Digital Commons Network^™

Understanding Our Patrons’ Needs In Order To Thrive Together In A Digital Environment, Amy Honisett, Cindy Gibbon

Presentations and Publications

Data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) shows that adults in the US are less skilled in digital problem solving than in many other countries. As more of our communication, creation and learning moves online, how do we help our patrons thrive in a new environment, and how do we transform our training and resources so the library thrives, too?

We used a digital problem solving assessment tool from PIAAC to find out if our patrons’ skills matched up with national data, and we mapped the digital skills we assessed to common library tasks. Results …

Communities Of Practice In Higher Education: Transformative Dialogues Toward A Productive Academic Writing Practice, Janelle De Carrico Voegele, Dannelle D. Stevens

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications and Presentations

Because faculty have advanced degrees, it is often assumed that they have perfected the skills needed to be productive, successful academic writers. In reality, many faculty struggle with the demands of academic writing and the resulting loss of energy for teaching and other aspects of their roles. This article reflects on the impact of an academic writing program through a community-of-practice lens. We describe the program and its elements, its development into a thriving cross-discipline writing community, the role of central program elements such as accountability and dialogue, and the benefits stemming from a learning-community emphasis across program elements

Food Access Narratives In Southeast Portland, Oregon, Gwyneth Genevieve Mckee Manser

Dissertations and Theses

Since the late 1990's, "food deserts" have dominated the academic and policy literature on food access and food security. Food deserts are defined as areas that lack easy access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food, and are typically measured using Geographic Information Systems and spatial data sets. However, while food deserts may provide a useful measure for identifying food insecurity at a broad scale, they fail to account for individual definitions and perceptions of food access (Barnes et al. 2015; McEntee 2009). Furthermore, the food desert model assumes a lack of agency on the part of low-income populations (Alkon et …

Contextualization: An Experimental Model For Efl Writing Instruction In China, Guimin Tang

Dissertations and Theses

Chinese students learning English as a foreign language seem to get good marks in tests, but are poor or limited in their ability to write in English. This dilemma of China's EFL writing instruction seems to be related to the decontextualized EFL writing practices. This study aims to examine how Chinese EFL college students respond to changes in their writing instruction that pays attention to the context of EFL teaching and learning. In this study, context refers to three levels: linguistic context, situational context and cultural context.

Using the mixed methods approach, I conducted the study by engaging 60 second-year …

An Exploration Of Effective Community College Instructors' Use Of Culturally Competent Pedagogies, Aylin Bunk

Dissertations and Theses

Increasing diversity among community college students and the rising demand for a culturally competent workforce necessitate community college faculty across all disciplines to adjust their pedagogical choices to effectively serve diverse students while preparing all students for the new global era. The purpose of this narrative study was to explore what culturally competent pedagogies effective community college instructors use and reasons behind their choices. The study was conducted at a large community college in the Pacific Northwest. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with ten instructors teaching in different disciplines. In addition, the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) was used to …

An Analytical System For Determining Disciplinary Vocabulary For Data-Driven Learning: An Example From Civil Engineering, Philippa Jean Otto

Dissertations and Theses

Data-driven learning (DDL), an inductive teaching approach in which students learn through corpus interaction, has gained recent traction as way to teach specialized vocabulary in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) classes. There is little research, however, that addresses how to choose specialized vocabulary for teaching with DDL.

This study addressed this gap in research by exploring the potential of a three-part analytical, corpus-based system for determining vocabulary to teach with DDL for a specific context of language use. This system included (1) identifying words that were significantly more frequent in a specialized expert corpus than in a corpus of general …

Lexical Bundles In Applied Linguistics And Literature Writing: A Comparison Of Intermediate English Learners And Professionals, Kathryn Marie Johnston

Dissertations and Theses

Lexical bundles (fixed sequences of three to four words) have been described as building blocks of discourse, both written and spoken (Biber & Barbieri, 2007), and as a useful mechanical device for creating writing that is suited for its academic field (Hyland, 2008). Having noticed that the academic theses of my students at Longdong University in Qingyang, China seemed very different from professional writing in their fields, I created a thesis project that addressed the question of how professionals in their fields were using bundles and how the learners' use of these bundles in terms of frequency, structure, and function …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet March 2017, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The March 2017 Monthly packet includes the February agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held February 2017.

