Digital Commons Network^™

Diverse Microbial Prey In The Guts Of Gelatinous Grazers Revealed By Microscopy, Terra C. Hiebert, Anne W. Thompson, Kelly R. Sutherland

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mucous mesh grazers including pelagic tunicates and thecosome pteropods play a key role in oceanic food webs. They are taxonomically and morphologically diverse and can be highly abundant. Using their fine mucous meshes, these pelagic grazers ingest a wide range of plankton prey and link pelagic and benthic marine ecosystems. Characterizing the diet of this group is central to fully understanding marine food webs and developing accurate food web models. However, gelatinous grazers are challenging to study owing to their physically delicate composition so studying their feeding ecology requires numerous complementary techniques. Microscopy has largely been supplanted by other methods, …

How Does Frugal Innovation Help Young Firms In The Us? The Moderating Roles Of Venture Capital Investment And Debt Financing, Zafrin Rahman, Wanying Shi

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study examines the effects of frugal innovation on firm performance among young firms located in the U.S. Though frugal innovation is a concept that originated from innovation practices among emerging market firms, firms in the developed economies have absorbed a frugal mindset and are regularly exercising frugal innovation. We develop a framework for frugal innovation by building on entrepreneurial bricolage theory. One of our research findings shows that young firms in the U.S. find frugal innovation useful in gaining firm performance. In addition, interaction effects on firm performance are tested; those between frugal innovation and venture capital (VC) equity …

Pathos, Spring 2025, Portland State University. Student Publications Board

Pathos

Editor: Adriana Stanzione

Reform For "These" Kids: Neoliberal Reform, Theorized Target Populations, And Spatial Injustice, Matthew S. Mccluskey, Madhu Narayanan, Erin Milne

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Charter schools were originally envisioned as laboratories of innovation, but we have scant empirical evidence of how charter policies and ideas have spread beyond charter walls into the wider educational landscape. The diffusion of knowledge reflects networks of power, and tracing diffusion can unearth the discursive and power dynamics at play. Using a systematic search of publicly-available documents, this study investigated the geographic diffusion of one Charter Management Organization (CMO)—Uncommon Schools—as a case of charter discursive diffusion. Grounded in Critical Policy Analysis (CPA), we found that artifacts were located disproportionately in higher poverty zip codes housing lower percentages of non-Hispanic …

Digital Child Labor Exploitation In Sharenting: Proposing Legislative Solutions For Enhanced Child Protection, Joana Guzman Gonzalez

University Honors Theses

This thesis explores the implications of sharenting -- the practice of sharing children's information on mass media--raises urgent concerns about child safety and potential human rights violations -- and the exploitation of children in digital spaces, focusing on the risks of privacy, safety and mental health pose by the rise of kidfluencers – children influencers under the age of 18 – and family vlog channels. Through a comprehensive literature review, the research examines children's online presence's emotional, legal, and societal impacts, drawing from case studies such as Sheri Franke, Wren Eleanor, Ryan Kaji, and JoJo Siwa. The analysis reveals a …

Disrupting The Abuse-Prison Nexus: The Gendered Violence Of Prosecution And Abolitionist Feminist Approaches To Social Care Work, Sid P. Jordan, Emily Thuma, Aylaliyah Assefa Birru, Deirdre Wilson, Romarilyn Ralston, Norma Cumpian, Joseph Hankins

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

The vast majority of people in U.S. women’s prisons are survivors of interpersonal violence, a pattern that organizers and advocates have referred to as the abuse-to-prison pipeline. This article critically examines criminal prosecution from the perspectives of survivors of interpersonal violence who faced long prison sentences in California. In-depth interviews and group discussions were generated through a participatory process at a gathering to launch the University of California Sentencing Project, a partnership with the community-based organization California Coalition for Women Prisoners. The twenty-two formerly incarcerated participants had collectively spent more than 300 years imprisoned. Drawing on their lived experiences spanning …

Investigating Key Structures In Protective Scenes For Llms, Eben M. Weisman

University Honors Theses

This research delves into the realm of "protective scenes" within Large Language Models (LLMs), exploring their impact on bias mitigation, deception, and context preservation. The study investigates the use of roleplay prompting human-like behavior and reasoning in LLMs, focusing on the Character-LLM framework's concept of protective scenes with graduated levels of protection. By combining insights from psychology, cognitive science, and computational analysis, this research aims to develop a framework for understanding how protective scenes influence roleplay performance in LLMs, ultimately contributing to the development of more reliable and ethical AI systems.

