A major concern for investors in residential real estate throughout the United States is the decline in value of residential real estate. The high demand for residential real estate bas increased prices significantly. Many analysts believe that the recent price increases have been fueled by speculation and there is currently potential for a decline in prices. This thesis studies various methods by which investors might potentially hedge the decline in residential real estate values that many analysts predict will occur. Three possible methods that could provide investors with a cost-effective way to hedge a decline in residential real estate values are studied in this thesis. These methods are taking a short position in a portfolio of stocks from the PHLX Housing Index, buying Morgan Stanley I 00% Bear Capital Protected Notes, and selling a Hedgelet portfolio, which consists of binary options offered by Hedgestreet. Throughout the analysis of the hedging strategies, the objective was to determine which hedging strategy would provide the best possible hedge at the lowest possible cost to the investor. I concluded that none of the three hedging strategies would provide a cost-effective hedge for the investor.

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The purpose of the study was to test an intrinsically-motivated interaction approach, designed to increase distance education support, for both content and motivation, in a cost-effective manner. The literature summarized shows that distance education students desire content and motivational support beyond course materials and are limited in their success without it. Further, while researchers explore increased interaction as a solution, professors usually do not have time for it and attempts to provide it are often restricted by institutions' limited resources. Very little has been published on the effects of distance education tutors and the need for more research in this area has been noted, especially with regards to cost-effective, scalable service models. Even when attempts to increase interaction are successful, they are usually achieved by requiring participation in online discussion boards, making them mechanical and frustrating to students. The proposed solution is an on-demand tutoring service to increase (a) achievement, (b) completion, (c) satisfaction and (d) cost-effectiveness. Participants included Brigham Young University Independent Study students enrolled in a college algebra (MATH 110) course. A quasi-experimental research design, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), graphing techniques, correlation, and chi square analyses were used to determine the effects of the on-demand tutoring intervention. No statistically significant differences were apparent in the midterm scores, final exam scores, satisfaction ratings, or completion rates. However, despite unexpectedly low usage, the tutor appears to have been an adequate substitute for the professor in answering students' questions, and the potential for providing cost-effective on-demand tutoring services seems attainable. A summary of the study's strengths and weaknesses provides insights for improved practice and future research.

According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), over 21 million individuals in the United States have diabetes mellitus. Of those affected by the disease, most (between 90-95%) have the type 2 variety. It is estimated that nearly three-fourths of individuals with diabetes also suffer from hypertension. Hypertension is an insidious disease that can have devastating long-term consequences. Hypertension in patients with diabetes contributes to approximately 75% of all diabetes-related complications. Thus, the comorbidities of type 2 diabetes and hypertension are identified as being responsible for a myriad of vascular problems in affected patients. According to both the JNC 7 Report and the ADA guidelines, patients with diabetes and hypertension have demonstrated observable clinical benefit from use of the following antihypertensive drug classes: diuretics, beta-blockers, ACE Inhibitors, angiotensin-receptor blockers, and calcium-channel blockers. However, despite identification of the negative relationship between arterial hypertension/type 2 diabetes and vascular complications, uncertainty remains as to which pharmacological treatment would best prevent the frequent and costly complications in patients with these comorbidities. A Markov model utilizing both 1 st and 2 nd order Monte Carlo simulation was created to simulate the effects of each recommended drug class on the complications of stroke, myocardial infarction, the microvascular complication of nephropathy, and patient mortality. The present research was conducted with the belief that appropriate selection of an antihypertensive agent for the treatment of high blood pressure in patients with type 2 diabetes will minimize the occurrence of important cardiovascular and microvascular complications, thereby reducing the economic toll and increasing the life expectancy of patients plagued by these two disease states. The findings of the present work illustrate the cost and effectiveness of each therapeutic class of agents advocated for use in patients with type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Furthermore, the value of ACE Inhibitors compared to the other four drug classes espoused for use in this patient population clearly emerged. Ideally, the results of the current work will have the added benefit of partially eliminating the subjective value judgments that clinicians are required to make when deciding which pharmacotherapeutic alternative to initiate in a patient with both clinical conditions.

