Alpine soils are young, poorly developed soils that occur above treeline. This study investigates soils located in the alpine-subalpine zone of the Wallowa Mountains, northeast Oregon. Parent material, topography, and vegetation are the most influential pedogenic factors in the high alpine landscape of the Wallowas. Soil samples were collected from the Eagle Cap Wilderness Area of the Wallowas at three mountain locations: Eagle Cap, Sacajawea, and Matterhorn. Catenas were studied in the Windblown and Minimum Snowcover zones to examine different pedogenic factors, according to the Synthetic Alpine Slope model. · Field and laboratory testing characterized the alpine soils as predominantly loamy-sands with weak structural development. The 1:1 water pH values range from 6.5 to 7.3, and the soil hues are lOYR and 2. SY in color. Soil classification characterized Eagle Cap soils as Andisols: Lithic and Typic Haplocryands. The Matterhorn and Sacajawea residuum was not classified. Parent material influence on soil development was more noticeable on granodiorite than basalt, reflecting the propensity of granodiorite to weather rapidly. Marble and shale sites lacked soil development. All the soils exhibited eolian influence, determined from silt mineralogy results. While this component did not dominate the soils as in other alpine areas, its presence was ·proven by quartz and feldspars in soils developed on marble and calcite in soils developed on granodiorite. Sodium fluoride (NaF) pH tests indicate that there is also a high aluminum content in the alpine soils, probably due to influx of Mazama volcanic ash. Krummholz and alpine turf increase the organic content of the soil, although soils beneath krummholz were not as deep. This is partially due to decreased snowcover, subsequent lack of moisture, and different parent material. All soils show a decrease in organic carbon with depth indicating that bioturbation was either low, or the soil recovered from the disturbance rapidly. Organocutans found on the bottom of rocks in the B horizon illustrate organic trans location. The increase in pH with depth shows the influence of surficial organic matter, translocated dusts, and ash. Nunatak and landmass influence on soil development was undetermined.

This study addresses a major theoretical issue posed in the literature: can alienation in modern urban society be conceptualized in terms of the communicative competence of speakers taking part in social interaction. Specifically, this study explores the relationship between communicative competence and two observable indications of success in land use hearings: 1) ability to influence the final decision of the Variance Committee and 2) expression of feelings of dissatisfaction with the hearings process, as expressed by the participants. On a broader scale, the study tests Jurgen Habermas's classification of speech acts and the notion that public hearings are a free and open process for integrating public opinion into land use decisions. Twenty-five hearings before the Variance Committee of the City of Portland were observed in order to record the types of speech acts used by four different groups in the hearings - the protestors, the applicants, the planning staff and the committee members. Following the hearings the applicant and a protestor were interviewed to ask information about their perceptions of the hearings process. In addition, all the Variance Committee members (15) and twenty-five professional planning staff were interviewed. Altogether 98 interviews were conducted. Analysis of Variance demonstrates that there is a significant difference in the use of the four types of speech acts by the four groups. Tabular analysis shows that the applicants are more comfortable with the hearings process than the protestors. However, both groups are relatively well satisfied with the hearings process, even after controlling for the final decision. Multiple linear regression demonstrates that the decision of the hearing is strongly associated with the speech acts received by the applicants and protestors. Furthermore, a large portion of those acts and their direction can be attributed to the committee Chairman. Based on these two findings (direction of the committee's attention and the Chairman's influence), a case analysis of 14 (out of twenty-five) crucial cases were examined to determine the interactive process used in reaching the final decision. Crucial case analysis revealed that the committee follows an identical ritual review process, led by the Chairman, in all those cases where the final decision corresponds to the staff recommendation. In those cases where the staff recommendation is reversed, the ritual review process is interrupted by one of three types of unexpected errors, committed by the testifiers, which shift the communicative attention of the committee to the opposing testifiers. These findings suggest the hearing process does not provide free and open access to opportunities to influence the decision in Variance hearings. Although some feelings of placation occur on the part of applicants and protestors, the final decisions are heavily predisposed by the professional staff recommendation. This predisposition is not overcome by compelling rational discourse, but only if a "fatal error" is committee by one group of testifiers.

