Simulation discounted cash flow valuation for internet companies

Discounted cash flow (DCF) is the most accepted approach for company valuation. It is well grounded in theory and practice. However, the DCF approach, which is commonly used for traditional companies valuation, presents a number of serious weaknesses within the Internet companies’ context. One of these weaknesses is tackling the uncertainty that characterize future cash flows of these companies. Specifically DCF assumes that future cash flow streams are highly predictable. The effects of uncertainty are therefore tackled implicitly by discounting the expected value of the cash flows at a risk-adjusted interest rate. However, under uncertainty, future cash flows of these companies can no longer be characterized by a single value but rather by a range of values of its possible consequences. This paper looks at the way in which uncertainty can be incorporated into the traditional DCF approach so that the latter, which is otherwise conceptually sound, becomes relevant. This is done by recognizing that the DCF input variables are uncertain and will have a probability distribution pertaining to each of them. Thus by utilizing a probability-based valuation model (using Monte Carlo Simulation) it is possible to incorporate uncertainty into the analysis and address the shortcomings of the current model. The MC simulation assigns a range of values in order to cope with uncertainty underlies each key cash flow variable. The process leads to a probability distribution of the valuation criterion used, giving investors a quantitative measure of risk involved

New challenges in wireless and free space optical communications

AbstractThis manuscript presents a survey on new challenges in wireless communication systems and discusses recent approaches to address some recently raised problems by the wireless community. At first a historical background is briefly introduced. Challenges based on modern and real life applications are then described. Up to date research fields to solve limitations of existing systems and emerging new technologies are discussed. Theoretical and experimental results based on several research projects or studies are briefly provided. Essential, basic and many self references are cited. Future researcher axes are briefly introduced

Correlation between quality of healthcare and safety culture in Saudi Arabia organizations

Background: The current study aimed to examine the association between hospital nurses’ attitudes about the safety culture and patients’ views about the quality of healthcare services delivered to them during their hospitalization. Methods: This study was cross section study as well as adopted the correlational design. The study used the hospital survey on patient safety culture to assess nurses’ perceptions about the safety culture, and the consumer assessment of healthcare providers and systems survey to assess patients’ experience of care. The current study was conducted in a tertiary healthcare organization in Riyadh city in Saudi Arabia. Results: The response rates for nurses and patients were 79% and 80%, respectively. In nurses’ sample, the majority 92.9% was female and 90.6% was non-Saudi; while 43.5% of patients were male and the majority was Saudi 97.1%. More than half of the nurses 57.2% were married and 35.4% identified themselves as single. On the other hand, the majority of patients 81.5% were married and 48.7% of patients had a diploma or high school or less. Conclusions: The results of canonical correlation analysis showed positive and strong correlations between nurses’ perceptions of safety culture (facilitators and threats to patient safety) and patients’ perceptions of quality of healthcare (interpersonal care communication and technical quality of care). The canonical variates for both root pairs (canonical correlation coefficients = 0.89 and 0.81). This finding clearly proves that in workplaces where staffs have more positive perceptions of patient safety culture, patients have more positive experiences of care

Moral dilemma: is there a moral difference between killing and letting die in healthcare?

The purpose of this paper was to prove that there was no moral difference between killing and letting one die in healthcare. It was important to be aware of the moral equivalence of killing and letting die. The Abrahamic religions; Islam, Christianity and Judaism, all argue for the sanctity of life. The world’s major religions Islam, Christianity and Judaism all have doctrines concerning the sanctity of life and they support the main arguments of this paper that there is no moral difference between killing and letting die. In relation to patient autonomy and the patient's right to die, it is very important to highlight that doctors have a moral and legal responsibility to save lives. In addition, we discussed the distinction centres on the true definition of patient autonomy and who was responsible for defining the quality of life. The intention and foresight were critical points that supported the thesis statement that killing and letting one die were one in the same. The acts and omissions doctrine as described in this paper showed that there were no moral difference to kill a person or to let him die. Finally, we extensively discussed the various viewpoints regarding whether or not there was a moral difference between killing and letting die. There is no doubt that the debate over killing and letting die will continue for years to come. It is critical that the issue be addressed at this particular time in history with the advent of modern medical technology

Integrated RF MEMS/CMOS Devices

A maskless post-processing technique for CMOS chips is developed that enables the fabrication of RF MEMS parallel-plate capacitors with a high quality factor and a very compact size. Simulations and measured results are presented for several MEMS/CMOS capacitors. A 2-pole coupled line tunable bandpass filter with a center frequency of 9.5 GHz is designed, fabricated and tested. A tuning range of 17% is achieved using integrated variable MEMS/CMOS capacitors with a quality factor exceeding 20. The tunable filter occupies a chip area of 1.2 x 2.1 mm2.Comment: Submitted on behalf of EDA Publishing Association (http://irevues.inist.fr/handle/2042/16838

Changes in volatile compounds and oil quality with the method of olive tree propagation and saline water irrigation

The main goal of this study was to investigate the effects of moderate saline water irrigation on the composition and quality of olive oil of the “Chemlali” olive cultivar in comparison to a control plot grown under rain-fed conditions from two methods of olive tree propagation (suckers and cuttings). The antioxidant compounds, oxidative stability and volatile compounds of virgin olive oil samples were determined and reported. The irrigation did not affect free acidity and peroxide value and specific ultraviolet absorbance (K232, K270). Whereas, fatty acid composition, oxidative stability, total phenol, total chlorophyll and carotenoid contents were affected by irrigation. Rain-fed virgin olive oils showed a statistically significant higher content of oleic and linoleic acids. However, olive oil samples obtained from fruit of irrigated trees from suckers had a higher content of (E)-2 hexenal (67.2%) and a higher content of total phenols (860 mg kg–1). Interestingly, more stable oil was obtained from moderate saline water irrigated trees from suckers compared to olives from cuttings

Rheology of high-performance cement pastes: effect of calcined kaolin

The search for a quality of concrete is a major concern in Algeria especially after the 2003 earthquake (East- Algeria). So it's necessary to improve the properties of concrete using fine particles such as mineral additions as a solution. These are currently used in the concrete to develop its performance and reduce consumption of clinker. This reduction will contribute to economic and easy way to solve problems related to the environment. In this work, an experimental rheological investigation was conducted to evaluate the performances of Algerian metakaolin MK on cement pastes. The latter is obtained from calcined natural kaolin found in large amounts in eastern Algeria (Tamazert- Milia). Several rheological tests were carried out by using the stress controlled rheometer AR2000, on the fresh cement pastes incorporating 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% of MK. The effects of metakaolin on the rheological behaviour of pastes were discussed. The parameters such as shear stress, viscosity, compliance, loss and storage shear modulus were evaluated by means of rheological techniques of both flow test, oscillatory and creep dynamic tests. The study in dynamic mode allow to give information on the evolution of the paste structure related to practically interesting problems such as workability. The results obtained have shown that the metakaolin improves the flowability and exhibits viscous rheological behaviour of cement pastes compared to the elastic behaviour of control paste (0%MK). Moreover, the creep test has shown that MK exhibits a viscoelastic liquid behaviour of cement pastes compared to a viscoelastic solid behaviour of control paste. In addition, it seems that the replacement rate of 10% of MK is an optimum for better rheological behavior of cement pastes. The rheological tests give promising results that encourage the use of metakaolin as component for a high performance concrete designated for industry

Integrated through-silicon-via-based inductor design in buck converter for improved efficiency

Introduction. Through-silicon-via (TSV) is one of the most important components of 3D integrated circuits. Similar to two-dimensional circuits, the performance evaluation of 3D circuits depends on both the quality factor and inductance. Therefore, accurate TSV-inductor modeling is required for the design and analysis of 3D integrated circuits. Aim. This work proposes the equivalent circuit model of the TSV-inductor to derive the relations that determine both the quality factor and the inductance by Y-parameters. Methods. The model developed was simulated using MATLAB software, and it was used to evaluate the effect of redistribution lines width, TSV radius, and the number of turns on inductance and quality factor. Additionally, a comparative study was presented between TSV-based inductors and conventional inductors (i.e., spiral and racetrack inductors). Results. These studies show that replacing conventional inductors with TSV-inductors improved the quality factor by 64 % compared to a spiral inductor and 60 % compared to a racetrack inductor. Furthermore, the area of the TSV-inductor was reduced up to 1.2 mm². Using a PSIM simulator, the application of an integrated TSV-inductor in a buck converter was studied, and the simulation gave very good results in 3D integration compared to 2D integration. Moreover, the simulation results demonstrated that using a TSV-inductor in a buck converter could increase its efficiency by up to 15 % and 6 % compared to spiral and racetrack inductors, respectively.Вступ. Наскрізне з’єднання кремнію (TSV) є одним з найважливіших компонентів тривимірних інтегральних схем. Подібно до двовимірних схем, оцінка продуктивності тривимірних схем залежить як від добротності, так і від індуктивності. Тому для проєктування та аналізу тривимірних інтегральних схем необхідне точне моделювання TSV-індуктора. Мета. У цій роботі пропонується еквівалентна модель схеми TSV-індуктора для виведення співвідношень, що визначають як добротність, так і індуктивність за Y-параметрами. Методи. Розроблена модель була змодельована з використанням програмного забезпечення MATLAB та використана для оцінки впливу ширини ліній перерозподілу, радіусу TSV та кількості витків на індуктивність та добротність. Крім того, було представлено порівняльне дослідження між індукторами на основі TSV та звичайними індукторами (тобто спіральними та індукторами типу бігова доріжка). Результати. Ці дослідження показують, що заміна звичайних індукторів на TSV-індуктори покращила добротність на 64 % порівняно зі спіральним індуктором і на 60 % порівняно з індуктором типу бігова доріжка. Крім того, площа TSV-індуктора була зменшена до 1,2 мм². За допомогою симулятора PSIM було вивчено застосування вбудованого дроселя TSV в знижувальному перетворювачі, і моделювання дало дуже хороші результати при 3D-інтеграції порівняно з 2D-інтеграцією. Більш того, результати моделювання показали, що використання TSV-індуктора в понижувальному перетворювачі дозволяє підвищити його ефективність до 15% та 6 % порівняно зі спіральними індукторами та індукторами типу бігова доріжка відповідно

Hydrodynamic fluctuations in the Kolmogorov flow: Linear regime

The Landau-Lifshitz fluctuating hydrodynamics is used to study the statistical properties of the linearized Kolmogorov flow. The relative simplicity of this flow allows a detailed analysis of the fluctuation spectrum from near equilibrium regime up to the vicinity of the first convective instability threshold. It is shown that in the long time limit the flow behaves as an incompressible fluid, regardless of the value of the Reynolds number. This is not the case for the short time behavior where the incompressibility assumption leads in general to a wrong form of the static correlation functions, except near the instability threshold. The theoretical predictions are confirmed by numerical simulations of the full nonlinear fluctuating hydrodynamic equations.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figure

An analysis of likes and dislikes for history and geography of 3360 sixth grade children

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit