Master of Science (M.S.), University of Dayton, 2014, Mechanical Engineering

Economic Input-output analysis (EIOA) is a powerful technique for studying the economic behavior of a policy. Using this technique, one can study the consequences of applying a policy in a society from economic, social, and environmental perspectives. Chapters one through five of the study capture the economic impacts of recycling used dry cell batteries collected as a result of effective recycling policies at the higher education institutions (HEI) of the United States. Applied methodology modifies intermediate transactions of the input-output tables. The results show an $11,522 decrease in the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States by applying strong recycling policies at HEI. These results support effective tax or credit incentive budget allocations in favor of recycling as the most environmentally friendly end-of-life option. Chapter 6 designs a set of policies that aim to improve quality of the environment as well as the economic growth. A framework for analyzing the EIOA results regarding implementation of the proposed policies is developed. The developed framework applies Design and Analysis of Experiments techniques and provides reasonable insight into the selection of the most effective policies, which increases the GDP as well as the quality of environment.

Committee: Jun-Ki Choi (Committee Chair); John Kelly Kissock (Committee Member); John Doty (Committee Member) Subjects: Economics; Energy; Entrepreneurship; Environmental Studies; Higher Education Administration; Public Health; Sustainability; Urban Planning

MCP, University of Cincinnati, 2017, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Community Planning

Limited-access road and rail infrastructure in inner-cities connects the whole at the expense of the affected parts. The 1950's and 60's ushered in an era of urban renewal and freeway building that saw cities connected to far-flung suburbs, compromising their neighborhoods, residents and urban livability. Railway construction predated this and, as public-transit, has not attracted the planners' ire to the same intensity as have freeways; however, it remains a grey ribbon of localized disconnect in inner-cities. Only recently has rail been seen as retrofitable to the local urban need. Toronto has triple wicked urban problems: wide swathes of rail, an elevated urban freeway, and unsightly and choked at-grade arterials. All this, in the heart of a burgeoning city. A city that allows for design dreams, in an environment of perpetual fiscal prudence. A city whose primary urban activity zones straddle this arterial road and rail drosscape. A city seeking spatial unity and a reconnection to its gleaming and burgeoning lakefront.

Committee: Conrad Kickert Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Leah Hollstein Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Urban Planning

MDes, University of Cincinnati, 2009, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning : Design

Should designers move past creating ‘tools which empower' impoverished communities to ‘empowering impoverished communities' to make tools? As designers have begun to work on the complex problems associated with global poverty they have slowly documented methods and identified best practices for creating social impact through design. One such practice is to increase the capacity of impoverished communities to solve problems. However, little has been written on how to accomplish this task. This thesis looks to community organizers for insight on community empowerment. It analyzes and compares design and community organizing in order to identify compatible and complimentary aspects of each profession. This comparison is used to suggest benefits each profession would realize from working with the other. The thesis culminates in the presentation of a novel approach for creating social impact through design and community organizing that moves beyond collaboration and into hybridization.

Committee: Mike Zender (Committee Chair); M. Ann Welsh PhD (Committee Member); Craig Vogel (Committee Member) Subjects: Design; Social Work; Urban Planning