Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2022, Political Science

Elections, and the winner-take-all competition between partisan group it represents, is often captured by common metaphors about politics being similar to a sports competition. In a three article dissertation, I examine how a focus on closeness of political partisan competition affects people's people degree of affective polarization, their tolerance of election cheating, and how it does not affect political engagement. Article 1: In recent political history, most elections have become increasingly non-competitive. Yet even though most elections are non-competitive, the Americans have become increasingly polarized and have even grown to hate or loath their opposing partisan group. If there is so little struggle over partisan control of the U.S. government, then why are Americans so entrenched against their partisan out-group? Using a survey of Americans' perceptions of election competitiveness, I explore what drives people's perceptions of competition and how it influences attitudes. I find people are biased towards perceiving elections as competitive and partisans are bias in vote-share perceptions. Greater perceptions of national partisan competition, but not other levels of office, is a predictor of higher levels of affective polarization. Real levels of partisan competition also affect people's level of affective polarization but in more nuanced ways. Given these findings, I discuss insight on effective methods for reducing partisan competition and thus affective polarization. Article 2: American government supports that highly competitive practices like elections are the best way to represent the will of voters. However, in an era of high partisan animus, it is worth examining the negative effects that this focus has on people's attitudes. Using an original survey experiment, I investigate the effects of salient partisan competition on people's tolerance of election cheating. I find that greater salience of partisan competition increases participants' tol (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2022, History (Arts and Sciences)

This dissertation focuses on James R. Schlesinger and a group of strategists who advocated increasingly flexible nuclear options from the late 1950s through the end of the Cold War. It addresses two fundamental questions: Did strategic superiority matter, and were there enduring benefits to be gained from nuclear competition? In general, the first generation of nuclear scholars accept that the strategic nuclear balance was stalemated from at least the mid-1960s until the end of the Cold War. A “long peace” thus flowed naturally from such a condition. In the social sciences, the theorists of the nuclear revolution portray US nuclear strategy as illogical, counterproductive, and needlessly destabilizing. This dissertation joins the second generation of scholars who counter that strategic superiority had real meaning, the warfighting strategists pursued logical designs, and nuclear competition ultimately strengthened deterrence and the overall Western position. By developing limited nuclear options and leveraging its technological superiority against an unsophisticated adversary, the United States channeled the superpower competition into areas of asymmetric advantage. Schlesinger and his group of like-minded strategists played a leading role in this process. Together, they designed a framework of analysis for long-term competition that identified emerging areas of strategic opportunity. In the process, Schlesinger and his intellectual camp laid the foundation for the revitalization of American military power in the 1980s.

Master of Science, Miami University, 0, Biological Sciences

Contests over limited resources frequently occur when species occupy the same area. Certain behaviors may predispose some species to have a competitive advantage during these contests. The cellar spider, Pholcus manueli, recently expanded its range and appears to have displaced local populations of Pholcus phalangioides. I quantified activity differences between these species and investigated whether the success of P. manueli is due to its competitiveness. In my first experiment, P. manueli displayed more activity and web deposits than P. phalangioides, but P. phalangioides deposited webbing at a faster rate. Next, I staged interspecific contests over territory—an empty web site or a site occupied by a web (higher resource value) of one species. Pholcus manueli did not win any contests and retreated from interactions more often. The success of P. manueli is not due to its ability to take over territory but may be related to its active nature.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2015, Music

Undergraduate music students often experience a high learning curve when they first encounter pitch-class set theory, an analytical system very different from those they have studied previously. Students sometimes find the abstractions of integer notation and the mathematical orientation of set theory foreign or even frightening (Kleppinger 2010), and the dissonance of the atonal repertoire studied often engenders their resistance (Root 2010). Pedagogical games can help mitigate student resistance and trepidation. Table games like Bingo (Gillespie 2000) and Poker (Gingerich 1991) have been adapted to suit college-level classes in music theory. Familiar television shows provide another source of pedagogical games; for example, Berry (2008; 2015) adapts the show "Survivor" to frame a unit on theory fundamentals. However, none of these pedagogical games engage pitch-class set theory during a multi-week unit of study. In my dissertation, I adapt the show "Survivor" to frame a four-week unit on pitch-class set theory (introducing topics ranging from pitch-class sets to twelve-tone rows) during a sophomore-level theory course. As on the show, students of different achievement levels work together in small groups, or “tribes,” to complete worksheets called “challenges”; however, in an important modification to the structure of the show, no students are voted out of their tribes. Challenges are graded individually, and these grades are averaged together to yield a score for each tribe. At the end of the unit, each member of the tribe that earned the highest cumulative average score on the challenges receives a modest gift card as a non-academic prize. While students' grades are based solely on their own work, the game element promotes peer mentoring through cooperative learning (Johnson and Johnson 1999; Slavin 2012) and inspires constructive peer pressure that motivates all students to do their best. Aspects of the game designed to enhance student enjoyment and build (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2014, Art Education

