Graduate Works

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Open Access
Essays on Human Behavior
(University of Oregon, 2024-12-18) Holloway, Marcus; Kuhn, Michael
This dissertation explores human behaviors that may confound current economic measurements in the environmental and behavioral contexts. Chapter 2 examines disparate wildfire-smoke avoidance responses across demographic and socioeconomic groups in the western United States. Cellphone location data is combined with census block group level data to uncover heterogeneity in communities' responses to smoke. This heterogeneity is found to be correlated with historical margins of disadvantage. These communities have in many cases been documented to face higher levels of exposure to other pollutants and are more negatively impacted by these exposures. This suggests that those that have a higher benefit of avoiding wildfire-smoke also face higher costs of avoidance, leading to substantial equity concerns in terms of climate adaptation. Chapter 3 focuses on the presentation and development of theory on time-varying time preferences, results from a novel experiment designed to measure these preferences, and structural estimation and evaluation of models allowing for these preferences. While standard economic models acknowledge the agents' ability to exhibit preference reversals, these reversals are largely attributed to a present- or future-bias in agents' underlying preferences. However, instead of myopic reversals, agents may instead be making decisions according to time preferences that drift across measurement dates. To test for this, an experiment that records subjects' decisions at seven points in time across twelve weeks is conducted. It is found that time-varying preferences are present in the sample studied and that models allowing for these preferences outperform traditional and behavioral discounting models in both aggregate fit and number of subjects best described. Chapter 4 builds on the analysis conducted in Chapter 3 to determine what margins drive the time-varying behavior observed. Characteristics of subjects such as their demographics, socioeconomic status, risk preferences, cognition, and other behavioral factors, along with dynamic data on subjects' financial and psychological well-being were collected as part of the experiment conducted in Chapter 3. While little evidence of correlation between demographics or preferences and discounting is found, subjects do accurately perceive their time-variance. This suggests time-variance may itself be a preference that can be modeled, or that subjects can learn about their discounting process over time. In an attempt to capture this, the theory developed in Chapter 3 is used to develop a discount function that asymptotically approaches time-invariance. This model does not outperform the non-asymptotic, time-invariant, behavioral discounting model it approaches in the limit for the aggregate data. However, it does better explain a large portion of our subjects' behavior. This dissertation includes unpublished co-authored material.
Open Access
Multiple Personality Disorder/Dissociated Identity Disorder: The Client as Actor Model
(University of Oregon, 1999-12) Prane, Jada Z.
This dissertation is a philosophical analysis of Multiple 1Jersonality Disorder/Dissociated Identity Disorder. It investigates what the existence or presence of alter-identities in a client means, and critically analyzes the metaphysical basis of that existence or presence. This dissertation also has a major focus of concern with the therapeutic value of treating multiple personalities/dissociated identities as a disorder. An analysis of the metaphysics of the prevailing conception of multiplicity ( the alter model) is shown to have fatal logical problems. Moreover, the conception of multiplicity as a disorder is shown to have destructive consequences for the typical client who manifests multiplicity and whose therapy is based on the disorder conception. These problems and consequences provide the motivation for replacement of the alter model with one that is free of logical problems and that does not treat multiplicity as a disorder. A model of multiplicity as a form of acting provides the replacement conception. A previous consideration of the acting approach (by some clinicians) in favor of the alter model was based both on a conception of acting as mimicry or faked feeling, and the idea of extreme dissociation experienced only as a psychopathology. This alter-actor comparison is referred to as the alter-actor distinction. However, this dissertation reconsiders the alter-actor distinction and shows how the alter model is contradicted by the testimony of some important actors, directors, and theoreticians and psychologists of acting. Moreover, consideration of how actors are counseled to protect themselves from the effects of extreme dissociation reveals that this advice is at odds with the advice and encouragement given to some M.PD/DID clients about the emergence of multiple personalities/dissociated identities. This dissertation urges that the alter model of multiplicity/dissociated identity be replaced by the actor model. The actor model overcomes the logical deficiencies of the alter model, and has improved compatibility with, and a more accurate understanding of, the continuum of dissociative experience. The actor model will thereby serve clients more effectively and less dangerously.
Open Access
Unreasonable Expectations: A Phenomenological Defense of Taking a Group-Rights Based Perspective Towards the Adjudication of Hostile Environment Sexual Harassment Claims
(University of Oregon, 1998-06) Pendleton, Kenneth
There is currently a debate among legal scholars about what kind of reasonableness standard courts should adopt while adjudicating hostile environment sexual harassment claims. The alternatives generally fall into two categories: traditional individual-rights based standards and group-rights based standards. Using the former types of standards entails a commitment to several traditional liberal principles- social consensus as mediator, tolerance of diversity, assumption of risk, and interchangeability- while using the latter types of standards entails either the modification or abandonment of them. The purpose of this dissertation is to demonstrate how the explicit or implicit positing of different theories of the self ultimately underlies these disagreements. First, I will argue that a commitment to one crucial aspect of social atomism, i.e., the view that a rational individual can choose not to be seriously psychologically affected by the views that others take towards her or him, underlies claims that courts should appeal to these traditional liberal principles and adopt some variation of a reasonable person standard. I will then argue that all previous attempts to criticize this type of theory of the self for being "excessively individualistic" have failed; these theories of the self whether they are based on modern individualism, cornmunitarianism, or cultural feminism-still either explicitly claim or strongly imply that a rational woman can reject and consequently be psychologically unaffected by having to work in misogynous, traditionally all male work environment. Second, I will combine Jean-Paul Sartre's concept of "the look of the other" and with several aspects of George Herbert Mead's theory of social development in order to construct a theory of the self that will better explain why a rational individual cannot help but be psychologically affected by the disparaging attitudes that others express about her or him under certain sociological circumstances. In turn, this theory of the self will then be used to defend the claim that courts should adopt a group-rights based reasonableness standard while adjudicating hostile environment claims.
Open Access
Justifying State Toleration of Diversity and Dissent
(University of Oregon, 1992-06) Newman, Sandra
Attempts to justify toleration usually utilize moral arguments based on respecting the agency of, or preventing harm to, an individual. These arguments provide a sufficient but not a necessary reason for powerful states to tolerate a diverse and dissenting populous. Provided a state is interested in promoting non-violence, I claim that, because political controversy increases tolerance and decreases violence, toleration of all non-violent diversity and dissent is incumbent upon a state. This argument also justifies state intolerance of violent dissent, where violence is either threatened or manifest.
Open Access
The Truth About Fiction: Some Reflections on Philosophy and Literature
(University of Oregon, 1994-08) Miller, Jennifer Abbe
This investigation is concerned with certain philosophical problems which arise in current discussions about reading fictional literature, and with philosophical problems a nd themes that arise in literature itself. A number of theories have been offered by philosophers as well as literary critics not only to account for what fiction is , but also as to how appreciation of fiction occurs. The two are related in that how we answer the question "What is fiction?" may bear upon the problem of reading. One of my goals is to show how attitudes towards literature have evolved from philosophic views regarding the nature of , and connection between, language and knowledge. The theories of reading that I will consider are enmeshed in problematic presuppositions about this connection. I will also claim that fiction can be a source of insight, and that insight is a form of knowledge . This is a robust claim that will be illuminated by exploring certain works of literature. Novelists and other creative writers are often engaged with the same themes that philosophers are. In fact, some fictional works may even present a challenge to a given philosophical theory or view. However, most of the literature I will be examining does not set out to assess or even exemplify the views of particular philosophers, but rather pursues certain themes that authors share in common with philosophers, for instance, questions concerning truth, meaning, appearance and reality. I intend to show how certain works of literature offer different approaches to, and expressions of, philosophical themes. I claim not only that literature can expand our scope for thinking about philosophical questions, but more importantly, that it may help us in rethinking them.
Open Access
Nature Ethics Without Theory
(University of Oregon, 1989-06) Mellon, Joseph
This work presents a case against the need for moral theory in nature ethics. A theory is not needed to bridge a gap between f acts and values. One is not needed to handle crisis cases. Nor is one needed to extend the moral circle of car e beyond human beings. Ordinary moral reasoning will suffice . To show this , moral cases are made for a vegan diet , and against the use of animals in research. The moral theorist is then left with this dilemma: either the details of a moral issue are enough to settle it , thus rendering a moral theory unnecessary , or the details are not enough, but neither is any moral theory. In place of theory, a moral vision is sketched , one which is at once contemplative , feminist . anarchist , pacifist, anti-capital ist , and pro- nature.
