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2011

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Elemental And Isotopic Measurements On Palladium After Heavy Water Electrolysis, Mathieu Jean Valat Jan 2011

Elemental And Isotopic Measurements On Palladium After Heavy Water Electrolysis, Mathieu Jean Valat

Dissertations and Theses

This study gives the details about several experiments done in Eugene Mallove Laboratory for New Energy Research. Three experiments are presented and discussed in detail with different type of microscopes and mass spectrometry techniques. Also inspired by work done by Rolison and O'Grady [1], the other part of this study presents the variation of isotopic abundance after experiments on palladium cathode immersed in a heavy water electrolyte. This original inspiring paper has been published through proceedings of the first edition of International Conference on Cold Fusion held in Washington D.C. in 1989. In other words, both works provides similar evidence …

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Numerical Modeling And Analyses Of Steel Bridge Gusset Plate Connections, Thomas Sidney Kay Jan 2011

Numerical Modeling And Analyses Of Steel Bridge Gusset Plate Connections, Thomas Sidney Kay

Dissertations and Theses

Gusset plate connections are commonly used in steel truss bridges to connect individual members together at a node. Many of these bridges are classified as non-load-path-redundant bridges, meaning a failure of a single truss member or connection could lead to collapse. Current gusset plated design philosophy is based upon experimental work from simplified, small-scale connections which are seldom representative of bridge connections. This makes development of a refined methodology for conducting high-fidelity strength capacity evaluations for existing bridge connections a highly desirable goal. The primary goal of this research effort is to develop an analytical model capable of evaluating gusset …

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Exploring Traffic Safety And Urban Form In Portland, Oregon, Kristie Werner Gladhill Jan 2011

Exploring Traffic Safety And Urban Form In Portland, Oregon, Kristie Werner Gladhill

Dissertations and Theses

Street layout and design, once established, are then not easily changed. Urban form affects community development, livability, sustainability, and traffic safety. There has been an assumed relationship between urban form and traffic safety that favors designs with less through streets to improve safety. An empirical study to test this assumed relationship was carried out for crash data for Portland, Oregon. This thesis presents an empirical methodology for analyzing the relationship between urban form and traffic safety utilizing a uniform grid for the spatial unit. Crashes in the Portland, Oregon city limits from 2005-2007 were analyzed and modeled using negative binomial …

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The Dynamics Of Change Among Community Development Corporations In Inner North/Northeast Portland, 1987-2006, Louisa Jenkins Brown Jan 2011

The Dynamics Of Change Among Community Development Corporations In Inner North/Northeast Portland, 1987-2006, Louisa Jenkins Brown

Dissertations and Theses

This project is a comparative case study of five Community Development Corporations (CDCs) that emerged in the seven central neighborhoods of Inner North/Northeast Portland, Oregon in the late 1980s. Of the five organizations that began at that time, only two exist currently. Analyzing how and why these organizations rose and fell, merged and failed, struggled and survived in a compressed time frame and geographic area will elucidate the different paths that each organization chose in a neighborhood that changed from derelict to gentrified. Drawing on the overlapping bodies of literature that cover low-income and affordable housing development, CDC structure and …

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Development Of An Objective Motor Score For Monitoring The Progression And Severity Of Parkinson's Disease, Timothy W. Albers Jan 2011

Development Of An Objective Motor Score For Monitoring The Progression And Severity Of Parkinson's Disease, Timothy W. Albers

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis describes the development of an objective motor score (OMS) of Parkinson's disease that utilizes the Quantitative Motor Assessment Tool (QMAT) developed through efforts by the Intel Corporation and the Kinetics Foundation. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a movement disorder which is a member of a group of neurodegenerative diseases marked by the depletion or impairment of dopamine-producing cells in the brain. Since PD is chronic and degenerative, treatments are intended to either improve the quality of life for sufferers by superficially treating symptoms or slow and ultimately reverse the progression of the disease. No blood test or biomarker exists, …

