Digital Commons Network^™

Women's Work: A Feminist Standpoint Theory Study Of Scholarship, Voice, And Resistance In The Academic Generation Of Knowledge, Linnea Angelica Spitzer

Dissertations and Theses

More women than ever are earning doctoral degrees and are taking research or teaching positions at universities. However, the number of tenured women in full professorships have not yet achieved parity with the number of men in similar positions. Of the many reasons proposed for the disproportionate representation of women in the higher ranks of academia, one of the most commonly cited is the lower rates of publication by women in scholarly journals, an important criterion for promotion and tenure. However, women faculty are not unproductive. As scholars, they produce research and publish their findings in mainstream academic journals. In …

Incarceration And Suicide: Do The Risk Factors Differ For Civilians And Veterans?, Rheannon Gail Ramsey

Dissertations and Theses

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in United States jails and prisons. Many researchers have looked at suicides in prisons and what can potentially cause suicidal ideation but there are conflicting findings among civilian incarcerated populations and United States military veteran incarcerated populations.

The intent of this study is to examine which risk factors are most prevalent among adults in custody, with a focus on mental health and substance use or abuse and how these risk factors differ between incarcerated civilians and incarcerated veterans. Using survey data from the 2002 Survey of Inmates in Local Jails conducted …

Spread Like Wildfire: Assessing The Utility Of Local Facebook Groups To Inspire Citizen Communication During A Disaster, Colby Riehl

Dissertations and Theses

As traditional sources of local news and information decline, community-oriented social media services (e.g. Nextdoor, Facebook groups) are expanding (Masden, Grevet, Grinter, Gilbert, and Edwards, 2014). Thus far, community-oriented social media use remains relatively understudied. Not only do we not understand how citizens utilize these resources, we are also generally unaware of the content that they create and access using them. A survey of residents of Oregon City, OR and its environs, which were impacted by the Oregon wildfires of 2020, was conducted to assess the differences among citizens who use a local Facebook group & those who do not. …

Rowing Concerns: Collaborative Governance And Stakeholder Determination In The Central Oregon's Deschutes Basin, Noel Vineyard

Dissertations and Theses

In 2019, a coalition of irrigation districts in central Oregon's Deschutes Basin submitted the Deschutes Basin Habitat Conservation Plan to the US Department of Fish and Wildlife. This Habitat Conservation Plan purported to have been constructed through a collaborative governance structure between the irrigation districts and various community stakeholders who all had interests in basin management, however segments of the Basin's river recreation community began to raise concerns that their voices were not included. The purpose of this research was to investigate how stakeholder status in the Deschutes Basin is created through collaborative water governance processes like development of the …

Transformative Health Care: Integrating The Perspectives And Lived Experiences Of Transgender And Gender Diverse Patients Into Health Care Education And Delivery, Shammarie Raquel Mathis

Dissertations and Theses

Prior research studies have found transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) patients at increased risk for poor physical and mental health as a result of disparities in health care access and treatment. Research has shown that perioperative patient education can improve patient outcomes, as well as promote increased knowledge, preparedness, and recovery post-surgery. For TGNC patients, gender affirming perioperative education classes are especially important for prospective patients as they not only provide comprehensive information about perioperative topics but also serve as a mechanism to promote personal empowerment through knowledge acquisition. The Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) Transgender Health Program (THP) …

Testing Functional Variation In Thermal Properties For Antarctic Mosses, Andrew Forrest Clements

Dissertations and Theses

As the maritime Antarctic ecosystem continues to warm, glacial retreat will further expose subterranean permafrost to warmer conditions. One of the most visible changes in the ecosystem is the colonization of the new ice-free areas by bryophytes, particularly mosses. These bryophytes are having important effects on terrestrial thermal properties, but little is known about differences among Antarctic moss species in their thermal properties. Here, I measured the thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, and the water content of moss species on King George Island to understand the insulation ability of Antarctic mosses, Polytrichastrum alpinum, Sanionia georgicouncinata, Chorisodontium aciphyllum, …

