Digital Commons Network^™

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

Dissertations and Theses

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

Stability And Resilience In Business Systems, Donald Bard Wilcox

Dissertations and Theses

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

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

Dissertations and Theses

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

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

Dissertations and Theses

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

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

Dissertations and Theses

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

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

Dissertations and Theses

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

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

Dissertations and Theses

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

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

Dissertations and Theses

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

Dance And Self Concept Change In Women, Robin Dale Anderson

Dissertations and Theses

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

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

Dissertations and Theses

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

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

Dissertations and Theses

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

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

Dissertations and Theses

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

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

Dissertations and Theses

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

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

Dissertations and Theses

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

Consciousness, Neurons, And Laughing Gas, Dody Michelson Orendurff

Dissertations and Theses

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

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

Dissertations and Theses

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

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

Closedmindedness As A Predictor Of Individual Decision-Making Behaviors, Annette I. Jolin

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine whether closemindedness is related to decision-making behaviors. The decision-making variables in this study were: Pieces of Information, Decision Change, Decision Confidence, Decision Accuracy and, post hoc, Decision Appropriateness. The measures of decision-making behaviors were obtained from four decision situations developed by the experimenter. Closemindedness was assessed using Rokeach's (1960) Dogmatism (D) scale.

The Effects Of Three Stress Modes On Error Productions Of Children With Developmental Apraxia Of Speech, Alan R. Horowitz

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this investigation was to study the effects of three modes of stress on error productions of children with developmental apraxia of speech during a sentence repetition task. The study was designed to answer the question: Will there be a significant difference in the number of errors for each mode when: a) training to distinguish among the stress modes is not provided? b) training to distinguish among the stress modes is provided?

An Evaluative Study Of The Good Samaritan Pain Evaluation Clinic, Frederic G. Wessinger Jr.

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study is to ascertain whether or not the Good Samaritan Pain Evaluation Clinic can be considered a success.

Counseling In Allied Health Techniques Of Instruction: A Career Process, Robert David Mills

Dissertations and Theses

A Professional Paper on "Techniques of Instruction" as seen through the eyes of this writer, to Portland State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Education.

Group Parent Training In Oregon, John Peter Kuzma

Dissertations and Theses

Research examining the actual practice and methods of group parent trainers has not kept pace with the great amount of literature on "how-to-parent" theory. In this study, 23 group parent trainees throughout the Willamette Valley in Oregon were interviewed to determine the characteristics of their groups in terms of numbers of parents in each group, length of groups, fees charged, teaching methods used, parenting approaches taught. Their general concerns and opinions about the parent training field were also elicited.

The support aspects of the parent groups were recognized as integral to parent training's effectiveness. The organizational structure of the groups …

The Bender-Gestalt Test As A Measure Of Creative Production, Craig Logan House

Dissertations and Theses

This study attempted to define creativity in terms of objective, visible products of behavior. An existing psychological instrument, the Bender-Gestalt Test (BGT) was modified in presentation and scoring methods into a test of creative production. This test was chosen because of its similarity to some existing tests of creative production and its theoretical relationship to the associative model of creative production. It was combined with the Making Objects Test (MO) and the Remote Associations Test (RAT) into a three test battery and administered to 90 college students. The three tests were scored and the results correlated with each other to …

The Interruption Of The Developmental Tasks Through Pregnancy In The Female Adolescent, Suzanne Epstein, Kathleen Perkins

Dissertations and Theses

There is much information about the incidence of adolescent pregnancy yet little attention has been directed to how this process will interrupt the working towards or completion of the developmental tasks of adolescence. It is our belief that completion of these tasks is crucial in relation to moving into the next stage, adulthood.

Public interest and concern for the contemporary needs of pregnant adolescents and school age parents as a special group is still fairly novel. Survey findings revealed that adolescent parents still have great need for infant day care services, direct financial assistance, housing arrangements, education, and parenting education. …

An Investigation Of The Consistency Of Stimulus Overselection Of Autistic Children, Patricia O'Meara Walker

Dissertations and Theses

A review of the literature indicated that not all of the research in the area of overselectivity of autistic children has been in agreement. It does seem evident that some autistic children overselect. This could be the result of an attentional factor or a modality preference. This has important implications for the education of autistic children. In the light of the inconsistency of autistic children's reactions to sensory stimuli this investigator believed there was a need to determine if overselection is consistent before referring to the overselected modality as a preferred modality or comparing overselected modalities with the child's mode …

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Biofeedback And Meditation Treatment On Essential Hypertension, Thomas Lee Molatore

Dissertations and Theses

The repeated-measures experimental design utilized in the present study permitted a controlled comparison of the clinical efficacy of meditation treatment (MT), biofeedback treatment (BT), and pharmacological control (PC) conditions in the reduction of seven dependent variables: (1) within clinic (W-C) systolic blood pressure (SBP), (2) W-C diastolic blood pressure (DBP), (3) outside-clinic (O-C) SEP, (4) O-C DBP, (5) within-session (W-S) SEP, (6) W-S DBP, and (7) antihypertensive medication requirements. Twenty-four medicated subjects with medically .verified essential hypertension were matched by rank-order on sex, age, and mean baseline levels of SBP and DBP, and randomly assigned to MT, BT, or PC …

An Evaluation Of A Data-Based Sex Education Training Program For Mentally Retarded Adults, Patricia Ann Riley

Dissertations and Theses

The study determined that twenty-three mildly to moderately retarded adults living within the community increased their sexual knowledge after attending a twelve month, data-based sex education training program. The Lane Community College-Adult Basic Education (LCC-ABE) Pre/Post Test was administered to each subject when he/she began and finished the training program. The Intermittent Probe Tests were administered to each subject after instruction in each of thirteen topic areas in the curriculum. The main conclusions were that: (a) the subjects significantly increased their sexual knowledge after training; (b) class, sex, ability level, age, type of residence, and length of time in that …

Welfare Stigmatization And The Elderly: The Case Of The Supplemental Security Income Program, Peter Jic-Leung Man

Dissertations and Theses

Policy-makers and others historically have assumed that welfare programs should give assistance to the poor and carry stigma. This attitude in part developed from the English Poor Laws tradition in which poverty was considered a negative condition. Labeling theory has often been used to explain the process of welfare stigmatization. Once an individual is labeled as a deviant, such as a welfare recipient, a self-fulfilling prophecy is initiated. Others perceive and respond to the individual as a deviant and the individual also internalized the stigma attached to such a role. The stigma attached to public dependency becomes an outcome of …

Adoption Of Children In Foster Care: A Comparison Of Processes Leading To Adoption By Foster Parents And Adoption By Others, Janet Lahti

Dissertations and Theses

This research evaluates the results of a change in policy by Oregon's Children's Services Division permitting foster parents to adopt their foster child. A comparison was made between two groups of children, both of whom were seen by their caseworkers as not likely to return home and adoptable. One group was believed likely to be adopted by foster parents and the other believed likely to be adopted by new parents. Process and outcome of placement efforts for the two groups are described and compared. The study sample, comprised of 155 children, were followed for 28 months from the time the …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Visual Short Term Memory And Speechreading In Hearing Impaired Geriatrics, Catherine Hollevoet

Dissertations and Theses

The relationship between visual short term memory (as measured by the Memory for Designs Test) and speechreading ability (as measured by the Barley Speechreading Test) was investigated in a sample of twenty-seven hearing impaired geriatrics. Correlation analysis verified a statistically significant relationship between Memory for Designs Test scores and Barley Speechreading Test scores. Partial correlation revealed the relationship between speechreading scores and short term memory scores was rot influenced significantly by variance in chronological age or speech discrimination ability. Memory for Designs Test scores were shown to be accurate predictors of scores achieved on the Barley Speechreading Test.

Results of …

Industrial Social Work : A Review Of The Literature And An Evaluation Of An Employee Assistance Program, Gregory Mark Lee

Dissertations and Theses

In the attempt to explore the world of work as an arena for mental health services, this report can be considered as having two major goals. The first is to provide a review and discussion of many of the issues that impact on and are part of the industrial social work field. The meaning of work will be discussed, from both an historical and psychological point of view. Aspects of the community mental health ideology will be presented, especially in relation to the world of work. A brief review of various types of mental health programming will be discussed, as …