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Unit Plan: The Role Of Community Organizations In The Oregon Civil Rights Movement, Michael Gifford, Lance Erickson

African American History in Oregon: Lesson Plans

This unit will introduce students to the role of Community Organizations in the Civil Rights Movement in Portland, Oregon. They will be presented with information on the various organizations and issues facing African Americans who lived in Portland during the civil rights movement. At the conclusion of the unit students will be able to discuss the community organizations played in relation to the success of civil rights protests in Portland. They will also have an understanding of how the African American civil rights movement served as a model for modern activism.

Unit Plan: The Role Of The Urban League Of Portland In The African American Community, Amber Ferris, Andre Hawkins, Cari Yelvington

African American History in Oregon: Lesson Plans

This unit is intended for a high school social studies classroom. It can be utilized in a variety of social studies courses as it touches upon community organizing, Oregon history, and African American history. The lessons focus on the Urban League of Portland's role in "uplifting" the African American community, with particular attention to the issues of equality in housing and education. The unit materials provide some history and basic information about the Urban League of Portland as well. Developing student skill in text and chart analysis is emphasized in this unit. Formative assessments are embedded within the lessons. At …

Humanities Unbound: Supporting Careers And Scholarship Beyond The Tenure Track, Katina Rogers

Publications and Research

As humanities scholars increasingly recognize the value of public engagement, and as the proportion of tenure-track faculty positions available continues to decline, many humanities programs are focusing renewed attention on equipping graduate students for careers as scholars both within and beyond academe. To support those efforts, the Scholarly Communication Institute has carried out a study investigating perceptions about career preparation provided by humanities graduate programs. The survey results help to create a more solid foundation on which to base curricular reform and new initiatives by moving the conversation about varied career paths from anecdote to data. The findings make it …

Socioeconomic Disparities In The Provision Of Outdoor Time In Portland, Oregon Public Elementary Schools, Sabine L. Lefkowitz

University Honors Theses

This thesis examines the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and the amount of outdoor time in public elementary schools in Portland, Oregon. "Outdoor time" is defined as the percentage of the school day spent at recess. SES is determined based on the percentage of children at each school who receive free or reduced price lunch. Schools with a higher percentage of students who receive free or reduced lunch are considered lower SES than schools with a lower percentage of students who receive free or reduced lunch. A review of the current literature provides evidence that time spent outdoors has a …

Empowering The Voice Of The Female Student: A Gender Inclusive Approach To The High School Language Arts Curriculum, Brittany Bonnet

University Honors Theses

In American schools, young women are routinely provided with examples of strong male characters and authors in the high school English classroom. Written curriculum (such as the syllabus, reading list, and grading practices) continues to contribute to the erasure of the female student. Furthermore, hidden curriculum (lessons that are taught “unintentionally” such as norms or values), such as a teacher’s use of gendered language, or time spent with students of different genders, reflects this same problem as teachers unintentionally disempower the female voice in the classroom. The result is female students who are less confident in the classroom and the …

Words That Help: A Journey Through Expressive Writing, Jaede Ishikawa

University Honors Theses

For the past three decades, researchers have studied the effects of "emotional writing" or "expressive writing" as a therapy tool, finding positive results for a myriad of chronic as well as intermittent psychological, emotional, and physical health issues. My interest in these findings, along with my academic interests in psychology and creative writing and my own experience with writing as therapy, led me to wonder if incorporating "expressive writing" techniques in a college setting would be beneficial. The few focused studies that have been done indeed show that it can be and my thesis aims to address a need for …

The Cultural Gap: Deaf Community And Speech-Language Pathologists, Megan Knight

University Honors Theses

The following paper discusses the cultural gap that has been created between Speech-Language Pathologists and the Deaf community over the last 135 years. Starting with the period of oralism in Deaf schools to now, as we continue to pressure more parents into the idea of cochlear implants for their child. This paper will look at the history of how we have gotten to where we are today with this cultural gap and review results from a survey that was given to Portland State University Speech and Hearing Science students regarding this topic. The paper will then conclude with ways that …

Fostering Critical Thought Alongside The Common Core State Standards, Bianca Arias

University Honors Theses

This thesis evaluates a segment of the second grade English language arts and literacy (ELA) curriculum presently utilized in Portland Public Schools (PPS) school district in Portland, Oregon, using five principles for evaluation. These principles address the extent to which lessons are hands-on, engage home life, integrate the academic disciplines, encourage student autonomy, and are relevant to society today. These criteria were established following a review of John Dewey’s ideas and philosophies, and of two practices that model Deweyan principles: Project-Based Learning (PBL) and progettazione in the Municipal Infant/Toddler Centers and Preschools of Reggio-Emilia, Italy. This analysis of the ELA …

Spellbound: The Process Of Adaptation, Amanda Sonju

University Honors Theses

Writers write in many forms and, while most specialize in one form or another, there are those that move back and forth through multiple formats. Screenwriters are a special breed who are expected to write new material, adaptations and specs. As a screenwriter the pressure is on being able to write in someone else’s voice while still expressing your own. Unfortunately, the process of adaptation is a cloudy one. It is expected that a writer can alternate between forms by nature and not through education. The purpose of this thesis is to approach the adaptation process through a combination of …

Animals In Advertising: Eliciting Powerful Consumer Response, Resulting In Enhanced Brand Engagement, Natasha Braunwart

University Honors Theses

The use of live animals as a communications tool has been seen in thousands of commercials, many of which have received international attention through online channels. As the Internet becomes a prevalent sharing platform, the reactions from viewers can be better understood with quantifiable metrics. A new perspective on why live animals are used in advertising is given, with consideration of three branches of study. These include (1) the role of animals in advertising, (2) the role of animals in human’s everyday life, and (3) the development of brand engagement. The 2015 Super Bowl commercial line-up is looked at, and …

Trans•Form|Mogrify|Mutate, Sierra Randolph

University Honors Theses

When confronted with a word, meaning is revealed through contextualization. This transformation of inherently meaningless shapes to communicated ideas is only possible because of our deep relationship to language. Taking a step back, words become concepts that exist independent of their written form. Indeed, even "transformation" is a concept that can be contextualized and understood as more than a single word.

This project explores the concept of transformation in as many forms as possible: from the absurd to the realistic, from the literal to the metaphorical, from the zeitgeist of culture to the realm of the obscure. Using a variety …

Effective Methods Of Constituency Service In Oregon State, Thanh T. Ngo

University Honors Theses

One would think that casework is the most effective method to reach constituents, however, that was not the case with this research about the Oregon State Legislature. Out of the 90 State Senators and House Representatives, there was a total of 50 surveys conducted and four interviews. The purpose of this research was to determine between casework, outreach and providing information, which method is deemed most effective within the Oregon Legislature when it comes to constituency service. Calculations show that third method, providing information, was the most effective with a solid 63%. These results shows that our legislator still lack …

Diversity Within Asian Americans: Barriers To The Public Discussion Of Discrimination, Samantha I. Ing

University Honors Theses

This purpose of this thesis is to discuss barriers to the public discussion of discrimination against Asian-Americans. The literature addresses three major barriers: model minority status, portrayal in media, and cultural desire to assimilate. This thesis discusses how Asian-Americans contain generational, ethnic, and immigration-based diversity that complicates these barriers, while also positing that diversity itself presents a barrier. This project concludes with a brief discussion of "intra-ethnic othering," the discrimination that occurs between Asian subgroups, as another barrier to public discussion of Asian-American discrimination.

Hohenzollern Prussia: Claiming A Legacy Of Legitimacy, Jeremy Brooks Weed

University Honors Theses

Prussia has been seen since the Second World War as a militaristic pariah and because of its scattered and desperate nature it has been vilified as the root cause of Nazism. Modern authors like Christopher Clark, Philip Dwyer, and others have helped to perpetuate these ideas in contemporary literature. These ideas contradict works by older historians who wrote and asserted that Prussian expansion was based on dynastic claims. These earlier historians asserted that Prussian actions followed a series of dynastic claims that gave credibility to Prussian expansion without upsetting the political norms of the time. By examining the actions and …

The Corporatization Of Retail Pharmacy: Changes In Efficacy, Reliability, And Expedience, Charles Bodreau

University Honors Theses

The retail pharmacy of the present has undergone a large shift in ownership from private to corporate in the form of chain pharmacies. In this literature review, the effects of this shift in ownership, otherwise referred to as “corporatization” are examined in order to determine both the benefits and areas of concern regarding this change. This review suggests that the benefits include: Decreases in filling time and increases in patient satisfaction. The areas of concern include: Decreasing patient-pharmacist counseling rates, increases in Adverse Drug Reaction rates and decreased pharmacy costs but not patient costs. It is concluded that the areas …

Unequal Medicine: The Impact Of Patient Mistrust On The Racial Differences In Reproductive Health Outcomes, Ashley Lenherr

