Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Predictors Of Placement From A Juvenile Detention Facility, Diane C. Brock, Anneva E. Lenz, Ann C. Houston, Richard R. Munn, David F. Parks

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this project was to determine whether certain personal, socioeconomic, and court-related factors are significantly related to the differential placement of delinquent and dependent children from the detention facility at the Donald E. Long Home. A stratified random sample was composed of 173 placements of children who were held in detention after a preliminary hearing.

The review of literature revealed that little systematic. Information is known regarding the placement process as it is related to differential placement of children from a detention facility.

A code sheet was developed for recording the information in the children’s records maintained by …

Assessing The Convenience Factor In Relocating A Day Care Center, Barbara Ann Dauterman Norton, Terry Roger Horton

Dissertations and Theses

This research was undertaken at the request of the the St. Martin Day Nursery staff and advisory board to assist them in assessing what the consequences of relocating their day care center would be to the present users and possible future users. It was requested that special emphasis be given to where users live and work and the method of transportation they used to bring children to and from the center. Therefore, our research has been exploratory, planned more to search for answers and to attempt to generate hypotheses than to test hypotheses. It was not our purpose to designate …

An Interactional Approach To Weight Reduction, Carole T. Gygi

Dissertations and Theses

A treatment program was designed to enable subjects to lose weight through the use of self-confrontation as described in Saslow (1969), and the use of the General Relationship Improvement of the Human Development Institute (HDI), Berlin and Wyckoff (1964). Self-confrontation is a programmed rehearsal of a specific problem by one person alone, for a five-minute period. The rehearsal, or self-confrontation is to be as vivid as possible, intellectually, emotionally, visually and physically. The General Relationship Improvement Program is a 10-week text, worked in pairs, which is aimed at better intrapsychic and interpersonal communication and understanding. Four matched groups were used …

Action-Oriented Group Therapy For Lower-Socio-Economic-Status Clients, Joan C. Peters

Dissertations and Theses

An attempt is made to present a model of group therapy for Lower-Socio-Economic-Status (LSES) clients. The theoretical issues include a definition of traditional group therapy along with a brief description of the more recent sensitivity training approaches. A rationale for combining these two different group approaches is presented to form the model for action-oriented group therapy (ACT groups) which utilizes both the traditional approach and action techniques of the sensitivity group. It is proposed that this hybrid, the AOT group, is more appropriate for treating the LSES client. The needs and expectations of the LSES client are discussed. The goals …

Life Styles Of Methadone Treatment Patients: Agreement Of Self Report And Informant Report, Richard Cox, Gary West

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this descriptive study was to reveal the typical life style of a representative sample of fifty male opiate addicts participating in the Oregon Methadone Treatment Program. An important goal of the research was to assess the reliability of information gathered from patients compared to data obtained from an equal number of informants. A highly structured questionnaire was designed to elicit specific responses in order to calculate the degree of concordance between patients and informants to identical items. The findings depicted the modal life style of the subjects as more socially conventional, more responsible, and less antisocial. Although …

Post-Divorce Visitation Of Minor Children; Development Of A Questionnaire, Viola Cotter, Lorraine Goldenberg, Terry Mcgill

Dissertations and Theses

The present descriptive study was broadly concerned about divorces which have an impact on minor children. It was intended to build on the previous research of Griffith, Hack, Murphy, Wieman, Williams, Van Lydegraf & Glaudin (1970) in describing the relationships between parents and children after divorce. It was the objective of the present research team to come closer to the goal of selecting a representative sample of divorced parents than was possible previously. Moreover, an attempt was made to develop a highly structured questionnaire and interview schedule growing out of the earlier experience with semi-structured interviews. Data to be collected …

Inter-Bureau Power Relations; A Sociological Analysis Of An Ideal Type Organizational Model, Gerald Wayne Potterf

Dissertations and Theses

The research problem of this thesis is an examination of inter-bureau power relations. A modification of Max Weber’s classical ideal type bureaucracy is the conceptual model to which sociological analysis is made. An empirical examination of the variance between the conceptual model and data collected in the field is analyzed in order to illustrate inter-bureau power relations. The analysis of the conceptual model is based upon three assertions. They are: (1) inter-bureau power relations are based upon coercion and not cooperation; (2) normative standards that are established by the administrators of the bureaucracy are differentially enforced; and (3) goals that …

Identities In Gay Drinking Places, Sharon Gertrude White

Dissertations and Theses

It is through the announcement and placement of various identities that one is able to enter into various types of social relations. Identity is a label used to describe a person in a particular situation as being a kind of social object. A person announces his identity and others place him as having this identity on the basis of his appearance. Structural relations have been defined as relations where one may enter by using a title, while interpersonal relations are entered by using a name or nickname. Structural identities place people in categories, while separating them from others in different …

A Postulated Alternative To Current Oregon Marital Statute (Ors 106.71): A Frankly Revisionist Analysis Of The Concrete Situation, Ken Jones, Ray Kendall, Jan Nolley, Jill Weeden

Dissertations and Theses

According to the Oregon Marriage statute an applicant for a marriage license must present a physician's statement that he is free from certain mental and physical conditions. When the examining physician is not satisfied that the applicant is free from these conditions, the applicant is referred to the Committee of Three, a special standing committee appointed by the Board of Social Protection for determining whether or not a license to marry should be granted.

In the spring of 1970 such a situation was referred to the committee for its consideration. As a result of the committee's involvement with this applicant, …

How Women Are Made: A Look At The Issues Of The Women's Liberation Movement, Lenore Jan Coffey

Dissertations and Theses

This project was originally conceived of as an exploration and written presentation of various dimensions of the contemporary social movement called the Women’s Liberation Movement. The exploration was to be through personal experience in the movement and research in movement literature. From a research point of view, the specific objective was to identify the issues and elements of the Women's Liberation experience for those who are involved, in other words, to determine what are the salient dimensions of this experience for the individual in Women’s Liberation.

The Father's Role In Treatment; A Survey Of Selected Social Service Programs, Joanne Robertson

Dissertations and Theses

This is a descriptive, partially exploratory study which examined the date obtained from interviews with socials workers in selected social welfare programs in regard to the father in treatment. Explored were descriptive information concerning the agency's characteristics, the type and extend of treatment offered, the involvement or resistance of the father in therapy, and the provision made for a surrogate male model in the event of the father's absence.

The literature revealed that currently there is a growing body of knowledge and theory related to the father's role in the psychosocial development of the child and the consequences of his …

Schedule Interactions And Stimulus Control, Andrew Louis Homer

Dissertations and Theses

Four types of schedule interactions have been defined: positive contrast, negative contrast, positive induction, and negative induction. Most work has centered on the necessary conditions for positive contrast. One position states that a reduction in reinforcement frequency is necessary; the other view states that a reduction in response rate is necessary. Neither view can account for the occurrence of induction. The present experiment tests the hypothesis that stimulus control effects the occurrence of either contrast or induction. Three pigeons were trained to respond for primary reinforcement (strong stimulus control condition), and three pigeons were trained to respond for conditioned reinforcement …

Foster Family Care For The Aged, Donald V. Sekora

Dissertations and Theses

The following was a research practicum instituted as an actual project for the State of Montana Welfare Department between June, 1970, and May, 1971. The project had a two-fold purpose in being conceived: one purpose was to fulfill a graduate school academic requirement; and the second purpose was to fulfill a responsibility to the people of Montana who would eventually gain some benefits from this project. The series of written documents that follow are the description of that project's conception and actualization in six Montana counties. The first part is the project idea and theory; the next two parts consist …

"Follow Through" Services For Child Abuse Cases, Marguerite Matusak

Dissertations and Theses

The Child Abuse Committee in the University of Oregon Medical School was formed in 1966 to help the staff recognize child abuse cases and do something about them. This research report is an evaluation of their effectiveness as I an agency attempting to prevent further injury to the children involved. Indications are that timely intervention and subsequent "follow through" have been helpful to the families and improved the situation substantially. A study of the abuse cases seen through the hospital for the calendar years of 1969 and 1970 revealed that almost all of the children from these study years who …

Councils Of Governments: A Study Focusing On Membership, Representation And Voting, Jerry Alan Matson

Dissertations and Theses

The Council of Governments is a significant new approach to metropolitan cooperation. Of the approximately 150 councils (as of January, 1970), all but 14 have been established since 1965. Councils across the country are characterized by great variety in organization and representation. This paper examines this complexity, particularly in terms of membership, representation and voting.

The first chapter is primarily a short history of the council movement and the forces which have helped to shape its development. The second examines the variety of council functions, organizational structures and financial arrangements.

Chapters III, IV and V are devoted to a detailed …

The European Powers In Africa: Can The Obstacles To National Unity Be Attributed To Them? Nigeria, A Test Case, Bassey John Ituen

Dissertations and Theses

During the latter part of the nineteenth century, European powers acquired large territorial areas in Africa. These territories ignored the boundaries of old African tribal kingdoms and the African modes of life, because the new countries were to serve as 'common market' areas supplying Europe with the wealth of the tropics. Nigeria is an example of the new superstructure which in operation fails to become a homogeneous entity after the assumption of political power by the Africans. There are problems of existing tribal kingdoms, of geographic distribution of ethnic groups and of traditional values. The British colonization of Nigeria also …

The Effect Of Perceptual-Motor Training On Maladaptive Behaviors Of Emotionally Disturbed Children, Julia Frances Hall

Dissertations and Theses

Twenty emotionally disturbed children between the ages of six and twelve from three agencies providing special treatment for behavioral or emotional problems were the subjects for this study. The subjects were divided into two major diagnostic categories, withdrawn and acing out, and then matched in pairs by age and diagnosis. One half of each pair was randomly assigned to the experimental condition and the remaining halves were assigned to the control condition. Both the experimental and control groups contained five withdrawn and five acting out subjects. Four experimenters were used, and each experimenter worked with two or four experimental children …

A Demographic Study Based Upon Income, Age And Education Variables As Related To The Willingness Or Unwillingness To Accept Foster Children, John Hughes, Linda A. Kaeser, Susan E. Norman, Lillian Rinderknecht, John Wills

Dissertations and Theses

The research problem in this thesis can be briefly stated as a study of a general population to test certain demographic variables, in particular those of income, age and education, which may or may not have a significant relationship to an expressed willingness to care for foster children; and to further examine whether certain special characteristics of a child, in particular those of increased age, physical handicap, minor emotional problems or mental retardation, further increase unwillingness to care for foster children.

The sample was selected by a two- stage cluster sampling taken from the Southeast catchment area of metropolitan Portland, …

Changing The Custody Of Children Whose Parents Have Been Divorced: A General View Of The Process, Dorothy E. Bateman, Michael A. Comte, Kathryn S. Curry, Robert M. Fry, Patricia J. Sims, Elva J. Terry

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this project was to obtain a preliminary description, through study of the legal files, of that group of persons who appear before the Court of Domestic Relations for a reconsideration of the custody decision made initially, at the time of divorce. A sample of 92 cases heard in Multnomah County in 1965 was obtained.

A survey of the literature revealed that much of what has been written on the subject of divorce and custody is primarily from a statistical or legalistic standpoint and very little bears directly on the granting or obtaining of custody or the problems …

Post-Divorce Visitation Of Minor Children; An Exploratory Study, Barbara Griffith, Gladys Hack, Eileen Murphy, Allison Wieman, Adam Williams, Earl Vanlydegraf, Vincent Glaudin

Dissertations and Theses

ORS 107.100 gives the court broad powers to secure the "best interests" of minor children as third parties to a divorce. Further, the Oregon Supreme Court has ruled in Tingen vs. Tingen that the best interests of a minor child involve a complex constellation of factors pertaining to the parents, the environment, and the adjustment of the child. It has been assumed in case law that "reasonable visitation" of the minor child by the non-custodial parent is usually in the best interests of the child and is a right" of the non-custodial parent.

Most judges order reasonable visitation as part …

Factors In Evaluation Of Student Performance In A Graduate School Of Social Work, Sharon J. Copeland, Gerald E. Warner

Dissertations and Theses

This study refined the criteria for the measurement of graduate student performance in a school of social work.

By using present criteria from other studies and general student performance criteria from school brochures a questionnaire was constructed. This questionnaire was administered to a. sample of students, faculty and field instructors from Portland State University School of Social Work. The data from the completed questionnaires were then processed by computer to determine the means, standard deviations of the items, and the correlations between items and between raters.

Through the computed correlations, means, and standard deviations the acceptability and reliability of the …

An Empirical Study Of The Effect Of Systematic Relaxation Training Of Chronically-Anxious Subjects On The Communication Variable Of Closed-Mindedness, La Ray M. Barna

Dissertations and Theses

This is a study of whether an attempt to reduce the trait of high tension-anxiety by means of systematic neuro-musculature relaxation training will result in a decrease of the communication variable of closed-mindedness.

A general review of the literature showed that the problem of tension-anxiety is complex, pervasive, and detrimental to effective communication. First, an attempt is made to bring relevant information to the field of general speech by citing a few findings from the research of other disciplines concerning the nature and effects of tension-anxiety. Currently-used methods of anxiety reduction are mentioned, and one, neuro-musculature relaxation training, discussed as …

An Analysis Of Geographical Concepts And Characteristics Of Maps In Selected Textbooks, Helen Elizabeth Wittke

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of the thesis was to examine the extent to which geography is integrated into history courses. This was done through analyses of the maps in eighth and tenth grade history books. Every map in each book was tabulated according to its purpose, characteristics, and cartographic techniques. The statistics which were gathered from these tabulations were then used as a basis for percentages of the maps devoted to various purposes. In addition to this, twenty-five maps were analyzed in detail, with an examination not only of the map, but of the accompanying text, and the method in which the …

Factors In Assessing Effectiveness Of Orientation Programs For Public Welfare Caseworkers, Clyde Ferguson

Dissertations and Theses

A study done in 1968-1969 by students at Portland State University School of Social Work at the request of the Oregon State Public Welfare Commission Staff Development Division sought to devise an instrument for assessing the effectiveness of teaching the casework principles of Felix P. Biestek to casework trainees in the public welfare's orientation program. The test instrument developed was found to have low, but acceptable, internal reliability.

Building on the previous year's work, this 1969-1970 study sought to determine the validity of the test instrument by relating test scores to two measures of job performance, namely the latest supervisory …

Attitudes Of Youth Toward Social Institutions: A Comparative Study, Connie Mcgonigle, James F. Bakke

Dissertations and Theses

In August, 1968, after a series of confrontations in the city parks between young dissidents and the police, the Mayor of Portland called upon the Metropolitan Youth Commission to form a special study committee to explore the areas of conflict and to recommend ways in which municipal government might constructively respond to the young people in the community. The independent research project on the alienation of youth, the results of which are reported here, was an outgrowth of the interest generated by the request from the Office of the Mayor. Under the auspices of the Metropolitan Youth Commission (MYC), a …

An Experimental Study Of The Effects Of Personal Proximity Upon Selected Aspects Of Conversational Content, Ronna S. Loewen

Dissertations and Theses

Proxemics is an area of study devoted to the interrelated theories of man's use of space as a special elaboration of culture. Edward T. Hall, an anthropologist, has begun to draw these theories together in his work dealing with proxemics.

It is the purpose of this study to determine whether certain dimensions of interpersonal conversations vary with the distance between the conversants. Three distances were used as experimental variables. Intimate distance was set at nine inches, personal distance at three feet, nine inches, and social distance at eight feet. A total of fifty-four subjects was used with nine pairs situated …

Evaluation Of The Role Of Neighborhood Health Coordinators In A Comprehensive Neighborhood Health Services Project, Sharron Faye Easley, John Collins Flanagan, Janet Fredricksen, Linda Janice Johnson, Beatrice Hays Young

Dissertations and Theses

This study evaluates the role of the Neighborhood Health Coordinators (NHC's) within Kaiser Foundation's Comprehensive Neighborhood Health Services (CNHS) Project. This project was established in September 1967, under the provisions of the 1966 amendments to the Economic Opportunity Act, to provide and make readily available comprehensive medical care to low-income persons. In compliance with the stipulations of this Act, persons who reside in target areas, designated as depressed neighborhoods, were hired to serve as NHC's. These indigenous non-professionals serve as links or "gatekeepers" between the low-income persons enrolled in this program, and the Kaiser medical care facilities which include the …

An Examination Of Disengagement Among Elderly People In A Low Income Public Housing Facility, Linda Bennion, Marion Paradis, Sheila Petrie

Dissertations and Theses

This project studied the consequences of disengagement among elderly people and examined the respondent's opinions about society's responsibility to the aged.

The study population was limited to 48 elderly people, equally divided between men and women, married and unmarried; residing in Northwest Tower, a high-rise public housing facility.

The possible consequences of disengagement which were studied included isolation, depression, frustration, despair, factors preventing satisfaction with present circumstances, desired activities in relation to available activities, and energy and desire relative to activity and responsibility. Finally, opinions were sought about society's responsibility to the elderly.

Six general hypotheses guided the development of …

The Complaint Process In Protective Services For Children, William L. Carey, Joann Day Delong, Barbara Lee Harris, Thomas E. Hogan, Ann Nelson, Jeannette Ruth Staebler

Dissertations and Theses

This is a descriptive study of the community process by which a complaint is made to a protective service agency. It is by this process that deviant child care is first identified and the decision to take action is made. The study develops a typology of the complaint process and identifies seven elements as significant in complaints that reach community agencies. The elements were: the complaint situation, the precipitating events that brought the complaint situation to the attention of someone outside the nuclear family, the relationship between the complainant and family, the complainant's motivation for responding to the complaint situation, …

An Analysis And Evaluation Of The American Electoral College, Norma N. Williams

Dissertations and Theses

The Constitutional Convention of 1787 was greatly divided over the question of how to select the new nation's chief executive. The method finally adopted was a compromise between direct election and election by the national legislature and provided that individual states, as they saw fit, choose electors equal to the total number of Senators and Representatives. From the beginning, most of delegates considered the proposal awkward and irrational almost to the point of absurdity, but as they argued about it, they became convinced that it was then the only plan which could overcome the objections raised by other methods.

The …