Instant puddings were prepared using ultra-high-temperature (UHT) processed and conventionally (HTST) processed milk at 6°C and 23°C in six replicates of a 2X2 factorial design to determine the effect of milk type and temperature on apparent viscosity and gel strength of pudding. Apparent viscosity was estimated from linespread readings on separate 25 ml samples of pudding measured at 0, 5, 10, 15, and 30 minutes after preparation. Gel strength was determined from penetrometer readings on separate warm and refrigerated 100 ml samples of pudding measured at 15, 30, 60, and 90 minutes after preparation. Consumer evaluations of flavor and texture of the puddings were obtained as well as word descriptors of UHT milk by those consumers who had tried the product. A five-point hedonic scale of 1=dislike extremely to 5=like extremely was used by 200 consumers to register their perceptions of flavor and texture of the puddings. Apparent viscosity was greater with HTST milk, warm milk, and longer elapsed time. The combination of cold milk and shorter time was least viscous. Gel strength of refrigerated pudding was greater for HTST milk, cold HTST, and longer time. Nonrefrigerated pudding was firmer for HTST milk and cold milk. Shortest time resulted in softest gel strength, with no difference between other time periods. Although values from objective measures differed between puddings made with UHT and with HTST milk, consumer responses to the texture and the flavor of the puddings were similar for the four milk type by temperature variations. / M.S.

<p dir="ltr">Author: Carrillo Siller, Karen Ivanna. MS</p><p dir="ltr">Institution: Purdue University</p><p dir="ltr">Degree Received: August 2024</p><p dir="ltr">Title: Unveiling Discrepancies- An Analysis of Women’s Current and Preferred Workplace</p><p dir="ltr">Committee Co-Chairs: Maria I. Marshall & Roberto Gallardo</p><p dir="ltr">This study investigates current and preferred workplace mismatches in the North Central Region, particularly the degree of mismatch in the female population. We hypothesize that asymmetric unemployment threats boosted by the COVID-19 economic shutdown, and caregiving or household increased burdens forced vulnerable groups (including women) of the workforce to work in locations that unequaled their real workplace preference. To test this hypothesis, we apply two multinomial logistic (MNL) regressions using secondary survey data to obtain likelihood and percentage point effects of individual attributes. We estimate that despite showing a 68% probability of working at the office, there exists only an 48% probability that individuals prefer such work location. Furthermore, we find that women have 3.3 percentage points (pp) higher probability of currently working remotely than men and show the greatest preference for this work arrangement; despite gender having no effect in current work site, women have 11.8pp lower probability of preferring in-person work than men, where younger women have no observed preference between work arrangements. Additionally, control variables showed that other greatly mismatched populations include rural residents, and low remote potential occupation workers. Main attributes such as gender and adult caregiving accessibility shape preferences, whereas educational attainment, household income, and occupation define current worksite. These results highlight the importance of flexible work arrangements in the American economy and their ever-greater inclination between members of the workforce, despite lack of greater opportunities, policies, and regulations.</p>

The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) is a unilateral trade liberalization program in which developed countries offer non-reciprocal tariff reductions (tariff preferences) on certain products imported from designated developing and least developed countries. GSP is considered an important tool in the World Trade Organization's approach to development. This dissertation--composed of three essays--explores whether low-income countries have achieved an increased access to high-income markets as a result of these non-reciprocal tariff preferences offered to their exports. The first essay provides an overview of the GSP program. The second essay presents an evaluation of the GSP program by considering the products and markets where low-income countries' exports are concentrated. Using a theoretically consistent gravity equation for primary and processed agri-food trade over the period 1962-2010, the results illustrate that the GSP program and modifications of it have delivered significant positive effects in developing countries' exports to developed country markets in agricultural trade but not necessarily so in non-agricultural goods. The third essay develops two theoretically founded novel indices to measure preference margins offered by high-income countries to low-income countries through tariff reduction. One index captures the restrictions bilateral tariff rates impose on market access conditions of a country as compared to the most favored nation rate, called the Exponential Trade Restrictiveness Index (ETRI). The other index captures the relative ease with which a country can access foreign markets compared to its competing suppliers, called the Exponential Relative Preferential Margin (ERPM). Then, these two bilateral indices are used to develop a model of sector-based bilateral trade to re-evaluate the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) in terms of relative market access preferences. The results show that the GSP has increased relative market accessibility for low-income countries and in turn boosted exports from these countries by 26 to 28 percent. / Ph. D.

This dissertation examines the power of similar brand preferences to bring individuals together to have a conversation about social issues. Results across eleven studies reveal that people are more willing to discuss social issues with a stranger who shares (vs. does not share) their brand preferences. This is because they think those with similar brand preferences—but not those with other types of similarities—also hold similar personal values, and thus opinions on social issues, as them. This perception of shared opinions makes people more willing to engage in conversations with this stranger, because it overcomes the barrier of potential disagreement. The effect of brand preference similarity on willingness to discuss overcomes the effect of demographic dissimilarity and topic controversiality. This effect also persists when individuals learn that their conversation partner disagrees with them on a social issue, as long as the inference of generally shared values can hold. It attenuates when the inference on shared values is negated. After people engage in a real conversation, their opinions on the social issue converge with those of their conversation partner, especially if they believe their conversation partner shares their brand preferences. How does strangers connecting through shared brand preferences affect the brand? First, consumers have higher purchase intentions for their favorite brand after discussing a social issue with someone who shares (vs. does not share) their brand preferences. In addition, online brand communities, where people with shared brand preferences gather, demonstrate a more receptive and positive conversational tone than other communities. These propositions and findings are new to the literature on branding and interpersonal communication. Practically, the findings suggest both a powerful intervention that can tackle the issue of polarization, and a strategy for brands to engage in social issues in an inclusive way.

The primary objective of this thesis is to examine the preferences local-level economic development directors possess for different firm characteristics when deciding whether to offer incentives. The thesis examines the different incentives that exist in Virginia and finds that incentive activity has been steadily increasing since 1990. The historical rates of business activity reveal that more non-manufacturing firms locate and expand in metropolitan areas, but manufacturing firms in non-metropolitan areas hire more people per firm. The results indicate that this is not due to an explicit strategy of Virginia's economic development directors. A comparison is made between community economic development goals and important firm characteristics as perceived by local-level economic development directors. A rank-ordered logit model is then used to measure the willingness to pay for various firm characteristics. The results indicate that economic developers are willing to pay for increases in firm investment, increases in wages per employee, and decreases in the probability of a firm closing or moving. Economic developers in Virginia are not willing to pay directly for increases in firm employment, but firm employment is important in its indirect effect on the willingness to pay for wages. The linkages of a firm with a community (community (measured by sales impact, the employment multiplier, and overall employment impact) were insignificant variables for all economic developers. / Master of Science

Food guides have been used for many years to aid individuals in food selection. This investigation was conducted in order to assess the compliance of college students with the National Cancer Institute's "Five A Day" recommendation. Three-day average consumption levels of antioxidants vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta carotene and the average number of servings of fruits and vegetables consumed were determined for 217 college students (95 males and 122 females) enrolled in an introductory nutrition class. Nutritional analysis was carried out using the Nutritionist IV software package. Descriptive statistics of the data included means and ranges. Results indicated that 82% of the students obtained 70% of the RDA for vitamin C and 85% obtained 70% of the RDA for vitamin E; 29% obtained 70% of the level of beta carotene recommended to reduce the risk of developing cancer. College students obtained adequate amounts of vitamin C but inadequate amounts of vitamin E and beta carotene recommended to reduce the risk of developing certain cancers. Males obtained higher levels of vitamin C and E, while females obtained a higher level of beta carotene. Thirty-four percent of the students consumed at least two servings of fruits daily and 26% consumed at least three servings of vegetables daily. A total of 26% of the students obtained the recommended five or more servings of fruits and vegetables. Males consumed a slightly greater number of fruits and vegetables compared to females. Consumption of at least five servings of fruits and vegetables, in any combination, provided levels of vitamin C and beta carotene recommended to reduce the risk of developing cancer (52) but a marginal level of vitamin E (contained primarily in foods other than fruits and vegetables). Because cancer is one of the most common causes of death in the United States and because its risk can be reduced by appropriate diet, produce consumption should be encouraged. The Five A Day program has been developed to do this. Unfortunately, this program has reached only a small sector of the public. Therefore, health practitioners as well as individuals involved in the food industry must concentrate their efforts in educating the public to make wise food choices. / Master of Science

