Informational efficiency of the European Union emission allowance market

This thesis studies the informational efficiency of the European Union emission allowance (EUA) market. In an efficient market, the market price is unpredictable and profits above average are impossible in the long run. The main research problem is does the EUA price follow a random walk. The method is an econometric analysis of the price series, which includes an autocorrelation coefficient test and a variance ratio test. The results reveal that the price series is autocorrelated and therefore a nonrandom walk. In order to find out the extent of predictability, the price series is modelled with an autoregressive model. The conclusion is that the EUA price is autocorrelated only to a small degree and that the predictability cannot be used to make extra profits. The EUA market is therefore considered informationally efficient, although the price series does not fulfill the requirements of a random walk. A market review supports the conclusion, but it is clear that the maturing of the market is still in process.

To Greta: The Biography of Kurt Tauber 1914-1995

The memoir contains poems, eulogies and family photos and was written in 1995 in Connecticut. Recollections of the author's childhood in an orthodox Jewish family in the Leopoldstadt, the second district in Vienna. He was the third of four children. His father was a businessman who was dealing with clothing and textile. Kurt was enrolled in the same class as his older brother Hans at Gymnasium. Memories of his Bar Mitzvah celebration. Cello lessons and concerts with his brother Hans. After graduation Kurt started to study medicine at the Anatomic Institute of Julius Tandler at the Vienna University. Member of the liberal medical students' union "Wiener Mediziner". Acquaintance with his future-wife Greta. Skiing trip in the mountains. Antisemitic attacks at University, particularly within the faculties of law and medicine. Arrest under the false accusation of distributing illegal literature. In January 1938 Greta and Kurt Tauber were married. Worsening of political situation and rising of the illegal Nazi movement in Austria. Recollections of the "Anschluss" (Nazi take-over) in March 1938. Affidavit for Greta and Kurt from her brother in the United States. In June 1938 they went to London, where they waited for their visas to the US. Fervent attempts to arrange exit permits for their families in Vienna. Greta and Kurt Tauber arrived in New York in October of 1938. Difficult start at the beginning. Kurt started to work in a bakery. Greta and Kurt moved to a small apartment in the Lower East Side. Move to Queens with Greta's parents. Kurt's parents arrived in 1940 and moved to Washington Heights. Kurt and Greta started a baking business in Kew Gardens, Queens. Birth of their daughters Judy in 1941 and Ellen in 1944. Recollections of Passover family celebrations and vacations in the mountains and at Fleischmann's in the Catskills. Description of business encounters and family events, such as the birth of their grandchildren. Journey to Israel. Retirement and

Emotional climate of a pre-service science teacher education class in Bhutan

This study explored pre-service secondary science teachers’ perceptions of classroom emotional climate in the context of the Bhutanese macro-social policy of Gross National Happiness. Drawing upon sociological perspectives of human emotions and using Interaction Ritual Theory this study investigated how pre-service science teachers may be supported in their professional development. It was a multi-method study involving video and audio recordings of teaching episodes supported by interviews and the researcher’s diary. Students also registered their perceptions of the emotional climate of their classroom at 3-minute intervals using audience response technology. In this way, emotional events were identified for video analysis. The findings of this study highlighted that the activities pre-service teachers engaged in matter to them. Positive emotional climate was identified in activities involving students’ presentations using video clips and models, coteaching, and interactive whole class discussions. Decreases in emotional climate were identified during formal lectures and when unprepared presenters led presentations. Emotions such as frustration and disappointment characterized classes with negative emotional climate. The enabling conditions to sustain a positive emotional climate are identified. Implications for sustaining macro-social policy about Gross National Happiness are considered in light of the climate that develops in science teacher education classes.

Anfang - Mitte - Ende 1893-1914

Childhood in traditional Jewish atmosphere; description of general and Jewish life in Frankfurt am Main; family life; education in Jewish school "Philantropin"; university education in Heidelberg, Leipzig, Munich, Berlin and Marburg; military service prior to World War I.

FactCheck: is our grocery market one of the most concentrated in the world?

With one of the most concentrated food retail sectors in the world dominated by the supermarket duopoly, the barriers to making it easy to buy local food in Australia are significant. It is time for Australia to learn from the example of other countries and provide assistance to rebuild local food systems.” – The Australian Greens. However, the percentage of market share controlled by the two major supermarkets, Coles and Woolworths, depends on which groceries you include.

Move over Aldi, Lidl may be next for Australian market

If speculation that German discount supermarket, Lidl, is preparing to launch into the Australian market is correct, it will be the biggest shake up in the grocery sector since Aldi’s arrival in 2001. With potentially five viable combatants in the mix, the way we shop and how supermarkets and suppliers compete, will fundamentally change.

