Modern architectural designs and details : a monthly publication, giving details of exterior and interior woodwork drawn to scale, gelatine plates of late work by prominent architects, and such other designs and details as are likely to prove useful in the practical work of an architect or builder.

Mode of access: Internet.

The timber-tree improved, or, The best practical methods of improving different lands with proper timber : and those fruit-trees whose woods make the most profitable returns to their owners, according to the newest inventions, by the plough, harrow, and other methods most approved of : in two parts /

Goldsmiths'-Kress no. 08045.

Effect of increased water supply on net returns to dairy farms in Sonsonate, El Salvador /

Contributing department : Economics.

Using monthly returns to model conditional heteroscedasticity

This empirical study examines the extent of non-linearity in a multivariate model of monthly financial series. To capture the conditional heteroscedasticity in the series, both the GARCH(1,1) and GARCH(1,1)-in-mean models are employed. The conditional errors are assumed to follow the normal and Student-t distributions. The non-linearity in the residuals of a standard OLS regression are also assessed. It is found that the OLS residuals as well as conditional errors of the GARCH models exhibit strong non-linearity. Under the Student density, the extent of non-linearity in the GARCH conditional errors was generally similar to those of the standard OLS. The GARCH-in-mean regression generated the worse out-of-sample forecasts.

The sensitivity of US banks' stock returns to interest and exchange rate changes

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of foreign exchange and interest rate changes on US banks’ stock returns. Design/methodology/approach – The approach employs an EGARCH model to account for the ARCH effects in daily returns. Most prior studies have used standard OLS estimation methods with the result that the presence of ARCH effects would have affected estimation efficiency. For comparative purposes, the standard OLS estimation method is also used to measure sensitivity. Findings – The findings are as follows: under the conditional t-distributional assumption, the EGARCH model generated a much better fit to the data although the goodness-of-fit of the model is not entirely satisfactory; the market index return accounts for most of the variation in stock returns at both the individual bank and portfolio levels; and the degree of sensitivity of the stock returns to interest rate and FX rate changes is not very pronounced despite the use of high frequency data. Earlier results had indicated that daily data provided greater evidence of exposure sensitivity. Practical implications – Assuming that banks do not hedge perfectly, these findings have important financial implications as they suggest that the hedging policies of the banks are not reflected in their stock prices. Alternatively, it is possible that different GARCH-type models might be more appropriate when modelling high frequency returns. Originality/value – The paper contributes to existing knowledge in the area by showing that ARCH effects do impact on measures of sensitivity.

Introduction to the theory and application of data envelopment analysis:a foundation text with integrated software

The book aims to introduce the reader to DEA in the most accessible manner possible. It is specifically aimed at those who have had no prior exposure to DEA and wish to learn its essentials, how it works, its key uses, and the mechanics of using it. The latter will include using DEA software. Students on degree or training courses will find the book especially helpful. The same is true of practitioners engaging in comparative efficiency assessments and performance management within their organisation. Examples are used throughout the book to help the reader consolidate the concepts covered. Table of content: List of Tables. List of Figures. Preface. Abbreviations. 1. Introduction to Performance Measurement. 2. Definitions of Efficiency and Related Measures. 3. Data Envelopment Analysis Under Constant Returns to Scale: Basic Principles. 4. Data Envelopment Analysis under Constant Returns to Scale: General Models. 5. Using Data Envelopment Analysis in Practice. 6. Data Envelopment Analysis under Variable Returns to Scale. 7. Assessing Policy Effectiveness and Productivity Change Using DEA. 8. Incorporating Value Judgements in DEA Assessments. 9. Extensions to Basic DEA Models. 10. A Limited User Guide for Warwick DEA Software. Author Index. Topic Index. References.

