For a Better Earth

For a Better Earth is a multimedia project about organizations and people in Oregon who are making changes and practicing a way of life that betters the Earth. The first film looks at Wingspan Farm in McMinnville and its efforts to plant thousands of trees on its land to rebuild a forest. The other highlights Kindness Farm in Portland --- an immigrant, LGBTQ+ and refugee-led farm that focuses on educating others about regenerative agriculture

An Economic Analysis on the Base Salaries of NCAA Division I Football Head Coaches

The goal of this research is to develop a working model that successfully describes current base pay of NCAA Division I College Football head coaches and can be used to predict the base salary of future head coaches. The compensation for head football coaches across the NCAA’s Division I programs was determined using data collected following the 2024-25 season. Coaching compensation is regressed on variables capturing a coach’s personal characteristics, productivity, and institutional characteristics. The results yield four important explanatory variables. Two are coach specific: years on contract, and career win percentage. The remaining are institutional: NIL collectives, and the conference dummy variable. While previous studies regarding head coaching salaries have been conducted, there has been no estimate of a compensation function provided after the implementation of NIL Collectives, and somewhat recent restructuring of the various, competing conferences. Pending the results of this regression analysis, future research could continue for such studies towards subsequent divisions/levels of competition

Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 on Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes: Increased Incidence, Severity, and Contributing Factors

The COVID-19 pandemic has had dramatic, wide sweeping effects on global healthcare. In addition to the challenge of adapting care to an unfamiliar, rapidly spreading respiratory infection with unknown impacts on human health, healthcare officials and researchers noticed a worrisome uptick in both the incidence and severity of pediatric diabetes (Prosperi & Chiarelli, 2022). This review explores the relationship between COVID-19 and the significant increase in the rate and severity of pediatric type 1 diabetes during the pandemic, focusing on the impact of delayed treatment and the potential direct effects of the COVID-19 virus on pancreatic function and glucose homeostasis

Final Moments in Galway

Postcard from Annie Flood, during the Linfield University Semester Abroad at University of Galway in Ireland

99 Bottles Of Chicha On the Wall: A Stylistic Analysist Of Unprovenanced Andean Ceramics In a Small Academic Museum

This thesis presents an archaeological analysis of a ceramic collection in the Linfield Anthropology Museum containing vessels from the Moche and Chimu cultures of the north coast of Peru. A stylistic analysis was utilized to understand the artistic decisions made throughout the creation of each vessel. This collection, as with many Moche and Chimu collections, was most likely gathered through illegal looting practices. As a result, many archaeologists are hesitant to work with such collections as they lack necessary and informative data on site context. This thesis provides an example of how these types of collections may still be analyzed and understood through alternative methods, such as through an analysis of molding techniques and decorative styles. Determining whether these cultures had similarities in styles indicates cultural continuity through numerous outside pressures. As the political system slowly crumbled and various outside pressures imposed hardship onto the people, small differences in ceramic style formed. However, a closer look into the materials and technology available to artisans indicate that substantial similarities still existed as the Moche culture evolved into the Chimu culture. Finally, this analysis demonstrates that cultures do not disappear but instead adapt and change in response to outside pressures

McMinnville Fire Internship

In this presentation, I will talk about my experience during my internship with the McMinnville Fire Department. I will share the different types of emergency calls I went on, such as medical calls, fire alarms, and rescues. I will explain what I learned from these calls and how they helped me understand the fire service better. I will also talk about the values I saw in the firefighters, like teamwork, communication, and staying calm under pressure. As part of my internship, I worked on a project to create a mobility program to help firefighters stay strong and prevent injuries. I came up with this idea by watching how firefighters move during their shifts and doing research to learn more. This experience helped me grow both personally and professionally. It also showed me that I want to keep working in the fire and emergency services in the future

Analyzing the Effects of Copper Treated S. cerevisiae Using Fluorescent Techniques to Observe Mitochondrial Changes and Relative Effects on Lifespan

Abstract Aging is the progressive deterioration of an organism’s physiological functions and structure as a consequence accumulated cellular damage, leading to increased susceptibility to disease and death. Acting as a powerful, highly informative model eukaryotic organism, Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been integral in identifying the conserved molecular mechanisms of aging and in the mechanism of lifespan extension. Copper is an essential cofactor for two important enzymes in yeast and plays a key role in the cell’s response to oxidative stress. Current studies demonstrate that copper plays a critical role in yeast cell growth and mitochondrial activity. Treating yeast will low to moderate levels of copper can extend yeast lifespan, while high concentrations are toxic and can shorten lifespan. To further investigate the mechanism for lifespan extension, we have utilized fluorescent assays to quantitatively assess changes in mitochondrial activity and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cells grown in the presence or absence of copper

SNACK Program

The Student Nutrition and Activity Clinic for Kids (SNACK) program is a collaboration of health professionals, interns, and community partners working to improve the health and wellness of children and youth in Yamhill County. SNACK provides services to 6–18-year-olds and their families to facilitate lifestyle changes supporting healthy eating and active living. SNACK strives to support all aspects of a child’s health and wellbeing, including physical, mental, and social wellness

Impact of Family Presence During Hospital Rounds

Healthcare team members use multidisciplinary rounds to communicate, clarify, and plan details of the patient’s care. Family-centered rounds, or FCRs, are a type of rounding designed to actively involve family members in these discussions (Woldering et al. 2023). Woldering et al. (2023) propose that family members can participate in rounds by asking questions, providing insight on the patient’s experiences, and engaging in collaborative goal setting. This study shows that FCRs can reduce anxiety, increase family participation, and lower the length of hospitalization, showing benefits to both the patient and their families. Currently, healthcare systems lack an evidence-based, standardized system for how FCRs should be implemented (Davidson et al. 2017). This review will examine different models of family-centered rounding from the perspective of patients, families, and the care team and develop recommendations for how to implement FCRs effectively

Guided Imagery: The Effects on Perioperative Anxiety and Postoperative Pain and Sleep Quality

Anxiety is the emotional and physiological response to stimuli perceived as threatening and is a common feeling experienced by many individuals in the time surrounding surgical operations (Gonzales et al., 2010). Perioperative anxiety has the potential to elevate pain levels, increase the prevalence of postoperative complications, and increase the duration of stay in the recovery period (Celik & Edipoglu, 2018). Guided imagery is a nonpharmacological intervention that utilizes visualization tactics to achieve a state of relaxation, and is an effective method for improving mind-body healing processes (Topan et al., 2024). While guided imagery has been found to impact pain, stress, sleep, and anxiety positively, it remains a largely unimplemented intervention in the perioperative setting (Topan et al., 2024). The objective of this paper is to investigate the effects of guided imagery on perioperative anxiety and postoperative pain and sleep quality