Digital Commons Network^™

Genome-Wide Sequencing In Clinical Genetic Counseling, Sydney Schulz

University Honors Theses

Genome-wide Sequencing provides an exciting opportunity for the future of genetic counseling. However, the efficacy of GWS in covering G-C rich regions of DNA, detection of variants, coverage of the exome, reanalysis, and identifying disease origin in non-coding regions of DNA remains to be proven. GWS provides a diagnostic success rate of 36-73% in pediatric cases and 50-67% of adult rare disease and alters the path of necessary care offered by genetic counselors. Limitations significantly hamper the success of GWS in a genetic counseling setting, such as difficulties in obtaining consent for testing and data storage, the high rate of …

'Menthol-Plus’: A Major Category Of Cigarette Found Among ‘Concept’ Descriptor Cigarettes From Mexico, James F. Pankow, Wentai Luo, Kevin J. Mcwhirter, Samantha M. Gillette, Joanna E. Cohen

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background Tobacco companies are offering cigarettes with ‘concept’ descriptor names that suggest sensation and/or flavour properties (eg, Marlboro ‘Velvet Fusion’). Little has been known about the identities and levels of flavour chemicals in such cigarettes.

Methods Thirty-three filter cigarette variants from 27 packs (including two sampler packs with four variations each) from Canada and Mexico were analysed (rod + filter) for 177 flavour chemicals plus triacetin, a filter plasticiser and possible flavourant. Five brands of US mentholated filter cigarettes were also analysed.

Results Twenty-seven of the 33 cigarettes (all were Mexican variants) were categorised as ‘menthol-plus’: significant menthol (3.0–11.9 mg/cigarette), …

Spatial Accessibility And Equity Analysis Of Amazon Parcel Lockers Facilities, Jaclyn S. Schaefer, Miguel Figliozzi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the growth of e-commerce and home 32 deliveries. Automated parcel lockers are a way to improve delivery efficiency, but despite their 33 rapid growth, little is known about their accessibility and equity impacts. Among e-commerce 34 players in the U.S., Amazon stands out by its large market share. This research studies the 35 location of Amazon lockers in Portland, Oregon utilizing highway, land use, employment, and 36 sociodemographic datasets. Geographical tools and cluster analysis are utilized to estimate 37 accessibility and equity metrics. Lockers tend to be located in mixed-use areas and …

Interrupting White Supremacy In Field Education: Experiences Of Microaggressions In Placement Settings, Anita Reinette Gooding, Gita Mehrotra

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

As social work’s signature pedagogy, field education socializes students into their professional roles as practitioners. However, for students and field instructors of color, racial microaggressions add another dimension to the practice experience. Utilizing findings from a qualitative study exploring the experiences of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) social work students and agency-based field instructors, this paper highlights experiences of microaggressions in field placement settings. Specifically, BIPOC students and field instructors described being tokenized in agencies, feeling invisible in placement settings, experiencing microaggressions from service users or students, and witnessing microaggressions. Experiences of microaggressions had emotional impacts, and affected …

Factors Associated With Poverty Among Refugees In The United States, Mitra Naseh, Miriam Potocky, Shanna L. Burke, Paul H. Stuart, Fatma Huffman

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background and Purpose: Approximately three million refugees have arrived in the United States in the past four decades. Literature suggests, after arrival in the country and in the short-term period thereafter, it is likely for refugees as New Americans to experience poverty and deprivation in different aspects of life. In this context, knowledge of factors associated with poverty among refugees is important and relevant for social workers as front-line service providers for refugees and economically disadvantaged individuals. Using social exclusion theory as a framework, this study hypothesized that the factors associated with integration in the refugee integration conceptual framework (Ager …

Social Determinants Of Health And Parenting Self-Efficacy Among Mothers Of Preterm Infants, Susanne Klawetter, Blair W. Weikel, Kristi L. Roybal, Nazan Cetin, Mathew C, Uretsky, Stephanie L. Bourque, Anne Hall, Sunah S. Hwang, Madalynn Neu, Mauricio A. Palau, Multiple Additional Authors

