Top Executives’ Pay For Long-Run Performance And Corporate Governance

This study examines the possibility that the quality of corporate governance has effects on the dynamic relationship between CEO compensation and firm performance. Building on the dynamic view of CEO pay and firm performance and corporate governance literature, we find that firms with weak corporate governance are more likely to provide high powered long-run incentives to CEOs, indicating CEO incentive contracts can be replaced by the role of external corporate control when the external control mechanism is not functioning effectively from the optimal contracting view. Overall, the findings imply that firm’s governance mechanism can generate cross-sectional variations in CEO long-term incentive contracts

Isogeometric finite element methods for liquid metal magnetohydrodynamics

A fusion blanket is a key component in a fusion reactor which extracts heat energy, protects the surrounding structure and possibly produces tritium, one of the fuels required for the deuterium-tritium fusion reaction. Interest in magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) effects in the fusion blanket has been growing due to the promising prospect of a liquid breeder blanket, due to its high power density and the possibility of sustainable production of tritium. However, MHD effects can significantly influence the operating performance of the fusion blanket and an accurate and reliable analysis of the MHD effects are critical in its design. Significant progress in the numerical study of MHD has been made recently, due in large part to the advancement in computing power. However, its maturity has not yet reached a point comparable with standard CFD solvers. In particular, complex domains and complex externally applied magnetic fields present additional challenges for numerical schemes in MHD. For that reason, the application of isogeometric analysis is considered in this thesis. Isogeometric Analysis (IGA) is a new class of numerical method which integrates Computer Aided Design (CAD) into Finite Element Analysis (FEA). In IGA, B-splines and NURBS, which are the building blocks used to construct a geometry in CAD, are also used to build the finite element spaces. This allows to represent geometries more accurately, and in some cases exactly. This may help advance the progress of numerical studies of MHD effects, not only in fusion blanket scenarios, but more widely. In this thesis, we develop and study a number of types of IGA based MHD solver; a fully-developed MHD flow solver, a steady-state MHD solver and a time-dependent MHD solver. These solvers are validated using analytical methods and methods of manufactured solution and are compared with other numerical schemes on a number of benchmark problems.Open Acces

CEO Pay For Long-Run Performance: A Dynamic View

This study examines multi-year dynamic response of CEO compensation to firm performance. Multi-period agency theories posit that the CEO's current performance can be compensated both today and tomorrow. This study investigates the dynamic view of CEO pay and firm performance by using partial adjustment models of CEO pay. We find that target pay levels are set on “long-run” past firm performance and that the deviation of the actual pay level causes near-complete convergence to the target in one year. Overall, the findings here indicate that a pay-for-contemporaneous-only-performance relationship significantly understates the incentive effects of CEO pay

Diverse Inflammatory Response After Cerebral Microbleeds Includes Coordinated Microglial Migration and Proliferation.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:Cerebral microbleeds are linked to cognitive decline, but it remains unclear how they impair neuronal function. Infarction is not typically observed near microbleeds, suggesting more subtle mechanisms, such as inflammation, may play a role. Because of their small size and largely asymptomatic nature, real-time detection and study of spontaneous cerebral microbleeds in humans and animal models are difficult. METHODS:We used in vivo 2-photon microscopy through a chronic cranial window in adult mice to follow the inflammatory response after a cortical microhemorrhage of ≈100 µm diameter, induced by rupturing a targeted cortical arteriole with a laser. RESULTS:The inflammatory response included the invasion of blood-borne leukocytes, the migration and proliferation of brain-resident microglia, and the activation of astrocytes. Nearly all inflammatory cells responding to the microhemorrhage were brain-resident microglia, but a small number of CX3CR1+ and CCR2+ macrophages, ultimately originating from the invasion of blood-borne monocytes, were also found near the lesion. We found a coordinated pattern of microglia migration and proliferation, where microglia within 200 µm of the microhemorrhage migrated toward the lesion over hours to days. In contrast, microglia proliferation was not observed until ≈40 hours after the lesion and occurred primarily in a shell-shaped region where the migration of microglia decreased their local density. These data suggest that local microglia density changes may trigger proliferation. Astrocytes activated in a similar region as microglia but delayed by a few days. By 2 weeks, this inflammatory response had largely resolved. CONCLUSIONS:Although microhemorrhages are small in size, the brain responds to a single bleed with an inflammatory response that involves brain-resident and blood-derived cells, persists for weeks, and may impact the adjacent brain microenvironment

The Effect Of Organizational Culture On Employee Commitment: A Mediating Role Of Human Resource Development In Korean Firms

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of organizational culture defined as communication, trust, and innovative production on employees’ organizational commitment. Furthermore, we explored the possibility the role of HRD (Human Resource Development) activities in mediating the aforementioned relationship. Using the national employer survey data conducted by Korean government in 2011, the results find that organizational culture, in particular, defined as better communication among superiors and subordinates, trust, and appreciation of innovation from superiors, is positively related to organizational commitment. In addition, firm’s investment in HRD or employee participation in HRD would play a mediating role in influencing the relationship between organizational culture and organizational commitment. Therefore, organizational culture is a critical factor to increase workers’ motivation through the participation in HRD training program, thereby increasing worker’s commitment. The results provide theoretical and practical implications in HRD and its link to organizational culture in organizations.

Investigation of the SH3BP2 Gene Mutation in Cherubism

Cherubism is a rare developmental lesion of the jaw that is generally inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. Recent studies have revealed point mutations in the SH3BP2 gene in cherubism patients. In this study, we examined a 6-year-old Korean boy and his family. We found a Pro418Arg mutation in the SH3BP2 gene of the patient and his mother. A father and his 30-month-old younger brother had no mutations. Immunohistochemically, the multinucleated giant cells proved positive for CD68 and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP). Numerous spindle-shaped stromal cells expressed a ligand for receptor activator of nuclear factor kB (RANKL), but not in multinucleated giant cells. These results provide evidence that RANKL plays a critical role in the differentiation of osteoclast precursor cells to multinucleated giant cells in cherubism. Additionally, genetic analysis may be a useful method for differentiation of cherubism.</p

Phenomenology of flavor oscillations with non-perturbative effects from quantum field theory

We analyze phenomenological aspects of the quantum field theoretical formulation of meson mixing and obtain the exact oscillation formula in the presence of the decay. This formula is different from quantum mechanical formula by additional high-frequency oscillation terms. In the infinite volume limit, the space of the flavor quantum states is unitarily inequivalent to the space of energy eigenstates

NON-LINEAR OPTICAL METHODS TO UNDERSTAND PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF SMALL BLEEDS

Cerebral microhemorrhages (CMBs) are small hemorrhagic strokes found in the brain, also known as silent stroke since they do not illicit noticeable symptoms. Recently, due to the development of various imaging modalities and aging population in the western world, increasing number of CMBs are detected. Clinical studies have shown that aging and hypertension significantly increases the chance of such bleeds and the National Institute of Health recognizes CMBs as a major factor in Alzheimer disease pathology. Independent events of CMBs are also a risk factor for subsequent larger intracerebral hemorrhages, ischemic stroke, Binswager’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. However, studies in cellular level are lacking, partially due to inadequate animal model that allow both detection and follow up analysis of such small bleeds. We used tightly focused femtosecond laser pulses to injure single penetrating arterioles in the cortex of live anesthetized rodents and used multi-photon excited fluorescence imaging to quantify inflammatory responses over long periods of time. The work presented in this dissertation provides comprehensive spatial and temporal pathological consequences after micro scale hemorrhagic injury to a single blood vessel in the brain