Digital Commons Network^™

The Socialization Of Women And Its Effect On The Wage Gap Within The United States, Kaitlin Lawrence

University Honors Theses

President Kennedy signed The Equal Pay Act in 1963, a time when women were making an average of 59 cents on the dollar compared to men. 49 years later, that value has only risen 17.5 cents. If the current rate of progress continues at the same pace, it is projected that the wage gap will cease to exist by the year 2057; 94 years after The Equal Pay Act was established. Politicians, economists and women’s rights activists, among others question what must be done to bridge the wage gap and how has it continued to be perpetuated for so long. …

The Woman In White: Problems With Editorial History & Classification Of Genre In Proposing A New Edition, Andréa Franke

University Honors Theses

Wilkie Collins’s novel The Woman in White, first published in Charles Dickens’s journal All the Year Round, brings many issues to publishers who wish to create a new edition. As The Woman in White went through three editorial transitions during Collins’s life it is difficult for book publishers to decide whether to create a new eclectic text of the existing three original editions or to use one edition as the copy text. Beyond this, existing editions of this work, including the Barnes & Noble Classics edition and the Oxford World Classics editions, create problems in their paratext as …

Technology-Based Training For Older Employees: A Literature Review, Daria Maletis

University Honors Theses

Technology-based training is being increasingly adopted by organizations of all sizes. It allows employers to cut costs and to train more employees at the same time. However, arguably the greatest benefit of computer-based training is that it is very flexible and can be customized to the needs of the organization as well as to the individual needs of the trainees. This paper explores what adjustments can be made to computerized training programs for older employees to make their learning most effective. The results of the literature review show that older adults benefit from simple and consistent interface design, large font …

Mindfulness And Test Performance After Stereotype Activation: A Randomized Experiment, Charles J.Z. Daniel

University Honors Theses

Although stereotype threat – pressure to avoid confirming or being judged based on a stereotype – has been found to affect performance on an array of tasks, few studies have examined ways to alleviate the threat after it has been activated. Previous research has demonstrated several outcomes of mindfulness exercises - increased emotional regulation, increased attentional regulation, change in perspective of self, and greater resources available to devote to learning – which parallel four potential mechanisms for stereotype threat: anxiety and SNS arousal, decreased working memory capacity, mindset, and effort. The present study tested the impact of two interventions - …

Adoption And Child Trafficking: Structural Violence In The International Adoption System, Vanessa Virgiel

University Honors Theses

In the United States there exists as part of the institution of international adoption a hegemony of “saving” orphans from developing or economically devastated nations. This hegemony is a factor contributing to an adoption “market” in orphans, leading to incidences of the trafficking of children as part of the intercountry adoption system. This study's purposes are thus twofold. First it is a preliminary attempt within the academic realm to determine the emergence of this hegemony by delineating the US history of intercountry adoption from its origins in the mid-1940s as a response to humanitarian crises, to its current status as …

The Value Of Well-Being: Advancing Urban Blue Infrastructure With Holistic Metrics, Lisa Marie White

University Honors Theses

The design of urban infrastructure has emerging, documented impacts on the environment, local economy, and public well-being, yet conventional design and policy goals fail to account for these emergent properties. These impacts also lack consistent quantifiable metrics and classification in the realm of city planning. Without adequately holistic cost-benefit analyses, the true value of infrastructure projects fails to be ascertained, preventing consideration of design that provides additional benefits not yet incorporated into city policy and metrics. With more people living in cities than ever before, the built environment of cities has become an increasingly important area of study, and the …

Nella Larsen's Passing And Color Theory: Beyond Black & White, Jeff Shoemaker

University Honors Theses

The problem of race in America is still a polarizing issue. We have a responsibility to look to the past for historical context about where we find ourselves today. Nella Larsen's Passing is a text that resists identification and reveals many of the inherent inconsistencies in the process of racial, sexual, and gender identification. Irene and Clare are the characters in Passing who are usually considered for interpretation. At this point in the discourse, it is time to start considering the implications of other characters to the novel. When other characters are considered, a larger context of color-theory begins to …

Trace Metal Analysis Of Drinking Water At Portland State University, Emma Claire Prichard

University Honors Theses

Clean drinking water is essential for human and environmental health, but pollution of drinking water sources due to lack of resources or investment allows poor drinking water quality to be pervasive even in developed areas. Portland State University, located in Portland, OR, U.S.A., had reports of poor drinking water quality in a major academic building (Cramer Hall). In order to investigate, a trace metals analysis of drinking water was conducted using EPA Method 200.7 Section 8.2: Dissolved Metals, via Inductively Coupled Plasma – Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). Concentrations of 10 different metals were determined in 22 building areas. Results show …

Wendy Ewald Edited By Nolan Calisch, Wendy Ewald, Nolan Calisch

Reference Points

"Wendy Ewald, edited by Nolan Calisch, offers a survey of the past and present work of photographer and conceptual artist Wendy Ewald, including insight into her collaborative process and inspiration, and a collection of thoughtful reflections from a collaborator, a colleague, and a contemporary artist who have been touched by her work.

