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Diffusion Tensor Imaging In Hiv And Hepatitis C Coinfection, Jodi Michelle Heaps Dec 2013

Diffusion Tensor Imaging In Hiv And Hepatitis C Coinfection, Jodi Michelle Heaps

Dissertations

Previous studies have demonstrated that infection with both human immune deficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C (HCV) is associated with impaired cognitive function. It is unclear whether co-infection is associated with neuroimaging markers of brain dysfunction. The purpose of the present study was to compare HIV+ individuals, HIV/HCV+ individuals, and seronegative controls using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to assess the microstructural integrity of white matter tissue. Methods: Twenty-five HIV+ patients, 25 HIV/HCV+ patients, and 25 seronegative controls matched for age were included in the study. All participants completed an MRI session, neuropsychological testing, and an evaluation of clinical variables including …


How Do Specialized Units Affect The Outputs Of Police Organizations?: Investigating The Effect Of Community Policing Units On Community Policing Activities In Local Police Departments, Hyon Namgung Dec 2013

How Do Specialized Units Affect The Outputs Of Police Organizations?: Investigating The Effect Of Community Policing Units On Community Policing Activities In Local Police Departments, Hyon Namgung

Dissertations

A review of modern police history shows the trend of increased division of labor within police agencies. However, police organizations are often criticized for creating specialized police units when they are faced with specific problems or are not effectively tackling local problems. Other challenges from within the profession include potential inter-unit conflicts or indifference of officers from other units that may hinder program implementation by specialized units. The present study looked into the changing characteristics of specialized units within police departments between 2000 and 2007. This research also examined whether creation of specialized community policing units (CP Units) influences the …


Lightning Strikes Twice: An Examination Of The Political Factors Associated With State-Level Death Sentences And Executions In The United States, 1930-2012, Ethan Christopher Amidon Dec 2013

Lightning Strikes Twice: An Examination Of The Political Factors Associated With State-Level Death Sentences And Executions In The United States, 1930-2012, Ethan Christopher Amidon

Dissertations

Over the course of the last 50 years, scholars have emphasized the role that political processes play in shaping the nature of capital punishment practices. Empirical studies that have examined the relationship between political factors and capital punishment have attributed variation in the imposition of death sentences and the execution of offenders across jurisdictions in the United States to the politicization of criminal justice policies and practices and the shift in public sentiment towards more punitive ideologies that began in the 1970s. Even though historians have argued that capital punishment practices have always been shaped by political considerations, empirical research …


Coping Styles Among Individuals With Severe Mental Illness And Comorbid Ptsd, Shannon Ashley Mcneill Dec 2013

Coping Styles Among Individuals With Severe Mental Illness And Comorbid Ptsd, Shannon Ashley Mcneill

Dissertations

There is little known about the mechanisms by which persons with SMI cope with their stress, and virtually no research is available on the influence of comorbid PTSD (SMI-PTSD) on coping within the SMI population. The current study examined coping strategies utilized by individuals with SMI versus those with SMI-PTSD, while also investigating the role of PTSD symptom severity, overall psychological distress, and substance use on coping strategy usage. Participants included adults (N = 90) recruited through a metropolitan community mental health center, all describing current symptoms of an SMI, 48 of whom met criteria for SMI-PTSD. Results of this …


Role Breadth And Ocb: An Investigation Of Antecedents And Consequences, Kimberly M. Perry Dec 2013

Role Breadth And Ocb: An Investigation Of Antecedents And Consequences, Kimberly M. Perry

Dissertations

Two studies were conducted to further investigate how organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) is conceptualized through the psychological mechanisms relating to OCB role definition, outcomes of OCB role definition, and the structure of OCB definition ratings. Previous research on OCB has suggested that organizational members have different perspectives, such that supervisors have a broader role definition than do their subordinates (Morrison, 1994). Study 1 tested a theoretical model using SEM that included the underlying psychological processes that relate to role breadth as well as individual-level and organizational-level outcome variables. The results supported a significant positive relationship between employee rated OCB definition …


Early Exposure To Traumatic Stressors Impairs Emotional Brain Circuitry, Robert H. Paul, Mayuresh S. Korgaonkar, Cassandra Antees, Leanne M. Williams Oct 2013

