Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2003, Electrical Engineering

In the latest years there have been extensive advances in the field of intelligent vehicle systems and virtual environment simulation technology has played an important role in these advances, enabling researchers to design, develop and test new technologies utilizing computer-based test-beds, without the standard problems associated with real world testing. In this thesis, developments on the Ohio State University Virtual Environment System (OSU-VES) will be presented, which is one such system being developed at The Ohio State University since 1996. First, two main components of the system, which are the Virtual Environment Builder RoadEZ, and the Virtual Environment Simulator VESim, will be discussed in detail. We will present the implementation details of the automation of the environment generation process, including the inputting of the environment data; function fitting to road data; detection and handling of intersections and merges; interpolation, population and triangulation of road, terrain and vehicle path data; placement and editing of 3D objects; and data and configuration generation for virtual simulation. Next we will discuss the advances on the virtual environment simulation process, including key concepts such as modular structure, generic modules for decoupling of module algorithms from simulation interface, triggering events and event trigger modules. This will be followed by three applications of OSU-VES to demonstrate the usefulness and power of the system for intelligent vehicle research: Synchronization of virtual environment simulations with actual sensor data, development of an emergency driver assistance system called the Control Authority Transition (CAT) System, and the building of the environments and scenarios for a human factors research on driver distractions.

Ed.D., Antioch University, 2024, Education

Loneliness was declared a national epidemic in May 2023 and an international global threat in November 2023. Sense of belonging, or lack thereof, can greatly contribute to loneliness. Students who feel a sense of belonging at their institution tend to be more engaged and experience higher success rates, which can lead to increased persistence and retention. The objective of this professional innovation dissertation was to investigate how inclusive and equitable teaching practices might increase sense of belonging for students in the learning environment. This study advocates for marginalized students, placing the responsibility for a change in learning environment back on the institution with a specific focus on teaching practices. Maslow's hierarchy of needs provides the foundation for sense of belonging. That hierarchy combined with the intersectionality framework emphasizes how students often have multiple identities, and the combination of identities can impact the way they engage in the learning environment. The transformative paradigm provides institutions with the lens to consider how changes in the learning environment are necessary to provide the types of support students need to be able to develop a sense of belonging. The professional development materials created in this dissertation suggest that critical self-reflection and transformative learning are necessary for faculty to gain an understanding of their students and provide the inclusive and equitable experience they need to develop a sense of belonging, overcoming barriers created by the institution and the complexity of having multiple identities. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).

PHD, Kent State University, 2022, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Geography

The retail food environment has a significant impact on the availability and affordability of food options for consumers within a given neighborhood. However, approaches for accounting for the complicated spatial clustering of diverse food outlets in a study location are mostly frequentist models, and there is an absence of Bayesian models. Furthermore, the majority of food environment studies combine socioeconomic characteristics and neighborhood segregation into a single model to study the food environment. This approach, often confound the subtle relationship that any of these factors have on policy. This research investigates the food environment using a Bayesian hierarchical spatial model, a method that has seldomly been employed in food environment studies. This research examines both the community and consumer food environments. This study is made up of three manuscripts. The first manuscript (Chapter 4) examined the effects of neighborhood socioeconomic factors and racial segregation on the distribution of supermarkets and grocery stores in Cleveland. The purpose of this chapter was to determine which of the two complimentary factors provides a more robust explanation for the geographical distribution of the stores in Cleveland. Using the Deviance Information Criterion (DIC) as a basis for model robustness, the results of comparing four models show that racial segregation predicts the store distribution far better than socioeconomic characteristics. This finding demonstrated how structural issues such as neighborhood segregation may have played a part in Cleveland's limited availability of supermarkets and grocery stores. The second paper (Chapter 5) investigated in-store and neighborhood healthy food availability as well as their relationships with neighborhood racial segregation and socioeconomic characteristics. Eleven healthy food items were rated in order to obtain a composite score for healthy food availability. According to the study's findings, su (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2005, Environmental Studies (Arts and Sciences)

