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Illegal Drug Use During Pregnancy: The Effects Of Defendant Race And Type Of Defense On Juror Judgments Of Guilt, Anita Rotondo

Dissertations and Theses

Since the early 1980s fetal harm "caused" by women's illegal drug use during pregnancy has garnered public attention and legal scrutiny. Motivated by concerns over fetal health, the cost of caring for drug-addicted infants, and public support for get tough on crime policies, various states have employed statutes on child abuse, neglect or endangerment, delivering a controlled substance to a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a minor to criminally inculpate maternal drug users.

Utilizing a written hypothetical trial summary in which a woman was charged with child abuse for using cocaine while pregnant, this research explored the effects …

Phonological Processing Of Japanese Kanji Characters, Randy L. Evans

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the lexical access of Japanese kanji characters, particularly the access of on-readings and kun-readings, which are different pronunciations that kanji may realize in different contexts. A modified Stroop experiment was used, using drawings instead of colors, in which subjects were to call out what they saw in the drawings while ignoring written distractors. The following three conditions were used:

1. A Kunyomi condition, which offered a distractor that is graphically and phonologically identical to the character that represents the object in the drawing,

2. An Onyomi condition, which offered a distractor that …

Negotiation And Reorganization Of Peer Relationships During Adolescence: The Emergence Of Romantic Relationships And Quality Of Peer Relationships, Melanie Jo Zimmer-Gembeck

Dissertations and Theses

Research suggests that, for adolescent females, the initiation of romantic relationships is a normative developmental task and a task associated with potential difficulties, including physical aggression. Most previous research treats progress in this task as a function of individual characteristics. This study assumes that when girls are negotiating romantic relationships, they have existing intimate friendships with other females, and these friendships are important to how this task is negotiated.

Females who recently graduated from high school provided retrospective and current information on the amount of leisure time spent with members of their social networks, qualities of relationships in later adolescence, …

An Evaluation Of A Staff Mentor Program For At-Risk Students In An Oregon High School: Cake (Caring About Kids Effectively), Gail Lenore Hayes

Dissertations and Theses

This study examined the effect of a staff-mentoring program with students identified as at-risk of becoming early leavers. This mentoring program, Caring About Kids Effectively (CAKE), was implemented at a suburban secondary school in Oregon serving grades 9 through 12.

The study of the CAKE program had four research components: (a) indicators of school success (GPA, attendance, and attitudes toward school) were compared between at-risk students and those not at-risk; (b) indicators of school success were analyzed over the time at-risk students were mentored to find any significant change; (c) indicators of school success and enrollment status at graduation was …

Free Trade, Regionalism, And The Democratic Peace Theory, Julia B. Johnson

Dissertations and Theses

Democratic nations worldwide rarely, if ever, go to war against one another. A variety of reasons for these peace loving democracies are offered in the social sciences literature. Many proponents of the theory of a democratic peace argue that democratic nations do not war against one another because of similar libertarian norms of behavior, and prohibitive structural institutions.

This thesis disagreed with the above assessment of peaceful democratic norms and institutions, and sought instead to investigate the role of economic prosperity as a crucial element of international cooperation. Combining the characteristics of democracy and economic prosperity, more fully rounded out …

The Effects Of Educational Setting And Instructor Type On Interaction Modifications, Katrina Kay Mcconaughey

Dissertations and Theses

The precise role of interaction in the process of second language acquisition and its place in the second language classroom are questions that continue to be important in research for both theoretical and applied linguists. The framework for this study is based on Long's (1983b) Interaction Hypothesis which proposes that input is made comprehensible by the modification of interactional structures. Many studies have looked at the differences between teacher-fronted classroom interaction and small group or dyad interaction without a teacher. The use of tutors and teaching assistants is common but not many studies have looked at how variation among instructor …

Role Of The Warrant In Presidential Debates : 1960, 1976, & 1996, Aaron Nicole Kaio

Dissertations and Theses

Every four years in America we make a decision about which candidate is best suited to be our next president. Over the past twenty years a standard component of the presidential campaign has been televised debates. These debates are supposed to help the public get a better understanding of the candidates' ideas about government, our future, and to demonstrate analytical skills and their ability to think on their feet.

This study set out to see how the candidates' arguments measured up to some basic argumentation standards. According to several scholars, none of the televised presidential debates qualify as 'true debates', …

Technology-Enhanced Presentations In Large Classrooms : Effects On Adult Academic Achievement And Computer Attitudes, Pamela Rae Hilberg

Dissertations and Theses

Rising enrollments and budget restrictions are resulting in larger class sizes which can lead to difficulties with learning. Computer technology has been suggested as a tool that may help overcome some of these difficulties. Research on outcomes is important to find ways that technology may be used by instructors to help students with information processing (Gagne & Driscoll, 1988), and to see if the financial commitment required for integrating educational technology is warranted.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the academic achievement and computer attitudes of students in courses taught with traditional presentations and technology-enhanced presentations taught …

The Stigma Of Obesity : Beliefs About And Attitudes Toward Fat/Obese Persons, Sally Jean Clute

Dissertations and Theses

This research explores the relationship between beliefs about and attitudes toward fat/obese persons, specifically in regard to issues of attribution and perceived responsibility for the physical condition. The purpose of the research is to assess the extent to which fat/obese persons are derogated, given whether or not they are perceived to be held responsible for their fatness/obesity. It utilizes attribution theory (Heider, 1958; Jones & Davis, 1965; Kelley, 1967; Weiner, 1986), in particular, internal locus of control and issues of consensus and distinctiveness (Kelley, 1967) and controllability (Weiner, 1986). The main hypothesis is that fat/obese people will be viewed more …

Using A Realistic Job Preview To Communicate Organizational Culture, Johanna Glode

Dissertations and Theses

The present study sought to determine how organizational culture information could best be presented to job applicants for the purpose of attracting employees who will fit into an organization's culture. Attraction to the organization's culture was hypothesized to influence applicant self-selection into the company. Two different types of Realistic Job Previews (RJPs), semantic and episodic, were compared in their ability to convey information accurately about a hypothetical organizational culture. Participant knowledge of the culture was hypothesized to align objective, or actual, fit with subjective perceptions of fit.

Knowledge of the organization's culture, objective fit, subjective fit, attractiveness of the culture, …

Enculturing Nature, William Lloyd Cornett

Dissertations and Theses

Human activity is embedded within a myriad of seldom-acknowledged ecological relationships. Anthropology and ecology, two holistic disciplines concerned with these activities, struggle with the topic of human/nature relationships because both are grounded within larger western discourses separating human behaviors from those of the natural world. This thesis examines the histories of anthropology and ecology in the 20th Century, and the effect these disciplines have had upon the formulation of contemporary urban worldviews that are based upon the separation of humans from nature.

The Role Of Educational Technology And Motivation In Increasing Flow And Time-On-Task To Enhance Learning, Michael Pullmann

Dissertations and Theses

Technology plays an increasing role in college courses. Student experiences and outcomes may be significantly altered by high-tech course presentation and flexible formats. Models from psychology, such as Csikszentmihalyi's flow theory are useful for understanding quality of experience. Dweck's motivation theory explains why some students may not experience the flow state during school work. The purposes of this study were to: 1) Determine if students in technology-enhanced courses differ from other students on the experience of flow, 2) Test the relationship between flow, motivation orientation, and time-on-task, and 3) Test the relationship between motivation orientation, time-on-task, and student outcomes.

Forty …

The Female Identity In Rosario Ferré'S Papeles De Pandora, Marcie Lynn Pratt

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines four stories from Rosario Ferré's first book of short stories, Papeles de Pandora: "La muñeca menor," "Cuando las mujeres quieren a los hombres," "Amalia," and "La bella durmiente." In Papeles de Pandora, Ferré explores the portrayal of female identity by dismantling the traditional roles that are assigned to women in Puerto Rican, patriarchal society. This thesis analyzes the ways in which Ferré skillfully deconstructs and (re)constructs the identity and sense of self of her female protagonists.

To demonstrate Ferré's deconstruction and (re)construction of the female identity, this study focuses on Ferré's use of recurring motifs …

A Longitudinal Study Of The Career Maturity Patterns Of Individuals With Clefts, Joyce Johnson Anderson

Dissertations and Theses

This longitudinal study sought to examine career maturity, and the variables thought to influence career maturity, in a sample of individuals with the congenital craniofacial anomaly of clefting by following them from adolescence (ages 14 to 18) into young adulthood (ages 22 to 26).

Sixteen subjects (6 males, 10 females) during adolescence and in young adulthood completed (a) a biographical questionnaire which provided educational and occupational information, (b) the Career Development Inventory, (c) the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, (d) the Shipley Institute of Living Scale, and (e) self-ratings of speech and facial appearance acceptability to provide information concerning career maturity, mental …

A Multi-Method Inquiry Into Managerial Coaching, Deborah J. Petricek

Dissertations and Theses

Managerial coaching is a little understood and assessed phenomenon. An exploratory study was conducted in order to describe and examine coaching practices in the work world. Interviews were conducted with a group of managers and direct reports from a single company. Based on the interview discourse and previous research, two scales were developed in order to investigate the coach and coachee domains. Manager and associate survey forms were constructed using these new scales and the Leader /Member Exchange (LMX) in order to investigate the relationship domain of coaching. In addition, the Least-Preferred Co-worker (LPC) scale was included in the manager …

The Concept Of Trustworthiness: A Cross-Cultural Comparison Between Japanese And U.S. Business People, Masami Nishishiba

Dissertations and Theses

Since trust has been reported as an important component in both Japanese and U.S. organizations, the indication of lack of trust between Japanese and U.S. employees in Japanese subsidiaries is of great concern to management. If one wants to improve the level of trust between Japanese and U.S. employees, one must explore the reasons why they sometimes do not trust each other. Since there may be cultural differences between the two groups in the concept of trustworthiness, the first step is to examine whether Japanese and U.S. employees share the same notion of what constitutes a trustworthy person. Therefore, the …

Student Outcomes, Educational Technology, And Assessment In Large Classrooms: Effects On Planned Behavior, Tanya Leigh Ostrogorsky

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of educational technology and classroom assessment on student outcomes. The research used a pretest post-test matched pairs design to test these effects. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was used as a foundation for the model tested. Differences between the model tested and the TPB include the addition of Perceived Behavioral ControlTime 2 (PBC), and the dropping of Subjective Norms from the model. Participating faculty were trained in the use of educational technology, assessment, and course design. Each faculty taught two sections of a large course: first without the enhancements; …

Grandmothers Laughing: Intergenerational Transmission Of Cultural Beliefs About Pregnancy And Childbirth Among Native American Women, Claudia Robin Long

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation reports findings from a qualitative study of intergenerational transmission of pregnancy and childbirth information among Native American women. Proposed is a theory of intergenerational transmission that explains four pathways used by Indian women to gain information about pregnancy and childbirth. Antecedent, consequent, and core elements are associated with the transmission process.

Discriminant sampling was used to identify the middle generation of Indian mothers and grandmothers, between 36 and 65 years of age, residing on or near the reservation, with experience of assimilation policies that had moved off-reservation temporarily. The researcher used the grounded theory method to analyze responses …

Receptive Language And Cognitive Skills In Preschool-Aged Children With Cerebral Palsy, Susan Elizabeth Panton

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between receptive language skills and nonverbal cognitive skills in preschool children with cerebral palsy and a mild to severe motor speech impairment. In addition, the relationship between the severity of motor impairment and receptive communication and nonverbal cognitive skills was also examined. Fifteen subjects, 10 males and 5 females, were included in this study. The subjects are part of a larger longitudinal study being completed within Portland State University's Speech and Hearing Sciences Program. All of the subjects participated in two in-home assessment sessions, which were approximately 2 hours long. …

Expected And Existing Competencies Of External Industry Trainers In The Human Resource Development Field, Julia M. Zachmann

Dissertations and Theses

In the field of Human Resource Development, high standards of professionalism are needed to increase the commitment to training, especially from the side of management. This study focused on external training deliverers, and investigated different perspectives concerning their competencies. The expectations (E) of core competencies of excellent external trainers had been identified and were compared to the actual performance (P) of external trainers in a specific company. Ratings were gathered from four different perspectives, the trainees and clients (supervisors of trainees) of recent training events (consumers) and HRD managers and external trainers (marketers).

The rationale for the study was a …

Erp Analysis Using Matched Filtering, Correlation Coefficient And Mann-Whitney Test, Yun Yan

Dissertations and Theses

Event related potentials (ERPs) carry very important information that relate to the performance of the brain functions of a human being. Further studies have identified that the late positive complex (LPC) are affected by the memory process.

The matched filter method is used to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of signal ERPs. We use the output of the matched filter to distinguish the difference of the waveforms. In our study, we found that the peak values of the matched filter output differed among normal subjects and memory-impaired subjects.

The correlation coefficient is a statistical value that can be applied to find …

Korean-American Elders In Independent Living Arrangements, Shinok Lee

Dissertations and Theses

Many Korean-American elders in America are new immigrants who are faced with cultural change and adjustment problems. In recent years, these Korean-American elders have been undergoing a change in their living situation by moving away from their adult children into independent living arrangements. This study draws on a sample of 50 Korean-American elders in subsidized housing who are over the age of sixty and live in the Portland, Oregon Metropolitan area to investigate factors involved in their choice of and their well-being in independent living arrangements. Through interviews, the study specifically gives attention to why the elders moved, whether they …

Pregnancy Outcomes: A Study Testing A Model For Predicting Health Outcomes In Pregnancy, Tamera Ann Hart-Johnson

Dissertations and Theses

There is a persistent relationship between socioeconomic status and physical health outcomes found in the literature; however the variables mediating this relationship are many, and ways that they interact with each other are complex. The goal of understanding this relationship is to decrease the disparity in health by socioeconomic status.

This study tested a biopsychosocial model proposed by David Williams (1990) to explain the relationship between socioeconomic status and physical health outcomes. The model included the following latent factors: demographics, socioeconomic status, biomedical risk, medical care, psychosocial variables, and health outcomes. The model was tested through a secondary data analysis. …

Predictions Of Intentions Of College Students To Take An Hiv Antibody Test And Their Preferences For A Testing Procedure, Hitoshi Ishimaru

Dissertations and Theses

Intentions to prevent HIV infections are an essential part of HIV prevention. Social science researchers and HIV educators have investigated the roles of intentions to prevent HIV infections mainly in the context of safer sex behaviors. Surprisingly, however, HIV testing intentions have not been extensively studied in light of various forms of HIV tests that are likely soon to be approved for widespread use . The present study evaluated the utility of Ajzen and Fishbein' s (1980) Theory of Reasoned Action in predicting college students' intentions to take an HIV test. Attitudes toward HIV testing and their perceptions of social …

Images Of Women In Abdelhak Serhane's Le Soliel Des Obscurs, Wendy Grace Cook

Dissertations and Theses

Current trends in North African francophone literature include a movement towards the exploration of alienation and exile, most often in the form of novels written about Maghrebian immigrants in Europe. Yet this alienation exists within the North African context as well, and it is possible to feel alienated and exiled, as well as marginalized, within one's homeland. This question is explored by Moroccan francophone author Abdelhak Serhane in his novel, Le Soleil des obscurs, which is the focus of this study.

The purpose of the research is to examine the four principle female characters in the novel and relate …

Enter-Action, Pencils, Nandei Mcanally

Dissertations and Theses

Enter-Action: Pencils is a site-specific sculptural installation m Gallery 299, Neuberger Hall, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon April 8 through April 30, 1997. This installation continues the theme of a larger body of work concerned with audience participation in art. All are concerned with the psychology of sentimentality, notions of memory and the spatial qualities of multiple objects.

The Emergence Of An Icon: The Frida Kahlo Cult, Teresa Neva Tate

Dissertations and Theses

At her death in 1954, Frida Kahlo was known as little more than the wife of muralist Diego Rivera. Since then her art and personae have taken on a cult-like following and she has become an icon of popular culture. Thus far Frida's repute has stretched across three decades, from the 1970s, 1980s, and into the 1990s. Frida's popularity is viewed as primarily emerging from the Women's Movement of the 1970s. However, interest from many other groups have carried her image into the 1980s and 1990s. Aside from the Women’s Movement, Frida's popularity reflects a growing interest in Mexico, specifically …

The Effects Of Position Power And Personal Power On The Incidence Of Sexual Harassment In The Workplace, Eva Marie Labonte

Dissertations and Theses

Sexual harassment is an important issue in today's workplace. Employees who have been sexually harassed may experience stress and a hostile, unpleasant work environment. Researchers have suggested that a person's level of power may affect the occurrence of sexual harassment.

The purpose of the present study was to partially test a theoretical model relating power and sexual harassment in order to determine if there is a connection between a victim's level of position and personal power and the incidence of sexual harassment in the workplace. The study attempted to answer the following questions: 1) Do men hold more power than …

Peer Context Influences On School Motivation: A Naturalistic Observation Of Peer And Teacher Contingencies Following On-And Off-Task Behavior In A Fifth Grade Classroom, Nicole Ann Sage

Dissertations and Theses

With regard to school motivation and performance, two questions have been central for both educational and developmental psychologists; Why do some students do well in school whereas others do not and why is it that over time, those students who do well, continue to do well, while those who don't, often get worse? Findings with regard to the first question are conclusive; many factors are associated with doing well in school. With regard to the second question however, the findings are less conclusive.

Parents, teachers and peers have been regarded as contexts in which socialization occurs. However, much of the …

The Importance Of Time For Processing In Second Language Comprehension And Acquisition, Jennifer Lee Watson

Dissertations and Theses

Research findings on the positive impact of interaction on comprehension have led to questions regarding both the connection between comprehension and acquisition and the qualities of interaction which facilitate understanding (Ellis et al. 1994). Ellis et al. found that a high degree of comprehension on an activity which contained unknown words correlated with a high rate of vocabulary acquisition. The present study replicates the activity and testing procedures used by Ellis et al. The main focus of the Ellis et al. study was the connection between second language comprehension and acquisition. This study differs from Ellis et al. in that …