Ph.D., Antioch University, 2025, Antioch New England: Environmental Studies

Adolescents with histories of trauma often experience disruptions to their emotional, social, and behavioral development. For those living in group home settings, supportive environments can play a key role in fostering healing and resilience. While nature interaction is increasingly recognized as a valuable way to support mental health and resilience, little research has explored its role in these settings. This study introduces an innovative methodology—the Interaction Pattern Approach (IPA)—to examine the role of nature interaction in coping and resilience for 12 adolescents with Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) living in a youth group home. In this design, IPA integrates photovoice data with 22 months of participant-observation, employing a structured coding system to analyze meaningful adolescent-nature interactions. The analysis identified 62 distinct Level 3 Interaction Patterns (e.g., “experiencing periodicity of nature,” “seeing wildlife,” “seeking connection with animals”) that characterized how participants engaged with nature. These patterns were grouped into 7 Coping and Resilience Domains (e.g., self-regulation, autonomy, transcendence), each comprising numerous strengths (e.g., emotional regulation, perseverance, gratitude). The findings provide a foundation for developing a “nature language” that emphasizes the ontogenetic and phylogenetic significance of nature interactions. By demonstrating the diverse ways in which nature fosters coping and resilience, this study highlights the importance of prioritizing nature-based interventions in youth group homes and underscores nature's unique potential to support vulnerable populations. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).

Committee: Jean Kayira Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Elizabeth McCann Ph.D. (Committee Member); Peter H. Kahn Jr., Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Developmental Psychology; Environmental Studies; Evolution and Development; Families and Family Life; Health; Mental Health; Personal Relationships; Psychology; Social Research; Therapy

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2024, Communication Disorders

Aphasia groups are a popular and effective rehabilitation approach to improve people with aphasias' (PWA) communication and psychosocial health. While current evidence supports the efficacy of aphasia groups, we have minimal insight on the factors that lead to the measured benefits. Recent research exploring the proceedings of aphasia groups and the features that lead to success have produced useful insights; however, they have reflected the perspectives of researchers rather than those who are directly involved in aphasia groups. In the current project we centered the experiences and perspectives of community members by interviewing 5 people with severe aphasia who have attended an aphasia group and 13 experienced facilitators. For participants with severe aphasia, we focused on their ideas regarding how aphasia groups should function with a specific focus on aspects that relate to meeting their needs given the severity of their aphasia. We also focused on facilitators' insights on the ideal aphasia group environment, ideal resources, and contributions of facilitators and group members to interaction during groups. We analyzed participant's insights using qualitative content analysis. We presented these findings across three papers, each with a set of primary categories, tertiary categories, and subcategories. Facilitators described ways to create a comfortable and supportive space for communication and group participation with tools and materials that address the varied group member needs. Facilitators' ideas regarding the materials and tools were largely tied into their insights on interaction in aphasia groups where they described how they and members with aphasia worked to prevent or address communication challenges in the group that arose as a result of aphasia. Insights from the participants with severe aphasia captured the importance of the group makeup, the materials and tools for supporting communication, as well as collaborative and supportive featu (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Brent Archer Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Megan Rancier Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jason Whitfield Ph.D. (Committee Member); Siva Santhanam Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Speech Therapy

Master of Science, Miami University, 2022, Computer Science and Software Engineering

Knowledge maps have been widely used in knowledge elicitation and representation to evaluate and guide students' learning. To improve upon current computational approaches to construct and assess knowledge maps, this thesis adopts a hybrid methodology that combines machine learning techniques and network science. By providing methods to extract features to evaluate knowledge maps and expand the assessment scope by accounting for group interaction and multiple expert maps, this thesis addresses the overall gap of current approaches for map construction and assessment. Specifically, this thesis offers three major contributions: 1) identifying necessary and sufficient graph features for knowledge maps evaluation, 2) assessing the role of group interaction during knowledge map construction and how group size affects the quality of map construction, and 3) providing an algorithmic framework to capture differences between student maps and multiple expert maps. Finally, this thesis examines the implications for the fields of network science and educational technology of applying knowledge maps in student learning.

Committee: Philippe Giabbanelli Dr. (Advisor) Subjects: Computer Science; Education

Master of Arts in Professional Communication, Youngstown State University, 2019, Department of Communicaton

Previous research has been conducted regarding group and demographic diversity, cognitive and group cohesion, and groupthink. However, all three concepts focused on have not been studied together. The purpose of the study was to investigate group characteristics and their possible effects on overall group cohesion and the presence of groupthink. The relationship between demographic and cognitive diversity on overall group cohesion and the relationship between demographic and cognitive diversity and the possible presence of groupthink in an academic group were explored. A quantitative survey of undergraduate student participants was used to collect and interpret data and results. Participants were asked to reflect on their most recent group experience in a college course within the last year. Research participants answered questions about their group characteristics, connection to the group, group cohesion, group participation, demographic diversity, cognitive diversity, and groupthink. Results concluded that cognitive diversity was a positive predictor of cohesion. Different ideas, beliefs, and unique skill sets resulted in a more cohesive group than similar race, gender, age, or socioeconomic class. Results also concluded that cognitive diversity was a negative predictor of groupthink. It can be assumed that a group with the same values, ideas, beliefs, and skills is less likely to have groupthink, than a group that thinks, believes, and solves problems similarly. Although diversity does affect both cohesion and groupthink,it is cognitive diversity, not demographic diversity, that has the greater effect on the overall group experience.

Committee: Rebecca Curnalia PhD (Advisor); Shelley Blundell PhD (Committee Member); Jay Gordon PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Higher Education

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2017, Astronomy

In this dissertation, I present a series of studies on the low surface brightness outskirts of galaxies, which contain a record of tidal interactions and secular evolution processes. Each study utilized new deep imaging from the Burrell Schmidt Telescope in either broadband filters or narrow-band filters targeting Halpha emission. Regarding tidal interactions, I present a study of the M96 Group (or Leo I Group), as well as deep imaging of the interacting pair M51. I find that the M96 Group's intragroup light (IGL) consists of only three faint linear streams. I find no stellar counterpart to the group's H I ring, unusual if it were collisional in origin, and few signs of interaction among its four most massive members, implying a very calm tidal history. In M51, I discover several extremely diffuse plumes of starlight, yet find no stellar counterpart to its H I tail. Additionally, I measure red (B - V ~ 0.8) colors in all of its most extended tidal features, implying dominantly old populations and thus a lack of interaction-induced extended star formation. Regarding secular evolution, I conduct a detailed photometric study of three nearby galaxies' outer disks. Each outer disk lacks both ongoing star formation and the spiral structure necessary to migrate stars from the inner disk, hence it is unclear how these red outer disks formed. Finally, I conduct a study of the H II regions and diffuse ionized gas (DIG) throughout the M101 Group, to determine whether star formation in low density environments occupies a distinct physical regime from its high density counterpart. I find that the distribution of Halpha/FUV flux ratios (a tracer of the initial mass function, IMF) is constant among all H II region populations throughout the group. Also, the Halpha/FUV ratio in the DIG appears tied only to the local intensity of star formation, leaving little room for changing star formation physics. In total, this dissertation shows that tidal interactions in low-density (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: J. Christopher Mihos (Advisor); Paul Harding (Committee Member); Stacy McGaugh (Committee Member); Heather Morrison (Committee Member); Steven Hauck Jr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Astronomy

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1984, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1982, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1977, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Psychology

