Clark Honors College Theses

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https://hdl.handle.net/1794/169

The thesis is the capstone of a student's academic program at the Clark Honors College. It is an opportunity for each CHC student to build on the education received in both CHC and the academic major to design an independent and original research project. It is the product of the student's original research or creative endeavor and, like graduate theses, must place the research or creative work in the context of prior research or artistic traditions, explain the techniques used to perform the research or develop the creative work, and present and elaborate on the results. Like graduate students, CHC students work closely with faculty members to develop and write their theses and, like graduate students, defend their theses in oral presentations to their thesis committees. There is a fundamental difference between graduate theses and CHC theses; the CHC thesis must be readable by a lay audience, while graduate theses may be written in technical or discipline-specific language.

Beginning in Winter 2005, Clark Honors College students have been notified of the option of submitting their theses to Scholars' Bank and many have done so. Some older theses are also available.

Paper copies of all theses are available in the Robert D. Clark Library on the third floor of Chapman Hall, on the University of Oregon campus. Contact the College for more information: https://honors.uoregon.edu/.

Paper copies of all theses are also available in the University Archives operated by the University of Oregon Libraries. To search the Libraries' catalog, visit the web site at: https://library.uoregon.edu/.

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Now showing 1 - 20 of 517

Open Access
A 2-D Magnetotelluric Investigation of the Cascadia Subduction Zone
(University of Oregon, 2016-06) Wogan, Nicholas
I have produced four 2-D magnetotelluric conductivity inversions of MOCHA data roughly between the latitudes of 43N and 46N that indicate fluid variation along strike in the Cascadia subduction zone. I directly compare these results to Wannamaker et al. 2014 EMSLAB inversion and find the models to be very similar despite the use of different data sets and inversion methods. Conductivity structure along the plate interface supports the hypothesis that there is "partial creeping" occurring in the locked zone in central Cascadia, as well as the possible presence of a secondary, inboard locked zone at 44.5N in the ETS region. The variability of conductivity along strike also suggests a more permeable crust in the northern region of Cascadia directly overhead the ETS zone, and more fluid accumulation in this same region. This study indicates that a more permeable overlying crust, combined with larger amounts of fluid present may be critical components of rapid ETS occurrence.
Open Access
44 Minutes: Showcasing Issues in Journalism Through Screenwriting
(University of Oregon, 2014-05) Schauffler, Mia
This thesis is an attempt to discuss contemporary issues in journalism in the form of a screenplay. This script builds upon the classic films that preceded it, but differs by engaging in a dialogue of contemporary issues in journalism. This work focuses on two main issues in journalism: how modem business models affect journalistic content; and the current, widely-debated topic of net neutrality. This thesis attempts to discuss these issues, while using the classic narrative screenplay structure.
Open Access
6A School District: A Case Study Correlating Content Standards to Teacher Practice
(University of Oregon, 2015-06) Gleason, Greta
In light of new legislation defining society’s newest standards for math learning, my research aims to observe how teachers are adapting to put these mandates into practice. Through a case study of one high school Algebra 1 teacher, I analyzed how differences in pedagogical practices affected student learning outcomes. In observing the shifts in teacher practices in the facilitation of math discourse and the building of procedural fluency from conceptual understanding, I have found a strong correlation between the change in teaching practices and the shifts from the McDougal & Littell (M&L) and College Preparatory Mathematics (CPM) textbooks. In this study, “Conceptual Understanding” is defined as the ability for a student to “understand why a mathematical ideal is important and the contexts for which it is useful”, and “Procedural Fluency” means that “students understand when to use certain procedures and how to perform them with both flexibility and precision.” (National Research Council, 2001, p. 118) By creating a more encouraging environment where students are unafraid to ask for help, and providing more opportunities for students to justify their reasoning, the changes in Cornelia’s teaching practices are a positive adaption to meet the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) standards, and highly aligned to the shift in textbooks. As the CPM lesson specifically dictates that students work in groups, there is an explicit emphasis on student communication as members must check-in with each other to verify their solutions. Additionally, CPM provides a higher percentage of problems that do not have solutions to reinforce the idea that students must justify when they can use a procedure. Overall, the shifts between Chapter ten of McDougal & Littell textbook and Chapter eight of College Preparatory Mathematics textbook are moderately aligned to the change in content standards. While CPM presents students with more opportunities to justify their understanding in writing and via peer communication, many improvements to Chapter 8 of the CPM text can be made to fully align the text to the CCSSM standards regarding quadratic equations. These changes include limiting the use of Learning Logs, (notebooks where students explain their conceptual understanding), until students can fully prove a hypothesis, including more sections that begin with contextual problems like Sections 8.2.1 and 8.2.4, and better connecting the 8 Standards of Mathematical Practice (Practices students should use in the math classroom) to each lesson. Because the curriculum shifts are moderately aligned to the changes in content standards, we can conclude that the changes in student standards have made a moderate impact on teacher practices.
