MDes, University of Cincinnati, 2010, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning : Design

Designers, as creative individuals, are encouraged to play with various ideas to achieve innovation. Although play is acknowledged in design world in the context of ideation, the value of play is underestimated. This is why it is essential to explore ways to promote play in the whole design process. The purpose of this thesis is to introduce a fresh way of viewing play through examining it in the design process with an observational study, which evaluates play to identify potential research implications for its role in the product design process. To evaluate the impact of play, the researcher not only observed, but also worked with design students focusing on a particular project for ten weeks. Based on her observations, the researcher surveyed the students to evaluate their perceptions of play and their work habits. The results indicate that a considerable improvement would be present when play is promoted in the design process. This research is not only significant for examining play in terms of design but also for identifying necessary expertise to develop a comprehensive study in this field.

Committee: Craig Vogel MID (Committee Chair); Dennis Puhalla PhD (Committee Member); Sean Sauber MBA (Committee Member) Subjects: Design

MDes, University of Cincinnati, 2007, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning : Design

This project considers a body of research about play, inclusion, and the characteristics of children with Down syndrome balanced with first-hand feedback from parents. These findings were used to explore a multi-sensory (visual and tactile) solution for modeling the steps of asking to play for children with Down syndrome who have limited verbal skills. The proposed solution is an educational toy that explores three-dimensional form, color, shape, pattern, and texture to enhance communication and reinforce secondary learning concepts like color and shape recognition, object manipulation, and sequencing. A follow-up practice component is essential to the concept, allowing the child to build confidence through rehearsal. The visual support was tested at an annual Buddy Walk, where both typically developing children and children with Down syndrome were observed. Key findings from this event, project limitations, and implications for further research are outlined in the evaluation section of this thesis.

Committee: Dennis Puhalla PhD (Advisor) Subjects: Design and Decorative Arts

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2023, Theatre

Performance is used as a means of storytelling, to escape, to reflect, to learn, to celebrate, or to understand other perspectives. The Country Wife by William Wycherley is all of the above. It is a multi-faceted script that Wycherley curated to appeal to the masses. Written in 1675, this Restoration play uses wit and comedy to comment on societal structures such as gender norms, class, rank, and relationships. The narrative is funny, raunchy, clever, pointed, self-reflective, and opens itself up to be consumed at a variety of levels. I designed the scenery for the 2022 production at The Ohio State University. This is the detailed analysis of that process.

Committee: Brad Steinmetz (Advisor); Tom Dugdale (Committee Member); Sarah Neville (Committee Member) Subjects: Design; Fine Arts; Performing Arts; Theater; Theater History

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2019, Arts Administration, Education and Policy

This study explores the phenomenon of gender-bending cosplay (GBC) through its material culture using costuming (the acts of making and wearing artifacts and the artifacts themselves) to examine the motivations/interests/expectations of women who participate. GBC embraces the shifting, or bending, of the identified gender and/or biological sex of a fictional character to match the gender identity and/or biological sex of the player. This study concentrates on self-identified women adapting male characters to female versions of the same characters. The principal approach of the research design is Practice as Research (PaR) from an Art-Based Research (ABR) paradigm. Research methods include costuming, performance, ethnography, narrative inquiry, interviewing, participant observation, and discourse analysis. The worlds of text and image are melded in the amphibious, mixed-methods design and presentations of this study. GBC involves creating and using material culture, the artifacts of a culture/community. It becomes a creative outlet for many who may not otherwise be making art. When material culture can be worn, an interactive embodied performance can be experienced between the maker and the player, the player and the artifacts, the player and the audience, the player and fellow players, the player and cultural texts. This performance simultaneously emphasizes and challenges gender binaries, gender roles, and expectations. It is a performance of culture. The communities of play collaborate to interpret and reinterpret the performance and the material culture. They tell and share stories that uncover insights into the phenomenon, society, and culture.

