Quality competition and hospital mergers-An experiment.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Johann; Kairies-Schwarz, Nadja; Vomhof, Markus

2017-12-01

On the basis of a Salop model with regulated prices, we investigate quality provision behaviour of competing hospitals before and after a merger. For this, we use a controlled laboratory experiment where subjects decided on the level of treatment quality as head of a hospital. We find that the post-merger average quality is significantly lower than the average pre-merger quality. However, for merger insiders and outsiders, average quality choices are significantly higher than predicted for pure profit-maximising hospitals. This upward deviation is potentially driven by altruistic behaviour towards patients. Furthermore, we find that in the case where sufficient cost synergies are realised by the merged hospitals, there is a significant increase in average quality choices compared to the scenario without synergies. Finally, we find that our results do not change when comparing individual decisions to team decisions. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Electric utility mergers and acquisitions seen in a larger perspective

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hawes, D.W.

1995-10-01

Merger negotiations are intricate and sensitive dances which, far more often than not, may end in failure. The famed prediction of {open_quotes}50 in five{close_quotes} may prove correct - though it may be 50 utilities in 2005. Still, mergers are only a partial hedge against what may, after all, be 10 years of better prices for customers and tougher times for shareholders.

Mixing processes in galaxy mergers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

White, S.D.M.

1980-01-01

Previously published simulations of mergers between galaxies are used to examine the degree to which population gradients are weakened during the coalescence of two or more stellar systems. Although substantial mixing occurs during a merger, its effect on such gradients is quite moderate and can be overwhelmed by the effect of changes in structure. Experiment suggests that the centre-to-edge population difference in a merger remnant will be 20 per cent smaller than that in its progenitor galaxies if these are identical centrally concentrated systems. A sequence of three binary mergers is thus required to reduce such differences by a factor of 2. Because of changes in radial structure, population gradients are, in general, reduced more rapidly than is suggested by these numbers. Mixing is more efficient in mergers between less concentrated systems. In real merger remnants any weakening of gradients may often be masked by star-formation in residual interstellar gas. (author)

Merger incentives and the failing firm defense

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bouckaert, J.M.C.; Kort, P.M.

2014-01-01

The merger incentives between profitable firms differ fundamentally from the incentives of a profitable firm to merge with a failing firm. We investigate these incentives under different modes of price competition and Cournot behavior. Our main finding is that firms strictly prefer exit of the

Domestic merger policy in an international oligopoly: the Nordic market for electricity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soergard, Lars

1997-01-01

Many domestic markets are becoming integrated in international markets. Is this an argument for permitting mergers between domestic producers? It is shown that a merger with no cost-saving effects will always be detrimental to domestic welfare if the country is an importer of the good in question, and may increase welfare if the country is an exporter and the price-cost margin is sufficiently low initially. We specify a general condition for a merger to improve welfare, and apply the condition on the Nordic market for electricity. Numerical calculations suggest that in this particular market the Norwegian competition authority should ban domestic mergers with no cost savings. (Author)

Employer-provided health insurance and hospital mergers.

Science.gov (United States)

Garmon, Christopher

2013-07-01

This paper explores the impact of employer-provided health insurance on hospital competition and hospital mergers. Under employer-provided health insurance, employer executives act as agents for their employees in selecting health insurance options for their firm. The paper investigates whether a merger of hospitals favored by executives will result in a larger price increase than a merger of competing hospitals elsewhere. This is found to be the case even when the executive has the same opportunity cost of travel as her employees and even when the executive is the sole owner of the firm, retaining all profits. This is consistent with the Federal Trade Commission's findings in its challenge of Evanston Northwestern Healthcare's acquisition of Highland Park Hospital. Implications of the model are further tested with executive location data and hospital data from Florida and Texas.

Implications of mergers and acquisitions in gas and electric markets: The role of yardstick competition in merger analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reiter, H.L.

1999-01-01

There has been no shortage of proposed and consummated mergers of regulated utilities in the electric, natural gas, and telecommunication industries over the last decade. For example, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association states that there have been thirty electric utility mergers since 1992 and dozens of so-called convergence mergers between electric and gas utilities during that period. Yardstick competition or the competition that occurs when the regulator can compare the relative performances of utilities it regulates with other utilities it regulates or with neighboring utilities in other jurisdictions, places pressure on the regulated utilities to perform better for fear of coming up short in the comparison process. There are three important questions regulators may ask about the importance of yardstick competition as regulatory tool and the weight regulators should give to diminution of yardstick competition in the merger context. First, does it make that much difference? In the electric industry, for example, distribution costs typically comprise less than ten percent of the delivered price of electricity. Second, to preserve theoretical yardstick competition, are regulators then going to block mergers that bring other efficiencies? And finally, are there sound tools at the regulators' disposal should they be inclined to take yardstick competition seriously as a factor in regulation of utilities?

Implications of mergers and acquisitions in gas and electric markets: The role of yardstick competition in merger analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reiter, H.L.

1999-06-30

There has been no shortage of proposed and consummated mergers of regulated utilities in the electric, natural gas, and telecommunication industries over the last decade. For example, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association states that there have been thirty electric utility mergers since 1992 and dozens of so-called convergence mergers between electric and gas utilities during that period. Yardstick competition or the competition that occurs when the regulator can compare the relative performances of utilities it regulates with other utilities it regulates or with neighboring utilities in other jurisdictions, places pressure on the regulated utilities to perform better for fear of coming up short in the comparison process. There are three important questions regulators may ask about the importance of yardstick competition as regulatory tool and the weight regulators should give to diminution of yardstick competition in the merger context. First, does it make that much difference? In the electric industry, for example, distribution costs typically comprise less than ten percent of the delivered price of electricity. Second, to preserve theoretical yardstick competition, are regulators then going to block mergers that bring other efficiencies? And finally, are there sound tools at the regulators' disposal should they be inclined to take yardstick competition seriously as a factor in regulation of utilities?

Modeling the Effects of Mergers in the Retail Sector

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blomgren-Hansen, Niels

2013-01-01

According to EU competition law, mergers that significantly impedes effective competition, particularly by creating or strengthening a dominant position are prohibited. To identify these cases, authorities need a quantifiable model of the relationship between the variables that are affected by th...... if the producers keep the wholesale prices unchanged. If the producers adjust their wholesale prices, then RPM hurts both the merged and the independent shops and benefits only the producers. The harmful effects on consumer welfare and efficiency are intensified....... by the merger and some measure of competition. Furthermore, the authorities must make their decision quickly, rendering deliberate data collection and econometric analyses infeasible in practice. The decision must be based on easily accessible data. In this paper, a simple model of the interaction between...... would most likely significantly affect retail prices. The harmful effects are markedly intensified through the possible abuse of buyer power to raise barriers to the market and curb the competitiveness of minor rivals. However, the dominant position is vulnerable if increased profits induce the entrance...

Evaluating whether the merger created shareholder value: the market's perception

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gallen, B. L.

1997-01-01

Factors that have a bearing on determining whether a particular merger created shareholder value were examined with the caveat that since there are a large number of factors that impact upon stock prices, it is not possible to attribute any one factor as the most significant determinant responsible for the current price of a stock. Cash flow is perhaps the most important measure of growth, however, per share growth is increasingly being recognized as important, particularly on the international scene. Mergers can also be rated by what was paid in dollars for every barrel of oil equivalent in reserves. Another indicator of value may be the price to cash flow comparison of each company involved in the transaction. Expensive paper of a company trading at a higher price/cash flow multiple exchanged for the assets of the cheaper paper of a company trading at a lower price/cash flow multiple will, in general, receive a higher multiple than it had before. This is especially true if the purchase includes good, growing assets, preferably complementary to the acquiring company's current holdings. The likelihood of success is also increased by the absence of personnel conflict, especially at the top. All of these indicators are useful, but no substitutes for caution and prudence in today's industry environment

Upward Pricing Pressure in Two-Sided Markets

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Affeldt, P.; Filistrucchi, L.; Klein, T.J.

2012-01-01

Abstract: Pricing pressure indices have recently been proposed as alternative screening devices for horizontal mergers involving differentiated products. We extend the concept of Upward Pricing Pressure (UPP) proposed by Farrell and Shapiro (2010) to two-sided markets. Examples of such markets are

The UP/SP merger could derail Western bituminous

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vaninetti, J.; Leshock, J.C.

1995-01-01

The 3 billion dollars per year US Western bituminous coal industry annually produces more than 100 million tons of compliance coal to utility, industrial and export markets. About half of production is consumed locally, this sector has grown most in recent years. New markets are utilities in the Mid-west. The UP and SP railroads have profited accordingly. The merger may cause a change in the pricing strategies for the new company, leading to increased freight and coal prices. 1 fig., 1 tab

A scoreboard of mergers and acquisitions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parent, L.V

1989-08-01

In the late 70s and early 80s when market growth was not a viable alternative and price deregulation was imminent, new strategies were sought that would provide some basis for survival in a deregulated environment, and merger/acquisition strategy took on new significance. According to the author, eight mega gas pipe line companies have evolved. The strategic objectives behind these merges is analyzed.

Hospital and Health Insurance Markets Concentration and Inpatient Hospital Transaction Prices in the U.S. Health Care Market.

Science.gov (United States)

Dauda, Seidu

2018-04-01

To examine the effects of hospital and insurer markets concentration on transaction prices for inpatient hospital services. Measures of hospital and insurer markets concentration derived from American Hospital Association and HealthLeaders-InterStudy data are linked to 2005-2008 inpatient administrative data from Truven Health MarketScan Databases. Uses a reduced-form price equation, controlling for cost and demand shifters and accounting for possible endogeneity of market concentration using instrumental variables (IV) technique. The findings suggest that greater hospital concentration raises prices, whereas greater insurer concentration depresses prices. A hypothetical merger between two of five equally sized hospitals is estimated to increase hospital prices by about 9 percent (p costs. © Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Oil company mergers raise concern among some geoscientists

Science.gov (United States)

Showstack, Randy

With the blessings of the antitrust regulatory agencies and the ghost of John D. Rockefeller, the proposed marriage between Exxon and Mobil would create the world's largest energy company and corporation of any type. This merger also would reunite the two biggest pieces of Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company, which the U.S. Supreme Court ordered dismantled in 1911 in an antitrust case.Exxon, Mobil, and financial analysts say the merger is driven by the need to operate more efficiently in a tough, competitive environment. The price of oil, after all, recently has been scraping near bottom of the barrel at about $11 per barrel, and companies often need to muster significant capital resources to develop more remote reservoirs.

Mergers and acquisitions: Guidelines for consideration by state public utility commissions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Graniere, R.J.; Burns, R.E.

1996-11-01

This is the first of a series of reports on utility mergers and acquisitions published by NRRI; because it was completed Nov. 1996, it does not cover FERC Order 592 (policy statement on merger policy under Federal Power Act). Since cost-benefit analyses are expensive, state regulators need guidelines that efficiently streamline the review process for mergers and acquisitions. Purpose of this paper is to suggest such guidelines; they are applicable only to mergers and acquisitions of vertically integrated electric utilities or combination electric/gas utilities.

EdF-Gaz de France. No merger without dismembering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lepetit, V.

2007-01-01

Gathering together the two historical French energy monopolies, Electricite de France (EdF) and Gaz de France (GdF), and warranting low electricity and gas prices is still an attractive idea for some political and syndicate representatives. However, such a merger would create a dominating position which is forbidden with respect to Brussels criteria. (J.S.)

MERGERS AND BULGE FORMATION IN ΛCDM: WHICH MERGERS MATTER?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hopkins, Philip F.; Bundy, Kevin; Wetzel, Andrew; Croton, Darren; Hernquist, Lars; Keres, Dusan; Younger, Joshua D.; Khochfar, Sadegh; Stewart, Kyle

2010-01-01

We use a suite of semi-empirical models to predict the galaxy-galaxy merger rate and relative contributions to bulge growth as a function of mass (both halo and stellar), redshift, and mass ratio. The models use empirical constraints on the halo occupation distribution, evolved forward in time, to robustly identify where and when galaxy mergers occur. Together with the results of high-resolution merger simulations, this allows us to quantify the relative contributions of mergers with different properties (e.g., mass ratios, gas fractions, redshifts) to the bulge population. We compare with observational constraints, and find good agreement. We also provide useful fitting functions and make public a code to reproduce the predicted merger rates and contributions to bulge mass growth. We identify several robust conclusions. (1) Major mergers dominate the formation and assembly of ∼L * bulges and the total spheroid mass density, but minor mergers contribute a non-negligible ∼30%. (2) This is mass dependent: bulge formation and assembly is dominated by more minor mergers in lower-mass systems. In higher-mass systems, most bulges originally form in major mergers near ∼L * , but assemble in increasingly minor mergers. (3) The minor/major contribution is also morphology dependent: higher B/T systems preferentially form in more major mergers, with B/T roughly tracing the mass ratio of the largest recent merger; lower B/T systems preferentially form in situ from minor mergers. (4) Low-mass galaxies, being gas-rich, require more mergers to reach the same B/T as high-mass systems. Gas-richness dramatically suppresses the absolute efficiency of bulge formation, but does not strongly influence the relative contribution of major versus minor mergers. (5) Absolute merger rates at fixed mass ratio increase with galaxy mass. (6) Predicted merger rates agree well with those observed in pair and morphology-selected samples, but there is evidence that some morphology

Cross-Border Mergers and Market Segmentation (Replaces TILEC DP 2010-035)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ray Chaudhuri, A.

2011-01-01

This paper shows that cross-border mergers are more likely to occur in industries which serve multiple segmented markets rather than a single integrated market, given that cost functions are strictly convex. The product price rises in the market where an acquisition is made but falls in the other,

Analysis of Economic Performance in Mergers and Acquisition

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

王立杰; 孙涛

2003-01-01

Based on the methods of financial analysis, the direct earnings in mergers and acquisition M&A, profit or loss from stock price fluctuation, influence on the earning per stock(EPS) and revenue growth after M&A were analyzed in detail. And several quantitative models were established in relevant part accordingly. It can be useful to improve the present low efficiency in the M&A performance in Chinese capital market.

Do Merger And Acquisition Affect On Company’s Financial Performance?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Novia Dian Larasati

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This research aims to determine whether there are differences in the company's financial performance before and after merger and acquisition are conducted. The design of this researchis quantitative research. This research was conducted on the listing company in the Indonesian Stock Exchange 2010-2014. The data source was obtained from secondary data; the data obtained from the financial conditionments. The total final samples used were 24 companies by usingpurposive sampling method. The data used were analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed Ranked Test. The results of this research indicate that current ratio (CR,debt to equity ratio (DER,net profit margin(NPM,price earnings ratio (PER, total asset turnover (TATO had no significant difference on the company before and after merger and acquisitionon the listing company in the Indonesian Stock Exchange (merger and acquisitionof 2010-2014.

PENGATURAN MENGENAI HARGA SAHAM WAJAR SEBAGAI BENTUK PERLINDUNGAN HUKUM TERHADAP PEMEGANG SAHAM PUBLIK DALAM MERGER BANK YANG BERBENTUK PERSEROAN TERBUKA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pande Yogantara S.

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Banking crisis that occurred in 1997 and the issuance of Bank Indonesia regulations Number 8/16/PBI/2006 Regarding Single Presence on Indonesian Banking, led to a merger in the banking industry. Merger action is a legal act, not only causes economic and financial consequences but also the juridical consequences. The consequences of the merger to be seen is the impact on the public shareholders especially in the of bank in form public company.In the event of a merger, position of public shareholders is very weak in regard to corporate decision-making (the company. If the views of the ownership of shares, public shareholders are almost always going to lose when dealing with shareholders, because for every share issued has one vote. The results of this research showedCapital Markets Law and BAPEPAM regulation Number IX.G.1 About Merger or Consolidation Enterprises Public Company or the Issuerdoes not regulate further the understanding and clear criteria of "reasonable stock price". But in bank merger the form of public company,necessary services as a professional independent appraisal supporting the capital markets as mentioned in Article 64 and Article 67 of Act Number 8 Year 1995 About Capital Market,which in turn can make a reasonable assessment of the stock price that reflects fairness for public or minority shareholders.

Analysis of factors determining enterprise value of company merger and acquisition: A case study of coal in Kalimantan, Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Candra, Ade; Pasasa, Linus A.; Simatupang, Parhimpunan

2015-09-01

The main purpose of this paper is looking at the relationship between the factors of technical, financial and legal with enterprise value in mergers and acquisitions of coal companies in Kalimantan, Indonesia over the last 10 years. Data obtained from secondary data sources in the company works and from published data on the internet. The data thus obtained are as many as 46 secondary data with parameters resources, reserves, stripping ratio, calorific value, distance from pit to port, and distance from ports to vessels, production per annum, the cost from pit to port, from port to vessel costs, royalties, coal price and permit status. The data was analysis using structural equation modeling (SEM) to determine the factors that most significant influence enterprise value of coal company in Kalimantan. The result shows that a technical matter is the factor that most affects the value of enterprise in coal merger and acquisition company. Financial aspect is the second factor that affects the enterprise value.

Synergic motives and economic success of mergers of Czech companies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaroslav Sedláček

2013-01-01

Full Text Available One of the motives for mergers and acquisitions is the synergy effect, which can take several forms. This paper tries to find out whether mergers implemented at the Czech market bring positive or negative synergies. The basis of our investigation is the database of the companies that implemented a merger within 2001–2009; out of these, the companies that published their financial statements in a digitalized form were selected. We monitored the development of six indicators characterizing the economic status of a company. The values of these indicators were compared for all participating companies before the merger and for the successor company three years after the merger. The hypotheses were formulated so that they expressed an expectation of a positive synergy brought about by mergers. However, hypothesis testing has not provided a clear result. A positive effect of a merger on the key indicator of net assets, whose growth means an increase in the accounting value of the company after the merger, has been proved for small and medium-sized companies only. The effect of mergers on the increase in indicators has been confirmed for retained earnings from past years and personal costs. Further research will concentrate on the relations between the indicators with the aim to create an integral indicator for the economic success of mergers.

Cross-Border Mergers and Market Segmentation (Replaces CentER DP 2010-096)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ray Chaudhuri, A.

2011-01-01

This paper shows that cross-border mergers are more likely to occur in industries which serve multiple segmented markets rather than a single integrated market, given that cost functions are strictly convex. The product price rises in the market where an acquisition is made but falls in the other,

The University of Johannesburg merger: Academics experience of the pre-merger phase

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. A. Goldman

2006-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose of the study: The aim of this study is to gain an understanding of the merger experiences academic staff were exposed to during the pre-merger phase of the University of Johannesburg merger. Of particular interest is how these experiences translate into acceptance of the merger amongst academic staff. The study was borne out of the transformation of the higher education landscape in South Africa, which is typified by a spate of mergers between higher education institutions. Design/methodology/approach: As the purpose of the study was, inter alia, aimed at understanding the merger experiences of academic staff, the study was conducted according to an interpretive research paradigm, where interpretation of data calls for an insider perspective, in order to "see things through their eyes" as it were. In this regard, a qualitative methodology was employed. Findings: Findings indicate that academic staff members at the University of Johannesburg experience two distinct mental states during the pre-merger phase. Following the announcement of the merger, reaction and experience tend to be emotionally driven but as merging efforts become more concrete over time, this emotive state is replaced by a more rationally driven disposition. Implications: The distinction between an emotive and rational demeanour during the pre-merger phase of a merger affords managers and leaders the opportunity to plan change interventions in such a way that irrational, emotive responses and behaviour do not hamper progress in terms of merger implementation. In a more general sense, this study highlights the process of transition individual staff members pass through as they have to come to terms with the changes brought about by a merger. Originality / Value: The majority of merger literature, as well as change literature, focuses on the organisational context of change during a merger. Limited literature exists on the personal effects of a change event such as a

Technology-based Mergers and Acquisitions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, Daojuan; Moini, Hamid

2014-01-01

The purpose of this chapter is to provide an updated review of what is known about the performance of technology-based mergers and acquisitions (TBM&As) and their determinants. This review brings together papers published from 1990 to 2012 in top-rated academic journals within nearly all fields...

Factors affecting geographic market definition and merger control for the Dutch electricity sector. Final report. Non-confidential version

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moselle, B.; Newbery, D.; Harris, D.

2006-06-01

The NMA (Netherlands Competition Authority NMa) asked The Brattle Group to analyse: (1) Factors that would affect geographic market definition for the purpose of merger control in the Dutch electric power industry; and (2) The competitive effects of some specific (hypothetical) mergers in that industry. This study does not refer to any actual merger proceedings, and the NMa have not asked to analyse any mergers of which they have been notified. All mergers analysed are hypothetical. This study is performed using both statistical analysis of historical data, and results from a comprehensive model of the European power market, the Brattle Annual Model (BAM). Standard tools of competitive analysis are used, including the so-called SSNIP test (Small but Significant and Non-transitory Increase in Price) for geographic market definition, and measures of concentration (market shares, Hirschmann-Herfindahl Indices (HHIs), which are used to examine horizontal issues in competitive analysis, and Pivotal Supply Index) for merger analysis, as well as more sophisticated economic modelling (e.g., Cournot model)

Oil industry consolidation and refined product prices. Evidence from US wholesale gasoline terminals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kendix, Michael; Walls, W.D.

2010-01-01

Our objective in this paper is to quantify the impact of petroleum industry consolidation on refined product prices, controlling for other important factors that could also impact prices. Our empirical analysis focuses on the US petroleum refining industry using data on industry consolidation and wholesale gasoline prices collected over the interval 2000-2008. We match refinery units to wholesale city-terminal gasoline markets, and then estimate pooled cross-section time-series regressions to quantify the impact of petroleum industry consolidation on wholesale gasoline prices at city-specific terminals. The results of the empirical analysis of mergers are mixed, showing that some petroleum industry mergers resulted in statistically significant increases in refined product prices; others resulted in statistically significant declines and still others had no statistical impact at all. Our analysis of the effects of measures of market concentration - one at the level of city-specific wholesale terminals and another at the level of regional spot markets - found evidence that less concentrated markets are associated with lower price levels. (author)

Anti- versus Pro-Competitive Mergers

OpenAIRE

Fridolfsson, Sven-Olof

2007-01-01

In a framework where mergers are mutually excluding, I show that firms pursue anti- rather than (alternative) pro-competitive mergers. Potential outsiders to anti-competitive mergers refrain from pursuing pro-competitive mergers if the positive externalities from anti-competitive mergers are strong enough. Potential outsiders to pro-competitive mergers pursue anti-competitive mergers if the negative externalities from the pro-competitive mergers are strong enough. Potential participants in an...

Upward pricing pressure in two-sided markets

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Affeldt, P.; Filistrucchi, L.; Klein, T.J.

2013-01-01

Measuring upward pricing pressure (UPP) has recently been proposed by Farrell and Shapiro (2010) as an alternative screening device for horizontal mergers. We extend the concept of UPP to two-sided markets. Examples of such markets are the newspaper market, where the demand for advertising is

Observational evidence for mergers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schweizer, F.

1983-01-01

Theory has long suggested that dynamical friction between colliding galaxies must lead to mergers. The problem for observers has been to find which galaxies are mergers. The author first reviews the available evidence for mergers in various kinds of galaxies, then proposes a tentative classification scheme for mergers, and finally discusses mergers in giant ellipticals and their relation to the evolution and perhaps even the formation of ellipticals. (Auth.)

MERGERS IN ΛCDM: UNCERTAINTIES IN THEORETICAL PREDICTIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS OF THE MERGER RATE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hopkins, Philip F.; Bundy, Kevin; Wetzel, Andrew; Ma, Chung-Pei; Croton, Darren; Khochfar, Sadegh; Hernquist, Lars; Genel, Shy; Van den Bosch, Frank; Somerville, Rachel S.; Keres, Dusan; Stewart, Kyle; Younger, Joshua D.

2010-01-01

Different theoretical methodologies lead to order-of-magnitude variations in predicted galaxy-galaxy merger rates. We examine how this arises and quantify the dominant uncertainties. Modeling of dark matter and galaxy inspiral/merger times contribute factor of ∼2 uncertainties. Different estimates of the halo-halo merger rate, the subhalo 'destruction' rate, and the halo merger rate with some dynamical friction time delay for galaxy-galaxy mergers, agree to within this factor of ∼2, provided proper care is taken to define mergers consistently. There are some caveats: if halo/subhalo masses are not appropriately defined the major-merger rate can be dramatically suppressed, and in models with 'orphan' galaxies and under-resolved subhalos the merger timescale can be severely over-estimated. The dominant differences in galaxy-galaxy merger rates between models owe to the treatment of the baryonic physics. Cosmological hydrodynamic simulations without strong feedback and some older semi-analytic models (SAMs), with known discrepancies in mass functions, can be biased by large factors (∼5) in predicted merger rates. However, provided that models yield a reasonable match to the total galaxy mass function, the differences in properties of central galaxies are sufficiently small to alone contribute small (factor of ∼1.5) additional systematics to merger rate predictions. But variations in the baryonic physics of satellite galaxies in models can also have a dramatic effect on merger rates. The well-known problem of satellite 'over-quenching' in most current SAMs-whereby SAM satellite populations are too efficiently stripped of their gas-could lead to order-of-magnitude under-estimates of merger rates for low-mass, gas-rich galaxies. Models in which the masses of satellites are fixed by observations (or SAMs adjusted to resolve this 'over-quenching') tend to predict higher merger rates, but with factor of ∼2 uncertainties stemming from the uncertainty in those

Mergers and Acquisitions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Risberg, Annette

Introduction to the study of mergers and acquisitions. This book provides an understanding of the mergers and acquisitions process, how and why they occur, and also the broader implications for organizations. It presents issues including motives and planning, partner selection, integration......, employee experiences and communication. Mergers and acquisitions remain one of the most common forms of growth, yet they present considerable challenges for the companies and management involved. The effects on stakeholders, including shareholders, managers and employees, must be considered as well...... by editorial commentaries and reflects the important organizational and behavioural aspects which have often been ignored in the past. By providing this in-depth understanding of the mergers and acquisitions process, the reader understands not only how and why mergers and acquisitions occur, but also...

Decoding Galactic Merger Histories

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric F. Bell

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Galaxy mergers are expected to influence galaxy properties, yet measurements of individual merger histories are lacking. Models predict that merger histories can be measured using stellar halos and that these halos can be quantified using observations of resolved stars along their minor axis. Such observations reveal that Milky Way-mass galaxies have a wide range of stellar halo properties and show a correlation between their stellar halo masses and metallicities. This correlation agrees with merger-driven models where stellar halos are formed by satellite galaxy disruption. In these models, the largest accreted satellite dominates the stellar halo properties. Consequently, the observed diversity in the stellar halos of Milky Way-mass galaxies implies a large range in the masses of their largest merger partners. In particular, the Milky Way’s low mass halo implies an unusually quiet merger history. We used these measurements to seek predicted correlations between the bulge and central black hole (BH mass and the mass of the largest merger partner. We found no significant correlations: while some galaxies with large bulges and BHs have large stellar halos and thus experienced a major or minor merger, half have small stellar halos and never experienced a significant merger event. These results indicate that bulge and BH growth is not solely driven by merger-related processes.

Simulations of galaxy mergers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Villumsen, J.V.

1982-01-01

This work is a theoretical investigation of the mechanisms and results of mergers of elliptical galaxies. An N-body code is developed to simulate the dynamics of centrally concentrated collisionless systems. It is used for N-body simulations of the mergers of galaxies with mass ratios of 1:1, 2:1 and 3:1 with a total of 1200 or 2400 particles. The initial galaxies are spherical and non-rotating with Hubble type profiles and isotropic velocity distributions. The remnants are flattened (up to E4) and are oblate, triaxial or prolate depending on the impact parameter. Equal mass mergers are more flattened than unequal mass mergers and have significant velocity anisotropies. The remnants have Hubble type profiles with decreased central surface brightness and increased core radii and tidal radii. In some unequal mass mergers ''isothermal'' haloes tend to form. The density profiles are inconsistent with De Vaucouleurs profiles even though the initial profiles were not. The central velocity dispersion increases in 1:1 and 2:1 mass mergers but decreases in 3:1 mass mergers. Near head-on mergers lead to prolate systems with little rotation while high angular momentum mergers lead to oblate systems with strong rotation. The rotation curves show solid body rotation out to the half mass radius followed by a slow decline. Radial mixing is strong in equal mass mergers where it will weaken radial gradients. In unequal mass mergers there is little radial mixing but matter from the smaller galaxy ends up in the outer parts of the system where it can give rise to colour gradient

Avoiding "culture rejection" in healthcare mergers and acquisitions: how New Heights Community Health Centres and York Community Services minimized the culture risk when forming Unison Health and Community Services.

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Jeff

2013-01-01

Among the requirements for a successful merger or acquisition are strategic rationale, rigorous due diligence, the right price and revenue and cost synergies. However, bridging the culture gap between organizations is frequently overlooked. The leaders of New Heights Community Health Centres and York Community Services explicitly considered culture in their merger to form Unison Health and Community Services, and they used employee engagement surveys to assess culture in their merger planning and post-merger integration. How Unison Health leaders avoided the risk of culture rejection to achieve a successful merger, and the lessons learned from their experience, is the focus of this article.

The Impact of Merger Status and Relative Representation on Identification with a Merger Group

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Filip Boen

2005-12-01

Full Text Available This experiment tested to what extent identification with a new merger group is determined by the status of that merger group and by the relative representation of the pre-merger ingroup. One hundred university students were assigned to a team of 'inductive' thinkers, and were later merged with a team of 'deductive' thinkers to form a team of 'analyst' thinkers. The status of the merger group (low, high and the relative representation of the ingroup into the novel merger group (low, high were manipulated. Participants identified more with the merger group in the high than in the low status condition, and they identified more in the high than in the low representation condition. The predicted interaction between relative representation and merger status was not significant. However, relative representation did interact with participants' pre-merger identification: Pre- and post-merger identification were positively related when the ingroup was highly represented, but 'negatively' when the ingroup was lowly represented.

Surviving mergers & acquisitions.

Science.gov (United States)

Dixon, Diane L

2002-01-01

Mergers and acquisitions are never easy to implement. The health care landscape is a minefield of failed mergers and uneasy alliances generating great turmoil and pain. But some mergers have been successful, creating health systems that benefit the communities they serve. Five prominent leaders offer their advice on minimizing the difficulties of M&As.

Pre and Post Merger Valuation- A Study of Tata Corus Merger Deal

OpenAIRE

Sumeet Gupta

2009-01-01

Indian Economy being characterized as Global Economy leading to inorganic growth through Mergers, Acquisitions, Takeovers and Joint Ventures. Mergers would affect the company’s inflow and outflow of various variables like sales, expenses and cash position etc. It becomes imperative to evaluate the pre merger and post merger conditions of the firms so that successful deal can be carried out. The deal would also affect the shareholders wealth. The prediction of future forecasted sales and other...

THE HALO MERGER RATE IN THE MILLENNIUM SIMULATION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR OBSERVED GALAXY MERGER FRACTIONS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Genel, Shy; Genzel, Reinhard; Bouche, Nicolas; Naab, Thorsten; Sternberg, Amiel

2009-01-01

We have developed a new method to extract halo merger rates from the Millennium Simulation. First, by removing superfluous mergers that are artifacts of the standard friends-of-friends (FOF) halo identification algorithm, we find a lower merger rate compared to previous work. The reductions are more significant at lower redshifts and lower halo masses, and especially for minor mergers. Our new approach results in a better agreement with predictions from the extended Press-Schechter model. Second, we find that the FOF halo finder overestimates the halo mass by up to 50% for halos that are about to merge, which leads to an additional ∼20% overestimate of the merger rate. Therefore, we define halo masses by including only particles that are gravitationally bound to their FOF groups. We provide new best-fitting parameters for a global formula to account for these improvements. In addition, we extract the merger rate per progenitor halo, as well as per descendant halo. The merger rate per progenitor halo is the quantity that should be related to observed galaxy merger fractions when they are measured via pair counting. At low-mass/redshift, the merger rate increases moderately with mass and steeply with redshift. At high enough mass/redshift (for the rarest halos with masses a few times the 'knee' of the mass function), these trends break down, and the merger rate per progenitor halo decreases with mass and increases only moderately with redshift. Defining the merger rate per progenitor halo also allows us to quantify the rate at which halos are being accreted onto larger halos, in addition to the minor and major merger rates. We provide an analytic formula that converts any given merger rate per descendant halo into a merger rate per progenitor halo. Finally, we perform a direct comparison between observed merger fractions and the fraction of halos in the Millennium Simulation that have undergone a major merger during the recent dynamical friction time, and find a

Galaxy Mergers and Dark Matter Halo Mergers in LCDM: Mass, Redshift, and Mass-Ratio Dependence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stewart, K.

2009-01-01

We employ a high-resolution LCDM N-body simulation to present merger rate predictions for dark matter halos and investigate how common merger-related observables for galaxies - such as close pair counts, starburst counts, and the morphologically disturbed fraction - likely scale with luminosity, stellar mass, merger mass ratio, and redshift from z = 0 to z = 4. We provide a simple 'universal' fitting formula that describes our derived merger rates for dark matter halos a function of dark halo mass, merger mass ratio, and redshift, and go on to predict galaxy merger rates using number density-matching to associate halos with galaxies. For example, we find that the instantaneous merger rate of m/M > 0.3 mass ratio events into typical L ∼> fL * galaxies follows the simple relation dN/dt ≅ 0.03(1+f)Gyr -1 (1+z) 2.1 . Despite the rapid increase in merger rate with redshift, only a small fraction of > 0.4L * high-redshift galaxies (∼ 3% at z = 2) should have experienced a major merger (m/M > 0.3) in the very recent past (t 0.3) in the last 700 Myr and conclude that mergers almost certainly play an important role in delivering baryons and influencing the kinematic properties of Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs)

Global Trends of International Mergers and Acquisitions in the Energy Sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liubov Galperina

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The article explores conditions, factors and results of mergers and acquisitions in international business with the example of the energy industry. The directions of world energy market transformation in the framework of PESTLE analysis have been determined by the factors influencing the efficiency and future of the companies that have effected mergers and acquisitions. The transformation of the global energy market is associated with changes in the main market parameters that affect the sectoral and regional structure of international mergers and acquisitions. Including: growing demand for energy from the growing population of the planet, including due to an increase in the middle class share; fluctuation of world oil market prices; the growth of supply of shale oil changing the transnational flows of trade in primary petroleum products; rising demand for renewable energy as a result of cheapening technologies and diversification policies; the growth of renewable energy sources supply; increase in demand for atomic energy; improvement of energy infrastructure; introduction of energy efficient and low carbon technologies; introduction of safe technologies by energy companies; reduction of transaction costs in power grids due to optimization of modes at application of Smart Grid at all levels (local, on-site, regional, national, international; the expansion of the world-leading countries in the primary energy markets; demonopolization of national energy markets and liberalization of energy markets of the EU, USA, Japan, South Korea, Australia, etc. The world market of mergers and acquisitions has been characterized with the definition of key features of its development. International mergers and acquisitions in the energy sector are analysed on the basis of regional and industry characteristics. The international mergers and acquisitions in the energy sector has been analysed, taking into account the main scenarios for the development of the

Mergers and Acquisitions

OpenAIRE

Frasch, Manfred; Leptin, Maria

2000-01-01

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are booming a strategy of choice for organizations attempting to maintain a competitive advantage. Previous research on mergers and acquisitions declares that acquirers do not normally benefit from acquisitions. Targets, on the other hand, have a tendency of gaining positive returns in the few days surrounding merger announcements due to several characteristic on the acquisitions deal. The announcement period wealth effect on acquiring firms, however, is as cle...

7 CFR 3575.89 - Mergers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... merged borrower. Mergers may be approved when: (1) The merger is in the best interest of the Government.... (b) Distinguishing mergers from transfers and assumptions. Mergers occur when one entity combines with another entity in such a way that the first entity ceases to exist as a separate entity while the...

7 CFR 1779.89 - Mergers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... of the merged borrower. Mergers may be approved when: (1) The merger is in the best interest of the... borrower. (b) Distinguishing mergers from transfers and assumptions. Mergers occur when one entity combines with another entity in such a way that the first entity ceases to exist as a separate entity while the...

Short sellers’ accusations against Chinese reverse mergers: Information analytics or guilt by association?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hongqi Liu

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This paper studies short sellers’ trading strategies and their effects on the financial market by examining their accusations of fraud against Chinese reverse merger firms (CRMs in the US. We find that short sellers rely on firms’ fundamental information, especially relative financial indicators, to locate their “prey.” Specifically, they compare a target firm’s financial indicators (e.g., growth and receivables with both the industry average and the firm’s history. We find no evidence that short sellers accuse CRMs simply because of their reverse merger label. Additionally, we test the accuracy of short sellers’ accusations in the long run and find that accused firms are more likely to delist and less likely to recover from price plunges. Our results also indicate that CRMs’ high exposure to short sellers’ accusations stem from adverse selection problems: firms with high litigation risk are more likely to choose reverse mergers to access the US capital market. Overall, our results support the view that short sellers are sophisticated investors and shed some light on their decision processes.

Observing Galaxy Mergers in Simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Snyder, Gregory

2018-01-01

I will describe results on mergers and morphology of distant galaxies. By mock-observing 3D cosmological simulations, we aim to contrast theory with data, design better diagnostics of physical processes, and examine unexpected signatures of galaxy formation. Recently, we conducted mock surveys of the Illustris Simulations to learn how mergers would appear in deep HST and JWST surveys. With this approach, we reconciled merger rates estimated using observed close galaxy pairs with intrinsic merger rates predicted by theory. This implies that the merger-pair observability time is probably shorter in the early universe, and therefore that major mergers are more common than implied by the simplest arguments. Further, we show that disturbance-based diagnostics of late-stage mergers can be improved significantly by combining multi-dimensional image information with simulated merger identifications to train automated classifiers. We then apply these classifiers to real measurements from the CANDELS fields, recovering a merger fraction increasing with redshift in broad agreement with pair fractions and simulations, and with statistical errors smaller by a factor of two than classical morphology estimators. This emphasizes the importance of using robust training sets, including cosmological simulations and multidimensional data, for interpreting observed processes in galaxy evolution.

DRY MERGER RATE AND POST-MERGER FRACTION IN THE COMA CLUSTER CORE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cordero, Juan P.; Campusano, Luis E.; Haines, Christopher P. [Departamento de Astronomía, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 36-D, Santiago (Chile); De Propris, Roberto [Finnish Centre for Astronomy with ESO, University of Turku, Vaisalantie 20, Piikkio, FI-21500 (Finland); Weinzirl, Tim [School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD (United Kingdom); Jogee, Shardha, E-mail: jcordero@das.uchile.cl [Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712-1205 (United States)

2016-01-20

We evaluate the dry merger activity in the Coma cluster, using a spectroscopically complete sample of 70 red-sequence (RS) galaxies, most of which (∼75%) are located within 0.2R{sub 200} (∼0.5 Mpc) from the cluster center, with data from the Coma Treasury Survey obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope. The fraction of close galaxy pairs in the sample is the proxy employed for the estimation of the merger activity. We identify 5 pairs and 1 triplet, enclosing a total of 13 galaxies, based on limits on projected separation and line-of-sight velocity difference. Of these systems, none show signs of ongoing interaction, and therefore we do not find any true mergers in our sample. This negative result sets a 1σ upper limit of 1.5% per Gyr for the major dry merger rate, consistent with the low rates expected in present-day clusters. Detailed examination of the images of all the RS galaxies in the sample reveals only one with low surface brightness features identifiable as the remnant of a past merger or interaction, implying a post-merger fraction below 2%.

DRY MERGER RATE AND POST-MERGER FRACTION IN THE COMA CLUSTER CORE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cordero, Juan P.; Campusano, Luis E.; Haines, Christopher P.; De Propris, Roberto; Weinzirl, Tim; Jogee, Shardha

2016-01-01

We evaluate the dry merger activity in the Coma cluster, using a spectroscopically complete sample of 70 red-sequence (RS) galaxies, most of which (∼75%) are located within 0.2R 200 (∼0.5 Mpc) from the cluster center, with data from the Coma Treasury Survey obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope. The fraction of close galaxy pairs in the sample is the proxy employed for the estimation of the merger activity. We identify 5 pairs and 1 triplet, enclosing a total of 13 galaxies, based on limits on projected separation and line-of-sight velocity difference. Of these systems, none show signs of ongoing interaction, and therefore we do not find any true mergers in our sample. This negative result sets a 1σ upper limit of 1.5% per Gyr for the major dry merger rate, consistent with the low rates expected in present-day clusters. Detailed examination of the images of all the RS galaxies in the sample reveals only one with low surface brightness features identifiable as the remnant of a past merger or interaction, implying a post-merger fraction below 2%

Predation and Mergers: Is Merger Law Counterproductive?

OpenAIRE

Persson, Lars

1999-01-01

This Paper shows that predation might help firms overcome the free riding problem of mergers by changing the acquisition situation in the buyer's favour relative to the firms outside the merger. It is also shown that the bidding competition for the prey's assets is most harmful to predators when the use of the prey's assets exerts strong negative externalities on rivals, i.e. when their use severely reduces competitors' profits. The reason is that potential buyers are then willing to pay a hi...

Change commitment in low-status merger partners: The role of information processing, relative ingroup prototypicality, and merger patterns.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosa, Miriam; Kavanagh, Eithne; Kounov, Pavel; Jarosz, Sywlia; Waldzus, Sven; Collins, Elizabeth C; Giessner, Steffen

2017-09-01

Merger announcements cause stress among employees, often leading to low change commitment, especially among employees from the lower-status merger partner. Such stress influences how deeply employees process merger-relevant information. Previous research examined how merger patterns that preserve versus change status differences impact merger support, but did not address how employees' information processing may influence this relationship. The current research addresses this gap through a scenario experiment, focusing on the low-status merger partner. The interplay between merger patterns and information processing was examined regarding employees' prototypicality claims in relation to merger support. Results suggest that an integration-equality merger pattern increases change commitment via prototypicality claims in the new organization, conditional to employees' systematic information processing. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

Hospital prices and market structure in the hospital and insurance industries.

Science.gov (United States)

Moriya, Asako S; Vogt, William B; Gaynor, Martin

2010-10-01

There has been substantial consolidation among health insurers and hospitals, recently, raising questions about the effects of this consolidation on the exercise of market power. We analyze the relationship between insurer and hospital market concentration and the prices of hospital services. We use a national US dataset containing transaction prices for health care services for over 11 million privately insured Americans. Using three years of panel data, we estimate how insurer and hospital market concentration are related to hospital prices, while controlling for unobserved market effects. We find that increases in insurance market concentration are significantly associated with decreases in hospital prices, whereas increases in hospital concentration are non-significantly associated with increases in prices. A hypothetical merger between two of five equally sized insurers is estimated to decrease hospital prices by 6.7%.

Chandra Observations of Galaxy Zoo Mergers: Frequency of Binary Active Nuclei in Massive Mergers

Science.gov (United States)

Teng, Stacy H.; Schawinski, Kevin; Urry, C. Megan; Darg, Dan W.; Kaviraj, Sugata; Oh, Kyuseok; Bonning, Erin W.; Cardamone, Carolin N.; Keel, William C.; Lintott, Chris J.;

REPRODUCING THE OBSERVED ABUNDANCES IN RCB AND HdC STARS WITH POST-DOUBLE-DEGENERATE MERGER MODELS—CONSTRAINTS ON MERGER AND POST-MERGER SIMULATIONS AND PHYSICS PROCESSES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Menon, Athira; Herwig, Falk; Denissenkov, Pavel A.; Clayton, Geoffrey C.; Staff, Jan; Pignatari, Marco; Paxton, Bill

2013-01-01

The R Coronae Borealis (RCB) stars are hydrogen-deficient, variable stars that are most likely the result of He-CO WD mergers. They display extremely low oxygen isotopic ratios, 16 O/ 18 O ≅ 1-10, 12 C/ 13 C ≥ 100, and enhancements up to 2.6 dex in F and in s-process elements from Zn to La, compared to solar. These abundances provide stringent constraints on the physical processes during and after the double-degenerate merger. As shown previously, O-isotopic ratios observed in RCB stars cannot result from the dynamic double-degenerate merger phase, and we now investigate the role of the long-term one-dimensional spherical post-merger evolution and nucleosynthesis based on realistic hydrodynamic merger progenitor models. We adopt a model for extra envelope mixing to represent processes driven by rotation originating in the dynamical merger. Comprehensive nucleosynthesis post-processing simulations for these stellar evolution models reproduce, for the first time, the full range of the observed abundances for almost all the elements measured in RCB stars: 16 O/ 18 O ratios between 9 and 15, C-isotopic ratios above 100, and ∼1.4-2.35 dex F enhancements, along with enrichments in s-process elements. The nucleosynthesis processes in our models constrain the length and temperature in the dynamic merger shell-of-fire feature as well as the envelope mixing in the post-merger phase. s-process elements originate either in the shell-of-fire merger feature or during the post-merger evolution, but the contribution from the asymptotic giant branch progenitors is negligible. The post-merger envelope mixing must eventually cease ∼10 6 yr after the dynamic merger phase before the star enters the RCB phase

REPRODUCING THE OBSERVED ABUNDANCES IN RCB AND HdC STARS WITH POST-DOUBLE-DEGENERATE MERGER MODELS-CONSTRAINTS ON MERGER AND POST-MERGER SIMULATIONS AND PHYSICS PROCESSES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Menon, Athira; Herwig, Falk; Denissenkov, Pavel A. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8P5C2 (Canada); Clayton, Geoffrey C.; Staff, Jan [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University, 202 Nicholson Hall, Tower Dr., Baton Rouge, LA 70803-4001 (United States); Pignatari, Marco [Department of Physics, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 82, CH-4056 Basel (Switzerland); Paxton, Bill [Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics and Department of Physics, Kohn Hall, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 (United States)

2013-07-20

The R Coronae Borealis (RCB) stars are hydrogen-deficient, variable stars that are most likely the result of He-CO WD mergers. They display extremely low oxygen isotopic ratios, {sup 16}O/{sup 18}O {approx_equal} 1-10, {sup 12}C/{sup 13}C {>=} 100, and enhancements up to 2.6 dex in F and in s-process elements from Zn to La, compared to solar. These abundances provide stringent constraints on the physical processes during and after the double-degenerate merger. As shown previously, O-isotopic ratios observed in RCB stars cannot result from the dynamic double-degenerate merger phase, and we now investigate the role of the long-term one-dimensional spherical post-merger evolution and nucleosynthesis based on realistic hydrodynamic merger progenitor models. We adopt a model for extra envelope mixing to represent processes driven by rotation originating in the dynamical merger. Comprehensive nucleosynthesis post-processing simulations for these stellar evolution models reproduce, for the first time, the full range of the observed abundances for almost all the elements measured in RCB stars: {sup 16}O/{sup 18}O ratios between 9 and 15, C-isotopic ratios above 100, and {approx}1.4-2.35 dex F enhancements, along with enrichments in s-process elements. The nucleosynthesis processes in our models constrain the length and temperature in the dynamic merger shell-of-fire feature as well as the envelope mixing in the post-merger phase. s-process elements originate either in the shell-of-fire merger feature or during the post-merger evolution, but the contribution from the asymptotic giant branch progenitors is negligible. The post-merger envelope mixing must eventually cease {approx}10{sup 6} yr after the dynamic merger phase before the star enters the RCB phase.

Simulations of galaxy mergers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Villumsen, J.V.; Yale Univ., New Haven, CT

1982-01-01

A number of N-body simulations of mergers of equal and unequal galaxies are presented. A new code is presented which determines the potential from a mass distribution by a fourth-order expansion in Tesseral harmonics in three dimensions as an approximation to a collisionless system. The total number of particles in the system is 1200. Two galaxies, each a spherical non-rotating system with isothermal or Hubble density profile, are put in orbit around each other where tidal effects and dynamical friction lead to merging. The final system has a Hubble profile, and in some mergers an 'isothermal' halo forms as found in cD galaxies. Equal mass mergers are more flattened than unequal mass mergers. The central surface brightness decreases except in a merger of isothermal galaxies which shows a major redistribution of energy towards a Hubble profile. Mixing is severe in equal mass mergers, where radial gradients are weakened, while in unequal mass encounters gradients can build up due to less mixing and the formation of a halo. Oblate systems with strong rotation form in high angular momentum encounters while prolate systems with little rotation are formed in near head-on collisions. (author)

GALAXY MERGERS AND DARK MATTER HALO MERGERS IN ΛCDM: MASS, REDSHIFT, AND MASS-RATIO DEPENDENCE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stewart, Kyle R.; Bullock, James S.; Barton, Elizabeth J.; Wechsler, Risa H.

2009-01-01

We employ a high-resolution ΛCDM N-body simulation to present merger rate predictions for dark matter (DM) halos and investigate how common merger-related observables for galaxies-such as close pair counts, starburst counts, and the morphologically disturbed fraction-likely scale with luminosity, stellar mass, merger mass ratio, and redshift from z = 0 to z = 4. We investigate both rate at which subhalos first enter the virial radius of a larger halo (the 'infall rate'), and the rate at which subhalos become destroyed, losing 90% of the mass they had at infall (the d estruction rate ) . For both merger rate definitions, we provide a simple 'universal' fitting formula that describes our derived merger rates for DM halos a function of dark halo mass, merger mass ratio, and redshift, and go on to predict galaxy merger rates using number density matching to associate halos with galaxies. For example, we find that the instantaneous (destruction) merger rate of m/M > 0.3 mass-ratio events into typical L ∼> f L * galaxies follows the simple relation dN/dt ≅ 0.03(1 + f) Gyr -1 (1 + z) 2.1 . Despite the rapid increase in merger rate with redshift, only a small fraction of >0.4 L * high-redshift galaxies (∼3% at z = 2) should have experienced a major merger (m/M > 0.3) in the very recent past (t 0.3) in the previous 700 Myr and conclude that mergers almost certainly play an important role in delivering baryons and influencing the kinematic properties of Lyman break galaxies (LBGs).

Characterizing Black Hole Mergers

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, John; Boggs, William Darian; Kelly, Bernard

2010-01-01

Binary black hole mergers are a promising source of gravitational waves for interferometric gravitational wave detectors. Recent advances in numerical relativity have revealed the predictions of General Relativity for the strong burst of radiation generated in the final moments of binary coalescence. We explore features in the merger radiation which characterize the final moments of merger and ringdown. Interpreting the waveforms in terms of an rotating implicit radiation source allows a unified phenomenological description of the system from inspiral through ringdown. Common features in the waveforms allow quantitative description of the merger signal which may provide insights for observations large-mass black hole binaries.

On universality in ergoregion mergers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elvang, Henriette; Figueras, Pau; Hubeny, Veronika E; Rangamani, Mukund; Horowitz, Gary T

2009-01-01

We study non-dynamical mergers of ergoregions in d + 1-dimensional vacuum gravity. At the merger point, where the ergosurfaces bounding each ergoregion just touch, solutions exhibit universal behavior when there is rotation only in one plane: the angle between the merging ergosurfaces depends only on the symmetries of the solution, not on any other details of the configuration. We show that universality follows from the fact that the relevant component of Einstein's equation reduces to Laplace's equation at the point of merger. Thus ergoregion mergers mimic mergers of Newtonian equipotentials and have similar universal behavior. For solutions with rotation in more than one plane, universality is lost. We demonstrate universality and non-universality in several explicit examples.

DARK MATTER HALO MERGERS: DEPENDENCE ON ENVIRONMENT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hester, J. A.; Tasitsiomi, A.

2010-01-01

This paper presents a study of the specific major merger rate as a function of group membership, local environment, and redshift in a very large, 500 h -1 Mpc, cosmological N-body simulation, the Millennium Simulation. The goal is to provide environmental diagnostics of major merger populations in order to test simulations against observations and provide further constraints on major merger driven galaxy evolution scenarios. A halo sample is defined using the maximum circular velocity, which is both well defined for subhalos and closely correlated with galaxy luminosity. Subhalos, including the precursors of major mergers, are severely tidally stripped. Major mergers between subhalos are therefore rare compared to mergers between subhalos and their host halos. Tidal stripping also suppresses dynamical friction, resulting in long major merger timescales when the more massive merger progenitor does not host other subhalos. When other subhalos are present, however, major merger timescales are several times shorter. This enhancement may be due to inelastic unbound collisions between subhalos, which deplete their orbital angular momentum and lead to faster orbital decay. Following these results, we predict that major mergers in group environments are dominated by mergers involving the central galaxy, that the specific major merger rate is suppressed in groups when all group members are considered together, and that the frequency of fainter companions is enhanced for major mergers and their remnants. We also measure an 'assembly bias' in the specific major merger rate in that major mergers of galaxy-like halos are slightly suppressed in overdense environments while major mergers of group-like halos are slightly enhanced. A dynamical explanation for this trend is advanced which calls on both tidal effects and interactions between bound halos beyond the virial radii of locally dynamically dominant halos.

