Do investors respond to changes in the composition of sustainability indices?

This paper investigates the price effects associated with changes in the composition of the first sustainability index in Central and Eastern Europe – the RESPECT Index – over its lifetime, i.e. 2009–2019, using an event study technique and the advanced market model for the calculation of abnormal returns. The results show a strong negative reaction by the stock prices of companies that are either included in or excluded from a sustainability index. The effect is short-lived but statistically significant in some asymmetric event windows. The study contributes to the discussion of how the emerging capital markets perceive the value of socially responsible activities undertaken by firms. The research indicates that events such as addition to and removal from a sustainability index (as well as announcements thereof) create a trading opportunity. Additionally, it suggests that investors at the Warsaw Stock Exchange – at least in the short run – tend to sell stocks of companies formally recognised as socially responsible

Predicting the Perceptual Demands of Urban Driving with Video Regression

To drive safely requires perceiving vast amounts of rapidly changing visual information. This can exhaust our limited perceptual capacity and lead to cases of 'looking but failing to see', reportedly the third largest contributing factor to road traffic accidents. In the present work we use a 3D convolutional neural network to model the perceptual demand of varied driving situations. To validate the method we introduce a new labelled dataset of approximately 2300 videos of driving in Brussels and California

Nonstandard additively finite triangulated categories of Calabi-Yau dimension one in characteristic 3

We prove that there exist nonstandard K-linear triangulated categories with finitely many indecomposable objects and Calabi-Yau dimension one over an arbitrary algebraically closed field K of characteristic 3, using deformed preprojective algebras of generalized Dynkin type

Midterm elections’ stock market surge: An unintentional gift from US politicians

Our article offers a scholarly scrutiny of the midterm election effect on the U.S. equity market. We first examine whether any pattern is present in the U.S. stock returns after the midterm elections and then carefully document the magnitude of it. Second, we compare the post-election stock market cycles for the presidential and the midterm elections. Finally, we examine whether fiscal or monetary policies are solely causing the distinctive return pattern

Influence of Edge Effects on Laser-Induced Surface Displacement of Opaque Materials by Photothermal Interferometry

We demonstrate the influence of edge effects on the photothermal-induced phase shift measured by a homodyne quadrature laser interferometer and compare the experiments with rigorous theoretical descriptions of thermoelastic surface displacement of metals. The finite geometry of the samples is crucial in determining how the temperature is distributed across the material and how this affects the interferometer phase shift measurements. The optical path change due to the surface thermoelastic deformation and thermal lens in the surrounding air is decoded from the interferometric signal using analytical and numerical tools. The boundary/edge effects are found to be relevant to properly describe the interferometric signals. The tools developed in this study provide a framework for the study of finite size effects in heat transport in opaque materials and are applicable to describe not only the phase shift sensed by the interferometer but also to contribute to the photothermal-based technologies employing similar detection mechanisms

METSTOR: A GIS to look for potential CO2 storage zones in France

AbstractThe METSTOR project offers a methodology to look for potentially interesting CO2 storage areas in France at the initial stage, before the “site selection” step. Our tool, embodied in a Geographic Information System, is based on an interactive map of CO2 storage capacities. Other relevant information layers are included. The geographic layers are complemented with a series of online technical notices. It seems to be the first open online GIS that offers policy makers, businesses and the public at large an integrated access to that necessary information. Our prototype, limited mainly to the Paris Basin, is released online at www.metstor.fr

Technical Design Report for the PANDA Solenoid and Dipole Spectrometer Magnets

This document is the Technical Design Report covering the two large spectrometer magnets of the PANDA detector set-up. It shows the conceptual design of the magnets and their anticipated performance. It precedes the tender and procurement of the magnets and, hence, is subject to possible modifications arising during this process.Comment: 10 pages, 14MB, accepted by FAIR STI in May 2009, editors: Inti Lehmann (chair), Andrea Bersani, Yuri Lobanov, Jost Luehning, Jerzy Smyrski, Technical Coordiantor: Lars Schmitt, Bernd Lewandowski (deputy), Spokespersons: Ulrich Wiedner, Paola Gianotti (deputy