Electronic Thesis or Dissertation

The design and construction of a tri-cable, planar robotic device for use in neurophysical rehabilitation is presented. The criteria for this system are based primarily on marketability factors, rather than ideal models or mathematical outcomes. The device is designed to be low cost and sufficiently safe for a somewhat disabled individual to use unsupervised at home, as well as in a therapist's office. The key features are the use of a barrier that inhibits the user from coming into contact with the cables as well as a "break-away" joystick that the user utilizes to perform the rehabilitation tasks. In addition, this device is portable, aesthetically acceptable and easy to operate. Other uses of this system include sports therapy, virtual reality and teleoperation of remote devices.

The design and construction of a tri-cable, planar robotic device for use in neurophysical rehabilitation is presented. The criteria for this system are based primarily on marketability factors, rather than ideal models or mathematical outcomes. The device is designed to be low cost and sufficiently safe for a somewhat disabled individual to use unsupervised at home, as well as in a therapist's office. The key features are the use of a barrier that inhibits the user from coming into contact with the cables as well as a "break-away" joystick that the user utilizes to perform the rehabilitation tasks. In addition, this device is portable, aesthetically acceptable and easy to operate. Other uses of this system include sports therapy, virtual reality and teleoperation of remote devices.

The emerging Scalable Video Coding (SVC) extends the H.264/AVC video coding standard with new tools designed to efficiently support temporal, spatial and SNR scalability. In real-time multimedia systems, the coding performance of video encoders and decoders is limited by computational complexity. This thesis presents techniques to manage computational complexity of H.264/AVC and SVC video encoders. These techniques aim to provide significant complexity saving as well as a framework for efficient use of SVC.

In this investigation an ultrasonic technique and spectral analysis
were employed to detect corrosion of reinforcing steel in concrete
under conditions of accelerated testing. Various properties of a
transmitted ultrasonic pulse were determined, and it was concluded
that the transfer function provided the most realistic possibility
for detection of corrosion and cracking. The most meaningful correlations
of the transfer function with corrosion and cracking events
were for situations where the temporal variation of the transfer
function at the particular frequency was small. The appropriateness
of ultrasonic parameters with regard to problems involving corrosion
of reinforcing steel is discussed.

A study was conducted in the state of Florida
of persons having service maintenance contracts on
their Frigidaire brand appliances to determine the
motivations affecting the purchase of the service
maintenance contracts. This study was implemented
by the use of a random sample, along with a content
analysis. As a result of this research it was
discovered that the primary reason for this action
was an economic motive. It was further learned that
none of the offering agencies played upon this
economic factor in their promotional appeals. Therefore, the following has been concluded: the
consumer's purchase of service maintenance contracts
was not made due to the efforts on the part of the
selling a gents, but rather in spite of them. And,
the total market for service maintenance contracts
has been restricted because of insufficient
stimulation on the part of the selling agents.

It is the hypothesis of the writer that the average middle-income
person would be better advised to purchase a whole life policy
rather than to buy a "lower-cost" term policy with the thought of using
the difference in "cost" to invest in common stock, possibly in an
effort to combat inflation.
An analysis is made of the returns one might expect from each
method of investment, based on data in the past decade.
On the basis of this analysis, it would seem that a person
would have fared about equally well in a choice between the two methods,
provided that such person did at least as well in the selection of
stock investments as the averages of stock market results (in terms of
over-all income, including both capital gains and dividends). Although
no conclusive choice would appear to be warranted, the uncertainties
inherent in the purchase of term insurance and investment in stocks
would appear to preclude such alternative for any person not wishing
to speculate.

This study evaluates the relative pricing efficiency of convertible debt offerings by comparing the wealth of the convertible bond at its termination with the termination date wealth of an equal initial investment in non-convertible debt of the same approximate risk and maturity. The comparison is made via the construct of a performance ratio. The attributes of the sample's aggregate ratio versus the expected value of the ratio, given that convertible bonds are priced efficiently, provides policy implications in the use of convertible bond financing. The thesis compares the results to prior research measuring convertible pricing efficiency and discusses the relative merit of this approach. The bond rating system, as it relates to convertible issues, is examined. The dissertation concludes by presenting the implications of the results and direction of future research in this area. The results show that convertible bonds are priced in a manner that favors the convertible investor and not the common stockholder.

Oakland (1994) defined fiscal disparities as "differences in fiscal effort required to achieve a particular fiscal outcome" (p. 199). Fiscal disparities among states create inequity, because the welfare of citizens across the nation is substantially affected by where they live. Since no systematic study about interstate fiscal disparities has been conducted, this dissertation attempts to fill this gap by examining (1) the trends of interstate fiscal disparities in the period of 1970 to 1992 and (2) the determinants of interstate fiscal disparities. The model used in this dissertation is developed after a thorough examination of the literature on fiscal disparities. The dependent variable is interstate fiscal disparity as measured by the difference between a state's general expenditure per capita and the mean general expenditure per capita of the fifty states, and by the standard deviation of the general expenditures per capita of the fifty states. Two groups of independent variables are identified from the literature: state fiscal capacity variables (state personal income per capita, state own-source revenue per capita, and federal grant-in-aid per capita) and environmental cost variables (percentage of state dependent population, percentage of state population living in metropolitan areas, percentage of state population living below the poverty line, and percentage of state population enrolled in public schools). Hypotheses that correspond to the model are tested using cross-sectional regression analyses and a time series analysis. There are three related findings about the trends of interstate fiscal disparities. First, interstate fiscal disparities increased over the period of 1970-1992. Second, interstate fiscal disparities increased in a faster pace during 1980-1992 than during 1970-1979. Third, interstate fiscal disparities increased to a much larger degree in public welfare, hospitals and health than in other state functions. There are two major findings about the determinants of interstate fiscal disparities. Both cross-sectional analyses and time series analysis found state own-source revenue per capita, federal grants-in-aid to state per capita, and previous year's state general expenditure per capita to be statistically related to interstate fiscal disparities. Time series analysis also found that the percentage of state population living in metropolitan areas, the percentage of state population living under the poverty line, and the percentage of state population enrolled in public schools are statistically significantly related to interstate fiscal disparities. The dissertation concludes with policy recommendations that can be used to address interstate fiscal disparities.

The purpose of this study is to develop and empirically test theories on wealth effects surrounding acquisitions by investment bankers. The primary research objective deals with strong-form market efficiency. The test strives to determine if the results of information held by investment bankers are attributable to inside information or information that is available to anyone willing to research and analyze particular target firms. A second research objective is to examine why larger wealth effects are expected. Potential reasons examined include internal and external governance issues, as well as acquisition activity as a means of governance. Specific issues examined are (1) a change in the chief executive officer after acquisition, (2) a change in the board of directors after acquisition, (3) an increase in the debt ratio of the target firm after acquisition, (4) downsizing and/or exiting from an industry after acquisition, and (5) to stop the selection of poor acquisitions by the target firm. The relative size of the acquisitions is controlled for in both groups; economies of scale realized from horizontal or vertical acquisitions are controlled for in the case of the control group. A comparison of the wealth gains between the two groups reveals that investment bankers outperform non-investment bankers when the average holding period abnormal return is used as the wealth measure. However, when cumulative average abnormal returns are compared, the non-investment banker group realizes higher wealth gains than the investment bankers. In no case does either group outperform a market index, the S&P 500. The results of the wealth effect tests support strong-form market efficiency; investment bankers do not utilize private information to realize gains from closely-held information. Primarily, downsizing is associated with positive effects on the stock price returns of target firms in partial acquisitions by investment bankers. Non-investment banker partial acquisitions are characterized with a change in the chief executive officer of the target firm. This change, however, is negatively associated with the share price returns of the target firms.

Contrasting viewpoints have emerged regarding the selection of marketing strategies in global markets. One group of scholars recommends standardized global marketing strategies based on the premise that technological advances in telecommunication, transportation, and media are leading to similarities in customer preferences across the world. Other researchers recommend multi-domestic strategies on the premise that consumer heterogeneity continues to increase even within countries. Firms marketing products in global markets appear to adopt global marketing strategies, multi-domestic strategies, and various intermediate strategies that encompass different degrees of standardization. This research develops a theoretical framework to examine the factors that influence marketing strategies in global markets. Transaction cost analysis constructs are used to determine whether to standardize or customize marketing strategy. The basis for adopting different levels of standardization on marketing program and process variables is empirically investigated. A multinomial logit model is used to estimate the likelihood of adopting different degrees of standardization with data from American multinational corporations on 161 products marketed in different global markets. The results indicate that higher levels of asset specificity associated with patented technical knowledge favor physical attribute standardization in global markets. Volatile political environments, high degrees of ownership in affiliates, and global competitors' standardized marketing strategies encourage firms to tailor physical attributes. Brand names are standardized if the economic uncertainty is lower in foreign markets. Cultural dissimilarities between home and host countries hinder marketing control systems standardization. Operating experience in foreign countries and the need for technical service and customer interactions support standardization of marketing control systems. The need for specialized local market knowledge encourages the adoption of country-specific marketing research methods. Standardized pricing strategies are preferred over flexible country-specific strategies in volatile political environments.