Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 275-290). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (M.S.)--Auburn University, 2007. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references (ℓ. 106-117)

Thesis (M.S.)--Auburn University, 2007. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references (ℓ. 207-218)

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / During the “Golden Age of Freethought” in the United States from the 1870s to the 1910s, Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899) acted as one of its most popular and influential figures within the movement, whose supporters advocated for skepticism, science, and the separation of church and state. However, his role as a “public intellectual” has been challenged by scholars of the period, who argue that he was merely a popularizer of ideas. This conclusion does not adequately describe Ingersoll’s role within the period. Rather, Ingersoll was a synthesizer of ideas, making complex concepts of philosophy, theology, science, and history into palatable lectures and books for an eager and understanding public. As a complementary counterpoint to his role as synthesizer, he also spurred a multiplicity of responses from believers and nonbelievers alike who imbibed his ideas. As such, his role in the central Midwest, Illinois and Indiana in particular, supports his place as a public intellectual. From his public discourses with the evangelist Dwight Moody and other believers, his influence on the Freethinker Society of Indianapolis, to his answers to Indianapolis clergy, Ingersoll’s experiences in the Midwest solidified his place within American history as a compelling and thoughtful public intellectual.

There is no abstract available for this thesis.

Nesta dissertação de mestrado nós trabalhamos com o processo de Cox-Ingersoll- Ross, que foi originalmente proposto por John C. Cox, Jonathan E. Ingersoll Jr. e Stephen A. Ross em 1985. Este processo é amplamente utilizado em modelagem financeira, por exemplo, para descrever a evolução de taxas de juros ou como o processo de volatilidade no modelo de Heston. A equação diferencial estocástica que define este processo não possui solução fechada, logo faz-se necessária a aproximação do processo via algum método numérico. Na literatura diversos trabalhos propõem aproximações baseadas em esquemas de discretização intervalar. Nós aproximamos o processo de Cox-Ingersoll-Ross através de um método numérico do tipo Euler- Maruyama baseado na discretização aleatória proposta por Leão e Ohashi (2013) sob a condição de Feller. Neste contexto, mostramos que esta aproximação possui uma ordem de convergência exponencial e utilizamos técnicas de simulação Monte Carlo para comparar resultados numéricos com valores teóricos. / In this master\'s thesis we work with Cox-Ingersoll-Ross (CIR) process. This process was originally proposed by John C. Cox, Jonathan E. Ingersoll Jr. and Stephen A. Ross in 1985. Nowadays, this process is widely used in financial modeling, e.g. as a model for short-time interest rates or as volatility process in the Heston model. The stochastic differential equation (SDE) which defines this model does not have closed form solution, so we need to approximate the process by some numerical method. In the literature, several numerical approximations has been proposed based in interval discretization. We approximate the CIR process by Euler-Maruyama-type method based in random discretization proposed by Leão e Ohashi (2013) under Feller condition. In this context, we obtain an exponential convergence order for this approximation and we use Monte Carlo techniques to compare the numerical results with theoretical values.

Nesta dissertação de mestrado nós trabalhamos com o processo de Cox-Ingersoll- Ross, que foi originalmente proposto por John C. Cox, Jonathan E. Ingersoll Jr. e Stephen A. Ross em 1985. Este processo é amplamente utilizado em modelagem financeira, por exemplo, para descrever a evolução de taxas de juros ou como o processo de volatilidade no modelo de Heston. A equação diferencial estocástica que define este processo não possui solução fechada, logo faz-se necessária a aproximação do processo via algum método numérico. Na literatura diversos trabalhos propõem aproximações baseadas em esquemas de discretização intervalar. Nós aproximamos o processo de Cox-Ingersoll-Ross através de um método numérico do tipo Euler- Maruyama baseado na discretização aleatória proposta por Leão e Ohashi (2013) sob a condição de Feller. Neste contexto, mostramos que esta aproximação possui uma ordem de convergência exponencial e utilizamos técnicas de simulação Monte Carlo para comparar resultados numéricos com valores teóricos. / In this master\'s thesis we work with Cox-Ingersoll-Ross (CIR) process. This process was originally proposed by John C. Cox, Jonathan E. Ingersoll Jr. and Stephen A. Ross in 1985. Nowadays, this process is widely used in financial modeling, e.g. as a model for short-time interest rates or as volatility process in the Heston model. The stochastic differential equation (SDE) which defines this model does not have closed form solution, so we need to approximate the process by some numerical method. In the literature, several numerical approximations has been proposed based in interval discretization. We approximate the CIR process by Euler-Maruyama-type method based in random discretization proposed by Leão e Ohashi (2013) under Feller condition. In this context, we obtain an exponential convergence order for this approximation and we use Monte Carlo techniques to compare the numerical results with theoretical values.

