Focus on Forestry is published by Oregon State University's College of Forestry. Our goal is to keep Forestry alumni, friends, faculty, staff, and students informed about the College of Forestry and its many activities and programs.
Focus on Forestry is published by Oregon State University College of Forestry. Our goal is to keep Forestry alumni, friends, faculty, staff, and students informed about the College of Forestry and its many activities and programs.
Individuals who are parents and students on TANF experience challenges accessing and persisting in higher education. This study explored the experiences of TANF recipients who are navigating a return to higher education and the impact of college on how they construct a future self. Two theoretical frameworks were used to...
The black-footed ferret is a meso-predator within the Great Plains region of North America. Before the 1900s, black-footed ferret populations were self-sustaining in large ecological patches throughout the geographical range of the Great Plains. During the 1900s, various factors such as the systematic extermination of prairie dogs (the primary food...
Background: Access to and effective utilization of healthcare services during the postpartum period is essential in preventing and managing health risks among women after childbirth, ensuring a smooth transition to motherhood, and promoting long-term health outcomes for women and their families. Low-income Medicaid women and those belonging to minority race/ethnicity...
Many industries in California are difficult to decarbonize, making carbon capture and storage (CCS) essential to reach net zero. California has committed to deliver an enormous 100 thousand tons per year of carbon storage by 2045. Despite much interest in carbon sequestration, there are currently no active geologic carbon capture...
In some legislative bodies, the use of terms like climate change and global warming is frequently seen as taboo. In the United States, voters who identify as right-leaning have reported little concern about the environment or climate change. This lack of interest is mirrored by Republican legislators who often publicly...
Our study provides a review of theories that were used to study race and racism between 2010 and 2019 in higher education. We conducted a content analysis to identify concepts, statements and models used in higher education studies focused on race and racism in the three most highly read United...
Certain chlorinated insecticides can be identified by electron capture gas-liquid chromatographic (EC-GLC) analysis of the prepared sample before and after treatment with ultraviolet irradiation, Upon U.V. treatment, characteristic degradation products arise from the insecticides investigated. Comparison of the degradation pattern obtained by EC-GLC of unknown and authentic insecticides provides an...
In this article, we provide a brief overview of generative artificial intelligence and large language models. We then propose eight critical questions that libraries should ask when exploring this technology and its implications for their communities. We argue that libraries have a unique role in facilitating informed and responsible use...
In the absence of meaningful federal climate policy in the United States, states and local governments are poised to make a substantial contribution to decarbonization efforts. At present, over 70 local jurisdictions and two states have enacted building electrification policies that limit the use of natural gas in buildings and...
Access to broadband internet is vital for rural communities in the digital age, but persistent barriers impact adoption and availability. This topic is analyzed through the lens of the Community Capital Framework (Emery & Flora, 2006). By surveying county commissioners, the research aims to better understand rural broadband challenges and...
Water in the U.S. West faces considerable challenges and uncertainties. Climate change has intensified weather extremes, threatening the water sources that support the region’s many stakeholders. Urban water providers are among the stakeholders contending with the challenge of providing reliable water supplies to their growing populations. Recognizing the critical role...
The enactment of the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 marked a critical moment in American healthcare history. The ACA introduced Medicaid expansion, a policy designed to extend healthcare coverage to a larger population of low-income Americans. This policy quickly became a topic of debate and led to...
Oregon's estuaries are important ecosystems for scientific study. Consequently, knowledge of what research has been conducted helps us identify benchmarks and plan new projects. A comprehensive bibliography of published research, technical reports, local documents, and data sets is one means of recording this knowledge. For these reasons, the Guin Library...
Oregon's estuaries are important ecosystems for scientific study. Consequently, knowledge of what research has been conducted helps us identify benchmarks and plan new projects. A comprehensive bibliography of published research, technical reports, local documents, and data sets is one means of recording this knowledge. For these reasons, the Guin Library...
Oregon's estuaries are important ecosystems for scientific study. Consequently, knowledge of what research has been conducted helps us identify benchmarks and plan new projects. A comprehensive bibliography of published research, technical reports, local documents, and data sets is one means of recording this knowledge. For these reasons, the Guin Library...
Oregon's estuaries are important ecosystems for scientific study. Consequently, knowledge of what research has been conducted helps us identify benchmarks and plan new projects. A comprehensive bibliography of published research, technical reports, local documents, and data sets is one means of recording this knowledge. For these reasons, the Guin Library...
Oregon's estuaries are important ecosystems for scientific study. Consequently, knowledge of what research has been conducted helps us identify benchmarks and plan new projects. A comprehensive bibliography of published research, technical reports, local documents, and data sets is one means of recording this knowledge. For these reasons, the Guin Library...
