Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Social sciences – Graphic methods'
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Leander, Aggeborn Noah, and Kristian Norgren. "An Empirical Study of Students’ Performance at Assessing Normality of Data Through Graphical Methods." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Statistiska institutionen, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-385507.
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When applying statistical methods for analyzing data, with normality as an assumption there are different procedures of determining if a sample is drawn from a normally distributed population. Because normality is such a central assumption, the reliability of the procedures is of most importance. Much research focus on how good formal tests of normality are, while the performance of statisticians when using graphical methods are far less examined. Therefore, the aim of the study was to empirically examine how good students in statistics are at assessing if samples are drawn from normally distributed populations through graphical methods, done by a web survey. The results of the study indicate that the students distinctly get better at accurately determining normality in data drawn from a normally distributed population when the sample size increases. Further, the students are very good at accurately rejecting normality of data when the sample is drawn from a symmetrical non-normal population and fairly good when the sample is drawn from an asymmetrical distribution. In comparison to some common formal tests of normality, the students' performance is superior at accurately rejecting normality for small sample sizes and inferior for large, when drawn from a non-normal population.
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Vandevort, Jeanine M. "Graphic print in selected elementary social studies textbooks /." abstract and full text PDF (free order & download UNR users only), 2007. http://0-gateway.proquest.com.innopac.library.unr.edu/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3276954.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2007."May, 2007." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 219-254). Online version available on the World Wide Web. Library also has microfilm. Ann Arbor, Mich. : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [2007]. 1 microfilm reel ; 35 mm.
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Balchak, Stefanie Wrae. "The geo-spatial analysis and environmental factors of narcotics hot spots." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2005. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/2936.
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A mixed methodological approach with two different analytic procedures and multiple data sources was used to examine narcotics hot spots. The first phase compares two methods of hot spots identification; the prediction model and the actual crimes. The second phase involves an intensive study to better understand the phenomenon of drug hot spots areas consistently shown to be repeat hot spots.
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Zwolski, Alexander. "How can graphic design contribute to a better social affinity at the gym?" Thesis, Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS), 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-22764.
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Svenskar lägger årligen tiotals miljoner kronor på gymkort för ett medlemskap som aldrig används. Min hypotes är att det handlar om motivationen med en avgränsning inom välkomnandet samt omhändertagandet för hur man som nybörjare bemöts på gymmen av de som redan är där. En undersökning genomfördes via intervjuer av både medlemmar, anställda samt chefer hos gymkedjorna Friskis och Svettis samt Fitness 24 Seven i Malmö. Komplement till undersökningen kom genom en kartläggning av gymkedjornas anläggningar för att se hur reklam och annan information faktiskt syntes utifrån en medlems perspektiv. En konkurrentanalys av liknande mobilapplikationer genomfördes också. Analysen av materialet resulterade i specifika värdeord med kompletterande fakta vilket blev min röda tråd. Värdeord som Community, Social samhörighet och Gemenskap var ord som präglade mina intervjuer från undersökningen och som blev designprojektets grund. Baserat på denna information designade jag en mobilapplikation vid namn Socify vars syfte är att lösa de sociala problemen som många nybörjare känner och samtidigt knyta samman det med de praktiska och teoretiska kunskapsbristerna som nybörjare oftast besitter.Swedes spend annually tens of million crowns on gym memberships that are never used. My hypothesis is that it’s about motivation with a demarcation within the welcome and care for how beginners gets treated in the gyms by other members. A survey was conducted through interviews with both members, employees and managers from two gym chains, Friskis och Svettis and Fitness 24 Seven in Malmo, Sweden. A complementary to the survey came through a survey of the gym chains facilities to see how the advertising and other information was perceived by the members. A competitive analysis of similar mobile applications was also conducted. The analysis of the material resulted in specific core values including some additional facts which became my silver thread. Core values such as Community, Social affinity and Fellowship became words that characterized my interviews from the survey and later becoming the foundation for the design project. Based on this information, I designed a mobile application called Socify whose purpose is to solve the social problems that many beginners feel while linking it with the practical and theoretical knowledge gaps that beginners usually possess.
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van, Romondt Vis Pauline. "Changing social scientific research practices : negotiating creative methods." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2016. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/22639.
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In recent decades social scientists have started to use qualitative creative methods1 more and more, because of epistemological and methodological developments on the one hand and demands of innovation by governmental funding agencies on the other. In my thesis I look at the research practices of social scientists who use these qualitative creative methods and answer the following main research question: How are practices and approaches from the arts (specifically visual lens-based arts, poetry, performance and narrative) negotiated in social scientific research practice? This question has been divided into the following three sub-questions: 1) How do social scientists negotiate the use of creative methods with other members of their research community? 2) How do social scientists negotiate the use of creative methods into their own research practices? 3) And how do creative methods emerge in the process? Using Lave and Wenger's approach to communities of practice (1991; Wenger, 1998) and Ingold and Hallam's (2007) conceptualisation of improvisation for my theoretical framework, I look at these practices as constantly emerging and changing, but at the same time determined by those same practices. Based on ongoing conversations with postgraduate research students, interviews with experienced researchers, participant observation at conferences and videos of my participants' presentations, I conclude that the use of creative methods is always embedded within existing research practices. When this is not the case, either participants themselves or other academics experience the creative methods as problematic or even as non-academic. In those cases boundarywork (the in- and exclusion of what is deemed academic) is performed more fiercely, making it difficult, if not impossible for creative methods to be truly innovative in the sense that it means a break with previous practices. Instead, we see small shifts in participants' academic practices and how creative methods are taken up in these practices. This means improvisation is a more apt term to describe how creative methods are making their way into social scientific research practices/into the social sciences. As such this conclusion has consequences for the way we think about learning methods, the production of knowledge, innovative methods and (inter)disciplinarity.
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Cheng, Tzung-Yu. "The effects of graphic organizers on the comprehension and retention of Chinese sixth-grade readers in social studies classrooms." Virtual Press, 1993. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/897466.
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The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of using graphic organizers during prereading, reading, and postreading positions of the comprehension and retention of Chinese sixth-grade students who were identified as below-average or above-average readers. Chinese sixth graders from one school were first administered The Michigan Chinese Reading Test to identify reading level. Subjects were then assigned to one of the four treatment groups: traditional Chinese social studies method, graphic preorganizers, graphic organizers as a reading guide, and graphic post organizers.Two practice passages were first used to familiarize the subjects with how graphic organizers were utilized in instruction before reading on experimental passage. The dependent measure, 45 multiple-choice questions based on the experimental passage, was administered twice: the next day after the instructional sessions were concluded and again seven days later.The principal analysis to test the three null hypotheses was a 2 x 4 x 2 ANOVA with repeated measures on the last factor corresponding to the two administrations of the test. Two follow-up analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were used to test for differences in treatment condition sepa-rately for above-average readers and below-average readers, using the average of the immediate and the seven-day delayed tests. One Scheffe test was applied to find the location of significant differences among the four treatment conditions for above-average readers. Finally, four follow-up t-tests were used to test for differences in reading level at each of the four treatment levels.Three conclusions were drawn from the statistical analyses of the data: 1) graphic organizers had a significant effect on comprehension and retention only when above-average readers were required to process the organizers during reading; 2) graphic organizers did not produce significantly better comprehension and recall performance of below-average readers; and 3) the effect of graphic organizers was equal to that of the traditional Chinese social studies method in maintaining comprehension and recall for both above-average readers and below-average readers over a one-week delay.Department of Elementary Education
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Yu, Jingyuan. "Discovering Twitter through Computational Social Science Methods." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/671609.
