Digital Commons Network^™

Madwoman Makings: The Modern Girl As An Object Of Fear And Fascination In Unno Jūza’S "Mrs. Hirumi's Refrigeration Bag", Eliza Joy Mortimer

University Honors Theses

This thesis argues that Unno Jūza's 1937 short story "Mrs. Hirumi's Refrigeration Bag" uses the sensational tropes of deviant detective fiction to both stage and interrogate interwar Japanese anxieties around gender, science, and modernity. Focusing on the figure of Mrs. Hirumi—a scientifically empowered and sexually assertive female plastic surgeon who dismembers and cryogenically preserves her husband—the author reads her as a radical iteration of the Japanese Modern Girl character. By drawing on scholarship on deviant detective fiction, imperial modernity, and Kazue Harada's concept of (re)productivity, this thesis demonstrates how the short story both reproduces misogynistic criminological discourse and unsettles heteronormative …

How Does Communication Breakdown Impact Group Cohesion Over The Lifespan Of A Team?, Hannah Dyche

University Honors Theses

Communication is one of the main determinants of whether a team or group achieves a successful outcome; when it starts to erode, the team's overall goal often erodes with it. Communication breakdown within teams directly impacts group cohesion, causing small misunderstandings to escalate into larger conflicts. Every team experiences ups and downs, but maintaining a strong foundation of communication and continually strengthening it will prevent this breakdown.

Most of the existing research on team dynamics focuses on corporate environments. By shifting the focus to a short-term academic team, this thesis shows how communication breakdown impacts group cohesion over the lifespan …

Rewiring The Senses: Neural And Perceptual Adaptation Through Cultural Immersion In Chile, Alexa Castillo

University Honors Theses

This thesis explores how cultural immersion reshapes perception over time. Rather than focusing only on language acquisition, the project examines how sustained exposure to a new cultural and linguistic environment alters sensory processing, cognitive effort, and emotional experience. The study draws on cultural neuroscience and neuroplasticity research to frame immersion as a process of adaptive recalibration.

Over four weeks in Valparaíso, Chile, I documented daily changes in auditory processing, visual attention, emotional response, and social interpretation. Journal entries were analyzed using qualitative thematic coding and organized into five categories: language overload, cognitive effort, automaticity, anxiety/frustration, and belonging/comfort. Weekly intensity ratings …

Adolescent Math Anxiety: Teachers' Grouping Approach At The Intersection Of Multiple Student Identities, Dara Shifrer, Hannah Sean Ellefritz, David Hernandez-Saca, Allison Roda, Karla Santana Martinez

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Math anxiety represents a substantial barrier to many students’ math learning. In this paper, we apply interdisciplinary perspectives to data on over 13,200 ninth graders and their math teachers from the High School Longitudinal Study. Results suggest that being perceived as dis/abled relates to heightened math anxiety regardless of adolescents’ gender, or race and ethnicity. Our intersectional approach reveals that adolescents’ expressions of math anxiety do not always correspond with gender, racial, and ethnic stereotypes, with Black girls, Black boys, and Latine boys expressing relatively low levels of math anxiety. Finally, consistent with the principles of inclusion and universal design, …

Beyond Rationality: The Role Of Emotions In Communicative Planning, Minji Cho

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

The impact of emotional dynamics has been overlooked within the field of planning. Traditional communicative planning theory, rooted in Habermas’ model of communication, typically propose that emotions should be managed to facilitate rational discussions that lead to logical agreements. Conversely, some research contends that emotions are not illogical or hazardous elements to be restrained during deliberation; instead, they are a topic requiring thorough investigation to create improved public forums. We investigate this tension by analysing facework during a land-use dispute at at the Gongjin Elementary School site in Seoul, South Korea. Our analysis reveals that facework not only impedes the …

Black Women In Oregon Academia, Topanga Shakur-Freeman

PSU McNair Scholars Online Journal

Black women scholars are a powerful demographic of intellectuals navigating a haunted house of academia, a structure erected upon the bones of a grotesque past. Black women scholars navigate a complex and often hostile academic landscape, a realm marked by under representation and the insidious interplay of race and gender. Oregon, a state steeped in a sinister history of racial terror, casts a long shadow over its present. Its soil, contaminated by the blood of countless Black lives, serves as a fertile ground for the insidious growth of systemic racism. Until 1905, a malevolent decree barred Black individuals from even …

The Scope And Impact Of Walking The Talk For Dementia 2024, Sherril B. Gelmon, Kate Irving, Walter Dawson, Jonathan Adrián Zegarra-Valdivia, Lingani Mbakile-Mahlanza, Fernando Aguzzoli-Peres

Institute on Aging Publications

Walking the Talk for Dementia (WTD) is a global educational initiative integrating a walk along the Camino de Santiago with a symposium to combat dementia stigma, raise awareness, and foster inclusion.

