Science and Theology: A Working Synthesis

Theologians and scientists, working independently, have provided worldviews that lead to questions about the meaning of existence and human life. When these disciplines interact, opportunity exists for more profound insight. Two individuals, Johannes Kepler in the sixteenth century and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin in the twentieth, attempted theological reconstructions based on revolutionary theories of their eras. Informed by a fierce faith in God and a rigorous pursuit of truth derived from the scientific method, their attempts at synthesizing these fields led to results that were unexpected, even unwanted. Yet they provide lessons in the present age for interpretations of the new discoveries and the responsibility of humankind to play an active role in the modern creation story

Semi-parametric estimation of the hazard function in a model with covariate measurement error

We consider a model where the failure hazard function, conditional on a covariate $Z$ is given by $R(t,\theta^0|Z)=\eta\_{\gamma^0}(t)f\_{\beta^0}(Z)$, with $\theta^0=(\beta^0,\gamma^0)^\top\in \mathbb{R}^{m+p}$. The baseline hazard function $\eta\_{\gamma^0}$ and relative risk $f\_{\beta^0}$ belong both to parametric families. The covariate $Z$ is measured through the error model $U=Z+\epsilon$ where $\epsilon$ is independent from $Z$, with known density $f\_\epsilon$. We observe a $n$-sample $(X\_i, D\_i, U\_i)$, $i=1,...,n$, where $X\_i$ is the minimum between the failure time and the censoring time, and $D\_i$ is the censoring indicator. We aim at estimating $\theta^0$ in presence of the unknown density $g$. Our estimation procedure based on least squares criterion provide two estimators. The first one minimizes an estimation of the least squares criterion where $g$ is estimated by density deconvolution. Its rate depends on the smoothnesses of $f\_\epsilon$ and $f\_\beta(z)$ as a function of $z$,. We derive sufficient conditions that ensure the $\sqrt{n}$-consistency. The second estimator is constructed under conditions ensuring that the least squares criterion can be directly estimated with the parametric rate. These estimators, deeply studied through examples are in particular $\sqrt{n}$-consistent and asymptotically Gaussian in the Cox model and in the excess risk model, whatever is $f\_\epsilon$

Signatures of the Martian rotation parameters in the Doppler and range observables

The position of a Martian lander is affected by different aspects of Mars' rotational motions: the nutations, the precession, the length-of-day variations and the polar motion. These various motions have a different signature in a Doppler observable between the Earth and a lander on Mars' surface. Knowing the correlations between these signatures and the moments when these signatures are not null during one day or on a longer timescale is important to identify strategies that maximize the geophysical return of observations with a geodesy experiment, in particular for the ones on-board the future NASA InSight or ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars2020 missions. We provide first-order formulations of the signature of the rotation parameters in the Doppler and range observables. These expressions are functions of the diurnal rotation of Mars, the lander position, the planet radius and the rotation parameter. Additionally, the nutation signature in the Doppler observable is proportional to the Earth declination with respect to Mars. For a lander on Mars close to the equator, the motions with the largest signature in the Doppler observable are due to the length-of-day variations, the precession rate and the rigid nutations. The polar motion and the liquid core signatures have a much smaller amplitude. For a lander closer to the pole, the polar motion signature is enhanced while the other signatures decrease. We also numerically evaluate the amplitudes of the rotation parameters signature in the Doppler observable for landers on other planets or moons.Comment: 30 pages 7 figures, In press PS

Social studies references in six Rhode Island high schools

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Real Option Valuation of a Portfolio of Oil Projects

Various methodologies exist for valuing companies and their projects. We address the problem of valuing a portfolio of projects within companies that have infrequent, large and volatile cash flows. Examples of this type of company exist in oil exploration and development and we will use this example to illustrate our analysis throughout the thesis. The theoretical interest in this problem lies in modeling the sources of risk in the projects and their different interactions within each project. Initially we look at the advantages of real options analysis and compare this approach with more traditional valuation methods, highlighting strengths and weaknesses ofeach approach in the light ofthe thesis problem. We give the background to the stages in an oil exploration and development project and identify the main common sources of risk, for example commodity prices. We discuss the appropriate representation for oil prices; in short, do oil prices behave more like equities or more like interest rates? The appropriate representation is used to model oil price as a source ofrisk. A real option valuation model based on market uncertainty (in the form of oil price risk) and geological uncertainty (reserve volume uncertainty) is presented and tested for two different oil projects. Finally, a methodology to measure the inter-relationship between oil price and other sources of risk such as interest rates is proposed using copula methods.Imperial Users onl

Similarities between the t−Jt-J and Hubbard models in weakly correlated regimes

We present a comparative study of the Hubbard and $t-J$ models far away from half-filling. We show that, at such fillings the $t-J$ Hamiltonian can be seen as an effective model of the repulsive Hubbard Hamiltonian over the whole range of correlation strength. Indeed, the $|t/U| \in [0,+\infty [$ range of the Hubbard model can be mapped onto the finite range $|J/t| \in [1, 0 ]$ of the $t-J$ model, provided that the effective exchange parameter $J$ is defined variationally as the local singlet-triplet excitation energy. In this picture the uncorrelated limit U=0 is associated with the super-symmetric point $J=-2|t|$ and the infinitely correlated $U=+\infty$ limit with the usual J=0 limit. A numerical comparison between the two models is presented using different macroscopic and microscopic properties such as energies, charge gaps and bond orders on a quarter-filled infinite chain. The usage of the $t-J$ Hamiltonian in low-filled systems can therefore be a good alternative to the Hubbard model in large time-consuming calculations.Comment: To be published in EPJB. 6 pages. 5 figure