Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Cross sectional Jones model'

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The main objective of this dissertation is to investigate the impact of accruals on the corporate earnings variability (EVAR) results that influence the practical application of income smoothing in Brazilian capital market firms. Initially, it approaches the importance of financial statements that must be evidenced in compliance with accounting principles generally accepted. Its disclosure should represent the reality of the economic-financial firm to the process of decision-making of shareholders and creditors. But at certain times, managers are motivated to practice the earnings management in an attempt to reduce the variability of profits through the use of accruals. The accruals represent the difference between net income and operating cash flow. In the process for reducing results volatility managers use the practice of income smoothing that represents a smoothing of profits, reducing any distortions in the market price of the firm. In this study, the sample is formed by a group of 163 capital market firms listed on Bovespa and presenting financial information in the period 2000 to 2007, categorized by sector, using data obtained in Economática. The statistical model used for this research was the regression analysis in order to explain the different cross-sectional models. These survey results indicate that accruals are significant to explain the EVAR of Brazilian companies. Our results suggest that the identification of structural model corporate earnings variability (EVAR) in Brazilian companies should be evidenced by non-financial variables that differ from those made by U.S. firms.
Esta dissertação tem como objetivo principal investigar o impacto dos accruals na variabilidade dos resultados corporativos (EVAR) que influenciam a aplicação prática do income smoothing nas firmas brasileiras de capital aberto. Inicialmente, é demonstrada a importância das demonstrações contábeis que devem ser evidenciadas em cumprimento aos princípios contábeis geralmente aceitos. Sua evidenciação deve representar a realidade econômico-financeira da firma para o processo de tomada de decisão dos acionistas e credores. Porém, em determinados momentos, os gestores se sentem motivados a praticar o gerenciamento dos resultados contábeis na tentativa de reduzir a variabilidade dos lucros por meio da utilização dos accruals. Os accruals correspondem à diferença entre o lucro líquido e o fluxo de caixa operacional. Nesse processo de redução da volatilidade dos resultados, os gestores se utilizam da prática do income smoothing procurando reduzir eventuais distorções no preço das ações da firma. A amostra neste estudo é composta por um grupo de 163 firmas de capital aberto listadas na Bovespa e que apresentaram informações financeiras no intervalo de 2000 a 2007, categorizadas por setores através de dados obtidos na Economática. O modelo estatístico utilizado na pesquisa foi a análise de regressão para explicar os diferentes modelos de cross-sectional. Os resultados desta pesquisa indicam que os accruals são significativos para explicar a variabilidade dos resultados corporativos (EVAR) de empresas brasileiras. Além disso, nossos resultados sugerem que o modelo estrutural de identificação do EVAR nas empresas brasileiras deve ser explicado por variáveis não contábeis diferentes das que são apresentadas pelas firmas norte-americanas.

In this dissertation, I study the performance of asset-pricing models in explaining the cross section of expected stock returns. The finance literature has uncovered several potential failings of the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). I investigate the ability of additional risk factors, which are not considered by the CAPM, to explain these problems. In particular, I examine intertemporal risk and long-run risk in the cross section of returns. In addition, I develop a firm-level test to refine and reassess the cross-sectional evidence against the CAPM. In the first chapter, I test the cross-sectional implications of the Intertemporal CAPM (ICAPM) of Merton (1973) and Campbell (1993, 1996) using a new firm-level approach. I find that the ICAPM performs well in explaining returns. Consistent with theoretical predictions, investors require a large positive premium for taking on market risk and zero-beta assets earn the risk-free rate. Moreover, investors accept lower returns on assets that hedge against adverse shifts in the investment opportunity set. The ICAPM explains more cross-sectional variation in average returns than either the CAPM or Fama-French (1993) model. I also investigate whether the SMB and HML factors of the Fama-French model proxy for intertemporal risk and find little evidence in favor of this conjecture. In the second chapter, we propose an intertemporal asset-pricing model that simultaneously resolves the puzzling negative relations between expected stock return and analysts' forecast dispersion, idiosyncratic volatility, and credit risk. All three effects emerge in a long-run risk economy accommodating a formal cross section of firms characterized by mean-reverting expected dividend growth. Higher cash flow duration firms exhibit higher exposure to economic growth shocks while they are less sensitive to firm-specific news. Such firms command higher risk premiums but exhibit lower measures of idiosyncratic risk. Empirical evidence broadly supports our model's predictions, as higher dispersion, idiosyncratic volatility, and credit risk firms display lower exposure to long-run risk along with higher firm-specific risk. Lastly, in the third chapter, we examine asset-pricing anomalies at the firm level. Portfolio-level tests linking CAPM alphas to a large number of firm characteristics suggest that the CAPM fails across multiple dimensions. There are, however, concerns that underlying firm-level associations may be distorted at the portfolio level. In this paper we use a hierarchical Bayes approach to model conditional firm-level alphas as a function of firm characteristics. Our empirical results indicate that much of the portfolio-based evidence against the CAPM is overstated. Anomalies are primarily confined to small stocks, few characteristics are robustly associated with CAPM alphas out of sample, and most firm characteristics do not contain unique information about abnormal returns.

The focus is on cross-sectional dependence in panel trade flow models. We propose alternative specifications for modeling time invariant factors such as socio-cultural indicator variables, e.g., common language and currency. These are typically treated as a source of heterogeneity eliminated using fixed effects transformations, but we find evidence of cross-sectional dependence after eliminating country-specific and time-specific effects. These findings suggest use of alternative simultaneous dependence model specifications that accommodate cross-sectional dependence, which we set forth along with Bayesian estimation methods. Ignoring cross-sectional dependence implies biased estimates from panel trade flow models that rely on fixed effects.
Series: Working Papers in Regional Science

The focus is on cross-sectional dependence in panel trade flow models. We propose alternative specifications for modeling time invariant factors such as socio-cultural indicator variables, e.g., common language and currency. These are typically treated as a source of heterogeneity eliminated using fixed effects transformations, but we find evidence of cross-sectional dependence after eliminating country-specific effects. These findings suggest use of alternative simultaneous dependence model specifications that accommodate cross-sectional dependence, which we set forth along with Bayesian estimation methods. Ignoring cross-sectional dependence implies biased estimates from panel trade flow models that rely on fixed effects.
Series: Working Papers in Regional Science

There is growing concern for eating pathology and body dissatisfaction in sports; particularly, in sports that emphasize a lean body type. In 325 female collegiate swimmers/divers and gymnasts, we examined psychosocial well-being (i.e., perception of weight pressures, levels of internalization, body satisfaction, dietary intent, negative affect) at the beginning and end of an athletic season and predict their eating disorder classification at the end of their athletic season. Logistic regressions revealed that a model containing all 14 predictors at the beginning and end of an athletic season significantly predicted eating disorder classification at the end of an athletic season. Specifically, in the longitudinal logistic regression, with every one unit of increase on a measure of the pressure felt within the sport environment regarding their weight and every unit increase on a measure of their intentions to diet, respectively, the female athletes were 49% and 89% more likely to be classified in the subclinical/clinical group at the end of their sport season. Surprisingly, with every one unit of increase on a measure of sociocultural pressure to exercise, female athletes were 43% less likely to be classified in the subclinical/clinical group six months later. The cross-sectional logistic regression found that only dietary restraint was significant. Specifically, with every one unit of increase on a measure of their intentions to diet the female athletes were 3.6 times more likely to be classified in the subclinical/clinical group at the end of their sport season. The implications of this study may emphasize the importance of body healthy sport systems to reduce sport specific pressures and dieting among female collegiate athletes. Limitations of this study include self-report measures and longitudinal timeframe was only across one athletic season.

This dissertation is a pooled time series, cross-sectional, quantitative study of the impact of international financial transfer on the level of democracy. The study covers 174 developed and developing countries from 1976 through 1994. Through evaluating the democracy and democratization literature and other studies, the dissertation develops a theory and testable hypotheses about the impact of the international variables foreign aid and foreign direct investment on levels of democracy. This study sought to determine whether these two financial variables promote or nurture democracy and if so, how? A pooled time-series cross-sectional model is developed employing these two variables along with other relevant control variables. Control variables included the presence of the Cold War and existence of formal alliance with the United States, which account for the strategic dimension that might affect the financial transfer - level of democracy linkage. The model also includes an economic development variable (per capita Gross National Product) to account for the powerful impact for economic development on the level of democracy, as well as a control for each country's population size. By addressing and the inclusion of financial, economic, strategic, and population size effects, I consider whether change in these variables affect the level of democracy and in which direction. The dissertation tests this model by employing several techniques. The variables are subjected to bivariate and multivariate analysis including bivariate correlations, analysis of variance, and ordinary least square (OLS) multivariate regression with robust matrix and a lagged dependent variable. Panel corrected standard error (PCSE) was also employed to empirically test the pooled timeseries cross-sectional multivariate model. The dissertation analytical section concludes with path analysis testing which showed the impact of each of the independent variables on the dependent variable. The findings indicate less impact of international financial variables upon the level of democracy than hypothesized. Foreign assistance correlates negatively with economic development levels and has no effect on democracy levels. In contrast, foreign direct investment associates positively to economic development levels and, through increased economic development, contributes to democracy.

