Digital Commons Network^™

Gender Differences In Conversational Style: An Experiment In Interpersonal Communication, Constance M. Cooper

Dissertations and Theses

Communication problems and conflict may occur between partners in intimate dyads when systematic gender differences in language contribute to misinterpretations.

This research investigated effects of gender on interpretations of hypothetical conversations between dyads, and also on judgments of likelihood of conflict.

Following research by Fishman (1983), it was hypothesized that male and female subjects' interpretations of male speakers would be more similar than would male and female subjects' interpretations of female speakers. Based on Tannen's (1990) work, it was hypothesized that male subjects' ratings of likelihood of conflict would relate to their interpretations of speakers as "controlling;" female subjects' ratings …

Hegemony In Two Mainstream Oregon Newspapers: The War On Poverty Era Vs. The Post-Reagan Era, Marcia R. Hood-Brown

Dissertations and Theses

In my research I use qualitative content analysis to determine if and how the hegemony of the capitalist class in the United States influences the content of news texts on poverty. I analyze messages from two contrasting historical eras, the War on Poverty era and the post-Reagan era.

A Cycle Of Crisis And Violence : The Oregon State Penitentiary, 1866-1968, Joseph Willard Laythe

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines seven crises at the Oregon State Penitentiary between 1866 and 1968 which are symptomatic of a larger pathology of power at play at the institution. These prison crises brought the pathology of power out from behind the thick grey walls of the institution and to the eyes and ears of an uninformed public. This arousal of such attention forced the prison to re-evaluate its penal model, enact half-hearted reforms, but then resume to the institution's traditional pattern and style of punishment. This inability to address the crises or resolve the immediate problem points to a larger problem--namely …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet May 1992, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The May 1992 Monthly packet includes the May agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held April 1992.

Identifying Quality Function Deployment's Variables, Outcomes, Their Relationships, And Guidelines For Practitioners In The American Automotive Industry, Geoffrey Paul Gilmore

Dissertations and Theses

American industry is about nine to 12 years behind in utilizing a new product development and introduction process known as Quality Function Deployment (Q.F.D.). American industry must learn to compete internationally; the American automotive industry alone directly and indirectly employs millions of workers and has billions of dollars in annual sales and profits at stake.

With the cooperation of one American automotive company research has been conducted on Q.F.D. The research objectives were to identify: what variables affect Q.F.D., what are the outcomes from Q.F.D., what relationships exist between Q.F.D. variables and outcomes, and what guidelines may be offered to …

Determinants Of In-Migration Of College Students To The State Of New York, Wonseon Kyung

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

This paper analyzes factors affecting the migration of college students. Its purpose is to provide a better understanding of the relationship between student migration and state characteristics, including state education policy. The paper begins with an examination of previous migration studies of college students. This is followed by a brief description of the methodology employed in this study. A model for migration to the state of New York is estimated to identify the major determinants which are associated with the student migrant's home state characteristics acting as push factors. The paper concludes with a discussion of the empirical results and …

Effects Of Parents' Health Attitudes And Beliefs On Children's Preventive Care Utilization, Weiming Hu

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis was designed to test the relationship between parents' health attitudes and beliefs and utilization of preventive health services of their children. Four measures of health attitudes and beliefs (HAB) were examined in this study, they were: 1) Interest in and concern with health; 2) Skepticism about physicians; 3) Tendency to consult physicians; and 4) Efficacy. Preventive care utilization included well-child care and immunization.

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: Natural beauty juxtaposed to economic and political concerns, make Palau a fascinating place to study; is paving of the entire Willamette Valley, from Portland to Eugene, in our future?; professor Mildred Bennett has always gone out of her way to make math easy to understand; a PSU alumnus specializes in helping Portland’s rich find ways to live peacefully with their wealth; and more.

The Metropolitan-Nonmetropolitan Turnaround In The Pacific States (California, Oregon, And Washington): Labor Migration Flows And Economic Deconcentration, Beverly Marie Mclean

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation examines the turnaround of labor force migration patterns in the states of California, Oregon, and Washington in the 1970s. The focus of the dissertation is the simultaneous phenomena of economic deconcentration and employment migration in nonmetropolitan counties during the turnaround period. The theoretical approach of the research draws from the disciplines of economics, geography, and sociology to develop a model that addresses what attributes of areas attract labor migration flows. The study specifies that labor migration is a function of economic activities, the environment, and accessibility. The research focus is the role that economic and noneconomic factors play …

Adult Student Perceptions Of Traditionally Sex-Typed Toys, Shelly Lynn Jackson

Dissertations and Theses

studies have examined children's toy preferences as they relate to sex-role development. However, studies have failed to examine the dimensions of the toys themselves. Because adults purchase the majority of toys children receive, this study sought to determine adult student perceptions of children's traditionally sex-typed toys. Eighty-one participants rated ten selected toys. Multidimensional scaling analysis revealed five underlying dimensions. The five dimensions included Productive Play, Sociability, Structure, Gender, and Age. It was discovered that the Gender dimension was less salient than both the Productive Play and Sociability dimensions. The dimensions pertaining to each toy are discussed.

"Staying" And "Straying" : Social Reproduction And Resistance To Secularization, Lisa Graham Mcminn

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores how church-founded liberal arts colleges--specifically fundamental/evangelical liberal arts colleges--stayed the drift toward secularization. It uses comparative case studies to examine the structures and beliefs which enabled "staying" schools to resist secularization. Social reproduction theories are used to explain both the reproduction of the dominant culture (secularization) and the reproduction of a subculture (fundamentalism/evangelicalism). Secularizing institutions conform to state incentives and so reproduce what the state sees as necessary for societal survival. Resisting institutions isolate themselves from the dominant culture by establishing boundaries which let in only what accords with the church and so reproduce a culture the …

Annual Faculty Senate Minutes October 1992 - June 1993, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Annual Compilations of the Faculty Senate Minutes (Minutes Only)

Minutes of the Faculty Senate for October 1992 to June 1993.

Human Services Training In Tribal Colleges, Richard H. Dana, Rodger Hornby

Regional Research Institute for Human Services

Tribal colleges are providing interdisciplinary education and professional training for human services occupations at the undergraduate level. These programs also promote cultural competence as a result of required courses in tribal languages, history, culture and law. The Sinte Gelska University program is described as an example of the role of tribal college education in emphasizing cultural identity using a culture-specific instructional style and teaching method. These programs in tribal colleges will augment the availability of competent service to native Americans.

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 university is grappling with some tough questions as it initiates a new diversity course requirement; students are learning more than music from Oregon Symphony trumpeter and faculty member Fred Sautter; the School of Education is making vast changes in the way it teaches teachers; a single mother of three is back in school with help from a new scholarship; and more.

The Effect Of Urbanization And Modernization On Family Structure In Oman, Sultan M. Al-Hashmi

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis was designed to describe family change in Oman as it undergoes urbanization and modernization. A survey questionnaire to measure these changes was developed. Some questions were developed in two forms for a comparison of family change across two generations. Respondents were asked to answer the questions as they applied to their current family situation. They were then asked to consider, according to their best recollections, what the situation was in their parents' generation.

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet June 1991, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The June 1991 Monthly packet includes the June agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held May 1991.

The Effects Of Negligence And Causation Information On Jurors' Determination Of Liability, David K. Blanchard

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigated the effect of arguments for and against defendant's behavior being negligent and for and against defendant's behavior being a cause of damages to the plaintiff. The findings were (a) that negligence arguments affected negligence ratings, causation ratings, and verdicts and (b) that causation arguments affected none of the measures.

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet May 1991, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The May 1991 Monthly packet includes the May agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held April 1991.

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet April 1991, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The April 1991 Monthly packet includes the April agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held March 1991.

A Ranking Of U.S. Graduate Programs In Urban Studies And Urban Affairs, James G. Strathman

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

A ranking of 33 Urban Studies and Urban Affairs graduate programs in the U.S. is developed from peer ratings obtained in a program survey and from citation activity reported in the Social Sciences Citation Index over the 1986-89 period. In addition, a breakdown of citations by broadly defined subject areas is presented. The survey revealed a difference between Ph.D. and MUS/MA programs in the perceived relative importance of peer evaluation and citations as rating criteria. The survey results also indicate that the degree of familiarity with other programs is lower than what has been observed in most social science disciplines.

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet February 1991, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The February 1991 Monthly packet includes the February agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held January 1991.

Rain, Eco-Net

RAIN: Journal of Appropriate Technology

Volume 14, Number 1

Inside: Decentralized Politics; The Natural Economy of Laos; Swiss Origins; The Oregon Experiment Revisited. Scanned from print copy loaned by Tom Bender

RAIN began in October 1974 as a publication of ECO-NET, an environmental education network funded by the Hill Foundation and an Environmental Education grant. Its office was based in the Environmental Education Center at Portland State University. With a focus on the Pacific Northwest, particularly Oregon, RAIN originally described itself as a “bulletin board” with an “emphasis on environmental/energy related and communications kinds of information” and interested in “the evolutionary possibilities of inter-disciplinary connections.”

The Relationship Between Internal Organizational Conflict, Authority Structure, And The Social Environment, Mary Ann Barham

Dissertations and Theses

This research seeks to answer the following questions: Do feminist organizations have more internal conflicts than other organizations? And, if so, why?

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" …

One Woman, One Child : The Implications Of The One-Child-Family Policy For Chinese Women, Tao Shi

Dissertations and Theses

Since few studies have explicitly focused on the impact of China's one-child-family policy on Chinese women, this thesis is designed to explore this aspect. The implication of the policy for both urban and rural women is studied, particularly its influence on women's fertility behavior, labor roles, and on social, health and family status. The focus of the study is to explore the changes of women's lives associated with the one-child-family policy, and advantages and disadvantages, even contradictions the policy has brought to women's lives.

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 …

The Spatial Patterning Of Residential Differentiation In Metropolitan Community : The Case Of Kaohsiung City In Taiwan, 1982, Chih-Jen Chen

Dissertations and Theses

The urban growth process produces a complex socio-geographic division of labor among the component parts of the urban community. During this process, each subarea of the community differentiates from the other parts in its physical and demographic characteristics, becomes specialized functionally and structurally. The spatial patterning of the urban community is the result of this differentiation process.

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 …

The Meaning Of Controversial Policy To School Superintendents, Barbara Jean Nicoletti

Dissertations and Theses

The focus of this research was on the subjective meaning for the school superintendent of policy experienced as controversial, and the associated implications for the policy process in school districts. The study examines controversial policy of a particular type, social regulatory (Tatalovich and Daynes, 1984). Such policy tends to have the effect of turning: " ••. political issues into moral polarities, claims into rights, legislation into litigation, grays into black and white, and campaigns into causes and crusades" (Lowi, 1988). The primary goals were to (1) identify examples of controversial policy in education, (2) assess the usefulness of the Tatalovich …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet December 1990, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The December 1990 Monthly packet includes the December agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held November 1990.