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Bulletin: General Catalog Issue 1997-1998, Portland State University

Bulletin & Curriculum Change Documents

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Hausdorff Dimension Of Boundaries Of Self-Affine Tiles In R N, J. J. P. Veerman

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We present a new method to calculate the Hausdorff dimension of a certain class of fractals: boundaries of self-affine tiles. Among the interesting aspects are that even if the affine contraction underlying the iterated function system is not conjugated to a similarity we obtain an upper- and and lower-bound for its Hausdorff dimension. In fact, we obtain the exact value for the dimension if the moduli of the eigenvalues of the underlying affine contraction are all equal (this includes Jordan blocks). The tiles we discuss play an important role in the theory of wavelets. We calculate the dimension for a …

Managing Oregon’S Aquatic Resources : A Dynamic Segmentation Application, Keith Andrew Hupperts

Dissertations and Theses

Many of Oregon's salmon, the cultural icon of the region, are imperil. Salmon runs ranging from the Snake River to the Oregon coast, from chinook to coho to steelhead to cut-throat are being protected or candidates for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973. As Oregon's salmon decline natural resource agencies, such as Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), are seeing substantial funding cutbacks. In order to compensate for lost personnel and rising work-loads, ODFW is increasingly turning to new technologies, such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS). This thesis describes the creation of a dynamic segmentation GIS …

Gangstas, Niggas, Bitches And Hos : A Narrative Analysis Of Gangsta’ Rap Lyrics, Darnell A. Watson

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines gangsta' rap as a form of narrative. It addresses the following questions: 1) Is gangsta' rap a form of narrative; most significant characterizes the 2) if yes, which narrative elements are to interpreting the stories; 3) what elements which are most significant to interpreting the stories and 4) what kinds of stories are being told? Data for the analysis included transcribed lyrics from a representative sample of gangsta' rap recordings. Journal articles, media articles and books germane to understanding the social and cultural context of gangsta rap were also used. It was found that gangsta' rap lyrics …

New Approaches To Column Compatibility Checking And Column-Based Input/Output Encoding For Curtis Decompositions Of Completely Or Incompletely Specified Switching Functions, Michael A. Burns

Dissertations and Theses

Cube calculus is an algebraic model used to process boolean functions. Cube calculus operations are widely used in logic optimization, logic synthesis, image processing and recognition, machine learning, and other applications which require massive logic operations.

The cube calculus operations can be carried out on general-purpose computers. Since these operations can involve several levels of nested loops, this approach has poor performance.

A cube calculus machine which has a special data path designed to speed up cube calculus operations is presented in this thesis. This c-qbe calculus machine can execute cube calculus operations 10 to 25 times faster than the …

The Interaction Of Naphthoquinones With The Calcium Release Channel Of Skeletal Muscle Sarcoplasmic Reticulum, Ruohong Xia

Dissertations and Theses

The sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) is an intracellular membrane system which regulates cytoplasmic calcium concentration in muscle and controls the contractile state of muscle. In this thesis, the interaction between naphthoquinone and the Ca²⁺ release mechanism of SR is described. 1,4-naphthoquinone (1,4NQ) is shown to stimulate Ca²⁺ release and to modify high-affinity ryanodine binding to skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum. The interaction between 1,4NQ and the SR involves the oxidation ofcritical sulfhydryl groups associated with the Ca²⁺ release mechanism. The modulation of ryanodine binding by 1,4NQ is biphasic. At low concentrations of 1,4NQ (<10 >μM) ryanodine binding is stimulated, …

A Comparison Of Two Second Language Acquisition Models For Culturally And Linguistically Different Students, Karen Dorothy Kuhn

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this thesis research was to determine if there were significant educational advantages in terms of sociocultural development for culturally and linguistically different students enrolled in a two-way bilingual education program as compared to those directly mainstreamed. Eighteen third-grade students were selected from two schools in the same school district. Half of the subjects spent their third grade year in a two-way bilingual educational program while the other half were mainstreamed into a submersion education program. Each subject was culturally (Hispanic) and linguistically (Spanish was the dominant language) different from mainstream students. A qualitative summary and statistical analyses …

Incentives, Information, And Winner's Curse In Construction Industry Bidding, Gerald H. Williams, Timothy R. Anderson

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper investigates the relationship between incentives, information and winner's curse in the bidding for construction industry contracts. The approach uses both simple Monte Carlo simulations and bidding experiments to show the effects of changing levels of information (in terms of variance) and incentive (in terms of risk share) on the winner's curse.

A New Measure Of Baseball Batters Using Dea, Timothy R. Anderson, Gunter P. Sharp

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used to create an alternative to traditional batting statistics called the Composite Batter Index (CBI). Advantages of CBI over traditional statistics include the fact that players are judged on the basis of what they accomplish relative to other players and that it automatically accounts for changing conditions of the game that raise or lower batting statistics. Historical results are examined to show how the industry of baseball batting has matured and potential uses of CBI are discussed. The application of baseball suggests that random variation may have an effect on CBI. We investigated this effect …

A Strategy For Monitoring Glaciers, Andrew G. Fountain, Robert M. Krimmel, Dennis C. Trabant

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Glaciers are important features in the hydrologic cycle and affect the volume, variability, and water quality of runoff. Assessing and predicting the effect of glaciers on water resources require a monitoring program to provide basic data for this understanding. The monitoring program of the U.S. Geological Survey employs a nested approach whereby an intensively studied glacier is surrounded by less intensively studied glaciers and those monitored solely by remote sensing. Ideally, each glacierized region of the United States would have such a network of glaciers. The intensively studied glacier provides a detailed understanding of the physical processes and their temporal …

Potential For Coastal Flooding Due To Coseismic Subsidence In The Central Cascadia Margin, Elson T. Barnett

Dissertations and Theses

Interpretations made from compilation of existing core and cutbank data for Oregon and Washington are used to evaluate the potential flooding impact from regional coseismic subsidence. Estimates of regional subsidence are based on tidal level indicators including plant macrofossils, peat development, and diatoms. A compilation of existing late Holocene stratigraphic records shows multiple burial events in all bays of Oregon, however some coastal sites in central Oregon show continuous submergence. Tests of tidal level indicators using modern Cascadia wetlands indicate that paleosubsidence can be estimated to 0.0 ± 0.5m, 1.0 ±0.5m, and 2 m ± 0.5m. An AMS date from …

Simulating Migration Of Contaminated Sediments In The Lower Columbia Slough System, Min Chen

Dissertations and Theses

Recent screening-level risk assessment of Slough sediments initiated by the City of Portland identified five contaminated areas in the Slough as posing the greatest potentially significant risks to human health. These five areas were recommended for accelerated remedial action.

But one question remains, does the sediment contamination at these hot spots change over time in response to the changing Slough hydrodynamics? Specifically, will the contamination move or spread even before remedial action is taken? Will they still be there by the time when potential remedial action is taken? Will any new hot spots be created in response to nonuniform transient …

General Remarks On Spectral Entropy Vs. Statistical Entropy, John D. Ramshaw

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Crepeau and Herzel [1] (CH) have recently compared the spectral entropy of Powell and Percival [2] with the standard statistical (Boltzmann-Gibbs-Shannon) entropy in three simple physical systems. Here we compare and contrast these two entropies in a more general way by considering their values for an arbitrary stationary process X(t).

Optical Imaging Of Carrier Dynamics In Silicon With Subwavelength Resolution, Andres H. La Rosa, B. I. Yakobson, H. D. Hallen

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Characteristic rate variations of carrier processes are imaged using near-field scanning optical microscopy. We couple both a visible pump and an infrared probe light through a subwavelength aperture to investigate the interband recombination and intraband diffusion of excess carriers in oxidized silicon. Typical values of the locally measured life time constants agree well with those obtained by conventional space-averaged techniques. Moreover, the images locate defects, reveal variations, and can map the regions in which a recombination process is active.

Resolution Of Local Inconsistency In Identification, Douglas Ray Anderson, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper reports an algorithm for the resolution of local inconsistency in information-theoretic identification. This problem was first pointed out by Klir as an important research area in reconstructability analysis. Local inconsistency commonly arises when an attempt is made to integrate multiple data sources, i.e., contingency tables, which have differing common margins. For example, if one ha)s an AB table and a BC table, the B margins obtained from the two tables may disagree. If the disagreement can be assigned to sampling error, then one can arrive at a compromise B margin, adjust the original AB and BC tables to …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet January 1997, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The January 1997 Monthly packet includes the January agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held December 1996.

Microlanguages For Operating System Specialization, Calton Pu, Andrew P. Black, Crispin Cowan, Jonathan Walpole, Charles Consel

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Specialization is a technique that has the potential to provide operating system clients with the performance and functionality that they need, while still retaining the advantages of a simple generic code base for the operating system maintainer. However, at present the specialization process is labor-intensive and requires the knowledge of an expert in the domain of application behavior. In order to realize the full advantages of specialization, we believe that the process must be automated. This means building tools for specialization, and also making the domain knowledge explicit in some form or other. A specialization toolkit has been developed jointly …

Efficient Implementation Of Image Compression-Postprocessing Algorithm Using A Digital Signal Processor, Nadir Sinaceur

Dissertations and Theses

In this thesis, an attempt has been made to develop a fast way to implement a post-processing algorithm for image compression. All the previous tests for this postprocessing algorithm, which we will present, have been only software based and did not consider the time parameter.

For this purpose a new algorithm is used to compute the 2-D DCT transform. This change made the process a lot faster on a Spare 5 workstation. We have then decided to further increase the speed of the post-processing scheme by implementing it on the ADSP21020 chip.

The results show that such a chip can …

Weak Bands Within Ice Stream B, West Antarctica, Christina L. Hulbe, I. M. Whillans

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Kilometer-scale variations in ice velocity and surface topography are used to investigate the style of glacier deformation in the main body of Ice Stream B, West Antarctica. The pattern is very different from that reported for other glaciers. For the 250 km2 area studied on Ice Stream B, most of the observed deformation occurs within two narrow bands, in which there is large across-flow compression and slow lateral shearing. The bands underlie valleys in the ice-surface topography. Measured upward displacement of ice adjacent to the rapidly compressing bands appears to be linked to the creation of the ice stream's topography. …

Physical Media Independence: System Support For Dynamically Available Network Interfaces, Jon Inouye, Jim Binkley, Jonathan Walpole

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Advances in hardware technology has fueled the proliferation of dynamically configurable network interface cards. This empowers mobile laptop users to select the most appropriate interface for their current environment. Unfortunately, the majority of system software remains "customized" for a particular network configuration, and assumes many network characteristics remain invariant over the runtime of the software. Physical Media Independence (PMI) is the concept of making assumptions about a particular device explicit, detecting events which invalidate these assumptions, and recovering once events are detected. This paper presents a model supporting PMI. Based on device availablilty, the model identifies implicit device-related assumptions made …

Equalization Of A Non-Linear Phase Of A Low-Pass Filter, Rabih Khodor

Dissertations and Theses

In practice, an IIR filter can distort the information content of the signal because of its inherent non-linear phase characteristics introduced through the design of the filter. If the the receiver of the signal is the human ear, e.g., when a speech or music signal is to be processed, phase distortion is quite tolerable. But, in other applications it can be rejected as phase characteristics is required to be fairly linear. Applications of this type include data transmission, where the signal is to be interpreted by digital hardware, and image processing, where the signal is used to reconstruct an image …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet December 1996, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The December 1996 Monthly packet includes the December agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held November 1996.

A Specialization Toolkit To Increase The Diversity Of Operating Systems, Calton Pu, Andrew P. Black, Crispin Cowan, Jonathan Walpole, Charles Consel

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Virus and worm attacks that exploit system implementation details can be countered with a diversified set of implementations. Furthermore, immune systems show that attacks from previously unknown organisms require effective dynamic response. In the Synthetix project, we have been developing a specialization toolkit to improve the performance of operating system kernels. The toolkit helps programmers generate and manage diverse specialized implementations of software modules. The Tempo-C specializer tool generates different versions for both compile-time and run-time specialization. We are now adapting the toolkit to improve operating system survivability against implementations attacks.

