PHD, Kent State University, 2025, College of Arts and Sciences / School of Biomedical Sciences

Brain reorganization is widely recognized as a driving force behind behavioral shifts that likely enhanced the evolutionary success of early hominins. A key region involved in social behavior is the striatum. In the dorsal striatum, humans exhibit higher levels of dopamine and lower levels of acetylcholine compared to other primates—a neurochemical combination believed to have supported the selection of prosocial behaviors. Similarly, the ventral striatum in humans shows elevated dopamine levels, but the concentration of acetylcholine—closely linked to aggression—had yet to be systematically examined in this ventral striatum. In addition to neurochemical differences, canine sexual dimorphism has been associated with social behavior, particularly intermale competition. Notably, a reduction in canine dimorphism and the reorganization of the brain are both considered hallmark traits of the hominin lineage. However, the extent to which these two features are evolutionarily aligned remains unclear. In this dissertation, I compared acetylcholine axon innervation in two subregions of the ventral striatum—the ventral pallidum and the nucleus accumbens—across primate species. The results show humans having significantly higher levels of cholinergic innervation in the ventral pallidum compared to all of primate species. Furthermore, several ecological and behavioral traits were reviewed for their potential correlation to canine dimorphism. Significant correlations were obtained among canine dimorphism levels, laryngeal air sacs, testes size, locomotion patterns, home range, and body size dimorphism. Lastly, this study found a significant relationship between the dopamine-acetylcholine ratio and levels of canine dimorphism in ventral striatum when competition levels were incorporated.

Committee: Claude Owen Lovejoy (Committee Chair); John Johnson (Committee Member); Richard Meindl (Committee Member); Mary Ann Raghanti (Committee Member) Subjects: Anatomy and Physiology; Biology; Biomedical Research; Evolution and Development; Morphology; Neurosciences; Physical Anthropology

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2025, Mechanical Engineering

Understanding human driving behavior is essential for improving driver assistance systems and optimizing energy efficiency in vehicles. While data-driven models offer flexibility in capturing complex behavior, a structured mathematical framework is necessary for interpretable and generalizable predictions. This work explores a Koopman-based approach to modeling human-machine interactions in a vehicle. A human subject study was conducted using a driving simulator, where participants were asked to drive on a reconstructed road twice: once in free driving, following the posted speed limit, and once following speed advisory guidance from an Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS). The collected data was used to identify individual driving habits, evaluate energy use under different conditions, and quantify the potential improvements in energy efficiency when a fuel-time optimal velocity profile is provided. Driving behavior was examined in both free-driving and speed-advisory conditions to investigate how external guidance influences driver responses. The results show that the inclusion of ADAS can significantly improve prediction accuracy, highlighting the importance of modeling driver response to external cues for energy-efficient vehicle control. The collected driver profiles were processed and used to derive a human response model that describes how drivers respond to both environmental and speed cues. This model was designed to be structured for integration into a real-time eco-driving algorithm to improve cue generation for the ADAS. Due to computational constraints, the model was developed using Koopman operator theory. Two model structures were considered in this study: a complete Koopman-based model that predicts vehicle speed and traction force, and a driver-only model that predicts the pedal position. Both models were developed for both free-driving and speed-advisory scenarios. A key challenge in Koopman-based modeling is the selection of an (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Giorgio Rizzoni (Committee Member); Stephanie Stockar (Advisor) Subjects: Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2025, Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology

The collection and sharing of information between group members is a key component of sociality. In complex structured societies, individuals interact with group members repeatedly and collect and track valuable social information, such as rank, identity, and interaction history, to appropriately moderate their social behavior. An individual's ability to effectively gather pertinent social information is strongly influenced by the properties of their sensory environment. Therefore, changes in the sensory environment have the potential to disrupt social-information gathering, potentially resulting in maladaptive changes in social behavior. Human induced rapid environmental changes (HIREC) are impacting an increasing number of ecosystems, resulting in novel changes in the sensory environment. Despite this, we still do not have a good understanding of how HIREC-induced changes in the sensory environment impact social behavior. The primary objective of this dissertation was to investigate how changes in the sensory environment affect individuals' perceived environment and subsequent social behavior. My central hypothesis is that novel changes in the sensory environment alter social behavior within groups by impairing the ability of individuals to recognize, discriminate between, and assess the behavior of groupmates. To test my hypothesis, I used a combination of mathematical modelling and laboratory experiments to explore how changes in the visual environment impact signal perception, social interactions, and cooperative behavior in the social cichlid Neolamprologus pulcher. In Chapter 2, I modelled optimal subordinate helping decisions under varying levels of uncertainty. I found that dominant uncertainty about subordinate identity had size-specific effects on subordinate helping, while increased dominant uncertainty about the amount of help being provided resulted in increased subordinate helping. I also show that changes in dominants' ability to assess the amount of (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ian Hamilton (Advisor); Gerald Carter (Committee Member); Stuart Ludsin (Committee Member) Subjects: Animal Sciences; Animals; Aquatic Sciences; Biology; Conservation; Ecology; Environmental Science; Freshwater Ecology; Organismal Biology; Zoology

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1961, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1966, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2007, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1963, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1963, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1960, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1970, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1961, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

PHD, Kent State University, 2024, College of Arts and Sciences / School of Biomedical Sciences

Many neurochemicals that affect social behavior also play a role in mediating bone development and metabolism. In primates, higher levels of neuropeptide Y and serotonin in humans and chimpanzees, compared to monkeys, are associated with decreased levels of aggression and increased social competence, respectively. Additionally, apes have higher levels of acetylcholine (ACh) and lower levels of dopamine, corresponding to internally driven and autonomous social behavior. Humans, conversely, have relatively low ACh and high dopamine, corresponding to externally driven social behavior and social conformity. ACh is specifically associated with the control of internally versus externally motivated behaviors in the striatum and is also known to promote osteoblastogenesis, bone formation, and to also inhibit bone resorption. However, the relationship between neurochemicals in the brain, bone, and behavior has, to date, remained relatively unexplored. In this dissertation, I investigate potential relationships among ACh concentrations and bone architecture by examining rats of differing levels of domestication and also among primates. I show that, in wild-caught and laboratory-raised rats, skeletal ACh concentrations, trabecular spacing, cortical bone density, and cortical area are lower in laboratory-raised rats, while bone volume is higher. Additionally, skeletal ACh may account for 40.8% of variation in trabecular spacing and 35.5% of variation in bone volume among rats. Though the difference in skeletal ACh among groups was consistent with expectations, our other findings largely contrast with currently available literature, warranting further research into the relationship between skeletal and neural ACh. I also show that, while in a highly limited primate sample, there is no relationship between skeletal and neural ACh concentrations, the methods used to explore this relationship could be used in future studies. Lastly, I show that in exploring the relationship between (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Claude Owen Lovejoy (Committee Chair); Colleen Novak (Committee Member); Richard Meindl (Committee Member); Mary Ann Raghanti (Committee Member) Subjects: Anatomy and Physiology; Biology; Biomedical Research; Developmental Biology; Endocrinology; Evolution and Development; Morphology; Neurobiology; Physical Anthropology

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2024, Engineering and Applied Science: Civil Engineering

