Technological advancements, ever-evolving necessary skillsets, and an aging workforce have all contributed to a growing labor crisis wherein there are not enough qualified candidates available to fill vacant jobs in the manufacturing sector – in essence, a skilled labor shortage. Certificate programs (earned independently in a two-year college, while working...
In this report, we present climate projections for Union County that are relevant to specified natural hazards for the 2020s (2010–2039) and 2050s (2040–2069) relative to the 1971–2000 historical baseline. The projections are based on multiple global climate models for both a lower greenhouse gas emissions scenario (RCP 4.5) and...
Whey protein’s potential for bioactivity is well documented, but there is disagreement on the extent to which it may modulate the immune system towards decreased inflammation. Decreased inflammation is generally perceived as a beneficial bioactivity in foods as excessive chronic inflammation is linked to morbidity and mortality.
This thesis first...
Disaster response and surveillance operations will increasingly incorporate Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV)s due to their cost-effectiveness and maneuverability. This trend has driven the research on small-sized quadcopters for varying indoor applications. Small-sized quadcopters' payload and computational capacity limit the usage of complex vision-based collision avoidance algorithms that are employed by...
The goals of this work are to a) understand community perspectives related to public engagement with science and the Luquillo Long Term Ecological Research (LUQ-LTER) program, b) enhance existing relationships within these communities, and c) illuminate opportunities for establishing new relationships between the LUQ-LTER program and its surrounding community. We...
Quantum mechanics is increasingly being taught with a spins-first approach where instructors use simple spin systems to introduce the principles of quantum mechanics rather than systems with wavefunctions. One of the defining characteristics of a spins-first approach is that systems studied have discrete bases, whereas systems with wavefunctions have continuous...
Nanoscale Instrumented Indentation Testing (IIT) is a material characterization technique that is used to determine mechanical properties. The size effects present at this scale make it difficult to expand findings to a bulk scale. Modeling can be used to bridge this gap and better understand nanoscale IIT and the size...
In this dissertation we present a compilation of the research conducted during the author’s doctoral program. In the first part, we discuss a case study regarding the impact of scholar-ships on student success at Oregon State University (OSU). Specifically, we look at the grad-uation and retention rates and aim to...
Anthropogenic induced climate change is predicted to alter distribution of existing plant populations. As plants migrate over space and time, populations often fragment and contract, affecting basic elements of population dynamics (e.g., population size, gene flow, genetic diversity, etc.). Little is known, however, how these impacts on plant species will...
Play therapy is a unique skill set within psychotherapy that combines the language of play with other forms of communication to promote healing and growth in children and adolescents. This therapeutic approach involves utilizing toys, pretend play, structured and unstructured activities, and various interactions to foster a therapeutic relationship. By...
RF data-driven device fingerprinting through the use of deep learning has recently surfaced as a possible method for secure device identification and authentication. Traditional approaches are commonly susceptible to the domain adaptation problem where a model trained on data from one domain performs badly when tested on data from a...
The accessions used to create the Snap Bean Diversity Panel (SnAP) were 378 snap bean cultivars and germplasm lines selected from North American and European germplasm. This panel supplements the 150 member Bean CAP snap bean diversity panel (SBDP) with an additional 228 snap bean accessions. The Bean CAP SBDP...
To facilitate the design of Natural and Nature-Based Features (NNBF) for flood protection, this thesis expands an existing engineering design methodology to NNBF systems. The existing approach is a Level III reliability method for the performance-based design of traditional coastal engineering systems. The expanded methodology incorporates uncertainties inherent to both...
Additive manufacturing has become a promising method for the fabrication of inexpensive, green, flexible sensors and electronics. Printed electronics on low- temperature substrates are very appealing for the flexible hybrid electronics market for their use in disposable and biocompatible electronic applications and in areas like packaging, wearables, and consumer electronics....
