Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Black Women's Health: A Content Analysis Of The Journal Of The American Medical Association, The American Journal Of Public Health, And The New England Journal Of Medicine (1989-1998), Tonia Marie Burkett

Dissertations and Theses

According to the National Vital Statistics Report (1998), Black women age 45-64 are ten times more likely than white women of the same age to die from diseases of the heart. They are five times more likely to die from diabetes. The goal of this study was to examine how articles published in leading medical journals between 1989 and 1998 accounted for such differences in health outcomes among Black and white women.

The explanatory content of the articles was analyzed and coded according to four types of attributions: genetic/biological, cultural/behavioral, structural/socioeconomic and alternative. Each type of explanation derives from different …

An Evaluation Of Recidivism Rates For Resolutions Northwest's Victim-Offender Mediation Program, Karin Jewel Stone

Dissertations and Theses

Victim-offender mediation, a component of restorative justice, has been a valuable tool for rehabilitating juvenile offenders since the late 1970s. Victim offender mediation brings crime victims and offenders together to reach agreements for restitution and community healing. Resolutions Northwest, a non-profit organization in Multnomah County, offers a victim-offender mediation program to juvenile offenders and their victims.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the recidivism rates for juvenile offenders who went through Resolutions Northwest's victim-offender mediation program as opposed to offenders who went through the traditional justice system. It was hypothesized that the participants in this program would have …

Dialectics Of Control : The Origins And Evolution Of Conflict In Portland's Neighborhood Association Program, Matthew Witt

Dissertations and Theses

In 1974, the City of Portland established, by city ordinance, the Office of Neighborhood Associations (ONA). This ordinance also codified a set of commitments the City would make to involve citizens in local decision making pertaining to a wide variety of issues, from land use development policies to various service allocations.

Beginning with thirty active neighborhood-based groups in 1974, ONA helped organize thirty more neighborhood associations (NAs) over the next five years. Today, the City hosts over ninety active NAs. This dissertation chronicles changes that have occurred in Portland's Neighborhood Association program over a roughly 24-year period, spanning 1974–1998. A …

The Role And Performance Of Governmental And Nongovernmental Organizations In Family Planning Implementation : Jordan As A Case Study, Khalaf Al Hadded

Dissertations and Theses

The role of governmental and nongovernmental nonprofit organizations in population issues has become a familiar reality in contemporary Third World countries. A distinct irony lies in the increasing growth of the role of NGOs in implementing public programs that are conventionally assigned to government bureaucracy. In certain circumstances, these organizations become an outlet to deliver and do certain things that government agencies are not able to do. Although there is an extensive body of research and publications on nongovernmental and charitable organizations in the Third World, there are only a few cases where small NGOs are working directly with the …

An Examination Of Commercial Medicinal Plant Harvests, Mount Hood National Forest, Oregon, Shannon Michelle Campbell

Dissertations and Theses

During the past fifteen years, non-timber or special forest products have become an important economic resource in the Pacific Northwest. These products are primarily derived from understory species and contribute approximately $200 million to the regional economy. Medicinal plants are a little researched component of the non-timber forest product industry that relies on cultivated and wildcrafted (or wild-collected) medicinal plant species. This study examines the commercial extraction of wildcrafted medicinal plants from Mount Hood National Forest. Specifically, this study documents the medicinal plant species extracted from Mount Hood National Forest, their annual yield amounts, harvesting methods, and the changes in …

Cooking In Eden: Inventing Regional Cuisine In The Pacific Northwest, Amy Jo Woodruff

Dissertations and Theses

This study examines how regional cuisine is being self-consciously constructed in the Pacific Northwest and discusses the ways in which it contributes to identity in the region. I identify the characteristics--foods, dishes, and culinary practices--of this "new" Northwest cuisine, as well as social and cultural values associated with it, and explore how together they create a sense of regional distinctiveness and loyalty. Because this type of regional cuisine is closely associated with the professional cooking community, I look to restaurants in Portland, Oregon that self-identity as representative of the Pacific Northwest and to regional cookbooks, in order to pinpoint the …

Portland Dialect Study: The Story Of /Æ/ In Portland, Jeffrey C. Conn

Dissertations and Theses

This study reports on the hypothesized raising of the low, front vowel /æ/, which is characteristic of a regional dialect vowel shift found in cities of the Midwest and Eastern North of the United States. The raising of this vowel is the primary change in a series of vowel shifts that have traditionally been attributed to this region of the U.S. The purpose of this study is to document the production of this vowel by residents of Portland, Oregon, in order to see what light it can shed on dialect research of the Pacific Northwest, especially across age groups to …

Asiatic Cholera And Dysentery On The Oregon Trail: A Historical Medical Geography Study, Brian Lee Altonen

Dissertations and Theses

Two disease regions existed on the Oregon Trail. Asiatic cholera impacted the Platte River flood plain from 1849 to 1852. Dysentery developed two endemic foci due to the decay of buffalo carcasses in eastern and middle Nebraska between 1844 and 1848, but later developed a much larger endemic region west of this Great Plains due to the infection of livestock carcasses by opportunistic bacteria.

