Digital Commons Network^™

Controlling The Curriculum: A Content Analysis Of Prageru's Children's Educational Material, Heather Katherine Costa

Dissertations and Theses

PragerU is a conservative media outlet founded by Dennis Prager in 2009 that aims to insert new conservative content into existing U.S. public school curricula. While conservative activist groups have attempted for decades to alter educational content and policy, PragerU is attempting to directly influence public school curricula by having their materials authorized for use in public schools.

This study utilizes qualitative content analysis to understand the meaning behind PragerU's content, using a sample of 39 videos, targeted at students in grades 6 and higher. The transcript data were analyzed to address two research questions: 1) What are the key …

Prediction-Powered Inference For Clinical Trials: Application To Linear Covariate Adjustment, Pierre-Emmanuel Poulet, Maylis Tran, Sophie Tezenas Du Montcel, Bruno Dubois, Stanley Durrleman, Bruno M. Jedynak

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Prediction-powered inference (PPI) (Angelopoulos et al., Science 382(6671):669-674, 2023) and its subsequent development called PPI++ (Angelopoulos et al., 2023) provide a novel approach to standard statistical estimation, leveraging machine learning systems, to enhance unlabeled data with predictions. We use this paradigm in clinical trials. The predictions are provided by disease progression models, providing prognostic scores for all the participants as a function of baseline covariates. The proposed method would empower clinical trials by providing untreated digital twins of the treated patients while remaining statistically valid. The potential implications of this new estimator of the treatment effect in a two-arm randomized …

Approximation And Parameterized Algorithms For Covering With Disks Of Two Types Of Radii, Sayan Bandyapadhyay, Eli Mitchell

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

We study the Discrete Covering with Two Types of Radii problem motivated by its application in wireless networks. In this problem, the goal is to assign either small-range high frequency or large-range low frequency to each access point, maximizing the number of users in high-frequency regions while ensuring that each user is in the range of an access point. Unlike other weighted covering problems, our problem requires satisfying two simultaneous objectives, which calls for novel approaches that leverage the underlying geometry of the problem. In our work, we present two new algorithms: the first is a polynomial-time (2.5 + ϵ)-approximation, …

The Birnirk To Thule Transition As Viewed From Radiocarbon And Tree-Ring Dating Within Two Adjacent Houses At Cape Espenberg, Northwest Alaska, Claire Alix, Lauren E. Y. Norman, Antony M. Krus, Juliette Taieb, Shelby L. Anderson, Dennis H. O'Rourke, Owen K. Mason

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The transformation of the Birnirk culture into the Thule culture is essential in reconstructing the emergence of modern Inuit across Alaska and the larger Bering Strait. To this end, two adjacent semi-subterranean houses of late Birnirk and early Thule affiliation, respectively, at the Rising Whale (KTZ-304) site at Cape Espenberg were recently excavated and dated by radiocarbon and tree-ring measurements. We present the Bayesian analysis of the resulting large series of dates, demonstrating the lack of contemporaneity between the two features: the Birnirk house was occupied in the late twelfth to early thirteenth centuries AD, whereas the occupation of the …

Free-Running Ring Oscillators For Crystal-Free Communication Systems: Design, Simulation Challenges, And Frequency Stability Improvements, Haziq Rohail

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis presents techniques for enhancing the frequency stability of ring oscillators (ROs) for crystal-free wireless communication systems. The first major contribution is a tutorial-style study of frequency stability metrics, providing clear definitions, conversions methods, and comparative analysis of commonly used figures of merit such as phase noise, Allan deviation, and jitter. The second contribution addresses the challenges of simulating phase noise in free-running ROs. Key techniques including Periodic Steady-State Noise (PNoise), Harmonic Balance Noise (HBNoise), and transient noise analysis are evaluated in terms of accuracy, convergence behavior, and simulation runtime. Based on these results, practical guidelines are offered for …

Quantum Pseudorandom Primitives Beyond Pseudorandom States, Chuhan Lu

Dissertations and Theses

Quantum pseudorandomness is an emerging research area. Ji, Liu, and Song defined pseudorandom states (PRSs) and pseudorandom unitaries (PRUs) as quantum analogs of pseudorandom generators and pseudorandom functions. A unitary oracle separation result between one-way functions and PRSs/PRUs, established by Kretschmer, suggests that certain quantum primitives may remain secure even if classical cryptography is compromised. This insight has spurred extensive work on quantum pseudorandomness and its applications in quantum cryptography.

