H.V.: The Cuban Revolution through One Man’s Life

This paper aims to illustrate the many ways in which the Cuban Revolution shaped the lives of the Cuban people by focusing on one man’s life from his childhood in the early part of the revolutionary period to his final departure from Cuba in 2006. H.V., as I call him, now lives in Barcelona, Spain. He is a man of humble rural origins who moved to Havana in his youth, where he benefitted from various government programs related to education, sports and job training. He and his family were initially very pro-revolutionary, but in the 1980’s he began to observe events that changed his mind about the Castro regime. A significant aspect of this project is that it also reveals how a person’s experience can reverse his understanding of the historical period through which he is living. I will organize my presentation around key historical moments described by H.V., ending with his reaction to the death of Fidel Castro and his final thoughts on the Cuban Revolution. The paper ends with a reflection on the value of gathering oral histories from individuals who have lived through significant historical transformations in their societies

Valuasi Compound Option Put On Put Tipe Eropa

Options are one of the form of investment which a contract that gives the right (not obligation) to the option holder to buy (call options) or sell (put options) the underlying asset by a certain date for a certain price. Option price is a reflection of the intrinsic value of the option and any additional amount over intrinsic value. One type of options that are traded is compound options. Compound option model is introduced by Robert Geske in 1979. Compound options are options on options. Compound option put on a put is put option where the underlying assets are another put option. The compound option put on put will be exercised on the first exercise date only if the value of the put option on that date is less than the first stike price. An empirical study using compound option put on a put stocks of Apple Inc which is strike price compound option US$560, strike price put option US$ 585, with the first exercise date on March 28, 2014 and the second exercise date on May 17, 2014. The theoritical price of compound option put on put on stocks of Apple Inc is US$ 501.4566

Congregational Exegesis: Toward Shared Proclamation

Recognizing that theological diversity is a reality in many mainline churches, this thesis considers the value of exegeting the congregation to gain knowledge of the congregation’s lived and local theology. That knowledge is then used to write and preach four sermons with the intent of helping both the listener and the preacher deepen their understanding of Jesus. An additional focus is on the challenge for the preacher to make clear and bold theological claims. Using an Action-Reflection method of research, interactive exegetical tools, questionnaires, surveys and a personal preaching journal, this project is carried out by a minister in a new call within a United Church of Canada congregation

Optimal stopping problems in mathematical finance

This thesis is concerned with the pricing of American-type contingent claims. First, the explicit solutions to the perpetual American compound option pricing problems in the Black-Merton-Scholes model for financial markets are presented. Compound options are financial contracts which give their holders the right (but not the obligation) to buy or sell some other options at certain times in the future by the strike prices given. The method of proof is based on the reduction of the initial two-step optimal stopping problems for the underlying geometric Brownian motion to appropriate sequences of ordinary one-step problems. The latter are solved through their associated one-sided free-boundary problems and the subsequent martingale verification for ordinary differential operators. The closed form solution to the perpetual American chooser option pricing problem is also obtained, by means of the analysis of the equivalent two-sided free-boundary problem. Second, an extension of the Black-Merton-Scholes model with piecewise-constant dividend and volatility rates is considered. The optimal stopping problems related to the pricing of the perpetual American standard put and call options are solved in closed form. The method of proof is based on the reduction of the initial optimal stopping problems to the associated free-boundary problems and the subsequent martingale verification using a local time-space formula. As a result, the explicit algorithms determining the constant hitting thresholds for the underlying asset price process, which provide the optimal exercise boundaries for the options, are presented. Third, the optimal stopping games associated with perpetual convertible bonds in an extension of the Black-Merton-Scholes model with random dividends under different information flows are studied. In this type of contracts, the writers have a right to withdraw the bonds before the holders can exercise them, by converting the bonds into assets. The value functions and the stopping boundaries' expressions are derived in closed-form in the case of observable dividend rate policy, which is modelled by a continuous-time Markov chain. The analysis of the associated parabolic-type free-boundary problem, in the case of unobservable dividend rate policy, is also presented and the optimal exercise times are proved to be the first times at which the asset price process hits boundaries depending on the running state of the filtering dividend rate estimate. Moreover, the explicit estimates for the value function and the optimal exercise boundaries, in the case in which the dividend rate is observable by the writers but unobservable by the holders of the bonds, are presented. Finally, the optimal stopping problems related to the pricing of perpetual American options in an extension of the Black-Merton-Scholes model, in which the dividend and volatility rates of the underlying risky asset depend on the running values of its maximum and its maximum drawdown, are studied. The latter process represents the difference between the running maximum and the current asset value. The optimal stopping times for exercising are shown to be the first times, at which the price of the underlying asset exits some regions restricted by certain boundaries depending on the running values of the associated maximum and maximum drawdown processes. The closed-form solutions to the equivalent free-boundary problems for the value functions are obtained with smooth fit at the optimal stopping boundaries and normal reflection at the edges of the state space of the resulting three-dimensional Markov process. The optimal exercise boundaries of the perpetual American call, put and strangle options are obtained as solutions of arithmetic equations and first-order nonlinear ordinary differential equations

