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The Relationship Of Group Support, Majority Status, And Interpersonal Dependency In Predicting Intimate Partner Violence, Mary Elisabeth Gray

Dissertations and Theses

One of the most common community responses to intimate partner violence is batterer intervention programs (BIPs), which are aimed at ending perpetrators' violent behavior. Unfortunately, however, the success rates of BIPs are questionable (Aldarondo, 2002; Gondolf, 2002) and we do not know what factors of the program facilitate decreases in abusive behavior when this does occur. Specifically, it is unknown whether and how individual characteristics interact with intervention group dynamics to facilitate change. To better understand this gap in the literature, this study investigated the relationship between social support, group majority-minority status, and interpersonal dependency in predicting intimate partner violence. …

Factors Associated With Inclusion Of Spirituality In Secular Social Work Education, Leslie Grace Wuest

Dissertations and Theses

In a diverse society, social work practitioners must be able to work with and respect people from a wide variety of cultures and ethnicities and with different value systems and ideological perspectives, including spiritual or religious beliefs. Accordingly, social work education has begun to incorporate the topic of spirituality. This study builds upon previous studies by Dudley and Helfgott (1990) and Sheridan et al. (1994) which focused on views of faculty members regarding spirituality in social work education and support for a course on spirituality in the social work curriculum. This study goes on to examine inclusion of spirituality in …

Red De Salud -- Network Of Health : Structural Violence, Exclusion And Inclusion In Venezuela, Steven John Bates

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis is a study of the socio-economic changes in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela since the new government came into office in 1999. The research hypothesis for this thesis is that the changes and parallel socioeconomic structures being implemented in Venezuela since 1999 have decreased structural violence, and have provided more inclusion for previously excluded people. As the methodology used is qualitative, utilizing textual analysis to conduct a case study, academic journals from the fields of conflict resolution, sociology, political science, public health, cultural studies and economics were relied upon for the most part. This study of structural violence …

At Home In The World : The American Middle-Class House As A Twenty-First Century Public Square, Kathleen Holt

Dissertations and Theses

Using personal narrative, interviews, and research, this thesis project looks at how the middle-class American home has been transformed, by people like me, into a modem-day public square.

Challenging The New Penology: A Case-Study Analysis Of Correctional Management, Interstate Inmate Transfers, And Administrative Intent, Robert Thomas Swan

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study is to explore the use of interstate inmate transfers (IITs) by prison wardens and the administrative intent that guide their use. This study assesses the explanatory power of the new penology in three cases and asks three broad questions of two prison wardens and the DOC: What correctional goals do you hope to accomplish with interstate inmate transfers? Why? And what contextual factors (if any) are felt to inhibit or facilitate these goals?

IITs are controversial. Supporters of IITs argue that in addition to serving the needs of correctional managers, they may also serve to …

Las Pioneras : New Immigrant Destinations And The Gendered Experiences Of Latina Immigrants, Angie Pamela Mejia

Dissertations and Theses

Are experiences with migration affecting culturally specific gendered practices, roles, attitudes, and ideologies of Mexican women and men? Which experiences reinforce patriarchy? Which experiences transform patriarchy? This thesis proposes that Mexican immigrant women will subscribe to and enact different gendered behaviors depending upon their perception of gendered gains. Various factors, such as time of arrival, previous experiences with negative machismos, and workforce participation affect how they construct gendered identities. The context where bargaining occurs-whether itwas the home, the community, or the workplace - inform women of what strategies they need implement in order to negotiate with patriarchy. This study employs …

Role Of Food Neophobia, Food Attitudes And Written Information On The Acceptance Of Novel Fish Products : A Cross-Cultural Study, Koei Kudo

Dissertations and Theses

The present research used an integrative and multi-disciplinary approach to investigate the relations among food attitudes, food neophobia and acceptance of novel and familiar albacore tuna dishes for Japanese and U.S. consumers.

A pilot study selected seasonings and cooking methods that were familiar or novel to each culture, and identified the most relevant health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids (FA).

The main study employed a self-reported, web-based questionnaire where back-translation maximized the cross-cultural equivalency of US and Japanese versions. Scales of food neophobia (Crystallized Neophobia Scale, or CNS) and attitudes towards foods (Health-, Pleasure- and Convenience-Oriented Food Attitudes Scale, or …

"Do I Really Belong Here?" The Effects Of Difference In Paths Through Higher Education On Graduate Student Perception On Legitimacy, Tina Dawn Lillian Burdsall

Dissertations and Theses

Why do some master's level students feel confident in completing their programs and some do not? Why do some feel connected to their department and some do not? Why do some feel legitimate as graduate students and some do not? This research proposes that there may be differences in how master's students understand the graduate student role based on whether they went directly from high-school through their bachelor's to their master's, or if they took time off between their bachelor's and master's program. This thesis used in-depth interviews with twelve second-year master's students at Portland State University to explore these …

Work-Related Outcomes Of Financial Stress: Relating Perceived Income Adequacy And Financial Strain To Job Performance And Worker Well-Being, Lindsay Ellen Sears

Dissertations and Theses

With the onset of globalization, the economic contexts and working conditions within many countries are changing, presenting new challenges' for governments, organizations, and workers. Amid these challenges, concerns about personal finances are prevalent among employees and detrimental to workers' health, well-being, and families. Research on how this financial stress affects employees at work is lacking.

In this thesis, I propose an appraisal-based model of financial stress whereby actual income and expenses are related to perceptions of income adequacy to afford wants and needs. These adequacy perceptions are, in turn, related to financial strain, representing a heightened negative affective state regarding …

Multi-Level Environmental Governance : A Comparative Case Study Of Five Large Scale Natural Resource Management Programs, Shpresa Halimi

Dissertations and Theses

Globalization is occurring at an unprecedented pace through the end of the twentieth century and into the new millennium. In such a world, governance is increasingly shared among governments, civil society organizations and businesses. Globalization has placed new demands on environmental management across national borders. Hence, changes in the environmental governance frameworks are required to create the enabling conditions for the effective management of the natural resources and the environment.

This study seeks to develop an integrated "Multi-level Environmental Governance" (MLEG) framework and to explore the relationship between the core characteristics of the framework and the achievements of large scale …

Physicians Providing Alternative Medicine: Boundary Crossing And The Emergence Of Integrative Medicine, Richard Scott Lockwood

Dissertations and Theses

Integrative medicine (IM) has organized as a new area of specialization in mainstream healthcare. The development of IM is widely attributed to popular demand for the range of therapies known collectively as Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). During the 1990's the rate of acceptance of CAM accelerated among consumers, professions, financing and education. The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) measured CAM utilization and professional service provision during the years 1996 and 1998, but never since. These surveys were unique because they specifically inquired as to whether CAM was provided by a physician, among other types of professionals. This dissertation defines …

"Whose Streets? Our Streets!" Urban Social Movements And The Transformation Of Everyday Life In Pacific Northwest Cities, 1990-1999, Leanne Claire Serbulo

Dissertations and Theses

This project returns to the questions that were once at the center of the urban studies debate over social movements. What are urban social movements, and what impacts do they leave on the cities where they occur? Urban protests in Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington are used as the foundation for exploring the following research questions: What urban social movements occurred in the Pacific Northwest during 1990s? What goals were these movements struggling for? What impacts did urban social movements have on daily life in Portland and Seattle?

While this project has continuity with earlier attempts to identify, describe, and …

Creating A Theoretical Framework For Understanding Homeland Security Using Multiple Frame Analysis, Linda Ann Kiltz

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to begin the effort to build a theoretical foundation for homeland security policy by analyzing the 1993 World Trade Center terrorist attack using multiple frame analysis (MFA). MFA consisted of three conceptual lenses: (I)-Homeland Security as a Criminal Justice Problem/Terrorism as Crime, (II)-Homeland Security as a International Relations Problem/Terrorism as War, and (III)-Homeland Security as an Organization Design Problem/Terrorism as a Network. These lenses were applied to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing using a case study methodology, thus creating a framework to analyze a singular critical event from multiple perspectives.

This research was …

Bonneville Power Administration And The Creation Of The Pacific Intertie, 1958 -1964, Joshua D. Binus

Dissertations and Theses

Construction of the Pacific Northwest-Pacific Southwest Intertie (also known as the Pacific Intertie) began in 1964, following the culmination of a series of interrelated negotiations which included: 1) the planning for the construction and operation of the Pacific Intertie; 2) the passage of federal legislation that put limits on the export of electricity from the regions where it was generated; and 3) the full ratification of the Columbia River Treaty between the United States and Canada. By 1970, with construction complete, the Pacific Intertie allowed for the movement of more than 4,000,000 kilowatts of power among the electrical systems of …

Emerging Governance At The Edge Of Constrained Federalism : Public Administrators At The Frontier Of Democracy, Gary Lloyd Larsen

Dissertations and Theses

President Reagan and each succeeding President exerted significant effort to scale back the size and scope of federal executive branch agencies, a pressure that can be characterized as constrained federalism. This phenomenon is described by Kettl (2000) as the theory of New Public Management. I observe and theorize that a new form of governance is emerging as an unintended consequence of constrained federalism's attempt to replace governance with management in the name of efficiency.

This new form of governance arises when federal public administrators and citizens work together in partnerships to mitigate the immediate and more subtle adverse effects …

George Lakoff"S Theory Of Worldview : A Case Study Of The Oregon Legislature, Catherine Law

Dissertations and Theses

George Lakoff's theory of worldview presented in Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think (2002) has been a topic of interest and discussion in certain political and academic circles. To date, however, it appears that no empirical test of his theory exists. In this dissertation, Lakoff's theory of worldview is explored, using the Oregon Legislature as a case study. A survey instrument to test his theory was created and administered to members of the 2005-2006 Oregon House of Representatives. Cluster analysis and chi-square analysis were used in the data analysis to examine how well Lakoff's theory explains politics. It was …

Representation Without Taxation : China's Rural Development Initiatives For A New Millenium, Minzi Su

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this research is to assess the prospects for China's rural revitalization programs now in their initial stages of formulation and implementation. The study seeks to discover, primarily on the basis of field research in several different rural locations, what capacities and political-economic conditions seem to hold the greatest promise for success. The research was occasioned primarily by two key factors: First, China's party and government are now engaged in a massive program to create nothing less than a harmonious society, a key element of which is a "new socialist countryside." The second factor is that despite numerous …

Lost In Translation : Ideas Of Population Health Determinants In The American Policy Arena, Maria Gilson Sistrom

Dissertations and Theses

A growing body of research reveals the determinants of population health to be social, political and economic, yet health policy in the United States remains largely individualistic (Evans, Barer, & Marmor, 1994). At the same time research is revealing these structural determinants of health, measures of population health in the United States are worsening in comparison to other developed countries (Bezruchka, 2001). Explanations for this include the influence of culture, medical, public health and governmental institutions and historic development and processes on health policy. Researchers hold to a view of the policy process that is informed by science, yet policy …

Organizational Complexity In American Local Governance: Deploying An Organizational Perspective In Concept And Analytic Framework Development, Charles David Crumpton

Dissertations and Theses

Organizational complexity is a distinguishing characteristic of local governance in America's urban areas. Organizationally complex arrangements among jurisdictions, agencies, and private for-profit and not-for-profit organizations are frequently involved in the production and delivery of local public goods and services in the United States. In this dissertation study the author seeks useful explanations regarding emergence, operation and consequences of organizational complexity found in local public economies in the United States. The study draws on the author's professional practice and researcher experience and organizational theory to develop a conceptual platform for better understanding local public sector organizational complexity. The conceptual platform is …

"Railcars Loaded With Crisp Fresh Vegetables" A Study Of Agriculture At The Tule Lake Relocation Center 1942-1946, Michael David Schmidli

Dissertations and Theses

In the Spring and Summer of 1942, the population of West Coast Japanese were rounded up and forcibly moved from their homes to temporary camps and soon after to ten permanent relocation camps in the interior Western United States. This thesis traces the history of one such camp, the Tule Lake Relocation Center. In this thesis I argue that from its inception the Tule Lake Center was unique among the ten camps. The decision to build a permanent center at Tule Lake was based upon the unique potential the area provided for agriculture on a huge scale. The other permanent …

Measuring Community-Engaged Departments: A Study To Develop An Effective Self-Assessment Rubric For The Institutionalization Of Community Engagement In Academic Departments, Kevin Kecskes

Dissertations and Theses

Change in American higher education is occurring at a rapid pace. The increasing reemergence of civic or community engagement as a key component in the overall landscape of American higher is emblematic of that change. Academic departments play a critical role in higher education change, including institutionalizing community engagement on campuses. Yet, designing a way of measuring community engagement specifically at the level of the academic department has not been undertaken.

Based on advice from national expert/key informant interviews and the recognition of the importance of the role of academic departments in the overall institutionalization of community engagement in higher …

Staying Within The Margins: The Educational Stories Of First-Generation, Low-Income College Students, Diane Lyn Cole

Dissertations and Theses

his research addressed educational persistence among first-generation, low-income college students. The educational paths of 22 first-generation, low-income undergraduate students attending a large, urban university in the Northwest region of the United States were examined through a narrative framework. Half of the participants had persisted from year one to year two, and the other half left the university after their first year. Analytic procedures consisted of thematic qualitative coding, an analysis of student trajectories over educational histories, and the reconstruction of narrative stories. Data were used to examine: (1) How first-generation, low-income students understood and described their journey through their first …

Islamophobia And The U.S. Media, Michelle Maria Nichole Diamond

Dissertations and Theses

The following paper examines the growing fear and discrimination currently projected towards Islam and Muslims in the United States. This thesis will specifically focus on what role the U.S. mainstream media has played in either increasing or decreasing Islamophobia amongst the American public post September 11, 2001. The research collected to conduct this study came from theories of political science, conflict resolution, international affairs, psychology, sociology, and personal interviews. I conclude that Islamophobia has increased in the United States since the attacks of September 11, 2001 and that Islamophobia, due to the mainstream media, is more pervasive in the U.S. …

Global Civil Society Finding Collective Voice In Diversity, Kristen Marie Magis

Dissertations and Theses

The research question that forms the basis of this dissertation is: "What characteristics do members of Global Civil Society define as critical to the successful functioning of coalition processes designed to generate specific policy positions?" The dissertation's objective is to develop a canon of knowledge about these critical characteristics.

The relative lack of research on the question of the internal organization and operations of GCS coalitions necessitated the use of inductive methodology. Three sources of data were utilized; interviews with knowledgeable persons in Global Civil Society, a conference of GCS experts, and papers commissioned for the conference. The data were …

The Changing Paradigm Of Emergency Management : Improving Professional Development For The Emergency Manager, Robert Edward Grist

Dissertations and Theses

Throughout its short and remarkable history, emergency management has been subjected to a vast array of fast-moving and radical changes which have presented significant challenges to the men and women in this emerging profession. This study was designed to help determine the adequacy of their professional development to meet those challenges.

The study is framed within an environment where emergency managers face the pressure to professionalize; explore the world of risk, trust, and the distribution of power; confront revolutionary changes; and concern themselves with the social impact of disasters in their own communities. This study asks: "Do Emergency Managers feel …

Perspectives On An Arts Magnet School : The Voices Of Elementary School Children, Denise Robles-Torres

Dissertations and Theses

Since the beginning of public school as a social institution early in the nineteenth century, the voices of children have been missing from the discussion about school. From the progressive era to the current standards based movement, structures of education have been premised on the ideas of what adults think are the best ways for children to learn. But educators and other adults are recognizing the importance of student perspectives by providing children opportunities to participate in critical reflection about school. By including children of all ages in this discussion, educators, policy makers and researchers may begin to examine their …

Network Analysis Of A Shared Governance System, Debra Reifman Whitall

Dissertations and Theses

This study contributes to the growing body of literature on the role of networks in creating efficacious systems of governance. In particular, this study considers if, in addition to network structure, two network characteristics, network social capital and network management, each have direct and indirect effects on network performance. Also considered are the combined effects of these three network characteristics on network performance. The findings of this study re-examine the relationship between network characteristics and performance, especially the influence of network structure on performance. Thus, this study has practical implications for policy makers regarding effective collaborative strategies.

This study used …

Culture War: The Battle For Portland's Lair Hill Neighborhood, 1968, James Tucker Jackson

Dissertations and Theses

The youth explosion of the mid-1960s that spawned the hippie counterculture also bred fear among older Americans, many of whom viewed the cultural dissenters as immoral, deviant, and criminal. Some in the ranks of government shared this view and felt duty-bound to oppose the counterculture. This thesis examines one example of a municipal government and the series of policies it pursued to address the threat of a "hippie invasion" into the Lair Hill neighborhood in Portland, Oregon in 1968. The central question will be to determine whether these policies were enacted in pursuit of the stated goals of improved public …

Radicalism In American Political Thought : Black Power, The Black Panthers, And The American Creed, Christopher Thomas Cooney

Dissertations and Theses

American Political Thought has presented somewhat of a challenge to many because of the conflict between the ideals found within the "American Creed" and the reality of America's treatment of ethnic and social minorities. The various forms of marginalization and oppression facing women, blacks, Native Americans, and Asian-Americans have been as much a part of the story of America as have been natural rights and the Constitution.

Taking this into account, this thesis is an effort to argue that the radicalism on display in the Black Panther Party, a group that emerged in the turmoil of the 1960' s, was …

An Examination Of Conflict Conversation In An Online Community: The Pie Fight At Dailykos.Com, Samantha Isabella Soma

Dissertations and Theses

The increasing popularity of the social web and online communities requires the attention of researchers of conflict resolution. Although there are many ways to resolve conflict offline, the ways in which conflict takes place within a native online context have not been much studied. Are any of the tools and strategies that are used to improve communication offline used successfully online, or are some other strategies taking their place? What communication patterns occur within an online community equipped with comment moderation capabilities? This research is a case study and addressed these questions by performing a qualitative analysis of comment conversations …