Digital Commons Network^™

Flattening Morrison's Beloved: The Limits Of Psychoanalysis In Literary Criticism, A Literature Review, Isaac Vanhook

University Honors Theses

Toni Morrison's Beloved was first published in 1987 and has amassed a wide range of scholarship throughout the years; with some literary scholars using psychoanalysis to suggest a reading of Beloved. Because of the volume of scholarship and Beloved's plot--dealing with a mother who represses the memory of killing her daughter, Beloved--I found it to be perfect for the scope of this project. This literature review focuses on the sometimes reductive qualities of psychoanalyzing Beloved (such as the Freudian universal psychoanalytic subject, and the 'drawbacks' of object relations theory), while also discussing some revelatory qualities via the same …

Microplastic Pollution In Stormwater: Preliminary Findings From The Oregon Coast, Jazmine Compton

University Honors Theses

Microplastics have become ubiquitous in marine environments and pose a risk to ecosystem, organismal, and human health. Stormwater runoff has been suggested to be a major contributor to marine microplastic pollution. This project aims to quantify the average concentration of microplastics in stormwater in a community on the Oregon Coast. To accomplish this, stormwater samples were collected from five sites in Cannon Beach, Oregon, and one sample was analyzed using a dissection microscope. Using this technique, the number, size, and composition of the microplastic particles were determined. The calculated concentration of microplastics in the stormwater sample was 12.21 MPs/L, and …

Student Perceptions: How Stem Students Value Belonging Interventions, Elizabeth Runkel Baez

University Honors Theses

With the prioritization of increasing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) graduates in the United States, researchers have become increasingly interested in how to promote STEM students' sense of belonging. Sense of belonging is considered a marker of persistence in STEM. Facilitated 'belonging interventions' are one way to strengthen a sense of belonging amongst STEM students. How students respond to, value, and understand these belonging interventions is relatively understudied. In this study, focus groups were conducted with STEM students from a single university to investigate how they value an in-class belonging activity. Qualitative thematic coding of focus group responses revealed …

Health Equity In Stroke Prophylaxis For New Atrial Fibrillation In The Emergency Department, Mariam Anwar

University Honors Theses

Objective: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia, and often, first diagnosed in the emergency department (ED). AF increases the risk of stroke, which can be decreased by 64% if the appropriate oral anticoagulation (OAC) is prescribed. However, many patients are not prescribed OAC for new AF. We investigate whether patient ethnicity, specifically Hispanic-Latino & Russian/Ukrainian, affects OAC prescription.

Method: This retrospective chart review study included patients at an academic tertiary care center and a community hospital >17 years old with a primary ED diagnosis of AF or paroxysmal AF from January 2020-2024. Patients with valvular heart disease …

Biofeedback Gaming For Substance Use Disorder, Rebecca L. Chevrel

University Honors Theses

Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and stress are often predictive of one another, bidirectionally causal, and mutually intensifying. This thesis describes the bi-directional connection between physiological stress-modulating systems and Substance Use Disorder, and explores some emerging biofeedback stress-reduction gaming technology as a potential adjunct to recovery treatments. Improving autonomic balance, often described by Heart Rate Variability, has been shown to be beneficial for physical and psychological recovery, as well as improving self-control. For this reason, regular biofeedback for stress relief could be helpful in augmenting SUD treatment and preventing relapse. This exploration found that presenting it through a gaming lens may …

Biophilic Design Strategies In Healthcare: Using Nature To Promote Wellness In Small-Scale Mental And Behavioral Health Facilities, Skyler Peckham

University Honors Theses

Designing spaces that promote the health and well-being of the general public has been a highly debated topic for several centuries within the disciplines of architecture, urban planning, and other similar fields. As more research has been done throughout the years, the notion of utilizing nature to promote wellness has become a prominent design strategy. Through the examination of a wide range of scholarship regarding the benefits that nature has for human health and connecting this research to the biophilic evidence-based design strategies of healthcare facilities, I aim to highlight what design aspects truly promote wellness for patients in small-scale …

American Evangelicalism And The Status Of Women: Biblical Interpretation, Politicization, And A Future For Secularism, Ivy Macneil Blackwood

University Honors Theses

American evangelicalism has positioned itself as a dominant force in social policy since the 1970s and has continued to grow over time. During Carter's presidency, the Religious Right, a neoconservative political identity of fundamentalist beliefs, emerged with the intention to homogenize American culture by infusing literal interpretations of biblical Scripture with American exceptionalism. With the help of charismatic leaders like Billy Graham, the political manifestations of American evangelicalism's fundamentalist beliefs have been solidified through conservative legislation and Christian demographic dominance in Congress and the Supreme Court. Women have been particularly burdened by evangelical institutionalization, as access to socioeconomic and political …

