Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2021, Engineering Education

As the world grows increasingly more reliant on technology, there have been repeated calls for more, and more diverse, engineers, along with other science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professionals. From these calls has risen an increased focus on engineering in pre-college education, both in formal and informal learning settings. Along with this increased focus came a corresponding increase in research regarding pre-college engineering education. However, informal engineering experiences are under-studied when compared to formal engineering experiences. This manuscript-style dissertation seeks to provide insight into the literature available about pre-college engineering education and the impact and implications for practice of one informal engineering experience, a Girl Scout engineering badge, on middle schoolers' engineering identity development. To begin my work, I conducted a systematic literature review. Following established systematic literature review methods, I gathered and synthesized a small body of literature regarding the impact of informal engineering experiences on pre-college students' engineering identity development. The synthesis revealed that informal experiences appear to have a positive impact on participant's engineering identity, however, little is known about how the impact may vary by program or participant characteristics. Using these results, directions and recommendations for future research was proposed. For the informal engineering experience, two Girl Scout troops, one which met completely online and one which met in a hybrid setting, completed a Girl Scout engineering badge. Fifteen participants completed pre- and post-interviews, and observations of participants were conducted during the badge activities. In addition, participants completed the Draw-an-Engineer Test before the pre-interview and a modified version of the Draw-an-Engineer Test before the post-interview. Data analysis indicated that there was so (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Rachel Kajfez PhD (Advisor); Delaine David PhD (Committee Member); Deborah Grzybowski PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2015, Media and Communication

This study applied the heuristic-systematic model (HSM) and inoculation theory in order to explore risk perceptions of flu and the flu vaccination. The HSM explains individual's information processing as an antecedent to attitude. Inoculation theory deals with how and why existing attitudes can be strengthened to resist counterarguments when confronted with persuasive messages. This study examined how people process different types of risk information, and how risk campaigns can inoculate people against attacks to preexisting beliefs. This study applied a 2 (Message framing: heuristic information message vs. systematic information message) by 2 (expert source vs. non-expert source) online experiment. The experiment was conducted at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) in Bowling Green, Ohio. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions: (1) heuristic information message from expert source, (2) heuristic information message from non-expert source, (3) systematic information message from expert source, and (4) systematic information message from non-expert source. In order to measure the effect of heuristic and systematic information messages, this study was conducted in two phases. In Phase 1, participants received one of the manipulated messages. The manipulated messages were presented as an inoculation message against flu myths. After one week from Phase 1, Phase 2 was conducted and provided an attack message about the side effects of the flu vaccination. Participants were asked to answer a series of items measuring their attitudes and behaviors towards the flu vaccination. This study found that different types of media had different effects on the risk perception of flu illness and benefit perception of the flu vaccination. Risk perception of flu illness was positively related to benefit perception of the flu vaccination. This study also found that heuristic messages affected risk perception of the flu vaccination, but not fl (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Gi Woong Yun (Advisor); Laura Landry-Meyer (Committee Member); Sung-Yeon Park (Committee Member); Srinivas Melkote (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Health

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2010, Human Ecology: Human Nutrition and Food Management

As obesity rates continue to rise in America, so do obesity-linked disorders such as metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Older women are especially susceptible to these diseases because of hormonal changes after menopause. New research has shown the omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, linoleic acid (LA), to be effective in attenuating metabolic syndrome symptoms. Despite this, public health messages continue to ignore LA and focus on omega-3 fatty acids, resulting in a good understanding of the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids but confusion or lack of information about omega-6 fatty acids. New health messages are needed to inform the American public and especially postmenopausal women about LA. In order to effectively do so, a mental model should first be created to understand the women's current thoughts and beliefs about dietary fats and oils and the decisions they make regarding selection and use. The objective of this pilot study was to determine what women were currently consuming, to use the Risk Information Seeking and Processing model to frame the examination of women's current knowledge and information sufficiency with regards to dietary fats and oil products and their link to health, and, working within the human behavioral framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior, to determine the women's perceived behavioral control with regards to consuming healthy fats and oils. Twenty-one postmenopausal women with T2DM were recruited to participate in four focus groups and to complete a dietary fat and oil food frequency questionnaire that was developed and tested by the research team. Of the dietary fats and oil products that the women thought of as healthy, those that were high in omega-3 fatty acid and monounsaturated fatty acids were identified as major themes. The major themes for the women's consumption showed that the women tended to consume products that they had identified as healthy with only a few products that (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Lydia Medeiros PhD (Advisor); Martha Belury PhD (Committee Co-Chair); Joshua Bomser PhD (Committee Co-Chair) Subjects: Nutrition

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2007, Arts Policy and Administration

Professionalization of Studio Glass Artists is an attempt to learn more about how studio glass artists are working in the United States today. This is a significant undertaking because it is the first of its kind and will hopefully prove to be a valuable resource for those working in the field. Because the arts are often understudied, this investigation attempts to create an introduction to the glass field by defining techniques, creating an abbreviated timeline, culling what little demographics are available and mapping the field. It is important to note that this investigation was limited by the lack of information regarding studio glass artists that is often readily obtainable for other occupations. Available information was supplemented by the author's own knowledge of the field. By reviewing the literature on professions and professionalization, an analytical framework that includes four attributes was created to determine where along the professionalization continuum studio glass artists are currently located. The four attributes are systematic theory, field structuration, professional authority and community recognition, with four to six indicators being explored for each. Another significant concept in this investigation is that of portfolio careers, which legitimizes the way artists often work and allows them to be included in the discussion of professions. The application of the analytical framework to the field revealed that studio glass artists are a semi-profession, with the indicators for systematic theory and field structuration being well developed, professional authority being somewhat developed and community recognition almost entirely undeveloped. Recommendations for improving the professional status of the occupation include: increased critical writing and information regarding the business administration of operating a studio; broadening the group of contributors; the establishment of an umbrella association for the profession; increased advo (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Margaret Wyzsomirski PhD (Advisor); Richard Harned MFA (Committee Member) Subjects: Art Education; Business Education; Fine Arts