Digital Commons Network^™

Impacts Of Sex Work Criminalization On Sex Workers In Oregon: A Pilot Study, Stephanie Wahab, Katie Shammel

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Executive Summary

Context for the Study
In July, 2023, Oregon legislators voted to fund research exploring the impacts of the criminalization of sex work in Oregon. Unfortunately, the Governor vetoed the budget item, stating that the private sector should fund this type of public health research and noting the need for additional public discussion about the issue. To date, there have been no attempts to study the impacts of prostitution laws on the people most impacted by them in Oregon. The research presented in this report seeks to address this gap.

This qualitative pilot study was designed to better understand …

Including Voices And Mitigating Bias: Evaluative Practices For Final Interviews, Xan Arch, José Velazco

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

The chapter discusses the preparation of non-search committee members to participate in an interview process and provide feedback on candidates. Increasingly, as our institutions strive for more inclusive search processes, we are incorporating equitable hiring practices such as implicit bias training for search committee members, rubrics for evaluating candidate applications, and behavior-based interview questions. However, for final interviews, we often throw the door open for general evaluation of candidates by a broad group of people who agree to attend a meeting, presentation, or meal. The feedback we gain from these final interview events may truly be germane to the candidates’ …

Looking At The Past To Change The Future: Showcasing Featured Collections, Building Communities, And Co-Creating, Sherry Buchanan

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

Academic libraries have the opportunity and the responsibility to promote and advance content that creates transformative and iterative learning opportunities. To that end, and in an effort to build communities and facilitate co-creation, Portland State University showcases three main Featured Collections in our open access repository, PDXScholar: Climate Justice, COVID-19, and Racial and Gender Equity, with a fourth pilot collection—Student Work: An Open Showcase of Outstanding Student-Created Research & Creative Work—under development. The collections include a broad range of audiovisual materials, such as podcasts and webinar series, as well as sustainability and equity work, student-created content, and numerous future-focused multidisciplinary …

A Profile Of Freshman Inquiry Students Fall 2024, Rowanna L. Carpenter

University Studies Assessment Research

In order to better understand the students enrolled in Freshman Inquiry (FRINQ) courses and identify areas where they may need support, University Studies (UNST) began collecting and compiling data on these students. This report presents a profile of FRINQ students from Fall 2024. It presents an overview of all students enrolled in FRINQ during Fall 2024 and then summarizes information from the Prior Learning Survey.

University Studies Capstone Community Partner Feedback Spring 2024, Rowanna L. Carpenter, Seanna Kerrigan

University Studies Assessment Research

Since 1995, Portland State University has offered students the opportunity to engage in the community as the culmination of their general education experience through Capstones, community-engaged courses, each of which has a community partner. For several years after the beginning of the program, community partners were asked for their feedback. However, over time, response rates declined and the collaborating office was reorganized, so the practice was discontinued. During Winter 2024, University Studies (UNST) implemented a revised survey to seek feedback from current partners. Thirty-six respondents from twenty-five community partners (representing approximately 75 Capstones and thus half of UNST 421 Capstones) …

Producing Knowledge Together: A Participatory Approach To Synthesising Research Across A Large‑Scale Collaboration In Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Health, Kathleen P. Conte, Alison Laycock, Jodie Bailie, Emma Walke, Leigh-Ann Onnis, Lynette Feeney, Erika Langham, Multiple Additional Authors

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

Background

Despite that stakeholder participation in evidence synthesis could result in more useful outcomes, there are few examples of processes that actively involve them in synthesis work. Techniques are needed that engage diverse stakeholders as equal partners in knowledge co-production. The aims of this paper are to describe an innovative participatory process of synthesising a large body of academic research products and compare the findings of the participatory process against two traditional approaches to synthesis: a rapid review and a structured review.

Methods

First, a rapid synthesis of all research outputs (n = 86) was conducted by researchers with …

Alternative Shelter Evaluation Report, Jacen Greene, Todd Ferry, Emily Leickly, Franklin H. Spurbeck

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

This report summarizes research by Portland State University’s Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative for the Joint Office of Homeless Services on the cost, participant experiences, and client outcomes in village-style and motel shelters as compared to each other and to traditional, congregate shelters.

