The role of walking in the development of healthy, livable communities is being increasingly recognized. In urban areas, intersections represent locations where different modes converge, and are often viewed as deterrents to walking. This is due to the unwarranted and often unnecessary delays imposed by signal timing policies for pedestrians and increased potential for conflicts. Traditional signal timing design prioritizes vehicles over pedestrians leading to undesirable consequences such as large delays and risky pedestrian behaviors. Pedestrians are accommodated in a manner that is designed to cause least interruption to the flow of motor vehicles. This lack of pedestrian accommodation at signalized intersections is the focus of this dissertation. Understanding pedestrian attitudes and perceptions is important because it offers insights into actual crossing behavior at signalized intersections. An intercept survey of 367 crossing pedestrians was undertaken at four signalized intersections in Portland, Oregon, and binary logistic regression models were constructed to quantify the impacts of demographics, trip characteristics and type of infrastructure on pedestrian perceptions and attitudes regarding delay, crossing time and motivators for crossing decisions. Safety was found to have a larger effect than compliance on the decision to cross the street. Pedestrians at recall intersections expressed higher satisfaction with delay than at actuated intersections. Novel methods to measure pedestrian delay using 2070 signal controllers and Voyage software were developed. These methods have been adopted by the City of Portland to record actuation trends and delays at various intersections. In the absence of demand data, pedestrian push button actuations can be considered as a proxy for crossing demand. The micro-simulation software VISSIM was used to analyze delays resulting from varying pedestrian and vehicle volumes on a network of three intersections in Portland, Oregon. From a pedestrian perspective, free operation was found to be always beneficial due to lower pedestrian delays. However, from a system wide perspective, free operation was found to be beneficial only under low-medium traffic conditions from an overall delay reduction viewpoint, while coordinated operation showed benefits under heavy traffic conditions, irrespective of the volume of pedestrians. Control strategies were developed to identify the best mode of signal controller operation that produced the lowest overall average delay per user. A procedure to identify the optimal control strategy based on user inputs (major street volume to capacity ratios and rate of pedestrian phase serviced for the minor street) was developed. The procedure was applied to a network of three intersections in east Portland, OR and the findings were verified. This research offers significant contributions in the field of pedestrian research. The findings related to attitudes and perceptions of crossing pedestrians offer greater insights into pedestrian crossing behavior and add to the body of existing literature. The methods developed to obtain pedestrian actuations and delay data from signal controllers represent an easy and cost-effective way to characterize pedestrian service at intersections. The results pertaining to signal timing strategies represent an important step towards incorporating pedestrian needs at intersections and demonstrate how control strategies employed to benefit pedestrians could benefit the entire system.

Recent efforts to restructure schools through increased teacher involvement are likely to fail without a corresponding redesign of the underlying organizational and political structure of schools. Because the current structure of most schools actually prohibits the collaboration necessary to effect change and promotes professional isolation instead, staff members faced with the tasks of restructuring experience frustration more often than success. The changes that do occur are often superficial and cosmetic while the basic hierarchy and mechanisms of control remain intact. Allowing teachers to redesign their schools, specifically to develop new models that promote interdependence and the sharing of professional expertise, provides an opportunity to explore the reasons teachers might choose to forego the relatively safe world of the self-contained classroom to participate in the often stressful and time consuming development and implementation of new approaches to teaching and learning. Exploring those factors which motivate teachers to attempt innovation and determining the attributes and beliefs of those teachers about school change is the focus of this study. The study investigates the concept of teacher efficacy, the teacher's belief that his/her actions affect student achievement or that he/she has the "ability to have a positive effect on student learning" (Ashton, 1984; Ashton & Webb, 1986). The perceptions of efficacy among selected teachers in an urban elementary school in the Northwest involved in implementing an Accelerated School model are examined in an effort to determine which factors influence those feelings. Identifying the issues which confront teachers engaged in innovation and the conditions they feel contribute to their success or failure is also an outcome. Increased efficacy, the perceived ability to "make a difference," is critical to classroom effectiveness and efforts to restructure schools. Data were obtained during the 1993-1994 school year by means of an efficacy scale based on the model developed by Gibson and Dembo (1984), structured interviews with selected teachers, an open-ended questionnaire, and observations during a sharing session with teachers in a nearby district considering a similar innovation.

