Ma thèse se compose de deux parties indépendantes. La première traite decrypto-économie et la seconde d’économétrie théorique. Dans le premier chapitre, je présente un modèle qui prédit la puissance de calcul totale déployée par les mineurs en utilisant le taux de change bitcoin / dollar. Le deuxième chapitre s’appuie sur une version simplifiée du précédent modèle pour faire le constat de l’inefficacité du protocole Bitcoin actuel et proposer un moyen simple de réduire la consommation d’électricité engendrée par cette cryptomonnaie. Le troisième chapitre explique comment identifier et estimer les bornes exactes de la région d’identification de l’effet marginal moyen dans un modèle logit avec effets fixes sur données de panel. / My dissertation concatenates two independent parts. The first one dealswith crypto-economics whereas the second one is about theoretical econometrics. In the first chapter, I present a model which predicts bitcoin miners’ total computing power using the bitcoin / dollar exchange rate. The second chapter builds on a simplified version of the preceeding model to show to which extent the current Bitcoin protocol is inefficient and suggest a simple solution to lower the cryptocurrency’s electricity consumption. The third chapter explains how to identify and estimate the sharp bounds of the average marginal effect’s identification region in a fixed effects logit model with panel data.

<p>Wildlife species generate value through their consumptive and non-consumptive uses. Consumptive uses of these species include hunting and trapping, while wildlife watching is an example of a non-consumptive use. Understanding the value of various wildlife is imperative for public agencies’ management decisions regarding different wildlife areas (e.g., nature preserves, state forests/parks, reservoirs, county/city parks). Individuals’ values for wildlife interactions on public lands can depend on the context in which these interactions occur as well as the probability of an interaction occurring. We utilize a stated preference choice experiment to estimate Indiana residents’ willingness to pay (WTP) for a marginal increase in the chance of seeing white-tailed deer and five furbearing species (bobcat, coyote, river otter, raccoon, red fox) while engaging in their favorite activities at Indiana recreational areas. Our WTP estimates are analogous to value of statistical life (VSL) calculations, and hence we refer to them as the “value of a statistical species” (VSS). We find that the VSS of a bobcat ranges from $22.73 to $41.30, the VSS of a coyote ranges from -$1.94 to $9.74, the VSS of a raccoon ranges from $5.25 to $21.69, the VSS of a red fox ranges from $43.31 to $62.52, the VSS of a white-tailed deer ranges from $22.70 to $27.00, and the VSS of a river otter ranges from $23.18 to $45.98. Our analysis suggests that individuals’ values for wildlife depend on the activity they are undertaking when they see the wildlife.  </p>

<p>This research explores the impact of road infrastructure on deforestation, the role of forest governance and a carbon tax/credit mechanism in mitigating the effect on land use change and subsequent GHG emissions, with application to the states of Pará and Mato Grosso in Brazil. Few studies have addressed how policies to protect forested land affect the rate of deforestation associated with road and infrastructure improvement. This research makes three main contributions to the literature of roads and deforestation: 1) the concept of cost of access to the “closest” market in terms of time (expressed in person hours per ten ton load) is introduced to reflect variations in the road network infrastructure; 2) development of empirical evidence of the role of forest governance in diminishing the rate of deforestation linked to roads, using data from Brazil; and 3) and assessment of the efficacy of a carbon tax/credit scheme for mitigating the impact of infrastructure investment on land use and resultant changes in GHG emissions. Access cost ranged between 0.01 and 3084 person hours per load, however 80 percent of the pixels measured less than 784 person hours across the three years analyzed (2003, 2013, and 2018). This measure facilitated a contrast in spatial accessibility due to road infrastructure across pixels within the same year and across years on a same pixel. The use of a fractional logit model allowed the incorporation of proportions of different land uses within a same pixel at the same resolution of other <a></a>variables not available at the same fine scale. Strong forest governance reduced up to 25% the elasticities on forest lands with respect to access cost; in other words, the impact of roads on deforestation is reduced by one fourth when forest governance is strengthened. These larger impacts occur at the frontier where most of the efforts need to be addressed. Finally, provided a shock in road infrastructure, a carbon tax/credit level of $82/tCO2e permitted to abate an additional amount of GHG emissions estimated in 244 million tons of CO2e released due to changes in carbon stocks and flow emissions from agricultural activities induced from changes in road infrastructure. More importantly, this research provided insights of a proportion of GHG emissions that could be abated at different levels of a carbon tax/credit.</p>