Assessment Of Avian Community Structure And Habitat Connectivity In The Fanno Creek Corridor Bird Surveys, Habitat Assessment, And Management Recommendations, Grace Hall

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

Urbanization can significantly impact habitat quality and connectivity for avian communities, decreasing species richness and diversity. However, in highly fragmented habitats, urban parks and riparian zones can provide important habitat corridors for birds that facilitate movement and access to essential resources. On the west side of greater Portland, Oregon, Fanno Creek may serve as a habitat corridor for birds and other local wildlife.

Fanno Creek is a 25-kilometer tributary of the Tualatin River that runs through the cities of Portland, Beaverton, Tigard, and Durham in northwestern Oregon. The land surrounding the creek includes residential, commercial, and industrial properties as well …

A Magnetic Constant Torque Mechanism, Gozde Sivka, Dawei Che, Bert Dechant, Colton Bruce, Jonathan Z. Bird

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper presents the design of a new type of magnetic constant torque mechanism. The constant torque is shown to be created over a prescribed ±65° stroke length and is shown to be highly uniform. The value of the constant torque is adjustable through the relative axial motion of the rotors. The constant torque is created using a simple magnet arrangement which makes use of the axial transverse-flux path of one rotor's magnetic field relative to the azimuthal field flow of the fixed secondary rotor. It is shown that the use of segmented magnets introduces torque ripple.

Salvation And Sweet Rolls: An Examination Of Mormon Diet Books, Rachel Noorda

English Faculty Publications and Presentations

Religious diet books highlight the overlap between religious and diet cultures. This article examines the intersection of Mormonism, diet culture, and fatphobia through an analysis of Mormon diet books published between 1990 and 2015. The study explores how Mormon diet books leverage the Word of Wisdom (the LDS health code) to promote weight loss and reinforce religious obedience. By framing dietary compliance as a spiritual mandate, these texts link physical health and body size to moral and spiritual worthiness. This conflation of body and spirit, rooted in Mormon theology, amplifies fatphobia by promoting thinness as a sign of obedience and …

International Bestsellers And The Online Reconfiguring Of National Identity, Rachel Noorda, Millicent Weber, Melanie Ramdarshan Bold

English Faculty Publications and Presentations

International bestsellers are the ideal sites for examining the complicated relationship between literary culture and national identity. Despite the transnational turns in both literary studies and book history, place is still an important configurer of twenty-first-century book reception. Books are crucial to national identity and catalysts of nationalist movements. On an individual level, books enable readers to shape and maintain their own national identities. This Element explores how contemporary readers' understandings of nation, race/ethnicity, gender, and class continue to shape their reading, using as case studies the online reception of three bestseller titles-Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies (Australia), Zadie Smith's …

Aquatic Invasive Species Survey And Treatment On Lake Umatilla And Lake Celilo 2024-2025 Report, Jacob Rose, Gabriel E. Campbell

Center for Lakes and Reservoirs Publications and Presentations

Flowering Rush (Butomus umbellatus) is an invasive aquatic plant in the Pacific Northwest that threatens salmon habitat. The Center for Lakes and Reservoirs staff surveyed for this and other aquatic species from 2024 and 2025 in the Columbia River in Lake Umatilla and Lake Celilo. This document summarizes their survey efforts including their protocols, data, and small-scale removal efforts.

Demagoguery And The Depression, David Horowitz

History Faculty Publications and Presentations

Taking advantage of the economic devastation wrought by the Great Depression of the 1930s, a variety of colorful personalities advanced a host of panaceas to redress the grievances of ordinary Americans. Although President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Wisconsin progressive Philip La Follette, and the Communist Party were among those on the left tainted with charges of demagoguery, the controversy over the manipulation of uninformed opinion centered on aspiring mass movement leaders such as Louisiana Senator Huey P. Long, radio priest Father Charles E. Coughlin, old-age pension advocate Dr. Francis E. Townsend, agrarian radical William Lemke, and right-wing populist Rev. Gerald L. …

Automation Of Productive Machinery. Bases For An Innovative Business Model, Carlos Guillermo Hernández-Cenzano, Angel Contreras-Cruz, Eduardo Humada-Tello

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Nowadays, some laboratories perform elastic properties tests for concrete or rock cores using equipment manufactured 50 years ago. The original data collection procedure uses analog and manual recordings, which can cause inaccuracies in the measurements taken during these trials The process is tedious and updated since each trial's measurement data is recorded manually. In this context, this study systematizes the process and proposes an automated data acquisition and recording system for this type of equipment, followed by a case study presenting a rock compression test.

