Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2018, Mechanical Engineering

The STS transfer is an essential activity of daily living (ADL) and is typically a precursor to other ADLs such as walking and climbing stairs. The ability to complete ADLs is crucial for adults to maintain independence as they age, however a loss of muscle mass with age is inevitable making the ability to complete ADLs more difficult. As ADLs become more difficult, older adults tend to decrease their activity resulting in an overall decrease in health and quality of life. In order to inform rehabilitation strategies, the STS transfer in an older healthy population must be better understood. To do this, we created 3-dimensional musculoskeletal models in eight older healthy adults completing the STS transfer. During the STS transfer, the vastus lateralis, gluteus maximus, soleus, and medial gastrocnemius produced the largest muscle forces and contributions to the vertical and horizontal acceleration of the center of mass. We also iteratively weakened all of the muscles in the musculoskeletal model and individual muscle groups (gluteus maximus, quadriceps, plantarflexors) that produced the largest forces during the STS transfer to determine which muscles were most sensitive to weakness during the STS transfer. When all muscles were weakened, the simulations failed at the hip first with most simulations failing around 70 – 80%. The joint location of failure and the amount of allowable weakness differed from the young healthy population who failed in ranges of 20% - 65% global weakness at the knee first. In the older healthy population, when all of the muscles were weakened there were large flexion/extension reserves indicating that the back and abdominal muscles may be important to the STS transfer in an older healthy population. When individual muscle groups were weakened, we found that older healthy individuals were most sensitive to weakness at the hip, and least sensitive to weakness of the plantarflexors. The weakness at the hip in the older healthy population di (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Robert Siston PhD. (Advisor); Ajit Chaudhari PhD. (Committee Member) Subjects: Biomechanics; Mechanical Engineering

MA, Kent State University, 2021, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Health Sciences

The main goal of this research is to investigate the cross-cultural differences in perceptions of the importance of the microlevel (e.g., exercising) and macrolevel (e.g., education) factors of healthy aging among adults in the United States and Saudi Arabia. The participants include Saudi adult men and women ages 18 years and older who are living in the U.S. (n = 23) and U.S. adults (n = 45). Respondents completed an online survey that included questions about their perceptions of the importance of the main factors of healthy aging. The findings of this study suggest that drinking alcohol, engaging in creative arts, engaging in cognitively stimulating activities and receiving care from others reflect cross-cultural differences in perceptions of healthy aging between Saudi adults and the U.S. adults. These findings help in understanding the perceptions of the importance of the underlying factors of healthy aging in the United Sates and Saudi Arabia.

Committee: Kelly Cichy (Committee Chair); Blankemeyer Maureen (Committee Member); Walker Kathy (Committee Member) Subjects: Aging; Gerontology; Individual and Family Studies

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2019, Allied Medicine

Background: Along with rising rates of diabetes come increased prevalence of common comorbidities: obesity, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension. Diet is a key element in the prevention and treatment of such diseases. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify differences in diet quality by degree of glycemic control and chronic diseases in a nationally representative sample of adults. Methods: Dietary, anthropometric, and laboratory data from 23,708 adults, aged 31 years and older, were gathered from the 2005-2016 NHANES. Glycated hemoglobin (%A1c) classified participants by level of glycemic control: Normal glycemia (<5.7%); prediabetes (5.7-6.4%); controlled diabetes (6.5-6.9%); and poorly controlled diabetes (≥7%). Dietary data gathered from 24-hour recalls were used to calculate diet quality (HEI-2015) by glycemic level. Chronic disease prevalence was evaluated for overweight or obesity (BMI ≥25), hyperlipidemia (total cholesterol ≥200 mg/dL), and hypertension (BP ≥120/80 mm Hg). Results: Rates of hypertension and obesity were highest in adults with diabetes, where more than 50% presented with hypertension and over 90% with overweight or obesity. Prevalence of hyperlipidemia was greatest in the prediabetes group. Adults with diabetes had significantly poorer diet quality than those with normal glycemia, and overall diet quality was lower in the presence of hypertension and overweight or obesity. Conclusions: Adults with diabetes had higher rates of chronic diseases and poorer diet quality than adults with normal glycemia. Furthermore, diet quality was poorer when another chronic disease was present. These findings support the need for nutrition therapy to target overall diet quality in the population with diabetes.

Committee: Christopher Taylor (Advisor); Jessica Krok-Schoen (Committee Member); Randell Wexler (Committee Member) Subjects: Epidemiology; Health; Nutrition

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2018, Allied Medicine

Background: Effective methods for lowering elevated blood cholesterol include medication and healthy dietary habits. While prescription rates have increased, dietary habits of hyper- and normocholesterolemic Americans remain unknown. Aims: To assess differences in diet quality between groups stratified by cholesterol level and treatment via lipid lowering medication. Methods: Data from 18,952 adults (>20 years) who participated in the 2005-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were compared across four groups: normocholesterolemia not taking medication (NC-M), normocholesterolemia taking medication (NC+M), hypercholesterolemia not taking medication (HC-M), and hypercholesterolemia taking medication (HC+M). 24-hour dietary recall data was evaluated using the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2015 and an Adjusted American Heart Association (AHA) Healthy Diet Score (HDS). Higher scores indicate better diet quality. Results: Total diet quality scores were not different across the four groups according to the HEI and HDS, with average total scores of 52 and 43, respectively, out of 100 points. Individual diet component scores differed between groups. NC+M scored better than both hypercholesterolemic groups in saturated fat (HEI p=0.032, HDS p=0.020), fatty acids (HEI p<0.001), and whole grains (HEI p=0.016, HDS p=0.001). HC-M scored the poorest of the four groups in saturated fat and fatty acids. NC-M had the highest total diet quality while the HC+M had the worst diet quality. Conclusions: The data demonstrates small strides for heart disease prevention in the NC+M group relative to groups with hypercholesterolemia, yet drastic discrepancies from dietary recommendations. This provides direction for improving heart disease prevention efforts, especially in those with hypercholesterolemia.

Committee: Christopher Taylor PhD, RDN, LD, FAND (Advisor); Krok Jessica PhD (Committee Member); Pratt Keeley PhD, IMFT (Committee Member) Subjects: Health; Health Care; Medicine; Nutrition; Public Health

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2015, Clinical Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

Hazard perception is the ability to detect and react to dangerous situations on the road, with reported strong associations with crash involvement (Horswill & McKenna, 2004). The present study investigated the neurocognitive correlates of hazard perception in a population of older adults without dementia. The final sample consisted of 22 males and 42 females between the ages of 60 and 88, X=70.36 (SD=6.88). Participants were screened for dementia using the RBANS. They were also administered a series of neuropsychological measures as well as a Hazard Perception Test (HPT). Better reaction time to touching the target hazards on the HPT was correlated with better performance on Trail Making Test Part B, r = .28, p = .012, Inhibition, r = .22, p = .041 and Switching, r = .23, p = .033 subtests of the Color-Word Interference Test and Useful Field of View part III, r = .28, p = .011. A lower number of errors on the HPT was associated with worse performance on Line Orientation, r =- .22, p = .042, Block Design subtest, r = -.36, p = .002, Trail Making Test Part B, r = .34, p = .003, and Useful Field of View parts II, r = .25, p = .022 and III, r = .28, p = .012. Findings provide preliminary evidence of a relationship between visuospatial/constructional skills, executive functioning and hazard perception in healthy aging older adults. The present study adds to the limited literature on hazard perception in this population and helps guide future research.

Committee: Julie Suhr Ph.D. (Advisor) Subjects: Psychological Tests; Psychology

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2014, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Health Education

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the Children's Healthy Eating and Exercise Program (CHEE) in an afterschool setting in an elementary school. Methods: Thirty-three children were in the intervention group. Twenty-four children in the comparison group were recruited from afterschool clubs in the same elementary school. The CHEE program consisted of nutrition (20 min) and physical activity (40 min) lessons and was delivered twice a week for three months. Nutrition lessons were adapted from the Traffic Light Diet. Other lessons included MyPlate, my refrigerator, my lunchbox, and a healthy foods tasting celebration. Multiple physical activities were utilized in the program including soccer, dance, relay races, tag, and other fun games. Children were asked about their eating and exercise behaviors at the beginning and end of the program. Results: Children in both groups reported eating more vegetables at the post-intervention measurement. Children in the intervention group indicated that they learned about healthy eating and new physical activities due to their participation in the program. Discussion: Future studies are needed to discover barriers to behavior change as well as apply a more rigorous design, such as to conduct a randomized controlled trial, to examine the impact of the CHEE program.