Exhibiting The Museum: Interrogating Spaces Of Institutional Knowledge Production Through Interactive Print Design, Malcolm Church

University Honors Theses

This thesis explores the role of museums as active agents in the production of cultural and historical knowledge, focusing on the ethical implications of exhibition design and institutional practices. By examining the history of museums from ancient Greece to the modern era, with a focus on the Modern era, the research highlights how these institutions have perpetuated Eurocentric narratives and colonial ideologies through the collection and display of artifacts. Through interviews, participant observations, and historical analysis, this study uncovers the often-hidden decisions behind exhibition design and their impact on public perception. The culmination of this research is an interactive print …

Henna Chatbot Capstone Review, Kobe Norcross

University Honors Theses

This thesis reviews the development of the Henna Chatbot, an AI-powered DEI consultant designed to provide personalized feedback to organizations. Sponsored by DEI consultant Arsh Haque, the project aims to address gaps in current DEI software, which often lacks team-specific feedback. The Henna Chatbot leverages GPT-3.5 Turbo to create an affordable SaaS platform where organizations can train Henna with their DEI values, and Henna will help organizations stay aligned with those values. The project spanned twenty weeks and was completed by a team of eight computer science students at Portland State University. The development process followed Agile methodologies, emphasizing effective …

Capstone Review: Filament Unit Multiplexing Engine, Gal Cohen

University Honors Theses

The Filament Unit Multiplexing Engine (FUME) is a Mechanical Engineering capstone project sponsored by Portland State University's Electronic Prototyping Lab (EPL). The project addresses the need for an automated system to manage 3D printing operations. The current manual process of selecting and routing a spool of filament to one of the available 3D printers is labor-intensive and limits the efficiency of the lab's 3D printing farm. FUME aims to create a custom solution tailored for a multi-user, multi-spool, and multi-printer environment. The designed system includes key components: a spool holder, an engine, a track and shuttle system, and a funnel. …

How Different Modes Of Photosynthesis Impact Stormwater Runoff And Weed Growth On Ecoroof Trays During Early Establishment?, Michelle Hesek

University Honors Theses

Ecoroofs remove of stormwater runoff from the combined sewer system in Portland, Oregon. Reducing runoff is essential in cities considering how impervious surfaces promote flooding. A limited number of studies focus on comparing stormwater retention of ecoroof plants during their establishment period within Portland's climate. Different photosynthetic pathways in plants may impact stormwater runoff based on their water use efficiency. This study undertook a one-year study to determine the effect of plant establishment on water retention for a C4 and CAM species in six ecoroof trays. Weeds were investigated as a factor in water retention, and whether plant type within …

Climate Justice Issues, Urban Heat Island Effect, And Trees As The Solution In Portland, Oregon, Cleo Needham

University Honors Theses

Portland, Oregon, is experiencing rising temperatures caused by climate change and urban heat island effect. High heat disproportionately impacts vulnerable communities in Portland, causing harm to physical and mental health. Trees are a solution that reduces temperatures in urban environments. A strategy called 3-30-300 helps create a structure for where to place trees to help people receive the benefits. There are challenges with trees, such as the space required, the significant cost, and the time it takes to mature. Using trees as a solution can support and protect vulnerable communities in Portland, Oregon.

Modern Trail Of Tears: The Commodification Of First Foods And Medicines In Relation To Food Apartheid And Genocide Of Indigenous Peoples, Darius Mani Yaw

University Honors Theses

I am asking you to share in a cultural conversation with me. I will use different fonts in order to express my autobiographical and ethnographic Indigenous story separate from traditional academic writing This will not be a traditional thesis by any means of academic writing; this will also be a living document in a format of a cited reflection in order to continue the conversation not only through my Indigenous Research but also through community, and ideally will create everlasting solutions. However, this will be an introduction into my Indigenous writing and Indigenous voice.

I will be discussing the next …

Coercion, Conversion, Control: Techniques Utilized To Recruit And Indoctrinate New Members Into Cult Organizations, Hailey Savanna Robertson

University Honors Theses

Religious belief of some form has long been a regular part of many people's lives, but when a person’s devotion to doctrine becomes so all-encompassing that they structure their entire life around it, they may be in a cult. While the dogma may vary across groups, a cult is characterized as having extremely devoted disciples who often follow a charismatic leader and espouse extreme beliefs or practices not widely accepted by society. Members of cults commit themselves wholly to their leaders. Proving their commitment by turning over financial assets, obeying commands without question, and even severing all social ties outside …

