State Legislation Monitoring Report, FY 2007

The Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning issued its first state legislation monitoring report in February 2002, covering the first six month’s impact of Senate File 543 on the justice system. SF 543, enacted during the 2001 legislative session, changed the maximum penalty for first-offense Burglary-3rd degree, and established new sentencing options available to the court: * An alternative determinate prison sentence for certain Class D felons * Extended felony sentence reconsideration from 90 days to one year

State Legislation Monitoring Report, FY 2008

The Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning issued its first state legislation monitoring report in February 2002, covering the first six month’s impact of Senate File 543 on the justice system. SF 543, enacted during the 2001 legislative session, changed the maximum penalty for first-offense Burglary-3rd degree, and established new sentencing options available to the court: * An alternative determinate prison sentence for certain Class D felons * Extended felony sentence reconsideration from 90 days to one year

Iowa Plan for Energy Independence, 2007

Iowa’s first annual Energy Independence Plan kicks off a new era of state leadership in energy transformation. Supported by Governor Chet Culver, Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge, and the General Assembly, the Office of Energy Independence was established in 2007 to coordinate state activities for energy independence. The commitment of the state to lead by example creates opportunities for state government to move boldly to achieve its goals, track its progress, measure the results, and report the findings. In moving to energy independence, the active engagement of every Iowan will be sought as the state works in partnership with others in achieving the goals. While leading ongoing efforts within the state, Iowa can also show the nation how to effectively address the critical, complex challenges of shifting to a secure energy future of affordable energy, cost-effective efficiency, reliance on sustainable energy, and enhanced natural resources and environment. In accordance with House File 918, “the plan shall provide cost effective options and strategies for reducing the state’s consumption of energy, dependence on foreign sources of energy, use of fossil fuels, and greenhouse gas emissions. The options and strategies developed in the plan shall provide for achieving energy independence from foreign sources of energy by the year 2025.” Energy independence is a term which means different things to different people. We use the term to mean that we are charting our own course in the emerging energy economy. Iowa can chart its own course by taking advantage of its resources: a well-educated population and an abundance of natural resources, including rich soil, abundant surface and underground water, and consistent wind patterns. Charting our own course also includes further developing our in-state industry, capturing renewable energy, and working toward improved energy efficiency. Charting our own course will allow Iowa to manage its economic destiny while protecting our environment, while creating new, “green collar” industries in every corner of Iowa. Today Iowa is in a remarkable position to capitalize on the current situation globally and at home. Energy drives the economy and has impacts on the environment, undeniable links that are integral for energy security and independence. With the resources available within the state, the combination of significant global changes in energy and research leading to new technologies that continue to drive down the costs of sustainable energy, Iowa can take bold strides toward the goal of energy independence by 2025. The Office of Energy Independence, with able assistance from hundreds of individuals, organizations, agencies, and advisors, presents its plan for Iowa’s Energy Independence.

Surface reconstruction from microscopic images in optical lithography.

This paper presents a method to reconstruct 3D surfaces of silicon wafers from 2D images of printed circuits taken with a scanning electron microscope. Our reconstruction method combines the physical model of the optical acquisition system with prior knowledge about the shapes of the patterns in the circuit; the result is a shape-from-shading technique with a shape prior. The reconstruction of the surface is formulated as an optimization problem with an objective functional that combines a data-fidelity term on the microscopic image with two prior terms on the surface. The data term models the acquisition system through the irradiance equation characteristic of the microscope; the first prior is a smoothness penalty on the reconstructed surface, and the second prior constrains the shape of the surface to agree with the expected shape of the pattern in the circuit. In order to account for the variability of the manufacturing process, this second prior includes a deformation field that allows a nonlinear elastic deformation between the expected pattern and the reconstructed surface. As a result, the minimization problem has two unknowns, and the reconstruction method provides two outputs: 1) a reconstructed surface and 2) a deformation field. The reconstructed surface is derived from the shading observed in the image and the prior knowledge about the pattern in the circuit, while the deformation field produces a mapping between the expected shape and the reconstructed surface that provides a measure of deviation between the circuit design models and the real manufacturing process.

The Effectiveness of Domestic Abuse Protective Orders and Court Practices in Sentencing Violators, July 2011

Deterring abuse is important to ensuring safety among domestic violence and assault victims. Protective orders are tools aimed at restricting contact between the victim and the abuser to prevent subsequent violence. While empirical research has indicated that protective orders are effective, the extent of the effectiveness is uncertain because violation rates have varied widely from study to study. In addition, little research exists to explain how violations of protective orders are handled, which factors are considered when giving penalties, and whether certain situations lead to a given type of penalty.

Structural macro factors and the affine term structure of interest rates

This work consists of three essays investigating the ability of structural macroeconomic models to price zero coupon U.S. government bonds. 1. A small scale 3 factor DSGE model implying constant term premium is able to provide reasonable a fit for the term structure only at the expense of the persistence parameters of the structural shocks. The test of the structural model against one that has constant but unrestricted prices of risk parameters shows that the exogenous prices of risk-model is only weakly preferred. We provide an MLE based variance-covariance matrix of the Metropolis Proposal Density that improves convergence speeds in MCMC chains. 2. Affine in observable macro-variables, prices of risk specification is excessively flexible and provides term-structure fit without significantly altering the structural parameters. The exogenous component of the SDF is separating the macro part of the model from the term structure and the good term structure fit has as a driving force an extremely volatile SDF and an implied average short rate that is inexplicable. We conclude that the no arbitrage restrictions do not suffice to temper the SDF, thus there is need for more restrictions. We introduce a penalty-function methodology that proves useful in showing that affine prices of risk specifications are able to reconcile stable macro-dynamics with good term structure fit and a plausible SDF. 3. The level factor is reproduced most importantly by the preference shock to which it is strongly and positively related but technology and monetary shocks, with negative loadings, are also contributing to its replication. The slope factor is only related to the monetary policy shocks and it is poorly explained. We find that there are gains in in- and out-of-sample forecast of consumption and inflation if term structure information is used in a time varying hybrid prices of risk setting. In-sample yield forecast are better in models with non-stationary shocks for the period 1982-1988. After this period, time varying market price of risk models provide better in-sample forecasts. For the period 2005-2008, out of sample forecast of consumption and inflation are better if term structure information is incorporated in the DSGE model but yields are better forecasted by a pure macro DSGE model.

Ruin and related quantities in some advanced insurance risk models

Risk theory has been a very active research area over the last decades. The main objectives of the theory are to find adequate stochastic processes which can model the surplus of a (non-life) insurance company and to analyze the risk related quantities such as ruin time, ruin probability, expected discounted penalty function and expected discounted dividend/tax payments. The study of these ruin related quantities provides crucial information for actuaries and decision makers. This thesis consists of the study of four different insurance risk models which are essentially related. The ruin and related quantities are investigated by using different techniques, resulting in explicit or asymptotic expressions for the ruin time, the ruin probability, the expected discounted penalty function and the expected discounted tax payments. - La recherche en théorie du risque a été très dynamique au cours des dernières décennies. D'un point de vue théorique, les principaux objectifs sont de trouver des processus stochastiques adéquats permettant de modéliser le surplus d'une compagnie d'assurance non vie et d'analyser les mesures de risque, notamment le temps de ruine, la probabilité de ruine, l'espérance de la valeur actuelle de la fonction de pénalité et l'espérance de la valeur actuelle des dividendes et taxes. L'étude de ces mesures associées à la ruine fournit des informations cruciales pour les actuaires et les décideurs. Cette thèse consiste en l'étude des quatre différents modèles de risque d'assurance qui sont essentiellement liés. La ruine et les mesures qui y sont associées sont examinées à l'aide de différentes techniques, ce qui permet d'induire des expressions explicites ou asymptotiques du temps de ruine, de la probabilité de ruine, de l'espérance de la valeur actuelle de la fonction de pénalité et l'espérance de la valeur actuelle des dividendes et taxes.

Análisis de la eficacia de los saques de esquina en la copa del mundo de fútbol 2010. Un intento de identificación de variables explicativas

In soccer, dead-ball moves are those in which the ball is returned to play from a stationary position following an interruption of play. The aim of this study was to analyse the effectiveness of one such dead-ball move, namely corner kicks, and to identify the key variables that determine the success of a shot or header following a corner, thereby enabling a model of successful corner kicks to be proposed. We recorded 554 corner kicks performed during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and carried out a univariate, bivariate and multivariate analysis of the data. The results indicated that corners were of limited effectiveness in terms of the success of subsequent shots or headers. The analysis also revealed a series of variables that were significantly related to one another, and this enabled us to propose an explanatory model. Although this model had limited explanatory power, it nonetheless helps to understand the execution of corner kicks in practical terms.

Inter-limb coordination and energy cost in swimming.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the relationship between inter-arm coordination and the energy cost of locomotion in front crawl and breaststroke and explored swimmers' flexibility in adapting their motor organization away from their preferred movement pattern. DESIGN: Nine front-crawlers performed three 300-m in front crawl and 8 breaststrokers performed three 200-m in breaststroke at constant submaximal intensity and with 5-min rests. Each trial was performed randomly in a different coordination pattern: freely chosen, 'maximal glide' and 'minimal glide'. Two underwater cameras videotaped frontal and side views to analyze speed, stroke rate, stroke length and inter-limb coordination. METHODS: In front crawl, inter-arm coordination was quantified by the index of coordination (IdC) and the leg beat kicks were counted. In breaststroke, four time gaps quantified the arm to leg coordination (i.e., time between leg and arm propulsions; time between beginning, 90° flexion and end of arm and leg recoveries). The energy cost of locomotion was calculated from gas exchanges and blood lactate concentration. RESULTS: In both front crawl and breaststroke, the freely chosen coordination corresponded to glide pattern and showed the lowest energy cost (12.8 and 17.1Jkg(-1)m(-1), respectively). Both front-crawlers and breaststrokers were able to reach 'maximal glide' condition (respectively, +35% and +28%) but not 'minimal glide' condition for front crawl. CONCLUSIONS: The freely chosen pattern appeared more economic because more trained. When coordination was constrained, the swimmers had higher coordination flexibility in breaststroke than in front crawl, suggesting that breaststroke coordination was easier to regulate by changing glide time.

Are we wasting our talent? Overqualification and overskilling among PhD graduates

Drawing on a very rich data set from a recent cohort of PhD graduates, we examine the correlates and consequences of qualification and skills mismatch. We show that job characteristics such as the economic sector and the main activity at work play a fundamental direct role in explaining the probability of being well matched. However, the effect of academic attributes seems to be mainly indirect, since it disappears once we control for the full set of work characteristics. We detected a significant earnings penalty for those who are both overqualified and overskilled and also showed that being mismatched reduces job satisfaction, especially for those whose skills are underutilized. Overall, the problem of mismatch among PhD graduates is closely related to demand-side constraints of the labor market. Increasing the supply of adequate jobs and broadening the skills PhD students acquire during training should be explored as possible responses.

Automated formulation of optimisation models for steel beam structures

Over 70% of the total costs of an end product are consequences of decisions that are made during the design process. A search for optimal cross-sections will often have only a marginal effect on the amount of material used if the geometry of a structure is fixed and if the cross-sectional characteristics of its elements are property designed by conventional methods. In recent years, optimalgeometry has become a central area of research in the automated design of structures. It is generally accepted that no single optimisation algorithm is suitable for all engineering design problems. An appropriate algorithm, therefore, mustbe selected individually for each optimisation situation. Modelling is the mosttime consuming phase in the optimisation of steel and metal structures. In thisresearch, the goal was to develop a method and computer program, which reduces the modelling and optimisation time for structural design. The program needed anoptimisation algorithm that is suitable for various engineering design problems. Because Finite Element modelling is commonly used in the design of steel and metal structures, the interaction between a finite element tool and optimisation tool needed a practical solution. The developed method and computer programs were tested with standard optimisation tests and practical design optimisation cases. Three generations of computer programs are developed. The programs combine anoptimisation problem modelling tool and FE-modelling program using three alternate methdos. The modelling and optimisation was demonstrated in the design of a new boom construction and steel structures of flat and ridge roofs. This thesis demonstrates that the most time consuming modelling time is significantly reduced. Modelling errors are reduced and the results are more reliable. A new selection rule for the evolution algorithm, which eliminates the need for constraint weight factors is tested with optimisation cases of the steel structures that include hundreds of constraints. It is seen that the tested algorithm can be used nearly as a black box without parameter settings and penalty factors of the constraints.

The Omega model: from bankruptcy to occupation times in the red

Ruin occurs the first time when the surplus of a company or an institution is negative. In the Omega model, it is assumed that even with a negative surplus, the company can do business as usual until bankruptcy occurs. The probability of bankruptcy at a point of time only depends on the value of the negative surplus at that time. Under the assumption of Brownian motion for the surplus, the expected discounted value of a penalty at bankruptcy is determined, and hence the probability of bankruptcy. There is an intrinsic relation between the probability of no bankruptcy and an exposure random variable. In special cases, the distribution of the total time the Brownian motion spends below zero is found, and the Laplace transform of the integral of the negative part of the Brownian motion is expressed in terms of the Airy function of the first kind.

Free-running 4D whole-heart self-navigated golden angle MRI: Initial results.

PURPOSE: To test the hypothesis that both coronary anatomy and ventricular function can be assessed simultaneously using a single four-dimensional (4D) acquisition. METHODS: A free-running 4D whole-heart self-navigated acquisition incorporating a golden angle radial trajectory was implemented and tested in vivo in nine healthy adult human subjects. Coronary magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) datasets with retrospective selection of acquisition window width and position were extracted and quantitatively compared with baseline self-navigated electrocardiography (ECG) -triggered coronary MRA. From the 4D datasets, the left-ventricular end-systolic, end-diastolic volumes (ESV & EDV) and ejection fraction (EF) were computed and compared with values obtained from conventional 2D cine images. RESULTS: The 4D datasets enabled dynamic assessment of the whole heart with isotropic spatial resolution of 1.15 mm(3) . Coronary artery image quality was very similar to that of the ECG-triggered baseline scan despite some SNR penalty. A good agreement between 4D and 2D cine imaging was found for EDV, ESV, and EF. CONCLUSION: The hypothesis that both coronary anatomy and ventricular function can be assessed simultaneously in vivo has been tested positive. Retrospective and flexible acquisition window selection allows to best visualize each coronary segment at its individual time point of quiescence. Magn Reson Med, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Some optimization and decision problems in proportional reinsurance

Reinsurance is one of the tools that an insurer can use to mitigate the underwriting risk and then to control its solvency. In this paper, we focus on the proportional reinsurance arrangements and we examine several optimization and decision problems of the insurer with respect to the reinsurance strategy. To this end, we use as decision tools not only the probability of ruin but also the random variable deficit at ruin if ruin occurs. The discounted penalty function (Gerber & Shiu, 1998) is employed to calculate as particular cases the probability of ruin and the moments and the distribution function of the deficit at ruin if ruin occurs.

The Feminization of Occupations and Change in Wages : a Panel Analysis of Britain, Germany, and Switzerland

In the past four decades, women have made major inroads into occupations previously dominated by men. This paper examines whether occupational feminization is accompanied by a decline in wages: Do workers suffer a wage penalty if they remain in, or move into, feminizing occupations? We analyze this question over the 1990s and 2000s in Britain, Germany, and Switzerland, using longitudinal panel data to estimate individual fixed effects for men and women. Moving from an entirely male to an entirely female occupation entails a loss in individual earnings of 13 percent in Britain, 7 percent in Switzerland, and 3 percent in Germany. The impact of occupational feminization on wages is not linear, but sets apart occupations holding more than 60 percent of women. Moving into such female occupations incurs a wage penalty. Contrary to the prevailing idea in economics, differences in productivity-human capital, job-specific skills, and time investment-do not fully explain the wage gap between male and female occupations. The wage penalty associated with working in a female occupation is also much larger where employer discretion is greater-in the private sector-than where wagesetting is guided by formal rules-the public sector. These findings suggest that wage disparities across male and female occupations are due to gender devaluation.