Conclusion : on multiple levels of analysis, context, contingency and capital

In this concluding chapter, we bring together the threads and reflections on the chapters contained in this text and show how they relate to multi-level issues. The book has focused on the world of Human Resource Management (HRM) and the systems and practices it must put in place to foster innovation. Many of the contributions argue that in order to bring innovation about, organisations have to think carefully about the way in which they will integrate what is, in practice, organisationally relevant — but socially distributed — knowledge. They need to build a series of knowledge-intensive activities and networks, both within their own boundaries and across other important external inter-relationships. In so doing, they help to co-ordinate important information structures. They have, in effect, to find ways of enabling people to collaborate with each other at lower cost, by reducing both the costs of their co-ordination and the levels of unproductive search activity. They have to engineer these behaviours by reducing the risks for people that might be associated with incorrect ideas and help individuals, teams and business units to advance incomplete ideas that are so often difficult to codify. In short, a range of intangible assets must flow more rapidly throughout the organisation and an appropriate balance must be found between the rewards and incentives associated with creativity, novelty and innovation, versus the risks that innovation may also bring.

Temporal and spatio-temporal regimes of generation of Raman fibre lasers

Temporal dynamics of Raman fibre lasers tend to have very complex nature, owing to great cavity lengths and high nonlinearity, being stochastic on short time scales and quasi-continuous on longer time scales. Generally fibre laser intensity dynamics is represented by one-dimensional time-series, which in case of quasi-continuous wave generation in Raman fibre lasers gives little insight into the processes underlying the operation of a laser. New methods of analysis and data representation could help to uncover the underlying physical processes, understand the dynamics or improve the performance of the system. Using intrinsic periodicity of laser radiation, one dimensional intensity time series of a Raman fibre laser was analysed over fast and slow variation time. This allowed to experimentally observe various spatio-temporal regimes of generation, such as laminar, turbulent, partial mode-lock, as well as transitions between them and identify the mechanisms responsible for the transitions. Great cavity length and high nonlinearity also make it difficult to achieve stable high repetition rate mode-locking in Raman fibre lasers. Using Faraday parametric instability in extremely simple linear cavity experimental configuration, a very high order harmonic mode-locking was achieved in ò.ò kmlong Raman fibre laser. The maximum achieved pulse repetition rate was 12 GHz, with 7.3 ps long Gaussian shaped pulses. There is a new type of random lasers – random distributed feedback Raman fibre laser, which temporal properties cannot be controlled by conventionalmode-locking or Q-switch techniques and mechanisms. By adjusting the pump configuration, a very stable pulsed operation of random distributed feedback Raman fibre laser was achieved. Pulse duration varied in the range from 50 to 200 μs depending on the pump power and the cavity length. Pulse repetition rate scaling on the parameters of the system was experimentally identified.

Tőkeallokációs módszerek és tulajdonságaik a gyakorlatban (Methods of capital allocation and their characteristics in practice)

A pénzügyekben mind elméletileg, mind az alkalmazások szempontjából fontos kérdés a tőkeallokáció. Hogyan osszuk szét egy adott portfólió kockázatát annak alportfóliói között? Miként tartalékoljunk tőkét a fennálló kockázatok fedezetére, és a tartalékokat hogyan rendeljük az üzleti egységekhez? A tőkeallokáció vizsgálatára axiomatikus megközelítést alkalmazunk, tehát alapvető tulajdonságok megkövetelésével dolgozunk. Cikkünk kiindulópontja Csóka-Pintér [2010] azon eredménye, hogy a koherens kockázati mértékek axiómái, valamint a tőkeallokációra vonatkozó méltányossági, ösztönzési és stabilitási követelmények nincsenek összhangban egymással. Ebben a cikkben analitikus és szimulációs eszközökkel vizsgáljuk ezeket a követelményeket. A gyakorlati alkalmazások során használt, illetve az elméleti szempontból érdekes tőkeallokációs módszereket is elemezzük. A cikk fő következtetése, hogy a Csóka-Pintér [2010] által felvetett probléma gyakorlati szempontból is releváns, tehát az nemcsak az elméleti vizsgálatok során merül fel, hanem igen sokszor előforduló és gyakorlati probléma. A cikk további eredménye, hogy a vizsgált tőkeallokációs módszerek jellemzésével segítséget nyújt az alkalmazóknak a különböző módszerek közötti választáshoz. / === / Risk capital allocation in finance is important theoretically and also in practical applications. How can the risk of a portfolio be shared among its sub-portfolios? How should the capital reserves be set to cover risks, and how should the reserves be assigned to the business units? The study uses an axiomatic approach to analyse risk capital allocation, by working with requiring basic properties. The starting point is a 2010 study by Csoka and Pinter (2010), who showed that the axioms of coherent measures of risk are not compatible with some fairness, incentive compatibility and stability requirements of risk allocation. This paper discusses these requirements using analytical and simulation tools. It analyses methods used in practical applications that have theoretically interesting properties. The main conclusion is that the problems identified in Csoka and Pinter (2010) remain relevant in practical applications, so that it is not just a theoretical issue, it is a common practical problem. A further contribution is made because analysis of risk allocation methods helps practitioners choose among the different methods available.

