The value of water rights in the Rattlesnake Creek Sub-basin: A spatial-hedonic analysis (Kansas)

Golden, Billy Bradford Kansas State University 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

Evidence suggests that advances in technology may be hastening the physical exhaustion of the Ogallala aquifer. This situation places the State of Kansas in a difficult situation. In administering water policy, State agencies are required to achieve an absolute reduction in water consumption, while at the same time maintaining the economic viability of irrigated agriculture in western Kansas. In order to maintain the profitability of irrigated agriculture, technological innovations need to continually be developed through research and adopted by the agricultural community. The question is how to allow this process to continue while at the same time reducing water consumption from the Ogallala aquifer. One potential policy alternative is the Voluntary Water Rights Transition Program (VWRTP) currently under consideration by the State of Kansas. In order to implement the VWETP, the State of Kansas, policy makers, and stakeholders need input from the economic community on both program structure as well as the market value of water rights. This research suggests that the value of water for agricultural purposes depends upon the spatially fixed, site-specific characteristics of the land on which the water is used. These factors include water source, soil type, crop type, depth to water, saturated thickness of the aquifer, the seniority level of the water right, average annual water usage, and local precipitation. Conventional as well as spatial econometric hedonic models were developed to estimate the value of water rights in the Rattlesnake Creek Sub-basin. The spatially unadjusted OLS hedonic models for irrigated and nonirrigated land are considered to be the superior models. Results indicate that there is significant variation in the value of water rights within a given county. The results of this research will be beneficial to the State in the administration of the VWRTP. This information can be used to set the maximum acceptable bids and/or assess the reasonableness of a particular bid. The data might also be useful in program budgeting and/or predicting program success. The regression analysis associated with this dissertation also suggests that the markets for nonirrigated land and irrigated land are separate and distinct and should be modeled separately. The analysis also suggests that the market for irrigated land may be neither competitive nor efficient.

An investigation of the mission, vision, funding strategies and student services for distance learning in land grant and state universities

Thomas, Susan Peterson Kansas State University 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

This study was an investigation of mission, vision, funding strategies, and student services for distance learning as expressed by university administrators in land grant universities and state universities, and those institutions that are designated as both land grant and state universities by the state legislature. Three research questions guided the study. The study employed a survey distributed through e-mail. The questionnaire was sent to 261 senior administrators; the chief academic officers, chief business officers, and chief information officers in 37 land grant and state universities and 13 institutions that are both land grant and state universities. The return rate was 30%. The institutional mission and administrator's vision for offering distance learning survey responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study also used correlation, confirmed by factor analysis, to determine if there was a relationship among the administrators' responses regarding mission, vision, and funding. The data were analyzed with ANOVA and fishers least means difference test. These tests determined if there were differences in the administrators' responses between the type or sizes of higher education institutions on mission, vision of administrators. The data analysis indicated that the type of institution did not yield significant differences. The difference of means test indicated there were differences in the student population size of the institutions. The responses indicated the mission or purpose for offering distance learning was to save money for the institution, and support degree completion for former students. The responses related to administrative vision show initiating a distance learning program and a being leader among higher education institutions were the reasons for a distance learning program. The content analysis method was employed to determine the roles of the administrators in the survey. The administrators' responses related to distance learning were consistent with their roles in the institution. The study also produced results related to student services institutions provide for distance learning students, how the student services were provided, on or off campus or both locations and the funding sources for the student services.

An examination of the legal issues surrounding the use of participation fees in public schools

Neish, Mark A Kansas State University 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

This study looks at the use of participation fee programs in public school districts across the country. It focuses on the legal, and at times social and political issues, which come into play when schools implement such programs. In the course of the research, a variety of types of participation fee programs were reviewed and studied. The central issue that was investigated in this study was the legal status of participation fee programs in various states and the reasons for the apparent discrepancy in court decisions pursuant to the use of participation fee programs in the public schools in their state relative to court decisions in relation to decisions rendered in the state courts of other states. The initial chapters of this work review the national school funding situation, stressors on school funding and some social and political aspects of that funding crisis as it relates to schools and their use of participation fee programs. The issues of Title IX and No Child Left Behind have also been addressed in relation to their impact or potential impact in the area of funding for school extracurricular activities. An integral component of the state court decisions was how the courts interpreted the right of students to participate in extracurricular activities in their state's schools in accordance to state constitutions and state statutes. Many of the cases reviewed for this research address the issue of whether state courts view the extracurricular offerings of schools to be a fundamental right, a fundamental ingredient, a privilege or something of a different vernacular. In summary, it appears from the research conducted that it is legally permissible to charge fees for extracurricular programs and activities in the majority of states. The only exceptions to this would be states in which it has been prohibited through the state courts, prohibited by state statute or prohibited via opinions from the state attorney general which have gone unchallenged in the courts.

