Esta tese é composta por três ensaios que versam sobre a complexa relação entre desenvolvimento e meio ambiente. No primeiro ensaio é feita uma revisão das principais abordagens teóricas que tratam do assunto, com destaque para a Curva Ambiental de Kuznets (CAK) e para os conceitos de sustentabilidade fraca e forte. Ambos apontam o crescimento econômico como um importante indutor de impacto ambiental. No entanto, a CAK afirma que a geração de riqueza pode ser aliada na proteção ambiental quando o país alcança um patamar de desenvolvimento suficientemente elevado para que o meio ambiente passe a ser incorporado como um bem superior. Já a conceituação de sustentabilidade não reforça esta conclusão ao passo que sugere que o capital natural precisa ser preservado: seja relativamente (conceito fraco) ou absolutamente (conceito forte). Para estes, a relação entre crescimento e impacto é sempre direta. As abordagens multidimensionais vão além e afirmam que a relação entre o homem e os ecossistemas se dá uma forma impossível de ser mensurada através da simples relação entre crescimento econômico e degradação. Para se aproximar minimamente deste modo de pensar, um conjunto maior de indutores precisa ser considerado. O ensaio 2 desta tese apresenta modelos na literatura que buscam estimar impactos ambientais causados pela atividade humana através de um número maior de indutores (produtivos, populacionais, institucionais, entre outros). Estes modelos (IPAT e STIRPAT) têm como característica a possibilidade de estimar o impacto ambiental esperado através da verificação das variáveis consideradas indutoras. Mas, duas fragilidades são especialmente importantes: i) a variável que mede impacto ambiental é, em geral, reportada com poluição apenas; e, ii) os modelos não fornecem cenários não lineares nos indutores, ou seja, o patamar das variáveis não faz diferença no tamanho do impacto gerado. Então, é proposta a aplicação de um modelo logístico ordenado que seja capaz de estimar as probabilidades de diferentes níveis de impacto ambiental, que é medido através do tamanho da Pegada Ecológica dos países. A metodologia proposta, além de contar com uma medida mais ampla e completa de impacto ambiental, também é capaz de fornecer cenários com maior riqueza informativa, pois levam em consideração os níveis das variáveis indutoras. No trabalho, foram avaliados cenários a partir de um modelo que contou com as seguintes variáveis: percentual de população urbana, percentual de população entre 15-64 anos, densidade demográfica, PIB per capita e percentual de área agrícola. Os sinais e magnitudes das variáveis utilizadas são condizentes com o que a literatura vem apresentando. O diferencial da proposta é, de fato, a possiblidade de análise de cenários através de outra perspectiva. O ensaio 3 da tese aplica este modelo estimado para o globo aos municípios gaúchos. A partir da suposição de que os impactos ambientais são homogêneos ao redor do mundo, foi possível estimar as probabilidades de impacto para cada município. Com estes resultados, foi elaborada uma análise regional dos potenciais impactos ambientais dos municípios a partir dos indutores que apresentavam. Trata-se de um exercício interessante quando se considerada a carência de informações ambientais neste nível de desagregação. / This thesis presents three essays on the complex relationship between development and the environment. On the first essay is performed a survey of the main theoretical approaches on this matter with an emphasis on the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) and the weak and strong sustainability concepts. Both approaches points out the economic growth as an important driver of environmental impact. However, the EKC sustains that the pursuit of economic wealth can be responsible for environmental protection as the country reaches a certain level of income which turns the environment into a superior good. On the other hand, the concepts of sustainability do not enforce this conclusion either in relative terms (weak concept) or absolute terms (strong concept); in this scope, the relationship between growth and environment is constantly direct. The multidimensional approaches propose that the relationship between humankind and the ecosystems are established in a way which is impossible to measure through economic growth and environmental degradation. To become closer to this sort of approach it is necessary to consider a wider set of drivers. The essay 2 of this thesis analyses some statistical models that aim to estimate environmental impacts caused by human activity based on a larger number of drivers (production, population, institutions, etc.). These models (IPAT and STIRPAT) present as a major characteristic the ability to estimate the expected environmental impact grounded on the drivers considered. Nevertheless, two important caveats should be considered: i) the impact variable is most of the time just a pollution measure; and, ii) the models do not offer a nonlinear analysis on the drivers, i.e., the level of the drivers does not make any difference in terms of impact. So, we propose an ordered logistic model that is suitable for estimating the probabilities of different levels of environmental impact which is represented by the size of the Environmental Footprint. The proposed methodology, besides counting on a wider and more complete measure of environmental impact, is capable to offer scenarios with a richer degree of information because the level are effectively taken into consideration. The study has evaluated scenarios base on the following drivers: percentage of population in urban areas, percentage of population between 15-64 years old, demographic density, GDP per capita, and the percentage of agricultural land. The signs and magnitudes of the drivers have proven to be the same as those found in the literature. The main difference of this proposal is, in fact, the possibility of analyzing scenarios through a different (wider) perspective. The essay 3 applies the model, which was prior estimated for the globe, to the municipalities of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Based on the assumption that the environmental impact generated by those drivers is homogeneous around the world, it was possible to estimate the probabilities of environmental impact for each municipality and to draw a regional study of these results. It is an interesting exercise if you take into account that there exists a huge lack of information of environmental conditions for municipalities.

