjero, y realiza la consideración y evaluación de información relevante y el diseño de la estrategia, determina el éxito o no de la misma. De otro lado, las metodologías consideradas se concentran en el nivel estratégico de la pirámide organizacional. Se parte de métodos simples para llegar a aquellos basados en la Teoría de Decisión Multicriterio, tanto individuales como híbridos. Finalmente, se presenta la Dinámica de Sistemas como herramienta valiosa en el proceso, por cuanto puede combinarse con métodos multicriterio.

Freeze-frame: a new infant inhibition task and its relation to frontal cortex tasks during infancy and early childhood

The current study investigated a new, easily administered, visual inhibition task for infants termed the Freeze-Frame task. In the new task, 9-month-olds were encouraged to inhibit looks to peripheral distractors. This was done by briefly freezing a central animated stimulus when infants looked to the distractors. Half of the trials presented an engaging central stimulus, and the other half presented a repetitive central stimulus. Three measures of inhibitory function were derived from the task and compared with performance on a set of frontal cortex tasks administered at 9 and 24 months of age. As expected, infants' ability to learn to selectively inhibit looks to the distractors at 9 months predicted performance at 24 months. However, performance differences in the two Freeze-Frame trial types early in the experiment also turned out to be an important predictor. The results are discussed in terms of the validity of the Freeze-Frame task as an early measure of different components of inhibitory function. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Provider diversity in the NHS: impact on quality and innovation

The overall objective of the research project has been to assess the impact of provider diversity on quality and innovation in the NHS. The specific research aims were to identify the differences in performance between non-profit Third Sector organisations, for-profit private enterprises, and incumbent public sector institutions within the NHS as providers of health care services, as well as the factors that affect the entry and growth of new private and Third Sector providers. The study used both qualitative and quantitative methods based on case studies of four Local Health Economies (LHEs). Qualitative methods included documentary analysis and interviews with key informants and managers of both commissioning and provider organisations. To provide a focus to the study, two tracer conditions were followed: orthopaedic surgery and home health care for frail older people. In the case of hospital inpatient care, data on patient characteristics were also collected from the HES database. The analysis of this data provided preliminary estimates of the effects of provider type on quality, controlling for client characteristics and case mix. In addition, a survey of patient experience in diverse provider organisations was analysed to compare the different dimensions of quality of provision of acute services between incumbent NHS organisations and new independent sector treatment centres. The research has shown that, in respect of inpatient hospital services, diverse providers supply health services of at least as good quality as traditional NHS providers, and that there is ample opportunity to expand their scale and scope as providers of services commissioned by the NHS. The research used patient experience survey data to investigate whether hospital ownership affects the quality of services reported by NHS patients in areas other than clinical quality. The raw survey data appear to show that private hospitals provide higher quality services than the public hospitals. However, further empirical analysis leads to a more nuanced understanding of the performance differences. Firstly, the analysis shows that each sector offers greater quality in certain specialties. Secondly, the analysis shows that differences in the quality of patients’ reported experience are mainly attributable to patient characteristics, the selection of patients into each type of hospital, and the characteristics of individual hospitals, rather than to hospital ownership as such. Controlling for such differences, NHS patients are on average likely to experience a similar quality of care in a public or privately-run hospital. Nevertheless, for specific groups of patients and for specific types of treatments, especially the more straightforward ones, the private sector provides an improved patient experience compared to the public sector. Elsewhere, the NHS continues to provide a high quality service and outperforms the private sector in a range of services and for a range of clients.

Multiple haptic targets for motion-impaired computer users

Although a number of studies have reported that force feedback gravity wells can improve performance in "point-and-click" tasks, there have been few studies addressing issues surrounding the use of gravity wells for multiple on-screen targets. This paper investigates the performance of users, both with and without motion-impairments, in a "point-and-click" task when an undesired haptic distractor is present. The importance of distractor location is studied explicitly. Results showed that gravity wells can still improve times and error rates, even on occasions when the cursor is pulled into a distractor. The greatest improvement is seen for the most impaired users. In addition to traditional measures such as time and errors, performance is studied in terms of measures of cursor movement along a path. Two cursor measures, angular distribution and temporal components, are proposed and their ability to explain performance differences is explored.

