Sociology Commons^™

Psychological Models And The Stock Of Knowledge, David L. Sones

Dissertations and Theses

The research sought to ascertain whether or not psychological ideas and notions ("psychological models") are used to explain human behavior and human characteristics in everyday life, and if so, are these psychological models similar to the schools of thought within the field of psychology? Also of interest was whether or not "statistical categories" use psychological models as a "style of thought," and if so, are psychological models part of the current American Weltanschauungen? The convenience sample consisted of 34 respondents who were taking an introductory sociology course, and 39 respondents from non-college settings. An open-ended questionnaire containing 13 questions asking …

Urban Native American Educational Attitudes: Impact Of Educational Background And Childhood Residency, Paul Adair Wood

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to study the relationship between educational attitudes and certain background features of Native Americans, in particular, where they were raised and what type of school they attended. The sample used consisted of 120 completed mail out-mail back surveys that were used primarily as a Needs Assessment for the Portland Indian Health clinic. The sample was randomly selected from the Portland Indian Health Clinic client/patient mailing list. The findings of this thesis indicate that the attitudes of Native Americans toward education in general are positive. The findings also indicate that older Native Americans who experienced …

Soviet Pentecostal Refugees' Health And Their Religious Beliefs: An Exploratory Study, Dianne Fae Venable

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explored the health practices and religious beliefs of the recent Soviet Pentecostal refugee population in the Portland, Oregon metro area. The methodology consisted of 25 in-depth interviews over a period of twelve months. Soviet Pentecostal refugees' health practices are influenced by their religious belief system which is Pentecostalism. The four primary factors that were found to have an affect on the refugees' health were lifestyle practices; coherence; or the meaning of suffering that religion provides; cohesiveness, or group belonging to the religious community, and world view provided by the underlying theology. The language barrier, distrust of outsiders, unfamiliarity …

Factors Affecting The Repatriation Of The Afghan Refugees, Todd Trowbridge Ames

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the factors affecting the repatriation of Afghan refugees living in Pakistan, by using data collected in these refugee camps, during the Fall of 1988.

An Examination Of Moral Boundaries Associated With Legal And Social Changes In Response To The Aids Epidemic, Lauri Sue Johnson

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores the relationship between law and society and various forms of causality: (1) legal change leading to social change; (2) social change leading to legal change; and (3) the interdependent interaction between social change and legal change. It is proposed that a multi-directional approach would be the most useful in examining the moral boundaries exemplified in the law identified with legal and social changes that have resulted in response to the AIDS epidemic.

Battle For The Boulevard, Patricia Luann Antoine

Dissertations and Theses

This study explored the nature of community power and decision-making surrounding the renaming of Portland's Union Avenue in honor of the slain civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr. Employing an integrated theoretical framework based on G. William Domhoff's (1967) perspective of the compatibility of C. Wright Mills' Power Elite Model (1956) and Robert A. Dahl's Pluralist Model (1961) plus Claude S. Fischer's (1982) perspective on the nature of the urban social environment, this study attempted to provide insight into and understanding of the dynamics involved in the controversy that developed over the efforts to rename a street for Dr. …

Hegemony In Two Mainstream Oregon Newspapers: The War On Poverty Era Vs. The Post-Reagan Era, Marcia R. Hood-Brown

Dissertations and Theses

In my research I use qualitative content analysis to determine if and how the hegemony of the capitalist class in the United States influences the content of news texts on poverty. I analyze messages from two contrasting historical eras, the War on Poverty era and the post-Reagan era.

