The thesis analyses how the standard model of liberalised electricity markets that was developed to increase the efficiency of electricity supply can deal with new objectives. While the liberalisation literature argues that additional objectives can be incorporated in the market framework through price signals, a large body of literature based on evolutionary economics argues that innovation and systemic transformation require governance mechanisms that complement the price mechanism of the market to overcome the lock-in of the existing system and coordinate innovation processes. The thesis focuses on the integration of distributed generation (DG) into electricity networks. In the standard model the governance of networks is mainly based on incentive regulation by independent regulators. Thus, the main question is how DG can be integrated into this regime and whether and how it needs to evolve. The research question is broken down according to both different governance issues (connection, integration, innovation, transformation) and different governance levels on which they can be addressed. This is analysed from two angles: Firstly, there is a mainly theoretical discussion of network regulation. Various approaches to amending the standard model are discussed. Secondly, this is complemented by country case studies of the UK and Denmark. The conceptual analysis shows how incentive regulation can accommodate the efficient integration of DG as an additional objective. There is also scope for this model to incorporate governance mechanisms that are geared towards infrastructure transformation. The UK case study shows the practical implementation of this approach and corresponding difficulties. As for Denmark – a DG and network transformation pioneer – the standard model plays a marginal role and economic issues are mainly dealt with outside regulation. The same is true for mechanisms beyond economic incentives. The thesis shows the potential of the standard model to pursue new objectives as well as the need to broaden the scope beyond governance based on economic incentives.

Chan Pui Man. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-105). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Main Problems --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Motivation --- p.5 / Chapter 1.3 --- Present Works --- p.7 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Estimation of the Eigenvalues in a Wishart Distribution --- p.11 / Chapter 2.1 --- Review of Previous Works --- p.14 / Chapter 2.2 --- Some Useful Statistical and Mathematical Results --- p.17 / Chapter 2.3 --- Improved Estimation of A under Squared Error Loss L1 --- p.23 / Chapter 2.4 --- Simulation Study for the Wishart Distribution under Squared Error Loss --- p.28 / Chapter 2.5 --- Discussions on Wishart Distribution Under Squared Error Loss --- p.32 / Chapter 2.6 --- Improved Estimation of A under the Entropy Loss(det) L2 --- p.33 / Chapter 2.7 --- Simulation Study for the Wishart Distribution Under Entropy Loss L2 --- p.38 / Chapter 2.8 --- Discussions on Wishart Distribution Under Entropy Loss --- p.44 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Estimation of the Eigenvalues in a Multivariate F Distribution --- p.46 / Chapter 3.1 --- Review of Previous Works --- p.49 / Chapter 3.2 --- Some Useful Statistical and Mathematical Results --- p.50 / Chapter 3.3 --- Improved Estimation of A under the Squared Loss L1 --- p.54 / Chapter 3.4 --- Simulation Study for F Distribution under Squared Error Loss L1 --- p.62 / Chapter 3.5 --- Discussions on F distribution under Squared Error Loss --- p.68 / Chapter 3.6 --- Improved Estimation of A under the Entropy Loss(det) L2 --- p.69 / Chapter 3.7 --- Simulation Study for Multivariate F Distribution under Entropy Loss(det) L2 --- p.76 / Chapter 3.8 --- Discussions on F distribution under Entropy Loss --- p.86 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Inheritance of Dominance between Eigenvalues Loss Function and Matrix Function --- p.87 / Chapter 4.1 --- Significance of The Problem --- p.87 / Chapter 4.2 --- Inheritance of Dominance between Eigenvalues Estimator and Matrix Estimator under Squared Error Loss --- p.92 / Chapter 4.3 --- Inheritance of Dominance between Eigenvalues Estimator and Matrix Estimator under Entropy Loss --- p.97 / Chapter 4.4 --- Conclusion --- p.102 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.103

Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