Many constructions of PRSs have been established under standard assumptions, yet building a secure PRU was a long-standing open problem. This dissertation aims to narrow the gap between PRSs and …

The Hydro-Geomorphic Response Of The Ephemeral Lower Nahal Tzalmon Stream To Experimental Flow Releases Towards Replenishment Of The Sea Of Galilee, Ne Israel, Nathaniel Bergman, Noam Greenbaum, Eyal Weinberg, Iyad Swaed

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Study region:

The Sea of Galilee’s western watershed includes the Lower and Upper Galilee subregions in northern Israel. Nahal Tzalmon stream (110 km2) is one of the major gravel-bed channels draining those subregions into the lake. Study focus: The study focus was to monitor the immediate effects of introducing “hungry water” from the newly mega-project of the “Reverse National Water Carrier” (RNWC). The project was designed to convey desalinated water from the Mediterranean coastal desalination plants through a 5 km open channel into the lower Nahal Tzalmon stream in order to replenish the Sea of Galilee. During a 2-day experimental …

Towards Scalable Schema Mapping Using Large Language Models, Christopher Buss, Mahdis Safari, Arash Termehchy, David Maier, Stefan Lee

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

The growing need to integrate information from many diverse sources poses significant scalability challenges for data integration systems. These systems often rely on manually written schema mappings, which are complex and costly to maintain. While recent advances suggest that large language models (LLMs) can assist in automating schema mapping, key challenges remain. We motivate future research in schema mapping generation by highlighting key challenges, presenting a competitive bidirectional schema matching pipeline, and exploring the limitations of current methods for generating more complex mappings.

Evaluation Of Fano Resonance In Silver Nanotriangles And Complementary Triangular Apertures For Enhanced Refractive Index Sensing, Nabila Islam

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis presents a detailed investigation of plasmonic sensors based on silver (Ag) nanotriangles, focusing on the interaction of plasmonic mode with waveguide modes to achieve Fano resonance for enhanced refractive index sensitivity. For this purpose, Ag nanotriangles were chemically synthesized and were on indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass. The samples were illuminated with laser light of various wavelengths and polarization to excite surface plasmon in the nanotriangle. Observation and characterization of their plasmonic behavior was done experimentally using Photoemission Electron Microscopy (PEEM). Numerical simulations using the Finite Element Method (FEM) were performed that agreed with these experimental results and …

Multi-Sensor Remote Sensing Captures Geometry And Slow-To-Fast Sliding Transition Of The 2017 Mud Creek Landslide, Alexander L. Handwerger, Pascal Lacroix, Andrew F. Bell, Adam M. Booth, Mong-Han Huang, Simon M. Mudd, Roland Bürgmann, Eric J. Fielding

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Landslides pose a significant hazard worldwide. Despite advances in landslide monitoring, predicting their size, timing, and location remains a major challenge. We revisit the 2017 Mud Creek landslide in California using radar interferometry, pixel tracking, and elevation change measurements from satellite and airborne radar, lidar, and optical data. Our analysis shows that pixel tracking of optical imagery captured the transition from slow motion to runaway acceleration starting ~ 1 month before catastrophic failure—an acceleration undetected by satellite InSAR alone. Strain rate maps revealed a new slip surface formed within the landslide body during acceleration, likely a key weakening mechanism. Failure …

Using The Epic (Exposure, Persuasion, Identification, And Commitment) To Develop A Measure Of Student Buy-In To Laboratory Learning Goals, Elizabeth Blanche Vaughan, A. Montoya-Cowan, Jack Barbera

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Buy-in has been described as the series of judgements students make when deciding to engage with a pedagogical practice. Buy-in to pedagogical practices is known to have a meaningful impact on students’ engagement in learning environments, making it a construct of interest for researchers and practitioners. This study develops a measure of student buy-in to faculty defined laboratory learning goals by adapting an existing measure which operationalizes the construct in terms of Exposure, Persuasion, Identification, and Commitment (EPIC). The adapted measure presented in this study, deemed the EPIC-LaG (Laboratory Goals), was developed using learning goals for general and organic chemistry …

Ronald E. Mcnair Research Symposium Presentation Schedule 2025, Mcnair Scholars Program

McNair Symposium

This is the presentation schedule for the 23rd Undergraduate Ronald E. McNair Research Symposium 2025.