A table containing data from random sampling plots in 87 randomly located aspen stands in northern Yellowstone, repeating measurements by Painter et al. (2014). Stands were relocated using GPS coordinates from 2012. Each stand contained one plot 2x30 m, extending from the live, dead or fallen tree nearest the GPS...
Walking is the single most universal mode of transportation in the world, but being a pedestrian exposes a traveler to high risk. Historically, pedestrians have consistently experienced disproportionately high rates of fatalities and severe injuries in traffic crashes. Research has probed into factors influencing pedestrian crash injury severity outcomes, but...
In Oregon perennial and annual grass seed cropping systems conservation management practices and their impacts on soil health and soil microbial community is not well understood. There is strong motivation to employ conservation tillage and other conservation practices to curb atmospheric carbon levels and improve soil health. However, the few...
Combinatorics is a field of mathematics that concerns enumeration and existence, and its most notable applications are in computer science and statistics. Most students are introduced to combinatorics through counting problems, where they are tasked with determining the cardinality of a set of outcomes. Such problems are well-known for being...
The seafood industry has a problem of underutilization of harvested and processed fish. Up to 60% of the weight of the fish is considered a byproduct that is typically made into fishmeal for livestock and aquaculture feed, a low-value and non-food grade product. Two species that make up major fisheries...
A new approach is described that offers a risk-informed performance-based (RIPB) framework for quantifying the risk associated with a cyber-attack on a nuclear power generating facility.
The first part of the method involves 1) the creation of a simplified 10 CFR 73.54 compliant cyber infrastructure, 2) modeling of design basis...
Counseling as a profession has been on a journey of self-examination as CACREP approaches the release of its revised standards and the world recovers from the tumultuous few years under the shadow of the pandemic. Cultural shifts in perspective have prompted new conversations around concepts related to sexuality, racial identity,...
Humanitarian logistics in the post-disaster phase of an earthquake requires detailed planning about the relief distribution network including assigning available distribution centers (DCs) to the affected areas, distribution of the relief commodities demanded by the affected population, and efficient allocation of the available vehicle fleet for the distribution in a...
People turn to mass spectrometry to answer some of life’s most important questions. From carbon dating of archeological finds to newborn blood screening tests, mass spectrometry allows us to measure molecules which helps advance our knowledge of life and the world we live in. One area of mass spectrometry that...
Forced removal of Indigenous communities and subsequent colonial forest management have led to landscape homogenization, fuel abundance, conifer encroachment, and, therefore, a loss of forest and fire resilience in the Western US. This loss of forest and fire resilience leads to a loss of social resilience as forested communities struggle...
Domestic violence (DV) is pervasive worldwide and has negative psychological effects that last a lifetime. Although DV is a problem that affects all societies, it is addressed through varied legal responses and with gaps in comprehension when examined through a cultural lens. The findings of these studies have the potential...
Over time, Open Source Software (OSS) has become indispensable in the creation and upkeep of software products, serving as the fundamental building block for widely used solutions in our daily lives, including applications that enable communication, entertainment, and productivity. A sustainable OSS ecosystem is one that attracts and retains a...
Propose a sampling plan to determine Hg contamination in the Nanay river basin.
The sampling plan is for a feasibility pilot, to investigate whether it is possible to safely collect samples for Hg analyses. Future studies will build on these initial results.
The information in this report is for the purpose of informing cooperators in industry, colleagues at other universities, and others of the results of research in field crops. Reference to products and companies in this publication is for specific information only and does not endorse or recommend that product or...
I conducted a field study using gray wolf and mountain lion urine to investigate white-tailed deer and mesopredator behavioral responses to novel predator cues in a natural setting and to see if any changes in wildlife activity correspond to changes in the local biodiversity of a wetland environment. I created...
Dam removal is an important management tool for addressing aging infrastructure, public and structural safety, restoration of river connectivity for migratory organisms and recreation, and habitat quality. However, planning for dam removals is constrained by the difficulty of cost estimation. To our knowledge, published data on dam removal plans, total...