How important are the distributional effects of international trade? This has been one of the most central questions pursued by international economists, particularly because much of the public opposition towards increased openness is due to the belief that welfare changes are unevenly distributed. In this dissertation, I rely on counterfactual analysis and natural experiments to study topics of international trade, welfare and inequality in the context of both developing and developed economies. In particular, I combine theoretical modeling and empirical analysis to examine the effects of international trade on (1) real wages of individuals within and across countries; (2) within-sector wage dispersion caused by heterogeneous responses of firms with different productivity levels to cheaper imported inputs. In each of the three chapters, I contribute to the existing literature by relaxing simplifying assumptions that have proved to be inconsistent with data and exploring new mechanisms that link international trade to inequality. Chapter 1, “Trade and Real Wages with Demand and Productivity Heterogeneity,” presents a general equilibrium model that incorporates the effects of trade liberalization on both an individual’s nominal wage and consumer price index. A vast majority of the literature focuses on the income channel, which is its effect on the distribution of nominal wages across workers. A small number of studies consider the expenditure channel, which is its differential impact on consumer price indices. It is well known that the consumption baskets of high-income and low-income consumers look very different. To our knowledge, there are only three case studies that have looked at these two channels jointly for individual countries, Argentina, Mexico and India. We provide a unified framework incorporating both channels by allowing for non-homothetic preferences and worker heterogeneity across jobs. In spite of its many dimensions of heterogeneity at the individual level, the model remains tractable enough that allows us to estimate its key parameters and perform counterfactuals. Chapter 2, “Trade and Real Wage Inequality: Cross-Country Evidence,” addresses the following question: what is the impact of trade liberalization on the distribution of real wages in a large cross-section of countries? Trade liberalization affects real-wage inequality through two channels: the distribution of nominal wages across workers and, if the rich and the poor consume different bundles of goods, the distribution of price indices across consumers. Prior work has focused mostly on one or the other of these channels, but no paper has studied both jointly for a large set of countries. Based on the theoretical framework in Chapter 1, I measure the distributional effects of trade liberalization incorporating both channels for a sample of 40 countries. More specifically, I parametrize the model using sector-level trade and production data. Because skill-intensive goods are also high-income elastic in the data, I find an intuitive, previously unexplored, and strong interaction between the two channels. According to my counterfactual analysis, trade cost reductions generate dramatically different results for both nominal wage inequality and price index inequality than what previous research has obtained by focusing on either channel alone. I find that trade cost reductions decrease the relative nominal wage of the poor and the relative price index for the poor in all countries. On net, real-wage inequality falls everywhere. Chapter 3, “Imported Inputs and Within-Sector Wage Dispersion,” proposes a new mechanism through which trade liberalization affects income inequality within a country: the use of imported inputs. Intuitively, a firm with higher initial productivity is better at using higher quality foreign inputs. This justifies paying the fixed costs for a larger set of imported inputs when input tariff liberalization decreases their relative price. The firm becomes more import intensive, which enhances its productivity advantage. As a result, the firm hires higher quality workers, produces higher quality products and pays higher wages to its workers, increasing within-sector wage dispersion. We find that both the mean and the dispersion of the distribution of firm productivity, markup and size went up during a period when China reduced its tariffs on imported inputs. More importantly, these results still hold when we consider the subset of firms that survived throughout the sample period, from 1998 to 2007. In addition, we develop a partial-equilibrium, heterogeneous-firm model with endogenous imported inputs and labor quality choice that is consistent with these observations. Finally, we provide empirical evidence that supports the model’s prediction that the differential change in the import intensity of firms with different productivity levels explains these patterns.

