<p> Computer users with low vision must use additional methods to enlarge content in order to perceive content comfortably. One common method is a screen magnifier, which typically requires horizontal scrolling. Another method is through the web browser zoom controls, and with the coding technique, responsive web design (RWD), content remains within the browser window as it is enlarged. The purpose of the present study was to assess how the different magnification methods affect reading comprehension and visual fatigue of people with low vision when reading on a computer screen. After reading on a screen magnifier for about an hour, participants tended to report higher levels of nausea. Younger participants also completed the second half of reading passages quicker than the first with this method. This finding was likely due to a strong aversion for using a screen magnifier for extended periods of time due to the need to horizontally scroll.</p>

This thesis models rational criminals and regulators with flawed incentives. In it we develop a rational model of crime and regulation that we use to show the SEC's current incentive structure is ineffective at preventing fraud. Under our model, criminals balance the monetary rewards of larger frauds against an increased chance of being apprehended; and regulators design regulations to minimize either the damage caused by fraud or some other metric. We show that under this model, the SEC's focus on 'stats' and 'quick hits' leads to large frauds and a large social loss. We argue that regulators need to focus not just on successful prosecutions, but also on harm reduction and deterrence.

No description available.

Master of Science / In this thesis, a recently developed physiologically-based model of the sleep-wake switch is analyzed and applied to a variety of clinically-relevant protocols. In contrast to phenomenological models, which have dominated sleep modeling in the past, the present work demonstrates the advantages of the physiologically-based approach. Dynamical and linear stability analyses of the Phillips-Robinson sleep model allow us to create a general framework for determining its response to arbitrary external stimuli. The effects of near-stable wake and sleep ghosts on the model’s dynamics are found to have implications for arousal during sleep, sleep deprivation, and sleep inertia. Impulsive sensory stimuli during sleep are modeled modeled according to their known physiological mechanism. The predicted arousal threshold variation matches experimental data from the literature. In simulating a sleep fragmentation protocol, the model simultaneously reproduces the body temperature and arousal threshold variation measured in another existing clinical study. In the second part of the thesis, we simulate sleep deprivation by introducing a wake-effort drive that is required to maintain wakefulness during normal sleeping periods. We interpret this drive both physiologically and psychologically, and demonstrate quantitative agreement between the model’s output and experimental subjective fatigue-related data. As well as subjective fatigue, the model is simultaneously able to reproduce adrenaline excretion and body temperature variations. In the final part of the thesis, the model is extended to include the orexinergic neurons of the lateral hypothalamic area. Due to the dynamics of the orexin group, the extended model exhibits sleep inertia, and an inhibitory circadian projection to the orexin group produces a postlunch dip in performance – both of which are well-known behavioral features. Including both homeostatic and circadian inputs to the orexin group, the model produces a waking arousal variation that quantitatively matches published clinical data.

In this study, I examine how self-reported religiosity predicts political opinion toward abortion and gun control. In particular, I examine how self-reported religiosity relates to individuals' inconsistent attitudes on these two issues where liberal attitudes are held toward one issue, but conservative attitudes are held toward the other. Most commonly, these inconsistent attitudes are found among individuals who hold pro-life (conservative) and pro-gun control (liberal) views. Using data from the 2018 General Social Survey, I find that religiosity significantly predicts these inconsistent attitudes regarding abortion and gun control. This suggests that religious ethics regarding life and death can offer a partial explanation for inconsistent attitudes toward partisan issues.

Ulm, Univ., Diss., 2008.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2010. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 129-142). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Universiẗat, Diss., 1995--Paderborn.

Bachelor-Arbeit Univ. St. Gallen, 2007.

abstract: Coarsely grouped counts or frequencies are commonly used in the behavioral sciences. Grouped count and grouped frequency (GCGF) that are used as outcome variables often violate the assumptions of linear regression as well as models designed for categorical outcomes; there is no analytic model that is designed specifically to accommodate GCGF outcomes. The purpose of this dissertation was to compare the statistical performance of four regression models (linear regression, Poisson regression, ordinal logistic regression, and beta regression) that can be used when the outcome is a GCGF variable. A simulation study was used to determine the power, type I error, and confidence interval (CI) coverage rates for these models under different conditions. Mean structure, variance structure, effect size, continuous or binary predictor, and sample size were included in the factorial design. Mean structures reflected either a linear relationship or an exponential relationship between the predictor and the outcome. Variance structures reflected homoscedastic (as in linear regression), heteroscedastic (monotonically increasing) or heteroscedastic (increasing then decreasing) variance. Small to medium, large, and very large effect sizes were examined. Sample sizes were 100, 200, 500, and 1000. Results of the simulation study showed that ordinal logistic regression produced type I error, statistical power, and CI coverage rates that were consistently within acceptable limits. Linear regression produced type I error and statistical power that were within acceptable limits, but CI coverage was too low for several conditions important to the analysis of counts and frequencies. Poisson regression and beta regression displayed inflated type I error, low statistical power, and low CI coverage rates for nearly all conditions. All models produced unbiased estimates of the regression coefficient. Based on the statistical performance of the four models, ordinal logistic regression seems to be the preferred method for analyzing GCGF outcomes. Linear regression also performed well, but CI coverage was too low for conditions with an exponential mean structure and/or heteroscedastic variance. Some aspects of model prediction, such as model fit, were not assessed here; more research is necessary to determine which statistical model best captures the unique properties of GCGF outcomes. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Psychology 2012