This dissertation treats a major theme which remains constant throughout the fiction of John Fowles: the potential for an individual's transcendence of perceptual limitations, which may lead to an achievement of existential freedom through transcendent awareness. The study demonstrates that Fowles's manipulation of geographic and temporal settings provides the means for his characters to attain self-awareness. Fowles uses setting and historical reference to project various world views for his characters to work within or against. Attainment of transcendent self-awareness is delineated metaphorically in terms of Jungian archetypes of individuation. The development of epochs and Jungian archetypes as metaphors of transcendent consciousness are traced through Fowles's four novels, The Collector, The Magus, The French Lieutenant's Woman, and Daniel Martin, and in his novella, 'The Ebony Tower.' / acase@tulane.edu

Here we present an error estimation method developed for the numerical solutions of interface problems. The goal is to approximate the error of a given numerical approximation to the true solution. As opposed to classic a priori error estimates which may seek to bound the norm of the error by some expression involving a discretization parameter, the focus of this work will be to produce numerical values of the errors associated with a particular solution. The spatial distribution of these errors is also available. This type of estimate is useful in settings where simulations are used as replacements for experiments. In such settings it is important to be able to understand, and, if possible, quantify such errors We begin by describing the Method of Nearby Problems, [1, 2, 3], which is motivated by defect correction methods [4]. The general idea of the Method of Nearby Problems is to construct a problem for which an analytic solution is known and, at the same time, is a small perturbation of the original problem of interest. With this idea in mind, we move forward to describe a modification of the original Method of Nearby Problems that we will study here Although our ultimate goal is to apply the error estimates to numerical solutions of interface problems, we first examine their effectiveness on continuous elliptic problems. We will construct these estimates and study their convergence to the true error as the mesh is refined. We also provide analysis of the error estimate for a one-dimensional example The next step will be to examine the application and performance of the estimates to numerical solutions of interface problems. Our model problem will be an elliptic boundary value problem in which the coefficients are discontinuous across an internal boundary. We will obtain numerical solutions of these problems using the Immersed Interface Method [5, 6]. The Immersed Interface Method solutions preserve the discontinuities and irregularities of the solution at the interface We will next examine solutions obtained using regularization methods. Motivated by the Immersed Boundary Method [7], we regularize the interface problem and then use numerical methods which apply to smooth problems. Here we must analyze both the error due to regularization, as well as discretization error. We will apply this methodology to the discontinuous boundary value problem and provide an analysis of the regularization error for a representative one-dimensional problem Finally, we discuss future directions such as generalizing the method to include Immersed Interface solutions of problems with singular sources. We also discuss requirements of error estimates for transient problems / acase@tulane.edu

