Rapid changes in global climate have put many species at risk, particularly niche
specialists. The Chisel-toothed kangaroo rat, Dipodomys microps, is thought to specialize on the desert shrub Atriplex confertifolia. Because of this close relationship, D. microps was presumed to have tracked the shrub as its distribution shifted south during...
This thesis explores the gendered histories of slavery through the concept of haunting in two neo-slave narrative novels: Toni Morrison’s A Mercy and Octavia Butler’s Kindred. I offer readings of these texts through slavery’s geographic and temporal implications, in order to argue that the logics of antiblackness remain a fundamental...
“Mother Nature Branches Out” is a children’s story that incorporates developmental concepts important for early literacy development as well as developing skills related to social change and environmental activism. Incorporating and teaching about climate change within the context of a children’s story helps to expand the lens through which children’s...
Young children with developmental disabilities (< 12 years old) participate less in physical activity (PA) and experience motor skill deficits compared to young children without disabilities (Jung, Leung, Schram, & Yun, 2018; Liu, Hamilton, Davis, & ElGarhy, 2014; Whyatt & Craig, 2012). When taking account of a bi-directional relationship between...
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Megan MacDonald
Young children with developmental disabilities (< 12 years old
This thesis analyzes two Victorian fairy tales that feature queer endings, or endings that offer alternatives to the heteronormative fairy-tale tradition that idealizes heterosexual marriage and the biological family. In both George MacDonald’s The Wise Woman (1875) and E. Nesbit’s “The Island of the Nine Whirlpools” (1901), I argue that...
Children's early self-regulation skills have long-term implications for a variety of academic, social, and health outcomes. Unfortunately, children facing multiple family risk factors (e.g., harsh parenting, economic disadvantage) are more likely to struggle with early self-regulation. Despite early disparities in self-regulation, promising intervention evidence suggests that high quality prekindergarten experiences...
Increasing numbers of children are entering kindergarten without the behavioral skills needed to cope with the demands of the classroom environment. Moreover, a number of studies have documented that young children's behavioral regulation (including attention, working memory, and inhibitory control skills) plays an important role in later academic achievement (McClelland,...
The purpose of this thesis is to examine the number of edge-disjoint Hamiltonian cycles in de Bruijn graphs using ideas from finite field theory, particularly linear recurring sequences. It is known that the de Bruijn graph B(d,n) admits d-1 disjoint Hamiltonian cycles when d is a power of 2, and...
Operating speed is one of the best performance measures that can tell transportation agencies how well or how poorly the transportation system is functioning. Fluctuating operating speeds often mean there is a design flaw or something about the physical road design that violates drivers' expectations. A primary example of this...
Shell-boring polychaetes pose economic risks for oyster aquaculture industries as they reduce the aesthetic quality of oyster products by creating unsightly mud-filled blisters on the inside of the shell. Recently there has been a reported uptick in infested oysters on commercial farms along the west coast of the US, which...
Lingcod are an overexploited fish species in the Pacific Northwest and although there has been extensive study of the habitat requirements of adults, particularly during spawning, relatively little is known regarding the habitat requirements of post-settlement juveniles. Many juvenile fish use structural components of habitat to alleviate the risk of...
During summer and fall 2007, I traveled across Europe and studied in Spain. My experiences abroad shaped my reading of certain literary texts as I gained insight into the cultures and settings in which they were produced. In my thesis, I recount some of these experiences and show how my...
Freshwater rearing is a critical period in the life cycle of anadromous salmonids, known to produce carry-over effects mediating long-term growth and survival. Freshwater growth is primarily determined by food availability and temperature. While many species of salmon rear in freshwater for a full year or longer, most trophic ecology...
Issues of injustice in society (e.g. racism, classism, sexism, ableism) are perpetuated in and through educational opportunities, including mathematics learning (Freire, 1970/2000). Those that are committed to disrupting the interlocking systems that create disparities and oppression in mathematics education are considered to be “pursuing justice.” Pursuit of justice can involve...
Vaccinia virus is the prototypic member of the Orthopoxvirus genus. It undergoes a complex replication process where a key step in the transition from immature virion to intracellular mature virion is the cleavage of the major core protein precursors. The product of the I7L open reading frame (ORF) is a...
Strawberry is one of four crops included in the USDA-NIFA Specialty Crop Research Initiative-funded RosBREED project along with apple, peach, and cherry. Phenotyping strawberry for specific horticultural and commercial traits is important to identify associations with genotypic marker(s). This process is the first step in translating genomic knowledge into enhanced...
Background: Current policy in Oregon under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) indicates that children diagnosed with developmental delay (DD) are eligible for services before school, but not eligible for the receipt of services in school-based programs. Due to this definition of eligibility, children with DD face additional barriers...
Current prevalence statistics suggest 1 in 88 children are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (CDC, 2012). ASDs are pervasive developmental disorders characterized by social communicative deficits and restricted interests and behaviors (APA, 2000). Children with ASD also display deficits in motor skills (Green et al., 2002: Pan, Tsai, &...
Introduction: Parents provide an in-depth and unique perspective on their children with developmental disabilities (DDs) experiences and involvement in physical activity. Furthermore, family pets promote physical activity and quality of life in children with DDs. An imitation based physical activity program for children with DD and their family dog took...
Introduction: Physical activity (PA) is recommended for all individuals because of the benefits it provides to physical health, mental health, and overall quality of life (QoL). It is also recommended for children with developmental disabilities (DDs), which make up about 15% of all U.S. children ages 3-17 years. Previous studies...