Digital Commons Network^™

Information Literacy In Writing Tutor Training At A Liberal Arts College, Kelly Cannon, Jennifer Jarson

Communications in Information Literacy

Academic librarians have long understood the importance of, and argued for, the curricular integration of information literacy. The literature shows strong evidence of librarians collaborating with faculty, peer tutors, and other on-campus constituencies in an effort to facilitate discussion and acquisition of information literacy skills and concepts. The literature points to a likely collaboration, that of libraries and writing centers, in light of their corresponding missions and endeavors. This paper details how two academic librarians partnered with teaching faculty who oversee the campus writing center to infuse information literacy skills and concepts into the training of writing tutors. The authors …

Political Literacy As Information Literacy, Ross Cory Alexander

Communications in Information Literacy

This paper contends that political literacy and information literacy are compatible concepts that are inextricably linked and should therefore be taught and stressed simultaneously to students in the classroom. Improving the information literacy and political literacy skills of students will allow them to not only perform better academically, but also empower them to become better citizens who form opinions and make decisions based on appropriate and quality information.

Interview With Bruce Walker, Bps, 2009 (Audio), Bruce Walker

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Bruce Walker by Zachary Hathaway in NW Portland on November 20th, 2009.

The interview index is available for download.

Towards Robot Theatre, Marek Perkowski

Systems Science Friday Noon Seminar Series

The talk will present the idea of futuristic robot theatre and work done towards it at the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at PSU. After a short history of robot theatre from antiquity until 2008 we will present recent work on robot theatre in the world and at PSU, including two plays: ancient Korean folk tale "Hahoe Pylyshin" and "What's that? A Schroedinger Cat" or a debate between Einstein and Schroedinger Cat about quantum mechanics - an educational theatre. Several models of robot theatre will be discussed: animatronic theatre, interactive theatre and improvisational theatre. We will …

Metaphors In Conversational Context: Toward A Connectivity Theory Of Metaphor Interpretation, L. David Ritchie

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

The model proposed in this article merges the cognitive and social elements of metaphor use and interpretation in the cognitive representation of mutual cognitive environment (Sperber & Wilson, 1986/1995) or common ground (Clark, 1996). The proposed principle of metaphor interpretation is based on the interaction of both vehicle and topic with the common ground. Because common ground is inherently problematic, it is rarely accurate to discuss "the meaning of" a metaphor, as if metaphors must have a single well-specified meaning. Each metaphor is interpreted in the particular communicative context in which it is encountered, and individual interpretations will not necessarily …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet November 2009, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The November 2009 Monthly packet includes the November agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held October 2009

Raps Sheet, November 2009, Retirement Association Of Portland State

RAPS Sheet: Monthly Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Management Accounting And Control: Lessons For And From The World's Tiniest Businesses, Srikant M. Datar, Marc J. Epstein, Kristi Jane Yuthas

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

Microbusiness owners often lack the knowledge and skills--the human capital--necessary to make effective use of financial capital. They lack even the basic knowledge about how a loan is obtained and repaid and how debt can be used for business development.Most microfinance institutions have developed training that teaches clients about the timing and amount of repayment, the need for financial discipline to meet the repayment schedule, and the importance of investing the loan in working capital or productive assets rather than using it for household consumption. Although this training is essential for successful loan management from the institution's perspective, it often …

Relevance And Simulation In Metaphor, L. David Ritchie

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Recent writings have done much to develop and extend Relevance Theory as an account of metaphors and other "loose" language use. However, it is argued in this essay that Relevance Theory still leaves important gaps in its explanation and does not adequately address the "circularity" issue that has been raised. It is proposed that Perceptual Simulation Theory usefully extends Relevance Theory by providing a detailed cognitive mechanism for the "broadening" and "narrowing" specified by Relevance Theory. Extending Relevance Theory to include the cognitive mechanisms posited by Perceptual Simulation Theory also extends the reach of Relevance theory and enhances its ability …

How The Dark Horse Came In: Portland State University Library Acquires Dark Horse Comics Archive, Michael S. Bowman, Cristine Paschild, Kimberly Willson-St. Clair

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

The article reports on the acquisition made by the Portland State University (PSU) on the archives of Dark Horse Comics Inc. The acquisition is done after PSU alumnus and founder of Dark Horse Comics Mark Richardson donated multiple copies of the past issues of their publication and succeeding copies of the publication. The donation is also for the purpose of preserving the publication in the university library. The donated publication is also expected to be used by researchers as a destination resource in popular culture, gender studies, and sequential art. Donating copies to the library, Richardson also expects to create …

Achieving Sustainable, Compact Development In The Portland Metropolitan Area: New Tools And Approaches For Developing Centers And Corridors, Gil Kelley, Sheila A. Martin, Elizabeth Mylott

Institute of Metropolitan Studies Publications

This report represents the work of a group of local public, private and institutional experts in real estate development and finance convened by the Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies at Portland State University. This was done at the request of Metro, which wanted outside expert advice on ways to achieve more robust development of centers and corridors in the Portland metropolitan area, an important aspect of implementing the 2040 Growth Concept. Although the expert advisory group (EAG) enthusiastically took on this task, it wanted to first back up a step and deliberate over whether and to what extent center and …

A Model For Sustainable Humanitarian Engineering Projects, Evan A. Thomas, Bernard Amadei, Robyn Sandekian

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The engineering profession should embrace a new mission statement?to contribute to the building of a more sustainable, stable, and equitable world. Recently, engineering students and professionals in the United States have shown strong interest in directly addressing the needs of developing communities worldwide. That interest has taken the form of short-and medium-term international trips through Engineers Without Borders?USA and similar organizations. There are also several instances where this kind of outreach work has been integrated into engineering education at various US institutions such as the University of Colorado at Boulder. This paper addresses the challenges and opportunities associated with balancing …

Effects Of Sea-Surface Conditions On Passive Fathometry And Bottom Characterization, Steven L. Means, Martin Siderius

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Recently, a method has been developed that exploits the correlation properties of the ocean’s ambient noise to measure water depth (a passive fathometer) and seabed layering [M. Sideriuset al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am.120, 1315–1323 (2006)]. This processing is based on the cross-correlation between the surface noise and the echo return from the seabed. To quantitatively study the dependency between processing and environmental factors such as wind speed, measurements were made using a fixed hydrophone array while simultaneously characterizing the environment. The measurements were made in 2006 in the shallow waters (25m)approximately 75km off the coast of Savannah, GA. …

Water As A Complex System: Understanding The Dynamics In A Changing Environment, Heejun Chang

Systems Science Friday Noon Seminar Series

The water resources system is constantly evolving over space and time at a range of scales. Human-induced climate change and land development are probably two major driving forces of water resource system changes. However, the impacts of such changes are region specific, which depend on watershed characteristics such as topography and geology. Numerical simulation models are useful tools for understanding the system dynamics by allowing the multiple interactions of system components. I will introduce case studies of the Pacific Northwest that examine how changing climate and population growth affect regional water resources at multiple spatial and temporal scales and explain …

Harlot's House, Harlot Editors

Harlot: A Revealing Look at the Arts of Persuasion

From just a concept, Harlot has grown into a space with a character of its own, one that doesn't lie still but continues to move and change and take on the attributes of every new reader, every new creator, every new reviewer, and every new word, image, and sound. It's alive! And it's definitely making good on its reputation as the harlot of the arts. (It doesn't always obey us, either.) This is Harlot's house — we just play here.

Why The Duke Lacrosse Scandal Mattered — Three Perspectives [Reflections On The Duke Lacrosse Case -- Toward An Ethic Of Empathy], Heather Lee Branstetter

Harlot: A Revealing Look at the Arts of Persuasion

When a controversial event forces the contemporary American public to engage with important socio-political issues that intersect with constructions of race, gender, and class, the underlying social conditions too often remain unexamined. Our public discourse instead works to sensationalize and polarize discussion of such events; as an effect, participants in the discourse engage in rhetorical strategies that rely on the emotions of indignation, anger, and blame. This essay looks back to the discursive exchanges that arose in response to the Duke lacrosse scandal of 2006. I analyze three "representative" patterns of public response, while also interpreting the cultural conditions that …

The Irony Of Youtube: Politicking Cool, Jessie Blackburn

Harlot: A Revealing Look at the Arts of Persuasion

In an effort to understand how the internet was used to bring the youth voter to the polls on Election Day and why it is not being used to bring that same constituent into the healthcare reform debate, this article examines one of the most intriguing pieces of online political dialogue to circulate YouTube during the last few weeks of the presidential campaign. The widely circulated YouTube video known as "5 Friends" features high-profile celebrities ironically encouraging viewers to see the act of voting as a "trendy," even "hip" behavior. In this article, I refute the assumption that youth voters …

The Portland Spectator, October 2009, Portland State University. Student Publications Board

Portland Spectator

Editor: Joe Wirtheim

Articles in this issue include: Doing health care reform right; Socialized government death medicine; H1N1: think of it as a personal challenge; and Obama needs to bring it home

In Their Own Voices: Assessing Student Learning Through Analysis Of Reflective Writing, Patti Haack, Seanna Kerrigan, Vicki L. Reitenauer

Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

In order to assess students' experiences of their service-learning Capstone, researchers used a qualitative design to study 50 students' reflections from seven distinctly different Senior Capstone courses. In these reflections, students demonstrated integrative learning while deepening their understanding of communication, critical thinking, diversity, and social responsibility.

