Digital Commons Network^™

Oregon State Rank Assessment For Rough Popcorn Flower (Plagiobothrys Hirtus), Nora Dunkirk

Institute for Natural Resources Publications

Oregon state conservation status assessment for rough popcorn flower (Plagiobothrys hirtus) using NatureServe methodology, 2024.

Pathways To Social Mobility: Examining Trades As A Career Path For Formerly Incarcerated Individuals, June Jenkins

Dissertations and Theses

Obtaining stable, paid employment is crucial for successful reentry into the community after incarceration, however, formerly incarcerated individuals face extensive barriers when entering the workforce. Trades may present a uniquely attainable career path for this population due to relatively low barriers to entry. To date, there is a lack of research investigating experience-based perspectives on the viability of trades training programs and trades careers in facilitating prisoner reentry. This study employs semi-structured qualitative interviews to investigate perspectives on trades as a career path for formerly incarcerated individuals as well as barriers to accessing and attending trades training programs. Interviewees include …

Taking Thermally Modified Rock Seriously: An Analysis Of Use-Wear Attributes, Dianna Marie Wilson

Dissertations and Theses

Rock is a durable and widely available resource that can store and transfer thermal energy, which is why people have used, and still use, rock in various forms of cooking techniques using different types of thermal facilities. Many of these facilities are important heritage resources associated with the long-term connection of Indigenous people to places, plants, and animals. In Oregon's Willamette Valley there is an abundance of thermally modified rock (TMR) that archaeologists minimally record and then discard, with inadequate information retained to reconstruct past TMR use or answer other important questions about past relationships between peoples' use of TMR, …

The Protective Effects Of Perceived Partner Responsiveness On Service Members' Drinking And Health Outcomes, Julia Maria Oosi Lynch

Dissertations and Theses

Stress is a known predictor of various adverse health behaviors and outcomes, such as poorer physical health, injuries, and mental well-being. Specifically, stressful events, including minor daily hassles, as well as major life changes and pressures that are perceived negatively, can lead to experiences of psychological distress. Psychological distress is commonly defined as symptoms of anxiety and depression, including worry, sadness, and hopelessness. These concerns are particularly acute for military families, who experience a unique set of stressors and loneliness due to deployments and separation, long shifts, and frequent relocations. Those experiencing psychological dFreistress are also more likely to engage …

Improving Biomimetic Passive Dynamics Of A Quadruped Robot Hind Leg Hip Joint With A 3d Printed Torsion Spring, Haonan Zheng

Dissertations and Theses

The Agile and Adaptive Robotics Lab is interested in researching the neuromuscular control network of legged animal locomotion. To validate the lab's understanding of biological neural control, synthetic neural networks are developed and applied to biologically inspired legged robots. For a synthetic neural network to operate in the same manner as a biological neural network and produce the same locomotor behavior, the robot that the synthetic neural network is controlling must also mimic its biological counterpart. Previous research produced a quadruped robot hind leg designed with biomimetic passive dynamics by installing spring and damper pairs at each joint, however, an …

Teeth, Chukwudaru Immaculata Michael

Dissertations and Theses

Teeth is an experimental novel draft that intricately weaves a non-linear narrative of the lives of two sisters, Lota and Jekein. Through their stories, the novel delves into the complex questions and experiences surrounding religious, patriarchal, and socio-political violence inflicted upon the female body and identity. Set in Nigeria, Teeth is presented by an omniscient narrator who offers critical perspectives on being, playing into the subtle nuances that define the lives of these women. The novel employs multiple points of view, echoing diverse perceptions of motherhood, nationalism, and belief in the context of authority and identity reclamation. Lota is depicted …

(Un, Made, Dumitru Michael Dobre

Dissertations and Theses

A novella length narrative experiment in form using the concept of the machine (and its operations) to constrain and arrange text visually in narrative spacetime. Through shifts in form and narrative content, the text addresses a variety of topics, including but not limited to: subjective versus objective experience; self conception and realization; deconstruction; relationality; human and non-human relationships; person and place; love; theories of societal acceleration and how the effects of this acceleration appear in 'daily life;' capitalist modes of production and commodification in late stage capitalism; hegemonic narratives and their disassembly; the question of the good life; resistance; refuges; …