A Cycle Of Crisis And Violence : The Oregon State Penitentiary, 1866-1968, Joseph Willard Laythe

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines seven crises at the Oregon State Penitentiary between 1866 and 1968 which are symptomatic of a larger pathology of power at play at the institution. These prison crises brought the pathology of power out from behind the thick grey walls of the institution and to the eyes and ears of an uninformed public. This arousal of such attention forced the prison to re-evaluate its penal model, enact half-hearted reforms, but then resume to the institution's traditional pattern and style of punishment. This inability to address the crises or resolve the immediate problem points to a larger problem--namely …

Effects Of Parents' Health Attitudes And Beliefs On Children's Preventive Care Utilization, Weiming Hu

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis was designed to test the relationship between parents' health attitudes and beliefs and utilization of preventive health services of their children. Four measures of health attitudes and beliefs (HAB) were examined in this study, they were: 1) Interest in and concern with health; 2) Skepticism about physicians; 3) Tendency to consult physicians; and 4) Efficacy. Preventive care utilization included well-child care and immunization.

"Staying" And "Straying" : Social Reproduction And Resistance To Secularization, Lisa Graham Mcminn

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores how church-founded liberal arts colleges--specifically fundamental/evangelical liberal arts colleges--stayed the drift toward secularization. It uses comparative case studies to examine the structures and beliefs which enabled "staying" schools to resist secularization. Social reproduction theories are used to explain both the reproduction of the dominant culture (secularization) and the reproduction of a subculture (fundamentalism/evangelicalism). Secularizing institutions conform to state incentives and so reproduce what the state sees as necessary for societal survival. Resisting institutions isolate themselves from the dominant culture by establishing boundaries which let in only what accords with the church and so reproduce a culture the …

Adult Student Perceptions Of Traditionally Sex-Typed Toys, Shelly Lynn Jackson

Dissertations and Theses

studies have examined children's toy preferences as they relate to sex-role development. However, studies have failed to examine the dimensions of the toys themselves. Because adults purchase the majority of toys children receive, this study sought to determine adult student perceptions of children's traditionally sex-typed toys. Eighty-one participants rated ten selected toys. Multidimensional scaling analysis revealed five underlying dimensions. The five dimensions included Productive Play, Sociability, Structure, Gender, and Age. It was discovered that the Gender dimension was less salient than both the Productive Play and Sociability dimensions. The dimensions pertaining to each toy are discussed.

The Effect Of Urbanization And Modernization On Family Structure In Oman, Sultan M. Al-Hashmi

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis was designed to describe family change in Oman as it undergoes urbanization and modernization. A survey questionnaire to measure these changes was developed. Some questions were developed in two forms for a comparison of family change across two generations. Respondents were asked to answer the questions as they applied to their current family situation. They were then asked to consider, according to their best recollections, what the situation was in their parents' generation.

The Effects Of Negligence And Causation Information On Jurors' Determination Of Liability, David K. Blanchard

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigated the effect of arguments for and against defendant's behavior being negligent and for and against defendant's behavior being a cause of damages to the plaintiff. The findings were (a) that negligence arguments affected negligence ratings, causation ratings, and verdicts and (b) that causation arguments affected none of the measures.

One Woman, One Child : The Implications Of The One-Child-Family Policy For Chinese Women, Tao Shi

Dissertations and Theses

Since few studies have explicitly focused on the impact of China's one-child-family policy on Chinese women, this thesis is designed to explore this aspect. The implication of the policy for both urban and rural women is studied, particularly its influence on women's fertility behavior, labor roles, and on social, health and family status. The focus of the study is to explore the changes of women's lives associated with the one-child-family policy, and advantages and disadvantages, even contradictions the policy has brought to women's lives.

The Spatial Patterning Of Residential Differentiation In Metropolitan Community : The Case Of Kaohsiung City In Taiwan, 1982, Chih-Jen Chen

Dissertations and Theses

The urban growth process produces a complex socio-geographic division of labor among the component parts of the urban community. During this process, each subarea of the community differentiates from the other parts in its physical and demographic characteristics, becomes specialized functionally and structurally. The spatial patterning of the urban community is the result of this differentiation process.

The Relationship Between Internal Organizational Conflict, Authority Structure, And The Social Environment, Mary Ann Barham

Dissertations and Theses

This research seeks to answer the following questions: Do feminist organizations have more internal conflicts than other organizations? And, if so, why?

Columbia Villa Recycling Project: Final Report, Gerald F. Blake, Lynne Storz

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

In 1983, the Oregon legislature enacted the nation's first recycling bill. The bill called for a state-wide curbside recycling program in communities of 4,000 and over, aimed at reducing the volume of waste going to landfills and increasing participation in recycling. In the Portland area, the curbside recycling effort has focused primarily on single-family residences, while multifamily dwellings, including apartment buildings and condominiums, have received less attention. One of the most serious problems confronting Portland's recycling efforts is gaining the cooperation of apartment building owners, managers, and tenants to participate in source separation and recycling.

Portland also has an unacceptably …

City Of Portland Multi-Family Recycling Program: Final Report, Gerald F. Blake, Lynne Storz

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

This report examines the Multi-Family Recycling Program sponsored by the City's Bureau of Environmental Services (BES), and operated by Portland State University's Recycling Education Project (REP). The program operated from July 1, 1989 to June 30, 1990. The purpose of the program was to implement a pilot recycling program that addressed the unique needs of apartment and condominium dwellers. The effort involved establishing recycling systems in 200 multi-family buildings. The program used a multi-materials approach that included separating newspaper, clear, green, and brown glass, tin, aluminum, and cardboard.

The pilot program was undertaken to further the City's and Metro's solid …

City Of Beaverton, Multi-Family Recycling Program, Gerald F. Blake, Lynne Storz, Tamara Roth

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

This report examines the Multi-Family Recycling Program sponsored by the City of Beaverton and operated by Portland State University's Recycling Education Project (REP). The program operated from July 1, 1989 to June 30, 1990. The purpose of the program was to implement a pilot recycling program that addressed the unique needs of apartment and condominium dwellers. The effort involved establishing 30 recycling systems in multi-family buildings. The program used a multi-materials approach that included separating newspaper, clear, green, and brown glass, tin, aluminum, and cardboard.

The pilot program was undertaken to further the City's and Metro's solid waste reduction goals, …

The Duration Of Tinnitus In An Aging Population, Mary Engel

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the perceived severity of chronic tinnitus in a geriatric population increased, decreased, or remained constant with the passage of time. A questionnaire was designed to ascertain the subjects' perceived severity at time of onset and the perceived severity of their current tinnitus. The subjects were asked to rate their past and present tinnitus severity according to how much it bothered them. They were also asked questions pertaining to noise exposure history, hearing aid use, and tinnitus sound parameters for purposes of comparison with other groups previously studied.

Social Support For The Frail Elderly At Two Kinds Of Retirement Communities, Qiaoming Liu

Dissertations and Theses

As few studies focus explicitly on social support for residents by residents in retirement communities which have staff, this thesis is designed to explore the nature of informal social support among residents at planned, non-subsidized retirement care facilities: the types, the amount, the impact, the limitation and the appropriateness of such support. Our focus is to explore whether different organization of a retirement community affects social support among residents, so we compare two retirement care facilities. One provides single-level care for its residents and the other provides multiple-level care. We chose our two sites from retirement care facilities in the …

Blockmodeling Network Data From Six Small Towns: An Assessment Of Organizational Typologies, Peter J. Collier

Dissertations and Theses

A major question in the study of complex organizations is whether it is possible to develop a useful taxonomy which identifies the crucial aspects of organizations and classifies them in a significant manner. One group of typologies of complex organizations focuses on the relationship between the organization and its environment. The purpose of this thesis is to test the validity of three existing typologies of complex organizations, each of which focuses on one aspect of the relationship between organizations and their environment. The major innovation in this research is the use of block modeling, a form of network methodology, to …

The Degree Of Assimilation Of The Second And Third Generation Of Japanese Americans In The Portland Area, Hisako Matsuo

Dissertations and Theses

Japanese Americans have been identified as one of the most successful minority groups in the United States of America because of their achievement of high socioeconomic status. This study focuses on the degree and process of assimilation of Japanese Americans in this country in order to reconsider multiple assimilation theories of minority groups. Three questions were raised: 1) the extent to which both the second and third generation of Japanese Americans are assimilated into American society; 2) how far the third generation is assimilated compared to the second generation; and 3) what the identity of the second and third generation …

An Estimation Of Relatedness Within Two Oregon Populations Using Isonymy Analysis, Maria Michalczyk

Dissertations and Theses

The study of human relatedness has long interested the population geneticist. One technique for the estimation of population relatedness is the use of isonymy analysis. The isonymy inbreeding coefficient is analogous to Wright's inbreeding coefficient F. Isonomy analysis can yield comparable results to population studies done by other means such as pedigree analysis, serological studies, and anthropometric analysis.

The data used for this study was obtained from marriage records and telephone directories. Same last name marriages were observed for legitimacy and recorded when verified. A pool of last names were drawn from the marriage records. This list was used to …

Social Construction Of Sexual Equality In Distilled Beverage Advertising, Kathleen Dianne Lecoe-Cannucci

Dissertations and Theses

One aspect of the role of advertising in the process of maintaining and reinforcing or challenging the socially constructed worlds of maleness and femaleness, and especially the portrayal of the "woman's place," was explored in this study.

Sex Role Traits And Psychological Merger In Lesbian Relationships, Susan G. Dahlstrom

Dissertations and Theses

Much of the literature on lesbian relationships links the positive feminine relational trait (intimacy or communion) with problems of psychological merger (Burch, 1982, 1985; Decker, 1984; Elise, 1986; Krestan and Bepko, 1980). Karpel (1976), describes psychological merger as a person's "state of ernbeddedness in and undifferentiation within, the relational context" (p. 67) . This study explores the femininity/masculinity sex role traits as they relate to psychological merger in lesbian couples.

Thirty-eight lesbian couples were recruited through friendship and acquaintance networks, newsletter announcements and direct solicitation of members of the Portland Lesbian Community Project (LCP). Couples had to have been living …

Reading Comprehension In Dementia Of The Alzheimer's Type : Factual Versus Inferential, Donna Jensen Graville

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the reading comprehension abilities of those with mild and moderate dementia of the Alzheimer's type (DAT) and compare their performance to that of a sample of non-demented elderly. Thirty-eight male subjects were used, 20 non-demented elderly, nine mild DAT and nine moderate DAT. All were administered level B of the NRST. This test contains questions requiring three levels of inference: literal, translational, and high-level inference.

Eating Disorders: The Correlation Of Family Relationships With An Eating Disorder Continuum, Jana Schweitzer

Dissertations and Theses

For the purposes of this study, eating disturbances were placed on a continuum ranging from disordered to normal, and family factors were examined via this framework. Research on anorectics and bulimics indicates that a variety of family variables contribute to the etiology of eating disorders. Research suggests the presence of a subgroup of persons who experience some disturbance in their relationships with food but not to the severity observed among eating disordered individuals. This study examined the relationship between family factors and eating disturbances.

Occupational Patterns Of Three Generations Of Taishan Chinese : A Reconsideration Of Middleman Minority Theory, Wei Wei Lou

Dissertations and Theses

Middleman minority theory explains why certain minorities in America have made impressive socioeconomic achievements. It is found that their occupational patterns play an important role in their socioeconomic success. Middleman minorities usually concentrate in certain occupations and dominate these occupations. The term "middleman" indicates that such ethnic minorities are functioning as middleman between lower and upper class, customer and producer in the host society.

The three preconditions through which middleman minorities get into these occupations are cultural, contextual and situational variables.

The cultural variables concern mainly the homeland of the minorities, the value system of their native culture, and the …

Friendship Between Women: The Influence Of Incest, Laurie Lockert

Dissertations and Theses

This study focused on the mother/daughter relationship in father/daughter incest and how that relationship influences women's friendships with other women. Many researchers have concluded that females who were sexually abused by male authority figures, i.e., father, step-father, grandfather, older brother, minister, babysitter, will have impaired relationships with men. Clinicians surmise that the enormous betrayal of trust involved in the incest leads the child to generalize from her experience with one male to all males. Victims express feelings of distrust, fear of intimacy, and fear of personal expression in all male/female relationships. Studies suggest that in families where father/daughter incest has …