This study addresses job satisfaction of public school teachers in seven districts of the Portland Metropolitan Area (N = 2,133; validated response = 1,444; ratio of 67.698 percent). The three research questions are: (1) How satisfied are teachers in the PMA with their jobs? (2) What are the primary differing factors affecting teacher satisfaction and dissatisfaction, and do these factors and their relationship to satisfaction conform with Herzberg and Lortie theories? (3) How does satisfaction and dissatisfaction vary as a function of the following "demographic" factors: age, sex, grade level, years of service, highest degree earned? Findings from the three research questions are: (1) Teachers in the PMA are very satisfied with their jobs. (2) Motivators (or intrinsic factors) contribute to satisfaction more than they contribute to dissatisfaction, and this finding tends to conform with part of Herzberg's dual-factor theory; hygienes (or extrinsic factors) are seen to contribute to satisfaction more than to dissatisfaction (opposite to the prediction), and this finding does not conform with part of the dual-factor theory. Factors that contribute most frequently to satisfaction of teachers in the PMA are: interpersonal relations with students and fellow teachers, sense of achievement, teaching as a kind of work, and opportunities to help others. Factors contributing most frequently to dissatisfaction are: salary, time spent preparing for teaching or on school-related activities outside of teaching or preparation for teaching, status, and policies and practices of the school district. The finding that interpersonal relations with students is the factor that contributes most frequently to teacher satisfaction does tend to conform with Lortie's theory. (3) Age, sex, and grade levels of assignment are seen to be significantly related to job satisfaction. Older teachers tend to be more satisfied than younger teachers; women tend to be more satisfied than men are with teaching; teachers of primary grades (through 4-6) tend to be more satisfied than teachers of higher grades (6-8, 7-9, 9-12). Years of service and highest degree earned are not seen to be significantly related to job satisfaction. Comparative data from 1981 and 1984 indicate that: the age of teachers, the percentage of women, and the average number of years of service are increasing for teachers in the PMA.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) are a class of medications used in the treatment of pain, inflammation, and illness. These medications are common, affordable, and easy to access. For these reasons, NSAIDs are commonly used by athletes of all backgrounds for treating injuries and as ergogenic aids. However, despite these behaviors, NSAIDs have well-documented side effects and the efficacious nature of these medications has been brought into question. Despite this, many athletes continue to use these medications frequently and indiscriminately. It is not known why athletes use these medications in light of their questionable effectiveness and cited adverse effects. Therefore, this study was designed to (1) further investigate the prevalence of NSAID use in collegiate-level athletes, (2) investigate attitudes and behaviors toward the use of NSAIDs cross-tabulated by sport, gender, and competition level, and (3) investigate athletes' general knowledge of NSAIDs. Subjects for this study included 79 student-athletes (44 male; 25 female) attending Portland State University (PSU). The majority of the athletes started taking NSAIDs before high school (72% of the males and 64% of the females). Thirty-three percent of males and 32% of females reported that they had been taking NSAIDs within the past week. High in-season use of NSAIDs was reported by 52% of the male athletes and 48% of the female athletes, whereas off-season use was reported by 21% and 12% of the males and females, respectively. Cited reasons for NSAID use both in-season and off-season were relief of pain due to injury, prevention, recovery, soreness, and tightness. In total, 83% of males and 76% of females reported obtaining NSAIDs primarily through means other than health-care professionals. With regard to dosage, athletes reported taking NSAIDs based on product directions, instructions of an athletic trainer or perceived pain levels. An overwhelming majority of athletes (83% male; 76% female) were not aware of any side-effects from taking NSAIDs In summary, this study revealed a pattern of high NSAID use in athletes competing in-season compared to a high prevalence of low NSAID use in athletes off-season. It also revealed a high prevalence of non-prescription NSAID use. Additionally, there was a high prevalence of self-purchasing of NSAIDs, combined with self-medication and a long history of NSAID use. This study also revealed a general lack of knowledge about NSAIDs.

