Over the past decade, the explosion of social media has secured the Internet as a venue for political discussions of all sorts; as well as a realm of consumption and commodification. One population of women that has utilized social media in this way is the plus-sized fashion ("fatshion") community on...
This thesis is a report of a phenomenological-informed study of public university student spiritual development. The research was based primarily upon semi-structured personal interviews and a focus group with undergraduate students at a large, public research institution on the west coast. Since the introduction of scientific objectivity into the academy...
Global climate change is expected to exaggerate the severity of floods and droughts and increase the frequency of extreme streamflow events in the Midwestern United States. Managing these projected impacts poses a major challenge for water resources, conservation, and land use management. Wetlands have been considered as a conservation strategy...
Although a significant amount of research has investigated the effect of sexualization on women's body esteem and cognitive performance, few researchers have examined the effect of sexualization on girls. Additionally, research that has been conducted regarding girls' experiences of sexualization has primarily focused on media influences. The effect of dolls...
With the reauthorization of the 2013 Violence Against Women Act all Title IV higher education institutions will now be required to provide "primary prevention and awareness programs for all incoming students." Yet, more research is needed to find prevention programs that are effective (White House Task Force to Protect Students...
Scholars promote the ability of visual imagery to have a number of political campaigning benefits such as influencing opinions and attitudes and encouraging vibrant, striving democracy while improving the quality of public knowledge and opinion. However, previous research on this subject has failed to identify how presidential candidates display their...
This thesis explores the artistic imperatives and internal struggles of women painters in two novels, Kate Chopin's The Awakening (1899) and Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse (1927). I identify Chopin's Edna Pontellier and Woolf’s Lily Briscoe as painters who exhibit Impressionist strains, both in how they paint and how they...
In this work, we provide a detailed analysis of a discrete time regime switching financial market model with jumps. We consider the model under two different scenarios: known and unknown initial regime. For each scenario we investigated conditions that guarantee the model's completeness. We find that the model under consideration...
Formula SAE is a collegiate engineering competition that has participants from around the globe. Of the 1000 points available throughout the event, 100 (10%) are dedicated to the fuel efficiency of the student built race cars. Competition rules allow either gasoline or E85, a mix of 85% ethanol and 15%...
This thesis seeks to analyze the relationship between economic growth and environmental quality, in this case measured by forest cover, and analyzes whether this relationship is consistent with an Environmental Kuznets Curve. Additionally the relationship between population density and forest cover was analyzed. A simple theoretical model is derived that...
Climate change, combined with population growth, is expected to exacerbate water scarcity globally. In the Columbia River basin (CRB), streamflow is managed for multiple objectives with a network of dams and reservoirs distributed throughout the basin that may mitigate climate change effects on water scarcity. This study quantified trends in...
Invasive vegetation control studies traditionally aim to control existing populations as well as limit future spread of the species. However, little additional attention has been dedicated to aiding native communities to recover and reestablish. One prominent example of a studied invasive is Brachypodium sylvaticum (Huds.) P. Beauv. (false brome), a...
In most environments, ammonia (NH₃) is oxidized to nitrate (NO₃⁻) via the intermediate nitrite (NO₂⁻). This is a microbe-driven process involving phylogenetically distinct types of microorganisms, namely, ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and Thaumarchaea (AOA), and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB). Nitrosomonas europaea and Nitrobacter winogradskyi are the best studied AOB and NOB, respectively,...
This research examines the response from the National Rifle Association (NRA) to the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012. Specifically, the research seeks to conclude whether the NRA engaged in propaganda, and if so, what the ethical implications of such use are. Using literature from...
This study investigates the use of predictive mapping techniques as well as geotechnical criteria in developing a multiregional soil liquefaction model and subsequent maps. The maps were produced using National Cooperative Soil Survey data, in the gSSURGO format, combined with soil liquefaction data gathered from studies, articles, and traditional seismic...
Populations of organisms are influenced by both top-down (predator driven) and bottom-up (environment or resource driven) effects. Seabird research has largely focused on bottom-up factors influencing reproduction, with little emphasis on top-down. Our goal was to better understand top-down impacts on colonial nesting seabirds over a range of spatio-temporal scales....
The search for the stand density that optimizes growth and hence generates the maximum amount of wood is one of the philosopher’s stone in modern forestry. Since scientific methods were applied to forestry, numerous generations of foresters have studied the relations between stocking density and growth, obtaining diverse results and...