Emerging automotive and transportation technologies, such as autonomous vehicles (AVs) have created revolutionary possibilities in the way we might travel in the future. Major car manufacturers and technology giants have demonstrated significant progress in advancing and testing AV technologies in real-life traffic conditions. Results from multi-population surveys indicate that despite enjoying moderate familiarity with AVs, more than 40% of the respondents were likely to use them when they become available. Simply looking at the demographic differences without paying any regard to the perceptions might suggest that the demographic differences are the primary causal factors behind the differences observed in the intended adoption of AVs. This study investigates the role of demographics and other factors (current travel characteristics, crash history and familiarity with AVs) on consumers’ perceptions and intended adoption of AVs with a view of disentangling one factor from the other. Results show that the observed demographic differences in intended adoption rates are due to demographic differences in the perceptions on the benefits and concerns of AVs. The study outcomes suggest that it may be beneficial to first address consumers’ perceptions on the benefits and concerns regarding AVs. The results from this study can be used to inform modeling decisions and policy discussions relevant to future market penetration of AV technology.

An important part when managing credit risk is to assess the probability of default of different counterparties. Increases and decreases in such probabil- ities are central components in the assessment, and this is where transition matrices become useful. These matrices are commonly used tools when as- sessing counterparty credit risk, and contain the probability of default, as well as the probability to migrate between different predefined rating classifica- tions. These rating classifications are used to reflect the risk taken towards different counterparties. Therefore, it is important for financial institutions to develop accurate transition matrix models to manage predicted changes in credit risk exposure. This is because counterparty creditworthiness and prob- ability of default indirectly affect expected loss and the capital requirement of held capital. This thesis will analyze how two specific models perform when used for generating transition matrices. These models will be tested to investigate their performance when predicting rating transitions, including probability of default. / En viktig del vid hanteringen av kreditrisk är att bedöma sannolikheten för fallissemang för olika motparter. Ökningar och minskningar i dessa sanno- likheter är centrala komponenter i bedömningen, och det är här migrations- matriser blir användbara. Dessa matriser är vanligt förekommande verktyg vid bedömning av kreditrisk mot olika motparter och innehåller sannolikheten för fallissemang samt sannolikheten att migrera mellan olika fördefinierade be- tygsklassificeringar. Dessa betygsklassificeringar används för att återspegla den risk som tas mot olika motparter. Det är därför viktigt för finansinstitut att utveckla träffsäkra migrationsmatris modeller för att hantera förväntade förändringar i kreditriskexponering. Detta beror på att kreditvärdigheten hos motparter samt sannolikheten för fallissemang indirekt påverkar expected loss och kapitalkrav. Detta examensarbete kommer att analysera hur två specifika modeller presterar när de används för att generera migrationsmatriser. Dessa mod- eller kommer att testas för att undersöka hur de presterar när de används för att förutsäga övergångar inom betygsklassificering, inklusive sannolikheten för fallissemang.

