PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2016, Business: Business Administration

Brand failures—that is, violations of implicit or explicit expectations we have for brand performance —are inevitable and can come with a hefty price tag to companies. Yet why is it that seemingly minor brand failures can have significant repercussions, whereas comparably major violations can go relatively unnoticed? Drawing from research on brand personalities, I propose that (i) brand personalities impact consumers' expectations regarding brand performance, (ii) violating these expectations heightens the severity of the brand failure, and (iii) this difference in severity determines brand forgiveness. In particular, I propose that the brand's dominant personality—namely, whether warm or competent—elicits different expectations regarding brand performance, such that consumers should expect their interactions with warm brands to align with communal brand dimensions and their interactions with competent brands to align with functional brand dimensions. Moreover, a brand failure that violates these expectancies (i.e., a communal brand failure committed by a warm brand, a functional brand failure committed by a competent brand) should be viewed as more severe and thus less forgivable than one that does not violate these expectations (i.e., a communal failure committed by a competent brand, a functional failure committed by a warm brand). Three experiments test these hypotheses and, in doing so, surprisingly reveal that consumers more readily forgive, rather than censure, brands failures which violate their expectations (Experiments 1 – 3). Moreover, these failures are shown to induce this unexpected result by heightening the credibility of the brand (Experiment 2). Finally, this effect is shown only for those consumers most likely to use brand failures to re-evaluate the brand (Experiment 3). These findings then, though contrary to expectations, offer novel insight into the importance of brand personality as a basis for brand forgiveness as well as the most effective m (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Joshua Clarkson Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Chung-Yiu Chiu Ph.D. (Committee Member); Frank Kardes Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Marketing

Master of Applied Communication Theory and Methodology, Cleveland State University, 2015, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

The way that individuals adapt to stress in their romantic relationships plays a major role in determining how satisfied they are in those relationships. This study used the Vulnerability-Stress-Adaptation model as a framework to examine how individuals adapt to the stressful event of a relational transgression in their romantic relationships. This study specifically looked at the effect of individuals' attachment dimensions and the equity of their relationships as factors that influenced how they used forgiveness strategies after a relational transgression occurred. The results of the study revealed that there was a significant negative relationship between the explicit strategy and dismissiveness, a significant positive relationship between the minimizing strategy and preoccupation, a significant positive relationship between the non-verbal strategy and preoccupation, a significant negative relationship between the non-verbal strategy and fear of intimacy, and a significant negative relationship between the conditional strategy and security/confidence and fear of intimacy. The results also revealed that there were significant group differences between equity groups and three of the five forgiveness strategies. The results also showed that there were significant relationships between transgression severity and four of the five forgiveness strategies. Finally, the results revealed that there was a significant relationship between relational satisfaction and three of the five forgiveness strategies.

Committee: Elizabeth Pask PhD (Advisor); Robert Whitbred PhD (Committee Member); Kimberly Neuendorf PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2014, American Culture Studies

Since the early 2000s, women affiliated with comedy television have been widely discussed as exceptions within a masculine industrial context, celebrated as brave counterexamples to ideas women lack comedic voices, or derided for not being good enough as comics or feminists. Television has been included in this discussion as a space for representing women, in comparison to film, provided more dynamic options for actress. Comedy has been used in these conversations as journalists and bloggers increasingly focus on lack of representation within comedy formats in addition to already lack of diversity on and offscreen. The goal of this research is to analyze women's comedic work for television. The following is an examination of authorship in comedy television. There have been a handful of women who have acted as headwriters/ showrunners/ producers/ stars in comedy texts within the past ten years. Through analyses of four women in particular: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Diablo Cody, and Lena Dunham, this research highlights the ways in which the perspectives of women are incorporated within their texts. Through comedy they provide characters and points of identification that go beyond stereotyping and shed light on the nuanced nature of women's lived experiences. These texts both resist and conform to societal expectations of women. Television Studies exists within a state of fluctuation as industrial shifts uproot the ways in which television operates and even how we as an audience watch or experience programs. Expansion of channels, changes in ownership, challenges over content have affected the ways in which audiences view television as an object. This dissertation is an exploration of those cracks, which were made by female comedy writers to provide insight into women's daily lives and experiences within American contexts. While by no means all-inclusive, women working in contemporary television continue to try and negotiate wider openings for women's content on (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ellen Berry (Advisor); Rosalind Sibielski (Committee Member); Becca Cragin (Committee Member); Jacquelyn Cuneen (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies; Film Studies; Mass Media; Womens Studies

Master of Arts, Case Western Reserve University, 2012, Psychology

Transgression has been a focus within the psychological community for many years, with special focus on moral transgressions as a type of spiritual struggle. Recent research has placed an emphasis on another spiritual struggle, anger toward God, which appears is often associated with blaming God for a negative life event. The present study explored the relationship between these two struggles. In the context of a web-based survey, undergraduates (N=138) reflected upon an instance of personal moral transgression and then completed a series of questionnaires assessing attitudes and beliefs in the context of transgression. Consistent with hypotheses, the extent to which individuals viewed their transgressions as arising from dispositional or trait-like qualities robustly predicted negative evaluations of God. This association demonstrates a previously unexplored link between two forms of spiritual struggle and provides insight into the manner in which spiritual struggles interact.

