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Communication And Gender: Interviews With Blue-Collar Women, Jeri Lynn Sofka

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores the interactions between women and men who work in highly-skilled blue-collar trades. The aim of this research is to describe women's perceptions and responses to their on-the-job communicative interactions with male co-workers, supervisors and union officials.

Small focus groups were conducted to produce rich narrative data that was audio recorded for later use by the researcher. The researcher met with the four subjects for three sessions. The interviews lasted three hours each. The researcher also conducted follow-up interviews by phone to clarify subjects' responses. The subjects were provided with an interview schedule of questions prior to the …

The Effect Of Color On Character Recognition: A Study Of The Oregon License Plate, Frank R. Dennis

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigated character color changes on the current Oregon license plate in an attempt to rectify character recognition problems currently experienced with personalized license plates. Red-violet, brown, and purple were tested against the blue color currently used on the Oregon license plate's characters. Aesthetic-preference analyses were conducted to ensure that the potential character color changes maintained the appeal of the current plate. A standard recognition paradigm was used to test errors in letter recognition for the 4 colors.

Fifty-four subjects with normal or corrected normal visual acuity and normal color vision were solicited from undergraduate psychology courses. All 54 …

Smart Memory: An Inexact Content-Addressable Memory, Jack Lee

Dissertations and Theses

The function of a Content-Addressable Memory (CAM) is to efficiently search the information stored in the memory, by using hardware rather than software with a corresponding improvement in searching speed. This hardware allows a parallel search by matching the data stored in memory to a search key rather than sequentially searching address by address as is done in a Random Access Memory. Although existing CAMs are more efficient in finding relevant information than RAM, there are additional improvements that can be made to further improve its efficiency. For example, previous CAMs use a word parallel searching scheme that can only …

Exact Modeling Of Time-Interval-Modulated Switched Networks, Weihe Niu

Dissertations and Theses

The frequency response analysis of switched networks plays a very important part in designing various kinds of power converter circuits. In this thesis two frequency response techniques for analyzing switching power converters are discussed. One method provides a mathematical description which treats the converter as a periodic time varying system. A linearized small signal model is subsequently derived. The major part of the thesis concentrates on this accurate exact small-signal technique. The derivation involves state space representation and the use of the time varying transfer function. A Fourier analysis is performed to show the relationship between the frequency response of …

From The Middle East To The United States: Stressors And Coping Strategies Of Members Of A Sacred Culture Living In A Secular Culture, Angela Taha

Dissertations and Theses

The values and beliefs involved in Islam maintain that religion is embedded in everyday life. Students from countries which subscribe to the tenets of Islam may have a difficult time adjusting to the secular society of the U.S. This study is concerned with the interrelationships among events perceived as stressful, the ways of coping with stress that are reported as most often used, and the reported level of satisfaction with living in the U.S. for the Muslim Arab international students in this study.

A four page survey questionnaire was used as the instrument. The questionnaire was filled out by 102 …

Matching Points To Lines: Sonar-Based Localization For The Psubot, Kevin Blythe Stanton

Dissertations and Theses

The PSUBOT (pronounced pea-es-you-bought) is an autonomous wheelchair robot for persons with certain disabilities. Its use of voice recognition and autonomous navigation enable it to carry out high level commands with little or no user assistance. We first describe the goals, constraints, and capabilities of the overall system including path planning and obstacle avoidance. We then focus on localization-the ability of the robot to locate itself in space. Odometry, a compass, and an algorithm which matches points to lines are each employed to accomplish this task. The matching algorithm (which matches "points" to "lines") is the main contribution to this …

Lola G. Baldwin And The Professionalization Of Women's Police Work, 1905-1922, Gloria Elizabeth Myers

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis traces the emergence of the American policewomen's movement through the career of Portland, Oregon's Lola Greene Baldwin, the first such officer hired by a municipality. It recounts the conditions which marked Baldwin's transition from a volunteer moral purity worker to a professional urban vice detective. The thesis connects Baldwin and her new profession to the Progressive era's social hygiene impulse. It considers how government absorption of the social hygiene agenda influenced the enforcement attitudes and methods of the early policewoman. Further, this work looks at the way Baldwin functioned within the bureaucracies and political structures of her environment. …

The Liberal-Communitarian Debate And The Development Of A Political Conception Of The Person, Kenneth Howard Biggs

Dissertations and Theses

Without doubt, John Rawls's A Theory of Justice is one of the most important statements of Anglo-American political philosophy in the twentieth century. Through a revival of the social contract device, Rawls formulates a set of principles of correct political association ("the right") that he argues must be considered as prior to any conception of the good. These principles apply to all persons as free and equal beings in society, but more importantly they assume some things about the nature of persons in that society.

On the institutional aspect of his theory, Rawls conceives of the state as a neutral …

An Analysis Of The Involvement Of Ten High Schools In Scholastic Aptitude Testing Student Preparation, Elaine Drakulich

Dissertations and Theses

The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is taken each year by two fifths of the high school graduates (Cameron, 1989). The perception that high SAT scores will either open the door of selective colleges and generate scholarships or that low SAT scores will close off opportunities for the rest of one's life, makes virtually every student who invests the three hours of time required to take the test extremely anxious about doing as well as possible (Whitla, 1988). Significant relationships between identified preparation techniques and the perceived effectiveness of those techniques by students and staff can be very useful information for …

Occurrence Of Phonological Processes Within Two Pragmatic Categories In Normal And Speech-Delayed Children, Betsy Ann Bergman

Dissertations and Theses

Research into the eventual suppression of phonological processes among children has centered on the influence of phonetic context and semantic-syntactic factors. Researchers have described various factors that would account for the variability found in normal and speech-delayed children's use of phonological processes. Researchers have found associations between phonological process use and language form and content, although there is a paucity of information pertaining the effect of language use on phonological performances. This study examined the phonological process use within two pragmatic functions-assertiveand responsive utterances-used by 15 normally developing and 15 speech-delayed 3-year-olds. These groups were matched for age, sex, and …

Certain Phonological Skills In Late Talkers, Catherine Marie Ryan-Laszlo

Dissertations and Theses

While there is general agreement among researchers in the field of language and learning disabilities upon the language hypothesis for reading failure, little research has been explored concerning the relationship between the phonological production skills of preschool children and the same children's prereading abilities in kindergarten.

This study examined two aspects of phonological skill (a) the relationship of early phonological production errors and later success on phonological awareness and general prereading skill, and (b) determining if prereading deficits in a group of children with a history of language delay reside specifically in the phonological awareness items or the prereading score …

An Analysis Of Conceptual Metaphor In Marital Conflict, Anne Elizabeth Burgermeister-Seger

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis investigates metaphoric structure revealed during discussions about conflict, and poses the general question: What conceptual metaphors do married individuals use to structure their marital conflict? Theoretical issues of metaphor analysis and general issues of conflict management are reviewed, providing a background for the study's approach to data collection and analysis. Eight married individuals were interviewed. Interviews were tape recorded. The interview schedule was structured around issues of topic, setting, process, response, and communication of typical, as well as a most recent, marital conflict. More specific probing followed respondents' comments. Using techniques of interpretive analysis, transcripts from the interviews …

Novel Cylindrical Illuminator Tip For Ultraviolet Light Delivery, Hanqun Shangguan

Dissertations and Theses

The design, processing, and sequential testing of a novel cylindrical diffusing optical fiber tip for ultraviolet light delivery is described. This device has been shown to uniformly(+/- 15%) illuminate angioplasty balloons, 20 mm in length, that are used in an experimental photochemotherapeutic treatment of swine intimal hyperplasia. Our experiments show that uniform diffusing tips of < 400 micron diameter can be reliably constructed for this and other interstitial applications. Modeling results indicate that this design is scalable to smaller diameters. The diffusing tips are made by stripping the protective buffer and etching away the cladding over a length of 20 mm from the fiber tip and replacing it with a thin layer of optical epoxy mixed with A/203 powder. To improve the uniformity and ease of fabrication, we have evaluated a new device configuration where the tip is etched into a modified conical shape, and the distal end face is polished and then coated with an optically opaque epoxy. This is shown to uniformly scatter - 70% of the light launched into the fiber without forward transmission. To our knowledge, we are the first to use this device configuration, and we have achieved a uniform cylindrical pattern of laser energy with uniformity < ± 15% of the average value. A simple computational model suitable for the interpretation of laser energy irradiance along the bare core surface of multimode optical fiber tips is proposed and experimentally verified. The model used is based on geometrical optics and Gaussian approximation. Good agreement is obtained between the calculation and experiment. We have measured the optical properties of the tips through all the sequences of the fabrication. The performances of the diffusing tips for illuminating angioplasty balloons are then evaluated by Ultraviolet Light at 365 nm. A Ti:Sapphire Ring Laser System with a doubling crystal pumped by an argon ion laser is used to generate the wavelength in this study.

Minimization Of Permuted Reed-Muller Trees And Reed-Muller Trees For Cellular Logic Programmable Gate Arrays, Lifei Wu

Dissertations and Theses

The new family of Field Programmable Gate Arrays, CLI 6000 from Concurrent Logic Inc realizes truly Cellular Logic. It has been mainly designed for the realization of data path architectures. However, the realizable logic functions provided by its macrocells and their limited connectivity call also for new general-purpose logic synthesis methods. The basic cell of CLi 6000 can be programmed to realize a two-input multiplexer ( A*B + C*B ), an AND/EXOR cell ( A*B Ea C ), or the basic 2-input AND, OR and EXOR gate. This suggests to using these cells for tree-like expansions. These "cellular logic" devices …

Language And Memory Development In The Three And Four Year Old, Caroline Prater Moffatt

Dissertations and Theses

Although there is agreement in the literature that memory is required for language, there is disagreement as to whether certain memory abilities are prerequisite for language. There has been a significant amount of research in the field of memory development as it relates to language; however, little research has been done in the area of memory and language development in the preschool aged child.

This study examined two aspects of auditory memory and language development in the preschool child: (a) the auditory memory abilities of delayed language children versus normal language children, and (b) determining if there is a relationship …

Cognitive Development Of Bilingual Korean-Americans In An Oregon School District, Kimiko Okada King

Dissertations and Theses

This research examined whether bilingualism would accelerate or hinder the cognitive as well as academic development of the Korean American individuals in an Oregon school district by analyzing the standardized test scores at grades 3, 5, 7, and 9. Eleven monolingual and 27 bilingual students released the Survey of Basic Skills (SBS) as well as Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) scores for this study.

The analyses of the test scores revealed that the Korean-American students in this school district were performing at a much higher level against the national norm (the 50th percentile), or the school district norm (the 75th percentile). …

Dynamics Of Ultrashort Pulse Generation And Amplification In Dye Lasers, Shuanghua Jiang

Dissertations and Theses

The dynamics of ultrashort pulse generation and amplification in dye lasers is studied in this dissertation. In particular, we have developed general semiclassical models for ultrashort pulse dye laser amplifiers and oscillators. These models start from Maxwell's equation for the electric field and density matrix equations for the active laser medium. A finite coherence time or phase memory time of the molecular wave functions, a finite vibrational relaxation time for the lower electronic state of the dye laser transition, an isotropic molecular orientational distribution, and an arbitrary pump polarization are all taken into account. Based on these models, specific topics …

Friendship Patterns Of Chinese Students And Their Adjustment In The United States, Changhua Wang

Dissertations and Theses

International students who experience difficulties in a new culture are often considered to have suffered a breakdown in their normal healthy psychological functioning, and therefore need therapy and counselling (Pedersen et al, 1976). This study views failure and problems experienced by the sojourner as a result of lack of the necessary new social skills and knowledge. Social networks, particularly friendships, are thus extremely important in that such networks are not only source of social support [sic], but also major channels through which such skills and knowledge are acquired [sic].

1. Guided by social support theories and social skills theories, this study …

Second Language Use In The Workplace: A Case Study Of A Dental Hygienist, Gina L. Crocetti

Dissertations and Theses

This paper describes a case study of a non-native speaking (NNS) dental hygienist in her work environment. The subject learned English by learning to become a dental hygienist rather than through formal language education. Participant observation and discourse, event/network, and componential analyses were the methods used to analyze the subject's communication in her work setting.

The philosophical question as to how ESP differs from ESL is raised and elements of the work setting and the NNS workers' communication with interlocutors in that setting are identified to aid educators in teaching ESP courses. Questions ESP educators might address in designing and …

A Study Of Differences Between Social/Hmo And Other Medicare Beneficiaries Enrolled In Kaiser Permanente Under Capitation Contracts Regarding Intermediate Care Facility Use Rates And Expenditures, Lynn Allen Boose

Dissertations and Theses

The Social/HMO Demonstration evaluates the feasibility of expanding Medicare Supplemental Insurance benefits to cover a limited amount of ICF and community based long-term care (LTC) services provided under a comprehensive HMO benefit package for capitated Medicare beneficiaries. The policy research question addressed by this study is whether adding an Expanded Care Benefit (ECB) to the capitated HMO benefit package offered by Kaiser Permanente (KP) changes utilization patterns and costs of ICF services, and the probability of becoming Medicaid eligible. This study provides descriptive information regarding this policy research question. The research goal of this study is to measure the extent …

Urban Regimes And Downtown Planning In Portland, Oregon And Seattle, Washington, 1972-1992, Mark Richard Bello

Dissertations and Theses

Portland and Seattle are often considered to be divergent in character, partly because civic leadership in each city has a different vision. The adoption of contrasting downtown core plans, projects, and policies in each city allows us an opportunity to understand the nature of each city's regime. As defined by Elkin, an urban regime is the community's governing coalition, those who exercise public authority in a legal sense and those private actors able to act collectively and bring concerted influence to bear.

The time frame for this study begins with the first modern planning document, the 1972 City of Portland …

The Design Of High-Frequency Continuous-Time Integrated Analog Signal Processing Circuits, Pan Wu

Dissertations and Theses

High-performance, high-frequency operational transconductance amplifiers (OTAs) are very important elements in the design of high-frequency continuous-time integrated analog signal processing circuits, because resistors, inductors, integrators, mutators, buffers, multipliers, and filters can be built by OTAs and capacitors. The critical considerations for OTA design are linearity, tuning, frequency response, output impedance, power supply rejection (PSR) and common-mode rejection (CMR). For linearity considerations, two different methods are proposed. One uses cross-coupled pairs (CMOS or NMOS), producing OTAs with very high linearity but either the input range is relatively small or the CMR to asymmetrical inputs is poor. Another employs multiple differential pairs …

Thermoregulation In Mice Under The Influence Of Ethanol, Candace Sharon O'Connor

Dissertations and Theses

Thermoregulation after acute ethanol, during chronic exposure and during withdrawal from ethanol dependency was studied using genetically heterogeneous (HS) mice, and lines of mice selected in replicate for smaller (HOT1, HOT2) or greater (COLD1, COLD2) decline in rectal temperature (Tre ) after intraperitoneal ethanol. First, HS mice were injected with 20% ethanol in 0.9% NaCI, or NaCI alone during sessions of behavioral thermoregulation in individual temperature gradients (9-38°C). Internal temperature (Tj ) was monitored with implanted telemetry devices. An imaging system recorded selected temperature (Tsel ) within the gradient every 5 sec. Acute 2.25 and 2.60 g ethanol/kg produced significantly …

Nucleation And Heat Transfer In Liquid Nitrogen, Eric Roth

Dissertations and Theses

With the advent of the new" high Tc superconductors as well as the increasing use of cryo-cooled conventional electronics, liquid nitrogen will be one of the preferred cryogens used to cool these materials. Consequently, a more thorough understanding of the heat transfer characteristics of liquid nitrogen is required. In these investigations the transient heating characteristics of liquid nitrogen to states of nucleate and film boiling under different liquid flow conditions are examined. Using a metal hot wire/plate technique, it is verified that there is a premature transition to film boiling in the transient case at power levels as much as …

Rapists And Their Parental Relationships, Yaeko Steidel

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation attempts to find out what associations exist between dysfunctional parental relationships in the childhood of rapists and the rapists' violent acts. It also briefly examines the sociocultural effects which nurture such relationships.

Rape, a crime very prevalent in our society today, is now perceived as an acute expression of men's contempt for and anger against women. The former interpretation of rape as primarily a sexually motivated crime is no longer popular. This dissertation attempts to trace the origin of the rapist's psyche from his dysfunctional parental relationships.

Rare data on rapist's family relations from a recent FBI survey …

Object Parallel Spatio-Temporal Analysis And Modeling System, David Bruce Rex

Dissertations and Theses

The dissertation will outline an object-oriented model from which a next-generation GIS can be derived. The requirements for a spatial information analysis and modeling system can be broken into three primary functional classes: data management (data classification and access), analysis (modeling, optimization, and simulation) and visualization (display of data). These three functional classes can be considered as the primary colors of the spectrum from which the different shades of spatial analysis are composed. Object classes will be developed which will be designed to manipulate the three primary functions as required by the user and the data.

Towards Comprehensive Migration Modeling: A Meta-Analytic Approach, Wamukota Francis Wambalaba

Dissertations and Theses

In view of theoretical proliferations in migration studies, there is a need for a more comprehensive approach to migration modeling. A central problem identified in this study was the multitude of potential variables for migration research and the lack of established procedures for selecting among them. Several studies on migration have attempted to answer cornmon migration questions, but with differing variables and therefore divergent conclusions. There is thus a strong potential for misinterpretation by researchers and policy makers. Partial theories of migration have been developed rather than a unified one. This study offers an objective process through which variables may …

Solution-State Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (Nmr) Spectroscopic Studies Of The Active Site Of Myoglobins In Various Ligated States: Models For Macromolecule-Substrate Binding And Advancement Of Paramagnetic Nmr Techniques, Sidney Yee

Dissertations and Theses

This work focuses on pigmy sperm whale and horse myoglobins (Mbs), which are distinguished by a single heme pocket residue variant in the CD3 position, when the heme iron is in the +3 oxidation state (i.e. the met form). The strategy employed is as follows: (i) assign heme peripheral protons; (ii) assign the amino acid residues from the heme cavity; (iii) assess the dynamics of ligand binding in the active site by means of hydrogen Iability, solvent isotope effects, and heme-insertion isomer trapping, all by NMR methods. The results of these studies portray dynamic solution structure of the Mb ligand …

The Theory And Practice Of Community Policing: An Evaluation Of The Iris Court Demonstration Project, Charles Moose

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation deals both with the theory and practice of community policing in the United States and elsewhere while focusing on a specific community policing project in Portland, Oregon. It discusses the history of police work in America, as well as that of the Portland Police Bureau. It also explicates the various meanings of "community policing," along with the problems and issues that have surfaced as the community policing movement has evolved. The research reported here was based on a project conducted by the Portland Police Bureau and numerous supporting agencies. The project was inaugurated in May 1990 with the …

Space, Consciousness, And Gender In Colette, William A. Parnell

Dissertations and Theses

Colette's desire, to reveal the different levels of difficulties in relationships, results in the creation of three masterpieces, L e Ble en Herbe, La Chatte, and La Vagabonde. Through her characters in these novels, the author exposes the spatial boundaries set by each couple. Also, she concentrates on the maturation of the protagonists. The woman's function in society transforms as she gains personal power, and she becomes self-reliant. Finally, Colette evades sexual stereotyping by introducing the reader to the issues of gender and androgyny. She helps to dispel the sexual myths around the. idea of normal stereotyping. Themes such as …