At its inception in 1946, the United States’ National School Lunch Program (NSLP) was promoted as a success story; a boon for families navigating poverty, a means of buoying food prices by absorbing farm surplus, and a treatment for hunger in some of our country’s most vulnerable populations. Government subsidies...
Solar energy systems purchased in the United States have increased tenfold since 2010. As solar photovoltaics (PV) markets expand, solar energy becomes more affordable. In the last five years, the price of solar has decreased by 40 percent. Despite solar PV becoming more affordable and rising consumer demand, between 50...
The benefits of electrification are widely discussed in energy and development literature, but little research to date has studied the impacts of household electricity access on women in particular. Women make up the majority of the world’s poor and are also disproportionately affected by energy poverty because of their social...
Marine programs, particularly those related to marine conservation, utilize a suite of tools to offset the negative consequences of human activities on marine environments. However, among others, limited funding can represent a challenge for these programs in terms of achieving their desired outcomes. Using systems and organizational theory, this study...
In recent decades, the concept of transnational higher education has flourished and international branch campuses (IBCs) have proliferated. Some countries have gone as far as designating areas as education hubs and have attracted foreign universities to operate branch campuses on their soils. While researchers have studied what motivates universities to...
The biggest obstacle to a 100% renewable energy utility portfolio is the ability to produce enough electricity to meet peak demand windows, which typically occur in the late afternoon to evening period from 3 pm to 9 pm. A popular policy option to reduce peak demand is time-of-use (TOU) electricity...
Persistent racial residential and educational segregation in the United States are major sources of institutional racism and inequality. In this essay I focus on the housing search stage, an intermediary between where people say they want to live and where they ultimately end up living. Past research has explored preferences...
A commitment to diversity is now quite common in the missions of colleges and universities. One of the primary barriers to hiring a diverse faculty is the role that implicit bias, or the case of identifying flawed ideas as reliable choices systematically, plays in the search and selection process. At...
There are currently 43 countries which have adopted some kind of carbon pricing policy – either adopted a carbon tax or entered a cap–and–trade, while the remaining countries have not. This has created significant diversity in the world with regard to climate change mitigation. There is thus a need to...
The increasing complexity and connectedness of energy networks has opened pathways for new forms of collaboration with energy consumers. Despite the emergence of the smart grid an array of policy options like demand-side management (DSM), many families continue to disregard daily household energy consumption, particularly during peak-use times of day....
In 2011 the California State University (CSU) system’s overall four-year graduation rate was 16 percent, which is far below the national rate of 26 percent among similar institutions. In response to the low graduation rate, the California legislature passed 2 statutory bills meant to further expand access, while improving college...
Definitions of child poverty and measurement approaches are directly linked to poverty reduction strategies. The definition determines the measure and the measure, in turn, informs policies, which can subsequently reshape measurement approaches. Applying human rights approach and using method of document analysis, this research explores how the conceptualization and measurement...
In this essay I investigate the effect of United States March 2018 steel tariffs on producers’ capital. I use intertemporal event study methodology to appraise the effect of announcement of the tariffs on March 01, 2018 on the stock returns of major US steel companies listed at New York Stock...
The interdependences among water, energy and food, are diverse and multidimensional and are referred to as the food-water-energy (FWE) nexus. This nexus approach seeks to understand the complex interactions among these sectors, in order to identify synergies and trade-offs that could serve as the basis for developing effective planning and...
South Louisiana has a major coastal erosion problem, exposing coastal communities to storm surge. The state is spending billions of dollars on projects that are not expected to last beyond 20 years. Research indicates that predominate stories influence problem definitions and solutions. Colten (2017) identified a shift in Louisiana's coastal...
The overall reduced funding from public education in the United States has sparked a backlash across the country. Citing inadequate resources, low pay, and an inability to control the direction of their classroom, teachers in seven states (West Virginia, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Colorado, Arizona, North Carolina, and Washington) halted instruction time...
Persistence, the ability for institutions to help students matriculate from their first year to completion, has been a major concern for underrepresented racial minorities (URMs). Among URMs, Black and Hispanic students are the least likely to be retained, graduating at 38 percent and 45.8 percent respectively (Shapiro et al., 2017)....
Persistence, the ability for institutions to help students matriculate from their first year to completion, has been a major concern for underrepresented racial minorities (URMs). Among URMs, Black and Hispanic students are the least likely to be retained, graduating at 38 percent and 45.8 percent respectively (Shapiro et al., 2017)....
Food, water, and energy have strong interdependencies; actions in one sector inadvertently affect actions in another sector. Recent literature supports a “nexus” approach, whereby policies related to food, water, and energy are integrated and used in tandem rather than in isolation. Developing a better understanding of the trade-offs between food,...
The last decade has seen a drastic interest in microgrids throughout the world. Even though this trend might seem to be just another technological solution in the energy sector, it is a part of a greater transition from a centralized energy system to a more decentralized one. However, unlike most...
When a catastrophic event happens, senior residents who are physically or mentally disabled, are placed at a much greater risk of injury or death. Researchers in the aftermath of hurricanes’ Katrina, Sandy, and Harvey, consistently record elderly residents presenting the most difficult challenges for emergency personnel during evacuation and post...
Public policy narratives and stories are often referenced by the media, politicians, advocacy groups, and across many disciplines in academia. Studies of social and political narratives support the notion narrative matters, but often lack systematic design capable of producing generalizable findings. The Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) has responded to this...
Environmental scientists, land managers, and policy actors are increasingly presented with high-stakes high-uncertainty problems stemming from human-ecosystem interactions. To help address these problems, scientists frequently use models that produce enormous geospatial and temporal datasets that are constantly modified and often seek input from communities outside their discipline. To assist scientists—as...
In the wake of the ``third wave'' of democratization, scholars and practitioners were optimistic regarding the ease with which countries could adopt democratic norms and institutions. However, after four decades of democracy, many competitive regimes have not improved government probity or developed strong forms of accountability. Levels of economic and...
The environmental justice (EJ) movement has succeeded in achieving policy change across different levels of government, however, there has been relatively little research to date on the implementation of environmental justice policies at the state level. The state of Oregon provides an opportunity to understand how state-level EJ policies are...
Under the label “Supported Employment,” services that promote competitive, integrated employment (CIE) for working-age adult with intellectual and developmental disabilities have been federally funded since the 1980s, alongside other more traditional day habilitation and segregated or sub-minimum wage employment services. However, since the early 2000s, over 30 states have adopted...
Commercial fishing is deeply embedded in the economy and culture of many coastal communities in Oregon. This study examined the impact of the ‘graying of the fleet’ phenomenon (Graying; the increase in the average age of commercial fishermen) on community resilience in coastal communities. This paper utilizes qualitative methods and...
As climate change forces energy policy to incorporate environmental impacts and fuel diversification into the traditional model of energy security, finding ways to site, develop, and deliver renewable energy has taken on increasing importance across the United States. With no consistent federal framework to implement these changes, much of the...
Recent reports using data from the 2013-2015 Current Population Surveys reveal that while the overall food insecurity rate in Oregon is 16.1%, single mothers in Oregon experience food insecurity rates as high as 44.1%. This study will portray how household assets and capital relate to food insecurity for single mothers...
Scholars posit that the successful consolidation of post-communist Central and Eastern European democracies can be linked to their subsequent accession to the European Union (EU). This led observers to assume that the continued democratization of Hungarian society was assured due to their integration into EU institutions. However, since the 2010...
Levee management has historically been considered a local governance issue. Many users of the Portland International (PDX) airport may have no knowledge that the airport is in a floodplain and is protected by a hundred year old levee. This study asked survey respondents across the U.S. how much they would...
Transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources has been identified by governments throughout the world as a key strategy for reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing sustainability and resiliency, and supporting local economies. Despite these benefits, this transition has been slow in the United States, causing some...
Over 90 percent of the soy, cotton, and corn sold in the United States are genetically modified crops (GM crops). However, there was a 209 percent growth in USDA certified organic food from 2005-2015, reflecting a growing interest in non-GMO food. The policy debate over GM crops takes place between...
This essay provides an assessment of the human, social and financial resources that Oregon Latino immigrant-serving nonprofits have available to achieve their mission of promoting Latino immigrant integration and civic engagement practices. Under the framework of immigrant integration, this study examines the strategies Latino nonprofits rely upon to achieve their...
In this work, I address foundational concerns at the interface of institutions, governance structure, transaction costs, and efficiency in public-private contracting. Following transaction cost economic perspective, I build and justify the theoretical models explaining that institutions may affect the economic performance of public-private contracting through the effect of transaction costs....
Reducing recidivism rates and raising success rates for individuals who experience mental or behavioral distress and have been through the legal system is the key to lowering the expenditure of valuable resources including time and judicial budget. Regardless, little research attention has been given to post-arrest diversion programming and reentry...
This research examined public perceptions of risk, behavioral intentions in the event of the M9 Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) earthquake and tsunami on the Oregon Coast, and factors that may influence both attitudes and intentions. A household survey was conducted to understand public opinion in Seaside, Oregon, which is located...
College students are learning to make increasingly complex financial decisions, facing high tuition and living costs while having limited means to make a living. Studies show that most college students lack sufficient financial literacy. They need a well-designed financial education, especially if they are low-income, first-generation students whose parents are...
In 2016, the state of Oregon passed landmark legislation that doubles the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard and eliminates the use of coal-fired electricity for the state’s two major electric utilities by 2030. The legislation was the first of its kind in the country to outright ban the use of a...
People in the US and Europe eat the most meat worldwide, lose or waste about 20% of this product overall, and they waste the most food per capita. Food waste is currently addressed as an issue of volume, so programs and policies target foods that are wasted more by weight...
Adequate access to financial markets is crucial for healthy communities. Some communities within the United States have historically been excluded from financial markets due to factors of geographic isolation or racial discrimination. The mechanism behind households and individuals lacking access to financial products and services is due to credit rationing...
Geological scientists have predicted an impending massive earthquake is likely to occur on the North Pacific Coast of the US. In response to the warnings of impending disaster, the State of Oregon has implemented several disaster preparedness measures, including the Seismic Rehabilitation Grant Project (SRGP), a grant dispersed to public...
Global warming is an increasingly serious problem around the world. To mitigate the influence of global warming on people’s lives, the Obama Administration put an emphasis on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to mitigate global warming. The adoption of energy efficient vehicles, including hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid vehicles...
One of the greatest challenges in the West is the sustainable management of limited water resources. In recognition of localized responses to natural resource challenges, there has been considerable work in the area of adaptive capacity and collaborative governance to help understand a community’s capacity to manage change. This study...
Community visioning processes offer communities the platform to identify common goals, indicate actions and measures of progress, and envision what they would like their political, economic, and social landscape to look like for years to come. Rural communities often face unique obstacles in terms of isolation, lack of resources and...
Improved cookstoves (ICS) have been distributed by many in the international development community to address the dangers faced by billions of people worldwide who use traditional open-fire cooking methods. Yet, impact evaluations of these ICS interventions have not always shown positive impacts. This case study followed the ICS adoption study...
For some incarcerated individuals, when they are released from prison they are released to an officer in the parole and probation department for a specified period of supervision while in the community. During this supervisory period, these individuals, also known as parolees, are able to develop pro-social skills and behaviors,...
Oregon is one of several states to implement a new and innovative minimum wage policy. The Oregon policy defines three regions with each having a separate initial minimum wage and a different set of incremental increases over the next seven years. This paper explores how this policy change may impact...
The Oregon wine industry is growing and becoming increasingly valuable to the regional economy. As with many production industries, the wine industry has faced concerns around its environmental practices and community impact. The use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and associated wastewater run-off are a few issues vineyard managers experience....
Although the last decade has seen an increase in research to understand civic engagement and public participation in terms of generating involvement, less research has been conducted to understand the structures of participation and effects on and of current participants. Many local governments in the United States use boards, committees,...
Over the last several decades, the narrative around international development has shifted away from neoclassical models towards an increased focus on sustainability and community-driven participatory approaches. However, there is a lack of research looking at whether these theoretical concepts manifest in practical realities that avoid the imperialistic flaws of previous...
The rising cost of higher education in the United States has created increases in tuition at colleges as well as growing demand from students and families for sources of support in attending college. Over the past decade, beginning with the creation of the Kalamazoo Promise in 2005, local governments and...
Tax incidence involves the study of the pass-through rate of a tax. For example, does a 1 percent increase in a sales tax on a commodity cause the consumer price to go up by exactly 1 percent (full-shifting), less than 1 percent (under-shifting), or more than 1 percent (over-shifting). Theoretical...
Commercial fishing is deeply embedded in the economy and culture of many coastal communities. Recent ecological, economic, and regulatory changes impacting fisheries are likely to have important consequences for this industry and the communities it supports. The objective of this study is to improve understanding of coastal community resilience through...
Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world with 35% of its people live below the poverty line. 70% of Afghans have no access to electricity, and 90% of those without electricity live in the rural areas. Since 2002, more than $4 billion have been spent on Afghanistan’s...
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...
Union density in the United States has declined to historic lows over the past four decades. In 1954, nearly 35 percent of workers were union members while only 11 percent of workers were members of unions in 2015. Simultaneously, economic inequality widened, with one-third to one-fifth of this increase attributed...
Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness in Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) is a federal program that aims to significantly increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. Oregon has been receiving GEAR UP funding since 2002. In 2008-2014, Oregon received its second round...
In recent years, state governments in the U.S. have promoted improvements to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education as a means to stimulate future economic growth and increase economic mobility into careers with higher earnings. Oregon’s STEM Initiative includes the creation and development of strategic public-private partnerships which aim...
Liberalization of electricity markets has become a dominant energy sector reform for most of the European Union (EU) countries since 1990s. Despite initial expectations that liberalization will reduce electricity prices and strengthen overall energy security, outcomes of the deregulation reforms proved to be unclear and even contradictory. This study seeks...
Nepal’s community forestry has been internationally recognized as an example of successful case of collective action. However, many scholars argue that although it has been successful in protecting forests from degradation, it has not been able to create an inclusive platform for political decision-making process. Using historical analysis, comparative case...
Nuclear energy enjoyed widespread support in the United States during its initial decades and has seen extensive study as a potential means of combating contemporary energy issues such as climate change and alternative transportation fuels. Despite the potential contribution to solving these challenges, the industry has been largely stagnant since...
Scientists say that climate change is very likely to cause more frequent and more severe weather events. In order to understand how communities respond to changing weather patterns, an exploration of the connection between extreme weather events and climate change awareness, collective action, and policy is warranted. This case study...
Collaborative governance strives to address complex environmental problems by building cooperation and consensus among stakeholders. While there are many successful examples of collaborative governance, all too frequently collaborative groups come to an agreement in the meeting room only to struggle to bring their plans to fruition. What are the factors...
Group Engagement Theory describes the relationship between citizen perceptions of policy, individual identity and status judgements, and individual group engagement decisions. Utilizing a least likely crucial case methodology, this paper uses the case of Josephine County, Oregon to determine the validity of the Group Engagement Theory prediction that citizen identity...
This study examines the determinants of food consumption behaviors, such as purchasing less meat products, paying attention to how and where food is produced, and reducing food waste within the household. Food consumption is particularly important given that it can often comprise between 10% to 30% of the total household...
Increasing renewable energy development is often seen as an essential tool for combating global climate change, yet despite widespread support in theory, renewable energy often faces problems at the implementation stage. In the state of Washington, where voters have expressed a desire for greater renewable energy by mandating that 15%...
Whether media plays a contributory or a conduit role in the policy process has been a salient focus among policy scholars. If media plays a contributory role in the policy process, it not only shares similar policy core beliefs with advocacy coalitions, but also drafts and disseminates stories including policy...
Researchers and policy-makers interested in assessing public communication to better inform the decision-making process are increasingly utilizing data harvested from social media. Twitter is one of the largest online sources of near-instantaneous information about a myriad of topics socially relevant in the public sphere. Renewable energy (RE) is a socially...
Concerns over climate change and energy security have spurred governments worldwide to encourage the development of renewable energy. Although public attitudes and macro-politics, in general, show moderate to strong support for renewables- in particular, wind power- largely because of the economic and environmental benefits associated with it. However, local politics...
After Colonization and since the beginning of the globalization era, governments in developing countries have been restricted in implementing certain policies and reforms, often being forced to accept or borrow policies from former colonizers or other developed countries and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Previous studies found that borrowing policy often leads...
Studies suggest that higher investment in human capital boosts economic growth by increased productivity. Education is considered to improve human capital, but it takes relatively long to achieve progress in education. Literacy of female population holds particular importance as it has both direct and indirect effect on growth. Apart from...
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), a group formed in 1960 and often blamed for the oil shock of 1973, is treated as a cartel that aims to limit oil production and hold oil price at a level above market equilibrium. Recent research has offered a counter theory that...
Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, many newly independent nations have suffered internal instability as a result of ethnically based regional independence initiatives. This paper seeks to determine the effect historical legacies have on the formation of ethnic identities and the shaping of secessionist movements, using the...
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...
Despite widespread public support for renewable energy development, the siting of wind energy facilities can prove problematic due to opposition from surrounding communities. I propose a unifying framework to explain community response to wind energy development – showing how concepts from environmental sociology related to local biophysical and socioeconomic conditions...
In 2003, due to the dramatic growth of economy, China’s National Development and Reform Commission proposed to build 13 dams on the Nu River to fulfill the nation’s rapidly growing demand for hydropower. The 13 dams that comprise the Nu River Project (NRP) are considered among the biggest hydropower development...
Hunger is among the greatest contemporary social problems in the United States. An incredible 48 million people, or 14% of households, experienced food insecurity during 2014. At the same time, public responses to food insecurity, such as the Emergency Food Assistance Program, have increasingly relied on the “emergency food network,”...
This paper evaluates the previously unknown effect that a Fiscal Stress Label (FSL), a State fiscal intervention program signaling fiscal duress, has on passage rates and voter support for school district tax referenda. Previous research suggests that FSL receipt is associated with increased school district revenue, however the reason why...
Cities of the world today house more than half the world’s population, contribute to 80 percent of the global GDP, consume approximately 70 percent of the global energy and produce 70 percent of the greenhouse gases produced worldwide (Floater et al., 2014; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2014). City governments...
At any given time, 60% to 85% of prisoners across the United States are struggling with substance addiction and dependence. Upon release, about two-thirds of former prisoners will reoffend and return to prison. Due to the high rate of substance use and abuse in prisons, drug treatment, specifically Correctional Therapeutic...
A history of fire suppression, growth in the wildland-urban interface, and changing climate conditions, have created a fire regime in central Oregon that is growing in severity and intensity, putting more people and structures at risk and requiring a greater percentage of state and federal agency budgets to manage fires....
Studies on prison violence have typically focused attention at individual level inmate-on-inmate assaults, however, there has been limited research into the rates of inmate-on-staff violence at the facility level. There also appears to be a need for further scholarship relating to the differences in various prison level predictors of inmate...
Deforestation and loss of soil fertility are two forms of environmental degradation with global importance. Theories of environmental degradation commonly cited in public and academic discourse have historically emphasized the role of human populations and national economic development as being the primary drivers of environmental damage. This thesis utilizes quantitative...
Wind energy has widespread public support; nevertheless, the emergence of local support or
opposition in response to siting proposals is often unpredictable. Uncertainty surrounding a
community’s response is problematic for both the company planning the project and for states
pursuing policies for expanded development and use of renewable energy. Given...
Corruption has important implications for the proper implementation and success of public policies. A vast literature in the social sciences has highlighted important national attributes that propagate corruption within the public sector. Despite these vast literatures, less attention has focused on individual characteristics, outside of more basic cost/benefit analysis, that...
The validity of educational programming in prisons has been extensively researched. Education can increase an offender’s likelihood of returning to legitimate work after being released, raise the opportunity costs of illegal behavior and change an inmate’s physiological responses to committing criminal acts. Reductions in recidivism not only help decrease prison...
Climate change policies present multiple quandaries to the field of public policy and science studies. Despite the prevalent scientific consensus, approaches demonstrate great heterogeneity. With one side advocating for the facticity of climate change and a pro-active stance, while the other argues about negative economic trade-offs, viewpoints diverge. Between controversy...
Selecting locations for large energy facilities represents a land use dilemma: The beneficiaries of such facilities often are not the ones to suffer from adverse local impacts. As a result, it is not uncommon for local opposition groups to form in response to such proposals, and although opportunities for public...
The state of the environment, both from a preservation and toxicological point of view, is a continuing concern. One area of potential progress is the incorporation of green chemistry principles, which focus on reducing and eliminating harmful toxics in all aspects of industrial processes from the design and manufacturing to...
The U.S. Forest Service’s Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) seeks to encourage collaborative, science-based ecosystem restoration of forest landscapes. Many theorists note a tension between participatory approaches in governance and the certainty and control that science is said to offer. This research explores how collaboration and science are currently...
Recent trends in energy have lead to an increased push for the efficient use of energy with a focus on improving the energy efficiency of household appliances. Electric resistance heating represents a highly inefficient technology that still sees regular use. Previous literature has paid relatively little attention to the heating...
Tax credit auctions are a new way to fund government programs, dating back to just 2011. In place of funding new programs with direct appropriations from the general fund, tax credit auctions are a means to fund programs by monetizing tax credits. We performed a case study of all of...
Tax evasion is one of many problematic issues associated with tax systems that negatively affect
state’s ability to provide public goods and services. This study seeks to examine the impact of
tax composition on tax evasion using information about 150 countries from 1999 to 2007. The
paper adopts neoclassical theoretical...
The purpose of this research is to evaluate longitudinal changes of wetland mitigation policy in the United States theoretically and quantitatively. This study offers a deeper understanding of critical wetland conservation policy in the United States while providing a useful reference for policy makers and policy implementers of biodiversity offset...
Since 2004, a number of interrelated controversies have surrounded proposals to site a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal near Astoria, Oregon. While public participation has impacted the decision-making process surrounding these proposals, we do not know how such public participation processes has been perceived by those who participated. Using content...
Though research on EU law compliance is extensive, the question as to why some policy entrepreneurs are more successful than others, and why some countries comply better than others, remains largely disputed. Using a case study design of France, this thesis focuses on the type of domestic institutions that make...
Economic sanctions are widely used in the international arena in order to reconcile political conflicts and retain peace between countries. Most states prefer to use economic sanctions rather than military interventions as a more efficient tool to maintain political stability and protect their own interests. Nevertheless, sanctions are not always...
Rising human global population, appetite for seafood, and the effects of climate change have pushed commercial marine fisheries around the globe onto trajectories that are chillingly unsustainable. Input from fishermen on what it means to have a “sustainable fishery” is often absent or ignored. Some commercial fisheries are lauded for...