Using advanced communication technologies, traffic elements (including vehicles, pedestrians, and infrastructure) can now communicate with each other and share important traffic-related information in real-time. This information can also be obtained by the traffic management centers to not only optimize existing traffic conditions on a macroscopic level but also to provide individual drivers with driving information that can support the driving task and optimize performance on a microscopic level. Recognizing the potential benefits of these connected vehicles (CVs), various applications have been developed to improve the transportation system. This research sets out to develop a comprehensive understanding of drivers' responses to and the changes in driving behaviors associated with the various driver-vehicle interfaces (DVIs), including auditory, visual, and hybrid, for communicating CV safety warnings. In Chapter 3, data from an existing CV test site were obtained and analyzed. The analysis of this dataset sought to provide insights into the impacts of CV technologies on driver behavior. This study is unique as it applied a CV pilot dataset that was not commonly used and involved a more comprehensive analysis with various operating conditions and lower CV market penetration rates that have not been considered in the past. Results showed that the driver safety performance improved under the CV driving conditions, and by combining conventional infrastructure-based variable speed limit systems with queue warning information, safety is improved for CV drivers. With combined CV applications (queue warning and speed harmonization), the results indicated no significant difference in the safety performance obtained when only a single CV application was used. In chapter 4, we developed a driving simulator-based CV environment to investigate the impacts of CV safety warning interfaces on driver behavior. We developed the three DVI modalities mentioned earlier. We co (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: John Ash Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Heng Wei Ph.D. (Committee Member); Ming Tang M.Arch. (Committee Member); Zhixia Li Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Transportation

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2023, Animal Sciences

Animals are often used as educational resources in post-secondary educational settings across the United States, especially in animal science curricula. Yet, little is known about the effect of student-animal interactions (SAI) on students' attitudes, curiosity, and empathy (ACE) towards animals or how their demographic backgrounds, past animal experience, and previous animal science coursework affect these areas. Moreover, while these SAI impact the animals used as educational resources, there is minimal understanding regarding their effect on the animals' welfare. Thus, this study aimed to (1) determine if animal sciences students' ACE responses toward animals changed over the course of the semester while identifying any demographic factors contributing to this change and (2) evaluate the emotional states of the animals used as educational resources through measurements of behavioral responses observed during SAI. This study was conducted at The Ohio State University during Autumn semester of 2022. A pre-course (n = 215) and post-course (n = 96) survey was administered to animal sciences students to collect self-reported demographic information, prior animal experience, prior animal science coursework, and ACE responses toward animals by species to determine if there was a change over the semester. Curiosity increased between the pre-course and post-course survey (p < 0.001), with students' attitude, experience, and perceived knowledge of animals (p < 0.001) providing plausible explanations. There was a strong positive correlation between the students' perceived knowledge of species and experience with species, indicating potential for further studies to assess changes in knowledge before and after working with animals (R = 0.793, p < 0.001). The emotional state of animals used as educational resources varied depending on the level of invasiveness of the activity as well as the length of SAI. Animals exhibited a higher frequency of negative emotional states during (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Kimberly Cole (Advisor) Subjects: Animal Sciences

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2021, Mass Communication (Communication)

Despite high adoption rates of new communication technologies in Kenya, the role of emerging technologies in the Kenyan child trafficking market and the influence of online anti-child trafficking activists in combating child trafficking remain under-researched. In this study, I have used digital ethnographic approaches that included virtual interviews, online participant observation, and social media analytics to realize five main findings. First, emerging media technology has been used by criminals to traffic children, whereas it also provides opportunities to online activists to combat child trafficking. Second, there are different types of online claims-makers actively advocating against child trafficking. Third, the claims-makers framed the exploitation and risky situations that victims of child trafficking go through as sexual exploitation, organ harvesting, infant trafficking, child marriage, organized begging, terrorism, organized crime, and child labor. Fourth, the claims-makers used the 5P framework to diagnose and offer a prognosis of the child trafficking situation. Finally, the claims-makers were able to influence diverse sentiments among their target audience. This study has practical and theoretical recommendations for researching and designing social and behavior change interventions against child trafficking and other social challenges.

