Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2024, Agricultural Communication, Education and Leadership

The COVID-19 pandemic thoroughly disrupted the U.S. food supply chain, ushered in a new set of social norms, and reoriented how individuals interacted with each other. A need to find how severely these phenomena changed during and since the pandemic continues to exist. Existing literature suggests significant shifts in social norms and social exchange occurred because of the pandemic. But a gap in research exists in understanding the nuances of these shifts and their continued alterations. This study sought to understand food purchasing behavior changes during the pandemic and how social exchange and adherence to pandemic-time social norms were valued. This study also created a comprehensive chart creating a timeline through the pandemic of how social exchange and social norms shifted through the pandemic. Through this study, an investigation of food purchasing trends and experiences from before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic was conducted. To examine social exchange and social norms, a non-experimental quantitative study was conducted using Social Exchange Theory and Social Norms as guides. A convenience sample of 419 primary U.S. household food purchasers was taken via online survey offered on Amazon's Mechanical Turk service. The results of this study indicate a significant relationship between time during the pandemic and adherence to social norms and willingness and desire of social exchange. Findings of this study suggest the pandemic caused temporary higher adherence to social norms and an eventual drop in social exchange. This study supported SN and SET through its findings of social norms adherence and social exchange changes in relation to social norms. Further research of the relationship between SET and SN during the pandemic and other crises should be conducted.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2021, Mass Communication (Communication)

Despite high adoption rates of new communication technologies in Kenya, the role of emerging technologies in the Kenyan child trafficking market and the influence of online anti-child trafficking activists in combating child trafficking remain under-researched. In this study, I have used digital ethnographic approaches that included virtual interviews, online participant observation, and social media analytics to realize five main findings. First, emerging media technology has been used by criminals to traffic children, whereas it also provides opportunities to online activists to combat child trafficking. Second, there are different types of online claims-makers actively advocating against child trafficking. Third, the claims-makers framed the exploitation and risky situations that victims of child trafficking go through as sexual exploitation, organ harvesting, infant trafficking, child marriage, organized begging, terrorism, organized crime, and child labor. Fourth, the claims-makers used the 5P framework to diagnose and offer a prognosis of the child trafficking situation. Finally, the claims-makers were able to influence diverse sentiments among their target audience. This study has practical and theoretical recommendations for researching and designing social and behavior change interventions against child trafficking and other social challenges.

Master of Arts, Wittenberg University, 2023, Education

I conducted this study due to an increase in perceived problematic behaviors at Big River Intermediate School. I utilized an explanatory sequential research method to complete this study. I began my research by administering a survey to both students and staff from the school that returned permission slips to participate in my study. After analyzing the data from this collection method, I then invited certain students and staff to participate in interviews with me based on their responses. Overall, I found that the majority of students and staff members that participated in the study did not find the 7 Mindsets social-emotional learning curriculum to be effective, specifically in improving student behavior at Big River Intermediate School at this point in time. Due to this perceived ineffectiveness, my school and district could take these findings into consideration for the future of their social-emotional learning endeavors.

Bachelor of Arts, Walsh University, 2022, Honors

Each year social media usage increases which creates new opportunities for marketers to promote their products and brands. Sports teams and athletes are joining social media platforms and creating their own unique accounts (Cooper, 2015). Fans and followers, new and old, are discovering these teams and athletes while building relationships (Kentrin, 2020). Social media has also proven to be a useful tool in building two-way relationships between teams and spectators (Joanna & Zuzanna, 2020). This has also reigned true in building a team or personal athlete brand (Witz, 2020). Through different sports marketing social media strategies, marketers are learning how to engage fans, increase attendance, and stand apart from other teams (O'Hallarn et al., 2016). The manner in which a fan behaves and engages with different teams and athletes is influenced by social interactions, deals, promotions, giveaways, and relationships with teams and athletes (Fink et al., 2002; Perrault, 2016). Through new applications (apps), athletes and fans are spending more time online (Samet, 2020). These apps allow fans to witness new sides to athletes and teams through increased content which, consequently, helps form connections between fans and athletes (Sharpe et al., 2020). This research analyzed the relationships between teams' and leagues' social media presence on fan behavior by conducting in-depth one-on-one interviews with professionals working in the sports industry at the professional and collegiate levels. A total of eight professionals were interviewed from eight different sports. Questions asked specifically addressed how social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok have affected ticket sales, fan attendance/tune-in rates, engagement, brand loyalty, and merchandise purchases. Using content analysis, best practices were determined for increasing engagement and fan behavior and understanding the relationships crea (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2019, Leadership Studies