Essays on Leasing Kansas Agricultural Land

Arnold, Chelsea Jewel Kansas State University ProQuest Dissertations & T 2021 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

Nearly half of all the farmland in the United States is farmed by a producer that does not own the land. This is especially true in midwestern states such as Kansas. Leasing, versus owning, farmland requires producers to have significantly less capital upfront, thereby reducing overall financial risk exposure. When deciding to lease, or who to lease to/from, both landowners and tenants face several decisions in contract specifics that benefit both parties.Contract choice in farmland leasing includes many factors outside of simply which contract is preferred as each contract choice brings its own set of costs and benefits for both the landowner and tenant. In Essay 1 of this dissertation, the role of risk in contract choice is studied. A unique dataset of landowners and tenants in Kansas is used to examine the role of risk in their contract choices. Results indicate that greater production risk and more risk-averse landowners lead to use of fixed cash rent contracts. As there can be potentially many relationship variables that affect contract choices, a penalized regression is used to examine whether the inclusion of relationship variables affect the finding and find that the results are robust. Understanding the role of risk in farmland contract choices is important to assess the welfare consequences of farm policies or environmental changes that affect production risk.When deciding who to lease their land to, landowners can face several choices in tenants with a wide variety of attributes such as experience level, age, and relationship to the landowner. Experience level, or years of farming experience, is an important factor that landowners utilize in determining who to lease to and at what rate. This can leave young producers, who typically have lower experience levels, at a greater disadvantage when trying to find access to farmland. Using a dataset built from responses of surveys sent to landowners across the state of Kansas, Essay 2 focuses on landowners’ willingness-to-lease to young producers under different condition. A discrete choice model is used to find Kansas landowners’ willingness-to-lease to tenants at three different experience levels and three different relationship levels with the landowner. Empirical results indicate that a young producer with no experience is less preferred than a tenant with more years of experience and may, therefore, need to offer the landowner a higher cash leasing amount before the landowner is willing to lease to them. For young producers with higher experience levels, landowners will accept a marginally discounted rate when compared to not leasing to anyone at all. Relationships such as family/friend and acquaintances between landowners and young producers are also given a discounted leasing rate when compared to the landowner leasing to a stranger. This study not only fills a literature gap of landowner-young producer relationships and willingness-to-pay, but it also lays the foundation for policies to be implemented. Young producers with no experience are at the greatest disadvantage with low access to capital and heavily reliant on access to leased farmland, yet Kansas landowners require a higher leasing rate to rent to young producers. The results of this essay are key in policy implications, but also in educating landowners that their stated belief and attitudes towards young producers do not hold when faced with a monetary-based decision.This dissertation is comprised of two unique studies that focus on farmland leasing in Kansas and the relationships and factors that can affect them. Both studies present results that benefit Kansas landowners and producers by offering insight and education about how leasing contracts and arrangements can be made that benefit both landowner and producer.

What’s Right (Leaning) With Kansas Media: The Cultivation of Misinformation in Rural America

Vogts, Todd R Kansas State University ProQuest Dissertations & T 2023 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

