Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2013, Agricultural and Extension Education

Leader effectiveness and job performance are measures important to organizational effectiveness. Personal capacities such as emotional intelligence and cultural intelligence, brought to life through behaviors on the job, are thought to be related to leader effectiveness and job performance. However, empirical studies that assess the relationships among measures of leader effectiveness, job performance, emotional intelligence and cultural intelligence are limited in general and specifically in the Extension system. County Extension Directors (CEDs) employed by Ohio State University (OSU) Extension are responsible for providing administrative leadership for county offices. The changing environment, trends affecting OSU Extension, and challenges associated with working with diverse audience, together create the need for CEDs to serve as role models for building trusting work relationships, leading teams, and collaborating with diverse clientele. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among measures of job performance, leader effectiveness, emotional intelligence, and cultural intelligence of CEDs in Ohio, while controlling for potential effect of measures of leader behavior and trusting work relationship. This study was descriptive in nature and utilized a correlational research design with quantitative methodology. The target population for this census study consisted of CEDs in OSU Extension, and their subordinates and associates. Data collection was completed in three phases using historical data and online survey instruments. Data collection from CEDs included measures of cultural intelligence, and emotional intelligence. Subordinates and associates of CED respondents were invited to provide data on their perception regarding their respective CED for the measures of leader behavior, trusting work relationship, and leader effectiveness. Data for the job performance measure were collected from OSU Human Resources personnel. Data (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Robert Birkenholz (Advisor); Graham Cochran (Advisor); Jeffrey King (Committee Member); Jeffrey Ford (Committee Member) Subjects: Agricultural Education; Educational Leadership; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2015, Mechanical Engineering (Engineering and Technology)

Colonoscopy is the most common procedure to detect and diagnose colon diseases, such as colorectal cancer. However, endoscopists are occasionally unable to reach some areas in the colon to thoroughly examine the colon, especially the cecum. The significance of the distal tip extension mechanism (DTEM) arises when the insertion tube of the colonoscope is no longer able to move further inside the colon and when a longer insertion tube is needed. The main focus of this research is to investigate the development of a novel distal tip extension mechanism (DTEM). To characterize the performance of the DTEM, the ability of the DTEM to extend the distal tip of the colonoscope 16 cm is investigated. To determine the maximum number of turns that the extension knob needs to make in order to move the distal tip 16 cm, the DTEM is used to displace the distal tip in different colon configurations using the silicon tube of colonoscopy training model (CTM). To measure the effective of implanting the DTEM in the colonoscope on the flexibility of the insertion tube, a compliance test is performed. To find the bending radius and bending angle at which the DTEM fails to extend the distal tip 16 cm, bending tests are conducted. The DTEM could enable colonoscopists to reach spots in the colon within a 16 cm limit where regular colonoscopes usually fail. The experimentally collected data was presented and discussed to characterize the performance of the DTEM. The results showed that the DTEM is able to extend the distal tip 16 cm while the colon is in various configurations. Additionally, the impact of implanting the DTEM on the flexibility of the insertion tube was determined. The bending radius and the bending angle at which the DTEM was not able to move the distal tip 16 cm were pinpointed. The results of this research suggest that the DTEM will be an effective tool to help colonoscopists performing better colonoscopy. Furthermore, it will increase the completeness rate of colonoscopy.

Committee: Choi Junghun (Advisor) Subjects: Mechanical Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2009, Human and Community Resource Development

The literature on competency-based human resource (HR) management provides a strong case for moving from a jobs-based to a competency-based approach to human resources. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a competency model for a state Extension organization. Specific research objectives were to: (a) identify and describe competencies required for Extension professionals in Ohio to be successful now and in the future; (b) construct a competency model that includes core competencies, describes what they look like in practice, and reflects organizational preferences; and (c) ensure that the competency model created is a valid one. This study was designed as action research and took place in Ohio State University Extension (OSUE). Methods were highly participatory and relied on a criterion group of exemplary performers and key internal stakeholders for idea generation, model refinement, and validation. Mixed methods were used with an emphasis on qualitative approaches, including reviews of existing research and gathering data from employees through interviews and group processes. Peer debriefing and survey research were used to validate and further refine the results. The research design included multiple cycles of data gathering, analysis, integration, and peer debriefing. The findings from this study are represented by two key pieces of information, a list of trends and their implications for Extension work and the OSUE Competency Model. Five trends (changing and complex conditions, increased competition and limited resources, changing complex organizational structures, changing demographics, and technology and life in the e-world) and seven implications are identified and described. The OSUE Competency Model identifies and describes a set of core competencies (including definitions and key actions that further illustrate each), relevant across job groups, that are important now and in the future for OSUE employees. The 14 core competencies identifi (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Theresa M. Ferrari PhD (Advisor); Garee W. Earnest PhD (Committee Member); Keith L. Smith PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Agricultural Education; Higher Education; Management