Do Sarcastic Exchanges With Millennial Employees Influence Performance Appraisal Effectiveness?, Karissa Burright

University Honors Theses

This literature review explores the intricacies of sarcasm in the supervisor-employee relationship; particularly, it looks at sarcasm between supervisors and Millennial generation employees and possible ways it influences performance appraisal effectiveness. It focuses on five key intersections, as follows: sarcasm, trust, Leader-Member Exchange (LMX), performance appraisals, and the Millennial generation. The purpose is to identify and define these intersections, their implications, and the gaps in current research. Thus far, there is little research on these intersections, requiring this paper to link the overlapping areas between subjects. Therefore, this research builds upon the work or psychologists, sociologists, human resources management, and …

Exploring Mathematical Capital: An Essential Construct For Mathematical Success?, Marla Ann Lasswell Baber

Dissertations and Theses

In the United States students have traditionally struggled with mathematics. Many students leave the educational system with limited mathematical literacy that can adversely affect their success as a college student, a consumer and citizen. In turn, lack of mathematical literacy affects their socioeconomic status. Through improving their mathematical literacy, students can be more successful not only in mathematics but, it seems in many aspects of their lives. Many researchers have defined mathematical literacy; yet, we need to understand more about how mathematical literacy develops. This study explores a model that identifies four key components that seem to be associated with …

Pro-Life Pdx! An Exploration Of Values And Feminism In Portland's Pro-Life Community, Belen H. Chapin

University Honors Theses

In a study presented by the CDC in 2006, 49% of pregnancies reported were unintended (Finer et al. 2011), accounting for almost half of the US population of women. Debates surrounding the use of abortion services by women in dealing with unintended pregnancies have entered mainstream media in the form of discussions about the usefulness of Planned Parenthood, and whether or not Planned Parenthood should be defunded by the government. On December 3, 2015, the Senate "passed legislation to defund Planned Parenthood... with a 52-47 vote" (Chang 2015), illustrating the divide in the US over abortion politics, and the public’s …

Using Fuzzy Cognitive Maps To Model Policy Issues In The Face Of Uncertainty And Limited Data, Brian Gregor

PSU Transportation Seminars

Planners and policymakers are often faced with the need to make decisions about issues for which there is uncertainty and limited data. For example, transportation planners are now faced with the prospect that new transportation technologies such as autonomous vehicles could greatly alter future transportation system needs. Decisions about these types of issues are difficult to reason about and consequently are likely to be ignored or made on the basis of simplistic logic. Although modeling could be helpful, especially for issues involving complex systems, it is rarely used because models usually require large amounts of data and and handle uncertainty …

Sherbro Dictionary, George Tucker Childs

The Sherbro Language and Culture of Sierra Leone

Sherbro Dictionary

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet February 2017, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The February 2017 Monthly packet includes the February agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held January 2017.

Teacher And Student Perceptions Of World Englishes (We) Pronunciations In Two Us Settings, Marie Arrieta

Dissertations and Theses

The present study investigated the perceptions and attitudes of two groups each of ESL teachers and students in the United States regarding World Englishes (WE) pronunciations before and after watching a video on WE accents. Data gathered via online surveys were analyzed using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. The results show that the perceptions of the teachers in the study ranged from somewhat negative to mildly positive, both pre- and post-video, which is consistent with Brown's (1993) findings that teachers' perceptions changed little if at all after being briefly exposed to WE stimuli. The education of the teachers …

Out In "The Numbers": Youth And Gang Violence Initiatives And Uneven Development In Portland's Periphery, Dirk Kinsey

Dissertations and Theses

Incidence of youth and gang violence in the Portland, Oregon metro area has increased dramatically over the past five years. This violence has recently become more spatially diffuse, shifting outwards from gentrified, inner city neighborhoods, towards the city's periphery. These incidents exist within the context of a shifting regional political economy, characterized by a process of gentrification associated displacement and growing, and distinctly racialized and spatialized, inequalities. While gang researchers have long argued a corollary between the emergence of gangs and economically and culturally polarized urban landscapes, the ongoing suburbanization of poverty in American cities suggests a new landscape of …

Cipsu Funded Research Highlights, Jian Wang, Confucius Institute At Portland State University

Confucius Institute at Portland State Publications and Presentations

The report includes the Confucius Institute at PSU funded research highlights for 2016 and 2017.

