Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Problem of fit'

This thesis evaluates some of the most recent and promising approaches for deriving the No Fit Polygon for two simple polygons, possibly with holes, and verify that the approach works in practice. We have chosen three different approaches based on the complexity of the input. These approaches were implemented and benchmarked against CGAL [1], a third party library which provides solvers for many computational geometry problems. Our solution solves problems of a higher degree of complexity than that of the library we benchmarked against and for input of lower complexity we solve the problem in a more efficient manner.<br>Den här uppsatsen evaluerar några av de senaste och mest lovande tillvägagånssätt för att generera No Fit - polygonen för två enkla polygoner, med och utan hål, och verifiera att de fungerar i praktiken. Vi har valt tre olika tillvägagångssätt baserat på komplexiteten av indata. Dessa tillvägagångssätt implementerades och jämfördes med CGAL [1], ett tredjepartsbibliotek som tillhandahåller lösare av många beräkningsgeometriska problem. Vår lösning klarar problem av en högre grad av komplexitet än tredjepartsbiblioteket vi jämför med. För indata av lägre komplexitetsnivåer löser vi problemet mer effektivt.

This paper describes automated examination scheduling for the Faculty of Information Technology of Brno University of Technology. It specifies a list of restrictions that must by satisfied. Furthermore, this limitations are classified due to their influence on a quality of the final version of the examination schedule. There are two types of restrictions; soft and hard. The task is to find such a solution that satisfies all hard constraints and breaks the minimum of soft constraints using techniques described in this paper.

The Stochastic Diffusion Search (SDS) was developed as a solution to the best-fit search problem. Thus, as a special case it is capable of solving the transform invariant pattern recognition problem. SDS is efficient and, although inherently probabilistic, produces very reliable solutions in widely ranging search conditions. However, to date a systematic formal investigation of its properties has not been carried out. This thesis addresses this problem. The thesis reports results pertaining to the global convergence of SDS as well as characterising its time complexity. However, the main emphasis of the work, reports on the resource allocation aspect of the Stochastic Diffusion Search operations. The thesis introduces a novel model of the algorithm, generalising an Ehrenfest Urn Model from statistical physics. This approach makes it possible to obtain a thorough characterisation of the response of the algorithm in terms of the parameters describing the search conditions in case of a unique best-fit pattern in the search space. This model is further generalised in order to account for different search conditions: two solutions in the search space and search for a unique solution in a noisy search space. Also an approximate solution in the case of two alternative solutions is proposed and compared with predictions of the extended Ehrenfest Urn model. The analysis performed enabled a quantitative characterisation of the Stochastic Diffusion Search in terms of exploration and exploitation of the search space. It appeared that SDS is biased towards the latter mode of operation. This novel perspective on the Stochastic Diffusion Search lead to an investigation of extensions of the standard SDS, which would strike a different balance between these two modes of search space processing. Thus, two novel algorithms were derived from the standard Stochastic Diffusion Search, ‘context-free’ and ‘context-sensitive’ SDS, and their properties were analysed with respect to resource allocation. It appeared that they shared some of the desired features of their predecessor but also possessed some properties not present in the classic SDS. The theory developed in the thesis was illustrated throughout with carefully chosen simulations of a best-fit search for a string pattern, a simple but representative domain, enabling careful control of search conditions.

Problemas de corte e empacotamento de itens irregulares são problemas que visam determinar um leiaute ótimo de objetos pequenos dentro de objetos maiores, a fim de atender a uma demanda. Estes problemas têm grande importância prática, já que surgem em vários tipos de indústria (como a têxtil, a de móveis e a de calçados). O problema estudado neste trabalho é o problema de corte de itens irregulares em recipientes. Os recipientes são delimitados e o objetivo é encontrar um leiaute dos objetos menores, sem sobreposição, dentro dos objetos maiores utilizando a menor quantidade de recipientes. Propomos um novo método de resolução para o problema. Nosso método é um algoritmo que gerencia um conjunto de heurísticas, de baixo nível, específicas para a resolução do problema com recipientes retangulares e irregulares. Recipientes irregulares são polígonos convexos e não convexos, que podem ser furados. As heurísticas desenvolvidas utilizam uma malha de pontos sobre a técnica de no-fit polygon para evitar a sobreposição dos itens e encontrar posições viáveis no recipiente retangular ou irregular. Os experimentos computacionais foram feitos para um grande conjunto de instâncias, de recipientes retangulares e irregulares. Os resultados demonstram a competitividade do método, que obtêm resultados bons e algumas soluções ótimas, em um tempo computacional aceitável.<br>Cutting and packing of irregular items are problems that aim to determine the optimum layout of small objects within larger objects (that we call bins), in order to meet a demand. These problems have great practical importance, since they emerge in various types of industry (such as textile, furniture and shoemaking). The problem studied in this work is the irregular bin packing problem. The bins are enclosed and the goal is to find a layout of items, without overlap, within the bins by using the minimum quantity of them. We propose a new method of resolution to this problem. Our method is an algorithm that manages a set of low-level heuristics, specific to solve the problem with rectangular bins and irregular bins. Irregular bins are convex and non-convex polygons, which may contain holes. The developed heuristics uses a mesh of points and the technique of no-fit polygon to avoid the overlapping of items and find feasible positions in rectangular or irregular bins. The computational experiments were performed for a large set of instances, using both rectangular and irregular bins. The results demonstrate the competitiveness of the method, which can get good results and some optimal solutions within an acceptable computational time.

Men's reluctance to seek psychological help appears to be related to a discrepancy between values and behaviors of the traditional male role and values and behaviors commonly associated with the counseling setting. The view that men must adopt traditional feminine ways of relating and coping to engage in and receive value from therapy has been challenged recently. Alternative interventions may be more attractive to some men who need help, but are unwilling to enter therapy.This study assessed: (a) the influence of male role socialization on help-seeking and (b) men's preferences for and expectations of different therapeutic orientations. It was proposed that more traditional men would be less likely to seek help for a serious psychological concern, but would be more attracted to interventions that reflect values consistent with traditional male ways of coping if they were to seek help (solution-focused and cognitive-behavioral therapy). Additionally, it was proposed that men expect psychologists to use interventions that require expression of more feminine characteristics and behaviors (psychodynamic and person-centered orientations).Undergraduate males (N = 259) were recruited from intact classrooms at a large midwestern university. Three gender role measures were administered to assess traditional masculinity ideology, and male role stress and conflict. Subjects viewed a video of a male client describing a serious personal problem and were asked about their likelihood to seek help if they were experiencing this problem. They were also asked to report their preference for and expectation of four therapy orientations if they were to seek help.Males who endorsed more traditional ideology and experienced greater role conflict were less likely to seek help for the videotaped problem. Males less likely to seek help preferred that their psychologist employ a solution-focused orientation if they were to seek help. Participants expected their psychologist to employ person-centered and psychodynamic orientations more often than solution-focused or cognitive behavioral orientations. Prior experience in counseling also affects preferences.Conclusions support the idea that some males view the counseling setting as a poor fit and may prefer and access interventions that more closely represent male ways of relating and coping.<br>Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

It has been almost 50 years since York published an exact and general solution for the best-fit straight line to independent points with normally distributed errors in both <i>x</i> and <i>y</i>. York's solution is highly cited in the geophysical literature but almost unknown outside of it, so that there has been no ebb in the tide of books and papers wrestling with the problem. Much of the post-1969 literature on straight-line fitting has sown confusion not merely by its content but by its very existence. The optimal least-squares fit is already known; the problem is already solved. Here we introduce the non-specialist reader to York's solution and demonstrate its application in the interesting case of the isotopic mixing line, an analytical tool widely used to determine the isotopic signature of trace gas sources for the study of biogeochemical cycles. The most commonly known linear regression methods – ordinary least-squares regression (OLS), geometric mean regression (GMR), and orthogonal distance regression (ODR) – have each been recommended as the best method for fitting isotopic mixing lines. In fact, OLS, GMR, and ODR are all special cases of York's solution that are valid only under particular measurement conditions, and those conditions do not hold in general for isotopic mixing lines. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we quantify the biases in OLS, GMR, and ODR under various conditions and show that York's general – and convenient – solution is always the least biased.

An extensive body of empirical evidence indicates that function-based behavior support plans are likely to be more effective and efficient in school settings than plans that are not function-based. Designing technically adequate behavior support plans, however, is not sufficient to ensure that these plans will be implemented with fidelity by school staff. The contextual “fit” of support plan procedures with the values, skills, resources and administrative support of implementing personnel also affects the likelihood of implementation. In this dissertation a single-subject concurrent multiple baseline design across participants was used to examine the efficacy of the Contextual Fit Enhancement Protocol (CF Intervention). The CF Intervention was designed to improve the contextual fit of support plans for four elementary school students with problem behaviors. This CF Intervention was designed based on the assumption that when procedures included in a plan match the values, skills, administrative support and resources of the people responsible for implementation the plans will be implemented with higher fidelity and will be more likely to produce desired student outcomes. Results from the study indicate that after implementation of the CF Intervention, support plans that were already technically adequate improved in contextual fit: instructional staff (a) had a better understanding of behavioral procedures being used, (b) received specific, systematic feedback about its implementation, (c) perceived high levels of administrative support, and (d) perceived a collective commitment to improve current plans. Following implementation of the CF Intervention, substantial increases in implementation fidelity and decreases in student problem behavior were observed. In addition, teacher participants rated the CF Intervention process as effective and efficient. Limitations and implications for future research, practice, and training are discussed.

