Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Descriptive Study Of Five Child Day Treatment Centers, Virginia Spurkland, Joyce Edwards

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis is a descriptive study of five child day treatment centers in Oregon. Its purpose was to generate hypotheses about the relationships between parent reactions to the day treatment center, the center’s theoretical orientation toward treatment, and the organizational structure of the center.

The five centers involved in the study were: Poyama land in Independence, Oregon; the Child Psychiatric Day Center in Portland, Oregon; Mid-Columbia Children’s Center in the The Dalles, Oregon; the Child center in Eugene; and Edgefield Lodge in Troutdale, Oregon. These centers were selected for this study because of their proximity to the Portland area and …

Alternative Methods For The Analysis Of Curves, Randi Christine Martin

Dissertations and Theses

The interpretation of data from psychological experiments often involves the analysis and comparison of curves, like the electrocardiogram, spectral sensitivity, or dose-response curves. Existing statistical techniques are often inadequate for making this type of analysis. This thesis presents alternative methods for handling the data comprising curves and discusses the advantages of these techniques against those of existing methods.

Four types of analysis are discussed:

1. finding a confidence band around one curve,
2. finding a confidence band around the difference between two curves, or making an overall comparison between two curves,
3. decomposing a curve into its components,
4. making a component by component …

An Exploratory Study Of The Role Of Research In Social Work At Portland State University, Jo Mackay Imeson, Audrey Englebardt Zalutsky

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore and to evaluate the role of research in social work from the points of view of different populations affiliated with the Portland State University School of Social Work community. Students, faculty and field instructors, and agency directors were asked to express their subjective opinions in an effort to explore attitudes regarding the role of research in social work and to evaluate their estimate as to the value and position of the research component in the curriculum at Portland State University. The research program is intended to assist the student in becoming an …

Private Pensions And The Free Market, John Louis Dobra

Dissertations and Theses

In light of the retirement phenomena, the development and utilization of private pensions may be viewed as a market response based on individual and collective recognition of the need to plan to finance retirement from the labor force. This market response however, is shown to have produced a profusion of independent differential pension schemes which may vary with respect to their administrative mechanisms, the type and adequacy of benefits paid, the level at which contributions are made to the plan by participants and the basis of these contributions, and the adequacy of funding. As a result, it is not only …

The Application And Evaluation Of Goal Attainment Scaling To The Janis Drug Treatment Program, Steven W. Kilber, Carol E. Swanson

Dissertations and Theses

Janis is a residential drug treatment program for drug abusers between the ages of twelve and eighteen deigned to rehabilitate the participants. Five homes, each staffed by two trained residential coordinators and one student accommodate a total of thirty patients at a time. The treatment program consists of daily house meetings led by the residential coordinators, one group therapy session per week led by a psychiatric social worker, and individual therapy sessions with a psychiatrist as needed, as well as regular consultation with a psychologist and psychiatrist. The adolescents enrolled in the program are referred from a variety of agencies, …

Social Workers In The Community Mental Health Field A Delphi Forecast Of Training Priorities, William Boyce Thomas, Mark L. Clay

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis describes an exploratory research project initiated to facilitate curriculum planning for and evaluation of a social work training program in the field of community mental health. The literature concerning community mental health, the historical relationship of social work to this field, and current issues in social work manpower and education was reviewed as part of the thesis project. On the basis of the review, a study was undertaken to determine appropriate priorities for training Master ' s level social worker’s specializing in this field of practice. The researcher's decided that these priorities would be determined in terms of …

The Development Of An Evaluational Process For The Group Home Project Of The Northeast Multnomah District Of Childrens' Service Division, Lucinda E. Mckitrick, Richard S. Barasch, Lon J. Lembert

Dissertations and Theses

Childrens' Services Division of the State of Oregon is involved in a group home project. They have to date nine group homes in operation within Multnomah County. Their staff consists of a director, three social workers and the group home provider staff.