The industry of the civil Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) has been growing rapidly in past few years. In many scenarios, accomplishing a task using a single UAV is either not cost-effective due to the size of the project or not even feasible due to the existence of unforeseen environment conditions and constraints (e.g., weather conditions and/or physical obstacles). This limitation motivates the need to move to solutions that incorporate a network of autonomous UAVs that carry out a joint and coordinated mission. This thesis introduces a multi-agent system and related algorithms that solve the graph traversal problem in a distributed and decentralized manner while optimizing a set of costs. The environment is modelled as a graph where every node is the point for the agents to accomplish some task or to distinguish the point as an obstacle where traveling is not possible. The online distributed algorithms are implemented on a network of UAVs and we report the results of rigorous simulations and real experiments with a network of UAVs. The results clearly validate our claim that a network UAVs can be effectively employed to accomplish a given task. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

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The objective of this thesis is to develop a maintenance approach that fulfills the requirements of Industry 4.0. It explores the role and importance of maintenance activities in today’s industry. Then, it develops the features and tasks required to be performed by maintenance to fulfill the demands of Industry 4.0. Finally, it develops a reference model to be used in designing maintenance system for Industry 4.0. To perform these studies, real data were collected and applied as well as a typical scenario was implemented. The results achieved in the papers of this thesis are 1) a mathematical representation and application of a model that identifies, analyses and prioritizes economic weakness in working areas related to production, 2) a model that analyses, identifies and prioritizes failures that impact the competitive advantages and profitability of companies, 3) characterization of a suitable maintenance technique for Industry 4.0 and 4) a reference model i.e. a framework, that could be utilized to develop a maintenance approach for Industry 4.0. The conclusion of this thesis confirms that maintenance has a significant impact on companies’ competitive advantages, other working areas and profitability. To achieve a suitable maintenance technique for Industry 4.0, this technique must be able to monitor, diagnose, prognosis, schedule, assist in execution and present the relevant information. In order to perform these tasks several features must be acquired, the most important features are to be: digitized, automated, intelligent, able to communicate with other systems for data gathering and monitoring, openness, detect deviation in the condition at an early stage, cost- effective, flexible for adding new CM techniques, provide accurate decisions and scalable. The developed framework could be used as a base to design a maintenance system for Industry 4.0. This study contributes to our understanding of the maintenance importance in today’s industry and how to develop a maintenance approach for Industry 4.0.

