Intraday stock volatility : a New Zealand perspective : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Business in Finance at Massey University

Open-to-open, close-to-close, open-to-close (trading) and close-to-open (non-trading) time periods are examined for dually and non-dually listed stocks in an attempt to explain the volatility patterns which were observed in the New Zealand Stock Exchange. The time period analysed covers the 1997 calendar year. The intraday volatility pattern for the New Zealand Stock Exchange showed similar results to previous studies performed on large exchanges around the world. That is, when the return variances are plotted against the trading time they follow a distinct U-shaped curve, caused by high volatility at the opening and closing of the market. Previous studies have found that the high volatility experienced at the opening of the market results from the long non-trading period prior to the opening. This was examined by analysing the open-to-open to close-to-close variance ratio for both dually and non-dually listed stocks. The explanation that the long non-trading period prior to the opening of the market is a major cause of the volatility experienced at the market opening is not supported by the results found in this study. The results obtained from this study show that the high volatility at the market opening is associated with high capitalised stocks. A low open-to-close (trading) to close-to-open (non-trading) variance ratio was observed in the New Zealand market. Previous research has attributed this low ratio to dually listed stocks continuing to trade during the non-trading overnight period of the domestic market. The findings in this study contradict this explanation and suggest that it is low capitalised stocks that are associated with the low trading to non-trading variance ratio observed in the New Zealand Stock Exchange

The cost and cost-effectiveness of alternative strategies to expand treatment to HIV-positive South Africans: scale economies and outreach costs

This repository item contains a single issue of the Health and Development Discussion Papers, an informal working paper series that began publishing in 2002 by the Boston University Center for Global Health and Development. It is intended to help the Center and individual authors to disseminate work that is being prepared for journal publication or that is not appropriate for journal publication but might still have value to readers.The South African government is currently discussing various alternative approaches to the further expansion of antiretroviral treatment (ART) in public-sector facilities. We used the EMOD-HIV model, a HIV transmission model which projects South African HIV incidence and prevalence and ARV treatment by age-group for alternative combinations of treatment eligibility criteria and testing, to generate 12 epidemiological scenarios. Using data from our own bottom-up cost analyses in South Africa, we separate outpatient cost into nonscale- dependent costs (drugs and laboratory tests) and scale-dependent cost (staff, space, equipment and overheads) and model the cost of production according to the expected future number and size of clinics. On the demand side, we include the cost of creating and sustaining the projected incremental demand for testing and treatment. Previous research with EMOD-HIV has shown that more vigorous recruitment of patients with CD4 counts less than 350 is an advantageous policy over a five-year horizon. Over 20 years, however, the model assumption that a person on treatment is 92% less infectious improves the cost-effectiveness of higher eligibility thresholds, averting HIV infections for between $1,700 and$2,800, while more vigorous expansion under the current guidelines would cost more than $7,500 per incremental HIV infection averted. Based on analysis of the sensitivity of the results to 1,728 alternative parameter combinations at each of four discount rates, we conclude that better knowledge of the behavioral elasticities could reduce the uncertainty of cost estimates by a factor of 4 to 10

Implementation of LGBT+ Health Education for Master’s Entry Nursing Students

Background: There is a paucity of evidence linking Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT+) health education with improvement in nursing students’ knowledge, attitudes, and comfort of LGBT+ health considerations. Methods: In a pre- and post-test study design, a total of 77 master’s entry to nursing practice students completed the LGBT+ health educational module during the Community Health Nursing course. Results: Statistically significant results were found between pre-test to post-test data for knowledge (p \u3c .001, Cohen’s d 2.52), attitudes (p \u3c .001, Cohen’s d 0.35), and comfort (p = .001, Cohen’s d 0.31) of LGBT+ health considerations. Conclusion: The LGBT+ health education module improved MENP students’ attitudes and comfort with LGBT+ clients and markedly increased their knowledge of LGBT+ health considerations. Findings suggest LGBT+ health education can be implemented by nursing faculty in master’s entry to nursing practice programs with a positive impact on student knowledge, attitudes, and comfort

Catalog of infrared observations. Part 2: Appendixes

The Catalog of Infrared Observations (CIO) is a compilation of infrared astronomical observational data obtained from an extensive literature search of astronomical journals and major astronomical catalogs and surveys. The literature searches are complete for years 1965 to 1986. Supporting appendixes are published in this part. The appendices include an atlas of infrared source positions, two bibliographies of infrared literature upon which the search was based, and, keyed to the main Catalog listings (organized alphabetically by first author, and by date), an atlas of infrared spectral ranges, and IRAS data for the CIO sources. The complete CIO database is available to qualified users in printed microfiche and magnetic tape formats

Far infrared supplement: Catalog of infrared observations, second edition

The Far Infrared Supplement: Catalog of Infrared Observations summarizes all infrared astronomical observations at far infrared wavelengths (5 to 1000 microns) published in the scientific literature from 1965 through 1986. The Supplement list contain 25 percent of the observations in the full Catalog of Infrared Observations (CIO), and essentially eliminates most visible stars from the listings. The Supplement is thus more compact than the main catalog, and is intended for easy reference during astronomical observations. The Far Infrared Supplement (2nd Edition) includes the Index of Infrared Source Positions and the Bibliography of Infrared Astronomy for the subset of far infrared observations listed