While digital inclusivity researchers and software practitioners have been trying to address exclusion biases in Windows, Icons, Menus, and Pointers (WIMP) user interfaces (UIs) for a long time, little has been done to investigate if and how inclusive software design and its methods that have been devised for WIMP UIs...
Despite ongoing initiatives and research efforts, the persistent underrepresentation of marginalized groups in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) disciplines in the U.S. has seen little improvement. This study posits that a fundamental change in teacher preparation can lead to more inclusive STEM learning environments. It centers on the development...
Aniba rosaeodora commonly known as rosewood is a tree species of great socio-economic value in the Amazon because it is harvested for the extraction of its essential oil, which is used in the production of cosmetics. Since rosewood is a wild species included on the Convention on International Trade in...
Wildfires in the modern era have grown ever more destructive and dangerous following decades of suppression-only policies and climate change. Because of this, the wildfire incident management teams (IMTs) and their public information officers (PIOs) that manage these fires have taken on a more visible and important role, especially in...
This capstone report provides an overview of the emergence of the bigleaf maple sugaring industry in Oregon. This report consists of a literature review and three case studies. The literature review compiles information relevant to bigleaf maple sugaring within the wider context of maple sugaring in North America. The three...
Optimal commercial fishery management sustains each salmon species' population while maximizing economic benefits. This thesis addresses two questions. What are the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's and the Board of Fisheries' intentions when conducting a fishery management plan in Upper Cook Inlet? How does it compare to its implementation?...
Given the recent advancements in the field of pulsar timing pertaining to the detection of a stochastic gravitational wave background (GWB), it is now the perfect time to perform tests of gravity via exploration of the correlation signature between the timing data of pairs of pulsars induced by the polarization...
This thesis presents a novel design for a rheometer style viscometer by implementing high temperature and inert atmospheric requirements on the device. The goals of this device are to measure the viscosity of high temperature molten salts, which are corrosive and extremely hydroscopic. It also aims to be able to...
Smoldering combustion in wildland fires is difficult to extinguish, can transition to flaming combustion, and produces a significant amount of pollutants. It is necessary to understand parameters controlling smoldering in order to help predict the smoldering behavior and potentially mitigate these hazards. The wide variety of natural fuels that occur...
As the Internet has radically changed modern life, much attention has been paid to the outcomes produced by the diffusion of online access. In the modern economy, reliable Internet access is a crucial tool offering better access to information and opportunities, increasing work efficiency, and facilitating personal connection, leaving those...
A dissertation describing the results of a series of greenhouse experiments conducted to better understand phytoremediation in stormwater bioretention systems.
Flexible Electronics is a fast developing technology that is set to revamp and revolutionize conventional electronics through the development of devices that are easily conformable to surfaces of any arbitrary geometry. Such devices would have vast applications in areas where the rigidity of traditional silicon based electronics is undesirable, such...
The research was conducted in the Fundo Almendra, property of the National University of the Peruvian Amazon (UNAP). The objective was to analyze the gross forest loss in the period 2001-2021 in Fundo Almendra, the relationship between forest loss and local surface temperature, and the role of local communities’ demographics...
Southeast Alaska is located on the traditional territory of the Lingít, Haida, and Tsimshian People. It is comprised of the largest temperate rainforest in the world, with subregions receiving over 500 cm of rain annually. Climate change is predicted to alter the region's timing, type, and magnitude of precipitation and...
Wind power forecasting provides valuable insights for demand response, energy market operation, and plant control optimization. Probabilistic approaches—which capture uncertainty in these complex systems by representing predictions as probability distributions—represent a growing area of research in wind energy science. However, their applications for wind-based hybrid systems, particularly those focused on...
This thesis challenges South Korea’s state-sponsored and activist-serving narratives about the Korean comfort women, who were forced to work as sex slaves in Japan’s wartime military brothels. Comfort women have provided testimonies about their wartime experiences that have drawn significant attention to the atrocities committed against them by the Japanese...
