Digital Commons Network^™

Digitally Enhanced Classrooms: Understanding The Effect Of Individualized Technology On Language Arts Instruction In Elementary Schools, Celine De Clercq

University Honors Theses

The use of technology in elementary classroom settings has been increasing every year. Many schools already included computer classes; however, recently there has been a large move towards individualized, or 1:1, technology as well. We now find certain schools have acquired tablets and laptops for each student – fully integrating modern technology with traditional instruction. However, in the effort to keep up with the surge of technology, schools may be ignoring the need for professional development and curriculum planning to support technology as a tool that enhances student learning. While working in an “Apple Distinguished” school that provided individual tablets …

Algeria In Perspective: Changing The Understanding Of The Modern Algerian State, Austin Averett

University Honors Theses

Much of the existing literature on the modern state of Algeria reinforces rivalry-based understandings of the politico-linguistic infrastructure that overemphasize the presence of a dichotomy (French v. Arabic) in the linguistic make up of the state. Many studies rely on this construction of an Algerian language dichotomy to predict the future of the state, while; in fact, more attention should be paid to the multilingual, multicultural, and multinational reality of the larger demographic. Algeria’s history of language rationalization has laid the foundation for unique institutional reflections of state power dynamics within a multilingual environment. Discussions of Algeria’s historical background, identity …

Metal And Prestige In The Greater Lower Columbia River Region, Northwestern North America, H. Kory Cooper, Kenneth Ames, Loren G. Davis

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Excavations at the late prehistoric-early historic Chinookan sites of Meier and Cathlapotle in the Greater Lower Columbia Region recovered several hundred metal artifacts. Portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) was used initially to quickly determine metal type. Then a sample of copper artifacts was subjected to another round of XRF analysis to identify the presence of native copper and, or, chronologically sensitive copper metals. No native copper artifacts were identified and the lack of Muntz metal, a specific type of brass patented in the 1830s, corroborates the dating of material from both sites as no later than the early historic period. Meier …

Community Assessment Of African Maternal Health In The Portland Region: Drivers For Community, Health Services And Institutional Change, Marie-Elena Reyes, Ann Curry-Stevens

Center to Advance Racial Equity Publications and Reports

This community needs assessment surfaces a range of health priorities faced by the African community. While the scope of the study is limited by time and resources, and strategically focused on maternal health, there are a wider set of upstream and downstream health challenges that impede the community’s wellbeing. We encourage policy makers to remember these whenever health policies, and in fact all manner of policies and programs tied to the social determinants of health, are being considered.

The main body of this report contains the insights of the 56 African women who participated in six focus groups. Their voices …

Child And Maternal Health In The Slavic Community: Insights On Assets And Priorities, Marie-Elena Reyes, Ann Curry-Stevens

Center to Advance Racial Equity Publications and Reports

The Slavic community’s health is impacted by race and ethnicity, and also by issues that flow from being a newcomer community, and also from their status as refugees. They also bring to the U.S.A. cultural orientation that is collectivist, and shared experiences of persecution and deep distrust of the government. As is detailed in this report, these experiences have an impact on health and wellbeing, and simultaneously have a detrimental effect on the economic stature of the community.

This Community Needs Assessment on the Health of Slavic Children (ages 0-5 years) was conducted to produce a “needs assessment” report outlining …

Family Connections Oregon, Center For Improvement Of Child And Family Services

Child Welfare

The State of Oregon was an early implementer of family-centered practices to improve child welfare outcomes by effectively engaging families so that children avoid placement or spend less time in care. Despite this promising history, statewide availability of such practices had not yet been attained. With the support of the Family Connections Grant, Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) partnered with the Child Welfare Partnership at Portland State University’s (PSU) School of Social Work to address this need.

When ‘Seeking Love Is Travel By Bus’: Deliberate Metaphors, Stories And Humor In A Romanian Song, Elena Negrea-Busuioc, L. David Ritchie

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Drawing on a song by Romanian blues rock singer and satirist Alexandru Andrieș, Transport în comun, we argue that both listeners and metaphor researchers must sometimes assume that a metaphor has been deliberately used and transformed in order to make sense of a metaphorical story, particularly when the metaphor is embedded in a particular cultural and political context. On the face of it Transport în comun is a song about seeking love, but it opens with a decidedly unromantic metaphor, “women are buses,” then develops this song into a story that is intelligible only on the assumption …

“Nixon Stonewalled The Investigation”: Potential Contributions Of Grammatical Metaphor To Conceptual Metaphor Theory And Analysis, L. David Ritchie, Min Zhu