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective: To explore the relationships between social and environmental factors and parenting self-efficacy (PSE) among mothers of preterm infants hospitalized in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) using a social determinants of health (SDoH) framework. Method: We analyzed data from a prospective cohort study that included 187 mother-infant dyads admitted to four NICUs in the Mountain West region between June 2017 and December 2019. We used multivariable linear regression models to assess the independent associations between maternal and infant characteristics and PSE. Results: Our final multiple linear regression model predicting the efficacy score including maternal race/ethnicity, age, insurance, employment status before …

Outcomes Of Telepractice Speech Therapy For An Adult Who Covertly Stutters: A Case Study, Megann Mcgill, Patrizha A. Schroth

PSU McNair Scholars Online Journal

Purpose: To report on telepractice-based holistic speech-language therapy services to reduce avoidance of stuttering and increase positive self-image as a communicator for an adult who covertly stutters as compared to baseline.

Method: A single case study design was employed with baseline, intervention, and maintenance phases completed via telepractice. The participant received bi-weekly speech-language therapy services, including both individual and group sessions. The Overall Assessment of the Speaker’s Experience of Stuttering-Adult (OASES-A) and Stuttering Severity Instrument-4th Edition (SSI-4) assessed the participant’s overt and covert stuttering behaviors at pre-treatment and post-treatment timeframes. Weekly data points of participant’s self-report of avoidance of stuttering …

Examining Bicycle And Motorized Vehicle Speeds And Their Relationships In The Context Of Urban Roadways, Jaclyn Sue Schaefer

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis presents a compilation of papers exploring passenger car and bicycle speeds through their interactions with each other and with urban roadway factors.

First, following a concern raised in part of the traffic literature that a large mode shift toward bicycling may cause travel time delays and potentially exacerbate congestion instead of alleviate it unless bicycle lanes are installed, an empirical study detailing how the presence of bicycles on urban roads without bicycle lanes may affect passenger car speeds is presented. Pneumatic tube data from six predominantly low speed, low volume roads in Portland, Oregon were utilized to identify …

Inventory Of Rock Glaciers In The American West And Their Topography And Climate, Allison Reese Trcka

Dissertations and Theses

Rock glaciers are flowing geomorphic landforms composed of an ice/debris mixture. A uniform rock glacier classification scheme was created for the western continental US, based on internationally recognized criteria, to merge the various regional published inventories. A total of 2249 rock glaciers (1564 active, 685 inactive) and 7852 features of interest were identified in 10 states (WA, OR, CA, ID, NV, UT, ID, MT, WY, CO, NM). Sulfur Creek rock glacier in Wyoming is the largest active rock glacier (2.39 km²). The mean area and elevation for active and inactive rock glaciers are 0.18 km², 3384 …

A Historical Ecology Of Aridland Springs In Desert National Wildlife Refuge, Nuwu/Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute/Chemehuevi) Ancestral Territory, Nevada, Yarrow Sarah Valentine Geggus

Dissertations and Theses

Aridland springs are among the most threatened ecosystems in the world. Vital to desert ecologies and Indigenous cultures, these complex and individualistic ecosystems have layered histories. To inform management in the changing landscape of Desert National Wildlife Refuge, a 1.6 million acre protected area in Southern Nevada, I conducted a historical ecology study of a sample of ten upland springs. Through a six-part interdisciplinary methodology including interviews, archaeological survey, botanical survey, and archival research, I summarize findings into three broad eras: the Nuwu/Nuwuvi pre-Contact Era, the Settler Era, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Era.

For millennia, Nuwu/Nuwuvi drank …

Assessing Airborne Radar To Map Glacier Elevations In Alpine Terrain Including Estimated Glacier Volume Change, Bryce Allen Glenn

Dissertations and Theses

Alpine glaciers and perennial snowfields (G&PS) are important hydrologically and ecologically, providing meltwater during the hottest and driest summer periods. Climate warming shrinks these natural reservoirs while temporarily providing increased streamflow. To assess regional changes in glacier volume, from which contribution to streamflow can be estimated, I used NASA's Airborne Glacier and Ice Surface Topography Interferometer (GLISTIN). This instrument mapped the surface topography of alpine glaciers; differencing these elevations from historic elevations derived from topographic maps, volume change is calculated. GLISTIN was flown over the glacier-populated mountain ranges of the western U.S. Of the 3289 glaciers and perennial snowfields with …