The Peruvian cocoa sector has been growing quickly since the beginning of this century due to international demand for this commodity together with concentrated international cooperation, including NGOs and governmental agencies. Similarly, certification among cocoa producers has been growing quickly. Little is known regarding how certification impacts environmental and socioeconomic...
In this paper, I present the design of Mira 2, a small-scale, liquid bipropellant rocket engine, with a specific focus on its oxidizer-centered pintle injector. Building upon the valuable lessons and insights gained from the empirical testing of its predecessor, Mira 1, the Mira 2 engine incorporates several improvements and...
The electric power grids of countries across the globe rely on load and generation forecasting to know when, where, and how much resources need to be dispatched to sustain proper grid operation. Because of this, forecasting needs to be highly accurate to avoid unnecessary resource dispatch which can be costly....
Heterogeneous catalysis modulates the rate and selectivity of reaction processes by
stabilizing a series of intermediate states on solid surfaces, facilitating the production
of many commodity chemicals modern society relies upon. Conventional, thermal
catalytic processes—conducted at elevated temperatures and pressures—source
thermal, mechanical, and chemical potential energy from carbon-hydrogen bonds—
combustion...
In this study, 3D finite difference and 2D finite element forward modeling were used to create an electromagnetic sensitivity analysis for the Cotopaxi volcano in Ecuador. Magnetotellurics (MT) is a natural-source electromagnetic geophysical technique that images electrical conductivity. Measuring strong contrasts in electrical conductivity in volcanic materials allows for the...
This paper examines the recent evolution of aggrieved entitlement and social fragility in young white American males and the subsequent violent backlash that certain individuals in this group have unleashed upon women, the LGBTQ community, Jewish people, Black people, and other socially vulnerable populations. Throughout the past decade, America at...
The following pages set out to document the German far-right since 1945, along with the responses from the German government and the experience of minorities that extremists tend to target. This study finds that the German government’s heavy-handed response to visible far-right political parties as early as the 1950s consequently...
Turbulent flow with suspended, non-spherical particles can be found in nature and several industrial applications. Although turbulence with dispersed spherical particles has been studied extensively, modeling the dynamics of non-spherical particles in a turbulent flow has not been studied extensively. Motion of spherical particles in complex flows is typically captured...
Natural resources play a crucial role in human society by providing both market value and non-market value. Effective management of these resources is necessary to achieve a balance between economic value and other non-market benefits. Econometric studies focusing on natural resource management help us understand the costs and benefits of...
High early strength concrete (HESC) allows for faster construction with less impact on traffic, thus reducing the indirect costs associated with a project. There are multiple methods for achieving early strength, such as alternative cements like calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) or chemically accelerated portland cements. The standard criteria for an HESC...
This study is an ethnographic investigation of residential turnover, organizational memory, and the persistence of Lost Valley, an Oregon ecovillage founded in 1989. Literature on organizational turnover, memory, and persistence is reviewed and integrated with scholarship on intentional communities and ecovillages, generating a theoretical framework for data collection and analysis....
In the United States, children from underserved racial/ethnic backgrounds encounter greater environmental risk both in terms of the physical environment (e.g., housing quality, access to resources like health services and jobs, and exposure to environmental toxins) and the social environment (e.g., social support, neighborhood crime, racism, and discrimination), due to...
Chapter 2:
Aquatic macroinvertebrate communities have been shown to exhibit strong differences between erosional (riffle and run) and depositional (pool) macrohabitats of streams. A subset of these communities are aquatic insect taxa that are an important food source for riparian consumers like birds, bats, lizards, and spiders. Understanding the role...
As climate change and its associated environmental and socioeconomic impacts become increasingly severe and imminent across the United States, it has become imperative for the public to be aware of and actively engaged with this issue. Although scientists generally perceive outreach in a positive light, a critical barrier that tends...
