Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2021, Clinical Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

Despite the existence of many evidence-based classrooms interventions targeting common childhood emotional and behavioral problems, their use in elementary classrooms is limited. This is a concern given the lasting impacts of untreated childhood problems and difficulty reported by teachers in managing classroom behavior. Dissemination strategies seek to address this concern by increasing accessibility and reach of an intervention through strategies that reduce barriers to engagement among specific stakeholder groups. This study sought to examine the impact of specific communication strategies on teachers' stated desire to use a daily report card (DRC) intervention and behavioral step towards learning about the intervention. Three-hundred and ninety-four individuals self-identifying as elementary teachers (47% female; 68% White; 81.2% non-Hispanic/Latino) were recruited through Amazon's Mechanical Turk. Participants were randomly assigned to receive one of eight messaging conditions that included either (1) research or social reference information regarding the benefits of the DRC and message framing focused on either (2) teacher or student based (3) benefits of using the DRC or disadvantages of not using the DRC. Considerable concerns with data integrity were detected. The threats to the integrity of the data raise doubts that (a) the participants represent elementary school teachers within the United States and (b) meaningful conclusions can be drawn from the analyses. Therefore, data were redacted as they did not allow for an adequate test of the research question. Recommendations for investigators using the platform like Mechanical Turk are discussed

Committee: Julie Owens (Advisor) Subjects: Clinical Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2020, Public Health

Since 2014, carbapenem resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) have been classified as an urgent public health threat by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC's 2019 report on antibiotic resistance threats estimated that CREs cause an estimated 13,100 healthcare associated infections, 1,100 deaths, and an excess cost of $130 million per year in the United States. The main objective of this study was to identify potential risk factors for carbapenem-resistant infections in hospitalized patients compared to patients with carbapenem susceptible infections and control patients. A second objective was to determine the role of an environmental reservoir in disseminating CRE into surface waters from the normal sewage waste source. In certain high-risk patient populations, CRE infection case fatality rates can exceed 50%. Generally, risk factors associated with CRE and carbapenem susceptible Enterobacteriaceae (CSE) infections are similar though use of certain antibiotics may increase the risk for CRE. The first study presented utilized a case-case-control design to identify risk factors for adult CRE cases admitted to a large, metropolitan medical center for greater than 72 hours between January 2011 and December 2016. Cases were compared to patients diagnosed with CSE infections and patient controls admitted within 30 days of each CRE admission. All first admission, individual instances of confirmed CRE diagnosis during the study period were included in the study as a CRE case (n = 81). Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were utilized to determine risk factors available in patient records, with the primary risk factor of interest being prescribed a β-lactam antibiotic in the 90 days prior to admission. In initial univariable logistic regression models, prior β-lactam use and length of stay in days were found to be significant for both groups, while age and prior surgery were associated CSE and CRE, respectively. Additional models s (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Thomas Wittum (Advisor) Subjects: Epidemiology; Public Health

Doctor of Management, Case Western Reserve University, 2011, Weatherhead School of Management

This thesis examines the nature, utilization, evolution, and effects of knowledge sharing by comparing two industrial regional bioscience clusters at different stages of development. First, by focusing on the lived experience of each cluster's local agents, and second by empirically investigating the impact of potential and realized specialized and technical knowledge on firm performance in each cluster. Although regional industrial clusters have been widely researched, the nature of knowledge creation and dissemination as a driving force for industrial cluster competitiveness remains unclear. Our research reveals that contrary to extant research, foreign direct investment (FDI) by multinational companies (MNCs) can impact the development of local entrepreneurial ecosystem, and spatial structure is not a significant factor in the knowledge creation and dissemination process in the clusters. Firm-level knowledge absorption capabilities, social networks, and knowledge spillovers mechanisms, in contrast, significantly correlate to the increased formation of specialized bio-science knowledge in clusters.

