Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2011

Discipline
Institution
Keyword
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 106921 - 106950 of 108194

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Developing And Calibrating The Hydrodynamic And Water Quality Model Ce-Qual-W2 For Banks Lake Washington, Andrew John Mcculloch Jan 2011

Developing And Calibrating The Hydrodynamic And Water Quality Model Ce-Qual-W2 For Banks Lake Washington, Andrew John Mcculloch

Dissertations and Theses

Located in central Washington State, Banks Lake serves as an irrigation storage reservoir for the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project and is home to a diverse fisheries population. The current hydrologic management strategies used for Banks Lake have been chosen to serve two purposes: to adequately store and provide irrigation water for the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project and to maintain a healthy aquatic environment suitable for the growth and habitation of local flora and fauna. Increased needs for irrigation water within arid central Washington poses additional challenges to reservoir managers so that irrigation needs are met without damaging the present aquatic …


Implications Of Hydrologic Data Assimilation In Improving Suspended Sediment Load Estimation In Lake Tahoe, California, Marc Leisenring Jan 2011

Implications Of Hydrologic Data Assimilation In Improving Suspended Sediment Load Estimation In Lake Tahoe, California, Marc Leisenring

Dissertations and Theses

Pursuant to the federal Clean Water Act (CWA), when a water body has been listed as impaired, Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for the water quality constituents causing the impairment must be developed. A TMDL is the maximum daily mass flux of a pollutant that a waterbody can receive and still safely meet water quality standards. The development of a TMDL and demonstrating compliance with a TMDL requires pollutant load estimation. By definition, a pollutant load is the time integral product of flows and concentrations. Consequently, the accuracy of pollutant load estimation is highly dependent on the accuracy of runoff …


Electronic Pillbox Logger For People With Parkinson's Disease, Beenish Zia Jan 2011

Electronic Pillbox Logger For People With Parkinson's Disease, Beenish Zia

Dissertations and Theses

Parkinson' Disease (PD) is a motor disorder characterized by rigidity, tremor, and hypokinesia with secondary manifestations like defective posture and gait, mask like face and dementia. Over the years it may lead to inability to move, breath and ultimately patient may succumb to chest infection and embolism. Prevalence studies show that more than six million people around the world suffer from PD. At present, there is no cure for PD but there are effective treatments that can slow the progression of the disease and regulate its affects. PD results from a deficiency of dopamine so most drugs that produce a …


The Moving To The Beat Documentary And Hip-Hop Based Curriculum Guide: Youth Reactions And Resistance, Jennifer Wallin-Ruschman Jan 2011

The Moving To The Beat Documentary And Hip-Hop Based Curriculum Guide: Youth Reactions And Resistance, Jennifer Wallin-Ruschman

Dissertations and Theses

Many of the academic and popular treatments of hip-hop overlook the complexity of the phenomenon. Hip-hop is often portrayed solely as a source of corruption and regressive tendencies or, alternatively, as a sort of savior for otherwise marginalized individuals and source of revolutionary power. This thesis situates hip-hop between these poles and draws out its progressive and regressive aspects for analysis. Considering its vast global influence and a growing body of academic literature, hip-hop has been notably understudied in the field of psychology. Alternatively, educational theorists and practitioners have realized the power of hip-hop in revisualizing an emancipatory education that …


On The Effect Of Topology On Learning And Generalization In Random Automata Networks, Alireza Goudarzi Jan 2011

On The Effect Of Topology On Learning And Generalization In Random Automata Networks, Alireza Goudarzi

Dissertations and Theses

We extend the study of learning and generalization in feed forward Boolean networks to random Boolean networks (RBNs). We explore the relationship between the learning capability and the network topology, the system size, the training sample size, and the complexity of the computational tasks. We show experimentally that there exists a critical connectivity Kc that improves the generalization and adaptation in networks. In addition, we show that in finite size networks, the critical K is a power-law function of the system size N and the fraction of inputs used during the training. We explain why adaptation improves at this critical …


