Business Commons^™

Developing A Social Equity Action Plan: A Pathway Towards Achieving Water Equity In Oregon, Anis Zaman, Wade Hathhorn

Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs

The Sunrise Water Authority is a public utility serving the City of Happy Valley and surrounding areas of unincorporated Clackamas County. In general, the customers of Sunrise tend to be relatively affluent (by state and federal household income standards) and predominately white, and non-Hispanic by race and ethnicity. Notwithstanding, there are several vulnerable groups within the service population including low-income households, persons of color, children, seniors, immigrants, disabled, and others. Social equity looks to ensure fair and equitable access to public services for all. Following a framework established by the U.S. Water Alliance (known as the ‘3 Pillars’), a preliminary …

Fpdr And Portland: A Concerned Accountant's Perspective, Noah Roth

University Honors Theses

Established in 1942, the Fire and Police Disability and Retirement (FPDR) fund was intended to attract young men to serve as firefighters and police officers in the city of Portland. FPDR provides defined benefit retirement payments to some 2000 retirees from Portland Fire and Rescue and the Portland Police Bureau. Portlanders are obligated to pay these benefits through a property tax levy determined by the proprietors of the Fund itself. The overall liability owed to these retirees, and current employees, accounts for more than half of all liabilities owed by the city of Portland, representing a fiscal burden that calls …

The Factors Contributing To The Resilience Of Thailand's Social Welfare Nonprofit Organizations Since The Onset Of The Country's Prolonged Political Crisis In 2005, Narttana Sakolvittayanon

Dissertations and Theses

Since 2005, nonprofit organizations in Thailand, a transitive country, have experienced survival challenges due to social, economic, and political changes. This study aims to explore the organizational attributes of nonprofit organizations in Thailand that contribute to resilient capacity, which is an ability to survive and continue providing goods and services to fulfill missions when facing challenges. The research questions of this study are what factors have affected the resilience of social welfare nonprofit organizations in Thailand since the onset of the country’s prolonged political crisis in 2005? And to what extent do theories of nonprofit resilience in advanced liberal democracies …

Public History Is Now, Sarah E. Dougher

Amplify: A Journal of Writing-as-Activism

A walking tour of downtown Portland in August 2021 raises questions for the writer about the purpose of “memory activism,” its relation to writing-as-activism. Drawing on critiques of urbanist Jane Jacobs and interrogating the concept of “reckoning,” the essay explores ways in which the streetscape and people there can deliver meaning and pose questions about systemic racism and unsheltered existence.

Trailblazing Transformation: Pioneering Transformative Peacebuilding In Academic Labor Conflicts, Sam Frazier Hediger

Dissertations and Theses

Unionized contingent faculty in the United States face an increasingly difficult economic landscape in their labor-management conflicts with university administrations. These unions, comprised of graduate student employees and adjunct instructors, won significant victories for their members but have failed to shift the broader patterns of casualization, unsustainable compensation, and job precarity, stemming from the systemic debasement of higher education institutions and the American labor movement, both of which pose significant challenges to conventional conflict resolution strategies. To find a path forward, this thesis explores the nature and possibility of transforming of the academic labor conflict, using a transformative peacebuilding approach …

Portland Parks & Recreation: Funding And Financial Impact Analysis, Peter Hulseman, Katelyn Kelley, Hoang Nguyen, Emma Brophy, Northwest Economic Research Center

Northwest Economic Research Center Publications and Reports

For this report, the Northwest Economic Research Center (NERC) investigated six potential revenue generating measures, as requested by Portland Parks and Recreation (PP&R). This research includes an analysis of the revenue potential for each tax, the impacts of compression in property taxes, and an assessment of tax incidence.

