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Dissertations and Theses

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Writing Fanny's Room & Reading Emma's House Jane Austen's Spatial Construction Of A Subjective, Social Self, Brent Chamberlain Jan 2014

Writing Fanny's Room & Reading Emma's House Jane Austen's Spatial Construction Of A Subjective, Social Self, Brent Chamberlain

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.


Assessing The Impact Of International Human Rights Pressures: The Dominican Republic And China, Limer Batista Jan 2014

Assessing The Impact Of International Human Rights Pressures: The Dominican Republic And China, Limer Batista

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.


Renewing The Oyate; Dakota Language And Cultural Revitalization And Commemorations Of The U.S.-Dakota War, 1962-2012, Deborah Edwards-Anderson Jan 2014

Renewing The Oyate; Dakota Language And Cultural Revitalization And Commemorations Of The U.S.-Dakota War, 1962-2012, Deborah Edwards-Anderson

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.


A Briny Crossroads Salt, Slavery, And Sectionalism In The Kanawha Salines, Cyrus Forman Jan 2014

A Briny Crossroads Salt, Slavery, And Sectionalism In The Kanawha Salines, Cyrus Forman

Dissertations and Theses

The Kanawha Salines are a place whose history challenges conventional narratives and popular assumptions about slavery and freedom in the antebellum South. The paradoxical nature of slavery in this locale can be seen in the identity of the first documented people forced to labor in the salt works. A half century before enslaved Africans were imported to this region, European women and their families were kidnapped, enslaved, and marched to the salt mines by Native Americans: “In 1755, the Indians had carried Mary Ingles, her newborn baby, and others as captives....to this spot on the Kanawha to attain a salt …


Reproducing Nicaragua; A Feminist Reading Of Debates Over Motherhood And Abortion Under Sandinista Rule, 1983-1988, Rocio Rayo Jan 2014

Reproducing Nicaragua; A Feminist Reading Of Debates Over Motherhood And Abortion Under Sandinista Rule, 1983-1988, Rocio Rayo

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.


Art As Dissent In The Midst Of Mexico's Drug War, Ana Lorena Marron Nozari Jan 2014

Art As Dissent In The Midst Of Mexico's Drug War, Ana Lorena Marron Nozari

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.


Responsibility To Protect; A Questionable Norm, Albana Hykaj Jan 2014

Responsibility To Protect; A Questionable Norm, Albana Hykaj

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.


Racial Gap In Income, Wealth And Asset Allocation Between Ethnic Groups In America, Herby Brutus Jan 2014

Racial Gap In Income, Wealth And Asset Allocation Between Ethnic Groups In America, Herby Brutus

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.


The Status Of Women Under Neoliberal Reform; A Test Of Two Theories, Donnett Lee Jan 2014

The Status Of Women Under Neoliberal Reform; A Test Of Two Theories, Donnett Lee

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.


Assessing The Impact Of International Human Rights Pressures: The Dominican Republic And China, Limer Batista Jan 2014

Assessing The Impact Of International Human Rights Pressures: The Dominican Republic And China, Limer Batista

Dissertations and Theses

Human rights abuses occur regularly around the world, affecting millions of people each year. In the post-World War II era, a human rights movement helped create regional and international human rights regimes. This thesis tries to assess the impact of international human rights pressure on state compliance with international human rights norms and conventions. In investigating the impact of human rights pressure on states, I hypothesize that certain conditions are helpful. The first condition is the absence of a strong public opinion and/or cultural sentiment against what the pressuring entities are trying to achieve. The second condition is dependency: dependent …


Methodological Advancements For Improving Performance And Generating Ensemble Ecological Niche Models, Robert Boria Jan 2014

Methodological Advancements For Improving Performance And Generating Ensemble Ecological Niche Models, Robert Boria

Dissertations and Theses

This study employs spatial filtering of occurrence data with the aim of reducing overfitting to sampling bias in ecological niche models (ENMs). Sampling bias in geographic space leads to localities that may also be biased in environmental space. If so, the model can overfit to those biases. As a preliminary test addressing this issue, we used Maxent, bioclimatic variables, and occurrence localities of a broadly distributed Malagasy tenrec, Microgale cowani (Family Tenrecidae: Subfamily Oryzorictinae). We modeled the abiotically suitable area of this species using three distinct datasets: unfiltered, spatially filtered, and rarefied unfiltered localities. To quantify overfitting and model performance, …


Elephant In The Dark, Eli Samuel Jan 2014

Elephant In The Dark, Eli Samuel

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.