A cash flow-kimutatás szabályozásainak nemzetközi összehasonlítása és csoportosítása (International comparison and classification of Cash Flow Statement regulations)

Az egyes nemzetek számviteli szabályozásának vizsgálatánál az adott ország sajátosságaiból eredően részben eltérő szabályozások alakultak ki. Az induktív megközelítésű vizsgálatok jellemzően a szabályozási kérdések széles körét fogják át, de csak néhány tényező mentén közelítve. A cash flow-kimutatások témakörénél a legtöbbször csak azt nézték, hogy van-e előírás a kimutatás elkészítésére, de a részletekkel már kevésbé foglalkoztak. Ebből adódóan e területen viszonylag kis különbséget mutattak ki ezek a felmérések. A szerző kutatása szerint a nemzeti cash flow-kimutatások szabályozásának részleteiben eltérések tapasztalhatók, és ezek alapján a nemzetek klaszterelemzéssel hierarchikusan csoportokba rendezhetők. _____ Research has found that as a result of their particularities, different countries have established partly different accounting frameworks. Studies with inductive approaches typically encompass a wide range of regulatory issues, but based on a limited number of factors only. In the case of Statements of Cash Flows, most studies have so far only examined the existence of rules governing the presentation of the statement, without an in-depth analysis of the details. Therefore, these studies only found relatively minor differences in this field. The author’s research shows that many differences exist in the details of national Cash Flow Statement regulations, which makes it possible to classify the countries in groups using the method of hierarchical clustering.

Liquidity and asset pricing: A comparison between three-factor and three-moment capital asset pricing models

Liquidity is an important attribute of an asset that investors would like to take into consideration when making investment decisions. However, the previous empirical evidence whether liquidity is a determinant of stock return is not unanimous. This dissertation provides a very comprehensive study about the role of liquidity in asset pricing using the Fama-French (1993) three-factor and Kraus and Litzenberger (1976) three-moment CAPM as models for risk adjustment. The relationship between liquidity and well-known determinants of stock returns such as size and book-to-market are also investigated. This study examines the liquidity and asset pricing issues for both intertemporal as well as cross-sectional data. ^ The results indicate an existence of a liquidity premium, i.e., less liquid stocks would demand higher rate of return than more liquid stocks. More specifically, a drop of 1 percent in liquidity is associated with a higher rate of return of about 2 to 3 basis points per month. Further investigation reveals that neither the Fama-French three-factor model nor the three-moment CAPM captures the liquidity premium. Finally, the results show that well-known determinants of stock return such as size and book-to-market do not serve as proxy for liquidity. ^ Overall, this dissertation shows that a liquidity premium exists in the stock market and that liquidity is a distinct effect, and is not influenced by the presence of non-market factors, market factors and other stock characteristics.^

Risk factors of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases among Jamaican adolescents

Purpose. The purpose of the study was to examine Jamaican adolescents in a school setting, for risk factors of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Methods. A descriptive epidemiological cross-sectional study of 276 Jamaican adolescents (112 males and 164 females) ages 14-19 years (15.6±1.2), randomly selected from grades 9-12 from ten high schools on the island. Thirteen risk factors were examined. Risk factors were compared with BMI levels and demographics. A sub-study validated finger prick testing of fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, and HbA1c versus venous testing in 59 subjects. Results. Prevalence of overweight was 33.0% (n=91) with mean BMI of 23.74±7.74. Approximately 66.7% of subjects reported ≥ 3 risk factors. The number of T2DM and CVDs risk factors increased for subjects with BMI above 25. One third of the overweight subjects were classified with the metabolic syndrome. High BMI was associated with high waist circumference (r = .767, p < .01), high waist-to-hip ratio (r = .180, p < .01), presence of Acanthosis Nigricans (r = .657, p < .01), high total cholesterol (r = .158, p < .01), family history of T2DM (r = .157, p < .01), and hypertension (r = .422, p < .01). Regression analyses significantly predicted gender and physical activity (p < .001), and total number of risk factors for T2DM and CVDs (p < .001). Paired samples t-tests revealed no significant differences between methods of testing for TC and HbA1c (p < .01) but not for FBG (p > .05). Percentage bias for the methods of blood testing met the reference standards for fasting blood glucose but not for total cholesterol and HbA1c. Bland Altman tests of agreement between the two methods indicated good agreement for all three tests. Conclusion. Jamaican adolescents are at high risk for T2DM and CVDs as seen in other study populations. Effective programs to prevent T2DM and CVDs are needed. Family history of diseases, anthropometric measures, and gender identified more subjects at risk than did the biochemical measures. Comparison between finger prick and venous blood methods suggested that finger prick is an adequate method to screen for risk factors in children and adolescents.

