Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Long-term Performance (long-term + performance)
Selected AbstractsLong-Term Performance of Permeable Reactive Barriers Using Zero-Valent Iron: Geochemical and Microbiological EffectsGROUND WATER, Issue 4 2003Richard T. Wilkin Geochemical and microbiological factors that control long-term performance of subsurface permeable reactive barriers were evaluated at the Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and the Denver Federal Center, Colorado, sites. These ground water treatment systems use zero-valent iron filings (Peerless Metal Powders Inc.) to intercept and remediate chlorinated hydrocarbon compounds at the Denver Federal Center (funnel-and-gate system) and overlapping plumes of hexavalent chromium and chlorinated hydrocarbons at Elizabeth City (continuous wall system). Zero-valent iron at both sites is a long-term sink for carbon, sulfur, calcium, silicon, nitrogen, and magnesium. After about four years of operation, the average rates of inorganic carbon (IC) and sulfur (S) accumulation are 0.09 and 0.02 kg/m2/year, respectively, at Elizabeth City where upgradient waters contain <400 mg/L of total dissolved solids (TDS). At the Denver Federal Center site, upgradient ground water contains 1000 to 1200 mg/L TDS and rates of IC and S accumulation are as high as 2.16 and 0.80 kg/m2/year, respectively. At both sites, consistent patterns of spatially variable mineral precipitation and microbial activity are observed. Mineral precipitates and microbial biomass accumulate the fastest near the upgradient aquifer-Fe0 interface. Maximum net reductions in porosity due to the accumulation of sulfur and inorganic carbon precipitates range from 0.032 at Elizabeth City to 0.062 at the Denver Federal Center (gate 2) after about four years. Although pore space has been lost due the accumulation of authigenic components, neither site shows evidence of pervasive pore clogging after four years of operation. [source] Long-Term Performance Following Rights Issues and Open Offers in the UKJOURNAL OF BUSINESS FINANCE & ACCOUNTING, Issue 1-2 2007Proches Ngatuni Abstract:, This study finds evidence of significant long-term underperformance following rights issues made during 1986-95 in the UK. The findings are resilient to a number of methodological controls. In contrast, our results for a smaller sample of open offers made during 1991-95 show strong positive performance over a 5-year post-issue period, implying that firms making open offers had better growth prospects than firms making rights issues. During 1986-90, a period when open offers were rarely used, firms appeared to be making rights issues to exploit overvaluation. However, this was not evident for rights issues made during 1991-95, a period when open offers were more commonly used. [source] Improvement of the Long-Term Performance of Impact-Modified Polycarbonate by Selected Heat TreatmentsMACROMOLECULAR MATERIALS & ENGINEERING, Issue 2 2009Tom A. P. Engels Abstract Next to the intended increase of the impact toughness, impact modification of polycarbonate generally results in an unwanted decrease in yield stress and time-to-failure under constant stress. It is demonstrated that this loss in strength can be fully compensated for by an annealing treatment, or by increasing the mold temperature. The influence of impact modification on the short- and long-term strengths of glassy polymers is predicted by the extension of existing models with a scaling rule based on the filler volume percentage. Introduction of this scaling rule in the evolution of yield stress during physical aging even allows for the direct prediction of yield stress on the basis of processing conditions. [source] Long-Term Performance of Clarion 1.0 Cochlear Implant Users,THE LARYNGOSCOPE, Issue 7 2007Chad V. Ruffin BS Abstract Objective/Hypothesis: To evaluate the long-term performance of adult Clarion 1.0 cochlear implant users. Study Design: This was a retrospective, longitudinal study evaluating word discrimination in quiet for 31 adult cochlear implant patients with preimplantation sentence scores of less than 10%. Methods: The length of the study was 135 months with a mean follow-up length of 93 (median, 96) months. For the duration of the study, all subjects used the Clarion 1.0 cochlear implant with speech processors programmed for the use of the continuous interleaved sampling strategy. Results: There was no significant growth or decline in speech perception after 24 months postimplantation unless adverse medical events were experienced. Age at implantation was significantly and substantially negatively correlated (,11% word score per decade, r = 0.68) with most recent score, maximum score, time to maximum score, range of performance, 24- to 130-month mean score, and for any longitudinal data point tested: 3 to 6 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 5 years, and 10 years. There were no age-related declines in performance. There