Basal Temperature of Snow (BTS) measurements were used as the primary inputs to a high resolution (30 x 30 m grid cells) empirical-statistical regional permafrost probability model for the southern and central Yukon, and northernmost British Columbia (59° - 65°N). Data from seven individual study areas distributed across the region were combined using a blended distance decay technique, with an eighth area used for validation. The model predictions are reasonably consistent with previous permafrost maps for the area with some notable differences and a much higher level of detail. The modelling gives an overall permafrost probability of 52%. North of 62°N, permafrost becomes more extensive in the lowland areas whereas farther south permafrost is typically common only above treeline. Significant differences exist between the mountain environments of the Yukon and the Swiss Alps where the BTS method originated and as a result different modelling approaches had to be developed. This work therefore: (1) develops additional explanatory variables for permafrost probability modelling, the most notable of which is equivalent elevation, (2) confirms the use of ground truthing as a requirement for empirical-statistical modelling in the Yukon and (3) uses a combination of models for the region in order to spatially predict between study areas. The results of this thesis will be of use to linear infrastructure route-planning, geohazard assessment and climate change adaptation strategies. Future work employing the model will allow the effects of scenario-based climate warming to be examined.

Basal Temperature of Snow (BTS) measurements were used as the primary inputs to a high resolution (30 x 30 m grid cells) empirical-statistical regional permafrost probability model for the southern and central Yukon, and northernmost British Columbia (59° - 65°N). Data from seven individual study areas distributed across the region were combined using a blended distance decay technique, with an eighth area used for validation. The model predictions are reasonably consistent with previous permafrost maps for the area with some notable differences and a much higher level of detail. The modelling gives an overall permafrost probability of 52%. North of 62°N, permafrost becomes more extensive in the lowland areas whereas farther south permafrost is typically common only above treeline. Significant differences exist between the mountain environments of the Yukon and the Swiss Alps where the BTS method originated and as a result different modelling approaches had to be developed. This work therefore: (1) develops additional explanatory variables for permafrost probability modelling, the most notable of which is equivalent elevation, (2) confirms the use of ground truthing as a requirement for empirical-statistical modelling in the Yukon and (3) uses a combination of models for the region in order to spatially predict between study areas. The results of this thesis will be of use to linear infrastructure route-planning, geohazard assessment and climate change adaptation strategies. Future work employing the model will allow the effects of scenario-based climate warming to be examined.

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A device capable of continuously monitoring an individual’s levels of alertness in real-time is highly desirable for preventing drowsiness and lapse related accidents. This thesis presents the development of a non-intrusive and light-insensitive video-based system that uses computer-vision methods to localize face, eyes, and eyelids positions to measure level of eye closure within an image, which, in turn, can be used to identify visible facial signs associated with drowsiness and behavioural microsleeps. The system was developed to be non-intrusive and light-insensitive to make it practical and end-user compliant. To non-intrusively monitor the subject without constraining their movement, the video was collected by placing a camera, a near-infrared (NIR) illumination source, and an NIR-pass optical filter at an eye-to-camera distance of 60 cm from the subject. The NIR-illumination source and filter make the system insensitive to lighting conditions, allowing it to operate in both ambient light and complete darkness without visually distracting the subject. To determine the image characteristics and to quantitatively evaluate the developed methods, reference videos of nine subjects were recorded under four different lighting conditions with the subjects exhibiting several levels of eye closure, head orientations, and eye gaze. For each subject, a set of 66 frontal face reference images was selected and manually annotated with multiple face and eye features. The eye-closure measurement system was developed using a top-down passive feature-detection approach, in which the face region of interest (fROI), eye regions of interests (eROIs), eyes, and eyelid positions were sequentially localized. The fROI was localized using an existing Haar-object detection algorithm. In addition, a Kalman filter was used to stabilize and track the fROI in the video. The left and the right eROIs were localized by scaling the fROI with corresponding proportional anthropometric constants. The position of an eye within each eROI was detected by applying a template-matching method in which a pre-formed eye-template image was cross-correlated with the sub-images derived from the eROI. Once the eye position was determined, the positions of the upper and lower eyelids were detected using a vertical integral-projection of the eROI. The detected positions of the eyelids were then used to measure eye closure. The detection of fROI and eROI was very reliable for frontal-face images, which was considered sufficient for an alertness monitoring system as subjects are most likely facing straight ahead when they are drowsy or about to have microsleep. Estimation of the y- coordinates of the eye, upper eyelid, and lower eyelid positions showed average median errors of 1.7, 1.4, and 2.1 pixels and average 90th percentile (worst-case) errors of 3.2, 2.7, and 6.9 pixels, respectively (1 pixel 1.3 mm in reference images). The average height of a fully open eye in the reference database was 14.2 pixels. The average median and 90th percentile errors of the eye and eyelid detection methods were reasonably low except for the 90th percentile error of the lower eyelid detection method. Poor estimation of the lower eyelid was the primary limitation for accurate eye-closure measurement. The median error of fractional eye-closure (EC) estimation (i.e., the ratio of closed portions of an eye to average height when the eye is fully open) was 0.15, which was sufficient to distinguish between the eyes being fully open, half closed, or fully closed. However, compounding errors in the facial-feature detection methods resulted in a 90th percentile EC estimation error of 0.42, which was too high to reliably determine extent of eye-closure. The eye-closure measurement system was relatively robust to variation in facial-features except for spectacles, for which reflections can saturate much of the eye-image. Therefore, in its current state, the eye-closure measurement system requires further development before it could be used with confidence for monitoring drowsiness and detecting microsleeps.

