There has been recent interest in the field of applied behavior analysis in language as an independent variable. This study constitutes the second study in a line of programmatic research investigating the influence of the practices of the verbal community, or language, on children's preferences and reinforcers. Stimulus and language preferences of four children with disabilities who were exposed to Spanish and English in their natural environment were evaluated during three sequentially administered paired-stimulus preference assessments across three contexts: attention/talking, tangible/playing, and demands/working. The purposes of this study were to (a) identify whether participants displayed a language preference and if so, if their language preference was consistent across the three social contexts; (b) evaluate the interaction between language and stimulus preference within each context; and (c) descriptively compare whether participants' language proficiency in their L1 and L2 was related to their language preferences. The results of this study showed that (a) children demonstrated language preferences for their L1 or L2, and these preferences were not always consistent across social context; (b) all children showed displacement of stimuli across the preference hierarchy due to language, but the magnitude of the displacement varied across context and participant; and (c) participants' language proficiency as reported by their mothers did not always predict the participants' language preference. These results extend the preference assessment literature by suggesting that the language of presentation may influence the results of preference assessments and that the influence of language may vary across context. The results also suggest that the influence of cultural practices, such as language, on behavioral assessments should be evaluated at the individual level.

Purpose Traditionally, researchers have relied on eliciting preferences through face-to-face interviews. Recently, there has been a shift towards using internet-based methods. Different methods of data collection may be a source of variation in the results. In this study, we compare the preferences for the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit (ASCOT) service user measure elicited using best-worst scaling (BWS) via a face-to-face interview and an online survey. Methods Data were collected from a representative sample of the general population in England. The respondents (face-toface: n = 500; online: n = 1001) completed a survey, which included the BWS experiment involving the ASCOT measure. Each respondent received eight best-worst scenarios and made four choices (best, second best, worst, second worst) in each scenario. Multinomial logit regressions were undertaken to analyse the data taking into account differences in the characteristics of the two samples and the repeated nature of the data. Results We initially found a number of small significant differences in preferences between the two methods across all ASCOT domains. These differences were substantially reduced-from 15 to 5 out of 30 coefficients being different at the 5% Level-and remained small in value after controlling for differences in observable and unobservable characteristics of the two samples. Conclusions This comparison demonstrates that face-to-face and internet surveys may lead to fairly similar preferences for social care-related quality of life when differences in sample characteristics are controlled for. With or without a constant sampling frame, studies should carefully design the BWS exercise and provide similar levels of clarification to participants in each survey to minimise the amount of error variance in the choice process.

I test canonical theories in the preference literature - evolutionary psychology, social role theory, and social exchange theory - using group mean comparisons to replicate basic sex differences in spouse preferences. I find that, consistent with past studies, males prefer attractiveness and females prefer resources in potential partners, and in general, we prefer partners who are similar, rather than different, to us. I also find that males who anticipate enacting the "traditional" male role of "provider" within their marriage tend to prefer spouses who would fulfill the caregiver role, compared to males who do not anticipate such "traditional" gender divisions within the family. Interestingly, females who anticipate the "traditional" caregiving role do not in turn prefer spouses who fulfill the "provider" role; they instead prefer a spouse who is family-oriented, as they themselves are. I further test four new theoretical derivations and methodological assessment techniques. First, I expand the test of social exchange theory to include a wide array of personality characteristics and find similarity between how respondents see themselves and the types of characteristics they prefer in a spouse. Second, I include an assessment of gender endorsement - how respondents see themselves in terms of characteristics we commonly associate with masculinity and femininity. Interestingly, I don't find the predicted complimentarity - that highly masculine individuals prefer highly feminine spouses and vice versa. I find instead strong homogamy effects, such that respondents with masculine self-perceptions prefer spouses who also embody those masculine traits, and respondents with feminine self-perceptions prefer spouses who also identify with feminine traits. Third, my data includes a wider age range of unmarried respondents than nearly all other preference studies, so I am able to test preference differences by age. I find that older unmarried adults are generally less "particular" in their preferences, compared to those unmarried adults still in college. Despite my predictions that age would be positively related to the desire for spouse characteristics associated with "growing up," essentially, age appears to be negatively related or unrelated to most spouse preferences. Fourth, I include factor analysis techniques that both replicate a past research study (which was pioneering for the field), and broach the possibility for latent variable assessment using a wider array of preference dimensions than have been previously considered. I find evidence of several underlying preference constructs which could, and should, be taken into account when conducting future preference studies.

This study examines the personal migration preferences of Utah high school seniors in 1980 and their relationship to perceived parental preferences, family status, length of residence, religion, sex, and type of residence. A focal area of the thesis is an examination of the consistency between personal preferences and preferences of parents as perceived by the youth. The primary data used for this study came from a sample survey of 1980 high school seniors who were selected using a stratified sampling technique. Cross-tabulations were used with chi square to test for significance of association. The results of this study suggest that parental preferences play an important part in influencing the decision-making process of youth contemplating migration. The research suggests that the plans of metropolitan youth are more consistent with the perceived preferences of their parents than are those of nonmetropolitan youth. The research also suggests that the plans of LDS (Mormon) youth are more consistent with their parents perceived preference as compared to the plans of non-LDS youth. With respect to personal preferences, Utah youth living in nonmetropolitan areas prefer to migrate more often than metropolitan youth. Research also shows that males, LDS youth, youth from intact families and long-term residents all prefer to stay more often in their present place of residence when compared to females, non-LDS youth, youth from broken families and short-term residents.

The acquisition of normal sex-role behavior is one of the fundamental tasks which goes into developing a healthy personality. More needs to be understood about the processes involved in adopting proper sex-role behavior patterns. How does a little girl adopt the feminine role and learn to be a woman? How does a little boy adopt the masculine role and learn to be a man? From the studies in clinical psychology and psychiatry, it is evident that personality maladjustments and certain forms of emotional disorders appear to be related to difficulties in sex-role adjustment. This suggests a close correlation between childhood learning and development in sex-role behavior and adult personality disturbances.

Remediation has become a compensatory way for an increasing number of students to attend college. The problem addressed in this study was whether student intellectual strengths and learning style preferences were, in part, related to placement or enrollment in remediation courses. The purpose of this quantitative study was to assess whether a particular learning style or dominant intellectual strength was characteristic of freshmen enrolled in remediation courses compared to freshmen not enrolled in remediation courses. This study filled a gap in the literature as no studies have analyzed the combination of learning style preferences with dominant intellectual strengths in an American college population. Its theoretical foundations were Gardner's multiple intelligence theory and Kolb's experiential learning theory. A total of 84 participants completed a demographics survey, the Multiple Intelligence Profiling Questionnaire III, and the Learning Styles Inventory. Results from the Spearman Rho correlation indicated a significant negative correlation between logistic/mathematical intellectual strengths and enrollment in remediation. For learning style preferences, students enrolled in remediation courses were significantly more likely to identify as Assimilating learners. Students in remediation were also significantly more likely to identify as Accommodating learners in comparison to students not enrolled in remediation courses. These results suggest that the college curriculum and how it is taught could be altered to accommodate both students' strengths and strengthen weaknesses in order to facilitate higher levels of academic success, ultimately leading to higher graduation rates and better employment opportunities; these improvements might, in turn, facilitate positive changes for communities in South Florida.

The purpose of this study was to determine the preferences, if any, subjects have for counselors based on counselor characteristics of age, sex and attire. Photographs were taken of persons of differing ages (old, middle-age, young), sex (male, female) and attire (formal, casual, grub). One-hundred and five college and non-college adults were shown the photographs, asked to perceive the photographs as being those of counselors, and asked to rank their preferences for the persons depicted as counselors using a modified Q sort methodology. To determine whether the subjects had actually perceived the photographs as representing counselors and, therefore, discriminated among them on that basis, the subjects were also instructed to perceive the photographed individuals as attorneys and as friends, and to rank their preferences for the persons pictured under these conditions. Statistical analysis of the data was accomplished by assigning each photograph a numerical value (weighting) from one to seven, based on the location (ranking) it had been given by each subject. This procedure resulted in each photograph receiving a score each time a subject ranked the set of pictures. The data were analyzed using three three-way analyses of variance. Significant main effects were found for counselor age (F=6.77; df=2; p<.05) and attire (F=110.97; df=2; p<.05). Significant interaction effects were found for counselor age by sex (F=12.65; df=2; p<.05), counselor sex by attire (F=10.46; df=2; p.05), and counselor age by sex by attire (F=8.54; df=4; p<.05). The manipulation of subject perception of the photographs appeared successful. The results indicated that systematic differences occurred in subject rankings of the photographs when the photographed individuals were perceived and ranked separately as counselors, attorneys and friends, respectively. From the results of the study it was concluded that counselor age, attire and, to a lesser extent, sex are related to subject preferences for counselors. Recommendations concerning the applications of the results to practical settings and areas of further research were given.

L'analyse et l'exploitation des préférences interviennent dans de nombreux domaines, comme l'économie, les sciences sociales ou encore la psychologie. Depuis quelques années, c'est l'e-commerce qui s'intéresse au sujet dans un contexte de personnalisation toujours plus poussée. Notre étude s'est portée sur la représentation et l'apprentissage de préférences sur des objets décrits par un ensemble d'attributs. Ces espaces combinatoires sont immenses, ce qui rend impossible en pratique la représentation in extenso d'un ordre de préférences sur leurs objets. C'est pour cette raison que furent construits des langages permettant de représenter de manière compacte des préférences sur ces espaces combinatoires. Notre objectif a été d'étudier plusieurs langages de représentation de préférences et l'apprentissage de préférences. Nous avons développé deux axes de recherche. Le premier axe est l'algorithme DRC, un algorithme d'inférence dans les réseaux bayésiens. Alors que les autres méthodes d'inférence utilisent le réseau bayésien comme unique source d'information, DRC exploite le fait qu'un réseau bayésien est souvent appris à partir d'un ensemble d'objets qui ont été choisis ou observés. Ces exemples sont une source d'information supplémentaire qui peut être utilisée lors de l'inférence. L'algorithme DRC, de ce fait, n'utilise que la structure du réseau bayésien, qui capture des indépendances conditionnelles entre attributs et estime les probabilités conditionnelles directement à partir du jeu de données. DRC est particulièrement adapté à une utilisation dans un contexte où les lois de probabilité évoluent mais où les indépendances conditionnelles ne changent pas. Le second axe de recherche est l'apprentissage de k-LP-trees à partir d'exemples d'objets vendus. Nous avons défini formellement ce problème et introduit un score et une distance adaptés. Nous avons obtenu des résultats théoriques intéressants, notamment un algorithme d'apprentissage de k-LP-trees qui converge avec assez d'exemples vers le modèle cible, un algorithme d'apprentissage de LP-tree linéaire optimal au sens où il minimise notre score, ainsi qu'un résultat sur le nombre d'exemples suffisants pour apprendre un " bon " LP-tree linéaire : il suffit d'avoir un nombre d'exemples qui dépend logarithmiquement du nombre d'attributs du problème. Enfin, une contribution expérimentale évalue différents langages dont nous apprenons des modèles à partir d'historiques de voitures vendues. Les modèles appris sont utilisés pour la recommandation de valeur en configuration interactive de voitures Renault. La configuration interactive est un processus de construction de produit où l'utilisateur choisit successivement une valeur pour chaque attribut. Nous évaluons la précision de la recommandation, c'est-à-dire la proportion des recommandations qui auraient été acceptées, et le temps de recommandation ; de plus, nous examinons les différents paramètres qui peuvent influer sur la qualité de la recommandation. Nos résultats sont concluants : les méthodes que nous avons évaluées, qu'elles proviennent de la littérature ou de nos contributions théoriques, sont bien assez rapides pour être utilisées en ligne et ont une précision très élevée, proche du maximum théorique. / The analysis and the exploitation of preferences occur in multiple domains, such as economics, humanities and psychology. E-commerce got interested in the subject a few years ago with the surge of product personalisation. Our study deals with the representation and the learning of preferences on objects described by a set of attributes. These combinatorial spaces are huge, which makes the representation of an ordering in extenso intractable. That's why preference representation languages have been built: they can represent preferences compactly on these huge spaces. In this dissertation, we study preference representation languages and preference learning.Our work focuses on two approaches. Our first approach led us to propose the DRC algorithm for inference in Bayesian networks. While other inference algorithms use the sole Bayesian network as a source of information, DRC makes use of the fact that Bayesian networks are often learnt from a set of examples either chosen or observed. Such examples are a valuable source of information that can be used during the inference. Based on this observation, DRC uses not only the Bayesian network structure that captures the conditional independences between attributes, but also the set of examples, by estimating the probabilities directly from it. DRC is particularly adapted to problems with a dynamic probability distribution but static conditional independences. Our second approach focuses on the learning of k-LP-trees from sold items examples. We formally define the problem and introduce a score and a distance adapted to it. Our theoretical results include a learning algorithm of k-LP-trees with a convergence property, a linear LP-tree algorithm minimising the score we defined and a sample complexity result: a number of examples logarithmic in the number of attributes is enough to learn a "good" linear LP-tree. We finally present an experimental contribution that evaluates different languages whose models are learnt from a car sales history. The models learnt are used to recommend values in interactive configuration of Renault cars. The interactive configuration is a process in which the user chooses a value, one attribute at a time. The recommendation precision (the proportion of recommendations that would have been accepted by the user) and the recommendation time are measured. Besides, the parameters that influence the recommendation quality are investigated. Our results are promising: these methods, described either in the literature or in our contributions, are fast enough for an on-line use and their success rate is high, even close to the theoretical maximum.