In January 2021, one of the first large-scale implementations of an artificial intelligent computer-aided detection system (AI CAD) for detecting breast cancer was implemented at Capio S:t Göran hospital in Stockholm. AI CAD for detecting breast cancer is promising, however, it can only be a successful implementation if it is accepted by the end-users. This study examines and evaluates factors critical to the acceptance of the AI CAD, prior to the radiology professionals using it by applying the third version of the Technology Acceptance Model, that is TAM3. A questionnaire was designed and distributed accordingly to 28 professionals at the hospital’s breast screening unit. The quantitative data collected were further analyzed using the statistical tool SPSS. The empirical findings concluded that the intention to use the AI CAD was influenced directly by the perceived usefulness and indirectly by image, job relevance, and perceived ease of use. In addition, the association between subjective norm and image was shown to be significant. This study further revealed two new associations, contrary to what TAM3 postulates, the first one being between image and behavioral intention and the second one being between job relevance and behavioral intention. Organizational support, system-related activities, and information and communication are interventions suggested based on the findings in this study, in which the breast screening unit at S:t Göran should tap into to enhance the acceptance of the AI CAD system.
I januari 2021, implementerades ett artificiellt intelligent datorstött detektionssystem som ska upptäcka bröstcancer på Capio S:t Görans sjukhus i Stockholm. Användning av AI CAD för att upptäcka bröstcancer är lovande, men det kan endast bli en framgångsrik implementering om det accepteras av de som använder systemet. Denna studie undersöker och utvärderar de initiala faktorer som är avgörande för användaracceptansen av AI CAD hos radiologipersonal genom att utgå från den senaste versionen av teknologiacceptansmodellen – Technology Acceptance Model 3 (TAM3). Ett frågeformulär utformades i enlighet med modellen och distribuerades till 28 yrkesverksamma på S:t Görans mammografiavdelning. Den kvantitativa data som samlades in från enkäten analyserades med hjälp av det statistiska verktyget SPSS. De empiriska resultaten visade att radiologipersonalens avsikt att använda AI CAD påverkades direkt av den upplevda användbarheten av systemet och indirekt av personalens upplevda syn på hur enkelt systemet är att använda, att systemet är relevant för personalens jobb samt att systemet kan höja personalens image. Dessutom bekräftade studien att den subjektiva normen påverkar systemets image. Slutligen upptäcktes två nya associationer, i vilken TAM3 inte antar. Dessa påträffades mellan image och den beteendemässiga intentionen till att använda systemet samt mellan jobbrelevansen och den beteendemässiga intentionen till att använda systemet. Organisationsstöd, systemrelaterade aktiviteter samt information och kommunikation med personal är interventioner som föreslås baserat på resultaten i denna studie som mammografiavdelningen på S:t Görans sjukhus bör utnyttja för att öka acceptansen av AI CAD systemet.

Public Health
Ph.D.
Contemporary American youth fail to meet national recommendations for physical activity at alarmingly high rates despite well-established protective effects of physical activity on multiple domains of health. There is an established pattern of disparity in physical activity participation whereby girls, those of lower socioeconomic status and those of African American and Hispanic backgrounds are less apt to report regular physical activity in keeping with national recommendations. Large scale investigations to increase the proportion of highly active youth have yet to realize widespread success. In light of emerging evidence suggesting physical activity levels may begin to decline earlier than previously thought, there is a possibility that research and intervention efforts to date may have approached the problem of declining activity after the risk behavior of inactivity had already been established. Despite numerous investigations into factors associated with physical activity in youth, many questions remain unanswered. Among the considerations that are not well understood is when physical activity levels begin to decline for at-risk subgroups of youth and what modifiable individual, interpersonal and/or environmental-level factors are associated with remaining highly active in these populations. This ecologically-based cross-sectional study represents an initial step toward addressing these considerations among elementary and middle school students. Self-reported primary data were collected from a convenience sample of 321 public school students from the 4th, 6th and 8th grade. Students represent the racial/ethnic and socio-economic groups at greatest risk of not meeting national recommendations for physical activity. Study questionnaires queried a range of factors believed to be associated with physical activity, such as availability of social support, self-efficacy for activity, and perceptions of environmental attributes. In addition, two separate physical activity outcome measures were assessed. Factors associated with physical activity at the univariate level (p>0.2) were included in forward stepwise binary regression models to predict reporting of high physical activity. A significant decrease in the proportion of highly active girls was noted between the 4th and 6th grade groups while the proportion of highly active boys did not differ significantly between grade levels. Among 6th and 8th grade students, the difference in physical activity between genders was significant with males reporting more physical activity than females in each grade level. Distinct variables were associated with highly active students in each grade- and gender-specific regression model. After controlling for all other included variables, high social support was most strongly associated with reporting of high activity among girls while for boys in this sample, perceived normal weight status was the strongest predictor of high activity. Among all students, use of daily active transport to school was also strongly associated with reporting of high physical activity. Future investigations involving younger students and utilizing enhanced, longitudinal designs may provide greater insight into the preliminary findings reported in this study.
Temple University--Theses

The research analyses the behaviour of the flow in an open channel with self-formed banksides, with the purpose of exploring the ability of a numerical model to predict such geometries. The strategy consists in contrast a numerical model with physical model data. With respect to the numerical model, it is divided in two main parts, the first one describing the flow and the second one defining the cross sectional geometry. For the first part, a quasi 2D flow structure was selected to model the flow, i.e. the Shiono and Knight Model (SKM) (Shiono and Knight, 1991), due to its simplicity and flexibility. It allows users to incorporate the variation of friction factor, \(f\), secondary flow gradient, Γ, and dimensionless eddy viscosity, \(λ\), across the section. In order to calculate the bankside geometry, the Yu and Knight Model (1998) was chosen, because it relates the equilibrium of particles on the boundary to the shear stress, \(τ\)\(0\), distribution. With respect to the physical model, the shape of a self-formed bankside has been reproduced and assessed in a tilting flume, in order to identify its flow pattern by measuring velocity and shear stress. Such data was used for calibration and validation of the numerical model. The cross section was inspired in the bankside obtained by Ikeda (1981), fitting it into a flume 46cm wide. The experiment consists of testing the channel by three different slopes, three depths and two surfaces (smooth and rough), mapping velocity and measuring shear stress on the boundary across the section. The novelty of the work is to improve the flow estimation for this type of cross section, incorporating the secondary flow, and subsequently enhancing the approximation to the geometry that will be formed in alluvial channels.

Background: Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASPs) have been promoted to optimize antimicrobial usage and patient outcomes, and to reduce the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant organisms. However, the best strategies for an ASP are not definitively established and are likely to vary based on local culture, policy, and routine clinical practice, and probably limited resources in middle-income countries. The aim of this study is to evaluate structures and resources of antimicrobial stewardship teams (ASTs) in surgical departments from different regions of the world. Methods: A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted in 2016 on 173 physicians who participated in the AGORA (Antimicrobials: A Global Alliance for Optimizing their Rational Use in Intra-Abdominal Infections) project and on 658 international experts in the fields of ASPs, infection control, and infections in surgery. Results: The response rate was 19.4%. One hundred fifty-six (98.7%) participants stated their hospital had a multidisciplinary AST. The median number of physicians working inside the team was five [interquartile range 4-6]. An infectious disease specialist, a microbiologist and an infection control specialist were, respectively, present in 80.1, 76.3, and 67.9% of the ASTs. A surgeon was a component in 59.0% of cases and was significantly more likely to be present in university hospitals (89.5%, p < 0.05) compared to community teaching (83.3%) and community hospitals (66.7%). Protocols for pre-operative prophylaxis and for antimicrobial treatment of surgical infections were respectively implemented in 96.2 and 82.3% of the hospitals. The majority of the surgical departments implemented both persuasive and restrictive interventions (72.8%). The most common types of interventions in surgical departments were dissemination of educational materials (62.5%), expert approval (61.0%), audit and feedback (55.1%), educational outreach (53.7%), and compulsory order forms (51.5%). Conclusion: The survey showed a heterogeneous organization of ASPs worldwide, demonstrating the necessity of a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach in the battle against antimicrobial resistance in surgical infections, and the importance of educational efforts towards this goal.

This thesis argues that established models of student satisfaction in higher education fail to take into account the contribution that students make towards their own learning and satisfaction and postulates a holistic model of student satisfaction. This thesis also highlights that student satisfaction is a slow and incremental process spread over several semesters and thus can more appropriately be understood longitudinally. Based on the conceptual framework, a theoretical model is presented and empirically explored using two datasets: a cross-sectional dataset comprised of 147 students and a longitudinal dataset comprised of 66 students. Both datasets were collected from students at Oxford Brookes University. The longitudinal data is collected for 2 years (4 semesters). A theoretical model is presented and tested for empirical support using structural equation modelling (SEM) for the cross-sectional dataset while SEM growth curve modelling is employed to analyse the longitudinal dataset. The results provide overwhelming support for the proposed theoretical model and confirm that student satisfaction is indeed a multi-faceted concept and cannot be understood solely on aspects of student learning experiences like many established models. It can more appropriately be understood using other concepts that signify the contribution of students in their own learning and satisfaction such as student engagement and student participation. The results also point out the significance of understanding student satisfaction longitudinally and give an insight into students’ growth trajectories as well as their perceptions about student satisfaction at different times during their course.

 

The world is experiencing yet another energy- and fuel predicament as oil prices are escalating to new hights. Alternative fuels are being promoted globally as the increasing gasoline prices trigger inflation. Basic food commodities are some of the goods hit by this inflation and the purpose of this thesis is to analyse whether the higher maize and sugar prices are having any effect on the expanding ethanol production. This thesis focuses on the two major crop inputs in ethanol production: maize (in the US) and sugar cane (in Brazil). Econometric tests using cross-sectional data were carried through to find the elasticities of the variables. The crops prices were tested against ethanol output using the log-linear model in several regressions to find a relationship. In addition, the output levels of the crops were tested using the same method. It was found that maize prices and output affects ethanol production. Sugar cane prices do not have any significant impact on ethanol production while sugar cane output has a small, yet significant relationhip with ethanol. Consequently, ethanol’s rise in the fuel market could be a result of increased maize input, rather than sugar.

 

Dagens värld upplever ännu ett energi- och bränsle predikament när oljepriser eskalerar mot nya höjder. Alternativa bränslen marknadsförs globalt samtidigt som de stigande bensinpriserna stimulerar inflationen. Några av de varor som drabbas av denna inflation är grundläggande livsmedelsprodukter och syftet med denna uppsats är att analysera huruvida de högre priserna på majs och socker påverkar den expanderande etanolproduktionen. Uppsatsen fokuserar på de två stora grödor som används som insatsvaror vid framställningen av etanol: majs (i USA) och sockerrör (i Brasilien). Ekonometriska tester genomfördes för att erhålla variablernas elasticiteter med hjälp av den cross-sectional data som behandlades. Genom log-linear modellen utfördes det ett antal regressioner för att hitta ett samband mellan grödornas priser och etanolproduktionen. Därutöver genomfördes tester för att hitta sambandet mellan grödornas utbud och etanol med hjälp av samma modell. Det upptäcktes att både pris och utbudet av majs påverkar etanolproduktionen. Sockerrörspriser har ingen signifikant inverkan på etanolproduktionen medan utbudet av sockerrör har en signifikant, om än svag, relation till etanol. Följaktligen kan etanols tillväxt i  bränslemarknaden tolkas som ett resultat av en stigande majsinsats snarare än sockerinstats vid etanolframställningen.