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Visibilitzant la vida quotidiana de la gent, Twitter s'ha convertit en una de les plataformes d'intercanvi d'informació més importants i ha atret ràpidament l'atenció dels científics. Investigadors de tot el món s'han centrat en les ciències socials i en els estudis d'Internet amb dades de Twitter com a mostra del món real, i en l'última dècada s'han dissenyat nombroses eines d'anàlisis i algorismes. La present tesi doctoral consta de tres recerques, en primer lloc, donats els 14 anys (fins a 2020) d'història des de la fundació de Twitter, hem assistit a una explosió de publicacions científiques relacionades, però el panorama actual de la recerca en aquesta plataforma de mitjans socials continuava sent desconegut. Per a omplir aquest buit de recerca, vam fer una anàlisi bibliomètrica dels estudis relacionats amb Twitter per a analitzar com van evolucionar els estudis de Twitter al llarg del temps, i per a proporcionar una descripció general de l'entorn acadèmic de recerca de Twitter des d'un nivell macro. En segon lloc, atès que hi ha moltes eines de programari analític que estan disponibles actualment per a la recerca en Twitter, una pregunta pràctica per als investigadors júnior és com triar el programari més apropiat per al seu propi projecte de recerca. Per a resoldre aquest problema, vam fer una revisió del programari per a alguns dels sistemes integrats que es consideren més rellevants per a la recerca en ciències socials. Atès que els investigadors júnior en ciències socials poden enfrontar-se a possibles limitacions financeres, vam reduir el nostre abast per a centrar-nos únicament en el programari gratuït i de baix cost. En tercer lloc, donada l'actual crisi de salut pública, hem observat que els mitjans de comunicació social són una de les fonts d'informació i notícies més accessibles per al públic. Durant una pandèmia, la forma en què s'emmarquen els problemes de salut i les malalties en la premsa influeix en la comprensió del públic sobre l'actual brot epidèmic i les seves actituds i comportaments. Per tant, decidim usar Twitter com una font de notícies de fàcil accés per a analitzar l'evolució dels marcs de notícies espanyols durant la pandèmia COVID-19. En general, les tres recerques s'han associat estretament amb l'aplicació de mètodes computacionals, incloent la recol·lecció de dades en línia, la mineria de textos, l'anàlisi de xarxes i la visualització de dades. Aquest projecte de doctorat ha mostrat com la gent estudia i utilitza Twitter des de tres nivells diferents: el nivell acadèmic, el nivell pràctic i el nivell empíric.Visibilizando la vida cotidiana de la gente, Twitter se ha convertido en una de las plataformas de intercambio de información más importantes y ha atraído rápidamente la atención de los científicos. Investigadores de todo el mundo se han centrado en las ciencias sociales y en los estudios de Internet con datos de Twitter como muestra del mundo real, y en la última década se han diseñado numerosas herramientas de análisis y algoritmos. La presente tesis doctoral consta de tres investigaciones, en primer lugar, dados los 14 años (hasta 2020) de historia desde la fundación de Twitter, hemos asistido a una explosión de publicaciones científicas relacionadas, pero el panorama actual de la investigación en esta plataforma de medios sociales seguía siendo desconocido. Para llenar este vacío de investigación, hicimos un análisis bibliométrico de los estudios relacionados con Twitter para analizar cómo evolucionaron los estudios de Twitter a lo largo del tiempo, y para proporcionar una descripción general del entorno académico de investigación de Twitter desde un nivel macro. En segundo lugar, dado que hay muchas herramientas de software analítico que están disponibles actualmente para la investigación en Twitter, una pregunta práctica para los investigadores junior es cómo elegir el software más apropiado para su propio proyecto de investigación. Para resolver este problema, hicimos una revisión del software para algunos de los sistemas integrados que se consideran más relevantes para la investigación en ciencias sociales. Dado que los investigadores junior en ciencias sociales pueden enfrentarse a posibles limitaciones financieras, redujimos nuestro alcance para centrarnos únicamente en el software gratuito y de bajo coste. En tercer lugar, dada la actual crisis de salud pública, hemos observado que los medios de comunicación social son una de las fuentes de información y noticias más accesibles para el público. Durante una pandemia, la forma en que se enmarcan los problemas de salud y las enfermedades en la prensa influye en la comprensión del público sobre el actual brote epidémico y sus actitudes y comportamientos. Por lo tanto, decidimos usar Twitter como una fuente de noticias de fácil acceso para analizar la evolución de los marcos de noticias españoles durante la pandemia COVID-19. En general, las tres investigaciones se han asociado estrechamente con la aplicación de métodos computacionales, incluyendo la recolección de datos en línea, la minería de textos, el análisis de redes y la visualización de datos. Este proyecto de doctorado ha mostrado cómo la gente estudia y utiliza Twitter desde tres niveles diferentes: el nivel académico, el nivel práctico y el nivel empírico.
As Twitter has covered up people’s daily life, it has became one of the most important information exchange platforms, and quickly attracted scientists’ attention. Researchers around the world have highly focused on social science and internet studies with Twitter data as a real world sample, and numerous analytics tools and algorithms have been designed in the last decade. The present doctoral thesis consists of three researches, first, given the 14 years (until 2020) of history since the foundation of Twitter, an explosion of related scientific publications have been witnessed, but the current research landscape on this social media platform remained unknown, to fill this research gap, we did a bibliometric analysis on Twitter-related studies to analyze how the Twitter studies evolved over time, and to provide a general description of the Twitter research academic environment from a macro level. Second, since there are many analytic software tools that are currently available for Twitter research, a practical question for junior researchers is how to choose the most appropriate software for their own research project, to solve this problem, we did a software review for some of the integrated frameworks that are considered most relevant for social science research, given that junior social science researchers may face possible financial constraints, we narrowed our scope to solely focus on the free and low-cost software. Third, given the current public health crisis, we have noticed that social media are one of the most accessed information and news sources for the public. During a pandemic, how health issues and diseases are framed in the news release impacts public’s understanding of the current epidemic outbreak and their attitudes and behaviors. Hence, we decided to use Twitter as an easy-access news source to analyze the evolution of the Spanish news frames during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the three researches have closely associated with the application of computational methods, including online data collection, text mining, complex network and data visualization. And this doctoral project has discovered how people study and use Twitter from three different levels: the academic level, the practical level and the empirical level.
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Twyman, Todd. "Effects of a conceptually framed, problem/solution/effect graphic organizer on content comprehension and problem solving skills for seventh grade social studies students /." view abstract or download file of text, 2003. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/uoregon/fullcit?p3113030.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2003.Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-105). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.
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Hampton, Jennifer. "The nature of quantitative methods in A level sociology." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2018. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/118019/.
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British sociology has been characterised as suffering from a 'quantitative deficit' originating from a shift towards qualitative methods in the discipline in the 1960s. Over the years, this has inspired a number of initiatives aimed at improving number work within the discipline, of which the Q-step programme is the most recent. These initiatives, and the work that supports them, primarily concern themselves with the curricula, attitudes, and output of students and academics within Higher Education. As such, the role that the substantive A level plays in post-16 quantitative education has been largely ignored. This thesis addresses this apparent gap in the literature, providing a study of the curriculum, with a particular focus on the quantitative method element therein. The thesis takes a mixed-method approach to curriculum research, encompassing the historical as well as the current, and the written as well as the practiced. The analysis is presented in a synoptic manner, interweaving data from across the methods used, in an attempt to provide an integrated and holistic account of A level Sociology. An overarching theme of marginalisation becomes apparent; not least with the subject itself, but also with quantitative methods positioned as problematic within the research methods element of the curriculum, which is itself bound and limited. The high-stakes exam culture is shown to dominate the behaviour of both teachers and students, regardless of their attitudes and understanding of the relevancy and/or importance of quantitative methods in the subject. Taken together, these findings imply a potential problem for recruitment into quantitative sociology, whilst offering an avenue by which this might be addressed. Linked to the high-stakes performativity culture, a novel conceptualisation of teachers' understandings of the relationship between their role, the curriculum, the discipline, and notions of powerful knowledge is offered.
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NOVELLO, NOEMI. "The Quest for Integration in Mixed Methods Inquiry: A Research Synthesis on Mixed Methods Studies in Social Sciences." Doctoral thesis, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10281/241259.
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Nel campo dei mixed methods nella ricerca sociale, l’integrazione può seguire due possibili logiche generali: una prospettiva di complementarietà, secondo cui com binare strategie qualitative e quantitative sarebbe un tentativo di arricchimento informativo – per ottenere una comprensione più completa di un determinato fenomeno sociale – e una di convergenza, che pone l’attenzione sulla possibilità di superare il bias legato a singoli metodi, attraverso l’integrazione. Mentre il primo punto di vista sembra piuttosto aproblematico, sia da un punto di vista teorico che nell’implementazione empirica, la convergenza sembra porre maggiori sfide
metodologiche, soprattutto nell’elicitazione di “meta-inferenze”. Questa tesi di dottorato propone una sintesi di ricerca metodologica di studi che utilizzano un approccio mixed methods alla ricerca sociale. Le domande di ricerca sono relative alla concezione, implementazione e legittimazione epistemologica della questione dell’integrazione all’interno della comunità accademica degli studiosi che si avvalgono di mixed methods nella ricerca sociale. Varie strategie di analisi sono state utilizzate per rispondere agli obiettivi di ricerca: l’analisi automatica del contenuto di articoli pubblicati in riviste accademiche; l’analisi delle reti citazionali degli stessi paper; alcune interviste semistrutturate a esperti nel campo e la relativa analisi tematica, nell’ottica di un’esplorazione più approfondita del punto di vista delle/gli autrici/ori sull’integrazione, nonché come modalità di indagine delle tematiche legate all’epistemologia.Mixed methods studies in social inquiry may follow two main perspectives on integration: on the one hand, complementarity seeks an information enrichment, a fuller and more comprehensive picture on a social phenomenon; on the other hand, convergence focuses on the chance of overcoming single methods’ bias through mixing. While the first approach results rather unproblematic – both theoretically and empirically – convergence seems to pose additional challenges, especially in the elicitation of “meta-inferences”. This dissertation presents a methodological research synthesis of mixed methods studies in social inquiry. Research questions are related to understandings, implementation and epistemological legitimization of integration within the academic community of scholars applying mixed methods in social sciences. Diverse research strategies were implemented, in order to answer to research objectives: automated content analysis was performed on articles published in academic journals; citation network analysis was applied on references lists of the same papers; semi-structured interviews with experts and the related thematic analysis were helpful to address scholars’ points of view on integration, as well as a modality to explore paradigms and epistemological issues.
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Hanappi, Hardy, and Manuel Scholz-Wäckerle. "Evolutionary Political Economy: Content and Methods." Taylor & Francis Group, 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07360932.2017.1287748.
