Rural communities face acute challenges in providing education. Attachment to place plays a significant role in rural communities but little research exists on how it influences policy. One policy response to financial, physical, and cultural factors in rural Oregon is the four-day school week (FDSW). Through health survey responses of...
There have been years of stalled K-12 school finance reform efforts in Idaho, yet it was unclear what key Idaho education interest groups currently thought about how Idaho funds its public schools. Therefore, this project explored the institutional perspectives and beliefs of K-12 Idaho education stakeholders regarding the Idaho K-12...
Children enter kindergarten on unequal footing. Early childhood experiences shape initial disparities and predict academic achievement and life trajectories. One influence, child care, is not available to all children in Oregon as most counties qualify as child care deserts. This paper analyzes if child care access has an effect on...
Children enter kindergarten on unequal footing. Early childhood experiences shape initial disparities and predict academic achievement and life trajectories. One influence, child care, is not available to all children in Oregon as most counties qualify as child care deserts. This paper analyzes if child care access has an effect on...
The 2008 financial crisis started a domino effect that crippled much of the United States economy. Most associate this crisis with large scale mortgage failure and an increase in unemployment. These were two of the main causes and effects of the crisis. However, society as a whole was also impacted....
In 2011 Oregon enacted a public education open enrollment policy that gives students and families the choice of what school to attend, regardless of district lines. Despite the lack of public information, this policy will sunset this school year unless it is further extended during legislative session. This paper attempts...
Noise is an environmental issue uniquely harmful to public welfare but essential to a well-functioning modern economy. Given the prevalence of noise especially in urban soundscapes, noise pollution has been recognized as a negative externality and an environmental stressor and thus has become an issue in public policy. Yet, as...
This paper evaluates the previously unknown effect that a Fiscal Stress Label (FSL), a State fiscal intervention program signaling fiscal duress, has on passage rates and voter support for school district tax referenda. Previous research suggests that FSL receipt is associated with increased school district revenue, however the reason why...
Geological scientists have predicted an impending massive earthquake is likely to occur on the North Pacific Coast of the US. In response to the warnings of impending disaster, the State of Oregon has implemented several disaster preparedness measures, including the Seismic Rehabilitation Grant Project (SRGP), a grant dispersed to public...
The purpose of this study was to evaluate a contextual model for integrating lessons
from the LifeKnowledge curriculum into the agricultural science and technology (AST) course content. This was measured using the National FFA Organization’s online precept indicator which is part of the LifeKnowledge 3.0 curriculum. Ninth grade students at...
The LifeKnowledge curriculum is a recent initiative of the National FFA Organization to develop key learning precepts in agriculture education students. This material utilizes cutting-edge teaching techniques in lesson plans designed to develop leadership, teamwork, personal development, and communication abilities in students. This project surveyed current agriculture teachers in Oregon...
Studies on prison violence have typically focused attention at individual level inmate-on-inmate assaults, however, there has been limited research into the rates of inmate-on-staff violence at the facility level. There also appears to be a need for further scholarship relating to the differences in various prison level predictors of inmate...
The idea for this research projected stemmed from research I conducted during my Economics 439: Public Policy course. This research project examines the idea of Voter Identification Laws and Regulations and their effect on voter turnout and participation in the United States of America. I previously found that economists studied...
This thesis analyzes the emerging technology of hydraulic fracturing and shale gas extraction process through a pluralistic philosophical approach. Rather than defending traditional values in nature, such as intrinsic value, I defend a metaphilosophical pragmatism centered on policy implications. I argue that different philosophical positions will, most of the time,...
It has long been recognized by the legal community that when an immigrant seeks relief from deportation proceedings through the United States’ immigration courts, the proceedings they undertake are best seen as a game of chance depending on the Immigration Judge who is randomly assigned to their case. This thesis...
The purpose of this study was to identify if differences existed in perceived barrier factors and perceived attitude factors toward distance education between faculty and administrators in the decision stage and those in the implementation stage of distance education technology adoption. Information was gathered from teaching faculty and program leaders...
Persistent reading difficulties are prevalent in U.S. schools and can lead to lower student performance across all subjects as well as distress, anxiety, and depression. In 2022, only 32% of fourth graders in the United States tested as proficient in reading. While there are many factors which affect reading progress...
A study of mortality, food consumption, food utilization, and
polyhedral production following single and simultaneous challenges
of the variegated cutworm, Peridroma saucia (Hubner), with DDT
and a nuclear polyhedrosis virus was made. Fourth instar larvae
were challenged topically with three levels of DDT and per os with
three levels of...
Boron sprays produced fruit set increases in 'Barcelona'
hazelnut orchards in 1984 and in 1985. The absolute fruit set was
correlated with leaf B content but not with nut B. With relative
fruit set (RFS), B content of nuts in May (r = 0.63**) was more
strongly related to set...
I defend robust realism from arguments that raise epistemological challenges to it based on considerations about either moral disagreement or the genealogy of our moral beliefs. The first argument is the “Argument from Conciliationism,” which contends that the moral disagreements that obtain between moral peers give us reason to believe...
The Oregon education system at both the K-12 and Postsecondary level is strained for resources, with funding at levels far below the national average. This is due, in large part, to the small percentage of state taxes that are used to fund education. Public support for additional revenue for schools...
