Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), University of Dayton, 2019, Educational Leadership

The purpose of this study is to identify and explore teacher perceptions of the merit-pay plan after six years of implementation in the Innovative School District (ISD). This qualitative case study will add to the knowledge base and provide interested school leaders with information as they consider alternatives to traditional teacher compensation. This study will provide similar districts, administrators, and scholars with insight into teacher perceptions developed after a merit-pay system has first been put into place and then remained in place for six years. As other school district leadership teams work with their teachers and boards of education to consider and develop a merit-pay system, they may be able to avoid pitfalls in the process of implementation by knowing the perceptions teachers have about this approach. This knowledge can also be incorporated into the curriculum of applicable higher education programs. This study employed a single case study approach to gain an understanding of the perceptions held by elementary teachers in grades Pre-K, one through six through semi-structured interviews. This researcher recognizes that knowledge gained from this study is relative and not absolute, but it will use empirical evidence to generate plausible claims (Patton, 2002). This approach is aligned with Merriam's purpose for qualitative research, which is to achieve a deep understanding of how people perceive what they experience (Merriam, 2009). There were four major themes that emerged from this study. These included: A significant number of teachers in ISD do not have a solid understanding of the structure of the merit-pay program. Second, trust between the teachers and the principal are vital to the success of the merit-pay program. Third, ISD's merit-pay program has been successful with a majority of teachers stating that if they had the chance to return to a traditional salary schedule, they would remain on the merit-pay plan. The final and most su (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: David Dolph Ph.D. (Committee Chair) Subjects: Education Finance; Education History; Education Policy; Educational Evaluation; Educational Leadership; Elementary Education; Teacher Education; Teaching

Doctor of Education, Ashland University, 2010, College of Education

This study investigated similarities and differences between teacher and superintendent views toward factors to be included as a component of a teacher compensation system. A survey instrument designed to gather quantitative and qualitative data was used. The study sought to answer the following research questions: First, between superintendents and teachers, Is there a difference in perceptions about teacher compensation between superintendents and teachers? Second, Compared to teachers, do superintendents report differences in what should be included as a component of a teacher compensation system? Third, Compared to teachers, do superintendents differ in their level of comfort with reference to the components of a teacher compensation system? The study revealed statistically significant differences between views of teachers from a previous study and superintendents in this study.

Committee: Harold Wilson PhD (Committee Chair); Glen Fincher Phd (Committee Co-Chair); James Van Keuren EdD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Education History; Educational Evaluation; Educational Sociology; Higher Education; Labor Relations; Public Administration; School Administration; School Finance; Teaching

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2023, Accounting

Earnings management has been a threat to the financial health of corporations and the financial market as a whole. It continues to be a significant concern for stakeholders such as investors, creditors, regulators, and accounting researchers. Many researchers attribute earnings management to the level and design of managerial compensation. This dissertation adds to the literature by studying how the level of managers' compensation relative to their peers affects their financial reporting decisions. The current study investigates whether horizontal pay disparity and the availability of pay disparity justification influence managers' likelihood to engage in earnings management. The study also investigates whether managers' equity sensitivity affects their tendency to manage earnings and whether it moderates the relationship between horizontal pay disparity and earnings management. This study uses an experimental research method and manipulates two independent variables between participants: (1) high horizontal pay disparity or no horizontal pay disparity; and (2) justified or unjustified pay disparity. The third independent variable, equity sensitivity, is measured through some post-experimental questions. The study recruited participants with managerial and accounting experience through Prolific crowdsourcing platform. The findings show a significant positive effect of horizontal pay disparity on managers' likelihood to engage in earnings management. The results demonstrate that the two groups of equity sensitivity (high and low) show different reactions to horizontal pay disparity. The high equity sensitivity group shows an increased likelihood of managing earnings only when the pay disparity is not justified. In contrast, the low equity sensitivity group shows an increased tendency to engage in earnings management, whether or not the pay disparity is justified. Further, managers' equity sensitivity has a significant negative effect on the likelihood of earnings man (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Timothy Fogarty (Committee Chair); Philip Cola (Committee Member); Melissa Carlisle (Committee Member); Gregory Jonas (Committee Member) Subjects: Accounting