Effects Of Tide Gate Replacement On Water Temperature In A Freshwater Slough In The Columbia River Estuary, Sara Ennis

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

Dramatic declines in salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest have brought new attention to the importance of estuarine rearing habitats. Levees and tide gates used to convert estuarine wetlands into farmland have reduced available habitat by more than half of historical levels. Recent efforts to restore estuarine habitats include tide gate replacement, though this method has been poorly studied. As a key indicator of salmon habitat suitability, temperature was used to evaluate the effects of tide gate replacement in a tidally influenced freshwater slough in the Lower Columbia River estuary. Three tide gates in the largest slough on Tenasillahe Island …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet October 2009, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The October 2009 Monthly packet includes the October agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held June 2009

Effects Of Gaussian Fields On The Stability Of Inhomogeneously Broadened Lasers, Pitak Chenkosol, Lee W. Casperson

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Under some conditions, spontaneous coherent pulsations are known to occur in the output beams of inhomogeneously broadened laser oscillators. These lasers typically operate with a Gaussian transverse field distribution, while the corresponding theoretical models assume a uniform-plane-wave field. The effects of a Gaussian field on the stability criteria of single-mode inhomogeneously broadened ring laser oscillators are considered in this study. It is found that in comparison to a plane wave a Gaussian field variation still permits low-threshold spontaneous pulsations but reduces the parameter space over which these pulsations can be observed.

Using An Agility Scorecard, Greg Rosenberg

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

My research paper seeks to clarify when is it most advantageous to apply an Agile development method to the new service development process, and how to create a decision model to assist managers in selecting the correct method for each phase of the new product development life cycle.

Boeing Dreamliner:A Project Management Study, Fahad Aldhaban, Chris Mcginnis, Wendy Peterman, Noah Third, Tom Torres

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

The 787 Dreamliner aircraft project required not only the application and integration of new construction materials, it also required new project management techniques for Boeing. By outsourcing most of the aircraft fabrication, Boeing’s primary role changed from designer and manufacturer to system integrator. Hindsight shows that more preparation and planning was needed for this transition. This case study review of the Boeing Dreamliner examines the project management techniques actually employed during the initiation and execution phases of the project. Techniques evolved from the start of the project to what is used currently. Best practices and recommendations for how a large-scale …

How Does A Visual Monitoring System Foster Sustainable Behavior?, Melissa Haeffner, Federico Casalegno

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Americans spend upwards of 90% of each day in buildings that account for two-thirds of electricity usage. Because the supply of smart buildings will take time to catch up with demand, efforts are sought to develop informed and educated people to live and work in these “dumb” buildings. Additionally, energy efficiency alone may be inadequate to achieve major reduction in carbon emissions (Darby, 2006). Finding ways to intentionally change the lifestyle behavior in a household should have significant implications in reducing environmental impacts as fossil energy use in resident homes is directly related to the exploitation of natural resources and …

Pathos, Fall 2009, Portland State University. Student Publications Board

Pathos

Editors: Richard Hernandez

Issue 10

The Mutual Existence Of Nascent And Senescent World Orders, Burak Akcaper

Center for Turkish Studies Occasional Paper Series

In this essay I will address the issue of change in the international system which the scholars of International Relations have grappled with however inadequately. Accordingly, I will argue that this deficiency stems in no small part from the frequent mutual distance between scholars and practitioners of international affairs. I will, therefore, try to bridge this gap. Ultimately this essay will:

a) Suggest a model (mutual existence of nascent and senescent orders) equipped with a number of hypotheses (laws) of systemic change in the international ―order;

b) Provide a baseline for bringing scholarly and practitioners‘ perspectives closer together, including by …

Lipid-Protein Interactions Probed By Electron Crystallography, Steve L. Reichow, Tamir Gonen

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Electron crystallography is arguably the only electron cryomicroscopy (cryoEM) technique able to deliver an atomic-resolution structure of membrane proteins embedded in the lipid-bilayer. In the electron crystallographic structures of the light driven ion pump, bacteriorhodopsin, and the water channel, aquaporin-0, sufficiently high resolution was obtained and both lipid and protein were visualized, modeled and described in detail. An extensive network of lipid-protein interactions mimicking native membranes is established and maintained in two-dimensional (2D) crystalline vesicles used for structural analysis by electron crystallography. Lipids are tightly integrated into the protein's architecture where they can affect the function, structure, quaternary assembly and …

Technical Research Needs For Sustainable Buildings: Results From A Multidisciplinary Nsf Workshop, Leidy Klotz, Vivien Loftness, Gregor Henze, David J. Sailor, David Riley

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article describes research needs for sustainable buildings as defined in a July 2009 National Science Foundation-sponsored workshop. This workshop brought together building researchers with researchers in the areas of distributed renewable energy and multifunctional materials to engage their expertise and identify overlapping research needs and opportunities. An overview of sustainable building design provided the broad context for discussion. This overview was followed by focused presentations in building control systems, advanced building envelopes, and systems and process integration. In addition, presentations on distributed renewable energy and multi-functional materials supported the participants in outlining and generating research needs that connect the …

Tracking Rhythmicity In Biomedical Signals Using Sequential Monte Carlo Methods, Sungan Kim

Dissertations and Theses

Cyclical patterns are common in signals that originate from natural systems such as the human body and man-made machinery. Often these cyclical patterns are not perfectly periodic. In that case, the signals are called pseudo-periodic or quasi-periodic and can be modeled as a sum of time-varying sinusoids, whose frequencies, phases, and amplitudes change slowly over time. Each time-varying sinusoid represents an individual rhythmical component, called a partial, that can be characterized by three parameters: frequency, phase, and amplitude. Quasi-periodic signals often contain multiple partials that are harmonically related. In that case, the frequencies of other partials become exact integer multiples …