Thesis (M.S. in Management)--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2010. / Thesis Advisor(s): Mehay, Stephen L. ; Westerbeck, Margery A. "March 2010." Description based on title screen as viewed on April 21, 2010. Author(s) subject terms: Continuation, Retention, Attrition, SMCR, Activation, Mobilization, Monetary Incentives, Bonus, Marine Corps Reserve, Probit Regression, End Strength, Prior Service. Includes bibliographical references (p. 139-142). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.S. in Software Engineering)--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2010. / Thesis Advisor(s): Horner, Douglas. Second Reader: Michael James B. "March 2010." Description based on title screen as viewed on April 27, 2010. Author(s) subject terms: Rapid application development, quadrotor helicopter, quadcopter, inertial measurement unit, digital signal processing, Nintendo Wii Motionplus, dsPIC. Includes bibliographical references (p. 65-66). Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1975. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Bibliography: leaves 202-209.

Thesis (M.S.)--Air Force Institute of Technology, 1998. / "AFIT/GIR/LAL/98S-10." Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available via the Internet from DTIC.

Background: Copula methods have been proposed as a way of modeling dependence between random variables because it lies in the flexibility of the assumption on marginals. As previous authors stated, "A copula is a function which joins or “couples” a multivariate distribution function to its one-dimensional marginal distribution functions. Given that cost and effectiveness are often related to each other and therefore they show statistical dependence, the use of copulas to handle uncertainty caused by sampling variation could be potentially useful when cost-effectiveness analyses (CEA) are performed using patient-level data. The objective of this study was to empirically compare various copula distributions with two traditional methods, namely, the bootstrapping approach and the Bayesian approach assuming that incremental cost and LYs gained are bivariate normally distributed. Methods: The patient-level data from a previously published observational study were analyzed using four copula distributions: independent, Farlie-Gumbel-Morgenstern (FGM), Frank and Clayton copulas. Using the results from the traditional methods previously published, models were compared in terms of incremental cost, incremental life years (LYs) gained and the cost-effectiveness acceptability curves (CEACs) based on the net monetary benefit (NMB). Results: Using the traditional methods provided similar results. The most pronounced impact was the improvement in precision given that the confidence intervals were so much narrower for the copulas methods in comparison to the traditional methods. Consequently, the probability of being optimal derived from the Frank and Clayton copulas were close to 1.0 at a willingness to pay (𝜆) of CA$20,000. By contrast, the traditional methods were optimal for a 𝜆 of $100,000 CAD. Conclusions: The results of this study demonstreate the potential impact and importance of copulas in patient-level cost-effectiveness analysis. This approach could be particularly important in those situations where the data suggests some kind of dependence and some restrictions on the marginals, as observed in our case study. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Yes / The objective of this study is to provide an evidence base concerning the costs and benefits of conflict prevention (CP) activities (defined as those activities undertaken primarily to reduce the risk of conflict), compared with those of engaging after large-scale conflict has begun.

No description available.

The document most frequently used to support a water resource project's economic feasibility is the commercial benefit-cost analysis, which quantifies tangible and direct project consequences. The objective of this type of analysis is simply to maximize net monetary benefits. This analysis assigns an arbitrary monetary value to ecological and social disruptions, if it does not ignore these effects entirely. An improvement on this method is the social benefit-cost analysis, which assesses sane intangible costs such as air and noise pollution. Unfortunately, even the social analysis usually neglects the sometimes profound effects that a large water resource project has upon quality of life, particularly with regards to massive relocations. The purpose of this dissertation is to resolve these problems by presenting a method by which a water resource study team may use five unique viewpoints - technical, organizational, personal, social, and environmental - to quantify and compare the true benefits and costs of project construction and operation. The study team begins by rigorously documenting the three general categories of project consequence (economic, social and environmental) and assigning each benefit or cost a relative value within category according to perceived positive or negative effects. The second step is to use these quantifications to produce three impact vs. dam height curves. The final and most difficult step in this study process is to assign a relative weight to the respective economic, social, and enviromental impact clusters, depending on national priorities and the biases and personal viewpoints of the decisiomaker (s). The final product of this procedure is a single curve which is used to further investigate and assess the overall feasibility of a water resource project and the 'optimum' range of dam heights. All of the possible impacts of a large water resource project, whether they be tangible or intangible, should be investigated in order to produce an authentic indicator of project efficiency. The only way to insure that all impacts are properly accounted for is to perform an exhaustive examination of a water resource project from the five perspectives mentioned above. The body of this dissertation is an example analysis based upon the proposed Three Gorge Dam and Reservoir on the Yangtze River in the People's Republic of China. This project will be the world's largest power plant at 13,000 megawatts. Because of its size, anticipated impacts, and the interest it has generated all over the world, the Three Gorge project is considered the ideal subject of a comprehensive multiple perspective analysis as described in this study.

A significant number of positions in the Norwegian Armed Forces that are open for assignment are not filled because they do not receive any qualified applicants. Over the last five years, over 30 percent of the announced job vacancies have been unfilled. This thesis explores two different areas of research to help remedy this / auction theory and assignment market mechanisms. Auction and assignment market theory and practice are examined to reveal how these mechanisms might provide incentives and improve the quality of military assignments. This research finds that both of these mechanisms fall short when used independently. Auction theory is problematic when both sides of the market have preferences over the outcome / assignment models are problematic when there are system level concerns about which jobs remain unfilled. This thesis introduces a hybrid solution, containing elements of both auction theory and assignment markets, which has the potential to improve the current matching process. This research improves our knowledge and understanding about both of these research areas, and their interactions.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 114 p. : ill. (some col.), maps (some col.). Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.