Bachelor of Arts, University of Toledo, 2018, Law and Social Thought

The gender wage gap in the United States has been an ongoing issue since women entered the workforce during the nineteenth century. There is no argument that the gap has become much smaller over time and is at its lowest today. Nonetheless, although great progress has been made towards achieving equal pay, there still exists a gap between men and women's annual salary. Accordingly, the public continues to debate why this gap exists. Is the gender wage gap present because of gender discrimination or are other factors at play? Throughout this honors thesis, I will explore this question and the arguments that attempt to provide a valid answer. First, I explain why the gender wage gap is an essential topic in today's society, while clarifying vocabulary used when discussing this subject. Next, I describe in-depth two common arguments that arise when considering what has caused the gender wage gap. The first argues that the gap results from gender discrimination in the workforce. Promoters of this argument believe that the only way to achieve equal pay is to eliminate gender discrimination. The second argument holds that gender discrimination is not the most prominent factor affecting the wage gap. Instead, advocates of this argument suggest that women's career choices are the main cause of the gender wage gap. I then discuss how the law interacts with these positions. I illustrate legal cases that prohibit gender discrimination and also cases that fall short in disallowing gender discrimination in the workforce. Finally, I argue that both positions have valid claims supported by substantial academic work. I conclude that both gender discrimination and the career choices of women play a role in maintaining the gender wage gap.

Committee: Jerry Van Hoy (Advisor) Subjects: Gender Studies

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2018, Leadership Studies

The majority of teacher contracts in the State of Ohio are based on the traditional pay scale, rewarding teachers for educational level attained and years of experience. Performance-based pay is an emerging trend with 11 school districts in Ohio identified as having a performance-pay system in their negotiated agreement. This study utilizes Ohio's similar district methodology to identify the two most similar districts without performance-pay for each performance-pay district. This causal-comparative study compares these two groups by their student (performance index scores, value-added scores) and teacher (evaluation ratings) performance obtained from their local school report card. Data was analyzed utilizing t-tests of independent samples and t-tests of paired samples, with no significant differences between the two groups. The type of performance pay, as identified by Willis and Ingle (2016), were analyzed with regards to student and teacher performance differences. Performance rates are the type of performance pay that appears to have the most positive effect on student and teacher performance.

Committee: Paul Johnson (Committee Chair); Pavel Anzenbacher (Committee Member); Rachel Reinhart (Committee Member); Chris Willis (Committee Member); Kyle Ramey (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Education Finance; Education Policy; Educational Evaluation; Educational Leadership; Educational Tests and Measurements

PHD, Kent State University, 2017, College of Business and Entrepreneurship, Ambassador Crawford / Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship

This dissertation addresses two major themes in behavioral pricing; how consumers construct and use reference prices to judge the attractiveness of a price, and how guilt, and perceptions of fairness, influence consumer behavior. Essay 1 examines how consumers judge the attractiveness of prices in a new context. Prior research on coupons has focused on individual coupons that are “pushed” to consumers. When assessing individual coupons, consumers are apt to use a memory-based, or internal reference price strategy that relies on past purchases to assess price attractiveness. This dissertation examines a setting in which supermarket shoppers scan a product's bar code to receive a set mobile coupons for competing products. Coupon values are customized according to each customer's redemption history. Evaluating a set of “pull” coupons prompts some consumers to use a comparative, or stimulus-based reference price strategy. By segmenting consumers according to which strategy they use, I model how coupon value, the number of competing coupons, range of prices for competing brands, and brand loyalty influence redemption behavior over months of coupon use. While my research focuses on mobile coupons, the findings may be useful to marketers interested in other settings where consumers receive information about competing brands, such as the price comparison tools and recommendation engines used by retailers like Google and Amazon. Within the behavioral pricing literature, price fairness has important status, since firms' profits are constrained by fear of perceived price exploitation. Since firms have traditionally had the power to set prices, most studies have examined price fairness from the firm's perspective. However, as consumers' power increases, so does their tendency to take advantage of companies. Essay 2 addresses a gap in the price fairness literature by empirically testing whether an individual trait, anticipated guilt, together with information about social (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Christopher Groening PhD (Committee Co-Chair); Cesar Zamudio PhD (Committee Co-Chair); Emmanuel Dechenaux PhD (Committee Member); Jeffrey Inman PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Psychology; Marketing

