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Intermarket Trading Strategies And Risk, Kristopher Douglas Skadberg

Agribusiness and Applied Economics

The purpose of this thesis is to research methods that will be used to discover the profitability and risk of spatially arbitraging soybeans. A portfolio is used to analyze trading strategies, and the dependence measures is critical when simulating all of the variables. The dependence measures will aid in selecting the appropriate assets for the portfolio. The profits and risks for each asset will be analyzed and an optimization procedure will weigh the assets appropriately in bushels. Strategizing has become very important for merchandisers, because of the added risk associated with trading commodities. The results indicate that spatial arbitrage profits …

Adolescent Food Consumption In Urban China: Factors Influencing Bmi And School Meals, Carl Allen Anfinson

Agribusiness and Applied Economics

China’s food consumption patterns are changing as the population becomes wealthier and more urban. As the country ages, today’s adolescents will be tomorrow’s consumers. Few studies have focused on this important demographic. This study intended to investigate what might be influencing adolescent BMI by examining what adolescents are eating at home and away from home along with socioeconomic factors. An increase in a mother’s education was found to have a positive influence on BMI. Another section focuses on what adolescents consume at school compared to at home and also examines their parent’s perception of these school meals by developing an …

Top-Down Nationalism In Post-Soviet Kazakhstan, Annie M. Scriven

Geography Masters Research Papers

Kazakhstan was the most multi-ethnic country to emerge from the former Soviet Union and the only one to have its titular ethnicity as a minority. This paper examines the top-down nationalism that has occurred since independence in 1991. The government of Kazakhstan has used elements of the theories of nationalism and territoriality in their effort to build a strong and unified post-Soviet national identity. The role of language, treatment of minorities, changing demographics, and the multi-ethnic nature of Kazakhstan make this a difficult task.

Nous And Aisthēsis: Two Cognitive Faculties In Aristotle, Adriana Renero

Publications and Research

In disagreement with Claudia Baracchi's controversial thesis that there is a 'simultaneity and indissolubility' if not an 'identity' of intelligence (nous) and perception (aisthēsis) at the core of Aristotle's philosophy, I will argue that Aristotle maintains a fundamental distinction between these cognitive faculties. My goal in this paper is to examine specific parts of two central and complex passages, VI.8, 1142al2-30 and VI. 11, 1143a33-bl5, from the Nicomachean Ethics to show that Baracchi's view is unpersuasive. I will show that Aristotle considers nous to be a different capacity than mere perception and one through which particulars …

The Effectiveness Of Public Development Banks: Designing Good Impact Evaluations, Alessandro Maffioli, Cesar M. Rodriguez

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

PDB programs have become a fundamental ingredient of productive development policy strategies in most emerging economies. Although the overall need for these interventions is rarely questioned, academics and policymakers often debate their effectiveness, as well as the optimal approaches and instruments necessary to implement them. Therefore, the need to produce rigorous evaluations of PDBs has become increasingly relevant for both government and civil society (see Chapter 2).

This chapter presents the main concepts and operational arguments regarding the execution of indepth impact evaluations of PDB initiatives and instruments. For a more practical approach, these arguments are presented with examples of …

Experiencing Photographs Qua Photographs: What's So Special About Them?, Jiri Benovsky

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

No abstract provided.

Pornography And Disgust, Laurent Stern

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

Disgust about material objects and moral behavior are both at issue in understanding pornography. Previous debates were fueled primarily by moral disgust. Erotic art may elicit moral disgust, but only hard-core pornography elicits material disgust. I discuss the role of attraction and aversion in labeling artworks pornographic. Since we always have a choice between acknowledging and ignoring a disgust elicitor, aversion may be a necessary, but not a sufficient condition for such a label. In submitting our choice to rational critique, we must ask: what do we accept as a consequence of the claim that that x is disgusting? Relying …

Conventional Wisdom About Yugoslavia And Rwanda: Methodological Perils And Moral Implications, Aleksandar Jokić

Philosophy Faculty Publications and Presentations

While ostensibly a response to a critique, the main goal of this Article is to demonstrate how easily conventional wisdom, usually shaped by the media and politics, can corrupt scholarship when it is simply presupposed by those engaged in what should be an academic polemic, yet often also includes ‘activism in scholarship’. The examples of approved narratives in the West on Yugoslavia and Rwanda are used for the sake of this demonstration.