Past focus in the panel gravity literature has been on multidimensional fixed effects specifications in an effort to accommodate heterogeneity. After introducing conventional multidimensional fixed effects, we find evidence of cross-sectional dependence in flows. We propose a simultaneous dependence gravity model that allows for network dependence in flows, along with computationally efficient Markov Chain Monte Carlo estimation methods that produce a Monte Carlo integration estimate of log-marginal likelihood useful for model comparison. Application of the model to a panel of trade flows points to network spillover effects, suggesting the presence of network dependence and biased estimates from conventional trade flow specifications. The most important sources of network dependence were found to be membership in trade organizations, historical colonial ties, common currency and spatial proximity of countries.
Series: Working Papers in Regional Science

Cette thèse s’inscrit dans le contexte de l’ANR ISABEAU (Innovating for Structural Adhesive Bonding Evaluation and Analysis with Ultrasounds, associant des physico-chimistes et des acousticiens) et cherche à apporter des connaissances nouvelles sur l’évaluation par ultrasons du niveau d’adhésion d’un collage structural par ondes de Lamb. La première partie porte sur l’aspect cohésif et particulièrement sur l’influence du paramètre de réticulation de réseaux époxys sur les courbes de dispersion des ondes de Lamb. La deuxième partie est consacrée à la caractérisation de niveaux d’adhésion dans une structure bicouche Aluminium Epoxy en tenant compte aussi bien des aspects cohésifs qu’adhésifs. Des échantillons à niveau d’adhésion connus et maîtrisés sont réalisés avec l’aide de physico-chimistes, où l’époxy est partiellement ou totalement réticulé, et où l’interface substrat adhésif a subit différents traitements chimiques et/ou mécaniques. Les résultats expérimentaux sont confrontés à ceux issus du modèle rhéologique de Jones résolu par éléments finis. Enfin, la troisième partie porte sur l’étude d’un assemblage tricouche Aluminium/Epoxy/Aluminium et cherche à qualifier différents niveaux d’adhésion à l’aide du modèle de Jones par ondes guidées et également par l’étude des fréquences de coupure des modes verticaux de la structure
This thesis is in the context of the ANR ISABEAU (Innovating for Structural Adhesive Bonding Evaluation and Analysis with Ultrasounds, with the association of physico-chemists and acousticians) and seeks to bring new knowledge of the ultrasonic evaluation of the level of adhesion of structural bonding using Lamb waves. The first part focuses on the cohesive aspect, in particular on the influence of the crosslinking parameter of the polymer on the Lamb waves dispersion curves. The second part is dedicated to the evaluation of the adhesion level of a bi-layer Aluminum Epoxy taking into account the both cohesive and adhesive aspects. Samples of controlled and known adhesion levels are manufactured with the help of physico-chemists, where the crosslinking of the epoxy is partial or total, and the interface substrate-adhesive have been treated chemically and/or mechanically. The experimental results are compared to those obtained from a predictive model based on the rheological model of Jones solved by finite elements method. Finally, the third part focuses on the study of tri-layers Aluminum/Epoxy/Aluminum, looking for the qualification of different levels of adhesion with the Jones model using guided waves as well as the cut-off frequencies of the structure

13 | P a g e SUMMARY In South Africa’s rapidly changing social and cultural context, where family dynamics and relationships are changing just as quickly, it is essential to discover which factors contribute to successful relationships that persist over time. Previous research has utilised the Investment Model Scale (Rusbult, 1980) in order to understand commitment processes and the constructs satisfaction, quality of alternatives and investment have been identified as key determinants of commitment in romantic contexts. In the present study however I investigated the primary research question, “How can commitment be measured in the context of family relationships?” Data collection took place through the Family Commitment Scale (which was adapted from the Investment Model Scale) and a new meaningfulness scale was added in an attempt to explore whether meaningfulness would be a better predictor of family commitment than satisfaction, quality of alternatives and investment. The statistical analyses were conducted with the purpose of examining the research question and hypotheses. The findings of the present study contribute to commitment literature by underlining the utility of the Invest Model Scale in nonromantic contexts and providing an instrument which can reliably measure family commitment. Meaningfulness is also highlighted as a motivational feature behind family commitment processes.
Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2013.
gm2014
Educational Psychology
unrestricted

The study investigated three aspects related to smoking, namely, smoking behaviour, risk perception and attitudes to anti-smoking legislation. The theoretical framework of the study was the Information-Motivation-Behavioural (IMB) skills model. The study was a quantitative one, making use of a cross-sectional survey design to obtain data about the three variables of interest. Responses to statements about risk perception and attitudes to anti-smoking legislation in the questionnaire were arranged on a three-point Likert scale. The inferential statistics used were one-sample ttests and Chi-square analyses. The results showed an overall smoking prevalence of 16%, with twice as many females than males being smokers in the sample. ‘Coloured’ students in both genders had the highest smoking rate compared to all other race groups. The knowledge of the health risks of smoking were very high, however smokers had a lower perception of risk compared to non-smokers. Moreover, while there was a fair amount of support for anti-smoking legislation among smokers, smokers tended to show less support for legislation than non-smokers, especially to those parts of the legislation that affect them more directly. The results of the study indicate a clear connection between smoking behaviour and the effect it has on both risk perception as well as attitudes to anti-smoking legislation in individuals.

The purpose of this study is to examine the geothermal potential, sustainability, and reinjection possibility of Edremit geothermal field. In order to investigate this, a numerical model consisting of a hot and cold water aquifer system is established. A two dimensional cross sectional model is set to simulate this geothermal system. Different pressure and temperature values are applied to the nodes at the boundaries to perform a steady state calibration which minimizes the computed results and observed values obtained from the near well logs. After the calibration, three alternative scenarios are proposed and the response of the pressure and temperature to these conditions is evaluated. At first the water is pumped from the wells of Yagci, Derman, Entur and ED-3 seperately at a mass rate of 5 kg/s and energy rate of 4.182 x 105 J/s. Then, in scenario 2 the water is pumped at the same rate from all the wells mentioned in the first scenario together. For the third scenario another well is opened to the geothermal system and 80% of the pumped water (temperature being 200C) is injected to the system from the wells while all the wells mentioned are working. The results of these scenarios are utilized to evaluate the reservoir in terms of its response to different production and reinjection conditions. Interpretation of the reservoir response in view of the pressure and temperature declines emphasize that such a simulation study can be applied to assess potential and sustainability of the geothermal systems.

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Objective: To assess factors related to the occurrence of gender violence in a population of northeastern Bahia in 2007 and identify risk behaviors in women who have witnessed family violence during their childhood and were victims of violence in adulthood. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted with 4170 individuals, of both sexes, aged 15 years and living in the city of Feira de Santana , Bahia. A probabilistic sample of clusters derived from census tracts was used. Data were collected during home visits with use of household and individual questionnaire record. Bivariate and the Chi square test analyzes were performed considering IC95 % and p ? 0.05 for statistically significant association. To verify the factors associated with violence , we used a hierarchical logistic regression analysis. Results: The prevalence of physical and / or emotional violence was 18,63%. Regarding the history of violence in childhood prevalence was equal to 12,14%. Women had a higher prevalence (19,7%) than men (16,5%) with 1,31 times higher prevalence of victimization. It was observed that women who have never been to school (15,08%), non-white (12,61%) and had an income of up to 1 minimum wage (14.17%) had a higher incidence of physical violence in childhood. The women drinkers had 1,43 times higher prevalence of experiencing violence in childhood and, in relation to smoking, this prevalence increased to 1,56. Adjusted by hierarchical logistic regression analysis showed a positive association between women suffer physical and / or emotional violence with household type (RP = 1,28; IC95%: 1,10; 1,54), type of building (RP = 1,66; IC95%: 1,14; 2,41), smoking (RP = 1,36; IC95%: 1,10; 1,70) and violence in childhood (RP = 2,13; IC95%: 1,79; 2,53). Conclusions: Gender violence is a complex problem with social roots and that deserves to be addressed as a public health problem . Thus , it is urgent policies to combat poverty , interpersonal conflicts, especially those from the interior of the family system , substance use , particularly alcohol measures as well as preparation in the care of victims of violence and the deployment of a service to protect women victimized because many remain silent for fear of reprisals from their attackers.
Objetivo: Analisar os fatores relacionados ? ocorr?ncia da viol?ncia de g?nero em uma popula??o do nordeste da Bahia no ano de 2007 e identificar os comportamentos de risco de mulheres que presenciaram viol?ncia na fam?lia durante sua inf?ncia e foram v?timas de viol?ncia na vida adulta. M?todos: Trata-se de um estudo de corte transversal realizado com 4170 indiv?duos, de ambos os sexos, com idade acima de 15 anos e residentes no munic?pio de Feira de Santana-BA. Foi utilizada uma amostra probabil?stica de conglomerados derivados de setores censit?rios. Os dados foram coletados em visitas domiciliares com uso de ficha domiciliar e question?rio individual. Foram realizadas an?lises bivariadas e Teste do Qui Quadrado de Pearson, considerando IC95% e p ? 0,05 para associa??o estatisticamente significante. Para verificar os fatores associados ? viol?ncia, empregou-se a an?lise de regress?o log?stica hierarquizada. Resultados: A preval?ncia de viol?ncia f?sica e/ou emocional foi de 18,63%. Em rela??o ? hist?ria de viol?ncia na inf?ncia a preval?ncia foi igual a 12,14%. As mulheres apresentaram preval?ncia superior (19,7%) aos homens (16,5%) com preval?ncia 1,31 vezes maior de vitimiza??o. Foi poss?vel observar que mulheres que nunca foram ? escola (15,08%), n?o brancas (12,61%) e que tinham renda de at? 1 sal?rio m?nimo (14,17%) apresentaram maior ocorr?ncia de viol?ncia f?sica na inf?ncia. As mulheres etilistas tiveram preval?ncia 1,43 vezes maior de ter sofrido viol?ncia na inf?ncia e, em rela??o ao h?bito de fumar, esta preval?ncia aumentou para 1,56. A an?lise ajustada por regress?o log?stica hierarquizada mostrou uma associa??o positiva entre a mulher sofrer viol?ncia f?sica e/ou emocional com tipo de domic?lio (RP = 1,28; IC95%: 1,10; 1,54), tipo de edifica??o (RP = 1,66; IC95%: 1,14; 2,41), tabagismo (RP = 1,36; IC95%: 1,10; 1,70) e viol?ncia na inf?ncia (RP = 2,13; IC95%: 1,79; 2,53). Conclus?es: A viol?ncia de g?nero ? um problema complexo com ra?zes sociais e que merece ser abordada como um problema de sa?de p?blica. Assim, urge medidas pol?ticas para o combate da pobreza, conflitos interpessoais, sobretudo os oriundos do interior do sistema familiar, ao consumo de subst?ncias, principalmente o ?lcool, bem como o preparo no atendimento das v?timas de viol?ncia e a implanta??o de um servi?o de prote??o ?s mulheres vitimizadas, pois muitas se calam por medo de sofrer repres?lias por parte de seus agressores.

