This dissertation presents the results of three studies that assessed climate variability on short and long timescales in western United States. The growth of carbonate formations in caves (speleothems) is used to infer the timing and amplitude of past climate variability. We first assess the controls on speleothem growth for...
Emissions largely associated with the combustion of fossil fuels and agriculture has caused elevated atmospheric deposition of nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) throughout much of the developed world. Increased atmospheric deposition of N and S can lead to soil and surface water acidification and affect forest soil nutrient supply. The...
Over the last several decades, there has been a marked increase in the amount of science outreach to the public with little attention paid to how scientists who conduct outreach perceive learning and how that applies to their outreach activities. This increase in outreach efforts is linked to the National...
Variable-retention harvesting was proposed to reduce loss of biodiversity and ecosystem processes associated with late-seral Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forests in the Pacific Northwest. The Demonstration of Ecosystem Management Options experiment was established to test this hypothesis. Analysis presents various challenges to drawing statistical inferences about treatment effects. This dissertation explored...
Research has confirmed a lack of diversity and persistence of underrepresented populations in the STEM fields. Recruiting and retaining more women and people of color into STEM fields has long been a goal of higher education, per a notable lack of women and people of color who enter and complete...
Tropical coastal and marine areas are popular for recreation, leisure, and tourism activities, but these activities can cause social (e.g., crowding), ecological (e.g., coral trampling), and managerial impacts (e.g., pressure on facilities). The concept of norms is one approach for examining user acceptance or tolerance of these impacts. This dissertation...
The agricultural industry across the United States is experiencing a shortage of qualified and interested young professionals who aspire to enter the agricultural sector. Internships have largely been used as an effective hands-on learning tool, exposing college students to an array of occupational skills and expectations in hopes of creating...
Few studies examine whether public attitudes toward forest management practices differ between public and private forests, with virtually no recent studies examining these differences in the Pacific Northwest, despite the coexistence of millions of acres of both public and private forest lands. Knowing whether public attitudes differ between public and...
Research suggests that a key factor in student persistence and success is the relationships students form with faculty (Chickering & Gamson, 1991; Kuh et al., 2005; Tinto, 1987). While it appears to be intuitive that small classes would promote these instructor/student relationships, research on class size provides conflicting results, with...
The purpose of this study was to discover the routes to certification and turnover intentions of Wisconsin agriculture teachers with fewer than three years of experience teaching agriculture. The study also evaluated the relationship between the routes to certification and turnover intentions. A census of all Wisconsin agriculture teachers with...