The normal distribution is a commonly seen distribution in nature, education, and business. Data that are mounded or bell shaped are easily found across various fields of study. Although there is high utility with the normal distribution; often the full range can not be observed. The truncated normal distribution accounts for the inability to observe the full range and allows for inferring back to the original population. Depending on the amount of truncation, the truncated normal has several distinct shapes. A simulation study evaluating the performance of the maximum likelihood estimators and method of moment estimators is conducted and a comparison of performance is made. The α Likelihood Ratio Test (LRT) is derived for testing the null hypothesis of equal population means for truncated normal data. A simulation study evaluating the power of the LRT to detect absolute standardized differences between the two population means with small sample size was conducted and the power curves were approximated. Another simulation study evaluating the power of the LRT to detect absolute differences for testing the hypothesis with large unequal sample sizes was conducted. The α LRT was extended to a k population hypothesis test for equal population means. A simulation study examining the power of the k population LRT for detecting absolute standardized differences when one of the population means is different than the others was conducted and the power curve approximated. Stat~221 is the largest introductory statistics course at BYU serving about 4,500 students a year. Every section of Stat 221 shares common homework assignments and tests. This controls for confounding when making comparisons between sections. Historically grades have been thought to be bell shaped, but with grade inflation and other factors, the upper tail is lost because of the truncation at 100. It is reasonable to assume that grades follow a truncated normal distribution. Inference using the final grades should be done recognizing the truncation. Performance of the different Stat 221 sections was evaluated using the LRTs derived.

We consider the effect of disability status on Medicare expenditures. Disabled elderly historically have accounted for a significant portion of Medicare expenditures. Recent demographic trends exhibit a decline in the size of this population, causing some observers to predict declines in Medicare expenditures. There are, however, reasons to be suspicious of this rosy forecast. To better understand the effect of disability on Medicare expenditures, we develop and estimate a model using the generalized method of moments technique. We find that newly disabled elderly generally spend more than those who have been disabled for longer periods of time. Also, we find that increases in expenditures have risen much more quickly for those disabled Medicare beneficiaries who were at the higher ends of the expenditure distribution before the increases.

This study examines the impact of fiscal deficits on economic growth in developing countries. Based on deduction from the relevant theoretical and empirical literature, the study tests the following hypotheses regarding the impact of fiscal deficits on economic growth. First, fiscal deficits have significant positive or negative impact on economic growth in developing countries. Second, the impact of fiscal deficits on economic growth depends on the size of deficits as a percentage of GDP – that is, there is a non-linear relationship between fiscal deficits and economic growth. Third, the impact of fiscal deficits on economic growth depends on the ways in which deficits are financed. Fourth, the impact of fiscal deficits on economic growth depends on what deficit financing is used for. The study also examines whether there are any significant regional differences in terms of the relationship between fiscal deficits and economic growth in developing countries. The study uses panel data for thirty-one developing countries covering the period 1972- 2001, which is analysed based on the econometric estimation of a dynamic growth model using the Arellano and Bond (1991) generalised method of moments (GMM) technique. Overall, the results suggest the following. First, fiscal deficits per se have no any significant positive or negative impact on economic growth. Second, by contrast, when the deficit is substituted by domestic and foreign financing, we find that both domestic and foreign financing of fiscal deficits exerts a negative and statistically significant impact on economic growth with a lag. Third, we find that both categories of economic classification of government expenditure, namely, capital and current expenditure, have no significant impact on economic growth. When government expenditure is disaggregated on the basis of a functional classification, the results suggest that spending on education, defence and economic services have positive but insignificant impact on growth, while spending on health and general public services have positive and significant impact. Fourth, in terms of regional differences with regard to the estimated relationships, the study finds that, while there are some regional differences between the four different regions represented in our sample of thirty-one developing countries - namely, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa – these differences are not statistically significant. On the basis of these findings, the study concludes that fiscal deficits per se are not necessarily good or bad for economic growth in developing countries; how the deficits are financed and what they are used for matters. In addition, the study concludes that there are no statistically significant regional differences in terms of the relationship between fiscal deficits and economic growth in developing countries.