Committee: Laura Nabors Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Keith King Ph.D. (Committee Member); Rebecca Vidourek Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Health Education

Doctor of Education (Educational Leadership), Youngstown State University, 2024, Department of Teacher Education and Leadership Studies

Approximately 11 million women and five million men in the United States report experiencing interpersonal violence (e.g., sexual violence, physical violence, psychological harassment, or stalking) before the age of 18 (CDC, n.d. -a). Victims may face a decline in grades, depression, anxiety, unwanted pregnancy, substance abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, or even death (Adhia et al., 2019; CDC, n.d. -a; CDC, 2017, 2019a; East & Hokoda, 2015). Educators are an important mitigating factor of teen dating violence, and therefore, must understand its dynamics to develop strategies to keep students safe (Offenhauer & Buchalter, 2013; Storer & Strohl, 2017; Taylor et al., 2016). A mixed methods study was conducted to evaluate the overarching research question: What is the capacity of educators to prevent or mitigate adolescent interpersonal violence? The quantitative section of the study features the survey results of 115 diverse education staff. The qualitative section highlights the interviews of 13 select educators. The data analysis includes a correlational analysis (i.e., regression) and identification of themes from the open-ended responses. Results indicated concerns regarding a lack of knowledge of social media and technology, limited time, sparse curricula, and limited resources to prevent or mitigate adolescent interpersonal violence. State legislation and district policies also limit the capacity of educators to support students' needs, especially those from vulnerable populations who are more susceptible to victimization (e.g., Black, LGBTQ, and students with a disability) (Agius-Ferrante & Oak, 2020; Crawford, 2023; East & Hokoda, 2015; Norris-Brown et al., 2020). Implications of this study suggest that while educators want to help students develop healthy relationships, most staff are not provided the time, resources, training, or professional autonomy to make this a reality.

Committee: Karen Larwin PhD (Committee Chair); Carrie Jackson EdD (Committee Member); Sherri Harper Woods DM (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Leadership; Gender Studies; Secondary Education; Teacher Education

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2024, Health Education

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic was a very stressful time for people all around the world. However, university and college students faced extra challenges such as having their education moved online whereas some students who lived on campus were forced to move away. Furthermore, international students faced even more challenges such as the possibility of leaving the country due to the shift to online education, maintaining their student status, traveling to and from their home countries, as well as financial concerns. Asian international students, in particular, also faced additional challenges pertaining to discrimination and safety due to the rumors of the origins of the COVID-19 virus. All college students also had to face challenges pertaining to loneliness as social distancing measures and the closure of college campuses affected the socialization of college students. As such, the presence of these stressors would have necessitated more coping skills. According to the transactional model of stress and coping, when individuals are unable to change the problem using problem-focused coping strategies, they may utilize emotion-focused coping strategies to help them feel better about the stressors. The use of alcohol has been reported to have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there have been inconsistent findings regarding alcohol use among college students. Undoubtedly, these stressors would have also affected the mental health of college students. Similarly, there are mixed findings on mental health outcomes between domestic and international students. Furthermore, there have been no qualitative studies, to date, of the experiences of Asian international students in navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, two studies were conducted to better understand all of the above-mentioned concerns. Study one was conducted to compare domestic and international students and to examine (i) the prevalence of loneliness, alcohol use, anxiety, depression, and (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Shipra Singh (Committee Chair); Tracey Hidalgo (Committee Member); Mounika Polavarapu (Committee Member); Barbara Saltzman (Committee Member) Subjects: Mental Health

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Consumer Sciences

Despite the increase in green marketing promotions in the diverse hospitality marketplace, understanding of effective promotional strategies for green products, such as sustainable and healthy products, is still limited. This thesis endeavors to bridge this knowledge gap by exploring the influence of promotional cues—specifically, visual complexity and monetary incentives for sustainable products, alongside price framing and default presentation for healthy products—on consumer behavior. Two experimental studies were conducted to probe this research question. The findings from these studies suggest that promotional cues for both sustainable and healthy products positively influence consumer behavior towards these green products. The results are further substantiated through the exploration of underlying psychological mechanisms, including the mediation of perceived attractiveness for sustainable products, and a serial mediating process of perceived expensiveness and perceived healthiness for healthy products. These mechanisms are critical in driving favorable consumer responses to green products. Consequently, the insights derived from this study offer substantial value to both scholars and industry professionals. They provide strategic guidance on the implementation of effective promotional tactics aimed at promoting green products to consumers, thereby enriching the literature on green marketing and enhancing practical applications in the field.