Este trabalho trata da proposta de um processo de otimização para o problema do posicionamento rotacional e translacional de formas irregulares em recipientes de dimensões fixas baseado em heurísticas probabilísticas sem o uso de penalização externa. Para tanto, é empregado o polígono de obstrução, acoplado a uma heurística baseada no Recozimento Simulado. O comportamento discreto da função custo em problemas com recipientes de dimensões limitadas foi mitigado através de uma heurística de \"desempate\", que busca diferenciar soluções com valores idênticos através de uma estimativa de quão próxima está uma determinada solução de conseguir encaixar uma forma não-encaixada em seu leiaute. A comparação de resultados deste trabalho com resultados publicados na literatura comprova a validade da abordagem aqui adotada.<br>This work deals with the proposal of an optimization process for the packing problem with free translations and rotations of irregular shapes on containers with limited dimensions based on probabilistic heuristics without use of extern penalty techniques. For such, the no-fit polygon is used, coupled with an heuristic based on Simulated Annealing. The discrete behavior of the objective function in problems with limited containers is mitigated by a \"tie breaker\" heuristic that sorts solutions with identical values by estimating how close a given solution is of fitting an unplaced shape on its layout. The comparison of these work\'s results with results published on the literature validates the approach here adopted.

The thesis deals with the impact of cause related marketing campaigns on the customers in the Czech Republic. The thesis is divided into theoretical and practical parts. Within the theoretical part, the attention is paid to the determination of CRM, as well as to the CSR concept, on whose grounds CRM is based on. For the findings about the situation on the Czech market regarding CRM, chosen CRM campaigns were analyzed together with its particular campaign characteristic, which cause the campaign to be un/successful. Because commercial subjects evaluate the campaigns according to the gathered amount of money, it is difficult to find out the real impact of CRM campaigns. Therefore, the own survey became a part of the practical part of the thesis with the aim to find out this impact directly from the customers. The results were compared with the American studies and are summed up into the ideal campaign, which is introduced on the chosen bank company.

The thesis first addresses the typology of cutting problems and their relationship to the packing problems. These are categorized (Wascher et al (2005)) according to 5 basic kriteria into the so-called "refined problem types", which is the sufficiently detailed and practical segmentation of cutting problems. The thesis deals with a selected sample of some of the most interesting algorithms from the wide range of those used to solve the cutting problems. The Viswanathan-Bagchi algorithm for the exact solution of constrainted two-dimensional orthogonal Cutting stock probléme with gillotine cuts is briefly described. It enables to process a wide range of additional problem constraints. The body of the thesis concentrates on heuristic algorithms used to solve orthogonal Open dimension problems. The Best-fit algorithm according to Burke et al. (2004) is described in detail. The work introduces two modifications of this algorithm that helped improve the solution in 42 out of the 89 benchmark problems, while a worse solution was achieved only in 10 of them. Moreover, new and more effective data structures and procedures that enable to solve the testing exercise with approx 50 000 rectangles in just about 2,5 seconds have been introduced.

Tato práce si klade za cíl obeznámit čtenáře s 2D CNC obráběním a rozličnými metodami popisu a manipulace s dvojrozměrnými objekty. Poté je představen tzv. Nesting problém a jsou popsány různé metody přístupu k jeho vyřešení. Praktická část pokrývá implementaci vlastního nesting softwaru, jenž je schopný efektivně rozmístit nepravidelné tvary do nepravidelné ohraničené plochy. Na závěr je provedeno zhodnocení řečeného softwaru a také je zmíněno jeho možné využití v praxi.

Pregnancy is a sensitive period in women’s lives; pregnant women encounter various physical changes and emotional challenges during pregnancy. The vision for Sweden’s eHealth initiative is to be the best in the world in using eHealth to make it easier for people to achieve a healthy wellbeing and equal welfare by 2025. However, there is a lack of empirical studies in the area, especially studies associated with both eHealth and pregnancy in a Swedish context. Therefore, the thesis intended to seek the factors that affect a pregnant woman to adopt an eHealth innovation by applying qualitative interviews. Eleven women were selected including both women who are currently pregnant and women who have experienced pregnancy in recent years. Semi-structed interviews were chosen to gain more in-depth insights of the challenges during pregnancy. The data analysis followed the framework of Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). Rogers’ innovation diffusion theory was discussed in relation to the study as well. The results based on the date from the study showed that the real drive for pregnant women to adopt an eHealth innovation is the dissatisfaction with the current solution, namely prenatal care in the Swedish public health care system. Other moderating factors that affect their intention for adoption are relevant knowledge, expertise support and trialability. The results revealed that women with foreign background were more likely to be dissatisfied with prenatal care in Sweden, and that professionals’ involvement in using the innovation and the possibility of experimenting with it will increase the intention of innovation adoption. Age, experience, and personality were not supported in having an impact on innovation adoption in this study. The limitations of the study are transferability and confirmability, where credibility, dependability and authenticity are high in this study.

This bachelor’s thesis was written in the context of a joint research group, which developed a framework for finding and providing the best-fit web service for a user. The problem of the research group lays in testing their developed framework sufficiently. The framework can either be tested with test data produced by real web services which costs money or by generated test data based on a simulation of web service behavior. The second attempt has been developed within this scientific paper in the form of a test data generator. The generator simulates a web service request by defining internal services, whereas each service has an own internal graph which considers the structure of a service. A service can be atomic or can be compose of other services that are called in a specific manner (sequential, loop, conditional). The generation of the test data is done by randomly going through the services which result in variable response times, since the graph structure changes every time the system has been initialized. The implementation process displayed problems which have not been solved within the time frame. Those problems are displaying interesting challenges for the dynamical generation of random graphs. Those challenges should be targeted in further research.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-11T14:02:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Andre Ricardo Melo Araujo.pdf: 3722790 bytes, checksum: 1876d821e1e927795304f1c1ee7bbb67 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-03-01<br>FAPEAM - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas<br>Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is a special kind of ad hoc networks composed of devices capable of processing, storing, sensing the environment, and transmitting data via wireless communication interface. The sensor nodes have several limitations, among them the capacity of energy because to the reduced size. For this reason, many searches have been done with a view to improving the energy consumption of sensor nodes. This work aims to address the Problem of Coverage, Clustering and Routing with Mobile Sink (PCAR-SM, in portuguese Problema de Cobertura, Agrupamento e Roteamento com Sorvedouro Móvel) in WSN with mobile sink consisting of: given a set of sensor nodes and a monitoring area, develop algorithms to find the best subset of sensor nodes to cover the monitoring area, group them in a smaller number of clusters and find the shortest route to mobile sink navigate. The PCAR-SM is a strategy used to reduce the energy consumption of sensor nodes, data collisions, interference and redundant data in networks with high concentration of sensor nodes per area. The purpose of this paper is to solve each problem separately and together, in order to evaluate the impact of each problem on the other. The Coverage Problem has been solved with two metaheuristics: an Genetic Algorithm (GA) and a Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure (GRASP) algorithm. In the latter we used two representations of solution: (a) representation by sensor, where each element of the solution vector represents a sensor node that must be switched on or off; (b) representation by demand, where each element of the solution vector represents a demand point will indicate which sensor node cover it. The AG uses only the representation by demand. The computational results for Coverage Problem used the benchmark of Beasley s OR Library and it was possible seen that the GRASP with representation by demand achieved better results than the GA and the GRASP with representation by sensor when the optimization criterion is to minimize the total cost of each sensor node used in the solution. For Clustering Problem was created approach of virtual grids. In this approach, we divide the area into grids and clusters are formed by a set of adjacent grids (maximum 5 grids in group) forming a cross schematic. The aim of the problem is to minimize the number of clusters in the area. With this approach, we can model the Clustering Problem as a Set Cover Problem (SCP) without overlapping (an element does not belong to more than one set), which was treated by a greedy heuristic called Greedy Clustering Algorithm (GCA). The virtual grids proved to be a good solution because it is simple to identify a node which grid it belongs. Its simplicity also makes it a appropriate method for a distributed version. The Routing Problem of sink was modeled as the Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP), where the mobile sink part of a corner of the monitoring area, runs through the area visiting all clusters and returns to the starting point. For this, we propose two greedy approaches based on nearest neighbor, the Routing Greedy Algorithm - Center (RGA-C) and Routing Greedy Algorithm - Border (RGA-B). The route of the sink was also solved by a heuristic based on algorithm Centralized Spatial Partitioning (CSP). In CSP approach, the route is fixed and reminds the movement of a snake. The results show that fixed route produces a path with smaller size compared to the greedy heuristic for TSP. We analyze also the PCAR-SM, creating heuristic strategies. The union of the Clustering Problem and Routing Problem proved more beneficial in relation to the size of the sink s route. The union of Coverage Problem and Clustering Problem only proved beneficial when the communication radius was about 3,9 times greater than the sensing radius. Our results show that solve problems together allows some changes in the algorithms will lead to better results.<br>As Redes de Sensores Sem Fio (RSSFs) são um tipo especial de redes ad hoc constituídas por dispositivos capazes de processar, armazenar, sensoriar o ambiente e transmitir dados via interface de comunicação sem fio, denominados nós sensores. Os nós sensores possuem várias limitações, dentre elas, a capacidade de energia devido ao tamanho reduzido. Por isto, muitas pesquisas foram feitas tendo em vista a melhoria no consumo de energia dos nós sensores. Este trabalho tem como objetivo tratar o Problema de Cobertura, Agrupamento e Roteamento com Sorvedouro Móvel (PCAR-SM) em RSSF com nó sorvedouro móvel, que consiste em: dado um conjunto de nós sensores e uma área de monitoramento, desenvolver algoritmos para encontrar o melhor subconjunto de nós sensores que cubra a área de monitoramento, juntá-los no menor número de grupos possíveis e encontrar a menor rota para um nó sorvedouro móvel percorrer. O PCAR-SM é uma estratégia utilizada para diminuir o consumo de energia dos nós sensores, a colisão de dados, as interferências e os dados redundantes em redes com alta concentração de nós sensores por área. A proposta deste trabalho é resolver cada problema separadamente e em conjunto, de modo a avaliar o impacto de cada problema na solução do outro. O Problema de Cobertura foi resolvido com duas metaheurísticas: um Algoritmo Genético (AG) e um algoritmo Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure (GRASP). Neste último foram utilizadas duas representações de solução: (a) representação por sensor, onde cada elemento do vetor de solução representa um nó sensor que estará ligado ou desligado; (b) representação por demanda, onde cada elemento do vetor de solução representa um ponto de demanda no qual indicará qual o nó sensor o cobre. O AG utiliza apenas a representação por demanda. Os resultados computacionais para o Problema de Cobertura utilizaram o benchmark da Beasley s OR Library e foi possível constatar que o GRASP com representação por demanda obteve melhores resultados que o AG e o GRASP com representação por sensor quando o critério de otimização é minimizar a soma total dos custos de cada nó sensor utilizado na solução. Para o Problema de Agrupamento foi criada uma abordagem de grades virtuais. Nesta abordagem dividimos a área em grades e os grupos são formados por um conjunto de grades adjacentes (no máximo 5 grades) formando um esquema de cruz. O objetivo do problema é minimizar o número de grupos na área. A partir desta abordagem, pode-se modelar o Problema de Agrupamento como um Problema de Cobertura de Conjuntos (PCC) sem sobreposição (um elemento não pertence a mais de um conjunto), que foi tratada por uma heurística gulosa denominada Greedy Clustering Algorithm (GCA). Os grades virtuais provou ser uma boa solução por ser simples para um nó identificar a qual grade ele pertence. Sua simplicidade ainda o torna uma método adequado para uma versão distribuída. O Problema de Roteamento do nó sorvedouro foi modelado como o Problema do Caixeiro Viajante (PCV), onde o nó sorvedouro móvel parte de um canto da área de monitoramento, percorre a área visitando todos os grupos e retorna ao ponto inicial. Para isto, propomos duas abordagens gulosas baseadas no vizinho mais próximo, o Routing Greedy Algorithm - Center (RGA-C) e o Routing Greedy Algorithm - Border (RGA-B). A rota do nó sorvedouro também foi resolvida por uma heurística baseada no algoritmo Centralized Spatial Partitioning (CSP). Na abordagem CSP, a rota é fixa e lembra o movimento de uma cobra. Os resultados mostram que a rota fixa gera um percurso com tamanho menor em comparação com as heurísticas gulosas para o PCV. Analisamos, ainda, o PCAR-SM, criando estratégias heurísticas. Aunião dos Problema de Agrupamento e Roteamento, provou ser mais benéfica em relação ao tamanho da rota do nó sorvedouro, já a união do Problema de Cobertura com o Problema de Agrupamento só mostrou ser benéfica quando o raio de comunicação era aproximadamente 3, 9 vezes maior que o raio de sensoriamento. Nossos resultados, mostram que resolver os problemas em conjunto permite que algumas mudanças nos algoritmos levem a melhores resultados.

After defining the structure to a signal detection scheme, this dissertation describes and addresses some of the unresolved issues associated with its use when the interference encountered is impulsive. The alpha-stable (alpha-S) family of distributions is used as a model of this interference due to its physical interpretation and its general form. Despite its attractive features, difficulties arise in using this distribution due to, amongst other things, the lack of a general closed form expression for its probability density function. Relevant to the detection scheme used, this affects parameter estimation, signal detector design and goodness-of-fit tests. Significant contributions are made in the latter through the introduction of characteristic function based test that uses the parametric bootstrap. A modification of this test is then made to define a test of the level of impulsive behaviour - again the parametric bootstrap is employed to maintain levels of significance for this and another test based on testing the alpha-S parameter values. The performance of these tests is examined under simulated and two sources of real, impulsive data, namely human heart rate variability and fluctuations in stock prices. Once the appropriateness of the model assumption has been verified, the final, signal detection process may take place. Detectors based on the locally optimum criterion and approximations to it are described and compared to their rank-based counterparts. Results are presented that suggest compelling arguments based on performance and computational complexity for the consideration of rank-based techniques.Keywords: Impulsive behaviour, alpha-stable distribution, stable laws, Gaussianity testing, parameter estimation, goodness-of-fit, parametric bootstrap, signal detection, locally optimum detectors, rank-based detectors.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Statistics and Probability, 2008.<br>Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on July 7, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 93-95). Also issued in print.

Mestrado em Decisão Económica e Empresarial<br>O problema de corte guilhotina e empacotamento bidimensional rectangular consiste em alocar múltiplas peças pequenas - itens - numa ou mais placas de tamanho maior -objectos - num padrão que minimize o desperdício de matéria-prima. A motivação para a realização deste projecto é resolver um problema real de uma empresa portuguesa tentando, ao mesmo tempo, propor algo novo. Para isso, desenvolvem-se e apresentam-se duas novas heurísticas, a Guillotinable Bottom-Left First Fit Decreasing Height (BLFFDHG) e a Bottom-Left First Fit Decreasing Height (BLFFDH), baseadas na First Fit Decreasing Height (FFDH) e Bottom-up left-justified (BL), em que, após um nível ter sido preenchido com a abordagem da FFDH, e antes de se abrir um novo nível para o próximo rectângulo, o nível actual é exaustivamente examinado, usando a heurística BL, de modo a tentar alocar itens no espaço que sobra entre dois níveis consecutivos. A diferença entre as novas heurísticas reside no facto de uma impor o corte guilhotina. Em ambas nenhuma das peças pode ser rodada ou sobreposta. Só depois de explorado o nível actual é aberto um novo. Os resultados são comparados com heurísticas da literatura, num conjunto de instâncias reais, em corte de roupeiros, e da literatura. As heurísticas propostas são comparadas entre si em termos de tempos de execução e é determinada a complexidade empírica da programação. Os resultados obtidos indicam que os algoritmos BLFFDHG e BLFFDH proporcionam quase sempre melhores soluções que os algoritmos que lhe deram origem e são bastante competitivos em relação às outras heurísticas usadas nos testes. Em termos de tempo de execução, a BLFFDHG revelou-se mais rápida que a BLFFDH, e a complexidade empírica da programação é, para ambas, 0(n3).<br>The guillotine cutting problem with two-dimensional rectangular packaging consists of allocating small items in one or more bins - objects - with a pattern that minimize the waste of raw materials. The motivation for this project is to solve a real problem of a Portuguese company and, at the same time, try to propose something new. To this aim, two new heuristics are it developed and presented, the Guillotinable Bottom-Left First Fit Decreasing Height (BLFFDHG) and Bottom-Left First Fit Decreasing Height (BLFFDH), based on First Fit Decreasing Height (FFDH) and Bottom-up left-justified (BL), in which, after a level has been filled with the approach of FFDH, and before opening a new level to the next item, the current level is thoroughly examined, using the BL heuristic, so trying to allocate items in the space left between two consecutive levels. The difference between the new heuristics is that one ensures a pattern that is guillotine cuttable, but in none of them the items can be rotated or overlapped. Only after exploring the current level a new one is open. The results are compared, in terms of solution, with heuristics presented in the literature, using a set of real based instances from a wardrobe cutting and literature instances. The proposed heuristics are compared in terms of execution times and its empirically complexity of programming is estimated. The results indicate that the algorithms BLFFDHG and BLFFDH usually provide better solutions than the algorithms FFDH and BL and are quite competitive when compared with other heuristics used in the tests. In terms of execution time, the BLFFDHG proved to be faster than BLFFDH and empirically they both have a complexity of 0(n3).

