Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2016, Environmental Science

Environmental stewardship is an underlying theme in outdoor education (OE) and environmental education (EE), but maintaining natural areas in a sustainable balance between conservation and preservation requires knowledge about how natural areas respond to anthropogenic disturbance. My five-part study investigated the effects of disturbance on aquatic macroinvertebrates caused by frequent in-stream activity by students during OE stream classes. I conducted an observational study of stream classes at Heartland Outdoor School (henceforth, Heartland) in Morrow County, Ohio during April to June and September to October, 2012 to determine the methods by which students explore the stream. Subsequently, I conducted a year-long disturbance study from February 2013 to January 2014 at two sites (one site impacted by student activity and one site unimpacted by student activity) in upper Alum Creek on the Heartland property following a modified BACI design. The year-long study enabled analysis of trends in the macroinvertebrate community in three distinct channel units (i.e., riffles, runs, and pools) throughout the year including two disturbance periods (mid-April to early June and mid-September to mid-November) when stream classes are regularly active at the impacted site. Results showed evidence of student-induced disturbance for taxa richness in riffles and taxa richness and Chironomidae abundance in runs. No direct evidence of student-induced disturbance was found in pools. During April and May, 2014 I conducted a six-week substrate movement and rock colonization study in upper Alum Creek to investigate the extent to which students cause rock movement and the extent to which rocks are colonized by macroinvertebrates at the impacted site compared to the unimpacted site. Results showed that in base flow conditions students caused rocks to move upstream, laterally, and vertically at the impacted site to a greater extent than hydrologic activity caused at the unimpacted site. M (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Susan Fisher Dr. (Advisor); Richard Moore Dr. (Committee Member); Kristi Lekies Dr. (Committee Member); David Denlinger Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Aquatic Sciences; Entomology; Environmental Education; Environmental Science

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2020, Antioch New England: Environmental Studies

Anthropogenic activity has been documented to have negative impacts on wildlife that include altered behaviors, lower body mass, and decreased reproductive success. Although wildlife viewing provides support for conservation efforts, it is also one of many human recreational activities that pose a threat to wildlife. The painted dog (Lycaon pictus) is a popular species for viewing by tourists, and one of Africa's most endangered carnivores. Anthropogenic-based actions such as persecution, snaring, diseases transmitted via domestic dogs, and habitat fragmentation contribute to their decline, and human disturbance at den sites, primarily via tourism, is an emergent threat for this species. I explored the potential effects of direct and indirect human activity on painted dogs during their denning season using a mixed method approach for free-ranging and captive populations. This included: (a) identifying areas where humans visited painted dog dens using social media posts and content analysis, (b) developing and testing a noninvasive measurement tool (belly score) to assess the body condition of painted dogs via images, (c) comparing carnivore and herbivore activity on human-modified game trails and unmodified game trails using camera traps, and (d) comparing feeding regimens and morphometric measurements between two captive painted dog litters. Results from this study showed that (a) painted dog dens have been visited by humans in at least seven of the 14 countries where painted dogs are known to exist, with the majority of visits reported in South Africa, (b) belly score means differed significantly between two populations of painted dogs (Hwange National Park and Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe) while seasonal variations were similar for both populations; demonstrating how this tool may be used to assess body condition, foraging success, and fitness between and among individuals and populations, (c) carnivores were observed on human-modified trails more frequentl (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Lisabeth Willey Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Beth Kaplin Ph.D. (Committee Member); Gregory Rasmussen Ph.D. (Committee Member); Anthony Giordano Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: African Studies; Animals; Biology; Conservation; Ecology; Environmental Studies; Natural Resource Management; Recreation; Sub Saharan Africa Studies; Wildlife Conservation; Wildlife Management; Zoology

