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Portfolio
Kinds of Portfolio Terms modified by Portfolio Selected AbstractsON THE ROLE OF THE GROWTH OPTIMAL PORTFOLIO IN FINANCEAUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC PAPERS, Issue 4 2005Article first published online: 6 DEC 200, ECKHARD PLATEN The paper discusses various roles that the growth optimal portfolio (GOP) plays in finance. For the case of a continuous market we show how the GOP can be interpreted as a fundamental building block in financial market modeling, portfolio optimisation, contingent claim pricing and risk measurement. On the basis of a portfolio selection theorem, optimal portfolios are derived. These allocate funds into the GOP and the savings account. A risk aversion coefficient is introduced, controlling the amount invested in the savings account, which allows to characterize portfolio strategies that maximise expected utilities. Natural conditions are formulated under which the GOP appears as the market portfolio. A derivation of the intertemporal capital asset pricing model is given without relying on Markovianity, equilibrium arguments or utility functions. Fair contingent claim pricing, with the GOP as numeraire portfolio, is shown to generalise risk neutral and actuarial pricing. Finally, the GOP is described in various ways as the best performing portfolio. [source] Resident Portfolio: Breaking Trust,A Reflection on Confidentiality and MinorsACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 12 2006Jennifer Acciani MD No abstract is available for this article. [source] Resident Portfolio: Sandstorm in the Emergency DepartmentACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 12 2006Mateen A. Khan MD (EM-III) No abstract is available for this article. [source] Validity Evidence of an Electronic Portfolio for Preservice TeachersEDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT: ISSUES AND PRACTICE, Issue 1 2008Yuankun Yao This study applied Messick's unified, multifaceted concept of construct validity to an electronic portfolio system used in a teacher education program. The subjects included 128 preservice teachers who recently completed their final portfolio reviews and student teaching experiences. Four of Messick's six facets of validity were investigated for the portfolio in this study, along with a discussion of the remaining facets examined in two previous studies. The evidence provided support for the substantive and generalizability aspects of validity, and limited support for the content, structural, external, and consequential aspects of validity. It was suggested that the electronic portfolio may be used as one requirement for certification purposes, but may not be valid for the purpose of assessing teacher competencies. [source] AHRQ's Bioterrorism Research Portfolio: Real Linkages in Real TimeHEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, Issue 1 2004Sally Phillips First page of article [source] Use of a structured interview to assess portfolio-based learningMEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 9 2008Vanessa C Burch Context, Portfolio-based learning is a popular educational tool usually examined by document review which is sometimes accompanied by an oral examination. This labour-intensive assessment method prohibits its use in the resource-constrained settings typical of developing countries. Objectives, We aimed to determine the feasibility and internal consistency of a portfolio-based structured interview and its impact on student learning behaviour. Methods, Year 4 medical students (n = 181) recorded 25 patient encounters during a 14-week medical clerkship. Portfolios were examined in a 30-minute, single-examiner interview in which four randomly selected cases were discussed. Six standard questions were used to guide examiners in determining the ability of candidates to interpret and synthesise clinical data gathered during patient encounters. Examiners were trained to score responses using a global rating scale. Pearson's correlation co-efficient, Cronbach's , coefficient and the standard error of measurement (SEM) of the assessment tool were determined. The number of students completing more than the required number of portfolio entries was also recorded. Results, The mean (± standard deviation [SD], 95% confidence interval [CI]) interview score was 67.5% (SD ± 10.5, 95% CI 66.0,69.1). The correlation coefficients for the interview compared with other component examinations of the assessment process were: multiple-choice question (MCQ) examination 0.42; clinical case-based examination 0.37; in-course global rating 0.08, and overall final score 0.54. Cronbach's , coefficient was 0.88 and the SEM was 3.6. Of 181 students, 45.3% completed more than 25 portfolio entries. Conclusions, Portfolio assessment using a 30-minute structured interview is a feasible, internally consistent assessment method that requires less examination time per candidate relative to methods described in published work and which may encourage desirable student learning behaviour. [source] Using Electronic Portfolios for Second Language AssessmentMODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 2009PATRICIA W. CUMMINS Portfolio assessment as developed in Europe presents a learner-empowering alternative to computer-based testing. The authors present the European Language Portfolio (ELP) and its American adaptations, LinguaFolio and the Global Language Portfolio, as tools to be used