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What is the individual’s preferred income tax rate? How much income tax progressivity do people want? How do individuals form these preferences? This dissertation answers these questions by leveraging the 1996 International Social Survey Program – Role of Government III survey and the anchoring and adjustment heuristic. When researchers ask individuals for their income tax preferences most respondents construct their preference on the spot using few cognitive resources. Individuals also want their income tax preference to be reasonable (i.e., the state can afford basic goods and services), so individuals anchor their preferences on existing state tax policy, their own income tax rate, and their previous responses when applicable. After individuals establish an anchoring point, they make adjustments based on ideological beliefs, level of trust, and self-interest; however, the effects of these adjustments are mediated by the institutional structure of the state. The results of the ordinary least regression models point to four conclusions. First, individuals behave as reasonable cognitive misers. They anchor their income tax preferences on the status quo, and their previous responses. This result explains cross-state differences in income tax preferences. Second, liberal individuals prefer progressive taxation in individualistic states (i.e., states with means-tested welfare states, majoritarian governments, and pluralist interest group systems), and flat taxes in cooperative regimes (i.e., states with expansive welfare states, consensus regimes, and corporatist interest group systems). Third, trusting individuals prefer flat taxes, and preferences for progressive taxation are a means to ensure tax evaders pay their fair share. Fourth, the effects of self-interest on tax preferences are limited, and only influence tax preferences on those earning one-times and eight-times the wages of a full-time unskilled worker. / Political Science

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The family Bunyaviridae is the largest of vertebrate diseases and includes the mosquito-borne disease La Crosse (LAC) virus. Vectors include the major vector Aedes triseriatus and two accessory vectors Aedes albopictus and Aedes japonicus. In the past several decades there has been an increase in the number of LAC cases, implication of new vectors, and the appearance of new foci of disease in the southeastern U.S. To better understand the vectors and the relationship between vectors and the virus, laboratory and field studies were conducted to determine oviposition preferences, effect of virus infection on blood-feeding behavior, and compare the efficacy of various methods to determine minimum infection rates of vectors. In laboratory studies of oviposition preference, only Ae. japonicus demonstrated a preference when presented with preexisting eggs. They deposited more eggs in cups containing either conspecifics or Ae. albopictus. The presence of 1st instar larvae Ae. albopictus larvae deterred oviposition by Ae. triseriatus and Ae. japonicus. Ae. japonicus and Ae. triseriatus preferred cups containing larval rearing water (LRW) of conspecifics and Ae. albopictus. Aedes albopictus preferred LRW regardless of species compared to control cups. Field experiments with fresh egg papers and preexisting eggs did not show significant differences, although the unequal population densities of species in the study area confounded the analysis. More work is needed to elucidate the interaction among these species and its effect on oviposition in the field. Blood-feeding experiments showed that LAC virus-infected Ae. triseriatus and Ae. albopictus imbibed significantly less blood compared to uninfected mosquitoes. Because blood meal size affects the subsequent inhibition of host seeking, experiments were done to ascertain the effect of virus infection on refeeding. Significantly more infected Ae. triseriatus mosquitoes refed but there was no effect on the refeeding rate of Ae. albopictus. Thus, the detrimental effect of virus infection, i.e., reduction in blood meal size, may lead to increased host exposure by Ae. triseriatus, enhancing horizontal transmission. Collecting adult mosquitoes was more efficient to detect virus in field populations than the collection of eggs. Maximum likelihood estimation-infection rates (MLE-IR) were calculated using bias-corrected maximum likelihood estimation. Adult collections yielded significantly more positive pools compared with egg collections. Virus was isolated from pools from Ae. canadensis, Ae. triseriatus, and Ae. albopictus. These results are comparable to other studies. / Ph. D.

Two longitudinal studies were conducted to explore the mother-infant communication process during the first four months of postnatal life. One study focused on mothers' experiences communicating with their infants. Forty-seven mothers were interviewed when their infants were 6 to 8 weeks of age; 42 of the same mothers were interviewed when their infants were 16 to 18 weeks of age. Mothers were asked questions about their interactions with their infants, how they talked to their infants, why they talked to their infants, how they learned to talk to their infants, and what th,eir beliefs were about the relationship between talking to infants and development. A model was constructed from these data, conceptualizing the communication process between mothers and their young infants. Four themes were identified: expert advice influenced some mother-infant communication; mothers and infants co-regulated some of their communication; maternal communication behaviors were consistent across age and ethnicity; and experience talking to pets influenced some new mothers' speaking styles. / Ph. D.