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Say It With Flowers: The Semiotics Of A Not-So Secret Language
Get PDFThe Victorian flower language Is mythologized as a widely known communicatory practice Involving flowers with symbolic meanings and creative bouquet-making In order to convey personal and emotional messages. This Is not entirely accurate: floriography was a theoretical floral code based on the Turkish practice of selam, which the British and French upper class reinterpreted and edited to create their own version. This thesis examines how floriography functions semiotically, both as a mythologized language and as It was actually used, and traces the lineage of floral semiotics and greeting cards from Victorian Britain to contemporary America. I analyze floral semiotics, both as illustrations in greeting cards and as physical bouquets, utilizing semantico-referentialism, Piercian notions of Indexicality, Austinian performative uttterances, Jakobsonian poetics, notions of interiority, and affect theory as analytic frameworks
Relationship Between Trunk Cross-Sectional Area Growth and Water Stress in Garry Oaks (Q. garryana): A Species of Conservation Concern
Get PDFIn the Pacific Northwest, Quercus garryana (Garry oak trees) support over 627 native species. Garry oak natural habitat was originally maintained by indigenous practices but has been reduced to 5-10% of its range due to change in land management strategies. To support oak conservation, we need to understand heat and water affect the growth and physiology of this species. In this study, we created a fixed linear model of trunk cross-sectional growth with water stress (Ψ), photosynthetic water-use efficiency (δ13C), and leaf Carbon-Nitrogen ratio. We collected branch samples from the canopies of 47-64 mature Garry oaks in the Willamette Valley from 2019 to 2023 in the late summer. Samples were collected diurnally (max Ψ) or predawn (minimum Ψ). Ψ was assessed on healthy leaves from canopy samples and trunk diameter was measured sing DBH tape 1.5m above ground were assessed on-site. Samples were transported on ice to the laboratory where leaves were homogenized and assayed for δ13C and Leaf C:N ratio with spectrometry. A fixed effect linear model was used to model the relationship between trunk growth and explanatory variables. Greater δ13C predicted trunk growth. The high light exposure savannah habitat trees grew more than trees in other habitats. These results indicate that Garry oaks tolerate high levels of heat and sunlight exposure. Future conservation efforts should focus on minimizing other environmental stressors such as shade suppression to promote growth of Garry oaks to maintain indigenous habitats
Expressive and Instrumental Social Capital Facilitates Network Connections for Community College Transfer Students in STEM
Get PDFStudents that transfer from a community college (CC) to a university often experience social and academic barriers that can lead to feelings of isolation and challenge their persistence. One way to alleviate these barriers is to develop capital. We aimed to understand how a cohort of CC STEM transfer students may have developed and exhibited social capital, or “assets accessed through social connections”. We leveraged the Network Theory of Social Capital to examine the instrumental (i.e., concrete advice and support) and expressive (i.e., emotional support and encouragement) actions that led to feelings of connection and persistence. We conducted semi-structured interviews with students after the students completed a NSF-funded S-STEM program (n=11). Multiple researchers iteratively analyzed the interview transcripts to consensus, employing both inductive and deductive coding approaches. Preliminary results indicate that the Scholars had developed connections with both peers and faculty/staff post-transfer. Connections made with peers appear to be primarily facilitated through expressive social capital actions, while connections with faculty/staff are primarily facilitated through instrumental social capital actions. Understanding how STEM CC transfer students develop connections will allow us to provide evidence-based, directed support to these students, potentially alleviating feelings of isolation and supporting persistence
Deriving Analytical Design Constraints For Absolute & Relative Encoding Schemes In Functional Subnetworks
Get PDFAs neural networks have become prolific solutions to modern problems, there has been a congruent rise in the popularity of the numerical machine learning techniques used to design them. While they are highly generalizable, numerical methods tend to produce networks that act as inscrutable “black boxes,” making it difficult to interpret their behavior. One solution to the problem of network transparency is to use analytical techniques, but these methods are underdeveloped compared to their numerical alternatives. In order to enhance the viability of analytical techniques, this work extends previous efforts to quantify the impact that non-spiking neural encoding schemes have on the approximation quality of the arithmetic subnetworks of the functional subnetwork approach (FSA). In particular, novel design constraints are derived for arithmetic operations using two different encoding strategies: (1) an “absolute” scheme in which numerical values are represented directly by neuronal membrane voltages, and (2) a “relative” scheme wherein values are represented by the percent activation of these neurons instead. Numerical simulations indicate that both qualitative and quantitative advantages to the relative scheme, including increased approximation accuracy of ~5% for normal operational ranges, greater numerical conditioning, and the freedom to choose more biologically realistic subnetwork parameters. Each of these metrics is found to depend on the operation of interest and their associated gain parameters. Future work will extend the study of non-spiking neural encoding schemes beyond arithmetic operations to the more sophisticated calculus subnetworks of the FSA.
