Digital Commons Network^™

The Power Of The Court: Racial Discrimination As Evidenced Through Supreme Court Decisions After 1954, Marry A. Karam

University Honors Theses

This thesis reviews the way in which Supreme Court cases address racial discrimination from 1954 to 2014 and the impact that these decisions have had on society and politics. The focus will be on four monumental decisions: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), Loving v. Virginia (1967), Batson v. Kentucky (1986), and Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action (2014). It is evident through an analysis of the cases and similar literature, that the Supreme Court has been striving to address the issue of racial injustice in a manner that assists the fight for equal rights. Although the …

Adolescents In The Emergency Room: Assessing And Addressing Suicide Risk, Kahae C. Sellars

University Honors Theses

While research supports that teenagers are at an elevated risk for suicide, services to prevent and treat suicidality often do not meet the needs of this population. This is especially true when considering youth who engage in psychiatric emergency treatment, given that the most likely predictor of suicide is a past suicide attempt. This thesis will review theoretical foundations of suicidality and connect those theories to the current literature surrounding specific risk factors for suicide for adolescents. An understanding of these theories and risk factors will then be used to propose a model for potential improvements in emergency room suicide …

The Queer Innocence Of James Baldwin In Giovanni's Room, Grace C. Carroll

University Honors Theses

I am investigating a "queer innocence" which I read through Baldwin's novel Giovanni's Room. The queerness of it comes from its refusal to remain tied to childhood, to the past. I will be examining the factors which traditionally are figured oppositionally to innocence: shame, guilt, knowledge and desire. By representing a loss of innocence as "perpetually recurring," Baldwin frames innocence itself as repetitive. It is not something which is simply lost, it can be found again. If the novel is suggesting that innocence is not just to be lost, but to be found and experienced again, then how do …

Skin In The Game: Voter Preference On The Subject Of Bi-Racial Candidate Skin-Tone, Daniel A. Vandehey

University Honors Theses

In Caruso et al. (2009), the researchers determine that if a participant liked a bi-racial (one black parent and one white parent) male candidate the participant was more inclined to prefer a photograph of him in which he appears to have a lighter complexion. Caruso et al. explain the results through the lens of a shade-based account of implicit association. This approach does not explore other possible explanations, which presented an opportunity. Therefore, this study extends the research conducted in Caruso et al. (2009) in an attempt to test for the presence or absence of inclusion motivation as a mediating …

Increasing Engagement On Nonprofit Facebook Pages Through Photos, Christina T. Guiang

University Honors Theses

Social media has become an immensely valuable tool for nonprofit marketing strategies. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter provide free tools for nonprofit organizations to spread awareness, build their organizational identity, communicate with their stakeholders, and inspire action and involvement. These outlets have therefore, for many organizations, become an essential component of their marketing communications. Developing effective strategies that maximize social media post engagement is beneficial in aiding organizations to achieve their marketing goals. This study focuses specifically on Facebook photo posts due to the platform’s widespread use and the high potential of visual media to provoke audience …

Oregon Wasted Food Study: Measurement, Motivations And Opportunities To Waste Less Food, Laura Moreno, Christa Mcdermott, Doc Billings

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality partnered with Portland State University’s Community Environmental Services to conduct a five-part study on wasted food generation in the State of Oregon. The main research objectives for this study are:

• Understand the informational, psychological, socio-economic, and structural drivers that contribute to the generation of preventable wasted food;
• Collect reliable data on wasted edible food, including loss reasons and reporting biases; and
• Provide the state, cities, counties, and consumer-facing businesses, such as grocery retailers and restaurants, with basic methods of establishing their own wasted food baselines and assessing shifts in waste prevention behaviors or levels …

Does Participation In High Risk Behaviors Create More Intimate Adolescent Friendships?, Hayden Babby

University Honors Theses

This study seeks to understand adolescent participation in high risk behaviors and if participation in these behaviors leads to more intimate adolescent friendships. Homophily, the tendency to seek associations with others who are similar to ourselves, and the fear of rejection are both possible causes for the relationship between these variables. Due to a research gap between these two, this study utilizes previous research to construct a survey that can be used to measure and quantify high risk behaviors and friendships.

"Conservatism In A Revolutionary Era:" An Analysis Of Challenges Posed By Developing An Exhibit Of The Americanism Collection, Mariah C. Denman

University Honors Theses

The goal of the "Conservatism in a Revolutionary Era" project was to develop an exhibit of certain Americanism documents while exploring the challenges of exhibit-making with regard to the political nature of the Collection. Exhibit-making involves the study, curation, description, and display of archives for public consumption, and this paper will include reflections on my experiences in each phase of that process. Firstly, I will introduce the Collection and the Young Americans for Freedom organization which I centered in the exhibit. Secondly, I will address why I chose this project and how I arrived at the current juncture. Thirdly, I …

Reducing Stigma Associated With Schizophrenia, James Reling

University Honors Theses

I examine stigma associated with schizophrenia and how psychiatric diagnosis, mental health professionals, the criminal justice system, and society ostracize and contribute to the suffering of approximately three million Americans. I doubt schizophrenia’s conceptualization as a progressively deteriorating biological disease and present the social conditions that accumulate stress for the individual and lead to psychotic episodes. I argue that schizophrenia cannot be understood as a “thing," but as a complex system of numerous variables contributing to a system of disorder resulting from prejudiced attitudes, discriminatory social-structural conditions, and unjust treatment of human beings needing extra resources to thrive. Ultimately, I …

How Online Social Media Persona Affects Personal Identity And Self, Marlon Jovi S. Valencia

University Honors Theses

Through empirical means and introspection, this paper deals with the question: What does it take for a person to persist from moment to moment, for the same person to exist at different moments? The argument being made is that our online social media persona is one and the same with our personal identity. This paper touches on theories of continuity of body / substance and continuity of consciousness and how they are related to social networking sites. This paper offers discourse on the empirical means taken, discussing the various means of social media / social networking sites, particularly YouTube, in …

The Emergence Of Portland's 'Unique' Homelessness: Does The City's Pattern Of Compassion Suggest A New Perspective On Poverty?, Katrina Edelen

University Honors Theses

The issue of homelessness appears to take on a unique complexity in Portland, Oregon. While the rest of the nation tends to criminalize poverty, perpetuating an idea that homelessness is rooted in personal incompetency and moral failings, Portland has repeatedly implemented more lenient policies, allowing the homeless to claim rights and space in public. The city also boasts a long history of compassionate behavior from the community and numerous grass-roots organizations aimed at assisting the homeless. But a critical review of policy documents, historical newspapers, and various pieces of media, indicates that Portland’s patterns of compassion are not as subversive …

Methods For Safeguarding Client Data, Jelon L. Anderson

University Honors Theses

An evaluation of the modern security methods in which best protect client’s data for an engineering capstone project.

The Failures Of Equal Protection: An Examination Of The Supreme Court's Three-Tiered Test In Equal Protection Claims, Jazmyn A. Ortiz

University Honors Theses

Identity is incredibly complex when we recognize the spectrums of race, gender, and sexuality. While these identities have always been complex, it has been only recently that those diverse people are gaining recognition and acceptance within society. Recognition and acceptance is propelled forward when we establish law that is meant to protect diverse identities. The Equal Protection Clause is an example of legislation meant to protect those who have historically been marginalized or even failed to be recognized by the law. When states violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, the case may reach the Supreme Court of the United …

Rape Myth Acceptance Among Adolescent Males – How To Integrate Components Of Preventative Sexual Assault Programs Into Sex Education, Alexandra M. Munford

University Honors Theses

Rape and sexual assault have become two of the most prevalent forms of violent crime in the United States. Among all cases of sexual assault and rape, college-aged females are by far the most victimized group. Interventions within the field have focused on college male’s adherence to rape myths with the belief that changing these attitudes may decrease the prevalence of sexually violent behavior. Because of this, college campuses have become the primary target of intervention with preventative sexual assault programs (PSAPs) as a common method of delivering this education. However, the delivery of these interventions has the potential to …

Shifting Advertising Agency Structure And Evolving Technology, Sarah A. Norris

University Honors Theses

My goal for this thesis is not to simply gain total knowledge in one specific area of advertising, but to create an accurate perspective of the advertising ecosystem and all the businesses and people that interact with or depend on it, as it exists today. I will go in depth on all the aspects of the "advertising ecosystem" later in this paper. I am using this terminology as an overarching term for all businesses that rely or drive any form of work related to advertising. These businesses can range from the advertising firm itself to the catering business that supplies …

Billy Gryphen's House And Other Important Places: The Children's Geography Of The Arcadia Neighborhood, Sophia K. Biddle

University Honors Theses

This paper explores how children ages 5 – 12 years old use, see, and value public space within the context of a fast-growing and rapidly gentrifying neighborhood in Portland, Oregon (USA). Using participatory action research and building upon Alison Clark’s groundbreaking Mosaic Approach, this research aims to evaluate and amplify children’s voices and opinions about their neighborhood. Drawing on children’s artwork, photographs, and focus group interviews, this project assesses how children define "the neighborhood," how children participate in and make their own communities, and how children place value on public spaces. I argue that children’s socio-spatial understanding of public space …

The Politicization Of Climate Change And The United States Department Of Defense, Margaret Cochrane

University Honors Theses

Given the increasing political polarization within the United States, this paper attempts to explore how political discourse impacts the United States Department of Defense's (DOD) engagement with climate change. Analyzing personal communications, relevant literature, and DOD actions and documents, the results of this research found that the DOD engages with climate change across numerous fronts with different motivational forces. Of the various motivational forces, this research focuses on: (1) installation and operational concerns, (2) the Department's relationships with political administrations, (3) the Department's relationship with the Legislative branch, and (4) financial incentives.

Upon examining these four motivational forces, the findings …

Diversity And Inclusion In Pacific Northwest Theatre & Strategies To Improve The Success Of These Pursuits, Madelyn M. Odegaard

University Honors Theses

This paper seeks to explore the state of Pacific Northwest theatre and how successful theatre companies in this region are at promoting diversity and inclusion. This will first be accomplished by an extensive literature review and analysis. This will include sections discussing the current state of theatre in America and its importance, an introduction to the people, pieces and companies setting the example for diverse and inclusive theatre practices, the national theatre versus regional theatre debate, and successful integrative strategies used by companies and by specific individuals. After this is established, there will be a report on interviews that have …

Communicating At Terahertz Frequencies, Farnoosh Moshirfatemi

Dissertations and Theses

The number of users who get access to wireless links is increasing each day and many new applications require very high data rates. The increasing demand for higher data rates has led to the development of new techniques to increase spectrum efficiency to achieve this goal. However, the limited bandwidth of the frequency bands that are currently used for wireless communication bounds the maximum data rate possible.

In the past few years, researchers have developed new devices that work as Terahertz (THz) transmitters and receivers. The development of these devices and the large available bandwidth of the THz band is …

Spatial Narratives In A Post-Truth World, Dillon Mahmoudi

Resistance GIS

Dillon Mahmoudi will graduate in June 2017 with a PhD in Urban Studies
at Portland State University. He also received his Graduate Certificate in GIS from the Geography department. In the fall of 2017, he will be moving to Baltimore to be Assistant Professor of Geography and Environmental Systems at the University of Maryland Baltimore County where he will teach courses in advanced GIS methods and economic geography. His research and community engagement focuses on critical methods for GIS, bifurcation and deskilling in tech work (software and cartography), geographies of urban inequity, and the intersections of cities and digital technologies.

Resistance (?) Gis (?), Jim Thatcher

Resistance GIS

Jim Thatcher is an Assistant Professor of Urban Studies at the University of Washington Tacoma. His research examines relationships between extremely large geospatial data sets and the creation and analysis of those data sets and society, with a focus on how data has come to mediate, saturate, and sustain modern urban environments. Often referred to as Critical Data Studies or Digital Political Ecologies, Jim’s work has been featured in media outlets including NPR and The Atlantic. His first edited volume, Thinking Big Data In Geography: New Regimes, New Research, is forthcoming from University of Nebraska Press.

Interview With Charles Le Guin, Charles Le Guin, Heather Oriana Petrocelli

Portland State University Oral Histories

Dr. Charles A. Le Guin is Professor Emeritus of History at Portland State University, where he taught for over thirty-five years.

In this interview with Heather O. Petrocelli on May 16, 2017, Dr. Le Guin recalls his experience as a member of the Portland State faculty starting in the 1950s. He describes his view of Portland State's development from a small college to a large urban university, the professional, social, and cultural environments of the downtown campus, and the founding of pioneering academic programs such as University Studies and the Honors College.