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 2017, Biological Sciences

Bat species face multiple threats. One such threat, white-nose syndrome (WNS) has drastically reduced many bat populations. Also, habitat loss and fragmentation often forces bats to concentrate in remnant natural areas, or utilize habitats that are not as suitable. Both of these threats, while threaten bats in a general sense, also affect species differentially. The Oak Openings Region of Northwest Ohio is a biodiversity hotspot with a landscape composed of remnant natural areas within a matrix of agriculture and urban areas. This area, which provides crucial summer foraging habitat, has experienced declines in bat activity, shifts in bat assemblages, and some in diversity, in recent years, especially since WNS introduction. To study bats in this diverse landscape, we sampled bats acoustically from May – August 2016. We sampled mobile transects along roads along with stationary sites within the Oak Openings Preserve within the region. We identified calls to species and ran analyses investigating total bat activity, species-specific activity and presence, and bat diversity compared to. We compared bats to environmental, vegetation, road, and landcover parameters. Our results show that certain parameters influence bats as a whole, while others only affect one or a few species. We found that savanna stationary sites had more species-specific activity and bat diversity than forested sites (Rank Sums, p<0.05). Parameters that affected most bat species most prevalently were temperature and forest cover, both reflecting positive relationships with total bat activity and diversity (Chi-square; Rank Sums, p<0.05). When looking at species specific relationships, we focused on the least active species, as they may be more in need of management than more active species. Parameters that most influenced our least active species were humidity and open/savanna vs. forested sampling areas. Humidity had positive relationships with the likelihood of presence of our rarer species, whil (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Karen Root PhD (Advisor); Kevin McCluney PhD (Committee Member); Verner Bingman PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Animal Sciences; Animals; Biology; Conservation; Ecology; Environmental Management; Natural Resource Management; Organismal Biology; Wildlife Conservation; Wildlife Management; Zoology

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 2007, Biological Sciences

he effects of physical disturbance on lentic periphyton, in comparison to lotic periphyton, have been overlooked by algal ecologists. Furthermore, few studies have used in situ experiments in lakes in order to understand how physical disturbance shapes periphyton communities. This thesis investigated physical disturbance in a lentic system, both through observation and in situ experimentation, and examined the effects it had on the structure and species diversity of a periphyton community. Algal species physiognomy appeared to be an important factor in the observational study: adnate taxa were more abundant in areas of high disturbance, while stalked taxa were nearly absent. In areas of lower disturbance, stalked taxa were more abundant and adnate taxa were nearly absent. Prostrate taxa accounted for 40-50% of the community in lower and higher disturbance areas, and along with filamentous and tychoplanktonic species, did not change as hypothesized. Benthic sediments were transplanted into mesocosms and manipulated with high, medium, and no physical disturbance for three weeks. At the end of the experimentation, transplanted communities did not show significant changes in community structure. Shannon diversity index values in both the observational and experimental studies resulted in a clear understanding of how species diversity in periphyton is related to physical disturbance. This study attempted to better understand lentic periphyton and succeeded in the observation study. The difficulty of in situ lentic experimentation was highlighted by this thesis.

Committee: Rex Lowe (Advisor) Subjects: Biology, Limnology

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2024, Biology

Climate change has caused shifts in species ranges, including oak and hickory. These species are in high demand commercially, and benefit from forest management for regeneration. Terrestrial invertebrates have shown major declines in biodiversity and biomass due to anthropogenic disturbances and climate change. Due to their sensitivity to disturbance, some terrestrial invertebrate taxa are proposed as bioindicators. The goals of this dissertation are to quantify the impact of different forest management practices on invertebrates along a mesic to xeric topographic gradient. Additionally, I evaluated two bioindicator taxa, ants and carabid beetles, to understand how well they can be used as indicators of environmental changes and the overall soil invertebrate community composition. This study took place in Morgan-Monroe and Yellowwood State Forests in central Indiana. The study design consisted of nested hierarchical design with management treatments along northeast and southwest facing aspects as well as paired transects at ridgetops and lowlands. Soil and litter invertebrates (mesofauna), ants, and beetles were sampled along each transect, in addition to environmental metrics of soil characteristics, tree composition, and forest floor composition. Transects were sampled over a total of three years to understand temporal changes and landscape variation. For each invertebrate group, abundance, diversity, and community composition were compared to the environmental and design variables. Soil mesofauna biomass was also measured, and associations with ants and beetles were also analyzed. All three communities investigated had a shift in species composition caused by management and topography. Invertebrate biomass and diversity were lower at xeric sites compared to mesic sites. At sites with forest management, this trend became stronger. Ants showed variable responses to management due to the habitat heterogeneity in successional forests; ant community composition w (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Thomas Crist (Advisor); Henry Stevens (Committee Member); Melany Fisk (Committee Member); Mary Henry (Committee Member); Jing Zhang (Committee Member) Subjects: Ecology; Entomology; Forestry

Doctor of Education (Educational Leadership), Youngstown State University, 2024, Department of Teacher Education and Leadership Studies