were no observed correlations between duration of deafness and any of the variables listed above. Conclusions: The lack of correlation between duration of deafness and performance in a cohort without residual hearing suggests the presence of a strong correlation between age and speech performance with a cochlear implant. That the cochlear implant is a safe therapy for the treatment of profound deafness is supported by the stability of scores through the 10-year study period as well as a zero rate of device failures or explantation. [source] Long-term performance of co-metabolic degradation of trichloroethylene in a fluidized bed reactor fed with benzene, toluene and xyleneJOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY & BIOTECHNOLOGY, Issue 4 2008Wei-Min Wu Abstract BACKGROUND: Trichloroethylene (TCE) can be degraded under aerobic condition with toluene and other aromatic compounds. Inhibition by primary substrates and toxicity of TCE oxidation influence TCE degradation. RESULTS: Long-term co-metabolic degradation of TCE was evaluated using a laboratory-scale fluidized bed reactor (12 L) with granular activated carbon (1.57 kg) as media and activated sludge as inoculum. The reactor was fed with TCE and a mixture of benzene, toluene and xylene (BTX) and operated with one-pass (hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 5,6 min) for 6 months and then with recirculation (HRT of 20,30 min) for 18 months. BTX/TCE-degrading biofilm was developed within 1 month. TCE was effectively degraded with influent TCE concentrations from 48 to 280 µg L,1. BTX inhibited TCE degradation. Recirculation (or long HRT) increased TCE removal efficiency from 30% with one-pass to 90%. BTX/TCE load ratio influenced TCE removal efficiency and TCE/BTX removal ratio. TCE degradation fitted first-order kinetics. The biomass grown in the reactor also degraded cis -1,2-dichloroethylene (DCE), trans -1,2-DCE and vinyl chloride efficiently except for 1,1-DCE. CONCLUSION: Co-metabolic degradation of TCE by BTX-degrading biomass from activated sludge is sustainable in the long term. BTX/TCE load ratio is a key parameter for TCE removal performance. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Long-term performance of environmentally-friendly blown polyurethane foamsPOLYMER ENGINEERING & SCIENCE, Issue 3 2005M. Modesti We studied the long-term performance of new environmentally-friendly blowing agents for polyurethane foams. Several blowing agents, hydrofluorocarbons, hydrocarbons, and a possible hydrochlorofluorocarbon substitute (dimethoxymethane), as well as hydrochlorofluorocarbons, were analyzed. The determination of effective diffusion coefficients (knowledge of which is required to study long-term performance) was performed by means of a classical gas chromatographic technique and by a new method based on infrared spectroscopy. The reliability of the experimental procedure used is showed by comparing experimental and predicted aging, as the slope of the aging curve (i.e., thermal conductivity vs. time) depends only on effective diffusion coefficients. Our study of long-term performance of foams blown with alternative blowing agents shows that hydrofluorocarbons represent a proper alternative to hydrochlorofluorocarbons, as the foams show similar initial thermal conductivity and a slower aging rate (i.e., better long-term performance). POLYM. ENG. SCI. 45:260,270, 2005. © 2005 Society of Plastics Engineers. [source] Competing Rationales for Corporate Governance in France: Institutional Complementarities between Financial Markets and Innovation SystemsCORPORATE GOVERNANCE, Issue 2 2008Soo H. Lee ABSTRACT Manuscript Type: Conceptual Research Question/Issue: This paper identifies the causes and consequences of corporate governance reform with reference to the French case. By disaggregating institutional complementarities into global and domestic dimensions, we analyze the path of institutional change compelled by financial efficiency and cooperative innovation. Research Findings/Results: Our analysis of the French case shows that both converging and diverging forces of institutional change coexist, shaping selective responses to globalization. While the adoption of the shareholder model is necessary for resource acquirement from the global capital markets, resource allocation in the cooperative innovation systems reinforces the stakeholder model. The French case confirms the sustainability of distinctive institutional complementarities, albeit with selective adaptation based on a sense-making social compromise. Theoretical Implications: The French case reminds us of the importance of distinctive institutional traditions and dominant social rationalities to understand the underlying logic of governance reform. The comparative research on corporate governance needs to address not just the cross-country variations in institutional arrangements and practices, but also the clash of competing rationales for reform explicitly