This dissertation comprises three essays that explore determinants of inequality and social cohesion. The first essay explores the role of inheritance customs in spurring social equality. Using historical data on inheritance customs in Germany, I document that municipalities that historically fairly shared wealth among siblings see higher levels of social equality today. I point to two mechanisms that help explain the correlation: increased wealth equality and stronger pro-egalitarian preferences. Interestingly, I also find that equitably inheriting communities are associated with higher incomes and greater income inequality. I interpret this finding to mean that equitable inheritance levels the playing field by rewarding talent not hereditary status. The second essay analyzes how Protestant missions affect community cohesion. Exploiting variation in missionary activity in southeastern Peru, I document that villages exposed to missions have lower levels of community cohesion compared to non-exposed villages. I adjudicate between two mechanisms that may explain this finding - social networks and pro-social preferences - and find the latter to be more plausible. The third essay expands on this finding by implementing a field experiment with a missionary group in South Sudan in order to parse out the causal effect of Protestant evangelism on social capital. Using attitudinal and behavioral measures, I document that missionaries lower group-level social capital while increasing individual-level pro-social behavior. Taken together, my dissertation adds theoretical considerations and empirical evidence to a broad debate in the social sciences that tries to make sense of variation in social equality and cohesion.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering / Anil Pahwa / Power distribution systems are transitioning from traditional centralized-control distribution grids to the modern distribution grids that are more customer-interactive and include microgrids (MGs) as well as various unpredictable and multi-scale distributed energy resources (DERs). However, power fueled by renewable DERs such as wind and solar is highly variable and high penetration of renewable DERs in distribution system may potentially degrade the grid reliability and power quality. Moreover, the growth of such generation sources will increase the number of variables and cause scalability concerns for distribution system operators (DSOs) in handling system optimization problems. Further, with development of MGs, DSO and MG may have different owners and schedule renewable and non-renewable DERs based on their own economic rules and policies while secure and economic operation of the entire system is necessary. The widespread integration of wind and solar and deployment of MGs in distribution system make the task of distribution system operation management quite challenging especially from the viewpoint of variability, scalability, and multi-authority operation management. This research develops unique models and methodologies to overcome such issues and make distribution grid operation, optimization and control more robust against renewable intermittency, intractability, and operation complexity. The objectives of this research are as follows: 1) to develop a three-phase unbalanced large-scale distribution system to serve as a benchmark for studying challenges related to integration of DERs, such as scalability concerns in optimization problems, incremental power losses, voltage rise, voltage fluctuations, volt/var control, and operation management; 2) to develop a novel hierarchical and multilevel distributed optimization for power loss minimization via optimal reactive power provisioning from rooftop PVs which addresses the scalability issues with widespread DER integration in large-scale networks; 3) to develop a dynamic operational scheme for residential PV smart inverters to mitigate the fluctuations from rooftop PV integration under all-weather-condition (fully sunny, overcast and transient cloudy days) while increasing network efficiency in terms of power losses, and number of transformer load tap changer (LTC) operation; 4) to develop a stochastic energy management model for multi-authority distribution system operating under uncertainty from load and wind generation, which is able to precisely account interactions between DSO and MGs.

Os peixes da família Myctophidae constituem do ponto de vista ecológico o grupo mais importante da fauna mesopelágica, tanto em número de espécies, quanto em biomassa. Fazem parte da dieta de uma grande variedade de cetáceos e peixes oceânicos. Representam também uma considerável fonte de proteína animal, ainda não diretamente explorada. Além disso, estes peixes tem papel importante na transferência de energia das camadas superficiais oceânicas para as mais profundas através de um comportamento migratório vertical diário de centenas de metros característico. O material deste estudo provém de um Programa de Avaliação do Potencial Sustentável de Recursos Vivos na Zona Econômica Exclusiva (Programa Revizee), no qual foram efetuados arrastos com rede de meia água com o N/Oc. Atlântico Sul, entre as isóbatas de 100 e 1500 m, de 22oS a 35oS, realizados no inverno