Historically, minority students have been overrepresented in special education programming in the United States (Fletcher, 2014; Wright & Wright, 2021). This study describes how several external historical, theoretical, and practical factors beyond academic challenges impact special education qualification rates for minority students compared to their non-minority counterparts. It also considers these factors through the lens of implicit bias, cultural misunderstandings, and misinterpretations of disability categories, like emotional disturbance. The study outlines these contexts by exploring Disability Critical Race (DisCrit) Theory, Cultural Ecological Theory, and Social Learning Theory to understand the social and cultural influences that further lead to the issue of overrepresentation. Prior research suggests that lack of cultural awareness, potential implicit bias mindsets, and other issues beyond students' development and control contribute to the disproportionate representation of minority students in special education (Breese et al., 2023; Kreskow, 2013). This mixed-methods study utilizes Q-methodology and a questionnaire to examine external root causes and systemic issues related to influences regarding the special education evaluative process for minority groups, specifically Black students and emotional disturbance. By examining the perspectives of education professionals, this study aims to recognize the need for considerations of cultural responsiveness, effective self-reflective practices, ongoing professional development, and innovative systems that address the whole child before the special education evaluative process begins. The results of the study reveal significant concerns related to the special education evaluative processes regarding consideration of external factors, overall consistency, procedural misunderstanding, and issues related to cultural differences. These findings from a theoretical context indicate a need for understandin (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Karen Larwin PhD (Advisor); Luther Johnson EdD (Committee Member); Patrick Spearman PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Special Education

MS, University of Cincinnati, 2024, Engineering and Applied Science: Mechanical Engineering

This work explores the application of Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs) to enhance the stability and comfort of electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Our study encompasses not only the development of a dynamic model for the eVTOL aircraft by integrating CMGs but also the implementation of a backstepping sliding mode-based controller for translation and attitude control. To simulate realistic disturbance scenarios, wind generation, and effect models are considered. Alongside these, a motor dynamics model is taken into account to replicate practical rotor responses. A comprehensive analysis of control performance and passenger comfort is conducted, incorporating a fast Fourier transform frequency domain-based analysis of aircraft oscillations and the corresponding passenger response. The simulation results demonstrate that the use of CMGs not only significantly improves disturbance rejection with low power consumption but also enhances passenger comfort accordingly. Finally, to validate the simulation findings and assess the practical effectiveness of CMGs in mitigating oscillations in eVTOL, hardware experiments are conducted.

Committee: Donghoon Kim Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Daegyun Choi Ph.D. (Committee Member); Tamara Lorenz Ph.D. (Committee Member); Manish Kumar Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Aerospace Materials

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2024, Biological Sciences

Conflict with wildlife continues to escalate as human population increases and development expands. Understanding how vertebrates interact with the environment is a critical component to conservation ecology. Movement patterns reflect spatial and temporal changes associated with resource availability, life history stages, and habitat use. This study explored how vertebrate mortality could be used to understand the critical factors impacting the consequences of permeability, i.e., ability to move between patches on the landscape, in a mixed disturbance landscape. We assessed how spatial and temporal heterogeneity influenced terrestrial vertebrate mortality. In the biodiversity hotspot of the Oak Openings Region (OOR) of northwest Ohio, we surveyed repeatedly, across three years, approximately 50 kilometers of road segments. Vertebrate mortality locations (N=654) were related to road (e.g., traffic, road width), structural (e.g., canopy cover, soil average water capacity), compositional (e.g., landcover) and productivity (e.g., NDVI) measurements. We found vertebrate mortality locations were positively related to traffic, road width, canopy cover, and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) but negatively related to landcover as it becomes more altered (i.e., natural to agricultural). Our consistent findings across years suggest that the spatial components were influencing mortality differences more than temporal differences, and intra-year differences do not impact mortality in a way that would steer long term mitigation of permeability issues. We developed spatially explicit models for predicting current vertebrate mortality probabilities across the entire OOR. Proportion of residential/mixed landcover area was the most influential variables of mortality occurrence probability. We found mortality was well predicted and the results of the same key variables were robust across taxa and years. The models developed can serve as an assessment tool for evaluating co (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Karen Root Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Timothy Schetter Ph.D. (Committee Member); Raymond Larsen Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jeffrey Miner Ph.D. (Committee Member); Erin Labbie Ph.D. (Other) Subjects: Biology; Conservation; Ecology; Wildlife Conservation; Wildlife Management