Committee: Shari Savage PhD (Committee Chair); Jennifer Schlueter PhD (Committee Member); Christine Morris PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Art Education

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2022, Design

In video games, interactions with digital animals remains an underdeveloped area, as animals are often portrayed as monsters and food sources—to kill and harvest—without allowing players to behave otherwise. As a response, this thesis investigates how to design play activities with digital animals through the creation of a video game about fish migration, with special focus on player-fish interactions. A game AI technique known as behavioral animation is used to create seemingly intelligent fish that players can play with. The thesis also reviews and analyzes examples of realistic digital animals to showcase them as an important part of virtual game worlds and their capability to make players emotionally invested. To achieve the goal of designing play activities with digital animals, the thesis project has first created seemingly intelligent fish that autonomously move towards their destination, while sticking together with the group, avoiding obstacles, and running away when detecting predators. On that foundation, the player can play with the fish by leading them to explore the water environment, pushing them upstream against strong currents, and directing them to form the shape of a big fish to swim swiftly away from predators.

Committee: Matthew Lewis (Advisor); Scott Swearingen (Committee Member); Suzanne Gray (Committee Member) Subjects: Design

Doctor of Education (Educational Leadership), Youngstown State University, 2021, Department of Teacher Education and Leadership Studies

The purpose of the current investigation is to analyze extant research examining the impact of play therapy on the development of language skills in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). As rates of ASD diagnoses continue to increase, families and educators are faced with making critical decisions regarding the selection and implementation of evidence-based practices or therapies, including play-based interventions, to support the developing child as early as 18 months of age. Research on rare diseases and low incidence disabilities are difficult and lack available evidence as the conditions and responses to interventions vary by person. The following study investigates whether play-based interventions should be considered as effective means of increasing language development in young children with ASD. In addition, this study was conducted to identify specific moderators or variables associated with the effectiveness of play-based interventions. In order to conduct the present investigation, a meta-analysis was conducted, based on a collection of available research. Using data extraction software, the researcher conducted statistical analyses, Tau-U and Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM), to measure effect sizes across the available data and further assess whether specific moderators play a role in the usefulness or success of play therapy to promote language development in young children with ASD. The results revealed that play-based interventions are considered an effective intervention to support language development in young children with ASD and identified frequency, duration, and type of play-based intervention as significant predictors of language development for young children with ASD who participate in play-based interventions. Such findings offer insights for educators, families, clinicians, and others who are make decisions regarding the recommendation, selection, and implementation of play-based therapy as an intervention to increase lan (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Karen Larwin PhD (Committee Chair); Patrick Spearman PhD (Committee Member); Carrie Jackson EdD (Committee Member); Matthew Erickson EdD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Leadership; Special Education

MS, University of Cincinnati, 2020, Engineering and Applied Science: Computer Engineering

In the face of the increasing cost of manufacturing semiconductor devices, many designers of Integrated Circuits (IC) have been electing to outsource the fabrication of ICs to pure play foundries in order to reduce manufacturing costs. However, this may lead to IC designs being stolen, counterfeited, maliciously modified, or otherwise mishandled by bad actors in the supply chain. In response, researchers have devised methods of thwarting such attacks against intellectual property in the IC supply chain. One such method is known as logic encryption. Logic encryption is a hardware security strategy that adds key inputs, which require the correct secret key input, known only to the designer, to be applied for the circuit to have correct output behavior. The field of logic encryption has evolved over the past decade during which increasingly strong attacks and increasingly strong encryption strategies have been developed. However, the cost in terms of power, performance, and area (PPA) of implementing logic encryption has often been ignored in favor of increasing the level of security for proposed methods, and how well they protect against known attacks. Considering these costs is an important hurdle in transitioning the technology to commercial-grade designs, and a strategy for constraining the cost of logic encryption is needed. A methodology for applying known logic encryption methods to a design is proposed in this work. In this methodology, named Constraint-Directed Logic Encryption (CDLE), potential encrypted versions of an IC design are considered. A designer can set the security requirement for encryption as well as power, performance, and area constraints, based on the design specification. There is a subset of designs that meet the security requirement and another that are within the PPA constraints. CDLE targets the overlap of these subsets, and maximizes security within it to produce an optimally encrypted design that meets the security requirement (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ranganadha Vemuri Ph.D. (Committee Chair); John Emmert Ph.D. (Committee Member); Wen-Ben Jone Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Computer Engineering