In practice, the design of bus routes and stop placement involves calculated trade-offs between service frequency, quality, and access. Increased stop density improves access but contributes to slow operating speeds and increased operating costs. In this thesis, a optimized bus stop spacing model is applied using the high resolution archived stop-level bus performance data from the Bus Dispatch System (BDS) provided by TriMet, the regional transit provider for the Portland metropolitan area. Two cost components are considered in the stop spacing model including passenger access cost and in-vehicle passenger stopping cost, and are combined and optimized to minimize total cost. A case-study is presented using one year's stop-level data from one bus route 19 in Portland, Oregon. The analysis considered both inbound and outbound stop spacing and determined the optimal average stop spacing based on an all-day, peak and off-peak time periods. Based on the analysis considering inbound trips over the entire day, the theoretical optimized bus stop spacing was about 1,200 feet, as compared to the current value of 890 feet. This paper also builds on the all day analysis and focuses on inbound and outbound trips during peak periods, resulting in optimized spacing of about 1,300 feet. The peak hour demand has a significant impact on the transit operation. A bus stop consolidation scheme is proposed for the analyzed bus route considering the peak hour transit demand. Finally, the thesis discusses trade-offs and presents an estimate of transit operating cost savings based on the optimized spacing. Given the growing availability of high-resolution archived data, the thesis illustrates that this modeling tool can be applied in a routine way across multiple routes as part of an ongoing service planning and performance measurement process.

An evaluative research survey involving 694 faculty members with an academic appointment in Oregon's 4-year unionized institutions of higher education was undertaken to determine whether or not collective bargaining has supported faculty rights for participation in institutional governance. Four hypotheses were formulated to study the relationship between the independent variable of collective bargaining and the dependent variable of institutional governance, specific to: (1) professional interest, (2) economic interest, (3) educational policy, and (4) academic and personnel policy. Data received from 486 respondents' questionnaires were used for the Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance to test the four hypotheses. The four hypotheses of the study were rejected. However, findings of the study suggest that the collective bargaining process is perceived by the respondents in all three unionized institutions as having (1) facilitated their participation in the formal structure and process for institutional decision making and (2) provided for just cause in dismissal and grievance decisions.

There has been an epidemic rate of increase in youth suicide since 1960. Professionals, teachers, counselors and parents want to identify youth at risk of suicide and intervene prior to an attempt or a suicide. The premise of this study is that youth who display similar risk factors as past attempters and completers may be at risk of attempting themselves and can be identified by these risk factors. This is a quantitative and descriptive study of youth suicide attempters and completers in the state of Oregon in 1989 and 1990 in an effort to further identify risk factors of youth suicide attempters and completers. The researcher petitioned the Oregon Center for Health Statistics and obtained databases of 1150 youth attempters and 40 suicide completers. The attempter database was compiled from a legislatively mandated informational form filled out in public and private hospital emergency rooms for anyone under 18 sustaining injuries due to a suicide attempt. The second database is compiled from death certificates for youth under 18, specifying suicide as the cause of death. Data, both in the number of cases, and in the depth of the material is sparse on suicide completers. The first question employed both databases to examine the demographic similarities and differences between youth suicide attempters and completers in Oregon in 1989 and 1990. The second and third research questions are answered using the attempter data base. The second question is an in depth examination of 18 social, psychological and behavioral factors taken from the attempter database, resulting in a description of the youth who have previously attempted in Oregon in 1989 and 1990. The third research question again studies the same 18 social psychological and behavioral factors of the attempter population, dividing it into subgroups of sex, race, and age. Through crosstabulation and the chi-square tests of statistical significance, each group was specifically described. A fourth research question called for a qualitative focus group of professional suicidologists who confirmed the findings by comparing them to their own practical experience.

In July, 1974 the Social Rehabilitation Services of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, awarded a grant to the School of Social Work at Portland State University to "identify and examine the skills and abilities that are utilized by middle-management personnel in the human services field." The project sought to (1) identify and prioritize the management, administrative and planning skills utilized by practitioners in a variety of urban and rural social welfare setting throughout Oregon, (2) develop a list of middle-management skills deemed important for graduate and undergraduate students in the School of Social Work, and (3) provide data upon which to redesign a curriculum for the development of management and planning skills. In essence, the project sought data to strengthen curricula in management and planning areas and link graduate and undergraduate education more closely with community practice.