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Parent And Teacher Influences On Children's Academic Motivation, Tatiana Snyder Jan 2011

Parent And Teacher Influences On Children's Academic Motivation, Tatiana Snyder

Dissertations and Theses

The current study developed a comprehensive theoretical framework of joint multiple contextual influences (JMCI framework) to guide empirical investigation of combine influences of social contexts on children's academic outcomes. Drawn from several general frameworks, four models of joint social influences were proposed: Independent, Interactive, Differential, and Sequential. Using a motivational framework, all four models were tested empirically for joint effects of parents and teachers on children's self-perceptions (relatedness, competence, and autonomy) and classroom engagement. Overall, this study provided some empirical support for every category of models proposed in the JMCI framework. The joint influences of parents and teachers on children's …

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Traffic Congestion Mitigation As An Emissions Reduction Strategy, Alexander York Bigazzi Jan 2011

Traffic Congestion Mitigation As An Emissions Reduction Strategy, Alexander York Bigazzi

Dissertations and Theses

Policy-makers, transportation researchers, and activists often assume that traffic congestion mitigation results in reduced vehicle emissions without proper justification or quantification of the benefits. If congestion mitigation is going to be tied to air quality goals, a better understanding of the impacts of traffic congestion on motor vehicle emissions is needed. This research addresses that need by investigating under which circumstances the commonly held assumption linking congestion mitigation to emissions reductions is valid. We develop and apply a mathematical framework to study the trade-offs between vehicle efficiency and travel demand that accompany travel speed changes. While the exact relationships among …

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Conceptual Modeling Of Data With Provenance, David William Archer Jan 2011

Conceptual Modeling Of Data With Provenance, David William Archer

Dissertations and Theses

Traditional database systems manage data, but often do not address its provenance. In the past, users were often implicitly familiar with data they used, how it was created (and hence how it might be appropriately used), and from which sources it came. Today, users may be physically and organizationally remote from the data they use, so this information may not be easily accessible to them. In recent years, several models have been proposed for recording provenance of data. Our work is motivated by opportunities to make provenance easy to manage and query. For example, current approaches model provenance as expressions …

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The Influence Of Ambient Temperature On Green Roof R-Values, Bryce Kevin Cox Jan 2011

The Influence Of Ambient Temperature On Green Roof R-Values, Bryce Kevin Cox

Dissertations and Theses

Green roofs can be an effective and appealing way to increase the energy efficiency of buildings by providing active insulation. As plants in the green roof transpire, there is a reduction in heat flux that is conducted through the green roof. The R-value, or thermal resistance, of a green roof is an effective measurement of thermal performance because it can be easily included in building energy calculations applicable to many different buildings and situations. The purpose of this study was to determine if an increase in ambient temperature would cause an increase in the R-value of green roofs. Test trays …

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Real Options Methodology In Sportswear Retail Investment Valuation, Hairong Karen Gui Jan 2011

Real Options Methodology In Sportswear Retail Investment Valuation, Hairong Karen Gui

Dissertations and Theses

The net present value (NPV) approach has been widely accepted by corporate practitioners and academics as the principle tool for evaluating the feasibility of corporate financial investment opportunities. It conceptually provides an estimate in present value terms of a proposed investment's incremental contribution to the firm, enabling the company to pursue its goal of value maximization with more assurance. NPV uses a discount rate that in theory captures market risks. In the stable growth or mature industries, NPV works well. However, in high investment/high risk-return (HI/HRR) industries, where the investment environment is often profiled as highly uncertain with high returns, …

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The Responsibilities And Limitations Of Holocaust Storytelling: Understanding The Structure And Usage Of The Master Narrative In Holocaust Film, Fianna Raven Macgregor Jan 2011

The Responsibilities And Limitations Of Holocaust Storytelling: Understanding The Structure And Usage Of The Master Narrative In Holocaust Film, Fianna Raven Macgregor