Committee: Bo Carlsson, Ph.D. (Advisor); Kalle Lyytinen, Ph.D. (Advisor); Sheri Perelli, D.M. (Advisor); Antoinette Somers, Ph.D. (Advisor) Subjects: Entrepreneurship

PHD, Kent State University, 2018, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Computer Science

Social Routing in Online Social Networks (OSNs) is very challenging, as it must handle privacy and performance. This study proposes a Social Online Routing (SOR) protocol for OSNs that satisfies Stratified Privacy Model (SPM) core requirements and minimizes end-to-end routing delays corresponding to the social routing information elements exchanged under the SPM. SOR uses five messages (I-need Message, I-have Message, I-thank Message, I-like/dislike message, and the I-Ack Message) for carrying routing information. Forwarding models (I-need Module, I-have Module, I-thank Module, and I-ack Module) and routing algorithms (Topology aware Shortest-Path-Based routing algorithm, Social-Priority-Based routing algorithm, and Queue-aware Social-Priority-Based routing algorithm) are introduced. Four anonymization techniques are also utilized for stratified privacy. To evaluate the study's proposed protocol, an Online Social Networks Simulator is designed and implemented. Using real datasets from Google Plus, the simulator is used to evaluate end-to-end routing delays corresponding to the social routing information elements exchanged under the SPM.

Committee: Javed Khan Prof. (Advisor) Subjects: Computer Science

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2018, Mathematics (Arts and Sciences)

Dynamical systems as models of complex biological systems are powerful tools that have been used to study problems in biology. This dissertation first discusses a problem in the theory of dynamical systems on the definition of topological entropy. Then dynamical systems are applied in two different fields of biology: proliferation of monolayer epithelia and the spread of infections and information. The notion of topological entropy is a measure of the complexity of a dynamical system. It can be conceptualized in terms of the number of forward trajectories that are distinguishable at resolution ε within T time units. It can then be formally defined as a limit of a limit superior that involves either covering numbers, or separation numbers, or spanning numbers. If covering numbers are used, the limit superior reduces to a limit. While it has been generally believed that the latter may not necessarily be the case when the definition is based on separation or spanning numbers, no actual counterexamples appear to have been previously known. Here we fill this gap in the literature by constructing such counterexamples. We then use dynamical systems to study the proliferation of epithelia. Epithelia are sheets of tightly adherent cells that line both internal and external surfaces in metazoans (multicellular animals). Mathematically, a cell in an epithelial tissue can be modeled as a k-sided polygon. Empirically studied distributions of the proportions of k-sided cells in epithelia show remarkable similarities in a wide range of evolutionarily distant organisms. Multiple types of mathematical models have been proposed to explain this phenomenon. Among the most parsimonious of such models are topological ones that take into account only the number of sides of a given cell and the neighborhood relation between cells. The model studied here is a refinement of a previously published such model (Patel et al., PLoS Comput. Biol., 2009). While using the same modeling framew (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Winfried Just (Advisor); Todd Young (Committee Member); Martin Mohlenkamp (Committee Member); Alexander Neiman (Committee Member) Subjects: Applied Mathematics; Mathematics

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2017, Clinical Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

The use of technology for delivering professional development (PD) shows promise for reducing common barriers (e.g., feasibility, access) to dissemination of teacher-implemented classroom management interventions. However, prior programs examined in research have been unable to produce satisfactory uptake and outcomes when used in isolation. Thus, the aims of this study were to examine a potentially more feasible level of support that leverages both online PD and low intensity consultation supports as a means of producing successful adoption of a Daily Report Card (DRC) intervention and positive student outcomes. Elementary school teachers who were determined eligible to participate (n = 33) were provided access to an interactive online program and, on an as needed basis, brief, solution-focused consultation. Over half of teachers (51.5%) who received access to the website adopted the intervention for at least 2 months. These teachers demonstrated acceptable levels of implementation integrity and their students demonstrated improvements in overall (d = .53) and hyperactive and inattentive (d = .83) problems. Importantly, teachers achieved these outcomes using an average of 33 minutes of face-to-face consultation. The results of this study suggest that, for some teachers, online supports may offer a more feasible means of supporting implementation of a DRC than more traditional forms of face-to-face consultation. Online supports may provide a promising direction for increasing the dissemination of the DRC and other evidence-based interventions. Future directions for improving technology and implications for integrating online PD into a continuum of supports for teachers are discussed.