Open Access
To Prove or Not To Prove: Pascal on Natural Theology
(University of Oregon, 1993-06) Groothuis, Douglas Richard
In this dissertation I argue that Pascal's reasons for rejecting the enterprise of natural theology are inadequate to negate the discipline's possible value for Christian theism. I begin by explaining the nature, function, and scope of natural theology or the attempt to argue for God's existence apart from revelation. Pascal argues that the Bible itself precludes the activity of natural theology. I dispute this claim by giving reasons why the omission of natural in the Bible does not mean that the enterprise itself is illegitimate. Although Pascal argues that the very nature of God as an infinite being renders a positive proof of his existence impossible because of the opacity of the infinite, I argue that Pascal misconstrues the nature of divine infinity and that when properly understood the notion of divine infinity does not rule out natural theology a priori. According to Pascal , the kind of reasoning used in theistic proofs is inappropriate for religious believers because it is "too remote from human reasoning" to move one to real religious devotion. I claim that even complex proofs for God's existence, if successful, could engender a kind of religious devotion. Pascal finds the God derived through natural theology--the "God of the philosophers"--to be too abstract and religiously unsatisfying to be equated with the biblical "God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." On the contrary, I affirm that the divine predicates derived from natural theology (should they be derivable) have a significant overlap with the description of God in the Scriptures. Against Pascal's idea that a successful natural theology engenders a kind of pride in its practitioners that is incompatible with the Christian claim, I argue that philosophical proofs may but need not engender such pride. Finally, I take up the matter of the cogency of one version of the cosmological argument in relation to the defense of Christian theism.
Open Access
Hera, Not Hero: Centering the Moral Life on Moral Commitment, Rather than Heroic Courage
(University of Oregon, 1993-12) Gould, Robert Jarvis
Instances of moral commitment are central to the moral life, whereas instances of heroic courage are not necessarily central to the moral life. Given this contrast, it is odd when heroic courage is privileged over moral commitment. Heroic vitalism is the strongest expression of the privileging of heroic courage over moral commitment. My thesis counters heroic vitalism by building on a tradition of rejection that has deep roots , but finds its strongest support in the work of Josiah Royce and the feminist and nonviolent traditions. Though there are some senses of courage, such as heart, fortitude and endurance that are not particularly informed by the heroic, I suggest that our understanding of courage is dominated by the heroic . My suggestion of moral strength as an alternative to courage is based not only on courage's association with the heroic, but also on moral strength's close connection with moral commitment, which implies an engagement with the world and counters any preoccupation with character traits. My critique of heroic courage centers on its tendency toward being episodic, involving the overcoming of great fear, taking great risks and enduring potential violence. In contrast, moral strength is constant, not episodic and involves a moderated response to fear, risk and potential violence. This moderated response allows one to avoid the dissociation that often accompanies fearful, risky and violent situations. In turn, a freedom from dissociation facilitates a constant, lifelong engagement with the moral life. I conclude by addressing the question, what use might this rethinking of "courage" and the conceptual development of "moral commitment" and "moral strength" mean in the day to day practice of ordinary people interested in positive social change? I suggest that a strongest moral commitment can be constructed and used to resolve problems of violence in achieving revolutionary goals. These problems include the means and ends problem involved in seizing power, the problem of violent self -defense against genocidal predation, the problem of political and cultural domination and the problem of structural violence in the marketplace.
Open Access
The Understanding of Difference in Heidegger and Derrida
(University of Oregon, 1990-12) Donkel, Douglas Lee
In this study, I offer an account of the relationship between Heidegger's notion of difference and Derrida's notion of difference in light of the question of Being. I argue that, while Derrida's account of difference calls into question Heidegger's characterization of difference as that which allows for presence, this same account calls itself into question as well, that is, in the manner of the liar paradox--if it is true, it is false--which is just to say it is undecidable in the Derridian sense of the term. I come to these conclusions through a close reading of Heidegger's Identity and Difference and Derrida's Speech and Phenomena, where I uncover a motif of external and internal relations which I employ in contrasting difference and difference. In addition, this study is concerned with the doctrine of God, a doctrine which I suggest is closely related to Heidegger's question of Being insofar as both attempt to account for the genesis of things. I argue that, while Heidegger's account undercuts traditional theism, the problematization of the question of Being by virtue of difference suggests that the theological project, insofar as it involves giving an account of the absolute, i.e., God, has likewise been called into question. I suggest further that this situation indicates the need to redirect the concerns of theology toward interpersonal and social issues, and that this move does not set a precedent insofar as certain Western and Eastern approaches have always valued releasement from doctrinal attachments as a way to encourage the best in human relations.
Open Access
Can We Diagnose the Health of Ecosystems?
(University of Oregon, 1995-06) Dewberry, Thomas Charles
This study is a philosophical examination of the question, "Can we diagnose the health of ecosystems?" Two senses of this question are investigated: 1) Are ecosystems the kind of entities to which "health" applies? 2) Assuming that ecosystem health is a coherent concept, how do we diagnose the health of ecosystems? This study begins with a distinction, first made by Michael Polanyi, between machines and holistic inanimate objects, such as thunderstorms. Thunderstorms are reducible to the laws of chemistry and physics, while machines are not Machines have two levels of control, the laws of physics and chemistry, and operational principles, which harness the parts to achieve the purpose of the machine. The importance of this distinction is that the concept of health only applies to objects which have two or more levels of control. This study concludes that the concept of health applies to ecosystems. Ecosystems are not reducible to their parts. The diagnosis of ecosystem health is similar to a medical doctor diagnosing the health of a patient, because ecosystems and humans are both members of the class of objects to which "health" applies. The diagnostician, with each specimen observed, simultaneously modifies the standard of normality for the class of object, at the same time the individual is appraised according to the standard. Diagnosing the health of a patient is a skill which cannot be reduced to an objective measurable standard. However, ecosystem are not individuals, so diagnosing the health of ecosystems is not exactly analogous to diagnosing the health of a human or horse. This study has important implications for resource management and policy. Procedures, such as the federal interagency watershed analysis, which are built on a hierarchical theory based on the rate of processes, make ecosystem health incoherent. The federal strategy appears to hold the implicit assumption that ecosystems are reducible to their parts. Watershed analysis is also an ambiguous procedure at best. It rejects the medical model, and it may destroy the skill of diagnosis, by attempting to replace it with a measurable standard.
Open Access
Collected Works: 1969-1972
(University of Oregon, 1972-06) Levine, Lawrence Peter
Open Access
The Effects of an Interactive Reading Intervention on Early Literacy Development and Positive Parenting Interactions for Young Children of Teenage Mothers
(University of Oregon, 2000-08) Williams, Khaliyah D.
Of all the skills young children can acquire, reading is one they will use the most. Reading is a valuable skill in our society, and is basic to one's education (Dzama & Gilstrap, 1983). In particular, young children of teenage mothers who do not engage in prereading activities may not develop the early literacy skills that provide a foundation for later reading achievement. Increasing book reading with young children may be a powerful way of introducing them to a lifelong relationship with literature, and may reduce the risk of reading failure. This study examined the short-term effects of an interactive reading intervention designed to facilitate early literacy development and positive parenting interactions for young children of teenage mothers. This school-based intervention involved reading activities and strategies that were designed to support storybook reading between parent-child dyads. The goal of the intervention was to support teenage mothers reading aloud to their young children for 15 minutes at least 2 days per week. Thirty-two parent-child dyads were assigned randomly to one of two groups, (a) interactive reading intervention, and (b) a "wait-list control" group. Each group was comprised of 16 parent-child dyads. The study consisted of 1 week of baseline and 6 weeks of intervention. To examine the effects of the interactive reading intervention, a measure of early literacy skills was obtained from the Stony Brook Family Reading Survey and the Early Literacy Development Observation Assessment. A measure of positive parenting behaviors also was obtained from the Stony Brook, the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System, and the Coder Impression Rating Scale. Engaged time and treatment integrity were also examined. Pre- and post-test scores were obtained on all measures. Results were analyzed using multiple, one-way, analyses of covariance (ANCOV A). Group (intervention and control) was the between-subjects factor, and pretest was the covariate. Overall, the interactive reading intervention appeared to facilitate more time engaged in reading for all children, and resulted in gains on early literacy development for young children who demonstrated low early literacy skills at pretest. There was no effect on positive or negative parenting behaviors. Teenage mother's perceptions of treatment and social validity indicated a general consensus of overall satisfaction and enjoyment of the shared reading activity with their child.