Olembo and Rham (1987) demonstrated the age-old belief by urban dwellers that urban greens make cities livable although few solid scientific data are available on the measurable benefits of greens on the urban environment. With the advent of GIS and remote sensing technologies, the American Forests Organization has measured the role of urban greens in dollar terms in some selected American Cities. This is seen in terms of physical or tangible benefits, environmental and health benefits, stormwater control, air quality control, energy conservation, social and other non-quantifiable benefits. Similarly the idea of green development in urban areas of developing countries, including Ghana, has come of age, with the call for identification of suitable sites for green development through capture, storage, integration, manipulation, analysis, querying and displaying of data that are spatially referenced. It is in this view that this study analysis problems that are likely to be encountered in the design and implementation of a GIS for urban green development in Ghana. While GIS and remote sensing technologies have the capacity to be utilized in the urban green development, its application in cities of Ghana may not be without problems. Some of the possible problems identified in this study, include data availability, data currency, accuracy and precision. Other data problems relate to data standardization, data merging and the database design and management. In addition to data problems, there are other problems such as personnel, financial and other resources, political and bureaucratic procedures involved and other socio-cultural barriers such as the traditional land tenure system, perception of development and attitudinal factors. In spite of these problems, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a step; it is against this study suggested that a successful GIS development project begins on a pilot basis, involving situational assessment, needs of the end users, softw (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2022, Geography (Arts and Sciences)

Environmental issues such as habitat destruction, pollution, and climate change have spurred societies around the world to invest in new forms of alternative energy to reduce dependency on fossil fuels and the impacts that result from their extraction and use. The United States is the largest economy on Earth and consumes the most fossil fuels per capita. In this regard, the U.S. is lagging behind in terms of developing and utilizing alternative energy, but it is not the case that alternatives beyond fossil fuels are not being utilized at all. In fact, one of the biggest alternative energy booms in the U.S. has developed around wind energy. At the same time, the fossil fuel industry has undergone massive changes, shifting to natural gas while phasing out the use of coal. The state of Iowa has been a leader in developing and utilizing wind power for more than a decade, and in combination with utilizing more natural gas, has phased out using coal as a primary source for generating electricity. Like Iowa, Ohio has been replacing coal with natural gas in recent years, but unlike the Hawkeye State, has largely shunned wind power. Both states have gone in opposite directions in terms of electricity generation, but both have reduced their carbon footprint by very large amounts. In this thesis, I compare and contrast Iowa and Ohio

Bachelor of Arts, Walsh University, 2021, Honors

Freshmen college adjustment is relevant due to an increasing interest in retention rates and overall well-being for college students. This thesis was conducted to examine the relationship between freshmen perceptions of the religious environment on campus and their adjustment scores. Other variables related to adjustment, including gender and the type of high school students attended, were also evaluated. Freshmen students (N=165) at Walsh University completed a self-report questionnaire that assessed adjustment (using the College Adjustment Test), religiosity, and perceptions of the religious environment on campus. A large majority of participants (90.40%) reported that the religious environment on Walsh University's campus is “just right.” However, those participants who viewed the religious environment as too strong had significantly lower positive affect scores than both those who view it as just right or not strong enough. When this effect was further examined, it only proved to be significant for students who reported that Walsh's religious environment was not relevant to their decision to attend the university. This is the first study to examine the relationship between perceptions of a university's religious environment and freshmen adjustment. Though additional longitudinal research is needed, understanding the different factors that are related to adjustment may be used to improve college student success.

