Oregon has a growing artisan cheese industry and is developing a reputation as one of the country’s leading regions for many varieties of cheeses. This thesis is an exploration of four of Oregon’s premier artisan creameries. The primary research for this project included visiting the farms and cheesemakers, tasting the...
First Ladies have performed a variety of public and private roles, from presidential escort, hostess, and social advocate to policy maker and presidential advisor. The nature of the position has always been both traditional and gendered, greatly influencing each First Lady's performance. Due to the changing role of women in...
Cognitive impairment can severely impact quality of life, and can place added strain on family and caregivers.¹⁻³ Moreover, cognitive decline has been shown to proceed to more serious conditions including Alzheimer’s disease and dementia,⁴⁻⁶ making it critical to intervene on risk factors. In addition to traditional risk factors for cognitive...
Sheep are seasonally polyestrus, which means they do exhibit estrus and ovulation during the short daylight (breeding season) and do not during the long daylight (nonbreeding season). To stimulate the ewes to ovulate during the nonbreeding season, various hormonal treatments have been used. PG-600 contains both equine chorionic gonadotropin and...
Sperm acrosome associated 3 protein (SPACA3) is a unique, intra-acrosomal, conventional-type lysozyme-like protein of mammalian spermatozoa. SPACA3 is present in all stages of ovarian follicles and is localized to granulosa cells and ooplasma in humans, mice, cows, dogs, and cats. The objective of this study was to determine if equine...
Introduction: Swim-up has been considered a preferred method for separating non-motile sperm in an ejaculate. However, the long incubation time and equipment necessary for swim-up make this process clinically impractical. It was hypothesized that these problems could be avoided for canine applications with a shorter incubation time at room temperature...
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected everyone in the world to some degree through social isolation and a changing of the norms, including the number of deaths. However, no research has been done on how companion dogs in the United States have been affected by these societal changes. Research in Israel,...
As bovine parturition nears, the placentome undergoes changes that allow placental delivery within 12 hours after calving. These changes include the expression of enzymatic proteins (e.g. MMPs) within the placentome that are capable of breaking down collagen, allowing for the separation of the cotyledon from the caruncle. Dysregulation of either...
Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) forests are widely distributed throughout western North America. However, the lodgepole pine forests of central Oregon are ecologically unique to the region, with a mixed severity fire regime, low cone serotiny, and their occasional presence as a climax species. Most of the research conducted regarding the...
I always knew I was interested in the criminal justice system, evident from the hours I spent as a child binge watching Law & Order, Rizzoli and Isles, and Dateline when my parents weren’t home. I very nearly pursued criminal justice as a major, but ended up going a different...
Transcriptome gene expression studies of sperm RNA have been utilized in a variety of different species to investigate causes of male infertility. Previous research investigators have optimized cell separation and RNA isolation techniques for each species of interest. To date, no study has been completed for dogs. The objective of...
Mammary tumors are the third most common tumor in cats after cutaneous neoplasia and lymphosarcoma. More than 80% of feline mammary tumors are adenocarcinomas, which are similar to human mammary adenocarcinomas in their biologic behavior and histologic characteristics. Despite treatment with radical mastectomy, feline mammary adenocarcinoma is associated with a...
The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of acupuncture in dairy cows on caruncular matrix metalloproteinase type-2 (MMP2) tissue concentration and enzyme activity at 0, 2, and 4 hours after calving. Immediately after natural calving, a caruncle was obtained from the body of the uterus and flash...
Twenty-one women, lifelong residents of Xichang County, Sichuan Province, China, an area of very low soil selenium (Se), received tablets containing either 100 μg Se daily as Se-enriched yeast (+Se) or no additional Se (-Se), throughout the last trimester of pregnancy and the first three months of lactation. Diet was...
Failure of a gusset plate that caused the I-35W Bridge collapse in Minneapolis, MN resulted in mandated rating of connections by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Rating connections requires material properties as an input. The material properties are generally reported on the available detailed drawings for bridges. However, some bridges...
This research investigated the development of a novel canine model to study preeclampsia. Normal canine placental development has morphologic and histologic similarities to the shallow trophoblast invasion occurring with preeclampsia in humans, which makes the dog a particularly good choice for modeling this disease and will be an improvement on...
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Michelle A. Kutzler
This research investigated the development of a novel canine model to
In this dissertation, the structure and electronic properties of multiple metal oxide thin films are characterized and presented. Prompt inorganic condensation (PIC) of metal-oxo and –hydroxo clusters was evaluated as a technique for making metal oxide clusters in two separate studies. The first focuses on the synthesis of lithium niobate...
Frailty is a clinical syndrome characterized by decreased resilience to stressors, resulting from dysregulation across multiple physiological systems. Frailty is prevalent in elders and is associated with a wide range of adverse outcomes including death, disability, hip fracture, and falls. In the absence of a gold standard, there is a...
A growing body of research has connected bullying victimization to a number of risk factors in adolescents, including substance use. The current study utilizes Agnew’s revised strain theory as a theoretical framework to examine this relationship, as well as patterns of substance use across gender, race, and mental health status....
The purpose of this thesis was to quantify sperm acrosome associated 3 (SPACA3) protein expression in the ovaries of young (3.0±0.9 months, n=11) and adult (10.4±2.8 months, n=11) queens. It was hypothesized that SPACA3 expression would not differ between age groups. Immunohistochemistry was performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded feline ovarian sections...
Throughout most of the developed world, surgical sterilization via gonadectomy has become a common tool for combating the overpopulation of unwanted dogs as well as to eliminate the risk of reproductive diseases in pet dogs. In the dog as in other normal adult mammal, the hypothalamus secretes gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH),...
The purpose of this thesis was to determine if an underlying biological cause exists for the exuberant reproductive success in free-roaming unowned (FRU) cats. The hypothesis for this thesis was that FRU tom and queen cats have reproductively adapted to man-made sterilization efforts by lowering the age at which they...
Reproductive physiology of South American camelids is unique, especially in comparison to other domestic animals. For example, mating occurs in a recumbent position over a period of approximately 30 minutes. Males are dribble ejaculators, and the camelid ejaculate is highly viscous making it nearly impossible to work with in vitro....
Youth corrections teachers are an under-researched group of individuals who have much to lend to the discussion surrounding youth corrections including teaching methodologies, challenges, and benefits. This report summarizes the available academic literature of the characteristics of effective youth corrections teachers in comparison with teachers who work in traditional public...
Bunk to 5K is a program designed to encourage and support new and experienced runners in custody at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility (CCCF). CCCF is the only women’s prison in Oregon, housing around 1,200 women at any given time, at all levels of custody (ODOC, 2020). The non-profit which runs...
Goats were the first livestock species to be domesticated by humans and continue to function as a key source of protein and economic value for many communities. In the sixteenth century, Spanish colonists brought goats to the Americas. Unlike other nations, the United States did not maintain a significant market...
Brucella canis is a zoonotic proteobacterium causing brucellosis in dogs and other wild canidae. It is primarily spread to the fetus through the placenta, to other dogs through fetal fluids and vaginal discharge after abortion, and to mating partners through vaginal and seminal fluids. Transmission to other dogs can also...
Veterinary medicine impacts everyone in the world to some degree and veterinary medicine is taught in some format in every country across the globe. However, veterinary education differs between countries due to the environmental and cultural variations. The purpose of this study was to investigate how veterinarians are trained in...
For some incarcerated individuals, when they are released from prison they are released to an officer in the parole and probation department for a specified period of supervision while in the community. During this supervisory period, these individuals, also known as parolees, are able to develop pro-social skills and behaviors,...
Objective: To explore patient perspectives on the role of personal growth-related risk taking in
the recovery process, and to identify social stigma’s role when consumers approach and evaluate
new endeavors. Methods: 177 Kaiser Permanente Health Plan members participated in a mixedmethods
study of recovery among individuals with serious mental illness...
Today’s marketing researchers provide incredible depth of information which explains much consumption behavior in the marketplace. Research into consumer behavior, especially the family of research related to consumer culture theory, provides theory on which cultural phenomena motivate consumers to exhibit the patterns they do in the marketplace. This study uses...
The purpose of this thesis is to provide an overview of the use of solitary confinement and related techniques of isolation in juvenile correctional facilities in the United States. Given that scholars, correctional employees, incarcerated youth, and activists define solitary confinement in varied ways, this thesis attempts to synthesize those...
The student perspective is a largely ignored element of educational research. This
study used the college student viewpoint to assess the influence Black high school
educators have on their pupils. Given today's reality of racism in this society, the existing
literature addressing this topic is inadequate. Using an open-ended questionnaire,...
