Digital Commons Network^™

The Evolution Of Altruism: Game Theory In Multilevel Selection And Inclusive Fitness, Jeffrey Fletcher, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

Although the prisoner's dilemma (PD) has been used extensively to study reciprocal altruism, here we show that the n-player prisoner's dilemma (NPD) is also central to two other prominent theories of the evolution of altruism: inclusive fitness and multilevel selection. An NPD model captures the essential factors for the evolution of altruism directly in its parameters and integrates important aspects of these two theories such as Hamilton's rule, Simpson's paradox, and the Price covariance equation. The model also suggests a simple interpretation of the Price selection decomposition and an alternative decomposition that is symmetrical and complementary to it. In some …

Spinoza And Gödel: Causa Sui And Undecidable Truth, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

Spinoza distinguishes between causation that is external, as in A causing B where A is external to B, and causation that is internal, where C causes itself (causa sui), without any involvement of anything external to C. External causation is easy to understand, but self-causation is not. This note explores an approach to self-causation based upon Gödelian undecidability and draws upon ideas from an earlier study of Gödel’s proof and the quantum measurement problem (Zwick, 1978).

No Law: Deadwood And The State, Mark L. Berrettini

School of Film Faculty Publications and Presentations

Deadwood's final episode of season 3 opens with a monologue from theater operator Jack Langrishe (Brian Cox), a relative newcomer to the camp of Deadwood. Shown in a wide shot that spotlights him on the dark stage of his nascent theater, Langrishe ostensibly speaks to one of his companions, the actress Claudia (Cynthia Ettinger), shown in one medium reverse-shot. Yet Langrishe also speaks and performs beyond the theater to the residents of Deadwood and to the program's viewers extradiagetically as he sums up the tense state of affairs within the camp: This camp is in mortal danger. The man Hearst …

Review Of The Book : Bibliographies Of Mongolian, Manchu-Tungus, And Tibetan Dictionaries, Thomas W. Larsen

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

A review of the book Bibliographies of Mongolian, Manchu-Tungus, and Tibetan Dictionaries, compiled by Larry V. Clark, John R. Krueger, Manfred Taube, Hartmut Walravens, Michael Walter. (Orientalistik Bibliographien und Dokumentationen 20) Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. 2006. 238pp. ISBN 978-3-447-05240-5

Preserving Cultural Collections In The West, Kristen Kern

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

A critically needed preservation project — WESTPAS, Western States and Territories Preservation Assistance Service — is being instituted to address the unique circumstances of the Western and Pacific United States. To describe the project and its goals, the originators of the project were interviewed — Barclay Ogden, Head of the Preservation Department from the University of California, Berkeley and Julie Page, WESTPAS User Services Coordinator and former Head of Preservation at the University of California, San Diego.

University Studies Annual Assessment 2006-2007, Portland State University. University Studies Program

University Studies Annual Assessment Reports

Annual in-depth examination and assessment of Portland State University's general education model, the University Studies Program. The tools and methods used to assess student learning are faculty driven and developed.

Cyberpunk Cities: Science Fiction Meets Urban Theory, Carl Abbott

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

The science fiction subgenre of cyberpunk developed in the 1980s and 1990s with a strong interest in urban settings. A reading of important cyberpunk novels shows the way in which the ideas of formal urban theory, such as the idea of global cities, cities as communication systems, and the Los Angeles school of urban studies, have been incorporated into this facet of popular culture. The analysis suggests that science fiction can help planners to understand the influence of a range of social theories on public understanding of planning issues.

A People's Plan For Overcoming The Hurricane Katrina Blues: A Comprehensive Strategy For Building A More Vibrant, Sustainable, And Equitable 9th Ward, Richard Hayes, Ken Reardon, Lisa K. Bates

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Peoples’ Plan is a strategic action plan for the recovery of the 9th Ward. We’ve created it based on conversations with residents – some struggling to return home, others intent on remaining in a neighborhood that has always been there own. The Peoples’ Plan provides a thorough assessment of what must be done to provide recovery in one of the hardest hit areas of the City, and provides a recovery model for all badly flooded areas. Our Plan seeks to transform the 9th Ward as it is rebuilt. The proposed transformation will be resident-driven and will provide improved employment …

Focal Point, Volume 21 Number 01, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

Research and Training Center - Focal Point

This Focal Point issue focuses on child traumatic stress, particularly as experienced by children involved in the child welfare system. The causes and effects of traumatic stress are discussed, as are evidence-based treatments, and prevention strategies.

