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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™

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Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The University of Maine

2004

Articles 1 - 8 of 8

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Environmental Conservation On Agricultural Working Land: Assessing Policy Alternatives Using A Spatially Heterogeneous Land Allocation Model, Kelly M. Cobourn Dec 2004

Environmental Conservation On Agricultural Working Land: Assessing Policy Alternatives Using A Spatially Heterogeneous Land Allocation Model, Kelly M. Cobourn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Multifunctionality refers to the ability of agricultural systems to produce an array of non-market goods and services in addition to market commodities. This thesis focuses explicitly on the provision of environmental benefits, through reduced soil erosion and fertilizer applications, by agricultural producers. Soil erosion and nutrient contamination from agricultural production are the foremost contributors to ground and surface water degradation in the United States. Reducing their production implies gains in social welfare, but may generate significant private losses to producers. The objective of this analysis is to quantify the tradeoff between environmental improvements and producer welfare and to examine the …

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Treatment Acceptability Of A Well-Established Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For Panic Disorder In A Passamaqyoddy Community, Elizabeth Ranslow Dec 2004

Treatment Acceptability Of A Well-Established Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For Panic Disorder In A Passamaqyoddy Community, Elizabeth Ranslow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As a step towards evaluating the cross-cultural effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy for panic disorder, treatment acceptability was used in the current study to gain an understanding of the treatment utility and social validity of that treatment with a group of Passamaquoddy individuals. American Indian communities face substantial psychosocial challenges (e-g., poverty, discrimination, and high rates of violent deaths), which are associated with increased risk for psychopathology, and there is little empirical evidence of the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy within these communities. The current study addressed these issues in two phases. In phase 1, qualitative methodology was used to …

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Estimating The Economic Recreational Value Of Paracas National Reserve In Ica Peru: A Fair Fee Implementation Approach, Jaqueline Garcia-Yi Dec 2004

Estimating The Economic Recreational Value Of Paracas National Reserve In Ica Peru: A Fair Fee Implementation Approach, Jaqueline Garcia-Yi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Paracas National Reserve (PNR) is one of the fifty-seven protected areas that belong to the National System of Protected Areas (SINANPE) of Peru. Located in Ica Department, on the Pacific coast of Peru, it is the only coastal-marine ecosystem currently protected by the Peruvian government. PNR has been internationally recognized, principally as a wintering area for bird migrations. It has been designated as a Regional Shorebird Reserve by the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (1991), a Ramsar site by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat (1992), and a Particular Sensitive Sea Area by the …

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Context-Specific Preference Learning Of One Dimensional Quantitative Geospatial Attributes Using A Neuro-Fuzzy Approach, Georgios Mountrakis Dec 2004

Context-Specific Preference Learning Of One Dimensional Quantitative Geospatial Attributes Using A Neuro-Fuzzy Approach, Georgios Mountrakis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Change detection is a topic of great importance for modern geospatial information systems. Digital aerial imagery provides an excellent medium to capture geospatial information. Rapidly evolving environments, and the availability of increasing amounts of diverse, multiresolutional imagery bring forward the need for frequent updates of these datasets. Analysis and query of spatial data using potentially outdated data may yield results that are sometimes invalid. Due to measurement errors (systematic, random) and incomplete knowledge of information (uncertainty) it is ambiguous if a change in a spatial dataset has really occurred. Therefore we need to develop reliable, fast, and automated procedures that …

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A Data Model For Exploration Of Temporal Virtual Reality Geographic Information Systems, Jorge Alberto Prado De Campos Aug 2004

A Data Model For Exploration Of Temporal Virtual Reality Geographic Information Systems, Jorge Alberto Prado De Campos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Geographic information systems deal with the exploration, analysis, and presentation of geo-referenced data. Virtual reality is a type of human-computer interface that comes close to the way people perceive information in the real world. Thus, virtual reality environments become the natural paradigm for extending and enhancing the presentational and exploratory capability of GIs applications in both the spatial and temporal domains. The main motivation of this thesis is the lack of a framework that properly supports the exploration of geographic information in a multi-dimensional and multi-sensorial environment (i.e., temporal virtual reality geographic information systems). This thesis introduces a model for …

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Structuring A Wayfinder's Dynamic And Uncertain Environment, Michael D. Hendricks May 2004

Structuring A Wayfinder's Dynamic And Uncertain Environment, Michael D. Hendricks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Wayfinders typically travel in dynamic environments where barriers and requirements change over time. In many cases, uncertainty exists about the future state of this changing environment. Current geographic information systems lack tools to assist wayfinders in understanding the travel possibilities and path selection options in these dynamic and uncertain settings. The goal of this research is a better understanding of the impact of dynamic and uncertain environments on wayfinding travel possibilities. An integrated spatio-temporal framework, populated with barriers and requirements, models wayfinding scenarios by generating four travel possibility partitions based on the wayfinder's maximum travel speed. Using these partitions, wayfinders …

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Class And Gender Roles In The Company Towns Of Millinocket And East Millinocket, Maine, And Benham And Lynch, Kentucky, 1901-2004: A Comparative History, Betty Duff Jan 2004

Class And Gender Roles In The Company Towns Of Millinocket And East Millinocket, Maine, And Benham And Lynch, Kentucky, 1901-2004: A Comparative History, Betty Duff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Company towns were products of nineteenth and early twentieth century attempts to attract and control the labor force needed for industrial production outside of urban areas. A comparison of the paper mill towns of Millinocket and East Millinocket. Maine, with the coal mining towns of Benham and Lynch, Kentucky, explores different management philosophies and methods of labor control employed in towns constructed by corporations in the early twentieth century. Great Northern Paper built Millinocket and East Millinocket; United States Coal and Coke, a subsidiary of United States Steel built Lynch, and Wisconsin Steel, a subsidiary of International Harvester, built Benham. …

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Women's Satisfaction With Their Childbirth Experiences: What Influenced Their Satisfaction And What They Wish They Had Been Told, Kara Sylvester Jan 2004

Women's Satisfaction With Their Childbirth Experiences: What Influenced Their Satisfaction And What They Wish They Had Been Told, Kara Sylvester

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was done to determine what influences women's satisfaction with their childbirth experiences and if the type of childbirth education class they attended was a factor in satisfaction. Investigation into this question is necessary to provide helpful information to three groups of people. Childbirth educators will benefit from information about how to best prepare women for their childbirth experiences. Labor support people will benefit by learning what aids in creating a satisfactory experience for laboring women. Finally, expecting women will benefit from learning what might make their experience satisfactory or not. Literature about the benefit of childbirth education has …

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