Racializing Discourses: An Exploration Of Moreno Subject Formation In Oaxaca, Mexico, Juan Salvador Sepulveda-Figuereo

Dissertations and Theses

Processes of Black racialization in Mestizo Latin America open a space to expose how subjectivities emerge and change while in tension with broader national ideas and transnational discourses. Morenos, typically dark skin individuals of African descent, inhabit the boundaries of mestizaje, Mexico's national racial ideology which emphasizes indigenous and Spanish ancestry. As a result, regional narratives subject morenos to racialization processes that align with the historical erasure of people of African descent, effectively excluding morenos from the nation. Nevertheless, morenos incorporate themselves into the regional and national narratives through various mechanisms and (re)formulations of established discourses.

I propose a …

E(Raced): Race And Use Of Self Amongst Bipoc Social Workers, Anita Reinette Gooding

Dissertations and Theses

Use of self is defined as the social worker's instrument, and involves an intentional engagement of one's personhood in ways that facilitate client change (Heyt & Sherman, 2005). This dissertation argues that race is one component of the social worker's self that is visible, and that can affect how Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) social workers use self in their practice. Using Critical Race Theory, Social Identity Theory and an Interpretive Description methodology, this dissertation engages 27 BIPOC field instructors in semi-structured interviews in order to answer the following research questions: a) What are the components of use …

Diffusion Of Innovation: Investigations Of Technology Advances On A University Campus, Melissa Shaquid Pirie

Dissertations and Theses

This multi paper format dissertation contains three separate but related papers. The three papers focus on the Diffusion of Innovation (Moore, 2014) through investigations of technological advances on a university campus. Each of the three papers highlights the work of faculty and staff who received internal university grant funding aimed at increasing innovation in technology use. The first paper covers a program built to address academic integrity issues through the regular and highly structured use of small group video conferencing as a requirement for all courses. The second paper recounts the process of creating an ePortfolio culture on campus through …

Numerical Techniques And Simulations For Studying Various High Power Optical Fiber Amplifiers, Particularly For Ytterbium (Yb+3), And Thulium (Tm+3) Doped Fibers, Tathagata Goswami

Dissertations and Theses

In this dissertation we present a simplified scalar numerical model, derived from Maxwell's field equations, for the fiber laser amplifier simulations. Maxwell's equations are reduced using a technique called Coupled Mode Theory (CMT).

The reduced model is made more efficient through a new scale model, referred to as an equivalent short fiber, which captures some of the essential characteristics of a longer fiber. The equivalent short fiber can be viewed as a fiber made using artificial (nonphysical) material properties that in some sense compensates for its reduced length. The computations can be accelerated by a factor approximately equal to the …

A Method For Comparative Analysis Of Trusted Execution Environments, Stephano Cetola

Dissertations and Theses

The problem of secure remote computation has become a serious concern of hardware manufacturers and software developers alike. Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) are a solution to the problem of secure remote computation in applications ranging from "chip and pin" financial transactions to intellectual property protection in modern gaming systems. While extensive literature has been published about many of these technologies, there exists no current model for comparing TEEs. This thesis provides hardware architects and designers with a set of tools for comparing TEEs. I do so by examining several properties of a TEE and comparing their implementations in several technologies. …

Next Generation Sequencing Identifies Population Structure And Signatures Of Local Adaptation In Red Alder (Alnus Rubra Bong.), Jacob Brent Loveless

Dissertations and Theses

Red alder (Alnus rubra Bong.) is the dominant hardwood tree species in the Pacific Northwest. Red alders are only found in western North America, generally within 200 km of the coast and below 1000 m in elevation--although there are several disjunct populations in the northern Rocky Mountains in Idaho. Commonly a riparian species, the shade intolerant red alder generates most of the leaf litter in the streams and rivers it occupies which has been shown to greatly influence the decomposer communities. This, in turn, has a cascading effect throughout the entire riparian ecosystem greatly influencing multiple levels of the …

Tellurorhodamine Photocatalysts In Aerobic Oxidation Reactions: Development Of Synthetic Methods And Reaction Mechanisms, Irving D. Rettig

