Search Results

1. Zhu, Jinjie Mitigating the Socioeconomic Achievement Gap: The Theory of Differential Access and Differential Benefits

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Educational Studies

This study develops the theory of differential access and differential benefits as a holistic framework to address educational inequities, emphasizing the interconnectedness of access to resources and resulting benefits in shaping socioeconomic achievement gaps, while prior literature often examines these factors separately. The study uses Oaxaca decomposition and TIMSS 2019 mathematics data from eighth-graders in Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, and the United States to explore the effects of school material resources, teacher qualifications, instructional practices, and homework frequency on socioeconomic achievement gaps. Employing propensity score weighting enhances the robustness of the analyses. The findings reveal several noteworthy points under current resource distribution:1) School material resources exhibited minimal impact on the socioeconomic achievement gap in mathematics across all three regions; 2) In the United States, math teachers with mathematics-related college degrees correlated had students with a lower socioeconomic achievement gap than teachers with degrees in other areas; 3) Teacher-centered instructional practices in the United States similarly contributed to narrowing this gap; and 4) Homework frequency in Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong was associated with a reduction in the socioeconomic achievement gap. These compensatory effects primarily arose from the differential benefits process. The empirical evidence underscores the utility of the theory of differential access and differential benefits in reducing the socioeconomic achievement gap as well as differences among in countries in the factors that ameliorate the socioeconomic achievement gap.

Committee: Roger Goddard (Advisor); Roger Goddard (Committee Chair); Bryan Warnick (Committee Member); Minjung Kim (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Evaluation; Educational Sociology

2. White, Cole Beta-Defensin 3-Mediated Regulation of Transcriptional Changes During Oropharyngeal Candidiasis

Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences (MSBS), University of Toledo, 2018, Biomedical Sciences (Bioinformatics and Proteomics/Genomics)

Oropharyngeal candidiasis (OPC) is a fungal infection of the oral cavity caused by a human commensal fungus called Candida albicans. Even though C. albicans is a commensal, it can become pathogenic in immunocompromised patients. IL-17-mediated antifungal immunity has been implicated as the major pathway for fungal defense in the oral cavity. The IL-17 pathway has been found to regulate the release of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) downstream, including murine ß-defensin 3 (mBD3). Murine ß-defensin 3 is an antimicrobial peptide involved in the protection of the oral mucosa against pathogens. Murine BD3 can protect the oral mucosa through its direct antimicrobial activity, but it has also been found to have chemotactic properties as well. The human homolog of mBD3, human ß-defensin 2 (hBD2), has been found to bind CCR6. CCR6 is found on the surface of cells like memory T-cells, dendritic cells (DCs), Th17 cells, and Treg cells. Studies have shown that hBD2 binding to CCR6 on the surface of memory T-cells and DC's can induce chemotaxis, and other studies have suggested the same could be true for Th17 cells and Treg cells. The goal of this experiment was to study the chemotactic ability of mBD3 via RNA-sequencing to explore how the presence/absence of Defb3 leads to changes in transcriptional regulation while in the presence/absence of an OPC infection. The RNA-sequencing results reveal that there are very few differences in transcript expression between wild-type mice and Defb3 knockout mice. One difference in transcript expression between Defb3 knockout mice and WT mice is found in Sycp1. Sycp1 is expressed at higher levels in Defb3 knockout infected mice when compared with WT infected mice and Defb3 knockout sham mice when compared to WT sham mice. The DNA-binding ability of Sycp1 makes it an interesting candidate for future studies.

Committee: Heather Conti (Committee Chair); Sadik Khuder (Committee Member); Alexei Fedorov (Committee Member) Subjects: Bioinformatics; Biology; Immunology

3. Foster, Garett Measurement Invariance of Burnout Inventories across Sex

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2015, Psychology/Industrial-Organizational

This study investigated potential causes of extant group mean differences of self-reported levels of burnout across sex. Based on the origins of burnout as an interpersonal construct, combined with research showing differences in how men and women perceive and resolve interpersonal conflict and stress, it was hypothesized that statistical artifacts, namely violations of the measurement invariance assumption, were present. It was further hypothesized that these artifacts were causing differences in the prevalence of self-reported burnout and that removing them would reduce the size of such differences. Participants (n = 579) completed three separate measures of burnout: the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory, as well as several measures of nomological correlates of burnout. The data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and item response theory approaches to measurement invariance. Results indicated that no violations of measurement invariance were present. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Committee: Michael Zickar (Committee Chair); Steve Jex (Committee Member); William O'Brien (Committee Member) Subjects: Occupational Psychology; Organizational Behavior; Psychological Tests; Psychology