Early Exposure To Traumatic Stressors Impairs Emotional Brain Circuitry, Robert H. Paul, Mayuresh S. Korgaonkar, Cassandra Antees, Leanne M. Williams

Psychology Faculty Works

Exposure to early life trauma (ELT) is known to have a profound impact on mental development, leading to a higher risk for depression and anxiety. Our aim was to use multiple structural imaging methods to systematically investigate how traumatic stressors early in life impact the emotional brain circuits, typically found impaired with clinical diagnosis of depression and anxiety, across the lifespan in an otherwise healthy cohort. MRI data and self-reported histories of ELT from 352 healthy individuals screened for no psychiatric disorders were analyzed in this study. The volume and cortical thickness of the limbic and cingulate regions were assessed …


Novel Behavioral Markers In The Ppt1-/- Mouse Model Of Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis, Joshua Thomas Dearborn Aug 2013

Novel Behavioral Markers In The Ppt1-/- Mouse Model Of Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis, Joshua Thomas Dearborn

Dissertations

Infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (INCL) is a lysosomal storage disease that is debilitating and fatal to children before their teenage years. The palmitoyl protein thioesterase 1 (PPT1) knockout (Ppt1-/-) mouse is an appropriate animal model that mimics much of the symptomology and brain pathology of the human disease. Ppt1-/- mice display blindness, seizures, and motor deficits and die well before wild-type mice. However, little is known about the cognitive and behavioral abilities of the Ppt1-/- mouse. This study was conducted to examine further the behavioral phenotype of the Ppt1-/- mouse model of INCL by evaluating the animals’ abilities in such …


The Role Of Sexual Scripts In Men's And Women's Interpretation And Endorsement Of Items Measuring Self-Reported Sexual Aggression, Sarah Kristen Buday Aug 2013

The Role Of Sexual Scripts In Men's And Women's Interpretation And Endorsement Of Items Measuring Self-Reported Sexual Aggression, Sarah Kristen Buday

Dissertations

Previous research on sexual aggression mainly focused on men as perpetrators and women as victims; more recently, the focus has shifted to include women as perpetrators of sexual aggression as well. This study sought to examine two different measures of sexual coercion perpetration (Revised Sexual Experiences Survey [SES-LFP] and the Post-Refusal Persistence Scale [PRPS]) in terms of their convergent validity for both men and women and to examine gender differences and similarities in item interpretation. In addition, participant agreement with traditional and non-traditional sexual scripts was examined for its association with endorsement of coercion. Participants were 648 individuals (426 women, …


Reading The Tea Leaves: An Exploration Of The Origins, Composition, And Influence Of The Tea Party, Bryce Don Summary Aug 2013

Reading The Tea Leaves: An Exploration Of The Origins, Composition, And Influence Of The Tea Party, Bryce Don Summary

Dissertations

The Tea Party has become a powerful force in American politics. Emerging in early 2009, the Tea Party has elicited mass support among the public with important implications for public policy and electoral politics. However, there remains significant debate over the political characteristics and motivations of Tea Party supporters. The emergence of the Tea Party has also led to speculation that supporters will form a third party. Using survey data collected in 2010 and 2011, this dissertation examines the relationship between Tea Party and third party supporters. Evidence is found that although Tea Party and third party supporters disapprove of …


The Relationship Between Posttraumatic Cognitions And Social Support In The Severity Of Ptsd Symptoms, Ellen Margaret Koucky Aug 2013

The Relationship Between Posttraumatic Cognitions And Social Support In The Severity Of Ptsd Symptoms, Ellen Margaret Koucky

Dissertations

Posttraumatic cognitions (PC), perceived social support (PSS), and received social support (RSS) contribute to the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but little is known about the way these variables may influence each other in this process. The current study tested the association between PSS and RSS and compared levels of these support types in PTSD-positive versus PTSD-negative subjects. An SEM model investigating the role of PC, PSS, and RSS in predicting PTSD symptom severity was also tested. Results indicate a significant difference in the strength of the association between support types based on diagnostic status and lower levels of …


Motivational Interviewing As An Augmentation To Increase Effectiveness In Cognitive Processing Therapy For Ptsd: An Initial Trial, Leah Blain Aug 2013

Motivational Interviewing As An Augmentation To Increase Effectiveness In Cognitive Processing Therapy For Ptsd: An Initial Trial, Leah Blain

Dissertations

Currently, even well-supported cognitive behavioral therapies to treat posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) suffer from consistent rates of dropout and non-response to treatment, which represent barriers to dissemination and effective treatment. Research in anxiety disorders, including an initial group-based study with veterans suffering from PTSD, suggests that Motivational Interviewing (MI) may be an effective intervention for addressing issues of ambivalence and increasing readiness to change (RTC), resulting in decreases in dropout and non-response. The present pilot study sought to assess the efficacy of augmenting Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) with 3 sessions of MI in a sample of female interpersonal assault survivors …


Hiv Dna Reservoir Increases Risk For Cognitive Disorders In Cart-Naïve Patients, Robert Paul, Victor Valcour, Jintanat Ananworanich, Melissa Agsalda, Napapon Sailasuta, Thep Chalermchai, Alexandra Schuetz, Cecilia Shikuma, Chin-Yuan Liang, Supunee Jirajariyavej, Pasiri Sithinamsuwan, Somporn Tipsuk, David Clifford, James Fletcher, Mary Marovich, Bonnie Slike, Victor Degruttola, Bruce Shiramizu Jul 2013

Hiv Dna Reservoir Increases Risk For Cognitive Disorders In Cart-Naïve Patients, Robert Paul, Victor Valcour, Jintanat Ananworanich, Melissa Agsalda, Napapon Sailasuta, Thep Chalermchai, Alexandra Schuetz, Cecilia Shikuma, Chin-Yuan Liang, Supunee Jirajariyavej, Pasiri Sithinamsuwan, Somporn Tipsuk, David Clifford, James Fletcher, Mary Marovich, Bonnie Slike, Victor Degruttola, Bruce Shiramizu

Psychology Faculty Works

Objectives: Cognitive impairment remains frequent in HIV, despite combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). Leading theories implicate peripheral monocyte HIV DNA reservoirs as a mechanism for spread of the virus to the brain. These reservoirs remain present despite cART. The objective of this study was to determine if the level of HIV DNA in CD14+ enriched monocytes predicted cognitive impairment and brain injury.Methods: We enrolled 61 cART-naı¨ve HIV-infected Thais in a prospective study and measured HIV DNA in CD14+ enriched monocyte samples in a blinded fashion. We determined HAND diagnoses by consensus panel and all participants underwent magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to …


Complex Trauma In Children And Adolescents, Rachel Ann Wamser Jul 2013

Complex Trauma In Children And Adolescents, Rachel Ann Wamser

Dissertations

Complex trauma events, or chronic interpersonal traumas that begin early in life, are thought to result in profound disruptions, well beyond the symptoms of PTSD. Complex trauma events may be especially toxic for children and adolescents, whose regulatory systems are more vulnerable. This study provides empirical support for the previously unexamined hypothesis that complex trauma events result in broad systemic difficulties, not simply higher levels of PTSD symptoms. This study also offers evidence for a dimensional conceptualization of traumatic events, with acute noninterpersonal trauma residing on one end of the spectrum and complex trauma on the other. 346 treatment-seeking children …


Condom Use Self-Efficacy And Relationship Factors In Sexual Risk-Taking Among Young Urban African American Women, Emily Ann Silverman Jul 2013

Condom Use Self-Efficacy And Relationship Factors In Sexual Risk-Taking Among Young Urban African American Women, Emily Ann Silverman

Dissertations

Young urban African American women are at disproportionately high risk for HIV/STIs and current interventions focusing on individual factors (e.g., condom use self-efficacy) have not been sufficient to address this risk. Recent research suggests that an ecological approach that takes into account broader social and relationship factors may be more effective in meeting the needs of this population. The present study examined several relationship-level factors, including relationship power, avoidance motives for sex, and relationship commitment, and their potential interaction with the individual-level factor of condom use self-efficacy in predicting sexual risk-taking behaviors in a community sample of African American women …


Development And Validation Of A Measure Of Perceived Life Significance, Rachel Hibberd Jul 2013

Development And Validation Of A Measure Of Perceived Life Significance, Rachel Hibberd

Dissertations

Theoretical and empirical approaches to the study of meaning in bereavement suggest a distinction between meaning as sense-making, or the integration of the loss into a coherent and positive set of beliefs about world and self, and meaning as life significance, or the perception that some aspect of one's life experience “matters” in the wake of loss. Although several authors have pointed to the importance of life significance in grief recovery, currently no psychometrically valid measure exists. The present study examined the reliability and validity of a new measure: the Perceived Life Significance Scale (PLSS). The PLSS total score, as …


Physiological And Psychological Measurement Of Sleep Disturbance In Female Trauma Survivors With Ptsd And Major Depression, Kimberly Borkowski Werner Jul 2013

Physiological And Psychological Measurement Of Sleep Disturbance In Female Trauma Survivors With Ptsd And Major Depression, Kimberly Borkowski Werner

Dissertations

Sleep disturbance is often reported after a traumatic event and is included in the American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Subjective reports from trauma survivors have consistently indicated difficulties in sleep onset, sleep maintenance, overall quality and quantity of sleep. However, objective physiological research has yielded inconsistent findings in PTSD-related sleep impairment. Studies investigating subjective and objective assessments concordantly support a theory of sleep state misperception – subjective over-estimation of sleep disturbance – in PTSD. The majority of these previous investigations have been limited to male, veteran cohorts and have not accounted for …


The Relationships Among Recruiter Characteristics And Pre-And Post-Hire Recruitment Outcomes, Jacob Scott Fischer Jul 2013

The Relationships Among Recruiter Characteristics And Pre-And Post-Hire Recruitment Outcomes, Jacob Scott Fischer

Dissertations

Previous research on recruiter characteristics has generally focused on recruitment outcomes related to generating applicants and maintaining their interest. The current study expanded previous research by examining recruitment outcomes at pre- and post-hire stages of the recruitment process. These outcomes included time to fill position, job offer acceptance rate, job fit, job satisfaction, and retention. Findings indicate that recruiter conscientiousness compared to extraversion is most consistently associated with pre-hire outcomes such as time to fill position and accepting hiring recommendations. Conscientiousness was also related to note-taking in the interview. Recruiter informativeness and personableness were associated with hiring managers' and new …


Measuring The Impact Of Inquiry Mode Above And Beyond Situational Characteristics And Experimenter Contact In Research Relating To Self-Reported Sexual Attitudes And Behaviors, Ethan B. Mccallum Jul 2013

Measuring The Impact Of Inquiry Mode Above And Beyond Situational Characteristics And Experimenter Contact In Research Relating To Self-Reported Sexual Attitudes And Behaviors, Ethan B. Mccallum

Dissertations

Factors related to the research context such as inquiry mode, experimenter contact, and setting may affect participants’ comfort with and willingness to admit to engaging in sensitive sexual behaviors or to disclose certain sexual attitudes. Three-hundred-and-thirty-seven undergraduates (77% female, 41% non-White) completed a survey containing measures of sexual behavior, sexual attitudes, sexual victimization, and sexual perpetration history. The level of experimenter contact (high vs. low contact), setting of completion (in lab vs. out of lab), and inquiry mode (pencil-and-paper vs. computer) were manipulated, and participants were randomly assigned to one of eight conditions I hypothesized that low contact, out of …


Hiv Dna Reservoir Increases Risk For Cognitive Disorders In Cart-Nave Patients, Robert H. Paul, Victor G. Valcour, Jintanat Ananworanich, Melissa Agsalda Jul 2013

Hiv Dna Reservoir Increases Risk For Cognitive Disorders In Cart-Nave Patients, Robert H. Paul, Victor G. Valcour, Jintanat Ananworanich, Melissa Agsalda

Psychology Faculty Works

Objectives Cognitive impairment remains frequent in HIV, despite combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). Leading theories implicate peripheral monocyte HIV DNA reservoirs as a mechanism for spread of the virus to the brain. These reservoirs remain present despite cART. The objective of this study was to determine if the level of HIV DNA in CD14+ enriched monocytes predicted cognitive impairment and brain injury. Methods We enrolled 61 cART-naïve HIV-infected Thais in a prospective study and measured HIV DNA in CD14+ enriched monocyte samples in a blinded fashion. We determined HAND diagnoses by consensus panel and all participants underwent magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) …


The Effects Of Religious Fundamentalism And Threat On Prejudice, Theta P. Gribbins Jun 2013

The Effects Of Religious Fundamentalism And Threat On Prejudice, Theta P. Gribbins

Dissertations

The study investigated the relation of religious fundamentalism (RF) and prejudice in the presence of two threat conditions: epistemic uncertainty, introduced via threat to beliefs, and existential threat, presented through mortality salience induction. A model of RF as a belief system adopted to manage uncertainty and threat was also presented. Participants were 396 undergraduates, 192 of whom met inclusion requirements. RF was significantly related to prejudice toward women, toward homosexual individuals, and toward other religions, the latter relationship being strongest. No significant effects for threat condition were found. Results indicate that the uncertainty and/or threat introduced by the target groups …


The Role Of Anxiety In Binge Eating Behavior: A Critical Examination Of Theory And Empirical Literature, Kamila S. White, Diane L. Rosenbaum Jun 2013

The Role Of Anxiety In Binge Eating Behavior: A Critical Examination Of Theory And Empirical Literature, Kamila S. White, Diane L. Rosenbaum

Psychology Faculty Works

The purpose of this manuscript is to expand the understanding of binge eating by reviewing the role of aspects of negative affect. Specifically, this paper will present evidence for further investigation of the bearing that anxiety may have in binge eating development and maintenance. A comprehensive review of the literature regarding the relation of binge eating and anxiety was performed. Valuable contributions have been made to the binge eating literature regarding some aspects of negative affect (i.e., depression); however, outside of bulimia nervosa studies, much of the theoretical and empirical binge eating research to date has not directly addressed the …


Diffusion Tensor Imaging And Neuropsychological Performance In Insulin Resistant Individuals, Elizabeth M. Lane May 2013

Diffusion Tensor Imaging And Neuropsychological Performance In Insulin Resistant Individuals, Elizabeth M. Lane

Dissertations

The current study sought to understand relationships between insulin resistance (IR), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and cognitive performance. It was hypothesized that IR would have a negative impact upon white matter and cognition. It was predicted that the uncinate fasciculus would be the most severely impacted, and this in turn would affect executive function and memory. Aim: The purpose of the study was to determine the impact of IR on white matter brain integrity among cognitively normal older adults using DTI and neuropsychological test performance. Background: The prevalence of IR has increased with growing incidence of obesity and older aged …


Tax Increment Financing In Missouri: Political Development Of The Statute Contextualized With Use And Patterns Of Adoption, Cassandra Butler May 2013

Tax Increment Financing In Missouri: Political Development Of The Statute Contextualized With Use And Patterns Of Adoption, Cassandra Butler

Dissertations

Economic development is in the interests of all governments as a component of society that impacts its citizenry’s well-being, yet in a democratic, capitalistic society, many aspects of the economy rely on the activities of private enterprise. Governments are often motivated to develop policies that allow them to “partner” with private enterprise in order to persuade their behavior on behalf of its citizenry. Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is one of the tools that states have enacted to assist local governments partner with private investors. The statute that enabled TIF use in the state of Missouri is now 30 years old. …


The Utility Of Cancer-Related Cultural Constructs To Understand Colorectal Cancer Screening Among African Americans, John P. Meriac, Vetta L. S. Thompson, Alan Bugbee, Jenine K. Harris May 2013

The Utility Of Cancer-Related Cultural Constructs To Understand Colorectal Cancer Screening Among African Americans, John P. Meriac, Vetta L. S. Thompson, Alan Bugbee, Jenine K. Harris

Psychology Faculty Works

Data suggest that colorectal cancer could be cut by approximately 60% if all people aged 50 years or older received regular screening. Studies have identified socio-cultural attitudes that might inform cancer education and screening promotion campaigns. This article applies item response theory (IRT) to a set of survey items selected to assess sociocultural attitudes in order to determine how current measures may affect what we know about how these attitudes affect colorectal cancer screening (CRCS). Design and Methods. A survey of colorectal cancer screening, screening attitudes and cultural beliefs was administered to 1021 African Americans - 683 women and 338 …


Cognitive Conceptualizations And Schemata As Predictors Of Distress In Female Rape Victims, Tiffany Maria Artime Apr 2013

Cognitive Conceptualizations And Schemata As Predictors Of Distress In Female Rape Victims, Tiffany Maria Artime

Dissertations

Rape is strikingly prevalent among undergraduate women, and victims show significant variability in their reactions to sexual victimization. The aim of this longitudinal study was to examine two cognitive processing factors that have been theorized to impact a woman’s levels of distress after being raped. One cognitive factor, rape conceptualization, broadly refers to the way a woman comes to understand and interpret the event as identified by her attributions of blame and perceptions of severity, wantedness, and consent. Schemata—or global, enduring beliefs about the self and world—represent the other cognitive factor examined in this study. Participants included 189 undergraduate women …


Perceived Macrolevel Social Pressure Regarding Racial Identification And The Biracial Experience, John Thomas Nanney Jan 2013

Perceived Macrolevel Social Pressure Regarding Racial Identification And The Biracial Experience, John Thomas Nanney

Dissertations

Contemporary multiracial theory posits that racial identifications are a product of perceptions of the macrolevel social environment in which they are embedded (Renn, 2003; Rockquemore, Brunsma, & Delgado 2009; Rockquemore, Laszloffy, & Noveske, 2006; Root, 1996; Root, 2003). This conceptualization of the multiracial experience suggests that research attention should begin examining the specific macrolevel factors that influence the process of biracial identification (Rockquemore et al., 2009). To date, however, relatively little empirical research has done so. The present study sought to examine the extent to which perceived macrolevel social pressure regarding racial identification impacts the multiracial experience. Structural equation modeling …


Barking Louder: Interest Groups In The 2012 Election, Jeff Smith, David Kimball Jan 2013

Barking Louder: Interest Groups In The 2012 Election, Jeff Smith, David Kimball

Political Science Faculty Works

No abstract provided.


The Neural Mechanisms Of Semantic And Response Conflicts: An Fmri Study Of Practice-Related Effects In The Stroop Task, Zhencai Chen, Xu Lei, Cody Ding, Hong Li, Antao Chen Jan 2013

The Neural Mechanisms Of Semantic And Response Conflicts: An Fmri Study Of Practice-Related Effects In The Stroop Task, Zhencai Chen, Xu Lei, Cody Ding, Hong Li, Antao Chen

Education Sciences and Professional Programs Faculty Works

No abstract provided.


Altered Emotional Interference Processing In The Amygdala And Insula In Women With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Steven E. Bruce, Katherine R. Buchholz, Wilson J. Brown, Laura Yan Jan 2013

Altered Emotional Interference Processing In The Amygdala And Insula In Women With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Steven E. Bruce, Katherine R. Buchholz, Wilson J. Brown, Laura Yan

Psychology Faculty Works

Background: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is characterized by distinct behavioral and physiological changes. Given the significant impairments related to PTSD, examination of the biological underpinnings is crucial to the development of theoretical models and improved treatments of PTSD. Methods: We used an attentional interference task using emotional distracters to test for top-down versus bottom-up dysfunction in the interaction of cognitive-control circuitry and emotion-processing circuitry. A total of 32 women with PTSD (based on an interpersonal trauma) and 21 matched controls were tested. Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging was carried out as participants directly attended to, or attempted to ignore, fear-related …


Recommender Systems As A Mobile Marketing Service, Donald J. Kridel, Daniel R. Dolk, David Castillo Jan 2013

Recommender Systems As A Mobile Marketing Service, Donald J. Kridel, Daniel R. Dolk, David Castillo

Department of Economics Faculty Works

Recommender systems (RSs) have become a familiar artifact in cyberspace as a vehicle for increasing revenues while deepening customer loyalty and satisfaction. Typically RS are developed in house by companies with a large product line and customer base. However, the structure of RS is often straightforward, and effective systems can be developed at relatively low cost, and thus offered as a marketing service. We discuss the anatomy of a specific recommender system designed for a telecommunication carrier which uses predictive analytics in the form of collaborative filtering techniques to recommend products to users. Collaborative filtering (CF) is based upon the …