過去有相當多的文獻針對解約率建立模型，但由於資料取得之困難，鮮少文獻針對不同保單年度之解約率進行分析，本研究將以台灣壽險業資料分析不同保單年度之解約率行為，期望能找出解約率之期限結構，提供壽險業者訂價或風險管理之參考依據。 　　本研究使用台灣壽險業1987年至2011年間之生死合險及終身壽險資料，透過資料分析顯示兩險種之解約率關聯性不大，且應將繳別分為三類進行分析，分別為不分繳別、月繳及年繳和半年繳及季繳三類，針對各保單年度進行主成分分析，結果顯示皆需6至8個主成分方可達到90%之解釋力，並透過ARMA模型檢驗選定之主成分與總體經濟變數間之關聯性，進而觀察是否符合利率假說及緊急資金假說，最後透過VAR模型或ARMA模型模擬總體經濟變數和各主成分之分數，並利用主成分分析之結果將主成分分數轉換回保單年度變數，完成各保單年度解約率之模擬，建構出台灣壽險業解約率之期限結構。

Basal Temperature of Snow (BTS) measurements were used as the primary inputs to a high resolution (30 x 30 m grid cells) empirical-statistical regional permafrost probability model for the southern and central Yukon, and northernmost British Columbia (59° - 65°N). Data from seven individual study areas distributed across the region were combined using a blended distance decay technique, with an eighth area used for validation. The model predictions are reasonably consistent with previous permafrost maps for the area with some notable differences and a much higher level of detail. The modelling gives an overall permafrost probability of 52%. North of 62°N, permafrost becomes more extensive in the lowland areas whereas farther south permafrost is typically common only above treeline. Significant differences exist between the mountain environments of the Yukon and the Swiss Alps where the BTS method originated and as a result different modelling approaches had to be developed. This work therefore: (1) develops additional explanatory variables for permafrost probability modelling, the most notable of which is equivalent elevation, (2) confirms the use of ground truthing as a requirement for empirical-statistical modelling in the Yukon and (3) uses a combination of models for the region in order to spatially predict between study areas. The results of this thesis will be of use to linear infrastructure route-planning, geohazard assessment and climate change adaptation strategies. Future work employing the model will allow the effects of scenario-based climate warming to be examined.