in comparative terms within a single country context. Practical Implications: For foreign investors, it is vital to understand the unique institutional environment of state-centred stakeholder economies if they are to negotiate the best terms of return and to avoid unnecessary conflicts. French managers are expected to devise strategic choices responding to the competing rationales of governance. Managerial sense-making is essential for achieving sound long-term performance, upon which the legitimacy and sustainability of the constellation of selective governance rests. [source] Long-Term Performance of Permeable Reactive Barriers Using Zero-Valent Iron: Geochemical and Microbiological EffectsGROUND WATER, Issue 4 2003Richard T. Wilkin Geochemical and microbiological factors that control long-term performance of subsurface permeable reactive barriers were evaluated at the Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and the Denver Federal Center, Colorado, sites. These ground water treatment systems use zero-valent iron filings (Peerless Metal Powders Inc.) to intercept and remediate chlorinated hydrocarbon compounds at the Denver Federal Center (funnel-and-gate system) and overlapping plumes of hexavalent chromium and chlorinated hydrocarbons at Elizabeth City (continuous wall system). Zero-valent iron at both sites is a long-term sink for carbon, sulfur, calcium, silicon, nitrogen, and magnesium. After about four years of operation, the average rates of inorganic carbon (IC) and sulfur (S) accumulation are 0.09 and 0.02 kg/m2/year, respectively, at Elizabeth City where upgradient waters contain <400 mg/L of total dissolved solids (TDS). At the Denver Federal Center site, upgradient ground water contains 1000 to 1200 mg/L TDS and rates of IC and S accumulation are as high as 2.16 and 0.80 kg/m2/year, respectively. At both sites, consistent patterns of spatially variable mineral precipitation and microbial activity are observed. Mineral precipitates and microbial biomass accumulate the fastest near the upgradient aquifer-Fe0 interface. Maximum net reductions in porosity due to the accumulation of sulfur and inorganic carbon precipitates range from 0.032 at Elizabeth City to 0.062 at the Denver Federal Center (gate 2) after about four years. Although pore space has been lost due the accumulation of authigenic components, neither site shows evidence of pervasive pore clogging after four years of operation. [source] Repetitive control of synchronized operations for process applicationsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADAPTIVE CONTROL AND SIGNAL PROCESSING, Issue 4 2007James D. Ratcliffe Abstract Repetitive control (RC) algorithms for a plant, which contain pairs of complex conjugate poles at low frequency, resulting in a resonant system, is the subject area of this paper where the experimental results given are for a gantry robot and conveyor system in which the gantry is required to transfer payloads to a constant velocity conveyor by performing a repeating ,pick and place' operation. Initially, the gantry robot is controlled by means of a PID feedback controller in parallel with a proportional (P-type) repetitive feed-forward loop, while the conveyor operates under proportional feedback control. It is found that the RC system is unable to achieve long-term performance. The performance degrades within a relatively small number of repetitions due to the build up of resonant frequencies in the learning loop. To prevent this, a batch aliasing technique, originally developed for iterative learning control, is modified to work in the RC framework, and is implemented in real-time. The superior performance potential of the aliasing system is demonstrated experimentally. In the second part of this paper, multi-machine systems, are considered where the critical new factor is the relative error between the conveyor and the robot. Here a second supervisory learning loop is proposed for use to shift the reference trajectory of one machine so that the relative placement error is also reduced. Again, supporting experimental results are given. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Energy metabolism in young pigs as affected by establishment of new groups prior to transportJOURNAL OF ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY AND NUTRITION, Issue 5-6 2002M. J. W. HEETKAMP Energy metabolism was studied in 9-week-old-pigs as affected by mixing just before transport. In each of three trials, two groups of 20 pigs (two litters of 10) were randomly assigned to one of two treatments: control and mixing. Each group was housed in one of two climatic chambers with each subgroup in one of two pens. In each trial, the two litters within the mixing treatment were mixed, just before transport, at the start of a 2-week experimental period. In the control treatment, the social structure of both litters in each trial was not altered. In both treatments, large alterations of energy partitioning from