Digital Commons Network^™

A Case Study Of After-School Activities In One School That Is Making Progress In Closing The Achievement Gap, Susan Robin Shugerman

Dissertations and Theses

Closing the achievement gap has been a national conversation for several decades and a priority for educators and researchers. By looking closely at one school which is showing exceptional success with closing the achievement gap for low income students and English language learners, this study seeks to understand how school personnel and parents view after-school activities and ways in which those activities may be impacting students who are making significant gains in spite of the achievement gap. After-school activities have been shown to bring many positive outcomes for students. That said, there is much that we do not yet know …

The Linguistics Of Sentiment Analysis, Laurel Hart

University Honors Theses

Computational linguistics is a field that was founded by linguists, but more recently is the domain of more computer scientists than linguists. Use of data driven and machine learning methods for computational linguistics applications is now more common than handwritten linguistic rules. In order for a linguist to enter the field, it is essential that he or she be familiar with methods and techniques from computer science. The purpose of this paper is twofold. The first is to serve as a linguist's introduction to concepts from outside of linguistics that are used in computational linguistics. The second purpose is to …

Utilizing Affinity Spaces And Critical Literacies For Multi-Media Language Learning : I Can Has L3arning On Teh Interwebz Plz?, Allison Lemcke-Kibby

University Honors Theses

In this study I will demonstrate students' personal use of the technology and online affinity spaces outside of the second and foreign language classroom. These affinity spaces allow users to discuss, explore and solve writing and reading related problems while textually constructing and exploring their identities. Language learners' use of fan fiction is the main focus of this analysis because it provides a significant outlet to examine literacy oriented language skills. I will analyze three case studies on language learners' production of fan fiction texts through a critical literacy framework which concentrate on three of the main characteristics of using …

Global Learning Outcomes Of A Domestic Foreign Language Immersion Program, Kathleen Ann Godfrey

Dissertations and Theses

There is a critical need for college students to receive an education that fosters global learning in preparation for life in an increasingly interdependent and interconnected world. Universities recognize this need and endeavor to provide a range of programs that target global knowledge and skills, and meet the needs of traditional and non-traditional students. Domestic foreign language immersion programs can contribute to student global learning and development by providing students with an opportunity to participate in a rich global learning experience in the U.S. While some researchers have investigated impacts of domestic foreign language immersion on language proficiency, few studies …

Post-Revolution Language Change In The Libyan Media: Tamahaq News Broadcast, Ashour Abdulaziz

Student Research Symposium

This paper examines segments from the very first Tamazight language TV news broadcast in the history of Libya in May 11, 2011. In the analysis, I focus on (a) Tamazight-Arabic code switching and (b) the profound influence of Arabic on the Tamazight spoken in this situation. Before the February 17 Revolution, such a broadcast was unthinkable, as the use of the language in such public contexts was outlawed during Gaddafi's rule. Post Feb. 17, the Tamazight language emerged in the media as a new linguistic spoken and written resource in the Libyan setting itself up as in contrast to and …

Learning & Practice Sessions: Contributing To A Strong Academic Foundation For Undergraduate Csd Students, Erin E. Robling, Susan Ginley, Rik Lemoncello

Student Research Symposium

While the scope of practice for speech-language pathologists has expanded dramatically, graduate clinical training remains a two year master’s degree. A solid foundation in undergraduate communication sciences and disorders (CSD) coursework is ever-more essential to prepare students for the breadth of knowledge and skills obtained in graduate school. How are undergraduate/post-baccalaureate CSD programs evolving to meet this challenge? This study proposes one such enhancement. Learning & Practice Sessions are a program by which peer undergraduate and post-baccalaureate students lead weekly, post-class review sessions during which participating students have an opportunity to review the week’s material, discuss challenging concepts, examine anatomical …

Magical Realism As A Means Of Expressing Cultural Disjunction In Alejo Carpentier's 'El Reino De Este Mundo', Ryan Saul Cunningham

