Digital Commons Network^™

Rethinking Teacher Education Programs: (Mis)Understanding Of Culturally Responsive Teaching Among Teacher Candidates, Shirley M. Sommers

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

This article draws from a study conducted on pre-service teachers enrolled in a teacher education program. The study examines students’ understanding and misunderstanding of what constitutes culturally responsive teaching. This is a mixed methods study. A Likert-type survey and qualitative questionnaires were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze survey data, and a thematic coding method was used for analysis of qualitative data. The results of the study show that pre-service teachers are aware and knowledgeable of the term culturally responsive teaching as the term is widely used in the teacher education program in which they were …

Preparing Inclusive Educators: The Impact Of Fieldwork Experience On Preservice Teachers’ Knowledge, Skills, And Confidence In Working With Students With Disabilities, Adrian Jung

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

This study examined preservice teachers’ confidence in working with students with disabilities across Elementary (n = 44), Secondary (n = 43), and Special Education (n = 52) programs. Using a quantitative pretest–posttest survey design, participants completed an adapted version of the Special Needs Confidence Scale before and after student teaching. Descriptive statistics and Tukey post hoc analyses were conducted. Results indicated overall increases in confidence following fieldwork, with Special Education preservice teachers reporting consistently higher confidence than Elementary and Secondary peers. Findings highlight the role of targeted preparation and field-based experiences in supporting inclusive teaching readiness.

Measurement Of Pollution Emissions From Natural Gas Stoves: Preparation For An Induction Cooktop Intervention Study, Jessica Zanella Lorensi

Dissertations and Theses

Humans spend ∼90% of their time enclosed in buildings. Indoors environments can be a source of pollutant which can affect health and productivity. Appliances that combust fossil fuels indoors, like stoves, are a critical source of a range of pollutants, like carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂). In the US, the usual cooking fuel is natural gas (NG), presented in more than 30% of households in the country. Some studies in the literature linked cooking pollutants, including those specific to gas combustion, to various health conditions, including heart and respiratory diseases. Nitrogen dioxide, for example, can be …

Lessons From The Club Homeschool Capstone: Testing, Data Discipline, And The Computer Science Curriculum, Shane Brown

University Honors Theses

This thesis looks at the CLUB Homeschool Capstone project to argue that Portland State University's Computer Science curriculum should introduce testing and data quality discipline earlier and more intentionally than it does now. As team lead of a seven-person team, I coordinated sprint planning, communicated with the sponsor, and developed custom Discourse plugins that enhanced an existing forum platform instead of creating a separate application database, as requested by the sponsor. The project's requirements document called for a formal testing plan, but our team lacked the practical experience to implement one. This gap became evident through my internships as a …

Impact Of Chronic Pain On The Families Of U.S. Adults, Jennifer S. De La Rosa, Katherine E. Herder, Rita D. Romero, De'sha S. Wolf, Tally M. Largent-Milnes, Mohab M. Ibrahim, Stacy S. Pigott, Greg T. Chism, Beth E. Meyerson, Julie G. Pilitsis, Multiple Additional Auhors

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Introduction:. Chronic pain (CP) can profoundly strain family systems, yet few population studies have explored prevalence and population dynamics of CP with high impact on families. Objectives:. Examining prevalence and phenomenological characteristics of chronic pain with high impact on the families of U.S. adults. Situating HICP-family within a tiered cascade of functional impact. Methods:. Prevalence estimated using 2023 National Health Interview Survey Data (n = 29,522) Results:. Findings are as follows: (1) the population prevalence of CP with high impact on families (high-impact chronic pain [HICP]-Family) is 4.4% among U.S. adults, 18.1% among U.S. adults with CP, and 46.3% among …

Oregon State Rank Assessment For Alpine Smelowskia (Smelowskia Ovalis), Lindsey K. Wise

Institute for Natural Resources Publications

Oregon state conservation status assessment for Alpine smelowskia (Smelowskia ovalis) using NatureServe methodology, 2026.

Oregon State Rank Assessment For Ithuriel's Spear (Triteleia Laxa), Lindsey K. Wise

Institute for Natural Resources Publications

Oregon state conservation status assessment for Ithuriel's spear (Triteleia laxa)
 using NatureServe methodology, 2026.