Clothes are not only for body protection and covering, but they also have social and emotional aspects attached to them. For them to be appealing, they need to have a proper fit while remaining fashionable and aesthetically pleasing to the eye (Anderson, Brannon, Ulrich, Presley&Woronka, Grasso&Gray,2000; Yoo, 2003). Swaziland has a large population of plus-size women who are working in different departments and need to dress for the job on a daily basis. Their apparel sizing and fit preferences and problems are not known. This research investigates apparel sizing and fit preferences and problems of the plus-size Swazi working women. It concentrates specifically on the functional, aesthetic and economic fit preferences, as well as on determining size labelling preferences, knowledge and clothing styles preferences and problems. This was a descriptive study using a quantitative approach. Purposive sampling was used. This design was chosen as it focused on studying plus-size working women who were experiencing fit problems with the apparel they bought from local apparel retail shops. A survey using a questionnaire to collect data was done in exploring apparel sizing and fit problems and preferences of plus-size working women of Swaziland. A sample of plus-size Swazi working female teachers (n = 249) between the ages of 25 and 60 years who had indicated that they wore clothes of size 16 to 28+ or size 40 to 52+ participated in the study. A self-administered questionnaire was used to answer set objectives. The results of the study indicated that the plus-size Swazi working women preferred clothes that were functionally comfortable, fitted well and were made in comfortable fabric. They also indicated that they preferred clothes that were well sized, had a fit that was functional, sensually and emotionally pleasing in respect of style, the fabric used and comfort. The study also reflected that plus-size Swazi working women experienced sizing and fit problems in most of the apparel they bought from local retail outlets. A high number of the plus-size women consumers reported experiencing difficulty in finding clothes that were aesthetically pleasing. They could not find clothes that were fashionable in their size nor clothes that could satisfy their emotional and symbolic egos. A high number of respondents also indicated that they experienced a lot of fit problems on several areas of their bodies. The waist, hips, buttocks, abdomen and upper arms seemed to be the most problematic body areas respondents reported to be having fit problems. The lengths were also a challenge as most had problems with sleeve and pants length. Findings in this study also reflected that sizing in clothes was still a major problem for most of the plus-size consumers. Many of the respondents had problems understanding information on the size tags. The sizing systems were most probably confusing for the consumer as some came in varying numbers and letters. This study may contribute to a better understanding of sizing and fit preferences and problems experienced by the plussize Swazi working women with regard to work apparel. Consumers come in different shapes and sizes. The clothing producer has a task of ensuring that clothes are made to fit most of the prevailing figure types, rather than the common ideal figure.<br>Dissertation (MConsumer Science)--University of Pretoria, 2011.<br>Consumer Science<br>unrestricted

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T18:30:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo8522_1.pdf: 885088 bytes, checksum: 731a54bbce606e1245c5b0ca84497abf (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2003<br>Este trabalho consiste em estudar o movimento de uma partícula, de massa infinitesimal, submetida unicamente à força de atração gravitacional induzida por um fio circular homogêneo fixo, contido no espaço tri-dimensional. Iniciamos este trabalho apresentando a formulação do problema e um estudo preliminar do potencial. Fazemos o estudo das simetrias e dos conjuntos invariantes. No capítulo 2, verificamos que todas as singularidades do problema do fio circular são devidas à colisão. No capítulo 3, verificamos que o potencial ou o gradiente da função potencial V, pode ser visto como uma aproximação de outros potenciais, ou do gradiente de outros potenciais de m,ais fácil manipulação. E, no capítulo 4, provamos a existência de soluções periódicas de problemas perturbados próximas a soluções circulares de problemas não perturbados. No capítulo 5, apresentamos o estudo da dinâmica do problema do fio circular homogêneo. Inicialmente estudamos a dinâmica da partícula restrita aos conjuntos invariantes. No estudo da dinâmica restrita ao eixo z verificamos a existência de soluções periódicas, e soluções ilimitadas, as que escapam para o infinito. Além disso, observamos que a origem é ponto de equilíbrio estável do sistema restrito e que todas as soluções deste problema estão definidas em todo tempo. No estudo no plano horizontal verificamos a existência de soluções circulares passando por qualquer ponto no exterior do fio circular e a não existência de soluções circulares no interior do fio. Fazemos um estudo sobre a existência de soluções circulares no exterior do fio circular para um certo momento angular fixado. No interior do fio circular, provamos que as soluções ou colidem ou convergem para a origem ( a menos da solução de equilíbrio). Verificamos que todas as soluções não radicais descrevem uma curva cujo traço tem uma forma particular. No exterior do fio circular, fazemos também uma análise da dinâmica, a partir do retrato de fase. Por fim, apresentamos a região de Hill do problema e o estudo da solução de equilíbrio restrito a este plano. No estudo no plano vertical provamos a existência de soluções periódicas longe do fio circular e soluções periódicas próximas ao fio circular, intersectando a região planar interior ao fio circular, com um raio qualquer. Além disso, verificamos a existência de soluções em forma de oito, passando pela origem. Provamos também a existência de certas soluções periódicas no espaço tri-dimensional, perto do fio circular e apresentamos a análise da solução de equilíbrio do problema

A fundamental gap in the current understanding of collapsed structures in the universe concerns the thermodynamical evolution of the ordinary, baryonic component. Unopposed radiative cooling of plasma would lead to the cooling catastrophe, a massive inflow of condensing gas toward the centre of galaxies, groups and clusters. The last generation of multiwavelength observations has radically changed our view on baryons, suggesting that the heating linked to the active galactic nucleus (AGN) may be the balancing counterpart of cooling. In this Thesis, I investigate the engine of the heating regulated by the central black hole. I argue that the mechanical feedback, based on massive subrelativistic outflows, is the key to solving the cooling flow problem, i.e. dramatically quenching the cooling rates for several billion years without destroying the cool-core structure. Using an upgraded version of the parallel 3D hydrodynamic code FLASH, I show that anisotropic AGN outflows can further reproduce fundamental observed features, such as buoyant bubbles, cocoon shocks, sonic ripples, metals dredge-up, and subsonic turbulence. The latter is an essential ingredient to drive nonlinear thermal instabilities, which cause cold gas condensation, a residual of the quenched cooling flow and, later, fuel for the AGN feedback engine. The self-regulated outflows are systematically tested on the scales of massive clusters, groups and isolated elliptical galaxies: in lighter less bound objects the feedback needs to be gentler and less efficient, in order to avoid drastic overheating. In this Thesis, I describe in depth the complex hydrodynamics, involving the coupling of the feedback energy to that of the surrounding hot medium. Finally, I present the merits and flaws of all the proposed models, with a critical eye toward observational concordance.

L'auteur s'interroge sur l'experience chretienne a l'epreuve de l'experience sociale. Il reprend a cet effet une vingtaine d'articles, communications et rapports ecrits par lui entre 1975 et 1995 concernant la vie politique (le marxisme, le phenomene ideologique, les droits de l'homme, la laicite), les questions ethiques (la peine de mort, l'objection de conscience, le monde de la sante, les chemins de la vie morale), l'enseignement social de l'eglise universelle et particuliere (en france) et les rapports entre les deux societes civile et ecclesiale, l'eglise et l'etat. Il conclut par une reflexion sur l'experience politique du pouvoir, de la parole et du droit comme lieu de l'experience chretienne, et contribution a une anthropologie chretienne<br>The author probes christian experience in the light of social experience. In order to do so he resumes some twenty articles, papers and reports he wrote between 1975 and 1995 about political life (on marxism, ideological phenomenon, human rights, secularism) ; about ethical problems (concerning death penalty, conscientious objection, health concerns and paths to moral life); about the social teaching of the chruch whether universal or specifically related to france, and finally about the relations between both secular and the ecclesiastical societies i. E. Between church and state. His conclusion is made up of a reflexion on the political experience of power, word and law as a ground of christian experience as well as a contribution to christian anthropology

This thesis focuses on algorithms solving the on-line Bin-Covering problem, when the items are generated from a known, stationary distribution. We introduce the Prospect Algorithm. The main idea behind the Prospect Algorithm is to use information on the item distribution to estimate how easy it will be to fill a bin with small overfill as a function of the empty space left in it. This estimate is then used to determine where to place the items, so that all active bins either stay easily fillable, or are finished with small overfill. We test the performance of the algorithm by simulation, and discuss how it can be modified to cope with additional constraints and extended to solve the Bin-Packing problem as well. The Prospect Algorithm is then adapted to achieve perfect packing, yielding a new version, the Prospect+ Algorithm, that is a slight but consistent improvement. Next, a Markov Decision Process formulation is used to obtain an optimal Bin-Covering algorithm to compare with the Prospect Algorithm. Even though the optimal algorithm can only be applied to limited (small) cases, it gives useful insights that lead to another modification of the Prospect Algorithm. We also discuss two relaxations of the on-line constraint, and describe how algorithms that are based on solving the Subset-Sum problem are used to tackle these relaxed problems. Finally, several practical issues encountered when using the Prospect Algorithm in the real-world are analyzed, a computationally efficient way of doing the background calculations needed for the Prospect Algorithm is described, and the three versions of the Prospect Algorithm developed in this thesis are compared.