week 1 to week 2, are probably signs of recovering from transportation and/or adaptation to new feeding and housing conditions. Mixing just before transport did not change total energy metabolism but only increased nonactivity-related heat production by 3.1% for the total experimental period. Most likely, long-term performance is also not affected negatively by mixing. Animals seem to be able to change energy expenditure on activity when more energy is required for other physiological processes. This symptom of possible reallocation of energy between different vital live processes (e.g. behavior, protein turn-over) might be one of the first indications of an impaired well-being. [source] Glamour Acquirers, Method of Payment and Post-acquisition Performance: The UK EvidenceJOURNAL OF BUSINESS FINANCE & ACCOUNTING, Issue 1-2 2003Sudi Sudarsanam We study the effect of different acquirer types, defined by financial status and their payment methods, on their short and long-term performance, in terms of abnormal returns using a variety of benchmark models. For a sample of 519 UK acquirers during 1983,95, we examine the abnormal return performance of acquirers based on their pre-bid financial status as either glamour or value acquirers using both the price to earnings (PE) ratio and market to book value ratio (MTBV). Value acquirers outperform glamour acquirers in the three-year post-acquisition period. One interpretation is that glamour firms have overvalued equity and tend to exploit their status and use it more often than cash to finance their acquisitions. As we move from glamour to value acquirers, there is a greater use of cash. Our results are broadly consistent with those for the US reported by Rau and Vermaelen (1998). However, in contrast to their study, we find stronger support for the method of payment hypothesis than for extrapolation hypothesis. Cash acquirers generate higher returns than equity acquirers, irrespective of their glamour/ value status. Our conclusions, based on four benchmark models for abnormal returns, suggest that stock markets in both the US and the UK may share a similar proclivity for over-extrapolation of past performance, at least in the bid period. They also tend to reassess acquirer performance in the post-acquisition period and correct this overextrapolation. These results have implications for the behavioural aspects of capital markets in both countries. [source] Do Country Specific Bankruptcy Codes Determine Long-term Financial Performance?JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT & ACCOUNTING, Issue 2 2001Columbia Gas System, The Case of Metallgesellschaft AG In this paper, we examine the impact of financial distress, the bankruptcy code, and related procedures on the long-term performance of two companies engaged in similar businesses across two countries. Both the companies were driven into bankruptcy as a result of unanticipated changes in energy prices. Though the resolution of bankruptcy of the US firm took a longer time, the post-reorganization performance of the firm has been excellent. In contrast, the post-reorganization performance of the German firm, which emerged out of bankruptcy in 2 weeks, has been poor. These results are consistent with the view that one of the important determinants of post-bankruptcy performance of a firm is more likely to be the underlying economic fundamentals rather than the country specific bankruptcy code through which the firm reorganizes. [source] The effect of thermocycling and dentine pre-treatment on the durability of the bond between composite resin and dentineJOURNAL OF ORAL REHABILITATION, Issue 5 2004M. S. Huang Summary, The high bond strength between restorative resin and dentine plays an important role in long-term performance of restorations in the oral environment. A variety of treatment techniques have been described to enhance the bond strength of composite resin to dentine. Unfortunately, few studies have reported available bond durability of adhesive resins to dentine. The purpose of this research was to study the shear bond strength of composite resin to dentine pre-treated with phosphoric acid, self-etching agent or Nd:YAP laser irradiation. The durability of bond strength between resin and dentine stored in the artificial saliva thermocycling between 5 and 55 °C was also evaluated. The scanning electron microscope was used to assess the treated-dentine surfaces. The mean value of the shear bond strength in the acid-etching group (18·2 ± 4·9 MPa) was the highest among the three dentine treatments (self-etching system: 12·6 ±3·0 MPa, Nd:YAP laser: 13·4 ± 3·3 MPa) prior to thermocycling. After thermocycling, shear strength values of all treated dentines decreased with increasing number of the cycles. When subjected to 3000 thermocycles, the mean bond strengths of these pre-treated samples to composite resin became 9·1 ± 1·4, 7·8 ± 1·8, and 8·1 ± 1·7 MPa for acid-etching, self-etching and laser-irradiation, respectively, with