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• 371. [Article] Being Human: How Four Animals Forever Changed The Way We Live, What We Believe, And Who We Think We Are

  Our lives would not be what they are today without animals. From the food we eat, to the clothes we wear, animals provide tangible evidence of their importance every day. But more than that, animals have ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Being Human: How Four Animals Forever Changed The Way We Live, What We Believe, And Who We Think We Are Author: Brady, Jocelyn Mary Year: 2014 Our lives would not be what they are today without animals. From the food we eat, to the clothes we wear, animals provide tangible evidence of their importance every day. But more than that, animals have shaped who we are and what we believe. Often in ways we don't see. That's what inspired me to write Being Human. This work began as an examination of how humans have altered animals to better match our imaginations and ideals, and too, the way these animals have irrecoverably altered how we live and look at the world. Consider, for example, that before they became physically useful to us in providing meat or skills or companionship, animals were central figures in our stories, mythologies, and religions. All the while, of course, these animals remained both ignorant and at the mercy of whatever we imagined--or needed--them to be. And what does all of this say about us? What can we learn about ourselves from looking at animals, and more specifically, looking at the way we treat them? In a society where animal flesh comes to us freshly packed and cleanly saran-wrapped, and pets are treated as members of our families, we tend to look at animals as one thing or another. A farm pig is not a companion animal, any more than a cat is a meal-in-waiting. At least not in our culture. We generally see what's convenient or desirable and when things get messy or complicated, we tend to look away. In so doing, we miss the opportunity to clearly see who we really are, what we're capable of, and what, if anything, we might want to change as a result. I chose four specific animals that show us different sides of ourselves. These beings are both familiar and strange, part of our everyday lives but often only found on the periphery. Each animal symbolizes one of four categories: food, pest, worker and pet. And each connects to a human need: pigs with consumption, pigeons with communication, horses with control and cats with companionship. They are arranged in this order to reflect the deepening complexity of their respective human needs--from the simplest, the need to eat, to the most complex, the need for companionship. (Arguably, control can be considered the most complex, however I chose companionship as the culminating need because it inherently involves all of the other three.) I hope if I accomplish only one thing, it is this: after reading, you see these animals--and your relationship to them--a little bit differently than before. Title: Being Human: How Four Animals Forever Changed The Way We Live, What We Believe, And Who We Think We Are Author: Brady, Jocelyn Mary Year: 2014 Our lives would not be what they are today without animals. From the food we eat, to the clothes we wear, animals provide tangible evidence of their importance every day. But more than that, animals have shaped who we are and what we believe. Often in ways we don't see. That's what inspired me to write Being Human. This work began as an examination of how humans have altered animals to better match our imaginations and ideals, and too, the way these animals have irrecoverably altered how we live and look at the world. Consider, for example, that before they became physically useful to us in providing meat or skills or companionship, animals were central figures in our stories, mythologies, and religions. All the while, of course, these animals remained both ignorant and at the mercy of whatever we imagined--or needed--them to be. And what does all of this say about us? What can we learn about ourselves from looking at animals, and more specifically, looking at the way we treat them? In a society where animal flesh comes to us freshly packed and cleanly saran-wrapped, and pets are treated as members of our families, we tend to look at animals as one thing or another. A farm pig is not a companion animal, any more than a cat is a meal-in-waiting. At least not in our culture. We generally see what's convenient or desirable and when things get messy or complicated, we tend to look away. In so doing, we miss the opportunity to clearly see who we really are, what we're capable of, and what, if anything, we might want to change as a result. I chose four specific animals that show us different sides of ourselves. These beings are both familiar and strange, part of our everyday lives but often only found on the periphery. Each animal symbolizes one of four categories: food, pest, worker and pet. And each connects to a human need: pigs with consumption, pigeons with communication, horses with control and cats with companionship. They are arranged in this order to reflect the deepening complexity of their respective human needs--from the simplest, the need to eat, to the most complex, the need for companionship. (Arguably, control can be considered the most complex, however I chose companionship as the culminating need because it inherently involves all of the other three.) I hope if I accomplish only one thing, it is this: after reading, you see these animals--and your relationship to them--a little bit differently than before. Close