Teacher emotional-social competencies may bare some connection to student perceptions of the quality of relationships with their teachers. Student perceptions of these relationships with teachers may in turn influence student affective and cognitive outcomes in meaningful ways. Teachers with emotional-social deficiencies face challenges in establishing a desirable and productive learning environment for their students. The strength of the relationships between a teacher and the students within their classroom has been identified as being one of the single most influential contributors towards student cognitive and affective outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlations that exist amongst teacher emotional-social competencies using the EQi 2.0 and student perceptions of teacher behavior along two dimensions of the Model for Interpersonal Teacher Behavior (MITB). These dimensions (Influence and Proximity) map student perceptions of their relationships with teachers. This study sought to identify a set of teacher EQi scales that best predict student perceptions of teacher Influence and Proximity. The results of the study indicated that all five EQi composite (Self-Perception, Self-Expression, Interpersonal, Decision Making, and Stress Management) and nine subscales (Self-Regard, Emotional Self-Expression, Assertiveness, Interpersonal Relationships, Social Responsibility, Problem Solving, Flexibility, Stress Tolerance, and Optimism) revealed statistically significant positive relationships with teacher Influence. The EQi composite scale of Interpersonal significantly predicts teacher Influence as did the subscale of Social Responsibility.

Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2014, Psychology

Descriptive, injunctive, and personal norms impact emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in a variety of contexts (e.g., alcohol consumption, recycling). However, no single experimental study has simultaneously 1) compared the relative impact of all three types of norms, 2) examined the impact of these norms in consumer-related domains, and 3) explored moderators of normative influence. In the current research, we utilized a 4 (norm type: descriptive, injunctive, personal, or no-norm control) X 2 (self-regulatory capacity: high or low) between-subjects factorial design to examine the impact of normative messages and self-regulatory capacity in a consumer-based evaluative context. Participants participated in a study ostensibly involving student preferences and decisions about a particular set of stimulus products (i.e., artworks), and completed measures assessing their evaluations and recommendations of, intentions toward, and willingness to pay for the artworks. Participants with low self-regulatory capacity had more favorable ratings of the artworks, but there were no effects of norm type or of the norm type X self-regulatory capacity interaction. Possible explanations and implications are discussed.

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2006, Psychology/Developmental

Past research has found that different contexts create unique experiences that contribute to a child's development. A context that remains unexplored, however, is the bus ride to and from school. The current study explored the school bus as a unique context for social interaction. More specifically, the purpose of this study was to understand any gender differences, developmental differences, and differences in being an actor versus a recipient in the rate and types of prosocial and aggressive behaviors that occur on the bus ride to and from school. One hundred and fifty-seven elementary school students (78 males and 79 females) in grades 3, 4, and 5 completed a questionnaire concerning the rate and types of prosocial and aggressive behaviors that occur on the school bus. Overall, the results indicated that students were prosocial more often on the school bus than they were aggressive. Regarding the rate of prosocial and aggressive behaviors, the results showed several signficant effects with respect to participant gender, peer gender, being an actor versus a recipient, and age. Regarding the types of social behaviors, five types of prosocial behavior were identified and five types of aggressive behavior were identified. Although the types of social behaviors were consistent with past research, differences found in the current study were distinctive. For example, participants mentioned non-traditionally studied prosocial behaviors (e.g., companionship and benevolence) more often than traditionally studied behaviors (e.g., sharing and helping). In addition, participants mentioned physical aggression more often among their female peers than among their male peers. It is concluded that the present results have important implications for the school bus context and for future research.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2023, Sociology