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2006, Labor and Human Resources

The strategic role of the compensation system has been increasingly important to business. However, there has been little knowledge or research about how the compensation system strategically impacts organizations (Gerhart, 2000; Heneman, Ledford, & Gresham, 2000). Therefore, research is needed to substantiate how to improve the effectiveness of the compensation strategy. In this study, a large-scale survey was conducted to examine the effect of compensation practices in a wide variety of organizations. A total of 130 firms responded to the survey; of these firms, six had multiple respondents. The empirical results revealed that long-term incentive, group-based pay, and merit-pay programs positively impact perceptual and financial performance. As well as identifying direct impact, this study examined the indirect impact of compensation programs and practices. In this process, OCB plays a mediating role in the effect of several compensation programs such as, merit pay, group-based pay, and long-term incentive on a firm's performance. The model developed in this study adds valuable insight to the existing strategic compensation literature by identifying the means through which the compensation strategy leads to a firm's success. The current study also makes a theoretical contribution. The use of several compensation programs may have the potential to improve “flexibility” by developing several characteristics of human resources, which in turn are integrated into a firm's success. This study supports the universal perspective by demonstrating positive effects of specific types of compensation programs across organizations and industries. Furthermore, unless human resource attributes achieve “fit” with the features of a compensation program, the strength in the relationship between the compensation program and a firm's performance becomes lower. The findings support the contingency perspective that compensation program characteristics must be consistent with human resou (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Heneman Robert (Advisor) Subjects: Business Administration, Management

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2017, Leadership Studies

Due to the increasingly widespread utilization of interscholastic athletic pay to participate policies within the state of Ohio, this study focused on analyzing specific pay to participate policies within Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) member school districts through a qualitative, multiple case study methodology. This study aimed to contribute to the overall gap in research regarding pay to participate policies from a policy analysis perspective. Utilizing the policy process model outlined by Kraft and Furlong (2015) as a framework, policy document and interview data analysis assisted in the development of key elements such as contributing factors and goals of the specific policies, implementation methods and procedures unique and different among districts, as well as evaluation processes and criterion utilized to define success. This study did not intend to generalize pay to participate policies that implement the most evident fee typology within the state of Ohio, but rather provide depth within the stories of specific districts, intending to add value to district discussions surrounding pay to participate policy utilization. The study results described key policy elements from district contextual perspectives regarding their development, implementation, and evaluation methods. These key components provided unique perspectives based upon perceptions of athletic administrators, and actions of the policies themselves, as well as resulted in the development of a pay to participate discussion guide (Appendix C) that can be utilized by districts during policy discussions.

Committee: Paul Willis Ed.D. (Advisor); Christopher Kluse PhD (Other); Tracey Huziak-Clark PhD (Committee Member); Paul Johnson PhD (Committee Member); John Marschhausen PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Sports Management

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2013, Psychology/Industrial-Organizational

The present study examined the association between pay secrecy and its outcomes. Based on theories of justice and equity, pay secrecy was hypothesized to positively influence the four facets of pay satisfaction (i.e., pay level, raises, benefits, and administration) through procedural and distributive justice. The pay secrecy-justice-pay satisfaction relationship was proposed to be conditional on the value of equity sensitivity, such that it would be the strongest for individuals with the highest sensitivity for inequity. Thus, utilizing a sample of 187 individuals, a moderated-mediation model of pay secrecy was tested. Results were inconsistent with the hypothesized model, in that equity sensitivity did not moderate the relationship between pay secrecy and the pay satisfaction facets, when it was mediated by procedural and distributive justice. Furthermore, neither procedural nor distributive justice mediated the pay secrecy-pay satisfaction relationship. Thus, the current findings suggest that there are no individual differences in the perceptions of justice and pay attitudes between equity sensitive and equity insensitive employees working in organizations with varying degrees of pay secrecy. The limitations of the study and future research directions are discussed.