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2020, History

This thesis is a case study in a Social Gospel approach to nature, human health and environmental politics. Human health and non-human nature were mutually constitutive in Washington Gladden's vision of health. In sermons from 1869 to 1910, Gladden argued that human health was closely connected to the health of societies and cities, for the simple fact that humanity was a part of nature. The local, urban aspects of Gladden's Social Gospel vision of health were an important connective tissue to understand his broader moral and economic arguments. Gladden's distinct notions of social morality and social harmony are best understood at the intersection of religious histories of the Social Gospel, urban environmental histories and public health histories. Gladden emphasized social morality through scientific public health and the conservation movement. His vision of social health was an ideal of social harmony supported by professionals who understood that human beings were capable of ordering God's creation so that humanity could live healthy lives in healthy places around the world.

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2019, Horticulture and Crop Science

U.S. black raspberry (BR) production is currently limited by narrowly adapted, elite germplasm. Improved understanding of genetic control and stability of pomological traits will inform the development of improved BR germplasm and cultivars. To this end, analysis of a multiple-environment trial of two BR mapping populations derived from crosses of commercial cultivars with wild accessions has provided insights into genetic variation, genotype-by-environment interactions (GEI), quantitative trait loci (QTL), and QTL-by-environment interactions (QEI) of fruit quality traits among diverse field environments. Genetic components and stability of four fruit size traits and six fruit biochemistry were characterized in two mapping populations following their evaluation over three years at four distinct locations representative of current U.S. BR production. GEI of pomological traits were described using two methods: mixed model analysis and Bayesian Finlay-Wilkinson regression. Both methods revealed relatively stable genetic control of the four fruit size traits across the tested production environments and less stable genetic control of the six fruit biochemistry traits. Further, Finlay-Wilkinson regression revealed individuals contributing to GEI for each trait. Ten QTL associated with three fruit morphology traits and five QTL associated with two fruit biochemistry traits were identified. Of the fifteen total QTL, eleven exhibited significant QEI. Closely overlapping QTL revealed linkage of several fruit size traits: fruit mass, drupelet count, and seed fraction. Further, alignment of linked markers to the BR genome revealed genomic regions associated with these traits. These and related findings are expected to guide further genetic characterization of BR fruit quality, management of breeding germplasm, and development of improved BR cultivars for U.S. production.

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2018, French, Italian, and Classical Studies

This thesis, written in English, aims to demonstrate that many of Joachim du Bellay's poems in Divers jeux rustiques and Vers Lyriques disclose a conscious way of perceiving the environment. A detailed analysis of `D'un vanneur de ble aux vents' reveals how the poem questions the privileging of humans in their relationship with the environment by dismantling the environment-human binary. I examine the symbolism of Roman mythology in `A Ceres, A Bacchus et A Pales' and `D'un berger a Pan' in order to explain how this symbolism represents the dependency of humans on their environment and creates the possibility of converting arduous rural chores into meaningful and pleasurable activities. Lastly, I explain how the poem `Au Fleuve de Loire' can be read as a cartographic poem that highlights the economic, literary, and environmental importance of the Loire river. I conclude that these poems exemplify a consciousness that rejoices, reinforces, and recognizes the role of the environment in the lives of its inhabitants.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2015, City and Regional Planning

This study investigates the effects of the surrounding environment on crashes, with a focus on crash severity and at-fault drivers characterized by gender and age. Crashes where a vehicle is the guilty party are investigated. The study adopts two approaches: aggregate and disaggregate. In the aggregate approach, the numbers of crashes, classified in terms of severity (fatalities, injuries, property damages only), and gender and age of the driver (with several age groups covering the 15-100 age span), represent the variables to be investigated, and have been derived for the Central Ohio Region from the multiple files of the crash database of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, over the period 2006-2011. These data are aggregated at the level of Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZ). OLS models are first estimated, but spatial autocorrelation tests point the existence of spatial autocorrelation (SA). Spatial econometrics models are then used to eliminate the SA bias: the Spatial Autoregressive Model (SAR) and the Spatial Error Model (SEM). Subsequent analyses are conducted using the SEM estimates, as the SEM model is successful in completely eliminating spatial autocorrelation. The aggregate approach uses a large set of explanatory variables classified into six groups: Regional and Locational, Socio-Economic, Land-Use, Public Transit and Traffic Flow, Circulation and Network, and Physical Characteristics. The results show that variables in all these groups have significant impacts on crash severity and frequencies. The disaggregate approach accounts for more variables that influence crash severity, but cannot be captured in the aggregate approach, such as weather conditions, light conditions, road conditions, type of intersection, and type of vehicle. All these variables are directly related to an individual crash. The logit model is used to explain the probability of a Bodily Injury (BI) crash at the crash scene, where the alternative is Property Damage Only (PDO) crash. (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2014, Horticulture and Crop Science

Twenty million acres of land associated with rights-of-way (ROWs) along US highways represent a significant opportunity for the formation of carbon sinks. However, tree survival in these harsh environments can be limited by compacted soil and infrequent watering. This dissertation addresses some of these constraints, specifically: improving tree establishment via improved tree liner quality. Platanus occidentalis (sycamore) and Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis (thornless honeylocust) were transplanted into five different air pruning pots or left in control trays for six weeks, then transplanted into 11.4 L containers. Geohumus, a water absorbing polymer, was added to the soilless substrate, and the trees were divided evenly between a retractable roof greenhouse (RRG) or outside. At the end of 2011, approximately half of the Geohumus trees were harvested, and the remaining trees were overwintered. In 2012, Geohumus trees were out-planted at a highway site. In 2013, P. occidentalis and Acer xfreemanii `Sienna' (Sienna Glenn freeman maple) were planted in starter pots and transplanted after six (6WIP) or twelve weeks (12WIP) in the starting pots and split between the two environments. They were harvested at the end of 2013. No Geohumus was used this year. Starting pot type had no effect on 2011 height after six weeks in the starting pots. However, in October, 2011, G. triacanthos trees started in Ellepots™ had a smaller caliper relative to the other pot types. In 2013, starting pot type had no effect on initial height and biomass measures in the 6WIP group, however at 12WIP there were differences in these initial measures, indicating that duration in the pots was important. At 12WIP initial measures, P. occidentalis were largest in BRM due to root pruning being favorable to growth; A. xfreemanii `Sienna' were largest in Jif, control, and BRM pots, which were the largest volume starting pots. In the 2013 October harvest, 6WIP P. occidentalis trees we (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 2013, Geology

The Upper Cambrian Rose Run Sandstone in eastern Ohio includes mixed siliciclastic and carbonate lithofacies, deposited in a shallow marine, tidally- influenced, environment. A study of 17 wells including 4 cores with total thickness of 21 m, from Holmes County (well# 2892), Coshocton County (wells# 2989 and # 3385), and Morgan County (well# 2923) reveals 14 siliciclastic and 5 carbonate lithofacies. Intertidal deposits include heterolithic wavy bedded sandstone and mudstone (lithofacies SMw), heterolithic lenticular bedded sandstone and mudstone (lithofacies SMk), heterolithic flaser bedded sandstone and mudstone (lithofacies SMf), interbedded planar laminated sandstone and mudstone (lithofacies SMl), interpreted as tidalites, massive mottled sandstone (lithofacies Smm), and massive mudstone (lithofacies Mm). Subtidal clastic deposits include medium-scale planar tabular cross-bedded sandstone (lithofacies Sp), herringbone cross-bedded sandstone (lithofacies Sx), massive sandstone (lithofacies Sm), glauconite-rich massive sandstones (lithofacies Smg), hummocky stratified sandstone (lithofacies Sh), and laminated mudstone (lithofacies Ml). Interbedded carbonates include dolo-mudstones (lithofacies Cm), bioturbated and mottled dolo-mudstones (lithofacies Cmm), dolo-packstones with rip-up clasts ("flat-pebble conglomerate") (lithofacies Cpmr), dolo-packstones with mud drapes ("cryptalgal lamination") (lithofacies Cpl), and convoluted bedded dolo-mudstone (lithofacies Cmmc). The Rose Run Sandstone in this region is interpreted to be deposited in a shallow marine environment of normal salinity with extensive tidal flats, mixed siliciclastic-carbonate deposition, strong tidal influence, and reworking of carbonate materials. This study reveals compartmentalization of Rose Run Sandstone at different scales. The reservoir quality is mainly controlled by amount of dolomite cement, quartz and feldspar overgrowths, and clay content, which influences porosity and possibly pe (open full item for complete abstract)

EdD, University of Cincinnati, 2011, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Curriculum and Instruction

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a student-centered, interactive, case-based, multimedia learning environment to a traditional tutorial-based, multimedia learning environment on second-year dental hygiene students (n = 29). Surveys were administered at four points to measure attainment and retention of knowledge, attitude, and confidence. There was not a significant difference in attainment of these variables between the groups. As indicated by the outcomes of the repeated-measures two-way ANOVA tests, time had a significant effect on the mean overall variables for knowledge (p < .01) and attitude (p < .001), as well as three of the knowledge variables (p < .05) and three of the attitude variables (p < .01) for both groups. One attitude variable (p < .01) showed a positive significant difference between the case-based group and tutorial-based group. A practical examination skill test measured retention of skill. The analysis indicated that the case-based group (100% passed) did significantly better compared to the tutorial-based group (60% passed). Although the findings demonstrated that only one attitude variable was found to be significantly better for the case-based group, the greater increase in the retention of skill has notable implication for dental hygiene education. Future research should examine multimedia learning environments with larger samples and longitudinal data.

MA, University of Cincinnati, 2008, Arts and Sciences : Geography

Geography as a discipline had been revolutionized with the advent of modern technologies and especially in the field of GIS. We aim to use high end modern technologies and programming language to create an interoperable Geographical Information Management Model in a Virtual Earth Environment where we can record history in an innovative and exploratory way. The first year graduate students at the Department of Geography at the University of Cincinnati have been taking a walking tour to Downtown Cincinnati from the campus since the 1980s. These tours have witnessed the continuing change of the city along the route, and these changes have only been documented in the essays written by students. This research aims to develop an online application in virtual environment that can show the current, historical, and future observations along the route. With the rapid development of online tools such as Google Earth and Microsoft Virtual Earth, it is now possible to create a geo-referenced archive of urban changes in a virtual geographic environment. In this study, Microsoft Virtual Earth SDK (Software Development Kit) and KML (Key Hole Markup Language) are used to develop a GIS application which will facilitate the development of content overlays featuring a detailed virtual tour of Cincinnati Down-Town Area plus any other area in whole world subject to the availability of satellite imagery. Satellite Imagery from Navteq is used to show the historical monuments and places of geographic importance. Geo-tagged videos of professors and student discussions on the “place-marked” locations are added in the content overlay for real time experience. A virtual geographic environment like this has the potential of being an effective teaching tool and perhaps attracting more high school students to the discipline of geography.

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2012, Industrial, Interior Visual Communication Design

Relationships between work environments and physical spaces are understudied. Components within the physical environment could have an influence on the work environment in regard to how the workers perceive group collaboration and creative output. Common changes to the physical space such as “introducing open plan offices, cubicles, and ergonomic furniture have led to increased worker performance, satisfaction, and improved communication and teamwork” (Dul et al., 2011, p. 2). Even with these basic modifications to physical space within the work environment, questions remain unanswered. How does physical space within a work environment influence our creativity? How do physical environments contribute to our work styles and how we communicate with others within the workplace? The open office floor plan is quickly becoming the norm, but is this the only way designers should plan a workplace? Can private areas improve the fostering of creativity? Do surrounding materials within a designed environment such as the floor, wall, and ceiling finishes, even the lighting, have an influence on creativity and collaboration? With the increase of design thinking strategies and the addition of “innovation teams” within businesses, the demand for the physical workspace to enhance these strategies and structures is growing. Knowledge workers, also known as “the creative class” by Richard Florida, “are the source of original and potentially useful ideas and solutions for a firm's renewal of products, services, and processes”(Dul et al., 2011, p. 1). It is the designer's responsibility to understand what components within the physical environment can be perceived as conducive to creative thinking and what perceived components might promote collaborative work styles. With this understanding, we can implement these components within the planning and design programming phases to create spaces that support creativity and promote collaboration. By taking an in depth look at a variety of (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2012, Environmental Science