A profissionalização de 2. grau em São Luís do Maranhão

O presente trabalho destina-se a caracterizar e a delinear o conteúdo expresso no texto da Lei n9 5.692/71 enfatizando a questão do ensino profissionalizante. O estudo está esquematizado em seis capitulos. O primeiro, discorre sobre o processo educativo como vem ocorrendo em nossa sociedade capitalista. O segundo segue a linha de contextualização histórica e tem como escopo aflorar a ideologia do texto da Lei n9 5.692/71. O terceiro, apresenta o problema e a metodologia de um estudo de caso reali zado em são Luís do Maranhão sendo seus resultados descritos no quarto capítulo e analisados no quinto. O último capítulo contém as conclusões da autora. A pesquisa torna evidente que o texto da Lei em estudo empreende perfeitamente as funções ideológicas trabalhadas pelo Estado para atender à realidade da sociedade através da ordem vigente e dos mecanismos de conservaçao e de reprodução sociais, apesar de ser constatada a alienação dos alunos pela sua não absorçao pelo mercado de trabalho, deixando transparecer que as diferenças intelectuais e o desempenho escolar são as barreiras que ficam evidentes na sociedade de classes, permitindo ao aparelho escolar ficar livre para manter suas funções. O resultado da pesquisa nos mostra que a escola assegura a preparação da mão-de-obra, através do mecanismo camuflado de "não profissionalização" uma vez que a grande maioria dos alunos egressos se encontram desempregados. A conclusão mostra a necessidade de dinamizar o ensino profissionalizante para que ele possa contribuir mais ativa e poderosamente em relação as necessidades do contexto, pois a profissionalização como hoje é feita, não se distingue muito da confecção de máquinas ou ferramentas de produção, porque ela está muito mais a serviço do sistema de produção do que do homem, tanto assim que nela não está incluída a garantia de emprego, levando por conseguinte a "desominização" do homem.

Desempenho térmico de coberturas: Um estudo comparativo entre as telhas de material reciclado, de fibra e betume, fibrocimento e cerâmica

This study aims to compare the thermal performance of tiles made from recycled material (waste packaging cardboard with aluminized film) with the tiles of fiber and bitumen, fiber cement and red ceramic with the aim of verifying the suitability of tile to be used in hot and humid climate of low latitude. The samples were selected according to the availability from Natal - RN market, as they are sold to the consumers. The methodology was based on studies that used experimental apparatus composed of thermal chambers heated by banks of incandescent bulbs, to analyze the thermal performance of materials. The tiles in the study were submitted to analysis of thermal performance, thermophysical properties and absorptance, using chambers of thermal performance, measuring the thermophysical properties and portable spectrometer, respectively. Comparative analysis of thermal performance between two samples of the recycled material with dimple sizes and different amounts of aluminum were made, in order to verify, if these characteristics had some interference on the thermal performance of them; the results showed no significant performance differences between the samples. The data obtained in chambers of thermal performance and confirmed by statistical analysis, showed, that the tile of recycled material have similar thermal performance to the tile of fiber cement. In addition to these tests was carried out the automatic monitoring of a building covered with tiles of recycled material, to verify its thermal performance in a real situation. The results showed that recycled shingles must be used with technical criteria similar to those used for fiber cement tiles, with regard to the heat gain into the building. Within these criteria should be taken into account local characteristics, especially in regions with hot and humid climate, and its use must be associated, according to the literature, to elements of thermal insulation and use of passive techniques such as vented attics, ceilings and right foot higher

Fatores de sucesso ou insucesso do turismo ambientalmente sustentável : percepção das autoridades públicas no pólo costa das dunas do Rio Grande do Norte

This study aims to compare the thermal performance of tiles made from recycled material (waste packaging cardboard with aluminized film) with the tiles of fiber and bitumen, fiber cement and red ceramic with the aim of verifying the suitability of tile to be used in hot and humid climate of low latitude. The samples were selected according to the availability from Natal RN market, as they are sold to the consumers. The methodology was based on studies that used experimental apparatus composed of thermal chambers heated by banks of incandescent bulbs, to analyze the thermal performance of materials. The tiles in the study were submitted to analysis of thermal performance, thermophysical properties and absorptance, using chambers of thermal performance, measuring the thermophysical properties and portable spectrometer, respectively. Comparative analysis of thermal performance between two samples of the recycled material with dimple sizes and different amounts of aluminum were made, in order to verify, if these characteristics had some interference on the thermal performance of them; the results showed no significant performance differences between the samples. The data obtained in chambers of thermal performance and confirmed by statistical analysis, showed, that the tile of recycled material have similar thermal performance to the tile of fiber cement. In addition to these tests was carried out the automatic monitoring of a building covered with tiles of recycled material, to verify its thermal performance in a real situation. The results showed that recycled shingles must be used with technical criteria similar to those used for fiber cement tiles, with regard to the heat gain into the building. Within these criteria should be taken into account local characteristics, especially in regions with hot and humid climate, and its use must be associated, according to the literature, to elements of thermal insulation and use of passive techniques such as vented attics, ceilings and right foot higher

Attending to the non-preferred hand improves bimanual coordination in children

The effect of attentional focus in bimanual coordination was investigated from a developmental perspective by examining performance of right- and left-handed children, 5-8-years and 9-12-years old, on bimanual reciprocal tapping tasks. Attentional focus was either specified, by asking the children to attend to the preferred or to the non-preferred hand, or unspecified for the execution of the tasks. When attention was oriented to the non-preferred hand we found a reduced movement time and a lower frequency of errors. Performance differences for handedness and age-groups were observed when the children were oriented to attend to the preferred hand or when there was no instruction regarding attention. These differences in performance were eliminated when attention was oriented to the non-preferred hand. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Growth and developmental outcomes of the extremely preterm infant

