Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Newwater Regimes: An Editorial, Alida Cantor, Jacque Emel

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

This editorial is an introduction to the special issue of Resources on New Water Regimes. The special issue explores legal geographies of water resource management with the dual goals of providing critiques of existing water management practices as well as exploring potential alternatives. The papers in the special issue draw from numerous theoretical perspectives, including decolonial and post-anthropocentric approaches to water governance; social and environmental justice in water management; and understanding legal ecologies. A variety of themes of water governance are addressed, including water allocation, groundwater management, collaborative governance, drought planning, and water quality. The papers describe and analyze water …

The Contribution Of Transportation And Land Use To Citizen Perceptions Of Livability In Oregon Mpos, Rebecca Lewis, Robert Parker

TREC Final Reports

What is livability? How does the built environment influence resident perceptions of livability? Although livability is a broadly used term and a key goal in land use and transportation plans at the state level, it is unclear whether residents think their neighborhoods are livable and what contributes to their perception of livability. The purpose of this project was to understand how Oregonians, in neighborhoods of varying densities and within Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), perceive livability at the nexus of transportation and land use. We sought to understand how residents define and perceive livability in three different MPOs in the state: …

2017 Annual Population Report Tables (April 15, 2018), Portland State University. Population Research Center

Oregon Population Estimates and Reports

The population data in the 2017 annual report tables were compiled by the Population Research Center, Portland State University, 4/18/2018.

The tables in this workbook present the 2017 population estimates produced by the Population Research Center, Portland State University. The July 1 estimates of total population for counties and cities and towns were certified December 15, 2017.

Some tables include the U.S. Census Bureau's decennial Census counts and historical population estimates produced by our Center, and other tables include calculations of change since Census 2010. Also included are population estimates for broad age groups and 5-year age groups; the estimates …

Perceived Overqualification And Withdrawal Among Seasonal Workers: Would Work Motivation Make A Difference?, Anthony Duy Nguyen

Dissertations and Theses

Overqualification is a concern for both individuals and organizations in today's workforce. It has been shown to relate to job attitudes, performance, well-being, and withdrawal. While plenty of research has been done on overqualification in the workplace, there is still a gap in the literature when it pertains to the contingent workforce, especially seasonal workers. These workers do not have secure employment and research has shown that they have distinct outcomes compared to full-time workers. Findings from past research about the relationship between overqualification and job withdrawal have been mixed, and this study aims to further the understanding of this …

Communicating Environmental Risks: Local Newspaper Coverage Of Shellfish Bacterial Contamination In Maine, Brianne Suldovsky, Eva Arbor, Victoria Skillin, Laura Lindenfeld

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Coastal resources play a vital role in Maine’s cultural and economic wellbeing, contributing an estimated 168 billion dollars to the Maine economy. There are numerous risks to the sustainability of Maine’s shellfishing industry and working waterfront, including pathogenic bacterial pollution. In this study, we ask a broad fundamental question central to science and environmental journalism: how do newspapers cover localized environmental risks and what are the implications of those approaches? Utilizing the northeastern US state of Maine’s shellfishing industry as an exemplar environmental issue, this study examines how Maine’s two most read newspapers, the Bangor Daily News and the Portland …

Representations Of Feminist Theory And Gender Issues In Introductory-Level Sociology Textbooks, Jena Amber Zarza

Dissertations and Theses

A review of sociological literature reveals a long history of the study of gender, and an increased popularity in the application of feminist theories and ideas to sociological research. As transmitters of the discipline, introductory-level textbooks have been heavily studied over the past quarter-century to assess the accuracy with which they portray the field of sociology. In order to update the literature available on the topic, this study analyzed the current cohort of top-selling, introductory-level sociology textbooks for coverage of feminist theory and gender issues. Each of the ten textbooks was read cover-to-cover and coded for both latent and manifest …