Oregon's estuaries are important ecosystems for scientific study. Consequently, knowledge of what research has been conducted helps us identify benchmarks and plan new projects. A comprehensive bibliography of published research, technical reports, local documents, and data sets is one means of recording this knowledge. For these reasons, the Guin Library...
This study investigates the evaluation of Return on Investment (ROI) in education from the perspective of high school students, introducing a theoretical model that encompasses both financial and non-financial aspects, with a primary focus on the unique insights provided by high school students. Drawing from a literature review and survey-based...
Thermal oxidation of methyl oleate was studied over a range of temperatures from 50 C to 150 C for periods of time up to 30 min. Degradation was quantitatively followed by gas liquid chromatography (GLC) and liquid scintillation counting of the products of methyl oleate-U-14C heated under a stream of...
Dimethyl sulfide, acetaldehyde, isobutyraldehyde, furan, 2-furaldehyde, 2-acetyl furan, and ethyl furoate were produced when pureed strawberries were heated to 120° C. for 30 minutes. Shorter heating periods were sufficient to produce the first three compounds. With the exception of acetaldehyde, none of the heat-induced compounds were detected in unheated, pureed...
Pesticide chemists have recognized since the 1940's that ultraviolet light was deleterious to the insecticidal properties of certain compounds. However, it has been only within the last 15 years that a number of photodecomposition products of the chlorinated hydrocarbon
insecticides have been isolated and identified. The degradation of insecticides by...
A threshold pattern for the even-numbered free fatty acids (FFA) in butter depended on chain-length. Butyric acid had the lowest total average flavor threshold (AFT) of the more volatile FFA, and the total AFT values increased as chain-length increased through hexanoic and octanoic acids. A soapy after-taste predominated at and...
This issue is packed with new information from various research trials conducted here in Oregon, whether it is from vineyard plots, the wine lab, or the growth chamber, results are likely to have impact on vineyard and winery production here in Oregon. James Osborne, Enology Extension Specialist, opens this month’s...
The agricultural sector is one of the largest contributors to global climate change but is also one of the most vulnerable to its impacts. Farmers are at increasing risk of livelihood loss, which produces risks for their physical and emotional wellbeing on a global scale. Swift and effective adaptation is...
As we contemplate the future of forest landscapes under changing climate conditions and land-use demands, there is increasing value in studying historic forest conditions and how these landscapes have changed following past disturbances. Historic landscape paintings are a potential source of data on preindustrial forests with highly detailed, full-color depictions...
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...
Background:
The number of people diagnosed with chronic physical conditions is increasing in the United States. Chronic mental illnesses are also common in the country. Low-income women and those on Medicaid bear a disproportionate burden of chronic conditions and these conditions significantly contribute to obstetric morbidity. Prioritizing preventive measures and...
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...
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...
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...
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...
This study investigated the prevalence of misgendering and its impact on stigma and mental health outcomes in college students. Two hundred and eighty-five students participated in a comprehensive survey, providing insights into the frequency of misgendering they experienced, the level of stigma they felt in response, as well as their...
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...
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...
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....
Marine heatwaves (“MHWs”) are discrete periods of anomalously warm ocean conditions that can lead to shifts in the distribution and abundance of marine organisms. Low-trophic level, pelagic forage species are frequently among those affected by MHWs, often resulting in considerable impacts upon their predators. In the North Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic...
In 2021, Oregon’s legislature passed House Bill 2021 with relative ease. House Bill 2021 is a mandate for the state’s two largest utilities to reduce carbon emissions from electricity generation on a decreasing scale, reaching 100% below baseline levels by 2040. This ambitious piece of legislation, meant to reduce the...
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...
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...
Cannabis sativa L. is emerging as an economically important crop, particularly for its high levels of cannabinoid production. One of these cannabinoids, cannabigerolic acid (CBGA), is the precursor to many well-researched cannabinoids such as the psychotropic delta-9-trans-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (Δ9-THCA i.e., THCA) and the medically relevant cannabidiolic acid (CBDA). CBGA has...
Research has shown that emotional connections during lab activities increase learning in chemistry and physics courses. However, little research has examined the effects of emotion in engineering courses, and these studies have recognized a dearth of research examining the ability of students to apply engineering concepts in real-world applications based...
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...
Background: Against global health disparities and a shortfall of medical personnel, community health workers (CHWs) promise a solution based in lived experience and connection to the health system. To address global and upstream health determinants, CHW programs engage the perspectives of both the workers they employ and the communities they...
As a targeted attack is unfolding against LGBTQ+ people across the U.S. right now, the unique experiences of queer and trans people deserve more attention. Transgender people are subjected to unique forms of discrimination and marginalization through cisnormativity (i.e., the assumption that everyone is and should be cisgender) and transnormativity...
