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To the Work We Must Do: The Washington State Communist Party 1945-Beyond
No full textWSU Vancouver Honors ThesisThis study was conducted for two years, and drew resources from Canwell Committee
documents, newspapers, letters, and other historians. A major conclusion of this work is that the Washington State Communist Party adapted to the changing culture of the State of Washington, and more broadly the United States with the end of the Second World War. Historically, the Washington State Communist Party had cultivated links with the academic community. By the time of the Canwell Committee, those academic links which had helped the party became severed by expulsion of sympathetic professors and public distrust. Following the Canwell Committee, the Washington State Communist Party was forced to start anew. The Canwell Committee had forced the Washington State Communist Party to move into an open party to move from the political fringe into the political mainstream. This meant that the Washington State Communist Party sought further participation at the University of Washington, ran for
political offices, and became increasingly active in fighting for civil rights. While the Washington State Communist Party was unable to move to the politically mainstream as they had hoped for, these actions allowed debate of Marxist theory to cany forward into the 1980s and present times
WSU Vancouver University Scholars Honors Program Thesis
No full textWSU Vancouver Honors ThesisOzonation is a potential replacement for desalinated seawater purification by chlorination that produces carcinogenic byproducts. However, it can produce hypobromous acid that can become modified in biological systems to form bromotyrosine, simulating the body’s harmful immune response when not in the presence of a pathogen. Currently, 5 mg is considered the threshold for human consumption but this study identifies the specific dosage where rats begin to accumulate 3-bromotyrosine in their body. Observing the location of bromotyrosine within the thyroid, kidney and testes of the male Fischer 344 rats allows further indication of the methodology of tumor formation within each of the different regions. It creates a direct comparison between the three regions to know the sensitivities of the regions for tumor formation and the progression of cancer on a scale. It also followed up on previous research, to compliment other experiments that lack histological evidence to back their claims. To accomplish this, rats were dosed with bromine and bromate for seven days and then tissue samples from the rat’s thyroid, kidney and testes were taken to examine through staining with anti-3- bromotyrosine, at what threshold its presence was observed
Modeling environmental change : scenarios in the Washington water supply and demand forecast
No full textThis publication introduces policy makers and natural resource managers to the use of scenarios in environmental modeling. Managers increasingly recognize that the climate is changing and that those changes pose a threat that must be understood in more detail and incorporated into planning decisions at all scales. High quality information about likely environmental change impacts is critically important to help decision-makers address risks in an adaptive manner. To provide concrete examples of the types of scenarios that may be considered in making management decisions, we draw from the 2016 Columbia River Basin Long-Term Water Supply and Demand Forecast, which the Washington Department of Ecology publishes every five years to assist stakeholders in planning for future water resource conditions. There are many different approaches to developing and testing scenarios to inform decision-making. When decision-makers understand how scenarios are developed and how models are run, they can better use model outputs to inform their management decisions
Major Decisions: Using a PhotoVoice Study to Aid Students in Deciding on an Area of Study and/or Career
No full textThis dissertation sought to use PhotoVoice, an arts-based research method, as a way for pre-college and college students to decide on an area of study and career path. This study called upon the aid of student-participants to carry out the research and academic professionals to help in examining the research. Using a framework set in Strength Based Advising, students were asked to explore three guided subjects to identify their personal interest, their current study interests, and work/work environment interests through photography. Using the three guided subjects, students were asked to make connections between their pictures and examine possible careers and college majors congruent with their personal interests.
To examine the data, students were asked about their experience taking part in the PhotoVoice study, how they found success, and if the study helped cultivate new views or reinforce their old views. After the study concluded with the student-participants, I examined the data alongside four academic professionals to discuss how viable the PhotoVoice study can be as a tool for advising. Additionally, I examine my growth as a researcher through this dissertation process. As a novice researcher, it was important for me take a reflexive look at how I carried out the research and how my understanding of social justice and positionality as a white male grew during this process.
Though the use of the PhotoVoice study, several students were able to decide on an area of study and career path while others found the study useful in organizing their interests but were unable to make a declaration. The academic professionals found that the PhotoVoice study could be useful as a primary component to a class and as pre-advising tool. However, due to the large amount of time needed to conduct the PhotoVoice study, the academic professionals felt the scalability of the study would be difficult to administer in a standard advising setting. I conclude the study with future considerations for the PhotoVoice study and where the student-participants were in terms of their decisions at the conclusion of the research.Washington State University, Educational Leadershi
EXPERIMENTS IN MEDICAL IMAGE SEGMENTATIONS
No full textNon-invasive Radiology Imaging (e.g. CT, MRI, and PET) have been utilized
tremendously in medical study for disease diagnosis, prognostication, and monitoring
therapeutic response. And segmenting medical image for regions of interest is an
essential step in computer assisted clinical interventions. Tumor detection in biomedical imaging is a time-consuming process for medical professionals and with nonneglectable human variation in recent decades, researchers have developed algorithmic techniques for image processing using a wide variety of mathematical methods,
such as statistical modeling, variational techniques, and machine learning. Graph
theory is the framework for the study explained in this thesis. We focus on both
theoretical and practical aspects, with an emphasis on the experimental, practical
parts. On the theoretical part, we propose a graph cut based semi-automatic method
for liver segmentation of 2D CT scans into three labels denoting healthy, vessel, or
tumor tissue.
In chapter one, some definitions and algorithms for networks are introduced. Medical data and the idea of convolution are also introduced. In chapter two, we propose
a new model to segment using the image sequences from dynamic CT scan. Also a
particular image can be picked from the images sequence and then vectorized using
a sequence of convolutions or neighborhoods. We also introduce a method of minimization that we call the α method. In chapter three, a moving mean method is
developed and tested, using a more traditional train-test partition of the data. In
chapter four, we explore the potential of deep neural networks. We decided to begin
with U-Net, which consists of a contracting path to capture context and a symmetric
expanding path that enables precise localization and we developed for medical data.Washington State University, Mathematic
AMPLIFYING VOICES OF THE UNHEARD: COUNTERNARRATIVES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES IN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
No full textThe goal of this narrative research is to contribute to the body of literature regarding African American males in higher education. This research challenges the deficit majoritarian narrative that historically has perpetuated a negative image of the contributions African American males bring to education. As a conceptual framework, Critical Race Theory is used to critique the historical narrative and challenge the impact of race and inequities in education.
Utilizing counternarratives as a way to include a comprehensive picture of the Community Cultural Wealth (Yosso, 2005) students possess through lived experiences, aspirations, challenges, obstacles, resilience and dreams, this research analyzes six accounts of African American males in the community college. Semi-structured interviews were conducted using guiding questions to complete educational histories of students and their interactions with community colleges. The results of this study affirm the strengths that African American male students bring to college campuses through understanding their lived experiences.
Keywords: African American Males, Critical Race Theory (CRT), counternarratives, Community Cultural Wealth.Washington State University, Educational Leadershi
Nonlinear dynamics and shock structures in elongated Bose-Einstein condensates
No full textDilute gas Bose-Einstein condensates are ultracold quantum gases that display many peculiar hydrodynamic properties, such as superfluidity, i.e. dissipation-less flow, a variety of solitonic textures and quantized vortex structures. Small amplitude excitations within a Bose-Einstein condensate are described by the Bogoliubov dispersion, and have been extensively studied in the past. This dissertation extends previous studies by focusing on strong, nonlinear excitations and shock structures generated in elongated Rb-87 Bose-Einstein condensates, elucidating novel dynamics in these quantum systems.
This dissertation is separated into two major parts. In the first part, the building and characterization of a new Bose-Einstein condensate apparatus at Washington State University is described. This apparatus has been built to generate ultracold clouds of Rb-87 and, more recently, K-41atoms. A description of the setups for both isotopes are provided. The apparatus reliably produces Bose-Einstein condensates of 7 x 10^5 Rb-87 atoms every 20 seconds.
In the second part of this dissertation, three experiments in a channel geometry are described that have been conducted with the new apparatus. In this part of the dissertation, quantum hydrodynamic properties are probed by using time-dependent optical potentials to generate nonlinear excitations and shock structures in an elongated Bose-Einstein condensate. An emergence of viscous-like shock dynamics, unidirectionality of a non-magnetic spin switch device, and the structure of dispersive shock waves in new types of higher order dispersions are observed. The work described in this dissertation establishes a novel platform for studying strong nonlinear effects in ultracold quantum gases.Washington State University, Physic
Relationships among racial identity integration, cognitive processes, and attitudes towards racial issues and diversity among multiracial individuals
No full textThesis (Ph.D.), Counseling Psychology, Washington State UniversityMultiracial individuals are often perceived to hold a unique perspective of the world because they have to manage multiple racial identities. The purpose of this study is to further examine how multiracial individuals manage their multiple racial identities and to explore the unique perspective they have on societal issues. In particular, this study explored the relationships of racial self-categorization, racial identity integration, cognitive processes, and attitudes towards racial issues and diversity amongst part-White multiracial individuals. Additionally, the study explored how multiracial individuals’ socioeconomic status relates to these cognitive mechanisms and diversity attitudes. Through online advertisements and personal connections, a large sample (N = 809) of part-White multiracial adults was recruited throughout the United States. Several statistical analyses were used to test the hypotheses: MANOVA/ANOVA, multiple regression, correlational analysis, and structural equation modeling. The results indicated that among part-White individuals, (a) self-categorization predicted racial identity integration, cognitive processes, and attitudes toward racial issues and diversity (Hypothesis 1); (b) racial identity integration and cognitive processes had an effect on attitudes toward racial and diversity issues (Hypothesis 2); (c) cognitive processes mediated the relationships between racial identity integration and attitudes toward racial and diversity issues (Hypothesis 3); and (d) cognitive flexibility, dialectical self-views, and racial identity integration were intercorrelated (Hypothesis 4). Lastly, multiracial individuals’ education attainment and family’s SES during upbringing had varying effects on their perception of racial and diversity-related issues. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive framework to describe the lived experiences of multiracial individuals living in the United States. Implications for clinical practice and future multiracial research are discussed.Washington State University, Counseling Psycholog
EXPLORING GLOBAL IDENTITIES AT THE CENTRAL IDAHO SCHOOL: A CRITICAL ETHNOGRAPHY
No full textThesis (Ph.D.), Cultural Studies and Social Thought in Education, Washington State UniversityThis critical ethnographic study explores how students understand their sense of being in the world in a non-traditional, place-based, expeditionary learning school environment, the Central Idaho School (the CIS). Much of the literature on globalization in education and expeditionary learning indicates that when learning occurs in connection to place through experiential opportunities students gain a greater sense of who they are – or who they will be - in the world (Davies, Evans, & Reid, 2005; Dewey, 1916, 1938; Esteva & Prakash, 1998; Greuenwald, 2008; McKenzie & Bieler, 2016; Spring, 2015). This critical ethnography spanned ten months of embedded participant research at the Central Idaho School (the CIS), documenting the development of three students and the ways in which they began to form their sense of being in the world throughout their semester experience. Key findings from this study indicates that students are able to explore their sense of being in the world when given the autonomy to discover who they are in relation to the social, narrative, and cultural dimensions of the world around them (McKenzie and Bieler, 2016). Most importantly, the combination of pedagogical approach through Understanding by Design (Wiggins and McTighe, 2005), place-based exploration (Greuenwald, 2008), and outdoor experiences all provide pivotal moments, or “rhizomatic ruptures,” that impact student growth. This project contributes to the literature on critical situated and experiential education by sharing experiences through one semester-long program at the CIS.Washington State University, Cultural Studies and Social Thought in Educatio