Map-reduced based approach for mining group stock portfolio

[[abstract]]In this paper, the map-reduce technique is utilized for speeding up the mining process and derived as similar results as our previous approach. The chromosome representation consists of four parts that are a mapper number, grouping part, stock part and portfolio part. According to mapper number, chromosomes in population are divided into subsets and sent to respective mappers. Fitness evaluation and genetic operations are the same with our previous approach, and executed on reducers. The evolution process is repeated until reaching the terminal conditions. Experiments are conducted on a real dataset to show the performance of proposed approach.[[notice]]補正完

The international regulation of extinction: An economic analysis of the forces causing and controlling the extinction of species.

This thesis explains the decline of biological diversity as the result of a particular form of dynamic externality inherent within the global development process. Agricultural technology and learning have become embedded within particular species, by reason of species-specific investments, and the diffusion of these technologies has implied the adoption of these particular species as well. The decline of biological diversity has been the consequence of this development process, which carries with it the by-product of a homogenised biosphere. This theory has important implications for the regulation of diverse biological resources, and especially their extinction. It implies that the fundamental force driving extinctions is relative underinvestment in these non-specialised resources and in their ancillary resources: base resources (land) and management requirements. When particular species do not attract investment, they are subject to disinvestment by reason of "mining" (for investment of rents elsewhere), "land use conversions" (for investment of base resources elsewhere), or "overexploitation" (for investment of management resources elsewhere). Decisions concerning the conversion of diverse resources made by individual states are necessarily suboptimal. The mere existence of a range of diversity in biological resources confers global benefits, specifically insurance and informational services. No single state will take these global benefits into consideration when making its disinvestment decisions. The internalisation of these benefits, through international environmental agreements to that effect, is the means by which the decline of biological diversity might be controlled. The international regulation of extinction may take three distinct forms: 1) the creation of dynamically consistent transfer systems to compensate for reduced rates of conversion of diverse resources ("international franchise agreements"); 2) the creation of rent enhancement systems to render nonconversion a more profitable alternative ("international wildlife trade regimes"); or, 3) the creation of appropriation mechanisms that render the nonappriable appropriable ("international intellectual property right regimes")

Forecasting financial markets using linear, nonlinear & model combination methods

In this thesis we investigate the question of asset price predictability. The two major themes that we focus on are firstly; whether machine learning and statistical modelling techniques, which impose less restrictive assumptions on asset price dynamics than do classical linear methods, can be used to forecast and trade financial markets to a degree greater than that which traditional asset pricing models would lead us to expect and secondly; to what extent model combination/ensemble strategies can add value in this pursuit. The approaches used include support vector regression (SVR), k-nearest neighbours (KNN), trading rules, linear regression (LR) and the random subspace ensemble method. We investigate these two themes using inherently data-driven models across datasets of sufficient size to render statistically meaningful results in three self-contained contexts. The first piece of empirical work compares the relative forecasting performance of SVR, KNN and LR models when applied to predicting daily returns of 58 UK stocks in the FTSE 100 over 4000 days. Bootstrap simulations are used to shed further statistical light on model performance. Secondly, we investigate the extent to which model combinations can improve forecasting performance with the use of the random subspace ensemble method for constructing ensembles of linear regression models to predict the returns of a portfolio of FTSE 100 stocks. The primary ensemble consists of 62500 component models estimated by randomly sampling subsets of the feature set and the final result combined via a majority vote. Lastly, we conduct an in-depth study of the channel break-out trading rule over a portfolio of 37 futures markets. We borrow a page from the book of modern portfolio theory where it is the performance of individual markets in the context of a portfolio that is ultimately of interest rather than on an individual basis. This approach is rarely used in the literature but is able to shed more light on the question of trading rule efficacy. Bootstrap resampling is employed to derive robust performance statistics. Our results show the Sharpe Ratio of the portfolio to be three times greater than of individual markets as a result of diversification in addition to being greater than that of S&P500 benchmark. We did not set out in an attempt to refute the weak form of Fama's (1970) classic taxonomy of information sets or, colloquially, "to beat the market"; nonetheless, some of our results suggest economically significant returns

The drivers of Corporate Social Responsibility in the supply chain. A case study.