Committee: Stephen Howard Prof. (Committee Chair); Thomas Smucker Dr. (Committee Member); Jatin Srivastava Dr. (Committee Member); Laeeq Khan Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: African Studies; Behavioral Sciences; Communication; Mass Communications; Mass Media; Social Research; Sociology; Sub Saharan Africa Studies

MFA, Kent State University, 2021, College of Communication and Information / School of Visual Communication Design

As society evolves, technology also evolves to meet the wants and needs of changing cultures. Since the turn of the 21st century, social networking has dominated the world of technology and has radically influenced how we communicate as humans. With new technological shifts in social networking comes many advancements on both an individual and societal level. At the same time, however, these shifts present many ethical dilemmas such as the collection of personal data, the exploitation of our psychological vulnerability, or the promotion of addictive habits and behaviors. What are the driving factors that keep us immersed in our virtual lives and what keeps us coming back for more? How do these social networks affect our behaviors? Our ability to be constructive individuals? Our perceptions of ourselves and others? These are some of the considerations this paper investigates. Designers play an important role in the creation and application of technology. Thus, it is imperative for designers to consider how their design decisions affect the sustainable health and well-being of people. Are designers responsible for the design decisions they make? What resources are available to help guide them in making ethical design decisions? The goal of this thesis is to explore the relationships between media, audiences, and society as well as to reevaluate, through data analysis, the effects and implications of ethical design principles and practices to help designers better understand their role when it comes to ethics and technology.

Committee: Jessica Barness (Advisor); Aoife Mooney (Committee Member); Ken Visocky-O'Grady (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Design; Education; Ethics; Psychology; Technology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2021, Public Health

Introduction: Public health efforts to curb the obesity epidemic in the United States have shifted focus towards obesity prevention strategies in early stages of life. While most studies examining the etiology of excess weight gain in childhood have focused on behavioral factors, like dietary intake and physical activity, recent literature suggests prevention strategies may benefit from targeting complex interactions between children, their caregivers, and the broader social and material context of family home environments. In response, obesity preventions researchers are considering the potential influence of chaos in childhood obesity risk, as well as the role of caregiver-child interactions in healthy weight development; very few studies have simultaneously considered chaos and caregiver-child interactions in the context of childhood obesity risk. Thus, the current dissertation aimed to examine risk pathways from chaos to childhood obesity directly, and through aspects of caregiver-child feeding interactions. All studies included in this dissertation use data from the Play & Grow study, a contemporary cohort of caregiver-toddler dyads (N = 299) from central Ohio. The cohort was constructed to examine children's weight trajectories in early childhood, with respect to caregiver-child mealtime and play time interactions, children's self-regulation, and children's gestational age. Study 1: Chaos has implications for child health that may extend to childhood obesity. Yet, results from studies describing associations between chaos and childhood obesity are mixed. Challenges to studying chaos-obesity relationships may include inconsistencies in operationalizing chaos and reliance on caregiver perceptions. Furthermore, multiple pathways may link chaos to obesity, though few have been empirically examined. A concurrent mixed methods analysis was conducted to describe home and neighborhood chaos using a subsample 283 caregiver-toddlers dyads from the Play & Grow study. (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Sarah, E. Anderson PhD, MS (Committee Chair); Rebecca Andridge PhD, MS (Committee Member); Elizabeth, G. Klein PhD, MPH (Committee Member) Subjects: Epidemiology; Public Health

Psy. D., Antioch University, 2019, Antioch New England: Clinical Psychology

This is a dissertation project on the reciprocal benefits—to volunteers and animals—of volunteering at animal shelters, rescues, and sanctuaries. I have provided a brief literature review on the relationship between prosociality and helper/recipient wellbeing, highlighting the current scarcity of research on the human enactment of prosocial behavior with animal recipients of help. I then further supported the need for continued research in this regard by examining the emerging body of research on the suggested wellbeing-benefits of human–animal interaction. An ecopsychological framework was utilized to emphasize the potential therapeutic affects (to both humans and animals) of engaging in prosocial behaviors directed toward animals. To explore the subjective experiences and meaning making of animal shelter/rescue/sanctuary volunteers a qualitative IPA, methodology was utilized. Semi-structured interviews were held with five participant–volunteers on a one-on-one basis, and discussions were largely focused on the wellbeing-benefits they have given and gained from their service work directed toward animals in need, as well as the challenges encountered by both humans and animals involved. Through thematic analysis, I endeavored to capture the essence of the phenomenon at hand, and multiple measures were taken to best ensure its overall rigor, credibility, and transferability. Findings of the research included a range of participant-perceived benefits gained through their service work including awareness of their own self-efficacy, feeling internally fulfilled, developing a heightened sense of resilience, and connecting to others. Participants additionally identified a range of beneficial impacts to their animal counterparts which are detailed in full. Implications of the research topic were explored on individual, systemic, and theoretical levels, and future directions for research and practice were identified.