In his 1932 book, The Theory of Wages, J. R. Hicks introduced two concepts of endogenous technical change. The first of these is induced technical change which occurs as the firm's response to an increase in the relative price of a factor of production. The basic premise of this view is that the firm will direct its technical change efforts toward saving on the factor which has become relatively more expensive The second concept is what Hicks termed autonomous technical change. This refers to all endogenous technical change that is not in response to changes in relative factor prices This dissertation considers several theoretical models of endogenous technical change and the inducement properties possessed by each. These models build upon and extend the works of Kennedy, Samuelson, Ahmad, Binswager and Kamien and Schwartz which were reviewed in Chapter 2 Chapters 3, 4, and 5 present the theoretical models of endogenous technical change. These models possess two common features. The first is that the firm's production technology is represented by a neo-classical factor augmenting production function. The second common feature is that the augmentation parameters can be changed through directed research efforts applied according to technological production functions In Chapter 3 the firm is assumed to maximize the reduction in costs subject to the technology production functions and an R & D budget constraint. The equilibrium conditions are derived and it is shown that these conditions correspond to those in the Kennedy and Samuelson approaches. In addition it is shown that the Kennedy-Samuelson Innovation Possibilities Frontier (IPF) is derivable from this framework and exists solely because of the R & D budget constraint. The induced technical change hypothesis is found to hold as long as the elasticity of substitution between inputs is not equal to one. In addition the system will converge to a state of Hick's neutral technical change for all values of the elasticity of substitution less than two and for some values greater than two. This is in direct conflict with the usual results which require that the elasticity of substitution be less than one Chapter 4 considers the case of a profit maximizing firm whose current decisions with respect to capital and R & D expenditures affect profits one period in the future. The equilibrium conditions are derived and compared to the result of the previous model. The effects of changes in the discount rate, equipment costs, and the wage rate on the level of investment in capital and R & D and on the level of employment are determined The inducement properties of the model are found to be obscured by profit-maximizing effects so an alternative approach treating the firm as a cost minimizing entity is used. The results show that Hicksian induced technical change is only one possible response to a change in relative factor prices Chapter 5 considers a firm in a certain world with an infinite horizon. The firm is assumed to maximize the discounted present value of net revenues subject ot the technology production functions and a given initial level of technology. The equilibrium conditions require the equality of the discounted marginal revenues and marginal costs of technical change. The conditions for the non-trivial steady state solution are derived and found to be rather strong so an alternative steady state is defined in terms of the ratios of the purchased factor inputs and the augmentation parameters. This modified steady state requires Hick's neutral technical change and is stable under the assumptions of the model for all values of the elasticity of substitution less than or equal to two and possibly stable for some values greater than two. Finally the inducement properties of the model are considered and it is shown that the Hicksian induced technical change hypothesis can not be ruled out / acase@tulane.edu

These essays study the effects of corporate governance and social capital on firm characteristics such as firm performance and firm value. The first essay addresses with the relationships between ownership concentration, financial performance, and economic characteristics of Colombian firms. Using panel data for 144 firms that issue securities in the Colombian economy between the years 1995 and 2003, we study the determinants of ownership and accounting performance. We find a strong inverse U-shaped effect of earnings variation on ownership concentration, and a U-shaped effect of earnings variation on accounting performance. Additionally, accounting performance positively affects ownership concentration, and ownership concentration affects accounting performance, although the tendency of its effect is not clear. After controlling for endogeneity, we find that ownership concentration has a nonmonotonic effect on accounting performance, with an initial negative effect and, as the ownership becomes highly concentrated, a positive effect. The second essay is a follow-up of the first essay for a sample of Latin American firms. The essay studies the effects of ownership concentration on the accounting returns for a panel of 532 publicly listed Latin-American firms between the years 1999 and 2003. The firms are from five countries: Colombia, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Venezuela. The third essay presents a theoretical model of cooperation and agency costs focusing in the extent of cooperation among the manager and the investors, an important variable absent in agency cost analyses. Two types of cooperation are studied: (1) generalized cooperation, a behavior close to social capital, a comprehensive concept that characterizes the inclination to cooperate among the individuals of a given society; and (2) discriminating cooperation, a concept close to cooperation with relatives. These types of cooperation affect managerial private benefits differently; while generalized cooperation reduces agency costs, discriminating cooperation may enlarge them, until the manager becomes highly close toward his cooperating investor. The fourth essay presents evidence about the impact of cooperation on firms' characteristics. Social capital has its basis in the social cohesion built across generations. Fragmented societies likely score low in social capital, a deficiency that hinders their development. Moreover, some forms of social capital can have negative consequences: when cooperation is oriented to rent seeking or when it is selective. Some empirical tests associate social capital with economic growth, but there is no evidence of its impact at firm levels. The essay tries to fill that void. With a sample of firms from forty four countries, we find that social capital is positively associated with firm value, and has a U-shaped effect on firm size. Additionally, a form of selective social capital, family cooperation, has a U-shaped effect on firm value and an inverse U-shaped effect on firm size. While the U-shaped effect of social capital on firm size was unexpected, at least the negative slope, all additional effects present the expected theoretical shapes, which are the result of two contrasting forces: the agency cost of managerial private benefits and focused or generalized cooperation. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) / acase@tulane.edu

