Sociology Commons^™

The Relationship Between Self-Concept And Responses Of Others During A Marital Crisis, Kathryn Ann Farr

Dissertations and Theses

Symbolic interaction theory indicates that an individual's self-concept is related to the way in which the individual perceives others as responding to him/her. Although this theory is widely accepted in social psychology, it has been given little empirical attention. In this study a typological model was developed in an empirical examination of the relationship between self-concept and responses of others during marital crisis. Self-concept was defined as the organization of qualities (roles, social-psychological feelings) that an individual assigns to himself/herself. Kind of qualities were described, and social-psychological feelings about self were examined on a positive to negative continuum. Responses of …

A Descriptive Study Regarding Perceptions Of Sex Roles In Cooperative Households, Emily Fultz, Billie Huntwork

Dissertations and Theses

The roles of men and women are among the many elements of contemporary American society which are in a process of rapid and sometimes disruptive change. The more or less traditional ways in which men and women have viewed themselves and each other are being openly challenged by a number of significant factors. Although there have always been those exceptional persons who questioned the inevitability of seemingly given role differentiation, today's social climate makes such questioning more common and acceptable.

A few specific factors may be mentioned as being particular interest. With modern communication and mobility, the options for varied …

What Indians Think An Indian Is : A Study Of Personal And Educational Attitudes, Susan W. Oliver, Christine L. Peterson

Dissertations and Theses

This study, was conducted with four Indian groups: three of Portland and one in Whiteriver, Arizona. The purpose of the study was to identify attitudes about Indian identity and education through the use of a questionnaire on Indian stereotypes. Each group was unique in it’s response. Members of each group all had a different frame of reference for “who an Indian is.” Therefore, a conclusion could not be drawn because of the differences in attitudes between all four Indian groups.

Maturity Of Adolescent Unwed Mothers, Sarah L. Claiborne

Dissertations and Theses

Adolescence traditionally has been recognized and accepted as a period of exploration of an occasional rebellion against the adult world. Explorations are viewed by behavioral scientists as a quest for identity expansion, and as such, a necessary phase for attaining maturity. Several tasks have been identified which each adolescent must complete if he is to reach maturity. For the present these tasks can be summarized as character formation, attainment of sexual identity, establishment of mature relationships and emancipation from parental control.

Society's attitude towards the rebellion and exploitation of youth is mixed. This confusion seems related to a general breakdown …

Interaction Patterns In The Campground, Dennis Lee Rockwood

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this project was to examine interaction patterns in various campground settings and to elaborate on camping literature which has suggested that the campground is a social event with high rates of interaction. In exploring this phenomenon, this report utilized observational techniques to document the temporal, spatial, familiarity, numerical, and behavioral dimensions of the observed interactions.

The data suggested that young adults and middle-aged persons were observed to be involved in, and initiated the highest proportions of, interactions. In general, males displayed far greater proportions of initiations than females. The highly developed campground exhibited higher proportions and rates …

Knowledge And Use Of Social Services In Gervais, Oregon, Elizabeth Lewis, Abby Maier, Lajuana J. Morton

Dissertations and Theses

During first year field placement, we worked with a number of rural families, most of them Mexican-American. It seemed to us that rural families in general and Mexican-Americans in particular were not being very well served by social service agencies. We questioned whether this might be due to a lack of Mexican-American perspective in traditional services or perhaps a lack of Mexican-American manpower or at least Spanish-speaking manpower.

This study, then, developed out of a general area of interest that can be stated as three questions: (1) Do rural people (especially Mexican-Americans) feel there is a need for various social …

Social Action As Social Change Through A Process Of Insulation, Leonard Siegfred Nelson

Dissertations and Theses

This study has attempted to investigate the radical change in the Greater Portland Council of Churches’ (GPCC’s) organizational goals and actions--from its relative uninvolvement over to its preoccupation with local social, political and economic issues. In the past, classical sociological theory of religion has placed great emphasis on religion’s integrative, or conservative functions in society. Empirical studies have documented the conservative socio-political views of the majority of Protestant parishioners. Knowing this, I expected to find a significant conservative reaction swelling up from the lay parishioners of the GPCC's member congregations. A preliminary investigation revealed this assumption to be invalid. The …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Attitudes Toward Woman's Roles And Career Choices Of Women Graduate Students, Barbara Backstrand

Dissertations and Theses

The purposes of the present study were to explore how American college women view their roles and whether or not women who choose not-traditional-for-women (NTW) careers have more or less social support from significant others for that choice than women who choose traditional-for-women (TW) careers. A related question asked whether aspects of a woman's personal history predict her role attitudes and behavior as an adult.