• 372. [Article] The Eighteenth-Century Georgic as Didactic Epic

  This dissertation examines the eighteenth-century English georgic in the broader context of the didactic epic. Reading "georgics" through the schema of didactic epic, I provide an alternative trajectory ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: The Eighteenth-Century Georgic as Didactic Epic Author: Rosenblatt, Kelly Jane Year: 2015 This dissertation examines the eighteenth-century English georgic in the broader context of the didactic epic. Reading "georgics" through the schema of didactic epic, I provide an alternative trajectory for understanding developments in and experiments with genre during the long eighteenth century. More than swapping parallel terminology my use of didactic epic imports the scholarship of Classical and neo-Latin scholars to reinvigorate a genre hampered by defining the "georgic" as poems about farming, derived exclusively from Virgil's Georgics. Within the framework of didactic epic, I reinterpret peripheral works such as John Gay's Trivia, Eliza Haywood's Anti-Pamela, and James Grainger's The Sugar Cane claiming these queer, fascinating texts represent critical experimentation with literary form in the eighteenth century. I contend that the incorporation of didactic epic elements into these texts demonstrates the plasticity and persistence of the genre thereby making the study of these foundational English texts and their Classical and neo-Latin sources an integral part of English literary studies. I argue the essays, poems, and novels of Joseph Addison, John Philips, John Gay, Eliza Haywood, and James Grainger dialogue with Classical and neo-Latin poems in addition to Virgil's Georgics such as Manilius's Astronomica, Fracastoro's Syphilis, and more-canonical Classical didactic epics from the Ars Poetica of Horace to Lucretius's De Rerum Natura. Because the separation of didactic and narrative epic derived from reliance on "georgic" has promoted a too-easy separation between the natural world (georgic) and the human world (epic), scholarship has approached English didactic epics as poems that have little bearing on humans and culture. However, analyzing the formal modulations I describe how eighteenth-century texts showcase radical experimentation with narrative persona and polyphonic registers thereby magnifying the presence of human beings in the natural world as organizers and consumers of the landscape and useable land. In the experimentations evident in eighteenth-century English texts, I locate innovations and modulations of the didactic epic that demonstrate the authors variously dissecting and critiquing ideologies of labor and imperialism and offering new paradigms of gender and labor that anticipate modern approaches to literary forms and modern concerns with the interrelation of humans and nature. Title: The Eighteenth-Century Georgic as Didactic Epic Author: Rosenblatt, Kelly Jane Year: 2015 This dissertation examines the eighteenth-century English georgic in the broader context of the didactic epic. Reading "georgics" through the schema of didactic epic, I provide an alternative trajectory for understanding developments in and experiments with genre during the long eighteenth century. More than swapping parallel terminology my use of didactic epic imports the scholarship of Classical and neo-Latin scholars to reinvigorate a genre hampered by defining the "georgic" as poems about farming, derived exclusively from Virgil's Georgics. Within the framework of didactic epic, I reinterpret peripheral works such as John Gay's Trivia, Eliza Haywood's Anti-Pamela, and James Grainger's The Sugar Cane claiming these queer, fascinating texts represent critical experimentation with literary form in the eighteenth century. I contend that the incorporation of didactic epic elements into these texts demonstrates the plasticity and persistence of the genre thereby making the study of these foundational English texts and their Classical and neo-Latin sources an integral part of English literary studies. I argue the essays, poems, and novels of Joseph Addison, John Philips, John Gay, Eliza Haywood, and James Grainger dialogue with Classical and neo-Latin poems in addition to Virgil's Georgics such as Manilius's Astronomica, Fracastoro's Syphilis, and more-canonical Classical didactic epics from the Ars Poetica of Horace to Lucretius's De Rerum Natura. Because the separation of didactic and narrative epic derived from reliance on "georgic" has promoted a too-easy separation between the natural world (georgic) and the human world (epic), scholarship has approached English didactic epics as poems that have little bearing on humans and culture. However, analyzing the formal modulations I describe how eighteenth-century texts showcase radical experimentation with narrative persona and polyphonic registers thereby magnifying the presence of human beings in the natural world as organizers and consumers of the landscape and useable land. In the experimentations evident in eighteenth-century English texts, I locate innovations and modulations of the didactic epic that demonstrate the authors variously dissecting and critiquing ideologies of labor and imperialism and offering new paradigms of gender and labor that anticipate modern approaches to literary forms and modern concerns with the interrelation of humans and nature. Close