Master of Science, University of Toledo, 2023, Geology

Coastal terrestrial-aquatic interfaces (TAIs), although occupying a small portion of the Earth's surface, have a significant impact on global biogeochemical cycles. These regions are experiencing rapid changes such as sea-level rise, variable precipitation patterns, and storm surge events which lead to varying saturation and salt concentration in the root zone. These changes disrupt the equilibrium between plants and their surrounding physicochemical conditions, causing plant stress and forest decline. Despite the critical nature of these ecosystems, our understanding and predictive abilities remain limited due to a lack of mechanistic data and inadequate tools for quantification and prediction. This study provides a hydrogeophysical approach to estimate the amount of saturation and salt concentration in the soil during and after a saturation event, thus, guiding future research efforts that explore the response of ecosystems to changing hydrologic disturbance patterns. Subsurface heterogeneity limits the use of in situ measurements to quantify subsurface flow during flooding due to the spatial discontinuity in the measured data. However, geophysical methods, including time-lapse electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and Induced Polarization (IP), are increasingly used to monitor soil hydrological processes due to their high spatial resolution capabilities. This study combines background ERT, ground penetrating radar (GPR), time-lapse ERT, soil characterization, and numerical flow modeling developed using an Advanced Terrestrial Simulator (ATS) code to quantify the infiltration pathways and describe the hydrological dynamics during a simulated flooding experiment. Combining the ERI and GPR results with soil core data revealed the stratigraphic heterogeneity at the experimental site with a silty clay layer from 1 – 2 m between an overlying loamy topsoil and an underlying saturated silty sand. This silty clay layer could restrict deep infiltration. During the simul (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Kennedy Doro (Committee Chair); Xingyuan Chen (Committee Member); James Martin-Hayden (Committee Member) Subjects: Geology; Geophysics; Hydrology

Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering, Cleveland State University, 2023, Washkewicz College of Engineering

Nowadays, pneumatic systems are widely used in many industrial applications. They are affordable, reliable, and can be operated in a clean environment with minimal maintenance. Despite these advantages, precise control of the piston rod position is challenging due to its highly nonlinear characteristics caused by the compressibility of air, nonlinear air flow through the valve orifices, and nonlinear pressure dynamics. Here the main control objective is to control both the spool displacement and piston rod position precisely. Due to the strong coupling between the spool valve and the actuator, it is important to design the controller based on not only the actuator model but also the spool valve model. The proposed cascade control system consists of inner and outer control loops. The inner loop includes a spool-type servo valve dynamics which is controlled by a linear active disturbance rejection controller (LADRC). The LADRC contains a linear extended state observer (LESO) and a proportional derivative (PD) controller which drives the spool valve to its desired position. The displacement of spool determines the air pressure in both chambers of the actuator. As the actuator is highly nonlinear and complex, a nonlinear active disturbance rejection controller (NADRC) is designed in the outer loop to control the piston rod position. The NADRC is composed of a nonlinear ESO (NESO) and a PD controller. The NESO estimates the generalized disturbance (GD) which includes the system states, external disturbances, and the unknown nonlinear dynamics of the actuator. The PD controller then compensates the generalized disturbance in real-time. The effectiveness of the proposed cascade control system is verified by simulation results. Specifically, the simulation results exhibit the robustness of the proposed controller against both disturbance and system uncertainties. The stabilities of the inner and outer control loops were proved separately using a Lyapunov approach. Additiona (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Lili Dong (Advisor); Chansu Yu (Committee Member); Bogdan Kozul (Other); Siu-Tung Yau (Committee Member); Petru Fodor (Committee Member); Mehdi Rahmati (Committee Member) Subjects: Electrical Engineering

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), University of Findlay, 2023, Education

School psychologists are expected to follow federal and state law definitions required by their state of employment. Due to the lack of clarity in the definition of emotional disturbance (ED), specifically the social maladjustment (SM) clause, students are at risk of being denied special education services and access to a free appropriate public education. Through the application of an exploratory survey design, this mixed-method study depicted common practices of Ohio school psychologists' evaluations in ruling out social maladjustment (SM) in evaluations for emotional disturbance (ED) and assessing available supports for students that are not eligible for special education services. According to data from this study, it appears that most school psychologists are not comfortable in ruling out SM in evaluations without a federal definition in place. Common practices that school psychologists in this study use to assess SM include using a multidisciplinary approach for an evaluation, medical information included to rule out SM, and rule-out forms for SM. The most common supports that school psychologists in this study suggest for students with SM include counseling/school-based mental health/social work services, discipline/alternate placements/specialized learning centers, check in-check out, behavior plans or FBA's by BCBA's, accountability partners, wellness specialists, Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (PBIS), parenting classes, medication management, and the same supports available to special education students. This study further recognizes the ongoing battle with the SM clause and the inconsistencies this could bring to practicing school psychologists.

Committee: Kara Parker (Committee Chair) Subjects: Special Education

MS, Kent State University, 2022, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Biological Sciences

Indices of stormwater management effectiveness focus on the cumulative effect actions have on the hydrologic regimes and levels of erosion mitigation in the watershed. To understand the broader implications of stormwater management can have on water quality and ecosystem health, hydrologic regimes of urban streams are linked to metrics of functional disturbance through long-term monitoring of water chemistry and environmental conditions. High-frequency data from sensors placed in-stream and remote satellite data of solar irradiance were collected over a two-year study period in three streams near Cleveland, Ohio and Denver, Colorado. Daily rates of gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (ER), and of gas exchange velocity were estimated through inverse Bayesian modeling of dissolved oxygen dynamics. Estimates of GPP and ER provide point-comparisons of stream ecosystem function before and after storm events, quantifying the resistance of production and respiration to hydrologic pulses. Results show ecosystem respiration to be more less responsive, or more resistant, to high flow than gross primary production, resulting in well-lit streams rarely or never experiences days of net-autotrophic function. Recovery intervals of GPP were often interrupted by frequent high-intensity storms, indicating cumulative degradation of ecosystem function over time.

Committee: David Costello (Advisor); Christie Bahlai (Committee Member); Anne Jefferson (Committee Member) Subjects: Freshwater Ecology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2022, Environment and Natural Resources

Restoration ecology is a relatively new science and aims to actively assist in the recovery of degraded ecosystems. As climate change, disturbance, and anthropogenic pressures all threaten the function and extent of ecosystems across the world, many of the management and restoration methods we have relied upon in the past are becoming less relevant. Therefore, there is an urgent need for new restoration and management approaches. Restoration ecologists are thus turning towards functional traits to answer difficult ecological questions and inform the restoration of degraded habitats. One particular benefit of over-utilizing a functional rather than species-based approach is that functional composition and diversity can inform generalizable rules that can be applied across ecosystems. My overarching aim was to take a functional trait approach to evaluate how disturbance and management influence the functional composition of plant communities. To achieve this, I evaluated functional communities within two degraded systems; 1) an unmanaged prairie on a reclaimed strip mine, and 2) two sagebrush steppe sites with varying abiotic conditions, and that experience repeated disturbances. Many of the plots within these sagebrush sites have also received some form of restoration. My three specific objectives were to i) identify how restoration influences the plant functional type community 8 years post establishment; ii) evaluate whether an understanding of baseline functional composition can assist in restoration decisions that will ultimately increase restoration success; and iii) determine how repeated disturbances, varying abiotic conditions, as well as restoration efforts, influence functional composition and functional diversity. I first evaluated the functional community of an eight year old reclaimed mine land prairie established using combinations of fertilizer, deep ripping, and various seed mixes. Seed mix was the strongest driver of functional composition bu (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Matt Davies (Advisor); Rebecca Swab (Committee Member); Stephen Matthews (Committee Member); Stephen Hovick (Committee Member) Subjects: Ecology; Environmental Management; Plant Biology

Master of Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, 2022, Clinical Research

Background: Evaluating associations between fatigue, sleep disturbance, and depression and hypothalamic subregional volumes (HSVs) in multiple sclerosis (MS) may further the understanding of the pathophysiological substrates of these disabling symptoms. Methods: MS patients from two centers seen between September 10, 2015 and June 30, 2020 who completed an MRI of the brain within seven days of a visit were included. Automated segmentation of T1-weighted MRIs was performed to obtain 10 HSVs. Relationships between fatigue, sleep disturbance, and depression and HSVs were evaluated by linear models. Results: 1962 patients were included. Among the HSVs, the right anterior inferior subregion had the largest standardized correlation coefficient (Beta) for fatigue (Beta= -0.049, 95% CI [-0.090, -0.009]) and sleep disturbance (Beta= 0.047, 95% CI [0.008, 0.085]). There was no statistically detectable relationship between depression and any HSV. Conclusion: These findings support a role of the anterior inferior subregion, including the suprachiasmatic nucleus, fatigue and sleep disturbance in MS.

