In this study overall financial development and the performance of commercial banks in Georgia during 1991-2000 is analyzed. Georgian banking system emerged from a scratch after the country gained its independence in 1991. Initial reform path turned out to be very arduous, full of failures and disappointments. After complete chaos...
Disposal of chlorinated hydrocarbons is a major environmental concern due to the lack of a satisfactory means of safe remediation at all contaminated locations. Current technologies rely primarily on incineration, a process that can lead to dangerous byproducts such as dioxin. If the chlorine substituent can be removed prior to...
Many development organizations now recognize the importance of culturally sensitive project design and implementation. Unfortunately most of these groups continue to disregard the significance of gender. This qualitative research examines a women's cooperative in rural El Salvador which formed in order to find a means of generating income and to...
Issues of diversity are receiving significant attention within the National Park Service recently, due in large part to a growing awareness that its future as a relevant and viable agency is dependent upon improving its response to and management of diversity. A diversity assessment of Fort Vancouver National Historic Site...
The prevalence of herbal supplement use by the elderly and factors that influence regular versus occasional use were investigated in a group of independent residents of a continuing care retirement community in Salem, Oregon. A nine-page questionnaire was delivered to 402 residents of Capital Manor; 318 questionnaires were usable (84%...
The present study was undertaken to analyze the vitamin E, total lipids, and cholesterol in regular and fat-reduced milk to assess whether decreases in fat result in lower vitamin E contents. Milk samples of varying fat contents (11%, 3.3%, 2%, 1% and 0.5% fat) were obtained from a local dairy...
Low nitrogen Chardonnay juice from an Oregon winery was fermented with a series of nutrient supplements, including diammonium phosphate (DAP), Fermaid K, Superfood, yeast extract, yeast hulls and thiamine. These treatments were evaluated for their contribution to the yeast assimilable nitrogen content (YANC) of the juice, which consists of the...
To determine whether extreme endurance exercise induces lipid peroxidation, we studied 14 athletes (5 females: 9 males) during a 50 km ultramarathon (trial 1) and during a sedentary protocol (trial 2) one month later. At dinner the evening before the race (or sedentary trial), subjects consumed vitamin E labeled with...
This study was designed to evaluate the effect of glucose on plasma pyridoxal 5'- phosphate (PLP) concentration. The objective was to determine whether there was a negative relationship between glucose ingestion and plasma PLP concentration and to evaluate the possible mechanism of decreased PLP after acute glucose ingestion. Seven healthy...
This investigation is an exploration of the use of inherent optical properties towards further elucidation of coastal circulation processes occurring on the continental shelf and slope in the Middle Atlantic Bight, south of Cape Cod Massachusetts, during 14-Aug to 1-Sep 1996 and 25-Apr to 15-May 1997. Assessing the possibility of...
Planktonic foraminiferal faunal assemblages were used to estimate sea-surface temperatures (SST) in the southeast Pacific Ocean during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and off the coast of Peru over the last 150,000 years. Temperatures along the eastern boundary of South America were 6-8° C cooler during the LGM than at...
Following World War II, the United States enjoyed unprecedented power and prestige. The wartime alliance with the Soviet Union quickly collapsed amid mutual suspicion and fear, however, resulting in the Cold War. Science was a significant political component in that ideological conflict. In the United States, inspired by Franklin D....
This thesis will address the transformation of biological sciences during the 1930s and 1940s and it effects on fisheries science. It will focus on Oregon State College and specifically the Department of Fish and Game Management and the interaction with the Oregon Game Commission. Support for mutation theory and neo-...
Response of agricultural crops to irrigation water deficit is well-understood at the field scale. Broader scale (watershed and county levels) studies have been less frequently performed. Data collection at the field level for extensive areas is time consuming and expensive. The importance of studies at a broader scale for evaluating...
The implementation of particular management practices to control the use of natural resources can unintentionally create barriers to trade in resources and resource access. Foreign firms have developed a variety of methods to bypass trade barriers. This thesis examines the use of foreign direct investment as a means of bypassing...
The primary goal of this research was to identify the impacts that individual agricultural land uses have on fish communities in small streams located in the Willamette Valley of western Oregon. The diverse nature of the land use features of the valley provided a challenging but useful system for the...
Redband trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri) are found over a wide range of environmental conditions and are known for their variability in life history traits among watersheds or even within streams. Life history traits and population structure of these trout can be influenced by a variety of anthropogenic changes including habitat...
The composition of global agricultural trade is shifting from primary commodities to processed foods in terms of value and quantity. It is important to understand the linkages between agriculture and food processing to identify the sources of the structural change in agricultural trade. The question addressed by this research is...
The Tillamook and Kilchis subbasins of the Tillamook Bay watershed (Oregon Coast Range) have differences in geology and land use history and, therefore, varied environmental conditions that could affect fish assemblages. Fifty-two randomly selected wadeable stream reaches in these two subbasins were surveyed for stream habitat and fish assemblage composition...
This study determines the optimal allocation of watershed conservation funds in the John Day River Basin, Oregon. Fund managers can use a variety of targeting schemes to allocate their limited resources. Depending on which targeting criteria is used, they may or may not be achieving the maximum environmental benefits per...
Three-dimensional finite element models are developed to simulate the behavior of four fill-scale reinforced concrete beams. The beams are constructed with different fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) strengthening schemes, and are modeled using ANSYS, a commercially available finite element analysis program. The experimental beams replicate the transverse beams of the Horsetail Creek...
The Horsetail Creek Bridge (HCB), constructed in 1914, is located along the Historic Columbia River Highway in Oregon. The original cross beams from the HCB were substantially deficient in shear strength, particularly for the projected increase in traffic loads. One control beam and three beams with varying configurations of a...
The essential oil of Alaska cedar heartwood is known to contain compounds which contribute to the remarkable durability of this species. While previous research has identified several compounds, a complete description of this oil, which has a "burnt-grape fruit" odor, has not been undertaken. In this research a profile of...
As a result of its atomic structure, carbon fiber produced from mesophase pitch
has a high electrical conductivity and high tensile strength. Others have used carbon fiber
as a resistive heating unit to accelerate matrix solidification in carbon fiber-polymer
matrix composites.
In this study, a unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced polymer...
This study assessed the effects of thinning on arthropod communities on understory plants in the Central Oregon Coast Range. Arthropods were sampled from five understory plants in five pairs of thinned and unthinned, young (50-80 yrs), managed Douglas-fir stands, from late May to mid-July of 1998. Vine maple (Acer circinatum),...
A simple debris-slide model, employing a digital elevation model (DEM) and geological data, was used in a geographic information system (GIS) to map slope stability in the Andrews Experimental Forest, located in the western Cascade Range in Oregon, USA. To evaluate the contribution of error in elevation to the uncertainty...
The growth potential of Douglas-fir, grand fir and western hemlock advance regeneration in the forest understory of Douglas-fir-dominated forests was investigated to detennine the feasibility of selection cutting systems in northwest Oregon. This study compared the growth of Douglas-fir, grand fir and western hemlock advance regeneration along a light gradient...
My objectives were to investigate the correlation of height and diameter growth in young Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) plantations with stand density, and to determine the effects of stand density on the canopy boundary layer conductance (g[subscript]ac) and microclimate characteristics of young Douglas-fir plantations. I measured annual height (h) and diameter...
This study examined debris flows occurring in a 125 km² study area in the Blue River watershed in the western Cascade Mountains of Oregon over a 50-year period. Debris flow occurrence was found to be concentrated in a distinct zone of high activity occupying approximately half of the study area,...
These studies are part of the Demonstration of Ecosystem Management Options (DEMO) study, a program researching the effects of different levels and patterns of green-tree retention on ecological, economic, and social phenomena. We restricted our studies to the 15% basal area, evenly dispersed retention treatment. Our objectives were, first, to...
Increasing rates of species imperilment and the loss of biological diversity in naturally functioning ecosystems can be directly linked to accelerated urban development and the conversion of natural habitats to satisfy the needs of man. In combating this loss of biodiversity, scientists and policy makers alike recognize the relevance of...
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...
Since settlement of the Intermountain West, sage grouse abundance and productivity has declined and their range has decreased. The decline of sage grouse populations is primarily due to permanent loss and degradation of sagebrush-grassland habitat. Recently, several studies have shown that sage grouse productivity may be limited by the availability...
Spreadsheet languages, which include commercial spreadsheets and various research systems, have proven to be flexible tools in many settings. Research shows, however, that spreadsheets often contain faults. This thesis presents an integrated testing and fault localization methodology for spreadsheets. This methodology allows spreadsheet developers to engage in modeless development,
testing...
Conflict over the best way to manage Oregon's public lands makes a land planner's job extremely challenging. Multiple uses, federal mandates, and constantly evolving knowledge all contribute to the difficulty of determining how to best use the land. The Coastal Landscape Analysis and Modeling Study (CLAMS) was developed in 1994...
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...
The spruce weevil (Pissodes strobi) is a serious pest of Sitka spruce in Oregon. Weevils cause damage by killing the leader of a tree, resulting in defects such as crooks and forks that can render the tree unmerchantable. In this study, spruce stands 16-25 years old were surveyed for weevil...
This project was a part of larger work that compared major factors controlling patterns of carbon dynamics in two regions of the globe, the Pacific Northwest, USA and northwestern Russia. It was funded through the NASA foundation (grant # NAG5- 6242). Human economic activity is causing the release of pollutants...
Watershed management is widely recognized as an important component of healthy ecosystems and its success depends on cultivating the good will, stewardship values, and participation of citizens. Because much of the streamside land in Oregon is in private ownership activities on public lands will not be enough to protect salmon...
Basal area and height growth were analyzed for individual trees in uneven-aged ponderosa and lodgepole pine stands in central Oregon. Basal area growth was modeled as a function of other stand and tree variables to address five general objectives: 1) to compare the predictive ability of distance-dependent versus distance-independent stand...
Large-scale ecosystem assessments aim to assist ecosystem management by synthesizing current scientific knowledge on an area, and by providing a foundation for policy discussions and decisions on land management. These assessments go beyond traditional research efforts by moving away from narrow scope, system, and institutional boundaries, and by attempting to...
Well water levels and ditch flow were used to evaluate road-induced changes in surface and subsurface flow for two sites (Trocadero and Polk) in southeast Alaska. At the Trocadero Site, low water levels before and peak water levels during a storm were used to test for differences in subsurface water...
Two North American subspecies of Snowy Plovers (Charadrius alexandrinus) have been described: the Cuban Snowy Plover (C. a. tenuirostris) and the Western Snowy Plover (C. a. nivosus). Coastal populations of the Western Snowy Plover are listed as Threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, while populations of the Cuban Snowy...
This research examines the community composition of biotic soil crusts at nine sites in central and eastern Oregon, U.S.A. At each site, data were collected in one pair of livestock-grazed and excluded transects. Variables recorded included: cover of biotic soil crusts and vascular plant species, soil surface pH, electrical conductivity,...
Simulations of stream-subsurface water exchange (hyporheic exchange) using a three-dimensional steady state groundwater flow model and a particle tracking model in unconstrained and constrained reaches of small (2nd-order) and intermediate (5th-order) mountain streams were conducted to estimate the effects of geomorphic features on the extent, volume and residence time of...
This thesis presents a design-oriented model for lightly doped CMOS substrates. The model predicts the substrate noise coupling between noisy digital and sensitive analog blocks in the early stages of the design. The model scales with the size and separation of these blocks and it is validated with device simulations...
The Oregon continental shelf waters are typically characterized by four to five major upwelling events that occur between May and October. The upwelled water is rich in nutrients, which fuels an increase in phytoplankton biomass. The onset of El Nino, however, can disrupt the normal physical processes along the Oregon...
I conducted two separate studies, both related to the impacts of spring and fall prescribed fire on ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Loud.) forest soils in Eastern Oregon. The studies were either conducted at or linked to four stands of ponderosa pine, in the Malheur National Forest. Each stand...
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...
Field studies were conducted in 1998 and 1999, to evaluate glyphosate and glufosinate for control of redroot pigweed, common lambsquarters, hairy nightshade, and barnyardgrass in herbicide-resistant sugarbeets. Treatments that included two or three applications of glyphosate, regardless of rate, or glyphosate applied once in combination with BAS 656 07 H...