Digital Commons Network^™

Arsenic In The Soils Of Northwest Oregon, Tracy Ryan Ricker

Dissertations and Theses

One hundred and eighty-six soil samples from Northwest Oregon were tested for arsenic content. The highest values measured were 13.9 ppm in the A horizon (site C4) and 20.4 ppm in the B horizon (Site P4). Arsenic was not detected in 28 A horizon samples and 23 B horizon samples. Data are grouped based on the age and rock type of underlying bedrock. Lithologic groups with six or more data points were compared statistically to ascertain if groups are distinct. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) multiple comparison tests indicate that the arsenic content of the Marine Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks group …

Urban Ecology & Conservation Symposium 2013: 11th Annual (Abstracts), Urban Ecosystem Research Consortium Of Portland/Vancouver

Urban Ecosystem Research Consortium of Portland/Vancouver

The UERC is a consortium of people from various universities and colleges, state and federal agencies, local governments, non-profit organizations and independent professionals interested in supporting urban ecosystem research and creating an information-sharing network of people that collect and use ecological data in the Portland/Vancouver area.

UERC Mission Statement:

To advance the state of the science of urban ecosystems and improve our understanding of them, with a focus on the Portland/Vancouver metropolitan region, by fostering communication and collaboration among researchers, managers and citizens at academic institutions, public agencies, local governments, non-profit organizations, and other interested groups.

The principal organizers span …

Closing The Gap: Developing A Transportation Curriculum For The Oregon Young Scholars Program: Project Summary Report, Carla Gary, Bethany Steiner, Chuck Kalnbach

TREC Project Briefs

This OTREC educational proposal links experiential and transportation education from the University of Oregon with minority youth during the Summer ‘08 two-week session of the Oregon Young Scholar’s Program (OYSP). The grant provides OYSP an opportunity to create a transportation based curriculum during the Summer ‘08 program with the ultimate purpose of increasing minority interest and hopefully eventual employment in transportation related fields. OYSP was developed in 2005 to nurture the potential of marginalized minority students, to prepare these students for higher education, and to increase the awareness of their parents or caregivers about what it will take for these …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet February 2013, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The February 2013 Monthly packet includes the February agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held January 2013

Asian Primate Species Richness Correlates With Rainfall, Yi-Chen Wang, Amrita Srivathsan, Chen-Chieh Feng, Agus Salim, Myron Shekelle

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Previous studies of meta-analyses found significantly positive correlations between primate species richness and rainfall for Africa, Madagascar and the Neotropics, with the exception of Asia, leaving the open question whether that anomaly is the result of sampling bias, biogeography, or some other factor. This study re-examines the question using modelled data, with primate species richness data from the Southeast Asian Mammals Databank and rainfall data from the Climatic Research Unit. Data processing with Geographical Information Systems resulted in 390 sample points. Reduced major axis and ordinary least squares regressions were employed to examine the relationship for six regions, including the …

Stability And Instability In Third World Security Complexes: The Role Of Arms Transfers, David Todd Kinsella

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Controversy surrounds the alleged effects of foreign arms transfers on belligerency: do they precipitate international conflict, as some critics suggest, or do they promote stability by reinforcing deterrence, as others maintain? This paper examines the connection between arms transfers to the Third World and the occurrence of interstate conflict, including militarized disputes, from the end of World War II until the early 1990s. My analysis indicates that, in the aggregate, arms transfers almost uniformly contributed to subsequent instability within security complexes located in various regions of the Third World, but that the effects of American versus Russian arms supplies often …

Urban Forest Justice And The Rights To Wild Foods, Medicines, And Materials In The City, Melissa R. Poe, Rebecca J. Mclain, Marla R. Emery, Patrick T. Hurley

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Urban forests are multifunctional socio-ecological landscapes, yet some of their social benefits remain poorly understood. This paper draws on ethnographic evidence from Seattle, Washington to demonstrate that urban forests contain nontimber forest products that contribute a variety of wild foods, medicines, and materials for the wellbeing of urban residents. We show that gathering wild plants and fungi in urban forests is a persistent subsistence and livelihood practice that provides sociocultural and material benefits to city residents, and creates opportunities for connecting with nature and enhancing social ties. We suggest that an orientation toward human-nature interactions in cities that conceptualizes the …