Amorphous metal thin films (AMTFs) are of potential use for metal-insulator-metal (MIM) tunnel diode applications due to their ultra-smooth surfaces, a consequence of their amorphous microstructure. The objective of this thesis is to design a thermally-stable AMTF capable of maintaining MIM tunnel diode performance after a post-deposition anneal in excess...
Amorphous multicomponent metals have promising applications in novel electronic devices because of their atomically smooth surface morphology and lack of grain boundaries. It is important to understand the thermal transport properties of amorphous metals and an accurate measurement of their thermal conductivity will be essential for further improvement of device...
Ab initio calculations using the B3LYP and CCSD(T) methods were employed in this work to explore the most stable structure of the intriguing compound Be(BH₄)₂, for which as many as seven different structures have been proposed in the literature. Use of the B3LYP density functional method with several large basis...
The production of high value non-conventional products, such as long utility poles; or the production of low value bulky products, such as chips or grindings; provide opportunities for forest owners to increase value from their forests. The transport of these products requires the use of specialized trucks and trailers. However,...
High Performance Concrete (HPC) is used in our crucial pieces of infrastructure, such as bridge decks, due to its enhanced durability and engineering properties. However, HPC is highly susceptible to early-age cracking. Cracking within the first months of a bridge deck’s lifespan can severely hinder its long-term performance and durability....
Despite policies implemented by the NCAA with the intention of increasing student-athlete academic success and persistence to graduation, student-athlete graduation rates still remain low, with only 65% of student-athletes receiving their college degree. Certain non- cognitive variables, including the availability of a strong support person, have been shown predict persistence...
Globally, it is estimated that over 2,518,200 tons of hides and skins were exported in the year 2011 alone, with an estimated world production yield of 23 billion square feet of finished leather (FA0, 2011; Mwinyihija, 2011). While some manufacturers have adopted eco-friendly production methods, most tanneries still practice the...
Clothing is wrought with symbolism. Each day when outfits are selected and worn, messages are being sent and received, categorizing the wearer. The self and the many different roles that it plays in society are important factors in determining a personal appearance. We try to reflect our internal concept of...
This work set out to examine the potential contribution of five aliphatic lactones, γ-nonalactone, γ-decalactone, γ-dodecalactone, δ-decalactone and δ-dodecalactone to stone fruit aroma in beer. This work consists of three related studies; lactone olfaction thresholds, additive/synergistic aroma effects and a gas-chromatography-mass-spectrophometry method of analysis. First was the determination of these...
The Producing for the Future project engaged thirty low-income youth in gardening and nutrition education, microenterprise activities, and participatory research during the 2011 and 2012 growing seasons. The intervention aimed to support community protective factors, build positive youth development, and enhance health outcomes through promoting skill-building and mentorship. The mixedmethods...
For centuries, continental philosophy has clung to the belief that the world only meaningfully exists through human perception--that, in other words, when a tree falls in the forest, it does not make a sound. Literary theory, which has strong roots in continental philosophy, followed suit, remaining tied to humanism even...
This research sought to determine the origin of bitterness as a result of dry-hopping. An unhopped ale was dry-hopped and examined in the controlled dry-hop experiment and commercial beers were examined for chemical changes from dry-hopping in the commercially dry-hopped beer survey. This thesis work suggested specific bitter hop components...
Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae, Borowski 1781) in the North Pacific migrate from mid- to high- latitude summer feeding grounds along the Pacific Rim, including areas off the coasts of the U.S., Canada, Russia and eastern Asia, to tropical breeding grounds each winter along Pacific coasts of Mexico and Central America...
Schools are continually faced with the challenge of providing students with a comprehensive system of support. Previous research based on the practices and systems of Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) suggests that having effective primary prevention measures in place can help to reduce problem behavior before it occurs (Ingram,...
First Ladies have performed a variety of public and private roles, from presidential escort, hostess, and social advocate to policy maker and presidential advisor. The nature of the position has always been both traditional and gendered, greatly influencing each First Lady's performance. Due to the changing role of women in...
Precision irrigation has made spatially explicit water management a reality. However, detailed knowledge about the spatially variable evapotranspiration is often unavailable. One example location where we can begin to understand the impact of spatial variability on evapotranspiration is at the field edge, which contains a sharp discontinuity in surface conditions....
The serotonergic system plays a significant regulatory role in osteoblast differentiation and proliferation. Serotonin (five-hydroxytryptamine or 5HT) may promote or inhibit osteoblast proliferation depending upon the serotonin receptor isoforms expressed by the cell. Classically, 5HT receptor 1B (5HTR1B) reduces osteoblast proliferation by inhibiting phosphorylation of the cAMP response element binding...
