Stock price and cost of debt reaction to changes in cash flow from operations

Mestrado em FinançasInvestigamos como o fluxo de caixa das operações afeta o retorno do preço das ações e o custo da dívida e comparamos o efeito relativo do fluxo de caixa versus o lucro líquido nos dois custos de financiamento. Este documento também compara a liquidez entre os índices STOXX Europe 600 e Amman 100 (ASE100), usando quatro medidas: Fluxo de Caixa das Operações, Retorno Ajustado ao Mercado, Retorno Anormal Cumulativo e o Custo da Dívida e seu impacto relativo na associação de fluxo de caixa com custo de capital. Os dados trimestrais utilizados para esta pesquisa são de empresas de capital aberto da Jordânia e de países europeus, de 2009 a 2018. Este estudo contribui para a literatura, pois fornece evidências sobre a associação relativa de ganhos e fluxos de caixa com o custo da dívida e retorno das ações. Também somos os primeiros a considerar qualquer efeito de liquidez de mercado nessa associação. Os resultados mostram um efeito positivo do fluxo de caixa das operações no retorno do preço das ações. Também mostra uma associação negativa e uma influência mais significativa do fluxo de caixa das operações do que o lucro líquido no custo da dívida, reduzindo-o. Além disso, o documento também mostra que o fluxo de caixa das operações tende a influenciar o retorno anormal acumulado e o custo da dívida de uma maneira melhor na Jordânia (um mercado menos líquido) do que no mercado europeu mais desenvolvido.We investigate how the Cash Flow from Operations affects both the Stock Price Return and the Cost of Debt and compare the relative effect of Cash Flow versus Net Income on both costs of financing. This paper also compares the liquidity between STOXX Europe 600 and Amman stock exchange 100 (ASE100) indexes using four measures, Cash Flow from Operations, Market Adjusted Return, Cumulative Abnormal Return, and the Cost of Debt and its relative impact on Cash flow association with cost of capital. The quarterly data used for this research comes from publicly listed firms from Jordan and European countries, from 2009 through 2018. This study contributes to literature since it provides evidence on the relative association of Earnings and cash flows with cost of debt and stock returns. We are also the first to consider any market liquidity effect on this association. The results show a positive effect of Cash Flow from Operations on Stock Price Returns. It also shows a negative association and a more significant influence from Cash Flow from Operations than Net Income on the Cost of Debt, by reducing it. Furthermore, the paper also shows Cash Flow from Operations tend to influence the Cumulative Abnormal Return and the Cost of Debt in a better way in Jordan (a less liquid market) than in the more developed European market.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Femtosecond Laser Ablation with Single and Two-Photon Excitation for MEMS

There is an increasing interest in femtosecond laser micromachining of materials because of the femtosecond laser\u27s unique high peak power, ultrashort pulse width, negligible heat conductivity process during the laser pulse, and the minimal heat affected zone, which is in the same order of magnitude of the ablated submicron spot. There are some obstacles in reaching optimal and reliable micromachining parameters. One of these obstacles is the lack of understanding of the nature of the interaction and related physical processes. These processes include amorphization, melting, re-crystallization, nucleated-vaporization, and ablation. The focus of this Dissertation was to study the laser-matter interaction with single and two-photon excitation for optical micro-electro-mechanical system (OMEMS) applications. The laser pulse interaction mechanism was studied by performing a series of experiments including self-imaging experiments, two-photon absorption measurements, and micromachining processes characterizations. As a result of the self-imaging experiment, it was found for both Si and GaP that the material surface reflectivity increased twice as much during the action of the laser pulse. The generation of electron-hole plasma of 1022 cm-3 density was assigned to be responsible for the reflectivity jump. The Drude damping time of the generated plasma was determined to be 0.35 fs for silicon and 0.27 fs for gallium phosphate. Additionally, a precise measurement of the two-photon absorption (TPA) coefficient (β) was done. The TPA coefficient was found to be 0.2 cm/GW. Experimental results were in good agreement with the theoretical expectations up to a point at which the ablation started kicking off and the plasma absorption took place. In case of a single pulse interaction with silicon, self-assembled nano-filaments of a few tens of microns\u27 length and about 100 nm width were observed for the first time with the femtosecond single pulse interaction. The filaments were characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Femtosecond micromachining parameters of silicon were then characterized. The laser beam was first cleaned up using two optical techniques: spatial filtering and expanding. Both cleaning-up techniques gave a clean beam profile; however, with spatial filtering, it was hard to maintain the laser beam quality for a long time as the pinhole in the telescope was destroyed in a matter of hours, so the second technique was used instead. One- and two-dimensional amplitude gratings were written on the Si surface using the characterized micromachining parameters. The properties of one-dimensional machined grating depended on laser polarization orientation with respect to laser scanning direction and pulse energy. 1-D diffraction patterns were obtained from parallel machined samples, while 2-D diffraction patterns were obtained from a perpendicular machined sample at laser energy density \u3c 0.6 J/cm2. The 2-D diffraction patterns resulted from secondary periodical ripples along the polarization direction. During parallel writing directions, these ripples smoothed out; in perpendicular directions, they remained and gave rise to 2-D diffraction pattern. These ripples had large periods (3-5 microns) and were perpendicular to the small periods that have been reported. The investigations presented in this Dissertation increase the understanding of the ablation mechanism under a single laser pulse, the semiconductor materials\u27 behavior on the femtosecond time scale, and the associated self-assemble structure process. The feasibility of short-pulse laser micromachining of semiconductor materials for the micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) was also shown along with the process characterization, which provided guidelines that could help in explaining and advancing the currently existing laser materials processes

A study of asymptomatic bacteriuria in Egyptian school-going children

Background: Urinary tract infections (UTI) are a common and important clinical problem in childhood. Upper urinary tract infections (i.e., acute pyelonephritis) may lead to renal scarring, hypertension, and end-stage renal disease. Despite the presence of simple and reliable methods of preliminary screening of children's urine, urinary tract infection continues to be under diagnosed.Objectives: The aim of this study was to establish prevalence rates of significant bacteriuria in asymptomatic school children by simple urine tests in comparison to standard urine culture techniques in Giza, Egypt.Patients and methods: A total of 1000 apparently healthy school going children (6-12) years, 552 boys (55.2%) and 448 girls (44.8%), were enrolled in this cross-sectional prevalence survey.Results: Overall prevalence of significant bacteriuria was 6%. Higher prevalence occurred in girls (11.4%) than boys (1.6%). Escherichia coli was isolated in 35(58%) cases (3 boys and 32 girls), Staph. aureus in 13 (22%) cases (3 boys and 10 girls), Enterobacter in 6 girls (10%), Kelbsiella pneumoniae in 3 boys (5%) and Proteus vulgaris in 3 girls (5%)Conclusion: Asymptomatic bacteriurea could be detected by urine screening program at school age. Overall prevalence of significant bacteriuria was 6%, with predominance in girls than boys.Keywords: Bacteriuria, asymptomatic, prevalence, children, school, male, female, simple urine test

Multithreaded Scalable Matching Algorithm For Intrusion Detection Systems

The increasing speed of today’s computer networks directly affects the performance of Network Intrusion Detection Systems (NIDS) in terms of speed of detection of threats. Therefore, the performance of the existing algorithms needs to be improved both in sequential and parallel to enhance the speed of the detection engine used in SNORT-NIDS. Hence, this thesis defines a new algorithm called the Distributed Packet Header Matching algorithm (DPHM), and a New Network Intrusion Detection Systems (NNIDS) platform using hybrid technology in order to increase the overall performance of SNORT-NIDS

Relationships of technical, semantic, and organizational factors on electronic government information systems interoperability in Jordan

Information systems (IS) interoperability has been considered from the main characteristic of successful electronic government (e-Government) projects in the past twenty years. As information systems and technologies are being developed and improved, debates on their success have been constantly discussed by researchers and scholars. Achieving interoperability among different organizations is a complex task and affected by various aspects. Previous studies have shown that many e-Government projects in developing countries, like Jordan have encountered various problems after the implementation phase. Hence, the objective of this study is to develop an e-Government IS interoperability model for the public sector in Jordan. This study examined the technical, semantic, organizational, and information technology (IT) capability factors that impact IS interoperability focusing on IS interoperability as the key concept to reach successful implementation of interoperability in Jordanian government. To explore the study constructs and their relationships a variety of published literatures concerning the scope of the study has been critically reviewed. Data were collected using the survey method, and 335 questionnaires were distributed to IT staff in 25 Jordanian ministries. Two hundred and thirty one usable questionnaires were returned. The data were analyzed using the partial least squares-structural equation modeling technique (PLS-SEM). The findings revealed that the technical factors (IT infrastructure, security and privacy), a semantic factor (standardization), organizational factors (business process management, IT human resources, return on investment, and risk management), and IT capability (IT knowledge and IT operations) positively affected IS interoperability. On contrary, there was no moderating effect of the IT capability in the relationship between technical, semantic, and organizational factors and IS interoperability among ministries in Jordan. Technical, semantic, organizational, and IT capability factors are good for promoting e-Government IS interoperability

Jordanian parents of young children with disabilities: Perspectives on care, coping and service provision.