Com o objetivo de estudar o custo da produção segura, de salgados, em uma fábrica localizada no munícipio de Jundiaí, São Paulo, foi realizado um estudo de caso por observação de processos e registros, em planilhas de Excel, dos custos da produção do alimento seguro com a execução das Boas Práticas de Fabricação referente ao período de agosto de 2010 a julho de 2011 e posteriormente retirados os custos pertinentes as Boas Práticas de Fabricação para comparação entre ambas às situações. Também foram levantados os custos das obrigações legais e sua influência no resultado final do preço unitário. Para identificar os custos diretos de uma produção que assegura a qualidade do alimento, mantendo-o inócuo, foram utilizados os conceitos de custos variáveis. As contas foram agrupadas segundo seu destino de utilização. Foram estudadas também as mudanças de hábitos alimentares devido à mudança de comportamento, especialmente das mulheres que tem crescente participação nas atividades remuneradas, fora do lar. O perfil de consumo das famílias está mudando e com este o aumento de ocorrências de doenças causadas por contaminação alimentar, que segundo os autores estudados acontece com maior frequência do que se tem registrado de fato. Para entender melhor esta relação foi realizada uma pesquisa bibliográfica sobre a evolução do consumo, aumento da demanda de alimentos prontos para consumo, riscos de contaminação alimentar e doenças de origem alimentar, as normas técnicas, legislações e políticas públicas pertinentes à fabricação do alimento seguro que reúnem informações para melhorar a qualidade dos alimentos produzidos. Nos resultados encontrados os custos variáveis tiveram menor alteração em relação à simulação do não cumprimento das boas práticas de fabricação (BPF) e das obrigações legais, a maior influência foi sobre os custos fixos. A redução encontrada nos custos totais (soma dos custos variáveis com os fixos) para a situação onde os custos pertinentes ao cumprimento das BPF foram retirados foi de 5,8% e de 16,4% quando retirados os custos referentes às obrigações legais, que resulta na soma de 22,2% de diminuição dos custos, percentual este que favorece a produção caseira (informal), quando comparado com a produção formal. O resultado financeiro obtido quando cumpridas todas as exigências de BPF e obrigações legais foi negativo em 11,9% e na simulação da ausência destas práticas e exigências foi positivo em 17,5% (situação caseira e informal). Estes resultados estão relacionados com a utilização da capacidade produtiva instalada, que foi de 50%, equivalente a 43,9 t. e, portanto, existe ainda possibilidade de mudanças nos resultados ao atingir a capacidade ótima de produção. / With the aim of studying the cost of finger food safe production in a factory located in the municipality of Jundiaí, São Paulo, we conducted a case study by observation of processes and records, in Excel spreadsheets, of the cost of food safe production with the implementation of Good Manufacturing Practices for the period from August 2010 to July 2011 and subsequently withdrawn the costs involved with Good Manufacturing Practices for comparison between the two situations. We also raised the costs of legal obligations and its influence on the final result of the unit price. To identify the direct costs of production, which ensures the quality of food, keeping it harmless, we used the concepts of variable costs. The accounts were grouped according to their destination of use. We also studied the changes in eating habits due to behavior change, especially women who have increased participation in paid work outside home. The profile of household consumption is changing and consequently increased occurrences of diseases caused by contaminated food, which according to the authors studied happens more frequently than thought. To better understand this relationship we conducted a search on consumption trends, rising demand for ready to eat foods, risks of food contamination and foodborne diseases, technical standards, legislation and public policy pertinent to the manufacture of safe food to gather information to improve the quality of food produced. In the results the variable costs had less changes in relation to the simulation of non-compliance with good manufacturing practices (GMP) and legal obligations, the greatest influence was on the fixed costs. The reduction found in the total costs (sum of variable costs with fixed) where the costs pertaining to the enforcement of GMP were removed was 5.8% and 16.4% when taken out costs related to legal obligations, which sum results in a 22.2% decrease in costs, which favors home production (informal) when compared with the formal production. The financial result when met all the requirements of GMP and legal obligations was negative in 11.9% and in simulation and practical absence of these requirements was positive in 17.5% (homely and informal). These results are related to the utilization of the production capacity of 50%, equivalent to 43.9 tons, and therefore there is a possibility of changes in the results if optimum production is achieved.

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Dans les pays développés, l’eau potable est distribuée au domicile des usagers. Ce confort requier tun long linéaire de réseau de forte valeur patrimoniale. Pour maintenir un équilibre entre ressources financières et performances, il est important d’essayer de renouveler les tronçons au meilleur moment possible. Ce manuscrit présente les modèles court (1 à 3 ans), moyen et long terme ( > 30 ans)actuellement employés. Les processus court terme semblent assez efficaces, mais les méthodes moyen et long terme restent frustes. Le modèle OPTIMEAU propose une approche long terme pour obtenir une vision globale du patrimoine de canalisations et rationaliser sa gestion, tout en restant en phase avec les pratiques opérationnelles de programmation à court terme. Cette démarche, fondée sur des modèles statistiques de survie, est testée à partir des données réelles de 3 services d’eau Européens : le SEDIF (Syndicat des Eaux d’Ile de France), le Grand Lyon et eau service Lausanne en Suisse. L’originalité de ce modèle réside dans l’estimation de la distribution des âges à la mise hors service passée, clef de voûte dans la construction de onze indicateurs liés aux finances, aux réalisations et à la performance future des services. / In developed countries, drinking water is distributed to households. This comfort requires a long networkwith a high value. To optimize resources and performance, it is important to renew pipe sectionsat the best possible time. This thesis presents the short (1-3 years), medium and long term (> 30 years)models commonly employed. The short-term processes seem quite effective, but long term methods remainrough. The OPTIMEAU model proposes a long-term approach to get a prospective overview ofpipes and improve its management, while remaining connected to the technical practices at short-termlevel. This approach, based on survival statistical models, is tested using actual data of three Europeanwater services : SEDIF (Syndicat des Eaux d’Ile de France), Grand Lyon and eauservice Lausanne inSwitzerland. The originality of this model lies in the estimation of the past decommissioning age distribution,keystone in the construction of eleven indicators related to finance, achievements and futureperformance of water utilities.