Digital Commons Network^™

An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Learning Style Perceptual Preferences And Attitudes Toward Computer-Assisted Instruction, Mary Brambilla Mcfarland

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this investigation was to identify the perceptual learning style preferences of nursing students and to examine the relationship, if any, among students whose learning style perceptual preferences were identified as being auditory, tactile or visual and their attitudes toward the use of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) in the areas of comfort, creativity and function. The relationships between nursing students' perceptual learning style preferences and the following were also examined: (a) the amount of time they spent using the computer program, Cardiac Exam Bingo; (b) whether the use of the computer program added to their learning the content about …

The Chemistry Of Sulfonyl Fluorides: Sf5 And/Or So2f Containing Compounds As Precursors To Sulfonic Acids, Robin Joyce Terjeson

Dissertations and Theses

Sulfonyl fluoride systems and their derivatives, RS0₂F, where R represents hydrocarbon/fluorocarbon moieties continue to be of considerable interest. The incorporation of the sulfonyl fluoride group (S0₂F) into molecular systems can lead to compounds that are useful as ion-exchange resins, surface active agents, fuel cell electrolytes, and strong sulfonic acids/salts.

Interest in preparing SF₅ containing sulfonyl fluorides led to the synthesis of the ᵝ-sultone, SF₅CHCF₂0S0₂, and its rearranged product. Hydrolysis of the sultone gave SF₅CH₂S0₂F which led to the sulfonic acid and salt, SF …

A Performance Appraisal Model For Postsecondary Education, Peggy Connolly

Dissertations and Theses

Purpose. Although performance appraisal is an important factor in the successful operation of organizations, it is often a difficult and threatening task. Traditional approaches to evaluation have proved to be neither effective nor in legal compliance. This problem affects postsecondary institutions, where customary subjective appraisal contributes to undesirable employment discrimination.

This study provides postsecondary administrators with an effective and legally defensible model of performance appraisal. Research addressed these questions: (1) What does statutory law mandate in appraisal? (2) What issues, patterns, and decisions concerning appraisal have been identified through the judicial process, and what degree of consistency has been shown …

Persistence Of New Full-Time Students: A Study In A Community College, Janet Stephine Stennick

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to identify those retention-associated variables which best account for persistence and nonpersistence among new full-time students in a community college. The major research question for the study was: Within a community college, what differentiates new full-time students who leave and those who stay? Do factors identified in previous studies which helped to explain persistence and nonpersistence in four-year colleges and universities and those colleges that serve large numbers of residential students hold the same power for explaining this phenomenon in community colleges? Of the 607 new full-time students who enrolled Fall Term, 1987, 552 …

Staff Development And The Process Of Teacher Change: A Case Study, Christene Kay Jones

Dissertations and Theses

This case study documented a staff development program which was the major component of a public school/university partnership between Portland State University and the Lake Oswego School District, a suburb of Portland, Oregon. A select group of 34 Lake Oswego teachers and 4 administrators participated in the Joint Ventures in Instructional Leadership Program which included classes in learning and instructional theory, techniques of peer sharing, instructional strategies and models of teaching, and approaches to the teaching of higher order thinking skills. The program included 7 full days and 4 evenings of instructional training which occurred throughout the 1986-87 school year. …

Relationships Between Teacher Perceptions Of Principal Support And Teacher Allocation Of Time, Betty Hutchinson Flad

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher allocation of time and to examine if that allocation of time was related to teacher perceptions of principal behaviors and school policies. The study emerged from a review of the time-on-task literature and the principal effectiveness literature which suggested that teacher allocation of time might be related to principal behaviors and school policies. Three research questions were posed: (1) How do teachers allocate time to teaching responsibilities? (2) What perceptions do teachers have of principal behaviors and school policies at their schools? (3) Is there a relationship between teacher perceptions of …

Traditional College-Age Students' Attitudes Toward Arnold's Seven Building Blocks Decision-Making Strategy, Mary Ellen Wernow

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to learn more about the attitudes of traditional college-age students toward Arnold's Seven Building Blocks decision-making strategy (John D. Arnold, 1978. The Art of Decision Making. New York: Amacom). to identify student characteristics which could predict those students who are most likely to respond in a positive manner to the strategy and to determine which of the steps in the strategy students perceive as being helpful. The sample population consisted of 62 traditional college-age students currently enrolled in four Oregon educational institutions. Data was gathered through the Decision Making Inventory (Johnson, Coscarelli, and Johnson. …

The Characteristics Of The Teacher Evaluation Process As Perceived By Elementary Teachers And Principals, Peter H. Taylor

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of elementary teachers and principals of the evaluation system used in two suburban school districts near Portland. Oregon. The two districts involved in the study used the ITIP model for instruction and teacher evaluation over a period of several years. The Teacher Evaluation Profile (TEP) developed by the Northwest Regional Education Laboratory was the instrument used in the study of teachers. A modified version of the TEP was used with elementary principals. The population of the study consisted of 233 elementary teachers from grades K-6 and 14 elementary principals. The …

Collective Bargaining For Educational Administrators: Oregon And Washington Principals' Perceptions Of Working Conditions, Patricia Ann Boles

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between collective bargaining for public school principals and principals' perceptions of their working conditions. Specifically, this study examined the perceptions of working conditions for a sample of principals who had statutory authority to bargain collectively (Washington) and a sample of principals who did not have such authority (Oregon). This type of study can make a contribution to the knowledge base for educational leadership, administrative behavior and governance dynamics within educational organizations. Methodologically, this descriptive study utilized a survey research design. Survey research permits data gathering from a relatively large number …

A Comparison Of Assistant Principal And Principal Perceptions Of The Assistant Principalship As A Training Ground In The Secondary School, Patricia Ann Howell

Dissertations and Theses

Although the assistant principalship has been an important part of American secondary schools for over thirty years, the educational establishment has yet to arrive at a formal definition of the assistant principal's role in that institution. Researchers have tended to find the assistant in a role defined by procedures. At the same time, they have called for a new definition of the assistant based on policy-making activities. This outcome has had several important consequences, not the least of which has been failure to provide formal guidelines for training assistants in their role and preparing them for future administrative assignments. This …

Adults As Students: Ego Development And The Influence Of The Academic Environment, Shannon Moon Leonetti

Dissertations and Theses

This study was based on the premise that one outcome of education is ego development. The research was based on Jane Loevinger's theory that ego development is the central frame-of-reference through which people view themselves and their relationships with others. The study looked for evidence of ego development in adult students and for contributing factors, including academic environments. It compared the ego levels of students aged 35 to 55 at two higher education institutes and some experiences that are common to most colleges.

The variables compared were based on Loevinger's levels of ego development and theories of academic environments of …

Commercial Activities And The Geography Of Movement In A West African Urban Market: A Study Of Market-Stall Traders In Onitsha With Implications For Transport Policy, Krys Chukwuma Ochia

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study is to understand the non home-based travel behavior of urban market traders in Onitsha, Nigeria, where 58-70% of the labor force is engaged in trading.

Relevant trip-inducing variables--gender, location, a means of personal transportation, size of stall and, type of good sold--were selected to assist in theorizing about the travel behavior of traders. Using a systematic sampling methodology, 246 stalls were selected and the MLR model was applied in data analyses.

The results show that a typical stall is occupied by either one or two traders. There are three male traders for every female trader …

The Formation And Expansion Of High Technology Firms In Metropolitan Areas, Oliver Ikeotuonye Orjiako

Dissertations and Theses

The theme of high-technology economic base and regional development, around which this research is based, has been receiving increased attention from policy-makers and researchers in recent years. This partly reflects the reappraisal of the emerging structural changes which have been stimulated by the negative effects of the economic recessions of the past decade. It also reflects the rapid growth and expansion of high-technology firms in centers like the well-publicized Silicon Valley in California, Route 128 in Massachusetts, and the Research Triangle in North Carolina. Promoting a high-technology economic base thus has been widely adopted as a regional development policy for …

The Longterm Psychosocial Impacts Of Caregiving On The Caregivers Of Persons With Stroke, Alice Updike Scannell

Dissertations and Theses

This study is a Time 4 (T4) follow-up interview of ninety-three caregivers of persons who experienced a first stroke between 2 to 4 years (mean = 36 months) prior to the T4 interview. The first wave of data collection occurred within two months after the stroke. The second and third waves occurred six and twelve months, respectively, after the first interview. The caregivers were identified by the person with stroke as being the person closest to him/her who would be responsible for care after the stroke.

Data were gathered at all four interviews using reliable and valid measures for depressive …

Types Of Phonological Processes Occurring In Normal Black English Speakers, Eileen Rella

Dissertations and Theses

Black English (BE) is a rule-governed linguistic system with its own phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. BE is a dialect, not a disordered variation of standard English (SE). When compared to SE, BE phonology has been described in terms of omissions, substitutions, and additions. This study looked at normal BE speakers in Portland, Oregon and described their dialectal differences in terms of phonological processes.

Self-Concept Competency Of National Aeronautics And Space Administration Research And Development Managers, Mark A. Beymer

Dissertations and Theses

Boyatzis has stated that "true" management competencies are characteristics of a manager which differentiate superior from average and below average performance. Boyatzis, however, treats a manager's self-image (self-concept) as a "threshold" rather than a "real" competency. Lafferty's research, which has measured relationships between several lifestyle (self-concept) variables and corresponding organizational behavior, has found that performance differences between average and high performing managers are associated with differences in self-concept construction. The researcher proposes to treat variations in self-concept measurements from managers as indications of their relative management competency. Thisresearch investigates seventeen hypotheses relating to the self-concepts of high performing, mid-level technical …

Charles A. Broadwater And The Main Chance In Montana, William L. Lang

History Faculty Publications and Presentations

Charles A. Broadwater (1840-92), a Montana pioneer, exemplified many of the characteristics embodied in the myth of the self-made man. With no trade or special skills Broadwater migrated to the Deer Lodge Valley in 1862. He traded horses, homes, and cattle. As the gold boom spread, he entered the freighting business and soon became immersed in the commercial and political life of the territory. He married into a leading Helena family and, through connections with such eastern capitalists as James J. Hill, built a business empire. He did not seek elective office, but he was a power in the territorial …

Portland State Magazine, Portland State University. Office Of University Communications

Portland State Magazine

PSU’s alumni magazine, published quarterly. In this issue: PSU faculty experience Middle Eastern and North African cultures through study-travel program; joint program encourages ethnic minorities to become teachers; Portland’s reputation for racist violence; and more.

Southeast Portland Housing Plan, Tamara Deridder, Leena Shamsudin, Emeka Agum, Matt Newman, Thomas Mcguire, Patricia Fink, Bryan Snodgrass, Jerald Johnson, Bruce Vincent, Liza Othman, Mary Hobbs, Richard Ledbetter, Andrew Peterson, Cathey Briggs, Scott Drumm, Rodney Jennings

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Workshop Projects

This project is a part of the 1989 Comprehensive Planning Workshop, the capstone of the Graduate Urban Planning curriculum at Portland State University. The goal was to develop a regional Housing Plan for Southeast Portland. Southeast Uplift Neighborhood Coalition, a non-profit organization offering administrative and technical support to Southeast neighborhood associations and other citizen groups agreed to cooperate in this endeavor. The goal and policies of this plan are those of the graduate students in the Master of Urban Planning program.

The planning area, nearly coinciding with neighborhoods Southeast Uplift represents is bounded by the Willamette River to the west, …

A Preliminary Analysis Of Beneficiary Discharge Status And Post-Hospital Placement Before And After The Implementation Of Medicare's Prospective Payment System, Anne Marguerite Wilkinson

Dissertations and Theses

In recognition of the inherently inflationary nature of retrospective reimbursement, the Reagan Administration enacted legislation that substantially changed Medicare's hospital reimbursement system. The Prospective Payment System (PPS) mandated paying hospitals a fixed payment, set in advance, based on the patient's diagnosis rather than retrospectively paying for all services delivered to a patient. Critics contend that PPS introduces incentives for hospitals to conserve resources during the hospital stay and to shift care to less costly settings, both potentially affecting quality of care to the elderly. The question addressed by this dissertation is whether there were changes in the discharge health status …

A New Approach To State Minimization Of Finite State Machines, William Yue Zhao

Dissertations and Theses

A complete program to ease the task of large scale Finite State Machine (FSM) minimization presented in this thesis: TDFM (Two Dimensional FSM Minimizer), is a part of the DIADES system. DIADES is an Automatic Design Synthesis System whose development in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Portland State University is supported in part by a research grant from SHARP Microelectronics Technology.

Revisiting The Rediviva : First Mate Robert Haswell's Account Of The Columbia Rediviva's Activities In China And On The Return Journey During The Second Voyage, Lucinda Joy Herrick

Dissertations and Theses

From 1787 to 1793 a group of Bostonians plied the sea otter pelt trade between the northwestern coast of the North American continent and Canton, China. By chance, in May of 1792, their captain, Captain Robert Gray discovered the Columbia River, thereby feeding the popular belief in a transcontinental river and strengthening subsequent American claims to the Pacific Northwest.

Presented here is a previously unpublished portion of First Mate Robert Haswell's log of the second voyage. This portion spans the dates October 3, 179 2 through May 2 6, 1793 and records the voyage from the completion of trade in …

Chemical Modification Of Skeletal Muscle Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Vesicles: A Study Of Calcium Permeability, Janice F. Stuart

Dissertations and Theses

Skeletal muscle contains an internal membrane system called the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) whose function is to regulate the Ca²⁺ concentration of the myoplasm. Ca²⁺ is transported into the SR from the myoplasm via a Ca²⁺ dependent ATPase thus lowering the myoplasmic Ca²⁺ concentration. Ca²⁺ exits from the SR via a Ca²⁺ releqse pathway resultingin the increase of myoplasmic Ca²⁺. Muscles contract when the myoplasmic Ca²⁺ concentration is > 5 uM and relax when the Ca²⁺ concentration is lowered below 1 uM. The Ca²⁺ dependent ATPase has been extensively studied but …

Ultrashort Pulse Production In Synchronously Pumped Mode-Locked Dye Laser Systems, Duncan Leo Macfarlane

Dissertations and Theses

The concern of this dissertation is the understanding and improvement of a class of lasers that is responsible for some of the shortest optical pulses available today. In particular, we seek ways to produce from synchronously pumped mode-locked dye laser systems, shorter pulses of higher intensity with improved pulse-to-pulse consistency. Specific topics.that are discussed herein include the study of the role of the pump pulse in synchronously pumped mode-locked lasers, the study of the pulse shaping and shortening due to an intracavity saturable absorber, and the study of a fundamental pulse train instability associated with these lasers.

Strategic Implications Of R&D Investment On Dynamic Business Systems, George F. Farrimond Jr.

Dissertations and Theses

The United States' ability to compete in many international markets has been based on competitive advantage in high-technology products. Until recently, these industries had a favorable trade balance but in 1987, it slipped to deficit of $0.6 billion. Management of research and development programs is one of the most important elements in remaining competitive. Therefore, this research study of 291 high-technology firms was undertaken to determine if: (1) a positive relationship exists between the amount of investment in research and development (R&D) and a firms success in sales, net income, or market share, (2) excessive investment in R&D would decrease …

The Output Of Compression Hearing Aids With A Transient Input Signal, Michael Andrew Berg

Dissertations and Theses

The output characteristics of five compression hearing aids in response to a transient signal were examined to determine if, the input-output function (i.e. output levels of the hearing aid as a function of input level) for a transient signal could be made to approximate that of a continuous signal, by activating the compression circuit with a second signal (activator). Input-output functions for three input compression and two output compression hearing aids were obtained in order to determine if: 1. the automatic gain control (AGC) was activated by the second signal and the transient signal output approximates that of a continuous …

Normative Data On The Auditory Memory Test Battery For Ages 9 Through 13 Years, Elisabeth Y. Carter

Dissertations and Theses

Auditory short-term memory (STM) is important for speech and language development and for learning new information presented auditorily. Research has shown that auditory STM ability is of a developmental nature in the 5 through 8 year age range for a variety of auditory stimuli. Many tests and subtests are available to measure auditory STM ability, however one test, the Auditory Memory Test Battery (AMTB) measures auditory memory span and memory for sequence for 5 types of stimuli.

The purpose of this study was to collect normative data on the AMTB scores of normal 9 through 13 year old students and …

Sex Role Traits And Psychological Merger In Lesbian Relationships, Susan G. Dahlstrom

Dissertations and Theses

Much of the literature on lesbian relationships links the positive feminine relational trait (intimacy or communion) with problems of psychological merger (Burch, 1982, 1985; Decker, 1984; Elise, 1986; Krestan and Bepko, 1980). Karpel (1976), describes psychological merger as a person's "state of ernbeddedness in and undifferentiation within, the relational context" (p. 67) . This study explores the femininity/masculinity sex role traits as they relate to psychological merger in lesbian couples.

Thirty-eight lesbian couples were recruited through friendship and acquaintance networks, newsletter announcements and direct solicitation of members of the Portland Lesbian Community Project (LCP). Couples had to have been living …

A Multivariate Test Of Evolutionary Stasis In Homo Sapiens, Jon Geoffrey Kleckner

Dissertations and Theses

In the past, efforts to prove or disprove stasis in hominids have relied upon univariate tests such as Students's t-test. Severe methodological and interpretive problems arise from the misapplication of univariate statistics to questions concerning variation in shape through time. These are questions best addressed using the multivariate approach of morphometrics. Eighteen cranial dimensions drawn from 33 mid and late Pleistocene Homo sapiens were examined using principal component analysis (PCA). PCA divided the sample into two distinct morphologies. Archaic Homo sapiens of the mid Pleistocene clustered with Wurm I neanderthals and apart from post Gottweig early anatomically modern Homo sapiens. …

Parallel Architectures For Solving Combinatorial Problems Of Logic Design, Phuong Minh Ho

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis presents a new, practical approach to solve various NP-hard combinatorial problems of logic synthesis, logic programming, graph theory and related areas. A problem to be solved is polynomially time reduced to one of several generic combinatorial problems which can be expressed in the form of the Generalized Propositional Formula (GPF) : a Boolean product of clauses, where each clause is a sum of products of negated or non-negated literals.