Digital Commons Network^™

Micro-Policies: Formally Verified, Tag-Based Security Monitors, Arthur Azevedo De Amorim, Maxime Denes, Nick Giannarakis, Cătălin Hriţcu, Benjamin C. Pierce, Antal Spector-Zabusky, Andrew Tolmach

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Recent advances in hardware design have demonstrated mechanisms allowing a wide range of low-level security policies (or micro-policies) to be expressed using rules on metadata tags. We propose a methodology for defining and reasoning about such tag-based reference monitors in terms of a high-level “symbolic machine,” and we use this methodology to define and formally verify micro-policies for dynamic sealing, compartmentalization, control-flow integrity, and memory safety; in addition, we show how to use the tagging mechanism to protect its own integrity. For each micro-policy, we prove by refinement that the symbolic machine instantiated with the policy’s rules embodies a high-level …

Travel Decisions & Their Implications For Urban Transportation: From Campus Transportation To Statewide Modeling, Gulsah Akar

PSU Transportation Seminars

The ability to forecast future transportation patterns under a particular land-use scenario or urban form is key to making informed decisions at the local and regional levels.

Although several researchers have explored the links between the built environment, socio-demographics and travel behavior, a consensus is not reached.

This talk highlights two recent projects. The first project focuses on individuals’ attitudes towards transportation, neighborhood characteristics and their effects on campus commuters’ transit use, and addresses the question whether attitudes, the built environment or a combination of both explains the resulting transit use better.

The second part presents the Regional Land Use …

Rationalism And The Understanding Of Irrationality, Sophie Hamilton

Young Historians Conference

The Scientific Revolution is an era heavily scrutinized by historians and history teachers alike; the works of Francis Bacon, Andreas Vesalius, and Isaac Newton are included in nearly every textbook and course covering the Enlightenment era. But many people don’t realize that the scientific discoveries of the Enlightenment were not limited to mathematics, astronomy, and anatomy; a revolution in psychiatry was also occurring.

"Rationalism and the Understanding of Irrationality" explores how the rationalist movement in the Enlightenment, which emphasized the use of reason and individualism, enabled leaders in the mental health industry to raise living standards and redefine treatment for …

The Pursuit Of Pleasure: An Intersection Between Aristotle's Poetics And Sixteenth Century Renaissance Music, Eliza M. Kamerling-Brown

Young Historians Conference

Aristotle’s Poetics is unparalleled as one of the most translated texts in history. The Greek philosopher’s cross-cultural influence can be traced through the evolution of countless practices over time, ranging from Late Antiquity to philosophy of mind to political theory. Yet far beyond the work’s commonly-known political, dramatic and philosophical influences, the components of Poetics were essential in shaping the distinctive style of sixteenth century renaissance music, a medium whose aim of reviving the ethical power of the ancient past has helped Aristotelian concepts survive through the centuries.

Power Structure, Nathaniel Klein

Young Historians Conference

By today's standards morally reprehensible subjects are difficult to examine, however, from a historical perspective topics such as infanticide offer insight into individual behavior, therefore reflecting societal norms. This paper explores the practice of infanticide used during the course of the 7th century BCE to reinforce the power structures of the period. Infanticide was far more than a simple way to dispose of unwanted offspring; it was a tool that was used by ancient Greek societies to maintain systems of control and promote social values upon which society depended.

25th Annual Young Historians Conference, Portland State University History Department, Portland State University Challenge Program

Young Historians Conference

This is the 2015 Young Historians Conference schedule and abstracts.

Estimating The Recreational Value Of Portland’S Forest Park, Randall Bluffstone, Ryan Burchett, Kahtan Eiwaz, Emma Ingebretsen, Peter Schaffer, Steve Toth, Szeto Yan Weng, Jordan Drinkhouse, Dat Huynh, Charles Maxwell, Joel Schutte, Tiffany Tram, Thananan Yupparit

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Using the travel cost method, this study estimates the per-trip value and total annual value of recreational visits to Portland’s Forest Park. Based on the opportunity cost of visitors’ time and the estimated costs of travel, we derive a demand function for visits to Forest Park on the assumption that visitors value their trips to Forest Park at least as highly as the alternative uses of their time and money. The Portland Parks and Recreation Department supplied survey data for 2277 Forest Park visitors, of which we use 1626 observations.