This thesis is divided into two chapters. First, we want to study particularclasses of power ideals, with particular attention to their relation with the Fröberg conjecture on the Hilbert series of generic ideals. In the second part,we study a generalization (introduced by Fröberg, Ottaviani, and Shapiro in 2012)of the classical Waring problem for polynomials about writing homogeneouspolynomials as sums of powers. We see also how the theories of fat points andsecant varieties of Veronese varieties play a crucial role in the relation betweenthose chapters and in providing tools to nd an answer to our questions. The main results are the computation of the Hilbert series of particularclasses of power ideals, which in particular give us a proof of the Fröberg conjecturefor generic ideals generated by eight homogeneous polynomials of thesame degree in four variables, and the solution of the generalized Waring problemin the case of sums of squares in three and four variables. We also beginthe study of the generalized Waring problem for monomials.

Treaty Shopping can be defined as the "abuse" of tax conventions; it is a major international taxation topic. Its importance is increasing since the beginning of the 80's and the enactment of specific anti treaty shopping measures.<br>Those specific measures are the purpose of this thesis. Is treaty shopping a solved problem? Are those measures, taken principally by the undisputed leader of this policy, the United States, entirely efficient?<br>In order to answer those questions, a brief study of the phenomenon of treaty shopping is needed. The first part of this thesis deals with this issue.<br>The measures themselves are analyzed in the second part. Basically, we can classify them in two categories, the national and the limitation on benefits incorporated in tax conventions. Both of them present weaknesses and approximations. In those circumstances, it would be difficult to admit the end of treaty shopping. Moreover, those measures have raised new problems that must be addressed firstly in order to envisage an end to the practice of treaty shopping.

This research uses the records of the Hampshire County Asylum (HCA) between its opening in 1852 and the end of the nineteenth century to offer a different perspective on asylum history. Though it discusses the asylum in legal, medical and social welfare contexts it focuses on the experience of individuals and their families and the part played by the HCA in their lives. The perspective and methodology of the research reflect the recognition of the importance of individual experience in the construction of historical exposition. In the course of the research a database of patients' personal information was constructed from asylum records. The resulting analysis of individual experience of admission to the HCA suggests that, for many patients, admission was short-term and temporary, caused by a combination of symptoms and events that erupted into crisis. For others the HCA provided a level of care that could not be sustained at home and for some an asylum admission was only part of a wider and continuing strategy of care which enabled troubled families to continue to function. The thesis concludes that, although the county asylum was a potent symbol of many aspects of Victorian society, it should be seen, not as defining those who encountered it, but as a part, sometimes essential but often small, of their personal and family narratives.

Submitted by Diogo Barreiros (diogo.barreiros@ufba.br) on 2017-02-06T16:51:35Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao de Mestrado - Bruno Rios Patriarca Nunes.pdf: 1161824 bytes, checksum: ad90a85de8a47398b1ead19074bc473d (MD5)<br>Approved for entry into archive by Vanessa Reis (vanessa.jamile@ufba.br) on 2017-02-07T11:42:36Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao de Mestrado - Bruno Rios Patriarca Nunes.pdf: 1161824 bytes, checksum: ad90a85de8a47398b1ead19074bc473d (MD5)<br>Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-07T11:42:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao de Mestrado - Bruno Rios Patriarca Nunes.pdf: 1161824 bytes, checksum: ad90a85de8a47398b1ead19074bc473d (MD5)<br>Redes de sensores sem o (RSSF) são compostas por um conjunto de dispositivos, geralmente de baixa capacidade de processamento e autonomia de energia limitada, com o objeto de coletar dados sobre a area onde foi instalada e envia-los ate as unidades de processamento chamadas de estações base. Dentre os recursos de um no sensor, pode-se considerar como um dos mais críticos a carga de bateria, ja que ela de ne em ultimo caso o tempo de vida util do no. Por conta disso, e necessario que os protocolos e aplicações otimizem o uso de energia a m de prolongar o tempo de vida do no sensor e, consequentemente, de toda a RSSF.Este trabalho dedica-se a estudar o problema da maximiza¸c˜ao do tempo de vida da rede durante uma s´erie de opera¸c˜oes de broadcast. Para o escopo desta pesquisa, o tempo de vida da rede de sensor ´e definido como o tempo at´e a falha do primeiro n´o por falta de energia. H´a diversos protocolos na literatura que buscam minimizar o consumo de energia durante a dissemina¸c˜ao de mensagens na rede, por´em neles n˜ao s˜ao considerados aspectos como o custo de recep¸c˜ao ou a presen¸ca de links assim´etricos entre os n´os. Neste trabalho, propomos o algoritmo DLMCA para o problema de maximiza¸c˜ao do tempo de vida da rede. O algoritmo DLMCA baseia-se na constru¸c˜ao de arborescˆencias de custo m´ınimo, ´e localizado e considera redes com custos de comunica¸c˜ao assim´etricos, o que ´e especialmente importante em casos em que a RSSF ´e composta por dispositivos diferentes. Os experimentos realizados mostraram que o DLMCA ´e mais eficiente que solu¸c˜oes alternativas propostas na literatura. A heur´ısitca oferecida pelo DLMCA para redes est´aticas foi levemente adaptada e o problema tamb´em foi analisado para redes m´oveis. Para estas redes, os experimentos demonstraram que a solu¸c˜ao baseada no DLMCA tamb´em foi superior em rela¸c˜ao a outras propostas tanto em rela¸c˜ao `a energia total gasta em cada operação de broadcast quanto em relação ao tempo de vida da rede.

Les progrès dans l'architecture de réseau informatique ajoutent continuellement de nouvelles fonctionnalités aux problèmes de routage des véhicules. Dans cette thèse, le problème de tournée des véhicules avec la collecte de donnée sans fil (WT-VRP) est étudié. Il recherche un itinéraire pour le véhicule chargé de collecter des informations auprès des stations ainsi qu'un planning efficace de collecte d'informations. La nouvelle fonctionnalité ajoutée ici est la possibilité de récupérer des informations via une transmission sans fil, sans visiter physiquement les stations du réseau. Le WT-VRP a des applications dans la surveillance sous-marine et la surveillance environnementale. Nous discutons les critères pour mesurer l'efficacité d'une solution et proposons des formulations de programmation linéaire en nombre entier mixte pour résoudre le problème. Des expériences computationnelles ont été réalisées pour accéder à la complexité numérique du problème et pour comparer les solutions selon les critères proposés. Ensuite, nous avons renforcé certains modèles ainsi que considéré différentes suppositions pour le réseaux sans fils. Finalement, pour être capable de résoudre le problème dans des réseaux de grande échelle, nous avons développés des méthodes heuristiques pour le WT-VRP<br>The vehicle routing problem is one of the most studied problems in Operations Research.Different variants have been treated in the past 50 years and with technologicaladvances, new challenges appear. In this thesis, we introduce a new variation of theVRP appearing in wireless networks. The new characteristic added to this well-knowproblem is the possibility of pick-up information via wireless transmissions. In the contextconsidered here, a unique base station is connected with the outside and a vehicleis responsible for collecting information via wireless connection to the vehicle when it islocated in another sufficiently close station. Simultaneous transmissions are permitted.Time of transmission depends on the distance between stations, the amount of informationtransmitted, and other physical factors (e.g obstacles along the way, installedequipment). Information to be sent outside of the network is continuously generatedin each station at a constant rate. The first contribution of this thesis is the introductionof a mixed ILP formulation for a variation in which it is only possible to send all theinformation or nothing during a wireless transmission. For this model three differentstrategies are investigated: maximizing total amount of information extracted an theend of the time horizon; maximizing the average of the information in the vehicle ateach time point; and maximizing the satisfaction of each station at the end of the timehorizon. Each strategy is translated as a different objective function for the mixed ILPformulation. The problem is then reformulated by accepting the option of sending onlypart of the information during a wireless transmission and considering only the firststrategy,(i.e. maximizing the amount of information extracted at the end of the horizontime). For this new version, we present three mixed ILP formulations, each one withadvantages and disadvantages. These mixed ILP models are compared according to theCPU time, amount of information collected, gap of unresolved instances, etc. Becausein real life we need to solve problems with a large number of stations, in this thesis,we also propose heuristics methods for the second version of the problem introduced.We build some heuristics that do not depend on the mixed ILP model (as for exampleGreedy heuristics) and also matheuristcs. In our matheuristics our best model (a vehicleevent model) is used as a base for the development of construction of Heuristics aswell as local search heuristics

In dieser Arbeit wurden die von Seitz et al. entwickelten forced intercalation (FIT)-Sonden zur mRNA-Charakterisierung in lebenden Zellen eingesetzt. Es erfolgte die Synthese verbesserter FIT-Sonden für die systematische Untersuchung der Aufnahme durch lebende Flp-In™ 293 T-REx™-Zellen. Dafür wurden sowohl hergestellte FIT-Sonden-Konjugate/Aggregate als auch kommerziell erhältliche Reagenzien, wie z.B. die Palmitinsäure und das porenbildende Enzym Streptolysin-O auf ihre Effizienz untersucht. Die optimalen Bedingungen für das Einbringen von DNA- und PNA-FIT-Sonden in Flp-In™ 293 T-REx™-Zellen lieferte das Enzym Streptolysin-O. Durch den simultanen Einsatz von drei unterschiedlichen Sonden (BO-, TO- und CB-markiert), komplementär zu drei verschiedenen Zielsequenzen, gelang es erstmals eine Dreifarben-Lebendzell-Bildgebung mit FIT-Sonden durchzuführen. Des Weiteren wurden TO-FIT-Sonden zur Unterscheidung verschiedener T-Zelllinien eingesetzt. Mithilfe eines kompetitiven Hybridisierungsexperiments konnte die spezifische Fluoreszenzemission der Sonden in den Zellen belegt werden. Untersuchungen mit zwei T-Zelllinien zeigten, dass TO-FIT-Sonden sowie terminal Cy7-markierte TO-FIT-Sonden eine erhöhte TO-Emission bei Vorhandensein der komplementären TCR-mRNA-Zielsequenz in den Zellen aufwiesen. Der terminale Cy7-Farbstoff bot mit einem zweiten Detektionskanal die Möglichkeit die Cy7-Intensität und die vorhandene TO-Intensität ins Verhältnis zu setzen, sodass Signale von ungebundener Sonde leichter ausgeschlossen werden konnten. Dies ermöglichte eine spezifische Markierung der T-Zellen. Es folgte die Synthese CB-markierter FIT-Sonden zur Aufklärung biologischer Fragestellungen, wie dem Verlauf einer Influenza A Infektion und die Synthese und Evaluation neuer Farbstoffe mit einem Absorptionsmaximum bei 590/596 nm. Zudem wurde der Einbau eines zyklischen PNA- Monomers bezüglich der Verbesserung von Responsivität und Helligkeit von PNA-FIT-Sonden analysiert.<br>In this work forced Intercalation (FIT) probes, developed by Seitz et al. were used for the mRNA characterization in living cells. The synthesis of improved FIT probes as well as the systematic study on the uptake of FIT probes by living Flp-In™ 293 T-REx™ cells was performed. Therefore FIT probe conjugates/aggregates as well as commercially available reagents, e.g. palmitic acid and the pore-forming enzyme Streptolysin-O were investigated under various conditions. Furthermore, the transfection was tested using an electroporator. The optimal transfection condition for the introduction of DNA and PNA FIT probes into Flp-In™ 293 T-REx™ cells was achieved using Streptolysin-O. Multicolor live cell imaging with the simultaneous use of three different FIT probes (BO, TO and QB) against three different target sequences was performed successfully. In addition, FIT probes were used for the differentiation between T cell lines. A competitive hybridization experiment with cells confirmed the specific fluorescence emission of the probes. Further studies with two cell lines and TO-FIT probes as well as terminal Cy7-labeled TO-FIT probes showed an increased TO emission in the presence of the complementary TCR mRNA target sequence in the cells. A second detection channel of the terminal Cy7 dye provided the advantage of comparing the Cy7- and TO-intensity ratio, thereby making it easier to exclude signals from unbound probe. This enabled the specific tagging of t cells. This was followed by the synthesis of QB-DNA-based FIT probes for the use in various biological applications e.g. as a pan selective marker for Influenza A infection. Moreover, the synthesis and evaluation of new dyes with an absorption maximum at 590/596 nm was performed. The incorporation of a cyclic PNA monomer next to the TO dye has also been realized to improve responsiveness and brightness in PNA-FIT probes.

<p>This thesis, consisting of six papers and a summary, studies the area of continuous time financial mathematics. A unifying theme for many of the problems studied is the implications of possible mis-specifications of models. Intimately connected with this question is, perhaps surprisingly, convexity properties of option prices. We also study qualitative behavior of different optimal stopping boundaries appearing in option pricing.</p><p>In Paper I a new condition on the contract function of an American option is provided under which the option price increases monotonically in the volatility. It is also shown that American option prices are continuous in the volatility.</p><p>In Paper II an explicit pricing formula for the perpetual American put option in the Constant Elasticity of Variance model is derived. Moreover, different properties of this price are studied.</p><p>Paper III deals with the Russian option with a finite time horizon. It is shown that the value of the Russian option solves a certain free boundary problem. This information is used to analyze the optimal stopping boundary.</p><p>A study of perpetual game options is performed in Paper IV. One of the main results provides a condition under which the value of the option is increasing in the volatility.</p><p>In Paper V options written on several underlying assets are considered. It is shown that, within a large class of models, the only model for the stock prices that assigns convex option prices to all convex contract functions is geometric Brownian motion.</p><p>Finally, in Paper VI it is shown that the optimal stopping boundary for the American put option is convex in the standard Black-Scholes model. </p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2006.<br>Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 87-98). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

In the present thesis we analyze different types of additive decompositions of homogeneous polynomials. These problems are usually called Waring-type problems and their story go back to the mid-19th century and, recently, they received the attention of a large community of mathematicians and engineers due to several applications. At the same time, they are related to branches of Commutative Algebra and Algebraic Geometry. The classical Waring problem investigates decompositions of homogeneous polynomials as sums of powers of linear forms. Via Apolarity Theory, the study of these decompositions for a given polynomial F is related to the study of configuration of points apolar to F, namely, configurations of points whose defining ideal is contained in the ``perp'' ideal associated to F. In particular, we analyze which kind of minimal set of points can be apolar to some given polynomial in cases with small degrees and small number of variables. This let us introduce the concept of Waring loci of homogeneous polynomials. From a geometric point of view, questions about additive decompositions of polynomials can be described in terms of secant varieties of projective varieties. In particular, we are interested in the dimensions of such varieties. By using an old result due to Terracini, we can compute these dimensions by looking at the Hilbert series of homogeneous ideal. Hilbert series are very important algebraic invariants associated to homogeneous ideals. In the case of classical Waring problem, we have to look at power ideals, i.e., ideals generated by powers of linear forms. Via Apolarity Theory, their Hilbert series are related to Hilbert series of ideals of fat points, i.e., ideals of configurations of points with some multiplicity. In this thesis, we consider some special configuration of fat points. In general, Hilbert series of ideals of fat points is a very active field of research. We explain how it is related to the famous Fröberg's conjecture about Hilbert series of generic ideals. Moreover, we use Fröberg's conjecture to deduce the dimensions of several secant varieties of particular projective varieties and, then, to deduce results regarding some particular Waring-type problems for polynomials. In this thesis, we mostly work over the complex numbers. However, we also analyze the case of classical Waring decompositions for monomials over the real numbers. In particular, we classify for which monomials the minimal length of a decomposition in sum of powers of linear forms is independent from choosing the ground field as the field of complex or real numbers.

Premise: In the literary works of our anthropological and cultural imagination, the various languages and the different discursive practices are not necessarily quoted, expressly alluded to or declared through clear expressive mechanisms; instead, they rather constitute a substratum, a background, now consolidated, which with irony and intertextuality shines through the thematic and formal elements of each text. The various contaminations, hybridizations and promptings that we find in the expressive forms, the rhetorical procedures and the linguistic and thematic choices of post-modern literary texts are shaped as fluid and familiar categories. Exchanges and passages are no longer only allowed but also inevitable; the post-modern imagination is made up of an agglomeration of discourses that are no longer really separable, built up from texts that blend and quote one another, composing, each with its own specificities, the great family of the cultural products of our social scenario. A literary work, therefore, is not only a whole phenomenon, delimited hic et nunc by a beginning and an ending, but is a fragment of that complex, dense and boundless network that is given by the continual interrelations between human forms of communication and symbolization. The research hypothesis: A vision is delineated of comparative literature as a discipline attentive to the social contexts in which texts take shape and move and to the media-type consistency that literary phenomena inevitably take on. Hence literature is seen as an open systematicity that chooses to be contaminated by other languages and other discursive practices of an imagination that is more than ever polymorphic and irregular. Inside this interpretative framework the aim is to focus the analysis on the relationship that postmodern literature establishes with advertising discourse. On one side post-modern literature is inserted in the world of communication, loudly asserting the blending and reciprocal contamination of literary modes with media ones, absorbing their languages and signification practices, translating them now into thematic nuclei, motifs and sub-motifs and now into formal expedients and new narrative choices; on the other side advertising is chosen as a signification practice of the media universe, which since the 1960s has actively contributed to shaping the dynamics of our socio-cultural scenarios, in terms which are just as important as those of other discursive practices. Advertising has always been a form of communication and symbolization that draws on the collective imagination – myths, actors and values – turning them into specific narrative programs for its own texts. Hence the aim is to interpret and analyze this relationship both from a strictly thematic perspective – and therefore trying to understand what literature speaks about when it speaks about advertising, and seeking advertising quotations in post-modern fiction – and from a formal perspective, with a search for parallels and discordances between the rhetorical procedures, the languages and the verifiable stylistic choices in the texts of the two different signification practices. The analysis method chosen, for the purpose of constructive multiplication of the perspectives, aims to approach the analytical processes of semiotics, applying, when possible, the instruments of the latter, in order to highlight the thematic and formal relationships between literature and advertising. The corpus: The corpus of the literary texts is made up of various novels and, although attention is focused on the post-modern period, there will also be ineludible quotations from essential authors that with their works prompted various reflections: H. De Balzac, Zola, Fitzgerald, Joyce, Calvino, etc… However, the analysis focuses the corpus on three authors: Don DeLillo, Martin Amis and Aldo Nove, and in particular the followings novels: “Americana” (1971) and “Underworld” (1999) by Don DeLillo, “Money” (1984) by Martin Amis and “Woobinda and other stories without a happy ending” (1996) and “Superwoobinda” (1998) by Aldo Nove. The corpus selection is restricted to these novels for two fundamental reasons: 1. assuming parameters of spatio-temporal evaluation, the texts are representative of different socio-cultural contexts and collective imaginations (from the masterly glimpses of American life by DeLillo, to the examples of contemporary Italian life by Nove, down to the English imagination of Amis) and of different historical moments (the 1970s of DeLillo’s Americana, the 1980s of Amis, down to the 1990s of Nove, decades often used as criteria of division of postmodernism into phases); 2. adopting a perspective of strictly thematic analysis, as mentioned in the research hypothesis, the variations and the constants in the novels (thematic nuclei, topoi, images and narrative developments) frequently speak of advertising and inside the narrative plot they affirm various expressions and realizations of it: value ones, thematic ones, textual ones, urban ones, etc… In these novels the themes and the processes of signification of advertising discourse pervade time, space and the relationships that the narrator character builds around him. We are looking at “particle-characters” whose endless facets attest the influence and contamination of advertising in a large part of the narrative developments of the plot: on everyday life, on the processes of acquisition and encoding of the reality, on ideological and cultural baggage, on the relationships and interchanges with the other characters, etc… Often the characters are victims of the implacable consequentiality of the advertising mechanism, since the latter gets the upper hand over the usual processes of communication, which are overwhelmed by it, wittingly or unwittingly (for example: disturbing openings in which the protagonist kills his or her parents on the basis of a spot, former advertisers that live life codifying it through the commercial mechanisms of products, sons and daughters of advertisers that as children instead of playing outside for whole nights saw tapes of spots.) Hence the analysis arises from the text and aims to show how much the developments and the narrative plots of the novels encode, elaborate and recount the myths, the values and the narrative programs of advertising discourse, transforming them into novel components in their own right. And also starting from the text a socio-cultural reference context is delineated, a collective imagination that is different, now geographically, now historically, and from comparison between them the aim is to deduce the constants, the similarities and the variations in the relationship between literature and advertising.