Open Access
Plantinga's Reformed Epistemology: Clarification and Critique
(University of Oregon, 1992-06) Crabtree, John Alan
Alvin Plantinga has proposed a distinctive answer to the question whether belief in the existence of God apart from evidence is rational. Developing the suggestions of various theologians in the Reformed or Calvinistic tradition into a philosophically rigorous epistemological theory, Plantinga espouses what he calls Reformed epistemology. Reformed epistemology defends the rationality of belief in God's existence by arguing that belief in God is a properly basic belief. It argues, therefore, that belief in God is eminently rational apart from any evidence; for a basic belief is foundational and not based on evidence. I do two things in this study: (1) I attempt to clarity key aspects of Reformed epistemological theory, discussing at greater depth certain of its more problematic aspects and expanding the theory where necessary to show its basic coherence and/or plausibility; and (2) I attempt to answer the question whether Reformed epistemology is right - whether it accurately captures the epistemological status of the theist's belief in God. My answer is that most likely it does not. I argue that - due to an overly vague conception of "basic belief" - Plantinga has failed to recognize a fundamental incompatibility in his own views on the status of theistic belief. Furthermore, I argue that, when we have rightly understood what Reformed epistemology requires with respect to the nature of theistic belief, it is doubtful that Plantinga or any other theist actually holds his belief in God on the epistemological basis that Reformed epistemology says he does.
Open Access
Faith and Fideism
(University of Oregon, 1994-06) Bollenbaugh, Michael Wayne
Among philosophers of religion Soren Kierkegaard is often regarded as an archetypal fideist. In general terms, fideism is the view that religion is based on faith rather than reasoning or evidence. This study examines and critiques Kierkegaard's view of the nature of religious belief in light of his fideism. I argue that it is not useful to describe Kierkegaard simply as a fideist since this description applies to a whole host of philosophers of religion, some who are endeared by the term and others who are anxious to eschew it. Instead I critique Kierkegaard's efforts by identifying a species for the genus of his ftdeism, which I call "exclusivist". In identifying a species of Kierkegaard's fideism I am able to distinguish him from other fideists as well as more clearly define the concerns of his enterprise. The term "exclusivist" describes Kierkegaard's fideistic concerns in two ways. First, it means to make something singularly important as in an exclusive news story. Secondly, exclusive means to bar or prohibit as in an exclusive country club that only admits members of a certain race and gender. Kierkegaard's view of the nature of religious belief is an exclusivist fideism because it seeks to make his description of the path to faith singularly true and he bars an positive reasoning from the concerns of faith. I contend that the exclusivist nature of Kierkegaard's fideism has unfortunate consequences for the nature of faith itself. I support this claim by showing that the kind of religious experience Kierkegaard insists on does not parallel the religious experience of most ordinary believers. To support my case I examine several major themes in Kierkegaard's thought, which include his view of passion, his thorough rejection of positive reasoning for faith, the nature of the Christian Incarnation as an absolute paradox, and the subjectivity is truth thesis. I counter Kierkegaard's exclusivist fideism with a genus and species of faith that I can inclusivist fideism. Inclusivist fideism accepts the authority of faith in the life of the believer but rejects the notion that there is a fixed set of experiences that lead to faith and that reason is beyond faith's concerns. I suggest that the genus of Kierkegaard's analysis of faith is correct but that the species is wrong. Because inclusivist fideism does not essentialize a believer's pilgrimage to faith it has important advantages over Kierkegaard's exclusivist fideism.