This study demonstrates that whereas Asiatic cholera diffusion along the Trail was defined primarily by human population features, topography, and regional climate along the Platte River flood plain, the distribution of opportunistic dysentery along the Trail …

Signs Of Popular Ecology In The Ecotourism Landscape Near Tikal National Park, Guatemala, Michael Mooradian Lupro

Dissertations and Theses

Ecotourism is a common conservation and development strategy in the Maya, Forest region. New sites of ecotourism consumption, such as El Rematé near Tikal National Park in Guatemala, are developing in response to consumer demand for budget accommodations in this attractive cultural and natural setting. This study analyzes new ecotourism infrastructure developments in El Rematé for signs that this tourism draws on ecological imagery as expressed in popular media - or popular ecology - not on the natural and cultural ecology of the region that is the target of international conservation efforts. Analysis suggests that ecotourism entrepreneurs who effectively associate …

Predictors Of Task And Contextual Performance: Frame-Of-Reference Effects And Applicant Reaction Effects On Selection System Validity, John Hunthausen

Dissertations and Theses

An employment process suprasystem contains human resource-related systems such as training, recruitment, performance appraisal, and personnel selection. Similarly, a personnel selection system consists of interdependent subsystems that work together to manifest its properties (e.g., the acquisition of qualified and high-potential individuals). Finally, each of these complex subsystems (e.g., applicant reactions to selection methods) have interdependent elements (e.g., procedural and distributive justice) that work together to manifest the properties of the subsystem (e.g., applicant fairness perceptions).

This dissertation takes such a systems approach to understanding the complexities of a personnel selection system to explore the interactions among three of its subsystems: …

Understanding Volunteerism : An Exploratory Study Of The Theory Of The Commons, Richard L. Fey

Dissertations and Theses

Volunteerism in the United States has a history dating back to this countries origin. This form of giving originated out of the Great Awakening in the early 17th century. Previous studies on the nature of volunteering have had many different disciplines of research attempting to explain why organizations and individuals spend time in civic service.

In 1992, Roger A. Lohmann wrote The Commons as an attempt to create a bridge between the varying theoretical perspectives on volunteerism. Lohmann suggested that the reason for so many different theoretical approaches is largely due to divisions along disciplinary lines, rather than a practical …

An Examination Of Commercial Medicinal Plant Harvests, Mount Hood National Forest, Oregon, Shannon Michelle Campbell

Dissertations and Theses

During the past fifteen years, non-timber or special for(?St products have become an important economic resource in the Pacific Northwest. These products are primarily derived from understory species and contribute approximately $200 million to the regional economy. Medicinal plants are a little researched component of the non-timber forest product industry that relies on cultivated and wildcrafted ( or wild-collected) medicinal plant species. This study examines the commercial extraction of wild crafted medicinal plants from Mount Hood National Forest. Specifically, this study documents the medicinal plant species extracted from Mount Hood National Forest, their annual yield amounts, harvesting methods, and the …

Spatial Modeling In Emergency Medical Systems : Analysis Of A Regional Trauma System With Two Centers, Christopher A. Bangs

Dissertations and Theses

The allocation of trauma patients to one of two trauma centers based on multiple criteria presents significant challenges in modeling network-based solutions for Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Capabilities in a desktop Geographic Information Systems (GIS) include spatial analysis and map visualizations that contribute to improved understanding of EMS and the trauma allocation. Using a common desktop GIS application and a statistical analysis application, key spatial and temporal characteristics of both penetrating and blunt trauma are described, and the EMS allocation system is analyzed.

As a sub-group of all emergencies, trauma-system patients represent the most severely injured. Understanding the spatial-temporal distributions …

The Presentation Of Gender-Based Sexuality Scripts In Sex Education Films, Patricia Anne Drew

Dissertations and Theses

The manifest purpose of sex education films is to transmit factual information about sexuality to schoolchildren. However, films additionally contain covert messages informing students of proper and improper sexual roles. Films can reinforce patriarchal gender-differentiation within the sexual realm or, alternately, films can promote commensurate, non-patriarchal gender scripts for sexuality. This paper researches the ideological gender messages set within and transmitted by sex education films. Although sex education films represent only a small part of the sexual culture, the trends revealed in the films may indicate general parameters of US sexual culture.

The data set for this content analysis consisted …

Lesbian Gender Identities: An Expansion Of Bern's Sex-Role Inventory, Sheilagh Van Belthowing

Dissertations and Theses

The central research question of the current study had to do with self - an stereotypically- gendered identities of lesbians. The purpose was to determine the nature and form of gender identity and gender stereotypes among women who self-identify as lesbians, and more specifically, to determine whether or not “gender” means the same to lesbians as it does to heterosexual women. Identity measures were Bern’s (1974) Sex-role Inventory (BSRI) and a butch-femme rating scale. The sample consisted of 65 women who self-identified as lesbian. The lesbians in the current sample did identify more strongly with masculine attributes (Masculinity scale mean …

On Communicative Competence : Its Nature And Origin, Mary Lou Emerson

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to trace the lineage of the term communicative competence (CC) and to provide a framework for understanding the term CC, a controversial term introduced by Hymes (1972). This pager argues that the term CC is only meaningful if it includes competence in the same sense as Chomsky (1980) defines it--underlying knowledge of the rules of language severed from ability. Although Chomsky discusses competence in terms of grammar, he suggests that there may be underlying knowledge of language use-pragmatic competence. In the end, I will attempt to demonstrate the possibility that there is a competence …

Just For Money? : An Exploratory Study Into The Motivations Of Nude Dancers, Elaine Vance

Dissertations and Theses

Women working as nude dancers have been depicted both in academia and popular literature either as victims of patriarchal exploitation and economic oppression, or as empowered women choosing the most profitable form of work out of the limited options provided for them. This study explores these opposing motivational factors for the entrance and continuance of nude dancing, integrating the theoretical framework of Sex Positive feminism with Strauss and Corbin's (1990) grounded theory approach. Sex Positive feminism asserts that sex work is neither oppressive nor exploitative but rather can be a consensual and legitimate avenue resulting in an increase in women's …

International Environmental Regimes And Latin America : The Role Of Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations, Jennifer T. Eller

Dissertations and Theses

This study analyzes the obstacles to environmental policymaking in Latin America such as the poverty crisis, the North/South conflict and political corruption. These obstacles result in weak government institutions and create an opportunity for other actors to wield greater influence in the policymaking process.

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of environmental agreements such as debt-for-nature swaps. Debt-for-nature swaps emerged as a solution to the conundrum of the debt crisis and environmental degradation. The cases of Bolivia, Costa Rica and Ecuador illustrate the tensions between development and environmental degradation. The most important lesson learned from these swaps is that the support …

Learning, Motivation, And Self : A Diary Study Of An Esl Teacher’S Year In A Japanese Language Classroom, Laura Ruth Hawks

Dissertations and Theses

Using a journal kept during a year in a second-year level Japanese language class, a diary study of an adult's foreign language experience was undertaken by an ESL teacher and graduate student. Kept as a means of releasing the anger, stress, and frustration that initially accompanied the learning experience, the journal provides a basis for the analysis of cultural, pedagogical, and personal variables that affected the learning process.

The introspective and longitudinal nature of the study provides not only a description of the learning environment and teaching method over time, but also illuminates otherwise unobservable aspects of the learning experience, …

Portland Dialect Study: The Story Of /Æ/ In Portland, Jeffrey C. Conn

Dissertations and Theses

This study reports on the hypothesized raising of the low, front vowel /re/, which is characteristic of a regional dialect vowel shift found in cities of the Midwest and Eastern North of the United States. The raising of this vowel is the primary change in a series of vowel shifts that have traditionally been attributed to this region of the U.S. The purpose of this study is to document the production of this vowel by residents of Portland, Oregon, in order to see what light it can shed on dialect research of the Pacific Northwest, especially across age groups to …

Teacher Self-Disclosure From The Perspective Of International Students In The Communication Classroom : A Case Study, Darlene J. Geiger

Dissertations and Theses

Self-disclosure as an interpersonal concept was developed almost 40 years ago with the work of Sydney Jourard (1964). Although the original definition included nonverbal forms of communication, the concept has evolved since then into an 'intentional act of sending verbal information about one's self (Collins & Miller, 1994; Cozby, 1972; Wheeless, 1976; Wheeless & Grotz, 1977). In contrast, the present study broadened the definition for self-disclosure to include nonverbal behaviors and took a new methodological approach to understanding the effects that self-disclosure can have for international students in the communication classroom context.

Teacher self-disclosure from the perspectives of international students …

The Influence Of Cultural Backgrounds On The Interpretations Of Literature Texts Used In The Esl Classroom, Barbara Jostrom Gates

Dissertations and Theses

This study was a detailed descriptive investigation into the different interpretations and perceptions that are evoked by readers of United States literature, based on their cultural backgrounds and experience. Grounded in research that advocates for the convergence of culture and literature in the language classroom and a research design based on reader-response theory, this study explored the responses of two groups of students from the University of Portland: international students, the majority of whom were English as a Second Language (ESL), and U.S. citizens, all of whom were native speakers of American English.

Through a reader-response style questionnaire modeled after …

Chinese Numeratives And The Mass/Count Distinction, David Goodman

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigates the mass/count distinction for lexical nouns, and how this is formalized morphosyntactically in language. English is one language in which a grammaticized mass/count distinction can be seen--though there are varying explanations regarding what this distinction actually signifies. Chinese, on the other hand, is a language which might appear to be missing a formalized mass/count distinction. However, I postulate that Mandarin Chinese does in fact have a syntactic-distributional diagnostic available for teasing apart mass nouns from count nouns.

The diagnostic that I propose for finding a mass/count distinction among lexical nouns in Mandarin lies in the distribution of …

The Literacy Proficiencies Of Oregon Tanf Recipients : A Human Capital Approach, Amy Katherine Arnett

Dissertations and Theses

On August 22, 1996, President Clinton signed new legislation that dismantled the United State's welfare system. Consequently, thousands of welfare recipients had to move into the work-force. It is essential to discover if former welfare recipients are prepared to obtain employment and achieve self-sufficiency. Previous research suggests that human capital assets, such as level of literacy proficiency and grade completed in school are important factors in predicting welfare receipt. The purpose of this study is to investigate how literacy skills are associated with having received TANF for people without a high school degree or GED. The 941 subjects were located …

International Students' Experiences In Higher Education: A Case Study Examining Uncertainty Reduction Theory In Communication Classrooms, Susan Kuhn

Dissertations and Theses

This was an exploratory case study which focused on international students' experiences in higher education. In particular, this study investigated the efficacy of uncertainty reduction theory in communication classrooms. The research asked four exploratory questions: (a) What are the students’ perceptions of the teacher/student relationship? (b) Do international students experience uncertainty in communication classrooms? (c) If uncertainty is experienced, what is its source(s)? (d) If uncertainty is experienced, do students seek to reduce it, and if so, how?

A phenomenological perspective was utilized in this study as the organizing, theoretical framework. Relevant literature on uncertainty reduction theory was reviewed as …

Tribal Constructs And Kinship Realities : Individual And Family Organization On The Grand Ronde Reservation From 1856, Aeron Teverbaugh

Dissertations and Theses

This project examines marriage and residence patterns on the Grand Ronde Reservation between 1856 and the early 1900s. It demonstrates that indigenous cultural patterns continued despite a colonial imagination that refused to see them. Members of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde continued to live in family groups much as they had in the pre-reservation era. They continued to exhibit patterns of marriage and kinship that were described in the ethnographies and by the earliest explorers in the Oregon area.

A Comparison Of The Child Directed Speech Of Traditional Dads With That Of Stay-At-Home Dads, Judith Nancarrow Barr

Dissertations and Theses

The speech that mothers use when addressing adults has consistently been shown to exhibit modifications when the conversation partner is their language-learning child. Fathers adopt similar changes in the structural linguistic aspects of their Child Directed Speech (CDS), but their patterns of discourse remain more of a challenge for the child. This contrast in parental language is thought to be beneficial to the language-learning child: a mother's language focuses on the child as a conversation partner, whilst a father's more demanding language is considered a "Bridge" between the mother's and that of adults in the outside world. With family roles …

The Relationship Between Chinese Character Recognition Strategies And The Success Of Character Memorization For Students Of Mandarin Chinese, Hui-Yen Emmy Chen

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between beginning Chinese language students' character memorization and the strategies they used for the recognition of Chinese characters. In the experiment, a new character teaching approach, the phonetic-ideograph strategy, was introduced to all the subjects during two quarter terms. Subjects participated in the study were divided into two groups depended upon their language backgrounds: the phonographic group and the morphographic group. All the subjects in the phonographic group were English speakers and subjects in the morphographic group were Japanese speakers. All the subjects received the same treatment in the study. …