Logic Realization Using Regular Structures In Quantum-Dot Cellular Automata (Qca), Rahul Singhal Jan 2011

Logic Realization Using Regular Structures In Quantum-Dot Cellular Automata (Qca), Rahul Singhal

Dissertations and Theses

Semiconductor industry seems to approach a wall where physical geometry and power density issues could possibly render the device fabrication infeasible. Quantum-dot Cellular Automata (QCA) is a new nanotechnology that claims to offer the potential of manufacturing even denser integrated circuits, which can operate at high frequencies and low power consumption. In QCA technology, the signal propagation occurs as a result of electrostatic interaction among the electrons as opposed to flow to the electrons in a wire. The basic building block of QCA technology is a QCA cell which encodes binary information with the relative position of electrons in it. …


Complete And Exact Small Signal Analysis Of Dc-To-Dc Switched Power Converters Under Various Operating Modes And Control Methods, Justin French Simmons Jan 2011

Complete And Exact Small Signal Analysis Of Dc-To-Dc Switched Power Converters Under Various Operating Modes And Control Methods, Justin French Simmons

Dissertations and Theses

A method to obtain the exact control-to-output and input-to-output transfer functions for switched DC-to-DC pulse-width modulated power converters is applied to different combinations of operating conditions such as continuous conduction mode (CCM), discontinuous conduction mode (DCM), and discontinuous voltage mode (DVM) and methods of control such as normal voltage mode (NVM), current programming mode (CPM), and V-squared control. The majority of these combinations have not previously had their transfer functions of interest derived to the accuracy provided by the method. The derivation of the method is covered, and the results from its application are verified by simulation. The simulation method …


"You Can See It In Their Eyes:" A Communication Ethnography Of A Humane Society, Sara Victoria Kaufman Jan 2011

"You Can See It In Their Eyes:" A Communication Ethnography Of A Humane Society, Sara Victoria Kaufman

Dissertations and Theses

This study sought to understand the culture-sharing group of people working within the shelter area of a Pacific Northwest animal shelter through the Ethnography of Communication. About 63% of households in the United States live with a companion animal (Risley-Curtis et al., 2006). Recently, there has been a shift toward closer examination into the ways in which humans interact with animals, particularly companion animals. The guiding questions of this study were: RQ1: What are the cultural communication forms performed in the context of the humane society? RQ2: How do shelter workers communicate about companion animals? RQ3: What cultural meanings are …


Phase Change Materials As A Thermal Storage Device For Passive Houses, Kevin Ryan Campbell Jan 2011

Phase Change Materials As A Thermal Storage Device For Passive Houses, Kevin Ryan Campbell

Dissertations and Theses

This study describes a simulation-based approach for informing the incorporation of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) in buildings designed to the "Passive House" standard. PCMs provide a minimally invasive method of adding thermal mass to a building, thus mitigating overheating events. Phase change transition temperature, quantity, and location of PCM were all considered while incrementally adding PCM to Passive House simulation models in multiple climate zones across the United States. Whole building energy simulations were performed using EnergyPlus from the US Department of Energy. A prototypical Passive House with a 1500 Watt electric heater and no mechanical cooling was modeled. The …


Hierarchical Temporal Memory Cortical Learning Algorithm For Pattern Recognition On Multi-Core Architectures, Ryan William Price Jan 2011

Hierarchical Temporal Memory Cortical Learning Algorithm For Pattern Recognition On Multi-Core Architectures, Ryan William Price

Dissertations and Theses

Strongly inspired by an understanding of mammalian cortical structure and function, the Hierarchical Temporal Memory Cortical Learning Algorithm (HTM CLA) is a promising new approach to problems of recognition and inference in space and time. Only a subset of the theoretical framework of this algorithm has been studied, but it is already clear that there is a need for more information about the performance of HTM CLA with real data and the associated computational costs. For the work presented here, a complete implementation of Numenta's current algorithm was done in C++. In validating the implementation, first and higher order sequence …