This dissertation studies in depth the structure of the Discrete Ordered Median Problem (DOMP), to define new formulations and resolution algorithms. Furthermore we analyze an interesting extension for DOMP, namely MDOMP (Monotone Discrete Ordered Median Problem). This thesis is structured in three main parts.First, a widely theoretical and computational study is reported. It presents several new formulations for the Discrete Ordered Median Problem (DOMP) based on its similarity with some scheduling problems. Some of the new formulations present a considerably smaller number of constraints to define the problem with respect to some previously known formulations. Furthermore, the lower bounds provided by their linear relaxations improve the ones obtained with previous formulations in the literature even when strengthening is not applied. We also present a polyhedral study of the assignment polytope of our tightest formulation showing its proximity to the convex hull of the integer solutions of the problem. Several resolution approaches, among which we mention a branch and cut algorithm, are compared. Extensive computational results on two families of instances, namely randomly generated and from Beasley's OR-library, show the power of our methods for solving DOMP. One of the achievements of the new formulation consists in its tighter LP-bound. Secondly, DOMP is addressed with a new set partitioning formulation using an exponential number of variables. This chapter develops a new formulation in which each variable corresponds to a set of demand points allocated to the same facility with the information of the sorting position of their corresponding distances. We use a column generation approach to solve the continuous relaxation of this model. Then, we apply a branch-cut-and-price algorithm to solve to optimality small to moderate size of DOMP in competitive computational time.To finish, the third contribution of this dissertation is to analyze and compare formulations for the monotone discrete ordered median problem. These formulations combine different ways to represent ordered weighted averages of elements by using linear programs together with the p-median polytope. This approach gives rise to two efficient formulations for DOMP under a hypothesis of monotonicity in the lambda vectors. These formulations are theoretically compared and also compared with some other formulations valid for the case of general lambda vector. In addition, it is also developed another new formulation, for the general case, that exploits the efficiency of the rationale of monotonicity. This representation allows to solve very efficiently some DOMP instances where the monotonicity is only slightly lost. Detailed computational tests on all these formulations is reported in the dissertation. They show that specialized formulations allow to solve to optimality instances with sizes that are far beyond the limits of those that can solve in the general case. / Cette dissertation étudie en profondeur la structure du "Discrete Ordered Median Problem" (DOMP), afin de proposer de nouvelles formulations et de nouveaux algorithmes de résolution. De plus, une extension intéressante du DOMP nommée MDOMP ("Monotone Discrete Ordered Median Problem") a été étudiée.Cette thèse a été structurée en trois grandes parties.La première partie présente une étude riche aux niveaux théorique et expérimentale. Elle développe plusieurs formulations pour le DOMP qui sont basées sur des problèmes d'ordonnancement largement étudiés dans la littérature. Plusieurs d'entres elles nécessitent un nombre réduit de contraintes pour définir le problème en ce qui concerne certaines formulations connues antérieurement. Les bornes inférieures, qui sont obtenues par la résolution de la relaxation linéaire, donnent de meilleurs résultats que les formulations précédentes et ceci même avec tout processus de renforcement désactivé. S'ensuit une étude du polyhèdre de notre formulation la plus forte qui montre sa proximité entre l'enveloppe convexe des solutions entières de notre problème. Un algorithme de branch and cut et d'autres méthodes de résolution sont ensuite comparés. Les expérimentations qui montrent la puissance de nos méthodes s'appuient sur deux grandes familles d'instances. Les premières sont générées aléatoirement et les secondes proviennent de Beasley's OR-library. Ces expérimentations mettent en valeur la qualité de la borne obtenue par notre formulation.La seconde partie propose une formulation "set partitioning" avec un nombre exponentiel de variables. Dans ce chapitre, la formulation comporte des variables associées à un ensemble de demandes affectées à la même facilité selon l'ordre établi sur leurs distances correspondantes. Nous avons alors développé un algorithme de génération de colonnes pour la résolution de la relaxation continue de notre modèle mathématique. Cet algorithme est ensuite déployé au sein d'un Branch-and-Cut-and-Price afin de résoudre des instances de petites et moyennes tailles avec des temps compétitifs.La troisième partie présente l'analyse et la comparaison des différentes formulations du problème DOMP Monotone. Ces formulations combinent plusieurs manières de formuler l'ordre des éléments selon les moyennes pondérées en utilisant plusieurs programmes linéaires du polytope du p-median. Cette approche donne lieu à deux formulations performantes du DOMP sous l'hypothèse de monotonie des vecteurs lambda. Ces formulations sont comparées de manière théorique puis comparées à d'autres formulations valides pour le cas général du vecteur lambda. Une autre formulation est également proposée, elle exploite l'efficacité du caractère rationnel de la monotonie. Cette dernière permet de résoudre efficacement quelques instances où la monotonie a légèrement disparue. Ces formulations ont fait l'objet de plusieurs expérimentations dècrites dans ce manuscrit de thèse. Elles montrent que les formulations spécifiques permettent de résoudre des instances plus importantes que pour le cas général. / Este trabajo estudia en profundidad la estructura del problema disctreto de la mediana ordenada (DOMP, por su acrónimo en inglés) con el objetivo de definir nuevas formulaciones y algoritmos de resolución. Además, analizamos