Dissertations and Theses

Aerobic oxidation photocatalysis involves the use of oxygen as an oxidant species, coupled to a light driven catalyst to achieve useful chemical transformations. Catalytic aerobic oxidation reactions can be defined as either oxidase-like, in which O₂ acts as an electron donor/acceptor but is not incorporated into the reaction products, or oxygenase-like where O₂ acts as an electron donor/acceptor and is incorporated into the reaction products. A multitude of inorganic catalysts have been developed that can achieve a wide scope of oxidase-like or oxygenase-like reactivity, however, it is rare for a catalyst to be capable of both. We report …

The Intersection Of Industry, Occupation, And Job Tasks With Hotel Room Cleaner Musculoskeletal Disorder Injuries: A Methods Approach To The Analysis Of California Workers’ Compensation Data, Pamela Vossenas

Dissertations and Theses

Abstract

Background

Hotel room cleaners are a high-risk occupation for musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) injuries among U.S. hotel workers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes occupational injury rate data for Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners, the Standard Occupation Classification closest to the job of a hotel room cleaner, and for the hotel industry, yet the BLS does not cross reference injury rate data by occupation and industry. This lack of occupational injury surveillance data limits MSD injury prevention and intervention efforts targeting this high-risk occupation in the hotel industry. Workers’ compensation (WC) data is another source of administrative data with potential …

Can Racial Disparities In Poor Birth Outcomes Be Partially Attributed To Stress: A Mendellian Randomization Study, Madeline Travers

Dissertations and Theses

In the United States, low birth weight (LBW) is a leading cause of infant death overall, and the leading cause of death for Black infants. Understanding and preventing adverse birth outcomes is a major public health priority. Observationally, there is some evidence to support the hypothesis that maternal stress may be associated with LBW. To clarify the effect of maternal stress exposure on LBW, I conducted three separate-sample instrumental variable analyses with genetic instruments (Mendelian randomization) based on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), from genome wide association studies, strongly (p-value < 5 × 10⁻⁶) and independently associated with neuroendocrine, vascular, and immune measures …

Allergy And Anaphylaxis From The Prehospital Perspective, Anthony E. Conrardy

Dissertations and Theses

Anaphylaxis is considered a severe, potentially fatal, systemic allergic reaction that occurs suddenly after contact with an allergy causing substance. It is estimated that up to 5% of the population has experienced anaphylaxis, with 1% of hospitalizations and 0.1% of emergency department patients having fatal outcomes. We characterized the population of patients encountered by the EMS agency (786 patients) that had a provider impression of “allergic reaction” and then utilized logistic regression models to estimate associations with the administration of epinephrine in the prehospital setting. Additionally, we used incident location data for all patient encounters of the EMS agency …

Understanding Financial And Human Resource Capacity Challenges Among Small Nonprofits In Oregon: How To Overcome Challenges Unique To Size And Urban-Rural Divide, Anindita Mukerjee

Dissertations and Theses

Nonprofit and voluntary organizations are part of the political economy that add to the services of public and private sectors by addressing civic interests, participation in democracy and providing social programs that improve quality of life. This sector is mostly comprised of small organizations whose impact is more than their budget size. At the advent of this study, information existed about the needs and capacity challenges of Oregon nonprofits in general but lacked specifics on smaller organizations, especially differentiating the urban rural distinction. The aim of this research was to explore the financial and human resource capacity of small nonprofit …

The Digital Divide And Health: Examining Digital Access As A Social Determinant Of Health, Elizabeth Melissa Withers

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation is comprised of three papers that consider ways in which one's level of digital access may impact self-rated health. Data are from multiple years of three separate nationally representative cross-sectional surveys: National Health Interview Survey, General Social Survey, and Health Information National Trends Survey to address the primary overarching research question: Is there an association between digital access and health? The examination of the relationship between digital access and health is situated within a social determinants of health perspective and draws on van Dijk's (2005) causal and sequential model of digital access. Education, income, race and ethnicity, work …

Investigations Into Size And Surface Control Of Silicon Nanocrystals For Improved Optical Properties, James Donald Barnes

Dissertations and Theses

The discovery of visible photoluminescence (PL) from nanocrystalline porous silicon in 1990 led to extensive research into the mechanisms of the emergent properties, and optimization of these properties, for use in applications. The widespread use of silicon nanoparticles (Si NPs) in commercial applications is currently limited by three main factors: 1) poor radiative recombination efficiency of the interband transition, 2) instability of the interband photoluminescence, and 3) a lack of scalable methods for producing Si NPs that are both highly crystalline and size monodisperse.

