Hedging Strategies Under Temporary Market Impact

This thesis is concerned with the problem of hedging derivatives under temporary market impact. We are going to examine the problem of hedging derivatives in an optimal control setting similar to [14] and [10]. \ud \ud By considering specific combinations of volatility and liquidity specifications, we are able to obtain analytic solutions. Under the optimal control, the holdings in the stock exhibit a mean reverting behavior. While the reversion-speed is similar to the results in the literature, we are able to find a new characterization of the target portfolio as weighted average of future Δ-hedge portfolios. If the stock-price process is given by a Brownian motion, this characterization collapses to the Δ-hedge. In that case, the final hedging error is proportional to the variance of the Δ-hedge. \ud \ud Further, we extend the analysis by including drift using asymptotic expansions. We find that under the optimal control, the wealth process is mean-reverting towards the expectation of the derivative. The hedging portfolio adjusts more to the inclusion of drift if future hedging is less aggressive. The comparison with numerical solutions suggests that the approximations perform reasonably well

\u27Cat Tracks

News briefs and updates about student athletes, coaches, and alumn

Gender Division in Sport: Through the Eyes of Female Student-Athletes at CMS

In this ethnography (anthropology thesis) I explored the binary gender division in modern sports culture through the analysis of stereotypes shaped by the history of women\u27s sport, iconography of female athletes portrayed by mainstream media, and the reinforcement of stigma and pressure to conform to social norms by the normalized everyday discourse of college men and women at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. Even though Title IX brought significant gender equality to sport in terms of women\u27s access to athletic participation and facilities, I argue that there is still much work to do to modify social attitudes toward women\u27s sports. While CMS female student-athletes have a keen awareness of the existing gender disparity of athleticism and make criticisms of the male-dominated hegemony, they sometimes reproduce the very same disparity they are subjected to by reinforcing internalized stereotypes through articulations of female homosocial spaces, feminine ideals, and the worthy emulation of men\u27s sports. Thus, I argue that women hold a great deal of agency to promote gender equality in sports culture through a reevaluation of the way they think and talk about traditional masculinity and femininity, athletic performance, body image, and sexuality

Activity during acute and latent infection with special consideration on gene expression in vivo and in vitro

