Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, English

"Playing with Comics: Material Culture in the Hands of 20th-Century American Readers" examines how 20th-century newspaper comic strips and comic books encouraged readers to play with their contents and, subsequently, how readers reproduced, altered, and transformed comics content through their play practices. I argue play has an essential and productive role in our experience reading comics, and yet the visual and narrative tools provided by 20th-century comics were used in personalized ways shaped by individual contexts. Drawing from original archival research, this project seeks to answer two sets of questions: (1) How did comics create opportunities for play, and how did they imagine readers would respond to their invitations? (2) How did readers actually play with comics, and how did material, social, cultural, and historical contexts shape that play? In "Playing with Comics," play is defined through the intertwined processes of imagining oneself and others through printed content and the interpretation of those materials within personal contexts. Inspired by Rebecca Wanzo's work in The Content of Our Caricature (2020), I argue that the character types in comics provided one of the primary tools for play, and comics' invitations were defined through the visual logic of two distinct yet interconnected types: the idealized caricature and the undesirable stereotype. These character types served as models for readers' play, and my analyses investigate how idealized caricatures functioned as models for imitation and encouraged readers to imagine their own transformations while undesirable stereotypes restricted opportunities for play and reinforced racial, ethnic, and gendered stereotypes. The visual markers of identity and their associated narratives were reinforced through mechanical and ideological reproduction, but character types also relied on those readers who played with and within these types. As a result, the contexts in which readers encountered and pla (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jared Gardner (Advisor); Robyn Warhol (Committee Member); Caitlin McGurk (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; American Studies; Gender; Mass Media

Master of Business Administration, The Ohio State University, 1963, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2024, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Regional Development Planning

In 2022, Qualified Allocation Plans (QAPs) for Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) in Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee had various policies that favor construction using “green-rating systems” to improve energy consumption and reduce the carbon emissions of affordable housing, thereby addressing climate change. Green rating systems measure ecological techniques for optimizing energy efficiency in buildings. Yet, no one has investigated how green buildings impact LIHTC residents' utility bills or affect their well-being. The hypothesis underpinning this research is that housing developed with ecologically sustainable features improves the quality of life for LIHTC residents. The study also measured the impact of low rent and features promoting health on the residents' experience. This study contributes to knowledge about green building technology, residential satisfaction, and the planning process for administering LIHTC. Utilizing indicative Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) surveys, interviews were conducted with LIHTC residents living in four pairs of apartment complexes matched in all key respects except that one followed a green rating system (categorized as green); the other did not. The State Housing Finance Agencies (SHFAs) planners were interviewed to supplement the tenant responses and to understand the QAPs' goals. Developers, architects, and staff were interviewed to better appreciate the nuances of compliance with the green requirements in practice. The study combined qualitative data with quantitative survey data using software powered by artificial intelligence to record and transcribe the interviews. The findings indicate that green rating systems result in twenty-five to forty percent savings on tenant electric bills. Respondents from the green developments were more likely to agree that their home was energy efficient, with statistically significant results. On the other hand, green buildings cost more to develop, and these upf (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Leah Hollstein Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Bradford Mank J.D. (Committee Member); David Varady Ph.D. (Committee Member); Johanna Looye Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Urban Planning

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2023, History

Education remains one of the most polarized areas in American society. However, this is not a new phenomenon. From the 1950s to 1980, Congress, the executive branch, and judicial branch significantly increased their funding and oversight in public education. 1965 marked the year Congress passed legislation with the hopes of creating a more equitable system for all socioeconomic classes. However, conservatives also began to coalesce in the 1970s over segregation, helping spur the 1980 Reagan Revolution. 1981 marked the first year in over two decades where Congress cut the education budget for integrative services and changed how the federal government funded programs for low-income students. These changes were integral to the Reagan administration and conservative Congress's goals to reduce social services in an effort to reduce the budget and expand the economy while simultaneously preserving tax loopholes and cuts for the wealthy. Federal funding for social services like education saw cuts that hurt many of the gains that low-income school districts had seen over the previous two decades. One often overlooked piece of legislation–the 1981 Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA)–caused many of these changes. This act removed the protective language and funding that had helped lower income, bilingual, and segregated communities receive federal aid for the previous fifteen years. While creator John Ashbrook's initial intent for the ECIA was to give more power to local and state governments over education– something that conservatives thought was an important goal–the ECIA also ended integration programs and removed barriers to ensure funding went to high needs schools. These changes have affected education to this day.

Committee: Peter Shulman (Committee Chair); Renee Sentilles (Committee Member); John Flores (Committee Member); Timothy Black (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; Education; Education History; History; Public Policy

Bachelor of Arts, Wittenberg University, 2020, Economics

This paper explores the relationship between Ohio municipal tax rates and their revenues. Using a panel regression for the years 2013 to 2017, it is estimated where municipal tax rates are along the Laffer curve relative to the revenue-maximizing rate. The evidence from the regressions suggest that there is an inverted-u relationship between municipal tax rates and revenues as predicted by the Laffer curve, and Ohio municipalities are operating well below the revenue-maximizing rate. Further, the degree to which the diminishing effects occur depends on city size and median income. Additionally, in conducting robustness checks upon population and median income, diminishing effects were not found in municipalities with incomes above the median appreciation.

