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

The Triumph of Death is a woefully understudied motif of late medieval art, almost completely overlooked in studies on medieval death imagery and culture. Scholarship on the Triumph of Death is scant and has favored an iconographic and stylistic approach to the subject. By framing the Triumph of Death within its cultural and socio-historical context, addressing literary associations with this motif, and studying its visual developments, this dissertation aims to provide a new insight into the medieval perception of the Triumph of Death imagery. In investigating a broad range of late medieval Italian Triumph of Death frescoes, and studying them through the lenses of gender, reception, and performance theories, my dissertation reveals that representations of personified Death as Mors triumphans (“Death in triumph”) are polysemic. Specifically, I explore the Triumph of Death imagery in relation to four major themes: epidemic disease, courtly love, female personifications of Death in monastic sites, and the vernacular culture of lay brotherhoods of flagellants.

Psy. D., Antioch University, 2021, Antioch Seattle: Clinical Psychology

The primary purpose of this dissertation study was to explore levels of resilience in adult women whose mothers died when the participants were children. The death of a mother during an individual's childhood is an adverse event that can affect all areas of that person's life. It is intuitive to believe that early mother death would cause long-term effects on the overall resilience levels of the individuals; however, there has been minimal research exploring resilience in this population. With a sample of 245 women throughout the United States, this study used the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale 25 (CD-RISC-25) to begin investigating resilience in adult women who experienced childhood mother loss. The results of this study showed significant lower resilience mean scores for the mother-loss group when compared to the general population group. Furthermore, within-group differences were found when examining current age and resilience scores, with older women indicating slightly higher resilience scores than younger women. No statistically significant differences were found when comparing mean resilience scores for age at time of loss or length of time since loss.

Bachelor of Arts (BA), Ohio University, 2022, Sociology

Previous research indicates that the experiences of family members of the condemned warrants further exploration, as comparatively very little sociological analysis has been conducted on this population. This project further examines an element of their experience which has not yet been fully explored – the ways family members of death row inmates experience the U.S. criminal justice system. Further, this research aims to explore the potential of these family members as victims, through an analysis of the formal definition of victimhood as characterized by victimologists. The research for this thesis is conducted using qualitative methods, including interviews and content analysis. I code these interviews to develop a set of theme categories established by family members; the coding method utilized is informed by Polletta's (2011) narrative criminology literature. Implications for resources to provide family members of the condemned, as well as suggestions for adaptations to the interactions between family and the criminal justice system are explored

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2012, Nursing

End-of-life (EOL) care for neonates admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is understudied and practice varies widely across centers and providers. We just do not have a clear understanding of those physiologic processes and other factors that can impact the quality of a neonatal death in the NICU. By not paying close attention to, and then not appropriately treating the symptoms the critically ill neonate expresses as death approaches, we may very well be depriving these infants and their families the opportunity for the “good” death one might hope for an infant. This dissertation work includes a proposed new model for evaluating the quality of a neonatal death that, with testing, will hopefully provide insight and guidance for clinicians who must coordinate care of parent and child at the end of life. Several characteristics and relationships need to be further evaluated, however this new framework will offer a good approach until more definitive knowledge is discovered. Next, an exploratory study is presented examining how dying neonates are currently being cared for in the NICU. Finally, discussion unfolds regarding several methodological issues encountered in EOL care research that makes it incredibly difficult to study this important topic. There is much room for improvement in our understanding so that we may deliver the absolute best end-of-life care possible for these special babies.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), University of Dayton, 2023, Biology

Alzheimer's disease (AD), a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cognitive decline, memory loss, and impaired daily functioning. It is the most common form of dementia, affecting millions worldwide. AD is characterized by the accumulation of amyloid-beta (Aβ42) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. While the exact causes of AD are still unclear, a combination of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors is believed to contribute to its development. The Drosophila model has become a valuable tool for studying AD due to its genetic conservation with humans, short lifespan, simple nervous system, and available genetic tools. In this study, we utilized a Drosophila model expressing human Aβ42 in the developing retina to investigate the underlying mechanisms of Aβ42-induced neurodegeneration. We conducted a genetic screen and identified several modifiers that significantly affected Aβ42-induced neurodegeneration. One of the modifiers we identified is N-acetyltransferase 9 (Mnat9), known for its role in stabilizing microtubules and inhibiting the c-Jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathway. Overexpression of Mnat9 rescued the neurodegenerative phenotype caused by Aβ42 accumulation, while loss-of-function enhanced neurodegeneration. Importantly, we found that the neuroprotective function of Mnat9 was independent of its acetylation activity. The transgenic expression of human NAT9 (hNAT9) in Drosophila also suppressed Aβ42-mediated neurodegeneration, suggesting functional conservation between Mnat9 and hNAT9 in interacting with JNK-mediated neurodegeneration. These findings uncover a novel neuroprotective role of Mnat9 in downregulating the JNK pathway to ameliorate Aβ42-induced neurodegeneration. Another modifier we identified is miR-277 (hsa-miR-3660 in humans). Loss-of-function of miR-277 enhanced neurodegeneration, while its gain-of-function rescued the phenotype. Overexpression of miR-277 in the presence of Aβ42 reduced cell de (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science (M.S.), University of Dayton, 2023, Interdisciplinary Studies