una interesante extensión del DOMP conocida como el problema monótono discreto de la mediana ordenada (MDOMP, de su acrónimo en inglés).Esta tesis se compone de tres grandes bloques.En primer lugar, se desarrolla un detallado estudio teórico y computacional. Se presentan varias formulaciones nuevas para el problema discreto de la mediana ordenada (DOMP) basadas en su similaridad con algunos problemas de secuenciación. Algunas de estas formulaciones requieren de un cosiderable menor número de restricciones para definir el problema respecto a algunas de las formulaciones previamente conocidas. Además, las cotas inferiores proporcionadas por las relajaciones lineales mejoran a las obtenidas con formulaciones previas de la literatura incluso sin reforzar la nueva formulación. También presentamos un estudio poliédrico del politopo de asignación de nuestra formulación más compacta mostrando su proximidad con la envolvente convexa de las soluciones enteras del problema. Se comparan algunos procedimientos de resolución, entre los que destacamos un algoritmo de ramificación y corte. Amplios resultados computacionales sobre dos familias de instancias -aleatoriamente generadas y utilizando la Beasley's OR-library- muestran la potencia de nuestros métodos para resolver el DOMP.En el segundo bloque, el problema discreto de la mediana ordenada es abordado con una formulación de particiones de conjuntos empleando un número exponencial de variables. Este capítulo desarrolla una nueva formulación en la que cada variable corresponde a un conjunto de puntos de demanda asignados al mismo servidor con la información de la posición obtenida de ordenar las distancias correspondientes. Utilizamos generación de columnas para resolver la relajación continua del modelo. Después, empleamos un algoritmo de ramificación, acotación y "pricing" para resolver a optimalidad tamaños moderados del DOMP en un tiempo computacional competitivo.Por último, el tercer bloque de este trabajo se dedica a analizar y comparar formulaciones para el problema monótono discreto de la mediana ordenada. Estas formulaciones combinan diferentes maneras de representar medidas de pesos ordenados de elementos utilizando programación lineal junto con el politopo de la $p$-mediana. Este enfoque da lugar a dos formulaciones eficientes para el DOMP bajo la hipótesis de monotonía en su vector $lambda$. Se comparan teóricamente las formulaciones entre sí y frente a algunas de las formulaciones válidas para el caso general. Adicionalmente, se desarrolla otra formulación válida para el caso general que explota la eficiencia de las ideas de la monotonicidad. Esta representación permite resolver eficientemente algunos ejemplos donde la monotonía se pierde ligeramente. Finalmente, llevamos a cabo un detallado estudio computacional, en el que se aprecia que las formulaciones ad hoc permiten resolver a optimalidad ejemplos cuyo tamaño supera los límites marcados en al caso general. / Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This thesis presents a simple method for the concurrent manipulation of linearly ordered data structures on hypercubes. The method is based on the existence of a pruned binomial search tree rooted at any arbitrary node of the binary hypercube. The tree spans any arbitrary sequence of n consecutive nodes containing the root, using a fan-out of at most [log₂ 𝑛] and a depth of [log₂ 𝑛] +1. Search trees spanning non-overlapping processor lists are formed using only local information, and can be used concurrently without contention problems. Thus, they can be used for performing broadcast and merge operations simultaneously on sets with non-uniform sizes. Extensions to generalized and faulty hypercubes and applications to image processing algorithms and for m-way search are discussed.

This dissertation is in two parts, each of three chapters. In Part 1, I shall prove some results concerning variants of the 'secretary problem'. In Part 2, I shall bound several generalizations of the acyclic chromatic number of a graph as functions of its maximum degree. I shall begin Chapter 1 by describing the classical secretary problem, in which the aim is to select the best candidate for the post of a secretary, and its solution. I shall then summarize some of its many generalizations that have been studied up to now, provide some basic theory, and briefly outline the results that I shall prove. In Chapter 2, I shall suppose that the candidates come as ‘m’ pairs of equally qualified identical twins. I shall describe an optimal strategy, a formula for its probability of success and the asymptotic behaviour of this strategy and its probability of success as m → ∞. I shall also find an optimal strategy and its probability of success for the analagous version with ‘c’-tuplets. I shall move away from known posets in Chapter 3, assuming instead that the candidates come from a poset about which the only information known is its size and number of maximal elements. I shall show that, given this information, there is an algorithm that is successful with probability at least ¹/e . For posets with ‘k ≥ 2’ maximal elements, I shall prove that if their width is also ‘k’ then this can be improved to ‘k-1√1/k’ and show that no better bound of this type is possible. In Chapter 4, I shall describe the history of acyclic colourings, in which a graph must be properly coloured with no two-coloured cycle, and state some results known about them and their variants. In particular, I shall highlight a result of Alon, McDiarmid and Reed, which bounds the acyclic chromatic number of a graph by a function of its maximum degree. My results in the next two chapters are of this form. I shall consider two natural generalizations in Chapter 5. In the first, only cycles of length at least ’l’ must receive at least three colours. In the second, every cycle must receive at least ‘c’ colours, except those of length less than ‘c’, which must be multicoloured. My results in Chapter 6 generalize the concept of a cycle; it is now subgraphs with minimum degree ‘r’ that must receive at least three colours, rather than subgraphs with minimum degree two (which contain cycles). I shall also consider a natural version of this problem for hypergraphs.