An Analysis Of The Mental Health Services Available To The Elderly Within Oregon: Using Multnomah County As A Special Case Study Area, Joan Nadine Hoss

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to identify the mental health services available to the elderly residents of Oregon, and to assess the effectiveness of these services in providing mental health treatment to elderly persons.

In order to reasonably narrow the scope of this study, the investigation of mental health services was limited primarily to those agencies which are publicly funded and controlled by state or local bodies. In addition, Multnomah County was selected as a case study area in order to further narrow the scope of the study. Multnomah County was selected because of the convenience of its geographical …

A Study Of Ambulance Transportation In Relation To Public Welfare Policy, Gary Jules Lutz

Dissertations and Theses

This study examines the Public Welfare Medical Transportation Program with particular focus on ambulance transportation. It addresses the problems Public Welfare has in funding and administrating the program, looks at the components of the larger emergency medical care system and its relationship to Public Welfare, studies who, how, and why this service is being delivered, and makes recommendations for policy revision in respect to the larger emergency medical care system.

Some Correlates Of Morale Among Nursing Home Residents, Gail Olmsted Sydnor, Patricia Mears Wold

Dissertations and Theses

This is a study of twenty-six patients aged sixty years and over residing in a nursing care facility in Portland, Oregon in the fall of 1973, which explores the relationship of their morale and selected environmental and social factors.

There are three major aims of the study. The first is to measure variances in morale states as experienced and reported by the respondents. The second aim is to determine how a given set of factors correlate with the self-reported morale of each of the respondents. Selected for consideration are 1) attitudes: expectations upon entering the home and choice, comparison of …

Designing And Evaluating Workshop "Bridges": A Training Project To Upgrade Social Services In Long Term Care Facilities, Corrine C. Williams

Dissertations and Theses

Early in the fall of 1973, the Oregon Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) decided to sponsor a statewide training project in cooperation with seven chapters in other Department of Health, Education and Welfare (DHEW) regions across the United States. These workshops were to comprise Stage I of a two-stage plan; they were to serve as demonstration projects. Their planning, implementation and evaluation were to be seriously reviewed and studied afterword in an attempt to devise a model, or models, for Stage II, when a great number of such workshops would be held across the nation. The …

Two Delivery System Contexts For The Elderly:The "Institutional" Approach And The "Community" Approach., Mary Sarita Freer

Dissertations and Theses

Theoretically every society has some institutional means which seeks to prevent and alleviate personal misfortune and illness "Institutions are standardized solutions to collective problems." The increasing population rate of older persons, many of whom suffer from chronic diseases and disabilities, does pose a collective problem for society. Formerly, the "institutional" approach developed to address the needs of chronic aging patients and society. Today the "community" approach, by which community service agencies whose goal is to help older adults remain independent of total institutional care by supplying supportive services, is achieving recognition .

This thesis is an exploratory study to assess …

Between Words And Actions: The Problem Of Motivation In Symbolic Interactionism, Robert Scott Broadhead

Dissertations and Theses

The development of a theory of motivation in symbolic interactionism is traced, with particular reference to the work of G.H. Mead, Kenneth Burke, C.W. Mills, Nelson Foote, and Ernest Becker. Specific attention is focused on comparing the original theoretical assumptions of particularly Mead and Burke to the varying formulations of the problems of motivation that were later developed by symbolic interactionists. Specifically, it is argued that, primarily due to Burke's analysis, the traditional practice of deterministically explaining human action as being the result of variously imagined motives "in" people is, in fact, no explanation at all but simply a variety …

Personality Correlates Of Interpersonal Perception In A Residential Treatment Center For Adolescent Girls, Raymond Paul Micciche, Terrell Lynn Eheler

Dissertations and Theses

While men do indeed construct self-validating and often peculiar interpretations of the realities of their world the simple fact that these views become consensually shared doctrines of experience does not protect them from the revisionism of historical scrutiny. These perceptions of the world become retrospectively altered as developing bodies of knowledge reject them as being clearly deceptive or anachronistic. The concept of psychopathology, distinguished historically under many rubrics, has not been immune to these same processes of modification, nor has it ever been free of the diverse irrationalities which men of all ages have constructed to explain the etiology and …

Postcensal Population Estimates For Oregon Counties: An Evaluation Of Selected Methods, Guy Jeffrey Barnes