The SARS-CoV2 virus was responsible for the COVID-19 Pandemic, one of the most fatal international public health emergencies experienced in the past century. SARS-CoV2 induces symptoms like increased inflammatory response, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), cognitive dysfunction like brain fog, and cardiovascular defects. Prolonged or long-term infection led to the emergence of Post-COVID-19 Syndrome, or PCS. PCS is characterized by chronic cardiovascular, autoimmune, and neurological manifestations and remains understudied. Individuals with pre-existing neurological insult like those with neuroinflammatory or neurodegenerative diseases are likely more vulnerable to such PCS effects. Furthermore, individuals with pre-existing neurological conditions often have comorbidities like obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and low activity levels. However, little is understood about the molecular effects of SARS-CoV2 on neuron in both healthy and neuro-compromised individuals. Currently, many individuals experiencing PCS-related neurological symptoms require management of their symptoms even though our knowledge in this area is still limited. Therefore, this study utilized an interdisciplinary approach to better understand how SARS-CoV2 impacts both neurons at a cellular level and clinically in neurologically compromised populations such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS). This interdisciplinary approach sheds light on how translational work is being done where basic science efforts complement efforts made clinically to make connections and identify relationships between observed effects and known science. To do so, SARS-CoV2 proteins were misexpressed in the Drosophila eye and through a forward genetic screen evaluated for changes to cellular structure or function. To corroborate these findings, SARS-CoV2 proteins were also transfected into Neuro-2a cells to assess how these proteins affected cellular functioning. Furthermore, SARS-CoV2 protein structure-function analys (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts, Case Western Reserve University, 2022, Psychology

Despite general stigma in the West related to spiritual or otherworldly experiences, many individuals believe that they have been contacted by a departed loved one. This phenomenon is called after-death communication, or ADC. Estimates of ADC in the general population indicate the widespread nature of these encounters. Yet, research has shown that individuals often feel reluctant to share these experiences due to stigma and fears of negative reception. In this study, I explored ADC disclosure trends and the effects of listener responses on ADC experiencers among adults living in the United States via CloudResearch (N = 321). To investigate ADC disclosure and the conditions that lead people to disclose (or to conceal) ADC, the creation of several new items was required. These items include r/s belief system interpretation, participant ADC interpretation, emotional reaction to ADC, ADC disclosure concerns, ADC disclosure desires, supportive listener responses, unsupportive listener responses, and effects of listener responses on individual reaction to ADC. These new variables demonstrated good reliability. Although this was not intended as a formal measure validation study, findings here provided some preliminary evidence for validity of the new measures as well by showing their associations with other related variables. The results of this study revealed that ADC disclosure is not associated with r/s affiliation. Individuals tend to share ADC more with family than with healthcare professionals. In line with study predictions, negative interpretations of ADC and interpreting ADC as a deeply personal experience are both associated with less ADC disclosure. Supportive listener responses predict positive emotions toward ADC as well as positive interpretations of ADC. However, unsupportive listener responses predict negative emotions toward ADC, negative interpretations of ADC, and concerns related to ADC disclosure. In sum, willingness to disclose ADC is associated with (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2018, Popular Culture

This postcolonial feminist analysis of Agatha Christie novels uses the activity of tourism. In order to narrow the study of Christie's work, I concentrated on Western tourists (mainly English and American) in non-Western locations such as the Middle East, the Caribbean, and South Africa. The tourists are of different social classes, but by narrowing these white Westerners by activity and behaviors performed according to that activity my research provides a more targeted approach. Focusing on The Man in the Brown Suit, Appointment with Death, Death on the Nile, Caribbean Mystery, and They Came to Baghdad, which have specifically tourist interactions with locals and tour workers, my research shows not only Orientalist attitudes presented by the protagonists and narrators, but also how such perspectives are questioned by those they other in the stories. Examining the behaviors of tourists through a postcolonial feminist lens illuminates the subject of gendered orientalism and imperial feminism¿Western women are championed, often at the expense of people of color. Christie's life experiences, especially those related to her second husband's archaeological work in the Middle East, challenged some of her views on the superiority of the British empire and that played out in her books. Therefore, while her older protagonists like Miss Marple remained conservative and hierarchical, Victoria Jones from They Came to Baghdad could see a commonality with the people of Iraq beyond race and culture. Although they never took center stage, the people of color spoke back to the Westerners in a number of her novels, thus rupturing their perceived lack of agency. Christie's work may romanticize the bygone days of British power, but there are enough cracks of modernity to allow the Other to shine through.

Master of Science in Criminal Justice, Youngstown State University, 2017, Department of Criminal Justice and Consumer Sciences

The death penalty has been one of the most controversial issues facing the American public for many years. The purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness of capital punishment in reducing the violent crime rate. The focus of this study was integrative as I reviewed previous research to see if its conclusions support my hypothesis. My hypothesis is that the death penalty is not effective in reducing the violent crime rate and secondly that states with a death penalty have just as high of crime rates as states without a death penalty. Most offenders are not thinking with a rational head at the time they commit their crimes. They are usually not pondering the consequences of jail time if/when they get caught. I gathered my evidence from a meta-analysis of other death penalty deterrence studies. I found that there are many studies proving that the death penalty does not deter violent crime and why it is failing in doing so. Some of the benefits of this study are to enlighten people to the fact that we as a nation must realize the failures of the death penalty and recognize that every other industrialized nation has discontinued the use of the death penalty. Thus, as the embodiment of the free world we must stop killing offenders for nothing more than mere retribution.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1974, Graduate School

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2014, Counselor Education (Education)

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the role of five dimensions of death attitudes (fear of death, death avoidance, approach acceptance, neutral acceptance, and escape acceptance) in the prediction of three dimensions of suicide attitude (acceptance of suicide, condemnation of suicide, and preventability of suicide) among a cross-section of counseling students' after controlling for the effects of six personal variables: (1) age, (2) gender, (3) religious beliefs, (4) suicide potential, (5) exposure to others' suicidal behaviors, and (6) personal suicidal behaviors, and six professional variables: (1) professional exposure to suicidal behaviors, (2) exposure to suicidal behaviors as a student, (3) academic standing, (4) prior professional experience, (5) death education, and (6) suicide training. A stratified random cluster sample of 183 counseling students enrolled in programs accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Programs (CACREP) and the Council for Rehabilitation Education (CORE) completed a 97-item survey online. Death attitudes were measured using the Death Attitude Profile-Revised (DAP-R; Wong, Reker, & Gesser, 1994) and suicide attitudes were measured using the Attitudes Towards Suicide Scale (ATTS; Renberg & Jacobsson, 2003). Results from hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that participants' death attitude scores accounted for statistically significant variance in participants' acceptance of suicide scores and condemnation of suicide scores above and beyond the effects of the twelve covariates; however, counseling students' death attitude scores did not account for statistically significant variance in participants' attitudes towards the preventability of suicide scores. Escape acceptance was the only dimension of death attitudes that had no statistically significant effect in the prediction of counseling students' suicide attitude scores. Several covariates, including su (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2013, Philosophy, Applied

“Donation after cardiac death” is the practice of procuring multiple vital organs from patients who are declared dead through cardiopulmonary criteria. While the procedure is widely deemed morally permissible and desirable, it has not enjoyed a sound moral justification for its practice. Most moral defenses of it rely upon the assumptions that it is permissible to procure organs from dead patients, the “dead donor rule”, and that the donors are dead, but the patients are not dead by any reasonable criteria, and thus violate the rule. I maintain that the dead donor rule ought to be abandoned because it would prevent what are otherwise clearly morally permissible procurements such as these. Some have argued that a prognosis of immediate death captures the apparent moral value of death in these cases, but using the prognosis of death in this analysis is just as problematic as using death. Additionally, I argue that the fact that organ donors are killed by organ procurement is morally irrelevant to whether or not such procurements are morally permissible, which further supports abandoning the dead donor rule. What appears to be the primary concern for proponents of the dead donor rule is a desire that donors not be killed for their organs. However, terminating patients for their organs is not a serious moral problem and is a necessary reality of organ procurement, as donors are terminated at a specific time in order to procure their organs. I maintain that donation after cardiac death is permissible because it upholds the principles of respect for persons and nonmaleficence, the two primary guiding principles in American bioethics, and not merely because the patients are dead or imminently dying. These principles can be readily upheld when patients are dying and have properly consented to be organ donors. Although my analysis is primarily moral, there are policy implications that should follow from my analysis, primarily that donation after cardiac death ought to (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science in Mathematics, Youngstown State University, 2011, Department of Mathematics and Statistics

A program was written in the statistical software package R for conducting Monte Carlo studies based on simulated life tables, and then used in a study to compare two different models for predicting life table probabilities of death. A parametric probability model was used by the program to generate the cohort distribution of deaths, based on supplied life table data. For the present study a cohort life table was constructed using mortality data from the Social Security Death Index, Master File. The models evaluated in the present Monte Carlo study are alternative three-parameter versions of the logistic force of mortality model. The models were fit to simulated life table data for ages 80 to 99, and then used to make probability of death predictions for ages 80 to 105. The Monte Carlo simulations were used to obtain the average values and standard deviations of the probability of death predictions generated by the two models, which were then compared to one another and to the actual probabilities of death based on the probability model that generated the simulated life table data. Results of the simulations showed that the mean probabilities of death predicted by the two models were very similar over the range of ages considered, but usually deviated somewhat from the actual probabilities of death. In the age range of 80-99, the average percentage deviation was less than 2% for each model, while in the age range of 100-105, the average percentage deviation for the models was around 5-6%. In the age range of 100-105, both models always underestimated the true probability of death.

DMA, University of Cincinnati, 2007, College-Conservatory of Music : Clarinet

John Adams's clarinet concerto Gnarly Buttons, now more than ten years old, fuses post-minimalism, post-Stravinsky techniques, and American vernacular idioms, holding a unique place in the clarinet repertoire and serving as an important marker in Adams's evolution of compositional style that began in the 1990s. The stylistic point of departure is his 1991 opera The Death of Klinghoffer, and Gnarly Buttons is among the pieces that continues to develop the textural and melodic innovations that Klinghoffer started. Thus, full comprehension of the style and aesthetic of Gnarly Buttons depends on an understanding of the stylistic traits established by Adams's compositions from the 1980s combined with an examination of innovations in the 1990s. This document offers an account of the history of the work, centered on information of those interviewed for this project, including John Adams, Michael Collins, Paul Meecham and William Helmers. The performance guide that follows also incorporates information from recent performances, especially from the January 2007 performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, John Adams conducting, and Derek Bermel as soloist. The last section of the document offers analysis, tracing Adams's style from Nixon in China, through The Death of Klinghoffer, and finally to Gnarly Buttons, showing how the concerto both incorporates and builds on Adams's own compositional past.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2007, Anthropology

In the estimation of age of the human skeleton, it is possible to form a reasonably accurate estimate for individuals younger than twenty years. The older the individual, the more difficult it becomes to determine age. Current methods of age estimation are biased toward data collected from considerable numbers of younger adults and small numbers of older adults. Additionally, adult age indicators are often limited in range and application. The result is consistent underestimation of adult age and uncomfortably large age ranges for adult materials. This study consists of two interconnected analyses: (1) examination of three-dimensional patterns of age-related skeletal deterioration of the pubic symphysis to identify proportional shifts in physical topography corresponding to age-at-death estimates, and (2) application of a Bayesian approach to formulation of a multifactorial standard aimed at increasing accuracy of estimating adult age from the skeleton. This study included skeletal remains of 135 white males and 70 white females of known age. The principal focus within this sample was on individuals between 45-70 years, subdivided into five-year intervals. The author scored individual remains based on fusion of the medial clavicle and sternum. The author also scored remains on key aspects of the physical appearance of the pubic symphysis and assigned each to an appropriate Suchey-Brooks phase. The first, fourth, and seventh ribs were examined and assigned to phases corresponding to comparison casts and methods developed by Yþcan and colleagues. The results of this study indicate that while general population trends in aging are found among individual skeletal characteristics, reducing the aging process to its principal components in five-year intervals does not generally result in more accurate estimation of age. Instead, the limited time intervals and key traits observed tend to reflect the enormous variability of the aging process at the level of the individual. W (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2007, Psychology