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Becker's discrimination theory predicted that the discrimination by employers on competitive markets should cease to exist. However, in past decades, it was shown that discrimination on the labour market is a prevalent phenomenon. In this thesis I analyse what is the impact of agency problem on the theory of discrimination. I show that when an agent (in the thesis called 'agent employer') is deciding whether to employ or not to employ a worker, his motivation is different compared to principal's. The outcome of the analysis is such that under certain assumptions, the agent employer with non-zero taste for discrimination will always choose to discriminate.

The Method of Ordered Multiple Interactions provides a numerical solution to the integral<br />equations describing surface scattering which is both computationally efficient and reliably<br />convergent. The method has been applied in a variety of ways to solving the electromagnetic<br />scattering from perfectly-conducting rough surfaces. A desire to more accurately predict<br />the scattering from natural terrain has led to the representation of the surface material as<br />penetrable instead of conductive.<br /><br />For this purpose, the Method of Ordered Multiple Interactions is applied to numerically<br />solve the electromagnetic scattering from randomly-rough dielectric surfaces. A primary<br />consequence of the penetrable surface material is the introduction of a pair of coupled integral equations in place of the single integral equation used to solve the problem with a perfectly conducting surface. The method is tested and analyzed by developing independent scattering solutions for canonical cases in a transform domain and by comparing results with solutions from other techniques.<br /><br />The dielectric implementation of the Method of Ordered Multiple Interactions is used to solve<br />the electromagnetic scattering from a class of randomly-rough dielectric surfaces. This allows<br />for the characterization of the effect of a number of transmitter and surface parameters in the<br />scattering problem, observing bistatically and also specifically in the backscatter direction.<br /><br />MOMI is then applied as a method to examine subsurface penetration characteristics from<br />a similar family of rough surfaces. Characteristics of the environment parameters and the<br />scattered field itself are examined, and the numerical challenges associated with observing<br />beneath the surface are identified and addressed.<br /><br />The Method of Ordered Multiple Interactions is then incorporated as a major component of<br />a larger solution which computes the total scattering when a dielectric object is buried just<br />beneath the rough surface. This hyrid approach uses MOMI and the Method of Moments to<br />iteratively account for multiple interactions between the target and the dielectric interface,<br />enabling the study of scattering from the combined environment of a rough surface and the<br />embedded object, as well as the individual scattering events which combine to form the<br />steady-state solution. / Ph. D.

Title: SERS spectroscopy of model biomolecules for SERS biosensing Author: Martin Šubr Department: Institute of Physics of Charles University Supervisor: doc. RNDr. Marek Procházka, Dr., Institute of Physics of Charles University Abstract: The main requirement for surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based biomolecular sensing is high sensitivity and spectral reproducibility. For this purpose, ordered silver and gold nanostructures fabricated by magnetron sputtering and lithography methods at cooperating institutes were tested in this work. Reproducible SERS spectra of employed model biomolecules (amino acids, lysozyme and albumin) were obtained on ordered silver surfaces at concentrations 10-4 M - 10-6 M and as low as ≈ 10-7 M in the case of porphyrins. SERS spectra of certain biomolecules were also compared to spectra measured on silver colloid. The limit of detection provided by hydroxylamine-reduced silver colloid, using KCl as an aggregating agent, is substantially lower (on the order of 10-8 M for cysteine), but with lower spectral reproducibility. The main drawback of SERS spectra measured on silver surfaces was the occurrence of spurious bands resulting from the preparation procedure. In the case of sputter-deposited silver surfaces, it was found that keeping the substrates several hours in...