Digital Commons Network^™

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 …

Trends In Women's Sex-Role Attitudes Concerning Work And Familial Roles, 1977-1996, Andria F. Howell

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines changes in women's sex-role attitudes concerning work and familial roles during the years of 1977 to 1996. Using a secondary data analysis of a General Social Survey data set, the attitudes of 3302 women during the years 1977, 1985 and 1996 are examined.

One area of focus of this research is the relationship between work force participation and women's sex-role attitudes. Demographic variables relating to family status and socio-economic status are also examined, as well as the effects of mother's out-of-home experiences on daughter's sex-role attitudes. Finally, this thesis identifies the rate of attitude change in the …

Symbols Of Statehood: Military Industrialization And Public Discourse In India, David Todd Kinsella, Jugdep S. Chima

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article examines the forces driving the pursuit of military production capacity in India, including those behind the Indian nuclear and space programmes. We are mainly interested in whether symbolic motivations regularly find expression in the public discourse. We review all articles on the subject of weapons development and production appearing in India Today from May 1977 to April 1999. There are three closely interrelated yet distinguishable concerns in the public discourse that we consider symbolic: that military industrialization is a means of asserting India's autonomy in international affairs, that it is a means of establishing India's international status and …

Water Rights As Contested Terrain: The Case Of Tenmile Creek, Oregon, Marcie L. Allen

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines the complex conflict over water rights at Tenmile Creek, located along the south central Oregon Coast. The research is an exploratory case study identifying the main motivations of actors, the constraints they faced, and the conditions that encouraged or dissuaded collaborative behavior.

The main objectives are (1) to refine the understanding of the relationship between societies and their physical environment in market societies that are both motivated to exploit and preserve natural resources and, (2) to explore the kinds of institutional arrangements that may be required to manage the water supply in a collaborative and sustainable manner. …

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.

Traditional And Non-Traditional Dispute Settlement In The Federated States Of Micronesia, Kris Tina Yurgin Cummings

Dissertations and Theses

The current U.S. mediation system is founded on a paradigm of individual focus and Western values. This model may fail to represent the various cultural components disputants from more collective cultures may bring to the mediation process. In addition, the U.S. mediation system relies on the collaboration of two or more disputants to confront the issues between them. Again, this model presupposes that confrontation is an appropriate means of conflict resolution.

The purpose of this study is to offer a different perspective of dispute settlement as practiced in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). Cultural values that emphasize the social …

An Analysis Of Sex Trafficking In The Asian Region In An Era Of Globalization, Corie J. Hammers

Dissertations and Theses

Globalization, spurred on by capitalist principles, seeks the integration of countries and their economies into a single global market. Global integration has impacted countries in many ways, often negatively. Phenomena such as the illicit trade in weapons, drugs, and people for their sexual and/or physical labor, have also been facilitated by globalization. Specifically examined in this study were a) patterns of sex trafficking of women and girls in four countries: India, Nepal, the Philippines, and Thailand, and b) the various ways globalization has both impacted women's status within these countries and facilitated the sex trade.

One manifestation of globalization has …

An Analysis Of The Changing Forces Behind Health Insurance Coverage Of Homebirth, Christina Anne Gasbarro

Dissertations and Theses

The expansion of managed care, which is premised on containing costs while maintaining market share, represents a radical transformation of the U.S. health care system. A central question for medical sociologists is to determine how the changes brought by managed care influence health insurance and health care options. In evaluating the impacts of managed care, obstetrics is a particularly important site of study. Part of this agenda involves gathering baseline data on a specific transformation in obstetrics practice new to the managed care scene: the emergence of health insurance coverage for the option of home birth. The research project detailed …

Portland: Civic Culture And Civic Opportunity, Carl Abbott

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article assesses late-20th- and early-21st-century Portland, Oregon's distinctiveness as a city that supports education, environmental quality, and civic pride. Rated highly in such indicators as libraries, parks, voter turnout, and newspaper readership, Portland has enjoyed its reputation for having a high degree of "social capital" and civic activism. On the other hand, the quality of life has come at the expense of urban growth, weak labor unions, and a loss of local businesses taken over by national corporations. Its success, however, rests on strong public support for the community and a sense of pragmatism rather than ideology.

Low Ses Black College Choice: Playing On An Unlevel Playing Field, Michael J. Smith

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

In an effort to present a more complete picture of college access and opportunity within the African American community, this study took a closer look at the college choice process for low socioeconomic status (SES) blacks. The participation of this group in college choice is important to consider because admission into college has become a high-stakes game (McDonough 1994) that they may not be prepared to play. It is important to understand the attitudes, perceptions and concerns low SES black parents have with respect to this important family event. As with other Americans, social class "matters" for blacks. Even though …

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). …

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 …

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: Finding ancient remnants of a rich Northwest culture; young readers—and the authors who love them—are shaking up the book world; a professor tells of his trip up the Amazon to bring medical care to isolated peoples; love ’em or hate ’em, holiday letters are an American tradition; a strong focus launches Michelle Collins ’85 on a stellar career; and more.

Wholes And Parts In General Systems Methodology, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reconstructability analysis (RA) decomposes wholes, namely data in the form either of set-theoretic relations or multivariate probability distributions, into parts, namely relations or distributions involving subsets of variables. Data is modeled and compressed by variablebased decomposition, by more general state-based decomposition, or by the use of latent variables. Models, which specify the interdependencies among the variables, are selected to minimize error and complexity.

Black Women's Health: A Content Analysis Of The Journal Of The American Medical Association, The American Journal Of Public Health, And The New England Journal Of Medicine (1989-1998), Tonia Marie Burkett

Dissertations and Theses

According to the National Vital Statistics Report (1998), Black women age 45-64 are ten times more likely than white women of the same age to die from diseases of the heart. They are five times more likely to die from diabetes. The goal of this study was to examine how articles published in leading medical journals between 1989 and 1998 accounted for such differences in health outcomes among Black and white women.

The explanatory content of the articles was analyzed and coded according to four types of attributions: genetic/biological, cultural/behavioral, structural/socioeconomic and alternative. Each type of explanation derives from different …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet December 2000, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The December 2000 Monthly packet includes the December agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held November 2000.

The Early Years In African American Education: A Life History Approach To Evaluating Control Theory, Beverly Diane Logan

Dissertations and Theses

The concern of this study is educational achievement, disproportionately low among inner-city African-American students. Because education is so highly valued, particularly among African-Americans, underachievement is considered deviation from cultural norms.

Social control theory attempts to explain why people conform to social norms in spite of pressures toward deviance. Many adverse pressures encountered in inner-city environments and persistent features of institutional racism toward blacks in school make underachievement understandable. Hirschi's (1969) control model, therefore, seemed most appropriate for examining black student achievement.

Control theory holds that individuals conform to cultural norms when their behavior is controlled through established social bonds, which …

Information Report On Burglary In Multnomah County, City Club Of Portland (Portland, Or.)

City Club of Portland

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Language Interpretation Services On Medical Visit Patterns Of Patients With Limited English Proficiency, Anita Marie Kay

Dissertations and Theses

Due largely to immigration, a growing proportion of the U.S. population does not speak English well enough to communicate with medical providers. Many research studies have described ways in which language differences can compromise health care quality and access for language minority groups, but professional interpreter services are rarely provided due to costs of services and to increasing cultural and linguistic diversity among patients with limited English proficiency (LEP). Some researchers have argued that costs of interpreter services could be offset through enabling LEP patients to maintain better health and use health services more cost-effectively, such as obtaining care in …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet October 2000, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The October 2000 Monthly packet includes the October agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held June 2000.

The Effects Of Interracial Contact On Whites' Racial Attitudes Toward African Americans, Lindsay K. Hixson

Dissertations and Theses

Whites' racial attitudes are influenced by a variety of factors. Research offers varied findings on the extent to which interracial contact promotes positive racial attitudes. Previous researchers have not explored the process by which whites acquire positive racial attitudes. This thesis is an attempt to fill this gap in the literature.

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the conditions that lead to positive white racial attitudes. It is primarily concerned with the conditions that encourage whites to become empathetic to the social positions of African Americans. For the purpose of this research, empathetic refers to individuals having a …

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: Faculty engage in the ethical debate surrounding genetic privacy; the football team makes Hillsboro its home away from home; photos and stories shed light on the history of Portland’s YWCA; after 35 years, the artist who painted the mural in Smith Center has returned to campus; an economic professor’s fiery invention could help people in the Third World; and more.

2000 Summer Commencement Program, Daniel O. Bernstine

Commencement Archives 2000-09

The program for the PSU Summer Commencement ceremony on August 12, 2000.

Interrupting Generational Poverty: Experiences Affecting Successful Completion Of A Bachelor's Degree, Donna Marie Beegle

Dissertations and Theses

The problem addressed in this study can be stated thus: There are extremely limited numbers of students from the lowest economic class graduating from our nation's institutions of higher education. The challenge to institutions of higher education is how to improve access, support, and successful completion of higher education for students experiencing the most extreme poverty barriers.

Weber's (1946) social-class theory was selected to determine the meanings and interpretations of students from poverty backgrounds in regard to their success and perceived barriers to success in completing college. This theoretical construct is based on the idea that collectively held meanings arise …

Understanding Volunteerism: An Exploratory Study Of The Theory Of The Commons, Richard L. Fey

Dissertations and Theses

Volunteerism in the United States has a history dating back to this countries origin. This form of giving originated out of the Great Awakening in the early 17th century. Previous studies on the nature of volunteering have had many different disciplines of research attempting to explain why organizations and individuals spend time in civic service.

In 1992, Roger A. Lohmann wrote The Commons as an attempt to create a bridge between the varying theoretical perspectives on volunteerism. Lohmann suggested that the reason for so many different theoretical approaches is largely due to divisions along disciplinary lines, rather than a practical …

Media Construction, Reality Engineering, And The Forest Park Murder Victims, Patrick O'Reilly

Dissertations and Theses

Media portrayals of social problems both reflect and shape public perceptions of those problems. Such coverage can have bona fide consequences for what is actually done to combat a particular social problem. Using a constructionist approach, which focuses on how problems are defined and framed by claimsmakers, this study analyzes coverage of a local murder case by The Oregonian, the only major newspaper in the state of Oregon. The case involved the serial murders of three women, each of whose bodies was dumped in a large forested park in the city of Portland.

The analysis includes the content of coverage …

2000 Commencement Program, Vera Katz

Commencement Archives 2000-09

The program for the PSU Commencement ceremony on June 11, 2000.

Mayor of Portland, the Honorable Vera Katz, delivered the commencement address and was awarded an honorary doctorate by PSU President Dan Bernstine.

The Literacy Proficiencies Of Oregon Tanf Recipients: A Human Capital Approach, Amy Katherine Arnett

Dissertations and Theses

On August 22, 1996, President Clinton signed new legislation that dismantled the United State's welfare system. Consequently, thousands of welfare recipients had to move into the work-force. It is essential to discover if former welfare recipients are prepared to obtain employment and achieve self-sufficiency. Previous research suggests that human capital assets, such as level of literacy proficiency and grade completed in school are important factors in predicting welfare receipt. The purpose of this study is to investigate how literacy skills are associated with having received TANF for people without a high school degree or GED. The 941 subjects were located …