The cross-sectional variation of stock returns used to be described by the Capital Asset Pricing Model until the early 90‟s. Anomalies, such as, book-to-market effect and small firm effect undermined CAPM‟s ability to explain stock returns and Fama & French (1992) have shown that simple firm attributes, like, firm size and book-to-market value can explain the returns far better than Beta. Following Fama & French many other researchers examine the explanatory powers of CAPM and other asset pricing models. However, most of those studies use US data. There are some researches done in different countries than US, however more out-of-sample studies need to be conducted.

To our knowledge there are very few studies using the Swedish data and this thesis contributes to that small pool of studies. Moreover, the studies testing the CAPM use the unconditional version of the model. There are some papers suggesting the use of a conditional CAPM that would exhibit better explanatory powers than the unconditional CAPM. Different ways of conditioning the CAPM have been proposed, but one that we think is the least complex and possible to make use of in the business world is the dual-beta model. This conditional CAPM assumes a different relationship between beta and stock returns during the up markets and down markets. Furthermore, the model has not thoroughly been tested outside the US. Our study is the first to use the dual-beta model in Sweden. In addition, the momentum effect has lately been given some attention and Fama & French‟s (1993) three factor model has not been able to explain the abnormal returns related to that anomaly. We test the Fama & French three factor model, CAPM and Carhart‟s four factor model‟s explanatory abilities of the momentum effect using Swedish stock returns. Ultimately, our aim is to find the best model that describes stock return cross-section on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.

We use returns of all the non-financial firms listed on Stockholm Stock Exchange between September, 1997 and April, 2010. The number of companies included in our time sample is 366. The results of our tests indicate that the small firm effect, book-to-market effect and the momentum effect are not present on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Consequently, the CAPM emerges as the one model that explains stock return cross-section better than the other models suggesting that Beta is still a proper measure of risk. Furthermore, the conditional version of CAPM describes the stock return variation far better than the unconditional CAPM. This implies using different Betas to estimate risk during up market conditions and down market conditions.

The primary objective of the study is to evaluate the safety performance of different freeway exit types used in current practical designs. More specific, the research objectives include the following two parts: 1) to compare the safety performance of different design types at freeway diverge areas and exit ramp sections; and 2) to identify the impact factors contributing to the crashes happening at these two specific segments. The study area includes four subjects, the freeway widely-spaced diverge areas; the freeway closely-spaced diverge areas; the left-side off-ramps and the exit ramp sections. For the freeway diverge areas, design types were defined based on the number of lanes used by vehicular traffic to exit freeways and lane-balance theory. Four exit ramp types were considered for the widely-spaced diverge area, including single-lane exit ramps (Type 1), sing-lane exit ramps without a taper (Type 2), two-lane exit ramps with an optional lane (Type 3), and two-lane exit ramps without an optional lane (Type 4). For the closely-spaced diverge areas, three types, named as Type A, Type B and Type C, are selected to compare the safety performances among the three types. For the left-side off-ramp at the freeway diverge area, this study examined the two most widely used design types at the left-side freeway diverge areas in Florida, which are defined as Type I (one-lane left-side off-ramp), and Type II (two-lane left-side off-ramp). Type I is comparable to Type 1 design type and Type II is comparable to Type 3 design type at widely-spaced freeway diverge area. For the exit ramp sections, four ramp configurations, including diamond, out connection, free-flow loop and parclo loop, were considered. Cross-sectional comparisons were conducted to compare the crash frequency, the crash rate, the crash severity and target crash types between different design groups. Crash predictive models were also built to quantify the impacts of various contributing factors. The results of this study would expectedly help transportation decision makers develop tailored technical guidelines governing the selection of the optimum design combinations at freeway diverge areas and exit ramp sections.

Thesis (M. Fin.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Master of Finance Program, 2011.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 31).
Recessions are an inherent part of economic cycles. During the last decade we have experienced two extended periods of significant economic slowdown accompanied by major downturns in most of the asset classes and especially in equities. Investors during recessions suffer from severe losses and diversification does not provide the optimal solution. Through the development of an econometric model for dynamic management of recession risk in equity portfolios based on an empirical measure of timevarying recession risk, I plan to estimate cross-sectional differences in recession risk exposure among equities and associated differences in risk premia. The analysis is expanded on an industry level, where among industries clear patterns are identified in terms recession risk exposure. In the last part of the report I explore the possibility of creating a trading strategy which is able to generate significant performance benefiting from the market underreaction to recession risk.
by Kyriakos Chousakos.
M.Fin.

Parents of children diagnosed with autism, a disease characterised with difficulty in speech, behaviour and language, experience chronic stress more than in any other developmental disorder. Outcomes of chronic stress in this regard are often associated with uncertain expectations of the future where current stressors are exuberated and future expectations are negated. Thinking about the future has been noted to contribute positive psychological functioning. Authors have, however, noted that some parents of autistic children are able to conceptualise positive future expectations in the mists of stressful current realities whilst using proactive coping strategies. Proactive coping literature has predominantly focused on situational characteristics and, to a lesser extent, on dispositional characteristics The relationship between dispositional characteristics - belief in just world, sense of coherence in relation to proactive coping is investigated in parents raising a child diagnosed with autism. Constructs were operationalised through the Orientation to Life Questionnaire (Antonovsky, 1987), Global Belief in Just World Scale (Lipkus, 1991), Reactions to Daily Life Questionnaire (Greenglass, 2002) and a demographic questionnaire. A cross-sectional correlational design consisting of a sample of 30 (n = 30) parents with children with autism was conducted. SPSS ver12 was used for analysis, which included both descriptive and inferential analysis. Inferential statistics included the Independent T-Test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) to analyse independence of the sample, and Spearman Rho correlations were used to test possible correlations between constructs. The small sample size precluded more advanced statistical manipulation of data. Open ended questions were analysed through a process of content analysis. The interpretation of results showed no significant differences between independent variables (e.g. age, gender, adjustment level of child) and constructs measured. Results of the correlational analysis indicated positive correlations between (i) belief in just world andproactive coping, (ii) sense of coherence and proactive coping as well as (iii) the sense of coherence (meaningfulness) subscale and proactive coping. No relationship was found between belief in just world and proactive coping. These results indicate that these dispositional characteristics can be associated with proactive coping and that belief in just world and sense of coherence who share similar theoretical underpinnings may have different predictor values. Qualitative results suggest that parents who engage in future oriented thinking and proactive coping strategies such as planning activities and social engagements often display higher levels of just world beliefs. The present study contributes to theoretical knowledge by providing insight into the relationships between constructs with regards to proactive coping in parents who experince chronic stress, by illustrating convergence and distinctiveness between constructs. Furthermore, knowledge was gained on the influence of dispositional characteristics on proactive coping strategies, seeing as how previous research primarily focused on situational characteristics. Practical applications of the results offer insight into coping processes of parents of children diagnosed with autism with specific reference to proactive coping which ultimately implicates the applicability value of future oriented therapeutic interventions for these families. Insight into the goals of parents and the daily challenges they face will furthermore assist the helping profession and support groups to provide effective support strategies.
Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2011.
Educational Psychology
unrestricted

Small firms often have inadequate access to the capital necessary for sucessful management. The Swedish Government introduced in the mid-1990s allowance rules that facilitate retention of profit for sole proprietorships and partnership firms. The tax credits arising from the allowances give certain benefits as a source of financing compared to traditional forms of credits. Among the more essential benefits are that the payment for some parts of the tax credit can be put on hold almost indefinitely, or alternatively never be paid. The firms are free to use these means, and the responsibility of future payment of the postponed tax debt stays with the individual firms. The comprehensive purpose of the dissertation may be stated as to increase the understanding of small Swedish firms, especially sole proprietorships, utilizing possibilities for allowances for income smoothing and internal financing. At the beginning the dissertation describes case studies, comprising a smaller selection of microfirms. With a starting-point from the accounted and reported income-tax returns, alternative calculations are made where additional positive tax and finance effects appear possible to obtain. One purpose of these studies is to increase the insight regarding the possibilities of income smoothing and internal financing that arise from utilizing these allowances.