Racial integration of the Louisiana public school system had a devastating
effect on its number of Black teachers. The state has yet to recover from this
reduction, as fewer Black college students pursue education degrees. This study
reports on whether or not the lack of Black educators has influenced high...
Marginalized groups in the United States are often diagnosed with hypertension at younger ages, contributing to their excess burden of cardiovascular disease. These disparities in blood pressure control do not appear to be fully accounted for by individual risk factors, such as health behaviors or genetic differences. Experiences of discrimination...
The canine estrous cycle is unique compared to other domestic animal species. During estrus, serum progesterone concentrations ([P4]) rise two days prior to ovulation. In fact, the luteinization of pre-ovulatory follicles resulting in this initial increase in [P4] (1.5-2.5 ng/ml) cannot be temporally dissociated from the onset of the surge...
Two perovskite materials (Bi0.5(A)0.5)(Sc0.5Nb0.5)O3, where A = K+ and Na+ were synthesized phase pure for the first time. Their structures were determined by indexing synchrotron X-ray diffraction data and subsequent combined Rietveld refinement on neutron and synchrotron X-ray diffraction data revealing significant disorder on the A-sites of these materials. A...
This work investigates the effect of cation substitution on the properties of the lead-free, solid solution (Na₀.₅Bi₀.₅)TiO₃-BaTiO₃ (NBT-BT). Substitution into NBT-BT increases disorder and increases the relaxor ferroelectric properties. These relaxor ferroelectric materials show large piezoelectric strains that can be utilized in actuator applications. Ceramic samples were prepared using standard...
Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are a widely distributed baleen whale species, well known for their diverse acoustic behavior. On high-latitude foraging grounds, humpback whales produce a suite of non-song vocalizations (“calls”) in concert with foraging and social behavior. In this dissertation I investigated the role of calls in the acoustic...
Fire severity is hypothesized as an important driver of bird responses to wildfire. For those species that typically respond negatively to increasing severity, Accessibility of high-severity burned forest may be dependent on the proximity of unburned or low-severity burned forest to meet all of the needs of breeding bird species...
The objective of this research was to determine if acupuncture can reduce bovine mammary inflammation. Lactating cows at the Oregon State University Dairy Research Center were selected based on Dairy Herd Improvement Association reports indicating a SCC >500,000 cells/mL. A California Mastitis Test (CMT) score of greater than one was...
There are over two million pet rabbits in the United States. Many rabbits are obtained as adults from pet stores and humane societies. Pet rabbit owners may elect to perform ovariohysterectomy (spay) surgeries on female rabbits to prevent unwanted pregnancies as well as to eliminate the possibility of reproductive disorders...
Camelid health and parasitology experts disagree on what a “safe” level of internal parasitism is in camelids. The objective was to determine the levels of parasitism in show camelids (llamas and alpacas). The hypothesis was that fecal egg counts (FEC) in camelid would differ based upon geographic location, species (llama...
In this research, the interfacial behavior of Trichoderma reesei CBHI and Thermomonospora fusca E₅ cellulases were studied at synthetic surfaces. For this purpose, colloidal silica and polystyrene particles were used to prepare cellulase-particle suspensions that were analyzed by several solution-phase techniques. These included circular dichroism spectroscopy, size exclusion chromatography and...
Placental pathologies are not uncommon in dogs. For example, in primiparous bitches, the reported incidence of subinvolution of placental sites is 21% - 100%. Despite years of research in multiple species, the mechanisms regulating late gestation trophoblast behavior in the dog remain unexamined. Therefore, the objective of this study was...
Luteinizing hormone (LH) stimulates the secretion of gonadal steroid hormones (testosterone in males and estrogen/progesterone in females) and is under negative feedback from gonadal hormones. In gonad-intact dogs, LH is secreted in low amplitude pulses of concentrations under 1 ng/mL; except for the day of the LH surge in females...
This research investigated gene expression in the canine placenta during the peripartum period. Previous studies have recognized molecular changes that occur in the placenta around the time of placental release in other species, but no study has looked at gene expression in the late gestation canine placenta. Of particular significance...
Postpartum uterine inflammation (endometritis) is not uncommon in beef cattle, resulting in infertility and culling. Prolonged calving may contribute to the increased incidence of endometritis in heifers. Commonly used methods to treat endometritis in beef cattle include intrauterine antibiotics and/or hormone injections, which can result in meat residues. Platelet rich...
