Initial public offerings of energy companies

This study analyses 158 energy company initial public offerings (IPOs) in Australia from January 1994 to December 2010, including the period of the global financial crisis (GFC). The study finds that energy company IPOs had an average 22.0 % underpricing and that those IPOs that sought to raise more equity capital and engaged underwriters had lower underpricing. There is also evidence that suggests energy company IPOs that offered options to their underwriters had higher underpricing returns, effectively cancelling the lower underpricing effect of the underwriting itself. The energy IPOs that raised equity capital after the 2007/8 global financial crisis do not appear to have offered on average, significantly different underpricing returns to their investors compared to those energy IPOs that raised capital prior to this GFC period. The findings of this study offer insights for issuers who seek to lower underpricing, for underwriters involved in the capital raising and for investors who are looking to invest in Australian energy company IPOs.

Effect of Zn concentration and grain size on prismatic slip in Mg-Zn binary alloys

Mg-Zn binary alloys with concentrations between 0 and 2.8wt% Zn have been prepared and processed via hot rolling and annealing to produce specimens with a strong basal texture and a range of grain sizes. These have been deformed in tension, a condition in which the deformation is dominated by prismatic slip. This data has been used to assess the Hall-Petch parameter as a function of Zn concentration for deformation dominated by prismatic slip. Pure magnesium showed non-linear Hall-Petch behaviour at large grain sizes, and this is compared to the values for prismatic slip measured on single crystals. The differences between critical resolved shear stress measurements made through single crystal, polycrystal and mathematical modelling techniques are also discussed.

Aid allocation and fragile states

This chapter summarizes research on aid allocation and effectiveness, highlighting the current findings of recent research on aid allocation to fragile states. Fragile states are defined by the donor community as those with either critically poor policies or poorly performing institutions, or both. The chapter examines the research findings in the broader context of research and analysis on how aid should and is being allocated across all developing countries. Various aid allocation models and their implications for aid to fragile states are considered. The chapter also looks at types of instruments and their sequencing in fragile states.

Reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis index for elderly patients with a femoral neck fracture

Background: The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) has been extensively evaluated in groups of patients with osteoarthritis, yet not in patients with a femoral neck fracture. This study aimed to determine the reliability, construct validity, and responsiveness of the WOMAC compared with the Short Form-12 (SF-12) and the EuroQol 5D (EQ-5D) questionnaires for the assessment of elderly patients with a femoral neck fracture.

Methods: Reliability was tested by assessing the Cronbach alpha. Construct validity was determined with the Pearson correlation coefficient. Change scores were calculated from ten weeks to twelve months of follow-up. Standardized response means and floor and ceiling effects were determined. Analyses were performed to compare the results for patients less than eighty years old with those for patients eighty years of age or older.

Results: The mean WOMAC total score was 89 points before the fracture in the younger patients and increased from 70 points at ten weeks to 81 points at two years postoperatively. In the older age group, these scores were 86, 75, and 78 points. The mean WOMAC pain scores before the fracture and at ten weeks and two years postoperatively were 92, 76, and 87 points, respectively, in the younger age group and 92, 84, and 93 points in the older age group. Function scores were 89, 68, and 79 points for the younger age group and 84, 71, and 73 points for the older age group. The Cronbach alpha for pain, stiffness, function, and the total scale ranged from 0.83 to 0.98 for the younger age group and from 0.79 to 0.97 for the older age group. Construct validity was good, with 82% and 79% of predefined hypotheses confirmed in the younger and older age groups, respectively. Responsiveness was moderate. No floor effects were found. Moderate to large ceiling effects were found for pain and stiffness scales at ten weeks and twelve months in younger patients (18% to 36%) and in the older age group (38% to 53%).

Conclusions: The WOMAC showed good reliability, construct validity, and responsiveness in both age groups of elderly patients with a femoral neck fracture who had been physically and mentally fit before the fracture. The instrument is suitable for use in future clinical studies in these populations.

The effect of long-term disinfection procedures on hardness property of resin denture teeth

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)