近年來因市場波動劇烈, 保險公司紛紛推出的「附保證投資型保單」, 給 予保戶在投資上的保證。然而, 附最低給付保證條件卻使得保險公司必須面 對更大的核保與財務風險。所以計算出附有最低保證條件商品的保費就顯 得格外地重要。 傳統附保證保單在訂價時,都是假設固定己知的脫退率,因為他們認為 脫退率的變化不會是影響保單價值的主因。但在Mary hardy 所著的《Investment Guarantees》一書中page 96 特別提到脫退風險: Withdrawals are more problematic. Withdrawals are, to some extent, related to the investment experience, and the withdrawal risk is, therefore, not fully diversifiable. 因此, 本文希望透過建立受經濟因子影響的解約率模型,來得到附保證保險 的風險價差。 本文考慮附保證滿期給付投資型商品(GMMB),並且使用 Heston (1993) 提出的財務市場模型以及參考Mercurio (1996,2001) 評價投資型保險之風 險承擔價差方法, 使用效用函數來描述保險契約雙方之風險趨避程度。同 時根據Kolkiewicz & Tan (2006) 假設受經濟因子的危險比率模型(hazard rate model), 來反映出資產的平均波動程度會影響保戶的脫退率。最後以 情境方式分別模擬5、10及15年到期的附保證最低滿期投資型保險之風險 價差。本研究推導之模型主要得出下列結果: (1) 保單期間愈長, 價差愈大。 (2) 價外賣權的價差高於價內。(3) 風險規避程度越高買賣價差越大。(4) 脫 退率受經濟影響愈深, 保單的買賣價差愈大。(5) 當保險公司所保證的價格 愈高時, 價差的影響愈大。 / With the fluctuation in the financial market in 2008, insurance company provided the consumers with equity-linked life insurances embedded guarantees. On the other hand, there are more risk in the financial literacy and underwriting performance of the insurance company. It is especially important to calculate the premium of the contract embedded investment guarantee properly . Traditional method of pricing the contract embedded investment guarantee was assumed that lapse rate was known, because product providers believed lapse rate was not a major factor to price the contract. However, Mary hardy’s ”Investment Guarantees” page 96 specifically mentions about the lapse rate risk: Withdrawls are more problematic. Withdrawals are, to some extent ,related to the investment experience, and the withdrawal risk is, therefore, not fully diversifiable. So this article will found the model of lapse rate dependent on economic factors and further get the fair value of one kind of a contract embedded guarantee: GMMB. We will build a financial model introduced by Heston (1993) and use the methodology provided by Mercurio (1996,2001) to price the risk bearing gap of a contract embedded guarantee with utility function to depict the risk averse level between investors . And we have lapse rates affected from the fluctuation of the implying asset which is the hazard rate model used by Kolkiewicz & Tan (2006). Finally, we will simulate a set of scenarios to present the Risk bearing spreads of equity-linked life insurance embedded guarantees whose term are 5、10 and 15 years. The following are the consequences I got: (1) The longer the duration, the larger the spread. (2) The spread out of money is larger than that in the money. (3) The higher the risk aversion, the larger the buy-ask spread. (4) The deeper the influence of economy on the lapse rate, the larger the buy-ask spread. (5) The higher guarantee price insurer offer, the deeper the spread affect.

This thesis deals with the use of the video as a didactic tool in the education of the physics. Introductory part is theoretic and focuses on classification of didactic tools which can be used for physics teaching. Second part analyses the possibility of capturing physical effects, especially effects with very long or very short duration which cannot be captured by conventional devices. This part is focused on the right selection of physical effects, selecting and setting of suitable devices for capturing and further processing of the recorded video. The next section is based on the previous analysis of physical effects, which are recorded and processed into the form of educational movie. The main result of this thesis is the collection of educational movies of fast and very slow physical effects useful as the didactic tool for the teaching of physics.

