Current Search: Pricing (x)
Pages
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Title
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What price profits?.
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Creator
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Weiss, Max
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Date Issued
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1947
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Identifier
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2669185, CFDT2669185, ucf:5012
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/2669185
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Title
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THE PRICING AND PERFORMANCE OF CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCK OFFERINGS FOLLOWING ISSUANCE.
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Creator
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Guzhva, Vitaly S., Ramanlal, Pradipkumar, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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This dissertation is a comprehensive study of convertible-preferred-stock pricing and performance following issuance. It is the first major academic study that identifies significant abnormal performance of corporate contingent claims following issuance.The research utilizes both option-based contingent claims valuation models and econometric techniques to investigate the sources of superior investment performance of convertible securities as an asset class that has persisted for the past...
Show moreThis dissertation is a comprehensive study of convertible-preferred-stock pricing and performance following issuance. It is the first major academic study that identifies significant abnormal performance of corporate contingent claims following issuance.The research utilizes both option-based contingent claims valuation models and econometric techniques to investigate the sources of superior investment performance of convertible securities as an asset class that has persisted for the past thirty years.Two main issues are examined: potential underpricing of convertible preferred stocks at issuance and their subsequent investment performance.Underpricing is examined based on a robust contingent-claims valuation model. Using two samples of convertible preferred stock offerings (24 issues, 12,051 observations and 69 issues, 28,831 observations respectively), the study provides evidence of statistically and economically significant underpricing at issuance that ranges from 2.9% to 1.4% and persists from the first day of convertible trading up to six months following issuance.Underpricing is invariant to convertible ratings and the exchange where the issues are traded. It is found, however, that, large and mid cap issues are more likely to be underpriced than small cap convertibles. Also, the offerings that are underwritten by non-reputable investment bankers are more likely to be underpriced than those underwritten by reputable investment bankers.Abnormal performance based on econometric techniques affirms underpricing at issuance. Statistically significant holding-period excess returns of convertibles over their underlying common stock returns range from 0.81% for the first week to 2.04% for the first five months following issuance. Excess returns are invariant to security ratings, exchange listing, firm size, underwriter reputation and the size of the issue. Further, panel data analysis of daily returns suggests excess returns of 1.1 percent (1.8 percent) for the first week (month) following issuance. Excess returns can be explained by increased sensitivity of convertible returns to the returns of their underlying common stocks in the first six months following issuance. Cross-sectional variations of this increased sensitivity indicates investment-grade issues, listed on NYSE/AMEX, by large firms, using reputable underwriters and for large issues are more sensitive to the underlying common stock in the first six month following issuance than securities with opposing characteristics. Underpricing at issuance is also indicated by investment models favored by convertible trading desks: about one dollar on an average price of thirty five during the first week following issuance with underpricing persisting up to 6 months following issuance. The excess returns cannot be attributed to liquidity, high betas of underlying stock or excess volatility of convertibles following issuance. Conversely, volatility analysis indicates risk-adjusted excess returns are likely to be higher than reported.
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Date Issued
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2004
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Identifier
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CFE0000079, ucf:46091
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000079
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Title
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A HEDONIC ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF EXPERT WINE RATINGS ON PRICE AND RETAILER PROFITS.
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Creator
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Neill, Kaitlin, Caputo, Michael, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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During the last few decades, economists have become interested in the wine industry and several of them have focused on the determinants of price. One characteristic that has been identified as an important determinant is expert wine ratings. Much of the previous research on this topic has focused on relating expert grades to the retail price of wine. Using proprietary data, this paper will test whether these grades influence retail prices as well as retailer profits and wholesale pricing. By...
Show moreDuring the last few decades, economists have become interested in the wine industry and several of them have focused on the determinants of price. One characteristic that has been identified as an important determinant is expert wine ratings. Much of the previous research on this topic has focused on relating expert grades to the retail price of wine. Using proprietary data, this paper will test whether these grades influence retail prices as well as retailer profits and wholesale pricing. By analyzing an individual wholesale firm in South Florida and their distribution network, this paper determines the effect expert ratings have on these dependent variables. Empirical evidence confirms that expert ratings have a positive effect on wholesale and retail wine prices and that they exhibit a parallel influence on retailer profits. This thesis aims to contribute new information to aid both the end consumers purchasing decisions as well as busi-ness pricing strategies.
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Date Issued
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2011
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Identifier
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CFH0004129, ucf:44879
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004129
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Title
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THE IMPACT OF OIL PRICE SURGES ON ECONOMIC GROWTH.
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Creator
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Restrepo, Valeria, Hofler, Richard, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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The objective of this research concerns identifying whether or not there is a relationship between oil price increases in a given quarter and the likelihood of a recession in the subsequent quarter. The data used is gathered from the St. Louis Fed Fred II, the National Bureau of Economic Research, and the Energy Information Administration to generate modified variables. These variables are tested using a qualitative dependent variable, recession, in a binary choice model. The findings...
Show moreThe objective of this research concerns identifying whether or not there is a relationship between oil price increases in a given quarter and the likelihood of a recession in the subsequent quarter. The data used is gathered from the St. Louis Fed Fred II, the National Bureau of Economic Research, and the Energy Information Administration to generate modified variables. These variables are tested using a qualitative dependent variable, recession, in a binary choice model. The findings validated the assumption that oil prices do have a correlation with recessions, and that the relationship is a direct one. Based on the model, an increase in the price of oil will positively affect the likelihood of a "recession" outcome versus the alternative, "no recession". It is anticipated that the results will inspire future research into the causes and effects of oil price surges, as well as the determinants of economic contractions in the future based on policy decisions and economic decision-making practices in the present.