Misinformation and disinformation have shown the potential to fertilize distrust in the news (Kalogeropoulos et al., 2019; Karlsen & Aalberg, 2021; Swart & Broersma, 2022), which can allow democracy-damaging polarization to grow within the United States. This polarization often takes root due to the erosion of reliable information that can be exacerbated by confirmation bias that may cultivate filter bubbles and echo chambers (Flaxman et al., 2016; Lee et al., 2021; Nechushtai & Lewis, 2019; Pearson & Knobloch-Westerwick, 2019).In many cases, politically motivated individuals and media outlets plant these seeds of misinformation and disinformation intentionally, leaving members of society to graze on the subsequent silage of content. If it lacks nutrients, this information constructs a skewed perception of society. This weakens the social capital bonds that germinate a functioning democracy, which sprouts from reliable and public knowledge (Belair-Gagnon et al., 2019; Lewis et al., 2014; Putnam, 2001). In order to prune misinformation and disinformation from the fields of democracy that are irrigated by journalism’s flow of truth, the pathways to news that individuals take and lead them to the invasive species of information must be considered.This risk is particularly important as it relates to the news consumption habits of rural Americans, who largely live and work in agrarian communities and exist as an important voting block as was evident in the 2016 election of President Donald Trump and the controversy surrounding the outcome of the 2020 election. However, most current research does not examine this group in specific focus or simply largely ignores this swath of the United States population as just “fly-over” country.Thus, with the purpose of filling a crucial gap in the literature, this study investigated the pathways to news for individuals living and working in rural areas of the country, specifically rural Kansas. As the investigative focal point, rural Kansas provides a vital case study to explore how rural citizens come to believe in, and potentially further spread misinformation and disinformation, including conspiracy theories spread by partisan media outlets that include, but are not limited to, talk radio, cable television, and social media.Through the implementation of interviews and an online survey that collected data from these individuals, this dissertation reports how individuals in rural Kansas access and use news in ways that stimulate political division and set the stage for polarization to flourish (Bail et al., 2018; Darr et al., 2021; Gaultney et al., 2022; Talisse, 2021), which can lead to a bruised and battered democracy. This method of inquiry sprouts from the social constructionism perspective of reality. This dissertation thereby positions the media effects theories of Cultivation Theory (CT), Uses and Gratifications Theory (U&G), and Communication Infrastructure Theory (CIT) as the optimal lenses through which to examine the pervasive problem of misinformation and disinformation by seeking the root cause of this noxious information’s spread.To that end, this study found that social media and news websites, television, and radio are the primary pathways to news for rural Kansans. The bulk of the content being consumed via these media comes from national and partisan sources, and, in many cases, it consists of opinion-based material. Driven by the state’s strong religious alignment (Wuthnow, 2012) and predominantly conservative political stance (Kansas Secretary of State, 2023), the media messages align with the previously held beliefs of the residents, even if the information is inaccurate. This leads to those beliefs becoming more entrenched, and the misinformation and disinformation spreads when individuals discuss the news with their peers. The fact that individuals do not recognize inaccurate or false information for what it is indicates a deficiency in terms of media literacy skills. Such a finding was made even more evident by several participants expressing their deeply held beliefs in various conspiracy theories. Compounding this issue is the pervasive lack of trust in the media reported by the respondents. In most cases, individuals said they have little to no trust that they are receiving accurate and complete information from news outlets. This was particularly true in terms of national outlets, and although confidence still wasn’t high, local news was found to be more trustworthy.Still, the overall results suggested that rural Kansans desire more reliable news and information, especially at the local level. Individuals indicated they believed journalism was important for society, and this was even more true locally because study participants suggested engaging socially and politically at that level proved to be more impactful than at the national level. Therefore, the implications of this study are multifaceted. First, misinformation and disinformation are being cultivated in rural Kansas because of the residents’ media consumption homogeneity. Also, media literacy skills need to be improved, which can be achieved through educational initiatives. Furthermore, rural Kansans need to be given better news options, and a primary way to achieve this is to improve local news and access to local news across modalities.

Environmental conditions associated with stripe rust and leaf rust epidemics in Kansas winter wheat

Grabow, Bethany Kansas State University ProQuest Dissertations & T 2016 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

