Digital Commons Network^™

Quality Matters: Using A Peer-Review Process To Create A Cohesive Multi-Campus Library Online Instruction Program, Stephanie Jacobs, Maryellen Nash, Theresa Burress, Kaya Van Beynen

Communications in Information Literacy

Librarians within a newly combined, multi-campus research and instruction department undertook a large-scale peer review of their online instruction program and materials. This collaborative assessment project sought to unite three library departments with a cohesive vision for self-guided online library instruction while establishing consistent quality standards and building a shared sense of ownership and accomplishment. These goals were achieved through a collaborative assessment of online instructional modules that included the development of a novel rubric based on the Quality Matters Course Design Standards. This article reports on that ongoing journey, as well as the goals, challenges, and outcomes of the …

Fintech And Entrepreneurship: An Assessment Model To Evaluate Policy Instruments For Fintech Adoption By Small And Medium Enterprises (Smes), Deemah Abdullah Alassaf

Dissertations and Theses

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the engines that drive economic development. They are the backbone of the middle class as they provide social stability, innovation, inclusive growth, and poverty alleviation. SMEs contribute significantly to job creation, employment, tax provision and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, they face inferior conditions and challenges when it comes to their financing compared to that of large enterprises, as well as having a high expectancy of failing. Because of these limitations, SMEs tend to grow slowly since building up higher credit is difficult for them, and in addition to this, they lack access …

Examining Policy Innovation Process And The Roles Of Policy Entrepreneurs: A Case Of Smart City Initiative In Khon Kaen, Thailand, Thitisak Duadsuntia

Dissertations and Theses

Innovation is a necessary process for public sector organizations and governments to adapt to social and economic changes. Innovation helps governments improve public service performance and address wicked challenges. Although the significance of public sector innovation has long been realized, how it occurs, and how it is influenced by contextual factors is not well explored. Particularly, policy innovation that emerges in an open and dynamic social system is understudied. Policy entrepreneurs mobilize policy change in their social systems, but their roles in a public sector innovation process still needs further investigation.

This study explores the policy innovation process and explicates …

How Are Oregon's Rural Indigenous Communities Overcoming Water Access Issues?, Tyren John Thompson

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigates how water insecurity affects Indigenous communities in Grand Ronde, Warm Springs, and Umatilla, Oregon, through loss of clean drinking water, access to culturally significant foods, and exposure to pollution. Each community offers innovative solutions drawing on their Indigenous knowledge to overcome water supply challenges. Communities with more resources are better equipped to cope with water insecurity and environmental degradation.

In The Hot Seat: Acquiring Kernel Density Heat Map Design Guidance Through Delphi And Survey Methods, Lauren Eileen Mckinney-Wise

Dissertations and Theses

Kernel density heat maps have emerged as a new, popular thematic map type. Yet, unlike other thematic map types, little if any published guidance exists for effective heat map design. This is significant because maps are highly persuasive objects that are often utilized to communicate important information, but maps can also be misleading and misunderstood. Therefore, proper guidance for heat map creation is critical for cartographers to create maps that convey geographic information successfully.

To address this literature gap, I used a modified Delphi method and an online survey to investigate several questions, including understanding what cartographic experts think are …

Committees In The Oregon State Legislature: Partisan, Distributive, Or Informational, Woodrow C. Moore

Dissertations and Theses

The study of legislative committees has overwhelmingly been focused on the Congressional level. This has left legislative committees at the state level largely unstudied. Committees in the Oregon State Legislature are an essential and powerful part of the policy making process and Oregon is unlike most other states in that bills cannot be amended on the floor. Using three theories regarding legislative committees -- the informational theory, distributive theory, and the partisan theory -- that were put forth by Krehbiel, Cox and McCubbins, and Weingast and Marshall, this paper will examine the Oregon State Legislature's committee system through a series …

Evaluating Militant Decision-Making With Information Science: The Irish Republican Movement During The "Troubles", Joshua C. Eastin, Emily Kalah Gade, Michael Gabbay

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Why do militant groups decide to escalate or deescalate their use of violence in conflict? Examining the case of the “Troubles” in Northern Ireland, we analyze groups that adopt violence as a political strategy and evaluate factors that influence its application. To do so, we adopt a novel empirical approach to the study of militant groups. Drawn from information science, this approach enables estimation of variable influence and uncertainty within structured case studies, and is thus ideal for topics such as militant decision-making where systematic data collection is difficult.

Transgender And Gender-Nonconforming Peoples' Views On Masculinity: A Literature Review & Meta Analysis, Alyx Loney

University Honors Theses

The perception and performance of masculinities in the United States has been a topic that, on its own, has garnered relatively little research attention in existing literature. Only in recent years have we seen an increase in attention given towards the study and understanding of masculinities and their role in American society. Even among the study of masculinities, the viewpoints of transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals on masculinity have received little to no attention. With this literature review and meta analysis, we seek to develop a greater understanding of transgender and gender-nonconforming peoples’ views on masculinity as they are currently depicted …

Postfire Effects And Regeneration Patterns In Araucaria-Nothofagus Forests In South-Central Chile, Paola A. Arroyo-Vargas

Dissertations and Theses

Fire regime shifts due to climate and land use changes are threatening ecosystems worldwide, affecting their capacity to recover after severe wildfires. Increase of fire frequency, severity and intensity may severely affect forest ecosystems whose fire regimes have been characterized by infrequent stand-replacing fires. The temperate forests of southern South America, specifically the Andean temperate forests dominated by the conifer Araucaria araucana and the angiosperm species from Nothofagus genus, have evolved with less fire pressure, where severe wildfires may happen after decades or centuries. Recent severe and short-interval fires exacerbated by warmer and drier climate conditions have affected these forests, …

Seeing In The Dark: Towards Robust Pedestrian Detection At Nighttime, Afnan Althoupety

Dissertations and Theses

"At some point in the day, everyone is a pedestrian" a message from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) about pedestrian safety. In 2020, NHTSA reported that 6,516 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes and a pedestrian was killed every 81 minutes on average in the United States. In relation to light condition, 77% of pedestrian fatalities occurred in the dark, 20% in daylight, 2% in dusk, and 2% in dawn.

To tackle the issue from a technological perspective, this dissertation addresses the problem of pedestrian detection robustness in dark conditions, benefiting from image processing and learning-based approaches by: …

Uncovering The Nuance And Complexity Of Gentrification In Asian Immigrant Communities: A Case Study Of Koreatown, Los Angeles, Seyoung Sung

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation examines the nuances and complexities of gentrification in Asian immigrant communities in transit-oriented neighborhoods of Los Angeles, with a particular focus on commercial changes. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the study aims to clarify how gentrification uniquely affects these communities, both in terms of residential and commercial aspects. The primary question of this research is: How do gentrification dynamics and consequences manifest uniquely in Asian immigrant communities?

The research unfolds in two stages. First, the study begins with a comprehensive analysis of neighborhood changes in Asian immigrant communities focusing on demographic dynamics, housing shifts, and commercial trends. The analysis …

Assessment Of The Omni-Channel Adoption For The Management Of Emergence Technologies In Food Retailing During And After The Era Of Covid-19, Esraa Bukhari

Dissertations and Theses

Using E-commerce has become crucial for retailers, specifically in the food business; the Food industry is one of the essential drivers of economies in the world. In and after the era of COVID-19, as technology advances, there is a need to apply an omnichannel strategy. In response, this research aims to develop a decision focus assessing Omni-channeled adoption for the management of emerging technologies in food retailing during and after the era of COVID-19 to evaluate the omnichannel capabilities of food organizations. This establishes a decision model to fill the research gap to succeed and stay competitive in the food …

Emotion Knowledge, Its Applications, And Their Associations With African American Children's Social Relationships With Teachers And Peers In Kindergarten And First Grade, Brielle Emily Petit

Dissertations and Theses

Close and high-quality relationships with teachers and peers are a significant, positive predictor of young children's academic and social-emotional skills, whereas early conflictual relationships can pose various short- and long-term socio-emotional and academic risks. Evidence also suggests that emotion knowledge, or the ways children identify, recognize, and apply emotional labels, are a crucial factor in children's early development including overcoming social-emotional challenges and fostering high-quality interpersonal relationships. Studies examining social relationships and emotion knowledge in early childhood, however, often reveal worrisome differences in between-group comparison designs. Particularly, minoritized children, and most often Black and African American, are associated with poorer …

Biological Nitrogen And Phosphorus Removal From Wastewater Under Low Dissolved Oxygen (Ldo) Conditions, Bashar Al-Daomi

Dissertations and Theses

This study examines the complexities of the integration of different technologies for nutrient removal, investigating parameters like sludge residence time (SRT), carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio, Anaerobic/Oxic (A/O), and Anaerobic/Oxic/Anoxic (A/O/A) systems, continuous and intermittent aeration regimes, and air OFF/air ON periods ratios for efficient nitrogen and phosphorus removal.

Two continuous aeration systems were implemented: The first aimed to carry out a simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SNdN) process for nitrogen and phosphorus removal under low dissolved oxygen (DO) and C/N ratio conditions. This system operated with 4.5-5-day total sludge age in a single-stage anaerobic/oxic (A/O)-SBR, performing stepwise DO reduction at varying DO …

Tiny Drifters Amidst Global Change: Examining Environmental Drivers, Trophic Impacts, And Management Strategies Of Estuarine Plankton Communities In The Anthropocene, Taylor Nicole Dodrill

Dissertations and Theses

Plankton productivity supports estuarine food webs, and has been tied to the success of fisheries, macroinvertebrates, and cultured shellfish yields. Climate change and alterations to nutrient loads are thought to be influencing plankton assemblages, with toxin-producing harmful algal blooms (HABs) on the rise and nutritional quality of plankton declining globally. These shifts in plankton communities may contribute to low biomass yields and toxin-based closures of important fisheries. The objectives of this dissertation are to identify environmental drivers, trophic impacts, and management strategies to understand and respond to changing estuarine plankton communities. To address these objectives, I used a combination of …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet December 2023, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The December 4, 2023 monthly packet includes the December agenda, appendices, and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held December 4, 2023.

Autonomy In The Spaces: Teacher Autonomy, Scripted Lessons, And The Changing Role Of Teachers, Madhu Narayanan, A. L. Shields, T. J. Delhagen

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

The work of teachers has historically been highly controlled, but one area teachers have been granted considerable autonomy is in instruction and planning. Teacher autonomy is a complex concept with important implications for both the quality of instruction and teacher persistence in the field. The rise of charter management organizations (CMOs) and the increasing use of scripted lesson plans (SLPs) have introduced new institutional arrangements with unknown impacts on teachers’ perceptions of autonomy. This mixed method study surveyed 155 teachers across all grade levels from CMOs, independent charter, and district schools, on their perceptions of autonomy related to lesson planning. …

The Discovery Of Diverse Picophytoplankton Populations In The Columbia And Willamette Rivers Using Flow Cytometry, Kylee M. Lamberson

Chemistry Undergraduate Departmental Honors Theses

As important primary producers, picophytoplankton determine the flow of carbon and energy in aquatic ecosystems. Picocyanobacteria are one picophytoplankton group known to be dominant in oceans and lakes, but they are still poorly understood in river systems. This project examined picophytoplankton communities in two distinct river systems: the Columbia and Willamette Rivers in Portland, Oregon. I aimed to characterize and quantify the picophytoplankton populations in the context of the environmental conditions of the two rivers. I used flow cytometry to detect cells based on their relative size and pigment fluorescence. I sampled nearly weekly for ten months to capture population …

Psu Student Housing Insecurity Report, Jacen Greene, Greg Townley, Kenna Estell Dickard, Desiree' J. Duboise

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

This study on student housing insecurity and homelessness was funded as part of a HUD FY2023 Community Project Funding Opportunity awarded to Portland State University. Phase 1 of the study included a literature review; a summary of past PSU student survey results; a description of PSU programs based on interviews with staff and administrators; an analysis of programs at other institutions; and a set of recommendations for better addressing student housing needs. Phase 2 of the study incorporated the results of a comprehensive student survey on housing insecurity and homelessness conducted in fall 2023. Additional reports by outside consultants on …

Mark Twain On The Soviet Silver Screen: Stalinist Laughter And Anti-Racism In Tom Soier, Cassio De Oliveira

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article is an analysis of the Soviet film Tom Soier, an adaptation of Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn released in 1936, at the height of the Stalinist period. In the article, the author places the film in the context of the Soviet support of the Black struggle against racial segregation in America by showing how Tom Soier creatively combines the plots of Twain’s novels in order to propagate an antiracist message. Furthermore, by casting African American actors in the roles of Black enslaved characters, the film also engages with what Steven Lee has called the ethnic …

The Effects Of Salt Marsh Restoration On The Hydrology Of Salt Marsh Channels, Isis Kontas

University Honors Theses

Salt marshes produce many ecosystem services, from water purification to protection from hurricanes. Despite their benefits, salt marshes have been impacted negatively by human activities. There are many salt marsh restoration projects that intend to bring back all ecological functions and services. Quantifiable measurements are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of such restoration efforts. Earlier work by Reagan Thomas demonstrated what happens to the hydrology of salt marsh channels when they are adjacent to restored salt marshes. This study builds on Thomas’ work and uses the sinuosity of channels as a quantitative, representative metric of salt marsh hydrology restoration effectiveness. …

A Tessellation Of Engineers, Grace Jenkins Welsh

University Honors Theses

A capstone project is the culmination of what a student has learned while pursuing an undergraduate degree. A project of this magnitude requires a lot of time and dedication from every member of the team. This essay looks back at the experience of an electrical engineering student participating in the design of an auxiliary power and protection of a planned substation. The author describes the team's work, how they performed as a team, and their involvement with the professional sponsor and advisor. The author examines the experience with the goal of informing and encouraging prospective engineering students who may be …

People, Place, And Planet: Global Review Of Use-Inspired Research On Water-Related Ecosystem Services In Urban Wetlands, Jason Sauer, Heejun Chang

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

With climate change and urbanization, city planners and developers have increasing interest and practice in constructing, restoring, or incorporating wetlands as forms of green infrastructure to maintain water-related ecosystem services (WES). We reviewed studies that valued in functional or monetary units the water regulation and purification services of urban wetlands around the globe. We used the adaptive management cycle (AMC) as a heuristic to determine the step that a study would represent in the AMC, the connections between the cycle steps that were used or considered, and the stakeholders involved. Additionally, we identified the social, ecological, and/or technological dimension(s) of …

Behavior Training For Educators: What Training Do Educators Need To Support Students With Challenging Behaviors?, Michelle R. Milburn

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the behavioral training programs/frameworks and Professional Development (PD) delivery methods that certified staff - including teachers, speech-language pathologists, school psychologists, occupational therapists, and teachers on special assignment - as well as administrators, believe to be necessary to address the academic, social, emotional, and behavioral needs of students exhibiting challenging behaviors. This national study used survey methods to explore the views of US K-12 public school educators on the PD needed to support student behavior effectively. Using social media recruitment, primarily through Reddit and Facebook, allowed the survey to reach a substantially larger …

The Feasibility, Acceptability, And Preliminary Impact Of Real-Time Monitors And Sms On Tuberculosis Medication Adherence In Southwestern Uganda:Findings From A Mixed Methods Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial, Angella Musiimenta, Wilson Tumuhimbise, Esther Atukunda, Aaron T. Mugaba, Nicholas Musinguzi, David Bangsberg, J. Lucian Davis, Conrad Muzoora, Jessica E. Haberer

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

We conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial among patients initiating treatment for drug-sensitive tuberculosis (TB). Participants received real-time electronic adherence monitors and were randomized (1:1:1) to: (i) daily SMS (reminders to TB patients and notifications to social supporters sent daily for 3 months, then triggered by late or missed dosing for 3 months); (ii) weekly SMS (reminders to TB patients and notifications to social supporters sent weekly for 3 months, then triggered by late or missed dosing for 3 months); or (iii) control (no SMS). Feasibility was mainly verified by the technical function of the intervention at Month 6. The …

Exploring The Role Of Information Literacy Instruction In Student Co-Creation Of Community-Based Research Products, Robyn Hall

Communications in Information Literacy

Supported by institutional commitments to community engagement, undergraduate students at universities across North America are participating in community-based research projects. These experiential learning activities allow students to collaborate with community partners to address issues in their communities, often resulting in co-creating research products that seek to have a real-world impact. This article reports on ways that academic librarians can support students engaged in these activities, informed by interview data gathered from university administrators and faculty members from across Canada with expertise in conducting and overseeing students' participation in research connected to university–community partnerships. This growing area of scholarly activity in …

An Exploration Of Two Information Literacy Open Learning Object Repositories: Value, Content, And Engagement, Tiffanie Lynn Ford-Baxter

Communications in Information Literacy

Information literacy (IL) open learning object repositories (LORs) provide a space for librarians to find and exchange instruction resources and lessons. Given many librarians enter the workforce with little or no formal training or educational opportunities to learn about pedagogy, these repositories are indispensable resources to the Library and Information Science field. This study explored the contents of two popular IL LORs, Project Cora and the Association of College and Research Libraries Framework for Information Literacy Sandbox, to uncover how users engage with the resources and how the repositories differ. This study's findings suggest that while resources within the LORs …

Teachers’ Voices On Multimodal Input For Second Or Foreign Language Learning, Mónica Stella Cárdenas-Claros, Tetyana Sydorenko, Elizabeth Huntley, Maribel Montero Perez

Applied Linguistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Multimodal input – which combines written, auditory, and/or visual modalities – is pervasive in everyday life and could serve as a source of rich input in language teaching. In recent years, research has determined that vocabulary learning is one of the clear benefits of being exposed to such input. Regrettably, only a handful of studies have investigated whether and how second language (L2) teachers approach multimodal input in teaching. To further contribute to the research–practice dialogue, we examined factors that influence L2 teachers’ use of multimodal input in L2 teaching. This qualitative case study presents an in-depth analysis of interview …

Unmasking And Addressing Burnout In The Mental Health Profession, Sara Edwards

University Honors Theses

Burnout poses a significant challenge among mental health workers, impacting both the well-being of practitioners and the outcomes for their patients. The key inquiries guiding this literature review are: what factors contribute to burnout, and what interventions are essential for treating and preventing burnout in mental health professionals? The findings reveal that factors such as level of experience, lack of quality supervision, vicarious trauma, working conditions, and personal beliefs significantly contribute to burnout. Effective prevention and treatment measures for mental health workers vulnerable to burnout encompass self-monitoring, participation in support groups, additional training, and organizational interventions. These insights could serve …

A Capstone Journey In Enterprise Software Consulting For Microsoft: How An Interdisciplinary Philosophy Fosters Critical Thinking And Promotes Cross-Functional Teamwork, Jacob Mccall

University Honors Theses

This capstone review thesis explores the application of strategic innovation and enterprise software with a Portland State University (PSU) School of Business Administration (SBA) interdisciplinary team consulting for Microsoft. Faced with improving pitch meetings with a new target audience of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs), Microsoft's West Coast enterprise software sales team sought consultation from the PSU SBA 2023 Business Honors cohort. This text reflects on the precursors responsible for the consulting project’s success, including the university’s guiding principles, interdisciplinary philosophy, and applicable business practices. The final solution includes insights into CMO types, needs development, a marketing enterprise software visual sales …