To address these limitations, this dissertation correlates changes in the photoluminescence properties of hydrogen passivated silicon …

Exposure Characterization And Assessment Of Airborne Chemicals And Sars-Cov-2 Transmission In New York City Nail Salons, Amelia P. H. Watkins

Dissertations and Theses

Background: Currently, there are 156,000 people employed as manicurists or pedicurists in the United States. Employment in this sector is expected to grow by 10% over the next decade. Exposure assessments have revealed that salon workers are chronically exposed to a variety of substances that cause respiratory sensitization, developmental problems, contact dermatitis, blood, liver, and kidney issues, as well as nervous system impacts. Most recently, the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic has raised the issue of the vulnerability of nail salon workers to airborne infectious diseases as well. This dissertation aims to characterize and assess the chemical exposures that nail salon workers …

Assessing Hiv Risk, Syndemics, Resilience And Engagement In Care In A Large National Cohort Of Gay, Bisexual And Other Men Who Have Sex With Men In The United States, Javier Lopez-Rios

Dissertations and Theses

Background: HIV continues to be a pervasive public health issue in the United States with more than 1.2 million people living with HIV (PLWHIV) across the nation. Gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBM) account for over two-thirds of all new HIV diagnoses with racial and ethnic minorities shouldering a large proportion of the burden of disease. Although HIV transmission is predominantly driven by sexual behaviors, there are underlying complex individual, behavioral, and structural factors that contribute to high rates of sexual behavior and subsequent HIV acquisition. Moreover, difficulties remain in maximizing linkage to care …

Agency, Sense Of Place, And Knowledge On The Zumwalt Prairie: A Social Study Of Place-Based Conservation And Resilience, Dana Elyse Hellman

Dissertations and Theses

Shifting and often diminishing environmental conditions, due to climate change, resource loss, and ecosystem degradation, pose a significant concern to both social and ecological systems. The field of conservation science has attempted to address environmental threats through varying approaches, transitioning from fortress conservation and complete human exclusion to community-based and co-managed models which incorporate human actors and social dimensions in the conservation process. The latest iteration of conservation scholarship, place-based conservation, is deeply rooted in interdisciplinary, social scientific thinking, and calls for significant practitioner engagement with local knowledge, practices, social constructions, and place meanings. It is an approach which emphasizes …

Identifying The Cost Of Preventable Chronic Disease In Prison: Can Illness Prevention Of Adults In Custody Save Money?, Molly Bineham

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigates the cost of preventable health problems and ailments when compared to other costs of incarceration. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of imprisonment on the costliest chronic illness. The health of adults in custody related to the general population and the overall fiscal cost of the deadliest chronic illness among incarcerated adults is discussed. Linear regression is used to analyze the occurrence of heart disease and diabetes among adults in custody while controlling for other factors. The results of this analysis provide insight that chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes should be …

Developing Social Work Skills In Online Environments: What Online Msw Graduates Tell Us, Samuel W. Gioia

Dissertations and Theses

Social work education is an academic discipline that prepares students to support individual, family, and community wellbeing, and to advance policies for social equity. Despite the increasing use of online education for social work, many social work faculty believe that online Master of Social Work (MSW) programs do not adequately prepare graduates for direct practice (engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation) with vulnerable populations. Students from an online MSW program at a midsized urban research university were interviewed to learn (a) how well an online MSW prepared these students for direct practice with individuals, families, and communities; and (b) what instructional …

Method Of Modeling The Swing Equation Using Time Synchronized Measurements, Robert Matthew Ferraro

Dissertations and Theses

In three phase, high-voltage transmission systems, synchronous generators accelerate or decelerate to adapt to changing power transfer requirements that occur during system disturbances. In network electrical power systems, frequency changes constantly based on system dynamics. Modeling network dynamics from oscillations and transients using time-synchronized measurements can provide real-time information, including angular displacements, voltage and current phasors, frequency changes, and rate of signal system decay from positive-sequence components.

