Index Catalog // ScholarsArchive@OSU

Community Resilience to Climate Change in Rural Java, Indonesia

Creator:: Utami, Arini Wahyu
Abstract:: Climate change increases weather unpredictability, threatens communities whose livelihoods depend on natural resources, such as rural communities. Utilizing a Community Capital Framework (Flora and Flora, 2013) and Governance of Complex Adaptive Systems (Duit and Galaz, 2008), this study concentrated on the role of cultural and political capital in supporting rural...
Resource Type:: Dissertation

Complicating the Rural in Oregon's Water Policymaking

Creator:: Freeman, Misty
Abstract:: The state of Oregon is divided in important ways along rural and urban lines, including the way people make a living, individual and group relationships with the natural world, political ideologies, and personal values. This rural-urban divide has assisted policymakers in making decisions that balance the needs of Oregonians on...
Resource Type:: Dissertation

Social Learning and Adaptive Capacity in Collaborative Watershed Partnerships

Creator:: Calvert, Daniel T.
Abstract:: This dissertation examines learning driven adaptations in salmon recovery efforts and water resources management in Oregon. The case study utilizes a framework highlighting the connections between human and natural systems. Semi-structured interviews are used to analyze interactions between rural riparian landowners and watershed council staffs living and working in Oregon’s...
Resource Type:: Dissertation

Visualization in environmental science

Creator:: Winters, Kirsten M.
Abstract:: The VISualization of Terrestrial and Aquatic Systems (VISTAS) software development project began with the proposition that visualization would increase the ability of scientists to explore and communicate their data, especially complex datasets that span multiple spatial and temporal scales. A case study of VISTAS articulates how and why scientists intend...
Resource Type:: Dissertation

Utilizing relational and social network analysis to inform community-based climate change adaptation : a central Oregon case study

Creator:: Jacobs, Derric B.
Abstract:: Central Oregon's landscape is rich in dry forests prone to frequent wildfires. Climate change studies and improved modeling indicate this region could experience conditions that result in an increase in number and severity of wildfires. With the potential for increased environmental hazards, the nearby communities face potential risks and vulnerabilities...
Resource Type:: Dissertation

Seed quality and plant establishment studies of seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum Sw.)

Creator:: Baker, Stanley D.
Abstract:: Seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum Sw.) is an important warm-season perennial turfgrass, known for its tolerance to salinity. Turfgrass is used for homes, municipalities, sod farms, resorts, and sports fields. Seashore paspalum has historically been planted in sub-tropical and tropical climates because of its heat tolerance. Seashore paspalum could become an...
Resource Type:: Dissertation

Resilience of large river basins : applying social-ecological systems theory, conflict management, and collaboration on the Mekong and Columbia Basins

Creator:: MacQuarrie, Patrick R.
Abstract:: River basins provide essential services for both humans and ecosystems. Understanding the connections between ecosystems and society and their function has been at the heart of resilience studies and has become an increasing important endeavor in research and practice. In this dissertation, I define basin resilience as a river basin...
Resource Type:: Dissertation

An investigation and analysis of the incentives and disincentives for conflict prevention and mitigation in the Bureau of Reclamation's water management

Creator:: Ogren, Kimberly
Abstract:: This study addresses the question: "What are the incentives and disincentives for conflict prevention and mitigation in the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), and how do they factor into Reclamation's management of water in the western United States?" Incentives and disincentives for conflict prevention (i.e., actions taken to avoid conflict) and...
Resource Type:: Masters Thesis

Women, poverty, and educational success : a critical exploration of low-income women's experience in community colleges

Creator:: Barry, Kate R.
Abstract:: The purpose of this study is to critically explore low-income women's experience as they negotiate post secondary education in community colleges. Three research questions explore the context through which low-income women have entered the college experience, what that experience is like for them, and how the community college experience has...
Resource Type:: Dissertation

Public perceptions of sagebrush ecosystem management : a longitudinal panel study of residents in the Great Basin, 2006-2010

Creator:: Gordon, Ryan Patrick
Abstract:: Intact sagebrush communities in the Great Basin are rapidly disappearing due to invasion of non-native plants, large wildfires, and encroachment of pinyon pine and juniper woodlands. Land management options include the use of prescribed fire, grazing, herbicides and mechanical treatments to reduce the potential for wildfire and restore plant communities....
Resource Type:: Dissertation

Exploring pathways to adaptive collaborative management : a multi-case study of the National Riparian Service Team's place-based riparian assistance

Creator:: Smedstad, Jill A.
Abstract:: Adaptive collaborative (co-) management has received increased recognition as a novel approach to environmental governance that combines the dynamic learning features of adaptive management with the linking and network features of collaborative management. This approach is concerned with fostering sustainable livelihoods and ecological sustainability in the face of uncertainty and...
Resource Type:: Masters Thesis

Assessing sustainable governance in Kuwait after the First Gulf War

Creator:: Husain, Abdullah M.
Abstract:: The First Gulf War that took place in Kuwait in 1991 resulted in one of the worst environmental disasters in the history of mankind. Extreme pollution affected the soil, waters, and the air in Kuwait. In this research I try to look into how the Kuwaiti government reacted to those...
Resource Type:: Masters Thesis

Merging missions : a historical analysis of the University of Alaska Anchorage, 1984–2009

Creator:: Strom, Stephen L.
Abstract:: Literature on the evolution of the American higher education system includes a historical and consistent debate over the definition of the higher education mission in the country. Recent debate focuses on mission differentiation between the university and the community college. Acknowledging systemic changes in higher education historically occurred within regions...
Resource Type:: Dissertation

The relationship between vehicle miles traveled and economic activity

Creator:: Eckstein, Nathan
Abstract:: Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in the U.S. have exhibited an upward trend over time similar to that observed for GDP and personal income. While conventional wisdom suggests that economic growth leads to more driving and thus higher VMT, it is theoretically possible that the causation could also be the other...
Resource Type:: Masters Thesis

Assessing water governance capacity in the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Albuquerque Area Office

Creator:: Pak, Mariya
Abstract:: In the Middle Rio Grande region of New Mexico, challenges such as droughts, growing urban demand for water, and newly listed endangered species have forced people to change the way that they manage water. New challenges in water governance have created cooperation among agencies that often have conflicting interests, goals,...
Resource Type:: Masters Thesis

Social challenges in managing natural resources in coastal fishing communities

Creator:: Sharp, Shayla B.
Abstract:: Two topics concerning fisheries management are considered in this thesis. The first concerns the social values that commercial fishing communities associate with commercial fishing. A survey of residents from eleven Oregon Coastal fishing communities was conducted to examine the social values associated with the commercial fishing occupation and fishing heritage....
Resource Type:: Masters Thesis

The supply and demand of university agricultural biotechnology research

Creator:: Yang, Hui
Abstract:: The objectives and characteristics of university biotechnology research, including its applicability to such industries as agriculture and food processing, arise from formal and informal linkages among university scientists, public and private-nonprofit funding sources, and industry. In the present study I develop, specify, and estimate a model of the supply and...
Resource Type:: Dissertation

Innovation in China's furniture industry

Creator:: Cao, Xiaozhi
Abstract:: Innovation is considered the ultimate drive for business success. Fast growing furniture imports from China have become a controversial topic within U.S. wood and furniture industries. Low-cost production, which is stereotypically considered as the major competitive advantage of the Chinese-made products, has received considerable attention by a large body of...
Resource Type:: Masters Thesis

Assessing water governance capacity in MENA : applying an institutional document analysis to Jordan

Creator:: Brown, Bridget N.
Abstract:: Water governance has been identified as a crucial component to improving conditions and balancing supply and demand of water resources in the water-scarce Middle East North Africa (MENA) region. Finding a method for, and commencing the process of, evaluating water governance is thus imperative. This study analyzes the potential to...
Resource Type:: Masters Thesis

Institutionalizing sustainability in community colleges : the role of the college president

Creator:: Williams, Peter G.
Abstract:: The purpose of this research study was to describe and improve understanding of the meaning of institutionalized sustainability and the role that a college president plays in institutionalizing sustainability on a community college campus. The following questions guided the research: (a) What does it mean to have sustainability “institutionalized” at...
Resource Type:: Dissertation

Spatial pattern and dynamics of hardwood patches in the Coast Range of Oregon, 1939-1993

Creator:: Hess, Rebecca Susan
Abstract:: Analysis of the long-term spatial pattern and dynamics of hardwood patches in the Coast Range of Oregon provides numerous ecological insights. Natural and anthropogenic disturbances have contributed to the development of a patchy mosaic of vegetation types in the area. Some hardwood patches in the Coast Range may be the...
Resource Type:: Masters Thesis

Dead wood dynamics and relationships to biophysical factors, forest history, ownership, and management practices in the Coastal Province of Oregon, USA

Creator:: Kennedy, Rebecca S.H.
Abstract:: Dead wood patterns and dynamics vary with biophysical factors, disturbance history, ownership, and management practices. Through field and modeling studies, I examined the current and potential future amounts of dead wood in two landscapes and region-wide in the Coastal Province of Oregon. The objectives of the first study were to...
Resource Type:: Dissertation

Evaluation of the intergovernmental relationships between national and state wetland regulatory agencies within wetland regulatory units

Creator:: Taylor, Ryan W
Abstract:: Since the 1890s, American federalism has been perceived as being unique in the world by having two different levels of government operating within the same jurisdiction without influencing one another. Modern scholars call into question the validity of this basic assumption, but few have published quantitative evidence to reject its...
Resource Type:: Dissertation

Agroforestry farming in American Samoa : a classification and assessment

Creator:: Tuitele-Lewis, Jeannette D.
Abstract:: Agroforestry is a traditional farming practice in American Samoa that has helped to sustain the livelihood of the native population for centuries. These once self-sufficient islands have become economically dependent on U.S monies and other external resources during the past century. Dependency has caused a shift in the carrying capacity...
Resource Type:: Masters Thesis

Public perspectives on forest ecosystem health : knowledge, preferences, and opinions from urban and rural communities throughout the Pacific Northwest

Creator:: Wilton, James Jared
Abstract:: Changes in forest ecosystem conditions in the region have prompted federal resource agencies to target the health of ecosystems in an effort to learn more about cause and effect relationships, develop plans for restoring healthy forest conditions, and communicate with citizens about treatment alternatives and potential outcomes. Because of the...
Resource Type:: Masters Thesis

International river basin management : global principles and basin practice

Creator:: Giordano, Meredith A.
Abstract:: Transcending human-defined political and administrative boundaries, the world's transboundary freshwater resources pose particularly challenging management problems. Water resource users at all scales frequently find themselves in direct competition for this economic and life-sustaining resource, in turn creating tensions, and indeed conflict, over water supply, allocation and quality. At the international...
Resource Type:: Dissertation

White racial identity development in transitional space : Discourse and praxis among Christian teacher educators

Creator:: Harris, Gennie S.
Abstract:: This research examines two questions: 1) What stories do Christian teacher educators tell about their own White racial identity development? and 2) Is there an impact of studying White racial identity development on the praxis of Christian teacher educators? If so, in what ways? The researcher began the project with...
Resource Type:: Dissertation

Private forests, public policy : oak conservation on family forests in Oregon’s Willamette Valley

Creator:: Fischer, Alexandra Paige
Abstract:: In the United States, many of the thorniest natural resource conflicts occur on private lands. This is especially true in the Willamette Valley of Western Oregon where the hallmark habitat type, Oregon white oak woodland and savanna, is imperiled. Almost exclusively found on private land, Oregon white oak is threatened...
Resource Type:: Dissertation

Transboundary river floods : vulnerability of continents, international river basins and countries

Creator:: Bakker, Marloes H. N.
Abstract:: Floods are the most frequent and damaging of all types of natural disasters and annually affect the lives of millions all over the globe. However, researchers seem to have overlooked the fact that floods do not recognize national boundaries. Therefore, the phenomena of shared, or transboundary floods occurring in international...
Resource Type:: Dissertation

Transboundary groundwater : geopolitical consequences, commons sense, and the law of the hidden sea

Creator:: Jarvis, William Todd
Abstract:: With 97% of the world’s freshwater resources stored underground, the connection between groundwater resources to the metrics of space, scale and time common to the geographic study of natural resources has not been extensively investigated by geographers. While nearly 240 transboundary aquifers are mapped across the world, a potential “tragedy”...
Resource Type:: Dissertation

The first year experience and persistence of Native American students at one predominantly white four year institution

Creator:: Reeves, Jennifer Jean
Abstract:: The purpose of this study was to explore, from current Native American and Alaskan Native undergraduate students, what their experiences were as first year college students on the Oregon State University campus. In addition, it was important to learn how these experiences contributed to their success, satisfaction or dissatisfaction, and...
Resource Type:: Masters Thesis

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