<p>In this dissertation I study the role of limited commitment in dynamic models. In the first part, I consider firms that face uncertainty shocks in a principal-agent setting but have only limited ability to commit to long-term contracts. Limited commitment firms expedite payments to their managers when uncertainty is high, a finding that helps to explain the puzzling large bonuses observed during the recent financial crisis. In the second part, I examine a dynamic investment model where firms invest in a risky asset but cannot hedge the risk of their investment because they lack the ability to commit to future repayments of debt. Once firms have access to exogenous supply of risk free assets they may, on the aggregate level, invest more in the risky asset because risk free technology allows them to grow richer in equilibrium. This result helps to explain the asset price booms in emerging countries when those countries experience substantial capital outflow.</p> / Dissertation

Data management in resource-limited settings can be a mountainous problem if not approached with a thorough understanding of those limitations and a mindset prepared for rapid changes in the environment. Data management becomes even more challenging at multiple points of entry, where there are many interwoven parts working together in order to get a potential traveler from his/her first steps into an airport area to boarding a plane, all while ensuring that the traveler has been thoroughly screened for any signs or symptoms of a possible Ebola virus disease infection. This capstone describes the history of the International Health Regulations’ effects on control of disease spread and importation at points of entry, the Do Not Board/Lookout List’s role in disease control in the United States, and the CDC’s International Assistance Team’s unique task in creating and implementing country-specific databases to meet the needs of Ebola-affected countries. The most critical data management need at these countries’ points of entry is specifically to prevent the exportation of Ebola virus disease in order to keep each country’s airspace open and allow goods, personnel and services to continue to be imported into these countries during this sustained Ebola outbreak.

The use of multiple antennas at base stations and user devices is a key component in the design of cellular communication systems that can meet the capacity demands of tomorrow. The downlink transmission from base stations to users is particularly limiting, both from a theoretical and a practical perspective, since user devices should be simple and power-efficient, and because many applications primarily create downlink traffic (e.g., video streaming). The potential gain of employing multiple antennas for downlink transmission is well recognized: the total data throughput increases linearly with the number of transmit antennas if the spatial dimension is exploited for simultaneous transmission to multiple users. In the design of practical cellular systems, the actual benefit of multiuser multiantenna transmission is limited by a variety of factors, including acquisition and accuracy of channel information, transmit power, channel conditions, cell density, user mobility, computational complexity, and the level of cooperation between base stations in the transmission design. The thesis considers three main components of downlink communications: 1) estimation of current channel conditions using training signaling; 2) efficient feedback of channel estimates; and 3) allocation of transmit resources (e.g., power, time and spatial dimensions) to users. In each area, the thesis seeks to provide a greater understanding of the interplay between different system properties. This is achieved by generalizing the underlying assumptions in prior work and providing both extensions of previous outcomes and entirely new mathematical results, along with supporting numerical examples. Some of the main thesis contributions can be summarized as follows. A framework is proposed for estimation of different channel quantities using a common optimized training sequence. Furthermore, it is proved that each user should only be allocated one data stream and utilize its antennas for receive combining and interference rejection, instead of using the antennas for reception of multiple data streams. This fundamental result is proved under both exact channel acquisition and under imperfections from channel estimation and limited feedback. This also has positive implications on the hardware and system design. Next, a general mathematical model is proposed for joint analysis of cellular systems with different levels of base station cooperation. The optimal multicell resource allocation can in general only be found with exponential computational complexity, but a systematic algorithm is proposed to find the optimal solution for the purpose of offline benchmarking. A parametrization of the optimal solution is also derived, creating a foundation for heuristic low-complexity algorithms that can provide close-to-optimal performance. This is exemplified by proposing centralized and distributed multicell transmission strategies and by evaluating these using multicell channel measurements. / In reference to IEEE copyrighted material which is used with permission in this thesis, the IEEE does not endorse any of KTH Royal Institute of Technology's products or services. Internal or personal use of this material is permitted. If interested in reprinting/republishing IEEE copyrighted material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution, please go to http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/rights_link.html to learn how to obtain a License from RightsLink.QC 20111026

Thesis (MAppSc(ChemTech))--University of South Australia, 2000

Thesis (MEng) -- University of South Australia, 1997

[Abstract]: This dissertation documents and evaluates the transformational change process undertaken by a major Australian food manufacturer, Golden Circle Limited. The study focuses on evaluating what impact the change process had on the organization’s capacity to learn and its ability to apply such learning to improve its competitive performance. The primary data used in this evaluation were generated by three sets of semi-structured interviews conducted with respondents drawn from different levels of management within Golden Circle and its key value chain partners over a two year period. From January 2004 to December 2005, the company reported a cost reduction of 21% within the Supply Chain and Operations Area, which had been the focus of the transformational change process. This improvement in performance was based on three success factors: the presence of an effective change champion, the formation of cross-functional project teams that were empowered, responsible and accountable, and the presence of a structured process designed to develop a culture of continuous improvement. Improved relationships with the organization’s supply chain partners directly contributed to the improved operational performance through higher quality inputs, better operational alignment and reduced inventory holdings.The study identified that there were three key factors that were essential for the development of an organizational climate that nurtured learning: leadership that was inclusive, supportive and proactive; a culture of individual responsibility and team accountability; and an organizational structure that promoted open communication and collaboration. Further, this study identified four factors that enabled new knowledge to be applied: the presence of a shared vision, adequate resources (both financial and personnel), a willingness to participate, and the capabilities to participate.A significant component of this research was the construction, testing and refinement of a model of organizational learning in the context of a value chain that would be of value to future research and managerial practice in the area of organizational adaptation.

Zugl.: Göttingen, University, Diss., 2006.

Thesis (M.I.T.)--The Evergreen State College, 2007. / Title from title screen viewed (4/10/2008). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 160-168).

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Dept. of Social Inquiry, 2000? / Bibliography: leaves 261-276. Also available in an electronic version via the Internet (ADT).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of New South Wales, 2001. / Also available online.