Purpose: The paper studies the way in which a SME integrates CSR into its corporate strategy, the practices it puts in place and how its CSR strategies reflect on its suppliers and customers relations. Methodology/Research limitations: A qualitative case study methodology is used. The use of a single case study limits the generalizing capacity of these findings. Findings: The entrepreneur’s ethical beliefs and value system play a fundamental role in shaping sustainable corporate strategy. Furthermore, the type of competitive strategy selected based on innovation, quality and responsibility clearly emerges both in terms of well defined management procedures and supply chain relations as a whole aimed at involving partners in the process of sustainable innovation. Originality/value: The paper presents a SME that has devised an original innovative business model. The study pivots on the issues of innovation and eco-sustainability in a context of drivers for CRS and business ethics. These values are considered fundamental at International level; the United Nations has declared 2011 the “International Year of Forestry”

Proceedings of the 2nd Conference on Managing Digital Industry, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CoMDITE 2021)

This conference proceeding provides the compilation of all papers presented during the 2nd Conference on Managing Digital Industry, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CoMDITE 2021) on 7th and 8th April 2021. This year, CoMDITE is held virtually with participations from local and international participants. The theme is Business Sustainability Through Digital Transformation. CoMDITE 2021 is mainly aimed to serve as a sharing platform that enables researchers, academics and practitioners to share the best practices, which have been produced through research, as well as to potentially propose the best strategy in utilizing digital transformation for business sustainability. All papers are presented according to the following seven tracks - (i) Big Data Analytics for Business, (ii) Digital Innovative and Education, (iii) Digital Marketing, (iv) Digital Talent for Management, (v) Digital Technology for Business, (vi) Entrepreneurship and (vii) Strategic Management and Ecosystem Business

Risk Management

Every business and decision involves a certain amount of risk. Risk might cause a loss to a company. This does not mean, however, that businesses cannot take risks. As disengagement and risk aversion may result in missed business opportunities, which will lead to slower growth and reduced prosperity of a company. In today's increasingly complex and diverse environment, it is crucial to find the right balance between risk aversion and risk taking. To do this it is essential to understand the complex, out of the whole range of economic, technical, operational, environmental and social risks associated with the company's activities. However, risk management is about much more than merely avoiding or successfully deriving benefit from opportunities. Risk management is the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks. Lastly, risk management helps a company to handle the risks associated with a rapidly changing business environment

Emerging gateways for Italian high tech companies to the Silicon Valley entrepreneurial ecosystem

Italian high tech firms are currently undergoing a second revolution, incorporating economic development and searching for global expansion. Emerging realities as gateways, deal flow organizations and startups incubators allows Italian technology based SMEs to get access to the huge US market. Therefore Italian brain drain to the USA can be reversed as brain gain for Italy, through a technology – bridge between these two countries. Different forms of gateways and this new strategy are analyzed in this thesi

Resource Allocation Decisions for the Internationalization of Small and Medium-Sized Manufacturing Firms