Post-mortem examinations were performed on 29 deceased Persian kittens from 13 different litters, and 30 deceased Devon Rex kittens from 18 different litters in order to identify gross anatomical abnormalities. Fifteen kittens were stillborn (8 Devon Rex, 7 Persian), 17 kittens died during the first day of life (16 Devon...
Luteinizing hormone (LH) is secreted in low-amplitude pulses in sexually intact dogs to stimulate synthesis of estrogen and testosterone in females and males, respectively. LH is mainly considered a reproductive hormone, but LH receptors (LHR) have been identified in non-reproductive tissues, including in canine lymphoma and isolated canine T-cell lymphoma...
The current American free-roaming horse (Equus caballus) population far exceeds the appropriate population limit set by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to preserve resources on public lands. Several techniques have been tested to assist in decreasing repopulation rates. The purpose of the present study was to analyze two contraceptive...
Gonadectomy has been associated with a 1.5-2 fold increase in the occurrence of canine hip dysplasia and a 2-3 fold increase in the occurrence of canine anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. In intact dogs, luteinizing hormone (LH) is secreted from the adenohypophysis to stimulate the synthesis of gonadal hormones, which...
Reproductive function in the dog is controlled by feedback mechanisms that involve the hypothalamus, the anterior pituitary gland, and the gonads. Surgical gonad removal, a common procedure performed in dogs for the purposes of sterilization, disrupts the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis and results in permanently elevated concentrations of gonadotropins. Manipulation of...
Many domesticated animals, especially dogs, are selectively bred within a small population to select for and “fix” certain traits. This leads to decreasing genetic diversity and the potential for inherited health issues over time. The Saluki is a relatively rare breed of dog in the U.S. The Society for the...
Reducing recidivism rates and raising success rates for individuals who experience mental or behavioral distress and have been through the legal system is the key to lowering the expenditure of valuable resources including time and judicial budget. Regardless, little research attention has been given to post-arrest diversion programming and reentry...
The nature of engineering work requires that ethical considerations are taken into account while making decisions surrounding topics such as technology, equal distribution of cost benefits, and consumer risk. In order for engineers to make ethical decisions in their careers, it is helpful if their engineering education provided them with...
Incoming and graduating engineering students in the School of Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering at Oregon State University were surveyed in order to assess awareness and integration of social responsibilities into their emerging professional persona and how those views are informed by program and faculty interactions. Preliminary analysis of responses...
The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) Human Trafficking Task Forces bring together federal, state, and municipal governmental agencies and law enforcement agencies (“agencies”), and non-profit organizations and other service providers (“organizations”), for one main purpose: to reduce the trafficking of humans in...
Honeybees are essential for agriculture and to sustain an ecosystem. There are two main types of bacterial diseases that affect honeybee colonies and brood: American Foulbrood and European Foulbrood. Both bacterial diseases can be treated with antibiotics approved for use in honeybees, however American Foulbrood is spore forming and cannot...
The consumption of alcohol has been shown to have effects on health that are both harmful and
therapeutic, depending on the amount that is consumed. Alcohol’s effects can be damaging to the body in excess but, in moderation, can act as a protectant against certain conditions. The two studies discussed...
In the United States, the state of housing and the lack thereof has been
declared a national crisis. In response, cities have taken measures to police behaviors
that are associated with what they perceive to be disorder and decay. These behaviors
are also commonly associated with houselessness. Laws that criminalize...
Anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions are causing ocean acidification (OA) and ocean warming, which have negative effects on the larvae of many marine invertebrates. Oregon pink shrimp (Pandalus jordani) currently encounter upwelling events that can result in pH values as low as 7.6, and, more recently, marine heat waves that raise...
The Elk River Basin drains 93 sq ml of steep forested terrain
on the west side of the Klamath Mountains in Southwest Oregon.
This river and its tributaries support a diverse and abundant
population of anadromous fish; a hatchery located at river mile 13
(km 21) supplements these native populations....
This qualitative study seeks to gain knowledge about the motives and barriers of rural adult women students and how these factors impact their decision to pursue postsecondary education. As more adult women choose to enter or return to higher education, it is important to examine the factors that influence their...
The freshwater polychaete Manayunkia speciosa was identified as an obligate host of the salmonid parasite Ceratomyxa shasta in 1997, prompting increased research on the small benthic invertebrate. Ceratomyxa shasta infection in fish can cause mortality, and presents a disease risk for both hatchery and wild salmon and trout. Ceratomyxa shasta...