Deckblatt-Impressum persönlicher Dank Inhaltsverzeichnis Abkürzungsverzeichnis Einleitung Zielsetzung Material und Methoden Ergebnisse Diskussion Zusammenfassung Summary Literaturverzeichnis Anhang Danksagung SelbständigkeitserklärungIn der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden Untersuchungen zur Bedeutung des IL-10-homologen Gens von EHV-2 unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Genexpression in vitro und in vivo sowie den Eigenschaften seiner Primärstruktur durchgeführt. Dabei sollte insbesondere geprüft werden, ob sich das EHV-2-IL-10 einer bestimmten Transkriptklasse zuordnen lässt, der Nachweis EHV-2-IL-10-spezifischer Transkripte in vivo mit einem definierten Infektions¬stadium zusammenhängt und die Primärstruktur des EHV-2-IL-10 Eigenschaften aufweist, die Rückschlüsse auf seine Funktionalität zulassen. Zur Untersuchung der EHV-2-IL-10-Expression wurde zunächst eine sensitive und für das EHV-2-IL-10 spezifische seminested RT-PCR etabliert. Mit dieser Methode konnten in einer permanenten equinen Zelllinie dermalen Ursprungs (ED- Zellen) nach in vitro Infektion mit dem EHV-2-Referenzstamm LK-4 schon ab 6 Stunden post infectionem (p. i.) EHV-2-IL-10-spezifische Transkripte detektiert werden. Die Expression des EHV-2-IL-10-Gens war dabei schon vor den Transkripten des sehr frühen EHV-2-ORF-50 und des frühen-späten EHV-2-Glykoprotein B (gB) nachweisbar. Ferner konnte durch die Anwendung von Inhibitoren der Proteinsynthese sowie der viralen DNA-Replikation gezeigt werden, dass die Expression des EHV-2-IL-10 sowohl von der Proteinsynthese als auch von der viralen DNA-Replikation unabhängig erfolgt. Daher entspricht die Kinetik der Expression des EHV-2-IL-10 in dem untersuchten in vitro Modell den sehr frühen Genen der Herpesviren. Zum Nachweis einer EHV-2-IL-10-Expression in vivo wurden Blutproben von 3 natürlich mit EHV-2 infizierten Pferden über den Zeitraum von einem Jahr im monatlichen Abstand untersucht. Parallel wurde der EHV-2-Infektionsstatus dieser Pferde ermittelt. Durch serologische Untersuchungen ergaben sich dabei zwar Hinweise für das Vorliegen einer akuten EHV-2-Infektion, mit der RT-PCR zum Nachweis von ORF-50- und gB-Transkripten als Marker für die Virusreplikation sowie durch die Virusanzucht aus lysierten Zellen konnte jedoch keine akute EHV-2-Infektion in den mononukleären Zellen des peripheren Blutes (PBMC) der 3 Pferde detektierte werden. In den PBMC von 2 Pferden wurde mittels Kokultivierung latentes EHV-2 nachgewiesen, wobei sich die Anwendung von 12 O Tetradecanoylphorbol-13-Acetat (TPA) positiv auf die Reaktivierbarkeit des latenten Virus auswirkte. Untersuchungen mit der Gardella-Gel-Technik ergaben außerdem Hinweise für eine Integration von EHV-2-DNA in das Genom latent infizierter equiner PBMC. In den latent infizierten PBMC wurden bei 2 Pferden EHV-2-IL-10-spezifische Transkripte detektiert, während beim dritten Pferd trotz nachgewiesener latenter Infektion keine EHV-2-IL-10-Transkripte zu finden waren. Das EHV-2-IL-10 scheint demnach eine Rolle bei der latenten Infektion zu spielen. Die Frage nach der Möglichkeit, die Expression des EHV-2-IL 10 als Latenzmarker in der Diagnostik einzusetzen konnte jedoch nicht abschließend beantwortet werden. Mögliche Wirkungsmechanismen des EHV-2-IL-10 bei der latenten Infektion in equinen PBMC werden diskutiert und Wege zur weiterführenden Untersuchung dieser Ergebnisse aufgezeigt. Durch vergleichende Untersuchungen der Primärstruktur der EHV-2-IL-10-Proteine von 9 EHV-2-Referenzstämmen und -Feldisolaten wurde auf der Aminosäureebene ein hoher Konservierungsgrad von 96 % bis 100 % festgestellt. Ferner zeigte sich, dass die Amino¬säuresequenz des EHV-2-IL-10 mit dem IL-10-Protein des Pferdes zu 85 % übereinstimmt. Außerdem wurden durch die Erstellung eines Stammbaumes phylogenetische Analysen zum EHV-2-IL-10 und equinen IL-10 durchgeführt. Dabei wurde festgestellt, dass beide IL-10-Proteine einen hohen Homologiegrad aufweisen, was nahe legt, dass das EHV-2-IL-10 im Verlauf der Evolution direkt vom Pferd erworben wurde. Durch ein Aminosäuresequenz-alignment mit dem IL-10 des EBV, des Orf-Virus, des Menschen und des Schafes wurden funktionell bedeutsame Bereiche des EHV-2-IL-10 untersucht. Dabei wurde festgestellt, dass Regionen, die bei zellulären IL-10-Proteinen immunstimulierende Funktionen ausüben, im EHV-2-IL-10 wie beim EBV-IL-10 nicht konserviert sind. Möglicherweise hat das EHV-2-IL-10 wie das EBV-IL-10 nur die immunsuppressiven Eigenschaften des Wirts-IL-10 konserviert, wodurch ein therapeutischer Einsatz des EHV-2-IL-10 bei immunpathologischen Erkrankungen des Pferdes denkbar wäre. Die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit haben gezeigt, dass die etablierte EHV-2-IL-10-spezifische snRT- PCR zum sensitiven und spezifischen Nachweis von