Optimizing asset value (OAV) -- A decision tool for mergers and acquisitions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blanchard, D.; Brinsfield, W.; Franklin, E. [Tenera Energy, LLC, San Francisco, CA (United States); Turnage, J. [US Generating Co., Bethesda, MD (United States)

1999-11-01

As the energy industry restructures and realigns, companies are increasingly engaged in all aspects of mergers, acquisitions, and divestiture. Successful transactions are no accident, and new insights are emerging daily. This paper describes a tool called Optimizing Asset Value (OAV) that provides support to the Valuation phase of the merger, acquisition, and divestiture process. The methodology is based upon a quantitative, risk-based approach that is used to calculate the impact of equipment operation and operations/maintenance practices upon the ability to generate maximum revenue. By combining probabilistic reliability data with the economic consequences of plant derating, equipment can be prioritized as to its importance to revenue generation. Savvy buyers can apply OAV to plants under consideration for purchase to estimate where the plant is on its revenue generation capability curve, and thus gain a better understanding as to the risks, or opportunities for improvement, that exist. This information can be used along with other pro forma analyses to set the bid price for the asset.

The challenge of merging : Merger patterns, premerger status, and merger support

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Giessner, [No Value; Täuber, Susanne; Viki, GT; Otten, S; Terry, DJ; Giessner, S.R

Employees of merging organizations often show resistance to the merger. The employees' support depends on the companies' premerger status and on the merger pattern. Based on an inter-group perspective, three studies were conducted to investigate the influence of premerger status (high, low) and

Competition effects of mergers: An event study of the German electricity market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keller, Andreas

2010-01-01

This paper investigates the competition effects of the entry of Vattenfall into the German electricity market. While the competition authorities supported the entry by approving Vattenfall's acquisition of three regional utilities, other market participants raised concerns over the emergence of an upcoming oligopoly in the German market for power generation. We contrast the efficiency hypothesis postulating pro-competitive effects of mergers with the market power hypothesis postulating anti-competitive effects. For the analysis of the two opposing hypotheses, we use an event study approach to the stock prices of Vattenfall's competitors in the German market. While we find no empirical evidence for increased market power in the German electricity market due to Vattenfall's mergers, there is some indication for efficiency increases. We therefore cannot oppose the view of the competition authorities predicting an overall positive effect for consumers as a result of Vattenfall's entry into the German electricity market.

Trade Union Mergers: A Survey of the Literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Michelson, Grant

2000-01-01

Examines trade union mergers highlighting merger forms, merger motivation, role played by union officers, and merger waves. Discusses the consequences of mergers on members and union performance and concludes that union merger activity has had little impact. (Contains 74 references.) (JOW)

College Mergers: An Emerging Alternative.

Science.gov (United States)

Breuder, Robert L.

1989-01-01

Examines the merger of Williamsport Area Community College (WACC) and the University of Pennsylvania, necessitated by the city of Williamsport's decision to discontinue its sponsorship of WACC. Considers the principles underlying the merger, legal questions, reactions from within WACC and the surrounding community, and the benefits of the merger.…

Understanding FE Mergers. Research Report

Science.gov (United States)

Calvert, Natasha

2009-01-01

This report presents research findings and discussion to help develop an understanding of what gives rise to mergers and, when they do happen, what makes them work. The research has focused on merger activity between further education (FE) colleges since incorporation in 1993. Mergers are highly contextual, and part of ensuring success is…

North American natural gas storage, market and price outlook

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

George, R.

1999-01-01

A series of overhead viewgraphs accompanied this presentation which dealt with the fundamental factors and short-term considerations that will impact Canadian and U.S. natural gas pricing. The short-term pricing outlook and some transportation issues were also highlighted. The major transportation issues for 1999/2000 are: (1) Nova tolling, (2) incentive tolling and negotiations, (3) decontracting, (4) pipeline project schedules, and (5) land use and environmental considerations. The major supply issues are: (1) impact of oil prices on gas drilling and production, (2) impact of merger and acquisition activity, and (3) land use and environmental considerations. The major demand issues for the same time period are: (1) greenhouse gas emissions, (2) electricity restructuring, and (3) new end-use technologies. 3 tabs., 21 figs

Medical group mergers: strategies for success.

Science.gov (United States)

Latham, Will

2014-01-01

As consolidation sweeps over the healthcare industry, many medical groups are considering mergers with other groups as an alternative to employment. While mergers are challenging and fraught with risk, an organized approach to the merger process can dramatically increase the odds for success. Merging groups need to consider the benefits they seek from a merger, identify the obstacles that must be overcome to merge, and develop alternatives to overcome those obstacles. This article addresses the benefits to be gained and issues to be addressed, and provides a tested roadmap that has resulted in many successful medical group mergers.

Endogenous mergers: bidder momentum and market reaction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kling, G.; Weitzel, G.U.

2010-01-01

Recent empirical studies on stock misvaluation as a possible determinant of mergers are inconclusive concerning the central hypothesis that over (under) valuation is negatively (positively) associated with merger announcement returns in stock mergers, but not in cash mergers. We provide empirical

Endogenous mergers: Bidder momentum and market reaction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kling, G.; Weitzel, U.

Recent empirical studies on stock misvaluation as a possible determinant of mergers are inconclusive concerning the central hypothesis that over(under)valuation is negatively (positively) associated with merger announcement returns in stock mergers, but not in cash mergers. We provide empirical

Mergers, Strategic Investments and Antitrust Policy

OpenAIRE

Deneffe, Daniel; Wakker, Peter

1996-01-01

textabstractEstablished firms can diversify into new markets in two distinct modes: through internal development or through conglomerate merger. Building on a dynamic three-stage bargaining model with variable threats, this paper shows that a lenient antitrust position toward horizontal mergers can induce established firms that would otherwise not have entered to enter via conglomerate merger. The vigor of antitrust enforcement toward horizontal mergers also affects the conglomerate acquisiti...

Convergence properties of halo merger trees; halo and substructure merger rates across cosmic history

Science.gov (United States)

Poole, Gregory B.; Mutch, Simon J.; Croton, Darren J.; Wyithe, Stuart

2017-12-01

We introduce GBPTREES: an algorithm for constructing merger trees from cosmological simulations, designed to identify and correct for pathological cases introduced by errors or ambiguities in the halo finding process. GBPTREES is built upon a halo matching method utilizing pseudo-radial moments constructed from radially sorted particle ID lists (no other information is required) and a scheme for classifying merger tree pathologies from networks of matches made to-and-from haloes across snapshots ranging forward-and-backward in time. Focusing on SUBFIND catalogues for this work, a sweep of parameters influencing our merger tree construction yields the optimal snapshot cadence and scanning range required for converged results. Pathologies proliferate when snapshots are spaced by ≲0.128 dynamical times; conveniently similar to that needed for convergence of semi-analytical modelling, as established by Benson et al. Total merger counts are converged at the level of ∼5 per cent for friends-of-friends (FoF) haloes of size np ≳ 75 across a factor of 512 in mass resolution, but substructure rates converge more slowly with mass resolution, reaching convergence of ∼10 per cent for np ≳ 100 and particle mass mp ≲ 109 M⊙. We present analytic fits to FoF and substructure merger rates across nearly all observed galactic history (z ≤ 8.5). While we find good agreement with the results presented by Fakhouri et al. for FoF haloes, a slightly flatter dependence on merger ratio and increased major merger rates are found, reducing previously reported discrepancies with extended Press-Schechter estimates. When appropriately defined, substructure merger rates show a similar mass ratio dependence as FoF rates, but with stronger mass and redshift dependencies for their normalization.

Publishing for Learned Societies: The Secret Life of a Scholarly Publisher

Science.gov (United States)

Nicholson, David

Wiley-Blackwell was formed in February 2007 as a result of the acquisition of Blackwell Publishing Ltd. by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and the merger between Blackwell and Wiley's Scientific, Technical, and Medical business. Wiley-Blackwell publishes approximately 1,250 scholarly peer-reviewed journals including Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society and Astronomische Nachrichten, and has relationships with over 800 learned societies. The "secret life" of the article's title refers to the two broad areas of activity we undertake for our society partners, namely practical assistance and strategic advice. One of our goals at Wiley-Blackwell is to set the standard for both areas, and this article illustrates how we are doing this with a series of tangible examples.

Bundling and mergers in energy markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Granier, Laurent; Podesta, Marion

2010-01-01

Does bundling trigger mergers in energy industries? We observe mergers between firms belonging to various energy markets, for instance between gas and electricity providers. These mergers enable firms to bundle. We consider two horizontally differentiated markets. In this framework, we show that bundling strategies in energy markets create incentives to form multi-market firms in order to supply bi-energy packages. Moreover, we find that this type of merger is detrimental to social welfare. (author)

THE DIRT ON DRY MERGERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Desai, Vandana; Soifer, B. T.; Dey, Arjun; Cohen, Emma; Le Floc'h, Emeric

2011-01-01

Using data from the Spitzer Space Telescope, we analyze the mid-infrared (3-70 μm) spectral energy distributions of dry merger candidates in the Booetes field of the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey. These candidates were selected by previous authors to be luminous, red, early-type galaxies with morphological evidence of recent tidal interactions. We find that a significant fraction of these candidates exhibit 8 and 24 μm excesses compared to expectations for old stellar populations. We estimate that a quarter of dry merger candidates have mid-infrared-derived star formation rates greater than ∼1 M sun yr -1 . This represents a 'frosting' on top of a large old stellar population, and has been seen in previous studies of elliptical galaxies. Further, the dry merger candidates include a higher fraction of star-forming galaxies relative to a control sample without tidal features. We therefore conclude that the star formation in these massive ellipticals is likely triggered by merger activity. Our data suggest that the mergers responsible for the observed tidal features were not completely dry, and may be minor mergers involving a gas-rich dwarf galaxy.

7 CFR 1782.15 - Mergers and consolidations.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 12 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Mergers and consolidations. 1782.15 Section 1782.15... AGRICULTURE (CONTINUED) SERVICING OF WATER AND WASTE PROGRAMS § 1782.15 Mergers and consolidations. Mergers... transaction under consideration and the unique facts involved in each transaction. Mergers occur when two or...

Economics of Scholarly Publishing: Exploring the Causes of Subscription Price Variations of Scholarly Journals in Business Subject-Specific Areas

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Lewis G.

2011-01-01

This empirical research investigates subscription price variations of scholarly journals in five business subject-specific areas using the semilogarithmic regression model. It has two main purposes. The first is to address the unsettled debate over whether or not and to what extent commercial publishers reap monopoly profits by overcharging…

Mergers at z = 1

Science.gov (United States)

Kao, Lancelot L.

1993-01-01

Multiband images of nearby interacting pairs of galaxies, mergers, and normal field galaxies are used to simulate images of high redshift mergers by identifying distinctive morphological features. Preliminary results indicate that it is feasible for the HST to detect these high redshift objects.

Getting cold feet?: Why health care mergers are abandoned.

Science.gov (United States)

Roos, Anne-Fleur; Postma, Jeroen

2016-01-01

Despite the frequent occurrence and sizeable consequences of merger abandonment in other sectors, there is no thorough understanding of merger abandonment in health care. The purpose of this study is to improve the understanding of determinants of health care merger abandonment. On the basis of the literature on merger abandonment, we formulated a framework on potential determinants of health care merger abandonment. We then constructed a survey that was sent to 70% of all executives of Dutch health care organizations (response rate = 35%, n = 291). We provide descriptive overviews of open, multiple-response, and multiple-choice questions on merger abandonment and use chi-square tests and Fisher's exact tests to test whether abandoned and completed merger processes differ. About 62% of the respondents were involved in at least one merger process during the period of 2005-2012. Thirty-eight percent of these respondents reported that their last merger case ended prematurely (n = 53). The most frequently mentioned determinants of merger abandonment are changing insights on the desirability and feasibility during merger processes, incompatibilities between executives, and insufficient support for the merger from internal stakeholders. We did not find significant relationships between merger abandonment and executives' previous merger experience, degree of organizational diversification, health care sector, size differences, or other organizational differences. Our findings partially confirm results from previous studies, especially with regard to the importance of changing insights and incompatibilities between the involved executives in merger abandonment. We also find that pressure from internal stakeholders, particularly nonexecutive directors, and distrust, fear, and animosity play an important role in merger abandonment. To minimize the organizational and societal costs of abandoned mergers, we advise executives who engage in mergers to construct backup plans with

MAJOR-MERGER GALAXY PAIRS IN THE COSMOS FIELD—MASS-DEPENDENT MERGER RATE EVOLUTION SINCE z = 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, C. Kevin; Zhao, Yinghe; Gao, Y.; Scoville, N.; Capak, P.; Drory, N.

2012-01-01

We present results of a statistical study of the cosmic evolution of the mass-dependent major-merger rate since z = 1. A stellar mass limited sample of close major-merger pairs (the CPAIR sample) was selected from the archive of the COSMOS survey. Pair fractions at different redshifts derived using the CPAIR sample and a local K-band-selected pair sample show no significant variations with stellar mass. The pair fraction exhibits moderately strong cosmic evolution, with the best-fitting function of f pair = 10 –1.88(±0.03) (1 + z) 2.2(±0.2) . The best-fitting function for the merger rate is R mg (Gyr –1 ) = 0.053 × (M star /10 10.7 M ☉ ) 0.3 (1 + z) 2.2 /(1 + z/8). This rate implies that galaxies of M star ∼ 10 10 -10 11.5 M ☉ have undergone ∼0.5-1.5 major mergers since z = 1. Our results show that, for massive galaxies (M star ≥ 10 10.5 M ☉ ) at z ≤ 1, major mergers involving star-forming galaxies (i.e., wet and mixed mergers) can account for the formation of both ellipticals and red quiescent galaxies (RQGs). On the other hand, major mergers cannot be responsible for the formation of most low mass ellipticals and RQGs of M star ∼ 10.3 M ☉ . Our quantitative estimates indicate that major mergers have significant impact on the stellar mass assembly of the most massive galaxies (M star ≥ 10 11.3 M ☉ ), but for less massive galaxies the stellar mass assembly is dominated by the star formation. Comparison with the mass-dependent (ultra)luminous infrared galaxies ((U)LIRG) rates suggests that the frequency of major-merger events is comparable to or higher than that of (U)LIRGs.

Accounting for distress in bank mergers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koetter, M.; Bos, J. W. B.; Heid, F.; Kolari, J. W.; Kool, C. J. M.; Porath, D.

2007-01-01

Most bank merger studies do not control for hidden bailouts, which may lead to biased results. In this study we employ a unique data set of approximately 1000 mergers to analyze the determinants of bank mergers. We use undisclosed information on banks' regulatory intervention history to distinguish

Hospital mergers: a panacea?

Science.gov (United States)

Weil, Thomas

2010-10-01

Hospital mergers in Europe and North America have been launched to scale down expenditure, enhance the delivery of health care and elevate quality. However, the outcome of mergers suggest that they neither generated cost savings nor improved the quality of care. Almost all consolidations fall short, since those in leadership positions lack the necessary understanding and appreciation of the differences in culture, values and goals of the existing facilities. In spite of these shortcomings, hospital mergers will continue to be pursued in order to improve market share, eliminate excess capacity, gain access to capital and enhance the personal egos of the organizations' leaders.

MERGER ACCOUTING FOR COMPANIES

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SUCIU GHEORGHE

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Companies, especially nowadays, are characterized through great mobility, fast circulation of capital, occurring in their chase for profit. In this context, companies look for alliances, economical and political assistance. These objectives can materialize through merging of companies. The merger can be internal (between Romanian companies or transboundary, which includes foreign companies. In order to correctly reflect these events, the merger operations must be regulated and must respect national and international regulations. One important request concerning the merger operations is that the accounting values of the assets, debts and ownership equity must be brought to the present financial value.

Market structure and price adjustment in the U.S. wholesale gasoline markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oladunjoye, Olusegun

2008-01-01

The issue of sticky prices in U.S. wholesale gasoline market is re-examined allowing for the effect of market structure due to increased market concentration caused by mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures which started in the late 1990s in the U.S. oil industry. I investigate the effects of market structure on the pattern of price adjustment based on the notion that increased market concentration leads to downward price stickiness and asymmetric short run price adjustment in the transmission of crude price changes to wholesale gasoline price. I find that market concentration has an insignificant asymmetric effect on the speed of price adjustment but a significant asymmetric effect on short run price adjustments in the response of wholesale gasoline prices to crude price shocks in three U.S. wholesale markets. Furthermore, the signs on the coefficients of market concentration effects on price dynamics in the models support the assertion that increased market concentration leads to downward price stickiness in only one of the three markets examined. Overall, the results indicate that market structure does not have a strong effect on the dynamics of price adjustment. (author)

LEGAL CONSEQUENCES OF MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

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Amelia-Raluca ONIŞOR

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The research analyses the legal effects of mergers and acquisitions from the Romanian Company Law perspective, underlining certain general principles, the procedure of annulment of such a legal transformation of companies and the protection of the employees of companies participating in the merger according to the Law no. 67/2006. These consequences of mergers and acquisions are to be seen in the broader light of the most important purpose of this legal instrument, maximizing financial and organizational efficiencies, thus legal certainty is a desirable goal to be assumed by any merger regulation.

CHANDRA OBSERVATIONS OF GALAXY ZOO MERGERS: FREQUENCY OF BINARY ACTIVE NUCLEI IN MASSIVE MERGERS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Teng, Stacy H. [Observational Cosmology Laboratory, NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Schawinski, Kevin; Urry, C. Megan; Bonning, Erin W. [Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511 (United States); Darg, Dan W.; Kaviraj, Sugata; Lintott, Chris J. [Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH (United Kingdom); Oh, Kyuseok [Department of Astronomy, Yonsei University, Seoul 120-749 (Korea, Republic of); Cardamone, Carolin N. [Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, Brown University, P.O. Box 1912, Providence, RI 02912 (United States); Keel, William C. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, 206 Gallalee Hall, 514 University Boulevard, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-034 (United States); Simmons, Brooke D. [Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Yale University, P.O. Box 208121, New Haven, CT 06520 (United States); Treister, Ezequiel, E-mail: stacy.h.teng@nasa.gov [Departamento de Astronomia, Universidad de Concepcion, Casilla 160-C, Concepcion (Chile)

2012-07-10

We present the results from a Chandra pilot study of 12 massive galaxy mergers selected from Galaxy Zoo. The sample includes major mergers down to a host galaxy mass of 10{sup 11} M{sub Sun} that already have optical active galactic nucleus (AGN) signatures in at least one of the progenitors. We find that the coincidences of optically selected active nuclei with mildly obscured (N{sub H} {approx}< 1.1 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 22} cm{sup -2}) X-ray nuclei are relatively common (8/12), but the detections are too faint (<40 counts per nucleus; f{sub 2-10keV} {approx}< 1.2 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -13} erg s{sup -1} cm{sup -2}) to reliably separate starburst and nuclear activity as the origin of the X-ray emission. Only one merger is found to have confirmed binary X-ray nuclei, though the X-ray emission from its southern nucleus could be due solely to star formation. Thus, the occurrences of binary AGNs in these mergers are rare (0%-8%), unless most merger-induced active nuclei are very heavily obscured or Compton thick.

Nurse Executive Leadership During Organizational Mergers.

Science.gov (United States)

Piper, Letty Roth; Schneider, Maureen

2015-12-01

The recent growth in hospital mergers and the resultant mergers of nursing service departments (NSDs) have produced a need for chief nursing officers (CNOs) to be aware of implications and anticipated dynamic changes. This article addresses the major issues raised by mergers for NSDs and presents an operational step-by-step checklist for CNOs.

Outpatient provider concentration and commercial colonoscopy prices.

Science.gov (United States)

Pozen, Alexis

2015-01-01

The objective was to evaluate the magnitude of various contributors to outpatient commercial colonoscopy prices, including market- and provider-level factors, especially market share. We used adjudicated fee-for-service facility claims from a large commercial insurer for colonoscopies occurring in hospital outpatient department or ambulatory surgery center from October 2005 to December 2012. Claims were matched to provider- and market-level data. Linear fixed effects regressions of negotiated colonoscopy price were run on provider, system, and market characteristics. Markets were defined as counties. There were 178,433 claims from 169 providers (104 systems). The mean system market share was 76% (SD = 0.34) and the mean real (deflated) price was US$1363 (SD = 374), ranging from US$169 to US$2748. For every percentage point increase in a system or individual facility's bed share, relative price increased by 2 to 4 percentage points; this result was stable across a number of specifications. Market population and price were also consistently positively related, though this relation was small in magnitude. No other factor explained price as strongly as market share. Price variation for colonoscopy was driven primarily by market share, of particular concern as the number of mergers increases in wake of the recession and the Affordable Care Act. Whether variation is justified by better quality care requires further research to determine whether quality is subsumed in prices. © The Author(s) 2015.

Development of mergers and acquisitions in the conditions of the Czech economy 2001–2010

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Jaroslav Sedláček

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the first results of a research project which has the aims to identify the problems appearing during the preparation of mergers in compliance with valid Czech regulations and to analyze economic causes and consequences of mergers. At the first stage it was necessary to compile a basic dataset in a structure needed for a statistical analysis. The aim of the analysis presented in this paper is to ascertain, both theoretically and empirically, how the external environment affected the development of mergers of trading companies in the conditions of the Czech economy. The covered period is the past ten years, i.e. 2001–2010, when the development of the global economy was affected by the bank crisis in the USA and the economic recession. The analysis of the development of mergers and acquisitions focuses on three groups of factors affecting activities in the field of company combinations. These are mergers and acquisitions which are subject to approval by regulatory bodies, the effect of new regulations of financing (financial factors and the effect of the macroeconomic situation in the form of GDP indicator and PX index. Macroeconomic indicators are related to mergers whose development has not been published or explored within scientific research. The results of the analysis allowed us to describe the dependence of activities in the field of company mergers which took place in the Czech Republic in the past decade on the selected factors of the external environment.

Cost effects of hospital mergers in Portugal.

Science.gov (United States)

Azevedo, Helda; Mateus, Céu

2014-12-01

The Portuguese hospital sector has been restructured by wide-ranging hospital mergers, following a conviction among policy makers that bigger hospitals lead to lower average costs. Since the effects of mergers have not been systematically evaluated, the purpose of this article is to contribute to this area of knowledge by assessing potential economies of scale to explore and compare these results with realized cost savings after mergers. Considering the period 2003-2009, we estimate the translog cost function to examine economies of scale in the years preceding restructuring. Additionally, we use the difference-in-differences approach to evaluate hospital centres (HC) that occurred between 2004 and 2007, comparing the years after and before mergers. Our findings suggest that economies of scale are present in the pre-merger configuration with an optimum hospital size of around 230 beds. However, the mergers between two or more hospitals led to statistically significant post-merger cost increases, of about 8 %. This result indicates that some HC become too large to explore economies of scale and suggests the difficulty of achieving efficiencies through combining operations and service specialization.

Current status of mergers and acquisitions (M and A) in the U.S. electric utilities operators; Beikoku koeki denki jigyosha wo meguru M and A no genjo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hamada, E. [The Institute of Energy Economics, Tokyo (Japan)

1997-04-01

Mergers and acquisitions (M and A) are rapidly increasing among the U.S. electric utilities operators. This paper reports from among a large number of cases the mergers with district power distribution companies in England, and movements aiming at building a comprehensive energy corporation by using M and A with gas companies. The purpose of acquiring the British power distribution companies is to seek expanded earnings having become necessary due to little growth in power demand and intensified competition. This may be possible because the cap price is high in the cap price system in England, and can provide a large room for earning more profits. It is also an attempt of utilizing more effectively the experience of deregulation having been done ahead of America, such as introduction of unboundering and pooling systems. Four companies were under acquisition activities in even 1996 alone, and if prior acquisitions are added, actually half of British district power distribution companies have had been acquired. Merger of electric power companies with gas companies is the opening act of movements aimed at obtaining single-handed the oil business to become a comprehensive energy corporation. 4 refs., 14 tabs.

Radioactively powered emission from black hole-neutron star mergers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanaka, Masaomi; Wanajo, Shinya; Hotokezaka, Kenta; Kyutoku, Koutarou; Kiuchi, Kenta; Sekiguchi, Yuichiro; Shibata, Masaru

2014-01-01

Detection of the electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational wave (GW) sources is important to unveil the nature of compact binary coalescences. We perform three-dimensional, time-dependent, multi-frequency radiative transfer simulations for radioactively powered emission from the ejecta of black hole (BH)-neutron star (NS) mergers. Depending on the BH to NS mass ratio, spin of the BH, and equations of state of dense matter, BH-NS mergers can eject more material than NS-NS mergers. In such cases, radioactively powered emission from the BH-NS merger ejecta can be more luminous than that from NS-NS mergers. We show that, in spite of the expected larger distances to BH-NS merger events, the observed brightness of BH-NS mergers can be comparable to or even higher than that of NS-NS mergers. We find that, when the tidally disrupted BH-NS merger ejecta are confined to a small solid angle, the emission from BH-NS merger ejecta tends to be bluer than that from NS-NS merger ejecta for a given total luminosity. Thanks to this property, we might be able to distinguish BH-NS merger events from NS-NS merger events by multi-band observations of the radioactively powered emission. In addition to the GW observations, such electromagnetic observations can potentially provide independent information on the progenitors of GW sources and the nature of compact binary coalescences.

BRIGHT 'MERGER-NOVA' FROM THE REMNANT OF A NEUTRON STAR BINARY MERGER: A SIGNATURE OF A NEWLY BORN, MASSIVE, MILLISECOND MAGNETAR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu, Yun-Wei; Zhang, Bing; Gao, He

2013-01-01

A massive millisecond magnetar may survive the merger of a neutron star (NS) binary, which would continuously power the merger ejecta. We develop a generic dynamic model for the merger ejecta with energy injection from the central magnetar. The ejecta emission (the m erger-nova ) powered by the magnetar peaks in the UV band and the peak of the light curve, progressively shifts to an earlier epoch with increasing frequency. A magnetar-powered merger-nova could have an optical peak brightness comparable to a supernova, which is a few tens or hundreds times brighter than the radioactive-powered merger-novae (the so-called macro-nova or kilo-nova). On the other hand, such a merger-nova would peak earlier and have a significantly shorter duration than that of a supernova. An early collapse of the magnetar could suppress the brightness of the optical emission and shorten its duration. Such millisecond-magnetar-powered merger-novae may be detected from NS-NS merger events without an observed short gamma-ray burst, and could be a bright electromagnetic counterpart for gravitational wave bursts due to NS-NS mergers. If detected, it suggests that the merger leaves behind a massive NS, which has important implications for the equation-of-state of nuclear matter

Assessment of Innovation Effects of Mergers

OpenAIRE

Kern, Benjamin René

2015-01-01

Summary of Doctoral Dissertation Assessment of Innovation Effects of Mergers The adequate consideration of innovation effects of mergers in merger review was, and still is, one of the most controversially discussed issues between antitrust scholars. In this connection the question has been raised whether the traditional categories in competition law are sufficiently suitable for dealing with innovation aspects or whether new ...

An assessment of bank merger success in Germany

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koetter, Michael

German banks have experienced a merger wave since the early 1990s. However, the success or bank mergers remains a continuous matter or debate. This paper suggests a taxonomy to evaluate post-merger performance on the basis of cost and profit efficiency (CE and PE). I identify successful mergers as

Competition and Mergers among Nonprofits

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Prüfer, J.

2007-01-01

Should mergers among nonprofit organizations be regulated differently than mergers among for-profit firms? The relevant empirical literature is highly controversial, the theoretical literature is scarce. We analyze the question by modeling duopoly competition with quality-differentiated goods. We

Competition and Mergers among Nonprofits

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Prüfer, J.

2007-01-01

Should mergers among nonprofit organizations be regulated differently than mergers among for-profit firms? The relevant empirical literature is highly controversial, the theoretical literature is scarce. I analyze the question by modeling duopoly competition with quality-differentiated goods. I

Analisis Perbandingan Kinerja Keuangan Sebelum Dan Sesudah Merger Dengan Menggunakan Metode Economic Value Added (Eva Dan Market Value Added (Mva Pada Pt Unilever Indonesia Tbk

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rakhmi Ayu Zulvina

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Merger is a decision to combine or merge two or more companies into one new company. One of the merged company in Indonesia is PT Unilever Indonesia Tbk with PT Knorr Indonesia in 2004. To identify and analyze it, EVA and MVA method is used, then the results of the calculations tested using normality test statistical tool kolmogorov smirnov, and carried out by means of differential test paired samples T-test.The increase of  EVA before and after the merger worth 125.30%. While the increase in MVA before and after the merger worth 227.33%. Increasing the value of MVA was more due to the company's market value, which is reflected in the share price and listed share, although not free from invested capital in the company

THE POPULATION OF HELIUM-MERGER PROGENITORS: OBSERVATIONAL PREDICTIONS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fryer, Chris L.; Belczynski, Krzysztof; Bulik, Tomasz; Berger, Edo; Thöne, Christina; Ellinger, Carola

2013-01-01

The helium-merger gamma-ray burst (GRB) progenitor is produced by the rapid accretion onto a compact remnant (neutron star or black hole) when it undergoes a common envelope inspiral with its companion's helium core. This merger phase produces a very distinct environment around these outbursts and recent observations suggest that, in some cases, we are detecting the signatures of the past merger in the GRB afterglow. These observations allow us, for the first time, to study the specific features of the helium-merger progenitor. In this paper, we couple population synthesis calculations to our current understanding of GRB engines and common envelope evolution to make observational predictions for the helium-merger GRB population. Many mergers do not produce GRB outbursts and we discuss the implications of these mergers with the broader population of astrophysical transients.

What Drive the Damage to Post-Merger Operating Performance?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soegiharto Soegiharto

2010-05-01

Full Text Available This study examines whether bidders’ post-merger operat-ing performance are affected by their CEO behavior, premiumspaid to the target firms, the period of mergers, the method ofpayment, the industry of merged firms, capital liquidity, andtheir pre-merger operating performance. Testing the U.S. suc-cessful merger and acquisition data for the period of 1990s, thisstudy finds that in-wave mergers, intra-industry mergers, thepayment of lower premiums, and better pre-merger operatingperformance drive the bidders to produce better post-mergeroperating performance. Three measures of CEO behavior—themain predictor scrutinezed in this study—are proposed andexamined, and the results demonstrate that the effects of thesemeasures on post-merger operating performance are mixed,suggesting that each of the behavioral measures designed in thisstudy may capture CEO behavior in different ways. Keywords: capital liquidity; CEO overconfidence; merger waves, method of pay-ment operating performance

Financial Synergy in Mergers and Acquisitions in Saudi Arabia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Basmah Al Qudaiby (Basmah, A. Q.,

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Businesses today consider mergers and acquisitions a new strategy for their company’s growth. Companies aim to grow through sales’ increase, assets purchase, profits’ accumulation and market share gains. The better way for achieving these targets is by getting into either a Merger or an Acquisition. As a matter of fact, growth through mergers and acquisitions has been a critical part of the success of many companies operating in the new economy. Mergers and Acquisitions are an important factor in building up market capitalization. Based on three detailed and in depth structured interviews with major Saudi Arabian banks it has been found that, Mergers motivated by economies of scale should be approached cautiously. Companies should also approach vertical mergers cautiously because it is often difficult to gain synergy through a vertical merger and firms should also seek out mergers which allow the firm to acquire specialized knowledge. It has also been found that the firms should look for mergers that increase market power and avoid unrelated or conglomerate mergers.

The galaxy major merger fraction to {z} 1

Science.gov (United States)

López-Sanjuan, C.; Balcells, M.; Pérez-González, P. G.; Barro, G.; García-Dabó, C. E.; Gallego, J.; Zamorano, J.

2009-07-01

Aims: The importance of disc-disc major mergers in galaxy evolution remains uncertain. We study the major merger fraction in a SPITZER/IRAC-selected catalogue in the GOODS-S field up to z 1 for luminosity- and mass-limited samples. Methods: We select disc-disc merger remnants on the basis of morphological asymmetries/distortions, and address three main sources of systematic errors: (i) we explicitly apply morphological K-corrections; (ii) we measure asymmetries in galaxies artificially redshifted to zd = 1.0 to deal with loss of morphological information with redshift; and (iii) we take into account the observational errors in z and A, which tend to overestimate the merger fraction, though use of maximum likelihood techniques. Results: We obtain morphological merger fractions (f_m^mph) below 0.06 up to z 1. Parameterizing the merger fraction evolution with redshift as f_m^mph(z) = f_m^mph(0) (1+z)^m, we find that m = 1.8 ± 0.5 for MB ≤ -20 galaxies, while m = 5.4 ± 0.4 for Mstar ≥ 1010 M⊙ galaxies. When we translate our merger fractions to merger rates (Re_m^mph), their evolution, parameterized as Re_m^mph(z) = Re_m^mph(0) (1+z)^n, is quite similar in both cases: n = 3.3 ± 0.8 for MB ≤ -20 galaxies, and n = 3.5 ± 0.4 for Mstar ≥ 1010 M⊙ galaxies. Conclusions: Our results imply that only 8% of today's Mstar ≥ 1010 M⊙ galaxies have undergone a disc-disc major merger since z 1. In addition, 21% of Mstar ≥ 1010 M⊙ galaxies at z 1 have undergone one of these mergers since z 1.5. This suggests that disc-disc major mergers are not the dominant process in the evolution of Mstar ≥ 1010 M⊙ galaxies since z 1, with only 0.2 disc-disc major mergers per galaxy, but may be an important process at z > 1, with ˜1 merger per galaxy at 1 < z < 3.

Using Black Hole Mergers to Explore Structure Formation

Science.gov (United States)

Alicea-Munoz, E.; Miller, M. Coleman

2009-01-01

Observations of gravitational waves from massive black hole mergers will open a new window into the era of structure formation in the early universe. Past efforts have concentrated on calculating merger rates using different physical assumptions, resulting in merger rate estimates that span a wide range (0.1 - 10(exp 4) mergers/year). We develop a semi-analytical, phenomenological model of massive black hole mergers that includes plausible combinations of several physical parameters, which we then turn around to determine how well observations with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will be able to enhance our understanding of the universe during the critical z approximately equal to 5-30 epoch. Our approach involves generating synthetic LISA observable data (total BH masses, BH mass ratios, redshifts, merger rates), which are then analyzed using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo method, thus finding constraints for the physical parameters of the mergers. We find that our method works well at estimating merger parameters and that the number of merger events is a key discriminant among models, therefore making our method robust against observational uncertainties. Our approach can also be extended to more physically-driven models and more general problems in cosmology. This work is supported in part by the Cooperative Education Program at NASA/GSFC.

Risks of Mergers and Acquisitions Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Skitsko Volodymyr I.

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Despite structural changes both in the economies of individual countries and in the world at large, the size of the merger/acquisition market is not declining and is tending to grow further. However, uncertainty in the global environment increases the importance of proper analysis, assessment and risk management in merger/acquisition transactions. Using the relevant research and publications by various authors, we have built a general ranking of the significance of merger and acquisition risks according to phases of the indicated process, with comparison of individual risk ratings, based on the publications by authors from Central and Eastern Europe and other countries around the world. The ranking of risks and threats of mergers/acquisitions proposed in this work can be considered one of the most complete for today. Further research needs to focus on the analysis, evaluation, and modeling of merger/acquisition risks, which occupy the top of the ranking, presented by the article.

The Study of Airline Merger and Acquisition in the Great China Area

Science.gov (United States)

Shon, Zhengyi

2003-01-01

The Asian financial crisis in the late 20 th century has some long lasting effect on the air transportation industry in Asia, especially in the Great China Area. Starting from 1998, airlines in both China and Taiwan suffered some serious financial losses due to the diminishing travel demand caused by the economic recession. Airlines were forced to cut price to attract passengers and hence crashed the market discipline. A number of airline mergers and acquisitions were then driven by the markets and the governments. After China and Taiwan have both entered the World Trade Organization, some mega-merging cases were finalized in late 2002 for better fitting the world's aviation competitions. This paper reviews the nine merging and acquiring cases in the Great China Area in the past 5 years. Almost all the airlines in the area were involved. The new groups of airlines and the survival airlines are introduced. Market response to the airline mergers will also be examined. A general look over the performance of the new airlines will be discussed. And the future of the market will also be analyzed. Finally, the practices and the impacts of current inter-state mergers in the Great China Area will be examined. The study has expected a highly concentrated domestic market in both China and Taiwan. Each of the market will be dominated by three major airline groups of their own. Cross-holding equity within these 6 leading aviation groups would also be possible after further deregulations.

Double neutron stars: merger rates revisited

Science.gov (United States)

Chruslinska, Martyna; Belczynski, Krzysztof; Klencki, Jakub; Benacquista, Matthew

2018-03-01

We revisit double neutron star (DNS) formation in the classical binary evolution scenario in light of the recent Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO)/Virgo DNS detection (GW170817). The observationally estimated Galactic DNS merger rate of R_MW = 21^{+28}_{-14} Myr-1, based on three Galactic DNS systems, fully supports our standard input physics model with RMW = 24 Myr-1. This estimate for the Galaxy translates in a non-trivial way (due to cosmological evolution of progenitor stars in chemically evolving Universe) into a local (z ≈ 0) DNS merger rate density of Rlocal = 48 Gpc-3 yr-1, which is not consistent with the current LIGO/Virgo DNS merger rate estimate (1540^{+3200}_{-1220} Gpc-3 yr-1). Within our study of the parameter space, we find solutions that allow for DNS merger rates as high as R_local ≈ 600^{+600}_{-300} Gpc-3 yr-1 which are thus consistent with the LIGO/Virgo estimate. However, our corresponding BH-BH merger rates for the models with high DNS merger rates exceed the current LIGO/Virgo estimate of local BH-BH merger rate (12-213 Gpc-3 yr-1). Apart from being particularly sensitive to the common envelope treatment, DNS merger rates are rather robust against variations of several of the key factors probed in our study (e.g. mass transfer, angular momentum loss, and natal kicks). This might suggest that either common envelope development/survival works differently for DNS (˜10-20 M⊙ stars) than for BH-BH (˜40-100 M⊙ stars) progenitors, or high black hole (BH) natal kicks are needed to meet observational constraints for both types of binaries. Our conclusion is based on a limited number of (21) evolutionary models and is valid within this particular DNS and BH-BH isolated binary formation scenario.

Horizontal mergers in the United States health field: some practical realities.

Science.gov (United States)

Weil, T P

2000-08-01

During the past decade, 'merger mania' has been a striking trend in the US health field as a strategy to improve the integration of services, to reduce expenses, and to increase the ability of providers to manage risk-based payment. However, during the past quarter of a century limited operational and fiscal evidence has been published in both the health and general management literature that strongly supports the efficacy of horizontal mergers. This article further argues that a likely scenario over the next decade, in spite of disappointments among these mergers in effecting significant cost reductions, is for the US health networks to continue acquiring additional providers and insurers. After these alliances gain significant market penetration, they are expected to behave as oligopolists. For these mergers to eventually achieve their earlier projected savings, the health field's leadership will be forced to implement cost-cutting measures such as: more vigorously coordinating the network's key clinical services to reduce competition for revenues among the partners within an alliance, closing superfluous hospitals and centralizing expensive tertiary services, encouraging surplus physicians to relocate to under-served areas, and providing direction to carefully integrate the best elements of what the competitive and regulatory strategies are able to offer to improve access, social equity, quality of care, and to reduce total health expenditures.

Merger & Acquisition and Capital Expenditure in Health Care

Science.gov (United States)

Ouyang, Wenjing; Hilsenrath, Peter E.

2017-01-01

Investment, especially through merger and acquisition (M&A), is a leading topic of concern among health care managers. In addition, the implications of this activity for organization and market concentration are of great interest to policy makers. Using a sample of 2256 firm-year observations in the health care industry during the period from 1985 to 2011, this article provides novel evidence that managers learn from financial markets in making capital expenditure (CAPEX) and M&A investment decisions. Within the industry, managers in the Drugs subsector are most likely to do so, whereas managers in the Medical Equipment and Supplies are least likely to do so. We find informative stock prices improve firm financial performance. This article highlights the importance of financial markets for real economic activity in the health care industry. PMID:28220717

7 CFR 1710.108 - Mergers and consolidations.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... operating efficiency and financial soundness. (b) After a merger or consolidation, RUS will give priority... 7 Agriculture 11 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Mergers and consolidations. 1710.108 Section 1710.108... and Basic Policies § 1710.108 Mergers and consolidations. (a) RUS encourages its borrowers to consider...

Comparing gender discrimination and inequality in indie and traditional publishing.

Science.gov (United States)

Weinberg, Dana B; Kapelner, Adam

2018-01-01

In traditional publishing, female authors' titles command nearly half (45%) the price of male authors' and are underrepresented in more prestigious genres, and books are published by publishing houses, which determined whose books get published, subject classification, and retail price. In the last decade, the growth of digital technologies and sales platforms have enabled unprecedented numbers of authors to bypass publishers to publish and sell books. The rise of indie publishing (aka self-publishing) reflects the growth of the "gig" economy, where the influence of firms has diminished and workers are exposed more directly to external markets. Encompassing the traditional and the gig economy, the book industry illuminates how the gig economy may disrupt, replicate, or transform the gender discrimination mechanisms and inequality found in the traditional economy. In a natural experiment spanning from 2002 to 2012 and including over two million book titles, we compare discrimination mechanisms and inequality in indie and traditional publishing. We find that indie publishing, though more egalitarian, largely replicates traditional publishing's gender discrimination patterns, showing an unequal distribution of male and female authors by genre (allocative discrimination), devaluation of genres written predominantly by female authors (valuative discrimination), and lower prices within genres for books by female authors (within-job discrimination). However, these discrimination mechanisms are associated with far less price inequality in indie, only 7%, in large part due to the smaller and lower range of prices in indie publishing compared to traditional publishing. We conclude that, with greater freedom, workers in the gig economy may be inclined to greater equality but will largely replicate existing labor market segmentation and the lower valuation of female-typical work and of female workers. Nonetheless, price setting for work may be more similar for workers in the

Knowledge management in international mergers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Grotenhuis, F.D.J.; Weggeman, M.C.D.P.

2002-01-01

This paper discusses the need for knowledge management in mergers and acquisitions. In mergers and acquisitions two cultures are combined, and also two systems of knowledge and insights are integrated. In order to develop and sustain competitive advantages for the knowledge-intensive firm, strategic

Analysis of International Mergers and Acquisitions in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Božo Matić

2011-07-01

Full Text Available There are numerous researches which analyze mergers and acquisitions, but most of them do not focus on a certain industry, but their sample considers companies from different industries. This paper focuses on mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical industry. It is assumed that pharmaceutical companies with no experience in mergers and acquisitions achieve better results in relatively small and domestic mergers and acquisitions while pharmaceutical companies with greater experience in mergers and acquisitions are successful even in bigger and international mergers and acquisitions. Bigger mergers and acquisitions and international mergers and acquisitions are more risky for the companies so lack of experience in mergers and acquisitions additionally increases risks during the process of mergers and acquisitions. On average, such increase of the risk results in lower returns for stock owners of pharmaceutical companies.

12 CFR 708b.101 - Mergers generally.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Mergers generally. 708b.101 Section 708b.101 Banks and Banking NATIONAL CREDIT UNION ADMINISTRATION REGULATIONS AFFECTING CREDIT UNIONS MERGERS OF FEDERALLY-INSURED CREDIT UNIONS; VOLUNTARY TERMINATION OR CONVERSION OF INSURED STATUS Mergers § 708b.101...

Is Education Getting Lost in University Mergers?

Science.gov (United States)

Ursin, Jani; Aittola, Helena; Henderson, Charles; Valimaa, Jussi

2010-01-01

Mergers are common phenomena in higher education institutions. Improving educational quality is typically one of the stated goals of university mergers. Yet, little information exists about how merging institutions approach this goal. This paper presents results from a study of planning documents created prior to four mergers in the Finnish higher…

Potential gains from hospital mergers in Denmark.

Science.gov (United States)

Kristensen, Troels; Bogetoft, Peter; Pedersen, Kjeld Moeller

2010-12-01

The Danish hospital sector faces a major rebuilding program to centralize activity in fewer and larger hospitals. We aim to conduct an efficiency analysis of hospitals and to estimate the potential cost savings from the planned hospital mergers. We use Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to estimate a cost frontier. Based on this analysis, we calculate an efficiency score for each hospital and estimate the potential gains from the proposed mergers by comparing individual efficiencies with the efficiency of the combined hospitals. Furthermore, we apply a decomposition algorithm to split merger gains into technical efficiency, size (scale) and harmony (mix) gains. The motivation for this decomposition is that some of the apparent merger gains may actually be available with less than a full-scale merger, e.g., by sharing best practices and reallocating certain resources and tasks. Our results suggest that many hospitals are technically inefficient, and the expected "best practice" hospitals are quite efficient. Also, some mergers do not seem to lower costs. This finding indicates that some merged hospitals become too large and therefore experience diseconomies of scale. Other mergers lead to considerable cost reductions; we find potential gains resulting from learning better practices and the exploitation of economies of scope. To ensure robustness, we conduct a sensitivity analysis using two alternative returns-to-scale assumptions and two alternative estimation approaches. We consistently find potential gains from improving the technical efficiency and the exploitation of economies of scope from mergers.

MERGER ACCOUTING FOR COMPANIES

OpenAIRE

SUCIU GHEORGHE

2014-01-01

Companies, especially nowadays, are characterized through great mobility, fast circulation of capital, occurring in their chase for profit. In this context, companies look for alliances, economical and political assistance. These objectives can materialize through merging of companies. The merger can be internal (between Romanian companies) or transboundary, which includes foreign companies. In order to correctly reflect these events, the merger operations must be regulated and mu...

Planned Merger of 2 Big Journal Publishers Worries Academic Librarians

Science.gov (United States)

Glenn, David

2006-01-01

Last week the venerable publisher John Wiley & Sons made a surprise announcement that it would purchase Blackwell Publishing Ltd. for about $1.13-billion, an acquisition likely to have broad consequences for the world of academic journals and libraries. Assuming that the deal is completed, Wiley's scientific, technical, and medical division will…

7 CFR 1717.615 - Consolidations and mergers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 11 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Consolidations and mergers. 1717.615 Section 1717.615... Controls § 1717.615 Consolidations and mergers. A distribution or power supply borrower may without the..., merger, conveyance or transfer shall be on such terms as shall fully preserve the lien and security of...

ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS IN CORPORATE INTEGRATION

OpenAIRE

Lucia P. BLĂJUȚ

2015-01-01

This paper highlights the role of international mergers and acquisitions in corporate integration. The factors that stimulate mergers and acquisitions activities bring real changes in the world economy. Mergers and acquisitions are a form of expansion: mergers can take place either as a statutory merger or consolidation and minority, majority or full acquisitions dominate the international market. It is very important to not confuse the meaning of the two terms. Multinational companies are fo...

Justice Department Airline Merger Policy

Science.gov (United States)

Farmer, D. A.

1972-01-01

Justice Department airline merger policy is developed within the context of the Federal Aviation Act, in which there is an unusually explicit reliance on competition as a means of fulfilling statutory goals. The economics of the airline industry appear to indicate that low concentration and vigorous competition are particularly viable and desirable. Several factors, including existing regulatory policy, create incentives for airlines to merge whether or not an individual merger promotes or conflicts with the public interest. Specific benefits to the public should be identified and shown to clearly outweight the detriments, including adverse competitive impact, in order for airline mergers to be approved.

Risk Management in Mergers and Acquisitions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dmitry O. Verdiev

2015-01-01

Full Text Available M&A statistics show that less than a third of newly merged companies has realized their planned synergistic effects and increased shareholder value. According to the author, such disgusting situation is due to improper planning and failure of corporate management to understand the importance of risk management in M&A. Lack of practice in identification, evaluation, mitigation and regular monitoring of risks leads to the situation when many companies merge despite the fact that the merger bears substantial risks. Corporate management fails to include risk mitigation expenses in merger costs. In many cases, risk mitigation expenses may be so substantive that the merger loses its attractiveness. Only few companies implement risk management methodology while planning M&A activity. This methodology may anticipate and minimize the consequences of various risk factors that negatively influence integration process. The article suggests an implementation of risk management best practice. This risk management best practice may act as an effective tool of successful realization of synergistic effects in M&A and may be helpful in increasing shareholder value in post-merger period. Risk management is conducted throughout the stages of merger and includes identification, analysis, assessment, management and monitoring of risks. Implementation of risk management at early stages of merger planning significantly decreases uncertainty in relation to achievement of financial and operational goals of newly merged company. The article provides with typical M&A risk matrix that may be adapted for specific M&A project. Risk matrix includes a register of risks sorted by stages of M&A deal, quality assessment of their probability, influence and impact on merger as well as risk mitigation methods.

Addressing Pricing Power in Integrated Delivery: The Limits of Antitrust.

Science.gov (United States)

Berenson, Robert

2015-08-01

Prices are the major driver of why the United States spends so much more on health care than other countries do. The pricing power that hospitals have garnered recently has resulted from consolidated delivery systems and concentrated markets, leading to enhanced negotiating leverage. But consolidation may be the wrong frame for viewing the problem of high and highly variable prices; many "must-have" hospitals achieve their pricing power from sources other than consolidation, for example, reputation. Further, the frame of consolidation leads to unrealistic expectations for what antitrust's role in addressing pricing power should be, especially because in the wake of two periods of merger "manias" and "frenzies" many markets already lack effective competition. It is particularly challenging for antitrust to address extant monopolies lawfully attained. New payment and delivery models being pioneered in Medicare, especially those built around accountable care organizations (ACOs), offer an opportunity to reduce pricing power, but only if they are implemented with a clear eye on the impact on prices in commercial insurance markets. This article proposes approaches that public and private payers should consider to complement the role of antitrust to assure that ACOs will actually help control costs in commercial markets as well as in Medicare and Medicaid. Copyright © 2015 by Duke University Press.

7 CFR 1717.152 - Required documentation for all mergers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... mergers. In order for RUS to advance funds, send bills, and otherwise conduct business with a successor..., borrowers must submit: (1) A transmittal letter on corporate letterhead signed by the manager of each active... evidence the merger pursuant to applicable law. Examples include plan of merger, articles of merger...

PERLINDUNGAN HUKUM TERHADAP KEPENTINGAN PARA PIHAK DI DALAM MERGER BANK

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dani Amran Hakim

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The legal protection of interests of the parties in the merger of banks, which is formulated into the problem as follows a Is the legal basis for bank mergers? b How is the legal protection of the parties in a bank merger? Merger is one of the company's development and growth. Merger is also one other alternative for capital investment through internal and organic growth. In banking mergers regulated in Law Number 10 of 1998. In the implementation of the merger must also consider the interests of the parties, namely, 1 the interests of the shareholders, 2 the interests of the depositors, 3 the interest of the bank employees, and 4 the interests of officials. Keywords: Protection Law, the Parties, Bank Merger 

Power plays - global mergers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allen, Simon

1997-01-01

This article focuses on the increasing number of mergers and acquisitions by electric utilities in the face of growing competition in home markets. The liberalisation of the UK and Scandinavian electricity markets, the impact in Europe of the EU directive on liberalisation, mergers in Switzerland, the selling of Australian generators to UK electric utilities, the globalisation of the industry, and the growing trend for deals between gas and electric utilities are discussed. (UK)

Merger Strategy, Cross-Cultural Involvement, and Polyphony

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svane, Marita; Boje, David

2014-01-01

to the learning from the experience. By storytelling we mean the dynamic interplay between grander narratives of the past and more emergent living stories of participants. Living story is ontological in its Being-in-the-world, its aliveness primordially in lived-life from birth to death. In this case...... (Aristotle, 350 BCE: 1450b: 25, p. 233). Design: We present a dialogic performance of the cross-cultural dynamics of a merger. The context is a two-year old merger. The merger was strategically a good decision that takes into the consideration that the market is highly competitive with a decreasing number...... of customers and many competitors. The industry is therefore characterised by a high degree of mergers and acquisitions. Despite the strategic advantages the idea of the merger was not equally attractive to both of the organisations. They had a history of being competitors with a good deal of hostility. One...

Mergers and integrated care: the Quebec experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Demers, Louis

2013-01-01

As a researcher, I have studied the efforts to increase the integration of health and social services in Quebec, as well as the mergers in the Quebec healthcare system. These mergers have often been presented as a necessary transition to break down the silos that compartmentalize the services dispensed by various organisations. A review of the studies about mergers and integrated care projects in the Quebec healthcare system, since its inception, show that mergers cannot facilitate integrated care unless they are desired and represent for all of the actors involved an appropriate way to deal with service organisation problems. Otherwise, mergers impede integrated care by creating increased bureaucratisation and standardisation and by triggering conflicts and mistrust among the staff of the merged organisations. It is then preferable to let local actors select the most appropriate organisational integration model for their specific context and offer them resources and incentives to cooperate.

