The thesis seeks to examine the development of the US-Japan, US-South Korea, and US- Australia alliances, during the implementation of the rebalance to Asia policy under the Obama administration. It discusses the application of three major international relations theories, realism, liberalism, and constructivism, in studying the causes and effects that resulted in different outcomes across the three dyads, from security, economic, and cultural perspectives. To establish a causal relationship, the thesis employs a qualitative case study method, controlled comparison, to test the theories and identify the factors that play a decisive role in determining the differences. It then concludes that between the three alliances, it was the rational choice of policymakers, focused on state survival and economic interests, that influenced state behaviour in cross-border relationships. The US alliances in Asia-Pacific have been operating mainly on pragmatic foundations and principles, to serve strategic purposes, and have little to do with normative, ideational factors. Keywords Asia-Pacific, alliance, economic interdependence, foreign policy, hegemony, national identity, rebalance, security threat

The diploma thesis deals with the identification of influence of the monetary policy on stock markets in the developed countries where central banks accepted usage of the unconventional tools of monetary policy. The effect of monetary policy is observed on stock prices of 200 blue chip stocks of companies emitted in USA, UK, EU and JAP. The influence of the unconventional monetary policy will be examined in empirical part of the diploma thesis via panel regression analysis with focus on verification of portfolio rebalance channel of the transmission mechanism.

This thesis has identified a gap in literature regarding the effects of quantitative easing (QE) on equities since the financial crisis in 2008. An event study has been conducted to investigate the portfolio rebalance effect stating that assets not regarded as close substitutes to targeted assets under the QE-scheme, e.g. equities, should respond with a lag to new information regarding QE. Also literature suggests that larger stocks should tend to lead smaller stocks. Assuming investors regard larger stocks as safer we aim to test the hypotheses that stocks will respond to QEannouncements containing new, unanticipated information and that larger, safer stocks will lead smaller, more volatile. The responses in the U.S. stock indices S&P 500, its corresponding sectors as well as mid and small cap indices are examined on nine identified events. Results show that stocks respond immediately on the day of a QE-announcement, but also that returns continue to increase the following days after. Also smaller, more volatile stocks have larger average abnormal returns compare to larger, less volatile stocks.

Les schémas de calcul déterministes permettent une modélisation à moindre coût du comportement de la population de neutrons en réacteur, mais sont traditionnellement construits sur des approximations (décomposition réseau/cœur, homogénéisation spatiale et énergétique…). La thèse revient sur une partie de ces sources d’erreur, de façon à rapprocher la méthode déterministe d’un schéma de référence. L’objectif est de profiter des architectures informatiques modernes (HPC) pour résoudre le problème neutronique à l’échelle du cœur 3D, tout en préservant l’opérateur de transport et une partie des hétérogénéités de la géométrie. Ce travail est réalisé au sein du solveur cœur Sn Minaret de la plateforme de calcul Apollo3® pour des réacteurs à neutrons rapides.Une méthode de décomposition de domaine en espace, est retenue. L'idée consiste à décomposer un problème de grande dimension en sous-problèmes "indépendants" de taille réduite. La convergence vers la solution globale est assurée par échange de flux angulaires entre sous-domaines au cours d'un processus itératif. En favorisant un recours massif au parallélisme, les méthodes de décomposition de domaine contribuent à lever les contraintes en mémoire et temps de calcul. La mise en place d'un parallélisme hybride, couplant les technologies MPI et OpenMP, est en particulier propice au passage sur supercalculateur. Une méthode d'accélération de type Coarse Mesh Rebalance  est ajoutée pour pallier à la pénalité de convergence constatée sur la méthode de décomposition de domaine. Le potentiel du nouveau schéma est finalement mis en évidence sur un coeur CFV 3D, construit en préservant l'hétérogénéité des assemblages absorbants. / Deterministic calculation schemes are devised to numerically solve the neutron transport equation in nuclear reactors. Dealing with core-sized problems is very challenging for computers, so much that the dedicated core codes have no choice but to allow simplifying assumptions (assembly- then core-scale steps…). The PhD work aims to correct some of these ‘standard’ approximations, in order to get closer of reference calculations: thanks to important increases in calculation capacities (HPC), nowadays one can solve 3D core-sized problems, using both high mesh refinement and the transport operator. Developments were performed inside the Sn core solver Minaret, from the new CEA neutronics platform Apollo3® for fast neutrons reactors of the CFV-kind.This work focuses on a Domain Decomposition Method in space. The fundamental idea involves splitting a core-sized problem into smaller and 'independent' subproblems. Angular flux is exchanged between adjacent subdomains. In doing so, all combined subproblems converge to the global solution at the outcome of an iterative process. Domain decomposition is well-suited to massive parallelism, allowing much more ambitious computations in terms of both memory requirements and calculation time. An hybrid MPI/OpenMP parallelism is chosen to match the supercomputers architecture. A Coarse Mesh Rebalance accelration technique is added to balance the convergence penalty observed using Domain Decomposition. The potential of the new calculation scheme is demonstrated on a 3D core of the CFV-kind, using an heterogeneous description of the absorbent rods.