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In this paper we present the major theoretical and methodological pillars of evolutionary political economy. We proceed in four steps. Aesthetics: In chapter 1 the immediate appeal of evolutionary political economy as a specific scientific activity is described. Content: Chapter 2 explores the object of investigation of evolutionary political economy. Power: The third chapter develops the interplay between politics and economics. Methods: Chapter 4 focuses on the evolution of methods necessary for evolutionary political economy.
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Johansson, Erik. "Testing the Explanation Hypothesis using Experimental Methods." Thesis, Linköping University, Department of Computer and Information Science, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-57308.
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The Explanation Hypothesis is a psychological hypothesis about how people attribute moral responsibility. The hypothesis makes general claims about everyday thinking of moral responsibility and is also said to have important consequences for related philosophical issues. Since arguments in favor of the hypothesis are largely based on a number of intuitive cases, there is need to investigate whether it is supported by empirical evidence. In this study, the hypothesis was tested by means of quantitative experimental methods. The data were collected by conducting online surveys in which participants were introduced to a number of different scenarios. For each scenario, questions about moral responsibility were asked. Results provide general support for the Explanation Hypothesis and there are therefore more reasons to take its proposed consequences seriously.
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Amartey, Philomina. "A COMPARISON OF SOME ESTIMATION METHODS FOR HANDLING OMITTED VARIABLES : A SIMULATION STUDY." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Statistiska institutionen, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-412896.
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Omitted variable problem is a primary statistical challenge in various observational studies. Failure to control for the omitted variable bias in any regression analysis can alter the efficiency of results obtained. The purpose of this study is to compare the performance of four estimation methods (Proxy variable, Instrumental Variable, Fixed Effect, First Difference) in controlling the omitted variable problem when they are varying with time, constant over time and slightly varying with time. Results from the Monte Carlo study showed that, the prefect proxy variable estimator performed better than the other models under all three cases. The instrument Variable estimator performed better than the Fixed Effect and First Difference estimator except in the case when the omitted variable is constant over time. Also, the Fixed Effect performed better than First Difference estimator when the omitted variable is time-invariant and vice versa when the omitted is slightly varying with time.
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Loesch, III George F. "A Replication and Validation Study of Methods for Calculating Self-Conception Disparity." DigitalCommons@USU, 1993. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/2410.
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Self-esteem has been defined by James as a ratio of one's successes to one's pretensions. There are two formulas which have been utilized to calculate self-conception disparity. These formulas are the subtraction-absolute value formula and the ratio formula, which was derived from James. Stuart compared and contrasted these two formulas utilized to calculate self-conception disparity. THe purpose of this study was to replicate the work of Stuart, utilizing the same construct scales and statistical methodology, adding to the Moos Family Environment Scale, and taking into account the age and gender of the respondent. The results of this study indicate, as the two formulas are compared, there isa difference in the amount of variance accounted for when the age and gender of the subject are taken into consideration.
Two of the concerns that have been identified as a result of this study are 1) in relationship to the construct-related scales which were utilized int his study, are the two disparity formulas measuring the females and in each age group?; and 2) why did age and gender have such an impact on the amount of variance accounted for between the two formulas for calculating self-conception disparity?
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Geraci, Andrea. "Three essays in microeconometric methods and applications." Thesis, University of Essex, 2016. http://repository.essex.ac.uk/19599/.
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This thesis comprises three essays. The first two make use of individual-level data on British workers from the British Household Panel Survey to study different aspects of nonstandard employment. The first essay, co-authored with Mark Bryan, presents estimates of the implicit monetary value that workers attach to non-standard work. We employ and compare two alternative methods to measure workers’ willingness to pay for four non-standard working arrangements: flexitime, part-time, night work, and rotating shifts. The first method is based on job-to-job transitions within a job search framework, while the second is based on estimating the determinants of subjective well-being. We find that the results of the two methods differ, and relate them to conceptual differences between utility and subjective wellbeing proposed recently in the happiness literature. The second essay builds on economic theories of consumption and saving choices to investigate whether workers expect temporary work to be a stepping stone towards better jobs, or a source of uncertainty and insecurity. The evidence provided shows that temporary work entails both expected improvements in future earnings, and uncertainty. Households’ consumption and saving choices are used to assess which of these two effects is prevailing, providing an alternative empirical approach to measure the consequences of temporary work for workers’ welfare. The results suggest that a stepping stone effect towards better jobs is present and, more importantly, is perceived by individuals and internalized in their behaviour. Finally, the last essay has a specific focus on econometric methods. A Monte Carlo experiment is used to investigate the extent to with the Poisson RE estimator is likely to produce results similar to ones obtained using the Poisson FE estimator when the random effects assumption is violated. The first order conditions of the two estimators differ by a term that tends to zero when the number of time periods (T), or the variance of the time-constant unobserved heterogeneity (V), tend to infinity. Different data generating processes are employed to understand if this result is likely to apply in common panel data where both characteristics are finite. As expected, the bias of RE estimates decreases with T and V. However, the same does not hold for the estimated coefficient on the time invariant dummy variable embedded in the conditional mean, which remains substantially biased. This raises a note of caution for practitioners.
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Meskarian, Rudabeh. "Stochastic programming models and methods for portfolio optimization and risk management." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2012. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/347154/.
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This project is focused on stochastic models and methods and their application in portfolio optimization and risk management. In particular it involves development and analysis of novel numerical methods for solving these types of problem. First, we study new numerical methods for a general second order stochastic dominance model where the underlying functions are not necessarily linear. Specifically, we penalize the second order stochastic dominance constraints to the objective under Slater’s constraint qualification and then apply the well known stochastic approximation method and the level function methods to solve the penalized problem and present the corresponding convergence analysis. All methods are applied to some portfolio optimization problems, where the underlying functions are not necessarily linear all results suggests that the portfolio strategy generated by the second order stochastic dominance model outperform the strategy generated by the Markowitz model in a sense of having higher return and lower risk. Furthermore a nonlinear supply chain problem is considered, where the performance of the level function method is compared to the cutting plane method. The results suggests that the level function method is more efficient in a sense of having lower CPU time as well as being less sensitive to the problem size. This is followed by study of multivariate stochastic dominance constraints. We propose a penalization scheme for the multivariate stochastic dominance constraint and present the analysis regarding the Slater constraint qualification. The penalized problem is solved by the level function methods and a modified cutting plane method and compared to the cutting surface method proposed in [70] and the linearized method proposed in [4]. The convergence analysis regarding the proposed algorithms are presented. The proposed numerical schemes are applied to a generic budget allocation problem where it is shown that the proposed methods outperform the linearized method when the problem size is big. Moreover, a portfolio optimization problem is considered where it is shown that the a portfolio strategy generated by the multivariate second order stochastic dominance model outperform the portfolio strategy generated by the Markowitz model in sense of having higher return and lower risk. Also the performance of the algorithms is investigated with respect to the computation time and the problem size. It is shown that the level function method and the cutting plane method outperform the cutting surface method in a sense of both having lower CPU time as well as being less sensitive to the problem size. Finally, reward-risk analysis is studied as an alternative to stochastic dominance. Specifically, we study robust reward-risk ratio optimization. We propose two robust formulations, one based on mixture distribution, and the other based on the first order moment approach. We propose a sample average approximation formulation as well as a penalty scheme for the two robust formulations respectively and solve the latter with the level function method. The convergence analysis are presented and the proposed models are applied to Sortino ratio and some numerical test results are presented. The numerical results suggests that the robust formulation based on the first order moment results in the most conservative portfolio strategy compared to the mixture distribution model and the nominal model.
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Hwang, Heungsun 1969. "Structural equation modeling by extended redundancy analysis." Thesis, McGill University, 2000. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=36954.
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A new approach to structural equation modeling based on so-called extended redundancy analysis (ERA) is proposed. In ERA, latent variables are obtained as exact linear combinations of observed variables, and model parameters are estimated by consistently minimizing a single criterion. As a result, the method can avoid limitations of covariance structure analysis (e.g., stringent distributional assumptions, improper solutions, and factor score indeterminacy) in addition to those of partial least squares (e.g., the lack of a global optimization procedure). The method is simple yet versatile enough to fit more complex models; e.g., those with higher-order latent variables and direct effects of observed variables. It can also fit a model to more than one sample simultaneously. Other relevant topics are also discussed, including data transformations, missing data, metric matrices, robust estimation, and efficient estimation. Examples are given to illustrate the proposed method.
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Vasquez, Isaac. "Reklam och konsument: En studie om emotionell och etisk marknadsföring inom kläd-varumärkes branschen." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS), 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-22534.