The Multidimensional Online Civic Engagement For Youth (Moce-Y) Scale: Development And Validation, Yue Ni, G. John Geldhof, Kelly D. Chandler, Richard A. Settersten Jr

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Online civic engagement among young people may represent a form of positive youthdevelopment in digital spaces. However, its impacts on youth’s well-being remain unclear,partly due to a lack of validated measures that capture the unique features of the internetand incorporate youth voices. To address this gap, we developed and validated a scale ofmultidimensional online civic engagement for youth aged 15 to 25 years (MOCE-Y) using anexploratory sequential mixed-methods approach. Qualitative interviews with 12 youth sup-ported the multidimensional structure derived from literature, from which we developed aninitial 40-item scale. Exploratory (N ¼ 159) and confirmatory (N ¼ 244) factor analyses withtwo …

Thinking Otherwise With Children In Cities: A Storying Approach To Co-Researching With Children And Teachers, William A. Parnell, Sally Guyon

Leadership, Learning and Counseling Faculty Publications and Presentations

This Children in Cities research project examines an approach to storying research that foregrounds collaborative meaning-making between educators and young children in their city. Through exploring how educators and young children might “think otherwise” about teaching, learning, and participation with history, Place noticing and entanglements between humans, more-than-human, and non-humans, three stories and a metaphor surface in the data. Drawing on three stories, metaphor is employed as an analytic and integrative device to deepen interpretation of lived experiences. Central to the methodology is a democratic orientation that seeks to reduce hierarchical boundaries, engaging children aged 3–5 as co-researchers in the …

Cognitive And Economic Development, John Luke Gallup

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

A burgeoning literature has found that early childhood health conditions of individuals have large causal effects on their cognitive development, education and earnings. How much does early cognitive development contribute to the national economy? Although researchers have long studied the role of worker health for economic growth, they have not assessed the role of early cognitive development.

Cognitive ability is the foundation of human capital, affecting both educational attainment and economic growth. The risk factors for poor cognitive development are very high in many countries. Each risk factor also causes child mortality, making child survival a viable proxy for good …

Citizen Engagement In Budget Simulation: Examining The Effectiveness Of Balancing Act Modules In Aligning Public Priorities And Allocation Choices, Frankline Muthomi

Public Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study investigates the extent to which individuals exhibit consistency in their preferences during sequential budget simulation exercises, as well as the factors that shape these preferences. Grounded in behavioral and citizen participation frameworks, the analysis demonstrates that the simultaneous use of priority-setting and budget-balancing modules encourages participants to allocate resources in ways that reflect their previously articulated priorities. While instances of inconsistency remain common, preference consistency is associated with participants’ sustained support for their favored programs, their commitment to ensuring adequate resource allocation, and, to some extent, their willingness to finance these programs. The findings suggest that the integrated …

Annual Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes October 2025-June 2026, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Annual Compilations of the Faculty Senate Minutes (Minutes Only)

Meeting minutes and summaries of Faculty Senate actions for the academic year 2025-26.

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet January 2026, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The January 2026 monthly packet includes the agenda, appendices, and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments given in the meeting held January 5, 2026.

Political Elections In The New Wave Of Media: The Celebrification Of The Presidency, Camille B. Moore

Anthós

This article examines the impact of social media on journalism leading up to the 2024 United States presidential election and how expectations of candidates have changed. By exploring the degradation of discourse in news and how polarization and cognitive biases have intensified with the widespread adoption of social media, previous candidate conventions have begun to crumble. This has, and will continue to have, a large impact on voting and democracy in America, as scholars have noted since the beginning of the 2000’s, in examining a shift in news preferences as pop culture gains influence. This work further examines recent scholarship …

Chatbot Therapy - Help Or Hindrance, Kadi Rae Smith

Anthós

Introduction

Generative artificial intelligence (Gen-AI) chatbots are complex computer programs designed to mimic human conversations using programming that incorporates large language models (LLM) and natural language models (NLM) to simulate human interactions that are being rapidly integrated into everyday life across an increasing amount of online platforms. This article explores the applications and efficacy of chatbots for mental healthcare, from self-directed chatbot interactions to clinician-supervised implementation of chatbot-based therapeutic tools, weighing the benefits and limitations of this ever-expanding technology.

