An empirical investigation of technical analysis in fixed income markets

The aim of this thesis is to evaluate the effectiveness of technical analytic indicators in the fixed income markets. Technical analysis is a widely used methodology by investors in the equity and foreign exchange markets, but the empirical evidence on the profltability of technical trading systems in the bond markets is sparse. Therefore, this thesis serves as a coherent and systematic examination of technical trading systems in the government bond futures and bond yield markets. We investigate three aspects of technical analysis. First, we evaluate the profitability of 7,991 technical trading systems in eight bond futures contracts. Our results provide mixed conclusions on the profitability these technical systems, since the results vary across different futures markets, even adjusting for data snooping effects and transaction costs. In addition, we find the profitability of the trading systems has declined in recent periods. Second, we examine the informativeness of technical chart patterns in the government benchmark bond yield and yield spread markets. We apply the nonparametric regression methodology, including the Nadaraya-Watson and local polynomial regression, to identify twelve chart patterns commonly taught by chartists. The empirical results show no incremental information are contained within these chart patterns that investors can systematically exploit to earn excess returns. Furthermore, we find that bond yield spreads are fundamentally different to price series such as equity prices or currencies. Lastly, we categorize and evaluate five type of price gaps in the financial markets for the first time. We apply our price gap categorisation to twenty-eight futures contracts. Our results support the Gap- Fill hypothesis and find that some price gaps may provide additional information to investors by exhibiting returns that are statistically different to the unconditional returns over a short period of time. ՝In conclusion, this thesis provides empirical evidence that broadly support the usage of technical analysis in the financial markets

Understanding Subcultures and Change Dynamics in E-Government: An Empirical Study of a Local Government in Malaysia

Governments worldwide are faced with a rapidly changing business environment, with reform and modernization at the forefront of many agendas. One country which has embarked on a significant programme of E-Government transformation is Malaysia. A key goal of E-Government transformation is to harness the potential of information communication technology (ICT), particularly web-based systems, to improve how governments function internally and externally (Moon et al. 2014). While ICT offers the potential to revolutionize how governments operate, the extent to which ICT is being used effectively to support E-Government services, particularly at the local government council level, has been brought into question (Wong et al. 2010). One important factor, which can act as an enabler or barrier (more often the latter) to E-Government, is organizational culture. Increasingly, researchers (e.g. Choudrie et al. 2010; Zhao and Khan, 2013) have suggested that a lack of effort in understanding organizational culture is a key reason why many E-Government change programs encounter problems. Regardless of the budding literature emphasizing the importance of understanding the relationship between organizational culture and E-Government, research on understanding different subcultures, and the dynamic of change, which influence the ability to manage and implement E-Government projects, still remains an area to be explored in more detail

Revitalizing the moment distribution method: A fast and exact analysis of multibay, multi-story frames.

The conventional moment distribution method is revitalized with a new approach which requires only one-cycle of balance and carry-over and no iteration. For a continuous beam, the method begins by assuming the value of the balancing moment, say x, at the first joint. By invoking the moment equilibrium condition successively from the first towards the last joints, balancing and carry-over moments at other joints can be determined in terms of the unknown x without iteration. By means of moment equilibrium of the last joint, the unknown x can be solved exactly, regardless of the number of spans, and the final moment distribution of the whole structure can be easily obtained. Further, for multi-bay, single story frames, the analysis is carried out without the need to separate the analysis into two stages as in conventional MDM, and the final exact moments are found by solving two unknowns only, regardless of the number of bays. As such, the revitalized MDM is particularly advantageous for solving continuous beams and single-story frames with large number of spans or bays. Five examples are given herein to demonstrate the procedures and efficiency of the proposed method

Experimental study of LaNiO3 and its oxygen-deficient phases in thin films and superlattices