We find that a truncated negative binomial regression best fits …

Flavour Chemicals In Electronic Cigarette Fluids, Peyton A. Tierney, Clarissa D. Karpinski, Jessica E. Brown, Wentai Luo, James F. Pankow

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Most e-cigarette liquids contain flavour chemicals. Flavour chemicals certified as safe for ingestion by the Flavor Extracts Manufacturers Association may not be safe for use in e-cigarettes. This study identified and measured flavour chemicals in 30 e-cigarette fluids.

Methods: Two brands of single-use e-cigarettes were selected and their fluids in multiple flavour types analysed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. For the same flavour types, and for selected confectionary flavours (eg, bubble gum and cotton candy), also analysed were convenience samples of e-cigarette fluids in refill bottles from local ‘vape’ shops and online retailers.

Results: In many liquids, total flavour chemicals …

Landforms Along The Lower Columbia River And The Influence Of Humans, Charles Matthew Cannon

Dissertations and Theses

River systems, such as the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest, USA have been influenced by human activities, resulting in changes to the physical processes that drive landform evolution. This work describes an inventory of landforms along the Columbia River estuary between the Pacific Ocean and Bonneville Dam in Oregon and Washington. Groupings of landforms are assigned to formative process regimes that are used to assess historical changes to floodplain features. The estuary was historically a complex system of channels with a floodplain dominated by extensive tidal wetlands in the lower reaches and backswamp lakes and wetlands in upper reaches. …

Structure Of Local Quantum Operations And Classical Communication: Finite Versus Infinite Rounds, Scott M. Cohen

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Every measurement that can be implemented by local quantum operations and classical communication (LOCC) using an infinite number of rounds is the limit of a sequence of measurements, where each measurement in the sequence requires only a finite number of rounds. This rather obvious and well-known fact is nonetheless of interest as it shows that these infinite-round measurements can be approximated arbitrarily closely simply by using more and more rounds of communication. Here we demonstrate the perhaps less obvious result that (at least) for bipartite systems, the reverse relationship also holds. Specifically, we show that every finite-round bipartite LOCC measurement …

Stochastic Comparisons Of Weighted Sums Of Arrangement Increasing Random Variables, Xiaoqing Pan, Min Yuan, Subhash C. Kochar

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Assuming that the joint density of random variables X1,X2, . . . ,Xn is arrangement increasing (AI), we obtain some stochastic comparison results on weighted sums of Xi’s under some additional conditions. An application to optimal capital allocation is also given.

Forest Park Ecosystems Services Inventory: An Exploratory Study, Pablo Barreyro, Jenny Dempsey Stein

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

This report presents both qualitative and quantitative survey data concerning resident perceptions of ecosystem services in Portland’s Forest Park. Focus group best practices and ecosystem services in urban parks literature are reviewed. Representative focus groups were conducted to ascertain local awareness and understanding of the urban wilderness area’s ecosystem services, identify concurrent challenges and measure interest in a potential interpretive center. Individual surveys were also administered in order to connect issues with demographics and recreational use information. Regression analyses were conducted to examine related park usage, access and economic trends.

While the study is preliminary, the results reveal opportunities for …

Climate Change And Land Management Impact Rangeland Condition And Sage-Grouse Habitat In Southeastern Oregon, Megan K. Creutzburg, Emilie B. Henderson, David R. Conklin

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Contemporary pressures on sagebrush steppe from climate change, exotic species, wildfire, and land use change threaten rangeland species such as the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). To effectively manage sagebrush steppe landscapes for long-term goals, managers need information about the potential impacts of climate change, disturbances, and management activities. We integrated information from a dynamic global vegetation model, a sage-grouse habitat climate envelope model, and a state-and-transition simulation model to project broad-scale vegetation dynamics and potential sage-grouse habitat across 23.5 million acres in southeastern Oregon. We evaluated four climate scenarios, including continuing current climate and three scenarios of global …

Comparison Of Fish Assemblages In Restored And Natural Mangrove Habitats Along An Urban Shoreline, Joseph R. Peters, Lauren A. Yeager, Craig A. Layman

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

The installation of living shorelines is one strategy used to ameliorate habitat degradation along developed coastlines. In this process, existing hard structures, such as sea walls and riprap revetments, are supplemented with habitat forming species, e.g., oysters and mangrove trees, to improve habitat quality and function. Shoreline restorations in Biscayne Bay, Florida, USA, often utilize red mangroves, Rhizophora mangle (Linneaus, 1753), in addition to riprap revetments, to help stabilize the shoreline. This riprap-mangrove habitat provides structure for marine organisms to utilize and is believed to improve shoreline habitats in areas previously cleared of mangroves. We examined whether habitat provisioning was …

The Blue Heron Wetland Restoration Project: Eradication Of Ludwigia Peploides Ssp. Montevidensis From The Blue Heron Wetlands Of Portland, Or, Alexander Staunch

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

The Blue Heron Wetland Restoration Project (BHWRP) is an ongoing community driven effort to eradicate Ludwigia peploides ssp. montevidensis from a 3.5 acre ephemeral wetland in Portland, OR. Established in summer 2011 by the East Columbia Neighborhood Association (ECNA), the BHWRP consisted of an herbicide efficacy pilot study, widespread eradication effort, and establishment of a stewardship program. Ludwigia peploides ssp. montevidensis is an emerging threat to northwestern Oregon and the infestation within the Blue Heron Wetlands (BHW) represented one of the first known infestations of L. peploides ssp. montevidensis within the State of Oregon.

First observed within the BHW in …

Peripheral No More: Repositioning Narratives For Empowerment And Change In Sustainability Education, Rell G. Ohlson

Leadership for Sustainability Education Comprehensive Papers

The field of sustainability education challenges dominant modes of thought, with a particular emphasis on the need for diversity and "multiple perspectives" in order to confront complex issues (Capra, 2005; Sterling, 2001; Wheatley, 2006). If this is the case, why are certain perspectives still missing and what narratives have been given prominence? This comprehensive paper examines the problems of a dominant narrative in sustainability education. In order for sustainability education to be truly transformative and empowering for students, leaders, and their communities, the narrative of sustainability must be repositioned from a dominant, white, middle-class context to one that affirms, values …

Research & Strategic Partnerships: Quarterly Review, Volume 2, Issue 3, Portland State University. Research & Strategic Partnerships

Portland State Research Magazine

This issue of the Research and Strategic Partnerships (RSP) Quarterly Review highlights emerging research leaders.

On the sustainability front, environmental engineer Stephen Talke applies a historian’s perspective to extract climate-related information from tide gauge records along the Columbia River dating back over 100 years.

Environmental biogeochemist Jennifer Morse is looking at the hidden carbon costs of “green” practices, like installation of urban bioswales and the establishment of an urban growth boundary, which may have higher ecological costs than previously thought.

In the health arena, you can read about Gerasimos Fergadiotis’s latest work to help diagnose and cure aphasia, the debilitating …

Aerosol Optical Hygroscopicity Measurements During The 2010 Cares Campaign, Dean B. Atkinson, James Gregory Radney, Janel Lum, Katheryn R. Kolesar, Daniel J. Cziczo, Mikhail Pekour, Qi Zhang, Ari Setyan, Alla Zelenyuk, Christopher D. Cappa

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Measurements of the effect of water uptake on particulate light extinction or scattering made at two locations during the 2010 CARES study around Sacramento, CA are reported. The observed influence of water uptake, characterized through the dimensionless optical hygroscopicity parameter γ, is compared with calculations constrained by observed particle size distributions and size-dependent particle composition. A closure assessment has been carried out that allowed for determination of the average hygroscopic growth factors (GF) at 85% relative humidity and the dimensionless hygroscopicity parameter κ for oxygenated organic aerosol (OA) and for supermicron particles, yielding κ = 0.1–0.15 and 0.9–1.0, respectively. The …

Bicyclist Compliance At Signalized Intersections, Samson Ray Riley Thompson

Dissertations and Theses

This project examined cyclist red light running behavior using two data sets. Previous studies of cyclist compliance have investigated the tendencies of cyclists to run red lights on the whole by generalizing different maneuvers to their end outcome, running a red light. This project differentiates between the different types of red light running and focuses on the most egregious case, gap acceptance, which is when a cyclist runs a red light by accepting a gap in opposing traffic.

Using video data, a mathematical model of cyclist red light running was developed for gap acceptance. Similar to other studies, this analysis …

Factors Of Successful Collaboration: Oregon's Watershed Councils As Collaborative Systems, Meghan Doherty, National Policy Consensus Center

National Policy Consensus Center Publications

The public sector, business professionals and organization leaders are among some of the diverse entities increasingly viewing collaboration as a useful, and at times necessary, practice. Collaborative systems are networks formed by individuals who repeatedly interact over long time horizons to solve problems and achieve goals they could not on their own. Throughout the academic literature, there are many references to and definitions of collaborative systems or networks, as well as various opinions on what factors enable these systems to be successful. However, these are usually context-specific or limited to the perspective of a certain discipline. Furthermore, empirical literature usually …

Vortex Identification In The Wake Of A Wind Turbine Array, Aleksandr Sergeyevich Aseyev

Dissertations and Theses

Vortex identification techniques are used to analyze the flow structure in a 4 x 3 array of scale model wind turbines. Q-criterion, Δ-criterion, and λ₂-criterion are applied to Particle Image Velocimetry data gathered fore and aft of the last row centerline turbine. Q-criterion and λ₂-criterion provide a clear indication of regions where vortical activity exists while the Δ-criterion does not. Galilean decomposition, Reynolds decomposition, vorticity, and swirling strength are used to further understand the location and behavior of the vortices. The techniques identify and display the high magnitude vortices in high shear zones resulting from the …

Performance Metrics For Depth-Based Signal Separation Using Deep Vertical Line Arrays, John K. Boyle

Dissertations and Theses

Vertical line arrays (VLAs) deployed below the critical depth in the deep ocean can exploit reliable acoustic path (RAP) propagation, which provides low transmission loss (TL) for targets at moderate ranges, and increased TL for distant interferers. However, sound from nearby surface interferers also undergoes RAP propagation, and without horizontal aperture, a VLA cannot separate these interferers from submerged targets. A recent publication by McCargar and Zurk (2013) addressed this issue, presenting a transform-based method for passive, depth-based separation of signals received on deep VLAs based on the depth-dependent modulation caused by the interference between the direct and surface-reflected acoustic …

Development Of An Optical Method For The Detection Of Homocysteine As A Disease Biomarker Using Fluorescein-Aldehydes, Aabha Barve

Dissertations and Theses

Homocysteine is a natural occurring aminothiol. It is an intermediate product in the metabolism of methionine. Methionine is an essential amino acid required for protein synthesis. Metabolic irregularities disrupt homocysteine levels in plasma. Elevated homocysteine levels are directly linked to folate and cobalamin (vitamin B12) deficiencies, and are an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. High homocysteine levels have also been associated with Alzheimer's, osteoporosis, renal failure, cancer, birth defects and pregnancy complications. The association of elevated homocysteine levels with cardiovascular disease and other diseases has generated great interest in the detection of homocysteine.

An optical method for the detection …

Facile Methods For The Analysis Of Lysophosphatidic Acids In Human Plasma, Jialu Wang

Dissertations and Theses

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) influences many physiological processes, such as brain and vascular development. It is associated with several diseases including ovarian cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, multiple myeloma atherosclerotic diseases, cardiovascular diseases, pulmonary inflammatory diseases and renal diseases. LPA plasma and serum levels have been reported to be important values in diagnosing ovarian cancer and other diseases. However, the extraction and quantification of LPA in plasma are very challenging because of the low physiological concentration and similar structures of LPA to other phospholipids. Many previous studies have not described the separation of LPA from other phospholipids, …

Technological Forecasting Based On Segmented Rate Of Change, Dong-Joon Lim

Dissertations and Theses

Consider the following questions in the early stage of new product development. What should be the target market for proposed design concepts? Who will be the competitors and how fast are they moving forward in terms of performance improvements? Ultimately, is the current design concept and targeted launch date feasible and competitive?

To answer these questions, there is a need to integrate the product benchmarking with the assessment of performance improvement so that analysts can have a risk measure for their R&D target setting practices. Consequently, this study presents how time series benchmarking analysis can be used to assist scheduling …

Spectroscopy, Nmr, And Electrochemistry Studies Of Protonated Aminophenyl/Pyridyl Porphyrins And Their Application In Hydrogen Evolution, Chenyi Wang

Dissertations and Theses

Spectrophotometric titrations for a full series of 4-aminophenyl/4-pyridyl meso-substituted porphyrins were carried out using methanesulfonic acid in DMSO to study the hyperporphyrin effect across different substitution patterns. The series included zero, one, two (cis and trans), three, and four meso(4-aminophenyl) groups, with the remaining meso substituents being 4-pyridyl groups. The peripheral pyridyl groups consistently protonate before the interior porphyrin pyrrole nitrogens, which protonate before the aminophenyl groups. Aminophenyl substituents increase the basicity of the pyrrole nitrogens and lead to distinctive hyperporphyrin spectra with a broad Soret band and a strong red absorption. The structure proposed to give rise to these …

Applying Gps And Accelerometers To The Study Of African Savanna (Loxodonta Africana) And Asian Elephant (Elephas Maximus) Welfare In Zoos, Matthew Robert Holdgate

Dissertations and Theses

African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) and Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) are a focus of welfare research in zoos due to their high intelligence, complex social structure, and sheer size. Due to these challenges, some argue that zoos are inherently incapable of providing appropriate care for elephants, while others believe that zoos can fulfill the needs of these species with improved husbandry. There is a general consensus from both within and outside of zoos, however, that zoos must improve their elephant programs or cease exhibiting these animals altogether. Now more than ever, applied research on zoo elephant welfare is needed to …

Prussian Green: A High Rate Capacity Cathode For Potassium Ion Batteries, Prasanna Pradigi, Joseph Thiebes, Mitchell Swan, Gary Goncher, David Evans, Raj Solanki

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

The influence of the precursors, namely potassium ferrocyanide and potassium ferricyanide on the particles sizes of Prussian Blue (PB) and Prussian Green (PG), under identical reaction conditions have been investigated. It was found that the particle sizes influence the gravimetric capacity utilization of these materials as cathodes for aqueous potassium (K⁺ ) ion batteries. The PG particle sizes were on the order of 50-75 nm, whereas PB particles size were on the order of 2-10 microns. The PG cathodes demonstrated a reversible capacity of 121.4 mAhr/g, with a coulombic efficiency of 98.7% compared to PB cathodes which demonstrated 53.8 …

Global Time-Independent Agent-Based Simulation For Transactive Energy System Dispatch And Schedule Forecasting, Shawn Aaron Chandler

Dissertations and Theses

Electricity service providers (ESP) worldwide have increased their interest in the use of electrical distribution, transmission, generation, storage, and responsive load resources as integrated systems. Referred to commonly as "smart grid," their interest is driven by widespread goals to improve the operations, management and control of large-scale power systems. In this thesis I provide research into a novel agent-based simulation (ABS) approach for exploring smart grid system (SGS) dispatch, schedule forecasting and resource coordination. I model an electrical grid and its assets as an adaptive ABS, assigning an agent construct to every SGS resource including demand response, energy storage, and …

Design Of A Hardware Platform For Gps-Based Orientation Sensing, Daniel Eugene Kirkpatrick

Dissertations and Theses

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV's) have recently gained popularity in military, civil service, agriculture, commercial, and hobby use. This is due in part to their affordability, which comes from advances in component technology. That technology includes microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) for inertial sensing, microprocessor technology for sequential algorithm processing, field programmable gate arrays (FPGA's) for parallel data processing, camera technology, global navigation satellite systems (GNSS's) for navigation, and battery technology such as the high energy density of lithium polymer batteries.

Despite the success of the technology to date, there remains development before UAV's should be flying alongside manned aircraft or over populated …