<p> This paper analyzes the 1971-1976 outmigration pattern of the Canadian female elderly from the 23 Census Metropolitan Area's (CMA's). The migration is conceptualized as a three-level choice process and is represented by the logit model. The major findings are as follows: (1) Elderly females are substantially less migratory than young females but are slightly more mobile than elderly males. In addition,, the elderly females in the Western region tend to be more mobile than those in other regions. (2) Elderly females show less preference for the metro politan destinati ons than the young population; however, among the elderly, females have a stronger preference for metropolitan areas than males. (3) In general, the metropolita~d outmiS!'ants' destination choice pattern is less dispersed for the elderly than for the young. Among the older persons, female migrants have a larger dispersion than male migrants in most CMA's. (4) With respect to metropolitanward elderly migrants from the CMA's, the probability of choosing a particular destination is positively related to population size, brightness , and housing growth, and negatively related to the logarithm of di stance, cultural dissimilarity, coldness, and gross rent. (5)Environmental variables are more important than the housing variables in determining the destination choice pattern of the elderly mi grants. </p> / Thesis / Bachelor of Arts (BA)

No description available.

Cancer is a leading cause of death globally, and early detection is crucial for better outcomes. This research aims to improve Region Of Interest (ROI) segmentation and feature extraction in medical image analysis using Radiomics techniques with 3D Slicer, Pyradiomics, and Python. Dimension reduction methods, including PCA, K-means, t-SNE, ISOMAP, and Hierarchical Clustering, were applied to highdimensional features to enhance interpretability and efficiency. The study assessed the ability of the reduced feature set to predict T-staging, an essential component of the TNM system for cancer diagnosis. Multinomial logistic regression models were developed and evaluated using MSE, AIC, BIC, and Deviance Test. The dataset consisted of CT and PET-CT DICOM images from 131 lung cancer patients. Results showed that PCA identified 14 features, Hierarchical Clustering 17, t-SNE 58, and ISOMAP 40, with texture-based features being the most critical. This study highlights the potential of integrating Radiomics and unsupervised learning techniques to enhance cancer prediction from medical images.

台商製造業在中國大陸的投資區位選擇行為，依個體選擇理論來說，是受到廠商本身的特性與區域條件兩者的影響，本研究的重點放在區位條件的影響上。但由於台商也是中國大陸FDI的一環，因此在參考過去其他地區的FDI區位選擇實證後，本研究將針對台商研究中較為欠缺的區位選擇行為，架構出台商投資中國大陸的個體選擇模型，並以更細化的產業別分類探討各區域條件的影響效果。最後再透過訪談的過程，針對實證的結果加以再驗證，得到完整以區位條件為觀點所架構出的台商製造業區位選擇模式。 由本研究的研究成果中可以發現，台商還是延續了過去在台灣的生產模式，凸顯了台商對於中國大陸的投資重視聚集的特性。但在勞力因素、商業服務的集中度、國家高新政策上，則因產業別的不同而產生出較大的歧異。訪談的結果也顯示出勞力條件的影響將會在未來日漸弱化，這種趨勢是和生產要素的移動性息息相關。但台商在中國大陸的投資已注意到市場潛力的需求，也成為近來台商投資中國大陸區位選擇時的重要轉變。另一方面，在基礎建設的投資與國家產業政策的投入對各產業別的影響上，顯示不見得政府的投資與廠商的投入有絕對的正向關係，這可能和投資的效率性有關，必須更進一步探討；但就整體台商而言，則驗證了人為扶植的產業政策的確可以為地方帶來廠商的聚集，且訪談結果更認為產品性質的差異，會影響到廠商在區位選擇時，考量基礎運輸設施種類的需求，這一部份也因為投審會資料的限制而無法得到量化模型證實。而稅的負擔經過模型校估後得到顯著的負相關，在訪談的結果中，發現跟台商在會計上的習慣可能也有關。台商通常會以作帳的方式產生負債經營的狀況以隱藏實際獲利情形，使實際的所得稅負擔遠低於應負擔金額。 總之，本研究雖然是以各省市所能提供的區域條件來看待台商的區位選擇。但如勞力等生產要素在在流動性逐漸增強的趨勢下，的確可能削弱了地區條件的優勢，可是由政策與聚集所創造出來的地域條件，卻是不容易被替代的。本研究的結果證實的這樣的觀點，至少在目前台商投資大陸的情形中，還是深受這種創造出來的地域條件所影響，一旦聚集形成，就傾向於自我延續下去，強化了由地域觀點的角度來看廠商區位選擇的理由。但政策的介入卻要注意效率性的問題，這也是未來的研究可以發展的方向。

