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Architectural Stewardship: Exploring Interpretation Architecture Through The Lens Of The Visitor, Graham A. Oden

University Honors Theses

This undergraduate thesis investigates the experiential impact of interpretation architecture in the natural setting, specifically through the lens of its users. The need for this study arose when visitors were not approached or included to be part of the design process or studies in the renovation of Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve's Visitor Center. The only visitor related information used by the contracted firm was ten year old demographic and quantitative studies provided by the NPS. This gap of knowledge was then addressed by the proactive engagement of visitors in a design workshop ranger program at the park. …

Medicaid Patients' Use Of Dental Benefits, Merit Roshdy

University Honors Theses

Oregon Health Plan patients experienced reduction to their dental coverage in 2003. This study explores Medicaid patients’ use of those dental services that are still offered to them and the effect of their use on self-assessment of their oral health. A phone survey was conducted in 2017 and collected a sample of 293 Medicaid patients in Oregon. Only two thirds of participants reported that they have a regular dentist. Participants were more likely to rate their overall health as Excellent/Good when also rating their gum health as Excellent/Good. Low English Proficiency (LEP) patients were NOT less likely to visit their …

Mathematical Modeling Of Vaccinations: Modified Sir Model, Vaccination Effects, And Herd Immunity, Tina Huyen Luong

University Honors Theses

Despite the clear effects and benefits of vaccinations on a population, there are many individuals that choose to not vaccinate for non-medical reasons, giving rise to anti-vaccination movements and vaccine hesitancy. This paper introduces the different types of vaccines and the effects of vaccines in the body and provides an examination of a case study of the 2019 Pacific Northwest measles outbreak. The outbreak is modeled using a proposed modified SIR model and solved using the Fourth-Order Runge-Kutta method. The results suggest that around day 20, almost the entire population becomes infected with the vaccine-resistant strain, which outcompetes the wild-type …

The Liberal And The Limits Of Discourse In Waiting For The Barbarians, Matt W. Cardoza

University Honors Theses

Although it has remained a prominent work of literature since its 1980 publication, there has been a considerable resurgence of academic interest in J. M. Coetzee's Waiting for the Barbarians in the wake of 9/11, particularly as the novel's attention to torture, imperialist violence, and the ideological construction of civilization/bararism oppositions became increasingly relevant to the escalating "war on terror." A great deal of that scholarship has taken the form of poststructuralist analyses of the discursive production of barbarian "others" as legitimate targets of violence and domination by the empire within the novel. This paper is largely a critique of …

Designing Katana : Unsheathing The Potential Of Gameplay For Constructing Cultural Memory, Tracy Alan

University Honors Theses

Players take the role of an ambitious samurai in Katana, a tu­rn-based card game designed to evoke the cultural memory of early modern Japanese warriors. Going beyond token use of history as mere fantasy setting, the game synthesizes historical research, communication design methodologies, and interactive design frameworks to create a compelling experience. The design of Katana is influenced by Jason Begy's concept of cultural memory as a broad interdisciplinary approach to formulations of historical content that intentionally go beyond traditional scholarly modalities such as the publication of monographs and journal articles, archaeological surveys, and lectures. The multivalent interactivity of …

The Conservation And Commodification Of American Ginseng, Mikaela Vaneaton

University Honors Theses

American Ginseng, Panax quinquefolius, is a plant endemic to Eastern North America. It has an almost three century long history of being exported from North America both as a plant harvested from the wild and cultivated on farms. During this time, the plant has been identified as being at risk for becoming endangered by organizations such as CITES (the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species) and various policies have been set in place to track trade and control ginseng harvest. Many scholars currently studying the ecology and conservation of American ginseng use a tragedy of the commons framework established …

Ecodistricts: Models For Sustainable Urban Development At The Neighborhood Scale, Jocelyn Reynolds

University Honors Theses

This thesis examines sustainable neighborhood design concepts called ecodistricts in the Pacific Northwest via a comparison of two case studies in order to determine patterns and best practices that have emerged over the past decade in the field of sustainable urban development. Through a practice-based research methodology, combined with a discourse analysis, The Village (LEED for Neighborhood Development) in Vancouver BC and Capitol Hill EcoDistrict in Seattle will be evaluated within the context of a growing regional focus on environmental design and urban sustainability. Both ecodistricts are regarded as key precedents of sustainable neighborhood models, but they differ in initial …

Qualities Of Impactful Cyber Security Awareness Training, Fadi Labib

University Honors Theses

Social Engineering (SE) attacks are the most prevalent attacks targeting multiple industries, companies, and organizations. This research discusses the reasons for the prevalence of SE attacks and the weaknesses of the defense methods against it—Information Security Awareness Trainings (ISAT). Through an extensive literature review of the methods, experiments, and ideas of the past 20 years, the research compiles best practices for an effective ISAT program that is capable of changing employee behaviors and strengthening companies' security posture through its human element. The literature review is divided into two main sections. The first section is about the components that should be …

Idioms In Chinese Efl Contexts: A Review Of 2004-2018, William Shanahan

University Honors Theses

This paper reviews the discourse of 21 contemporary papers that focus on idioms in Chinese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. Key topics are identified: comprehension and retention, motivating factors, familiarity, and student perceptions. Common factors between the papers in each topic are analyzed, and some gaps in the literature identified. This paper further finds which common factors between papers are also common between multiple key topics. It seeks primarily to answer a single research question:

• Where is the friction in the discourse between the East and the West, and how does it impact idiom EFL education in Chinese …

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Wayless: A Capability-Based Microkernel, Waylon Cude

University Honors Theses

Microkernels are a family of operating system kernels characterized by their small codebase. Due to their small size microkernels provide extra security and reliability as compared to larger, monolithic kernels. When combined with a capability-based architecture these benefits are enhanced, allowing for even greater security through the principle of least privilege. The seL4 microkernel, written in C and formally verified, takes advantage of this capability-based architecture.

Formal verification is an incredibly powerful tool--however, its cost is significant. Rust is a strongly-typed systems programming language that provides numerous safety advantages over C and C++, completely eliminating large classes of bugs. This …

Measuring The Geometric Accuracy Of Cnc End Mill Manufacturing Process, Daniel M. Small

University Honors Theses

This paper presents a method and analysis for determining the geometric accuracy of CNC milling machines. The method measures the accuracy of five basic geometric values: straightness, circularity, size, angularity, and position. Tolerance prediction models are found using statistical analysis. The tolerance prediction models are used to find more complex tolerance values. The results of the paper will allow manufactures to measure the actual tolerance capabilities of their machines and no longer rely on guess work. The method and analysis can also be applied to other machining processes.

A Lot Of Admiration And A Little Bit Of Worship: Parasocial Relationships And Young Women, Raz Mostaghimi

University Honors Theses

This research examines young women’s experiences with parasocial relationships (PSR) and how they use media in relation to their PSRs. I intended to determine if young women experienced romantic (PSRR) and platonic PSR in different ways with different goals, if PSR/PSRR impacted young women’s beliefs and behaviors, how PSR used social media in relation to their PSR, and if nonfictional and fictional media figures resulted in different goals for the PSR. I recruited Portland State University students who were women between the ages of 18 and 30 for a focus group and follow-up interviews on the subject of their PSRs. …

Is It Possible To Change Someone's Mind Online? A Graphic Design Thesis, Laurel Benson

University Honors Theses

This paper explores whether or not it is possible to change someone's mind on the internet. Using an examination of traditional argument resolution techniques as a foundation, this paper builds upon that foundation and questions whether or not such techniques are appropriate on the internet. A mixture of primary and secondary research led to a surprising conclusion. It is in fact possible to change someone's mind on the internet, but to do so often involves techniques that are diametrically opposed to the traditional argument resolution techniques that were examined in the first part of the paper. This paper proposes that …

The Relationship Between Attachment Style And Hyperperceptions, Nolan E.G. Welch

University Honors Theses

Three different attachment styles from previous research were examined in a closer context to see if they were predictive of hyperperceptions in romantic relationships while using social networking sites (SNS). The hyperperception model, a new communication concept, focuses on the over-attribution of others' relationships based on brief observations through SNS usage. Undergraduate communication students recruited from the Pacific North West and another university in the Midwest, with an active Facebook account, were sampled for this research. Participants responded to survey questions designed to test if hyperperceptions occurred in their romantic relationship from observations they made on SNSs. The participants' partners …

The Relationship Between Teachers' Perceptions Of A Lack Of Parent/Family Support And Teachers' Self-Efficacy, Carson S. Mcnamara

University Honors Theses

Teachers' self-efficacy is shown to be affected by many different factors, including students, parents/families, and schools. Teachers' perception of a lack of parent/family support may be related to their reports of self-efficacy, that is, their perceived ability to successfully teach their students. This study uses data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 to investigate the relationship between math teachers' perceived lack of parent/family support and their teaching self-efficacy. This study controlled for teachers' educational attainment, sex, and race to improve the estimates of this relationship. Results show that there is negative relationship between teachers' perceptions of a lack …

Colocha: A Memoir, Julieta Castro

University Honors Theses

Both historically and currently, societies across the globe are inequitably structured and stratified based on gender, race, sex, ethnicity, nationality, ability, and many other social or physical markers of ‘difference’. And yet, despite the enduring presence of unbalanced power dynamics in human culture, there have always been voices resisting that control. From early cultures to modern cultures, storytelling continues to be a site for self awareness, critical analysis, self understanding, self preservation, and even healing. For my research, I am interested in exploring how critical self reflective writing can serve as a language and tool that works to resist the …

Mexico's Newest Threat: Cártel De Jalisco Nueva Generación (Cjng), Maria Teresa Olivares

University Honors Theses

Lessons from history in the Mexican Drug War demonstrate that the kingpin strategy, a model developed by the Colombian government in the 1980s, has led to failure for Mexico in its drug war. Because of the significant reduction in violent crime in Colombia, many policymakers have pointed to Colombia’s case as an example for Mexico. This idea, however, is concerning because the contexts in both countries differ. Therefore, the kingpin strategy should not be implemented to capture or kill the leader of the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Nemesio Oseguera Ramos, alias "El Mencho," because the differences in the …

Reference-Dependence Performance: Managing And Meeting Expectations, Jose A. Rojas-Fallas

University Honors Theses

Reference-dependence has been a topic of interest in recent history for the field of economics. It’s implications that utility is not solely based on outcomes, but rather how outcomes are interpreted from a previously set expectation has the potential to effect many aspects of incentive structures. In this research, subjects complete a real effort task in which they are provided with information that creates shocks in their expectations. These shocks make the individual readjust to the new information, impacting performance in the real-effort task. We conclude that reference-dependence performance is impacted by adjusting reference points that may have a positive …

Our Lips Are Sealed: A Social Constructionist Approach To Understanding Menstrual Concealment At Menarche, Olivia S. Agrusa

University Honors Theses

At menarche, menstruators receive messages from various sources that urge them to conceal evidence of their menstruation. Concealment refers to the notion that menstruation is to be hidden, especially from men. This belief is often exploited and/or expressed in interactions between menstruators, mothers, and peers, in advertisements, educational materials, day-to-day conversation, and personal disciplinary actions. Themes of concealment are analyzed within a social constructionist framework to understand how narratives develop over time to guide human behavior and maintain social order. This paper argues that the menstrual concealment taboo is a social construction that has been institutionalized into the fabric of …

The Use Of Aromatherapy For The Treatment Of Post-Operative Nausea Vomiting, Mikayla J. Whitley

University Honors Theses

Post-operative nausea vomiting (PONV) is one of the most common complications after surgery and a significant cause of dissatisfaction among post-operative patients. Traditional first line treatment of PONV with antiemetic medications can cause severe side effects and can have compounding interactions with other medications. Aromatherapy has been increasing in popularity for the treatment of PONV due to its safety, absence of drug interaction and side effects, and rapid onset due to ease of administration and patient driven treatment. This study looks at a trial of QueaseEASE, an aromatherapy product for PONV, at a hospital in the Pacific Northwest. Overall initial …

A Systems View Of Cardiovascular Disease, Madisen Cotter

University Honors Theses

The significant proportion of the morbidity and mortality caused by cardiovascular disease is preventable, yet it remains one of the leading causes of death among both men and women, indicating the complexity of cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is a multifaceted and persistent problem that calls for using another lens – a systems lens. A systems approach may be a useful tool to understand the structure of relationships that characterize and make cardiovascular disease so persistent and resistant to change. Therefore, the objectives of this paper were to (1) model the network of relationships that produce the epidemic of cardiovascular disease …

Equitable Academia For Students With Disabilities, Mia Cremer

University Honors Theses

Higher education has been historically ableist based on the exclusivity of academia. This qualitative study describes how the identity of students with disabilities changes through academia. The study included semi-structured interviews with four students with disabilities who are registered with the Disability Resource Center at PSU University. Narrative inquiry revealed how the students’ experience in academia revealed the infrastructure, ableism, accessibility, and classroom climate. The social model of disability provided the theoretical framework throughout the study. The social model of disability identifies how the environmental, social factors, and attitudes towards a person with an impairment prevents them from achieving equity. …

An Evaluation Of The Established Relationship Between Federal And Local Law Enforcement Agencies Post-9/11, Samantha Schultz

