Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Meteorology And Impacts Of The September 2020 Western United States Extreme Weather Event, Emma N. Russell, Paul Loikith, Idowu Ajibade, James Done, Chris Lower

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

In September 2020, Western North America was impacted by a highly anomalous meteorological event. Over the Pacific Northwest, strong and dry easterly winds exceeded historically observed values for the time of year and contributed to the rapid spread of several large wildfires. Nine lives were lost and over 5000 homes and businesses were destroyed in Oregon. The smoke from the fires enveloped the region for nearly two weeks after the event. Concurrently, the same weather system brought record-breaking cold, dramatic 24-h temperature falls, and early-season snowfall to parts of the Rocky Mountains. Here we use synoptic analysis and air parcel …

A Theory Of Change For One-On-One Peer Support For Older Adolescents And Young Adults, Janet S. Walker, Vanessa V. Klodnick, Brianne Lapelusa, Shannon M. Blajeski, Alex R. Freedman, Shannon Marble

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Peer support has become increasingly available as a formal mental health service. However, high quality research and implementation of peer support has been hampered over the years by the lack of theory that clarifies peer support roles and explains exactly how these roles foster positive outcomes for peer support users. Observers have noted that theory is particularly sparse in regard to peer support for older adolescents and young adults, and they have called for theory that not only clarifies roles and mechanisms of impact, but also identifies how peer support for young people might differ from peer support for …

Measurement Matters: A Commentary On The State Of The Science On Patient Reported Outcome Measures (Proms) In Autism Research, Hillary Schiltz, Zachary J. Williams, Shuting Zheng, Elizabeth A. Kaplan-Kahn, Hannah E. Morton, Kashia A. Rosenau, Christina Nicolaidis, Alexandra Sturm, Multiple Additional Authors

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

High quality science relies upon psychometrically valid and reliable measurement, yet very few Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) have been developed or thoroughly validated for use with autistic individuals. The present commentary summarizes the current state of autism PROM science, based on discussion at the Special Interest Group (SIG) at the 2022 International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Annual Meeting and collective expertise of the authors. First, we identify current issues in autism PROM research including content and construct operationalization, informant-structure, measure accessibility, and measure validation and generalization. We then enumerate barriers to conducting and disseminating this research, such as …

2020 Racial Justice Protests In Portland, Or: An Analysis Of Radical Place-Making And Police Tactics In A Neighborhood Context, Claire Brumbaugh-Smith

Dissertations and Theses

During the George Floyd protests, police used tactics infrequently seen until now, including the use of tear gas and sonic weapons in contested spaces. Police tactics are presumably sanctioned by policing directives, but little is known about how these tactics may vary across space at a granular spatial level, or how they might be normalized over time. To address this knowledge gap, I used the concept of repertoires of protest control to characterize and quantify the tactics of the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) deployed on racial justice protesters during the 2020 racial justice protests and describe the role of these …

Individual And Structural Contributors To Implicit And Explicit Anti-Muslim Bias In The United States, Aeleah M. Granger

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation consists of two manuscripts addressing the multifaceted nature of Islamophobia in the United States by examining explicit and implicit anti-Muslim bias on individual and structural levels. The first manuscript tests an ideology-threat-attitude-behavior model by estimating the simultaneous mediating effects of threat perceptions on the relationships between individual differences in ideology, Islamophobia (fear of Muslims), and support for an anti-Muslim police surveillance policy. This study (N = 603) finds that individuals who are higher in Social Dominance Orientation (SDO), Right-wing Authoritarianism (RWA), and Nationalism are more likely to perceive Muslims as realistic (power), symbolic (value), and terroristic (safety) …

Gen Z And Millennials Have An Unlikely Love Affair With Their Local Libraries, Kathi Inman Berens, Rachel Noorda

English Faculty Publications and Presentations

A phone fixation may seem at odds with an attraction to books. But the latter may offer a much-needed reprieve from the former. In our recent study of American Gen Z and millennials, we discovered that 92% of them check social media daily; 25% of them check multiple times per hour. Yet in that same nationally representative study, we also found that Gen Z and millennials are still visiting libraries at a healthy clip, with 54% of Gen Zers and millennials trekking to their local library in 2022. Our findings reinforce 2017 data from the Pew Research Center, which showed …

Thorstein Veblen And His Underlying Philosophical Influences, John B. Hall

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This inquiry recognizes Thorstein Veblen first and foremost as a philosopher who advanced a literature in Social Sciences, generally, and Economic Science, in particular. Veblen’s thinking and writing were supported by rich traditions drawn from notable philosophers that included among several: Charles Sanders Peirce, Immanuel Kant, and Friedrich Nietzsche. Relying upon his strong background in Philosophy, he then sought to challenge mainstream, neoclassical economics, especially. As his career developed, he would turn his talents and energies towards advancing ideas that would ultimately prove foundational for heterodox economics and, relatedly, American Institutionalism.

Journal of Economic Literature Classification Codes:
B15 – Historical, …

Microsoft Access To Sqlite Database Migration For Existing Forest Management Software: Methods And Considerations, Drue Kathryn Lindstrom

Masters in GIS Practicum Reports

Bioregional Inventory Originated Simulation Under Management (BioSum) is software from the US Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program. It is a complex analysis framework that models and evaluates forest management treatments across multi-decade timeframes. Originally written to work with Microsoft Access databases, BioSum is migrating to the use of SQLite as its database engine. The final module of BioSum, Treatment Optimizer, is the first one to be converted so the changes can be implemented incrementally. This practicum report outlines a workflow for converting the database engine of an existing program from Microsoft Access to SQLite with the example …

Data From: Active Transportation Counts From Existing On-Street Signal And Detection Infrastructure, Sirisha Kothuri, Patrick Allen Singleton, Mahyar Vahedi Saheli, Elizabeth Yates, Joseph P. Broach

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Datasets

This study’s objective was to use data from existing traffic signal infrastructure to estimate pedestrian volumes. Pedestrian push-button actuations were collected from signal controller logs at 49 intersections in western Oregon and an additional 16 intersections in eastern Oregon. These actuations were then compared to observed pedestrian counts, totaling over 34,000 people, obtained from video recordings. After exploring various options, a simple quadratic relationship was modeled using a single measure of pedestrian signal activity: the number of push-button presses (filtered to remove multiple presses within 15 seconds). The model’s predictions showed a correlation of 0.86 with observed pedestrian volumes and …

Portland State University Economic And Social Impact Study 2024, Jenny H. Liu, Hyeoncheol Kim

Northwest Economic Research Center Publications and Reports

Portland State University (PSU) serves as a vital economic and social engine for the Portland metropolitan area and the state of Oregon. With more than 20,000 students enrolled across eight distinctive colleges and schools, offering more than 200 degree and certificate programs, and employing a total workforce exceeding 3,500, PSU contributes significantly to economic, social and community vibrancy through its core educational, research and engagement activities. This study examines PSU’s economic and social contributions, educational outcomes, research activities and community engagement initiatives through both quantitative and qualitative analyses to provide a multifaceted view of the university’s impact.

Geographically, this study …

What Drives Housing Choices Of Refugees And Immigrants?, Diane Mitschke, Anne Nordberg, Stephen Mattingly, Katherine Kitchens, Yasmin Al-Zubi, Farah Naz

TREC Project Briefs

When newcomers to the US initially settle, if their chosen location does not meet their expectations or needs, that often propels them to relocate. To determine what helps drive those transition decisions, the researchers interviewed people if they fulfilled one of these requirements:

• They were members of the Dallas County community who were planning to move in the next five years.

• They had recently (within the past five years) moved from their initial residence following their arrival in Dallas County.
• They also had to be immigrants to or refugees in the US who were at least eighteen years old. Out …

Families At The Center: Leading For Home Visiting Systems Change, Callie H. Lambarth, Beth L. Green, Center For Coordinating Oregon Home Visiting Systems

Center for Improvement of Child and Family Services Publications

The Center for Coordinating Oregon Home Visiting Systems (CCOHVS) launched in February 2024 at the Center for Improvement of Child and Family Services at Portland State University. The CCOHVS functions as a program-neutral backbone organization for a coordinated system of prenatal and early childhood home visiting services. Its work will move the state closer to the vision described in the Raise Up Oregon 2.0 (RUO) strategic plan1 for early childhood systems, namely to create “equitable, integrated, accessible, inclusive, anti-racist and family-centered” early learning services, with a focus on ensuring this system meets the needs of pregnant people and families with …

An Additive Model Of Engagement: Considering The Role Of Front-End Criminal Justice Agencies In Treatment Provisions [Interim Report: Year Two], Kelsey S. Henderson, Christopher Campbell, Brian Renauer

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report provides the initial findings of Year 2 of a multi year project to understand the effects of successive drug policy efforts in Oregon, with special focus given to Ballot Measure 110 (M110). This report uses criminal justice metrics (e.g., arrests and drug court participation) and treatment resource information (e.g., number of individuals served through M110 monies) to better understand how individuals are connecting with services in Oregon, and the role that the criminal justice system can play as one component of a larger network.

Related Reports:

Key Points in Preparation for Oregon Legislative Session (2024): Examining the Multifaceted …

Including Voices And Mitigating Bias: Evaluative Practices For Final Interviews, Xan Arch, José Velazco

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

The chapter discusses the preparation of non-search committee members to participate in an interview process and provide feedback on candidates. Increasingly, as our institutions strive for more inclusive search processes, we are incorporating equitable hiring practices such as implicit bias training for search committee members, rubrics for evaluating candidate applications, and behavior-based interview questions. However, for final interviews, we often throw the door open for general evaluation of candidates by a broad group of people who agree to attend a meeting, presentation, or meal. The feedback we gain from these final interview events may truly be germane to the candidates’ …

A Framework For Protecting And Promoting Employee Mental Health Through Supervisor Supportive Behaviors, Leslie B. Hammer, Jennifer K. Dimoff, Cynthia Mohr, Shalene Joyce Allen

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The attention to workplace mental health is timely given extreme levels of burnout, anxiety, depression and trauma experienced by workers due to serious extraorganizational stressors – the COVID-19 pandemic, threats to climate change, and extreme social and political unrest. Workplace-based risk factors, such as high stress and low support, are contributing factors to poor mental health and suicidality (Choi, 2018; Milner et al., 2013, 2018), just as low levels of social connectedness and belonging are established risk factors for poor mental health (Joiner et al., 2009), suggesting that social support at work (e.g., from supervisors) may be a key approach …

On The Ordinariness Of Murdering The Black Psyque And Flesh: Antiblackness In Educational Policy And Practice In Brazil, Colombia And Ecuador, Éllen Daiane Cintra, Mauri Balanta Jaramillo, Ethan Johnson

Black Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper seeks to understand how anti-blackness has manifested in Brazilian, Colombian and Ecuadorian education based on analyzes of the education of ethnic-racial relations in these three countries. We start from the recognition of dynamics of violence that position Black people as socially dead (PATTERSON, 1982) in the afterlife of slavery (HARTMAN, 2007). Next, we analyze aspects of education and legal apparatus regarding ethnic-racial relations within education. We conclude that the lens of antiblackness (SHARPE, 2016; WILDERSON, 2010; VARGAS, 2020) in education advances analysis of the antagonistic and paradigmatic relationship that positions Black people as a problem and uneducable (DUMAS, …

"The Feminist Coven Did It": Nigerian Women's Feminist Leadership And Coalition Against Police Brutality During The 2020 #Endsars Protests, Bright Alozie

Black Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

The 2020 #EndSARS protest—a movement against police brutality and state violence in Nigeria—is an excellent locale for the historical study of African women’s activism and contributions to social movements. Young Nigerian women actively spearheaded this movement. Employing oral history methods, social media, and other primary sources, I place these women at the center of the narratives surrounding the #EndSARS protest. Their exceptional leadership and coordination contributed to the success of the most extensive youth-led protests in Nigeria’s contemporary history. In locating their individual and collective activism, I argue that history provided the roadmap for how they did effective activism since …

Salvation And Sweet Rolls: An Examination Of Mormon Diet Books, Rachel Noorda

English Faculty Publications and Presentations

Religious diet books highlight the overlap between religious and diet cultures. This article examines the intersection of Mormonism, diet culture, and fatphobia through an analysis of Mormon diet books published between 1990 and 2015. The study explores how Mormon diet books leverage the Word of Wisdom (the LDS health code) to promote weight loss and reinforce religious obedience. By framing dietary compliance as a spiritual mandate, these texts link physical health and body size to moral and spiritual worthiness. This conflation of body and spirit, rooted in Mormon theology, amplifies fatphobia by promoting thinness as a sign of obedience and …

Afro-Latin Americans Living In Spain And Social Death: Moving From The Empirical To The Ontological, Ethan Johnson, Joy González-Güeto, Vanessa Cadena

Black Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper has three objectives. First, we establish that although Spain has attempted to distance itself from its role in the sub-saharan African slave trade and the significance blackness plays within its borders, there exists a significant population of people of African descent from Latin America living in Spain. Second, we show Black people are living what Sadiyah Hartmann refers to as the afterlife of slavery in Latin America. We claim it is worthwhile to take into account that Afro-Latin Americans are fleeing to the country that is largely responsible for them being in Latin America and the conditions of …

Scales Of Connectivity Within Stream Temperature Networks Of The Clackamas River Basin, Oregon, Michael Krochta, Heejun Chang

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Water quality varies along the stream network; thus, considering the directional, dendritic nature of stream networks with surrounding landscape variables is essential in explaining spatial variations of water quality. Using a spatially extensive stream temperature monitoring effort in the Clackamas River Basin in the United States, we first compare spatial scales of analysis of atmospheric, landscape, and in-stream explanatory variables through their correlation with summer stream temperatures. We then derive a predictive stream temperature model with factors representing the spatial variation of local climate, recent wildfire effects, and discharge. Finally, we compare nonspatial multiple linear regression to a spatial stream …

Producing Knowledge Together: A Participatory Approach To Synthesising Research Across A Large‑Scale Collaboration In Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Health, Kathleen P. Conte, Alison Laycock, Jodie Bailie, Emma Walke, Leigh-Ann Onnis, Lynette Feeney, Erika Langham, Multiple Additional Authors

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

Background

Despite that stakeholder participation in evidence synthesis could result in more useful outcomes, there are few examples of processes that actively involve them in synthesis work. Techniques are needed that engage diverse stakeholders as equal partners in knowledge co-production. The aims of this paper are to describe an innovative participatory process of synthesising a large body of academic research products and compare the findings of the participatory process against two traditional approaches to synthesis: a rapid review and a structured review.

Methods

First, a rapid synthesis of all research outputs (n = 86) was conducted by researchers with …

2023 Oregon Statewide Homelessness Estimates, Jacen Greene, Franklin H. Spurbeck, Marisa Zapata

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

Executive Summary excerpt:

The Point-In-Time (PIT) count is a census of people experiencing both sheltered and unsheltered homelessness on a single night in January. The federal government requires this as a condition of funding it distributes to Continuums of Care (CoCs), networks of government agencies and service providers that manage homelessness services and funding in specific regions. Oregon has eight CoCs, five of which manage their own PIT count, which leads to variation in methodology and completeness. The PIT count’s accuracy is further reduced because it only captures homelessness on a single night, missing changes throughout the year, and uses …

Alternative Shelter Evaluation Report, Jacen Greene, Todd Ferry, Emily Leickly, Franklin H. Spurbeck

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

This report summarizes research by Portland State University’s Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative for the Joint Office of Homeless Services on the cost, participant experiences, and client outcomes in village-style and motel shelters as compared to each other and to traditional, congregate shelters.

2023 Point In Time Findings Report: Count Of People Experiencing Homelessness In Clackamas, Multnomah, And Washington Counties, Oregon, Marisa Zapata, Jacen Greene, Carolyn Niehaus, Ethan Sharygin, Franklin H. Spurbeck, Christina Wei

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires localities to complete an annual census-style count of people experiencing homelessness in their jurisdictions. This count, called the Point in Time (PIT) Count, enumerates the number and characteristics of individuals and family households who are experiencing homelessness. In 2023, the Portland, Oregon tri-county region collaborated for the first time and jointly created, administered, and analyzed the count data. The Tri-County 2023 PIT Count report presents findings from this first regional count of people experiencing homelessness.

Targeted, Harassed, And Displaced: The Role Of Discrimination In Oregon Evictions, Alex Farrington, Natalie J. Cholula, Lisa K. Bates

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Drawing on focus groups with 101 Oregon tenants who have experienced an eviction since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, this report examines the role that discrimination plays in Oregon evictions. As this is not a legal investigation, we do not focus solely on legally-actionable or provable claims. Rather, we include a wide range of tenants’ descriptions of their experiences with unfair, malicious, or prejudicial treatment. We find that many tenants are specifically targeted for eviction or experience prejudicial treatment during the eviction process because of their identity or background. This includes being treated unfairly based on tenants’ race, language, …

Suitability Analysis Of Public And Institutional Lands For The Oregon Farm To Institution Collaborative, Megan Horst, Maura Paxton

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report provides a statewide view of public and institutional lands that may be suitable for farm to institution food production in Oregon. The goal is to assist the Oregon Farm to Institution Collaboration, and particularly the Land Access and Shared Assets Work Group, in identifying possible lands for farmers and food producers to grow food for schools, hospitals, and other institutions.

We start by comparing Oregon to other states, in terms of their public land access efforts around farm to institution or other related agriculture. We also showcase some interesting cases which may serve as inspiration to Oregonians. The …

Engaging With Nature And Work: Associations Among The Built And Natural Environment, Experiences Outside, And Job Engagement And Creativity, Rebecca M. Brossoit, Tori Crain, Jordyn J. Leslie, Gwenith G. Fisher, Aaron M. Eakman

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Introduction: There is substantial evidence that contact with nature is related to positive health and well-being outcomes, but extensions of this research to work-related outcomes is sparse. Some organizations are redesigning workspaces to incorporate nature and adopting nature-related policies, warranting a need for empirical studies that test the influence of nature on employee outcomes.

Methods: The present mixed-methods study tests and extends the biophilic work design model to examine associations among the built and natural environment at work and home, experiences of time spent outside (i.e., amount of time outside, enjoyment of time outside, outdoor activities), and motivational work outcomes …

The Intersection Of Asset Management And Geographic Information Systems For University Facilities Maintenance, Andrew Westerlund Beland

Masters in GIS Practicum Reports

This project describes a proof of concept for developing a digital asset management system dashboard for water backflow assemblies at Portland State University (PSU) using a modified ESRI ArcGIS Online backflow solution. Asset management is crucial for optimizing the lifecycle of tangible assets, which ensures cost-effective operational efficiency and regulatory compliance. PSU manages over 250 backflow assemblies spread across the 50-acre campus and has traditionally relied on manual processes, which can lead to inefficiencies and potential transcription errors.

The system links spatial data with asset attributes for backflow devices, enabling field staff to update inspection results directly from mobile devices. …

Spatially Allocated Population Characteristics For Oregon Counties From The 2017-2021 Acs Pums, Version 1.0" [Computer File], Population Research Center, Portland State University

Publications, Reports and Presentations

A novel dataset and documentation containing spatially allocated estimates based on analysis of the 2017-21 ACS PUMS for counties in the State of Oregon. Analysis was performed by iterative adjustment to the ACS weights such that results were consistent with selected tables generated from the full ACS sample published by the US Census Bureau. The data are delivered in two pipe-delimited text files. Each row represents one county, and columns represent standard data fields described in the codebooks. Oregon Department of Human Services supported the analysis and selected the indicators for production; race/ethnicity are reporting in a manner consistent with …

Fight, Flight, Freeze: How Access To Support Shapes Tenant Responses To Eviction In Multnomah County, Natalie J. Cholula, Lisa K. Bates, Alex Farrington, Marisa Zapata, Colleen Carroll, Jacen Greene, Hadley Bates

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Facing eviction is a traumatic event that forces tenants into a fight, flight or freeze response. Our focus groups with Multnomah County tenants reveal that their responses to eviction are directly shaped by their access to support. Many tenants are unable to access formal support and therefore respond to eviction by freezing up or fleeing their home. Conversely, tenants who can access formal support—including rental assistance or legal assistance—exhibit a fight response, leveraging external support to challenge or avoid their eviction.