This Thesis explores the possibility of increased export and
export earnings stability for Costa Rica after the implementation of
the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) or Caribbean Basin
Initiative (CBI). It was expected that this policy would not only
increase trade and exports for some developing nations in the...
Charge transport in a semiconductor structure with heterojunction is described by a multiscale partial differential equation model. This model can be used, e.g., for the design of more efficient solar cells. Phenomena at the heterojunction must be resolved at the angstrom scale while the size of the device is that...
In this work we consider two multiscale applications with tremendous computational complexity at the lower scale. First, we examine a model for charge transport in semicon- ductor structures with heterojunction interfaces. Due to the complex physical phenomena at the interface, the model at the design scale is unable to adequately...
Our confidence in software systems depends on our confidence in the exhaustiveness of our testing. As software systems get more complex, the task of exhaustive testing becomes more complex and even infeasible in some cases. In order to build less error prone systems, we therefore need to not only focus...
Protecting end-users privacy and building trust are the two most important factors needed to support the growth of ecommerce. The increased dependence on the Internet for a wide variety of daily transactions causes a corresponding loss in privacy for many users, as virtually all websites collect data from users directly...
Twenty-one rice cultivars were evaluated to determine the difference between populations of Sogatodes oryzicola (Muir) (Homoptera: Delphacidae) in Costa Rica and Colombia, Survival, mortality and population development of S. oryzicola on five selected cultivars was used to determine levels of plant resistance. The importance and potential of the parasitoid-predator Haplogonatopus...
The artificial reef of Vilamoura (ARV) deployed between 1998 and 2001 is situated off the fishing community of Quarteira and the tourism resorts of Vilamoura (Southern Portugal). The reef extends for approximately over 4,000 m long and 1,400 m wide at a depth ranging from 20 to 40 m below...
Fisheries exploited under open-access conditions create externalities, resulting in a range of problems associated with over-capitalisation and stock depletion. One answer to this is to shift the mode of production away from hunting and towards husbandry, an approach which becomes feasible where some control can be exercised over the resource...
Aniba rosaeodora commonly known as rosewood is a tree species of great socio-economic value in the Amazon because it is harvested for the extraction of its essential oil, which is used in the production of cosmetics. Since rosewood is a wild species included on the Convention on International Trade in...
Forest plantations in the Pacific Northwest are highly productive and have been intensively managed to maximize tree growth with practices such as Forest Vegetation Management (FVM). Different FVM regimes have been shown to enhance forest establishment by reducing the competition between the planted seedlings and early-seral vegetation. To better understand...