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Med en ständig ökning av konkurrens mellan företagen blir den personliga relationen med kunden allt viktigare. Produktens funktion står inte längre i centrum då den har ersatts av idén kring varan. Kunderna söker ett högre värde i produkten och företagen måste sträva efter att tillfredsställa och beröra kundens emotioner för att framstå som attraktiv. Idag talas det därför mycket om emotionell marknadsföring. Detta arbete ligger till grund för att få en förståelse i hur emotioner styrs via reklam och hur en etisk ståndpunkt påverkar kunden. Till hjälp har jag använt mig av teoristudier, en egen design för en påhittad vår-kollektionskampanj, samt en kvalitativ enkätundersökning för att få ett verkligt perspektiv av hur en tänkbar målgrupp ser och reagerar på reklam i olika former.Genom att tala ett lättförstått språk som attraherar och samtidigt differentierar företaget från konkurrenter, kan värdefulla emotioner väckas för att skapa en personlig relation med kunden. En etisk ståndpunkt kan vara värdefull för att visa ett högre intresse än att tjäna pengar och på så vis framstå som mer mänskligt och komma närmare kunden.With a constant growth of competition between companies the personal relation to the customer becomes more and more important. The function of the product is no longer at the center of attention as it has been replaced by the idea of the product.The customers seek a higher value in the product and the companies must strive to satisfy and touch the emotions of the customers to appear attractive. That is why today there is a lot of talk about emotional marketing.This work is focusing on how to gain understanding about how emotions are steered and directed by advertisements and how a ethical standpoint affects the customer. For my help I have used theory studies, an original design for an imaginary spring collection campaign and last but not least a survey to gain a real perspective of how a conceivable target group thinks and reacts to advertisements in different forms.By speaking a comprehendable language that attracts and at the same time differentiates the company from its competitors, valuable emotional connections can be created in order to produce a personal relation to the customer. An ethical standpoint can be valuable in order to show a higher cause than simply money-making. By doing so the company can appear as more human and thereby get a closer relation to the customer.
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Enkhbat, Javzmaa, and Patrik Wikström. "Swedish Social Workers’ Perceptions of Harm Reduction Methods in Substance Abuse Treatment." Thesis, Högskolan i Gävle, Avdelningen för socialt arbete och kriminologi, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-30220.
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The aim of this study was to explore how harm reduction methods are perceived by Swedish social workers working with treatment of substance abuse. In doing so, qualitative research method with semi-structured interviews was conducted with five social workers practicing within the social services adult unit from three different municipalities in mid-Sweden. The gathered data was analyzed through the perspective of the two related theoretical frameworks of social constructionism and discourse theory. The result revealed diverse perceptions and perspectives regarding harm reduction methods which both were conflicted between participants and within the participants. Methods practiced in Sweden were to a large degree perceived as positive. Perceptions regarding methods outside of Sweden were to a large degree split between an overall negative perception and a conflicted perception between negative views on the legitimization of drugs and positive perceptions regarding preventive positive outcomes. From the chosen theoretical framework, The participating social workers’ perceptions appeared to be influenced by experience, social context, and a prohibitionist discourse on drug abuse that has since long been predominant in Sweden.
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Sandlin, Carter. "An Analysis of Online Training: Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Implementation Methods in a Corporate Environment." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2013. https://dc.etsu.edu/honors/57.
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The current research will assess online training specifically as it relates to learning effectiveness in a corporate environment. Currently, research concerning the effectiveness of online learning is abundant; however, none of this recent research is compiled in one place, nor does this research specifically interpret the information to determine the applicability of online training in a corporate environment. The thesis will analyze numerous secondary sources to compile relevant statistics related to the effectiveness of online training resources. Using this research, the thesis will culminate in recommendations for the implementation of an online training process, one useful for managers that focuses on effective learning, the need for personal interaction, and cost savings.
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Christian, Richard Dennis Rhodes Dent. "A design for teaching preservice secondary social studies teachers methods for teaching critical thinking skills." Normal, Ill. Illinois State University, 1995. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ilstu/fullcit?p9633389.
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Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1995.Title from title page screen, viewed May 10, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Dent M. Rhodes (chair), Larry Kennedy, Kenneth Jerrich, Frederick Drake. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 195-204) and abstract. Also available in print.
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Colino, Juan. "Audience engagement for presentations via interactive methods." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS), 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-22447.
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Keeping the audience engaged when presenting a topic in a conventional setting (a class presentation or a keynote in a conference) can be challenging. Often, presenta- tions tend to be linear and non-engaging. It was my intention to research how the ex- perience can be improved by using different methods to engage the audience.In this thesis the reader will find the results of my exploration and research on how to make presentations more engaging for the audience via interactive methods.After some background information, I go through the process of developing concepts that could improve the presenting experience. I describe different contexts where peo- ple deliver presentations and research about these environments to discuss the context of the thesis. I also discuss the concept of audience engagement.After selecting one of these concepts I describe the development of a prototype that il- lustrates the concept and discuss it after a series of user testing procedures.Finally some conclusions and comments are discussed in the final part of the docu- ment.
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Du, Hailiang. "Combining statistical methods with dynamical insight to improve nonlinear estimation." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2009. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/66/.
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Physical processes such as the weather are usually modelled using nonlinear dynamical systems. Statistical methods are found to be difficult to draw the dynamical information from the observations of nonlinear dynamics. This thesis is focusing on combining statistical methods with dynamical insight to improve the nonlinear estimate of the initial states, parameters and future states. In the perfect model scenario (PMS), method based on the Indistin-guishable States theory is introduced to produce initial conditions that are consistent with both observations and model dynamics. Our meth-ods are demonstrated to outperform the variational method, Four-dimensional Variational Assimilation, and the sequential method, En-semble Kalman Filter. Problem of parameter estimation of deterministic nonlinear models is considered within the perfect model scenario where the mathematical structure of the model equations are correct, but the true parameter values are unknown. Traditional methods like least squares are known to be not optimal as it base on the wrong assumption that the distribu-tion of forecast error is Gaussian IID. We introduce two approaches to address the shortcomings of traditional methods. The first approach forms the cost function based on probabilistic forecasting; the second approach focuses on the geometric properties of trajectories in short term while noting the global behaviour of the model in the long term. Both methods are tested on a variety of nonlinear models, the true parameter values are well identified. Outside perfect model scenario, to estimate the current state of the model one need to account the uncertainty from both observatiOnal noise and model inadequacy. Methods assuming the model is perfect are either inapplicable or unable to produce the optimal results. It is almost certain that no trajectory of the model is consistent with an infinite series of observations. There are pseudo-orbits, however, that are consistent with observations and these can be used to estimate the model states. Applying the Indistinguishable States Gradient De-scent algorithm with certain stopping criteria is introduced to find rel-evant pseudo-orbits. The difference between Weakly Constraint Four-dimensional Variational Assimilation (WC4DVAR) method and Indis-tinguishable States Gradient Descent method is discussed. By testing on two system-model pairs, our method is shown to produce more consistent results than the WC4DVAR method. Ensemble formed from the pseudo-orbit generated by Indistinguishable States Gradient Descent method is shown to outperform the Inverse Noise ensemble in estimating the current states. Outside perfect model scenario, we demonstrate that forecast with relevant adjustment can produce better forecast than ignoring the existence of model error and using the model directly to make fore-casts. Measurement based on probabilistic forecast skill is suggested to measure the predictability outside PMS.
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Kilianson, Nicole, Annie Larsson, and Ramona Lindholm. "Empowerment- Paternalism. A study about Försäkringskassans tools and methods." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för hälsa och samhälle (HS), 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-24971.
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Försäkringskassan har på sista tiden varit ett föremål för diskussioner i media. En stark negativ bild av myndighetens handläggare tenderar att framkomma ur mediala sammanhang. Samtidigt finns det en medvetenhet hos handläggarna kring vikten av att arbeta med hänsyn till individen. Studiens syfte är att studera de redskap och arbetssätt som används av Försäkringskassans handläggare i arbetslivsinriktad rehabilitering utifrån ett empowermentperspektiv. Vi gjorde en kvalitativ studie som bygger på intervjuer med nio handläggare på Försäkringskassan som arbetar med sjukpenningsärende på enheten fördjupad utredning. Vår uppsats visar att handläggarna lägger vikt på individen i rehabiliteringen då faktorer som information, bemötande, motivation och delaktighet är centrala i arbetet med individen. Vidare visar uppsatsen att det finns en variation i handläggarnas sätt att använda sig av regelverket i syfte att hjälpa individen. Empowerment som arbetssätt var upp till var och en handläggare att använda sig av. Trots detta kunde vi se drag av empowerment hos de flesta handläggare.Authorities like Försäkringskassan have lately been discussed in the Swedish media. A negative picture has been painted about the personal administrative officers’ in media. Meanwhile there is awareness among the personal administrative officers about the importance of focusing on the individual. The study aimed to examine the tools and methods used by the personal administrative officers at Försäkringskassan working with vocational rehabilitation from an empowerment perspective. Our study is a qualitative study, build on interviews with nine personal administrative officers ‘who work with sickness compensation cases at the unit depth-investigation. Our paper shows that the personal administrative officers’ focus on the individual in the rehabilitation, factors like information, how the individual is treated by the personal administrative officers, motivation and participation are central in the work with the individual. The paper also shows that there is a variation in the personal administrative officers’ way of using the law in order to help the individual. Empowerment as a way of working was up to each personal administrative officer to use. Despite this, we could see the features of empowerment among most personal administrative officers.
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Yu, Michael Lee. "A comparison of stimulus preference methods in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder." Scholarly Commons, 2003. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/2710.