Dissertations and Theses

When we speak of historical events, we do so with a certain amount of perceived knowledge; that is, we come to believe we know specific, individual 'truths' about the event. Since historical works are never unembellished lists of documented facts, the knowledge of how we conceive of factual events, how we document events we did not witness, is important in understanding the resulting storytelling process, not just in fictional literary constructs such as novels, short stories, poetry or film, but in the formulation of history itself. For written history must be seen, at least in part, as a constructed or …

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Erasing The Space Between Japanese And American: Progressivism, Nationalism, And Japanese American Resettlement In Portland, Oregon, 1945-1948, Robert Alan Hegwood Jan 2011

Erasing The Space Between Japanese And American: Progressivism, Nationalism, And Japanese American Resettlement In Portland, Oregon, 1945-1948, Robert Alan Hegwood

Dissertations and Theses

This study examines the return of Japanese Americans to Portland, Oregon, following their mass incarceration by the United States Federal government between 1942 and 1945. This essay examines the motivations of both returning Japanese Americans and various groups within the white community with equal focus in the hopes of writing a history that provides agency to both groups. The return of Japanese Americans to Portland was an event with broader implications than a mere chapter in the history of Japanese Americans. The rise of the Japanese Exclusion League and other groups interested in preventing the return of Japanese Americans to …

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The Experience Of Senior Housing For Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual And Transgender Seniors: An Exploratory Study, Kathleen Margaret Sullivan Jan 2011

The Experience Of Senior Housing For Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual And Transgender Seniors: An Exploratory Study, Kathleen Margaret Sullivan

Dissertations and Theses

By the year 2030, 20% of the U.S. population will be 65 years of age or older. An increase in the demand for supportive health and social services is expected with the aging of the population. Demand for senior housing is expected to grow, too. This study explores what the social environment offers to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) seniors who relocated to LGBT retirement communities. Previous research asked LGBT seniors who did not live in LGBT senior housing about their housing preferences. The present study, for the first time, asked residents of existing LGBT senior living communities to …

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Gendering The Body: Exploring The Construction Of The Sexually Dimorphic Body, Sarah Kaye Lewis Jan 2011

Gendering The Body: Exploring The Construction Of The Sexually Dimorphic Body, Sarah Kaye Lewis

Dissertations and Theses

Gender is a pervasive and regulating social institution that is operationalized in mainstream Western culture as a natural extension of the ontological difference perceived to exist between the binarily sexed bodies of male and female. Feminist theory has widely established, however, that gender is done - i.e., gender is not a naturally occurring phenomenon, but is an ongoing construction engaged and replicated by individual actors and which, while compulsory, is nevertheless optional. Within this canon is a small number of feminist theorists, notably Judith Lorber, Judith Bulter, and Nancy Tuana, who argue that the constructive manifestations of gender performativity (that …

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The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks: How A Best-Seller Diffused Online, Melissa Ann Shavlik Jan 2011

The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks: How A Best-Seller Diffused Online, Melissa Ann Shavlik

Dissertations and Theses

This study describes how information spread on the internet by examining diffusion, framing and source use surrounding coverage of the 2010 best-selling book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The book presented a rare opportunity to view how a story about science, discovery and race became a best-seller within weeks after its publication. Through a mixed-methods and case study approach, the author examines patterns of coverage using Google Alerts that traced the book's online coverage in the first six months of its release. The author found that online information clustered around several themes with the most prominent describing aspects of …

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Performing Marginal Identities: Understanding The Cultural Significance Of Tawa'if And Rudali Through The Language Of The Body In South Asian Cinema, Lise Danielle Hurlstone Jan 2011

Performing Marginal Identities: Understanding The Cultural Significance Of Tawa'if And Rudali Through The Language Of The Body In South Asian Cinema, Lise Danielle Hurlstone