Synthesis And Characterization Of Novel Sf5 Containing Fluoroalkyl Iodides And Derivatives, Julia Anne Renn

Dissertations and Theses

Preparation of four SF5-containing fluoroalkyl iodides and derivatives thereof was accomplished beginning with a simplified synthesis of ICF2CF2I. Characterization of the products followed using a variety of spectroscopic and physical methods. The simplified method for preparing ICF2CF2I from iodine and tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) involved a reaction temperature of approximately 54°C and pressures of less than two atmospheres for the TFE. The synthesized ICF2CF2I was reacted with S2F1o and tetrafluoroethylene to give SF5CF2CF2I. The subsequent synthesis of the SFs containing fluoroalkyl iodides and derivatives were carried out using SFsCF2CF2I as the starting material in a Carius tube reaction vessel. The synthesized SFs …

Effects Of The Cardioprotective Drugs Dexrazoxane And Adr-925 On Doxorubicin Induced Ca2+-Release From The Sarcoplasmic Reticulum, Thomas Andreas Herzinger

Dissertations and Theses

The sarcoplasmic reticulum is the intramuscular organelle responsible for the regulation of cytoplasmic calcium levels in muscle. This thesis investigates the effects of the cardioprotective drug, dexrazoxane, and its metabolite ADR-925 on doxorubicin induced calcium release from skeletal sarcoplasmic reticulum. Doxorubicin is a widely used antineoplastic agent. One of the major side effects of doxorubicin usage is chronic cardiotoxicity. Doxorubicin is a potent activator of the calcium release mechanism from the SR. The interaction between doxorubicin and the calcium release channel has been proposed as the possible underlying mechanism behind cardiotoxicity. A short overview of different hypotheses describing doxorubicin induced …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet November 1996, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The November 1996 Monthly packet includes the November agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held October 1996.

Generalized Beam Matrices. Iii. Application To Diffraction Analysis, Lee W. Casperson, Anthony A. Tovar

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

In analogy with Huygen’s wavelets a new method based on Gaussian beamlets is used to develop a conventional diffraction integral formalism for paraxial optical systems representable by complex 2×2 ABCD Gaussian beam matrices. This method, along with a new phase parameter transformation, is then used to produce a new diffraction integral for studying the propagation of light beams with arbitrary spatial profiles through much more general misaligned complex optical systems representable by 3×3 ABCDGH beam matrices.

Ecological Economics: Reintegrating The Study Of Humans And Nature, Robert Costanza

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Ecological economics is a transdisciplinary effort to link the natural and social sciences broadly, and especially ecology and economics. The goal is to develop a deeper understanding of the complex linkages between ecological and economic systems, and to use that understanding to develop effective policies that will lead to a world that is ecologically sustainable, has a fair distribution of resources (both among groups and generations of humans and between humans and other species), and efficiently allocates scarce resources including natural capital. This will require new approaches that are comprehensive, adaptive, integrative, multi-scale, and pluralistic, and that acknowledge the huge …

Multimedia Applications Require Adaptive Cpu Scheduling, Veronica Baiceanu, Crispin Cowan, Dylan Mcnamee, Calton Pu, Jonathan Walpole

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

CPU scheduling and admission testing for multimedia applications have been extensively studied, and various solutions have been proposed using assorted simplifying assumptions. However, we believe that the complexity and dynamic behavior of multimedia applications and systems make static solutions hard to apply in real-world situations. We are analyzing the difficulties that arise when applying the rate-monotonic (RM) scheduling algorithm and the corresponding admission tests for CPU management, in the context of real multimedia applications running on real systems. RM requires statically predictable, periodic workloads, and while multimedia applications appear to be periodic, in practice they exhibit numerous variabilities in workload. …

Effective And Appropriate Use Of Controlled Experimentation In Software Development Research, Mark Alan Johnson

Dissertations and Theses

Although there is a large body of research and publication on software development, only a limited amount of this work includes empirical demonstration of its effectiveness. Yet, it is this empirical understanding which will help move software development from a craft to an engineering discipline. Of the empirical methods for research, controlled experiments are the most commonly thought of in scientific studies, and yet the least used to study software development.

This thesis begins with a brief review of the different empirical methods commonly used to study software development. This review provides a quick introduction to each empirical method, compares …