Stripe rust (caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici) and leaf rust (caused by Puccinia triticina) are the top two diseases of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) with a 20-year average yield loss of 4.9% in Kansas. Due to the significant yield losses caused by these diseases, the overall objective of this research was to identify environmental variables that favor stripe and leaf rust epidemics. The first objective was to verify the environmental conditions that favor P. triticina infections in an outdoor field environment. Wheat was inoculated with P. triticina and exposed to ambient weather conditions for 16 hours. Number of hours with temperature between 5 to 25°C and relative humidity >87% were highly correlated and predicted leaf rust infections with 89% accuracy. The results of this outdoor assay were used to develop variables to evaluate the association of environment with regional leaf rust epidemics. Before regional disease models can be developed for a forecast system, suitable predictors need to be identified. Objectives two and three of this research were to identify environmental variables associated with leaf rust and stripe rust epidemics and to evaluate these predictors in models. Mean yield loss on susceptible varieties was estimated for nine Kansas crop reporting districts (CRD's). Monthly environmental variables were evaluated for association with stripe rust epidemics (>1% yield loss), leaf rust epidemics (>1% yield loss), severe stripe rust epidemics (>14% yield loss) and severe leaf rust epidemics (>7% yield loss) at the CRD scale. Stripe rust and leaf rust epidemics were both strongly associated with soil moisture conditions; however, the timing differed between these diseases. Stripe rust epidemics were associated with soil moisture in fall and winter, and leaf rust epidemics during winter and spring. Severe stripe rust and leaf rust epidemics were associated with favorable temperature (7 to 12°C) and temperature (15 to 20°C) with relative humidity (>87%) or precipitation in May using tree-based methods of classification, respectively. The preliminary models developed in this research could be coupled with disease observations and varietal resistance information to advise growers about the need for foliar fungicides against these rusts in Kansas winter wheat.

A sociological study of the attitude of Saudi students in the United States toward women's roles in Saudi Arabia

Alshaya, Mohammad Kansas State University 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

Much media attention in the United States has focused on the lives of women in Muslim countries over the last several years---especially those in the Middle East. This study represents a preliminary step toward understanding the opinions of citizens of one of these countries toward women's roles---Saudi Arabian students in the United States. The findings of this study provide answers to several questions asked by western society's mass media about women's rights in Saudi Arabia. For example, some journalists have implied that Saudi society resists allowing women to assume certain roles because men want to control or abuse the women. However, the results of the current study show that the Saudi students in the United States tend to support women's rights, both in the family and in society. For example, the participants expressed concern that women would be in danger of sexual harassment and other potentially undesirable outcomes if they began driving. This illustrates that the resistance they express to expanding women's roles is based on the assumption that Saudi society is not ready for this change, especially in consideration of the overall safety of women. Therefore, while Saudi society has changed dramatically over the last several decades as result of modernization, this study illustrates that as further changes occur, the impact on both the family and society must be considered.

Interactive engagement in an introductory university physics course: Learning gains and perceptions

Churukian, Alice D Kansas State University 2002 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

At Kansas State University we have altered our calculus-based introductory physics course to create the <italic>New Studio</italic> format for teaching fundamental physics to large undergraduate classes. This format retains the large lecture component but combines recitation and laboratory instruction into the <italic>New Studio</italic>. Studio is composed of 40 students working in groups of four at tables equipped with modern instructional technology and other apparatus. The group setting allows for peer instruction and development of group skills. Each sequence of the course begins with a traditional lecture to economically introduce students to new ideas, with an emphasis on physics concepts, followed the next day by Studio, an integration of simple experiments/demonstrations with corresponding problems from the previous night's homework set. This sequence occurs twice each week. In this way, problem solving and analysis activities are built into the context of the real, hands-on demonstrations. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the perceptions of the students and instructors concerning the change from the traditional format to an interactive-engagement format as well as to determine the conceptual gains that the students may have made. To address these questions, open-ended and Lickert scale question surveys were developed and administered to all students enrolled in the courses in the new format. In addition, students volunteered to be interviewed, on an individual basis, throughout the semester, and all instructors involved in the teaching of the courses were interviewed. Finally, conceptual surveys were administered, pre- and post-instruction to evaluate learning gains. The results of this study show that the students find the interactive-engagement method of learning physics to be a positive experience. They liked the integration of homework and laboratory activities, working in groups, and having the opportunity to interact, individually, with instructors. The instructors also considered the new format to be a positive change for similar reasons. The comparison of the pre- and post-instruction surveys indicated that the students made significant conceptual gains in the new format. In light of these results, it is evident that Studio has made a positive impact on the introductory, calculus-based physics course at Kansas State University.

