Digital Commons Network^™

Campus Sexual Assault: How Oregon University System Schools Respond, Michael William Murphy

Dissertations and Theses

College is usually thought of as a time where students, often living alone for their first time, are encouraged towards healthy risk-taking behavior, as well as social, intellectual, and vocational development. Unfortunately for female students, college becomes the time of their lives where they are exposed to the highest risk of sexual victimization. Many colleges across America have taken steps to address the significant problem of sexual assault on their campuses. However, even with rising concern about the sexual victimization of college students, there remains very little systematic information published about the content of sexual assault policies, protocols and programs …

Runaway And Homeless Youth: Changing The Discourse By Legitimizing Youth Voice, Donald Dale Schweitzer

Dissertations and Theses

Undoubtedly, runaway and homeless youth (RHY) are one of the most vulnerable, yet underserved groups in our country. Well-meaning advocates have developed programs and services in an attempt to remedy this, yet there is little evidence of their effectiveness. Moreover, according to the research literature, a low utilization rate of current services by youth is a major concern. From a constructivist theoretical position, this study posits that the missing element is youth voice and the researcher hired formerly homeless youth to conduct the analysis of focus group data gathered from RHY who were participating in a range of services funded …

Self-Efficacy And Drinking With Friends: An Investigation Into The Drinking Behaviors Of Japanese College Students, Staci Jean Wendt

Dissertations and Theses

Recent studies have documented an alarming rate of alcohol use in Japan (Eisenback-Stangl et al., 2005; Milne, 2003; Shimizu, 2000). Indeed, permissive social and cultural norms for alcohol use exist within Japanese culture (Shimizu, 1990, 2000). Japanese college-students may be at further risk due to their developmental time period, where increases in alcohol use are typically seen. Furthermore, drinking habits formed during this time period may be difficult to alter later in life (Frone, 2003). Thus, social, developmental, and cultural factors exist to influence drinking among Japanese college students. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the drinking …

Marginalized Characters In Contemporary American Short Fiction, Timur Shishkin

Dissertations and Theses

The focus of the present research work is the contemporary American short stories that bring up issues of compulsory norm and the conflict between marginalized characters and their environment. This research was based on those short stories that seemed to represent the idea of being "different" in the most complex and multilayered way, and its goal was to unfold new aspects of the conflict between "normal" and "abnormal"/"different". Variations of norm as well as diversity within the marginalized raise a number of questions about the reasons for their inability to coexist peacefully. The close reading and the analysis of the …

Chinese Merchants And Race Relations In Astoria, Oregon, 1882 - 1924, Aaron Daniel Coe

Dissertations and Theses

A large wave of Chinese immigrants came to the United States in the second half of the nineteenth century. Employment, mainly in the salmon-canning industry, drew thousands of them to coastal Astoria, Oregon. Taking the period between the first Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 and the Immigration Act of 1924, this thesis focuses on the Chinese merchants in Astoria and their importance for our understanding of race relations in the town during these years. Specifically, the merchants help to make sense of how the Chinese related to the local white population, as different sources suggest different trends of amiability and …

"Outing" Queer Issues In Teacher Preparation Programs: How Pre-Service Teachers Experience Sexual And Gender Diversity In Their Field Placements, Olivia Jo Murray

Dissertations and Theses

Currently in the United States there are more than 4 million lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students in K-12 public schools (Bochenek, Brown, & Human Rights Watch, 2001). Despite the prevalence of LGBT youth and the diversification of family populations, teacher preparation programs rarely acknowledge "queer" aspects of multiculturalism (Letts, 2002). As a result, a majority of K-12 educators enter the field of teaching unwilling and/or unprepared to engage with queer issues as they relate to students and families, curriculum, and instruction. The culture of silence around homosexuality can put queer youth at risk and deter school stakeholders from …

Dainty Hands: Perceptions Of Women And Crime In Sherlock Holmes Stories, Hadar Aviram

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Sensory Discrimination Testing With Children, Karen Melissa Garcia

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Literature concerning children’s performance in sensory discrimination methods is not as extensively published as performance with adults. Therefore, in this dissertation children’s performance in discrimination methods was investigated. First, performance in the triangle and 3-AFC methods was explored with children 6 to 12 years old. The paradox of discriminatory non-discriminators states that the proportion of correct responses in the 3-AFC method will be higher than that of the triangle. However, Thurstonian theory predicts that despite the difference in proportions of correct responses the degree of difference between the stimuli will be similar. The paradox and the Thurstonian predictions were challenged …

Discrete Element Modeling Of Cone Penetration In Jsc-1a Lunar Regolith Simulant, Mehmet Burak Cil

LSU Master's Theses

NASA plans to return back to the Moon for a long term presence and use of the Moon as a launch station for further space exploration to other planets. This scenario increases the importance of determining the geotechnical properties of the lunar surface. However, due to the limited availability of lunar regolith and its high scientific value, a simulant material which closely matches the composition and grain size distribution and other characteristics of the lunar regolith has become an indispensable need to benefit in hardware development as well as estimating lunar regolith properties. Therefore, JSC-1A lunar regolith simulant, which was …

Learning And Teaching Conducting Through Musical And Non-Musical Skills: An Evaluation Of Orchestral Conducting Teaching Methods, Jose Mauricio Valle Brandao

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The current state of conducting as an academic and professional pursuit shows a plethora of conventional traditions and techniques that are accepted without question, but a dearth of ideas and approaches that will develop the skills essential to producing an effective conductor. This profile is especially apparent in the field‘s literature. This monograph will compile a list of these titles and annotate each one, in order to determine the common threads that run between them. This information will be distilled into categories, identifying levels of approach and target audience. Evaluation of these data may lead to a discovery that many …

Regulation Of Gene Expression By Chromatin Boundary Elements, Richard Alton Kleinschmidt

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Boundary elements consisting of barriers and insulators are genomic sequence elements that along with their associated DNA-binding proteins block the spread of heterochromatin into euchromatic regions or prevent the targeted activation of promoters from distal/proximal enhancers, respectively. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the deletion of RPD3, a histone deacetylase, results in an extended SIR protein-mediated silencing effect bypassing a tRNAthr barrier element adjacent to the cryptic mating locus, HMRa. We mutagenized rpd3Δ strains and identified suppressor mutants through a genetic screen that no longer displayed this enhanced silencing effect. Our results identified BRE1 and BRE2, which are either directly or indirectly responsible …

Eight Is Not Enough: A Historical, Cultural, And Philosophical Analysis Of The Flash Mob, Rebecca Walker

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In 2003, writer and cultural critic Bill Wasik stunned the world with his newest experiment, the MOB Project, which flooded the streets of New York City with strange performances quickly labeled “flash mobs” by participants and local media. With the goal of understanding the communicative purpose and function of these new performance events, this project analyzes the flash mob through the lenses of performance studies, rhetorical studies, cultural studies, and continental philosophy. Drawing from genealogical research, rhetorical analyses, and critical philosophy, I argue the flash mob is a new form of performance serving as a locus of community, creativity, and …

Simulation Of Cell Seeding And Retention In A Disordered Polymeric Scaffold, Tejaswini Narayana

LSU Master's Theses

Historically, bone repair has been performed using materials like metals, ceramics, cements and bioactive glass. The major problem with all these materials is that they do not perform the necessary non-structural functions of bone. Engineered tissue, created by growing bone cells on porous biodegradable material (scaffold), will address this issue with current bone repair techniques. Improving engineered tissue treatments requires a thorough understanding of factors affecting cell seeding and proliferation inside a disordered porous material which is not feasible using current experimental techniques. A model for particle transport in a disordered porous material that can predict the particle deposition pattern …

From "Courtesy Of The Red, White, And Blue" To "If You're Reading This": Patriotic Themes In Country Music Between 2000-2010, Claire S. Carville

LSU Master's Theses

Music plays an important role in the lives of individuals and often reflects important societal values. Music can also serve as an important reflection of the public’s current opinion at a given point in time. Patriotism is a feeling of love for one’s homeland and has often been the subject matter of music lyrics throughout history. In particular, country music has been perceived as being an especially patriotic genre of music. This thesis utilized quantitative and qualitative content analyses as the methods to examine the patriotic content of country music lyrics over the past decade. The sample was adapted from …

Criminal Justice Policy Research Institute Newsletter, Portland State University. Criminal Justice Policy Research Institute

Criminal Justice Policy Research Institute Newsletters

Newsletter provides information on:

• Latest research results
• Projects and studies underway
• Research awards and distinctions
• Recent research publications

Controlling Health Care Costs Through Public, Transparent Processes: The Conflict Between The Morally Right And The Socially Feasible, David Orentlicher

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Community Newspapers Play Significant Role In Election, Lee Shaker

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article compares coverage of the 2007 Philadelphia mayoral campaign in the city's major daily and community newspapers. The findings show that community newspapers serve as a complement to the dailies but also prove to be sources of campaign information in their own right.

Shaming Trademark Bullies, Leah Chan Grinvald

Scholarly Works

In September 2009, Hansen Beverage Company sent Rock Art Brewery a letter demanding that Rock Art cease and desist its use of “VERMONSTER” as a trademark for beer. Hansen is a multi-million dollar beverage corporation and Rock Art Brewery is a small brewing company owned by a husband-and-wife team based in Vermont. Hansen’s gravamen was that Rock Art’s “VERMONSTER” beer allegedly infringed on Hansen’s “MONSTER ENGERY” trademarks. Instead of capitulating, Rock Art Brewery fought back, taking to the virtual streets of the internet and galvanized public sentiment against Hansen’s. The end result was an amicable settlement agreement that allowed Rock …

A Dosing Study Of Bone Marrow Mononuclear Cells For Transendocardial Injection In A Pig Model Of Chronic Ischemic Heart Disease, Guilherme V Silva, Marlos R Fernandes, Cristiano O Cardoso, Ricardo R Sanz, Edie M Oliveira, Pilar Jimenez-Quevedo, Javier Lopez, Franca S Angeli, Yi Zheng, James T Willerson, Emerson C Perin

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

We studied the effect of the dose of bone marrow mononuclear cells, delivered via transendocardial injection, upon capillary density and fibrosis in pigs with chronic ischemic heart disease.

Pigs (n = 16) that had undergone ameroid constrictor placement (left circumflex coronary artery) to induce chronic ischemia were divided equally into 4 groups on the basis of bone marrow mononuclear cell dose: control (saline injection) and 50, 100, or 200 × 106 bone marrow mononuclear cells. Thirty days after ameroid placement, each pig received 13 transendocardial NOGA-guided injections. An implantable loop recorder monitored possible arrhythmias caused by cell transplantation. Thirty days …

Micro-Ultrasonographic Imaging Of Atherosclerotic Progression And Correlation With Inflammatory Markers In Apolipoprotein-E Knockout Mice, Rong-Juan Li, Ya Yang, Yan-Hong Wang, Jin-Jie Xie, Li Song, Zheng Wang, Yao-Zhong Zhang, Yan-Wen Qin, Zhi-An Li, Xiao-Shan Zhang

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

We studied prospectively whether atherosclerotic progression in apolipoprotein-E knockout mice could be noninvasively and accurately measured by use of high-resolution ultrasonographic biomicroscopy. We examined the correlation between the ultrasonographic characterization of ascending aortic atherosclerotic plaque and plasma C-reactive protein, interleukin-1, and interleukin-6 levels in these mice.

