Master of Science, University of Toledo, 2024, Geology

Traditional soil investigation methods often involve point-source data from laboratory-scale analysis on soil cores or the use of in-situ sensors to directly measure soil physiochemical properties such as soil moisture content. These methods are destructive, costly, time-consuming, and inadequate in capturing details of spatial variation in the soil types and properties. Geophysical methods present non-invasive approaches for estimating the spatial variation in soil properties, but gaps still exist in using fast, non-contact-based geophysical methods such as electromagnetic imaging (EMI) and ground penetrating radar (GPR) for characterizing vertical variation in soil properties. Also, the effect of polarization on interpreting the electrical conductivity, e.g., from EMI of variably saturated soil, remains poorly studied, limiting the use of electrical geophysical methods for characterizing soil properties. This research assesses the use of electrical conductivity from EMI and GPR's radargrams for characterizing the vertical distribution of soil moisture, organic matter, and texture. It used laboratory-based spectral induced polarization (SIP) measurements to assess the electrical polarization of the soil. Co-located EMI and GPR measurements were acquired along 12 transects at the Stranahan Arboretum research sites in Toledo, Ohio. Soil samples were collected from nine locations along the EMI and GPR transects, segmented into 63 subsamples, and analyzed for soil moisture content (SMC), soil organic matter content (SOM), and percentage sand, silt, and clay contents. The apparent electrical conductivity from the EMI survey were also inverted using the EmagPy software to obtain vertical variation of the soil electrical conductivity. 20 minimally disturbed soil cores were later collected for laboratory SIP measurements. A linear regression model was used to assess the relationship between the soil electrical signals and the laboratory-derived soil physiochemical prop (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Kennedy Doro (Advisor); James Martin-Hayden (Committee Member); Richard Becker (Committee Member) Subjects: Environmental Science; Geology; Geophysics

Master of Science in Electrical Engineering, Cleveland State University, 2021, Washkewicz College of Engineering

In this thesis, we draw attention to the problem of cross-service attacks, that is, attacks that exploit information collected about users from one service to launch an attack on the same users on another service. With the increased deployment and use of what fundamentally are integrated-services networks, such as 4G/LTE networks and now 5G, we expect that cross-service attacks will become easier to stage and therefore more prevalent. As running example to illustrate the effectiveness and the potential impact of cross-service attacks we will use the problem of account association in 4G/LTE networks. Account association attacks aim at determining whether a target mobile phone number is associated with a particular online account. In the case of 4G/LTE, the adversary launches the account association attacks by sending SMS messages to the target phone number and analyzing patterns in traffic related to the online account. We evaluate the proposed attacks in both a local 4G/LTE testbed and a major commercial 4G/LTE network. Our extensive experiments show that the proposed attacks can successfully identify account association with close-to-zero false negative and false positive rates. Our experiments also illustrate that the proposed attacks can be launched in a way that the victim receives no indication of being under attack.

Committee: Ye Zhu (Committee Chair); Yongjain Fu (Committee Member); Sui-Tung Yau (Committee Member) Subjects: Computer Engineering; Computer Science; Electrical Engineering; Information Technology; Technology

Master of Science, Miami University, 2020, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering

Falls are prevalent in the elderly and diseased population. They are serious and costly. Numerous studies have discovered the factors contributing to falls from physiological and pathological perspectives. However, the mechanism of standing balance control with biomechanical considerations is less discussed. The purpose of this study is to investigate the fundamental biomechanics of postural control during quiet stance to determine the validity of commonly used balance models. It is hypothesized that 1) given the simple inverted pendulum model, a stable stance is preferred with a slight forward-leaning angle, and the center of pressure (CoP) would remain near mid-foot. 2) The stability diagram, expressed by the neuromuscular feedback gain and delay, will yield a wider range of parameter combinations causing a stable equilibrium position. We study the bifurcations and stability of two mathematical models: with an upright position, and with a desired leaning position. The results of the mathematical model analyses show the leaning model has a larger range of parameter values for which balance can be maintained. An analysis of experimental data of twelve healthy participants shows participants leaned forward during quiet stance. These findings provide insight into the dynamics of human balance to detect postural instability and prevent falls.

