abstract: Severe weather affects many regions of the United States, and has potential to greatly impact many facets of society. This study provides a climatological spatial analysis by county of severe weather warnings issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) between January 1st, 1986 to December 31st, 2017 for the contiguous United States. The severe weather warnings were issued for county-based flash flood, severe thunderstorm, and tornado phenomena issued through the study period and region. Post 2002 severe weather warnings issued by storm warning area were included in this study in the form of county-based warnings simultaneously issued for each affected county. Past studies have researched severe weather warnings issued by the NWS, however these studies are limited in geographic representation, study period, and focused on population bias. A spatial analysis of severe weather warning occurrences by county identify that (a) highest occurrences of flash flood warnings are located in the desert Southwest and Texas, (b) severe thunderstorm warning occurrence is more frequent in Arizona, portions of the Midwest, the South, and the Mid and South Atlantic states, (c) the tornado activity regions of Tornado Alley and Dixie Alley (i.e. Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Illinois) contained the highest occurrences of tornado warnings, and (d) the highest instances of aggregate warning occurrences are found in the desert Southwest, the Midwest, and the Southern regions of the United States. Generally, severe weather warning “hot spots” tend to be located in those same regions, with greater coverage. This study concludes with a comparison of local maxima and general hot spot regions to expected regions for each phenomenon. Implications of this study are far reaching, including emergency management, and has potential to reduce risk of life. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Geography 2019

Background. This dissertation focuses on two major epidemics, Waterpipe (WP) and Cigarette tobacco smoking, as two considerable global public health issues. It consists of three papers that were published in international peer review journals. We aimed at evaluating the acute and chronic effects of WP and cigarette smoking on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, as well as evaluating the patient's acceptability of shocking pictorial versus actual textual warnings on tobacco packages as an effective control intervention towards smoking cessation".Methods. In the first part of the study, patients were recruited from restaurants in Beirut and Mount Lebanon in order to evaluate the acute (after 45 minutes of waterpipe smoking or immediately following one cigarette smoking) and chronic (before the smoking session) effects on the Forced Expiratory Volume at 1 second (FEV1), Forced Expiratory Volume at 6 seconds (FEV6), FEV1/FEV6, Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP), Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) and heart rate (HR). The second part of the study recruited patients from 5 outpatient clinics located in 5 hospitals in Lebanon. The purpose was to evaluate the acceptability of shocking pictorial health warnings versus the actual textual warnings on packages as an effective tobacco control intervention by evaluating their impact on smoking behaviors and motivation.Results. Mean values of FEV1, FEV6, FEV1/FEV6, DBP, SBP in the acute effect of smoking WP and cigarette smokers were very close. There was a trend to significant acute variation between the three groups for DBP (p=0.05) and a significant variation for HR (p˂0.001): DBP increased in WP smokers while it decreased in cigarette smokers. However, the HR increased in both WP and cigarette smokers after the smoking session, but much more with WP. The pulmonary functions (FEV1, FEV6 and FEV1/FEV6) and the cardiovascular values (DBP, SBP and HR) were significantly associated with the following factors: duration of smoking, age at first WP and quantity of smoking. Among the 127 WP smokers, a higher effect of the shocking pictorial warnings was observed in the highly motivated group versus the lower motivated group (OR=4.47, p=0.001); indeed, a higher switching in their favorite tobacco brand was observed in the highly motivated group versus the lower group (OR=2.76, p=0.008). In addition, smokers who had chronic cough were highly motivated to quit waterpipe smoking compared to smokers without chronic cough (OR=7.24, p=0.03).Higher motivation to quit cigarette smoking was seen among male smokers versus females (OR=1.8, p=0.02), among smokers who had stopped smoking for at least 1 month during the last year due the textual warning (OR=2.79, P˂0.001), among smokers who considered very important to report health warning on cigarette packs (OR=1.92, p=0.01), among smokers who had chronic expectorations (OR=1.81, P=0.06) and among smokers who would change their favorite cigarette pack if they put shocking images on the pack (OR=1.95, p=0.004).Conclusions. WP smokers seem as affected as cigarette smokers for the pulmonary values and that acute effect of WP immediately measured after the smoking session increases DBP and SBP; however, acute effect of cigarette decreases DBP and SBP, while both cigarette and WP smoking increase HR. The reduction of most Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) values could be due to the long duration of smoking, younger age of smoking the first WP and quantity of smoking. It differs between cigarette and WP, and between chronic and acute effect of smoking. Moreover, pictorial graphic warnings are more influencing on the behavior of waterpipe smokers than textual warning. On the other hand, low dependent and highly motivated to quit cigarette smokers appeared to be more hypothetically susceptible to shocking pictorial warnings. Motivation to quit cigarette smoking was affected by sensitivity to warnings, but not to the presence of all chronic respiratory symptoms. Thus, our study provides further reasons to the policymakers in Lebanon to incorporate more tobacco labeling policies in order to help in reducing the widespread of waterpipe and cigarette tobacco smoking and in increasing the awareness concerning the health symptoms effect of smoking. / Doctorat en Sciences de la santé Publique / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Warnings are intended to improve safety (decreasing injury, illness and loss) by communicating the presence and nature of a potential hazard and encouraging behaviour that will minimise or avoid a negative outcome. Warnings can be seen as representations of risk, therefore it is likely that an individual’s attitude towards risk, their risk-taking propensity, may affect the way they perceive warnings. Establishing this relationship has important practical implications. If high risk-taking propensity can predict non-compliance, then attempts may be made to increase compliance within high risk-takers by tailoring warnings to such individuals. This thesis aims to explore empirically the relationship between measures of risk-taking propensity and warnings, with potential application to the prevention of hazardous behaviours. Study One investigated the potential relationship between risk-taking propensity and warning perception using an exploratory approach. The results confirmed that various measures of risk-taking propensity predicted warning perceptions, in particular on intentions to comply with the warnings. Studies Two and Three revealed that the relationship between risk-taking and warning perception is domain specific to a certain extent and that it is stronger when contextual information about a hazard is provided. Study Four explored potential underlying mechanisms and revealed that while the mental simulation of positive outcomes of non-compliance was found to be influential, anticipated regret significantly mediated the relationship between risk-taking propensity and intended compliance. Study Five attempted to minimise the discrepancy between high and low risk-takers through warning design manipulation. Despite a strong effect of sensation seeking on intended compliance the warning manipulations implemented had no effect on warning perceptions. This thesis offers a significant contribution to the literature, by establishing empirically the effect of risk propensity on warnings perception and by providing insight into the theoretical underpinnings of this relationship.

