Americans perceive renters as less interested and less vested in their residences than owner-occupants. These perceptions stem in part from historical and current day promotion of the homeownership tenure norm. Although this has achieved its main goal, that of reinforcing owner occupancy as the societal tenure norm, it has also encouraged bias against renters and non-owner occupied dwellings. Maintenance of rental units is ultimately the responsibility of the owner. One might expect landlords to exert approximately the same amount of upkeep effort towards their rental property investments as they would towards their own residence. Maintaining the homes in good condition would protect their investment from devaluation. The first objective was to determine what pre-established perception, if any, Corvallis residents have of non-owner occupied residences. The second was to identify relationships between the selected characteristics and the exterior condition of single-family residences. The characteristics analyzed were: 1) Tenure (of the residents), 2) Age of the structure, 3) Condition of neighboring residences (Neighborhood Condition), 4) A Maintenance Management Factor and, 5) Proximity of Owner (to the residence). The final objective was to ascertain if renter occupied homes were more likely than owner occupied to possess those predisposing characteristics that make a dwelling more susceptible to decline. Three residential dwelling characteristics were identified as having an influence on the exterior condition of single-family homes in Corvallis. These were Tenure, Age of Structure and Neighborhood Condition. Non-owner occupied residences, older dwellings, and units in poor condition neighborhoods tended to have poor quality exterior conditions themselves. Of the three the only characteristic predisposed to decline linked to rental residences was Tenure. Although the chi-square and ANOVA test results relate neighborhood condition and age to exterior conditions of dwellings, the results also suggest that a rental home is not more likely than an owner occupied home to be older or to be located in a poor condition neighborhood Identification of residential characteristics that predispose a dwelling to decline could benefit renters and owners of rental properties. The outcomes could assist in the development of policies that provide financial support and/or education to owners of homes that possess those characteristics. Renters would benefit if the policies would encourage improved quality of rental dwellings. / Graduation date: 2002

This thesis describes investigations of archaeological materials recovered from Site ORBE2, an early-twentieth century historic site in Corvallis, OR. The archaeological materials were found only after construction workers had excavated trenches underneath the still-standing structure on the site in order to install a new foundation. Over 1500 artifacts were recovered from back-dirt piles which had been left surrounding the structure from the construction worker's excavations. The analysis of the artifacts contributes to the field of archaeology in four specific ways: 1) it performs an archaeological analysis on an early-twentieth century Euro-American site, an era upon which few previous investigations have been done. 2) it develops a history of the site, 3) it combines the results of the history and the analysis of the archaeological data from functional and chronological perspectives, determining possible past life-style information on these residents, and 4) it exhibits the utility of performing an archaeological analysis on a site where the archaeological materials were recovered from an urban renewal/construction zone, and has provenience limited to a lot or site association. / Graduation date: 1997

The Safety Analysis Report (SAR) of the Oregon State University TRIGA Research Reactor (OSTR) was prepared and used as a safety baseline for the reactor's operation since 1968. Although, in general, revision of the Safety Analysis Report of a research reactor is not a regulation requirement, it should be revised from time to time to include changes to the facility or procedures or update to current regulatory standards. The ANS 15.21 workgroup developed a draft standard format and content for safety analysis reports for research reactors. An area of this guidance, which was selected for this work's revision of OSTR-SAR, is the radiation protection program and waste management chapter. The Health Physics program of the facility was observed. The radiological data were obtained from the annual reports for more than 10 years of operation. The related data, such as meteorological data, were obtained and prepared for the analysis processes. The current federal regulation limits and recommendations were used as the references for dose assessments. The results show the OSTR has a sufficient radiation protection program not only for the facility's workers, but also for the general public, and the program is in full compliance with the federal regulations. The dose estimation shows that the workers and general public can not receive and have not received doses in excess of regulatory limits from the normal operation of the OSTR. / Graduation date: 2000