本文運用模擬的方法，產生產險業所面臨的損失分佈、投資資產的變動，欲得到最好的資產配置比例，並考慮重新平衡的效果，探討何種方法為產險業最好的資金運用策略。在模擬了1,000次，產生未來23年的年末資產負債表後，我們得到產險公司應如何配置其資金於：現金、股票、1-15年期債券及房地產的比例，加入重新平衡的概念，運用目標方程式的建立，最後得到一個最好的資金配置及平衡策略。 / We applied simulation techniques to imitate some situations that insurance companies have handled, including loss development, asset value variations, and dynamic programming asset allocation. The asset allocation ratios and the timing of rebalancing the assets affected our objective outcomes. After simulating 23 years for 1,000 times, we find how insurance company allocates their capital in four accounts: cash, stock, fifteen kinds of maturity bonds, and real estate. We finally pointed out strategy resulted in the best outcome by comparing between single period optimal asset allocating ratios and rebalanced asset allocation ratio outcomes.

Bike share system (BSS) has received increasing attention in research for its potential economic and environmental benefits. However, some research has pointed out the negative sustainability impacts of BSS from rebalancing activity, due to its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and additional vehicle travels. Additionally, bike and station manufacturing also bring considerable emissions to the system. Therefore, it is important to analyze the current rebalancing efficiency and sustainability of BSSs, and to assist the BSS operators in optimizing the BSS design. Existing studies lack tools to estimate the real-world rebalancing activities and vehicle usage for system sustainability evaluation and improvements. To address this gap, this research first proposed a framework to estimate rebalancing activities and applied a clustering-based method to estimate the rebalancing vehicle use. Applying the framework to the BSSs in Chicago, Boston, and Los Angeles, this study estimated the rebalancing operation and compared the rebalancing efficiencies among the three systems. The analysis results show that 1) only a small proportion of stations and bikes were involved in the daily rebalancing activities; 2) most rebalancing activities were operated during the daytime, while the overnight rebalancing was limited; 3) the system scale, trip demand, and station types are critical for the rebalancing efficiency; and 4) reducing the rebalancing activities at self-rebalance stations could help to improve the rebalancing efficiency and benefits system sustainability. Additionally, the sustainability performance (e.g., carbon emissions) of BSS is not only decided by the rebalance, but also the manufacturing of bikes and stations. It is important to consider all these factors when optimizing a BSS. The existing literature on system improvement for the BSSs lacks an integrated view, and a well-designed integrated model for current BSS improvement is needed. The second part of this thesis built a simulation-based optimization model and generated 2400 scenarios for evaluation. This model aims to minimize the expansion investment, rebalancing mileage, and maximize the system demand and service rate. A Weight Sum Model is applied to solve the multi-criteria decision analysis. The model results show that the best system improvement is to build a new station with a small capacity and initial bikes. The investment and location impacts are discussed to find the tradeoff among expansion strategies. A sensitivity analysis is conducted to evaluate how different weight combinations (refer to different preferences in decision making) impact the preferred station configuration (docks and bikes) and new station locations.

美國「南海」政策旨在為其「再平衡」戰略服務,並透過此一政策,能夠作 為深入亞洲地區的切入點。華府希冀南海爭端各方遵守國際規範、透過多邊機制 的談判與整合,來促使南海主權爭端議題和平解決,以及南海海域的航行自由等 均視為美國的國家利益。不過,美國實際舉措某種程度上而言仍存在著圍堵中共 之意味,尤其從「再平衡」政策推廣以來,無論是透過與亞洲地區傳統盟邦的軍 事同盟關係更新,拓展新型夥伴關係,不斷增強與東協國家互動密度,並在亞太 區域各處執行聯合軍事演習,種種作為都宣告著美國致力於亞太事務及其區域霸 權維護之決心。而美國「南海」政策挾其既有優勢以遏制中共的崛起與擴張,也 正逢此一適切時機,為美國爭取更大更多的戰略空間以及時間,來形塑美國所預 期的有利態勢與結果,包括符合美國利益的《南海行為準則》,更長遠的目標則 是透過這樣一個區域戰略創造出最佳的地緣戰略,奠定其未來放眼全球戰略上, 增加更多正面的選項,延長並維繫美國之超強霸權。 / The United States has enacted South China Sea policy. The main purpose of the policy is to support its rebalance strategy in the Asia Pacific. Moreover, it can be as the entry point which is driven deeper into the Asia Pacific. Washington intend to multi-national parties who involved in territorial sovereignty in South China Sea resolve the disputed issue peacefully by abiding international norms and multilateral mechanisms’ negotiation and integration. Also, the U.S. desires to maintain the freedom of navigation in South China Sea. From the viewpoint above, it seems like the solutions are beneficial to the multi-national parties, however, the U.S. would have more benefits on it. On the other hand, to certain extent, the intention of the U.S. is to contain the Mainland China. The progress of rebalance strategy mainly demonstrates (1) The U.S. is ramping up the relationship with allies in Southeast Asia, (2) They hold joint military drills in Asia Pacific frequently. From the rebalancing policy, it can be clearly seen that the United States determine to maintain and strengthen its power in the region. To sum up, the U.S.’ South China Sea policy may not only curb the Mainland China rising and expansion but also provide opportunities for the U.S. gaining greater strategic space. Whether the 12 July 2016 arbitral award will be incorporated into the South China Sea Code of Conduct is indeed a problem which in conflict with the national interest between the United States and Mainland China. Additionally, a long-term goal of the U.S. can be built such as creating a regional strategy based on geostrategic policy in order to ensure that they may extend and maintain their hegemony.