Assessing Satellite Image Data Fusion With Information Theory Metrics, James Cross Jan 2014

Assessing Satellite Image Data Fusion With Information Theory Metrics, James Cross

Dissertations and Theses

A common problem in remote sensing is estimating an image with high spatial and high spectral resolution given separate sources of measurements from satellite instruments, one having each of these desirable properties. This thesis presents a survey of seven families of algorithms which have been developed to provide this common pattern of satellite image data fusion. They are all tested on artificially degraded sets of satellite data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (“MODIS”) with known ideal results, and evaluated using the commonly accepted data fusion assessment metrics spectral angle mapper (“SAM”) and Erreur Relative Globale Adimensionelle de Synth`ese (“ERGAS”). …


Modeling Fecal Bacteria In Oregon Coastal Streams Using Spatially Explicit Watershed Characteristics, Paul Bryce Pettus Dec 2013

Modeling Fecal Bacteria In Oregon Coastal Streams Using Spatially Explicit Watershed Characteristics, Paul Bryce Pettus

Dissertations and Theses

Pathogens, such as Escherichia coli and fecal coliforms, are causing the majority of water quality impairments in U.S., making up ~87% of this grouping's violations. Predicting and characterizing source, transport processes, and microbial survival rates is extremely challenging, due to the dynamic nature of each of these components. This research built upon current analytical methods that are used as exploratory tools to predict pathogen indicator counts across regional scales. Using a series of non-parametric methodologies, with spatially explicit predictors, 6657 samples from non-estuarine lotic streams were analyzed to make generalized predictions of regional water quality. 532 frequently sampled sites in …


Who Owns This Body? Enslaved Women's Claim On Themselves, Loucynda Elayne Sandeen Dec 2013

Who Owns This Body? Enslaved Women's Claim On Themselves, Loucynda Elayne Sandeen

Dissertations and Theses

During the antebellum period of U.S. slavery (1830-1861), many people claimed ownership of the enslaved woman's body, both legally and figuratively. The assumption that they were merely property, however, belies the unstable, shifting truths about bodily ownership. This thesis inquires into the gendered specifics and ambiguities of the law, the body, and women under slavery. By examining the particular bodily regulation and exploitation of enslaved women, especially around their reproductive labor, I suggest that new operations of oppression and also of resistance come into focus.

The legal structure recognized enslaved women in the interest of owners, and this limitation was …


Scenario Development And Analysis Of Freshwater Ecosystem Services Under Land Cover And Climate Change In The Tualatin And Yamhill River Basins, Oregon, Robert Wesley Hoyer Dec 2013

Scenario Development And Analysis Of Freshwater Ecosystem Services Under Land Cover And Climate Change In The Tualatin And Yamhill River Basins, Oregon, Robert Wesley Hoyer

Dissertations and Theses

Humans make decisions within ecosystems to enhance their well-being, but choices can lead to unintended consequences. The ecosystem services (ES) approach supports decision-making that considers all environmental goods and services. Many challenges remain in the implementation of the ES approach like how specific ES vary through space and time. We address this research problem using the Tualatin and Yamhill river basins in northwestern Oregon as a study area. Freshwater ES are quantified and mapped with the spatially-explicit ES modeling tool, Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST). In chapter II, we develop a simple urban land cover change modeling …


Identification And Characterization Of Fine Particulate Matter Hot Spots On An Urban Arterial Corridor Integrating Probe Vehicle, Traffic And Land Use Data, Katherine Eleanor Bell Dec 2013

Identification And Characterization Of Fine Particulate Matter Hot Spots On An Urban Arterial Corridor Integrating Probe Vehicle, Traffic And Land Use Data, Katherine Eleanor Bell

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study is to explore the use of integrated probe vehicle, traffic and land use data to identify and characterize fine particulate matter (PM[subscript 2.5]) hot spot locations on urban arterial corridors. In addition, a preliminary analysis is conducted to consider volatile organic compound (VOC) hot spot locations. A pollutant hot spot is defined as a location on a corridor in which the mean pollutant concentrations are consistently above the 85th percentile of pollutant concentrations when compared to all locations along the corridor. In order to collect data for this study, an electric vehicle was equipped with …


Every Town Is All The Same When You've Left Your Heart In The Portland Rain: Representations Of Portland Place And Local Identity In Portland Popular Lyrics, Meghan Andrea Kearney Dec 2013

Every Town Is All The Same When You've Left Your Heart In The Portland Rain: Representations Of Portland Place And Local Identity In Portland Popular Lyrics, Meghan Andrea Kearney

Dissertations and Theses

This study looks at how place and local identity of Portland are described within music lyrics from Portland, Oregon popular indie-rock artists. Employing a constant comparative analysis on a set of 1,201 songs from 21 different popular Portland indie-rock artists, the themes of landscapes and climate were found to represent place, and themes of lifestyles and attitudes represented local identity. Reviewing the uncovered themes showed a strong connection between representations of place and local identity within lyrics and common stereotypes or understandings of the city of Portland and its indie-rock music scene. The results of this study illustrate how place …


