Increasing the percentage of wind power in the United States electricity generation mix would facilitate the transition towards a more sustainable, low-pollution, and environmentally-conscious electricity grid. However, this effort is not without cost. Wind power generation is time-variable and typically not synchronized with electricity demand (i.e., load). In addition, the highest-output wind resources are often located in remote locations, necessitating transmission investment between generation sites and load. Furthermore, negative public perceptions of wind projects could prevent widespread wind development, especially for projects close to densely-populated communities. The work presented in my dissertation seeks to understand where it’s best to locate wind energy projects while considering these various factors. First, in Chapter 2, I examine whether energy storage technologies, such as grid-scale batteries, could help reduce the transmission upgrade costs incurred when siting wind projects in distant locations. For a case study of a hypothetical 200 MW wind project in North Dakota that delivers power to Illinois, I present an optimization model that estimates the optimal size of transmission and energy storage capacity that yields the lowest average cost of generation and transmission ($/MWh). I find that for this application of storage to be economical, energy storage costs would have to be $100/kWh or lower, which is well below current costs for available technologies. I conclude that there are likely better ways to use energy storage than for accessing distant wind projects. Following from this work, in Chapter 3, I present an optimization model to estimate the economics of accessing high quality wind resources in remote areas to comply with renewable energy policy targets. I include temporal aspects of wind power (variability costs and correlation to market prices) as well as total wind power produced from different farms. I assess the goal of providing 40 TWh of new wind generation in the Midwestern transmission system (MISO) while minimizing system costs. Results show that building wind farms in North/South Dakota (windiest states) compared to Illinois (less windy, but close to population centers) would only be economical if the incremental transmission costs to access them were below $360/kW of wind capacity (break-even value). Historically, the incremental transmission costs for wind development in North/South Dakota compared to in Illinois are about twice this value. However, the break-even incremental transmission cost for wind farms in Minnesota/Iowa (also windy states) is $250/kW, which is consistent with historical costs. I conclude that for the case in MISO, building wind projects in more distant locations (i.e., Minnesota/Iowa) is most economical. My two final chapters use semi-structured interviews (Chapter 4) and conjoint-based surveys (Chapter 5) to understand public perceptions and preferences for different wind project siting characteristics such as the distance between the project and a person’s home (i.e., “not-in-my-backyard” or NIMBY) and offshore vs. onshore locations. The semi-structured interviews, conducted with members of a community in Massachusetts, revealed that economic benefit to the community is the most important factor driving perceptions about projects, along with aesthetics, noise impacts, environmental benefits, hazard to wildlife, and safety concerns. In Chapter 5, I show the results from the conjoint survey. The study’s sample included participants from a coastal community in Massachusetts and a U.S.-wide sample from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Results show that participants in the U.S.-wide sample perceived a small reduction in utility, equivalent to $1 per month, for living within 1 mile of a project. Surprisingly, I find no evidence of this effect for participants in the coastal community. The most important characteristic to both samples was the economic benefits from the project – both to their community through increased tax revenue, and to individuals through reduced monthly energy bills. Further, participants in both samples preferred onshore to offshore projects, but that preference was much stronger in the coastal community. I also find that participants from the coastal community preferred expanding an existing wind projects rather than building an entirely new one, whereas those in the U.S.-wide sample were indifferent, and equally supportive of the two options. These differences are likely driven by the prior positive experience the coastal community has had with an existing onshore wind project as well as their strong cultural identity that favors ocean views. I conclude that preference for increased distance from a wind project (NIMBY) is likely small or non-existent and that offshore wind projects within 5 miles from shore could cause large welfare losses to coastal communities. Finally, in Chapter 6, I provide a discussion and policy recommendations from my work. Importantly, I recommend that future research should combine the various topics throughout my chapters (i.e., transmission requirements, hourly power production, variability impacts to the grid, and public preferences) into a comprehensive model that identifies optimal locations for wind projects across the United States.

