Rate And Method Of Suicide Attempts In The US Between 1992 And 2010: Geographic And Demographic Differences

It is widely recognized that one of the most effective suicide prevention strategies is to restrict access to highly lethal methods of suicide (e.g., firearms, pesticides). However, there is a paucity of recent studies that assess the potential correlates of method lethality, such as demographic and geographic variables. Therefore, the present study aims to address this gap in literature by analyzing method lethality used in suicide attempts across varying geographic and demographic variables, including region (West, Midwest, Northeast, South), Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), sex, age groups, races, and ethnicities using National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) data from 1992-2010. Results suggest that males are significantly more likely to use highly lethal methods when attempting suicide. Being non-Hispanic and living in a rural area was related to a higher likelihood of electing to use a highly lethal suicide attempt method, though these findings were not statistically significant. The implications for clinical practice and prevention policy are discussed

Interspecific Competition Affects Avian Personality, Assortative Mating, and Reproductive Success

Animal personality is thought to influence monogamous relationships by better allowing mates to coordinate territory defense and parental care behaviors. Aggressive territorial defense and boldness to potential predators are often important and ecologically relevant animal personality traits; however, the effects of heterogeneous social environments on the expression of assortative mating, personality, and behavioral syndromes are poorly understood. Eastern bluebirds are secondary cavity nesting birds that are facing a changing social environment in western NC. Tree swallows are expanding their range southward and have been in the field site for < 40 years. Tree swallows are highly aggressive and compete with bluebirds for limited nesting cavities. This new selection pressure may interfere with otherwise adaptive personality traits. This thesis aims to understand the ways that interspecific competition with a highly aggressive species may shape individual behavior and affect reproductive success in cavity nesting birds. Here, I examined how interspecific competition with tree swallows affects the propensity of paired male and female Eastern bluebirds to mate assortatively for behavior and how that may affect reproductive success. Furthermore, I examined how interspecific competition may affect behavior in an attempt to understand how the environment plays a role in shaping animal personality and plasticity

Factors Contributing To The Recent Increase Of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Diagnoses

Over the past twenty years, the number of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) diagnoses has steadily climbed. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 11% of American school-aged children and roughly 5% of American adults have ADHD (CDC, 2016; Manos, 2010). This literature review will investigate possible influences on the increasing rates of ADHD diagnoses. There are many different hypothesized etiologies for ADHD, but no one factor can be labeled as the exclusive cause of ADHD developing in children (DuPaul & Stoner, 2003). To date, researchers have not reached consensus on the etiology of the disorder, which may be a factor influencing the increased prevalence. Also, the diagnostic criteria have changed in various editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) (Mash & Wolfe, 2016). Several different mental health professionals are able to diagnose a person with ADHD, meaning that diagnostic practices and treatments are not uniform in the United States. (Smith, 2011). Lastly, the changing culture of the United States may indicate that societal influences have contributed to the increase in diagnoses of ADHD in America

Accounting For Heterogeneity In Behavioral Responses To Health-Risk Information Treatments

Traditional revealed and stated preference models consider a typical individual's behavioural responses to various policy-based information treatments. For some cost–benefit applications in which resource managers are concerned with responses from a representative individual, this is sufficient. However, as behavioural responses to information treatments can vary across respondents, we develop a latent class analysis with covariates to examine unobservedheterogeneity responses to health-risk information treatments. Results from a probabilistic model indicate that classes of consumers respond differently to the health-risk information treatments. Principally, we find that the media form of the information treatment is important, with raw consumer groups typically more responsive to a brochure information treatment, while cooked oyster consumers are more responsive to the same information in a video format. We also find that a proposed US Food and Drug Administration policy on processing all raw oysters before market has a greater effect on reducing demand for consumers of cooked oysters. However, with an associated price premium, all consumer classes reduce demand. Overall, the results suggest that future policy-based research could benefit from examining potential heterogeneity in individuals’ responses to risk information treatments in order to fully understand the efficacy of treatments on behaviour

Artificial Reef Attributes And The Relationship With Natural Reefs: Evidence From The Florida Keys

