Oregon Sea Grant and its partner states have received a Sectoral Applications Research Project (SARP) grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to refine outreach methods for coastal communities with specific attention to climate change. This paper will focus on the SARP project and a related case study...
Public opinion is central to the formation of public higher education, particularly public higher education funding policy. However, extant research indicates that an enormous gap exists between public higher education policymakers and the general public, resulting in misunderstanding and serious challenges for public higher education funding. This analysis builds on...
Most research on U.S. hunger and food insecurity is at the household level, where it occurs. Because policy to address food insecurity is created and implemented at the national and state level, hunger research at the state level provides important contextual information. By including weather data with state level economic...
The complexity of modern environmental problems has increased appeals for including scientific research and findings in natural resource policy decision making. Though scientists, resource managers, interest groups, and the general public support more science-based environmental policy, these preferences have been accompanied by growing calls for decentralization and democratization of policy...
The Himalayan mountain range is one of the world’s largest sources of fresh water, and Nepal, situated at the foothills of the Himalayas, is endowed with ample water resources. In spite of this water abundance, drinking water supply in many parts of the country is inadequate, particularly in the capital,...
In recent years there has been a growing debate in the field of public administration over whether public employees are essentially self interested. Public choice theory contends that all people are self-interested utility maximizers, and as a result that public employees would seek to use their position for personal gain....
This study uses the Health Impact Assessment approach to determine the health impacts of allowing accessory dwelling units in Benton County, Oregon. A literature review presents the health benefits of accessory dwelling units in urban areas and identifies the potential negative health effects in rural areas. Five accessory dwelling units...
Community driven development (CDD) is one of the recent approaches in the development arena that integrates people into mainstream development. Bringing people together into the development prospects through social capital is an important aspect of this approach that harnesses greater social inclusion and wider participation at the grass root level....
The spread of invasive species into the Pacific Northwest (PNW) of the United States poses a serious threat to the valuable forest resources of the region. Many insects and diseases that are a threat to these forest resources can be transported inside firewood. When campers transport their firewood across borders...
Local Perceptions of Social-Ecological Change on the McKenzie: Implications for Resilience
This study sought to catalog local knowledge of long-term residents of the McKenzie River Valley as it pertains to landscape and community change and provide a general assessment of factors affecting the local social-ecological system’s resilience. Residents interviewed indicated...
Microfinance has been extolled by donor agencies, development practitioners and policy makers as a tool for alleviating poverty and empowering women. Yet little systematic research has been done to assess the conditions and extent to which microfinance programs accomplish these goals. This essay provides an assessment of that research. Based...
During the 2011 Oregon Legislative session, seven bills were debated that addressed policy affecting small farms. This paper seeks to understand the environment surrounding these bills: what is the political structure for determining small farm policy? To answer this question seven policymakers were interviewed and two legislative hearings were observed....
In recent decades there has been a trend for countries to begin establishing bilateral trade relations with one another, namely, free trade agreements. The result has been open economies that are economically tied to one another. In El Salvador, two policies are highlighted that tie it strongly to the United...
Over the past two decades, the western United States has experienced many of the costliest and most severe wildfires in history. To mitigate the effects of the growing threats posed by wildfires, residents in at-risk communities are encouraged to protect their homes and property by adopting Firewise recommendations. This article...
This paper explores the history of housing policies in the United States and how they were implemented. It also examines the effects of discriminatory practices against minorities and low-income groups. There is evidence that this systemic form of discrimination creates conditions that cause poverty and unequal access to education, home...
Retention, the ability of an institution to retain students through degree completion, is a major concern for most colleges and universities. The current first to second year retention rate at Oregon State University (OSU) is about 80% (OUS 2008; 2011). Currently the OSU Strategic Plan includes the goal of increasing...
Homelessness has many faces, several of which society will never truly see. The homeless population has begun to change during the recession, as families lose their homes to foreclosures due to high interest mortgages or become evicted from rental dwellings as one or both wage earners lose employment. The initial...