Miranda understanding, appreciation, and reasoning abilities are essential to courts' determinations of knowing and intelligent Miranda rights waivers. Despite the remarkable development of Miranda research in recent decades, studies have generally focused on understanding and appreciation of Miranda rights, but have not examined Miranda reasoning and waiver decisions. Therefore, examining the nature of defendants' decisional capacities constitutes a critical step in further developing theoretical and clinical models for competent Miranda waiver decisions. The current study evaluated Miranda waiver decisions for 80 pretrial defendants from two Tulsa-area Oklahoma jails. Previously untested, the current study examined systematically how rational decision abilities affect defendants' personal waiver decisions. Components from general models of legal decision making, such as decisional competence and judgment models, were examined to determine their applicability to Miranda waiver decisions.

Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Designers and researchers have often assumed that individuals rely to some degree on individual perceptions of a product's hazard when interacting with warning systems that accompany the product. However, few investigations have been made to determine what precisely these perceptions are, and how they may differ across diverse populations (such as age). Younger and older adults were tested for perceived product hazards over a diverse group of products using a Battig and Montague (1969) style procedure. Participants were presented with a total of 78 products, and asked to list the first hazards that came to their mind (up to 7 per product) for each. Comparisons revealed age-related differences between the most commonly perceived hazards for 28 of the products, with many of the age-related differences not predicted prior to data collection. The resulting data additionally form a tool for designing warning systems and research stimuli based on the products or classes of products represented in this sample.

No description available.