Committee: Julie Sarno Owens PhD (Advisor) Subjects: Behavioral Sciences; Clinical Psychology; Educational Psychology; Technology

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2016, Genetic Counseling

Introduction: Hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome (HBOC) is a cancer-predisposition syndrome that affects both men and women, with more significant cancer risk elevations in women. Because there are well-established guidelines for cancer risk reduction and prevention in HBOC, it is critical that health care professionals understand information-sharing patterns among patients to facilitate communication processes and identify at-risk family members. Dissemination of familial genetic risk information in females with HBOC is well defined, but knowledge about how males share this information is limited. The aims of this study include: to describe participants' feelings and opinions about HBOC; to ascertain participants' extent of information sharing with family and medical personnel; and to describe the needs of participants for information and resources provided by genetic counselors and other health care providers. Methods: We interviewed 21 primarily Ashkenazi Jewish men who were accrued through Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered (FORCE). Interviews focused on family cancer history, experiences with cancer and genetic testing, motivations to pursue genetic testing and subsequently disclose genetic test results, information sharing patterns, healthcare provider response, and participants' emotional support systems. The interviews were transcribed in their entirety, coded, and analyzed based on grounded theory. Results: Eighteen transcripts were used for the analysis. Results can be classified into 5 main themes. Participants (n=8) were most concerned about cancer risk for their children and female family members, and most (n=11) mentioned HBOC provides them increased personal awareness, but has a negligible impact on their life overall (n=9). Men (n=11) were interested in a male focused support group to discuss HBOC and gain knowledge and information. Participants (n=9) took on active and open communication roles with family members and health care p (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Leigha Senter MS, LGC (Advisor); Robert Pilarski MS, LGC (Committee Member); Doreen Agnese MD (Committee Member) Subjects: Gender; Genetics

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2016, Mass Communication (Communication)

This study represents one of the first attempts to use grounded theory methodology to identify and explain, conceptually, the latent communication behavior of conflict audiences. Theoretically, the study expands current conversations that explore the interaction between the media and audience in conflict environments. Straussian grounded theory approach was utilized to answer the primary research question: “What patterns of communication behavior do conflict audiences in Plateau State engage and how does the behavior shape the information dissemination process? The study also identified factors that influence the communication behavior and the extent to which the behavior is shaped by opinion leaders and preexisting schemas of individuals. The data were collected using focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with participants in Plateau State, Nigeria. Data analysis was conducted using open, axial, and selective coding. A conditional/consequential matrix was also utilized to examine the dimensions and properties of the categories generated in the study. Through coding, recoding, and regrouping, key categories (self-preservation and attack as defensive communication) that represented the communication strategies adopted by conflict audiences in Plateau State were analyzed in order to identify the relevant themes that could answer the research questions. The core category (main theme) of the study, “conflict audiences as `dissemiusers' of information” suggests that people engaged in a pattern of behavior that empowered them to (re)gain control of the information dissemination process in conflict situations. The findings also finds that deep distrust for the media, lack of ethical and professional practice among journalists in Plateau State, religion, and the current indigene/settler dichotomy served as trigger factors for the behavior. Another significant finding is the role of mobile phone technology and Internet access in shaping this pattern of behavior. (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Roger Cooper (Committee Chair); Yusuf Kalyango (Committee Member); Brandon Kendhammer (Committee Member); Carolyn Bailey-Lewis (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Mass Communications; Mass Media

MA, Kent State University, 2014, College of the Arts / School of Music, Hugh A. Glauser

In past scholarly studies of art music, the focus has been on the composers, sound and performance of music itself, not on the many different individuals, such as patrons, volunteers, administrators, or the local performers themselves, who were involved in the creation and dissemination process of the music. This study focuses on the “other” people who were essential in the development of art music in America, focusing primarily on women patrons and other important female contributors who dedicated their time in administering and volunteering for various arts organizations, as well as local performers and performance clubs devoted to this music. This historical review of important female figures and organizations contributing to the art music industry has yet to be collected into a single source. This information has instead been scattered throughout books, journals, and newspapers with attention to these women usually secondary to some other discussion. As such, this thesis seeks to contribute to the musicological literature by providing a single collection of this subject material to be used as a starting point for further research projects. The historical review leads to a focus on art music activities in Ohio, where the researcher investigated the activities of modern arts organizations sponsored by women patrons and clubs in order to present a model for inquiry in other regions of the country. This research reveals that such local supporters of art music are vital to the maintenance and dissemination of art music in America and provide many opportunities for musicians, composers, and enthusiasts to become involved in the art music industry at a local level.