While the field of criminology has focused on turning points that could shift individuals away from crime, little research has examined how criminal offending shapes sexual behaviors, adult relationships, and achieved fertility. Those involved in criminal activity arguably could face worse outcomes in these behaviors, largely due to considerations of labeling theory, where stigma could result in difficulty finding relationship partners. Certain types of crime may also be more stigmatizing than others, making one less desirable as a partner. This effect may be gendered in nature, such that certain types of crime may be more damaging for women as opposed to men. My project draws on criminology literature on labeling theory, the age-graded theory of social control, and social homogamy to predict numerous sexual, relationship, and fertility outcomes. Using Waves I, III, and IV of the National Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), the following studies examine the impact of criminal activity on a variety of risky sexual behaviors, relationship type, and fertility outcomes. I find that both types of crime predict a younger age at first sex and more opposite-sex partners, though gender differences exist in how well the mechanisms included explain these relationships. While property crime initially decreases early union risk for women, this type of criminal behavior increases early union risk for men. Violent crime decreased early union risk for both gender groups, but the relationship only remained significant for women. Violent crime decreased the odds of Multiple-Partner Fertility (MPF), but only in reference to Single-Partner Fertility (SPF). Overall, linkages existed between the outcomes of all three studies.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2022, Educational Studies

The purpose of this study was to examine the outcomes and internal validity of the literature regarding the Incredible Years program's impacts on externalizing behaviors and social-emotional learning for students from low SES backgrounds. A meta-analysis of behavioral and social-emotional outcomes from the child, parent, and teacher trainings for students from low SES backgrounds was conducted. Nine studies were eligible for inclusion using the defined eligibility criteria. Across the nine studies, data was collected for a total of 3,360 children, with all studies reporting greater than 50% of participants having an income in the low-socioeconomic range. The type of Incredible Years intervention program reported for each included study was the parent training program (four), teacher classroom management training (two), the combined parent training and teacher classroom management program (two), and one study which compared the child intervention program with the combined child intervention and parent training program. Teacher training and parent intervention sessions were largely led by certified trainers and sessions varied in number and length. Overall social validity was strong across all studies, suggesting high parent and teacher satisfaction with the program. The overall effect size reported for Incredible Years programming on social emotional learning and externalizing behavior outcomes was in the small to moderate range. Moderator analysis for externalizing behavior outcomes suggested variable effect sizes based on targeted training, with parent training resulting in a stronger effect size than teacher training. Combined parent and teacher training reported the smallest effect size for externalizing behavior outcomes. When outcomes were further analyzed based on externalizing behavior outcomes, number of hours/days of parent/teacher training, and training type, results indicated stronger correlation between amount of training for parents and effect siz (open full item for complete abstract)

PHD, Kent State University, 2021, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Sociology and Criminology

This dissertation explores structural variation in the relationship between empathic concern and well-being by drawing from social psychological theories. The stress process model provides theoretical context as to why empathic concern may have costs on well-being. Nonetheless, social exchange principles help to expand the stress process paradigm by providing an explanation for how the benefits of empathic concern may weigh with the costs through pro-social behavior as a form of generalized social exchange that may be linked with rewarding emotions. I find that empathic concern was associated with greater perceived health and some aspects of emotional well-being, especially through pro-social behavior as a coping strategy. Regarding social status, I found that women reported greater empathic concern, and the middle/upper class reported greater pro-social behavior. The results of this dissertation provide some support for the stress process paradigm in the sense that there was evidence that coping may be more effective for men and the middle/upper class for certain aspects of emotional well-being.