University Honors Theses

When regarding security prioritizations and intelligence gathering, 9/11 disrupted the organization of the Department of Justice and how we as a nation interpret and combat both foreign and domestic threats. This is not a question on the content of 9/11, what the day’s timeline was, the logistics of the attack itself, but instead an examination of how the mechanics of federal law and policy have reacted after a massive breach in national security. Not only did the federal government institute significant changes to its law enforcement tactics but this additionally included local law enforcement. It has been over seventeen years …

Species Diversity In The Hypertragulid (Mammalia: Artiodactyla) Population Of The John Day Basin, Oregon, Lana K. Jewell

University Honors Theses

Members of the family Hypertragulidae (order Artiodactyla, class Mammalia) are the most abundant mammals in the Turtle Cove Member (Oligocene) of the John Day Formation of central and eastern Oregon and make up about 40% of the preserved specimens of the John Day Basin. Three species and two separate genera are described in the area, but any preexisting research lacks statistical support for this level of variation. Species designation among extinct artiodactyls is predominantly based on morphological and morphometric examination of dentition, but studies conducted with extant artiodactyls have revealed that this may not be a reliable diagnostic technique. Other …

Exploring Small Business Management In Mexico And The United States Using Hofstede's Dimensions, Elizabeth R. Thom

University Honors Theses

This thesis paper will consider cultural differences that lead to different processes to achieve workplace effectiveness using the Cultural Dimensions outlined by notable scholar, Geert Hofstede and use said findings to provide theoretical recommendations for a Capstone client. The literature review will highlight important themes that tend to occur in organizations of specific dimensions. In consideration of these themes, the author will highlight the best business practices for small businesses. For comparison purposes, they will specifically focus on the United States and Mexico, where Company X has expressed interest in ultimately opening a high-end retail storefront, using research surrounding Hofstede's …

The Ripples Of Vanport: Navigating Competing Narratives, Curtis J. Jewell

University Honors Theses

This thesis analyzes representations of the history of Vanport, Oregon, through the lens of narrative rhetoric. It examines two mainstream texts, one academic and one written for the general public, to establish a foundation for Vanport's dominant representation, before exploring how local nonprofit Vanport Mosaic works to revise that history through community voices. Histories of Vanport have largely focused on its success as a public housing project before the 1948 flood that destroyed the city. In these accounts, the experiences of the residents themselves, including the flood’s devastating effects on their community, were overlooked. This neglect inspired the oral history …

Explaining The Collapse Of The Industrial Workers Of The World Through Historiography, Kayla B. Gmyr

University Honors Theses

Growing out of the labor militancy and political radicalism of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the revolutionary union Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) grew to be one of the most radical working-class movements in American history, containing 150,000 members during its peak in 1917. However, by its Congress in 1924, the union nearly collapsed beneath the weight of state repression, vigilante killings, organizational weaknesses, and political divisions, after which it remained on the fringes of labor politics. Many authors of varying backgrounds and decades have sought to explain the decline of the IWW, emphasizing either repression, internal …

Translation Of Personal Narrative From Russian To English, Miles J. Strang

University Honors Theses

This work is an exercise in basic translation theory. The goal of the work is to explore how translators understand and interpret a text and how they modify it for their audience. The works chosen for this are two short personal narratives from the book The World at First Glance (2012) by Tat’yana Lazareva. These short personal narratives were written by two famous modern Russian personalities: Mikhail Shirvindt, a TV presenter and TV and film producer, and Leonid Parfyonov, a journalist and writer of many documentary TV shows. These are the first translations of these texts in to English. Each …

Language Planning And Policy In Education: The Case Of Senegal, Serena Khader

University Honors Theses

Discourse concerning globalisation, post- or neo-colonialism, and development are central to the proposed argument. The connection between globalisation, post- or neo-colonialism, and development in relation to and language and education policy is dissected in detail (Shin & Kubota, 2008). A number of historical and present actors have contributed to the formation of current language policy and, on a broader scale, the present system of education in Senegal (Faye, 2013). The lack of national languages of instruction in Senegal’s language and education policies are the result of both powerful actors, of social tensions and conflicts, and of technical issues concerning codifying …

The Life, Composing And Impact Of Kenny Wheeler, Quinn Walker

University Honors Theses

Since its birth in the beginning of the twentieth century, jazz music has had an immense impact on the world. As jazz began to grow, many sub-genres developed within jazz, incorporating elements of blues, funk, rock, free music, and complex harmony. As a jazz musician myself, something always fascinates me is the diversity within the genre. With the development of steaming platforms such as Spotify, it has never been easier to discover the immense amount of jazz that musicians have gifted to this world. The popularity of jazz music has been in steady decline since the 1960s. This has resulted …