The Role Of Salmon In Middle Snake River Human Economy: The Hetrick Site In Regional Contexts, Cassandra R. Manning Jan 2011

The Role Of Salmon In Middle Snake River Human Economy: The Hetrick Site In Regional Contexts, Cassandra R. Manning

Dissertations and Theses

On the Columbia Plateau, the origin of the Winter Village Pattern has long been a focus of research. Intensification of resources such as salmon, roots, and local aquatic resources is often cited as the cause of declining mobility. To address this question in the middle Snake River region, I have re-analyzed fish remains from the Hetrick site (10WN469; Weiser, ID), with occupations spanning the Holocene. Expectations from foraging theory and paleoclimate data are used to address whether salmon and other fish use changed over time and if such changes are correlated with the development of the Winter Village Pattern. The …


The Prevalence And Predictive Nature Of Victimization, Substance Abuse & Mental Health On Recidivism: A Comparative Longitudinal Examination Of Male And Female Oregon Department Of Corrections Inmates, Anastacia Konstantinos Papadopulos Jan 2011

The Prevalence And Predictive Nature Of Victimization, Substance Abuse & Mental Health On Recidivism: A Comparative Longitudinal Examination Of Male And Female Oregon Department Of Corrections Inmates, Anastacia Konstantinos Papadopulos

Dissertations and Theses

As a consequence of increased awareness and the current scholarly debate regarding women's differential predictors of recidivism, criminal justice agencies are working with researchers in the field to expand their knowledge in this area. In 2007, Portland State University researchers in collaboration with the Oregon Department of Corrections conducted an investigation of factors emerging in the pathways and gender responsive literature as predictive of women's recidivism in a randomly selected sample of female (n=150) and male (n=150) inmates. This study used information gathered from that investigation for two purposes: (1) to assess the prevalence rates of victimization experiences (childhood, adolescent …


Emotion Language And Emotion Narratives Of Turkish-English Late Bilinguals, Melike Yücel Koç Jan 2011

Emotion Language And Emotion Narratives Of Turkish-English Late Bilinguals, Melike Yücel Koç

Dissertations and Theses

The primary focus of this research was to investigate the emotion language and emotion narratives of Turkish-English late bilinguals who have been living in the U.S. Previous research has shown that the emotion language and narratives of second language learners and native speakers of English are different. This study focused on late bilinguals who had learnt English in instructed settings in their home country, and came to the U.S. for M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. The study consisted of two parts. In the first part, the elicited personal narratives of Turkish-English late bilinguals in English were compared to those elicited from …


"A College For Women, Or Something Like It": Bedford College And The Women's Higher Education Movement, 1849-1900, Megan Katherine Brown Jan 2011

"A College For Women, Or Something Like It": Bedford College And The Women's Higher Education Movement, 1849-1900, Megan Katherine Brown

Dissertations and Theses

Bedford College, established in 1849, was the first institute of higher education for women in England, and with it came the beginning of the women's higher education movement. While Bedford is often dismissed or ignored by modern scholars for not being equal to the women's colleges associated with Cambridge and Oxford, it was crucial in the development of these later colleges and was a bellwether of the women's higher education movement. By examining personal letters and official college documents and carefully assessing later-written histories of Bedford and the other women's colleges, this thesis will explain why and how the College …


The Fantastic Machine, Nathaniel M. Weinham Jan 2011

The Fantastic Machine, Nathaniel M. Weinham

Dissertations and Theses

The Fantastic Machine - the story of a man who struggles to keep family & friends safe when evil visits 1905 Portland, Oregon.


