Digital Commons Network^™

The Effect Of Otitis Media On Articulation In Expressive Language-Delayed Children, Marla Lohr-Flanders

Dissertations and Theses

Researchers have long been concerned with the effects of otitis media on speech and language acquisition because of the high correlation of a mild to moderate hearing loss during the time period that fluid (effusion) may be in the middle ear. Middle-ear effusion would prevent many of the auditory messages from accurately reaching the nervous system (Zinkus, 1986). Deprived of the ability to discern the subtle acoustic differences that provide information for phonetic contrasts, a child's speech acquisition may differ from children who do not experience such losses.

The present study examined the relationship between an early history of otitis …

Effects Of Encouraging, Discouraging, And Neutral Instructions On Naming By Aphasic Subjects, Denise Marie Nelson

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the influence of three instructional conditions (encouraging, discouraging, and neutral) on eighteen aphasic adults' performance on a naming task. Each subject listened to each audiotaped instructional condition followed by a 20 picture naming task presented with a slide projector for a total of three tasks and 60 pictures. Subjects' mean scores were combined and averaged to derive a grand mean score for each instructional condition. A repeated measures analysis of variance was applied to determine if the differences were significant at the .01 level. No significant differences were found.

Food And Females: The Taming Of The Oregon Palate?, Peggy Ann Lutz

Dissertations and Theses

Food and Females, The Taming of the Oregon Palate? is a study of the variations in the preparation and consumption of food as reflected in the changes in the roles of women during the hundred years between the settlement of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver and 1920, which marks the beginning of modern times.

Most of the data obtained for this topic was in the form of personal testimonies or culinary records, which came from nineteenth and early twentieth century diaries, journals, letters, and cookbooks. Some secondary sources were used, as well, primarily in the research on Fort …

The Effects Of Captioned Videotapes On The Listening Comprehension Test Scores Of Esl Students, Yuan-Chyuan Andy Lin

Dissertations and Theses

This study was meant to provide some empirical evidence to confirm or disconfirm the assumption that the use of captioned videotapes will enhance the listening comprehension of second language students. This study compared the listening comprehension test results of intermediate English as a Second Language (ESL) students using videotapes with and without captions. Two episodes of an educational program were selected for the study. Students viewed one episode with captions and a second episode without captions. A total of sixty-four students participated in this study. Thirty-two students in Class 1 watched Video I with captions first and then watched Video …

The Quest According To Julien Gracq: A Study Of The Search For The Beyond In Gracq's Three Novels And His Play Le Roi Pecheur, Mary Joanne Johnson Wolter

Dissertations and Theses

Julien Gracq's quest for the "au-delà" is similar in many ways to the Surrealists' attempts to get in touch with the Beyond and to find that mythical and ideal point where binary oppositions are no longer contradictory but complementary. However, he differs greatly from the Surrealists in that his writing is anything but "automatic". Whereas he acknowledges being influenced by the Surrealists' ideas and by the works of certain authors, notably Goethe, Wagner, and Edgar Allen Poe, his works are a unique and carefully constructed web of style techniques, double-entendres, intertextual references, poetic devices, and a deliberate …

The Geography Of Tourist Hotels In Beijing, China, Hongshen Zhao

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis, utilizing data obtained through the author's working experience and on extensive academic investigation, aims to establish and analyze the locational deficiency of some 100 foreign tourist hotels in Beijing and its origin. To do so, an optimal hotel location is first determined by analysis of social, economic, cultural and environmental features of Beijing in relation to the tourism industry.

Specifically, a standard package tour program of Beijing is established and then analyzed in spatial and temporal terms, the result of which is further mapped by using a weighted mean center technique. The international tourists and the hotels in …

The Importance Of Phonological Practice And Other Strategies For Vocabulary Recall And Comprehension, Kristi Allyn Dubois

Dissertations and Theses

This study looks at English as a Second Language (ESL) students' use of vocabulary learning strategies and whether use of specific strategies is related to success in vocabulary recall and comprehension tests. The primary part of the study focuses on the hypothesis that phonological practice with new words will aid long-term recall and comprehension of these words. An empirical experiment with an experimental and control group was designed to test this hypothesis. The secondary section of the study discusses how often subjects reported using the vocabulary learning strategies categorized by Rebecca Oxford in Language Learning Strategies: What Every Teacher Should …

An Experimental Investigation Of The Finite Time Efficiency Of A Peltier Refrigeration Device, Thomas Schneider

Dissertations and Theses

Since the need of energy conservation has become more and more urgent in the past decades, there has been an increased interest in the study and development of more efficient energy conversion systems. One of the fields that have arisen from that endeavor is a branch of physics called Finite Time Thermodynamics (FIT). It may be said that FIT was initiated through the famous paper by Curzon and Ahlborn (1975) that established new bounds on the efficiency of a finite time Carnot heat engine. Before, the traditional treatments gave a fundamental upper limit on the efficiency of any heat engine. …

Hydrogeology Of An Alluvial Aquifer In The Blue Lake Area, East Multnomah County, Oregon, James Mitchell Wilkinson

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis evaluates the hydraulic relationship between the Blue Lake gravel aquifer, the Columbia River, and Blue Lake. Hydrogeology, water levels, and stable isotopes were used to establish these hydraulic relationships.

The Physiology And Molecular Biology Of Iron Nutrition For Cyanobacteria, Nancy Walters Unsworth

Dissertations and Theses

In addition to nitrogen and phosphorus, iron is an essential nutrient for oceanic primary productivity. Unlike nitrogen and phosphorus however, negligible amounts of iron are supplied to surface waters through recycling or mixing but instead from the limited and sporadic input of aeolian particulate. The low concentration of iron that becomes biologically available from the dust places a serious constraint on the heavily iron-dependent processes of photosynthesis and nitrate reduction which affect primary productivity. As much as 47% of the total oceanic primary productivity can be attributed to cyanobacteria making them critical organisms in the biogeochemical cycles. This thesis addresses …

A Comparative Analysis Of U.S. Foreign Policy In Iran And The Philippines, Christina M. Blumel

Dissertations and Theses

This paper is a comparative analysis of U.S. foreign policy towards Iran and the Philippines. The question which prompted this research topic was simple: why was the outcome for the United States so different in terms of subsequent relations with each state after the downfall of the Shah and Ferdinand Marcos? Both leaders were important U.S. allies in strategic states that had benefited from foreign aid. Opposition groups in each state resented this support of their repressive leaders. Unlike Iran, good relations with the Philippines continued during the Aquino presidency, without the resentment and mistrust which prevented good relations after …

Associative Processing Implemented With Content-Addressable Memories, Luis Sergio Kida

Dissertations and Theses

The associative processing model provides an alternative solution to the von Neumann bottleneck. The memory of an associative computer takes some of the responsibility for processing. Only intermediate results are exchanged between memory and processor. This greatly reduces the amount of communication between them. Content-addressable memories are one implementation of memory for this computational model. Associative computers implemented with CAMs have reported performance improvements of three orders of magnitude, which is equivalent to the performance of the same application running in a conventional computer with clock frequencies of the order of GHz. Among the benefits of content-addressable memories to the …

The Foundation For Revolution: Educational Reforms In Late Ch'ing China, Andrea Asbell

Dissertations and Theses

Historical consensus has labeled the educational reform efforts of China's scholar-officials in the second half of the nineteenth century as merely reactions to external circumstances and therefore has concluded that these reforms were "failures". The youthful revolt against Chinese cultural traditions, which culminated in the May Fourth Movement of 1919, has frequently been cited as a clear demonstration that previous educational reforms had failed. However, when viewed as the intellectual phase of the revolutionary process, reform activities among members of China's bureaucratic and scholarly elite in the four and one half decades from the 1860s to the early 1900s can …

Hispanic Migrant Labor In Oregon, 1940-1990, Colleen Marie Loprinzi

Dissertations and Theses

Hispanic Migrant Labor in Oregon, 1940-1990, describes the history and conditions of Hispanic farmworkers migrating from the southwestern United States, Mexico, and Latin America after the 1940s. This paper uncovers the history and contribution of a people easily forgotten, but essential to the well-being of the economy and the cultural diversity of Oregon. Though much has been lost in the comings and the goings of these people, bits and pieces have been recovered from old newspaper clippings, occasional documents recording the concerns and responses of the federal and state governments, rare articles tucked away in little known periodicals, and …

A Descriptive Study Of Sexual Health Attitudes And Practices Among Adolescent And Young Adult Male County Health Department Clients, Russel Douglas Robbins

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study is to look at selected sexual attitudes, beliefs, and sexual health practices among adolescent and young adult males. Specifically, the study examines adolescent and young adult males' sexual development and experiences, contraceptive use, sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention practices, and, to a limited extent, public health clinic utilization.

An Examination Of The Long-Term Effects Of Authorized Training Programs On Injured Workers In The State Of Oregon, Grace Alice Han

Dissertations and Theses

The worth of rehabilitation programs should be measured in terms of their lasting impact on long-term employment. Vocational rehabilitation programs nationally and internationally appear to be falling short of their goal of long-term gainful employment. Competitive employment options for the injured worker appear to have leveled out, the pool of unemployed disabled workers appears to be rising, litigation and adversarial relationships are beginning to dominate the rehabilitation process, and costs of vocational rehabilitation are escalating. Increasingly, interest has focused on the long-term influence of vocational rehabilitation, particularly on the costly training programs, and on the employment and economic potential of …

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.

Computer-Based Parameter Visualization And Decision Making For The Detection And Prediction Of Ovulation: The Ovulo-Computer, Omar Rodolfo Bermudez

Dissertations and Theses

It is now well accepted by gynecologists that a woman can conceive from an act of intercourse for a maximum of seven days of her menstrual cycle [1]. The reliability of natural family planning methods depends on identifying this window of fertility without ambiguity. Several natural family planning (NFP) methods have been used extensively and with some success. For decades, cycle length and BBT history have been used to forecast the most likely days of ovulation. When greater precision is needed, serum LH assays or ultrasound techniques are used. With the recent development of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, various kits have …

An Investigation Of English Spelling Problems Of Arabic-Speaking Students, Deborah Georgette Keim

Dissertations and Theses

In this two-part study, English spelling errors of Arabic speaking students are investigated. Specifically, an empirical study is done to document and investigate exactly what kinds of English spelling errors Arabic-speaking students actually make. Then these data are analyzed and spelling error patterns are discovered. Next, a study is done to determine if the presence of spelling errors in written work has a significant negative effect on readers' evaluations of this writing.

Establishing Practical Limits To Crime Control Through Environmental Design, Gerald Dennis Brock

Dissertations and Theses

There are myriad approaches to control crime that are currently being advocated by one group or another in contemporary American society. These range from punitive programs of incarceration to global kinds of social intervention to change societal "root causes" of crime. One of the proposals which attracted much attention in the 1960's was the crime control through environmental design perspective hinted at by persons such as Jane Jacobs and developed in detail by Oscar Newman. The idea of defensible space is straightforward: certain kinds of environmental design can have a significant deterrent effect on crime and criminals. The recent literature, …

Effects Of Setting On Japanese Esl Students' Interaction Patterns, Noriko Yamamoto

Dissertations and Theses

Japanese ESL students are often evaluated negatively by their teachers because of their quiet verbal behavior in the classroom; yet, this study suggests that such silence may be situation specific. The purpose of this study is to describe characteristics of eight Japanese ESL students' production and interaction by comparing with those of four non-Japanese students, across three settings: teacher-fronted, group work, and NS-NNS conversation.

The Family Caregivers' Health Decision Making About Early Diagnosis For Alzheimer's Disease Patients, Ping Zhong Zhao

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigated the family caregivers' role in seeking early diagnosis for Alzheimer's Disease (A. D.) patients within the theoretical framework of the Health Belief Model (HBM). The research question was why some family caregivers sought diagnosis for their A. D. family members in the presence of mild symptoms while other caregivers delayed seeking diagnosis until severe symptoms had occurred.

Focus-group interviews were conducted to gather data. Participants were family caregivers whose family members had been diagnosed by the A. D. diagnostic units of the Good Samaritan Hospital, Portland, Oregon as having A. D. or related disorder. Participants were divided …

Indirect Intervention For Preschool Stutterers, Prudence Ann Bowers

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigated the advisability of utilizing parents to provide treatment for their dysfluent preschoolers. It involved the development, implementation and evaluation of a specific treatment program involving indirect language stimulation techniques. The primary question asked was whether or not parents can be successful in significantly reducing or eliminating dysfluent speech in their children. The secondary question was whether or not parents can be trained successfully to provide treatment.

Evaluating The Role Of Geogrids In The Rehabilitation Of Cracked Dams Via Numerical Techniques, Kelly Dean Uhacz

Dissertations and Theses

Collapse and cracking of debris earth embankment dams is a serious problem in areas of the arid Western United States. The use of geogrids is evaluated in this thesis as a possible solution to prevent or reduce the amount of damage to the structures from collapse and cracking.

An apparatus was designed, constructed, and instrumented to electronically acquire data to evaluate the behavior of geogrids during pullout tests under various normal stresses. The pullout tests were also modelled using numerical techniques to correlate physical test data with numerical test data. Understanding the behavior of the geogrid, in both the physical …

Behavior Of An Ion In A Bubble In The Ground State, Joung Hoon Oh

Dissertations and Theses

Deuterons might be trapped in a bubble embryo which occur s due to statistical fluctuation in heavy water. The size of the bubble embryo is expected to be an order of a small molecule. The ground state energy level which the deuteron may occupy in the bubble is calculated by solving the Schroedinger equation, and by considering the interaction between the trapped deuteron by a spherical bubble and the surrounding polarized liquid medium (heavy water). From the dependence of the energy eigenvalue of the ground state on the bubble radius, the pressure exerted on the bubble wall is obtained. It …

Empathy, Holonomic Brain Processes And Patanjali's Sutras: A Study Of Western And Eastern Models Of Perception As They Relate To Empathic Communication, Dana Ralston Mccullough

Dissertations and Theses

Communication scholars, psychologists, teachers and social scientists recognize the importance of empathy to effective communication; however, its essential nature remains a mystery. The nonverbal and subjective aspects of empathic perception make it difficult to study with traditional Western scientific tools. Existing studies of empathic process concentrate primarily on the early or the latter stages. The central steps are seldom addressed. A method is needed for following empathic perception to its core processes and exploring the principles that govern its nature. Systems science offers a viable alternative method of studying empathy through analysis of models, emphasizing principles of interaction and process.

The Dimension Of A Chaotic Attractor, Roslyn Gay Lindquist

Dissertations and Theses

Tools to explore chaos are as far away as a personal computer or a pocket calculator. A few lines of simple equations in BASIC produce fantastic graphic displays. In the following computer experiment, the dimension of a strange attractor is found by three algorithms; Shaw's, Grassberger-Procaccia's and Guckenheimer's. The programs were tested on the Henon attractor which has a known fractal dimension. Shaw's and Guckenheimer's algorithms were tested with 1000 data points, and Grassberger's with 100 points, a data set easily handled by a PC in one hour or less using BASIC or any other language restricted to 640K RAM. …

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.

Low To Medium Level Image Processing For A Mobile Robot, Cecilia H. Espinosa

Dissertations and Theses

The use of visual perception in autonomous mobile systems was approached with caution by mobile robot developers because of the high computational cost and huge memory requirements of most image processing operations. When used, the image processing is implemented on multiprocessors or complex and expensive systems, thereby requiring the robot to be wired or radio controlled from the computer system base.

Hereby developed is a simple, inexpensive and automatic image processing subsystem that is completely implementable on a PC-386SX with 640K base memory. The subsystem will serve as the front end of the vision system for the PSUBOT, an autonomous …

English Housewives In Theory And Practice, 1500-1640, Lynn Ann Botelho

Dissertations and Theses

Women in early modem England were expected to marry, and then to become housewives. Despite the fact that nearly fifty percent of the population was in this position, little is known of the expectations and realities of these English housewives. This thesis examines both the expectations and actual lives of middling sort and gentry women in England between 1500 and 1640.