From The Field: How Oregon Social Studies Teachers Are Preparing Students For The 21st Century, Gayle Y. Thieman, Kenneth T. Carano

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Much of the recent data on the state of social studies teaching has focused on the impact of NCLB on the decline of instructional time. The purpose of this study was to investigate the current status of K-12 social studies curriculum and instructional practice, as reported by classroom teachers. The survey investigated the impact of mandated testing, major goals and concepts, teachers’ instructional strategies, and technology integration. This paper presents findings from Oregon teachers with comparison to data from the 2010-2011 National Study on the State of Social Studies (S₄) and the content and skills advocated by the …

Bulletin: General Catalog Issue 2013-2014, Portland State University

Bulletin & Curriculum Change Documents

No abstract provided.

Making Sense Of Human Ecology Mapping: An Overview Of Approaches To Integrating Socio-Spatial Data Into Environmental Planning, Rebecca J. Mclain, Melissa R. Poe, Kelly Biedenweg, Lee Cerveny, Diane Besser, Dale Blahna

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Ecosystem-based planning and management have stimulated the need to gather sociocultural values and human uses of land in formats accessible to diverse planners and researchers. Human Ecology Mapping (HEM) approaches offer promising spatial data gathering and analytical tools, while also addressing important questions about human-landscape connections. This article reviews and compares the characteristics of three HEM approaches that are increasingly used in natural resource management contexts, each focused on a particular aspect of human-environmental interactions. These aspects include tenure and resource use (TRU), local ecological knowledge (LEK), and sense of place (SOP). We discuss their origins, provide examples of their …

Past Tense, 2013, Retired Association Of Portland State

Past Tense columns of the RAPS Sheet

January, 2013 "A Tribute from 1955"

February, 2013 "Remembering our PSU Women's Association"

March, 2013 "RAPS, the Campus Traveler"

April, 2013 "Early Leadership at Portland State College"

May, 2013 "The Beginning: Geology at Portland State"

June, 2013 "Launching Study Abroad at Portland State"

September, 2013 "We Celebrate a Half Century of RAPS at PSU!"

October, 2013 "Celebrating the History of RAPS"

November, 2013 "PSU Football Players Make the Pros"

December, 2013 "PSU's Chamber Choir Has Been Singing Since 1975"

Combating Violence Against Women Through C4d: The “Use Your Voice” Campaign And Its Implications On Audience-Citizens In Papua New Guinea, Vipul Khosla, Akina Mikami, Lauren B. Frank, Isabel Popal, Klara Debeljak, Amelia Shaw

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Violence against women (VAW) is universally identified as a barrier to legal, social, political, and economic equality for women, violating their rights and fundamental freedoms. This article brings together existing literature and empirical research on addressing such violence in Papua New Guinea (PNG), providing results that can inform future work in this area. The literature review examines the causes of violence against women and the role that communication for development (C4D) can play in addressing these issues. The Use Your Voice campaign was implemented in PNG in late 2011 in an effort to promote speaking out against violence and displace …

A Bottle Half Empty: Bottled Water, Commodification, And Contestation, Daniel Jaffee, Soren Newman

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Bottled water has rapidly been transformed from an elite niche market into a ubiquitous consumer object. Yet the literature on drinking water privatization has largely neglected the growth of bottled water and its emergence as a global commodity. This article draws on Harvey’s analytic of accumulation by dispossession to explore how commodification unfolds differently across multiple forms of water. Based on ethnographic interviews with participants in two conflicts over spring water extraction in rural U.S. communities by the industry leader Nestlé, we make three arguments. First, contestation over bottled water commodification is refracted through competing framings regarding control over local …

Making Accessibility Analyses Accessible: A Tool To Facilitate The Public Review Of The Effects Of Regional Transportation Plans On Accessibility, Aaron Golub, Glenn Robinson, Brendan Nee

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

The regional transportation planning process in the United States has not been easily opened to public oversight even after strengthened requirements for public participation and civil rights considerations. In the effort to improve the public review of regional transportation plans, this paper describes the construction of a proof-of concept web-based tool designed to analyze the effects of regional transportation plans on accessibility to jobs and other essential destinations. The tool allows the user to analyze disparities in accessibility outcomes by demographic group, specifically income and race, as required by civil rights-related planning directives. The tool makes cumulative-opportunity measures of the …

Academic Libraries In The Age Of Moocs, Kerry Wu

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

Purpose – The article aims to report on the current development of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), explore the strengths and weaknesses of MOOCs, and reflect on the possible relationships between academic libraries and MOOCs.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a mix of literature review (mostly current news) and personal observations. The author discusses the unique characteristics of MOOCs, speculates on the benefits of MOOCs on higher education, and explores the impact of MOOCs on academic libraries and how librarians can respond to it.