The primary goal for this practicum was the development of an evaluative system that would establish descriptions of the type of client who entered the Group Home Program and some criteria for success in that program. In developing this system, it was necessary to design instruments to measure behavioral changes and attitudes and also to collect descriptive data. …

Effects Of Colors, Noun Position, And Verb Proximity On The Acquisition Of Direct Objects, Ronald M. Dohr

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study is to determine if colors can differentially be applied as teaching tools for pre-school children. Previous studies have shown that pre-school children are easily distracted in language development by external stimulation. Studies have also shown that brighter color hues can arouse and facilitate performance of subjects on given tasks. This experiment is an attempt to measure performance of word manipulation by usage of colors. Three independent variables have been selected as stimuli to measure direct object acquisition. Measurement of color, noun position, and verb proximity will be assessed in connection with subject performance on given …

Evaluation Of The Admissions Process At Portland State University School Of Social Work: Prediction And Performance, Paula Bates Mike, Nancy J. Sharff, Barbara Lynn Wolochow

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this research practicum is to determine the predictability of an admissions rating instrument and the effectiveness of the admission process in assessing potential of individuals seeking admission to the School of Social Work, Portland State University, Fall Term, 1972. The study is based on the hypothesis that the instrument in question is an accurate predictor of student performance at the graduate level.

Research was completed through a survey of the literature and an examination of the correlation between student ratings at admission and ratings of actual performances. The method of data collection was to request class and …

The Ethnohistory Of Baker Cabin, A Clackamas County Pioneer Site, V. Claire Woodward

Dissertations and Theses

Baker Cabin, a pioneer log structure, is located on privately owned property near the community of Carver, Oregon. According to traditional accounts the cabin has existed continuously on this site since its construction in 1856. Archaeological excavations of the cabin's foundation and the surrounding area uncovered date-able artifacts and a second foundation with an associated well. Analysis of the artifacts associated with the present cabin foundation indicate a post-1870 construction date those associated with the second foundation and its well indicate an 1850’s occupation.

Four hypotheses that are explored in this paper can be derived from the interpretation of all …

A Study Of Local Union Business Agents In Portland, Oregon Area, Lillian L. Morrison

Dissertations and Theses

Labor unions are an integral part of the economy of the United States. At the grass roots, union influence and/or effectiveness depends on the local union organization, its management, and its relationship to and involvement in community affairs. This influence and involvement is focused on the local union leadership in the person of the business agent. A substantial body of literature exists on leadership in general as well as specific information about leadership in labor unions, and includes contributions from the fields of Sociology and Psychology as well as Economics. This research paper is a study of local union business …

Attendance At Out-Patient Clinics As A Function Of Risk Taking For Alcoholics, John Ketcham Fryer

Dissertations and Theses

Many-psychotherapists feel that the capacity to risk is a necessary ingredient for change. Whether that change occur in a person seen in a professional context or in a person who views new behavior as being more rewarding, risk and change go hand in hand. Coleman (1972) described this relationship in the following way:

Life often poses problems in which the pursuit of increased satisfactions involves giving up present hard-won security and taking new risks. For the neurotic, this is likely to prove an especially anxiety-arousing conflictful situation [p. 226].

Why should this be true? It seems that one of the …

A Descriptive Study Of Previously Institutionalized Educable Mentally Retarded Adults Residing In Multnomah County, Oregon, Susan J. Kiley, Jeffrey D. Sher, Richard C. Sunshine

Dissertations and Theses

This is a study of mild and borderline mentally retarded adults living in Multnomah County, Oregon, who at one time in their lives were patients at Fairview Training School. The concept of "normalization" is merging with the political necessity of "advocacy" to create a different role for the traditionally silent and previously institutionalized retarded citizen, along with new roles for the professional worker with the retarded. Mentally retarded citizens have only recently begun to speak out for themselves; even less frequent it seems, has any concerted listening on the part of the public or professional community which deals day to …

The Treatment-Moral Career Of Clients In A Community Based Treatment Program, Charles Edward Forster Jr.

Dissertations and Theses

The research reported here was intended to consider in an exploratory fashion the impact of a community based treatment program, Services for Problem Drinker Drivers, (SPDD), for persons convicted of driving while under the influence of liquor on: (1) the self-concept, (2) consequences for public identity, and (3) the careers or changes over time in both self-concept and public identity of clients in the program.

