The aim of this study was to examine associations between biases in decision-making (delay discounting [DD], opportunity cost neglect [OCN], status quo bias [SQB]), educational attainment, and use of cigarettes and other tobacco and nicotine delivery products among women of reproductive age. Women of reproductive age are of special interest because of the additional risks that cigarette smoking or use of these other products represents should they become pregnant. Data were collected anonymously online in survey format using Amazon Mechanical Turk [AMT]. Participants were 800 women of reproductive age (24-44 years) from across the US. Half (n = 400) were smokers who reported current, daily smoking and half (n = 400) were never smokers who reported smoking less than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime. Participants reported smoking characteristics, plans to quit smoking, use of nicotine replacement therapies, use of other tobacco and nicotine delivery products, alcohol and drug use histories, and the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence. Participants completed two measures for each of the three biases in decision-making, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale [BIS-11], and two scales measuring short- and long-term propensity to plan for money expenditures [PPMS and PPML]. Educational attainment analyses compared three education groups: high school or less vs. some college (e.g. some college/A.A.) vs. B.A. or higher. DD was steeper among current vs. never smokers and for women with lower vs. higher levels of education, with no significant interaction between smoking and education. Modifying the instructions of the DD measure to make the zero option explicit reduced DD similarly across levels of smoking status and education. OCN was worse at lower vs. higher educational attainment on one OCN measure, with no significant effect of smoking status or interaction between opportunity cost neglect and educational attainment on either measure. No evidence was found for stronger SQB by smoking status or education. Smoking status was related to BIS Total, BIS Motor and Nonplanning subscales and to PPML in initial models but remained significant after adjusting for baseline differences in participant characteristics only for BIS Motor subscale and educational attainment was related only to BIS Nonplanning subscale. Preliminary comparisons of e-cigarette users to non-users suggest smokers using e-cigarettes only differ from smokers not using e-cigarettes on measures related to quitting smoking whereas within never smokers e-cigarette users demonstrated a pattern of riskier decision-making compared to non-users. Results confirm that DD and education are important to understanding the use of tobacco and nicotine products in women of reproductive age, and suggest that smoking and educational attainment are independently related to discounting rates. The observed explicit-zero framing effect suggests making alternatives more explicit when presenting choices may help reduce DD and lead to better decision-making, which has possible treatment implications. Results identify OCN as an additional decision-making bias to consider in understanding how low educational attainment might relate to smoking vulnerabilities. The preliminary examination of e-cigarette use suggests for women of reproductive age above age 24 years, e-cigarette use among current smokers may reflect desire or attempts to quit or cut back on smoking whereas e-cigarette use among non-smokers may be a marker of a more impulsive, riskier repertoire, although additional study of this question is needed.

本研究的目的在於了解台灣地區的農地地價是否符合現值模型，是否存在價格泡沫，以及農地做農業使用時是否存在機會成本。經由VAR模式分析之後發現，就本研究的農地資料而言，台灣地區的農地地價並不符合現值模型，而有價格泡沫現象，此一價格泡沫現象又以位於都市近郊的農地較為明顯。至於農地農用的機會成本，在本研究的實證結果中並不顯著，推論可能是我國現行農地買賣有所限制，以及實證資料係取自「核心農家」的農地所致。 　　價格泡沫現象的存在，推測是現行土地使用規劃與管制不確實所致，策研擬應以落實土地利用規劃與管制為要。另外，由於農地農用之機會成本並不明顯，表示目前的農地地價尚無法反應工、商業的土地需求，故以地價高低為指標的農地釋出政策，宜再審慎考慮。

Thesis (M.Ing. (Development and Management Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

No description available.