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Date Issued
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2011
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Identifier
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CFH0004088, ucf:44804
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004088
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Title
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Valuation of Over-The-Counter (OTC) Derivatives with Collateralization.
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Creator
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Guerrero, Leon, Yong, Jiongmin, Li, Xin, Brennan, Joseph, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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Collateralization in over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives markets has grown rapidly overthe past decade, and even faster in the past few years, due to the impact of the recentfinancial crisis and the particularly important attention to the counterparty credit risk in derivatives contracts. The addition of collateralization to such contracts significantly reduces the counterparty credit risk and allows to offset liabilities in case of default.We study the problem of valuation of OTC derivatives...
Show moreCollateralization in over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives markets has grown rapidly overthe past decade, and even faster in the past few years, due to the impact of the recentfinancial crisis and the particularly important attention to the counterparty credit risk in derivatives contracts. The addition of collateralization to such contracts significantly reduces the counterparty credit risk and allows to offset liabilities in case of default.We study the problem of valuation of OTC derivatives with payoff in a single currencyand with single underlying asset for the cases of zero, partial, and perfect collateralization. We assume the derivative is traded between two default-free counterparties and analyze the impact of collateralization on the fair present value of the derivative. We establish a uniform generalized derivative pricing framework for the three cases of collateralization and show how different approaches to pricing turn out to be consistent. We then generalize the results to include multi-asset and cross-currency arguments, where the underlyingand the derivative are in some domestic currency, but the collateral is posted in a foreign currency. We show that the results for the single currency, multi-asset case are consistent with those obtained for the single currency, single asset case.
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Date Issued
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2013
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Identifier
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CFE0004855, ucf:49688
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004855
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Title
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URBAN INFILLING IMPACTS ON FLORIDA SOLID WASTE FACILITIES.
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Creator
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Nalamothu, Ravi, Reinhart, Debra, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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Increasing urbanization in the US is leading to development or re-development of lands adjacent to solid waste facilities and these lands are being considered for residential communities and commercial projects. Thus, the potential for nuisance complaints against the pre-existing solid waste facility operations has become an increasing reality. The objective of this study was to develop a methodology to gather scientific and quantifiable data related to potential nuisances caused by landfills...
Show moreIncreasing urbanization in the US is leading to development or re-development of lands adjacent to solid waste facilities and these lands are being considered for residential communities and commercial projects. Thus, the potential for nuisance complaints against the pre-existing solid waste facility operations has become an increasing reality. The objective of this study was to develop a methodology to gather scientific and quantifiable data related to potential nuisances caused by landfills to determine setbacks and buffer zones near landfill and transfer station operations. Appropriate recommendations for these setbacks were made from case studies conducted at two landfills in Florida. The study involved making measurements related to odor, noise, litter and dust. Impact on housing prices was also evaluated by analyzing publicly available house price data. In this study volatile organic compound (VOC) concentration was used as a surrogate measure for gaseous impacts. The mass flux of VOCs was measured on the landfills using the dynamic flux chamber method. The ultimate purpose of flux measurements was to provide input data for dispersion modeling to analyze the extent of odor impact around the landfills, which is outside the scope of this study. Ambient measurements were also made around Landfill A for validating the dispersion model. Although there are no significant health and odor impacts caused by the landfill, higher background concentration extend 1.2-1.5 km from the landfill center on the Southeast side of the landfill. Litter from the road sides around the landfills was collected and catalogued based on size and material type. Litter count per site obtained for both landfills was less than the 2001 and 2002 state-wide counts. The difference was statistically significant. Noise measurements were made at landfills during incineration and landfilling. Based on average measurements (Leq) obtained at various distances from WTE facility and landfilling activity, and considering EPA recommended noise level of 55 dB(A) for a quiet neighborhood, a set back distance of 1.6-1.9 km was recommended. Impact on house prices near the landfills was done for four landfills in Florida. Analysis showed that three out of four landfills had significantly impacted the house price within 0.6-0.8 km from the edge of the landfill. Dust measurements were made at Landfill B using particulate samplers, quantifying the dust associated with landfilling. Measured values were below National Ambient Air quality Standard (NAAQ) for PM10. Finally, recommendations were developed to mitigate some of these nuisances
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Date Issued
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2007
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Identifier
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CFE0001948, ucf:47444
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001948
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Title
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THE BATTLE BETWEEN MULTINAIONAL TAX AVOIDANCE ANDCORPORATE COMPETITIVENESS.
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Creator
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Koop, Nico, Sweo, Robert, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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In the past decade, there has been a significant decrease in US corporate tax revenues. Multinational companies have been employing several different techniques of tax avoidance to get around paying corporate taxes. Tax avoidance is used by any large multinational corporation for a variety of reasons. The US has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world and is seeing many companies relocate their operations abroad to lower their tax expenses. The different methods of tax avoidance...
Show moreIn the past decade, there has been a significant decrease in US corporate tax revenues. Multinational companies have been employing several different techniques of tax avoidance to get around paying corporate taxes. Tax avoidance is used by any large multinational corporation for a variety of reasons. The US has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world and is seeing many companies relocate their operations abroad to lower their tax expenses. The different methods of tax avoidance are discussed in this thesis, as well as the different reasons behind their use. To understand how companies implement tax avoidance techniques, it is necessary to understand US corporate taxes. I have researched the few key items of US corporate taxes, which are vital to understanding the implementation of tax avoidance techniques. Through different examples you will see how tax avoidance occurs and how it benefits multinational companies.
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Date Issued
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2011
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Identifier
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CFH0003793, ucf:44727
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0003793
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Title
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SECURITY DESIGN THAT ADDRESSES AGENCY CONFLICTS AND INFORMATION ASYMMETRY.