Voice As A Biomarker: Exploratory Analysis For Benign And Malignant Vocal Fold Lesions, Phillip Jenkins, Rylan Harrison, Steven Bedrick, Lisa Karstens, Bridge2ai-Voice Consortium

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Benign and malignant vocal fold lesions can alter voice quality and lead to significant morbidity or, in the case of malignancy, mortality. Early, noninvasive identification of these lesions using voice as a biomarker may improve diagnostic access and outcomes. In this study, we analyzed data from the initial release of the Bridge2AI-Voice dataset to evaluate which acoustic features best distinguish laryngeal cancer and benign vocal fold lesions from other vocal pathologies and healthy voice function. Seven diagnostic cohorts were grouped into two analyses: the first included participants with laryngeal cancer, benign lesions, or no voice disorder; the second included those …

Overcoming Challenges In Mapping Hydrography And Heterogeneity In Urban Landscapes, Kristina G. Hopkins, Rebecca L. Hale, Krista A. Capps, John S. Kominoski, Jennifer L. Morse, Allison H. Roy, Andrew Blinn, Shuo Chen, Liz Ortiz Munoz, Annika Quick, Jacob Rudolph

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Understanding how water moves through a watershed is one of the most fundamental yet often complicated aspects of hydrology, especially in urban areas. Urban infrastructure and water management alter natural hydrological pathways in developed watersheds, which can violate assumptions of a watershed approach to ecosystem science. We focus on two aspects of urban landscapes that often create challenges to model watershed processes within and among urban areas: (1) accurate delineation of urban flow paths and (2) consistent characterisation of the urban landscape within and among cities. Here, we describe these challenges and identify how certain components of these challenges can …

Emergence Of Norms In The Presence Of Social Network Structure In A Stochastic Evolutionary Game Theory Model, Parker Foresman

Dissertations and Theses

In their 2000 paper, The Emergence of Classes in a Multi-Agent Bargaining Model, Axtell, Epstein, and Young introduced an agent-based bargaining model to study how social norms can emerge and persist from the decentralized, asynchronous interactions of individual agents in the presence of noise, even when these agents have no predefined preferences or advantages. This thesis extends their model by incorporating structured interaction networks, allowing us to investigate how the topology of agent interactions influences long-run dynamics and norm formation. Using a custom simulation package built in the Julia programming language, we replicate the original results under a complete …

A Groundwater Flow System Investigation In The Upper Rowena Creek Drainage, Oregon, Catelee Yamei Kambur

Dissertations and Theses

Groundwater level declines are a growing concern within the upper Rowena Creek drainage, Oregon. This area is home to a small community located on the upper limb of the Columbia Hills anticline, where local residents rely on aquifers within the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) for domestic water supplies. Groundwater level declines in CRBG aquifers have been studied more extensively in the Mosier area, which lies approximately 5 miles to the northwest of Rowena, but there has been little research conducted specifically on the upper Rowena Creek drainage area. Rowena is located higher up the dip of the Columbia Hills …

Imputation Via Domain Adaptation: Rethinking Variable Subset Forecasting From Knowledge Transfer, Runchang Liang, Qi Hao, Yue Gao, Kunpeng Liu, Lu Jiang, Pengyang Wang, Minghao Yin

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Multivariate time series forecasting in practical deployment faces a critical challenge termed Variable Subset Forecasting (VSF), where certain variables accessible during training are entirely missing during inference. This creates a stark discrepancy between the training (source domain with full variables) and inference (target domain with partial variables) environments, disrupting cross-variable dependencies and fragmenting global temporal patterns. Existing imputation methods, limited to transferring local knowledge (e.g., temporal neighbors or pairwise correlations), fail to capture essential global dynamics, leading to severe performance degradation under distribution shifts. To address these challenges, we redefine VSF as a cross-domain knowledge transfer problem and propose VIDA, …

Guided Modes Through The Dual Perspectives Of Geometrical Optics And Wave Equation, Mason Spears