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2018, Design

Virtual 3D media, immersive environments, interactive media, and digital image manipulation are just a few examples of digital tools that can provide a new perspective and engagement with visual subjects of interest. When exercised within critical making and play processes, digital tools can create opportunities for new observations and new inquiry surrounding an image's formal and narrative construction. This thesis explores how digital media can be employed in making and play processes to function as a method of inquiry when examining complex visual content. Historical paintings possessing elements of believable environments serve as a case study, in which the method of digital inquiry is applied via research-oriented design. The result is a non-linear customized methodology that draws upon critical making, critical play, digital craft, experiential learning, and rhizomatic thinking to synthesize new understandings. This document surveys several theories supporting the construction of the research methodology followed by an overview of creative projects that contributed to its conceptual development. The methodology itself consists of a selection of events, which can progress flexibly to fit the researcher's curiosity. The methodology review is accompanied by samples from a creative project exemplifying each event in the process.

Committee: Jeff Haase (Advisor); Maria Palazzi (Committee Member); Deborah Scott (Committee Member) Subjects: Design; Fine Arts

MDES, University of Cincinnati, 2018, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Design

Gender division of toys has been demonstrated to be more than a simple descriptive categorization of toys characteristics. When gender roles generated by societies are used to tell boys and girls what behaviors and actions are appropriate for them to have, gender division becomes prescriptive and restrictive. In some contexts, the gender binary system prescribes different appropriate behaviors for men and women that are based on traditional stereotypes which view men as assertive and women as submissive, in other words: men as powerful and women as powerless. In many scenarios power is given by society or taken by force by men simply because of their gender. To help boys avoid these traditional stereotypes, the purpose of this project is to examine the many communication channels that action figures have to send messages to children about gender, age, race and nationality so that through play they can experience different ideas about diversity, gender equality, merit based leadership and teamwork, so that through semi-guided dramatic play they can question and flexibilize any preconceptions they might have about these societal labels. The solution proposed by this project could not only be used already as an effective tool to begin challenging gender norms through play but also as a research tool for further inquiries into the matter.

Committee: Steven Doehler M.A. (Committee Chair); Juan Antonio Islas Munoz M.A. (Committee Member) Subjects: Design

MDES, University of Cincinnati, 2018, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Design

Applying the ethnographic methodology, this thesis project examined Instagram's facilitative role in designers' creative self-expression and how this creative self-expression can inspire designers' professional practice. From methods of self-reporting, participant observation, and interviews, findings showed an emergent “creative” identity not previously discussed in the literature. This research also showed that designers' creative self-expression on Instagram led to their self-directed learning and identity development, which were similar to the benefits of children's play in natural Playscape. Design suggestions were proposed to improve highly visual and social platforms such as Instagram to better facilitate designers' creative self-expression. This research took a nuanced approach to enrich the larger conversation of the social media ecosystem and user experience design.

Committee: Claudia Rebola Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Vittoria Daiello Ph.D. (Committee Member); Craig Vogel M.I.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Design

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2017, Arts Policy and Administration

Using Simon Sinek's `Golden Circles' framework, this study begins by identifying what a hub for creative engagement is—a space that provides opportunities for visitors to foster creativity through participatory engagement. This study then explores how large regional art museums implement hubs for creative engagement. Using the Wonderkamers in the Gemeentemuseum in the Netherlands and the Center for Creativity in the Columbus Museum of Art in the United States as case studies, this study relies on a mixed-methods approach of synthesizing publicly available sources, curator interviews, and participant observations to understand how these spaces impact visitor creativity and visitor engagement. Participant observations reveal that visitors of all ages are attracted to hubs for creative engagement, that visitors are more likely to choose participatory over passive engagement when given the option, and—per Stuart Brown's (2010) typology of play—that social, creative, and object play occur most frequently when they participate. By comparing these findings to the curators' intentions for these spaces, this study also reveals how effectively these hubs for creative engagement meet their intended goals. Finally, this study finds that creativity and innovation are understood in largely the same way in both the United States and the Netherlands, making hubs for creative engagement an asset for art museums in more than one region of the world. Consequently, this study provides a framework for how to implement a hub for creative engagement that can be utilized by any applicable art museum.

