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Since Bretton Woods System break down in year 1973. Many economists found that there are more similar business cycle between industrial countries. Recently, Doyle and Faust(2002) proposed the correlation of business cycle between two countries becomes weaker. Therefore in this search, we try to carry out two different aspect factor that effects the countries¡¦ business cycle correlation. The factor is so-called ¡§transmission mechanism.¡¨ Generally specking, Many empirical analysis have pointed out the temporary factors to the business cycle mainly come from the transferred factors of economic aspect. What is ¡§Transmission Mechanisms?¡¨ Economists often try to substitute it in good markets, financial markets, and the coordination of monetary policies. However, in this duration of the empirical analysis, using only these proxy variables to explain BCCs between two countries seems too limited. According to this situation, we believe if the BCCs can be explained by using proxy factors of non-economic variable, the result can be utilized by making up the defect. We attempt to find new factors in political approach and combine with the ¡§Transmission Mechanisms¡¨ that we have introduced earlier. To analyze further economic implication in our research, five conclusions have been summarized below: Firstly, increasing bilateral trade has significantly provided positive effect to BCCs among G7 countries from 1980 to 2002. Because bilateral trade intensity index is endogenous , we use exogenous variable as instrumental variable to estimate ¡§Trade¡¨. Secondly, we use Panel method to expand its matrix. Finally, we improve the empirical estimators of insignificant statistics before. So, when we talk about the relations between BCCs and good and service markets, we must consider these exogenous factors. Eventually, we will receive more detailed results. Secondly, although to trade in financial markets can increase the BCCs between two countries, the statistic report is insignificant . About this empirical result, we can obtain reasonable explanations from the researches (for instance: Imbs, 2004 or Kose et al, 2003), they point out that financial markets are bound excessively by globalization. Therefore, this will aggravatingly make each country to focus on its specialization. Finally, this situation will make the BCCs getting collapsed among these countries. This also explains that the specialization among these countries will reduce the positive effect from the BBCs to financial markets. Thirdly, in the research, the statistics effect of the trade intensity index and specialization are significant negative. It means that when good in transaction will result in more specialization. Two countries have similar industrial structure.Imbs(2004) consider the problem is the index we use to measure bilateral trade intensity. This index was effected from two countries¡¦ size . If use Clark and van Wincoop¡¦s trade intensity index to measure the effect, we can find that significant specialization by comparative advantage effect. Fourth, there are high level financial integration between two countries, because international risk sharing result in two countries have different industrial structure. Lastly, in the research, the statistics effect of the party variables and business cycle of correlations are very significant. This also indicates the political factor will play an important role for many sources of the fluctuation tread of BCCs. In other words, when we discuss the issue of BCCs if miss the contribution of political factors to the BCCs. Then, this might cause the omitted variable biased, and finally cause the whole computation become inefficient. In addition, we can have further discussion by an input of a factor: to conserve the joint benefit of all the member countries in an economic organization, these countries need to be ruled by the same ideal political party. Otherwise, the institute will never reach its essential result. Combining all the conclusions we have shown above, we can find out the BCCs among G7 countries from 1980-2002. Besides the influence of the ¡§Transmission Mechanisms,¡¨ the result will be varied by the political factors. In conclusion, we need to consider the contribution of the political party variables to the BCCs when talking about this issue, therefore; the original theoretical model can be more persuasive. According to a statistics of IMF, the BCCs among those industrial countries are falling little by little in recent years. Therefore, consolidating trade cooperation is essential for what we believe to improve the BCCs among G7. At the same time, pass through a strong integrate monetary policy can move forward all the incumbent parties from all the countries to agree among themselves, and even reach more substantial effect. From the example like this, we might find evidence from BCCs issues by discussing the integration process in European Monetary Union.

For a long time ,the whole performance of the Taiwan¡¦s terminals that present both the passengers and the aircraft movements decline tendency.This research was from 2003 to 2007 the Taiwan¡¦s top 10 terminals as the object of study. The aim of study was providing the government and managers understood the implying of performance. This study based on Avkiran & Rowands (2008) Three-Stage SBM-DEA for the main methodology that excluded both external factor and statistic interference. And applied auxiliary by Malmquist index, carried on the performance measurement of the Taiwan¡¦s top 10 terminals with more detached and more impartial. According to the analysis it provided the government and managers to improve and work out a better future.