Mathematics and Statistics Undergraduate Departmental Honors Theses

In an optical waveguide, only finitely many electric field intensity profiles travel without loss, and these are aptly named guided modes. This paper uses fundamental concepts from the two paradigms of interpreting light, geometrical and physical optics, to derive guided modes axiomatically. First, basic principles of geometrical optics are demonstrated in a slab waveguide to explain characteristics of optical waveguides such as total internal reflection and numerical aperture. Dispersion curves are assembled from the same principles and used to show that only finitely many guided modes exist for a given waveguide. Next, Maxwell’s equations are used to derive the famous …

What's The Value Of A State? Accounting For The Ecosystem Services And Natural Capital Of Oregon, Kathryn Liebrecht

University Honors Theses

Ecosystem services are vital to human welfare and society, but often are overlooked when it comes to planning and setting policy. By neglecting to incorporate the benefits received from natural resources, policy makers may unknowingly be making decisions that harm the long term sustainability and use of these services. To highlight the importance of Oregon's ecosystems, the present study aims to provide a full accounting of the ecosystem services and natural capital of the state. Using data from the Institute for Natural Resources' updated Oregon statewide habitat map, Oregon's ecosystems were matched to biome categories from the Ecosystem Services Valuation …

An Exploration Of The Structure Of The Linear Algebraic Model Of Color, Isaac Martin

University Honors Theses

This thesis surveys the mathematical grounding of linear algebraic models of color. It aims to build from the ground up the framework by which additive color is broadly understood in the digital age. Primarily building on the work of Jozef Cohen, Eric Dubois, David H. Krantz, and Günter Wyszecki, it aims to chart the construction of a model of color that underpins most modern understandings of color. While the construction is certainly established in colorimetric circles, the construction is, in the thesis author's opinion, either obtuse or non-rigorous. Ideally, this thesis serves to make the construction accessible to an audience …

Coli@Fire2024: Findings Of Word-Level Code-Mixed Language Identification In Dravidian Languages, Asha Hegde, Fazlourrahman Balouchzahi, Sabur Butt, Sharal Coelho, Kavya G, Harshitha S. Kumar, Sonith D, Shashirekha H. L., Ameeta Agrawal

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Code-mixing, a linguistic phenomenon where multiple languages are blended within a single text, has become increasingly prevalent in multilingual societies, particularly in digital communication. The CoLI-Dravidian shared task, organized as part of Forum for Information Retrieval and Evaluation (FIRE) 2024, aimed to address these challenges by inviting researchers to develop models capable of classifying words in code-mixed texts involving Dravidian languages — Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Tulu - interwoven with English. The task presents significant challenges due to the complexity of linguistic structures, mixed-language tokens, and dialectal variations, especially in low-resource languages like those in the Dravidian family. The participating …

Alignment Of Perceptual Similarity Metrics With Human Perception, Abhijay Ghildyal

Dissertations and Theses

Perceptual similarity metrics are used for quantitatively evaluating the similarity between two images as it would appear to human perception. These metrics aim to mimic the human visual system, providing a more accurate assessment of visual similarity. Such visual assessments are considered to be more advanced than simple pixel-wise comparisons such as ℓ_p norm distances. Thus, a human-like assessment of visual similarity, makes the metrics valuable for applications in image compression, restoration, and enhancement, where evaluating perceptual quality is crucial. Perceptual similarity metrics have progressively become more correlated with human judgments on perceptual similarity; however, despite recent advances, the …

The Art Of Memory: The Medieval Peutinger Map, Amber Shrewsbury

Dissertations and Theses

The Peutinger map is an enigma: a twelfth-century map of the Roman Empire, it is secular and oddly shaped, its dimensions distorted to show Rome at the center of the world. Its creator, purpose, and provenance currently remain lost to history. Long considered by classicists to be a copy of a lost Roman original, the map has not been seriously examined by medievalists, possibly because it does not adhere to the Christian "T-O" style of medieval mappaemundi.

While other scholars have focused on what the Peutinger map reflects about ancient Rome, I have chosen to explore how the Peutinger …

Stimulated Cytokine Production, Attachment, And Emotional Well-Being In Dementia Spousal Caregivers, Daniel L. Argueta, Sarah Roberts, Kelly N. Brice, E Lydia Wu-Chung, Vincent D. Lai, Jensine Paoletti-Hatcher, Bryan T. Denny, Charles Green, Samantha Henry, Multiple Additional Authors

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Proinflammatory cytokine production may be related to poor emotional adjustment in dementia spousal caregivers. People who display attachment insecurity may be at increased risk for adverse caregiving experiences and poor psychosocial outcomes.