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The purpose of this study was to compare three methods of assessing preference for stimuli in children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). A paired-stimulus method, a multiple stimulus with replacement (MSW), and a multiple stimulus without replacement (MSWO) preference assessment were conducted with participants. All assessments were conducted verbally. The paired method was the most accurate at correctly identifying the preference of stimuli and took the least amount of time to administer. After the stimulus preference assessments, a reinforcer assessment was conducted in order to identify which of the three stimulus preference methods was the most accurate and efficient method for identifying highly preferred items/activities in children with ADHD. It is suggested that future research compare the differences between the pictorial and verbal MSW methods.
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Orhin, Gyau Isabella. "Content Analysis on Coverage of European Union and European Union Member Countries’ Issues in the Daily Graphic of Ghana in the Years 1998 and 2008." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS), 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-22321.
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The issue of the image of African countries in European media is an age-long one which has resurfaced in recent times. Eyebrows have been raised over the image of African countries in Europe and other Western Media which is always touted to be negative.The question about how the EU is reported in the African media has however been relegated to the background. This study therefore used content analysis to unearth how the EU and its member countries are reported in the African Media particularly in the Daily Graphic, a leading Daily Newspaper in Ghana in two separate years of 1998 and 2008 and whether what is reported reflects colonial ties between EU member countries and their former colonies in Africa. The study which used both quantitative and qualitative methods of research also sought to investigate the power relations between African media and their European counterpart, the sources of the stories were examined to find out whether they are stories written by European media or in-depth analysis of issues written by Ghanaian or African reporters. Special emphasis was placed on issues around trade and aid between Africa and the European Union which comes across as the key issues. The years 1998 and 2008 were selected because it has a ten year interval in which one can assess whether coverage of EU related issues in the paper has improved over the last ten years especially as the EU has grown in membership and scope, deepening its process of integration and acquiring new responsibilities in the world.Findings of the study indicated a strong tie between some EU member countries and their former colonies, (i.e United Kingdom and Ghana).The study also found out that The Daily Graphic simply borrows stories from EU sources and reproduce them with very little or no analysis, comments, or criticisms, of the issues raised that may have implications for the country or Africa’s growth in terms of aid and trade issues. This is a pointer to the fact that European media has been setting the agenda and the Daily Graphic simply follows.The study further revealed the unequal power relations between the EU and for that matter Africa which also reflects in media relations whereby as a result of poor salaries, logistical support and appropriate technology, newspapers in Africa, such as the Daily Graphic are unable to send reporters to the EU headquarters in Brussels to report issues from the African point of view and as such reproduce what has already been reported in the European media by European reporters and sent down through wire services.Again from the study, it is evident that the Daily Graphic does not report regularly on issues on EU- Africa trade and aid. In 1998, aid related issues involving the EU and Africa were only six percent while that of 2008 was 11 percent. Trade related issues involving the EU and Africa recorded nine percent in both years. Also reporters lack of interest in analysis of the issues in feature articles was reflected in 97 percent of news stories in 1998 as against three percent of feature articles in the same year while 2008 recorded a woefully two percent of feature articles as against a whopping 98 percent of news stories.One of the issues that emerged as a surprise was the fact that contrary to expectations, EU related stories not connected to Africa received more coverage than what connects Africa to Europe. This may be an indication that African media gate-keepers are not selecting stories based on the interest of the country or continent but rather still serving their colonial masters under a new colonial empire facilitated by the EU. Theories underpinning colonialism such as Edward Said’s Orientalism, modernization, media and society theories have helped to discuss some of the issues under focus.
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Hall, Karen I. "Teaching for Equity and Justice| Methods and Best Practices of Effective Anti-bias Educators." Thesis, Webster University, 2019. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=13814340.
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This study is the result of the researcher’s 25-year tenure in public education. That tenure developed a passion for disrupting racism and modeling social justice pedagogies to dismantle the barriers to educational equity in classrooms. The researcher wants to enact a vision of denouncing oppressive structures for students by positioning teachers to play a critical role in transforming society. The researcher contextualizes multicultural education, critical race theory, and social justice education to develop an overview of anti-bias teaching. Moreover, the researcher suggests the theoretical frames from multicultural education, critical race theory, and social justice education represent the underpinnings of anti-bias education.
Prejudice, bias, and stereotypes continue to exist in schools. For this reason, multicultural education and social justice education equip teachers with the strategies to recognize prejudice, bias, and stereotypes that create barriers to equitable education. This study will add to the growing field of educational research for equity-oriented teaching practices so school systems have the tools to dismantle inequities. The researcher’s study focuses on equity-centered approach through anti-bias teaching patterns of the 2016 Teaching Tolerance award-winning teachers.
What are the best practices and skills necessary for an anti-bias classroom setting? A study of the identified anti-bias 2016 award-winning educators from Teaching Tolerance program are the subjects of this research. The researcher’s goal is to identify patterns of teaching, and then compare these practices to Marilyn Cochran-Smith’s Six Principles of Social Justice. The outcome of the research will add to the growing educational equity work and provide teachers support needed to act in their classrooms for anti-bias education. Educators can transform and provide equitable teaching and learning for all students.
The design of the work is the case study. The researcher chose case study research because it allows the researcher to ask how and why questions. For the investigation, the case study method is the best fit for data collection and analysis. Moreover, case study design allows for description and narration in the research. This format will allow the reader to immerse him/herself in the lives of the teachers so they gain a better understanding of anti-bias educators.
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Pålsson, Andreas, and Daniel Szerszen. "Sentiment Classification in Social Media : An Analysis of Methods and the Impact of Emoticon Removal." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för datavetenskap och kommunikation (CSC), 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-187481.
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Sentiment classification is the process of analyzing data and classifying it based on its sentiment conveying properties and the process has a multitude of applications in different industries. However, the different application areas also introduce diverse challenges in implementing the methods successfully. This report examines two of the main approaches commonly used for sentiment classification which entail the use of machine learning and a glossary of weighted words respectively. In addition, preprocessing is explored as an enhancement to the previously mentioned approaches. The approaches are tested on data collected from Twitter to examine their performance in social media. The results indicate that lexicon-based classifiers are the most performant, and that removal of emoticons increases the correctness of classification.Att kategorisera text beroende på vilken känsla som uttrycks har fått många användningsområden i många industrier. De olika användningsområdena introducerar olika svårigheter att på ett korrekt och konsekvent sätt uppfylla de krav som ställs. Denna rapport avser utforska och bedöma två tillvägagångssätt, ett i form av maskininlärning samt en metod som jämför orden i en text med ordvikter från ett fördefinierat lexikon. Utöver detta analyseras emoji-borttagning som ett möjligt förbättringssätt till båda tillvägagångssätten. Metoderna är testade på data taget från Twitter i syfte att analysera prestandan när data från sociala medier används. Resultaten indikerar att den lexikon-baserade metoden presterar bättre, och att borttagning av emojis ökar korrektheten av klassificeringen.
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Toupal, Rebecca Stuart. "Landscape perceptions and natural resource management: Finding the 'social' in the 'sciences'." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/279917.
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Multi-cultural demands of public lands in the United States continue to challenge federal land managers to address social and cultural concerns in their planning efforts. Specifically, these individuals lack adequate knowledge of cultural concerns as well as a consistent strategy for acquiring that knowledge for use in decision-making. Current federal approaches to cultural concerns include public participation, conservation partnerships, government-to-government consultations with American Indian tribes, cultural resource inventories, and landscape analysis. Since cultural knowledge arises from human-nature relationships and shared perceptions of natural environments, and landscapes are the ultimate expression of such knowledge, an exploratory methodology was developed for a different approach to understanding cultural concerns through landscape perceptions. Using cultural landscape theories and applications from the natural and social sciences, this study examined the landscape perceptions of four groups concerned with management planning of the Baboquivari Wilderness Area in southern Arizona: the Bureau of Land Management, landowners of the Altar Valley, recreationists, and members of the Tohono O'odham Nation. The methodology is based on a human nature relationships rather than cultural aspects or features. It takes a holistic approach that differs from other perception studies by including: emic aspects of data collection and analysis; a spatial component: triangulation of data collection through narrative and graphic descriptions; conducting ethnographic, on-site interviews; and consensus analysis and small-sample theory. The results include: verification of four cultural groups; two levels of consensus---in the population of concern, and in each group---that overlap in some aspects of landscape perception; descriptions of four cultural landscapes that illustrate similarities and differences among the groups, and include patterns and representations of spatial relationships; an effective methodology for revealing cultural concerns that are not identified through public forums, and with potential for application by agencies at the field office level.
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Fang, Zhou. "Reweighting methods in high dimensional regression." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2012. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:26f8541a-9e2d-466a-84aa-e6850c4baba9.
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In this thesis, we focus on the application of covariate reweighting with Lasso-style methods for regression in high dimensions, particularly where p ≥ n. We apply a particular focus to the case of sparse regression under a-priori grouping structures. In such problems, even in the linear case, accurate estimation is difficult. Various authors have suggested ideas such as the Group Lasso and the Sparse Group Lasso, based on convex penalties, or alternatively methods like the Group Bridge, which rely on convergence under repetition to some local minimum of a concave penalised likelihood. We propose in this thesis a methodology that uses concave penalties to inspire a procedure whereupon we compute weights from an initial estimate, and then do a single second reweighted Lasso. This procedure -- the Co-adaptive Lasso -- obtains excellent results in empirical experiments, and we present some theoretical prediction and estimation error bounds. Further, several extensions and variants of the procedure are discussed and studied. In particular, we propose a Lasso style method of doing additive isotonic regression in high dimensions, the Liso algorithm, and enhance it using the Co-adaptive methodology. We also propose a method of producing rules based regression estimates for high dimensional non-parametric regression, that often outperforms the current leading method, the RuleFit algorithm. We also discuss extensions involving robust statistics applied to weight computation, repeating the algorithm, and online computation.