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines the representation of the lives and performances of tawa'if and rudali in South Asian cinema to understand their marginalization as performers, and their significance in the collective consciousness of the producers and consumers of Indian cultural artifacts. The critical textual analysis of six South Asian films reveals these women as caste-amorphous within the system of social stratification in India, and therefore captivating in the potential they present to achieve a complex and multi-faceted definition of culture. Qualitative interviews with 4 Indian classical dance instructors in Portland, Oregon and performative observations of dance events indicate the importance of …

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The Binfords And Mort Publishing Company And The Development Of Regional Literature In Oregon, Jeremy Skinner Jan 2011

The Binfords And Mort Publishing Company And The Development Of Regional Literature In Oregon, Jeremy Skinner

Dissertations and Theses

During the first half of the twentieth century there was a flourishing of publishers in the United States that specialized in books with content targeted for regional audiences. One of the largest regional publishers west of the Mississippi was the Binfords & Mort publishing company of Portland, Oregon. In 1930, Binfords & Mort began publishing works of fiction, history, poetry, children's literature, and natural history by Pacific Northwest authors with content focused on the Pacific Northwest. Between 1930 and 1984, when the Binford family sold the publishing company, Binfords & Mort published around one thousand titles, and became a one …

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Diminished Democracy? Portland Radio News/Public Affairs After The Telecom Act Of 1996, Rebecca Webb Jan 2011

Diminished Democracy? Portland Radio News/Public Affairs After The Telecom Act Of 1996, Rebecca Webb

Dissertations and Theses

News and public affairs on commercial radio dramatically changed following the 1996 Telecom Act, with rapid consolidation and economic efficiencies radically shrinking commercial radio's role in the provision of political information. By examining jobs data, public files, and the views of broadcast journalists, this project assesses the Act's impact through the lens of civic-minded Portland, Oregon. Because political information enables democracy, and because of radio's uniquely accessible qualities, this paper argues that market emphasis in media policy--especially in the Act's absolute manifestation--has diminished a significant channel of public discourse. Noticing radio's democratic potential, still relevant in the digital age, this …

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Toward A Taxonomy Of Diversity At Work: Developing And Validating The Workplace Diversity Inventory, Aisha Smith Taylor Jan 2011

Toward A Taxonomy Of Diversity At Work: Developing And Validating The Workplace Diversity Inventory, Aisha Smith Taylor

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this research was to develop a taxonomy of workplace diversity and examine its implications for understanding and predicting diversity at work. A 7-dimension taxonomy was originally developed by reviewing contemporary literature on diversity in the workplace. The taxonomy is grounded in Social Identity Theory. Preliminary research found that each of the seven dimensions of the taxonomy were present in 78 critical incidents describing work-relevant diversity dynamics. The current study reports the development and administration of an instrument, the Workplace Diversity Inventory (WDI), which was used to empirically examine the 7-factor model of the taxonomy in over 20 …

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Fpga Implementation And Acceleration Of Building Blocks For Biologically Inspired Computational Models, Mandar Deshpande Jan 2011

Fpga Implementation And Acceleration Of Building Blocks For Biologically Inspired Computational Models, Mandar Deshpande

Dissertations and Theses

In recent years there has been significant research in the field of computational neuroscience and many of these biologically inspired cognitive models are based on the theory of operation of mammalian visual cortex. One such model of neocortex developed by George & Hawkins, known as Hierarchical Temporal Memories (HTM), is considered for the research discussed here. We propose a simple hierarchical model that is derived from HTM. The aim of this work is to evaluate the hardware cost and performance against software based simulations. This work presents a detailed hardware implementation and analysis of the derived hierarchical model. We show …

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Low-Latency Estimates For Window-Aggregate Queries Over Data Streams, Amit Bhat Jan 2011

