Digital Commons Network^™

Storytelling As Loving Praxis In Critical Peace Education: A Grounded Theory Study Of Postsecondary Social Justice Educators, Amanda Smith Byron

Dissertations and Theses

Looking through the philosophical lens of love, this study seeks a deeper understanding and appreciation of how postsecondary social justice educators use storytelling, in the context of critical peace education, to create social change. This research explores the guiding question of how storytelling is used to encourage social change and to inspire action toward the goal of greater social justice. The argument for the importance of this research is located within the crisis of neoliberalism, where the very tenets of democratic education are being challenged by an educational agenda that favors standards-based learning and employment training over the critical and …

Sustainable Event Management Of Music Festivals: An Event Organizer Perspective, Stephanie L. Stettler

Dissertations and Theses

Sustainably managed music festivals have significant value and can provide a multitude of benefits to a healthy, sustainable and desirable society if their negative impacts are mitigated and positive impacts cultivated. To reach this great potential, sustainable event management of music festivals must become widely adopted and expanded as common practice. To drive this improvement of sustainable event management, there is a need to first understand the barriers and success factors event organizers face moving their music festivals toward sustainability. This study uses a research design of mixed quantitative-qualitative methods: a survey of thirty diverse music festival organizers across the …

Conflict-Conditioned Communication: A Case Study Of Communicative Relations Between The United States And Iran From 2005-2008, Erin Leigh Mckee

Dissertations and Theses

In protracted international conflicts, truth is often sacrificed in the name of victory. Political realists see international politics as a competition to win power, retain power, and demonstrate power; misleading the enemy in the name of strategy and misleading the public in the name of security are necessary elements of the game. A less obvious condition is that those caught in the cycle of intergroup conflict also withhold truths from themselves. This denial of truth and reality--to the Other, to the public, and to the self--is especially prevalent in the communicative relationship between the United States and the Islamic Republic …

Differences In Sexual Dimorphism And Influences Of Sexual Dichromatism On Crypsis Among Populations Of The Jumping Spider Habronattus Oregonensis, Jason Bazzano

Dissertations and Theses

Crypsis can be an important mechanism of predator avoidance for organisms. However, many species exhibit sexual dichromatism, in which the males possess a suite of colorations in order to attract female attention. The resulting differences in crypsis between the males and females can provide insight into the relative strengths of the sexually and naturally selective forces shaping the coloration of the organism, as well as clues regarding potential sensory biases of the selecting sex. In this study, I examine variation in the coloration of four Pacific Northwest populations of the sexually dimorphic and dichromatic polygynous species of jumping spider Habronattus …

From Blooming Judicial Philosophies To Castrated Legislation: Sexuality, Desire, And Nominations To The Supreme Court Of The United States, Adam Michael Mcmahon

Dissertations and Theses

Society and institutions of government reinforce norms that constrain the behavior of individuals. Heteropatriarchal norms traditionally favor the perspective of white, male, heterosexual, reason, judicial restraint, and democratic authority over their binary, and minority, counterparts: black, female, homosexual, desire, judicial activism, and individual rights. According to the theory of Queer New Institutionalism, these dichotomous pairs are mutually dependent upon each other for definition and maintenance. The perpetuation of these binarisms is made through language, often assumed and unquestioned. However, the use of sexualized language and metaphors are identified in efforts to draw suspicion and consternation for these minoritized Others. When …

Growth And Optical Characterization Of Zinc Oxide Nanowires For Anti-Reflection Coatings For Solar Cells, Martha Coakley

Dissertations and Theses

The optical properties of solar cells greatly affect their efficiencies. Decreasing the broadband and directional reflectance of solar cells increases the solar irradiance transmitted and absorbed by the cell, thereby increasing the production of electron-hole pairs. Traditional optical enhancements such as light trapping and anti-reflection coatings reduce the reflectance of silicon at an optimized wavelength and angle of incidence. They do not perform as well at high angles of incidence or over the broadband solar spectrum. Theoretical studies suggest that layers with a suitable gradient-index of refraction can create both a broadband and directional anti-reflective coating. Through their variations in …

Self-Efficacy And Drinking With Friends: An Investigation Into The Drinking Behaviors Of Japanese College Students, Staci Jean Wendt

Dissertations and Theses

Recent studies have documented an alarming rate of alcohol use in Japan (Eisenback-Stangl et al., 2005; Milne, 2003; Shimizu, 2000). Indeed, permissive social and cultural norms for alcohol use exist within Japanese culture (Shimizu, 1990, 2000). Japanese college-students may be at further risk due to their developmental time period, where increases in alcohol use are typically seen. Furthermore, drinking habits formed during this time period may be difficult to alter later in life (Frone, 2003). Thus, social, developmental, and cultural factors exist to influence drinking among Japanese college students. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the drinking …