Network Congestion Effect Of E-Hailing Transportation Services, Xuegang Ban

PSU Transportation Seminars

E-hailing plays a key role in emerging transportation services such as ridesourcing, ridesharing and taxis, among others. This seminar will present a general economic model to analyze the congestion effect of e-hailing services in a transportation network.

The model can help analyze customers’ choices of different modes, based on their value of time and the charging schemes of different services, as well as the overall impact of the services to network level congestion.

Pdxopen: Psu's Open Textbook Initiative, Karen Bjork

Open Educational Resources Symposium

Open access textbook publishing initiatives not only provide libraries the opportunity to recast their longstanding mission to facilitate research and remove barriers to information they also impact student affordability efforts. How can a library build a program that will meet the needs of students, faculty, and administrators? The answer lies in collaboration and sharing.

In 2013, with the support of a Provost-backed initiative, Portland State University (PSU) Library developed an open textbook publishing program that works with faculty to create open textbooks specifically designed for a course. The publishing initiative, PDXOpen, has published 10 open textbooks with an additional 7 …

The Benefits Of Oer In A University Arabic Course, Lina Gomaa

Open Educational Resources Symposium

I will share my experience writing and e-publishing my open textbook and using it in the classroom. It is the first Arabic textbook in the Open Textbook library at the University of Minnesota and Portland State University’s library website. The book has been downloaded over 300 times all over the world in a year and counting. In addition to the e-book, I will discuss my experience with mediaspace.pdx.edu in class teaching and the students’ reactions to incorporating it in teaching Arabic.

Evaluating Knowledge Of Developmental Disabilities Among Wic Participants, Carolina Regalado Murillo, Katharine Zuckerman, Alison Chavez, Julie A. Reeder

Student Research Symposium

Background: Children in racial/ethnic minority and low-income families are more likely to experience low rates of early developmental disability (DD) diagnosis. Racial/ethnic and language differences in parent information about DDs could contribute to diagnostic delays, but little is known about differences in parent DD familiarity.

Objectives: To assess DD knowledge and information in a sample of low-income families.

Methods: We conducted a self-administered survey on 539 parents attending their child’s appointment at the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in six Oregon counties. Survey items assessed familiarity with early signs of DDs, self-reported knowledge about DDs, …

Is Fast Fashion A Concern Of The Everyday Teen?, Mariah N. Cruz

Student Research Symposium

The phrase “fast fashion” refers to getting clothes at extremely low costs to keep up with the newest fashion trends. When we purchase items, we don’t put much thought into where our clothing goes after we “get rid” of them. The saying “Out of sight, out of mind” is apparent when it comes down to consumers and letting go of old clothes. Our only concern as consumers is the next big thing. The fashion industry has drastically changed over the past two decades and trends play a huge role in this push for mass production. We as a society are …

College Affordability, Rabeeb Rahman

Student Research Symposium

College affordability in the U.S. has been an issue that has existed for many decades now. These days three quarters of the fast growing jobs require a person to have an education beyond just an ordinary high school diploma. However around half of college students who start their college careers here in America don’t finish in six years. College tuition also keeps rising which makes it harder for families in the upper middle class to attend college. To battle this problem of rising tuition cost we Americans must take action. I have worked with a few other Portland State students …

Compositional Practice As Expression Of Cultural Hybridity In Lou Harrison’S Double Concerto For Violin, Cello, And Javanese Gamelan, Matthew N. Andrews

Student Research Symposium

Artists in the twenty-first century face a creative dilemma: styles and traditions from around the world are now available to all, and in the post-colonial era it can become difficult to discern the appropriateness of artistic borrowings. I propose that cultural hybridity, defined as genuine investment in another artistic culture's traditions and respect for its practitioners, can provide an “Ariadne's thread” to guide the interculturally sensitive artist. Lou Harrison's long relationship with the gamelan music (karawitan) of Indonesia provides an enlightening example. From his initial exposure to Asian music all through his decades of intensive study and instrument-building, Harrison's development …

Assistive Technology For The Cognitively Impaired: A Study Of Literacy, Comprehension, And The Print Publishing Industry, Amanda Matteo

Student Research Symposium

This paper explores how the print publishing industry has developed to include and assist children with cognitive impairments. It analyzes the ways in which assistive technology and the digital market (i.e. ebooks) have promoted reading comprehension amongst this population, and discusses what further developments are in the works in regards to cognitive reading enhancements. Finally, it explores the areas in which this development is still limited and provides potential, attainable solutions.