Committee: Julie EXLINE PhD (Committee Chair); Heath Demaree PhD (Committee Member); TJ McCallum PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Experimental Psychology; Health Care; Pastoral Counseling; Personal Relationships; Psychology; Religion; Religious Congregations; Social Research; Sociology

Master of Arts, Case Western Reserve University, 2008, Psychology

The present study investigated how motivations underlying the decision to forgive affected outcomes for forgivers. Using a web-based study, 185 undergraduates who had been hurt by someone close to them were randomly assigned to either a control condition or a condition focusing on one of the following motivations for forgiving: personal benefit, moral obligation, and goodwill. Compared to the control group, all three forgiveness conditions reported higher forgiveness levels, more pro-forgiveness attitudes, and less negative emotions toward the transgressor. The forgiveness conditions did not differ except for perceived autonomy in the decision to forgive, for which the personal benefit group ranked highest. Gender acted as a moderator on participants' response to forgiveness conditions. Females did not respond to the conditions differently, while males in the forgiveness conditions – the goodwill condition in particular – reported higher levels of forgiveness and lower negative emotions toward the transgressor as compared to the control group.

Committee: Julie Exline PhD (Advisor); Norah Feeny PhD (Committee Member); TJ McCallum PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Personal Relationships; Psychology; Social Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2009, Clinical Psychology (Adult)

Self-forgiveness research indicates that resolving negative emotion about a transgression does not guarantee a prosocial response (e.g. apologizing or making amends; reducing defensiveness). A review of the literature indicates that the following processes may be important if emotion resolution and prosocial response are to occur: acknowledging responsibility, dealing with shame, apologizing and making amends, and releasing lingering negative feelings. In order to explore the role of these processes, undergraduates (n = 172) who had committed an offense against another person completed a web-based self-forgiveness intervention. The participants' emotional and behavioral responses were compared with the reactions of participants who did not receive the intervention. Results indicate that, compared to the control condition, the intervention significantly reduced participants' defensiveness regarding their role in the transgression and trended toward increasing their apology and amend behavior. Furthermore, in those who exhibited negative emotion at baseline, the intervention significantly reduced participants' feelings of remorse about their offense and trended toward decreasing shame and increasing self-forgiveness compared to the controlcondition. Suggestions for future self-forgiveness interventions are discussed.

Committee: Julie Exline PhD (Advisor); Russ Sandra PhD (Committee Member); Demaree Heath PhD (Committee Member); McGucken Emilia PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 2011, Geology

This study presents a subsurface facies analysis of the Cambrian Conasauga Formation and Kerbel Formation using well core and geophysical logs. Well- 2580, drilled in Seneca County (Ohio), was used for facies analysis, and the correlation of facies was based on the gamma- ray (GR) log for three wells from adjacent counties in Ohio (Well-20154 in Erie County, Well-20233 in Huron County, and Well-20148 in Marion County). In Well-2580, the Conasauga Formation is 37- m thick and the Kerbel Formation is 23-m thick. Analysis of the core identified 18 lithofacies. Some of the lithofacies are siliciclastic rocks, including: massive, planar laminated, cross-bedded, and hummocky stratified sandstone with burrows; massive and planar- laminated siltstone; massive mudstone; heterolithic sandstone and silty mudstone with tidal rhythmites showing double mud drapes, flaser-, lenticular-, and wavy- beddings; and heterogeneous siltstone and silty mudstone with rhythmic planar- lamination. Other lithofacies are dolomitized carbonate rocks that originally were massive, oolitic, intraclastic, and fossiliferous limestones. In general, the Conasauga Formation is a mixed siliciclastic-carbonate depositional unit with abundant tidal sedimentary structures consistent with a shallow- marine depositional setting and the Kerbel Formation is a siliciclastic depositional unit consistent with a marginal-marine depositional setting. The lower part of the Conasauga Formation consists of sandstone beds organized into a coarsening- and thickening- upward sequence of massive bedded, planar laminated, cross- bedded, and hummocky stratified sandstone. These beds are interbedded with beds having heterolithic tidal features such as flaser- bedding and wavy- bedding of heterogeneous sandstone and silty mudstone. This section in the GR- log shows the irregular shaped pattern with no trend, and is interpreted as bay- head delta deposits. This section is followed by a coarsening upward sequence of sandstone (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: James E. Evans PhD (Advisor); Charles M. Onasch PhD (Committee Member); Jeffrey Snyder PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Geology; Petroleum Geology; Sedimentary Geology

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2007, American Culture Studies/Communication

This is a polemical dissertation which seeks to serve as an intervention into the theoretical debates and tensions within cultural studies. These debates, which have taken place over the last few decades, have centered on the populist bent within cultural studies, the turn away from the concerns of political economy, and the influence of French theories that emphasize signification, play, and relativism. At stake in these debates is our way of understanding the world and imagining it differently. I argue that the celebratory direction found in much of the work by cultural studies scholars in which resistance, subversion and transgression are located in all things popular has led to an expressivist politics which lacks explanatory power and is symptomatic of a loss of political will. This dissertation critiques three particular directions that exemplify the celebratory turn: claims regarding transgression; claims regarding audience activity; and celebratory accounts of consumption. Chapter one provides an exposition of the debates that have plagued cultural studies, laying the ground for later arguments. Chapter two provides an introduction to reality television which is enlisted as a cultural symptom through which to interrogate weaknesses in theoretical positions (in chapters three through five) adopted by cultural studies scholars and strengths in alternative theoretical legacies. Chapter three turns toward the concept of transgression, arguing the romantic view of transgression as subversion relies on a partial reading of the work of figures such as Bakhtin. Chapter four focuses upon a critique of the limitations of conceptions of the active audience, arguing that the political economy of the Frankfurt School theorists can serve as a corrective to perspectives that divorce production from consumption. Chapter five then examines the promotion of consumption as resistance, construing individual self-fashioning as a politics. Such an expressivist politics ignores br (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ellen Berry (Advisor) Subjects: American Studies