Committee: Christopher Nye (Committee Chair); Margaret Brooks (Committee Member); Richard Anderson (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2008, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2007, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2008, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2023, Economics

This study follows previous work (Roberts et al., 2019) eliciting a premium for a meadow view on the assessed value of houses in the Village of Ottawa Hills, OH, to find if, along with the premium for the view, there is also an aversion to flooding risks. This estimation was done in previous literature using hedonic regression models, but few studies consider both water-related amenities and risks. Using Georeferenced information, we classified parcels intersecting the designated flood hazard area and collected the elevation of each property. We estimate the models with the Flood hazard area classification and interact the meadow view attribute with the house elevation. We also control for the condition of each house. Given the studied area's socio-economic homogeneity and unique geography, few controls for neighborhood heterogeneity were required. We found that for houses with a view, an additional foot of elevation brings a statistically significant 0.5% premium, which means 1633.3 dollars for each foot higher the house is located, confirming the previous finding of a premium for the view, now favored by higher elevations. Despite data showing increasing episodes of intense rain in the region, the classification as flood risk area brings a non-statistically significant discount of 2.3% and, given the overlap between the houses with a view and those classified as flood hazard areas, adding up the effects would still bring a premium. Addressing the spatial dependence with a Spatial Error Model specification brought no significant differences to our main findings.

Committee: Kevin Egan (Committee Chair); Oleg Smirnov (Committee Member); Kristen Keith (Committee Member) Subjects: Economics; Environmental Economics; Urban Planning

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2023, Arts Administration, Education and Policy

This research relates to the topic of professionalization in museum education and the issue of pay as compensation for labor, as evidenced in the growing trend of education departments in art museums around the country transitioning to employment models for museum educators. This research examines a particular case by the Learning and Public Practice Department at The Wexner Center for the Arts on the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. Case study and narrative inquiry methodology guided this research while data was collected using qualitative interview informed by oral history. Thematic analysis was used for data interpretation and analysis. Results of this research show that the transition to an employment model for museum educators has increased team diversity while reducing historic financial barriers to access. Docents who are now paid educators feel a greater sense of dedication to their work while acknowledging an appreciation for the inclusion of a greater diversity of perspectives. Staff feel optimistic about the quality and cohesion of the new educator cohort and that the new program aligns closely with their mission and values.

Committee: J.T. Eisenhauer Richardson (Other); Dana Carlisle Kletchka (Advisor) Subjects: Art Education; Museum Studies

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 1958, Educational Administration and Supervision

Committee: Charles W. Young (Advisor) Subjects: Education

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 1958, Educational Administration and Supervision

Committee: Charles W. Young (Advisor) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), University of Dayton, 2022, Educational Leadership

School boards throughout the country rely on interscholastic athletics pay-to-play policies to alleviate the financial pressure associated with operating comprehensive athletic programs. These policies potentially raise constitutional disputes pertaining to the failure of textual language to specify the programs included in state free educational guarantees. Moreover, the ongoing legal uncertainty places school boards that charge student-athlete participation fees in legally vulnerable positions because state government officials remain unwilling to clarify this question of state constitutional law. The purpose of this legal policy study was to investigate the complex relationships between and among the law, education, and amateur athletic development pertaining to interscholastic athletics pay-to-play. A multilayered research design allowed this researcher to examine the constitutionality of states' interscholastic athletics pay-to-play provisions using both empirical and normative lenses. Legal research focuses narrowly on the law itself to locate such issues as the authority governing state constitutional free education guarantees applied to charging student-athletes participation fees. Comparatively, the study of public policy concentrates broadly on evaluating available policy options and the quality of past policy decisions. The legal research findings of this study revealed that school boards rely on either extracurricular activity participation fee or textbook user fee laws as the legal authority for implementing interscholastic athletics pay-to-play policies. States' divergent legal positions align with their constitutionally identified autonomy over the governance of education but raise doubts about the quality of the policy design processes. Conversely, the similarities provide empirical evidence that states learned from other jurisdictions when seeking to settle student fee disputes. The findings of this policy analysis identified the approach (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Charles Russo (Committee Chair) Subjects: Education Policy; Educational Leadership