Power system voltage and current waveforms are not steady-state sinusoids, especially during system disturbances. These waveforms contain sustained harmonic and non-harmonic components. Additionally, because of faults and other switching electromagnetic transients, there may …

Claiming Miscommunication To Justify Rape: The Role Of Liking The Perpetrator, Alyssa Marie Glace Maryn

Dissertations and Theses

In this dissertation, four experiments tested whether sharing an ingroup with a sexual violence perpetrator (vs not sharing an ingroup) makes individuals more likely to view the survivor's consent refusal as insufficient. Although most people communicate sexual consent indirectly and nonverbally, individuals often report that indirect and nonverbal consent refusals are an insufficient form of non-consent. These claims of consent miscommunication might be used to justify instances of sexual violence when an individual is motivated to do so. I hypothesize that sharing an ingroup identity with a perpetrator might motivate individuals to justify sexual violence, leading them to report that …

Photoemission Electron Microscopy For Direct Observation Of Photonic And Plasmonic Phenomena, Theodore Stenmark

Dissertations and Theses

Photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM) is a high-resolution microscopy technique that collects photoemitted electrons from the sample surface to form an image. PEEM offers a non-scanning imaging method with a spatial resolution in the range of 5-100nm by combining the advantages of light excitation and electron imaging. Our work looks at PEEM as an analysis tool for photonic and plasmonic phenomena. Photonic wave guiding structures exhibiting a strong dispersion relation have attracted considerable attention for applications in integrated optics, communications and sensing devices. Line defects in a photonic crystal (PC) slab offer a highly efficient way to create light with group …

Preventing Sexual Violence Through Understanding Perceptions Of Sexual Offenders, Judith G. Zatkin

Dissertations and Theses

In this dissertation, I present three complete manuscripts. I utilize social and community psychological theory, as well as criminological theory to better understand those who perpetrate sexual violence in two domains: child sexual abuse and college campus sexual assault. All three studies are conducted with an eye toward the prevention of sexual violence. In the first study, I conduct a complete psychometric analysis of the Modus Operandi Questionnaire, a comprehensive quantitative tool that examines offending patterns and tactics of those who commit child sexual abuse (Chapter II). An updated factor structure for this tool is presented, as well as recommendations …

Urban Lakes: Ecosystem Services And Management, Laura Costadone

Dissertations and Theses

Lakes provide a variety of ecosystem services and benefits that greatly contribute to urban sustainability. Despite the growing interest in integrating freshwater systems into management and policy decisions, urban lakes are often overlooked in land-use planning. Nutrient and pollutant runoff from the surrounding urbanized watershed result in water quality deterioration that negatively impact the lake ecological functions and related ecosystem services. The vulnerability and degradation of these urban ecosystems should be a matter of concern, especially considering that, in rapidly growing metropolitan areas, the demand for aesthetic and recreational services provided by urban lakes is increasing. The overall goal of …

Development Of A Design Guideline For Pile Foundations Subjected To Liquefaction-Induced Lateral Spreading, Milad Souri

Dissertations and Theses

Extensive loss of stiffness and strength in liquefied soils can cause large ground deformations during strong earthquake shaking. One of the major sources of damage in pile foundations in liquefied soil is the excessive deformation due to lateral spreading. Pile-supported wharves subjected to earthquake motions are expected to accommodate inertial loads imposed at pile head from the superstructure as well as the kinematic loads imposed on piles from the lateral ground deformations. Current design codes significantly vary on how to combine inertia and kinematic demands. Recent research on soil-foundation-structure interaction suffers from lack of experiment-based data. There is a serious …