The objective of the study was to investigate multi-modality effects (visual and auditory) on the perception of urgency in elderly individuals addressing issues of safety and comfort. Twenty individuals (10 young, 10 elderly) from Montgomery County of Virginia participated in the laboratory study. In the pre-experimental audiometric tests, as expected elderly individuals had higher hearing thresholds (dBHL) than young across all the frequencies (250, 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz) of pure tones. The difference was more pronounced at 4000 Hz. In visual acuity tests administered, elderly individuals had a lower Snellen VA than young at both near and far distances. The participants also were administered Bausch and Lomb color test; all participants were able to differentiate red color. Method of adjustment was used to collect empirical data. Rating test was administered after every treatment to objectively assess the participants' feeling of perceived urgency associated with the auditory warning signal. All the participants rated the experimental sound as urgent. Repeated measures was conducted to remove variations due to time and treatment conditions. A mixed-factorial design was used to investigate the main and interaction effects. The age effect was found to be marginally statistically significant. Modality and trial effects were not found to be significant. The reanalysis conducted after removal of outliers resulted in marginal statistical significance for age and modality main effects. Although not significant, a trend was seen in the pulse intensity levels (dBL) across modalities in the elderly individuals. Future research should be conducted to investigate modality effects in elderly individuals in a naturalistic driving environment which would give a better insight of the effects of dual modalities. / Master of Science

The prevalence of distressing content on social media raises concerns about users' mental well-being, prompting the use of trigger warnings (TW) and content warnings (CW). However, varying practices across platforms indicate a lack of clarity among users regarding these warnings. To gain insight into how users experience and use these warnings, we conducted interviews with 15 regular social media users. Our findings show that users generally have a positive view of warnings, but there are differences in how they understand and use them. Challenges related to using TW/CW on social media emerged, making it a complex decision when dealing with such content. These challenges include determining which topics require warnings, navigating logistical complexities related to usage norms, and considering the impact of warnings on social media engagement. We also found that external factors, such as how the warning and content are presented, and internal factors, such as the viewer's mindset, tolerance, and level of interest, play a significant role in the user's decision-making process when interacting with content that has TW/CW. Participants emphasized the need for better education on warnings and triggers in social media and offered suggestions for improving warning systems. They also recommended post-trigger support measures. The implications and future directions include promoting author accountability, introducing nudges and interventions, and improving post-trigger support to create a more trauma-informed social media environment. / Master of Science / In today's world of social media, you often come across distressing content that can affect your mental well-being. To address this concern, platforms and content authors use something called trigger warnings (TW) and content warnings (CW) to alert users about potentially upsetting content. However, different platforms have different ways of using these warnings, which can be confusing for users. To better understand how people like you experience and use these warnings, we conducted interviews with 15 regular social media users. What we found is that, in general, users have a positive view of these warnings, but there are variations in how they understand and use them. Using TW/CW on social media can be challenging because it involves deciding which topics should have warnings, dealing with the different rules on each platform, and thinking about how warnings affect people's engagement with content. We also discovered that various factors influence how people decide whether to engage with warned content. These factors include how the warning and content are presented and the person's own mindset, tolerance for certain topics, and level of interest. Our study participants highlighted the need for better education about warnings and triggers on social media. They also had suggestions for improving how these warnings are used and recommended providing support to users after they encounter distressing content. Looking ahead, our findings suggest the importance of holding content creators accountable, introducing helpful tools and strategies, and providing better support to make social media a more empathetic and supportive place for all users.

The goal of risk communication is to inform people about the risks they face and to encourage them to take appropriate action in response to that threat. To achieve this goal, risk communication scholars continuously examine the messages surrounding crises and disasters, and engage in message-testing to evaluate theory-driven message designs. Recent communication scholarship recommends that messages should including instructing information (Coombs, 2012), and should take into consideration established pedagogy based on instructional communication research (Sellnow & Sellnow, 2010). This dissertation continues to build on research which applies instructional communication scholarship to risk communication messaging. Using message-testing, this dissertation examined the utility of the IDEA model a message design for earthquake early warnings.