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2005, Agricultural Education

The Cooperative Extension Service was established in 1914 when the United States of America was a predominantly agrarian society. America's population according to the 2000 U.S. Census data is 79 percent urban. Extension's urban county offices provided educational programs to address the needs and issues of contemporary urban life. The practices of urban county offices are becoming increasingly important to the future of the Cooperative Extension Service system. The purpose of this study was to identify current practices and project the patterns of success in urban Extension for the next two to five years (2007 – 2010) A case study and a Modified Delphi technique, descriptive research designs, were used for this exploratory study. The case study site was purposefully selected based on its reputation as an exemplary urban office. The staff of this office was interviewed about office operations and programming, programs were observed, and marketing materials and educational documents were analyzed to provide input into the statements used in the Modified Delphi survey instrument. The case study provided a baseline of current practice. A purposeful sample of Extension professionals and experts across the United States was selected to serve as the panel of experts in three rounds of the Modified Delphi. The study was conducted utilizing a web-based survey instrument, which allowed prompt responses to statements and rapid analysis of the data. The case study participants were interviewed in a focus group for reactions to the statements used in the Modified Delphi, providing the practitioners' perspective in reaction to the Delphi panel's recommendations. The study identified 80 patterns of success for urban county Extension programs. Items identified achieved both a consensus rating of 80 percent agreement within two adjacent response categories on the six-point Likert-type scale in the Modified Delphi and the agreement of the case study participants. The result is a ser (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jo Jones (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2009, Mathematics

The following dissertation investigates algebraic frames. Formally speaking, a frame is a complete lattice which satisfies a strengthened distributive law where finite infima distribute over arbitrary suprema. In particular, we are interested in focussing on a certain space associated with an algebraic frame: the space of minimal prime elements. In the first half of the dissertation we will investigate different interesting properties of these topological spaces in terms of the algebraic properties of the frame. In one of our main results we state internal conditions of an algebraic frame which will ensure its minimal prime element space is compact.In Chapter 5 we will describe the radical of an algebraic frame. This is a generalization in context to the frame of radical ideals of a commutative ring with identity. We will demonstrate that the radical of an algebraic frame is an algebraic frame. The last part of the dissertation focuses on extensions of algebraic frames. We will generalize the notions of rigid extension, r-extension and r*-extension which are known in the theory of lattice-ordered groups. Our main result will characterize rigid extensions in several ways. We will answer the following question: “Which type of extensions between two algebraic frames will ensure a homeomorphism between their corresponding minimal prime element spaces?” This question had been looked at and answered for lattice-ordered groups by Conrad and Martinez in [4] and later by McGovern in [17]. We will also provide an important example from the theory of rings of continuous functions. In this example, we will construct an extension of algebraic frames which will demonstrate that an r*-extension and an r-extension are two different concepts. In the end we will provide several open questions which may lead to future study.

Committee: Warren Wm. McGovern PhD (Advisor); Rieuwert J. Blok PhD (Committee Member); Kit C. Chan PhD (Committee Member); Ron Lancaster PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Mathematics

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2013, Mathematics

A continuous linear operator T : X → X on an infinite dimensional separable topological vector space X is said to be hypercyclic if there is a vector x in X whose orbit under T, orb(T, x) = {Tnx : n ≥ 0 } = { x, Tx, T2x, ..... } is dense in X. Such a vector x is said to be a hypercyclic vector for T. While the orbit of a hypercyclic vector goes everywhere in the space, there may be other vectors whose orbits are indeed finite and not contain a zero vector. Such a vector is called a periodic point. More precisely, we say a vector x in X is a periodic point for T if Tn x = x for some positive integer n depending on x. The operator T is said to be chaotic if T is hypercyclic and has a dense set of periodic points. Let M be a closed subspace of a separable, infinite dimensional Hilbert space H with dim(H/M) = ∞ . We say that T : H → H is a chaotic extension of A : M → M if T is chaotic and T |M = A. In this dissertation, we provide a criterion for the existence of an invertible chaotic extension. Indeed, we show that a bounded linear operator A : M → M has an invertible chaotic extension T : H → H if and only if A is bounded below. Motivated by our result, we further show that A : M → M has a chaotic Fredholm extension T : H → H if and only if A is left semi-Fredholm. Our further investigation of hypercyclic extension results is on the existence of dual hypercyclic extension. The operator T : H → H is said to be a dual hypercyclic extension of A : M → M if T extends A, and both T : H → H and T* : H → H are hypercyclic. We actually give a complete characterization of the operator having dual hypercyclic extension on a separable, infinite dimensional Hilbert spaces. We show that a bounded linear operator A : M → M has a dual hypercyclic extension T : H → H if and only if its adjoint A* : M → M is hypercyclic.