Psu Esi Review (Doe-Psu-0000922-6), Tylor Slay, Jaime Kolln, Robert B. Bass

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

A guide to developing an Energy Service Interface (ESI) was created as part of the Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium 2.5.2 ESI project. The approach applies device-agnostic and service-oriented ESI principles and leverages documents such as the Interoperability Maturity Model and Common Grid Service Definitions to provide a methodology to review, develop, and update standards and profiles to engage distributed energy resources to provide grid services. This document evaluates the ESI developed by Portland State University’s Power Engineering Group under the Electric Grid of Things project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The evaluation explores the compliance of this specific …

Field Demonstration Of Residential Der Service-Oriented Load Participation, Zhongkai Zeng, Dana Paresa, Midrar Adham, Robert B. Bass

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Amidst a concerning surge in power consumption during peak hours, coupled with heightened power grid instability, and driven by a growing demand for electricity, aggregations of Distributed Energy Resource are becoming a viable means for providing essential reliability services. Electric utility companies have proactively implemented Demand Response programs for decades. These programs employ Direct Load Control methods to enhance power grid stability, achieved by controlling customers’ Distributed Energy Resource during peak hours to reduce power consumption. However, a notable drawback of Direct Load Control has been high unenrollment rates of DR program participants due to customer discomfort. Therefore, the underlying …

Trust Model Utilization For Energy Grid Communication, N. Sonali Fernando, John M. Acken, Robert B. Bass

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The internet information that is used by the Energy Grid of Things requires both preventative security measures as well as surveillance measures. The preventative security measures include certificates, encryption, and all of the basic security protocols as defined by published standards. The surveillance measures include monitoring information flow activities and evaluating these messages for indications of potential security attacks. We describe in this paper the utilization of a Distributed Trust Model that was developed specifically for monitoring communication within an Energy Grid of Things. The goal for the Distributed Trust Models is to provide a level of aggregate trust that …

A Transverse-Flux Constant Force Mechanism, Gozde Sivka, Bertrand Dechant, Colton Bruce, Jonathan Z. Bird

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

A new type of constant force magnet mechanism is presented that relies on the interaction of magnets alone to create a constant force over a prescribed stroke length. It is demonstrated that by using a transverse field path a very uniform radial field along the travel length is created. This can then be used to create a constant force over a long stroke length. The constat force value is shown to be adjustable through the rotation of the stator relative to the translator. The operating principle of the presented transverse-flux constant force mechanism is validated by using 3-D finite element …

2024 Community-Based Care. Resident And Community Characteristics Report On Assisted Living, Residential Care, And Memory Care Communities, Ozcan Tunalilar, Sarah Dys, Yuliana Levchenko, Diana Jacoby, Minju Kim, Wafi Albalawi, Paula Carder

Institute on Aging Publications

This report marks the 10th anniversary of the Resident and Community Characteristics Report on Assisted Living (AL), Residential Care (RC), and Memory Care (MC) Communities as part of the Oregon Community Based Care project. This study includes rotating questions that focus on emerging areas of interest in the AL/RC/MC settings based on feedback from ODHS and interested parties alongside a core set of questions that are asked every year or every other year to allow comparisons over time. In this year’s study, we included information about various resident, community, and staff characteristics, including:

• Residents: sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., age, sex, …

App-Based Data Collection To Characterize Latent Transportation Demand Within Marginalized And Underserved Populations, Noelle L. Fields, Courtney Cronley, Stephen Mattingly, Nicole Iroz-Elardo, David Levine, Nithisha Gudipati, Cristine Highfill, Mary Kris Stringfelllow, Anna O'Dell, Rebecca Cole, Melody Huslage

