Digital Commons Network^™

Divining Liberation: A Community Healing Curriculum For Uprooting Historical And Racialized Trauma, Steffannie Roache

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Divining Liberation is a structured community healing and workforce wellness curriculum designed to support individuals and groups in recognizing, naming, and uprooting the effects of historical and racialized trauma. The curriculum was developed by Steffannie Roache, MS, LPC, and delivered through Trauma Informed Oregon beginning in 2023. It is built on three conceptual foundations drawn from the author's earlier work: The Chitlins Effect (Roache, 2012), which examines how trauma-based beliefs become normalized across generations; cultural betrayal trauma theory; and trauma-informed care principles established through SAMHSA and OHA. The curriculum unfolds through four thematic parts (Recognizing the Roots, Uprooting Harm and …

University Studies First-Year Inquiry Student Success Pilot Year 1 Report 2024 - 2025, Sarah Dougher, Lindsey Wilkinson, Rowanna L. Carpenter

University Studies Assessment Research

During the 24-25 academic year, fourteen University Studies First-year Inquiry courses participated in a pilot supported by the Office of Student Success that embeds student support resources into course work, activities, and curricula. This is an effort to connect students more directly to support services they may need to be successful at PSU, to increase their sense of belonging, and ultimately increase their completion of FRINQ. The Pilot is being evaluated based on academic outcomes, PSU resource use, and measures of efficacy and belonging. For Information about our evaluation methods and data sources, please see the full report and the …

A Profile Of Sophomore Inquiry Students Fall 2025, Rowanna L. Carpenter

University Studies Assessment Research

In order to better understand the students who enroll in Sophomore Inquiry (SINQ) courses and begin to identify areas where they may need support, University Studies (UNST) began collecting and compiling data on these students. This report presents a profile of SINQ students from Fall 2025. It presents an overview of all students enrolled in SINQ during Fall 2025 and then summarizes information from the Prior Learning Survey. It is organized around three areas that contribute to student success: academic preparation and concern; financial and physical wellbeing; and connectedness to campus.

Post-Prohibition Changes In Cannabis Genetics, Caleb Y. Chen

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This research examines changes in Cannabis genetics with a focus on Cannabis genetic bottlenecking. Significant knowledge gaps exist in the study of how and why Cannabis genetics have changed over time. To fill these gaps, a series of semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with self-identified Cannabis breeders around the world. Previous qualitative Cannabis research has centered around users, growers, and dealers with few studies looking exclusively at Cannabis breeders. Results include insights into becoming a Cannabis breeder, Cannabis ideotypes, as well as Cannabis genetic bottlenecking due to unanticipated genetic linkages combined with the emphasis on breeding for agronomic factors such …

Descending An Inclined Plane With A Large Language Model, Justin C. Dunlap, Ryan Sissons, Ralf Widenhorn

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection in Artificial Intelligence Tools in Physics Teaching and Physics Education Research.] We present a study in which a version of a common conservation of mechanical energy introductory physics problem, an object released on an inclined plane, is given to OpenAI’s GPT-4 large language model (LLM). We investigate how different permutations of object, action verb, and property of the incline impact the responses of the LLM. The problem setup and prompting was left purposefully minimal, requiring the LLM to state multiple assumptions to justify the final answer. We specifically studied how different keywords …

Clea Labs For Stellar And Cosmological Astronomy Bottled For Silicon Macintosh, Hansika Reddy Bandela, Yuktha Shetty, Jack C. Straton

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Project CLEA -- CONTEMPORARY LABORATORY EXPERIENCES IN ASTRONOMY -- develops laboratory exercises that illustrate modern astronomical techniques using digital data and color images.

These Labs were developed for Windows, but the authors have bottled them for Silicon Macintosh computers.

Thorstein Veblen: The Independent Thinker Whose Contributions Advanced A Distinct Tradition Of Heterodox Economics, John B. Hall

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Challenging Charles Camic’s perspective, this article argues that Thorstein Veblen’s time at the top amounted to about nineteen years; a fraction of his professional career. While drawing from and building upon challenges associable with a changing world which he faced – related to the ending of Laissez-faire and the rise of big business; the institutions initiated for prosecuting World War I; and the accompanying rise of the vested interests – Veblen’s writings effectively and propitiously provided a solid foundation for an American school of heterodox thought known as Original Institutional Economics.