The purpose of the study was to determine the differences in the total annual income, total annual and monthly expenditures, and consumer expenditure patterns between American and foreign graduate students at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPI & SU). The study was based on a survey entitled "Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Graduate Students Demographic and Economic Impact Study" conducted in April, 1989. The sample size used in the analysis was 442, including 373 American and 69 foreign students. The findings from the study showed that (1) the American students had significantly higher total monthly expenditures than did the foreign students; (2) the American students had significantly higher absolute expenditures on tax, auto insurance, gasoline and auto repair, medical, laundry, and gifts and contributions, while the foreign students had significantly higher expenditures for telephone calls~ and (3) the American students had significantly larger percentage expenditure on tax, auto insurance, gasoline and auto repair, and entertainment, while the foreign students had significantly larger percentage expenditures on food, utilities, telephone, and travel. / Master of Science

Electrical power systems consist of a large number of power generators connected to consumers through a complex system of transmission and distribution lines. Within the electric grid, a continuous balance between generation and consumption of electricity must be maintained., ensuring stable operation of the grid. In recent decades due to increasing electricity demand, there is an increased likelihood of electrical power systems experiencing stress conditions. These conditions lead to a limited supply and cascading failures throughout the grid that could lead to wide area outages. Demand Response (DR) is a method involving the curtailment of loads during critical peak load hours, that restores that balance between demand and supply of electricity. In order to implement DR and ensure efficient energy operation of buildings, detailed energy monitoring is essential. This information can then be used for energy management, by monitoring the power consumption of devices and giving users detailed feedback at an individual device level. Based on the data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), approximately half of all commercial buildings in the U.S. are 5,000 square feet or smaller in size, whereas the majority of the rest is made up of medium-sized commercial buildings ranging in size between 5,001 and 50,000 square feet. Given that these medium-size buildings account for a large portion of the total energy demand, these buildings are an ideal target for participating in DR. In this dissertation, two broad solutions for commercial building DR have been presented. The first is a load disaggregation technique to disaggregate the power of individual HVACs using machine learning classification techniques, where a single power meter is used to collect aggregated HVAC power data of a building. This method is then tested over a number of case studies, from which it is found that the aggregated power data can be disaggregated to accurately predict the power consumption and state of activity of individual HVAC loads. The second work focuses on a DR algorithm involving the determination of an optimal bid price for double auctioning between the user and the electric utility, in addition to a load scheduling algorithm that controls single floor HVAC and lighting loads in a commercial building, considering user preferences and load priorities. A number of case studies are carried out, from which it is observed that the algorithm can effectively control loads within a given demand limit, while efficiently maintaining user preferences for a number of different load configurations and scenarios. Therefore, the major contributions of this work include- A novel HVAC power disaggregation technique using machine learning methods, and also a DR algorithm for HVAC and lighting load control, incorporating user preferences and load priorities based on a double-auction approach. / Doctor of Philosophy / Electrical power systems consist of a large number of power generators connected to consumers through a complex system of transmission and distribution lines. Within the electric grid, a continuous balance between generation and consumption of electricity must be maintained., ensuring stable operation of the grid. When electricity demand is high, Demand Response (DR) is a method that can be used to reduce user loads, restoring the balance between demand and supply of electricity. Based on data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), half of all commercial buildings in the US measure 5,000 square feet or smaller in size, whereas the majority of the other half is made up of medium-sized commercial buildings measuring in at between 5,001 to 50,000 square feet. This makes these commercial buildings an ideal target for participating in DR. In this dissertation, two broad solutions for commercial building DR have been presented. The first is a load disaggregation technique, where power consumption and activity of individual HVACs can be obtained, using a single power meter. The second work focuses on a DR algorithm, that controls single floor HVAC and lighting loads in a commercial building, based on a user generated bid price for electricity, user preferences and load priorities, when electricity demand is at its peak.

