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Focal Point, Volume 24, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

Research and Training Center - Focal Point

The articles included in this inaugural issue of the "new" Focal Point address "Transitions to Adulthood" from the perspectives of researchers, youth, family, and professionals. [This is the first issue of Focal Point as published by the Research and Training Center for Pathways to Positive Futures; previous issues had been published under the preceding RTC for Family Support and Children's Mental Health.]

2010 Commencement Program, Marian Wright Edelman

Commencement Archives 2010-19

The program for the 2010 PSU Commencement ceremony on June 13, 2010.

Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund, delivered the commencement address and was awarded an honorary doctorate by PSU President Wim Wiewel.

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet May 2010, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The May 2010 Monthly packet includes the May agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held April 2010.

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: 1970, memories of confrontation; student activism lives on; get a glimpse of the new Academic and Student Recreation Center; First Stop Portland connects global leaders to our city’s innovators in sustainability; and more.

Family Group Conferencing Practice, Angela Rodgers, Katharine Cahn

Child Welfare

Oregon has long been known as a site for innovative family engagement practice. Multiple forms of family meetings have been implemented in Oregon over the years and many child welfare offices use some form of intensive efforts to find family for children in care. Beginning in the Fall 2012 and over the next three years, Oregon implemented a federally funded (Children's Bureau) demonstration project, Family Connections Oregon, to test a model intervention, to develop a supportive infrastructure for sustaining family connections practice, and to establish a family voice association at the policy level. These practices are continuing in Oregon through …

Exploring Mitigation Options To Reduce Vehicle-Caused Mortality For The Oregon Silverspot Butterfly, Speyeria Zerene Hippolyta, Along Highway 101 At The Siuslaw National Forest, Sara B. Zielin

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

The Oregon Silverspot Butterfly (OSB), Speyeria zerene hippolyta, is federally listed as "threatened." It historically inhabited coastal regions of Washington, Oregon, and California (USFWS 2001). OSB populations only remain at five sites, four of which are in Oregon; one remaining population is in California, and none exist in Washington state as they have been extirpated (BFCI 2009; USFWS 2001). The site selected for this study was Rock Creek-Big Creek, adjacent to the Siuslaw National Forest. At this site OSB habitat is bisected by Highway 101; butterflies are observed to use both sides of the highway throughout their life cycle. …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet April 2010, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The April 2010 Monthly packet includes the April agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held March 2010

Weku: Trauma-Informed Residential Treatment For Pregnant And Post-Partum Women In Portland, Or, Deborah Elliott, Karen Cellarius

Regional Research Institute for Human Services

This poster describes a trauma-informed residential treatment program for pregnant and post-partum women in Portland, Oregon and the subsequent reductions in substance use, addiction severity and trauma symptoms at 6-months post-intake.

Interview With Kathleen A. Saadat, Cameron Chambers

Black United Front Oral History Project

Interview with Kathleen Saadat by Cameron Chambers on March 2, 2010 in Portland, Oregon.

Kathleen discusses how her family provided her with a tradition of camaraderie, social justice advocacy, and education. She also emphasizes how her diverse friendships and relationships opened her up to perspectives that had a great effect on her.

Raps Sheet, March 2010, Retirement Association Of Portland State

RAPS Sheet: Monthly Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet March 2010, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The March 2010 Monthly packet includes the March agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held February 2010

Web Traffic And Campus Trends: A Multi-Institution Analysis, Jon Jablonski, Robin Paynter, Laura Zeigen

Online Northwest

Ordinarily, it is difficult to generalize operational research conducted at one library to the environment of another. Different survey instruments, user populations, and sampling techniques make direct comparisons difficult. Despite these clear differences, libraries continue to use this literature to plan new services. There is a clear need to establish a baseline for comparison. The use of web server log statistical reports and other web analytics may offer this baseline. Such reports are now available to most libraries, and offer a rich, and consistent, look at library user behavior. This data tells a rich story about library use, and offers …

Raps Sheet, February 2010, Retirement Association Of Portland State

RAPS Sheet: Monthly Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet February 2010, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The February 2010 Monthly packet includes the April agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held January 2010

The Portland Spectator, January 2010, Portland State University. Student Publications Board

Portland Spectator

Editor: Joe Wirtheim

Articles in this issue include: The great tax debate; Allegations leave student group reeling; How to make a mountain; The future of fitness; PSU goes corporate; Climate change legislation is a fact; Klan legacy or school security?

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet January 2010, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The January 2010 Monthly packet includes the January agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held December 2009

Annual Faculty Senate Minutes October 2010 - June 2011, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Annual Compilations of the Faculty Senate Minutes (Minutes Only)

Minutes of the Faculty Senate for October 2010 to June 2011.

Solving The Childcare And Flexibility Puzzle: How Working Parents Make The Best Feasible Choices And What That Means For Public Policy, Arthur C. Emlen

Regional Research Institute for Human Services

This monograph’s contribution to knowledge was two-fold: 1) reliable measures of the quality of childcare as perceived and assessed by the parents themselves; and 2) discovery that the quality of the care chosen by working parents depends upon the amount of flexibility they can muster from their immediate environment at work, at home, or from accommodating childcare providers. It doesn’t matter which source of flexibility works best for them. It’s the flexibility that allows optimum choice. The findings suggest that public policy should recognize the vast diversity of parental choices and the flexibility needed to improve their choices. That means …

Bulletin: General Catalog Issue 2010-2011, Portland State University

Bulletin & Curriculum Change Documents

No abstract provided.

Engaging A Systems Approach To Evaluate Domestic Violence Intervention With Abusive Men: Reassessing The Role Of Community, Courtenay Silvergleid Wallpe

Dissertations and Theses

The domestic violence movement has had remarkable success illuminating the scope, prevalence and consequences of battering, but has been more limited in its ability to successfully intervene and prevent abuse of women by their intimate male partners. Surprisingly, there has been little research directed at understanding why intervention strategies with perpetrators are only minimally effective. Studies have focused on assessing the degree to which and for whom individual components such as arrest, prosecution and psycho-educational programs for abusive men are successful, but few explorations have attempted to describe limitations and challenges to the domestic violence intervention 'system as a whole'. …

Understanding The Development Of Self-Determination In Youth With Disabilities In Foster Care, Jennifer L. Powers

Dissertations and Theses

Youth in foster care who experience disabilities face many challenges as they transition out of foster care and into adulthood. In order to assist these youth, it is crucial to understand factors that may impact their self-determination, which research links to positive transition outcomes for youth with disabilities (Wehmeyer, Palmer, Agran, Mithaug, & Martin, 2000). While much of the existing research on the correlates and outcomes of self-determination focuses on young people with disabilities overall, and little is known about whether factors such as abuse, family stressors and extended length of time in care, and frequent placement changes influence self-determination. …

Infusing Culture Into Practice: Developing And Implementing Evidence-Based Mental Health Services For African American Foster Youth, Harold E. Briggs, Bowen Mcbeath

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

The lack of culturally appropriate health and mental health care has contributed to the large number of African American youth and families involved in the child welfare system. This article reviews the consequences of the insufficient access to culturally sensitive, evidence-supported interventions for African American foster youth. The authors describe a framework for the development of culturally appropriate mental health interventions responsive to the needs of African Americans.

Journeying Toward Humility: Complexities In Advancing Pedagogy For The Privileged, Ann Curry-Stevens

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This narrative describes the author's journey away from a stance of innocence, toward one of humility in her engagement with pedagogy for the privileged. With deep attention to her identity, the contentious dimensions of this pedagogy have compelled her towards a much more troubled relationship with this practice. The following narrative profiles key contributions of pedagogy for the privileged, and articulates the contentions embedded within. It concludes with three essential ingredients to moderate her privilege: practicing from a stance of humility and "not knowing, " advancing research into the practice outcomes of such courses, and accountability structures where communities hold …

The Military Genogram: A Solution-Focused Approach For Resiliency Building In Service Members And Their Families, Eugenia Weiss, Jose Coll, Jennifer Gerbauer, Kate Smiley, Ed Carillo

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

In recent decades, it has become evident among mental health practitioners that the military is a unique culture that is comprised of distinct ethics, core values, codes of conduct, and strict hierarchical roles. In light of the war in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq, veterans and their families are seeking mental health services due to a variety of psychosocial issues; however, mental health practitioners are lacking military-specific knowledge in understanding individuals within the military subculture. In addition, they are ill-equipped with interventions aimed at supporting the military family. Historically, the genogram has been an effective tool in delineating intergenerational …

Parental Differential Treatment (Pdt) Of Siblings: Examining The Impact And Malleability Of Differential Warmth And Hostility On Children's Adjustment, Brianne H. Kothari

Dissertations and Theses

Parental differential treatment (PDT), the within-family differences in parenting experienced by siblings (Rivers & Stoneman, 2008), has been linked to detrimental adjustment outcomes for children (e.g., Conger & Conger, 1994). The primary goal of this research was to more closely examine how differential treatment in two domains of parent-child relations-displays of warmth and hostility- were associated with child outcomes. A secondary data analysis was conducted on a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) of a parent training intervention. Participants in this sample were high risk children and families, and they were randomly assigned to one of three groups: an intensive parent training …

Health-Related Needs Assessment Of Older Residents In Subsidized Housing, Victoria Cotrell, Paula C. Carder

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

When a nonprofit organization with nursing-home and assisted-living experience purchased a 30-year-old highrise apartment building in downtown Portland, Oregon, the new owners were faced with how to manage a building that provided housing to more than 200 older residents whom they knew very little about. As long-term care providers, they knew that older people were at risk for developing chronic illnesses, disabilities, and other factors that could result in moves to nursing homes, hospitalizations, and early death. They also knew that older adults in subsidized housing, such as this Section 8 building, have higher levels of disability than their age …

Indigenous And Mestizo Mexican Migrant Farmworkers: A Comparative Mental Health Analysis, William Donlan, Junghee Lee

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mexican-origin migrant farmworkers using: (a) lifetime prevalence of culture-bound syndromes, (b) self-rated emotional/mental health, (c) depression measured by PHQ-9, (d) stress level. Demographic and psychosocial variables were examined by ethnicity and gender using Chi square and independent t-tests. Logistic and linear regression models were constructed for mental health variables. Indigenous participants reported significantly higher stress compared to mestizos, and indigenous women reported significantly higher stress compared to all groups. Prevalence of culture-bound syndromes and mean PHQ-9 severity score was highest for indigenous females. Mean self-rated emotional/mental health was lowest among indigenous females. Controlling for main effects and other interactions, (a) …

Child Welfare Workforce Turnover: Frontline Workers' Experiences With Organizational Culture And Climate, And Implications For Organizational Practice, Melanie Dawn Sage

Dissertations and Theses

Public child welfare agencies experience front line worker turnover rates as high as 25% a year. Worker turnover has significant financial costs to agencies, and has been linked to negative outcomes for children in care. Prior research has linked organizational factors, such as organizational climate, culture, and supervisor satisfaction, to turnover intent in child welfare populations. This research uses an empowerment framework to turn to workers directly to answer the question, "What are the organizational factors that lead frontline child welfare workers to stay or leave the agency, and what, then, are the implications for agency administrators?" This study relies …

Music And Conflict Resolution: Exploring The Utilization Of Music In Community Engagement, Mindy Kay Johnston

Dissertations and Theses

This study is based on interviews conducted with twenty-two musician-activists in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States in 2009 to explore perspectives about the role of music in community engagement with the aim of considering how music might be used in the field of conflict resolution. The study followed the qualitative approach of constructivist grounded theory as designed by Charmaz (2000, 2002). Two themes, "Music for Self," and "Music for Society" emerged from interviews and comprise the internal and external meanings of music to the research informants. The results of the study indicate that the relationships people have …

La Palabra Es Salud: A Comparative Study Of The Effectiveness Of Popular Education Vs. Traditional Education For Enhancing Health Knowledge And Skills And Increasing Empowerment Among Parish-Based Community Health Workers (Chws), Noelle Wiggins

Dissertations and Theses

Popular education is a mode of teaching and learning which seeks to bring about more equitable social conditions by creating settings in which people can identify and solve their own problems. While the public health literature offers evidence to suggest that popular education is an effective strategy for increasing empowerment and improving health, there have been no systematic attempts to compare the outcomes of popular education to those of traditional education. The goal of La Palabra es Salud was to conduct such a comparison among Latino, parish-based Community Health Workers (CHWs). The study employed a quasi-experimental design, mixed methods, and …