Digital Commons Network^™

The Development And Testing Of An Instrument To Measure Client Satisfaction Of Child Protective Service Families, James Michael White

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to develop and test an instrument to measure client satisfaction among families who are clients of a child protective services agency. With the growing numbers of families coming into contact with CPS agencies, the burgeoning numbers of children in foster care, and the increasing attention to the effectiveness of services within this population, client feedback is one approach that has been largely ignored by CSP administrators. The basic problem this dissertation addressed is the issue of obtaining feedback from the involuntary client, such as the family in a child abuse case. Specifically, this dissertation …

A Descriptive Study Of The Oregon Mentorship Program, Gaynelle Louise Nolf

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive and descriptive study of the Oregon Mentorship Program. The study examined literature on adult mentorship programs particularly related to education and educational administration, and gathered mentor and protege perceptions on the personal and professional usefulness of program activities and characteristics. The analysis of the data may provide guidance for future formal mentorship programs designed to prepare better beginning administrators in the field of education.

Data were gathered utilizing a questionnaire. All participants in the program (77 mentors and 79 proteges) were surveyed with an instrument designed around the follow-up study …

Development And Analysis Of A Model For Change In The Workplace, Using Quasi-Experimentation With Computer Professionals In Northwestern Investor Owned Utilities, John Ronald Thompson

Dissertations and Theses

Computer professionals have been agents of change in many organizations. In some cases the role inadvertently became theirs as they were the ones at the vanguard of implementing the new information processing technology in organizations. While in other cases they were the catalysts for change, to force new methods/procedures onto lethargic organizations. While introducing change on others in the organization and adapting to new technological changes themselves, the computer professionals have not really had to face a significant change in their status, power, or importance to the organization. The introduction of the personal computer has brought about significant change in …

Resolving The Evaluator/Nurturer Role Conflict Of The Elementary School Principal, Judith Elizabeth Drummond Taccogna

Dissertations and Theses

This qualitative study explores how elementary school principals resolve the role conflict between judging the performance of teachers (summative evaluation) and providing nurturing growth activities (formative evaluation or supervision). Related research questions were these: (1) How does the principal spend time in summative versus formative evaluation? (2) What factors create role conflict for the principal? (3) What elements help the principal approach congruence in dealing with both responsibilities? The Delphi technique, a method for structuring a group communication process, was used to collect data from 12 Oregon elementary principals, recommended by district administrators as having expertise in the area of …

Principal Vision, Environmental Robustness, And Teacher Sense Of Autonomy In High Schools, Daniel Nordwall Johnson

Dissertations and Theses

This study focused on leadership and its correlates. Theory and research both point to the centrality of the principal's leadership role in school effectiveness. Yet, few studies of school leadership actually examine relationships among leadership variables. This study examined, from the perspective of high school teachers, three leadership correlates: principal vision, environmental robustness and teacher autonomy. Principal vision was conceptualized as the capacity of the principal to see the difference between what is and what might be, thus enabling others to accept and act on the possibilities of what might be. Environmental robustness was defined as the perceived dramatic content …

Perceptions Of Psycho-Social Factors That Affect Retirement Decision-Making, Darlene Zickefoose

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of the study was to examine retirement decision making of certificated employees (N = 284 respondents N = 241) of the Beaverton School District in a near retirement age category. The Beaverton School District is a large suburban school district near Portland, Oregon. It currently serves over 25,000 students and employs approximately 2,600 certificated and classified employees. The study answered the following questions:

1. Can psycho-social factors be identified that will enable the Beaverton School District to help potential retirees make an informed decision to retire?
2. What personal factors affect a person's decision to retire?
3. Does it matter, in …

An Exploratory Analysis Of Certain Characteristics Of Policewomen: A Second Look, Harry Oliver White Jr.