A 14-Year Content Analysis Of School-Family Partnership Publications In Counseling: Trends, Gaps, And Future Directions, Yi-Wen Su, Dan Li

Counselor Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This content analysis examined 55 articles on school-family-community partnerships published in counseling journals between 2010 and 2024, identifying trends in publication type, methodology, and population focus. Most articles (54.54%) were conceptual, with Professional School Counseling leading in publication volume. Limited empirical research and a lack of focus on diverse populations were noted, with only 18.18% addressing racial minorities (primarily Latino and African American) and 5.45% focusing on rural communities. Four primary strategies for strengthening partnerships emerged: Inclusivity, Leadership and Empowerment, Equity-Focused, and Consistent Communication—each aligning with the school counselor’s roles in fostering collaborative, equitable partnerships. Recommendations emphasize a need for …

Evading A Post-Truth World: Rorty’S Foundationless Philosophy For An Acculturating Education, Madhu Narayanan

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

A challenge for educators is how to teach in a “post-truth” world. Lies, fake news, and a gleeful disregard for facts – what I collectively term mis/information – all seem to undermine the very project of education. The pragmatism of Richard Rorty holds promise to address such issues. I first argue that Rorty’s philosophy of education is of limited use, whereas his broader thoughts on a philosophy without foundations are more relevant. I then suggest that a way forward is to evade the fight against post-truth dynamics altogether. An insistence on rational objectivity and foundational truth are at the root …

Menstruation, Menopause, And The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, Marcy L. Karin, Deborah Widiss

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Some workplaces are extraordinarily inhospitable to menstruators, especially those in low-wage jobs. Workers have been denied restroom breaks and then harassed or fired after menstrual blood leaked onto their clothes or their employer’s property. Employers routinely refuse to provide accommodations for menopause symptoms or time off for menstruation-related medical care. The failure to support menstruators is a significant barrier to ensuring workplace equality. This Article explains how federal laws, including the landmark Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), can—and should—be interpreted to help address these inequities. PWFA requires employers to provide “reasonable accommodations” for “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.” Menstruation …

Rising From The Ashes: Reading Impacts And The Effects Of Recovery Educational Services Following A Major Natural Disaster, Tiffanie Lousia Lambert

Educational Leadership Professional Doctorate Dissertations

This Improvement Science Dissertation examined solutions to improving literacy outcomes for students in an elementary school that experienced a wildfire during the pandemic. School data revealed lagging reading growth among students displaced by the wildfire despite educational recovery efforts. A root cause analysis to understand students' limited reading recovery led to more global concerns about school-wide literacy programming and the limited use of evidence- based approaches. School-wide data revealed that fewer than 30% of students in the school met literacy benchmarks since the wildfire. Though the fires disproportionally impacted low-income neighborhoods with higher representation of English Learners and students receiving …

Beyond Traditional Education: Graduation Rates At An Alternative High School, Kayla Dawn Marie Crook

Educational Leadership Professional Doctorate Dissertations

The study addressed the problem of practice of improving on-time graduation rates for students in alternative education settings. Traditional educational systems often fail to meet the unique needs of students in alternative education programs, which could lead to increased barriers towards on-time graduation. Based on improvement science principles, this research utilized Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles to systematically test and refine prioritized change ideas to mitigate these barriers with the goal of increasing graduation rates at the focus school. These change ideas included improving social emotional learning through teacher coaching, personalizing attendance calls, and developing individualized student success plans. Through rapid iterative …

Growing Together: Strategies For Attracting And Retaining Community-Reflective Early Learning Professionals, Tonya Jo Coker

Educational Leadership Professional Doctorate Dissertations

The recruitment and retention of a diverse early learning workforce remains a critical challenge in special education. This study explores the multifaceted issues of workforce shortages, turnover rates, and the disparity between the demographics of educators and students in the Department of Early Learning within an education service district in Oregon. Through a detailed analysis of historical and current data, this study identifies systemic challenges contributing to the difficulty in attracting and retaining qualified staff, especially those who are representative of the communities they serve. Using improvement science as a methodological framework, the study tested change ideas focused on recruitment, …

Rising Tides Lift All Boats: Significant Disproportionate Identification Of Latine Students In The Eligibility Category Of Specific Learning Disability, Erica Gordon

Educational Leadership Professional Doctorate Dissertations

The study explored the complex problem of practice (POP) of significant disproportionate identification of Latine multilingual learner (ML) students in the special education eligibility category of specific learning disability (SLD). The study employed improvement science as its methodological framework. Integral partners and a leadership team from a rural Oregon district reviewed the literature and used a root cause analysis to identify six causes behind these outcomes. Iterative plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycles test with concise data collection, enabling real-time adjustments and improvements within the improvement cycle was used to implement two change ideas. These prioritized change ideas resulted in the implementation of …

Addressing Disparities Among Latine Students In Special Education, Jesabel Jannette Centeno