Keywords: Neural Encoding Schemes, Analytical Neural Network Design Techniques, Functional Subnetwork Approac
Estimating Combined Effects of Climate Change and Land Cover Change on Water Regulation Services of Urban Wetlands in Valdivia, Chile
Get PDFThe relationship between cities and wetland cover varies across the globe, with some cities converting wetlands to low‐ and high‐density urban cover and others preserving, conserving, or restoring wetlands, or constructing new ones. However, the scientific literature lacks studies relating changes in systemic flood risk in an urban stormwater management systems to changes in wetland cover. Furthermore, whether and how such relationships are affected by changing storm intensity under climate change is unknown. We present a case study on the effects of changes in urban wetland extent and storm intensity on flooding in an urban drainage system in Valdivia, Chile, under several co‐produced future scenarios and historical trends of development. We used data derived from stakeholder workshops and historical landcover to determine four plausible scenarios of urban development, plus one business‐as‐usual scenario, in Valdivia through the year 2080. Additionally, we used historical precipitation data and downscaled climate data to estimate event rainfall from extreme storms in the year 2080. We found that system flood volume and time the system was flooded increased with increasing wetland loss and rainfall volume. Mean rate and hour of peak discharge were unaffected by wetland loss. Infiltration\u27s relative role in reducing flooding diminished as wetland loss increased. Cities may still experience dangerous and/or unacceptable flooding even with extensive wetland coverage and will likely need to pair conservation with additional improvements in their stormwater management systems and contributing watersheds
The Odd Girth of Generalized Johnson Graphs
No full textIn this note, we consolidate and extend these results by deriving the general expression for the odd girth of any generalized Johnson graph
Matching the Scales of Planning and Environmental Risk: an Evaluation of Community Wildfire Protection Plans in the Western US
Get PDFTheory predicts that effective environmental governance requires that the scales of management account for the scales of environmental processes. A good example is community wildfire protection planning. Plan boundaries that are too narrowly defined may miss sources of wildfire risk originating at larger geographic scales whereas boundaries that are too broadly defined dilute resources. Although the concept of scale (mis)matches is widely discussed in literature on risk mitigation as well as environmental governance more generally, rarely has the concept been rigorously quantified. We introduce methods to address this limitation, and we apply our approach to assess scale matching among Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs) in the western US. Our approach compares two metrics: (1) the proportion of risk sources encompassed by planning jurisdictions (sensitivity) and (2) the proportion of area in planning jurisdictions in which risk can originate (precision). Using data from 852 CWPPs and a published library of 54 million simulated wildfires, we demonstrate a trade-off between sensitivity and precision. Our analysis reveals that spatial scale match—the product of sensitivity and precision—has an n-shaped relationship with jurisdiction size and is maximal at approximately 500 km2. Bayesian multilevel models further suggest that functional scale match—via neighboring, nested, and overlapping planning jurisdictions—may compensate for low sensitivity. This study provides a rare instance of a quantitative framework to measure scale match in environmental planning and has broad implications for risk mitigation as well as in other environmental governance settings
Seasonal Changes in Ecoroof Pants and Potential Effects on Runoff and Weed Establishment
No full textEcoroof plants remove an abundant amount of stormwater runoff from the combined sewer system in Portland Oregon. Reducing runoff is essential in urbanized cities considering how impervious surfaces promote flooding. While ecoroof research is plentiful on stormwater runoff, there is a limited number of studies that focus on comparing stormwater retention by ecoroof plants. This research aims to study plant growth and seasonal impact on water retention of two commonly used ecoroof plants Buffalograss (Bouteloua dactyloides) and White stonecrop (Sedum album). Part of this research evaluates weed growth as part of maintenance, which plays a crucial part in plant growth and providing benefits to its full extent. Seven tray structures are built: three planted with Buffalograss, three with White stonecrop, and one containing bare substrate. The trays are monitored to their full plant coverage including biomass, leaf area index, and weed count for a year starting in June 2023. These results are compared to stormwater data collected from tipping buckets by the environmental engineering department at Portland State University. This research aims to provide in-depth data on plant growth and its impact on stormwater runoff. Clients and ecoroof professionals may use this data to strengthen their understanding of two commonly used species and their probable interactions between weeds. Part of the Central City 2035 plan requires ecoroofs on newly built commercial buildings of 20,000 ft2. Our results aim to understand plant absorption of runoff and use it to our benefit in creating successful ecoroof systems
Transgender and Non-binary Health in Oregon Under a Single-Payer Health System
Get PDFAs the state with the highest percentage of population who identifies as LGBTQ+, Oregon has a duty to provide adequate health protections and services to its transgender and nonbinary (TGNB) residents, particularly given the disparities TGNB individuals face in housing, employment, education, and health. Following recommendations from the Oregon Joint Task Force on Universal Health Care, Oregon should implement a single-payer health care system, with particular attention to: Protecting patient privacy in EHR and other systems, particularly for youth TGNB patients; Expanding the covered gender-affirming services and removing barriers such as cost-sharing and prior authorization, and; Recruiting TGNB providers and incentivizing further training in gender-affirming care.
These changes must account for issues around lack of approved and advanced treatments for gender-affirming care, EHR health information sharing, and the lack of TGNB representation in the healthcare workforce. The cost-effectiveness combined with the improved outcomes from more comprehensive TGNB health will result in significant health cost savings. By partnering with EHR vendors, existing health systems and providers, medical and nursing schools, and the TGNB community, Oregon can become a national leader in TGNB health
Coastal Dune Plant Propagation
No full textCoastal dunes protect urban infrastructure and provide critical habitat for rare and endangered species. Coastal dunes are threatened by development, climate change, and invasive species. They require active restoration activities including seeding and planting to maintain the ecosystem services they provide. Propagation protocols are lacking for most coastal dune species, limiting their successful use in restoration projects. We propagated several coastal dune species native to the west coast of North America from seeds, cuttings, and divisions, in an urban greenhouse in Portland, Oregon using standard greenhouse and nursery techniques. We recorded propagation success and plant development through production in 48-cell plug liners and 4-inch pots to develop a timeline of plant production and photographed the process over time. The majority of plants tested were easily propagated using standard greenhouse and nursery techniques and were ready for planting within one growing season. Some species were not easily propagated and may require specialized cultivation techniques. Plants grown during this project were distributed to partners for use in restoration projects and photographs were provided to OregonFlora and are available for public view