Recent Publications

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

No abstract provided.

Words And Worlds: Irony Makes Literary Creations, Alastair Goff

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

In this paper I take up anew the suggestion recurrent in the work of Kierkegaard and Lukács, among others, that literature is fundamentally ironic. Literary creations, I argue, are ironic because they convey the real world, even though the worldhood of this world is ineffable. In creating a world from words in a novel or poem, the author confronts his or her own skepticism about the possibilities of written expression. Literary creations are only completed when the reader is able to engage with the world of words that is constituted in the work, and to realize that what is said …

Architecture Vs. Art: The Aesthetics Of Art Museum Design[1], Larry Shiner

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

Many art critics have complained that the most dramatic art museum designs of the last decade have upstaged or interfered with the art within. This essay examines eight contemporary cases before drawing some lessons for art museum design, and ends by setting the architecture vs. art problem in the context of the philosophy of architecture, focusing on the issues of function and symbolism.

Cockroaches, Or Worlds As Images, Nathalie Blanc

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

The cockroach is an insect of tropical origin whose presence in urban space draws our attention to the fact that the city is not only an artificial and controlled universe but also a porous one because of the interstices through which the animals slip. This article analyzes the role of animals in cities, and more particularly of the cockroach, in the city dweller's imagination and in the construction of an aesthetic experience of urban life. Imagination, metaphor, and domestication are the clues to understanding a sharp, active thought of the lived environment. One will thus approach the place of aesthetics …

Poetics And Maieutics: Literature And Tacit Knowledge Of Emotions, Stefán Snaevarr

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

The theme of this paper is the idea that imaginative literature can disclose our tacit knowledge of emotions. It this does with the aid of such devices as metaphors and similes. The kind of insight we get thanks to the disclosive power of literature is akin to that which Kjell S. Johannessen has called 'knowledge by familiarity,' Frank Palmer 'knowing what' and Charles Taylor implicitly 'the result of articulation.' I defend the theory that at least some important emotions cannot be understood (or even exist) outside of behavioral contexts and that this understanding is mainly tacit. I try to show …

Artist's Labor, Derek Whitehead

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

This essay explores the relations between perception, phenomenology and art practice. The object of my inquiry is the kind of perceptual repertoire available to the artist in relation to his art, which extends beyond the technical means available to art making in its varying forms. I invoke an artist's innate perception as the source and locus of art's creation. This creation of art also has an outward or phenomenological dimension. In this respect, I investigate the ways in which phenomenological perception, via Maurice Merleau-Ponty's hermeneutic insights into artistic activity, might offer to contemporary arts practice a means of reappraising its …

Same-Sex Relationships And State Constitutional Analysis, Joseph R. Grodin

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Challenges In Law Making In Mass Societies, Geoffrey C. Hazard Jr.

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Customary International Law And The Question Of Legitimacy, William S. Dodge

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Pleading Standards After Bell Atlantic Corp. V. Twombly, Scott Dodson

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Using Building Energy Simulation And Geospatial Modeling Techniques In Determine High Resolution Building Sector Energy Consumption Profiles, Shem C. Heiple

Dissertations and Theses

A technique is presented for estimating hourly and seasonal energy consumption profiles in the building sector at spatial scales down to the individual taxlot or parcel. The method combines annual building energy simulations for cityspecific prototypical buildings and commonly available geospatial data in a Geographical Information System (GIS) framework. Hourly results can be extracted for any day and exported as a raster output at spatial scales as fine as an individual parcel (

Law Firms As Defendants: Family Responsibilities Discrimination In Legal Workplaces, Joan C. Williams, Stephanie Bornstein, Diana Reddy, Betsy A. Williams

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Politics Of Time In The Legal Profession, Joan C. Williams

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Enviromental Enforcement Solutions: How Collaborative Seps Enhance Community Benefits, National Policy Consensus Center

National Policy Consensus Center Publications

In March 2006, the National Policy Consensus Center (NPCC) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) co-hosted a multi-stakeholder Colloquium to consider whether collaborative approaches would allow Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) to leverage environmental, public health, economic, and social benefits for communities affected by environmental law violations. A SEP is an environmentally beneficial project that a violator voluntarily agrees to perform, in addition to actions required to correct the violation(s), as part of an enforcement settlement.

