Digital Commons Network^™

Returning Women's Workshop And Retention Of Returning Women Students, Kimberly E. Lamb

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis investigates the retention of returning adult women students by examining: 1) demographic and motivational backgrounds of women who attend a university Returning Women's Workshop and women who do not; 2) retention, bonding, and support measures for the two groups of women; 3) student evaluations of the various Workshop components. The thesis also describes the history of the Workshop and the Women's Study Program.

A telephone survey was conducted of women who either participated in the Returning Women's Workshop or attended the University during the same selected years. All the women surveyed were over the age of 24 and …

Illegal Drug Use During Pregnancy: The Effects Of Defendant Race And Type Of Defense On Juror Judgments Of Guilt, Anita Rotondo

Dissertations and Theses

Since the early 1980s fetal harm "caused" by women's illegal drug use during pregnancy has garnered public attention and legal scrutiny. Motivated by concerns over fetal health, the cost of caring for drug-addicted infants, and public support for get tough on crime policies, various states have employed statutes on child abuse, neglect or endangerment, delivering a controlled substance to a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a minor to criminally inculpate maternal drug users.

Utilizing a written hypothetical trial summary in which a woman was charged with child abuse for using cocaine while pregnant, this research explored the effects …

University Studies 1994-1997: A Progress Report, Portland State University. General Education Working Group

University Studies Assessment Research

Broadly reports on the state of implementing University Studies, reviewing consequences for the University, faculty, and students.

Bulletin: General Catalog Issue 1998-1999, Portland State University

Bulletin & Curriculum Change Documents

No abstract provided.

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet January 1998, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The January 1998 Monthly packet includes the January agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held December 1997.

Phonological Processing Of Japanese Kanji Characters, Randy L. Evans

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the lexical access of Japanese kanji characters, particularly the access of on-readings and kun-readings, which are different pronunciations that kanji may realize in different contexts. A modified Stroop experiment was used, using drawings instead of colors, in which subjects were to call out what they saw in the drawings while ignoring written distractors. The following three conditions were used:

1. A Kunyomi condition, which offered a distractor that is graphically and phonologically identical to the character that represents the object in the drawing,

2. An Onyomi condition, which offered a distractor that …

Negotiation And Reorganization Of Peer Relationships During Adolescence: The Emergence Of Romantic Relationships And Quality Of Peer Relationships, Melanie Jo Zimmer-Gembeck

Dissertations and Theses

Research suggests that, for adolescent females, the initiation of romantic relationships is a normative developmental task and a task associated with potential difficulties, including physical aggression. Most previous research treats progress in this task as a function of individual characteristics. This study assumes that when girls are negotiating romantic relationships, they have existing intimate friendships with other females, and these friendships are important to how this task is negotiated.

Females who recently graduated from high school provided retrospective and current information on the amount of leisure time spent with members of their social networks, qualities of relationships in later adolescence, …

Toward A Model Of Work And Family Balance: How Families With Children Having Serious Emotional Disorders Manage Caregiving And Worklife, Julie M. Rosenzweig, Alice Myrth Ogilvie, Eileen M. Brennan

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Employed parents of children with serious emotional disorders must manage the competing demands of home and job. Although every situation is unique, all parents cope daily with the interface between employment and home. As the number of single employed mothers and dual-worker households has increased, so has the research on work and family. A review of this literature offers an examination of the different ways work and family relate within the busy lives of employed parents. Three primary models emerge from the review that describe experiences of mothers and fathers challenged by meeting both the needs of family members and …

An Evaluation Of A Staff Mentor Program For At-Risk Students In An Oregon High School: Cake (Caring About Kids Effectively), Gail Lenore Hayes

Dissertations and Theses

This study examined the effect of a staff-mentoring program with students identified as at-risk of becoming early leavers. This mentoring program, Caring About Kids Effectively (CAKE), was implemented at a suburban secondary school in Oregon serving grades 9 through 12.

The study of the CAKE program had four research components: (a) indicators of school success (GPA, attendance, and attitudes toward school) were compared between at-risk students and those not at-risk; (b) indicators of school success were analyzed over the time at-risk students were mentored to find any significant change; (c) indicators of school success and enrollment status at graduation was …

Free Trade, Regionalism, And The Democratic Peace Theory, Julia B. Johnson

Dissertations and Theses

Democratic nations worldwide rarely, if ever, go to war against one another. A variety of reasons for these peace loving democracies are offered in the social sciences literature. Many proponents of the theory of a democratic peace argue that democratic nations do not war against one another because of similar libertarian norms of behavior, and prohibitive structural institutions.

This thesis disagreed with the above assessment of peaceful democratic norms and institutions, and sought instead to investigate the role of economic prosperity as a crucial element of international cooperation. Combining the characteristics of democracy and economic prosperity, more fully rounded out …

The Effects Of Educational Setting And Instructor Type On Interaction Modifications, Katrina Kay Mcconaughey

Dissertations and Theses

The precise role of interaction in the process of second language acquisition and its place in the second language classroom are questions that continue to be important in research for both theoretical and applied linguists. The framework for this study is based on Long's (1983b) Interaction Hypothesis which proposes that input is made comprehensible by the modification of interactional structures. Many studies have looked at the differences between teacher-fronted classroom interaction and small group or dyad interaction without a teacher. The use of tutors and teaching assistants is common but not many studies have looked at how variation among instructor …

Role Of The Warrant In Presidential Debates : 1960, 1976, & 1996, Aaron Nicole Kaio

Dissertations and Theses

Every four years in America we make a decision about which candidate is best suited to be our next president. Over the past twenty years a standard component of the presidential campaign has been televised debates. These debates are supposed to help the public get a better understanding of the candidates' ideas about government, our future, and to demonstrate analytical skills and their ability to think on their feet.

This study set out to see how the candidates' arguments measured up to some basic argumentation standards. According to several scholars, none of the televised presidential debates qualify as 'true debates', …

Technology-Enhanced Presentations In Large Classrooms : Effects On Adult Academic Achievement And Computer Attitudes, Pamela Rae Hilberg

Dissertations and Theses

Rising enrollments and budget restrictions are resulting in larger class sizes which can lead to difficulties with learning. Computer technology has been suggested as a tool that may help overcome some of these difficulties. Research on outcomes is important to find ways that technology may be used by instructors to help students with information processing (Gagne & Driscoll, 1988), and to see if the financial commitment required for integrating educational technology is warranted.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the academic achievement and computer attitudes of students in courses taught with traditional presentations and technology-enhanced presentations taught …

The Stigma Of Obesity : Beliefs About And Attitudes Toward Fat/Obese Persons, Sally Jean Clute

Dissertations and Theses

This research explores the relationship between beliefs about and attitudes toward fat/obese persons, specifically in regard to issues of attribution and perceived responsibility for the physical condition. The purpose of the research is to assess the extent to which fat/obese persons are derogated, given whether or not they are perceived to be held responsible for their fatness/obesity. It utilizes attribution theory (Heider, 1958; Jones & Davis, 1965; Kelley, 1967; Weiner, 1986), in particular, internal locus of control and issues of consensus and distinctiveness (Kelley, 1967) and controllability (Weiner, 1986). The main hypothesis is that fat/obese people will be viewed more …

Using A Realistic Job Preview To Communicate Organizational Culture, Johanna Glode

Dissertations and Theses

The present study sought to determine how organizational culture information could best be presented to job applicants for the purpose of attracting employees who will fit into an organization's culture. Attraction to the organization's culture was hypothesized to influence applicant self-selection into the company. Two different types of Realistic Job Previews (RJPs), semantic and episodic, were compared in their ability to convey information accurately about a hypothetical organizational culture. Participant knowledge of the culture was hypothesized to align objective, or actual, fit with subjective perceptions of fit.

Knowledge of the organization's culture, objective fit, subjective fit, attractiveness of the culture, …

Enculturing Nature, William Lloyd Cornett

Dissertations and Theses

Human activity is embedded within a myriad of seldom-acknowledged ecological relationships. Anthropology and ecology, two holistic disciplines concerned with these activities, struggle with the topic of human/nature relationships because both are grounded within larger western discourses separating human behaviors from those of the natural world. This thesis examines the histories of anthropology and ecology in the 20th Century, and the effect these disciplines have had upon the formulation of contemporary urban worldviews that are based upon the separation of humans from nature.

The Role Of Educational Technology And Motivation In Increasing Flow And Time-On-Task To Enhance Learning, Michael Pullmann

Dissertations and Theses

Technology plays an increasing role in college courses. Student experiences and outcomes may be significantly altered by high-tech course presentation and flexible formats. Models from psychology, such as Csikszentmihalyi's flow theory are useful for understanding quality of experience. Dweck's motivation theory explains why some students may not experience the flow state during school work. The purposes of this study were to: 1) Determine if students in technology-enhanced courses differ from other students on the experience of flow, 2) Test the relationship between flow, motivation orientation, and time-on-task, and 3) Test the relationship between motivation orientation, time-on-task, and student outcomes.

Forty …

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

Portland State Magazine

PSU’s alumni magazine, published 2-3 times a year. In this issue: The six galleries on campus display local and national art—they also do great First Thursdays; help your child become a good speller. Plus, take a test to determine your own spelling aptitude; the food industry is finding new ways of doing business with the help of a PSU management program; when a company needs turning around, Renee Fellman is the specialist a history journal of the Pacific Rim is right at home in Cramer Hall; and more.

Consistent Estimation Of Faculty Rank Effects In Academic Salary Models, James G. Strathman

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Faculty rank is often included as an explanatory variable in academic salary models. Because there is reason to believe that this results in specification bias, rank effects should be estimated endogenously in salary models. A salary model in which faculty rank is endogenous is estimated in this paper and the results are compared with those obtained from a conventionally specified alternative.

A Complex-Systems Perspective On The “Computation Vs. Dynamics” Debate In Cognitive Science, Melanie Mitchell

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

I review the purported opposition between computational and dynamical approaches in cognitive science. I argue that both computational and dynamical notions will be necessary for a full explanatory account of cognition, and give a perspective on how recent research in complex systems can lead to a much needed rapprochement between computational and dynamical styles of explanation.

The Female Identity In Rosario Ferré'S Papeles De Pandora, Marcie Lynn Pratt

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines four stories from Rosario Ferré's first book of short stories, Papeles de Pandora: "La muñeca menor," "Cuando las mujeres quieren a los hombres," "Amalia," and "La bella durmiente." In Papeles de Pandora, Ferré explores the portrayal of female identity by dismantling the traditional roles that are assigned to women in Puerto Rican, patriarchal society. This thesis analyzes the ways in which Ferré skillfully deconstructs and (re)constructs the identity and sense of self of her female protagonists.

To demonstrate Ferré's deconstruction and (re)construction of the female identity, this study focuses on Ferré's use of recurring motifs …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet December 1997, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The December 1997 Monthly packet includes the December agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held November 1997.

A Longitudinal Study Of The Career Maturity Patterns Of Individuals With Clefts, Joyce Johnson Anderson

Dissertations and Theses

This longitudinal study sought to examine career maturity, and the variables thought to influence career maturity, in a sample of individuals with the congenital craniofacial anomaly of clefting by following them from adolescence (ages 14 to 18) into young adulthood (ages 22 to 26).

Sixteen subjects (6 males, 10 females) during adolescence and in young adulthood completed (a) a biographical questionnaire which provided educational and occupational information, (b) the Career Development Inventory, (c) the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, (d) the Shipley Institute of Living Scale, and (e) self-ratings of speech and facial appearance acceptability to provide information concerning career maturity, mental …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet November 1997, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The November 1997 Monthly packet includes the November agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held October 1997.

Oregon State Ballot Measure 51: Repeal Of 1994 Assisted Suicide Ballot Measure, City Club Of Portland (Portland, Or.)

City Club of Portland

No abstract provided.

A Multi-Method Inquiry Into Managerial Coaching, Deborah J. Petricek

Dissertations and Theses

Managerial coaching is a little understood and assessed phenomenon. An exploratory study was conducted in order to describe and examine coaching practices in the work world. Interviews were conducted with a group of managers and direct reports from a single company. Based on the interview discourse and previous research, two scales were developed in order to investigate the coach and coachee domains. Manager and associate survey forms were constructed using these new scales and the Leader /Member Exchange (LMX) in order to investigate the relationship domain of coaching. In addition, the Least-Preferred Co-worker (LPC) scale was included in the manager …

The Concept Of Trustworthiness: A Cross-Cultural Comparison Between Japanese And U.S. Business People, Masami Nishishiba

Dissertations and Theses

Since trust has been reported as an important component in both Japanese and U.S. organizations, the indication of lack of trust between Japanese and U.S. employees in Japanese subsidiaries is of great concern to management. If one wants to improve the level of trust between Japanese and U.S. employees, one must explore the reasons why they sometimes do not trust each other. Since there may be cultural differences between the two groups in the concept of trustworthiness, the first step is to examine whether Japanese and U.S. employees share the same notion of what constitutes a trustworthy person. Therefore, the …

Student Outcomes, Educational Technology, And Assessment In Large Classrooms: Effects On Planned Behavior, Tanya Leigh Ostrogorsky

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of educational technology and classroom assessment on student outcomes. The research used a pretest post-test matched pairs design to test these effects. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was used as a foundation for the model tested. Differences between the model tested and the TPB include the addition of Perceived Behavioral ControlTime 2 (PBC), and the dropping of Subjective Norms from the model. Participating faculty were trained in the use of educational technology, assessment, and course design. Each faculty taught two sections of a large course: first without the enhancements; …

City Club Of Portland Report: Domestic Violence -- Everybody's Business, City Club Of Portland (Portland, Or.)

City Club of Portland

No abstract provided.

Grandmothers Laughing: Intergenerational Transmission Of Cultural Beliefs About Pregnancy And Childbirth Among Native American Women, Claudia Robin Long

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation reports findings from a qualitative study of intergenerational transmission of pregnancy and childbirth information among Native American women. Proposed is a theory of intergenerational transmission that explains four pathways used by Indian women to gain information about pregnancy and childbirth. Antecedent, consequent, and core elements are associated with the transmission process.

Discriminant sampling was used to identify the middle generation of Indian mothers and grandmothers, between 36 and 65 years of age, residing on or near the reservation, with experience of assimilation policies that had moved off-reservation temporarily. The researcher used the grounded theory method to analyze responses …