Digital Commons Network^™

A Systems Approach To Stress And Resilience In Humans: Mindfulness Meditation, Aging, And Cognitive Function, Barry S. Oken

Dissertations and Theses

Psychological stress is common and contributes to many physical and mental health problems. Its effects are mediated by a complex neurobiological system centering in the brain with effectors including autonomic nervous system, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, inflammatory system, and gene expression. A stressor pushes the human physiological system away from its baseline state towards a lower utility state. The physiological system may return towards the original state but may be shifted to a lower utility state. While some physiological changes induced by stressors may benefit health, chronic stressors usually have negative effects on health. In contrast to this stressor effect is the …

Assessing Sense Of Place And Geo-Literacy Indicators As Learning Outcomes Of An International Teacher Professional Development Program, Nancee Hunter

Dissertations and Theses

This research explores the multifaceted benefits that accrue from learning within an international, experiential context. It uses a qualitative, case study approach employing pre and post surveys, in-situ observations, and semi-structured photo-elicitation interviews to analyze the Center for Geography Education in Oregon’s (C-GEO) 2013 Overseas Teacher Institute--a professional development program that took 11 teachers to Russia, Mongolia, and China for a total of 17 days (plus two additional travel days) to learn about the cultural and physical geography of each place. The focus of the research is two-fold and examines processes involved in gaining, synthesizing and applying 1) a sense …

An Investigation Of School-Based Specific Learning Disability Identification, Bonnie Heather Bartos

Dissertations and Theses

Researchers have described the special education identification process for students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) as "muddled and confused" (Bocian, Beebe, MacMillan, & Gresham, 1999) and "haphazard" and "capricious" (Shinn, 2007, p. 603). Bocian, Beebe, MacMillan, and Gresham (1999) proposed the theory of competing paradigms as a way to explain why researchers and school-based eligibility teams identify different groups of students as SLD. This qualitative study had two research questions: a) To what extent did interviews of secondary resource teachers reveal the concepts of relativity, acceptability, and profitability as they reflect on the SLD process? and b) What other themes …

Regenerative Change: Engaging At The Intersection Of Inner And Outer Work Through Contemplative Learning, Heather L. Burns, Celine Fitzmaurice

University Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article explores the intersection of the inner and outer work of regenerative change making through contemplative practices at Portland State University. It describes contemplative strategies employed with graduate students and university faculty including classroom practices and a professional development retreat series for faculty. The authors discuss the importance of inner work in fostering transformative teaching and learning, and explore the connections between inner work, contemplative practices, and transformative learning theory.

Psychosocial Adaptation To Disability Within The Context Of Positive Psychology: Philosophical Aspects And Historical Roots, Hanoch Livneh, Erin Martz

Counselor Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to review the conceptual and clinical similarities that exist between the principles of positive psychology and those underlying rehabilitation counseling and psychology, occupational rehabilitation, and those espoused by the field of psychosocial adaptation to chronic illness and disability (CID). Methods: Three themes were selected for review. These included the historical contributions of early scholars in the area of psychosocial adaptation to CID that later were indirectly infused into mainstream positive psychology; state and trait constructs that constitute much of the infrastructure of positive psychology and psychosocial adaptation to CID; and, finally, the …

When Do High And Low Status Group Members Support Confrontation? The Role Of Perceived Pervasiveness Of Prejudice, Kimberly Barsamian Kahn, Manuela Barreto, Cheryl R. Kaiser, Marco Silva Rego

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper examines how perceived pervasiveness of prejudice differentially affects high and low status group members’ support for a low status group member who confronts. In Experiment 1 (N = 228), men and women read a text describing sexism as rare or as pervasive and subsequently indicated their support for a woman who confronted or did not confront a sexist remark. Experiment 2 (N = 324) specified the underlying process using a self-affirmation manipulation. Results show that men were more supportive of confrontation when sexism was perceived to be rare than when it was pervasive. By contrast, women tended to …

Star Academics: Do They Garner Increasing Returns?, James Jeffrey Kline

Dissertations and Theses

This study examines the criteria which help academics receive National Institute of Health funds (NIH). The study covers 3,092 NIH recipients and non-recipients in the same department or institute at twenty-four universities. The universities are drawn from those below the top twenty in terms of receipt of NIH funds. With regards to performance, non- recipients have lower performance than recipients. A key determinant of the receipt of NIH funds is individual performance, as measured by the number of articles published and average citations per article in the two years immediately prior to the grant application. Professors receive more NIH money …

Introduction To The Special Issue Of New Methods In Work And Organizational Health, Liu-Qin Yang, Chu-Hsiang (Daisy) Chang, Vivien K.G. Lim

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Collectively, the eight articles included in this special issue examine some of the important methodological issues that affect the future progress and developments of WOHP research. Two papers review methods on research design (Ilies, Aw & Lim; O’Shea, O’Connell, & Gallagher), three advance methods in data collection including measurement (Eatough, Shockley, & Yu; McGonagle, Huang, & Walsh; Sonnentag & Pundt), and three describe important data analytical methods (Ilies et al.; Liu, Mo, Song, & Wang; Wang, Hernandez, Newman, He, & Bian). The last paper by Spector and Pindek discusses the common research methodologies used in WOHP and provided some ideas …

Bidirectional Associations Between Rheumatoid Arthritis And Depression: A Nationwide Longitudinal Study, Ming-Chi Lu, How-Ran Guo, Miao-Chiu Lin, Hanoch Livneh, Ning-Sheng Lai, Tzung-Yi Tsai

Counselor Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and depression may be associated with each other pathophysiologically, but few studies have been conducted on the interplay between these two diseases using longitudinal measurement. Therefore, we used the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan to investigate the bidirectional associations between RA and depression. One cohort was included to analyze RA predicting the onset of depression and a second cohort for analysis of depression predicting RA. A sex- and age-matched control group was included for both. The incidence of depression in RA subjects was higher than in non-RA subjects [15.69 vs. 8.95 per 1,000 person-years (PYs)], …

Understanding The Contribution Of Curb Appeal To Retail Real Estate Values, Julia Freybote, Lauren Simon, Lauren Beitelspacher

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

The concept of curb appeal and its impact on property values has been largely neglected in the real estate literature. In the context of retail real estate, curb appeal represents the general attractiveness of a store viewed from the sidewalk or parking lot that is expected to affect consumer patronage decisions and consequently property values. We develop a measurement instrument for curb appeal and assess the validity of our measure using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Our results suggest that curb appeal is multi-dimensional and consists of an atmospheric, architectural and authenticity dimension. Using transaction data and a spatial autoregressive …

Exploring The Impact Of An Ld Diagnosis On The Self-Determination Of Women In Poverty, Cynthia Jakes Stadel

Dissertations and Theses

This collective case study explored the impact of a later-in-life learning disability (LD) diagnosis on women in poverty. The study focused on the perspectives of four women who were not identified with LD as children but accessed assessment services as adults receiving Oregon's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). All four reported painful awareness of learning differences as youths; as adults they voluntarily engaged in a "labeling event," furthering a process toward personal transformation and enhanced well-being initiated by their own awareness and curiosity. The women described critical social and emotional support systems and relationships that helped them integrate understanding …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet February 2016, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The February 2016 Monthly packet includes the February agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held January 2016.

The Case For Age-Friendly Communities, Margaret Neal, Alan Kenneth Delatorre

Institute on Aging Publications

The report was funded by Grantmakers In Aging, an organization dedicated to promoting and strengthening grantmaking for an aging society. The movement toward age-friendly communities is growing, with the key impetus being population aging. Beyond what individuals themselves can do to age optimally, the movement to create communities that are age friendly focuses on how the economic, physical, and social environments can be improved to address not only the needs but also maximize the assets of an aging population, for the benefit of all.

In Defense Of Culturally-Specific Organizations: Understanding The Rationale And The Evidence, Ann Curry-Stevens, Jennifer Sita Muthanna

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Racial disparities abound in human services, with communities of color facing grave impediments to positive progress. Mainstream institutions move painstakingly slowly on reforms—movement too slow to offer this generation prospects for real hope in equity. This paper builds the rationale for expanding funding for culturally-specific organizations, detailing the ways that the literature and the tacit knowledge of culturally-specific organizations improve outcomes for clients and communities of color. The article identifies the service benefits in terms of client outcomes, accountability practices, community benefits, cultural affirmation and inclusion, building community and political capital, and lessening investments in white-centric services. We also identify …

Table Discussion Notes - Harmonizing Education For Local Concerns With Global Issues, Portland State University

Winter Symposium

Notes from table discussion on the topic of harmonizing education for local concerns with global issues.

The scope of discussion included curriculum, pedagogy, extracurricular opportunities for students, and faculty development. After exploring the varied connections between local and global, the majority of comments focused on ensuring a global/ international perspective in the curriculum, recognizing the value of language learning for a broad spectrum of life and career pathways, and supporting faculty development of pedagogical techniques that foster intercultural/ global competencies. Participants highlighted the rich cultural diversity on campus, and proposed that we find more ways to foster multicultural interactions outside …

Table Discussion Final Summary - Harmonizing Education For Local Concerns With Global Issues, Portland State University

Winter Symposium

Final summary of the table discussion on the topic of harmonizing education for local concerns with global issues.

The scope of discussion included curriculum, pedagogy, extracurricular opportunities for students, and faculty development. After exploring the varied connections between local and global, the majority of comments focused on ensuring a global/ international perspective in the curriculum, recognizing the value of language learning for a broad spectrum of life and career pathways, and supporting faculty development of pedagogical techniques that foster intercultural/ global competencies. Participants highlighted the rich cultural diversity on campus, and proposed that we find more ways to foster multicultural …

Exploratory Study Of The Adoption And Use Of The Smartphone Technology In Emerging Regions: Case Of Saudi Arabia, Fahad Abdulaziz Aldhaban

Dissertations and Theses

Users' acceptance of a new information technology (IT) is considered to be a key determinant factor of its success. Also, studying users' adoption and use of new IT plays an important role in determining users' needs and reducing business risk, especially in industry segments with rapid changes in IT such as Smartphone technology. Such rapid evolution is influencing consumers' behaviors, their daily lifestyle, the manner of conducting their activities and their ways of consuming and using information.

Smartphone technology holds a promising future with an expected global market that could reach US $258 billion by the end of year 2015 …

The Peer Network As A Context For The Socialization Of Academic Engagement, Linda Mary Newton-Curtis

Dissertations and Theses

The school environment is one of the primary contexts for children's social, emotional and cognitive development. While teachers are likely to be primarily focused on students' motivation and learning, for adolescents, one of the most enjoyable and important aspects of school life is likely to be centered around the time spent interacting with peers. It is well recognized that peers socialize one another but although many studies have examined the influence of peers on adolescents' risky behaviors far fewer have focused on the influence peers may have on individuals' positive behaviors. As a result this study focuses on academic development …

A Detailed Rubric For Assessing The Quality Of Teacher Resource Apps, Todd Cherner, Cheng-Yuan Lee, Alex Fegely, Lauren Santaniello

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications and Presentations

Since the advent of the iPhone and rise of mobile technologies, educational apps represent one of the fastest growing markets, and both the mobile technology and educational app markets are predicted to continue experiencing growth into the foreseeable future. The irony, however, is that even with a booming market for educational apps, very little research regarding the quality of them has been conducted. Though some instruments have been developed to evaluate apps geared towards student learning, no such instrument has been created for teacher resource apps, which are designed to assist teachers in completing common tasks (e.g., taking attendance, communicating …

Nonprofit Sector Research Scan, The Nonprofit Institute At Portland State University

The Nonprofit Institute Research

This information was compiled in an effort to assess the current state of the nonprofit research field as well as potentially identify needs for future research projects. The methods by which this data was gathered included initial conversations with community stakeholders which guided further online content analysis of reports in the fields stated above. The research scan includes 84 reports published around the topics of volunteerism, philanthropy, board governance, leadership, and other general and specialized nonprofit topics on state, regional, and national levels.

Participation In Camp Dream. Speak. Live: Affective And Cognitive Outcomes For Children Who Stutter, Courtney T. Byrd, Elizabeth Hampton, Megann Mcgill, Zoi Gkalitsiou

Speech and Hearing Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of participation in Camp Dream. Speak. Live., an intensive therapy program, on the communication attitudes, peer relationships and quality of life of children who stutter. Method: Participants were 23 children who stutter (n=5 females; n=18 males; age range 4–14 years) who attended a weeklong intensive therapy program that was exclusively developed to address the affective and cognitive components of stuttering. Outcome measures included the KiddyCAT Communication Attitude Test for Preschool and Kindergarten Children who Stutter, the Overall Assessment of the Speaker’s Experience of Stuttering (OASES), and the Patient Reported …

Can Expert Testimony Sensitize Jurors To Variations In Confession Evidence, Kelsey S. Henderson, Lora M. Levett