Editorial: Participatory And Just Governance: Empowering Local And Indigenous Communities, Melissa Haeffner, Maiko Sakamoto, Jenia Mukherjee, Hong Quan Nguyen, Soyo Takahashi

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

The papers in this Research Topic (RT) extend insights on the roles of social relations, institutional arrangements, Indigenous ways of knowing, local knowledge, and decisionmaking participation in shaping water governance and practice. Despite efforts to predict flows and possible hazards, we continue to observe “unintended consequences” when humans interact with waterscapes. What we often learn, we argue, is that what appears “unintended” often reflects a deliberate architecture of exclusion; one that becomes legible only when social power relations are placed at the center of analysis alongside hydrological variables. Doing so may illuminate where injustice complicates intentions and what difference participatory …

Oregon State Rank Assessment For Thompson Mistmaiden (Romanzoffia Thompsonii), Nora Dunkirk, Gabriel Campbell, Sue Vrilakas

Institute for Natural Resources Publications

Oregon state conservation status assessment for Thompson mistmaiden (Romanzoffia thompsonii) using NatureServe methodology, 2026.

Oregon State Rank Assessment For California Pinefoot (Pityopus Californicus), Lindsey K. Wise

Institute for Natural Resources Publications

Oregon state conservation status assessment for California Pinefoot (Pityopus californicus) using NatureServe methodology, 2026.

Oregon State Rank Assessment For Steens Mountain Cushion Buckwheat (Eriogonum Ovalifolium Var. Rubidum), Lindsey K. Wise

Institute for Natural Resources Publications

Oregon state conservation status assessment for Steens Mountain Cushion Buckwheat (Eriogonum ovalifolium var. rubidum) using NatureServe methodology, 2026.

Oregon State Rank Assessment For Oregon Daisy (Erigeron Oreganus), Nora Dunkirk, Sue Vrilakas

Institute for Natural Resources Publications

Oregon state conservation status assessment for Oregon Daisy (Erigeron oreganus) using NatureServe methodology, 2026.

Oregon State Rank Assessment For Bensonia (Bensoniella Oregana), Nora Dunkirk, Sue Vrilakas, Gabriel Campbell

Institute for Natural Resources Publications

Oregon state conservation status assessment for Bensonia (Bensoniella oregana) using NatureServe methodology, 2026.

Detecting And Correcting Systematic Image Distortion In Digital Atomic-Resolution Images From Crystals: Projected Symmetry Of Graphite Calibration Samples For Scanning Prove Microscopy And Subperiodic Crystals For Aberration-Corrected Transmission Electron Microscopy, Tyler Michael Bortel

Dissertations and Theses

Though it is an impressive technology, Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) produces images commonly plagued by small systematic errors, often called "drift". These effects have a variety of causes, most notably nonlinear behavior of piezoelectric actuator tubes responsible for the positioning of the scanning probe or sample. One result of these distortions is a potential incorrect classification of the symmetry groups and projected Laue classes of recorded images from crystals—made possible by using recently developed objective methods. An implementation of a known method for detecting and correcting these errors is presented. This method operates strictly in Fourier space so as to …

Oregon State Rank Assessment For Mt. Hood Bugbane (Actaea Laciniata), Nora Dunkirk

Institute for Natural Resources Publications

Oregon state conservation status assessment for Mt. Hood Bugbane (Actaea laciniata) using NatureServe methodology, 2026.

Oregon State Rank Assessment For Deschutes Milkvetch (Astragalus Tegetarioides), Nora Dunkirk, Gabriel Campbell, Sue Vrilakas

Institute for Natural Resources Publications

Oregon state conservation status assessment for Deschutes Milkvetch (Astragalus tegetarioides) using NatureServe methodology, 2026.

Summer Proceedings 2026, Computational Modeling Serving Portland, The Altreu Program, Portland State University, Teuscher Lab, Portland State University

altREU Projects

The 2026 Summer Proceedings bring together research conducted by undergraduate students participating in three complementary programs at Portland State University: the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF REU) site, Computational Modeling Serving Portland; the alternative Research Experiences for Undergraduates (altREU) program, Designing, Programming, and Using Computers to Benefit Society; and the Teuscher Lab internship program.