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2021, Environmental Studies (Voinovich)

In Norms in the Wild: How to Diagnose, Measure, and Change Social Norms, Cristina Bicchieri outlines a novel amalgamation of elements to form an updated conceptualization of social norms (2017). The purpose of this study aimed to determine how social norms influence public dialogue about environmental issues by elected officials in counties that (1) extract coal through surface mining, (2) contain no town larger than 35,000 residents, (3) contain no major four-year university, and (4) voted for Trump in 2020. The ultimate goal of research was to assess whether or not, in a highly polarized political culture, norms prohibit elected officials in conservative communities from addressing topics of environmental concern. Data was elicited via interviews with elected officials from counties with coal mining legacies in West Virginia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, North Dakota, and Wyoming. Through analytic, descriptive, and open coding, qualitative analysis focused on perceptions about climate change, pollution, and economic transitions away from coal. Results indicated that a majority of interviewees, 56%, viewed climate change as a topic to be avoided in public settings. Of the 33% of interviewees who lived in communities where they perceived they could openly discuss climate change, 67% of the subset identified climate change as an existential threat, which accounted for 22% of the total number of interviewees. While pollution was named a subject to be avoided in public by 22% of interviewees, pollution was only reported to be a public concern by 11% of the total sample. The remaining 89% contended that pollution did not exist in, or posed no risk to, their communities. In conclusion, analysis suggested that social norms aligned with community leader preferences. Thus, Bicchieri's blueprint for behavior change, which hinges on identifying maladapted social norms, will not serve practitioners who hope to employ Bicchieri's social norm concept as a st (open full item for complete abstract)

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2018, Antioch New England: Environmental Studies

There is limited research looking at the role that specific programs play in the formation of environmental identity, or lifelong influences of specific environmental programs. This study looks to address this gap by exploring the salient and memorable experiences of past Junior Audubon Club members who participated in the program as children, and how they describe the influences of the program on their environmental identities. Based on this study, there were specific components of the Junior Audubon Club that proved most influential and lasting for the participants, including active learning in nature, supportive adults who shared similar interest and passions, and establishment of a sense of community through social acceptance and group identity. This study suggests that childhood participation in programs can be particularly successful, and have a lasting impact, when a sense of community is created with peer acceptance, supportive adults, repeated experiences in nature and active learning. Findings from this study document the long-term impacts that participation in such a program as a child can have throughout an individual's lifetime, and the results of this study can be applied to the development of potentially more impactful environmental education programs. The electronic version of this dissertation is accessible in the open access OhioLINK ETD Center (http://etd.ohiolink.edu).

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2018, Social Work

This study was comprised of secondary analyses that utilized data from Pathways to Desistance – a seven-year, longitudinal study that gathered information from youth who initially committed serious offenses resulting in a felony charge. The primary focus of this study was to understand and identify the relationships between youths' personal characteristics, social supports, and social roles, and their intermittent offending patterns (the repeated stops and starts of deviant behavior). Although the concept of intermittent offending has been hinted at for decades, its intentional study has been quite limited. Instead, many scholars sought to examine features related to why people offended, and little attention was given to why they desisted and what was involved in this change. Since desistance has become another important facet worth studying in regard to the criminal career, its limitations are being revealed. While intermittency is argued to be part of the desistance process, its occurrence may not necessarily be an indicator that the individual is ready to desist. The study of intermittent periods between offenses might hold great promise at understanding the processes at play in leaving lives of crime as people move through time and space. Guided by life course and ecological systems theories, this study was built upon an overarching framework that situated the individual in time and place, all the while acknowledging that individuals' personal choices and encounters with others have contributed to their behaviors and circumstances. The study sought to address three aims through seven research questions. Pulling from Prochaska and DiClemente's trans-theoretical model of behavior change, Aim 1 took a descriptive approach to identify group differences in the number of intermittent periods between five events (total, aggressive, and income offending, police contacts, and being arrested and charged), and the proportion of time spent intermittent (i.e., not offending) (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science, Miami University, 2018, Biology