Explicit Learning Of Auditory Categories In Preschoolers With And Without Developmental Language Disorder, Lauren Casey

University Honors Theses

This study a part of a broader study including Quam et al. (2020) and Yu (2020) with the aim of understanding how children with and without developmental language disorder learn language. With a better understanding of the underlying learning mechanisms affected in DLD, better interventions can be implemented. The current study investigates explicit language learning in preschoolers with and without developmental language disorder (DLD). This was done by observing sound discrimination and explicit sound-meaning mapping. One child with DLD and 29 children with typical language development (TLD) participated in this study. Inclusion in each group was determined by a hearing …

The Electronic Hardware Music Subculture In Portland, Oregon, James Andrew Hickey

Dissertations and Theses

Music is relatively understudied as a geographic phenomenon, but recently there has been a shift in academic literature to understand the social, cultural and economic factors that determine music and its development in specific places. The purpose of this study is to examine the Electronic Hardware Music Subculture (EHMS) in Portland, why it thrives, and how it is linked to the local cultural economy. To do this, I used semi-structured, long form interviews with key members of the EHMS. These interviews, and my own observations, gave insight into what factors affect the success of members of the EHMS, and how …

Pharmaceuticals And Personal Care Products In Pacific Northwest Coastal Ecosystems: Spatial Variation, Organism Effects, And Consumer Perspectives, Amy Lynne Ehrhart

Dissertations and Theses

Anthropogenic pollution poses a threat to marine organisms and ecosystems worldwide. Common chemical pollutants that enter the marine environment include legacy contaminants, which are well known and heavily regulated or banned pollutants, and emerging contaminants, which are more recently recognized as pollutants and often lack regulatory limits for their use and discharge. Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent is a major source of various contaminants of concern, particularly pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) that are not fully removed during treatment. PPCPs exist at low concentrations in the environment and may have unknown and subtle effects on marine life. Data gaps …

Brief Report: The Impact Of Disease Stage On Early Gaps In Art In The "Treatment For All" Era - A Multisite Cohort Study., Ingrid T. Katz, Nicholas Musinguzi, Kathleen Bell, Anna Cross, Mwebesa Bosco Bwana, Gideon Amanyire, Stephen Asiimwe, Catherine Orrell, David R. Bangsberg, Jessica E. Haberer

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Adoption of "Treat All" policies has increased ART initiation in sub-Saharan Africa; however, unexplained early losses continue to occur. More information is needed to understand why treatment discontinuation continues at this vulnerable stage in care.

“Building That World”: Movements Of Vision In The Carceral Classroom, Rhiannon M. Cates, Benjamin J. Hall, James Broughton, Andrew Reeves, Faith Hocutt Ringwelski, Kathryn Zaro, Jenna Richards, Lani Roberts

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

An article in which two teaching assistants and six students of a university course taught inside a correctional facility, "Writing as Activism," collaboratively examine their experience as co-teachers and co-learners in a humanities-based prison classroom. Fostered and framed by their instructor’s critical and transformative pedagogical approaches in this course, the authors locate integrated learning and collaborative writing within carceral classrooms as sites for intentional and resistant futures to be enacted and embodied as a practice of post-carceral world-building. The students enter their individual narratives into this location of their experience of envisioning and enacting resistant futures together in this space …

An Exploration Of Teacher Preparation Practices With Foundational Knowledge Of Literacy, Marla K. Robertson Phd, Laurie A. Sharp, Roberta Raymond, Rebekah E. Piper Phd

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

The Standards for the Preparation of Literacy Professionals 2017 published by the International Literacy Association provide the basis for high-quality literacy teacher preparation. This study used qualitative survey responses to explore the literacy practices that teacher educators use to promote understandings among preservice teachers for each grade-level band (i.e., Pre-K/Primary, Elementary/Intermediate, Middle/High School). The researchers used conceptualizations of teacher knowledge as a theoretical lens to better understand reported preparation practices. Data analysis revealed three themes: Teacher Educator Pedagogy, Course Content, Student and Program Expectations. Researchers posit that teacher educators do not evenly focus on all components of literacy and …

Is Kinesiology A Bridge To Stem Engagement? Sport Science Labs In High School, Judy A. Schultz, Robert W. Danielson, Robert D. Catena, Christopher P. Connolly, Kasee Hildenbrand

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

Improving STEM education in schools is important to prepare students for the increasing number of STEM related jobs. As a STEM discipline, kinesiology, which includes the study of sport, exercise, movement and well-being, may be an effective link between science concepts and students’ everyday lives and thus may stimulate science engagement. Our university’s kinesiology programs developed a set of sport related kinesiology labs which were presented by faculty and students during one semester in local high school Freshmen and Senior science classes. Survey data included information about STEM engagement, scientific inquiry, and knowledge of kinesiology as a STEM field. Findings …

Social And Emotional Learning: Beyond Components And Outcomes, Lina Darwich, Tara Slaughter

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

Social emotional learning (SEL) is the current zeitgeist in education. This collaborative self-study includes a teacher educator and her former student, a high school English Language Arts teacher. Both educators, who center relationships and social justice in their teaching, reflect on what they learned and identify and analyze three tensions experienced by the K-12 teacher: concerns about coming across as too political, responding to parent and caregiver reservations about teaching SEL, and grappling with teachers’ emotions in the classroom. Main takeaways are discussed, including the value of partnership between teacher educators and their former students in the development of teaching …

Racial Gatekeeping In Country & Hip-Hop Music, Cervanté Pope

University Honors Theses

In mass communication, gatekeeping refers to how information is edited, shaped and controlled in efforts to construct a "social reality." One way it presents itself is in regard to racial inclusion and equality, and despite the headway we’ve seemingly made as a society, we are still lightyears away from where we need to be. Because of this, the concept of cultural property has become even more paramount, as a means for keeping one's cultural history and identity-preserved. Blacks and whites similarly attempt to protect or preserve facets of their culture they feel belong to them. What’s different for both of …

Relationships Between In-Situ Tests And Soil Cyclic Strength For Earthquake Hazard Characterization In The Pacific Northwest, Tanner Scott Bryantt

Dissertations and Theses

Strong earthquake shaking is a natural hazard threat in the Pacific Northwest. Soil failure due to strong earthquake shaking -- known as cyclic soil failure or liquefaction -- is expected to cause large ground deformations and damage to roads, bridges, and other civil infrastructure. Cyclic soil strength (CRR) is often characterized with in-situ geotechnical tests including the cone penetration test (CPT). Relationships between CRR and in-situ test data are not well established for soils in the Pacific Northwest. Portland State University, in partnership with New Albion Geotechnical has compiled a database of cyclic lab tests for Pacific Northwest soils to …

Vessel Trajectory Prediction Using Historical Ais Data, Jagir Laxmichand Charla

Dissertations and Theses

Maritime vessel position coordinates are important information for maritime situational planning and organization. A better estimate of future locations of the maritime vessels, from their current locations, can help maritime authorities to make planned decisions, which can be helpful to avoid traffic congestion and longer waiting times. This thesis develops a method for estimating future locations of the vessels using their current and previous locations and other data.

The motivating scenario for this work is that of determining the future locations of the vessels based on their current location and previous locations for accurate modelling of underwater acoustic noise. As …

Wildfire Risk Assessment For A Municipal Watershed In Western Oregon, Usa: Methods For Projecting The Impact Of Mid-21st Century Climate Change On Wildfire Hazard, Andy Mcevoy

Dissertations and Theses

In the western United States, climate change is projected to lead to significant changes in regional wildfire regimes. Historically, forests west of the Cascade crest in Oregon and Washington, USA (westside) have been characterized by low-frequency wildfire events, but climate change projections indicate that wildfire could become a more common disturbance, altering ecological processes and impairing ecosystem services like surface water quality and quantity. Wildfire risk assessments based on simulation models have been used in high frequency fire regimes to evaluate contemporary and future risk, but present unique challenges in westside forests because characteristic low annual burn probabilities result in …

Stopped Listening: Experiences Of Higher Education Refugee-Background Learners, Peggy Lynn Maclsaac, Staci B. Martin, Wilson Kubwayo, Chablue Wah, Salome Nanyenga

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper discusses the academic agency of refugee-background individuals who have resettled to the United States of America and the responsibility of higher education to value refugee-background learners as knowledge creators. Contrary to deficit thinking that views learners as unable to succeed due to their refugee background, this study explores how their experiences demonstrate their multiple capacities to succeed in higher education. The essence of these experiences is presented using self-reflexive collaborative speaking and writing inquiry. Three main themes drawn from the results were the capacities of refugee-background learners to adapt cultures, maintain multiple social connections, and exercise agency.