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In the few last decades, liberalization of foreign trade has been a common factor of the reform processes in less developed countries. The effects of this reform on growth and wage distribution have been a central element of the debate in economics and politics In this dissertation, the author investigates the Chilean experience. Using time series analysis, Granger-causation from exports to growth, and from different liberalization measures to wage inequality is analyzed. Stationarity is analyzed performing unit root tests. If variables have unit root, 'Johansen Procedure' is applied to test for cointegration The results show that causation from exports to GDP is conditional on economic policy. When the country followed an inward-looking strategy, no causation was found. However, after the reforms, a positive causation from exports to GDP is found. This finding is explored further, analyzing the nexus between exports and GDP. Are exports working through capital accumulation or improving country's performance directly? Chilean data show that the positive effect from exports to GDP does not disappear when capital is including in the VAR system Finally, positive correlation between liberalization and wage inequality is found in the Chilean data. However, performing Granger-causality tests, the author does not find significant evidence that trade liberalization explains the growing wage gap / acase@tulane.edu

A molecular-level equilibrium partition coefficient model has been formulated and tested for multicomponent salt uptake into a Nafion 117 perfluorosulfonic acid cation-exchange membrane from aqueous and non-aqueous salt solutions. The model utilizes a simple cylindrical-pore microstructure for Nafion and considers ion hydration free energy changes which occur during solute partitioning, the orientation of solvent dipoles within a membrane pore due to the strong electric field generated by the membrane's fixed-charge sites, and the formation of contact ion-pairs (coordinate covalent bonds) between divalent cations and the membrane ion-exchange sites. Membrane structure parameters in the model (pore-radius and pore-wall fixed-charge concentration) were determined from membrane porosity experiments and X-ray diffraction data in literature The equilibrium uptake of monovalent/divalent cation salt mixtures from aqueous solutions has been investigated using experimental measurements and the theoretical model. When the extent of ion-pair formation was used as an adjustable parameter, the model predicted accurately both the monovalent and the divalent cation concentrations (with an average error of 7%). Both theory and experiments showed that the monovalent cation selectivity was in the same order as observed previously during the uptake of monovalent/monovalent cation salt mixtures (i.e. the monovalent cation with the larger hard sphere radius was preferentially absorbed). The computed mobile divalent cation concentration in a Nafion pore was found to be dependent on the extent of monovalent cation absorption. The number of divalent cation/sulfonate fixed-charge-site ion pairs was found to be independent on the divalent cation type, but was controlled by the type and concentration of the co-absorbed monovalent cation. The fraction of ion-paired fixed charges was correlated with the membrane pore concentration of mobile divalent cations via a Frumkin adsorption isotherm. Independent verification and quantification of the extent of divalent cation binding were made by NMR analyses salt equilibrated membranes. The NMR results and model predictions for the fraction of total membrane-phase divalent cation (Pb 2+) that was bound to sulfonate sites were found to be in excellent agreement with an average error less than 6% for a series of 16 uptake experiments with Pb2+ and either Li+ or K+ The partition coefficient model has also been modified to describe multicomponent salt uptake by a Nafion membrane from nonaqueous and mixed solvent (methanol, mixed methanol/water, and acetonitrile/water) systems. Solvent absorption studies carried out showed selective enrichment of water in the membrane phase. The cation uptake selectivity trends were, thus, essentially the same as in pure water when the nonaqueous solvent content of the external solution was low. Only at high nonaqueous solvent contents (>70wt%), the selectivity trends deviate from those in pure water. The match between the experimentally measured membrane-phase cation concentrations and those obtained from the modified partition coefficient model is once again excellent with an average error of 6.51% / acase@tulane.edu

acase@tulane.edu

acase@tulane.edu

acase@tulane.edu