This book is part of the Reference Points series published through Portland State University Art and Social Practice MFA Program. The series is an evolving pedagogical framework in which graduate students formulate and research a significant topic or practitioner(s) related to socially engaged art. Because …

Portland State And The Ge College Bowl, Clarence Hein

Historical Articles and Essays

On March 7, 1965 the Portland State College Bowl team defeated Birmingham-Southern University to become, with five straight wins, record-breaking champions of the nationally televised college trivia game show, the GE College Bowl. Clarence Hein writes about the team's path to the win and their significance to Portland State.

Strategic Planning Equity Lens, Strategic Planning Development Team

Resource Archive

Based on a suggestion by Dr. Charlotte Goodluck, the Project Support Team has created an Equity Lens through which we may review both the strategic planning process and its eventual outputs. In order to design our lens using the best and most current thinking on the subject, we have enlisted the help of a small group of experts from within the PSU community and other regional experts. This advisory group includes Ann Curry-Stevens, Ashley Horne, Carlos Crespo, Chas Lopez, Cornel Pewewardy, Steve Percy, Veronica Dujon, Yves Labissiere, Ann Marie Fallon, and Sonali Balajee.

In building a review process, this group—or …

Cultural Competency: A Quantitative Analysis Of Cultural Awareness In U.S. Healthcare, Jordan Nomie

University Honors Theses

A growing issue in healthcare in the United States is whether consideration and attentiveness of physicians and other healthcare providers towards a patient’s culture has an effect on the treatment process. An anthropological term, cultural competency, describes a medical professional’s respect and integration of the patients’ cultural beliefs and practices throughout the treatment process in order to reduce cross-cultural health disparities and to improve overall satisfaction. Although there is significant literature outlining a theoretical need for increased implementation of these practices, little work has been done to address actual quantitative evidence supporting or refuting the articulated need. The goal of …

What's On Your Mind? : A Generational Comparison Of Language Use On Online Social Networking Platforms, Samantha Stidham

University Honors Theses

This thesis explores the connections between user age and unique linguistic features used when communicating on Facebook and other online social networking platforms, in the form of a literature review. It includes a detailed history of computer-mediated communication, along with an analysis of all of Facebook’s features and how they contribute to communication via the site. The language features common to each age group (young adults/teens, adults, and seniors) are detailed, analyzed from Schwartz et al’s work Personality, gender, and age in the language of social media: The Open-Vocabulary Approach, along with making the argument that teens and seniors—the …

Katharsis & Tragic Pathos, Jared L. Wait-Molyneux

University Honors Theses

This project is bound up with the old question of what gives tragedy its lasting appeal. The majority of contemporary criticism on tragedy focuses on aspects having to do with the democratic polis. Many of these studies take this musical genre as primarily a means for exposing Athenian civic ideology and norms in social behavior. But this does not account for continued interest in Greek drama. To answer the question at hand, more attention needs to be paid [to] pathos and katharsis, by students and critics of Greek tragedy, as these are vital aspects of the tragic experience, both within …

The Rise Of Non-Marital Cohabitation: Review And Analysis Of Existing Research, Natalia Mosailova

University Honors Theses

Beginning in the 1970's, young adults are more likely to announce that they are moving in with a partner rather than entering marriage. As rates of legal marriage between ages 16-26 are continuing to decline, the rates of cohabitation are rising two-fold. Compared to previous decades, individuals in our society are now more hesitant to enter marriage and are more likely to try out their relationships through cohabitation before making a commitment. Archival research on pre-engagement cohabitation suggests that, contrary to popular culture beliefs, pre-engagement cohabitation is a predictor of both marital divorce in marriages and relationship dissatisfaction. Despite the …

The Occurrences, References And Projected Attitudes About Lgbt Lifestyles In Children's Media: A Content Analysis Of Animated Films, Michael Caldwell

University Honors Theses

This study included a selection of 5 top-grossing animated children's films looking for hints, references and projected attitudes about LGBT lifestyles. I hypothesized that there would be no out-right gay characters whatsoever, but only hints or strong hints to, and that they would be exemplified through gender transgressions, intense same-sex interactions, and contain a focus on male masculinity. Furthermore, I hypothesized that all categories would be used primarily for humor. Results held true with these predictions where all categories were used for humor 83% of the time, with a focus on male characters. The results also support the noted increase …

"Russia Is A European State" : Gender And Publicity In Early Imperial Russia, William Forrest Holden

University Honors Theses

Historians of the Russian Empire often question the extent to which a public sphere existed in Tsarist Russia. This thesis explores Russian literary works from the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, such as memoirs and travelogues, in order to better understand the ways in which Jürgen Habermas’s theory of the public sphere can be useful for understanding publicity in the Russian Empire. It traces changes in two interconnected areas of public discussion, one regarding discourses of monarchical legitimacy, and the other, gender and domesticity. By focusing on gender, this thesis argues that historians’ focus on the economic factors described by …

Foucault Concept Communication: An Examination Of Alcoholics Anonymous, Amanda Joy Arms

University Honors Theses

While previous research on the 12-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous has covered a wide range of topics, there is a gap which exists in the lack of examination of the 12-step program through the lens of the underlying mechanisms of power. The concepts which most clearly reflect these mechanisms of power are explicated by Michel Foucault and his work. This gap can be best summed up as a lack of comprehensive and exhaustive, textual analysis of multiple texts provided by AA to members of their fellowship. This thesis uses Foucauldian discourse analysis in an exhaustive manner, to examine pieces of …

Animosity And Community Size Correlation In Bilingual Telephonic Interactions Between Customer/Social Service Representatives And Hispanic Clients: Understanding How Hispanic Community Size Affects Hostility Levels In Customer And Social Services From State To State, Scarllet Bautista

Anthós

The purpose of this research is to understand how the Hispanic community size affects the telephonic interactions between FEP (Fluent English Proficient) customer/social service representatives and LEPs (Limited English Proficient). I hypothesize that the larger the Hispanic community in a state, the more tense bilingual telephonic interactions will be. I evaluated a total of 179 English/Spanish consecutive interpreting calls over the course of nine days. I took note and counted various aspects of the interaction: voice, use of profanity, use of sarcasm to express disgust and sudden telephone hung ups from the LEP customer/client and attitude, tone, use of pleasantries, …

The Role Of Translational Neuroscience In The Evidence-Based Practice Of Clinical Psychology, Anthony Beers

University Honors Theses

Is the Information Age progressing to the Knowledge Overload Age? The presence of big data, complex systems, and vast knowledge networks can overwhelm a clinician’s capacity to sift through abundant research findings and theoretical models. Demand for economically-driven evidence-based practice and the ethics of incorporating continuing education place enormous demands on clinicians that are difficult to achieve effectively, efficiently, and ethically. Translational science is a research discipline focused specifically on the production of valid and reliable uses developed from scientific research findings. In the discussions on translational science, one controversial issue has been the role translational neuroscience plays in clinical …

Gender Complex Curriculum For The Portland Public School District: Proposal, Kathryn Hayes

University Honors Theses

GLSEN states that 43.9% of students felt unsafe in school to express their preferred gender in the year 2011. This lack of safety can be attributed to a variety of factors including peer harassment, harassment by teachers or staff, lack of support or resources, unintentionally offensive language in the classroom, and lack of gender variety in historical figures and role models. The first part of this project is an original gender-complex curriculum aimed at creating a safer space inside the classroom for elementary aged students who may identify or express as gender variant by encouraging these, and other supportive behaviors …

The Media’S Presentation Of The Second Chance Act: Funding For Reentry Following Prison, A Content Analysis, Ailene Joyce Farkac

University Honors Theses

The US prison system has multiplied by four since 1980; each year about 730,000 people enter state and federal prisons and 700,000 people exit. As a result of this expansion, there is a massive increase of formerly incarcerated people reentering local communities every year. Budget cuts in prison programs and in local government’s social services are causing these individuals to be less educated and less prepared for reintegration; communities are also ill prepared to absorb them. The Second Chance Act was signed into law by President Bush on April 9, 2008. It authorized a pool of about $393m (renewed in …

Work-Family Conflict, Family-Supportive Supervisor Behaviors (Fssb), And Sleep Outcomes, Tori Laurelle Crain, Leslie B. Hammer, Todd Bodner, Ellen Ernst Kossek, Phyllis Moen, Richard Lilienthal, Orfeu Buxton

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Although critical to health and well-being, relatively little research has been conducted in the organizational literature on linkages between the work-family interface and sleep. Drawing on Conservation of Resources theory, we use a sample of 623 information technology workers to examine the relationships between work-family conflict, family-supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB), and sleep quality and quantity. Validated wrist actigraphy methods were used to collect objective sleep quality and quantity data over a one week period of time, and survey methods were used to collect information on self-reported work-family conflict, FSSB, and sleep quality and quantity. Results demonstrated that the combination of …

Research Thesis Essay Of Findings From Campus Language Capacity Survey 2012-2014 Done In Collaboration With The Heritage Language Initiative, Laura Van Doren