Porphyry Cu-(Au-Mo) deposits are critical sources of several economically important metals. The processes governing the total metal endowment and relative proportions of ore metals at these large magmatic-hydrothermal deposits remain uncertain. The Sulphurets porphyry district, in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, contains four porphyry Au-Cu-Mo deposits that each feature distinct Cu/Au...
Zinc is an essential mineral that is integral to many proteins and transcription factors that regulate key cellular functions. The normal prostate accumulates high concentrations of zinc; however, malignant tissues have significantly lower zinc levels. This unique relationship between zinc and the prostate has sparked interest in the role of...
The purpose of this phenomenological research is to deepen understanding of the interrelationship between being lesbian and community college leadership experiences, values, priorities, practices, and identity negotiation. The following outlines thematic research findings.
1. Lesbian community college administrators' have experiences in:
-- Anti-lesbian work environments that exposed them to homophobic...
Seasonally, in 1998 and 1999, I examined spatial and temporal variation in fish assemblages of agricultural, forested, and acid mine drainage tributaries within the Wayne National Forest (WNF) in southern Ohio. Land use and natural disturbance explained patterns in stream fish assemblages. Creek chub and green sunfish were present in...
The negative effects of poverty on childhood academic outcomes are well documented by current research. Children in poverty experience pronounced positive effects of familial involvement on these same academic outcomes. Unfortunately children in poverty experience low levels of familial involvement. Current familial involvement policy is centered in the school environment....
Hatcheries are often perceived as a source of pathogen amplification, potentially increasing disease risk to free-ranging populations; at the same time, free-ranging fishes may introduce pathogens into hatcheries through untreated water sources. Many pathogens exist naturally within the environment (with the exception of introduced pathogens) and the presence of a...
Observations of the Oregon coast’s physical oceanography over the last few decades have revealed falling dissolved oxygen levels associated with seasonal upwelling, as well as rising water temperatures. In extreme cases, these changes have been associated with die-offs, redistribution, and decreased abundance and diversity of benthic fish and invertebrates. Many...
The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between physical activity level and motor skill proficiency in school-aged children ages 9-18 with developmental disabilities. Physical activity level was assessed using Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometers, which participants wore for all hours of the day for seven days. Motor skill proficiency...
In the Pacific Northwest (PNW), the two most common root-knot nematodes are Meloidogyne hapla and Meloidogyne chitwoodi. These nematodes can infect a wide variety of crops and can cause significant losses. Currently, it is common for the field of nematology to use labor-intensive microscopy to identify plant-parasitic nematodes based on...
Electron behavior in semiconductor materials critically determines electronic applications. Previous research has shown carrier temperature higher than the lattice temperature of LEDs due to energy differences in the quantum well. Study of these findings requires a novel set-up to dig out weak signal in a thermal-noise filled environment; analytical methods...
The role of bedrock landslides in the denudation of fluvial catchments has received considerable attention, whereas the relative contribution of deep-seated bedrock landslides to the erosion of glaciated basins is less well known. A glaciated basin in the Chugach-St. Elias Range of southern Alaska was chosen to investigate the contribution...
Though currently relatively unknown outside Latin America, Andean root and tuber crops are rapidly gaining interest elsewhere. Tubers are a major food and important sources of nutrition in South America and have potential in countries outside their center of origin. We conducted a two-part study on oca (Oxalis tuberosa), mashua...
The importance of seagrasses (families Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and Cymodoceaceae) to estuarine communities is widely accepted and this, combined with their continued decline throughout the world, have resulted in a need to better understand the factors affecting their growth and reproduction. Conservation and restoration of seagrasses will require an understanding...
Autophagy, a homeostatic degradation pathway, has a role in promoting cell survival under stress conditions, but can also promote cell death under conditions of sustained stress. This project investigates the cytotoxic potential of coibamide A and other natural products in autophagy-deficient and wild-type mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). Wild-type MEFs were...
By identifying the relationships between abundance and metabolic activity in a bacterial community, we advance our knowledge of the marine carbon cycle. In the present study, our goal was to examine the role of protist grazing on the metabolic activity of γ- Proteobacteria in the upwelling system off the Oregon...
By identifying the relationships between abundance and metabolic activity in a bacterial community, we advance our knowledge of the marine carbon cycle. In the present study, our goal was to examine the role of protist grazing on the metabolic activity of γ- Proteobacteria in the upwelling system off the Oregon...
