Student Sustainability Leadership Development At Portland State University: Developing Holistic Sustainability Leaders, Megan Suzanne Schneider

Dissertations and Theses

In order to address the myriad of social, economic, and environmental challenges the world is facing, we need to be able to engage in leadership that fosters collective action towards sustainable solutions. Higher education is an institution that can equip people with the abilities to engage in sustainability leadership. This master's thesis research explores how students develop sustainability leadership through their college experience. Nine students, who had been identified as sustainability leaders through their participation in the Student Sustainability Center (SSC), a co-curricular sustainability program at Portland State University, were selected to be part of this grounded theory research project. …

Statistical Analysis Of Social Network Change, Teresa Danielle Schmidt

Dissertations and Theses

This project explores two statistical methods that infer social network structures and statistically test those structures for change over time: regression-based differential network analysis (R-DNA) and information theory-based differential analysis (I-DNA). R-DNA is adapted from bioinformatics and I-DNA employs reconstructability analysis.

This project applies both R-DNA and I-DNA to analyze Medicaid claims data from one-year periods before (May 2011- Apr 2012) and after (Jan 2013-Dec 2013) the formation of the Health Share of Oregon Coordinated Care Organization (CCO). The formation of CCOs was legislated by the state of Oregon in 2012 with the triple aim of improving health outcomes, reducing …

Flood Dynamics In The Portland Metropolitan Area, Past, Present, And Future, Lumas Terence Helaire

Dissertations and Theses

The Portland area has an extensive flood history since it was founded in 1845. In the late 19th century, the Portland area was prone to flooding from snowmelt freshets (3-6 months duration) and brief winter rain or rain-on-snow events. Since that time the magnitude of spring freshets has been curtailed by 45% due to climate change, flow diversions, and reservoir management. Along with changes in hydrology, the bathymetry of the Lower Columbia River has been altered by the dredging of the navigation channel, diking, and land reclamation. To understand how these changes in hydrology and bathymetry have affected tidal and …

An Application Of Deep Learning Models To Automate Food Waste Classification, Alejandro Zachary Espinoza

Dissertations and Theses

Food wastage is a problem that affects all demographics and regions of the world. Each year, approximately one-third of food produced for human consumption is thrown away. In an effort to track and reduce food waste in the commercial sector, some companies utilize third party devices which collect data to analyze individual contributions to the global problem. These devices track the type of food wasted (such as vegetables, fruit, boneless chicken, pasta) along with the weight. Some devices also allow the user to leave the food in a kitchen container while it is weighed, so the container weight must also …

Analysis Of E-Cigarette Liquids And Aerosols By Nmr Spectroscopy: Compositions, Boiling Points, And Degradation Profiles, Anna Katherine Duell

Dissertations and Theses

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are an increasingly popular tobacco product used by ~3% of adults and 21% of 12th grade students (as reported for the prior 30-days in surveys) in the United States in 2018. As of 2019, this number went up to ~25% for 12th grade students. Due to how quickly e-cigarettes gained popularity and the rapid design changes that have ensued, there has not been enough time to accurately assess the effects of e-cigarettes, particularly for long-term use. The liquids used in e-cigarettes (e-liquids) can degrade when vaped in an e-cigarette, so understanding the variables that can modulate degradation …

Local Radiance, Scott Peter Britell

Dissertations and Theses

Recent years have seen a proliferation of web applications based on content management systems (CMS). Using a CMS, non-technical content authors are able to define custom content types to support their needs. These content type names and the attribute names in each content type are typically domain-specific and meaningful to the content authors. The ability of a CMS to support a multitude of content types allows for endless creation and customization but also leads to a large amount of heterogeneity within a single application. While this meaningful heterogeneity is beneficial, it introduces the problem of how to write reusable functionality …

The Process Of Establishing Theoretically Grounded Measures Of Science And Chemistry Identity For Use In Undergraduate Chemistry Courses, Kathryn Nicole Hosbein

Dissertations and Theses

Identity has been theorized to aid in student persistence toward science, engineering, technology, and math (STEM) degrees. However, before we can explore the impacts of learning environments on identity, and subsequently persistence, robust measures that can aid in understanding how identity is fostered need to be available. This research study aims to create measures of identity by expanding an existing physics identity framework and contextualizing it to science and chemistry identities. Development of the measures was carried out through two distinct phases that provided evidence for reliability and multiple aspects of validity.

The first phase of the study used qualitative …

Assessing The Efficacy Of Virtual Experiments In The General Chemistry Laboratory, Cory Jerome Hensen

Dissertations and Theses

As more students enroll in chemistry courses, institutions are faced with increasing costs and limited laboratory space to keep up with the demand. One solution some institutions have turned to is the incorporation of virtual experiments into the curriculum, as this can lower costs and increase the availability of laboratory space. Some institutions have offered sections that complete all of their experiments in a virtual environment, others have offered sections that alternate between a traditional hands-on experiment and a virtual experiment, and some institutions have replaced only select experiments throughout the curriculum with a virtual experiment. To begin to be …

Investigating The Origins Of Toxins Present In Electronic Cigarette Aerosols, Shawna Vreeke

Dissertations and Theses

The purported safety of electronic cigarettes has come under scrutiny with the significant increase of lung related illnesses starting in the summer of 2019. Public view has started to shift towards understanding the potential negative health impact associated with these devices. While many investigations indicate probable hazards present in e-cigarette aerosols, inter-laboratory assessments are wide ranging and can be contradictory. Due to the novelty of this field, relatively little is known about these products. In this work, the identification and quantification of inhalation toxicants such as formaldehyde, acrolein, acetaldehyde and dihydroxyacetone are reported. Results of the investigation of the ability …

Spontaneous Recombination Of Short Rnas To Increase Length And Complexity In Prebiotically Plausible Conditions, Benedict Arthur Smail

Dissertations and Theses

The RNA World hypothesis is an influential theory of how life arose on earth which posits that the earliest life forms carried out essential activities with RNA catalysts instead of proteins. Substantial evidence to support this theory comes from among others, the fact that the ribosome is a ribozyme, the existence of small RNA catalysts capable of high activity, and self-assembling ribozymes such as the Azoarcus ribozyme. Additional support has been provided by the directed evolution of various ribozymes and the reputed prebiotic synthesis of nucleotides and small RNA oligomers. However, it has long been challenging to show how long …

Fractals As Basis For Design And Critique, John Charles Driscoll

Dissertations and Theses

The design profession is responding to the complex systems represented by architecture and planning by increasingly incorporating the power of computer technology into the design process. This represents a paradigm shift, and requires that designers rise to the challenge of both embracing modern technologies to perform increasingly sophisticated tasks without compromising their objective to create meaningful and environmentally sensitive architecture. This dissertation investigated computer-based fractal tools applied within a traditional architectural charette towards a design process with the potential to address the complex issues architects and planners face today. We developed and presented an algorithm that draws heavily from fractal …

Fault Deformation At The Base Of And Within The Crescent Formation Along The Dosewallips River, Olympic Mountains Peninsula, Washington, Usa, Christine Meryl Maher

Dissertations and Theses

The Olympic Mountains, in the cost ranges of northwest Washington, expose a Cenozoic accretionary complex east of the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Accreted material consists of metasedimentary deposits thrust eastward beneath a basaltic terrane (i.e., the basaltic Crescent Formation and the basal Blue Mountain Unit [BMU] turbidite) along a major fault, the Hurricane Ridge Fault (HRF). Recent isotopic dating of zircons from the BMU indicate that it is about 8 my younger than the basalt, implying another major fault may exist east of the HRF, between the BMU and the Crescent Fm. Field observations, data, and samples for microstructural analysis were …

Connecting Local-Scale Heavy Precipitation To Large-Scale Meteorological Patterns Over Portland, Oregon Using Observations And Climate Models, Christina Marie Aragon

Dissertations and Theses

Precipitation timing and magnitude is essential to human, ecological, and economic systems. Climate change may be altering the character of precipitation locally to globally, thus it is vital that resource managers, practitioners, and decision makers understand the nature of this change. This thesis was conducted in partnership with the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services (BES), and the Portland Water Bureau (PWB) in order to support resiliency planning around precipitation and precipitation extremes.

This work has two primary phases, which are discussed in chapter 2 and 3 of this thesis. The first phase of this research entails characterization of …

Stormwater Treatment Effectiveness Of Established Bioretention Facilities In Portland, Oregon, Emma Rose Kohlsmith

Dissertations and Theses

Bioretention systems are commonly used to treat and detain stormwater runoff and help mitigate for many negative effects of urbanization. Despite the widespread use of bioretention systems, few field-based studies have assessed how these facilities affect water quality many years after installation. The goal of this project is to assess the pollution reduction effectiveness of lined bioretention facilities that have been in use and functioning for 4-8 years. To meet this objective, this project measured water quality characteristics of stormwater flowing into and out of seven facilities installed throughout Portland, Oregon during real storm events. Stormwater grab samples were taken …

Seismic Source Characterization Of Faults In The Portland And Tualatin Basins And A Paleoseismic Study Of The Gales Creek Fault, Or, Alison Elizabeth Horst

Dissertations and Theses

Portland, OR lies within the tectonically active forearc of the Cascadia subduction zone. Several, potentially hazardous, northwest striking faults in and around the Portland Basin are classified as Quaternary active by the USGS, but little is known about their Holocene activity. Geologic and geodetic studies in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) document ongoing clockwise rotation of the region since at least 16 Ma. Models for crustal deformation in the PNW suggest northwest trending faults accommodate dextral shear inferred from increasing clockwise rotation rates west of Portland. I compiled structural information to improve the seismic source characterization of these faults, and using …

Correct-By-Construction Typechecking With Scope Graphs, Katherine Imhoff Casamento

Dissertations and Theses

Dependently-typed languages are well-known for the ability to enforce program invariants through type signatures, and previous work establishes the effectiveness of this style of program verification in the implementation of type-safe interpreters for a wide class of languages with a variety of interesting scoping semantics, offering an account of dynamic semantics. This thesis covers the complementary topic of static semantics, in the form of a pattern for constructing verified typechecking procedures in a dependently-typed setting. Implementations are given for simply-typed lambda calculus and a small procedural language as well as a module system with unrestricted cyclic module dependency semantics that …

Annual And Seasonal Variation In Hydrologic Performance Of Ecoroofs Of Multiple Depths, Portland, Or, Ashley Michelle Baker

Dissertations and Theses

It is essential that cities adopt new approaches to stormwater management in the face of changing precipitation regime. In some locations, ecoroofs have been incorporated into city plans as a stormwater control measure, and thus their real-world performance under current conditions can assist with adequate planning. In this study rainfall retention data collected during a three year period, between 2014-2017, is analyzed for 75mm and 125mm ecoroof plots in Portland, Oregon, USA. There is no difference in annual rainfall retention performance between the shallower and deeper plots. However, the 36% mean annual retention of the ecoroof plots is a significant …

The Invasion Ecology Of Ivy (Hedera Spp.) In Portland's Forest Park, Eric Paul Butler

Dissertations and Theses

Invasive ivy (Hedera spp.) has extensive impacts on Pacific Northwest urban forests, many of which are not yet fully understood. In this study of Forest Park, Portland, Oregon, I evaluated several environmental variables obtained or derived from monitoring datasets at three spatial scales to determine the following: how ivy is spatially distributed; what factors are most correlated with ivy abundance; and how ivy abundance influences shrub community composition. I found that ivy is significantly clustered at all scales with multiple apparent epicenters along the park's urban periphery. Using NMDS ordination, I determined that ivy is a significant factor in …

Modeling Surface Roughness As An Indicator Of Age And Landslide Susceptibility, And The Spatial Inventory Of Prehistoric Landslides: Green River Valley, Washington, Rebecca Naomi Garriss

Dissertations and Theses

Developing detailed landslide inventory maps of prehistoric landslides is essential to interpret the frequency and conditions under which slopes have failed. When coupled with age estimates, landslide inventories can yield better predictions for future slope failures, thereby improving hazard assessments and increasing chances for mitigation. Developing proxies for landslide age is an important area of research, but age dating prehistoric landslides can be challenging due to sparse datable organic material within landslide deposits, and to time or access constraints. In this thesis, surface roughness of the landslide deposit is used to construct a best-fit age-roughness model that quantitatively assigns age …

The Influence Of Neighborhood Landscape Characteristics On Native Bird Communities: Implications For Increasing Biodiversity In Our Yards, Michael E. Vermeulen

Dissertations and Theses

Avian communities, because of their potential high diversity, are ideal for studying the response to potential quantity of resources provided by local and regional habitat. Urban neighborhoods vary in types and magnitudes of anthropogenic stressors they experience, resulting in a continuum of anthropogenic disturbance, often referred to as a gradient of urbanization. The aim of this study was to investigate anthropogenic drivers of urban bird communities in three Portland, OR neighborhoods (Hillsdale, Lents, and Pearl). The three major questions of this study were: 1) What are the significant landscape traits that characterize the neighborhoods? 2) Is there evidence that the …

Predicting Absenteeism Of Female Students In Alabama, Funmilola Okelana

Dissertations and Theses

Abstract

Students are chronically absent when they miss at least 15 days of the school year. Past researchers have identified income and environment as factors that affect school absenteeism. Alabama is a poor state with a high crime rate. The hypothesis for this research is that the absenteeism of female students in Alabama is high. Do we reject or fail to reject this hypothesis. If we fail to reject this hypothesis, then what other factors can affect absenteeism in schools? How can we best predict the absenteeism of female students in Alabama? What is the effect of bad data on …

Assessment Of Cluster Chondrite Accretion Temperature Using Electron Backscatter Diffraction And Implications For Chondrule Formation Models, Secana Portia Goudy

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis studies ordinary chondrites with cluster chondrite lithologies using electron backscatter diffraction so as to measure the temperatures of their olivine grains during deformation, for the purpose of constraining the accretion temperatures of cluster chondrites and creating new constraints on chondrule formation models. Samples analyzed with the technique are shock classified in this thesis as S1 and are type 3, so the deformation analyzed is interpreted to represent the temperatures of the chondrules during accretional deformation. It is found that the studied samples are primarily composed of chondrules at hot temperatures (>850°C) during deformation, mixed with a questionable …

Measurements Of N₂O And Sf₆ Mole Fraction And N₂O Isotopic Composition Between 1978 And 1997 In Archived Air Samples From Cape Meares, Oregon, Terry Clinton Rolfe

Dissertations and Theses

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is the third most important greenhouse gas (GHG) behind carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄). Sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) does not add significantly to climate forcing by itself due to the low concentration in the atmosphere; however, it is one of the most powerful GHG known. Measurements of atmospheric N₂O made prior to mid-1990 have larger uncertainties than later periods due to advancements made in gas chromatography (GC) methods. Few atmospheric SF₆ measurements pre-1990 exist, especially in the northern hemisphere. Archived samples may be analyzed using updated …

Sensory Relevance Models, Walt Woods

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation concerns methods for improving the reliability and quality of explanations for decisions based on Neural Networks (NNs). NNs are increasingly part of state-of-the-art solutions for a broad range of fields, including biomedical, logistics, user-recommendation engines, defense, and self-driving vehicles. While NNs form the backbone of these solutions, they are often viewed as "black box" solutions, meaning the only output offered is a final decision, with no insight into how or why that particular decision was made. For high-stakes fields, such as biomedical, where lives are at risk, it is often more important to be able to explain a …

The Spatial And Temporal Evolution Of The Portland And Tualatin Basins, Oregon, Usa, Darby Patrick Scanlon

Dissertations and Theses

The Portland and Tualatin basins are part of the Puget-Willamette Lowland in the Cascadia forearc of Oregon and Washington. The Coast Range to the west has undergone Paleogene transtension and Neogene transpression, which is reflected in basin stratigraphy. To better understand the tectonic evolution of the region, I modeled three key stratigraphic horizons and their associated depocenters (areas of maximum sediment accumulation) through space and time using well log, seismic, outcrop, aeromagnetic, and gravity data. Three isochore maps were created to constrain the location of Portland and Tualatin basin depocenters during 1) Pleistocene to mid-Miocene (0-15 Ma), 2) eruption of …

The Fate Of Atmospherically Deposited Mercury In Mountain Lake Food Webs, And Implications For Fisheries Management, Ariana Martos Chiapella

Dissertations and Theses

Mountain lakes are an iconic feature of the landscape in the Mountain West. They hold significant ecological and cultural value, and are important sentinels of environmental change. Despite their pristine image, these remote waterbodies are subjected to numerous anthropogenic stressors. Mountain lakes are naturally fishless systems, but historical fish stocking has led to major changes in mountain lake food web structure, including declines of resident amphibians, large-bodied zooplankton, and emergent insect populations. Atmospherically deposited contaminants, such as mercury, can accumulate in mountain lake food webs, leading to relatively high levels in the fish relative to the water. Managing for these …

Versatile Binary-Level Concolic Testing, Bo Chen

Dissertations and Theses

Computing systems are experiencing an explosive growth, both in complexities and diversities, ushered in by the proliferation of cloud computing, mobile computing, and Internet of Things. This growth has also exposed the consequences of unsafe, insecure, and unreliable computing systems. These all point to the great needs of sophisticated system validation techniques. Recent advances in research on symbolic execution has shown great promises for automated software analysis, e.g., generating test cases, finding bugs, and detecting security vulnerabilities. However, symbolic execution is mostly adopted to analyze user applications, while modern computing systems in practice consist of many components shipped by various …

Estimation Of Association Between A Longitudinal Marker And Interval-Censored Progression Times, Naghmeh Daneshi

Dissertations and Theses

In longitudinal studies, we observe the subjects who are likely to progress to a new state during the study time. For example, in clinical trials the stage of a progressing disease is recorded at each follow-up visit. The primary goal is to estimate the relationship between the attributes and the subject's progression state. In such studies, some subjects complete all their follow-up visits and their progression state are observed without any missingness. However, others miss their follow-up visits and when they come back, they learn that they have progressed to a new state. In this case, not only are their …

A Secure Anti-Counterfeiting System Using Near Field Communication, Public Key Cryptography, Blockchain, And Bayesian Games, Naif Saeed Alzahrani

Dissertations and Theses

Counterfeit products, especially in the pharmaceutical sector, have plagued the international community for decades. To combat this problem, many anti-counterfeiting approaches have been proposed. They use either Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Near Field Communication (NFC) physical tags affixed to the products. Current anti-counterfeiting approaches detect two counterfeiting attacks: (1) modifications to a product's tag details, such as changing the expiration date; and (2) cloning of a genuine product's details to reuse on counterfeit products. In addition, these anti-counterfeiting approaches track-and-trace the physical locations of products as the products flow through supply chains.

Existing approaches suffer from two main drawbacks. …

Design And Experimental Evaluation Of Deepmarket: An Edge Computing Marketplace With Distributed Tensorflow Execution Capability, Soyoung Kim

Dissertations and Theses

There is a rise in demand among machine learning researchers for powerful computational resources to train complex machine learning models, e.g., deep learning models. In order to train these models in a reasonable amount of time, the training is often distributed among multiple machines; yet paying for such machines (either through renting them on cloud data centers or building a local infrastructure) is costly. DeepMarket attempts to reduce these costs by creating a marketplace that integrates multiple computational resources over a distributed TensorFlow framework. Instead of requiring users to rent expensive GPU/CPUs from a third-party cloud provider, DeepMarket allows users …