Advancing Design Thinking Towards A Better Understanding Of Self And Others: A Theoretical Framework On How Buddhism Can Offer Alternate Models For Design Thinking, Meredith James

Schnitzer School of Art + Art History + Design Faculty Publications and Presentations

In advancing the design discipline, two key themes repeatedly emerge: design's move away from materialism and augmenting better problem-solving skills through self-awareness. The first anchors design in a process rather than a product, something that is native to the concept of design thinking. The second anchors the designer in ethics. Designers who have a strong sense of self-awareness, understanding their own roles, biases and influences and the larger contexts they inhabit, are overall better equipped to solve problems. If we continue to advance design away from materialism and towards self-awareness, what models can we follow in this change?

Mandarin-English Bilinguals Process Lexical Tones In Newly Learned Words In Accordance With The Language Context, Carolyn Quam, Sarah C. Creel

Speech and Hearing Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Previous research has mainly considered the impact of tone-language experience on ability to discriminate linguistic pitch, but proficient bilingual listening requires differential processing of sound variation in each language context. Here, we ask whether Mandarin-English bilinguals, for whom pitch indicates word distinctions in one language but not the other, can process pitch differently in a Mandarin context vs. an English context. Across three eye-tracked word-learning experiments, results indicated that tone-intonation bilinguals process tone in accordance with the language context. In Experiment 1, 51 Mandarin-English bilinguals and 26 English speakers without tone experience were taught Mandarin-compatible novel words with tones. Mandarin-English …

The Power Of Languages: Linguistic Discourse On Migration And Cultural Diversity, Eva Núñez-Méndez

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

En estos días que corren casi a diario vemos titulares en los periódicos y en los medios de comunicación sobre la situación de los refugiados de Siria tratando de cruzar Europa hacia Alemania, buscando seguridad y oportunidades. Muchos de ellos barajan la idea de que se trata de una fase temporal y de que van a volver a sus hogares cuando se termine la guerra civil. Otros optarán por quedarse en el nuevo país de acogida en el que aprender una segunda lengua será una tarea imprescindible para sobrevivir.

La migración no resulta un fenómeno nuevo en la historia de …

Developing Sustainable Partnerships To Advance Digital Equity, Jill Castek, Cindy Gibbon, Gloria Jacobs

Presentations and Publications

In the early 2000s, inequities surrounding affordable Internet access brought the digital divide into public consciousness. Over time, practitioners and researchers working to address this divide have revealed a persistent, wider gap that includes inequities in social support networks (DiMaggio & Hargittai, 2001). Jenkins et al. (2006) identified a participation gap in using and interacting with digital tools. Evolving conversations have produced a broader conceptualization of the issues through the lens of digital inclusion and digital equity (Siefer, 2016). Those on the wrong side of the digital divide need digital literacy training, access to technical support, and the applications and …

“Metaphor Wars”: Time For A Truce?, L. David Ritchie

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Are metaphorical words and phrases merely clever use (or abuse) of language, or do they tell us something important about human thought and communication? Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT), initially proposed by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson in 1980, claims that commonplace metaphorical expressions like “rising prices” and “a warm relationship” reflect deep conceptual relationships (e.g. MORE IS UP and AFFECTION IS TEMPERATURE) that shape almost all of human cognition. CMT is supported by the “embodiment hypothesis,” the proposal that ordinary language use and comprehension involves areas of the brain primarily concerned with perception and muscle control (e.g. Barsalou, 1998). These …

Arabic Diglossia Within Palestinian-Arab Folk Narratives, Jordan M. Martinez

University Honors Theses

The preservation of Palestinian folktales is a way to restore and preserve Palestinian culture in result to the declining state and displacement of Palestinian populations into other regions of the Arabic World (Muhawi and Kanaana 1989). Some academics have acknowledged that the translation of folklore and other similar tales have contributed to a growing consideration of foreign cultures and the overall understanding by non-native sources (Klaus Roth 1998) (Kanaana 2005). Throughout this paper, I analyze the work put forth by Ibrahim Muhawi and Sharif Kanaana and their success in transcribing and translating a collection of folk narratives in their original …

A Novel Approach To Assessing The Quality Of Coach-Athlete Relationships: Can The Coach-Athlete Relationship Be Evaluated For Motivational Support By Analysis Of Published Coach Interviews?, Nikia C. Evans

University Honors Theses

The aim of this paper is to present a novel methodology to be used in evaluating the quality of the coach-athlete relationship in line self-determination theory and based on the motivational model of the coach-athlete relationship proposed by Mageau and Vallerand. This paper consists of a review of the extant literature surrounding self-determination theory as applied to sports, followed by a pilot study testing the proposed new methodology. The methodology utilizes existing coach interviews conducted by institution media to evaluate the language used by NCAA D1 soccer coaches in reference to their teams. The findings of the study serve to …

