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Tourists are now visiting some of the most remote and amazing places on Earth, travelling to �frontiers� on journeys that are psychological and emotional as well as geographical or physical. These extraordinary journeys to the Poles, the peaks of the highest mountains in the world, harsh deserts and even outer space test both physical and mental endurance and can be characterised as �unique� even in the current era. Travelling largely without the aid of a commercial tour operator or guide, the frontier traveller usually invests a great deal of time and resources in their travel experience, often with the assistance of sponsorship, and generally takes part in an extensive and arduous preparation period in their quest for the extraordinary. While the search for new and unique tourism destinations and experiences appears to be relentless in this post-modern era, the frontier traveller appears to be searching for the �authentic� beyond the �tourist bubble,� both in relation to self and setting. These frontier �trailblazers� are already being followed by guided adventure tourists and some of the former are supplementing their incomes and funding their own travel by leading tours or guiding others to the frontier. Studying the extraordinary experiences of the frontier traveller could therefore provide us with a glimpse of the future of travel, although likely to occur in a more structured and less risky guise. Uncovering the motivations for this form of travel will also assist with future marketing of these experiences, including elements of the marketing mix such as product development and promotion. This thesis examines the motivations behind frontier travel and considers the implications of the findings for tourism marketing. Unstructured, long interviews with 37 individuals were used to uncover the motivations behind these experiences, supplemented by content analysis of narratives produced by frontier travellers, encompassing 50 autobiographies, two online diaries and online interviews with two individuals. The interview participants were largely selected through purposive sampling, in that they were screened as fitting the criteria of a past or potential frontier traveller before being interviewed. They were predominantly born and living in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, and 29 of the 37 individuals were male. Ages of participants ranged from 24 to 60 years of age. Interviews continued until saturation of categories of motivation had been reached. Texts were mainly located through searches of bookshops and libraries, including the author�s personal library. A qualitative methodological approach was chosen in order to provide rich data and allow the researcher to enter the world of the frontier traveller. An interpretive paradigm based on a constructivist paradigm underpinned this study, with an ontological stance based on multiple realities and an epistemological position where participants and myself as the researcher created understandings. The methodology outlined above was consistent with this position and was designed to identify different constructions of the data and seek consensus, where possible. The literature on motivations provides a complex plethora of theories and models, many of which contradict each other, so a principal objective of this study was to work from first principles, grounding a theory of motivations pertaining to frontier travel experiences in the data, rather than seeking to test out a pre-existing model or theory. Overall, the research findings show that motivations for frontier travel can be analysed under the broad heading of �adventure,� which is composed of a variety of sub-motives such as achievement and competence, challenge, thrill-seeking and sensation, ego, dreams or fantasies, self-actualisation, cognizance (exploration/discovery), freedom/escape motives (autonomy), isolation and solitude, spirituality, camaraderie and communitas, authenticity, prestige (external rewards), pro-social motives and a love of nature and wilderness. Risk or danger is an element of these experiences and feeds into many of the motivations identified in this study. A theory of motivations behind frontier travel experiences has been developed, covering intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, as well as achievement-motivated behaviour. Pre-travel influences and inspirations such as literature, cinema, visual stimuli, childhood games, heroes and mentors, family influences and educative influences are also considered with respect to their effect on motivational behaviour. An exploratory typology was then developed for frontier travellers, based on common motivations, which might be used to segment the market. Four basic types have been identified and labelled or categorised as �Seekers of Truth,� �Enlightened Explorers,� �Concerned Elitists,� and �Freedom Seekers.� Key motivations behind specific frontier travel experiences have also been identified. Each frontier traveller will exhibit some, but not all, of the motivations highlighted in this study. Segmenting the market on the basis of motivations may therefore be a difficult, if not impossible task. However, marketers could use the information unearthed during this study in the marketing mix to develop new products aimed at satisfying some of the key motivations and use the findings as themes to be highlighted in promotional literature such as brochures and websites. This thesis also argues that the study of travel motivations in the future would be better served by considering motivations behind market niches such as frontier travel, rather than attempting to develop a comprehensive theory of motivations covering the whole travel industry.