Vegetation patterns and species distributions are strongly linked to soil moisture regimes, and populations within a species from contrasting climatic regimes could exhibit differences in the degree to which certain functional traits related to establishment are expressed. Tree seedling survival is crucial for forest regeneration, and thus may be a...
For much of history, U.S. schools have employed ideologies of assimilation and nationhood - involving an exchange of immigrants' ways of life for a homogenous American identity - as frameworks for their curriculum and language education programs. However, a new ideology of multiculturalism has gained popularity in recent decades. Multicultural...
St. Joseph's College was located within St. Paul, Oregon, the first Roman Catholic mission in the Pacific Northwest. The St. Paul mission was finally established in 1839 by Father Francois Blanchet, four years after the French-Canadian settlers in the area, appropriately known as French Prairie, had requested the presence of...
This study aims to identify the effect of different lighting conditions and shelf height in a retail store environment on emotional states, feeling of safety and behavioral intentions. Lighting and store fixture height are two retail store components that can affect consumers’ emotional states and therefore their shopping experience.
This...
Halyomorpha halys (brown marmorated stink bug, Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), an invasive insect pest, has established populations in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Halyomorpha halys is a potential pest of many specialty crops in the Willamette Valley, including hazelnuts (Corylus avellana L.). The objectives of this study were to 1) characterize the...
The low-level baroclinic eddy activity seen in the NASA Ames Mars General Circulation Model (MGCM) for simulations under three annual dust cycles are characterized. Simulations were conducted with both radiatively active and radiatively inert clouds (RAC and non-RAC, respectively) for 11 continuous annual cycles for each dust case. Model results...
Positive teacher-child relationships, characterized by warmth and closeness, are associated with better behavioral and academic outcomes for children in preschool and elementary school (Hamre & Pianta, 2005). Supporting teachers to establish these positive relationships with children is important in all early care and education (ECE) programs. Head Start programs, designed...
Past research on Head Start has focused on child outcomes, yet Head Start services also target the behaviors of parents. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study (FFCW), the current study examined the effect of Head Start on mother (n = 3,575) and father (n = 1,812)...
Previous studies using an incidental learning paradigm have found that facial emotion enhances subsequent face recognition. The present study examined whether emotion enhances only memory for the specific emotional features, or whether it also enhances general memory of that person's identity. Prior to the study, we had 20 participants validate...
Blastocystis spp. is a common intestinal parasite in humans and animals that has been associated with acute or chronic digestive disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome. Serotonin mediates intestinal motility, sensation, and secretory function in the normal intestinal tract. Serotonin (5-HT) signaling is decreased in animal models of colitis, as...
This work sought to characterize a link between Vitamin C and nitroglycerin at the level of enzymatic bioactivation. Before we could proceed, we needed to develop a method that sensitively and selectively identified the product of bioactivation, nitrite. We successfully adapted traditional diaminonaphthalene derivatization with the use of stable isotope...
Ectomycorrhizal fungi (EmF) form symbioses with trees. These symbioses profoundly influence forest ecology. Certain EmF form specialized profusions of hyphae, known as ectomycorrhizal fungal mats (mats) which are visible to the naked eye, alter forest soil biogeochemistry, substantially contribute to soil microbial biomass/respiration and support unique microbial communities. Piloderma and...
The goal of this research was to investigate the bitterness intensity of known hop acid oxidation products, humulinones and hulupones. This was carried out by first creating suitable extracts of humulinones and hulupones of high purity for sensory testing. Using previously established oxidation methods and the addition of preparative liquid...
This study examines the theme of power in Naguib Mahfouz's The Cairo Trilogy (1956/57). Contrasting my analysis with earlier review of the novel that emphasized a hegemonic patriarchal power, I argue that such power was constantly subverted by the dominated: family members of the patriarch. Using James C. Scott's notions...
Oregon has been moving forward with biomass energy development. Large-scale biomass power and cogeneration (producing heat and electricity) have been the focus of the last twenty-five years, while small-scale thermal bioenergy installations (producing heat) have dramatically increased during the last decade. In eastern Oregon, bioenergy is closely linked to restoration...
Online fanfiction communities have received attention for providing spaces of creativity and individual empowerment. Yet as critics have sought to establish fanfiction as a worthy object of study, many have not grappled with the ways that fanfictions not only trouble, but also reinforce various discourses and ideas of gender and...