Low-Latency Estimates For Window-Aggregate Queries Over Data Streams, Amit Bhat

Dissertations and Theses

Obtaining low-latency results from window-aggregate queries can be critical to certain data-stream processing applications. Due to a DSMS's lack of control over incoming data (typically, because of delays and bursts in data arrival), timely results for a window-aggregate query over a data stream cannot be obtained with guarantees about the results' accuracy. In this thesis, I propose a technique, which I term prodding, to obtain early result estimates for window-aggregate queries over data streams. The early estimates are obtained in addition to the regular query results. The proposed technique aims to maximize the contribution to a result-estimate computation from all …

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Work-Related Intimate Partner Violence: The Role Of Acculturation Among Employed Latinos In Batterer Intervention Programs, Gino Galvez Jan 2011

Work-Related Intimate Partner Violence: The Role Of Acculturation Among Employed Latinos In Batterer Intervention Programs, Gino Galvez

Dissertations and Theses

Intimate partner violence (IPV), typically considered in the domestic context, has been shown to have considerable effects on women's employment and health. While the literature has recently grown in this area, very few studies have examined the prevalence of work-related IPV among men. Furthermore, the extant literature on work-related IPV has largely ignored the experience of ethnic minorities, specifically Latinos. Many factors suggest that rates and forms of IPV might be different among other racial and ethnic groups. Some studies that examine IPV among Latinos have sought to understand the role of acculturation and socioeconomic contexts. The purpose of this …

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Identifying Modifiable Factors Associated With Depression Across The Lifespan In Stroke Survivor-Spouse Dyads, Michael Joseph Mccarthy Jan 2011

Identifying Modifiable Factors Associated With Depression Across The Lifespan In Stroke Survivor-Spouse Dyads, Michael Joseph Mccarthy

Dissertations and Theses

Depression is the most common psychological sequela associated with stroke, affecting approximately 33% of stroke survivors (Hackett, Yapa, Parag, & Anderson, 2005) with corresponding impacts on spouses, partners, or other informal caregivers (Han & Haley, 1999; Low, Payne, & Roderick, 1999). Although stroke is more common in older persons, persons of all ages are at risk for stroke and especially post-stroke depression (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2007; Barker-Collo, 2007; Hughes, Giobbie-Hurder, Weaver, Kubal, & Henderson, 1999). One of the factors which could explain increased risk of depression is "biographical disruption" (Bury, 1982), which happens when couples experience …

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Couples Therapy: Gender And Sexuality In The Sun Also Rises, Jacob Michael Montie Jan 2011

Couples Therapy: Gender And Sexuality In The Sun Also Rises, Jacob Michael Montie

Dissertations and Theses

"Isn't it pretty to think so?" The ambiguity of this question, posed by Jake Barnes in the last line of The Sun Also Rises, is a reflection of the novel's evolving definition of what constitutes a relationship. As the focus of Hemingway criticism has slowly broken from tired discussions of misogyny a space has opened for considering the complex ways his writings address questions of gendered identity. Through this lens critics have asked exactly what kind of man and women Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley represent. For decades critics and scholars have viewed this final line as having a …

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Is Decoding Sufficient To Predict Reading Ability In Kindergarten Through 2nd Grade Students?, Deborah Adkins Jan 2011

Is Decoding Sufficient To Predict Reading Ability In Kindergarten Through 2nd Grade Students?, Deborah Adkins

Dissertations and Theses

This research considers the predictive utility of 10 decoding skills on a student's ability to read. The 10 skills are Consonant Blends/Digraphs, Decode Multi-Syllable Words, Decode Patterns/Word Families, Letter Identification, Manipulation of Sounds, Matching Letters to Sounds, Phoneme Identification, Phonological Awareness, Syllable Types: CVC, CVCe, R-Control, and Vowel Digraphs/Diphthongs. The research also examines the nature of the relationships between the decoding skills and reading ability. Furthermore, the research decomposes reading ability into segment 1 assessing decoding, and segment 2, assessing comprehension. Specifically, the study assesses the manner in which each of the 10 skills contributes to the variance in the …