The University Interscholastic League (UIL) One-Act Play contest in Texas is the largest interschool theatre competition in the world. Over 1300 high schools compete in this statewide theatre competition each year. This study investigates the ways Texas theatre teachers view the contest, and how the contest influences the curricula in their classrooms. Six teachers were interviewed on their classroom practice and their curricula, specifically on the curricula's learner-centeredness, social responsibility, and comprehensiveness in theatrical disciplines as well as their attitudes toward competition and the One-Act Play contest. Interviews took place over the phone and Skype and were approximately an hour long. Through the interviews conducted, teachers revealed that their curricula are not limited by the UIL One-Act Play contest. The curricula described by the theatre teachers were widely varied, and each teacher valued learner-centered practice, social responsibility, and comprehensive theatre education to different degrees. According to the results of the study most teachers are not hindered by the UIL when developing their curricula in these three areas and students' experience in the UIL One-Act Play contest can be equally or more active and authentic as in other productions.

Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2007, Biological Sciences

Baumer, Marilyn Cabrini. M.S., Department of Biological Sciences, Wright State University, 2007. Tree Seedling Establishment Under the Native Shrub, Asimina Triloba. Species that form forest understory layers affect canopy tree seedling establishment worldwide. In the Eastern United States, shrub understories like Rhododendrom maximum, a native evergreen species, and Lonicera maackii, an exotic, invasive species, diminish tree seedling survival. I compared the density and survival of canopy tree seedlings under and outside patches of the native shrub, Asimina triloba (L.) Dunal (Annonaceae) (pawpaw). I also conducted a manipulative experiment to determine whether above ground or below ground competition was more important in seedling growth and survival. Above ground competition was manipulated by tying back the leaves of the pawpaw and below ground competition was manipulated by trenching the perimeter of the study plots. Tree seedling density was approximately three times greater outside pawpaw patches than under pawpaw over the range of sites. Seedlings under pawpaw were both younger and shorter than those outside of pawpaw. Survival varied by species. Acer saccharum seedlings were about one and a half times more likely to survive outside pawpaw than under pawpaw. Prunus serotina seedlings were about three times more likely to survive outside pawpaw than under pawpaw. In contrast, pawpaw did not affect the survival of Fraxinus spp. seedlings. Differing survival rates may reflect characteristics related to the species shade tolerance. Light (measured by canopy densiometer) was greater outside pawpaw than under pawpaw. No significant differences in moisture levels were detected; however, at three of the four sites, moisture was greater under pawpaw than outside of pawpaw. The combination of above ground and below ground factors was more important in the survival and growth (measured by biomass) of planted A. saccharum seedlings under pawpaw than either above ground (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Musical Arts, The Ohio State University, 2007, Music

The National Flute Association, an organization of professionals, amateurs, teachers, performers, and students has been active in the commissioning of new music for some of its competitions since 1986. The organization is responsible for more than forty new works for the Young Artist and High School Soloist competitions alone. The commissioning process has changed vastly over the years that the organization has been in existence. The National Flute Association commissions composers from all over the world to write pieces for two of its competitions; the Young Artist Competition has been commissioning works since 1986, and the High School Soloist Competition began commissioning new works in 1989. Additionally, the importance of the National Flute Association has led to many world premiere performances and individuals commissioning works to be premiered at the annual conventions. The purpose of this document is to highlight the competition commissioned works of this organization and its continuing commitment to presenting and championing new music. The National Flute Association has established itself as a leading organization in creating new works, and these commissioned pieces now represent a major body of work and a substantial portion of the newly composed repertoire for flute.