A Macroergonomics Approach Examining The Relationship Between Work-Family Conflict And Employee Safety, Lauren Ann Murphy Jan 2011

A Macroergonomics Approach Examining The Relationship Between Work-Family Conflict And Employee Safety, Lauren Ann Murphy

Dissertations and Theses

In 2008, there were more than 5,200 workplace fatalities in the United States. During the same time period, U.S. employees missed almost 1.1 million days from work. Accidents are unexpected outcomes that result not only from individuals' behaviors, but from contextual factors. Therefore, unsafe behaviors have to be interpreted according to a combination of what is occurring in the environment and what the individual is doing in that environment. The present study sought to create a more comprehensive model of safety by means of macroergonomics. Macroergonomics utilizes sociotechnical systems theory to posit that a work system is composed of a …


Capital Flows, Political Performance, And Development, Ayesha Umar Wahedi Jan 2011

Capital Flows, Political Performance, And Development, Ayesha Umar Wahedi

Dissertations and Theses

This research explores the impact of various forms of capital flows on economic growth and development for a group of 120 countries from 1980-2007. Traditional growth literature as well as the textbook theory of economic growth looks at capital flows as playing a vital role in fostering economic growth and development. The textbook theories, as well as the existing approaches to study the capital flows and economic development connection, use growth and development interchangeably. This analysis, examines the consequences of different capital flows on growth and development separately because the determinants of growth may not be the same as the …


Factoring Semiprimes Using Pg2n Prime Graph Multiagent Search, Keith Eirik Wilson Jan 2011

Factoring Semiprimes Using Pg2n Prime Graph Multiagent Search, Keith Eirik Wilson

Dissertations and Theses

In this thesis a heuristic method for factoring semiprimes by multiagent depth-limited search of PG2N graphs is presented. An analysis of PG2Nn graph connectivity is used to generate heuristics for multiagent search. Further analysis is presented including the requirements on choosing prime numbers to generate 'hard' semiprimes; the lack of connectivity in PG1N graphs; the counts of spanning trees in PG2N graphs; the upper bound of a PG2N graph diameter and a conjecture on the frequency distribution of prime numbers on Hamming distance. We further demonstrated the feasibility of …


"Art Feeling Grows" In Oregon : The Portland Art Association, 1892-1932, Patrick A. Forster Jan 2011

"Art Feeling Grows" In Oregon : The Portland Art Association, 1892-1932, Patrick A. Forster

Dissertations and Theses

Founded in 1892, the Portland Art Association (PAA) served as Oregon's and the Pacific Northwest's leading visual arts institution for almost a century. While the Association formally dissolved in 1984, its legacy is felt strongly today in the work of its successor organizations, the Portland Art Museum and Pacific Northwest College of Art. Emerging during a period of considerable innovation in and fervent advocacy for the arts across America, the Association provided the organizational network and resources around which an energetic and diverse group of city leaders, civic reformers and philanthropists, as well as artists and art educators, coalesced. This …


Toward A Richer Shade Of Blue: The Impact On Oregon Police Officer Perceptions Of Racial Minorities After Anti-Racial Profiling Training, David Andrew Kline Jan 2011

Toward A Richer Shade Of Blue: The Impact On Oregon Police Officer Perceptions Of Racial Minorities After Anti-Racial Profiling Training, David Andrew Kline

Dissertations and Theses

Four fatal shootings, during police interactions, of unarmed people-of-color occurred in the Portland, Oregon Metro Area from 2003 to 2010 calling into question from members of the community whether or not the officers involved and hence their representative police departments had been racially profiling. Of interest in this study is whether or not cutting edge anti-racial profiling police officer trainings have an impact on how officers in Oregon perceive members of racial minority groups. A review of literature found that previous inquiries into racial prejudice among police officers may be present and that previous efforts to address racial ethics in …


The Cultural Barriers To Integration Of Second Generation Muslims In Northern Italy, Joseph Anthony Migliore Jan 2011

The Cultural Barriers To Integration Of Second Generation Muslims In Northern Italy, Joseph Anthony Migliore