Flood Vulnerability In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Hue Hong Duong

Dissertations and Theses

Flooding is the most common natural disaster globally, accounting for about 47% of all recorded events. It disproportionately affects the most vulnerable populations. The main goal of this dissertation is to conduct a comprehensive vulnerability assessment that can inform decision-making in flood risk management in the coastal megacity of Ho Chi Minh City, located in a low-lying area in south Vietnam. Despite contributing more than one fifth of the country's GDP, this city remains particularly susceptible to the adverse impacts of extreme weather conditions, making vulnerability analysis crucial.

The literature review carried out as part of this dissertation underscores the …

Conchas, Coloring Books, And Oxnard: Using Critical Race Counterstorytelling As A Framework To Create A Social Justice Coloring Book, Martín Alberto Gonzalez

Chicano/Latino Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

I am from Oxnard, California, a predominantly Latinx city that is stereotyped as “too hood”, “too ghetto”, or “crime-infested” because of its low-income Brown people. Such negative narratives are so commonplace that they become believable, but we can challenge these oppressive narratives using critical race counterstorytelling. There are multiple ways to tell a story, and I pride myself in producing counterstories that are accessible and enjoyable to mi gente. So, to encourage stay-at-home practices and empower my own community during the COVID-19 pandemic, I created a social justice coloring book with the help of artistic friends and local Oxnard Latinx …

The Formation Of A Dialect: An Examination Of The History, Characteristics, And Evolutions Of Los Angeles Vernacular Spanish, Lianna Perry Fountain

Dissertations and Theses

Los Angeles Vernacular Spanish (L.A.V.S) or Español Vernacular de Los Àngeles is a non-standard regional dialect of Spanish rooted in the history and culture of Los Angeles Country, California. It is a sub-dialect of Chicano Spanish which has mainly existed in the Southwestern U.S for centuries. It relates to other varieties of U.S Spanish that have been influenced by macro-dialects other than Mexican Spanish. Like other forms of U.S Spanish, L.A.V.S has long been considered an imperfect manner of speaking or poorly formed Spanish instead of a dialect due to language contact with English. However, new dialects and languages are …

Acquisition Of Spatial And Temporal VTe-Kuru By Learners Of Japanese At A University In The U.S., Ayumi Naraoka

Dissertations and Theses

This study examined to what extent Japanese as Foreign Language (JFL) learners have mastered the grammatical pattern for the verb gerund + kuru ("come"), which is referred to as Vte-kuru henceforth. There are two types of Vte-kuru: (1) the spatial Vte-kuru, meaning "to do [something] and come back," and (2) the temporal Vte- kuru, meaning "begin to." It is assumed that learners did not use Vte-kuru often, even though they should have learned two uses of Vte-kuru by the end of their 200-level Japanese class. To find out to what extent …

The Integration Of Social Work Values And Principles In Police Work, Dasha Rhodes, Taylor Geyton, Jam Ost

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Persisting social inequities and injustices were spotlighted in the United States in 2020 after the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. A particular focus on the interactions of police officers and non-violent community members rallied a call to reallocate funds to social services better equipped to handle such situations, aptly named #defundthepolice. Many called for the need and placement of social workers in police agencies to curtail the negative interactions witnessed between police officers and communities of color, specifically with Black Americans. Across the nation, social workers are not always employed or readily available in police organizations. Therefore, instilling …

Seguir Adelante: A Qualitative Exploration Of Latino Farmworkers' Work And Non-Work Resources, Faviola Robles Saenz

Dissertations and Theses

Precarious work sectors within the United States have relied on Black and Brown labor for many decades. More specifically, Latino immigrant workers have been an exploited community within many dangerous workforces but especially within the agricultural industry. They are a crucial population for the labor and economy of the U.S., yet Latino farmworkers report feeling expendable, being discriminated against, and being exposed to hazardous working conditions. Due to these experiences, scholars have explored the role non-work resources have in providing support for this community, their social networks being especially beneficial for them. However, research on the links between their work …

Analyzing The Legitimacy, Effectiveness, And Legacy Of The United Nations, Hunter Wade Calley

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines the legitimacy and effectiveness of the United Nations since its establishment, while also exploring the shortcomings of its predecessor, the League of Nations. The legitimacy of the United Nations and the role the organization plays in the world of international politics, the flaws of the UN Security Council, and the impact of the Cold War on the legitimacy and processes of the United Nations are especially highlighted throughout this thesis.