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Perry, Brea L. "The ripple effect social network dynamics, social location, and strategies of interaction in mental illness careers /." [Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2008. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3330810.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Sociology, 2008.Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Jul 21, 2009). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-10, Section: A, page: 4133. Adviser: Bernice A. Pescosolido.
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Goonan, Kelly A. "Integrating Social and Ecological Methods to Assess and Inform Park Monitoring and Management." DigitalCommons@USU, 2017. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/6692.
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Managing outdoor recreation requires that managers do the following: (1) consider the user experience, environmental and cultural resources, and type and intensity of management actions; (2) specify desired conditions to be maintained, monitor conditions, and take appropriate action if unacceptable impacts occur; (3) adapt to new conditions and information; and (4) exercise good judgment based on their professional experience and the best information available to them. Social science studies of visitors and studies of significant recreation resources like campsites are important sources of information for managers and are commonly used in parks and protected areas to support planning and decision-making.
The studies presented here are designed to enhance our understanding of how visitors evaluate the acceptability of impacts to recreation resources and how we can more effectively analyze large campsite resource condition datasets to get meaningful results. A better understanding of impacts to cultural and environmental resources, the people who visit parks, and how they evaluate the acceptability of impacts will enable managers to make more informed decisions. This is an important part of the adaptive management of parks and protected areas.
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So, Moon-tong, and 蘇滿堂. "Applications of Bayesian statistical model selection in social scienceresearch." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2007. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B39312951.
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Murdock, Susan Jan. "Conceptualizing Hoarding Behavior Among Elderly Women: A Mixed-Methods Approach." VCU Scholars Compass, 2006. http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1368.
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Hoarding in the community involves substantial cluttering and impaired functioning, often exposing the hoarder to extensive health and safety risks. This research, based on Functionalism social theory, explores the three elements of hoardingrelentless acquisition, intense possessiveness of objects, and a reluctance to discard possessionsas a sociocultural phenomenon. The mixed methods methodology entailed a quantitative study involving a survey completed by 134 adult protective services workers throughout Virginia and a qualitative study of five randomly-selected adult protective services workers who volunteered for in-depth interviews.Findings revealed that adult protective services workers come in contact with very severe cases of hoarding, with over two-thirds of the cases cited having extremely hazardous, unsafe, and cluttered living conditions. Similar to other research studies, hoarding was most prevalent among elderly women and the most common objects hoarded included printed materials such as newspapers, magazines, and junk mail. Factor analyses resulted in three factors with high loadings and correlations, particularly the factor that associates hoarding with a relentless need or desire to acquire more possessions. Content analyses of the qualitative data found that workers recognized several ways in which hoarding was functional, including emotional attachment to possessions, reducing stress, and providing meaning and identity. The mixed methods approach demonstrated that adult protective services workers tend to ascribe mental illness explanations to many hoarding cases, often equating hoarding to an addiction, although other published research finds only a nebulous connection between mental illness and hoarding behavior.This research corroborates other studies that find that belief systems underlie hoarding behaviors, particularly how hoarders' possessions provide comfort and security; possessions are considered functional, valuable, and irreplaceable; and that the owner is responsible for maintaining control over possessions. The findings of this study have implications for social work practice and treatment models.
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Bränström, Niclas. "Minimalist design for children’s games." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS), 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-22638.
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The aim of this report is to see whether the graphic design of a game influences children’s will to play games. I am especially looking at minimalist graphic design and how well it works for a game aimed at children age 7-9. Does the style of the game design have any impact at all concerning the children’s wish to play the game or is the game mechanic all that matters. The final results concluded that although the graphic design plays a part in the children’s willingness to play the game the game mechanics are by far the biggest factor in whether children will play the game or not.
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Forss, Norstedt Hampus, and Jasmine Effie Malmqvist. "Non-state crime prevention methods : Preventing youth crime." Thesis, Mittuniversitetet, Institutionen för humaniora och samhällsvetenskap, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:miun:diva-41212.
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The purpose for this qualitative study is to examine the crime prevention strategies against youth crime within non-state actors' work. As well as obtaining views of successes and challenges of this work in practice. Youth crime is a major area of interest within criminology, and in recent years much interest has been directed at problems that arise in the so-called vulnerable areas of Sweden, where young people are at risk of being drawn into crime. Information has been gathered through semi-structured interviews with nine people representing seven different organizations / associations. The actors work with young people in one way or another through sports activities, mentor programs or independent youth centers; and most actors are active in vulnerable areas. The results show that it seems important to have committed adults in order to engage and gain trust from the young people. Further strategies for activating the young people in prosocial activities is revealed, as well as to spread good attitudes among the youths. The findings are put within the framework of criminological theories in order to discuss2021-01-13
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Lewis-Ferrell, Genell Dawn. "Democracy renaissance civic education as a framework for elementary education methods courses /." [Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2007. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3274918.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Curriculum and Instruction in the School of Education, 2007.Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-07, Section: A, page: 2902. Adviser: Terrence C. Mason. Title from dissertation home page (viewed Apr. 14, 2008).
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Lugnet, Einar. "Användbara behandlingsmetoder för sexmissbruk : Useful methods of treatment for sex addiction." Thesis, Umeå universitet, Institutionen för socialt arbete, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-166592.
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Syftet med denna studie är att i forskningslitteraturen hitta evidensbaserade behandlingsmetoder och terapier för sexmissbruk samt ta reda på hur de fungerar och varför de används. För att öka förståelse och kunskap inom ämnet har tre intervjuer med behandlare för sexmissbruk utförts. Intervjuempirin och forskningen visar sammantaget att det saknas definition på sexmissbruk. Beroendet yttrar sig på olika sätt, varav de vanligaste symptomen är förlust av impulskontroll, svår psykisk påfrestning, försämrat familje- och arbetsliv, skam och otrohet. Skam, uppgivenhet och ekonomiska förutsättningar gör att många undviker att söka hjälp tills beroendet har orsakat krisartad skada och förluster i livet. De som kommer till behandling har ofta blivit avslöjade av en nära anhörig och givits ett ultimatum. Behandling är bristfällig och dyr i Sverige vilket gör att mörkertalet är stort och att många inte söker hjälp överhuvudtaget. Forskningen visar att det finns ett stort utbud av terapier och behandlingsmetoder för sexmissbruk. Dessa behandlingsmetoder har styrkor och svagheter i sin effektivitet för att lindra och bota de problem och utmaningar som beroendet innefattar. Motivation, kontroll, skam, relationsproblem, anknytning och förvrängda tankar utgör kärnan i sexmissbruk och behandlas med varierande resultat utifrån behandlingsmetod och individuella förutsättningar.
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Kumlin, Terese. "Social science students’ perceptions of motivational methods and approaches in science class." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för lärande och samhälle (LS), 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-36394.
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How to motivate students effectively is a question teachers have asked for thousands ofyears. In my teaching program at Malmö University, a variety of teaching methods andapproaches, that also increase motivation, have come into focus. These include:teaching at the right level, using a variety of teaching methods, seeing every student,being enthusiastic about the material, using formative evaluation, connecting lessons tostudents’ everyday life, and adapting classes to students’ interests. The aim of this studyis to find out how secondary students in a social science program perceive teachingmethods and approaches aimed at increasing motivation, and determine which methodsthey perceive as most/least effective. The study used both qualitative and quantitativemethods. 23 upper-secondary students from a class at a school in southern Swedenwere interviewed in four focus groups, where participants were purposefully sampled.10 of these students were also asked to complete a questionnaire ranking the teachingmethods and approaches on a scale of 1-7 (where 1 was most effective at increasingmotivation and 7 least effective), and the mean values of these scores were used in theanalysis. A phenomenological approach and content analysis were used to code andanalyze the data. Students perceived all of the motivational methods to be effective, themost effective being teaching lessons at the right level, followed by using a variety ofteaching methods, with mean values of 1.9 and 3.2, respectively. Adapting lessons tostudents’ interests and connecting them to everyday life were the least effective, withmean values of 5.6 and 5.7, respectively. The categories of teachers having a positiveattitude towards the material and the students, and seeing every student, had the samemean value, 3.8, while formative evaluation had a mean value of 3.9. When trying tomotivate students, it would thus appear more effective to make sure that lessons aretaught at the right level and that teachers vary the lessons, than to adapt lessons tostudents’ interests or connect the material to everyday life. While this was a small studyand the findings cannot be generalized to school populations, they are of high interestfor the researcher.
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Perkins, Jessica M. "Conducting Social Network and Social Norm Research in Low-Resource Settings: Food Insecurity, Depression, and HIV Testing in Rural Uganda." Thesis, Harvard University, 2015. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:17467207.