TREC Final Reports

Our interdisciplinary team refined an app prototype, MyAmble, to gather data related to quantity of transportation disadvantage and latent demand, and to identify psycho-social-economic corollaries. MyAmble utilizes a traditional travel diary format but expands the type of trips measured to include 1) completed trips, 2) missed trips, and 3) latent travel demand. The app also measures the real-time perceived impact of transportation behaviors (realized and latent) on participants’ physical health, mental health, social engagement, and employment/academics. Finally, the app has a text-messaging feature, Travel Buddy, that is used to increase participant engagement and retention over longitudinal data collection. The project …

Unjust And Unsafe: The Eviction Experiences Of Latine Immigrant And Farmworker Tenants In Oregon, Natalie J. Cholula, Lisa K. Bates, Alex Farrington, Marisa Zapata, Jacen Greene, Azad Amir-Ghassemi, Colleen Carroll

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Latine immigrant households often face housing instability due to language barriers, immigration status, and limited access to government resources. Oregon farmworkers experience additional obstacles to safe and stable housing caused by low wages, a lack of affordable housing options, and social isolation. In light of the identified needs and lack of equitable access to resources that this group experiences, the Evicted in Oregon research team conducted focus groups with Latine immigrant and farmworker tenants in Multnomah, Washington, and Marion Counties. The aim was to gain insight into their experiences with eviction and understand how they navigated through evictions during the …

Path Instabilities And Drag In The Settling Of Single Spheres, Facundo Cabrera-Booman, Nicolas Plihon, Mickael Bourgoin

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The settling behavior of individual spheres in a quiescent fluid was studied experimentally. The dynamics of the spheres was analyzed in the parameter space of particle-to-fluid density ratio (Γ) and Galileo number (Ga), with Γ ∈ (1.1,7.9) and Ga ∈ (100,340). The experimental results showed for the first time that the mean trajectory angle with the vertical exhibits a complex behavior as Ga and Γ are varied. Numerically predicted regimes such as Vertical Periodic for low Γ values, and Planar Rotating for high Γ values were validated. In particular, for the denser spheres, a clear transition from planar to non-planar …

Barriers And Variable Spacing Enhance Convective Cooling And Increase Power Output In Solar Pv Plants, Brooke Stanislawski, Todd Harman, Raul Bayoan Cal, Marc Calaf

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

When the temperature of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules rises, efficiency drops and module degradation accelerates. Thus, it is beneficial to reduce module operating temperatures. Previous studies of solar power plants have illustrated that incoming flow characteristics, turbulent mixing, and array geometry can strongly impact convective cooling, as measured by the convective heat transfer coefficient h. In the fields of heat transfer and plant canopy flow, previous work has shown that system-scale arrangement modifications—e.g., variable spacing, barriers, or windbreaks—can passively alter the flow, enhance turbulent mixing, and influence convection. However, researchers have not yet explored how variable spacing or barriers …

Experimental And Modeled Assessment Of Interventions To Reduce Pm2.5 In A Residence During Awildfire Event, Chrissi Argyro Antonopoulos, H. E. Dillon, Elliott T. Gall

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Increasingly large and frequent wildfires affect air quality even indoors by emitting and dispersing fine/ultrafine particulate matter known to pose health risks to residents. With this health threat, we are working to help the building science community develop simplified tools that may be used to estimate impacts to large numbers of homes based on high-level housing characteristics. In addition to reviewing literature sources, we performed an experiment to evaluate interventions to mitigate degraded indoor air quality. We instrumented one residence for one week during an extreme wildfire event in the Pacific Northwest. Outdoor ambient concentrations of PM_2.5 reached historic …

Engaging With Nature And Work: Associations Among The Built And Natural Environment, Experiences Outside, And Job Engagement And Creativity, Rebecca M. Brossoit, Tori Crain, Jordyn J. Leslie, Gwenith G. Fisher, Aaron M. Eakman

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Introduction: There is substantial evidence that contact with nature is related to positive health and well-being outcomes, but extensions of this research to work-related outcomes is sparse. Some organizations are redesigning workspaces to incorporate nature and adopting nature-related policies, warranting a need for empirical studies that test the influence of nature on employee outcomes.

Methods: The present mixed-methods study tests and extends the biophilic work design model to examine associations among the built and natural environment at work and home, experiences of time spent outside (i.e., amount of time outside, enjoyment of time outside, outdoor activities), and motivational work outcomes …

Patient Perspectives On Chronic Rhinosinusitis In Cystic Fibrosis: Symptom Prioritization In The Era Of Highly Effective Modulator Therapy, Christine Liu, Ethan J. Han, Jakob L. Fischer, Jess C. Mace, Jose L. Mattos, Karolin Markarian, Jeremiah Alt, Todd Bodner, Naweed I. Chowdhury, Multiple Additional Authors

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is common in people with cystic fibrosis (PwCF). Rhinologic symptom prioritization and areas that influence CRS treatment choices, including pursuing endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS), remain understudied.

Methods

Adult PwCF + CRS were enrolled at eight centers into a prospective, observational study (2019–2023). Participants were administered the 22-SinoNasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) survey and a modified SNOT-22 instrument examining symptom importance. We determined importance rankings for individual symptoms and SNOT-22 symptom importance subdomains in two sets of subgroups—those pursuing ESS versus continuing medical management (CMT), and those on elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor (ETI) versus not on ETI.

Results

Among 69 participants, …

A Genus In The Bacterial Phylum Aquificota Appears To Be Endemic To Aotearoa-New Zealand, Jean F. Power, Carlo R. Carere, Holly E. Welford, Daniel T. Hudson, Kevin C. Lee, John W. Moreau, Anna-Louise Reysenbach, Thijs J.G. Ettema, Multiple Additional Authors

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Allopatric speciation has been difficult to examine among microorganisms, with prior reports of endemism restricted to sub-genus level taxa. Previous microbial community analysis via 16S rRNA gene sequencing of 925 geothermal springs from the Taupō Volcanic Zone (TVZ), Aotearoa-New Zealand, revealed widespread distribution and abundance of a single bacterial genus across 686 of these ecosystems (pH 1.2-9.6 and 17.4-99.8 °C). Here, we present evidence to suggest that this genus, Venenivibrio (phylum Aquificota), is endemic to Aotearoa-New Zealand. A specific environmental niche that increases habitat isolation was identified, with maximal read abundance of Venenivibrio occurring at pH 4-6, 50-70 °C, and …

Uncertainty Quantification Of Live Load Effect In Buried Rc Box Culverts, Mohd Firoj

Dissertations and Theses

Although buried and mostly invisible to the traveling public, bridge-sized culverts (i.e., culverts with span around or longer than 20 ft) account for a large proportion of state-managed bridges. As per Oregon Department of Transportation inventory, there are approximately 35,000 culverts in the state highway system. Among them, 10,862 are in poor conditions and need to be analyzed for load rating purposes. The prediction and understanding of live load effects in culverts are crucial to the design, evaluation, and life-cycle maintenance of culverts. These live load effects include maximum bending moments and shear forces at different critical cross sections.

This …

Oregon State Rank Assessment For Pit Roach (Hesperoleucus Mitrulus), Misty Nelson

Institute for Natural Resources Publications

Oregon state conservation status assessment for pit roach (Hesperoleucus mitrulus) using NatureServe methodology, 2023.

The Contested Exempla Of Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Victoria Theresa White

Dissertations and Theses

In 82 BCE, Lucius Cornelius Sulla emerged the victor of his civil war against the supporters of Marius and Cinna. The brutal aftermath of this victory, characterized by the creation of the proscriptions, would brand Sulla as a cruel and immoderate victor. Still, his successes in Rome’s previous wars against foreign enemies had enshrined Sulla as a brilliant military commander within Roman memory. Previous scholarship about Sulla has focused on the dichotomy of Sulla’s actions, often in order to evaluate his clemency or cruelty and his aims of his political reforms. This thesis analyzes how ancient Roman and Greek authors …