Economic sanctions are widely used in the international arena in order to reconcile political conflicts and retain peace between countries. Most states prefer to use economic sanctions rather than military interventions as a more efficient tool to maintain political stability and protect their own interests. Nevertheless, sanctions are not always...
The rising cost of higher education in the United States has created increases in tuition at colleges as well as growing demand from students and families for sources of support in attending college. Over the past decade, beginning with the creation of the Kalamazoo Promise in 2005, local governments and...
According to the International Labor Organization, the use of migrant labor force has shown an increasing trend over the past decade. This indicates that migrant workers are potentially becoming a vital factor affecting the world’s economy and industries. Since labor productivity is important indicator of economic growth and prosperity, it...
At any given time, 60% to 85% of prisoners across the United States are struggling with substance addiction and dependence. Upon release, about two-thirds of former prisoners will reoffend and return to prison. Due to the high rate of substance use and abuse in prisons, drug treatment, specifically Correctional Therapeutic...
This study is designed to evaluate to what degree action at the household level in WUI wildfire preparedness is influenced by targeted public information, or behaviorally informed, interventions. The desired outcome of the public information interventions is increasing the number of households taking action to reduce wildfire risk through the...
The Afghan public higher education (HE) system absorbs less than one-fifth of government education spending and per student spending declines, while the student annual enrollment is rising. This contrast may trigger challenges and inevitable tradeoffs for the public universities to
encounter. Policies concerning the diversification of financing stream need attention;...
The initial research question for this study asked whether single women were having their employment needs met by the union in a university setting. Twelve single women who were members of a union at a university participated in semi-structured interviews about their experiences with the union. To the surprise of...
The objective of this dissertation is to examine federally administered soil conservation policy within the United States and the broadly defined Columbia River Basin in the US Northwest. I accomplish this in five chapters. In the first chapter I provide background information for the study. In the second chapter I...
This thesis explores some of the ethical issues pertaining to the use of so-called radical enhancement technology. Key concepts analyzed include “normal function”, “human being”, and “personhood.” I argue that the use of these key concepts in the debate thus far has lacked philosophical rigor, and that a reexamination of...
This qualitative study explored the role of leadership in implementing co-teaching for English language development in K-12 settings, specifically, the role of leadership of administrators and teacher-leaders. Research has confirmed that school leaders substantially impact student outcomes and teacher effectiveness (Cheung et al., 2018; Leithwood et al., 2004; Liebowitz &...
Hume’s division of truth into agreement with matters of fact or relations of ideas casts doubt on our capacity to have moral knowledge, as moral propositions do not seem to fall obviously into either category. This thesis looks at how two views, ‘descriptive moral functionalism’ and ‘moral concept essentialism’, try...
Nonnegative matrices have a myriad of applications in the biological, social, and physical genres. Of particular importance are the primitive matrices. A nonnegative matrix, M, is primitive exactly when there is a positive integer, k, such that M[superscript k] has only positive entries; that is, all the entries in M[superscript...
An examination was made of some reactions involving a transfer
of carbon from boron to carbon. In the case of the reaction of
a C[subscript n] alkylorganoborane with dichlorocarbene the intermediate was
a C[subscript n]₊₁ chloroalkylorganoborane. Oxidation of this intermediate
yielded an homologous acid (33%) and the usual alcohol (66%)....
Habitat for wildlife species that depend on sagebrush ecosystems is of great management concern. Evaluating how management activities and climate change may affect the abundance of moderate and high-quality habitat necessitates the development of models that examine vegetation dynamics, but modeling tools for rangeland systems are limited. I developed state-and-transition...
Policy makers in the United States (US), following recommendations made by the international scientific community, have drafted national emissions reduction legislation in hopes of minimizing the harmful effects of global climate change. Included in this legislation is a national cap-and-trade system with provisions for carbon offsets. Specific provisions for forest...
In Islam, paying and receiving interest is prohibited based on the belief that money should not be a commodity that is “rented” out; instead, Islamic lending structures arrange loans on an equity basis. This work examines the historical origins of interest prohibition and explains how different Islamic financial products provide...
Transportation contributes approximately 41 percent of California’s greenhouse gas emissions and 27 percent of national greenhouse gas emissions (CARB, 2019, EPA, 2017). In response to climate change concerns, stakeholders have encouraged the use of electric and hybrid vehicles through tax credits, rebates, and education campaigns. Environmental and transportation justice groups...
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...
In this dissertation, a series of studies in the field of terahertz (THz) science are presented, specifically using nonlinear THz spectroscopy. We exploit huge field enhancement and subwavelength confinement in plasmonic structures. There are three distinct projects which will be discussed: nonlinear THz spectroscopy using plasmonic induced transparency (PIT), THz-triggered...
Experiments were conducted to determine: (1) effects of pretransplant
stolon formation on performance of potato transplants in
the field and greenhouse; (2) effects of parent plant nodal position
on productivity of rooted nodal cuttings; and (3) relationships
between photoperiod and stolon formation.
The effects of early stolon formation on Russet...
In the past, sharks, skates and ray species have mainly occurred in incidental fisheries. Now they are increasingly being directly targeted due to the depleted status of traditionally targeted species. The life history characteristics of many elasmobranch species make them more sensitive to high rates of fishing mortality. The combination...