a significant reduction of 38,50%. [source] Understanding Market-Driving Behavior: The Role of EntrepreneurshipJOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2008Minet Schindehutte In recent years, the marketing literature has placed significant emphasis on market-driving and proactive market-driven behavior within firms in attempts to reconceptualize the meaning of "market orientation." For their part, market-driving firms such as Starbucks, Amazon.com, Dell, and Southwest Airlines are demonstrating how business model innovation results in sustainable advantage and superior long-term performance in a wide range of industries. In this paper, we contend that market-driving behavior is distinct from a firm's market orientation, and instead is the essence of entrepreneurial action in the Schumpeterian "creative destruction" sense. It is further argued that the firm's entrepreneurial orientation interacts with other strategic orientations, in the process determining how they are manifested and, in some cases, whether they are manifested. Furthermore, entrepreneurial orientation plays a critical role in determining transitions among various strategic orientations over time. An integrative model illustrates the dynamics of the interface between marketing and entrepreneurship from both a content and process perspective. Two case studies illustrate how trajectories can be identified in the dominant strategic orientations within companies as they evolve. [source] Open retropubic colposuspension for urinary incontinence in women: A short version cochrane review,,NEUROUROLOGY AND URODYNAMICS, Issue 6 2009Marie Carmela M. Lapitan Abstract Background Urinary incontinence is a common and potentially debilitating problem. Open retropubic colposuspension is a surgical treatment which involves lifting the tissues near the bladder neck and proximal urethra in the area behind the anterior pubic bones to correct deficient urethral closure. Objectives To assess the effects of open retropubic colposuspension for the treatment of urinary incontinence. Search Strategy We searched the Cochrane Incontinence Group Specialized Register (searched June 30, 2008) and reference lists of relevant articles. We contacted investigators to locate extra studies. Selection Criteria Randomized or quasi-randomized controlled trials in women with symptoms or urodynamic diagnoses of stress or mixed urinary incontinence that included open retropubic colposuspension surgery in at least one trial group. Data Collection and Analysis Studies were evaluated for methodological quality/susceptibility to bias and appropriateness for inclusion and data extracted by two of the reviewers. Trial data were analyzed by intervention. Where appropriate, a summary statistic was calculated. Main Results This review included 46 trials involving a total of 4,738 women. Overall cure rates were 68.9,88.0% for open retropubic colposuspension. Two small studies suggest lower failure rates after open retropubic colposuspension compared with conservative treatment. Similarly, one trial suggests lower failure rates after open retropubic colposuspension compared to anticholinergic treatment. Evidence from six trials showed a lower failure rate for subjective cure after open retropubic colposuspension than after anterior colporrhaphy. Such benefit was maintained over time (RR of failure 0.51; 95% CI 0.34,0.76 before the first year, RR 0.43; 95% CI 0.32,0.57 at 1,5 years, RR 0.49; 95% CI 0.32,0.75 in periods beyond 5 years). In comparison with needle suspensions there was a lower failure rate after colposuspension in the first year after surgery (RR 0.66; 95% CI 0.42,1.03), after the first year (RR 0.48; 95% CI 0.33,0.71), and beyond 5 years (RR 0.32; 95% CI 15,0.71). Evidence from 12 trials in comparison with suburethral slings found no significant difference in failure rates in all time periods assessed. Patient-reported failure rates in short, medium and long-term follow-up showed no significant difference between open and laparoscopic retropubic colposuspension, but with wide confidence intervals. In two trials failure was less common after Burch (RR 0.38 95% CI 0.18,0.76) than after the Marshall-Marchetti-Krantz procedure at 1,5-year follow-up. There were few data at any other follow-up time. In general, the evidence available does not show a higher morbidity or complication rate with open retropubic colposuspension, compared to the other open surgical techniques, although pelvic organ prolapse is more common than after anterior colporrhaphy and sling procedures. Authors' Conclusions The evidence available indicates that open retropubic colposuspension is an effective treatment modality for stress urinary incontinence especially in the long term. Within the first year of treatment, the overall continence rate is approximately 85,90%. After 5 years, approximately 70% of patients can expect to be dry. Newer minimal access procedures such as tension free vaginal tape look promising in comparison with open colposuspension but their long-term performance is not known and closer monitoring of their adverse event profile must be carried out. Laparoscopic colposuspension should allow speedier recovery but its relative safety and effectiveness is not known yet. Neurourol. Urodyn. 