Subsurface Igneous Mineral Microbiology: Iron-Oxidizing Organotrophs On Olivine Surfaces And The Significance Of Mineral Heterogeneity In Basalts, Amy Renee Smith

Dissertations and Theses

The subsurface igneous biome contains a vast portion of Earth's total biomass, yet we still know so little about it. Igneous environments such as iron-rich ocean crust and lava tubes may also host analogs to chemolithotrophically-driven life on other planets, so studying life in this biome is essential to understanding how life may survive on other planets. In this study, three igneous surface and subsurface environments were investigated for microbial preference for olivine, microbial physiologies and phylotypes present on olivine, and microbial growth on olivine in the laboratory via iron oxidation. These environments include a subseafloor borehole drilled into the …

Marginalized Characters In Contemporary American Short Fiction, Timur Shishkin

Dissertations and Theses

The focus of the present research work is the contemporary American short stories that bring up issues of compulsory norm and the conflict between marginalized characters and their environment. This research was based on those short stories that seemed to represent the idea of being "different" in the most complex and multilayered way, and its goal was to unfold new aspects of the conflict between "normal" and "abnormal"/"different". Variations of norm as well as diversity within the marginalized raise a number of questions about the reasons for their inability to coexist peacefully. The close reading and the analysis of the …

The Effects Of Multiple Thematic Layers On Web Map Use By Middle School Students, Andrew Percy Freed

Dissertations and Theses

Access to the to the Internet and to a variety of interactive mapping tools has increased interest among middle school teachers to use interactive maps in conjunction with learning activities. There is very little research in the area of interactive mapping in educational situations, specifically with regards to layer maps that combine multiple thematic layers on a single map. This study evaluates the relationship between the number of layers present on a web-based map and middle-school students' accuracy and timeliness using the map to answer geographic questions. Additionally, this study examines the specific effect of a hill shade on student …

Perceptions Of Peacebuilding And Multi-Track Collaboration In Divided Societies For A Sustainable Peace Agreement At The Political Level: A Case Study Of Cyprus, Brooke Patricia Galloway

Dissertations and Theses

It is the purpose of this study to propose that perceptions of peacebuilding activities in all tracks of divided societies (political, civil society leaders, and grassroots), and the perceptions of the collaboration between the tracks are essential processes to a sustainable peace agreement at the political level. This study will examine multi-track peacebuilding and the collaboration (or lack of it) between tracks in Cyprus. Additionally, it will analyze the perceptions of the necessity of collaboration across tracks. The analysis of this study is conducted in two phases: (1) analyzing interviews with Track One diplomats and examining previous and existing peacebuilding …

Opening Black Boxes And Following Traces: An Exploration Of The Coalition For A Livable Future's Regional Equity Atlas Actor-World, 2003-2007, Meg Merrick

Dissertations and Theses

Maps have longed been recognized as instruments of power and persuasion. With the recent proliferation of maps in the media and on the Internet has come an increasing desire among groups advocating for environmental and social change to have access to maps (the product) and mapping (the process) to more effectively promote their agendas. However, this is not as simple as it seems. Far from being neutral conduits of "truth," maps are constructed by a myriad of social interactions among heterogeneous actors (human and technical) that left unacknowledged can lead to an untapped potential of the power of maps. Adopting …

"Each Generation Of A Free Society": The Relationship Between Montana's Constitutional Convention, Individual Rights Protections, And State Constitutionalism, Inga Katrin Nelson

Dissertations and Theses

In the mid-1970s, state courts began to interpret state constitutions independently of the federal constitution in a way that provided greater protection for individual rights at the state versus federal level. Scholars have generally attributed the rise of this movement, known as state constitutionalism, to the actions and scholarship of judges and point to the cause as a fear that the Burger court would rollback Warren court era protections for individual rights. In reality, the concept of state constitutionalism had been present throughout the 1950s-1970s period of state constitutional revision and was deeply influenced by concerns over the status of …

A Comparative Case Study Of Newspaper Coverage Of The Umatilla Chemical Weapons Depot/Incinerator From 1994 To 1998., Rogue Elliott Robertson

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this case study was to compare the news coverage of The Umatilla chemical weapons by examining newspapers from different communities: The Oregonian and The Hermiston Herald. The author examines solution frames, pluralistic frames, episodic frames, and thematic frames and compares them across two newspapers. The study found the difference was not significant when comparing the use of solution frames between The Hermiston Herald and The Oregonian. In addition, there was not a significant difference in use of pluralistic framing by The Hermiston Herald and The Oregonian. However, there was a significant difference in the sources presented in …

The Fourth Amendment And Cyberspace: Conflict Or Cohesion?, Federico Alberto Cantón

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of the study was to determine how the Fourth Amendment is treated in the age of the internet. To determine the degree of the significance of this relationship a comparative approach is used. Court opinions from cases involving other technological innovations and the Fourth Amendment were examined and their reasoning was compared to that of cases involving the internet and the Fourth Amendment. The results indicated that contrary to some fears that the internet would require a different approach with respect to the law it actually did not present many novel barriers to its application. The principle conclusion …

Impacts Of Rhizosphere Co₂ On Root Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxylase Activity, Root Respiration Rate And Rhizodeposition In Populus Spp., Dawn Marie Matarese

Dissertations and Theses

Roots live in and have evolved in a high carbon dioxide (CO₂) environment, yet relatively little research has been conducted on the impacts of soil dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) on root metabolism. In this thesis, I explore the impacts of root-zone DIC on whole plant biomass accumulation, water use efficiency, and above-ground gas exchange. In addition, I explore the impacts of root-zone DIC on root processes: root PEP-Carboxylase activity, root respiration rate and root exudation of Krebs cycle organic acids.

Root-zone DIC did not impact biomass accumulation, leaf gas exchange parameters or water use efficiency under the growth conditions examined. …

The Effect Of Role Models On The Attitudes And Career Choices Of Female Students Enrolled In High School Science, Stephanie Justine Van Raden

Dissertations and Theses

Girls who have high aptitude in math are not entering careers related to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM fields) at the same rate as boys. As a result, female students may have fewer employment opportunities. This study explores one potential way to reduce the gap between male and female career aspirations and choices. Specifically, it looks at the impact of bringing women with careers in math- and science-related fields into high school classrooms as role models. The study uses surveys to measure pre- and post-visit perceptions of science and scientific work as well as student's short-term interest in math …

Chinese Merchants And Race Relations In Astoria, Oregon, 1882 - 1924, Aaron Daniel Coe

Dissertations and Theses

A large wave of Chinese immigrants came to the United States in the second half of the nineteenth century. Employment, mainly in the salmon-canning industry, drew thousands of them to coastal Astoria, Oregon. Taking the period between the first Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 and the Immigration Act of 1924, this thesis focuses on the Chinese merchants in Astoria and their importance for our understanding of race relations in the town during these years. Specifically, the merchants help to make sense of how the Chinese related to the local white population, as different sources suggest different trends of amiability and …

Floorplan Design And Yield Enhancement Of 3-D Integrated Circuits, Rajeev Kumar Nain

Dissertations and Theses

We have developed a placement-aware 3-D floorplanning algorithm that enables additional wirelength reduction by planning for 3-D placement of logic gates in selected circuit modules during the floorplanning stage. Thus it also bridges the existing gap between 3-D floorplanning and 3-D placement. To reduce the solution space of 3-D floorplanning which is known to be an NP-hard problem, we derive a set of feasibility conditions on the topological representation of a floorplan. In addition, we have designed a fast module packing algorithm that satisfies a set of constraints for placement-aware 3-D floorplanning. Furthermore, we have designed an efficient evolutionary algorithm …

Racial Differences In The Association Between Socioeconomic Position And Mortality: Does Occupation Matter?, Hyeyoung Woo, Caroline Smith

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The purpose of this study is to examine the association of SEP on mortality rate differentials between non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black adults, in a nationally representative sample, with an emphasis on occupational factors. National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data from 1986 through1994 was matched with death certificate data from the National Death Index (NDI), from 1986 through 2002. Occupations (using Census occupation codes) were then matched to occupational level data in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Information Network (O*NET) database to obtain occupation level psychosocial and physical risk factors. Survival analysis is used in our study to …

Gendering French In Tunisia: Language Ideologies And Nationalism, Keith Walters

Applied Linguistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper seeks to describe and account for a common ideology among Tunisians and North Africans more broadly that associates the use of French with women, thereby symbolically associating the use of Arabic with men. In this regard, the use of French can be said to be "gendered" there. In an effort to historicize this phenomenon, I sketch the social history of French in Tunisia, particularly in regards to the access female and male Tunisians would historically have had to it through the institution of schooling. I then consider the different relationships contemporary Tunisian men and women have with French. …

Preliminary Efficacy Of A Computer-Delivered Hiv Prevention Intervention For African American Teenage Females, Charles H. Klein, Josefina J. Card

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study translated SiHLE (Sisters Informing, Healing, Living, and Empowering), a 12-hour Centers for Disease Control and Prevention evidence based group-level intervention for African American females 14-18 years of age, into a 2-hour computer-delivered individual-level intervention. A randomized controlled trial (n = 178) was conducted to examine the efficacy of the new Multimedia SiHLE intervention. Average condom-protected sex acts (proportion of vaginal sex acts with condoms, last 90 days) for sexually active participants receiving Multimedia SiHLE rose from M = 51% at baseline to M = 71% at 3-month follow-up (t = 2.06, p = .05); no statistically significant difference …

Curriculum Change 2011-2012, Portland State University

Bulletin & Curriculum Change Documents

No abstract provided.

Bulletin: General Catalog Issue 2011-2012, Portland State University

Bulletin & Curriculum Change Documents

No abstract provided.

Second Language Development Theories And Technology-Mediated Language Learning, Steven L. Thorne, Bryan Smith

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

Information and communication technologies have never been more interesting due in large part to their intimate integration into everyday life. Second and foreign language researchers and educators have long recognized ...

The Experience Of Senior Housing For Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual And Transgender Seniors: An Exploratory Study, Kathleen Margaret Sullivan

Dissertations and Theses

By the year 2030, 20% of the U.S. population will be 65 years of age or older. An increase in the demand for supportive health and social services is expected with the aging of the population. Demand for senior housing is expected to grow, too. This study explores what the social environment offers to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) seniors who relocated to LGBT retirement communities. Previous research asked LGBT seniors who did not live in LGBT senior housing about their housing preferences. The present study, for the first time, asked residents of existing LGBT senior living communities to …

A Content Analysis Of The Strategic Plans Of The Coalition Of Urban Serving Universities' Academic Libraries, Thomas Bielavitz

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

As academic libraries support the curricular mission of the university, the strategic plans of academic libraries often reflect the priorities and initiatives of the larger institution. Urban universities often incorporate concepts of community engagement in their mission. The Coalition of Urban Serving Universities (http://www.usucoalition.org), a federation of 43 urban universities, has developed initiatives which seek to establish the university and city as partners. Using the publicly-accessible strategic plans of the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities (USU) affiliated libraries as a data set, the research will perform a content analysis, using Atlas.ti software, to look for evidence that the libraries are …

A Perspective On Preservation And Disaster Response Preparedness In Oregon Libraries, Alex Toth, Kristen Kern

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

In this article, we will examine one collaborative Oregon preservation effort that we believe is both enlightening and instructive for the example that it provides and for the direction that similar efforts may take in the future. The initiative that we have chosen to examine is that of the Disaster Recovery Group (DiRG) established by the Portland Area Library System (PORTALS). PORTALS was a library consortium founded in 1993 to meet the research and educational needs of libraries in the greater Portland area through cooperative and creative access to information resources and services. What made the consortium somewhat unique was …

Strategies For Labeling Proteins With Paracest Agents, Olga Vasalatiy, Piyu Zhao, Mark Woods, Andrei Marconescu, Aminta Castillo-Muzquiz, Philip Thorpe, Garry Kiefer, A. Dean Sherry

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reactive surface lysine groups on the chimeric monoclonal antibody (3G4) and on human serum albumin (HSA) were labeled with two different PARACEST chelates. Between 7.4 – 10.1 chelates were added per 3G4 molecule and between 5.6 – 5.9 chelates per molecule of HSA, depending upon which conjugation chemistry was used. The immunoreactivity of 3G4 as measured by ELISA assays was highly dependent upon the number of attached chelates: 88% immunoreactivity with 7.4 chelates per antibody versus only 17% immunoreactivity with 10.1 chelates per antibody. Upon conjugation to 3G4, the bound water lifetime of Eu-1 increased only marginally, up from …

Imaging The Extracellular Ph Of Tumors By Mri After Injection Of A Single Cocktail Of T1 And T2 Contrast Agents, Gary V. Martinez, Xiaomeng Zhang, María L. García-Martín, David L. Morse, Mark Woods, A. Dean Sherry, Robert J. Gillies

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

The extracellular pH (pH(e) ) of solid tumors is acidic, and there is evidence that an acidic pH(e) is related to invasiveness. Herein, we describe an MRI single-infusion method to measure pH(e) in gliomas using a cocktail of contrast agents (CAs). The cocktail contained gadolinium-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraaminophosphonate (GdDOTA-4AmP) and dysprosium-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-N,N',N'',N'''-tetrakis(methylenephosphonic acid) (DyDOTP), whose effects on relaxation are sensitive and insensitive to pH, respectively. The Gd-CA dominated the spin-lattice relaxivity ΔR(1) , whereas the Dy-CA dominated the spin-spin relaxivity ΔR(2)*. The ΔR(2)* effects were used to determine the pixel-wise concentration of [Dy] which, in turn, was used to calculate a value for [Gd] …