Investors activism: The case of Cevian Capital hedge fund campaigns in German companies

The number of deals involving activist investors has been increasing over time. They buy a small portion of the companies' capital and seek from the executive and supervisory boards, through a more or less aggressive campaign, to get them to implement some change(s). There is, however, an intense debate between those who think that the action of these investors has a positive impact on companies and those who think that they only generate short-term gains at the expense of the companies' long-term performance. In this work, we try to contribute to the debate by analysing the campaigns made in Germany by the largest European hedge fund activist, Cevian Capital. These campaigns targeted Munich Re, Bilfinger, ThyssenKrupp, and Demag Cranes. The work focuses mainly on two points: 1) whether or not the activist had a positive impact on the company, and 2) what has changed in the company during the period the activist was there. To answer the first point, an event study is performed, while for the second one an analysis of the evolution of the company's main indicators and financial ratios is made. The results show a positive impact at the time of the announcement but are less conclusive about the long-term. Regarding the changes, there is no evidence of any significant improvement in the indicators and financial ratios of the companies.O número de casos envolvendo investidores activistas tem aumentado de ano para ano. Eles compram uma pequena porção do capital das empresas e procuram junto dos conselhos executivo e de supervisão, através de uma campanha que pode ser mais ou menos aggressiva, conseguir com que elas implementem alguma(s) mudança(s). Há todavia, um debate intenso entre os que acham que a acção destes investidores tem um impacto positivo nas empresas e os que acham que eles apenas geram ganhos de curto-prazo em detrimento da performance de longo-prazo das empresas. Neste trabalho tentamos contribuir para este debate ao analisar as campanhas feitas na Alemanha pelo maior hedge fund activista europeu, Cevian Capital. Essas campanhas tiveram como alvo as empresas Munich Re, Bilfinger, ThyssenKrupp e Demag Cranes. O trabalho centra-se sobretudo em dois pontos: 1) se o activista teve ou não um impacto positivo na empresa, e 2) o que mudou na empresa durante o período em que ele lá esteve. Para responder ao primeiro ponto é feito um estudo de evento, enquanto que para o segundo é feita uma análise da evolução dos pricipais indicadores e rácios financeiros da empresa. Os resultados revelam um impacto positivo aquando do anúncio, mas menos conclusivo relativo ao longo-prazo. Em relação às mudanças verificadas nas empresas, não há em nenhum dos casos evidências de uma melhoria significativa dos indicadores e rácios financeiros

Revisión sistemática y zoogeográfica de los géneros Arvicola Lacepede, 1799 y Clethrionomys Tilesius, 1850 en Europa Suroccidental (Microtinae, Rodentia, Mammalia)

Tesis inédita de la Facultad de CC. Biológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 1976.ProQuestFac. de Ciencias BiológicasTRUEpu

Dynamical evolution of unstable self-gravitating scalar solitons

Recently, static and spherically symmetric configurations of globally regular self-gravitating scalar solitons were found. These configurations are unstable with respect to radial linear perturbations. In this paper we study the dynamical evolution of such configurations and show that, depending on the sign of the initial perturbation, the solitons either collapse to a Schwarzschild black hole or else ``explode'' into an outward moving domain wall.Comment: 11 pages, 16 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Anthropometric measures as predictive indicators of metabolic risk in a population of “holy week costaleros”

Preventive measures are a priority in those groups that perform intense physical efforts without physical preparation and that can also be overweight or obese. One of the groups that reflect these characteristics is the costaleros of the Holy Week of Andalusia, Spain. This paper aims to describe the effect of obesity on blood pressure. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 101 costaleros. The anthropometric measures were determined through segmental impedance. Cardiac recovery and anaerobic power were measured through the Ruffier–Dickson test and the Abalakov test, respectively. Blood pressure was measured when the individuals were at rest. The Kruskal–Wallis test was applied for of continuous parameters and the X2 test for dichotomous measures. Binary logistic regression models were used for the subsequent analysis with R-square and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves. The average population was 28 years of age, 173.7 cm tall, and 82.59 Kg weigh. The excess of body fat was 11.27 Kg and Body Mass Index was 27.33 Kg/m2. 72.3% showed abnormal blood pressure and 68.2% were overweight. 32.7% had a waist-hip ratio higher than 0.94. The probability of presenting abnormal blood pressure was higher among the subjects whose fat content was higher and muscle content was lower