Impact of bank mergers on shareholders’ wealth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Odero Naor Juma

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Mergers and acquisitions (M&As perform a vital role in corporate finance in enabling firms achieve varied objectives and financial strategies. This study sought to comprehend the impacts that previous bank mergers have had on the shareholders’ wealth. The study location was in Kenya and it adopted the descriptive survey and correlation design in which the success of mergers was measured based on the objective oriented model using the annual accounts. The study computed the return on assets (ROA, return on equity (ROE and the efficiency ratio (EFF as indicators of shareholder value. The results of the commercial banks were analysed for a five-year period (2006-2010. The study reveals that mergers significantly influence shareholder value with banks that have undertaken mergers creating more value than those that have not. Such banks were ascertained to have posted better results than the overall sector.

The Merger Paradox and R&D

OpenAIRE

MIYAGIWA, Kaz; WAN, Jiangyun(Yunyun)

2015-01-01

The merger paradox is revisited in the presence of cost-reducing R&D in Cournot oligopoly. Two cases are found, in which merger is profitable without satisfying the 80-percent threshold requirement of Salant et al (1983).

What Drives Private and Public Merger Waves in Europe?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bartholdy, Jan; Blunck, Benjamin

What drives merger waves? Harford 2005 argues that mergers are an efficient response to economic shocks to an industry, whereas Rhodes-Kropf, Robinson & Viswanathan 2005 argues that merger waves are driven by overvaluation of the acquiring firm, and to a lesser extent, the target firm. Both paper...... significant differences between driving forces for listed firms and for private firms. Public or listed firm mergers and acquisitions are primarily driven by overvaluation or behavioural factors, whereas private transactions are driven by economic factors.......What drives merger waves? Harford 2005 argues that mergers are an efficient response to economic shocks to an industry, whereas Rhodes-Kropf, Robinson & Viswanathan 2005 argues that merger waves are driven by overvaluation of the acquiring firm, and to a lesser extent, the target firm. Both papers...... are based on empirical analyses of listed US firms. This paper presents additional evidence of merger waves in the European Union (EU). The use of European data allows a more detailed analysis, since firm level data is available for both listed as well as private transactions. This analysis reveals...

Mergers and acquisitions in the oil and gas industries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Corlay, C.; Huby, D.

1999-01-01

This paper focuses on mergers and acquisitions in the oil and gas industries, and lists the most important mergers in terms of transaction value for the period 1981-1997, and plots oil and gas mergers and acquisitions activity by sector and by major region. The mean operation indicator in 1998 in terms of reserves, production and refining capacity of the major companies are tabulated. The impact of the mergers on the oil and gas markets are examined, and issues concerning these mergers and acquisitions are explored. (UK)

Mergers and acquisitions in the oil and gas industries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Corlay, C.; Huby, D. [Institut Francais du Petrole, Rueil-Malmaison (France)

1999-07-01

This paper focuses on mergers and acquisitions in the oil and gas industries, and lists the most important mergers in terms of transaction value for the period 1981-1997, and plots oil and gas mergers and acquisitions activity by sector and by major region. The mean operation indicator in 1998 in terms of reserves, production and refining capacity of the major companies are tabulated. The impact of the mergers on the oil and gas markets are examined, and issues concerning these mergers and acquisitions are explored. (UK)

The U.S. utility experience: Is there life after mergers and downsizing?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Warkentin, D.

1997-01-01

Deregulation has pervaded the ranks of many different industries in the US. The electric utility industry, which has been often thought of as an untouchable industry to the likes of deregulation or reregulation, is undergoing a change from being considered a monopoly industry to one that is market-based. The electric utility industry is undergoing deregulation, or perhaps it is more fitting to say re-regulation since some regulation will remain, for much the same reasons that many other industries before it have. These reasons include major shifts in the nation's economy and the resultant need for more competitive pricing. Impending re-regulation of the industry is having several ripple effects on the energy industry as a whole, particularly in the area of merger activity and also with respect to reengineering, which more often than not includes a degree of downsizing, or if you prefer, reducing the workforce. And, yes, despite the fact that these truly are difficult and trying times, there is life after mergers and downsizing albeit a different kind of life. Certainly it is the case that the industry will not just come to a halt because restructuring activities are under way

French bank mergers and acquisitions performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Houda Ben Said

2017-11-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we empirically investigate the impact of mergers and acquisitions on French bank performance. Performance is measured by potential gains in efficiency and value creation. We first analyzed efficiency using the data envelopment analysis (DEA under input oriented with variable returns to scale to obtain the efficiency scores. Second, we analyzed the impact on French bank value creation following mergers-acquisitions operations of a set of control variables (model 1 and explicative variables measuring strategic similarities between bidders and targets (model 2. The sample studied is composed of French bank mergers-acquisitions happening between 1996 and 2006 and implying one of the 14 greatest French banking groups. Empirical result showed that mergers and acquisitions have been traduced by an improvement in the overall efficiency by 17.82% and a shareholder value reduction by 5.14%

Mergers and integrated care: the Quebec experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Louis Demers

2013-02-01

Full Text Available As a researcher, I have studied the efforts to increase the integration of health and social services in Quebec, as well as the mergers in the Quebec healthcare system. These mergers have often been presented as a necessary transition to break down the silos that compartmentalize the services dispensed by various organisations. A review of the studies about mergers and integrated care projects in the Quebec healthcare system, since its inception, show that mergers cannot facilitate integrated care unless they are desired and represent for all of the actors involved an appropriate way to deal with service organisation problems. Otherwise, mergers impede integrated care by creating increased bureaucratisation and standardisation and by triggering conflicts and mistrust among the staff of the merged organisations. It is then preferable to let local actors select the most appropriate organisational integration model for their specific context and offer them resources and incentives to cooperate.

Can mergers make slowly rotating elliptical galaxies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

White, S.D.M.

1979-01-01

The results of numerical experiments are used to guide an analytic discussion of hyperbolic mergers among an uncorrelated galaxy population. The expected merger rate is derived as a function of progenitor mass and relative angular momentum, and is used to predict the distribution of the parameter V/sub c//sigma 0 for merger products where V/sub c/ is the maximum observed rotation velocity in a galaxy and sigma 0 is its central velocity dispersion. The median value of this parameter for mergers between comparable galaxies is estimated to be 0.65 and is higher than the observed value in any of the 14 galaxies for which data are available. It seems unlikely that most elliptical galaxies are the result of single or multiple mergers between initially unbound stellar systems; further observational and theoretical work is suggested which should lead to a conclusive test of this picture. The present arguments cannot, however, exclude formation from low angular momentum elliptical orbits

29 CFR 4011.6 - Mergers, consolidations, and spinoffs.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 9 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Mergers, consolidations, and spinoffs. 4011.6 Section 4011... REPORTING AND DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS DISCLOSURE TO PARTICIPANTS § 4011.6 Mergers, consolidations, and spinoffs. In the case of a plan involved in a merger, consolidation, or spinoff transaction that becomes...

Mergers and acquisitions: valuation and risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McVeigh, C.A.

1996-01-01

An overview of various aspects of mergers and acquisition transactions in the petroleum industry were presented. Incentives to mergers and acquisitions were reviewed and discussed, among them value opportunity, critical size, incremental tax pools, financial distress, shareholder dissatisfaction, strategic infrastructure position, complementary assets, and undeveloped land inventory. Current trends in mergers and acquisitions were highlighted. An industry checklist for risk assessments discussing financial position, engineering forecasts, and taxation was also included

Mergers, Strategic Investments and Antitrust Policy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

D. Deneffe (Daniel); P.P. Wakker (Peter)

1996-01-01

textabstractEstablished firms can diversify into new markets in two distinct modes: through internal development or through conglomerate merger. Building on a dynamic three-stage bargaining model with variable threats, this paper shows that a lenient antitrust position toward horizontal mergers can

Discriminating strange star mergers from neutron star mergers by gravitational-wave measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bauswein, A.; Oechslin, R.; Janka, H.-T.

2010-01-01

We perform three-dimensional relativistic hydrodynamical simulations of the coalescence of strange stars and explore the possibility to decide on the strange matter hypothesis by means of gravitational-wave measurements. Self-binding of strange quark matter and the generally more compact stars yield features that clearly distinguish strange star from neutron star mergers, e.g. hampering tidal disruption during the plunge of quark stars. Furthermore, instead of forming dilute halo structures around the remnant as in the case of neutron star mergers, the coalescence of strange stars results in a differentially rotating hypermassive object with a sharp surface layer surrounded by a geometrically thin, clumpy high-density strange quark matter disk. We also investigate the importance of including nonzero temperature equations of state in neutron star and strange star merger simulations. In both cases we find a crucial sensitivity of the dynamics and outcome of the coalescence to thermal effects, e.g. the outer remnant structure and the delay time of the dense remnant core to black hole collapse depend on the inclusion of nonzero temperature effects. For comparing and classifying the gravitational-wave signals, we use a number of characteristic quantities like the maximum frequency during inspiral or the dominant frequency of oscillations of the postmerger remnant. In general, these frequencies are higher for strange star mergers. Only for particular choices of the equation of state the frequencies of neutron star and strange star mergers are similar. In such cases additional features of the gravitational-wave luminosity spectrum like the ratio of energy emitted during the inspiral phase to the energy radiated away in the postmerger stage may help to discriminate coalescence events of the different types. If such characteristic quantities could be extracted from gravitational-wave signals, for instance with the upcoming gravitational-wave detectors, a decision on the

National Versus International Mergers and Trade Liberalization

OpenAIRE

Yildiz, Halis Murat

2003-01-01

This paper uses an endogenous merger formation approach in a concentrated international oligopoly to examine the effects of trade liberalization on the nature of merger incentives (national vs. international). The effects of unilateral trade liberalization on a country’s industry structure are found to be depending on the other country’s trade policy regime. If the other country practices free trade, unilateral liberalization by a country yields international mergers whereas if it practices a...

When Mergers Fail: A Case Study on the Critical Role of External Stakeholders in Merger Initiatives

Science.gov (United States)

Stensaker, Bjørn; Persson, Mats; Pinheiro, Rómulo

2016-01-01

One can, in principle, identify numerous arguments for mergers in higher education (HE), including efficiency, diversity, quality, and regional needs. This diversity can be explained by the growing societal interest in the sector, not least concerning the contributions from HE to society at large. However, research on merger processes has tended…

The Changing Business of Scholarly Publishing.

Science.gov (United States)

Hunter, Karen

1993-01-01

Discussion of changes and trends in scholarly publishing highlights monographs; journals; user-centered publishing; electronic products and services, including adding value, marketing strategies, and new pricing systems; changing attitudes regarding copyright; trends in publishing industry reorganization; and impacts on research libraries. (LRW)

A BARYONIC EFFECT ON THE MERGER TIMESCALE OF GALAXY CLUSTERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Congyao; Yu, Qingjuan; Lu, Youjun

2016-01-01

Accurate estimation of the merger timescales of galaxy clusters is important for understanding the cluster merger process and further understanding the formation and evolution of the large-scale structure of the universe. In this paper, we explore a baryonic effect on the merger timescale of galaxy clusters by using hydrodynamical simulations. We find that the baryons play an important role in accelerating the merger process. The merger timescale decreases upon increasing the gas fraction of galaxy clusters. For example, the merger timescale is shortened by a factor of up to 3 for merging clusters with gas fractions of 0.15, compared with the timescale obtained with 0 gas fractions. The baryonic effect is significant for a wide range of merger parameters and is particularly more significant for nearly head-on mergers and high merging velocities. The baryonic effect on the merger timescale of galaxy clusters is expected to have an impact on the structure formation in the universe, such as the cluster mass function and massive substructures in galaxy clusters, and a bias of “no-gas” may exist in the results obtained from the dark matter-only cosmological simulations

On the consequences of low-mass white dwarf mergers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iben, I. Jr.

1990-01-01

The theory of binary star evolution suggests that about 10 percent of all main-sequence binary systems should evolve into a close pair of light white dwarfs which merge within a Hubble time. This paper explores the consequences of such mergers on the assumption that a merger can be approximated by a mass-transfer event which occurs on a time scale shorter than that given by the Eddington accretion limit. The evolution of He + He mergers and of CO + He and of hybrid + He mergers are discussed. The birthrate of helium degenerate pairs which merge in less than a Hubble time is estimated, and the space density of low-luminosity merger products currently present in the Galaxy is predicted. It is shown that the evolutionary tracks of models of simulated mergers pass through the region in the H-R diagram occupied by subdwarfs, but that the predicted space density of merger products exceeds by over a factor of three the space density of subdwarf estimated form the known sample of such stars. 61 refs

STS pricing policy

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, C. M.; Stone, B.

1982-01-01

In 1977 NASA published Shuttle Reimbursement Policies for Civil U.S. Government, DOD and Commercial and Foreign Users. These policies were based on the principle of total cost recovery over a period of time with a fixed flat price for initial period to time to enhance transition. This fixed period was to be followed with annual adjustments thereafter, NASA is establishing a new price for 1986 and beyond. In order to recover costs, that price must be higher than the initial fixed price through FY 1985. NASA intends to remain competitive. Competitive posture includes not only price, but other factors such as assured launch, reliability, and unique services. NASA's pricing policy considers all these factors.

17 CFR 270.17a-8 - Mergers of affiliated companies.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Mergers of affiliated... (CONTINUED) RULES AND REGULATIONS, INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 § 270.17a-8 Mergers of affiliated companies. (a) Exemption of affiliated mergers. A Merger of a registered investment company (or a series thereof...

7 CFR 1717.159 - Applications for RUS approvals of mergers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 11 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Applications for RUS approvals of mergers. 1717.159... ELECTRIC LOANS Mergers and Consolidations of Electric Borrowers § 1717.159 Applications for RUS approvals of mergers. If a proposed merger requires RUS approval according to RUS regulations and/or the loan...

THE MAJOR AND MINOR GALAXY MERGER RATES AT z < 1.5

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lotz, Jennifer M.; Jonsson, Patrik; Cox, T. J.; Croton, Darren; Primack, Joel R.; Somerville, Rachel S.; Stewart, Kyle

2011-01-01

Calculating the galaxy merger rate requires both a census of galaxies identified as merger candidates and a cosmologically averaged 'observability' timescale (T obs (z)) for identifying galaxy mergers. While many have counted galaxy mergers using a variety of techniques, (T obs (z)) for these techniques have been poorly constrained. We address this problem by calibrating three merger rate estimators with a suite of hydrodynamic merger simulations and three galaxy formation models. We estimate (T obs (z)) for (1) close galaxy pairs with a range of projected separations, (2) the morphology indicator G – M 20 , and (3) the morphology indicator asymmetry A. Then, we apply these timescales to the observed merger fractions at z +3.0±1.1 ) than samples selected with constant stellar mass or passively evolving luminosity (∝(1 + z) +0.1±0.4 ). We calculate the minor merger rate (1:4 sat /M primary ∼ 20 . The implied minor merger rate is ∼3 times the major merger rate at z ∼ 0.7 and shows little evolution with redshift.

Efficiency Gains and Myopic Antitrust Authority in a Dynamic Merger Game

OpenAIRE

MOTTA, Massimo; VASCONCELOS, Helder

2003-01-01

This Paper models a sequential merger formation game with endogenous efficiency gains in which every merger has to be submitted for approval to the Antitrust Authority (AA). Two different types of AA are studied: first, a myopic AA, which judges a given merger without considering that subsequent mergers may occur; and, second, a forward-looking AA, which anticipates the ultimate market structure a given merger will lead to. By contrasting the decisions of these two types of AA, merger policy ...

The benefit of mergers and taking-overs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nillesen, P.H.L.; Keats, K.; Pollitt, M.

2001-01-01

Electricity companies can realize considerable efficiency benefits through mergers by using management skills of a more efficient company and the resulting changed mix of inputs. In this article a pattern of thought is introduced by means of which cost savings of mergers can be identified in a strategic and scientific way. Such a way of thinking can be applied, e.g. in a cash flow analysis, in the valuation of companies and in the merger and taking-over process. 7 refs

Disclosure requirements for merger and acquisition transactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holm, D.I.

1998-01-01

The legal disclosure requirements for merger and acquisition transactions involving Canadian public companies are described. The focus is on issues regarding merger and acquisition related disclosure, including the potential consequences of failing to provide proper information, Ontario Securities Commission Policy 9.1 considerations regarding valuation, review, and approval, cross border considerations and financing a merger and acquisition transaction. Legal and practical consequences for failing to provide proper disclosure, including the steps involved in establishing the due diligence defence, are also discussed

MERGER SIGNATURES IN THE DYNAMICS OF STAR-FORMING GAS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hung, Chao-Ling; Sanders, D. B.; Hayward, Christopher C.; Smith, Howard A.; Ashby, Matthew L. N.; Martínez-Galarza, Juan R.; Zezas, Andreas; Lanz, Lauranne

2016-01-01

The recent advent of integral field spectrographs and millimeter interferometers has revealed the internal dynamics of many hundreds of star-forming galaxies. Spatially resolved kinematics have been used to determine the dynamical status of star-forming galaxies with ambiguous morphologies, and constrain the importance of galaxy interactions during the assembly of galaxies. However, measuring the importance of interactions or galaxy merger rates requires knowledge of the systematics in kinematic diagnostics and the visible time with merger indicators. We analyze the dynamics of star-forming gas in a set of binary merger hydrodynamic simulations with stellar mass ratios of 1:1 and 1:4. We find that the evolution of kinematic asymmetries traced by star-forming gas mirrors morphological asymmetries derived from mock optical images, in which both merger indicators show the largest deviation from isolated disks during strong interaction phases. Based on a series of simulations with various initial disk orientations, orbital parameters, gas fractions, and mass ratios, we find that the merger signatures are visible for ∼0.2–0.4 Gyr with kinematic merger indicators but can be approximately twice as long for equal-mass mergers of massive gas-rich disk galaxies designed to be analogs of z ∼ 2–3 submillimeter galaxies. Merger signatures are most apparent after the second passage and before the black holes coalescence, but in some cases they persist up to several hundred Myr after coalescence. About 20%–60% of the simulated galaxies are not identified as mergers during the strong interaction phase, implying that galaxies undergoing violent merging process do not necessarily exhibit highly asymmetric kinematics in their star-forming gas. The lack of identifiable merger signatures in this population can lead to an underestimation of merger abundances in star-forming galaxies, and including them in samples of star-forming disks may bias the measurements of disk

Late-stage galaxy mergers in cosmos to z ∼ 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lackner, C. N.; Silverman, J. D.; Salvato, M.; Kampczyk, P.; Kartaltepe, J. S.; Sanders, D.; Lee, N.; Capak, P.; Scoville, N.; Civano, F.; Halliday, C.; Ilbert, O.; Le Fèvre, O.; Jahnke, K.; Koekemoer, A. M.; Liu, C. T.; Sheth, K.; Toft, S.

2014-01-01

The role of major mergers in galaxy and black hole formation is not well-constrained. To help address this, we develop an automated method to identify late-stage galaxy mergers before coalescence of the galactic cores. The resulting sample of mergers is distinct from those obtained using pair-finding and morphological indicators. Our method relies on median-filtering of high-resolution images to distinguish two concentrated galaxy nuclei at small separations. This method does not rely on low surface brightness features to identify mergers, and is therefore reliable to high redshift. Using mock images, we derive statistical contamination and incompleteness corrections for the fraction of late-stage mergers. The mock images show that our method returns an uncontaminated (<10%) sample of mergers with projected separations between 2.2 and 8 kpc out to z∼1. We apply our new method to a magnitude-limited (m FW 814 <23) sample of 44,164 galaxies from the COSMOS HST/ACS catalog. Using a mass-complete sample with logM ∗ /M ⊙ >10.6 and 0.25mergers. Correcting for incompleteness and contamination, the fractional merger rate increases strongly with redshift as r merge ∝(1+z) 3.8±0.9 , in agreement both with earlier studies and with dark matter halo merger rates. Separating the sample into star-forming and quiescent galaxies shows that the merger rate for star-forming galaxies increases strongly with redshift, (1+z) 4.5±1.3 , while the merger rate for quiescent galaxies is consistent with no evolution, (1+z) 1.1±1.2 . The merger rate also becomes steeper with decreasing stellar mass. Limiting our sample to galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts from zCOSMOS, we find that the star formation rates and X-ray selected active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity in likely late-stage mergers are higher by factors of ∼2 relative to those of a control sample. Combining our sample with more widely separated pairs, we find that 8�

INSPIRALLING SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES: A NEW SIGNPOST FOR GALAXY MERGERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Comerford, Julia M.; Gerke, Brian F.; Newman, Jeffrey A.; Davis, Marc; Yan, Renbin; Cooper, Michael C.; Coil, Alison L.; Faber, S. M.; Koo, David C.; Rosario, D. J.; Dutton, Aaron A.

2009-01-01

We present a new technique for observationally identifying galaxy mergers spectroscopically rather than through host galaxy imaging. Our technique exploits the dynamics of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) powering active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in merger-remnant galaxies. Because structure in the universe is built up through galaxy mergers and nearly all galaxies host a central SMBH, some galaxies should possess two SMBHs near their centers as the result of a recent merger. These SMBHs spiral to the center of the resultant merger-remnant galaxy, and one or both of the SMBHs may power AGNs. Using the DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey, we have examined 1881 red galaxies, of which 91 exhibit [O III] and Hβ emission lines indicative of Seyfert 2 activity. Of these, 32 AGNs have [O III] emission-line redshifts significantly different from the redshifts of the host galaxies' stars, corresponding to velocity offsets of ∼50 km s -1 to ∼300 km s -1 . Two of these AGNs exhibit double-peaked [O III] emission lines, while the remaining 30 AGNs each exhibit a single set of velocity-offset [O III] emission lines. After exploring a variety of physical models for these velocity offsets, we argue that the most likely explanation is inspiralling SMBHs in merger-remnant galaxies. Based on this interpretation, we find that roughly half of the red galaxies hosting AGNs are also merger remnants, which implies that mergers may trigger AGN activity in red galaxies. The AGN velocity offsets we find imply a merger fraction of ∼30% and a merger rate of ∼3 mergers Gyr -1 for red galaxies at redshifts 0.34 < z < 0.82.

Mergers + acquisitions.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoppszallern, Suzanna

2002-05-01

The hospital sector in 2001 led the health care field in mergers and acquisitions. Most deals involved a network augmenting its presence within a specific region or in a market adjacent to its primary service area. Analysts expect M&A activity to increase in 2002.

The Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy Scripts: Prescription Drug Pricing.

Science.gov (United States)

Sumida, Wesley K; Taniguchi, Ronald; Juarez, Deborah Taira

2016-01-01

Prescription drugs have reduced morbidity and mortality and improved the quality of life of millions of Americans. Yet, concerns over drug price increases loom. Drug spending has risen relatively slowly over the past decade because many of the most popular brand-name medicines lost patent protection. In the near future, there will be fewer low-cost generics coming into the market to offset the rising prices of brand-name drugs. Drug expenditures are influenced by both volume and price. This article focuses on how drug prices are set in the United States and current trends. Drug prices are determined through an extremely complicated set of interactions between pharmaceutical manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, insurers, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), managed care organizations, hospitals, chain stores, and consumers. The process differs depending on the type of drug and place of delivery. Rising drug prices have come under increased scrutiny due to increased cost inflation and because many price increases come as a result of mergers and acquisitions of generic drug companies or changes in ownership of brand name drug manufacturers. Other countries have reigned in drug prices by negotiating with or regulating pharmaceutical manufacturers. The best long-term solution to rising drug prices is yet to be determined but the United States will continue to debate this issue and the discussions will get more heated if drug expenditures continue to rise at a rapid rate (ie, increasing 13% in 2014 from the previous year).

University Mergers in Finland: Mediating Global Competition

Science.gov (United States)

Välimaa, Jussi; Aittola, Helena; Ursin, Jani

2014-01-01

University mergers have become a common strategy for increasing global competitiveness. In this chapter, the authors analyze the implementation of mergers in Finnish universities from the perspective of social justice as conceived within Finland and other Nordic countries.

29 CFR 4231.3 - Requirements for mergers and transfers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 9 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Requirements for mergers and transfers. 4231.3 Section 4231..., REORGANIZATION, TERMINATION, AND OTHER RULES APPLICABLE TO MULTIEMPLOYER PLANS MERGERS AND TRANSFERS BETWEEN MULTIEMPLOYER PLANS § 4231.3 Requirements for mergers and transfers. (a) General requirements. A plan sponsor...

7 CFR 1735.62 - Approval of acquisitions and mergers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 11 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Approval of acquisitions and mergers. 1735.62 Section 1735.62 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE... Mortgage Controls on Acquisitions and Mergers § 1735.62 Approval of acquisitions and mergers. (a) If a...

Energy mergers, acquisitions and trusts : no end in sight

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shiry, J.

1998-01-01

An overview of Canadian export of natural gas to the U.S. and mergers in the Canadian gas industry was presented. Issues discussed included: (1) the Canadian role in U.S. gas markets, (2) growth, returns, and reinvestment rates in the Canadian gas industry, (3) current and historical mergers and acquisitions activity, (4) the driving forces of continued mergers, and (5) the role of trusts in mergers and acquisitions. It was stressed that the recent trend of energy industry mergers is reshaping the industry. Canadian gas producers are currently finding themselves in a high risk, low-return, capital intensive industry caught in a 10-year major growth trend driven by U.S. exports. Unfortunately, for the immediate future there is no end in sight. figs

Energy mergers, acquisitions and trusts : no end in sight

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shiry, J. [Woodside Research Ltd., Calgary, AB (Canada)

1998-08-01

An overview of Canadian export of natural gas to the U.S. and mergers in the Canadian gas industry was presented. Issues discussed included: (1) the Canadian role in U.S. gas markets, (2) growth, returns, and reinvestment rates in the Canadian gas industry, (3) current and historical mergers and acquisitions activity, (4) the driving forces of continued mergers, and (5) the role of trusts in mergers and acquisitions. It was stressed that the recent trend of energy industry mergers is reshaping the industry. Canadian gas producers are currently finding themselves in a high risk, low-return, capital intensive industry caught in a 10-year major growth trend driven by U.S. exports. Unfortunately, for the immediate future there is no end in sight. figs.

Quantifying the impact of mergers on the angular momentum of simulated galaxies

Science.gov (United States)

Lagos, Claudia del P.; Stevens, Adam R. H.; Bower, Richard G.; Davis, Timothy A.; Contreras, Sergio; Padilla, Nelson D.; Obreschkow, Danail; Croton, Darren; Trayford, James W.; Welker, Charlotte; Theuns, Tom

2018-02-01

We use EAGLE to quantify the effect galaxy mergers have on the stellar specific angular momentum of galaxies, jstars. We split mergers into dry (gas-poor)/wet (gas-rich), major/minor and different spin alignments and orbital parameters. Wet (dry) mergers have an average neutral gas-to-stellar mass ratio of 1.1 (0.02), while major (minor) mergers are those with stellar mass ratios ≥0.3 (0.1-0.3). We correlate the positions of galaxies in the jstars-stellar mass plane at z = 0 with their merger history, and find that galaxies of low spins suffered dry mergers, while galaxies of normal/high spins suffered predominantly wet mergers, if any. The radial jstars profiles of galaxies that went through dry mergers are deficient by ≈0.3 dex at r ≲ 10 r50 (with r50 being the half-stellar mass radius), compared to galaxies that went through wet mergers. Studying the merger remnants reveals that dry mergers reduce jstars by ≈30 per cent, while wet mergers increase it by ≈10 per cent, on average. The latter is connected to the build-up of the bulge by newly formed stars of high rotational speed. Moving from minor to major mergers accentuates these effects. When the spin vectors of the galaxies prior to the dry merger are misaligned, jstars decreases by a greater magnitude, while in wet mergers corotation and high orbital angular momentum efficiently spun-up galaxies. We predict what would be the observational signatures in the jstars profiles driven by dry mergers: (i) shallow radial profiles and (ii) profiles that rise beyond ≈10 r50, both of which are significantly different from spiral galaxies.

An Empirical Analysis of Post-Merger Organizational Integration

OpenAIRE

Smeets, Valerie Anne Rolande; Gibbs, Michael; Ierulli, Kathryn

2015-01-01

We study post-merger organizational integration using linked employer-employee data. Integration is implemented by reassigning a small number of high skilled workers, especially in R&D and management. Workforce mixing is concentrated to establishments set up after merger rather than to previously existing establishments. Worker turnover is high after merger, but new hiring yields stable total employment. Target employees have higher turnover and reassignment, particularly if the target fi...

State energy price and expenditure report 1990

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

The State Energy Price and Expenditure Report (SEPER) presents energy price and expenditure estimates individually for the 50 States and the District of Columbia and in aggregate for the United States. The estimates are provided by energy source and economic sector. This report is an update of the State Energy Price and Expenditure Report 1989 published in September 1991. Energy price and expenditure estimates are published for the years 1970, 1975, 1980, and 1985 through 1990. Documentation follows the tables and describes how the price estimates are developed, including sources of data, methods of estimation, and conversion factors applied

The effects of union mergers and internal restructuring:

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Navrbjerg, Steen Erik; Larsen, Trine Pernille

2016-01-01

Trade union mergers and restructuring are often seen as strategy for union revitalisation and renewal and have been ongoing in the majority of European trade unions. This paper explores how recent union mergers and internal restructuring has affected unions service provision, union democracy...... and interest representation. This is analysed drawing on longitudinal data from two Danish shop steward surveys conducted in 1998 and 2010, comparing shop stewards in merged and non-merged unions respectively. The main results are that although it could be expected that union mergers and internal restructuring......, where union size and less so the union’s recent merger and restructuring history appears to affect shop stewards’ relations with their unions....

Properties of Kilonovae from Dynamical and Post-merger Ejecta of Neutron Star Mergers

Science.gov (United States)

Tanaka, Masaomi; Kato, Daiji; Gaigalas, Gediminas; Rynkun, Pavel; Radžiūtė, Laima; Wanajo, Shinya; Sekiguchi, Yuichiro; Nakamura, Nobuyuki; Tanuma, Hajime; Murakami, Izumi; Sakaue, Hiroyuki A.

2018-01-01

Ejected material from neutron star mergers gives rise to electromagnetic emission powered by radioactive decays of r-process nuclei, the so-called kilonova or macronova. While properties of the emission are largely affected by opacities in the ejected material, available atomic data for r-process elements are still limited. We perform atomic structure calculations for r-process elements: Se (Z = 34), Ru (Z = 44), Te (Z = 52), Ba (Z = 56), Nd (Z = 60), and Er (Z = 68). We confirm that the opacities from bound–bound transitions of open f-shell, lanthanide elements (Nd and Er) are higher than those of the other elements over a wide wavelength range. The opacities of open s-shell (Ba), p-shell (Se and Te), and d-shell (Ru) elements are lower than those of open f-shell elements, and their transitions are concentrated in the ultraviolet and optical wavelengths. We show that the optical brightness can be different by > 2 mag depending on the element abundances in the ejecta such that post-merger, lanthanide-free ejecta produce brighter and bluer optical emission. Such blue emission from post-merger ejecta can be observed from the polar directions if the mass of the preceding dynamical ejecta in these regions is small. For the ejecta mass of 0.01 {M}ȯ , observed magnitudes of the blue emission will reach 21.0 mag (100 Mpc) and 22.5 mag (200 Mpc) in the g and r bands within a few days after the merger, which are detectable with 1 m or 2 m class telescopes.

24 CFR 242.67 - New corporations, subsidiaries, affiliations, and mergers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

..., affiliations, and mergers. 242.67 Section 242.67 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to Housing... Reporting, and Financial Requirements § 242.67 New corporations, subsidiaries, affiliations, and mergers... written approval for all future mergers. ...

Impact of hospital mergers on staff job satisfaction: a quantitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Ka Keat

2014-12-12

Hospital mergers began in the UK in the late 1990s to deal with underperformance. Despite their prevalence, there is a lack of research on how such organizational changes affect the staff morale. This study aims to assess the impact of NHS hospital mergers between financial years 2009/10 and 2011/12 on staff job satisfaction and to identify factors contributing to satisfaction. Data on staff job satisfaction were obtained from the annual NHS Staff Survey. A list of mergers was compiled using data provided by the Cooperation and Competition Panel and the Department of Health. Other sources of data included the NHS Hospital Estates and Facilities Statistics, the NHS 'Quarter' publication, official reports from health service regulators, individual hospitals' annual accounts, data from the NHS Information Centre and the NHS Recurrent Revenue Allocations Exposition Book. Only full mergers of acute and mental health hospitals were analyzed. Propensity scores were generated using observable factors likely to affect merger decision to select three comparable hospitals for every constituent hospital in a merger to act as a control group. A difference-in-difference was estimated between baseline (3 years before merger approval) and each subsequent year up to 4 years post-merger, controlling for work environment, drivers of job satisfaction, data year, type of hospital and occupation group. There were nine mergers during the study period. Only job satisfaction scores 1 to 2 years before (0.03 to 0.04 point) and 1 year after merger approval (0.06 point) were higher (P job clarity ratings would increase job satisfaction scores. Higher job satisfaction scores were also associated with being classified as medical, dental, management or administrative staff and working in a mental health trust. Hospital mergers have a small, transient positive impact on staff job satisfaction in the year immediately before and after merger approval. Continuous staff support and management of

Single and simultaneous binary mergers in Wright-Fisher genealogies.

Science.gov (United States)

Melfi, Andrew; Viswanath, Divakar

2018-05-01

The Kingman coalescent is a commonly used model in genetics, which is often justified with reference to the Wright-Fisher (WF) model. Current proofs of convergence of WF and other models to the Kingman coalescent assume a constant sample size. However, sample sizes have become quite large in human genetics. Therefore, we develop a convergence theory that allows the sample size to increase with population size. If the haploid population size is N and the sample size is N 1∕3-ϵ , ϵ>0, we prove that Wright-Fisher genealogies involve at most a single binary merger in each generation with probability converging to 1 in the limit of large N. Single binary merger or no merger in each generation of the genealogy implies that the Kingman partition distribution is obtained exactly. If the sample size is N 1∕2-ϵ , Wright-Fisher genealogies may involve simultaneous binary mergers in a single generation but do not involve triple mergers in the large N limit. The asymptotic theory is verified using numerical calculations. Variable population sizes are handled algorithmically. It is found that even distant bottlenecks can increase the probability of triple mergers as well as simultaneous binary mergers in WF genealogies. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Economic and organizational determinants of HMO mergers and failures.

Science.gov (United States)

Feldman, R; Wholey, D; Christianson, J

1996-01-01

This study analyzed data from all operational health maintenance organizations (HMOs) in the United States from 1986 through 1993. Eighty HMOs disappeared through mergers and 149 failed over that period. We estimated a multinomial logit model to predict whether an HMO would merge and survive, merge and disappear, or fail, relative to the probability of no event. We found that enrollment and profitability play a critical role in explaining HMO mergers and failures: large and profitable HMOs were more likely to merge and survive, but less likely to merge and disappear or fail. These results explain why HMO merger and failure rates fell after 1988, as most surviving HMOs became larger and more profitable. Among several market-area variables in the model, state anti-takeover regulations had a negative impact on mergers. Mergers were more likely in markets with more competing HMOs, but the overall market penetration of HMOs had no effect on mergers. This result may have important implications for the current debate over the future of the competitive health care strategy. If public policy successfully stimulates the development of large numbers of new HMOs, another wave of mergers and failures is likely to occur. But it appears that growth in overall HMO penetration will not lead inevitably to increased market concentration.

Rethinking and re-imagining mergers in further and higher ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Higher and Further Education in South Africa has been characterized by major changes regarding the shape and size of the system. One of these changes has been the so-called mergers. This article addresses the scenario which contributed to the mergers. An overview of various frameworks or models for mergers is ...

Merger and Innovation Incentives in a Differentiated Industry

OpenAIRE

Kesavayuth, Dusanee; Lee, Sang-Ho; Zikos, Vasileios

2017-01-01

In this paper, we consider a duopoly with product differentiation and examine the interaction between merger and innovation incentives. The analysis reveals that a merger tends to discourage innovation, unless the investment cost is sufficiently low. This result holds whether or not side payments between firms are allowed. When side payments are permitted, a bilateral merger-to-monopoly is always profitable, a standard result in the literature. When side payments are not permitted, however, w...

The Library as Publisher.

Science.gov (United States)

Field, Roy

1979-01-01

Presents a guide to for-profit library publishing of reprints, original manuscripts, and smaller items. Discussed are creation of a publications panel to manage finances and preparation, determining prices of items, and drawing up author contracts. (SW)

The Fate of Neutron Star Binary Mergers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Piro, Anthony L. [The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States); Giacomazzo, Bruno [Physics Department, University of Trento, via Sommarive 14, I-38123 Trento (Italy); Perna, Rosalba, E-mail: piro@carnegiescience.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794 (United States)

2017-08-01

Following merger, a neutron star (NS) binary can produce roughly one of three different outcomes: (1) a stable NS, (2) a black hole (BH), or (3) a supramassive, rotationally supported NS, which then collapses to a BH following angular momentum losses. Which of these fates occur and in what proportion has important implications for the electromagnetic transient associated with the mergers and the expected gravitational wave (GW) signatures, which in turn depend on the high density equation of state (EOS). Here we combine relativistic calculations of NS masses using realistic EOSs with Monte Carlo population synthesis based on the mass distribution of NS binaries in our Galaxy to predict the distribution of fates expected. For many EOSs, a significant fraction of the remnants are NSs or supramassive NSs. This lends support to scenarios in which a quickly spinning, highly magnetized NS may be powering an electromagnetic transient. This also indicates that it will be important for future GW observatories to focus on high frequencies to study the post-merger GW emission. Even in cases where individual GW events are too low in signal to noise to study the post merger signature in detail, the statistics of how many mergers produce NSs versus BHs can be compared with our work to constrain the EOS. To match short gamma-ray-burst (SGRB) X-ray afterglow statistics, we find that the stiffest EOSs are ruled out. Furthermore, many popular EOSs require a significant fraction of ∼60%–70% of SGRBs to be from NS–BH mergers rather than just binary NSs.

[Effects of hospital mergers on health economy].

Science.gov (United States)

Ingebrigtsen, Tor

2010-05-06

Norwegian hospitals have been characterised by increasing activity, expansion of services and increasing costs for a long time. Differences in quality and accessibility have been documented between hospitals in various geographic locations. Transferral of hospital ownership to the state (from 2002) aimed at increasing capacities and improving quality of services, but also at restricting the increase of costs. These goals have only been partly met. The structure of hospital trusts and organisation of services are therefore continuously debated. This literature review aims at examining whether hospital mergers can reduce costs and at the same time increase the quality of services offered. Literature was identified through a Medline search using the terms "hospital", "merger" and "cost saving". The results are summarized and discussed. Seven original studies of totally 476 hospital mergers (in the USA, Great Britain and Norway) were identified in the period 1982 - 2000. The literature indicates that hospital mergers have a potential to reduce costs by about 10 % if the process achieves complete fusion of previously independent organisations, with a more optimal dimensioning of services and development of a common organizational culture. Collaboration between top management and the professional bureaucracy are prerequisites for success. Mergers are associated with a significant risk of unexpected problems and temporary reduced quality of the services.

29 CFR 4231.7 - De minimis mergers and transfers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... actuarial valuation. (b) De minimis merger defined. A merger is de minimis if the present value of accrued... market value of all the assets of the transferor plan; (2) The present value of the accrued benefits... value of the plan's assets is the highest. (1) A merger is not de minimis if the total present value of...

Numerical Relativity Simulations for Black Hole Merger Astrophysics

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, John G.

2010-01-01

Massive black hole mergers are perhaps the most energetic astronomical events, establishing their importance as gravitational wave sources for LISA, and also possibly leading to observable influences on their local environments. Advances in numerical relativity over the last five years have fueled the development of a rich physical understanding of general relativity's predictions for these events. Z will overview the understanding of these event emerging from numerical simulation studies. These simulations elucidate the pre-merger dynamics of the black hole binaries, the consequent gravitational waveform signatures ' and the resulting state, including its kick velocity, for the final black hole produced by the merger. Scenarios are now being considered for observing each of these aspects of the merger, involving both gravitational-wave and electromagnetic astronomy.

78 FR 15015 - Formations of, Acquisitions by, and Mergers of Bank Holding Companies; Correction

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-08

... FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM Formations of, Acquisitions by, and Mergers of Bank Holding Companies; Correction This notice corrects a notice (FR Doc. 2013-03831) published on page 11884 of the issue for Wednesday, February 20, 2013. Under the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco heading, the entry for One PacificCoast Foundation and One PacificCoast...

Impact of HMO mergers and acquisitions on financial performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Weech-Maldonado, Robert

2002-01-01

This study examines the effect of health maintenance organization (HMO) mergers and acquisitions on financial performance, as indicated by cash flow returns, profitability ratios, and efficiency indicators. Pooled, cross-sectional files of financial performance data were created for HMO mergers occurring in the period of 1988 to 1994. The study uses a time-series design involving the analysis of pre- and post-acquisition financial performance measured over a period of four years. Change scores for the industry-adjusted financial performance measures were calculated and then evaluated using t-tests. The study showed that HMO mergers had a positive effect on financial performance and efficiency. This effect disappeared, however, after adjusting for HMO industry returns. Potential synergies arising from HMO mergers have been largely illusory. Mergers may have been a result of non-value enhancing motives or management overconfidence.

Mergers and innovation in the pharmaceutical industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Comanor, William S; Scherer, F M

2013-01-01

Conflicting trends confound the pharmaceutical industry. The productivity of pharmaceutical innovation has declined in recent years. At the same time, the cohort of large companies who are the leading engines of pharmaceutical R&D has become increasingly concentrated. The concurrent presence of these trends is not sufficient to determine causation. In response to lagging innovation prospects, some companies have sought refuge in mergers and acquisitions to disguise their dwindling prospects or gain R&D synergies. On the other hand, the increased concentration brought on by recent mergers may have contributed to the declining rate of innovation. In this paper, we consider the second of these causal relationships: the likely impact of the recent merger wave among the largest pharmaceutical companies on the rate of innovation. In other words, have recent mergers, which may have been taken in response to lagging innovation, represented a self-defeating strategy that only made industry outcomes worse? Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

12 CFR 516.70 - Where must I publish the public notice?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Where must I publish the public notice? 516.70 Section 516.70 Banks and Banking OFFICE OF THRIFT SUPERVISION, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY APPLICATION... for permission to organize under § 543.2 of this chapter, a Bank Merger Act application under 563.22(a...

University Merger Reforms: Rational, political, institutional or incidental processes? The case of Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aagaard, Kurt; Hansen, Hanne Foss; Rasmussen, Jørgen Gulddahl

Mergers have for some years been popular within the public sector in many countries this includes mergers between higher education institutions. In the Danish university and Government Research Institutions sector a process of merger took place in 2006. ‘University merger reforms’ is an analysis ...... on an organizational level demands the use of more than one conceptual model for agenda-setting - decision making and institutional restructuring,......-sector and some of the conclusions made from other kinds of merger studies. Important conclusions of the study of the three universities are that mergers and especially post-mergers processes are much more than linear, straight forward rational processes and that understanding merger processes...

A method for estimating time-frequency characteristics of compact binary mergers to improve searches for inspiral, merger and ring-down phases separately

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanna, Chad; Megevand, Miguel; Palenzuela, Carlos; Ochsner, Evan

2009-01-01

Recent advances in the description of compact binary systems have produced gravitational waveforms that include inspiral, merger and ring-down phases. Comparing results from numerical simulations with those of post-Newtonian, and related, expansions has provided motivation for employing post-Newtonian waveforms in near merger epochs when searching for gravitational waves and has encouraged the development of analytic fits to full numerical waveforms. Until searches employ full waveforms as templates, data analysts can still conduct separate inspiral, merger and ring-down searches. Improved knowledge about the end of the inspiral phase, the beginning of the merger and the ring-down frequencies will increase the efficiency of searches over each phase separately without needing the exact waveform. We will show that knowledge of the final spin, of which there are many theoretical models and analytic fits to simulations, may give an insight into the time-frequency properties of the merger. We also present implications on the ability to probe the tidal disruption of neutron stars through gravitational waves.

Eccentric, nonspinning, inspiral, Gaussian-process merger approximant for the detection and characterization of eccentric binary black hole mergers

Science.gov (United States)

Huerta, E. A.; Moore, C. J.; Kumar, Prayush; George, Daniel; Chua, Alvin J. K.; Haas, Roland; Wessel, Erik; Johnson, Daniel; Glennon, Derek; Rebei, Adam; Holgado, A. Miguel; Gair, Jonathan R.; Pfeiffer, Harald P.

2018-01-01

We present ENIGMA, a time domain, inspiral-merger-ringdown waveform model that describes nonspinning binary black holes systems that evolve on moderately eccentric orbits. The inspiral evolution is described using a consistent combination of post-Newtonian theory, self-force and black hole perturbation theory. Assuming eccentric binaries that circularize prior to coalescence, we smoothly match the eccentric inspiral with a stand-alone, quasicircular merger, which is constructed using machine learning algorithms that are trained with quasicircular numerical relativity waveforms. We show that ENIGMA reproduces with excellent accuracy the dynamics of quasicircular compact binaries. We validate ENIGMA using a set of Einstein Toolkit eccentric numerical relativity waveforms, which describe eccentric binary black hole mergers with mass-ratios between 1 ≤q ≤5.5 , and eccentricities e0≲0.2 ten orbits before merger. We use this model to explore in detail the physics that can be extracted with moderately eccentric, nonspinning binary black hole mergers. In particular, we use ENIGMA to show that the gravitational wave transients GW150914, GW151226, GW170104, GW170814 and GW170608 can be effectively recovered with spinning, quasicircular templates if the eccentricity of these events at a gravitational wave frequency of 10 Hz satisfies e0≤{0.175 ,0.125 ,0.175 ,0.175 ,0.125 }, respectively. We show that if these systems have eccentricities e0˜0.1 at a gravitational wave frequency of 10 Hz, they can be misclassified as quasicircular binaries due to parameter space degeneracies between eccentricity and spin corrections. Using our catalog of eccentric numerical relativity simulations, we discuss the importance of including higher-order waveform multipoles in gravitational wave searches of eccentric binary black hole mergers.

Strategy and Tactics of International Mergers and Acquisitions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Denys Kiriakov

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The article reviews contemporary strategy and tactics issues in terms of international mergers and acquisitions, along with displaying cyclical waves of mergers and acquisitions over the last century as well as motivation thereof. Five strategies adhered to by international companies initiating conclusion of such agreements as well as challenges accompanying execution thereof have been analyzed. Modern strategic and tactical tools of international mergers and acquisitions process management have been researched on exemplary buyer (a corporation case-study.

Mergers and Acquisitions in India

OpenAIRE

Agarwal, Ankita

2009-01-01

From the past few decades, Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) have dominated the environment in which the companies operate. Whenever there is an announcement about a merger, there is an excitement and expectation among the shareholders. This expectation may or may not convert into an abnormal return. It is useful to have some kind of research activity on the performance of M&A, as both bidders and target firms will gain from it. The results have revealed that on average, the returns to the targ...

Mergers of black-hole binaries with aligned spins: Waveform characteristics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kelly, Bernard J.; Baker, John G.; Centrella, Joan; Boggs, William D.; McWilliams, Sean T.

2011-01-01

We conduct a descriptive analysis of the multipolar structure of gravitational-radiation waveforms from equal-mass aligned-spin mergers, following an approach first presented in the complementary context of nonspinning black holes of varying mass ratio [J. G. Baker et al., Phys. Rev. D 78, 044046 (2008).]. We find that, as with the nonspinning mergers, the dominant waveform mode phases evolve together in lock-step through inspiral and merger, supporting the previous waveform description in terms of an adiabatically rigid rotator driving gravitational-wave emission--an implicit rotating source. We further apply the late-time merger-ringdown model for the rotational frequency introduced in [J. G. Baker et al., Phys. Rev. D 78, 044046 (2008).], along with an improved amplitude model appropriate for the dominant (2, ±2) modes. This provides a quantitative description of the merger-ringdown waveforms, and suggests that the major features of these waveforms can be described with reference only to the intrinsic parameters associated with the state of the final black hole formed in the merger. We provide an explicit model for the merger-ringdown radiation, and demonstrate that this model agrees to fitting factors better than 95% with the original numerical waveforms for system masses above ∼150M · . This model may be directly applicable to gravitational-wave detection of intermediate-mass black-hole mergers.

17 CFR 242.201 - Price test.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Price test. 242.201 Section...-Regulation of Short Sales § 242.201 Price test. Link to an amendment published at 75 FR 11323, Mar. 10, 2010. (a) No short sale price test, including any short sale price test of any self-regulatory organization...

76 FR 60494 - Formations of, Acquisitions by, and Mergers of Savings and Loan Holding Companies; Correction

Science.gov (United States)

2011-09-29

... FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM Formations of, Acquisitions by, and Mergers of Savings and Loan Holding Companies; Correction This notice corrects a notice (FR Doc. 2011-24388) published on page 58812 of the... with Polonia Bancorp, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland, which proposes to become a savings and loan holding...

Mergers and acquisitions: some implications of cultural change.

Science.gov (United States)

Cavanaugh, S J

1996-01-01

A result of recent National Health Service reforms is the need to investigate, and possibly change, the culture of the professional working relationship between members of staff and their employer. This is particularly the case in situations of mergers and acquisitions where staff working from different cultural environments must work together. Mergers are becoming a feature of health service provision, perhaps this becomes most obvious with the recent moves by colleges of nursing and midwifery into the higher education sector and amalgamations of some purchasing authorities. Mergers highlight the practical issues of bringing together different organizational and work cultures to deliver a high quality service. This article discusses some aspects of the nature of organizational culture, the human impact of mergers and acquisitions and offers strategies for managing these events.

ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS IN CORPORATE INTEGRATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucia P. BLĂJUȚ

2015-04-01

Full Text Available This paper highlights the role of international mergers and acquisitions in corporate integration. The factors that stimulate mergers and acquisitions activities bring real changes in the world economy. Mergers and acquisitions are a form of expansion: mergers can take place either as a statutory merger or consolidation and minority, majority or full acquisitions dominate the international market. It is very important to not confuse the meaning of the two terms. Multinational companies are forced by the competitive environment to adopt new strategies to penetrate a particular market and decrease the position of competition on global market or to counteract competitor action on the other market. Cross-border M and A is functionally classified in horizontal, vertical, concentric and conglomerate. The balance between these types of M and A has been changing over time and the distinction among these four categories is not always clear-cut.

78 FR 63476 - Formations of, Acquisitions by, and Mergers of Bank Holding Companies; Correction

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-24

... FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM Formations of, Acquisitions by, and Mergers of Bank Holding Companies; Correction This notice corrects a notice (FR Doc. 2013-24511) published on page 62363 of the issue for Monday, October 21, 2013. Under the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas heading, the entry for WCM-Parkway, Ltd, Dallas, Texas, is revised to read as...

Merger and Industrial Acceleration: Study at Indonesian Islamic Banking Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kindy Miftah

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research tries to feed the alternatives of merger between Islamic banks which becomes a form of recommendation to optimize the merger result, so it will contribute to the development of Indonesia’s banking sector in particular. Methodolgy of this study is using comparison technique utilize result of calculation valuation based on valuation theory in general with method discounted cash flaw (DCF. Valuation data processing using data past performance sharia banks is to plan future financial performance. Results of valuation will be conducted both with individual banks that will be merged and alternative merger determined. These findings implied from various possibility alternative mergers between sharia banks, there are 5 alternatives that are feasible considering the internal aspect such as tendency shareholder and condition sharia bank to be merged related to internal interest and external aspect namely scale of assets from merger banks and probability success from merger process.DOI:  10.15408/sjie.v6i1.4728

Publisher Correction: The price of fast fashion

Science.gov (United States)

2018-02-01

In the version of this Editorial originally published, the rate of clothing disposal to landfill was incorrectly given as `one rubbish truck per day'; it should have read `one rubbish truck per second'. This has now been corrected in the online versions of the Editorial.

Mergers and acquisitions in the international banking sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Botis, S.

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The economic crisis emphasized the risks that banks assume and run. Reducing them is a strong reason for the acceleration of mergers and acquisitions in the international banking field. The merger of banking entities has established itself as a modern method of global credit risk management within every country and internationally. The main objective of this article is to highlight the latest developments on the bank mergers and acquisitions market in the U.S. and EU and on emerging market trends.