• 373. [Article] Barriers to Sustainability: A Qualitative Cross-National Comparison

  In this dissertation, I make an argument for strong sustainability, which emphasizes environmental and social justice concerns, by distinguishing it from weak sustainability. I critique the global neoliberal ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Barriers to Sustainability: A Qualitative Cross-National Comparison Author: Ergas, Christina Year: 2014 In this dissertation, I make an argument for strong sustainability, which emphasizes environmental and social justice concerns, by distinguishing it from weak sustainability. I critique the global neoliberal sustainable development project, a weak form of sustainability that prioritizes economic growth, using Marx's theory of metabolic rift. However, I find this theory lacking in its ability to engage forms of oppression outside of class, such as gender. Because of this, I employ theories on gender and environment and environmental justice to explore systemic and cultural aspects of oppression. I use qualitative cross-national comparative methods to examine two alternatives to neoliberal sustainable development. The two cases working toward strong sustainability are an urban ecovillage in the United States and an urban farm in Havana, Cuba. I assess the viability of these projects and their strengths and weaknesses toward a rigorous theory of strong sustainability. I find that the structure of society matters in determining the opportunities for equity and sustainability projects. As postulated by metabolic rift theory, my cases suggest that capitalism is a structural barrier to sustainability, but eliminating capitalism is an insufficient condition for nations attempting to attain equity or environmental protection. While structural change is necessary, any discussion of structural power dynamics that fails to consider real people embedded in on-the-ground social power dynamics would be incomplete. Specifically, I find that in Cuba--a nation where capitalism was disbanded over fifty years ago in favor of more equal economic relations--gender equity is limited by cultural expectations of gender roles and government suppression of democratic processes. My findings suggest that if the goal is to create socially just environmental change, it must be done deliberately. The instituting of laws is important but insufficient because cultural factors may restrict minorities' participation in democratic processes. Inequality and disregard for the environment are culturally entrenched social processes that must be addressed simultaneously and with specialized attention in order for lasting change to occur. Goals toward economic restructuring, equality, and environmental reform should be methodically phased in with constant democratic discussion and progress assessment. This dissertation contains previously published and unpublished co-authored material. Title: Barriers to Sustainability: A Qualitative Cross-National Comparison Author: Ergas, Christina Year: 2014 In this dissertation, I make an argument for strong sustainability, which emphasizes environmental and social justice concerns, by distinguishing it from weak sustainability. I critique the global neoliberal sustainable development project, a weak form of sustainability that prioritizes economic growth, using Marx's theory of metabolic rift. However, I find this theory lacking in its ability to engage forms of oppression outside of class, such as gender. Because of this, I employ theories on gender and environment and environmental justice to explore systemic and cultural aspects of oppression. I use qualitative cross-national comparative methods to examine two alternatives to neoliberal sustainable development. The two cases working toward strong sustainability are an urban ecovillage in the United States and an urban farm in Havana, Cuba. I assess the viability of these projects and their strengths and weaknesses toward a rigorous theory of strong sustainability. I find that the structure of society matters in determining the opportunities for equity and sustainability projects. As postulated by metabolic rift theory, my cases suggest that capitalism is a structural barrier to sustainability, but eliminating capitalism is an insufficient condition for nations attempting to attain equity or environmental protection. While structural change is necessary, any discussion of structural power dynamics that fails to consider real people embedded in on-the-ground social power dynamics would be incomplete. Specifically, I find that in Cuba--a nation where capitalism was disbanded over fifty years ago in favor of more equal economic relations--gender equity is limited by cultural expectations of gender roles and government suppression of democratic processes. My findings suggest that if the goal is to create socially just environmental change, it must be done deliberately. The instituting of laws is important but insufficient because cultural factors may restrict minorities' participation in democratic processes. Inequality and disregard for the environment are culturally entrenched social processes that must be addressed simultaneously and with specialized attention in order for lasting change to occur. Goals toward economic restructuring, equality, and environmental reform should be methodically phased in with constant democratic discussion and progress assessment. This dissertation contains previously published and unpublished co-authored material. Close