This study sought to explore the resettlement of Indochinese refugees to their new life in Portland, Oregon. Three basic areas were under consideration. The first area dealt with demographic data: who are the refugees and what are their pasts? The second area focused on aspects of successful resettlement: what do refugees seek in order to consider themselves successfully resettled, and how do their ideas of successful resettlement collate with their present state of resettlement? The third area dealt with the effectiveness of resettlement programs: how have various assistance programs been helpful to the refugees, and are the refugees aware of the community's social services resources?

The social problem of intimate partner violence affects approximately one-half to two million individuals each year in the United States (Catalano, 2007; Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000). Commonly the criminal justice system mandates completion of a group-based intervention intended to prevent violent behavior (Dalton, 2007). These groups are typically referred to as a batterer intervention program (BIP). Despite the popularity of this intervention approach, research findings examining the efficacy of these programs remain inconsistent (Babcock, Green & Robie, 2004). Nonetheless, 45 U.S. states including the District of Columbia, have implemented standards that aim to proscribe and regulate elements of program functioning. To gain insight regarding the effects that standards implemented in the state of Oregon in 2006 have had on the functioning and characteristics of BIPs, this study examined survey data collected in 2001, 2004, and 2008 from a total of 76 BIPs functioning in Oregon. Several hypotheses were tested. First, it was hypothesized that program compliance with state standards would increase from 2001 to 2004 and from 2004 to 2008. Overall compliance did increase, though this change was not statistically significant. Consistent with this hypothesis, a statistically significant increase in one component of compliance, program length, was found between 2004 and 2008. Additionally, some components, such as collaboration with community partners, did not change in the expected direction. Second, the analyses tested whether programs that began functioning after the creation of the standards in 2006 would be more compliant with the standards than those operating prior to 2006. This was not the case; there was not a significant difference in the compliance ratios for programs that began functioning before and after 2006. Third, it was hypothesized that program characteristics of program size, location, and barriers to compliance would predict program compliance. This hypothesis was not supported; program size, location and barriers did not predict program compliance. These results indicate that some portions of the standards are being met by programs regardless of their program characteristics, while other components are not. Understanding which components of state standards programs are and are not in compliance with provides valuable insight into which components of standards may be difficult for programs to adhere. This information is important for understanding how programs may need assistance to comply with specific components and whether enforcement or formal monitoring of programs is necessary.

Southeast Harney Lake Hot Spring and its effluent channel were examined for spatial and temporal variations in the concentrations of several chemical species, viz. dissolved oxygen, pH, alkalinity, phosphate-phosphorous, nitrate and nitrite-nitrogen, conductivity, chloride, flouride, temperature, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium. Phosphate-phosphorous and nitrate-nitrogen both exhibited downstream increases in concentration. pH and alkalinity increased also, mainly due to CO2 evolution and temperature mediated carbon species redistribution. The diurnal pH and alkalinity curves exhibited depressions during the daylight hours due to the oxidation of ammonia to nitrate within the pool and effluent stream.

The state gravity maps of Oregon and Washington show a gravity high centered south of Portland, Oregon and a gravity low in the Tualatin Valley to the west disrupting the regional gravity gradient which is controlled by crustal thickening. Detailed gravity surveys done in the Portland area are consistent with the state gravity maps but show considerably more detail. Quantitative interpretation of this data has provided new information on the subsurface structure in this area; recent work has yielded corroborative evidence for a fault zone bounding the east side of the Portland Hills, and has indicated the presence of faults under the Portland Basin to the east which were previously unknown.

