Thesis (Ph.D.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 142-151). Also available in electronic version.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 108 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 105-108).

Class of 2013 Abstract / Specific Aims: The objective of this study was to compare the use of amikacin 1 year before the national drug shortage and 1 year during drug shortage in order to evaluate the impact of the drug shortage on prescribing amikacin at an academic medical center. Methods: All patients admitted to an academic medical center between January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008 before the shortage and January 1, 2011 to December 1, 2011 during the shortage who were prescribed amikacin were evaluated. Data collected included demographic information, type of infection, aminoglycoside therapy prescribed, laboratory data, culture and susceptibility data, therapy outcomes, and potential complications of aminoglycoside therapy. Appropriateness of amikacin therapy was based on each subject’s clinical condition, culture and susceptibility results, and availability of an alternative antibiotic agent. The use of amikacin was considered inappropriate in subjects with Gram-negative organisms that had either tobramycin or gentamicin minimum inhibitory concentrations of less than or equal to 2 mcg/mL. Main Results: A total of 11 subjects in 2008 and 17 subjects in 2011 who were prescribed amikacin were evaluated. The median and range duration of amikacin therapy was 2.2 days and 0-17 days in 2008. In 2011, the median and range duration of amikacin therapy was 4.6 days and 0-38 days. In 2008 and 2011, 27% and 47% were subjects with cystic fibrosis and/or a history of solid organ transplant, respectively. In 2008 73% of amikacin orders were classified as appropriate while 59% of amikacin orders were classified as appropriate in 2011. Ototoxicity was reported in one subject who received amikacin in both 2008 and 2011. Conclusion: Despite restrictions for ordering amikacin implemented during a nationwide shortage, the percentage of appropriate orders for amikacin was lower during the shortage compared to before the shortage at an academic medical center.

A survey of related literature showed that, although many educational researchers have stressed the importance of idioms in the English language, very few experimental studies have been carried out to ascertain the role played by idioms in the reading process. The author conducted a study to determine whether idioms cause difficulty for children in the reading and understanding of prose. A pilot study was performed to facilitate the selection of test items and to establish testing procedures. The experimental study consisted of four randomly chosen groups in each of two schools. Randomly assigned children in each group were given one of the four reading tests as follows: Non Literal 1 (N.L. 1), which contained idioms in all eighteen test items; Non Literal 2 (N.L. 2), which contained idioms in twelve of the eighteen test items; Non Literal 3 (N.L. 3), which contained idioms in six of the eighteen test items; Literal, which did not contain idioms in any of the eighteen test items. The children read their assigned test and answered comprehension questions by selecting one of the four multiple choice alternatives for each test item. The following statistical results were obtained: the treatment effect was highly significant; the means increased steadily, with the highest scores associated with the Literal test and the lowest scores associated with Non Literal 1 test. There was no significant difference between the performance of girls and boys in the tests; there was no linear or curvilinear interaction with I.Q. and treatment, nor was there a sex by treatment interaction. An analysis of the four treatment groups showed that there were significant differences between the means of all groups except Non Literal 1 and Non Literal 2, the two groups containing the greatest number of idioms in the test items. The results of the study raised several implications which necessitate further research. Several questions are concerned with the incidence and type of idiomatic language used in books and the best method of teaching idioms to school children. Another raises the possibility of having to allow for idioms when compiling readability formulae. A further implication is that there may be a need for strictly literal reading materials which would serve as a transitional link between the multiplicity of dialects existing in society today, and the need to read and understand written Standard English. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

M.A. / The goal of the present study was to investigate the relationship between personality traits, attitudes towards the Internet, and Internet use. This study was regarded as important because the Internet is increasingly becoming an important part of everyday life, and is changing society as we know it. 224 third year psychology students participated in the study. The existing literature indicated that the personality traits of Extraversion and Openness to Experience were likely to influence Internet use. Attitudes could also be expected to influence volitional behaviour, such as voluntary Internet use. Other research has also found exposure to be positively related to attitudes. A self-constructed questionnaire collected information relating to computer and Internet use, as well as attitudes towards the Internet. A short personality measure, namely the Saucier (1994) 40-ltem Mini-marker set, was used to measure the personality traits of participants. Examination of the results obtained through correlational and multiple regression techniques supported the existing theory. The personality traits of Extraversion and Openness to Experience were found to predict Internet use in certain situations, with Openness emerging as particularly important in understanding computer and Internet use. Attitudes formed by exposure to the Internet, as measured by the self-constructed Internet exposure scale, was found to correlate positively with time spent on the Internet. The study support previous studies which found that the personality traits of Extraversion and Openness influence media use, and suggest that this influence is also present in relation to Internet use. It also supported the theory that a positive relationship exists between attitudes towards the Internet, specifically attitudes formed by exposure, and frequency of Internet use.