Abstract This research explores the problems of resource allocation during the process of internationalization by small and medium-sized manufacturing firms. The literature largely portrays a positive view of internationalization with respect to increased firm performance or growth. However, particularly for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises(SMEs), growth through internationalization increases uncertainty and may jeopardize firm performance and even threaten survival of the firm. The literature indicates that some SMEs fail during the process of expanding to foreign markets (Brewer 1981;Ramaswamy 1992; Mudambi and Zahra 2007). Many of these failures are due, in part,to the challenges of allocating limited resources during and after internationalization(Chen and Hsu 2009). Given the challenge of internationalizing, this research examines the influence of resource allocation on firm performance with the aim of providing recommendations on how entrepreneurs can make better resource allocation decisions that in turn may lead to improved performance. To address the problem of allocation of limited resources during and after internationalization, theoretical propositions are developed based on modern portfolio-theory (Markowitz 1952; 1959; 1991) that explains the risk-return tradeoffs with regards to resource allocation to domestic, U.S., and foreign markets and possible effects on firm performance. This research applies a multiple case-study approach based on critical realism, a qualitative philosophical research paradigm. Data collection is through in-depth interviews with executives of twenty-two small- and medium-sized manufacturing firms located in Canada. Within-case and cross-case analyses findings are used to confirm or modify the propositions, resulting in a descriptive model that best explains resource allocation decisions and the effects on performance. The findings indicate that resource allocations to domestic, U.S., and foreign markets have different contributions to overall firm performance. However, the way in which resource allocation trade-offs are decided between these markets is largely dependent on the firms or owners/manager’s disposition to risks and returns. Findings from this research also show that decisions by firm managers to allocate resources to a particular market depend on their assessment or anticipation of risks and the potential mitigation strategies that are required in order to maximize returns. This, consequently, determines the firm’s performance during the process of internationalization. This research contributes to the literature in international entrepreneurship, management of technology, and decision analysis. While there is an extensive body of literature that focuses on the output of internationalization (i.e., where, when, and how firms export their products), few studies have specifically examined the inputs that make this happen (one of these being the allocation of resources). Rugman et al. (2008) examines the resource allocation decision between domestic and foreign markets for Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) and the impact on firm performance. No known study has specifically explored resource allocation decisions between domestic, U.S., and foreign markets for SMEs and the influence on firm performance. This research fills the identified gap by making a significant theoretical contribution to this field by adopting portfolio theory to the challenge of allocating resources between domestic and foreign markets

An Analysis of Social Responsibility Dimension in Islamic Investment Funds: Evidence from Malaysian Investors

In view of the ‘divergence dilemma’ between the aspirations of Islamic economics and the commercially oriented nature of Islamic finance, this research explores the prospect of incorporating social responsibility dimension in the practice of Islamic investment, in line with the normative goals of Islamic economics. The significance of the study is further emphasised in the face of the rapidly growing Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) movement, which uses various social, ethical, and environmental issues in investment to promote socially responsible behaviours among corporations. The conceptual discussion and empirical analysis of the study aims to explore and examine four important areas relevant to the research: the Islamic perspective of social responsibility and its normative foundations; the investment strategies that can be used to address social responsibility dimension; the investors’ perspective on the importance of social responsibility dimension and its various issues; and the investors’ level of commitment to incorporate these criteria into actual investment. In the light of the SRI experience, the conceptual discussion focuses on delineating the Islamic perspective of social responsibility, resulting in a unified behavioural framework of social responsibility issues and commitment. The theoretical model is based on the ethical values embedded in the Shari’ah and its underlying objectives (Maqasid al-Shari’ah), the precepts of justice (‘adl) and beneficence (ihsan), and the notion of ultimate happiness (falah). The discussion further evaluates the present practices of Islamic investment in relation to social responsibility dimension and explores the potential of applying various SRI strategies in the Islamic investment sector. The empirical component of the study aims to explore and examine the perceptions, attitudes and behaviours of the investors of Islamic funds in Malaysia in relation to the prospect of incorporating social responsibility dimension and its various issues in investment. Overall, social responsibility dimension is recognised by the respondents as part of an essential component in Shari’ah based investments. Nevertheless, there seemed to be a hierarchy in the component they perceived as important, with social responsibility dimension came third in the list after the fiqh injunction and economic dimensions. Additionally, the examination on the perceived importance of various social responsibility issues revealed that the underlying factor that influenced this perception is shaped by the nature of the criteria, particularly the distinction between harm prevention and the promotion of good, and the differentiation between internal business practice and external stakeholders. The study also found encouraging results on the willingness of the respondents to incorporate social responsibility criteria in their actual investment. The findings suggest that important factors influencing investors’ perceptions and commitment to incorporate social responsibility dimension in Islamic investment include participation in individually oriented behaviour, socio-demographic variables such as ethnicity, religion, age, income, education, types of occupation and organisation, as well as the level of SRI awareness. Additionally, while individual’s investment decision is shown to be highly influenced by normative consideration, favourable financial expectation remains a strong driving factor in all of the behaviours examined; obedient, altruistic and sacrificial behaviours. In view of the prominent influence of financial motive in the decisions of individuals, the interpretive discussion explores the potential of a strategic framework of social responsibility as a complement to the normative foundations in creating additional incentive and enabling environment towards goal realisation in an Islamic economy