Dissertations and Theses

In this study, I examine the existing literature and carry out a qualitative exploration in order to formulate a better understanding of the dynamics that influence the lives of 2nd generation Italian Muslims. Although monumental social and political challenges remain in confronting integration of the Muslim population and for achieving greater acceptance of Islam within the Italian public sphere, the evidence suggests that the process for integration has slowly begun. Additionally, this study examines the intellectual framework of the existing literature which addresses the issues impacting Muslim integration in Northern Italy. This issue has induced new debates within Italy on …


A Die-Level Adaptive Test Scheme For Real-Time Test Reordering And Elimination, Kapil Ramesh Gotkhindikar Jan 2011

A Die-Level Adaptive Test Scheme For Real-Time Test Reordering And Elimination, Kapil Ramesh Gotkhindikar

Dissertations and Theses

Semiconductor manufacturing companies aim to achieve shortest test times for products while maintaining the product quality. Achieving shortest test times for devices requires multiple updates to the test flow and test content. Test cost varies in direct proportion to production test time required to test chips and detect fails. This thesis presents a method to achieve shortest test times by determining when the updates are needed and what are the changes to the test flow and test content. This thesis introduces a new Adaptive Test Scheme (ATS). ATS estimates individual test fail rates dynamically, per die, and makes real-time modifications …


Assessment Of An Optimal Bus Stop Spacing Model Using High Resolution Archived Stop-Level Data, Huan Li Jan 2011

Assessment Of An Optimal Bus Stop Spacing Model Using High Resolution Archived Stop-Level Data, Huan Li

Dissertations and Theses

In practice, the design of bus routes and stop placement involves calculated trade-offs between service frequency, quality, and access. Increased stop density improves access but contributes to slow operating speeds and increased operating costs. In this thesis, a optimized bus stop spacing model is applied using the high resolution archived stop-level bus performance data from the Bus Dispatch System (BDS) provided by TriMet, the regional transit provider for the Portland metropolitan area. Two cost components are considered in the stop spacing model including passenger access cost and in-vehicle passenger stopping cost, and are combined and optimized to minimize total cost. …


Storytelling As Loving Praxis In Critical Peace Education: A Grounded Theory Study Of Postsecondary Social Justice Educators, Amanda Smith Byron Jan 2011

Storytelling As Loving Praxis In Critical Peace Education: A Grounded Theory Study Of Postsecondary Social Justice Educators, Amanda Smith Byron

Dissertations and Theses

Looking through the philosophical lens of love, this study seeks a deeper understanding and appreciation of how postsecondary social justice educators use storytelling, in the context of critical peace education, to create social change. This research explores the guiding question of how storytelling is used to encourage social change and to inspire action toward the goal of greater social justice. The argument for the importance of this research is located within the crisis of neoliberalism, where the very tenets of democratic education are being challenged by an educational agenda that favors standards-based learning and employment training over the critical and …


Model-Based Information Extraction From Synthetic Aperture Radar Signals, Shari Matzner Jan 2011

Model-Based Information Extraction From Synthetic Aperture Radar Signals, Shari Matzner

Dissertations and Theses

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is a remote sensing technology for imaging areas of the earth's surface. SAR has been successfully used for monitoring characteristics of the natural environment such as land cover type and tree density. With the advent of higher resolution sensors, it is now theoretically possible to extract information about individual structures such as buildings from SAR imagery. This information could be used for disaster response and security-related intelligence. SAR has an advantage over other remote sensing technologies for these applications because SAR data can be collected during the night and in rainy or cloudy conditions. This research …


Microbial Ecology Of Active Marine Hydrothermal Vent Deposits: The Influence Of Geologic Setting On Microbial Communities, Gilberto Eugene Flores Jan 2011

Microbial Ecology Of Active Marine Hydrothermal Vent Deposits: The Influence Of Geologic Setting On Microbial Communities, Gilberto Eugene Flores