EHV-2-IL-10-Transkripten in vivo geeignet ist. Es bietet sich daher an, weiterführende Untersuchungen zur Rolle des EHV-2-IL-10 unter Verwendung dieser Methode durchzuführen. Die durch die computergestützten Sequenzvergleiche erhaltenen Hinweise für eine immunmodulatorische Wirkung des EHV-2-IL-10, sowie die möglicherweise existierenden Wirkungsunterschiede zum equinen IL-10, müssen durch funktionelle Studien in geeigneten Modellsystemen verifiziert werden.The aim of this work was to analyse the EHV-2 IL-10 homologue gene with special consideration on its gene expression in vitro and in vivo as well as its primary structure. Thereby it should be clarified if the EHV-2 IL-10 is related to a certain transcript class, if it is connected to a defined stage of infection and if the primary structure of EHV-2 IL-10 allows conclusions to its function. The expression kinetics of the EHV-2 IL-10 gene were investigated by an EHV-2 IL-10 specific seminested RT-PCR following an in vitro infection of a permanent equine dermal cell line (ED-cells) with the EHV-2 reference strain LK-4. EHV-2 IL-10 specific transcripts were already detected 6 hours post infection (p. i.), even before the transcripts of the immediate early EHV-2 ORF-50 and early late EHV-2 Glykoprotein B appeared. Furthermore, the implementation of protein synthesis inhibitors as well as inhibitors of viral DNA replication showed that the expression of EHV-2 IL-10 occurred independently from the protein synthesis and also from viral DNA replication. Therefore the in vitro expression of the EHV-2 IL-10 was consistent with that of an immediate early herpes virus gene. For the analysis of the EHV-2 IL-10 expression in vivo, blood samples of three naturally with EHV-2 infected horses were examined monthly over a period of one year. Parallel the EHV-2 infection stage of the horses was determined. The results of serological analysis implied hints of an existing acute EHV-2 infection, but there was no evidence of productive virus replication in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of all three horses either by RT PCR for EHV-2 ORF 50 and gB expression as markers for virus replication or by plaque assay for the detection of infectious virus in destroyed cells. From the PBMC of two horses latent EHV-2 was isolated by cocultivation, whereas the implementation of 12 O tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) had a positive effect on the reactivation of the latent virus. With the EHV-2 PCR positive PBMC of the third horse the cocultivation was always negative. Additionally Gardella gel analysis indicated that the DNA of latently infected equine PBMC contained integrated EHV 2 DNA. In the latently infected PBMC of two horses EHV-2 IL-10 specific transcripts were detected, whereas no EHV-2 IL 10 transcripts could be found in the PBMC of the third horse. The expression in latently infected PBMC suggests that the EHV-2 IL-10 takes part in the latent EHV-2 infection. However the question about the possible implementation of EHV 2 IL-10 transcripts as a diagnostic marker for the latent EHV-2 infection cannot be answered conclusively. Possible EHV-2 IL-10 functions in latently infected equine PBMC and ways of further examinations of these results will be discussed. Comparative studies of the EHV-2 IL-10 primary structure of 9 EHV-2 reference strains and field isolates revealed a high level of amino acid conservation of 96 % to 100 %. Moreover the EHV-2 IL-10 matches the equine IL-10 protein in 85 % of the amino acids. In addition phylogenetic analysis of EHV-2 IL-10 and equine IL-10 were conducted on basis of a developed phylogenetic tree. As a result both IL 10 proteins showed a high degree of homology, suggesting that the EHV-2 IL-10 was captured from the horse during evolution. An amino acid alignment with EBV, parapoxvirus orf, human and ovine IL-10 was carried out to identify candidate functional domains of EHV-2 IL-10. As a result regions were detected, which posses immune stimulating functions in the cellular IL-10 protein, that had not been preserved in the EHV-2 IL-10 as well as the EBV IL-10. Possibly EHV-2 IL-10, like EBV IL 10, preserved only the immunosuppressive qualities of the host IL-10, whereby a therapeutical implementation of the EHV-2 IL-10 would be conceivable with immunopathological diseases of the horse. In conclusion, the results of the current work show that the established EHV-2 IL-10 specific snRT-PCR is a sensitive and specific tool for the verification of EHV-2 IL-10 expression. This method presents an opportunity for further analysis of the role of the EHV 2 IL 10 in vivo. Indications for immunomodulatory effects and probably functional differences to the equine counterpart as observed by computer based sequence analysis, have to be verified by functional studies in adequate model systems