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Creator
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Tewari, Manish, Schnitzlein, Charles, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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This study focuses on the role of structured derivative securities to meet diverse corporate financing objectives in the light of agency theory and asymmetric information. The focus is on the nonconvertible callable-puttable fixed-coupon bonds. The primary objective is to discern the marginal role of the put and put-deferred features in addressing the agency issues and asymmetric information. A sample of (159) securities issued over the period (1977-2005) are examined using Merton's (1974...
Show moreThis study focuses on the role of structured derivative securities to meet diverse corporate financing objectives in the light of agency theory and asymmetric information. The focus is on the nonconvertible callable-puttable fixed-coupon bonds. The primary objective is to discern the marginal role of the put and put-deferred features in addressing the agency issues and asymmetric information. A sample of (159) securities issued over the period (1977-2005) are examined using Merton's (1974) structural contingent claims valuation model. The put option as well as the deferred put option incorporated in these securities is found to mitigate the asset substitution issue. It is also found that these contract features provide considerable insurance against the asymmetric information about the firm's downside risk. Specifically, the effects of asset substitution are mitigated because the put option reduces sensitivity of the security's value to the changes in the firm's volatility. Prior to this study, this effect was believed to be driven primarily by the conversion feature in the convertible bonds and the preferred stocks. In addition, the long-term performance of the underlying common stock indicates systematic negative performance for the protracted periods both prior and subsequent to the issuance, yet it is found that this decline in the equity value has only a limited negative impact on the security.
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Date Issued
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2008
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Identifier
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CFE0002424, ucf:47756
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002424
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Title
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The Extension of Imperial Authority Under Diocletian and the Tetrarchy, 285-305CE.
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Creator
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Petitt, Joshua, Larson, Peter, Dandrow, Edward, Solonari, Vladimir, Cassanello, Robert, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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Despite a vast amount of research on Late Antiquity, little attention has been paid to certain figures that prove to be influential during this time. The focus of historians on Constantine I, the first Roman Emperor to allegedly convert to Christianity, has often come at the cost of ignoring Constantine's predecessor, Diocletian, sometimes known as the "Second Father of the Roman Empire". The success of Constantine's empire has often been attributed to the work and reforms of Diocletian, but...
Show moreDespite a vast amount of research on Late Antiquity, little attention has been paid to certain figures that prove to be influential during this time. The focus of historians on Constantine I, the first Roman Emperor to allegedly convert to Christianity, has often come at the cost of ignoring Constantine's predecessor, Diocletian, sometimes known as the "Second Father of the Roman Empire". The success of Constantine's empire has often been attributed to the work and reforms of Diocletian, but there have been very few studies of the man beyond simple biography. This work will attempt to view three of Diocletian's major innovations in order to determine the lasting effect they had over the Roman Empire and our modern world. By studying 1) Diocletian's assumption of new, divinely inspired titles; 2)Diocletian's efforts at controlling prices in the marketplace; and 3)Diocletian's Persecution of the Christians in the Roman Empire at the turn of the fourth century CE, we can gain valuable insight into the ways through which Roman Emperors extended their authority throughout different facets of Ancient World, including developments that would shape the future of Western Civilization for the next 1400 years.
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Date Issued
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2012
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Identifier
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CFE0004582, ucf:49190
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004582
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Title
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CRITICAL REVIEWS AND MARKET PERFORMANCE.
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Creator
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Pomirleanu, Elena, Ganesh, Jaishankar, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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Firms invest significant resources to improve the quality of their products but also to communicate to consumers about their efforts. However, information regarding quality of product offerings is now increasingly being generated by short or long term users of products or services. The growing popularity of critical reviews has prompted attention from both academics and practitioners alike. Current academic findings do not seem conclusive with respect to the impact critical reviews have on...
Show moreFirms invest significant resources to improve the quality of their products but also to communicate to consumers about their efforts. However, information regarding quality of product offerings is now increasingly being generated by short or long term users of products or services. The growing popularity of critical reviews has prompted attention from both academics and practitioners alike. Current academic findings do not seem conclusive with respect to the impact critical reviews have on product performance on the market. The current dissertation aims to clarify the role critical reviews have in relation to economic outcomes such as sales, category market share, price premiums and product success. Using four years of cross-sectional data from the automobile market, the first essay of this dissertation conceptualizes consumer and expert ratings as market-based signals and investigates the impact critical reviews have on product performance of new and used automobiles. Results show that both consumer and expert ratings are positively related to market performance (sales and category market share of new automobiles) but they exhibit a non-synergistic interaction. More specifically, at higher levels of consumer ratings, the impact of expert ratings on product performance is decreased and vice-versa. Furthermore, results show that critical ratings are significantly associated with the firm's ability to command higher price premiums. Comparatively, a firm-based driver of product performance, product improvement failed to show a significant association with product market performance but it exhibited a non-linear relationship with price premiums. Moreover, the impact of expert ratings proved to be significantly higher for utilitarian products than hedonic products whereas consumer ratings do not have a differential effect across product types. Finally, the results did not show that the impact of consumer ratings on sales of used automobiles is increasing over time. The second essay focuses on expert reviews (entertainment critics) and provides a more nuanced examination of the role of critics and critical reviews and their impact on probability of product success. Based on qualitative data, two types of expert reviews are distinguished to be influential (opinions and evaluations), however, their role differs in importance over time. The hypotheses are tested using data from the fourth season of American Idol. Results show that on average, opinions are significantly impacting the probability of success whereas evaluations do not. Moreover, the numbers of statements that contain evaluation negatively impact the success in early periods. Overall, the results highlight the facts that critical reviews from both experts and consumers should be monitored, that they are a key driver of product market-success and that select expert reviews may influence product success in early stages of product existence.
