Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2004. / Supervisor: P. Dean Corbae. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available from UMI.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 75-76).

Thesis (doctoral)--Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Colorado, 1987. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [126]-131).

Thesis (doctoral)--Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, 2004. / Title from e-book title screen (viewed January 2, 2008). Includes bibliographical references.

The objective of this paper is to offer a methodology for sizing credit-sensitive Asset Backed Securities (ABS) used in the prime mortgage lending sector in the U.S. and then to evaluate their relative performance. Using a multi-factor Monte Carlo simulation framework, we perform a four-step analysis. First, we estimate scenario-specific credit losses from a given mortgage pool. We then structure the pool into a 6-pack subordination structure based on statistically-determined stress economic scenarios. Next, we estimate performance indicators of the tranches to compare risk-adjusted returns. Finally, we report our results in terms of tranche-specific risk-adjusted returns. The results indicate that the middle tranches of ABS, e.g., BBB and BB, possess the lowest risk-adjusted returns. We also find and explain a cliff phenomenon in the tranche-level principal cash flows.

Student in the university is a freshman orientation course in the Department of Engineering Technology at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) that was developed during the summer of 1994. The course initially was an elective course that became very popular with our freshman students. Because of its popularity, it became a required course for all freshmen with less than thirty credit hours. The focus of the course was and is to foster relationships with students and faculty, help students verify their decision to choose engineering technology or help them at least make informed decisions centered on choosing a major. The course uses a variety of teaching strategies and innovative approaches of instructions to attract and retain students in the field. This manuscript details many of the approaches that are used in the course that has been proven successful. Due to the versatile content of this course, we believe other programs with similar orientation courses could benefit from our experience.

In this paper, two software packages (AutoCAD and Mannequin) are integrated to create an ergonomic CAD system. This developed system will provide designers with a powerful graphical tool to evaluate their design for human factors and safety criteria. An absence of a truly integrated ergonomic CAD system that has been desired by many researchers and designers was the motivating factor behind our efforts. Steps taken to integrate these two somewhat incompatible software is explained in this paper. Now designers have an ergonomic CAD system to assist them to design products according to physical abilities and characteristics of their human operators. Utilizing this type of technology could revolutionize the way products are designed and significantly reduce the alarming number of related injuries, thus saving millions of dollars. This integrated system could also substantially reduce the critical factor of time to market and lower overall cost of designing new products by allowing designers to test their products for human fit without having to build a prototype or using real subject.

The objective of this paper is to offer a methodology for sizing credit-sensitive Asset Backed Securities (ABS) used in the prime mortgage lending sector in the U.S. and then to evaluate their relative performance. Using a multi-factor Monte Carlo simulation framework, we perform a four-step analysis. First, we estimate scenario-specific credit losses from a given mortgage pool. We then structure the pool into a 6-pack subordination structure based on statistically-determined stress economic scenarios. Next, we estimate performance indicators of the tranches to compare risk-adjusted returns. Finally, we report our results in terms of tranche-specific risk-adjusted returns. The results indicate that the middle tranches of ABS, e.g., BBB and BB, possess the lowest risk-adjusted returns. We also find and explain a cliff phenomenon in the tranche-level principal cash flows.

This paper examines whether controlling for the type of career interruption has different effects on men's and women's wages. One argument for the persistence of the gender wage gap is that previously researchers have used poor measures of experience to estimate men's and women's wages. This paper extends the career interruption literature by estimating men's and women's wages including controls for both the type and timing of interruptions. Findings show similar wage effects for men's and women's wages while controlling for the type of interruption. These results are consistent with the basic human capital model, but are inconsistent with previous empirical research.