In 4 age groups (8, 16, 24, and 32 wk) of 8 male knockout mice each (atherosclerotic groups) and age-matched male C57BL/6 mice (control groups), we used ultrasonographic biomicroscopy to measure maximal plaque thickness or intima-media thickness in the ascending aorta. We compared the findings with corresponding histologic measurements, and we measured plasma C-reactive …

Cardiac Surgery: A Century Of Progress, Allen B Weisse

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Well into the first decades of the 20th century, medical opinion held that any surgical attempts to treat heart disease were not only misguided, but unethical. Despite such reservations, innovative surgeons showed that heart wounds could be successfully repaired. Then, extracardiac procedures were performed to correct patent ductus arteriosus, coarctation of the aorta, and tetralogy of Fallot. Direct surgery on the heart was accomplished with closed commissurotomy for mitral stenosis. The introduction of the heart-lung machine and cardiopulmonary bypass enabled the surgical treatment of other congenital and acquired heart diseases. Advances in aortic surgery paralleled these successes. The development of …

Nafta, Cafta And The Environment: The Role Of Institutions, Sherrie Baver

Publications and Research

This essay examines the institutionalization of environmental concerns, primarily focusing on NAFTA, and argues that the 1994 agreement should be seen as a positive first attempt to raise the profile of environmental concerns within discussions of expanding global trade. More specifically, NAFTA and subsequent U.S. FTAs have contributed to the growth of procedural environmental rights that have the potential to deepen democracy in the wider political system. Given that free trade agreements represent the U.S. approach to world trade at present, this paper takes the practical position that building on NAFTA’s foundation, opportunities exist to continue promoting environmental sustainability within …

Política Del Lenguaje Y Geopolítica: España, La Rae Y La Población Latina De Estados Unidos, José Del Valle

Publications and Research

The status of Spanish in the US is discussed through a focus on the coexistence of monoglossic and heteroglossic ideologies as well as on the institutionalized discourses on Spanish in the US.

Review Of Branded To Kill, Michael Adams

Publications and Research

Review of Seijun Suzuki's 1967 crime film.

Review Of Zazie Dans Le Metro, Michael Adams

Publications and Research

Review of Louis Malle's 1960 French New Wave film.

Review Of The Killing, Michael Adams

Publications and Research

Review of Stanley Kubrick's The Killing: http://www.media-party.com/discland/2011/10/the-killing-blu-ray.html

Review Of Last Tango In Paris, Michael Adams

Publications and Research

Review of Bernardo Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris: http://www.media-party.com/discland/2011/03/last-tango-in-paris-blu-ray.html

Review Of Lolita, Michael Adams

Publications and Research

Review of Stanley Kubrick's Lolita: http://www.media-party.com/discland/2011/06/lolita-1962-blu-ray.html

U.S. Bilateral Trade With Its Major Trading Partners And Russia, Valentina Belousova

Agribusiness and Applied Economics

This study examines U.S. exports and imports to/from its major 15 trading partners and Russia. To analyze U.S. export and import flows the gravity model approach is used. Factors affecting U.S. bilateral trade flows with its 16 trading countries are evaluated using Generalized Method of Moments (GMM). Annual data from 2000 to 2009 are used for this study. Goods traded between the U.S. and its trading partners are disaggregated into three groups based on the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC). Results show that major factors affecting both U.S. export and import flows are distance and change in polity score. Also …

The Effect Of Food Safety And Quality On The Consumption And Price Of Meat In Beijing, China, Xia Shang

Agribusiness and Applied Economics

China's economic success has helped it become one of the largest markets in the world. As a result, the demand for agricultural commodities in China has experienced a significant increase. Increasingly affluent Chinese people are paying increasing attention to food safety and quality instead of just quantity. Understanding how meat demands and prices are related to food safety and quality in Beijing will provide guidance for industry and policymakers interested in the Chinese meat market. The purpose of this study is to develop two models to analyze meat demand and prices associated with food safety and quality respectively. First, An …