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Date Issued
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2009
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Identifier
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CFE0002788, ucf:48131
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002788
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Title
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TWO ESSAYS ON SATISFACTION.
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Creator
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BINDROO, VISHAL, ECHAMBADI, RAJ, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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This dissertation consists of two essays that study the relevant boundary conditions to the relationship between the customer satisfaction and loyalty. Retaining current customers is critical to a firm's performance and has been well-established in the literature. Extant literature tells us that loyal customers are typically less price sensitive, spend more than non-loyal customers, less expensive to retain, and more importantly, provide new referrals through positive word of mouth. In...
Show moreThis dissertation consists of two essays that study the relevant boundary conditions to the relationship between the customer satisfaction and loyalty. Retaining current customers is critical to a firm's performance and has been well-established in the literature. Extant literature tells us that loyal customers are typically less price sensitive, spend more than non-loyal customers, less expensive to retain, and more importantly, provide new referrals through positive word of mouth. In the first essay, drawing from decision justifiability theory, I posit that consideration set size and price-consciousness moderate the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty. At higher levels of consideration set sizes, the positive relationship between satisfaction and loyalty is likely to be weakened. However, this two-way interaction effect is seen to impact high and low price-conscious consumers differently. Specifically, I show that satisfied, low price-conscious consumers with higher consideration set sizes will be more loyal vis-a-vis high price-conscious consumers with similar satisfaction levels and set sizes. These theoretical hypotheses are tested in four separate studies. Specifically, I use secondary data and three experimental studies. All my hypotheses including the mediating role of decision justifiability are supported. The second essay investigates the role of satisfaction on loyalty intentions for firms that offer both the product and the product-related augmented services. In the industry that I studied for this question, buying a product requires an extraordinarily high capital outlay; however, the profitability of the firm is dependent on the services offered to the customers. The services market is a very competitive market as well in this industry. So, how should a firm manage this portfolio that includes both products and services? I draw and extend the consumption system model proposed by Mittal, Kumar and Tsiros (Journal of Marketing, 1999). Specifically, I propose a curvilinear relationship for both product and services satisfaction on loyalty intentions and posit synergistic interactions between them. I test this model using longitudinal data spanning five years across multiple countries that were obtained from a multinational company. Analyses reveal support for the proposed hypotheses.
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Date Issued
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2009
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Identifier
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CFE0002768, ucf:48114
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002768
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Title
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AN ECONOMIC FRAMEWORK FOR RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND PRICING IN WIRELESS NETWORKS WITH COMPETITIVE SERVICE PROVIDERS.
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Creator
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SENGUPTA, SHAMIK, Chatterjee, Mainak, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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A paradigm shift from static spectrum allocation to dynamic spectrum access (DSA) is becoming a reality due to the recent advances in cognitive radio, wide band spectrum sensing, and network aware real--time spectrum access. It is believed that DSA will allow wireless service providers (WSPs) the opportunity to dynamically access spectrum bands as and when they need it. Moreover, due to the presence of multiple WSPs in a region, it is anticipated that dynamic service pricing would be offered...
Show moreA paradigm shift from static spectrum allocation to dynamic spectrum access (DSA) is becoming a reality due to the recent advances in cognitive radio, wide band spectrum sensing, and network aware real--time spectrum access. It is believed that DSA will allow wireless service providers (WSPs) the opportunity to dynamically access spectrum bands as and when they need it. Moreover, due to the presence of multiple WSPs in a region, it is anticipated that dynamic service pricing would be offered that will allow the end-users to move from long-term service contracts to more flexible short-term service models. In this research, we develop a unified economic framework to analyze the trading system comprising two components: i) spectrum owner--WSPs interactions with regard to dynamic spectrum allocation, and ii) WSP--end-users interactions with regard to dynamic service pricing. For spectrum owner--WSPs interaction, we investigate various auction mechanisms for finding bidding strategies of WSPs and revenue generated by the spectrum owner. We show that sequential bidding provides better result than the concurrent bidding when WSPs are constrained to at most single unit allocation. On the other hand, when the bidders request for multiple units, (i.e., they are not restricted by allocation constraints) synchronous auction mechanism proves to be beneficial than asynchronous auctions. In this regard, we propose a winner determination sealed-bid knapsack auction mechanism that dynamically allocates spectrum to the WSPs based on their bids. As far as dynamic service pricing is concerned, we use game theory to capture the conflict of interest between WSPs and end--users, both of whom try to maximize their respective net utilities. We deviate from the traditional per--service static pricing towards a more dynamic model where the WSPs might change the price of a service almost on a session by session basis. Users, on the other hand, have the freedom to choose their WSP based on the price offered. It is found that in such a greedy and non-cooperative behavioral game model, it is in the best interest of the WSPs to adhere to a price threshold which is a consequence of a price (Nash) equilibrium. We conducted extensive simulation experiments, the results of which show that the proposed auction model entices WSPs to participate in the auction, makes optimal use of the common spectrum pool, and avoids collusion among WSPs. We also demonstrate how pricing can be used as an effective tool for providing incentives to the WSPs to upgrade their network resources and offer better services.
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Date Issued
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2007
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Identifier
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CFE0001848, ucf:47364
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001848
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Title
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Safety, Operational, and Design Analyses of Managed Toll and Connected Vehicles' Lanes.
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Creator
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Saad, Moatz, Abdel-Aty, Mohamed, Eluru, Naveen, Hasan, Samiul, Oloufa, Amr, Yan, Xin, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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Managed lanes (MLs) have been implemented as a vital strategy for traffic management and traffic safety improvement. The majority of previous studies involving MLs have explored a limited scope of the impact of the MLs segments as a whole, without considering the safety and operational effects of the access design. Also, there are limited studies that investigated the effect of connected vehicles (CVs) on managed lanes. Hence, this study has two main objectives: (1) the first objective is...
