Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2021, Educational Studies

This dissertation is a collection of three papers. The first is a conceptual paper, followed by two data analysis papers. All three papers examine the connection between structural equation models and regression models, and how one may better learn, research and apply structural equation models when structural equation models are thought of as regression models. Each paper contains unique contributions. In the first paper, I focus on conceptual issues related to estimating structural equation models (SEMs) as Bayesian multilevel regression models. I review prevailing views on the equivalence of the two model classes (SEM and multilevel regression), and show how a Bayesian approach allows for the unity of both model classes. Adopting a Bayesian approach introduces additional considerations for estimating SEMs which I review. Additionally, I lay out linear regression model specifications that are directly equivalent to commonplace SEMs. Finally, the paper ends with a discussion of open issues in SEMs that a Bayesian multilevel regression approach to SEMs more readily solves. The goal of the second paper is to frame structural equation models (SEMs) as Bayesian multilevel regression models using the example of a unidimensional confirmation factor model. Framing SEMs as Bayesian regression models provides an alternative approach to understanding SEMs that can improve model transparency and enhance innovation during modeling. For demonstration, I analyze six indicators of living standards data from 101 countries. I show how the unidimensional confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with congeneric indicators is a nonlinear multilevel regression model. I fit this model using Bayesian estimation and conduct model diagnostics from the regression perspective. The model diagnostics identify misspecification that standard SEM misfit statistics are unable to detect and I extend the congeneric model to accommodate the unique features of the data under study. I also provide exte (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ann O'Connell (Advisor); Jessica Logan (Committee Member); Minjung Kim (Committee Member); Paul De Boeck (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Tests and Measurements; Quantitative Psychology; Statistics

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2020, Educational Research and Evaluation (Education)

Two main research problems were addressed in the current study. First, the researcher explored the impact of e-mail prenotification, follow-up reminders and of mixed-mode design on survey response rates in Saudi Arabia among four conditions when applying a 2 (pre-notification: Yes, No) × 2 (Follow-up: E-mail, WhatsApp) between-subjects factorial design. Further, this study investigated the impact of including the phrase, “all I need is 10 more people,” during survey distribution. Results indicated that using both e-mail prenotification and follow-up reminders simultaneously, as well as multiple follow-up reminders in the form of both email and social media applications increased response rate. Further, using the phrase “all I need is 10 more people” during the second-follow reminder both elevated the response rate and provided support from the university to the researcher. Second, the researcher demonstrated whether the analytic choice between MR and SEM affected the results when examining the factors impacting the research productivity of faculty members in Saudi Arabia. Results indicated that using either MR or SEM delivered different results in terms of significant predictors and the model's overall explained variance. Further, differential outcomes produced by the various SEM models employed illustrate how the incorrection specification of formative (causal) indicators can result in worse data-fitting models. Implications for selecting analytic procedures are discussed.

Committee: Gordon Brooks (Committee Chair); Yuchun Zhou (Committee Member); Charles Lowery (Committee Member); Lijing Yang (Committee Member); Anirudh Ruhil (Committee Member) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2019, Marriage and Family Counseling/Therapy

The purpose of this quantitative research study was to examine the potential moderating role of boundaries between adolescents (N = 46) and their parent(s) in the families of African American adolescents who have experienced trauma, and the effect it had on the adolescent's self-esteem, through the lens of Structural Family Therapy (SFT). The 2014 wave of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth - Children and Young Adults was used to conduct the study. A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted examining the intersection of poverty, race, trauma, the individual and lifespan development of adolescents and their families and family systems theory. The direct effects of experiencing trauma upon the parent-adolescent relationship and the self-esteem of adolescents were examined using simple regression analysis. The moderating effect of the perception of boundaries in the parent-adolescent relationship was examined using a multiple regression analysis. The regression results were mostly statistically insignificant, except for the moderating effect of the parent-adolescent relationship. It was found that African American adolescents who reported being closer to their parents were protected from the expected results of experiencing trauma. Additional research should be conducted within the field of Marriage and Family Therapy with respect to the intersection of trauma, poverty, protective factors and African American adolescents and their families.

Committee: Karin Jordan PhD (Advisor); Heather Katafiasz PhD (Committee Member); David Tefteller PhD (Committee Member); Wondimu Ahmed PhD (Committee Member); John Queener PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: African Americans; Behavioral Sciences; Black Studies; Counseling Education; Families and Family Life

PHD, Kent State University, 2018, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration

According to the TIMSS 2015 international study findings, students who enjoy learning mathematics a lot scored much higher (average 61 points) than the students who do not enjoy it a lot. Enjoying learning mathematics is one of the indicators of the construct “intrinsic motivation” towards mathematics, and this type of other constructs, such as confidence, attainment value, and utility value were found to have significant contributions in students' academic achievement in previous studies. This study considered the Expectancy-Value Theory (E-VT) of achievement motivation and the Social Equity Theory (SET) to investigate racial-ethnic gaps in achievement motivational constructs as well as achievement scores of U.S. eighth-grade students in the mathematics and science domains. The TIMSS 2011 U.S. national data on mathematics and science were utilized to answer four research questions. The first research question addressed the psychometric properties of the achievement motivation scales in the TIMSS 2011 Student Background Questionnaire, and the findings of this study confirmed sound evidence regarding the construct, convergent, and divergent validity of the scales. The second research question looked for the racial-ethnic gaps in achievement motivational constructs. A series of measurement invariance tests confirmed that the racial-ethnic groups (Asian, Black, Hispanic, and White students) are not comparable after controlling for students' relative standing or ability levels on the constructs. The third and fourth research questions sought to determine the extent to which the E-VT and the SET explain variance in mathematics and science achievement. This study results showed that the E-VT constructs explain more within-group variance in the mathematics domain (with moderate to large effect sizes) than the science domain (with moderate effect sizes), and the SET variables explain the almost similar amount of within-group variance in both domains (with moderate effect (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jason Schenker Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Tricia Niesz Ph.D. (Committee Member); Lisa Borgerding Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Evaluation; Educational Tests and Measurements