The Impact Of Covid-19 On The United States Higher Education System, Phoenix Daniel Van Wormer

University Honors Theses

In the spring of 2020, colleges across the United States rapidly transitioned to online/remote learning during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Since then, online and remote learning have evolved into an integral component of higher education. This thesis examines the extent to which COVID-19-mandated remote and online learning impacted students pursuing higher education in the United States. By utilizing research that compares academic structures before and after the pandemic, I demonstrate how the shift to online and remote learning has changed teaching and learning methods. I also evaluate the impact of these changes on student performance and engagement, with particular focus …

Working Paper No. 89, Towards A Veblenian View Of The Digital Realm, Tanner Weber

Working Papers in Economics

This inquiry seeks to establish that Thorstein Veblen’s writings offered insights that could assist us in understanding the digital realm in contemporary times. Through advancing his thinking for dealing with the instincts of idle curiosity and workmanship, in particular, Veblen provided an understanding of capital as technologies, especially, that should be valued as contributions to the common and joint stocks of knowledge. Back in his day, Veblen’s understanding of capital, ownership, and private property offered ways for us to think of some of the potential usages of technology as well as a range of possibilities for sabotage. What …

Working Paper No. 90, Social Hierarchies In The Music Industry And Thorstein Veblen's Understanding Of Institutions, Citlactli Carrera López

Working Papers in Economics

This inquiry seeks to establish that Thorstein Veblen’s understanding of institutions could be used to offer insights into social hierarchies found within the music industry. Institutions, as viewed by Veblen, are structures that are influenced by and extensions of habits that provide an understanding of human behavior. Society creates standards which determine the way that the population operates, setting levels of what is considered as correct and incorrect behaviors. Institutions have a way of altering the way society is governed, setting expectations and new mindsets of how people should interact with each other. Through the introduction of new technologies, these …

Proceedings Of The 23rd Annual Urban Ecology & Conservation Symposium March 17, 2025, Urban Ecosystem Research Consortium Of Portland/Vancouver

Urban Ecosystem Research Consortium of Portland/Vancouver

These proceedings document the agenda and abstracts for presentations and posters from the 23rd annual conference organized by the Urban Ecosystem Research Consortium of Portland/Vancouver (UERC) which occurred on March 17, 2025. The UERC is a consortium of people from various universities and colleges, state and federal agencies, local governments, non-profit organizations and independent professionals interested in supporting urban ecosystem research and creating an information-sharing network of people that collect and use ecological data in the Portland/Vancouver area. The annual conference has an open call for abstracts. The UERC organizing committee selects the final oral and poster presentations, along with …

Financial Metrics As Predictors Of Financial Vulnerability And Nonprofit Failure, Yossi Haimberg

Dissertations and Theses

Studying nonprofit's risk factors for financial vulnerability and possible demise is important because of the negative social consequences for both the failed organization and its stockholders. Financial vulnerability is a concern shared by all nonprofit's stakeholders as poor financial health affects nonprofit's ability to fulfill its mission, sustain its operations, and in many cases may result in a nonprofit demise. Advance knowledge on financial vulnerability has significant implications for nonprofit's leaders to develop corrective strategies to prevent failure.

Nonprofit scholars such as Tuckman and Chang, Greenlee, Hager, and Searing have contributed notable benchmarks in the field of nonprofit vulnerability, by …

Risk Factors For Substance Use Among Serious And Violent Offenders Undergoing Reentry, Elizabeth Bozarth

University Honors Theses

Formerly incarcerated individuals often experience an intensely chaotic and stressful reentry environment, riddled with barriers and challenges that make them more susceptible to substance use and other risky behaviors. This literature review focuses on the most prevalent and pervasive risk factors for substance use among serious and violent offenders undergoing reentry. By examining research published within the last decade on serious and violent offenders in the United States, several major themes were identified: social bonds, housing and employment, mental health, and surveillance and addiction treatment. The results showed that risk factors for substance use are deeply embedded in ex-offenders' social …

Combining Passive And Active Ultrasonic Stress Wave Monitoring For The Characterization Of The Early-Age Properties Of A Uhpfrc Beam, Numa Bertola, Thomas Schumacher, Ernst Niederleithinger, Eugen Bruhwiler

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article focuses on the characterization of the early-age properties of Ultra-High-Performance Fiber-Reinforced Cementitious Composite (UHPFRC), which is becoming popular for designing lightweight and durable structures. Due to the large proportion of cement in the mix, the hardening of UHPFRC is significantly faster than conventional concrete. Therefore, the development of UHPFRC properties, such as the elastic modulus, is difficult to monitor as it happens while elements are within the formwork. For this reason, the hydration process of UHPFRC elements is not fully understood yet. A combined passive (or acoustic emission) and active ultrasonic stress wave monitoring approach has the potential …

Model Explanations For Gender And Ethnicity Bias Mitigation In Ai-Generated Narratives, Martha Otisi Dimgba

Dissertations and Theses

Large Language Models (LLMs) are increasingly utilized in diverse applications, ranging from professional content creation to decision-making systems. However, their outputs often amplify the biases present in their training data, perpetuating stereotypes and reinforcing societal inequities, particularly regarding gender and ethnicity. Such biases can cause tangible harm, especially for underrepresented groups, and require awareness and effective mitigation strategies.

This work explores gender and ethnicity representation in narratives created by generative AI describing 25 occupational fields defined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. We examine three large language models (LLMs)--Llama 3.1 70B Instruct, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and GPT 4.0 Turbo. …

Culturable Microbial Communities In Root Nodules Of Red Alder (Alnus Rubra Bong.) And Scotch Broom (Cytisus Scoparius L.): Patterns Of Diversity And Composition, Felisha (Fay) Rene Pooler

Dissertations and Theses

Endophytes are a hyper diverse group of bacterial or fungal organisms residing within plant tissues without causing visible symptoms of disease. While their overall diversity and ecological functions are not well-understood, some endophytes can provide a range of important benefits to their host such as enhanced growth and increased tolerance to environmental stress. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria residing within nodules--specialized structures on the roots of legumes and actinorhizal plants--play an integral role in the plant microbiome by facilitating nitrogen availability in nutrient-poor environments. Remarkably, the patterns of diversity including both bacterial and fungal endophytes in root nodules are virtually known, except in …

Lagging Brain Gene Expression Patterns Of Drosophila Melanogaster Young Adult Males Confound Comparisons Between Sexes, Flannery Mclamb, Zuying Feng, Jeanne P. Vu, Lindsey Griffin, Miguel F. Vasquez, Goran Bozinovic

Center for Life in Extreme Environments Publications

Many species, including fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster), are sexually dimorphic. Phenotypic variation in morphology, physiology, and behavior can affect development, reproduction, health, and aging. Therefore, designating sex as a variable and sex-blocking should be considered when designing experiments. The brain regulates phenotypes throughout the lifespan by balancing survival and reproduction, and sex-specific development at each life stage is likely. Changes in morphology and physiology are governed by differential gene expression, a quantifiable molecular marker for age- and sex-specific variations. We assessed the fruit fly brain transcriptome at three adult ages for gene expression signatures of sex, age, and sex-by-age: 6698 …

Towards A Global Understanding Of Tree Mortality, Andres Holz, International Tree Mortality Network

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Rates of tree mortality are increasing globally, with implications for forests and climate. Yet, how and why these trends vary globally remain unknown. Developing a comprehensive assessment of global tree mortality will require systematically integrating data from ground-based long-term forest monitoring with large-scale remote sensing. We surveyed the metadata from 466 865 forest monitoring plots across 89 countries and five continents using questionnaires and discuss the potential to use these to estimate tree mortality trends globally. Our survey shows that the area monitored has increased steadily since 1960, but we also identify many regions with limited ground-based information on tree …

Scshm Benchmark Study On Bridge In-Service Structural Monitoring, Maria Pina Limongelli, Doug Thomson, Screenevas Alampalli, Aftab Mufti, Thomas Schumacher, Luca Martinelli, Othmane Lasri, Harry Shenton, Genda Chen, Mohammad Noori, Multiple Additional Authors

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The mission of the Society of Civil Structural Health Monitoring (SCSHM, previously known as ISHMII) is to advance the understanding and application of structural monitoring methodologies for the management of civil infrastructure systems. To enable comparative and contrasting studies of various monitoring issues and technologies, the SCSHM Committee on Data-Enhanced Infrastructures Management (DEIMC) identified the need for benchmark problems in the areas of bridge and building structural monitoring. This article reports and briefly discusses the first benchmark study on in-service structural monitoring of bridges that was developed in collaboration with the University of Manitoba, and presents the structure details, study …

Plural Water Narratives: An Environmental Justice Lens On A Systematic Review Of Q-Methodology Water Research, Melissa Haeffner, Alida Cantor, Janet Cowal, Andrea Bryant, Darius Mani Yaw, Kinna Je Palacios, Daniela Serna, Bryce Sprauer, Abigail Tran-Gruver

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Environmental justice research has shown that people's experiences and perceptions of water differ because systematic inequalities shape the extent to which people access clean water and are exposed to water hazards. Q‐methodology is one technique that has been used to aggregate multifaceted subjective narratives and understand different perspectives on a topic. In this paper, we systematically review 77 case study articles applying Q‐methodology to water‐related topics, to inventory how people perceive their relationships with water. We create a classification system based on environmental justice theory to examine (1) distributive justice issues around alternative water sources and agricultural and urban water …

"Our Vision Is That Black Mothers And Birthing People, Fathers, And Partners Are Safe, Honored, And Respected Throughout Pregnancy And Parenthood": Black Birth Workers' Agenda For Black Maternal Health In Oregon, Sarah Marguerite Applin

University Honors Theses

Black women and Birthing People (BWBP) face disproportionate rates of mortality within the United States healthcare system. BWBP are three times more likely to suffer a pregnancy-related death than White women. Therefore, addressing and consulting with BWBP about the birthing experience that BWBP sustains when they are bearing children is imperative. The inclusion and application of this key knowledge and understanding should be emphasized and at the root of further development toward reproductive justice. This participatory story was led by Dr. Roberta Hunte. Interviews and focus groups with Black birth workers, birthing people, and public health professionals were conducted in …

Assessing The Impact Of Anti-Dei Legislation In Florida: An Exploratory Study, Diane L. Odeh, Jan-Martijn Meij

Public Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

The aim of this study determines what influence, if any, legislation aimed at censoring discussions and practices related to equity has on the ethical decision-making behavior of staff and faculty at a regional university within the state of Florida. Using inductive analysis, themes related to how one navigates profession-based ethics, political pressures, and personal ethics in higher education work will be evaluated. This contributes to the field of administrative ethics by exploring how ideology-based political pressure and direct legislative intervention on the bureaucracy impacts the practice of promoting social equity within public administration; and how an individual balances competing ethical …

Publishing And The Literary Agent, Rachel Noorda

English Faculty Publications and Presentations

Literary agents are an under researched and comparatively recent feature of international book publishing. This chapter defines literary agents in comparison to other international book publishing intermediaries (like foreign rights agents and literary scouts) and maps the history and roles of the literary agent in Europe and Anglo-America from the nineteenth century to the present. Agents are pushed and pulled by various dichotomies in the industry: center vs periphery, culture vs commerce, local vs global. Over time, literary agents have evolved from brokers to author advocates and informal to professionalized, enabled to flourish and multiply through international copyright coordination and …

The Dementia Care Partner Hub: An Innovative Approach To Addressing Unmet Social And Health Needs, Sherril Gelmon, Jenn Reed, Walter D. Dawson

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

The well‐being of care partners of people living with dementia, who are family, friends, or neighbors and often unpaid, is often not addressed explicitly in clinical dementia care. Care partners, especially those from systematically marginalized communities, experience substantial unmet social and behavioral needs. We reviewed role model programs and conducted focus groups and interviews with care partners and representatives of community organizations and government agencies. We developed the concept of a Dementia Care Partner Hub as a “one‐stop shop” to connect dementia care partners and service providers with information and resources, meeting a need that is not currently addressed in …

Shock Effects Including Maskelynite Formation In Three Shergottite Meteorites From Mars, George Ayeh Anim

Dissertations and Theses

Martian meteorites result from large impact events on the surface of Mars that cause intense shock metamorphism. This study examines the shock metamorphic features of three shergottite meteorites, Dho 019, NWA 12241, and NWA 15628, to better understand shock impact events. The research uses petrographic analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) to analyze the meteorites. A key focus of this research is the formation of maskelynite, a glass with plagioclase composition, whose formation mechanism has been the substance of debate among researchers. This study proposes that maskelynite forms through a transient intermediary …

Phase Of The Seabed Frequency-Domain Reflection Coefficient: Measurements And Modeling, Charles W. Holland

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The phase of the seabed frequency-domain reflection coefficient potentially contains valuable information on the geoacoustic properties in a layered/refracting seabed. However, heretofore, the phase has not been exploited. Measurements of phase are presented in an area of thick mud at the New England Mud Patch. In addition, a model is presented along with the modeling results. While this is only a first step towards understanding the potential value of exploiting the phase, it seems clear that in some instances, the phase not only contains valuable geoacoustic information, but carries a higher information content than the magnitude.

Pumped Storage Hydropower In The United States: Emerging Importance, Environmental And Social Impacts, And Critical Considerations, Surabhi Karambelkar, Alida Cantor, Thien-Kim Bui, Bethani Turley, Maryalice Fischer, Shannon Ames

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Pumped storage hydropower is a widely used, long-duration energy storage system that sits squarely at the water-energy nexus. Bold decarbonization goals have propelled a rapid resurgence of interest in pumped storage hydropower in the US, given its ability to provide bulk energy storage, manage grid reliability, and support increasing integration of variable renewable energy sources. Drawing on published research from both technical and social science perspectives, this paper provides an overview of pumped storage hydropower technology, the project development pipeline, potential social and environmental impacts, including a comparison of open-loop and closed-loop design configurations, and critical considerations for project development. …

Understanding Anionic Hyperporphyrins: Tddft Calculations On Peripherally Deprotonated Meso-Tetrakis(4-Hydroxyphenyl)Porphyrin., Jeanet Conradie, Carl C. Wamser, Abhik Ghosh

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Presented herein is a DFT/TDDFT study of -tetrakis(4-hydroxyphenyl)porphyrin (H[THPP]) and its Meso-deprotonated tetraanionic form; the latter was modeled as both a free tetraanion and with various counterions. Based on our calculations, the experimentally observed hyperporphyrin spectra are attributed to an admixture of phenol/phenoxide character into the a-type HOMO of tetraphenylporphyrin. The admixture results in an elevation of the orbital energy of the HOMO in relation to other frontier orbitals, which accounts for the observed spectral redshifts. The calculations underscore differences in the performance of different exchange-correlation functionals. Thus, while the popular hybrid functional B3LYP greatly exaggerates the redshift of …

Juan Sánchez Cotán’S Still Lifes And Artistic Ingenio In Early Modern Toledo, Carmen Ripollés

Schnitzer School of Art + Art History + Design Faculty Publications and Presentations

This essay brings new light on the creation and early reception of the still lifes of the Toledan painter Juan Sánchez Cotán. It focuses on Cotán’s friendship with and professional relationship to the metalworker Diego de Valdivieso and the manuscript illuminator Juan de Salazar, both of whom are recorded as being among the first owners of his still lifes. An analysis of these artists’ works vis-j-vis Cotán’s still lifes reveals similar technical and conceptual concerns, as well as a shared will to elevate their crafts to demonstrate ingenio. This analysis therefore places Cotán’s still lifes in the context of artistic …

“Lost-In-The-Later”: Framework For Quantifying Contextual Grounding In Large Language Models, Yufei Tao, Adam Hiatt, Rahul Seetharaman, Ameeta Agrawal

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Large language models (LLMs) are capable of leveraging both contextual and parametric knowledge but how they prioritize and integrate these sources remains underexplored. We introduce CoPE, a novel framework for systematically quantifying contextual grounding in LLMs. CoPE distinguishes between contextual knowledge (CK) and parametric knowledge (PK), enabling fine-grained attribution across languages and tasks. Using our newly created MultiWikiAtomic dataset in English, Spanish, and Danish, we analyze how LLMs integrate context, prioritize information, and incorporate PK in open-ended question answering. We find that across models and languages, only around 50 to 76 percent of outputs are grounded in the given context, …