During the past forty years, Oregon voters have approved only two tax proposals; both taxes on cigarettes. The subject of this study is the campaign carried out by proponents of H.B. 3064 to pass the most recent Oregon tax referendum measure. Central to the questions asked in the investigation of the 1972 cigarette tax campaign was why the outcome of this proposal was successful. The thesis hypothesizes that the critical variable was the involvement of major socio-economic interest groups in formulating and disseminating persuasive campaign messages. The rationale for entering into such a study was the shortage of information on campaigns which focus not only on the effects of the "new politics" on the electorate, but which fill in details of significance to the historical setting within which the campaign takes place. Further, there is an apparent shortage of information on state-wide referendum campaigns which describe the campaign setting, the structure of the decision-making organization directing the campaign effort, and the voters reaction to campaign strategies. For these reasons two research methods were utilized for the descriptive case study: a field investigation and a two-part opinion survey. The former traced the historical-political situation in Oregon, action taken by the 1971 legislative assembly to correct the state budgetary dilemma, the mobilization of public and private individuals following the successful referral drive to place the cigarette tax on the ballot, and campaign strategies carried out during the 40 day period prior to the special election. By reviewing all available news reports and interviewing those persons active in the campaign, the field investigation revealed that the state was indeed threatened by budgetary crisis and that the proposed tax was the only immediately available solution. An alternative source would have required another special session, another 90 day waiting period, and the threat of another referendum. Without the tax, state agencies depending for support on revenue coming from the General Fund would face a two percent cut in funds for the 1972-73 fiscal year. It was also found in the field investigation that the cigarette tax had support from legislative leaders of both political parties; a collection of large permanent interest groups; and an array of state officials and private citizens with pocket-book interest in passing the ballot measure. Persuasive appeals developed by the involved groups focused on the fiscal impact of a tax defeat on these and other special economic groups in Oregon. Results of the second research method, the voter-leadership survey, indicated that the voters surveyed were generally accurate in assessing the participation of interest groups and were influenced by those groups most visible and state officials most vocal. It also revealed that while the voters professed to being influenced by certain groups or individuals, the reasons they gave for their vote choice were not those emphasized by the influence sources. The leadership survey found that interest group leaders were somewhat more accurate than legislators in ascribing motives to the choices voters made, but that there was a significant discrepancy between opinions of voters and opinions of the state leadership relevant to the reasons people voted as they did. As to the central question of this thesis, the investigation did confirm the proposition that interest groups made the difference in the success of the 1972 cigarette tax measure. Interest groups were effective, chiefly because of the many roles they performed in each phase of the campaign: as initiators of campaign activity, as legitimizers, as fund raisers, and as channel sources for disseminating persuasive messages to both their own members and to the general public. The study strongly suggests that it was the mediating activity of state and local influential, through the mechanisms of special interest pressure and cause groups which provided the critical margin in the vote outcome.

The purpose of this research.is to (1) describe and analyze the different methods used by Japanese and by U.S. persons to reach agreement in small group deliberations, (2) discover the depth of commitment and personal involvement with these methods by tracing their historical beginnings and (3) draw implications from (1) and (2) as to probability of success of current problem solving deliberations involving members of both groups. In the Yayoi period of Japanese history (250 B.C. - 300 A.D.), a special set of circumstances in both the ecological and cultural sphere encouraged the consensus type of decision-making and commensurate cultural norms to develop among the inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago. Following the Yayoi by some 300 years was the Nara period of Prince Shotoku who attempted to reform and modernize Japan by bringing in many cultural attainments such as the Chinese writing system, some of the grammatical features of Korean Language, and religious philosophies of India. Western influence after World War II did not greatly modify the deeply embedded patterns of thought, ethos, behavior, communication and decision-making basis. Two selected elements of the Japanese culture are analyzed: (1) a system of hierarchy which encompasses the sense of discipline, benevolence, self-depreciation, nonverbal behavior (use of the bow) and verbal behavior and (2) need for harmony which includes vagueness of language, advatism or use of intuition (awareness of other's needs and feeling via nonverbal cues) and the humane sensibility. These two elements still permeate today's' Japanese society and affect communication styles. There is a description of both the traditional consensus method of reaching agreement which emphasizes non-verbal aspects and the modern day method which encourages the verbal communication. In either case, the guiding spirit of decision-making is harmony and the goal is almost entirely directed toward cooperation. The cultural elements deeply entrenched in Japanese history provide this system of decision making. The American dialectic method of reaching agreement, on the contrary, places a high value on personal contributions, convictions, arguments and achievements. Conflict is a direct result of the American method and is considered to be desirable as well as necessary in order to reach a good conclusion. By the same token, disagreement occurs more frequently. This means that in an intercultural setting a great deal of miscommunication may be occurring. Under what conditions will critical incidents be likely to occur when the two negotiating groups encounter is hypothesized. The American method is contrasted with Japanese method and it was found that they are strikingly different and achieve different specific goals.