Prochlorococcus Death By A Ubiquitous Zooplankton Filter Feeder, Avery Harman

University Honors Theses

Prochlorococcus is a globally abundant cyanobacterium that can help reveal the ecology of microorganisms in the ocean. Specifically, mortality by zooplankton such as appendicularians is globally important and Prochlorococcus can help reveal some of the choices made around feeding for this ubiquitous filter feeder. Two ecotypes of Prochlorococcus were introduced to appendicularians to determine if appendicularian feed selectively between these ecotypes. Further, a single ecotype of Prochlorococcus was fed to appendicularians over a variety of life stages to determine if retention rate changed with appendicularian life stage. My results reveal that there is no significant selection between the two Prochlorococcus …

Effects Of Intimate Partner Violence And Machismo On Pregnant Women In Mexico: A Systematic Review, Amber Casarrubias-Enriquez

University Honors Theses

This thesis aims to understand the effects of machismo and its link to intimate partner violence against pregnant women in Mexico. Machismo is a common underlying social norm in Latin America with Mexico being my target of interest. The term is defined as extreme masculinity that often contributes to gender inequalities and can have violent characteristics. Intimate partner violence is categorized as violent threats or acts against a partner and affects nearly 44% of women in Mexico (Carney et al., 2022). Barriers to help stem from shame, family expectations, and the overall violence against women in Mexico. Sadly, abuse persists …

Evaluation Of Sleep Outcomes After Traumatic Brain Injury In Children Using Questionnaires And Actigraphy, Connie Tran

University Honors Theses

Traumatic brain injuries are the result of a sudden external blunt force to the brain and can result in long-term complications or death. In pediatrics, it is the leading cause of acute and chronic sleep-wake disturbances, as well as cognitive deficits, which can lead to a reduction in the quality of life for these children. These impairments can later result in lowered performance in work and school settings or decreased psychosocial function. Currently, there is a need to determine the relationship between traumatic brain injury (TBI) and sleep. There is a need for more research on whether or not sleep-wake …

Business Capstone Review: Analysis Of Startups In Technology And Artificial Intelligence, Grayson Hoffman

University Honors Theses

This is a review of the Portland State University's business capstone course. The team was engaged by the client to reach certain goals and deliverables. Key to this project was immense research on startups within the Technology and Artificial Intelligence industry. Information was communicated with the client throughout the project to ensure client relevancy. The research was then used to perform an analysis to measure the potential of startups being a good fit with the client's goals. Upon completion of the project, the team will have presented a full report summarizing the research as well as the final recommendation list …

Attrition And Assimilation: The Neural Mechanisms Of Mandarin-English Bilingualism, Natalie Paige Robison

University Honors Theses

This line of research investigates attrition of native language (L1) Mandarin proficiency with increasing proficiency in English. English uses pitch to denote intonation (e.g., "it's there?" versus "it's there!"), while Mandarin additionally uses pitch to indicate word meanings; e.g., /he/ means "drink" when spoken with a high, level tone, or "river" when spoken with a rising tone. The present study delineates between two alternative explanations for the prior finding that English proficiency correlates with attrition of Mandarin tones, but not Mandarin vowels. This pattern could be explained by 1) assimilability of the Mandarin vowel contrasts used in the study into …

Piloting A Drain Gauge As A Method Of Measuring Runoff From Ecoroofs In Portland, Trinity Perrin

University Honors Theses

The following paper will be exploring a pilot methodology of a drain gauge system I built that’s used to calculate stormwater runoff from ecoroofs in Portland, Oregon. The drain gauge is a less studied technique for measuring ecoroof runoff, but holds high potential for developing better monitoring and management of ecoroofs within the city of Portland. What separates this stormwater runoff capturing device apart from other stormwater runoff calculation techniques is its adaptable design and simple installation. The drain weir can be placed in any roof drain that an ecoroof has been installed simply by placing it into a roof …

Differentiating Dynamic System Outcomes In Cam Photosynthesis Through Sonification, Duncan Turley

Civil and Environmental Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Sonification is a powerful tool that is harnessed by modern engineers to represent information through audio, and is beginning to be used to interpret more complex data sets. Sonification can be used to facilitate the listeners' ability to grasp microscopic or complex changes in the state of a system. This study uses the assigning of sound patterns to model outputs that indicate chaotic or non-chaotic systems in Crassulacean acid metabolism photosynthesis. Using sound allows the interpretation of chaotic data without the more time intensive processes typically used, such as of Fast Fourier Transformations. Based on past research, it is known …

The Construction Of Character And Authenticity On Rupaul's Drag Race, Carli Pickett

University Honors Theses

One of the most common instructions delivered to the drag queens competing on RuPaul's Drag Race is to show their "true self." At first glance, RuPaul's Drag Race foregrounds authenticity and individuality, but it does so through a constructed lens that shapes its contestants into characters. While storylines and characterizations on the show are necessarily informed by the queen's actions, they are heavily shaped by editing.