Methodology/Taxonomy

A literature review was conducted primarily using Web of Science, accessed through Portland State University, and Google Scholar, with specifications …

Into Me See: Visibility, Recognition, And The Need To Be Seen In Kazuo Ishiguro’S Never Let Me Go, Vicki L. Wine Carney

Anthós

While critical scholarship on Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go often emphasizes bioethics, transhumanism, and the commodification of life, this lens overlooks the novel’s profound engagement with the psychological necessity of visibility. This paper argues that the tragedy of the clones is fundamentally a crisis of recognition, where invisibility is not incidental but structurally produced to facilitate exploitation. Drawing on Caroline Levine’s concept of the "Form of Utility" and Axel Honneth’s Theory of Recognition, this study examines how systemic indoctrination and objectification deny the clones their innate humanity to soothe the conscience of the "normals." Furthermore, it analyzes the characters’ …

Letter From The Editor, Lilli B. Rudine

Anthós

No abstract provided.

Creating Community Through Walking The Talk For Dementia, Kate Irving, Fernando Aguzzoli Peres, Walter D. Dawson, Jonathan Adrián Zegarra-Valdivia, Lingani Mbakile-Mahlanza, Iracema Leroi, Sherril B. Gelmon

Institute on Aging Publications

Objectives

Creating community is not only therapeutic—it has been described as essential. This study explores a process of community-building among people with lived and professional experience in the dementia field, during Walking the Talk for Dementia (WTD), a week-long, immersive event on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Absence of community can lead to fragmented support for both people living with dementia and their care partners and for those working in the field. Achieving a sense of community, however, can be complex.

Methods

A qualitative evaluation was conducted with 79 participants from 27 countries, incorporating pre-, during and post-event reflections. …

Does The Internet Equalize Youth’S Civic Engagement? Examining Online And Offline Civic Engagement Among Adolescents And Young Adults, Yue Ni

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this study, I examined disparities in online and offline civic engagement among 400 youth aged 15-25 years (Mage = 20.9; SD = 3.1) by subjective socioeconomic status (SES), race/ethnicity, and immigrant status. Results indicated that patterns of disparities in online civic engagement largely mirrored those observed offline. SES was the most consistent predictor: Youth who perceived their families as more well-off reported higher participation across both online and offline civic activities. In contrast, no significant differences were found between white youth and youth of color. Foreign-born youth reported higher levels of civic engagement in online and several …

Personhood Amidst Process, Bennett B. Gilbert

History Faculty Publications and Presentations

Both process philosophy and key forms of philosophical personalism aim to harmonize the flux of reality, especially of organisms, with cosmic values and human meaningfulness. This is because both must face our mortality. This paper makes four suggestions for considering further the connection between these two approaches. First, that process philosophy can supply for personalism a thoroughly reasoned ground for nonreducible complexity. Second, that process thought borrows from personhood its model for cosmic creativity. Third, that both approaches share strong notions of the interdependence of all parts of a relational universe. And fourth, that they differ in respect of moral …

Heat Misers, Snow Misers, And Cognitive Misers: The 'Nukewarm' Perceptions Of Nuclear Power, Tyler Williams

Dissertations and Theses

Rising energy demand in the United States necessitates alternatives to fossil fuels, yet renewable energy sources alone are insufficient to meet this demand. Nuclear power presents a promising option but faces persistent public hesitancy. This study examines how heuristic-based biases relate to American's risk-benefit perceptions towards nuclear power. Guided by the heuristic-systematic model. Results indicate that competence and affect are related to risk-benefit perceptions, and naturalness shows no relationship with risk perceptions but does correlate with benefit perceptions. Implications highlight the importance of affect-driven communication strategies for nuclear communicators, while also underscoring the need for participatory approaches that foster trust …

The Hope Industrial Complex: Resisting Manufactured And False Hope With Critical Hope In Peace Education, Thailand's Refugee Context, Staci B. Martin, Hayso Thako, Rey Ty, Sudarat Tuntivivat, Rattanak Ly

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Our Point of Departure (POD) argues that the type of hope fostered within the Karen refugee community in Thailand – manufactured, false, or critical – shapes the impact of peace-building and higher education efforts. Through a dialogue among a Karen scholar, his supervisor, and a migration researcher, we demonstrate that manufactured hope, often driven by external aid, sustains dependency and overlooks core conflicts. In contrast, false hope arises from the gap between student desires and institutional barriers, leading to unmet expectations. We aim to show that by applying critical hope, the pedagogical approach enables the Karen community to enhance its …

Women's Social Roles And Alcohol Use Among Military-Connected Spouses, Sheila Kathleen Mccabe Nickerson