Dwarves are Not Heroes : Antisemitism and the Dwarves in J.R.R. Tolkien\u27s Writing

This challenging paper on mythology in Tolkien’s depiction of Dwarves brings some much-needed definition to the ongoing discussion of Tolkien and race. Quotes China Miéville’s observation that “racism is true” in Tolkien’s works, “in that people really are defined by their race,” but demonstrates how Tolkien’s conception of the racial characteristics of Dwarves changed over his lifetime. Yet we come back in the end to the inescapable fact, with all its implications, that the Dwarves continue to have a set of recognizable racial characteristics

Auf dem Weg zur kontinuierlichen Qualitätsverbesserung

"Eigenverantwortung der Schule für die Qualität des Lehrens und Lernens erfordert ein umfassendes Qualitätsmanagement in jeder Schule, das die schulinterne Evaluation mit einschließt". Als "Instrumentarium für die interne Evaluation" stellt der Autor das Konzept des "analytic hierarchic process" (AHP) und den zugehörigen Fragen- und Bewertungskatalog (FBK) vor. Beide sind Grundlage für einen Qualitätsverbesserungsprozess, wie ihn die Stiftung der Deutschen Wirtschaft mit der Entwicklung von "Qualitätsregionen" anstrebt. Dabei kooperiert innerhalb einer Region jeweils eine Schule pro Schultyp mit mindestens einem Unternehmen. Innerhalb der Qualitätsregionen werden die entsprechenden Schulen zu Leitschulen (Benchmark-Schulen) qualifiziert, sodass "sie einerseits den kontinuierlichen Qualitätsverbesserungsprozess an ihrer Schule selbstständig durchführen können, andererseits aber auch in der Lage sind, weiteren allgemein bildenden Schulen in der Region als Berater und Coach für diesen Prozess zur Verfügung zu stehen". Erste Erfahrungen mit dem Projekt wurden in einer Modellregion in Baden-Württemberg gewonnen. (DIPF/Un

Abstract economic modeling : a semantic-philosophical definition of economic models