This is a descriptive study of grassroot organizations in the Black community of Portland, Oregon. The primary objective of this study is to determine whether the Black community of Portland is actively working to improve the socio-economic and political position of the Black residents of Portland, or whether it is disorganized, apathetic, and removed from the main stream of society To achieve the goals of this study, answers will be sought for the following questions: Are there grassroot organizations in the Black community of Portland, Oregon? If yes, how many are there? Who are the members? What is the nature, scope, and range of their activities? What are their accomplishments? Are leadership roles clearly defined and identifiable? What is the perception of successful leadership in the Black community?

This thesis examines the social relationships of different residents in a gentrifying neighborhood in Northeast Portland, Oregon. It examines theoretical tenants in the social identity tradition to understand social change in terms of the impact of neighborhood change on the day-to-day interactions of individuals in a gentrifying neighborhood by exploring the ways in which different members of that neighborhood define and describe the terms “neighborhood”, “neighbor”, and “neighborly behavior”. Intergroup neighboring research posits two outcomes of neighborhood change on interactions between old and new neighbors, one of conflict, the other of cooperation. The conflict perspective proposes that, in situations where new, higher income, better educated, socially dominant group members move into a previously lower-income, racially-mixed neighborhood, communication between old and new neighbors is limited by group differences in values and priorities. Conversely, research in cooperative intergroup neighboring in times of change demonstrates that the different members can, under certain conditions, collectively act to address adverse changes to their shared environment. Conditions promoting between-group cooperation in a changing environment include a history of neighborhood political activism, an atypical ideological attraction to diversity, and the ability to articulate common interests and goals. The thesis examines the applicability of these two perspectives through a qualitative case study of "neighboring" relations in a portion of King Neighborhood. It specifically seeks to understand how residents' stated perceptions and observed outcomes can be related to issues in class-classism, race-racism, and length of residence in the neighborhood or if other factors such as reasons for choosing this neighborhood, prior and recent experiences, and one's ideological/cultural worldview supersede economic-racial concerns. The study found that the ‘different residents’ viewed neighborhood, in general, and their neighborhood and neighbors, in particular, through a variety of filters. While ‘race’ was mentioned in describing past interactions, respondents focused more on the broad, albeit mundane, factors of everyday life such as friendliness, approachability, and speaking rather than specific racial-ethnic or economic-class differences. These results are consistent with intergroup neighboring cohesion research showing that class and race are not readily important when neighborhood is viewed as a place of comfort, self-expression, or desired relaxation.

Why do some master's level students feel confident in completing their programs and some do not? Why do some feel connected to their department and some do not? Why do some feel legitimate as graduate students and some do not? This research proposes that there may be differences in how master's students understand the graduate student role based on whether they went directly from high-school through their bachelor's to their master's, or if they took time off between their bachelor's and master's program. This thesis used in-depth interviews with twelve second-year master's students at Portland State University to explore these questions: six with students who had a linear trajectory through higher education and six with students who had a break after completing their bachelor's and before returning for their master's (broken trajectory students). Students from both groups began their programs with questions about their ability to perform at a master's level. Broken trajectory students were more likely to have thought through their chances of success and entered their programs 'knowing' that they would successfully co~plete the programs even when they questioned their academic abilities. Students from both groups overall felt a progressive increase in feelings of connection to their departments. The linear trajectory students entered their programs with some established feelings of connection with other graduate students. The broken trajectory students did not have these established connections, but desired connection with other serious students. Overall, students from both groups experienced increased feelings of legitimacy as graduate students, but the criteria by which they judged their legitimacy differed between groups. Linear trajectory students used academic ability as a primary measure of legitimacy, where broken trajectory students used having a clear understanding of why they were in graduate school as the standard to determine whether they "belonged in college." The two groups also differed in the source of their student role standard: broken trajectory students used professors as their role reference group, whereas the linear trajectory students used peers and undergraduate students. This thesis closes with a discussion of the implications of this research for theory, programs, and current models of persistence.