Existing studies which analyze a central banks' behaviour in formulating monetary policy, are mostly concentrated on the experience of developed economies. However, developing economies face a different institutional structure, as well as a different set of constraints and shocks, hence, it would be interesting to analyze how a central bank under this different economic environment performs its monetary policy mandate. This thesis looks at the behaviour of Bank Negara Malaysia (The Central Bank of Malaysia) in formulating monetary policy in Malaysia during the period 1975-2005. ¶ There are four major aspects of Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM) policy behaviour that are examined in this thesis. Firstly, with regard to its policy reaction function - does BNM set interest rates according to some form of policy rule or purely on a discretionary manner? After identifying the systematic component of its policy action, we try to establish BNM's policy objectives and preferences. This will help in understanding the rationale behind its policy action. The third aspect is whether BNM's policy behaviour changes over time. Lastly, with the use of an estimated Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) model, we conduct some policy experiments to observe the possible impact on the Malaysia's economic outcomes were BNM to behave differently to what we envisaged its policy behaviour has been.

Little is known about how liking for different foods develops from birth to adulthood. Although there are both cultural and sensory aspects to the development of food preferences, the focus of this study is on the sensory aspects of food preference development, in particular, preferences for meat. Two main aims are addressed : 1/. To develop a robust methodology that can be used to determine pre-literate and recently literate children's liking for different foods and the determinants of that liking. 2/. To investigate the effects of early experience with foods on later food preferences.Several tests were conducted and results noted. Overall the results of this thesis show that it is possible to gather reliable hedonic data from young, even pre-school children, and that it is possible that very early feeding experience has some influence on adults' food preferences. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)