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This dissertation examines the role of social networks and social norms in health outcomes and behaviors among low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), with a particular focus on Uganda. Paper 1 presents a systematic review of sociocentric network studies conducted in LMICs on health-related outcomes and other development topics. I first discuss the sociocentric network study designs employed in 36 selected papers, and provide a catalog of 105 name generator questions used to measure social ties. Second, I show that network composition, individual network centrality, and network structure are associated with health behaviors and health and development outcomes in different contexts across multiple levels of analysis and across distinct network types. Lastly, I highlight opportunities for health researchers and practitioners in LMICs to 1) design effective studies and interventions that account for the sociocentric network positions of certain individuals and overall network structure, 2) measure the spread of outcomes or intervention externalities, and 3) enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of aid based on knowledge of social structure.
Papers 2 and 3 exploit a population-based dataset on eight villages from rural Southwest Uganda, arising from a pilot study which myself and colleagues designed to collect sociocentric network data. There were a total of 1,669 adults interviewed representing a response rate of 96%. Paper 2 assesses the relationship between food insecurity and depression symptom severity in the general adult population, and the potential confounding or moderating roles of social network position, structure, and composition in that relationship. I find that severe and moderate food insecurity was associated with greater depression symptom severity among both men and women, and that none of the social network characteristics were directly associated with the outcome. Moreover, there were no interactions between food insecurity and network characteristics among women. For severely food insecure men, however, personal network centrality was positively associated with symptoms and personal network poverty composition was negatively associated with symptoms. Findings reveal that nutrition interventions aimed at improving food security in rural areas may have significant beneficial effects in terms of mental health outcomes for the whole population. I discuss the possible role of shame in affecting depression among severely food insecure men with wealthier networks and in more central network locations.
Paper 3 examines the extent to which individuals underestimate the prevalence of HIV testing in their village and misperceive the norm, and also assesses the relationship between perception of the HIV testing norm in one’s village with personally never having been tested. I find that although a majority of people had been tested in each of the villages, a majority of people underestimated the actual prevalence and thought that testing was not normative. Men who perceived testing as not normative were much more likely to never have been tested, and both men and women who felt they didn’t know anything about the norm were also more likely to never have been tested. Results suggest that interventions promoting true HIV testing norms may help increase uptake of testing.Health Policy
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Blank, Melissa D. "Comparison of Three Methods for Measuring Smoking Behavior." VCU Scholars Compass, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10156/1516.
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Lee, Sharen Woon Yee. "Bayesian methods for the construction of robust chronologies." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2012. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:49c30401-9442-441f-b6b5-1539817e2c95.
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Bayesian modelling is a widely used, powerful approach for reducing absolute dating uncertainties in archaeological research. It is important that the methods used in chronology building are robust and reflect substantial prior knowledge. This thesis focuses on the development and evaluation of two novel, prior models: the trapezoidal phase model; and the Poisson process deposition model. Firstly, the limitations of the trapezoidal phase model were investigated by testing the model assumptions using simulations. It was found that a simple trapezoidal phase model does not reflect substantial prior knowledge and the addition of a non-informative element to the prior was proposed. An alternative parameterisation was also presented, to extend its use to a contiguous phase scenario. This method transforms the commonly-used abrupt transition model to allow for gradual changes. The second phase of this research evaluates the use of Bayesian model averaging in the Poisson process deposition model. The use of model averaging extends the application of the Poisson process model to remove the subjectivity involved in model selection. The last part of this thesis applies these models to different case studies, including attempts at resolving the Iron Age chronological debate in Israel, at determining the age of an important Quaternary tephra, at refining a cave chronology, and at more accurately modelling the mid-Holocene elm decline in the British Isles. The Bayesian methods discussed in this thesis are widely applicable in modelling situations where the associated prior assumptions are appropriate. Therefore, they are not limited to the case studies addressed in this thesis, nor are they limited to analysing radiocarbon chronologies.
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Reiter, E. Miranda. "The Impact of Social Support, Psychosocial Characteristics, and Contextual Factors on Racial Disparities in Hypertension." Thesis, Utah State University, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3683497.
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Hypertension is a serious medical condition. Although men and women of all racial groups in the US suffer from high blood pressure, black women have the highest rates of hypertension. For instance, the age-adjusted prevalence of hypertension among black women ages 20 and over is 44.3, compared to 28.1 among white women, 40.5 among black men, and 31.1 among white men.
Past research has focused on SES and behavioral factors as potential explanations for blood pressure disparities between black and white women. But, even after controlling for such factors, considerable disparities remain. The goal of this research is to examine cultural and social factors that have been shown to increase blood pressure. Specifically, I examine social support, psychosocial characteristics, and contextual factors associated with race/ethnicity and hypertension, in hopes of explaining some of the disparities in high blood pressure between black and white women.
Using data from Waves I, III, and IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), I estimated a sequence of multinomial logistic regression models predicting prehypertension and hypertension in young adulthood. Cross-sectional models show that racial disparities in hypertension remain after controlling for social support, psychosocial characteristics, and contextual factors. In fact, the only covariate that substantially reduced the racial disparity in hypertension was body mass index (BMI), a fairly reliable measure of body fatness for most people. I also estimated a set of multinomial logistic regression models predicting odds of prehypertension and hypertension by adolescent and cumulative social support, as well as psychosocial, contextual, and behavioral factors. These models were included to determine if early life and/or cumulative factors and conditions would help explain racial blood pressure disparities not explained by adulthood factors. Findings show that none of the early life or cumulative social support, psychosocial, contextual, or behavioral factors helped to explain racial differences in prehypertension or hypertension. Even after controlling for these factors, black women are still 1.18 times more likely than white women to have prehypertension and over two times more likely to suffer hypertension.
Indeed, my findings indicate that, of the factors included in all these models, only race, age, and BMI were significant predictors of blood pressure. Also, BMI was the only factor to explain some of the disparities between black and white women. These results are similar to other studies that have examined racial health disparities, suggesting that simply being a black woman in US society may be unhealthy. The health effects of racism, discrimination, and other sources of stress faced disproportionately by black women are not easily measured by social science research, which is possibly why racial disparities in blood pressure have yet to be explained. Future research should also explore possible epigenetic effects introduced by the health conditions experienced by previous generations, as well as the influence of prenatal and early life environments.
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Cyr, J. "The Pitfalls and Promise of Focus Groups as a Data Collection Method." SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/615820.
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Despite their long trajectory in the social sciences, few systematic works
analyze how often and for what purposes focus groups appear in published
works. This study fills this gap by undertaking a meta-analysis of focus group
use over the last 10 years. It makes several contributions to our understanding
of when and why focus groups are used in the social sciences. First, the study
explains that focus groups generate data at three units of analysis, namely, the
individual, the group, and the interaction. Although most researchers rely
upon the individual unit of analysis, the method’s comparative advantage lies in
the group and interactive units. Second, it reveals strong affinities between
each unit of analysis and the primary motivation for using focus groups as a data
collection method. The individual unit of analysis is appropriate for triangulation;
the group unit is appropriate as a pretest; and the interactive unit is
appropriate for exploration. Finally, it offers a set of guidelines that researchers
should adopt when presenting focus groups as part of their research design.
Researchers should, first, state the main purpose of the focus group in a
research design; second, identify the primary unit of analysis exploited; and
finally, list the questions used to collect data in the focus group.
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Åstrand, Mikaela. "'Sorry, I didn't understand that' : A comparison of methods for intent classification for social robotics applications." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för elektroteknik och datavetenskap (EECS), 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-272124.