Developing And Assessing Curriculum On The Physics Of Medical Instruments, Warren Christensen, James K. Johnson, Grace R. Van Ness, Elliot E. Mylott, Justin C. Dunlap, Elizabeth A. Anderson, Ralf Widenhorn

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Undergraduate educational settings often struggle to provide students with authentic biologically or medically relevant situations and problems that simultaneously improve their understanding of physics. Through exercises and laboratory activities developed in an elective Physics in Biomedicine course for upper-level biology or pre–health majors at Portland State University, we aim to teach fundamental physical concepts, such as light absorption and emission and atomic energy levels, through analysis of biological systems and medical devices. The activities address the properties of electromagnetic waves as they relate to the interaction with biological tissue and make links between physics and biomedical applications such as microscopy …

The Daubert Revolution And The Birth Of Modernity Managing Scientific Evidence In The Age Of Science, David L. Faigman

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Germany V. Italy And The Limits Of Horizontal Enforcement Some Reflections From A United States Perspective, Chimene Keitner

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Remedies A Course Fit For Civil Procedure Teachers, David I. Levine

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Crimes Without Punishment An Update On Violence Against Women And Impunity In Guatemala, Karen Musalo, Blaine Bookey

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Regulating The Behavior Of Lawyers In Mass Individual Representations A Call For Reform, Richard Zitrin

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Forest Carbon (Redd+), Repairing International Trust, And Reciprocal Contractual Sovereignty, David Takacs

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Cases And Controversies: Some Things To Do With Contracts Cases,, Charles L. Knapp

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Economic Development And Gender Equality: Is There A Gender Kuznets Curve?, Joshua Eastin, Aseem Prakash

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

This research note examines the relationship between economic development and gender equality. Drawing on the concept of the Kuznets curve, the authors hypothesize that the relationship between economic development and gender inequality is curvilinear (S shaped), with three distinct stages. In the first stage, economic development improves gender equality because it enables greater female labor-force participation. An independent income stream increases women's intrahousehold bargaining power. The opportunity to develop human capital confers greater political and social recognition. In the second stage, labor-force stratification and gender discrimination encourage divergent male/female income trajectories, which decrease the opportunity costs of female labor-force withdrawal …

Gauge Field Preheating At The End Of Inflation, J. Tate Deskins, John T. Giblin Jr., Robert R. Caldwell

Dartmouth Scholarship

Here we consider the possibility of preheating the Universe via the parametric amplification of a massless, U(1) abelian gauge field. We assume that the gauge field is coupled to the inflaton via a conformal factor with one free parameter. We present the results of high-resolution three-dimensional simulations of this model and show this mechanism efficiently preheats the Universe to a radiation-dominated final state.

System Analysis Of Spatial Frequency Domain Imaging For Quantitative Mapping Of Surgically Resected Breast Tissues, Ashley M. Laughney, Venkataramanan Krishnaswamy, Tyler B. Rice, David J. Cuccia

Dartmouth Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Temporary Services With Carmen Papalia, Temporary Services, Carmen Papalia

Reference Points

Temporary Services with Carmen Papalia explores the topic of accessibility as it relates to public space, the Art institution, and visual culture through an interview, an essay, and case studies.

This book is part of the Reference Points series published through Portland State University Art and Social Practice MFA Program. The series is an evolving pedagogical framework in which graduate students formulate and research a significant topic or practitioner(s) related to socially engaged art. Because the series is designed to shift and respond to the concerns of the program's current students and faculty, mode, structure, and content are open-ended.

The Effect Of Artificial Insemination Or Natural Service Breeding Systems On Reproductive Performance, Calving Characteristics, Weaning Characteristics, And Steer Backgrounding Performance In A Commercial Beef Herd, Philip Lee Steichen

Animal Sciences

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of beef cattle breeding systems that incorporate artificial insemination (AI) or breeding systems that use natural service mating on resultant reproductive performance, calving characteristics, weaning characteristics, and steer backgrounding performance. In Exp. 1, cows and heifers were assigned to 1 of 2 breeding season systems: 1) exposed only to natural service bulls (NS, n = 541) or 2) bred via AI on the first day of the breeding season, followed by exposure to natural service bulls (TAI, n = 535). Final pregnancy rates were similar among treatments. However, more calves were born …

Non-Destructive Analysis Of Single Plant Canola (Brassica Napus) Seed Using Near Infrared Spectroscopy, Harjot Sidhu

Agribusiness and Biosystems Engineering

Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) is widely used for quantitative analysis of oilseeds in a non-destructive manner. Canola (Brassica napus) is a popular oilseed crop that is used for food and biofuel markets. Due to limited seed availability in plant breeding programs, single plant analysis is often preferred. An NIRS commercial calibration model was evaluated to predict single plant canola seed, but the results showed the need for new NIRS calibration models to predict moisture content, oil content, and fatty acid content for single plant canola seed (3 g) with minimal sample preparation. A separate NIRS calibration model was developed for …