This study analyzes the economic and demographic patterns of at-home pork consumption for representative individuals over 18 years of age in the United States. Three data sets purchased by the National Pork Board (NPB) are mined for this purpose: (1) National Eating Trends (NET) data from National Panel Diary (NPD) on individuals' intake and their demographic characteristics; (2) weekly retail prices for fresh meats and fresh pork cuts from FreshLook; and (3) weekly retail prices for processed pork products from A.C. Nielsen. Heckman sample selection models are used to find demographic, health, and attitudinal/lifestyle patterns of consumption of twelve fresh and processed pork products as well as beef, chicken, and seafood. In the fall, individuals have a higher probability of eating beef, chicken, pork tenderloin, and bacon, but a lower probability of eating fresh seafood, canned ham, and smoked ham relative to the spring. The New England region has the highest likelihood of eating fresh pork, beef, chicken, seafood, pork roasts, pork tenderloin, and pork hotdogs. Blacks, on average, eat more fresh and processed pork, chicken, pork sausage, bacon, and canned ham, but less beef relative to whites. Concern about serving food with fat is negatively related with the likelihood of eating processed pork, lunchmeat, ham, and bacon, but it is positively related with the likelihood of eating pork hotdogs. A three-stage selectivity-adjusted censored LA/AIDS model is developed and estimated to find demand-price relationships for: (1) fresh meats (pork, beef, chicken, and seafood) and (2) nine fresh and processed pork cuts. However, aggregate fresh meats are substitutes for each other in at-home market, but there are substantial complementarities between pork cuts. Pork sausage is the major competitor for the processed products, pork roasts and pork tenderloin, but a major complement for pork ribs. There is relatively week substitutability between pork and beef, and relatively strong substitutability between pork and chicken and between beef and chicken. This could suggest opportunities for some joint marketing efforts between pork and beef commodity interests. This information can be used as a guide for marketing strategists for targeting and promotion as well as for category management of the disaggregated pork products.

本文運用Fried et al.(2002)所提出的三階段資料包絡法，以2000年至2008年台灣上市上櫃DRAM產業廠商為研究對象，建立實證模型，第一階段以原始資料求得調整前的原始效率值，第二階段摒除設廠年齡、母子公司、董監持股質押比例、911恐怖攻擊事件、2008金融海嘯等外生變數與運氣因素對管理效率的影響，將調整後的投入量再重新代入DEA，可得到調整後第三階段之效率值，求得單純管理上的真實效率值。實證結果顯示，第二階段SFA迴歸估計結果顯示，外生變數與隨機干擾因素的確對投入差額與管理效率存在顯著影響。（1）設廠年齡；（2）母子公司；（3）董監事持股質押比例；（4）2008金融海嘯等均使投入差額提高，降低經營效率。911恐怖攻擊事件，對固定資產投入差額有顯著正相關，對員工人數投入差額有顯著負相關，即該事件對投入差額的影響方向不相同。第三階段廠商的無效率主要來自於生產規模未達最適，即生產規模未達最適狀態，乃是台灣DRAM廠商經營無效率的主因。另以Wilcoxon signed ranks test 檢驗，廠商在技術效率、純技術效率、規模效率方面，調整前（第一階段估計求得）與調整後（第三階段估計求得）所估計的效率皆存在顯著差異，意指為衡量DRAM廠商經營效率，考量外生變數確實有其必要性。

Internationalisering har länge ansetts vara positivt och bra för företags ekonomiska tillväxt och globala konkurrenskraft. Det finns dock både fördelar och nackdelar, vilka varierar beroende på företagets internationaliseringsprocess, det vill säga på vilket sätt och till vilken grad företaget internationaliseras. En mängd forskare inom internationell affärsverksamhet har tidigare studerat sambandet mellan internationaliseringsgrad och finansiell prestation. Resultaten har dock varit varierande, men många av de senare forskningsresultaten tyder på att ett icke-linjärt samband existerar. Inga likande studier har gjorts på svenska företag vilket denna studie ämnar göra. Vi har tillämpat en poolad tvärsnittsanalys för att utreda om skillnader i internationaliseringsgrader har olika effekt på företagens finansiella prestation. Vidare har vi i linje med tidigare studier testat för om ett icke-linjärt samband även finns hos svenska företag. Resultatet från våra statistiska analyser kunde inte bevisa att ett icke-linjärt samband mellan internationaliseringsgrad och finansiell prestation existerar.  Dock visar resultatet att internationalisering skapar värde i svenska företag men att det inte har någon effekt på lönsamheten.