Bachelor of Arts, Ohio University, 2022, Political Science

The body politic is an important yet ambiguous structure in all of our lives. Some of us may not be aware of this force that we interact with every day, but that does not change that this is the reality that we all live in. Politics, the decisions within it and its following consequences, public policy, have a fundamental impact on how we operate on a day-to-day basis. It is in the houses in which we reside, the vehicles we drive, the roads we drive those vehicles on, the jobs we work, the families we raise, and the many other relationships that we unknowingly have with and experiences that are shaped by politics. It is integral to all aspects of life whether we like it or not. Ages ago, the groups we were intended to be a part of were a lot smaller. As times have progressed however, and our societies have advanced, we have become massive entities in scale and population. Our country of these United States alone represents over 300 million individuals. That is out of several billion in the world and growing. We find ourselves fortunate that we live in a country where one of the oldest forms of democracy plays out to represent the people and its needs. To make government act by and for the people with the idea of “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” being a clear mantra for us to follow. These past years have tested this theory and continues to do so today. For many, they see the system as having been corrupted over past generations piece by piece. The representative republic that we once all knew to be is not championing the republican manner nor being truly representative of the majority. Instead, it may be moving towards an oligarchical system of elites, with them defining public policy with their money and influence. This has caused the abandonment of those below them, leaving them to fend for themselves. The past few decades have been very contentious and both sides of the political spectrum argue fiercely with fiery and creed-filled debate. Many cour (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: DeLysa Burnier Dr. (Advisor) Subjects: Political Science

MS, University of Cincinnati, 2020, Medicine: Genetic Counseling

A gendered pay gap in the genetic counseling profession has been identified in recent years, though reasons for its existence have not been explored in depth. The primary aim of this study was to determine what demographic characteristics and career experiences influence annual salary rates and which of those factors differ between male and female genetic counselors. The secondary aim of this study was to determine if genetic counselors perceive a pay gap and to identify attitudes towards their salaries. Surveys were sent to the nearly 4000 genetic counselors who are members of the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) and we report results from 355 respondents. A significant interaction was found between gender and position (direct vs. non-direct patient care). In the best-fitting multiple regression model, male genetic counselors earned $23,736 more than females in non-direct patient care roles (p<0.001) and $1,552 more than females in direct patient care roles (p<0.001). Years of experience, leadership experience score, negotiation attempts, licensure, and certification were all found to be predictors of annual salary. Most female genetic counselors perceived there to be a pay gap and most male genetic counselors did not (p=0.01). Results from this study could contribute to changes in employment and compensation practices, as well as impact genetic counselors' strategies in role- and salary-based conversations.

Committee: Melanie Myers Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Leslie Bucheit M.S. (Committee Member); Valentina Pilipenko Ph.D. (Committee Member); Christine Spaeth M.S. C.G.C. (Committee Member) Subjects: Genetics

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2017, Educational Studies

Teacher pay-for-performance policies have been introduced in many countries in order to improve the quality of the teacher workforces, which has been considered as one of the most essential determinants affecting student achievement. Based on free-market economic principles, teacher pay-for-performance aims to improve the competitiveness among teachers through competition. South Korea adopted a teacher pay-for-performance policy in 2001. Since then, the government has tried to change the rank- and seniority-centered single salary system into a performance-based payment system. Korean policymakers have tried to emulate teacher pay-for-performance in the US and UK. However, such policies cannot be exactly replicated across countries. A policy transferred across borders is transformed within the new variegated and dynamic situations. Teacher pay-for-performance policies are implemented in different ways in different contexts. In order to explain this phenomenon, this study employs policy mobility and transformation frameworks (McCann & Ward, 2012; Peck, & Theodore, 2010, 2015). Policy mobility and transformation frameworks provide explanations of how a policy developed in a certain context moves into other contexts and is transformed into a new form of policy. Policy mobility and transformation frameworks present the theoretical and conceptual basis for a dialectical relationship between a policy and society; nevertheless, it provides very little information about how the policy actually interacts with its contexts. To investigate the process of how teacher pay-for-performance has been adopted and implemented in South Korea, therefore, there is a need to develop a more analytical and practical framework. Focusing on both policy texts and their contexts, this study investigates the processes and effects of policy mobilization and policy transformation by analyzing various types of documents related to teacher pay-for-performance, published by both proponents and oppone (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jan Nespor (Advisor); Ann Allen (Committee Member); Antoinette Errante (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Public Policy