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Halliday’s (1985; 1998) theory of grammatical metaphor (GM) has been quite influential among scholars who study structural approaches to language but has received little attention among researchers in cognitive linguistics. In this paper we summarize the aspects of Halliday’s approach that are most relevant to cognitive linguists, and show how key aspects of grammatical metaphor are related to the analysis of lexical and conceptual metaphors. Using an example of scientific writing analyzed by Halliday (1998) as well as examples from discourse previously subjected to conceptual metaphor analysis, we show how the two approaches might usefully be combined to yield new …

Empowering The Voice Of The Female Student: A Gender Inclusive Approach To The High School Language Arts Curriculum, Brittany Bonnet

University Honors Theses

In American schools, young women are routinely provided with examples of strong male characters and authors in the high school English classroom. Written curriculum (such as the syllabus, reading list, and grading practices) continues to contribute to the erasure of the female student. Furthermore, hidden curriculum (lessons that are taught “unintentionally” such as norms or values), such as a teacher’s use of gendered language, or time spent with students of different genders, reflects this same problem as teachers unintentionally disempower the female voice in the classroom. The result is female students who are less confident in the classroom and the …

Fostering Critical Thought Alongside The Common Core State Standards, Bianca Arias

University Honors Theses

This thesis evaluates a segment of the second grade English language arts and literacy (ELA) curriculum presently utilized in Portland Public Schools (PPS) school district in Portland, Oregon, using five principles for evaluation. These principles address the extent to which lessons are hands-on, engage home life, integrate the academic disciplines, encourage student autonomy, and are relevant to society today. These criteria were established following a review of John Dewey’s ideas and philosophies, and of two practices that model Deweyan principles: Project-Based Learning (PBL) and progettazione in the Municipal Infant/Toddler Centers and Preschools of Reggio-Emilia, Italy. This analysis of the ELA …

Trans•Form|Mogrify|Mutate, Sierra Randolph

University Honors Theses

When confronted with a word, meaning is revealed through contextualization. This transformation of inherently meaningless shapes to communicated ideas is only possible because of our deep relationship to language. Taking a step back, words become concepts that exist independent of their written form. Indeed, even "transformation" is a concept that can be contextualized and understood as more than a single word.

This project explores the concept of transformation in as many forms as possible: from the absurd to the realistic, from the literal to the metaphorical, from the zeitgeist of culture to the realm of the obscure. Using a variety …

Diversity Within Asian Americans: Barriers To The Public Discussion Of Discrimination, Samantha I. Ing

University Honors Theses

This purpose of this thesis is to discuss barriers to the public discussion of discrimination against Asian-Americans. The literature addresses three major barriers: model minority status, portrayal in media, and cultural desire to assimilate. This thesis discusses how Asian-Americans contain generational, ethnic, and immigration-based diversity that complicates these barriers, while also positing that diversity itself presents a barrier. This project concludes with a brief discussion of "intra-ethnic othering," the discrimination that occurs between Asian subgroups, as another barrier to public discussion of Asian-American discrimination.

Understanding Patterns Of Localized Poverty In The United States: Identifying Strengths And Weaknesses In Contemporary Statistical Analysis, Gregory Dyck

University Honors Theses

The localization and concentration of poverty causes many problems throughout the world, and is linked to multiple adverse effects on individuals, households, and society at large. However, determining the relationship between poverty and these affects is limited by the current state of affairs regarding how theory does and does not fit with the indicator variables being used or available. I will attempt to evaluate the current usage of variables and strategies, both how they succeed, and how they fall short in the analysis of concentrated poverty. The results of this analysis should open holes for the development of better indicators …

Culture Is A Language, Can't You Read?: Reading Gay Rights As Human Rights, Jen Corbridge

University Honors Theses

Scholars writing about postcolonialism, race, and gender have warned against universal conceptions of identity, but Western states have managed to expand their agendas through the production of a sexual citizenship. In this paper, I attempt to unpack the component structures of Clinton’s “Remarks in Recognition of International Human Rights Day” speech in order to tease out the ways in which she reproduces racist, Orientalist and Islamophobic rhetoric in order to advocate for a universal conception of sexual identity. Using contemporary scholarship that explores the intersection of sexuality, race, and nationalism, I argue that Clinton’s speech, using tried and true colonialist …

Person First Planet: A Comprehensive Review Of Person First Language, James Kirszenbaum