Show moreManaged lanes (MLs) have been implemented as a vital strategy for traffic management and traffic safety improvement. The majority of previous studies involving MLs have explored a limited scope of the impact of the MLs segments as a whole, without considering the safety and operational effects of the access design. Also, there are limited studies that investigated the effect of connected vehicles (CVs) on managed lanes. Hence, this study has two main objectives: (1) the first objective is achieved by determining the optimal managed lanes access design, including accessibility level and weaving distance for an at-grade access design. (2) the second objective is to study the effects of applying CVs and CV lanes on the MLs network. Several scenarios were tested using microscopic traffic simulation to determine the optimal access design while taking into consideration accessibility levels and weaving lengths. Both safety (e.g., standard deviation of speed, time-to-collision, and conflict rate) and operational (e.g., level of service, average speed, average delay) performance measures were included in the analyses. For the first objective, the results suggested that one accessibility level is the optimal option for the 9-mile network. A weaving length between 1,000 feet to 1,400 feet per lane change was suggested based on the safety analysis. From the operational perspective, a weaving length between 1,000 feet and 2,000 feet per lane change was recommended. The findings also suggested that MPR% between 10% and 30% was recommended when the CVs are only allowed in MLs. When increasing the number of MLs, the MPR% could be improved to reach 70%. Lastly, the findings proposed that MPR% of 100% could be achieved by allowing the CVs to use all the lanes in the network.
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Date Issued
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2019
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Identifier
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CFE0007719, ucf:52428
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007719
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Title
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SPECTRUM SHARING AND SERVICE PRICING IN DYNAMIC SPECTRUM ACCESS NETWORKS.
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Creator
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Brahma, Swastik, Chatterjee, Mainak, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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Traditionally, radio spectrum has been statically allocated to wireless service providers (WSPs). Regulators, like FCC, give wireless service providers exclusive long term licenses for using specific range of frequencies in particular geographic areas. Moreover, restrictions are imposed on the technologies to be used and the services to be provided. The lack of flexibility in static spectrum allocation constrains the ability to make use of new technologies and the ability to redeploy the...
Show moreTraditionally, radio spectrum has been statically allocated to wireless service providers (WSPs). Regulators, like FCC, give wireless service providers exclusive long term licenses for using specific range of frequencies in particular geographic areas. Moreover, restrictions are imposed on the technologies to be used and the services to be provided. The lack of flexibility in static spectrum allocation constrains the ability to make use of new technologies and the ability to redeploy the spectrum to higher valued uses, thereby resulting in inefficient spectrum utilization [23, 38, 42, 62, 67]. These limitations have motivated a paradigm shift from static spectrum allocation towards a more 'liberalized' notion of spectrum management in which secondary users can borrow idle spectrum from primary spectrum licensees, without causing harmful interference to the latter- a notion commonly referred to as dynamic spectrum access (DSA) or open spectrum access ,. Cognitive radio [30, 47], empowered by Software Defined Radio (SDR), is poised to promote the efficient use of spectrum by adopting this open spectrum approach. In this dissertation, we first address the problem of dynamic channel (spectrum) access by a set of cognitive radio enabled nodes, where each node acting in a selfish manner tries to access and use as many channels as possible, subject to the interference constraints. We model the dynamic channel access problem as a modified Rubinstein-Stahl bargaining game. In our model, each node negotiates with the other nodes to obtain an agreeable sharing rule of the available channels, such that, no two interfering nodes use the same channel. We solve the bargaining game by finding Subgame Perfect Nash Equilibrium (SPNE) strategies of the nodes. First, we consider finite horizon version of the bargaining game and investigate its SPNE strategies that allow each node to maximize its utility against the other nodes (opponents). We then extend these results to the infinite horizon bargaining game. Furthermore, we identify Pareto optimal equilibria of the game for improving spectrum utilization. The bargaining solution ensures that no node is starved of channels. The spectrum that a secondary node acquires comes to it at a cost. Thus it becomes important to study the 'end system' perspective of such a cost, by focusing on its implications. Specifically, we consider the problem of incentivizing nodes to provide the service of routing using the acquired spectrum. In this problem, each secondary node having a certain capacity incurs a cost for routing traffic through it. Secondary nodes will not have an incentive to relay traffic unless they are compensated for the costs they incur in forwarding traffic. We propose a path auction scheme in which each secondary node announces its cost and capacity to the routing mechanism, both of which are considered as private information known only to the node. We design a route selection mechanism and a pricing function that can induce nodes to reveal their cost and capacity honestly (making our auction truthful), while minimizing the payment that needs to be given to the nodes (making our auction optimal). By considering capacity constraint of the nodes, we explicitly support multiple path routing. For deploying our path auction based routing mechanism in DSA networks, we provide polynomial time algorithms to find the optimal route over which traffic should be routed and to compute the payment that each node should receive. All our proposed algorithms have been evaluated via extensive simulation experiments. These results help to validate our design philosophy and also illustrate the effectiveness of our solution approach.
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Date Issued
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2011
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Identifier
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CFE0004049, ucf:49125
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004049
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Title
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IMPACT OF RETURNS POLICIES AND GROUP-BUYING ON CHANNEL COORDINATION.
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Creator
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Tran, Thanh, Desiraju, Ramarao, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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This dissertation investigates the role of two marketing practices---returns policies and group-buying services---in improving channel coordination. The first study (presented in Chapter Two) focuses on the interaction between two types of returns policies---returns of unwanted products from consumers to retailers and returns of unsold inventory from retailers to manufacturers. Even without the right to return unsold inventory to the manufacturer, the retailers may accept returns from...