Open Access
On Metaphor
(University of Oregon, 1991-06) Berryman, Sylvia
Current debate on metaphor, involving philosophers from very different traditions, is a response to Black's challenge of Aristotle's view. Following this lead, the absurdity of metaphor--the clash within the sentence--is stressed, downplaying the role of perceived similarities. From different perspectives, Ricoeur, Davidson and Searle emphasize the innovative aspects of metaphor, treating it as deviant, distinct from literal language. This emphasis risks forfeiting explanatory power. Taking our ability to understand metaphors as a starting point, the assumptions behind talk of 'live' and 'dead' metaphors is challenged. The treatment of metaphor as a poetic device, and the focus on innovative metaphors are questioned. Recent work in linguistics suggests new resources in accounting for our understanding of metaphors, without denying their novelty. The dichotomy between the creative aspects of metaphor and our understanding of them may only be apparent.
Open Access
Prospects for Causal Explanation Outside of Mechanism
(University of Oregon, 1989-12) Athearn, Daniel Richard
This work is an attack on the standard neo-Humean conception of science in philosophy of science. The following pillars of this conception are targets of the critique: (1) the claim that the role of causality in scientific explanation has been, or can be , superseded by scientific laws ; (2) the belief that a causal process can only be a disconnected, perhaps contiguous, series of events. In addition to attacking these explicit views , the work challenges the background assumption that causal explanations for basic phenomena of physics have proved permanently impossible, leaving, henceforth and forever , laws and only laws as material for theoretical knowledge in a fundamental domain of science. Examination of other contemporary causal realist philosophers shows that their contributions to an understanding of unobservable causes in physics have severe limitations, due to their retention of key Empiricist conclusions.
Open Access
Physician Motivation and the Structure of Incentives in Prepaid Group Practice: A Theoretical and Empirical Study
(University of Oregon, 1989-12) Tinkler, Sarah Elizabeth
This dissertation explores the issue of how institutional structures in the medical industry influence physician behavior. The analysis is particularly concerned with prepaid group practices, an organizational type that has tripled its enrollment since 1981. By 1988 more than thirty million Americans were enrolled in prepaid group practices . The theoretical analysis predicts that physician labor supply is sensitive to the way in which physicians are paid . Specifically, salaried physicians supply less labor than wage earning physicians because they do not receive payment based on marginal work effort . An "ethical" physician will have a greater supply of both labor and medical care than a "standard optimizing" physician, although still not necessarily the "appropriate" level. Finally, usage of nonphysician medical inputs also differs depending on the way in which the physician is paid. Under some incentive schemes the physician tends to overuse inputs other than his own time. The model predicts that only profit-sharing physicians (both "ethical" and "standard optimizing") and "standard optimizing" salaried physicians will use medical inputs efficiently . The dissertation also reports a test of one of the important theoretical results: Salaried physicians supply less labor than physicians working under incentive based reimbursement . Estimation of simultaneous labor demand and supply functions using data on American primary care physicians for the year 1984 confirms the theoretical prediction . A further result of the estimation is that salaried status does not affect the hourly wage of physicians.