Dissertations and Theses

Female police officers are relatively new to the profession of law enforcement. Prior to 1968, the very few who were employed by police agencies were not permitted to perform the full range of police duties. Subsequent to that time their number has increased so that today they account for approximately 8.3 percent of the total sworn police population. There have been numerous studies which have attempted to identify the sociopsychological characteristics of male police officers. For example, Neiderhoffer reported in 1967 that male officers rate high in authoritarianism, anomia, job dissatisfaction, and choose police work for job security reasons. Very …

A Comparison Of Socio-Political Attitudes Of Older Urban Women: The 1910-1924 Cohorts, Elizabeth Slack Ikehara

Dissertations and Theses

The central theme of this study is that because of the changing life styles and the macro-events which occurred after World War I these years were a watershed. The women born in the three five-year cohorts from 1910 through 1924 were at different stages of maturity and awareness as particular economic and political events occurred. The social and political climates were different for each of these cohorts of women. Therefore there would be discernible differences in attitudes and opinions among the cohorts. A literature review indicated three models for the formation of social attitudes and political opinions. The "Personality Types" …

Creative Drama As An Instructional Strategy In Adult Christian Education, Darlene Richards Graves

Dissertations and Theses

This study reviews the tenents of adult learning. Christian education and creative drama and presents the observation that there are parallel objectives in each of these three major areas. Noting that creative drama is rarely used in adult Christian education, which is primarily cognitive-based and lecture-discussion oriented, the study proposes the application of creative drama strategies to provide an alternative experiential learning process and therefore create a drama strategies to provide an alternative experiential learning process and therefore create a balance of focus between cognitive, affective, reflective and active learning styles in adult Christian education. It also suggests that through …

Internal-External Locus Of Control And The Life Experiences Of Soviet Pentecostal Refugees In Portland, Oregon, Amy Roberts

Dissertations and Theses

The construct internal-external locus of control was utilized to examine the Soviet Pentecostal refugees' perception of life experiences in the United States as defined by three dimensions: social, economical, and political. Unlike the majority of immigration research, which focuses on structural variables, this research further addressed the concept of acculturation as a long term process of resettlement. Subjects completed an anonymous forced choice questionnaire consisting of the Rotter (1966) locus of control instrument scale. Pearson Product moment correlation coefficients were calculated to examine the strength of the relationships between the internal-external locus of control scores and five factor analyzed life …

Shameless Shame: St. Augustine's Confessions, Regina Eastman

Anthós Journal (1990-1996)

his paper suggests that the “Shameless Shame” of Augustine’s manipulatory language and rhetoric in the Confessions serves the distinct purpose of converting the reader to Catholicism. By tracing the way in which St. Augustine uses diverse literary forms to appeal to his readers and guide their path. This paper suggests that there is a particular reason for the rise of Catholicism, and it’s not just faith. Augustine’s use of language that could appeal to multiple strata of society allowed each to take their path to conversion, but ultimately conversion comes to be seen as a social act. One imbued with …

Investigations Of Self, Merlin Douglass

Anthós Journal (1990-1996)

While Margery Kempe, fourteenth century English country wife and mystic/pilgrim, and Lady Nijo, thirteenth century Japanese imperial concubine and itinerant Buddhist nun, might at first seem disparate subjects, this paper argues that the themes of pilgrimage and the act of writing an autobiography link them together in interesting ways. By tracing the ways in which both authors form their autobiographies and by using critical theories of autobiography a theme repeatedly appears, that of the welcoming nature of the wilderness of the faith pilgrimage and of the wandering paths both women took in their search for salvation

The Small Business Development Center Program: From A Small Business Growth Stage And Adult Learning Perspective, Roy Otis Kruger

Dissertations and Theses

The study of the Clackamas Small Business Development Center's Small Business Management Programs (SBM) had three research objectives: to ascertain what information should be transferred to small business owners and how best to transfer that information; to ascertain what information is presently being transferred to clients and what methods are used in transferring the information; and to survey clients in order to develop a current demographic profile, measure their level of satisfaction with the assistance received, and ascertain what they perceived were the benefits of the program to their companies. Prior to the study, there had been little systematic research …

A Structural Model And Test Of The Antecedents And Outcomes Of Organizational And Professional Commitment, Mary Ann Evans

Dissertations and Theses

The major purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between commitment to one's profession and commitment to one's employer and the role this relationship plays in predicting satisfaction, performance and turnover. In order to accomplish this purpose the antecedents and outcomes of the commitments were modeled and tested using covariance structural modeling techniques. The data source was the 1990 Kaiser Permanente, Northwest Region Employee Survey. The study included a wide range of occupations. The literature is ambiguous about the definition and measurement of professional and organizational commitment. Professional commitment is characterized either as a unidimensional or multidimensional construct …

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: Families of children with serious emotional disorders are finding help from a Research and Training Center at PSU; the inauguration of PSU President Judith A. Ramaley was a heralded event for the university community; the Governor’s Commission on Higher Education places PSU at the hub of a cooperative educational effort in Portland; soldiers, exposed to low-level radiation while stationed at Camp Hanford, are the subject of a new study through PSU; while the number of women competing in athletics continue to sour, women coaches are becoming a rare sight; …

Conformity, Attitude Toward Authority, And Social Class, Alison Carol Welter

Dissertations and Theses

This study examined the relationship between attitudes toward authority, identification with authority and conformity in relation to authority in American undergraduate college students. The study consisted of two parts. The first part examined correlates of attitudes toward authority according to social class. Undergraduate college students attending Portland State University comprised the samples in which two groups, a middle-class group and a working-class group of equal sizes (n=63), were formed. A relatively new, standardized measure of attitudes toward institutional authority, the GAIAS (Rigby, 1982), was used to measure orientation toward authority by social class. No significant differences in attitudes toward authority …

Comparison Of Two Behavioral Models In Obesity Treatment, Nina Lucille Dominy

Dissertations and Theses

This study compared the results of two methods of behavioral treatment in combination with a very-low-calorie-diet in the treatment of obesity. Subjects were 28 male and 106 female patients admitted to the medically supervised fasting program at Risk Factor Clinic in Portland, Oregon. Subjects were matched by gender, percent over ideal body weight, and age. Subject group I received a smorgasbord of behavioral techniques from various group leaders in a 60-minute weekly session. Presentation was didactic and theoretical and subjects were accountable to themselves for utilization of the techniques. Subject group II participated in 90-minute weekly sessions with a primary …

A Comparison Of Circadian Rhythms In Day And Night Shift Workers, Mary Lee Blood

Dissertations and Theses

The present study examined whether and to what extent physiological rhythms of long-term night workers become adapted to their unconventionally scheduled hours of work and sleep and how the degree of adaptation would be reflected in ratings of sleep quality, mood, anxiety, energy and satisfaction.

Politics And Education: The Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade, Teresa Squires Osborne

Dissertations and Theses

The Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade of 1980, carried out in the aftermath,of a long and destructive revolution, was able, in five months time, to decrease the nation's illiteracy rate from 50 percent to 13 percent. The newly fonned Nicaraguan government, recognizing the political nature of education, viewed its Literacy Crusade as a major step· in the development of a "new", post-revolutionary Nicaragua.

As a means of comparison, two other literacy campaigns are also examined: the Cuban campaign of 1961, and the UNESCO-sponsored Experimental World Literacy Programme, in place from 1965-1973.

The Cuban campaign served as a precursor to the Nicaraguan effort. …

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

Portland State Magazine

PSU’s alumni magazine, published quarterly. In this issue: with the parting of the Iron Curtain, PSU is creating new ties to the Soviet Union and East Europe; Professor Gertrude Rempfer’s groundbreaking work in electron microscopy is bringing her national recognition; a proposed joint graduate-level engineering school for Oregon could have a major impact on higher education in Portland; and more.

A Confirmatory Factor Analysis Of Two Competing Social Power Measurement Systems, Joseph E. Criqui

Dissertations and Theses

The main purpose of this study is to analyze a measurement instrument developed by Frost & Stahelski (1988) to measure French & Raven's (1959) bases of social power. The measurement instrument of a competing typology of social influence tactics (Kipnis, Schmidt, & Wilkinson, 1980) was also administered to the same managerial population (N=108). Confirmatory factor analyses using LISREL (Joreskog & Sorbom, 1986) were performed on each scale. Possible relationships between the two typologies were explored. Results include confirming a modified Frost & Stahelski scale and no confirmation of the Kipnis et al. scale. Canonical correlation yielded two dimensions where Coercive …

The Least Preferred Co-Worker Scale As A Predictor Of Leadership Behavior In Work Settings, Jenell Arlene Streeter

Dissertations and Theses

This study evaluates the construct validity of the Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC) Scale by testing the predictions made by the motivational hierarchy hypothesis. The respondents were one hundred fifty-nine supervisors and managers. The LPC determined leadership style as either relationship-oriented or task-oriented. Situational control was measured by the Leader-Member Relations scale, Task Structure scale, and Position Power scale. Consideration behavior, measured by the adapted LBDQ, reflected a need for interpersonal success. Initiation of structure behaviors, measured by the adapted LBDQ, reflected a need for task success. Two hypotheses were tested: (1) High LPC leaders in high control situations engage in …

Goal-Directed Imagining: The Effect Of Suggestions Of Warmth And Coolness On Blood Flow To The Hand, John Mark Dilworth

Dissertations and Theses

Recent research was reviewed which claimed to demonstrate that hypnotic suggestions could be used to control blood flow. Numerous methodological and conceptual problems in these studies were identified and a rigid experimental design with tighter controls was employed to investigate the claimed effects on blood flow. Subjects listened to either a standardized hypnotic induction or a passage of relaxing music. Both groups then listened to the Creative Imagination Scale (Wilson & Barber, 1978) (CIS) which ended with an added item containing suggestions of coolness. Localized skin temperature of the right hand was monitored throughout as an indication of blood flow. …

Comparative Impact Of Selected Group Input Variables On Self-Assessments Of Group Process Skills In Interdisciplinary Health Care Teams: A Field Study, R. Michael Mitchell

Dissertations and Theses

During the past two decades interdisciplinary health care teams have come to be considered an integral component in the efficient delivery of health care. Interdisciplinary teams dealing with the increasingly complex problems of patients are now common in many health care settings. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the individual and collective impact of several group process inputs, common to interdisciplinary health care teams, on team members' appraisals of their own group process skills.

An Exploration Of Some Aspects Of Mystery, Terry Foster Thompson

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis project consists of twenty-four paintings, drawings and lithographs dealing with three sub-themes of the larger subject of mystery: the mystery of existence; the mystery of religion; the mystery of the unknown. These themes are explored through manipulations of light, color, compositional arrangement and painting and drawing techniques.

United States Regional History As An Instructional Field: The Practice Of College And University History Departments, Carl Abbott

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

In one sense, American history is "a sequential process of regional development marked by a persistent tension between regional cultures and economic interests and integrative national institutions and values." Since the 1890's, regional history has been an active enterprise supported by academic instruction, leading university presses, specialized journals, and professional organizations. A survey of college and university departments of history yielded data to analyze the present ambiguous position of regional history within the evolving discipline of American historical studies.

Creating The Paradox In Form, Dennis A. Peterson

Dissertations and Theses

The intent of this thesis project was to create visual and psychological illusions and paradoxes by manipulating sculptural elements. This format embodied balances between man and nature and social comment.

Intergenerational Relations In The Workplace: Older Women And Their Younger Women Co-Workers, Julie Suzanne Reynolds

Dissertations and Theses

Women aged 55 and older have been participating actively in the American work force and recently have been drawing increased attention from researchers in the social sciences. This study examines the nature of service work performed by older part-time women workers and their younger women co-workers, and the relationship between the two generations in the workplace.

The following research questions guided this exploratory study: Do the older women workers and their younger women co-workers report that there have been changes in the co-workers' work since the older women began working at the job site? What do the older women workers …

Utopia And Bureaucracy: The Fall Of Rajneeshpuram, Oregon, Carl Abbott

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

During 1981-1985, the followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh built a large utopian community in eastern Oregon's solitude and named it Rajneeshpuram. While Rajneeshpuram appeared to be physically isolated and removed from government intervention, it was actually embedded in a dense system of laws and bureaucratic regulations, quite within reach of local, state, and national bureaucracies. It was this ability of the local and state regulators to limit the development that was one of the major factors for the sudden collapse of Rajneeshpuram in the fall of 1985. Other contributing factors were the growing disaffection and factionalism within the commune leadership …

Issues Concerning The Internship Selection Process, Richard H. Dana

Regional Research Institute for Human Services

This article's study examines the issues concerning internship selection. Data was collected from 10 APA (America Psychological Association) accredited internship sites. Initial results suggest that the current process of internship selection is too costly for all participants. Computer based matching is suggested as a solution.