Student Research Symposium

Cuban writer Alejo Carpentier's 1949 novel El reino de este mundo is considered to be a key work in the development of the magical realist narrative idiom. The narrative includes instances of the fantastic -- including ghosts and animal metamorphoses -- that the novel's Afro-Caribbean characters accept as factual. In keeping with his suggestions that "the entire history of America [is] a chronicle of the marvelous real," Carpentier supposes that these elements elucidate an "authentic" New World mode of perception. However, the novel's narrative structure belies the author's objective. The concurrent presentation of both non-Western/magical and Western/disenchanted cultural paradigms prevents …

Mathematics Orality And Literacy, Beverly Orth

Student Research Symposium

To become a mathematician, a student must learn how to "do" mathematics and also how to communicate with other mathematicians. Through a special language, both oral and written, mathematicians share a discourse community. This community extends not only across the boundaries of natural language, but also across centuries. My paper explores the following question: How does a person enter the discourse community of mathematicians? My research shows that learning mathematics parallels the learning of natural language reading and writing. Much like learning a foreign language, learning mathematics has been based mostly on oral tradition. The orality of mathematics learning is …

Preparing Future School Leaders To Ensure Racial, Ethnic, Linguistic, And Socio-Economic Equity In Education: The "Third Way", Deborah S. Peterson, Amy Daggett Petti, Susan Carlile

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Preparing educational leadership to ensure equity in our schools has become a focus of principal preparation programs with some programs relying on a conventional approach, others using a critical approach, and some using a combination of approaches. Despite a focus on equity, students' race and ethnicity continue to predict the educational attainment of students in our schools and their subsequent economic prosperity. As demographics in European countries and the United States change, the need to educate children of all racial, ethnic, and linguistic backgrounds is no longer only of moral importance, it is of urgent economic significance. To ensure economic …

Teacher Professional Learning Communities For Sustainability: Supporting Stem In Learning Gardens In Low-Income Schools, Sybil S. Kelley, Dilafruz R. Williams

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

In order to address the ecological and social problems of sustainability in our modern times, citizens need to be empowered with an understanding of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts and practices. Furthermore, STEM must be democratized and taught in life-giving and life-sustaining ways that include all students instead of the small fraction of "high achievers" and limited to the "potential" scientists, engineers, and mathematicians. At present, K-12 students and their teachers rarely have the opportunity to learn beyond their concrete school walls and to reconnect with nature, exacerbating their disconnection of STEM from real life and hence sustainability. …

Assessment Of Solar Photovoltaic Technologies Using Multiple Perspectives And Hierarchical Decision Modeling, Nasir Jamil Sheikh

Dissertations and Theses

The objective of this research is to build a decision model for a comprehensive assessment of solar photovoltaic technologies using multiple perspectives. These perspectives include: social, technological, economic, environmental, and political (STEEP) with each perspective consisting of multiple criteria. Hierarchical decision modeling and expert judgment quantification are used to provide the relative ranking of the perspectives and criteria. Such modeling is effective in addressing technology evaluations with competing and contrasting perspectives and criteria where both quantitative and qualitative measurements are represented. The model is then operationalized by constructing desirability functions for each criterion. The combined results provide an overall numerical …

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

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

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

The Readability Of Principles Of Macroeconomics Textbooks, Sarah Tinkler, James Woods

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

The authors evaluated principles of macroeconomics textbooks for readability using Coh-Metrix, a computational linguistics tool. Additionally, they conducted an experiment on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk Web site in which participants ranked the readability of text samples. There was a wide range of scores on readability indexes both between textbooks and within textbooks. Results from the Mechanical Turk experiment revealed that the Flesch Reading Ease Index does not predict which samples readers will prefer, but readers do prefer samples that are thematically similar, as identified by Latent Semantic Analysis. There were differences in the responses of native and non-native-but-proficient English speakers to …

Heritage And Health: A Political-Economic Analysis Of The Foodways Of The Paiute Indian Tribe Of Utah And The Bishop Paiute Tribe, April Hurst Eagan

Dissertations and Theses

Funded by Nellis Air Force Base (NAFB), my thesis research and analysis examined Native American knowledge of heritage foods and how diminished access to food resources has affected Native American identity and health. NAFB manages the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR), land and air space in southern Nevada, which includes Native American ancestral lands. During a research period of 3 months in the spring/summer of 2012, I interviewed members of Native American nations culturally affiliated with ancestral lands on the NTTR, the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah (PITU) and the Bishop Paiute Tribe. My research included participant observation and …