The successes and shortcomings of the United Nations are best understood given the historical context of the League of Nations, the organization founded to bring world powers …

Predation Of Appendicularians On Prochlorococcus, Carey Sweeney

Dissertations and Theses

Prochlorococcus is the most abundant photosynthetic cell on Earth. This picocyanobacterium is critical to primary productivity and biogeochemical cycles of the open ocean. While abiotic environmental factors that influence Prochlorococcus are relatively well-understood, biotic controls are less well known. Appendicularians are ubiquitous gelatinous zooplankton that feed on marine microorganisms including Prochlorococcus. However, the details of this feeding interaction are extremely understudied relative to its potential importance. In this study, I characterized the relationship between appendicularians and Prochlorococcus with laboratory experiments. I showed that feeding on Prochlorococcus changes with the life stage of the appendicularians and concentration of prey. I …

Synthesis And Computational Studies Of Α- And Δ-Substituted Macrocyclic Europium And Ytterbium Complexes, Delainey Amara Winder

Dissertations and Theses

The uses of macrocyclic lanthanide complexes are vast, with many targeted MRI contrast agents at the forefront of the field. Many of these are ParaCEST agents, which require exchangeable protons accessible on the macrocycle and the slow exchange of coordinated water molecules. The substitution at both the α- and δ-carbon on the amide pendant arm of these macrocyclic lanthanide complexes can lock bulky groups on the δ-carbon to a pseudo-axial position. When the α- and δ-carbons have the same chirality, the bulky group will be pseudo-equatorial, and when the chirality is opposed, the bulky group will be pseudo-axial. By performing …

Crown Shy, Laura Francesca Kincaid

Dissertations and Theses

Crown Shy explores the ripple effects of inheritance--somatic, psychological, and material--and how such inheritance constellates into our adult relations and relating. In three parts, the text undermines nuclear family imaginings, first by pulling them out by the root, and later through radical practice, formal constraint, and syntactic ambiguity. By studying the natural world--the organizing principles of trees, insects, and flowers--Crown Shy attempts to glean strategy from evidence of what is already thriving. Reluctantly lyrical, the text quietly deplores the ramifications of commercial agriculture, including the speaker’s own family farm and ancestral homestead. With the weight of this origin point, …

The Influence Of Eyewitnesses And Police Tip Line Reports: An Exploratory Case Study Of A 2005 Homicide, Abigail Rose Torres

Dissertations and Theses

Public tip lines provide the public to provide information [sic] to the police when there is an ongoing investigation. These public tip lines could increase investigations where the public is being made aware of the investigation, increasing the amount of information being brought forward. Research focuses on how tips reporting is similar to eyewitnesses in that individuals recall information. The literature illustrates how the media can influence the tips. The study is an exploratory content analysis looking at potential themes or patterns that emerged from analyzing the tips and patterns of the tip line and media files related to an …

When Overextended Surface Allocation Turns To Groundwater: A Q Methodology Of Well Users In Oregon’S High Desert, Melissa Haeffner, Janet Cowal, Brandy Walker, Clare Mcclellan

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

As legal battles over surface water allocation in Klamath County, Oregon, USA have gained national attention, earning the name “Water Wars,” authorities have been increasingly turning to groundwater to compensate for water shortfalls. This case study aims to identify the nuanced perspectives of household groundwater well users who are affected by groundwater extraction. Using Q methodology, we uncover groundwater well users’ perceptions and to what extent they think water problems are dealt with fairly. We identify four water perspectives that differ in the degree to which respondents prioritize clean water accessibility, industry accountability, individual responsibility for water management, and trust …