• 374. [Article] Program Evaluation: Effective Behavioral and Instructional Support Systems and Student Reading Outcomes

  This program evaluation studied Effective Behavioral and Instructional Support Systems (EBISS), a Response to Intervention (RTI) initiative focused at changing district leadership behaviors to close the ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Program Evaluation: Effective Behavioral and Instructional Support Systems and Student Reading Outcomes Author: Ryan Jackson, Kathleen Year: 2014 This program evaluation studied Effective Behavioral and Instructional Support Systems (EBISS), a Response to Intervention (RTI) initiative focused at changing district leadership behaviors to close the policy-research-practice gap and improve students' reading outcomes at third grade. A pre/post quasi-experimental comparison using a matched group design evaluated the four-year initiative. EBISS districts (n = 25) were matched to non-EBISS districts n = 25) by important district variables of: (a) size (small, medium, and large) and (b) region (coast, central, east, south, and valley), (c) students receiving Free and Reduced Meals (FARM), (d) students who were white and non-white, (e) students who were male and female, (f) years of teacher's experience, and (g) third grade Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (OAKS) scores. The aim of this research was to answer two questions. The first asked whether the performance of students in non-EBISS and EBISS districts were significantly different when measured by their percent of students passing the third grade reading OAKS in 2006-07 (EBISS pre-treatment year) and 2010-11 (EBISS post-treatment year). The second question analyzed whether EBISS districts with high implementation scores made statistically significantly different gains from EBISS districts with low implementation scores on their percent of students who passed the third grade OAKS reading assessment from 2006-07 to 2012-11. The results of the first research question indicated no significant differences for group (p = .312) or time (p = .488) between EBISS and non-EBISS districts scores on the OAKS reading test at third grade. Similarly, the second research question results indicated no significant differences (p = .452) between EBISS districts with high and low implementation scores on the OAKS reading scores at third grade. Findings are discussed in relation to: (a) the challenge when measuring administrator effectiveness based on distal outcomes, (b) confounding variables that affected internal and external validity, and (c) how this study informs the future design of evaluation research, in the pre-implementation year of an initiative, so variables that are know to be effective in improving student outcomes can be replicated. Title: Program Evaluation: Effective Behavioral and Instructional Support Systems and Student Reading Outcomes Author: Ryan Jackson, Kathleen Year: 2014 This program evaluation studied Effective Behavioral and Instructional Support Systems (EBISS), a Response to Intervention (RTI) initiative focused at changing district leadership behaviors to close the policy-research-practice gap and improve students' reading outcomes at third grade. A pre/post quasi-experimental comparison using a matched group design evaluated the four-year initiative. EBISS districts (n = 25) were matched to non-EBISS districts n = 25) by important district variables of: (a) size (small, medium, and large) and (b) region (coast, central, east, south, and valley), (c) students receiving Free and Reduced Meals (FARM), (d) students who were white and non-white, (e) students who were male and female, (f) years of teacher's experience, and (g) third grade Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (OAKS) scores. The aim of this research was to answer two questions. The first asked whether the performance of students in non-EBISS and EBISS districts were significantly different when measured by their percent of students passing the third grade reading OAKS in 2006-07 (EBISS pre-treatment year) and 2010-11 (EBISS post-treatment year). The second question analyzed whether EBISS districts with high implementation scores made statistically significantly different gains from EBISS districts with low implementation scores on their percent of students who passed the third grade OAKS reading assessment from 2006-07 to 2012-11. The results of the first research question indicated no significant differences for group (p = .312) or time (p = .488) between EBISS and non-EBISS districts scores on the OAKS reading test at third grade. Similarly, the second research question results indicated no significant differences (p = .452) between EBISS districts with high and low implementation scores on the OAKS reading scores at third grade. Findings are discussed in relation to: (a) the challenge when measuring administrator effectiveness based on distal outcomes, (b) confounding variables that affected internal and external validity, and (c) how this study informs the future design of evaluation research, in the pre-implementation year of an initiative, so variables that are know to be effective in improving student outcomes can be replicated. Close