Researchers in the field of special education have devoted increasing attention to establishing effective programmes for children with disabilities as early as possible which would meet the needs of these children’s families and involve mutual partnerships between families and service providers. This has resulted in greater awareness of the necessity of seeking input from parents when planning, delivering, and evaluating such services.This qualitative study examines the experiences of Jordanian parents of young children with disabilities regarding the provision of services for their children, and explores parents’ perspectives on caring for disabled children in Jordan.A qualitative design was employed to achieve the study’s purposes. 53 semi­structured interviews were carried out with 64 parents of young children with disabilities. Thematic analysis techniques were used to examine the data collected from these interviews. Four major overlapping themes emerged from the analysis, namely: parents’ experiences of health care services, access to special education services and support, kindergartens for children with disabilities, and parenting disabled children in Jordan.The study found that the position of Jordanian parents has many similarities to that reported for parents in Western countries. Parents generally had negative experiences with health care practitioners from the time that their children’s disabilities were first suspected. Parents struggled with the availability, accessibility, and affordability of educational services and support offered for them and their young disabled children. With regard to kindergartens, although parents were happy that there were designated places for their young disabled children to receive educational services, several negative comments were made relating to kindergarten staff and environments. As a result o f caring for disabled children, parents encountered challenges such as unstable family relationships, fears for the future, financial burdens, stress, and stigma. Additionally, parents felt that they received insufficient support. These factors all suggest that parents’ needs were not being m

Comparison between Two Cecostomy Techniques for Treatment of Atresia Coli in Cattle and Buffalo Calves

The study aimed at determination of the cecostomy technique that will preserve the long-term maximal diameter of the created fistula. The subjects of the study were 79 newly born cattle and buffalo calves suffered from atresia coli, recti and ani. The calves were grouped into four groups for evaluation of incisional and herniation cecostomy techniques either on the right or left flank. With each technique, 4 cm diameter permanent fistula was created and evaluated at the 1stweek, and 1st, 4th and 8th months post-surgery. Both of the short and long-term complications were recorded and managed conservatively. Follow up could be achieved for 45 calves only and all of them showed stunted growth. The results revealed wider stoma in the calves operated by herniation technique, and in those operated on the right flank, moreover the operated cattle calves had wider stoma than buffalo calves. It is concluded that the right flank herniation technique has a beneficial effect on long-term preserving of a wider diameter of the created fistula

A study of asymptomatic bacteriuria in Egyptian school-going children.

Background: Urinary tract infections (UTI) are a common and important clinical problem in childhood. Upper urinary tract infections (i.e., acute pyelonephritis) may lead to renal scarring, hypertension, and end-stage renal disease. Despite the presence of simple and reliable methods of preliminary screening of children's urine, urinary tract infection continues to be under diagnosed. Objectives: The aim of this study was to establish prevalence rates of significant bacteriuria in asymptomatic school children by simple urine tests in comparison to standard urine culture techniques in Giza, Egypt. Patients and methods: A total of 1000 apparently healthy school going children (6-12) years, 552 boys (55.2%) and 448 girls (44.8%), were enrolled in this cross-sectional prevalence survey. Results: Overall prevalence of significant bacteriuria was 6%. Higher prevalence occurred in girls (11.4%) than boys (1.6%). Escherichia coli was isolated in 35(58%) cases (3 boys and 32 girls), Staph. aureus in 13 (22%) cases (3 boys and 10 girls), Enterobacter in 6 girls (10%), Kelbsiella pneumoniae in 3 boys (5%) and Proteus vulgaris in 3 girls (5%) Conclusion: Asymptomatic bacteriurea could be detected by urine screening program at school age. Overall prevalence of significant bacteriuria was 6%, with predominance in girls than boys