This ethnography explores the underground art world in Portland, Oregon by showing how a Portland area artist collective, Oregon Painting Society, navigates their art world. Participant observation, in-depth interviews, and a short latent content analysis triangulate data to show the features and values of the underground art world. Using Becker's concept of art worlds, I show how artists working outside of a traditional art career in a commercial gallery system do their work by exploring how Portland's art world is structured and sustained. I find that group work, cooperation, and resource sharing in a vibrant neighborhood based social network enables artists to substitute resources usually provided by gallery representation and sustain their ability to make artwork without financial support. This is a network that rejects the competitive structure of the commercial system and runs more smoothly the more artists participate in it. I also explore the reasons for Portland's particular ability to support this kind of environment, citing geographic proximity to other art cities, DIY cultural roots, neighborhood structure, affordable city amenities, and a creative class population.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Self-Help Information Service (SIS) and to obtain information necessary for the improvement of the service. The study also described the development and operation of SIS and assessed the use and effect of the service. The evaluation of SIS was based on initial global utilization data and the results of participant satisfaction surveys targeted at four distinct groups: (1) Self-Help Project staff, (2) Tri-County Information and Referral Service staff, (3) self-help groups, and (4) callers of the service (potential members of self-help groups). The Self-Help Project and Tri-County I & R staffs represent staff samples; the self-help groups and potential members represent consumer samples.

Soccer has a global reach and is entrenched in the lives of millions of people throughout the world, but the culture surrounding it is not as strong and never has been in the United States. Nonetheless, there is a recent emergence of American supporters groups that exhibit characteristics similar to those outside of the US. This ethnographic study focuses on one such group, the Timbers Army, to explore how they construct their own unique supporter identity and to understand how participants come to see the group relative to their understanding of the world at local and global levels. To explore this, this work employs globalization theory, in particular that of cultural hybridization and glocalization. In turn, through an iterative, grounded theory approach, the findings elucidate key concepts related to these theories. Briefly, the findings show how the Timbers Army's particular identity is constructed through multiple influences including an attachment to the city of Portland, a fierce regional rivalry, national references and recognition, and an awareness of and interaction with the global socio-cultural institution of soccer. This work is the first to acknowledge the burgeoning movement of American soccer supporters and provides a starting point for further inquiry into groups that exhibit both a strong local attachment and an outward looking global perspective.

Urgent Care Centers (UCCs) are a recent innovation in the American system of health care delivery. The number of UCCs has increased significantly in recent years. Many researchers point out that the rapid growth of UCCs is expected to escalate during the next few decades. This growth will create more competition among providers of these facilities in the health care market, and the competition could lead to an uneven distribution of UCCs within cities. While health officials and planners are interested in attracting more patients by expanding UCC services, they are often unfamiliar with the factors that go into site selection decisions. Understanding the factors influencing UCC location is crucial to explaining why UCCs cluster in certain urban areas, while other areas are under-served. It is also important for providers who want to enhance accessibility of special population segments to UCC locations. This study uses the Portland metropolitan area as a case study. Due to the lack of access to providers' propriety data, the specific problem targeted here uses publicly available data as a proxy for providers' data to determine the factors influencing UCC location. The essence of this research is to show how these factors explain and predict existing locations of UCCs and to find out how well this publicly available data explains UCC providers' locational behavior. Most of the data for this study is provided by Metro of Portland. Other data are collected utilizing surveys and data from different public agencies and published reports. Logit analysis is used to find out which factors explain existing UCC location. The empirical findings of this research substantiate the existence of a strong relationship between the location of UCCs and land use factors. This study highlights the complexity and importance of understanding the factors influencing the location of UCCs. It rejects prior arguments that UCC location is influenced by some demographic and socioeconomic factors, while it introduces land use factors as the major determinants of UCC location. However, this study concluded that land use factors influence considered a rare phenomena that should be carried out for future research and that demographic factors may still have an indirect effect on UCC location.

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 field instructors to rate student performance on the identical instrument utilized by the school admissions panel. Parallels were then drawn to determine to what extent members of the admissions panel were able to pre-judge student success according to the graduate standards delineated by the instrument.