Estimating the Cost of Executive Stock Options: Evidence from Switzerland

It is often argued that Black-Scholes (1973) values overstate the subjective value of stock options granted to risk-averse and under-diversified executives. We construct a “representative” Swiss executive and extend the certainty- equivalence approach presented by Hall and Murphy (2002) to assess the value-cost wedge of executive stock options. Even with low coefficients of relative risk aversion, the discount can be above 50% compared to the Black-Scholes values. Regression analysis reveals that the equilibrium level of executive compensation is explained by economic determinant variables such as firm size and growth opportunities, whereas the managers’ pay-forperformance sensitivity remains largely unexplained. Firms with larger boards of directors pay higher wages, indicating potentially unresolved agency conflicts. We reject the hypothesis that cross-sectional differences in the amount of executive pay vanish when risk-adjusted values are used as the dependent variable.Managerial compensation, incentives, executive stock options, option valuation, risk aversion

LCD vs. E-ink: An Analysis of the Reading Behavior

Electronic books (e-book) are an interesting option compared to classic paper books. Most e-reading devices of the first generation were based on e-ink technology. With the appearance of the Apple iPad on the market, TFT-LCDs became important in the field of e-reading. Both technologies have advantages and disadvantages but the question remains whether one or the other technology is better for reading. In the present study we analyzed and compared reading behavior when reading on e-inkreader (e-ink displays) and on tablets (TFT-LCDs) as measured by eye-tracking. The results suggest that the reading behavior on tablets is indeed very similar to the reading behavior on e-ink-reader. Participants showed no difference in fixation duration. Significant differences in reading speed and in the proportion of regressive saccades suggest that tablets, under special artificial light conditions, may even provide better legibility

Nanodroplet Flight Control in Electrohydrodynamic Redox 3D Printing

Electrohydrodynamic 3D printing is an additive manufacturing technique with enormous potential in plasmonics, microelectronics, and sensing applications, thanks to its broad materials palette, high voxel deposition rate, and compatibility with various substrates. However, the electric field used to deposit material is concentrated at the depositing structure resulting in the focusing of the charged droplets and geometry-dependent landing positions, which complicates the fabrication of complex 3D shapes. The low level of concordance between design and printout seriously impedes the development of electrohydrodynamic 3D printing and rationalizes the simplicity of the designs reported so far. In this work, we break the electric field centrosymmetry to study the resulting deviation in the flight trajectory of the droplets. Comparison of experimental outcomes with predictions of an FEM model provides new insights into the droplet characteristics and unveils how the product of droplet size and charge uniquely governs its kinematics. From these insights, we develop reliable predictions of the jet trajectory and allow the computation of optimized printing paths counterbalancing the electric field distortion, thereby enabling the fabrication of geometries with unprecedented complexity

RKKY and magnetic field interactions in coupled Kondo quantum dots

We investigate theoretically the transport properties of two independent artificial Kondo impurities. They are coupled together via a tunable Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yoshida (RKKY) interaction. For strong enough antiferromagnetic RKKY interaction, the impurity density of states increases with the applied in-plane magnetic field. This effect can be used to distinguish between antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic RKKY interactions. These results may be relevant to explain some features of recent experiments by Craig et al. (cond-mat/0404213).Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Anforderungen an eine Smart City Plattform : eine qualitative Untersuchung

Verschiedene Städte weltweit setzen bereits auf eine Smart-City-Strategie. Um Dienstleistungen zu steuern und eine interdepartementale Zusammenarbeit zu bewerkstelligen, existieren Smart-City-Plattformen (SCPs). Die aktuelle Literatur beinhaltet jedoch kein Konzept, wie eine SCP aufzubauen ist und welche inhaltlichen und technischen Bereiche darin inkludiert werden sollen. Die vorliegende Arbeit zeigt auf, welche Anforderungen an eine SCP in der Schweiz zwingend erfüllt werden müssen. Eine Übertragbarkeit dieser Arbeit auf andere Länder ist wegen der unterschiedlichen politischen und rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen nur bedingt möglich. Deshalb wird nur die Situation in der Schweiz betrachtet. Für diese Untersuchung wurde ein qualitativer Forschungsansatz gewählt: Mittels Literaturrecherche und Experteninterviews werden die relevanten Dimensionen und Kriterien für eine leistungsfähige SCP identifiziert. Typischerweise besteht eine SCP aus den fünf Dimensionen Allgemein, Technologie, Sicherheit, Partizipation und Anwendungsgebiete sowie zahlreichen Kriterien pro Dimension. Aufgrund der Komplexität, der hohen und heterogenen Einwohnerdichte sowie der Grösse und Struktur wurde der Fokus dieser Untersuchung auf den Kanton Zürich gelegt, was eine Übertragung der Forschungsresultate auf die gesamte Schweiz im Grundsatz ermöglicht. Dennoch weisen vor allem die kantonalen Rechtsgrundlagen, insbesondere im Datenschutz, Unterschiede auf, welche separat analysiert werden müssen und daher nicht Bestandteil dieser Arbeit sind. Die vorliegende Arbeit liefert neue Aspekte für die Evaluierung und Untersuchung der Anforderungen für den Kanton Zürich. Auf der Praxisebene lassen sich zudem neue oder bereits in Einführung befindliche SCP-Initiativen mit dem SCP-Konzept unterstützen

Options of partners improve carbon for phosphorus trade in the arbuscular mycorrhizal mutualism

The mutualism between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) is widespread and has persisted for over 400 million years. Although this mutualism depends on fair resource exchange between plants and fungi, inequality exists among partners despite mechanisms that regulate trade. Here, we use (33) P and (14) C isotopes and a split-root system to test for preferential allocation and reciprocal rewards in the plant-AMF symbiosis by presenting a plant with two AMF that differ in cooperativeness. We found that plants received more (33) P from less cooperative AMF in the presence of another AMF species. This increase in (33) P resulted in a reduced (14) C cost per unit of (33) P from less cooperative AMF when alternative options were available. Our results indicate that AMF diversity promotes cooperation between plants and AMF, which may be an important mechanism maintaining the evolutionary persistence of and diversity within the plant-AMF mutualism

Tree species traits but not diversity mitigate stem breakage in a subtropical forest following a rare and extreme ice storm

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