University Honors Theses

This paper presents the findings of the Campus Language Capacity Survey 2013, a study conducted as an online survey to investigate heritage language usage at Portland State University. Heritage language is defined as “an indigenous or immigrant language other than English.” The survey was sent to 15,000 randomly selected participants from the PSU student, staff, and faculty body; over 1,000 responses were collected. There was a 10% response rate with 119 participants self-identified as heritage language speakers and/or learners. These participants are individuals in the PSU community who have ties to their heritage community. The top five heritage languages named …

Determined: Start To Finish - Year 1 : The Freshman To Sophomore Experience, Kathleen Steppe

University Honors Theses

For students, the first year of college holds with it specific challenges. This honors thesis describes elements of and provides valuable insight into the college student’s journey, relative to their first-year experience. The largest portion of this thesis focused on review of literature pertaining to institutional support and college retention. This denotes the relationship between each consumer of higher education and the multitude of options from which they can choose to invest in to begin pursuit of their degree. Because of the varied relational aspects between institutional support and retention, also reviewed was literature aligned with efficacy of systems and …

The Community Of Practice And Safety Support (Compass) Total Worker Health™ Study Among Home Care Workers: Study Protocol For A Randomized Controlled Trial, Ryan Olson, Diane Elliot, Jennifer Hess, Sharon Thompson, Kristy Luther, Brad Wipfli, Robert R. Wright, Annie Mancini Buckmaster

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Home care workers are a high-risk group for injury and illness. Their unique work structure presents challenges to delivering a program to enhance their health and safety. No randomized controlled trials have assessed the impact of a Total Worker Health™ program designed for their needs.

Methods/design: The COMPASS (COMmunity of Practice And Safety Support) study is a cluster randomized trial being implemented among Oregon’s unionized home care workers. Partnering with the Oregon Home Care Commission allowed recruiting 10 pairs of home care worker groups with 8 participants per group (n = 160) for balanced randomization of groups to intervention …

Primary Care For Adults On The Autism Spectrum, Christina Nicolaidis, Clarissa Kripke, Dora Raymaker

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

The autistic population is very heterogeneous; individuals’ skills or challenges fall along spectra on multiple axes (spoken language, written communication, ability to perform activities of daily living, need for consistency, sensory sensitivity, emotional regulation, and so forth) and can change depending on environmental stimuli, supports, and stressors. Autistic adults have increased rates of chronic medical illnesses, including epilepsy, gastrointestinal disorders, feeding and nutritional problems, metabolic syndrome, anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances, and greater exposure to violence and abuse. Clinicians may improve quality of life by recommending accommodations, assistive technologies, therapies to improve adaptive function or communication, and caregiver training, and …

Latino Parents' Perspectives On Barriers To Autism Diagnosis, Katharine Zuckerman, Brianna Sinche, Angie Pamela Mejia, Martiza Cobian, Thomas Becker, Christina Nicolaidis

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Recent estimates suggest that Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) affect more than 1% of U.S. children over age 3, and rates ASD diagnosis may be increasing.1 ASDs can be reliably diagnosed,2 and early diagnosis is associated with improved long-term developmental and family outcomes.3 However, many children meeting ASD diagnostic criteria are never diagnosed4 or are diagnosed years after onset of symptoms.4,5 Delayed diagnosis is a particular problem among Latino children:6,7 Latino children receive a diagnosis of an ASD 2.5 years later than white non-Latino children.8 Latino children are also less likely to carry an ASD diagnosis; however, when diagnosed, they are …

Prospective Elementary Mathematics Teacher Content Knowledge: An Introduction, Christine Browning, Eva Thanheiser, Alden Edson, Patrick M. Kimani, Dana Olanoff, Jennifer M. Tobias, Ian Whitacre

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This Special Issue on the mathematical content knowledge of prospective elementary teachers (PTs) provides summaries of the extant peer-­‐reviewed research literature from 1978 to 2012 on PTs’ content knowledge across several mathematical topics, specifically whole number and operations, fractions, decimals, geometry and measurement, and algebra. Each topic-­‐specific summary of the literature is presented in a self-­‐contained paper, written by a subgroup of a larger Working Group that has collaborated across several years, resulting in this Special Issue sharing the final work. The authors hope this summative look at prospective teacher content knowledge will be of interest to the mathematics education …

Global Efforts To Engage Men In Preventing Violence Against Women: An International Survey, Ericka Kimball, Jeffrey L. Edleson, Richard M. Tolman, Tova Neugut, Juliana Carlson

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This research note expands on the limited body of knowledge about men’s engagement in preventing violence against women. One hundred and sixty-five individuals representing organizations from around the world participated in a brief online survey about their efforts to engage men in violence prevention. This study reveals a large and diverse global community working to engage men in preventing violence against women. The level of involvement is broad, from locally contained organizations to global collaborations. This study is a first step toward building a comparative knowledge base to inform program design and implementation.