Tourists are now visiting some of the most remote and amazing places on Earth, travelling to �frontiers� on journeys that are psychological and emotional as well as geographical or physical. These extraordinary journeys to the Poles, the peaks of the highest mountains in the world, harsh deserts and even outer space test both physical and mental endurance and can be characterised as �unique� even in the current era. Travelling largely without the aid of a commercial tour operator or guide, the frontier traveller usually invests a great deal of time and resources in their travel experience, often with the assistance of sponsorship, and generally takes part in an extensive and arduous preparation period in their quest for the extraordinary. While the search for new and unique tourism destinations and experiences appears to be relentless in this post-modern era, the frontier traveller appears to be searching for the �authentic� beyond the �tourist bubble,� both in relation to self and setting. These frontier �trailblazers� are already being followed by guided adventure tourists and some of the former are supplementing their incomes and funding their own travel by leading tours or guiding others to the frontier. Studying the extraordinary experiences of the frontier traveller could therefore provide us with a glimpse of the future of travel, although likely to occur in a more structured and less risky guise. Uncovering the motivations for this form of travel will also assist with future marketing of these experiences, including elements of the marketing mix such as product development and promotion. This thesis examines the motivations behind frontier travel and considers the implications of the findings for tourism marketing. Unstructured, long interviews with 37 individuals were used to uncover the motivations behind these experiences, supplemented by content analysis of narratives produced by frontier travellers, encompassing 50 autobiographies, two online diaries and online interviews with two individuals. The interview participants were largely selected through purposive sampling, in that they were screened as fitting the criteria of a past or potential frontier traveller before being interviewed. They were predominantly born and living in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, and 29 of the 37 individuals were male. Ages of participants ranged from 24 to 60 years of age. Interviews continued until saturation of categories of motivation had been reached. Texts were mainly located through searches of bookshops and libraries, including the author�s personal library. A qualitative methodological approach was chosen in order to provide rich data and allow the researcher to enter the world of the frontier traveller. An interpretive paradigm based on a constructivist paradigm underpinned this study, with an ontological stance based on multiple realities and an epistemological position where participants and myself as the researcher created understandings. The methodology outlined above was consistent with this position and was designed to identify different constructions of the data and seek consensus, where possible. The literature on motivations provides a complex plethora of theories and models, many of which contradict each other, so a principal objective of this study was to work from first principles, grounding a theory of motivations pertaining to frontier travel experiences in the data, rather than seeking to test out a pre-existing model or theory. Overall, the research findings show that motivations for frontier travel can be analysed under the broad heading of �adventure,� which is composed of a variety of sub-motives such as achievement and competence, challenge, thrill-seeking and sensation, ego, dreams or fantasies, self-actualisation, cognizance (exploration/discovery), freedom/escape motives (autonomy), isolation and solitude, spirituality, camaraderie and communitas, authenticity, prestige (external rewards), pro-social motives and a love of nature and wilderness. Risk or danger is an element of these experiences and feeds into many of the motivations identified in this study. A theory of motivations behind frontier travel experiences has been developed, covering intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, as well as achievement-motivated behaviour. Pre-travel influences and inspirations such as literature, cinema, visual stimuli, childhood games, heroes and mentors, family influences and educative influences are also considered with respect to their effect on motivational behaviour. An exploratory typology was then developed for frontier travellers, based on common motivations, which might be used to segment the market. Four basic types have been identified and labelled or categorised as �Seekers of Truth,� �Enlightened Explorers,� �Concerned Elitists,� and �Freedom Seekers.� Key motivations behind specific frontier travel experiences have also been identified. Each frontier traveller will exhibit some, but not all, of the motivations highlighted in this study. Segmenting the market on the basis of motivations may therefore be a difficult, if not impossible task. However, marketers could use the information unearthed during this study in the marketing mix to develop new products aimed at satisfying some of the key motivations and use the findings as themes to be highlighted in promotional literature such as brochures and websites. This thesis also argues that the study of travel motivations in the future would be better served by considering motivations behind market niches such as frontier travel, rather than attempting to develop a comprehensive theory of motivations covering the whole travel industry.

In this paper, elementary properties of relative extreme points are investigated. The properties are defined in linear and topological terms. Proofs of many of these properties require the use of topological concepts.