In this essay, I will be exploring the ways in which authenticity manifests itself throughout several seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race. Each episode of Season Seven, Eight and Nine was watched with special …

Cards With Class: Formalizing A Simplified Collectible Card Game, Dan Ha

University Honors Theses

Collectible card games (CCGs) have been a wildly popular game genre since the release of Wizards of the Coast's Magic: The Gathering. These games revolve around their thousands of cards and the hundreds of thousands of interactions they can create with their many effects. For designers, it is an incredibly demanding task to ensure that every single card works properly and that each card's text unambiguously conveys its intended behavior in all cases. The task only grows more difficult over time as the number of cards in the game grows and card effects become more complex or experimental. If the …

Publication Bias In The Output Of Generative Ai, Esperanza Y. Rodriguez Rodriguez

University Honors Theses

Throughout this study it became apparent that Generative artificial intelligence lacks the ability to identify publication bias and is not always able to grasp the central message, despite several attempts and methods seeking to correct such publication bias. Due to the training of AI which consists of consuming information from the internet and providing information by predictive algorithm methods the presence of bias was expected. The goal then was to investigate if generative AI, using ChatGPT as our tool, could correct its outputs based on inputs provided. The subject matter focused on research conducted in our laboratory, gadolinium based contrast …

Scale-Dependent Effects Of Urban Canopy Cover, Canopy Volume, And Impervious Surfaces On Near Surface Air Temperature In Portland, Or, Carson Ralls

Geography Masters Research Papers

Cities are significantly warmer than their surrounding rural environments. Known as the ‘urban heat island effect’, it can affect the health of urban residents and lead to increased energy use. Although this effect is extensively researched, less is known about how landscape characteristics within cities affect local temperature variation. With a warming climate and the need for heat mitigation strategies becoming more urgent, having a finer detailed understanding of the effects on temperature is critical to guide proper management policies. This study examined how tree canopy cover, canopy volume, and impervious surface cover affect daytime near surface air temperature, and …

The Institutional Challenges Of A Quantified Self Study: An Attempt To Ascertain How Data Collected From A Mobile Device Can Be An Indicator Of Personal Mental Health Over Time, Julian Lazaras

University Honors Theses

The adoption of an application of new technology always comes with a bias, this is never more true for the case of human behavioral analytics within higher education. While movements such as the quantified self movement make strides to reinterpret the realm of data analytics, psychology, and computer science, there are inevitably limitations to the adoption and application of such approaches within the standard realm of research. Herein is presented a case where an effort to evaluate the prospect of use of mobile phone data as secondary indicators of personal mental health through the lens of data analysis was put …

Neverland Theory: An Introduction To A Childish-Positive Framework, Daniel M. Gardner

University Honors Theses

Proposes, defines, and defends the beginnings of an original theoretical approach (Neverland Theory) which advocates for the revitalization of psychotherapy through embracing and incorporating more of the "Childish" in clinical practice. Three formal aspects of Childishness are proposed and briefly defined. A literature review of three existing psychotherapies which effectively incorporate the proposed Childish aspects are highlighted and shown to be effective and efficacious. It is argued that prioritization of these aspects contributes to treatment outcome in a way which goes beyond what can be empirically evidenced.

Technologies For Wearable Seizure Detection: A Systematic Review, Rhema Losli

University Honors Theses

Knowing when a seizure occurred is helpful because this information can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of seizure interventions and possibly alert caregivers to emergency situations. The current practice for recording seizures outside of a hospital and without sensors is through keeping a self-reported seizure diary. This practice may be unreliable if the diary is not updated or the person having the seizure does not realize it is happening. Wearable seizure detectors aim to solve this problem by reliably recording when a seizure happened and either sending out an alert or storing the data for later analysis. In this …

Preservation Of Biomass In Underground Capsules Using An Open-Source Wireless Water Activity Sensor System: Capstone Review, Joshua Varughese

University Honors Theses

This paper highlights the progression of a two-term senior capstone project in the ECE department at Portland State University. Sponsored by Dr. David Burnett from PSU's WEST Lab, the project aims to produce an affordable wireless monitoring system for water activity. The example scenario focuses on carbon sequestration where wood biomass is buried underground in enclosed capsules. For optimal sequestration, microorganisms capable of decaying the wood and releasing carbon back into the environment must be eliminated. Water activity, a key metric for measuring microbial activity, must be below 0.61 to prevent microbial survival. The system this project was designed for …

Trial By Rat Infestation, Elias Lunsford

University Honors Theses

Wanna make a rat movie?! From Ashton Livingston handing me his script in class to a week of December night shoots, his vision for a 1980s-inspired horror comedy called Rat Problem was a joy of a challenge for me to take on as his cinematographer. Watching reference films, renting and borrowing equipment, and managing the crew all culminated in creating this film's unique vintage-inspired ultra-wide and high-contrast aesthetic. The process of making this film, from equipment technicalities to creative problem-solving, forged my values as a creative collaborator. I learned to always protect the essence of the film as campy and …