Show moreThis dissertation investigates the role of two marketing practices---returns policies and group-buying services---in improving channel coordination. The first study (presented in Chapter Two) focuses on the interaction between two types of returns policies---returns of unwanted products from consumers to retailers and returns of unsold inventory from retailers to manufacturers. Even without the right to return unsold inventory to the manufacturer, the retailers may accept returns from consumers; by doing so, they benefit from a less price-sensitive market demand, an ability to screen for high-valuation consumers, and a competitive advantage (offering a returns policy makes a retailer more attractive to consumers). From the manufacturer's perspective, accepting returns may induce the retailers to order more stock, set lower prices, generate more sales, and therefore, improves the performance of the channel. However, under some conditions (e.g., when the marginal cost of stock-outs is relatively high), this study shows that this effect disappears and the manufacturer does not accept returns from the retailer in equilibrium. The second study (presented in Chapter Three) investigates the rationale for using group-buying services vis-a-vis the traditional posted-pricing mechanism. It focuses on the behavior of consumers and explores the role of heterogeneity in their valuation for the product and cost of purchasing via group-buying in the functioning of group-buying services as a price-discrimination device. Finally, the role of group-buying services in improving channel coordination under asymmetric information is studied in Chapter Four. This analysis shows that the availability of group-buying services provides an opportunity for the manufacturer to reduce the informational rents of the retailer arising from its private information about the market condition. Interestingly, the manufacturer can avoid paying these rents and regains the first-best profitability when asymmetry in information exists regarding the relative sizes of consumer segments. In other settings (e.g., when asymmetric information exists regarding consumers' price sensitivity), leveraging the group-buying mechanism nevertheless allows the manufacturer to design a contract that requires lower rents and improves channel coordination to some extent.
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Date Issued
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2009
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Identifier
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CFE0002747, ucf:48182
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002747
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Title
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A Comparative Evaluation of FDSA,GA, and SA Non-Linear Programming Algorithms and Development of System-Optimal Dynamic Congestion Pricing Methodology on I-95 Express.
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Creator
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Graham, Don, Radwan, Ahmed, Abdel-Aty, Mohamed, Al-Deek, Haitham, Uddin, Nizam, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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As urban population across the globe increases, the demand for adequatetransportation grows. Several strategies have been suggested as a solution to the congestion which results from this high demand outpacing the existing supply of transportation facilities.High (-)Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes have become increasingly more popular as a feature on today's highway system. The I-95 Express HOT lane in Miami Florida, which is currently being expanded from a single Phase (Phase I) into two Phases,...
Show moreAs urban population across the globe increases, the demand for adequatetransportation grows. Several strategies have been suggested as a solution to the congestion which results from this high demand outpacing the existing supply of transportation facilities.High (-)Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes have become increasingly more popular as a feature on today's highway system. The I-95 Express HOT lane in Miami Florida, which is currently being expanded from a single Phase (Phase I) into two Phases, is one such HOT facility. With the growing abundance of such facilities comes the need for in- depth study of demand patterns and development of an appropriate pricing scheme which reduces congestion.This research develops a method for dynamic pricing on the I-95 HOT facility such as to minimize total travel time and reduce congestion. We apply non-linear programming (NLP) techniques and the finite difference stochastic approximation (FDSA), genetic algorithm (GA) and simulated annealing (SA) stochastic algorithms to formulate and solve the problem within a cell transmission framework. The solution produced is the optimal flow and optimal toll required to minimize total travel time and thus is the system-optimal solution.We perform a comparative evaluation of FDSA, GA and SA non-linear programmingalgorithms used to solve the NLP and the ANOVA results show that there are differences in the performance of the NLP algorithms in solving this problem and reducing travel time. We then conclude by demonstrating that econometric forecasting methods utilizing vector autoregressive (VAR) techniques can be applied to successfully forecast demand for Phase 2 of the 95 Express which is planned for 2014.
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Date Issued
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2013
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Identifier
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CFE0005000, ucf:50019
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005000
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Title
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THREE ESSAYS ON DIFFERENTIAL GAMES AND RESOURCE ECONOMICS.
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Creator
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Ling, Chen, Caputo, Michael, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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This dissertation consists of three chapters on the topic of differential games and resource economics. The first chapter extends the envelope theorem to the class of discounted infinite horizon differential games that posses locally differentiable Nash equilibria. The theorems cover both the open-loop and feedback information structures, and are applied to a simple analytically solvable linear-quadratic game. The results show that the conventional interpretation of the costate variable as...
Show moreThis dissertation consists of three chapters on the topic of differential games and resource economics. The first chapter extends the envelope theorem to the class of discounted infinite horizon differential games that posses locally differentiable Nash equilibria. The theorems cover both the open-loop and feedback information structures, and are applied to a simple analytically solvable linear-quadratic game. The results show that the conventional interpretation of the costate variable as the shadow value of the state variable along the equilibrium path is only valid for feedback Nash equilibria, but not for open-loop Nash equilibria. The specific linear-quadratic structure provides some extra insights on the theorem. For example, the costate variable is shown to uniformly overestimate the shadow value of the state variable in the open-loop case, but the growth rate of the costate variable are the same as the shadow value under open-loop and feedback information structures. Chapter two investigates the qualitative properties of symmetric open-loop Nash equilibria for a ubiquitous class of discounted infinite horizon differential games. The results show that the specific functional forms and the value of parameters used in the game are crucial in determining the local asymptotic stability of steady state, the steady state comparative statics, and the local comparative dynamics. Several sufficient conditions are provided to identify a local saddle point type of steady state. An important steady state policy implication from the model is that functional forms and parameter values are not only quantitatively important to differentiate policy tools, but they are also qualitatively important. Chapter three shifts the interests to the lottery mechanism for rationing public resources. It characterizes the optimal pricing strategies of lotteries for a welfare-maximization agency. The optimal prices are shown to be positive for a wide range of individual private value distributions, suggesting that the sub-optimal pricing may result in a significant efficiency loss and that the earlier studies under zero-pricing may need to be re-examined. In addition, I identify the revenue and welfare equivalency propositions across lottery institutions. Finally, the numerical simulations strongly support the findings.