The research presented in this dissertation focuses on the waste management techniques currently used by Chevron-Escravos Nigeria Limited (CENL), as background knowledge of the existing waste disposal system practiced by the company. Investigation has shown that more than four tons (4tons) of organic food waste that CENL generates daily is being disposed of by using incineration and landfilling of the resulting residues. The high recoverability and economic values in form of nutrients and stored energy is not being considered. The main dissertation problem was to develop an alternative means of promoting the economic and environmental recoverability of these huge amounts of organic wastes, by developing a disposal technique other than the current incineration and landfill methods. The mechanism considered to achieve this objective was laid out in the customized organic waste converter or processor that provides one of the baselines for this dissertation. It also presents a procedural description of converting organic food waste to bio-feeds and feedstock of high quality. This alternative processing and utilization of organic food waste was carried out to provide information about tradeoffs to the current practice of incineration and landfill management systems. This was done to guide decision making and to serve as a framework within which the plausibility of the proposed solution could be examined. A comparative analysis of the two scenarios of waste to feed and waste to incineration system, the environmental impact, economic viability, and opportunity cost of recycling organic food waste produce of animal bio-feed was assessed by using: • Life cycle analysis (LCA) • By-products Breakeven Sale Product (BBSP) model. The BBSP model evaluates the opportunity of recycling the organic food waste in production of animal bio-feed to waste incineration. The outcome of the dissertation indicates that incineration is an important contributor to human and environmental toxicity and global warming. The proposed solution (recycling approach) balances the socio-economic, political and environmental safety by producing renewable, clean and eco-friendly feed and by-products. It was also concluded that there are alternative possibilities for the utilization of industrial organic food waste, where both the energy and nutrients are completely utilized, rather than the norms of conversion through chemical, biological, and thermal or other forms of energy fuels), which typically utilizes only one of these (calorific contents) categories at a time. The above mentioned utilization can be achieved by transforming the current waste disposal system. By introducing an alternative model for the recycling of plant and animal nutrients and the utilization of energy, renewable energy can be saved, human health and the environment can be protect and a sustainable economy can be maintained. In summary, it was demonstrated that there is huge capital losses and environmental contamination due to the current waste management practices. Recycling of OF W for feed production would be cost effective method that contributes towards protecting the environment achieving economic sustainability. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Development and Management Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

The research presented in this dissertation focuses on the waste management techniques currently used by Chevron-Escravos Nigeria Limited (CENL), as background knowledge of the existing waste disposal system practiced by the company. Investigation has shown that more than four tons (4tons) of organic food waste that CENL generates daily is being disposed of by using incineration and landfilling of the resulting residues. The high recoverability and economic values in form of nutrients and stored energy is not being considered. The main dissertation problem was to develop an alternative means of promoting the economic and environmental recoverability of these huge amounts of organic wastes, by developing a disposal technique other than the current incineration and landfill methods. The mechanism considered to achieve this objective was laid out in the customized organic waste converter or processor that provides one of the baselines for this dissertation. It also presents a procedural description of converting organic food waste to bio-feeds and feedstock of high quality. This alternative processing and utilization of organic food waste was carried out to provide information about tradeoffs to the current practice of incineration and landfill management systems. This was done to guide decision making and to serve as a framework within which the plausibility of the proposed solution could be examined. A comparative analysis of the two scenarios of waste to feed and waste to incineration system, the environmental impact, economic viability, and opportunity cost of recycling organic food waste produce of animal bio-feed was assessed by using: • Life cycle analysis (LCA) • By-products Breakeven Sale Product (BBSP) model. The BBSP model evaluates the opportunity of recycling the organic food waste in production of animal bio-feed to waste incineration. The outcome of the dissertation indicates that incineration is an important contributor to human and environmental toxicity and global warming. The proposed solution (recycling approach) balances the socio-economic, political and environmental safety by producing renewable, clean and eco-friendly feed and by-products. It was also concluded that there are alternative possibilities for the utilization of industrial organic food waste, where both the energy and nutrients are completely utilized, rather than the norms of conversion through chemical, biological, and thermal or other forms of energy fuels), which typically utilizes only one of these (calorific contents) categories at a time. The above mentioned utilization can be achieved by transforming the current waste disposal system. By introducing an alternative model for the recycling of plant and animal nutrients and the utilization of energy, renewable energy can be saved, human health and the environment can be protect and a sustainable economy can be maintained. In summary, it was demonstrated that there is huge capital losses and environmental contamination due to the current waste management practices. Recycling of OF W for feed production would be cost effective method that contributes towards protecting the environment achieving economic sustainability. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Development and Management Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Consumers often fail to consider the alternative ways to spend money when making decisions to buy consumer goods, this is called opportunity cost neglect. In this experimental study, our objective was to replicate the previous research of Frederick et al. (2009) showing that reminding individuals about the opportunity cost affects their decisions. Furthermore, we also wanted to extend the knowledge about this behavior by investigating whether individuals neglect the opportunity cost when making financial decisions or decisions about time allocation. In addition, we hypothesized that individuals who conduct mental budgeting (i.e., they categorize-, budget-, and track expenditures to mental accounts), are more likely to neglect the opportunity cost since they do not treat money as fungible. In an online experiment, we measured how being reminded about the opportunity cost would affect the probability of an individual buying a cheap and an expensive consumer goods, of investing money, and of watching a movie. Furthermore, we measured how being reminded about the opportunity cost affects the decision of those who conduct mental budgeting and those who do not. Our results showed that individuals neglect opportunity cost of the expensive consumer good and time (p=0.1). We found a positive relation between conducting mental budgeting and opportunity cost neglect for the expensive consumer good (p=0.1) and the deposit account (p=0.05), but no such effect in the other three scenarios. Our results imply that, due to opportunity cost neglect of time, people might be even further from optimal decision making than previously suggested since it extends to decisions about time allocation, and perhaps to investments; and people who conduct mental budgeting sometimes spend less/save more when reminded about the opportunity cost.