Two computational models, including several calculation and analysis submodels, were developed to create a tool for assessing the impact of different treated wastewater reuse options on irrigated agriculture. The models consider various aspects of treated wastewater availability (past, present, and future), wastewater quality, agricultural water demand, and the economics of conveying wastewater from treatment plants to farms. The two models were implemented using Visual BASIC.NET in a GIS environment to facilitate visualization of some of the features of an area under study, and to provide a convenient interface for user application. One of the models is for treated wastewater availability calculations, and the other is for wastewater reuse. The water availability model has sub-models including urban population predictions, agricultural land use changes, residential water demand, agricultural water demand (evapotranspiration) for over 40 crop types, and treated wastewater analysis. The water reuse model is composed of three sub-models, including soil water and salt balance calculations, nutrient calculations, and pumping and conveyance costs calculations. The nutrient calculationssub-model is based on an existing model, but was completely rewritten and modified in some parts to accommodate the needs and features of the water reuse model presented herein. A sample application of the models is presented for Cache Valley, Utah. The results show a comparison of treated wastewater reuse schemes for the study area, highlighting how irrigated agriculture would best benefit from the total or partial use of treated wastewater. Two wastewater reuse scenarios were considered. The water availability model shows good agreement with other sources of information in terms of population forecast and calculation of future residential and agricultural water demand. However, according to the results from the model, the rate of increase of the urban area was much higher than the rate of decrease of the agricultural areas between the years 1992 and 2001.The future population growth and water demand increases for urban areas was calculated and validated for Logan City. Also, in the case study the model was shown to be a good tool for wastewater influent analysis for Logan City.

Faculty of Science School of Animal,Plant and Enviromental Studies 0204322k thibbitts@tamu.edu / I investigated three mechanisms (endurance rivalry, contest competition, and mate choice) of sexual selection and the influence of multiple signals on intrasexual and intersexual encounters in the common barking gecko (Ptenopus garrulus). Aspects of the ecology of barking geckos were also studied to facilitate the investigation of sexual selection. Barking geckos exhibited sexual size dimorphism in relation to head size, with males having wider heads. No differences in diet or size of prey ingested were observed between the sexes, indicating that niche divergence was not occurring. Therefore, the difference in head width was best explained by sexual selection (male contest competition). Barking gecko diet was dominated by termites by number and volume. The peak reproductive season was in October for both sexes. I used activity patterns to determine if males emerged before females from winter dormancy, a key assumption of the protandry-based mating system model. Activity patterns were significantly different between males and females. Males were active in higher numbers early in the breeding season. Male and female activity patterns along with evidence that male territories were established before female emergence, testicular recrudescence likely coincides with male emergence, and larger males have larger territories and better reproductive success, suggest that barking geckos have a protandry-based polygynous mating system. I also tested for clustering of geckos on the landscape to determine if barking geckos lek. Clustering was found to occur in some instances, but barking geckos did not iii meet the criteria for a ‘classical’ lek species because males use calling sites containing resources (a burrow) that are also used by females. Lizards frequently rely on chemical cues to detect the presence of a conspecific. Male lizards in particular, may chemically sample potential refuges to avoid rivals. Barking geckos were equally likely to use an artificial refuge scented by another male compared to a control, indicating that males do not use scent when selecting refuges. I assessed the role of two signals, one acoustic (dominant call frequency) and one visual (yellow throat patch), in advertising residency and aggressive behavior in barking geckos. Larger males defended the largest home ranges and home ranges were maintained through calling, which is negatively correlated with body size. Body size also predicted some behavioural responses to field-playback trials. Small males retreated from the playback and large males were found to be aggressive towards the playback. Small relative throat patch size was also correlated with aggression and charging the playback. Finally, call frequency was correlated with the behaviour of charging the playback. I suggest that the frequencies of barking gecko calls constitute a long-range signal of body size, used by males for remote rival assessment and to advertise home range boundaries. I also assessed the role of multiple signals (acoustic and visual) in reproductive success and I studied the effect of one mechanism of sexual selection, endurance iv rivalry, on reproductive success. Activity levels were similar for males which bred compared to those that did not breed, suggesting that endurance rivalry is not a significant mechanism of sexual selection in this population. Body size was the best predictor of reproductive success, suggesting that call frequency functions as a long range signal of body size used by females to assess potential mates.

Entwicklung und Test eines Prototypen nach den Maßstäben des Usage Centered Desings (nach Constantine und Lockwood). Der Prototyp beschäftigt sich mit der Organisation / Planung von Schulungen im Kontext geflüchteter Menschen in den Ländern Südsudan und Uganda und verfolgt dabei den mobile first Ansatz. Augenmerk wird auf die Gestalung einer benutzungsoptmierten Applikation in einem kulturell fremden Kontext gelegt.:I. Einleitung A. Krieg im Südsudan und dessen Auswirkungen B. #ASKnet 1. Ziel 2. Mitglieder und Organisation C. ASKtraining II. Usage-Centered Design A. User groups B. Interviews C. Role Modeling 1. User Role 2. Focal Roles 3. User Role Map D. Task Modeling 1. Personas 2. Scenarios 3. Conventional Use Cases 4. Essential Use Cases 5. Use Case Map 6. Focal Use Case E. Interface Contents and Navigation 1. Interaction Context 2. Tools and Materials 3. Context Navigation Map 4. Funktionsumfang und Prinzipien III. Visual Design A. Sketching B. Interaktiver Prototyp 1. Design 2. Prototyping 3. Icons IV. Tests und Evaluation A. Usability Test 1. Planung des Tests 2. Ausführung des Tests B. Evaluation V. Perspektive VI. Reflexion VII. Danksagung VIII.Literaturverzeichnis IX. Abbildungsverzeichnis X. Anhang A. Fragenkatalog Interviews - erste Runde B. Zusammenfassung Interviews - erste Runde C. Fragenkatalog Interviews - zweite Runde D. Services provided by Application E. Role Model F. Personas G. Scenarios H. Conventional Use Cases I. Essential Use Cases J. Use Case Map K. Interaction Context L. Tools and Materials M. Context Navigation Map N. Sketches O. Interaktiver Prototyp P. Usability Test - Vorbereitung Q. Usability Test - Aufgaben R. Usability Test - Proband:innen S. Usability Test - Evaluation: Tabelle T. Usability Test - Evaluation: Bericht