The pioneers and settlers of the Oregon Territory were not of one ilk. They came from various places and brought their separate speech patterns with them. This study sought to identify which major North American English dialect was present in the first half of the 20th century in Oregon. Analysis relied on the descriptions for the Southern, Northern, Midlands, and Western dialects. Some dialect features have acoustic measurements attached to their descriptions, and others do not. The analytical process was based on acoustic measurements for vowel classes and individual tokens, as well as global observations about the place of a particular class means within the larger vowel system. Findings indicate weak presence of Southern and Western speech patterns. The Northern and Midlands dialects were present, but they were not advanced. No single dialect predominated. Part of the process attempted to find a dialect diagnosis to help determine a one-step indicator as to which dialect may be present. Observations implied that the front/back relation of /e/ and /o/ is a reliable dialect indicator.

In 1958 Stephen E. Toulmin wrote of inadequacies of formal logic and proposed a new field-dependent approach to the analysis of arguments. Despite a generally negative response to his proposal from formal logicians, Toulmin's model for the laying out of arguments for analysis was subsequently appropriated by several speech communication textbook writers. In some textbooks, the Toulmin model has become successor to the syllogism as the paradigm of logical argument. Yet, perhaps due to their seemingly uncritical acceptance of Toulmin's approach there appears to be serious disagreement and confusion among speech communication professionals about the nature and applications of the Toulmin model. Towards a resolution of this problem, this study provides a descriptive analysis and assessment of the history of the Toulmin model and its proposed applications to speech communication.

Nonverbal communication is especially significant in the area of intercultural communication. Familiar signals often signify and convey different and unexpected messages, usually out-of-awareness, and then unfamiliar stimuli cause confusion and uneasiness. This is a report of Thai NVC, which intends (1) to describe selected Thai nonverbal behavior, (2) to relate these to appropriate time and context, (3) to explain a cultural component that makes the behaviors acceptable and/or mandatory, and (4) to report how Thai nonverbal behaviors may affect intercultural and cross-cultural communication. Selected Thai nonverbal messages are described: (1) nonverbal signals: the sign language of wai, the kinesthetic behaviors of eye movement, and hand movements which include receiving, pointing, indicating farewell, rejection, negation, disagreement, beckoning, applause, counting, bad odor signal, insulting signal, and angry and friendly signals, (2) nonverbal action: the action of feet and khwan, postures which include sitting, walking and standing, (3) object language: four religious ceremonies of lod khrc kaaw pun, dam hua, wai khruu, and wi sa kha bu chaa; the use of artifacts: phra cee dii, phra phud tharubb, khryan raan ta krud, (dta gkroot) and jan, colors (clothing) which includes yellow, khaki, blue, red, daily color, black and white, the material orientation to directions such as staircase positions; cooking art which includes breakfast and eating, (4) paralanguage: the Thai linguistic parallel to paralanguage, especially vocal intensity (loudness and softness), (5) personal and social distance which includes proxemic behaviors of infancy, late childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, and male and female public positions, and male and female sleeping positions (6) olfaction: artificial scents and natural body odors, and finally (7) skin sensitivity: touch and temperature. The method used to gather data was through participant observation. The descriptions of these illustrative Thai NVC behaviors are drawn from the writer's personal firsthand knowledge of Thai life, from Thai informants, his field work experiences as a research assistant to a Cornell University anthropologist in Thailand, from his experience as an interpreter-translator for the U.S. Army there, and his observations of Thai nonverbal behaviors among Thai migrants and student s in many natural settings in ·the United States of America. The approach of “Participant Observation” is a social and cultural anthropological technique best described by Bruyn. The study shows that Thais are rigidly taught behaviors early in life, which portray nonverbal messages. These become a part of Thai cultural communication norms. Thus, Thais communicate through explicit and unquestioned sets of norms, using proper, desirable, and appropriate behavior for them. Since these cultural norms are taught early in life, they are out-of-awareness and deeply ingrained. Evidence is given that Thai NVC behavior is culturally interpreted. In intercultural and cross-cultural communication, this should be taken into consideration to prevent erroneous interpretation.