These studies also illuminate, to what extent and in what way they are being used in reality. Another objective of these studies is to give a more substantive insight into the technics behind the different allowances, appropriation to positive or negative interest rate allocation appropriation or dissolving of tax allocation reserve appropriation or dissolving of “expansion fund” Theories regarding the creation of resources, through building of capital, and theories on financial planning and strategy are studied. The purpose is to find support for the choice of theoretical grounded underlying independent variables that can be used in cross-sectional studies to explain the use of the possibilities of appropriations. Theories of finance that are of greatest interest, in the operationalisation of these variables, are theories that discuss the choices of different financing alternatives for small firms. The “pecking order theory”, describes the firm’s order of priority when choices of finance alternatives are made. The concept of “financial bootstrapping” expands the frame for different forms of financing choices that especially very small firms have at their disposal.

The last part of the theoretical frame deals with the phenomenon of “income smoothing,” which can be translated as leveling out profits/losses. A number of financial and non-financial variables are supported by and operationalised from these financial theories e.g., return on sales, capital turnover, quick ratio and debt-to-equity ratio, respectively age, gender and line of business. Cross-sectional studies are implemented for the taxation years of 1996 and 1999, on databases that have been extracted from Statistics Sweden. The group of 87,276 sole proprietorships included in the study were required to complete tax returns and pay taxes for the business activity according to the supporting schedule, N2, information from the sole proprietorships’ income statement and balance sheet in an accounting statement that comes with the income tax return form. The possibilities of allowances are considered as dependent variables. The intention of the cross-sectional studies is to survey and describe the utilization of possible allowances, with the support of the financial and non-financial independent variables. The connection of these variables to the decision of sole proprietorships to appropriate to the tax allocation reserve is also summarized in a logistic regression model. A number of theoretically based propositions are made for the purpose of observing how the variables are connected to the chances that sole proprietorships actually appropriate to this form of allowance. Appropriation to the tax allocation reserve stands out as the most practiced form of allowance. The studies also clarify that utilization varies among different forms of allowances, but that not all firms that have the prerequisites to utilize the possibilities really do so to the full. A further utilization of the different possibilities of allowances is often conceivable. For the sole proprietorships that are not utilizing these possibilities, the allowances should be considered eligible as a contribution to internal financing and to increase access to capital.

The class of models which is studied in this paper, multi-unit longitudinal models, combines both the cross-sectional and the longitudinal aspects of observations. Many empirical investigations involve the analysis of data structures that are both cross-sectional (observations are taken on several units at a specific time period or at a specific location) and longitudinal (observations on the same unit are taken over time or space). Multi-unit longitudinal data structures arise in economics and business where panels of subjects are studied over time, biostatistics where groups of patients on different treatments are observed over time, and in situations where data are taken over time and space. Modelling issues in multi-unit longitudinal models with random coefficients and patterned correlation structure are illustrated in the context of two data sets. The first data set deals with short time series data on annual death rates and alcohol consumption for twenty-five European countries. The second data set deals with glaceologic time series data on snow temperature at 14 different locations within a small glacier in the Austrian Alps. A practical model building approach, consisting of model specification, estimation, and diagnostic checking, is outlined. (author's abstract)
Series: Forschungsberichte / Institut für Statistik

Um dos estudos observacionais mais difundidos e usados em epidemiologia veterinária é o estudo do tipo transversal. Sua popularidade ocorre por fatores como baixo custo e rapidez comparados com outros tipos de estudos, além de ajudar a estimar a prevalência de uma doença (desfecho) e postular fatores associados com o desfecho, que poderão ser confirmados como fatores causais em outros tipos de estudos epidemiológicos. Porém, este tipo de estudo apresenta dois importantes desafios: a dependência dos dados, muito frequente dada a típica estrutura populacional de animais dentro do mesmo rebanho ou fazenda e a escolha da medida de associação para desfechos binários, tão frequentes neste modelo de estudo. Com o objetivo de contribuir com a compreensão global da epidemiologia do aborto bovino associado à Neospora caninum tendo em conta a estrutura populacional, construiu-se um modelo misto com os dados de um estudo transversal realizado em duas regiões do Rio Grande do Sul. Usaram-se dados de 60 propriedades amostradas em duas regiões (noroeste e sudeste) e 1256 bovinos. A percentagem de aborto dentro de cada rebanho variou entre 1% e 30%. Vacas soropositivas tiveram 6,63 vezes mais chances de ter histórico de aborto (IC 95%: 4,41-13,20). As chances de uma vaca ter histórico de aborto foram 5,18 vezes maiores na região noroeste em relação à região sudeste (IC 95%: 1,83-20,80). Um coeficiente de correlação intraclasse de 16% foi estimado, indicando que 16% da variação da ocorrência de abortamentos não explicados pelos efeitos fixos foram devido as fazendas. Já na segunda parte deste trabalho, uma revisão sistemática foi realizada considerando um conjunto diverso de revistas e jornais com o objetivo de verificar os métodos estatísticos usados e a adequação das interpretações das medidas de associação estimadas em estudos transversais na área de medicina veterinária. Um total de 62 artigos foi avaliado. A revisão mostrou que, independentemente do nível de prevalência relatado no artigo, 96% deles empregou regressão logística e, portanto, estimaram razão de chances (RC). Nos artigos com prevalência superior a 10%, 23 deles fizeram uma interpretação adequada da RC como uma “razão de chances” ou simplesmente não fizeram uma interpretação direta da RC, enquanto 23 artigos interpretaram de forma inadequada a RC, considerando-a como risco ou probabilidade. Entre os artigos com prevalência inferior a 10%, apenas três interpretaram a RC como uma “razão de chances”, cinco interpretaram como risco ou probabilidade e em um, apesar de ter estimado a razão de prevalências (RP), foi interpretado de forma inadequada. Paralelamente, com o objetivo de exemplificar o uso de métodos estatísticos que estimam diretamente a razão de prevalências (RP), medida mais adequada para os estudos transversais, um conjunto de dados obtidos a partir de um estudo transversal sobre a ocorrência de anticorpos (AC) contra o vírus da diarreia viral bovina (BVDV) foi usado. Os AC foram medidos em amostras de tanque de leite de rebanhos leiteiros localizados no estado do Rio Grande do Sul, em que os possíveis fatores associados puderam ser avaliados. Entre os métodos utilizados, as maiores discrepâncias nas medidas de associação estimadas foram observadas com a regressão logística tomando-se como referência a regressão log-binomial. Finalmente, é importante que este tipo de desafio seja atendido pelos pesquisadores que realizam estudos transversais, ou seja, considerar a estrutura das populações nas análises, cuidado ao escolher o tipo de modelo estatístico empregado para desfecho binário e interpretação dos estimadores.
The commonest study design used in veterinary epidemiology is the cross-sectional study. Its popularity lies on the fact of the short time needed and low costs compared with other types of studies; moreover, this type of study estimates prevalence and associated factors, which may be elucidated as causal in another type of epidemiological studies. However, this type of study presents two major challenges: a very common dependence between data given the typical structure of the animal population, i.e., animals within herds or farms and the choice of measure of association for binary outcomes, frequently used in this type of study. In order to contribute to the understanding of the epidemiology of bovine abortion associated with Neospora caninum, a mixed model accounting for the hierarchical structure of cattle population using data from a cross-sectional study conducted in two regions (northwest and southeast) of Rio Grande do Sul was made. Data from 60 dairy herds and 1256 sampled cattle were used. The percentage of abortions in each herd ranged between 1% and 30%. Seropositive cows were 6.63 times more likely to have a history of abortion (95% CI: 4.41 to 13.20). The chances of a cow have a history of abortion were 5.18 times higher in the northwest comparing with the southeast region (95% CI: 1.83 to 20.80). An intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 16% was estimated which means that 16% of the variation in abortion occurrence not explained by the fixed effects is due to farms. In the second part of this work, a systematic review was conducted considering a range of journals and newspapers in order to verify the statistical methods used and the adequacy of the interpretations of the measures of association estimated in cross-sectional studies from the veterinary medicine field. A total of 62 articles were revised. The review showed that, regardless of the reported prevalence, 96% of them employed logistic regression, therefore estimating odds ratio (OR). From the articles that reported prevalence rates above 10%, 23 of them did a proper interpretation of OR as an odds ratio, or simply did not make a direct interpretation of the OR, while 23 articles interpreted improperly the OR as a risk or probability. Among the articles that reported prevalence rates lower than 10%, only three interpreted the OR as an odds ratio, five interpreted as a risk or probability and only one, despite the estimated prevalence ratio (PR), it was improperly interpreted. Meanwhile, in order to exemplify the use of statistical methods to estimate directly the PR, the more appropriate measure of association in cross-sectional studies, a data set obtained from a cross-sectional study to estimate the occurrence of antibodies (AB) against bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) in milk was used; AB were measured in bulk tank samples from dairy herds located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and also possible associated factors were estimated. Among the methods used, major discrepancies in the measures of association estimated were observed with the logistic regression, comparing with the log-binomial regression. Finally, it is important that such challenges are met by the researchers that undertake cross-sectional studies.

This study utilised secondary data from a larger study that looked at individuals that are already infected by HIV which is entitled Implicative personal dilemmas and cognitive conflicts in health decision making in HIV positive adults and adults with AIDS. The primary aim of the larger study was to examine the cognitive construction of the individual and how they utilised their individual resources to construct who they are and how they perceived the difficulties and challenges that they face and the decisions they make regarding their health. HIV and AIDS is a debilitating disease and it affects millions worldwide. South Africa, presently, has the largest burden of this disease with those between the ages of 15 &ndash
49 years of age being most affected. As previously 
mentioned the decisions that individuals make can impact on their health. Decisions to take necessary precautions such as protected sex during sexual intercourse can decrease the 
progression of the disease. Decisions made regarding abstinence of risky behaviour as well as being committed to taking medication could also positively impact health. People living with HIV and AIDS find it 
difficult to adjust to the challenges that this disease presents. Depression is often experienced due to the changes in self image and perception. Studies show that 
females are twice more likely to experience depression than men. There has however been no conclusive evidence showing the reason for this, however, the perception of stress based on 
gender could shed some light on this matter and how these perceptions can increase the likelihood of women being more vulnerable to depression. Due to the limitation of this study, it will 
only look at depression as it relates to HIV and AIDS. Psychological problems such as depression can hamper the adjustment process and the effect of depression is evident in that it can lower the CD 4 + cells. Not only are those 
living with HIV and AIDS affected by depression, but they also have a lifetime prevalence to depression. It is important to have an effective screening tool for depression so that the detection of this 
disease can be made and effective treatment can be implemented to enhance health. The sample consisted of 113 adult participants that have already been diagnosed with HIV and AIDS. The 
primary aim of this study was to compare the Beck&rsquo
s Depression Inventory II (BDI II) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale &ndash
(the Depression component) (HADS-D) as a screening tool 
 
for depression. Exploratory Factor Analysis revealed a 5 factor structure which accounted for 60.14 % of the total variance. The HADS yielded one factor accounting for 14.33% of total variance. The BDI II has proven to be more a reliable measure of depression with 0.89 according to the Cronbach&rsquo
s Alpha co efficient opposed to 0.375 as per the HADS-D. The secondary aim was to establish 
the sociodemographic and disease profiles of the participants under study.