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Date Issued
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2010
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Identifier
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CFE0003195, ucf:48752
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003195
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Title
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A GASOLINE DEMAND MODEL FOR THE UNITED STATES LIGHT VEHICLE FLEET.
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Creator
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Rey, Diana, Al-Deek, Haitham, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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ABSTRACT The United States is the world's largest oil consumer demanding about twenty five percent of the total world oil production. Whenever there are difficulties to supply the increasing quantities of oil demanded by the market, the price of oil escalates leading to what is known as oil price spikes or oil price shocks. The last oil price shock which was the longest sustained oil price run up in history, began its course in year 2004, and ended in 2008. This last oil price shock...
Show moreABSTRACT The United States is the world's largest oil consumer demanding about twenty five percent of the total world oil production. Whenever there are difficulties to supply the increasing quantities of oil demanded by the market, the price of oil escalates leading to what is known as oil price spikes or oil price shocks. The last oil price shock which was the longest sustained oil price run up in history, began its course in year 2004, and ended in 2008. This last oil price shock initiated recognizable changes in transportation dynamics: transit operators realized that commuters switched to transit as a way to save gasoline costs, consumers began to search the market for more efficient vehicles leading car manufactures to close "gas guzzlers" plants, and the government enacted a new law entitled the Energy Independence Act of 2007, which called for the progressive improvement of the fuel efficiency indicator of the light vehicle fleet up to 35 miles per gallon in year 2020. The past trend of gasoline consumption will probably change; so in the context of the problem a gasoline consumption model was developed in this thesis to ascertain how some of the changes will impact future gasoline demand. Gasoline demand was expressed in oil equivalent million barrels per day, in a two steps Ordinary Least Square (OLS) explanatory variable model. In the first step, vehicle miles traveled expressed in trillion vehicle miles was regressed on the independent variables: vehicles expressed in million vehicles, and price of oil expressed in dollars per barrel. In the second step, the fuel consumption in million barrels per day was regressed on vehicle miles traveled, and on the fuel efficiency indicator expressed in miles per gallon. The explanatory model was run in EVIEWS that allows checking for normality, heteroskedasticty, and serial correlation. Serial correlation was addressed by inclusion of autoregressive or moving average error correction terms. Multicollinearity was solved by first differencing. The 36 year sample series set (1970-2006) was divided into a 30 years sub-period for calibration and a 6 year "hold-out" sub-period for validation. The Root Mean Square Error or RMSE criterion was adopted to select the "best model" among other possible choices, although other criteria were also recorded. Three scenarios for the size of the light vehicle fleet in a forecasting period up to 2020 were created. These scenarios were equivalent to growth rates of 2.1, 1.28, and about 1 per cent per year. The last or more optimistic vehicle growth scenario, from the gasoline consumption perspective, appeared consistent with the theory of vehicle saturation. One scenario for the average miles per gallon indicator was created for each one of the size of fleet indicators by distributing the fleet every year assuming a 7 percent replacement rate. Three scenarios for the price of oil were also created: the first one used the average price of oil in the sample since 1970, the second was obtained by extending the price trend by exponential smoothing, and the third one used a longtime forecast supplied by the Energy Information Administration. The three scenarios created for the price of oil covered a range between a low of about 42 dollars per barrel to highs in the low 100's. The 1970-2006 gasoline consumption trend was extended to year 2020 by ARIMA Box-Jenkins time series analysis, leading to a gasoline consumption value of about 10 millions barrels per day in year 2020. This trend line was taken as the reference or baseline of gasoline consumption. The savings that resulted by application of the explanatory variable OLS model were measured against such a baseline of gasoline consumption. Even on the most pessimistic scenario the savings obtained by the progressive improvement of the fuel efficiency indicator seem enough to offset the increase in consumption that otherwise would have occurred by extension of the trend, leaving consumption at the 2006 levels or about 9 million barrels per day. The most optimistic scenario led to savings up to about 2 million barrels per day below the 2006 level or about 3 millions barrels per day below the baseline in 2020. The "expected" or average consumption in 2020 is about 8 million barrels per day, 2 million barrels below the baseline or 1 million below the 2006 consumption level. More savings are possible if technologies such as plug-in hybrids that have been already implemented in other countries take over soon, are efficiently promoted, or are given incentives or subsidies such as tax credits. The savings in gasoline consumption may in the future contribute to stabilize the price of oil as worldwide demand is tamed by oil saving policy changes implemented in the United States.
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Date Issued
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2009
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Identifier
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CFE0002539, ucf:47659
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002539
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Title
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Dynamic Behavior and Performance of Different Types of Multi-Effect Desalination Plants.
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Creator
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Abdelkareem, Mohamed, Chow, Louis, Mansy, Hansen, Das, Tuhin, Duranceau, Steven, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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Water and energy are two of the most vital resources for the socio-economic development and sustenance of humanity on earth. Desalination of seawater has been practiced for some decades and is a well-established means of water supply. However, this process consumes large amounts of energy and the global energy supply is also faced with some challenges. In this research, multi-effect desalination (MED) has been selected due to lower cost, lower operating temperature and efficient in terms of...