Dissertations and Theses

This study evaluates the results of three widely used methods for preparing postcensa estimates of counties. The methods are Census Bureau’s Component Method II, the Ratio Correlation Method and the Bogue-Duncan Composite Method. Hypotheses based upon empirical generalizations from previous comparative studies are tested. Statistical tools used are Average Percent Deviation (without regard to sign) and Standard Deviation of Percent Errors. Directional bias and frequency of extreme error are also examined. Evaluations are conducted of the accuracy of the estimates for groups of counties stratified in terms of density and growth rate dimensions. With few exceptions, Ratio Correlation produces consistently …

Continuity Of A Traditional Social Pattern: The "Man-Patron" Relationship In Contemporary Northeast Brazil, Patricia Ellen Thorpe

Dissertations and Theses

Northeast Brazil is a region characterized by economic poverty and human misery. Poor ecological conditions contribute to the nature of the dilemma, but another factor in the apparent cultural stagnation of the Northeast, may be the persistence of values and social practices traditionally aligned with the colonial sugar plantation system. Thus, this thesis represents an examination of the continuity of a given pattern, the man/patron relationship. This pattern is a contemporary parallel to the master/slave relationship which was the key to understanding of the social system of the colonial period. An historical overview reveals the nature of the traditional system, …

Black Studies As An Agent Of Social Change On The Structural Level At Selected Colleges And Universities, Vincent Van Davis

Dissertations and Theses

In a relatively short period of time American higher education has witnessed the development of numerous black studies programs and departments. These new academic endeavors have been instrumental in producing structural changes in the institutions of higher education. Recently higher education has attempted to assess the progress of black studies programs and departments within their structures. This has been done with some attempt to assess the past of black studies as well as project the future of black studies within higher education.

Due to the hurried developmental process of black studies programs, which led to the establishment of black studies …

An Analysis Of Change In Girls Released From Villa Saint Rose, H. Marie Ades

Dissertations and Theses

When juveniles are defined by society as delinquent they are frequently institutionalized. These institutions are referred to as reform schools, correctional institutions or schools, residential care facilities, treatment centers, or variations of the above. They are state sponsored or privately sponsored. Whatever name is on the sign by the front door, each institution is in the business of "people changing."

The excellence of an inanimate product can be measured, weighed, checked, and reproduced; but an altered person is more difficult to measure. If one is in the business of people-changing, it seems important to see if one is in fact …

The Impact Of Coordination By A Child Abuse Committee On Community Services To Battered Children, Grace Jackson Anders, Rebekah M. Burton

Dissertations and Theses

The Child Abuse Committee at the University of Oregon Medical School has assumed a coordinating role as an attempt to provide more effective service to abused children and their families. This research report is a follow up to a 1970 study by Matusak which evaluated the effectiveness of the Committee. The Matusak study seemed to indicate that, because of Committee action resulting in appropriate intervention and services, definite improvement in the situation of the children in the study was seen. This study follows the children from the 1970 study one year later and makes further comparisons of child abuse cases …

The Monopoly Study Of Authority, Micheale Hall Williams

Dissertations and Theses

The Monopoly Study of Authority was an institutional grant project designed to test the variables of authority and protection in a laboratory experiment conducted in the Small Groups Laboratory. Subjects (Ss) were recruited and paid a minimum wage to play Monopoly, while the Experimenter (E) manipulated the relevant variables, observed and video-taped the games.

The hypothesis states that the greater the investment, the more likely will the individual make efforts to protect it. The dimensions of investment were ego involvement (desire to win, competitiveness), and resource commitment (Ss were offered rewards of double-time pay for winning the Monopoly game). Efforts …

The Women's Liberation Movement And Identity Change : An Urban Pilot Study, Molly M. Doeneka

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if participation in Women's Liberation results in identity change in the individual participants. As a pilot study, it examines the characteristic experiences of a study group of twenty-six local participants and compares the effects of their participation with a theoretical model of identity change process proposed by Ward H. Goodenough in Cooperation in Change. According to this model the process of identity change is a consequence of specific kinds of realizations fostered by a series of definable stages which are: 1) achieving a desire for identity change, 2) making a commitment to …

The Transition To Nazism, The History Of The German Town Of Pfungstadt, 1928 To 1935, David E. Arns

Dissertations and Theses

Pfungstadt is a small German town which to date has not earned a footnote in the histories of either the Weimar Republic or the Third Reich. Based upon the efforts of men in towns like Pfungstadt (and towns which were not like Pfungstadt) the members of the Nazi party built a political structure which reached to the pinnacle upon which Adolf Hitler stood. Researching the growth of the Nazi party, the intense struggles that occurred with democratic forces, the seizure of power and the installation of a workable system of government is the problem. This thesis in no way purports …