Committee: Jay Kandampully (Committee Member); Ann Paulins (Committee Member); Xi Yu (Committee Member); Stephanie Liu (Advisor); Andrew Hanks (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Psychology; Behavioral Sciences; Marketing; Psychobiology

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2023, Industrial/Organizational Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

Leaders have been identified as having an important role in the employee well-being process, as a result, “healthy leadership” has emerged as a research domain that includes several constructs based on the concept of leaders protecting and promoting the well-being of their followers (Caplan, 1987, Rudolph et al., 2020). Within this domain, there are conceptual and empirical challenges that obscure the distinction between healthy leadership and other leadership domains. The present study developed a comprehensive definition of healthy leadership, as well as created and validated a measure of healthy leadership. This study also examined the utility of healthy leadership beyond other leadership domains. Data were collected from full-time employees (n = 635). The incremental validity results indicate that the newly developed measure of healthy leadership explained a limited amount of additional variance for some well-being outcomes beyond other leadership domains. Further examinations are needed to identify if healthy leadership is a unique form of leadership. The theoretical and practical implications for this study, as well as future directions, are discussed.

Committee: Peggy Zoccola (Committee Chair); Ryan Johnson (Committee Member); Kimberly Rios (Committee Member); Lindsay Dhanani (Committee Member); Jeffrey Vancouver (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2022, Computer Science and Engineering

Commodity passive RFID system consisting of the reader and battery-free RFID tags proliferates the internet-of-things applications (e.g., indoor localization, gesture recognition and assets tracking) due to its low cost and small form factor. In this thesis, we propose three human-centered RFID sensing systems (i.e., RFDiaper, Tago and Allergie) for healthy diapering, safe vehicle-pavement interaction and relative vehicular localization respectively. In RFDiaper, we leverage the coupling effect between the tag and diaper to sense the diaper wetness and identify urine pH value, using twin-tag framework to eliminate the multipath effect. In comparison to the sensor based diaper wetness sensing systems, RFDiaper is low-cost that can sense the diaper wetness and identify the urine pH value simultaneously. To mitigate the other factors (e.g., dynamic environment) on diaper wetness detection and urine pH identification, we propose a novel design with twin tags attached on the diaper. In Tago, we attach RFID tag and reader's antennas at the front end of the vehicle to sense the road surface conditions for safe driving, which is different from the advanced sensor (e.g., Lidar and camera sensors) or smartphone-based road surface sensing systems. To eliminate the impact of dynamic environment and strength the backscattered signals from the road surface, we propose a novel design by cancelling out the line-of-sight reflection from the tag body. As a result, the backscattered signals from the road surface can be analysed to sense the bumps or potholes on the road surface. In Allergie, we also leverage the commodity passive RFID system, which will be attached on our vehicle to predict the approaching direction of the nearby vehicles. Specifically, we attach four tags at the four corners of our vehicle, which will be used to predict the approaching direction of the nearby vehicle (i.e., from left to right at left, from right to left at left, from left to right a (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Kannan Athreya (Advisor); Zhiqiang Lin (Committee Member); Yingbin Liang (Committee Member) Subjects: Computer Engineering; Computer Science; Electrical Engineering

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Leadership Studies, Xavier University, 2022, Leadership Studies and Human Resource Development

This study assessed a linkage between father-nurture or lack thereof and the development of leadership capacities through the lens of Bowlby's (1969, 1988) Attachment Theory. The constructs of father-nurture or lack thereof, which was theoretically grounded in Bowlby's key parental attachments of Secure, Anxious-Resistant, and Anxious-Avoidant, were measured by the five constructs of Safe, Fearful, Parentified, Distant, and Dependent relationship with fathers or father-figures during childhood and adolescence, delineated from Michael and Snow's (2019) Adult Scale of Parental Attachment. The leadership capacities were measured by the aspects of cognitive, moral, and social-emotional development that have been emphasized from well-established leadership theories—Authentic, Charismatic, Servant-Leadership, and Transformational/Transactional. In a sample of 38 adult participants, multiple linear regression models provide evidence that 1) those with a lower level of feeling Safe with fathers or father-figures exhibit a significantly lower level of leadership capacities from the aspects of cognitive and moral development, and 2) those with a higher level of feeling a Distant relationship with fathers or father-figures are significantly more likely to show a lower level of leadership capacities from the aspect of cognitive development. This study signifies the roles of fathers or father-figures during childhood and adolescence in the development process of leadership capacities from the aspects of cognitive and moral development.

Committee: Ahlam Lee Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Michael A. Riley Ph.D. (Committee Member); Stacey Raj Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Psychology; Behavioral Sciences; Developmental Psychology; Educational Leadership; Educational Psychology; Evolution and Development; Families and Family Life; Organizational Behavior; Psychology; Quantitative Psychology; Social Psychology

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2022, Speech Pathology and Audiology

Currently, no perceptual data exists regarding parameters of cup drinking in healthy adults. The aim of this study was to investigate the difference between perception of fluid flow, weight, and grip when six healthy, young adults drank from a patented SMART training cup with specialized fluid flow rates and volumes. Participants completed 15 water drinking trials drinking from different cups with different flow rates and volumes while seated at a table. Between each water drinking trial, participants rated their perception of fluid flow, weight, and ease of grip when drinking from the cups on electronic Visual Analog Scales (VAS). Participants and graduate researchers were double blinded to the randomized order of presented cup flow rates and volumes. Results indicated statistical significance between fluid flow ratings for flow rate 1 (open cup with no lid) and the remaining 4 flow rates using the SMART training cup with a lid across 3 volumes (p=.00). Clinical relevance is indicated for ratings of weight and glove size with grip since no difference between ratings was found when participants were presented with 3 different cup volumes.

Committee: Donna Scarborough Ph.D., CCC-SLP (Advisor); Arnold Olszewski Ph.D., CCC-SLP (Committee Member); Michael Bailey-Van-Kuren Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Speech Therapy

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2022, Psychology/Clinical

Approximately 37% of college students are overweight or obese (American College Health Association, 2021), and as a result, may face adverse health consequences (Kopelman, 2007) and psychosocial consequences (Wyatt, Winters & Dubbert, 2006). Despite college students' need and reported desire to lose weight to avoid the short and long-term consequences of obesity, standard behavioral weight loss treatments designed for adult populations have not proven to be as effective with a college student population (Plotnikoff et al., 2015). Some studies have explored ways to adapt the standard behavioral weight loss treatment (BWL) to college students and emerging adult populations, with some success (e.g., Gokee-Larose et al., 2019; Napolitano et al., 2013). The purpose of the current study was to replicate an adapted standard BWL treatment to a college student population and improve upon it by adding an emphasis on peer interaction with the aim of increasing social support and treatment engagement. As an early stage of treatment development, the current study aimed to assess the treatments' feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy using a randomized-control format. Eighty college students were enrolled and randomized into one of three arms, waitlist control (n = 26), the replicated adapted BWL treatment, HEAT (n = 26), and the adapted BWL treatment with an emphasis on peer interaction, HEAT-PEER (n = 28). There were significant differences between the groups on all weight-related variables. The HEAT group appeared acceptable and somewhat efficacious with an average weight loss of 3.83 pounds, but it was not feasible, with only 46% of participants meeting intervention completion standards. The HEAT-PEER group also appeared to be acceptable, was more efficacious with an average weight loss of 9.10 pounds, and feasible, with 89% of participants meeting intervention completion standards. Secondary analyses on treatment engagement, peer interaction, and behavioral cha (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Abby Braden Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Stephen Demuth Ph.D. (Other); Dara Musher-Eizenman Ph.D. (Committee Member); Catherine Stein Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Psychology; Clinical Psychology; Experimental Psychology; Experiments; Health; Psychology; Therapy

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2021, Antioch New England: Marriage and Family Therapy

The current study uses a strengths-based framework to identify the process of marriage satisfaction among 1 same-sex African American married couple and 5 heterosexual African American married couples. Six themes emerged through qualitative analysis demonstrating that marriage satisfaction is a co-constructed experience created between couples through a series of interactions cultivating healthy conditions that strengthen relationship functioning and promote well-being. Based on the results the experience of marriage satisfaction is formed by the organizing concepts of connection, intentionality, purpose, sentiments of peace, authentic communication, and well-being. Results are discussed in association with existing research, as well as, Self-Determination, and Relationship Motivation Theories.