The NSF REU is a fully virtual, 10-week program centered on computational modeling that serves Portland and the greater region. Students begin with two weeks of intensive training in computational modeling, followed by eightweeks of mentored research with faculty, research collaborators, and community …

Project Prioritization For Near-Optimal Functionality Risk Reduction In Bridge Networks, David Y. Yang, Anteneh Deriba

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Bridge retrofit prioritization is commonly guided by structural vulnerability, traffic conditions, or indirect consequences following a single bridge failure. However, these metrics often fail to identify retrofit projects that maximally reduce system-level functionality risk, because they do not account for the consequences of joint failures among multiple bridges. This presentation develops a mathematically rigorous, gradient-based approach to bridge retrofit prioritization for achieving a near-optimal reduction in functionality risk. This risk is formulated as the expected increase in total travel time given probabilistic bridge survival or failure under external stressors such as earthquakes. By reinterpreting risk as the evidence term in …

Glacier Elevation Difference Data For The Conterminous U.S., Andrew G. Fountain, Bryce Allen Glenn, Christopher Mcneil, Brian Menounos

Geology Faculty Datasets

Historic and recent elevation data for the glaciers in the conterminous US were differenced to estimate glacier mass and volume change.

Historic glacier elevations were obtained from the USGS National Elevation Dataset (https://doi.org/10.15760/geology-data.04), a digitized product from the USGS 1:24,000 paper topographic maps that included the glacier extent (Gesch, 2007). Recent glacier elevations were derived from aerial lidar and from satellite radar. The lidar data were largely obtained from the USGS 3D Elevation Program (Stoker and Miller, 2022; US Geological Survey, 2024), and filtered by acquisition date using only those data collected between mid-summer and early autumn. The …

The Geologic History Of The Chehalis Forearc Basin, Washington State, Usa, R. L. Moe, J. Bershaw, L. M. Staisch, A. R. Streig

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Chehalis basin is located between the Cascade arc and the Coast Range in southwest Washington State. It consists of sedimentary and volcanic rocks deposited throughout the Cenozoic and is underlain by the Siletzia terrane, a thick, large igneous province accreted in the Eocene. Here, we constrain evolution of the Chehalis basin depocenter using isochore maps derived from isostatic gravity anomalies, borehole data, and stratigraphy for several time periods: the Eocene (47.6–36.8 Ma), the Oligocene (36.8–20 Ma), and the Neogene (20–0 Ma). Our results suggest that local subsidence is driven by deformation on faults that bound and intersect the basin. …

Improved Method Of Evaluating Gas-Phase Air Cleaners Considering Adsorption And Desorption Mechanisms To And From Internal Test Chamber Surfaces, Casey Douglas Coffland

Dissertations and Theses

Portable air cleaners are playing an increasingly important role in managing indoor air quality in response to pressing issues like wildfire smoke events. Smoke is a complex mixture of gases and particulate matter; while established test methods exist for particulate matter, the dynamic behavior of gaseous pollutants is not well accounted for in current test methods. This is because prevailing air cleaner testing methods typically treat background losses as irreversible, whereas gases can engage in partitioning to and from test chamber surfaces. Ignoring these sorption interactions causes inaccurate estimation of an air cleaner's impact.

A new approach has been developed …

Low Cost Lightning Localization At Microwave Frequencies, Bradley Glaubitz

Dissertations and Theses

High precision lightning localization is essential for atmospheric research and public safety, yet the high cost of traditional VLF/LF systems restricts high resolution detection primarily to well funded agencies. Furthermore, conventional low frequency receivers often overlook microwave frequency emissions associated with lightning leader development. This thesis proposes a compact, low cost microwave frequency localization system operating in the 1.42 GHz band to provide an accessible alternative for high resolution mapping. The methodology utilizes an ARM Cortex M0+ microcontroller and a triggered 64 MHz 32 bit counter synchronized to a GPS Pulse Per Second (PPS) signal, achieving a temporal resolution of …

(Re)Claiming Homeplace: Dance As Embodied Resistance & Healing For Health & Spatial Justice, Preeya G. Kannan

University Honors Theses

This thesis argues that dance functions as both an upstream public health intervention and a form of radical spatial resistance; creating healing, agency, and belonging among historically marginalized communities. Drawing on bell hooks' concept of homeplace, Jasbir Puar's assemblage theory, Nancy Krieger's eco-social theory, and Katherine McKittrick's Black geographies, I position the body as both an ecological and political landscape shaped by histories of colonialism, racial capitalism, displacement, and resilience.