The People's Rivers: Early Environmental Regulation And The Oregon State Sanitary Authority, Avery Morgan Fischer

Dissertations and Theses

The environmental movement in Oregon can trace its origins to the turn of the twentieth century, where citizen activism and initiative led to the creation of an early environmental regulatory agency, the Oregon State Sanitary Authority. This creation established that the State of Oregon had a duty to preserve, not just the navigability or usability of rivers and waterways, but the quality and purity of its water. The Oregon State Sanitary Authority played an active role in maintaining and protecting the environment as a mandate of the people, and throughout its thirty-year existence battling industrial polluters, reluctant municipalities, and disinterested …

An Example Where Taking An Additional Observation Doesn't Help, Stephen Portnoy, James Stein

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

It seems intuitively obvious that no part of a random sample should be discarded. However, for most students, the first formal justification of this idea is when sufficiency is introduced in an introductory statistical theory course. Students are often left with the idea that conditioning on the sufficient statistic always improves inference, even though the formal theory only says that for any statistical procedure there is one depending on the sufficient statistic that is no worse. Here we present an example on comparing two coins based on two consecutive tosses, where the optimal probability of guessing which coin has the …

Subspace And Auxiliary Space Preconditioners For High-Order Interior Penalty Discretizations In H(Div), Will Pazner

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper, we construct and analyze preconditioners for the interior penalty discontinuous Galerkin discretization posed in the space H(div). These discretizations are used as one component in exactly divergence-free pressure-robust discretizations for the Stokes problem. Three preconditioners are presently considered: a subspace correction preconditioner using vertex patches and the lowest-order H1-conforming space as a coarse space, a fictitious space preconditioner using the degree-p discontinuous Galerkin space, and an auxiliary space preconditioner using the degree-(p − 1) discontinuous Galerkin space and a block Jacobi smoother. On certain classes of meshes, the subspace and fictitious space preconditioners result in provably well-conditioned …

Occurrence Of Pesticides In Oregon Coastal Waters And Effects On The Intertidal Sea Anemone, Anthopleura Elegantissima, Gabriella Mae Bleil

Dissertations and Theses

Pesticides are used globally for a wide range of applications including agricultural, forestry, roadsides, freshwater systems, and personal use. While pesticides have ensured efficient crop production, they are frequently transported away from application sites and are ubiquitous in terrestrial and aquatic environments. Pesticides are often detected in watersheds and rivers globally, which can have unintentional toxic effects on non-target organisms by interfering with cellular processes, behavior, feeding, reproduction, and disrupting endocrine processes. The aggregating anemone, Anthopleura elegantissima, is an important species along the North American Pacific coast due to its symbiotic relationships that contribute to high productivity, and its …

The Lewis Basicity Of Amines On The Legault Iodonium Lewis Acidity Scale., Soocheta Jha, Souradeep Basu, Madison Bob, David R. Stuart

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Diaryliodonium-amine complexes are proposed as key intermediates in metal-free C-N coupling reactions. Herein, H NMR titration is used to quantify association constants () between diaryliodonium triflates and synthetically relevant amines from which the amine Lewis basicity (LB) parameter is calculated. Compared to anionic Lewis bases, distinct solvent effects are observed.

Summer Proceedings 2025, Sav Milburn, Brandon Hernandez-Calvario, Roberto Palacios, Paris Wu, Naomi Cai, Olivia Wang

altREU Projects

This comprehensive collection showcases cutting-edge research from undergraduate students participating in three innovative programs at Portland State University: the NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site on "Computational Modeling Serving Portland," the alternative Research Experiences for Undergraduates (altREU) program, and Teuscher Lab internships. These programs leverage community partnerships while breaking traditional barriers through fully online, accessible formats that welcome students regardless of background or circumstances. The 24 projects span foundational AI methods, healthcare and medical AI, transportation and urban safety, environmental and earth sciences, language and social AI, and specialized neural architectures. From developing assistive driving companions and emotion-aware AI …