EUROPEAN CROSS-BORDER MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS- REALITIES AND PERSPECTIVES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vancea Mariana

2011-07-01

Full Text Available This paper analyses the impact of the economic and financial crisis on merger and acquisition activity in Europe and the latest trends manifested on the cross-border merger and acquisition market involving European companies. Thus, a first objective of this research is to reveal the evolution of the European cross-border merger and acquisition activity in terms of dynamics, volume and structure. Another objective of this research is to reveal the short and medium term perspectives on mergers and acquisitions in Europe. Thus, under the continuous economic recovery of the European countries and the other worldwide economies, the recovery of financial markets and the growth of corporate profits, we shall witness an intensive cross-border merger and acquisition activity in Europe. The expansion engine of these operations seems to be represented by the emerging economies. This research is based on a systematic, logical and comparative analysis of scientific literature and statistical data regarding the cross-border mergers and acquisitions that involve European companies in recent years. This paper is part of the doctoral thesis Mergers and acquisitions- strategies of growth and development of enterprises. European and national particularities, coordinated by professor Ph.D. Alina Bădulescu from University of Oradea, Faculty of Economics. The doctoral research is supported by The Sectorial Operational Program for Human Resources Development 2007-2013, Contract POSDRU 59/1.5/S/1- Romanian researchers through modern and efficient doctoral programs.

Mergers in European Higher Education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rocha, Vera; Teixeira, Pedro N.; Biscaia, Ricardo

2018-01-01

In recent years, mergers have been widely used in higher education (HE) to achieve a variety of purposes, ranging from problems of institutional fragmentation to the lack of financial and academic viability, and low institutional efficiency and quality. However, despite a large stream of HE...... literature addressing those issues, there has been little attention to the link between funding-related problems and merger processes. Moreover, there is very little comparative research among different higher education systems experiencing those processes. In this paper, we map and characterize the recent...

Value-based differential pricing: efficient prices for drugs in a global context.

Science.gov (United States)

Danzon, Patricia; Towse, Adrian; Mestre-Ferrandiz, Jorge

2015-03-01

This paper analyzes pharmaceutical pricing between and within countries to achieve second-best static and dynamic efficiency. We distinguish countries with and without universal insurance, because insurance undermines patients' price sensitivity, potentially leading to prices above second-best efficient levels. In countries with universal insurance, if each payer unilaterally sets an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) threshold based on its citizens' willingness-to-pay for health; manufacturers price to that ICER threshold; and payers limit reimbursement to patients for whom a drug is cost-effective at that price and ICER, then the resulting price levels and use within each country and price differentials across countries are roughly consistent with second-best static and dynamic efficiency. These value-based prices are expected to differ cross-nationally with per capita income and be broadly consistent with Ramsey optimal prices. Countries without comprehensive insurance avoid its distorting effects on prices but also lack financial protection and affordability for the poor. Improving pricing efficiency in these self-pay countries includes improving regulation and consumer information about product quality and enabling firms to price discriminate within and between countries. © 2013 The Authors. Health Economics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Observing Mergers of Non-Spinning Black-Hole Binaries

Science.gov (United States)

McWilliams, Sean T.; Boggs, William D.; Baker, John G.; Kelly, Bernard J.

2010-01-01

Advances in the field of numerical relativity now make it possible to calculate the final, most powerful merger phase of binary black-hole coalescence for generic binaries. The state of the art has advanced well beyond the equal-mass case into the unequal-mass and spinning regions of parameter space. We present a study of the nonspinning portion of parameter space, primarily using an analytic waveform model tuned to available numerical data, with an emphasis on observational implications. We investigate the impact of varied m8BS ratio on merger signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) for several detectors, and compare our results with expectations from the test-mass limit. We note a striking similarity of the waveform phasing of the merger waveform across the available mass ratios. Motivated by this, we calculate the match between our equal-mass and 4:1 mass-ratio waveforms during the merger as a function of location on the source sky, using a new formalism for the match that accounts for higher harmonics. This is an indicator of the amount of degeneracy in mass ratio for mergers of moderate mass ratio systems.

RECOILING MASSIVE BLACK HOLES IN GAS-RICH GALAXY MERGERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guedes, Javiera; Madau, Piero; Mayer, Lucio; Callegari, Simone

2011-01-01

The asymmetric emission of gravitational waves produced during the coalescence of a massive black hole (MBH) binary imparts a velocity 'kick' to the system that can displace the hole from the center of its host. Here, we study the trajectories and observability of MBHs recoiling in three (one major, two minor) gas-rich galaxy merger remnants that were previously simulated at high resolution, and in which the pairing of the MBHs had been shown to be successful. We run new simulations of MBHs recoiling in the major merger remnant with Mach numbers in the range 1≤M≤6 and use simulation data to construct a semi-analytical model for the orbital evolution of MBHs in gas-rich systems. We show the following. (1) In major merger remnants the energy deposited by the moving hole into the rotationally supported, turbulent medium makes a negligible contribution to the thermodynamics of the gas. This contribution becomes significant in minor merger remnants, potentially allowing for an electromagnetic signature of MBH recoil. (2) In major merger remnants, the combination of both deeper central potential well and drag from high-density gas confines even MBHs with kick velocities as high as 1200 km s -1 within 1 kpc from the host's center. (3) Kinematically offset nuclei may be observable for timescales of a few Myr in major merger remnants in the case of recoil velocities in the range 700-1000 km s -1 . (4) In minor merger remnants the effect of gas drag is weaker, and MBHs with recoil speeds in the range 300-600 km s -1 will wander through the host halo for longer timescales. When accounting for the probability distribution of kick velocities, however, we find that the likelihood of observing recoiling MBHs in gas-rich galaxy mergers is very low even in the best-case scenario.

Resilience and Coping After Hospital Mergers.

Science.gov (United States)

Russo, Cynthia; Calo, Oriana; Harrison, Georgia; Mahoney, Kathleen; Zavotsky, Kathleen Evanovich

The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between resilience and coping in frontline nurses working in a healthcare system that has recently undergone a merger. Hospital mergers are common in the current healthcare environment. Mergers can provide hospital nurses the opportunity to use and develop positive coping strategies to help remain resilient during times of change. An anonymous-survey, quantitative, exploratory, descriptive study design was used. Data were obtained from an electronic survey that was made available to all nurses working in a 3-hospital system located in the northeast. Overall, the results showed that, when nurses reported using positive coping strategies, they report higher levels of resilience. The levels of resilience also varied from campus to campus. The campus that has been through 2 recent mergers reported the highest levels of resilience. This study suggests that, during times of change in the workplace, if nurses are encouraged to use positive coping strategies, they may have higher levels of resilience. This changing environment provides the clinical nurse specialists/clinical nurse educators the opportunity to foster and support frontline nurses in the use of healthy coping strategies and to help improve and maintain a high level of resilience, which is critical in today's healthcare environment.

The effect of mergers and acquisitions on behavioral health care.

Science.gov (United States)

Lazarus, A

1995-01-01

The consolidation of America's managed health care industry rivals any corporate raider scenario. Unlike previous merger booms, however, health care unions in the 1990s have been strategically planned. Particular attention is paid to merger activity in the behavioral health care field. Ultimately, the author writes, mergers will bring greater efficiency and lower costs to health care but also less choice for patients. Unless providers and payers pay close attention to the human side of mergers and acquisitions, new alliances are likely to fall short of their goals.

VersaCold: Analysis of Change Management in Mergers & Acquisitions

OpenAIRE

Eslami, Sara

2011-01-01

Many firms use mergers and acquisitions as a corporate strategy to increase shareholder value. Therefore, understanding such a widely exercised strategy and its implications on corporate change would be critical for organizations that wish to pursue this strategy. This study provides an in depth review of mergers and acquisitions and introduces best practices for managing changes that result from mergers and acquisitions. Next, the concepts are applied to two cases of acquisitions in VersaCol...

12 CFR 611.1125 - Treatment of associations not approving districtwide mergers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... in a districtwide merger or consolidation: (1) Discriminate in the provision of any financial service... ORGANIZATION Mergers, Consolidations, and Charter Amendments of Associations § 611.1125 Treatment of... certificates of territory for districtwide mergers or consolidations of associations, the Farm Credit...

State energy price and expenditure report 1989

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-01-01

The State Energy Price and Expenditure Report (SEPER) presents energy price and expenditure estimates for the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the United States. The estimates are provided by energy source (e.g., petroleum, natural gas, coal, and electricity) and by major consuming or economic sector. This report is an update of the State Energy Price and Expenditure Report 1988 published in September 1990. Changes from the last report are summarized in a section of the documentation. Energy price and expenditure estimates are published for the years 1970, 1975, 1980, and 1985 through 1989. Documentation follows the tables and describes how the price estimates are developed, including sources of data, methods of estimation, and conversion factors applied. Consumption estimates used to calculate expenditures, and the documentation for those estimates, are from the State Energy Data Report, Consumption Estimates, 1960--1989 (SEDR), published in May 1991. Expenditures are calculated by multiplying the price estimates by the consumption estimates, adjusted to remove process fuel and intermediate product consumption. All expenditures are consumer expenditures, that is, they represent estimates of money directly spent by consumers to purchase energy, generally including taxes. 11 figs., 43 tabs

State energy price and expenditure report 1989

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1991-09-30

The State Energy Price and Expenditure Report (SEPER) presents energy price and expenditure estimates for the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the United States. The estimates are provided by energy source (e.g., petroleum, natural gas, coal, and electricity) and by major consuming or economic sector. This report is an update of the State Energy Price and Expenditure Report 1988 published in September 1990. Changes from the last report are summarized in a section of the documentation. Energy price and expenditure estimates are published for the years 1970, 1975, 1980, and 1985 through 1989. Documentation follows the tables and describes how the price estimates are developed, including sources of data, methods of estimation, and conversion factors applied. Consumption estimates used to calculate expenditures, and the documentation for those estimates, are from the State Energy Data Report, Consumption Estimates, 1960--1989 (SEDR), published in May 1991. Expenditures are calculated by multiplying the price estimates by the consumption estimates, adjusted to remove process fuel and intermediate product consumption. All expenditures are consumer expenditures, that is, they represent estimates of money directly spent by consumers to purchase energy, generally including taxes. 11 figs., 43 tabs.

Pricing Models of e-Books When Competing with p-Books

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan Li

2013-01-01

Full Text Available With the rise in popularity of e-books, there is a growing need to reexamine the pricing strategy in the e-book supply chain. In this paper, we study two forms of pricing models widely used in the book industry: wholesale and agency pricing models. We first assume a stylized deterministic demand model in which the demand depends on the price, the degree of substitution, and the overall market potential. Subsequently, we employ the game theory to determine the price equilibriums and profit distribution under different pricing models. Finally, we explore the behavior of the publisher and the retailer under different preferences and degrees of substitution through a computational study. Our findings indicate that the e-book price will be lower under the agency pricing model than under the wholesale pricing model, which is counterintuitive. The publishers have higher incentives to adopt the agency pricing model than the wholesale pricing model. The agency pricing model benefits the whole system and can provide readers with books at lower prices. The degree of substitution between the two forms of books and the readers’ preference toward e-book will affect the books’ price and the profit distribution between the publisher and the retailers.

Role of Human Resources in the Mergers and Acquisitions Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Szewczyk

2007-06-01

Full Text Available The human resources are one of the most important topics when you talk about the value and importance of a company itself. The article tries to show the different aspects where the human resource affects a merger in the different states of a merger process, especially to the pre-merger-phase, and to which problems it can lead when you not pay attention to it. Finally the question, which is indeed the most important aim concerning mergers namely: how and in which degree the human resource effects the goodwill, is tried to answer.

Maximizing value through mergers and acquisitions in the petroleum industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1996-01-01

An 'Insight' conference was held in February 1996 to help understand the economics of mergers and acquisitions in the petroleum industry. Speaking notes, overhead projection slides and full text of the presentations (where available) from seven contributors at the conference were combined in this volume of proceedings. Specific topics of discussion included a review of the current scene in mergers and acquisitions, assessing management and employees, optimizing tax advantages, looking for synergies, the value of human perspective in mergers and acquisitions, tips on analyzing the engineering report, and the market's perception of merger and acquisition reporting. tabs., figs

Maximizing value through mergers and acquisitions in the petroleum industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-12-01

An `Insight` conference was held in February 1996 to help understand the economics of mergers and acquisitions in the petroleum industry. Speaking notes, overhead projection slides and full text of the presentations (where available) from seven contributors at the conference were combined in this volume of proceedings. Specific topics of discussion included a review of the current scene in mergers and acquisitions, assessing management and employees, optimizing tax advantages, looking for synergies, the value of human perspective in mergers and acquisitions, tips on analyzing the engineering report, and the market`s perception of merger and acquisition reporting. tabs., figs.

The Role of Occupational Identification During Post-Merger Integration.

Science.gov (United States)

Kroon, David P; Noorderhaven, Niels G

2018-04-01

Integration processes after mergers are fraught with difficulties, and constitute a main cause of merger failure. This study focuses on the human aspect of post-merger integration, and in particular, on the role of occupational identification. We theorize and empirically demonstrate by means of a survey design that employees' identification with their occupation is positively related to their willingness to cooperate in the post-merger integration process, over and above the effect of organization members' organizational identification. This positive effect of occupational identification is stronger for uniformed personnel but attenuates in the course of the integration process. Qualitative interviews further explore and interpret the results from our statistical analysis. Together, these findings have important practical implications and suggest future research directions.

Advanced LIGO constraints on neutron star mergers and r-process sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Côté, Benoit; Belczynski, Krzysztof; Fryer, Chris L.; Ritter, Christian

2017-01-01

The role of compact binary mergers as the main production site of r-process elements is investigated by combining stellar abundances of Eu observed in the Milky Way, galactic chemical evolution (GCE) simulations, and binary population synthesis models, and gravitational wave measurements from Advanced LIGO. We compiled and reviewed seven recent GCE studies to extract the frequency of neutron star–neutron star (NS–NS) mergers that is needed in order to reproduce the observed [Eu/Fe] versus [Fe/H] relationship. We used our simple chemical evolution code to explore the impact of different analytical delay-time distribution functions for NS–NS mergers. We then combined our metallicity-dependent population synthesis models with our chemical evolution code to bring their predictions, for both NS–NS mergers and black hole–neutron star mergers, into a GCE context. Finally, we convolved our results with the cosmic star formation history to provide a direct comparison with current and upcoming Advanced LIGO measurements. When assuming that NS–NS mergers are the exclusive r-process sites, and that the ejected r-process mass per merger event is 0.01 M_⊙, the number of NS–NS mergers needed in GCE studies is about 10 times larger than what is predicted by standard population synthesis models. Here, these two distinct fields can only be consistent with each other when assuming optimistic rates, massive NS–NS merger ejecta, and low Fe yields for massive stars. For now, population synthesis models and GCE simulations are in agreement with the current upper limit (O1) established by Advanced LIGO during their first run of observations. Upcoming measurements will provide an important constraint on the actual local NS–NS merger rate, will provide valuable insights on the plausibility of the GCE requirement, and will help to define whether or not compact binary mergers can be the dominant source of r-process elements in the universe.

Do Mergers of Potentially Dominant firms foster Innovation?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cefis, E.; Sabidussi, A.; Schenk, E.J.J.

2007-01-01

We investigate the effects of M&A on innovation in the specific context of potential or realized market dominance. Authorities are challenged by balancing both detrimental and beneficial effects of mergers on innovation, especially when a merger threatens to result in market dominance, while

Mergers and acquisitions: A synthesis of theories and directions for future research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wissal Ben Letaifa

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to review a synthesis of theories and empirical studies dealing with the mergers and acquisitions in the recent decay in an attempt to provide directions for future research. The review focuses on four main streams including: first, the motives for mergers-acquisitions; which are the strategic profits, the overconfidence of managers and the desire to create a big empire resulting from merger. From second, corporate characteristics of firms that did merger or acquisition; third, the economic consequences of the operation of merger and acquisition and finally; fourth, the implication on the market with the impact of merger on the value of the firm. We think that this article can give another idea about the information disclosed by any company choosing to merge and can be analyzed by practitioners by giving them the theoretical background of the merger and acquisition problem.

The Fallacies of Mergers Being Acquisitions: Fact or Fiction?

OpenAIRE

Maneckji, Hilla Shahpur

2006-01-01

The goal of this dissertation study was to examine the fallacies of mergers being acquisitions, which is a very new topic, and that hasn’t been investigated in detail before. The aim of this research was to investigate if major global mergers were acquisitions in camouflage and were only created to portray a false perception. The study was conducted to understand the differences and characteristics between mergers and acquisitions that were further examined taking into account live case studi...

Decomposition of potential efficiency gains from hospital mergers in Greece.

Science.gov (United States)

Flokou, Angeliki; Aletras, Vassilis; Niakas, Dimitris

2017-12-01

This paper evaluates the technical efficiency of 71 Greek public hospitals and examines potential efficiency gains from 13 candidate mergers among them. Efficiency assessments are performed using bootstrapped Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) whilst merger analysis is conducted by applying the Bogetoft and Wang methodology which allows the overall potential merger gains to be decomposed into three main components of inefficiency, namely technical (or learning), scope (or harmony) and scale (or size) effects. Thus, the analysis provides important insights not only on the magnitude of the potential total efficiency gains but also on their sources. The overall analysis is conducted in the context of a complete methodological framework where methods for outlier detection, returns to scale identification, and bias corrections for DEA estimations are also applied. Mergers are analyzed under the assumptions of constant, variable and non-decreasing returns to scale in an input oriented DEA model with three inputs and three outputs. The main finding of the study indicates that almost all mergers show substantial potential room for efficiency improvement, which is mainly attributed to the pre-merger technical inefficiencies of the individual hospitals and therefore it might be possible to be achieved without the need of implementing full-scale mergers. The same -though, at a lower extent- applies to the harmony effect whilst the size effect shows marginal or even negative gains.

PAIRING OF SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES IN UNEQUAL-MASS GALAXY MERGERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Callegari, Simone; Mayer, Lucio; Kazantzidis, Stelios; Colpi, Monica; Governato, Fabio; Quinn, Thomas; Wadsley, James

2009-01-01

We examine the pairing process of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) down to scales of 20-100 pc using a set of N-body/SPH simulations of binary mergers of disk galaxies with mass ratios of 1:4 and 1:10. Our numerical experiments are designed to represent merger events occurring at various cosmic epochs. The initial conditions of the encounters are consistent with the ΛCDM paradigm of structure formation, and the simulations include the effects of radiative cooling, star formation (SF), and supernovae feedback. We find that the pairing of SMBHs depends sensitively on the amount of baryonic mass preserved in the center of the companion galaxies during the last phases of the merger. In particular, due to the combination of gasdynamics and SF, we find that a pair of SMBHs can form efficiently in 1:10 minor mergers, provided that galaxies are relatively gas-rich (gas fractions of 30% of the disk mass) and that the mergers occur at relatively high redshift (z ∼ 3), when dynamical friction timescales are shorter. Since 1:10 mergers are most common events during the assembly of galaxies, and mergers are more frequent at high redshift when galaxies are also more gas-rich, our results have positive implications for future gravitational wave experiments such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna.

THE MERGER-TRIGGERED ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS CONTRIBUTION TO THE ULTRALUMINOUS INFRARED GALAXY POPULATION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Draper, A. R.; Ballantyne, D. R.

2012-01-01

It has long been thought that there is a connection between ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs), quasars, and major mergers. Indeed, simulations show that major mergers are capable of triggering massive starbursts and quasars. However, observations by the Herschel Space Observatory suggest that, at least at high redshift, there may not always be a simple causal connection between ULIRGs and mergers. Here, we combine an evolving merger-triggered active galactic nucleus (AGN) luminosity function with a merger-triggered starburst model to calculate the maximum contribution of major mergers to the ULIRG population. We find that major mergers can account for the entire local population of ULIRGs hosting AGNs and ∼25% of the total local ULIRG luminosity density. By z ∼ 1, major mergers can no longer account for the luminosity density of ULIRGs hosting AGNs and contribute ∼<12% of the total ULIRG luminosity density. This drop is likely due to high-redshift galaxies being more gas rich and therefore able to achieve high star formation rates through secular evolution. Additionally, we find that major mergers can account for the local population of warm ULIRGs. This suggests that selecting high-redshift warm ULIRGs will allow for the identification of high-redshift merger-triggered ULIRGs. As major mergers are likely to trigger very highly obscured AGNs, a significant fraction of the high-redshift warm ULIRG population may host Compton thick AGNs.

EVOLUTION OF THE MERGER-INDUCED HYDROSTATIC MASS BIAS IN GALAXY CLUSTERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, Kaylea; Nagai, Daisuke; Rudd, Douglas H.; Shaw, Laurie

2012-01-01

In this work, we examine the effects of mergers on the hydrostatic mass estimate of galaxy clusters using high-resolution Eulerian cosmological simulations. We utilize merger trees to isolate the last merger for each cluster in our sample and follow the time evolution of the hydrostatic mass bias as the systems relax. We find that during a merger, a shock propagates outward from the parent cluster, resulting in an overestimate in the hydrostatic mass bias. After the merger, as a cluster relaxes, the bias in hydrostatic mass estimate decreases but remains at a level of –5%-10% with 15%-20% scatter within r 500 . We also investigate the post-merger evolution of the pressure support from bulk motions, a dominant cause of this residual mass bias. At r 500 , the contribution from random motions peaks at 30% of the total pressure during the merger and quickly decays to ∼10%-15% as a cluster relaxes. Additionally, we use a measure of the random motion pressure to correct the hydrostatic mass estimate. We discover that 4 Gyr after mergers, the direct effects of the merger event on the hydrostatic mass bias have become negligible. Thereafter, the mass bias is primarily due to residual bulk motions in the gas which are not accounted for in the hydrostatic equilibrium equation. We present a hydrostatic mass bias correction method that can recover the unbiased cluster mass for relaxed clusters with 9% scatter at r 500 and 11% scatter in the outskirts, within r 200 .

Horizontal mergers and weak and strong competition commissions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ristić Bojan

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper we analyse the horizontal merger of companies in an already concentrated industry. The participants in mergers are obliged to submit notification to the Competition Commission but they also have the option of rejecting the merger. At the time of the notification submission the participants do not know whether the Commission is strong or weak, and they can complain to the Court if the Commission prohibits the merger. We model the strategic interaction between Participants and Commission in a dynamic game of incomplete information and determine weak perfect Bayesian equilibria. The main finding of our paper is that Participants will base their decision to submit notification on their belief in a weak Commission decision and will almost completely ignore the possibility of a strong Commission decision. We also provide a detailed examination of one case from Serbian regulatory practice, which coincides with the results of our game theoretical model.

State energy price and expenditure report 1994

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-06-01

The State Energy Price and Expenditure Report (SEPER) presents energy price and expenditure estimates individually for the 50 States and the District of Columbia and in aggregate for the United States. The price and expenditure estimates developed in the State Energy Price and Expenditure Data System (SEPEDS) are provided by energy source and economic sector and are published for the years 1970 through 1994. Consumption estimates used to calculate expenditures and the documentation for those estimates are taken from the State Energy Data Report 1994, Consumption Estimates (SEDR), published in October 1996. Expenditures are calculated by multiplying the price estimates by the consumption estimates, which are adjusted to remove process fuel; intermediate petroleum products; and other consumption that has no direct fuel costs, i.e., hydroelectric, geothermal, wind, solar, and photovoltaic energy sources. Documentation is included describing the development of price estimates, data sources, and calculation methods. 316 tabs.

State energy price and expenditure report 1994

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-06-01

The State Energy Price and Expenditure Report (SEPER) presents energy price and expenditure estimates individually for the 50 States and the District of Columbia and in aggregate for the United States. The price and expenditure estimates developed in the State Energy Price and Expenditure Data System (SEPEDS) are provided by energy source and economic sector and are published for the years 1970 through 1994. Consumption estimates used to calculate expenditures and the documentation for those estimates are taken from the State Energy Data Report 1994, Consumption Estimates (SEDR), published in October 1996. Expenditures are calculated by multiplying the price estimates by the consumption estimates, which are adjusted to remove process fuel; intermediate petroleum products; and other consumption that has no direct fuel costs, i.e., hydroelectric, geothermal, wind, solar, and photovoltaic energy sources. Documentation is included describing the development of price estimates, data sources, and calculation methods. 316 tabs

7 CFR 1717.158 - Mergers with borrowers who prepaid RUS loans.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 11 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Mergers with borrowers who prepaid RUS loans. 1717.158 Section 1717.158 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL... GUARANTEED ELECTRIC LOANS Mergers and Consolidations of Electric Borrowers § 1717.158 Mergers with borrowers...

of Mergers and Acquisitions on the Human Resource Department

OpenAIRE

mohatta, maulshree

2007-01-01

Mergers and acquisitions take place in all forms of industries and businesses, however small or large. They have and impact on almost all the areas and departments of business. One department in any business or industry on which a merger or an acquisition has a major impact is the human recourse department or the personnel of the companies which have undergone a merger, or have acquired, or have been acquired. The following dissertation represents an analysis of the research carried out...

Value Creation through ICT Integration in Merger & Acquisition Processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holm Larsen, Michael

2005-01-01

As deals are becoming more complex, and as technology, and the people supporting it, are becoming key drivers of merger and acquisition processes, planning of information and communication technologies in early stages of the integration process is vital to the realization of benefits of an Merger...... & Acquisition process. This statement is substantiated through review of literature from academics as well as practitioners, and case exemplifications of the financial service organization, the Nordea Group. Keywords: ICT Integration, Mergers & Acquisitions, Nordea Group....

Black Hole Mergers, Gravitational Waves, and Multi-Messenger Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Centrella, Joan M.

2010-01-01

The final merger of two black holes is expected to be the strongest source of gravitational waves for both ground-based detectors such as LIGO and VIRGO, as well as the space-based LISA. Since the merger takes place in the regime of strong dynamical gravity, computing the resulting gravitational waveforms requires solving the full Einstein equations of general relativity on a computer. Although numerical codes designed to simulate black hole mergers were plagued for many years by a host of instabilities, recent breakthroughs have conquered these problems and opened up this field dramatically. This talk will focus on the resulting gold rush of new results that is revealing the dynamics and waveforms of binary black hole mergers, and their applications in gravitational wave detection, astrophysics, and testing general relativity.

Modeling the Effects of Mergers in the Retail Sector

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blomgren-Hansen, Niels

2013-01-01

the retail and wholesale markets is constructed, calibrated and simulated based on a concrete case (the acquisition and merger of 250 shops previously organized in a voluntary chain of shops comprising roughly half of the market for high-end cosmetics in Denmark). Model simulations predicts that the merger......According to EU competition law, mergers that significantly impedes effective competition, particularly by creating or strengthening a dominant position are prohibited. To identify these cases, authorities need a quantifiable model of the relationship between the variables that are affected...... by the merger and some measure of competition. Furthermore, the authorities must make their decision quickly, rendering deliberate data collection and econometric analyses infeasible in practice. The decision must be based on easily accessible data. In this paper, a simple model of the interaction between...

Mergers and acquisitions's impact on financial performance: an ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Mergers and acquisitions's impact on financial performance: an evaluation with perspective of time. ... Journal Home > Vol 9, No 5S (2017) > ... are firms are able to convert these qualitative aspects into quantitative form and if yes than ... Keywords: mergers and acquisitions; du pont analysis; long run; financial performance; ...

Galaxy Mergers from the Largest to the Smallest Scales: Introduction and Overview

Science.gov (United States)

Centrella, Joan

2012-01-01

Galaxy mergers encompass a wide range of astrophysical phenomena, including cosmological considerations, gas and stellar dynamics, AGN evolution, and mergers of the central SMBHs. Astrophysical signatures of galaxy mergers can be observed across most of the electromagnetic spectrum and through gravitational radiation. This talk provides an introduction and overview of the meeting, highlighting the key aspects of galaxy mergers from large to small scales.

Cosmic Collisions: Galaxy Mergers and Evolution

Science.gov (United States)

Trouille, Laura; Willett, Kyle; Masters, Karen; Lintott, Christopher; Whyte, Laura; Lynn, Stuart; Tremonti, Christina A.

2014-08-01

Over the years evidence has mounted for a significant mode of galaxy evolution via mergers. This process links gas-rich, spiral galaxies; starbursting galaxies; active galactic nuclei (AGN); post-starburst galaxies; and gas-poor, elliptical galaxies, as objects representing different phases of major galaxy mergers. The post-starburst phase is particularly interesting because nearly every galaxy that evolves from star-forming to quiescent must pass through it. In essence, this phase is a sort of galaxy evolution “bottleneck” that indicates that a galaxy is actively evolving through important physical transitions. In this talk I will present the results from the ‘Galaxy Zoo Quench’ project - using post-starburst galaxies to place observational constraints on the role of mergers and AGN activity in quenching star formation. `Quench’ is the first fully collaborative research project with Zooniverse citizen scientists online; engaging the public in all phases of research, from classification to data analysis and discussion to writing the article and submission to a refereed journal.

Properties of Merger Shocks in Merging Galaxy Clusters

Science.gov (United States)

Ha, Ji-Hoon; Ryu, Dongsu; Kang, Hyesung

2018-04-01

X-ray shocks and radio relics detected in the cluster outskirts are commonly interpreted as shocks induced by mergers of subclumps. We study the properties of merger shocks in merging galaxy clusters, using a set of cosmological simulations for the large-scale structure formation of the universe. As a representative case, we focus on the simulated clusters that undergo almost head-on collisions with mass ratio ∼2. Due to the turbulent nature of the intracluster medium, shock surfaces are not smooth, but composed of shocks with different Mach numbers. As the merger shocks expand outward from the core to the outskirts, the average Mach number, , increases in time. We suggest that the shocks propagating along the merger axis could be manifested as X-ray shocks and/or radio relics. The kinetic energy through the shocks, F ϕ , peaks at ∼1 Gyr after their initial launching, or at ∼1–2 Mpc from the core. Because of the Mach number dependent model adopted here for the cosmic-ray (CR) acceleration efficiency, their CR-energy-weighted Mach number is higher with }CR}∼ 3{--}4, compared to the kinetic-energy-weighted Mach number, }φ ∼ 2{--}3. Most energetic shocks are to be found ahead of the lighter dark matter (DM) clump, while the heavier DM clump is located on the opposite side of clusters. Although our study is limited to the merger case considered, the results such as the means and variations of shock properties and their time evolution could be compared with the observed characteristics of merger shocks, constraining interpretations of relevant observations.

Towards a Novel Conceptual Framework for Understanding Mergers in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Yuzhuo; Pinheiro, Rómulo; Geschwind, Lars; Aarrevaara, Timo

2016-01-01

This paper tries to develop a conceptual framework for a comprehensive understanding of the merger process, which is regarded as a matter of institutionalization of organizational innovation. In the framework, a number of factors affecting merger process or institutionalization of merger are identified, such as those related to environmental…

An Empirical Analysis of Post-Merger Organizational Integration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Smeets, Valerie Anne Rolande; Ierulli, Kathryn; Gibbs, Michael

2016-01-01

existing establishments. Worker turnover is high after merger, but new hiring yields stable total employment. Target employees have higher turnover and reassignment, particularly if the target firm is small relative to the acquiring firm. These findings may suggest integration is costly, but can......We study post-merger organizational integration using linked employer-employee data. Integration is implemented by reassigning a small number of high skilled workers, especially in R&D and management. Workforce mixing is concentrated to establishments set up after merger rather than to previously...... be achieved by focusing on key employees. Alternatively, reassigning a few key employees is sufficient for achieving integration....

Book Trade Research and Statistics. Prices of U.S. and Foreign Published Materials; Book Title Output and Average Prices: 2000 Final and 2001 Preliminary Figures; Book Sales Statistics, 2001: AAP Preliminary Estimates; U.S. Book Exports and Imports: 2001; Number of Book Outlets in the United States and Canada; Review Media Statistics.

Science.gov (United States)

Sullivan, Sharon G.; Barr, Catherine; Grabois, Andrew

2002-01-01

Includes six articles that report on prices of U.S. and foreign published materials; book title output and average prices; book sales statistics; book exports and imports; book outlets in the U.S. and Canada; and review media statistics. (LRW)

Transparency and Coordinated Effects in European Merger Control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Albæk, Svend; Møllgaard, H. Peter; Overgaard, Per Baltzer

2010-01-01

In this paper, we first outline the foundations in economic theory of so-called coordinated effects with a particular view to mergers and with a special focus on transparency. Then, we review a number of seminal merger cases in EU competition policy (Airtours, Sony/BMG, ABF/GBI Business) in light...

12 CFR 931.5 - Liquidation, merger, or consolidation.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Liquidation, merger, or consolidation. 931.5 Section 931.5 Banks and Banking FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE BOARD FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK RISK MANAGEMENT AND CAPITAL STANDARDS FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK CAPITAL STOCK § 931.5 Liquidation, merger, or consolidation. The...

Astrophysics of Super-Massive Black Hole Mergers

Science.gov (United States)

Schnittman, Jeremy D.

2013-01-01

We present here an overview of recent work in the subject of astrophysical manifestations of super-massive black hole (SMBH) mergers. This is a field that has been traditionally driven by theoretical work, but in recent years has also generated a great deal of interest and excitement in the observational astronomy community. In particular, the electromagnetic (EM) counterparts to SMBH mergers provide the means to detect and characterize these highly energetic events at cosmological distances, even in the absence of a space-based gravitational-wave observatory. In addition to providing a mechanism for observing SMBH mergers, EM counterparts also give important information about the environments in which these remarkable events take place, thus teaching us about the mechanisms through which galaxies form and evolve symbiotically with their central black holes.

Creditor-focused corporate governance: Evidence from mergers and acquisitions in Japan

NARCIS (Netherlands)

V. Mehrotra (Vikas); D. van Schaik (Dimitri); J. Spronk (Jaap); O.W. Steenbeek (Onno)

2011-01-01

textabstractMergers in Japan have the dubious distinction of not creating wealth for shareholders of target firms, in sharp contrast to what occurs in much of the rest of the world. Using a sample of 91 mergers from 1982 through 2003 we document several distinctive features of the merger market in

The price-perceived quality relationship

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Völckner, Franziska; Hofmann, Julian

2009-01-01

The authors conducted a meta-analysis of study results on the price-perceived quality relationship published from 1989 to 2006. The findings show that the price effect on perceived quality has decreased. Furthermore, the price–quality relationship is stronger in studies that use a within-subjects...

Mergers and acquisitions: valuation and risk assessment; CD-ROM ed.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McVeigh, C.A. [Currie Coopers and Lybrand, Toronto, ON (Canada)

1996-04-01

An overview of various aspects of mergers and acquisition transactions in the petroleum industry were presented. Incentives to mergers and acquisitions were reviewed and discussed, among them value opportunity, critical size, incremental tax pools, financial distress, shareholder dissatisfaction, strategic infrastructure position, complementary assets, and undeveloped land inventory. Current trends in mergers and acquisitions were highlighted. An industry checklist for risk assessments discussing financial position, engineering forecasts, and taxation was also included.

COMPANIES’ MERGERS AND AQUISITIONS AS A SOCIAL PROCESS: MODERN REALITIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. A. Barkov

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Mergers and acquisitions have become one of the main business strategies in the past decades. However, as the international experience indicates, the impact of mergers and acquisitions is rather ambiguous. On the one hand, mergers accelerate the evolution of organizations, strengthen their market positions and competitive advantages, create opportunities for the future development. On the other hand, mergers and acquisitions often lead to severe system crises, caused by various confrontations and risks. From the social and administrative point of view, mergers and acquisitions are commonly perceived as troublesome transformation processes instilling distrust and fear in the workers. Fear of the upcoming mergers is typical not only for ordinary employees, but also for senior management, who remains the most vulnerable unit in the M&A process. Mergers are considered as a stress and challenge for all the categories of employees. The employees realize the instability and the vulnerability of their current statuses, the limited ability to influence the situation and job insecurity. The uncertainty and fear lead to the employees’ resistance of different kinds, which eventually destroys the corporate unity, exacerbates the contradictions between various groups of employees and destabilizes the operation of companies. The authors assume that in the post-industrial age the employees’ perceptions of the merger processes can change and study the trends and factors which determine employees’ attitude towards mergers and acquisitions. Nowadays management strategies and the logic of administrative processes change radically, the structure of companies and the relationships in organizations networks undergo crucial transformations. The tendency to the democratization of organizations has received widespread recognition; companies become more flexible and are more frequently perceived and operate as open systems. The companies start to use the project

The fraction of AGNs in major merger galaxies and its luminosity dependence

Science.gov (United States)

Weigel, Anna K.; Schawinski, Kevin; Treister, Ezequiel; Trakhtenbrot, Benny; Sanders, David B.

2018-05-01

We use a phenomenological model which connects the galaxy and active galactic nucleus (AGN) populations to investigate the process of AGNs triggering through major galaxy mergers at z ˜ 0. The model uses stellar mass functions as input and allows the prediction of AGN luminosity functions based on assumed Eddington ratio distribution functions (ERDFs). We show that the number of AGNs hosted by merger galaxies relative to the total number of AGNs increases as a function of AGN luminosity. This is due to more massive galaxies being more likely to undergo a merger and does not require the assumption that mergers lead to higher Eddington ratios than secular processes. Our qualitative analysis also shows that to match the observations, the probability of a merger galaxy hosting an AGN and accreting at a given Eddington value has to be increased by a factor ˜10 relative to the general AGN population. An additional significant increase of the fraction of high Eddington ratio AGNs among merger host galaxies leads to inconsistency with the observed X-ray luminosity function. Physically our results imply that, compared to the general galaxy population, the AGN fraction among merger galaxies is ˜10 times higher. On average, merger triggering does however not lead to significantly higher Eddington ratios.

Modeling the Complete Gravitational Wave Spectrum of Neutron Star Mergers.

Science.gov (United States)

Bernuzzi, Sebastiano; Dietrich, Tim; Nagar, Alessandro

2015-08-28

In the context of neutron star mergers, we study the gravitational wave spectrum of the merger remnant using numerical relativity simulations. Postmerger spectra are characterized by a main peak frequency f2 related to the particular structure and dynamics of the remnant hot hypermassive neutron star. We show that f(2) is correlated with the tidal coupling constant κ(2)^T that characterizes the binary tidal interactions during the late-inspiral merger. The relation f(2)(κ(2)^T) depends very weakly on the binary total mass, mass ratio, equation of state, and thermal effects. This observation opens up the possibility of developing a model of the gravitational spectrum of every merger unifying the late-inspiral and postmerger descriptions.

Mergers & Acquisitions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fomcenco, Alex

This dissertation is a legal dogmatic thesis, the goal of which is to describe and analyze the current state of law in Europe in regard to some relevant selected elements related to mergers and acquisitions, and the adviser’s counsel in this regard. Having regard to the topic of the dissertation...... and fiscal neutrality, group-related issues, holding-structure issues, employees, stock exchange listing issues, and corporate nationality....

Pages from the Desktop: Desktop Publishing Today.

Science.gov (United States)

Crawford, Walt

1994-01-01

Discusses changes that have made desktop publishing appealing and reasonably priced. Hardware, software, and printer options for getting started and moving on, typeface developments, and the key characteristics of desktop publishing are described. The author's notes on 33 articles from the personal computing literature from January-March 1994 are…

Evolution Models of Helium White Dwarf–Main-sequence Star Merger Remnants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Xianfei; Bi, Shaolan; Hall, Philip D.; Jeffery, C. Simon

2017-01-01

It is predicted that orbital decay by gravitational-wave radiation and tidal interaction will cause some close binary stars to merge within a Hubble time. The merger of a helium-core white dwarf with a main-sequence (MS) star can produce a red giant branch star that has a low-mass hydrogen envelope when helium is ignited and thus become a hot subdwarf. Because detailed calculations have not been made, we compute post-merger models with a stellar evolution code. We find the evolutionary paths available to merger remnants and find the pre-merger conditions that lead to the formation of hot subdwarfs. We find that some such mergers result in the formation of stars with intermediate helium-rich surfaces. These stars later develop helium-poor surfaces owing to diffusion. Combining our results with a model population and comparing to observed stars, we find that some observed intermediate helium-rich hot subdwarfs can be explained as the remnants of the mergers of helium-core white dwarfs with low-mass MS stars.

Evolution Models of Helium White Dwarf–Main-sequence Star Merger Remnants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Xianfei; Bi, Shaolan [Department of Astronomy, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875 (China); Hall, Philip D.; Jeffery, C. Simon, E-mail: zxf@bnu.edu.cn [Armagh Observatory, College Hill, Armagh BT61 9DG (United Kingdom)

2017-02-01

It is predicted that orbital decay by gravitational-wave radiation and tidal interaction will cause some close binary stars to merge within a Hubble time. The merger of a helium-core white dwarf with a main-sequence (MS) star can produce a red giant branch star that has a low-mass hydrogen envelope when helium is ignited and thus become a hot subdwarf. Because detailed calculations have not been made, we compute post-merger models with a stellar evolution code. We find the evolutionary paths available to merger remnants and find the pre-merger conditions that lead to the formation of hot subdwarfs. We find that some such mergers result in the formation of stars with intermediate helium-rich surfaces. These stars later develop helium-poor surfaces owing to diffusion. Combining our results with a model population and comparing to observed stars, we find that some observed intermediate helium-rich hot subdwarfs can be explained as the remnants of the mergers of helium-core white dwarfs with low-mass MS stars.

Gravitational-Wave Luminosity of Binary Neutron Stars Mergers

Science.gov (United States)

Zappa, Francesco; Bernuzzi, Sebastiano; Radice, David; Perego, Albino; Dietrich, Tim

2018-03-01

We study the gravitational-wave peak luminosity and radiated energy of quasicircular neutron star mergers using a large sample of numerical relativity simulations with different binary parameters and input physics. The peak luminosity for all the binaries can be described in terms of the mass ratio and of the leading-order post-Newtonian tidal parameter solely. The mergers resulting in a prompt collapse to black hole have the largest peak luminosities. However, the largest amount of energy per unit mass is radiated by mergers that produce a hypermassive neutron star or a massive neutron star remnant. We quantify the gravitational-wave luminosity of binary neutron star merger events, and set upper limits on the radiated energy and the remnant angular momentum from these events. We find that there is an empirical universal relation connecting the total gravitational radiation and the angular momentum of the remnant. Our results constrain the final spin of the remnant black hole and also indicate that stable neutron star remnant forms with super-Keplerian angular momentum.

Gravitational-Wave Luminosity of Binary Neutron Stars Mergers.

Science.gov (United States)

Zappa, Francesco; Bernuzzi, Sebastiano; Radice, David; Perego, Albino; Dietrich, Tim

2018-03-16

We study the gravitational-wave peak luminosity and radiated energy of quasicircular neutron star mergers using a large sample of numerical relativity simulations with different binary parameters and input physics. The peak luminosity for all the binaries can be described in terms of the mass ratio and of the leading-order post-Newtonian tidal parameter solely. The mergers resulting in a prompt collapse to black hole have the largest peak luminosities. However, the largest amount of energy per unit mass is radiated by mergers that produce a hypermassive neutron star or a massive neutron star remnant. We quantify the gravitational-wave luminosity of binary neutron star merger events, and set upper limits on the radiated energy and the remnant angular momentum from these events. We find that there is an empirical universal relation connecting the total gravitational radiation and the angular momentum of the remnant. Our results constrain the final spin of the remnant black hole and also indicate that stable neutron star remnant forms with super-Keplerian angular momentum.

Discovery of a Detached, Eclipsing 40 Minute Period Double White Dwarf Binary and a Friend: Implications for He+CO White Dwarf Mergers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, Warren R.; Kilic, Mukremin; Kosakowski, Alekzander; Gianninas, A.

2017-01-01

We report the discovery of two detached double white dwarf (WD) binaries, SDSS J082239.546+304857.19 and SDSS J104336.275+055149.90, with orbital periods of 40 and 46 minutes, respectively. The 40 minute system is eclipsing; it is composed of a 0.30 M ⊙ and a 0.52 M ⊙ WD. The 46 minute system is a likely LISA verification binary. The short 20 ± 2 Myr and ∼34 Myr gravitational-wave merger times of the two binaries imply that many more such systems have formed and merged over the age of the Milky Way. We update the estimated Milky Way He+CO WD binary merger rate and affirm our previously published result: He+CO WD binaries merge at a rate at least 40 times greater than the formation rate of stable mass-transfer AM CVn binaries, and so the majority must have unstable mass-transfer. The implication is that spin–orbit coupling in He+CO WD mergers is weak, or perhaps nova-like outbursts drive He+CO WDs into merger, as proposed by Shen.

Discovery of a Detached, Eclipsing 40 Minute Period Double White Dwarf Binary and a Friend: Implications for He+CO White Dwarf Mergers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brown, Warren R. [Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Kilic, Mukremin; Kosakowski, Alekzander; Gianninas, A., E-mail: wbrown@cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: kilic@ou.edu, E-mail: alexg@nhn.ou.edu [Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma, 440 W. Brooks Street, Norman, OK 73019 (United States)

2017-09-20

We report the discovery of two detached double white dwarf (WD) binaries, SDSS J082239.546+304857.19 and SDSS J104336.275+055149.90, with orbital periods of 40 and 46 minutes, respectively. The 40 minute system is eclipsing; it is composed of a 0.30 M {sub ⊙} and a 0.52 M {sub ⊙} WD. The 46 minute system is a likely LISA verification binary. The short 20 ± 2 Myr and ∼34 Myr gravitational-wave merger times of the two binaries imply that many more such systems have formed and merged over the age of the Milky Way. We update the estimated Milky Way He+CO WD binary merger rate and affirm our previously published result: He+CO WD binaries merge at a rate at least 40 times greater than the formation rate of stable mass-transfer AM CVn binaries, and so the majority must have unstable mass-transfer. The implication is that spin–orbit coupling in He+CO WD mergers is weak, or perhaps nova-like outbursts drive He+CO WDs into merger, as proposed by Shen.

Using transfer learning to detect galaxy mergers

Science.gov (United States)

Ackermann, Sandro; Schawinksi, Kevin; Zhang, Ce; Weigel, Anna K.; Turp, M. Dennis

2018-05-01

We investigate the use of deep convolutional neural networks (deep CNNs) for automatic visual detection of galaxy mergers. Moreover, we investigate the use of transfer learning in conjunction with CNNs, by retraining networks first trained on pictures of everyday objects. We test the hypothesis that transfer learning is useful for improving classification performance for small training sets. This would make transfer learning useful for finding rare objects in astronomical imaging datasets. We find that these deep learning methods perform significantly better than current state-of-the-art merger detection methods based on nonparametric systems like CAS and GM20. Our method is end-to-end and robust to image noise and distortions; it can be applied directly without image preprocessing. We also find that transfer learning can act as a regulariser in some cases, leading to better overall classification accuracy (p = 0.02). Transfer learning on our full training set leads to a lowered error rate from 0.0381 down to 0.0321, a relative improvement of 15%. Finally, we perform a basic sanity-check by creating a merger sample with our method, and comparing with an already existing, manually created merger catalogue in terms of colour-mass distribution and stellar mass function.

The AGN Luminosity Fraction in Galaxy Mergers

Science.gov (United States)

Dietrich, Jeremy; Weiner, Aaron; Ashby, Matthew; Martinez-Galarza, Juan Rafael; Smith, Howard Alan

2017-01-01

Galaxy mergers are key events in galaxy evolution, generally triggering massive starbursts and AGNs. However, in these chaotic systems, it is not yet known what fraction each of these two mechanisms contributes to the total luminosity. Here we measure and model spectral energy distributions (SEDs) using the Code for Investigating Galaxy Emission (CIGALE) in up to 33 broad bands from the UV to the far-IR for 23 IR-luminous galaxies to estimate the fraction of the bolometric IR luminosity that can be attributed to the AGN. The galaxies are split nearly evenly into two subsamples: late-stage mergers, found in the IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample or Faint Source Catalog, and early-stage mergers found in the Spitzer Interacting Galaxy Sample. We find that the AGN contribution to the total IR luminosity varies greatly from system to system, from 0% up to ~90%, but is substantially greater in the later-stage and brighter mergers. This is consistent with what is known about galaxy evolution and the triggering of AGNs.The SAO REU program is funded in part by the National Science Foundation REU and Department of Defense ASSURE programs under NSF Grant no. 1262851, and by the Smithsonian Institution.

Strategic Brand Management Tools in Publishing

OpenAIRE

Pitsaki, Irini

2011-01-01

Further to the introduction of the brand concept evolution and theory, as well as the ways these operate in the publishing sector (see paper: Pitsaki, I. 2010), the present paper treats publishing strategies and the tools used to establish them. Publishers often base their brand strategy on classic marketing approaches, such as the marketing mix -product, price, promotion, placement and people. They also direct their products to specific market segments in regard to the type of content and te...

Can galaxy growth be sustained through HI-rich minor mergers?

Science.gov (United States)

Lehnert, M. D.; van Driel, W.; Minchin, R.

2016-05-01

Local galaxies with specific star-formation rates (star-formation rate per unit mass; sSFR ~ 0.2-10 Gyr-1) that are as high as distant galaxies (z ≈ 1-3), are very rich in Hi. Those with low stellar masses, M⋆ = 108-9 M⊙, for example, have MHI/M⋆ ≈ 5-30. Using continuity arguments, whereby the specific merger rate is hypothesized to be proportional to the specific star-formation rate, along with Hi gas mass measurements for local galaxies with high sSFR, we estimate that moderate-mass galaxies, M⋆ = 109-10.5 M⊙, can acquire enough gas through minor mergers (stellar mass ratios ~4-100) to sustain their star formation rates at z ~ 2. The relative fraction of the gas accreted through minor mergers declines with increasing stellar mass, and for the most massive galaxies considered, M⋆ = 1010.5-11 M⊙, this accretion rate is insufficient to sustain their star formation. We checked our minor merger hypothesis at z = 0 using the same methodology, but now with relations for local normal galaxies, and find that minor mergers cannot account for their specific growth rates, in agreement with observations of Hi-rich satellites around nearby spirals. We discuss a number of attractive features, such as a natural downsizing effect, in using minor mergers with extended Hi disks to support star formation at high redshift. The answer to the question posed by the title, "Can galaxy growth be sustained through Hi-rich minor mergers?", is "maybe", but only for relatively low-mass galaxies and at high redshift.

POST-MERGER SIGNATURES OF RED-SEQUENCE GALAXIES IN RICH ABELL CLUSTERS AT z ∼< 0.1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheen, Yun-Kyeong; Yi, Sukyoung K.; Lee, Jaehyun; Ree, Chang H.

2012-01-01

We have investigated the post-merger signatures of red-sequence galaxies in rich Abell clusters at z ∼ r < –20) cluster red-sequence galaxies show post-merger signatures in four clusters consistently. Most (∼71%) of the featured galaxies were found to be bulge dominated, and for the subsample of bulge-dominated red-sequence galaxies, the post-merger fraction rises to ∼38%. We also found that roughly 4% of bulge-dominated red-sequence galaxies interact (ongoing merger). A total of 42% (38% post-merger, 4% ongoing merger) of galaxies show merger-related features. Compared to a field galaxy study with a similar limiting magnitude by van Dokkum in 2005, our cluster study presents a similar post-merger fraction but a markedly lower ongoing merger fraction. The merger fraction derived is surprisingly high for the high density of our clusters, where the fast internal motions of galaxies are thought to play a negative role in galaxy mergers. The fraction of post-merger and ongoing merger galaxies can be explained as follows. Most of the post-merger galaxies may have carried over their merger features from their previous halo environment, whereas interacting galaxies interact in the current cluster in situ. According to our semi-analytic calculation, massive cluster halos may very well have experienced tens of halo mergers over the last 4-5 Gyr; post-merger features last that long, allowing these features to be detected in our clusters today. The apparent lack of dependence of the merger fraction on the clustocentric distance is naturally explained this way. In this scenario, the galaxy morphology and properties can be properly interpreted only when the halo evolution characteristics are understood first.

Orphan Drug Pricing: An Original Exponential Model Relating Price to the Number of Patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Messori

2016-10-01

Full Text Available In managing drug prices at the national level, orphan drugs represent a special case because the price of these agents is higher than that determined according to value-based principles. A common practice is to set the orphan drug price in an inverse relationship with the number of patients, so that the price increases as the number of patients decreases. Determination of prices in this context generally has a purely empirical nature, but a theoretical basis would be needed. The present paper describes an original exponential model that manages the relationship between price and number of patients for orphan drugs. Three real examples are analysed in detail (eculizumab, bosentan, and a data set of 17 orphan drugs published in 2010. These analyses have been aimed at identifying some objective criteria to rationally inform this relationship between prices and patients and at converting these criteria into explicit quantitative rules.

Star formation in mergers with comologically motivated initial conditions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Karman, Wouter; Macciò, Andrea V.; Kannan, Rahul; Moster, Benjamin P.; Somerville, Rachel S.