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2017, Marriage and Family Counseling/Therapy

The purpose of this research study was to explore if family functioning as perceived by immigrant adolescents (N = 1849), moderates the relationship between felt discrimination and well-being outcomes, through the lens of Structural Family Therapy (SFT). The baseline wave data from Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study was used to conduct the study. Exploratory research questions were analyzed prior to analyzing the moderating role of family functioning: a t-test to analyze the difference in well-being based on discrimination status; a cluster analysis to ascertain family functioning in terms of boundary categories; a t-test to explore the difference in well-being based on boundary category membership. The moderating effect of the perception of family boundaries, was determined with a regression analysis. The SFT family functioning concept was operationalized in order to quantify it. Analysis for exploratory research questions produced significant results. It was found that immigrant adolescents who reported discrimination also reported lower quality well-being, than those who did not report feeling discriminated. Two clusters of family functioning were detected, suggesting two categories of clear and unclear family boundaries. Further, it was found that participants who reported unclear family boundary also reported higher depression scores, than participants in the clear boundary cluster. Lastly, a moderating effect was found between discrimination and well-being outcomes.

Committee: Karen Jordan Ph.D. (Advisor); Wondimu Ahmed Ph.D. (Committee Member); David Tefteller Ph.D. (Committee Member); Heather Katafiasz Ph.D. (Committee Member); Boyle Rebecca Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychotherapy

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2008, City and Regional Planning

Researchers from many disciplines have examined neighborhood satisfaction. The research has focused more on the personal, social, and psychological dimensions than on the physical environment in relation to neighborhood satisfaction. When studies include physical characteristics, they tend to look at the perceived physical characteristics, possibly overlooking the impact of the physical environmental features on neighborhood satisfaction. Furthermore, while studies have identified physical attributes of environments related to “aesthetic” response, research has not examined the link between physical and judgmental ratings of those attributes, nor has it looked at the link between those measures and neighborhood satisfaction. This dissertation builds a conceptual model that focuses on the multi-level connections among the physical, perceptual, and evaluative measures of the neighborhood environment as determinants of overall neighborhood satisfaction. It uses on-line survey, on-site observations, and the combined satellite image processing and GIS spatial analysis. The survey asks residents to rate their perceptions and evaluations of the neighborhood environment, and then to rate their overall neighborhood satisfaction. 382 survey responses were collected in Franklin County, Ohio. Observations assess the conditions of the fixed and semi-fixed physical environmental elements on 2021 blocks. For observations, this study designed, used, and tested the neighborhood physical environment inventory (NPEI) instrument on a handheld Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). The Normalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI) method was combined with GIS spatial analysis. To assess both structural and measurement relations in a single model, this study uses a Structural Regression Model based on the two-step modeling process. The findings reveal the significant direct and indirect effects of physical, perceptual, and evaluative measures on neighborhood satisfaction. The results ext (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jack L. Nasar PhD (Advisor); Jean-Michel Guldmann PhD (Committee Member); Hazel Morrow-Jones PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Area Planning and Development; Urban Planning

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2007, Civil Engineering

An accurate and practical methodology for stability analysis and design of drilled shafts reinforced slopes was developed utilizing limiting equilibrium method of slices. Complex soil stratifications and general failure slip surfaces can be handled in the developed method. The effect of soil arching due to the presence of the drilled shafts was accounted for by using a load transfer factor. The numerical values of the load transfer factor were developed based on 3-D FEM parametric study results. Many of the design variables controlling the slope/shaft systems, such: drilled shafts size, shafts location, shaft fixity (the necessary rock-socket length), and the required spacing between the drilled shafts to prevent soil from flowing around the shafts can be successfully determined from the developed method. The optimum location where the drilled shafts could be placed within the sliding soil mass so that the cost associated with the landslide repair using the drilled shafts is minimized can be searched for and determined from the developed methodology. From geotechnical point of view, the global factor of safety for slope/shaft systems can be determined. From structural point of view, the forces acting on the stabilizing drilled shafts due to the moving ground can be successfully estimated. In addition to the developed design methodology, Real-time instrumentation and monitoring were carried out for three landslide sites in the Southern part of Ohio. Various types of instruments were extensively installed inside the stabilizing shafts and the surrounding soils to monitor and better understand the behavior of slope/shaft systems. The UA Slope program developed by Dr. Robert Liang in corporation with ODOT and FHWA has been used in designing these landslides. The field instrumentation and monitoring processes have provided excellent and unique information on the lateral responses of shafts undergoing slope movements. Also, the results of the instrumented cases have provi (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Robert Liang (Advisor) Subjects: Engineering, Civil