This thesis explores the impacts of afterschool programs on youths’ feelings of inclusion and exclusion in small communities. A case study of the Fusion Youth Activity and Technology Centre in Ingersoll, Ontario was conducted to learn from youth about their experiences growing up, about the challenges they faced and the benefits they gained from participating in Fusion’s programs. This project focused on the youths’ perspectives, and employed various task-centered activities such as visualization and narrative techniques to engage youth and gather data. It also highlighted different tensions between youth and the community and how youth navigate these tensions while growing up. The study found that the space, staff and programs offered by the Fusion Youth Centre do change youths’ feelings of inclusion and exclusion in Ingersoll. However, there remains work to be done to change the systems of exclusions that make youth feel disconnected from their community.

This thesis investigates the impact of after-school programs on youth in rural communities. A case study of the Fusion Youth Activity and Technology Centre in Ingersoll, Ontario was conducted to explore the relationship between program participation and the development experiences of youth participants ages 12 to 18 years. The Youth Experience Survey created by Hansen and Larson (2002) was selected for this study to assess the positive and negative youth development experiences of Fusion youth participants, measuring experiences within conceptual domains of Identity Work, Initiative, Basic Skills, Positive Relationships, Team Work and Social Skills, Adult Networks and Social Capital, and Negative Experiences. The study found that all domains measuring positive youth development experiences were positively correlated, with the strongest experiences associated with the domains of Identity Work, Basic Skills, Positive Relationships, and Team Work and Social Skills. In addition, the study concluded that participants’ youth development significantly increased with duration of membership and intensity of participation at Fusion.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:06:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 6520.pdf: 1838901 bytes, checksum: 35b2a71ea573764ae46492a67c0ef3d6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-26 / Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos / In this master's thesis we work with Cox-Ingersoll-Ross (CIR) process. This process was originally proposed by John C. Cox, Jonathan E. Ingersoll Jr. and Stephen A. Ross in 1985. Nowadays, this process is widely used in financial modeling, e.g. as a model for short-time interest rates or as volatility process in the Heston model. The stochastic diferential equation (SDE) which defines this model does not have closed form solution, so we need to approximate the process by some numerical method. In the literature, several numerical approximations has been proposed based in interval discretization. We approximate the CIR process by Euler-Maruyama-type method based in random discretization proposed by Leão e Ohashi (2013) under Feller condition. In this context, we obtain an exponential convergence order for this approximation and we use Monte Carlo techniques to compare the numerical results with theoretical values. / Nesta dissertação de mestrado nós trabalhamos com o processo de Cox-Ingersoll- Ross, que foi originalmente proposto por John C. Cox, Jonathan E. Ingersoll Jr. e Stephen A. Ross em 1985. Este processo é amplamente utilizado em modelagem financeira, por exemplo, para descrever a evolução de taxas de juros ou como o processo de volatilidade no modelo de Heston. A equação diferencial estocástica que define este processo não possui solução fechada, logo faz-se necessária a aproximação do processo via algum método numérico. Na literatura diversos trabalhos propõem aproximações baseadas em esquemas de discretização intervalar. Nós aproximamos o processo de Cox-Ingersoll-Ross através de um método numérico do tipo Euler- Maruyama baseado na discretização aleatória proposta por Leão e Ohashi (2013) sob a condição de Feller. Neste contexto, mostramos que esta aproximação possui uma ordem de convergência exponencial e utilizamos técnicas de simulação Monte Carlo para comparar resultados numéricos com valores teóricos.