This thesis presents and compares the performance of two recently developed classification methods namely the Spatial Stagewise Aggregation procedure and Support Vector Machines. Both techniques are convenient for the application to corporate bankruptcy analysis, in terms of calculation of...

Apart from an extensive survey of the literature on the economics of corporate bankruptcy law, this thesis contains three own contributions: First, a model is presented where a firm's manager acquires some private information about whether a firm should be liquidated or stay in business....

Essays in Empirical Finance: Evaluating Risk in FinancialMarketsBy Alysa V. ShcherbakovaThis dissertation is comprised of two parts, each addressing animportant type of financial risk. The first part is composed of anessay discussing Market Risk. This essay examines a causalrelationship between...

Mergers and acquisitions within the chemical industry is a common practice to increase market presence and customer base. Common justifications for M&A include synergy, business growth and competitive advantages, and management reasoning. Synergies are benefits a combined firm is able to receive...

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Industrial Technologies (OIT) established the Industries of the Future (IOF) program to increase energy efficiency, reduce waste production and to improve competitiveness, currently focusing on nine sectors. The IOF is a partnership strategy...

The Office of Industrial Technologies (OIT) within the US DOE has recently initiated the Industrial Waste Reduction Program, which is designed to reduce industrial energy use and pollution by reducing the amount of waste materials generated. The Program's primary focus is to develop and...

Approximately a hundred years ago the petrochemical industry was in its infancy, while the chemical industry was already well established. Today, both of these industries, which are almost indistinguishable, are a substantial part of the makeup of the U.S. economy and the lifestyle we enjoy. It...

Retail agrichemical dealers have become increasingly familiar with the concept of containment over the past several years. Currently, containment regulations are in place in 13 states, and are being drafted in 7 others. Agrichemical dealers in these states will be required to assess the...

Globally, there are great efforts made by organisations to improve effectiveness and systems to remain competitive in ever-changing business markets. Total quality management (TOM) has become a philosophy that most companies adopt once they reach a state where it would like to have a system...