The thesis focuses on the ranking of ten largest companies in the Czech bakery industry. The ranking is made for the years 2012, 2013 and 2014 and it is based on the comprehensive evaluation methods, such as credibility models and spread (ROE - opportunity costs). Results are summarized in the conclusion. Marlenka international was evaluated as a company with the best financial situation.

The overall aim of this thesis is to examine households´ preferences towards relaxing the time demanding aspects of transporting sorted packaging waste. According to welfare economics, households should be willing to pay an amount equal to their reservation wage to benefit from more leisure time. However, specific types of norms, e.g., personal, self-internalized norms, and warm-glow motives may affect this decision. A theoretical model building on the notion that household members prefer to maintain a positive self-image as a responsible person is therefore used. In total 500 surveys were sent out to villas in the municipality of Skellefteå in order to gather information about recycling motives, socio-economic status and time spent on dropping-off packaging waste. The survey also presented a scenario similar to existing curbside recycling schemes in order to examine households’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) to relax the burden of transporting already sorted packaging waste. The empirical results show how both personal norms (giving rise to a feeling of guilty conscious if not recycling) and the warm-glow of giving affect the WTP for responsibility relief. Stronger personal norms implies a higher likelihood that persons have a positive willingness-to-pay for curbside recycling schemes, while strong warm-glow motives instead lead to a lower likelihood. Overall, the average WTP (per hour saved) tends to be lower than the opportunity cost of time measured through the average wage rate after tax. / Denna rapport behandlar hushålls uppfattning gällande att minska tidskrävande transport av redan källsorterade förpackningar i hemmet. Individen borde enligt ekonomisk teori vara villig att betala motsvarande hans/hennes reservationslön för att frigöra ytterligare fritid. Däremot kan specifika normer, såsom personliga (självpålagda) normer, och så kallade ”warm-glow” motiv påverka beslutet. En teoretisk modell som bygger på idén att individer föredrar att upprätthålla en positiv självbild som en ansvarsfull person utnyttjas. 500 enkäter skickades ut till villor inom Skellefteå kommun med uppgift att samla in data gällande motiv till källsortering, socioekonomisk status och tid nedlagd på att transportera källsorterade förpackningar. Ett scenario likt nuvarande implementering av fastighetsnära insamling lades fram för att undersöka hushållens betalningsvilja (WTP) för inte behöva transportera källsorterade förpackningar till en återvinningsstation. Resultaten visar hur både personlig norm (som bland annat ger individen dåligt samvete av att inte källsortera) och motivet ”warm-glow” påverkar WTP för minskat ansvar. En starkare personlig norm medför en högre sannolikhet för en positiv betalningsvilja, medan ett starkt ”warm-glow” motiv i stället leder till en motsvarande lägre sannolikhet. Slutligen, den genomsnittliga betalningsviljan (per sparad timme) tenderar att vara avsevärt lägre än den genomsnittliga lönenivån (efter skatt).

For this phenomenological study, thirteen participants from two private universities, located in the western region of the United States shared their lived experiences of being a college student who does not request accommodations. The author used recursive analysis to analyze qualitative data from semistructured interviews. Initial codes were combined to create interconnected families of codes. A second level of analysis resulted in seven spaces in which participants described their lived experiences. Findings suggest participants experience various tensions, ranging from incompatible options to competing perspectives, as they negotiate their identify and environment. including the principle of opportunity cost. Recommendations for college administrators and faculty, including Universal Design in higher education are included.