Thesis (D. Min.)--Ashland Theological Seminary, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-110).

Thesis. / Includes reprints of 4 supporting articles. Includes bibliographical references (p. 23-26).

Thesis (doctoral)--Umeå University, Sweden, 1994. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (B.A. (Hons.)) - University of Queensland, 2005. / Includes bibliography.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Rhode Island, 2005. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 120-130).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2007. / Title from title screen (site viewed Oct. 10, 2007). PDF text: viii, 178 p. UMI publication number: AAT 3258407. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

In this thesis work, the locations where we are unable to reach via fiber are considered for wireless transmission links. In the practical part of this thesis different modulation techniques and antenna sizes were analyzed  in order to provide the most efficient way of data transmission. The data between this wireless links was transfered using MPLS L2 VPN solution.   According to improving technology and increasing internet usage, the communication speed, which is between users and providers, becomes more inevitable for transmitting data without any delays. More than one users might use same connection line for transmitting their packets and it is able to be caused an online traffic and some delays and data loss could occur. In this circumstance, high rate internet demands would lead extra costs for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and users.   In the introduction part, a brief description for the history of communications and basic equipments for Radio Link and Fiber Optic cable are done.   In the theory part, detailed information was provided about modulation techniques and multiplexing techniques followed by general information about computer networks  and comprehensive information about OSI layers.   In the process and result parts, program outputs for Path Loss design which was used for R/L was mentioned in a detailed way. After that, Ethernet Over MPLS L2 VPN was highlighted and a simulation from point-to-point "Ethernet Over MPLS L2 VPN” was conducted in GNS3 software. Furthermore, the simulation for point-to-multipoint case was then applied  in a laboratory environment in order to achieve the desired result.   In the result part, different R/L simulation results are compared to determine the optimized modulation technique and antenna sizes which could then be merged with simulation results from the previous part.

Loss given default (LGD) modelling has become increasingly important for banks as they are required to comply with the Basel Accords for their internal computations of economic capital. Banks and financial institutions are encouraged to develop separate models for different types of products. In this thesis we apply and improve several new algorithms including support vector machine (SVM) techniques and mixed effects models to predict LGD for both corporate bonds and retail loans. SVM techniques are known to be powerful for classification problems and have been successfully applied to credit scoring and rating business. We improve the support vector regression models by modifying the SVR model to account for heterogeneity of bond seniorities to increase the predictive accuracy of LGD. We find the proposed improved versions of support vector regression techniques outperform other methods significantly at the aggregated level, and the support vector regression methods demonstrate significantly better predictive abilities compared with the other statistical models at the segmented level. To further investigate the impacts of unobservable firm heterogeneity on modelling recovery rates of corporate bonds a mixed effects model is considered, and we find that an obligor-varying linear factor model presents significant improvements in explaining the variations of recovery rates with a remarkably high intra-class correlation being observed. Our study emphasizes that the inclusion of an obligor-varying random effect term has effectively explained the unobservable firm level information shared by instruments of the same issuer. At last we incorporate the SVM techniques into a two-stage modelling framework to predict recovery rates of credit cards. The two-stage model with a support vector machine classifier is found to be advantageous on an out-of-time sample compared with other methods, suggesting that an SVM model is preferred to a logistic regression at the classification stage. We suggest that the choice of regression models is less influential in prediction of recovery rates than the choice of classification methods in the first step of two-stage models based on the empirical evidence. The risk weighted assets of financial institutions are determined by the estimates of LGD together with PD and EAD. A robust and accurate LGD model impacts banks when making business decisions including setting credit risk strategies and pricing credit products. The regulatory capital determined by the expected and unexpected losses is also important to the financial market stability which should be carefully examined by the regulators. In summary this research highlights the importance of LGD models and provides a new perspective for practitioners and regulators to manage credit risk quantitatively.

Work had been established for traction machine design aspects in this research. The effect of multiphase design for Permanent Magnet (PM) machine was investigated. The electromagnetic characteristics of both 3-phase and 9-phase machine, along with different magnet designs, were simulated and analyzed by using the program developed during the process. The software used were FEMM and MATLAB. The iron loss for different designs was established, based on the analytical flux density obtained by 2-D stepping FEA method. The harmonic of flux waveform and rotating field were also considered for difference areas in the machine models. The prediction was compared with experimental data collected in open circuit. The simulation result shown that there was a minimum 4% torque gain and noticeable less torque ripples for 9-phase machine, comparing with 3-phase one, with the same excitation phase current. The embedded magnet rotor design was suggested to monitor the demagnetization of each magnet closely, since some area of the magnet could be demagnetized even when the working point of magnet was well distance away from the nonlinear region of its characteristic. There were about 6% less iron loss was produced in 9-phase model than 3-phase model. The implemented method for calculating iron loss was more accurate within 3500 rpm rotor speed comparing with other approaches.

The scope of the present doctoral thesis has been the conception of a novel and efficient method for decelerating, over a range of frequencies, and completely 'stopping' light (zero group velocity, vg = 0) inside solid-state materials, at room temperature. To this end, we analytically show that an adiabatically tapered waveguide having a core of a lossless negative refractive index (NRI) metamaterial (MM) and claddings made of normal dielectrics can 'trap' a light pulse in such a way that each individual frequency component of the pulse is stopped at a different point along the waveguide, forming what we have called a 'trapped rainbow'. Crucially, it is shown that light can efficiently be in-coupled inside such a waveguide heterostructure from a normal dielectric waveguide, since with a suitable design one can achieve simultaneous thickness-, mode- and characteristic-impedance-matching between the two waveguides. A pertinent analysis reveals that the optical path length of a 'trapped' light ray (associated with a particular frequency component of the pulse), as well as the corresponding effective thickness of the NRI waveguide itself, become exactly zero. The ray circulates at the point where it is trapped in such a way that its trajectory forms what we have called (in view of its characteristic hourglass form) an 'optical clepsydra'. Furthermore, we introduce a novel methodology that allows for obtaining ultra- low- or zero-loss magnetic metamaterials over a continuous range of frequencies. We analytically prove that a higher-degrees-of-freedom MM design methodology based on equivalent electrical circuits with more than one mesh leads to metamaterial magnetism with either ultra-high figures-of-merit or with perfectly lossless performance over a broad range of frequencies. The so-obtained lossless metamaterial magnetism has a truly intrinsic character, and as such is scalable and can be implemented at any frequency regime, from the radio up to the optical domain.