Exploring the goals, content, and methods of entrepreneurship professors: A multiple case study

Along with the accumulation of evidence supporting the role of entrepreneurship in economic development (Acs & Armington, 2006; Kuratko, 2005, Reynolds, 2007), governments have persisted in encouraging people to become entrepreneurs (Acs & Stough, 2008; Brannback & Carsrud, 2008). These efforts have tried to reproduce the conditions under which entrepreneurship emerges. One of these conditions is to develop entrepreneurial skills among students and scientists (Fan & Foo, 2004). Entrepreneurship education within higher education has experienced a remarkable expansion in the last 20 years (Green, 2008). To develop entrepreneurial skills among students, scholars have proposed different teaching approaches. However, no clear relationship has been demonstrated between entrepreneurship education, learning outcomes, and business creation (Hostager & Decker, 1999). Despite policy makers demands for more accountability from educational institutions (Klimoski, 2007) and entrepreneurship instructors demands for consistency about what should be taught and how (Maidment, 2009), the appropriate content for entrepreneurship programs remains under constant discussion (Solomon, 2007). Entrepreneurship education is still in its infancy, professors propose diverse teaching goals and radically different teaching methods. This represents an obstacle to development of foundational and consistent curricula across the board (Cone, 2008). Entrepreneurship education is in need of a better conceptualization of the learning outcomes pursued in order to develop consistent curriculum. Many schools do not have enough qualified faculty to meet the growing student demand and a consistent curriculum is needed for faculty development. Entrepreneurship instructors and their teaching practices are of interest because they have a role in producing the entrepreneurs needed to grow the economy. This study was designed to understand instructors’ perspectives and actions related to their teaching. The sample studied consisted of eight college and university entrepreneurship instructors. Cases met predetermined criteria of importance followed maximum variation strategies. Results suggest that teaching content were consistent across participants while different teaching goals were identified: some instructors inspire and develop general skills of students while others envision the creation of a real business as the major outcome of their course. A relationship between methods reported by instructors and their disciplinary background, teaching perspective, and entrepreneurial experience was found.

A retrospective-longitudinal examination of the relationship between apportionment of seat time in community-college algebra courses and student academic performance

During the past decade, there has been a dramatic increase by postsecondary institutions in providing academic programs and course offerings in a multitude of formats and venues (Biemiller, 2009; Kucsera & Zimmaro, 2010; Lang, 2009; Mangan, 2008). Strategies pertaining to reapportionment of course-delivery seat time have been a major facet of these institutional initiatives; most notably, within many open-door 2-year colleges. Often, these enrollment-management decisions are driven by the desire to increase market-share, optimize the usage of finite facility capacity, and contain costs, especially during these economically turbulent times. So, while enrollments have surged to the point where nearly one in three 18-to-24 year-old U.S. undergraduates are community college students (Pew Research Center, 2009), graduation rates, on average, still remain distressingly low (Complete College America, 2011). Among the learning-theory constructs related to seat-time reapportionment efforts is the cognitive phenomenon commonly referred to as the spacing effect, the degree to which learning is enhanced by a series of shorter, separated sessions as opposed to fewer, more massed episodes. This ex post facto study explored whether seat time in a postsecondary developmental-level algebra course is significantly related to: course success; course-enrollment persistence; and, longitudinally, the time to successfully complete a general-education-level mathematics course. Hierarchical logistic regression and discrete-time survival analysis were used to perform a multi-level, multivariable analysis of a student cohort (N = 3,284) enrolled at a large, multi-campus, urban community college. The subjects were retrospectively tracked over a 2-year longitudinal period. The study found that students in long seat-time classes tended to withdraw earlier and more often than did their peers in short seat-time classes (p < .05). Additionally, a model comprised of nine statistically significant covariates (all with p-values less than .01) was constructed. However, no longitudinal seat-time group differences were detected nor was there sufficient statistical evidence to conclude that seat time was predictive of developmental-level course success. A principal aim of this study was to demonstrate—to educational leaders, researchers, and institutional-research/business-intelligence professionals—the advantages and computational practicability of survival analysis, an underused but more powerful way to investigate changes in students over time.