Open Access
Molecular Architecture of the Octopus bimaculoides Central Nervous System
(University of Oregon, 2024-12-06) Songco, Jeremea; Niell, Cristopher
Interacting with our environments requires that we appropriately integrate sensory information and convert these inputs into a perception of our surroundings to generate basic and complex behaviors. Traditionally, model organisms, such as nematodes, flies, zebrafish, or even mice, have been used in the laboratory setting to investigate neural circuit formation and function. While these organisms have furthered our understanding of how different cell types wire up to drive complex behavior, there is much to be learned from exploring the brain of non-traditional organisms. Cephalopods have the largest brain among invertebrates and have a rich catalog of behaviors, including navigating complex underwater environments and rapid body-patterning known as camouflage. While seminal work during the 1960s revealed cellular properties of neurons using the giant squid axon, recent advancements in technology have permitted further characterization of cell types and circuits in a species that is unlike many of those used traditionally in the field of neuroscience. By investigating the brain of these animals, we can begin to understand fundamental mechanisms involved in the formation and function of complex neural circuits. Unlike model organisms, there are limited tools in genetic manipulation and the field has yet to produce a comprehensive brain atlas bridging anatomical, molecular, and functional properties of cell types in these animals. Therefore, my dissertation sought to develop key resources that will serve as a foundation for such studies once it becomes technically possible. I first contributed to the optimization and usage of functional imaging in an ex vivo preparation of the octopus brain in order to characterize response properties of visually responsive cells in the optic lobe, the main visual center which is a paired brain region that comprises 2/3 of the central nervous system of octopuses. We found evidence for retinotopic organization of responses to light (ON) and dark (OFF) spots, including spatial tuning properties that may be suggestive of environmental demands. To begin elucidating the diversity of unit responses we revealed in this initial study, I focused on developing a single-cell molecular atlas of the Octopus bimaculoides optic lobe by combining single cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) with multiplexed fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). We identified six classes of mature neuronal cell types in addition to a large population of immature neurons. Our FISH revealed sublaminar organization across the optic lobe, further characterizing the cell types that were initially identified in the 1960s based on morphology. An octopus’ ability to engage in a wide range of visually guided behaviors rests upon the various inputs and outputs the optic lobes have to other structures in the central nervous system. However, there has yet to be published a mapping of these structures as well as an in-depth understanding of the molecular landscape across the central nervous system. Therefore, I sought to develop the first brain-wide gene expression resource for cephalopods by characterizing all of the structures in this species through Hematoxylin & Eoisin (H&E) staining of serial sections of the brain, and I quantified expression for 40 genes, including functional and developmental determinants, across 20 identified brain regions. Together, this work reveals functional and molecular organization in the optic lobe as well as other brain regions, furthering our understanding of how a completely different organism can carry out complex behaviors. This dissertation includes previously published and unpublished co-authored material.
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English Learner Education: Examining Policy Decisions and Their Impact on Student Outcomes
(University of Oregon, 2024-12-06) Vazquez Cano, Manuel; Umansky, Ilana
This three-article dissertation examined how policy choices in three key policy areas – initial enrollment, service provision, and reclassification – impact English learner (EL)-classified students. The first article examined the national landscape of state statutes, regulations, and state education agencies' (SEA) guidance that support districts in implementing procedures to award credit to secondary newcomer students for prior learning experiences. The findings reveal a lack of education statutes and regulations, and limited implementation guidance from SEAs to support newcomer credit transfer. The second article zooms into Portland Public Schools in Oregon and examines the causal effect of the district’s dual language immersion (DLI) program. The study found significant positive effects of the DLI program, demonstrating a notable increase in credit accrual, high school graduation rates, and attainment of the Seal of Biliteracy among participating students. The third article investigates the causal impact of reclassification from EL services in 5th and 8th grade on high school graduation and the mediating role of course access. The study does not identify significant effects of reclassification and does not find evidence supporting the hypothesis that early access to English Language Arts and Algebra 1 mediates the potential impact of reclassification. Findings from this dissertation contribute novel evidence to EL education policy and highlight how policy decisions at different entry points can potentially shape student outcomes.
Open Access
Machine-Learning-Based Classification of Acute Partial Sleep Deprivation with Resting-State fMRI
(University of Oregon, 2024-12-06) Yang, Xi; Casement, Melynda
Insufficient sleep is highly prevalent. Limited knowledge has been accrued on the functional correlates of acute partial sleep deprivation in the awake brain. As resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) becomes an essential measure to investigate spontaneous neural activity and intrinsic functional connectivity, applying machine learning to rs-fMRI to classify the state of acute partial sleep deprivation remains an uncharted area. In the present study, based on sleep deprivation literature, a set of predetermined rs-fMRI region and network functional connectivity features were used to classify the sleep states (sleep deprived/well-rested) of the senior (N = 34, age 65-75) and young adult (N = 41, age 20-30) participants in an archival dataset. The best performing support vector machine model classified the sleep states of the senior adult participants with a 68% accuracy rate. During external validation, this model trained on senior adults demonstrated low transferability to the young adult dataset. Low classification accuracy were reported in models trained on young adult dataset. The theoretical implications of the findings and recommendations for future research were discussed to contribute to a multi-modal understanding of the mechanism of sleep insufficiency as a causal factor of neural vulnerability and inform neurobehavioral interventions.

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