Water is a primary driver of the physical, geochemical and biological evolution of the Earth. The near-surface hydrosphere (exosphere) includes the atmosphere, cryosphere (glacial and polar ice), the biosphere, surface water, groundwater, and the oceans. The amounts of water in these various reservoirs of the hydrologic cycle have likely varied significantly over the past 700 Ma, with the cryosphere and continental biosphere reservoirs likely showing the most dramatic variations relative to the modern. For example, 700 Ma, during snowball-Earth conditions, the planet may have been almost entirely enveloped in ice, whereas throughout much of the Phanerozoic, greenhouse conditions predominately prevailed and the Earth had a much smaller cryosphere. Similarly, before about 444 Ma and the proliferation of land plants, the continental biosphere reservoir would have effectively non-existent. However, today, plants play a critical role in storage and transfer of water within the hydrologic cycle. Because the amount of water in the exosphere is thought to have remained relatively constant during the past 700 Ma, variations in the amounts of water held by the in the various exogenic reservoirs exert concomitant effects on other reservoirs in the exosphere. We present a conceptual and numerical model that examines variations in the amount of water in the various reservoirs of the near-surface hydrologic cycle (exosphere) during the past 700 Ma and quantify variations in the rates of exchange of water between these reservoirs in deep time. Variations in the sizes of major reservoirs are primarily controlled by changes in global average temperature, and the movement of water between the atmosphere, surface water, and ocean reservoirs varies in concert with the waxing and waning of the cryosphere. We find that variations in the sizes of major reservoirs are primarily controlled by changes in global average temperature, and the flux of water between the atmosphere, surface water, and ocean reservoirs varies in concert with the waxing and waning of the cryosphere, with some fluxes decreasing to 0.0 kg/yr during snowball-Earth conditions. We find that the amount of water precipitated from the atmosphere to the cryosphere increases from greenhouse conditions to -10.5°C and decreases from -10.5°C to snowball-earth conditions, highlighting "tipping-point" behavior due to changes in temperature and cryosphere surface area. The amount of surface runoff to the oceans varies in proportion to the amount of water removed from the surface water reservoir and transferred into the continental biosphere. Variations in the movement of water between near-surface reservoirs that are driven by the waxing and waning of the cryosphere and emergence and growth of plant life thus have significant implications for the transfer of weathering products to the oceans and could contribute to short-term (<1 Ma) variations in seawater composition and isotopic signatures. / Ph. D. / Water drives the evolution of the planet, and the distribution of water throughout Earth’s atmosphere and surface has varied during the geologic past. The amounts of water in the atmosphere, polar ice, the biosphere, surface water, groundwater, and the oceans have changed during the past 700 million years, and the polar ice and biosphere reservoirs have undergone the most significant changes during that time. For example, at extremely cold conditions the planet may have been covered in ice, and during warmer conditions the planet may have been covered in little to no ice. Similarly, before 444 million years ago, the biosphere on Earth’s continental surface was almost non-existent. The evolution of land plants after 444 Ma resulted in an increase in the amount of water in the biosphere. Changes in the amounts of water in one reservoir of water over time will have effects on the other reservoirs of water in the water cycle. We produce a numerical model that examines changes in the sizes of water cycle reservoirs and the movement of water between those reservoirs during the past 700 million years. Variations in reservoir sizes are primarily controlled by changes in global average temperature, and the movement of water between the atmosphere, surface water, and ocean reservoirs varies with changes in the amount of polar ice on Earth. We find that total annual precipitation to polar ice increases from greenhouse temperatures to - 10.5°C and decreases from -10.5°C to cold snowball-earth temperatures due to changes in both temperature and the surface area of polar ice. The amount of surface runoff to the oceans varies in proportion to the amount of water removed from the surface water reservoir and transferred into the continental biosphere. Variations in the movement of water between reservoirs that are driven by the waxing and waning of polar ice and the growth of plant life have significant implications for the movement of dissolved material to the oceans and could contribute to short-term (<1 Ma) variations in seawater chemistry.

Submitted by NELSON SEBASTIAN SILVA JEREZ null (sebastiancso@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-06-03T15:45:03Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Diss. 1.0250 q1.1 d1.1.pdf: 1053953 bytes, checksum: dabbaf4b25b2995244595fff57e611b1 (MD5) / Rejected by Ana Paula Grisoto (grisotoana@reitoria.unesp.br), reason: Solicitamos que realize uma nova submissão seguindo a orientação abaixo: O arquivo submetido está sem a ficha catalográfica e sem folha da comissão examinadora. A versão submetida por você é considerada a versão final da dissertação/tese, portanto não poderá ocorrer qualquer alteração em seu conteúdo após a aprovação. Corrija esta informação e realize uma nova submissão contendo o arquivo correto. Agradecemos a compreensão. on 2016-06-03T19:43:44Z (GMT) / Submitted by NELSON SEBASTIAN SILVA JEREZ null (sebastiancso@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-06-04T16:26:42Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Diss. 1.0253 q1.1 d1.1 PB.pdf: 1580963 bytes, checksum: 63e1b7ed787d321740c8976c47ebe8d1 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Paula Grisoto (grisotoana@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2016-06-06T16:40:21Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 silvajerez_ns_me_mar.pdf: 1580963 bytes, checksum: 63e1b7ed787d321740c8976c47ebe8d1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-06T16:40:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 silvajerez_ns_me_mar.pdf: 1580963 bytes, checksum: 63e1b7ed787d321740c8976c47ebe8d1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-05-06 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Estuda o comportamento informacional de adolescentes em seu cotidiano e identifica como eles buscam, acessam, usam e compartilham informação, proveniente ou não da Internet. Analisa a veracidade da hipótese de que esta geração é dependente da conectividade providenciada pela Internet tem fundamento. Utiliza como ferramenta metodológica survey online, com amostragem por snowball sampling para recrutamento de participantes, e uso da técnica do incidente crítico. Os resultados demonstram que os adolescentes preferem buscar informação na Internet, e que a maioria deles tem conhecimento de técnicas apropriadas para recuperar informação, sendo que a forma mais utilizada de acesso à Internet foi o computador, com o telefone celular em seguida. Entende que os adolescentes usam informação em seu cotidiano para resolver lacunas pontuais em seu conhecimento, mas não como parte de um processo contínuo de aperfeiçoamento deste, ou para tomada de decisões. O tema da maior parte das buscas se refere ao consumo cultural. Não confirma a hipótese de que os adolescentes utilizam significativamente outras pessoas como fonte de informação. Encontra que adolescentes têm em sua maioria opiniões bastante positivas sobre bibliotecas, apesar de muitos as considerarem obsoletas ou ultrapassadas perante a existência da Internet e dos meios de acesso digitais à informação. Confirma que os adolescentes não utilizam suficientemente a Internet como fonte de informação em Educação Sexual, possivelmente prejudicando esforços neste sentido. / The everyday life information behaviour of teenagers is studied, and it is identified how they seek, access, use and share information, either from the Internet or not. The idea that this generation relies on the connectivity provided by the Internet to seek information is tested to assess to what extent this is well-founded. The methodological approach combines the use of an online survey, using snowball sampling for participant recruitment and the critical incident technique. The study finds that teenagers do, indeed, prefer to seek information on the Internet, and that most of them have knowledge of appropriate information retrieval techniques, with computers being the most commonly used mode of access to the Internet, followed by smartphones. The study understands that teenagers use information in their everyday lives to address specific gaps in their knowledge, but not as part of a continuous process of building knowledge, or for decision making. It finds that the majority of searches regards cultural consumption. The hypothesis that teenagers significantly use other people as information sources was not confirmed. It was found that teenagers have mostly very positive opinions about libraries, although many think of them as obsolete or outdated given the existence of the Internet and the digital means of access to information. The study confirms that teenagers do not use the Internet enough as a Sexual Education information source, possibly hindering efforts in this direction.

The goal of this master's thesis is to develop stemming algorithm for czech language based on grammatical rules. You can find a description of stemming process and a comparsion of stemming algorithms in this project. The basics of czech grammar and Snowball language are also described here. The main part of this thesis concerns the implementation of the new czech stemming algorithm.

Master of Science / Department of Landscape Architecture, Regional and Community Planning / Stephanie Rolley / The City of Emerado, North Dakota, population 414, located in northeast North Dakota is the subject of a Social Network Analysis (SNA), conducted prior to it being the subject of a University of North Dakota Center for Community Engagement, Community Connect Forum. The SNA was developed based on the results of 25 interviews conducted with local residents, elected officials and business owners, using snowball sampling and following grounded theory methods. The interview results were coded and memos were written to aid in the analysis. Social Network data was entered into the Sentinel Visualizer software (FMS Advanced Systems Group) to develop a visual image of the network, including nodes (people, organizations or businesses) and links to illustrate the relationships between nodes. The SNA helps to frame the relationships in terms of bridging and bonding social capital. The SNA provides the ability to mathematically determine the most important nodes to the community social network, using calculations to determine levels of degree centrality, betweenness centrality, closeness centrality, Eigenvalue, and network density. After calculating these elements, categorical descriptions of the top ten individuals for each category are provided. The networks of five individuals are reviewed in depth to aid in comprehending the process of incrementally expanding networks.

Dans le Supergroupe Ouest-Congolais du bassin du Niari-Nyanga (Afrique centrale), les marqueurs des Glaciations Globales Sturtienne et Marinoenne sont représentés par les formations des «Diamictite inférieure» et «Diamictite supérieure».Ce travail de thèse présente une étude à haute résolution du Cap Carbonate associé à la Diamictite supérieure (6 coupes dans le bassin et 2 coupes dans la zone externe de la Chaîne du Mayombe). Les études pétrographiques révèlent la préservation des structures sédimentaires primaires et permettent de définir six microfaciès (MF0 à MF5) caractéristiques des paléoenvironnements de types inter- à supratidaux ou subtidaux. Dans le Cap Carbonate étudié, les indices de Kübler montrent une évolution croissante depuis la diagenèse profonde dans le bassin jusqu'à l'épimétamorphisme dans la zone externe de la Chaîne du Mayombe. Le signal isotopique ([delta]13C et [delta]18O) des Cap Carbonate échantillonnés est généralement reproductible dans le synclinal comme dans la chaîne, avec les valeurs du [delta]13C montrant une excursion négative variant de -2.6 [pour mille] à -5.6 [pour mille]. Les valeurs de d18O oscillent entre -6 [pour mille] et -12 [pour mille]. Par ailleurs, la confrontation des données minéralogiques, chimiques et isotopiques indique une influence négligeable des transformations post-sédimentaires sur la signature isotopique du Cap Carbonate indiquant la préservation des valeurs du [delta]13C de l'océan néoprotérozoïque. Enfin, l'ensemble des données de cette thèse et les résultats préliminaires des « Projets GLANEC» replacés dans un contexte régional permettent de définir le Membre SCIa du synclinal du Niari-Nyanga comme un Cap Carbonate lié à la Glaciation Marinoenne. / Within West-Congolian Supergroup of Niari-Nyanga Basin (Central Africa), the markers of Sturtian and Marinoan Global Glaciations are documented by the so-called «Lower Diamictite» and «Upper Diamictite». This work is based on 6 and 2 lithological sections from the basin and the external zone of the Mayombe fold belt. It corresponds to a high-resolution study of the Cap Carbonate lying unconformably on the Upper Diamictite. Petrographic analyses show preservation of primary sedimentary structures and lead to define six microfacies (MF0 to MF5). These microfacies caracterize paleoenvironments such as inter- to supratidal or subtidal types. Kübler index values of the studied Cap Carbonate display an increasing evolution from East to West, ie from a deep diagenesis in the basin to an epimetamorphism in the Mayombe external zone. Stable isotope signature ([delta]13C, [delta]18O) of the various components of this Cap Carbonate is reproducible throughout the basin as in the Mayombe external zone, with [delta]13C values displaying a negative excursion, decreasing from -2.6 ? to -5.6 ?. [delta]18O values of these components vary between -6 ? and -12 ?. Moreover, comparison between mineralogic, chemical and isotopic data indicates that post-sedimentary transformations had a very negligible influence on the isotopic signature of the Cap Carbonate, indicating preservation of d13C values of the Neoproterozoic ocean. Finally, when they are compared with other regional studies, all data of the present work and the preliminary results of the GLANEC Projects lead to the conclusion that the SCIa Member of the Niari-Nyanga Basin must be considered as a Cap Carbonate related to the Marinoan Global Glaciation.

Text analytics in the business domain is a growing field in research and practical applications. We chose to concentrate on Relation Extraction from unstructured data which was provided by a corporate partner. Analyzing text from this domain requires a different approach, counting with irregularities and domain specific attributes. In this thesis, we present two methods for relation extraction. The Snowball system and the Distant Supervision method were both adapted for the unique data. The methods were implemented to use both structured and unstructured data from the database of the company. Keywords: Information Retrieval, Relation Extraction, Text Analytics, Distant Supervision, Snowball

Il campionamento a valanga è considerato un tipo di campionamento non probabilistico, la cui rappresentatività può essere valutata solo sulla base di considerazioni soggettive. D’altro canto esso risulta spesso il solo praticamente utilizzabile nel caso di popolazioni senza lista di campionamento. La tesi si divide in due parti. La prima, teorica, descrive alcuni tentativi proposti in letteratura di ricondurre le forme di campionamento a valanga nell’alveo dei campionamenti probabilistici; tra questi è degno di nota il Respondent Driven Sampling, un disegno campionario che dovrebbe combinare il campionamento a valanga con un modello matematico che pesa le unità estratte in modo da compensare la non casualità dell’estrazione e permettere così l’inferenza statistica. La seconda, empirica, indaga le prestazioni del RDS sia attraverso simulazioni sia con una web-survey su una comunità virtuale in Internet, di cui si conoscono la struttura delle relazioni e alcune caratteristiche demografiche per ogni individuo. Le stime RDS, calcolate a partire dai dati delle simulazioni e della web-survey, sono confrontate con i valori veri della popolazione e le potenziali fonti di distorsione (in particolare quelle relative all’assunzione di reclutamento casuale) sono analizzate. / Populations without sampling frame are inherently hard to sample by conventional sampling designs. Often the only practical methods of obtaining the sample involve following social links from some initially identified respondents to add more research participants to the sample. These kinds of link-tracing designs make the sample liable to various forms of bias and make extremely difficult to generalize the results to the population studied. This thesis is divided into two parts. The first part of the thesis describes some attempts to build a statistical theory of link-tracing designs and illustrates, deeply, the Respondent-Driven Sampling, a link-tracing sampling design that should allow researchers to make, in populations without sampling frame, asymptotically unbiased estimates under certain conditions. The second part of the thesis investigates the performance of RDS by simulating sampling from a virtual community on the Internet, which are available in both the network structure of the population and demographic traits for each individual. In addition to simulations, this thesis tests the RDS by making a web-survey of the same population. RDS estimates from simulations and web-survey are compared to true population values and potential sources of bias (in particular those related to the random recruitment assumption) are discussed.

2008年初，正值美國籠罩次級房貸風暴影響、全球經濟景氣趨緩、產油國地緣政治因素造成能源價格創新高…等險峻經濟狀況之際，投資銀行設計一包含 :搭配出局條款之CMS Spread雪球型利率結構商品及結合附加WTI上限、USD/JPY匯率上下限之異型選擇權的混合結構性商品提案。本文依據標的資產屬性，參考相關文獻及近期在頂級期刊發表之利率資產評價模型研究中，選用Extended BGM模型(Ting-Pin Wu, and Son-Nan Chen(2007))、遠期曲線模型及匯率評價模型為個案之基礎評價模型；以無套利觀念依取得之市場各資產相關公開報價資料估算各模型所需之參數；由於屬於雪球利率結構型商品及路徑相關特性，在目前相關文獻無封閉解的條件下，使用蒙地卡羅模擬獲得未來各資產之現金流折現值，進而計算預期理論價值。依據上述方法論評價所獲得之預期理論價格顯示，個案並非具公平價值之交易，依此結論強烈建議客戶不應該承做本交易。 個案相當於投資銀行以買入一個5年期附帶出局條件，隱含看空經濟景氣循環之CMS Spread選擇權及買入一個1年期看空WTI價格選擇權建構此混合結構性商品。為強化客戶承做意願，設立一似乎觸及機會很大，但從交易後至今從未觸及的出局條件，又透過每日數位選擇權計息方式將WTI波動度資產化，提供大於10%之相對LIBOR rate 很高，但實際是被低估之半年收息固定費率。由於雪球型利率結構型商品特性，收益不僅取決於是否達成交易付款條件，更重要因素是達成時間點之速度。 在蒙地卡羅模擬資產價格路徑中，觸及頭一次CMS Spread付款條件天數之眾數區間為125至135，貼近實際136天。從評價結果，交易之付款條件內已隱含透過兩個不同標的資產選擇權之高預期獲利相互達到避險、套利及強化收益等效益;投資銀行可以不用額外對受眾多複雜不確定因數影響之WTI價格採取避險策略，而將所有避險成本轉嫁於選擇權賣方的客戶。在資本計提規範下及確保未來預期收益之考量下，投資銀行唯一要做是以低成本尋求中介銀行進行背對背交易以強化因市場風險所衍生之信用風險。 從研究過程，不禁讚嘆個案是投資銀行設計建構在財務工程科學上的卓越藝術及策略，從它一旦出現世界上之瞬間，個人預估其價值將達34,211,458.09美元! / Early 2008 was a steep economic era when U.S. was enveloped by subprimemortgage crisis, world's economy was slowing down, and energy prices were pushed to a historical record high by oil geopolitical factors. Under this situation, an investmentbank designed a hybrid structure product, which includes a CMS Spread Snowball interest rate structured product with USD/JPY FX rate Knock out condition, a WTIoption of an additional upper limit, a USD/JPY exchange rate combined exotic option of upper and lower limits. After considering assets attributes and reviewing the relevant literature and recent research published in top journals related to the interest rate assetpricing model, Extended BGM model (Ting-Pin Wu, and Son-Nan Chen (2007)), forward curve model, and FX Rate model are selected as the basic pricing models. Tocalculate the expected theoretical value of this structured product, the unavailable model parameters of assets are estimated through the public market data based on thearbitrage-free concept, and the discounted values of the assets future cash flows are obtained by Monte Carlo simulation because of snowball interest rate structured product and path dependency characteristic and no close form solution in current relevant literature. The results of the pricing models shows that the net present value(NPV) received by customers is lower than that received by the investment bank, theconclusion is : Strongly recommend customers should not to do this trade ! In this case, the investment bank used a long position of one 5-year period CMSSpread Option with knock out condition, which implies Bearish on the economic cycle, and a short position of a 1-year period WTI option with up and low limits condition to construct this hybrid structure product. To draw customers’ attention to this proposal, the investment bank designed a knock out condition that seemed to be met very easily,but the price never touched by the article finished date. Additionally, a daily accrued digital option is used to transfer WTI volatility to a semi-annual fixed yield over 10% that, compared to LIBOR Rate, is very high but actually is underestimated. For theSnowball structure product, the total profit depends on not only when but also, more importantly, how soon to meet the payment condition. According to the asset pricing path generated by Monte Carlo simulation, the mode range which CMS Spread payment condition first met is 125 to 135 days after the contract’s value date, very close to the actually history data of 136 days. From pricing results, terms of contract implied that two different options combined to hedge risk and gain profit from each other. Hence, the investment bank does not need to make extrahedge strategy to WTI price which is impacted by more complicated risk factors.However, customer must spend hedge cost because of taking much risk as a sell option role. Under the Capital Charge regulation, to lock up the expected profit, what the investment bank needs to do is only to pay a very low cost fee, which like insurancepremium, to look for an intermediary bank to offer a back to back trade to manage thecredit risk caused by market risk! During the research of this paper, I am amazed what an excellent art and strategy that designed by the investment bank based on financial engineering science! As this structure product appeared in this world, I estimated that it would worth 34,211,458.09 USD.

The past two decades have witnessed significant growth in home-based work (HBW), particularly home-based business (HBB) activity and self-employment. These phenomena are attributed to factors such as flexible organization of production. While some empirical accounts on HBW and HBB activity in Canada do exist, they have mostly been conducted at the national or urban level rather than in rural areas. This thesis, therefore, places greater emphasis on rural HBBs in Saskatchewan where out-migration of people is threatening the viability and sustainability of rural and small communities. It is argued that rural sustainability largely depends on economic viability. The study area for the research includes the City of Saskatoon and the countryside surrounding this city. <p>The overall goal of this research is to contribute to the discussion of rural sustainability by considering HBBs as a potential strategy to achieve sustainability in rural areas and small communities. Therefore, the primary objectives of the dissertation are to examine the nature and degree of relationships of home business activity between rural, rural-urban fringe and urban areas, and the implications on links for sustainability of rural households and communities; to examine the relationship of HBB activity to the concept of rural entrepreneurship and business development; and to assess the contributions of rural and small town HBBs to the sustainability of households and communities in Saskatchewan. <p>A combination of the concept of sustainable community development, the von Thunen model and the competitive strategy model (i.e., cost-leadership, differentiation, focus) provide the theoretical framework of the thesis. Through snowball sampling and mail questionnaire surveys, primary data on HBBs were obtained from Saskatoon and its surrounding regions in Saskatchewan for micro-level analysis. Both qualitative and quantitative techniques were employed to analyze the data. <p>Major findings of the thesis include the linkages that HBBs create among places and the impact of links on community sustainability; and the apparent spatial variations in HBBs, motivations, competitive strategies, and benefits of home businesses from the urban core to the limits of the rural hinterland. It was also found that home businesses contribute positively to the sustainability of households and communities in rural Saskatchewan. Specifically, they generate significant revenue and employment opportunities for people, while supporting local economies through their networks, purchasing and selling of goods and services locally as well as keeping managers and members of their households in rural areas and small communities for considerable number of years. Indeed home-based occupation is a vital component of the mechanisms for rural sustainability. Also, this thesis proposed a rural-urban HBB model for future social science research. <p>Major conceptual underpinnings of the research include rural-urban relations; regional and community economic development, sustainable community development; rural entrepreneurship, home-based work, home business, self-employment, competitive strategy, and the von Thunen Isolated State model.

The past two decades have witnessed significant growth in home-based work (HBW), particularly home-based business (HBB) activity and self-employment. These phenomena are attributed to factors such as flexible organization of production. While some empirical accounts on HBW and HBB activity in Canada do exist, they have mostly been conducted at the national or urban level rather than in rural areas. This thesis, therefore, places greater emphasis on rural HBBs in Saskatchewan where out-migration of people is threatening the viability and sustainability of rural and small communities. It is argued that rural sustainability largely depends on economic viability. The study area for the research includes the City of Saskatoon and the countryside surrounding this city. <p>The overall goal of this research is to contribute to the discussion of rural sustainability by considering HBBs as a potential strategy to achieve sustainability in rural areas and small communities. Therefore, the primary objectives of the dissertation are to examine the nature and degree of relationships of home business activity between rural, rural-urban fringe and urban areas, and the implications on links for sustainability of rural households and communities; to examine the relationship of HBB activity to the concept of rural entrepreneurship and business development; and to assess the contributions of rural and small town HBBs to the sustainability of households and communities in Saskatchewan. <p>A combination of the concept of sustainable community development, the von Thunen model and the competitive strategy model (i.e., cost-leadership, differentiation, focus) provide the theoretical framework of the thesis. Through snowball sampling and mail questionnaire surveys, primary data on HBBs were obtained from Saskatoon and its surrounding regions in Saskatchewan for micro-level analysis. Both qualitative and quantitative techniques were employed to analyze the data. <p>Major findings of the thesis include the linkages that HBBs create among places and the impact of links on community sustainability; and the apparent spatial variations in HBBs, motivations, competitive strategies, and benefits of home businesses from the urban core to the limits of the rural hinterland. It was also found that home businesses contribute positively to the sustainability of households and communities in rural Saskatchewan. Specifically, they generate significant revenue and employment opportunities for people, while supporting local economies through their networks, purchasing and selling of goods and services locally as well as keeping managers and members of their households in rural areas and small communities for considerable number of years. Indeed home-based occupation is a vital component of the mechanisms for rural sustainability. Also, this thesis proposed a rural-urban HBB model for future social science research. <p>Major conceptual underpinnings of the research include rural-urban relations; regional and community economic development, sustainable community development; rural entrepreneurship, home-based work, home business, self-employment, competitive strategy, and the von Thunen Isolated State model.