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An Investigation Of The Relationships Between Violence Exposure, Internalizing And Externalizing Problems, And Adolescent Alcohol Use, Gregory Lloyd Forehand Jan 2011

An Investigation Of The Relationships Between Violence Exposure, Internalizing And Externalizing Problems, And Adolescent Alcohol Use, Gregory Lloyd Forehand

Dissertations and Theses

Adolescent Alcohol Use (AAU) is widespread and potentially harmful to the health of youth. Substantial research and theoretical development suggest that both violence exposure and internalizing and externalizing problems of adolescents are associated with AAU. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the roles of internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescents to determine if the two types of symptoms are differential mediators of the link between violence exposure and AAU for females and males. Using Developmental Systems Theory as a framework, three primary hypotheses were examined: 1) Increased violence exposure at home and in the community are associated …

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Effects Of Evaporative Cooling In The Thermal Performance Of Green Roofs, Giorgina Beatriz Castillo Garcia Jan 2011

Effects Of Evaporative Cooling In The Thermal Performance Of Green Roofs, Giorgina Beatriz Castillo Garcia

Dissertations and Theses

Green roofs have become an important urban mitigation technology due to their ability to address multiple environmental issues. One of the most common benefits attributed to green roofs is the reduction in heating and cooling loads in buildings by dissipating heat through evaporation. This study focuses on evaluating the effect that evaporative cooling has on the thermal performance of green roofs. Sponge and floral foam were used as porous media for their ability to retain water inside its body, transport it to the surface, evaporate it at a constant rate and for their different pore sizes. Test trays containing sponge …

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An Exploration Of Heterogeneous Networks On Chip, Allen Gary Grimm Jan 2011

An Exploration Of Heterogeneous Networks On Chip, Allen Gary Grimm

Dissertations and Theses

As the the number of cores on a single chip continue to grow, communication increasingly becomes the bottleneck to performance. Networks on Chips (NoC) is an interconnection paradigm showing promise to allow system size to increase while maintaining acceptable performance. One of the challenges of this paradigm is in constructing the network of inter-core connections. Using the traditional wire interconnect as long range links is proving insufficient due to the increase in relative delay as miniaturization progresses. Novel link types are capable of delivering single-hop long-range communication. We investigate the potential benefits of constructing networks with many link types applied …

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Working In An Artist Collective In Portland Oregon: The Artistic Benefits Of Cooperation And Place In An Underground Art World, Elizabeth Furlong Borders Jan 2011

Working In An Artist Collective In Portland Oregon: The Artistic Benefits Of Cooperation And Place In An Underground Art World, Elizabeth Furlong Borders

Dissertations and Theses

This ethnography explores the underground art world in Portland, Oregon by showing how a Portland area artist collective, Oregon Painting Society, navigates their art world. Participant observation, in-depth interviews, and a short latent content analysis triangulate data to show the features and values of the underground art world. Using Becker's concept of art worlds, I show how artists working outside of a traditional art career in a commercial gallery system do their work by exploring how Portland's art world is structured and sustained. I find that group work, cooperation, and resource sharing in a vibrant neighborhood based social network enables …

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Health Care Migration In Japan: Immigration Policy In Terms Of Language, Ayumi Susai Jan 2011

Health Care Migration In Japan: Immigration Policy In Terms Of Language, Ayumi Susai

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis argues the necessity of new standards for Japanese language teaching in Japan, responding to diversifying social needs. The current situation for foreign workers in Japan is a pressing issue in the light of declining fertility rates and a rapidly aging population. The focus of chapter 1 is this paper particularly focuses on issues regarding acceptance of nurses and certified care workers under the scheme of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between Japan and Indonesia in 2008, as a new policy to import more foreign skilled workers into Japan. This chapter demonstrates the nation's passive attitude toward accepting foreign workers …

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