Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, Agricultural, Environmental and Developmental Economics

From a farmer to a policymaker, various stakeholders influence and are affected by the agricultural environment. This dissertation includes three essays that delve into the decision-making within the agricultural environment, exploring the incentives and outcomes for the stakeholders involved. With a focus on countries significant for global agriculture and food supply, these essays have important implications domestically and for the United States. My first essay evaluates herding as a potential source of bias in the USDA's international baseline projections. As USDA's annual Agricultural Baseline Projections contribute significantly to agricultural policy in the United States, their accuracy is vital. Although the bias in the baselines has been documented in the literature, its sources have not been evaluated yet. I propose herding, a behavioral phenomenon, as a potential bias-inducing choice in the preparation of the projections. My results provide strong evidence for the herding of projection trends toward the United States and suggest that herding is rational and error-reducing only for corn yield and wheat import projections but not for other crops and variables, thereby impacting not only the agricultural policy in the US but also global agricultural markets. The second essay evaluates the impact of an environmental policy that restricts land use for farmers in the context of the Brazilian Amazon, an area of crucial importance for global food supply. By analyzing the effects on both landowning farmers and landless peasants, this study examines the incentives generated and their subsequent influence on illegal occupations and land conflicts. The findings suggest that the policy leads to an increase in illegal occupations while decreasing land conflicts. Furthermore, by exploring heterogeneity in the impact relative to land values, I find that landowning farmers and squatters both make strategic choices about whether to engage in conflict depending on the (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ani Katchova (Advisor); Brian Roe (Committee Member); Leah Bevis (Advisor) Subjects: Agriculture; Economics; Environmental Economics

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2021, Economics

This paper presents a novel dataset of debt projections from 29 countries to analyze the relationship between public debt projections and economic growth. I find that when year-of debt is estimated to be above 90 percent, a 10-percentage point increase in the four-year projected debt level is associated with a 6.73 percentage point decline in 5-year forward average GDP per capita growth. Declines in economic growth are estimated to be larger for projections in the high debt regime as opposed to the normal debt regime. This study also finds that as the uncertainty of projection accuracy increases due to an increase in the projection horizon, the magnitude of the coefficient on the normal regime becomes statistically insignificantly different from zero. Alternative threshold levels are tested to identify the point at which high projected debt levels signal to agent's a possible policy change. My findings support the existing debt-growth and economic uncertainty literature and contribute the importance of debt projections and expectations in advancing our understanding of the relationship between government debt and economic growth.

Committee: Jonathan Wolff (Advisor); David Lindequist (Committee Member); Nam Vu (Committee Member) Subjects: Economics

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

This MFA thesis explores the threshold of phenomenological perception, audience attention and the mystery of imaginary worlds I perceive between microscopic and macroscopic dimensions. In the BioArt projects and digital immersive environments I present in this thesis, I have found the potential to explore real and imaginary landscapes. This exploration further expands, adding new physical and virtual layers to my work that activate the audience. My work incorporates the synthesis of projection mapping, biological living systems and interactive multimedia. It is the vehicle I use to contemplate the impermanence of time and the illusion of reality.

Committee: Ken Rinaldo (Advisor); Amy Youngs (Committee Member); Alex Oliszewski (Committee Member) Subjects: Art Criticism; Art Education; Art History; Biology; Computer Science; Dance; Environmental Studies; Fine Arts; Music; Plant Biology; Pollen; Spirituality

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2017, Geodetic Science

We provide a precise mathematical definition of map distortion, and we introduce several map projections that have minimal distortion for certain specific regions of the Earth (namely, regions whose boundary consists of one or two parallels of latitude). The minimizing projections for these regions will all have normal aspect. We show that oblique aspect projections have the same distortion properties as their normal aspect counterparts on earth regions bounded by one lesser circle or by two lesser circles lying in parallel planes. We summarize the good consequences of having small distortion, and we outline a strategy for finding the best oblique map projection of least distortion for any region on the Earth. We then implement that strategy to find projections of least distortion for some unusually shaped countries, states and other regions.

Committee: Alan Saalfeld (Advisor); C.K. Shum (Committee Member) Subjects: Cartography; Geographic Information Science

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2016, Arts and Sciences: Mathematical Sciences

Let M be an infinite, ς-finite von Neumann factor, A a positive operator in M and {Bj} a sequence in M+. Various sufficient conditions are presented for the decomposition A = ∑j = 1∞ Cj to hold when Cj ∼ Bj for all j (the equivalence C ∼ B means C = XX* and B = X*X for some X in M) and when Cj are unitarily equivalent to Bj for all j. This extends a recent work of Bourin and Lee for the case of Bj = B and M = B(H) and answers affirmatively their conjecture. For the case when Bj = B for all j, necessary conditions are provided, which in the type III case are also sufficient. For selfadjoint operators A the condition (-1,1) ⊆ We(A) (We(A) denotes the essential numerical range of A) is characterized in terms of compressions of A implemented by isometries. In the process, a "weak selfadjoint" pinching result is obtained, namely that under the above condition on the essential numerical range of A, given any sequence of selfadjoint operators {Xj} in M with ||Xj|| < 1 for all j, there is a sequence of isometries {Vj} in M with mutually orthogonal ranges such that Vj * A Vj = Xj for all j. This is in the same spirit as the so called "pinching conjecture" in factors posed by Bourin and Lee. Given a normal, semifinite weight φ on a von Neumann algebra M, a new norm associated to φ is defined on M, called the triple norm of φ and denoted by |||⋅|||φ. When the weight is a trace, the study of these norms was initiated by Popa and Radulescu having as main motivation to characterize the ideal of compact operators in a semifinite von Neumann algebra. Using the notion of singular values, defined in algebras with faithful, normal, semifinite traces, a complete description for the triple norm of a weight is given in the case where the algebra is a semifinite factor or the weight is a trace. When the weight is a trace τ, its triple norm is shown to characterize the ideal of τ-compact elements. Furthermore, the triple norm of τ is extended to a class of unbounded elements affiliat (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Victor Kaftal Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Herbert Halpern Ph.D. (Committee Member); Costel Peligrad Ph.D. (Committee Member); Gary Weiss Ph.D. (Committee Member); Shuang Zhang Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Mathematics

Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), Ohio University, 2015, Dance

This document traces the creation of and inspiration for the creative dance piece, titled "Never Again, Every Year", choreographed by Leah Crosby, which was performed on January 17th, 2015 at Ohio University. The twenty-minute long, interdisciplinary work is also contextualized within the modern dance canon and is compared and contrasted to other contemporary dance pieces.

Committee: Nathan Andary (Advisor) Subjects: Dance

PHD, Kent State University, 2015, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Mathematical Sciences

I consider the following problems from Tomography. Suppose that the projections (sections) of two given bodies onto (by) every subspace of a fixed dimension are related by a certain condition. Does this imply that the bodies satisfy a similar condition in the ambient space? There are two major parts to this dissertation. The first one is on bodies with directly congruent projections or sections. The second part is about containment of two bodies and relations between their volumes, provided the projections (sections) of the first body can be rotated to be contained in the corresponding projection (section) of the second one.

Committee: Dmitry Ryabogin (Advisor); Artem Zvavitch (Committee Member); Joseph Diestel (Committee Member); Feodor Dragan (Committee Member); Peter Tandy (Committee Member) Subjects: Mathematics

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2011, Engineering and Applied Science: Computer Science and Engineering

Dimensionality reduction is becoming increasingly important in the field of machine learning. In this thesis, we examine several traditional methods of dimensionality reduction, which include random projections, principal component analysis, singular value decomposition, kernel principal component analysis and discrete cosine transform. We also examine several existing applications of random projections (or dimensionality reduction, in general). In their paper, Random projections in dimensionality reduction: Applications to image and text data (2001), Bingham and Manilla suggest the use of random projections for query matching in a situation where a set of documents, instead of one particular one, were searched for. This suggests another application of random projections, namely to reduce the complexity of the query process. In this thesis, we explain why this approach fails, and suggest three alternative approaches to reducing the complexity of the query process using dimensionality reduction. We also outline query-based dimensionality reduction methods that can be used for image and web data. In each of the traditional approaches to dimensionality reduction (named above), each attribute in the reduced set is actually a linear combination of the attributes in the original data set. In this thesis, we take the position that true dimensionality reduction is obtained when the set of attributes in the reduced set is a proper subset of the attributes in the original data set, and we discuss seven novel approaches which satisfy this requirement. Using these seven approaches, as well as the RP and PCA approaches, we discuss several ways in which dimensionality reduction can be used for high dimensional clustering and classification.

Committee: Anca Ralescu PhD (Committee Chair); Irene Diaz PhD (Committee Member); Sofia Visa PhD (Committee Member); Kenneth Berman PhD (Committee Member); Yizong Cheng PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Computer Science

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

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2002, Entomology

Moraxella osloensis, a gram-negative bacterium, is associated with Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita, a lethal slug-parasitic nematode that has potential for the biocontrol of mollusk pests, especially the gray garden slug Deroceras reticulatum. We discovered that the shell cavity in the posterior mantle region of D. reticulatum served as the main portal of entry for P. hermaphrodita. The nematode is a facultative parasite of the slug and only dauer stage can serve as an infective stage in the natural environment. Aged M. osloensis cultures were pathogenic to D. reticulatum after injection into the shell cavity or hemocoel of the slug. P. hermaphrodita vectors M. osloensis into the shell cavity and the bacterium is the main killing agent in the nematode/bacterium complex. We also discovered that M. osloensis lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was an endotoxin that was active against the slug. Purified M. osloensis LPS had a lethal injection toxicity but no contact or oral toxicity against the slug. Toxicity of M. osloensis LPS resides in the lipid A moiety but not in the polysaccharide moiety. The LPS was a rough-type LPS with an estimated molecular weight of 5,300. Coinjection of galactosamine with the LPS increased its toxicity to D. reticulatum by 2-4 fold. The galactosamine-induced sensitization was reversed completely by uridine. We further discovered that 1 or 2-day M. osloensis cultures were non or less pathogenic whereas 3 to 5-day M. osloensis cultures were more pathogenic to the slug. The average yield of M. osloensis LPS per bacterium did not differ among the 1 to 5-day cultures. However, M. osloensis cells from the 3-day cultures produced more outer membrane proteins than those from the younger or older cultures. The intensity and pattern of M. osloensis aggregation changed with time of culture. Pili-like projections were rarely present on the bacterial surfaces of M. osloensis from 1-day cultures, but reached maximal density in 3-day cultures. The temporal expression (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Parwinder Grewal (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2011, English (Arts and Sciences)

This is a group of poems, prefaced by an attempt to explain Dario Argento's influence on me as a poet and how our approaches to writing about dreams, nightmares, and the flimsy line between reality and consciousness coincide. In dreams we build our reality. In both Argento's films and my poems this construction of inner and outer space, as well as the emotion attached to that space, is essential. The characters, in both the poems and the films, represent different identity roles that we all struggle with.

Committee: Mark Halliday PhD (Committee Chair); Jill Rosser PhD (Committee Member); Eric LeMay PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Families and Family Life; Film Studies; Landscape Architecture; Literature; Psychology