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2003, Zoology

Sexual selection occurs through female choice, scramble competition and contest competition for mates. I investigated the relative importance of these mechanisms in determining reproductive success of male meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus). Spatial ability and dominance rank were measured as traits believed to be selected by scramble and contest competition, respectively. Spatial ability and dominance rank of males were determined using water maze and neutral-arena trials, respectively. Males that varied in these traits were used for experiments conducted in outdoor enclosures. Home range size was determined using radio telemetry and trapping. Females were housed in nest boxes to determine the ability of males to locate females. I tested the hypothesis that males with better spatial ability achieve greater reproductive success. Paternity was determined by amplifying polymorphic loci using nine microsatellite primers. Males with better spatial ability had larger home ranges and visited more females, but did not achieve greater reproductive success. This latter result did not seem to be due to a trade-off between mate-searching and mate-guarding abilities. Dominant males had better spatial-learning ability, and had quicker learning speed, but did not have better spatial memory than less aggressive subordinates. Spatial-learning ability was poorest and spatial-learning speed was slowest for males collected during a peak in population density, suggesting that a mate-searching phenotype may be density dependent. I also tested the relative importance of spatial ability and dominance rank in determining female mating preferences and frequency of visitation to females' nests. Dominance rank was not correlated with nest visitation or home range size. Males better at simple spatial learning visited more females, while males better at a spatial-transfer task ranged widely and visited fewer females. Males with better spatial memory had smaller ranges and revisited the same (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science, Miami University, 2024, Microbiology

Complete ammonia oxidizers (Comammox) are a novel group of nitrifiers which have received little ecophysiological characterization in freshwater ecosystems. Here, the response of two freshwater comammox, enriched from Lake Superior (Sup3) and Lake Erie (E28) sediment, to temperature, ammonium concentration, pH, and salinity were characterized using cultivation-dependent methods. Resulting responses shared similarities with previous characterized ammonia oxidizers, however, Sup3 and E28 were more susceptible to changes in environmental factors. Response to salinity is consistent with the absence of comammox in marine ecosystems. The ability of comammox to both produce and oxidize nitrite has called into question the competition between them and canonical nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) for nitrite. The capacity of comammox and NOB to compete for nitrite was assessed through cultivation-dependent and molecular methods. Results indicated that comammox outcompete NOB for nitrite following oxidation from ammonia. amoA (Ammonia-monooxygenase subunit A) and nxrB (Nitrite-oxidoreductase subunit B) abundance in a combined comammox and NOB enrichment culture were similar to that of comammox alone while nxrB copies were highest in an NOB enrichment. This indicated a very small to nonexistent population of NOB. Though, oxidation trends of nitrite assert the presence of NOB within the combined enrichment.

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2024, Biology

Climate change has the potential to alter interactions between species if it leads to range shifts that create new areas of sympatry. Understanding how species respond to these changing interactions is essential in predicting the effects climate change will have on population and community dynamics. Two sympatric species of Peromyscus in the Great Lakes region have experienced range shifts that can potentially alter how they compete. Peromyscus leucopus noveboracensis (PLN) has expanded its range into areas where P. maniculatus gracilis (PMG) was previously the only forest mouse, while PMG has disappeared from the southern portion of its range. To understand the potential effects of competition on these species, I sampled from locations that have mostly PLN, equal proportions of the two species, or mostly PMG. I examined how winter severity affects population size, overwinter survival, and breeding phenology by comparing between sites. I also examined how changing community dynamics influenced genetic structure. Lastly, I examined how microhabitat use and niche partitioning can alleviate the effects of climate change and altered competitive dynamics. While community composition influences population growth rates, genetic diversity remains stable in PMG, and microhabitat features appear to allow it to persist in certain areas. These results indicate that examining multiple aspects of a species' ecology, including interactions with possible competitors, is essential to understand the impacts of climate change on terrestrial animals.

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1971, Graduate School

Master of Business Administration, The Ohio State University, 1963, Graduate School

Master of Business Administration, The Ohio State University, 1963, Graduate School

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1952, Graduate School

Master of Business Administration, The Ohio State University, 1963, Graduate School

Master of Business Administration, The Ohio State University, 1963, Graduate School

Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2024, Educational Administration