The Oregon coast faces complex environmental and social challenges, such as the threat of a regionally disastrous Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) earthquake and tsunami. Researchers are united in their assertion that the CSZ is new, the region is due for a quake, and to mitigate this hazard society must collaborate...
During the first full school year of the Covid-19 pandemic, two central contexts for adolescent development—home and school—changed utterly. In Oregon, most middle- and high schoolers attended school entirely remotely from the beginning of the pandemic, in March, 2020, through the end of April, 2021, removing both the supports available...
Within the field of science communication, the voices, perspectives, and experiences of the LGBTQ+ community have long been kept at the margins. This has led to a gap in material that recognizes queer individuals and communities as audiences, communicators, and stakeholders in STEM. I address this gap by generating a...
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...
The purpose of this study was to explore how campus climate at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) influences degree completion for Black women. As the number of HSIs has increased in the past decade, there exists a need to understand how Black women fare in such an institutional context. Though there is...
High-speed police pursuits occur daily across the United States. On average, one person dies per day as the result of a police pursuit. In certain contexts, it might be acceptable to society for a police officer to engage in a high-speed pursuit. The ends could justify the means. For example,...
Spent hemp biomass (SHB) is a byproduct of the cannabinoid oil production which currently is not approved as a livestock feed ingredient. The 2018 Farm Bill defined the difference between varieties of the cannabis sativa plant as either non-hemp cannabis or hemp which has equal to or less than 0.3...
After the 1996 national welfare reform known as the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) was enacted with more stringent eligibility and work requirements for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program, a plethora of analyses have followed assessing the...
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...
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) sought to reform the health care system of the United States in a number of key ways, including by expanding access to health insurance to low-income Americans. The legislation provided for the expansion of Medicaid, the jointly funded federal-state public...
Coastal communities rely on the abundant ecosystem services derived from robust conservation areas in offshore marine waters (Campbell, 2019). United Nations member states support the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) framework, wherein the 14th guideline asserts the importance of life under water. Protected marine environments are critical to the survival of...
.................................................................................................................................... 7
BILL CLINTON’S EXECUTIVE ORDER 13158
This is a report on the Workforce Development: Youth Training and Work Experience program provided by Casa Latinos Unidos (CLU) in Linn County. The program is best described in three phases. Phase one consisted of the outreach, recruitment, and retainment aspects of the program. The second phase of the program...
The COVID-19 pandemic became the deadliest epidemic since the Influenza pandemic in the early 1900s. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023). Every government level across the United States had differing responses to COVID-19, and politicians have been the center of attention for their role in COVID policy support or...
Suicide is a leading cause of death amongst adolescents, and transgender and gender diverse youth are at especially high risk for suicidal ideation and attempt compared with cisgender peers. Using established ideation-to-action models of suicide and the Minority Stress Model, this project used the 2019 results of the Oregon Healthy...
Period poverty is the inability to access menstrual products and more generally the lack of knowledge surrounding menstruation. About one in ten undergraduates suffer from period poverty, a number that almost doubles for first-generation students (Haneman, 2021). Previous research and current legislation aimed at addressing period poverty largely revolve around...
Food insecurity (FI) is a commonly understood issue in colleges including Oregon State University (OSU), yet examining FI yields deeper complexities of great interest. Food insecurity at OSU is a symptom in a greater complex of basic needs pressures experienced by students in the higher education system, including financial, social,...
The Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) has emerged as a method of understanding how stories and evidence are portrayed within policy arenas to support policy discussions and what end goals these policy narratives aim to meet. This study applies the Narrative Policy framework to policy narratives used to discuss and share...
Food insecurity is a common issue among college students in the United States with recent research suggesting that between 10-75% of college students are food insecure. In comparison, an estimated 10.2% of U.S. Households are food insecure. Food insecurity is associated with many negative health outcomes. The purpose of this...
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...
The Hanford Nuclear Reservation drew public ire during the 1980s and 1990s when activist groups forced the declassification of 19,000 documents and discovered proof of accidental and intentional releases of radioactive materials into the environment. These releases had been kept from the public. Although many locals had for decades wondered...
Each NWR within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) provides landscapes that contribute to conservation of wildlife and the habitats they depend on at local, regional, and national levels. The Integrated Pest Management Plan (IPMP) for a given refuge is a guide to how...
Under the Skin is a collection of short stories that explores how different characters behave when placed in situations that are outside of their control. Stories include “Mirror Image,” which sees a young teen grapple with the fear of being an incorrigibly bad person; “Very Slowly, Then All At Once,”...
Power can be defined as the ability to influence the processes, decisions, and outcomes of an activity in favor of the will of a strong actor and its allies. Strategic actions in situations where there is asymmetric power can change the result of decisions. In this research, I will examine...