Effect Of Stressful And "Neutral" Moving Images And Still Images On Dreaming, Elizabeth Anne Anderson

Dissertations and Theses

A controlled presleep experience was used in an attempt to trace waking experience in dreams. Dream reports were collected in the laboratory from 12 dreamers (half men, half women; half recallers, half nonrecallers), using the electrophysiological method of Dement and Kleitman. Following a baseline night, each dreamer was awakened on three consecutive nights during every REM period (rapid eye movement and Stage 1-ascending EEG pattern). Immediately prior to sleep on Night 3, four of the dreamers viewed an emotionally arousing film, four others viewed a slide sequence having the same content as the stressful film, and four others viewed an …

Analysis Of The Port Of Portland Facility Hinterlands, Timothy D. Wilson

Dissertations and Theses

Most of the United States port authorities delineate their hinterland by the use of freight rate schedules used by inland carriers. The hinterland is defined as that region having favorable rates to and from a port. The use of freight rate schedules can be applied to a) individual commodities or to b) all the commodities moving through a port. The freight rate method is built on the "rational man" concept. That is, a situation is assumed where there is "perfect knowledge" and a desire to minimize transportation costs. This assumption does not always coincide with reality.

This paper classifies commodities …

Truman's Election In 1948, Mary Peter Kump

Dissertations and Theses

You can't judge a book by its cover. The cliche may be trite, nonetheless it is applicable to Harry s. Truman. The feisty Missourian wrested greatness from the hands of his challengers who would have denied it to him because of his background. His lack of a college degree seemed to rankle the press, and as far as they were concerned disqualified him as President of the United States.

Based largely on contemporary accounts, this thesis traces the color and drama of Truman's 1948 campaign. In order to appreciate fully the triumph of the President’s victory, it was necessary to …

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 Study Of The Relationship Between Self-Concept, Public Image, And Consensus Rorschach Performance, Dale Sherman Walhood

Dissertations and Theses

Four measures of dominance were taken on college roommate pairs. Three of the measures were derived from Leary’s interpersonal system for diagnosing personality. The fourth measure was derived from the consensus approach to Rorschach administration. Dominance scores for self-concept, public image, predicated image (a new measure in which a person attempts to predict how a significant other sees him) and consensus Rorschach performance were computed. Predicted image correlated higher with self-concept than public image as predicted. Results suggest that dominance as measured by the Rorschach is related to both public image and self-concept. Submissive members appear to understand the structure …

An Evaluative Study Of Yellow Brick Road, Cherry Hartman, Nan Narboe

Dissertations and Theses

This is a study of Yellow Brick Road a paraprofessional volunteer training and group counseling program. The study was designed to help determine whether or not the program was meeting its own goals which are stated as: 1) to offer clients an experience which not only helps them to effect change in their lives, but to maintain those changes through healthy time-restructuring within a supportive environment; 2) to demonstrate that volunteers who are undergoing intensive training can provide quality counseling and other services; 3) to create a community environment supportive of healthy change.

Toward evaluating these broadly stated goals, this …

Shaping Of Marital Interaction: A Clinical-Research Approach, Cynthia Luders Clay

Dissertations and Theses

In the last ten years, a number of behavioral approaches to marital therapy have been developed and applied to married couples. Intervention techniques have included selective reinforcement, extinction, modeling, aversive consequences, and contingency contracting. The present study investigated the use of the bug-in-the-ear (BITE) instrument as an aid in shaping marital interaction. The BITE has been applied in several child behavior modification programs, but no applications in marital therapy have been reported.

The use of the BITE has been demonstrated and is considered clinically feasible. Since the N of this study was small and since the raters evaluating progress were …

Obesity : Two Behavioral Approaches To Weight Reduction, Albert Blake Davidson

Dissertations and Theses

Much of the research on obesity has been designed to explore its relationship to the behavior of overeating. Although a number of physiological, societal, cultural and family background variables have been detailed, researchers have sought an approach that does not rely heavily on these considerations. Most weight reduction programs fail to recognize and concentrate on empirically demonstrated differences between obese and normal subjects. Researchers have shown that obese subjects seem to be more sensitive to external than internal stimuli. A behavioral approach to weight reduction that emphasizes and uses these external stimuli was hypothesized to be the treatment of choice. …

An Analysis Of The Effects Of Individual Counseling And Group Process Techniques Upon The Behavior Of Children In A Juvenile Detention Facility, Robert Arthur Struble

Dissertations and Theses

A three month project was designed to study the effects of individual counseling combined with group process techniques upon the behavior of children in a short term detentional facility. The length of stay was also a primary variable. In the study of this behavior.

The behavior of 282 males, 14 to 17 years of age, whom had been to the juvenile detention facility in Portland, Oregon, was analyzed via three separate instruments. The Behavior Activity Inventory was utilized to obtain daily observations concerning four separate areas of interest. An attitudinal rating scale was devised to obtain the staff’s assessment as …

Self And Ideal-Self Concepts In A Prison Population: (1) Self And Ideal-Self Patterns Of Violent And Non-Violent Offenders, (2) Self And Ideal-Self Concepts In Relation To Time Served Within A Prison, Alison Prince Berman, James W. Kushmuk

Dissertations and Theses

Two interrelated studies explored the self and ideal-self patterns, two important components of the total personality, of a male prison population using the Interpersonal Adjective Checklist (ICL). Both studies used the same prison subjects (n=38), who were divided equally between violent and non-violent offenders. Study I also used a normative sample (n=38) of male students. All subjects filled out two ICL forms, one with self and one with ideal-self instructions. Study I investigated the ICL patterns of the prisoners in terms of type of crime (violent vs. non-violent) and also compared the ICL scores of the prisoners (violent and non-violent) …

Towards The Integration Of The Historical And Structural Theories Of Urban Form, David Tilford Martin

Dissertations and Theses

In this thesis we examine the effect which the obsolescence of central city housing exerts on the decentralization within urban areas of high status residents. In particular, we investigate whether housing obsolescence is a useful addition to a model which explains the decentralization of high status residents in terms of the intensity of competition for central city land.

All of our data are official Census figures for 1970. The subjects of our study are Standard Metropolitan Statistical Are.as (SMSA.'s) whose central city had a population of 100,000 or more. From this group we delete the New York and Chicago Consolidated …

A Study Of Runaways From Six Residential Treatment Agencies, Loris Colbath, Carolyn Krugel Graf, Carol Mckinnon, Jean Newcomb

Dissertations and Theses

The purposes of this study were: (1) to examine a select sample of both runaways and nonrunaways at six Oregon residential treatment facilities; (2) to determine the amount and type of preplacement visitation and counseling done within these agencies; (3) to determine the effect preplacement visitation and counseling has upon the studied sample of runaways and nonrunaways in decreasing or controlling the number of runs from the agencies involved; and (4) to determine significant characteristics between runaway and nonrunaway populations.

Testing materials included a two-part questionnaire, part of which was developed with girls from one of the participating agencies.

Running, …

A Preliminary Evaluation Of The Independent Living Subsidy Program In The Model Cities Area, W. Patrick Frawley, Mary Goodwin Gossart

Dissertations and Theses

This is a descriptive and analytical study of the twelve adolescents who have participated in the Independent Living Subsidy Program (ILSP) in the Model Cities area of Portland. It is an assessment of the program’s impact on the adolescents in working toward the goals of independence and self-sufficiency.

The concept of a program which would subsidize out-of-home care for certain adolescents in living facilities of their own, with a measure of independence, was conceived by a caseworker at the Children’s Services Division (CSD) and an administrator of a children’s residential care facility.

Drop-Out Study, Chemawa Indian School, Terry Farrow, Gordon Oats

Dissertations and Theses

Repeated inquiries and statements are made about the number of American Indian students who drop out or are pushed out of school. The Waxes noted that while drop-out rates are difficult to calculate because of a shifting population and absence of centralized, accurate records, current figures indicate that about one-half of those who enter the primary grades drop out before entering high school. Furthermore, only about a third of those entering school actually graduate. A study of Pima and Papago schools revealed much the same trends. Seven percent of the children ages six to eighteen are not enrolled in any …

A Study To Differentiate Between Runaways And Non-Runaways Among Juveniles Reported Missing, Neil E. Crannell, Patricia A. Hoffman

Dissertations and Theses

It is the purpose of this research project to develop a profile of predictive variables that would be helpful in distinguishing a missing juvenile report of a runaway from that of a missing youth who may have met with "foul play" and who does not fit the pattern of the runaway youth. The usefulness of such a tested set of predictive variables would be in designing a report form to be used by the peace officer who takes the initial report enabling him to immediately identify the situation as one of a runaway indicating one type of follow-up as opposed …

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.