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 …

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. …