This paper studies the use of Monte Carlo simulation techniques in the field of econometrics, specifically statistical inference. First, I examine several estimators by deriving properties explicitly and generate their distributions through simulations. Here, simulations are used to illustrate and support the analytical results. Then, I look at test statistics where derivations are costly because of the sensitivity of their critical values to the data generating processes. Simulations here establish significance and necessity for drawing statistical inference. Overall, the paper examines when and how simulations are needed in studying econometric theories.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of St Andrews, August 2008.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1966. / Typescript. Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

I samband med att Afghanistan själva skall ta över säkerhetsansvaret i landet från 2015 kommer en stor del av framgången bero på den afghanska arméns (ANA) förmåga och färdigheter. Avseende dess kapacitet att klara av denna uppgift har det framförts tvivel. Mot bakgrund av detta kommer den afghanska arméns krigföringsförmåga i nutid att undersökas i denna uppsats i syfte att kartlägga eventuella förtjänster samt brister som i sin tur kanske kan ge en fingervisning om framtiden.   Metoden utgörs av en fallstudie av (ANA) där ett analysverktyg skapas med hjälp av J.F.C Fullers teorier om krigföringsförmåga han framför i sin bok ”The Foundations of the Science of War” och specifikt det han benämner som the threefold order. Krigföringsförmågan delas i sin tur in i fysiska, konceptuella och moraliska faktorer.   Med hjälp av detta analysverktyg sorterar jag undersökningsmaterialet, som framförallt utgörs av rapporter från det amerikanska försvarsdepartementet och kongressen, med hjälp av kvalitativ textanalys.   Avslutningsvis besvaras den övergripande frågeställningen genom en analys av det insamlade undersökningsmaterialet och en avslutande diskussion.   Det övergripande resultatet är att ANA har gjort stora framsteg under de senaste åren men att den samlade krigföringsförmågan bedöms som låg. Inom de fysiska faktorerna är det framförallt den låga krigsdugligheten bland fältförbanden samt inom flygvapnet och stödfunktionerna som drar ner betyget. Inom de konceptuella är det bristen på utbildare, den svaga rekryteringen och utbildningen av underofficerare och olika traditioner inom officerskåren. Det som är sämst är de moraliska faktorerna där framförallt etniska problem och nepotism bidrar till splittring inom armén.

Criminology and legal philosophy still have much to gain from the exchange of ideas. However, attention must be paid to how this exchange is being made and what is being transferred. This project attempts to examine a currently unacknowledged exchange between the disciplines; that of an historicist, logos-centric method of knowledge production. Specifically, using a refashioned dialectic method, the debate between H.L.A. Hart and Lon L. Fuller will be compared and contrasted with Robert Agnew’s representation of criminology. This will give some clarity to the different ways by which the disciplines (re)produce knowledge. Importantly, the process of (re)production detailed here is characterized by a (dis)unity between how the disciplines rhetorically justify their methodology and the actual analyses being produced. To give this process colour, it will be examined in relation to criminology’s crisis. Ultimately, the analysis presented here raises doubts about the truthfulness of legal philosophical and criminological knowledge produced in this way.

Operation Market Garden is famous for its failure, although before its execution, all signs pointed to an imminent Allied victory. As well as being outnumbered in both men and weapons the Germans were also disorganized due to previous defeats. The reason why the operation failed has, therefore, interested many. Various explanations include logistics and communications as well as politics. However, today there is still no commonly accepted explanation and new books about the operation are being written. At the strategic level the problem for the Allies was to get across the rivers and canals in Holland to reach the industrial Ruhr in Germany. At the tactical level each watercourse was a problem. Because there is a lack of study of the operation from an engineering perspective, the purpose of this essay is to achieve that by combining land warfare theory with engineering lessons learned. In this qualitative case study J. F. C. Fuller’s theory of protection, offensive power, and movement is used to explain how engineering affected the outcome of the operation. The analysis shows that engineering played a decisive role in the operation and concludes that the outcome of the operation depended on a few critical situations. The Germans used counter mobility effectively to dictate where to fight the battles. At these chosen locations they used survivability measures, which enabled them to fight a static battle and hold key terrain. Allied mobility operations were vital to their assault, and without engineers the land component would have been stopped on the first day of the operation.

The principles of war have for a long time been contested and criticized for being too imprecise and vague, even questioned as to their validity and applicability in modern warfare. Despite military thinkers and officers having questioned them, the principles of war constitute a central part of the western military doctrines and regulations. The purpose of this study is to examine the meaning of the principle of concentration of force and surprise in modern naval warfare. Due to the ambiguity of the principles of war, both principles have been analysed through the theoretical views of Clausewitz, Fuller, Montgomery and Collins. Using a case study method, the two principles of war have been tested hypothetically on the battle of Baltim during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. The result of the study shows that all hypotheses were confirmed in the analysis and the principles of concentration of force and surprise were applicable in modern naval warfare. There is however, a need for further empirical studies regarding the principles of war in order to strengthen this study’s result and to test the validity of other principles in modern warfare.

No description available.

This dissertation examines the practice of writing military history in conjunction with military theory. It shows that in the pursuit of establishing military theory, military history is often actively distorted and manipulated by military theorists. Those military theorists who, consciously or subconsciously, succumb to this practice are identified here as "theorist-historians". The effect of this manipulation, its implications and consequences for the field of study as a whole are examined, as is the didactic nature of military history in the light of historical accuracy. In conclusion the role and effect of the military theorist~historians are evaluated against those of purely academic historians. The unique didactic needs of military history are also highlighted. Two twentieth century British military theorists, B. H. Liddell Hart and J. F. C. Fuller, were chosen as being representative of the military theorist-historian group. / Political Science / M.A. (International Politics)

As equações do modelo bidimensional de veículos autônomos subaquáticos fornecem um exemplo de sistema de controle não linear com o qual podemos ilustrar propriedades da teoria de controle ótimo. Apresentamos, sistematicamente, como os conceitos de formalismo hamiltoniano e teoria de Lie aparecem de forma natural neste contexto. Para tanto, estudamos brevemente o Princípio do Máximo de Pontryagin e discutimos características de sistemas afins. Tratamos com cuidado do Fenômeno Fuller, fornecendo critérios para decidir quando ele está ou não presente em junções, utilizando para isso uma linguagem algébrica. Apresentamos uma abordagem numérica para tratar problemas de controle ótimo e finalizamos com a aplicação dos resultados ao modelo bidimensional de veículo autônomo subaquático. / The equations of the two-dimensional model for autonomous underwater vehicles provide an example of a nonlinear control system which illustrates properties of optimal control theory. We present, systematically, how the concepts of the Hamiltonian formalism and the Lie theory naturally appear in this context. For this purpose, we briefly study the Pontryagin\'s Maximum Principle and discuss features of affine systems. We treat carefully the Fuller Phenomenon, providing criteria to detect its presence at junctions with an algebraic notation. We present a numerical approach to treat optimal control problems and we conclude with an application of the results in the bidimesional model of autonomous underwater vehicle.