The impact of hybrid electric vehicle incentives on demand and the determinants of hybrid electric vehicle adoption

This dissertation identifies the average treatment effect of state level incentives for hybrid vehicles, identifies individual-level predictors of early adopters, and attempts to understand why states adopt these incentives. These questions are estimated using traditional parametric techniques, logistic regression, difference-in-difference regression, and fixed effects. In particular, this dissertation looks at changes in aggregate demand on two comparison groups: (1) the natural control group, states that did not adopt subsidies, and (2) a constructed control group, states that proposed subsidies during this same time period but did not adopt them. In addition to these parametric models, propensity score matching was used to construct a third comparison group using the models that identified determinants of the policy adoption. These findings were supplemented by exploratory analyses using the individual-level National Household Travel Survey. This multitude of evaluative analyses shows that HOV lane exemptions, if implemented in places with high traffic congestion, were found to impact aggregate demand and an individual's propensity to adopt a hybrid, while traditional incentives had limited impact. These analyses provide insight into why states adopt certain policies and the circumstances in which these incentives are effective. Since people may be motivated by factors other than economic factors, creating effective incentives for energy efficiency technologies may be more challenging than just offsetting the price differential. Instead, customization to the local community's characteristics could help increase the efficacy of such policies.Ph.D

Analyses of Denis Leary, Robert Benchley, and Frank O'Hara

The goal of this project was to analyze the works of famous writers from the city of Worcester. This project explores the writing styles, life styles, and life work of three writers from Worcester. They are Denis Leary, Robert Benchley, and Frank O'Hara

Predicting Stock Prices

Using the stochastic processes called Markov Chains, we sought out to predict the immediate future stock prices for a given company. We found the moving averages for the data and the grouped them into four different states of results. We then applied Markov Chain calculations to the data to create a 4x4 transitional probability matrix. Using this transition matrix we solved a system of equations and found four steady states that were variables that represented the probability that a stock price for a given day would fall into one of the four states. When we use this information we can apply our actual data to these equations and predict the next stock prices for the near future. We were able to successfully predict the next few days of stock prices using this method

Old and new strategies to preserve the lung before transplantation

Summary - Transplantation is considered a valuable option in the treatment of end-stage lung disease. However, organs from multi-organ donors available for transplantation are far fewer than the number of potential recipients, so that as many as 15 to 20% of them die while on a waitlist. Over the years a number of ways have been explored to overcome the discrepancy between the need and the availability of organs, including the use of lung allocation scores and the implementation of standardized donor management protocols. In the last decade several authors have extended lung donor criteria to increase the pool of organs, unfortunately with controversial results. Recently, the feasibility and safety of transplanting high-risk donor lungs that have undergone ex-vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) have been successfully documented. EVLP allows donor lungs to be evaluated before transplantation when function is doubtful and injured donor lungs can be repaired, thus increasing the number of organs available for transplantation. Although EVLP has opened a new era in lung transplantation, conventional strategies to preserve the lung before transplantation still maintain their importance in the process of organ donation and significantly contribute to the final outcome of transplantation. The purpose of this review is to summarize old and new strategies to preserve the lung before transplantation

The challenging paradigm of interrelated energy systems towards a more sustainable future

This paper brings together several contemporary topics in energy systems aiming to provide a literature review based reflection on how several interrelated energy systems can contribute together to a more sustainable world. Some directions are discussed, such as the improvement of the energy efficiency and environmental performance of systems, the development of new technologies, the increase of the use of renewable energy sources, the promotion of holistic and multidisciplinary studies, and the implementation of new management rules and "eco-friendly and sustainable" oriented policies at different scales. The interrelations of the diverse energy systems are also discussed in order to address their main social, economic and environmental impacts. The subjects covered include the assessment of the electricity market and its main players (demand, supply, distribution), the evaluation of urban systems (buildings, transportation, commuting), the analysis of the implementation of renewable energy cooperatives, the discussion of the diffusion of the electric vehicle and the importance of new bioenergy systems. This paper also presents relevant research carried out in the framework of the Energy for Sustainability (EfS) Initiative of the University of Coimbra, linking the reviewed areas to the multidisciplinary approach adopted by the EfS Initiative. To conclude, several research topics that should be addressed in the near future are proposed