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The IEEE 802.11 standard has been widely adopted as a Wireless LAN (WLAN) technology. This widespread proliferation of the technology has lead to an increase in the number of users taking advantage of so-called "hot-spots" which leads to an increased demand on bandwidth provided by Access Points (APs) in the hot-spot. The logical solution is to deploy more overlapping access points in the same coverage area, thus increasing the capacity of the system by providing load balancing services. However, when a hot-spot is located in an outdoor environment, it becomes difficult to provide the AP with power which is traditionally carried over wired links thus causing the service provider to incur additional costs, not to mention the impossibility in some cases of delivering power to the AP. This problem can be overcome by using solar-panel powered APs which we will refer to as solar nodes (SNs). In this thesis we examine the load-balancing problem that arises when two or more SNs are co-located in the same coverage area. We propose and evaluate two algorithms for efficiently distributing the load among them (transferring stations (STAs) from SN to neighboring SNs) and increasing their lifetime by using power saving schemes that co-ordinate the wake/sleep patterns of the SNs based on traffic load. Finally, a Connection Admission Control (CAC) function is proposed that the SN should use in order to provide controlled access to services. We demonstrate through simulations that our proposals can significantly reduce the hardware requirements and cost of SNs and improve the service perceived by STAs in terms of transmission delay. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

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No / In this work, energy consumption in a middle vessel batch reactive distillation (MVBRD) column is considered for the production of lactic acid via hydrolysis of methyl lactate. A dynamic optimization problem incorporating a process model is formulated to minimize the batch time which consequently minimizes the total energy consumption. The problem is subject to constraints on the amount and purity of lactic acid. The optimisation variables are reflux ratio and/or reboil ratio which are treated as piecewise constant. The earlier work of the authors on energy consumption in conventional batch reactive distillation column (CBRD) for the same reaction system is used for comparative analysis with the energy consumption in MVBRD. As an example, for a given separation task, the optimization results show that MVBRD is capable of saving over 23 % energy compared to energy consumption in CBRD column for the same task.

no / An economizer, one type of heat exchangers, is specifically named to carry out heat exchange between hot gas and water. It is considered in this work to provide heat recovery between exhaust gas and boiler's feed water. As it has been studied to obtain high heat recovery with several designs, here the economizer is devised with new approach to achieve the best heat recovery as well as economical applicability in an existing pasteurized milk plant. The new economizer is designed to divide an exhaust gas into two portions flowing up on the left and right of the economizes passing across aligned banks of tubes and then flowing down and up again in an unmixed-triple pass fashion. The pressure drop and dew point temperature of corrosive acid depended on the fuel's type are also taken into account. Moreover, the mathematical models based on the energy equation in partial differential equations of two-dimensional initial value problems have been developed to simulate the performance of the newly designed economizer. The observation data prove that the designed economizer can achieve the heat recovery of the exhaust gas up to 57% with the average of 38% and can save the consumption of liquefied petroleum gas of about 13%.

America's population is aging. People are living longer and medical advances continue to make that true. Many citizens count on social security as a major source of retirement income. Future retirees will find that there will be fewer workers to support them and unless the nation stops borrowing from the social security fund to finance the deficit, there will be less money for retirees. All of this means that it is important for individuals to save for retirement. Martin Fishbein developed the Behavioral Intention Model to explain various behaviors. According to the model, attitude and subjective norm explain the variation in the intention to behave a certain way and there is a high correlation between intention and behavior when using this model. Indirect measures of attitude and subjective norm increase understanding of these variables. The Fishbein model and an extended version of it, to which demographic variables were added, were tested in this study. Five hundred Virginia Tech classified employees received the mail survey instrument, which was based upon Dillman's specifications, in June 1988. A 74.6% response was received. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlations, t-tests, multiple regression, and path analysis. While the Fishbein model accounted for 22% of the variation in the intention to save for retirement, the extended model accounted for 40% of the variation. In addition to attitude, number of assets, having a dependent child between the ages of 5 ard 13, number of years expected to live after retirement, and age made significant contributions to the variation in the intention. It was concluded that the extended model is a better theoretical framework for explaining the intention to save for retirement. There were statistically and practically significant differences in the indirect measures of attitude and subjective norm for those who intended to save and those who did not. However it was apparent that neither group believed that saving now will assure than of financial security in retirement. Additional research is needed to further explore the variables which influence individual's intentions to save for retirement. / Ph. D.