2015-01-01

We use semi-analytic models and cosmological merger trees to provide the initial conditions for multimerger numerical hydrodynamic simulations, and exploit these simulations to explore the effect of galaxy interaction and merging on star formation (SF). We compute numerical realizations of 12 merger

AN OVERVIEW ON THE DETERMINANTS OF MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS WAVES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vancea Mariana

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This paper concentrates on the presentation of the economic dimension of the mergers and acquisitions from a macroeconomic perspective. Thus, the objective of this paper is to reveal the main drivers of merger and acquisition activity. These operations take place in waves, which enters the context of changing the competition game marked by economic changes, technological evolutions, changes generated by the phenomenon of globalization, and by regulating changes. On the other side, a series of studies in the literature argue the existence of a connection between evaluating the securities and the merger and acquisition activity. This research is based on a systematic, logical and comparative analysis of scientific literature regarding the macroeconomic determinants of mergers and acquisitions.

Mergers between governmental research institutes and Universities in the Danish HE sector

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aagaard, Kaare; Hansen, Hanne Foss; Rasmussen, Jørgen Gulddahl

2016-01-01

This article presents an analysis of the mergers in the Danish Higher Education (HE)-sector with a particular emphasis on the 2007 mergers involving universities and Government Research Institutes (GRIs). Furthermore, it follows the post-merger processes up to 2014/2015 at two Danish universities...

A study on the impact of mergers & acquisitions on shareholders’ wealth and efficiency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Tianqi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available As nowadays mergers & acquisitions are becoming more and more prevalent, this paper concerns the impact of mergers & acquisition on shareholders’ wealth and efficiency. Choosing mergers & acquisitions events in bank industry, we apply literature analysis to see what previous scholars have found and CAPM model to calculate their CAR, which reflects the change of shareholders’ values (positive CAR means shareholders gain positive returns from mergers & acquisitions and vice versa. And finally, we find that bank mergers and acquisitions do create shareholder wealth for the target bank acquired and that in many cases the acquiring firm’s shareholders tend to lose out because their ownership in the newly formed bank is severely diluted and the same is with the efficiency. What’s more, when we take the financial crisis into consideration, mergers are seen to be a safe haven. Besides that, senior management must be skilled at corporate restructuring within the newly merged banks for merged banks to survive post-merger activity.

77 FR 65690 - Change in Bank Control Notices; Formations of, Acquisitions by, and Mergers of Bank Holding...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-30

... FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM Change in Bank Control Notices; Formations of, Acquisitions by, and Mergers of Bank Holding Companies; Correction This notice corrects a notice (FR Doc. 2012-26297) published on page 65190 of the issue for Thursday, October 25, 2012. Under the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas heading, the entry for Bryon Dirk Bagenstos,...

77 FR 21100 - Change in Bank Control Notices; Formations of, Acquisitions by, and Mergers of Bank Holding...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-09

... FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM Change in Bank Control Notices; Formations of, Acquisitions by, and Mergers of Bank Holding Companies; Correction This notice corrects a notice (FR Doc. 2012-7210) published on page 17478 of the issue for Monday, March 26, 2012. Under the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond heading, the entry for U.S. Immigration Investment...

78 FR 2996 - Change in Bank Control Notices; Formations of, Acquisitions by, and Mergers of Bank Holding...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-15

... FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM Change in Bank Control Notices; Formations of, Acquisitions by, and Mergers of Bank Holding Companies; Correction Correction This notice corrects a notice (FR Doc. 2013-00331) published on page 2273 of the issue for Thursday, January 10, 2013. Under the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City heading, the entry for Whitewater...

78 FR 62633 - Change in Bank Control Notices; Formations of, Acquisitions by, and Mergers of Bank Holding...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-22

... FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM Change in Bank Control Notices; Formations of, Acquisitions by, and Mergers of Bank Holding Companies; Correction This notice corrects a notice (FR Doc. 2013-24477) published on page 62333 of the issue for Thursday, October 17, 2013. Under the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis heading, the entry for Karen Neidhardt, Tamp...

Viscous Dissipation and Heat Conduction in Binary Neutron-Star Mergers.

Science.gov (United States)

Alford, Mark G; Bovard, Luke; Hanauske, Matthias; Rezzolla, Luciano; Schwenzer, Kai

2018-01-26

Inferring the properties of dense matter is one of the most exciting prospects from the measurement of gravitational waves from neutron star mergers. However, it requires reliable numerical simulations that incorporate viscous dissipation and energy transport as these can play a significant role in the survival time of the post-merger object. We calculate time scales for typical forms of dissipation and find that thermal transport and shear viscosity will not be important unless neutrino trapping occurs, which requires temperatures above 10 MeV and gradients over length scales of 0.1 km or less. On the other hand, if direct-Urca processes remain suppressed, leaving modified-Urca processes to establish flavor equilibrium, then bulk viscous dissipation could provide significant damping to density oscillations right after merger. When comparing with data from state-of-the-art merger simulations, we find that the bulk viscosity takes values close to its resonant maximum in a typical merger, motivating a more careful assessment of the role of bulk viscous dissipation in the gravitational-wave signal from merging neutron stars.

Viscous Dissipation and Heat Conduction in Binary Neutron-Star Mergers

Science.gov (United States)

Alford, Mark G.; Bovard, Luke; Hanauske, Matthias; Rezzolla, Luciano; Schwenzer, Kai

2018-01-01

Inferring the properties of dense matter is one of the most exciting prospects from the measurement of gravitational waves from neutron star mergers. However, it requires reliable numerical simulations that incorporate viscous dissipation and energy transport as these can play a significant role in the survival time of the post-merger object. We calculate time scales for typical forms of dissipation and find that thermal transport and shear viscosity will not be important unless neutrino trapping occurs, which requires temperatures above 10 MeV and gradients over length scales of 0.1 km or less. On the other hand, if direct-Urca processes remain suppressed, leaving modified-Urca processes to establish flavor equilibrium, then bulk viscous dissipation could provide significant damping to density oscillations right after merger. When comparing with data from state-of-the-art merger simulations, we find that the bulk viscosity takes values close to its resonant maximum in a typical merger, motivating a more careful assessment of the role of bulk viscous dissipation in the gravitational-wave signal from merging neutron stars.

The problems of assessing the value of mergers and acquisitions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Borovikov A.D.

2017-04-01

Full Text Available the article discusses some questions concerning mergers and acquisitions of companies. The essential foundation of any mergers and acquisitions is always the competitive environment, more precisely, its constant changes.

From discs to bulges: effect of mergers on the morphology of galaxies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kannan, Rahul; Macciò, Andrea V.; Fontanot, Fabio; Moster, Benjamin P.; Karman, Wouter; Somerville, Rachel S.

2015-01-01

We study the effect of mergers on the morphology of galaxies by means of the simulated merger tree approach first proposed by Moster et al. This method combines N-body cosmological simulations and semi-analytic techniques to extract realistic initial conditions for galaxy mergers. These are then

Analytic family of post-merger template waveforms

Science.gov (United States)

Del Pozzo, Walter; Nagar, Alessandro

2017-06-01

Building on the analytical description of the post-merger (ringdown) waveform of coalescing, nonprecessing, spinning binary black holes introduced by Damour and Nagar [Phys. Rev. D 90, 024054 (2014), 10.1103/PhysRevD.90.024054], we propose an analytic, closed form, time-domain, representation of the ℓ=m =2 gravitational radiation mode emitted after merger. This expression is given as a function of the component masses and dimensionless spins (m1 ,2,χ1 ,2) of the two inspiraling objects, as well as of the mass MBH and (complex) frequency σ1 of the fundamental quasinormal mode of the remnant black hole. Our proposed template is obtained by fitting the post-merger waveform part of several publicly available numerical relativity simulations from the Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes (SXS) catalog and then suitably interpolating over (symmetric) mass ratio and spins. We show that this analytic expression accurately reproduces (˜0.01 rad ) the phasing of the post-merger data of other data sets not used in its construction. This is notably the case of the spin-aligned run SXS:BBH:0305, whose intrinsic parameters are consistent with the 90% credible intervals reported in the parameter-estimation followup of GW150914 by B.P. Abbott et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 241102 (2016), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.241102]. Using SXS waveforms as "experimental" data, we further show that our template could be used on the actual GW150914 data to perform a new measure of the complex frequency of the fundamental quasinormal mode so as to exploit the complete (high signal-to-noise-ratio) post-merger waveform. We assess the usefulness of our proposed template by analyzing, in a realistic setting, SXS full inspiral-merger-ringdown waveforms and constructing posterior probability distribution functions for the central frequency damping time of the first overtone of the fundamental quasinormal mode as well as for the physical parameters of the systems. We also briefly explore the possibility

Mergers in galaxy groups. I. Structure and properties of elliptical remnants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taranu, Dan S.; Dubinski, John; Yee, H. K. C.

2013-01-01

We present collisionless simulations of dry mergers in groups of 3 to 25 galaxies to test the hypothesis that elliptical galaxies form at the centers of such groups. Mock observations of the central remnants confirm their similarity to ellipticals, despite having no dissipational component. We vary the profile of the original spiral's bulge and find that ellipticals formed from spirals with exponential bulges have too low Sersic indices. Mergers of spirals with de Vaucouleurs (classical) bulges produce remnants with larger Sersic indices correlated with luminosity, as with Sloan Digital Sky Survey ellipticals. Exponential bulge mergers are better fits to faint ellipticals, whereas classical bulge mergers better match luminous ellipticals. Similarly, luminous ellipticals are better reproduced by remnants undergoing many (>5) mergers, and fainter ellipticals by those with fewer mergers. The remnants follow tight size-luminosity and velocity dispersion-luminosity (Faber-Jackson) relations (<0.12 dex scatter), demonstrating that stochastic merging can produce tight scaling relations if the merging galaxies also follow tight scaling relations. The slopes of the size-luminosity and Faber-Jackson relations are close to observations but slightly shallower in the former case. Both relations' intercepts are offset—remnants are too large but have too low dispersions at fixed luminosity. Some remnants show substantial (v/σ > 0.1) rotational support, although most are slow rotators and few are very fast rotators (v/σ > 0.5). These findings contrast with previous studies concluding that dissipation is necessary to produce ellipticals from binary mergers of spirals. Multiple, mostly minor and dry mergers can produce bright ellipticals, whereas significant dissipation could be required to produce faint, rapidly rotating ellipticals.

Strategic Mergers of Strong Institutions to Enhance Competitive Advantage

Science.gov (United States)

Harman, Grant; Harman, Kay

2008-01-01

Strategic mergers are formal combinations or amalgamations of higher education institutions with the aim of enhancing competitive advantage, or merging for "mutual growth". Recently, in a number of countries, there has been a decided shift from mergers initiated by governments, and dealing mainly with "problem" cases, towards…

Merger rate of primordial black-hole binaries

Science.gov (United States)

Ali-Haïmoud, Yacine; Kovetz, Ely D.; Kamionkowski, Marc

2017-12-01

Primordial black holes (PBHs) have long been a candidate for the elusive dark matter (DM), and remain poorly constrained in the ˜20 - 100 M⊙ mass range. PBH binaries were recently suggested as the possible source of LIGO's first detections. In this paper, we thoroughly revisit existing estimates of the merger rate of PBH binaries. We compute the probability distribution of orbital parameters for PBH binaries formed in the early Universe, accounting for tidal torquing by all other PBHs, as well as standard large-scale adiabatic perturbations. We then check whether the orbital parameters of PBH binaries formed in the early Universe can be significantly affected between formation and merger. Our analytic estimates indicate that the tidal field of halos and interactions with other PBHs, as well as dynamical friction by unbound standard DM particles, do not do significant work on nor torque PBH binaries. We estimate the torque due to baryon accretion to be much weaker than previous calculations, albeit possibly large enough to significantly affect the eccentricity of typical PBH binaries. We also revisit the PBH-binary merger rate resulting from gravitational capture in present-day halos, accounting for Poisson fluctuations. If binaries formed in the early Universe survive to the present time, as suggested by our analytic estimates, they dominate the total PBH merger rate. Moreover, this merger rate would be orders of magnitude larger than LIGO's current upper limits if PBHs make a significant fraction of the dark matter. As a consequence, LIGO would constrain ˜10 - 300 M⊙ PBHs to constitute no more than ˜1 % of the dark matter. To make this conclusion fully robust, though, numerical study of several complex astrophysical processes—such as the formation of the first PBH halos and how they may affect PBH binaries, as well as the accretion of gas onto an extremely eccentric binary—is needed.

Discursive "Policy Logics" of Mergers in US Higher Education: Strategy or Tragedy?

Science.gov (United States)

Stephenson, Sandria S.

2011-01-01

Mergers are part of the historical fabric of US higher education. However, the current economic recession and other policy issues have experts and academicians predicting an increase in higher education mergers in the USA. Consequently, this study analysed the discursive "policy logics" surrounding merger negotiations in US higher…

Mergers and Acquisitions in Selected Frontier Markets of Asia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farhan Ahmed

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to provide contemporary and comparative information on mergers and acquisition activities. The findings have shown that Vietnam is very active in mergers and acquisitions activities, for instance in Vietnam 2946 transactions were announced, and 2114 completed in the last decade. Furthermore, Vietnam has a distinctive element of merging local firms; Out of top 20 deals, in 18 transactions target firms and acquirer both were from Vietnam. On the other hand, Sri Lanka has the highest percentage of completed M&A transactions in the last decade compared to Pakistan and Vietnam. In case of Pakistan, the findings suggest that Pakistan has had the highest number of value-based Mergers and Acquisitions deals in comparison to Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Interestingly, even though the number of transactions is higher compared to Sri Lanka and Vietnam; however, mergers and acquisition have had no significant impact on the profitability of Pakistan companies.DOI: 10.15408/sjie.v7i1.6074

Satellite dwarf galaxies in a hierarchical universe: the prevalence of dwarf-dwarf major mergers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deason, Alis; Wetzel, Andrew; Garrison-Kimmel, Shea

2014-01-01

Mergers are a common phenomenon in hierarchical structure formation, especially for massive galaxies and clusters, but their importance for dwarf galaxies in the Local Group remains poorly understood. We investigate the frequency of major mergers between dwarf galaxies in the Local Group using the ELVIS suite of cosmological zoom-in dissipationless simulations of Milky Way- and M31-like host halos. We find that ∼10% of satellite dwarf galaxies with M star > 10 6 M ☉ that are within the host virial radius experienced a major merger of stellar mass ratio closer than 0.1 since z = 1, with a lower fraction for lower mass dwarf galaxies. Recent merger remnants are biased toward larger radial distance and more recent virial infall times, because most recent mergers occurred shortly before crossing within the virial radius of the host halo. Satellite-satellite mergers also occur within the host halo after virial infall, catalyzed by the large fraction of dwarf galaxies that fell in as part of a group. The merger fraction doubles for dwarf galaxies outside of the host virial radius, so the most distant dwarf galaxies in the Local Group are the most likely to have experienced a recent major merger. We discuss the implications of these results on observable dwarf merger remnants, their star formation histories, the gas content of mergers, and massive black holes in dwarf galaxies.

78 FR 57853 - Change in Bank Control Notices; Formations of, Acquisitions by, and Mergers of Bank Holding...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-20

... FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM Change in Bank Control Notices; Formations of, Acquisitions by, and Mergers of Bank Holding Companies; Correction This notice corrects a notice (FR Doc. 2013-22047) published on pages 55716 and 55717 of the issue for Wednesday, September 11, 2013. Under the Federal Reserve Bank of New York heading, the entry for Donald J....

Pricing hospital care: Global budgets and marginal pricing strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Sutherland, Jason M

2015-08-01

The Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) is adding financial incentives to increase the volume of surgeries provided by hospitals using a marginal pricing approach. The objective of this study is to calculate marginal costs of surgeries based on assumptions regarding hospitals' availability of labor and equipment. This study is based on observational clinical, administrative and financial data generated by hospitals. Hospital inpatient and outpatient discharge summaries from the province are linked with detailed activity-based costing information, stratified by assigned case mix categorizations. To reflect a range of operating constraints governing hospitals' ability to increase their volume of surgeries, a number of scenarios are proposed. Under these scenarios, estimated marginal costs are calculated and compared to prices being offered as incentives to hospitals. Existing data can be used to support alternative strategies for pricing hospital care. Prices for inpatient surgeries do not generate positive margins under a range of operating scenarios. Hip and knee surgeries generate surpluses for hospitals even under the most costly labor conditions and are expected to generate additional volume. In health systems that wish to fine-tune financial incentives, setting prices that create incentives for additional volume should reflect knowledge of hospitals' underlying cost structures. Possible implications of mis-pricing include no response to the incentives or uneven increases in supply. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Merger of binary neutron stars: Gravitational waves and electromagnetic counterparts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shibata, Masaru

2016-12-15

Late inspiral and merger phases of binary neutron stars are the valuable new experimental fields for exploring nuclear physics because (i) gravitational waves from them will bring information for the neutron-star equation of state and (ii) the matter ejected after the onset of the merger could be the main site for the r-process nucleosynthesis. We will summarize these aspects of the binary neutron stars, describing the current understanding for the merger process of binary neutron stars that has been revealed by numerical-relativity simulations.

Rapid Mergers in a Mixed System of Black Holes and Neutron Stars

Science.gov (United States)

Tagawa, Hiromichi; Umemura, Masayuki

Recently, it has been argued that r-process elements in galaxies primarily originate from the mergers of double neutron stars (NSs) and black hole (BH)-NS. However, there is a momentous problem that the merger timescale is estimated to be much longer than the production timescale of r-process elements inferred from metal poor stars in the Galactic halo. To solve this problem, we propose the rapid merger processes in gas-rich first-generation objects in a high redshift epoch. In such an era, it is expected that the dynamical friction by dense gas effectively promotes the merger of compact objects. To explore the possibility of mergers in a system composed of multiple NSs as well as BHs, we perform post Newtonian N-body simulations, incorporating the gas dynamical friction, the gas accretion, and the gravitational wave emission including the recoil kick. As a result, we find that NS-NS or NS-BH can merge within 10 Myr in first-generation objects. Furthermore, to satisfy the condition of the mass ejection of r-process elements, the gas accretion rate need to be lower than 0.1 Hoyle-Lyttleton accretion rate. These results imply that the mergers in early cosmic epochs may reconcile the conflict on the timescale of NS mergers.

Marketing Theory Applied to Price Discrimination in Journals.

Science.gov (United States)

Talaga, James; Haley, Jean Walstrom

1991-01-01

Discussion of discriminatory pricing by journal publishers and its effects on libraries focuses on six prerequisites for successful discriminatory pricing that are based on marketing theory. Strategies to eliminate some of these prerequisites--and therefore eliminate discriminatory pricing--are suggested, including the need to change the attitudes…

Mergers between Governmental Research Institutes and Universities in the Danish HE Sector

Science.gov (United States)

Aagaard, Kaare; Hansen, Hanne Foss; Rasmussen, Jørgen Gulddahl

2016-01-01

This article presents an analysis of the mergers in the Danish Higher Education (HE)-sector with a particular emphasis on the 2007 mergers involving universities and Government Research Institutes (GRIs). Furthermore, it follows the post-merger processes up to 2014/2015 at two Danish universities and examines the consequences of the changes seen…

Toward the Distribution of Orbital Parameters of Nearby Major Galaxy Mergers

Science.gov (United States)

Mortazavi, S. Alireza

2016-01-01

In this thesis project our goal is to measure the initial conditions of a sample of ~20 local disk-disk major galaxy mergers. Measuring the orbital parameters is possible by findingthe most similar galaxy merger simulation to the morphology and kinematics of the data.We have developed an automated modeling method based on the Identikit software package,which also estimates the uncertainty of the measured initial conditions. We tested our modeling method using an independent set of GADGET simulations, and we acquired reliable results onprograde merger systems. We observed the Hα kinematics of our sample using SparsePak IFU on the WIYN telescope at KPNO, and DIS on the 3.5m telescope at APO. For the few merger systems in our sample with archival HI data available, we compare the use of HI vs Hα as the kinematic tracer. This work lays the ground-work for the analysis of larger statistical samples of mergers from on-going IFU galaxy survey such as MaNGA.

More Mergers,More Acquisitions

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

LAN XINZHEN

2010-01-01

@@ A new round of corporate mergers and acquisitions(M&As)is on the way.On September 6,the State Council announced that it would require companies in the automobile,iron and steel,cement,machinery manufacturing,electrolytic aluminum and rare earth industries to accelerate M&As.

A Marketing Perspective on Mergers and Acquisitions : How Marketing Integration Affects Postmerger Performance

OpenAIRE

Homburg, Christian; Bucerius, Matthias

2004-01-01

Previous research on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) has neglected marketing issues by and large. This paper examines the effects of post merger integration (PMI) in marketing (ex tent and speed of marketing integration) on M&A performance mediated by integration outcomes (magnitude of cost savings and market-related performance). Results from a survey of 232 horizontal mergers and acquisitions show that market-related performance after the merger or acquisition has a much stronger impac...

Migrating Legacy Systems in the Global Merger & Acquisition Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Katerattanakul, Pairin; Kam, Hwee-Joo; Lee, James J.; Hong, Soongoo

2009-01-01

The MetaFrame system migration project at WorldPharma, while driven by merger and acquisition, had faced complexities caused by both technical challenges and organizational issues in the climate of uncertainties. However, WorldPharma still insisted on instigating this post-merger system migration project. This project served to (1) consolidate the…

17 CFR 230.145 - Reclassification of securities, mergers, consolidations and acquisitions of assets.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

..., mergers, consolidations and acquisitions of assets. 230.145 Section 230.145 Commodity and Securities... § 230.145 Reclassification of securities, mergers, consolidations and acquisitions of assets.... A statutory merger or consolidation or similar plan or acquisition in which securities of such...

Mergers in Chinese Higher Education: Lessons for Studies in a Global Context

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Yuzhuo; Yang, Xi

2016-01-01

Since the 1990s, there have been more than 400 cases of university mergers in China, representing various types and involving 1000 public institutions. While China has provided good and abundant cases for studies on university mergers, such an opportunity has not yet been fully exploited by international scholars of university merger research.…

Signatures of Heavy Element Production in Neutron Star Mergers

Science.gov (United States)

Barnes, Jennifer

2018-06-01

Compact object mergers involving at least one neutron star have long been theorized to be sites of astrophysical nucleosynthesis via rapid neutron capture (the r-process). The observation in light and gravitational waves of the first neutron star merger (GW1701817) this past summer provided a stunning confirmation of this theory. Electromagnetic emission powered by the radioactive decay of freshly synthesized nuclei from mergers encodes information about the composition burned by the r-process, including whether a particular merger event synthesized the heaviest nuclei along the r-process path, or froze out at lower mass number. However, efforts to model the emission in detail must still contend with many uncertainties. For instance, the uncertain nuclear masses far from the valley of stability influence the final composition burned by the r-process, as will weak interactions operating in the merger’s immediate aftermath. This in turn can affect the color electromagnetic emission. Understanding the details of these transients’ spectra will also require a detailed accounting the electronic transitions of r-process elements and ions, in order to identify the strong transitions that underlie spectral formation. This talk will provide an overview of our current understanding of radioactive transients from mergers, with an emphasis on the role of experiment in providing critical inputs for models and reducing uncertainty.

The cosmic merger rate of neutron stars and black holes

Science.gov (United States)

Mapelli, Michela; Giacobbo, Nicola

2018-06-01

Six gravitational wave detections have been reported so far, providing crucial insights on the merger rate of double compact objects. We investigate the cosmic merger rate of double neutron stars (DNSs), neutron star-black hole binaries (NSBHs) and black hole binaries (BHBs) by means of population-synthesis simulations coupled with the Illustris cosmological simulation. We have performed six different simulations, considering different assumptions for the efficiency of common envelope (CE) ejection and exploring two distributions for the supernova (SN) kicks. The current BHB merger rate derived from our simulations spans from ˜150 to ˜240 Gpc-3 yr-1 and is only mildly dependent on CE efficiency. In contrast, the current merger rates of DNSs (ranging from ˜20 to ˜600 Gpc-3 yr-1) and NSBHs (ranging from ˜10 to ˜100 Gpc-3 yr-1) strongly depend on the assumptions on CE and natal kicks. The merger rate of DNSs is consistent with the one inferred from the detection of GW170817 only if a high efficiency of CE ejection and low SN kicks (drawn from a Maxwellian distribution with one dimensional root mean square σ = 15 km s-1) are assumed.

General-relativistic Large-eddy Simulations of Binary Neutron Star Mergers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Radice, David, E-mail: dradice@astro.princeton.edu [Institute for Advanced Study, 1 Einstein Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540 (United States)

2017-03-20

The flow inside remnants of binary neutron star (NS) mergers is expected to be turbulent, because of magnetohydrodynamics instability activated at scales too small to be resolved in simulations. To study the large-scale impact of these instabilities, we develop a new formalism, based on the large-eddy simulation technique, for the modeling of subgrid-scale turbulent transport in general relativity. We apply it, for the first time, to the simulation of the late-inspiral and merger of two NSs. We find that turbulence can significantly affect the structure and survival time of the merger remnant, as well as its gravitational-wave (GW) and neutrino emissions. The former will be relevant for GW observation of merging NSs. The latter will affect the composition of the outflow driven by the merger and might influence its nucleosynthetic yields. The accretion rate after black hole formation is also affected. Nevertheless, we find that, for the most likely values of the turbulence mixing efficiency, these effects are relatively small and the GW signal will be affected only weakly by the turbulence. Thus, our simulations provide a first validation of all existing post-merger GW models.

Managing Key Risks in Post-Merger IS Integration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alaranta, Mar; Mathiassen, L

2014-01-01

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) require organizations to blend together different information system (IS) configurations. Unfortunately, less than 50 percent of M&A's achieve their goals, with IS integration being a major problem. Here, the authors offer a framework to help managers prepare for......, analyze, and mitigate risks during post-merger IS integration. They identify key risks relating to IS integration content, process, and context, and present five strategies for mitigating those risks. Their framework aims to help managers proactively reduce the impact of adverse events. Adopting...... the framework supported by their templates is straightforward and the time and resources required are minimal. When properly executed, adoption increases the likelihood of successful merger outcomes; the framework is thus a valuable addition to the management tool box and can be applied in collaboration...

Satellite dwarf galaxies in a hierarchical universe: the prevalence of dwarf-dwarf major mergers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deason, Alis [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA (United States); Wetzel, Andrew [TAPIR, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (United States); Garrison-Kimmel, Shea, E-mail: alis@ucolick.org [Center for Cosmology, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, CA (United States)

2014-10-20

Mergers are a common phenomenon in hierarchical structure formation, especially for massive galaxies and clusters, but their importance for dwarf galaxies in the Local Group remains poorly understood. We investigate the frequency of major mergers between dwarf galaxies in the Local Group using the ELVIS suite of cosmological zoom-in dissipationless simulations of Milky Way- and M31-like host halos. We find that ∼10% of satellite dwarf galaxies with M {sub star} > 10{sup 6} M {sub ☉} that are within the host virial radius experienced a major merger of stellar mass ratio closer than 0.1 since z = 1, with a lower fraction for lower mass dwarf galaxies. Recent merger remnants are biased toward larger radial distance and more recent virial infall times, because most recent mergers occurred shortly before crossing within the virial radius of the host halo. Satellite-satellite mergers also occur within the host halo after virial infall, catalyzed by the large fraction of dwarf galaxies that fell in as part of a group. The merger fraction doubles for dwarf galaxies outside of the host virial radius, so the most distant dwarf galaxies in the Local Group are the most likely to have experienced a recent major merger. We discuss the implications of these results on observable dwarf merger remnants, their star formation histories, the gas content of mergers, and massive black holes in dwarf galaxies.

Pricing Software and Information on CD-ROM.

Science.gov (United States)

Gibbins, Patrick

1987-01-01

Examines the relationships between purchases of optical data disk products, publishers, and software suppliers. The discussion covers current pricing strategies for optical data disk software and information products, and possible future developments in marketing and pricing. (CLB)

Hot subdwarfs formed from the merger of two He white dwarfs

Science.gov (United States)

Schwab, Josiah

2018-06-01

We perform stellar evolution calculations of the remnant of the merger of two He white dwarfs (WDs). Our initial conditions are taken from hydrodynamic simulations of double WD mergers and the viscous disc phase that follows. We evolve these objects from shortly after the merger into their core He-burning phase, when they appear as hot subdwarf stars. We use our models to quantify the amount of H that survives the merger, finding that it is difficult for ≳ 10^{-4} M_{⊙} of H to survive, with even less being concentrated in the surface layers of the object. We also study the rotational evolution of these merger remnants. We find that mass-loss over the {˜ } 10^4 yr following the merger can significantly reduce the angular momentum of these objects. As hot subdwarfs, our models have moderate surface rotation velocities of 30-100 km s-1. The properties of our models are not representative of many apparently isolated hot subdwarfs, suggesting that those objects may form via other channels or that our modelling is incomplete. However, a sub-population of hot subdwarfs are moderate-to-rapid rotators and/or have He-rich atmospheres. Our models help to connect the observed properties of these objects to their progenitor systems.

The impact of hospital mergers on treatment intensity and health outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Hayford, Tamara B

2012-06-01

To analyze the impact of hospital mergers on treatment intensity and health outcomes. Hospital inpatient data from California for 1990 through 2006, encompassing 40 mergers. I used a geographic-based IV approach to determine the effect of a zip code's exposure to a merger. The merged facility's market share represents exposure, instrumented with combined premerge shares. Additional specifications include Herfindahl Index (HHI), instrumented with predicted change in HHI. The primary specification results indicate that merger completion is associated with a 3.7 percent increase in the utilization of bypass surgery and angioplasty and a 1.7 percent increase in inpatient mortality above averages in 2000 for the average zip code. Isolating the competition mechanism mutes the treatment intensity result slightly, but it more than doubles the merger exposure effect on inpatient mortality to a 3.9 percent increase. The competition mechanism is associated with a sizeable increase in number of procedures. Unlike previous studies, this analysis finds that hospital mergers are associated with increased treatment intensity and higher inpatient mortality rates among heart disease patients. Access to additional outcome measures such as 30-day mortality and readmission rates might shed additional light on whether the relationship between these outcomes is causal. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

Creating S0s with Major Mergers: A 3D View

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miguel Querejeta

2015-12-01

Full Text Available A number of simulators have argued that major mergers can sometimes preserve discs, but the possibility that they could explain the emergence of lenticular galaxies (S0s has been generally neglected. In fact, observations of S0s reveal a strong structural coupling between their bulges and discs, which seems difficult to reconcile with the idea that they come from major mergers. However, in our recent papers we have used N-body simulations of binary mergers to show that, under favourable conditions, discs are first destroyed but soon regrow out of the leftover debris, matching observational photometric scaling relations. Additionally, we have shown how the merger scenario agrees with the recent discovery that S0s and most spirals are not compatible in an angular momentum–concentration plane. This important result from CALIFA constitutes a serious objection to the idea that spirals transform into S0s mainly by fading (e.g., via ram-pressure stripping, as that would not explain the observed simultaneous change in λ Re and concentration, but our simulations of major mergers do explain that mismatch. From such a 3D comparison we conclude that mergers must be a relevant process in the build-up of the current population of S0s.

The Efficiency of the Regulation for Horizontal Mergers Among Electricity Distribution Operators in Norway

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Agrell, Per J.; Bogetoft, Peter; Gammeltvedt, Thor Erik

2015-01-01

the attractiveness of mergers. Norway is one country having implemented an ex ante regulation for mergers among electricity distribution operators (DSOs). We investigate whether the actual mergers of Norwegian DSOs in the period 1995-2004 can be rationalized as cost saving exercises or whether they should...... to identify plausible pre-merger motivations. We also discuss the possibility to gain from strategic gaming in the regulation. We compare the regulated revenues and the regulated efficiency improvement requirements before and after the mergers. We find limited potential cost gains ex ante but some improvement...

Merger 1980: The Organizational Integration of College Mental Health Services.

Science.gov (United States)

Foster, Thomas V., Jr.

1982-01-01

The merger of a traditional counseling center with a traditional comprehensive student health center at Indiana University, Bloomington is described. Important variables, costs and benefits, suggestions for similar mergers, and the outcome of the Indiana University program are discussed. (CJ)

State energy price and expenditure report, 1995

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-08-01

The State Energy Price and Expenditure Report (SEPER) presents energy price and expenditure estimates individually for the 50 States and the District of Columbia and in aggregate for the US. The estimates developed in the State Energy Price and Expenditure Data System (SEPEDS) are provided by energy source and economic sector and are published for the years 1970 through 1995. Data for all years are available on a CD-ROM and via Internet. Consumption estimates used to calculate expenditures and the documentation for those estimates are taken from the State Energy Data Report 1995, Consumption Estimates (SEDR), published in December 1997. Expenditures are calculated by multiplying the price estimates by the consumption estimates, which are adjusted to remove process fuel; intermediate petroleum products; and other consumption that has no direct fuel costs, i.e., hydroelectric, geothermal, wind, solar, and photovoltaic energy sources.

Mergers and acquisitions in the natural gas industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burkhardt, D.A.; Brown, M.L.

1984-04-26

Three examples of natural gas distribution companies involved in merger activity illustrate how the distribution as well as the transmission side of the industry may be attractive to potential acquiring companies seeking diversification. Although the mergers are a new phenonmenon, the acquiring firms are attracted by the overlapping service areas and the operating efficiency of the regulated distributors. They also see a possible outlet for surplus natural gas. 1 table.

ENVIRONMENTAL DEPENDENCE OF THE GALAXY MERGER RATE IN A ΛCDM UNIVERSE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jian, Hung-Yu; Chiueh, Tzihong; Lin Lihwai

2012-01-01

We make use of four galaxy catalogs based on four different semi-analytical models (SAMs) implemented in the Millennium Simulation to study the environmental effects and the model dependence of the galaxy merger rate. We begin the analyses by finding that the galaxy merger rate in SAMs has a mild redshift evolution with luminosity-selected samples in the evolution-corrected B-band magnitude range,–21 ≤ M e B ≤ –19, consistent with the results of previous works. To study the environmental dependence of the galaxy merger rate, we adopt two estimators, the local overdensity (1 + δ n ), defined as the surface density from the nth nearest neighbor (n = 6 is chosen in this study), and the host halo mass M h . We find that the galaxy merger rate F mg shows a strong dependence on the local overdensity (1 + δ n ) and the dependence is similar at all redshifts. For the overdensity estimator, the merger rate F mg is found to be about twenty times larger in the densest regions than in underdense ones in two of the four SAMs, while it is roughly four times higher in the other two. In other words, the discrepancies of the merger rate difference between the two extremes can differ by a factor of ∼5 depending on the SAMs adopted. On the other hand, for the halo mass estimator, F mg does not monotonically increase with the host halo mass M h but peaks in the M h range between 10 12 and 10 13 h –1 M ☉ , which corresponds to group environments. The high merger rate in high local density regions corresponds primarily to the high merger rate in group environments. In addition, we also study the merger probability of 'close pairs' identified using the projected separation and the line-of-sight velocity difference C mg and the merger timescale T mg ; these are two important quantities for observations to convert the pair fraction N c into the galaxy merger rate. We discover that T mg has a weak dependence on environment and different SAMs, and is about 2 Gyr old at z �

Railroad mergers and acquisitions take shape

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fiscor, S.

1995-12-01

This year has been one of the most exciting years in recent history concerning US railroads and coal transportation, as mergers and acquisitions narrow the field for Western coal carriers. The views on the mergers and how they will affect coal transportation are mixed. The coal industry`s growth in the West and its stability in the East is the basis for the most recent changes in the rail industry. Restructuring US coal markets to confirm to environmental policy has had a profound effect on much more than the coal industry itself. Deregulation of rail transport has also been an important factor. 1 fig., 3 tabs.

Faculty Experiences of Merger and Organizational Change in a Social Work Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Adedoyin, A Christson; Miller, Monte; Jackson, Mary S; Dodor, Bernice; Hall, Kristen

2016-01-01

Social work programs are experiencing unprecedented organizational changes due to budget cuts, dwindling resources, global, and technological challenges. However, there is limited information in the literature about the merger experiences of faculty in social work programs. On one hand undergoing merger and reorganization provides the opportunity to reorganize, reprioritize, re-assess, develop strategies, and explore previously untapped opportunities for social work programs. Conversely, merger experiences have caused frustration, intention to quit, confusion, and loss of professional identity for social work faculty. In this article the authors utilize a journaling method and sense-making approach of the merger experiences of some of the faculty members of a social work program in the United States. The authors suggest a framework to understand how the faculty confronted the challenges, overcame the pitfalls, and maximized the opportunities offered during the merger and organizational change process.

Impact of European pharmaceutical price regulation on generic price competition: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Puig-Junoy, Jaume

2010-01-01

Although economic theory indicates that it should not be necessary to intervene in the generic drug market through price regulation, most EU countries intervene in this market, both by regulating the maximum sale price of generics (price cap) and by setting the maximum reimbursement rate, especially by means of reference pricing systems. We analyse current knowledge of the impact of direct price-cap regulation of generic drugs and the implementation of systems regulating the reimbursement rate, particularly through reference pricing and similar tools, on dynamic price competition between generic competitors in Europe. A literature search was carried out in the EconLit and PubMed databases, and on Google Scholar. The search included papers published in English or Spanish between January 2000 and July 2009. Inclusion criteria included that studies had to present empirical results of a quantitative nature for EU countries of the impact of price capping and/or regulation of the reimbursement rate (reference pricing or similar systems) on price dynamics, corresponding to pharmacy sales, in the generic drug market. The available evidence indicates that price-cap regulation leads to a levelling off of generic prices at a higher level than would occur in the absence of this regulation. Reference pricing systems cause an obvious and almost compulsory reduction in the consumer price of all pharmaceuticals subject to this system, to a varying degree in different countries and periods, the reduction being greater for originator-branded drugs than for generics. In several countries with a reference pricing system, it was observed that generics with a consumer price lower than the reference price do not undergo price reductions until the reference price is reduced, even when there are other lower-priced generics on the market (absence of price competition below the reference price). Beyond the price reduction forced by the price-cap and/or reference pricing regulation itself

University Mergers in Russia: Four Waves of Educational Policy

Science.gov (United States)

Romanenko, K. R.; Lisyutkin, M. A.

2018-01-01

This article is aimed at identifying distinctive features of the educational policy of university mergers--their main stages, types, and declared goals. We analyzed cases of university mergers and acquisitions (M&A) from the 1990s to the present, which allowed us to identify and describe four Russia-specific waves of educational policy. Based…

Merger, Akusisi dan Konsolidasi dalam Perspektif Hukum Persaingan Usaha

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paulus Aluk Fajar Dwi Santo

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Mergers, acquisitions and consolidation is a business strategy that is commonly used in the business world to be able to build competitive advantage company, which in time can enhance shareholder value while maximizing the prosperity of the company owners or shareholders. To achieve the above objective normative, policy-makers need a plan and steps of strategic and accurate information to avoid the risk of failure. However, the strategy of merger, acquisition and consolidation of certain potentially inhibit fair competition conditions, thus becoming one of the objects that need to be regulated in Law no. 5 Year 1999 concerning Prohibition of Monopolistic Practices and Unfair Business Competition. Market impact of mergers, acquisitions and consolidation is important for analysis because it can have significant legal consequences for businesses, so that the research method used is the juridical normative and empirical approaches. In practice of mergers, acquisitions and consolidation intersect with regulation in other sectors, especially banking and capital markets. That is, there should be equality of perception and interpretation among the institutions that issued the policy.

A CEO roundtable on making mergers succeed.

Science.gov (United States)

Mandl, A; Bohnett, D; Liddy, E; Komansky, D; Kozlowski, D; Leschly, J; Gupta, R; McDonald, M; Avery, B; Moore, N; Krekel, T

2000-01-01

The announcement in January of the merger between America Online and Time Warner marked the convergence of the two most important business trends of the last five years--the rise of the Internet and the resurgence of mergers and acquisitions. M&A activity is at a fever pitch, spurred in large part by the breathtaking influx of capital into the Internet space. And all signs indicate the trend will only accelerate. Against this background, an impressive group of experienced deal makers came together to share their experiences of what makes mergers work. They were assembled in Scottsdale, Arizona, under the auspices of the M&A Group, a professional society formed in 1999 for CEOs interested in M&A as a business strategy. Participants included top executives from Internet start-ups like Teligent; venture capital firms like Baroda Ventures; financial institutions like Merrill Lynch and PricewaterhouseCoopers; and major corporations like Allstate, Tyco International, SmithKline Beecham, Rohm and Haas, VF, Crown Cork & Seal, and Hughes Space and Communications. The spirited and surprisingly frank discussion cut a wide swath, considering issues such as whether most mergers fail to pan out as well as expected, how to increase the odds of success, the nuts and bolts of the integration process, the trade-offs between acquiring a company and growing from within, the importance of cultural issues, and why anyone would want to be on the board of a merged company.

Ultraluminous Infrared Mergers: Elliptical Galaxies in Formation?

Science.gov (United States)

Genzel, R.; Tacconi, L. J.; Rigopoulou, D.; Lutz, D.; Tecza, M.

2001-12-01

We report high-quality near-IR spectroscopy of 12 ultraluminous infrared galaxy mergers (ULIRGs). Our new VLT and Keck data provide ~0.5" resolution, stellar and gas kinematics of these galaxies, most of which are compact systems in the last merger stages. We confirm that ULIRG mergers are ``ellipticals in formation.'' Random motions dominate their stellar dynamics, but significant rotation is common. Gasdynamics and stellar dynamics are decoupled in most systems. ULIRGs fall on or near the fundamental plane of hot stellar systems, and especially on its less evolution-sensitive, reff-σ projection. The ULIRG velocity dispersion distribution, their location in the fundamental plane, and their distribution of vrotsini/σ closely resemble those of intermediate-mass (~L*), elliptical galaxies with moderate rotation. As a group ULIRGs do not resemble giant ellipticals with large cores and little rotation. Our results are in good agreement with other recent studies indicating that disky ellipticals with compact cores or cusps can form through dissipative mergers of gas-rich disk galaxies while giant ellipticals with large cores have a different formation history. Based on observations at the European Southern Observatory, Chile (ESO 65.N-0266, 65.N-0289), and on observations at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, The University of California, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Keck Observatory was made possible by the general financial support by the W. M. Keck Foundation.

Cell Mergers and Their Impact on Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Over the Houston Area

Science.gov (United States)

Gauthier, Michael L.; Petersen, Walter A.; Carey, Lawrence D.

2009-01-01

A previous hypothesis advanced from observational studies such as METROMEX suggests that the intensity, frequency, and organization of cumulus convection may be impacted by the forcing of enhanced merger activity downstream of urban zones. A resulting corollary is that cities may exert an indirect anthropogenic forcing of parameters related to convection and associated phenomena such as lightning and precipitation. This paper investigates the urban merger hypothesis by examining the role of convective cell mergers on the existence and persistence of the Houston lightning "anomaly", a local maximum in cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning activity documented to exist over and east of Houston. Using eight summer seasons of peak columnar radar reflectivity, CG lightning data and a cell-tracking algorithm, a two-dimensional cell merger climatology is created for portions of eastern Texas and Louisiana. Results from the tracking and analysis of over 3.8 million cells indicate that merger-driven enhancements in convection induce a positive response (O 46%) in ground-flash densities throughout the domain, with areas of enhanced lightning typically being co-located with areas of enhanced merger activity. However, while mergers over the Houston area (relative to elsewhere in the domain) do result in more vigorous convective cells that produce larger CG flash densities, we find that CG lightning contributions due to mergers are distributed similarly throughout the domain. Hence while we demonstrate that cell mergers do greatly impact the production of lightning, the urban cell merger hypothesis does not uniquely explain the presence of a local lightning maximum near and downstream of Houston.

Black Hole Mergers and Gravitational Waves: Opening the New Frontier

Science.gov (United States)

Centrella, Joan

2012-01-01

The final merger of two black holes produces a powerful burst of gravitational waves, emitting more energy than all the stars in the observable universe combined. Since these mergers take place in the regime of strong dynamical gravity, computing the gravitational waveforms requires solving the full Einstein equations of general relativity on a computer. For more than 30 years, scientists tried to simulate these mergers using the methods of numerical relativity. The resulting computer codes were plagued by instabilities, causing them to crash well before the black holes in the binary could complete even a single orbit. In the past several years, this situation has changed dramatically, with a series of remarkable breakthroughs. This talk will highlight these breakthroughs and the resulting 'gold rush' of new results that is revealing the dynamics of binary black hole mergers, and their applications in gravitational wave detection, testing general relativity, and astrophysics.

Perceived Costs and Benefits of IFRS Adoption of Cross-Border Mergers: A Statistical Analysis of Indian and Chinese Companies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ibrahim Mert

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the links between IFRS adoption status, mergers tempo, and perception of IFRS costs and benefits among Indian and Chinese companies. As more capital accrues in India and China, more cross-border mergers activity initiated from these countries should be expected. This paper is trying to extant a research to observe the results related the adaption of IFRS in India and China. During the analyses around 2 authors‘ books were related to this paper. During the study it was focused to collect information observation through published academic books and articles. Some questions raised by the increased tempo of cross-border mergers activity are as follows: (a What are the differences between Indian and Chinese companies‘ perceptions of IFRS costs and benefits? (b What are the differences between IFRS adopters and IFRS non-adopters in perceptions of IFRS costs and benefits? This study identified some significant differences between Indian and Chinese companies‘ perceived IFRS costs and benefits, centering on the role that management accounting played for Chinese companies. Additionally, there were significant differences between how IFRS adopters and non-adopters perceived IFRS in terms of statement simplification, global credibility, and investor attractiveness. This study provides a statistical analysis for the IFRS adaption process of Indian and Chinese companies for the crossborder merger actions.

Spatially Offset Active Galactic Nuclei. II. Triggering in Galaxy Mergers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barrows, R. Scott; Comerford, Julia M. [Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States); Greene, Jenny E. [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Pooley, David, E-mail: Robert.Barrows@Colorado.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Trinity University, San Antonio, TX 78212 (United States)

2017-04-01

Galaxy mergers are likely to play a role in triggering active galactic nuclei (AGNs), but the conditions under which this process occurs are poorly understood. In Paper I, we constructed a sample of spatially offset X-ray AGNs that represent galaxy mergers hosting a single AGN. In this paper, we use our offset AGN sample to constrain the parameters that affect AGN observability in galaxy mergers. We also construct dual-AGN samples with similar selection properties for comparison. We find that the offset AGN fraction shows no evidence for a dependence on AGN luminosity, while the dual-AGN fractions show stronger evidence for a positive dependence, suggesting that the merger events forming dual AGNs are more efficient at instigating accretion onto supermassive black holes than those forming offset AGNs. We also find that the offset and dual-AGN fractions both have a negative dependence on nuclear separation and are similar in value at small physical scales. This dependence may become stronger when restricted to high AGN luminosities, although a larger sample is needed for confirmation. These results indicate that the probability of AGN triggering increases at later merger stages. This study is the first to systematically probe down to nuclear separations of <1 kpc (∼0.8 kpc) and is consistent with predictions from simulations that AGN observability peaks in this regime. We also find that the offset AGNs are not preferentially obscured compared to the parent AGN sample, suggesting that our selection may be targeting galaxy mergers with relatively dust-free nuclear regions.

Spatially Offset Active Galactic Nuclei. II. Triggering in Galaxy Mergers

Science.gov (United States)

Barrows, R. Scott; Comerford, Julia M.; Greene, Jenny E.; Pooley, David

2017-04-01

Galaxy mergers are likely to play a role in triggering active galactic nuclei (AGNs), but the conditions under which this process occurs are poorly understood. In Paper I, we constructed a sample of spatially offset X-ray AGNs that represent galaxy mergers hosting a single AGN. In this paper, we use our offset AGN sample to constrain the parameters that affect AGN observability in galaxy mergers. We also construct dual-AGN samples with similar selection properties for comparison. We find that the offset AGN fraction shows no evidence for a dependence on AGN luminosity, while the dual-AGN fractions show stronger evidence for a positive dependence, suggesting that the merger events forming dual AGNs are more efficient at instigating accretion onto supermassive black holes than those forming offset AGNs. We also find that the offset and dual-AGN fractions both have a negative dependence on nuclear separation and are similar in value at small physical scales. This dependence may become stronger when restricted to high AGN luminosities, although a larger sample is needed for confirmation. These results indicate that the probability of AGN triggering increases at later merger stages. This study is the first to systematically probe down to nuclear separations of <1 kpc (˜0.8 kpc) and is consistent with predictions from simulations that AGN observability peaks in this regime. We also find that the offset AGNs are not preferentially obscured compared to the parent AGN sample, suggesting that our selection may be targeting galaxy mergers with relatively dust-free nuclear regions.

Maintenance of subjective health during a merger : the role of experienced change and pre-merger social support at work in white- and blue-collar workers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vaananen, A; Pahkin, K; Kalimo, R; Buunk, BP; Väänänen, A.; Buunk, Abraham (Bram)

Prospective research on psychosocial effects on employees' health associated with organizational mergers has been scarce. The first aim of this study was to explore the subjective health effects (exhaustion and functional incapacity) of an organizational merger among employees who had experienced a

Repeating and non-repeating fast radio bursts from binary neutron star mergers

Science.gov (United States)

Yamasaki, Shotaro; Totani, Tomonori; Kiuchi, Kenta

2018-04-01

Most fast radio bursts (FRB) do not show evidence of repetition, and such non-repeating FRBs may be produced at the time of a merger of binary neutron stars (BNS), provided that the BNS merger rate is close to the high end of the currently possible range. However, the merger environment is polluted by dynamical ejecta, which may prohibit the radio signal from propagating. We examine this by using a general-relativistic simulation of a BNS merger, and show that the ejecta appears about 1 ms after the rotation speed of the merged star becomes the maximum. Therefore there is a time window in which an FRB signal can reach outside, and the short duration of non-repeating FRBs can be explained by screening after ejecta formation. A fraction of BNS mergers may leave a rapidly rotating and stable neutron star, and such objects may be the origin of repeating FRBs like FRB 121102. We show that a merger remnant would appear as a repeating FRB on a time scale of ˜1-10 yr, and expected properties are consistent with the observations of FRB 121102. We construct an FRB rate evolution model that includes these two populations of repeating and non-repeating FRBs from BNS mergers, and show that the detection rate of repeating FRBs relative to non-repeating ones rapidly increases with improving search sensitivity. This may explain why only the repeating FRB 121102 was discovered by the most sensitive FRB search with Arecibo. Several predictions are made, including the appearance of a repeating FRB 1-10 yr after a BNS merger that is localized by gravitational waves and subsequent electromagnetic radiation.

Mergers and acquisitions: new arrangements in health care. Part 1.

Science.gov (United States)

Grant, E A

1988-02-01

Mergers and acquisitions are assuming a more important role in the healthcare industry today. These transactions require various issues be considered, such as valuation, capital planning, and so forth. In this article, the first in a five-part series on mergers and acquisitions, the fundamental methods and techniques of valuation are discussed. Some of these valuation methods, including comparative market transactions and free cash flow, are explained and examples are used to help potential purchasers and sellers to determine an organization's true value. Other articles in this series will include legal issues, tax implications, purchase investigations, and capital planning for mergers and acquisitions.

THE MAIN OPERATIONS OF REORGANIZATION THROUGH MERGERS OF TRADING COMPANIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandra-Gabriela Rolea

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Notwithstanding the optimistic forecasts issued by experts a couple of years ago, the economic predicaments of the European Union’s member states, including Romania, are far from being settled. The extension of the economic and financial dowturn, the continuing process of globalization and the financial markets’ volatility have imposed an unparalleled flexibility upon the economic agents, in that the amount of mergers and acquisitions has risen at a both national and international level. This background calls for a detailed but nonetheless approachable study of the reorganization of the trading companies though mergers, aimed mainly at the business environment. In order to reach the aforementioned objectives, the theoretical endeavor seeks to explore the relevant legal provisions, including the European Directives. The juridical and accounting operations of mergers, their legal consequences and concrete implications on the activity of the trading companies will also be analysed. Some particular approaches embraced by the legal practice are to be presented, as in Romania mergers are submitted to the control of the court. The study will have a positive impact on the economic agents, who are fostered to conclude this type of restructuring, by altering the line of thought shaped a few years ago, according to which mergers are difficult, isolated and sometimes even unacceptable operations.

