It has been the practice of the Public Guardian and Conservator (PG and C*) of Multnomah County to collect fees for service to elderly wards on an annual basis usually at the time of the annual accounting. The purpose of this study is to determine the profitability of deferring the assessment and collection of fees until the termination of conservatorship. The assumption is that such a policy would provide an immediate benefit to the ward who would enjoy more spendable income while he is alive and at the same time the Public Guardian and Conservator could still collect his fee, although at a later date. This argument is predicated on the assumption that at the termination of conservatorship, the ward is financially solvent and the estate is able to defray the cost of services. By examining the records of past wards, the study should be able to predict the feasibility of a policy that would assess and collect conservatorship fees at the time of termination.

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 day with the retarded citizen in the community. This study represents some first steps toward listening to the retarded citizen’s new voice, toward a more humanistic appraisal of the life styles of this group. We have been concerned with the elusive concept of dependent versus independent living in the day to day life of this population, i.e., Educable Mentally Retarded (EMR) adults. Since very little is known about this population in our community, our effort can be considered an exploratory descriptive study of the life styles of mild/borderline previously institutionalized adults.

The decision to marry and choice of mate are two issues contemplated by most individuals during their lifetime. It is our belief that the manner in which an individual makes these decisions is a reflection of that individual’s level of emotional maturity. In our society, the right to enter into a marriage agreement is largely determined by chronological age. Our research problem began with the hypothesis that there is no direct relationship between chronological age and emotional maturity at the time of marriage. For our study, marriages were divided into two general categories: 1) teenage marriages in which at least one partner was 20 years of age or younger, and 2) adult marriages in which one partner was Z1 years of age or older. The three independent variables studied were: age, sex of respondent, and sex of spouse. The dependent variable was emotional maturity. Emotional maturity was operationally defined by a questionnaire consisting of 67 statements about why people decide to marry, and why they chose their particular spouse. A panel of 12 experts in the field of marriage counseling were asked to rate each statement on a seven point scale of maturity-immaturity. The range and mode for each statement was computed and used to construct a new questionnaire consisting of 30 statements. Emotional maturity was defined by the absolute difference between the individual respondent’s rating and the expert’s modal response. A sample population was selected using recently married individuals who had applied for marriage licenses in Multnomah County, Oregon. The second questionnaire was mailed to the respondents. A 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design was used to identify which variable or combination of variables accounted for any discrepancy. A multiple regression analysis and a F test were run to test the hypothesis of the study. The data received supported the null hypothesis. However, there were several conceptual and methodological limitations to the study which raise questions as to the reliability of the measuring instrument and use of the concept of emotional maturity.

In the past several years, the subject of health care delivery has assumed increasing importance as a public issue. Congressional hearings, public and private commissions, and task forces have investigated the functioning of the health care system in depth, reporting that access to the system is impeded by financial barriers and by inefficiency of the delivery system. Medicare and Medicaid have attempted to surmount the financial barriers for, some segments of the population, and more inclusive health insurance proposals are being considered in Congress. The Healthright program, under the Economic Opportunity Act, has stimulated efforts to improve the delivery system as it relates to low income persons, and some of the health insurance proposals also have the goal of improving the delivery system.

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 compare and tally like names found in telephone directories for corresponding years and localities.

Oregon Literacy, Inc., requested a study of the volunteer tutors in Multnomah County. This study is primarily based on responses to questionnaires sent to all volunteer tutors on the active list with the program in Multnomah County, including all persons who were certified in the training workshops held in 1975. Results of the questionnaire are examined, and the thesis offers a descriptive analysis of Oregon Literacy Tutors in Multnomah County, Oregon.

In recent years attention has been given to the problems of the chronically mentally ill in regard to the effects of deinstitutionalization and a need for community supports. In this study, 77 service providers to the chronically mentally ill of Multnomah County (Portland), Oregon were interviewed to assess the components of the existing community support system for this population, as well as to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the system. Ten chronically mentally ill clients were interviewed in a similar manner.

Approximately 150 meters (500 feet) of Grande Ronde Basalt and 140 meters (450 feet) of Wanapum Basalt of the Columbia River Basalt Group are exposed in the Bull Run Watershed. In Bull Run, the Grande Ronde Basalt is divided into three mappable units: "low Mg" R2 (at least one flow), "low Mg" N2 (approximately four flows), and "high Mg" N2 (two to three flows}. The Wanapum Basalt is represented by two members: Frenchman Springs Member (six flows) and Priest Rapids Member (one flow). These units are identified by instrumental neutron activation analysis, paleomagnetism based on measurements with a fluxgate magnetometer, petrography, lithology, jointing, and stratigraphic position.

Studies suggest that knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about domestic violence influence the behaviors of Mexican men. However, few interventions have targeted men in efforts to provide domestic violence awareness and health education to a relevant at-risk community that is also challenged by low literacy. Mexican immigrant men, particularly those less acculturated to the dominant U.S. culture, are significantly less likely to access services and more likely to remain isolated and removed from their communities and, more importantly, from their families. The purpose of this study was to explore and examine how cultural beliefs and behaviors influence the potential of domestic violence from the perspective of the Mexican origin, male immigrant. The research drew on existing community academic partnerships to collaboratively develop a pilot intervention that uses popular education techniques and a Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) framework. The specific aims were: 1) to use the principles and practices of CBPR to ensure that the issues addressed and results obtained are relevant to Latinos in Multnomah County, 2) to identify the beliefs, attitudes, and culture about domestic violence and male health for a population of men who are immigrants and of Mexican origin, 3) to develop and prioritize intervention strategies that are community defined, 4) to implement and evaluate a four week pilot project that utilizes community defined, literacy independent curriculum and popular education techniques to address male and family wellness and the prevention of domestic violence. Nine men participated in this study who reported inadequate or marginal functional literacy at approximately a 4.5 grade level. The findings also revealed a strong consensus among the participants' that there is confusion surrounding what constitutes domestic violence and/or what behaviors and social barriers place them at risk for health conditions. In summary, we found that the domestic violence in the Latino communities cannot be approached as a single issue; it needs to be embraced from a wellness perspective and the impact of domestic violence and health knowledge is navigated by experiences of one's past and present. Combining the tools of CBPR with the tools of popular education may allow researchers to address the Latino male's concerns with literacy while also examining other, less immediately visible, concerns. When you take the focus off such a delicate subject such as domestic violence and reframe the issue in terms of holistic health, you will then find a more cooperative and less defensive population to work with.

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 location for this researcher and Student Public Interest Research Group (OSPIRG) personnel, but more importantly, because Multnomah County is one of the most urbanized areas of the state, with a large number of mental health services geographically accessible to its elderly residents. Additionally, this county contains approximately 31% of all elderly residents in Oregon.