• 375. [Article] Water Reclamation Facility Biosolids Market Analysis

  The University of Oregon Master of Business Administra on and Master of Accoun ng students collaborated in Joshua Skov’s graduate-level course in Industrial Ecology (MGMT 641), inves ga ng the possibili ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Water Reclamation Facility Biosolids Market Analysis Author: Skov, Joshua Year: 2017, 2016 The University of Oregon Master of Business Administra on and Master of Accoun ng students collaborated in Joshua Skov’s graduate-level course in Industrial Ecology (MGMT 641), inves ga ng the possibili es for the marke ng and sale of outputs from the treatment of wastewater (sewage) at the Albany Water Reclama on Facility. In the city’s previous wastewater treatment facility, sludge was processed into Class B Biosolids and given to grass seed farmers in the area. In the city's current wastewater treatment facility, the city conducted a compos ng pilot project. The goal of this project was to iden fy markets for the composted biosolids as well as poten al local partners, and make recommenda ons for the structure and details of poten al projects. In addi on to considering the exis ng grass seed market, the class researched the poten al markets by conduc ng surveys of farmers around Albany, Oregon. The farms include hops, pears, dryland wheat, blueberries, and christmas trees. Students selected these markets based on the environmental bene ts of biosolids to agriculture, forestry, and land reclama on. Students researched best prac ces from around the country and summarized successful implementa ons. They selected and researched treatment facili es with similar loca ons, community size served, an existence of public- private partnerships, and/or classi ca on of biosolids and their subsequent applica ons. They then explored the types of poten al bulking material. The addi on of bulking material is a cri cal component to the compos ng process for crea ng higher class biosolids. Students examined bulking materials in use across a wide range of biosolids and other organic waste compos ng processes. Research revealed three primary types of compost opera ons: Aerated Windrows, In Vessel, and Anaerobic Biodiges on. Lastly, the class assessed the possibility of a public-private partnership. Students met with several private corpora ons that partner with public ins tu ons to create value for all stakeholders in a solid waste management system. The research revealed the chemical and environmental value of biosolids, but that given public percep on, biosolid-derived fer lizer cannot compete against plen ful, cheap synthe c fer lizers derived from natural gas. The class suggests a series of considera ons for Albany. They also suggest immediate explora on of a partnership deal under a Design-Build-Operate (DBO) model. The City of Albany can seek reduced cost funding under the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF). Title: Water Reclamation Facility Biosolids Market Analysis Author: Skov, Joshua Year: 2017, 2016 The University of Oregon Master of Business Administra on and Master of Accoun ng students collaborated in Joshua Skov’s graduate-level course in Industrial Ecology (MGMT 641), inves ga ng the possibili es for the marke ng and sale of outputs from the treatment of wastewater (sewage) at the Albany Water Reclama on Facility. In the city’s previous wastewater treatment facility, sludge was processed into Class B Biosolids and given to grass seed farmers in the area. In the city's current wastewater treatment facility, the city conducted a compos ng pilot project. The goal of this project was to iden fy markets for the composted biosolids as well as poten al local partners, and make recommenda ons for the structure and details of poten al projects. In addi on to considering the exis ng grass seed market, the class researched the poten al markets by conduc ng surveys of farmers around Albany, Oregon. The farms include hops, pears, dryland wheat, blueberries, and christmas trees. Students selected these markets based on the environmental bene ts of biosolids to agriculture, forestry, and land reclama on. Students researched best prac ces from around the country and summarized successful implementa ons. They selected and researched treatment facili es with similar loca ons, community size served, an existence of public- private partnerships, and/or classi ca on of biosolids and their subsequent applica ons. They then explored the types of poten al bulking material. The addi on of bulking material is a cri cal component to the compos ng process for crea ng higher class biosolids. Students examined bulking materials in use across a wide range of biosolids and other organic waste compos ng processes. Research revealed three primary types of compost opera ons: Aerated Windrows, In Vessel, and Anaerobic Biodiges on. Lastly, the class assessed the possibility of a public-private partnership. Students met with several private corpora ons that partner with public ins tu ons to create value for all stakeholders in a solid waste management system. The research revealed the chemical and environmental value of biosolids, but that given public percep on, biosolid-derived fer lizer cannot compete against plen ful, cheap synthe c fer lizers derived from natural gas. The class suggests a series of considera ons for Albany. They also suggest immediate explora on of a partnership deal under a Design-Build-Operate (DBO) model. The City of Albany can seek reduced cost funding under the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF). Close