Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2014, Industrial, Interior Visual Communication Design

Studying as a designer and working with engineers revealed differences between the disciplines that affect communication. The increasingly complex problems facing society require specialists to manage. Increased specialization can lead to confusion when communicating across disciplines. Designers and engineers both provide vital services to industry and it is important that they be able to work with each other as effectively as possible. With a focus on the two academic disciplines of design and engineering, I have attempted to explore whether collaboration between the two can be positively impacted. Participants from each field of study were asked to complete a series of evaluations to determine their problem solving tendencies, learning styles, and patterns in thinking. They were then asked to present their problem solving process for approaching a set of complex contemporary issues. Engineers tend to fall into logical and rational thinking patterns and are more likely to be seen as linear thinkers. Designers differ in their approach to problem solving when there is an opportunity for abstract and innovative thinking. A practical application of this information would require the contributions of both designers and engineers throughout the design and development process. Interaction between disciplines should take place in the form of information exchange, discussions, and informal dialogues. These goals can be achieved through common workspaces, support from management, and strong leadership.

Committee: Paul Nini (Advisor); Elizabeth Sanders Ph.D. (Committee Member); Philip Smith Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Design; Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Studies and Public Affairs, Cleveland State University, 2024, Levin College of Public Affairs and Education

Over time, Public Administration (PA) practitioners' problem-solving approaches have evolved alongside society. Recently, governments have been embracing a Collaborative Governance (CG) approach, attracted to its potential to address wicked problems. However, PA scholars have challenged the depth of this evolution, questioning whether the underlying paradigm has shifted beyond positivism in ways that enable CG to be fully realized. Transdisciplinarity (TD), an emergent paradigm that transcends silos, is more suitable for CG. To understand the extent to which PA has evolved toward TD, this empirical research used the institutionalization of CG as a proxy for paradigm shift. This qualitative, comparative case study examined three municipal governments and the institutionalization of CG in the context of allocating once-in-a-generation federal funds. Findings indicated that all three cities were in the process of institutionalizing CG but none had reached full institutionalization. The research also suggested that cities are embracing an adaptive pragmatic TD paradigm.

Committee: Nicholas Zingale (Committee Chair); Meghan Rubado (Committee Member); Sue McGregor (Committee Member) Subjects: Public Administration

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2024, Media and Communication

The World Bank classifies the Lebanese economic crisis as one of the 10 worst such crises globally since the 19th century—and possibly one of the top three. Azma fawq ‘azma [crisis upon crisis] includes financial collapse, inability to care for 1.5 million refugees, the highest number of refugees per capita in the world, the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic on an already fragile healthcare system, and the catastrophic explosion in Beirut, one of the worst non-nuclear explosions in human history, that killed 218 people, injured 7,000, and left 300,000 unhoused. Due to unprecedented levels of inflation, the Lebanese pound has lost 90% of its value, food prices have risen 500%, and 80% of the population lives in poverty. These crises have transformed Lebanon from a beacon of success to a failed state. Given the severe lack of organizational communication research in the Mashreq (Middle East), this dissertation is of particular importance as it fills a critical gap in research. The dissertation takes an interdisciplinary approach to examine how NGOs mobilize support, provide services, and engage in interorganizational collaboration to support citizens, residents, and asylum seekers struggling to survive in Lebanon. The triangulated methodological approach includes policy analysis, two phases of field research in Lebanon, and in-depth interviews with leaders, administrators, employees, and volunteers representing 52 NGOs. Interview respondents (n = 64) provided first-hand experiences, insights, and assessments of NGOs' efforts to combat intersecting crises, reflected on the complexity of these crises, and highlighted the need for economic and political reform to assuage the feelings of being trapped in the azma fawq ‘azma. Emergent themes include the importance of collective identity through interorganizational collaboration, the benefits of group cohesion in providing support and services, a sense of purpose that has expanded alongside the crises, a continuing (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Lara Martin Lengel Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Lori Brusman Lovins Ph.D. (Committee Member); Terry Rentner Ph.D. (Committee Member); Ellen Gorsevski Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Area Planning and Development; Banking; Communication; Economics; Management; Middle Eastern Studies; Minority and Ethnic Groups; Near Eastern Studies; Organization Theory; Organizational Behavior; Peace Studies; Political Science; Regional Studies; Rhetoric; Sustainability

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2022, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Educational Studies

University involvement is required to enact institutional change in order to bolster international students' success and mental health. This case study analysis examined how tangible change towards wicked problems can be achieved at both the institutional and individual levels. Under a participatory action research approach, a thematic analysis was utilized to code student surveys and administrator/faculty/staff/international student interviews. A group-level assessment was also employed to collectively determine action items associated with the study's research questions. The results propose existing characteristics of student success and mental health in order to buttress both. Additionally, methods to approach student success and mental well-being from an institutional and individual lens are suggested. Institutionally, to support international student success and mental wellness, the university should avoid siloed departments, base new programming around students' needs, and maintain humanistic qualities during interactions with students. Individually, to boost their personal success and mental well-being, this study posits that international students should pursue cultural understanding via cross-cultural conversations, exercise proactivity rather than reactivity, and seek community with both international and non-international peers. Lastly, implications for higher education resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed.

