This research investigated the decision process surrounding the self-regulated learning of new uses of existing technology. With firms investing up to 50% of their capital budgets on information technology (in excess of 1 trillion dollars in aggregate), understanding what factors motivate or inhibit more encompassing use of technology is of practical concern (Bowen 1986; Nambisan et al. 1999; Mahmood et a. 2001). I introduced a dynamic element to the technology adoption/acceptance literature by using a framework based upon deferral option theory. This framework allows for the decision to learn a new use of technology to occur over time. I found that potential users chose to defer learning new uses of technology even when usefulness was evident and ease of learning was not prohibitive. Further, an additional benefit to using the deferral option framework was its inclusion of both rewards and penalties; I found that not only do potential users consider what can be gained by learning, but also what can be lost by trying to learn and failing. In addition to using a framework premised on deferral option theory, I investigated the properties of time pressure and subjective norms on the decision to learn new uses of technology. As time pressure offered a possible alternate explanation for why potential users defer learning, I controlled for it experimentally and determined that time pressure did affect deferral choice. Further, as subjective norms have had limited success as a predictor of intent to use technology in prior literature, I investigated the separate pieces of the theoretical construct, referent group perceptions and the motivation to comply with those perceptions. By manipulating environment between work and play settings, different motivational sources were enacted by the potential users. Specifically, I found that when potential users were externally motivated subjective norms did influence deferral, and when internally motivated, subjective norms did not influence a potential user??s decision to defer learning a new use of technology.

Computer models are nowadays routinely used in harbor engineering applications. Models based on the two-dimensional elliptic mild-slope equation can simultaneously simulate refraction, diffraction, reflection, and dissipation in completely arbitrary coastal domains. However, floating structures such as floating breakwaters and docks are often encountered in the modeling domain. This makes the problem locally 3- dimensional. Hence it is problematic to incorporate a floating structure into the 2-d model. Tsay and Liu (1983) proposed a highly simplified but approximate approach to handle this problem practically. The validity of their approach is examined in detail and it is found that the actual solutions deviate considerably from the theoretical solutions, although their approximation provides results with the correct trend. Therefore, correction factors have been developed and may be used to produce more reliable results using the framework of Tsay and Liu (1983). The resulting method is applied to Douglas harbor in Alaska. The result shows that docks in the harbor distort the wave field considerably and create a reflective pattern that can affect navigation safety in some areas. Also plots are developed for the transmission coefficients for waves propagating past rectangular and cylindrical floating objects of infinite extent for a wide range of conditions encountered in practice.

The Bolza-form of the finite-time constrained optimal control problem leads to the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation with terminal boundary conditions and tobe- determined parameters. In general, it is a formidable task to obtain analytical and/or numerical solutions to the HJB equation. This dissertation presents two novel polynomial expansion methodologies for solving optimal feedback control problems for a class of polynomial nonlinear dynamical systems with terminal constraints. The first approach uses the concept of higher-order series expansion methods. Specifically, the Series Solution Method (SSM) utilizes a polynomial series expansion of the cost-to-go function with time-dependent coefficient gains that operate on the state variables and constraint Lagrange multipliers. A significant accomplishment of the dissertation is that the new approach allows for a systematic procedure to generate optimal feedback control laws that exactly satisfy various types of nonlinear terminal constraints. The second approach, based on modified Galerkin techniques for the solution of terminally constrained optimal control problems, is also developed in this dissertation. Depending on the time-interval, nonlinearity of the system, and the terminal constraints, the accuracy and the domain of convergence of the algorithm can be related to the order of truncation of the functional form of the optimal cost function. In order to limit the order of the expansion and still retain improved midcourse performance, a waypoint scheme is developed. The waypoint scheme has the dual advantages of reducing computational efforts and gain-storage requirements. This is especially true for autonomous systems. To illustrate the theoretical developments, several aerospace application-oriented examples are presented, including a minimum-fuel orbit transfer problem. Finally, the series solution method is applied to the solution of a class of partial differential equations that arise in robust control and differential games. Generally, these problems lead to the Hamilton-Jacobi-Isaacs (HJI) equation. A method is presented that allows this partial differential equation to be solved using the structured series solution approach. A detailed investigation, with several numerical examples, is presented on the Nash and Pareto-optimal nonlinear feedback solutions with a general terminal payoff. Other significant applications are also discussed for one-dimensional problems with control inequality constraints and parametric optimization.

System dynamics was founded in 1956 by Professor Jay W. Forrester from the Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Forrester mentioned the¡uLevel equation is also known as a first-order differential equation in the branch of mathematics¡K¡K¡v in the book of Principles of Systems. Hence fundamentally system dynamics is a dynamic model in the mathematical model itself, which can also be expressed as a differential equation model. Since the 17th century, differential equation has evolved to become a powerful tool for analyzing the natural processes, and it has developed several research and observation methods, such as the resolution analysis, qualitative analysis and numerical analysis. System dynamics can be applied to solve those kind of problems about high-order, nonlinear, time delay and causal feedback, and these problems are difficult to transform into mathematical models. However, researchers have already addressed many modeling approaches using the basis of system dynamics. In this study, a new transformation method is studied using system dynamics model and transforms it into differential equation model with the aid of mathematical software, applying qualitative analysis and numerical analysis to observe and analyze the differential equation model in order to understand the structure and behavior of the system dynamics model.

<p>Since the end of World War II, foreign direct investment (FDI) has been leading the international financial capital flows and has tripled in 2000s over the decade earlier. With its positive effect on economic growth of host countries via spill-overs, it became a race among countries to attract multinational enterprises (MNEs) to invest in their countries. The introduction of European common currency theoretically helps reduce the transaction costs across borders with the reduction of exchange-rate uncertainties and associated costs of hedging, facilitation of international cost comparison. Moreover, mergers and acquisitions activities (M&As) account for 60-80% of FDI flows, and most MNEs engage in both export and setting up affiliates abroad, suggesting complementarity between trade and FDI. Thus reducing cross-border distance costs would encourage MNEs to increase its M&A activities abroad, resulting in more inward FDI flows in the eurozone, especially among member states. The gravity equation is used in this paper to estimate the euro effect from the dataset of inward FDI flows of 24 countries during 1993-2007 and the result confirms that common currency stimulates more intra-eurozone inward FDI flows by approximately 58%.</p>

<p>In October 2000 the Initiative for the Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America (IIRSA) was launched. The purpose of the IIRSA is to improve integration of the South American countries and intraregional trade between them. One of the ultimate goals is to promote sustainable growth. The purpose of this paper is to find out if a better quantity and quality of transport infrastructure increases intraregional trade in South America. It is found that the quantity of transport infrastructure increases intraregional trade. On the other hand, there is no evidence for the quality of transport infrastructure increasing intraregional trade in South America. Furthermore, this paper investigates whether economic growth can be obtained through more trade. In other words, this paper examines if trade causes growth. The results do not confirm the trade-growth causality for all countries. The difference between the existence of a trade-growth causal relationship or not could be explained by the core commodities that the different South American countries export.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-99).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-109). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 129-131). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-109). Also available on the Internet.