A growing body of research has emphasized the prevalent mental health problems faced by the fastest-growing demographic segment of Canada’s population, older adults, in addition to their particularly low rates of mental health service use. Research has also begun to demonstrate that although older adults express a desire to be involved in their health care decision-making, they are often not given sufficient information to participate in this process. In light of low rates of service use and generally poor mental health literacy, defined as knowledge and beliefs about the recognition, prevention, and management of mental health problems, several researchers posit that older adults experience a gap in the knowledge translation of mental health information. The present research explores older adults’ pathways to mental health information and treatment. In Study 1, individual interviews were conducted with older adults who came to seek psychological treatment for mental health problems (n = 15), and analyzed according to narrative analysis. The main storylines across participants’ narratives of treatment seeking included resistance to being labeled with mental health problems, muddling through the treatment seeking process, and interpretations of psychological treatment. Findings are discussed within the context of increasing efforts to enhance clarity in the complex process of seeking treatment for mental health problems. In Study 2, older adults’ mental health information preferences and predictors of information preferences were examined in a sample of community-dwelling older adults (n = 229). Results demonstrated that despite being unfamiliar with mental health treatment options, older adults reported a strong interest in receiving detailed information concerning a variety of mental health treatment options. Family, friends, and health care providers were highly rated informational sources; and written formats and discussions with health care providers were highly rated informational formats. The most consistent predictors of mental health information preferences included attitudes toward seeking psychological treatment and social support. Findings are contextualized within the importance of increasing the mental health literacy of older adults through knowledge translation efforts. Overall, findings of this research provide clear directions for decreasing the gap in mental health knowledge translation among older adults. / October 2016

Female teenagers have been found to be the most affluent teens according to the Rand Youth Poll's nationwide survey. The survey finds the average weekly income from female teens age 16 to 19 to be $82, with $50 from earnings and the balance from their allowances. Other findings from the survey indicate that adolescent girls receive more than adolescent males in allowance from parents, as mothers understand the need for the female teen to have the income necessary to purchase clothing and cosmetics. Past research studies have attempted to measure the influence sources on teenagers when purchasing clothing by asking teens to rank different influence sources or by asking the teens who accompany them when shopping. The current research study develops a structural equation model that allows for the comparison of the three predominant influence sources identified in the consumer socialization literature, i.e., parental influence, peer influence, and promotional communications sought out by the teen. To test the model, 206 randomly selected female teenagers completed a mail questionnaire regarding the influences on clothing interest. The female teens were all members of a non-denominational youth group, age 13 to 19, living in the North Texas region. The model derived is only the third model in the marketing literature to examine the consumer socialization process, and the first in fifteen years. Examining the three main influence sources identified from consumer socialization literature, peer, parent, and media sources, the results differ from past models. The female teens perceive parental influence as a negative influence on clothing interest, contrary to past findings. Peers and media are perceived as positive influences on teen clothing interest as in past models. The results signify the need for marketing researchers to continue to investigate the dynamic nature of consumer socialization.

The problem of this study is the identification of differences in reading interests and preferences of Indian, Black, and white adolescents of both sexes and from different high school grade levels as they are related to (a) educational background of the parents, (b) availability of reading materials, (c) community size, and (d) the extent to which these preferences are represented in the standard selection aids for secondary school reading materials. A reading interest inventory was administered in the fall term, 1972, through English classes in twenty integrated schools in Oklahoma, representing three levels of population concentration. Community resources in reading materials available through school libraries, public libraries, and bookstores were evaluated. The reading inventories of 3,581 students were chosen to be evaluated to determine if there were significant differences at the .05 level. Earlier studies have indicated that sex and age are major factors in determining what teenagers read about and that adolescents' reading interests tended to be unique, personal, and very unpredictable.- Few studies have been reported that involved ethnic origin or family levels of education.

As the world's most populous country, with more than 16 million births every year, China has emerged as a large importer of baby formula. China's relaxation of the one-child policy, which was announced in 2015, is expected to increase the number of births significantly and therefore increase the demand for Chinese and imported baby formula. While information on parent preferences for baby formula is very important for understanding and predicting China's import demand for baby formula and other products used to produce baby formula, like milk powder, there are very limited empirical studies on Chinese parent preferences for baby formula in the literature due to data limitation and other reasons. This research collects primary data from China through a parent survey, uses the data to analyze parent preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for selected baby formula attributes, and derives implications for U.S. dairy product exports. Specifically, with detailed data from a total of 433 respondents, this study first examines parent purchase behavior of baby formula through descriptive analysis, then assesses parent preferences and WTP for selected baby formula attributes through the estimation of a random utility model, and finally derives implications for U.S. exports of milk powder, whey, and other dairy products. The descriptive analysis suggests that education level and income play an important role in parent purchase behavior of baby formula. The estimation results of the random utility model differed according to whether the survey was administered online or as a hardcopy. The results from the online survey indicate that imported, organic, and more reputable brands of baby formula are more attractive to respondents than domestic, non-organic, and less reputable brands. While respondents who completed the hardcopy survey also indicated a preference for organic baby formula from a reputable brand, they preferred domestic baby formula to imported formula. Further analysis of the WTP from the online survey for baby formula showed that parents have a strong preference and are willing to pay significantly more for baby formulas produced in Australia and the U.S. as compared to that produced in China. They are willing to pay more for organic baby formula and baby formula with an excellent reputation. The WTP results from the hardcopy survey indicate that parents are willing to pay more for domestic baby formula. They are also willing to pay more for organic baby formula and baby formula with an excellent reputation. China's emerging demand for imported baby formula, milk powder, and whey may bring more opportunities for the U.S. dairy industry, but U.S. dairy products are also facing increasing competition from similar products from other nations in the Chinese market. More studies are needed to identify the comparative advantages of U.S. baby formula and other dairy products in the Chinese market and to develop effective trade policies for enhancing U.S. exports to China.