Language In The Korean Workplace: An Analysis Of Hierarchical Language Use In The Drama Misaeng, Jessie Nicole Mcneill

University Honors Theses

The influences of Confucian and neo-Confucian values can be seen in contemporary Korean culture and language (Seth 2016). The Korean language is hierarchical, meaning that the language demonstrates a clear social hierarchy between speakers through the use of various determined linguistic techniques (Agha 1998). Native Korean speakers employ a combination of speech styles and levels, honorifics, politeness and humbling strategies to convey their reception of the hearer’s social location in the hierarchy (Choo 2006). The environment of the Korean workplace is shaped by these cultural values with very apparent social stratification by rank (Lee 2012). The emphasis on social stratification …

Cultural Identity And Cuisine In Taiwan, Cassidy A. Pfau

University Honors Theses

This paper explores the relationship between food, culture, and national identity in the Taiwanese context. Beginning with a review of relevant Taiwanese history, this paper then shifts into a theoretical discussion on the topics of hybridity, globalization, identity formation, and how cuisine impacts cultural and national identity. In order to understand how these theories operate in Taiwan, a discussion of three topics is then presented: Aboriginal culture and cuisine, Japanese colonial history and its impact on Taiwanese identity, and Taiwanese-specialty foods as a symbol of national identity. Taiwan has created a unique cultural heritage using cuisine (among other cultural elements), …

Reading Latinx And Lgbtq+ Perspectives: Maya Christina Gonzalez And Equity Minded Models At Play, Elena Avilés

Chicano/Latino Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Through an equity-minded model, this essay addresses the work of Maya Christina Gonzalez and the new visions of gender she offers in children’s literature with My Colors, My World (2007). This essay frames the presence of Chicana/Latina feminist non-conforming perspectives on gender as chillante aesthetics and analyzes Gonzalez’s advancement of Latinx and LGBTQ+ standpoints in the following texts Call Me Tree/Llámale árbol (2014), I Am Free to Be Me: Gender Now Activity Book (2011) and Claiming Face: Self-empowerment Through Self-Portraiture: An Educator's Guide to Building the Powerful Link between Creativity and a Sense of Self (2010).

The Compassion Of “Compassionate Migration”, John Shuford

Conflict Resolution Faculty Publications and Presentations

“Compassionate migration” carries social significance and implies moral criteria. This practical notion should provide means to review, envision, and develop laws, policies, and practices for how we engage noncitizens and build political community within wider human relations. Yet “compassion” is an elastic concept; competing discourses and practices reveal conflicting meanings, assumptions, and orientations. “Compassionate migration” needs criteria upon which its “compassion” is evaluated, including how this notion evolves and what practical results it inspires—such as social cohesion, immigrant integration, strengthened community, and societal transformation. Bookending the chapter’s conceptually driven discussion are two recent, and opposite, case studies in the American …

Library Experience And Information Literacy Learning Of First Year International Students: An Australian Case Study, Hilary Hughes, Nerilee Hall, Megan Pozzi

Communications in Information Literacy

This qualitative case study provides fresh understandings about first year undergraduate international students’ library and information use at an Australian university, and their associated information literacy learning needs. The findings provide evidence to inform the development of library spaces and information literacy responses that enhance international students’ transition and learning. The study was conducted in 2015 as part of a project that simultaneously investigated the same topic at three US universities. This paper presents the case study context, reviews relevant literature and identifies gaps in research about international students’ library use and information literacy, and outlines the qualitative methodology—questionnaire, interviews …

How Do Acts Of Terror Affect Public Discourse Concerning Immigration? A Media Analysis Surrounding The Pulse Nightclub Shooting, Braedon Lehman

University Honors Theses

This article aims to examine how terrorist attacks influence public discourse concerning immigration, both in bias and in overall amount of discussion by conducting a quantitative and qualitative content analysis study on the Pulse Nightclub shooting. I will ultimately try to contribute to the research question: how do acts of terror affect public discourse concerning immigration? I will draw from a wealth of other content analysis articles with particular reference to studies on the effect of differing terms for immigrants affecting public opinion such as Merolla, Karthick Ramakrishnan, and Haynes 2013. This study is split into two parts and specifically …