The World Trade Organization, competition policy, and developing countries: A cross -country examination of domestic policy actions

This dissertation addresses the following research question: in a particular policy area, why do countries that display unanimity in their international policy behavior diverge from each other in their domestic policy actions? I address this question in the context of the divergent domestic competition policy actions undertaken by developing countries during the period 1996-2007, after these countries had quite conspicuously displayed near-unanimity in opposing this policy measure at the World Trade Organization (WTO). This divergence is puzzling because (a) it does not align with their near-unanimous behavior at the WTO over competition policy and (b) it is at variance with the objectives of their international opposition to this policy at the WTO. Using an interdisciplinary approach, this dissertation examines the factors responsible for this divergence in the domestic competition policy actions of developing countries. ^ The theoretical structure employed in this study is the classic second-image-reversed framework in international relations theory that focuses on the domestic developments in various countries following an international development. Methodologically, I employ both quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis to ascertain the nature of the relationship between the dependent variable and the eight explanatory variables that were identified from existing literature. The data on some of the key variables used in this dissertation was uniquely created over a multi-year period through extensive online research and represents the most comprehensive and updated dataset currently available. ^ The quantitative results obtained from logistic regression using data on 131 countries point toward the significant role played by international organizations in engineering change in this policy area in developing countries. The qualitative analysis consisting of three country case studies illuminate the channels of influence of the explanatory variables and highlight the role of domestic-level factors in these three carefully selected countries. After integrating the findings from the quantitative and qualitative analyses, I conclude that a mix of international- and domestic-level variables explains the divergence in domestic competition policy actions among developing countries. My findings also confirm the argument of the second-image-reversed framework that, given an international development or situation, the policy choices that states make can differ from each other and are mediated by domestic-level factors. ^

A Comparison Between Graphene and WS2 as Solid Lubricant Additives to Aluminum for Automobile Applications

The purpose of this thesis was to compare graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) and WS2 as solid lubricant additives to aluminum in order to reduce friction and wear. The central hypothesis of this work relied on lubricating properties of 2D materials, which consist layers that slip under a shear force. Two aluminum composites were made (Al-2 vol.% GNP and Al-2 vol.% WS2) by spark plasma sintering. Tribological properties were evaluated by ball-on-disk wear tests at room temperature (RT) and 200°C. WS2 not only presented the lowest COF (0.66) but also improved the wear resistance of aluminum by 54% at RT. Al-2 vol.% GNP composite displayed poor densification (91%) and low hardness resulting in poor wear resistance. The wear rate of Al-2 vol.% GNP composite increased by 233% at RT and 48% at 200°C as compared to pure aluminum. GNP addition also resulted in lower COF (0.79) as compared to pure aluminum (0.87).

Results of analysis and model simulation of the bed profiles

Bedforms such as dunes and ripples are ubiquitous in rivers and coastal seas, and commonly described as triangular shapes from which height and length are calculated to estimate hydrodynamic and sediment dynamic parameters. Natural bedforms, however, present a far more complicated morphology; the difference between natural bedform shape and the often assumed triangular shape is usually neglected, and how this may affect the flow is unknown. This study investigates the shapes of natural bedforms and how they influence flow and shear stress, based on four datasets extracted from earlier studies on two rivers (the Rio Paraná in Argentina, and the Lower Rhine in The Netherlands). The most commonly occurring morphological elements are a sinusoidal stoss side made of one segment and a lee side made of two segments, a gently sloping upper lee side and a relatively steep (6 to 21°) slip face. A non-hydrostatic numerical model, set up using Delft3D, served to simulate the flow over fixed bedforms with various morphologies derived from the identified morphological elements. Both shear stress and turbulence increase with increasing slip face angle and are only marginally affected by the dimensions and positions of the upper and lower lee side. The average slip face angle determined from the bed profiles is 14°, over which there is no permanent flow separation. Shear stress and turbulence above natural bedforms are higher than above a flat bed but much lower than over the often assumed 30° lee side angle.

