(The) effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic growth (GDP) : case of Ecuador

Vasquez, Edison Daniel Munoz Ajou University 2017 국내석사

(The) effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic growth (GDP) : Case of Ecuador

MUNOZ, VASQUEZ EDISON DANIEL 아주대학교 Graduate School of International Studies Ajo 2017 국내석사

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), theoretically speaking, is one financing source to accelerate economic development. It helps to improve the welfare of a country throughout the generation of employment, transfer of technology, capital accumulation, etc. However, several empirical studies have suggested that there is either a negative or positive impact on the economic growth. Those different results can be explained because of the particular characteristics of each study such as the period of time, methodologies, type of data, etc. Despite the facts that Ecuador's economy was ranked as eighth in the largest economies in Latin America with an average of 4.6% of GDP Growth during the period from 2000 to 2006, the development of the country is restricted. For instance, Ecuador adopted the US dollar as a national currency, the economy is highly dependent on oil exportation and a populist and protectionist governmental framework was imposed during the last 10 years. Consequently, there are few incentives for foreign investors and competitive disadvantages due to the cost opportunity in comparison to similar economies in Latin America. This research conducts a theoretical and empirical approach. It uses an adapted estimated model and econometric techniques in order to understand the positive contribution of FDI to the economic growth specifically in the case of Ecuador. In addition, it provides a precise interpretation of its interaction with human capital, capital accumulation and transfer of technology. Finally, this research provides enough evidence and suggestions to modify governmental policies to promote foreign direct investment as a way to develop the country.

Wireless Communication with Energy Harvesting for the Ultra Low Power Internet of Things

GERARDO FRANCISCO SACARELO VASQUEZ 경희대학교 대학원 2021 국내박사

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a new paradigm that has transformed our physical world into a smart one with automated processes. The necessity to minimize human interaction became apparent last year when the global pandemic broke out, resulting in an increase in demand for IoT devices and technology. As interest in IoT grows, various concerns must be addressed in order to enable additional devices in a large area as power consumption and spectral efficiency. Furthermore, battery replacements are a concern when IoT devices are used in hazardous environments, certain configurations have been proposed to reduce or eliminate battery replacements. This thesis considers wireless powered communication networks (WPCN) and wireless powered backscatter networks (WPBN) for improving coverage, spectrum efficiency and low power consumption towards massive device connectivity, all of which are needed to support a variety of new IoT-enabled services and applications. By harvesting energy from the radio frequency signal and charging the devices before wireless communications, wireless powered communication networks allow battery-limited devices to be sustained. On the other hand, backscatter modulation transmits data by reflecting a carrier signal excited from a different source, allowing IoT devices to avoid power-hungry active RF circuitry and potentially recover energy from the incident carrier. However, essential characteristics, as well as resource allocation and beamforming (BF) algorithms, must be carefully examined and developed in order to realize the full potential of IoT. As the number of devices grows, BF helps to optimize the received power that will be used for energy harvesting or information transfer, while power and time allocations enhance the device rate balance in the network. We start by considering a resource allocation for a wireless powered (WP) multi-pair massive antenna relay network to expand the coverage area, in which a relay powers the sources and assists with wireless information transfer (WIT) to the destination. We investigate the average achievable rates with imperfect channel state information and maximize the minimum rate using power allocation (PA) in energy and transmit BF and time allocation (TA). The optimal PA policy improves the minimum rate in each WIT phase by balancing asymmetric link qualities among the devices, while the TA solution leverages the performance significantly by balancing the rates of the WIT phases. The next step is to look at a WP two-way multi-antenna relay network, in which a relay delivers power to devices and aids data exchange using network coding to improve spectral efficiency. In this setup, we optimize energy BF and transmit BF as well as TA in order to maximize the rate fairness among the devices. The optimal energy BF is found by searching through the span of channel matched filters, while the optimal two-step transmit BF is given in closed-form and the TA problem is shown to be convex. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed network outperforms traditional networks significantly. We then investigate at a monostatic WPBN, in which a low-power device uses the received signal from a multi-antenna hybrid access point to perform backscatter modulation and energy harvesting (EH). The rate-energy regions of the WPBN are studied for power splitting (PS) and time switching (TS) receivers architecture by using the rate and EH functions reflecting the effects of practical systems. The results show that dynamic strategies outperform static strategies, and their gains are more pronounced in a specific region of a nonlinear EH circuit and number of antennas. The strategies established explicitly using the piecewise linear EH model are demonstrated to operate well with a practical EH model as well, with no significant performance loss. Finally, we deal with a monostatic multiantenna WPBN supporting massive devices through nonorthogonal multiple access (NOMA) over space division multiple access (SDMA). For the network, we optimize transmit BF for signal excitation, reflection coefficients of devices for backscattering and EH, and receive BF for information decoding toward the maximum fairness. The optimization problem without successive interference cancellation (SIC) has an analogy with the problem considered for a WPCN. As a result, we offer a new alternating optimization technique that is suitable for both SIC and non-SIC situations and has a lower complexity. Simulation results show that the proposed approach outperforms the conventional one for networks with SIC while achieving indistinguishable results for networks without SIC. Additionally, NOMA/SDMA enhanced by the proposed algorithm increases the minimum system throughput as well as the total energy harvested in the network by utilizing limited resources more effectively for a larger number of devices.

A Phenomenological Study of Mental Health Providers' Cultural Sensitivity Towards Latinx Clients

Vasquez, Nohemi Walden University ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 2022 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

This hermeneutic phenomenological study explored the lived professional experiences involving mental health providers’ cultural sensitivity towards Latinx clients in the context of mental health service delivery. Pedersen and Essadoh’s multiculturalism framework, known as the “fourth force” of psychology, was used as a guiding framework. Fifteen mental health providers were recruited. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews via Skype, in-person, or phone interviews with participants who had from two to over thirteen years of working experience with Latinx populations. Interviews were examined using an interpretive phenomenological analysis. Four themes emerged from participant responses. Findings revealed that cultural competence and cultural awareness were central to the delivery of mental health care to Latinx clients and approaches to developing cultural competence. Bilingualism and multilingualism were critical in terms of identifying and developing cultural competence among mental health providers, and Latinx clients sought mental health services due to depression, anxiety, PTSD, and suicidal ideation. Results may promote positive social change by increasing awareness of challenges experienced by minority communities and the value of cultural competence in addressing such challenges. This study may inform policymakers and educational stakeholders about policies and development of curricula that is relevant to cultural competence. Participants were a small sample of clinicians in Idaho whose responses may represent regional considerations. Further researchers can use mixed methods to reexamine connections between cultural competence and awareness and how use of language influences cultural competence.

Discrete/continuous choice models and consumer heterogeneity

Vasquez Lavin, Felipe Antonio University of California, Berkeley 2007 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

This dissertation consists of three chapters on demand estimation using discrete and discrete/continuous choice models. In all papers I address the identification of heterogeneity in preferences using random parameter specifications. From a policy perspective, preference heterogeneity is important in the design of policy interventions targeting groups with different behavior patterns and, in a political economy context, enables us to identify winners and losers from these interventions, and to deal with them appropriately. Framed in a Lancasterian demand model, where demand depends on the attributes of the goods, the first chapter entitled "Taste Indicators and Heterogeneous Revealed Preferences for Congestion in Recreation Demand" presents a method combining taste indicators and revealed preferences to estimate a distribution of preferences for attributes of a commodity. This work is motivated by the fact that results of a traditional Mixed Logit (ML) model are sometimes inconsistent with people's attitudes towards those attributes. I include these attitudes into the estimation process and I utilize them to describe the distribution of preferences in the sample. I apply this procedure to estimate a distribution of taste for congestion in a recreation demand model. While the traditional ML model suggests that around 60% of the sample likes crowding, my estimations show that nobody in the sample likes this attribute of the sites. A correct estimation of the distribution of tastes in the population may contribute to correctly assess the benefit or cost of some policy intervention. The second chapter, "Functional Forms in Discrete/Continuous Choice Models with General Corner Solutions", presents a new utility model serving as the basis for modeling discrete/continuous consumer choices with a general corner solution. The new model involves a more flexible representation of preferences than what has been previously used in the literature and, unlike most of it, the model is not additively separable. This functional form can handle richer substitution patterns such as complementarity and substitution among goods. I focus in part on the Quadratic Box-Cox utility function and examine its properties from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. I also identify the significance of the various parameters of the utility function, and demonstrate an estimation strategy that can be applied to demand systems involving both a small and large number of commodities. Finally, the chapter three entitled "Quality Effects on the Demand for Broadway Shows" presents an estimation of live theatre demand using a discrete choice model commonly used in industrial organization applications with aggregate data. The focus of this paper is the identification of the effect of quality on attendance to a Broadway show. Quality is defined as the number of Tony awards won by each show. A positive correlation between admission price and show's quality has produced upward sloping demand curves in previous studies in the economics of the Arts, contradicting economic theory. The application in this chapter uses an unique panel dataset created by matching weekly Broadway show attendance, theatre gross revenue, and capacity figures with show attributes for all plays performing between December 1995 and June 2003. Using a discrete choice model with instrumental variables the results show Broadway show demand slopes down, the Tony award has a positive impact on demand, individuals like Musicals more than Plays, and Hollywood actors draw bigger crowds. Obtaining consistent estimates of the demand for Broadway shows opens several avenues for future work in this topic such as market concentration and competition among firms and survival analysis for plays.

Investigation of Viruses Causing Recent Outbreaks of Tomato Necrotic Dwarf and Squash Vein Yellowing in California Reveals Different Means of Emergence and Role of Recombination

Vasquez-Mayorga, Marcela University of California, Davis ProQuest Dissertat 2022 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

In this dissertation I investigated aspects of two plant virus species, tomato necrotic dwarf virus (ToNDV) and Squash vein yellowing virus (SqVYV), which have emerged in different ways in California. In Chapter Two, I further characterized a new isolate of ToNDV (genus Torradovirus) associated with a necrosis disease outbreak in Kern County, CA in 2015. This involved obtaining a pure isolate (ToNDV-K15) and generating full-length infectious RNA 1 and RNA 2 clones. Using these clones, I determined the complete genome sequence of this isolate and used agroinoculation to fulfill Koch's postulates for this disease and show that the host range of the virus was limited to solanaceous species, and that virus derived from the infectious clones was whitefly-transmissible. Finally, pairwise comparisons and phylogenetic analyses seemed to support species status for ToNDV. The infectious clones allowed me to investigate the role and function of movement-associated genes/proteins encoded by RNA 2. In Chapter Two, I used mutational analyses to investigate the role of ORF1 and MP in infection and identify important motifs in involved in cell-to-cell movement. Modeling was then used to infer how selected mutations may have impaired structure and function. Subcellular localization with GFP-tagged fusion proteins showed that ORF1 and MP were targeted to the cell membrane and plasmodesmata (PD); however, the interaction of ORF1GFP was transient and involved a network and motile vesicles, whereas MP accumulated in PD and co-localized with the TMV-MP PD marker. ORF1 binds, consistent with the hypothesis the vesicles are involved in transport. Interestingly, phylogenetic analyses of the MP revealed evidence of recombination and an unexpected relationship with MPs of polerovirus (family Sobemoviridae). Together, these results provide further insight into the function these RNA-2 encoded proteins in torradovirus movement and evidence for a two-MP type strategy. In Chapter Three, I report the completion and analysis of the complete genome sequence of an isolate of SqVYV involved in a yellowing disease outbreak in cucurbits in Imperial Valley in 2014. The genome of this isolate (SqVYV-CA) has the typical organization of the SqVYV-type ipomoviruses, including lack of a HC-Pro gene/protein and a P1a and P1b genes/proteins at the 5' end. Notably, my research revealed a recombination event in the P1a gene of SqVYV-CA, involving a portion of the P1 gene of an uncharacterized potyvirus and is predicted to generate a hybrid P1/P1a protein. Finally, using the divergent P1 sequence in the hybrid P1/P1a gene of SqVYV-CA, I developed a primer pair that allows for the specific RT-PCR detection of SqVYVCA. I validated the specificity of the test, i.e., it did not detect SqVYV-FL or amplify non-specific fragments from the negative control. In 2021, this SqVYV-CA RT-PCR test allowed for the detection of the virus two of the four samples with yellowing symptoms from Fresno Co. This is the first report of SqVYV in the Fresno area and is a potential threat to cucurbit production, especially watermelon.

Wet Chemical Modification of Crystalline Silicon Interfaces for Heterogeneous Charge Transfer and Quantitative Analysis 

Vasquez, Robert M ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Mich 2022 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

This thesis describes the covalent bonding of organic monolayers on crystalline silicon (Si) interfaces for the advancement of photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical applications. The first section of this thesis explores the premise that surface bonding will influence the resultant electronic properties of the interface. Wet chemical Grafting via Grignard reagents form Si-C bonds that are known to highly passivate Si(111) eliminating surface state traps. Other methods, such as silane dehydrogenative couplings, that form a Si-Si bond are relatively unexplored. Furthermore, bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)-based solutions are known to mask surface defects temporarily on etched crystalline silicon. The combination of wet-chemical grafting methods in tandem with these bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)-based solutions has not been explored previously. Specifically, n-Si(111) surfaces were decorated with an octadecyl functional group using either a two-step Grignard reaction or silane dehydrogenative coupling compare the putative surface bond. Both surface types were treated with a solution of trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride to detail the observable chemical properties on the interfacial bond. This work demonstrated that all surface types exhibited an initial beneficial lowering of surface recombination from this treatment. However, the efficacy using trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride of in conjunction with Si-C bond at the interface was shown to improve suppression of charge recombination for at least one week.The second focus of my work is a detailed framework for modeling and interpreting the entire voltammetric response recorded for adsorbed redox monolayers on n-Si(111) electrodes. The quantitative model uses a set of equations that encapsulate the explicit forward and back charge-transfer rate constants of an adsorbed species as a function of potential. To validate accuracy, the analytical model was used in conjunction with an experimental system using covalently bound viologens on n-Si(111). Irreversibly bound surface molecules are one of the most researched directions in semiconductor photoelectrochemistry, namely dye-sensitized solar cells and water-splitting photoelectrochemical systems with molecular electrocatalysts. This work not only fills a long-standing knowledge gap in semiconductor physics but also will aid in advancing photoelectrochemical energy conversion/storage strategies.The final chapter of this thesis details unresolved work to help future students using surface chemistry to improve (photo)electrochemical systems. First, a project that details the synthesis and attempted absorption of triarylmethane dyes for GaP(111a) is discussed. Second, many additional parameters were explored for adsorbed viologens for quantitative modeling to understand the experimental system reported in Chapter 4, select parameters include changing viologen distance from the electrode, dopant density, electrolyte concentration, and solvent. Third, redox active molecules, including viologens, were adsorbed in a Nafion film to generate electrochemical data for quantitative modeling. n-Si(111) electrodes were etched or passivated with -CH3 groups to prevent surface oxidation. Finally, the last section details preliminary results of bipyridinium dimers that were used for electrochemical carbon dioxide capture in aqueous solutions. These works serve to understand heterogeneous charge transfer processes.

Modeling peer influence and peer selection as processes

Vasquez, Bob Edward State University of New York at Albany 2009 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

Behavioral scientists are aware of the strong and persistent correlation between peer and individual behavior. Evidence suggests selection and socialization effects explain the correlation, but the processes, or the details of the ways in which these effects operate in an empirical model, remain relatively unexamined. This dissertation uses data from waves 3-5 of the National Youth Survey and waves 4-6 of the Rochester Youth Development Study, and finds that the strength of peer influence depends on the bond to peers. The effect of peers increases with the intensity of the bonds to peers. Like any causal mechanism, the effect of peers fades over time, and detecting details of a lagged process becomes difficult. The effect of previous peer associations does not always depend on the bond to peers, and even an additive effect is not always demonstrated. However, the current effect of peers is consistently demonstrated, and evidence for the peer-bond dependency hypothesis, which is consistent with a peer influencing process, is produced. Selection effects, or the notion that delinquent peer associations are a function of delinquency, are also substantiated. However, evidence for empirical complexities consistent with a delinquent peer selection process, such as whether the effect of delinquency on associating with delinquents varies with previous delinquent peer associations, is rather limited and ultimately additive in nature. Since conclusions vary depending on the estimation strategy, especially when concerning statistical interactions and censored outcomes, the dissertation discusses the limitations of usual methods including Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Tobit regression. Censored least absolute deviations (CLAD) models provide an alternative, but results from logistic regression models are emphasized.

Shaping Strategy: An Institutional Analysis of Decision Making in the Middle Tier

Vasquez, Alejandro ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Boston College 2017 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

The intent of this single-case study was to explore the effects of a competitive environment on organizational decision making. The study examines the decision making processes that resulted in the adoption of an undergraduate business major at a traditional, middle-tier Liberal Arts College and offers an analysis of academic leaders' perspectives on institutional identity, environmental pressures, strategic decision making and organizational change. This qualitative study uses Institutional theory to examine organizational behavior in competitive environments. Analysis of interviews and institutional data revealed four important findings. 1. The external environment defined the organizational reality and significantly influenced and shaped behavior and decision making; 2. A unique organizational culture and identity moved the organization to rely on rules and routines which reflected historic institutional values; 3. Responses to uncertainty produced an organizational adaptation that reflected a decoupling of one subunit which represented a new institutional strength, and 4. The environment exerted isomorphic pressure on the College to adopt a change that was incongruent with its historic values. The implications of the study include identifying the pressing need for new revenue streams that strengthen the financial model for tuition-dependent liberal arts colleges while preserving the values of a liberal education. Also, organizations should find ways to extend and share leadership in order to facilitate necessary organizational learning and time-bound responses to organizational threats.

Towards Achieving Clean Water Goals: An Evaluation of California's Mandatory Minimum Penalty Enforcement Program

Vasquez, Victor Rigor University of California, Los Angeles 2014 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

An effective environmental regulatory policy requires an effective monitoring and enforcement strategy implemented by the regulatory agency. To achieve effective deterrence to prevent or reduce violations of environmental regulations, enforcement actions must have severity, and violation costs must be greater than the economic benefits realized by violators. Effective deterrence also requires certainty that violations will be detected and sanctioned and that enforcement actions will be taken swiftly. Environmental monetary penalties may take into consideration factors such as the degree of environmental damage, frequency of violations, and the culpability of the violator. Mandatory minimum penalties (MMPs) are a form of monetary penalties that require regulatory agencies to issue a set fixed dollar amount per violation, often through expedited administrative procedures; thus increasing certainty and celerity of enforcement actions but at the same time removing discretion from regulatory agencies to tailor the penalty amount to the violation. In California starting in 2000, an MMP of $3,000 has been issued to violating facilities for each violation of effluent limitations contained in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits issued pursuant to the 1972 US Clean Water Act. Three investigations were conducted to evaluate California's MMP enforcement program to quantitatively estimate its impact on the number of NPDES effluent limitation violations and on improvements in water quality. Data from the 2000-2011 NPDES and MMP enforcement program record were analyzed using linear regression models. Results suggest that the MMP enforcement program has resulted in modest decreases in the number of violations across the state and in measurable improvements in effluent quality discharged to San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta; however improvements in receiving water quality may not be observable due to other pollution inputs and fate and transport processes. The results suggest that mandatory penalties are effective in promoting compliance and achieving reductions in pollution and that the effects are due to both facility-specific effects as well as enhancement of the regulatory agency's enforcement reputation. However, because violations continue despite the MMP enforcement program, the results may also suggest that the MMP enforcement program could be optimized to achieve larger effects.