The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the language development rate of male and female children, 24 to 30 months of age, during a three month time period.

A review of the literature on self-disclosure and small group communication showed that few investigations dealt with the effects of disclosing communication on small group process. The present study was conducted in order to assess the effects of the frequency of self-disclosure within small groups on the members' overall attraction to the group. 120 subjects were selected from the East Hill Church senior high youth department in Gresham, Oregon. Subjects were placed at random into ten small groups with twelve members each which met for one-half hour per week for six consecutive weeks. All group communications were audio tape recorded. Weekly recordings were transcribed and rated for frequency of self disclosure. In addition, a self-report "attraction-to-group" measure was completed by all subjects at the end of each session in order to assess the attraction members felt for their groups each week.

When a writer desires to express a feeling rather than merely a fact, a strict research method of writing is not always the most effective. If one is not bound by the historical facts of a situation, he may make his treatment dramatic and greatly help an audience experience his feelings by speaking in the first person or by atttibutlng his words to some other person. Because aesthetic and emotional communication is possible only through one of the major fine arts, the present writer decided to prepare a creative thesis entltled "Death Shall Die." It is hoped that through this thesis an illusion will be created, a human experience will be communicated. and - since truth is the aim of literature - a truth will be clarified. The chief difficulty encountered in this thesis was that problem common to all art - the problem of transmitting to an audience an experience with intensity and meaning. It has been agreed upon that the thesis itself shall consist of an original oral reading selection rather than the usual written thesis. The following few pages of explanation therefore, should not be considered the thesis, but are submitted as a supplement to the thesis. A copy of the oral reading follows the explanatory material. It is well to bear in mind. that the selection has been written to be heard rather than read; therefore, the appreciation of the work gained from reading it may not be the same thing as that gained from hearing it performed. While one may profit by reading this thesis, the nineteenth century French scholar, Paul Lorain, reminds us that if we read such a selection rather than hearing it, the work may be "like a dried flower: the substance, indeed, is there, but the color is faded and the perfume gone."

The primary purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive description of a school hearing conservation program that might be used by personnel planning other programs, to serve as a guide or for comparison. A secondary purpose of the study was to analyze and evaluate the hearing conservation program of the Office of the Stanislaus County Superintendent of Schools in order to find more efficient ways of administering and conducting the program and otherwise improve its effectiveness.

This thesis uses autobiographical inquiry to "re-member" how I came to understand that applied storytelling was a valid teaching tool in facilitating autobiographical expression in mature learners. It is an examination of how story sharing and story listening can transform a continuing education classroom into a learning community. Applied storytelling can help elders reframe their negative mental models about the value of their stories, memory, and mythology and create opportunities for positive story sharing experiences. I selected highlights of my journey that best represented my experience and use of applied storytelling techniques. Each chapter includes an exercise and reflection as well as a story and commentary. In the appendices, I include stories written by the elders.