During the last century, fire suppression, grazing, and climate change have caused sagebrush grasslands to be altered in both function and form; juniper and sagebrush dominate the landscape at the expense of herbaceous plants. Management efforts to reduce juniper and sagebrush overstory in order to enhance herbaceous components of the...
In this dissertation, we describe a spectroscopic study of metal clusters and metal-ligand complexes using pulsed field ionization zero kinetic energy (PFI-ZEKE) photoelectron spectroscopy and mass analyzed threshold ionization (MATI) spectroscopy. Vibrational resolved spectra of sodium dimer, Na•NH₃, Na•(NH₃)₂ are presented. These spectra provide a direct measurement of the ionization...
Non-dilute salt strength solutions occur in many near surface geologic environments. In order to better understand the occurrence and movement of the water and salt, mathematical models for this non-ideal fluid need to be developed. Initial boundary value problems may then be solved to predict behavior for comparison with observations....
Two framework oxide materials of the MO₃ network type have been synthesized and structurally characterized by synchrotron and X-ray powder diffraction and the Rietveld method in the temperature range 25~500 K. The results show one of them to be a low thermal expansion material. Theoretical studies of negative thermal expansion...
This paper explores the language theories of Gary Snyder, an important modern environmental author whose early work was associated with the Beat movement of the early 1950's. I am particularly interested in Snyder's thoughts on how language relates to nature. I focus primarily on Snyder's prose in attempts to understand...
All too often, students in physical education classes are only accountable
for tasks such as attendance, dressing out, and maintaining positive behavior. To
shift the focus to content accountability, teachers need to utilize methods and
techniques that hold students accountable for subject matter performance.
Another area of concern for physical...
The work presented in this dissertation examines possible
modes of action for growth inhibition by anthropogenic endocrine
disrupting chemicals (EDCs) as well as endogenous hormones
associated with growth in fish. Using the sheepshead minnow (SHM)
(Cyprinodon variegatus) as a model, I developed methods to examine
perturbations in the endocrine axis...
To increase our understanding of the timber harvesting behavior of family forest owners, I developed theoretical and empirical timber harvesting models for family forest owners in the southeastern United States. An individual-choice model was the basis for the models. Family forest owners were modeled as utility-maximizers who made harvesting decisions...
Many streams in eastern Oregon are listed as water quality impaired on the basis of water temperature. However, it is often difficult to predict water temperature for these streams even if there are no anthropogenic impacts. We measured air and water temperature and stream characteristics on three Type C and...
This research presents an analysis of thermal stratification in the reactor cold leg of the Advanced Plant Experiment-Combustion Engineering (APEX-CE). This phenomenon may be a precursor leading to a Pressurized Thermal Shock (PTS) event in a nuclear power plant. This work was performed in support of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory...
The N=88 isotones lie on the onset of nuclear deformation and have a complicated nuclear structure. To better understand this region, the nuclear levels of ¹⁵⁰Sm were studied in three different β decay experiments. De-populating γ-rays were measured using the 8π spectrometer, an array of 20 Compton suppressed Ge detectors....
Every cell is faced continuously with the task of transducing a vast number of external signals into appropriate intracellular responses. In mammalian cells, membrane bound receptors modulate the production of secondary messenger molecules, such as cyclic AMP (cAMP). Cell signaling through second messengers relies on the diffusion of such second...
Stream systems in the Pacific Northwest have come to be understood in the absence of beaver (Castor canadensis). To understand the effect of beaver upon riparian plant communities, four basins in the lower Alsea drainage were examined to determine the effect of beaver and their impoundments on streamside herbaceous/shrub and...
The present study examined the process by which couples, in the context
of a heterosexual romantic relationship, participate in sexual activity. As they did
so, their interactions helped to construct their relationship. Social construction
theory and the gender perspective provided the theoretical foundation for this
qualitative research.
Nine heterosexual couples...
This thesis project explores the experiences of individual people living lives in the face of difficult or oppressive circumstances. It sets forth a series of creative narrative essays that are partly inspired by people the author has encountered and partly created from his own imagination.
A hybrid landscape optimization/simulation model called SafeD (Simulation and analysis of forests with episodic Disturbances) was built to address the needs of forest management planning in the Applegate River Watershed, southwestern Oregon (the Apple gate Project). There are two goals of the Applegate Project: 1) search for forest policies and...
The purpose of this study was to analyze the individual reasoning of
24 adults as they made decisions for two communities regarding municipal
wastewater treatment. The two western Oregon communities were both
responding to notices from governmental agencies of higher environmental
standards for the purification of wastewater before it could...
Past research has categorized animal rights groups into three main categories; conservative, moderate, and radical. While a few studies exist on the animal rights movement as a whole, none have focused specifically on the radical groups. This research project uses an ethnography of communication approach to examine how language constructs...
Contaminant transport in ground water is an important environmental process that
affects a host of natural systems. Transport of contaminants is affected by many
processes, including aqueous complexation, adsorption, and redox reactions. One of the
most important components of an aquifer that controls transport is iron-oxide. In this
study, the...