Barriers to Access of Medical Cannabis as a Healthcare Option for Service-Connected Disabled Veterans

Landess, Mark W Kansas State University ProQuest Dissertations & T 2022 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

With the discovery of the endocannabinoid system in 1992, a medical and political debate has continued to spread across North America, both in the United States and Canada, for the last 20 years. Currently in the United States, there are 37 states and the District of Columbia that legalize the use of medical Cannabis (MC) by residents of those states diagnosed with a state-approved medical condition. Since MC is not recognized federally, millions of veterans suffering from service-connected disabilities are not eligible to utilize MC as a medical option. The U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) follows federal laws, which are not in line with current state laws, and service-connected disabled veterans suffer because they are denied access to a medication that has been shown to help alleviate many of the symptoms associated with the top ten service-connected disabilities. These conflicting laws can create stressful situations, which can affect the veteran and their family’s quality of life by limiting the veteran to use traditional medications (TM) commonly prescribed by the VA healthcare provider. This study utilized qualitative research methods, in order to explore lived experiences of service-connected disabled veterans (SCDV’s) and their families, where the SCDV utilized MC instead of TM to treat one or more service-connected disability (SCD). The sample consisted of four participating dyads, three were married with the other being in a long-term relationship, all of the participants were White, representing pre-9/11 and post-9/11 SCDV’s, who served in either the U.S. Army or U.S. Navy. After the raw data were analyzed, this study uncovered multiple findings that affected these families, including the different factors that led to the SCDV’s begin use of MC, stigmas related to medications used by the SCDV, the effects that MC had on these families, the impact that healthcare had on these families, as well as the future hope that these families had. All of these findings were affected by the use of MC by the SCDV.

Comparing soil testing methods for soil organic matter, lime requirements, and developing a phosphorus soil test correlation

Florence, Robert J Kansas State University 2015 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

The Kansas State University Soil Testing Laboratory currently uses the Walkley-Black (WB) method for soil organic matter (SOM) estimations, the Shoemaker-Mclean-Pratt (SMP) buffer for lime recommendations, and bases the soybean phosphorus (P) critical value for P fertilizer recommendations off other crops. Hazardous waste is produced from WB and SMP creating a health hazard for workers, and substantial cost for handling and disposal. The substantial increase in land area devoted to soybean creates the need to validate currently assumed soil test P critical value and check the current P recommendations for that crop. Overarching objectives of this dissertation are to find suitable non-hazardous replacements for WB and SMP, and to find the soybean P critical value in Kansas. Three common methods used to estimate SOM are WB, dry combustion (DC), and loss on ignition (LOI). An experiment was set up using 98 Kansas soils to compare WB, scooped and weighed, LOI scooped, and DC weighed. All methods correlated well to each other with LOI to weighed WB, LOI to DC, and WB weighed to DC, having correlation coefficients of 0.97, 0.98, and 0.98, respectively. The lowest variability was observed with DC, followed by WB weighed, LOI, and then WB scooped with average standard deviations of 0.04, 0.13, 0.17, and 0.24, respectively. Two non-hazardous alternatives to the SMP buffer to determine soil lime requirement are the Sikora buffer, and the modified-Mehlich buffer. Sikora's buffer is designed to mimic SMP. Buffer values alone or Mehlich's equation may be used to calculate lime requirements. Thirty seven soils with a pH less than 5.8 were incubated at lime rates 0, 2240, 4480, 8960, and 17920 kg ECC ha-1. Amount of lime required to reach pHs 6.0, 6.3, and 6.6 was calculated. Mehlich's equation better predicted lime requirements for all target pHs and buffers than buffer pH alone. The Sikora buffer with Mehlich's equation provided a better lime estimation than the Mehlich buffer using Mehlich's equation.. A P correlation and calibration study was conducted with soybeans at 23 sites in Eastern Kansas from 2011 to 2014. Soil Mehlich-3 P available P was compared to relative soybean yield at these sites.. Soybean P critical value was found to be between 10 and 15 or 11.6 mg kg-1 using Cate-Nelson, and linear-plateau models, respectively. A linear response to P and relative yield was observed on soils testing between 3 and 8 mg kg-1, but not on higher testing soils.