Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Examining Policy Innovation Process And The Roles Of Policy Entrepreneurs: A Case Of Smart City Initiative In Khon Kaen, Thailand, Thitisak Duadsuntia

Dissertations and Theses

Innovation is a necessary process for public sector organizations and governments to adapt to social and economic changes. Innovation helps governments improve public service performance and address wicked challenges. Although the significance of public sector innovation has long been realized, how it occurs, and how it is influenced by contextual factors is not well explored. Particularly, policy innovation that emerges in an open and dynamic social system is understudied. Policy entrepreneurs mobilize policy change in their social systems, but their roles in a public sector innovation process still needs further investigation.

This study explores the policy innovation process and explicates …

In The Hot Seat: Acquiring Kernel Density Heat Map Design Guidance Through Delphi And Survey Methods, Lauren Eileen Mckinney-Wise

Dissertations and Theses

Kernel density heat maps have emerged as a new, popular thematic map type. Yet, unlike other thematic map types, little if any published guidance exists for effective heat map design. This is significant because maps are highly persuasive objects that are often utilized to communicate important information, but maps can also be misleading and misunderstood. Therefore, proper guidance for heat map creation is critical for cartographers to create maps that convey geographic information successfully.

To address this literature gap, I used a modified Delphi method and an online survey to investigate several questions, including understanding what cartographic experts think are …

Committees In The Oregon State Legislature: Partisan, Distributive, Or Informational, Woodrow C. Moore

Dissertations and Theses

The study of legislative committees has overwhelmingly been focused on the Congressional level. This has left legislative committees at the state level largely unstudied. Committees in the Oregon State Legislature are an essential and powerful part of the policy making process and Oregon is unlike most other states in that bills cannot be amended on the floor. Using three theories regarding legislative committees -- the informational theory, distributive theory, and the partisan theory -- that were put forth by Krehbiel, Cox and McCubbins, and Weingast and Marshall, this paper will examine the Oregon State Legislature's committee system through a series …

Evaluating Militant Decision-Making With Information Science: The Irish Republican Movement During The "Troubles", Joshua C. Eastin, Emily Kalah Gade, Michael Gabbay

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Why do militant groups decide to escalate or deescalate their use of violence in conflict? Examining the case of the “Troubles” in Northern Ireland, we analyze groups that adopt violence as a political strategy and evaluate factors that influence its application. To do so, we adopt a novel empirical approach to the study of militant groups. Drawn from information science, this approach enables estimation of variable influence and uncertainty within structured case studies, and is thus ideal for topics such as militant decision-making where systematic data collection is difficult.

Postfire Effects And Regeneration Patterns In Araucaria-Nothofagus Forests In South-Central Chile, Paola A. Arroyo-Vargas

Dissertations and Theses

Fire regime shifts due to climate and land use changes are threatening ecosystems worldwide, affecting their capacity to recover after severe wildfires. Increase of fire frequency, severity and intensity may severely affect forest ecosystems whose fire regimes have been characterized by infrequent stand-replacing fires. The temperate forests of southern South America, specifically the Andean temperate forests dominated by the conifer Araucaria araucana and the angiosperm species from Nothofagus genus, have evolved with less fire pressure, where severe wildfires may happen after decades or centuries. Recent severe and short-interval fires exacerbated by warmer and drier climate conditions have affected these forests, …

Uncovering The Nuance And Complexity Of Gentrification In Asian Immigrant Communities: A Case Study Of Koreatown, Los Angeles, Seyoung Sung

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation examines the nuances and complexities of gentrification in Asian immigrant communities in transit-oriented neighborhoods of Los Angeles, with a particular focus on commercial changes. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the study aims to clarify how gentrification uniquely affects these communities, both in terms of residential and commercial aspects. The primary question of this research is: How do gentrification dynamics and consequences manifest uniquely in Asian immigrant communities?

The research unfolds in two stages. First, the study begins with a comprehensive analysis of neighborhood changes in Asian immigrant communities focusing on demographic dynamics, housing shifts, and commercial trends. The analysis …

Key Points In Preparation For Oregon Legislative Session (2024): Examining The Multifaceted Impacts Of Drug Decriminalization On Public Safety, Law Enforcement, And Prosecutorial Discretion, Kelsey S. Henderson, Christopher Campbell, Brian Renauer

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications and Presentations

These findings are part of a 3-year study to examine the impacts of possession of PCS law changes on: (1) law enforcement discretion, (2) prosecutorial decision-making, (3) courts/sentencing, and (4) public safety. The key findings, unless noted, represent statewide trends and impacts. Prior to M110, other statewide changes in policy, law, and historical events such as the COVID-19 lockdown/court backlog and public defense crisis also had important impacts on enforcement, prosecution/sentencing, and public safety outcomes. As such, data collected during the early implementation of M110 is not likely a reliable predictor of its ultimate impact. The data reported on below …

Emotion Knowledge, Its Applications, And Their Associations With African American Children's Social Relationships With Teachers And Peers In Kindergarten And First Grade, Brielle Emily Petit

Dissertations and Theses

Close and high-quality relationships with teachers and peers are a significant, positive predictor of young children's academic and social-emotional skills, whereas early conflictual relationships can pose various short- and long-term socio-emotional and academic risks. Evidence also suggests that emotion knowledge, or the ways children identify, recognize, and apply emotional labels, are a crucial factor in children's early development including overcoming social-emotional challenges and fostering high-quality interpersonal relationships. Studies examining social relationships and emotion knowledge in early childhood, however, often reveal worrisome differences in between-group comparison designs. Particularly, minoritized children, and most often Black and African American, are associated with poorer …

Swimming Upstream In The Academic Library: Exploring Faculty Needs For Library Streaming Media Collections, Elsa Loftis, Carly Lamphere

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

Objective - To compare Portland State University’s (PSU) local experience of using streaming media to national and international trends identified in a large qualitative study by Ithaka S+R. This comparison will help librarians better understand if the PSU Library is meeting the needs of faculty with its streaming media collection through a series of faculty interviews.

Methods and Intervention - Two librarians from PSU participated in a large, collaborative, two-part study conducted by Ithaka S+R in 2022, with 23 other academic institutions in the United States, Canada, and Germany As part of this study, the authors conducted a series of …

Digital Public Library Ecosystem 2023, Rachel Noorda, Kathi Inman Berens

English Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Digital Public Library Ecosystem is the network of digital book collection and circulation specifically through public libraries. Digital book collection and circulation have never been more important than they are today. Nearly 1 in 3 Americans has read an ebook in the last 12 months. Audiobook listening is also high; nearly 1 in 4 Americans has listened to an audiobook in that same time period. Libraries are one way in which readers gain access to ebooks and audiobooks. Despite this, a holistic view of the digital library ecosystem is largely opaque. Three factors contribute to current confusion about the …

People, Place, And Planet: Global Review Of Use-Inspired Research On Water-Related Ecosystem Services In Urban Wetlands, Jason Sauer, Heejun Chang

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

With climate change and urbanization, city planners and developers have increasing interest and practice in constructing, restoring, or incorporating wetlands as forms of green infrastructure to maintain water-related ecosystem services (WES). We reviewed studies that valued in functional or monetary units the water regulation and purification services of urban wetlands around the globe. We used the adaptive management cycle (AMC) as a heuristic to determine the step that a study would represent in the AMC, the connections between the cycle steps that were used or considered, and the stakeholders involved. Additionally, we identified the social, ecological, and/or technological dimension(s) of …

Psu Student Housing Insecurity Report, Jacen Greene, Greg Townley, Kenna Estell Dickard, Desiree' J. Duboise

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

This study on student housing insecurity and homelessness was funded as part of a HUD FY2023 Community Project Funding Opportunity awarded to Portland State University. Phase 1 of the study included a literature review; a summary of past PSU student survey results; a description of PSU programs based on interviews with staff and administrators; an analysis of programs at other institutions; and a set of recommendations for better addressing student housing needs. Phase 2 of the study incorporated the results of a comprehensive student survey on housing insecurity and homelessness conducted in fall 2023. Additional reports by outside consultants on …

Aha! Centering Student Voices To Better Understand An Instruction Program, Andrea Wilcox Brooks, Cathy Craig, Meredith Riney

Communications in Information Literacy

This article describes using aha moments as an assessment approach to gain a better understanding of student learning in relation to the six frames in the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. Librarians asked students to share an aha moment following information literacy instruction sessions during the fall 2022 semester. Researchers coded responses to one of the six IL frames and found that student insights most often reflected learning aligned to the “Searching as Strategic Exploration” frame, though “Information Has Value” also had a strong presence. The results provided a holistic picture …

… And I Feel Fine, Lisa K. Bates

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

I had a little bit of a meltdown at a coffee break during the recent meeting of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning – North America’s gathering of university planning faculty. It’s not typically a high-key emotional atmosphere, but I was truly thrown for a loop by a photo display of past meetings. There I was, among colleagues, as we hosted the 2016 meeting in Portland. In the picture, taken about two weeks before the U.S. election, we are all grinning widely. I had passed out lapel pins with Michelle Obama making a side-eye face to all the members …

Sequence Analysis Of Cardiometabolic Multimorbidity And Association With Subsequent Dementia, Corey Nagel, Heather Allore, Anda Botoseneanu, Jeffrey Kaye, Jason Newsom, Nicholas Bishop, Ana Quinones

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Sequence analysis is used in the social sciences to examine patterns of events occurring across the life course, but there are few examples of its use in multimorbidity research among older adults. We used sequence analysis to identify longitudinal patterns of cardiometabolic multimorbidity over a five-year period among participants in the National Health and Aging Trends Study (N=5,218). Multimorbidity sequences were constructed using self-reported diagnosis of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and myocardial infarction (MI) assessed annually. Death was included as an absorbing state, yielding a total of 281 distinct sequences. We calculated sequence dissimilarity using optimal matching then used hierarchical …

An Exploration Of Two Information Literacy Open Learning Object Repositories: Value, Content, And Engagement, Tiffanie Lynn Ford-Baxter

Communications in Information Literacy

Information literacy (IL) open learning object repositories (LORs) provide a space for librarians to find and exchange instruction resources and lessons. Given many librarians enter the workforce with little or no formal training or educational opportunities to learn about pedagogy, these repositories are indispensable resources to the Library and Information Science field. This study explored the contents of two popular IL LORs, Project Cora and the Association of College and Research Libraries Framework for Information Literacy Sandbox, to uncover how users engage with the resources and how the repositories differ. This study's findings suggest that while resources within the LORs …

Large-Scale, Collaborative Imagery Survey In Archaeology: The Geospatial Platform For Andean Culture, History And Archaeology (Geopacha), Steven A. Wernke, Parker Van Valkenburgh, James Zimmer-Dauphinee, Bethany Whitlock, Giles Spence Morrow, Ryan Smith, Douglas Smit, Daniel Plekhov, Multiple Additional Authors

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Imagery-based survey is capable of producing archaeological datasets that complement those collected through field-based survey methods, widening the scope of analysis beyond regions. The Geospatial Platform for Andean Culture, History and Archaeology (GeoPACHA) enables systematic registry of imagery survey data through a ‘federated’ approach. Using GeoPACHA, teams pursue problem-specific research questions through a common data schema and interface that allows for inter-project comparisons, analyses and syntheses. The authors present an overview of the platform's rationale and functionality, as well as a summary of results from the first survey campaign, which was carried out by six projects distributed across the central …

Perspectives On E-Scooters Use: A Multi-Year Cross-Sectional Approach To Understanding E-Scooter Travel Behavior In Portland, Oregon, Minju Kim, Nicholas M. Puczkowskyj, John Macarthur, Jennifer Dill

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Unique travel behavior patterns are observed as shared electric scooters (e-scooters) provided by private operators expand into U.S. cities. Three separate years of e-scooter ridership survey data from the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s E-scooter Pilot Programs were analyzed to ascertain the multi-year cross-sectional and demographic characteristics of e-scooter riders. A binary logistic regression model, descriptive statistics, and multiple regression model are used to analyze e-scooter mode substitution, trip purposes, and travel distance from 2018 to 2020 in Portland, Oregon. Since the introduction of e-scooter in 2018, respondents have been less likely to use their previous transportation, and especially vehicle …

Driving The Future: Intersection Of Emerging Transportation Technologies And Energy Consumption, Tanmoy Bhowmik

PSU Transportation Seminars

The world of transportation is in a constant state of evolution, with emerging technologies offering greater efficiency and safety in our daily lives. However, these innovations at the same time also have far-reaching impacts on energy sectors. The rise of electric and autonomous vehicles is set to quickly transform the residential energy consumption pattern. A critical question to consider is: “How can we ensure that our energy infrastructure is ready to meet the changing demands”. To adequately prepare for this transformation, this study attempted to gain insight into the future energy pattern under different scenarios.

Extension Event Attendance Increases Adoption Of Weed Management Practices By Sports Field Managers, George Frisvold, Chandrakant Agme, David Ervin, Shawn W. Askew, Rebecca Grubbs Bowling, Jennifer Allen, James T. Brosnan, Multiple Additional Authors

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Data from a national survey of 348 U.S. sports field managers were used to examine the effects of participation in Cooperative Extension events on the adoption of turfgrass weed management practices. Of the respondents, 94% had attended at least one event in the previous 3 yr. Of this 94%, 97% reported adopting at least one practice as a result of knowledge gained at an Extension turfgrass event. Half of the respondents had adopted four or more practices; a third adopted five or more practices. Nonchemical, cultural practices were the most-adopted practices (65% of respondents). Multiple regression analysis was used to …

Relating Social, Ecological, And Technological Vulnerability To Future Flood Exposure At Two Spatial Scales In Four U.S. Cities, Jason Sauer, Arun Pallathadka, Idowu Ajibade, Marta Berbés-Blázquez, Heejun Chang, Elizabeth M. Cook, Nancy B. Grimm, David Iwaniec, Robert Lloyd, Gregory C. Post

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Flooding occurs at different scales and unevenly affects urban populations based on the broader social, ecological, and technological system (SETS) characteristics particular to cities. As hydrological models improve in spatial scale and account for more mechanisms of flooding, there is a continuous need to examine the relationships between flood exposure and SETS drivers of flood vulnerability. In this study, we related fine-scale measures of future flood exposure—the First Street Foundation's Flood Factor and estimated change in chance of extreme flood exposure—to SETS indicators like building age, poverty, and historical redlining, at the parcel and census block group (CBG) scales in …

International Labour Migration, Farmland Fallowing, Livelihood Diversification And Technology Adoption In Nepal, Karki Nepal, Mani Nepal, Randall Bluffstone

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article investigates the effect of temporary international labour migration on farmland fallowing, adoption of agricultural intensification technologies and livelihood diversification. Using nationally representative data, combined with empirical methods that allow causal inference, the authors find that households with international migrants are over 50 per cent more likely (based on propensity score matching estimates) to have fallow land than those without. Temporary international migration promotes the adoption of some agricultural intensification technologies and causes rural households to diversify their livelihoods. Land fallowing may increase food insecurity, while agricultural intensification may improve it, for an uncertain net effect.

Anticipatory Impacts Of The Repeal Of Roe V. Wade On Female College Applicants, Janna Wisniewski, Brigham Walker, Jillian Torres, Rajiv Sharma

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We examined the relative impact of the anticipated repeal of Roe v. Wade on the share of female applicants to universities in states where abortion was banned compared with universities in states where abortion remained legal. Using the Common Data Sets from 71 of the top 100 institutions in the United States spanning 27 states from academic years 2018–2022, we found that there was a nearly one percentage point relative decrease in the share of female undergraduate applicants to institutions in ban states compared with states in which abortion remained legal. This suggests that undergraduate applicants are sensitive to state …

Economic Analysis Of Population-Based Next Generation Sequencing For Breast Cancer, Sapphire Curelaru

University Honors Theses

Breast cancer develops due to accumulated DNA replication insults which causes cancer to uncontrollably proliferate. An individual's predisposition to developing cancer, as well as the composition of a tumor, can be sequenced using genetic tests. Myriad's BRACAnalysis CDx^® seems to be the most utilized genetic test. However, Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) seems to be a better genetic test for breast cancer when compared to Myriad's BRACAnalysisCDx^® in terms of return-time, accuracy, efficiency, and healthcare cost. By using Next Generation Sequencing tests, stakeholders can save money on genetic testing which can be invested in more genetic tests. Payers can …

Expanding On The Frames: Making A Case For Algorithmic Literacy, Susan G. Archambault

Communications in Information Literacy

Traditional information literacy skills (e.g., effectively finding and evaluating information) need to be updated due to the rapidly changing information ecosystem and the growing dominance of online platforms that use algorithms to control and shape information. This article proposes additions to the current ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education that relate to algorithmic literacy. The “Authority Is Constructed and Contextual” frame can be applied to recognizing the need to question algorithmic authority (including algorithmic bias), the "Information Has Value” frame can be used to acknowledge online platforms’ use of proprietary algorithms allowing third parties to access personal data, …

Exploring The Role Of Information Literacy Instruction In Student Co-Creation Of Community-Based Research Products, Robyn Hall

Communications in Information Literacy

Supported by institutional commitments to community engagement, undergraduate students at universities across North America are participating in community-based research projects. These experiential learning activities allow students to collaborate with community partners to address issues in their communities, often resulting in co-creating research products that seek to have a real-world impact. This article reports on ways that academic librarians can support students engaged in these activities, informed by interview data gathered from university administrators and faculty members from across Canada with expertise in conducting and overseeing students' participation in research connected to university–community partnerships. This growing area of scholarly activity in …

Organizational Supports For Evidence Use In Child Welfare, Emmeline Chuang, Crystal Collins-Camargo, Bowen Mcbeath, Monica Perez Jolles

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Despite its importance to achieving positive outcomes for vulnerable children and families, use of evidence by child welfare managers and practitioners remains limited. This study describes four types of organizational supports that child welfare agencies may use to facilitate evidence use. Data collected in 2016 from a six-state sample of private child welfare agencies are used to examine agency investment in different supports for evidence use and their association with managerial evidence use. We also identify contextual, organizational, and managerial factors associated with agency investment in these supports. Findings suggest that technical infrastructure is necessary but not sufficient for promoting …

Unmasking And Addressing Burnout In The Mental Health Profession, Sara Edwards

University Honors Theses

Burnout poses a significant challenge among mental health workers, impacting both the well-being of practitioners and the outcomes for their patients. The key inquiries guiding this literature review are: what factors contribute to burnout, and what interventions are essential for treating and preventing burnout in mental health professionals? The findings reveal that factors such as level of experience, lack of quality supervision, vicarious trauma, working conditions, and personal beliefs significantly contribute to burnout. Effective prevention and treatment measures for mental health workers vulnerable to burnout encompass self-monitoring, participation in support groups, additional training, and organizational interventions. These insights could serve …

Crossover Youth: The Relationship Between Juvenile Dependency And Delinquency, Victoria Davenport

University Honors Theses

This literature review looks at the relationship between juvenile delinquency and juvenile dependency. Specifically, it evaluates the existence of "crossover youth", minors who have been involved with both systems in their lifetime. The review considers thirteen different studies, literature reviews, and databases to determine risk factors in maltreated youth that cause them to offend. The review also looks at the impact that second-generation parents have on likelihood of offending as juveniles, as well as the importance of welfare worker perception on parental involvement with dependency agencies. Finally, the review considers potential interventions to crossover youth, determining how to assist maltreated …

Critical Consciousness & The Rural-Urban Divide, Kendall O'Rorke

University Honors Theses

This study investigated the relationship between conceptions of Critical Consciousness (CC) and urban vs. rural geographic location type. Participants (N = 31) completed the Short Critical Consciousness Scale (CCS-S), and 25 additional questions regarding potential location-based idealogical differences. No measurable differences were found regarding differences in conceptions of critical consciousness (using CCS-S scores) based on rural-urban location, however, other responses supported some current research regarding political typology. Additional research is needed to fully understand this topic.