This study explored lesbian identity development and the relationship between Oregon State University campus climate as reported by 35 lesbian students. Identity development was measured by using Cass's (1984b) Stage Allocation Measure (SAM) which is a self-select tool for determining stage of lesbian identity development. The SAM was then used to create a three stage identity development model. Herek's (1986) Sexual Orientation Survey (SOS) was used to examine the campus climate as experienced by lesbian students. Findings showed that 63% of the participants felt it was important to disclose their sexual orientation to members of OSU's campus. Yet, 69% of the respondents did not feel comfortable doing so. Also, 51% of the respondents reported fearing for their safety, and because of this, 47% of all respondents modified their behavior. The results of this study indicate there are additional factors that contribute to these findings. For example, 89% of the participants reported hearing disparaging remarks; 94% felt the possibility of harassment, violence or physical attacks was likely; and 91% believed discrimination and unequal treatment towards lesbian, gay or bisexual persons at OSU was very likely. These findings were reported by equal numbers of individuals in each stage of their identity development. The results of this study indicate that lesbian students at OSU suffer from similar negative experiences as students who attended Emory University (1987), Pennsylvania State University (1987), Rutgers University (1987) and Yale University (1986) where the SOS was also used to measure campus climate. Recommendations for changes at Oregon State were creation of a "safe zone" and programs for retention of lesbian students, increasing visibility of the President's Commission on Hate Related Activities, and making the OSU community a safe place for women administrators and faculty role models to come out. Additional research was also recommended to examine the OSU campus climate as experienced by gay male students and lesbian and gay faculty members. / Graduation date: 1998

Graduation date: 1998

Graduation date: 1998

This thesis describes the archaeological site content and integrity of the Copeland site (35BE90) in Corvallis, Oregon. The Copeland site is owned by the Benton County Historical Society and is the future home of the Benton County Historical Museum. In 2001, an Oregon State University archaeological field school was conducted to test for the presence of the residential houses and commercial businesses that once occupied the Copeland site. The archaeological excavation revealed the presence of both the residential and commercial usage that occurred at the Copeland site. Excavation also revealed that while the integrity of the site has been disturbed by commercial activities the integrity has not been completely destroyed. Finally, recommendations are made concerning further archaeological exploration of the site. / Graduation date: 2006

This thesis focuses on shared use lane facilities and road user understanding. Shared use lanes (sharrows) are a common solution for road facilities that are too narrow to accommodate a full bicycle lane and where the local jurisdiction wants to reduce dooring crashes. In recent years, engineers have focused on incorporating sustainable transportation into new or reconstructed infrastructure improvements. Bicycle transportation connectivity, as an example, is essential to efficient bicycle commuting. Sharrows pavement marking is a well-engineered design but without education road users do not use it properly resulting in an increased risk of being in a crash. / Graduation date: 2012

The archaeological resources contained in Corvallis Riverfront Commemorative Park (RCP) have a great potential to add to the historical record of the warehouse district of the original town of Marysville (Corvallis). The City of Corvallis' proposed Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) project and proposed changes to Riverfront Commemorative Park threaten to destroy archaeological resources within the research area. The purpose of this research was to assess the archaeological potential of the research area between VanBuren and Jefferson Avenues along the Willamette River. The assessment was based on an archaeological survey and historical documents. Historical records and maps were used to create a chronology of the developments which occurred within the research area. By knowing who occupied the riverfront and when, archaeologists can design a plan for the excavation of these resources. The archaeological survey was conducted to locate remains that may be related to structures that once occupied the riverfront. Maps of the City's proposed construction were used to determine the potential resources that will be impacted. The historical record indicated that there is a great potential for the research area to yield archaeological remains which can add to our knowledge about the formation of Marysville (Corvallis). These archaeological remains if properly excavated could be used for public interpretation and as a common theme within Riverfront Commemorative Park. An assessment of construction project maps for the CSO project and proposed changes to Riverfront Commemorative Park indicate that a majority of the archaeological resources contained within the research area will be destroyed. Based on these assessments it is recommended that the City of Corvallis conduct subsurface archaeological testing to recover as much information related to the settlement of the research area as possible. / Graduation date: 1998

Graduation date: 1996