Jacob Mestel 1914-1958

Correspondence with individuals: Jacob Ben-Ami, Ossip Dymow, Ovsei Liubomirskii, Kalman Marmor, Nachman Meisel, Melech Ravitch, Dov Sadan, Michael Weichert and Zalman Zylbercweig. Correspondence with organizations: Hebrew Actors' Union, IKUF, YIVO. Manuscripts of plays collected by Mestel as director, including adaptations by Mestel. Mestel's writings: manuscripts of poems, plays, essays, articles, notes, translations. Theater production materials: scripts with Mestel's direction notes, prop and set design notes. Miscellaneous theater materials, including course notes, theater programs. Clippings: Mestel's writings, biographical articles, reviews of performances. Family correspondence and personal papers including papers of Sara Kindman-Mestel. Photographs relating to Yiddish theater in New York, 1930s-1950s.

Louis Kraft papers undated, 1914-1975.

Correspondence, memoranda, minutes, reports, official documents and other similar materials pertaining to Kraft's long career in Jewish Social Service at the JWB, the JDC and related organizations.

Who am I? Developing pre-service teacher identity in a digital world

The notions of identity and teacher education have attracted considerable research over the years, revealing a strong correlation between teacher beliefs and practices and the resultant impact on pedagogical practices in the classroom. In an era where the use of digital technologies should be synonymous with teacher pedagogical practices and transforming education, there is a growing need for pre-service teachers to develop an identity that resonates with pedagogical practices that engage and connect with students in a positive and productive way. With many educational institutions also mandating that educators use digital technologies as a tool to support and enhance teaching, pre-service teacher education needs to ensure that students understand and develop a positive identity within this digital world. Current literature acknowledges that many educators adopt digital technologies in the classroom without sometimes fully understanding its scope or impact. It is within this context that this paper reports on a three-year study of first year pre-service education students and their understanding of identity in a digital world. More specifically, the study identifies how students currently use social and digital media in their personal and professional lives to identify themselves online in order to promote a positive image. The study also seeks to identify how these technologies and an understanding of identity can be utilised to promote a positive first year experience.

Pre-emptive breeding to combine superior eating quality in tropical super sweet corn with resistance to major diseases

This report presents the process and outcomes of a five year project, which employed genetics and breeding approach for integrating disease resistance,agronomy and quality traits that enhances sustainable productivity improvement in sweet corn production. The report outlines a molecular markers based approach to introgress quantitative traits loci that are believed to contribute to resistance to downy mildew, a potentially devastating disease that threatens sweet corn and other similar crops. It also details the approach followed to integrate resistances for other major diseases such as southern rust (caused by Puccinia polysora Underw), Northern Corn Leaf Blight (Exserohilum turcicum) with improved agronomy and eating quality. The report explains the importance of heterosis (hybrid vigour) and combining ability in the development of useful sweet corn hybrids. It also explains the relevance of parental performance to predict its breeding value and the performance of its hybrids.

Small firm internet adoption: A market oriented approach

Fundamental to the development of new customer value offerings via web-based commerce is a small firm's ability to strategically acquire and exploit knowledge. The focus of this paper is the empirical testing of a normative web-based commerce adoption model developed from a review of the extant literature related to electronic marketing, the Internet and the diffusion of new innovations. A preliminary test of the model's theoretical contentions lent support to its overall focus, but found that the firm's existing learning capabilities were diminished during the adoption of web-based commerce. Consequently, sub-optimal adoption outcomes were associated with insufficient knowledge development.

An improved simulation model to predict pre-harvest aflatoxin risk in maize

Aflatoxin is a potent carcinogen produced by Aspergillus flavus, which frequently contaminates maize (Zea mays L.) in the field between 40° north and 40° south latitudes. A mechanistic model to predict risk of pre-harvest contamination could assist in management of this very harmful mycotoxin. In this study we describe an aflatoxin risk prediction model which is integrated with the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) modelling framework. The model computes a temperature function for A. flavus growth and aflatoxin production using a set of three cardinal temperatures determined in the laboratory using culture medium and intact grains. These cardinal temperatures were 11.5 °C as base, 32.5 °C as optimum and 42.5 °C as maximum. The model used a low (≤0.2) crop water supply to demand ratio—an index of drought during the grain filling stage to simulate maize crop's susceptibility to A. flavus growth and aflatoxin production. When this low threshold of the index was reached the model converted the temperature function into an aflatoxin risk index (ARI) to represent the risk of aflatoxin contamination. The model was applied to simulate ARI for two commercial maize hybrids, H513 and H614D, grown in five multi-location field trials in Kenya using site specific agronomy, weather and soil parameters. The observed mean aflatoxin contamination in these trials varied from <1 to 7143 ppb. ARI simulated by the model explained 99% of the variation (p ≤ 0.001) in a linear relationship with the mean observed aflatoxin contamination. The strong relationship between ARI and aflatoxin contamination suggests that the model could be applied to map risk prone areas and to monitor in-season risk for genotypes and soils parameterized for APSIM.