Committee: Andrew Shahriari Ph.D. (Advisor); Eve McPherson Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jennifer Johnstone Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Music

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2014, Psychology

Untreated mental illness is a significant public health problem with nearly 58 million American adults suffering from a diagnosable mental disorder each year and only 30% of these individuals seeking professional care. Without adequate treatment, mental illness can result in unstable education and employment, interpersonal difficulties, physical ailment, and suicide. It also accounts for more than 100 billion dollars in economic costs in the United States alone every year. One's decision to seek treatment is likely influenced by sociodemographic, cognitive, and behavioral factors. Limited research, however, has been completed examining these constructs in relation to actual service use, particularly over time with individuals in distress. Further, many constructs such as insight, attitudes, and avoidance appear to be malleable, yet few interventions have been designed or tested targeting these variables and encouraging service use. The current study examined sociodemographic, cognitive, and behavioral constructs associated with mental health care service use in prospective design with a clinically-distressed sample. Participant recruitment was completed in a primary care facility as individuals in distress often utilize primary care as an initial pathway for help. Primary care patients reporting significant depressive symptoms were randomized into one of three intervention arms designed to increase mental health service use. The effect of an avoidance-reduction intervention on participant treatment-seeking following referral was contrasted against enhanced-referral and psychoeducation interventions. Ethnic minority-status and attitudes toward treatment were the strongest predictors of service use. The effect of intervention on increased service use was trending toward a significant effect, and the effect of the avoidance-reduction intervention on the reduction of depressive symptoms, compared to the other two conditions was moderate. Results of this stud (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jennifer Cheavens Ph.D. (Advisor); Daniel Strunk Ph.D. (Committee Member); Michael Edwards Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology; Psychotherapy; Public Health

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2014, Computer Science and Engineering

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) are increasingly important and pervasive with the convergence of the cyber and physical worlds via digital information. In CPSs, communication, sensing, and computing are three key operations on digital information. These operations are usually time-sensitive and have various temporal requirements. These requirements could be accomplishing a job after sufficient time passes, speeding up a job with "best effort," or finishing a job within a specific time bound. In this dissertation, we study the problems of time sensitive communication, sensing, and computing in CPSs. First, we study temporally controllable wireless communication. We propose TurfCast, a novel information dissemination service that selectively broadcasts messages based on receivers' lingering time. Only those who have stayed long enough can receive the messages. To implement TurfCast, we propose TurfCode, a nested 0-1 fountain code that enables the broadcaster to transmit either all information or none at all. We extend TurfCast to support spatial "turfs"; and propose TurfBurst, which exploits the Shannon bound to differentiate among receivers based on spatial areas. Second, we study fast electronic and visual sensing for human localization. It is observed that the presence of human bodies introduces heavy interference to wireless signals. This has been a major cause of inaccurate wireless localization of humans. Wireless signals gathered over a longer period are aggregated to mitigate such interference. We propose EV-Human for fast and accurate human localization. In EV-Human, we propose using video cameras to help estimate human body interference on mobile devices' signals. We combine human orientation detection and human/phone/AP relative position inference to better estimate how a human affects wireless signals. We have also developed a signal distortion compensation model. Third, we study time-bounded distributed computing on large visual data. Visual data (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Dong Xuan (Advisor); Yuan F. Zheng (Committee Member); Ten H. Lai (Committee Member) Subjects: Computer Science

