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An Ethnographic Study: Building An Identity Through The Stories Of An Italian-American Family, Gloria Marie Tottten

Dissertations and Theses

Storytelling involves the active utilization of both past experiences and future possibilities, which is sustained through interaction, and could not exist without its past and future counterparts. It is the vehicle through which all intertwine.

This implies that communication is a very important element in the formation of an individual's identity - and to the meaning given to the storytelling practices. As a family member tells a story, other members listen, question, and request more about particular aspects of the story. By talking and listening, family members produce a narrative together, a story.

The purpose of this study was to …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet March 1999, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The March 1999 Monthly packet includes the March agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held February 1999.

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet February 1999, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The February 1999 Monthly packet includes the February agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held January 1999.

Voices Of Our Past: The Rank And File Movement In Social Work, 1931-1950, Richard William Hunter

Dissertations and Theses

During the period of the late 1920s through the late 1940s, a most remarkable event in the history of American social work emerged: the development of a vital radical trade union organizing effort known as the ''rank and file movement." Born within the growing economic crisis of the 1920s and maturing in the national economic collapse and social upheaval heralded by the Great Depression, the rank and file movement would attract the support and membership of thousands of professional social workers and uncredentialed relief workers in efforts to organize social service workers along the lines of industrial unionism. Within its …

Bulletin: General Catalog Issue 1999-2000, Portland State University

Bulletin & Curriculum Change Documents

No abstract provided.

Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Physician Assistants, Roderick Stanton Hooker

Dissertations and Theses

This study examined if physician assistants (PAs) are cost-beneficial to employers. In an era of cost accountability, questions arise about whether a visit to a PA for an episode of care differs from a visit to a physician, and if PAs erode their cost-effectiveness by the manner in which they manage patients.

Four common acute medical conditions seen by PAs and physicians within a large health maintenance organization were identified to study. An episode approach was undertaken to identify all laboratory, imaging, medication and provider costs for these diagnoses. Over 12,700 medical office visits were analyzed and assigned to each …

The Politics Of Implementation: Oregon's Statewide Transportation Planning Rule - What's Been Accomplished, Martha J. Bianco, Sy Adler

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

This paper is a case study of the evolution of Oregon’s groundbreaking Transportation Planning Rule, from its adoption in 1991, up through present amendments. Our analysis is an assessment of how private- and public-sector investors grapple with the coproduction of the built environment under the constraints of a value system that emanates from the state, shepherded by litigious public interest groups. In this case, this value system is articulated in the Oregon administrative rule known as the Transportation Planning Rule. This Rule emphasizes a reduction in the reliance on automobiles and, among other things, requires a decrease in vehicle miles …

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: What makes seemingly good kids don ski masks and rob and terrorize a city?; a grand entrance into Portland State and south downtown is now under construction; for three alumni, finding the right job was not a daydream or a nightmare, but a real choice; in the last issue of PSU Magazine the School of Engineering was hot news. It just keeps getting better; hidden in the Columbia River Basin are stories historians are now discovering; and more.

Household Travel/Activity Decisions: Who Wants To Travel?, Catherine T. Lawson

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Researchers are using activity-based survey data to better understand the nature of the derived demand for travel. However, a strong theoretical construct for derived demand has yet to be developed. In order to understand the ramifications of considering travel as a derived demand, it is necessary to review some of the basic tenets of economics.

Some activities require travel (i.e. shopping or picking up children from daycare), while others are conducted entirely within the confines of the home. There is a set of activities that can be conducted either in or out of the home. A need to travel arises …

The Effects Of Cohabitation On Subsequent Marital Satisfaction, Brenda Fague

Dissertations and Theses

Most research on cohabitation has focused on the subsequent marital instability of cohabitors. However, these findings are inconsistent and. considering the great number of stable unhappy marriages, marital stability is not an accurate measure of relationship success.

The purpose of this research is to compare the relationship satisfaction reported by married couples who cohabited prior to their marriage with the satisfaction of married couples who did not cohabit premaritally. This research uses respondents' self-reported relationship satisfaction as a measure of relationship success.

General Social Survey data collected in 1988 and 1994 were analyzed to determine the relationship between premarital cohabitation …

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

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The June 1998 Monthly packet includes the June agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held May 1998.

Information Content In American Television Advertising: A Replication And Update, Laura Kathleen Sandgren

Dissertations and Theses

Three hundred and seven randomly selected American network television commercials aired between October 18 and November 18, 1997 were analyzed to determine their informational value using the fourteen criteria established by Resnik and Stem in 1977. The results of this study were compared with Resnik and Stem's 1991 study, revealing that there has not been any significant change in the amount of information in American television commercials since Resnik and Stem's replication sample.

This study also used Resnik and Stem's (1977) criteria to further examine if the amount-of information contained in TV commercials varied depending on the gender or age …

A Comprehensive Analysis Of Teachers' Attributional Tendencies And Gender Bias Towards Failing Students With Learning Disabilities, Polly Chalette

Dissertations and Theses

Student characteristics, such as sex, race, and socioeconomic status, have been found to influence teachers' perceptions of students and their patterns of interaction with them in the classroom. Behavior and achievement also has been shown to influence a teacher's perceptions. When teachers have been asked for evaluative comments and their expectations for future performance of a student, they have stated ability and effort as their explanations. This study will use the principles of Weiner's attribution theory dealing with success and failure in order to examine teachers' attributional tendencies towards a hypothetical student.

This study intends to examine the degree to …

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

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The May 1998 Monthly packet includes the May agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held April 1998.

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: It’s a home field win for women’s softball, as the team gives Coach Teri Mariani her 500th career victory; the Oregon coast has provided the setting and inspiration for PSU’s Haystack program during the past 30 years; just two years ago, the PSU Engineering School was in trouble—now it is the hub of a new statewide network; the Rev. Phil Harder is leaving his congregation—the PSU campus—after more than 20 years of spiritual guidance; freelance writer susan hauser shares her funny, quirky stories of Portland people and events; the …

The Antiquities Act Of 1906: The Public Response To The Use Of Presidential Power In Managing Public Lands, Barbara L. Grover

Dissertations and Theses

President Clinton created Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument on September 17, 1996. The Antiquities Act of 1906 gives the president power to establish national monuments on public lands through presidential proclamation. The Act has been used to create national monuments in places such as Muir Woods, Grand Canyon, Mount Olympus, Jackson Hole, and the 1978 Alaskan d-2 lands. Its use has also produced negative public response, manifested as demonstrations, lawsuits, and congressional bills.

In spite of significant legal and legislative challenges, the Antiquities Act and most of the monuments established through its use remain. The negative public response to the Act …

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

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The April 1998 Monthly packet includes the April agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held March 1998

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

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The March 1998 Monthly packet includes the March agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held February 1998.

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 …

Statistical Dynamics Of The Royal Road Genetic Algorithm, Erik Van Nimwegen, James P. Crutchfield, Melanie Mitchell

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Metastability is a common phenomenon. Many evolutionary processes, both natural and artificial, alternate between periods of stasis and brief periods of rapid change in their behavior. In this paper an analytical model for the dynamics of a mutation-only genetic algorithm (GA) is introduced that identifies a new and general mechanism causing metastability in evolutionary dynamics. The GA’s population dynamics is described in terms of flows in the space of fitness distributions. The trajectories through fitness distribution space are derived in closed form in the limit of infinite populations. We then show how finite populations induce metastability, even in regions where …

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

Gender Socialization Of Preschoolers : The Influence Of Parental Orientation And Preschool Environment, Alice Blackwell Passannante

Dissertations and Theses

Because there are different sets of attitudes and standards that are applied to girls and boys, and because society is permeated with messages delineating the differences between females and males, there is a rapid accumulation of knowledge by children about those differences. There is a need for further examination of the overall impact of different facets of gender socialization.

The purpose of the present study was to clarify the ways in which parental beliefs and practices as well as daycare environment affect the gender-typing of preschoolers. Seventy-nine children from three different preschools were interviewed using Likert, forced-choice, and open-ended items. …

Portland’S Prostitution-Free Zone Ordinance : The Social Construction Of Prostitution As A Social Problem, Kristin Aman Christophersen

Dissertations and Theses

This study explored the process and the nature of the claims and claimsmaking activities in the most recent presentation of prostitution as a social problem calling for a specific response, the prostitution-free zone ordinance. Integrating the conceptual framework of Best's (1995) constructionist approach to social problems with Strauss and Corbin's (1990) grounded theory approach, this study examined 1) the role and influence of different claimsmakers and their claims in the passage and implementation of the prostitution-free zone ordinance, and 2) how three perspectives (social control, moral reform and radical feminism) are differentially reflected in claimsmakers' framing of prostitution, as well …