Catalog of infrared observations. Part 1: Data

The Catalog of Infrared Observations (CIO) is a compilation of infrared astronomical observational data obtained from an extensive literature search of astronomical journals and major astronomical catalogs and surveys. The literature searches are complete for 1965 through 1986 in this Second Edition. The Catalog is published in two parts, with the observational data (roughly 200,000 observations of 20,000 individual sources) listed in Part I, and supporting appendices in Part II. The expanded Second Edition contains a new feature: complete IRAS 4-band data for all CIO sources detected, listed with the main Catalog observations, as well as in complete detail in the Appendix. The appendices include an atlas of infrared source positions, two bibliographies of infrared literature upon which the search was based, and, keyed to the main Catalog listings (organized alphabetically by author and then chronologically), an atlas of infrared spectral ranges, and IRAS data from the CIO sources. The complete CIO database is available to qualified users in printed microfiche and magnetic tape formats

Has the Financial Crisis Undermined Credit Reallocation in the United Kingdom?

The global financial crisis and its aftermath heightened awareness of the role of credit frictions in affecting aggregate economic performance. An important question is whether capital is being allocated to its most productive uses. This paper examines the process through which credit is reallocated across surviving UK businesses over 2004-2012 using the methodology developed by Davis and Haltiwanger (1992) for the analysis of job reallocation. We find that credit reallocation among survivors is intense, and that it primarily occurs across firms similar in size, industry, or location. The results suggest that the aftermath of the global financial crisis has been characterized by persistently increased levels of credit reallocation. However, the evolution of the intensity of credit reallocation after the crisis varies greatly by firm size as measured by sales, with firms in the middle of the distribution driving the overall elevated levels of reallocation in the post-crisis period. When focusing on the sub-sample of larger firms we use to examine the efficiency of the reallocation process, reallocation flows appear to have decreased to levels lower than pre-crisis after a sharp increase in 2007-2008. In terms of efficiency developments, we find that the productivity slowdown of 2008-2009 does not coincide with a deterioration of allocative efficiency along three crucial dimensions of firm performance, namely TFP, labour productivity, and default risk. However, the credit crunch of 2008-2009 coincides with a slowdown of year-on-year efficiency improvements, which persists until the end of the sample period. This raises the prospect that the financial crisis might have undermined the ability of lenders to channel credit to its most productive uses

Statistical modelling of transcript profiles of differentially regulated genes

Background: The vast quantities of gene expression profiling data produced in microarray studies, and the more precise quantitative PCR, are often not statistically analysed to their full potential. Previous studies have summarised gene expression profiles using simple descriptive statistics, basic analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the clustering of genes based on simple models fitted to their expression profiles over time. We report the novel application of statistical non-linear regression modelling techniques to describe the shapes of expression profiles for the fungus Agaricus bisporus, quantified by PCR, and for E. coli and Rattus norvegicus, using microarray technology. The use of parametric non-linear regression models provides a more precise description of expression profiles, reducing the "noise" of the raw data to produce a clear "signal" given by the fitted curve, and describing each profile with a small number of biologically interpretable parameters. This approach then allows the direct comparison and clustering of the shapes of response patterns between genes and potentially enables a greater exploration and interpretation of the biological processes driving gene expression. Results: Quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR-derived time-course data of genes were modelled. "Splitline" or "broken-stick" regression identified the initial time of gene up-regulation, enabling the classification of genes into those with primary and secondary responses. Five-day profiles were modelled using the biologically-oriented, critical exponential curve, y(t) = A + (B + Ct)Rt + ε. This non-linear regression approach allowed the expression patterns for different genes to be compared in terms of curve shape, time of maximal transcript level and the decline and asymptotic response levels. Three distinct regulatory patterns were identified for the five genes studied. Applying the regression modelling approach to microarray-derived time course data allowed 11% of the Escherichia coli features to be fitted by an exponential function, and 25% of the Rattus norvegicus features could be described by the critical exponential model, all with statistical significance of p < 0.05. Conclusion: The statistical non-linear regression approaches presented in this study provide detailed biologically oriented descriptions of individual gene expression profiles, using biologically variable data to generate a set of defining parameters. These approaches have application to the modelling and greater interpretation of profiles obtained across a wide range of platforms, such as microarrays. Through careful choice of appropriate model forms, such statistical regression approaches allow an improved comparison of gene expression profiles, and may provide an approach for the greater understanding of common regulatory mechanisms between genes

Far infrared supplement. Third edition: Catalog of infrared observations (lambda greater than or equal to 4.6 micrometers)

The Far Infrared Supplement contains a subset of the data in the full Catalog of Infrared Observations (all observations at wavelengths greater than 4.6 microns). The Catalog of Infrared Observations (CIO), NASA RP-1294, is a compilation of infrared astronomical observational data obtained from an extensive literature search of scientific journals and major astronomical catalogs and surveys. The literature search is complete for years 1965 through 1990 in this third edition. The catalog contains about 210,000 observations of roughly 20,000 individual sources, and supporting appendices. The expanded third edition contains coded IRAS 4-band data for all CIO sources detected by IRAS. The appendices include an atlas of infrared source positions (also included in this volume), two bibliographies of catalog listings, and an atlas of infrared spectral ranges. The complete CIO database is available to qualified users in printed, microfiche, and magnetic tape formats