MS, University of Cincinnati, 2001, Engineering : Computer Science

Mobile computing has gained increasing attention recently as a variety of mobile terminals and convenient wireless connection becomes available. One of the major applications of mobile computing is information dissemination. The three fundamental methods of providing information on wireless communication channels are push, pull and hybrid push-pull. In a hybrid push-pull environment, the data of most interest is broadcast in the form of a broadcast disk, and the rest of the data is pulled from the server via explicit client requests. To achieve efficient data dissemination, the mobile server dynamically collects users' query access patterns and allocates data in broadcast disks. However, few studies have been conducted in the area of channel allocation and broadcast disk organization that considerate dynamic access pattern collection and utilization. In this study, we use a bit vector technique to represent mobile users' access patterns. We introduce a timestamp and a modification indicator to increase the accuracy of using bit vector technology. Algorithms for collecting access patterns are proposed and studied here. Algorithms for determining the optimal channel allocation and broadcast disk organization given a set of access patterns are proposed. The optimal allocation algorithm searches exhaustively for the optimal solution while the heuristic algorithm searches for a solution by finding the optimal number of broadcast channels first and then organizing the data pages on those channels. We also propose and investigate an algorithm for incremental broadcast disk reorganization. Performance studies are conducted using average access probe-wait time as a criterion. Performance studies indicate that the proposed algorithms always outperform the existing flat approach in channel allocation and broadcast disk organization. When the heuristic approach is compared with the optimal approach, experimental results demonstrate that no significant performance differences ar (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Dr. Karen C. Davis (Advisor) Subjects: Computer Science

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2012, Food Science and Technology

Fresh produce is a high risk food for human norovirus (NoV) contamination, because it can easily become contaminated at both the pre- and post-harvest stages of cultivation. Disease surveillance has shown that human NoV is attributed to 40% of all fresh produce related outbreaks reported each year in the U.S. However, the ecology, persistence, and interaction of human NoV and fresh produce are all poorly understood. Increasing outbreaks of viruses in fresh and fresh-cut vegetables and fruits give high urgency to understanding the interaction of human NoV with fresh produce in order to develop effective preventive measures. In this research, the attachment, uptake, internalization, and dissemination of human NoV and its surrogates (murine norovirus, MNV-1; and Tulane virus, TV) were evaluated. First, the attachment of human NoV surrogates to fresh produce was visualized using confocal microscopy. Purified human NoV virus-like particles (VLPs), TV, and MNV-1 were conjugated with biotin, and subsequently applied to either Romaine lettuce or green onion. The biotinylated virus particles were visualized by incubation with streptavidin coated Quantum Dots (Q-Dots 655), which emit fluorescence that can be viewed using a confocal microscope. It was found that all three surrogates attached to the surface of Romaine lettuce leaves and were found aggregating in and around the stomata. Similarly, human NoV VLPs, TV, and MNV-1 were found to attach to the surface of Romaine lettuce roots. In the case of green onions, human NoV VLPs were found between the cells of the epidermis of both the shoots and roots. However, TV and MNV-1 were found to be covering the surface of the epidermal cells in both the shoots and roots of green onions. The results indicate that different viruses vary in their attachment patterns to different varieties of fresh produce. A quantitative assessment of the level of attachment of a human NoV GII.4 strain, TV, and MNV-1 was executed using Romaine lettuce a (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jianrong Li PhD (Advisor); Ken Lee PhD (Committee Member); Yael Vodovotz PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Food Science; Virology

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2010, Psychology

Limited research has examined the effectiveness, transportability, and dissemination of Evidence-Based Treatments [EBTs], especially for children and adolescents (APA Task Force on EBP for Children and Adolescents, 2008; Barlow, Levitt, & Bufka, 1999; Higa & Chorpita, 2008; Kendall & Beidas, 2007). Even when EBTs are implemented in the real-world, psychotherapy has stronger effects in university-based research studies than in community settings (Weersing & Weisz, 2002). Multi-Family Psychoeducational Psychotherapy (MF-PEP) is an adjunctive, manual-driven, group-based EBT for children with mood disorders and their parents which has shown positive results in two randomized controlled efficacy trials (Fristad, Goldberg-Arnold, & Gavazzi, 2002, 2003; Fristad, Verducci, Walters, & Young, 2009; Goldberg-Arnold, Fristad, & Gavazzi, 1999; Mendenhall, Fristad, & Early 2009). The current study examined a pilot implementation of MF-PEP at two community behavioral health centers. Fifteen community therapists were trained in MF-PEP and completed questionnaires after sessions. Twenty community therapists self-selected to refer families and completed questionnaires following MF-PEP. Forty children aged 8 to 12 years (M = 10.15, SD = 1.23) with mood disorders and their parents were referred to MF-PEP and completed questionnaires pre- and post-treatment. Treatment effectiveness and response, consumer and provider satisfaction, and financial feasibility were examined. Paired pre-post data were available for 22 parents and 20 children (9 children for depressive symptom report). Data were analyzed via two-tailed, dependent-measures t-tests. Upon completion of therapy, parents showed significant increases in knowledge of mood disorders, t (21) = -3.36, p = .003, d = .60. Though all measures showed shifts in the hypothesized directions, significant differences were not found for: parental treatment beliefs, t (21) = -1.55, p = .14, d = .23; children's treatment beliefs, t (19) = -0.8 (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Mary Fristad PhD, ABPP (Advisor); Steven Beck PhD, ABPP (Committee Member); Michael Vasey PhD (Committee Member) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2009, History

