GLAMOUR VERSUS VALUE: TRADING BEHAVIOR OF INSTITUTIONS AND INDIVIDUAL INVESTORS

We design a new metric to measure the net buying and selling by institutions and individual investors and find that from 1980 to 2004 institutional investors were net buyers of growth stocks and net sellers of value stocks, implying that individual investors were net buyers of value stocks and net sellers of glamour stocks. The institutional preference for glamour and value stocks seems to be related to sell‐side analysts' recommendations and recent favorable stock price performances, especially during the post‐1994 period. Finally, the institutional buying of growth stocks and sale of value stocks was not based on superior information.     

Disinfection performance of Fe(VI) in water and wastewater: a review.

Ferrate(VI) [FeVIO4(2-), Fe(VI)] has excellent disinfectant properties and can inactivate a wide variety of microorganisms at low Fe(VI) dosages. The final product of Fe(VI) is Fe(III), a non-toxic compound. The treatment by Fe(VI) does not give any chlorination by-products, which makes Fe(VI) an environmentally-friendly ion. The results demonstrate that Fe(VI) can inactivate Escherichia coli (E. coli) at lower dosages or shorter contact time than hypochlorite. Fe(VI) can also kill many chlorine resistant organisms, such as aerobic spore-formers and sulphite-reducing clostridia, and would be highly effective in treating emerging toxins in the aquatic environment. Fe(VI) can thus be used as an effective alternate disinfectant for the treatment of water and wastewater. Moreover, Fe(VI) is now becoming economically available in commercial quantities and can be used as a treatment chemical to meet the water demand of this century. This paper reviews the potential role of Fe(VI) as disinfectant in water and wastewater treatment processes.     

Productive Efficiency of the Swine Industry in Hawaii: Stochastic Frontier vs. Data Envelopment Analysis

Improving productive efficiency is an increasingly important determinant of the future of the swine industry in Hawaii. This paper examines the productive efficiency of a sample of swine producers in Hawaii by estimating a stochastic frontier production function and the constant returns to scale (CRS) and variable returns to scale (VRS) output-oriented DEA models. The technical efficiency estimates obtained from the two frontier techniques are compared. The scale properties are also examined under the two approaches. The industry's potential for increasing production through improved efficiency is also discussed.     

Are gold,USD, and Bitcoin hedge or safe haven against stock? The implication for risk management

This study investigates whether gold, USD, and Bitcoin are hedge and safe haven assets against stock and if they are useful in diversifying downside risk for international stock markets. We propose a combined GO-GARCH-EVT-copula approach to examine the hedge and safe haven properties of gold, USD, and Bitcoin. We then examine the attractiveness of these assets in reducing stock portfolio risk by using downside risk measures estimated by the proposed approach and other competing models. We also evaluate the relative performance of the proposed model in reducing downside risk with the competing models. The findings of the study indicate that the USD is the most valuable hedge and safe haven asset closely followed by gold, while Bitcoin is the least valuable. It is also observed that the proposed combined approach performs best in reducing the portfolio downside risk. The findings of this study are of significance for portfolio managers and individual investors who wish to protect the portfolio value during market turmoil.     

A Scenario Based Impact Assessment of Trace Metals on Ecosystem of River Ganges Using Multivariate Analysis Coupled with Fuzzy Decision-Making Approach

The growing consciousness about the health risks associated with environmental pollutants has brought a major shift in global concern towards prevention of hazardous/trace metals discharge in water bodies. Majority of these trace metals gets accumulated in the body of aquatic lives, which are considered as potential indicators of hazardous content. This results in an ecological imbalance in the form of poisoning, diseases and even death of fish and other aquatic lives, and ultimately affect humans through food chain. Trace metals such as Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn originated from various industrial operations containing metallic solutions and agricultural practices, have been contributing significantly to cause aquatic pollution. The present study develops a novel approach of expressing sustainability of river’s ecosystem based on health of the fish by coupling fuzzy sensitivity analysis into multivariate analysis. A systematic methodology has been developed by generating monoplot, two dimensional biplot and rotated component matrix (using ‘Analyze it’ and ‘SPSS’ software), which can simultaneously identify critical trace metals and their industrial sources, critical sampling stations, and adversely affected fish species along with their interrelationships. A case study of assessing the impact of trace metals on the aquatic life of river Ganges, India has also been presented to demonstrate effectiveness of the model. The clusters pertaining to various water quality parameters have been identified using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to determine actual sources of pollutants and their impact on aquatic life. The fuzzy sensitivity analysis reveals the cause-effect relationship of these critical parameters. The study suggests pollution control agencies to enforce appropriate regulations on the wastewater dischargers responsible for polluting river streams with a particular kind of trace metal(s).     

Sub additive measures of relative information and inaccuracy

Summary In the study of information theoretic measures, additivity has been the basic requirement. However it is quite interesting to investigate the sub-additive measures. Starting from subadditivity for measures associated with a pair of distributions of a discrete random variable, it has been changed into an equality relation using another function of a pair of distributions., Under the sum property of the function and the measures, the relation is expressed in terms of a functional equation of which the most general complex solutions have been obtained. In terms of the real continuous solutions of the functional equation, the sub-additive measures of Relative information and Inaccuracy have been defined and characterized. Particular cases and simple properties particularly the convexities of some of these new measures have also been studied.     

Energy savings by reduced mixing in aeration tanks: results from a full scale investigation and long term implementation at Avedoere wastewater treatment plant

The aim of this project was to investigate the potential of reducing number of mixers in the biological treatment process and thereby achieve energy and economical savings and contribute to cleaner environment. The project was carried out at Avedoere wastewater treatment plant and a full scale investigation was conducted to study the effect of reduced mixing on flow velocity, suspended solid sedimentation, concentration gradients of oxygen and SS with depth and treatment efficiency. The only negative effect observed was on flow velocity; however the velocity was above the critical velocity. The plant has been operating with 50% of its designed number of mixers since September 2007 and long term results also confirm that reduced mixing did not have any negative effect on treatment efficiency. The estimated yearly electricity saving is 0.75 GWh/year.     

Discussion of the enabling environments for decentralised water systems

Decentralised water supply systems are becoming increasingly affordable and commonplace in Australia and have the potential to alleviate urban water shortages and reduce pollution into natural receiving marine and freshwater streams. Learning processes are necessary to support the efficient implementation of decentralised systems. These processes reveal the complex socio-technical and institutional factors to be considered when developing an enabling environment supporting decentralised water and wastewater servicing solutions. Critical to the technological transition towards established decentralised systems is the ability to create strategic and adaptive capacity to promote learning and dialogue. Learning processes require institutional mechanisms to ensure the lessons are incorporated into the formulation of policy and regulation, through constructive involvement of key government institutions. Engagement of stakeholders is essential to the enabling environment. Collaborative learning environments using systems analysis with communities (social learning) and adaptive management techniques are useful in refining and applying scientists' and managers' knowledge (knowledge management).