There is a growing movement in the U.S., and throughout the world, involving top down government bureaucracies or government agencies within the natural resources field, to develop new and innovative processes and structures for integrating societal viewpoints into agency decision-making. This study examines Urban Matters, a community of practice within...
The professed economic benefits of local food systems for communities and small farmers, along with mounting recognition of the contribution of current food production practices to global climate changes has sparked growing excitement around local foods. Additionally, the growth of industrial food systems and government subsidization of corn and soy...
This essay evaluates the effectiveness of NGO strategies to promote program sustainability using a case study of two NGOs that install biosand water filters in Cambodia. While the ownership-focused strategy of cost-sharing is the most commonly used and studied, there is evidence to suggest that certain more neglected strategies can...
Over the last two decades, farmers markets have gained prominence based on their contributions to local economies, support of small-scale farmers, and ability to reconnect consumers and producers of food. Farmers markets vary substantially both in the goals they set and the outcomes they achieve. This study examines whether and...
To combat violence against women, the Brazilian government enacted the Maria da Penha Law (MPL) in 2006 and established the domestic violence specialized courts. Based on the assumption that fair procedures enhance the legitimacy of legal authorities and may enhance victims’ satisfaction and cooperation with prosecution, this research aims to...
An oil and gas extraction technique commonly referred to as “fracking”, “hydraulic fracturing”, “hydrofracking” or “unconventional shale development” has recently emerged as a major national and international policy issue. This combination of new and preexisting technologies has quickly spread around the world, allowing for the development of large, previously unviable...
International development projects aimed at alleviating poverty often fall short when it comes to capacity for operation and maintenance. As a case in point, today it is estimated one-third of all African wells have fallen into disrepair due to lack of effective management, corresponding to as many as 250,000 broken...
The absence of federal climate legislation in the United States has led to a growth of sub-federal and non-governmental programs to combat greenhouse gas emissions. One such program, the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) seeks to mitigate greenhouse emissions from higher education through the voluntary commitment of...
Low-skilled and historically marginalized migrants are often seen as a drain on society and resources, leading policy makers to enact strict border measures and integration policies that are often harmful. Given the current climate of anti-immigrant sentiment and the rise of the far right in both the United States and...
Rural electrification is today an important element of countries economic development around the world. Access to electricity is believed to alleviate poverty, and therefore is emphasized in the United Nations’ strategies to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In this spirit, Togo started in 2012 a new rural electrification program...
The undisputed cost-effectiveness of the anti-homelessness program “Housing First” is well established in the empirical literature, but fewer studies have considered the impact of the program on individual residents. This mixed-methods study examines the lives of a cohort of residents in a Portland-based Housing First project, seeking to determine whether...
Congress created the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) in 2009 with the passage of the Forest Landscape Restoration Act (Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 Title IV). The purpose of the CFLRP legislation is to implement forest restoration work on national forest lands through a competitive grant program....
Wind and solar energy levels are expected to increase in the Pacific Northwest as a result of maturing renewable energy technologies, and state and federal policies. Because wind and solar energy is intermittent, only producing electricity when weather conditions permit, the integration of these resources has posed challenges to operators...
While discussing what types of campaign finance laws are and are not constitutional in his opinion in McCutcheon v. FEC, 572 U.S. ____ (2014), Chief Justice John Roberts stated that “those who govern should be the last people to help decide who should govern.” His intent was to highlight how...
This study examines student voting at Oregon State University (OSU) – Oregon’s public, land-grant university – in state elections from 2006-2010. The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), Oregon Senate Bill 951 (2007), and Oregon House Bill 2880 (2011) seek to increase university student voting. In particular, SB 951...
“International river basin is defined as an area extending over two or more states determined by the watershed limits of the system of waters, including surface and underground waters, flowing into a common terminus” (Shapiro-Libai, 1969, p. 22). There are 276 international river basins providing almost 60% of global freshwater...
Net energy metering (NEM), the diffusion of residential photovoltaics (PV), and the smart grid transition are three accelerants of change that impact the rate of transitory change in the electric power grid system. Institutional relationships that underpin the old central station model now appear to be fracturing under the weight...
Social vulnerability is often thought of as a culmination of social factors influencing the susceptibility of various groups to harm and govern their ability to respond. In an effort to identify communities that may be susceptible to social impacts from changes to fishery policies or fishing conditions, NOAA Fisheries is...
Large-scale safety-net programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) have been shown to alleviate the negative effects of low-wage jobs and unemployment on poor American households. However, less is known about the role of “emergency” safety net programs, such as rental...
Over the past several decades, quality climate information has become extremely valuable to environmental decision makers, yet little is known about how this information is distributed within a social network of professionals. This study focuses on a climate knowledge network associated with a NOAA Climate Impacts Research Consortium (CIRC) study...
This study explores the context of and impacts resulting from a broad range of university student civic engagements on the city of Corvallis, Oregon. Through semi-structured interviews with local community partners who engage with the university in what I term student civic service-learning, feedback reveals impacts that are overwhelmingly positive,...
The Blackfoot Community Conservation Area (BCCA) was created in response to a degrading natural environment coupled with a weakening community. The BCCA is a community owned 5,609-acre forest located in the heart of the Blackfoot watershed in Western Montana. Fearful of development and the creation of subdivisions, landowners banded together,...
Michigan’s State Department of Education issued a resolution in 2003 calling for all public K-12 schools to repeal their American Indian mascots and in 2013 the Michigan Department of Civil Rights filed a complaint with the United States Department of Education in response to school districts failing to do so....
This study investigates the barriers faced by fats, oil, and grease (FOG) as an energy feedstock in the state of Oregon. FOG, which typically originates in food service establishments (FSEs), historically has been treated as waste, yet it also has the chemical make up to be an energy feedstock in...