<p dir="ltr">Patients who are aware of their terminal cancer prognosis are more likely to receive end-of-life care consistent with their values. However, prognostic awareness has shown mixed associations with quality of life (QoL) outcomes. Based on theories of acceptance (i.e., Erikson’s stages of life development, Kubler-Ross’s stage model of grief, coping theories) and the Ottawa Decision Support Framework, acceptance of cancer may moderate relationships between prognostic awareness and QoL outcomes and end-of-life treatment preferences. Dyadic coping theories, such as the Systemic Transactional Model and the Dyadic Cancer Outcomes Framework, suggest that patients’ degree of prognostic awareness and acceptance of their illness may also impact their family caregivers’ QoL and end-of-life treatment preferences for the patient. The aim of the present study was to examine the potential moderating role of patient acceptance of cancer in the relationships between patient prognostic awareness and both patient and caregiver QoL and end-of-life treatment preferences. This study was a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from advanced cancer patients (<i>n</i> = 243) and their caregivers (<i>n</i> = 87) enrolled in the multi-institutional Coping with Cancer-II study. Patient outcomes of physical, psychological, and existential QoL were examined in a moderation path analysis. Caregiver physical and psychological QoL were examined in separate moderation regressions. Patient and caregiver end-of-life treatment preferences were examined in multiple logistic regression moderation models. Results did not support my hypothesis, as patient illness acceptance did not moderate the relationships between patient prognostic awareness and patient and caregiver QoL outcomes and end-of-life treatment preferences. However, there were significant main effects of patient illness acceptance on their own physical, psychological, and existential QoL as well as caregiver psychological QoL. There were also significant main effects of patient prognostic awareness on their own physical QoL and both their own and their caregivers’ end-of-life treatment preferences. Findings suggest that increasing patient’s prognostic awareness and illness acceptance may help improve values-consistent end-of-life care and QoL outcomes in advanced cancer patient-caregiver dyads. Findings support timely conversations to promote advanced cancer patients’ prognostic awareness as well as further research examining the impact of acceptance-based interventions in advanced cancer.</p>

Denna studie syftar till att undersöka studenters bostadspreferenser, förväntningar och krav på bostäder i Malmö. Studien är därav geografiskt begränsad med fokus på studenter med koppling till Malmö. Genom att kombinera kvalitativa och kvantitativa metoder, inklusive enkäter och semistrukturerade intervjuer med studenter i Malmö, analyseras ett antal faktorer (såsom ekonomiska aspekter, standard och kvalitet, läge, transportmöjligheter, boendeform, säkerhet och trygghet, samt miljöaspekter) och hur dessa påverkar studenternas bostadsval. Studien ger djupgående insikter i studenternas bostadspreferenser i Malmö och belyser de utmaningar och överväganden de möter i sin strävan efter lämpligt boende. Genom att förstå dessa preferenser kan bostadsföretag och planerare skapa mer anpassade och attraktiva bostadslösningar för studenterna i Malmö, vilket i sin tur kan förbättra studenternas boendemiljö och trivsel. Resultaten visar att ekonomiska aspekter, moderna bekvämligheter, läget och närhet till viktiga faciliteter är avgörande för studenterna. Studenternas prioriteringar vid bostadsval domineras av kostnad, där de är villiga att betala mellan 5000-6000 kr/mån och värdesätter hög standard och bekvämligheter som diskmaskin och tvättmaskin. De föredrar ensamboende för att ha eget utrymme och undviker delade boenden om möjligt. Läget är avgörande, med närhet till lärosäten, centrum och vardagsfaciliteter som matbutiker. God och lättillgänglig kollektivtrafik är även viktigt för studenterna. Trots betydelsen av säkerhet och trygghet, prioriteras detta inte alltid högst, medan miljöcertifieringar bortprioriteras till förmån för andra faktorer. Trots varierande preferenser är budgetbegränsningar ofta en faktor som leder till kompromisser. / This study aims to investigate students’ housing preferences, expectations, and requirements for housing in Malmö. The study is geographically limited to students with connections to Malmö. By combining qualitative and quantitative methods, including surveys and semi-structured interviews with students in Malmö, several factors (such as economic aspects, standard and quality, location, transportation options, housing form, safety and security, and environmental aspects) and how these affect students' housing choices are analyzed. The study provides in-depth insights into students' housing preferences in Malmö and highlights the challenges and considerations they face in their search for suitable accommodation. Understanding these preferences can enable housing companies and planners to create more tailored and attractive housing solutions for students in Malmö, thereby improving their living environment and well-being. The results show that economic aspects, modern amenities, location, and proximity to essential facilities are crucial for students. Students' priorities in housing choices are dominated by cost, with willingness to pay between 5000-6000 SEK/month and valuing high standards and amenities such as a dishwasher and washing machine. They prefer single occupancy for personal space and avoid shared accommodations if possible. Location is crucial, with proximity to educational institutions, city centers, and everyday amenities like grocery stores. Good and accessible public transportation is also important for students. Despite the importance of safety and security, these are not always top priorities, while environmental certifications are deprioritized in favor of other factors. Despite varying preferences, budget constraints often lead to compromises.