Human Energy In The Workplace: An Investigation Of Daily Energy Management Strategies, Job Stressors And Employee Outcomes, Morgan Rose Taylor

Dissertations and Theses

Recent research has pointed to the benefits associated with the use of work-related energy management strategies for employee outcomes. Using the Conservation of Resources Theory and the Challenge and Hindrance Stressor Framework, the current study extends the energy management literature by examining day-level relationships between work-related energy management strategies (e.g., organizing, meaning-making, and prosocial strategies) and employee outcomes, namely, goal progress, work engagement, and relational energy respectively. Further, challenge and hindrance stressors are tested as day-level moderators of these relationships. Using experience sampling methods across 10 workdays, results showed that day-level organizing strategy use was related to higher goal progress …

New Perspectives On Johannes De Muris And His Notitia Artis Musicae, Jeffrey Allan Arnsdorf

Dissertations and Theses

At the end of the 1310s, Norman mathematician and astronomer Johannes de Muris (c. 1295-after 1344) reconceived the existing musical notation system on a mathematical foundation. His Notitia artis musicae dramatically increased the fidelity with which the system could represent complex rhythmic patterns. In recent years, musicologists, particularly Karen Desmond, have begun to incorporate the scholarship of historians of astronomy in their work on Muris and the Notitia. These studies take as their focus conceptual shifts in music theory and practice. This thesis repositions the perspective to Muris himself, seeking to shed light on his intention in writing the …

Investigating Dose-Dependent, Multi-Generational, And Strain-Specific Effects Of 17Α-Ethynylestradiol Exposure In Zebrafish (Danio Rerio), Decatur Mitochondria Foster

Dissertations and Theses

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) pose a threat to biodiversity at the individual, population, and ecosystem level, as they can interfere with processes that are responsible for regulating metabolism, development, behavior, and reproduction in living organisms. 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) is a synthetic estrogen and EDC utilized in pharmaceutical and livestock industries, and contaminates waterways worldwide. This research explores the effects of dose-dependent and multi-generational exposure of EE2 in three strains of zebrafish. High dose (10-25 ng/L EE2) exposure led to complete reproductive failure, as well as significantly decreased survival and growth. A period in clean water (depuration) after exposure allowed for some …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet December 2020, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The December 7, 2020 Monthly packet includes the December agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held November 2, 2020.

Achieving High Reliability Organizations Using Fuzzy Cognitive Maps - The Case Of Offshore Oil And Gas, Ahmed A. Alibage

Dissertations and Theses

The safety culture of so-called high-reliability organizations (HROs) encompasses values, routines, and work processes that allow an organization to prevent mistakes and quickly bounce back if unexpected events occur. It is said to provide a model for improving organizational resilience in the offshore oil and gas industry, where small errors can grow into accidents with devastating environmental, social, and economic impacts. To date, such a transfer of successful practices is impeded by a lack of system perspective that would allow researchers and practitioners to fully understand the safety dynamics in HROs, adjust them to the unique setting of offshore oil …

Clustered Hyperspectral Target Detection, Sean Onufer Stalley

Dissertations and Theses

Aerial target detection is often used to search for relatively small things over large areas of land. Depending on the size and signature of the target, detection can be a very easy or very difficult task. By capturing images with several hundred color channels, hyperspectral sensors provide a new way of looking at this task, both literally and figuratively. Hyperspectral sensors can be used in many aerial target detection tasks such as identifying unhealthy trees in a forest, searching for minerals at a mining site, or finding the sources of chemical leaks at a factory. The high spectral resolution of …