A Call To Action: What Student Teachers Can Teach Us, Kathleen M. Cowin

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

This qualitative study uses six years of survey data, collected from student teachers in a graduate level university initial teacher licensure program, to illuminate student teachers’ experiences with their cooperating teachers during their student teaching internship. The data, comments made by student teachers about their experiences with their cooperating teachers, were used to answer this research question: What are student teachers telling us about their experiences with their cooperating teachers? Using the constant comparative method of qualitative analysis (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) the survey data consisting of answers to the open form question “My cooperating teacher could have been more …

Standardized Testing: An Overview For Pre-Service Teachers, Kurtis Hewson, John Poulsen

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

This paper serves as an overview for pre-service teachers of the current realities of standardized testing and offers some considerations when entering their first classrooms, where these assessments will most likely be a reality. It also aims to serve as a potential resource for study and discussion for pre-service teachers in their education programs.

The Relationship Between Pre-Harvest Stress And Carcass Characteristics And The Ability To Qualify For Kosher On Beef Steers And Heifers, Nathan Scott Hayes

Animal Sciences

The objective of this study was to determine if there is a difference in pre-harvest stress and carcass characteristics between kosher and not-qualified-as kosher cattle. Cattle that had a shorter time from gate to exsanguination and a lower vocalization score were more likely to qualify for kosher. Kosher carcasses had a larger REA, a higher WBSF value, tended to have a heavier HCW. At each individual day, kosher steaks had lower L*, a*, and b* values. These data suggest that body composition and stress level may play a factor in the likelihood of a beef animal to qualify for kosher, …

The Role Of Maternal Protein Intake During Late Gestation On Placental Vascular Function, Leslie Ann Lekatz

Animal Sciences

Global nutrient restriction or excess can influence umbilical hemodynamics in sheep fetuses (Chapter 2). We hypothesized that a specific component of the diet, namely maternal metabolizable protein (MP), would alter placental function. When MP restriction during late gestation occurs, we hypothesized that there would be a decrease in the sensitivity to bradykinin (BK) of the placental vascular arteries. In experiment 1, ewes received one of three isocaloric dietary treatments during late gestation: MP60: 60% of MP requirements; MP80: 80% of MP requirements; and MP100: 100% of the MP requirements on a dry matter basis from day 100 to 130 of …

National Retail Pork Benchmarking Study: Characterizing Pork Quality Attributes Of Multiple Cuts In The Self-Serve Meat Case, Benjamin Thomas Klinkner

Animal Sciences

The objective of this study was to benchmark fresh pork quality in the retail meat case in the United States. Nationally, 117 retail supermarkets in 67 cities were selected for sampling. Center-cut loin chops were observed in-store to obtain subjective color and marbling scores. Ten loin chop, sirloin chop, and blade steak packages representing each brand and enhancement type were purchased for objective analysis of pH, Minolta color (L*, a*, and b*), and tenderness (WBSF). For L*, enhanced loins were darker (P < 0.05) than non-enhanced. Enhanced loins and sirloins had greater (P < 0.05) pH values than non-enhanced chops. Enhanced loins, sirloins, and blades had lower (P < 0.05) WBSF scores than non-enhanced chops and steaks. This research provides retailers, processors, and other pork industry stakeholders with benchmark values of pork quality, and provides the pork industry with information to help reduce variation and improve pork quality at the retail level.

False Promises: The Failure Of Secure Communities In Miami-Dade County, Alex Stepick, Steve Held, Cynthia S. Hernandez, Cheryl Little, Susana Barciela

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report addresses the impact on Miami-Dade County of the Secure Communities program, currently one of the primary federal immigration enforcement programs administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). DHS claims that the program prioritizes the removal of convicted criminal aliens who pose a danger to national security or public safety, repeat violators who game the immigration system, those who fail to appear at immigration hearings, and fugitives who have already been ordered removed by an immigration judge.

Effective Single-Parent Training Group Program: Three System Studies, Harold E. Briggs, Keva M. Miller, Edwin Roberto Orellana, Adam C. Briggs, Wendell H. Cox

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective: This study highlights Dr. Elsie Pinkston and colleagues’ research on the effectiveness of behavior parent training and examines the application of single-parent training group (SPG) programs to three parent–child dyads exposed to distressed family circumstances. Methods: Single-system evaluation designs were conducted with two single birth parents, one single foster parent, and each parent’s three respective children, in an effort to appraise the results of a SPG program.

Results: Two of the three parent–child dyads benefited from the SPG. Results suggested that there were changes in parent reinforcement and attention behaviors and children’s noncompliance behaviors.

Conclusion: Behavioral improvements in …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet January 2013, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The January 2013 Monthly packet includes the January agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held December 2012