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An important feature in a social robot is the ability to understand natural language. One of the core components in a typical system for natural language understanding (NLU) is so called intent classification; the action of classifying user utterances based on the underlying intents of the user. Previous research on intent classification has mainly been performed on dialogues very different from what can be expected in social robotics. There, dialogues are of a more social nature with utterances often being very short or highly context dependent. It has also been performed under the assumption that all test utterances do indeed belong to one of the predefined intent classes. This is often not the case in an actual application where the user cannot be expected to know the limitations of the system. In this thesis, a number of intent classification methods are evaluated based on how they perform on two tasks: classifying utterances belonging to one of the predefined classes and identifying utterances that are out of scope. For this, three different datasets are used: two existing intent classification datasets and one that was collected as part of this project and that is more typical for dialogues in social robotics. The methods being evaluated are support vector machine (SVM), logistic regression, the intent classifier in the NLU platform Snips, and the neural language model BERT. For SVM and logistic regression, two different feature representation techniques are used: bag-of-words (BoW) with and without tf-idf weighting, and pre-trained GloVe embeddings. Based on the results of these evaluations, three main conclusions are drawn: that simple methods are usually to be preferred over more complicated ones, that out-of-scope detection needs further investigation, and that more datasets typical for different kinds of applications are needed. BERT generally performs the best on both tasks, but SVM and logistic regression are not far behind with pre-trained word embeddings performing no better than BoW and Snips no better than simple classifiers. Previous research on out-of-scope detection is very limited and the results obtained here give no clear indication of what is the overall best approach or what performance is to be expected in different settings. Finally, the intent classification and out-of-scope detection performances differ a lot between different datasets, making representative datasets a necessity for drawing conclusions about expected performance in specific applications.En viktig egenskap hos en social robot är förmågan att förstå naturligt språk. I ett typiskt system för automatisk språkförståelse är en av huvudkomponenterna så kallad avsiktsklassificering som går ut på att klassificera användaryttranden utifrån avsikten bakom det. Den forskning som tidigare gjorts inom ämnet har sällan behandlat dialoger av social natur där dialoger kan vara långa men med många korta yttranden där kontexten är helt avgörande för att avsikten ska förstås. Olika metoder har också framförallt utvärderats under antagandet att alla testyttranden tillhör någon av de givna klasserna, vilket inte är realistiskt för en faktisk tillämpning där användarna inte kan förväntas veta systemets begränsningar. I det här arbetet utvärderas ett antal metoder för avsiktsklassificering utifrån två aspekter: hur bra de presterar på klassificering av yttranden som tillhör någon av de givna klasserna, samt hur bra de är på att känna igen yttranden som inte gör det. Detta görs på tre olika dataset; två existerande dataset för avsiktsklassificering och ett som samlats in som en del av det här arbetet och som är mer typiskt för just social robotik. De specifika metoder som utvärderas är stödvektormaskin (SVM), logistisk regression, avsiktsklassificeraren i dialogplattformen Snips, samt den neurala språkmodellen BERT. För att representera yttranden som vektorer för SVM och logistisk regression används dels en räknebaserad representationsteknik (så kallad ”bag-of-words”, BoW) med och utan tf-idf-viktning, dels förtränade GloVe-ordinbäddningar. Utifrån de erhållna resultaten dras tre huvudsakliga slutsatser: att enklare metoder oftast är att föredra framför mer avancerade, att det behövs mer forskning på avsiktsklassificering där vi förväntar oss att vissa yttranden inte hör till någon av klasserna, samt att det behövs fler dataset som är representativa för olika typer av tillämpningar. BERT presterar överlag bäst utifrån båda aspekterna, men övertaget i förhållande till SVM och logistisk regression är litet. Dessutom presterar oftast BoW lika bra som förtränade ordinbäddningar och enkla klassificerare bättre än Snips. Den forskning som tidigare gjorts utifrån den andra aspekten är väldigt begränsad och resultaten som presenteras här ger inga entydiga svar på vilka metoder som är att föredra eller vilken prestanda som kan förväntas. Det är också stora skillnader i hur väl de olika metoderna presterar på olika dataset, vilket gör det tydligt att det behövs fler, mer varierade dataset för att kunna dra slutsatser kring hur väl de kan förväntas prestera inom en specifik tillämpning.
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Pryssander, Lina. "Preventive methods aimed at siblings to criminal juveniles - a literature review." Thesis, Malmö universitet, Fakulteten för hälsa och samhälle (HS), 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-25060.
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Syftet med denna systematiska litteraturöversikt är att undersöka vilka förebyggande metoder och/eller modeller som finns för att bemöta syskon till grovt kriminella ungdomar. Studien syftar dessutom på att jämföra metodernas olika för- och nackdelar. Resultaten i denna studie är framtagna genom att använda databaserna Libsearch och ProQuest. Vald litteratur har lästs och analyserats upprepade gånger, och två teman valdes för att beskriva artiklarnas fokus, och koppling till studiens syfte och frågeställningar. Valda teman är 1) intervention metoder, och 2) fördelar med MST. Trots en bristande mängd forskning på området så pekar resultatet på att familjeterapin Multisystemisk Terapi (MST) är den dominerande metoden. Förutom fokus på den kriminella individen i MST så involveras syskonet och påverkas direkt, eller indirekt i MST. Till skillnad från individuell terapi (IT) där endast den kriminella ungdomen involveras så sjunker risken att syskonet börjar begå brott markant med MST. Forskningen inom detta område behöver utökas och metoder och arbetssätt går att förbättra.The aim with this systematic literature review is to investigate the intervention methods and/or models available to deal with siblings for serious criminal youths. The study also aims to compare the methods pros and cons. The results are produced by using the databases Libsearch and ProQuest. Chosen literature has been read and analysed several times, and two themes was selected to describe the articles focus and connection to the study’s aim and research questions. The chosen themes are 1) intervention methods, and 2) advantages with MST. Despite a small amount of research in the field, the result indicates that the family therapy method Multisystemic Therapy (MST) is a dominant method in the field. Except only focusing on the criminal individual in MST, the sibling is involved and directly or indirectly affected. Unlike individual therapy (IT) involving only the criminal juvenile, the risk of the sibling beginning to commit crimes significantly decreases with MST. Research in this area needs to be expanded and methods and ways of working can be improved.
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Ghidoni, Amanda. "Att lägga märke till ett varumärke." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS), 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-22461.
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The project aims to explore how strong brands are built and what they consist of. I will focus on the subject fashion magazine, ambassadors and the different parts that a magazine consists of. Based on the information from research and literature I’m re-designing the Swedish fashion magazine Solo.
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Spadola, Christine E. "A Mixed-Methods Examination among Young Adult Racially/Ethnically Diverse Bariatric Surgery Patients." FIU Digital Commons, 2015. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/2271.
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Bariatric, or weight loss, surgery (WLS) is known as the most effective treatment for severe obesity, and the number of bariatric surgeries performed in the United States has more than tripled over the past two decades. Despite the potential health benefits of WLS (i.e., reversal of type 2 diabetes), research has revealed problematic alcohol use among WLS patients, in part associated with the following risk factors: the prevalence of a lifetime alcohol use disorder (AUD), the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) procedure, younger age, and an increased post-surgical sensitivity to alcohol. There is reason to believe both (a) young adult and (b) racial/ethnic minority bariatric surgery patients could be particularly prone to problematic drinking post-surgery, as both demographic groups represent an elevated risk of problematic alcohol use in the general population. Despite this, to date, there has been no in-depth assessment of alcohol use among young adult WLS patients. This dissertation utilized a sequential exploratory mixed methods design to examine alcohol use among young adult, racially/ethnically diverse WLS patients. Descriptive and inferential analyses examined alcohol use patterns and predictors of problematic alcohol use for 69 young adults who had WLS. Nearly one quarter of the sample (24.6%, n=17) reported an increase in alcohol use after WLS. Age, time since surgery, the RYGB procedure, and having a pre-operative alcohol use disorder (AUD) when entered into the model together, were not a predictive model of frequency of alcohol use or problematic alcohol use after WLS (F [4, 64] = 2.3, p=.067). However, the diagnosis of a pre-operative AUD was associated with an increased frequency of alcohol use post WLS, holding all other predictors constant (p
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Seed, Lawrence. "The dynamics of BIM adoption : a mixed methods study of BIM as an innovation within the United Kingdom construction industry." Thesis, University of Huddersfield, 2015. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/26167/.
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Building Information Modelling is an approach that fully integrates people, systems, business structures and practices into a collaborative and highly automated process, applicable to the design, construction and operation of buildings. With the United Kingdom Construction Industry (UKCI), the UK Government, as the industry’s largest client, has mandated the use of BIM on all public sector projects by 2016. By considering BIM as an innovation, a total of 104 potential dynamics of BIM adoption were identified from literature along with potential variations by company type and size. Through the application of equal status mixed methods and robust stratified random sampling of 335 respondents, to match the profile of the UKCI, the key findings of the study are: Overall 62% of respondents have adopted BIM, with adoption highest among Consultants and Main Contractors, and lowest among Sub-Contractors, with a substantial increase in adoption following the Government Mandate. Although there is scope for the increased utilisation of BIM for those who have adopted it, 10% of respondents have no plans to adopt BIM. 23 significant dynamics of BIM adoption were identified, with 15 of these inhibiting adoption and 8 supporting adoption. For large companies the government mandate and advantages of BIM as a collaboration tool were the more significant supporting dynamics, while for smaller companies the cost of BIM was the more significant inhibiting dynamic. For Main Contractors, the robustness of existing practices and for Sub-Contactors the cost and complexity of BIM, along with company survival were the most significant inhibiting dynamics. The results suggest that under Rogers’s diffusion of innovation model, while relative advantage is an important supporting characteristic of BIM, compatibility with existing practices Is an equally important but inhibiting characteristic, while observability is not relevant.
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Braddock, Addison, Ryann Lipcon, Abigail King, and Kristen Kocher. "Depression and Social Media Use of Undergraduate Females." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2020. https://dc.etsu.edu/secfr-conf/2020/schedule/31.
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Women who spend more time on social media platforms have a greater chance of developing symptoms of depression (Burnborg & Burdzovic, 2019). When women are using social media, they spend the majority of their time looking at the lives and social accomplishments of other users. This comparison may cause them to experience hopelessness, anxiety, and depression (Litchtfuss, 2019). Women are the most likely to experience symptoms of depression (Harvard Health, 2011). With the increased popularity of social media, depression is becoming a growing problem. Published research shows a relationship between social media and depression (Burnborg & Burdzovic, 2019). It would be beneficial to examine college-aged females specifically at Mississippi State University, a gap in previous research. This research will look at Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Tik Tok, Pinterest, and YouTube to evaluate which social media platforms are used the most in individuals who are ranked on a depression scale created by Kroenke (Kroenke, 2001). This research is important because depression is becoming a growing problem among college-aged women and social media is prevalent in most lives.