Hydraulic tomography (HT) has become a mature aquifer test technology over the last two decades. It collects nonredundant information of aquifer heterogeneity by sequentially stressing the aquifer at different wells and collecting aquifer responses at other wells during each stress. The collected information is then interpreted by inverse models. Among these models, the geostatistical approaches, built upon the Bayesian framework, first conceptualize hydraulic properties to be estimated as random fields, which are characterized by means and covariance functions. They then use the spatial statistics as prior information with the aquifer response data to estimate the spatial distribution of the hydraulic properties at a site. Since the spatial statistics describe the generic spatial structures of the geologic media at the site rather than site-specific ones (e. g., known spatial distributions of facies, faults, or paleochannels), the estimates are often not optimal. To improve the estimates, we introduce a general statistical framework, which allows the inclusion of site-specific spatial patterns of geologic features. Subsequently, we test this approach with synthetic numerical experiments. Results show that this approach, using conditional mean and covariance that reflect site-specific large-scale geologic features, indeed improves the HT estimates. Afterward, this approach is applied to HT surveys at a kilometerscale- fractured granite field site with a distinct fault zone. We find that by including fault information from outcrops and boreholes for HT analysis, the estimated hydraulic properties are improved. The improved estimates subsequently lead to better prediction of flow during a different pumping test at the site.

Mak, Man Yung. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 115-117). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Conventional Censoring Schemes --- p.2 / Chapter 1.3 --- Type-II Progressively Hybrid Censoring Scheme --- p.4 / Chapter 1.4 --- Adaptive Type-II Progressively Hybrid Censoring Scheme --- p.6 / Chapter 1.5 --- Extreme Value Distribution --- p.8 / Chapter 1.6 --- The Scope of the Thesis --- p.11 / Chapter 2 --- Estimation methods --- p.12 / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.12 / Chapter 2.2 --- Maximum Likelihood Estimators --- p.13 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Type-II Progressively Hybrid Censoring Scheme --- p.13 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Adaptive Type-II Progressively Hybrid Censoring Scheme --- p.15 / Chapter 2.3 --- Approximate Maximum Likelihood Estimators --- p.18 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Type-II Progressively Hybrid Censoring Scheme --- p.18 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Adaptive Type-II Progressively Hybrid Censoring Scheme --- p.20 / Chapter 2.4 --- Monte Carlo Simulation and Result --- p.23 / Chapter 2.4.1 --- Numerical Comparisons --- p.33 / Chapter 3 --- Construction of Confidence Intervals --- p.35 / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.35 / Chapter 3.2 --- Asymptotic Confidence Interval --- p.36 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Type-II Progressively Hybrid Censoring Scheme --- p.37 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Adaptive Type-II Progressively Hybrid Censoring Scheme --- p.39 / Chapter 3.3 --- Parametric Percentile Bootstrap Confidence Interval --- p.56 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Parametric Percentile Bootstrap Confidence Interval based on Maximum Likelihood Estimation method --- p.57 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Parametric Percentile Bootstrap Confidence Interval based on Approximate Maximum Likelihood Estimation method --- p.65 / Chapter 3.4 --- Parametric Bootstrap-t Confidence Interval --- p.71 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Parametric Bootstrap-t Confidence Interval based on Maximum Likelihood Estimation method --- p.72 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Parametric Bootstrap-t Confidence Interval based on Approxi mate Maximum Likelihood Estimation method --- p.79 / Chapter 3.5 --- Numerical Comparisons --- p.86 / Chapter 4 --- Expected Total Test Time --- p.88 / Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.88 / Chapter 4.2 --- Type-II Progressively Hybrid Censoring Scheme --- p.89 / Chapter 4.3 --- Adaptive Type-II Progressively Hybrid Censoring Scheme --- p.92 / Chapter 4.4 --- Numerical Comparisons --- p.99 / Chapter 5 --- Optimality Criteria and Censoring Schemes --- p.100 / Chapter 5.1 --- Introduction --- p.100 / Chapter 5.2 --- Optimality Criteria --- p.101 / Chapter 5.3 --- Expected Fisher Information Matrix --- p.102 / Chapter 5.3.1 --- Type-II Progressively Hybrid Censoring Scheme --- p.103 / Chapter 5.4 --- Optimal Censoring Scheme for Progressively Hybrid Censoring --- p.106 / Chapter 6 --- Conclusions and Further Research --- p.113 / Bibliography --- p.115

