Digital Commons Network^™

Antipsychotic Medication Administration In Oregon Assisted Living/Residential Care Settings: Analyzing An Action Situation, Sarah Dys

Dissertations and Theses

Antipsychotic medication use (APU) in assisted living and residential care (AL/RC) settings is an under-studied and controversial health policy issue. APU in older adults with dementia is associated with an increased risk of falls, hospitalizations, and early mortality. I operationalize the Institutional Analysis and Development Framework using a situational analysis approach, an extension of grounded theory methods, to explore the APU in Oregon AL/RC settings. Regulatory deficiency citations, Oregon AL/RC population data, and semi-structured interviews suggest that staff role clarity, organizational characteristics, and perceived agency influence decision-making around APU. AL/RC providers and caregivers are forced to simultaneously balance and prioritize …

Quantum Field Theories, Topological Materials, And Topological Quantum Computing, Muhammad Ilyas

Dissertations and Theses

A quantum computer can perform exponentially faster than its classical counterpart. It works on the principle of superposition. But due to the decoherence effect, the superposition of a quantum state gets destroyed by the interaction with the environment. It is a real challenge to completely isolate a quantum system to make it free of decoherence. This problem can be circumvented by the use of topological quantum phases of matter. These phases have quasiparticles excitations called anyons. The anyons are charge-flux composites and show exotic fractional statistics. When the order of exchange matters, then the anyons are called non-Abelian anyons. Majorana …

An Investigation Into The Relationship Between Obstetric Racism And Postpartum Depression In Black Women, Miguel A. Claxton Iii

University Honors Theses

Postpartum depression is the most common postpartum mood disorder, with 13% of new mothers reporting symptoms within the first year. Adverse birth outcomes, such as low birth weight and preterm birth co-index with the development of postpartum depression. This correlation is particularly alarming considering that Black women have about a 60% higher rate of preterm birth and an 88% higher rate of low birth weight infants than Caucasian women. By utilizing theories of stratified reproduction, necropolitics, and obstetric racism, this paper aims to situate postpartum depression in Black women as a psychological response to systems of medicolegal control and domination. …

Practice Research Methods In Social Work: Processes, Applications And Implications For Social Service Organisations, Bowen Mcbeath, Michael J. Austin, Sarah Carnochan, Emmeline Chuang

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Although social work research is commonly rooted within social service settings, it can be difficult for social work researchers and practitioners to develop and sustain participatory studies that specifically promote knowledge sharing and service improvement involving organisational practice. One participatory approach is practice research (PR), which involves social work researchers and practitioners collaborating to define, understand and try to improve the delivery of health and social care services and organisational structures and processes. The two goals of this commentary are to introduce essential methods and approaches to PR and to identify points of connection involving PR and social service organisational …

Collaborative Digital Problem-Solving: Power, Relationships, And Participation, Gloria E. Jacobs, Jill Castek

Applied Linguistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

The study examines the collaborative nature of problem solving as dyads and triads of adults were grouped to solve digital problems using online resources. Digital problem solving involves the nimble use of skills, strategies, and mindsets to navigate online in everyday contexts using novel resources, tools, and interfaces, in efficient and flexible ways, to accomplish personal and professional goals. Findings address the nature of collaborative talk during digital problem solving through three interrelated categories of themes gleaned from discourse analysis: (a) power, (b) relationships, and (c) participation. These themes offer a nuanced understanding of collaborative interactions during digital problem solving. …

Impacts Of Nontraditional Admissions Criteria On The Admittance And Retention Of Academically At-Risk Student Populations, Kristen Marie Winter

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study is to examine impacts of non-cognitive measures in the college admissions process on the retention of academically at-risk student populations. Increasing access to higher education is of benefit to individual and society as a whole. Traditional college admissions practices use standardized testing and GPA, which have been criticized for not being the best sole predictor for college preparedness. The use of non-cognitive measures may increase diversity and equity within the college admissions process.

This study considers students admitted to college through an extended admissions process who have completed short essays addressing non-cognitive measures. These students …

The Distributed Trust Model Applied To The Energy Grid Of Things, Narmada Sonali Fernando

Dissertations and Theses

Electric power system operators can manage distribution system utilization and usage by coordinating end customer usage of distributed energy resources. The end customers in this regard are Service Provisioning Customers, who provide their energy resources to a Grid Service Provider, which in turn dispatches large aggregations of distributed energy resources to provide reliable service to the power system. The security of this system relies upon information protection mechanisms, as described in IEEE 2030.5. However, in addition to preventive security measures, a monitoring function is required to ensure trustworthiness.

Trust models are a method to detect and respond to both expected …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet December 2021, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The December 6, 2021 Monthly packet includes the December agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held November 1, 2021.

Understanding The Effect Of Dietary Palmitic Acid On Glycolysis During Innate Immune Memory In Macrophages, Khaleda A. Aqaei

PSU McNair Scholars Online Journal

Trained immunity is long-term innate immune memory induced by a primary stimulus, which leads to hyper-inflammation upon secondary stimulation with a homologous or heterologous ligand. Trained immunity is mediated by epigenetic and metabolic reprogramming of the target cell and leads to modification of gene expression and cellular function. Classically, trained immunity is initiated by b-glucans, an inflammatory molecule found on the exterior of fungal species. Interestingly, our lab has recently described that dietary fatty acids can initiate trained immunity, working through similar pathways as b-glucans. Specifically, our data show that a pre-treatment with a specific dietary saturated fatty acid (SFA), …

When A Ban Is Not A Ban: Institutional Work And The Russian Doping Scandal, Mathew Dowling, Spencer Harris, Marvin Washington

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

There are fewer cases of such blatant acts to defy and subsequent heroic efforts to rearrange institutional norms than the Russian doping scandal. In adopting a neo-institutional perspective, the authors theorize the scandal as a case of attempted but failed institutional disruption. More specifically, the authors draw upon the institutional change literature and the institutional work perspective to explain the key events surrounding actors’ response to the scandal. The analysis utilized Gioia’s methodological approach to examine secondary empirical data. Findings reveal how stakeholders circumvented traditional governance structures in an attempt to disrupt institutional arrangements, but despite this, much of the …

The Game Of Life: How Playing Gamified Interactive Narratives Affects Career Planning In Cambodia, Lauren B. Frank, Paul Sparks, Sheila T. Murphy, Lizzie Goodfriend, Paul Falzone

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

To improve economic opportunity in Cambodia, we used social cognitive theory to develop gamified, interactive narratives using mobile phones. Participants guided their chosen character toward their “dream job” goal while encountering a series of barriers along the way. Participants (N = 1,625) were randomly assigned to one of four message frequency experimental conditions: a no-play control condition or playing the interactive narrative one, two, or five times. Compared with not playing the interactive narrative (control), those who played showed higher perceived self-efficacy, response efficacy, and behavioral intentions. Playing more times was associated with less attentional focus and enjoyment, but greater …

Exploring Teaching Librarians' Beliefs About Undergraduate Student Learning, Ashlynn Kogut

Communications in Information Literacy

Whether formally articulated or tacitly held, all librarians have beliefs about how undergraduate students learn. Framing learning beliefs as a component of a teaching philosophy, this study explored how librarians described how undergraduate students learned best. Thirteen librarians from three doctoral universities in Texas were interviewed. Teaching librarians in this study believed that students learn in different ways; that students need to interact with others, act, and reflect in order to learn; and that students learn when certain conditions are met. The learning beliefs identified align with learning theories and the science of learning, but the threshold concepts theory underlying …

A Pipeline For Enhanced Multimodal 2d Imaging Of Concrete Structures, Sina Mehdinia, Thomas Schumacher, Xubo Song, Eric A. Wan

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

We present an imaging pipeline to achieve enhanced images of the interior of concrete from ground penetrating radar (GPR) and ultrasonic echo array (UEA) measurements. This work lays the foundation for an advanced yet practical imaging tool to assess concrete structures. Specifically, we propose an enhanced two-dimensional (2D) total focusing method (XTFM) to reconstruct images from raw GPR and UEA data. The proposed XTFM algorithm integrates total focusing method (TFM) and synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT) concepts to post-process large independent and interelement measurements from both modalities in a computationally efficient way. Furthermore, we introduce a novel 2D image fusion …

Information Literacy For Global Inclusion: Designing An Annotated Bibliography For Global Search And Selection, Pamela A. Espinosa De Los Monteros, Elizabeth L. Black

Communications in Information Literacy

The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the notion that our world is global and interdependent. Despite the ever-increasing connection of global with local, there continues to be formidable barriers in accessing information produced in different international contexts and languages. This Innovative Practices article details the redesign of an annotated bibliography assignment in an international studies course to support the inclusion of global perspectives into the information practices of undergraduate students. The redesign embedded explicit information literacy dispositions and global citizenship education competencies through the search and selection of global information sources. The authors discuss the instructional elements used, student outcomes, and …

Remote Reference Consultations Are Here To Stay, Emily Reed

Communications in Information Literacy

Remote reference consultations have considerably increased due to the need to provide remote services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conducting reference consultations via videoconferencing not only offers many benefits to student researchers it also presents an opportunity for librarians to embrace a learner-centered teaching mindset when approaching remote consultations by developing consultation learning goals in alignment with the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. Designing consultations to be learner-centered yields benefits for students such as the student actively practicing their own searches as well as more thorough source evaluation. Additionally, videoconferencing technology allows for a more seamless information sharing …

A Perfect Meal, Stewart Brower

Communications in Information Literacy

No abstract provided.

Beam Me Up: Teaching Rhetorical Methods For Source Use And Synthesis, Ashley Roach-Freiman

Communications in Information Literacy

BEAM is a schema for categorizing the rhetorical positions of authors according to the author’s intention or purpose of the information. The author critiques common methods of teaching source evaluation and proposes that instruction librarians teach BEAM to students who may struggle using a source once they have located it. A lesson plan is included as supplemental materials.

Can A Large-Landscape Conservation Vision Contribute To Achieving Biodiversity Targets?, Mark Hebblewhite, Jodi A. Hilty, Sara Williams, Harvey Locke, Charles Chester, David Johns, Gregory Kehm, Wendy L. Francis

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Founded in 1993, the Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) vision was one of the earliest large-landscape conservation visions. Despite growing recognition of large-landscape conservation strategies, there have been few tests to date of conservation gains achieved through such approaches. We tested for conservation gains in the Y2Y region of North America following initiation of the Y2Y conservation vision in 1993 using a counterfactual spatiotemporal comparison and tracking change in five different conservation metrics. First, we enumerated the area of land within Y2Y in designated protected areas. We then compared the rate of change of protected area growth before- and after-initiation of …

Tactile Materials In Practice: Understanding The Experiences Of Teachers Of The Visually Impaired, Mahika Phutane, Julie Wright, Brenda Veronica Castro, Lei Shi, Simone R. Stern, Holly Lawson, Shiri Azenkot

Special Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Teachers of the visually impaired (TVIs) regularly present tactile materials (tactile graphics, 3D models, and real objects) to students with vision impairments. Researchers have been increasingly interested in designing tools to support the use of tactile materials, but we still lack an in-depth understanding of how tactile materials are created and used in practice today. To address this gap, we conducted interviews with 21 TVIs and a 3-week diary study with eight of them. We found that tactile materials were regularly used for academic as well as non-academic concepts like tactile literacy, motor ability, and spatial awareness. Real objects and …

‘I Still Desire To Have A Child’: A Qualitative Analysis Of Intersectional Hiv - And Childlessness-Related Stigma In Rural Southwestern Uganda, Madeline Pratt, Moran Owembabazi, Winnie Muyindike, Angela Kaida, Jeanne M. Marrazzo, David Bangsberg, Mwebesa B. Bwana, Christina Psaros, Janet Turan, Multiple Additional Authors

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study explored the intersecting forms of stigma experienced by HIV-sero different couples with unmet reproductive goals in rural Uganda. The parent mixed-methods study, which included 131 HIV-exposed women with plans for pregnancy, offered comprehensive HIV prevention counselling and care over a nine month period. In-depth interviews were conducted with 37 women and seven male partners to explore care experiences and the use of safer conception strategies. This secondary analysis explored how challenges conceiving informed pregnancy plans and HIV prevention behaviours. The following themes were developed (1) partnership conflicts arise from HIV- and infertility-related forms of stigma, contributing to gender-based …

An Investigation Of Anti-Black Racism Libguides At Arl Member Institutions, Gemmicka Piper, Mahasin Ameen, M. Sara Lowe

Communications in Information Literacy

This study sought to analyze anti-Black racism LibGuides created by ARL member institutions to determine strengths and weaknesses of the guides based on LibGuides best practices. Institutional and LibGuide author demographic information were also gathered to determine correlations or trends, if any. Rubric evaluation of LibGuides found that guides were strongest in areas related to guide design, materials included on the guides, and links to resources. Guides were weakest in areas related to the framing of social justice and pedagogy. Results from this study have the potential to inform the structure and revision of social justice LibGuides at a time …

Dual Multivector Model Predictive Control For The Power Converters Of A Floating Owc Wec, Marcos Blanco, Dionisio Ramirez, Mohammad Ebrahim Zarei, Mahima Gupta

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Oscillating Water Column (OWC) is one of the most well-known wave energy converter (WEC). Typically, OWCs are installed in rocky shores or in custom-built breakwaters. However, since the wave profile is more favorable in an open sea, it can also be installed in a point absorber in order to increase the energy extraction.

This paper presents the development of a new dual Multivector Model Predictive Control (MMPC) for the power converters of a floating OWC WEC. The fast dynamic response featured by the proposed MMPC has proven to be very suitable to deal with the highly variable torque and velocity …

Reflections On Teaching Against White Supremacy During A Time Of Social Rupture And Transformation, Erica Fonesca, Stéphanie Wahab

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Social Justice and Social Work is a foundational course required for all social work students in the master’s of social work program at Portland State University. Although the course has long focused on interrupting oppressions including White supremacy, teaching the course during the fall of 2020 required a nimble dance between our familiar modes of teaching and the need for spontaneous adaptation and creativity. The unique landscape for this course included teaching the course remotely (Zoom), inside a university embattled around the arming of its security force (that killed a Black man in 2018), in a city targeted by an …

Community College Geoscience Faculty Perspectives On Critical Thinking Instructional Tools, Mariela Salas Bao

Dissertations and Theses

Research has shown that modern courses and programs designed to foster critical thinking vary in both content and delivery, in turn leading to differences in their effectiveness. Few studies have investigated critical thinking among nontraditional students at community colleges taking STEM courses, especially within the geosciences. Furthermore, such research has focused primarily on the students with few if any studies involving faculty. This study examined the perceptions held by community college geoscience faculty regarding critical thinking and how such perceptions influenced their choice of instructional strategies. This study used a basic qualitative methodology and a maximum variation sampling to select …

Bridging The Gap Between Clients And Public Defenders: Introducing A Structured Shadow Method To Examine Attorney Communication, Christopher M. Campbell, Kelsey S. Henderson

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications and Presentations

A growing body of scholarship argues that representing clients in an effective and quality manner should be a critical goal for public defenders, emphasizing the need to be client-centered. Beyond this call, recent research emphasizes that client-centered approaches hinge on good communication as it can contribute to a more effective attorney–client relationship. However, to identify and improve communication and client-centered relationships, major obstacles must be overcome which involve conceptualizing and operationalizing quality representation and communication. In this article, we introduce a two-phase, structured shadowing method as a way to overcome these obstacles. Phase I consists of a survey of public …

"It's Not By Accident": Examining Leadership Efforts To Disrupt Oregon's Segregated K-12 Education System, Michael Eric Salitore

Dissertations and Theses

The American education system systematically and persistently excludes students from the general education setting based on (dis)ability. Disproportionate segregation of students with Intellectual Disability (ID) is a form of prejudice that is acceptable today and allowable by current laws. Fully segregated education settings for students with ID are harmful to students with disabilities, to their neurotypical peers, and to civilized society as a whole. For many students with ID, ableist systems, deficit thinking, and special education rules allow for segregated placements to persist, impacting their pathway to accessing the general education curriculum.

Improving inclusive practices as a research-based practice for …

Mothers' Drinking Motives, Sheila Kathleen Umemoto

Dissertations and Theses

Increases in women's excessive alcohol use are leading to concerns about a developing public health problem since, for women, it takes fewer years and lower doses to develop a range of alcohol-induced health problems. Maternal status is generally considered protective against alcohol use; however, this effect is weakened by multiple social role strain, leading to higher stress and negative affect, and subsequent coping-related alcohol use. Given that the majority of mothers with young children are working or looking for work (72.3%; BLS, 2021), it is likely that the combination of competing demands and expectations associated with multiple roles of parent, …

Situate: An Agent-Based System For Situation Recognition, Max Henry Quinn

Dissertations and Theses

Computer vision and machine learning systems have improved significantly in recent years, largely based on the development of deep learning systems, leading to impressive performance on object detection tasks. Understanding the content of images is considerably more difficult. Even simple situations, such as "a handshake", "walking the dog", "a game of ping-pong", or "people waiting for a bus", present significant challenges. Each consists of common objects, but are not reliably detectable as a single entity nor through the simple co-occurrence of their parts.

In this dissertation, toward the goal of developing machine learning systems that demonstrate properties associated with understanding, …

A Resource For Understanding And Evaluating Outcomes Of Undergraduate Field Experiences, Erin E. Shortlidge, Alison Jolley, Stephanie Shaulskiy, Emily Geraghty Ward, Christopher N. Lorentz, Kari O'Connell

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Undergraduate field experiences (UFEs) are a prominent element of science education across many disciplines; however, empirical data regarding the outcomes are often limited. UFEs are unique in that they typically take place in a field setting, are often interdisciplinary, and include diverse students. UFEs range from courses, to field trips, to residential research experiences, and thereby have the potential to yield a plethora of outcomes for undergraduate participants. The UFE community has expressed interest in better understanding how to assess the outcomes of UFEs. In response, we developed a guide for practitioners to use when assessing their UFE that promotes …

Geometric Characterization Of Continuously Defective Elastic Crystals, Marek Z. Elźanowski

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We show how some differential geometric structures associated with a concept of a homogeneous space appear naturally in a kinematic model of continuously distributed defects in an elastic crystal solid and discuss how one can use them to describe the defectiveness of such a continuum.