Caregiving for an older relative is a rather common and potentially stressful experience. Tasks of caregiving include providing care during the dying process and adjusting to the death of a loved one. Interventions for family caregivers could be improved by understanding the nature of family caregivers' death attitudes, the factors that influence caregivers' death attitudes, and the effect that death attitudes have on the caregiving experience. The present study provided evidence of differences in the caregiving experience for men and women as well as for adult child and spousal caregivers. Evidence of the reliability and validity of two measures of death attitudes was evaluated, indicating support for their use with family caregivers. Additionally, predictors of coping with death and fear of death among family caregivers were identified. The findings of the regression analyses were consistent with hypotheses derived from a comprehensive model of death anxiety, suggesting that the model may be used to explain the death attitudes of family caregivers. Suggestions for future research and limitations of the present study also were discussed.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2006, Sociology

Humanitarian aid agencies are challenged by a tragic aspect of their missions – fatal attacks on assistance providers. Since the early 1990s, fatal attacks leveled at aid personnel have included a broad range of events and a large number of incidents, spanning from random violence to premeditated murder. To describe these events in the most comprehensive terms possible, I have constructed of a database of news-reported aid worker fatalities from 1991 to 2004 that identifies 1,102 deaths, almost 1,000 of which result from violent attacks. The data source validation component of this research consists of intra- and extra-source validity evaluations. While no available source of information will capture all fatality incidents, results from the intra-source analysis indicate that the coverage of humanitarian deaths provided by the news is consistent among news outlets. Results from the extra-source analysis indicate larger disparities are related to the comprehensiveness of incident coverage. In sum, these evaluations confirm that all data sources are selective, but in predictable ways. The key to this evaluation was the detection of these filters. In the descriptive section, the news dataset presents the following broad trends: (1) Insurgent actors perpetrate violent attacks on humanitarian personnel with the highest frequencies; (2) Violent attacks account for 87 percent of the humanitarian assistance deaths; (3) Fatalities are highest among international governmental organization (IGO) personnel; and (4) Fatality counts are highest in Africa. I additionally refine variables that identify the nature of these attacks, the agents involved, and the intentions behind these attacks. Implications of this research relate both to the use of events data as well as to the critical issue of humanitarian security. Analyses overwhelmingly support the assertion that news data are a valid and rich source of information. Further, results from the intentionality study suggest that new (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2011, English

This thesis is a collection of very normal things called stories. Stories concerning the usual trials, tribulations, triumphs, and daily goings-on of your basic, run-of-the-mill characters. It's about what you'd expect. Plots, settings, conflicts, narratives made up of sentences and paragraphs and what have you. There are a lot of words in here. Meant to communicate some such thing or other. Nothing out of the ordinary. Standard stuff really. There's nothing to see here.

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2006, Speech Pathology and Audiology

The purpose of the study was to obtain information of speech-language pathologists' experiences with the death of a patient. Three hundred sixty-five subjects who work primarily with medically fragile patients completed a survey. The questionnaire contained items ranging from the number of patient deaths the speech-language pathologist experienced to the coping strategies utilized by speech-language pathologists following both the sudden and anticipated death of patients. From the results, we were able to create a profile of both the impact of the death of a patient and the degree of impact those deaths have upon a speech-language pathologist.

Psy. D., Antioch University, 2008, Antioch Seattle: Clinical Psychology

More treatment options exist today for persons diagnosed with terminal cancerextending lives longer than expected though there is little known about the psychosocial needs or resources for these individuals. This study describes the experience of living past the expiration date and still living with Stage IV cancer. A transcendental phenomenological approach was used to elucidate vivid expressions of this experience in a sample population of five Caucasian women. The women survived beyond their prognoses of an earlier expiration are not close to imminent death and are still living with incurable breast cancer metastases. The aim of this phenomenological inquiry is to illuminate the themes and essences of this phenomenon in hopes of expanding comprehension of the challenges this growing population confronts. Data was collected through individual open-ended, unstructured in-depth interviews. At a second meeting each woman, having been asked to find or create an expressive representation of their experience, verbally described their creations in an unstructured dialogue. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Through the methodological processes of bracketing, phenomenological reduction, imaginative variation, and synthesis, the themes and essences that surfaced revolved around the constancy of change and duality. Five core themes emerged from the data: awareness of mortality; interaction with medical systems and treatment; living on a roller coaster; feeling different from others; cancer invades and changes how you live. All of the themes are interrelated and together capture the complexity of the lived experience. Living with dying longer than expected is an experience that profoundly impacts every aspect of these women's lives. It catapults them into a new paradigm where they have to renegotiate life daily. Each woman's lived experience is both unique and shares collective threads. The essences that emerge from the combined strands are a conti (open full item for complete abstract)