xii, 101 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / This thesis examines the significant expansion of prisons in Oregon in the last fifteen years. In order to explain the evolution of Oregon's prison growth, the thesis analyzes the ways discourses and representations of crime have justified and explained voter approval for punitive policies in Oregon. Drawing from multi-disciplinary literature that documents the central role played by issue framing and discourse construction in political conflicts, I use the case of the 1994 campaign in which key crime initiatives were passed by Oregon voters. The thesis argues that policy decisions and election outcomes are closely related to long-standing perceptions of"insiders" and "outsiders" as a way to view societal problems. Utilizing an extensive media analysis, this thesis considers how political narratives have influenced the passage of ballot measures committed to a punitive direction in crime policy. / Committee in Charge: Professor Daniel HoSang, Chair; Professor Daniel Tichenor; Professor Joseph Lowndes

This dissertation is an historical case study of a highly publicized investigation of vice and official corruption which took place in Portland, Oregon from 1954 to 1958. Three major relevant areas of social science literature are reviewed. These are: historical material on American reform and corruption, criminology and political science. This literature suggests both the ubiquity and usefulness of vice and corruption in the urban situation. A set of propositions regarding vice, corruption and reform was developed from these works. These propositions were then examined in terms of the vice probe and political situation in Portland, Oregon. The triangulation method of this study involves three separate data sources: popular accounts in the print media; government documents, including material from the Oregon State Archives, the City of Portland and the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field; interviews conducted by the author (1979-1981) with persons who had intimate knowledge of the vice situation, political arrangements or corruption in Portland. This case study has utility and general application beyond the single case illustrated. It demonstrates the functions and limits of corruption and reform. While historical in nature, this study offers insight into processes seen in many cities today.

The present thesis describes the connection between political corruption and vice crime in Portland as it was portrayed by media and public institutions and agencies in the 1940s and 1950s. The main body of the thesis discusses attempts to rid Portland of its vice problem through the City Club's crusade against crime and crooked politicians in the late 1940s and early 1950s and Mayor Dorothy McCullough Lee's subsequent reform movements against gambling and prostitution. The thesis will analyze The Oregonian's expose' on bootlegging, gambling, prostitution and links drawn by the newspaper to the Teamster's Union and Oregon politicians. From there, the study focuses on Washington D. C. and the McClellan Committee's 1950s hearings on the mismanagement and corruption of Teamster leaders in local and national chapters. Finally, the thesis analyzes the role of Portland's two daily newspapers and their contributions to the controversies and mixed messages over vice and crime in the city between World War II and 1957.