No / This paper shows that the presence of persistent uninsurable risk concentrated in economic depressions has the potential to resolve two well¿known asset pricing puzzles. It is also shown that the presence of such risk in more normal economic expansions and recessions is likely to be much less relevant in determining equilibrium asset prices.

Thesis advisor: S. Anukriti / Since the launch of M-PESA in 2007, mobile money has created the potential to increase financial inclusion by providing a safe and convenient place to store wealth. This paper analyzes the impact of mobile money on savings practices in Sub-Saharan Africa. Using 2015 survey data from Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, I find that mobile money account holders are 10.9 percent more likely to save than non-account holders, holding constant other characteristics. Mobile money has a positive and significant impact on saving for daily consumption, for protection against income shocks, and for business and education investments. In addition, I find that mobile money is a complement to formal savings (bank accounts) and a substitute for informal savings. By increasing saving, mobile money better enables individuals to rely on savings in the event of a negative income shock. These results are consistent with a policy agenda that promotes financial inclusion by increasing access to mobile technologies. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Economics.

Предложены элементы методического обеспечения разработки и реализации программ газотранспортных предприятий по энергосбережению, включающие в себя: методику формирования перечня энергосберегающих мероприятий для включения в программу энергосбережения на основе разработанных критериев, процедур оценивания, ранжирования и отбора; набор целевых показателей энергоэффективности и энергосбережения газотранспортных предприятий для использования в качестве целевых ориентиров программы энергосбережения; упорядоченную по выделенным ключевым функциональным сферам систему мер, обеспечивающих реализацию программы энергосбережения. Предложенные элементы методического обеспечения позволят повысить энергоэффективность деятельности газотранспортных предприятий. / Elements of methodological support for the development and implementation of energy saving programs of gas transmission enterprises are proposed, including: a methodology for creating a list of energy saving measures for inclusion in the energy saving program based on developed criteria, assessment, ranking and selection procedures; a set of target indicators for energy efficiency and energy saving of gas transmission enterprises for use as targets for the energy saving program; a system of measures organized by identified key functional areas to ensure the implementation of the energy saving program. The proposed elements of methodological support will improve the energy efficiency of gas transportation enterprises.

The first essay uses Chinese Urban Household Survey (CUHS) data from 1988 to 2003 to conduct a cohort analysis of household income, household consumption, and household saving rate, and then uses synthetic panel data to explore the determinants of household saving rate. The cohort analysis not only offers stylized patterns of age profiles on household income, household consumption, and household saving rate but also their profiles of cohort effect and age effect by decomposition work. The cohort analysis likewise tests the relation between cohort effect and productivity growth. Overall, the empirical results present a different pattern compared with other studies and also contradict with the general predictions of the standard model in the consumption theory. In investigating the determinants of household saving rate, this essay examines the roles of household income, economic growth rate, inflation rate, and demographic variables, especially from the perspective of income inequality and systematic difference among cohorts. / The second essay examines the existence of a precautionary saving motive due to labor income uncertainty, using CUHS data from 2002 to 2003. Methodologically, this essay adopts a novel method to construct the proxy for labor income uncertainty, by the ratio of infra-group dispersion conditional on the individuals' labor income determinants to labor income. The empirical results present robust evidence that labor income uncertainty negatively affects household consumption, and there exists obviously different responses to labor income uncertainty from three perspectives: between old households and young households, among different households whose household heads are in different occupations, and between households whose household heads work in the State-owned Units and their counterparts. / The third essay then attempts to explore the determinants of housing wealth and housing price by a hedonic pricing model and evaluate the housing wealth effect on household consumption behavior. For the determinants of housing wealth and housing price, this essay demonstrates that incomplete property rights depress the value of housing asset by both a theoretical model and the empirical results. Regarding housing wealth's effect on household consumption behavior, the empirical results show that the housing wealth effect is significant and that it is obviously smaller for those observations whose houses' property rights are incomplete, compared with their counterparts. / Zhou, Shaojie. / "August 2007." / Advisers: Jun Sen Zhang; Hong bin Li. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-02, Section: A, page: 0704. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 219-222). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest dissertations and theses, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.