The infection intensity of the monogenetic trematode Gyrodactyus stellatus on laboratory held English sole (Parophrys vetulus) appeared to be influenced by handling stress, substrate, and starvation. In bioassays testing G. stellatus survival times in mucus and serum collected from laboratory held sole at different times during trematode infection, trematode survival...
The effectiveness of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service
(CCCS) program on past clients' current money and credit management
was researched in this study. The researcher investigated whether
the experience of consumer credit counseling had any behavorial impact
on past clients' current credit practices.
A sample of 104 clients who lived...
Since their discovery in 1977, hydrothermal vent communities have offered scientists
a unique glimpse into a world that is supported primarily by chemically derived
energy rather than direct energy from the sun. Furthermore, studies of hydrothermal
vent ecosystems have introduced scientists to amazing animals that have successfully
adapted to living...
The field of geography has been transformed in recent years through the use of spatial tools such as geographic information systems (GIS) satellite and acoustic remote sensing, the global positioning system (GPS), Internet mapping and more. Studying geography and earth science in the digital age now requires a sophisticated and...
Since 1939, scientists have studied estrous cycle manipulation in dogs resulting in more articles published in this field than any other area of canine reproduction. Estrous cycle manipulation in dogs must be safe and reliable. Dopamine agonists, gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists, and gonadotropins are hormones that have been used for estrus...
The goal of this study was to pursue the construct of transcendence from a psychosocial, developmental perspective to predict who will volunteer and its influence on the average number of volunteer hours worked per week. The predictor variable is the self-transcendence subscale score on the Adult Self-Transcendence Inventory (ASTI) (Levenson...
The forest products industry relies on the production of high-quality wood to satisfy consumer requirements. Improving wood quality requires an effective and inexpensive technique for measuring critical properties such as density and microfibril angle. An emerging technology known as near-infrared hyperspectral imaging (NIR HSI) essentially captures surface images of samples...
Diatoms play a major role in ocean biogeochemical cycles and are important tools in bioengineering for natural products and nanotechnology. Diatoms and other algae growing at varying resource-limited growth rates allocate carbon to different metabolic pathways to optimize growth; however, the molecular mechanisms controlling these pathway gating strategies are not...
Sperm mobility denotes the net movement of a sperm population. Previous work implicated mitochondrial function as a basis underlying phenotypic variation in this quantitative trait. Our objective was to determine if mitochondrial function was indeed critical to expression of phenotype. Phenotype was assigned to roosters within a random bred population...
During the last century, fire suppression, grazing, and climate change have caused sagebrush grasslands to be altered in both function and form; juniper and sagebrush dominate the landscape at the expense of herbaceous plants. Management efforts to reduce juniper and sagebrush overstory in order to enhance herbaceous components of the...
Urban parks are biodiversity hotspots within cities and have the potential to provide a range of socio-cultural benefits for people, but may not always meet the needs and desires of park visitors. A variety of land use practices and environmental factors affect urban park biodiversity and vegetation structure, composition, and...
Problem: The current national focus on college student success highlights the need to increase the graduation rates of students of color. To date, qualitative research has shown benefits from Ethnic Studies courses such as higher levels of student achievement, engagement and involvement, validation, mattering, and a sense of belonging for...
The work of professional school counselors in helping students achieve academically and increasing their college-going rates is significant work. Research indicates that high school and even middle school is often too late for students to begin the process of college and career planning.
This dissertation includes two manuscripts. The first...
This project aimed to address the topic of children with disabilities through a well-researched children’s book. Dancing with my friend Maddie is a children’s book that focuses on a friendship between Claire, a typically developing first grader, and Maddie, a first grader with Down syndrome. Research has shown that addressing...
This study sought to gain a better understanding of the communication behaviors between coaches and male and female athletes. Four focus groups (male coach and male athletes, male coach and female athlete, female coach and male athletes, and female coach and female athletes) were used to assess athletes' perceptions of...
I investigated Caspian terns (Sterna caspia) breeding at colonies on the Columbia Plateau (southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon), with emphasis on the breeding and foraging ecology of Caspian terns nesting at colonies in the mid-Columbia River. I focused research at colonies where Caspian terns foraged on juvenile salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.)...
Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the top ten best-selling children's picture books of 2006 reveals that these books contain elements of systematic privilege and oppression. Dominant group members are numerically overrepresented in the sample. Major emergent themes are the normalization of racism and white privilege, the stereotypical portrayal of the...