Committee: Joni Acuff PhD (Advisor); Shoshanah Goldberg-Miller PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Arts Management; Museum Studies; Museums

Master of Arts, University of Akron, 2015, Theatre Arts

The purpose of this thesis will be to provide a process for producing a play with multiple scenic locations by focusing on designing and constructing a set. Using the limited physical and monetary resources of a small high school, a specific play will be staged so that the theatre advisor may use this thesis as a guide to walk him through the process.

Committee: Adel Migid (Advisor); James Slowiak (Committee Member); Matt Beresh (Committee Member) Subjects: Theater

MS ARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2001, Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning : Architecture

Technological advancements and media have created an environment and culture that moves at a fast pace. Many believe that the quickly seen word has taken over the fuller experience of our being in the world. The modern individual is becoming alienated: estranged and isolated from any sense of community, and ambiguous about place. For architecture to return to an authentic interest in meaning will require new ways of looking at and recognizing body. The metaphor of bodies at play suggests that a deep relationship of exchange is possible for our interaction with spaces and things. The body of the athlete, in particular, represents an image that is controlled and propelled by media and popular trends, yet continues to 'speak' to us in a meaningful way. We are drawn to, watch, and interact with bodies at play with a participatory understanding that is both recognizable and unpredictable. Can the discipline of architecture learn from the culture of sport?

Committee: Dr. Daniel Friedman (Advisor) Subjects: Architecture

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2012, Theatre

All Things Shining is an experimental, intermedial, dramatic which I wrote, directed, and produced at The Ohio State University in spring quarter of 2012. The play's experimental nature is derived from its incorporation a number of theatrical styles that interest me as a theatre artist. In bringing together these different approaches, I wanted to create a unique theatre experience. The intermedial nature of the play is defined by its use of media as storytelling elements. The term “intermedial” is used liberally to describe a convergence of media that creates a co-relationship between media, and the mutual influence between the media leads to a redefinition of the media that are affecting each other. Intermediality in the context of my work is a method for incorporating media in a way that makes them essential elements of telling the story of the play. As the primary designer, I utilized video projections, lighting effects, and sound design elements to create an environment on stage, which fully engages the actors and the audience. I refer to this effect as the immersive atmosphere of the play. The production was staged in the Experimental Movement and Media Arts (EMMA) Lab located in the Motion Capture Suite at The Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design (ACCAD). This document records the creation and production process of the project. The concept for this project focused on a lone spaceman, Matt Simon, facing his own mortality in the dramatic present of the play. The present narrative is intercut with pivotal and interrelated events from his past, illustrated through flashbacks that led him to the present. The present timeline is set aboard Matt's disabled spacecraft, Proteus, in the orbit of the planet Mars. It is the not too distant future, the year 2051, and Matt is heading up the manned mission to Mars. This play is a tragic, spiritual portrayal of hope in the face of inevitability. It was important that specific science fiction conventions and the (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jimmy Bohr (Advisor); Janet Parrott (Committee Member); Maureen Ryan (Committee Member) Subjects: Theater

MFA, Kent State University, 2012, College of the Arts / School of Art

This paper describes an exploration project with the goal of creating couture jewelry using both precious materials (notably sterling silver) and common, everyday objects, largely plastic and other found or recycled materials. The project required research into the mechanics and construction of toys; specific art jewelry crafting techniques; and the value and lasting benefit of play in both children and adults. PLASTICOUTURE is a collection of playful jewelry inspired by classic 1950s and 1960s toys, the visual and tactile properties of plastic, industrial design, and current popularity of multifunctional devices. Through this project, I learned that traditional and nontraditional elements can be compatibly combined to create a body of artwork that has both serious and playful qualities. (For example, a necklace that exhibits maturity in design through color, balance, and craftsmanship can also exhibit a childlike attitude through materials and nostalgic references to playthings). A piece of art that combines a serious approach toward jewelry making with a playfulness of design sense can inspire people to think about that piece of art, to consider its meaning, and to be inspired to interact with it.

Committee: Kathleen Browne (Advisor); Michael Loderstedt (Committee Member); Janice Lessman-Moss (Committee Member) Subjects: Fine Arts