Colloquium participants explored the benefits of expanding the SEP process to incorporate multisector, community-based collaborations in the selection, design, and/or implementation of …

Development And Implementation Of The Bring Your Own Water Treatment System In Dense, Rural, And Mountainous Rwandan Communities, Maximilian Gold, Evan A. Thomas, Richard L. Byyny, Jean Pierre Habanabakize

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Over a billion people in the world lack access to safe drinking water1. While numerous technological, medical, and educational solutions have been implemented for the benefit of disadvantaged communities, there is no 'magic bullet'. Instead, development agencies must partner directly with these communities to address their public health needs through appropriate technology solutions, backed up by education and assessment. The "Bring Your Own Water (BYOW) Treatment System" developed by the Engineers Without Borders-USA chapters at the University of Colorado at Boulder Chapter (EWB-CU) and the Johnson Space Center (EWB-JSC) is uniquely designed to address the water treatment requirements of two …

Evaluation Of Immune Response To Hepatitis B Vaccine In Health Care Workers At A Tertiary Care Hospital In Pakistan: An Observational Prospective Study, Mohammad Zeeshan, Kauser Jabeen, Anita Nausheen Akbar Ali, Ailia Wilayat Ali, Saadia Z Farooqui, Vikram Mehraj, Afia Zafar

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background: Seroconversion rates reported after Hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination globally ranges from 85–90%. Health care workers (HCWs) are at high risk of acquiring HBV and non responders' rates after HBV vaccination were not reported previously in Pakistani HCWs. Therefore we evaluated immune response to HBV vaccine in HCWs at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan.
Methods: Descriptive observational study conducted at Aga Khan University from April 2003 to July 2004. Newly HBV vaccinated HCWs were evaluated for immune response by measuring serum Hepatitis B surface antibody (HBsAb) levels, 6 weeks post vaccination.
Results: Initially 666 employees were included …

Antimicrobial Resistance In Neisseria Gonorrhoeae And Limited Treatment Options, Afia Zafar, Kauser Jabeen

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

No abstract provided.

Nclb Data-Driven Reform Movement: Contextualizing Data, Ramin Farahmandpur

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Commentary on the article of Rosita L. Rivera Rodriguez, Leaving most Latino children behind: No Child Left Behind legislation, testing, and the misuse of data under George Bush administration, DataCrítica: International Journal of Critical Statistics, Vol 1, No 1 (2007). Rivera‐Rodriguez raises a series of important concerns for educators as it applies to the deleterious effects of educational policy in marginalized communities, such as the Latino population. To better understand the arguments the author places the No Child Left Behind Legislation (NCLB) within its broader context.

The Teach Act: Recognizing Its Challenges And Overcoming Its Limitations, Oren R. Griffin, Stephana I. Colbert

Articles, Chapters in Books and Other Contributions to Scholarly Works

Technological advancements centered on the Internet, distance education, and digitally transmitted information have created tremendous opportunities for educational institutions. Congress enacted the Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act (TEACH Act) to exploit these opportunities and provide educators with an important tool to take advantage of the information super-highway. While the Congressional intent of the Act has merit, its provisions arguably create troubling obligations and potential liability for colleges and universities. This article discusses challenges presented by the TEACH Act and proposes modifications intended to address some of the most troubling aspects of the Act.

Confronting The Evolving Safety And Security Challenge At Colleges And Universities, Oren R. Griffin

Articles, Chapters in Books and Other Contributions to Scholarly Works

Colleges and universities have long been scrutinized and confronted with lawsuits regarding safety and security measures designed and implemented to protect students and prevent dangerous incidents on campus. Under the doctrine of in loco parentis, college administrators assume responsibility for the physical safety and well-being of students as they matriculate through their academic programs. However, in recent decades, the realization that university communities are not immune to criminal activity has led to federal legislation and judicial opinions that have attempted to identify what legal duty colleges and universities have to prevent security breaches. Moreover, college and university administrators have looked …

The Constitution As Idea: Describing - Defining - Deciding In Kelo, Marc L. Roark

Articles, Chapters in Books and Other Contributions to Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.