Abalone (Haliotis) are an iconic species all over the world. They play a vital role in maintaining a healthy coastal ecosystem and hold an important cultural value for coastal communities in California. Almost all wild abalone in California are threatened in some way. The black and white abalone are listed...
This thesis consists of three manuscripts related to the methodology of evaluating charring behavior in cross laminated lumber panel specimens subjected to fire performance tests on cross-laminated lumber panel specimens. The topic of the first manuscript is the measurement of char rates of unprotected CLT layups fabricated with ponderosa pine...
Riparian zone conservation is vital as species’ ability to adapt to a changing climate and pressure from land use is constantly tested. The unique microclimates of riparian zones offer cooler temperatures and resourceful habitats for aquatic and terrestrial organisms. This is essential during seasonal ceased flow regimes when water availability...
Early childhood is a crucial time for the holistic development of a child’s social, emotional, cognitive, and physical needs to build a solid and broad foundation for lifelong wellbeing and learning (Irwin et al., 2007). During this critical period, there is an increased demand for motor skills and executive function...
Computational statistical mechanics leans heavily on the class of Markov Chain Monte Carlo Algorithms. Many such algorithms exist, and simulations can run for several weeks, making the selection of algorithms a difficult, but critical task. In this work, we introduce a benchmark system of two quadratic wells with an analytical...
In the face of the global climate crisis, paired with current and future risks over water resources, the importance of effective water resources management cannot be overstated. However, there is a significant lack of specific metrics used to track water stewardship on a broad scale. Thus, in order to track...
Water electrolysis plays a pivotal role in achieving a green hydrogen economy by sourcing electricity from intermittent renewable sources. However, the efficiency of the electrolysis process is limited by the sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER) kinetics, whereas the kinetics of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are more facile. This thesis...
Industrial waste heat composed of saturated liquid water can be redirected to charge a thermochemical energy storage (TCES) system. This energy can be stored long-term in the inherently energy-dense chemical bonds and used for space heating. Initial reactor scale cycling experiments were conducted in tandem with TCES material improvements. Hydration...
Developed coastlines provide a variety of recreation opportunities to coastal residents and visitors but are also the first line of defense for oceanfront development against chronic hazards like erosion and sea level rise. In the Pacific Northwest of the United States, oceanfront homes also face an additional severe but very...
Worldwide, networks of plants and pollinators are faced with the threat of climate change. The extent of this threat and the degree of adaptability is not yet understood. In Oregon, climate change is predicted to bring hotter and drier summers which may have consequences for pollinators and the resources they...
California and Steller sea lions (Zalophus californianus, Eumetopias jubatus, respectively) are considered sentinel species because they have long life spans, are long-term coastal residents, feed at high trophic levels, and have large blubber stores that serve as depots for anthropogenic toxicants. There are few studies on sea lion health and...
Understanding the interplay between energy and water is central to effective natural resource management. With enough energy it is possible to secure sufficient water, with enough water it is possible to produce nearly boundless energy. The sun is the engine which drives the availability of both these resources; nearly every...
Floodplains are a significant and increasingly threatened ecosystem. As restoration projects are implemented more frequently in degraded floodplains, novel methods are emerging with a focus on restoring critical processes in which vegetation plays a key role. The purpose of this paper is two-fold: 1) to develop expectations for vegetation response,...
By studying gravitational waves, we can gain new insights into the merging events between massive objects such as black holes as well as neutron stars. Moreover, studying low-frequency waves allows us to observe merging events between supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies, which in turn allows us to...
One of the main ways that one can accurately gain knowledge of the experiences of students on a college campus is to talk to the students themselves. In this study, we used Photovoice, a participatory action approach, to help better understand the experiences of the students at Oregon State University...
This paper seeks to assess the merits of “Vote With Your Dollar” (VWYD) strategies for consumer and investor activism as a model for changing corporate behavior. A novel framework was constructed to group VWYD strategies and campaigns under shared attributes. To assess one such group, the boycott, the research gathered...
