Digital Commons Network^™

Rain, Eco-Net

RAIN: Journal of Appropriate Technology

Volume 6, Number 5

Inside: Resources in Red Nations; Rental Weatherization; Keeping Family Farms

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.”

An Observational Study Of Service Provider Client Dyadic Interactions, Joan Dayger Behn

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation reports on the evolution of an observation instrument designed to examine a series of dyadic interactions between service providers and elderly clients. The encounters took place in the physical context of the client's home and under the auspices of two different kinds of urban service agencies. Staff members and elderly clients of In-home Nursing and Interaction agencies participated in the study. The coding system (Service Provider/Client Dyadic Interaction Coding System or SP/CDICS), is comprised of 28 carefully defined and described behavioral categories. The categories were developed through literature reviews and a series of preliminary observations conducted in agencies …

Alienation Under The Rainbow: A Survey Of Oregon Graduate Students, Robert Michael Travis

Dissertations and Theses

Nisbet's theory of alienation entails three propositions: 1) alienation is a unidimensional phenomenon; 2) alienation is a generalized phenomenon; and 3) power relations foster loss of community which engenders alienation. All three propositions were tested on a population of graduate students at a university in the Pacific Northwest.

The Validity Of The Leiter International Performance Scale In Measuring The Intelligence Of Normal, Borderline, And Mentally Deficient Children, Marlin Pezner

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this project was to compare IQ scores obtained using the Leiter International Performance Scale to those obtained using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R).

Normative Data On The Auditory Memory Test Battery, Mary Clare Mountain

Dissertations and Theses

This study examined the means and standard deviations for the Auditory Memory Test Battery (Burford, 1976) using a sample of normal second, third, and fourth grade children. The study also compared span and sequence scores, low and high SES scores, and an individual's test scores with teacher judgment of intelligence group. A brief examination of the AMTB as used with LD children was also performed but not included in the statistical analysis.

Stability And Resilience In Business Systems, Donald Bard Wilcox

Dissertations and Theses

The purposes of this research report are (1) to introduce into financial management theory, the concepts of stability, resilience and steady state from general systems theory, (2) to formulate hypotheses about the relationships among rate of return, business risk, stability and resilience as exhibited by business systems, (3) to construct quantifiable surrogates for these concepts in terms of the financial operating characteristics of business systems and (4) to test the hypotheses with an appropriate statistical methodology. Business systems are investigated from two different perspectives or levels of aggregation. The first level treats each individual firm as the business system. The …

Disability And Monstrosity: Further Comments, Hanoch Livneh

Counselor Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

The author discusses possible explanations for stereotypical and negative reactions toward physically disabled persons in literature and society. Cited are examples of physical deformity, animalism, and monstrosity. The reminder of mortality and fallibility produced by disability is considered.

A Study Of The Crisis Nature Of The Preparenthood Period And Implications For Preventative Social Work Practice, Julie Jean Colton

Dissertations and Theses

This study addresses the preparenthood period of family life, that period from conception to six weeks after the infant is born. This period was of great interest because in nine years of social work practice I have recognized that families resist change after their particular family system process, even destructive process, is established. I also believe that the order, or disorder, of society depends upon the order of the institution of the family. Other institutions of society depend upon the family for their existence.

Extended Report For Self-Help For Male Wisc Examiners By Pretest Exposure To Children, Richard H. Dana, Richard D. Back

Regional Research Institute for Human Services

As an effort to compensate for a previously reported female examiner effect, four male examiners spent 15 minutes with each of 16 male and 16 female third grade children prior to WISC administrations. Four female examiners administered the WISC to equal numbers of male and female children. No female examiners effects were found. Under these conditions male and female examiners obtained similar Full Scale WISC IQ scores, although the male children had higher full scale scores. PIQ was significantly higher that VIQ and girls evidenced the greatest VIQ-PIQ difference. These results are congruent with literature that implicates both sex of …

Adaptation To Dominant Society : A Self Study Of A Woman Of Mixed Race, Black/Indian, Helen Marie Camel

Dissertations and Theses

This research effort is based on the life and development process which the author has experienced and is currently experiencing. This effort for all intents and purposes, is an individual self-study. "Critical Incidents" have been utilized to develop a sense of understanding for the reader. In reading this paper, one can see that at times negative social and cultural situations would cause the author an unusually high level of inner stress, which was not always apparent to the outside world.

The Validity Of The Leiter International Performance Scale In Measuring The Intelligence Of Intellectually Superior Children, Susan Braxton Paltrow

Dissertations and Theses

The thrust of this project was to compare the obtained IQ scores between the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children-Revised Full Scale score at 120 and above of public school students who were in classes for "gifted and talented" with the scores obtained when the Leiter International Performance Scale was administered.

Recall And Recognition Memory Under Varying Conditions Of Hypnotically Suggested Amnesia, Christopher R. Meagher

Dissertations and Theses

Posthypnotic amnesia has been systematically investigated in the past and subsequently alluded to as either role enacted behavior or evidence for an altered state of consciousness. Recall and recognition have been tested during posthypnotic amnesia and as in normal memory functioning, recognition performance has been found to be usually superior to recall performance. In order to gain further understanding of the circumstances which facilitate amnesic behavior, an experiment was carried out which was designed to vary the usual manner in which recall and recognition memory are observed during posthypnotic amnesia.

A Psychometric Evaluation Of The Bicycle Drawing Test And The Establishment Of Preliminary Norms, Mary Lee Nichols

Dissertations and Theses

The main purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric characteristics of the Bicycle Drawing Test. The 20-point scoring criterion was evaluated, and the preliminary norms were established.

The Bicycle Drawing Test is an easily administered free-style drawing task that has been found to be a useful addition to a neuropsychological test battery. It provides a sample of visuopractic functioning involving the formation of a perceptual construct, a motor response, and a spatial component.

The Process Of Short-Term Psychotherapy With Mentally Deficient Adults, Joan Emily Carpenter

Dissertations and Theses

This paper explores the process of individual short-term ego-supportive psychotherapy with mentally deficient adults. The literature on clinical research, case studies, process research, short-term psychotherapy, and therapy with the mentally retarded is selectively reviewed. Four case studies are presented with clients at the Portland Habilitation Center, a sheltered workshop which trains mentally deficient adults in socialization, practical living, and job skills. Finally, the case studies are discussed in terms of the selected literature.

Homemaker And Former Clientele Evaluation Of The Homemaker Service Of Lane County, Marcia A. Leonard

Dissertations and Theses

A program evaluation of the Homemaker Service of Lane County, through use of the Homemaker Opinion Survey and the Former Clientele Satisfaction Survey was implemented because of the interest expressed by the program director to evaluate the program. The master report of the evaluation was submitted to the Homemaker Service of Lane County under the title "Report of the Homemaker and Former Clientele Evaluation of the Homemaker Service of Lane County, 1979." This report contains a condensed version of those findings.

Patterns Of Information System Growth In Community Mental Health Centers, Linda J. Bellerby

Dissertations and Theses

This research was undertaken to determine whether the growth of computer-supported information systems in community mental health centers can be characterized by distinct stages of development. Data collection and analysis were designed to answer the following two questions: (1) Can distinct stages of information system growth be characterized by common profiles of computer-supported applications? (2) Are there characteristic groups of enabling factors (i.e., organization of data processing activities, management planning and control techniques, and user involvement) consistent among community mental health centers at any given stage of growth? This study draws upon earlier work by Nolan who identified distinct stages …

Community Impacts On Organizational Interaction, Frederick Dalton Keast

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation addresses the following research question. Do the criteria by which organizations assess the benefits of entering into interagency agreements vary by city? Employing data obtained from 183 human service agencies in six western cities, organizational emphases on two classes of goals as they relate to the decision to interact with other agencies are assessed as functions of six organizational variables and city. The organizational variables include organizational goal, reliance on federal sources for funding, and a range of environmental uncertainty measures. The two classes of organizational goals studied are: first, those which directly accrue to the agency itself, …

A Construct Validity Study For The Women Workers Scale Questionnaire, Gwen Simpson

Dissertations and Theses

This study attempted to obtain evidence on the construct validity of the Women Workers Scale (WWS), an attitude scale developed to measure male supervisors' attitudes toward women workers. As women enter the work world in increasing numbers, they are usually supervised by men. However, few studies have examined the attitudes of male supervisors toward women workers. At least one author (Bass, 1972) reported that there were significant differences among male managers in their attitudes toward women. Specifically, those male managers who had not worked with women held more favorable attitudes than male managers who had worked with women.

Dance And Self Concept Change In Women, Robin Dale Anderson

Dissertations and Theses

Numerous authors in the field of dance therapy have proposed that dance movement employed as a psychotherapeutic tool yields positive gains in mental health for participants. Self concept is frequently cited as the mechanism affecting these gains. In order to explore the relationship of dance movement alone to self concept fifteen college women were tested with the Tennessee Self Concept Scale before and after participation in a course of dance with those of nineteen women enrolled in lower division psychology courses. An analysis of covariance showed no significant changes in self concept scores in either group. It was concluded that …

A Critique Of Bandler And Grinder's Method Of Mapping Representational Systems, Leslie E. Goldmann

Dissertations and Theses

People perceive the world in their own terms: our use of language reflects our perceptions. The way in which we perceive the world and the words we use to reflect that perception Grinder and Bandler (1976) call a "representational system." The authors isolate three types of representational systems, visual, kinesthetic, and auditory, and they present a technique for mapping these systems. These authors state that a sensory preference profile can be mapped accurately and reliably via an individual's use of language. For example, words such as "clear," "see" and expressions of the kind "I get a picture" would connote a …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet November 1979, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The November 1979 Monthly packet includes the November agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held October 1979.

"The Techniques Of Total History (Lecture 1)", Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie

Special Collections: Oregon Public Speakers

No abstract provided.

"Sids: Current Areas Of Interest: Apnea, Monitors, And The High-Risk Infant", Alfred Steinschneider

Special Collections: Oregon Public Speakers

Session of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Informational Workshop, held October 20-21, 1979, at Portland State University.

Central Auditory Processing In Children With A History Of Chronic Middle Ear Problems, Beverly S. Schnabel

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the central auditory processing of children who had sustained chronic middle ear problems during their early language-learning years. A 60% compressed recording of the NU-6 speech discrimination word lists was administered to twenty eight and nine year old normal hearing public school children, reported by their parents to have had repeated middle ear problems during their early years, and to twenty control subjects matched for age from the same public school classes. Differences in compressed and uncompressed word discrimination scores between the experimental and control groups were not found to be statistically …

An Electromyographic Comparison Of Muscle Action Potentials Of Adult Stutterers During Signalled Expectancy And Non-Expectancy To Stutter, Catherine Ann Miller

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine what relationship (if any) exists between signalled expectancy to stutter and a significant increase in muscle action potential in adults as measured by electromyography (EMG).

Portland State Perspective; September 1979, Portland State University

Portland State Perspective

A quarterly alumni newsletter. In this issue: returning female students lauded; PSU's 25th anniversary celebrated; Gordon Dodds receives faculty excellence award.

An Evaluation Of Parent Education And Parent Group Therapy As Treatment Components For Child Abusers, Jane Susan Crawford

Dissertations and Theses

Treatment for child abusers was evaluated using two methods: reviewing three areas of literature and surveying practitioners.

The Effects Of Instructions On Prosocial Behavior Of Preschool Children, Jane Marie Blackwell

Dissertations and Theses

This experiment examined the effects of instructions on the prosocial behavior (i.e., helping, sharing, teaching, and sympathy) of preschool children. Forty-eight individual children (X = 56.7 months) interacted with two adult women on two separate occasions, an initial session measuring baseline levels of prosocial behavior, and a second session several days later. In the second session, children received instructions in helping, sharing, and teaching, and an opportunity to rehearse, or practice, these prosocial behaviors. Children were given either power assertive instructions (i.e., instructions which directly told the child what to do), or inductive instructions (i.e., instructions which focused the child's …

Consciousness, Neurons, And Laughing Gas, Dody Michelson Orendurff

Dissertations and Theses

Psychological and physiological effects of nitrous oxide resemble those of eight other drug categories. Lipid solubility or hydrate microcrystal theories correlate behavioral measures with measurable parameters of the molecule N₂O. N₂O, a spindle poison, halts mitosis in metaphase, producing widespread physiological consequences. N₂O affects the microtubules of the spindle in a number of specific ways. Microtubules are utilized in other parts of eukaryotic cells, in a wide variety of functions. In neurons, microtubules build and maintain dendritic sensory processes. Since microtubules are built of two dissimilar proteins, constantly assemble and disassemble, and maintain a …

An Experimental Model Using Dance Training As Therapy For Women Over Thirty Five, Thelma J. Lofquist

Dissertations and Theses

The intent of this study was to use an experimental model to investigate the use of dance training for improving the self-esteem of women over the age of 35.

Sixteen women over the age of 35 were taught jazz dance over a 10 week period. A pre and post test of the Tennessee Self Concept Scale was used on both a dance group and a no dance group. It was hypothesized there would be positive changes in three of the 10 scores in the TSCS for the dance group, but not for the no dance group. The scores predicted to …