Browsing by Subject "value"
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Item Are Serials Worth Their Weight in Knowledge? A Value Study(Journal of Academic Librarianship (Elsevier), 2015-09) Jones, Glenda Flanagan; Cassidy, Erin Dorris; McMain, Lynn; Strickland, Susan; Thompson, Molly; Valdes, ZacharyThe researchers aimed to use qualitative measures to define value as applied to print and electronic serial publications held at Sam Houston State University. Researchers examined faculty key activities—namely, Research, Publishing, Course Preparation and Development, Service, and Personal Interests—and also asked about the perceived extent of support that library journals provided for these key activities. The results of a survey sent to the faculty of two major colleges, Education and Criminal Justice, emphasized the importance of electronic over print serials for research, publishing, and teaching. Many respondents reported that they never used print serials for key activities but have recently used electronic serials. The print serial collection was reported to provide only minor support for the key activities whereas the electronic serials collection was reported to support those to a major extent. Most faculty respondents reported that they would drop subscriptions to personal interest journals if the Library obtained electronic access.Item Essays on Network Formation(2012-10-19) Mueller, William GrahamThis dissertation contains two essays which examine the roles that individual incentives, competition, and information play in network formation. In the first essay, I examine a model in which two competing groups offer different allocation rules that may depend on the network of connections among the individuals that make up each group. I assume the existence of a single divisible good, such as a monetary prize, which will be divided amongst the members of the winning network. The probability of winning the prize will depend on the network sizes. I examine two well-known allocation rules: the Myerson value and the egalitarian rule. I prove existence of equilibria and characterize the properties of the two networks. The implications of the equilibria networks for the outcome of the contest are discussed. I find that the winning probability of the network using the Myerson value has an upper bound very close to one half. There is no such upper bound for the network using the egalitarian rule. In my second essay, I examine a dynamic model of network formation in which individuals use reinforcement learning to choose their actions. Typically, economic models of network formation assume the entire network structure to be known to all individuals involved. The introduction of reinforcement learning allows us to relax this assumption. Through the use of a state-dependent reinforcement learning rule, one may allow for varying degrees of information available to the agents. Three informational settings are examined and I determine what networks, if any, each model may converge to in the limit. The long-run behavior of each model is examined through the use of simulations and compared to one another. I find that amount and type of information agents have access plays an important role in which networks emerge when there is no dominant strategy for the agents choosing links. If there is a dominant link choosing strategy, the most efficient network structure quickly emerges in each informational setting. Together, these essays investigate how information, incentives, and competition may affect network formation. Individual incentives in the presence of competition can create tension between an individual's social ties and the overall network size. Information plays a key role in the emergent network topologies when there are no dominate network building strategies.Item Innnovative wholesale carcass fabrication and retail cutting to optimize beef value(Texas A&M University, 2006-04-12) Pfeiffer, Kyle DavidThis study evaluated innovations in beef wholesale carcass fabrication that may have potential for improving subprimal yield and overall value of the beef carcass. Thirty beef carcasses, equally representing USDA Choice and Select and USDA yield grade 1 and 2, were selected from a commercial processing facility and transported to Texas A&M University for subsequent fabrication. Beef sides were utilized in comparing a conventional carcass fabrication style to a more innovative method. Innovative forequarter subprimal yields were greater (P < 0.001) for the brisket, ribeye roll, blade meat, and back ribs. The innovative method resulted in greater subprimal yield and less lean trim (P < 0.001) from the forequarter. Innovative hindquarter subprimal yields were greater (P < 0.001) for the tenderloin, top sirloin cap, bottom sirloin tri-tip, and round tip. Hindquarter subprimal yield and lean trim were not affected (P > 0.05). Value was greater for the innovative forequarter (P < 0.001) and hindquarter (P < 0.01); value was increased by more than seven dollars per beef side, thus greater than fourteen dollars per beef carcass. Selected subprimals were evaluated in a retail cutting test. Experienced retail professionals were utilized in fabricating the retail cuts. In general, the innovative retail subprimals performed equally or better than the conventional subprimals. The M. Serratus ventralis fabricated from the innovative side, comprising over 4.5% of the innovative forequarter, generated greater than 57% steak yield and 94% saleable yield. Innovative carcass fabrication techniques resulted in greater subprimal yield and increased the value of the entire beef carcass. These results were verified by retail cutting tests conducted on selected subprimals.Item Valuing the Invaluable: An Investigation of Outdoor Recreation Behavior, Perceived Values of Ecosystem Services, and Biophysical Conditions on Channel Islands National Park(2014-05-06) van Riper, Carena JImpacts on parks and protected areas are modifying ecosystems that provide benefits to sustain human health and well-being. Compelling evidence of ecological and economic values has been gathered to better understand the implications of these changing social-ecological conditions; however, social values have received considerably less attention. There is a strong need to integrate disciplinary perspectives on the value concept and illustrate the full value of nature experienced through outdoor recreation activities. My dissertation drew from theoretical frameworks in psychology, economics, and ecology to better understand the multiple values of Channel Islands National Park (CINP), California, U.S. Specifically, I examined ?held? value orientations, ?assigned? values of ecosystem services, and ecological values of the CINP. In first of three papers, I tested the value-belief-norm (VBN) theory of environmentalism to determine the psychological processes driving low-impact behavior among outdoor recreationists. I observed that behavioral engagement was more strongly related to biospheric-altruistic held values than egoistic concerns. Also, moral norm activation was a direct antecedent to behaviors that minimized the spread of invasive species, degradation of archeological artifacts, and overfishing in marine protected areas. In the second paper, I investigated how environmental worldview shaped the spatial dynamics of assigned values for ecosystem services on Santa Cruz Island within the CINP. Using Public Participation Geographic Information Systems methods, I found that held value orientations (i.e., biocentrism, anthropocentrism) manifested different values ascribed to marine and terrestrial environments. In the third paper, I compared assigned biodiversity values to spatially-explicit measures of ecosystem structure and function using a Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES) mapping application and Maximum Entropy modeling. My results showed that distance to features relevant for park management, carbon sequestration, species richness, elevation, vegetation density, and several categories of land cover predicted the locations and intensity of preferences for biodiversity on Santa Cruz.