Through this community-based participatory research study, Homeplace, I explore dance as a form of social prescription that centers liberation rather than pathology. Movement is often reduced in public health discourse …

Pitching Fwar Vs Bwar As Predictors Of Team Success In The Mlb Regular Season, Jason Lee

University Honors Theses

Pitching Wins Above Replacement (WAR) is an area of sabermetrics capable of being used to predict regular season success in Major League Baseball. Fangraphs WAR (fWAR) and Baseball Reference WAR (bWAR) were used to construct regression models to predict regular season winning percentage, to build logistic models to establish a relationship between pitching WAR and the probability to win an individual regular season game, and to overlay density plots to consider WAR accumulation by pitching role and observe the difference of impact between starter and relief pitchers. This research finds that while pitching fWAR and pitching bWAR are both statistically …

Assessing Spatial Distribution Of Plausible Earthquake-Triggered Landslides Relative To Ca. 1000 Ybp Earthquake On The Gales Creek Fault, Jacqueline Rheingans

University Honors Theses

Modern coseismic landslides cluster near the surface trace of the fault that ruptured, suggesting that clustering of paleolandslides may record information about paleoearthquakes. This study documents the pattern of prehistoric landslides near the Gales Creek Fault (GCF), northwest Oregon, to assess whether it reflects an independently known paleoearthquake. The GCF is located northwest of Portland through the Cascadia fore-arc basin where landslides are often triggered by intense rainfall during the wet season or potentially by seismic shaking on the megathrust or on crustal faults. In order to understand how a seismic event on the GCF will impact landslide distribution I …

Custom Sbc Gps Tracking And Geocaching Carputer Software Development And Implementation, Joshua A. Davis

University Honors Theses

This thesis argues that hardware-integrated capstone projects develop software engineering skills that traditional coursework cannot replicate. A team of eight developers built a GPS tracking system on a Raspberry Pi 4 over two academic terms, integrating real-time position streaming, the APRS amateur radio protocol for network-independent location sharing, and PostGIS spatial queries for "new road" detection. The system implements SmartBeaconing for adaptive GPS data reduction, achieving approximately 80% storage savings while preserving route fidelity. The project exposed challenges absent from classroom assignments: hardware debugging without stack traces, cross-layer integration failures, and coordination overhead when deploying to unfamiliar architecture; demonstrating that …

Brutalism, Bad Manners, And Tech Baddies: Strengthening Women's Sense Of Belonging In Undergraduate Computer Science Spaces, Mckenzie Starr West

University Honors Theses

Through a literature review supported by reflexive vignettes, this thesis explores women's experiences in undergraduate CS programs and how physical and discursive spaces may affect their sense of belonging and shape whether they enter, remain in, or leave CS programs. I provide historical and cultural context for undergraduate CS, including the history of women in education and the continued underrepresentation of women in CS compared to many other STEM fields. Using physical and discursive spaces as a lens, I examine how classrooms, study spaces, department communications, online forums, and other CS-related environments may signal who belongs, who is valued, and …

Effects Of Changing Fire Regimes On Black Huckleberry Habitat Suitability, Emily Labarge

University Honors Theses

Black huckleberries are a significant cultural, ecological, and economic species in the Pacific Northwest. Historically, black huckleberries were tended with cultural fire by Indigenous peoples, and now also hold importance as a resource in the non-timber forest product economy. Research has begun on the impacts of climate change on suitable black huckleberry habitat and on changing fire regimes, but not in relation to each other. To address this gap, I examined the area of overlap between suitable black huckleberry habitat and fire burn probability into mid-century climate projections. I determined the current ownership entities with management jurisdiction in areas with …

Beyond The Best Prompt: A Coverage View Of Multilingual Reasoning, Harshiv Mistry

University Honors Theses

Multilingual LLMs reason more accurately in English than in other languages, and recent work links part of this gap to reasoning behavior: native-language traces contain fewer cognitive behaviors (verification, backtracking, subgoal setting, backward chaining) that support effective problem solving. We test whether prompting for these behaviors at inference time narrows the gap, across seven conditions varying chain-of-thought, instruction and reasoning language, and cognitive-behavior descriptions, on two models, three languages. We find that English-scaffolded reasoning is the strongest single strategy on both models, closing the Hindi gap on Qwen, though the explicit scaffold's value over plain chain-of-thought is model-dependent. Beyond aggregate …

Transforming Equity: A Systemic Analysis Of The Equity Model Of Social Justice Education Through The Lens Of Conflict Transformation Theory, Precious J. Golden

University Honors Theses

Current pedagogical theory and practices grounded in social justice aim to rectify systemic barriers to equity, yet despite decades of teaching through a social justice lens, social inequality and cultural division are on the rise.  "Justice," as a noun, has several meanings (Cambridge Dictionary). It can mean "judge", "law," or "fairness," and justice, no matter its meaning or its need, is achieved through methods of conflict resolution and conflict transformation. This inquiry seeks to present conflict transformation as a radical means of achieving transformative social justice, bringing voice to the voiceless and oppressed, and rectifying the contradictions in the current …