The complexity of the d electron orbital in transition metals gives rise to unique physics. The various degrees of freedom (DOF) such as charge, lattice, interface all exist in close spheres of influence of each other. Current research is often focused on a singular aspect of an exotic property. Although this simplifies experimental requirements, it does so at the cost of assumptions in theory and has led to an incorrect diagnosis. In this thesis, we explore the complex relationship of strain, composition and exchange usingvLaNiO3 as a medium to explore how various DOF in a transitional metal oxide interact. LaNiO3 is the only metallic and paramagnetic material, at all temperatures, in the rare earth nickelates series. These unique properties are derived from precise hybridisation between the centre Ni atom and the surrounding O octahedron. Any deviation from the perfect LaNiO3 thin film, whether in composition, dimension or interfaces will result in deviation of macroscopic properties. The extreme sensitivity of the Ni-O bonds makes it a great candidate for exploring the interplay in strain and composition within a thin film. A series of LaNiO3 films were fabricated in various conditions to explore the effects of strain, annealing and deposition pressure. Using macroscopic analysis such as X-ray and physical properties measurement system and localised measurements such as scanning transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, we observed highly localised oxygen-deficient phases. This discovery contradicts the current standard of LaNiO3 verification and provides a simple explanation for the limitation of LaNiO3 thin film research. Using this new understating, the later of this thesis will explore the more complex system of La2/3Sr1/3MnO3/LaNiO3 superlattices. Complex interactions such as charge transfer, exchange bias, double-exchange and super-exchange in the superlattice have been previously observed. None the less, polarised neutron reflectometry analysis highly indicates that a new interaction, Ruderman–Kittel–Kasuya–Yosida (RKKY) interaction, can be added to the list. Through two superlattices’ design, the Monte-Carlo uncertainty analysis showed that short-range asymmetry, where the top and bottom interfaces are different, generated RKKY effect and long-range asymmetry, two different SLs, had exchange bias effects. These observations, localised oxygen-deficient LaNiO3 and RKKY interaction in superlattices, highlights the complexity of LaNiO3

The challenges of providing eye care for adults with intellectual disabilities

This review is intended to raise awareness of the importance of providing high-quality eye care for people with intellectual disabilities and the increasing need for this eye care to be community-based. We describe the challenges to the provision of high-quality community-based eye care for people with intellectual disabilities and ideas, evidence and methods for overcoming them. The prevalence of visual impairment in people with intellectual disabilities has been reported to be at least 40 per cent, rising to as high as 100 per cent in those with profound and severe disabilities. A progressive move toward deinstitutionalisation has shifted the provision of care for people with intellectual disabilities. Individuals can have the freedom to access health-care services of their choice. This has posed challenges to the health-care system, including how to deliver high-quality community-based eye care, creating a current significant unmet need for eye-care services. Undiagnosed refractive error and under-prescription of spectacles are major reasons for avoidable visual impairment among people with disabilities. There is an apparent reluctance of optometrists to engage in this work due to the perceived difficulties of working with people with intellectual and multiple disabilities. There are challenges associated with diagnosis and management of ocular conditions in people with intellectual disabilities and the demand is clear. Small shifts in training, knowledge and awareness would place optometry well to meet the challenges of this specialised area of eye care

Mandatory Disclosure and Individual Investors: Evidence From the Jobs Act

One prominent justification for the mandatory disclosure rules that define modern securities law is that these rules encourage individual investors to participate in stock markets. Mandatory disclosure, the theory goes, gives individual investors access to information that puts them on a more equal playing field with sophisticated institutional shareholders. Although this reasoning has long been cited by regulators and commentators as a basis for mandating disclosure, recent work has questioned its validity. In particular, recent studies contend that individual investors are overwhelmed by the amount of information required to be disclosed under current law, and thus they cannot—and do not—use that information to analyze the companies that they own. Using a recent change in the law that allows firms to disclose less information before their initial public offering (“IPO”), we examine whether reduced disclosure leads to less trading by individual investors. Our results show that, immediately following the IPO, individual investors are less likely to trade in the stocks of the firms that provide less disclosure—but that this difference disappears after two weeks of trading. Our findings have important implications for the lawmakers now examining whether, and how, to change the mandatory disclosure rules that have served as the basis of federal securities law for generations

Mandatory Disclosure and Individual Investors: Evidence from the Jobs Act

One prominent justification for the mandatory disclosure rules that define modem securities law is that these rules encourage individual investors to participate in stock markets. Mandatory disclosure, the theory goes, gives individual investors access to information that puts them on a more equal playing field with sophisticated institutional shareholders. Although this reasoning has long been cited by regulators and commentators as a basis for mandating disclosure, recent work has questioned its validity. In particular, recent studies contend that individual investors are overwhelmed by the amount of information required to be disclosed under current law, and thus they cannot and do not use that information to analyze the companies that they own. Using a recent change in the law that allows firms to disclose less information before their initial public offering ( IPO ), we examine whether reduced disclosure leads to less trading by individual investors. Our results show that, immediately following the IPO, individual investors are less likely to trade in the stocks of the firms that provide less disclosure but that this difference disappears after two weeks of trading. Our findings have important implications for the lawmakers now examining whether, and how, to change the mandatory disclosure rules that have served as the basis of federal securities law for generations