Dynamic Configuration of Distributed Multimedia Components

A thesis submitted to the University of London in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosoph

The Advantages of Odd Exclusions

Every novel constitutes an interestingly complex set of linguistic experiments demonstrating some of the possibilities of its language to and by the exclusion of all the rest. Extreme cases may demonstrate these possibilities more clearly, and at least in English, no novel seems more arbitrarily extreme than Gadsby, which Ernest Vincent Wright apparently wrote in 1936-1937, with the E typebar of his typewriter tied down with string because, he said in his introduction, someone had told him he could not write coherent grammatical English without using its most common letter

The Use of Credit Card Debt by New Firms

Examines Kauffman Firm Survey data for credit card debt characteristics of small startups and whether and to what extent they affect the firms' survival rates. Explores average balances over three years and links between debt amounts and survival rates

Some Entropy Bump Conditions for Fractional Maximal and Integral Operators

We investigate weighted inequalities for fractional maximal operators and fractional integral operators. We work within the innovative framework of "entropy bounds" introduced by Treil--Volberg. Using techniques developed by Lacey and the second author, we are able to efficiently prove the weighted inequalities.Comment: v2. Part of Theorem 1.1 from v1 was not true; we fixed the error. We thank Kabe Moen for pointing this out to u

Multi-wavelength studies of the gamma-ray pulsar PSR J1907+0602

PSR J1907+0602 is a radio-faint, 107-ms GeV gamma-ray pulsar that was discovered with the Fermi LAT in a blind pulsar search. PSR J1907+0602 is located near the bright, extended TeV gamma-ray source MGRO J1908+06 which may be an associated pulsar wind nebula. We present an analysis of XMM-Newton X-ray data and EVLA radio data of the pulsar. We detect a faint X-ray source coincident with the gamma-ray pulsar and investigate its spectral and timing properties. We also find marginal evidence for a bow shock in the X-ray images. The pulsar was not detected with the EVLA, and we derive upper limits on the time-averaged radio flux in multiple frequency bands.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Published in HIGH ENERGY GAMMA-RAY ASTRONOMY: 5th International Meeting on High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronom

An equivalence result for VC classes of sets

Let R and θ be infinite sets and let A # R × θ. We show that the class of projections of A onto R is a Vapnik–Chervonenkis (VC) class of sets if and only if the class of projections of A onto θ is a VC class. We illustrate the result in the context of semiparametric estimation of a transformation model. In this application, the VC property is hard to establish for the projection class of interest but easy to establish for the other projection class

Making Progress in Forecasting

Twenty-five years ago, the International Institute of Forecasters was established “to bridge the gap between theory and practice.” Its primary vehicle was the Journal of Forecasting and is now the International Journal of Forecasting. The Institute emphasizes empirical comparisons of reasonable forecasting approaches. Such studies can be used to identify the best forecasting procedures to use under given conditions, a process we call evidence-based forecasting. Unfortunately, evidence-based forecasting meets resistance from academics and practitioners when the findings differ from currently accepted beliefs. As a consequence, although much progress has been made in developing improved forecasting methods, the diffusion of useful forecasting methods has been disappointing. To bridge the gap between theory and practice, we recommend a stronger emphasis on the method of multiple hypotheses and on invited replications of important research. It is then necessary to translate the findings into principles that are easy to understand and apply. The Internet and software provide important opportunities for making the latest findings available to researchers and practitioners. Because researchers and practitioners believe that their areas are unique, we should organize findings so that they are relevant to each area and make them easily available when people search for information about forecasting in their area. Organisational barriers to change still remain to be overcome. Research into the specific issues faced when forecasting remains a priority

Embedded Options and the Case Against Compensation in Contract Law

Despite the fact that compensation is the governing principle in contract law remedies, it has tenuous historical, economic and empirical support. A promisor's right to breach and pay damages (which is subject to the compensation principle) is only a subset of a larger family of termination rights that do not purport to compensate the promisee for losses suffered when the promisor walks away from the contemplated exchange. These termination rights can be characterized as embedded options that serve important risk management functions. We show that sellers often sell insurance to their buyers in the form of these embedded options. We explain why compensation is of little relevance to the option price agreed to by the parties, which is a function of the value of the option to the buyer, its cost to the seller and the market in which they transact. We thus propose a novel justification for why penalty liquidated damages may be higher than seller's costs: they are option prices that reflect the value of the options to the buyer. The regulation of liquidated damages is thus tantamount to price regulation, which is outside the realm of contract law. Moreover, in light of the heterogeneity among optimal option prices, we also make the case against having an expectation damages default rule to begin with. In thick markets, we argue for enforcing the parties ex ante risk allocation with market damages. In thin markets, we propose that parties be induced to agree explicitly with respect to all termination rights, including breach damages, by the threat of specific performance of their contemplated exchange or, in the case of consumers, by a default rule that provides them a termination option at no cost.