As fundações análogas das ideias de Kuhn e da visão pragmática das teorias favorecem uma união de pensamentos. Na concepção de Kuhn após a Estrutura das Revoluções Científicas, a filosofia da linguagem – especialmente as teorias de uso da linguagem – e suas ramificações nas ciências cognitivas são formas efetivas de julgar problemas científicos. Baseados nessas novas ideias, os interpretes de Kuhn propuseram a teoria psicológica dos Enquadramentos Dinâmicos como uma forma funcional de reavaliar a evolução científica. Uma aplicação dessa teoria para reler as definições pragmáticas de modelos foi realizada nessa dissertação, expondo a incomparabilidade entre estudos de caso, o que impede o avanço das discussões. Consequentemente, a criação de definições comparáveis é necessária para o desenvolvimento dos debates pragmáticos. Inspirada em Sugden (2000;2009), a solução proposta foi a criação de paradigmas plausíveis. Seguindo esta linha de raciocínio, um exame da história do pensamento econômico foi realizado buscando uma fundação crível para a definição de modelos econômicos abstratos. A pesquisa identificou os trabalhos de Tinbergen (1935) e de Von Neumann (1945) como os primeiros a usarem o termo ‘modelo’ em sentido abstrato e, portanto, como uma fundação sólida para um paradigma definidor do termo modelo econômico no período que transcorre de 1930 à 1950. Em seguida, a combinação da teoria dos Enquadramentos Dinâmicos e dos exemplares resultou na definição de modelos econômicos contendo cinco características: adaptabilidade, neutralidade, estrutura matemática, simplificação e objetivo. Uma avaliação subsequente da disseminação do termo de 1930 até 1950 sugere que os exemplares escolhidos são uma fundação plausível, ainda que a definição não tenha sido instantânea nem completamente disseminada entre os economistas.The analogous foundations of Kuhnian ideas and of The Pragmatic View of Theories favor a union of thoughts. In Kuhn’s renewed ideas, philosophy of language – especially use theories - and its ramifications in cognitive sciences are an effective form of judging scientific conundrums. Based on this insight, Kuhn’s interpreters proposed the psychological theory of Dynamic Frames as a functional form of reviewing scientific evolution. An application of Dynamic Frames was realized to reread pragmatic definitions of models, exposing the incomparability between case-studies, which hampers the development of discussions. Consequently, the creation of comparable definitions is necessary for the advancement of pragmatic debates. Inspired by Sugden (2002; 2009), the proposed solution was the creation of plausible paradigms. Following this mode of reasoning, an examination of history of economic thought was realized searching for a credible foundation for the definition of abstract economic models. The exploration suggested Tinbergen’s (1935) and Von Neumann’s (1945) works as the first ones to use the term “model” in an abstract sense and thus as a solid foundation for a paradigm intended to define economic models. The following combination of Dynamic Frames ideas and the exemplars resulted in a definition of models containing five characteristics: adaptability; neutrality; mathematical structure; simplification; and objective. A subsequent examination of the dissemination of the term from 1930s to 1950s suggested the exemplars were a plausible foundation, even though the definition was neither instantly nor completely disseminated among economists

Neue Mobilitätskonzepte in Deutschland: ökologische, soziale und wirtschaftliche Perspektiven

In den letzten Jahren sind in Deutschland viele neue Mobilitätskonzepte mit dem Ziel entstanden, Verkehr ressourcenschonender zu gestalten, indem Autofahrten durch die kombinierte Nutzung der Verkehrsmittel des Umweltverbunds (Bus/Bahn, Fahrrad, zu Fuß gehen) ersetzt werden. Im Kontext des Querschnittprojekts „Arbeit und Ökologie“ wurde qualitativ untersucht, inwieweit neue Mobilitätskonzepte dazu beitragen, sozialökologische und sozioökonomische Nachhaltigkeitsziele zu erreichen. Dazu wird zunächst ein Überblick über die aktuellen Entwicklungen im Bereich der Verkehrsdienstleistungen in Deutschland und der Schweiz mit Beispielen gegeben. Sozial-ökologische Ziele, insbesondere eine Absenkung der Kfz-Kilometer, werden durch die meisten Konzepte erreicht. Erreichbarkeiten und damit die Lebensqualität, insbesondere für nichtmotorisierte Haushalte, werden verbessert. Bei den sozioökonomischen Zielen werden geringere volkswirtschaftliche Kosten diagnostiziert. Problematisch ist die geringe Quantität und Qualität der neu entstehenden Arbeitsplätze, da die neuen Dienstleistungen in Zukunft weitgehend digitalisiert und automatisiert funktionieren werden, um am Markt bestehen zu können. Neben wenigen hochqualifizierten Spezialisten werden die meisten Jobs vermutlich im Niedriglohnsektor entstehen. Der Abbau von Arbeitsplätzen, insbesondere bei öffentlichen Verkehrsanbietern unter dem Druck eines verschärften Wettbewerbs und einer technisch bedingten Steigerung der Arbeitsproduktivität, wird durch Beschäftigungsmöglichkeiten bei neuen Verkehrsdienstleistern nur teilweise kompensiert werden können. Gewerkschaftliche Positionen zu neuen Mobilitätskonzepten sind noch nicht abgeschlossen. Im betrieblichen Mobilitätsmanagement auf lokaler Ebene haben Betriebsräte und Gewerkschaften gleichwohl als Initiatoren gewirkt und große Erfolge bei der Verkehrsverlagerung erzielt. -- The last few years have seen the development of many new mobility concepts in Germany aiming at saving natural resources by reducing car use while encouraging the use of public transport, bicycles and walking. The study was carried out as part of a crosssectional research project named „Work and Ecology“. Recent developments in the field of transportation services in Germany and Switzerland are shown and illustrated by examples. The authors – using a qualitative approach – then argue how new mobility concepts add to sustainable socioecological and socioeconomic change. As a result, socioecological goals, especially reduced car use and improved access to public transport for households without cars, can be met by implementing new mobility concepts. Socioeconomic goals are met by saving transportation costs for public budgets. New jobs in the field of transportation services are not on the horizon, however, because most services, once implemented, will have to perform nearly automatically if they are to survive in the market. Except for a small number of highly trained professionals, most new jobs will most likely be low wage and low quality. Job growth in the field of new transportation services will not compensate for a decrease of jobs in public transit due to new competition and an increase in labor productivity. Trade unions have yet to spell out a concluding position in regard to new mobility concepts, although on a local level unions have been successful in implementing car-reducing mobility management measures in companies.