28:472,480, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Long-term performance of environmentally-friendly blown polyurethane foamsPOLYMER ENGINEERING & SCIENCE, Issue 3 2005M. Modesti We studied the long-term performance of new environmentally-friendly blowing agents for polyurethane foams. Several blowing agents, hydrofluorocarbons, hydrocarbons, and a possible hydrochlorofluorocarbon substitute (dimethoxymethane), as well as hydrochlorofluorocarbons, were analyzed. The determination of effective diffusion coefficients (knowledge of which is required to study long-term performance) was performed by means of a classical gas chromatographic technique and by a new method based on infrared spectroscopy. The reliability of the experimental procedure used is showed by comparing experimental and predicted aging, as the slope of the aging curve (i.e., thermal conductivity vs. time) depends only on effective diffusion coefficients. Our study of long-term performance of foams blown with alternative blowing agents shows that hydrofluorocarbons represent a proper alternative to hydrochlorofluorocarbons, as the foams show similar initial thermal conductivity and a slower aging rate (i.e., better long-term performance). POLYM. ENG. SCI. 45:260,270, 2005. © 2005 Society of Plastics Engineers. [source] Long-Term Performance of Clarion 1.0 Cochlear Implant Users,THE LARYNGOSCOPE, Issue 7 2007Chad V. Ruffin BS Abstract Objective/Hypothesis: To evaluate the long-term performance of adult Clarion 1.0 cochlear implant users. Study Design: This was a retrospective, longitudinal study evaluating word discrimination in quiet for 31 adult cochlear implant patients with preimplantation sentence scores of less than 10%. Methods: The length of the study was 135 months with a mean follow-up length of 93 (median, 96) months. For the duration of the study, all subjects used the Clarion 1.0 cochlear implant with speech processors programmed for the use of the continuous interleaved sampling strategy. Results: There was no significant growth or decline in speech perception after 24 months postimplantation unless adverse medical events were experienced. Age at implantation was significantly and substantially negatively correlated (,11% word score per decade, r = 0.68) with most recent score, maximum score, time to maximum score, range of performance, 24- to 130-month mean score, and for any longitudinal data point tested: 3 to 6 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 5 years, and 10 years. There were no age-related declines in performance. There were no observed correlations between duration of deafness and any of the variables listed above. Conclusions: The lack of correlation between duration of deafness and performance in a cohort without residual hearing suggests the presence of a strong correlation between age and speech performance with a cochlear implant. That the cochlear implant is a safe therapy for the treatment of profound deafness is supported by the stability of scores through the 10-year study period as well as a zero rate of device failures or explantation. [source] Impact of Government Ownership on Investment Banks' Underwriting Performance: Evidence from China,ASIA-PACIFIC JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL STUDIES, Issue 2 2010Ning Jia G21; G24; G28 Abstract This paper examines the effect of government ownership on investment banks' underwriting performance in China. A large number of Chinese investment banks are owned and controlled by their respective regional governments. While regional governments may capitalize on their superior local knowledge and administrative power to help affiliated investment banks identify and land high quality local issuers, they may also leverage affiliated underwriters to facilitate the capital market access of those underperformed but socially and/or politically desirable local firms. Empirical evidence favors the latter hypothesis. Specifically, using a sample of regional IPOs, we find that issuers underwritten by their respective regional government-affiliated investment banks exhibit lower earnings quality and poorer long-term performance compared with those underwritten by unaffiliated investment banks. However, this difference is attenuated after the abolition of the IPO quota system. Examination of underwriting fees and issuers' shareholder identity provides additional evidence supporting the latter hypothesis. [source] THE PERFORMANCE OF AN ELECTRICITY UTILITY: THE CASE OF THE STATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA, 1925,93AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEW, Issue 1 2006Malcolm Abbott Australia; electricity