Three of the funding options investigated are forms of property tax: a temporary local option tax, a permanent special district tax, and a general bond obligation. Using 2017 property tax data, NERC built a model that simulates these tax increases for each tax lot in Portland. The growth of Assessed Value (AV) …

B-Line Sustainable Urban Delivery: Can Last-Mile Bicycle Delivery Survive The E-Commerce Minefield?, Madeleine Pullman, Jacen Greene, Wanying Shi, Stephan Kaplan

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

As the population of cities in the western United States continues to boom, the demand for retail and wholesale food has followed suit. To deal with the accompanying increase in traffic and congestion from population and business growth, the city of Portland planned to increase bikeways and reduce the use of single-occupant vehicles to less than 30% of total commuters by 2026. Despite efforts to decrease dependence on vehicles, traffic congestion in Portland
continued to increase, and traditional vehicle delivery in the urban area became less and less efficient. As ride-sharing services and online retailers increased their presence in the …

A Study Of Sidewalk Autonomous Delivery Robots And Their Potential Impacts On Freight Efficiency And Travel, Dylan Jennings, Miguel A. Figliozzi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

E-Commerce and package deliveries are growing at a fast pace and there is an increased demand for same-day deliveries. Established delivery companies and new startups are investing in technologies that reduce delivery times and/or increase delivery drivers’ productivity. In this context, the adoption of Sidewalk Automated (or Autonomous) Delivery Robots (SADRs) has a growing appeal. SADRs are pedestrian sized robots that deliver items to customers without the intervention of a delivery person. Since SADRs travel on sidewalks they have been the subject of increasing regulation by local agencies in the US. The three research questions that guide this research effort …

Oregon Nonprofit Disaster Preparedness: Finding From The 2018 Survey, Grace L. Chikoto-Schultz, Andrew Russo, Paul Manson, Jim White

The Nonprofit Institute Research

This report summarizes results from a survey administered in spring 2018 to 501(c)(3) charitable benefit nonprofit organizations across Oregon. The survey was developed by Portland State University in collaboration with the City Club of Portland’s Earthquake Report Advocacy Committee (CCERAC) and the Nonprofit Association of Oregon (NAO), following Sutton & Tierney’s (2006) and Ritchie, Tierney, & Gilbert’s (2010) classification and previous survey. Based on the survey distribution process, primarily through NAO, PSU’s Nonprofit Institute, and other nonprofit and public agencies’ networks, these survey results are based on a convenience sample of nonprofits that responded to the survey. As such, the …

Future Of Transportation: Hyperloop, Aayushi Gupta, Anju Babu, Catalina Reyes, Lipishree Vrushabhendra, Alex Tacco Melendez

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Transportation has evolved through time witnessing an expansion of the different modes of transport. Due to the various technological and organizational breakthroughs and with the arrival of ‘information everywhere’ in this digital age, one could imagine the future of transportation to be massively networked, user centered, integrated and dynamically priced too. As complex and challenging this could be, it is essential for new models of private and public collaboration, coupled with technological innovation. Today, Hyperloop is a result of one such innovation and is referred to as the fifth mode of transport in the near future. Different companies are integrating …

Solarworld Amidst Uncertainty, Palak Goel, Roland Richards, Asawari Kulkarni, Nagarjun Hassan Ranganath, Majed Alshamlani

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Solar energy is turning out to be a widely accepted renewable energy alternative. It is considered as the cleanest and abundantly available source of energy. Adoption of this source for energy generation has been made possible by technological advancements. The United States has realized the potential of the solar energy but hasn’t been able to exploit the technology until recently. Since 2009, the US has seen a significant growth in consumption of solar energy. Efficiency of solar cells, tax credits, state policies, increasing public awareness on environmental pollution have resulted in increasing use of solar energy. Although a key reason …

Portland General Electric’S Adoption Of Distributed Energy Resources, Lennae Misiewicz, Jason Carver, Abdalilah Owaishiz, Stephen Macdonald

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

For over 100 years, people have been searching for ways to make the electric grid more efficient, resilient, and cost effective. Although there have been many improvements over the years, in the past two decades from; increased concern on climate change, innovation in advance technologies, and political will mounting to become energy independent, there has been a shift in how our grid stakeholders talk future grid improvements for the next 100 years. One of the causes behind this shift is due to greater saturation of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) on the grid. This disruptive technology creates many challenges to legacy …