with the Common European Framework of Reference for languages and the American national standards, which reference the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages proficiency scale. The ELP's characteristic three-part format, consisting of a language passport, a language biography, and a dossier, builds on earlier research on portfolios and second language assessment. The portfolios' qualitative assessment complements other types of quantitative assessment measures. The authors also explore the unique affordances offered by electronic portfolios to connect teaching and learning to assessment, discuss the effectiveness of portfolios as an assessment tool, and point to future directions for e-portfolio research and development for language learning. [source] The Cost Effectiveness of the UK's Sovereign Debt Portfolio,OXFORD BULLETIN OF ECONOMICS & STATISTICS, Issue 4 2005Patrick J. Coe Abstract This paper provides a recursive empirical analysis of the scope for cost minimization in public debt management when the debt manager faces a given short-term interest rate dictated by monetary policy as well as risk and market impact constraints. It simulates the ,real-time' interest costs of alternative portfolios for UK government debt between April 1985 and March 2000. These portfolios are constructed using forecasts of return spreads based on a recursive modelling procedure. While we find statistically significant evidence of predictability, the interest cost savings are quite small when portfolio shares are constrained to lie within historical bounds. [source] Commentary to "The Difficult Airway" Resident PortfolioACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 12 2009Debra Perina MD No abstract is available for this article. [source] Comparative Statics Predictions for Changes in Uncertainty in the Portfolio and Savings ProblemsBULLETIN OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH, Issue 1 2001Gyemyung Choi The paper investigates comparative statics effects of changes in uncertainty for a general family of problems that encompasses both the portfolio and saving decisions. Conditions are derived on preferences that are necessary and sufficient for unambiguous comparative statics predictions. The paper consolidates and completes the statement of restrictions on attitudes toward risk,bearing needed for determinate predictions in the portfolio and saving problems. [source] Accounting Choices and Risk Management: SFAS No. 115 and U.S. Bank Holding Companies,CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 2 2002Leslie Hodder Abstract This paper provides evidence that regulatory contracts affect firms' accounting choices and risk-management decisions. Specifically, we investigate whether an exogenous shock to regulatory risk induced by Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 115, "Accounting for Certain Investments in Debt and Equity Securities" (SFAS 1993), encouraged U.S. banks to deviate from portfolio and risk benchmarks when they adopted the standard. Because we cannot observe relevant benchmarks, we model portfolio and risk decisions as functions of macroeconomic and firm-specific factors using data from a period when regulatory capital was immune to SFAS No. 115 accounting. We examine a sample of 230 publicly traded banks and find that (1) irrespective of adoption timing, banks classified too few securities available for sale (AFS) relative to estimated benchmarks; (2) weaker banks that adopted the standard early classified far more securities as AFS relative to benchmarks; (3) banks altered the size of their securities portfolios along with the levels of interest-rate risk and credit risk as regulatory capital decreased; and (4) the level of interest-rate risk on banks' loan portfolios increased at the time of SFAS No. 115 adoption. We also explore the 1995 Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) amnesty when firms could "readopt" SFAS No. 115. We find that banks used the 1995 FASB amnesty to undo strategic initial SFAS No. 115 adoption decisions. Taken together, our findings suggest that SFAS No. 115 caused some of the accounting and economic consequences predicted by bankers, analysts, and academics. [source] ORGANIZATIONAL PORTFOLIO THEORY: PERFORMANCE-DRIVEN ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGECONTEMPORARY ECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 4 2000L DONALDSON The article outlines some of the main ideas of a new organizational theory: organizational portfolio theory. The literature has empirically established that organizations tend not to make needed adaptive changes until they suffer a crisis of low organizational performance. Organizational portfolio theory takes this idea and constructs a theory of the conditions under which organizational performance becomes low enough for adaptive organizational change to occur. The focus is on the interaction between organizational misfit and the other causes of organizational performance. To model these interactions use is made of the concepts of risk and portfolio. [source] The financial performance of the FTSE4Good indicesCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2008David J. Collison Abstract This paper examines the financial performance of the FTSE4Good indices; the indices include companies from different geographical areas on the basis of pre-determined social responsibility criteria: currently environmental sustainability, relationships with stakeholders, attitudes to human rights, supply chain labour standards and the countering of bribery. The results indicate that over the period of analysis from 1996 to 2005 these indices outperformed their relevant benchmarks. However, most of this outperformance was due to risk differences between the FTSE4Good indices and their benchmarks. In addition, much of the outperformance arose in the period before the indices could be used by practitioners. Nevertheless, the results suggest that investors who invest in a portfolio of companies that satisfy FTSE4Good's corporate social responsibility criteria do no worse than their counterparts who do not follow a socially responsible strategy when purchasing equities. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Ethical investment and the incentives for corporate environmental protection and social responsibilityCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2003Iulie Aslaksen This paper addresses some interrelated questions regarding ethical investments: does ethical screening provide any incentives for improved social responsibility within firms? Are ethical screened portfolios competitive compared with conventional funds with respect to risk-adjusted return? Does the risk-adjusted return of a screened portfolio depend on the screening strategy applied? Considering ethical screening as a kind of segmentation of the equity market, it is shown that screening might create incentives for changes in firms' behaviour. The strength of this incentive depends on the relative share of screened portfolios, which in turn partially depends on the financial performance of the screened portfolios. While some theoretical arguments suggest that screening imposes a handicap compared with conventional portfolios, the empirical evidence does not suggest that screened portfolios systematically under-perform conventional portfolios. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Organizing for Continuous Innovation: On the Sustainability of Ambidextrous OrganizationsCREATIVITY AND INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2005Bart Van Looy Organizing for innovation does not present itself as a straightforward exercise. The complexities entailed when implementing an innovation strategy can be related directly to the multitude of objectives it comprises. Recently, several scholars have advanced the notions of semi- or quasi-structures and ambidextrous organizations to handle these multiple requirements. These organizational forms imply the simultaneous presence of different activities, exhibiting differences in technology and market maturation. As a consequence, financial returns will reflect this diversified resource allocation pattern. Moreover, as higher levels of complexity are being introduced; ambidextrous organizations will encounter additional, organizational, costs. Compared to organizations that focus on the most profitable part of the portfolio, ambidextrous organizations , ceteris paribus , tend to be inferior in terms of financial returns. Within this contribution we explore under which conditions ambidextrous organizations can outperform focused firms; considered a prerequisite for their sustainability. In order to do so, we develop an analytical framework depicting the differential value dynamics, focused and ambidextrous firms can enact. Our findings reveal the relevancy of adopting extended time frames as well as introducing interface management practices aimed at cross-fertilization. Finally, the synergetic potential of (underlying) technologies comes to the forefront as necessary in order for ambidextrous organizations to become sustainable. [source] Optimal Design of the Online Auction Channel: Analytical, Empirical, and Computational Insights,DECISION SCIENCES, Issue 4 2002Ravi Bapna ABSTRACT The focus of this study is on business-to-consumer (B2C) online auctions made possible by the advent of electronic commerce over an open-source, ubiquitous Internet Protocol (IP) computer network. This work presents an analytical model that characterizes the revenue generation process for a popular B2C online auction, namely, Yankee auctions. Such auctions sell multiple identical units of a good to multiple buyers using an ascending and open auction mechanism. The methodologies used to validate the analytical model range from empirical analysis to simulation. A key contribution of this study is the design of a partitioning scheme of the discrete valuation space of the bidders such that equilibrium points with higher revenue structures become identifiable and feasible. Our analysis indicates that the auctioneers are, most of the time, far away from the optimal choice of key control factors such as the bid increment, resulting in substantial losses in a market with already tight margins. With this in mind, we put forward a portfolio of tools, varying in their level of abstraction and information intensity requirements, which help auctioneers maximize their revenues. [source] Accelerating botulism therapeutic product development in the Department of Defense,DRUG DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH, Issue 4 2009Andrea M. Stahl Abstract Coordinated small-molecule drug discovery research efforts for the treatment of botulism by the public sector, especially the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), began in the 1990s and represent a significant resource investment. Organization of an effective botulism therapeutic drug program, however, presents formidable technical and logistical challenges. Seven distinct BoNT serotypes are known, each representing a different target. Moreover, BoNT exerts its action inside peripheral cholinergic neurons, and some serotypes may persist functionally within nerve cells for weeks or months. Clinical botulism occurs infrequently, and the effectiveness of prolonged mechanical ventilation to treat poisoning further limits experimental drug testing. The efficacy of experimental compounds must be extrapolated from disparate cell- or tissue-based or rodent models. Numerous compounds with moderate efficacy in experimental laboratory assays have been reported, but may not possess the necessary safety, efficacy, and pharmacokinetic profile to support therapeutic development. To mitigate these challenges, we propose product development tools to assist in management of the BoNT portfolio and to clearly define the desired therapeutic product. Establishing a target product profile (TPP) is proposed to guide public sector managers toward critical aspects of the desired therapeutic product. Additional product development tools to assist in shaping research portfolios and to inform decisions regarding lead candidates to pursue are also discussed. Product development tools that facilitate the characterization of the ideal therapeutic product, and assist in the maintenance of a robust portfolio, will ameliorate the inherent financial risk in drug development for treating BoNT intoxication. Drug Dev Res 70:303,326, 2009. Published 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Novel therapeutics with enhanced biological activity generated by the strategic introduction of silicon isosteres into known drug scaffoldsDRUG DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH, Issue 4 2007Stephen Gately Abstract The strategic replacement of carbon with silicon within biologically prevalidated drug scaffolds can generate focused libraries of pharmaceutically relevant agents with novel, durable and marketable intellectual property. This approach can be cost-effective and of lower developmental risk because known drugs have recognized pharmacology and toxicity profiles, proven safety in humans, and established manufacturing and formulation methods. The change in shape, charge, and lipophilicity that can result from the addition of silicon can favorably alter the biological activity and toxicology of the parent drug. Silicon-containing derivatives of indomethacin are COX-2 selective, suggesting they will not be associated with the classical toxicities associated with nonselective inhibition of the cyclooxygenases. The silicon-indomethacin derivatives also demonstrated superior anti-cancer activity at clinically achievable concentrations when tested in vitro against a human pancreatic cancer cell line, MiaPaCa-2, and a panel of 14 human multiple myeloma cell lines. Bioorganosilicon chemistry represents an attractive approach for emerging biopharmaceutical organizations seeking to rapidly develop a portfolio of novel pharmacological agents that have the potential for enhanced therapeutic and pharmacological benefit. Drug Dev Res 68:156,163, 2007. ©2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Measuring Market Power in the Ready-to-Eat Cereal IndustryECONOMETRICA, Issue 2 2001Aviv Nevo The ready-to-eat cereal industry is characterized by high concentration, high price-cost margins, large advertising-to-sales ratios, and numerous introductions of new products. Previous researchers have concluded that the ready-to-eat cereal industry is a classic example of an industry with nearly collusive pricing behavior and intense nonprice competition. This paper empirically examines this conclusion. In particular, I estimate price-cost margins, but more importantly I am able empirically to separate these margins into three sources: (i) that which is due to product differentiation; (ii) that which is due to multi-product firm pricing; and (iii) that due to potential price collusion. The results suggest that given the demand for different brands of cereal, the first two effects explain most of the observed price-cost margins. I conclude that prices in the industry are consistent with noncollusive pricing behavior, despite the high price-cost margins. Leading firms are able to maintain a portfolio of differentiated products and influence the perceived product quality. It is these two factors that lead to high price-cost margins. [source] Measuring and Optimizing Portfolio Credit Risk: A Copula-based Approach,ECONOMIC NOTES, Issue 3 2004Annalisa Di Clemente In this work, we present a methodology for measuring and optimizing the credit risk of a loan portfolio taking into account the non-normality of the credit loss distribution. In particular, we aim at modelling accurately joint default events for credit assets. In order to achieve this goal, we build the loss distribution of the loan portfolio by Monte Carlo simulation. The times until default of each obligor in portfolio are simulated following a copula-based approach. In particular, we study four different types of dependence structure for the credit assets in portfolio: the Gaussian copula, the Student's t-copula, the grouped t-copula and the Clayton n-copula (or Cook,Johnson copula). Our aim is to assess the impact of each type of copula on the value of different portfolio risk measures, such as expected loss, maximum loss, credit value at risk and expected shortfall. In addition, we want to verify whether and how the optimal portfolio composition may change utilizing various types of copula for describing the default dependence structure. In order to optimize portfolio credit risk, we minimize the conditional value at risk, a risk measure both relevant and tractable, by solving a simple linear programming problem subject to the traditional constraints of balance, portfolio expected return and trading. The outcomes, in terms of optimal portfolio compositions, obtained assuming different default dependence structures are compared with each other. The solution of the risk minimization problem may suggest us how to restructure the inefficient loan portfolios in order to obtain their best risk/return profile. In the absence of a developed secondary market for loans, we may follow the investment strategies indicated by the solution vector by utilizing credit default swaps. [source] An Extended Analytical Approach to Credit Risk ManagementECONOMIC NOTES, Issue 2 2002Alexandre Kurth Among the ,reduced form models' for measuring the credit risk of a bank's portfolio is CreditRisk+, which provides a closed,form solution for calculating the portfolio loss distribution based on an actuarial approach. The limitations of this model are well known, but they are often misinterpreted as being deeply embedded within the model. Dismantling the mathematical components of the model allows one to modify and extend it in several ways while remaining within an analytical approach. One of the most unattractive features is the orthogonality of the background factors or sectors as it hinders any resemblance to real,world macroeconomic indexes or industrial sectors and geographical areas. Among other extensions, which we mention briefly, we present in more detail how the original model can be amended to consider correlations among default risk sectors and among severity risk segments. These extensions are applied to real,life data, based on mortality rate data produced by the Italian Central Bank. (J.E.L.: C00, C51). [source] Financial dollarization: evaluating the consequencesECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 45 2006Eduardo Levy Yeyati SUMMARY Financial dollarization The presence in residents' portfolio of foreign-currency assets and liabilities (or ,financial dollarization') has been alleged to influence monetary policy in developing economies and, especially, to cause debtors' insolvency in the aftermath exchange rate depreciations (the ,balance sheet effect'). The abundant and influential literature on these implications, however, contrasts sharply with the scarcity of empirical work aimed at confirming or refuting them. Using a new database, this paper assesses the evidence on the determinants of financial dollarization and tests whether its empirical effects on monetary and financial stability and on economic performance are consistent with theoretical predictions. It finds that financially dollarized economies display a more unstable demand for money, a greater propensity to suffer banking crises after a depreciation of the local currency, and slower and more volatile output growth, without significant gains in terms of domestic financial depth. The results indicate that active de-dollarization policies may be advisable for the many economies, including Central and Eastern European ones, where foreign-currency denominated assets and liabilities are important in residents' financial portfolios. , Eduardo Levy Yeyati [source] Validity Evidence of an Electronic Portfolio for Preservice TeachersEDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT: ISSUES AND PRACTICE, Issue 1 2008Yuankun Yao This study applied Messick's unified, multifaceted concept of construct validity to an electronic portfolio system used in a teacher education program. The subjects included 128 preservice teachers who recently completed their final portfolio reviews and student teaching experiences. Four of Messick's six facets of validity were investigated for the portfolio in this study, along with a discussion of the remaining facets examined in two previous studies. The evidence provided support for the substantive and generalizability aspects of validity, and limited support for the content, structural, external, and consequential aspects of validity. It was suggested that the electronic portfolio may be used as one requirement for certification purposes, but may not be valid for the purpose of assessing teacher competencies. [source] The Contribution of Bioenergy to a New Energy ParadigmEUROCHOICES, Issue 3 2005Daniel De La Torre Ugarte Biomass is a widely available resource that is receiving increased consideration as a renewable substitute for fossil fuels. Developed sustainably and used efficiently, it can induce growth in developing countries, reduce oil demand, and address environmental problems. The potential benefits include: reduction of greenhouse gases, recuperation of soil productivity and degraded land, economic benefits from adding value to agricultural activities and improving access to and quality of energy services. The production of bioenergy involves a range of technologies, including solid combustion, gasification, and fermentation. These technologies produce energy from a diverse set of biological resources - traditional crops, crop residues, energy-dedicated crops, dung, and the organic component of urban waste. The results are bioenergy products that provide multiple energy services: cooking fuel, heat, electricity and transportation fuels. It is this very diversity that holds the potential of a win-win-win for the environment, social and economic development. Bioenergy has to be viewed not as a replacement for oil, but as an element of a portfolio of renewable sources of energy. Coherent and mutually supportive environmental and economic policies may be needed to encourage the emergence of a globally dispersed bioenergy industry that will pursue a path of sustainable development. La biomasse est une resource largement répandue, qui commence à retenir l'attention comme substitut renouvelable aux énergies fossiles. En l'utilisant de façon efficace et durable, on peut accélérer la croissance des pays en voie de développement, réduire la demandepour le pétrole et résoudre certains problèmes d'environnement. Au nombre des bénéfices potentiels il faut mettre : la réduction des émissions de gaz à effet de serre, la reconstitution de la fertilité dessols et des terres dégradées, les avantages économiques liés à l'accroissement de la production agricole et à l'amélioration des services énergétiques, tant en qualité qu'en accessibilité. La production de bioénergie met en oeuvre un large éventail de techniques parmi lesquelles la combustionde produits solides, la gazéification et la fermentation. Elles produisent de l'énergie à partir d'une grande variété de sources biologiques : cultures traditionnelles, résidus de cultures, cultures spécialisées, fumiers et déchets organiques urbains. Les produits bio-énergétiques qui en résultent couvrent une grande variété d'usages : énergie de cuisson, chauffage, électricité et transports. C'est précisément sur cette diversité que repose l'espoir de gains dans toutes les directions, sociales, environnementales et économiques. Il ne faut pas voir la bioénergie comme un simple substitut au pétrole, mais comme un portefeuille de ressources renouvelables. Pour encourager l'émergence d'une industrie bioénergétique largement répandue et susceptible de contribuer au développement durable, il faudra sans doute élaborer des politiques économiques et environnementales cohérentes, capables de se soutenir mutuellement. Bei Biomasse handelt es sich umeine weithin verfügbare Ressource, welche zunehmend als erneuerbarer Ersatz für fossile Brennstoffe in Betracht gezogen wird. Sie kann bei nachhaltiger Entwicklung und effizienter Nutzung zu Wachstum in den Entwicklungsländern führen, die Nachfrage nach Öl senken und dazu beitragen, die Umweltprobleme in den Griff zu bekommen. Zu den potenziellen Nutzen gehÖren: Verringerung der Treibhausgase, Wiederherstellung von Bodenproduktivität sowie von erodiertem Land, wirtschaftlicher Nutzen durch zusätzliche Wertschöpfung aus landwirtschaftlicher Aktivität und besserer Zugang zu und Qualität in der Energieversorgung. Bei der Erzeugungvon Bioenergie kommen eine Reihe von verschiedenen Technologien zur Anwendung, z.B. Verbrennung fester Brennstoffe, Vergasung sowie Gärung. Diese Technologien erzeugen Energie mittels unterschiedlicher biologischer Ressourcen , traditionelle Feldfrüchte und deren Rückstände, spezielle Energiepflanzen, Mist sowie der organische Anteil städtischer Abfälle. Die daraus erzeugte Bioenergie kann zum Kochen, zum Heizen, als Elektrizität oder als Treibstoff genutzt werden. Gerade in dieser Vielfalt liegt der potenzielle Gewinn für die Umwelt und die soziale sowie die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung. Bioenergie sollte nicht als ein Ersatz für Öl, sondern als Bestandteil des Portfolios erneuerbarer Energiequellen angesehen werden. Kohärente und sich gegenseitig unterstützende ökologische und Ökonomische Politikmaßnahmen könntenerforderlich sein, um die Entstehung einer global verbreiteten Bioenergieindustrie zu begünstigen, welche eine nachhaltige Entwicklung verfolgt. [source] Paying for Minimum Interest Rate Guarantees: Who Should Compensate Who?EUROPEAN FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2001Bjarne Astrup Jensen Defined contribution pension schemes often have a mandatory minimum interest rate guarantee as an integrated part of the contract. The guarantee is an embedded put option issued by the institution to the individual who is forced to invest in the option. As argued in this paper, the individual may in this way face a constraint on the feasible set of portfolio choices. We quantify the effect of the minimum interest rate guarantee constraint and demonstrate that guarantees may induce a significant utility loss. We also consider the effects of the interest rate guarantee in the case of heterogenous investors sharing a common portfolio on a pro rata basis. [source] A currency index global capital asset pricing modelEUROPEAN FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2000Thomas J. O'Brien The application of an international capital asset pricing relationship with two factors, the global market portfolio and a currency index, is described and illustrated. The model and illustration help demonstrate a problem with the common practice of adjusting an asset's expected rate of return across currencies via nominal riskless interest rate differentials. [source] The development of an ePortfolio for life-long reflective learning and auditable professional certificationEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DENTAL EDUCATION, Issue 3 2009R. L. Kardos Abstract Recent legislative changes, that affect all healthcare practitioners in New Zealand, have resulted in mandatory audits of practitioners who are now required to provide evidence of competence and continued professional development in the form of a professional portfolio. These changes were the motivation for our development of an electronic portfolio (ePortfolio) suitable for both undergraduate and life-long learning. Bachelor of Oral Health (BOH) students, studying to qualify as Dental Hygienists and Dental Therapists, and BOH teaching staff (who held registrations in Dental Hygiene, Dental Therapy and Dentistry) trialled the use of a personal ePortfolio for advancing their academic and professional development. The ePortfolio enables BOH students to collect evidence of their achievements and personal reflections throughout their 3 years of undergraduate study, culminating in registration and the award of an Annual Practising Certificate (APC). The ePortfolio was designed to allow users to store information and then select appropriate material to be displayed or published, thus assisting health practitioners to present high-quality evidence of their participation and achievements, and to meet the professional requirements for their APC. [source] The Education Lending Policy of the European Investment BankEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, Issue 1 2009ALBERT TUIJNMAN The purpose of this article is to present the latest Education Lending Policy (ELP) of the European Investment Bank (EIB), adopted by the Board of Governors in 2008. It is structured in two parts. The first briefly presents the EIB in general and the evolution of its education lending portfolio in particular. This sets the stage for the second part of the article, which reproduces the Bank's new ELP , only the second such formal education sector policy statement adopted by the institution to date. [source] Portfolios: Possibilities for Addressing Emergency Medicine Resident CompetenciesACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 11 2002Patricia O'Sullivan EdD Portfolios are an innovative approach to evaluate the competency of emergency medicine residents. Three key characteristics add to their attractiveness. First, portfolios draw from the resident's actual work. Second, they require self-reflection on the part of the resident. Third, they are inherently practice-based learning since residents must review and consider their practice in order to begin the portfolio. This paper illustrates five different applications of portfolios. First, portfolios are applied to evaluating specific competencies as part of the training of emergency physicians. While evaluating specific competencies, the portfolio captures aspects of the general competencies. Second, the article illustrates using portfolios as a way to address a specific residency review committee (RRC) requirement such as follow-ups. Third is a description of how portfolios can be used to evaluate resident conferences capturing the competency of practice-based learning and possibly other competencies such as medical knowledge and patient care. Fourth, the authors of the article designed a portfolio as a way to demonstrate clinical competence. Fifth, they elaborate as to how a continuous quality improvement project could be cast within the portfolio framework. They provide some guidance concerning issues to address when designing the portfolios. Portfolios are carefully structured and not haphazard collections of materials. Following criteria is important in maintaining the validity of the portfolio as well as contributing to reliability. The portfolios can enhance the relationship between faculty and residents since faculty will suggest cases, discuss anomalies, and interact with the residents around the portfolio. The authors believe that in general portfolios can cover many of the general competencies specified by the ACGME while still focusing on issues important to emergency medicine. The authors believe that portfolios provide an approach to evaluation commensurate with the self-evaluation skills they would like to develop in their residents. [source] An Approach to Fulfilling the Systems-based Practice Competency RequirementACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 11 2002David Doezema MD The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-identified core competency of systems-based practice requires the demonstration of an awareness of the larger context and system of health care, and the ability to call on system resources to provide optimum care. This article describes an approach to teaching and fulfilling the requirement of this core competency in an emergency medicine residency. Beginning residents are oriented to community resources that are important to the larger context of care outside the emergency department. Each resident completes a community project during his or her residency. Readings and discussions concerning community-oriented medical care and the literature of research and injury prevention in emergency medicine precede the project development. Several projects are described in detail. Such projects help to teach not only awareness of the community resources of the greater context of medical practice outside the emergency department, but also how to use those resources. Projects could be a main component of a resident portfolio. This approach to teaching the core competency of systems-based practice is proposed as an innovative and substantial contribution toward satisfying the requirement of the core competency. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||