While the number of conservation projects has increased domestically and worldwide, many environment education programs have failed to fulfill their goals of encouraging the citizens to actively adopt pro-environment behaviors. To investigate the potential correlation between people's environment attachment and people's tendency to perform pro-environment behaviors, a survey was conducted in the rural part of Wayne County, OH in 2009. The result of the survey research shows a significant correlation between people's attachment to the natural environment and their tendency to participate in certain kinds of pro-environment behaviors. Such finding supplements the previous research on the relationship between place attachment and pro-environment behaviors. The survey results from my 2009 survey show that these local citizens tend to associate fireflies with good environment quality. A literature review yielded little evidence to support or reject such hypothesis. One major reason for the lack of research on the relationship between fireflies and the natural environment was because of the lack of suitable technology to monitor firefly activities in the field. I developed a new timed sequential digital photographic method to monitor firefly flashing activities in their natural habitats. Such method has potential for engaging citizens into environment education programs. I used this method to collect data on the West Badger Farm near Wooster, OH in 2009. The results showed that this method could capture the flashing activities of different firefly species and was sensitive to the changes of the flashing activities. The two species of fireflies I studied showed similar responses to climatic factors, but different responses to landscape types and farming practices. The data also suggested that these two firefly species were active at the same time during the night, contrary to previous studies that classified them into different active groups (“early-active” vs. “late-acti (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2004, Teaching and Learning

The main purpose of this study was to determine pre-service and in-service science and mathematics teachers' perceptions of the characteristics of a professional teaching environment. The study further investigated the relationships of urban or suburban field placement contexts and 7-9 or 10-12 grade levels on pre-service teachers' perceptions of importance and availability of certain aspects of a professional teaching environment. The teacher perceptions were assessed using the Professional Environment for Teaching Survey (PETS). The responses reflecting the teacher perceptions of importance were subjected to a principal component analysis and two components were identified. These were Resources for Teaching and Recognition of Teacher Contributions. Teachers responses provided four dependent variables consisting of importance of Resources for Teaching, importance of Recognition of Teacher Contributions, availability of Resources for Teaching, and availability of Recognition of Teacher Contributions. Data obtained from pre-service teachers who enrolled in a graduate teacher education licensure program at a large Midwestern university and from in-service teachers who as mentors for the pre-service teachers were analyzed using correlational and forward stepwise multiple regression analyses and multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) and univariate analyses of variance (ANOVA). The results of the data analyses suggested that the perceptions of importance and/or availability of those pre-service or in-service teachers with more experience were related to the academic degree they held and the content that they were teaching or were expecting to teach. Pre-service teacher placement in urban context during the first quarter of their field experiences predicted low scores for the importance of the Recognition of Teacher Contributions, the availability of Resources for Teaching, and the availability of Recognition of Teacher Contributions. By the third and final placement (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2002, Natural Resources