Committee: Steven Landgraf (Advisor); Gabriel Courey (Committee Member); Staci Rhine (Committee Member) Subjects: Economic Theory; Economics

Bachelor of Arts, Walsh University, 2020, Honors

Solar technology has the potential to make a large impact on American society. Widespread adoption will reduce water usage and, air pollution and contribute to the efforts of national security. However, high investment costs have prevented solar panels from being widely adopted as a means of residential power production. This proposal seeks to mitigate the problem of initial installation costs and expand the accessibility of solar panels through the modification of federal tax incentive policy. Proposed production tax credits and federal loan partnerships will replace existing income tax credits. Although of lesser value, the different structure of the incentive offers greater benefit to the consumer in countering loan costs and providing more long-term benefits. Expanded access will encourage the widespread adoption of solar panels bringing benefits to both consumers and the nation.

Committee: Carl Taylor PhD (Advisor) Subjects: Economics; Political Science

MCP, University of Cincinnati, 2011, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Community Planning

A major obstacle to community and urban redevelopment is the lack of investment capital due to market failures, high risks, and unattractive investment returns. The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program was established by the Federal Government in 2000 in order to attract private capital to low-income communities by offering tax credits as an enhancement to investor returns. The program provides resources for low-income communities through the tax code, rather than direct subsidy, in order to engage the private sector in community development activity. This research project examines four NMTC investment funds in Cincinnati, Ohio as case studies that illustrate the different ways in which the program can be used to attract investment capital. It answers questions concerning how the investments funds are structured, the benefits of each structure type, and the effectiveness of the NMTC program for achieving community development objectives. The research finds that the NMTC program has been an extremely effective method of attracting private investment for community development financing in Cincinnati, generating $324 million of investment with $51.5 million of tax credits. Leveraged and “bottom-up” investment structures offer more flexibility in the financing stage, but are restrictive in project type. Conversely, non-leveraged and “top-down” investment structures are restrictive in financing sources, but provide greater flexibility for project types. Financing through the NMTC program is largely led by private for-profit and non-profit organizations, employing investment measures and underwriting techniques to ensure that projects are financially feasible and sustainable. The program also facilitates public-private partnership, obtaining private investment for public redevelopment projects such as parks and squares. The research also reinforces the existence of program biases toward real estate projects and large, sophisticated CDEs.

Committee: Michael Romanos PhD (Committee Chair); Jeanne Schroer MBA (Committee Member) Subjects: Urban Planning

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2009, Rural Sociology

Climate change is a worldwide environmental problem that will affect every citizen of the planet. Societies can respond to climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing the rate and the magnitude of effects caused by climate change. Agriculture is a major contributor to the problem of climate change, but also has the capacity to be a part of the solution. No-till practices are considered dual purpose in that it has potential as a climate change mitigation strategy as well as an adaptation strategy. Economists have proposed using a market system to aid in the mitigation of climate change because it creates financial incentives to innovate and conserve. Carbon markets have presented farmers with the opportunity to be paid for practices that decrease emissions and sequester carbon, such as no-till farming. No-till farming practices have been in use in the United States for decades by some farmers in order to reduce soil erosion. However, many farmers continue to use traditional tillage methods that release carbon into the atmosphere. In order to exploit the carbon sink capacity of agricultural soils and adapt to the effects of climate change, more farmers need to utilize carbon sequestering practices such as continuous no-till farming. Most research on the introduction of new practices focuses on the initial adoption decision, with little research focusing on the continued use of the practices. The present study focuses on the adoption of no-till practices and carbon credits, and considers continuous no-till farming as a gateway to the adoption of carbon credits. A survey of 228 farmers at the Conservation Tillage and Technology Conference in Ada, Ohio, provided data used in this study. Fifty-nine percent of the respondents practice continuous no-till on some or all of their land, which indicates eligibility for carbon credits. Yet only four survey respondents currently participate in carbon credit programs. Results indicate that the majority, 88 pe (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: David Hansen (Advisor); Rattan Lal (Committee Member); William Flinn (Committee Member); Randall Reeder (Committee Member) Subjects: Agriculture

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2006, Environmental Studies (Arts and Sciences)

This thesis addresses the obstacles and opportunities of incorporating principles of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System in a new building project, the Integrated Learning and Research Facility (ILRF), located on the Ohio University campus. Through review of ILRF project documents, interviews with Ohio University building planning and maintenance staff as well as design professionals from private firms, and a literature review, obstacles were identified. These obstacles include a lack of interest in LEED from project owners, an inadequate knowledge of LEED by the design team, insufficient funding mechanisms for green features, a lack of incentives for project architects to pursue LEED, and the need for more data regarding performance of existing buildings on campus. A literature review, a detailed examination of ILRF project meeting minutes, and interviews with Ohio University building planning and maintenance staff as well as design professionals from private firms, are used to make recommendations for future efforts to incorporate LEED into building design on the Ohio University campus.

Committee: Mary Stoertz (Advisor) Subjects: