Digital Commons Network^™

Business Capstone Review: Analysis Of A Portland Based Chili Oil Company, Karlene Marrero

University Honors Theses

The paper is a review of the Portland State University's school of business senior capstone project. The team in this paper worked with a Portland based chili oil company for their project. There will first be an introduction to the capstone project then the paper will dive into two main sections that include a discussion of the capstone project experience and a reflection.

The First Thirty Years Of Green Stormwater Infrastructure In Portland, Oregon, Michaela Koucka, Cara Poor, Jordyn Wolfand, Heejun Chang, Vivek Shandas, Adrienne Aiona, Henry Stevens, Tim Kurtz, Svetlana Hedin, Steve Fancher, Joshua Lighthipe, Adam Zucker

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Over the past 30 years, the City of Portland, Oregon, USA, has emerged as a national leader in green stormwater infrastructure (GSI). The initial impetus for implementing sustainable stormwater infrastructure in Portland stemmed from concerns about flooding and water quality in the city’s two major rivers, the Columbia and the Willamette. Heavy rainfall often led to combined sewer overflows, significantly polluting these waterways. A partial solution was the construction of “The Big Pipe” project, a large-scale stormwater containment system designed to filter and regulate overflow. However, Portland has taken a more comprehensive and long-term approach by integrating sustainable stormwater management …

Combined Passive And Active Ultrasonic Stress Wave Monitoring Of A Full-Scale Laboratory Reinforced Concrete Bridge Column Subject To Reverse-Cyclic Lateral Loading, Niklas Epple, Thomas Schumacher, A. K. M. Golam Murtuz, Ernst Niederleithinger, Peter Dusicka

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Effective monitoring of reinforced concrete structures requires techniques that detect early-stage material change and active, localized cracking. This study investigates a combined structural health monitoring approach using passive acoustic emission and active ultrasonic methods on a full-scale reinforced concrete bridge column subjected to reverse-cyclic lateral loading. Active monitoring, based on coda wave interferometry, was used to track changes in wave velocity and waveforms, while passive acoustic emission monitoring was used to detect crack activity. The instrumentation consisted of three embedded ultrasonic transducers and three surface-mounted acoustic emission sensors. The results show that active ultrasonic monitoring is most effective prior to …

Physical And Mental Health Of Behavioural Health Certified Peer Specialists In Four Us States, Judith A. Cook, Jane K. Burke-Miller, Morgan Pelot, Jessica A. Jonikas, Laysha Ostrow

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background:

Little is known about the health and healthcare needs of the behavioural health peer specialist workforce in the USA. This study explored the physical and mental health-related quality of life (QOL) of a US multistate cohort of certified peer specialists, and factors associated with health-related work absences among those employed in peer specialist positions.

Methods:

Data come from 419 participants surveyed 18 months after state certification as part of a 2-year longitudinal cohort study of peer specialists in four US states. Measures included the Veterans RAND 12 Item Health Survey, the Epidemic-Pandemic Impacts Inventory and items from the National …

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 …

A New Approach To Probabilistic County Population Forecasting With An Example Application To West Texas, David Swanson, Jeff Tayman, Mike Cline

Publications, Reports and Presentations

This paper shows how measures of uncertainty can be applied to existing subnational population forecasts using the 107 counties that make up West Texas as a case study. The measures of forecast uncertainty are relatively easy to calculate and meet several important criteria routinely applied by state and local demographers. We also report the results of two independent comparisons supporting the argument that our approach is valid. The paper concludes it is well-suited for developing probabilistic population forecasts in the United States and elsewhere.

Small Molecule Inhibitor 3i-1000 Dosed During Bouts Of Anoxia Increases Survivability Of Austrofundulus Limnaeus Embryos, Connor Kime

University Honors Theses

The annual killifish Austrofundulus limnaeus possesses exceptional tolerance to prolonged anoxia, offering a unique vertebrate model for investigating cardiac resilience and survival under metabolic stress. This study tested whether inhibition of the GATA4–NKX2-5 transcriptional axis with the small molecule 3i-1000 enhances post-anoxic survival. WS40 embryos were exposed to 50 µM 3i-1000 during anoxia and early aerobic recovery. Outcomes were assessed across two independent experimental cohorts. Treated embryos exhibited higher survivability during reoxygenation: in the October cohort, survival increased from 76.0% in vehicle controls (n = 25) to 91.7% in treated embryos (n = 24); in the November cohort, survival improved …

Teaching With The Electronic Literature Collection Volume 4, Rui Torres, Kathi Inman Berens, Maria C. Zamora, Lyle Skains, John Murray

English Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article surveys the four ELCs – Electronic Literature Collections (2006- 2022), reviews pedagogical approaches to teaching ELCs, and situates ELCs and electronic literature pedagogy into higher education’s course management systems. ELCs’ increasing accessibility serves its global audience and centers the ethical values of diversity, equality, and inclusion. The ELC4’s user experience design manifests these values. The article discusses the history of the Collections’ experience design. Volume Four (2022) expanded reader accessibility and linguistic diversity by including video playthroughs and collecting 132 works from 42 author nationalities in 31 languages. This article surveys those evolving design changes. It engages a …

Analyzing National War Propaganda Through Comparison Of Diverse Case Studies, Ike Sugitani

Dissertations and Theses

In the build-up to war, national governments utilize propaganda to gather public support for the war effort. In some instances, propaganda campaigns are conducted but war does not occur. This begs the question as to why war follows propaganda campaigns in some cases, but not in others. I argue that propaganda efforts that lead to war can be generally characterized through three major strategies based on a patriotic participatory social structure, a claim to moral authority, and the blending of individual concepts of the state, government and nation. In this study, I analyze the major historical case studies of the …

Effects Of Mating System And Adaptedness On The Evolution Of Fitness And Mtdna Copy Number In Mitonuclear Mismatched C. Elegans, Zachary P. Dietz, Devshuvam Banerji, Jennifer A. Sullins, Brent W. Bever, Stephen F. Christy, Ulfar Bergthorsson, Vaishali Katju, Suzanne Estes

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Metabolic functioning in nearly all eukaryotes relies on molecular machinery dual-encoded by mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and nuclear DNA (nDNA) genomes. The two genomes have sustained an extraordinary degree of cooperation across evolutionary time, preserving the capacity for indispensable processes including oxidative phosphorylation and ATP production, which in turn influence many fitness-related traits. How this cooperation is maintained when one member of the pair is debilitated by deleterious mutation is poorly understood, as is the influence of mutation location (mtDNA or nDNA), mating system, or the potentially compensatory effects of mtDNA copy number changes on the process. We asked whether and …

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 …

The Evolving Future Of Work: Implications For Newcomer Adaptability And Connectivity During Organizational Socialization, Talya N. Bauer, Berrin Erdogan, Allison M. Ellis, Donald M. Truxillo, Grant M. Brady, Julie M. Mccarthy

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

Organizational socialization and the practice of onboarding new hires are central human resources functions. However, traditional socialization theory and practice were built on assumptions that are increasingly misaligned with today's work context. We identified four current, emerging, and future work trends that characterize the evolving landscape surrounding organizational socialization: technological advancement, the expansion of remote work arrangements, rising societal loneliness and mental health challenges, and aging workforce demographics. Collectively, these trends have contributed to dramatic shifts in the context and performance of work, as well as the expectations that employees and organizations hold for one another. Accordingly, we argue that …

Responding To The Needs Of Dementia Care Partners: Recommendations For Policy Change At The State And Federal Levels., Walter D. Dawson, Jenn Reed, Allison Lindauer, Sherril B. Gelmon

Institute on Aging Publications

The need to optimize supports of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) care partners through policy innovation is high. This study sought to frame the care and support needs of multiple historically underrepresented populations who may be underserved and/or have difficulty accessing culturally specific services and determine specific policies that may reduce ADRD care partner burden and improve wellbeing. Qualitative data were gathered through interviews ( = 24) with leaders of organizations that support people living with ADRD and focus groups ( = 5) with dementia care partners from four communities historically underserved in the United States (Asian, Black, Indigenous, …

Beyond Translating Cultures: Organizational Cultural Brokering And Latin@/E/X Community Resilience After The "Mobile Home Parks" Fire, Christine Atalie Da Rosa

Dissertations and Theses

As wildfires increase in frequency and severity in rural communities, disaster management agencies are seeking to collaborate with community-based organizations (CBOs) working with rural, low-income Latin@/e/x communities to build wildfire resilience. This qualitative case study examines the critical role of CBOs rooted in their local, predominately low-income Latin@/e/x communities as cultural brokers in supporting Latin@/e/x wildfire survivors following the 2020 "Mobile Home Parks" Fire in a rural county in Oregon. Drawing from 23 semi-structured interviews, three focus groups, a review of relevant documents, and participant observations, the research investigates how Latin@/e/x CBOs navigated the complex cultural landscape between wildfire survivors …

I, As In We, Cj Maruyama

Dissertations and Theses

I, as in We is a hybrid collection of poems, essays, fictional letters, documents, and photographs through which the author revisits ancestors and explores their multiracial roots. Drawing on stories, interviews and research grounded in the Japanese American experience, the collection develops a call-and-response polyvocality that spans generations and geographies. In its use of white space, form experimentation, and tonal shifts, the work confronts the fluid, often ambiguous boundaries that shape identity. The compiled written and visual materials evolve into an original document--one that reaches toward heritage, belonging, and truth.

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 …

Building Belonging Infrastructure In Cities: Arts/Culture-Based Critical Participatory Action Research And Youth, Kimberly Rae Nightingale

Dissertations and Theses

Belonging is a critical human need. Urban planning's history of bureaucratic expertise continues to champion the powerful, resulting in structures and procedures that still separate and damage city communities. This research challenges the current hegemony of urban planning that centers geography--the container of land--in its practice. Instead, centering the belonging of people to each other is the essential quality of healthy urban planning. A people-centered urban planning practice where the community's people are the experts and decision-makers of their own cities--and belonging is the primary objective--is long overdue.

Arts/culture-based critical participatory action research (PAR)--where the research questions, design, data collection, …

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 …

Expanding And Mainstreaming Sociohydrology Toward Transdisciplinary Praxis, Shinichiro Nakamura, Heidi Kreibich, Melissa Haeffner, Jenia Mukherjee, Giuliano Di Baldassarre, Maiko Sakamoto, Mikiko Sugiura, Günter Blöschl, Taikan Oki, Murugesu Sivapalan

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Since its development in the early 2010s, sociohydrology has deepened our understanding of the long-term coevolution of humans and water by integrating insights from both the natural and social sciences, while also fostering an interdisciplinary community. Its modus operandi to date has been to focus on emergent phenomena, manifesting as unintended consequences, in a variety of contexts. The compound disaster that struck Japan’s Noto Peninsula in 2024, and similar experiences in other parts of the world, underscore the urgent need for systemic approaches that are co-developed by academia and practitioners and focus on context-specific solutions. This perspective piece thus calls …

Home Visitor Well-Being In Oregon: Influences On Stress, Mental Health And Risk For Staff Turnover Oregon’S 2023 Home Visiting Workforce Survey, Beth L. Green, Yumi Lee, Nicole Lauzus, Ron Joseph, Erin Gaines

Regional Research Institute for Human Services

This learning brief is the fourth in a series to share findings from a 2023 statewide survey of over 700 members of Oregon’s home visiting workforce. In this brief, we share information about home visitors’ well-being across several dimensions, including 1) job-related well-being (job satisfaction, feelings of emotional/physical safety on the job, work-related stress, and job burnout); 2) personal well-being (financial strain, depression and anxiety); and 3) risk of staff turnover.

Second, we explore whether there are differences in these aspects of well-being for home visitors who have different backgrounds and life experiences. We then ask the question, “What things …

Regional And District Trends In Oregon’S Post-Pandemic School Enrollment And Achievement, Madhu Narayanan

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

Oregon has been highlighted as a state with large student enrollment changes after the pandemic, as well as persistent learning loss. Unlike many other states in the nation, this learning loss has persisted. This paper goes beyond the statewide trends to examine regional and district level patterns in both enrollment changes and learning outcomes. One major finding is that while districts in all regions experienced enrollment changes, Large Urban and Suburban districts had notable enrollment declines. These declines were driven by a decrease in White students. Meanwhile, Suburban districts had increases in Asian, Black, and Multiracial students. Another finding is …

Using Ecological Momentary Data To Inform A Web-Based Intervention For Romantic Partners Concerned About Their Loved Ones’ Drinking: Study Protocol, Lindsey M. Rodriguez, Cynthia D. Mohr, Katherine Nameth, Eric Pedersen, Karen Chan Osilla

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Concerned partners (CPs) play a crucial role in encouraging their loved ones to moderate or seek help for their drinking but are not always equipped with the strategies to approach these conversations effectively. This research comprises three phases: First, we will conduct a dyadic ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study to establish common communication patterns associated with drinking and non-drinking behaviors. Findings from this study will be used to develop a web-based intervention (WBI) prototype, which will be used in a qualitative study with CPs assessing the WBI's feasibility and acceptability. We will evaluate the efficacy of the WBI compared to …

Potent Acridone Antimalarial Against All Three Life Stages Of Plasmodium, Papireddy Kancharla, Rozalia A. Dodean, Yuexin Li, Xiaowei Zhang, Sean Kelly, Jordan Charlton, Angley Binauhan, Laurize Garcia, Diana Caridha, Jane X. Kelly, Multiple Additional Authors

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

New antimalarial therapeutics ideally should target all three major life cycle stages. Here we present an acridone antimalarial chemotype that is potent against blood, liver, and mosquito stages of malaria parasites, with the potential for single-dose cure of bloodstream infections, radical cure of liver infections, and blocking of transmission to mosquitoes. Attributes of lead candidate T111 include potent in vitro activity against cultured parasites, ex vivo activity against clinical isolates, oral single dose cure in an asexual blood stage rodent model, inhibition of sexual blood stage parasites, activity against relapsing parasites in non-human primate liver cells, prevention of parasite development …

Impact Of Oceanographic Gradients And Marine Heatwaves On The Picophytoplankton Community In The Northern California Current System, Kristin E. Forgrave, Carey P. Sweeney, Melissa Steinman, Anvita U. Kerkar, Timothy M. Pettit, Anne W. Thompson

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Northern California Current (NCC) system is a productive coastal ecosystem with a mosaic of temporal and spatial features. The phytoplankton community plays a crucial role in supporting the rich ecosystem and economically important fisheries of the NCC. Our study integrates data across two years (2022-2023) and multiple transects to investigate the community composition of two major phytoplankton groups in the NCC: picocyanobacteria and photosynthetic picoeukaryotes (PPE). The abundances and cell sizes of the phytoplankton were measured using flow cytometry. We found PPE present at similar concentrations in both summer and winter, while picocyanobacteria were much more abundant in the …

Let's Chat About Spoken Discourse: A Tutorial To Support Use Of Spoken Discourse Analysis When Providing Aphasia Clinical Services., Manaswita Dutta, Laura L. Murray, Hyejin Park, Elizabeth Burklow, Arpita Bose, Hana Kim, Kathryn Greenslade, Amy E. Ramage, Collean Combs, Anusha Balasubramanian, Marianne Casilio

Speech and Hearing Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Spoken discourse is integral to everyday communication; improving discourse outcomes is a primary goal for individuals with aphasia and their families. Consequently, the application of discourse analysis in aphasia assessment and treatment has gained increasing attention in both research and clinical settings. Despite its recognized value among researchers and clinicians, several barriers-such as limited time, inadequate training, and lack of resources-continue to impede the widespread use of discourse analysis into clinical practice. To facilitate its broader adoption, speech-language pathologists require access to comprehensive resources that include information on discourse tasks, outcome measures, psychometric properties, and practical examples of how to …

Mediating Role Of Self-Efficacy In The Association Between Fatigue And Depressive Symptoms In Females With Rheumatoid Arthritis, I-Yu Hsiao, Hanoch Livneh, Chieh-Tsung Yen, Ming-Chi Lu, Wei-Jen Chen, Tzung-Yi Tsai

Counselor Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background and Objectives: Extant research on the relationship between fatigue and depression in people with rheumatic diseases portrays a divergent picture. While caring for persons with this medical condition, one issue that represents individual confidence in carrying out specific tasks, namely self-efficacy level, has attracted significant attention. Yet, the information regarding whether self-efficacy may pose a clue linking these two major symptoms is still unknown. The aim of this study, therefore, is to examine whether self-efficacy mediates the association between fatigue and depressive symptoms among persons with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Materials and Method: A cross-sectional study of 224 …

Hegemonic Entrepreneurial Masculinities In Patriarchal Contexts: Exploring Men's Entrepreneurship In War-Torn Territories, Doaa Althalathini, Theodore A. Khoury, Nick Rumens

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article examines how the war-torn context in Iraq has affected men’s entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial masculinities. Drawing on the entrepreneurship masculinities literature, Connell’s notion of hegemonic masculinity and in-depth interviews with 21 Iraqi men entrepreneurs, this article demonstrates the complex interplay between entrepreneurship, masculinity and patriarchal dynamics in the context of wars and economic instability in Iraq. Study findings show how Iraqi men often turn to entrepreneurship out of necessity to meet patriarchal expectations of them as primary providers for their families. We contribute to the literature on entrepreneurship, men and masculinities by demonstrating how entrepreneurship not only serves as …

Population Genomic Investigation Of The Oregon Slender Salamander (Batrachoseps Wrighti) Reveals Suburban Populations Are Remnants, Not Recent Introductions, Clare Yang, Laura Guderyahn, Charlotte Corkran, Steven Wagner, Lauren M. Chan

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

In the face of urbanization and anthropogenic change, some native species persist while others are lost. Understanding native populations, particularly in marginal habitat, can lend insights into the effects of habitat change. The Oregon Slender Salamander (Batrachoseps wrighti) is endemic to the late-successional forests of the Cascade Range in Oregon and has declined due to land use change. In 2007, several populations of the Oregon Slender Salamander were found within highly human-modified localities in the Portland Metropolitan Region. We investigate whether these, and other newly discovered suburban populations, represent remnant populations that persisted in the face of habitat …

Understanding The Care Needs Of People With Post-Stroke Aphasia: A Qualitative Study Of Stroke Care Transitions, Amy B. Thomas, Gerasimos Fergadiotis, Lonnie A. Nelson, Catherine R. Van Son, Celestina Barbosa-Leiker

Speech and Hearing Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Communication difficulties experienced by people with aphasia (PWA) cause disconnects between meaningful conversations and care received. The purpose of this study was to identify concepts PWA define as (1) the most critical facilitators to transitional care and communicative access success, and (2) transitional care and communicative barriers. A qualitative descriptive study design was utilized. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six PWA and two communication partners and analyzed using directed content analysis, guided by the theory of Human Scale Development. Findings revealed that barriers and facilitators centered on three Needs: (1) Participation: Participation in life events was directly related to public …

Heightened Risk: Childhood Trauma And Anticipatory Grief Exacerbate The Impact Of Loneliness On Depressive Symptoms And Lps-Stimulated Cytokines In Dementia Caregivers, Kelly N. Brice, Jensine Paoletti-Hatcher, E Lydia Wu-Chung, Vincent D. Lai, Daniel L. Argueta, Michelle A. Chen, Itee Mahant, Bryan T. Denny, Charles Green, Luis D. Medina, Multiple Additional Authors

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Dementia spousal caregivers are at a disproportionate risk for adverse mental and physical health outcomes. Loneliness is associated with depressive symptoms and proinflammatory cytokine production among caregivers. Additionally, childhood trauma, anticipatory grief, and poor sleep quality are all associated with enhanced stress reactivity. This study used a cross-sectional design to investigate whether loneliness is associated with proinflammatory cytokine production and depressive symptoms in caregivers, and whether these relationships are strongest among caregivers who report high levels of childhood trauma, high amounts of anticipatory grief, or poor sleep quality. A sample of 111 dementia spousal caregivers provided blood samples and completed …