Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 111-128). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Ph.D.

This study uses data from a special tabulation of the USDA Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey to examine the relationship between farm size and adoption of a variety of water management practices across seven Colorado Basin states. Parametric (Cochran-Armitage trend test) and non-parametric (Goodman-Kruskal gamma) methods were used to estimate associations between farm size and adoption of water management practices, use of water management information, and participation in conservation programs. Farms were divided into five categories: small farms, medium farms, large farms and very large farms, based on their gross sales. In all seven states, very large farms relied on a greater number of different information sources for water management than small farms. The relationship between farm size and information source use was not always monotonic, however. Small farms were more likely to rely more on their neighbors and irrigation district staff for water management information. Large and very large farms relied on a more diverse set of information sources and relied more on privately provide sources, such as consultants. In very few cases was a public or private information source used by more than half of any group of farmers. There is no "one-stop shopping" for irrigation management information. Smaller farms were more likely to not have investigated ways to improve water or energy conservation practices in the previous five years. Farmers cited economic factors as the most important largest constraints on adoption of conservation investments. Larger farms were more likely to participate in government (federal, state, or local) other conservation programs. These farms, though, account for the greatest share of water use. Many smaller farms do not have control over the timing of their irrigation applications, but rather depend on irrigation districts to supply water "in turn." Extension messaging to improve irrigation timing may be more effective if they target irrigation district staff that control irrigation scheduling.

This thesis is an examination of the role of the volunteers in the development of family planning programs in the West and South Asia, and of whether they have a continuing role to play. Through personal experience, interviews and correspondence with some of the leaders, through reports, other readings, and studies of motivation and the provision of family planning services, the writer concludes that the volunteers played an indispensable part. Governments would not have introduced family planning programs if voluntary organizations had not shown that they were needed and feasible. The volunteers laid the groundwork not only for official programs but for a variety of careers in family planning and related fields. They have a continuing role to play as friendly critics in promotion, education, and innovative research, and to , make sure that birth control, once considered to be far to the "Left", becomes firmly entrenched as a Human "Right”. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

Subsampling is an important method in the analysis of Big Data. Subsample size determination (SSSD) plays a crucial part in extracting information from data and in breaking<br>the challenges resulted from huge data sizes. In this thesis, (1) Sample size determination<br>(SSD) is investigated in multivariate parameters, and sample size formulas are obtained for<br>multivariate normal distribution. (2) Sample size formulas are obtained based on concentration inequalities. (3) Improved bounds for McDiarmid’s inequalities are obtained. (4) The<br>obtained results are applied to nonuniform subsampling in Big Data high dimensional linear<br>regression. (5) Numerical studies are conducted.<br>The sample size formula in univariate normal distribution is a melody in elementary<br>statistics. It appears that its generalization to multivariate normal (or more generally multivariate parameters) hasn’t been caught much attention to the best of our knowledge. In<br>this thesis, we introduce a definition for SSD, and obtain explicit formulas for multivariate<br>normal distribution, in gratifying analogy of the sample size formula in univariate normal.<br>Commonly used concentration inequalities provide exponential rates, and sample sizes<br>based on these inequalities are often loose. Talagrand (1995) provided the missing factor to<br>sharpen these inequalities. We obtained the numeric values of the constants in the missing<br>factor and slightly improved his results. Furthermore, we provided the missing factor in<br>McDiarmid’s inequality. These improved bounds are used to give shrunken sample sizes <br>

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to investigate whether the environment created by being born in a specific birth order and/or family size affects individuals’ general intelligence, or g. Based on the phenomenon of rising Intelligence Quotient (IQ) scores observed across generations, the fact that IQ and g are highly correlated and that most, if not all, between-family variables have been shown not to produce the rising effect, it was hypothesized that there could be a significant difference in g scores of siblings of the same family and those of different sized families born in the same position. Birth order and family size could be argued to encompass most within-family factors that result in influencing the family environment and its influence on each child within it. Each child is part of the same within-family environment, however, within this framework each individual’s experience is different, accounting for the non-shared environment effects. This notion is supported by two models which attribute varying levels of IQ to children of the same family based on their birth order and family size. The Confluence and the Resource Dilution Models were discussed as possible explanations of what happens to g levels, should any difference between birth order and family size be uncovered. Raven’s Progressive Matrices (RPM) were used to quantify the participants’ g levels with respect to the two research questions. Girl only families participated in this study to eliminate developmental factors between girls and boys of the same age. Siblings’ scores were compared for birth-order effects and the scores of children from the various sized families were compared for family size effects. Repeated measures analysis of variance was applied to test for birth order effects. One-way analysis of variance and one sample t tests were applied to test for family size effects. No significant birth-order effects were found, however, the pattern of achieved means increased with birth order which is in opposition to both models. The one significant finding for family size came in the form of the second borns of two daughters outperforming the second borns of three daughters. The findings and the trends of the achieved means between all birth order and family size variant groups were examined in light of findings of previous research on this topic.

Note:

No description available.

In reading the literature on family planning among Puerto Ricans one is struck by the paucity of studies of the decisionmaking process behind the choices for controlling reproduction as well as by the almost exclusive focus on the lower end of the social class spectrum. Indeed, some of the more recent work to come out in this field has begun to point to this lacunae in our knowledge (Gonzalez, et al., 1980). This study proposes to begin to fill this gap by comparatively examining the multiple variables that play a role in the decisions made around family planning by mainland Puerto Ricans of both low and middle class backgrounds. Special emphasis will be given to sterilization, since it seems to be the most common contraceptive method of both island and mainland Puerto Ricans (Stycos, 1955; Scrimshaw et al., 1971).