Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Study Comparing Musical Abilities Of Stutterers And Nonstutterers, Megan Creswell

Dissertations and Theses

Rhythm is a feature of both music and speech that has been successfully used in the treatment of speech disorders, particularly stuttering, for many years. The successful use of rhythm in the treatment of dysf luencies of speech may be due to stutterers' perceptual deficiencies in music and rhythm abilities. Research supports the view that there are differences between stutterers and nonstutterers in timing and rhythmic capabilities. This study, therefore, sought to determine whether there was a difference between the perceptual musical abilities of stutterers versus nonstutterers as measured by the Seashore Measures of Musical Talents, Revised (1960). Data collected …

Limiting Noise Exposure Associated With Hearing Aid Use, Alison Mary Gilbert

Dissertations and Theses

Industrial workers who have sustained hearing losses often wear hearing aids on the job in order to hear their co-worker's speech. However they risk damaging their hearing further by amplifying the high levels of background noise typical of such environments. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has established guidelines to protect workers' hearing. A maximum allowable level of 90 dBA averaged over a period of eight hours is considered safe. Wearing hearing aids on the job may expose an individual to a considerably higher levels, however no guidelines as to maximum allowable levels of amplified noise exist at this …

Perceived Fairness Of A Child-Care Subsidy In A Temporary Agency: An Equity Theory Approach, Pamela Bermudez

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to extend research findings on perceived equity into the context of the contingent workforce by examining employees' perceived fairness of a child-care subsidy (i.e., distributive justice perception) in a temporary employment agency. The variables of interest to the study were perceived fairness, comparison other, input importance, organizational responsibility and family-friendliness. The variables were examined on three levels of subsidy status (i.e., subsidy group, parents/no-subsidy group, and nonparents group). A cover letter and a questionnaire regarding perceived fairness of the child-care subsidy were mailed to all employees who had worked for the temporary agency in …

An Analysis Of Oregon Department Of Transportation Planned Highway Construction Projects For Selected Years From 1978 To 1992, Glen A. Fleming

Dissertations and Theses

Construction of highway projects is one of the most important and expensive state government functions. Highway construction projects bring revenue and jobs to the locales in which they are built, in addition to providing a better transportation infrastructure within or between communities, states or nations.

In the state of Oregon, its Department of Transportation (ODOT) publishes a document forecasting planned highway construction expenditures for the next six years. This document was called, until recently the six-year highway program; it is the Department's primary programming document for planned highway construction expenditures in the next six years, with updates every two years. …

A Swamp In The Desert: Theory, Water Policy, And Malheur Lake Basin, Cristin R. Mandaville

Dissertations and Theses

Two perspectives are debated in current United States water policy model development. One perspective calls for policy based on normative values, such as an environmental ethic. The second perspective calls for policy based on empirical, quantifiable values, for instance, economic benefits and costs. This theoretical debate arises from differing assumptions about what is problematic in contemporary water policy, and in turn gives rise to many water policy models. Developing such models ostensibly provides frameworks useful for developing real-world water policies. This paper proposes that these water policy models are not in fact useful frameworks for policy applications because the models …

Social Support As A Buffer Of The Relationship Between Work And Family Involvement And Work-Family Conflict, Tracy Lynn Monzon

Dissertations and Theses

With dual-career couples and single-parent families on the rise, adults may find themselves overloaded with work and family responsibilities, resulting in the experience of work-family conflict (WFC). Further, employers appear to be demanding more from their employees, while giving less. Therefore, it is important to discover ways in which to manage the conflict between the work and family domains. Since level of involvement within a particular domain has been previously demonstrated to have a positive effect on WFC, the present study examined the possible moderating effects of social support on the relationship between work and family involvement and WFC. Surveys …

Effects Of Receptive Language Deficits On Persisting Expressive Language Delays, Traci Lee Giacherro

Dissertations and Theses

Predicting language outcomes in children who at age two are "late talkers" is a concern of Speech Language Pathologists. Currently, there is no conclusive data allowing specialists to predict which children will outgrow their delays and which children will not. The purpose of the present study is to analyze the effect of a receptive language delay on the outcome of the slow expressive language delayed child, and determine whether or not it is a viable predictor of poor outcomes.

The subject information used in this project was compiled from the data collected and reported by Paul (1991) during the Portland …

John Rawls, Feminism, And The Gendered Self, Lori Kinder Macarthur

Dissertations and Theses

John Rawls's theory of justice, which he calls "justice as fairness," has proven to be most influential with regard to the course of contemporary political theory. In both of Rawls's books, A Theory of Justice and Political Liberalism, his aim was to present a theoretically-compelling defense of deontological liberalism, and to present a set of principles by which to fairly order a just society. While Rawls's project has attracted a fair number of proponents over the years, it has also been a popular target for liberal and nonliberal critics alike. A recurrent theme among these criticisms has been an objection …

Influence Of Heater Orientation On Fluctuations In Steady-State Nucleate Boiling, William F. Osborne

Dissertations and Theses

In observations of steady-state nucleate boiling, fluctuations in the temperature and heat flux might initially appear to be completely random. However, it was shown that, for a vertically mounted platinum wire in liquid nitrogen, the fluctuations about the steady-state exhibit an average counterclockwise circulation when the heat flux is plotted versus the superheat temperature. An area associated with the average circulation was proposed as a numerical measure of stability for steady-state nucleate boiling. The mechanisms for the generation of these fluctuations are thought to be the feedback of the bubbles rising past the wire and the differential heating and cooling …

Communicative Action As Feminist Epistemology, Todd Nathaniel Gilman

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis proposes that feminist social and political theory adopt the epistemology inherent in Jurgen Habermas's communicative ethics in order to more coherently work toward the goal of freeing individuals from social oppression. This thesis first examines the fundamental differences that exist between the particular claims for knowledge made by the three major schools of feminist theory; the empirical feminists, the standpoint feminists, and those allied with postmodernism. After illuminating the specifics of these feminist claims, the conception of knowledge central to Habermas's thought is explored and shown to be split into three distinct realms; the objective, the social, and …

Institutionalized Discrimination: Three Cases In The United States Military, Sarah H. Frost

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores institutionalized discrimination in the United States Military by examining the rationales given for policies that exclude, or limit the military service of racial minorities, women and homosexuals, and the rationales given for altering such policies. outgroups such as racial minorities, women and homosexuals are presumed to be a threat to the white male heterosexual majority within the military services. The presence of these outgroups in the military has been officially characterized as threatening to small-unit cohesion, and therefore threatening to military readiness. This thesis was first based upon the assumption that the rationales favoring discriminatory policies, and …

A Comparison Of High School Student And Adult Expectations Of Leader Behavior, Charles Edward Beyer

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the type of activity or type of role played within an activity influenced expectations of leader behavior. One-hundred forty-five adult leaders, student leaders, and student group members of high school basketball teams, bands, journalism staffs, and student government associations were surveyed regarding their expectations of ideal adult leaders, student leaders, and leaders in general across eight leadership constructs. Multivariate analysis of variance results suggest that the type of activity influences group expectations of adult activity leaders. Results also suggest that women expect more consideration from student leaders and leaders in general …

Intentions To Cooperate With Court Appointed Special Advocates (Casas) In Child Protective Proceedings: The Role Of Perceived Social Pressure In The Theory Of Planned Behavior, Yuko Sato Spofford

Dissertations and Theses

Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior with the addition of Perceived Moral Obligation was used to investigate the behavioral intentions of 65 caseworkers of the Children's Services Division (CSD) to cooperate with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) on cases involving abused or neglected children. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that the subjective norms and perceived moral obligation constructs were significant predictors of the three behavioral intention categories and of all three categories combined. The two constructs, however, seem to have a considerable amount of overlap, suggesting that they may be measuring what is broadly called "social pressure to perform/not to perform 11 …

The Health Belief Model As A Predictor Of Gynecological Exams: Does Sexual Orientation Matter?, Lynn Elizabeth Kunkel

Dissertations and Theses

Screening and early detection are essential for the management and control of most diseases. It is important for women to practice routine health care that includes both clinical and self examinations. Today, many women go without health care due to barriers which prevent them from obtaining adequate care. The present study was designed to investigate, using the Health Belief Model, whether there is a difference between heterosexual and lesbian women in obtaining gynecological exams. Responses from 23 8 participants, 70 heterosexuals and 168 lesbians, indicated that the Health Belief Model was a significant predictor of whether women complied with recommended …

School Attendance And Achievement In A Population Of Ecuadorian Underage Street Workers, Rossana Viteri

Dissertations and Theses

Underage street work is a social problem that is on the increase in Ecuador. Children, ages 5 to 17, wander through the streets in an attempt to make some money for their own survival or to help their families survive. The literature on underage street workers (USWs) reports that the working activities of these children impact their health and education. This study examined school attendance and achievement of USWs who are affiliated with an underage workers program in Ecuador. Using a quantitative methodology, the study looked at variations by location and age, with a special focus on gender issues, as …

Economic Development And Income Inequality: The Taiwan Case, Ju-Kuang Chang

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines income inequality in Taiwan from three perspectives: economic development, political democracy, and world-system/dependence. Education, population growth, population structure, unemployment, savings, and export growth are treated as variables. Below are the important conclusions.

Economic development has an effect on income inequality. The level of development is crucial. In the 1950s and 1960s, the relationship was significant, but in the next two decades economic development did not further decrease income inequality. Sector dualism was not a good predictor.

Democratization did not have an obvious relation with income inequality. But the stable political environment and the endeavors of government to …

Behavioral Differences In The Classroom: U.S. University Teachers And Chinese University Teachers, Xiaocheih Sun

Dissertations and Theses

Although intercultural scholars examine the differences in cultural values, beliefs, and attitudes between the U.S. and China, few specifically have studied cultural differences between U.S. and Chinese university classrooms. This study examines behavioral differences exhibited by U.S. teachers in U.S. university classrooms and Chinese teachers in Chinese university classrooms.

This research addresses three areas of significance. First, Chinese students studying in the U.S. who read this thesis may be better able to cope with the U.S. educational system and communicate more effectively with both U.S. students and teachers. Second, this research may help U.S. university teachers to better understand the …

An Assessment Of The Impact Of Intimate Victim-Offender Relationship On Sentencing In Serious Assault Cases, Laura J. Hickman

Dissertations and Theses

It is generally agreed that a criminal justice system reflects the values of the society within which it exists. The presence of patriarchal social values will likely affect the response of the criminal justice system to intimate violence. While the perpetration of violence against another is a violation of an important social norm, patriarchal values may function to discount the seriousness of such an act, if the violence is perpetrated by a man against his girlfriend or wife. This discount of seriousness may lead to less severe punishment for men who assault their intimates than to men who assault nonintimates. …

Gaining State Response On Global Environmental Problem-Solving: Developing A State-Centric Approach, Heather Macgregor Bothwell

Dissertations and Theses

This study focuses on identifying the conditions which encourage or discourage international cooperation with regard to environmental problem-solving. In particular, the divergence between two key international relations theories, Environmentalism and Realism, will be examined in hopes of forging a rapprochement and stimulating research for a comprehensive theoretical approach to global environmental problem-solving. It is hypothesized that a state-centric political system is both a reality and an effective structure for environmental problem-solving, therefore an examination of state participation and the motivators and inhibitors affecting state response on certain environmental issues is conducted. In particular, this study hypothesizes that uncertainty can act …

Independent Acoustic Stimulation Of The Amphibian And Basilar Papillae Of Rana Pipiens, Mark Parker

Dissertations and Theses

This study attempted to selectively stimulate and record from either the amphibian or basilar papillae of Rana pipiens. Computer-generated, frequency-specific clicks were used to elicit BSER's from either amphibian or basilar papillae. Narrowband noise fatiguers were presented in the frequency region of which each papillae are tuned. It was expected that a threshold shift would be elicited in the papillae that received the acoustic trauma, and that no threshold shift would be observed from the collateral papilla. The results of this experiment indicated that there was no overall difference between the threshold shift of either papilla. Furthermore, the amount of …

State Cooperation On Regulatory Policies For Transboundary Environmental Issues, Jennifer Lyn Pennell

Dissertations and Theses

This research analyzes three contributing factors, perception, knowledge, and affordability, in order to estimate the likelihood of state cooperation on effective regulatory policies for transboundary environmental problems. The correlative hypothesis in this research postulates that states are more likely to support environmental regulatory policies when the issue is perceived by policymakers as serious, substantiated by a high level of knowledge, and affordable for the state. Regulatory policies for transboundary environmental issues require policymakers to act in foresight, employ precautionary measures, and cooperate. Cooperation implies that states will coordinate their policies and eschew their dominant strategy of independent decision making. However, …

Indigent V. Non-Indigent Sex Offenders: An Analysis Of Sentencing In Clackamas, Multnomah And Washington Counties, Oregon, Dorelei Victoria Linder

Dissertations and Theses

The present paper is a descriptive study of sex offender sentencing in three Oregon counties in 1992. It examines the relationship between sentencing practices and indigent offenders. It focuses specifically on the question of offender indigent status and court ordered sex offender treatment. The study also provides information about the number of sex offenders in each of the three counties, how the offenders' sentences were determined by the courts through the use of the sentencing guidelines matrix, what type of plea was used, and what if any influence indigence had in the sentencing outcomes for the felony sex off enders …

Dialogue And Critical Thinking In Personal Action, Amanda Elizabeth Feller

Dissertations and Theses

A common criticism of U.S. citizens today, whether as voters or students or workers, is that they are "lazy and apathetic". It is important to explore the validity of this criticism. This thesis begins with the premise that there are two prerequisites for citizenship in a democracy: (1) that citizens be willing to participate and (2) that citizens are able to participate.

The purpose of this research is to examine a particular set of perspectives regarding social conditions which consistently impact the two aforementioned prerequisites. This examination addresses social conditions that undermine a person's ability to participate meaningfully and it …

North Vs. South: Sovereign Equality And The Environment In The Twentieth Century, Thomas Schlesinger

Dissertations and Theses

Although Third World states lack military and economic strength, they still are able to exert considerable influence on certain international issues. The proliferation of small states following World War II, coupled with the twentieth century acceptance of the norm of sovereign equality, has enabled the weak states of the international system to challenge the order established by the strong. While Third World nations are weak according to traditional measures of power, sovereign equality and bloc voting by the small states, have accorded a type of "conditional" power to the South. This conditional power is augmented by the advent of a …

An Exploration Of Theoretical Issues Related To Mediation Found In The Social Science Literature, Cheryl E. Nally

Dissertations and Theses

Mediation is a problem-solving approach to conflict management that is used more and more in virtually every context in which conflicts arise. This paper explores the wide range of meaning for the term 'mediation' as found in the social science literature and examines the question of what processes can properly be called mediation. It surveys the literature related to numerous theories of mediation and examines the meaning of the term as established in its various contexts.

The mediation literature can be divided into the following contexts: public sector or court connected mediation, divorce mediation, international mediation, environmental mediation, community mediation, …

The Effects Of A Realistic Job Preview On An Applicant's Ability To Self-Select Into Organizations, Melissa Lynn Burton

Dissertations and Theses

In typical selection processes organizations gather information about an applicant. Rarely, however, do applicants collect equal information about the job or organization. This unequal exchange can inhibit an applicant's participation in the selection process. Studies have shown that realistic job previews (RJPs) positively influence applicants' job expectations, job satisfaction, turnover, self-selection, etc. Applicant self-selection can benefit both the organization and the applicant in terms of time, money, and energy required during the selection process and after organizational entry.

The purpose of the present study was to explore the relationship between RJPs and self-selection. The study assessed the influence of a …

A Correlational Study: The 1-Minute Measure Of Homonymy And Intelligibility, Tamra Leanne Day

Dissertations and Theses

Identifying the severity level of unintelligibility objectively and efficiently holds critical clinical implications for speech assessment and intervention needs. The speech of children who demonstrate phonological deviations is frequently unintelligible. The use of an accurate and time-efficient measurement of intelligibility is necessary to screen children who may be producing phonological patterns that contribute to significantly reduced intelligibility in connected speech.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree of concurrent validity between scores received on the 1-Minute Measure of Homonymy and Intelligibility (Hodson, 1992) and speech intelligibility as measured by the percent of words understood in connected speech. …

The Effect Of Psychological Gender And Self-Monitoring On Leader Emergence And Leader Behavior, Janet Day Goldsmith

Dissertations and Theses

Leadership has traditionally been associated with masculine sex-type characteristics. Feminine characteristics have been undervalued or even viewed as a liability. One result of this is a diminished number of women in leadership roles.

Masculine sex-typed characteristics, such as self-reliance, assertiveness and analysis are associated with task-oriented behavior or a production emphasis. However, organizational research has shown that the most effective leaders engage in not only task-oriented behavior but also relationship-oriented behavior. Consideration for employees, or relationship-oriented behavior, has been associated with feminine sex-type characteristics (e.g., compassionate, loyal, and understanding). Thus research indicates that, contrary to popular belief, an individual who …

The Origins Of Caring: A Study Of The Development Of Coding Categories For Prosocial Behaviors In Very Young Children, Mark W. Schuster

Dissertations and Theses

There has a great deal of research regarding the positive social (prosocial) behaviors of young children. Children have been observed performing a number of different prosocial behaviors, including helping, showing, sharing, and responding to the distress of another. However, most of the previous research was conducted in laboratory settings. In order to describe the first manifestations of prosocial behaviors more accurately, research needs to be conducted in a natural setting. The purpose of the current study was to observe the origins of the prosocial behaviors of young children in a child development center. To accomplish this goal, a research team …

Clinical Application Of Two Phonological-Based Treatment Approaches, Holly Kiesz Royer

Dissertations and Theses

This single-subject study was designed to compare the effectiveness of two phonological-based treatment approaches with a preschool male with unintelligible speech characterized by multiple deficient phonological patterns. Four phonological patterns were chosen as targets based on results of the Assessment of Phonological ProcessesRevised (APP-R), as analyzed by the Computer Analysis of Phonological Deviation (CAPO). The subject participated in 60-minute intervention sessions three times a week over an 8-week period. The phonological cycling approach was the focus of 4 weeks of intervention, and the minimal pairs approach was the focus of 4 weeks of intervention. Remediation programs were alternated every 2 …