Open Access
8 on Market | An Eco-conscious Housing Development in Downtown San Diego
(University of Oregon, 2015-06) Motahari, Kiana
The world around us is changing and this time we are the ones to blame. From melting glaciers to disappearing lakes, climate change is no longer a problem our children & children’s children will have the privilege of ignoring. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), buildings consume nearly half of all energy and seventy-five percent of all electricity produced in the United States and were responsible for nearly half of U.S. carbon (CO2) emissions in 2010. This places architects, the puppeteers of the built environment, in a very unique position to mitigate the progression of climate change and adapt to its onset. This creative thesis presents a viable example of environmentally sensitive architecture. The vehicle for this exploration takes the form of a mixed-use building in heart of Downtown San Diego. A fundamental goal throughout the design process was the integration of green strategies in a way that not only improved the buildings economic and environmental performance, but also enhanced the aesthetics of the building.
Open Access
The Abject in Science Fiction Theatre and Marked: A Play in Two Acts
(University of Oregon, 2016-06) Maurer, Nicholas
Science fiction is not a genre commonly associated with theatre, as common misconceptions assert that theatre cannot perform the spectacle science fiction productions require. Even when done well, science fiction is suppressed as an inferior genre, that playwrights experiment with before moving on to more serious genres. This inferiority stems form the fact that since science fiction is naturally set in a future reality, it cannot rely upon the same dramatic emotions that other theatrical genres can. Instead of tragedy, whether dramatic or comedic, science fiction must find an alternative dramatic form. Successful science fiction theatre relies upon the abject, to produce a sympathetic fear within the audience, in order to deter them from one possible future reality or another. This thesis project is an analysis of how science fiction theatre can use the abject to produce this sympathetic, which concludes with my attempt at writing a play text that relies upon the abject. In this thesis, I analyze Jennifer Haley’s The Nether, Tracy Letts’ Bug, and Joel Silberman’s Human History. The play text that I have written is called Marked, which is about a a group of clones that attempt to escape their prison and confront their originals. The play grapples with themes of discrimination and the deconstruction of a person into their parts.
Open Access
Action Beyond the Plan
(University of Oregon, 2015-06) Green, Anna
Institutions of higher learning are meant to propagate forward thinking and innovation through academic research, discourse, and social engagement. As our world strives towards building systems of sustainable energy generation and use, universities and colleges should be leading the way in the promotion and lifestyle of carbon neutrality. Most schools claim to be sustainable without clear metrics to demonstrate and prove success. While certain schools have gone as far as to commit to carbon neutrality by a certain date they have not yet invested in the necessary infrastructure to achieve this. Moreover, the ways in which these schools reach carbon neutrality vary based on financial availability, land availability, and student or faculty enthusiasm. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze why and how specific schools are not meeting “sustainable” standards and how, through a tailored and quantifiable solution, places of higher learning can become places of forward thought and positive role models of sustainability.
Open Access
ADAPTASIA: AN ADAPTIVE MUSIC PIECE
(University of Oregon, 2022-12) Kitten, Sarah; ; ;
ADAPTASIA is a piece of indeterminate digital music which adapts in real time to user inputs. I used an audio engine called FMOD Studio to arrange my original music into a structure which randomizes some elements of the piece and links others to user-configurable parameters. In this paper I explain the inner workings of ADAPTASIA and the user interface that I created. This thesis also includes a discussion of how ADAPTASIA relates to acoustic improvisation and indeterminate music, a brief overview of the current state of adaptive music in video games, and my reflections on the project.
Open Access
Addressing Misconceptions in News Articles Covering the Removal of Barred Owls in Northern Spotted Owl Habitat
(University of Oregon, 2014-05) Wozniak, Samuel S.