An Attitudinal Survey Of Forty-Four Juvenile Court Counselors Regarding Due Process Standards In Juvenile Cases, Jerry Robert Franklin

Dissertations and Theses

In late 19^th century America, new schools of criminological thinking asserted that crime had its origins in a complex blend of environmental and social factors rather than in the moral deficiencies of the offender. Partly as a result of this new attitude the handling of offenses by juveniles became differentiated from adult cases, first through the construction of separate penal institutions and, beginning in 1899, through the establishment of courts specializing in juvenile cases.

This study was undertaken to examine the attitudes of juvenile probation officers toward the Supreme Court’s Kent, Gault and Winship decisions which made a number …

An Alienation Measurement And Observed Behavior: A Study Of Forty-Two Male Seniors In A Technical High School, Jack Leo Terzenbach

Dissertations and Theses

The study examined the relationships between subjects' degree of alienation and descriptions of their behaviors. The subjects were 42 male, senior students at Benson Polytechnic High School who attended one of two required social science classes. Benson High School is an all male, technical high school which admits students from all parts of the City of Portland, Oregon. Alienation was defined as a syndrome of feelings consisting of apathy, distrust, pessimism, cynicism, and emotional distance. The degree of subjects' alienation, as defined, was measured by the Multiple Alienation Measure devised by Dr. Laurence J. Gould. Subjects' were thereby divided into …

Nursing: A Profession In Process, Mary Elizabeth Dilling Rambousek

Dissertations and Theses

The general concern of this thesis is with the professional status of nurses in the United States. Specifically, the focus is on the progression of nursing along the occupation continuum toward professionalism. The perspective of this study was adopted from Elliot A. Krause's discussion of "A Historical Perspective" in his "The Sociology of Professions." Krause maintains that an analysis of the past key periods of the history of an occupation can provide a basis for predicting what it will become in the future. The acceleration of change in all aspects of society, and particularly in the role of the nurse …

Identities In Gay Drinking Places, Sharon Gertrude White

Dissertations and Theses

It is through the announcement and placement of various identities that one is able to enter into various types of social relations. Identity is a label used to describe a person in a particular situation as being a kind of social object. A person announces his identity and others place him as having this identity on the basis of his appearance. Structural relations have been defined as relations where one may enter by using a title, while interpersonal relations are entered by using a name or nickname. Structural identities place people in categories, while separating them from others in different …

Inter-Bureau Power Relations: A Sociological Analysis Of An Ideal Type Organizational Model, Gerald Wayne Potterf

Dissertations and Theses

The research problem of this thesis is an examination of inter-bureau power relations. A modification of Max Weber's classical ideal type bureaucracy is the conceptual model to which sociological analysis is made. An empirical examination of the variance between the conceptual model and data collected in the field is analyzed in order to illustrate inter-bureau power relations. The analysis of the conceptual model is based upon three assertions. They are: (1) inter-bureau power relations are based upon coercion and not cooperation; (2) normative standards that are established by the administrators of the bureaucracy are differentially enforced; and (3) goals that …

The Effectiveness Of Environmental Control In Modifying Problem Behaviors In Mother-Child Interaction, Thomas Whalen Hamilton

Dissertations and Theses

An experiment was designed to test the effectiveness of using standard laboratory environments in producing a broad class of problem behaviors which defined Mother-Child (M-C) interaction difficulties. The effects of four environments, free-time (X), child's game and rules (B), mother's game and rules (C), and clean-up (Z), on the frequency of eight criteria behaviors were tested on 12 M-C pairs over three days of baseline data collection. It was predicted that the frequency of problem behaviors would decrease as a function of environment (X) and increase as a function of environments (B), (C), and (Z). A two factor …

The Effects Of Sociological Theories Of Poverty On Job Training Programs, Michael Richard Deshane

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis is an exploratory study of the effects of two job training programs for the poor in Portland, Oregon. It seeks to illustrate that training programs are designed around certain theoretical conceptions or models of poverty and that these theoretical conceptions ultimately have a strong effect on the enrollees in programs designed on the given theoretical model. Two general theoretical models have been extracted from the literature. The first is the "Culture of Poverty" model and the second may be called the "Closed Opportunity Structure" model.

The culture of poverty model posits that the poor are unable to escape …