Using The Syrian Civil War To Measure Hierarchy: Regional Power Transition In The Middle East, Eric Michael Clary

Dissertations and Theses

In 2018, the Syrian Civil War will enter into its ninth year of conflict. From an international relations perspective there are few, if any, studies on state actors in regional sub-state systems. What can an intrastate conflict teach us about future dynamics of the regional interstate hierarchy? It is worthwhile to examine The Syrian Civil War for three reasons. First, Syria lies in the heart of the Middle East lending proximity to regional actors. Second, the breakdown of order in Syria represents a microcosm of the global anarchic environment. Third, Syrian Civil War is an intrastate war that encapsulates both …

Urban Geocomputation: Two Studies On Urban Form And Its Role In Altering Climate, Jackson Lee Voelkel

Dissertations and Theses

Our climate and our cities are changing. Though their changes are not completely dependent upon one another, there is still a coupling effect between them. This study assesses the role of urban form as it pertains to elements of climate change. It is comprised of two essays intended for publication. The first of these essays addresses the feedbacks between urban form, energy consumption, and rising global temperatures. The second essay looks at one particular factor of urban form--tree type--as it pertains to air pollution and urban heat island mitigation. Both papers use the analytical approaches necessary to answer the questions …

Insights On Walkability And Walking In Lisbon With The Iaape Method, Filipe Moura

PSU Transportation Seminars

Walkability and walking are being intensively researched today and the literature provides a wealth of references and examples on how to measure walkability of the built environment. IAAPE is one method that was developed at the Instituto Superior Técnico (Lisbon) to measure walkability at the micro-scale, bringing solutions that were disregarded in two aspects: it is a participatory process; and it provides different evaluations for different population segments (adults, children, seniors, impaired) or for different trip motivations.

Evaluating The Impact Of Oregon's Citizen Initiative Review (Cir) On Voter Decisions, Ari Joaquin Wubbold

Dissertations and Theses

Voters are getting information from more and more sources. Along with this proliferation of sources has come an increasing distrust of traditional mass media. This has created a challenge for voters who seek reliable information when making decisions in the voting booth; including on ballot initiatives. Because voters tend to find ballot initiatives confusing and not easily informed by traditional party cues, the Citizen's Initiative Review (CIR) and the non-partisan, fact-based recommendations they produce have now spread into multiple states. This thesis seeks to gauge whether the CIR is effective at achieving the goals of increasing voter knowledge and encouraging …

Working Paper No. 08, A Non-Equilibrium Approach To Economics: Towards An Intellectual Biography Of Gunnar Myrdal, Leo Kendall

Working Papers in Economics

This inquiry seeks to establish that Gunnar Myrdal provided a foundation for and also practiced a non-equilibrium approach to economics. Throughout his career, Gunnar Myrdal was tasked with researching and providing policy for some of the most pressing economic issues of the 20th century. This inquiry considers and examines what I have selected as the most important areas of research over the span of Myrdal’s career, while showing how and why a nonequilibrium was required. First, I start with racial inequality and how Myrdal’s research broke ground on the subject. Next, I consider his key contribution towards understanding regional inequality …

Benevolent Sexism And Racial Stereotypes: Targets, Functions, And Consequences, Jean Marie Mcmahon

Dissertations and Theses

In this dissertation, I present three manuscripts in which I integrate race into an ambivalent sexism framework using experimental, correlational, and cross-sectional methods. The first paper tests whether a female's race acts as a subtype to differentially elicit benevolent sexism (BS). Two experiments demonstrated that BS is more strongly associated with White women than Black women. The second paper explores the relationship between protective paternalism (a subcomponent of BS), anti-minority attitudes, and threat. Threat was associated with stronger endorsement of protective paternalism and a corresponding increase in anti-minority attitudes, particularly for White men, implicating BS in the maintenance of racial …

A Spatial Analysis Of Ceramics In Northwestern Alaska: Studying Pre-Contact Gendered Use Of Space, Katelyn Elizabeth Braymer-Hayes

Dissertations and Theses

Activities and production among ethnographic Arctic peoples were primarily divided by gender. This gendered division of labor also extended to a spatial segregated pattern of the household in some Arctic cultures. Other cultures had a more gender-integrated spatial pattern of the household. There have been very few archaeological studies of gender in the Arctic, and even fewer studies of gendered use of space.

In this thesis, I evaluated the existence of this gendered use of space in pre-contact Northwest Alaska. I also evaluated the existence of discrete activity spaces. I drew from both ethnoarchaeology and gender/feminist archaeology to both construct …

Supporting Digital Problem Solving, Tyler Frank

Presentations and Publications

This presentation draws from findings based on a three-year research project with the goal of achieving greater digital equity for adult learners in libraries. This project addresses digital problem solving, a unique task adults face in today’s age of ubiquitous technology use. Marginalized and under-resourced digital users face challenges of access not only to high-speed Internet but also to getting the support they need for their digital learning and problem solving. Libraries are uniquely positioned to support these learners. However, this calls for techniques and tools to assist digital users in accomplishing their goals as they continue to develop their …

Transit Demand Analysis And User Classification Using Automatic Fare Collection (Afc) Data, Alireza Khani

PSU Transportation Seminars

Development of origin-destination demand matrices is crucial for transit planning. The development process is facilitated by transit automated data, making it possible to mine boarding and alighting patterns on an individual basis. This research proposes a novel stochastic trip chaining method which uses Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) and General Transit Feed Specifications (GTFS) data to infer an origin-destination (O-D) matrix.

Advancing Digital Equity In Public Libraries: Assessing Library Patrons’ Problem Solving In Technology Rich Environments, Gloria Jacobs

Presentations and Publications

This mixed methods research examined the digital problem solving processes of vulnerable adults within the community setting of a public library. Data were collected from approximately 450 library users who completed a library survey, a subset who completed PIAACs Problem Solving in Technology Rich Environments (PSTRE) assessment, and a smaller subset who participated in an observation protocol. Quantitative analysis revealed that library website use was a strong predictor of PSTRE scores. Qualitative analysis showed that digital problem solving needs to be seen as a set of contexts and events that are dynamic across different situations. In order to respond to …

Framing Race And Blame In The Media: A Case Study On The Chapel Hill Shooting, Sara Abdullatif Galadari

Dissertations and Theses

This research examines how racism is hidden and denied by the press, and how blame is attributed to individuals in crime news stories. This research heavily relies of van Dijk's (2015) six discursive strategies to reveal how racism is hidden and denied in the press: positive self-presentation, denial and counter-attack, moral blackmail, subtle denials, mitigation, and defense and offense. Specifically, the Chapel Hill shooting is used as an example of a crime news story for my case study. This study will use framing as the primary method, and critical discourse analysis will be used to guide my interpretations of the …

Foreign Language Anxiety, Sexuality, And Gender: Lived Experiences Of Four Lgbtq+ Students, James Donald Mitchell

Dissertations and Theses

The relationship between foreign language anxiety and gender identity has been largely a quantitative endeavor that has shown contradictory results. Furthermore, sexual identity has not been researched in foreign language anxiety literature. A qualitative account of LGBTQ+ language learners with different gender identities has been absent from the literature. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between foreign language anxiety and sexual and gender identity. To gain insight into this relationship, this qualitative study investigated the lived experiences of four LGBTQ+ foreign language university students who represented three gender identities. Data were collected through multiple, in-depth …

Glacier Inventories And Change In Glacier National Park, Melissa Carrie Brett

Dissertations and Theses

Glacier National Park, in northwestern Montana, is a unique and awe-inspiring national treasure that is often used by the media and public-at-large as a window into the effects of climate change. An updated inventory of glaciers and perennial snowfields (G&PS) in the Park, along with an assessment of their change over time, is essential to understanding the role that glaciers are playing in the environment of this Park. Nine inventories between 1966 and 2015 were compiled to assess area changes of G&PS. Over that 49-year period, total area changed by nearly -34 ± 11% between 1966 and 2015. Volume change, …