Caffeine, a biologically active drug with many known molecular targets, is recognized as a contaminant of aquatic systems including marine systems. Although the concentrations of caffeine reported from aquatic systems are low (ng/L to μ/L), harmful ecological effects not detected by traditional toxicity tests could occur as a result of caffeine contamination. The goals of this thesis project were to: 1) quantify concentrations of caffeine occurring in the coastal ocean off of the Oregon Coast and to determine if higher levels were correlated with proximity to caffeine pollution sources; and 2) investigate the sub-lethal cellular toxicity of environmentally relevant concentrations of caffeine on Mytilus californianus, an intertidal mussel that is one of the dominant species of the Oregon Coast. Caffeine was analyzed at 14 locations in the coastal ocean off of the Oregon Coast. Sampling locations were stratified between populated areas identified as having sources of caffeine pollution and sites located in sparsely populated areas not in proximity to major caffeine pollution sources. Caffeine concentrations were also measured in the major water body discharging near sampling locations. Caffeine was detected in water from the coastal ocean off of the Oregon Coast at concentrations ranging from below the reporting limit to 44.7 ng/L. The occurrence and concentrations of caffeine in the coastal ocean did not correspond well with pollution threats from population density and point and non-point sources, but did correspond with a storm event occurrence. Caffeine concentrations in rivers and estuaries draining to the coast ranged from below the reporting limit to 152.2 ng/L. Hsp70, a molecular biomarker of cellular stress, was used to investigate the sub-lethal toxicity of environmentally relevant concentrations of caffeine to the mussel M. californianus. Hsp70 concentrations in the gill and mantle tissue of mussels exposed to 0.05, 0.2, and 0.5 μ/L of caffeine for 10, 20, and 30 days were compared to basal levels in control mussels. Hsp70 in the gill tissue of M. californianus had an initial attenuation of the stress protein followed by a significant albeit moderate up-regulation relative to controls in all but the 0.5 μ/L treatment. Hsp70 in the mantle tissue of mussels exposed to caffeine did not differ from control mussels. This Study confirms the presence of caffeine in Oregon's coastal ocean and provides laboratory evidence that environmentally relevant concentrations of caffeine can exert an effect on M. californianus gill tissue at the molecular-level.

McKinney Butte, a late Tertiary andesite vent and flow complex, is located near the town of Sisters, Oregon, in the upper Deschutes Basin, and is situated along the structural trend that forms the eastern margin of the High Cascades graben (Sisters fault zone and Green Ridge). Rapid development and over appropriated surface water resources in this area have led to an increased dependence upon groundwater resources. A primary concern of resource managers is the potential impact of expanding groundwater use on stream flows and spring discharge. Two sets of springs (McKinney Butte Springs and Camp Polk Springs) discharge to Whychus Creek along the east flank of McKinney Butte, and during low-flow conditions supply a substantial component of the total flow in the creek. Despite their contribution to Whychus Creek, the springs along McKinney Butte are small-scale features and have received less attention than larger volume (> 2 m³/s) springs that occur in the basin (i.e., Metolius Spring and Lower Opal Springs). This study used discharge measurements in Whychus Creek upstream and downstream of the springs, and mixing models using measurements of electrical conductivity and temperature in the springs and Whychus Creek to determine the contribution of the springs to the creek. Isotopic, thermal, and geochemical signatures for the McKinney Butte and Camp Polk Springs, and local streams (Whychus Creek and Indian Ford Creek) and springs (Metolius Spring, Paulina Spring, Alder Springs, and Lower Opal Spring) were assessed to determine the source(s) of the McKinney Butte and Camp Polk Springs. The discharge and hydrochemical data along with hydraulic head data from local wells were used in the development of a conceptual model of groundwater flow for the McKinney Butte area. Discharge from the McKinney Butte Springs supplies the majority of water to Whychus Creek on the east flank of McKinney Butte (~0.20 m³/s), provides up to 46% of the flow in the creek, and is relatively stable throughout the year. Discharge from the Camp Polk Springs is less than 0.05 m³/s. Isotopic, thermal, and geochemical signatures indicate distinct sources for the McKinney Butte and Camp Polk Springs. Groundwater discharged at the McKinney Butte Springs is depleted in heavy stable isotopes (δD and δ¹⁸O) relative to the Camp Polk Springs. Recharge elevations inferred from stable isotope concentrations are 1800-1900 m for the McKinney Butte Springs and 950-1300 m for the Camp Polk Springs. Elevated water temperature in the McKinney Butte Springs relative to the average air temperature at the inferred recharge elevation indicates the presence of geothermal heat and implies deep circulation in the flow system. The temperature in the Camp Polk Springs is not elevated. The Camp Polk Springs, though not the McKinney Butte Springs, contain elevated concentrations of ions Cl, SO₄, and NO₃ that are indicative of contamination. The study results indicate the source of the Camp Polk Springs is shallow groundwater whereas the McKinney Butte Springs discharge water that has circulated deep in the groundwater flow system. Additionally, the hydrochemical traits of the McKinney Butte Springs are similar to Metolius Spring, suggesting discharge from the McKinney Butte Springs is controlled by the structural trend that forms the eastern margin of the High Cascades graben. The significant difference in discharge between the McKinney Butte Springs and Metolius spring may be related to the size of faults that occur locally.

