Thesis (M.Sc.)--York University, 2008. Graduate Programme in Earth and Space Science. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-67). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR51507

Thesis (Doctorat)--Université de Rennes, 1910. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [255]-260).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1968. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1982. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-96).

Thesis--Wisconsin. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 253-260).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 225-238). Also available on microfiche.

Report (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 24). Also available via the Internet.

Despite varying perceptions and indicators of risk, some children and adolescents labeled at risk are successful in academic endeavors and in life and could be characterized as resilient (Barone, 1999, 2004; Benard, 2004; Waxman, Padron, & Gray, 2004; Wolin & Wolin, 1993). Using a multiple case study design, the purpose of this study was to explore literacy habits and everyday experiences of three African American, female adolescents, who were labeled at risk, yet displayed resilience. Data were collected throughout their senior year of high school, both inside and outside of school, and included observations, interviews, and document analysis. Data collection and analysis were grounded in a social theoretical framework, comprising theories of adolescent literacy, resilience, and identity. Analysis of the individual cases contextualized their unique experiences providing an in-depth understanding of the ways in which the participants enacted their resilient identities. Further, this analysis revealed the complex nature of literacy in their lives and their tremendous literacy growth. The cross case analysis examined overarching themes found across the three participants, which provided a more holistic lens for understanding resilience and literacy by juxtaposing their resilient characteristics and literacy practices with their lived experiences. The findings are discussed, and implications for educators and researchers are provided in an effort to better understand and serve students with at-risk labels.

This thesis consists of three research topics, which together study the related topics of volatility jumps, modeling volatility and forecasting Value-at-­Risk (VaR). The first topic focuses on volatility jumps based on two recently developed jumps detection methods and empirically studied six markets and the distributional features, size and intensity of jumps and cojumps. The results indicate that foreign exchange markets have higher jump intensities, while equity markets have a larger jump size. I find that index and stock markets have more interdependent cojumps across markets. I also find two recently proposed jump detection methods deliver contradictory results of jump and cojump properties. The jump detection technique based on realized outlyingness weighted variation (ROWV) delivers higher jump intensities in foreign exchange markets, whereas the bi-­power variation (BV) method produces higher jump intensities in equity markets. Moreover, jumps under the ROWV method display more serial correlations than the BV method. The ROWV method detects more cojumps and higher cojumps intensities than the BV method does, particularly in foreign exchange markets. In the second topic, the Model Confidence Set test (MCS) is used. MCS selects superior models by power in forecasting ability. The candidate models set included 9 GARCH type models and 8 realized volatility models. The dataset is based on six markets spanning more than 10 years, avoiding the so-called data snooping problem. The dataset is extended by including recent financial crisis periods. The advantage of the MCS test is that it can compare models in a group, not only in a pair. Two loss functions that are robust to noise in volatility proxy were also implemented and the empirical results indicated that the traditional GARCH models were outperformed by realized volatility models when using intraday data. The MCS test based on MSE selected asymmetric ARFIMA models and the HAR mode as the most predictive, while the asymmetric QLike loss function revealed the leveraged HAR and leveraged HAR-­CJ model based on bi-­power variation as the highest performers. Moreover, results from the subsamples indicate that the asymmetric ARFIMA model performs best over turbulent periods. The third topic focuses on evaluating a broad band of VaR forecasts. Different VaR models were compared across six markets, five volatility models, four distributions and 8 quantiles, resulting in 960 specifications. The MCS test based on regulatory favored asymmetric loss function was applied and the empirical results indicate that the proposed asymmetric ARFIMA and leveraged HAR models, coupled with generalized extreme value distribution (GEV) or generalized Pareto distribution (GPD), have the superior predictive ability on both long and short positions. The filtered extreme value methods were found to handle not only extreme quantiles but also regular ones. The analysis conducted in this thesis is intended to aid risk management, and subsequently reduce the probability of financial distress in the sector.

Historically society has, at various periods in time, protected the health, safety and welfare of those most disadvantaged by using socially based collective mechanisms. Within the United Kingdom the model used to achieve this collective protection has developed from proscription, under the Factories Acts, to a more self-regulatory and risk based approach advocated by Lord Roben's under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and its relevant statutory provisions. The body tasked with providing examples of good practice and regulating the provisions of the Act, The Health and Safety Executive, advocate a management-led model using the principles of total quality management (TQM). This model is one which purports to focus on a systematic and empowered approach by involving all staff in the evaluation and reduction of systematic error within processes throughout the whole organisation. It can be argued that the contemporary disadvantaged are no longer the children of the industrial revolution but are those members of society who seek employment yet are handicapped by society through disability or impairment- the paradigm of disability. This study sought to explore this paradigm of disability and TQM within the context of two contrasting industrial sectors - the engineering and retail sectors. The study sought to break new ground by exploring whether the TQM model, which advocates system totality, reduction in variation and continuous improvement as fundamental principles, does in fact provide improved cognitive adequacy (a construct of institutional responsibility, communication and problem resolution) within the paradigm of disability. The study used a triangulation methodology to collect qualitative data at the individual and institutional level. This involved a number of phases comprising group discussions, focus groups and self-completed questionnaires (n=1135) by economically active disabled, impaired and handicapped individuals and at the organisational level case study analysis (n=8) and self-completed questionnaires (n=2181) by institutional key players. Although the construct of disability is multifaceted, the study concluded that at the individual level a number of factors were perceived to be ranked higher and as such more important to disabled employees in maintaining their health, safety and welfare. These were further classified into 'software' and 'hardware' domains of a safety management system with institutional social support being most important. Social support comprised support, communication and trust and was perceived to be low at the organisational level. At the institutional or organisational level social support can be measured using the theory of cognitive adequacy comprising responsibility, communication and problem resolution. When measured at the organisational level, via the policy domain, cognitive adequacy was once more concluded to be low or absent. These results applied equally to individuals within both the retail and engineering sectors. The study also concluded that, at the organisational level, safety systems which can be categorised as formal did not exist to meet the needs of the disabled within the organisations studied. This was particularly evident at the policy domain level where it was noted that few companies had included provisions for the allocation of specifically defined responsibility and control. However there existed many informal sub-systems which had developed through group dynamics and personal interrelations. In many cases those tasked with operational responsibility were unaware of such sub-systems. There also existed many barriers within the disability paradigm to both the duty holder and disabled employees meeting specific duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. In particular communication, both verbal and non-verbal, presented the highest ranked barrier to organisations achieving a high cognitive adequacy condition. Each construct was measured using contingency tables and log-linear analysis to determine any association between TQM and non-TQM organisations for the paradigm of disability. Significant differences in data acquisition, performance measurement and problem resolution existed between TQM and Non-TQM organisations. However in relation to the paradigm of disability, the study concluded that the data supported the null hypothesis that, in the context of the paradigm of disability, no significant differences were exhibited between the safety management systems (SMS) of organisations who had adopted TQM and those that had not. Holistically this study has provided a deeper understanding of the complexity of the disabled paradigm and safety provisions at work.