Natural or coral reefs represent extremely valuable ecosystems supporting an estimated 25 percent of all marine life, yet recent reports suggest that 75 percent of the world’s natural reefs are under threat from both natural and human stressors. In areas such as the Florida Keys that boasts an expansive mix of natural and artificial reefs, recreational diving on the system provides an important economic contribution to the local community but also potentially contributes to the stress of the existing natural reef system. We develop a revealed and stated preference modeling framework of diver behavior and find that deployment of an additional large ship reef increases overall diving activity but does not impact diving behavior on the natural reef system

Estimating A Payment Vehicle For Financing Nourishment Of Residential Beaches Using A Spatial-Lag Hedonic Property Price Model

Beach nourishment projects are common methods for coastal states to protect beaches and property from the natural erosive process. However, while the beneficiaries of beach nourishment tend to be local property owners and recreators, projects are typically funded at the state level. Based on the benefit principle, as local residents receive more of the erosion protection benefits of the nourishment projects, we estimate a value capture tax, designed to levy the financing burden in a manner that approximates the distribution of benefits. The benefits of nourishment projects to coastal property owners are estimated using the results from a spatial-lag hedonic model that controls for viewshed effects

Spatial Heterogeneity In Environmental Regulation Enforcement And The Firm Location Decision Among U.S. Counties

We estimate a negative binomial model with fixed effects to examine the impact of spatial differences in environmental regulation on manufacturing capital flows. Using a newly available data set, we find that stricter air quality standards with respect to ozone deter births of polluting plants, suggesting that heterogeneity in regulatory standards may create a spatial browning process. We also find that spatial differences in environmental regulation do not play a role in the location decision of plants that are not pollution-intensive. Finally, we also examine the effects on capital flows with respect to three other criteria air pollutants regulated under the amendments to the Clean Air Act. We find that births of particulates-intensive manufacturers are deterred by stricter regulation with respect to particulates emissions but the location decisions of plants that emit high levels of carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide are not significantly affected by increased regulation of the respective criteria pollutant

Measuring The Willingness To Pay For Cave Diving

Fresh water springs are unique natural resources that are contained within public lands across the United States. Natural resource management on public lands generates many interesting policy issues as the competing goals of conservation, recreational opportunity provision, and revenue generation often clash. As demand for recreational cave diving sites increases, this article provides natural resource site managers with the first statistical estimate of divers’ willingness to pay (WTP) to dive cave and cavern systems. Using a contingent valuation model (CVM) and correcting for hypothetical bias, we find that divers’ median WTP for cave diving opportunities at the site of interest is between $52 and$83 per dive. Model results also provide weak evidence of diver sensitivity with respect to scope, as individuals are willing to pay more for dives that are judged to be higher in quality

The Effects Of Air Quality Regulations On The Location Decisions Of Pollution-Intensive Manufacturing Plants

This research examines the effects of the 1977 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) on the location decisions of pollution-intensive manufacturing plants. We develop a panel data set to analyze plant births of polluting manufacturers over time as a function county-level attainment status of the federal standard for ozone pollution. We find that more stringent county-level environmental regulations impact pollution-intensive capital flows through deterring new plant births. We also find that the impact of stricter regulations varies by pollution-intensity of manufacturers, with results suggesting that federal guidelines have a greater impact on high pollution intensive manufacturers than more moderate polluters

Using Revealed And Stated Preference Data To Estimate The Scope And Access Benefits Associated With Cave Diving

In a single-site travel cost model framework, revealed and stated preference data are jointly estimated to provide the first use-value estimate associated with recreational cave diving. Focusing on one of Florida's first magnitude springs, we estimate average per-person per-trip use values of approximately $155, generating annual cave diving use values in the region of$1075. Further, in an investigation of potential site quality changes, we find that divers are sensitive to scope effects with an additional cave system increasing annual per-person use values by approximately $100, while improved access yields an additional$50 in per-person annual consumer surplus. Finally, three additional model specifications are estimated and indicate that divers use different travel cost preferences when assessing their revealed and stated preference trip counts but a single preference structure to evaluate site quality changes