The need for instruments to objectively and deeply measure public beliefs concerning environmental values and ethics, and relationship to environmental protection led to a project to integrate analytical techniques from ethics and educational psychology to identify beliefs in theories of value and obligation (direct and indirect), develop a 12-category system of environmental ethics, and a psychometric instrument with 5 scales and 7 subscales, including a self-assessment instrument for environmental ethics. The ethics were tested for ability to distinguish between beliefs in need to protect environment for human interests versus the interests or rights of animals and the environment. A heuristic for educators was developed for considering 9 dimensions of environmental and the ethics, and tested favorably. An exploratory survey (N = 74, 2001) of adult moral beliefs used 16 open-ended questions for moral considerability of, rights, treatment, and direct and indirect moral obligations to the environment. A 465 - item question bank was developed and administered (N = 191, 2002) to Ohio adults, and reduced to 73 items in 12 Likert-type scales (1-7, 1 strongly disagree) by analyzing internal consistency, response variability, interscale correlations, factorial, and ANOVA. The results (beliefs concerning the general environment): Scale 1) Environmental Capacity (suffer mentally and physically) u= 5.0, a= 0.85; 1.1) Conativity, u= 4.2, a= 0 .84; 1.2) Sentience, u= 5.0, a= 0.85; Scale 2) Value, u= 5.0, a= 0.92 ; 2.1) Intrinsic Value, u= 3.4, a= 0.84 ; 2.2) Animal and Environment's Rights, u= 4.95, a= 0.90; Scale 3) Moral Need to Protect, u= 5.0, a= 0.84; 3.1) Moral Acceptability of 4 Uses (medical research, zoo's, eating, killing to eat) u= 4.8, a= 0.89; 3.2) Usefulness, u= 5.54, a= 0.89; 4) Environmental Ethic a= 0.73 (95% in ethics 7-12, the ecological ethics), highest population mean: “Ecological Phenomenalism”, then “Ecological Ecocentrism”), modal category: “Ecological (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2012, Athletic Training Education (Health and Human Services)

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus has survived on artificial turf in a laboratory setting when provided a nutrient source. There is limited evidence on the viability of MRSA in outdoor environmental conditions. This study compared the survival of MRSA in a laboratory environment to an outdoor environment over seven days. Artificial turf was inoculated with MRSA strain USA300 and exposed to laboratory and outdoor environmental settings. Samples were collected daily. MRSA survival was determined by growth on CHROMagar plates. Results indicated a difference in the mean survival time of MRSA between a laboratory environment (7.00 ¿¿¿¿ 0.00 days) and an outdoor environment (4.67 ¿¿¿¿ 2.52). Conditions including surface temperature, ambient temperature, relative humidity, precipitation and solar radiation may have affected MRSA survival. Future research should explore the effect of specific environmental conditions on MRSA survival and the effect of nutrients on outdoor survival.

PHD, Kent State University, 2007, College of Education, Health, and Human Services / Department of Educational Foundations and Special Services

Classroom assessment is a continual activity for teachers to improve the quality of instruction and motivate students to learn (Brookhart, 1999; Gronlund, 2006). Although there is a great deal of research on teachers' classroom assessment practices, few empirical research attempts have been made to link these practices to students' perceptions of classroom assessment environment and motivation defined in terms of achievement goal orientations. This study examined teachers' assessment practices within the framework of classroom assessment literature and achievement goal theory. More specifically, the purposes of this study were to identify the underlying dimensions of students' perceptions of classroom assessment environment and achievement goal orientations and to investigate the possible effects of certain student-level and class-level characteristics on perceived classroom assessment environment and achievement goal orientations. The participants were 1,636 ninth grade students and their corresponding 83 science teachers enrolled in public schools within Muscat educational region in Oman during the spring semester 2007. Two questionnaires were developed and used, one for students and one for teachers. The student's questionnaire focused on students' perceived classroom assessment environment, achievement goal orientations, and academic self-efficacy. The teacher's questionnaire focused on teachers' frequent uses of traditional assessments, alternative assessments, and classroom assessment practices recommended by experts of educational measurement and assessment. Principal components/exploratory factor analyses (PCA/EFA) were conducted to identify the underlying dimensions of students' perceptions of classroom assessment environment and achievement goal orientations. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses were employed to examine the effects of certain student-level and class-level characteristics on students' perceptions of classroom assessment environment a (open full item for complete abstract)