In this thesis I analyze news article coverage of barred owl removal in northern spotted habitat. News coverage of the management reveals numerous misconceptions about ecological and management-based principles of barred owl removal. I identified and addressed the following three misconceptions in new articles: the failure to recognize the impact of barred owls on species other than the northern spotted owl, the assertion that barred owl removal is exorbitantly expensive and infeasible, and the expression that there is no hope for the recovery of the northern spotted owl. These misconceptions demonstrate that there is a large gap between the available information in government documents and scientific journal articles that is essential to forming a basic understanding of the issue, and the information described in news coverage. It is critical that the US Fish and Wildlife Service establish a more effective mode of communication with the media and public spheres in order to spread accurate information and gain positive views of environmental management.
Open Access
An Adversarial Approach to the Problem of a Perpetual Constitution
(University of Oregon, 2016-06) Mina, Greg
The Constitution of the United States is intergenerational in nature. The preferences of the founding generation have great impact on the policies and actions of the United States government to this day, occasionally overruling the preferences of modem generations. This thesis will not attempt to render judgment as to the legitimacy of what some identify as a perpetual constitution. Rather, this thesis will outline and subsequently script a fictional trial between those who argue against the continuing authority of the Constitution, and those who defend its legitimacy. The structure of a jury trial allows for a dialogue between the two intellectual camps that highlights some of the areas in which they clash, including the application and defense of the reserved powers doctrine.
Open Access
Alexander Disease and Potential Treatment through the Nrf2-ARE Pathway
(University of Oregon, 2014-05) Small, Alexandra Joanne
Neurological diseases have high prevalence globally and most are untreatable. Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PO) are highly common especially with a growing elderly population. Alexander disease (ALX) is a rare neurodegenerative brain disease that typically affects infants, but has paralleling characteristics with AD, PD and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) including oxidative stress and neuronal degeneration. As a consequence ALX is much less researched. Using the large volume of research that has been done on AD, PO and ALS, this paper explores the possibility of using cellular antioxidant pathways, specifically the Nrf2-ARE pathway, to treat ALX. By utilizing the different experimental approaches taken in animal and cellular models of AD, PO, and ALS it is proposed that further research regarding the Nrf2-ARE pathway in ALX models is needed for its use for potential treatment.
Open Access
Am I Talking to a Person or a Corporation? How Brands Can Facilitate Conversations with Audiences and Why They Should
(University of Oregon, 2022-03) Mortensen, Meghan; Taeho Lee Courtney Munther; ;
Drawing on the dialogic communication framework, this paper examines how two Disney parks accounts dialogically communicated with their audiences through Twitter, and how that communication style is related to the audiences’ interaction with the accounts. I primarily wanted to examine the effect the use of dialogic communication tools had on interaction levels and on the discourse in the reply section of each tweet. @DisneyParks utilized more dialogic communication strategies than @WaltDisneyWorld, but the use of dialogic communication resulted in less interaction from audiences across both accounts. Significantly, neither account responded to any audience comments, operating these communication channels as formal communication venues from a corporation without dialogic engagement that would reach a more personal level with audiences. Based on these findings, I proposed suggestions for Disney’s communication strategy on social media to enhance audience interaction and place more emphasis on building relationships with interested audiences.
Open Access
Ambiguous Loss: The Impact of Absence An investigation of Boss’s Ambiguous Loss Theory and Implications for Wilderness-Based Healing
(University of Oregon, 2021) Steindorf, Leah L.
This research paper will explain the experience of Ambiguous Loss, a loss that is constructed by both the absence and presence of an individual, and then introduce an effective and impactful healing modality. This project intends to portray the difficulties surrounding losing someone ambiguously and the necessity to hold two seemingly incompatible realities - absence and presence - at the same time. The steps recognized in the healing of grief from loss and death, which is commonly experienced and understood in our world today, will be used to carefully distinguish how the experience of Ambiguous Loss is uniquely different. From the perspective of the person who is experiencing the loss, this paper will explore and substantiate the emotional complexity and state of inconclusiveness and confusion resulting from Ambiguous Loss. This paper will also present wilderness therapy as a promising modality that may uniquely support a process of acceptance and integration that is well-tailored for Ambiguous Loss. Wilderness therapy, and the impact of the raw natural setting, may be an instrumental modality for helping individuals process the unique grief that arises from Ambiguous Loss due to the expansive and complex nature of both this form of loss and the natural environment. Wilderness therapy may provide individuals a concrete, real-life surmountable challenge that creates a tangible rather than conceptual experience, beautifully countering the disorienting experience of Ambiguous Loss itself.