A comprehensive, holistic people integration process for mergers and acquisitions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rina P. Steynberg

2011-03-01

Research purpose: To develop and validate a comprehensive, holistic model for the people integration process during mergers and acquisitions. Motivation for the study: The literature on a comprehensive, holistic people integration process for mergers and acquisitions is sparse and fragmented. Research design, approach and method: A qualitative approach was adopted consisting of a three step process which solicited the views of seasoned M&A Practioners; these views were compared against the available literature. Finally, practioners were asked to critique the final model from a practice perspective. The utility of the final model was assessed against two mergers and acquisitions case studies. Main findings: A comprehensive, holistic people integration process model for mergers and acquisitions was developed and validated. However, this model will only significantly enhance mergers and acquisitions value realisation if it is applied from the appropriate vantage point. Practical/managerial implications: The proposed approach will increase the probability of a successful M&A people-wise and M&A value realisation. Contribution/value add: Theoretically, the development and validation of a M&A people process integration model; practically, guidelines for successful people integration; organisationally, significantly enhancing the chances of M&A success; and community wise, the reduction of the negative effects of M&A failure on communities.

Dynamical effects of successive mergers on the evolution of spherical stellar systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, H.M.

1987-01-01

Numerical investigations are carried out to study the dynamical effects of high-mass stars formed out of successive mergers among tidally captured binaries on the evolution of spherical stellar systems. It is assumed that all tidally captured systems become mergers in order to maximize these effects. Stellar systems with N greater than about 10 to the 7th are susceptible to merger instability which may lead to the formation of a central black hole. It is shown that globular clusters are likely to achieve postcollapse expansion due to three-body binary heating and stellar evolution, while galactic nuclei can easily be overcome by the merger instability in the core. 25 references

The Insignificance of Major Mergers in Driving Star Formation at z approximately equal to 2

Science.gov (United States)

Kaviraj, S.; Cohen, S.; Windhorst, R. A.; Silk, J.; O'Connell, R. W.; Dopita, M. A.; Dekel, A.; Hathi, N. P.; Straughn, A.; Rutkowski, M.

2012-01-01

We study the significance of major mergers in driving star formation in the early Universe, by quantifying the contribution of this process to the total star formation budget in 80 massive (M(*) > 10(exp 10) Solar M) galaxies at z approx = 2. Employing visually-classified morphologies from rest-frame V-band HST imaging, we find that 55(exp +/-14)% of the star formation budget is hosted by non-interacting late-types, with 27(exp +/-18% in major mergers and 18(exp +/- 6)% in spheroids. Given that a system undergoing a major merger continues to experience star formation driven by other processes at this epoch (e.g. cold accretion, minor mergers), approx 27% is a likely upper limit for the major-merger contribution to star formation activity at this epoch. The ratio of the average specific star formation rate in major mergers to that in the non-interacting late-types is approx 2.2:1, suggesting that the typical enhancement of star formation due to major merging is modest and that just under half the star formation in systems experiencing major mergers is unrelated to the merger itself. Taking this into account, we estimate that the actual major-merger contribution to the star formation budget may be as low as approx 15%. While our study does not preclude a major-merger-dominated. era in the very early Universe, if the major-merger contribution to star formation does not evolve significantly into larger look-back times, then this process has a relatively insignificant role in driving stellar mass assembly over cosmic time.

Binary neutron star mergers: Dependence on the nuclear equation of state

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hotokezaka, Kenta; Kyutoku, Koutarou; Okawa, Hirotada; Shibata, Masaru; Kiuchi, Kenta

2011-01-01

We perform a numerical-relativity simulation for the merger of binary neutron stars with 6 nuclear-theory-based equations of states (EOSs) described by piecewise polytropes. Our purpose is to explore the dependence of the dynamical behavior of the binary neutron star merger and resulting gravitational waveforms on the EOS of the supernuclear-density matter. The numerical results show that the merger process and the first outcome are classified into three types: (i) a black hole is promptly formed, (ii) a short-lived hypermassive neutron star (HMNS) is formed, (iii) a long-lived HMNS is formed. The type of the merger depends strongly on the EOS and on the total mass of the binaries. For the EOS with which the maximum mass is larger than 2M · , the lifetime of the HMNS is longer than 10 ms for a total mass m 0 =2.7M · . A recent radio observation suggests that the maximum mass of spherical neutron stars is M max ≥1.97±0.04M · in one σ level. This fact and our results support the possible existence of a HMNS soon after the onset of the merger for a typical binary neutron star with m 0 =2.7M · . We also show that the torus mass surrounding the remnant black hole is correlated with the type of the merger process; the torus mass could be large, ≥0.1M · , in the case that a long-lived HMNS is formed. We also show that gravitational waves carry information of the merger process, the remnant, and the torus mass surrounding a black hole.

Merger of Multiple Accreting Black Holes Concordant with Gravitational-wave Events

Science.gov (United States)

Tagawa, Hiromichi; Umemura, Masayuki

2018-03-01

Recently, the advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (aLIGO) has detected black hole (BH) merger events, most of which are sourced by BHs more massive than 30 M ⊙. Especially, the observation of GW170104 suggests dynamically assembled binaries favoring a distribution of misaligned spins. It has been argued that mergers of unassociated BHs can be engendered through a chance meeting in a multiple BH system under gas-rich environments. In this paper, we consider the merger of unassociated BHs, concordant with the massive BH merger events. To that end, we simulate a multiple BH system with a post-Newtonian N-body code incorporating gas accretion and general relativistic effects. As a result, we find that gas dynamical friction effectively promotes a three-body interaction of BHs in dense gas of n gas ≳ 106 cm‑3, so that BH mergers can take place within 30 Myr. This scenario predicts an isotropic distribution of spin tilts. In the concordant models with GW150914, the masses of seed BHs are required to be ≳25 M ⊙. The potential sites of such chance meeting BH mergers are active galactic nucleus (AGN) disks and dense interstellar clouds. Assuming the LIGO O1, we roughly estimate the event rates for PopI BHs and PopIII BHs in AGN disks to be ≃1–2 yr‑1 and ≃1 yr‑1, respectively. Multiple episodes of AGNs may enhance the rates by roughly an order of magnitude. For massive PopI BHs in dense interstellar clouds the rate is ≃0.02 yr‑1. Hence, high-density AGN disks are a more plausible site for mergers of chance meeting BHs.

Impact of hospital mergers on staff job satisfaction: a quantitative study

OpenAIRE

Lim, Ka Keat

2014-01-01

Background Hospital mergers began in the UK in the late 1990s to deal with underperformance. Despite their prevalence, there is a lack of research on how such organizational changes affect the staff morale. This study aims to assess the impact of NHS hospital mergers between financial years 2009/10 and 2011/12 on staff job satisfaction and to identify factors contributing to satisfaction. Methods Data on staff job satisfaction were obtained from the annual NHS Staff Survey. A list of mergers ...

The Effect of Price: Early Observations.

Science.gov (United States)

Hunter, Karen

Scientific journal publishers have very little commercial experience with electronic full text distribution and it is difficult to segregate the effect of pricing on user acceptance and behavior. This paper examines some of the known experiences and ongoing and proposed experiments to get a sense of the interaction of pricing and user acceptance…

17 CFR 240.16b-7 - Mergers, reclassifications, and consolidations.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... financial statements for a 12 month period before the merger, reclassification or consolidation, or such..., and consolidations. 240.16b-7 Section 240.16b-7 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND...) § 240.16b-7 Mergers, reclassifications, and consolidations. (a) The following transactions shall be...

Open access, library and publisher competition, and the evolution of general commerce.

Science.gov (United States)

Odlyzko, Andrew M

2015-02-01

Discussions of the economics of scholarly communication are usually devoted to Open Access, rising journal prices, publisher profits, and boycotts. That ignores what seems a much more important development in this market. Publishers, through the oft-reviled Big Deal packages, are providing much greater and more egalitarian access to the journal literature, an approximation to true Open Access. In the process, they are also marginalizing libraries and obtaining a greater share of the resources going into scholarly communication. This is enabling a continuation of publisher profits as well as of what for decades has been called "unsustainable journal price escalation." It is also inhibiting the spread of Open Access and potentially leading to an oligopoly of publishers controlling distribution through large-scale licensing. The Big Deal practices are worth studying for several general reasons. The degree to which publishers succeed in diminishing the role of libraries may be an indicator of the degree and speed at which universities transform themselves. More importantly, these Big Deals appear to point the way to the future of the whole economy, where progress is characterized by declining privacy, increasing price discrimination, increasing opaqueness in pricing, increasing reliance on low-paid or unpaid work of others for profits, and business models that depend on customer inertia. © The Author(s) 2014.

The separation distribution and merger rate of double white dwarfs: improved constraints

Science.gov (United States)

Maoz, Dan; Hallakoun, Na'ama; Badenes, Carles

2018-05-01

We obtain new and precise information on the double white dwarf (DWD) population and on its gravitational-wave-driven merger rate by combining the constraints on the DWD population from two previous studies on radial velocity variation. One of the studies is based on a sample of white dwarfs (WDs) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS, which with its low spectral resolution probes systems at separations a distribution of initial WD separations (at the start of solely gravitational-wave-driven binary evolution), N(a)da ∝ aαda, is α = -1.30 ± 0.15 (1σ) +0.05 (systematic). The Galactic WD merger rate per WD is Rmerge = (9.7 ± 1.1) × 10-12 yr-1. Integrated over the Galaxy lifetime, this implies that 8.5-11 per cent of all WDs ever formed have merged with another WD. If most DWD mergers end as more-massive WDs, then some 10 per cent of WDs are DWD-merger products, consistent with the observed fraction of WDs in a `high-mass bump' in the WD mass function. The DWD merger rate is 4.5-7 times the Milky Way's specific Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) rate. If most SN Ia explosions stem from the mergers of some DWDs (say, those with massive-enough binary components) then ˜15 per cent of all WD mergers must lead to a SN Ia.

PERBANDINGAN KINERJA KEUANGAN PERUSAHAAN SEBELUM DAN SESUDAH MERGER DAN AKUISISI (PADA PERUSAHAAN PENGAKUISISI YANG TERDAFTAR DI BURSA EFEK INDONESIA PERIODE 2004-2006

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamidah Hamidah

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in the financial performance of the acquirer pre and post mergers and acquisitions. Financial performance is measured with some ratios, Current Ratio (CR, Total Assets Turnover (TATO, Debt Ratio (DR, Return on Assets (ROA, and Price Earnings Ratio (PER. Population of this study included all public company which conducted merger and acquisition(M & A activity in the period 2004-2006. The samples were 10 companies that were taken by purposive sampling method. Analysis of the data used to test hypotheses using Paired Sample t-Test. Empirical results shows that there are no significant difference for DR and TATO in testing 1 year before and 1 year after M & A up to 1 year before and 5 years after M & A. However, CR shows significant difference in test 1 year before with 2, 4, and 5 years after M & A; ROA shows significant difference in test 1 year before with 4 years after M & A; then PER shows significant difference in test 1 year before with 3 years after M & A.

Gas-Rich Mergers in LCDM: Disk Survivability and the Baryonic Assembly of Galaxies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stewart, K.

2009-01-01

We use N-body simulations and observationally-normalized relations between dark matter halo mass, stellar mass, and cold gas mass to derive robust expectations about the baryonic content of major mergers out to redshift z ∼ 2. First, we find that the majority of major mergers (m/M > 0.3) experienced by Milky Way size dark matter halos should have been gas-rich, and that gas-rich mergers are increasingly common at high redshift. Though the frequency of major mergers into galaxy halos in our simulations greatly exceeds the observed late-type galaxy fraction, the frequency of gas-poor major mergers is consistent with the observed fraction of bulge-dominated galaxies across the halo mass range M DM ∼ 10 11 - 10 13 M · . These results lend support to the conjecture that mergers with high baryonic gas fractions play an important role in building and/or preserving disk galaxies in the universe. Secondly, we find that there is a transition mass below which a galaxy's past major mergers were primarily gas-rich and above which they were gas poor. The associated stellar mass scale corresponds closely to that marking the observed bimodal division between blue, star-forming, disk-dominated systems and red, bulge-dominated systems with old populations. Finally, we find that the overall fraction of a galaxy's cold baryons deposited directly via major mergers is substantial. Approximately 30% of the cold baryonic material in M star ∼ 10 10 M · (M DM ∼ 10 11.5 M · ) galaxies is accreted as cold gas in major mergers. For more massive galaxies with M star ∼ 10 11 M · (M DM ∼ 10 13 M · the fraction of baryons amassed in mergers is even higher, ∼ 50%, but most of these accreted baryons are delivered directly in the form of stars. This baryonic mass deposition is almost unavoidable, and provides a limit on the fraction of a galaxy's cold baryons that can originate in cold flows or from hot halo cooling

The failing firm defence: merger policy and entry

OpenAIRE

Mason, Robin; Weeds, Helen

2003-01-01

This Paper considers the 'failing firm defence'. Under this principle, found in most antitrust jurisdictions, a merger that would otherwise be blocked due to its adverse effect on competition is permitted when the firm to be acquired is a failing firm, and an alternative, less detrimental merger is unavailable. Competition authorities have shown considerable reluctance to accept the failing firm defence, and it has been successfully used in just a handful of cases. The Paper considers the def...

Search for Post-merger Gravitational Waves from the Remnant of the Binary Neutron Star Merger GW170817

Science.gov (United States)

Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abbott, T. D.; Acernese, F.; Ackley, K.; Adams, C.; Adams, T.; Addesso, P.; Adhikari, R. X.; Adya, V. B.; Affeldt, C.; Afrough, M.; Agarwal, B.; Agathos, M.; Agatsuma, K.; Aggarwal, N.; Aguiar, O. D.; Aiello, L.; Ain, A.; Ajith, P.; Allen, B.; Allen, G.; Allocca, A.; Altin, P. A.; Amato, A.; Ananyeva, A.; Anderson, S. B.; Anderson, W. G.; Angelova, S. V.; Antier, S.; Appert, S.; Arai, K.; Araya, M. C.; Areeda, J. S.; Arnaud, N.; Arun, K. G.; Ascenzi, S.; Ashton, G.; Ast, M.; Aston, S. M.; Astone, P.; Atallah, D. V.; Aufmuth, P.; Aulbert, C.; AultONeal, K.; Austin, C.; Avila-Alvarez, A.; Babak, S.; Bacon, P.; Bader, M. K. M.; Bae, S.; Baker, P. T.; Baldaccini, F.; Ballardin, G.; Ballmer, S. W.; Banagiri, S.; Barayoga, J. C.; Barclay, S. E.; Barish, B. C.; Barker, D.; Barkett, K.; Barone, F.; Barr, B.; Barsotti, L.; Barsuglia, M.; Barta, D.; Bartlett, J.; Bartos, I.; Bassiri, R.; Basti, A.; Batch, J. C.; Bawaj, M.; Bayley, J. C.; Bazzan, M.; Bécsy, B.; Beer, C.; Bejger, M.; Belahcene, I.; Bell, A. S.; Berger, B. K.; Bergmann, G.; Bernuzzi, S.; Bero, J. J.; Berry, C. P. L.; Bersanetti, D.; Bertolini, A.; Betzwieser, J.; Bhagwat, S.; Bhandare, R.; Bilenko, I. A.; Billingsley, G.; Billman, C. R.; Birch, J.; Birney, R.; Birnholtz, O.; Biscans, S.; Biscoveanu, S.; Bisht, A.; Bitossi, M.; Biwer, C.; Bizouard, M. A.; Blackburn, J. K.; Blackman, J.; Blair, C. D.; Blair, D. G.; Blair, R. M.; Bloemen, S.; Bock, O.; Bode, N.; Boer, M.; Bogaert, G.; Bohe, A.; Bondu, F.; Bonilla, E.; Bonnand, R.; Boom, B. A.; Bork, R.; Boschi, V.; Bose, S.; Bossie, K.; Bouffanais, Y.; Bozzi, A.; Bradaschia, C.; Brady, P. R.; Branchesi, M.; Brau, J. E.; Briant, T.; Brillet, A.; Brinkmann, M.; Brisson, V.; Brockill, P.; Broida, J. E.; Brooks, A. F.; Brown, D. A.; Brown, D. D.; Brunett, S.; Buchanan, C. C.; Buikema, A.; Bulik, T.; Bulten, H. J.; Buonanno, A.; Buskulic, D.; Buy, C.; Byer, R. L.; Cabero, M.; Cadonati, L.; Cagnoli, G.; Cahillane, C.; Calderón Bustillo, J.; Callister, T. A.; Calloni, E.; Camp, J. B.; Canepa, M.; Canizares, P.; Cannon, K. C.; Cao, H.; Cao, J.; Capano, C. D.; Capocasa, E.; Carbognani, F.; Caride, S.; Carney, M. F.; Casanueva Diaz, J.; Casentini, C.; Caudill, S.; Cavaglià, M.; Cavalier, F.; Cavalieri, R.; Cella, G.; Cepeda, C. B.; Cerdá-Durán, P.; Cerretani, G.; Cesarini, E.; Chamberlin, S. J.; Chan, M.; Chao, S.; Charlton, P.; Chase, E.; Chassande-Mottin, E.; Chatterjee, D.; Cheeseboro, B. D.; Chen, H. Y.; Chen, X.; Chen, Y.; Cheng, H.-P.; Chia, H.; Chincarini, A.; Chiummo, A.; Chmiel, T.; Cho, H. S.; Cho, M.; Chow, J. H.; Christensen, N.; Chu, Q.; Chua, A. J. K.; Chua, S.; Chung, A. K. W.; Chung, S.; Ciani, G.; Ciolfi, R.; Cirelli, C. E.; Cirone, A.; Clara, F.; Clark, J. A.; Clearwater, P.; Cleva, F.; Cocchieri, C.; Coccia, E.; Cohadon, P.-F.; Cohen, D.; Colla, A.; Collette, C. G.; Cominsky, L. R.; Constancio, M., Jr.; Conti, L.; Cooper, S. J.; Corban, P.; Corbitt, T. R.; Cordero-Carrión, I.; Corley, K. R.; Corsi, A.; Cortese, S.; Costa, C. A.; Coughlin, M. W.; Coughlin, S. B.; Coulon, J.-P.; Countryman, S. T.; Couvares, P.; Covas, P. B.; Cowan, E. E.; Coward, D. M.; Cowart, M. J.; Coyne, D. C.; Coyne, R.; Creighton, J. D. E.; Creighton, T. D.; Cripe, J.; Crowder, S. G.; Cullen, T. J.; Cumming, A.; Cunningham, L.; Cuoco, E.; Dal Canton, T.; Dálya, G.; Danilishin, S. L.; D'Antonio, S.; Danzmann, K.; Dasgupta, A.; Da Silva Costa, C. F.; Dattilo, V.; Dave, I.; Davier, M.; Davis, D.; Daw, E. J.; Day, B.; De, S.; DeBra, D.; Degallaix, J.; De Laurentis, M.; Deléglise, S.; Del Pozzo, W.; Demos, N.; Denker, T.; Dent, T.; De Pietri, R.; Dergachev, V.; De Rosa, R.; DeRosa, R. T.; De Rossi, C.; DeSalvo, R.; de Varona, O.; Devenson, J.; Dhurandhar, S.; Díaz, M. C.; Dietrich, T.; Di Fiore, L.; Di Giovanni, M.; Di Girolamo, T.; Di Lieto, A.; Di Pace, S.; Di Palma, I.; Di Renzo, F.; Doctor, Z.; Dolique, V.; Donovan, F.; Dooley, K. L.; Doravari, S.; Dorrington, I.; Douglas, R.; Dovale Álvarez, M.; Downes, T. P.; Drago, M.; Dreissigacker, C.; Driggers, J. C.; Du, Z.; Ducrot, M.; Dupej, P.; Dwyer, S. E.; Edo, T. B.; Edwards, M. C.; Effler, A.; Eggenstein, H.-B.; Ehrens, P.; Eichholz, J.; Eikenberry, S. S.; Eisenstein, R. A.; Essick, R. C.; Estevez, D.; Etienne, Z. B.; Etzel, T.; Evans, M.; Evans, T. M.; Factourovich, M.; Fafone, V.; Fair, H.; Fairhurst, S.; Fan, X.; Farinon, S.; Farr, B.; Farr, W. M.; Fauchon-Jones, E. J.; Favata, M.; Fays, M.; Fee, C.; Fehrmann, H.; Feicht, J.; Fejer, M. M.; Fernandez-Galiana, A.; Ferrante, I.; Ferreira, E. C.; Ferrini, F.; Fidecaro, F.; Finstad, D.; Fiori, I.; Fiorucci, D.; Fishbach, M.; Fisher, R. P.; Fitz-Axen, M.; Flaminio, R.; Fletcher, M.; Flynn, E.; Fong, H.; Font, J. A.; Forsyth, P. W. F.; Forsyth, S. S.; Fournier, J.-D.; Frasca, S.; Frasconi, F.; Frei, Z.; Freise, A.; Frey, R.; Frey, V.; Fries, E. M.; Fritschel, P.; Frolov, V. V.; Fulda, P.; Fyffe, M.; Gabbard, H.; Gadre, B. U.; Gaebel, S. M.; Gair, J. R.; Gammaitoni, L.; Ganija, M. R.; Gaonkar, S. G.; Garcia-Quiros, C.; Garufi, F.; Gateley, B.; Gaudio, S.; Gaur, G.; Gayathri, V.; Gehrels, N.; Gemme, G.; Genin, E.; Gennai, A.; George, D.; George, J.; Gergely, L.; Germain, V.; Ghonge, S.; Ghosh, Abhirup; Ghosh, Archisman; Ghosh, S.; Giaime, J. A.; Giardina, K. D.; Giazotto, A.; Gill, K.; Glover, L.; Goetz, E.; Goetz, R.; Gomes, S.; Goncharov, B.; González, G.; Gonzalez Castro, J. M.; Gopakumar, A.; Gorodetsky, M. L.; Gossan, S. E.; Gosselin, M.; Gouaty, R.; Grado, A.; Graef, C.; Granata, M.; Grant, A.; Gras, S.; Gray, C.; Greco, G.; Green, A. C.; Gretarsson, E. M.; Groot, P.; Grote, H.; Grunewald, S.; Gruning, P.; Guidi, G. M.; Guo, X.; Gupta, A.; Gupta, M. K.; Gushwa, K. E.; Gustafson, E. K.; Gustafson, R.; Halim, O.; Hall, B. R.; Hall, E. D.; Hamilton, E. Z.; Hammond, G.; Haney, M.; Hanke, M. M.; Hanks, J.; Hanna, C.; Hannam, M. D.; Hannuksela, O. A.; Hanson, J.; Hardwick, T.; Harms, J.; Harry, G. M.; Harry, I. W.; Hart, M. J.; Haster, C.-J.; Haughian, K.; Healy, J.; Heidmann, A.; Heintze, M. C.; Heitmann, H.; Hello, P.; Hemming, G.; Hendry, M.; Heng, I. S.; Hennig, J.; Heptonstall, A. W.; Heurs, M.; Hild, S.; Hinderer, T.; Hoak, D.; Hofman, D.; Holt, K.; Holz, D. E.; Hopkins, P.; Horst, C.; Hough, J.; Houston, E. A.; Howell, E. J.; Hreibi, A.; Hu, Y. M.; Huerta, E. A.; Huet, D.; Hughey, B.; Husa, S.; Huttner, S. H.; Huynh-Dinh, T.; Indik, N.; Inta, R.; Intini, G.; Isa, H. N.; Isac, J.-M.; Isi, M.; Iyer, B. R.; Izumi, K.; Jacqmin, T.; Jani, K.; Jaranowski, P.; Jawahar, S.; Jiménez-Forteza, F.; Johnson, W. W.; Jones, D. I.; Jones, R.; Jonker, R. J. G.; Ju, L.; Junker, J.; Kalaghatgi, C. V.; Kalogera, V.; Kamai, B.; Kandhasamy, S.; Kang, G.; Kanner, J. B.; Kapadia, S. J.; Karki, S.; Karvinen, K. S.; Kasprzack, M.; Kastaun, W.; Katolik, M.; Katsavounidis, E.; Katzman, W.; Kaufer, S.; Kawabe, K.; Kéfélian, F.; Keitel, D.; Kemball, A. J.; Kennedy, R.; Kent, C.; Key, J. S.; Khalili, F. Y.; Khan, I.; Khan, S.; Khan, Z.; Khazanov, E. A.; Kijbunchoo, N.; Kim, Chunglee; Kim, J. C.; Kim, K.; Kim, W.; Kim, W. S.; Kim, Y.-M.; Kimbrell, S. J.; King, E. J.; King, P. J.; Kinley-Hanlon, M.; Kirchhoff, R.; Kissel, J. S.; Kleybolte, L.; Klimenko, S.; Knowles, T. D.; Koch, P.; Koehlenbeck, S. M.; Koley, S.; Kondrashov, V.; Kontos, A.; Korobko, M.; Korth, W. Z.; Kowalska, I.; Kozak, D. B.; Krämer, C.; Kringel, V.; Krishnan, B.; Królak, A.; Kuehn, G.; Kumar, P.; Kumar, R.; Kumar, S.; Kuo, L.; Kutynia, A.; Kwang, S.; Lackey, B. D.; Lai, K. H.; Landry, M.; Lang, R. N.; Lange, J.; Lantz, B.; Lanza, R. K.; Lartaux-Vollard, A.; Lasky, P. D.; Laxen, M.; Lazzarini, A.; Lazzaro, C.; Leaci, P.; Leavey, S.; Lee, C. H.; Lee, H. K.; Lee, H. M.; Lee, H. W.; Lee, K.; Lehmann, J.; Lenon, A.; Leonardi, M.; Leroy, N.; Letendre, N.; Levin, Y.; Li, T. G. F.; Linker, S. D.; Liu, J.; Lo, R. K. L.; Lockerbie, N. A.; London, L. T.; Lord, J. E.; Lorenzini, M.; Loriette, V.; Lormand, M.; Losurdo, G.; Lough, J. D.; Lousto, C. O.; Lovelace, G.; Lück, H.; Lumaca, D.; Lundgren, A. P.; Lynch, R.; Ma, Y.; Macas, R.; Macfoy, S.; Machenschalk, B.; MacInnis, M.; Macleod, D. M.; Magaña Hernandez, I.; Magaña-Sandoval, F.; Magaña Zertuche, L.; Magee, R. M.; Majorana, E.; Maksimovic, I.; Man, N.; Mandic, V.; Mangano, V.; Mansell, G. L.; Manske, M.; Mantovani, M.; Marchesoni, F.; Marion, F.; Márka, S.; Márka, Z.; Markakis, C.; Markosyan, A. S.; Markowitz, A.; Maros, E.; Marquina, A.; Martelli, F.; Martellini, L.; Martin, I. W.; Martin, R. M.; Martynov, D. V.; Mason, K.; Massera, E.; Masserot, A.; Massinger, T. J.; Masso-Reid, M.; Mastrogiovanni, S.; Matas, A.; Matichard, F.; Matone, L.; Mavalvala, N.; Mazumder, N.; McCarthy, R.; McClelland, D. E.; McCormick, S.; McCuller, L.; McGuire, S. C.; McIntyre, G.; McIver, J.; McManus, D. J.; McNeill, L.; McRae, T.; McWilliams, S. T.; Meacher, D.; Meadors, G. D.; Mehmet, M.; Meidam, J.; Mejuto-Villa, E.; Melatos, A.; Mendell, G.; Mercer, R. A.; Merilh, E. L.; Merzougui, M.; Meshkov, S.; Messenger, C.; Messick, C.; Metzdorff, R.; Meyers, P. M.; Miao, H.; Michel, C.; Middleton, H.; Mikhailov, E. E.; Milano, L.; Miller, A. L.; Miller, B. B.; Miller, J.; Milovich-Goff, M. C.; Minazzoli, O.; Minenkov, Y.; Ming, J.; Mishra, C.; Mitra, S.; Mitrofanov, V. P.; Mitselmakher, G.; Mittleman, R.; Moffa, D.; Moggi, A.; Mogushi, K.; Mohan, M.; Mohapatra, S. R. P.; Montani, M.; Moore, C. J.; Moraru, D.; Moreno, G.; Morriss, S. R.; Mours, B.; Mow-Lowry, C. M.; Mueller, G.; Muir, A. W.; Mukherjee, Arunava; Mukherjee, D.; Mukherjee, S.; Mukund, N.; Mullavey, A.; Munch, J.; Muñiz, E. A.; Muratore, M.; Murray, P. G.; Napier, K.; Nardecchia, I.; Naticchioni, L.; Nayak, R. K.; Neilson, J.; Nelemans, G.; Nelson, T. J. N.; Nery, M.; Neunzert, A.; Nevin, L.; Newport, J. M.; Newton, G.; Ng, K. K. Y.; Nguyen, T. T.; Nichols, D.; Nielsen, A. B.; Nissanke, S.; Nitz, A.; Noack, A.; Nocera, F.; Nolting, D.; North, C.; Nuttall, L. K.; Oberling, J.; O'Dea, G. D.; Ogin, G. H.; Oh, J. J.; Oh, S. H.; Ohme, F.; Okada, M. A.; Oliver, M.; Oppermann, P.; Oram, Richard J.; O'Reilly, B.; Ormiston, R.; Ortega, L. F.; O'Shaughnessy, R.; Ossokine, S.; Ottaway, D. J.; Overmier, H.; Owen, B. J.; Pace, A. E.; Page, J.; Page, M. A.; Pai, A.; Pai, S. A.; Palamos, J. R.; Palashov, O.; Palomba, C.; Pal-Singh, A.; Pan, Howard; Pan, Huang-Wei; Pang, B.; Pang, P. T. H.; Pankow, C.; Pannarale, F.; Pant, B. C.; Paoletti, F.; Paoli, A.; Papa, M. A.; Parida, A.; Parker, W.; Pascucci, D.; Pasqualetti, A.; Passaquieti, R.; Passuello, D.; Patil, M.; Patricelli, B.; Pearlstone, B. L.; Pedraza, M.; Pedurand, R.; Pekowsky, L.; Pele, A.; Penn, S.; Perez, C. J.; Perreca, A.; Perri, L. M.; Pfeiffer, H. P.; Phelps, M.; Phukon, K. S.; Piccinni, O. J.; Pichot, M.; Piergiovanni, F.; Pierro, V.; Pillant, G.; Pinard, L.; Pinto, I. M.; Pirello, M.; Pitkin, M.; Poe, M.; Poggiani, R.; Popolizio, P.; Porter, E. K.; Post, A.; Powell, J.; Prasad, J.; Pratt, J. W. W.; Pratten, G.; Predoi, V.; Prestegard, T.; Prijatelj, M.; Principe, M.; Privitera, S.; Prodi, G. A.; Prokhorov, L. G.; Puncken, O.; Punturo, M.; Puppo, P.; Pürrer, M.; Qi, H.; Quetschke, V.; Quintero, E. A.; Quitzow-James, R.; Raab, F. J.; Rabeling, D. S.; Radkins, H.; Raffai, P.; Raja, S.; Rajan, C.; Rajbhandari, B.; Rakhmanov, M.; Ramirez, K. E.; Ramos-Buades, A.; Rapagnani, P.; Raymond, V.; Razzano, M.; Read, J.; Regimbau, T.; Rei, L.; Reid, S.; Reitze, D. H.; Ren, W.; Reyes, S. D.; Ricci, F.; Ricker, P. M.; Rieger, S.; Riles, K.; Rizzo, M.; Robertson, N. A.; Robie, R.; Robinet, F.; Rocchi, A.; Rolland, L.; Rollins, J. G.; Roma, V. J.; Romano, R.; Romel, C. L.; Romie, J. H.; Rosińska, D.; Ross, M. P.; Rowan, S.; Rüdiger, A.; Ruggi, P.; Rutins, G.; Ryan, K.; Sachdev, S.; Sadecki, T.; Sadeghian, L.; Sakellariadou, M.; Salconi, L.; Saleem, M.; Salemi, F.; Samajdar, A.; Sammut, L.; Sampson, L. M.; Sanchez, E. J.; Sanchez, L. E.; Sanchis-Gual, N.; Sandberg, V.; Sanders, J. R.; Sarin, N.; Sassolas, B.; Sathyaprakash, B. S.; Saulson, P. R.; Sauter, O.; Savage, R. L.; Sawadsky, A.; Schale, P.; Scheel, M.; Scheuer, J.; Schmidt, J.; Schmidt, P.; Schnabel, R.; Schofield, R. M. S.; Schönbeck, A.; Schreiber, E.; Schuette, D.; Schulte, B. W.; Schutz, B. F.; Schwalbe, S. G.; Scott, J.; Scott, S. M.; Seidel, E.; Sellers, D.; Sengupta, A. S.; Sentenac, D.; Sequino, V.; Sergeev, A.; Shaddock, D. A.; Shaffer, T. J.; Shah, A. A.; Shahriar, M. S.; Shaner, M. B.; Shao, L.; Shapiro, B.; Shawhan, P.; Sheperd, A.; Shoemaker, D. H.; Shoemaker, D. M.; Siellez, K.; Siemens, X.; Sieniawska, M.; Sigg, D.; Silva, A. D.; Singer, L. P.; Singh, A.; Singhal, A.; Sintes, A. M.; Rana, J.; Slagmolen, B. J. J.; Smith, B.; Smith, J. R.; Smith, R. J. E.; Somala, S.; Son, E. J.; Sonnenberg, J. A.; Sorazu, B.; Sorrentino, F.; Souradeep, T.; Sowell, E.; Spencer, A. P.; Srivastava, A. K.; Staats, K.; Staley, A.; Steinke, M.; Steinlechner, J.; Steinlechner, S.; Steinmeyer, D.; Stevenson, S. P.; Stone, R.; Stops, D. J.; Strain, K. A.; Stratta, G.; Strigin, S. E.; Strunk, A.; Sturani, R.; Stuver, A. L.; Summerscales, T. Z.; Sun, L.; Sunil, S.; Suresh, J.; Sutton, P. J.; Swinkels, B. L.; Szczepańczyk, M. J.; Tacca, M.; Tait, S. C.; Talbot, C.; Talukder, D.; Tanner, D. B.; Tápai, M.; Taracchini, A.; Tasson, J. D.; Taylor, J. A.; Taylor, R.; Tewari, S. V.; Theeg, T.; Thies, F.; Thomas, E. G.; Thomas, M.; Thomas, P.; Thorne, K. A.; Thrane, E.; Tiwari, S.; Tiwari, V.; Tokmakov, K. V.; Toland, K.; Tonelli, M.; Tornasi, Z.; Torres-Forné, A.; Torrie, C. I.; Töyrä, D.; Travasso, F.; Traylor, G.; Trinastic, J.; Tringali, M. C.; Trozzo, L.; Tsang, K. W.; Tse, M.; Tso, R.; Tsukada, L.; Tsuna, D.; Tuyenbayev, D.; Ueno, K.; Ugolini, D.; Unnikrishnan, C. S.; Urban, A. L.; Usman, S. A.; Vahlbruch, H.; Vajente, G.; Valdes, G.; van Bakel, N.; van Beuzekom, M.; van den Brand, J. F. J.; Van Den Broeck, C.; Vander-Hyde, D. C.; van der Schaaf, L.; van Heijningen, J. V.; van Veggel, A. A.; Vardaro, M.; Varma, V.; Vass, S.; Vasúth, M.; Vecchio, A.; Vedovato, G.; Veitch, J.; Veitch, P. J.; Venkateswara, K.; Venugopalan, G.; Verkindt, D.; Vetrano, F.; Viceré, A.; Viets, A. D.; Vinciguerra, S.; Vine, D. J.; Vinet, J.-Y.; Vitale, S.; Vo, T.; Vocca, H.; Vorvick, C.; Vyatchanin, S. P.; Wade, A. R.; Wade, L. E.; Wade, M.; Walet, R.; Walker, M.; Wallace, L.; Walsh, S.; Wang, G.; Wang, H.; Wang, J. Z.; Wang, W. H.; Wang, Y. F.; Ward, R. L.; Warner, J.; Was, M.; Watchi, J.; Weaver, B.; Wei, L.-W.; Weinert, M.; Weinstein, A. J.; Weiss, R.; Wen, L.; Wessel, E. K.; Weßels, P.; Westerweck, J.; Westphal, T.; Wette, K.; Whelan, J. T.; White, D. D.; Whiting, B. F.; Whittle, C.; Wilken, D.; Williams, D.; Williams, R. D.; Williamson, A. R.; Willis, J. L.; Willke, B.; Wimmer, M. H.; Winkler, W.; Wipf, C. C.; Wittel, H.; Woan, G.; Woehler, J.; Wofford, J.; Wong, K. W. K.; Worden, J.; Wright, J. L.; Wu, D. S.; Wysocki, D. M.; Xiao, S.; Yamamoto, H.; Yancey, C. C.; Yang, L.; Yap, M. J.; Yazback, M.; Yu, Hang; Yu, Haocun; Yvert, M.; Zadrożny, A.; Zanolin, M.; Zelenova, T.; Zendri, J.-P.; Zevin, M.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, M.; Zhang, T.; Zhang, Y.-H.; Zhao, C.; Zhou, M.; Zhou, Z.; Zhu, S. J.; Zhu, X. J.; Zimmerman, A. B.; Zucker, M. E.; Zweizig, J.; (LIGO Scientific Collaboration; Virgo Collaboration

2017-12-01

The first observation of a binary neutron star (NS) coalescence by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo gravitational-wave (GW) detectors offers an unprecedented opportunity to study matter under the most extreme conditions. After such a merger, a compact remnant is left over whose nature depends primarily on the masses of the inspiraling objects and on the equation of state of nuclear matter. This could be either a black hole (BH) or an NS, with the latter being either long-lived or too massive for stability implying delayed collapse to a BH. Here, we present a search for GWs from the remnant of the binary NS merger GW170817 using data from Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo. We search for short- (≲1 s) and intermediate-duration (≲500 s) signals, which include GW emission from a hypermassive NS or supramassive NS, respectively. We find no signal from the post-merger remnant. Our derived strain upper limits are more than an order of magnitude larger than those predicted by most models. For short signals, our best upper limit on the root sum square of the GW strain emitted from 1-4 kHz is {h}{rss}50 % =2.1× {10}-22 {{Hz}}-1/2 at 50% detection efficiency. For intermediate-duration signals, our best upper limit at 50% detection efficiency is {h}{rss}50 % =8.4× {10}-22 {{Hz}}-1/2 for a millisecond magnetar model, and {h}{rss}50 % =5.9× {10}-22 {{Hz}}-1/2 for a bar-mode model. These results indicate that post-merger emission from a similar event may be detectable when advanced detectors reach design sensitivity or with next-generation detectors.

Modeling the Impact of Mergers and Acquisitions of Companies on their Capitalization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kolodiazhna Tatiana V.

2017-07-01

Full Text Available In the context of economic globalization, the most common approaches to creating powerful companies that have high market value are those that use mergers and acquisitions. In Ukraine, such processes also have been considerably intensified in recent years. However, in the national economic science, the problems of evaluating the impact of mergers and acquisitions of companies on their capitalization, as well as on the concentration and competitiveness of the country’s economy, have not been solved to date. The article is aimed at analyzing the market capitalization of the world’s largest companies and modeling the impact of their mergers and acquisitions on the capitalization of their economies. As a result of the study, it has been determined that modeling the impact of the mergers and acquisitions of the world’s companies on the level of capitalization of their economies has proved the hypothesis that the countries of the world, where mergers and acquisitions of companies are more extensive, also have larger capitalization level.

SHOCKING TAILS IN THE MAJOR MERGER ABELL 2744

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Owers, Matt S.; Couch, Warrick J. [Center for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC 3122 (Australia); Nulsen, Paul E. J.; Randall, Scott W., E-mail: mowers@aao.gov.au [Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

2012-05-01

We identify four rare 'jellyfish' galaxies in Hubble Space Telescope imagery of the major merger cluster Abell 2744. These galaxies harbor trails of star-forming knots and filaments which have formed in situ in gas tails stripped from the parent galaxies, indicating they are in the process of being transformed by the environment. Further evidence for rapid transformation in these galaxies comes from their optical spectra, which reveal starburst, poststarburst, and active galactic nucleus features. Most intriguingly, three of the jellyfish galaxies lie near intracluster medium features associated with a merging 'Bullet-like' subcluster and its shock front detected in Chandra X-ray images. We suggest that the high-pressure merger environment may be responsible for the star formation in the gaseous tails. This provides observational evidence for the rapid transformation of galaxies during the violent core passage phase of a major cluster merger.

V1309 Scorpii: merger of a contact binary

Science.gov (United States)

Tylenda, R.; Hajduk, M.; Kamiński, T.; Udalski, A.; Soszyński, I.; Szymański, M. K.; Kubiak, M.; Pietrzyński, G.; Poleski, R.; Wyrzykowski, Ł.; Ulaczyk, K.

2011-04-01

Context. Stellar mergers are expected to take place in numerous circumstences in the evolution of stellar systems. In particular, they are considered as a plausible origin of stellar eruptions of the V838 Mon type. V1309 Sco is the most recent eruption of this type in our Galaxy. The object was discovered in September 2008. Aims: Our aim is to investigate the nature of V1309 Sco. Methods: V1309 Sco has been photometrically observed in course of the OGLE project since August 2001. We analyse these observations in different ways. In particular, periodogram analyses were done to investigate the nature of the observed short-term variability of the progenitor. Results: We find that the progenitor of V1309 Sco was a contact binary with an orbital period of ~1.4 day. This period was decreasing with time. The light curve of the binary was also evolving, indicating that the system evolved towards its merger. The violent phase of the merger, marked by the systematic brightenning of the object, began in March 2008, i.e. half a year before the outburst discovery. We also investigate the observations of V1309 Sco during the outburst and the decline and show that they can be fully accounted for within the merger hypothesis. Conclusions: For the first time in the literature we show from direct observations that contact binaries indeed end up by merging into a single object, as was suggested in numerous theoretical studies of these systems. Our study also shows that stellar mergers indeed result in eruptions of the V838 Mon type. Based on observations obtained with the 1.3-m Warsaw telescope at the Las Campanas Observatory of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. The photometric data analysed in the present paper are available from the OGLE Internet archive: ftp://ogle.astrouw.edu.pl/ogle/ogle3/V1309_SCO

Hydrogen in hot subdwarfs formed by double helium white dwarf mergers

OpenAIRE

Hall, Philip D.; Jeffery, C. Simon

2016-01-01

Isolated hot subdwarfs might be formed by the merging of two helium-core white dwarfs. Before merging, helium-core white dwarfs have hydrogen-rich envelopes and some of this hydrogen may survive the merger. We calculate the mass of hydrogen that is present at the start of such mergers and, with the assumption that hydrogen is mixed throughout the disrupted white dwarf in the merger process, estimate how much can survive. We find a hydrogen mass of up to about $2 \\times 10^{-3}\\,\\mathrm{M}_{\\o...

Can mergers-in-progress be unmerged in speech accommodation?

Science.gov (United States)

Babel, Molly; McAuliffe, Michael; Haber, Graham

2013-01-01

This study examines spontaneous phonetic accommodation of a dialect with distinct categories by speakers who are in the process of merging those categories. We focus on the merger of the NEAR and SQUARE lexical sets in New Zealand English, presenting New Zealand participants with an unmerged speaker of Australian English. Mergers-in-progress are a uniquely interesting sound change as they showcase the asymmetry between speech perception and production. Yet, we examine mergers using spontaneous phonetic imitation, which is phenomenon that is necessarily a behavior where perceptual input influences speech production. Phonetic imitation is quantified by a perceptual measure and an acoustic calculation of mergedness using a Pillai-Bartlett trace. The results from both analyses indicate spontaneous phonetic imitation is moderated by extra-linguistic factors such as the valence of assigned conditions and social bias. We also find evidence for a decrease in the degree of mergedness in post-exposure productions. Taken together, our results suggest that under the appropriate conditions New Zealanders phonetically accommodate to Australian English and that in the process of speech imitation, mergers-in-progress can, but do not consistently, become less merged.

Can mergers-in-progress be unmerged in speech accommodation?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Molly eBabel

2013-09-01

Full Text Available This study examines spontaneous phonetic accommodation of a dialect with distinct categories by speakers who are in the process of merging those categories. We focus on the merger of the NEAR and SQUARE lexical sets in New Zealand English, presenting New Zealand participants with an unmerged speaker of Australian English. Mergers-in-progress are a uniquely interesting sound change as they showcase the asymmetry between speech perception and production. Yet, we examine mergers using spontaneous phonetic imitation, which is phenomenon that is necessarily a behavior where perceptual input influences speech production. Phonetic imitation is quantified by a perceptual measure and an acoustic calculation of mergedness using a Pillai-Bartlett trace. The results from both analyses indicate spontaneous phonetic imitation is moderated by extra-linguistic factors such as the valence of assigned conditions and social bias. We also find evidence for a decrease in the degree of mergedness in post-exposure productions. Taken together, our results suggest that under the appropriate conditions New Zealanders phonetically accommodate to Australian English and that in the process of speech imitation, mergers-in-progress can, but do not consistently, become less merged.

DOUBLE QUASARS: PROBES OF BLACK HOLE SCALING RELATIONSHIPS AND MERGER SCENARIOS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foreman, G.; Volonteri, M.; Dotti, M.

2009-01-01

We analyze the available sample of double quasars, and investigate their physical properties. Our sample comprises 85 pairs, selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We derive physical parameters for the engine and the host, and model the dynamical evolution of the pair. First, we compare different scaling relationships between massive black holes and their hosts (bulge mass, velocity dispersion, and their possible redshift dependences), and discuss their consistency. We then compute dynamical friction timescales for the double quasar systems to investigate their frequency and their agreement with the m erger drivenscenario for quasar triggering. In optical surveys, such as the SDSS, N double,qso /N qso ∼ 0.1%. Comparing typical merging timescales to expected quasar lifetimes, the fraction of double quasars should be roughly a factor of 10 larger than observed. Additionally, we find that, depending on the correlations between black holes and their hosts, the occurrence of double quasars could be redshift dependent. Comparison of our models to the SDSS quasar catalog suggests that double quasars should be more common at high redshift. We compare the typical separations at which double quasars are observed to the predictions of merger simulations. We find that the distribution of physical separations peaks at ∼30 kpc, with a tail at larger separations (∼100-200 kpc). The peak of the distribution is roughly consistent with the first episode of quasar activity found in equal mass mergers simulations. The tail of the quasar pairs distribution at large separations is instead inconsistent with any quasar activity predicted by published simulations. These large separation pairs are instead consistent with unequal mass mergers where gas is dynamically perturbed during the first pericentric passage, but the gas reaches the black hole only at the next apocenter, where the pair is observed.

ARE ALL SHORT-HARD GAMMA-RAY BURSTS PRODUCED FROM MERGERS OF COMPACT STELLAR OBJECTS?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Virgili, Francisco J.; Zhang Bing; O'Brien, Paul; Troja, Eleonora

2011-01-01

The origin and progenitors of short-hard gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) remain a puzzle and a highly debated topic. Recent Swift observations suggest that these GRBs may be related to catastrophic explosions in degenerate compact stars, denoted as 'Type I' GRBs. The most popular models include the merger of two compact stellar objects (NS-NS or NS-BH). We utilize a Monte Carlo approach to determine whether a merger progenitor model can self-consistently account for all the observations of short-hard GRBs, including a sample with redshift measurements in the Swift era (z-known sample) and the CGRO/BATSE sample. We apply various merger time delay distributions invoked in compact star merger models to derive the redshift distributions of these Type I GRBs, and then constrain the unknown luminosity function of Type I GRBs using the observed luminosity-redshift (L-z) distributions of the z-known sample. The best luminosity function model, together with the adopted merger delay model, is then applied to confront the peak flux distribution (log N-log P distribution) of the BATSE and Swift samples. We find that for all the merger models invoking a range of merger delay timescales (including those invoking a large fraction of 'prompt mergers'), it is difficult to reconcile the models with all the data. The data are instead statistically consistent with the following two possible scenarios. First, that short/hard GRBs are a superposition of compact-star-merger-origin (Type I) GRBs and a population of GRBs that track the star formation history, which are probably related to the deaths of massive stars (Type II GRBs). Second, the entire short/hard GRB population is consistent with a typical delay of 2 Gyr with respect to the star formation history with modest scatter. This may point toward a different Type I progenitor than the traditional compact star merger models.

MODELS OF KILONOVA/MACRONOVA EMISSION FROM BLACK HOLE–NEUTRON STAR MERGERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawaguchi, Kyohei; Shibata, Masaru; Kyutoku, Koutarou; Tanaka, Masaomi

2016-01-01

Black hole–neutron star (BH–NS) mergers are among the most promising gravitational-wave sources for ground-based detectors, and gravitational waves from BH–NS mergers are expected to be detected in the next few years. The simultaneous detection of electromagnetic counterparts with gravitational waves would provide rich information about merger events. Among the possible electromagnetic counterparts from BH–NS mergers is the so-called kilonova/macronova, emission powered by the decay of radioactive r-process nuclei, which is one of the best targets for follow-up observations. We derive fitting formulas for the mass and the velocity of ejecta from a generic BH–NS merger based on recently performed numerical-relativity simulations. We combine these fitting formulas with a new semi-analytic model for a BH–NS kilonova/macronova lightcurve, which reproduces the results of radiation-transfer simulations. Specifically, the semi-analytic model reproduces the results of each band magnitude obtained by the previous radiation-transfer simulations within ∼1 mag. By using this semi-analytic model we found that, at 400 Mpc, the kilonova/macronova is as bright as 22–24 mag for cases with a small chirp mass and a high black hole spin, and >28 mag for a large chirp mass and a low black hole spin. We also apply our model to GRB 130603B as an illustration, and show that a BH–NS merger with a rapidly spinning black hole and a large neutron star radius is favored.

STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY

OpenAIRE

Adams, Wendi L.; Love, H. Alan; Capps, Oral, Jr.

1997-01-01

Determinants of merger and acquisition activity in the food industry are analyzed using logit regression analysis. Factors affecting the food processing, food retailing and food service sectors are considered. Results indicate merger and acquisition activity in all three sectors are significantly influenced by antitrust activity, profitability and real gross domestic product.

What have we learned from the experience of low oil prices?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alhajji, A.F.

2001-01-01

This article is an attempt to assess the effect of the low oil prices the world experienced in the mid-1980s, 1998 and early 1999. Such an assessment will help us predict the consequences of low oil prices in the future. The study focuses on the boon and bane of low oil prices from the producers' and consumers' points of view. Low oil prices, which are not related to technology and lower production costs, have depleted oil reserves, increased the income gap between consumers and producers, created friction among OPEC Members and between OPEC and non-OPEC producers, and led to the imposition of tariffs on oil imports in consuming countries. In addition, they have led to economic hardship in oil-producing countries, including declines in oil revenue, budget deficits, budget cuts and cancelled projects, borrowing and debts, deterioration in the balance of payments, negative economic growth, currency devaluations and political unrest. They have affected oil companies through reduced earnings, forced lay-offs of workers, lower investment and increased mergers. Despite these disadvantages, oil producers may benefit from low oil prices in the long run. They will increase demand, slow the process of substitution and decrease non-OPEC production. Consumers, on the other hand, will benefit from low oil prices, through higher economic growth and disposable income, and lower legislative and import costs. In addition, consumers will drive faster and longer. These benefits do not come without cost. Low prices will also increase the future vulnerability of consuming countries and lead to more dependence on oil at the expense of alternative energy sources, more dependence on oil imports, more waste, more environmental damage and less efficiency. After outlining the advantages and disadvantages, the study concludes that the disadvantages of low oil prices outweigh their benefits; that is, low oil prices have caused substantial damage. This is due to market inefficiencies and

A Countrywide House Price Index for 152 Years

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lunde, Jens; Helding Madsen, Anders; Lundbæk Laursen, Maria

for Herengracht (the Netherlands), Norway, USA, France, and recently also Australia. Until now, the here presented house price index for Denmark is the longest countrywide house price index ever been published, based on official data, and qualitatively probably the best long house price index....... in house prices is depicted. The Danish house price index covering all the 152 years is in reality a simple average sale price index for houses. From 1920 on it was possible to construct another and a “pure” house price index, based on the Sales Price Appraisal Ratio (SPAR) method. Several challenges...... for creating the house price index arose, especially in converting the previous registered house prices in the statistics into current market prices. In real terms, the average sale price index increased more than the SPAR index for the years where the two indices were compared, and the difference express...

Massive Black Hole Mergers: Can We "See" what LISA will "Hear"?

Science.gov (United States)

Centrella, Joan

2010-01-01

The final merger of massive black holes produces strong gravitational radiation that can be detected by the space-borne LISA. If the black hole merger takes place in the presence of gas and magnetic fields, various types of electromagnetic signals may also be produced. Modeling such electromagnetic counterparts of the final merger requires evolving the behavior of both gas and fields in the strong-field regions around the black holes. We will review current efforts to simulate these systems, and discuss possibilities for observing the electromagnetic signals they produce.

Exploring the Impact of Mergers and Acquisitions on Supply Chain Relationships

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chakkol, Mehmet; Finne, Max; Raja, Jawwad

Whilst there is a surge of mergers and acquisitions across different industries, little is known about their supply chain implications. This research investigates how supply chains can be reconfigured during post-merger period. In so doing, a recent M&A was investigated using a supply chain...... perspective. The research contributes to the literature by developing an empirically grounded, theory-based narrative of post-merger supply chain integration process. In particular, the paper demonstrates how the supply chain as a whole drew on structural, cognitive and relational elements of social capital...