L’ermeneutica filosofica di Hans-Georg Gadamer – indubbiamente uno dei capisaldi del pensiero novecentesco – rappresenta una filosofia molto composita, sfaccettata e articolata, per così dire formata da una molteplicità di dimensioni diverse che si intrecciano l’una con l’altra. Ciò risulta evidente già da un semplice sguardo alla composizione interna della sua opera principale, Wahrheit und Methode (1960), nella quale si presenta una teoria del comprendere che prende in esame tre differenti dimensioni dell’esperienza umana – arte, storia e linguaggio – ovviamente concepite come fondamentalmente correlate tra loro. Ma questo quadro d’insieme si complica notevolmente non appena si prendano in esame perlomeno alcuni dei numerosi contributi che Gadamer ha scritto e pubblicato prima e dopo il suo opus magnum: contributi che testimoniano l’importante presenza nel suo pensiero di altre tematiche. Di tale complessità, però, non sempre gli interpreti di Gadamer hanno tenuto pienamente conto, visto che una gran parte dei contributi esegetici sul suo pensiero risultano essenzialmente incentrati sul capolavoro del 1960 (ed in particolare sui problemi della legittimazione delle Geisteswissenschaften), dedicando invece minore attenzione agli altri percorsi che egli ha seguito e, in particolare, alla dimensione propriamente etica e politica della sua filosofia ermeneutica. Inoltre, mi sembra che non sempre si sia prestata la giusta attenzione alla fondamentale unitarietà – da non confondere con una presunta “sistematicità”, da Gadamer esplicitamente respinta – che a dispetto dell’indubbia molteplicità ed eterogeneità del pensiero gadameriano comunque vige al suo interno. La mia tesi, dunque, è che estetica e scienze umane, filosofia del linguaggio e filosofia morale, dialogo con i Greci e confronto critico col pensiero moderno, considerazioni su problematiche antropologiche e riflessioni sulla nostra attualità sociopolitica e tecnoscientifica, rappresentino le diverse dimensioni di un solo pensiero, le quali in qualche modo vengono a convergere verso un unico centro. Un centro “unificante” che, a mio avviso, va individuato in quello che potremmo chiamare il disagio della modernità. In altre parole, mi sembra cioè che tutta la riflessione filosofica di Gadamer, in fondo, scaturisca dalla presa d’atto di una situazione di crisi o disagio nella quale si troverebbero oggi il nostro mondo e la nostra civiltà. Una crisi che, data la sua profondità e complessità, si è per così dire “ramificata” in molteplici direzioni, andando ad investire svariati ambiti dell’esistenza umana. Ambiti che pertanto vengono analizzati e indagati da Gadamer con occhio critico, cercando di far emergere i principali nodi problematici e, alla luce di ciò, di avanzare proposte alternative, rimedi, “correttivi” e possibili soluzioni. A partire da una tale comprensione di fondo, la mia ricerca si articola allora in tre grandi sezioni dedicate rispettivamente alla pars destruens dell’ermeneutica gadameriana (prima e seconda sezione) ed alla sua pars costruens (terza sezione). Nella prima sezione – intitolata Una fenomenologia della modernità: i molteplici sintomi della crisi – dopo aver evidenziato come buona parte della filosofia del Novecento sia stata dominata dall’idea di una crisi in cui verserebbe attualmente la civiltà occidentale, e come anche l’ermeneutica di Gadamer possa essere fatta rientrare in questo discorso filosofico di fondo, cerco di illustrare uno per volta quelli che, agli occhi del filosofo di Verità e metodo, rappresentano i principali sintomi della crisi attuale. Tali sintomi includono: le patologie socioeconomiche del nostro mondo “amministrato” e burocratizzato; l’indiscriminata espansione planetaria dello stile di vita occidentale a danno di altre culture; la crisi dei valori e delle certezze, con la concomitante diffusione di relativismo, scetticismo e nichilismo; la crescente incapacità a relazionarsi in maniera adeguata e significativa all’arte, alla poesia e alla cultura, sempre più degradate a mero entertainment; infine, le problematiche legate alla diffusione di armi di distruzione di massa, alla concreta possibilità di una catastrofe ecologica ed alle inquietanti prospettive dischiuse da alcune recenti scoperte scientifiche (soprattutto nell’ambito della genetica). Una volta delineato il profilo generale che Gadamer fornisce della nostra epoca, nella seconda sezione – intitolata Una diagnosi del disagio della modernità: il dilagare della razionalità strumentale tecnico-scientifica – cerco di mostrare come alla base di tutti questi fenomeni egli scorga fondamentalmente un’unica radice, coincidente peraltro a suo giudizio con l’origine stessa della modernità. Ossia, la nascita della scienza moderna ed il suo intrinseco legame con la tecnica e con una specifica forma di razionalità che Gadamer – facendo evidentemente riferimento a categorie interpretative elaborate da Max Weber, Martin Heidegger e dalla Scuola di Francoforte – definisce anche «razionalità strumentale» o «pensiero calcolante». A partire da una tale visione di fondo, cerco quindi di fornire un’analisi della concezione gadameriana della tecnoscienza, evidenziando al contempo alcuni aspetti, e cioè: primo, come l’ermeneutica filosofica di Gadamer non vada interpretata come una filosofia unilateralmente antiscientifica, bensì piuttosto come una filosofia antiscientista (il che naturalmente è qualcosa di ben diverso); secondo, come la sua ricostruzione della crisi della modernità non sfoci mai in una critica “totalizzante” della ragione, né in una filosofia della storia pessimistico-negativa incentrata sull’idea di un corso ineluttabile degli eventi guidato da una razionalità “irrazionale” e contaminata dalla brama di potere e di dominio; terzo, infine, come la filosofia di Gadamer – a dispetto delle inveterate interpretazioni che sono solite scorgervi un pensiero tradizionalista, autoritario e radicalmente anti-illuminista – non intenda affatto respingere l’illuminismo scientifico moderno tout court, né rinnegarne le più importanti conquiste, ma più semplicemente “correggerne” alcune tendenze e recuperare una nozione più ampia e comprensiva di ragione, in grado di render conto anche di quegli aspetti dell’esperienza umana che, agli occhi di una razionalità “limitata” come quella scientista, non possono che apparire come meri residui di irrazionalità. Dopo aver così esaminato nelle prime due sezioni quella che possiamo definire la pars destruens della filosofia di Gadamer, nella terza ed ultima sezione – intitolata Una terapia per la crisi della modernità: la riscoperta dell’esperienza e del sapere pratico – passo quindi ad esaminare la sua pars costruens, consistente a mio giudizio in un recupero critico di quello che egli chiama «un altro tipo di sapere». Ossia, in un tentativo di riabilitazione di tutte quelle forme pre- ed extra-scientifiche di sapere e di esperienza che Gadamer considera costitutive della «dimensione ermeneutica» dell’esistenza umana. La mia analisi della concezione gadameriana del Verstehen e dell’Erfahrung – in quanto forme di un «sapere pratico (praktisches Wissen)» differente in linea di principio da quello teorico e tecnico – conduce quindi ad un’interpretazione complessiva dell’ermeneutica filosofica come vera e propria filosofia pratica. Cioè, come uno sforzo di chiarificazione filosofica di quel sapere prescientifico, intersoggettivo e “di senso comune” effettivamente vigente nella sfera della nostra Lebenswelt e della nostra esistenza pratica. Ciò, infine, conduce anche inevitabilmente ad un’accentuazione dei risvolti etico-politici dell’ermeneutica di Gadamer. In particolare, cerco di esaminare la concezione gadameriana dell’etica – tenendo conto dei suoi rapporti con le dottrine morali di Platone, Aristotele, Kant e Hegel – e di delineare alla fine un profilo della sua ermeneutica filosofica come filosofia del dialogo, della solidarietà e della libertà.<br>The philosophical hermeneutics of Hans-Georg Gadamer – one of the cornerstones in the 20th century philosophy – certainly represents a compound, prismatic and articulated thought, i.e. a philosophy made up of several different dimensions entwined with each other. A simple look at Gadamer’s major work Wahrheit und Methode (1960) can already clarify this point, since the book displays a theory of understanding which takes account of three different dimensions of human experience – art, history and language – obviously conceived as mutually related. But this picture gets a lot more complicated if one takes into consideration the many books and articles Gadamer wrote before and after his magnum opus which testify the presence of other interests and topics in his thought. Nevertheless the complexity of Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics has not always been recognized by his interpreters, who often concentrated only upon Wahrheit und Methode (in particular upon the problems of the Geisteswissenschaften) and gave no attention to other subjects (in particular the ethical and political dimension of his hermeneutical philosophy). Moreover it seems to me that many interpreters didn’t pay enough attention to the fundamental unity – which of course doesn’t mean “sistematicity” – that reigns in Gadamer’s philosophy despite its pluralist and heterogeneous character. My point is that the many dimensions of Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics – aesthetics and human sciences, language philosophy and moral philosophy, dialogue with the Greeks and critical confrontation with modern thought, reflections upon anthropological problems and observations concerning our actual sociopolitical, scientific and technological condition – actually represent the different sides of one thought centered on what we could define the malaise of modernity. In other words, it seems to me that the whole of Gadamer’s philosophy originates from the consciousness raising of the critical situation in which our world finds itself today: a deep crisis which, according to Gadamer, branches out into manifold directions and various dimensions of human life. My interpretation tries then to give an account of both the pars destruens and pars costruens of Gadamer’s philosophy, namely of his attempt to investigate and take a hard look at this critical dimensions of human existence in order to let out the point at issue and propose remedies, alternatives and possible solutions.. In the first section – entitled Phenomenology of modernity: the various symptoms of the crisis – I explain how a great part of the 20th century philosophy has been concerned with the idea and the feeling of a crisis of our culture and our civilization. In my view Gadamer’s hermeneutics too takes part in this global philosophical discourse. I try then to show and illustrate the various symptoms of this crisis analyzed by Gadamer, such as: socioeconomic pathologies of our bureaucratic societies; world-wide growth of the Western way of life to the detriment of other cultures; crisis of our values and beliefs (and consequent spread of relativism, skepticism and nihilism); growing inability to have meaningful relations with art, poetry and culture; finally, problems concerning the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the risk of an ecological crisis, and the disturbing, unpredictable consequences of some recent scientific discoveries (above all in the field of genetics). Once outlined Gadamer’s critical view of our age, in the second section – entitled Diagnosis of the malaise of modernity: the spread of instrumental and techno-scientific reason – I try to show how, according to Gadamer, a common root lies at the base of the many symptoms of the crisis, namely the birth of modern science and its close, intrinsic relationship with technique and with a specific form of rationality that Gadamer – with reference to the analysis developed by such thinkers as Max Weber, Martin Heidegger and the so-called Frankfurt School – calls «instrumental reason» or «calculating thinking». I try then to give an account of the gadamerian conception of techno-science, meanwhile highlighting some aspects: first, how Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics should not be interpreted as an antiscientific thought but rather as an antiscientistic thought (which of course is something quite different); second, how Gadamer’s reconstruction of the malaise of modernity never ends up in a “totalizing” critique of reason, nor in some sort of negativistic and pessimistic philosophy of history centered on the idea of an inescapable course of the events guided by a polluted, “irrational” rationality; third, how Gadamer – despite all the inveterate interpretations that read his philosophy as a form of authoritarian, traditionalist and antienlightenment thought – never aimed to reject the modern scientific Enlightenment tout court but rather to “correct” some of its tendencies and so to regain a wider and more comprehensive concept of reason. After having analyzed in the first two sections the pars destruens of Gadamer’s philosophy, in the third and last section of my work – entitled Therapy of the crisis of modernity: the rediscovery of experience and practical knowledge – I take into consideration the pars costruens of his thought, which according to my interpretation consists of a rediscovery of what he calls «a different kind of knowledge», i.e. of a rehabilitation of the all those forms of pre- and extra-scientific experience that constitute the «hermeneutical dimension» of human life. My analysis of Gadamer’s conception of understanding and experience – seen as forms of «practical knowledge» different in principle from theoretical and technical knowledge – leads then to a global interpretation of philosophical hermeneutics as practical philosophy, i.e. as a philosophical elucidation of the prescientific, intersubjective and “of commonsense” reasoning which characterizes our «life-world» and our practical life. But obviously this analysis also implies a special consideration of the ethical and political implications of Gadamer’s thought. In particular, I try to examine Gadamer’s conception of ethics – taking account of his relation with Plato’s, Aristotle’s, Kant’s and Hegel’s moral theories – and finally I sketch an outline of his philosophical hermeneutics as a philosophy of freedom, dialogue and solidarity.

Questo lavoro pone i problema di una presentazione filosofica della Meditazione milanese, nel suo rapporto con l'opera letteraria di Gadda e, contemporaneamente, instaura un confronto tra il complesso della produzione gaddiana (saggistica e narrativa) e l'ipotesi, messa in rilevo da Merleau-Ponty, di trovare al di fuori del vocabolario filosofico le possibilità di esprimere e raccontare la realtà che ci circonda. Nel costante riferimento alle posizioni teoretiche espresse nella Meditazione milanese, non solo viene inscritta la figura di Gadda entro un panorama filosofico, ma risulta problematizzato lo statuto stesso della filosofia. .<br>Questo lavoro pone i problema di una presentazione filosofica della Meditazione milanese, nel suo rapporto con l'opera letteraria di Gadda e, contemporaneamente, instaura un confronto tra il complesso della produzione gaddiana (saggistica e narrativa) e l'ipotesi, messa in rilevo da Merleau-Ponty, di trovare al di fuori del vocabolario filosofico le possibilità di esprimere e raccontare la realtà che ci circonda. Nel costante riferimento alle posizioni teoretiche espresse nella Meditazione milanese, non solo viene inscritta la figura di Gadda entro un panorama filosofico, ma risulta problematizzato lo statuto stesso della filosofia. .