Soil Development And Vegetation Response To Removal Of A Small Dam, Lassen Volcanic National Park, California, Stephanie Kay Rohdy Dec 2013

Soil Development And Vegetation Response To Removal Of A Small Dam, Lassen Volcanic National Park, California, Stephanie Kay Rohdy

Dissertations and Theses

Dam removal is increasing as dams age, yet little is understood about the pedogenic response to dam removal. This study reports on the edaphic changes of reservoir sediments and vegetation cover one year following removal of a small earthen dam in Northern California. In August 2012, I sampled surface sediments from the former Dream Lake reservoir in Lassen Volcanic National Park, and compared their physical and chemical properties with soil samples from two reference sites. I also estimated percent cover of vegetation in the former reservoir and reference sites. My results show that the reservoir was under reduced conditions, as …


A Theory Of Travel Decision-Making With Applications For Modeling Active Travel Demand, Patrick Allen Singleton Dec 2013

A Theory Of Travel Decision-Making With Applications For Modeling Active Travel Demand, Patrick Allen Singleton

Dissertations and Theses

The continuing evolution of urban travel patterns and changing policy goals and priorities requires that transportation researchers and practitioners improve their abilities to plan and forecast the demand for travel. Walking and bicycling - the primary forms of active travel - are generating increasing interest for their potential to reduce automobile use, save governmental and consumer costs, and improve personal and social health outcomes. Yet, current transportation planning tools, namely regional travel demand forecasting models, poorly represent these active travel modes, if at all.

More broadly, travel models do an incomplete job of representing the decision-making processes involved in travel …


Skateboarding As Transportation: Findings From An Exploratory Study, Tessa Walker Nov 2013

Skateboarding As Transportation: Findings From An Exploratory Study, Tessa Walker

Dissertations and Theses

In recent decades skateboarding has expanded from recreation into a form of transportation. Skateboarders appear to use roadways much as other non‐motorized modes do. However, there is little academic research on the needs and characteristics of the skateboard as a mode. This research reports demographics, multi‐modal and travel behavior findings, and other data from an exploratory mixed‐methods study of skateboarding as a mode of transportation.


Disjointed Cosmopolitanism: Climate Change And Lived Experience In Portland, Oregon, Stephen Wayne Flinn Oct 2013

Disjointed Cosmopolitanism: Climate Change And Lived Experience In Portland, Oregon, Stephen Wayne Flinn

Dissertations and Theses

Climate change has emerged as one of the most significant issues facing the world. This research endeavored to uncover and describe the lived experience of Portland, Oregon residents in relation to the substantive issue of climate change. The specific purpose of this research was to gain a better understanding of the ways that Portland residents conceive of and communicate about climate change. Utilizing semi-structured phenomenological interviews, particular attention was paid to the culture of Portland residents, their lived experience and how the issue of climate change manifests itself in their everyday experiences. In addition, this particular phenomenological inquiry incorporated elements …


Spatial Analysis Of Climate And Winegrape Production In Winegrape Growing Regions Of Oregon, United States Of America, Willow Devin Campbell Oct 2013

Spatial Analysis Of Climate And Winegrape Production In Winegrape Growing Regions Of Oregon, United States Of America, Willow Devin Campbell

Dissertations and Theses

American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) are susceptible to small variations in climate and microclimates and are found within a narrow latitudinal range of prime climate conditions. These AVAs are geographically determined based on the best soil, climate, precipitation and temperature combinations for specific winegrape regions. As climate change continues to alter the local weather and the greater climate region of the Western United States, winegrape growing regions in Oregon are being affected. In an effort to determine what the pattern of change is, and compare previous studies of climate change using climate indices, a comparative study based in part on prior …


Conflict Resolution In Islam: Document Review Of The Early Sources, Flamur Vehapi Sep 2013

Conflict Resolution In Islam: Document Review Of The Early Sources, Flamur Vehapi

Dissertations and Theses

Islam is the world's fastest growing religion. It is known to have an abundant and very rich amount of knowledge found in the Qur'an and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad, and as such, this religion has tremendously contributed not only to Muslim societies but also to the West. One aspect of this contribution explicated in this thesis is its contribution to the field of Conflict Resolution.