Hypothetical Would-Clauses In Korean Efl Textbooks: An Analysis Based On A Corpus Study And Focus On Form Approach, Soyung Yoo

Dissertations and Theses

This study analyzed hypothetical would-clauses presented in Korean high school English textbooks from two perspectives: real language use and Focus on Form approach. Initiated by an interest in the results of a corpus study, this study discussed hypothetical would-clauses in terms of how their descriptions in Korean EFL textbooks matched real language use. This study additionally investigated whether the textbooks presented the target language features in ways recommended by the Focus on Form approach. In the past few decades, authentic language use and the Focus on Form approach have received a great amount of attention in the SLA field. Recognizing …

Finding The Gifted Child's Voice In The Public Elementary School Setting: A Phenomenological Exploration, Keely S. Porter

Dissertations and Theses

Who are talented and gifted (TAG) students and how do we meet their unique needs in the elementary school setting? The body of literature clearly articulates the unique intellectual, social and emotional needs and characteristics of TAG students. Additionally, the literature supports the implementation of differentiated teaching strategies and affective curriculum to help meet these unique needs. This descriptive phenomenological study allowed gifted children, in fifth grade from a Pacific Northwest suburban elementary school, to share their lived experiences through reflective narratives and art. The data collected generated a central theme of Friends and general themes of Awareness, Feelings, Learning, …

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

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

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

Object-Oriented Programming: Some History, And Challenges For The Next Fifty Years, Andrew P. Black

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Object-oriented programming is inextricably linked to the pioneering work of Ole-Johan Dahl and Kristen Nygaard on the design of the Simula language, which started at the Norwegian Computing Centre in the Spring of 1961. However, object-orientation, as we think of it today—fifty years later—is the result of a complex interplay of ideas, constraints and people. Dahl and Nygaard would certainly recognize it as their progeny, but might also be amazed at how much it has grown up. This article is based on a lecture given on 22nd August 2011, on the occasion of the scientific opening of the Ole-Johan …

Fast And Frugal Heuristics For New Product Screening - Is Managerial Judgment "Good Enough?", Antonie J. Jetter, Fatima M. Albar

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Project screening in the fuzzy front-end of product development is dominantly based on managerial judgment, yet little is known about the quality of heuristic screening decisions. This research models three commonly discussed fast and frugal (F&F)heuristics for project screening (take-the-best, tallying and elimination-by-aspect) and explores their performance. An illustrative dataset of 52 new product development projects is used to compare the performance of F&F heuristics against that of regression models, which reflect compensatory judgment behaviour. The findings uncover a 'less is more' effect that justifies the use of simple heuristics in early stage product screening; two out of the three …

Taiwanese Language Medical School Curriculum: A Case Study Of Symbolic Resistance Through The Promotion Of Alternative Literacy And Language Domain Norms, Philip John Sweeney

Dissertations and Theses

In contemporary Taiwan, Mandarin language proficiency and literacy in Han characters are not only key skills needed for success in academic institutions and employment markets, but they also carry meaning as symbolic markers of national and supranational Chinese identity. This study examines how Taiwanese-language medical studies curriculum planners are promoting alternative linguistic practices as a means of resisting the influence of Chinese nationalism in Taiwan and striving to replace it with a rival Taiwanese nationalism. I conducted research for this study during the 2010-2011 school year in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. I collected data for this study by engaging in participant observation …

English Loan Words In Japanese: Exploring Comprehension And Register, Naoko Horikawa

Dissertations and Theses

English loan words (ELWs) have become a considerable part of the contemporary Japanese vocabulary. Meanwhile, it has been shown that there are individual differences in the rate of ELW comprehension. Among the factors for low comprehension is age; people over 60 years old have been shown to comprehend fewer ELWs than the overall age group. As Japan is expected to soon enter the era of an aging society, the issue of ELW comprehension is likely to present serious social and personal problems. The purpose of this study was to identify the current state of frequently used ELWs in contemporary written …

Trans-Americanity: Subaltern Modernities, Global Coloniality, And The Cultures Of Greater Mexico, By José David Saldívar, Elena Avilés

Chicano/Latino Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This book review evaluates the latest publication of comparative inter-American scholar José David Saldívar.

