This study seeks to examine the participation and representation of stakeholders involved in the Southern Resident Killer Whale Task Force during their first year, culminating in the publishing of their Year One Report and Recommendations for actions with the goal of moving the Southern Resident killer whales toward recovery. This...
According to a 2017 Pew Research Study, 44% of adults in America say that they do not feel informed enough about science to understand news and new discoveries discussed on the media (Funk et al. 2019). This is concerning, because adults are not just passive consumers of media; among other...
This project aims to challenge traditional beliefs about the emotional and psychological meanings of colors, which are often limited in the Western world. The psychology of color is heavily present in nearly every aspect of our lives, and this continual reinforcement of each color’s assigned meaning ignores and discourages the...
Multi-party computation (MPC) is a field of study focused on devising cryptographic protocols that allow participants to learn the output of some function of their private inputs without trusting a third party to perform the computation. This is usually done at a large scale between data centers, with little emphasis...
In this thesis, I aim to bring two ancient spiritual guides into dialogue with each other and with modern psychology: the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra by Śāntideva of the Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition and The Ladder of Divine Ascent by St. John Climacus of the Christian tradition. I draw from Tibetan Buddhist commentaries on...
Physical activity and social emotional health among children have become increasingly important for children’s overall development. Recess is a time during the school day for students to have access to physical activity opportunities as well as socialize and interact with their peers. A quality recess, that is age and developmentally...
In this paper we investigate how hospitals can create a more inclusive climate in their organizations that can foster an environment where all employees and, in turn, patients feel welcome. We ask the question of whether it is leaders or employees that have the agency to create this climate that...
Non-destructive testing is a methodology to inspect production and operational parts for potential flaws, defects, or damages. The present work is based on pulsed wave thermography, a thermal imaging method based on heat conduction to identify surface and subsurface defects potentially present in a component. Pulsed wave thermography applies a...
Reachability analysis enables the safety assurance of control systems despite uncertain initial conditions and control inputs, and can be an important component to run on-board an autonomous system. This thesis explores the characteristics of reachability analysis with different algorithmic configurations and runtime parameters running onboard the F1Tenth 1/10th-scale autonomous racing...
The development of a continuous and reliable cooling method for computer chips is an evolving subject requiring continuous research in both computer science and thermal management. Two-dye laser induced fluorescence (LIF) provides a minimally invasive way to investigate electronics cooling fluid behavior. Dielectric fluids are of particular interest as they...
Fashion bloggers have become a changing force of the retail industry over the past decade, redefining where consumers look for fashion inspiration, product reviews, and brand credibility. Despite the widespread popularity of fashion bloggers, there is little industry consensus as to what characteristics make a fashion blogger successful and to...
Water fluoridation is considered one of the top ten greatest health achievements of the twentieth century due to its effectiveness in reducing the prevalence of dental caries. However, despite extensive research on the subject, there is little information currently available about how the constituents of drinking water affect the uptake...
Investigating the insectivorous diet of the Trowbridge’s shrew (Sorex trowbridgii) across forest types can illustrate how forest management affects biotic communities. I used DNA metabarcoding methods with ANML primers to identify stomach and intestines contents from shrews caught in pitfall traps in the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest (HJA) and Willamette...
In America’s polarized politics, the language that congresspeople use matters. This thesis examines the use of bipartisan communications—in tweets and press releases—of members of the US House of Representatives as an electoral strategy for representatives in districts of varying competitiveness. A linear regression was conducted to analyze the relationship between...
Positive Youth Development (PYD) is both a set of outcomes and a program model that serves to support youth in building healthy relationships with adults and developing the strengths necessary for healthy adulthood. It centers around the 5 C’s of compassion, character, competence, confidence, and connection, which lead to a...
The public health framework of harm reduction was evaluated in one care setting to determine its potential for use in other fields of healthcare. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 11 clients of the HIV Alliance’s needle exchange program. Analysis of client responses revealed three themes: 1) harm reduction methods work...