Committee: James Chagdes (Advisor); Shukla Amit (Committee Member); Walsh Mark (Committee Member) Subjects: Biomechanics; Kinesiology; Mechanical Engineering

Doctor of Education (EdD), Ohio University, 2015, Educational Administration (Education)

A study has been conducted in order to pursue an enhanced understanding of the accountability-focused work of high school principals in a large Ohio school district. This study examines the use by the principals of climate data for the purpose of school improvement planning. This study also identifies the data sets used by principals when creating annual School Improvement Plans (SIPs), especially when engaging in the Data-Driven Decision Making (DDDM) process. Interviews were conducted with seven principals in the district, which annually provides its principals with formal climate data. These data have been collected by the district and the teachers' association (union) from parents, students, and teachers. Principals, in this particular district, are required to create annual SIPs, but are not mandated to use any particular forms of data when creating such plans. This investigation sought to understand if the principals used the formally collected school climate data when creating SIPs and engaging in the DDDM process. Furthermore, the study sought to understand the manner in which and the extent to which the principals use climate data when creating their SIPs. The qualitative data from the interviews have been analyzed by the researcher through an emergent coding system. The study revealed that while the principals indicated that they value school climate data, they typically did not focus on the available formal school climate data when creating their SIPs and engaging in the DDDM process. Instead, the principals focused on using data sets related to state and federal school improvement mandates measured by Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) standards. Furthermore, the principals in this study described having little or no training on the use of school climate data as part of the DDDM process for school improvement. This study suggests that principals may need to focus on understanding and improving school climate, in order to make plans for continuous improvem (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: William Larson (Committee Chair); Gordon Brooks (Committee Co-Chair); Jerry Johnson (Committee Member); Amy Taylor-Bianco (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Leadership; Organization Theory; School Administration

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2008, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning : Architecture (Master of)

In order for a piece of architecture to truly serve its community, to encompass the notion of community valuing, there needs to be a tightly interwoven identity connected to the purpose of the design. Once a community truly values the architecture, it will become fully utilized and its potential realized. This project will discover a process to develop a community-involved construction methodology, in the context of community design, construction, and management. The intent is to determine a level of involvement that the community can realistically participate in by developing a set of plans and objectives that could be performed with relative ease. The building will be constructed over time to accommodate the costs and immense size as well as other factors, including neighborhood demographics. In essence, the building will grow and mature to accommodate a changing culture that is perceived to take place in the community. In addition, there will need to be successful aesthetically designed solutions that the community can come to appreciate and value. The resulting building/program will be realized as a mixed-use building containing a grocery co-op that is built by the community for the community. The site will be located in the river basin of Cincinnati, in the famous Over-The-Rhine district.

Committee: Jay Chatterjee (Committee Chair); Thomas Bible (Committee Co-Chair) Subjects: Architecture

MCP, University of Cincinnati, 2001, Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning : Community Planning

Since the concept of the enterprise zone was envisioned by Peter Hall (1977), it has been widely used in many countries using different theories, policies and practices based on their different economic backgrounds and situations. In the research conducted for this thesis, the author briefly observed the enterprise zone practices in the USA, and then focused on the enterprise zone practices in China by analyzing a unique International Enterprise Zone, the Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (CS-SIP) to see whether the main goals for the enterprise zone are reached. During the research, the author answered questions regarding why China selected Singapore as its model for this enterprise zone, what China wanted to learn from Singapore, whether this 7.5-year old collaboration is successful or not, what the management organizations of CS-SIP is, what kind of management is used in CS-SIP, and what criteria China used to choose the enterprise zone's location. By working on these questions, the author explored the set of factors governing that choice in China, the policies they set to develop this park, and the measurable achievements of it via some appropriate economic and financial data used as indicators of success or failure. The author concluded at the end of the research that this unique International Enterprise Zone should be considered a success and provides some future research directions regarding China's enterprise zone theoretical base, as well as the policies and practices based on it.

Committee: David Edelman (Advisor) Subjects: Urban and Regional Planning