Ph.D. holders on the Belgian labour market

In which sector do Ph.D. graduates end up working? What is the minimum and desired education level for their current job? Which skills do they need in their current job, and how does this compare to the skills acquired during the Ph.D. track? These questions are answered by looking at responses of a sample of 4190 doctorate holders in the Belgian Careers of Doctorate Holders Survey 2010 (CDH)

Epi-illumination SPIM for volumetric imaging with high spatial-temporal resolution.

We designed an epi-illumination SPIM system that uses a single objective and has a sample interface identical to that of an inverted fluorescence microscope with no additional reflection elements. It achieves subcellular resolution and single-molecule sensitivity, and is compatible with common biological sample holders, including multi-well plates. We demonstrated multicolor fast volumetric imaging, single-molecule localization microscopy, parallel imaging of 16 cell lines and parallel recording of cellular responses to perturbations

Spherical sample holders to improve the susceptibility measurement of superparamagnetic materials

The design of two custom sample holders with a spherical cavity for commercial vibrating sample magnetometer systems is described. For such cavities the magnetization M and the internal magnetic field Hi of a sample are both homogeneous. Consequently, the material parameter M(Hi) of a sample can be determined even for liquids and powders with a high magnetic susceptibility.Comment: 7 pages, 12 figure

Reflexion M\"ossbauer analysis of the in situ oxidation products hydroxycarbonate green rust

The purpose of this study is to determine the nature of the oxidation products of FeII-III hydroxycarbonate FeII4FeIII2(OH)12CO3~3H2O (green rust GR(CO32-)) by using the miniaturised M\"ossbauer spectrometer MIMOS II. Two M\"ossbauer measurements methods are used: method (i) with green rust pastes coated with glycerol and spread into Plexiglas sample holders, and method (ii) with green rust pastes in the same sample holders but introduced into a gas-tight cell with a beryllium window under a continuous nitrogen flow. Method (ii) allows us to follow the continuous deprotonation of GR(CO32-) into the fully ferric deprotonated form FeIII6O4(OH)8CO3~3H2O by adding the correct amount of H2O2, without any further oxidation or degradation of the samples

The Influence of Professional Investors on the Failure of Management Buyout Attempts

In a sample of 111 MBO offers between 1984 and 1987, almost 30% attract new blockholders. These blockholders are primarily professional investors who act to facilitate a takeover by a higher bidder, thus increasing returns to both themselves and other public shareholders. In contrast, I find little evidence that pre-existing blockholders, particularly institutional holders, affect either the offer outcome or actively participate in the buyout contest once it begins. The overall pattern of results suggests that professional investors, particularly equity-holding companies, are \u27control specialists\u27 who provide valuable services as brokers in the market for corporate control

The Role of Market Discipline on Bank Capital Buffer: Evidence from a Sample of European Banks

Using a sample of European commercial banks over the period 1993-2006, we show that market discipline significantly and positively affects banks' capital buffer. By distinguishing junior from senior debt holders, we find that both types of investors exert a pressure on banks to hold more capital but that the pressure exerted by junior debt holders is higher. Furthermore, junior debt holders exert a pressure on banks whatever the importance of their non-traditional activities. By contrast, we find that senior debt holders exert a pressure only on banks that are heavily involved in non-traditional activities that are badly taken into account in the current bank capital regulation framework. These results might help us to better understand the role of market discipline as a complement to capital regulation

The challenges of providing public water and sanitation services in a rural town in Zambia : The case of the southern water and sewerage company in Choma town

The paper reports on whether the performance of privatized water and sanitation companies in Zambia have lived up to expectations of improving the quality of the services to the consumers using a case study of the performance of Southern Water and Sewerage Company (SWASCO) in Choma town. To determine consumer ability to pay for water and sanitation services since privatization, eight sample figures each of recovery rates before and after privatization were compared using simple algebraic comparison. Results as shown by histograms, confirm that despite the increase in tariffs for services, more consumers are able to pay for the services after privatization. To assess the effectiveness of the privatized water and sewerage service provider, The percentage of account holders with in dwelling water taps before privatization were compared to respective percentage after privatization. The results of simple algebraic comparison confirm that the privatized Water and Sewerage service provider in Choma has proportionally increased the number of account holders with in dwelling water taps and hence has improved the effectiveness of service delivery. To determine whether privatized water and sewerage service provider is delivering quality services to the satisfaction of consumers, a random sample of 528 household account holders (representing 20% of household account holders in Choma) from major residential areas in Choma were surveyed. The results confirm that the privatized service provider is delivering quality services according to consumers as regards six important service indicators identified. However, the study reveals that there is a lot of scope for the privatized water service provider in Choma to further improve the services. This is in accordance with number of challenges identified during the unstructured interviews with the management officials of the privatized service provider. The biggest challenge is for the privatized service provider to balance between social and commercial interests in the provision of water and sanitation services as the country strives to achieve millennium development goals. (Résumé d'auteur

Can the Market Add and Subtract? Mispricing in Tech Stock Carve-Outs

Recent equity carve-outs in US technology stocks appear to violate a basic premise of financial theory: identical assets have identical prices. In our 1998-2000 sample, holders of a share of company A are expected to receive x shares of company B, but the price of A is less than x times the price of B. A prominent example involves 3Com and Palm. Arbitrage does not eliminate these blatant mispricing due to short sale constraints, so that B is overpriced but expensive or impossible to sell short. Evidence from options prices shows that shorting costs are extremely high, eliminating exploitable arbitrage opportunities.