University Honors Theses

Person First Language has been around for thirty years yet remains confined to the borders of government agencies, special education classrooms, and professional psychology. Beginning here in Salem, Oregon as an offshoot of the People First Movement (Wehmeyer, Bersani, & Gagne, 2000), a self-advocacy group for persons with disabilities at Fairview Rehabilitation Center. It has since grown from an isolated appeal into an international movement and is the current accepted terminology in the APA and reflects in the language of all pertinent government acts (ADA, IDEA, etc.). Despite all these well intended improvements everyday use of PFL by non-laypersons has …

English Education In Thailand And Singapore : Differences In English Education, Use And Identity, Chelsey Hice

University Honors Theses

The Secretary General of ASEAN asserted the importance of education and the use English in promoting and bringing prosperity to the ASEAN nations. "Through education, through the use of English language and, more importantly, with a heightened sense of ASEAN Identity and ASEAN Community, we hope that ASEAN integration and cooperation will bring both benefits and opportunities to the region" (Le Luong Minh, 2013). Taking Thailand and Singapore into consideration, it is clear that national realities vary greatly within the region in regards to English proficiency rates. Education First’s 2013 English Proficiency Index Report revealed that Singapore was the second …

Learning Intercultural Competency Through International Immersion Travel, Jessica Patching-Bunch

University Honors Theses

Growing informational technology and international business alongside the speed of travel, have facilitated intercultural contact and increased the need for intercultural competency. As the world shrinks there are less defined lines between "us" and "them" and there is an increased need to look beyond our differences and focus on genuine human similarities. Intercultural competency is the ability to interact and communicate with another culture without violating valued social norms. Intercultural competency is preceded by a process of exposure and adaptation to new environments. Intercultural exposure is easily facilitated by international travel. Experiences abroad can be divided into two categories, quality …

Radical Uncertainty: Scenario Planning For Futures, Marisa A. Zapata, Nikhil Kaza

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

The use of scenario planning in urban and regional planning practice has grown in the last decade as one way to face uncertainty. However, in adapting scenario planning from its origins in the business sector, planners have eliminated two key components: (1) the use of multiple scenarios, and (2) the inclusion of diverse organizations, people, and interests through deep deliberations. We argue that this shift limits the ability of planners to plan for multiple plausible futures that are shaped by an increasing number of diverse actors. In this paper, we use case-study research to examine how uncertainty was considered in …

05, Latin, Vernacular Language, And Personal Devotion In The Portland State Book Of Hours, Matthias Bladou

Texts of Time

Matthias Bladou describes the use of Latin and vernacular French in the Book of Hours, and how language reflected a more personal use of prayer texts in the fifteenth century.

University Studies Annual Assessment 2014-2015, Rowanna L. Carpenter, J.R. Estes, Celine Fitzmaurice, Seanna M. Kerrigan, Annie Knepler, Dana Lundell, Neera Malhotra, Vicki Reitenauer, Erika Schnatz

University Studies Annual Assessment Reports

During the 14-15 academic year, University Studies (UNST) adopted a “Goal of the Year,” communication. We introduced a new writing rubric, piloted the rubric and used it to review Freshman Inquiry (FRINQ) ePortfolios and Sophomore Inquiry (SINQ) writing samples. We investigated the usefulness of the rubric, the types of writing being asked of our students and how well our students’ writing reflects our expectations for their learning. At the Capstone level, we expanded our course ePortfolio assessment approach to include intentional faculty conversations about how they address the goal of communication in their courses. We continue to be interested in …

Writing Outcomes Assessment, Portland State University. University Studies Program

University Studies Assessment Research

Summarizes findings in the Annual Report related to writing and quantitative literacy in Freshman and Sophomore Inquiry 2014-2015.

Psychometric Evaluation Of Lexical Diversity Indices: Assessing Length Effects, Gerasimos Fergadiotis, Heather Harris Wright, Samuel B. Green

Speech and Hearing Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Purpose—Several novel techniques have been developed recently to assess the breadth of speaker’s vocabulary exhibited in a language sample. The specific aim of this study was to increase our understanding of the validity of the scores generated by different lexical diversity (LD) estimation techniques. Four techniques were explored: D, Maas, Measure of Textual Lexical Diversity (MTLD), and the Moving Average Type Token Ratio (MATTR).

Method—Four LD indices were estimated for language samples on four discourse tasks (procedures, eventcasts, story retell, and recounts) from 442 neurologically intact adults. The resulting data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

Results—The scores on the …

Interactional Practices And Artifact Orientation In Mobile Augmented Reality Game Play, Steven L. Thorne, John Hellermann, Adam Jones, Daniel Lester

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

In an effort to better understand the ways that small groups use digital technology as they move through a physical environment, this paper describes the methods used by groups of three people to maintain a group participation structure as they accomplish a quest-type task during mobile augmented reality game play. The game was available on one mobile digital device (an Apple iPhone) that was shared by three players as they negotiated a set of point-to-point route finding tasks. Video-recordings of each group were made using three cameras (two head-mounted cameras and one hand-held camera). We focus on the different ways …

Executive Summary: Tutor-Facilitated Digital Literacy Acquisition, Gloria Jacobs, Jill Castek, Drew Pizzolato, Kimberly D. Pendell, Elizabeth Withers, Stephen Reder

Presentations and Publications

The Tutor-Facilitated Digital Literacy Acquisition in Hard-to-Serve Populations research project was supported by a National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant. It was conducted over the course of 3 years in cooperation with five partners across the United States, which were participating in a project funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Broadband Opportunities Technology Program (BTOP). All phases of the research were guided by two national advisory groups made up of scholars and practitioners in the field of adult education and digital literacy.

Language Learners: The Learner/Tutor Relationship, Jill Castek, Gloria Jacobs, Kimberly D. Pendell, Drew Pizzolato, Stephen Reder, Elizabeth Withers

Research Briefs and Case Studies

The Learner/Tutor Relationship brief describes findings that show how tutors who are bilingual are preferred by English language learners, even when they do not speak the learner’s first language. The unique ways that tutors and learners work together in digital literacy acquisition program are featured. The Research Briefs series highlight key findings about how underserved adults acquire digital literacy skills, and include quotes from participants and practitioners. The Briefs are designed to be accessible by practitioners, program administrators, and policy makers to inform and enhance digital literacy programs.

Tutors: Personal Qualities Of Tutors, Jill Castek, Gloria Jacobs, Kimberly D. Pendell, Drew Pizzolato, Stephen Reder, Elizabeth Withers

Research Briefs and Case Studies

The Personal Qualities of Tutors Brief highlights findings that detail the key qualities of effective tutors. These findings indicate that that patience is more important than technology knowledge in a digital literacy acquisition program The Research Briefs series highlight key findings about how underserved adults acquire digital literacy skills, and include quotes from participants and practitioners. The Briefs are designed to be accessible by practitioners, program administrators, and policy makers to inform and enhance digital literacy programs.

Tutors: The Tutor-Learner Relationship, Jill Castek, Gloria Jacobs, Kimberly D. Pendell, Drew Pizzolato, Stephen Reder, Elizabeth Withers

Research Briefs and Case Studies

The Tutor/Learner Relationship Brief emphasizes the impact that a positive relationship with tutors can have on learners’ engagement and progress in a digital literacy acquisition program. The Research Briefs series highlight key findings about how underserved adults acquire digital literacy skills, and include quotes from participants and practitioners. The Briefs are designed to be accessible by practitioners, program administrators, and policy makers to inform and enhance digital literacy programs.

Program Design: The Learner Path, Jill Castek, Gloria Jacobs, Kimberly D. Pendell, Drew Pizzolato, Stephen Reder, Elizabeth Withers

Research Briefs and Case Studies

The Learner Path Brief describes the steps learners took as they acquired digital literacy, including key moments of transition. Tutors supported learners on the road to becoming independent, confident technology users. The Research Briefs series highlight key findings about how underserved adults acquire digital literacy skills, and include quotes from participants and practitioners. The Briefs are designed to be accessible by practitioners, program administrators, and policy makers to inform and enhance digital literacy programs.

Program Design: Tutor-Facilitated Digital Literacy Acquisition, Jill Castek, Gloria Jacobs, Kimberly D. Pendell, Drew Pizzolato, Stephen Reder, Elizabeth Withers

Research Briefs and Case Studies

The Tutor Facilitated Digital Literacy Acquisition Brief highlights the importance of tutors in a digital literacy acquisition program and points to some specific ways tutors were able to support learners. The Research Briefs series highlight key findings about how underserved adults acquire digital literacy skills, and include quotes from participants and practitioners. The Briefs are designed to be accessible by practitioners, program administrators, and policy makers to inform and enhance digital literacy programs.

Program Design: Volunteering In A Digital Literacy Program, Jill Castek, Gloria Jacobs, Kimberly D. Pendell, Drew Pizzolato, Stephen Reder, Elizabeth Withers

Research Briefs and Case Studies

The Volunteering in a Digital Literacy Program Brief describes findings that detail the personal reasons and programmatic qualities that engaged and motivated tutors bring to a tutor facilitated digital literacy acquisition program. The Research Briefs series highlight key findings about how underserved adults acquire digital literacy skills, and include quotes from participants and practitioners. The Briefs are designed to be accessible by practitioners, program administrators, and policy makers to inform and enhance digital literacy programs.