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京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(情報学) / 甲第24738号 / 情博第826号 / 新制||情||138(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院情報学研究科先端数理科学専攻 / (主査)教授 磯 祐介, 准教授 吉川 仁, 准教授 藤原 宏志, 教授 西村 直志(京都大学 名誉教授) / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Informatics / Kyoto University / DFAM

The Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) is an international collaboration of researchers interested in Earth's near-space plasma environment. This group uses high frequency (HF) radars and backscatter from magnetic field-aligned plasma irregularities to study space weather manifested in the Earth's magnetosphere and ionosphere. Space weather impacts many technological systems including Global Positioning System (GPS), spacecraft orbits, power distribution, surveillance radar, HF communications and transpolar aviation. This thesis explores, in detail, the techniques and challenges of constructing, testing, and operating a newly designed SuperDARN HF radar. In modern times, the use of such frequencies for radar is limited to very specific applications and thus the topics presented are not common place. A new antenna design, the twin terminated folded dipole (TTFD), is analyzed along with the modeling results for several proposed and constructed phased arrays for this design. Finally, an initial radiation pattern measurement for the TTFD is presented and notes on how a similar measurement might be conducted on a TTFD phased array. / Master of Science

This thesis addresses the question, whether the impact of financial development on the relative and absolute indicators of poverty is dependent on the levels of the human capital present in an economy. To answer this question, first we develop a theoretical framework to explain the growth process in the context of financial development assuming that human capital is heterogeneous in terms of the skills and education people have. Then, by using the data sets based on five-year averages over 1960-2010 and 1980-2010, covering 107 developed and developing countries, we empirically investigate the extensions of the theoretical framework developed earlier. These extensions cover the relationships between: 1. Income inequality and economic growth 2. Financial development, human capital and income inequality, and 3. Financial development, human capital and poverty We provide empirical evidence using modern panel data techniques of dynamic and static GMM. The findings elucidate that income inequality and economic growth are inter-dependent on each other. There exists an inverse relationship between initial inequality and economic growth. The changes in income inequality follow the pattern identified by Kuznets (1955) known as Kuznets’ hypothesis. The results also show that financial development helps in reducing income inequalities and in alleviating poverty, only when there is a sufficient level of human capital available. On the basis of our findings we develop the term "effective financial development" which means that financial development is effective in accelerating growth levels, reducing income inequalities and alleviating poverty only if there is a sufficient level of human capital available. The empirical study covers multiple aspects of financial development like private credit extended by banks and other financial institutions, liquid liabilities and stock market capitalization. The results of the empirical investigations are robust to multiple data sets and various indicators of income inequality, financial development, poverty and human capital. The study also provides marginal analysis, which helps in understanding the impact of financial development on inequality and poverty at different levels of human capital. This research study of effective financial development can be a useful learning paradigm for the academics and researchers interested in growth economics and keen to learn how poverty and income inequality can be reduced effectively. This study can also be useful for the policy makers in the financial institutions, because it provides robust empirical evidence that shows that financial development cannot help in alleviating poverty and in reducing inequalities unless there is a sufficient level of human capital available. The findings can be useful for policy makers, particularly in the developing countries where high levels of income inequalities and poverty are big problems. This study explains the mechanism of how effective financial development can be used to reduce income inequalities and to alleviate poverty. It also explains the process of inter-linkages between financial development, human capital, inequality, economic growth and financial instability. The policy makers can also take advantage from the marginal analyses that illustrate the minimum levels of private credit and primary and secondary schooling above which the effects of financial development and human capital become significant in reducing inequalities and poverty.

