Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Councils Of Governments: A Study Focusing On Membership, Representation And Voting, Jerry Alan Matson

Dissertations and Theses

The Council of Governments is a significant new approach to metropolitan cooperation. Of the approximately 150 councils (as of January, 1970), all but 14 have been established since 1965. Councils across the country are characterized by great variety in organization and representation. This paper examines this complexity, particularly in terms of membership, representation and voting.

The first chapter is primarily a short history of the council movement and the forces which have helped to shape its development. The second examines the variety of council functions, organizational structures and financial arrangements.

Chapters III, IV and V are devoted to a detailed …

The European Powers In Africa: Can The Obstacles To National Unity Be Attributed To Them? Nigeria, A Test Case, Bassey John Ituen

Dissertations and Theses

During the latter part of the nineteenth century, European powers acquired large territorial areas in Africa. These territories ignored the boundaries of old African tribal kingdoms and the African modes of life, because the new countries were to serve as 'common market' areas supplying Europe with the wealth of the tropics. Nigeria is an example of the new superstructure which in operation fails to become a homogeneous entity after the assumption of political power by the Africans. There are problems of existing tribal kingdoms, of geographic distribution of ethnic groups and of traditional values. The British colonization of Nigeria also …

The Effect Of Perceptual-Motor Training On Maladaptive Behaviors Of Emotionally Disturbed Children, Julia Frances Hall

Dissertations and Theses

Twenty emotionally disturbed children between the ages of six and twelve from three agencies providing special treatment for behavioral or emotional problems were the subjects for this study. The subjects were divided into two major diagnostic categories, withdrawn and acing out, and then matched in pairs by age and diagnosis. One half of each pair was randomly assigned to the experimental condition and the remaining halves were assigned to the control condition. Both the experimental and control groups contained five withdrawn and five acting out subjects. Four experimenters were used, and each experimenter worked with two or four experimental children …

A Demographic Study Based Upon Income, Age And Education Variables As Related To The Willingness Or Unwillingness To Accept Foster Children, John Hughes, Linda A. Kaeser, Susan E. Norman, Lillian Rinderknecht, John Wills

Dissertations and Theses

The research problem in this thesis can be briefly stated as a study of a general population to test certain demographic variables, in particular those of income, age and education, which may or may not have a significant relationship to an expressed willingness to care for foster children; and to further examine whether certain special characteristics of a child, in particular those of increased age, physical handicap, minor emotional problems or mental retardation, further increase unwillingness to care for foster children.

The sample was selected by a two- stage cluster sampling taken from the Southeast catchment area of metropolitan Portland, …

Post-Divorce Visitation Of Minor Children; An Exploratory Study, Barbara Griffith, Gladys Hack, Eileen Murphy, Allison Wieman, Adam Williams, Earl Vanlydegraf, Vincent Glaudin

Dissertations and Theses

ORS 107.100 gives the court broad powers to secure the "best interests" of minor children as third parties to a divorce. Further, the Oregon Supreme Court has ruled in Tingen vs. Tingen that the best interests of a minor child involve a complex constellation of factors pertaining to the parents, the environment, and the adjustment of the child. It has been assumed in case law that "reasonable visitation" of the minor child by the non-custodial parent is usually in the best interests of the child and is a right" of the non-custodial parent.

Most judges order reasonable visitation as part …

Factors In Evaluation Of Student Performance In A Graduate School Of Social Work, Sharon J. Copeland, Gerald E. Warner

Dissertations and Theses

This study refined the criteria for the measurement of graduate student performance in a school of social work.

By using present criteria from other studies and general student performance criteria from school brochures a questionnaire was constructed. This questionnaire was administered to a. sample of students, faculty and field instructors from Portland State University School of Social Work. The data from the completed questionnaires were then processed by computer to determine the means, standard deviations of the items, and the correlations between items and between raters.

Through the computed correlations, means, and standard deviations the acceptability and reliability of the …

Changing The Custody Of Children Whose Parents Have Been Divorced: A General View Of The Process, Dorothy E. Bateman, Michael A. Comte, Kathryn S. Curry, Robert M. Fry, Patricia J. Sims, Elva J. Terry

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this project was to obtain a preliminary description, through study of the legal files, of that group of persons who appear before the Court of Domestic Relations for a reconsideration of the custody decision made initially, at the time of divorce. A sample of 92 cases heard in Multnomah County in 1965 was obtained.

A survey of the literature revealed that much of what has been written on the subject of divorce and custody is primarily from a statistical or legalistic standpoint and very little bears directly on the granting or obtaining of custody or the problems …

An Empirical Study Of The Effect Of Systematic Relaxation Training Of Chronically-Anxious Subjects On The Communication Variable Of Closed-Mindedness, La Ray M. Barna

Dissertations and Theses

This is a study of whether an attempt to reduce the trait of high tension-anxiety by means of systematic neuro-musculature relaxation training will result in a decrease of the communication variable of closed-mindedness.

A general review of the literature showed that the problem of tension-anxiety is complex, pervasive, and detrimental to effective communication. First, an attempt is made to bring relevant information to the field of general speech by citing a few findings from the research of other disciplines concerning the nature and effects of tension-anxiety. Currently-used methods of anxiety reduction are mentioned, and one, neuro-musculature relaxation training, discussed as …

An Analysis Of Geographical Concepts And Characteristics Of Maps In Selected Textbooks, Helen Elizabeth Wittke

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of the thesis was to examine the extent to which geography is integrated into history courses. This was done through analyses of the maps in eighth and tenth grade history books. Every map in each book was tabulated according to its purpose, characteristics, and cartographic techniques. The statistics which were gathered from these tabulations were then used as a basis for percentages of the maps devoted to various purposes. In addition to this, twenty-five maps were analyzed in detail, with an examination not only of the map, but of the accompanying text, and the method in which the …

Factors In Assessing Effectiveness Of Orientation Programs For Public Welfare Caseworkers, Clyde Ferguson

Dissertations and Theses

A study done in 1968-1969 by students at Portland State University School of Social Work at the request of the Oregon State Public Welfare Commission Staff Development Division sought to devise an instrument for assessing the effectiveness of teaching the casework principles of Felix P. Biestek to casework trainees in the public welfare's orientation program. The test instrument developed was found to have low, but acceptable, internal reliability.

Building on the previous year's work, this 1969-1970 study sought to determine the validity of the test instrument by relating test scores to two measures of job performance, namely the latest supervisory …

Attitudes Of Youth Toward Social Institutions: A Comparative Study, Connie Mcgonigle, James F. Bakke

Dissertations and Theses

In August, 1968, after a series of confrontations in the city parks between young dissidents and the police, the Mayor of Portland called upon the Metropolitan Youth Commission to form a special study committee to explore the areas of conflict and to recommend ways in which municipal government might constructively respond to the young people in the community. The independent research project on the alienation of youth, the results of which are reported here, was an outgrowth of the interest generated by the request from the Office of the Mayor. Under the auspices of the Metropolitan Youth Commission (MYC), a …