Understanding The Hidden Curriculum: Connecting Teachers To Themselves, Their Students, And The Earth, Michelle Sager

Leadership for Sustainability Education Comprehensive Papers

Education is a powerful venue for transmitting culture, and cultures exist with a common set of beliefs, assumptions, and ways of understanding the world. Children learn not only the prescribes lesson plans, but also important lessons about how to use language, how to interact with others and with natural places, and how to view the world - simply by following the guidance of adults, and especially teachers. These hidden messages are often sent unintentionally and without awareness of their implications, and in a modernized, Western world, they come with problematic, unquestioned, and underlying assumptions about how we view ourselves, others, …

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

Bulletin & Curriculum Change Documents

No abstract provided.

Annual Faculty Senate Minutes October 2013 - June 2014, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Annual Compilations of the Faculty Senate Minutes (Minutes Only)

Minutes of the Faculty Senate for October 2013 to June 2014.

Syllabic Patterns In The Early Vocalizations Of Quichua Children, Christina E. Gildersleeve-Neumann, Barbara L. Davis, Peter F. Macneilage

Speech and Hearing Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

To understand the interactions between production patterns common to children regardless of language environment and the early appearance of production effects based on perceptual learning from the ambient language requires the study of languages with diverse phonological properties. Few studies have evaluated early phonological acquisition patterns of children in non-Indo-European language environments. In the current study, across- and within-syllable consonant-vowel co-occurrence patterns in babbling were analyzed for a 6-month period for seven Ecuadorean Quichua learning children who were between 9 and 17 months of age at study onset. Their babbling utterances were compared to the babbling of six English-learning children …

House Of Cards: An Edtpa Orientation Activity, Naomi Jeffery Peterson

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

In this article, the author shares a theoretically-informed activity to support teachers who are impacted by Washington’s edTPA, the Teacher Performance Assessment. The author considers the edTPA as a common language for best practices in teaching and as a useful tool for orienting candidates to the profession. Step-by-step instructions are complemented with explanations of the conceptual connection between the activity and the edTPA requirements.

Back To The Clam Gardens, Nancy J. Turner, Kim Recalma‐Clutesi, Douglas Deur

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

In the following story, Kwakwaka’wakw Clan Chief Adam Dick, known by his traditional name Kwaxsistalla, travels back to the clam gardens off the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, where his grandparents raised food and passed down a huge body of traditional ecological knowledge.

The story also documents the first of a series of trips to be undertaken over the next two years to document waxsistalla’s unique and detailed knowledge and experiences of the food harvesting and other resource‐based activities of his Qawadiliqallalan of the Tsawataineuk people of Kingcome Inlet.

A Sociolinguistic Study Of Narcotrafficker Speech In Caqueta, Colombia (Estudio Sociolinguistico Del Lenguaje Del Narcotrafico En La Region De Caqueta, Colombia), Eva NúÑEz-MéNdez

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

This research comprehends a sociolinguistic analysis of Colombian Spanish which needs to be framed under the circumstances of the drug trafficking as a current practice in the region of Caqueta. The linguistic variety and lexicon in this area can only be studied according to this peculiar socioeconomic context of illegal drug trade in the rural and agricultural south of Colombia Due to this factor, numerous new words and expressions have been added to the general lexicon related to the cultivation, manufacturing, distribution and sale of drugs, especially cocaine. This new vocabulary is current in both the media and colloquial Spanish. …

Negotiating Liminal Spaces: Purposeful Pedagogy In Diverse Classrooms, Mildred T. Masimira

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

This paper starts with a personal exploration of my life as an African immigrant in North America. I inhabit a liminal space, and this paper explores negotiating life as a person “inbetween” worlds. Notable theories have been put forward concerning liminality (Anzaldúa, 2002, Ledgister, 2001; hooks, 1984). I discuss the origins of liminality and its various permutations with the aim of clarifying what it means to inhabit this space. Liminality represents a powerful vantage point that accords inhabitants, “not just one set of eyes but half a dozen, each of them corresponding to the places you have been…..” (Said, 1988, …