Malmquist indexes using a geometric distance function (GDF):application to a sample of Portuguese bank branches

Traditional approaches to calculate total factor productivity (TFP) change through Malmquist indexes rely on distance functions. In this paper we show that the use of distance functions as a means to calculate TFP change may introduce some bias in the analysis, and therefore we propose a procedure that calculates TFP change through observed values only. Our total TFP change is then decomposed into efficiency change, technological change, and a residual effect. This decomposition makes use of a non-oriented measure in order to avoid problems associated with the traditional use of radial oriented measures, especially when variable returns to scale technologies are to be compared. The proposed approach is applied in this paper to a sample of Portuguese bank branches.

A linear relational DEA model to evaluate two-stage processes with shared inputs

Two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) efficiency models identify the efficient frontier of a two-stage production process. In some two-stage processes, the inputs to the first stage are shared by the second stage, known as shared inputs. This paper proposes a new relational linear DEA model for dealing with measuring the efficiency score of two-stage processes with shared inputs under constant returns-to-scale assumption. Two case studies of banking industry and university operations are taken as two examples to illustrate the potential applications of the proposed approach.

Scale-dependent to scale-free: daily behavioural switching and optimized searching in a marine predator

Highlights • We study diel behavioural differences in activity patterns in bigeye tuna. • Daytime activity patterns showed scale free movements consistent with searching. • Night-time activity showed simpler movements indicative of rich patch exploitation. • The results confirm predictions of the Lévy foraging hypothesis.

Scale-dependent to scale-free: daily behavioural switching and optimized searching in a marine predator

Highlights • We study diel behavioural differences in activity patterns in bigeye tuna. • Daytime activity patterns showed scale free movements consistent with searching. • Night-time activity showed simpler movements indicative of rich patch exploitation. • The results confirm predictions of the Lévy foraging hypothesis.

Returns to shareholder activism: Evidence from a clinical study of the hermes UK focus fund

This article reports a unique analysis of private engagements by an activist fund. It is based on data made available to us by Hermes, the fund manager owned by the British Telecom Pension Scheme, on engagements with management in companies targeted by its UK Focus Fund. In contrast with most previous studies of activism, we report that the fund executes shareholder activism predominantly through private interventions that would be unobservable in studies purely relying on public information. The fund substantially outperforms benchmarks and we estimate that abnormal returns are largely associated with engagements rather than stock picking. © The Author 2008.

Análise Envoltória de Dados na avaliação de hospitais públicos nas capitais brasileiras

OBJETIVO: Aplicar a metodologia de Análise Envoltória de Dados na avaliação do desempenho de hospitais públicos em termos das internações em suas clínicas médicas. MÉTODOS: A eficiência dos hospitais foi medida a partir do desempenho de unidades de decisão nas variáveis estudadas para cada hospital, no ano 2000. Foram analisados dados referentes às internações em clínica médica dos hospitais SUS das capitais estaduais do Brasil e Distrito Federal (taxas de mortalidade e tempo médio de internação, valor médio da internação e perfil de doenças). A técnica de análise de correlação canônica foi introduzida na restrição do intervalo de variação das variáveis. O modelo Constant Returns to Scale foi utilizado para gerar escores que permitissem avaliar a eficiência das unidades. A partir dos escores obtidos, os municípios foram classificados de acordo com seu desempenho relativo nas variáveis analisadas. Procurou-se correlação entre os escores de classificação com variáveis exógenas: despesas com programas de saúde básica por habitante e índice de desenvolvimento humano das capitais. RESULTADOS: Nos hospitais estudados se destacaram as doenças do aparelho circulatório (23,6% das internações); e a taxa de mortalidade foi de 10,3% das internações. Das 27 capitais, quatro alcançaram 100% de eficiência (Palmas, Macapá, Teresina e Goiânia), sete ficaram entre 85% e 100%, dez entre 70% e 85% e dez com menos de 70%. CONCLUSÕES: A ferramenta utilizada mostrou ser aplicável para a avaliação de desempenho de hospitais públicos, revelando a grande variabilidade entre as capitais brasileiras, no que se refere às internações em clínica médica.