We explore, in increasing complexity, various strategies for addressing the Multi-
Armed Bandit Problem in order to find the algorithm that maximizes the clickthrough
rate in the Exploration and Exploitation Challenge 3 competition. The data used
result from the actions…

The objective of this thesis project is to build a robot that can clearly demonstrate its
potential to solve standard jigsaw puzzles. This robot must be capable of picking up
and reorienting puzzle pieces to the precision required for completing…

This thesis argues that Chinese firms can catch up with the technological frontier in the scope of new climate friendly energy technologies and provides a detailed study of the case of wind power.

Existing surveys demonstrate that in the United States, most homeowners believe that their home insurance coverage will cover the complete costs to rebuild their home in the event of a total loss. Yet, most dwellings are insured for an amount…

This dissertation explains how the Indian Constitution that came into force in 1950, became part of the lived experience of ordinary Indians during the transition from the colonial state to the postcolonial republic. The Constitution by expanding the powers of…

During the twentieth century, tobacco farmers in rural North Carolina quietly changed the relationship between the government and citizen in America . Flue-cured tobacco growers produced not only the finest cigarette leaf, but also new systems of marketing, regulating, and…

Academic-industry partnerships in biomedical research come in many forms, but
those that occur around clinical research are the most prominent. Researchers at academic
medical centers have historically conducted a large proportion of industry-sponsored
clinical trials, as they alone had the…

A goal of fisheries management is to predict the probability of successful
establishment of invasive fish species. To address this goal, species distribution models
are used to project species distribution under different climate-change scenarios. In this
study, the geographic distribution…

In the United States, healthcare-associated infections are a huge source of medical and
economic burden. Annually, there are 1.7 million cases of healthcare-associated infection in
U.S. hospitals, which cause an estimated 98,987 deaths. Direct medical cost is also massive,
estimated…

Howler monkeys (Alouatta sp.) use loud call vocalizations for both intra-group
and intergroup communication (Oliveira & Ades, 2004; Whitehead, 1989; da Cunha
& Byrne, 2006; Holzmann, 2012). While much of the literature focuses on the effect
of loud call vocalizations…