Towards a canonical classical natural deduction system

This paper studies a new classical natural deduction system, presented as a typed calculus named \lml. It is designed to be isomorphic to Curien-Herbelin's calculus, both at the level of proofs and reduction, and the isomorphism is based on the correct correspondence between cut (resp. left-introduction) in sequent calculus, and substitution (resp. elimination) in natural deduction. It is a combination of Parigot's $\lambda\mu$-calculus with the idea of ``coercion calculus'' due to Cervesato-Pfenning, accommodating let-expressions in a surprising way: they expand Parigot's syntactic class of named terms. This calculus aims to be the simultaneous answer to three problems. The first problem is the lack of a canonical natural deduction system for classical logic. \lml is not yet another classical calculus, but rather a canonical reflection in natural deduction of the impeccable treatment of classical logic by sequent calculus. The second problem is the lack of a formalization of the usual semantics of Curien-Herbelin's calculus, that explains co-terms and cuts as, respectively, contexts and hole-filling instructions. The mentioned isomorphism is the required formalization, based on the precise notions of context and hole-expression offered by \lml. The third problem is the lack of a robust process of ``read-back'' into natural deduction syntax of calculi in the sequent calculus format, that affects mainly the recent proof-theoretic efforts of derivation of $\lambda$-calculi for call-by-value. An isomorphic counterpart to the $Q$-subsystem of Curien-Herbelin's-calculus is derived, obtaining a new $\lambda$-calculus for call-by-value, combining control and let-expressions.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Partial Evaluation for Java Malware Detection

The fact that Java is platform independent gives hackers the opportunity to write exploits that can target users on any platform, which has a JVM implementation. Metasploit is a well-known source of Java exploits and to circumvent detection by Anti Virus (AV) software, obfuscation techniques are routinely applied to make an exploit more difficult to recognise. Popular obfuscation techniques for Java include string obfuscation and applying reflection to hide method calls; two techniques that can either be used together or independently. This paper shows how to apply partial evaluation to remove these obfuscations and thereby improve AV matching. The paper presents a partial evaluator for Jimple, which is a typed three-address code suitable for optimisation and program analysis, and also demonstrates how the residual Jimple code, when transformed back into Java, improves the detection rates of a number of commercial AV products

How socioeconomic and institutional conditions at the household level shape the environmental effectiveness of governmental payments for ecosystem services program

As the world’s largest payments for ecosystem services (PES) program, China’s Sloping Land Conversion Program (SLCP) is designed to combat soil erosion and land degradation by converting cropland on steep slopes into forests. Operating through an incentive-based approach, the SLCP involved 32 million rural households as core agents. This paper aims to fill a research gap regarding how socioeconomic and institutional conditions influence rural households to reach the primary environmental goals. Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), we conclude that at the household level, the different pathways to environmental success or failure have been shaped by socioeconomic and institutional conditions in a combinatory manner rather than single conditions alone. Specifically, the combination of household involvement and effective monitoring plays a fundamental role in capacity-building between government and households. We found that financial incentives have a trade-off effect, as they could not only create a positive interaction but also trigger failure in situations with different conditions. Finally, the potential and limits of QCA were discussed, and we call for a more serious reflection on the added value of QCA as an alternative or complementary method to conventional approaches in environmental governance research

Theological perspectives on accounting: worldviews don’t change overnight

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the 2004 AAAJ special issue (SI): “Accounting and theology, an introduction: Initiating a dialogue between immediacy and eternity,” the relative immediate impact of the call for papers and the relevance of the theme to address issues in accounting today and in the future. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is a reflection and is framed around three different modes of engagement with new perspectives as identified by Orlikowski (2015). These are religion as phenomenon, as perspective and as a worldview. The authors draw on Burrell and Morgan’s (1979) framework in order to explore the ontological and epistemological blinkers that have limited the attempts to explore accounting from a theological perspective. Findings: The paper argues that historical and current structures can limit the manner in which accounting research uses theological perspectives. Indeed, the concerns of the initial SI remain – that the contemporary economic and knowledge system is in crisis and alternative ways of questioning are required to understand and respond to this system. Research limitations/implications: As a reflection, this paper is subject to limitations of author bias relating to our beliefs, ethnicities and culture. The authors have sought to reduce these by drawing on a wide range of sources, critical analysis and the input of feedback from other scholars. Nevertheless, the narrative of impact remains a continuing story. Originality/value: In drawing on both an original SI guest editor and a scholar for whom the 2004 SI has become a touchstone and springboard, this paper provides multiple viewpoints on the issue of accounting and theology