MS, University of Cincinnati, 2001, Arts and Sciences : Geology

A noteworthy transition in global biodiversity of benthic marine faunas was initiated during the mid-Paleozoic, in which burrowing deposit feeders (BDF) began to increase in taxonomic richness, while, simultaneously, immobile suspension feeders that lived on soft substrates (ISOSS) began to decrease. The factors governing such large-scale faunal patterns have long been debated among paleontologists-do they result from biological interactions, responses to physical transitions, or both? The Middle Devonian Hamilton and Upper Devonian Sonyea Groups of New York State provide ideal backdrops for addressing this question because of their diverse, well-preserved benthic marine fossils belonging to both groups (BDF and ISOSS) contained within strata that recorded changes in sedimentation associated with the Acadian orogeny. Faunal censuses were taken at sixteen localities on a west to east transect from Buffalo to Albany, New York, stratigraphically spanning the Ludlowville and Moscow Formations of the upper Hamilton Group. Genus-level data subjected to multivariate statistical analyses reveal a strong lithofacies control on the biota. Limestones and calcareous mudstones and shales contain diverse ISOSS faunas including crinoids, bryozoans, corals, and a variety of articulate brachiopods. Siltstones and sandstones are more heavily bioturbated based on numbers of burrows and trace fossils (Zoophycos), and contain more nuculoid bivalves, all recognized as BDF. Additionally, there is a clear geographic constraint on faunal variation that correlates with the configuration of the Appalachian Basin of the Middle Devonian. Although ISOSS organisms dominate all faunal assemblages in both abundance and taxonomic richness, ISOSS organisms were most abundant on the carbonate ramp, west of the central trough, while BDF were most abundant in the eastern siliciclastic-rich environments. The strong correlation between the fauna and sediments in which they are found suggests that, as the (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Arnold Miller (Advisor) Subjects: Paleoecology; Paleontology

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2010, Secondary Education

Teachers want and need students to excel in the classroom. Cooperative learning is one method recognized to address this. Numerous researchers have shown that cooperative learning leads to improved skills in teamwork and communication in other fields (Johnson and Johnson, 2007; Slavin, 1995). Cooperative learning used in this study showed that the secondary math students benefited socially and academically through effective student communication. This case study reported observational evidence concerning the patterns and experiences of student interaction in discussions within cooperative learning groups in several high school geometry classes. Developed from data collected in observations, audiotapes, and student journals/notebooks, a multiple-case study was used to examine the discussions of two groups of students in cooperative learning groups. Each group participated in three activities: Placemat, to build team camaraderie; Numbered Heads, to strengthen positive interdependence; and STAD, to ensure individual accountability. Four patterns emerged when examining the data: change in attitude toward cooperative learning, the development of trust, group regulation, and the facilitation of math learning. Students showed a more positive feeling toward cooperative learning, stated an increased appreciation for cooperative learning, developed trust in their group members, and were able to analyze what they were doing well and what areas needed work. Math learning occurred when the students demonstrated how they solved problems by communicating using mathematical concepts and language.

Committee: Susan Colville-Hall Dr. (Advisor); Lynne Pachnowski PhD (Committee Co-Chair); Antonio Quesada PhD (Committee Member); Harold Foster PhD (Committee Member); Xin Liang PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Education; Mathematics

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2007, Secondary Education

This research developed a model of how learners in an e-learning environment evolved into a learning community despite their temporal and geographical separation from each other. The constant comparative method of analysis was used throughout open, axial, and selective coding procedures akin to the Grounded Theory methodology (Strauss & Corbin). Microscopic analysis centered primarily on comprehensive threaded discussion board data (more than 6,000 speech segments) for five graduate level courses, including both learner and instructor posts. Analysis revealed a substantive theory entitled Online GROUP Development that detailed five categorical stages - Greeting, Relating, Operating, Unifying, and Parting. The five stages outlined the process of how individuals, through their asynchronous threaded discussion board postings, evolved in their dialogue with one another to forge into an online learning community that evidenced increasing levels of cognitive, social, and affective evolvement with one another across time. Four properties, labeled 4C Interaction, were identified and further differentiated each process stage. Additional analysis revealed a structure that promoted and nurtured conditions that fostered the development process. These conditions were labeled the Main Conditions Present and included three sets of variables that provided the foundation from which the evolution of Online GROUP Development occurred.

Committee: Qetler Jensrud (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Technology