de 1996, outono e primavera de 1997, e outono e primavera de 1999. As características morfológicas descritivas das 37 espécies coletadas foram analisadas e comparadas com dados morfológicos de exemplares coletados de outras regiões do Atlântico, constantes da literatura. A análise destas comparações mostrou que 17 das espécies apresentaram pelo menos uma diferença morfológica consistente nos caracteres estudados, sugerindo isolamento e diferenciação na área pesquisada. Além disso, informações sobre a distribuição geográfica destas espécies no Atlântico são apresentadas e discutidas frente aos padrões biogeográficos estabelecidos pelos pesquisadores para organismos mesopelágicos do Atlântico. Fica evidente que apesar da contribuição que este trabalho trouxe em relação ao conhecimento destes peixes nesta região, o número de amostras analisadas até hoje no Atlântico Sul ainda é pequeno para que o conhecimento taxonômico e de distribuição dos Myctophidae torne-se conclusivo. / From an ecological point of view the Myctophidae fishes constitute the most important group of the mesopelagic fauna, considering as much as number of species, as biomass. They are part of the diet of a great variety of cetaceans and marine fishes. They also represent a remarkable animal protein source, although not directly exploited. Besides these fishes have important role at energy transference from the upper productive zones to deeper, trophically poorer, through a daily vertical migratory behavior of hundreds of meters. The material of this study results from a Program of Evaluation of the Sustainable Potential of the Livings Resources in the Exclusive Economic Zone (Revizee Program), in which sampling was done using mid water trawl on board R/V Atlântico Sul, between 100 and 1500 meters deep, latitudes between 20oS and 30oS, during winter of 1996, autumn and spring of 1997, and autumn and spring of 1999. The descriptive morphological characteristics of the 37 collected species were analyzed and compared to the morphological data of specimes collected from other regions of Atlantic Ocean, according to the literature. The analysis of these comparisons showed that 17 of the species presented at least one consistent morphological difference in the studied characters, suggesting isolation and differentiation in the studied area. Moreover, information concerning geographical distribution of these species at the Atlantic Ocean are presented and argued front to the biogeographics patterns established by researchers of the mesopelagical ichthyofauna of the referred ocean. It is evident that despite the contribution of the present study to the knowledge of these fishes in this region, the quantity of samples analyzed until now in the South Atlantic Ocean is still small so that the taxonomic knowledge and distribution of the Myctophidae becomes conclusive.

Les réseaux de distribution de flux sont modélisés par des systèmes hyperboliques linéaires ou non linéaires de lois de conservation avec terme source. La surveillance de ces réseaux (diagnostic de défauts) nécessite la connaissance de certaines variables d’état. Or dans la plupart des cas, il n’est pas possible de mesurer toutes les variables d’états et des observateurs basés sur le système d’équations aux dérivées partielles représentant le réseau peuvent alors être utilisés. Dans cette thèse, l’observabilités des systèmes hyperboliques est tout d’abord étudiée puis les observateurs classiques et robustes à dérivées partielles, avec injection de l’erreur d’estimation aux frontières ou dans la dynamique du système sont proposés. Ces observateurs fournissent des estimations en ligne des signaux qui ne sont pas mesurés. Ces estimations seront utilisées pour le diagnostic des systèmes de distribution de flux. Les performances des observateurs et l’approche de diagnostic sont validées sur le système de distribution d’eau d’un bâtiment de l’Université de Lille 1 Sciences et Technologies, dans le cadre du projet SUNRISE SMART CITY. Des données réelles, prélevées sur le site en absence et en présence de fuites sont utilisées. / Distribution flow networks are modeled by linear or nonlinear systems of balance laws. The monitoring of these networks (Faults detection and isolation) requires knowledge of certain state variables. However, in most cases it is not possible to measure all the state variables. Observers based on the partial differential equations which modelize the network dynamic can be used to provide state estimates. In this dissertation, the observability of the hyperbolic systems is first studied and then classical and robust PDE observers with injection of the state estimation error at boundaries or in the system dynamics are proposed. These observers provide on-line estimation of signals that are not measured. The estimation is used for the diagnosis of distribution flow systems. The performance of the observers and the diagnosis approach are validated on real flow data collected from the water distribution system (WDS) of Polytech’Lille (Cité scientifique, University of Lille 1 Sciences and Technologies), within the framework of the SUNRISESMART CITY Project. Data which are taken from the WDS in the absence and in the presence ofleakeage are used.