The diploma thesis deals with descriptions of vehicle - track dynamic interface. There are described basic analytical models of railway track. The numerical models are created by using finite element methods with moving load simulated axle of rail vehicle. The aim of thesis is to create the model which most accurately describes the dynamic phenomena in the track. The results from models are compared with data obtained by measuring in the track. Next aim of thesis is to determine dependency of rail cross-sectional characteristics on equivalent rail head wear and then on rail deflection.

This thesis explored the interactions between psychological well-being and male fertility using the biopsychosocial model. The biopsychosocial model proposes that biological, psychological, and social processes interact and impact on health. These interrelationships were investigated in a sample of men undergoing fertility treatment and in a set of experiments using an animal model of stress. It is commonly thought that men with male factor infertility suffer more compared to men in couples with other infertility diagnoses, mainly due to the social stigma attached to being a man unable to father. The inter-relationships among diagnosis, psychological stress, and social environment were examined in men during a twelve month period of fertility treatment. It was found that men, regardless of diagnosis, showed signs of suffering over time and perceived some deterioration in their social environment that was at least partly caused by their psychological well-being at the start of treatment. To better understand how stress and reproductive processes interact, an animal stressor paradigm was developed. Male rats were exposed to a psychosocial cage change stressor (PCCS) where housing alternated every day between being alone, or in a new combination of two or three rats per cage for either 12 or 24 days. The four experiments showed that exposure to PCCS induced a mild physical stress response and consistent effects on reproductive parameters. It was concluded that the psychological and social aspects of the PCCS each have an impact on reproduction. This thesis has provided evidence of biopsychosocial links in the reproductive context supporting a biopsychosocial model of male fertility.

The aim of the master thesis is to empirically analyze if there is a support for new classics or new Keynesians as a dominant theory of short-run aggregate supply curve. The analysis is based on dynamic panel data model for 38 countries and period between 1970 and 2014. Because the results show some evidence on negative significance of level of inflation in contrast with its variability, I conclude that there is support for the new Keynesian theory. I focus on examination of the panel data assumptions such as the stationarity of explanatory variables, existence of the individual or random effects, validity of homogeneity of slope coefficients and mainly the cross-sectional dependence of error terms. After testing for these assumptions, I choose the most suitable method of estimation for dynamic panel data models. I use these methods for analyzing both linear and non-linear specification of the given model. As a result, we can see that the selection of right estimation method plays a great role in final outcomes. I also check model robustness by including changes of real oil price as a proxy variable for the supply shock in the economy.

This thesis investigates the nature of joint dividend-and-earnings signalling in announcements to the New Zealand Stock Exchange in the 1990s. Initially the Market Model is used to compute expected returns, and the abnormal returns derived from these are subjected to restricted least squares regressions to separate out a putative dividend signal from the concurrent earnings signal. But with the Market Model, the zero-value company returns associated with an absence of trading in thinly traded stocks are over-represented in returns distributions leading to problems of bias. New models are developed that explicitly exploit zero returns. The first alternative methodology entails friction modelling, which uses a maximum likelihood estimation procedure to find the relationship coefficients and the range of returns that should be considered as zero, and then proceeds to treat them as a separate category. The second alternative methodology is that of state asset models, which take a fresh new look at investor perceptions of the connection between movements in company returns and those of the concurrent underlying market. Zero-value company returns cease to be zero in value, where a state model is rotated, or alternatively they can be modelled as an extra state. All three methodologies furnish some evidence of dividend signalling; but this evidence is highly dependent on small changes within the given methodology.

Children are at greater risk of malnutrition in Afghanistan than they are in many other countries. Malnutrition impairs the mental and physical growth of more than 50% of children in Afghanistan. It also exacerbates the risks of mortality by 45% in infants and children in Afghanistan. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between mothers' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding complementary feeding and malnutrition in children in Afghanistan. The precaution adoption process model served as a theoretical framework in this quantitative cross-sectional research study. Data analyzed were collected from 306 mothers and children at 6 randomly selected hospitals in Kabul Province. The results of logistic regression models indicated that mothers' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding complementary feeding were statistically significant predictors of stunting in children, Ï?2 (9, N = 306) = 45.33, p < .001; Ï?2 (9, N = 306) = 26.71, p < .01; and Ï?2 (9, N = 306) = 56.97, p < .001 respectively. The strongest predictor was mothers' practicing responsive feeding, where mothers who did not practice responsive feeding were 7.1 times more likely to have stunted children than mothers who practiced responsive feeding. Moreover, the results indicated that mothers' knowledge, attitudes, and practices of complementary feeding were statistically significant predictors of underweight in children, Ï?2 (9, N = 306) = 37.49, p < .001; Ï?2 (9, N = 306) = 41.15, p < .001; and Ï?2 (9, N = 306) = 44.64, p < .001. The implications for positive social change include reviewing nutrition policies, investing in nutrition programs, and operationalizing nutrition education and behavior change interventions for promoting appropriate complementary infant feeding practices in Afghanistan.

Svenskarnas matkonsumtion är inte hållbar utifrån ett klimatperspektiv. För en mer hållbar konsumtion krävs en minskning av animaliska livsmedel. Tidigare studier visar att det är möjligt att äta klimatsmart och fortfarande nå upp till näringsrekommendationerna. Syftet med studien är att undersöka vilken klimatpåverkan och näringsinnehåll studenters matvanor har och skillnader mellan olika kosthållningar och kön. Studien har genomförts utifrån en kvantitativ ansats med en tvärsnittsdesign genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Urvalet bestod av 21 högskolestudenter, elva män och tio kvinnor med en fördelning på sju deltagare inom varje kosthållning. Metoden som använts är retrospektiva 24-timmarsintervjuer för att få en bild av en grupps matvanor. Resultatet visar att lunch är den måltidsform med högst klimatpåverkan och näringsinnehåll. Lunch har närmare tre gånger så hög klimatpåverkan jämfört med frukost. Allätare har högst klimatpåverkan och proteinintag, medan veganer har högre kolhydrats- och energiintag samt lägst klimatpåverkan. Vegetarianer och veganer har högst intag av vitamin C. Mäns måltider bidrar med högst klimatpåverkan och de har högst intag av protein, energi och kolhydrater, medan kvinnor har ett högre intag av vitamin C. Det teoretiska perspektivet som användes för att diskutera resultatet är social-ekologiska modellen.
The food consumption of Swedish people is not sustainable from a climate perspective. For more sustainable consumption it requires a reduction of meat and dairy products. Previous studies show that it is possible to eat climate smart but still reach nutrition recommendations. The aim of this study is to investigate the students´ eating habits, nutritional content, impact on the climate, and study if there are differences between diets and between men and women. The study is based on quantitative approach with a cross sectional study through semi-structured interviews. The used method is retrospective 24-hour recall interviews to get at picture of the groups eating habits. The participants comprised of 21 students from Mälardalen University, eleven men and ten women with a distribution of seven participants in each diet. The result shows that lunch is the meal with the highest climate impact and nutritional content and that lunch has almost three times higher climate impact compared to breakfast. Individuals who eat both meat and dairy have the highest climate impact and protein intake, while vegans have the lowest climate impact and highest carbohydrate and energy intake. Vegetarians and vegans have the highest intake of vitamin C. Mens´ meals have the highest climate impact and nutritional content of protein, energy and carbohydrate, while women have a higher intake of vitamin C. The social ecological model is the theoretical perspective used to discuss the result.

碩士
國立中正大學
財務金融所
95
This thesis aims to examine the effectiveness of Merton’s option pricing model on predicting default risk by incorporating some useful cross-sectional explanatory variables. We first use Merton’s model to estimate distance-to-default (DD) for each company in sample. Subsequently, DD is used as an explanatory variable in the Logit regression model. There are six variables (company size, company growth, ownership structure, conglomerate, profitability, and liquidity) to characterize firm cross- sectional variation. We also add two dummy interactions term to capture the bias resulting from low trading volume and low stock price firms. We find that (1) DD provide good prediction power in distinguishing endangered from normal companies; (2) The result from Logit regression shows that all DD, company growth variable (i.e. TOBIN’S Q), profitability, and liquidity are negatively associated with financial crisis; (3) the relationship between DD and low volume interaction term is significant while the moderating effect of low price on DD does not exist; (4) the inclusion of cross-sectional variables does reduce type I and type II errors considerably; thereby, improve the prediction ability.

碩士
國立高雄大學
統計學研究所
95
Wong et al. (2006) proposed an estimating procedure to estimate the HIV hazards function of a single population when only HIV prevalence data are available over an extended period of time. The method was illustrated using HIV-prevalence data collected over four years among women in Cape Town, South africa by stratifying the data into three populations based on the age of the women. In this work, we assume women with different age may have different HIV hazards function but proportional to each other. Then, a semiparametric approach is applied to estimate the risk parameters. No parametric assumptions of the baseline hazards function are required.