The primary purpose of this study is to unearth the tradition of peace and conflict resolution that comes out of the religion of Islam, which is unknown to many Muslims today. In this study, …


Solid State Pre-Formed Electronics Adhesive (Spea), Alexander Randon Cope Sep 2013

Solid State Pre-Formed Electronics Adhesive (Spea), Alexander Randon Cope

Dissertations and Theses

In mobile and handheld consumer electronic markets, product use conditions drive the requirement for mechanical strength and device durability. The majority of relatively large form factor electronic components in a laptop, mobile internet device, PDA, or mobile phone use an adhesive as a stiffener to help protect the component from physical stresses imposed by daily wear and tear. Described herein is an innovative solution referred to as Solid State Pre-Formed Electronics Adhesive (SPEA), which enables a decrease in circuit board manufacturing throughput time while increasing mechanical durability with a consistent and characterized adhesive application process.

Today, many consumer electronic ODM's …


Faulty Measurements And Shaky Tools: An Exploration Into Hazus And The Seismic Vulnerabilities Of Portland, Or, Brittany Ann Brannon Aug 2013

Faulty Measurements And Shaky Tools: An Exploration Into Hazus And The Seismic Vulnerabilities Of Portland, Or, Brittany Ann Brannon

Dissertations and Theses

Events or forces of nature with catastrophic consequences, or "natural disasters," have increased in both frequency and force due to climate change and increased urbanization in climate-sensitive areas. To create capacity to face these dangers, an entity must first quantify the threat and translate scientific knowledge on nature into comprehensible estimates of cost and loss. These estimates equip those at risk with knowledge to enact policy, formulate mitigation plans, raise awareness, and promote preparedness in light of potential destruction. Hazards-United States, or Hazus, is one such tool created by the federal government to estimate loss from a variety of threats, …


Beyond The Yellow Brick Road: Queer Localization In The Age Of Anita Bryant, 1974-1980, Stewart John Van Cleve Aug 2013

Beyond The Yellow Brick Road: Queer Localization In The Age Of Anita Bryant, 1974-1980, Stewart John Van Cleve

Dissertations and Theses

Collective memories of gay rights in the late 1970s offer a conflicted portrait of Anita Bryant, an infamous anti-gay personality who inspired, organized, or funded four anti-gay referendums between 1976 and 1978. I employ J. Jack Halberstam's concept of "metronormativity" in an analysis of campaigns that failed to preserve local gay rights laws in Miami and Eugene, the first and last of Bryant's four "target cities." I use L. Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz as a metaphor to compare the beginning of Bryant's role as a leader in Miami to her subsequent role as a specter of national controversy in …


Modeling The Distribution Of Bobcats And Areas Of Reintroduction For Fisher In The Southern Washington Cascades, Shiloh Michael Halsey Aug 2013

Modeling The Distribution Of Bobcats And Areas Of Reintroduction For Fisher In The Southern Washington Cascades, Shiloh Michael Halsey

Dissertations and Theses

The fisher (Martes pennanti) is a medium sized member of the mustelid family that once roamed the forests of Washington and whose historic range in the western United States once spread throughout the northern Rocky Mountains, the Cascade and Coast Ranges, and the Sierra Nevada (Carroll, Zielinski, and Noss 1999; Powell 1993, Spencer et al. 2011). Due to pressures from trapping and habitat fragmentation, the abundance of the species in the western United States has decreased dramatically and is thought to be limited to several small, isolated populations. In 2008, fishers were reintroduced to the Olympic Peninsula; however, bobcat (Lynx …


The View From The Table: An Analysis Of Participant Reactions To Community-Based Dialogues On Food And Justice, Jennifer Turner Jul 2013

The View From The Table: An Analysis Of Participant Reactions To Community-Based Dialogues On Food And Justice, Jennifer Turner

Dissertations and Theses

While Portland, Oregon's sustainable food movement wins accolades for explicitly situating itself in opposition to the industrialized global food system, it often fails to address systems of oppression that are reproduced within the alternative agri-food movement itself. This demonstrated aversion towards the messy, complex, contingent nature of the social world reflects larger processes of "de-politicization" of the overall sustainability agenda, which leads to the favoring of technological and/or spatial solutions that may undermine the social equity and justice dimensions of the "triple bottom line." This thesis focuses on an action research project involving a series of community dialogues that provided …


Bicycle Traffic Count Factoring: An Examination Of National, State And Locally Derived Daily Extrapolation Factors, Josh Frank Roll Jul 2013

Bicycle Traffic Count Factoring: An Examination Of National, State And Locally Derived Daily Extrapolation Factors, Josh Frank Roll

Dissertations and Theses

Since nearly the beginning of the wide spread adoption of the automobile, motorized traffic data collection has occurred so that decision makers have information to plan the transportation system. Widespread motorized traffic data collection has allowed for estimating traffic volumes using developed extrapolation methods whereby short-term counts in sample locations can be expanded to longer periods. As states and local planning agencies make investments in bicycle infrastructure and count programs develop, similar extrapolation methods will be needed. The only available guidance on extrapolating bicycle counts comes from the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project (NBPDP), yet no validation of these …