Dissertations and Theses

Increases in women's alcohol use are an intensifying public health problem in the United States, contributing to a hidden epidemic of alcohol-related mortality. Women's alcohol consumption is often not openly discussed or recognized due to social stigma, the perception that women drink less than men, and the fact that women can experience negative health consequences from lower levels of alcohol consumption (relative to men), making the issue less visible than it actually is. A range of factors potentially influence women's drinking, including social roles (i.e., mother); yet, the literature is varied as to whether the combination of multiple-role demands/expectations fosters …

"I Like The Idea In Theory": Experiencing The Imperial Matrix Through Legal Gender Marker Changes And Nonbinary Disidentifications, Wynn Strange

Dissertations and Theses

Since 2018 twenty-two states and the District of Columbia have implemented administrative changes that provide a third gender option on at least one state identification document allowing nonbinary and intersex people the opportunity to select a gender marker that reflects their gender identity. This study draws from 28 interviews with agender or otherwise nonbinary people living in Maryland and California. I use queer of color and critical trans theory to consider the implications of legal gender marker changes. This research explores how social, historical, and geographical location can influence ones' awareness of, experiences with, and relation to real and imagined …

Mitigating Risk Of Premature Ovarian Insufficiency Using Adjunct Chinese Herbal Medicines: A Nested Patient-Control Study In Female Cancer Patients With Chemotherapy, Tzu-Ning Tseng, Hou-Hsun Liao, Hanoch Livneh, Ming-Chi Lu, Szu-Chin Li, Tzung-Yi Tsai

Leadership, Learning and Counseling Faculty Publications and Presentations

Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is a common late effect of chemotherapy among survivors of adolescent and young-adult cancer (AYAC). Given on the widespread use of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) in restoring individual health, we performed a cohort-based nested patient-control study with the aim of exploring the effect of blending CHM into routine care on the reduction of chemotherapy-induced POIrisk among females with AYAC.

More Than Just A Criminal: Talking Back As A Critical Autoethnographic Journey, Anakin Rivera Ramirez

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article explores the experiences of doctoral students with criminal records navigating higher education, using a critical theoretical framework to highlight the unique challenges and triumphs I faced. Drawing upon decoloniality and critical race theory perspectives and activism, I define my critical scholarship as challenging the dominant oppression through thoughts and actions. Through autoethnographic and self-reflective narratives, I reflect on how my lived experiences as a Latino who has experienced criminalization. I have shaped my academic pursuits and critical consciousness. The autoethnography discusses systemic barriers such as stigma, discrimination, and institutional biases, showing how these obstacles have informed the author’s …

Demystifying The Plea Process: Investigating Attorney Communications And Client Misconceptions, M. M. Wilford, R. J. Difava, K. S. Henderson

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective: to study issues related to the lawyer and client interaction regarding building a legal position on the case and the plea process.Methods: the article uses the universal dialectical method of cognition, as well as general (analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction) and specific scientific research methods (formal-legal method).Results: As the United States has shifted to “a system of pleas,” the role of defense attorneys has swung from trial litigator to plea negotiator. The study results indicated that defense attorneys spend a significant amount of time meeting with clients. Attorneys also cited substantial deficits in criminal defendants’ knowledge of the legal system, …

The Power Of Positive Lesbian Representation In Television: How It Affects The Well-Being And Identity Formation Of Lgbtq+ Adults, Brittany Berry

University Honors Theses

To date, there are no studies which explore the effects that positively represented Black and lesbian characters in television have on LGBTQ viewers. Exposure to LGBTQ characters has the potential to validate LGBTQ identities and improve well-being. A comprehensive literature review and quantitative analysis using Żerebecki et. al.'s codebook reveals there are simply not enough characters depicted to provide such research. In an attempt to demonstrate the qualities possessed by positively portrayed Black, lesbian characters, this study analyses Taissa Turner from the hit series Yellowjackets available on the streaming network Paramount+.

Human Evil (In The Weird), Lucas Ethridge

University Honors Theses

This paper examines a trending doom in speculative fiction: the post-human age. Many modern works have started to look past human civilization as humans surrender all hope and faith in a climate-doomed world. Honing in on core concepts in Weird fiction, this paper explores human merit through Old and New Weird. A good part spends time establishing the canon, looking at similar patterns across age, philosophy, war and genre. The chief question asks if humankind was ever worth saving.

The Social Side Of Aging In Place: Community, Belonging, And Cultural Fit, Michael Crespo

University Honors Theses

Aging in place, or the capacity of older adults to remain in their homes and communities as they age has been a central tenet of the field of gerontology and the gerontological social policy area. Although access to physical facilities and service provision has been the main focus of traditional studies, contemporary experience demonstrates that social and cultural issues are equally important as determinants of the quality of life. This thesis discusses the influence of social networks, cultural congruence, and community belonging on the aging in place experience. The content of the study is based on the Ecological Model of …