O objeto do presente trabalho cinge-se à investigação da contraposição da prescrição intercorrente com a responsabilidade tributária, duas temáticas completamente distintas uma da outra e que, por si só e isoladamente, despertam importantes discussões no campo do Direito Tributário. Jungidas, então, representam enorme problemática, amplificada em razão da negligência de nossos legisladores, da insuficiente manifestação doutrinária e, com o devido respeito, da generalidade de alguns precedentes jurisprudenciais, incapazes de alcançar a singularidade de cada uma das situações possíveis. Em meio ao caos da cobrança judicial dos créditos tributários, uma das crescentes e atuais preocupações diz respeito à demora com que as execuções fiscais são movimentadas (quer seja em razão da ineficiência das Fazendas Públicas, quer seja em razão da má-fé de alguns contribuintes/devedores, quer seja em razão da morosidade imputável exclusivamente aos mecanismos inerentes ao Poder Judiciário) e sua influência na fulminação do direito creditório das Fazendas Públicas em decorrência do reconhecimento da prescrição, mais precisamente da prescrição intercorrente, aquela que se percebe no curso do processo judicial e atualmente não se duvida de sua aplicação. Perquiriu-se, então, como esta espécie de prescrição se aplicaria aos responsáveis tributários, analisando-se a questão, sob o ponto de vista das espécies de responsabilização tributária, se solidária ou subsidiária, ou ainda, de suas principais e mais problemáticas subespécies, sendo tais, aquela dos terceiros, dos sucessores ou daquela decorrente de dissolução irregular da sociedade. Além disso, e, obrigatoriamente, foram analisadas questões intrínsecas ao assunto, tais como, a validade da aplicação de regras suspensivas e interruptivas do prazo prescricional e a definição do dies a quo da contagem prescricional para cada espécie de responsabilidade tributária. Enfim, discutiu-se a melhor forma de aplicação da prescrição intercorrente em casos de redirecionamento da cobrança judicial de dívidas tributárias por responsabilização, verificando-se, dentre outras coisas, sobre a melhor utilização de protestos interruptivos, ou ainda, sobre a obrigatoriedade da deflagração de hipóteses de incidência de responsabilidade tributária, as quais captassem os respectivos fatos geradores de responsabilização, mecanismo este eficientemente utilizado em ordenamentos jurídicos alienígenas, mas que, contudo, nos remete à verificação da decadência, previamente à prescrição e/ou à prescrição intercorrente. / The purpose of this work is restrained to the investigation of the antithesis between the interim statute of limitations and tax liability, two themes completely distinct from each other, and which, per se and on an individually basis, give rise to important discussions in the Tax Law field. However, when united, they reflect an enormous debate, which is amplified in reason of our lawmakers negligence, the lack of doctrinal pronouncement thereon, and, with the due respect, the generality of some case law precedents, incapable of reaching the singularity of each of the possible situations. In the middle of the tax credit court enforcement chaos, one of the growing and current concerns refer to the delay by which tax collections are transited (whether in reason of the inefficiency of Public Treasury Departments, for the bad faith of some taxpayers / debtors, or in reason of the slowness solely imputable to the mechanisms inherent to the Judicial Branch) and their influence on the fulmination of the Public Treasury Departments right to credit as a consequence of the acknowledgement of the statute of limitations, more precisely the interim statute of limitations, which is that realized in the course of the legal proceeding, and the application of which cannot be currently doubted. Then, it has been scrutinized how such sort of statute of limitations would be applicable to taxpayers, by analyzing the issue under the point of view of the taxpaying types, whether a co-liability or subsidiary liability, or even of the subspecies thereof, such as that of third parties, successors, or that arising out of the companys irregular dissolution. In addition to that, and, compulsorily, intrinsic matters to the subject have been analyzed, such as the proper application of staying and interrupting rules for the statute of limitations, and the determination of the dies a quo for counting the lapse of time for each type of tax liability. All in all, the best way to apply the interim statute of limitations to cases of redirecting the court collection of tax debts for liability was discussed, ascertaining, among others, the best use for interrupting objections, or even the obligation to deflagrate hypotheses for the tax liability, which would catch the respective tax liability triggering events, which mechanism is efficiently used in foreign legal systems, but which, however, lead us to ascertain the lapse of right, before the statute of limitations and/or the interim statute of limitations.

Basal Temperature of Snow (BTS) measurements were used as the primary inputs to a high resolution (30 x 30 m grid cells) empirical-statistical regional permafrost probability model for the southern and central Yukon, and northernmost British Columbia (59° - 65°N). Data from seven individual study areas distributed across the region were combined using a blended distance decay technique, with an eighth area used for validation. The model predictions are reasonably consistent with previous permafrost maps for the area with some notable differences and a much higher level of detail. The modelling gives an overall permafrost probability of 52%. North of 62°N, permafrost becomes more extensive in the lowland areas whereas farther south permafrost is typically common only above treeline. Significant differences exist between the mountain environments of the Yukon and the Swiss Alps where the BTS method originated and as a result different modelling approaches had to be developed. This work therefore: (1) develops additional explanatory variables for permafrost probability modelling, the most notable of which is equivalent elevation, (2) confirms the use of ground truthing as a requirement for empirical-statistical modelling in the Yukon and (3) uses a combination of models for the region in order to spatially predict between study areas. The results of this thesis will be of use to linear infrastructure route-planning, geohazard assessment and climate change adaptation strategies. Future work employing the model will allow the effects of scenario-based climate warming to be examined.