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led to significant transformations in global mobility patterns, primarily driven by stay-at-home orders and economic shutdowns. These measures resulted in a substantial decline in travel activities worldwide. In the United States, there was a notable reduction in travel demand, with a corresponding decrease in...
Coastal stream basins are of great importance to efforts aimed at refining our understanding of the earliest populations that inhabited the ancient Oregon coast. However, geomorphic responses to post-glacial sea level rise in these settings has produced depositional environments that destroy or deeply bury late Pleistocene and early Holocene-age archaeological...
Tanzania has seen a steady decrease in HIV prevalence over the past decade; however, the current HIV prevalence is 4.8% among Tanzanian adults. HIV testing is the first step in the treatment cascade and is key to getting those living with HIV in Tanzania linked to care and reducing their...
The HENRI system was developed to narrow the pulse width of TREAT from 89 ms to below 60 ms with the goal of improving the test reactor's ability to simulate RIAs in LWRs by rapidly injecting helium-3, a strong neutron poison, into the core. A coupled model using the CFD...
Oregon has one of the five highest homeless occupancy rates in the U.S., according to the Annual Homeless Assessment Report (2021). Using the current governor of Oregon’s (Tina Kotek) plan to decrease homelessness, which focuses primarily on housing developments and strategies, this study will first examine the merits of permanent...
Populated and developed areas at the fringes of or intermixed with undeveloped landscapes are referred to as the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). There are many unique benefits associated with living in the WUI that understandably attract people to move to them. However, there are also potential wildfire-related risks particular to...
Drones, or unoccupied aircraft systems (UAS), have become increasingly accessible and a widely used tool across disciplines. Off-the-shelf drones have, for instance, popularized and advanced wildlife research by providing a privileged birds’-eye view for collecting high-resolution imagery for morphometric and behavioral sampling, which was otherwise costly or impractical. Biologically meaningful...
This thesis includes a satirical novel and a short analytical reflection on the writing process and the general themes and takeaways from the novel itself. While the analytical reflection appears before the novel in the paper, they can be read in either order. The novel satirizes how people respond to...
Reinforced concrete (RC) column-footing substructures are widely used to support bridges along critical transportation corridors in Oregon. Those built prior to 1971 were typically designed to resist only gravity loads. Therefore, they are vulnerable to damage or collapse during strong ground shaking. To prevent collapse, seismic retrofits have been developed...
The understanding of Discipline-Specific Language is an important competency for students of any field to begin mastering early in their studies, since it serves as a prerequisite for both the analysis of expert text and precise communication. Therefore, an introductory curriculum should pay careful attention to how it incorporates, defines,...
In this dissertation, I examine emerging economic issues which intersect outdoor recreation, environmental quality, public land use, and public health advisories. First, I explore the potential impacts of social media on visitation to public land. Social media, and in particular Instagram, has been suggested by journalist and land managers as...
This thesis examines the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on farms in the Willamette Valley. Using semi-structured interviews, this study analyzes the economic and social challenges created by the pandemic and the adaptation strategies farmers employed to build resilience within the food system. This study found that the farmers experienced...
Background
Feline injection-site sarcoma (FISS) is a rare and aggressive tumor associated with vaccines, drug injections, and skin trauma in cats. The understanding of FISS remains limited, posing challenges in its diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. In this study, we analyzed the differential expression of miRNAs and their target genes in...
The effects of fire on above-ground forest systems have been extensively studied. However, research on fire effects on belowground processes is lacking. While the soil microbiome is understood to be vital to conifer growth and regeneration, the complexity of soils means that research on the topic has largely been accomplished...
This thesis presents innovative pedagogical approaches to teach fundamental Computer Science (CS) concepts, such as abstraction, representation, algorithms, and computation utilizing manipulatives, which are physical objects that students interact with to teach or reinforce a concept. Teaching and learning with manipulatives has a long history in science and mathematics education,...