碩士
國立成功大學
財務金融研究所碩士在職專班
106
As for the Taiwan stock market, this study expands the earnings forecast model of Hou et al. (2012) and combines it to the Risidual Income Valuation Model (RIVM) by Frankel and Lee(1998), to estimate the intrinsic value (Vf) of the company and assess the predictive ability with the intrinsic value-to-stock price ratio (Vf/P) on future stock returns. According to the empirical results, the return of the portfolios for the highest Vf/P bought and held for 1 to 3 years is all superior to the return of 0050 Tracker Fund in the same period. When the portfolio is established with the highest Vf/P and the highest earnings quality which is further taken into consideration for the construction of portfolio. The results suggest that buying the portfolio and holding for a long time can good at obtaining higher excess returns. This study confirmed that RIVM has interpretive ability for the returns of stocks, which can be applied to the construction of portfolio in Taiwan securities market.

碩士
國立成功大學
財務金融研究所碩士在職專班
106
Based on the residual income valuation model proposed by Frankel and Lee (1998), accompanied by earnings forecast model of Hou et al. (2012), this study additional incorporates four earnings quality signals into the explanatory variables of earning forecast model for the extended use to forecast company’s future earnings. We apply the RIVM to estimate the intrinsic value to test RIVM applicability to Taiwan stock market, construct portfolio with the V/P ratio and evaluate its forecast ability in stock returns. Our results show that RIVM evaluation mechanism is applicable to Taiwan stock market and the company’s intrinsic value evaluated by RIVM is highly correlated to stock price and has the forecast ability in stock returns. The optimum portfolio can be constructed according to V/P ratio and the return performance of this portfolio exceeds that of ETF 0050. If the earnings quality of the company’s financial statements is added to construct the portfolio, it can create the better return on investment.

碩士
國立中興大學
企業管理學系所
96
Based on the traditional earnings management detecting model, accrual-based measures proposed by Healy (1985) and two-stage regression approach proposed by Jones (1991), we proposes a new cross-sectional discretionary accrual model, labeled the Economic Intention Model, to detect earnings management by considering common economic intentions of managers. This proposed model relaxes the assumption that there is no managed accrual within corporate. Contrast to traditional discretionary accrual model taking total accruals or working capital accruals as proxy of non-discretionary accruals, Economic Intention Model estimates working capital accruals directly and partitions it into two parts, unmanaged accruals and managed accruals. The economic intentions are the purposes of managing earnings for compensation plan, debt contract, political costs and equity offerings in order to influence contractual outcomes or mislead some stakeholders. This paper examines specification and power of tests based on the measures of economic intentions discretionary accruals, and makes comparison with traditional discretionary accrual model (cross-sectional Modified Jones Model). The empirical results show that Economic Intention Model enhances the of the first-stage regression. And in the part of research design, this paper takes corporate failure events as income-decreasing cases and restatement of finance reports as income-increasing cases to process the specification and power of tests. The empirical results also indicate that both discretionary accrual models are well specified when applied to income-decreasing cases. As for the income-increasing cases, the power of Economic Intention Model is more stable than that of Modified Jones Model, implying that considering more scopes of economic motivations hold by managers could help discover abnormal transactions and detect earnings manipulations. Based on the results, it is obvious that managers with performance intention tend to increase income and managers with political cost intention tend to reduce income. But for managers with debt contract intention and capital market intention, they do not show apparent states of upward or downward earnings management.

Hip fracture has been identified as a major worldwide health problem among the elderly population. A fast, accurate and effective evaluation of hip fracture risk is essential for accurate health care planning and selecting a proper treatment. Therefore, the high applicability and the universal availability are required for assessing a technique. The objective of this study was to develop a two-dimensional subject-specific beam model, which is easy to be adopted into a clinical environment to assess hip fracture risk. First, the equivalence between CTXA (computed tomography X-ray absorptiometry) and QCT (quantitative computed tomography) derived femur cross-section stiffness was studied. Then, the CTXA-based femur cross-section stiffness was used in the beam model to calculate the hip fracture risk index (FRI) during sideways fall and single-leg stance loading configuration. Finally, the test of discrimination between PPI (proton-pump inhibitor) users and non-PPI users based on cross-sectional stiffness, BMD (bone mineral density) and FRI was conducted to demonstrate if PPI use is associated with the presence of osteoporosis or accelerated BMD loss. Strong correlation is found between CTXA and QCT derived femur cross-section stiffness, which indicates that QCT can be replaced by CTXA in assessing femur bone quality. Therefore, DXA can be a replacement of QCT to calculate femur cross-sectional properties due to the equivalence between CTXA and DXA derived mechanical properties. It is also demonstrated that the cross-sectional stiffness, BMD, and FRI cannot discriminate the PPI users from non-PPI users, which means that there is no difference between PPI users and non-PPI users in cross-sectional stiffness, BMD, and FRI. This may suggested that PPI use is not associated with the presence of osteoporosis or accelerated BMD loss. The proposed beam model can be easily adopted into clinic to predict hip fracture risk, and this beam model derived FRI can be used in some clinical verification. Yet its accuracy of discriminate fracture will be investigated in a future study.
May 2017

Estimar e avaliar modelos de Asset Pricing não é uma tarefa elementar. Os resultados obtidos dependem do método utilizado, das hipóteses que são tomadas, nos dados usados, etc. Apesar dos esforços para se encontrar estatísticas precisas, não existe consenso em relação ao método que deve ser usado para testar os modelos, que ajustes são necessários aplicar a esse método, que dados devem ser utilizados, entre outras coisas. Esta tese ajuda a mostrar que diferentes métodos podem levar a conclusões consideravelmente diferentes no que aos modelos testados/avaliados diz respeito. Apesar de alguma evidência a favor dos tradicionais métodos de regressão OLS e GLS, em especial quando se trata de estimar o prémio de risco, não é possível dizer que este é o melhor método, ou muito menos que é perfeito. A aceitação do CAPM ou do FF3 depende fortemente do método e dos dados usados, o que significa que ambos são rejeitados com a mesma facilidade com que são aceites. No entanto, devido à potência relativamente baixa dos testes multivariados, é expectável que os modelos sejam rejeitados bastante menos vezes do que seria suposto. Parece também não haver uma performance significativamente melhor de um dos modelos em relação ao outro.
Estimating and testing asset pricing models is not a straightforward task. Results depend on the method used, on the assumptions made, on the data used, etc. Despite all efforts to find the most accurate statistics, there is not a consensus on which method to use to test the models, which adjustments those methods need, which data shall be employed, among other issues. I have helped to show that different methods can lead to quite different conclusions regarding the estimated/evaluated models. Despite some evidence in favour of traditional OLS and GLS cross-sectional regressions, especially concerning estimation, it cannot be said that this model is the best one and it is far from being perfect. The acceptance of the CAPM and FF3 models heavily depends of the method and data used, i.e., they are accepted with the same easiness as they are rejected. As multivariate tests have quite low power, it is to expect that models are rejected much less frequently than they should be. Also, none of them seems to perform significantly better than the other.

The triple transgenic (3xTg-AD) mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) possesses three transgenes that lead to the development of amyloid-beta (A?) plaques (APPswe, PS1M146V) and neurofibrillary tangles (and tauP301L) (Oddo et al., 2003b). Although the neuropathology of these mice has been extensively studied (Sy et al., 2011), less research has been done to investigate their working memory, emotionality, and locomotor-related behaviour. Using a cross-sectional design, male and female 3xTg-AD mice were compared to control mice (B6129SF2/J) at five ages (2-, 6-, 9-, 12-, and 15-months of age) on a battery of five tests designed to measure: anxiety- and locomotor-related behaviours (open field [OF], elevated plus maze [EPM]); depression (forced swim test [FST]); motor coordination and motor learning (rotarod); and working and reference memory (8-arm radial maze [RAM]). Additionally, the brain tissue of male and female 3xTg-AD and control mice at 2- and 15-months of age was analyzed for the presence of A? plaques and human tauP301L. 3xTg-AD mice were found to travel less and freeze more in both the OF and the EPM, engage in fewer bouts of immobility in the FST, have a longer latency to fall on the rotarod, and make more working and reference memory errors in the RAM than controls. There was no effect of age on performance in any of the tests. Intracellular A? plaques and limited human tau were present in the brain tissue of 2-month old 3xTg-AD mice. At 15-months of age, the brain tissue of 3xTg-AD mice showed extensive intra- and extracellular A? plaques as well as tauP301L staining. The presence of intracellular A? at 2-months of age supports the behavioural differences observed in the 3xTg-AD mice at 2-months of age. However, the lack of progressive behavioural change does not match the increase in neuropathology seen in the brains of the 15-month old 3xTg-AD mice. The results of the present study suggest that while the 3xTg-AD mice display similar neuropathology and some of the behavioural differences seen in individuals with AD, they also exhibit contradictory behaviours; findings that should be taken into consideration for future researchers using 3xTg-AD mice.