Panorama of explicit carbon pricing instruments around the world

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2016-09-01

In September 2016, I4CE updated its database on carbon pricing policies and published a panorama of explicit carbon pricing policies. This panorama presents an implementation timeline, a world map and a table that together, provide information on the jurisdictions that have implemented or plan to implement explicit carbon pricing policies, the type of instrument chosen, the sectors covered and the carbon prices

Evaluating mergers and acquisitions with a purchase investigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Grant, E A; Giniat, E J

1988-04-01

Mergers and acquisitions are risk transactions. Therefore, a well-planned and executed purchase investigation that considers financial, personnel, legal and risk management, third-party payer, and medical staff issues is imperative. Organizations that can successfully complete a purchase investigation will be able to make better informed, lower risk, financial decisions, and will have a competitive advantage in achieving strategic goals. This article is the third in a series on mergers and acquisitions. Other articles will include legal issues and capital planning.

Constructing and Monitoring the Infrared SED of the First Known Recent Stellar Merger

Science.gov (United States)

McCollum, Bruce; Laine, Seppo; Bruhweiler, Frederick; Rottler, Lee

2012-12-01

Stellar mergers have long been thought to be astrophysically important to the evolution and global properties of dense stellar aggregates and even open clusters. However, the study of this phenomenon has until now been severely impeded by the lack of any definite, recent merger with which to compare models. It was recently realized that a 2008 nova was in fact a contact binary which erupted when the two stars finally merged. We have obtained post-merger infrared observations which show a large IR excess and a nonstellar SED which have changed subsantially over time, and near-IR emission lines from shocked material. This object is an important opportunity to learn about the nature and time evolution of recent merger products, and to assemble a unique data set which will be used for many years as a basis for modeling stellar mergers.

A Framework for Understanding Post-Merger Information Systems Integration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alaranta, Maria; Kautz, Karlheinz

2012-01-01

This paper develops a theoretical framework for the integration of information systems (IS) after a merger or an acquisition. The framework integrates three perspectives: a structuralist, an individualist, and an interactive process perspective to analyze and understand such integrations....... The framework is applied to a longitudinal case study of a manufacturing company that grew through an acquisition. The management decided to integrate the production control IS via tailoring a new system that blends together features of existing IS. The application of the framework in the case study confirms...... several known impediments to IS integrations. It also identifies a number of new inhibitors, as well as known and new facilitators that can bring post-merger IS integration to a success. Our findings provide relevant insights to researching and managing post-merger IS integrations. They emphasize...

A Textbook Example of International Price Discrimination

OpenAIRE

Christos Cabolis; Sofronis Clerides; Ioannis Ioannou; Daniel Senft

2005-01-01

We investigate differences in book prices between the United States and other countries. We find that general audience books are similarly priced internationally, but textbooks are substantially more expensive in the United States (often more than double the price). This disparity is much more pronounced for commercial publishers than for university presses. We argue that supply-side factors like cost and market structure can not explain this phenomenon. We discuss several demand-side explana...

More Mergers,More Acquisitions

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2010-01-01

China aims to maintain sound development of the national economy through M&As Anew round of corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&As) is on the way. On September 6, the State Council announced that it would require companies in the automobile, iron and steel, cement, machinery manufacturing, electro- lytic aluminum and rare earth industries to accelerate M&As.

HI Absorption in Merger Remnants

Science.gov (United States)

Teng, Stacy H.; Veileux, Sylvain; Baker, Andrew J.

2012-01-01

It has been proposed that ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) pass through a luminous starburst phase, followed by a dust-enshrouded AGN phase, and finally evolve into optically bright "naked" quasars once they shed their gas/dust reservoirs through powerful wind events. We present the results of our recent 21- cm HI survey of 21 merger remnants with the Green Bank Telescope. These remnants were selected from the QUEST (Quasar/ULIRG Evolution Study) sample of ULIRGs and PG quasars; our targets are all bolometrically dominated by AGN and sample all phases of the proposed ULIRG -> IR-excess quasar -> optical quasar sequence. We explore whether there is an evolutionary connection between ULIRGs and quasars by looking for the occurrence of HI absorption tracing neutral gas outflows; our results will allow us to identify where along the sequence the majority of a merger's gas reservoir is expelled.

Valuation of Company Merger from the Shareholders’ Point of View

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christian Toll

2017-08-01

Full Text Available By means of a company merger formerly legally and economically independent companies are tied up to an economic entity. To order the financial state of affairs after the merger, the current shareholders must revalue their stake in the merged company. The interest is focused on the valuation of shares and, consequently, on the allocation of the future economic benefits of the merged company to each owner. Despite the apparent relevance of company mergers in practice, the scientific literature deals with this topic only in an unsatisfying manner. After some early simple model-oriented approaches with the aim to define an ideal exchange ratio, the valuation problem of a merger was taken up again not earlier than in Hering (2004. Based on his considerations, the aim of our paper is to extend and generalize the valuation methods for a company merger and foremost to set the algebra for the computation of the critical share by using maximization of wealth as target function on a firm foundation. We assign a certain marginal quota to the shareholders representing the minimum share in the merged company which puts them in a financial position no worse than compared to the going concern basis. For this reason, we introduce the state marginal quota model as an innovative valuation approach that considers both existing market imperfections and individual expectations of a specific shareholder. To pinpoint our key finding: If private financial redistributions are available, our extended and generalized model shows that the marginal quota * in question cannot be “trivially” obtained as a ratio of utilities. Instead, it is essential to consider the private decision field of a shareholder to allow a restructuring of the dividend payout stream offered by the merged company in order to reach at least a level of utility which is comparable to the state before the merger.

DATA MINING THE GALAXY ZOO MERGERS

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — DATA MINING THE GALAXY ZOO MERGERS STEVEN BAEHR, ARUN VEDACHALAM, KIRK BORNE, AND DANIEL SPONSELLER Abstract. Collisions between pairs of galaxies usually end in the...

Electricity market price volatility: The case of Ontario

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zareipour, Hamidreza; Bhattacharya, Kankar; Canizares, Claudio A.

2007-01-01

Price volatility analysis has been reported in the literature for most competitive electricity markets around the world. However, no studies have been published yet that quantify price volatility in the Ontario electricity market, which is the focus of the present paper. In this paper, a comparative volatility analysis is conducted for the Ontario market and its neighboring electricity markets. Volatility indices are developed based on historical volatility and price velocity concepts, previously applied to other electricity market prices, and employed in the present work. The analysis is carried out in two scenarios: in the first scenario, the volatility indices are determined for the entire price time series. In the second scenario, the price time series are broken up into 24 time series for each of the 24 h and volatility indices are calculated for each specific hour separately. The volatility indices are also applied to the locational marginal prices of several pricing points in the New England, New York, and PJM electricity markets. The outcomes reveal that price volatility is significantly higher in Ontario than the three studied neighboring electricity markets. Furthermore, comparison of the results of this study with similar findings previously published for 15 other electricity markets demonstrates that the Ontario electricity market is one of the most volatile electricity markets world-wide. This high volatility is argued to be associated with the fact that Ontario is a single-settlement, real-time market

Gas-Rich Mergers in LCDM: Disk Survivability and the Baryonic Assembly of Galaxies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stewart, Kyle R.; Bullock, James S.; /UC, Irvine; Wechsler, Risa H.; /KIPAC, Menlo Park /SLAC; Maller, Ariyeh H.; /New York City Coll. Tech.

2009-08-03

We use N-body simulations and observationally-normalized relations between dark matter halo mass, stellar mass, and cold gas mass to derive robust expectations about the baryonic content of major mergers out to redshift z {approx} 2. First, we find that the majority of major mergers (m/M > 0.3) experienced by Milky Way size dark matter halos should have been gas-rich, and that gas-rich mergers are increasingly common at high redshift. Though the frequency of major mergers into galaxy halos in our simulations greatly exceeds the observed late-type galaxy fraction, the frequency of gas-poor major mergers is consistent with the observed fraction of bulge-dominated galaxies across the halo mass range M{sub DM} {approx} 10{sup 11} - 10{sup 13} M{sub {circle_dot}}. These results lend support to the conjecture that mergers with high baryonic gas fractions play an important role in building and/or preserving disk galaxies in the universe. Secondly, we find that there is a transition mass below which a galaxy's past major mergers were primarily gas-rich and above which they were gas poor. The associated stellar mass scale corresponds closely to that marking the observed bimodal division between blue, star-forming, disk-dominated systems and red, bulge-dominated systems with old populations. Finally, we find that the overall fraction of a galaxy's cold baryons deposited directly via major mergers is substantial. Approximately 30% of the cold baryonic material in M{sub star} {approx} 10{sup 10} M{sub {circle_dot}} (M{sub DM} {approx} 10{sup 11.5} M{sub {circle_dot}}) galaxies is accreted as cold gas in major mergers. For more massive galaxies with M{sub star} {approx} 10{sup 11} M{sub {circle_dot}} (M{sub DM} {approx} 10{sup 13} M{sub {circle_dot}} the fraction of baryons amassed in mergers is even higher, {approx} 50%, but most of these accreted baryons are delivered directly in the form of stars. This baryonic mass deposition is almost unavoidable, and provides a

THE ELM SURVEY. II. TWELVE BINARY WHITE DWARF MERGER SYSTEMS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kilic, Mukremin; Brown, Warren R.; Kenyon, S. J.; Prieto, Carlos Allende; Agueeros, M. A.; Heinke, Craig

2011-01-01

We describe new radial velocity and X-ray observations of extremely low-mass white dwarfs (ELM WDs, ∼0.2 M sun ) in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 4 and the MMT Hypervelocity Star survey. We identify four new short period binaries, including two merger systems. These observations bring the total number of short period binary systems identified in our survey to 20. No main-sequence or neutron star companions are visible in the available optical photometry, radio, and X-ray data. Thus, the companions are most likely WDs. Twelve of these systems will merge within a Hubble time due to gravitational wave radiation. We have now tripled the number of known merging WD systems. We discuss the characteristics of this merger sample and potential links to underluminous supernovae, extreme helium stars, AM CVn systems, and other merger products. We provide new observational tests of the WD mass-period distribution and cooling models for ELM WDs. We also find evidence for a new formation channel for single low-mass WDs through binary mergers of two lower mass objects.

Can increases in the cigarette tax rate be linked to cigarette retail prices? Solving mysteries related to the cigarette pricing mechanism in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Song; Zheng, Rong; Hu, Teh-wei

2012-11-01

To explain China's cigarette pricing mechanism and the role of the Chinese State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) on cigarette pricing and taxation. Published government tobacco tax documentation and statistics published by the Chinese STMA are used to analyse the interrelations among industry profits, taxes and retail price of cigarettes in China. The 2009 excise tax increase on cigarettes in China has not translated into higher retail prices because the Chinese STMA used its policy authority to ensure that retail cigarette prices did not change. The government tax increase is being collected at both the producer and wholesale levels. As a result, the 2009 excise tax increase in China has resulted in higher tax revenue for the government and lower profits for the tobacco industry, with no increase in the retail price of cigarettes for consumers. Numerous studies have found that taxation is one of the most effective policy instruments for tobacco control. However, these findings come from countries that have market economies where market forces determine prices and influence how cigarette taxes are passed to the consumers in retail prices. China's tobacco industry is not a market economy; therefore, non-market forces and the current Chinese tobacco monopoly system determine cigarette prices. The result is that tax increases do not necessarily get passed on to the retail price.

GRB 080503 LATE AFTERGLOW RE-BRIGHTENING: SIGNATURE OF A MAGNETAR-POWERED MERGER-NOVA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao, He; Ding, Xuan; Wu, Xue-Feng; Dai, Zi-Gao; Zhang, Bing

2015-01-01

GRB 080503 is a short gamma-ray burst (GRB) detected by Swift and has been classified as a GRB originating from a compact star merger. The soft extended emission and the simultaneous late re-brightening in both the X-ray and optical afterglow light curves raise interesting questions regarding its physical origin. We show that the broadband data of GRB 080503 can be well explained within the framework of the double neutron star merger model, provided that the merger remnant is a rapidly rotating massive neutron star with an extremely high magnetic field (i.e., a millisecond magnetar). We show that the late optical re-brightening is consistent with the emission from a magnetar-powered “merger-nova.” This adds one more case to the growing sample of merger-novae associated with short GRBs. The soft extended emission and the late X-ray excess emission are well connected through a magnetar dipole spin-down luminosity evolution function, suggesting that direct magnetic dissipation is the mechanism to produce these X-rays. The X-ray emission initially leaks from a hole in the merger ejecta pierced by the short GRB jet. The hole subsequently closes after the magnetar spins down and the magnetic pressure drops below ram pressure. The X-ray photons are then trapped behind the merger-nova ejecta until the ejecta becomes optically thin at a later time. This explains the essentially simultaneous re-brightening in both the optical and X-ray light curves. Within this model, future gravitational-wave sources could be associated with a bright X-ray counterpart along with the merger-nova, even if the short GRB jet beams away from Earth

Creating lenticular galaxies with mergers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Querejeta, Miguel; Eliche-Moral, M. Carmen; Tapia, Trinidad; Borlaff, Alejandro; van de Ven, Glenn; Lyubenova, Mariya; Martig, Marie; Falcón-Barroso, Jesús; Méndez-Abreu, Jairo; Zamorano, Jaime; Gallego, Jesús

Lenticular galaxies (S0s) represent the majority of early-type galaxies in the local Universe, but their formation channels are still poorly understood. While galaxy mergers are obvious pathways to suppress star formation and increase bulge sizes, the marked parallelism between spiral and lenticular

Cross-border Mergers and Acquisitions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, Daojuan

This paper focuses on three topics in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (CBM&As) field: motivations for CBM&As, valuation techniques and CBM&A performance (assessment and the determinants). By taking an overview of what have been found so far in academic field and investigating...

GRAVITATIONAL MEMORY IN BINARY BLACK HOLE MERGERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pollney, Denis; Reisswig, Christian

2011-01-01

In addition to the dominant oscillatory gravitational wave signals produced during binary inspirals, a non-oscillatory component arises from the nonlinear 'memory' effect, sourced by the emitted gravitational radiation. The memory grows significantly during the late-inspiral and merger, modifying the signal by an almost step-function profile, and making it difficult to model by approximate methods. We use numerical evolutions of binary black holes (BHs) to evaluate the nonlinear memory during late-inspiral, merger, and ringdown. We identify two main components of the signal: the monotonically growing portion corresponding to the memory, and an oscillatory part which sets in roughly at the time of merger and is due to the BH ringdown. Counterintuitively, the ringdown is most prominent for models with the lowest total spin. Thus, the case of maximally spinning BHs anti-aligned to the orbital angular momentum exhibits the highest signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) for interferometric detectors. The largest memory offset, however, occurs for highly spinning BHs, with an estimated value of h tot 20 ≅ 0.24 in the maximally spinning case. These results are central to determining the detectability of nonlinear memory through pulsar timing array measurements.

Mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and applications for market-based rates in a deregulating electric utility industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cox, A.J.

1999-01-01

In this article, the author reviews FERC's current procedures for undertaking competitive analysis. The current procedure for evaluating the competitive impact of transactions in the electric utility industry is described in Order 592, in particular Appendix A. These procedures effectively revised criteria that had been laid out in Commonwealth Edison and brought its merger policy in line with the EPAct and the provisions of Order 888. Order 592 was an attempt to provide more certainty and expedition in handling mergers. It established three criteria that had to be satisfied for a merger to be approved: Post-merger market power must be within acceptable thresholds or be satisfactorily mitigated, acceptable customer protections must be in place (to ensure that rates will not go up as a result of increased costs) and any adverse effect on regulation must be addressed. FERC states that its Order 592 Merger Policy Statement is based upon the Horizontal Merger Guidelines issued jointly by the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division Department of Justice (FTC/DOJ Merger Guidelines). While it borrows much of the language and basic concepts of the Merger Guidelines, FERC's procedures have been criticized as not following the methodology closely enough, leaving open the possibility of mistakes in market definition

THE CFHTLS-DEEP CATALOG OF INTERACTING GALAXIES. I. MERGER RATE EVOLUTION TO z = 1.2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bridge, C. R.; Carlberg, R. G.; Sullivan, M.

2010-01-01

We present the rest-frame optical galaxy merger fraction between 0.2 vega ≤ 22.2 (∼27,000 galaxies) over 2 square degrees, we have compiled the CFHTLS-Deep Catalog of Interacting Galaxies, with ∼ 1600 merging galaxies. We find the merger fraction to be 4.3% ± 0.3% at z ∼ 0.3 and 19.0% ± 2.5% at z ∼ 1, implying evolution of the merger fraction going as (1 + z) m , with m = 2.25 ± 0.24. This result is inconsistent with a mild or non-evolving (m 4σ level of confidence. A mild trend, where by massive galaxies with M * >10 10.7 M sun are undergoing fewer mergers than less massive systems (M * ∼ 10 10 M sun ), consistent with the expectations of galaxy assembly downsizing is observed. Our results also show that interacting galaxies have on average SFRs double that found in non-interacting field galaxies. We conclude that (1) the optical galaxy merger fraction does evolve with redshift, (2) the merger fraction depends mildly on stellar mass, with lower mass galaxies having higher merger fractions at z < 1, and (3) star formation is triggered at all phases of a merger, with larger enhancements at later stages, consistent with N-body simulations.

Mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and applications for market-based rates in a deregulating electric utility industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cox, A.J.

1999-05-01

In this article, the author reviews FERC's current procedures for undertaking competitive analysis. The current procedure for evaluating the competitive impact of transactions in the electric utility industry is described in Order 592, in particular Appendix A. These procedures effectively revised criteria that had been laid out in Commonwealth Edison and brought its merger policy in line with the EPAct and the provisions of Order 888. Order 592 was an attempt to provide more certainty and expedition in handling mergers. It established three criteria that had to be satisfied for a merger to be approved: Post-merger market power must be within acceptable thresholds or be satisfactorily mitigated, acceptable customer protections must be in place (to ensure that rates will not go up as a result of increased costs) and any adverse effect on regulation must be addressed. FERC states that its Order 592 Merger Policy Statement is based upon the Horizontal Merger Guidelines issued jointly by the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division Department of Justice (FTC/DOJ Merger Guidelines). While it borrows much of the language and basic concepts of the Merger Guidelines, FERC's procedures have been criticized as not following the methodology closely enough, leaving open the possibility of mistakes in market definition.

[The French medecine pricing committee].

Science.gov (United States)

Giorgi, D

2017-09-01

The French medicine pricing committee (CEPS) has to reconcile several major constraints, including optimal patient access to medicines and a good control of expenditures on reimbursable medicines. From 2013 to 2015, drug price decreases and discounts obtained by CEPS contributed more than € 5 billion to the balance of the health insurance accounts. As for price setting, there is a significant drop in the prices of medicines in France once they are registered for reimbursement. France is affected by a limited, but costly, flow of innovative medicines, whose prices are higher than those of previous generations, a reflection of an international gradient to which France is obviously subject, despite prices that remain at the low end of the range in Western Europe. The provision of innovative medicines for all patients who need them has been ensured in France over the last fifteen years at a controlled cost. But with the arrival of new expensive products, a resolute policy of control of expenditures must take over from the fall in prices, and original financing channels will have to be explored. Copyright © 2017 Académie Nationale de Pharmacie. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Determinants of premiums in aerospace mergers and acquisitions: A preliminary analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Bryant, John K.

There is a large body of literature on different aspects of premiums as they relate to mergers and acquisitions. However, there is very little literature that specifically discusses the determinants of premiums in aerospace. Few industries have experienced the prolonged consolidation that the aerospace industry has seen. Today, the industry is dominated by a few large firms, but there is still merger activity continuing especially with second-tier firms attempting to secure their future through growth. This paper examines several determinants as applied to 18 aerospace mergers of publicly held companies and divisions from 1991 through April of 2002.

THE ELM SURVEY. IV. 24 WHITE DWARF MERGER SYSTEMS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kilic, Mukremin; Brown, Warren R.; Kenyon, S. J.; Allende Prieto, Carlos; Heinke, Craig O.; Agüeros, M. A.; Kleinman, S. J.

2012-01-01

We present new radial velocity and X-ray observations of extremely low mass (ELM, ∼0.2 M ☉ ) white dwarf (WD) candidates in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 area. We identify seven new binary systems with 1-18 hr orbital periods. Five of the systems will merge due to gravitational wave radiation within 10 Gyr, bringing the total number of merger systems found in the ELM Survey to 24. The ELM Survey has now quintupled the known merger WD population. It has also discovered the eight shortest period detached binary WD systems currently known. We discuss the characteristics of the merger and non-merger systems observed in the ELM Survey, including their future evolution. About half of the systems have extreme mass ratios. These are the progenitors of the AM Canum Venaticorum systems and Type Ia supernovae. The remaining targets will lead to the formation of extreme helium stars, subdwarfs, or massive WDs. We identify three targets that are excellent gravitational wave sources. These should be detected by the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna like missions within the first year of operation. The remaining targets are important indicators of what the Galactic foreground may look like for gravitational wave observatories.

THE ELM SURVEY. IV. 24 WHITE DWARF MERGER SYSTEMS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kilic, Mukremin [Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma, 440 West Brooks Street, Norman, OK 73019 (United States); Brown, Warren R.; Kenyon, S. J. [Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Allende Prieto, Carlos [Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, E-38205 La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain); Heinke, Craig O. [Department of Physics, CCIS 4-183, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E1 (Canada); Agueeros, M. A. [Department of Astronomy, Columbia University, 550 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027 (United States); Kleinman, S. J., E-mail: kilic@ou.edu [Gemini Observatory, 670 North A' ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720 (United States)

2012-06-01

We present new radial velocity and X-ray observations of extremely low mass (ELM, {approx}0.2 M{sub Sun }) white dwarf (WD) candidates in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 area. We identify seven new binary systems with 1-18 hr orbital periods. Five of the systems will merge due to gravitational wave radiation within 10 Gyr, bringing the total number of merger systems found in the ELM Survey to 24. The ELM Survey has now quintupled the known merger WD population. It has also discovered the eight shortest period detached binary WD systems currently known. We discuss the characteristics of the merger and non-merger systems observed in the ELM Survey, including their future evolution. About half of the systems have extreme mass ratios. These are the progenitors of the AM Canum Venaticorum systems and Type Ia supernovae. The remaining targets will lead to the formation of extreme helium stars, subdwarfs, or massive WDs. We identify three targets that are excellent gravitational wave sources. These should be detected by the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna like missions within the first year of operation. The remaining targets are important indicators of what the Galactic foreground may look like for gravitational wave observatories.

CONNECTIONS BETWEEN GALAXY MERGERS AND STARBURST: EVIDENCE FROM THE LOCAL UNIVERSE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luo, Wentao; Yang, Xiaohu; Zhang, Youcai

2014-01-01

Major mergers and interactions between gas-rich galaxies with comparable masses are thought to be the main triggers of starburst. In this work, we study, for a large stellar mass range, the interaction rate of the starburst galaxies in the local universe. We focus independently on central and satellite star forming galaxies extracted from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Here the starburst galaxies are selected in the star formation rate (SFR) stellar mass plane with SFRs five times larger than the median value found for ''star forming'' galaxies of the same stellar mass. Through visual inspection of their images together with close companions determined using spectroscopic redshifts, we find that ∼50% of the ''starburst'' populations show evident merger features, i.e., tidal tails, bridges between galaxies, double cores, and close companions. In contrast, in the control sample we selected from the normal star forming galaxies, only ∼19% of galaxies are associated with evident mergers. The interaction rates may increase by ∼5% for the starburst sample and 2% for the control sample if close companions determined using photometric redshifts are considered. The contrast of the merger rate between the two samples strengthens the hypothesis that mergers and interactions are indeed the main causes of starburst

Post-Mergers and Acquisitions: The Motives, Success Factors and Key Success Indicators

OpenAIRE

Hatem El Zuhairy; Ahmed Taher; Ingy Shafei

2015-01-01

There is a wide body of evidence showing a significant increase in the adoption of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) worldwide. Moreover, research confirms that the integration and implementation stage (post-M&A) has a major impact on the success or failure of a merger or acquisition. Therefore it has become increasingly important to explore the post-M&A phase further in order to support the management teams of organizations pursuing a merger or acquisition in meeting all their desired objective...

Regional Price Levels in the Czech Republic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petr Musil

2017-06-01

Full Text Available International comparison belongs to statistical topics which attracts either experts or general public. Official statistics provides estimates of national price levels only. Therefore, official regional analysis is based on national price levels and does not take into account potential differences in prices among regions within a country. Fortunately, researchers have been dealing with them and estimates for several countries are available. The topic is also important in the Czech Republic even two papers focused on regional price levels were published in Statistika journal in 2016. The aim of the paper is to compare both approaches from various perspectives.

Models for mergers in higher education

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Investing in creativity: Many happy returns. Education Leadership, ... A possible model for higher education mergers, based on such extrapolation, is ..... working styles should be carefully managed from the very beginning of the process.

Specification of merger gains in the Norwegian electricity distribution industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saastamoinen, Antti; Bjørndal, Endre; Bjørndal, Mette

2017-01-01

Electricity distribution often exhibits economies of scale. In Norway, a number of smaller distribution system operators exist and thus there is potential to restructure the industry, possibly through mergers. However, the revenue cap regulatory model in Norway does not incentivize firms to merge as merging leads to a stricter revenue cap for the merged company. Thus the regulator compensates the firms in order to create such incentives. The amount of compensation is based on the potential gains of the merger estimated using a data envelopment analysis (DEA) based frontier approach introduced by Bogetoft and Wang (2005). DEA is however only one of many possible frontier estimators that can be used in estimation. Furthermore, the returns to scale assumption, the operating environment of firms and the presence of stochastic noise and outlier observations are all known to affect to the estimation of production technology. In this paper we explore how varying assumptions under two alternative frontier estimators shape the distribution of merger gains within the Norwegian distribution industry. Our results reveal that the restructuring policies of the industry may be significantly altered depending how potential gains from the mergers are estimated. - Highlights: • The merger gains of Norwegian electricity distribution firm are investigated. • Different estimators and model specifications are applied. • Results show that the gains are significantly affected by the model choice. • Incentives to merge may be shaped through the estimation of gains.

Pricing of on-line advertising: pay-per-view or pay-per-click?

OpenAIRE

Fjell, Kenneth

2007-01-01

We analyse the choice of pay-per-view (PPV) and price-per-click (PPC) when a web publisher is a price taker in the market for advertising banners, and the number of visits is decreasing in advertising. The main result is that the web publisher should always choose either PPV or PPC. If the click-through rate is exogenous, then the optimal amount of advertising is the same for both pricing metholds and the choice of pricing method is given by the click-through rate. If the click-through rate i...

Price Analysis and Acquisition of Indigenous Books in Nigerian Libraries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juliana Iwu-James

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Price analysis promotes transparency and professional objectivity. How it is done actually depends, to a large extent, on available benchmarks often provided by book publishers. This paper submits that there are no price check tools for most books published in Nigeria. Therefore, acquisition librarians are oftentimes shortchanged and frustrated. This paper further examines the challenges of acquiring indigenous books in Nigerian libraries. It is revealed that publishers in Nigeria tend to focus on local distribution to bookstores or booksellers whereas internet or online sales channels and other viable means of making indigenous books available to libraries have remained neglected. It is recommended that publishers in Nigeria take advantage of information and communication technology (ICT to market and distribute indigenous books and that online book databases be developed for indigenous books. This study provides publishers with in-depth insight on the need to provide acquisition librarians with standard price checking tools.

[International reference prices and cost minimization analysis for the regulation of medicine prices in Colombia].

Science.gov (United States)

Vacca, Caludia; Acosta, Angela; Rodriguez, Ivan

2011-01-01

To suggest a scheme of decision making on pricing for medicines that are part of Free Regulated Regime, a regulation way of the pharmaceutical pricing policy in Colombia. It includes two regulation tools: international reference prices and a cost minimization analysis methodology. Following the current pricing policy, international reference prices were built with data from five countries for selected medicines, which are under Free Regulated Regime. The cost minimization analysis methodology includes selection of those medicines under Free Regulated Regime with possible comparable medicines, selection of comparable medicines, and treatment costs evaluation. As a result of the estimate of International Reference Prices, four medicines showed in the domestic pharmaceutical market a bigger price than the Reference Price. A scheme of decision-making was design containing two possible regulation tools for medicines that are part of Free Regulated Regime: estimate of international reference prices and cost minimization analysis methodology. This diagram would be useful to assist the pricing regulation of Free Regulated Regime in Colombia. As present results shows, international reference prices make clear when domestic prices are higher than those of reference countries. In the current regulation of pharmaceutical prices in Colombia, the international reference price has been applied for four medicines. Would be suitable to extend this methodology to other medicines of high impact on the pharmaceutical expenditure, in particular those covered by public funding. The availability of primary sources about treatment costs in Colombia needs to be improved as a requirement to develop pharmaco-economic evidence. SISMED is an official database that represents an important primary source of medicines prices in Colombia. Nevertheless, having into account that SISMED represents an important advantage of transparency in medicines prices, it needs to be improved in quality and data

Mergers as an Omega estimator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carlberg, R.G.

1990-01-01

The redshift dependence of the fraction of galaxies which are merging or strongly interacting is a steep function of Omega and depends on the ratio of the cutoff velocity for interactions to the pairwise velocity dispersion. For typical galaxies the merger rate is shown to vary as (1 + z)exp m, where m is about 4.51 (Omega)exp 0.42, for Omega near 1 and a CDM-like cosmology. The index m has a relatively weak dependence on the maximum merger velocity, the mass of the galaxy, and the background cosmology, for small variations around a cosmology with a low redshift, z of about 2, of galaxy formation. Estimates of m from optical and IRAS galaxies have found that m is about 3-4, but with very large uncertainties. If quasar evolution follows the evolution of galaxy merging and m for quasars is greater than 4, then Omega is greater than 0.8. 21 refs

17 CFR Appendix A to Part 36 - Guidance on Significant Price Discovery Contracts

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... the contract likely will be the primary motivation for a publisher to publish particular prices. In other words, the fact that the price of a contract is being used as a reference by industry participants...

Do Municipal Mergers Improve Fiscal Outcomes?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Sune Welling; Houlberg, Kurt; Holm Pedersen, Lene

2014-01-01

Improved fiscal management is a frequent justification for promoting boundary consolidations. However, whether or not this is actually the case is rarely placed under rigorous empirical scrutiny. Hence, this article investigates if fiscal outcomes are improved when municipalities are merged....... The basic argument is that the conceptualisation of fiscal management in political science is often too narrow as it focuses on the budget and pays hardly any attention to balances in the final accounts and debts – elements of management which are central to policy making. On this background, the causal...... relationship between municipal mergers and fiscal outcomes is analysed. Measured on the balance between revenues and expenses, liquid assets and debts, municipal mergers improve the fiscal outcomes of the municipalities in a five-year perspective, although the pre-reform effects tend to be negative...

PRICE AND PRICING STRATEGIES

OpenAIRE

SUCIU Titus

2013-01-01

In individual companies, price is one significant factor in achieving marketing success. In many purchase situations, price can be of great importance to customers. Marketers must establish pricing strategies that are compatible with the rest of the marketing mix. Management should decide whether to charge the same price to all similar buyers of identical quantities of a product (a one-price strategy) or to set different prices (a flexible price strategy). Many organizations, especially retai...

THE ROLE OF MERGERS IN EARLY-TYPE GALAXY EVOLUTION AND BLACK HOLE GROWTH

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schawinski, Kevin; Dowlin, Nathan; Urry, C. Megan; Thomas, Daniel; Edmondson, Edward

2010-01-01

Models of galaxy formation invoke the major merger of gas-rich progenitor galaxies as the trigger for significant phases of black hole growth and the associated feedback that suppresses star formation to create red spheroidal remnants. However, the observational evidence for the connection between mergers and active galactic nucleus (AGN) phases is not clear. We analyze a sample of low-mass early-type galaxies known to be in the process of migrating from the blue cloud to the red sequence via an AGN phase in the green valley. Using deeper imaging from Sloan Digital Sky Survey Stripe 82, we show that the fraction of objects with major morphological disturbances is high during the early starburst phase, but declines rapidly to the background level seen in quiescent early-type galaxies by the time of substantial AGN radiation several hundred Myr after the starburst. This observation empirically links the AGN activity in low-redshift early-type galaxies to a significant merger event in the recent past. The large time delay between the merger-driven starburst and the peak of AGN activity allows for the merger features to decay to the background and hence may explain the weak link between merger features and AGN activity in the literature.

EVOLUTION OF SHOCKS AND TURBULENCE IN MAJOR CLUSTER MERGERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paul, S.; Mannheim, K.; Iapichino, L.; Miniati, F.; Bagchi, J.

2011-01-01

We performed a set of cosmological simulations of major mergers in galaxy clusters, in order to study the evolution of merger shocks and the subsequent injection of turbulence in the post-shock region and in the intra-cluster medium (ICM). The computations have been performed with the grid-based, adaptive mesh refinement hydrodynamical code Enzo, using a refinement criterion especially designed for refining turbulent flows in the vicinity of shocks. When a major merger event occurs, a substantial amount of turbulence energy is injected in the ICM of the newly formed cluster. Our simulations show that the shock launched after a major merger develops an ellipsoidal shape and gets broken by the interaction with the filamentary cosmic web around the merging cluster. The size of the post-shock region along the direction of shock propagation is of the order of 300 kpc h -1 , and the turbulent velocity dispersion in this region is larger than 100 km s -1 . We performed a scaling analysis of the turbulence energy within our cluster sample. The best fit for the scaling of the turbulence energy with the cluster mass is consistent with M 5/3 , which is also the scaling law for the thermal energy in the self-similar cluster model. This clearly indicates the close relation between virialization and injection of turbulence in the cluster evolution. As for the turbulence in the cluster core, we found that within 2 Gyr after the major merger (the timescale for the shock propagation in the ICM), the ratio of the turbulent to total pressure is larger than 10%, and after about 4 Gyr it is still larger than 5%, a typical value for nearly relaxed clusters. Turbulence at the cluster center is thus sustained for several gigayears, which is substantially longer than typically assumed in the turbulent re-acceleration models, invoked to explain the statistics of observed radio halos. Striking similarities in the morphology and other physical parameters between our simulations and the

Loops formed by tidal tails as fossil records of a major merger

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, J.; Hammer, F.; Athanassoula, E.; Puech, M.; Yang, Y.; Flores, H.

2012-02-01

Context. Many haloes of nearby disc galaxies contain faint and extended features, including loops, which are often interpreted as relics of satellite infall in the main galaxy's potential well. In most cases, however, the residual nucleus of the satellite is not seen, although it is predicted by numerical simulations. Aims: We test whether such faint and extended features can be associated to gas-rich, major mergers, which may also lead to disc rebuilding and thus be a corner stone for the formation of spiral galaxies. Our goal is to test whether the major merger scenario can provide a good model for a particularly difficult case, that of NGC 5907, and to compare to the scenario of a satellite infall. Methods: Using the TreeSPH code GADGET-2, we model the formation of an almost bulge-less galaxy similar to NGC 5907 (B/T ≲ 0.2) after a gas-rich major merger. First, we trace tidal tail particles captured by the galaxy gravitational potential to verify whether they can form loops similar to those discovered in the galactic haloes. Results: We indeed find that 3:1 major mergers can form features similar to the loops found in many galactic haloes, including in NGC 5907, and can reproduce an extended thin disc, a bulge, as well as the pronounced warp of the gaseous disc. Relatively small bulge fractions can be reproduced by a large gas fraction in the progenitors, as well as appropriate orbital parameters. Conclusions: Even though it remains difficult to fully cover the large volume of free parameters, the present modelling of the loops in NGC 5907 proves that they could well be the result of a major merger. It has many advantages over the satellite infall scenario; e.g., it solves the problem of the visibility of the satellite remnant, and it may explain some additional features in the NGC 5907 halo, as well as some gas properties of this system. For orbital parameters derived from cosmological simulations, the loops in NGC 5907 can be reproduced by major mergers (3

Essays on mergers and acquisitions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Faelten, A.I.

2016-01-01

“Essays on Mergers and Acquisitions" tackles some of the most prominent business challenges related to M&A activity. The Introduction examines the reasons why deals fail through well-known case studies; Chapter 1 presents a new index measuring countries M&A maturity worldwide; Chapter 2 focus on the

Integration and change management for successful mergers; Integration und Change Management bei Fusionen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wolf, H.G. [Arthur Andersen Business Consulting GmbH, Duesseldorf (Germany)

2000-05-01

In the wake of deregulation of the energy markets in Germany, energy companies and electric utilities are confronted with fierce competition on prices and customers. The change of paradigms in the German energy industry calls for new strategies. The article discusses strategic alliances and mergers as one way to cope with the challenges, and explains suitable and proven approaches for corporate integration and change management. (CB) [German] Seit der wettbewerblichen Oeffnung des deutschen Energiemarktes sehen sich die Unternehmen mit einem dramatischen Preis- und Marketingwettbewerb konfrontiert. Aggressive neue Akteure draengen in die lukrativen Maerkte. Aber auch etablierte Teilnehmer suchen neue strategische Positionen und beschleunigen den Paradigmenwechsel in der deutschen Energiewirtschaft. Angesichts dieser Marktentwicklung bestehen massive Anforderungen zur Veraenderung. Unternehmenszusammenschluesse und Kooperationen stellen eine geeignete strategische Reaktion zur Bewaeltigung dieser Herausforderungen dar. Dabei sollten die Risiken von Fusionen nicht unterschaetzt werden. Die meisten Vorhaben scheitern auf Grund fehlender Integrationsprozesse. Ein systematischer Integrationsansatz wird beschrieben. (orig./CB)

NEW OPPORTUNITIES ON THE MARKET OF MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS FOR 2014

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alina MOLDOVAN-MADAN

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Mergers and acquisitions activity at global level could begin during 2014. Confidence in the economic environment, the availability of cash and credit, the restoration of confidence in local economies – all of these factors signals new opportunities on mergers and acquisitions market. However, caution still dominate this area and this is understandable, given the occurring of unprecedented economic crisis. In this context, the market remains very sensitive to geopolitical issues - any shock could extend short-term interruptions of the flow of transactions. However, while organic growth measures only provide diminishing returns, mergers and acquisitions activity may be the only practical way of increasing for companies.

Exploring the cosmic evolution of habitability with galaxy merger trees

Science.gov (United States)

Stanway, E. R.; Hoskin, M. J.; Lane, M. A.; Brown, G. C.; Childs, H. J. T.; Greis, S. M. L.; Levan, A. J.

2018-04-01

We combine inferred galaxy properties from a semi-analytic galaxy evolution model incorporating dark matter halo merger trees with new estimates of supernova and gamma-ray burst rates as a function of metallicity from stellar population synthesis models incorporating binary interactions. We use these to explore the stellar-mass fraction of galaxies irradiated by energetic astrophysical transients and its evolution over cosmic time, and thus the fraction which is potentially habitable by life like our own. We find that 18 per cent of the stellar mass in the Universe is likely to have been irradiated within the last 260 Myr, with GRBs dominating that fraction. We do not see a strong dependence of irradiated stellar-mass fraction on stellar mass or richness of the galaxy environment. We consider a representative merger tree as a Local Group analogue, and find that there are galaxies at all masses which have retained a high habitable fraction (>40 per cent) over the last 6 Gyr, but also that there are galaxies at all masses where the merger history and associated star formation have rendered galaxies effectively uninhabitable. This illustrates the need to consider detailed merger trees when evaluating the cosmic evolution of habitability.

THE FATE OF THE COMPACT REMNANT IN NEUTRON STAR MERGERS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fryer, Chris L. [Department of Physics, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Belczynski, Krzysztoff [Astronomical Observatory, University of Warsaw, Al Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478 Warsaw (Poland); Ramirez-Ruiz, Enrico [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Rosswog, Stephan [The Oskar klein Center, Department of Astronomy, AlbaNova, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm (Sweden); Shen, Gang [Institute for Nuclear Theory, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Steiner, Andrew W. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 (United States)

2015-10-10

Neutron star (binary neutron star and neutron star–black hole) mergers are believed to produce short-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). They are also believed to be the dominant source of gravitational waves to be detected by the advanced LIGO and advanced VIRGO and the dominant source of the heavy r-process elements in the universe. Whether or not these mergers produce short-duration GRBs depends sensitively on the fate of the core of the remnant (whether, and how quickly, it forms a black hole). In this paper, we combine the results of Newtonian merger calculations and equation of state studies to determine the fate of the cores of neutron star mergers. Using population studies, we can determine the distribution of these fates to compare to observations. We find that black hole cores form quickly only for equations of state that predict maximum non-rotating neutron star masses below 2.3–2.4 solar masses. If quick black hole formation is essential in producing GRBs, LIGO/Virgo observed rates compared to GRB rates could be used to constrain the equation of state for dense nuclear matter.

Binary Black Hole Mergers in the First Advanced LIGO Observing Run

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abbott, T. D.; Abernathy, M. R.; Acernese, F.; Ackley, K.; Adams, C.; Phythian-Adams, A.T.; Addesso, P.; Adhikari, R. X.; Adya, V. B.; Affeldt, C.; Agathos, M.; Agatsuma, K.; Aggarwal, N.T.; Aguiar, O. D.; Aiello, L.; Ain, A.; Ajith, P.; Allen, B.; Allocca, A.; Altin, P. A.; Anderson, S. B.; Anderson, W. G.; Arai, K.; Araya, M. C.; Arceneaux, C. C.; Areeda, J. S.; Arnaud, N.; Arun, K. G.; Ascenzi, S.; Ashton, G.; Ast, M.; Aston, S. M.; Astone, P.; Aufmuth, P.; Aulbert, C.; Babak, S.; Bacon, P.; Bader, M. K. M.; Baker, P. T.; Baldaccini, F.; Ballardin, G.; Ballmer, S. W.; Barayoga, J. C.; Barclay, S. E.; Barish, B. C.; Barker, R.D.; Barone, F.; Barr, B.; Barsotti, L.; Barsuglia, M.; Barta, D.; Bartlett, J.; Bartos, I.; Bassiri, R.; Basti, A.; Batch, J. C.; Baune, C.; Bavigadda, V.; Bazzan, M.; Bejger, M.; Bell, A. S.; Berger, B. K.; Bergmann, G.; Berry, C. P. L.; Bersanetti, D.; Bertolini, A.; Betzwieser, J.; Bhagwat, S.; Bhandare, R.; Bilenko, I. A.; Billingsley, G.; Birch, M.J.; Birney, R.; Birnholtz, O.; Biscans, S.; Bisht, A.; Bitossi, M.; Biwer, C.; Bizouard, M. A.; Blackburn, J. K.; Blair, C. D.; Blair, D. G.; Blair, R. M.; Bloemen, A.L.S.; Bock, O.; Boer, M.; Bogaert, J.G.; Bogan, C.; Bohe, A.; Bond, T.C; Bondu, F.; Bonnand, R.; Boom, B. A.; Bork, R.; Boschi, V.; Bose, S.; Bouffanais, Y.; Bozzi, A.; Bradaschia, C.; Brady, P. R.; Braginsky, V. B.; Branchesi, M.; Brau, J. E.; Briant, T.; Brillet, A.; Brinkmann, M.; Brisson, V.; Brockill, P.; Broida, J. E.; Brooks, A. F.; Brown, A.D.; Brown, D.; Brown, N. M.; Brunett, S.; Buchanan, C. C.; Buikema, A.; Bulik, T.; Bulten, H. J.; Buonanno, A.; Buskulic, D.; Buy, C.; Byer, R. L.; Cabero, M.; Cadonati, L.; Cagnoli, G.; Cahillane, C.; Bustillo, J. Calderon; Callister, T. A.; Calloni, E.; Camp, J. B.; Cannon, K. C.; Cao, J.; Capano, C. D.; Capocasa, E.; Carbognani, F.; Caride, S.; Diaz, J. Casanueva; Casentini, C.; Caudill, S.; Cavaglia, M.; Cavalier, F.; Cella, G.; Cepeda, C. B.; Baiardi, L. Cerboni; Cerretani, G.; Cesarini, E.; Chamberlin, S. J.; Chan, M.; Chao, D. S.; Charlton, P.; Chassande-Mottin, E.; Cheeseboro, B. D.; Chen, H. Y.; Chen, Y; Cheng, C.; Chincarini, A.; Chiummo, A.; Cho, H. S.; Cho, M.; Chow, J. H.; Christensen, N.; Chu, Qian; Chua, S. E.; Chung, E.S.; Ciani, G.; Clara, F.; Clark, J. A.; Cleva, F.; Coccia, E.; Cohadon, P. -F.; Colla, A.; Collette, C. G.; Cominsky, L.; Constancio, M., Jr.; Conte, A.; Conti, L.; Cook, D.; Corbitt, T. R.; Cornish, N.; Corsi, A.; Cortese, S.; Costa, A.C.; Coughlin, M. W.; Coughlin, S. B.; Coulon, J. -P.; Countryman, S. T.; Couvares, P.; Cowan, E. E.; Coward, D. M.; Cowart, M. J.; Coyne, D. C.; Coyne, R.; Craig, K.; Creighton, J. D. E.; Cripe, J.; Crowder, S. G.; Cumming, A.; Cunningham, A.L.; Cuoco, E.; Dal Canton, T.; Danilishin, S. L.; D'Antonio, S.; Danzmann, K.; Darman, N. S.; Dasgupta, A.; Da Silva Costa, C. F.; Dattilo, V.; Dave, I.; Davier, M.; Davies, G. S.; Daw, E. J.; Day, R.; De, S.; Debra, D.; Debreczeni, G.; Degallaix, J.; De laurentis, M.; Deleglise, S.; Del Pozzo, W.; Denker, T.; Dent, T.; Dergachev, V.A.; Rosa, R.; DeRosa, R. T.; DeSalvo, R.; Devine, R. C.; Dhurandhar, S.; Diaz, M. C.; Di Fiore, L.; Giovanni, M.G.; Di Girolamo, T.; Di Lieto, A.; Di Pace, S.; Di Palma, I.; Di Virgilio, A.; Dolique, V.; Donovan, F.; Dooley, K. L.; Doravari, S.; Douglas, R.; Downes, T. P.; Drago, M.; Drever, R. W. P.; Driggers, J. C.; Ducrot, M.; Dwyer, S. E.; Edo, T. B.; Edwards, M. C.; Effler, A.; Eggenstein, H. -B.; Ehrens, P.; Eichholz, J.; Eikenberry, S. S.; Engels, W.; Essick, R. C.; Etzel, T.; Evans, T. M.; Evans, T. M.; Everett, R.; Factourovich, M.; Fafone, V.; Fair, H.; Fairhurst, S.; Fan, X.M.; Fang, Q.; Farinon, S.; Farr, B.; Farr, W. M.; Favata, M.; Fays, M.; Fehrmann, H.; Fejer, M. M.; Fenyvesi, E.; Ferrante, I.; Ferreira, E. C.; Ferrini, F.; Fidecaro, F.; Fiori, I.; Fiorucci, D.; Fisher, R. P.; Flaminio, R.; Fletcher, M; Fong, H.; Fournier, J. -D.; Frasca, S.; Frasconi, F.; Frei, Z.; Freise, A.; Frey, R.; Frey, V.; Fritschel, P.; Frolov, V. V.; Fulda, P.; Fyffe, M.; Gabbard, H. A. G.; Gaebel, S. M.; Gair, J. R.; Gammaitoni, L.; Gaonkar, S. G.; Garufi, F.; Gaur, G.; Gehrels, N.; Gemme, G.; Geng, P.; Genin, E.; Gennai, A.; George, J.; Gergely, L.; Germain, V.; Ghosh, Abhirup; Ghosh, Archisman; Ghosh, S.; Giaime, J. A.; Giardina, K. D.; Giazotto, A.; Gill, K.P.; Glaefke, A.; Goetz, E.; Goetz, R.; Gondan, L.; Gonzalez, R.G.; Castro, J. M. Gonzalez; Gopakumar, A.; Gordon, N. A.; Gorodetsky, M. L.; Gossan, S. E.; Lee-Gosselin, M.; Gouaty, R.; Grado, A.; Graef, C.; Graff, P. B.; Granata, M.; Grant, A.; Gras, S.; Gray, C.M.; Greco, G.; Green, A. C.; Groot, P.; Grote, H.; Grunewald, S.; Guidi, G. M.; Guo, X.; Gupta, A.; Gupta, M. K.; Gushwa, K. E.; Gustafson, E. K.; Gustafson, R.; Hacker, J. J.; Buffoni-Hall, R.; Hall, E. D.; Hamilton-Ayers, M.; Hammond, G.L.; Haney, M.; Hanke, M. M.; Hanks, J.; Hanna, C.; Hannam, M. D.; Hanson, P.J.; Hardwick, T.; Harms, J.; Harry, G. M.; Harry, I. W.; Hart, M. J.; Hartman, M. T.; Haster, C. -J.; Haughian, K.; Healy, J.; Heidmann, A.; Heintze, M. C.; Heitmann, H.; Hello, P.; Hemming, G.; Hendry, M.; Heng, I. S.; Hennig, J.; Henry, J.A.; Heptonstall, A. W.; Heurs, M.; Hild, S.; Hoak, D.; Hofman, D.; Holt, K.; Holz, D. E.; Hopkins, P.; Hough, J.; Houston, E. A.; Howell, E. J.; Hu, Y. M.; Huang, S.; Huerta, E. A.; Huet, D.; Hughey, B.; Husa, S.; Huttner, S. H.; Huynh-Dinh, T.; Indik, N.; Ingram, D. R.; Inta, R.; Isa, H. N.; Isac, J. -M.; Isi, M.; Isogai, T.; Iyer, B. R.; Izumi, K.; Jacqmin, T.; Jang, D.H.; Jani, K.; Jaranowski, P.; Jawahar, S.; Jian, L.; Jimenez-Forteza, F.; Johnson, W.; Johnson-McDaniel, N. K.; Jones, I.D.; Jones, R.; Jonker, R. J. G.; Ju, L.; Haris, K.; Kalaghatgi, C. V.; Kalogera, V.; Kandhasamy, S.; Kang, G.H.; Kanner, J. B.; Kapadia, S. J.; Karki, S.; Karvinen, K. S.; Kasprzack, M.; Katsavounidis, E.; Katzman, W.; Kaufer, S.; Kaur, T.; Kawabe, K.; Kefelian, F.; Kehl, M. S.; Keitel, D.; Kelley, D. B.; Kells, W.; Kennedy, R.E.; Key, J. S.; Khalili, F. Y.; Khan, I.; Khan., S.; Khan, Z.; Khazanov, E. A.; Kijbunchoo, N.; Kim, Chi-Woong; Kim, Chunglee; Kim, J.; Kim, K.; Kim, Namjun; Kim, W.; Kim, Y.M.; Kimbrell, S. J.; King, E. J.; King, P. J.; Kissel, J. S.; Klein, B.; Kleybolte, L.; Klimenko, S.; Koehlenbeck, S. M.; Koley, S.; Kondrashov, V.; Kontos, A.; Korobko, M.; Korth, W. Z.; Kowalska, I.; Kozak, D. B.; Kringel, V.; Krishnan, B.; Krolak, A.; Krueger, C.; Kuehn, G.; Kumar, P.; Kumar, R.; Kuo, L.; Kutynia, A.; Lackey, B. D.; Landry, M.; Lange, J.; Lantz, B.; Lasky, P. D.; Laxen, M.; Lazzarini, A.; Lazzaro, C.; Leaci, P.; Leavey, S.; Lebigot, E. O.; Lee, C.H.; Lee, K.H.; Lee, M.H.; Lee, K.; Lenon, A.; Leonardi, M.; Leong, J. R.; Leroy, N.; Letendre, N.; Levin, Y.; Lewis, J. B.; Li, T. G. F.; Libson, A.; Littenberg, T. B.; Lockerbie, N. A.; Lombardi, A. L.; London, L. T.; Lord, J. E.; Lorenzini, M.; Loriette, V.; Lormand, M.; Losurdo, G.; Lough, J. D.; Lousto, C.; Lueck, H.; Lundgren, A. P.; Lynch, R.; Ma, Y.; Machenschalk, B.; MacInnis, M.; Macleod, D. M.; Magana-Sandoval, F.; Zertuche, L. Magana; Magee, R. M.; Majorana, E.; Maksimovic, I.; Malvezzi, V.; Man, N.; Mandel, I.; Mandic, V.; Mangano, V.; Mansell, G. L.; Manske, M.; Mantovani, M.; Marchesoni, F.; Marion, F.; Marka, S.; Marka, Z.; Markosyan, A. S.; Maros, E.; Martelli, F.; Martellini, L.; Martin, I. W.; Martynov, D. V.; Marx, J. N.; Mason, K.; Masserot, A.; Massinger, T. J.; Masso-Reid, M.; Mastrogiovanni, S.; Matichard, F.; Matone, L.; Mavalvala, N.; Mazumder, N.; McCarthy, R.; McClelland, D. E.; McCormick, S.; McGuire, S. C.; McIntyre, G.; McIver, J.; McManus, D. J.; McRae, T.; McWilliams, S. T.; Meacher, D.; Meadors, G. D.; Meidam, J.; Melatos, A.; Mendell, G.; Mercer, R. A.; Merilh, E. L.; Merzougui, M.; Meshkov, S.; Messenger, C.; Messick, C.; Metzdorff, R.; Meyers, P. M.; Mezzani, F.; Miao, H.; Michel, C.; Middleton, H.; Mikhailov, E. E.; Milano, L.; Miller, A. L.; Miller, A. L.; Miller, B.; Miller, J.; Millhouse, M.; Minenkov, Y.; Ming, J.; Mirshekari, S.; Mishra, C.; Mitra, S.; Mitrofanov, V. P.; Mitselmakher, G.; Mittleman, R.; Moggi, A.; Mohan, M.; Mohapatra, S. R. P.; Montani, M.; Moore, B.C.; Moore, J.C.; Moraru, D.; Gutierrez Moreno, M.; Morriss, S. R.; Mossavi, K.; Mours, B.; Mow-Lowry, C. M.; Mueller, G.; Muir, A. W.; Mukherjee, Arunava; Mukherjee, S.D.; Mukherjee, S.; Mukund, N.; Mullavey, A.; Munch, J.; Murphy, D. J.; Murray, P.G.; Mytidis, A.; Nardecchia, I.; Naticchioni, L.; Nayak, R. K.; Nedkova, K.; Nelemans, G.; Nelson, T. J. N.; Gutierrez-Neri, M.; Neunzert, A.; Newton-Howes, G.; Nguyen, T. T.; Nielsen, A. B.; Nissanke, S.; Nitz, A.; Nocera, F.; Nolting, D.; Normandin, M. E. N.; Nuttall, L. K.; Oberling, J.; Ochsner, E.; O'Dell, J.; Oelker, E.; Ogin, G. H.; Oh, J.; Oh, S. H.; Ohme, F.; Oliver, M. B.; Oppermann, P.; Oram, Richard J.; O'Reilly, B.; O'Shaughnessy, R.; Ottaway, D. J.; Overmier, H.; Owen, B. J.; Pai, A.; Pai, S. A.; Palamos, J. R.; Palashov, O.; Palomba, C.; Pal-Singh, A.; Pan, H.; Pan, Y.; Pankow, C.; Pannarale, F.; Pant, B. C.; Paoletti, F.; Paoli, A.; Papa, M. A.; Paris, H. R.; Parker, W.S; Pascucci, D.; Pasqualetti, A.; Passaquieti, R.; Passuello, D.; Patricelli, B.; Patrick, Z.; Pearlstone, B. L.; Pedraza, M.; Pedurand, R.; Pekowsky, L.; Pele, A.; Penn, S.; Perreca, A.; Perri, L. M.; Pfeiffer, H. P.; Phelps, M.; Piccinni, O. J.; Pichot, M.; Piergiovanni, F.; Pierro, V.; Pillant, G.; Pinard, L.; Pinto, I. M.; Pitkin, M.; Poe, M.; Poggiani, R.; Popolizio, P.; Porter, E. K.; Post, A.; Powell, J.; Prasad, J.; Predoi, V.; Prestegard, T.; Price, L. R.; Prijatelj, M.; Principe, M.; Privitera, S.; Prix, R.; Prodi, G. A.; Prokhorov, L. G.; Puncken, O.; Punturo, M.; Puppo, P.; Puerrer, M.; Qi, H.; Qin, J.; Qiu, S.; Quetschke, V.; Quintero, E. A.; Quitzow-James, R.; Raab, F. J.; Rabeling, D. S.; Radkins, H.; Raffai, P.; Raja, S.; Rajan, C.; Rakhmanov, M.; Rapagnani, P.; Raymond, V.; Razzano, M.; Re, V.; Read, J.; Reed, C. M.; Regimbau, T.; Rei, L.; Reid, S.; Reitze, D. H.; Rew, H.; Reyes, S. D.; Ricci, F.; Riles, K.; Rizzo, D.M.; Robertson, N. A.; Robie, R.; Robinet, F.; Rocchi, A.; Rolland, L.; Rollins, J. G.; Roma, V. J.; Romano, J. D.; Romano, R.; Romanov, G.; Romie, J. H.; Rosinska, D.; Rowan, S.; Ruediger, A.; Ruggi, P.; Ryan, K.A.; Sachdev, P.S.; Sadecki, T.; Sadeghian, L.; Sakellariadou, M.; Salconi, L.; Saleem, M.; Salemi, F.; Samajdar, A.; Sammut, L.; Sanchez, E. J.; Sandberg, V.; Sandeen, B.; Sanders, J. R.; Sassolas, B.; Sathyaprakash, B. S.; Saulson, P. R.; Sauter, O. E. S.; Savage, R. L.; Sawadsky, A.; Schale, P.; Schilling, R.; Schmidt, J; Schmidt, P.; Schnabel, R.B.; Schofield, R. M. S.; Schreiber, K.E.C.; Schuette, D.; Schutz, B. F.; Scott, J.; Scott, M.S.; Sellers, D.; Sengupta, A. S.; Sentenac, D.; Sequino, V.; Sergeev, A.; Setyawati, Y.; Shaddock, D. A.; Shaffer, T. J.; Shahriar, M. S.; Shaltev, M.; Shapiro, B.; Shawhan, P.; Sheperd, A.; Shoemaker, D. H.; Shoemaker, D. M.; Siellez, K.; Siemens, X.; Sieniawska, M.; Sigg, D.; Silva, António Dias da; Singer, A; Singer, L. P.; Singh, A.; Singh, R.; Singhal, A.; Sintes, A. M.; Slagmolen, B. J. J.; Smith, R. J. E.; Smith, N.D.; Smith, R. J. E.; Son, E. J.; Sorazu, B.; Sorrentino, F.; Souradeep, T.; Srivastava, A. K.; Staley, A.; Steinke, M.; Steinlechner, J.; Steinlechner, S.; Steinmeyer, D.; Stephens, B. C.; Stevenson-Moore, P.; Stone, J.R.; Strain, K. A.; Straniero, N.; Stratta, G.; Strauss, N. A.; Strigin, S. E.; Sturani, R.; Stuver, A. L.; Summerscales, T. Z.; Sun, L.; Sunil, S.; Sutton, P. J.; Swinkels, B. L.; Szczepanczyk, M. J.; Tacca, M.D.; Talukder, D.; Tanner, D. B.; Tapai, M.; Tarabrin, S. P.; Taracchini, A.; Taylor, W.R.; Theeg, T.; Thirugnanasambandam, M. P.; Thomas, E. G.; Thomas, M.; Thomas, P.; Thorne, K. A.; Thrane, E.; Tiwari, S.; Tiwari, V.; Tokmakov, K. V.; Toland, K.; Tomlinson, C.; Tonelli, M.; Tornasi, Z.; Torres, C. V.; Torrie, C. I.; Toyra, D.; Travasso, F.; Traylor, G.; Trifiro, D.; Tringali, M. C.; Trozzo, L.; Tse, M.; Turconi, M.; Tuyenbayev, D.; Ugolini, D.; Unnikrishnan, C. S.; Urban, A. L.; Usman, S. A.; Vahlbruch, H.; Vajente, G.; Valdes, G.; Vallisneri, M.; van Bakel, N.; van Beuzekom, M.G.; van den Brand, J. F. J.; Van Den Broeck, C.F.F.; Vander-Hyde, D. C.; van der Schaaf, L.; van Heijningen, J. V.; van Veggel, A. A.; Vardaro, M.; Vass, S.; Vasuth, M.; Vaulin, R.; Vecchio, A.; Vedovato, G.; Veitch, J.; Veitch, P.J.; Venkateswara, K.; Verkindt, D.; Vetrano, F.; Vicere, A.; Vinciguerra, S.; Vine, D. J.; Vinet, J. -Y.; Vitale, S.; Vo, T.; Vocca, H.; Vorvick, C.; Voss, D. V.; Vousden, W. D.; Vyatchanin, S. P.; Wade, A. R.; Wade, L. E.; Wade, MT; Walker, M.; Wallace, L.; Walsh, S.; Wang, G.; Wang, H.; Wang, M.; Wang, X.; Wang, Y.; Ward, R. L.; Warner, J.; Was, M.; Weaver, B.; Wei, L. -W.; Weinert, M.; Weinstein, A. J.; Weiss, R.; Wen, L.M.; Wessels, P.; Westphal, T.; Wette, K.; Whelan, J. T.; Whitcomb, S. E.; Whiting, B. F.; Williams, D.R.; Williamson, A. R.; Willis, J. L.; Willke, B.; Wimmer, M. H.; Winkler, W.; Wipf, C. C.; Wittel, H.; Woan, G.; Woehler, J.; Worden, J.; Wright, J.L.; Wu, D.S.; Wu, G.; Yablon, J.; Yam, W.; Yamamoto, H.; Yancey, C. C.; Yu, H.; Yvert, M.; Zadrozny, A.; Zangrando, L.; Zanolin, M.; Zendri, J. -P.; Zevin, M.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, M.; Zhang, Y.; Zhao, C.; Zhou, M.; Zhou, Z.; Zhu, X. J.; Zucker, M. E.; Zuraw, S. E.; Zweizig, J.