Committee: Martha Straus Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Barbara Belcher-Timme Psy.D. (Committee Member); Maureen Sanford Psy.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2019, Industrial and Systems Engineering

Despite growing pressure for organizations to implement more science-based solutions into practice, efforts to successfully achieve this task have been known to fail due to the tensions that exist between science and application. While there has been a great push in the implementation science, translational science, evidence-based practice, and human factors literature, a void still remains regarding a framework that details the necessary requirements for bridging this known gap. In order to fill this void, I propose The IMPActS Framework, which is founded on the existing literature but acts as a new frame of reference for those trying to translate science into implementations. IMPActS proposes a new standard of what it means to make organizational “impact”, which is now defined as science-based solutions that maintain the maximum appropriate levels of scientific integrity while also being implementable and sustainable in real world practice. IMPActS also acts as an acronym for the five necessary factors each necessary but only jointly sufficient in making this successful definition of impact. These factors are Ideas, Model alignment, Pragmatics, Actors, and Sustainment, and can be thought of as the barriers to making impact that need to be overcome. In this paper, I will describe the IMPActS Framework in more detail and through the lens of three clinical cases, all of which deal with implementing clinical alarm interventions over the last 30 years. The purpose of introducing this framework and comparing it against real-world case studies is to highlight the barriers to making successful impact in hopes that the pathways to successful impact will become more salient, navigable, and tangible for all of those involved. Solution designers should use IMPActS as a means of assessing where to invest their future resources and efforts in order to overcome these barriers in practice.

Committee: Michael Rayo (Advisor); David Woods (Committee Member) Subjects: Industrial Engineering

MDES, University of Cincinnati, 2019, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Design

This dissertation addresses the emergence of emotional involvement in interaction with social robots. More specifically, the author investigates the dynamics of human bonding with robotic pets to design affordances to improve people's experience of communicating with robots. Robotic pets are robots that mimic real pets like dogs or cats, both in appearance and in behaviour. The aim of this study is to propose new guidelines to inspire designing robotic pets. Through analyzing people's behaviours toward robotic pets, the author proposes a framework of design suggestions that are considered to be suggestive for building positive relationships with human beings. The research methodology applied in this thesis was mostly qualitative research. Diary research of adopting a robotic pet for 7 days was conducted to collect data. A survey of measuring participants' overall experience with the robotic pet was released. Based on the participants' interactions with the robotic pet, the author did an analysis to learn interaction behaviours which correlate with the companionship level of human and robots. A behavioral analysis with an emphasis on the interactional surface and particularly on the sequences of dyad's reciprocal exchange is presented. The outcomes are twofold: 1. the ethograms and coding schemes of JoyForAll's and people's behaviours and a higher-level categorization of behaviours involved in bond forming that can be applied to other platforms and users. 2. The diary template practiced in this research has values in the Human-Robot Interaction research field. This research presents a novel model of bonding with robotic pets inspired in the human-animal affiliation and particularly in human-pet relatedness, where bonding is envisaged as a process towards companionship that evolves through three stages –first impression, short-term interaction and lasting relationship- characterized by distinguishable patterns of behaviours, cognitions, and feelings that ca (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Claudia Rebola Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Heekyoung Jung Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Design