Digital Commons Network^™

The Oregon Coastal Worry: Cellular Division Affected By External Changing Temperatures And Salinity Concentration, Jessica Sheets

University Honors Theses

Marine life is highly susceptible to stress and physiological impact through climate change, as this directly alters thermal temperatures and salinity concentrations of the ocean. The coastal species, Mytilus edulis, a mussel found variously in the northern hemisphere, was selected for cellular stress response testing. Through the investigation of temperature and salinity effects on Mytilus edulis using separation group exposure and flow cytometry analysis, it was found that salinity changes had significantly impacted the cellular division process. Individuals who received the environmentally controlled salinity concentration of 32ppt had abundant cells staged in the S phase of cellular division. Mussels …

The Improvement Of Machine Learning Accuracies Through Transfer Learning, Jordan T. Le

University Honors Theses

Pretrained models could be reused in a way that allows for improvement in training accuracy. Training a model from scratch takes time. The goal is improving accuracy and minimizing the loss across individual epochs. The hypothesis is that transfer learning could potentially improve on the rate of accuracy and speed of training per epoch iteration.

Daily Departures: Speed Reading Passages For English Language Learners, Regina D. Weaver

PDXOpen: Open Educational Resources

Daily Departures: Speed Reading Passages for English Language Learners is a collection of twenty 200-225 word reading passages written primarily within the 1,000-word level of the New General Service List and designed to provide fluency support for English language learners at the Waystage level of the Common European Framework Reference.

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The Synthesis Of Di-Substituted Dota Ligands For Mri Contrast Agents, Chau V. Nguyen

University Honors Theses

The complex between the macrocyclic ligand DOTA and the metal gadolinium (Gd³⁺) has been used as the contrast agent for the MRI T₁ weighed imaging. Mono substitution on the tetraaza ring of DOTA ligand results in the formation of the two distinct complexes that are regioisomers of each other and they have different contrast efficiency as well as stability. These regioisomers are only separated by HPLC. With two bulky substituents on the tetraaza ring, it is expected to increase the selectivity of what regioisomers will be formed for each di-substituting pattern since the conformation with the least …

Development Of A Readiness Assessment Model For Evaluating Big Data Projects: Case Study Of Smart City In Oregon, Usa, Husam Ahmad Barham

Dissertations and Theses

The primary goal of this research is to help any organization, which is planning to transform to the big data analytics era, by providing a systematic and comprehensive model that this organization can use to better understand what factors influence big data projects. Also, the organization's current status against those factors. Finally, what enhancements are needed in the organization's current capabilities for optimal management of factors influencing an upcoming big data project. However, big data applications are vast and cover many sectors, and while most of the factors influencing big data projects are common across sectors, there are some factors …

Impact Of Professional Development On Accessible Early Literacy Content For Preschool Children With Disabilities In Public Library Storytime, Melissa Pebly

Dissertations and Theses

Library storytime programs provide opportunities for preschool children to develop readiness skills in early literacy that are linked in research to later success in learning to read and write. Children with disabilities that do not demonstrate school readiness skills upon entry to kindergarten are often placed in self-contained special education settings where opportunities to learn to read and write are diminished. English Language Learners (ELL) who have disabilities face additional challenges in benefiting from the models of language that are optimal for learning literacy when placed in self-contained settings. Despite the critical role that storytime programs play in equalizing the …

Graceful Infrastructure: Harvesting America's Wind Corridor, Samuel Rothacker

University Honors Theses

The central purpose of this thesis was to identify how the choices made by wind farm developers lead to backlash from local community members, focusing primarily on a resistance mentality referred to as NIMBY (Not In My Backyard). The goal of this discussion is to offer wind farm developers a medium by which to understand the causes and concerns of the NIMBY movement, as well as what steps can be taken to address or prevent these issues. Research was pursued by selecting a number of wind farms and searching for correlations between technical specifications and political backlash. By first collecting …

Adolescent Executive Dysfunction And Distant Parental Relationships: Influences On Tobacco Use In Youth Under The Age Of 18, Aaron M. Eisen

University Honors Theses

Substance use such as tobacco is common during the adolescent stage of development. Cigarette use has been associated with a wide range of health complications and is listed as one of the most preventable causes of disease in the United States with 480,000 smoking-related deaths per year. Further research on the underlying factors that predict cigarette use could support the development of new evidence-based preventative treatment interventions.

The goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between executive dysfunction measured by the Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Functions (BRIEF-2), distant parental relationships including parental support, monitoring, decision influence, and …

Seeking Creative Control: Musical Decisions & Activist Aspirations, Cecelia E. Monroe

University Honors Theses

Classical music academia is built upon a competitive, isolationist and judgmental framework. Despite the progressive attitudes, aspirations and actions of Portland State University, the foundations and structures of white supremacy, misogyny, patriarchy and capitalism are alive and thriving in the walls of classrooms, practice rooms and higher education. These systems oppress individuals, and in my mind, oppress and constrain the art they create. These conversations along with my queer politics, my love for music and my concerns for the future and contemporary state of academic musicianship and pedagogy lead me to develop this event: Seeking Creative Control. I have attempted …

Gentrification And Aging-In-Place: Examinations Of The Older African American Population In Portland, Or, Chanelle P. Parris

University Honors Theses

Older African Americans and Black adults are nearly twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease and related dementias compared to their non-Hispanic White counterparts. The SHARP Program (Sharing Histories through Active Reminiscence and Photo-Imagery) aims at addressing this growing health disparity that exists between Black and White populations. The study's goal is to increase the physical and social activity of our participants in order to maintain and improve cognitive health through cultural relevancy. However, the current and on-going neighborhood change that occurs in the research area of interest presents complications to this group. This study worked to conceptualize the ways …

How Schools Encourage Incarceration: The School-To-Prison Pipeline And How It Fails Our Children, Madeline S. Buss

University Honors Theses

In the United States, mass incarceration is a way of life. In this literature review, the link between harsh policies in schools, punishment, and later odds of incarceration are explored- with a special interest on the disproportionate impact for students of color. Through literature reviews and analysis, I will examine the primary causes of the school-to-prison pipeline (STPP). The researchers examined spanned many disciplines (education, to criminology, to psychology) and methodological approaches, including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method. The findings were near unanimous; policies in schools that sought to punish or enforce zero-tolerance were disproportionately punitive toward students of color, most …

Alina Troyano: A Proposed Of Methodology For The Art Historical Analysis Of A Literary Performance Artist, Rachel Done

University Honors Theses

This essay analyzes performance artist Alina Troyano, aka “Carmelita Tropicana” and her performance With What Ass Does a Cockroach Sit?/¿ Con Qué Culo Se Sienta la Cucaracha? as a primary case study to show how art historians can study performance artists that defy artistic convention by having non-traditional by-products after their performances, who are more literary in nature, and therefore exist in a liminal space in the academic study of the arts. Due to that, this essay also explores the grey area of performance art in relation to performance studies and art history, and makes a clear stand to base …

Exo-Genres: Case Study Of Oregon State’S ‘Stage-Gate’ It Review Process, Henry Covey

Technical and Professional Writing Graduate Student Papers

This is a preliminary case study of exogenres, specifically superimposed genre exosystems, i.e., genre frameworks that are prescribed (genre exosystems) which are “laid upon” (superimposed on) writing scenes from outside oversight entity/ies.