utility; privatisation; public enterprise; Victoria One of the most important microeconomic policy reforms of the 1990s was the restructuring of the Australian electricity supply industry. This process was encouraged by the perception that the state-owned electricity authorities performed poorly in the 1970s and 1980s. This article observes the long-term performance of the State Electricity Commission of Victoria over the course of most of its life. In particular the growth in demand for electricity in Victoria, the productivity growth of the State Electricity Commission of Victoria, as well as electricity prices, profits and debt levels are presented over the longer term. [source] Zum Tragverhalten flacher Schalentragwerke unter KriechbeanspruchungBETON- UND STAHLBETONBAU, Issue 1 2006Jörg Bockhold Dr.-Ing. Die wirklichkeitsnahe Vorhersage des Tragverhaltens von Schalentragwerken aus Stahlbeton stellt nach wie vor einen hohen Anspruch an den planenden Ingenieur. In diesem Beitrag werden beispielhaft anhand einer flachen zylindrischen Dachschale die unterschiedlichen Einflüsse auf die Langzeittragfähigkeit beulgefährdeter Strukturen vorgestellt und auf die besondere Bedeutung des Betonkriechens im Hinblick auf ein Dauerstandversagen des Tragwerkes hingewiesen. On the bearing Behaviour of shallow shell Structures under creep Loading The close-to-reality prediction of the bearing behaviour of RC shell structures is still a challenging task for civil engineers. In this contribution, different influence parameters on the long-term performance of buckling-sensitive structures are presented exemplarily in the context of concrete creep by means of a cylindrical shell roof with regard to structural failure due to sustained loads. [source] On the Performance of Airlines and Airplane Manufacturers Following Aviation DisastersCANADIAN JOURNAL OF ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES, Issue 1 2005Thomas John Walker Our study examines the impact of aviation disasters on the short- and long-term performance of airlines and airplane manufacturers. We employ a sample of 138 aviation disasters involving airplanes operated by publicly traded U.S. carriers between July 1962 and December 2003. We use event study methodology to measure the abnormal performance of airlines and airplane manufacturers to these disasters. In addition, we employ a series of univariate tests and regression analysis to determine the factors that drive the abnormal returns for the firms in our sample. We observe that airlines experience an average stock price drop of 2.8% within one trading day after the corresponding news announcement, while airplane manufacturers experience a stock price drop of only 0.8% during that time period. The magnitude of the initial price decline appears to be driven by various characteristics of both the firm and the accident itself. We observe that airlines' abnormal performance is negatively related to firm size and the number of fatalities resulting from the accident. In addition, we observe that disasters that occurred in the U.S. and disasters caused by criminal activity (in particular the 9/11 terrorist attacks) cause significantly larger stock price drops in the days following the event. Similar dependencies can be observed for airplane manufacturers. Résumé La présente étude examine l'incidence des catastrophes aériennes sur la performance à court et à long terme des compagnies aériennes et des constructeurs d'avions. Elle se sert d'un échantillon de 138 catastrophes aériennes survenues entre juillet 1962 et décembre 2003, impliquant des appareils exploités par des transporteurs aériens des États-Unis, cotés en bourse. La méthodologie de l'étude de cas est utilisée pour mesurer la performance anormale des lignes aériennes et des constructeurs d'avions, à la suite de catastrophes aériennes. L'étude essaie de déterminer les facteurs qui régissent la performance anormale des entreprises à partir d'une série de tests à une variable et de l'analyse de régression. Elle montre que le cours des actions des lignes aériennes fléchit en moyenne de 2,8% en une journée de bourse après l'annonce d'une catastrophe, tandis que le cours des actions des constructeurs d'avions n'enregistre qu'une baisse de 0,8% durant la même période. L'ampleur du déclin initial des cours semble être déterminée par diverses caractéristiques de l'entreprise ainsi que par l'accident même. La performance anormale des lignes aériennes est en relation négative avec la taille de l'entreprise et le nombre de décès résultant de l'accident. En outre, les catastrophes survenues aux États-Unis (ou dans son espace aérien) et les catastrophes résultant d'actes criminels (en particulier les attaques terroristes du 11 septembre) ont provoqué des chutes des cours beaucoup plus marquées dans les jours suivant l'événement. Les interdépendances relevées touchent également les constructeurs d'avions. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||