The dissertation thesis is focused on pelagic fish distribution in the large freshwater bodies and the main factors affecting it. Paper 1 describes fish behaviour in a mouth of a midwater trawl during different day time periods as fish activity may importantly affect abundance estimates of the sampled fish stock. Acoustically recorded avoidance behaviour in a vertical direction is described. The second part of the thesis refers to the diel distribution and behaviour of the pelagic fry communities with a particular focus on the vertically migrating bathypelagic percid fry that occupy open water during early ontogeny. Paper 2 shows that the vertically migrating community can create a dominant part of fry assemblages in the reservoir, which is in contrast to many previous observations of an usually prevailing non-migrating epipelagic community. At their day refuge, bathypelagic percid fry (BPF) created dense shoals whose physical parameters are described. Paper 3 for the first time demonstrates that vertical shifts of BPF were under direct light control, hence were not a genetically fixed behaviour. A unique large-scale field experiment with the simultaneously operating up-looking and down looking transducers was carried out under artificially controlled light regime. Moreover effect of predation as the main ultimate cause of vertical shifts is discussed. The introductory part of the thesis opens with the current possibilities of assessing distribution and behaviour of fish in the open water. Benefits of shoaling/schooling behaviour during defence against predators, foraging and learning abilities of fish are mentioned and some implications of fish behaviour on the fish capture process are pointed out. The second chapter deals with the diel shifts between habitats that belong among the most common activities of fish. However, distribution of fish varies also over the long temporal scale and currently has been strongly affected by changing climate. Therefore, the main affects of climate change on the world´s fish populations are introduced using examples from both freshwater and marine environment.

by Su, Shi Chun = 宇宙微波背景各向異性的非高斯特性與旋轉宇宙的規範 / by 蘇士俊. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 78-83). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / by Su, Shi Chun = Yu zhou wei bo bei jing ge xiang yi xing de fei Gaosi te xing yu xuan zhuan yu zhou de gui fan / by Su Shijun. / Chapter 1 --- Review of Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropies --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Robertson-Walker metric --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Cosmological Perturbation --- p.4 / Chapter 1.2.1 --- Scalar-Vector-Tensor Decomposition --- p.6 / Chapter 1.2.2 --- Gauge Transformations --- p.8 / Chapter 1.2.3 --- Scalar Perturbation --- p.8 / Chapter 1.3 --- Sachs-Wolfe Effect --- p.9 / Chapter 1.4 --- Spectrum of CMB Anisotropies --- p.11 / Chapter 1.4.1 --- Rotation Transformation of Spherical Harmonics --- p.14 / Chapter 1.5 --- Contaminations of the CMBA --- p.16 / Chapter 1.5.1 --- The Internal Linear Combination Method --- p.17 / Chapter 2 --- Review of Models of Rotating Universe --- p.22 / Chapter 2.1 --- Godel's Model of a Rotating Universe --- p.23 / Chapter 2.2 --- Bianchi Models of a Rotating Universe --- p.24 / Chapter 2.3 --- Constraints on the Rotation of our Universe --- p.26 / Chapter 3 --- Study of Non-Gaussian Properties of the CMB Anisotropies --- p.31 / Chapter 3.1 --- Methodology --- p.32 / Chapter 3.2 --- Suspicious Anomalies against the IGH --- p.33 / Chapter 3.3 --- Verifications of the Suspicious Anomalies --- p.37 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Different Cleaning Methods --- p.37 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Effects of the Foreground Contaminations --- p.39 / Chapter 3.4 --- Further Study and Discussion --- p.52 / Chapter 3.5 --- Conclusions --- p.56 / Chapter 4 --- CMB Constraint on the Rotation of the Universe --- p.57 / Chapter 4.1 --- The Einstein Field Equations with Rotational Perturbations --- p.58 / Chapter 4.2 --- Analytic Solutions of the EFEs for the Rotating Universe --- p.63 / Chapter 4.3 --- The Sachs-Wolfe Effects up to Second-Order due to the Rotation --- p.65 / Chapter 4.4 --- Constraints on Our Model --- p.69 / Chapter 4.5 --- Discussion --- p.72 / Chapter 4.6 --- Conclusions --- p.75 / Chapter 5 --- Summary of the Thesis --- p.76 / Bibliography --- p.78