Lithium And Water: Hydrosocial Impacts Across The Life Cycle Of Energy Storage, James J. A. Blair, Noel Vineyard, Dustin Mulvaney, Alida Cantor, Ali Sharbat, Kate Berry, Elizabeth Bartholomew, Ariana Firebaugh Ornelas

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

As a key ingredient of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), lithium plays a significant role in climate change mitigation, but lithium has considerable impacts on water and society across its life cycle. Upstream extraction methods—including open-pit mining, brine evaporation, and novel direct lithium extraction (DLE)—and downstream processes present different impacts on both the quantity and quality of water resources, leading to water depletion and contamination. Regarding upstream extraction, it is critical for a comprehensive assessment of lithium's life cycle to include cumulative impacts related not only to freshwater, but also mineralized or saline groundwater, also known as brine. Legal frameworks …

Unbalanced Or Absent: Assessing Indigenous Representation In Interpretive Materials At Government Administered Heritage Sites In Cascadia And Hawai‘I, Leah Marie Rosenkranz, Jeremy Spoon, Douglas Deur

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Unbalanced or absent Indigenous representation in interpretive materials at government administered heritage sites in settler colonial contexts can create contention and perpetuate a misinformed or one-dimensional visitor experience and historical narrative. This research therefore examines representation in interpretive materials accessible in 2019 at heritage sites with Indigenous ancestral connections in settler-colonial contexts. This study uses 10 U.S. case study heritage sites and two supplementary sites in Washington, Idaho, and Hawai‘i. Researchers utilized participant observation and systematic photography during two 2019 research phases to document interpretive materials. Quantification generated 731 analytic units which were subsequently assessed for the presence of inductively …

Centering The Leader: An Investigation Of Leader-Centric Variables In The Support Provision Process, Jordyn Jan Leslie

Dissertations and Theses

Few studies to date have investigated leader-centric variables associated with the support provision process. The following dissertation includes three studies that attempt to further understand such relationships. In Study 1, the interaction between leader sleep quantity and quality on various types of leader support (e.g., general supervisor support, family supportive supervisor behaviors, and sleep leadership) is studied using both employee and leader ratings. Study 2 integrates leader-centric research with work-life supportive leadership to propose a new theoretical model that delineates leader-centric variables (e.g., health & well-being, skills, role expectations, job demands) as precursors to the provision and perception of work-life …

The Effects Of Physical Accessibility And Subjective Accessibility On Grocery Shopping Behaviors In Oakland, California, Huijun Tan

Dissertations and Theses

Existing studies underscore the complexity of urban accessibility, defined by a range of factors, including the city's physical layout and infrastructure as well as the subjective perceptions and experiences of its inhabitants. As urban areas continue to grow and diversify, gaining a comprehensive understanding of these varied interactions is imperative. This broader context highlights the necessity of investigating the interplay between physical and subjective accessibility, aiming to illuminate the specific challenges and opportunities faced by these communities in accessing necessary services. This study explored the relationship between physical and subjective accessibility and their consequential impact on grocery shopping behaviors among …

Large Length Scale Droplet Capillary Phenomena: Generation, Jump, And Capture, Karl Jeffrey Theodore Cardin

Dissertations and Theses

Understanding the life cycle of droplets, from generation to capture, for example, is critical to understanding environments from the air-sea interface to the indoor environment of the International Space Station. Investigations have been performed in this work to provide insight into three droplet phenomena, each ubiquitous in both terrestrial and microgravity settings, through a lens of capillary flow. Each investigation attempts to disentangle the effects of gravity from the effects of surface tension. A drop tower test campaign is performed for each of the three investigations. Models are developed and simulations are performed to rationalize the observations. Each investigation is …

"We're Going To Tear Up The Caldera So We Can Have An Electric Car": Competing Perceptions And Spatial Dimensions Of Open-Pit Lithium Mining In The Mcdermitt Caldera, Oregon, Elizabeth Bartholomew