The Antecedents Of Local Government Service Delivery Under Crisis Conditions: The Case Of Khon Kaen Province, Thailand, Sirisak Laochankham

Dissertations and Theses

The aim of this research is to understand local service delivery in Thailand's post-2006 national political crisis. The researcher collected qualitative data in four municipalities in Khon Kaen Province. The analytical framework covered five moderating variables: political institutions, civic engagement, political leadership, governance, and political economy. The results were mixed. Local service delivery suffered from weakening electoral mechanisms, suspended local autonomy, weakened civic participation and policy networks, insecure local administrators, worsened central-local trust, and the detrimental effect on local economies. However, there were opportunities for improved, or maintained, local service delivery through the lessening of administrative procedures, a fast-track mechanism …

Citizen Advocacy For Safe Streets In Bremen, Germany, Anne Kirkham

PSU Transportation Seminars

Although Germany may be known internationally for its environmentalism, over the past 20 years German cities have chronically underinvested in transportation networks, both for public transport as well as non-motorized options. The lag in the development and expansion of sustainable options combined with the rapid growth in private automobile ownership (itself the result of automobile-industry-friendly policymaking) means that cities like Bremen have been left behind in terms of transportation planning. As in America, SUV sales continue to increase despite considerably narrower streets, particularly in cities.

Nowhere is this more visible than in Bremen’s Neustadt, a dense neighbourhood with the most …

Tools And Techniques For Teaching Collaborative Regional Planning And Enhancing Livability And Sustainable Transportation In Gateway And Natural Amenity Regions, Danya Rumore, Divya Chandrasekhar, Sarah Hinnars

TREC Final Reports

Communities throughout the nation face a variety of interconnected transportation, livability and sustainability challenges that can only be effectively addressed through regional planning collaboration. These challenges are particularly pressing in gateway and natural amenity region (GNAR) communities throughout the western United States. This project engaged graduate students in developing curricular materials to teach planning students, professional planners and community members (1) the core concepts and skills of regional collaborative transportation and land use planning and (2) about the unique transportation and planning-related challenges and opportunities in GNAR communities. It did so through an applied graduate-level studio course taught in fall …

Central Point School District 6 Enrollment Forecast Update 2018-19 To 2027-28, Portland State University. Population Research Center, Charles Rynerson, Nicholas Chun, Joshua Ollinger

School District Enrollment Forecast Reports

This report presents a range of three scenarios of district‐wide enrollment forecasts by grade level for Central Point School District 6 (CPSD) for the 10 year period between 2018‐19 and 2027‐28. Each enrollment forecast scenario is related to population forecasts that incorporate different assumptions about growth within the District, with the primary differences being the contribution of net migration to the District’s population and age distribution. Individual school forecasts consistent with the middle series are also presented for the 10 year period.

Teaching Transportation Planning In Natural Amenity Regions, Danya Rumore, Divya Chandrasekhar, Sarah Hinnars

TREC Project Briefs

National parks and other natural amenities, because of their influx of visitors, can experience “big city problems” like congestion and sprawl. This education project developed strategies for teaching transportation planning in these unique communities.

A North American Survey Of Electric Bicycle Owners, John Macarthur, Michael Harpool, Daniel Scheppke, Christopher Cherry

TREC Final Reports

Electric bicycle (e-bike) use is a rising phenomenon in North America as a growing number of manufacturers produce a variety of bicycles which can accommodate the needs of diverse populations. With the growth of the e-bike industry, e-bike users are an increasingly integral part of both the transportation network and recreational trail system. However, little research has been conducted on e-bikes within North America, especially on the individuals who have purchased e-bikes. The first-known U.S. e-bike owner survey was conducted by Portland State University in 2013. The 2013 survey aimed to understand whether e-bikes have the capacity to reduce barriers …

Development Of Rdsetgo: A Rapidly Deployable Structural Evaluation Toolkit For Global Observation, Charles Riley

TREC Final Reports

The most expensive and critical links in the nation’s transportation network are its bridges. Historical and contemporary bridge failures have highlighted our reliance on these structures. While the nation’s bridge management system is robust and well administered, the tools needed to evaluate individual bridges to determine their condition, whether for asset management or in response to a significant loading event such as the imminent Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake in the Pacific Northwest, are currently highly specialized. The goal of this study was to develop a cost-effective, accurate, and easily deployed evaluation tool using widely available mobile technology, specifically iPods, to …

Assessing Vulnerability To Urban Heat: A Study Of Disproportionate Heat Exposure And Access To Refuge By Socio-Demographic Status In Portland, Oregon, Jackson Voelkel, Dana E. Hellman, Ryu Sakuma, Vivek Shandas

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Extreme urban heat is a powerful environmental stressor which poses a significant threat to human health and well-being. Exacerbated by the urban heat island phenomenon, heat events are expected to become more intense and frequent as climate change progresses, though we have limited understanding of the impact of such events on vulnerable populations at a neighborhood or census block group level. Focusing on the City of Portland, Oregon, this study aimed to determine which socio-demographic populations experience disproportionate exposure to extreme heat, as well as the level of access to refuge in the form of public cooling centers or residential …

Development And Field Validation Of An Environmental Dna (Edna) Assay For Invasive Clams Of The Genus Corbicula, Dominique A. Cowart, Mark A. Renshaw, Crysta Gantz, John Umek, Sudeep Chandra, Scott P. Egan, David M. Lodge, Eric R. Larson

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Early detection is imperative for successful control or eradication of invasive species, but many organisms are difficult to detect at the low abundances characteristic of recently introduced populations. Environmental DNA (eDNA) has emerged as a promising invasive species surveillance tool for freshwaters, owing to its high sensitivity to detect aquatic species even when scarce. We report here a new eDNA assay for the globally invasive Asian clam Corbicula fluminea (Müller, 1774), with field validation in large lakes of western North America. We identified a candidate primer pair for the Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene for C. fluminea. We …

An Efficient And Reliable Dna-Based Sex Identification Method For Archaeological Pacific Salmonid (Oncorhynchus Spp.) Remains, Thomas C.A. Royle, Dionne Sakhrani, Camilla F. Speller, Virginia L. Butler, Robert H. Devlin, Aubrey Cannon, Dongya Y. Yang

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Pacific salmonid (Oncorhynchus spp.) remains are routinely recovered from archaeological sites in northwestern North America but typically lack sexually dimorphic features, precluding the sex identification of these remains through morphological approaches. Consequently, little is known about the deep history of the sex-selective salmonid fishing strategies practiced by some of the region's Indigenous peoples. Here, we present a DNA-based method for the sex identification of archaeological Pacific salmonid remains that integrates two PCR assays that each co-amplify fragments of the sexually dimorphic on the Y chromosome (sdY) gene and an internal positive control (Clock1a or D-loop). The first assay coamplifies a …

Neahkahnie Mountain, Cameron La Follette, Douglas Deur

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Neahkahnie Mountain, about twenty miles south of Seaside, is a prominent landmark in Oregon Coast geography, history, and lore. Standing 1,680 feet high, the basalt edifice is both a peak and a headland. Formed by Miocene lava flows surging down the ancestral Columbia River channel roughly 15 million years ago, the mountain’s western face has been eroded by ocean waves, forming precipitous cliffs that drop as far as six hundred feet to the churning Pacific below. The mountain’s upper and north-facing slopes are draped in a dense and expanding forest of Sitka spruce, Western hemlock, and Western red …