Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Agricultural Economics / Nathan P. Hendricks / Price changes affect the profitability of agricultural land use at the intensive margin (i.e. crop choice) and the extensive margin (i.e. land devoted to crop production). Understanding how prices impact localized land use decisions is important for predicting how production and its allocation across producers change with prices. Due to its wide expanse and diverse geography, the productivity US land differs across space and uses. Understanding the drivers of land use decisions while accounting for such diversity is essential for accurately modeling supply response at the regional and national level. This dissertation contains two studies that provide insight into how price changes impact land use decisions at the extensive and intensive margins. In the first chapter examine the corn supply-price relationship in the United States. I perform this analysis using field-level data across the contiguous US (CONUS). This study is unique in that it incorporates micro-level data from over 3 million fields to estimate region-specific supply response and then aggregates results to the national level. The dataset used in this study is nearly comprehensive, representing field-level decisions across fields that accounted for over 88% of national corn production between 2009 and 2016. The findings from this study illustrate the importance of incorporating heterogeneity in supply response models. Supply response to price differed substantially across regions with high supply sensitivity in the north-central US and Mississippi River Delta, moderate sensitivity in Corn Belt states, andlow sensitivity in the western and Gulf Coast states. The relative importance of corn production in the in the Corn Belt states of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Nebraska meant that it was far less sensitive and, in the long-run, more stable to price changes than national corn supply as a whole. Including heterogeneity in supply response also provided policy relevant context to supply response studies. Overall supply response was negatively correlated with area yields. This meant that price changes have a larger effect on planted corn acres and a smaller effect quantity of corn itself. In the last chapter I examine the impact that ethanol plant capacity has on local land use at the extensive margin. The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has been one of the most influential agricultural policies in the past 20 years, increasing general US crop prices by over 20% and inducing a substantial in US ethanol production capacity (Carter et al., 2016; Roberts and Schlenker, 2013). Its effect on cropland extensification was a concern before it was passed since the policy includes a stipulation forbidding ethanol production on cropland converted after 2007. Lands at the extensive margin tend to be less productive and more environmentally sensitive. Extensive transitions also tend to be less frequent than transitory breaks in crop rotations making their impacts longer-lasting. The goal of this final analysis is to isolate the impact of ethanol expansion on cropland transitions from the general price changes. The concurrent increase in general crop prices and ethanol construction from the RFS complicates the estimation of plants’ effects. I isolate these effects using difference- in-differences (DID) which removes impact from common price trends between the treatment and control group. The standard DID approach results show significant pre-treatment effects stemming from non-random ethanol plant construction. Treatment is likely non-random since ethanol plants lo- cate in areas that provide better returns. Factors that impact the returns to plants confound the analysis since they likely also impact cropland transition decisions. To address this, I use propensity score matching to ensure these confounding factors are identically distributed between the treatment and control groups. Under the matched DID models, the expansion of ethanol plants tended to increase cropland retainment and reduce lands transitioning from non-cropland to cropland. While these results seem contradictory, they are consistent with the findings in recent literature. These impacts are thought to arise due to higher program retention in the major US cropland retirement program CRP due to changes that disproportionately impacted major ethanol production areas.

This thesis explores the idea of the ‘railway family’ in the British railwayindustry between 1900 and 1948. The ‘railway family’ was borne out of a desire tocreate an ‘imagined community’ of railway workers across the wide geographicalboundaries of individual railway companies and the local branches of national tradeunions. The thesis seeks to understand how railway companies and trade unionsmanaged and extended the idea, particularly through their magazines and newspapers,in order to cultivate loyalty and support amongst their employees or members andtheir families. Despite being a male-dominated industry, the idea of the ‘railway family’opened up avenues of participation for women within the railway industry, mostespecially through the women’s trade union auxiliaries. These auxiliaries were open tothe wives and daughters of railway trade unionists and created a space for theseindividuals to cultivate their own identity as part of the railway industry and as women,wives and mothers through fundraising for trade union causes, supporting the unionduring labour unrest and campaigning on political issues that affected the ‘railwayfamily’. The idea of the ‘railway family’ was not just a theoretical model but was livedin practice by railwaymen and their families within their local communities. Thecreation of occupational communities and the ways in which the ‘railway family’supported one another without the interference of railway companies and tradeunions will be explored through a case study of Gloucester. This thesis is the firstoccasion that the idea of the ‘railway family’ has been studied, both in theory and in practice, in order to understand how railway companies and trade unions interactedwith railway workers and their families and how these individuals utilised the idea tocreate a lasting support network for all those involved with the railway industry.

abstract: Officials employed in the criminal justice system have a duty to serve, protect, and uphold the law. Nevertheless, previous research has found problematic drinking and illegal substance use exists among criminal justice system employees. Criminal justice employees may be more likely to use substances due to strains or due to increased access to drug. On the other hand, self-selection and screening processes may result in a pool of employees who fewer substances than the general population. Using waves 1 through 17 of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, the current research examines substance use patterns of criminal justice system employees, assessing how their rate of substance use compares to a nationally representative sample, and how their substance use changes once employed with the criminal justice system, this research surveys the alcohol and illicit drug use of people who went on to work in the criminal justice system and how their substance use compares to the general population. In addition, this research compares police officer substance use to the general population. When compared to a nationally represented sample, criminal justice system employees consistently use illegal substances at lower rates. However, the prevalence of alcohol use among police officers specifically is higher when compared to the general population and increases once employed with the criminal justice system. Information from this research can be used to help agencies with employee selection procedures and employee assistance programs for current employees. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Criminology and Criminal Justice 2019

Yes

Abstract not available

<p>Benzodiazepines are drugs used to treat insomnia and anxiety. This group of drugs should be prescribed with the duty of care to the elderly because of it´s negative effects. Life expectancy is increasing because of the progress of drug development. Aging brings physical and psychological changes leading to changes in pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic features. Drug treatment is becoming increasingly widespread and contributes to the increasing number of interactions and complications for the elderly. The aim of the study was to illuminate the consequences of long-term use of benzodiazepines in the elderly. The study was conducted as a literature review based on 14 scientific articles that were analyzed. The result showed that the theme benzodiazepine use among the elderly could be divided into three categories; consequences out of long-term use, benzodiazepine users experiences and the nursing perspective. The category of impact out of long-term use of benzodiazepines revealed three sub-categories: physical consequences, psychological consequences and social consequences. Information and education to the elderly patients is important to make the elderly aware of the negative effects that may arise out of a long-term use of benzodiazepines. It is essential that nurses already in their basic education acquire more knowledge about benzodiazepine use among elderly in order to address these problems in the nursing care.</p>

<p>How is research and science being used in political debate? An idea analysis of the debate about försäkringsmedicinskt beslutsstöd (decision tool in healthcare security)</p><p>This is a case study on different types of research use (utilization) The aim of this paper is to examine how the politicians make use of expertise and research in the parliamentary debate surrounding the decision tool in healthcare security (försäkringsmedicinskt beslutsstöd). The aim is also to find out to what extent different types of research use are present in this debate. In this case study the qualitative method of idea analysis is being used on the empirical material. The tool of analysis is based upon the theories of research use by Amara et al. (building on Beyer) and Carol Weiss. My conclusion is that the most common type of research use in this debate is the symbolic, followed by the conceptual type. The instrumental type of research use is the least frequent one in this debate.</p>

While the general link between adolescent maltreatment and adolescent substance abuse is well established, questions remain regarding factors that may explain variability in the strength of this link. This study examines whether the link between maltreatment and substance abuse varies across three categories of maltreatment: physical, sexual and emotional. It also examines gender differences and timing of abuse (past or current). This study also examines the level of parental monitoring and what effect parental monitoring has on maltreated adolescents and their use of substances. Survey data were collected from six public schools in a rural Southwestern Oregon County on experience of maltreatment (emotional, physical and sexual) and use of substances (tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs), gender differences and level of parental monitoring. Data were analyzed using t-tests and regression models. Results indicated that youth who currently experienced emotional, physical or sexual abuse were significantly more likely to use tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs than were youth who had experienced abuse in the past. They also indicated a significant interaction between gender and physical abuse, sexual abuse and emotional abuse (past and present combined) in predicting illicit drug use with males using illicit drugs at a significantly higher rate than females. As predicted, a significant interaction was found between parental monitoring and maltreatment/no maltreatment in predicting drug use. Maltreated youth with low levels of parental monitoring were significantly more likely to have high levels of substance use than were maltreated youth with high levels of parental monitoring. These results give rise to the need for further research into this subject to aid counselors in helping youth, especially male youth, in substance abuse treatment. Results of this study suggest a need for substance abuse treatment counselors to educate the parents of the treatment clients to closely monitor their adolescent as a possible means of reducing substance abuse. / Graduation date: 2002

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1984. / Vita. Bibliography: leaves [439]-460.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-83). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center.