The Cross-Section of Positively Weighted Portfolios

This paper examines properties of mean-variance inefficient proxies with respect to producing a linear relation between expected returns and betas. The numerical results of a Monte Carlo simulation show that in the CAPM slightly inefficient, positively weighted proxies cause an almost perfect linear expected return - beta relation. Moreover, we show that a strong linearity among a predefined subset of assets exists. These implications are important for the interpretation of empirical tests as well as for asset pricing and for the improvement of proxies’ benchmark properties. In contrast to current literature the results suggest that the CAPM’s pricing error is small when slightly inefficient, positively weighted proxies are used.asset pricing, CAPM, Roll Critique, mean-variance analysis, short-sale constraint, market proxy

A Generalization of the Calendar Time Portfolio Approach and the Performance of Private Investors

We present a regression-based generalization of the calendar time portfolio approach which allowsfor the inclusion of continuous and multivariate investor or firm characteristics in the analysis. Ourmethod is simple to apply and it ensures that the statistical results are heteroscedasticity consistentand robust to very general forms of cross-sectional and temporal dependence. Furthermore, ourregression-based technique also remedies several well-known weaknesses of the traditional calendartime portfolio approach. By considering a new, unique dataset on more than 40,000 Europeanprivate investors, we illustrate empirically that erroneously ignoring cross-sectional dependenceinherent in microeconometric panel data can lead to severely biased statistical results. Moreoverwe use our method to validate some of the most popular hypotheses on the performance of privateinvestors.Performance measurement, Robust statistical inference, Cross-sectional dependence

Shape and Texture Combined Face Recognition for Detection of Forged ID Documents

This paper proposes a face recognition system that can be used to effectively match a face image scanned from an identity (ID) doc-ument against the face image stored in the biometric chip of such a document. The purpose of this specific face recognition algorithm is to aid the automatic detection of forged ID documents where the photography printed on the document’s surface has been altered or replaced. The proposed algorithm uses a novel combination of texture and shape features together with sub-space representation techniques. In addition, the robustness of the proposed algorithm when dealing with more general face recognition tasks has been proven with the Good, the Bad & the Ugly (GBU) dataset, one of the most challenging datasets containing frontal faces. The proposed algorithm has been complement-ed with a novel method that adopts two operating points to enhance the reliability of the algorithm’s final verification decision.Final Accepted Versio

Church, Sect, and Government Control, a History of Seventh-Day Adventists in Austria, 1890-1975

Seventh-day Adventism, a young American-based denomination, encountered strenuous opposition when it first reached Europe in the second half of the nineteenth century. This was especially true in Austria, where traditional allegiance to Roman Catholicism, linked with a strong emphasis on cultural continuity, constituted the tenor of social life. Although the Adventist church has been present in Austria for almost a hundred years, its influence and size have remained insignificant. Baptists and Methodists have had the same disappointing experience. Austria is certainly one of the most difficult countries for evangelical mission outreach in Europe. This dissertation not only describes the history of Seventh-day Adventism in Austria but also examines the relationship of the denomination to its political and religious milieu. How did the Austrian Adventists conduct themselves under the shadow of the predominant Catholic Church? How did they relate to the different forms of government such as monarchy, fascism, and National Socialism? Which missionary methods were employed to counteract the influence of alargely hostile church and state and to adapt to the environment? These and related questions are explored with the anticipation that this study may furnish valuable insights to stimulate further discussion of church-state relationships and to provide a basis for continuing investigation of the dynamics involved in encounters of minority religions with hostile socio-cultural settings. Chapter I sketches the origin and progress of the Adventist mission in Central Europe, dealing with the contributions of missionaries such as M. B. Czechowski, J. N. Andrews, and L. R. Conradi. Chapter II treats the difficult beginnings of Adventist mission work in Austria-Hungary. Chapter III describes Adventism during the interwar period. Chapter IV deals with Adventism in the corporative state and its adaptation during the Nazi period. Chapter V discusses the post-war development of Adventism until 1975. In overview, the Adventist church\u27s adaptability from the outset of its existence in Austria facilitated denominational growth. The negative side of this approach was revealed during the Third Reich by the misuse of adaptability in making certain unwarranted concessions and compromises. Today flexibility still seems necessary to meet societal changes in Austria

What Advantage Does Difference Make? Leveling the Imperial Playing Field

In this article, I revisit the last ten years of international sport policies on gender testing in order to revise normative constructions of the athletes’ bodies. Specifically, I focus on the International Association of Athletics Federation’s (IAAF) new regulation from 2018 governing the eligibility of certain female athletes with differences of sexual development accompanied by elevated levels of natural testosterone. I argue that the IAAF testosterone regulation is based on a colonial continuity of upholding gender norms and racial hierarchies