This thesis focuses on measuring extreme risks in insurance business. We mainly use extreme value theory to develop asymptotics for risk measures. We also study the characterization of upper comonotonicity for multiple extreme risks. Firstly, we conduct asymptotics for the Haezendonck--Goovaerts (HG) risk measure of extreme risks at high confidence levels, which serves as an alternative way to statistical simulations. We split the study of this problem into two steps. In the first step, we concentrate on the HG risk measure with a power Young function, which yields certain explicitness. Then we derive asymptotics for a risk variable with a distribution function that belongs to one of the three max-domains of attraction separately. We extend our asymptotic study to the HG risk measure with a general Young function in the second step. We study this problem using different approaches and overcome a lot of technical difficulties. The risk variable is assumed to follow a distribution function that belongs to the max-domain of attraction of the generalized extreme value distribution and we show a unified proof for all three max-domains of attraction. Secondly, we study the first- and second-order asymptotics for the tail distortion risk measure of extreme risks. Similarly as in the first part, we develop the first-order asymptotics for the tail distortion risk measure of a risk variable that follows a distribution function belonging to the max-domain of attraction of the generalized extreme value distribution. In order to improve the accuracy of the first-order asymptotics, we further develop the second-order asymptotics for the tail distortion risk measure. Numerical examples are carried out to show the accuracy of both asymptotics and the great improvements of the second-order asymptotics. Lastly, we characterize the upper comonotonicity via tail convex order. For any given marginal distributions, a maximal random vector with respect to tail convex order is proved to be upper comonotonic under suitable conditions. As an application, we consider the computation of the HG risk measure of the sum of upper comonotonic random variables with exponential marginal distributions. The methodology developed in this thesis is expected to work with the same efficiency for generalized quantiles (such as expectile, Lp-quantiles, ML-quantiles and Orlicz quantiles), quantile based risk measures or risk measures which focus on the tail areas, and also work well on capital allocation problems.

This Thesis examines the ideology, politics and organization of the Australian Extreme Right 1975-1995. Its central interpretative theme is the response of the Extreme Right to the development of the Australian State from a conservative Imperial structure into an American "anti-communist" client state, and ultimately into a liberal-internationalist machine which integrated Australia into a globalized capitalist order. The Extreme Right after 1975 differed from the various paramilitaries of the 1930's and the conservative anti-communist auxiliary organizations of the 1945-75 period. Post 1975, it lost its preoccupation with fighting the Left, and progressively grew as a challenger to liberal-internationalism. The abandonment of "White Australia" and consequent non-European immigration were the formative catalysts of a more diverse and complex Extreme Right. The Thesis uses a working definition of generic fascism as "palingenetic populist ultra-nationalism", to measure the degree of ideological and political radicalization achieved by the Extreme Right. This family of political ideas, independent of the State and mobilized beyond the limits of the former-period auxiliary conservatives, expressed itself in an array of organizational forms. The complexity of the Extreme Right can be demonstrated by using four typologies: Radical Nationalism, Neo-Nazism, Populist-Monarchism and Radical-Populism, each with specific points to make about social clienteles, geographical distribution, particular ideological heritages, and varied strategies and tactics. The Extreme Right could mobilize from different points of opportunity if political space became available. Inevitably a mutual delegitimization process between State and Extreme Right led to public inquiries and the emplacement of agencies and legislation to restrict the new radicalism. This was understandable since some Extreme Right groups employed violence or appeared to perform actions preparatory thereto. It also led to show-trials and para-State crime targeted against particular groups especially in the period 1988-91. Thereafter, Extreme Right organizations pursued strategies which led to electoral breakthroughs, both rural and urban as a style of Right-wing populist politics unfolded in the 1990's. It was in this period that the Extreme Right encouraged the co-optation by the State of the residual Left in the anti-racist fight. This seemed natural, as the Extreme Right's vocal references to popular democracy, national independence and the nativist heritage, had permitted it to occupy the Old Left's traditional ground. In that way too, it was "The Other Radicalism".

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2005. / "August, 2005." Includes bibliographical references (leaf 43). Online version available on the World Wide Web.