Digital Commons Network^™

The Influence Of Cultural Backgrounds On The Interpretations Of Literature Texts Used In The Esl Classroom, Barbara Jostrom Gates

Dissertations and Theses

This study was a detailed descriptive investigation into the different interpretations and perceptions that are evoked by readers of United States literature, based on their cultural backgrounds and experience. Grounded in research that advocates for the convergence of culture and literature in the language classroom and a research design based on reader-response theory, this study explored the responses of two groups of students from the University of Portland: international students, the majority of whom were English as a Second Language (ESL), and U.S. citizens, all of whom were native speakers of American English.

Through a reader-response style questionnaire modeled after …

A Comparison Of The Child Directed Speech Of Traditional Dads With That Of Stay-At-Home Dads, Judith Nancarrow Barr

Dissertations and Theses

The speech that mothers use when addressing adults has consistently been shown to exhibit modifications when the conversation partner is their language-learning child. Fathers adopt similar changes in the structural linguistic aspects of their Child Directed Speech (CDS), but their patterns of discourse remain more of a challenge for the child. This contrast in parental language is thought to be beneficial to the language-learning child: a mother's language focuses on the child as a conversation partner, whilst a father's more demanding language is considered a "Bridge" between the mother's and that of adults in the outside world. With family roles …

Chinese Numeratives And The Mass/Count Distinction, David Goodman

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigates the mass/count distinction for lexical nouns, and how this is formalized morphosyntactically in language. English is one language in which a grammaticized mass/count distinction can be seen--though there are varying explanations regarding what this distinction actually signifies. Chinese, on the other hand, is a language which might appear to be missing a formalized mass/count distinction. However, I postulate that Mandarin Chinese does in fact have a syntactic-distributional diagnostic available for teasing apart mass nouns from count nouns.

The diagnostic that I propose for finding a mass/count distinction among lexical nouns in Mandarin lies in the distribution of …

The Long-Term Viability Of A Zero-Valent Iron Permeable Reactive Barrier, Stuart Cowburn

Dissertations and Theses

Zero-valent iron permeable reactive barriers (PRB's) hold significant potential as a tool for groundwater remediation. Uncertainties remain, however, as to the effective lifetime of Fe⁰ barrier technology under full-scale operational conditions. Potential limits on barrier lifetime include reductions in permeability due to clogging by precipitates and oxidation of all Fe⁰ prior to the exhaustion of the contaminant source.

A 46 m long, 0.6 m wide, and 7.3 m deep Fe⁰ PRB was installed at the US Coast Guard Support Center, Elizabeth City, NC, in June 1996. The barrier was designed to remediate groundwater principally contaminated with Cr(VI) …

Life And Evolution In Computers, Melanie Mitchell

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper argues for the possibility of 'artificial life' and computational evolution, first by discussing (via a highly simplified version) John von Neumann's self-reproducing automaton and then by presenting some recent work focusing on computational evolution, in which 'cellular automata', a form of parallel and decentralized computing system, are evolved via 'genetic algorithms'. It is argued that such in silico experiments can help to make sense of the question of whether we can eventually build computers that are intelligent and alive.

Meeting Notes 1999-12-09 [Part A] , Joint Policy Advisory Committee On Transportation

Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation

No abstract provided.

Meeting Notes 1999-12-09 [Part B] , Joint Policy Advisory Committee On Transportation

Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation

No abstract provided.

Counter Culture: The Social Construction Of Beauty In A Cosmetic Department, Jodie Kollanda Ruggiero

Dissertations and Theses

Traditional female places, such as a cosmetic department, and the communication that occurs in such contexts are rarely taken seriously, and often considered insignificant (Spitzack & Carter, 1987). This study, however, revealed the significance of a cosmetic department by answering the following questions: 1) How is beauty socially constructed in a cosmetic department? 2) What are the messages women receive about beauty in a cosmetic department? 3) How are messages of beauty communicated in a cosmetic department? and 4) What meanings do women make of their experiences in the cosmetic department?

Data were collected through participant observation in a cosmetic …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet December 1999, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The December 1999 Monthly packet includes the December agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held November 1999.

Service Reliability Impacts Of Computer-Aided Dispatching And Automatic Vehicle Location Technology: A Tri-Met Case Study, James G. Strathman, Kenneth Dueker, Thomas J. Kimpel, Rick Gerhart, Ken Turner, Pete Turner, Steve Callas, David Griffin

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

This paper presents findings on initial changes in service reliability following Tri-Met’s deployment of a new bus dispatching system using automatic vehicle location and automatic passenger counter technology. Changes in on-time performance, headway variation, run time variation, and run times were determined with respect to pre-deployment levels. Changes in headway variation and run times were also used to estimate the initial benefits of the new system with respect to operating costs, passenger waiting, and passenger travel time.

Work In Progress: Automating Proportion/Period Scheduling, David Steere, Jonathan Walpole, Calton Pu

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

The recent effort to define middleware capable of supporting real-time applications creates the opportunity to raise the level of abstraction presented to the programmer. We propose that proportion/period is a better abstraction for specifying resource needs and allocation than priorities. We are currently investigating techniques to address some issues that are restricting use of proportion/period scheduling to research real-time prototypes. In particular, we are investigating techniques to automate the task of selecting proportion and period, and that allow proportion/period to incorporate job importance under overload conditions.

Meeting Notes 1999-11-18 [Part D] , Joint Policy Advisory Committee On Transportation

Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation

No abstract provided.

Meeting Notes 1999-11-18 [Part C] , Joint Policy Advisory Committee On Transportation

Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation

No abstract provided.

Meeting Notes 1999-11-18 [Part B] , Joint Policy Advisory Committee On Transportation

Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation

No abstract provided.

Harrowing Heroines And Communist Plots: Krest'ianka And Rural Policy, 1946-1949, Rachael Preiss Susman

Dissertations and Theses

After World War II, women became very important to the Soviet plan to reassert control over the countryside and reestablish agriculture in those areas hard hit by war. This happened because long term migration trends to the city and wartime casualties had made women the majority in the countryside. There was a need for them to exceed their previous contributions to agriculture, even as they struggled to cope with wartime losses.

State propaganda encouraged rural women to regard employment in agriculture as their patriotic duty. This study analyzes one publication aimed at rural women, Krest'ianka, and examines the following …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet November 1999, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The November 1999 Monthly packet includes the November agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held October 1999.

Investigation Of Image Feature Extraction By A Genetic Algorithm, Steven P. Brumby, James P. Theiler, Simon J. Perkins, Neal R. Harvey, John J. Szymanski, Jeffrey J. Bloch, Melanie Mitchell

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

We describe the implementation and performance of a genetic algorithm which generates image feature extraction algorithms for remote sensing applications. We describe our basis set of primitive image operators and present our chromosomal representation of a complete algorithm. Our initial application has been geospatial feature extraction using publicly available multi-spectral aerial-photography data sets. We present the preliminary results of our analysis of the efficiency of the classic genetic operations of crossover and mutation for our application, and discuss our choice of evolutionary control parameters. We exhibit some of our evolved algorithms, and discuss possible avenues for future progress.

A New Numerical Model Of Coupled Inland Ice Sheet, Ice Stream, And Ice Shelf Flow And Its Application To The West Antarctic Ice Sheet, Christina L. Hulbe, D. R. Macayeal

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

We have developed a dynamic/thermodynamic finite element numerical model that couples inland ice sheet, ice stream, and ice shelf dynamics. This new model stands apart from other whole ice sheet models in its explicit treatment of ice stream flow. Additionally, the model accounts for both horizontal and vertical advection and diffusion of temperature in the flowing ice. In present day simulations of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), modeled ice velocity agrees well with observed ice flow. In particular, the model reproduces the pattern of speed variation across ice streams although the continuous downstream speed up of ice flow cannot …

Meeting Notes 1999-10-14 [Part A] , Joint Policy Advisory Committee On Transportation

Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation

No abstract provided.

Meeting Notes 1999-10-14 [Part B] , Joint Policy Advisory Committee On Transportation

Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation

No abstract provided.

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet October 1999, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The October 1999 Monthly packet includes the October agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held June 1999.

Focal Point, Volume 13 Number 01, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

Research and Training Center - Focal Point

This issue of Focal Point examines the ways in which families with employed caregivers and children with emotional and behavioral disorders manage to meet the demands of employment and family responsibilities. Finding a fit between the demands of work and family life is a struggle for every employed mother and father. For parents whose children have emotional, behavioral, or mental disorders, meeting this challenge can prove extremely stressful, particularly since supportive services are notably lacking. Although Fernandez has estimated that 10% of all employed parents have at least one child with a disability living in their homes, there has been …

The Assessment Of Children With Attachment Disorder: The Randolph Attachment Disorder Questionnaire, The Behavioral And Emotional Rating Scale, And The Biopsychosocial Attachment Types Framework, Alice Myrth Ogilvie

Dissertations and Theses

Children with attachment disorder (AD) have an ongoing risk of mental health challenges and an exacerbated resistance to traditional treatments. The inability to trust and inadequate relationship skills present a substantial challenge for supervising adults in families, child welfare, juvenile justice, public schools, and other community settings.

This study examined the assessment of AD in children between ages 6 and 18 utilizing two standardized instruments, the Randolph Attachment Disorder Questionnaire and the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale. A new framework developed by the author, Biopsychosocial Attachment Types (BAT), for conceptualizing childhood attachment concerns, was explored as a foundation for assessment …

Automated Bus Dispatching, Operations Control, And Service Reliability: The Initial Tri-Met Experience, James G. Strathman, Kenneth Dueker, Thomas J. Kimpel, Rick Gerhart, Ken Turner, Pete Taylor, Steve Callas, David Griffin

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

This paper presents findings on initial changes in service reliability following Tri-Met’s deployment of a new bus dispatching system using automatic vehicle location and automatic passenger counter technology. Changes in on-time performance, headway variation, run time variation, and run times were determined with respect to pre-deployment levels. Changes in headway variation and run times were also used to estimate the initial benefits of the new system with respect to operating costs, passenger waiting, and passenger travel time.

Feedback, Accountability, And The Standards-Based System, Dannelle D. Stevens

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

The standards-based system provides feedback and accountability, and, more importantly, it challenges educators to re-examine basic assumptions about teaching, learning, and schooling. These assumptions are changing as a result of the standards-based system, and this has positively affected practices in the classroom.

Meeting Notes 1999-09-09 [Part A] , Joint Policy Advisory Committee On Transportation

Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation

No abstract provided.

Implementation And Performance Of Error Correction Codes For High-Speed Computer Networks, Jochen Spengler

Dissertations and Theses

During the transmission of data there is always a possibility that errors occur and some pieces are modified. If the receiver detects an error it either sends a request for retransmission or, like in networks using Ethernet, it does not send an acknowledgment for the erroneous frame. In this case the sender waits a certain time and retransmits the frame. With the development of faster computer networking hardware and the need for more real-time applications, these errors have become a major concern. Long retransmission latencies and the need for large memories for buffering drive the development of more reliable network …

An Informal Review Of The Crisis Of Global Capitalism: A Letter To George Soros, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

The author presents a review and critique of George Soros' The Crisis in Global Capiltalism, published by Public Affairs press in 1998, and attempts to draw attention to systems-theoretic ideas that pertain to the arguments proposed by Soros.

Portland State Magazine, Portland State University. Office Of University Communications

Portland State Magazine

PSU’s alumni magazine, published 2-3 times a year. In this issue: The Willamette River can be made safe to drink, say researchers, but who wants to?; the technology for a super fast, home, Internet connection is brand new, in demand, and taught at Portland State; new help is finding the right word and the right career in writing; performing jazz drives this alumna to local night spots and to the recording studio; alumni and faculty support a program that links at-risk children with long-term mentors; and more.

Fine-Grain Period Adaptation In Soft Real-Time Environments, David Steere, Joshua Gruenberg, Dylan Mcnamee, Calton Pu, Jonathan Walpole

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reservation-based scheduling delivers a proportion of the CPU to jobs over a period of time. In this paper we argue that automatically determining and assigning this period is both possible and useful in general purpose soft real-time environments such as personal computers and information appliances. The goal of period adaptation is to select the period over which a job is guaranteed to receive its portion of the CPU dynamically and automatically. The choice of period represents a trade-off between the amount of jitter observed by the job and the overall efficiency of the system. Secondary effects of period include quantization …