Juniper (Juniperus spp.) encroachment into the sagebrush steppe ecoregion is one of the main causes of sagebrush degradation and can alter the understory vegetative community by outcompeting native shrubs and grasses, which reduces the available forage and cover for small mammals. Coyotes (Canis latrans) are generalist, omnivorous predators in the...
Cystic fibrosis is an inherited genetic disease caused by a single gene mutation in the CFTR protein. Affecting 70,000 people worldwide, this disease is debilitating to patients, resulting in persistent lung infections and decreased quality of life. Due to the various mutation types, there is not currently a single drug...
Sex education plays a critical role in the development of youth sexual health and wellbeing. An ideal program is taught with honesty in an inclusive and respectful environment where students learn strategies to lower their risk of unwanted sexual outcomes, communication skills to build and navigate relationships, and necessary knowledge...
Pollen, the male product of the flower, is a crucial component in plant reproduction, as it transmits the sperm cells to the female structures, enabling fertilization and subsequent seed production. A major transition of the pollen life cycle, triggered upon pollination of female floral tissue, is from a dormant pollen...
The goal of my thesis is to (a) help reveal to the Corvallis community who comprises this local population and (b) to share with local resource agencies what potential gaps are present from the perspectives of the homeless individuals who call Corvallis home. We interviewed eight (8) individuals who have...
A recipe as a piece of text can tell a variety of stories as well as any other. Using a feminist rhetorical analysis, I read my grandmother’s personal recipe journal to show that her writings contain valuable information about women’s lives in twentieth century Poland. Through the close examination of...
This study will use a COSMED K5 portable metabolic unit to expand on the limited knowledge of the energy demands of top rope rock climbing. Participants will be experienced, consistent rock climbers. Two route difficulties (5.8 and 5.10) will be analyzed using a repeated measures randomized design to determine differences...
Marine primary production can be modeled and estimated using remotely-observable physiological signatures such as chlorophyll and carbon. Current models are based on strict physiological relationships based on photoautotrophic phytoplankton, and discrepancies between modeled and in situ data may stem from unaccounted-for physiological deviations from photoautotrophy. Mixotrophic phytoplankton can obtain energy...
Genetic counseling, a healthcare profession centered on communicating genetic information to patients and helping them understand it, has been rapidly evolving with the development of genetic sequencing and editing technology over the past decades. Consequently, future and current genetic counselors must address societal and ethical implications, as well as historical...
In this thesis, I created a short film to immerse and connect, or reconnect, Oregonians to Outdoor School and its impact on youth. Outdoor School (ODS) is an experiential outdoor education program for 5th and 6th graders, that recently became funded statewide in Oregon through voters’ approval of Measure 99....
Tightness-looseness (TL) is a cultural construct that measures the level of social norms present in a community, and the level of scrutiny of deviance from these norms. This construct offers a unique foundation for investigating how norms influence behavioral processes. Research in TL is relatively young, creating a frontier of...
Homebrewed ginger beer is a naturally fermented carbonated beverage that is flavored with ginger. Many people who make ginger beer at home, realized that it is a probiotic beverage which can aid in gastrointestinal health. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the microbiome of homebrewed ginger beer in...
The Remember Center (TRC) is a long term care center for previously trafficked children. In Ghana, there is a huge child trafficking problem because of the impoverished state the country is in and the lack of involvement from the government. With the fishing industry depleting because Lake Volta is running...
Anime and manga’s general lack of brown and black characters may not seem unusual at first considering that the medium is produced in Japan by Japanese creators for Japanese audiences, and thus chiefly features Japanese characters. However, its significant proportion of white characters necessitates a more critical investigation of racial...
The United States is a global leader in agricultural productivity. Much of its productivity growth can be attributed to public investments in agricultural research and development, starting in the 19th century and continuing until today. Past studies have shown high returns to agricultural research investments, but publicly funded agricultural research...
Low-Income urban African American (LIU-AA) youth are at high risk for HIV/STIs and adolescent pregnancy. Sexual health websites (SHWs) offer an inexpensive, easy-to-disseminate, and potentially highly-accessible method of improving sexual health knowledge, awareness, and help-seeking. The present study examined engagement regarding sexual health websites for at-risk, LIU-AA youth. We conducted...