Dissertations and Theses

As the world attempts to pivot away from fossil fuels and other greenhouse gas-emitting activities that fuel climate change, the proposed technological solutions all require raw materials, resources, and land; each of which have their own logistical and political dimensions. Lithium, a federally recognized critical mineral that is considered a crucial element in modern battery production, plays a vital role in decarbonizing efforts. Under the banners of national security, resource independence, and carbon mitigation goals, the United States has incentivized domestic lithium extraction, expediting exploration throughout the American West. The McDermitt Caldera, spanning from southeastern Oregon into northern Nevada, is …

Synoptic Drivers Of Extreme Precipitation In The Upper Yuba Watershed Of California, Emma Nichole Russell

Dissertations and Theses

The United States state of California is vulnerable to both droughts and extreme precipitation events due to the timing and processes of precipitation in the region. California's annual precipitation is dependent on a few strong storms and in addition to its Mediterranean climate, leads to great variability in precipitation both within and across years. While efforts to reduce the impacts of extreme precipitation events have been implemented, forecasting for these events remains a challenge in regions with complex terrain and dynamic meteorological drivers. In order to improve forecasting and preparedness for such events, it is important to understand the range …

Exploring The Social Processes Influencing The Well-Being And Social Integration Of Systemically Marginalized Students In Higher Education: A Mixed-Methods Approach, Zeinab Abbas Hachem

Dissertations and Theses

Comprising two manuscripts, this dissertation employs a mixed-methods approach to comprehensively examine the intrapersonal and interpersonal processes influencing the socioemotional well-being and social integration of systemically marginalized students. The first manuscript quantitatively explored the relationship between ethnic identity commitment and indices of well-being, the mediating role of social relationships, and the moderating roles of gender and immigrant generation status among Latinx college students (N = 707). Results suggested that ethnic identity commitment was positively associated with socioemotional well-being. Although both types of relationships were significant mediators on their own, maternal (vs. peer) relationship quality was the stronger mediational influence. Furthermore, …

Dynamic Social Ecologies Of Students' Motivational Resilience: The Complex Relationship Between Family, Teacher, And Peer Support, And Students' Academic Coping And Reengagement, Kristen Elizabeth Raine

Dissertations and Theses

Drawing upon self-determination theory (SDT) based models of motivational resilience, the following dissertation contains three studies that expand upon the current literature by investigating how processes of motivational resilience, or children's general capacity to handle the everyday academic stressors they encounter at school, are connected to the complex social ecologies created by the intersecting contexts of school and home. Study 1 examined whether family motivational support predicted increases in student reengagement through its effect on subsequent levels of students' self-system processes of relatedness, competence, and autonomy in a sample of 590 early adolescents from an urban middle school in the …

Phytoplankton Community Dynamics In The Northern California Current System, Kristin E. Forgrave

Dissertations and Theses

The Northern California Current system is a productive coastal ecosystem encompassing a variety of temporal and spatial features. The photosynthetic microbial community plays a crucial role in supporting the rich ecosystem and its economically important fisheries. My research integrates data across location and two years to investigate the community composition of two major phytoplankton groups in this system: picocyanobacteria and photosynthetic picoeukaryotes (PPE). The abundances and sizes of the phytoplankton were measured using flow cytometry. I found PPE present at similar concentrations in both summer and winter seasons. Abundances of both PPE and picocyanobacteria were comparable in the winter, but …

Adopting Oer Course Materials: Instructor Experiences, Jenny Ceciliano

Dissertations and Theses

Traditional commercial textbooks used in postsecondary courses are often problematic due to their rigidity, tendency to mirror the dominant culture, and the substantial cost imposed upon students. Although replacing these texts with open educational resources (OER) can facilitate more equitable and inclusive pedagogical practices while removing a significant expense, there has been insufficient research surrounding instructors' experience of transitioning from a commercial textbook to OER course materials. Through semi-structured interviews with nine postsecondary instructors who teach with OER course materials, this basic qualitative study explores the experience of that transition. The findings indicate that adopting OER is a challenging and …