Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Assessing The Preparedness Of The Veterinary Profession To Communicate With Limited English Proficient Spanish-Speaking Pet Owners, Ruth Ellen Landau

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to assess the preparedness of the veterinary profession to communicate with limited English proficient Spanish-speaking pet owners (LEP SSPOs). Results of surveys with 393 Latino pet owners, 383 small animal veterinarians and staff, and over 2000 veterinary students indicate that interaction between veterinary professionals and LEP SSPOs is not a rare occurrence: Veterinarians in states with large established or fast-growing Latino communities are seeing LEP SSPOs and their pets on a regular basis: 89% of veterinarians have LEP Spanish-speaking clients, over half of these practitioners are seeing LEP SSPOs weekly, and over half …

Manifold Learning Based Spectral Unmixing Of Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Data, Jun-Hwa Chi

Open Access Dissertations

Nonlinear mixing effects inherent in hyperspectral data are not properly represented in linear spectral unmixing models. Although direct nonlinear unmixing models provide capability to capture nonlinear phenomena, they are difficult to formulate and the results are not always generalizable. Manifold learning based spectral unmixing accommodates nonlinearity in the data in the feature extraction stage followed by linear mixing, thereby incorporating some characteristics of nonlinearity while retaining advantages of linear unmixing approaches. Since endmember selection is critical to successful spectral unmixing, it is important to select proper endmembers from the manifold space. However, excessive computational burden hinders development of manifolds for …

Adaptive Targeting: Engaging Farmers To Assess Perceptions And Improve Watershed Modeling, Optimization, And Adoption Of Agricultural Conservation Practices, Margaret Mccahon Kalcic

Open Access Dissertations

Targeting agricultural conservation practices to farmland that has the greatest impact on surface water quality has received wide support from scientists and watershed managers. The targeting approach has, however, been politically contentious as many believe farmers will oppose the approach on grounds such as privacy invasion and unfair distribution of government incentives. Targeting conservation practices using complex optimization models has become common in the scientific community, and yet targeted results are underutilized in practice because of difficulties such as knowledge transfer and absence of a political framework for their use. For targeting to be successful, it must be politically supported …

Mispronunciation Detection For Language Learning And Speech Recognition Adaptation, Zhenhao Ge

Open Access Dissertations

The areas of "mispronunciation detection" (or "accent detection" more specifically) within the speech recognition community are receiving increased attention now. Two application areas, namely language learning and speech recognition adaptation, are largely driving this research interest and are the focal points of this work.

There are a number of Computer Aided Language Learning (CALL) systems with Computer Aided Pronunciation Training (CAPT) techniques that have been developed. In this thesis, a new HMM-based text-dependent mispronunciation system is introduced using text Adaptive Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (AFCCs). It is shown that this system outperforms the conventional HMM method based on Mel Frequency Cepstral …

Experimental Studies Of Arbitration Mechanisms And Two-Sided Markets, Daniel Mihai Nedelescu

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three essays. The first essay is an experimental study that examines a relative new type of arbitration called α-Final Offer Arbitration. The second is a theoretical study that introduces inequality aversion as a new explanatory factor for low agreements rates during disputes under arbitration mechanism. The final essay analyzes the effects of different polices on the price stricter in a two-sided market monopoly.

Promising results to improve arbitration used in the field are obtained from Amended Final Offer Arbitration (AFOA), which outperforms Final-Offer Arbitration (FOA) and weakly outperforms Conventional Arbitration (CA). The first essay presents an …

An Eriksonian Approach To Consumer Identity, Sandra Rathod

Open Access Dissertations

Rathod, Sandra R. Ph.D., Purdue University, December 2013. An Eriksonian Approach to Consumer Identity. Major Professor: Richard A. Feinberg.

Ego development is the fifth stage in Erikson's Lifecycle Development theory (1959) and is a major psychosocial stage beginning in adolescence and lasting into emerging adulthood. Past research based upon Marcia's Ego Identity Status Paradigm (1996) has investigated a number of ideological and interpersonal domains relevant to one's ego identity, however in today's consumer societies, where what you have is at least as important is who you are or what you do, an Eriksonian approach to consumer ego identity (CEI) has …

The Role Of Traditionalism In Patterns Of Support From Adult Children To Fathers In The Later Years, Michael William Steinhour

Open Access Dissertations

This study explores the effects of fathers' gender role attitudes on the receipt of instrumental and expressive support from their adult children. Using data on 1159 fathers aged 50-94 from the National Survey of Families and Households (W-1), I sought to determine if fathers' traditional gender role attitudes would predict receipt of support in two domains: help with instrumental tasks (e.g., help around the house and help with repairs), and expressive support (e.g., expressive support, encouragement, moral or emotional support). : My research question was: what are the effects of fathers' traditional gender role attitudes on receipt of support from …

Impacts And Feasibility Of The Us And The Eu Sustainability Criteria On Existing Land-Use Practices, Krissana Treesilvattanakul

Open Access Dissertations

Several studies have examined the land use and economic consequences of national and multi-national biofuel policies. They explored the impacts of biofuels mandates mainly based on the quantitative biofuel targets. However, the recently updated renewable policies of the United States and the European Union, which are the US Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and EU Directive 2009/28 of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) both place restrictions on land that can be used to produce biofuel, and these restrictions are generally known as sustainability criteria. This research aims to determine to what extent sustainability criteria are actually binding; that is, would they …

Developing A Framework For Determining The Contribution Of Transportation Project To Sustainable Development, Karim Ahmed Abdel Warith

Open Access Dissertations

In the past few years, stakeholders in the transportation industry have been concerned with sustainability. However, transportation decision makers have had difficulty incorporating sustainability into transportation infrastructure decisions. This is mainly attributed to the vagueness of the term. Incorporating sustainability into transportation decision making has been a desire put forth by engineers for that past 10 years. However, with no apparent method of defining sustainability, designers and decision makers have not been able to fulfill this desire.

This investigation attempts to define sustainability in a comprehensive and quantitative manner. The research proposes a new methodology that relies on the objective …

Patient Perceptions Of Physicians And Medication Adherence Among Medicare Part D Beneficiaries, Lori Marquinne Ward

Open Access Dissertations

Ward, Lori Marquinne. Ph.D., Purdue University, December, 2013. Patient Perceptions of Physicians and Medication Adherence Among Medicare Part D Beneficiaries. Major Professor: Joseph Thomas III.

An observational database analysis using Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey data was conducted to examine patient perceptions of physicians and associations with adherence to antihypertensive medication among Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Part D. The study sample included beneficiaries if they were 65 years or older, dwelling in the community, had a diagnosis of hypertension in 2007, were enrolled in Medicare Part D all 12 months in 2008, and had Medicare Part D claims for antihypertensive …

Understanding Teacher/Coach Role Stressors And Burnout, Kevin Andrew Richards

Open Access Dissertations

Teaching has long been considered a stressful profession and is becoming even more stressful because of recent changes in state- and national-level educational policies that govern K-12 education. Teachers who take on additional, extracurricular roles, such as athletic coaching, may be even more prone to stress and burnout. Using occupational socialization theory and role theory, the purpose of this dissertation was to develop a more comprehensive understanding of role stressors, burnout, and resilience among teacher/coaches and non-coaching teachers. The study was divided into two phases. In phase one, 415 teachers (209 teacher/coaches, 206 non-coaching teachers) across a variety of academic …

Design, Development, And Testing Of A Conformal Power Control Interface For Thrust Vectoring Aircraft, David Rozovski

Open Access Dissertations

Over the last five years, a new power control inceptor for tiltrotor aircraft, known as the Rotational Throttle Interface (RTI) was designed and built. Prior to the RTI, no tiltrotor inceptor had been able to simultaneously indicate both the direction and magnitude of thrust conformally. The purpose of the RTI is to provide an interface that maps to the intended vehicle response throughout ALL ranges of operation. Doing so is expected to reduce confusion that may have contributed to several tiltrotor accidents

Two tests were conducted with the RTI, one at the NASA Vertical Motion Simulator, and one at Canada's …

Degree Program Changes And Curricular Flexibility: Addressing Long Held Beliefs About Student Progression, George Dante Ricco

Open Access Dissertations

In higher education and in engineering education in particular, changing majors is generally considered a negative event - or at least an event with negative consequences. An emergent field of study within engineering education revolves around understanding the factors and processes driving student changes of major. Of key importance to further the field of change of major research is a grasp of large scale phenomena occurring throughout multiple systems, knowledge of previous attempts at describing such issues, and the adoption of metrics to probe them effectively. The problem posed is exacerbated by the drive in higher education institutions and among …

Welfare Impacts Of False Codling Moth Threatening California Oranges, Azza Mohamed Kamal Ahmed Mohamed

Open Access Dissertations

Welfare impacts of alternative pest management strategies of False Codling Moth (FCM) threatening California's oranges are examined. Different economic agents along the supply chain of fresh oranges and orange products in the United States are considered, including consumers, retailers, wholesalers, and growers. A partial equilibrium dynamic framework that accounts for supply response from the other US orange producing states is developed. Data for supply shocks (orange yield losses and control costs) are obtained from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (APHIS).

FCM is not presently in the United States. If introduced to …

Maternal Sensitivity, Maternal Mind-Mindedness, And Infant Socioemotional Functioning: An Examination Of Concurrent Associations, Nancy Ignacia Longoria

Open Access Dissertations

Associations between maternal sensitivity, maternal mind-mindedness, and infant socioemotional (SE) functioning were examined in a sample of 40 mother-infant dyads. Semi-structured home observations were conducted to assess maternal sensitivity and collect maternal ratings of maternal depression and infant SE functioning. Mind-mindedness was assessed during free play and teaching interactions during the home visit. Sensitivity at home was positively associated with mind-mindedness during a free play interaction, but not during a teaching interaction. Neither sensitivity nor mind-mindedness was significantly associated with total infant SE scores, or scores on 3 SE subscales (adaptive functioning, self-regulation, and interaction with people). A trend between …

The Competitive Effect Of Vouchers On The Performance Of Traditional Public Schools In Hamilton County, Ohio, Nathan Roy Lowe

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study is to determine the effect that educational choice, in the form of vouchers, is having on the performance of traditional public schools in Hamilton County, Ohio. The threat of losing students to vouchers creates a sense of competition for students, and ultimately the dollars that are attached to them. This competition is relatively new to public education and is being promoted by state legislators as a catalyst for public school improvement. All data sets were obtained from publically available data on the Ohio Department of Education website between 2001 and 2012. Between 2001 and …

Automatic Identification Of Metaphoric Utterances, Jonathan Edwin Dunn

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes the problem of metaphor identification in linguistic and computational semantics, considering both manual and automatic approaches. It describes a manual approach to metaphor identification, the Metaphoricity Measurement Procedure (MMP), and compares this approach with other manual approaches. The dissertation then describes an implemented and simplified version of the procedure, Measuring and Identifiying Metaphor-in-Language (MIMIL), and compares the premises of this system with other automatic metaphor identification systems. MIMIL and three existing metaphor identification systems are then evaluated on a common data set. Finally, the dissertation looks at difficulties which face attempts to automatically identify metaphors caused by …

Modeling The Marketability Of Tourism Small Businesses: Oman's Experiences, Hamed Ibrahim Al Azri

Open Access Dissertations

Tourism Small Businesses (TSBs) are vital factors in the prosperity of local communities and the development of authentic and satisfying tourism experiences. Because of their small size, they are unable to effectively use textbook marketing models and techniques. The purpose of this study is to help TSBs market their products in a way that suits their unique nature and business environment. Specifically, this study aims to develop a theoretical model of TSB marketing, identify the main factors affecting TSB marketing, and discern relationships between these factors. Since the aim of the study is to develop a theoretical model, the method …

The Role Of Rumination, Negative Affect, And Fitness On Cardiac Rehabilitation Program Outcomes Following A Discrete Cardiac Event, Nathaniel Jay Deyoung

Open Access Dissertations

Individuals with cardiovascular disease are at an increased risk for anxiety, depression, stress, and other negative cognitive processes. Following a cardiovascular event such as a myocardial infarction or open heart surgery, cardiac rehabilitation (CR) can have large physical and psychological benefits. This study investigates the role of depression, anxiety, and rumination on CR outcomes including program completion and fitness improvements. Fifty-one patients with cardiovascular disease who were enrolled in CR were tracked over the course of their treatment. Objective fitness testing was completed prior to and after CR program completion. Self-reported psychological, health, and fitness data were gathered at weeks …

The Attachment-Satisfaction Relationship On Facebook: Emotional Intelligence And Conflict, Jarred Michael Caldwell

Open Access Dissertations

Caldwell, J. M., Ph.D. Purdue University, February 2013. The Attachment-Satisfaction Relationship on Facebook: Emotional Intelligence and Conflict. Major Professor: M. Carole Pistole, Ph.D.

Because of the unique interpersonal nature of social networking sites, as well as the vast number of people using them, this study examines how attachment differences and other factors, including social networking site romantic conflict behavior and emotional intelligence, link to romantic relationship satisfaction. College students who were in romantic relationships and users of social networking sites (N = 274), completed the following measures: (a) the Experiences in Close Relationship Scale-Short Form (ECR-S; Wei, Russell, Mallinckrodt, & …

Simulating Land Use Land Cover Change Using Data Mining And Machine Learning Algorithms, Amin Tayyebi

Open Access Dissertations

The objectives of this dissertation are to: (1) review the breadth and depth of land use land cover (LUCC) issues that are being addressed by the land change science community by discussing how an existing model, Purdue's Land Transformation Model (LTM), has been used to better understand these very important issues; (2) summarize the current state-of-the-art in LUCC modeling in an attempt to provide a context for the advances in LUCC modeling presented here; (3) use a variety of statistical, data mining and machine learning algorithms to model single LUCC transitions in diverse regions of the world (e.g. United States …