Committee: Kit Chan (Advisor); Juan Bes (Committee Member); So-Hsiang Chou (Committee Member); Rachel Reinhart (Committee Member) Subjects: Mathematics

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

Scholars have long interrogated the boundary between possessions and the self. In this tradition, Belk (1988) proposed self-extension as the extent to which “we regard our possessions as parts of ourselves” (p. 139). A growing literature has applied it to possessions that are almost always on the self: mobile communication technologies. The transition from cellphones to smartphones has expanded how mobile communication technology informs and reflects the self. Accordingly, an increasing number of studies have examined smartphone self-extension. However, extant work suggests that smartphone self-extension is only loosely related to actual smartphone behavior, calling its real-world impact into question. This dissertation clarifies how self-extension relates to behavior by examining more granular and theoretically grounded behaviors derived from a large, multi-faceted dataset of digital traces. I integrate work on smartphone self-extension and extended cognition to provide rationale for hypotheses linking smartphone self-extension with digital trace measures. I measure smartphone self-extension based on its original functional, anthropomorphic, and ontological dimensions (Park & Kaye, 2019) as well as an identity dimension, which subsumes the anthropomorphic and ontological dimensions (Ross & Bayer, 2021). The digital trace measures include overall frequency of smartphone use, frequencies of using smartphone functions, variety of smartphone functions, smartphone use across spatial contexts, smartphone use across temporal contexts, and potential for reactibility. Ontological self-extension received partial support across almost all hypotheses and research questions; identity self-extension retained some of these relationships; anthropomorphic self-extension was only positively associated with certain frequencies of using smartphone functions (particularly social media); and functional self-extension was unrelated to digital trace measures. These findings were generally (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Joseph Bayer (Advisor); Roselyn Lee-Won (Committee Member); David DeAndrea (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication

MS, University of Cincinnati, 2024, Arts and Sciences: Mathematical Sciences

Much of the current literature about the Heisenberg group H is difficult for those who are in the beginning of their mathematical careers, yet H is endowed with an interesting structure which allows for the generalization of many aspects of analysis in Euclidean space. Such topics include continuity and stronger forms of the same, integral calculus, restrictions and extensions of functions, and Taylor's theorem. The goal of this thesis is to make more accessible a combination of these tenets and others, through examining a Whitney extension theorem in H. We start by building the fundamentals in a more familiar setting, namely in Euclidean 3-space. We then discuss H and its properties, including the notion of horizontality of curves in H. The concept of horizontality provides a natural segue to a version of Whitney's extension theorem for horizontal curves in H; we discuss the necessity and sufficiency of three criteria a curve in Hn must satisfy in order to have a smooth horizontal extension. We conclude by examining two other types of extension theorems, namely Lipschitz maps on metric spaces and continuous maps on normal topological spaces.

Committee: Nageswari Shanmugalingam Ph.D. (Committee Member); Gareth Speight Ph.D. (Committee Chair) Subjects: Mathematics

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2018, Agricultural and Extension Education

More than half of the world today lives in urban areas. By 2050, this percentage is expected to reach 66 percent. As the shift toward urbanization occurs, individuals begin to participate in urban livestock production to supplement their diets with animal protein. Urban livestock production presents a myriad of challenges, including zoonotic disease and risk of bodily harm. An exploratory study, utilizing a concurrent triangulation mixed methods approach, was designed to identify management practices that impact overall safety and health of livestock producers in Managua, Nicaragua. Through quantitative surveys, qualitative interviews, and researcher observations, the data were collected and analyzed in an 18-month U.S. Borlaug Fellowship in Global Food Security, sponsored by USAID. Immersed in the culture, the researcher interacted with 100 urban and peri-urban livestock owners. Guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior, the study protocol used personal attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control as a structure for identifying themes within urban and peri-urban livestock production. The themes related to producers' attitudes were safety, diseases and parasites, cleanliness, and enjoyment. Themes related to subjective norms were experts, family, other livestock producers, and neighbors. Perceived behavioral control themes were authority, knowledge, access, and income. Results found urban livestock producers think first of the safety and health of the animals, then of their family, a strong motivator. Producers would like to perform safe and healthy livestock handling procedures, but do not have the knowledge to improve safety and health. Income is also a limiting factor. Intention to perform safe and healthy livestock handling procedures is primarily limited by the producer's perceived control combined with actual control. Through researcher interaction during Phase 1 the livestock producers expressed interest in learning more about (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Shelly Dee Jepsen (Advisor); Mary Rodriguez (Committee Member) Subjects: Agricultural Education; Agriculture; Animal Sciences