Biomaterials for Tissue Engineering Applications in Diabetes Mellitus

The search for ideal implants or alternative scaffolds is a challenge for biomedical science researchers, especially in diabetic patients. Many alternative bioactive materials have been used in the regenerative medicine, especially in patient with complex metabolic disorder as diabetes mellitus. Among them, we discussed the following alternative material scaffolds, including amniotic membrane (AM), homogenous demineralized dentin matrix (HDDM), platelet-rich plasma (PRP), and alloplastic materials as porous polyethylene and polyurethane. These biomaterials were applied in the craniomaxillofacial complex and liver injury, resulting in tissue regeneration and microstructural reconstruction due to their effective inductive and conductive properties. Additionally, diabetes disease and its general biophysical mechanism and systemic complications were described in order to improve the comprehension of the physiopathology of this comorbidity and its effects in the tissues. The AM, HDDM, and PRP in implantation sites initiated an inductive cascade as chemotaxis of progenitor cells, mitogenesis, angiogenesis, and differentiation into wide variety of cells. The cell recruitment, division rate, and differentiation of cell lines are under the direct control of several growth factors and stem cells which are present in these biomaterials. Further, some alloplastic materials have triggered satisfactory tissue responses when used in treatments of craniofacial deformities or in anatomical reconstructions

Optimized square Fresnel zone plates for microoptics applications

Polygonal Fresnel zone plates with a low number of sides have deserved attention in micro and nanoptics, because they can be straightforwardly integrated in photonic devices, and, at the same time, they represent a balance between the high-focusing performance of a circular zone plate and the easiness of fabrication at micro and nano-scales of polygons. Among them, the most representative family are Square Fresnel Zone Plates (SFZP). In this work, we propose two different customized designs of SFZP for optical wavelengths. Both designs are based on the optimization of a SFZP to perform as close as possible as a usual Fresnel Zone Plate. In the first case, the criterion followed to compute it is the minimization of the difference between the area covered by the angular sector of the zone of the corresponding circular plate and the one covered by the polygon traced on the former. Such a requirement leads to a customized polygon-like Fresnel zone. The simplest one is a square zone with a pattern of phases repeating each five zones. On the other hand, an alternative SFZP can be designed guided by the same criterion but with a new restriction. In this case, the distance between the borders of different zones remains unaltered. A comparison between the two lenses is carried out. The irradiance at focus is computed for both and suitable merit figures are defined to account for the difference between them

