Life Sciences Commons^™

Differences In Quality Of Care By Insurance Plan: A Fee-For-Service Vs. Health Maintenance Organization Comparison, Pamela Driggers Silcox

Doctoral Dissertations

The history of health insurance in the United States has perpetuated and enabled a health care industry that has been rewarded for increased spending rather than cost control. With the original plan setting no spending limit on health care providers, fee-for service reimbursement provided greater incentive to spend than to contain costs. Attempts to control the soaring costs of health care services have given rise to managed care insurance plans that base reimbursement on health outcome data. Given that the birth of managed care includes stringent reimbursement guidelines and ensuing controversy over services provided or not provided, this study sought …

A Qualitative Investigation Of Polish Consumers’ Retail Experiences During The Transitional Period: 1989-2001, Heesun Seo

Doctoral Dissertations

The general objective of this dissertation is to investigate the most current phenomenon in the Polish retail environment and the recent Polish consumers’ retail experience. Specifically, by examining information search behavior, shopping behavior, and post-purchase behavior, themes emerged in terms of how the changes in the retail environment influenced the patronage and consumption behavior of Polish consumers. An exploratory research approach is used to conduct this research due to the lack of existing knowledge on Polish consumers and the ever-changing nature of the market environment in Poland. Moreover, qualitative research method with naturalistic inquiry was used to present the Polish …

Habitat Use, Distribution And Conservation Status Of The Mikado Pheasant (Syrmaticus Mikado) In Taiwan, Cara Lin Bridgman

Doctoral Dissertations

To evaluate the conservation status of Taiwan’s mikado pheasant, Syrmaticus mikado (Phasianidae), I test the similarity of preferred habitat to primary and secondary forest, develop models of habitat availability within Taiwan, and examine population trends within two locations inside Yushan National Park. The characteristics of locations with pheasant activity were most similar to secondary forest: high shrub stem counts and low canopy and leaf litter coverage. None of these variables were applicable to geographic informationsystems analysis. To the known extent of range and area of occupancy, I compared a model based on the habitats described in field guides. This model …

Using Remote Sensing And Geographic Information Systems To Define Conservation Priorities, Clinton N. Jenkins

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation discusses several techniques of combining ecology and technology, specifically satellite images and geographic information systems, to define conservation priorities and answer conservation questions. They include single species approaches (chapters 2 and 3), global approaches (chapter 4), and regional approaches (chapters 5 and 6).

Chapters 2 and 3 concern the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow (Ammodramus mirabilis maritimus). This sparrow, and its habitat, is legally protected under the United States Endangered Species Act. Chapter 2 quantitatively demonstrates that poor water management is threatening the habitat of this sparrow and by consequence its survival. Chapter 3 describes formal testing …

Colonization History And Alternative Community States In Experimental Microcosms, Craig Richard Zimmermann

Doctoral Dissertations

Using s suite of disparate experimental systems, three tests of the effect of variation in community history on community states were performed. The first test explored the effect of species invasion order on the structure and invasibility in soil microbial communities. Microcosm communities were assembled by augmenting an existing soil community with sequential introductions of three bacterial strains under three alternative sequences. Assembled communities were then probed with a genetically engineered bioremediative bacterium to test the relative vulnerability of these communities to this strain. Results indicated that variation in invasion order resulted in the production of alternative community states with …

Time Series Analysis Of Bat Ultrasound Signals, Xu Cui

Masters Theses

The general objectives of this study are to develop new methods to analyze ultrasound signals recorded during field observations of bats, and relate these to bat biology. In particular, I investigate methods to determine whether or not sound pulses produced by multiple bats are independent of each other when the bats are searching for food in the same environment. Four models are proposed to explain the time series of recorded signals and it is found that the Poisson model, which assumes pulses are independent, fits the data best. A computer program, BatCount was developed as part of this study, to …

Using A Geographical Information System Approach To Assess Sea Ice Impacts On A Productive Benthic System In The Northern Bering Sea, Jaclyn Leigh Clement

Masters Theses

Physical, hydrochemical, and biological data were collected during three research cruises from winter through spring in the northern Bering Sea. In addition, seasonal ice cover data were used to evaluate the relationship between ice and specific biological processes. Ice-water-biotic interactions were investigated and possible relationships defined. Data collected during late winter indicate low levels of water column production and benthic respiration. However, spring measurements made during and just after icemelt indicate a time of high water column production and benthic respiration. Interannual variation in the spatial and temporal distribution of sea ice affects the timing of seasonal processes, particularly the …

Interactions Among Introduced Ungulates, Plants, And Pollinators: A Field Study In The Temperate Forest Of The Southern Andes, Diego P. Vazquez

Doctoral Dissertations

Introduced mammalian herbivores can significantly affect ecosystems. I studied the effects of introduced ungulates on plant-pollinator interactions in the temperate forest of the southern Andes. Introduced mammalian herbivores, including ungulates, are a major conservation problem in this biome. I conducted field studies in eight forested sites where Nothofagus dombeyii was the dominant canopy tree. I described the interactions between fifteen common, insect-pollinated understory plants. I used these data to address two main questions. The first one is whether the susceptibility of plants and pollinators to disturbance by introduced ungulates is related to their degree of interaction specialization and interaction asymmetry. …

Roosting Ecology Of The Grey-Headed Flying Fox: Spatial Dispersion In A Summer Camp, Jennifer L. Holmes

Masters Theses

A colony of Grey-headed flying foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, Australia was studied over a ten-week period before, during and after the mating season to assess spatial distribution of individuals, specifically investigating age and sex segregation. Ground censusing techniques were used to determine weekly estimates of the numbers of bats in the colony and numbers of bats within each tree. Surveys were used to document sexes and ages of bats occupying each tree. Unlike Nelson’s (1965) findings, the social structure of the colony was based not on mating strategies of individual bats but …