<p>  </p> <p>Irrigation water is crucial for agricultural production and farmers’ livelihoods in many regions of the world. Water scarcity, however, due in part to extended droughts and groundwater depletion, is putting ever-increasing pressure on regulatory agencies to implement water conservation policies, possibly hampering farmers’ livelihoods and food supply. It is therefore imperative to implement policies that allocate scarce water resources in the most efficient way, while allowing water buyers and sellers to benefit from trading. In this dissertation, I study the design of water policies that are in use for agricultural water management in many dry regions: markets, quotas, and water pricing. A key distinction among them is that water markets constitute a decentralized allocation mechanism, while the other policies are centralized. </p> <p>In my first two essays, I compare two prominent market designs, namely once-a-year trading (i.e., non-recursive design) and year-round trading (i.e., recursive design). I examine the effect of these competing market designs on efficiency and distributional outcomes. I do so by accounting for two unique characteristics of irrigation water markets: 1) farmers differ in the marginal valuation of water, and 2) water is thinly traded. In my first essay, I theoretically develop a 3-seller and 3-buyer trading model and show that a recursive design can hinder efficiency when traders differ substantially in their water valuations. This is because sellers greatly increase markups, which strengthens trading frictions. </p> <p>Theoretical predictions from essay 1 rest on rather strong behavioral assumptions – sellers and buyers are able to identify and play a rather complicated subgame perfect Nash equilibrium. But human subjects may deviate from these due to many reasons, including bounded rationality and off-equilibrium beliefs, among others. In my second essay, I conduct a laboratory experiment with human subjects to examine the extent to which they follow theoretical predictions, and the effects of their behavior on the relative performance of competing market designs. Experimental evidence shows that subjects do deviate from predicted equilibrium, particularly when agents are highly heterogeneous. As a result, I find that some of my theoretical predictions are reversed in the laboratory. In particular, the recursive design outperforms the non-recursive design because experimental agents behave much more competitively under the recursive design than predicted by my subgame perfect Nash equilibrium.</p> <p>In my third essay, I empirically compare the performance of quantity and price policies, as well as a hybrid to conserve water, using observational data from Mexican farmers. A fixed cap (the policy chosen by Mexican regulators) effectively limits water consumption, but the rigidity of the cap results in substantial welfare losses due to volatile weather patterns that induce drastic fluctuations in water demand. Consequently, I study two counterfactual policies, a price policy and a hybrid that combines quantity and price policies. I find that the hybrid policy performs very well relative to its pure counterparts because it provides an intermediate level of flexibility in water consumption, preventing large losses under anomalous weather. </p>

A thesis based around saving response time costs as well as respecting electrical costs of a homogenous multi-server system. / In this thesis we consider the impacts of energy costs as they relate to Size Interval Task Assignment Equally--loaded (SITA-E) systems. We find that given systems which have small and large jobs being processed (high variance systems) we could in some cases find savings in terms of energy costs and in terms of lowering the mean response times of the system. How we achieve this is by first working from SITA-E, wherein servers are always on to Electrically Aware SITA-E (EA-SITA-E) by seeing if it is beneficial to make any of our servers rotate between being on and being off as needed. When most beneficial to do so we will turn off some of the servers in question, after this is completed we reallocate some of the jobs that are on the servers that we decide will be cycling to servers that will remain on indefinitely to better use their idle time. This also lowers the mean response time below what we originally saw with SITA-E, by lowering the variance in the sizes of jobs seen by the servers with the longest jobs. These long--job servers are by far the most impacted by the variance of the sizes of the jobs, so it is very desirable to lower this variance. The algorithm contained here can provide benefits in terms of both energy costs and mean response time under some specific conditions. Later we discuss the effect of errors in our assumed knowledge of task sizes. This research contributes methodology that may be used to expand on EA-SITA-E system design and analysis in the future. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / The intention of this research is to be able to improve on existing size interval task-based assignment policies. We try to improve by turning servers off at key times to save energy costs, while not sacrificing too greatly in terms of mean response time of the servers, and in some cases even improving the mean response time through an intelligent re-balancing of the server loads.