In the ever-evolving field of computer science (CS) education, the significance of teachers and their backgrounds have often been overshadowed by the predominant focus on students. Teachers in the K-12 often lack the necessary expertise and have limited support provided by existing CS-based curricula. While research on CS education effectiveness...
Global annual average temperatures are rising, creating extreme heat events or heatwaves that are increasing in frequency, length, and severity. The world will endure more of these events as climate change worsens and heat-related mortality and morbidity will increase due to warming conditions. At the center of heatwaves are urban...
The southern San Andreas fault (SSAF) is the fault segment with the highest 30-year probability of causing a moderate to large magnitude earthquake in California, yet key structural characteristics of the fault remain unconstrained, particularly in the Coachella Valley where the fault splits into the Banning (BF) and Mission Creek...
Concrete has been categorized as a key contributor of CO2 (carbon) emissions into the atmosphere. This is mostly associated with the production of ordinary portland cement (OPC). The concrete and cement industries are pursuing a path to reduce their carbon emissions generally in accordance with the climate change goals outlined...
Multiagent approaches are well suited to designing autonomous solutions for systems that feature complex interactions between many individuals such as in autonomous traffic systems and multi-robot exploration systems. However, creating autonomous agents that function effectively in these systems is a challenging task. In these complex environments, agents need informative reward...
In this dissertation, the primary objective is to discover more sustainable electrode materials and study new reaction mechanisms using aqueous electrolytes. The first study conducted reveals a reversible conversion reaction from copper to Cu2CO3(OH)2. The reaction mechanism uses OH- and CO32- as charge carriers at the cathode. The results open...
Final report for project completed with funding from the Oregon State University Agricultural Research Foundation Continuing Researchers Support Program.
Crystals are solid materials with periodic and symmetric molecular patterns. The structure of a crystalline solid determines its properties, making it essential to study its structures. From the principle of minimum energy, a crystal will choose a structure with the lowest free energy F = U – TS. At low...
Onion thrips (Thrips tabaci) are pests found in onion fields of the Treasure Valley, which is located in Eastern Oregon and Western Idaho. Thrips cause damage to this high value crop by feeding on the onion’s extracellular fluid, making photosynthesis more difficult to occur. The feeding from the thrips can...
In the past fifty years, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have become alarming global pollutants. In 2019, the United States (U.S.) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ultimately classified them as emerging contaminants and established an action plan to address PFAS and protect public health through developing, identifying, monitoring, and remediating current...
Assisted living facilities represent a large portion of the long-term care facilities in the United States. Although there are not uniform policies regulating assisted living facilities, debates on the best way to ensure adequate staffing center on two approaches: required ratios or acuity-based staffing. The purpose of this study is...
Chlamydia possesses an immense importance within both human and animal medicine when looking at pathogens. Chlamydia trachomatis infections have been shown to affect both the eye and genital tracts in millions of humans and animals every year [13]. As C. trachomatis strains are highly conserved in patients, it has made...
Student conduct has become increasingly significant in higher education as demands to address campus safety, student behaviors, and classroom management are increasingly prominent. Existing research focuses on the efficacy of student conduct policies and practices, but has not established how individuals understand student conduct as a myth, or a concept...
In recent decades, the occurrence of large, high severity wildfires has increased substantially in many parts of the world, including the western United States. These fires have the potential to impact water quality, aquatic ecosystems, and downstream communities for many decades. As such, it is increasingly important to understand the...
Intuitively, it seems as though natural language processing tasks might benefit from explicit representations of the syntactic and semantic properties of text. Ontonotes is a dataset which attempts to annotate texts, to represent as much as possible of the meaning of the text explicitly within the annotation. Many tools exist...
The hydrologic cycle on Earth comprises the transitions among the solid, liquid, and gaseous phases of water. Understanding the hydrologic cycle is of course important for climate science, but also for agricultural, drinking water, and disaster preparedness purposes. Improvements in satellite observations and general circulation models (GCMs) have led to...