綜觀台灣過去數十年來的產業經濟發展歷程，在國際間有許多正面的評價，稱之為「台灣經濟奇蹟」。在政府政策致力於塑造有利於科技產業發展的環境下，製造業為台灣產業帶來重大的貢獻，當我國不同的產業類別之製造業發揮其優勢競爭力的同時，亦使得台灣地區北、中、南三大區域發展出各自獨特且具有潛力的製造業特性。 事實上，區域產業特性與賦能之優劣將可透過區域中廠商與行動者的活動來表現，尤其是區域中的模範角色，是檢視區域中有無可學習的模範者和模仿其整體投資階段過程的重要指標，對於區域內外企業進駐和設立工廠的組織決策相當重要（Bandura, 1986; van Praag, 1996; Kriegesmann, 1999; Fornahl, 2003）。這樣的仿效行為將指向區域中旗艦廠商投資設廠區位選擇與組織決策行動，換句話說，旗艦廠商（flagship firm）是區域發展中重要的模範角色（role model）（Fornahl, 2003），而其區位選擇與組織決策行為對於區域發展將佔有舉足輕重的地位。另一方面，過去傳統投資區位選擇的討論，多論及單一廠商設立工廠在地理空間的決策行為。然而本研究認為旗艦廠商多工型工廠（multiplant）的特性在組織決策上的區位選擇行為，面對各區域經濟與產業發展特性的差異，應有不同於過去文獻與理論的考量。 是故，本研究透過天下雜誌公佈台灣地區2007年製造業1000大廠商，聚焦台灣地區製造業旗艦廠商面對投資母國區位選擇的考量，透過旗艦廠商在台投資多工型工廠歷程決策之整體分析，藉由投資時間與空間區位，以及廠商組織型態面向的討論，了解台灣地區旗艦廠商投資多工型工廠於母國區位選擇之因素。透過多項羅吉特模型的實證研究，本研究歸納研究成果，提出下列政策建議： 一、推動企業總公司在地化發展，有助區域內旗艦廠商再投資母國之活動 二、透過旗艦廠商在區域內之投資經驗，引導再投資活動，以利區域發展 三、區域內產業特性強化與升級，以加強區域高科技產業支撐力 四、科學工業園區與區域內科技基礎產業優勢分進合擊，提升產業關聯性 五、提升區域總體經濟發展，有助於吸引區域內高科技產業再投資之活動

Since the introduction of motor vehicles, the number of fatalities and accidents has been a concern for society.The number of fatalities on roads is amongst the most common causes of mortality worldwide (WHO, 2015).Even in industrialized countries the number of fatalities remains unacceptable. Therefore, in the last decades, anumber of approaches have emerged to support and boost traffic safety towards a system free from fatalities andserious impairment outcomes. ‘Sustainable Safety’ and ‘Vision Zero’ are well-known examples aiming to avoidfatalities within the traffic system and reduce injury severity when a traffic accident is inevitable. However, thenumber of fatalities and seriously injured accidents are still relatively high. More specifically, vulnerable roadusers remain involved in fatal and serious accidents even in industrialized countries. Therefore, further advancesin traffic safety studies are needed. This thesis aims at evaluating the impact of road characteristics, traffic rulesand information provision towards a safer traffic system. The thesis is composed of five scientific papers whichsummarizes the main contributions of this work. / <p>QC 20161109</p>

This thesis uses data of more than 180 banks from CEE region to identify the main determinants of long term credit ratings assigned to these banks in period between 2010 - 2012. This is done by employing two frequently used classification methods - Multiple Discriminant Analysis and Ordered Logit Model. The main contribution lies in including explanatory variables from various areas which have impact on financial health of examined banks. Apart from standard spheres of banks' performance such as capital adequacy, asset quality or profitability we investigate relevance of macroeconomic and qualitative factors as well. Although our results suggest that all mentioned areas are relevant for credit risk and hence rating assignment process the bank specific variables, both quantitative and qualitative, still play the key role.