Over the past 20 years, there has been a steady increase in the popularity of online gaming in the United States culture. There are many factors that have contributed to this spike in popularity, but the most significant are advancements in technology, televised competitions, social media, lucrative cash prizes, product...
With an ever-growing urban population there is a continued interest in urban agriculture as a viable option to improve access to fresh produce and enhance food security in an increasingly urbanized world. As the primary method of urban agriculture in the United States, community gardens also provide a range of...
The Columbia River Gillnetter is the pilot of the Lower Columbia River commercial fishing industry, keeping fishermen and the public in touch with today's important issues.
The Columbia River Gillnetter is the pilot of the Lower Columbia River commercial fishing industry, keeping fishermen and the public in touch with today's important issues.
The Columbia River Gillnetter is the pilot of the Lower Columbia River commercial fishing industry, keeping fishermen and the public in touch with today's important issues.
The Columbia River Gillnetter is the pilot of the Lower Columbia River commercial fishing industry, keeping fishermen and the public in touch with today's important issues.
The Columbia River Gillnetter is the pilot of the Lower Columbia River commercial fishing industry, keeping fishermen and the public in touch with today's important issues.
The Columbia River Gillnetter is the pilot of the Lower Columbia River commercial fishing industry, keeping fishermen and the public in touch with today's important issues.
The Columbia River Gillnetter is the pilot of the Lower Columbia River commercial fishing industry, keeping fishermen and the public in touch with today's important issues.
The Columbia River Gillnetter is the pilot of the Lower Columbia River commercial fishing industry, keeping fishermen and the public in touch with today's important issues.
The Columbia River Gillnetter is the pilot of the Lower Columbia River commercial fishing industry, keeping fishermen and the public in touch with today's important issues.
The Columbia River Gillnetter is the pilot of the Lower Columbia River commercial fishing industry, keeping fishermen and the public in touch with today's important issues.
The Columbia River Gillnetter is the pilot of the Lower Columbia River commercial fishing industry, keeping fishermen and the public in touch with today's important issues.
The Columbia River Gillnetter is the pilot of the Lower Columbia River commercial fishing industry, keeping fishermen and the public in touch with today's important issues.
The Columbia River Gillnetter is the pilot of the Lower Columbia River commercial fishing industry, keeping fishermen and the public in touch with today's important issues.
The Columbia River Gillnetter is the pilot of the Lower Columbia River commercial fishing industry, keeping fishermen and the public in touch with today's important issues.
The Columbia River Gillnetter is the pilot of the Lower Columbia River commercial fishing industry, keeping fishermen and the public in touch with today's important issues.
The State of Oregon possesses a tumultuous relationship with the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and currently experiences one of the lowest participation rates in the country despite attempting several policy reforms. The State of Washington has exhibited a comparatively similar relationship. However, it has adopted a distinctive policy supplementation...
The Community Action Partnership of Oregon (CAPO) approached Oregon State University to assist in developing statewide indicators which help local agencies better utilize data for continuous improvement. The project was expanded to include Washington and Idaho. This report summarizes the project's findings.
Consistent with its charge under Oregon House Bill 3543, the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute (OCCRI) conducts a biennial assessment of the state of climate change science, including biological, physical, and social science, as it relates to Oregon and the likely effects of climate change on Oregon. This fifth Oregon...
Consistent with its charge under Oregon House Bill 3543, the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute (OCCRI) conducts a biennial assessment of the state of climate change science, including biological, physical, and social science, as it relates to Oregon and the likely effects of climate change on Oregon. This sixth Oregon...
The energy transition in Oregon poses challenges and offers opportunities to rural areas that tend to be targeted for large-scale renewable energy development. The present case study analyzes how the energy transition has taken place in rural Lake County, to answer the question: to what degree has the energy transition...
Entrepreneurship is regarded as a viable way for women to enter the economy and improve their quality of life (Morris et al., 2018). However, little attention has been paid to understanding how women, and specifically women of color, utilize their ways of knowing to learn entrepreneurship. Grounded in Chicana/Latina feminism...
We survey the use of genetic algorithms in function optimization. We find that there are two distinct camps. Holland's camp seems to be interested in artificial intelligence uses of genetic algorithms and seems to have made only a few attempts at function optimization. Rechenberg's camp has concentrated on the optimization...
Asmodeus is a distributed database system which simplifies the tasks of the Unix systems administrator. Using simple commands to the Asmodeus command interface, the systems administrator can perform many tedious operations over a large network of machines. The system uses a reliable datagram socket connection for all of its communication....
The focus of this thesis is to design, characterize, and apply novel computational methods and molecular systems to interrogate heterogeneous human gut microbiome-related phenomena. In Chapter 2, I design, implement, and characterize a method for embedding co-occurrence patterns derived from massive 16s amplicon datasets. I use this method to 1....