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2017, Agricultural and Extension Education

Employee turnover and turnover intention are key indicators of human resource development practice and overall organizational leadership effectiveness. Employees' perceptions about job satisfaction, satisfaction with supervisor, and organizational commitment are thought to be related to turnover intention. However, empirical studies that examine the relationship between job satisfaction, satisfaction with supervisor, organizational commitment and turnover intention are limited, specifically in the Extension system. Almost all Cooperative Extension employees' turnover studies investigated Extension agents, called educators in some states, as a subject of study; however there is no research that examines turnover intention among the focus of this study, Extension program assistants. Ohio State University Extension (OSU Extension) program assistants, are responsible for recruiting individuals for educational programs, use standardized curriculum to provide informal teaching, and use standardized evaluation instruments to assess program impact. The Cooperative Extension System is experiencing significant changes, which may affect voluntary. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of demographics, job satisfaction, satisfaction with supervisor, and organizational commitment on turnover intention for Extension program assistants. The quantitative research methodology was based on the descriptive–exploratory study and correlational research design. The target population for this study was full time OSU Extension program assistants. An online survey was used to collect data from 149 OSU Extension program assistants. Respondents were asked to provide their perceptions and feelings related to their job satisfaction, satisfaction with supervisor, organizational commitment, and turnover intention. Data analysis involved the use of descriptive statistics, chi-squared test of independents, correlation analysis, binary linear regression, hierarchical multipl (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Graham Cochran (Advisor); Scott Scheer (Committee Member); Mary Rodriguez (Committee Member) Subjects: Agricultural Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1987, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1986, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1966, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Agriculture

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1965, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1962, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Home Economics

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2014, Agricultural and Extension Education

Hospitals and healthcare services comprise a significant segment of the U.S. economy. Their implicit mission of improving overall health positions them as key leaders in initiating conversations around food. The American Medical Association notes that a large predictor of hospital patient and general public health is the quantity and quality of food intake. Hence, a hospital's stance on food (both delivery of and communication about) is of critical importance to positively affect patient, employee, and community health. As standard institutionalized foodservice evolves, some hospitals have introduced local foods as a means of improving health and wellness. Hospitals engaged in local foods procurement have: helped circulate more dollars in the local economy; provided fresher, healthier foods picked at the height of ripeness with higher nutritional values; stimulated hospital staff and patient awareness of and interest in healthy, nutritious eating via local foods (know your farmer programs); and increased positive community relations and media exposure. However, investigation into the hospital foodservice literature leaves it unclear as to what percentage of hospitals actually participate in procuring, serving, or promoting local foods to patients and employees. This may indicate a significant opportunity. The purpose of this study was to investigate what factors (independent variables) contributed to hospital foodservice directors (FSDs) purchasing or not purchasing local foods for their operations. A census of Ohio hospital FSDs (population frame n = 155) was undertaken in which 67.8% responded. The broad research questions asked about how much knowledge Ohio hospital FSDs had of the local food movement, to what extent they currently used local foods (or had interest in purchasing local foods in the future), what systemic issues advanced or impeded their use of local foods, and what relationships existed between demographic variables and the use of local foods. Th (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Scott Scheer Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Jeffrey King Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jerold Thomas Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Agricultural Education; Health Care; Nutrition

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2014, Agricultural and Extension Education