A study of methods used to analyze total oil and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in produced water: steps towards the validation of molecularly imprinted polymers for use in marine environmetns

Produced water is a by-product of offshore oil and gas production, and is released in large volumes when platforms are actively processing crude oil. Some pollutants are not typically removed by conventional oil/water separation methods and are discharged with produced water. Oil and grease can be found dispersed in produced water in the form of tiny droplets, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are commonly found dissolved in produced water. Both can have acute and chronic toxic effects in marine environments even at low exposure levels. The analysis of the dissolved and dispersed phases are a priority, but effort is required to meet the necessary detection limits. There are several methods for the analysis of produced water for dispersed oil and dissolved PAHs, all of which have advantages and disadvantages. In this work, EPA Method 1664 and APHA Method 5520 C for the determination of oil and grease will be examined and compared. For the detection of PAHs, EPA Method 525 and PAH MIPs will be compared, and results evaluated. APHA Method 5520 C Partition-Infrared Method is a liquid-liquid extraction procedure with IR determination of oil and grease. For analysis on spiked samples of artificial seawater, extraction efficiency ranged from 85 – 97%. Linearity was achieved in the range of 5 – 500 mg/L. This is a single-wavelength method and is unsuitable for quantification of aromatics and other compounds that lack sp³-hybridized carbon atoms. EPA Method 1664 is the liquid-liquid extraction of oil and grease from water samples followed by gravimetric determination. When distilled water spiked with reference oil was extracted by this procedure, extraction efficiency ranged from 28.4 – 86.2%, and %RSD ranged from 7.68 – 38.0%. EPA Method 525 uses solid phase extraction with analysis by GC-MS, and was performed on distilled water and water from St. John’s Harbour, all spiked with naphthalene, fluorene, phenanthrene, and pyrene. The limits of detection in harbour water were 0.144, 3.82, 0.119, and 0.153 g/L respectively. Linearity was obtained in the range of 0.5-10 g/L, and %RSD ranged from 0.36% (fluorene) to 46% (pyrene). Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are sorbent materials made selective by polymerizing functional monomers and crosslinkers in the presence of a template molecule, usually the analytes of interest or related compounds. They can adsorb and concentrate PAHs from aqueous environments and are combined with methods of analysis including GC-MS, LC-UV-Vis, and desorption electrospray ionization (DESI)- MS. This work examines MIP-based methods as well as those methods previously mentioned which are currently used by the oil and gas industry and government environmental agencies. MIPs are shown to give results consistent with other methods, and are a low-cost alternative improving ease, throughput, and sensitivity. PAH MIPs were used to determine naphthalene spiked into ASTM artificial seawater, as well as produced water from an offshore oil and gas operation. Linearity was achieved in the range studied (0.5 – 5 mg/L) for both matrices, with R² = 0.936 for seawater and R² = 0.819 for produced water. The %RSD for seawater ranged from 6.58 – 50.5% and for produced water, from 8.19 – 79.6%.

(Table 1) Age comparison between the GPTS and ODP Site 181-1123 age model for each chron base within the Middle Miocene section

Today the deep western boundary current (DWBC) east of New Zealand is the most important route for deep water entering the Pacific Ocean. Large-scale changes in deep water circulation patterns are thought to have been associated with the development of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) close to the main source of bottom water for the DWBC. Here we reconstruct the changing speed of the southwest Pacific DWBC during the middle Miocene from ~15.5-12.5 Ma, a period of significant global ice accumulation associated with EAIS growth. Sortable silt mean grain sizes from Ocean Drilling Program Site 1123 reveal variability in the speed of the Pacific inflow on the timescale of the 41 kyr orbital obliquity cycle. Similar orbital period flow changes have recently been demonstrated for the Pleistocene epoch. Collectively, these observations suggest that a strong coupling between changes in the speed of the deep Pacific inflow and high-latitude climate forcing may have been a persistent feature of the global thermohaline circulation system for at least the past 15 Myr. Furthermore, long-term changes in flow speed suggest an intensification of the DWBC under an inferred increase in Southern Component Water production. This occurred at the same time as decreasing Tethyan outflow and major EAIS growth between ~15.5 and 13.5 Ma. These results provide evidence that a major component of the deep thermohaline circulation was associated with the middle Miocene growth of the EAIS and support the view that this time interval represents an important step in the development of the Neogene icehouse climate.

Comparison Between Leaded and Nonleaded Gasoline as Used in Iowa State Highway Commission Vehicles, HR-1002, 1972

The overall objective of this experimental program was to obtain quantitative comparisons between leaded and nonleaded gasolines as used in a variety of Iowa State Highway Connnission vehicles. These quantitative comparisons were to be made in terms of exhaust emissions, maintenance costs and fuel economy.

Assessing the Association between Receipt of Antimalarial Drugs and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes using Pooled Data

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-08