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications and Presentations

Confession evidence can be extremely damaging in the courtroom; jurors are more willing to convict based on the presence of a confession than eyewitness evidence and character testimony (Kassin & Neumann, 1997). To date, no research has examined whether jurors notice variations in confession evidence based on whether the confession is consistent or inconsistent with the crime evidence (a likely low quality confession). In Study 1, mock jurors read a trial summary in which a suspect’s confession was consistent or inconsistent with other case facts. Jurors were marginally more likely to convict if the confession and case facts were consistent …

Portland State Magazine, Portland State University. Office Of University Communications

Portland State Magazine

PSU’s alumni magazine, published 2-3 times a year. In this issue: Seven alumni who are making a difference in their communities; LinkedIn list of top employers of alumni and students in Oregon; looking at the link between urban trees and health; Gates scholar is committed to improving the lives of her people; researchers discover a potential knockout punch against malaria; Bruce Barnum makes winners out of a struggling PSU football program; and more.

Challenges Of Empowering People With Disabilities In Nigeria For National Development, C. Jonah Eleweke, Gabriel Soje

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper reviews issues affecting the empowerment of people with disabilities in Nigeria so they can be productive and contribute to the development of the nation. The questions of concern are: What is known about the extent people with disabilities are empowered to contribute to national development in Nigeria? What challenges do people with disabilities in Nigeria encounter in their attempt to contribute to national development? What are the implications of these challenges regarding strategies that could enhance the empowerment of people with disabilities to facilitate their contribution to national development?

Literary Texts In The Undergraduate Russian Curriculum: Leveraging Language Learning And Literary Discussion Through Scaffolding, William J. Comer

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this article, I want to summarize the broader discussion about literary texts in the undergraduate curriculum for the more commonly taught languages, consider the nature of Russian undergraduate programs in light of that discussion, and then suggest a way that upper-division Russian classes can work with literary texts through the effective deployment of scaffolding in classroom tasks.

Creating An Inclusionary Bicycle Justice Movement, Aaron Golub, Melody L. Hoffman, Gerardo Francisco Sandoval, Adonia Lugo

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

This is a chapter in: Bicycle Justice and Urban Transformation: Biking for All?

A Brief Review Of Speaker Recognition Technology, Clark D. Shaver, John M. Acken

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper reviews the development of speaker recognition systems from pre-computing days to current trends. Advances in various sciences which have allowed autonomous speaker recognition systems to become a practical means of identity authentication are also reviewed.

Do Characteristics Of Walkable Environments Support Bicycling? Toward A Definition Of Bicycle-Supported Development, Christopher D. Muhs, Kelly Clifton

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Does walkability equate with bikeability? Through a comprehensive review of studies of the built environment and bicycling, including mode choice, route choice, safety, and urban design literature, this paper addresses this question. Previous work has raised the issue that the two modes are functionally different, despite them often being combined into a nonmotorized category, and has highlighted research challenges. Existing studies of bikeability have largely focused on infrastructure. This paper contributes to the literature on bicycling and the built environment by providing a thorough review of past research with a focus on the relationships between land use, urban form, and …

Greater Number Of Larger Pieces: A Strategy To Promote Prospective Teachers’ Fraction Number Sense Development, Dana Olanoff, Ziv Feldman, Rachael M. Welder, Jennifer M. Tobias, Eva Thanheiser, Amy F. Hillen

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Prospective teachers (PTs) need opportunities to develop fraction number sense, yet little research has explicated how this development occurs. Our research team collaboratively designed a task targeted at helping PTs develop fraction number sense through an exploration of fraction comparison strategies. This paper focuses on developing one particular strategy, which we call Greater Number of Larger Pieces (GLP). We argue that understanding this strategy has the potential to support PTs’ number sense, particularly in regards to the measure interpretation of fractions. Analysis of data from two iterations of this task (implemented by five mathematics teacher educators at five US institutions …

Measuring Fidelity Of Implementation In A Large-Scale Professional Development Efficacy Study, Kathleen Mary Melhuish, Eva Thanheiser, Brenda Rosencrans

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Fidelity of implementation is the essential link between professional development (PD) experiences and changes in outcomes. Yet, as a field we have few measures available to directly look at implementation. In this poster, we present our preliminary work measuring teachers’ implementation of a research-based PD.