In June 2006, the Government of Indonesia introduced a new agricultural extension approach called Participatory Extension. The main focus of the approach is the active involvement of smallholder farmers in the planning and implementation of extension programs. The new law, Law Number 16/2006, specifically stressed the implementation of an extension program that is "decentralized, participatory, transparent, self-initiated, equitable in partnership" and has accountability (Article 3, point c.). It has been eight years since the policy was introduced and long enough to determine how well the policy is working. Therefore, this study assessed the effectiveness of the policy. The specific objectives of the study were: 1. To describe the characteristics of extension agents in the Malang Regency; 2. To examine extension agents' perceptions of the effectiveness of the policy; 3. To examine the challenges, if any, extension agents encountered in implementing the new approach; 4. To describe agents' training needs in implementing the new approach; and 5. To assess the need for Communication for Development (C4D) in strengthening extension in Indonesia. The study was a survey-- an interview of all 153 extension agents in the Regency of Malang, East Java Province, Indonesia in October/November 2013. Of the 153 questionnaires distributed, 126 were of usable quality, yielding a response rate of 82.4%. The Cronbach's Alpha values of 12 sections of Likert-type questions were between 0.580 and 0.975, with many of them more than 0.800. The main findings were as follows. With respect to Objective 1, there were two main findings. One was that the training of the majority of extension agents was in agricultural subject matter. Of the 126 respondents who answered this question, only 22 or (17.5%) specialized in agricultural extension. The rest were trained in technical agricultural subjects. One-third or 42 respondents specialized in agro-ecotechnology (covering agronomy, soil (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Robert Agunga (Advisor); Emily Buck (Advisor); Scott Scheer (Committee Member) Subjects: Agricultural Education

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2011, Agricultural and Extension Education

Cooperative Extension has a 100-year history of working within the national system of land-grant universities to assist in the growth of farmers and the agriculture industry. Amish and Mennonite farmers are one of the producer groups that directly benefit from the Extension system. In order to provide effective future Extension programming efforts for this particular clientele, a mail survey was conducted to describe Ohio Amish and Mennonite farmers who participate at Ohio produce auctions, especially their communication and educational needs. A profile of the typical Ohio Amish or Mennonite farmer who sells at Ohio produce auctions is a white male aged 30 to 49 years and farming is his primary occupation. Ninety-four percent (94%) of respondents have less than a twelfth grade education and 84% don't belong to any Ohio farm organization or association. Less than 3% of Ohio Amish and Mennonite produce farmers use the Internet to obtain farming information. Fifty-six percent (55.6%) of Ohio Amish and Mennonite farmers reported annual farm sales of $10,000 to $49,999 while 5.9% reported sales of $100,000 to $500,000 with 60.9% reporting that more than 50% of their farm income is generated through produce sales. Fifty-two percent (52.1%) of respondents use a combination of organic and conventional farming practices but only 5% are certified organic. Ohio Amish and Mennonite produce auction farmers obtain information from a variety of sources. The top three sources of information used 10 or more times a year are university bulletins, newsletters, newspaper and magazine articles. Amish and Mennonite produce auction farmers also communicate more than 10 times a year with other farmers in their community and they do not use Information and Communication Technology (ICT's) to acquire information with 97% never using the Internet. More than 94% of Ohio Amish and Mennonite produce farmers are aware of Ohio State University Extension and greater than 83% have used or benefited (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Robert Agunga Ph.D. (Advisor); Garee Earnest Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Agricultural Education; Agriculture

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2004, Agricultural Education

Little research has been conducted that examines the learning style and personality type preferences of Extension Community Development Educators. This descriptive correlational study examines the relationship between learning style and personality type preferences of Extension Community Development program professionals in Ohio. In addition, the study explores the presence of relationships of learning style and personality type preferences to primary work assignment, length of tenure, academic major, educational attainment, age, and gender. More than 56 percent of the 67 Extension Community Development program professionals involved in this study favored a field dependent learning style, as measured by the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT). The mean GEFT score for the sample was 10.40, below the national mean of 11.4. Females were more field dependent. Subjects with academic backgrounds in the physical sciences were more field independent. Subjects with longer tenure in Extension were more field dependent. Nearly 24 percent of study participants indicated a preference for the ISTJ personality type as measured by the Personal Style Inventory (PSI). Males were more than three times more likely to prefer gathering information using their senses (sensing). Twice the number of female subjects (18) preferred gathering information through use of their unconscious (intuition) over males (9). Males preferred reacting to information with logic (thinking). Females preferred reacting to information with personal reflection and consideration for others (feeling). There was a negligible level of association between learning style and personality type subscales. The GEFT and PSI were used to gather data from Ohio State University Extension Community Development program professionals that attended district-level program meetings, completed the instruments, and provided usable data. While study results were generalized only to those providing usable data, a sampling of non-respond (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jamie Cano (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Agricultural

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

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: