Digital Commons Network^™

Binary Mixtures Near Surfaces, Patrick Dunn

Dissertations and Theses

This paper presents an approach to modeling a binary mixture near a surf ace. The approach used is based on statistical mechanics. The Cluster Variation (CV) method is used to solve an Ising-like model with a cluster size of two (neighboring lattice points). The free energy of the system is expressed in terms of the probabilities of occurrences of particular clusters. The CV method is first developed for a homogeneous system which leads to a set of three non-linear partial differential equations. The surface boundary is then introduced and the CV method is developed for this system which leads to …

Urban Native American Educational Attitudes: Impact Of Educational Background And Childhood Residency, Paul Adair Wood

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to study the relationship between educational attitudes and certain background features of Native Americans, in particular, where they were raised and what type of school they attended. The sample used consisted of 120 completed mail out-mail back surveys that were used primarily as a Needs Assessment for the Portland Indian Health clinic. The sample was randomly selected from the Portland Indian Health Clinic client/patient mailing list. The findings of this thesis indicate that the attitudes of Native Americans toward education in general are positive. The findings also indicate that older Native Americans who experienced …

Minimization Of Exclusive Sum Of Products Expressions For Multiple-Valued Input Incompletely Specified Functions, Ning Song

Dissertations and Theses

In recent years, there is an increased interest in the design of logic circuits which use EXOR gates. Particular interest is in the minimization of arbitrary Exclusive Sums Of Products (ESOPs). Functions realized by such circuits can have fewer gates, fewer connections, and take up less area in VLSI and especially, FPGA realizations. They are also easily testable. So far, the ESOPs are not as popular as their Sum of Products (SOP) counterparts. One of the main reasons it that the problem of the minimization of ESOP circuits was traditionally an extremely difficult one. Since exact solutions can be practically …

Soviet Pentecostal Refugees' Health And Their Religious Beliefs: An Exploratory Study, Dianne Fae Venable

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explored the health practices and religious beliefs of the recent Soviet Pentecostal refugee population in the Portland, Oregon metro area. The methodology consisted of 25 in-depth interviews over a period of twelve months. Soviet Pentecostal refugees' health practices are influenced by their religious belief system which is Pentecostalism. The four primary factors that were found to have an affect on the refugees' health were lifestyle practices; coherence; or the meaning of suffering that religion provides; cohesiveness, or group belonging to the religious community, and world view provided by the underlying theology. The language barrier, distrust of outsiders, unfamiliarity …

A Comparison Of Expressive Vocabulary Produced By Nonambulatory, Speaking Preschool Children And Ambulatory Speaking Preschool Children, Kim Denise Baker

Dissertations and Theses

Children with severe physical disabilities often do not have the capabilities for oral communication. Professionals are frequently faced with selecting vocabulary for children who are unable to use vocal output because of severe motor impairments. A child who is nonambulatory may have additional reasons for communicating and sees the world from a different viewpoint than his ambulatory peers. Selecting appropriate words for an initial lexicon that are useful to nonspeaking disabled children that also meet normal language acquisition standards is a concern. This study specifically addresses this concern by looking at the vocabulary differences of ambulatory and nonambulatory preschool children. …

Assessment: Authentic Strategies For Early Childhood Education, Gail Ann Hathaway Tupper

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores the relationship between assessment techniques and reporting procedures in early childhood settings. Discrepancies between curriculum being presented and skills and progress being reported are examined.

The curriculum used in this study is Portland Public Schools' Piaget Curriculum, which stresses active, scientific problem solving for children 4 to 6 years old. A variety of assessment, observation, recording and reporting tools are suggested, implemented and critiqued. Creation of a portfolio to store and showcase these items is suggested and explained.

The important role of parents and families in the assessment process is studied. Strategies for involving parents at all …

Development Of A Semi-Synthetic Medium Supporting Adherent Growth In Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci, Abbas Sadeghi

Dissertations and Theses

A semi-synthetic medium for use in determining adherent growth with Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus saprophyticus was developed. Production of an adherent biofilm was dependent upon the presence of hematin in the growth medium. Clinical strains of Staphylococcus epidermidis were tested for production of an adherent biofilm in trypticase soy broth, the semi-synthetic medium and the hyperalimentary nutrient solution used in the neonatal hospital unit. An adherent biofilm was obtained when Staphylococcus epidermidis was cultured m hematin supplemented hyperalimentary solution. Growth in the hyperalimentary nutrient solution diluted with fetal calf serum showed the same growth rate as when the nutrient solution …

1989 Chinese Pro-Democracy Movement And U.S. News Media, Jie Sun

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores three aspects of the relationship between U.S. news media and the Chinese pro-democracy movement in 1989. These three aspects are: How much attention did u.s. newspapers give to the Chinese pro-democracy movement in 1989? How did u.s. newspapers portray the power struggle in the Chinese government during the time when the Chinese pro-democracy movement took place? Has there been any change in the image of China during and after the Chinese pro-democracy movement in 1989? Research data are drawn from the following three U.S. newspapers: The New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. Content analysis …

The Concept Of "Communication Skills" In The Discipline Of Speech Communication, Lynn Bales

Dissertations and Theses

This investigation explored the dialectic of communication competence from an historical prospective and successfully identified seven common threads in competence theory. Communication skills and skills classifications were linked to competency issues. A content analysis of the 452 page leading national skills level communication text identified 185 skills behaviors along with their associated communication competencies. Skills were described in twelve categories; however, no consistent definition or treatment of communication skills was in evidence. Implications of the findings were discussed.

A Classroom Preferences Questionnaire Based On The Theory Of Multiple Intelligences, Allyn Snider

Dissertations and Theses

A questionnaire based on Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences was developed and administered to forty-five second grade students in three different classrooms. Sections of the fifty-eight item questionnaire dealt with students' preferences for certain classroom activities, methods of learning, and modes of social interaction. Each student's responses were summarized to create an individual profile, indicating preference for linguistic, mathematical, and/ or spatial activity. In addition, students' preferences for receptive and/ or expressive methods of learning, and for working by themselves, with peers, or with adults were profiled.

Factors Affecting The Repatriation Of The Afghan Refugees, Todd Trowbridge Ames

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the factors affecting the repatriation of Afghan refugees living in Pakistan, by using data collected in these refugee camps, during the Fall of 1988.

Flux Trapping In Superconducting Pellets, Andreas Straub

Dissertations and Theses

This research concerns the effects on samples of nominal composition Bi_1.8Pb_0.2Sr₂Ca₂Cu₃O_y which were exposed to hot, dense argon in a ballistic compressor.

The investigations were concentrated on two specimens which were exposed to hot, dense argon at about 1800 K (peak pressure 330 atm) and 1500 K (peak pressure 230 atm), respectively. Sample Bi #1 showed a completely melted surface structure after triple exposure in the ballistic compressor at 1800 K while the surface of sample Bi #7 was just partly melted after double exposure at 1500 K.

Changes …

Effective Middle School Teaching: Factors That Promote And Maintain It, Judith Ann Smith

Dissertations and Theses

The past thirty years has seen the middle school as an organization come of age and with it a renewed emphasis on meeting the needs of the early adolescent student. Although many current studies have addressed middle school issues, one of the most significant was the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development's Turning Points: Preparing Youth for the 21st Century (1989). It claimed that the middle school is the "last best chance" to turn young lives toward a meaningful future and, in order to do so, schools must be staffed with "expert" teachers.

Once one knows what an "expert" teacher is, …

Early-Return-To-Work Programs: An Exploratory Study Of The Effects Of Program Policies And Practices On Organizational Outcomes, Lorrie L. Riat

Dissertations and Theses

Early-return-to-work (ERTW) programs for injured workers are a relatively new development. While it is widely believed that such programs are the primary means of controlling workers' compensation costs after an injury has occurred, little research has been done on how these programs accomplish that end. This thesis is an exploratory examination of the factors involved in ERTW programs and the relationship between components of ERTW programs for injured workers and organizational outcomes, specifically the cost of medical care and wage reimbursement associated with workers' compensation claims.

Intergenerational Programming: A Confluence Of Interests Between The Frail Elderly And Urban Youth, Doris Schindler

Dissertations and Theses

Two groups of urban residents present ongoing problems, the frail elderly and disadvantaged youth who are approaching transition from school to the work force. Many of the disadvantaged youth are at risk because of family background, inadequate education, and lack of work experience. Many of the frail elderly are unable to care for themselves because of debility, chronic illness, or functional impairments.

The United States is experiencing an unprecedented increase in the numbers of persons over 65 years of age and it is expected that between 1980 and 2000 there will be a 67 percent increase in persons 80 and …

Effects Of Participant Roles On Input Interactions And Comprehensible Output, Larry Douglas Morgan

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate what effect, if any, the social roles between second language learners and their conversational partners have on the types and frequencies of the following discourse categories: (a) input interactional modifications (b) corrections of language learners' linguistic errors by others and (c) language learners' production of comprehensible output. This study also seeks to corroborate previous research findings with regards to negotiation of meaning interactions and other-corrections of language learners' linguistic errors.

Improved Methodology For Limit States Finite Element Analysis Of Lattice Type Structures Using Nonlinear Post-Buckling Member Performance, Markus Ostendorp

Dissertations and Theses

In an attempt to achieve more efficient designs, the technological frontier is pushed further and further. Every year science probes for a better understanding of natural phenomena, discovering new and improved methods to perform the same task more efficiently and with better results. One of the new technologies is the nonlinear analysis of structural systems using inelastic post-buckling member performance. Inelastic post-buckling member performance is defined as the constitutive relationship between axial load and displacement after the ultimate member capacity has been exceeded. A nonlinear analysis is able to predict the failure behavior of a structural system under ultimate loads …

Attitude Functions And Political Behavior: The Issue Of Gay Civil Rights, Josephine Young

Dissertations and Theses

This study explored the relationship between voters' political behavior regarding the issue of gay rights and the underlying psychological needs served by their attitudes on this issue. A telephone survey of 100 randomly selected local voters was conducted, during which Herek's (1987) Attitude Functions Inventory (AFI) was administered. Three of the four attitude function subscales (Experiential- Schematic, Social-Expressive and Ego-Defensive) were confirmed using a LISREL confirmatory factor analysis. The Value-Expressive subscale was not confirmed and showed poor reliability. Pro- and anti-gay rights behavior was measured using a Political Behavior Index (PBI) developed for this study. Regression analyses and MANOVAs were …

An Examination Of Moral Boundaries Associated With Legal And Social Changes In Response To The Aids Epidemic, Lauri Sue Johnson

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores the relationship between law and society and various forms of causality: (1) legal change leading to social change; (2) social change leading to legal change; and (3) the interdependent interaction between social change and legal change. It is proposed that a multi-directional approach would be the most useful in examining the moral boundaries exemplified in the law identified with legal and social changes that have resulted in response to the AIDS epidemic.

The English Crown's Foreign Debt, 1544-1557, Wayne M. Kline

Dissertations and Theses

As background to an investigation of the crown's foreign borrowing from 1544 though 1557, this thesis examines the general fiscal situation of the mid-Tudor Commonwealth with special emphasis on the great inflation of the 16th century, the role of Antwerp in European finance, and the relationship between war and English fiscal policy. It then examines in detail the creation of the debt under Henry VIII, its development into a standard feature of state finance under Edward VI, and its liquidation under Mary. Information on England and English crown finance was drawn principally from published primary sources while information on the …

Effects Of Task Difficulty On Naming Performance Of Aphasic Subjects, Susan Kay Kucera

Dissertations and Theses

This investigation examined the effects of task difficulty on aphasic individuals' naming performance. Subjects were presented lists of easy-to-name and difficult-to-name items. In the high success condition, difficult lists were interspersed among a larger number of easy lists. In the low success condition, easy lists were interspersed among a larger number of difficult lists. Percentages of correct responses for administration of each list were calculated for each subject. Group means for each list were derived by averaging the individual scores. Group means in the high success and the low success conditions were compared with baseline measures to determine experimental effects. …

Battle For The Boulevard, Patricia Luann Antoine

Dissertations and Theses

This study explored the nature of community power and decision-making surrounding the renaming of Portland's Union Avenue in honor of the slain civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr. Employing an integrated theoretical framework based on G. William Domhoff's (1967) perspective of the compatibility of C. Wright Mills' Power Elite Model (1956) and Robert A. Dahl's Pluralist Model (1961) plus Claude S. Fischer's (1982) perspective on the nature of the urban social environment, this study attempted to provide insight into and understanding of the dynamics involved in the controversy that developed over the efforts to rename a street for Dr. …

Perceiving And Coping With Exclusion: The Socialization Experiences Of Ethnic Minority Nursing Students, Sarah Porter-Tibbetts

Dissertations and Theses

This study focused on the experiences of ethnic minority nursing students at a predominately white institution, the Health Sciences University School of Nursing in an attempt to learn more about the stress, appraisal, and coping of this group of individuals. The University School of Nursing was selected as a comparison site as it offered a setting with no predominate ethnic group. Faculty•s perceptions of students stress, appraisal and coping were sought to provide a context for the students• experience. A review of the literature indicated that ethnic minority students in predominately white universities experience alienation. At some universities white and …

Alzheimer's Disease Caregivers: The Transition From Home Care To Formal Care, Marie Theresa Duncan

Dissertations and Theses

Elderly people with irreversible cognitive declines such as Alzheimer's Disease (AD) make many demands on those who must care for them, whether those caregivers are family members or the paid staff of nursing homes. When family members no longer have the capacity to meet these demands, a move to a nursing home or other formal care facility becomes the only solution. Such a shift does not, however, mean the end of family caregiving. Instead, the family's caregiving activities must be integrated with the ongoing efforts of the formal care staff. Currently, relatively little is known about 1) what families experience …

A Descriptive Study Of The Implementation Of An Integrated Whole Language Approach At The Fifth Grade Level, Ardyth Shapiro

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to describe the implementation of a major curriculum change at the fifth grade level in two different school district settings; an urban district and a suburban district. The major curriculum change was a shift from traditional reading and language arts instructional approaches to an Integrated Whole Language instructional approach. The implementation of this change was examined on the basis of self-reports by administrators, teachers, and students and was analyzed in the context of organizational factors in schools that have typically influenced change. These included school district demographics, the decision making process, administrative support, inservice …

Intensive Esl Course Performance As A Predictor Of Academic Success, Coleman South

Dissertations and Theses

In order to determine the reliability of international students' English as a Second Language (ESL) class performance as a predictor of academic performance, a population of 169 international students at Portland State University (PSU) in Portland, Oregon were selected and statistical tests were performed on their GPAs and TOEFL scores. Individual students' GPAs were computed for all ESL classes taken and for each component--grammar, reading, writing, and speaking/listening--as well as for the end of the first quarter, first year, and second year of academic study. Pearson Coefficient Correlations were then computed for the ESL and academic GPAs. The students were …

Applications Of Digital Signal Processing With Cardiac Pacemakers, Merry Thi Tran

Dissertations and Theses

Because the voltage amplitude of a heart beat is small compared to the amplitude of exponential noise, pacemakers have difficulty registering the responding heart beat immediately after a pacing pulse. This thesis investigates use of digital filters, an inverse filter and a lowpass filter, to eliminate the effects of exponential noise following a pace pulse. The goal was to create a filter which makes recognition of a haversine wave less dependent on natural subsidence of exponential noise.

Research included the design of heart system, pacemaker, pulse generation, and sensor system simulations. The simulation model includes the following components:

• Signal source, …

Painter's Wilderness, Eddie Peters

Dissertations and Theses

Painter's Wilderness is a transition between painting strictly from imagination to painting with the use of drawings and sketches to interpret and authenticate an observation. The transition became an exploration of value patterns, compositional shapes and color correspondence in building a technically successful painting while allowing the piece to have its own life.

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 …

A Diagnostic Analysis Of Elementary Principal' Practices Which Serve Youth At-Risk Of School Failure, Rikki Kenneth Patrick

Dissertations and Theses

This study provides a description of the practices elementary school principals employ to reduce the likelihood that at-risk youth will actually experience school failure. The problem investigated in this study is reflected in this broad question: What is the relationship of principals' practices to the provision of service for at-risk youth?

Differences in the importance and frequency of use of practices by principals were compared. Variables such as school size, percentage of students who are eligible for free lunch, percentage of students who are at-risk, student mobility, and principal's rating of how successfully their school is serving at-risk youth were …