Antisemitism has a long and troubling history in the United States, often manifesting in various social settings, including organized sports. This study investigates the experiences of Jewish-American youth athletes in Central Ohio, focusing on how modern antisemitism affects their participation in sports and overall well-being. Recent data shows a resurgence of antisemitic incidents, which has prompted a need for detailed exploration of its impacts on young athletes. The problem addressed in this study is the increasing prevalence of antisemitism in youth sports and its detrimental effects on Jewish teenagers in Central Ohio. Through a Critical Participatory Action Research (CPAR) methodology, this research combines qualitative and quantitative data to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the issue. Surveys conducted with Jewish teenage athletes reveal experiences of verbal abuse, exclusion, and other forms of discrimination leading to heightened psychological distress, and negative impacts to Jewish identity and sense of belonging. This study underscores the urgent need to address antisemitism within youth sports in Central Ohio. By implementing targeted community interventions, harm can be mitigated and a supportive environment for Jewish athletes can be fostered. This research contributes to the broader understanding of how antisemitism affects minority youth in sports and provides a framework for future studies on marginalized groups. Continued efforts and collaboration among community organizations, educational institutions, and policymakers are essential to combat antisemitism and promote inclusivity in youth athletics.

Doctor of Healthcare Administration (D.H.A.), Franklin University, 2024, Health Programs

As of the end of the twentieth century, biological drug therapies were at the forefront of health research for treating life-threatening diseases. Despite their therapeutical benefits stemming from providing great treatment hope against lethal diseases, biological drugs end up placing a financial burden on the American healthcare system. In the last decade, biological drug skyrocketing prices have significantly impacted net drug expenditures. The biological drug market needs more competitors. This impacted the passage of the Biological Price Competition and Innovation Act in 2010, introducing biosimilars, the highly safe and effective but less expensive biological copycat alternative drugs. However, a decade after biosimilars introduction, healthcare administration barriers limit American pharmacists and physicians from adopting biosimilars. Hence, the current low American health care provider biosimilar adoption rate must be improved to realize significant healthcare savings. Although many literature studies have examined biosimilar clinical adoption hurdles among American pharmacists and physicians in their siloed medical care settings, they have yet to focus on creating a comprehensive un-siloed biosimilar adoption plan based on their inputs. Therefore, to determine the essential elements to boost biosimilar adoption, this qualitative exploratory study thoroughly examined the literature. It then gathered the viewpoints of pharmacists and physicians who were acquainted with biosimilars by conducting semi-structured question interviews with 13 pharmacists and 8 physicians for a total of 21 participants. The findings of this study suggest that to create a dynamic and competitive biosimilar comprehensive clinical adoption plan, increasing HCPP education, having sufficient healthcare reimbursement, improving the roles of essential stakeholders, and increasing communication among key stakeholders are all necessary to increase biosimilars' trust and adoption, facilitati (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Mathematics

In this work, we study two problems in mathematical ecology. These problems are formulated as partial differential equations of reaction-diffusion type. In the first part of this work, we study the persistence of a single species or two species in a bounded domain subject to diffusive movement, environmental drift and boundary loss. These populations are described by a reaction-diffusion equation describing single- and two-species population dynamics. For the case of a single species, we establish the existence of the critical domain size, and analyze its dependence on the diffusion rate and rate of loss at each boundary point. We also consider the competition between two species which differ only in their dispersal rates. If the diffusion rates of both species are sufficiently large, we show that one species must exclude the other, and provide conditions under which the faster (or the slower) species will prevail. In the second part of this work, we study the spreading speed of a predator population that is expanding its range. Specifically, we consider a diffusive Lotka-Volterra system describing the interaction of a predator species and a prey species. Motivated by the effect of global climate change, it is imposed that the efficiency with which predators convert prey to offspring is described by a function whose profile is fixed in the moving frame x - c_1t. By applying the Hamilton-Jacobi approach, we completely determine the asymptotic spreading speed of the predator in the case that the conversion efficiency is monotonically increasing with arbitrary value of c_1 > 0. When the conversion efficiency is monotonically decreasing, we determine the spreading speed if the speed c_1 > 0 of the moving frame is sufficiently fast or slow.

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2024, EECS - System and Control Engineering

This thesis describes a new method to solve the security-constrained optimal power flow (SCOPF) by dividing the into base case and contingency cases. The base case solution is found by using generalized Bender Decomposition(GBD) which will divide the problem into master and sub-problem. For contingency cases, each individual case can be solved separately and independently from each other using parallel programing. There are 3 approaches for contingency, using GBD, heuristic, and implementing LODF and PTDF. Test data are from ARPA-E GO Competition Challenge 2 Final Event which consists of 16 synthetic networks and 84 scenarios with varying size from 617 buses to 31777 buses. The extension of the methodology will be discussed further in the thesis.