University Honors Theses

Despite impressive medical advancements the gap in health and the quality of health care between blacks and whites has remained consistent or even increased in the past several decades in America, and reproductive health outcomes reveal similar trends. Black infants have a mortality rate that is 2.4 times higher than whites in the first year, and black mothers are 3 times more likely to die when giving birth when compared to white women (MacDorman et al. 2011 & Paxton and Wardlaw, 2011). In regards to the current and historically poor birth outcomes for black women and infants compared to whites …

Multi-Dimensional Analysis Of Fluorescent Chemosensor Data, Kimberly Guttinger

University Honors Theses

Multidimensional fluorescent chemosensor data looking at the effect that rhodamine boronic acid dyes and fluorescein aldehyde dyes have on analytes of interest was collected by the Strongin Research Group. These sets of data have resulted in great qualitative results. A method to quantify the results, however, was desired. The major objective of this research was to reanalyze these sets of data using a new multidimensional analysis technique called Parallel Factor Analysis (PARAFAC) to obtain quantitative results. PARAFAC was performed on the data and new promising quantitative results were obtained. The promising results offered assertion of the use of PARAFAC on …

Organizational Culture Change Resulting From Human Resources Outsourcing, Emily Murrell

University Honors Theses

Human Resources outsourcing has become a way for businesses to save money, but has also become a problem in keeping organizational environments the same (Cook, 2000; Cobb 2009; Mol, 2007). Outsourcing includes work that can be done by employees, but services can also be provided by an outside vendor for a lower price (Cook, 2000), and can affect an organizations performance (Mol, 2007). There are parts of Human Resources functions such as staffing, recruiting, training, succession planning and organizational development, and benefit planning that can be outsourced (Cook, 2000). Studies have looked at the difference between organizations that have outsourced …

References To Gendered Grief In Children's Media: A Content Analysis Of Grief Picture Books, Machaila Budgeon

University Honors Theses

Gender stereotypes, gender roles and the underrepresentation of women permeate modern American culture. These forms of sexism limit the socially acceptable ways that children are able to express difficult emotion as they move through the grief process. This study focuses on these forms of sexism as they influence the creation and continuation of gendered grief by coding seventeen children’s grief picture books. Findings support the hypotheses that, not only are gender stereotypes, roles and the underrepresentation of both men and women present in grief picture books, but that they contribute to gendered grief. Suggestions for future research include a larger …

A Paradigm Shift: From A Categorical To Dimensional Diagnostic Model Of Personality Disorder, Jessica Green

University Honors Theses

This thesis discusses the possibility of a paradigm shift in the conceptualization of personality disorders (PDs), and eventually all psychological disorders, from categorical to dimensional. It examines the three main types of models utilized for diagnosing PDs. These main types are: the categorical model, where symptoms are organized in a check list based on categories; the dimensional model, where symptoms are organized on a spectrum rather than in a list; and the hybrid model, which is a combination of the two. It focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of each model and how they are used to define and diagnose …

Promotion Of Thriving In Youth: The Intersections Of The Positive Youth Development Perspective And Challenge Course Programming, Zachary H. Snyder

University Honors Theses

This paper’s intent is to explore the Positive Youth Development (PYD) perspective, its applications, and the growing research topics pertaining to it. I will demonstrate the importance of developmental assets and PYD centered programs in the human journey towards "Thriving," which is understood as the ultimate state of being achieved by the systematic promotion of positive development across time in a youth’s life (Lerner et al, 2005). My paper also explains challenge course programming and its relationship to the Positive Youth Development perspective. Upon demonstrating this relationship, I offer a few ideas for future challenge course programming that would foster …

On The Role Of Probability In Hume's Imagination And Associationism: A Bayesian Response To Fodor's Hume Variations, Jason Krivo Flores

University Honors Theses

In his 2003 book Hume Variations, Jerry Fodor argues the Computational Theory of Mind (CTM) has obviated the need for Hume's associationism and faculty of imagination. Contrary to Fodor, in this paper I argue that contemporary Bayesian models of cognitive science suggest that Hume’s account continues to comprise a viable theory of mental operations. I propose a Bayesian interpretation of Hume's associationism wherein the "liberty of the imagination to transpose and change its ideas" is accounted for by the contributions of randomness, noise, or stochasticity--i.e., probability.

If my analysis is on track, Fodor has misconstrued the Humean mind by interpreting …

Diagnosis Of Mental Illness Today And Tomorrow: A Literary Review Of The Current Methods, Drawbacks, And Sociological Components Of Mental Health With Regard To The Diagnosis Of Mental Illness, Sova Novak

University Honors Theses

The diagnosis of mental illness has sometimes been a controversial issue due to concerns about reliability and validity of diagnosis. Current methods focus on the categorical assessment of presented symptoms, however, the assessment of the factors leading up to and correlated with mental illness could be a more helpful tool for identifying mental illness itself. The position of this paper is that an analysis of these factors and in particular the integration of the sociological perspective could lead to a better method of diagnosis and understanding of mental illness. A brief overview of the three primary models of mental illness …

Compassion Fatigue, The Wellness Of Care Providers, And The Quality Of Patient Care, Merna Labib

University Honors Theses

Working with traumatized patients in the Emergency Department can compromise the well-being of the provider and the quality of patient care. Compassion Fatigue and burnout are two terms used to describe provider inability to cope with stress at work. However, compassion fatigue is a term specific to care providers and describes the emotional and psychological effects consequent to caring for traumatized patients, which leads to a reduced capacity to show compassionate care. Burnout, on the other hand, is consequent to cumulative stress and lack of accomplishment at work. This thesis seeks to focus on compassion fatigue and considers burnout to …

Matrix Multiplication, Trilinear Decompositions, Apa Algorithms, And Summation, Victor Pan

Publications and Research

Matrix multiplication (hereafter we use the acronym MM) is among the most fundamental operations of modern computations. The efficiency of its performance depends on various factors, in particular vectorization, data movement and arithmetic complexity of the computations, but here we focus just on the study of the arithmetic cost and the impact of this study on other areas of modern computing. In the early 1970s it was expected that the straightforward cubic time algorithm for MM will soon be accelerated to enable MM in nearly quadratic arithmetic time, with some far fetched implications. While pursuing this goal the mainstream research …

The Use Of Psychological Defense Mechanisms – By Librarians And The Public – In Response To Traditional And Binary Librarian Stereotypes, Beth Posner

Publications and Research

Images of librarians in popular culture include the traditional stereotype - of a mousy spinster who cares more for protecting books than for helping people - as well as several contrasting or binary images - such as librarians who are wild by night (although quiet by day), know-it-alls (rather than know-nothings), or high-tech (instead of old-fashioned.) In response to the anxiety provoked by the more pernicious aspects of these images, both librarians and the public may employ a variety of common unconscious defense mechanisms. This chapter examines some of those used by the public - including stereotyping, and splitting or …

You Know What You Write, But Do You Know Your Rights? Understanding And Protecting Your Rights As An Author, Jill Cirasella

Publications and Research

When you publish a journal article, you sign a copyright or licensing agreement. Do you know what you’re agreeing to when you sign it?

Different journals have different policies: Some journals require you to relinquish your copyright. (You then have to ask permission or even pay to share your article with students and colleagues!) Some journals allow you to retain some rights (e.g., the right to post online). Some journals leave copyright in your hands. (You simply give the journal a non-exclusive license to publish the article.)

How can you find out a journal’s policy? How can you negotiate your …

Ways Of Seeing Language In Nineteenth-Century Galicia, Spain, José Del Valle

Publications and Research

This article discusses a language-ideological debate surrounding Galician between two Spanish intellectuals – one Andalusian, Juan Valera, and one Galician, Manuel Murguía – who clashed on the desirability of the literary cultivation of the language. This encounter is framed as a language ideological debate and interpreted in the context of Spain’s late nineteenth-century politics of regional and national identity.

A Qualitative Study Of Stress In Individuals Self-Employed In Solo Businesses, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Joseph J. Mazzola

Publications and Research

This qualitative study involved 54 individuals who were self-employed in a variety of solo businesses. All participants were administered a semistructured interview that inquired into various aspects of their work experience with the data subject to reliability and validity checks. The study identified stressful incidents, coping strategies, and emotional strains arising from those stressful incidents. Uncertainty about income was a common background stressor. Recent specific stressors included dramatic slowdowns in business, reputational threat, betrayal, unreasonable customers, and medical problems. Commonly occurring strains included apprehension/anxiety, frustration, anger, and sadness/depression. The self-employed used problem-focused coping much more often than emotion-focused coping. We …

English Education In Thailand And Singapore : Differences In English Education, Use And Identity, Chelsey Hice

University Honors Theses

The Secretary General of ASEAN asserted the importance of education and the use English in promoting and bringing prosperity to the ASEAN nations. "Through education, through the use of English language and, more importantly, with a heightened sense of ASEAN Identity and ASEAN Community, we hope that ASEAN integration and cooperation will bring both benefits and opportunities to the region" (Le Luong Minh, 2013). Taking Thailand and Singapore into consideration, it is clear that national realities vary greatly within the region in regards to English proficiency rates. Education First’s 2013 English Proficiency Index Report revealed that Singapore was the second …