No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is a linear programming technique that has been used extensively in the literature to measure relative efficiency. One of the main attributes of DEA is that it can model multiple inputs and multiple outputs in the model. In this research work, attributes pertaining to service quality have been modeled using the Network model.The primary research is the augmentation of the existing Network model to include input/ output variables that are imprecise from a measurement point of view. These variables are qualitative assessments that have a linguistic representation/ interpretation. A very good example of this variable would be "Pleasantness". Given the fact that there are different evaluators, there is a certain degree of impreciseness associated with the representation of each of these qualitative variables. This imprecision is captured using the fuzzy sets. The triangular membership functions were used to describe the membership functions. So a unique network model that captured fuzzy variables was created. The second main research contribution is that this is the first attempt of capturing service quality and efficiency of customer service representatives. The generic model that was created was used to evaluate the performance of the customer service representatives in a major airline. The results that were obtained, was shared with the decision makers at the airline for validation. The results that were obtained from the model also helped us validate the model with the other existing models.One of the main advantages of using the DEA/ Network/ Fuzzy model was that the imprecision involved in measuring the customer service representatives were accounted for. This enabled the decision maker in making the right decisions and not penalizing a customer service representative for imprecision in the data. Graphical Interpretations were also provided for the results that were obtained from the analysis. / Master of Science

This thesis presents new productivity and well testing formulae of horizontal wells. Taking a horizontal well as a uniform line source, this thesis finds velocity potential formula and the productivity formulae for a horizontal well in an ellipsoid of revolution drainage volume by solving analytically the involved three-dimensional partial differential equations. These formulae can account for the advantages of horizontal wells, and they are more accurate than other formulae which are based on two-dimensional hypotheses. This thesis also presents new well testing formulae of horizontal wells in a single porosity system and a double porosity system. Compared with the formulae published in the literature, our formulae, which do not use the sum of infinite series, are more reasonable and easy to be used in well testing analysis. / Master of Science

Under steady state conditions where the rate of biological oxygen production is balanced by oxygen evasion to the atmosphere, net community production (NCP) can be estimated from mixed layer oxygen/argon measurements. This method is effective in the open ocean but not in coastal zones where upwelling of low oxygen water violates the simple steady state assumption. Since these upwelling regions are highly productive, excluding them can lead to significant underestimations of global productivity. Here, I use a quasi-2D version of the Regional Ocean Modelling System (ROMS), including oxygen and argon as prognostic variables, to model the relationship between NCP and the sea-to-air flux of biological oxygen in a coastal upwelling system. The relationship between the sea-to-air flux of biological oxygen and NCP is poorest near the shore during upwelling favourable winds when waters that are undersaturated in oxygen reach the surface and depress the oxygen/argon ratio. I averaged NCP temporally and spatially over the residence time with respect to gas exchange and the Lagrangian motion of a water parcel. I found that the maximum distance travelled (∼25 km) over this time period indicated a distance from the upwelling plume at which much of the the low oxygen signal is erased. When the sea-to-air flux of biological oxygen was below 20 mmol m−2 day−1, NCP was usually also found in that range. Above that range the sea-to-air flux of biological oxygen is a lower bound for NCP. NCP occurring below the mixed layer can affect the sea-to-air flux of biological oxygen either by entrainment or diffusion into the mixed layer causing an overestimation of NCP, but this process had a minimal effect on most of my model data. Removing values with mixed layers deeper than 25 m improves the estimation, although further studies may reveal that this depth should be adjusted based on mean wind forcing. / Graduate / 0415

One of the main underlying sources of economic growth is productivity. An economy can grow by either accumulation of its inputs, namely labour and capital, or improvements in productivity. The latter implies that more can be produced with the same amount of inputs, generating a greater amount of income that can be distributed among the economy's population. With rising per capita incomes, an economy can provide higher living standards and well-being. This thesis analyses variations in economic and productivity trends among the states of Australia and the USA. It investigates whether disparities in GSP per capita, labour and multifactor productivity among the states have declined (converged) or widened (diverged), during this period. The analysis is undertaken at a national level as well as for specific industries to identify the sectoral sources of the various trends. Further, in an interstate analysis the performance of individual states is examined to identify those that may have had a major role in accounting for the observed trends. The analysis employs both cross - section and time - series techniques. Contrary to earlier studies, this thesis finds that lately the interstate dispersion of per capita incomes and productivity has stopped decreasing. In Australia, once the Mining sector (which is a special case) is excluded from the analysis, the levels of GSP per capita and labour productivity in the various states are found to have neither converged nor diverged. Convergence trends among the US states observed prior to the 1990s have not only slowed down but even reversed into divergence. Divergence in labour productivity started during the 1980s in the service industries and was followed by the Manufacturing sector (and here in particular by the Electronic and Electrical Equipment industry) during the 1990s. There appears to be a belt of states in the West (and a few states in the North-East) which started off relatively poorly but managed to catch-up with the richer states due to an above average growth performance in labour productivity and multi factor productivity. Some of these states did not only manage to catch-up with richer ones but continued to surge ahead, causing the observed increase in the interstate dispersion in recent years. Policy makers, especially those in the states that are falling behind need to develop policies that will lead to an increase in the rate of productivity growth. In order to achieve this they must foster industries, which are conducive to higher growth rates and adopt policies that would increase the productivity of the labour force. These policies will need to create an environment in which productivity enhancing innovation can be sustained. States need to engage in research and development activities to ensure the invention and the adoption of new technologies.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Los Angeles, 1992. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 206-212).