The rates of childhood obesity remain high in spite of the enormous efforts dedicated to tackling the disease. This dissertation investigates the effect of two of its causes, including parental time and children's obesity risk behaviors. Trends in these causes have changed over time and might explain changes in obesity. The two factors are analyzed separately given the differences in impact process and concentration of literature. The data for the investigation is drawn from the Parental Time, Role Strains, Coping, and Children's Diet and Nutrition project. In examining parental time, the attention is directed towards the mother's actual time spent with the child which has been associated with reduction in child weight status. The major aim is to test and correct for the problem of endogeneity stemming from unobserved health factors that can distort any meaningful causal impact of maternal time on child weight status. Using the household production theory, parental time allocation decisions towards child health are modeled and analyzed using instrument variable (IV) methods. Results indicate that the effect of mother's time allocation reduces child weight status. Her decision to allocate time to the child is affected by unseen factors. Father's work to family spillover was found to be a valid instrument for mother's time with the child. Results were robust across different estimators. In analyzing the relationship between childhood obesity risk behaviors and weight status, this study focuses on three child practices including breakfast intake, fast food consumption and sleep patterns. The main aim was to score their joint impact, while at the same time accounting for contextual factors. This work adopted the ecological systems framework which accommodates multiple factors. Based on this theory, a simultaneous system of equations considering child weight status, risk behavior and contextual factors was set up and analyzed using 3SLS. Findings indicated that dietary behaviors remain a major factor in affecting weight status. In addition, feedback mechanism from child weight status will influence the diet pattern adopted by the child. Sleep sufficiency had no effect on child weight status.

A simultaneous demand and supply model for the U.S. ski/wakeboard boat market is estimated by three-stage least squares and iterated three-stage least squares methods using publicly available data. The model is used to test if, and to what extent, certain factors impact the annual quantity of new ski/wakeboard boats demanded and supplied. Statistical analysis suggests that the model does a good job of explaining the annual quantity of new ski/wakeboard boats demanded and supplied. The findings are most immediately beneficial to manufacturers and dealers. Dealers can use the results to better forecast demand which in turn will lead to more efficient production planning for manufacturers.

Extensive analysis of the physical and chemical effects controlling the operation of combustion modes driven by auto-ignition is presented in this thesis. Specifically, the study integrates knowledge attained by analyzing the effects of fuel molecular structure on auto-ignition, quantity or quality of charge dilution, and in-cylinder temperature and pressure on burning characteristics in single and multiple injection strategies employed in compression ignition (CI), partially premixed combustion (PPC) and homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engines. In the first section of the thesis, a multiple injection strategy aimed to produce heat at a constant pressure, commonly known as isobaric combustion, has been studied. Then, to eliminate the complexity of spray-to-spray interactions observed with isobaric combustion, the second section of the thesis is focused on compression ignition (CI) through single injection. In the final section, the presentation will move towards moderate conditions with high dilution, in which combustion becomes dominated by chemical kinetics. At these conditions, there is emerging evidence that certain fuels exhibit unusual heat release characteristics where fuel releases heat in three distinctive stages. Overall, the thesis discusses factors controlling the auto-ignition for CI, PPC and HCCI engines that can provide valuable insights to improve their operation. Isobaric combustion in CI engine involves large interactions between physical and chemical effects. Injection of spray jets into oxygen-deprived regions catalyzes the mechanism for soot production – urging to employ either multiple injectors, low reactivity fuel or an additional expansion stage. Fuels – regardless of their auto-ignition tendency – share the same combustion characteristics in the high load CI, where auto-ignition is controlled by only the injector’s physical specifications. Such observation is a showcase of the fuel flexible engines that has the potential of using sustainable fuels – without being restrained by the auto-ignition properties of the fuel. The thesis provides evidence from experiment and simulation that three-stage auto-ignition is indeed a phenomenon driven by chemical kinetics. Three-stage auto-ignition opens the perspective to overcome the limitation of the high-pressure rise rates associated with HCCI engine.

Although this project refers to theory and literature about giftedness and independent learning, it is based primarily on narratives of classroom experience. The key belief is that the best way to build on the strengths and meet the needs of adolescent gifted learners is for the teachers involved to create a classroom learning climate and curriculum which coaches those students towards independent learning. Such a climate and curriculum provide opportunities for gifted adolescents to reach their potential. An adaptable and practical three-stage model for designing such a curriculum is provided. By integrating self-and teacher assessment and evaluation throughout three stages of curriculum, the model provides opportunities for students to develop the skills necessary for independent learning. Three narratives of my own experiences in using the three-stage model outlined above are provided. The three situations include the role of classroom teacher of OAC English, co-author of a literature anthology and teacher resource for grade nine destreamed English classes, and facilitator of an Interdisciplinary Autonomous Learner programme for gifted/highly able adolescent learners. Thus, the three-stage curriculum model has been used and shown to be effective. My own, and my students' experiences in using the model, and the common ground discovered in all three roles, form the basis of the recommendations being made in the final chapter. Practical recommendations are made to teachers who are interested in implementing a curriculum which promotes independent learning for gifted adolescents. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)