Digital Commons Network^™

Real-Time Change And Damage Detection Of Landslides And Other Earth Movements Threatening Public Infrastructure, Michael J. Olsen, Shawn Butcher, Evon P. Silvia

TREC Final Reports

Geologic hazards such as coastal erosion, landslides, seismic loading, etc. constantly threaten public highway construction and maintenance. Repeat surveys using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS, ground-based LiDAR) enable rapid 3D data acquisition to map, see, analyze, and understand the processes generating such problems. Previously, change detection and analysis between scan surveys was conducted during post-processing upon return to the office, instead of while collecting data in the field. Change detection in the field improves the effectiveness and efficiency of the field investigation. We have developed a new algorithm that quickly geo-references scans upon field acquisition and simultaneously performs change detection by …

Technology In Practice. Click Here To Engage, Meredith G. Farkas

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

The article presents discussion of applied librarianship with technology. Particular attention is given to ways in which librarians offering instruction session can utilize communication and presentation technology to best reach as many patrons as possible. Details are given highlighting the interest which patrons exhibit to novel technology tools, ways of using technology to foster communication with different personalities, and using the social media platform Twitter.

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet March 2012, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The March 2012 Monthly packet includes the March agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held February 2012

Online Gaming As Sociable Media, Steven L. Thorne

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

Over much of the world, contemporary communicative practices are mediated by a wide range of digital technologies that support speech, image, video, and of course textual literacies. In dialectic tension with the rapid growth in digital information and communication media, Internet information and communication technologies have amplified conventional communicative practices in terms of breadth, impact and speed and have also enabled the emergence of new communicative, cultural and cognitive practices. These practices form dynamic cultures-of-use - that is, communication tools and the human activities they mediate co-evolve (Thorne, 2003). This article begins with a review of contradictory appraisals of digital …

Governance, Media And The Quality Of Environmental Disclosure, Kathleen Rupley, Darrell Brown, Scott Marshall

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

Given the rising emphasis on environmental disclosures and the expressed importance of 'good' governance in determining the extent of information disclosure in general, we examine the relation between specific aspects of governance and media coverage and the quality of voluntary environmental disclosure (VED). Using a sample of 127 firms over a six-year period (2000 to 2005), we empirically test characteristics of governance and media in relation to VED. Our results suggest that VED quality is positively associated with environmental media coverage, negative environmental media and board attributes of independence, diversity, and expertise. Results from supplemental analysis suggest that institutional investors …

Dazai's Women: Dazai Osamu And His Female Narrators, Jamie Walden Cox

Dissertations and Theses

Dazai Osamu (born Tsushima Shûji) was a post-WWII writer who wrote a number of works using a female narrator. This thesis research focused on the reasons as to why Dazai may have written using female narratives, taking into consideration the time period and social milieu in which he was writing, as well as his own personal history with women. In addition, the history of male authors utilizing female narratives was explored, as well as the ideas of gender in the Japanese arts. Dazai works were also compared with Tankizaki Junichirô's to see how the roles of women in their works …

Lines That Don’T Divide, City Club Of Portland (Portland, Or.)

City Club of Portland

No abstract provided.

The Portland Spectator, February 2012, Portland State University. Student Publications Board

Portland Spectator

Editor: Sasha Chedygov

Articles in this issue include: Safety on campus: Director of CPSO tells about recent assaults and gives tips on staying safe in the city; Walking the labyrinth: Portland State’s “labyrinth” provides a place for students to meditate, regardless of denomination; Peace through education: The Peace through Education Symposium explores education as the answer to world peace; Grade book: See what your student government is is doing for you, and the records we’re keeping of them; Artist profile: Acheron Flow: A local up-and-coming rapper chases his dream one CD sale at a time; 16 days of film: The …

State Of The Mobile Landscape: Mobile Literacy And What It Means For Libraries, Robin Ashford, Laura Zeigen

Online Northwest

Mobile technologies are having a growing impact in libraries. Ebsco, Gale, WorldCat Local, and many other vendors are developing for the mobile market. We are in a period of transition; some libraries are providing extensive mobile services, while others are deciding where to begin. Librarians are developing mobile literacy skills to better serve users. Join us as we explore mobile in libraries, including results from a Pacific Northwest public and academic libraries mobile climate survey.

Do We Have A Winner? Personal Ereader Showdown, Laurie Bridges, Uta Hussong-Christian, Jane Nichols, Evviva Weinraub

Online Northwest

As part of a year-long study of personal eReader adoption, we gave eReaders (Kobo, Kindle, Nook, Sony) to 30 OSU Libraries staff members and checked back one month later. What did they do with their new eReaders? What were they reading (or not)? Where did problems occur? Get answers to these questions and more as we discuss the initial study results and find out which readers are nearing adoption, being rooted or getting left behind.

Neuroscience Of Personality: Principles Of The Psyche As A Living System, Dario Nardi

Systems Science Friday Noon Seminar Series

The brain is a complex living system. Using colorful slides and anecdotes, Dario Nardi, PhD will overview his hands-on research of the past 5 years in his social neuroscience lab using EEG technology to better understand the neocortex. He spends 2 to 3 hours with each subject, offering a variety of tasks from solo activities like meditating, drawing, and recalling to social activities like poker and speed-dating. The results are in. The neocortex relies upon a dynamic of modules, circuits, and holistic modes to continuously coordinate with the environment in both a top-down and a bottom-up manner. Moreover, individual differences …

Weak Coffee: Certification And Co-Optation In The Fair Trade Movement, Daniel Jaffee

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The sociological literature on social movement organizations (SMOs) has come to recognize that under neoliberal globalization many SMOs have moved from an emphasis on the state as the locus of change toward a focus on corporations as targets. This shift has led some SMOs to turn to forms of market-based private regulatory action. The use of one such tactic—voluntary, third-party product certification—has grown substantially, as SMOs seek ways to hold stateless firms accountable. This article explores the case of the international fair trade movement, which aims to change the inequitable terms of global trade in commodities for small farmers, artisans, …

Bicycle And Pedestrian Engineering Design Curriculum Expansion, Ashley Haire

TREC Final Reports

This project summary report describes the execution of OTREC Project #298 (Development, Deployment and Assessment of a New Educational Paradigm for Transportation Professionals and University Students). The project is one facet of a multiyear collaboration of the Region X Transportation Consortium that was sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The regional collaboration aims to shift the traditional paradigm of engineering course delivery to foster a more hands-on approach. The University of Idaho, for example, has created activity-based modules for a traffic signals course, while the University of Washington developed similar modules for a freight systems course. The focus of …

Complexity Theory And Political Change: Talcott Parsons Occupies Wall Street, Martin Zwick

Systems Science Friday Noon Seminar Series

Complexity theory can assist our understanding of social systems and social phenomena. This paper illustrates this assertion by linking Talcott Parsons' model of societal structure to the Occupy Wall Street movement. Parsons' model is used to organize ideas about the underlying causes of the recession that currently afflicts the US. While being too abstract to depict the immediate factors that precipitated this crisis, the model is employed to articulate the argument that vulnerability to this type of event results from flaws in societal structure. This implies that such crises can be avoided only if, in Parsons' terms, structural change occurs …

The Portland Spectator, January 2012, Portland State University. Student Publications Board

Portland Spectator

Editor: Sasha Chedygov

Articles in this issue include: Privatized alcohol in Oregon: Last year, Costco helped privatize the distribution of alcohol in Washington, and Oregon might be next; Republican candidates: The Republican Party needs to start putting out better presidential candidates, or be forever mocked; Help for the homeless: Radio station KINK 101.9 held their annual radiothon to spread awareness of homelessness in Portland; Rhythm and blues at PSU: One group of student musicians at Portland State is making its way towards a successful music career; The lesson of Obama: President Obama may not have met expectations, but we can …

Sustainable Activism: The Hanford Nuclear Reservation, Laura Feldman

Leadership for Sustainability Education Comprehensive Papers

This is a proposal for a community/university partnership which would integrate education and activism, "Sustainable Activism" into the PSU sustainability curriculum. This collaboration would provide students and community members with the opportunity to share expertise and resources in addressing the dangerous transportation and storage of nuclear wastes in our bio-region. Through place-based, participatory learning activities, such as a nuclear pilgrimage to Hanford, we will renew and celebrate our relationship with the ecosystems and communities along the Columbia River, and begin to heal the sacrificial landscape that is Hanford.

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet January 2012, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The January 2012 Monthly packet includes the January agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held December 2011

Community Archives And The Limitations Of Identity: Considering Discursive Impact On Material Needs, Cristine N. Paschild

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

This article examines how a postmodern-influenced discourse of identity shapes and influences critical analysis of community archives, both internally and externally, and asks if the accompanying terms of engagement shift focus, to negative effect, from the more pressing needs and challenges of these institutions and projects. Looking to archival professional literature and to a recent self-assessment of the Japanese American National Museum, the article argues that an overarching emphasis on questions of identity can distract community institutions from pragmatic evaluations of sustainable practice and can inadvertently mire archivists in a marginalizing rhetoric that blurs the issues at hand.

Heard On The Net: Library Resources A La Carte And Prix Fixe, Selection In The Age Of Budget Scarcity, Jill Emery

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

This column explores the question "how do we arrive at selection criteria and collection development policies that provide for both a la carte ordering and prix fixe purchasing?"

Participatory Technologies, Pedagogy 2.0 And Information Literacy, Meredith G. Farkas

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

Purpose: This paper seeks to explore the impact participatory technologies have had on education and the information environment in which students operate. It seeks to define a pedagogical approach that will capitalize on the benefits of participatory technologies in the classroom and applies this "pedagogy 2.0" to information literacy instruction.

Design/methodology/approach: A thorough literature review was conducted on the use of participatory technologies in education as well as theories related to collaborative learning. This review formed the basis of the proposed pedagogy 2.0 model.

Findings: Web 2.0 and the growth in use of participatory technologies has had a tremendous impact …

Research Guide Technologies, Meredith G. Farkas

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

Research guides (also known as subject guides, course guides, or pathfinders) provide targeted information on a particular topic to support student or faculty research in that area. Similar instructional tools have been around since before the birth of the web, but are now almost exclusively provided by libraries online as part of the library’s web presence. Research guide software enables librarians without web design skills to quickly and easily create and update web content. The technologies for creating research guides run the gamut from proprietary and open source software specifically designed for creating guides to open source and third-party-hosted applications …

Variability In The Mass Flux Of The Ross Sea Ice Streams, Antarctica, Over The Last Millennium, Ginny Catania, Christina L. Hulbe, Howard Conway, Ted A. Scambos, C. F. Raymond

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

We synthesize previously published remote-sensing observations, radar data and model output to obtain a ~1000 year ice flow history for the Siple Coast ice-stream system in West Antarctica to investigate the timing and magnitude of changes in mass flux. The synthesized history shows significant short-term variability in ice-stream shear margin and grounding line position due to internal variability of the coupled system. The chronology highlights the interplay between adjacent ice streams, which implies that the behavior of any individual ice stream should not be examined in isolation. Furthermore, individual events cannot be fully interpreted without an understanding of the broad-scale, …

Human Trafficking And Slavery: Towards A New Framework For Prevention And Responsibility, Dana S. Hathaway

Dissertations and Theses

Human trafficking and slavery are horrific crimes that require strict penalties for perpetrators and effective protections for survivors, but these crimes are in part facilitated by a system of laws and norms that effectively marginalize certain populations--the "unskilled" migrant. In this thesis I aim to reexamine and reinterpret the problem of human trafficking and slavery in a way that highlights the background conditions to the problem. I argue that the framework used as a conceptual foundation for addressing the problem limits the scope of responsibility. Specifically, the framework fails to acknowledge structural contributing factors I show to be relevant: law, …

Atheist Scripts In A Nation Of Religiosity: Identity Politics Within The Atheist Movement, Jacqueline Frost

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores the use of identity politics within the atheist movement at both the national and individual levels. I conducted a content analysis of two national atheist groups and three best-selling atheist authors in order to assess the use of atheist identity politics at the national level. I then conducted 15 in-depth interviews with a sample of atheists in Portland, Oregon about their atheist identity and their reactions to and identification with national atheist movement strategies. Findings suggest that national atheist organizations and atheist authors are using a strategy of identity politics that encourage atheists to "come out" as …

Fluorescence Detection Of Biological Thiols, Yixing Guo

Dissertations and Theses

Glutathione (GSH) is an important biological thiol, it performs significant biological functions such as serving an antioxidant which protect cells from oxidative stress by trapping free radicals which damage DNA and RNA. It is known that abnormal plasma levels of GSH have been linked to various human diseases. Therefore, the rapid, sensitive and highly selective detection of GSH is of great importance for investigating its functions in diseases diagnosis. Interestingly, we found in cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) medium, the resorufin-based probe shows an extremely fast, highly selective response to GSH. The result indicates that this dye can be employed to …

Involvement In The Online Autistic Community, Identity, Community, And Well-Being, Colleen Anne Kidney

Dissertations and Theses

The values of the disability rights movement and community psychology promote research that focuses on improving the lives of individuals with disabilities (Dowrick & Keys, 2001). Using the Internet for social interactions has been shown to contribute to an individual's identity development, sense of community, and well-being (Obst, Zinkiewicz, & Smith, 2002a; Turkle, 1995). While challenges in typical social interactions have traditionally been considered a defining feature of autism spectrum disorder, autistic individuals have taken advantage of the Internet to develop social interactions (Blume, 1997a). The present study focused on the online Autistic community and how the importance and value …

Effects Of Reactive Oxygen Species On Life History Traits Of Caenorhabditis Elegans, Samson William Smith

Dissertations and Theses

Evolutionary life history theory predicts that tradeoffs among fitness-related phenotypes will occur as a result of resource limitations and/or physiological constraints. Such tradeoffs are defined as the cost(s) incurred on one component of fitness (e.g., reproduction) by the increased expression of another fitness-related trait (e.g., longevity). Only recently have researchers begun to investigate the mechanistic bases of life history tradeoffs. A recent proposal is that reactive oxygen species (ROS) have a central role in shaping life history traits and tradeoffs. Research on disparate animal taxa has highlighted strong correlations between oxidative stress resistance and fitness-related life history traits, for example. …

Measurement And Modeling Of Passive Surface Mount Devices On Fr4 Substrates, Rahulkumar Sadanand Koche

Dissertations and Theses

Passive components like resistors, capacitors and inductors are used in every electronic system. These are the very basic components which affect the system performance at higher frequencies and it is necessary to understand and model the behavior of these components in a very accurate manner. This work focuses on utilizing Printed Circuit Board (PCB) test boards, or fixtures, made of FR4 for characterizing Surface Mount Device (SMD) components. Agilent's Advanced Design System (ADS) microwave circuit simulation software was used for designing the microstrip transmission lines as well as for generating the layout for manufacturing of the PCB. SMD resistors, capacitors …

Drowning In It: State Crime And Refugee Deaths In The Borderlands, Brandy Marie Cochrane

Dissertations and Theses

This paper examines the current state of border hardening against refugees in the European Union and Australia through the lens of state crime. Border hardening strategies are described for both of these areas and a theoretical basis of state crime victimology is used to examine the refugees who encounter this border hardening. The present study analyzes two data sets on border deaths, one for the European Union and one for Australia, to examine the demographics of the refugees who perish while attempting to transgress the border. Results indicated that there remains a significant amount of missing data, suggesting that official …

Measurement And Simulation Of Parallel Plate Waveguide Structures In The Terahertz Region For Sensing And Material Characterization Applications, James Alexander Higgins

Dissertations and Theses

The THz region is a burgeoning field of research with applications in spectroscopy, integrated circuit fabrication, bio-medicine, and communications. Until recently, the THz region was largely unexplored, mainly due to the technical difficulties involved in making efficient and compact sources and detectors. As these challenges are addressed, the focus of research has shifted to practical applications, such as sensing and imaging. The focus of this thesis is to investigate the characterization of parallel plate waveguide multimode propagation and periodically notched resonant structures for use in sensing and material parameter extraction applications. Broadband and narrowband measurements are presented and analyzed. Measurements …