Educational Leadership Professional Doctorate Dissertations

This study used Improvement Science to understand and address the overrepresentation of Latine students identified with specific learning disabilities (SLD) in elementary school settings. It highlighted the processes and systems that impacted Latine students' educational opportunities and services--emphasizing the need for culturally and linguistically aligned instructional practices. The study was set in a suburban school district in the Pacific Northwest, where many Latine students received special education services. It investigated the root causes of SLD over-identification among these students. It suggested that enhancing educational outcomes required a focused effort to reduce over- and under-identification in special education. The document now …

Women’S Health In Rural American Communities, Leandra Moukoudi Ndoko, Stephanie Zeszutek Do, Renee Reijo Pera Phd

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (Great Falls) Publications and Research

Limited data have been published on the status of women’s health in rural areas, particularly pertaining to women of color and rural women in the United States. The aim of this review is to briefly describe the trends in women’s health in rural areas, the factors contributing to poor health outcomes and potential ways to focus improvements most effectively. To provide this overview, approximately 310 articles were screened by full text on the database PubMed. Of these, 27 articles are described in more detail in this piece. Data focus on women’s health in the United States and include information bulletin …

Keynote Address: Envisioning Wage Justice, Ruben J. Garcia

Scholarly Works

In this Keynote address for the Minnesota Journal of Law & Inequality’s Symposium, “Not Just Wages,” held at the University of Minnesota Law School on April 11, 2025, I discuss the evolving concept of wage justice, using the lens of Critical Wage Theory and its origins in pioneering theories of race, labor and justice. The Article outlines the legal frameworks that have defined the content of wage justice in the twenty-first century, particularly for marginal workers. This Article raises the alarm about the impact of political change on low-wage workers, using case studies and analysis of administrative agency enforcement of …

Alternatives To Delaware? Evaluating Corporate Law In Nevada, Texas, And Wyoming, Joseph Landau, Bailey Swartz, Anthony Rickey, Robert Ragazzo, Benjamin P. Edwards, George A. Mocsary

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Facial Recognition Technology And The First Amendment, Joseph A. Tomain

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The growing ubiquity of facial recognition technology (FRT) is a problem. While much has been written on harmful government use of FRT, little has been written regarding harmful private actor use. This Article helps fill a gap in the literature by providing a detailed analysis of the First Amendment interests at stake when private actors use FRT. Specifically, this Article analyzes whether laws that limit the use of publicly available photographs to create faceprints for inclusion in FRT databases violate the First Amendment rights of private actors.

In May 2025, a multidistrict litigation against Clearview AI, an FRT company, offered …

Climate Change And Corporate Law In The United States: Not "Woke" But Eyes Open., Cynthia A. Williams

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This Essay discusses the evidence that climate change and nature loss create financially material risks for corporations that must be carefully considered by officers and directors pursuant to their fiduciary duties of loyalty and care. This analysis concludes that under the current state of fiduciary duty law and the known financial risks presented by climate change and nature loss, officers and directors of corporations may breach their fiduciary duties by failing to implement and monitor a robust system to identify and manage each type of industry-specific climate-related and nature related risk. Risk of breach is particularly acute for entity-specific compliance …

Growing The Abriendo Oportunidades® Ecosystem: Spotlight On Mentor Networks, Population Council

Adolescents and Young People

The emergence of REDMI Aq’ab’al and Na’leb’ak ONG, two civil society networks of young Indigenous women, represents a monumental evolution of the Abriendo Oportunidades^® (AO^®) program. As AO^® successfully supported young female Indigenous mentors to increase their autonomy, community visibility, and professional skills, the formation and growth of these independent networks now promotes a larger movement of sustainable, responsive, and community-led social progress. It also provides a new platform for mentors to be recognized and credited for their work, even after they have “graduated” from direct participation in AO^®. This brief is part of …

Growing The Abriendo Oportunidades® Ecosystem: Spotlight On Escuela De Oportunidades, Population Council

Adolescents and Young People

Developed in partnership with the Office of the Vice President in 2021, Escuela de Oportunidades is a national internship program that intentionally invests in young female Indigenous professionals to increase their visibility in governance structures. Through a combination of mentorship, training, and practical experience, Escuela de Oportunidades has successfully facilitated the entry of Indigenous Guatemalan women into government institutions, enhancing gender and ethnic inclusivity in public service. This brief is part of the Abriendo Oportunidades^® Legacy Series, celebrating and highlighting 20 years of impactful program implementation.

Growing The Abriendo Oportunidades® Ecosystem: Sowing Seeds Of Change Within Government Systems, Population Council

Adolescents and Young People

Population Council-Guatemala (PC-Guatemala) is supporting and shaping a movement led by young Indigenous leaders to expand inclusive education and civic participation opportunities. Through mechanisms such as professional internships, school re-integration programs, and other government collaborations, young Indigenous women are building the knowledge, skills, and relationships to lead community development efforts and inform inclusive national policies. This brief is part of the Abriendo Oportunidades^® Legacy Series, celebrating and highlighting 20 years of impactful program implementation.

Growing The Abriendo Oportunidades® Ecosystem: Equipping Young Mentors With Skills And Resources To Expand Girl-Centered Programming In Belize, Population Council

Adolescents and Young People

Building on the success of the Abriendo Oportunidades^® (AO^®) program in Guatemala, in 2014 Population Council Guatemala (PC-Guatemala) and Toledo Mayan Women’s Council established the Toledo Adolescent Girls program (TAG), a safe space initiative that equipped young Indigenous girls and female mentors with life skills. The project demonstrated that neighboring countries are interested in expanding the AO model, and that the Council can successfully support programmatic adaptation to meet the needs of other Indigenous communities in Mesoamerica. This was achieved by introducing age-segmented groups, prioritizing transportation funding for mentors and supervisors, and continuing to tailor to local …

The Social Life Of The Abriendo Oportunidades® Program In Guatemala: Three Decades Of Enabling Community And Civic Spaces For Indigenous Girls And Women, Population Council

Adolescents and Young People

Since 2004, Abriendo Oportunidades^® (Opening Opportunities, AO) has emerged as a gender transformative social program to support Indigenous girls and young women in Guatemala’s post-war context. Following an evidence-based, community-anchored approach, AO began as a program and has evolved into a social movement. AO has continuously demonstrated its impact in reducing girls’ exposure to gender-based violence and pioneered alternative education through utilizing mentors as tutors. Over time, AO has successfully reached more than 25,000 Indigenous girls and adolescents across 500+ rural Guatemala communities and built a pathway of professional opportunities for the young women who lead the program. AO …

Smithian Merchant Towns And Good Government In The Wealth Of Nations, John B. Estill

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Commentators on Adam Smith’s Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations often characterize Smith as a proponent of government in multiple areas, including security in person, property, contract, and some public goods. However, Smith understood government more expansively than people today. In volume I, book III, chapters I–IV, Smith describes the evolution of merchant towns in England that led to “good governance” that dismantled the feudal system. This limited government not only included the security provided by the formal laws and institutions. It also aligned the informal elements of individual civic ethics and self-reliance with the …

Using Generative Models For Data Augmentation In Medical Imaging, Nilesh Kumar

Theses

Obtaining large amounts of labelled data in medical imaging is hindered by issues like privacy and cost, therefore limiting the gains that can be achieved from Deep Neural Networks (DNNs). A lot of work has shown data augmentation to be an effective strategy for expanding training data leading to more robust models. However, the lack of data is not always uniform across datasets e.g., some classes in a dataset may be underrepresented. This is particularly problematic because the overall good performance of a model on a dataset can easily mask the under-performance of underrepresented classes or instances. Naively employing data …

Girls First Fund: External Evaluation—Endline Evaluation Report, Brian Medina Carranza, Neelanjana Pandey, Angel Del Valle, Fatima Zahra

Adolescents and Young People

The Population Council is leading an evaluation of programs funded by the Girls First Fund (GFF) in the Dominican Republic (DR), India, and Niger. These three countries were chosen to maximize geographic, social, cultural, and economic diversity across contexts, but common to all three is the continued persistence of child marriage and the presence of collective efforts to eliminate it. The broader goal of this evaluation is to: 1) demonstrate proof of concept for the impact of  GFF-supported programs; 2) examine key outcomes of interest to the GFF and the community-based organizations that it funds, including education, child marriage, and …

"17 Going On 23": Sentencing Young People To Life In Canada, Debra Parkes

All Faculty Publications

This paper analyzes reported Canadian cases from 2008 to 2022 in which young people were sentenced for murder. It shows that, at least in these reported decisions, sentencing young people as adults for murder is not rare. The Crown routinely seeks life sentences for young people and the court orders them in the vast majority of cases in which they are sought. Life sentences for young people have become normalized and expected in murder cases, rather than exceptional. This paper delves into the case law to get a better picture of why and how this is happening.

Old Habits Die Hard: Precedent, Psychology, And The Admissibility Of Forensic Evidence, Sara Gordon

All Faculty Publications

Forensic evidence, long considered a cornerstone of criminal justice, has faced increasing scrutiny as recent studies and reports expose significant flaws in its scientific foundation. Techniques such as latent fingerprint analysis, microscopic hair comparison, and ballistics matching, which had been widely accepted for decades, are now being challenged for their lack of empirical validation. Reports by the National Research Council and the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology have highlighted the deficiencies in these forensic methods, calling into question their reliability and the weight they are given in courtrooms. Yet despite the growing acknowledgement of widespread issues affecting …