Since the 1980’s the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has used technology readiness level (TRL) as a means to assess the maturity of a particular technology and a scale to compare technologies. In 1999, the Department of Defense (DoD) embraced a similar TRL concept in their programs. The TRL scale is a measure of maturity of an individual technology, with a view towards oper...

The volatility is a crucial variable in option pricing and hedging strategies. The aim of this paper is to provide some initial evidence of the empirical relevance of genetic programming to volatility’s forecasting. By using real data from S&P500 index options, the genetic programming’s ability to forecast Black and Scholes-implied volatility is compared between time series samples and moneynes...

IT spending has been recognised as representing a large percentage of the budget for organisations. Research has shown that significant value can be derived from IT investments if organisations actively and effectively manage their IT investments using a portfolio management approach. The goal of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of how IT portfolio management affects strategic I...

We evaluated the abundance of microbial functional groups involved in compost fertility, and the chemical parameters of maturity and quality most commonly analyzed in compost products. We employed compost produced using the same hydrolytic stage and two maturation processes (with and without earthworms) and with different organic wastes. Our aim was to propose a valid tool for measuring the qua...

Munida subrugosawas sampled monthly from November 1997 to November 1999 in the Beagle Channel by means of an epibenthic trawl. The reproductive cycle started in May, re£ected by the occurrence of ovigerous females. Maximum size of oocytes, maximum value of gonadosomatic index in females (16.8 gmmcarapace length [CL]71) and males (1.6 gmmCL71), and the proportion ( 70%) of ovigerous females with...

A chief cybernetic feature of natural living systems is the recycling of nutrients, which tends to enhance stability and is one of the principal causes of ecosystem complexity. In 1976, Finn proposed a simple and effective measure (later known as the Finn cycling index [FCI]) to assess the quantitative importance of cycles in ecosystems. This index was successfully applied as a gauge of ecosyst...

We study the lead±lag relationships among the spot, futures, and options markets on Hong KongÕs Hang Seng Index (HSI). The young options market experiences thin trading, and the option returns lag the cash index returns. The more mature futures market experiences active trading. Yet its lead over the cash index appears to be less than the counterparts in other countries. A possible reason is th...

among the healthy compounds such as sodium bicarbonate, potassium bicarbonate, vegetable oils, and biocontrol yeasts including heat treatments, as well as a good alternativeto chemical pesticides are considered hazardous. in this study, the effect of different levels of sodium bicarbonate treatment (0, 500 and 1000 mg/l and combination 1500 mg/l sodium bicarbonate with hot water 53 °c) were inv...

abstract having no exact knowledge of most appropriate harvesting time in kiwifruit grown in different regions of guilan province, as well as the low storage longevity of the fruits are the most important factors causing considerable reduction in both marketability and export affairs. in this study, the influence of fruit quality in term of harvesting time on the postharvest quality and food va...

In order to solve the problem of highway standardization management ability description, evaluation and improvement, in this paper, a highway standardization management maturity evaluation model has firstly been put forward. Moreover, the influence highway qualitative factors of implementing the standardized management have analyzed and its evaluation index system has constructed. Furthermore, ...