Field studies can greatly enhance our understanding of mechanisms that mediate social behaviors. Laboratory experiments indicate that relatively low expression of estrogen receptor alpha (ERa) in the medial amygdala (MeA) of the brain is linked to behaviors indicative of social monogamy in male prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster), but this has not been examined in a field setting. I tested the hypothesis that ERa expression in the MeA influences sociosexual behaviors of male prairie voles in an ecologically relevant setting. I created replicate, semi-natural populations of prairie voles during 2015 and 2016 and monitored their behavior for 15 weeks. Males were bred for contrasting ERa expression in the first experiment and RNAi was used to inhibit ERa in half the males for the second. Although I detected little difference in males' behaviors in the first experiment, I found that males with lower ERa had stronger associations with one female, smaller home ranges overlapping fewer females, and greater home range overlap with one female than males with higher ERa in the second experiment. These findings suggest that ERa in the MeA is an ecologically relevant mediator of sociosexual behavior and may be important in the evolution of monogamy in the prairie vole.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1983, Graduate School

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2016, Social Work

Children's earliest experiences are critical for health and well-being across the lifespan. These experiences shape the development of social-emotional skills which lay the foundation by which children learn to navigate the intricacies of social interactions and complex emotions. Not all children, however, develop the social-emotional skills needed for success, with between 9 and 14% of children in early childhood exhibiting some type social-emotional deficit (Brauner & Stephens, 2006). Difficulties with early social-emotional skills may lead to behavioral, academic, and social problems during early childhood, as well as later in life (Denham & Brown, 2010). Low-income children of color often face barriers that put them at risk for poor social-emotional skill development. In an effort to support these vulnerable young children, the social settings in which they spend time should be targeted. One key setting in which many young children spend time is center-based child care. Examining this setting is a growing priority, so that the contributions of child care toward child social-emotional outcomes are maximized. Using secondary data from the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) 2009, this study examined child care as a social setting that may positively influence social-emotional skill development among young low-income, children of color. Specifically, this study used multilevel modeling to explore child care center support, and also teacher emotional support and behavior management practices, and their influence on problem behaviors and social skill development among young children. Findings revealed that neither teacher emotional support practices nor teacher behavior management practices were significantly associated with child social skills or problem behaviors. However, teacher perceived center support was significantly related to child problem behaviors among low-income children of color, with higher teacher perceived center support as (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2015, Psychology/Clinical

Youth aggression is a serious problem not only in terms of its immediate effects, but in its future consequences as well. In addition, whether children are aggressive or not, their proneness to aggressive behavior remains relatively stable throughout the lifespan (Huesmann, Dubow, & Boxer, 2009). For decades, researchers have been interested in how aggressive behavior is developed and maintained. The predominant theory in the field of developmental psychology is the social cognitive model. This thesis focuses on parental influences on childhood aggression. The data for this study come from a project on the development of aggression within and across generations (Columbia County Longitudinal Study; Dubow, Boxer, & Huesmann, 2009; Eron, Walder, & Lefkowitz, 1971; Lefkowitz, Eron, Walder, & Huesmann, 1977; Huesmann, Dubow, & Boxer, 2009). I examine the links among parental aggression, parents' and children's social cognitions, and children's own aggression. The degree to which parent variables (parent aggression, parent social cognitions, inter-parental aggression, and parental punishment) predict child aggressive behavior as mediated by child social cognitions supporting aggression (a composite of hostile attribution bias, normative beliefs about aggression, aggressive fantasy, and social problem solving) are investigated. Results support a mediational model in which parental aggressive punishment predicts their children developing more aggressive social cognitions, which in turn predicts children having higher aggression. Results suggest that parental punishment—specifically verbal punishment—plays a significant role in increasing childhood aggression.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2015, Economics

