Financial engineering instruments for sustainable urban development – introducing an impact analysis for innovative urban policies

The Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas (JESSICA) is part of a general paradigm shift in EU-policy, since its most innovative element is to introduce an alternative to traditional grant funding by providing financial engineering instruments – namely loans, guarantees and equity capital – on a revolving base. This means that instead of financing sustainable urban development projects with grants that are – once paid out – lost for good, revolving financial engineering instruments for successful projects may generate a capital backflow enabling Managing Authorities to reinvest in new urban development projects. In order to channel funds effectively to sustainable urban projects, the institutional framework of the JESSICA-initiative intends to set up urban development funds as financial intermediary. The three main objectives of the JESSICA-initiative are (i) to promote urban deve­lop­ment projects as economic stimulus, (ii) to provide cost-effective, long-term financing to support urban trans­formation in a sustainable fund model and (iii) to mobilize private capital for public-private partnerships. Concerning the latter, the JESSICA-initiative shall attract private investors and banks to finance sustainable urban development by providing catalytic first-loss capital via UDFs that lowers the risk and enhances the return of private investors, therefore making more projects feasible and overcoming existing market failures. So far, an empirical evaluation is missing on how successful JESSICA has been so far in achieving its ambitious objectives. In this paper, we first develop a conceptual base to analyze urban development funds and give second an introduction into the realized outcomes of the policy change measurable in monetary terms in all 28 EU member states. Our findings reveal the prob­lems in urban development financing for private financial institutions as well as public authorities. With the help of an ongoing impact analysis managing authorities might overcome these problems in the current programming period

A simulation approach to the investigation of the statistical properties of the rebalancing policy of portfolio adjustment.

Business AdministrationDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.

The Effective Use of Staff Governance in Academic Leadership

Colleges and universities provide both the human capital development and often the research backbone for the economy to function at a high level. Simultaneously, institutions provide a tremendous social benefit for graduates and other stakeholders who make use of their emphasis on the arts, entertainment, and cultural development. This multi-dimensional role, one in which Clark Kerr referred to as the “multiversity” (Johnson, Kavanagh, & Mattson, 2003, p. 11), often results in a conflicting notion of purpose and management, with competition for business-like accountability with public sector intangible service. Burgess (2009) noted that the result is the perspective of the public university as a quasi-governmental agency

Hyperspace of convex compacta of nonmetrizable compact convex subspaces of locally convex spaces

Our main result states that the hyperspace of convex compact subsets of a compact convex subset $X$ in a locally convex space is an absolute retract if and only if $X$ is an absolute retract of weight $\le\omega_1$. It is also proved that the hyperspace of convex compact subsets of the Tychonov cube $I^{\omega_1}$ is homeomorphic to $I^{\omega_1}$. An analogous result is also proved for the cone over $I^{\omega_1}$. Our proofs are based on analysis of maps of hyperspaces of compact convex subsets, in particular, selection theorems for such maps are proved

Debate and Discourse: The Role of the Faculty Senate on the Modern American Campus

Shared governance in higher education is a critical component of academic management. The use of faculty senates is the primary mechanism for engaging faculty, yet these bodies have been increasingly viewed as ineffective. Through an analysis of ten purposefully selected universities, faculty senate meeting minutes were analyzed to identify the trends that senates address. Using one academic year as a case study, these senates were identified to be addressing significant campus issues under the themes of academic affairs management, student life and student affairs issues, campus planning, human resources concerns, and faculty personnel matters

Drinking During the Week? Alcohol and Religion among College Students

Alcohol use among college students has been correlated with academic performance, major choice, and risky behaviors, such as impaired driving and high-risk sexual encounters. As college students matriculate, they learn to make decisions about who they are now, and who they will become in the future; decisions that include choices about religion. The study explored the differences in religious self-identification and alcohol use among students who identified themselves as unsure of their religious beliefs, those who were spiritual, and those who were religious; results found that students who self-identified as religious were less likely to drink alcohol within the past month

Drinking During the Week? Alcohol Use and Religion among College Students

Alcohol use among college students has been correlated with academic performance, major choice, and risky behaviors, such as impaired driving and high-risk sexual encounters. As college students matriculate, they learn to make decisions about who they are now, and who they will become in the future; decisions that include choices about religion. The study explored the differences in religious self-identification and alcohol use among students who identified themselves as unsure of their religious beliefs, those who were spiritual, and those who were religious; results found that students who self-identified as religious were less likely to drink alcohol within the past month.

Does it Matter? What College Student Governments Talk About

The purpose of the study was to identify student governing bodies’ roles for decision-making. Data were collected from 73 student government association (SGA) agendas. Agendas were analyzed by three researchers with each conducting a separate analysis of topics and choices made by student governing bodies. Meetings minutes ranged from 53 minutes to 2 hours and 52 minutes. Prevalent topics discussed or voted upon included allocations for student fees, campus and business life issues, and academic procedures, endorsement of the Dream Act, student voter registration, and state funding for higher education

The Effectiveness and Priorities of the American College President: Perceptions from the Faculty Lounge

The American college presidency has become increasingly complex, particularly due to the wide variety of demands placed on the position. Indeed, the effectiveness of a president is often seen through the lens of different constituents. Historically, the faculty have played a key role in determining the success of a president, and the current study sought to identify the perceptions of faculty members regarding the effectiveness of presidents. Additionally, the study sought to compare faculty perception of desired versus actual effectiveness of presidential responsibilities