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Empathy, Holonomic Brain Processes And Patanjali's Sutras: A Study Of Western And Eastern Models Of Perception As They Relate To Empathic Communication, Dana Ralston Mccullough

Dissertations and Theses

Communication scholars, psychologists, teachers and social scientists recognize the importance of empathy to effective communication; however, its essential nature remains a mystery. The nonverbal and subjective aspects of empathic perception make it difficult to study with traditional Western scientific tools. Existing studies of empathic process concentrate primarily on the early or the latter stages. The central steps are seldom addressed. A method is needed for following empathic perception to its core processes and exploring the principles that govern its nature. Systems science offers a viable alternative method of studying empathy through analysis of models, emphasizing principles of interaction and process.

The Dimension Of A Chaotic Attractor, Roslyn Gay Lindquist

Dissertations and Theses

Tools to explore chaos are as far away as a personal computer or a pocket calculator. A few lines of simple equations in BASIC produce fantastic graphic displays. In the following computer experiment, the dimension of a strange attractor is found by three algorithms; Shaw's, Grassberger-Procaccia's and Guckenheimer's. The programs were tested on the Henon attractor which has a known fractal dimension. Shaw's and Guckenheimer's algorithms were tested with 1000 data points, and Grassberger's with 100 points, a data set easily handled by a PC in one hour or less using BASIC or any other language restricted to 640K RAM. …

The Effects Of Negligence And Causation Information On Jurors' Determination Of Liability, David K. Blanchard

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigated the effect of arguments for and against defendant's behavior being negligent and for and against defendant's behavior being a cause of damages to the plaintiff. The findings were (a) that negligence arguments affected negligence ratings, causation ratings, and verdicts and (b) that causation arguments affected none of the measures.

Low To Medium Level Image Processing For A Mobile Robot, Cecilia H. Espinosa

Dissertations and Theses

The use of visual perception in autonomous mobile systems was approached with caution by mobile robot developers because of the high computational cost and huge memory requirements of most image processing operations. When used, the image processing is implemented on multiprocessors or complex and expensive systems, thereby requiring the robot to be wired or radio controlled from the computer system base.

Hereby developed is a simple, inexpensive and automatic image processing subsystem that is completely implementable on a PC-386SX with 640K base memory. The subsystem will serve as the front end of the vision system for the PSUBOT, an autonomous …

English Housewives In Theory And Practice, 1500-1640, Lynn Ann Botelho

Dissertations and Theses

Women in early modem England were expected to marry, and then to become housewives. Despite the fact that nearly fifty percent of the population was in this position, little is known of the expectations and realities of these English housewives. This thesis examines both the expectations and actual lives of middling sort and gentry women in England between 1500 and 1640.

Assessing The Intercultural Sensitivity Of American Expatriates In Kuwait, Deborah Ann Turner

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study is to apply a developmental model of intercultural sensitivity to a group of people in an intercultural setting and discover whether or not the model is descriptive. The data collected are also used to determine whether or not the coping mechanisms employed by the sojourners are developmental in terms of this model of intercultural sensitivity.

The population for this study was the American community of Kuwait in 1989 and 1990. Fifteen subjects, all of whom had lived in Kuwait at least two years, were interviewed in Kuwait. The model used is Bennett's (1984) Developmental Model …

An Analysis Of The Ph Tolerance And Substrate Preference Of Isolated Skeletal Muscle Mitochondria From Bufo Marinus And Rana Catesbeiana, Jeffrey Mark Duerr

Dissertations and Theses

The concept of maximal oxygen consumption (VO₂ max) implies that there is a limit to the amount of oxygen that can be consumed by an organism in a given time. Many attempts have been made to delineate exactly what factor or factors are limiting to VO₂ max. Current models focus on the steps over which oxygen must traverse in order to get from the ambient air to the mitochondria. However, no model has addressed the issue of whether or not carbon dioxide flux may impose a limit to VO₂ max. Impedance of carbon dioxide flux may have …

Identity Formation: A Comparison Of Adolescents Adopted Through Agency Versus Private Placements, Judith Kay Bentley

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate factors which might influence the identity formation process in adopted adolescents. Specifically, this research looked at agency versus independent adoption placement as a choice reflecting the adoptive parents' preference for involvement with or distance from a possible adoptive family support network before and after placement. Subjects were also divided according to those whose family had belonged to an adoptive family support group and those who had not. The study involves a combination of descriptive and correlational research methods.

Exploiting And/Or Parallelism In Prolog, Bankim Shah

Dissertations and Theses

Logic programming languages have generated increasing interest over the last few years. Logic programming languages like Prolog are being explored for different applications. Prolog is inherently parallel. Attempts are being made to utilize this inherent parallelism. There are two kinds of parallelism present in Prolog, OR parallelism and AND parallelism. OR parallelism is relatively easy to exploit while AND parallelism poses interesting issues. One of the main issues is dependencies between literals.

It is very important to use the AND parallelism available in the language structure as not exploiting it would result in a substantial loss of parallelism. Any system …

Chinese Women As Cultural Participants And Symbols In Nineteenth Century America, Tina Michele Landroche

Dissertations and Theses

Chinese female immigrants were active cultural contributors and participants in nineteenth century America, yet Americans often simplified their roles into crude stereotypes and media symbols. The early western accounts concerning females in China created the fundamental images that were the basis of the later stereotypes of women immigrants. The fact that a majority of the period's Chinese female immigrants became prostitutes fueled anti-Chinese feelings.

This thesis investigates the general existence of Chinese prostitutes in nineteenth century America and how they were portrayed in the media. American attitudes toward white women and their images of Chinese women created the stereotype of …

The Burnett Site: A Cascade Phase Camp On The Lower Willamette River, Robert M. Burnett

Dissertations and Theses

Artifacts recovered from archaeological excavations near the Willamette River in Lake Oswego, Oregon indicate the presence there of a Late Windust-Early Cascade Phase site possibly dating to 9,000 B.P. The assemblage includes 137 projectile points, bifaces or point fragments, nearly all of the Cascade-type. Two stem fragments and one complete point which are similar to those of the Windust Phase which dates 10,000-8,000 B.P. in the southern Columbia Plateau also were found. Stone knives, choppers, scrapers, hammerstones, cores and microblades also are included in the assemblage. No later type notched or stemmed points have been recovered from the site. If …

The Judicial Message In Seneca's Apocolocyntosis, Sylvia Gray Kaplan

Dissertations and Theses

Seneca's Apocolocyatosis is a satire on the deceased emperor Claudius, probably written in the early months after his death in AD54. Although the authorship and title of the work have been called into question, scholars have now reached a consensus that the satire was written by Seneca and is titled "Apocolocyatosis." Its purpose, characteristic of the Menippean genre, was didactic.

Although the meaning of the Apocolocyatosis has often been discussed, few have emphasized the predominance of the legal theme, when in fact the legal motif is the key to interpreting this work. The work satirizes Claudius particularly in …

Interpretation Of The Thermal Behavior Of Groundwater In An Alluvial Terrace: Bonneville Dam, Columbia Gorge, Oregon, Richard Stephen Malin

Dissertations and Theses

Groundwater temperature data, collected at an alluvial terrace located on the Oregon shore of the Columbia River downstream from Bonneville Darn, was analyzed in order to characterize and formulate a conceptual model of the thermal data for the groundwater system in the terrace. There is concern that an unlined entrance channel for a new navigation lock, to be located down the middle of the terrace, will widen the range of temperatures in the fish hatchery-groundwater supply. The analysis of temperature behavior in the terrace supports the hydraulic observations derived from analysis of pump test data, but with greater definition of …

A Comparison Of The Vocabulary Needs Of Speaking And Nonspeaking Twins, Dana Lynette Hamburg

Dissertations and Theses

Children with severe physical disabilities often do not have the capabilities for oral communication. Therefore, the vocabulary needs of nonspeaking children has been a subject of research in the area of augmentative communication for a number of years. The idea of allowing children with disabilities the opportunity for expression and communication is one not easily ignored. Obtaining vocabulary items, however, that are useful to nonspeaking disabled children that also meet normal language acquisition standards has been a concern. This study specifically addresses this concern by looking into the vocabulary issues of twins. The purpose of this research project is to …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet May 1991, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The May 1991 Monthly packet includes the May agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held April 1991.

The Angler As Environmentalist: Oregon Trout And The Fight To Save The Wild Salmon Of The Columbia River, John P. Rosenberg

Dissertations and Theses

This paper traces the history of Oregon Trout, an environmental organization in Portland, Oregon, from its beginning in the fall of 1983 through the spring of 1990, when it filed petitions on behalf of four stocks of Columbia and Snake River salmon under the Endangered Species Act. It focuses on Oregon Trout's efforts to preserve the wild salmon of the Columbia River as a contemporary example of anglers acting as environmentalists to conserve threatened or endangered species. According to historian John Reiger in American Sportsmen and the Origins of Conservation, hunters and anglers have been acting in this role …

Psychology, Culture And Female Texts: Brigitte Schwaiger's Wie Kommt Das Salz Ins Meer, Julienne Eden Busic

Dissertations and Theses

In recent years, there has been extensive debate in the area of literary criticism, much of it focused on real or imagined differences between male and female texts. French feminist theorists, Helene Cixous and Luce Irigaray, to name a few, argue that biological differences necessitate textual differences, while others reject this essentialist position, considering it just another means for perpetuating the notion of female inferiority. Many linguists assert that women use language differently than men, and that texts reflect these differences. But in order to analyze the origin of any textual differences, it is necessary to look beyond biology and …

An Assessment Of Behavior Associated With Reproduction And Infant Caretaking In A Captive Family Group Of Saguinus Midas Midas, Melissa Elizabeth Martenson

Dissertations and Theses

The present study gathered both general and specific information about the behavior of a captive family group of Saguinus midas midas [red-handed tamarins] housed at the Washington Park Zoo, Portland, Oregon, USA. Saquinus midas midas is a rarely studied species, and detailed information about the behavior of this species is virtually nonexistent. For this reason, this study collected information about both activity budgets and social grouping within this family group.

The primary focus of this study was, however, the socialization of captive juvenile tamarins with respect to several behaviors relevant to reproductive success among the Callitrichidae. The behaviors assessed were: …

The Function Of Phrasal Verbs And Their Lexical Counterparts In Technical Manuals, Brock Brady

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigates the use of phrasal verbs and their lexical counterparts (i.e. nouns with a lexical structure and meaning similar to corresponding phrasal verbs) in technical manuals from three perspectives: (1) that such two-word items might be more frequent in technical writing than in general texts; (2) that these two-word items might have particular functions in technical writing; and that (3) frequencies of these items might vary according to the presumed expertise of the text's audience.

The technical manual was studied because it is the fundamental genre of technical writing and is applicable to a wide audience. Both "lay" …

The Impact Of Organizational Climate On The Relationship Between Job Characteristics And Job Satisfaction: An Empirical Assessment Of Public Sector Managers, Unsuk Song

Dissertations and Theses

The central purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between job characteristics and job satisfaction, and the impact of organizational climate on that relationship in the public sector. The subjects of the study were all Oregon State Government managers at and above the level of supervisor in all of the state agencies and the judicial branch.

This study was conducted with the use of a survey. Six hundred and fifty-six (656) questionnaires were returned for a response rate of 66 percent. The questionnaire consisted of four parts. The first part was drawn from the Organizational Climate Questionnaire; the …

The Correlation Between Correct Verbal And Nonverbal Responses On An Intelligence Test And Expressive Language Test Score, Jeanie P. Wagener

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between verbal and nonverbal indices of intelligence from an infant development scale given at approximately two years of age with scores on an expressive language test administered to the same children two years later. The questions this study sought to answer were: (1) is there a difference between the number of verbal and nonverbal items passed at 18-34 months by a group of normal children and a group of late talkers, (2) is there a significant relationship between correct verbal and nonverbal responses on an infant development test and scores …

The Influence Of The Transition Plan In Developing Communication Programs, Yuki Tanaka

Dissertations and Theses

The transition of students with moderate to severe handicaps from school to work and adult life has become a principal concern of special education over the last decade. Despite of these attentions, there has been little attention to the need for including plans for the student's communication needs in his or her Transition Plan. Thus, it is important to study the relationship between the inclusion of a student's communication needs in his or her Transition Plan and the effectiveness of communication programs. The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between the Transition Plan and the effectiveness of …

Intercultural Communication Competence And Intercultural Adjustment Of Japanese Business Sojourners And Their Spouses, Muneo Hotta

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to examine the relationship among intercultural communication competence, attitudes toward the U.S. culture, and linguistic skills in English for Japanese business sojourners and their spouses living in the United States.

Annual Faculty Senate Minutes October 1991 - June 1992, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Annual Compilations of the Faculty Senate Minutes (Minutes Only)

Minutes of the Faculty Senate for October 1991 to June 1992.

The 10 Essentials For North/Northeast Portland Housing: Guidelines For Renovations And New Construction, Diana Moosman, Peter Wilcox, Kelcey Beardsley, American Institute Of Architects. Portland Chapter (Portland, Or.). Housing Committee

Portland Regional Planning History

No abstract provided.

Reciprocating Transformations, Joyce A. Bryerton

Dissertations and Theses

The paintings in this thesis project began with a study of various representational images, both personal and symbolic. It included the exploration of assorted media and different styles of execution in a search for imagery to represent the scope of my life experience. This search involved a method of working that excluded preconceived images. The original images evolved into an abstract state which alludes directly to the figurative and organic nature of the earlier work.

Who's In Jail?: An Examination Of Irwin's Rabble Hypothesis, John Allen Backstrand

Dissertations and Theses

The research reported in this dissertation centers around John Irwin's recent book, The Jail: Managing the Underclass in American Society (1985)', and provides a data informed critique of his study. It examined the records of people booked and incarcerated in jails varying in size and other characteristics in order to evaluate Irwin's conclusions that were made from his study of inmates at one jail in San Francisco County, California. The research portion of this dissertation was a comparative study of six Northwest jails in Multnomah County, Oregon and Skamania County, Washington and the varying characteristics of 1,306 jail prisoners incarcerated …

A New Design Approach For Numeric-To-Symbolic Conversion Using Neural Networks, Zibin Tang

Dissertations and Theses

A new approach is proposed which uses a combination of a Backprop paradigm neural network along with some perceptron processing elements performing logic operations to construct a numeric-to-symbolic converter. The design approach proposed herein is capable of implementing a decision region defined by a multi-dimensional, non-linear boundary surface. By defining a "two-valued" subspace of the boundary surface, a Backprop paradigm neural network is used to model the boundary surf ace. An input vector is tested by the neural network boundary model (along with perceptron logic gates) to determine whether the incoming vector point is within the decision region or not. …

Transient Heat Transfer, Eric Roth

Dissertations and Theses

With the advent of the new high Tc superconductors, liquid nitrogen will be one of the preferred cryogens used to cool these materials. Consequently, a more thorough understanding of the heat transfer characteristics of liquid nitrogen is required. In our investigations we examine the transient heating characteristics of liquid nitrogen to states of nucleate and film boiling under different liquid flow conditions. Using a platinum hot wire technique, it is verified that there is a premature transition to film boiling in the transient case at power levels significantly lower than under steady state nucleate boiling conditions. It is also shown …

One Woman, One Child : The Implications Of The One-Child-Family Policy For Chinese Women, Tao Shi

Dissertations and Theses

Since few studies have explicitly focused on the impact of China's one-child-family policy on Chinese women, this thesis is designed to explore this aspect. The implication of the policy for both urban and rural women is studied, particularly its influence on women's fertility behavior, labor roles, and on social, health and family status. The focus of the study is to explore the changes of women's lives associated with the one-child-family policy, and advantages and disadvantages, even contradictions the policy has brought to women's lives.