Dissertations and Theses

The discovery of deep-sea hydrothermal vents in 1977 revealed an ecosystem supported by chemosynthesis with a rich diversity of invertebrates, Archaea and Bacteria. While the invertebrate vent communities are largely composed of endemic species and exist in different biogeographical provinces, the possible factors influencing the distribution patterns of free-living Archaea and Bacteria are still being explored. In particular, how differences in the geologic setting of vent fields influence microbial communities and populations associated with active vent deposits remains largely unknown. The overall goal of the studies presented in this dissertation was to examine the links between the geologic setting of …


Faculty Of Color And Scholarship Redefined: Teaching And Learning For Intercultural Competence, Peng Fu Jan 2011

Faculty Of Color And Scholarship Redefined: Teaching And Learning For Intercultural Competence, Peng Fu

Dissertations and Theses

Utilizing Boyer's (1990) four scholarship functions of professorial engagement and Wilber's (1998) four frames of organizational context, this inquiry examined faculty of color's experiences at a primarily White urban research university in their pursuit of facilitating students' intercultural competence. Specifically, through narrative inquiry, the study examined institutional factors associated with faculty of color's ability to integrate an intercultural competence focus in their scholarship of discovery, scholarship of integration, scholarship of engagement, and scholarship of teaching. Results indicate that research participants are strongly committed to the teaching, learning, community engagement, and scholarship of intercultural competence. However, institutional emphasis on the scholarship …


Bus Replacement Modeling And The Impacts Of Budget Constraints, Fleet Cost Variability, And Market Changes On Fleet Costs And Optimal Bus Replacement Age, A Case Study, Jesse Alexander Boudart Jan 2011

Bus Replacement Modeling And The Impacts Of Budget Constraints, Fleet Cost Variability, And Market Changes On Fleet Costs And Optimal Bus Replacement Age, A Case Study, Jesse Alexander Boudart

Dissertations and Theses

Overwhelming evidence throughout the literature has shown that bus overhead and maintenance (O&M) costs increase as buses age. This has implications toward a fleet manager's decision of when one should buy, use, or sell buses to minimize total fleet costs. Unfortunately, there are uncertain market conditions associated with bus fleets that cloud the manager's ability to make appropriate decisions. Using integer programming (IP), O&M trends and changing market conditions are integrated into a model to better analyze bus fleets. Due to recent budget constraints of transit agencies, needs for a bus fleet replacement model have arisen. King County in Washington …


The Pursuit Of Commerce: Agricultural Development In Western Oregon, 1825-1861, Cessna R. Smith Jan 2011

The Pursuit Of Commerce: Agricultural Development In Western Oregon, 1825-1861, Cessna R. Smith

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines how the pursuit of commercial gain affected the development of agriculture in western Oregon's Willamette, Umpqua, and Rogue River Valleys. The period of study begins when the British owned Hudson's Bay Company began to farm land in and around Fort Vancouver in 1825, and ends in 1861--during the time when agrarian settlement was beginning to expand east of the Cascade Mountains. Given that agriculture in Oregon, as elsewhere, would eventually reach a standard of national development, and given that most of Oregon's immigrants arrived poor and lacked the farm implements needed for subsistence, the question this study …


Lidar-Based Landslide Inventory And Susceptibility Mapping, And Differential Lidar Analysis For The Panther Creek Watershed, Coast Range, Oregon, Katherine A. Mickelson Jan 2011

Lidar-Based Landslide Inventory And Susceptibility Mapping, And Differential Lidar Analysis For The Panther Creek Watershed, Coast Range, Oregon, Katherine A. Mickelson

Dissertations and Theses

LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) elevation data were collected in the Panther Creek Watershed, Yamhill County, Oregon in September and December, 2007, March, 2009 and March, 2010. LiDAR derived images from the March, 2009 dataset were used to map pre-historic, historic, and active landslides. Each mapped landslide was characterized as to type of movement, head scarp height, slope, failure depth, relative age, and direction. A total of 153 landslides were mapped and 81% were field checked in the study area. The majority of the landslide deposits (127 landslides) appear to have had movement in the past 150 years. Failures occur …