2016-01-01

The first observational run of the Advanced LIGO detectors, from September 12, 2015 to January 19, 2016, saw the first detections of gravitational waves from binary black hole mergers. In this paper, we present full results from a search for binary black hole merger signals with total masses up to

A comparison of alternative methods for measuring cigarette prices.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaloupka, Frank J; Tauras, John A; Strasser, Julia H; Willis, Gordon; Gibson, James T; Hartman, Anne M

2015-05-01

Government agencies, public health organisations and tobacco control researchers rely on accurate estimates of cigarette prices for a variety of purposes. Since the 1950s, the Tax Burden on Tobacco (TBOT) has served as the most widely used source of this price data despite its limitations. This paper compares the prices and collection methods of the TBOT retail-based data and the 2003 and 2006/2007 waves of the population-based Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey (TUS-CPS). From the TUS-CPS, we constructed multiple state-level measures of cigarette prices, including weighted average prices per pack (based on average prices for single-pack purchases and average prices for carton purchases) and compared these with the weighted average price data reported in the TBOT. We also constructed several measures of tax avoidance from the TUS-CPS self-reported data. For the 2003 wave, the average TUS-CPS price was 71 cents per pack less than the average TBOT price; for the 2006/2007 wave, the difference was 47 cents. TUS-CPS and TBOT prices were also significantly different at the state level. However, these differences varied widely by state due to tax avoidance opportunities, such as cross-border purchasing. The TUS-CPS can be used to construct valid measures of cigarette prices. Unlike the TBOT, the TUS-CPS captures the effect of price-reducing marketing strategies, as well as tax avoidance practices and non-traditional types of purchasing. Thus, self-reported data like TUS-CPS appear to have advantages over TBOT in estimating the 'real' price that smokers face. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

After a merger: the dilemma of the best leadership approach for nursing.

Science.gov (United States)

Porter-O'Grady, T; Bradley, C; Crow, G; Hendrich, A L

1997-01-01

The following case study exemplifies for the nurse leader some of the difficulties involved in making a merger work and selecting the best options to sustain nursing services following the merger. Three nurse leaders look at the case study from a variety of viewpoints and suggest a range of responses that gives the reader an opportunity to consider a selection of insights that best address the issues presented in the case study. All of the respondents have been involved in complex mergers and bring a depth of experience to their review of the case.

New evidence of anti-herding of oil-price forecasters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pierdzioch, Christian; Ruelke, Jan Christoph; Stadtmann, Georg

2010-01-01

We used the oil-price forecasts of the Survey of Professional Forecasters published by the European Central Bank to analyze whether oil-price forecasters herd or anti-herd. Oil-price forecasts are consistent with herding (anti-herding) of forecasters if forecasts are biased towards (away from) the consensus forecast. Based on a new empirical test developed by Bernhardt et al. (J. Financ. Econ. 80: 657-675, 2006), we found strong evidence of anti-herding among oil-price forecasters. (author)

Discovery of a Detached, Eclipsing 40 Minute Period Double White Dwarf Binary and a Friend: Implications for He+CO White Dwarf Mergers

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Warren R.; Kilic, Mukremin; Kosakowski, Alekzander; Gianninas, A.

2017-09-01

We report the discovery of two detached double white dwarf (WD) binaries, SDSS J082239.546+304857.19 and SDSS J104336.275+055149.90, with orbital periods of 40 and 46 minutes, respectively. The 40 minute system is eclipsing; it is composed of a 0.30 M ⊙ and a 0.52 M ⊙ WD. The 46 minute system is a likely LISA verification binary. The short 20 ± 2 Myr and ˜34 Myr gravitational-wave merger times of the two binaries imply that many more such systems have formed and merged over the age of the Milky Way. We update the estimated Milky Way He+CO WD binary merger rate and affirm our previously published result: He+CO WD binaries merge at a rate at least 40 times greater than the formation rate of stable mass-transfer AM CVn binaries, and so the majority must have unstable mass-transfer. The implication is that spin-orbit coupling in He+CO WD mergers is weak, or perhaps nova-like outbursts drive He+CO WDs into merger, as proposed by Shen. Based on observations obtained at the MMT Observatory, a joint facility of the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Arizona, and on observations obtained with the Apache Point Observatory 3.5 m telescope, which is owned and operated by the Astrophysical Research Consortium.

Creditor protection in cross-border mergers; unfinished business

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Geert T.M.J. Raaijmakers

2008-03-01

Full Text Available In cross-border mergers, creditor protection is important to facilitate a smooth, efficient and transparent process necessary to facilitate the single market. As all assets and liabilities are being transferred and there is a risk that the liabilities of the acquiring company will exceed the assets, creditor protection needs to be safeguarded in legal mergers. As the title suggests, creditor protection in the context of cross-border mergers and the recently adopted directive is examined in this paper, as well as the position of creditors under Dutch law and the Third Directive. The ex-ante and ex-post systems of creditor protection, both existing in the Member States of the EU, and which are both supported by strong arguments, are also discussed. The fact that differences in creditor protection rules nevertheless remain may create unjustifiable differences in the position of various groups of creditors involved in one single cross-border merger. The authors conclude that the case for leaving creditor protection to the Member States is weakening. Differences in national legislation on creditor protection, defendable as they may be, are ultimately of a technical nature and create unnecessary and unjustifiable impediments. There are strong arguments, in other words, to adopt the same provisions for all transactions for the sake of simplicity, but while this may be attractive, it can lead to undesired delay. Amending the Directive at this point in time thus seems equally unfeasible. This stresses the need to make haste with at least some further harmonization of creditor protection rules related to the Third Directive.

MINOR MERGERS AND THE SIZE EVOLUTION OF ELLIPTICAL GALAXIES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naab, Thorsten; Johansson, Peter H.; Ostriker, Jeremiah P.

2009-01-01

Using a high-resolution hydrodynamical cosmological simulation of the formation of a massive spheroidal galaxy we show that elliptical galaxies can be very compact and massive at high redshift in agreement with recent observations. Accretion of stripped infalling stellar material increases the size of the system with time and the central concentration is reduced by dynamical friction of the surviving stellar cores. In a specific case of a spheroidal galaxy with a final stellar mass of 1.5 x 10 11 M sun we find that the effective radius r e increases from 0.7 ± 0.2 kpc at z = 3 to r e = 2.4 ± 0.4 kpc at z = 0 with a concomitant decrease in the effective density of an order of magnitude and a decrease of the central velocity dispersion by approximately 20% over this time interval. A simple argument based on the virial theorem shows that during the accretion of weakly bound material (minor mergers) the radius can increase as the square of the mass in contrast to the usual linear rate of increase for major mergers. By undergoing minor mergers compact high-redshift spheroids can evolve into present-day systems with sizes and concentrations similar to observed local ellipticals. This indicates that minor mergers may be the main driver for the late evolution of sizes and densities of early-type galaxies.

Gravitational waves from primordial black hole mergers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Raidal, Martti; Vaskonen, Ville; Veermäe, Hardi, E-mail: martti.raidal@cern.ch, E-mail: ville.vaskonen@kbfi.ee, E-mail: hardi.veermae@cern.ch [NICPB, Rävala 10, 10143 Tallinn (Estonia)

2017-09-01

We study the production of primordial black hole (PBH) binaries and the resulting merger rate, accounting for an extended PBH mass function and the possibility of a clustered spatial distribution. Under the hypothesis that the gravitational wave events observed by LIGO were caused by PBH mergers, we show that it is possible to satisfy all present constraints on the PBH abundance, and find the viable parameter range for the lognormal PBH mass function. The non-observation of a gravitational wave background allows us to derive constraints on the fraction of dark matter in PBHs, which are stronger than any other current constraint in the PBH mass range 0.5−30 M {sub ⊙}. We show that the predicted gravitational wave background can be observed by the coming runs of LIGO, and its non-observation would indicate that the observed events are not of primordial origin. As the PBH mergers convert matter into radiation, they may have interesting cosmological implications, for example in the context of relieving the tension between high and low redshift measurements of the Hubble constant. However, we find that these effects are suppressed as, after recombination, no more that 1% of dark matter can be converted into gravitational waves.

Galaxy mergers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roos, N.

1981-01-01

This thesis contains a series of four papers dealing with the effects of interactions among galaxies during the epoch of cluster formation. Galaxy interactions are investigated and the results incorporated in numerical simulations of the formation of groups and clusters of galaxies. The role of galaxy interactions is analysed in the more general context of simulations of an expanding universe. The evolution of galaxies in rich clusters is discussed. The results of the investigations are presented and their relation to other work done in the field are briefly reviewed and an attempt is made to link galaxy mergers to the occurrence of activity in galactic nuclei. (Auth.)

Price consciousness and purchase intentions for new food products: the moderating effect of product category knowledge when price is unknown

OpenAIRE

Hansen, Håvard

2013-01-01

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in JOURNAL of FOOD PRODUCTS MARKETING in July 2013, available online: http://wwww.tandfonline.com/ 10.1080/10454446.2013.724363. This study examines the degree to which consumers’ price consciousness affects their purchase intentions for a newly introduced product when the price of the product is unknown. Based on data from 186 consumers exposed to a new product offering, the results show that price consciousness...

Prices and Price Setting

NARCIS (Netherlands)

R.P. Faber (Riemer)

2010-01-01

textabstractThis thesis studies price data and tries to unravel the underlying economic processes of why firms have chosen these prices. It focuses on three aspects of price setting. First, it studies whether the existence of a suggested price has a coordinating effect on the prices of firms.

Electricity prices in France: past trends and perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-03-01

At a time when the European Commission has published a complete report about energy prices in Europe, presenting their evolution during the past years, this article aims to recall the basic principles structuring the electricity bill in France, and to put the French electricity prices in their European context

Cigarette price level and variation in five Southeast Asian countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Liber, Alex C; Ross, Hana; Ratanachena, Sophapan; Dorotheo, E Ulysses; Foong, Kin

2015-06-01

To monitor and analyse impacts of the interaction between tobacco excise tax policy and industry price strategy, on the price level and variation of cigarettes sold in five Southeast Asian countries (Indonesia, Cambodia, Lao PDR, the Philippines and Vietnam). Prices of cigarette sold by sticks and packs were collected through an in-person survey of retailers during 2011. Mean cigarette prices and price variation were calculated in each study country for single cigarettes, whole packs and brand groups. Price variation of whole packs was greater in countries with ad-valorem excise tax structures (Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam) than in countries with multitiered specific excise taxes (Indonesia and the Philippines). The price variation for single sticks appeared to be driven by local currency denomination. Cigarettes sold individually cost more per stick than cigarettes sold in whole packs in every brand group except for Indonesia's domestic brands. Tobacco industry strategy and excise tax structure drove the price level and variation of cigarettes sold in packs, while currency denominations influence the selling price of single sticks. To maximise the effectiveness of tobacco tax policies, countries should adopt specific excise tax structures to decrease cigarette price variation, which would minimise opportunities for smokers to 'trade down' to a cheaper brand to avoid a tax-driven price increase. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Do large mergers increase or decrease the productivity of pharmaceutical R&D?

Science.gov (United States)

Ringel, Michael S; Choy, Michael K

2017-12-01

There is current uncertainty regarding the effects of mergers on pharmaceutical R&D productivity, with various mechanisms reported by which mergers could either help or harm R&D, and mixed empirical findings in prior analyses. Here, we present an analysis that is novel in several ways: we use downstream measures of R&D productivity, account for both inputs and outputs in our calculations, and use a self-controlled design. We find that recent large pharmaceutical mergers are associated with statistically significant increases in R&D productivity. These results are perhaps not surprising in light of the broader literature on R&D productivity that points to two factors as instrumental in driving higher R&D productivity (depth of scientific information, and objectivity of decision-making based on that information), both of which could be expected to increase because of a merger. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evolution of the major merger galaxy pair fraction at z < 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Keenan, R. C.; Hsieh, B. C.; Lin, L.; Chou, R. C. Y.; Huang, S.; Lin, J. H.; Chang, K. H. [Academia Sinica Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Taipei, Taiwan (China); Foucaud, S. [Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai (China); De Propris, R. [Finnish Centre for Astronomy with ESO (FINCA), University of Turku, Turku (Finland)

2014-11-10

We present a study of the largest available sample of near-infrared selected (i.e., stellar mass selected) dynamically close pairs of galaxies at low redshifts (z < 0.3). We combine this sample with new estimates of the major merger pair fraction for stellar mass selected galaxies at z < 0.8, from the Red Sequence Cluster Survey (RCS1). We construct our low-redshift K-band selected sample using photometry from the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey and the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) in the K band (∼2.2 μm). Combined with all available spectroscopy, our K-band selected sample contains ∼250, 000 galaxies and is >90% spectroscopically complete. The depth and large volume of this sample allow us to investigate the low-redshift pair fraction and merger rate of galaxies over a wide range in K-band luminosity. We find the major merger pair fraction to be flat at ∼2% as a function of K-band luminosity for galaxies in the range 10{sup 8}-10{sup 12} L {sub ☉}, in contrast to recent results from studies in the local group that find a substantially higher low-mass pair fraction. This low-redshift major merger pair fraction is ∼40%-50% higher than previous estimates drawn from K-band samples, which were based on 2MASS photometry alone. Combining with the RCS1 sample, we find a much flatter evolution (m = 0.7 ± 0.1) in the relation f {sub pair}∝(1 + z) {sup m} than indicated in many previous studies. These results indicate that a typical L ∼ L* galaxy has undergone ∼0.2-0.8 major mergers since z = 1 (depending on the assumptions of merger timescale and percentage of pairs that actually merge).

Evolution of the major merger galaxy pair fraction at z < 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keenan, R. C.; Hsieh, B. C.; Lin, L.; Chou, R. C. Y.; Huang, S.; Lin, J. H.; Chang, K. H.; Foucaud, S.; De Propris, R.

2014-01-01

We present a study of the largest available sample of near-infrared selected (i.e., stellar mass selected) dynamically close pairs of galaxies at low redshifts (z < 0.3). We combine this sample with new estimates of the major merger pair fraction for stellar mass selected galaxies at z < 0.8, from the Red Sequence Cluster Survey (RCS1). We construct our low-redshift K-band selected sample using photometry from the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey and the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) in the K band (∼2.2 μm). Combined with all available spectroscopy, our K-band selected sample contains ∼250, 000 galaxies and is >90% spectroscopically complete. The depth and large volume of this sample allow us to investigate the low-redshift pair fraction and merger rate of galaxies over a wide range in K-band luminosity. We find the major merger pair fraction to be flat at ∼2% as a function of K-band luminosity for galaxies in the range 10 8 -10 12 L ☉ , in contrast to recent results from studies in the local group that find a substantially higher low-mass pair fraction. This low-redshift major merger pair fraction is ∼40%-50% higher than previous estimates drawn from K-band samples, which were based on 2MASS photometry alone. Combining with the RCS1 sample, we find a much flatter evolution (m = 0.7 ± 0.1) in the relation f pair ∝(1 + z) m than indicated in many previous studies. These results indicate that a typical L ∼ L* galaxy has undergone ∼0.2-0.8 major mergers since z = 1 (depending on the assumptions of merger timescale and percentage of pairs that actually merge).

Searching for dark matter with neutron star mergers and quiet kilonovae

Science.gov (United States)

Bramante, Joseph; Linden, Tim; Tsai, Yu-Dai

2018-03-01

We identify new astrophysical signatures of dark matter that implodes neutron stars (NSs), which could decisively test whether NS-imploding dark matter is responsible for missing pulsars in the Milky Way galactic center, the source of some r -process elements, and the origin of fast-radio bursts. First, NS-imploding dark matter forms ˜10-10 solar mass or smaller black holes inside neutron stars, which proceed to convert neutron stars into ˜1.5 solar mass black holes (BHs). This decreases the number of neutron star mergers seen by LIGO/Virgo (LV) and associated merger kilonovae seen by telescopes like DES, BlackGEM, and ZTF, instead producing a population of "black mergers" containing ˜1.5 solar mass black holes. Second, dark matter-induced neutron star implosions may create a new kind of kilonovae that lacks a detectable, accompanying gravitational signal, which we call "quiet kilonovae." Using DES data and the Milky Way's r-process abundance, we constrain quiet kilonovae. Third, the spatial distribution of neutron star merger kilonovae and quiet kilonovae in galaxies can be used to detect dark matter. NS-imploding dark matter destroys most neutron stars at the centers of disc galaxies, so that neutron star merger kilonovae would appear mostly in a donut at large radii. We find that as few as ten neutron star merger kilonova events, located to ˜1 kpc precision could validate or exclude dark matter-induced neutron star implosions at 2 σ confidence, exploring dark matter-nucleon cross-sections 4-10 orders of magnitude below current direct detection experimental limits. Similarly, NS-imploding dark matter as the source of fast radio bursts can be tested at 2 σ confidence once 20 bursts are located in host galaxies by radio arrays like CHIME and HIRAX.

Organisational merger and psychiatric morbidity: a prospective study in a changing work organisation.

Science.gov (United States)

Väänänen, Ari; Ahola, Kirsi; Koskinen, Aki; Pahkin, Krista; Kouvonen, Anne

2011-08-01

Prospective studies on the relationship between organisational merger and mental health have been conducted using subjective health indicators. The objective of this prospective occupational cohort study was to examine whether a negative change during an organisational merger is an independent predictive factor of psychiatric morbidity. Survey data on organisational characteristics, health and other factors were collected prior to (1996) and after the merger (2000); register data on psychiatric morbidity were collected at baseline (1/1/1994-30/9/2000) and during the follow-up (1/10/2000-31/12/2005). Participants were 6511 (77% men) industrial employees aged 21-65 years with no register-based diagnosed psychiatric events prior to the follow-up (the Still Working Study). During the follow-up, 252 participants were admitted to the hospital due to psychiatric disorders, were prescribed a psychotropic drug or attempted or committed suicide. A negative self-reported change in the work organisation during the merger was associated with increased risk of postmerger psychiatric event (HR 1.60, 95% CI 1.19 to 2.14). This association was independent of mental health-related factors measured before the merger announcement, such as demographic characteristics, occupational status, personal orientation to life, self-rated health, self-reported psychiatric morbidity or chronic disease. A negative change in work organisation during an organisational merger may elevate the risk for postmerger psychiatric morbidity.

General Relativistic Simulations of Low-Mass Magnetized Binary Neutron Star Mergers

Science.gov (United States)

Giacomazzo, Bruno

2017-01-01

We will present general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations of binary neutron star (BNS) systems that produce long-lived neutron stars (NSs) after merger. While the standard scenario for short gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs) requires the formation after merger of a spinning black hole surrounded by an accretion disk, other theoretical models, such as the time-reversal scenario, predict the formation of a long-lived magnetar. The formation of a long-lived magnetar could in particular explain the X-ray plateaus that have been observed in some SGRBs. Moreover, observations of NSs with masses of 2 solar masses indicate that the equation of state of NS matter should support masses larger than that. Therefore a significant fraction of BNS mergers will produce long-lived NSs. This has important consequences both on the emission of gravitational wave signals and on their electromagnetic counterparts. We will discuss GRMHD simulations of ``low-mass'' magnetized BNS systems with different equations of state and mass ratios. We will describe the properties of their post-merger remnants and of their gravitational and electromagnetic emission.

Numerical Relativity, Black Hole Mergers, and Gravitational Waves: Part II

Science.gov (United States)

Centrella, Joan

2012-01-01

This series of 3 lectures will present recent developments in numerical relativity, and their applications to simulating black hole mergers and computing the resulting gravitational waveforms. In this second lecture, we focus on simulations of black hole binary mergers. We hig hlight the instabilities that plagued the codes for many years, the r ecent breakthroughs that led to the first accurate simulations, and the current state of the art.

Getting to Yes on a Merger.

Science.gov (United States)

Burkhardt, John

1994-01-01

The merger of the University of Detroit and Mercy College (Michigan) is chronicled from early conversations through preparation and decision making. Salient issues that had to be addressed, especially persistent conflicts, and lessons learned from the experience are noted. (MSE)

Fueling QSOs: the relevance of mergers

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Bennert, N.; Canalizo, G.; Jungwiert, Bruno; Stockton, A.; Schweizer, F.; Peng, Ch.; Lacy, M.

2008-01-01

Roč. 79, č. 4 (2008), s. 1247-1250 ISSN 0037-8720 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LC06014 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10030501 Keywords : galaxy mergers * quasars * photometry Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics

77 FR 15370 - General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation; Information Collection; Price Reductions...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-15

... Services Administration Acquisition Regulation; Information Collection; Price Reductions Clause; Extension... notice of request for comments regarding OMB Control No. 3090-0235, Price Reductions Clause, published in... 16, 2012. ADDRESSES: Submit comments identified by Information Collection 3090- 0235, Price...

Left-digit price effects on smoking cessation motivation.

Science.gov (United States)

MacKillop, James; Amlung, Michael T; Blackburn, Ashley; Murphy, James G; Carrigan, Maureen; Carpenter, Matthew J; Chaloupka, Frank

2014-11-01

Cigarette price increases have been associated with increases in smoking cessation, but relatively little is known about this relationship at the level of individual smokers. To address this and to inform tax policy, the goal of this study was to apply a behavioural economic approach to the relationship between the price of cigarettes and the probability of attempting smoking cessation. Adult daily smokers (n=1074; ie, 5+ cigarettes/day; 18+ years old; ≥8th grade education) completed in-person descriptive survey assessments. Assessments included estimated probability of making a smoking cessation attempt across a range of cigarette prices, demographics and nicotine dependence. As price increases, probability of making a smoking cessation attempt exhibited an orderly increase, with the form of the relationship being similar to an inverted demand curve. The largest effect size increases in motivation to make a quit attempt were in the form of 'left-digit effects,' (ie, maximal sensitivity across pack price whole-number changes; eg, US$5.80-6/pack). Significant differences were also observed among the left-digit effects, suggesting the most substantial effects were for price changes that were most market relevant. Severity of nicotine dependence was significantly associated with price sensitivity, but not for all indices. These data reveal the clear and robust relationship between the price of cigarettes and an individual's motivation to attempt smoking cessation. Furthermore, the current study indicates the importance of left-digit price transitions in this relationship, suggesting policymakers should consider relative price positions in the context of tax changes. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Price-related promotions for tobacco products on Twitter.

Science.gov (United States)

Jo, Catherine L; Kornfield, Rachel; Kim, Yoonsang; Emery, Sherry; Ribisl, Kurt M

2016-07-01

This cross-sectional study examined price-related promotions for tobacco products on Twitter. Through the Twitter Firehose, we obtained access to all public tweets posted between 6 December 2012 and 20 June 2013 that contained a keyword suggesting a tobacco-related product or behaviour (eg, cigarette, vaping) in addition to a keyword suggesting a price promotion (eg, coupon, discount). From this data set of 155 249 tweets, we constructed a stratified sampling frame based on the price-related keywords and randomly sampled 5000 tweets (3.2%). Tweets were coded for product type and promotion type. Non-English tweets and tweets unrelated to a tobacco or cessation price promotion were excluded, leaving an analytic sample of 2847 tweets. The majority of tweets (97.0%) mentioned tobacco products while 3% mentioned tobacco cessation products. E-cigarettes were the most frequently mentioned product (90.1%), followed by cigarettes (5.4%). The most common type of price promotion mentioned across all products was a discount. About a third of all e-cigarette-related tweets included a discount code. Banned or restricted price promotions comprised about 3% of cigarette-related tweets. This study demonstrates that the vast majority of tweets offering price promotions focus on e-cigarettes. Future studies should examine the extent to which Twitter users, particularly youth, notice or engage with these price promotion tweets. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Mergers & Acquisitions and Intangibles

OpenAIRE

Ott, Christian

2012-01-01

This dissertation explores the disclosure on intangibles acquired in Mergers & Acquisitos. The related empirical analyses are based on a sample of M&As that are accounted for under the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US-GAAP). In three different research papers I answer three distinct research questions. In order to enable capital providers and other external stakeholders to evaluate the PPA, the International Fina...

Do legal frameworks direct merger outcomes? A study of the legal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This article traces the legal challenges and contestations embedded in five recent cases of higher education mergers in South Africa. I am aware that there are a number of forms of mergers. For the purposes of this article I use the term as one that is descriptive of a policy decision. Where necessary I make a brief distinction ...

Impact of Mergers on USA Parameter Estimation for Nonspinning Black Hole Binaries

Science.gov (United States)

McWilliams, Sean T.; Thorpe, James Ira; Baker, John G.; Kelly, Bernard J.

2011-01-01

We investigate the precision with which the parameters describing the characteristics and location of nonspinning black hole binaries can be measured with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). By using complete waveforms including the inspiral, merger and ringdown portions of the signals, we find that LISA will have far greater precision than previous estimates for nonspinning mergers that ignored the merger and ringdown. Our analysis covers nonspinning waveforms with moderate mass ratios, q > or = 1/10, and total masses 10(exp 5) < M/M_{Sun} < 10(exp 7). We compare the parameter uncertainties using the Fisher matrix formalism, and establish the significance of mass asymmetry and higher-order content to the predicted parameter uncertainties resulting from inclusion of the merger. In real-time observations, the later parts of the signal lead to significant improvements in sky-position precision in the last hours and even the final minutes of observation. For comparable mass systems with total mass M/M_{Sun} = approx. 10(exp 6), we find that the increased precision resulting from including the merger is comparable to the increase in signal-to-noise ratio. For the most precise systems under investigation, half can be localized to within O(10 arcmin), and 18% can be localized to within O(1 arcmin).

Ordinary and extraordinary prices in the Giolito Libri spirituali sales List

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giliola Barbero

2018-05-01

Full Text Available This article illustrates an early modern sales list of books, the Libri spirituali di stampa of the Venetian Giolito publishing house. This printed list, kept in the Biblioteca Comunale Augusta in Perugia, includes the descriptions of 81 devotional and religious sixteenth century books with their prices expressed in Venetian lire (an account money. The aim of the research is to illustrate the price policy of the Giolito firm between 1587 and 1592, and the segment of the market they intended to serve. For this purpose, on the basis of the books priced, the list has been dated and placed in chronological relation with other already known Giolito sales catalogues. In the second part of the article, average prices per printing sheet are calculated and the relationships between prices and dates, languages and formats are taken into consideration. In the end, the reasons why some few editions were proposed on the market at a higher price are discussed. The list is published in the Appendix.

Electric power oligopoly and suspicious minds - a critique of a recently approved merger

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nilsson, M.

2005-01-01

The main purpose of this paper is to discuss the welfare effects of a proposed merger in the Swedish electric power market, using firm level data on power capacity. By using a simulation model we calculate the unilateral effects of the merger on the welfare effects for society. The merger is then evaluated, using a tacit collusion (coordinated effects) framework highlighting important features of the institutional setting. The latter mimics the methodology some European competition authorities use to evaluate mergers in oligopolistic settings, when it is obvious that it is joint dominance, not single dominance that may result. The results from our simulations suggest that in most cases the unilateral effects will decrease the welfare. The outcome of the qualitative elaboration using the tacit collusion framework basically confirms these results. (author)

Electric power oligopoly and suspicious minds--a critique of a recently approved merger

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nilsson, Mats

2005-01-01

The main purpose of this paper is to discuss the welfare effects of a proposed merger in the Swedish electric power market, using firm level data on power capacity. By using a simulation model we calculate the unilateral effects of the merger on the welfare effects for society. The merger is then evaluated, using a tacit collusion (coordinated effects) framework highlighting important features of the institutional setting. The latter mimics the methodology some European competition authorities use to evaluate mergers in oligopolistic settings, when it is obvious that it is joint dominance, not single dominance that may result. The results from our simulations suggest that in most cases the unilateral effects will decrease the welfare. The outcome of the qualitative elaboration using the tacit collusion framework basically confirms these results

Accretion of satellites on to central galaxies in clusters: merger mass ratios and orbital parameters

Science.gov (United States)

Nipoti, Carlo; Giocoli, Carlo; Despali, Giulia

2018-05-01

We study the statistical properties of mergers between central and satellite galaxies in galaxy clusters in the redshift range 0 identify dark-matter haloes, we construct halo merger trees for different values of the overdensity Δc. While the virial overdensity definition allows us to probe the accretion of satellites at the cluster virial radius rvir, higher overdensities probe satellite mergers in the central region of the cluster, down to ≈0.06rvir, which can be considered a proxy for the accretion of satellite galaxies on to central galaxies. We find that the characteristic merger mass ratio increases for increasing values of Δc: more than 60 per cent of the mass accreted by central galaxies since z ≈ 1 comes from major mergers. The orbits of satellites accreting on to central galaxies tend to be more tangential and more bound than orbits of haloes accreting at the virial radius. The obtained distributions of merger mass ratios and orbital parameters are useful to model the evolution of the high-mass end of the galaxy scaling relations without resorting to hydrodynamic cosmological simulations.

Multiemployer Pension Plan Terminations, Mergers, and Insolvencies

Data.gov (United States)

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation — A listing of multiemployer pension plan terminations, mergers, and insolvencies reported to the PBGC for the current fiscal year. This data set will be updated...

EPISODIC ACTIVITIES OF SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES AT REDSHIFT z ≤ 2: DRIVEN BY MERGERS?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Yanrong; Wang Jianmin; Hu Chen; Zhang Shu; Yuan Yefei

2010-01-01

It has been suggested for quite a long time that galaxy mergers trigger activities of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) on the grounds of imaging observations of individual galaxies. To quantitatively examine this hypothesis, we calculate quasar luminosity functions (LFs) by manipulating the observed galaxy LFs (z ∼ maj ∼ 0.2 at z ∼ 2 to f maj → 0 at z ∼ 0. As a consequence, the newly formed SMBHs from major mergers at z ∼ 2 may acquire a maximal spin due to the orbital angular momentum of the merging holes. Subsequently, random accretion led by minor mergers rapidly drives the SMBHs to spin down. Such an evolutionary trend of the SMBH spins is consistent with the fact that radiative efficiency of accreting SMBHs strongly declines with cosmic time, reported by Wang et al. This suggests that minor mergers are important in triggering activities of SMBHs at low redshift, while major mergers may dominate at high redshift.

Managing processes and information technology in mergers - the integration of finance processes and systems

OpenAIRE

Pedain, Christoph

2003-01-01

Many companies use mergers to achieve their growth goals or target technology position. To realise synergies that justify the merger transaction, an integration of the merged companies is often necessary. Such integartion takes place across company business areas (such as finance or sales) and across the layers of management consideration, which are strategy, human resources, organisation, processes, and information technology. In merger integration techniques, there is a significant gap ...

Trends in College Pricing, 2016. Trends in Higher Education Series

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Jennifer; Baum, Sandy; Pender, Matea; Welch, Meredith

2016-01-01

In 2016-17, published tuition and fee prices rose slightly less than the year before. The rapid price growth observed during the Great Recession has abated, as typically happens when the economy recovers, but the rate of increase in tuition and fees continues to exceed inflation. More notable, however, is the pattern of the net prices students…

KINEMATIC CLASSIFICATIONS OF LOCAL INTERACTING GALAXIES: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE MERGER/DISK CLASSIFICATIONS AT HIGH-z

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hung, Chao-Ling; Larson, Kirsten L.; Sanders, D. B.; Rich, Jeffrey A.; Yuan, Tiantian; Kewley, Lisa J.; Casey, Caitlin M.; Smith, Howard A.; Hayward, Christopher C.

2015-01-01

The classification of galaxy mergers and isolated disks is key for understanding the relative importance of galaxy interactions and secular evolution during the assembly of galaxies. Galaxy kinematics as traced by emission lines have been used to suggest the existence of a significant population of high-z star-forming galaxies consistent with isolated rotating disks. However, recent studies have cautioned that post-coalescence mergers may also display disk-like kinematics. To further investigate the robustness of merger/disk classifications based on kinematic properties, we carry out a systematic classification of 24 local (U)LIRGs spanning a range of morphologies: from isolated spiral galaxies, ongoing interacting systems, to fully merged remnants. We artificially redshift the Wide Field Spectrograph observations of these local (U)LIRGs to z = 1.5 to make a realistic comparison with observations at high-z, and also to ensure that all galaxies have the same spatial sampling of ∼900 pc. Using both kinemetry-based and visual classifications, we find that the reliability of kinematic classification shows a strong trend with the interaction stage of galaxies. Mergers with two nuclei and tidal tails have the most distinct kinematics compared to isolated disks, whereas a significant population of the interacting disks and merger remnants are indistinguishable from isolated disks. The high fraction of mergers displaying disk-like kinematics reflects the complexity of the dynamics during galaxy interactions. Additional merger indicators such as morphological properties traced by stars or molecular gas are required to further constrain the merger/disk classifications at high-z

DOES M31 RESULT FROM AN ANCIENT MAJOR MERGER?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hammer, F.; Wang, J. L.; Puech, M.; Flores, H.; Fouquet, S.; Yang, Y. B.

2010-01-01

The M31 haunted halo is likely associated with a rich merger history, currently assumed to be caused by multiple minor mergers. Here we use the GADGET2 simulation code to test whether M31 could have experienced a major merger in its past history. Our results indicate that a (3 ± 0.5):1 gaseous-rich merger with r pericenter = 25 ± 5 kpc and a polar orbit can explain many properties of M31 and of its halo. The interaction and fusion may have begun 8.75 ± 0.35 and 5.5 ± 0.5 Gyr ago, respectively. Observed fractions of the bulge and the thin and thick disks can be retrieved for a star formation history that is almost quiescent before the fusion. This also accords well with the observed relative fractions of intermediate age and old stars in both the thick disk and the Giant Stream. In this model, the Giant Stream is caused by returning stars from a tidal tail which contains material previously stripped from the satellite prior to the fusion. These returning stars are trapped into elliptical orbits or loops for long periods of time which can reach a Hubble time, and belong to a plane that is 45 0 offset from the M31 disk position angle. Because these streams of stars are permanently fed by new infalling stars with high energy from the tidal tail, we predict large loops which scale rather well with the features recently discovered in the M31 outskirts. We demonstrate that a single merger could explain first-order (intensity and size), morphological, and kinematical properties of the disk, thick disk, bulge, and streams in the halo of M31, as well as the observed distribution of stellar ages, and perhaps metallicities. This challenges the current scenarios assuming that each feature in the disk (the 10 kpc ring) or in its outskirts (thick disk, the Giant Stream, and the numerous streams) is associated with an equivalent number of minor mergers. Given the large number of parameters, further constraints are certainly required to better render the complexity of M31 and

Decoding Mode-mixing in Black-hole Merger Ringdown

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Bernard J.; Baker, John G.

2013-01-01

Optimal extraction of information from gravitational-wave observations of binary black-hole coalescences requires detailed knowledge of the waveforms. Current approaches for representing waveform information are based on spin-weighted spherical harmonic decomposition. Higher-order harmonic modes carrying a few percent of the total power output near merger can supply information critical to determining intrinsic and extrinsic parameters of the binary. One obstacle to constructing a full multi-mode template of merger waveforms is the apparently complicated behavior of some of these modes; instead of settling down to a simple quasinormal frequency with decaying amplitude, some |m| = modes show periodic bumps characteristic of mode-mixing. We analyze the strongest of these modes the anomalous (3, 2) harmonic mode measured in a set of binary black-hole merger waveform simulations, and show that to leading order, they are due to a mismatch between the spherical harmonic basis used for extraction in 3D numerical relativity simulations, and the spheroidal harmonics adapted to the perturbation theory of Kerr black holes. Other causes of mode-mixing arising from gauge ambiguities and physical properties of the quasinormal ringdown modes are also considered and found to be small for the waveforms studied here.

Imposed Change During Merger: Impact on Psychological Contract of employees

OpenAIRE

Mysore, Somashekar Sthaneshwar

2008-01-01

Acquisitions, amalgamation or mergers and change have been an ongoing part of the operational strategy of many organisations with the intention of achieving growth or rationalisation (Cartwright & cooper, 1992). Kavanagh and Ashkanasy (2006) have noted that amalgamation or mergers are highly complex events with a number of factors that can lead to success or failure and because they influence so many parts of the participating organisations in such fundamental ways. As such, amalgamation, mer...

Antecedents of hospital ownership conversions, mergers, and closures.

Science.gov (United States)

Sloan, Frank A; Ostermann, Jan; Conover, Christopher J

2003-01-01

This study assesses the determinants of conversions in hospital ownership from 1986 through 1996. To place such changes in context, we also analyze causes of hospital mergers and closures, which are often alternatives to hospital ownership conversion. A consistent result from our analysis is that an important antecedent of ownership conversions is a low profit margin. Conversions from private nonprofit or government ownership to for-profit status are preceded by chronically low margins and high debt-to-asset ratios. By contrast, conversions from for-profit ownership occur quickly following declines in margins. Many mergers seem motivated by a desire to increase market power--a consideration not evident for conversions.

Impact of star formation inhomogeneities on merger rates and interpretation of LIGO results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Shaughnessy, R; Kopparapu, R K; Belczynski, K

2012-01-01

Within the next decade, ground based gravitational-wave detectors are in principle capable of determining the compact object merger rate per unit volume of the local universe to better than 20% with more than 30 detections. These measurements will constrain our models of stellar, binary and star cluster evolution in the nearby present-day and ancient universe. We argue that the stellar models are sensitive to heterogeneities (in age and metallicity at least) in such a way that the predicted merger rates are subject to an additional 30-50% systematic errors unless these heterogeneities are taken into account. Without adding new electromagnetic constraints on massive binary evolution or relying on more information from each merger (e.g., binary masses and spins), as few as the 5 merger detections could exhaust the information available in a naive comparison to merger rate predictions. As a concrete example immediately relevant to analysis of initial and enhanced LIGO results, we use a nearby-universe catalog to demonstrate that no one tracer of stellar content can be consistently used to constrain merger rates without introducing a systematic error of order O(30%) at 90% confidence (depending on the type of binary involved). For example, though binary black holes typically take many Gyr to merge, binary neutron stars often merge rapidly; different tracers of stellar content are required for these two types. More generally, we argue that theoretical binary evolution can depend sufficiently sensitively on star-forming conditions-even assuming no uncertainty in binary evolution model-that the distribution of star-forming conditions must be incorporated to reduce the systematic error in merger rate predictions below roughly 40%. We emphasize that the degree of sensitivity to star-forming conditions depends on the binary evolution model and on the amount of relevant variation in star-forming conditions. For example, if after further comparison with electromagnetic and

HiQ International Company: A Case Study of Operational Effectiveness post Merger and Acquisition

OpenAIRE

Belle Selene Xia

2014-01-01

Mergers and acquisitions occur in a dynamic process in which resource allocation and organization structures are restructured in response to new challenges. Analyzing mergers and acquisitions in the technology sector using the empirical case of HiQ International Ab shows that management efficiency post merger and acquisition requires the reallocation of resources where traditions and culture are broken resulting in numerous side effects of change. In addition, the management morale in the bus...

Logics of pre-merger decision-making processes: the case of Karolinska University Hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Soki; Brommels, Mats

2009-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to examine how and why a decision to merge two university hospitals in a public context might occur by using an in-depth case study of the pre-merger process of Karolinska University Hospital. Based on extensive document analysis and 35 key informant interviews the paper reconstructed the pre-merger process, searched for empirical patterns, and interpreted those by applying neo-institutional theory. Spanning nearly a decade, the pre-merger process goes from idea generation through transition to decision, and took place on two arenas, political, and scientific. Both research excellence and economic efficiency are stated merger motives. By applying a neo-institutional perspective, the paper finds that the two initial phases are driven by decision rationality, which is typical for political organizations and that the final phase demonstrated action rationality, which is typical for private firms. Critical factors behind this radical change of decision logic are means convergence, uniting key stakeholder groups, and an economic and political crisis, triggering critical incidents, which ultimately legitimized the formal decision. It is evident from the paper that merger decisions in the public sector might not necessarily result from stated and/or economic drivers only. This paper suggests that a change of decision logic from decision to action rationality might promote effective decision making on large and complex issues in a public context. This is the first systematic in-depth study of a university hospital merger employing a decision-making perspective.

Impacts of Mergers and Acquisitions on Acquirer Banks’ Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Burhan Ali Shah

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This study investigates the effects of mergers and acquisitions (M & A on the operating performance of the acquirer banks in Pakistan. For this purpose, a sample of 18 transactions, involving acquirer banks, listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange, is used. The Financial Ratio Analysis (FRA is used to determine the effects of M & A. The significance of change in the operating performances is tested through a paired sample t-test. The results indicate deterioration in the performances of the acquirer banks in the post-merger period.

Recent mergers and acquisitions changes face of RSA coal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-10-01

During the last two years, the South African coal industry has altered dramatically, with several major mergers and acquisitions taking place affecting production and Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) entitlement. This article summarises the current position, as it happened. Events discussed include: the merger of Trans-Natal and Randcoal; Sasol becoming a member of RBCT; Tavistock`s Shell acquisition; the Duiker Mining-Lonrho acquisition; Amcoal`s purchase of Gold Fields Coal; the sale of Welgedacht Exploration Company to the Kangra Group and the formation of New Coal by Amcoal and Ingwe. 2 tabs., 2 photos.

SPIRAL INSTABILITY CAN DRIVE THERMONUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS IN BINARY WHITE DWARF MERGERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kashyap, Rahul; Fisher, Robert; García-Berro, Enrique; Aznar-Siguán, Gabriela; Ji, Suoqing; Lorén-Aguilar, Pablo

2015-01-01

Thermonuclear, or Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), originate from the explosion of carbon–oxygen white dwarfs, and serve as standardizable cosmological candles. However, despite their importance, the nature of the progenitor systems that give rise to SNe Ia has not been hitherto elucidated. Observational evidence favors the double-degenerate channel in which merging white dwarf binaries lead to SNe Ia. Furthermore, significant discrepancies exist between observations and theory, and to date, there has been no self-consistent merger model that yields a SNe Ia. Here we show that a spiral mode instability in the accretion disk formed during a binary white dwarf merger leads to a detonation on a dynamical timescale. This mechanism sheds light on how white dwarf mergers may frequently yield SNe Ia

SPIRAL INSTABILITY CAN DRIVE THERMONUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS IN BINARY WHITE DWARF MERGERS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kashyap, Rahul; Fisher, Robert [Department of Physics, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 285 Old Westport Road, North Dartmouth, MA 02740 (United States); García-Berro, Enrique; Aznar-Siguán, Gabriela [Departament de Física Aplicada, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, c/Esteve Terrades, 5, E-08860 Castelldefels (Spain); Ji, Suoqing [Department of Physics, Broida Hall, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106–9530 (United States); Lorén-Aguilar, Pablo [School of Physics, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QL (United Kingdom)

2015-02-10

Thermonuclear, or Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), originate from the explosion of carbon–oxygen white dwarfs, and serve as standardizable cosmological candles. However, despite their importance, the nature of the progenitor systems that give rise to SNe Ia has not been hitherto elucidated. Observational evidence favors the double-degenerate channel in which merging white dwarf binaries lead to SNe Ia. Furthermore, significant discrepancies exist between observations and theory, and to date, there has been no self-consistent merger model that yields a SNe Ia. Here we show that a spiral mode instability in the accretion disk formed during a binary white dwarf merger leads to a detonation on a dynamical timescale. This mechanism sheds light on how white dwarf mergers may frequently yield SNe Ia.