This case study gathered and analyzed artifacts, data, and information from a relatively new exosystem in the Oregon state government: the IT project approval process called “Stage Gate,” a mandated regulatory reporting documentation process in effect in Oregon since 2015. The exogenres in Stage Gate were created out of a social action to superimpose IT governance and industry frameworks on state government agencies who build enterprise …

Imprisoned Within The National Narrative: A Case Study Of The Modern Chinese Move Toward Pragmatic Nationalism, Madeline C. Michalk

University Honors Theses

This paper explains how the traumatic history narrative put forth through the Lüshun Russo-Japanese Prison Museum has proven itself useful to the Chinese Communist Party in creating a narrative that not only fosters a sense of loyalty to the state, but can also be used as a political ace card. After closely examining the Lüshun Russo-Japanese Prison Museum it has become evident that the Chinese push for pragmatic nationalism, which began in 1994 and continues to this day, coupled with a flamed fire against "Japanese aggression" are the most active ingredients in the museum as a "National Defense Education Demonstration …

The Image Of The Virgin In Gertrudis Gómez De Avellaneda's Sab (1841) And Carolina Coronado's Poesías (1843) As A Configuration Of Female Literary And Social Independence, Myrna C. Conroy

University Honors Theses

This research will consist of an analysis of the Romantic archetype of the virgin in the works Sab (1841) written by Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda and Poesías (1843) written by Carolina Coronado. These two works of literature will be used in order to assess the use of the virgin archetype as an expression of literary and social independence for women writers during 19^th-Century Spain and Cuba. This analysis will employ the use of The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir for the author's construction of the "other" as a framework for the unique experiences that woman have faced …

A Drop In The Bucket: Evaluating Modern Print News Coverage Of Drought In The U.S., Jessica Pollard

University Honors Theses

How the media portrays environmental issues related to climate change can affect public opinion and influence policy making. This paper seeks to explore the media’s portrayal of climate change through the lens of drought, using the drought which took place in California between 2011 and 2017, as a case study. The study finds that while the press gives drought space in newspapers across the country, it infrequently connects the weather event to anthropological climate change. Articles pertaining to the drought in California frequently rely on the expertise of politicians over scientists.

Métis In Oregon: Intermarriage, Agency, And Religion In French Prairie, 1830-1840, Annie B. Amsden

University Honors Theses

This thesis explores French Prairie, Oregon as a colonial setting. The institutions of the fur trade and Methodist and Catholic missions forced their subjects to make decisions pragmatically. However, a feminist perspective illuminates the choices made by French Prairie community members, especially Indigenous women, as related to power structures within the colony.

A Retrospective Chart Review Of Sleep Questionnaires In Children With Down Syndrome, Sarah Therese Florig

University Honors Theses

Introduction: Despite the high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children with Down syndrome (DS), very few subjective pediatric assessments have been evaluated in this population. The Sleep-Related Breathing Disorder subscale of the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (SRBD-PSQ) and Obstructive Sleep Apnea-18 Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (OSA-18) are two sleep-related questionnaires previously validated for the general pediatric population. Our aim was to assess the performance of these questionnaires in our DS population.

Methods: We performed a retrospective case series of patients with DS, ages 2-18 years, seen in our tertiary care DS clinic between May 1, 2009 and October 1, 2018. We …

Cycles Of Displacement: The Experience Of Immigrants And Refugees From East Africa In Northeast Portland, Julianna I. Robidoux

University Honors Theses

Cultural displacement is an effect of gentrification taking place in Northeast Portland, Oregon. The work of Hyra (2015) and Abrahamson (2005) is applied to the Eastern African enclave in Northeast Portland, which has worked to maintain attachments to their home countries and culture and recreate places of community they had in their homeland. I used qualitative research to collect data in the form of interviews with members of this enclave to highlight the negative consequences of displacement within a community. I also interviewed employees at housing organizations who work with immigrants and refugees, a documentary filmmaker who focuses on issues …

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 …

May Issue Vs. Shall Issue Concealed Carry Laws: An Exploration Of The Breakdown Of Crime, Victim Relationship And Location, Patrick R. Mazzella, Christopher Carey

University Honors Theses

This thesis takes an exploratory look at shall issue and may issue concealed carry laws using a comparative study with a sample of may issue states and shall issue states. The comparison is done over 3 sections: general crime rate, location of incidents and victim relationship to the offender. While the study found some patterns significant within the data, the lack of sufficient sample size severely limits the weight of anything found. Within the data, however, the study found a possible relationship between shall issue states and a higher percentage of romantic partner offenders, and a higher percentage of offenses …

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 …