Understanding, predicting, and controlling electromagnetic field interactions on and between complex RF platforms requires high fidelity computational electromagnetic (CEM) simulation. The primary CEM tool within NASA is GEMINI, an integral equation based method-of-moments (MoM) code for frequency domain electromagnetic modeling. However, GEMINI is currently limited in the size and complexity of problems that can be effectively handled. To extend GEMINI’S CEM capabilities beyond those currently available, primary research is devoted to integrating the MFDlib library developed at the University of Kentucky with GEMINI for efficient filling, factorization, and solution of large electromagnetic problems formulated using integral equation methods. A secondary research project involves the hybrid parallelization of GEMINI for the efficient speedup of the impedance matrix filling process. This thesis discusses the research, development, and testing of the secondary research project on the High Performance Computing DLX Linux supercomputer cluster. Initial testing of GEMINI’s existing MPI parallelization establishes the benchmark for speedup and reveals performance issues subsequently solved by the NASA CEM Lab. Implementation of hybrid parallelization incorporates GEMINI’s existing course level MPI parallelization with Open MP fine level parallel threading. Simple and nested Open MP threading are compared. Final testing documents the improvements realized by hybrid parallelization.

Cette thèse s'inscrit dans la lignée des travaux sur la prédiction du champ électromagnétique réfléchi par les bâtiments en milieu urbain. Nous avons développé une méthode de prédiction basée sur la Surface Équivalente Radar (SER) pour le traitement spécifique des bâtiments situés en zone lointaine. Contrairement aux méthodes classiques de lancer et le tracé de rayons où les réflexions sont traitées rayons par rayons, notre approche utilise la SER global d'un ensemble de bâtiments pour décrire la réflectivité des scènes. Le champ électrique est ensuite reconstruit au point de réception à partir de cette SER. La méthode de calcul est analytique et essentiellement basée sur la combinaison de l'optique géométrique (OG) et du calcul de l'intégrale de Kirchhoff-Huygens. Les interactions multiples de l'onde entre les bâtiments sont également prises en compte dans le modèle proposé. Les résultats obtenus en termes de précision de prédiction dans les directions spéculaires et non-spéculaires sont très satisfaisants. Les temps de calcul n'excédent pas 5 secondes pour les scénarios les plus complexes simulés ; ils permettent ainsi de réduire les temps de calcul et de surmonter les contraintes en place mémoire lors de l'étude d'une scène urbaine. Dans une seconde étude, l'influence des irrégularités des façades sur le champ électromagnétique diffracté a été évaluée. Nous utilisons la méthode des moments (MoM) bidimensionnelles (2D) pour résoudre de façon rigoureuse le problème de diffraction lié à trois types de façades : façade plane, façade corruguée et façade avec des balcons. A partir de la distribution du champ diffracté en zone proche et des diagrammes de rayonnement des façades en zone lointaine, nous décrivons les différents mécanismes de diffraction qui s'y produisent et les directions de réflexion prépondérantes sont données pour chacune des façades. Les travaux présentés dans cette thèse s'inscrivent dans le cadre du projet ANR OP2H (Outil de Prédiction par navigation Hiérarchique et Homogénéisation de matériaux) / The motivation of this dissertation is to propose an efficient approach for the prediction of the electromagnetic field scattered from a set of buildings in urban area. Unlike the ray tracing and ray lanching methods where the reflection mechanics are treated building by building, the proposed approach uses the radar cross section (RCS) as a global quantity to describe the reflection by a set of buildings and to predict the scattered field at the receiver position. An analytical expression is obtained to model building scattering using the vector form of Kirchhoff-Huygens integral and the geometrical optics (GO) method, and the multiple reflections between building facades are taken into account. The model is applied on various buildings configurations and accurate results are obtained in the predominant scattering directions with simulation times inferior to five seconds for the most complex scenarios. Since our approach is compatible to the classical methods based on ray techniques or the radiation of surface currents, it can be useful to accelerate the existing softwares. The second part of this thesis is devoted to the study of the influence of building facade irregularities such as balconies. As the complexity of these facades is incompatible with the use of asymptotic methods, the rigorous method of moments (MoM) has been chosen to determine the scattered field from these façades. The field distribution in the near zone of the facades as well as the radiation patterns in the far zone have been considered. It appears that single and second order reflections are the main scattering mechanisms for these facades. We also show that from a certain distance from the facade, the corrugated facade can be used as a simplified equivalent model for the facade with balconies. This thesis is supported by the French ANR project OP2H