Open Access
The American Drug War in Colombia: Causes, Consequences, and New Policies for an Era of a Loosening Stance Against Drugs
(University of Oregon, 2016-06) Kirkpatrick, Elizabeth
The United States has been fighting a War on Drugs since 1971. Although the goal is to reduce the amount of drugs in the United States, the policies against drugs extend to other countries where many of the drugs are produced. Colombia is a prime example of that, the recipient of United States aid for decades, yet the goals of less cocaine entering the United States from Colombia, a decrease in coca production, and fewer cocaine users have not been achieved. Instead, there have been environmental, economic, and civilian consequences that have seriously hurt Colombia as a country. New policies are needed that target more than just coca production and cocaine trafficking. There should be efforts to incentivize people to avoid coca production, to increase the government's ability to act strongly, to create peace with guerrillas, and to help all drug abusers and users. Hopefully the combination of all of the mentioned policies will make a positive difference in the War on Drugs in Colombia and the United States.
Open Access
American Environmentalism and Cross-Cultural Conflict: An Examination of the Makah Native American Tribe's Struggle for Reclamation of Whaling Rights
(University of Oregon, 2016-06) Gordon, Miles
One of the key debates within American environmentalism over the past forty years has been over its applicability beyond our cultural context. Its staunchest critics find that many of its precepts (most notably the wilderness concept at its heart) are founded on ethnocentric, indeed perhaps colonialist, suppositions. Its proponents however argue that there is an overriding truth to this, one that transcends the need for moral agreement and cultural respect. This thesis examines one case in which the precepts of American environmental thought were put to the test: the Makah Native American tribe's struggle for whaling rights. In this concept the Makah's ancient tradition of whaling came up against heated opposition from environmentalist critics, many of whom argued that whaling would harm the integrity of the ecosystem and of the whaling stocks, and that therefore the tradition should not be revived. This thesis will argue that ultimately this conflict shows the extent to which American environmentalism relies on ethnocentric presuppositions (including but not limited to the wilderness concept) to make its claims, and that therefore it requires a new path.
Embargo
America’s Roman Foundations
(University of Oregon, 2014-06) West, Garrett
In 1776, the United States of America was born. In the following decades, the leaders of the new nation struggled to win their freedom and autonomy from Great Britain, define what their nation would look like, and construct a unifying and enduring national government. Almost a century after the Revolution, when the American experiment was tested by civil war, President Abraham Lincoln explained America’s founding. Lincoln said, “Our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.” In order for the founders of the United States to create a nation that could endure through the ages, they needed to create a national self-identity and establish national symbols and icons, while simultaneously striving to implement the antithesis of British monarchism. In order to legitimize the United States as an independent nation and as a republic, the leaders of the early United States looked, as did other products of the Enlightenment, to the culture and history of Ancient Rome for inspiration. Rome’s historical success demonstrated that a stable republic could ensure liberty for its people and prosper on the international stage. American leaders employed Roman icons in their discourse, publications, and artwork, to define and represent the aspirations of the new republic. The audience for this program is readily apparent in the selections: namely, the intellectual elite of Enlightenment Europe and Britain, an elite that was already much influenced by Roman ideas of liberty and government. The founders of the United States employed the culture and history of Ancient Rome in America’s new political institutions and national symbols, which helped facilitate comparisons between Americans and the Romans, thus legitimizing the United States as an independent nation and as a republic.
Open Access
An Analysis of Ancestral Sequence Resurrection in the Context of Guanylate Kinase Evolution
(University of Oregon, 2014-07) Campodonico-Burnett, William
Ancestral sequence resurrection (ASR) is an important tool for studying evolution on a molecular scale. The process takes a broad range of extant samples and, using sequence alignment and evolutionary prediction algorithms, determines the most likely sequence to have evolved into modern-day proteins. While ever-improving technologies allow for increasingly reliable predictions, it is impossible to prove whether a reconstruction is in fact the true ancestor. This project will analyze the fidelity of the ASR process in the context of the divergence of enzymatically inactive guanylate kinase-like binding domains and enzymatically active guanylate kinases from a common ancestor. A maximum likelihood ancestor has already been predicted, so by comparing relative enzymatic activity of this ancestor, a variety of mutants, Bayesian predictions, and extant enzymes, we will be able to assess the validity of ASR for this billion-year-old evolutionary event.
Open Access
Analysis of Dynamic Balance Control in Transtibial Amputees
(University of Oregon, 2015-06) Resseguie, Shaun
The powered prosthetic foot (PPF) is designed to provide transtibial amputees (TTA) with active propulsion and plantar flexion similar to that of the biological limb. Previous studies have demonstrated the PPF’s ability to increase TTA walking speeds, while reducing the energetic costs, however, little is known about its effects on dynamic balance control. The purpose of this study was to assess dynamic balance control in a sample of TTA subjects during level ground walking and obstacle-crossing tasks. Control subjects (n=5) and TTA subjects (n=3) were instructed to complete a series of functional walking tasks during each lab visit. The TTA subjects completed the walking protocol twice, first in their passive energy-storing prosthetic foot (ESPF) and again in the prescribed PPF after two weeks of acclimation. Motion data were collected via a 10-camera system with a 53-marker and 15-segment body model. Center of mass (CoM) motion within the frontal plane was analyzed and used as a functional indicator of dynamic balance control. Preliminary findings from the study indicate that TTA that are less able to maintain dynamic balance control may benefit from the PPF in restricting their M-L CoM motion. However, robust walkers who demonstrate balance control with the ESPF may be adversely affected by the PPF.
Open Access
An Analysis of Eureka Math Curriculum for Common Core Alignment and Development of Conceptual Understanding
(University of Oregon, 2016-06) Whitehurst, Nicole
Math Education has been a major topic of debate within the education sphere for years now, especially since the introduction of the Common Core State Standards. These standards have been met with mixed reviews. This research begins by analyzing the standards concerning fractions in third, fourth, and fifth grade and determining how it fits with the four domains of mathematical understanding these. It then goes on to an in-depth look at Eureka Math curriculum concerning fractions looking at both its alignment to the Common Core State Standards and its contribution to developing conceptual understanding, one of the four domains of mathematical understanding. Eureka Math was chosen, because it is a free curriculum available for download online, which makes it a lucrative resource for teachers.
Open Access
An Analysis of Judicial Socialization through Network Theory
(University of Oregon, 2016-06) Wolfard, Rachel Gimre
There are two emerging theories that model the exercise of political power in the field of political science. The application of each stand in complete opposition to one another, which signifies that only one of the two models may be applied in a single study. The disciplinary model of power is a more appropriate political power theory than the dimensional model to locate and evaluate the exercise of power within the United States legal system, assuming the judiciary intends to fulfill its Constitutionally prescribed role to interpret and declare the law without corruption. The disciplinary model of power is adapted in this thesis to focus on the exercise of power between individuals throughout the judicial network and how that exercise of power can yield a large-scale socialization effect This analysis is perfonned though the application of network theory in order to investigate how the structure of the judicial system pennits the exercise of disciplinary power. The exercise of disciplinary power within the judicial network leads to the interpretation and declaration of law. This jurispmdence influences how citizens internalize the information that dictates subconscious decisionmaking and action, which can be defined as socialization.
Open Access
An Analysis of the Parallel Frames in the Media Used to Describe Communism in the Early Cold War and Terrorism in the Post-9/11 Era
(University of Oregon, 2015-06) Carter, Savannah
A persistent rhetorical pattern dominates both the early years of the Cold War and the years immediately following the 9/11 attacks leading up to the Iraq War Specifically, this pattern portrays the threat of Communism and the threat of Terrorism to the United States using dualistic terms of good and evil. This thesis examines the origins of this rhetoric, which can be found in Presidential speeches of each era, and its subsequent adoption by various media outlets. The result of this deep-rooted rhetoric is failure in the marketplace of ideas. This failure is not simply a result of one administration or institution, but rather the mutual reliance of the media and elites on one another for success within a marketplace that values financial and personal prosperity above all else. In conclusion, within the current economic and political systems, the media and elites will continue to benefit one another at the expense of a healthy, democratic marketplace of ideas.

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