The transmission of military ideas across time and the problems arising from tracing diffusion were examined. A major theme was investigating the similarities between Greco-Roman military formations and traditions (eighth century B.C. to 400 A.D.) and those of the medieval Swiss (1315-1544). Only six possibilities could explain the similarities. Stimulus Diffusion was examined as an explanation. This theory suggested that military ideas spread, by word of mouth. It was determined that, in the Swiss case, stimulus diffusion was not a factor, since inherent in the definition of stimulus diffusion is the requirement of an originality (“ideational germ”) on the part of the diffusing society. The evidence suggested the opposite, that the use of pike formations in Italy, Scotland, Flanders, and elsewhere in Europe, had an earlier origin. In order to determine what this earlier origin had been, Hanson's theory of a “Continuous European Tradition,” with Greco-Roman roots, of fighting in organized columns was explored with the Swiss as a test case. Contact between the Helvetii and Alemanii, along with other Germanic tribes with ties to ancient “Switzerland,” and the ancient Greeks and Romans was established. However, it was determined that a “continuous tradition” of fighting in the classical Greco-Roman style was unlikely due to medieval Feudalism. The possibility the Swiss may have created formations in the fifteenth to sixteenth centuries using Greco-Roman military treatises was viable. Similarities between the Swiss long-pike formations (1474-1550) and those described by Asklepiodotus (second century B.C.) were persuasive. Yet, since Swiss long-pike columns were developed in the fifteenth century, and Asklepiodotus appeared in Switzerland in the seventeenth century, alternative pathways had to be considered. The notion that Swiss formations were the result of an egalitarian society was also considered. The ratification of oaths for perpetual support coupled with egalit (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Geoffrey Parker (Committee Chair); John F. Guilmartin Jr. (Committee Co-Chair); Nathan Rosenstein (Committee Member) Subjects: Military History

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2005, Veterinary Preventive Medicine

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7 is an important foodborne disease worldwide, and cattle play a central role in the epidemiology of human E. coli O157:H7 infection. Cattle feces are considered the primary source from which the food supply and the environment become contaminated with this pathogen. Therefore, reduction in the frequency and magnitude of fecal E. coli O157:H7 excretion by cattle is predicted to decrease the incidence of human infection. Escherichia coli O157:H7 has been sporadically isolated from other animals, and environmental sources. However, the primary routes of dissemination of E. coli O157:H7 within and between farms remains undetermined. The hypothesis that European starlings play a role in the dissemination of E. coli O157:H7 between cattle farms was tested by determining if starlings inhabiting Ohio dairy farms are a source for E. coli O157:H7 and other foodborne pathogens, and evaluating the extent to which indistinguishable isolates of E. coli O157:H7 were shared between dairy farms located in a close geographic proximity. Cultured intestinal contents of starlings captured on Ohio dairy farms showed that starlings seasonally harbor E. coli O157:H7 (late summer 20%, winter 0%) and other STEC (62.5%). Stx-negative O157 isolates could be lysogenized by stx2-converting bacteriophage, indicating that these toxin-negative strains may acquire stx2. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis of E. coli O157:H7 isolates recovered during a longitudinal study of 20 dairy farms in Ohio showed E. coli O157:H7 subtypes (four indistinguishable subtypes) were disseminated with considerable frequency among farms (7 of 20) in close geographic proximity and non-bovine sources may have contributed to the transmission of this organism between farms. In summary, these data support a role of wild birds in the dissemination of E. coli O157:H7 among dairy farms, but the extent of their role in dissemination of this pathogen is yet to be determi (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jeffrey LeJeune (Advisor) Subjects: Biology, Microbiology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2005, Computer and Information Science

Communication networks can be either infrastructure-based or infrastructure-less. Information dissemination and routing are two important research areas in networking, as the first is one of the ultimate goals forconstructing a network and the second provides the underlying support for disseminating information among nodes within the network. This dissertation presents three major research results, with the first falling into the category of information dissemination on the Internet, specifically, server replica placement, and the second and the third into the category of information dissemination and routing in wireless ad hoc networks, respectively. The World Wide Web is a popular mechanism that creates a client-server information sharing model to facilitate information dissemination across the Internet. With the explosive growth of the WWW, popular Web sites experience increasingly heavy workloads and a large percentage of Internet traffic. To alleviate the workload and the network traffic, these sites usually place a set of servers geographically distributed across the Internet and replicate their contents to the selected replicas. The server replica placement scheme addresses the problem of properly placing a set of replicas among sets of candidate sites to optimize system performance gain. More specifically, using an optimum replica placement algorithm, we study the relationship between the replica size and the optimized performance gain through a trace-driven simulation. We also perform a parametric study to find out the effect of client demand patterns on the optimized performance gain growth. The field of wireless ad hoc networks has become a prosperous research field in recent years thanks to the rapid development and popularity of various mobile devices. The lack of infrastructure allows a fast and inexpensive deployment of wireless ad hoc networks and, thus, makes them suitable for surveillance applications. However, the ad hoc networks' flexibility and (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ming T. Mike Liu (Advisor) Subjects: Computer Science

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 1989, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (Engineering and Technology)

A Technique for the automated dissemination of weather data to aircraft

Committee: Robert Lilley (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2011, Gerontology

How do we translate evidence-based interventions into practice in nursing homes? For years, researchers have focused on developing standardized, reliable procedures to improve care for nursing home residents. As a result, we now have a myriad of best practices to recommend in a number of areas. However, as we learn what nursing home staff should do, we discover that this often is what they are not doing. Several reasons account for this chasm between evidence-based practice and usual practice in nursing homes, including staffing problems, rigid regulations, inadequate reimbursement, and poor management. Rarely cited, however, is the role researchers, advocacy groups, policymakers, and other change agents play in their efforts to translate research into practice. To the extent that specific translational efforts have gone unexamined, they represent an area that may significantly advance quality improvement. That rationale is the basis for this dissertation. The work begins by critically examining the role of nursing home change agents, taking into account evidenced-based principles of innovation dissemination and identifying recommendations to enhance dissemination efforts and speed the translation of research into practice in nursing homes. These recommendations are then applied to two studies of distance learning courses (one on incontinence management, the other on nutritional care)are promising. In each course, multiple staff members in each participating nursing home were able to attend monthly teleconferences that not only improved their knowledge of the recommended evidence-based intervention but also provided a structure and extended support for implementing that intervention with at least some residents. Most participants reported that they would take a similar course again and would recommend the course to colleagues; 57.1% of all participants (total N=175) said they preferred the distance learning model to a more traditional one- to two-day training prog (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Robert Applebaum PhD (Committee Chair); Suzanne Kunkel PhD (Committee Member); Rebecca Luzadis PhD (Committee Member); Kathryn McGrew PhD (Committee Member); Jane Straker PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Gerontology; Health Education; Instructional Design; Nursing

Master of Technical and Scientific Communication, Miami University, 2007, Technical and Scientific Communication

This paper reports on my internship as the Environmental Technical Communicator of OWATCH, an education consortium providing professional development in environmental science to Ohio teachers. Chapter 1 describes the organization of OWATCH including the collaborative atmosphere and the “culture of enthusiasm” fostered there. In Chapter 2, I describe my role as an SME facilitator and outline my mission in relation to the “creation of knowledge.” Chapter 3 showcases the deliverables that I produced. Chapter 4 explains the lessons I learned by delving into the processes involved in completing two information dissemination projects. A detailed analysis of the effect of tone on a document is included. Both Project Management and Anderson's Problem-Solving Model are used to analyze the accomplishments of the internship, and a proper melding of the two methods is completed with the introduction of my own “Project Solving.”

Committee: Jennie Dautermann (Advisor) Subjects: