Digital Commons Network^™

Developing Linguistic Literacy: Perspectives From Corpus Linguistics And Multi-Dimensional Analysis, Douglas Biber, Randi Reppen, Susan M. Conrad

Applied Linguistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

In their conceptual framework for linguistic literacy development, Ravid & Tolchinsky synthesize research studies from several perspectives. One of these is corpus-based research, which has been used for several large-scale research studies of spoken and written registers over the past 20 years. In this approach, a large, principled collection of natural texts (a 'corpus') is analysed using computational and interactive techniques, to identify the salient linguistic characteristics of each register or text variety. Three characteristics of corpus-based analysis are particularly important (see Biber, Conrad & Reppen 1998):(1) a special concern for the representativeness of the text sample being analysed, and …

Summarizing Concepts About Teacher Education, Learning And Neuroscience, Terry Armstrong, Teresa J. Kennedy, Porter Coggins

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

Despite on-going reform. teacher education today is virtually unchanged from models used in the 1920s. The achievements of the past century however have been remarkable in every way. Neuroscience records and the human genome project hold the prospect of truly expanded conceptualizations for teacher educators. This article summarizes concepts relating to the human cerebrum that speak to individual uniqueness derived from neuroscience research of the past several decades. Five areas of investigation are noted that could provide the theoretical underpinning for teacher education collaboration with neuroscientists. Neuroscience theorists are identified in anticipation that their work may provide insights to teacher …

Working Caregivers: Issues, Challenges, And Opportunities For The Aging Network, Margaret B. Neal, Donna Wagner

Institute on Aging Publications

This paper provides an overview of the issues associated with working caregivers. We will examine the social and demographic trends influencing the growth of this group, their characteristics and their contributions to elders, and the consequences of caregiving for caregivers and their work. Next, we will briefly describe the various employer-initiated programs currently in place to support working caregivers and the evolution of these programs, followed by federal and state governments’ response to working caregivers, to date. The remainder of the paper details the potential role of the aging network in better supporting working caregivers, including current best practices and …

A Linguistic Evaluation Of The Somali Women's Self Sufficiency Project, Ann Marie Kasper

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis evaluated a program of the Lutheran Community Services of Oregon, an English as a Second Language training program for Somali refugee women. This study examined the English test results and questionnaires of 28 pairs of Somali women and North American volunteers involved in tutoring. The evaluation included communicating with the Somali women, North American tutors, and Lutheran Community Services staff. The researcher created a literacy test, piloted it, and created questionnaires with the assistance of the staff. Before the tutoring began, the researcher created a needs assessment for the Somali participants and visited each Somali woman's home with …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet December 2001, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The December 2001 Monthly packet includes the December agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held November 2001.

Hitting The Line Hard : The Height Of The Social Hygiene Movement In Oregon, 1911-1918, Jodi Hammond

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis provides the history of a grass-roots educational campaign to educate the public of the dangers of venereal disease undertaken by reformers within the Oregon Social Hygiene Society. It recounts the forces which caused prominent citizens of the state to take up the hygiene society's cause and bring the organization to national prominence for state-wide educational work. The thesis considers the inherent tensions between purity and sanitary-based reformers within the hygiene movement. It demonstrates how reformers were able to put aside conflicting views for a time and unite to pursue educational goals. The thesis provides a blueprint of a …

An Evaluation Of Families And Service Providers Participating In Participatory Action Research Related To Self-Determination In Young Children With Disabilities, Kristen L. Kozlowski

Dissertations and Theses

The concept of self-determination or "acting as the primary casual agent in one's life and making choices and decisions regarding one's quality of life free from undue external influence or interference" (Wehmeyer, 1996, p.24) has long been a focus of educating adults with disabilities. Recently, researchers and educators have begun to examine teaching foundational skills of self-determination to young children with disabilities. It is important to evaluate programs and methodologies that are said to enhance self-determination in order to ensure their efficacy. Research has examined self-determination programs involving adults and older children, however to date there have been few studies …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet October 2001, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The October 2001 Monthly packet includes the October agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held June 2001.

Altruism, The Prisoner's Dilemma, And The Components Of Selection, Jeffrey Fletcher, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

The n-player prisoner’s dilemma (PD) is a useful model of multilevel selection for altruistic traits. It highlights the non zero-sum interactions necessary for the evolution of altruism as well as the tension between individual and group-level selection. The parameters of the n-player PD can be directly related to the Price equation as well as to a useful alternative selection decomposition. Finally, the n-player PD emphasizes the expected equilibrium condition of mutual defection in the absence of higher levels of organization and selection. Keywords: prisoner's dilemma, N-player PD, multilevel selection, altruism, Price equation, group selection

Focal Point, Volume 15 Number 02, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

Research and Training Center - Focal Point

This issue of Focal Point begins from the idea that enrichments, far from being frivolous, are instead essential. The joy and meaningfulness which enrichments provide make a direct, positive contribution to quality of life. What is more, enriching experiences add to our reserves of strength and purpose, and these reserves in turn enable us to adapt, cope, recover and even thrive in the face of challenges and stresses. Specifically, this issue of Focal Point looks at research related to sources of enrichment, and at innovative programs that promote enrichment and achieve positive outcomes for children with emotional and behavioral challenges, …

Review Of "They Still Pick Me Up When I Fall: The Role Of Caring In Youth Development And Community Life." By Diana Mendley Rauner, Thomas E. Keller

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

A review of the book "They Still Pick Me Up When I Fall: The Role of Caring in Youth Development and Community," by Diana Mendley Rauner is presented.

A Dissertation On African American Male Youth Violence: "Trying To Kill The Part Of You That Isn’T Loved", Joy Degruy Leary

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation is based on Sociocultural Theory, Social Learning Theory and Trauma Theory, as well as a new theoretical framework (Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome) which takes into account multigenerational trauma. Five research questions involving independent variables believed to predict violent behavior in African American male youth were investigated. The first three questions addressed stressors experienced by African Americans: violence witnessing, violence victimization, and daily urban hassles. The fourth and fifth questions concerned the sociocultural characteristics of racial socialization and prosocial attitudes toward respect. Participants were 200 African American male youth residing in inner Northeast Portland, Oregon who were recruited from …

An Antidote To The Anesthetic: A Diary Study, Carol Rasmussen Schramm

Dissertations and Theses

The teaching experiences of an American ESL teacher, recorded in a critically reflective diary, for the basis for this study. Through analysis of the diary, the culturally formed and framed attitudes, beliefs, and assumptions of the teacher are explored in an attempt to understand the dialectic relationship between the diarist's culture and the cultures of her students. The researcher believes that increases in awareness in these areas can lead to improved teaching practice. Thus, one goal of this study is the professional development of its author.

The literature in the field of TESOL does not adequately address the impact of …

Form Or Function First In Foreign Language Classrooms?, Senta Görtler

Dissertations and Theses

The study was inspired by continuous discussion in the field of second language acquisition and teaching on the role of grammar instruction in successful language learning. Traditionally foreign language and second language classrooms have been taught with a pedagogical focus on language structure. More recently there has been support for second language classrooms focusing on content, function, or communication rather than form. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to compare the effectiveness of an innovative function-based classroom with a traditional form-based classroom.

During a ten-week period, one class of Intermediate German was taught in a form-based classroom while another …

Effects Of Professional Interpreter Services On The Utilization Of Health Care Services Of Different Language/Cultural Groups, Amanda Fleming Petrik

Dissertations and Theses

Immigration has affected the number of U.S. residents who speak little or no English. These residents have limited English proficiency. Research studies have indicated discrepancies in medical interpretation and medical care. However, differences in health care between the language/ cultural groups are rarely recognized as health discrepancies.

This research project is a quasi-experimental design, testing differences between the four major language groups in the greater Portland, Oregon area. These four major language/cultural groups speak Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish and Russian.

A secondary data analysis was used to compare the differences in utilization of emergency room services, routine services, and urgent care …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet June 2001, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The June 2001 Monthly packet includes the June agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held May 2001.

The Nature Of Selection In A Cohort Of Sixth Graders: Homogeneity Of Children’S Friends And Peer Groups With Regard To School Motivation, Tanya L. Fantaski

Dissertations and Theses

This study suggests that the structure and function of children's peer and friendship groups differ. Participants were an entire cohort of sixth grade students (N = 366) from 13 classrooms in a small upstate New York town. Children reported about peer groups, friendships, and their own (behavioral and emotional) engagement. Binomial z-tests were used to identify the peer group structure across all 13 classrooms. Friendship groups were identified from reciprocal nominations of (a) very best friends, (b) best friends, (c) good friends, and (d) friends also friends in class, in school, and outside of school. Group motivational averages were computed …

Metro Policy Advisory Committee: Parks Subcommittee, Final Report, Metro (Or.)

Metro Collection

No abstract provided.

Focal Point, Volume 15 Number 01, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

Research and Training Center - Focal Point

Transitions are difficult for all of us, but for children and youth with emotional and behavioral challenges, transitions are often both more difficult and more frequent than for their peers. Even “normal”, age-defined transitions such as the transition to kindergarten or the transition to independent living are often extremely difficult for children and youth with emotional and behavioral challenges, and for their families or other caregivers. Transitions—accompanied by the disruption of routine and the need to interact with unfamiliar people—are precisely the types of situations that are often most unsettling and stressful for these children.

Class, Cultism, And Multiculturalism, Ramin Farahmandpur, Peter Mclaren

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Globalization has hurt both developed and developing countries. Capitalism's relations of exploitation can hurt people of color in disabling ways. Discusses the relationships among race, gender, ethnic, and class identities in order to articulate a political framework that moves toward transnational ethnic alliances, abolishing the role of capital and the forms of exploitation and violence that flourish under capitalism.

Who's In The Pew? A Study Of Religious Disengagement Among Young Adults, Jodi Brekhus

Dissertations and Theses

This investigation sought to understand religious disengagement among young adults in the U.S. Specifically, it addressed the following questions: How can the trend toward religious disengagement among young adults in the 1990s be explained?

In an attempt to answer these questions, several existing models and perspectives which attempt to explain the social causes of religious disengagement among young adults were presented. These are the following: age-based, social learning, traditional beliefs, the family-life cycle, religious innovation, localism and deprivation.

These models and perspectives were combined to create several hypotheses, which were then tested with data collected from General Social Survey (GSS). …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet February 2001, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The February 2001 Monthly packet includes the February agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held January 2001.

Biodiversity: Connecting With The Tapestry Of Life, Elise F. Granek, Francisco Dallmeier, Alfonso Alonso, Peter H. Raven

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Biodiversity is the extraordinary variety of life on Earth – from genes and species to ecosystems and the valuable functions they perform. E.O. Wilson, the noted biologist and author who coined the term “biodiversity,” explains it as “the very stuff of life.” Species and the ecosystems in which they live are indelibly linked. Conversion or loss of ecosystems inevitably impairs the species that depend on them. As well, changes in the life cycle of one species could impact the life cycles of many other species (including humans), alter ecosystems and ecosystem functions, and contribute to local, regional and, ultimately, global …

Bulletin: General Catalog Issue 2001-2002, Portland State University

Bulletin & Curriculum Change Documents

No abstract provided.

Attitudes At The Bank : A Survey Of Reactions To Different Varieties Of English, Sean Wilcox

Dissertations and Theses

In the modem world of international communication, it is more common for speakers of different varieties of English to come into contact with each other on a daily basis. This can occur not only in face to face communication, but in telephone communication as well.

This study investigates the attitudes towards a non-native or Expanding Circle (ECE) variety of English held by telephone customer service representatives at a large American financial institution. The central question of this study asks whether or not these telephone representatives will rate a speaker of a Korean-accented variety of English higher or lower than a …

El Impacto De Las Nuevas Technologias En El Futuro De Las Technicas De Evaluacion Psicologica Clinica, Richard H. Dana, Isidro A. E. Sanz, Barry A. Ritzler, Jan Ivanouw

Regional Research Institute for Human Services

En este trabajo se presentan reflexiones desde distintas perspectivas acerca del futuro de la Evaluación Psicológica y el papel que las tecnologías informáticas tendráen ella. En la actualidad, es innegable la importancia que ha alcanzado la informática dentro de las actividades académicas y profesionales en tomo a la Evaluación Psicológica. La capacidad cada vez mayor de las computadoras facilitó las tareas de investigación, desarrollo, y aplicación de tests psicológicos. Parece altamente previsible que en el futuro la informática tendrá un lugar aún mayor en el auxilio del psicógicos evaluador. Algunas posibles consecuencias futuras son expuestas y debatidas por los diferentes …

Asian American Mental Health Clients: Effects Of Ethnic Match And Age On Global Assessment And Visitation, Richard H. Dana, Glenn Gamst, Aghop Der-Karabetian, Terry Kramer

Regional Research Institute for Human Services

Effects of client-counselor ethnic match (i.e., match, no match) and client age group (child, adult) on counselor-evaluated Global Assessment of Function (GAF) and visitation were investigated. The sample consisted of 253 Asian-American outpatient clients (24.9% children 75.1% adults) of a community mental health center. Unadjusted results indicated that ethnically matched clients had more positive GAF evaluations and more clinic visits than nonmatched clients. When adjusted for eight covariates, results showed ethnically matched clients continued to show higher levels of visitation. Analysis of separate diagnostic categories showed that ethnically matched mood-disorder clients had higher levels of visitation. Conversely, nonethnically matched anxiety …

Philosophy In The Wilderness, Jamie P. Ross

Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

An analysis of the team-taught course, Knowledge, Art & Power: The Social Construction of Knowledge. It critically analyzes and rejects both of the following claims: 1. Knowledge consists of eternal truths, 2. Knowledge is relativistic. In so doing, we focus on an understanding that knowledge serves selective interests; knowledge has a teleology (purpose)- i.e. power.

In this course we examine and analyze the relationships among and between knowledge, power and art. That means we must first understand what counts as knowledge. One way of understanding what counts as knowledge is to understand the way in which power is defined …

Diversity And School Reform, Terry Armstrong

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

For the past century, school reform has centered around political solutions. Numerous attempts have been made to improve the education of youth. The advent of neuroscience research has given educators new ways of examining conditions affecting school achievement. The list of these conditions is large. Communities seeking to improve schools need to examine biological factors which may impinge on school success.

Role Playing And Cooperative Learning In The Ais Course, Dennis F. Togo, Kristi Jane Yuthas

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

The accounting information systems course is often viewed as difficult to teach because it contains topics that are less quantifiable and structured in comparison to courses in financial or managerial!cost accounting. Yet, many AIS instructors have developed successful teaching techniques that are suited to the AIS course. A creative teaching approach for the AIS course is that of role-playing organizations and their operations, especially for transaction cycles. In addition, cooperative learning can be nicely coupled with role playing because of their common emphases on social interdependence and shared learning. The benefits and guidelines for cooperative learning and role playing are …