Committee: Kedar Mahajan (Committee Chair); Gustavo Heresi Davila (Committee Member); Daniel Ontaneda (Committee Member); Jeffrey Cohen (Committee Member) Subjects: Medicine; Mental Health; Neurology

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2022, Environment and Natural Resources

Understanding the drivers of “where” and “how many” is fundamental to wildlife ecology and conservation. For decades, species distribution modelers have drawn predictions of where species will occur from presence-only or presence/assumed-absence data and climate norms, topography, and vegetation while ignoring the rich history that land has to offer. Despite the recognized importance of incorporating detection processes into wildlife analyses and how land use history can affect present day populations, they largely are ignored for simplicity or a lack of data. This thesis begins by evaluating weather downscaling methods int the recent microclimc package to understand if the outputs are accurate and then passes those that are to distribution models for five species of plethodontid salamander which incorporates imperfect detection and a variety of historical disturbance. The resulting fit, predictions, and validation are compared between models that incorporate detection, disturbance, or both in addition to topographic features. Finally, it ends by using the robust toolset available through abundance modeling to examine “how many” individuals are present across a range of recent wildfire severity.

Committee: William Peterman (Advisor); Stephen Matthews (Committee Member); Gwilym Davies (Committee Member) Subjects: Ecology; Natural Resource Management; Wildlife Conservation

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2022, Educational Psychology

While previous approaches to students' problematic behavior focused on punishment and rehabilitation through the judicial system, traditional schools implementing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) implementation report positive student outcomes. However, fewer studies provide insight to PBIS implementation in non-traditional educational settings. Greater understanding of PBIS implementation fidelity and elements influencing implementation fidelity is needed for non-traditional, Alternate Education (AE) settings serving at-risk students. To broaden PBIS implementation research in this area, this study described PBIS implementation fidelity at the Alternate Learning Center (ALC) a public separate facility. Through the lens of Carroll et al. (2007) conceptual framework of implementation fidelity, this research explored elements influencing PBIS implementation within ALC's non-traditional educational setting.

Committee: Lisa Pescara-Kovach (Advisor); Gregory Stone (Committee Member); Vicki Dagostino (Committee Member); Edward Janak (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Psychology; Educational Theory; School Administration

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2022, Clinical Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

Food and alcohol disturbance, or “FAD,” involves compensatory behaviors (e.g., food restriction, self-induced vomiting, laxative use, diuretic use, exercise) intended to compensate for the caloric value of alcohol and/or to increase the intoxication effects of alcohol. FAD is linked to dangerous health consequences, such as blackouts and injury, and appears prevalent in college populations. However, due to FAD's recent introduction into empirical literature, relatively little is known regarding these potentially dangerous behaviors. In particular, there is a lack of research examining the temporal antecedents and consequences associated with FAD, which is crucial for clarifying clinical significance and identifying treatment targets. The current project addressed existing limitations by examining the temporal antecedents associated with compensatory FAD, evaluating compensatory FAD's utility as an emotion regulation strategy, and investigating the psychological distress and impairment temporally linked to compensatory FAD. Specifically, this study investigated: 1) if increases in negative affect, body dissatisfaction, and impulsivity precede compensatory FAD and if compensatory FAD is associated with greater alcohol quantity; 2) whether compensatory FAD is an effective strategy to regulate negative affect and body dissatisfaction; and 3) if engagement in compensatory FAD is prospectively associated with subsequent psychological distress and impairment. Approximately 30 adult women who engage in compensatory FAD completed an ecological momentary assessment protocol for three weeks. Results demonstrated that negative affect, body dissatisfaction, and impulsivity did not increase in the hours prior to compensatory FAD, nor did negative affect and body dissatisfaction decrease in the hours following FAD. Alcohol quantity also did not significantly differ across days when compensatory FAD was endorsed, relative to drinking days when compensatory FAD was not endorsed. Fin (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: K. Jean Forney (Advisor); Brian Wymbs (Committee Member); Nicholas Allan (Committee Member); Kate Hibbard-Gibbons (Committee Member); Berkeley Franz (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Psychology

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2022, Psychology

Although the importance of sleep difficulties to symptoms of emotional disorders has long been acknowledged, the nature of the potential reciprocal relationship between sleep and emotional disorder symptoms is not yet well understood. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a unique opportunity to study the natural progression of these symptoms over a period marked by increases in stress, sleep problems, and psychological symptoms in the population. Using online data collection, this study followed 1,200 participants (59% male) through one year of the pandemic. Sleep, anxiety, and depressive symptoms were assessed at eight timepoints with assessments occurring more frequently at the beginning of the study. In within-participant analyses, two significant relationships were revealed. Symptoms of anxiety and depression each predicted subsequent change in insomnia symptoms. Interestingly, insomnia did not predict changes in either depressive or anxiety symptoms. These findings document only one direction of effect in the relationships between psychological symptoms and symptoms of insomnia: symptoms predicted insomnia. Implications for understanding the role of insomnia in emotional disorders are discussed.