Caracterización de la industria exportadora de arándanos en Chile

79 p.El consumo de arándanos en el mundo ha aumentado fuertemente, es así que en el año 2003, Chile exportó 11.000 toneladas, en tanto en el 2010 exportó 63.864 toneladas, significando un aumento de un 580% en las toneladas exportadas. (Comité de Arándanos, 2011), que se traduce en aproximadamente 160 millones de dólares exportados. Los mercados donde se comercializan productos agrícolas, se caracterizan por una producción atomizada y geográficamente dispersa, agudizados por la estacionalidad asociada a ciclos biológicos, y las características perecederas de los productos Por lo anterior el presente estudio tiene como objetivo general caracterizar la industria exportadora del arándano en Chile, de manera de conocer cómo se compone actualmente la industria. Como objetivos específicos se plantearon:a) Identificar y caracterizar los actores que intervienen en la industria nacional de arándanos.b) Identificar los principales factores críticos de la industria. La metodología utilizada consistió en utilizar fuentes de carácter primarias y ecundarias. La primera se basó en elaborar una entrevista estructurada, aplicada a empresas de la industria exportadora, de manera de detectar las principales características del macroentorno y sus principales actores. Las fuentes secundarias utilizadas fueron bases de datos de organismos públicos y privados. Para la información obtenida de la encuesta se utilizó estadística descriptiva, de manera de resumir, analizar y obtener conclusiones a partir de los datos por observación y registro obtenidos Para caracterizar la industria exportadora de arándano a nivel nacional se desarrolló un análisis del macro entorno donde se definieron las fuerzas que rodean a la industria Las principales conclusiones de este estudio fueron que el factor crítico de la industria,para los procesos de exportación es Marketing y Ventas, donde se aprecia que el principal obstáculo para el desarrollo de nuevas empresas, es el conocimiento de los mercados. Y que el factor crítico de la industria, para el proceso productivo es la mano de obra, que a largo plazo hay que sustituirla con mayor tecnología, desarrollando variedades que resistan una cosecha mecanizada. Palabras claves: Arándano, industria exportadora, factores críticos industria./ABSTRACT: Blueberries consumption has risen sharply during the last years. In 2003, Chile exported 11,000 tons while in 2010, 63,864 tons, representing an increase of 480% with respect to the previous year (Blueberry Committee, 2011). This increase in exports is equivalent to approximately US$ 160 million. Agricultural product markets are characterized by a fragmented and geographically dispersed production, exacerbated by the seasonality associated with biological cycles and perishability of the products. Based on the explained above and in order to know how the industry is currently operating, the main aim of this study was to characterize the Chilean blueberry exporting industry. The specific aims in the study were: a) To identify and characterize the actors in the national blueberry industry. b) To identify the main critical factors in the blueberry exporting industry. In order to get the information needed, primary and secondary sources were employed. Primary sources were based on a structured interview applied to companies in the exporting industry, designed to detect the main features of the macro-environment and its main actors. Databases of public and private agencies were used as secondary sources of information. In order to summarize, analyze and draw conclusions from the data obtained from the survey, descriptive statistics were used. In addition, to characterize the blueberry exporting industry at a national level, a macro-environment analysis was performed defining the forces surrounding the industry. As conclusion we can see that the main critical factor in the industry, from the viewpoint of exports is “Marketing and Sales”, which reveals that the main obstacle to the development of new enterprises is the knowledge of the markets. Also that the critical factor in the production process, is labor which in the long term must be replaced with better technology, developing varieties adapted to be mechanically harvested. Keywords: Blueberry, export industry, critical industry

Generalized harmonic spatial coordinates and hyperbolic shift conditions

We propose a generalization of the condition for harmonic spatial coordinates analogous to the generalization of the harmonic time slices introduced by Bona et al., and closely related to dynamic shift conditions recently proposed by Lindblom and Scheel, and Bona and Palenzuela. These generalized harmonic spatial coordinates imply a condition for the shift vector that has the form of an evolution equation for the shift components. We find that in order to decouple the slicing condition from the evolution equation for the shift it is necessary to use a rescaled shift vector. The initial form of the generalized harmonic shift condition is not spatially covariant, but we propose a simple way to make it fully covariant so that it can be used in coordinate systems other than Cartesian. We also analyze the effect of the shift condition proposed here on the hyperbolicity of the evolution equations of general relativity in 1+1 dimensions and 3+1 spherical symmetry, and study the possible development of blow-ups. Finally, we perform a series of numerical experiments to illustrate the behavior of this shift condition.Comment: 18 pages and 12 figures, extensively revised version explaining in the new Section IV how the shift condition can be made 3-covarian

Progress in quality of life assessment of breast cancer. The measurement system of EORTC

Este trabajo pretende presentar la situación actual de la evaluación de la Calidad de Vida en el cáncer de mama. Esta es la localización tumoral de la que se han realizado más es¬tudios de Calidad de Vida. Su valoración es de gran utilidad en la práctica clínica, en los ensayos clínicos con dicha enfermedad y en la propia adaptación de las pacientes a su situa¬ción, incluyendo la toma de decisiones. Se pre¬senta el sistema de medida de la EORTC para cáncer de mama, y otros dos instrumentos de evaluación. Se da atención especial a las áreas de la medición de la Calidad de Vida en dicha enfermedad, en las que entendemos se están dando más avances en la actualidad: la biopsia del ganglio centinela, los tipos de cirugía, la experiencia de las pacientes mayores, las dife¬rencias entre grupos de edad, y los estudios de seguimiento a largo plazo.The aim of the present work is to present the situation of Quality of Life assessment in breast cancer. Breast cancer is the tumour site in which more Quality of Life studies have been carried out. Quality of Life assessment can be quite useful in clinical practice, clinical trials and in the patients’ adaptation process to their situation, including decision making. The EORTC assessment system for breast cancer and two other instruments are presented. Special attention is paid to the Quality of Life assessment areas in which we consider that more progress is being performed nowadays: the sentinel node biopsy, the different surgery modalities, the experience of elderly patients, the differences among age based groups, and the long term follow-up studies

Diagnóstico y plan de acción para el mejoramiento de los procesos y condiciones de trabajo en la empresa H&M mueblería en el municipio de Soledad Atlántico

This project will seek to make a diagnosis and plan of action for improving processes and working conditions in the H&M Furniture which is located in the municipality of Soledad Atlántico Colombia, all based on the methodology 5’s and work study to establish guidelines that will enable the senior management of the company to improve its productivity and competitiveness. We Performed an initial diagnosis which was established to analyze organizational and analysis of productive area, was used for this observation, interview and survey what we facilitated the identification of vulnerabilities in the company. After analyzing the data obtained from the survey was conducted in general a weight which was obtained on the vulnerabilities to which to focus the proposal. To this was stipulated that a boundary line is named as a boundary line on which weighting is evaluated those aspects that are below the mean plus one. Once certain aspects to be evaluated, it is possible to establish a plan that meets the needs that the company should consider for implementation and monitoring of the optimizations required to ensure their workers with a suitable work environment. By developing this work the company may establish actual operating conditions of safety and methodology5's, so that according to the criteria of each program will create a process optimization.Con este proyecto se buscó realizar un diagnóstico y un plan de acción para el mejoramiento de los procesos y las condiciones de trabajo en la empresa H&M Mueblería la cual se encuentra ubicada en el municipio de soledad atlántico Colombia, todo esto basándonos en la metodología 5´s y en el estudio del trabajo con el fin de establecer directrices que les permitan a la alta dirección de la empresa mejorar su productividad y competitividad. Se realizó un diagnóstico inicial en el cual se estableció hacer un análisis organizacional y un análisis del área productiva, para esto se utilizó la observación, la entrevista y la encuesta lo que nos facilitó la identificación de los aspectos vulnerables de la empresa. Luego de analizar los datos arrojados por la encuesta, se realizó una ponderación de manera general sobre los cuales se obtuvo los aspectos vulnerables hacia donde se va a enfocar la propuesta. Para esto se estipulo una línea límite que se nombró como línea límite de ponderación sobre la cual se evalúa aquellos aspectos que están por debajo de la media más uno. Una vez determinados los aspectos a evaluar, es posible establecer un plan acorde con las necesidades que la empresa debe considerar para la implementación y el seguimiento de la propuesta de optimización se requiere para garantizar a sus trabajadores un ambiente de trabajo adecuado. Mediante la elaboración de este trabajo la empresa podrá establecer las condiciones reales de operación en materia de seguridad y metodología 5´s, para que de acuerdo al criterio de cada una se cree un programa de optimización de procesos