What Is The Nature Of The Conflict Experienced By Japanese Workers In International Companies Based In Japan And What Type Of Conflict Management Do They Access?, Tomoko Shinohara Le

Dissertations and Theses

The aim of this thesis was to identify and analyze workplace conflict by enquiring into the nature of conflict, conflict management, and human resources (HR) strategies for conflict management in international companies based in Japan (ICBIJ). This study explores one part of a conflict system comprising cultural issues, HR strategies, conflict, and its effect on retention. The research question is "What is the nature of the conflict experienced by Japanese workers in international companies based in Japan and what type of conflict management do they access?" 16 Japanese workers were surveyed yielding qualitative and qualitative data. Findings indicate that workplace …

From Climbing Walls To A Culture Of Caring, Kirk Kelly, Brenna Miaira Kutch

Office of Information Technology Publications and Presentations

Ultimately, creating a culture of caring will make the difference between paying employees to work for the organization and having them get up in the morning wanting to work for the organization. Staff will be more engaged, more committed, and more productive, will encourage others, and will live longer lives. Caring can't be faked. While this article has mentioned many ways to focus on a culture of caring, caring is not a list of boxes to check off. It is never "finished." Training people to genuinely care is difficult to do, so organizational leaders must keep this attribute in mind, …

Portland Made Collective Survey Report 2015, Charles H. Heying, Stephen Marotta, Austin Cummings

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

“Portland Made is a self-sustaining collective of makers, artisans and manufacturers that advocates and supports its members by providing education and marketing, a shared resource hub, and a brand that promotes their products locally and globally.” The Portland Made Collective (PMC) is a project of ADX (Art Design) Portland, a makerspace owned and operated by Kelley Roy.

This report summarizes the results of a survey of the members of the Portland Made Collective conducted in the spring and summer of 2015. It is the second in a series of annual surveys of PMC members, the first being conducted in …

Friends Or Foes?: Examining Social Capital Of International Ngos And Food Security Programs, Mariah Ann Kraner

Dissertations and Theses

Food insecurity and chronic hunger are devastating global problems currently facing more than a billion people. There are many actors involved in the response to stomp out world hunger, including International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs). These INGOs, however, work in tumultuous environments with limited resources. This dissertation examines the INGOs involved in the food security dilemma (N=51) to investigate how they use resources to reach hungry populations.

It is hypothesized INGOs use a mix of material resources and social capital to enhance their organizational performance. However, little is known about the impact these resources have on reaching communities in need. Social …

How Disruptive Is Information Technology Really?, Judith A. Ramaley

Public Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

How disruptive is this technology revolution, and what does this expansion of the world of knowledge portend for higher education?

About the author: Judith A. Ramaley is President Emerita and Distinguished Professor of Public Service at Portland State University, President Emerita of Winona State University, and a Senior Scholar with the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). She also served as President of the University of Vermont and as Assistant Director, Education and Human Resources Directorate, at the National Science Foundation.

Replication School: Scaling Social Innovation Through Dissemination Training, Jacen Greene, Cindy Cooper, Carolyn Mcknight, Impact Entrepreneurs, School Of Business Administration, Institute For Sustainable Solutions

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper describes a training methodology to scale social innovation through dissemination undertaken in 2012 by Portland State University’s (PSU) Impact Entrepreneurs for the award-winning social enterprise Digital Divide Data (DDD). It begins with descriptions of some commonly used terms in the field — social innovation, social entrepreneurship, replication, and impact sourcing — and illustrates how each of these concepts was integrated into the development and delivery of a training program for replication of Digital Divide Data’s impact sourcing model. Program outcomes are reviewed, including findings that dissemination training is a viable, cost-effective method for replicating successful social innovations.

Gender And The Social Structure Of Collaboration, Kjersten Bunker Whittington

Systems Science Friday Noon Seminar Series

Previous research demonstrates that individuals’ network positions in their surrounding social structure of relations influence the extent of their output and performance. The unique situation of minority groups complicates the relationship, however, as issues of status, legitimacy, and marginality influence the flow and interpretation of information and resources. While several scholars have addressed differences in male and female networks in the workplace, the association between macro-level work arrangements and the micro-level interaction mechanisms of minority groups is unclear. Greater insight into stratification processes can be gained by studying how organizational forms affect the way men’s and women’s networks are structured …

Oregon Freight Data Mart, Miguel A. Figliozzi, Robert Bertini

TREC Final Reports

Increasing freight volumes are adding pressure to the Oregon transportation system. Monitoring the performance of the transportation system and freight movements is essential to guarantee the economic development of the region, the efficient allocation of resources, and the quality of life of all Oregonians. Freight data is expensive to collect and maintain. Confidentiality issues, the size of the datasets, and the complexity of freight movements are barriers that preclude the easy access and analysis of freight data. Data accessibility and integration is essential to ensure successful freight planning and consistency across regional partner agencies and planning organizations. In relation to …

Food Delivery Footprint: Addressing Transportation, Packaging, And Waste In The Food Supply Chain, Madeleine E. Pullman, Robin Fenske, Wayne Wakeland

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

Transportation of food accounts for a significant fraction of the carbon dioxide emissions believed to be adversely impacting climate and the environment. And this impact is increasing as food supply chains become longer and more complex, and food packaging requirements lead to increased waste. Many organizations such as hospitals and upper level education are becoming increasingly concerned about sustainability. In this study, college, university, and hospital food purchasing behavior were assessed using interviews, surveys, and modeling to evaluate the environmental implications of decisions regarding food transportation and packaging. Current purchasing practices, corresponding transportation modes, packaging, recycling, and waste removal were …

Vehicle Routing Problems In Congested Urban Areas, Miguel Figliozzi

Systems Science Friday Noon Seminar Series

This talk will discuss vehicle routing problems in congested urban areas. Modeling approaches, data collection issues, and solution algorithms to solve real-world problems will be described and analyzed.

Household Travel/Activity Decisions: Who Wants To Travel?, Catherine T. Lawson

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Researchers are using activity-based survey data to better understand the nature of the derived demand for travel. However, a strong theoretical construct for derived demand has yet to be developed. In order to understand the ramifications of considering travel as a derived demand, it is necessary to review some of the basic tenets of economics.

Some activities require travel (i.e. shopping or picking up children from daycare), while others are conducted entirely within the confines of the home. There is a set of activities that can be conducted either in or out of the home. A need to travel arises …

Systems Integration Analysis And Alternatives Identification For Facilities Planning Branch, Bpa: Task 1: Background Analysis And Data Gathering, Kenneth Dueker, Ric Vrana

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Portland State University has been engaged by the Facilities Planning Branch, Division of Engineering, Bonneville Power Administration, to collect background information, analyze current activities, and provide recommendations for greater Branch efficiencies, and the most timely service to its customers, based on current and projected resources and financial responsibilities. This information is to extend and compliment the efforts of an in-house systems integration team which initially addressed these issues. This study is intended to assist Branch management in its effort to identify Branch strengths and increase productivity.

The Facilities Planning Branch is one of three Branches in the Division of Facilities …

Evaluation Of Vertical Equity In Residential Property Assessments In The Lake Oswego And West Linn Areas, James G. Strathman, Dirce Toulan

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

This report presents a statistical evaluation of vertical equity in the pattern of residential property assessments in the Lake Oswego, West Linn and nearby unincorporated areas based on an application of the Paglin-Fogarty method to a sample of recent sales. A vertically regressive pattern of inequity in assessments, which is characterized by systemmatic under-assessment of higher-valued properties and overassessment of lower-valued properties, was found. Based on the entire sample, it was estimated that a typical $75,000 property was overassessed by about $4,700, and a typical $175,000 property was underassessed by $8,800.