Show moreWater and energy are two of the most vital resources for the socio-economic development and sustenance of humanity on earth. Desalination of seawater has been practiced for some decades and is a well-established means of water supply. However, this process consumes large amounts of energy and the global energy supply is also faced with some challenges. In this research, multi-effect desalination (MED) has been selected due to lower cost, lower operating temperature and efficient in terms of primary energy and electricity consumption compared to other thermal desalination systems. The motivation for this research is to address thermo-economics and dynamic behavior of different MED feed configurations with/without vapor compression (VC). A new formulation for the steady-state models was developed to simulate different MED systems. Adding a thermal vapor compressor (TVC) or mechanical vapor compression (MVC) unit to the MED system is also studied to show the advantage of this type of integration. For MED-TVC systems, results indicate that the parallel cross feed (PCF) configuration has better performance characteristics than other configurations. A similar study of MED-MVC systems indicates that the PCF and forward feed (FF) configurations require less work to achieve equal distillate production. Reducing the steam temperature supplied by the MVC unit leads to an increase in second law efficiency and a decrease in specific power consumption (SPC) and total water price. Following the fact that the MED may be exposed to fluctuations (disturbances) in input parameters during operation. Therefore, there is a requirement to analyze their transient behavior. In the current study, the dynamic model is developed based on solving the basic conservation equations of mass, energy, and salt. In the case of heat source disturbance, MED plants operating in the backward feed (BF) may be exposed to shut down due to flooding in the first effect. For all applied disturbances, the change in the brine level is the slowest compared to the changes in vapor temperature, and brine and vapor flow rates. For MED-TVC, it is recommended to limit the seawater cooling flow rate reduction to under 12% of the steady-state value to avoid dryout in the evaporators. A reduction in the motive steam flow rate and cooling seawater temperature of more than 20% and 35% of steady-state values, respectively, may lead to flooding in evaporators and plant shutdown. Simultaneous combinations of two different disturbances with opposing effects have only a modest effect on plant operation and they can be used to control and mitigate the flooding/drying effects caused by the disturbances. For the MED-MVC, the compressor work reduction could lead to plant shutdown, while a reduction in the seawater temperature will lead to a reduction in plant production and an increase in SPC.
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Date Issued
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2019
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Identifier
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CFE0007423, ucf:52735
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007423
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Title
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Three Essays on Asset Pricing in Security and Housing Markets.
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Creator
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Zheng, Minrong, Chen, Honghui, Turnbull, Geoffrey, Frye, Melissa, Zahirovic-Herbert, Velma, University of Central Florida
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Abstract / Description
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In my first essay, I investigate the relationship between IPO long-run underperformance (Ritter, 1991) and the idiosyncratic risk puzzle (Ang, Hodrick, Xing and Zhang, 2006), the phenomenon of abnormally low returns for stocks with high idiosyncratic risk. I show that IPO long-run underperformance is in fact a manifestation of the surprisingly low returns for high idiosyncratic risk stocks. IPO underperformance disappears after I control for the idiosyncratic risk. Specifically, the...
Show moreIn my first essay, I investigate the relationship between IPO long-run underperformance (Ritter, 1991) and the idiosyncratic risk puzzle (Ang, Hodrick, Xing and Zhang, 2006), the phenomenon of abnormally low returns for stocks with high idiosyncratic risk. I show that IPO long-run underperformance is in fact a manifestation of the surprisingly low returns for high idiosyncratic risk stocks. IPO underperformance disappears after I control for the idiosyncratic risk. Specifically, the underperformance of IPO firms only presents following the months in which they are classified into the highest idiosyncratic risk quintile. On the other hand, I find that the idiosyncratic risk puzzle is magnified by the IPO underperformance for two reasons. First, IPOs are over-represented in the highest volatility quintile. Second, while stocks in the highest volatility quintile underperform in general, the intra-quintile underperformance is substantially more severe for the IPO firms. My results are robust to different sample requirements. My second essay examines school quality and quality risk capitalization when school quality is uncertain, taking into account uncertainty induced by low signal content in quality measures available to parents or stochastic quality outcomes. Extending the residential bid rent theory to the uncertainty environment, the theory shows that greater school quality increases housing prices steepens the price gradient, whereas the quality risk decreases the housing prices and flattens the price gradient. The empirical models incorporate two sources of quality risk, the variance in measured school quality and school attendance zone instability. Coupling an output based measure using the over-period average of school normalized math test scores based on the Orange County public elementary school average scores with an input based measure using student/teacher ratios provides quality measures that appear to correlate sufficiently with parents' perceptions of elementary school quality, but school peer effects play important role as well. Estimates reveal capitalization of quality and uncertainty that are consistent with theory as well as systematic patterns across housing market phases and neighborhood in income level. My third essay is a meta-analysis of the body of empirical results for school quality capitalization in house prices. One puzzling aspect of the housing markets literature is that, while public school quality is a major concern of many households, empirical studies of school quality capitalization into house prices yield mixed and sometimes inconsistent results not only across studies, but also within studies when using different school quality measures and models. These differences are reflected in the capitalization coefficient value, level of significance, and even direction of capitalization effects. This paper conducts meta-analysis of the school quality capitalization estimates to identify the factors contributing to this variation. It reveals that the way the school quality is measured matters. Peer effects measures yield less significant capitalization estimates than input and output based measures and value added measures exhibit lower significance than other output based measures. Moreover, both boundary fixed effects and neighborhood fixed effect approaches can effectively and significantly control for the influence of neighborhood amenities. Adding more school quality variables reduces the capitalization significance of individual school quality variables. The most unexpected finding is that school quality capitalization significance is much less in the South than in other regions. Also surprising is that econometric methods do not appear to be driving results.
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Date Issued
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2016
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Identifier
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CFE0006518, ucf:51358
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Format
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Document (PDF)
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006518
Pages