Committee: Daniel Strunk (Advisor); Baldwin Way (Committee Member); Jennifer Cheavens (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Psychology

MA, Kent State University, 2021, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Geography

The Sundarbans mangrove forest, one of the world's largest of its kind situated at the southwest of Bangladesh (approximately 60%), plays a vital role in safeguarding the country from the wrath of tropical cyclones and other disaster events. It is known to act as a vegetative shield to protect cyclonic wind's initial threat during any tropical cyclone towards Bangladesh. During Sidr (November 15, 2007), the second-largest cyclone in Bangladesh since 1877, it is estimated that the Sundarbans lost 30% of its plant habitat while upwards of 15% of the forest sustained severe damage. To manage the natural resources of the Sundarbans after disturbance, proper study regarding the impact and post-disturbance recovery of the forests is an immediate requirement. Most of the literature has focused on change in land cover types, which can help investigate the overall impact. However, the question of how long it takes these forests to recover is still relatively unexplored. This study used a pixel-based approach using MODIS (MOD09Q1.006 Terra Surface Reflectance 8-Day Global 250m product) to explore the impact of Sidr and further recovery of the Sundarbans. State QA Bitmask was used to mask out the clouds, cloud shadows, and water from the images using Google Earth Engine (GEE) to ensure the quality of pixels. A specific threshold level was determined to collect the clear sky observations only. Plant productivity anomalies were used to understand the change in vegetation condition related to cyclone Sidr. Season based impact analysis was performed using a known reference period to determine the deviation from normal growth condition. I found that the east side of the Sundarbans's was severely impacted, with a total of 2,261 sq. km. (approx.) being negatively impacted during the dry season immediately after Sidr. This area of the Sundarbans took approximately 3 years (2007 to 2010) to recover from the damage. This study is reproducible and rapid assessment for cyclone impact on (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Timothy Assal (Advisor); Emariana Widner (Committee Member); He Yin (Committee Member) Subjects: Geography; Remote Sensing

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2021, Aerospace Engineering

Interactions between freestream disturbances and shockwaves are ubiquitous in high-speed compressible flows and have profound effects on flow phenomena including laminar-turbulent transition, acoustic radiation in the wake of supersonic jets, and mixing in internal combustion flowpaths. The effect of shock-disturbance interactions on a flow field is largely dependent on the nature of the incoming disturbance. Kovasznay first classified disturbances into three distinct modes: the entropic, vortical, and acoustic modes. Additionally, Kovasznay showed that the interaction between a single disturbance mode and a planar shockwave results in all three disturbance modes downstream of the shockwave. Linear Interaction Analysis (LIA) builds on the definitions of Kovasznay and provides a theoretical framework for determining the characteristics of resultant disturbance waves for a given incident disturbance wave. However, LIA fails to account for non-linearity or gradients in the underlying basic state and cannot practically be used to analyze complex flow fields. Yet, the individual Kovasznay modes, which directly represent fundamental flow physics, can greatly simplify the description of complex interactions, making it easier to extract physical insights. Consequently, a framework which allows for general complex flows to be decomposed into Kovasznay-like modes is extremely desirable. Doak's Momentum Potential Theory attempts to achieve this by decomposing momentum-density, ρu, into thermal, hydrodynamic, and acoustic modes. In the current work, Doak's decomposition is applied to the interaction of a circular entropy spot with a planar shockwave, the solution of which is obtained using the Navier-Stokes based Mean Flow Perturbation technique. Upstream of the shockwave, the pure entropy spot is divided between Doak's thermal and hydrodynamic modes, indicating these modes are not equivalent to Kovasznay's entropic and vortical modes. The discrepancy is caused by Doak's hydrod (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Datta Gaitonde PhD (Advisor); Lian Duan PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Aerospace Engineering