For next-generation molten salt reactors, there is a need to be able to characterize the corrosion of the molten salts contained within them. One such tool that may be used to accomplish this is a dynamic ref- erence electrode, or DRE. Here, an aqueous dynamic reference electrode (aDRE) was developed,...
This thesis acts as an artist statement to accompany the series Rose Colored Glass, which is a collection of acrylic paints using mirrors as canvases. Part prose and part autobiography, Queer Tragedy isn’t the Whole Story follows my journey from institutionalization and assualt to healing. Each mirror has a story...
The accelerated development in water-energy systems calls for advanced modeling and optimization tools to improve technologies’ performance. Water desalination is a manifestation of water-energy system that is challenged by different operational constraints. The scarcity and uneven distribution of freshwater around the world makes water desalination an indispensable process to address...
Over 100 years separate the 1918 Influenza and COVID-19 pandemics, and a multitude of science, public health and communication advancements have emerged. With the COVID-19 pandemic still underway, recently reaching the one million death mark in the United States alone (CDC, 2020), researchers are searching for clues as to how...
This paper seeks to provide a practical answer to the following question: why create a board of directors in a family business? To achieve this, it summarizes the existing research published in the field of family business governance that directly addresses the beneficial role of the board of directors in...
Mountain pine beetles (MPB) have killed millions of acres of forest throughout the Rocky Mountain ecoregion in the United States and Canada and climate change may be intensifying outbreaks. Climate change can change forest ecosystems and dynamics by increasing drought conditions and intensifying heat waves. Due to changing climate conditions,...
We do not know how to align a very intelligent AI agent's behavior with human interests. I investigate whether—absent a full solution to this AI alignment problem—we can build smart {\ai} agents which have limited impact on the world, and which do not autonomously seek power. In this thesis, I...
The Vietnamese population that migrated to the United States is largely tied to South Vietnam. As the population settled, their strong opposition to communism has driven many in the community towards political alignment with the alt-right and even white nationalists. The proximity to these movements and their seeming tolerance of...
One way to support the transgender and gender diverse (TGD) community is by calling out microaggressions. Bystander readiness to call out microaggressions may be influenced by a bystander’s perception of harm caused by the microaggression and stereotypes surrounding the identity of the microaggressor. In this study, I focused on the...
Over 76 cities throughout the United States have already adopted policies to limit the expansion of natural gas, mainly through updates to city codes that ban natural gas infrastructure in new construction. Rising concern over the environmental and public health impacts of methane - a greenhouse gas with a much...
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is the governing body for collegiate athletics and has regulated the activity of student-athletes with the primary goal of preserving amateurism. In recent years, the restrictions of this principle have been challenged in court. The Supreme Court case NCAA v. Alston (2021) challenged the...
Reflection on a stage management experience for a musical produced at Oregon State University. Comparison from previous high school experiences in stage managing to the university level of stage management. Reference to the texts and resources examined for the growth of knowledge in stage management. Analysis of each stage of...
This study aims to evaluate the relationship between the social determinants of health and substance use disorder (SUD) in Oregon. Data was collected from various public databases to represent the social and environmental conditions of the 18 most populated counties in Oregon. Substance use disorder data was also collected for...
Since underrepresented nominees began filling U.S. Supreme Court seats, political scientists have examined the possibility of existing biases towards potential judges based upon their identities or innate characteristics. Some scholars have identified that the gender identification and ethnic affiliations of candidates have affected the behaviors displayed by those involved in...
The widespread adoption of computerized systems around the turn of the century as a means of more efficiently conducting elections introduced more issues than these computer systems were intended to address. Though many of these flaws were not considered for years or decades after the introduction of digital election infrastructure,...
This dataset provides the observations used to answer questions of interest regarding how intersection and traffic characteristics impact the frequency and severity of bicycle-vehicle conflicts as part of the field data analysis portion of the study titled "SPR 833 Intersection Treatments and Bicyclist Safety." Parameters such as bicycle-vehicle conflicts (measured...
This dataset aims to display damage induced by calcium oxychloride formation with respect to concrete air void content, and boundary conditions. The purpose of this data set is to complete the data in the paper submitted to Cement and Concrete Composites Journal.
The citation for this journal paper is :...