Committee: Stephen Kroeger Ed.D. (Committee Member); Everrett Smith Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jennifer Keup Ph.D. (Committee Member); Constance Kendall Theado Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Higher Education

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2018, Leadership and Change

A reliable scale to measure adaptive leadership with authority—leadership from a position of power—does not exist. This was an embedded mixed-methods study–QUAN(qual) with data collected through an online survey instrument that included the proposed scale items and an open-ended question. The quantitative part of the study, using data from 436 respondents (92.7% from Mechanical Turk, 7.3% from snowball sampling), involved the development and validation of a unidimensional scale that measures adaptive leadership with authority using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The 11-item scale had a Cronbach's alpha value of .891 and thus displayed high reliability. In the qualitative part of the study, thematic analysis was used to analyze data from 550 respondents to confirm the presence of adaptive leadership with authority sub-constructs and identify possible adaptive leadership behaviors not included in the adaptive leadership framework. The analysis provided support for the following adaptive leadership with authority sub-constructs: Distinguish Between Adaptive and Technical Challenges; Identify the Stakeholders and Their Losses; Create the Holding Environment; Regulate the Distress to maintain focus on adaptive work; Give the Work Back; and Use of Self as a diagnostic and intervention instrument. The narrative data did not support Protecting Voices of Leadership without Authority. The combination of the narrative data and scale pointed to Give the Work Back, Use of Self, and Create the Holding Environment as the most important elements in adaptive leadership with authority. This dissertation is accompanied by a de-identified data file [xls] and the author's MP4 video introduction. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA: Antioch University Repository and Archive, http://aura.antioch.edu/ and Ohiolink ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.edu/

Committee: Mitchell Kusy Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Carol Baron Ph.D. (Committee Member); Harriette Thurber Rasmussen Ed.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Adult Education; Developmental Psychology; Management; Organization Theory; Organizational Behavior

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2018, Environmental Studies (Voinovich)

Local governments are increasingly addressing the complexity of climate change policy through collaborative governance regimes, which are diverse arrangements of organizations/agencies that leverage the relative strengths of individual members or the group as a whole in order solve a particular issue. Not much is known about the structure, function, or effectiveness of the collaborative governance regime focused on local climate change policy across the United States though. This study seeks to begin to describe the structure of this social network made up of local governments and their climate policy partners through the use of a 2014 dataset created by surveying local governments about climate policy partnerships. Partner organizations were categorized by type of organization, scale of operation, and sector of expertise. The network connection data was then visualized and processed through the use of social network analysis software, which provided numerical outputs useful for describe the network as a whole and the relative network importance of the partner organizations therein. Results from this dataset indeed indicate a highly diverse sample of partners, with the most influential tending to be larger organizations with a general focus on environmental issues and a structure that supports networking activities.

Committee: Derek Kauneckis Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Geoff Dabelko Ph.D. (Committee Member); DeLysa Burnier Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Climate Change; Environmental Studies; Public Administration; Public Policy; Sustainability

MDES, University of Cincinnati, 2017, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Design

It is the contention of this thesis that Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping is one tool to manage the design research process under conditions of scaled complexity as design plays a larger role in the “wicked problems” of the 21st century. Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs) are an appropriate tool for design research as they are born out of the constructivist philosophy and the notion that knowledge creation is a socially rooted process of human-centered discovery in which connections are made between different ideas and areas of knowledge. The “fuzzy” component (Fuzzy Logic) of FCMs allows for better decision making when the information is not always complete and data is noisy, when thresholds are ambiguous and interactions are not accurately assessed. FCMs are graphical representations of structured knowledge, represented by concepts linked by directed, weighted, and signed (positive, negative) edges. The hope is that such a tool will be a meaningful addition to designers' knowledge-base when applying their design abilities to solve complex, societal issues.

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

MA, University of Cincinnati, 2016, Arts and Sciences: Communication

This thesis explores the ways in which leadership is affecting five Indian non-profit efforts to combat human trafficking, identified here as a wicked problem. Using an iterative, grounded theory approach, data was analyzed from five non-profit presentations and generated the following four themes: vision and mission statements, cross-sector partnerships, language and definition issues, and intervention practices, all of which influence the combative efforts of organizations fighting traffickers. This study adds to our understanding of how non-profits are making a difference when combating human trafficking.

Committee: Gail Fairhurst Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Zhuo Ban Ph.D. (Committee Member); Shaunak Sastry Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Speech Therapy

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2016, Industrial, Interior Visual Communication Design

Design is not simply an outcome, but a process of problem solving. The current transitional process for adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and the challenges faced by their healthcare providers and parents is a wicked problem that needs to be addressed. Wicked problems are not good or bad, but are often made up of multiple stakeholders and an indeterminate end-state. Design problems are often wicked; there is no definitive formula or an existing solution. Trained and practiced in reshaping complexity and ambiguity through Design Thinking to give form to new ideas that do not yet exist, Designers have the capacity to expand their role from simply `makers' of artifacts to `makers' of sense, building new tools and integrating new ways of problem solving to assist with framing wicked problems. The objective of this body of research is to investigate a hybrid CoDesign approach (using digital and non-digital Design Thinking tools), and the expanding role of the Designer and stakeholders in tackling wicked problems through an exploratory autism case study. The role of the Designer in addressing wicked problems and the use of technology for collective sensemaking in the Design process were investigated through the development of a digital prototype in parallel with an exploratory Participatory Action Research (PAR) case study centered on issues surrounding transitional care and support for adults with autism and their families. A diverse group of stakeholders was brought together to participate in an iterative CoDesign process aimed at building shared understanding, stimulating new ways of thinking, and reframing the wicked problem to create new resolutions for the Center for Autism Services and Transition (C.A.S.T.), a clinic for adults with autism connected to The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. The outcomes of the case study and findings from the development and testing of the digital prototype support the value of sensemaking and reframing, (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Elizabeth B.-N. Sanders Ph.D., (Advisor); Alan Price (Committee Member); David Staley Ph.D., (Committee Member); Elliot Bendoly Ph.D., (Committee Member) Subjects: Design