Findings – MOOCs create global learning communities that benefit both students and universities, and …

Analyzing The Foodshed: Toward A More Comprehensive Foodshed Analysis, Meara Butler

Geography Masters Research Papers

Foodshed Analysis is a tool used by researchers to measure the feasibility of providing more local food to a community. That there are economic, environmental, and societal benefits provided by eating locally produced food is a central assumption of Foodshed Analysis research. These benefits, however, are not inherent to a localized food system, but instead are goals that local food system participants must work to achieve. Foodshed Analysis may be a helpful tool that can be used to advise food system reform to the benefit of a community’s economy, environment, and society, but, in order for this tool to be …

The Myth Of Portlandia, Sara Gates

Institute of Metropolitan Studies Publications

An interview with Carl Abbott, professor of Urban Studies and Planning at PSU, and Karin Magaldi, chair of PSU's Theatre and Film Department, about Portland's recent trio of locally-filmed TV shows. How are they changing how the rest of the country perceives us? How are they changing us?

Defining, Tracking, And Displaying Regional Equity Conditions: Two Approaches From The Portland-Vancouver Metropolitan Region, Meg Merrick

Institute of Metropolitan Studies Publications

This report explores the strengths and weaknesses of two significant regional indicator projects for the Portland‐Vancouver metropolitan area. Specifically, this paper focuses on the measurement of equity conditions at a regional scale. In 2003, the Coalition for a Livable Future (CLF), in partnership with Portland State University (PSU), launched the nation's first regional equity atlas endeavor that pushed the notion of equity to the forefront of regional discourse. Defined primarily in terms of access to opportunities, especially in spatial terms, the atlas took advantage of the analytical capabilities and graphic power of mapping and maps to convey its findings. Published …

Madécasse: Competing With A 4x Fairtrade Business Model, Scott Marshall, Darrell Brown, Bex Sakarias, Min Cai

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

Brett Beach and Tim McCollum, co-founders of Madécasse, spent two years as Peace Corps volunteers in Madagascar. During that time, they fell in love with the country and its people. Recognizing the need of the Malagasy for stable jobs and fair wages and the connection between poverty and environmental destruction, Brett and Tim discussed possibilities for a social enterprise in the country.

Madagascar presents a beautiful yet challenging place to operate a business. It has a wide range of flora and fauna, approximately 70% of which are found nowhere else on Earth and it produces coffee, vanilla, sugar, cotton, pepper, …

Book Review Of, Patrick Daly, R. Michael Feener, And Anthony Reid, Editors. From The Ground Up: Perspectives On Post-Tsunami And Post-Conflict Aceh, Michele Ruth Gamburd

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reviews the book, "From the Ground Up: Perspectives on Post-Tsunami and Post-Conflict Aceh," by Patrick Daly, R. Michael Feener, and Anthony S. J. Reid.

Book Review Of, Geraldine Pratt. Families Apart: Migrant Mothers And The Conflicts Of Labor And Love, Michele Ruth Gamburd

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reviews the book "Families Apart: Migrant Mothers and the Conflicts of Labor and Love," by Geraldine Pratt

A Study Of Traditional Activities In The Exit Glacier Area Of Kenai Fjords National Park, Douglas Deur, Karen Brewster, Rachel Mason

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Kenai Fjords National Park (KEFJ) occupies roughly 1,760 square miles on the Kenai Peninsula in southcentral Alaska. Sitting adjacent to the community of Seward, the park was established in 1980 under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (ANILCA). The central portion of the park contains the Harding Icefield, from which no fewer than 38 active glaciers exit into valleys and tidewater locations surrounding the park. Of these glaciers, Exit Glacier is the most publicly accessible, and the only park glacier with road access from the town of Seward. A number of individuals and families from the Seward …