碩士
國立陽明大學
臨床暨社區護理研究所
101
This was a cross-sectional design study intended to determine the knowledge of cervical cancer and HPV vaccine, the cognition and affect for HPV vaccination among Taiwanese female college students, and thereby to identify predictors of HPV vaccination commitment and HPV vaccination behavior. The self-administered structural questionnaire was based on Pender’s Health Promotion Model. Data collection period took place during March of 2013. A purposive sample of 398 colleges’ female students was collected from 9 colleges in northern Taiwan. Results show that only 38 participants (9.5%) were already vaccinated with HPV vaccine. 58.9% of the participants have heard of the HPV virus, 76.6% have heard of the HPV vaccine, and 18.8% have had sexual experiences. Among the participants, their knowledge of cervical cancer and HPV vaccine was moderate. The average price of the vaccine that the unvaccinated participants said they were willing to pay was 6,932 NT (whereas the market sale price is about 12,000 NT). The greatest perceived benefit of HPV vaccination was the prevention of cervical cancer, whereas the biggest perceived barrier was the vaccine cost. Lastly, the biggest worry of using the HPV vaccination was the side effect. In the order of decreasing likelihood, factors that most affected subjects in this study were parents/family, partner, medical personnel, and peers. Advertisement or close access to medical facilities would also promote intention for vaccination. Sources from which subjects were most likely to obtain related knowledge, in decreasing order of frequency, include television, internet, and campus. The cognition and affect for HPV vaccination were related to knowledge, relationship status, sexual experience, past recommendations from others, and major. The predictors for commitment to HPV vaccination included past recommendations from parents/family, perceived self-efficacy, perceived barriers to action, and perceived benefits of action. As for HPV vaccination behavior, the only predictor was family gynecologic malignancy history. According to the above results, the biggest barrier for college females towards having HPV vaccination was the expensive price. If the government can provide free vaccination program, vaccination rate will definitely increase. Due to the fact that attitudes regarding HPV vaccination among college females are easily affected by others, government and medical institutes should not only educate female colleges on HPV vaccine knowledge, but also educate their family, partner, and peers. In addition, participants often obtained medical information through TV, internet and campus. Governments or medical institutions, when formulating vaccination policies, should utilize these media sources to advocate the correct knowledge on HPV vaccination, with hopes of increasing the vaccination rate in Taiwan.

no
Background Almost all studies in health research control or investigate socioeconomic position (SEP) as exposure or confounder. Different measures of SEP capture different aspects of the underlying construct, so efficient methodologies to combine them are needed. SEP and ethnicity are strongly associated, however not all measures of SEP may be appropriate for all ethnic groups. Methods We used latent class analysis (LCA) to define subgroups of women with similar SEP profiles using 19 measures of SEP. Data from 11,326 women were used, from eight different ethnic groups but with the majority from White British (40%) or Pakistani (45%) backgrounds, who were recruited during pregnancy to the Born in Bradford birth cohort study. Results Five distinct SEP subclasses were identified in the LCA: (i) "Least socioeconomically deprived and most educated" (20%); (ii) "Employed and not materially deprived" (19%); (iii) "Employed and no access to money" (16%); (iv) "Benefits and not materially deprived" (29%) and (v) "Most economically deprived" (16%). Based on the magnitude of the point estimates, the strongest associations were that compared to White British women, Pakistani and Bangladeshi women were more likely to belong to groups: (iv) "benefits and not materially deprived" (relative risk ratio (95% CI): 5.24 (4.44, 6.19) and 3.44 (2.37, 5.00), respectively) or (v) most deprived group (2.36 (1.96, 2.84) and 3.35 (2.21, 5.06) respectively) compared to the least deprived class. White Other women were more than twice as likely to be in the (iv) "benefits and not materially deprived group" compared to White British women and all ethnic groups, other than the Mixed group, were less likely to be in the (iii) "employed and not materially deprived" group than White British women. Conclusions LCA allows different aspects of an individual’s SEP to be considered in one multidimensional indicator, which can then be integrated in epidemiological analyses. Ethnicity is strongly associated with these identified subgroups. Findings from this study suggest a careful use of SEP measures in health research, especially when looking at different ethnic groups. Further replication of these findings is needed in other populations.

Text in English, abstracts and keywords in English, Afrikaans and Zulu
Secondary educational institutions need to constantly scan their environment for crises that could hamper their operations and hinder the achievement of their organisational objectives. These institutions should also engage their strategic stakeholders in a mixed motive communication to collaboratively discuss the crises and find amicable solutions; thereby avoiding crises like the proliferating student strikes in secondary educational institutions in Kenya. This study explored the need for a customised Proactive Crisis Communication Process (PCCP) framework for secondary educational institutions in Kenya to avoid student strikes. A two-phased approach was adopted to collect the data. The first phase involved 12 one-on-one semi-structured interviews with the principals of the secondary educational institutions in Mirangine Sub-County, while the second phase involved five focus group discussions with the students of Ruiru Secondary School. The results indicated that student strikes in secondary educational institutions in Kenya were proliferating and that despite this, these institutions lack proactive measures to avoid strikes. Hence, this study posited a PCCP framework that proposed various proactive measures to avoid student strikes in secondary educational institutions in Kenya.
Sekondêre opvoedkundige instellings moet konstant hul omgewing ondersoek vir krisisse wat hul bedrywighede kan belemmer en die bereiking van hul organisatoriese doelwitte kan verhinder. Hierdie instellings moet ook hul strategiese belanghebbers by gemengdemotief- kommunikasie betrek om gesamentlik die krisisse te bespreek en minlike oplossings te vind; en sodoende krisisse soos die toenemende studentestakings in sekondêre opvoedkundige instellings in Kenia te vermy. In hierdie studie is die nodigheid vir ʼn doelgemaakte ProaktieweKrisiskommunikasieproses (PCCP)-raamwerkvir sekondêre opvoedkundige instellings in Kenia ondersoek om studentestakings te voorkom. ʼn Tweefase-benadering is gevolg om die data in te samel. Die eerste fase het 12 halfgestruktureerde onderhoude behels wat een-tot-een met die hoofde van die sekondêre opvoedkundige instellingsin Mirangine Sub-Countygevoer is, terwyl die tweede fase bestaan het uit vyf fokusgroepbesprekings met die studente van RuiruSecondarySchool. Die resultate het getoon dat studentestakings in sekondêre opvoedkundige instellingsin Kenia vinnig toeneem en dat hierdie instellings, ten spyte daarvan, nie oor proaktiewe maatstawwe beskik om stakings af te weer nie.Gevolglik het hierdie studie ʼn PCCP-raamwerk aangeneem wat verskeie proaktiewe maatstawwe voorstel om stakings deur studente in sekondêre opvoedkundige instellings in Kenia te verhoed.
Izikhungo zemfundoyomkhakhawamasekhondari kumele zihlale ziqaphele ukuthi akukho yini endaweniezikuyookungasusaudweshubesekuphazamisaukusebenzakwazokuvimbe impumeleloyazoezinhloswenizayo.Lezizikhungokumelezibuyezisebenzisane nabathintekayo balawule amasu okusebenza ukuba kubenokuxhumana okunhlobonhlobo kuxoxwe ngokubambisana ngodweshu olungavela nokuthi lungasonjululwa kanjani ngendlela egculisayo; ngaleyo ndlela-ke ingagwemeka imibhikisho yabafundi elokhu isabalala ezikhungwenj zamasekhondari eKenya. Lolu cwaningoluhlola isidingo sohlaka lwekhethelo lokusheshe kusukunyelweudweshu lungakenzeki,i-Proactive Crisis Communication Process (PCCP) olungasebenza ezikhungweni zemfundo yamasekhondari eKenya ukuze kugwenywe imibhikisho yabafujni. Kwemukelwaindlela ezigaba zimbili yokuqoqainingwane. Isigaba sokuqala ngokuxoxisana okuyi-12 komuntu ebhekene nomuntu okuthi akuhleleke nje, okwenziwa nothishanhloko bezukhungo zemfundi yamasekhondaribaseMiringane Sub-County, kanti isigaba sesibili sabandakanya izingxoxo eziyisihlanu zamaqembu agxike kokuthile nje, zenziwa nabafundi besikole iRuri Secondary School. Imiphumela yaveza ukuthi imibhikisho ezikhungweni zemfundo yamasekhondari eKenya yabe yanda nokuthi nangaphandle kwalokhu izikhungo lezi zazingenazo izinyathelo ezingazithatha ngaphambi kwesikhathi ukuvimba ukwenziwa kwemibhikisho. Yikho-ke lolu cwaningo luphakamisa uhlaka lwe-PCCP oluncoma izinyathelo ezahlukene okumele zisheshe zithathwe ukugwema imibhikisho yabafundi ezikhungweni zamasekhondari eKenya.
Communication
M.A. (Communication)

Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) is an equilibrium model to test relationship between expected return and market risk (Sharpe, 1964). The model research on pricing and return when the securities market reaches equilibrium and investors are rational and investing by diversification based on Markovitz portfolio theory (Markovitz, 1952). Fama and MacBeth (1973) proposed a cross-sectional testing methodology on CAPM and this regression method has been widely used in testing CAPM in developed markets since then. While CAPM is hard to explain more and more market anomalies (excessive return in smaller market value company) in cross section regression, Fama and French (1992) added two more factors (SMB and HML) and proposed three factor model. The empirical results show that three factor model is superior to CAPM in developed markets. Relevant studies have been conducted by Manjuunatha (2006) and Trimech et al. (2015) but show different results. This dissertation will use Fama-MacBeth cross section approach to test CAPM and Fama-French's three factor model in Chinese and Polish stock market respectively. Following Fama and MacBeth (1972) and Shweta and Anil (2015), three sub periods of Polish and Chinese stock market returns ranging from 2007 to 2018 are examined. The empirical results in this thesis...

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych
Globally, and especially in Sub-Saharan Africa the advent of HIV and AIDS has created new inequalities within already challenged health care systems. Chronic illnesses have often been associated with increased prevalence of psychological symptoms. Both national and international studies have found a strong association between psychiatric morbidity and HIV and AIDS. Furthermore, studies have found that social support contributes to positive adjustment of individuals infected with HIV and provides a buffer against the effects of anxiety. The aim of this study was therefore to examine anxiety and social support in adults diagnosed with HIV or AIDS at a public health clinic in the Western Cape. The objectives in relation to the aim were: (1) To determine the prevalence of anxiety in adults diagnosed with HIV or AIDS. (2) To determine the degree of social support, as a component of quality of life,in adults diagnosed with HIV or AIDS. (3) To examine the relationship between anxiety and social support in adults diagnosed with HIV or AIDS. The broad theoretical framework that guides this study is the bio-psycho-social model. A cross-sectional design was used in which 70 participants were recruited using a purposive sampling method. Participants were assessed using well-validated self-administered questionnaires: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale(HADS) and Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q). Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17.1. Correlational and inferential statistics were conducted. The findings of this study indicated that participants in this study had higher levels of anxiety (28%) when compared to the general population (15.8%). Participants in this study, indicated a 59% enjoyment and satisfaction with social support, which indicates satisfaction with social support some of the time. There was however no significant relationship between anxiety and social support in this study. HIV intervention efforts should include screening HIV positive individuals for the presence of psychiatric symptoms. Interventions should also include encouraging HIV positive individuals to maintain and expand their social networks.