Stimulus preference assessments have determined high and low preferred items that increase the rate of frequency of responding for various skills. Within applied settings, high preferred items may not attain the same reinforcing value across tasks which might decrease responding. The preference of the task might have an effect on reinforcer efficacy that is being presented. The purpose of the current study is to evaluate changes in reinforcer efficacy as a function of preference for the task. Three children diagnosed with ASD participated in the study. HP/LP items and HP/LP tasks were identified through paired-choice assessments, and each item was presented as a consequence for each task in a counterbalanced multi-element format. Results indicated that preference for the task had little effect of the rate of responding across items.

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of sagittal mandibular position on preferred lip position in profile. Five androgynous silhouette profiles differing only in the degree of mandibular retro- or prognathism (-25º, -18º, -11º, -4º, & +3º facial contour angles) were created. Using a computer animation program, evaluators moved the lips independently into the position deemed to be the most esthetic for each profile. Evaluators included adolescent orthodontic patients, parents of patients, and orthodontists. In general, no differences in preferred lip position were found between the –11º & -4º profiles or between the –18º & +3º profiles, but preferences for each of the three profile groupings (-11º & -4º, -18º & +3º, and –25º) were different. No differences were found among the three evaluator groups or between male and female evaluators. Scattered and inconsistent differences were found among lip preferences for male and female profiles.

Financial markets are nowadays more important than ever. Financial crisis of the previous decade demonstrated their power to influence stability of the whole economy. Since the consensus blames weak regulation and considers the only solution to be its extension, this thesis tries to provide the proof of existence of other options. The focus is firstly aimed at the weaknesses of the fractional reserve banking, which does not follow the basic legal principles of a deposit contract. This practice results in price fluctuations and favoritism of first takers of newly created money. Moreover, the thesis develops a new method of analysis, which emphasizes the application of preferences in exchanges. Important outcome of this method is the demonstration that the public does not have to always prefer the most evolved form of institution. All institutions within commercial banks are then analyzed with the use of this method and the thesis shows where preference channels are being interfered with. This analysis also reveals another outcome of fractional reserve banking, which is that the newly created money is only used according to the preferences of commercial bankers. We suggest that circumvention of the true nature of a deposit contract leads to a similar outcome in loan banking, where funds gathered by loan...

Title: Customer behavior and brand preferences in a snowboard shop Objectives: The main aim of this thesis is to find out what are customers during their purchase of winter sports clothes and equipment influenced by and what are their decisions based on. Another task is revealing what brands in the Snowboardel shop belong to the most known and preferred ones. Methods: In this thesis there is used the method of iterrogation and the method of analysis. The iterrogative method was used to collect the information essential for the research. Afterwards were these information analysed to find out the internal relations and its causes. Results: The research revealed that customers are during their purchase mainly influenced by the quality, design and price of the winter sports products. They also usually think their purchase thoroughly out. Among brands the big and well-known world snowboarding brands are usually most known and preferred. Keywords: Customer behavior, brand, winter sports equipment, customer preferences

In mountain lakes, which were affected by acidification in the past or in the present, invertebrate species have become top predators and they influence the whole community. This thesis deals with foraging strategies of three of these predators, Cyclops abyssorum and Heterocope saliens (Crustacea: Copepoda) and Glaenocorisa propinqua (Insecta: Heteroptera) in the model localities Černé lake, Plešné lake and Prášilské lake. The main aim was the determination of food composition and food preferences of these predators. The quality and quantity of consumed food I investigated with a microscope using a method which has not been published yet. To make a microscope preparation I used Potassium hydroxide or Lactic acid in order to dissolve soft organic matter, so that the chitinous particles were well visible. The found food of animal origin was subsequently compared with the prey availability with the use of Jacobs' index. In addition to this research, a feeding experiment with G. propinqua was carried out. The food of all the invertebrate predators was dependent on food availability or eventually on the season of the year. G. propinqua mostly preferred as a prey members of Daphniidae family and then the species Polyphemus pediculus (Cladocera), if they were available (Prášilské lake). In Plešné lake,...