Developmental trends in lineup performance:Adolescents are more prone to innocent bystander misidentifications than children and adults

We tested developmental trends in eyewitness identification in biased and unbiased lineups. Our main interest was adolescent's lineup performance compared with children and adults. 7-10-year-olds, 11-13-year-olds, 14-16-year-olds, and adults (N = 431) watched a wallet-theft-video and subsequently identified the thief, victim, and witness from simultaneous target-present and target-absent six-person photo lineups. The thief-absent lineup included a bystander previously seen in thief proximity. Research on unconscious transference suggested a selection bias toward the bystander in adults and 11-13-year-olds, but not in younger children. Confirming our hypothesis, adolescents were more prone to bystander bias than all other age groups. This may be due to adolescents making more inferential errors than children, as predicted by fuzzy-trace theory and associative-activation theory, combined with lower inhibition control in adolescents compared with adults. We also replicated a clothing bias for all age groups and age-related performance differences in our unbiased lineups. Consistent with previous findings, participants were generally overconfident in their decisions, even though confidence was a better predictor of accuracy in older compared with younger participants. With this study, we show that adolescents have an increased tendency to misidentify an innocent bystander. Continued efforts are needed to disentangle how adolescents in comparison to other age groups perform in forensically relevant situations

Suppression of unpolarized background interferences for Raman spectroscopy under continuous operation

A time-resolving filtering technique developed to improve background suppression in Raman spectroscopy is presented and characterized. The technique enables separation of signal contributions via their polarization dependency by the addition of a waveplate to a normal measurement system and data post-processing. As a result, background interferences of broadband laser-induced fluorescence and incandescence, as well as flame luminosity and blackbody radiation, were effectively suppressed from Raman spectra. Experimental setting parameters of the method were investigated under well-controlled conditions to assess their impact on the background-filtering ability, and the overall trend was understood. The fluorescence background was effectively suppressed for all investigated settings of modulation period, number of accumulations, and recording duration, with the spectrum quality preserved after the filtering. For practical application, the method was tested for measurements in a sooting flame accompanied by a strong luminosity and interfering laser-induced background signals. The technique resulted in a 200-fold decrease of the background and allowed for quantitative analyses of concentrations and temperatures from the filtered data. Thus, the method shows strong potential to extend the applicability of Raman spectroscopy, in particular for in situ diagnostics under challenging experimental conditions