Committee: Denzel Jones PhD (Committee Chair); Valerie Riggs PhD (Committee Member); Amber Venum PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: African Americans; Counseling Psychology; Curriculum Development; Families and Family Life; Personal Relationships; Personality Psychology; Psychology; Psychotherapy; Social Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Education, Cleveland State University, 2021, College of Education and Human Services

The available research on psychosis is presently lacking practitioners' beliefs about people with symptoms of psychosis (focused here on auditory verbal hallucination) as well as conceptualization and treatment planning with these clients. There is some growing interest in “healthy voice-hearers,” people who hear voices but do not experience distress. This study comprised information about clinicians' experiences through an empirical phenomenological method guided by a critical theory framework. A sample of both counseling (n = 4) and clinical practitioners (n = 10), including psychologists and predoctoral and postdoctoral interns, was recruited and interviewed about their beliefs and experiences, as well as to what degree positive psychology or strengths-based perspectives are used in understanding and working with clients who hear voices. Results were analyzed using an empirical phenomenological approach (Aspers, 2004). The following themes were found: therapeutic approach to working with people with psychosis, clinicians' feelings about working with people who hear voices, familiarity with critical theory, healthy voice-hearers, clinical and counseling psychology training, training and familiarity with positive psychology, implementing positive psychology in their work, and belief in recovery. Implications for future research, clinical practice, training and education, and advocacy are discussed.

Committee: Julia Phillips (Advisor); Catherine Hansman (Committee Member); Ingrid Hogge (Committee Member); Graham Stead (Committee Member); Katharine Hahn Oh (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Counseling Psychology; Psychology; Psychotherapy

Master of Science (M.S.), Xavier University, 2021, Psychology

As a relatively new facet of the occupational health psychology literature, the Psychologically Healthy Workplace (PHW; American Psychological Association, 2015) incorporates five components: employee involvement, work-life balance, employee growth and development, employee recognition, and health and safety (Grawitch et al., 2006). This study examined the nature and degree to which job applicants are attracted to organizations promoting PHW practices utilizing these components. Specifically, it investigated whether self-reported participant health issues are related to attraction to organizations promoting a PHW. It also explored whether applicants were more attracted to some PHW components than others and extended Catano and Morrow Hines' (2016) findings by focusing on Openness to Change and its interaction with industry type. Results indicated that participants self-reported mental and physical health scores were significantly positively correlated with their overall attraction to organizations promoting the five PHW components. A significant overall mean difference on attraction based on PHW component was also found, in which mean attraction scores were highest for the work-life balance component and lowest for the health and safety component. There were significant mean differences for all component comparisons, except the mean difference between employee growth and development and employee recognition. Findings also indicated a significant effect for industry type and Openness to Change on organization attraction. Overall, these findings contribute to the limited PHW literature. Future researchers should investigate whether patterns emerge across the five components in terms of job applicant's attraction, or if attraction to certain components is dependent on other variables in work or personal environments.

Committee: Morrie Mullins Ph.D. (Advisor); Dalia Diab Ph.D. (Committee Member); Heather McCarren Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2021, Consumer Sciences

Recently, consumers are becoming more health-conscious and increasingly seeking healthful menu options. To understand consumers' decision-making about healthy food choices, the current dissertation explores marketing strategies that effectively promote healthy food within restaurant settings in a series of three experimental studies. Study 1 used a between-subjects experiment to investigate how expressive aesthetics influence consumer evaluations of organic food (vs. conventional food). The findings reveal that the expressive aesthetics strategy is effective for marketing conventional, non-organic food; however, such a strategy decreases consumers' purchase intention when the food is described as organic. Furthermore, an investigation into the underlying psychological mechanism uncovers that anticipated pleasure and food temptation serially mediate the impact of expressive aesthetics and food type on purchase intention. Study 2 investigated the effectiveness of assertive ad language in persuading consumers to purchase organic food. The findings indicate that restaurants advertise organic food with assertive language will lead to more favorable responses, but not conventional food. In addition, perceived brand competence is the psychological mechanism that mediates the effect of ad language on consumers' purchase intention. Study 3 further explored how pricing strategy influences consumer purchase intention toward small plates. The findings demonstrate that small plates using nonrounded pricing will lead to a higher level of purchase intention, and such iii an effect is attenuated for regular-sized food. Price fairness is the underlying mechanism explaining the pricing strategy for small plates. Theoretical and managerial contributions are discussed.

Committee: Qing Liu (Advisor); Jay Kandampully (Committee Member); Yunzhang Zhu (Committee Member); Milos Bujisic (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Sciences; Experiments; Marketing

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2021, Psychology

Objective: This thesis aims to identify novel relationships between modifiable physical and health variables, Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers, and cognitive function in a cohort of older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods: Metrics of cardiometabolic risk (e.g., body mass index), stress (e.g., cortisol), inflammation (e.g., c-reactive protein), neurotrophic/growth factors (e.g., brain-derived neurotrophic factor), and AD (e.g., plasma tau) were assessed in 154 MCI participants from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) at baseline (mean age = 74.1; sd =7.5; mean education = 16.0; sd = 2.9). Of these 154 participants, 126 had 2-year follow-up data available for analyses (mean age = 74.0; sd = 7.6; mean education = 16.0; sd = 2.9). Participants also completed a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. Individual test scores and composite scores of memory and executive function published by ADNI were assessed. Partial least squares correlation (PLSC), an unbiased and flexible multivariate technique, was employed to examine cross-sectional associations among these physiological variables and cognition. Partial least squares regression (PLSR), a multivariate technique that defines optimal combinations of variables that best predict an outcome, was used to identify which, if any, of these physiological variables are important in predicting memory or executive function at 2-year follow-up. Results: The PLSC analysis revealed a latent variable describing a unique combination of AD biomarkers, neurotrophic/growth factors, education, and stress that were significantly associated with specific domains of cognitive function, including episodic memory, executive function, processing speed, and language, representing 45.2% of the covariance in the data. Age, BMI, and tests of basic attention and premorbid IQ were not significant. The PLSR analyses revealed that baseline metrics of cardiometabolic function, inflammation, and AD biomarkers (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Scott Hayes Ph.D. (Advisor); Jasmeet Hayes Ph.D. (Committee Member); Ruchika Prakash Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Aging; Clinical Psychology

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2021, Human Ecology: Human Nutrition

Background: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with a US pediatric prevalence of 10%. It presents with inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity as well as emotional dysregulation (ED) symptoms such a s irritability and defiant behavior, typical of Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD) and Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD). The etiology of ADHD is multi-factorial with suggested effects related to diet. Objectives: Building on prior studies, this study examines the association of diet quality with ADHD and emotional dysregulation symptoms among a pediatric population. Methods: This cross-sectional study utilized baseline data for 134 children age 6-12 years old with symptoms of ADHD/ED enrolled in a randomized control trial of multi-nutrient supplementation. Diet quality was based on Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015) determined from the Vioscreen food frequency questionnaire. ADHD, ODD and DMDD symptoms were assessed using the Child and Adolescent Symptom Inventory-5. Other ED symptoms were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Analysis for association was conducted using linear regression models, adjusting for covariates when necessary. Results: We found family income level to be significantly inversely associated with severity of hyperactivity (p = 0.04), emotional problems (p=0.01), conduct problems (p=0.002), along with ODD (p=0.004) and DMDD (p=0.005) symptoms. Mean HEI-2015 score was 63.4 (SD=8.8) and it was not significantly associated with any of the outcome symptoms. However, scores of HEI components vegetables (β= -0.118, p=0.016) and refined grains (β=0.052, p=0.017) were both associated with inattention even after adjusting for covariates. Similarly, total fruit (β= -0.423, p=0.037) was associated with conduct problems even after adjusting for covariates. Conclusions: While better vegetable and total fruit scores were associated with better symptoms in aspect (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Irene Hatsu PhD, RD (Advisor); Tanya Orchard PhD, RD (Committee Member); James Odei PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Mental Health; Nutrition