Creating an adaptive asset allocation fund to outperform inflation in the South African financial market

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-113).In this dissertation, I detail the process I went through to create a new asset allocation product, with the intention of beating inflation over the long term, in the South African flnancial market space. This process has been a contributor to the creation of my model for new product development in the financial market space. Simulation is at the core of this process. At the outset, I cover a brief history and contextualise absolute return funds, looking at the difference between an absolute return fund, a balanced fund and a hedge fund. The move from defined benefit to defined contribution pension funds and the impact this has had on consulting actuaries risk appetites is visited. My concern in this regard is that capital preservation is being maximised, at the expense of capital growth, without taking into account the devastating effects of inflation

Tagore Pedagogy and Visual Cultures

The Tagore, Pedagogy and Contemporary Visual Cultures network brings together a group of leading international academics and visual arts practitioners to discuss and explore the legacy and continuing relevance of Indian poet and polymath Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) for contemporary art practice and visual culture. The group, made up of artists, curators and cultural theorists from Europe and India, has come together because they share an interest in exploring Tagore’s legacy and influence from different disciplinary backgrounds, often taking unorthodox approaches in order to think outside of the established conventions of Tagore scholarship. Tagore Pedagogy and Contemporary Visual Cultures is Directed by Andrea Phillips in collaboration with Grant Watson, Curator at Iniva. The project is funded by an AHRC International Network Grant

The NASA Astrophysics Data System: Overview

The NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstract Service has become a key component of astronomical research. It provides bibliographic information daily, or near daily, to a majority of astronomical researchers worldwide. We describe the history of the development of the system and its current status. We show several examples of how to use the ADS, and we show how ADS use has increased as a function of time. Currently it is still increasing exponentially, with a doubling time for number of queries of 17 months. Using the ADS logs we make the first detailed model of how scientific journals are read as a function of time since publication. The impact of the ADS on astronomy can be calculated after making some simple assumptions. We find that the ADS increases the efficiency of astronomical research by 333 Full Time Equivalent (2000 hour) research years per year, and that the value of the early development of the ADS for astronomy, compared with waiting for mature technologies to be adopted, is 2332 FTE research years. The ADS is available at http://adswww.harvard.edu/.Comment: 19 pages, 22 figure

The 50th ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics

Development of new mass spectrometers and implementation of new analytical methods were the central themes of the conference. The majority of oral presentations and posters were concerned with the application of mass spectrometry to pharmaceutical and biotechnological research

Suicidal students' use of and attitudes to primary care prevention services

Aim The aims of this study were to improve responses to students in distress and who are feeling suicidal, to help practitioners to increase their responsiveness to those at high risk of suicide and to develop effective responses to those affected by their deaths. The study sought to build a detailed picture of students’ patterns of service use. Background National suicide prevention strategies emphasise that suicide prevention requires the collaboration of a wide range of organisations. Among these, primary care services play a key role in relation to suicide prevention for young people in crisis. Methods This study, undertaken between 2004 and 2007, focused on 20 case studies of student suicide that took place in the United Kingdom between May 2000 and June 2005. It adopted a psychological autopsy approach to learn from a wide range of informants, including parents, friends, university staff and the records of coroners or procurator fiscals. Twenty families gave permission for their son’s or daughter’s death to be included in the study and agreed to participate in the study. Informants were interviewed in person and the data were analysed thematically. Analysis of the case study data suggested that in a number of cases students had failed to engage with services sufficiently early or in sufficient depth. Primary care practitioners need to be proactive in communicating concerns about vulnerable students to student support services. At local levels, collaboration between student support and National Health Service practitioners varied considerably and channels of communication need to be developed

Measuring country ownership and its relationship to health outcomes: the case of Liberia

The concept of country ownership, in the international development aid context is not a new one; it is an essential international development aid component. The structure of development aid assumes a relationship between donor and recipient with the intention of creating goods or services to improve the socio-economic situation in a recipient country. But while country ownership's value is assumed to be beneficial, country ownership's effect is unknown. There is no universally accepted definition, and secondly, no systematic measurement of the concept has been developed. The study aims are: 1) develop a measure of country ownership test if the performance based financing (PBF) system implemented by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and supported by the US Government, can be referred to as `country owned'; 2) assess if health outcomes have improved in Liberia; 3) determine intervening variables that could test a connection between country ownership and health outcomes; and 4) develop a plan for change. This study used a mixed methods approach, first the concept of country ownership was defined, then country ownership of the PBF system in Liberia was measured. Second, secondary data analysis was done to determine if health outcomes have improved. Third, a qualitative assessment was done to suggest intervening variables that could be used to detect a connection between country owned PBF process and improved health outcomes. Therefore, the methodological approach is aligned to the aims of the study. The study's key findings are the PBF scheme in Liberia can be referred to as being country owned; health outcomes examined have not improved and variables for detecting a connection between a country-owned PBF scheme and health outcomes are already being measured within the context of the country ownership of the PBF scheme, so essentially there are no intervening variables. The plan for change includes specific policy recommendations to improve the ownership of the PBF process for Liberian donors and recipients. The recommendations are grounded in the leadership principle of power and influence, which examines power relationships and processes of influence towards achieving effective outcomes and is framed around Kotter's Steps for Transformational Change.Doctor of Public Healt

Acute Hepatic Necrosis Caused by Salmonella enterica Serotype I 4,5,12:-:1,2 in a Dog.

Acute hepatic necrosis was diagnosed in a dog. Gram staining and fluorescence in situ hybridization identified Salmonella enterica in the liver, subsequently confirmed as S. enterica serotype I 4,5,12:-:1,2. This is the first report of acute hepatic necrosis with liver failure caused by Salmonella in a dog.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/JCM.01256-1