4. RAMMOHAN, SRIVIDHYA REDUCED COMPLEMENTARY DYNAMIC AND DIFFERENTIAL CMOS LOGIC: A DESIGN METHODOLOGY FOR DPA RESISTANT CRYPTOGRAPHIC CIRCUITS

MS, University of Cincinnati, 2007, Engineering : Computer Engineering

In recent times, many embedded applications such as mobile phones, smart-cards, etc. use cryptographic devices that use a secret key to encrypt sensitive data to secure it. Encryption algorithms are often challenged during physical implementation (ICs), providing key information to the attackers. Differential Power Analysis (DPA) is a power attack technique uses the difference in power consumed by each input data in conjunction with statistical analysis to extract statistical information that correlates power consumption to the secret key. Our goal is to present a Dynamic Differential Logic style whose power consumption is input independent and which reuses part of circuit to generate differential output. The logic style proposed by us, Reduced Complementary Dynamic and Differential logic (RCDDL) style helps achieve increased DPA resistance with 31.66% improvement in security strength, 14% reduction in power and 7.75% reduction in area on an average when compared to other existing logic styles.

Committee: Dr. Ranga Vemuri (Advisor) Subjects:

5. Kyei-Blankson, Lydia Predictive Validity, Differential Validity, and Differential Prediction of the Subtests of the Medical College Admission Test

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2005, Educational Research and Evaluation (Education)

MCAT scores and undergraduate GPA are two screening devices that are widely used by medical schools in the U.S. to select aspiring medical students. Given their widespread use, it is important that the validities of MCAT scores and undergraduate GPA be investigated to ensure the accuracy of medical school admission decisions. This study was therefore designed to address three important aspects of validation, namely, predictive validity of MCAT subtest scores and undergraduate GPA, differential validity, and differential prediction of the MCAT subtest scores. First, predictive validity was evaluated as an index of the relationship between the predictors, MCAT subtest scores and undergraduate GPA, and the criterion, first-year medical school GPA. Second, differential validity was assessed by comparing the magnitude of validity coefficients obtained as the correlation between first-year medical school GPA and MCAT subtest scores for men and women and for White, Black, Asian, and Hispanic medical students. Third, differential prediction was examined by testing for differences in the regression systems obtained for the different subgroups of examinees. The sample used in the study consisted of 3,187 students drawn from 1992 and 1993 cohorts of 14 medical schools. Statistical procedures utilized in the research included regression analysis, Fisher's z transformations, F-ratio test of equality of standard errors of estimate, and ANCOVA tests of equality of regression slopes and intercepts. Results obtained showed moderately high correlations between the predictors and the criterion. MCAT subtest scores and previous grades were individually good predictors of medical school freshman grades. The combination of MCAT subtest scores and undergraduate GPA was, however, a more powerful indicator of performance in the first-year of medical school. Differential validity results showed that in most cases women had higher validity coefficients compared to men. With regards to differe (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: George Johanson (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Tests and Measurements

6. Rahaei, Arefeh DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF A CHAOS-BASED LIGHTWEIGHT CRYPTOSYSTEM

MS, Kent State University, 2024, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Computer Science

Cryptography, derived from the Greek word meaning "to hide information," involves techniques for converting readable plaintext into unreadable ciphertext through a process called encryption. Cryptography algorithms are broadly categorized into two types: symmetric key cryptography and asymmetric key cryptography. Symmetric key cryptography is further divided into block ciphers and stream ciphers. Block ciphers, based on their structure, can be classified into two main categories: Substitution-Permutation Networks (SPN) and Feistel Networks (FN). This research focuses on SPN-based block ciphers. In 1949[1], Claude Shannon introduced two fundamental operations required for a robust cryptosystem: substitution and permutation. Substitution, the core component of SPN-based cryptography, is implemented through substitution boxes (S-Boxes), where each element in the plaintext is mapped to another element to achieve nonlinearity and provide the confusion property crucial for security. With the rise of constrained devices, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), there is an increasing demand for lightweight symmetric-key algorithms. However, in many cases, the S-Box contributes the most to the hardware complexity and computational load compared to other linear components. This research addresses this challenge by designing and optimizing a lightweight cryptosystem suitable for resource-limited environments. The thesis makes two key contributions to the field of lightweight cryptography. The first contribution is the development of chaos-based S-Boxes tailored for devices with restricted computational capabilities. By leveraging chaotic maps, the proposed S-Boxes achieve a high degree of nonlinearity and security while maintaining a minimal computational and hardware footprint, making them ideal for IoT and other constrained devices. These chaos-based S-Boxes introduce dynamic, unpredictable substitution patterns that enhance resistance to cryptanalysis techniques such as l (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Maha Allouzi Dr (Advisor); Younghun Chae Dr (Committee Member); Lei Xu Dr (Committee Member) Subjects: Computer Engineering; Computer Science