A New Approach to Proportional Hazards Modeling for Estimating Customer Lifetime Value

Estimating customer lifetime value (CLV or LTV) is extremely important for making better business decisions. The proposed flexible proportional hazards model allows an estimation of lifetime value in contractual settings. This approach takes advantage of a churn model, which is assumed to be available.Comment: 6 page

Development of Small and Medium-Sized Regional Enterprises: Creation of Priority Areas (the Case of Sverdlovsk Region)

This article presents the results of the research which deals with the current level of development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Sverdlovsk region. The study analyses the statistics of entrepreneurship development as well as Russian and international experience in this sphere. It also includes a sociological survey of entrepreneurs’ satisfaction with the business climate in the region. The research was aimed at elaborating guidelines for the long-term development of a regional entrepreneurship support system. This system seeks to facilitate the implementation of the ‘Strategy for the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises in Sverdlovsk Region before 2030’. As a result, an amalgam of strategic responses for the development of SMEs is presented. The completed response comprises measures intended to address the problems entrepreneurs face by developing SME support tools; to solve the endemic problems of the sector by improving the system of regional SME support; and to promote the realization of concrete priority areas for entrepreneurship development.The research work was carried out in collaboration with the Ural Federal University n.a. the First President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin and OOO “Analytical Centre Expert-Ural’” at the request of Sverdlovsk Regional Entrepreneurship Support Fund. The research was conducted in the period of September-November 2014. The state programme of Sverdlovsk region ‘Development of Industry and Science in Sverdlovsk Region Before 2020’ (approved by the Order of Sverdlovsk government of 24 October 2013 № 1293-ПП)

Factors Contributing to Ladder Falls and Broader Impacts on Safety and Biomechanics

Ladder falls cause disabling injury and death in the workplace and at home. Numerous scenarios lead to ladder falls given the variation in ladder types and how they are used. Of the potential factors influencing ladder fall risk under these different scenarios, many have yet to be investigated. This dissertation used a multifaceted approach to determine ladder fall risk factors. Specifically, this dissertation tested younger and older adults, designed occupational and domestic based ladder experiments, and investigated factors that precede and follow a ladder falling event. Aim 1 of this dissertation identified individual factors associated with safe and effective domestic ladder use among older adults. Balance measured with clinical assessments was a primary predictor of safe and effective ladder use. Aim 2 of this dissertation determined individual, environmental and biomechanical factors that aid in arresting a falling event from a ladder. Ascending climbs, males, greater upper body strength, higher hand placement during recovery and reestablishing at least one foot back onto the ladder during recovery were associated with reduced ladder fall severity (i.e. better recovery). Surprisingly, glove condition was not found to contribute to ladder fall severity. Hand-rung forces were correlated with the severity of the falling event and not an individual’s ability to generate force, suggesting that these forces are dependent on the circumstances of the perturbation. Findings from this dissertation may guide fall interventions (e.g. screenings, improvements in safety standards, perturbation response training, ladder re-design). Therefore, this work is expected to have impact on the safety field by reducing ladder fall injuries. Furthermore, this work contributes new knowledge to the biomechanics of ladder use and fall recovery. As part of a larger strategy to improve safety for all populations, increased diversity is needed in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Aim 3 of this dissertation utilized biomechanics as a link to develop a student-interest based pedagogy to improve engagement of underrepresented groups in the STEM fields. This work found lectures tailored to student interests to increase student engagement. Long-term effects from this work can increase diversity in the STEM fields including safety

d/Deafness and the Basic Course: A Case Study of Universal Instructional Design and Students Who are d/Deaf in the (aural) Communication Classroom

The primary purpose of this essay is to suggest ways to create a universally inclusive curriculum, which, by definition, addresses the learning needs of all students, including students with disabilities or, in this case, students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Presented with the opportunity of having a d/Deaf students in a public speaking class, we reflect on the accommodations made, the assumptions inherent in an inclusive classroom, and the ideology of ableism. Because d/Deafness is as much a cultural identity as an auditory condition, we also address how to create safe learning environments for diverse student populations through the use of Universal Instructional Design

Evaluative Study of the Enid Academically and Creatively Talented (ACTion) Program

Educational Psycholog

Attentional biases towards familiar and unfamiliar foods in children. The role of food neophobia

Familiarity of food stimuli is one factor that has been proposed to explain food preferences and food neophobia in children, with some research suggesting that food neophobia (and familiarity) is at first a predominant of the visual domain. Considering visual attentional biases are a key factor implicated in a majority of fear-related phobias/anxieties, the purpose of this research was to investigate attentional biases to familiar and unfamiliar fruit and vegetables in 8 to 11 year old children with differing levels of food neophobia. To this end, 70 primary aged children completed a visual-probe task measuring attentional biases towards familiar and unfamiliar fruit/vegetables, as well as the food neophobia, general neophobia and willingness to try self-report measures. Results revealed that as an undifferentiated population all children appeared to demonstrate an attentional bias toward the unfamiliar fruit and vegetable stimuli. However, when considering food neophobia, this bias was significantly exaggerated for children self-reporting high food neophobia and negligible for children self-reporting low food neophobia. In addition, willingness to try the food stimuli was inversely correlated with attentional bias toward the unfamiliar fruits/vegetables. Our results demonstrate that visual aspects of food stimuli (e.g. familiarity) play an important role in childhood food neophobia. This study provides the first empirical test of recent theory/models of food neophobia (e.g. Brown & Harris, 2012). Findings are discussed in light of these models and related anxiety models, along with implications concerning the treatment of childhood food neophobia

How do mothers manage their preschool children's eating habits and does this change as children grow older?:A longitudinal analysis

The practices mothers adopt in relation to feeding their children have been identified as important predictors of children's quality of diet. However, most studies of the impact of these practices on quality of children's diets have been cross-sectional in design, limiting conclusions about change and causality. Previous research has called for qualitative exploration of the way these practices are used in a real-life setting. This study set out to address these gaps in knowledge. At baseline, mothers recruited to a community-based intervention study and who had a preschool child, completed a questionnaire about their use of covert and overt control practices, child food neophobia and demographics. The quality of children's diets was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Both questionnaires were repeated with the mothers two years later. Complete data at both time points were available for 228 mother-child pairs. Four focus group discussions were conducted with 29 mothers of preschool children to explore their experiences of feeding young children. Mothers who increased their use of overt control had children whose level of food neophobia also increased (P = 0.02). Mothers who used more covert control had children with better quality diets at both time points (P = <0.01) and mothers who increased their use of covert control over the two year follow-up had children whose diet quality improved (P = 0.003). These associations were independent of confounders such as mother's level of education. In the focus groups, mothers suggested that feeding young children was stressful and that control was often relinquished in order to reduce conflict at mealtimes. Supporting parents to adopt more covert techniques to control their children's eating habits may be an effective way of improving the quality of young children's diets

Social influence processes on adolescents' food likes and consumption: the role of parental authoritativeness and individual self-monitoring

This cross-sectional study investigated how parents and friends influence adolescents’ food likes and consumption. 709 adolescent-parent and 638 adolescent-friend dyads completed a questionnaire, allowing us to compare target-parent and target-friend resemblances both on food likes and consumption, while distinguishing between cultural influence and dyadic unique influence. In addition, we identified two psychosocial predictors of resemblance, namely parenting style and adolescents' self-monitoring. As expected, results indicated that authoritative parenting style increased target-parent resemblance in food likes (directly) and consumption (indirectly), and self-monitoring orientation increased target-friend resemblance in food likes (directly) and consumption (indirectly). We also showed that target-friend resemblance was more culture-based than target-parent resemblance, suggesting that parental influence is more specific to the dyadic relation than is peer influence