Objetive: To provide information for pediatricians and neonatologists to create realistic outcome expectations and thus help plan their actions. Sources of data: Searches were made of the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, and Lilacs databases. Summary of the findings: The assessment of growth and development over the first 2-3 years must adjust chronological age with respect of the degree of prematurity. There is special concern regarding the prognoses of small for gestational age preterm infants, and for those with bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Attention must be directed towards improving the nutrition of extremely low birth weight infants during their first years of life; these infants have high prevalence levels of failure to catch-up on growth, diseases and rehospitalizations during their first 2 years. They are frequently underweight and shorter than expected during early childhood, but delayed catch-up growth may occur between 8 and 14 years. Extremely low birth weight infants are at increased risk of neurological abnormalities and developmental delays during their first years of life. Educational, psychological, and behavioral problems are frequent during school years. Teenage and adult outcomes show that although some performance differences persist, social integration is not impaired. Conclusions: The growth and neurodevelopment of all ELBW infants must be carefully monitored after discharge, to ensure that children and their families receive adequate support and intervention to optimize prognoses. Copyright © 2005 by Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria.

Pseudonegligência, dominância manual e habilidades motoras em alunos das artes em comparação com alunos de outros cursos

Uma linha de pesquisa freqüente sobre a lateralização cerebral em artistas tem investigado o comportamento daqueles que sofrem de diversos síndromes neuropatológicas, afetando o hemisfério esquerdo ou direito. Em contraste, Bertrand (2001), observando que alguns poucos estudos reportaram um aumento na prevalência de canhotismo e ambidestrismo entre artistas, indicou a necessidade para a realização de pesquisas sistemáticas sobre as características laterais em artistas normais. Na ausência de tais estudos, e devido à dificuldade de obter dados de artistas profissionais, este projeto foi planejado com o fim de investigar em detalhe, assimetrias laterais na dominância manual, habilidade motora e atenção visuoespacial em alunos das artes e os de outros cursos (o grupo de controle). Estes alunos foram recrutados do Departamento de Artes da Universidade Federal de Maranhão e de um centro público de arte em São Luis. A amostra foi composta de 50 alunos de controle (24 destros e 26 canhotos), e 51 alunos das artes (27 destros e 24 canhotos). Dados foram obtidos para dominância manual, ocular e podálica, e para o desempenho em duas medidas de proficiência motora: batidas digitais e o Teste de Pinos na Forma de Chaves (o Grooved Pegboard). Além disso, uma versão do Teste Visual de Bisecçionar Linhas (TVBL) foi aplicado com o objetivo de comparar o grau de pseudonegligência dentro e entre alunos das artes e os de controle. Procurou-se averiguar se em relação aos alunos de controle, aqueles das artes mostrariam um grau reduzido de assimetria intermanual na dominância manual e nas habilidades motoras, bem como um nível maior de exatidão no TVBL. No que tange a presença de tais diferenças na performance, nossas predições foram apoiadas. Os alunos das artes, em particular, os canhotos, foram menos consistentes e mais ambidestros do que os alunos dos outros cursos. Eles também exibiram um nível menor de desempenho entre as mãos nos dois testes motores. Além do mais, enquanto que o grau de pseudonegligência foi elevado nos alunos de controle, as respostas dos alunos das artes foram mais exatas, resultando em um nível reduzido de erro em torno do ponto zero verídico. Em concordância com pesquisas prévias com músicos, em geral, os alunos das artes apresentaram um nível de atenção visuoespacial mais equilibrado, e estas diferenças foram relacionadas às exigências cognitivas implícitas no treino nas artes visuais.

Potencial de emulsificação do resíduo do óleo de soja (goma de soja) sobre a digestibilidade de dietas com inclusão de diferentes fontes lipídicas

Pós-graduação em Ciência e Tecnologia Animal - FEIS

Stress effects on working memory, explicit memory, and implicit memory for neutral and emotional stimuli in healthy men

Stress is a strong modulator of memory function. However, memory is not a unitary process and stress seems to exert different effects depending on the memory type under study. Here, we explored the impact of social stress on different aspects of human memory, including tests for explicit memory and working memory (for neutral materials), as well as implicit memory (perceptual priming, contextual priming and classical conditioning for emotional stimuli). A total of 35 young adult male students were randomly assigned to either the stress or the control group, with stress being induced by the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Salivary cortisol levels were assessed repeatedly throughout the experiment to validate stress effects. The results support previous evidence indicating complex effects of stress on different types of memory: A pronounced working memory deficit was associated with exposure to stress. No performance differences between groups of stressed and unstressed subjects were observed in verbal explicit memory (but note that learning and recall took place within 1 h and immediately following stress) or in implicit memory for neutral stimuli. Stress enhanced classical conditioning for negative but not positive stimuli. In addition, stress improved spatial explicit memory. These results reinforce the view that acute stress can be highly disruptive for working memory processing. They provide new evidence for the facilitating effects of stress on implicit memory for negative emotional materials. Our findings are discussed with respect to their potential relevance for psychiatric disorders, such as post traumatic stress disorder.