Since 1976 public agencies in Oregon have been allowed to select construction contractors using a "qualification" based competition instead of the more typical lowest responsible bid or Design-Bid-Build (DBB) basis. Since 1985, at least 136 such selections, commonly known as CM/GC for Construction Manager/General Contractor, have been made. The results of this policy have not previously been analyzed. This research compares these selection methods, seeking to answer the following questions: Does the CMl/GC method result in projects that differ from DBB projects regarding cost and schedule control? Are CMl/GC projects more efficient than DBB projects, where efficiency is defined as the data envelopment analysis (DEA) technical efficiency score? Does efficiency depend on an interaction between project type and the selection method? How do project stakeholders evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of the two selection methods? How do projects compare when the only apparent difference between them is the selection method? To answer these questions, we identified 407 Oregon public building construction projects and obtained a variety of data, including cost and schedule results, for 215 jobs (111 CMl/GC and 104 DBB). We analyzed the data several ways, including statistical analysis, DEA, and various qualitative methods. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the CMl/GC and DBB projects regarding cost and schedule control. The DEA technical efficiency scores showed that CMl/GC projects outperformed the DBB projects. There was no interaction effect between project type and selection method. Project stakeholders stated that reduction of risk is the principal benefit of using CMl/GC; however, architects and subcontractors are less enthusiastic than owners and general contractors. Data on two nearly identical projects indicated that the DBB project was less costly than the comparable CMlGC project and also incurred less cost growth; both projects were completed on time. To summarize, this research fails to find support for the current Oregon law that exempts certain projects from competitive bidding based on the presumption that CMl/GC will lead to substantial cost savings but does indicate that the CMl/GC projects may be better able to accommodate accelerated project schedules.

This is a case study about policy responses to a specific form of gentrification at the urban fringe: the closure of manufactured home parks in Oregon.The study analyzes the following research questions: (a) What factors affected the quantity and distribution of manufactured home parks? (b) Why did parks close? (c) How did the state legislature respond and why? (d) What are the likely impacts of the state response? A wide variety of sources (e.g., key informant interviews, observations of meetings and public hearings, focus groups of park residents, archival materials and secondary data about manufactured home parks) are employed to investigate a phenomenon imbedded in its context.Parks subject to development pressures, as evidenced by their location in an area experiencing population growth and within an Urban Growth Boundary, were significantly more likely to close than other parks. Manufactured home parks were replaced by compact, mixed-use development in urban or urbanizing areas--smart growth. Based on this evidence, this study concludes that gentrification, in the form of park closures, is integral to Oregon's process of metropolitan restructuring.In the wake of mounting publicity about park closures, the 2007 Oregon legislature adopted legislation that supported two ameliorating strategies: (a) reduce the harm caused to displaced manufactured homeowners through financial assistance, and (b) preserve parks where possible through enabling resident purchases from willing sellers. Who pays for the costs of this legislative package and preemption of local ordinances were the most contested issues.This research is one of the first to analyze gentrification in urban fringe areas. To understand the economic dynamics, it applies rent gap theory to the special case of divided asset ownership. It explores the likely efficacy of two types of policy remedies. Finally, by establishing park closures as a form of gentrification related to metropolitan restructuring, this case study raises the question of whether policies could support a kind of metropolitan restructuring that does not take the toll on people and places exacted by gentrification.