The Gamer Subculture In Lacy, Wa, Kate Washington

Anthós

Where there is culture, there is the opportunity for subculture, groups of people who create a separate identity within and often in contrast to the dominant culture of a society. In a large society, such as America, there are many cultures and subcultures. One such is the gamer subculture, people who can be identified by their affiliation to online, tabletop, collectible card and role play games. Gamers are predominantly male, but include a wide variety of ages. If there is a large enough gamer population in an area, there is often a store to support their interests. One such store …

Russian Nationalists' Misconception Of The Turkestan Cotton Industry, 1911, William Cohoon

Anthós

In 1833, the United States and Russia came to terms on what is known as the Commercial and Navigation Treaty of 1832, from here on out referred to as the Treaty of 1832. This became the first trade agreement between the two countries, thanks to which Russia began to import vast amounts of cotton and agricultural equipment. In 1911, the United States abrogated the Treaty of 1832, a result of the Russian policies regarding emigration and the treatment of Jewish Americans in Russia. Subsequently, certain Russian nationalists denounced U.S. as meddling in Imperial Russian affairs, and in a surprising move …

The Geography Of Home: A Preview From The Regional Equity Atlas 2.0, Meg Merrick, Kris Smock

Institute of Metropolitan Studies Publications

A sneak preview of Equity Atlas 2.0, looking at housing in the region.

(Ad)Dressing The Other: The Amazon In Greek Art, Annaliese Elaine Patten

University Honors Theses

The mythological Amazon represents the opposite of Greek ideals, contrasting the Ancient Greek identity and their societal ideals. In this thesis, I reconsider the role of the Amazon in Greek art between 750 and 400 BCE with particular focus on costume as an indication of a gendered and ethnic Other. This construction of the Other is conveyed through poetic description and visual motif in the minor arts. Responding to previous discourse, I will provide an alternative exploration of Athenian propensity to relegate unwanted foreign traits into the portrayal of the Amazon. The illustrated clothing is adapted to the scope of …

An Evaluation Of Data Collected By Middle School And College-Level Students In Stream Channel Geomorphic Assessment, Martin D. Lafrenz

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

This project tested the accuracy and repeatability of geomorphic stream channel assessments conducted by two different middle school classes from the Walt Morey Middle School in Troutdale, OR and college students from Portland State University in Portland, OR. Each group surveyed the same three cross-sections in Fairview Creek, a tributary to the Lower Columbia River, in order to assess stream channel geometry, discharge, composition of the bed material, and water quality. The three student groups were all able to accurately document the stream channel geometry, including stream width and mean depth, indicating that these data can be successfully collected by …

Do Cryoconite Holes Have The Potential To Be Significant Sources Of C, N, And P To Downstream Depauperate Ecosystems Of Taylor Valley, Antarctica?, Elizabeth A. Bagshaw, Martyn Tranter, Andrew G. Fountain, Kathleen A. Welch, Hassan J. Basagic, W. Berry Lyons

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Nutrient recycling occurs in hydrologically isolated cryoconite holes on the glaciers of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Biogeochemical processes enrich the cryoconite holes with solute and nutrients compared to the source sediment and glacier ice. The position of the glacier within the landscape affects the physical and biogeochemical character of the cryoconite holes, with those found in more biologically productive areas of the valley having higher concentrations of C, N, and P and higher pH. Comprehensive assessment of the quality and quantity of bioavailable C, N, and P shows that the cryoconite holes represent a significant store of nutrient in …

Top-Down Nationalism In Post-Soviet Kazakhstan, Annie M. Scriven

Geography Masters Research Papers

Kazakhstan was the most multi-ethnic country to emerge from the former Soviet Union and the only one to have its titular ethnicity as a minority. This paper examines the top-down nationalism that has occurred since independence in 1991. The government of Kazakhstan has used elements of the theories of nationalism and territoriality in their effort to build a strong and unified post-Soviet national identity. The role of language, treatment of minorities, changing demographics, and the multi-ethnic nature of Kazakhstan make this a difficult task.

Conventional Wisdom About Yugoslavia And Rwanda: Methodological Perils And Moral Implications, Aleksandar Jokić

Philosophy Faculty Publications and Presentations

While ostensibly a response to a critique, the main goal of this Article is to demonstrate how easily conventional wisdom, usually shaped by the media and politics, can corrupt scholarship when it is simply presupposed by those engaged in what should be an academic polemic, yet often also includes ‘activism in scholarship’. The examples of approved narratives in the West on Yugoslavia and Rwanda are used for the sake of this demonstration.