本文的研究目的在於觀察美國總統歐巴馬任期內的美日同盟關係之互動，並加入當前國關學界對於「同盟政治」以及東亞區域安全課題的討論。由此，在研究過程中，首先詳述美國與日本的國家安全戰略與外交立場，以及兩國之間的互動如何有效維繫彼此的同盟關係。 在具體研究步驟上，同盟內部協調能力與面臨外在情勢的同盟凝聚力是本文主要探討的的兩大重點。本文首先將美日關係中的安全、政治與經貿議題當作同盟的內部因素，檢視美日同盟之間的合作與分歧議題，以及美國總統歐巴馬與日本首相之間的互動過程，藉此評估美日同盟的協調能力；另以中國因素做為外部因素，討論中國對於美日同盟的各項影響，再以案例分析，檢視美國處理中日爭執議題的立場與實際作為，觀察美日同盟與中國之間的互動過程，藉此檢視美日同盟的凝聚力。最後部分則總結美日同盟在歐巴馬總統任期內的整體變化與效能分析。 / This research focuses on the alliance politics of the US-Japan alliance in the Obama administration. From 2009 to 2014, the Obama administration has faced five different Japanese cabinets, both the governments of the US and Japan had different perceptions regarding the alliance cohesion and coordination. These perceptions, in addition to their political, economic, and secure interactions have created multiple impacts on the US-Japan alliance. The China factor is another key issue during this research. Although China and the United States are very far from being adversaries as they were in the beginning of the Cold War era, they do engage in issues like South China Sea, East China Sea, and the global economic competition. The Obama administration is also trying to avoid the alliance security dilemma—the risk of entrapment and the cost of abandonment—with the malign China-Japan relations. Besides, this research further investigates how the US-Japan alliance has adjusted itself to the changes and challenges in the global and the East Asia regional security.

「避險」近年被認為是弱勢的中等國家爭取國家利益的最佳良策，然而這通常代表欲採此戰略選擇的國家，必須要同時與敵對的國家結成同盟，通常在經濟與安全領域的國家利益需求產生矛盾「悖論」，此間又以南韓在外交政策上的實踐最為顯著，本文將以朴槿惠主政下的南韓為例，探討在其「聯美和中」的外交平衡作法之下，受到地緣環境與傳統韓美同盟的制約的南韓，能否以此模糊的戰略選擇，兩面討好，達成獲取國家利益的最高政策目標。 / “Hedging Policy” is considered the best way to gain national interest for middle-power states in recent years. However, it means that state using this strategy has to cooperate or form an alliance with the enemy states. It usually known as a paradox to the security and economy issues of a state, and the most famous case is ROK. This article will take the ROK government led by president Park Geun-Hye for example, and discuss if the “Security issue rely on U.S., economy issue finds China” strategy did profit both from the two superpower in the world.

本論文研究如何建立一個投資組合用來追蹤穩定成長的目標線。我們將這個目標線追蹤問題建構成混合整數非線性數學規劃模型。由於用以追蹤目標線的投資組合，經過一段時間後其追蹤效能可能未如預期，本論文提出調整投資組合的數學規劃模型。這些模型中除了考量實務中的交易成本，亦考慮限制放空股票，所以將期貨加入投資組合中作為避險部位。最後，以台灣股票市場與期貨交易市場作為實證研究對象，探討投資組合建立與調整的表現，亦分析不同成長率設定之目標線與期貨投資比重上限對投資組合價值的影響。 / This thesis studies how to construct a tracking portfolio for the benchmark of a stable growth rate. This tracking problem can be formulated as a mixed-integer nonlinear programming model. Since the performance of the tracking portfolio may get worse when time elapses, this thesis proposes another mathematical programming model to rebalance the tracking portfolio. These models not only consider the transaction cost but also take into account of the limitation of shorting a stock; thus the tracking portfolio will include a futures position as a hedging position. Finally, an empirical study will be performed by using the data from the Taiwan stock market and the futures market to explore the performance of the proposed models. We will analyze how the different benchmark settings and the futures position limits will affect the value of the tracking portfolio.