The simple and traditional approach in economics is to model individuals as making decisions that maximize their own (expected) material payoff. A large part of research in behavioral and experimental economics is concerned with studying additional motivations that may drive human behavior, especially in situations where there is tension between selfish and prosocial behavior. The first two chapters of this dissertation are a contribution to this literature. In the first chapter I study visibility. It is known that visibility (as opposed to anonymity), promotes prosocial behavior: we are more likely to cooperate, to give, and to vote if we know that our choices are not anonymous. I hypothesize that the power of visibility to induce prosocial behavior depends on the size of the group that is being observed. I test this hypothesis experimentally and find evidence in favor of the hypothesis: individuals that behave selfishly under anonymity are significantly more likely to behave prosocially when their choices and identities are visible in small reference groups instead of large reference groups. Strikingly, individuals in large reference groups that were given the opportunity to adjust their choices after observing the behavior of others were more likely to behave selfishly than under anonymity. However, this was not the case in small reference groups. I could partially attribute this difference between group sizes to the inability of shame to induce prosocial behavior in large groups. Motivated by this results, I propose a theory where the psychological cost of being seen transgressing a norm (behaving selfishly) is dependent on the number of norm-transgressors and norm-followers in a group. I find additional conditions for the theory to yield results consistent with the hypothesis: there must be a sufficiently high proportion of baseline transgressors ("bad apples") in the population and a transgressor should exert more psychological influence on a decision maker t (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2015, Communication

One of the fundamental regularities of human behavior is the interdependency of attributes, attitudes, and actions. Focusing on informal political discussion networks and their roles in shaping one's political preferences, the purpose of this dissertation is to uncover complex mutual interdependencies and the dynamic processes of which individuals' political attributes and political discussion networks simultaneously evolve over time. Motivated by a number of recent advancements in studies of dynamic co-evolution of one's attributes and social networks, the current study proposes and tests comprehensive theoretical accounts of social selection and social influence processes. First, longitudinal dynamics of social selections are examined in terms of demographic and political homophily, political interest and knowledge, availability and intimacy of dyadic relationships, and higher-order network endogenous effects. Second, possible mechanisms of normative and informational social influence and their relationships with dyadic differences of political interest and knowledge, with some graph-theoretical properties of political discussion networks, were examined. Using the Temporal Exponential Random Graph Models and the Generalized Estimating Equations, a series of whole network panel data from a number of large U.S Midwestern universities were used to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings suggest that political preference homophily is not likely to drive the structuring individuals' political discussion, but rather political discussion networks were largely driven by one's exogenous social relationships and network-endogenous processes. The impact of political preference homophily was generally limited, but individuals are more likely to form political discussion ties with those who are more interested in politics. Concerning the possible mechanisms of social network influence, none of the expected interaction effects were found although significant unconditional effect (open full item for complete abstract)

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2015, Engineering and Applied Science: Electrical Engineering

The understanding of human behaviors in the scope of computer vision is beneficial to many different areas. Although great achievement has been made, human behavior research investigations are still targeted on isolated, low-level, and individual activities without considering other important factors, such as human-human interactions, human-object interactions, social roles, and surrounding environments. Numerous publications focus on recognizing a small number of individual activities from body motion features with pattern recognition models, and are satisfied with small improvements of recognition rate. Furthermore, methods employed in these investigations are far from being suitable to be used in real cases considering the complexity of human society. In order to address the issue, more attention should be paid on cognition level rather than feature level. In fact, for a deeper understanding of social behavior, there is a need to study its semantic meanings against the social contexts, known as social interaction understanding. A framework for detecting social interaction needs to be established to initiate the study. In addition to individual body motions, more factors, including body motions, social roles, voice, related objects, environment, and other individuals' behaviors were added to the framework. To meet the needs, this dissertation study proposed a 4-layered hierarchical framework to mathematically model social interactions, and then explored several challenging applications based on the framework to demonstrate the great value of the study. There are no existing multimodality social interaction datasets available for this research. Thus, in Research Topic I, two typical scenes were created with a total of 24 takes (a take means a shot for a scene) as social interaction dataset. Topic II introduced a 4-layered hierarchical framework of social interactions, which contained 1) feature layer, 2) simple behavior layer, 3) behavior sequence layer, and 4) (open full item for complete abstract)