American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) are susceptible to small variations in climate and microclimates and are found within a narrow latitudinal range of prime climate conditions. These AVAs are geographically determined based on the best soil, climate, precipitation and temperature combinations for specific winegrape regions. As climate change continues to alter the local weather and the greater climate region of the Western United States, winegrape growing regions in Oregon are being affected. In an effort to determine what the pattern of change is, and compare previous studies of climate change using climate indices, a comparative study based in part on prior research was conducted. Using 800 meter resolution Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) climate datasets, four individual climate indices were analyzed for statistical correlation with the climate data. These climate indices are: growing degree-days (GDD), the average growing season temperatures (GST), Huglin Index (HI) and the biologically effective degree-day (BEDD). Based on currently available data for this research, these climate indices were statistically analyzed during the years 2000 to 2010. A further avenue of research included a statistical analysis of the reported winegrape production, although this data was available only at an aggregated county-level. Results show that all four climate indices exhibit statistical significance, although the inclusion of the winegrape production data exhibited no statistical significance for many of the analyses, most likely due to subjective and aggregated data, few did result in significance with the climate indices. The research discussed here confirms the accuracy of the four climate indices and suggest that a longer time frame, coupled with less aggregated and subjective winegrape production data could produce interesting results in future research on the results of climate indices in winegrape growing regions.

Rainier, Oregon, has experienced problems in the development of residential and commercial sites, utilities, and transportation facilities as a result of slope instability. This study of slope stability at Rainier was conducted at the request of city officials.

This thesis is concerned with changes over time in the social characteristics of doctors who have entered prepaid group health plans. It focuses on the past social positions which these doctors have occupied and on their status, or rank. The general expectation is that both the rank and positions occupied by doctors prior to entering prepaid group plans have varied as the prestige of these plans has varied. The entrance of physicians into prepaid group health plans was conceptualized as mobility between different contexts of work. Blau’s exchange theory of mobility proved to be the most fruitful source of hypotheses for this study. Blau states that extrinsic rewards are the major incentives for mobility and that intrinsic rewards interact with extrinsic rewards in influencing mobility. From these basic propositions two hypotheses were generated: 1) As the status of prepaid group health plans increases, the status of physicians entering these plans will increase. 2) As the status of prepaid group health plans increases, high status recruits will less frequently come from positions offering intrinsic rewards similar to those found in prepaid group plans. The design of this research was a longitudinal case study. Data were obtained relevant to one prepaid group health plan, the Portland Kaiser Foundation Health Plan. The universe included all physicians who had practiced as full-time, salaried staff in Kaiser at any time since 1945 when Kaiser was first opened to the public. Indicators were obtained from various sources of data. The Kaiser personnel records provided data on physicians’ social characteristics. Data on the status of Kaiser came from an official salary schedule and records of personnel advertisements. Informants were used to rank medical schools and the AMA’s Directory of Approved Internships and Residencies provided a ranking of teaching hospitals. The evidence for the first hypothesis was generally negative. The data indicated that although the status of Kaiser had increased over the years, the status of physicians entering Kaiser had decreased. This conclusion was reached on the basis of findings using prestige of medical school as an indicator for physicians’ achieved status as well as findings using nationality and length of practice as indicators for their ascribed status. Thus, the first hypothesis of this study had to be rejected. The evidence for the second hypothesis was inconclusive: it indicated that as the status of Kaiser increased, the percentage of high status recruits from certain positions with intrinsic rewards similar to Kaiser’s decreased, whereas the percentage from other positions increased. High status physicians have less frequently entered Kaiser a) having held positions emphasizing the scientific aspects of care, b) having memberships in scientific or specialty societies, c) having changed the location of their practice, and d) having changed their specialty. They have more frequently entered Kaiser a) having had postgraduate training b )having had at least five years of training, c) having held jobs in bureaucratic contexts, d) having graduated from medical schools in the North Central and Western states, and e) having engaged in two of more different types of activities. In sum, it was unclear whether the second hypothesis should be accepted or rejected.

Unrelated business enterprises have been an appropriate way for nonprofit organizations to generate income since the first income tax was enacted into law. The Internal Revenue Act of 1950 clarified this opportunity and enacted the Unrelated Business Income Tax to ensure that fair competition existed between nonprofits and for profit organizations. Nonprofit organizations conducting unrelated business enterprises are faced with a dilemma: it is legal for them to conduct such enterprises but if they do so they face potential litigation from for profit business for unfair competition and/or potential loss of tax-exempt status for operating outside of their exempt function. This dissertation traces the history and theory of tax-exempt status, the history of unrelated business enterprises, and how several states, including Oregon, have addressed the issue. It then explains two major pieces of litigation in Oregon in the 1980's, Southern Oregon State College and YMCA of Columbia-Willamette, then discusses the history of the media attention and legislative/bureaucratic action in the same period. Current litigation and media attention is then discussed. The paper then discusses two theoretical frameworks, Agenda Building and Advocacy Coalition, as a means to analyze the data. Following is a discussion of how the issues of unrelated business enterprises and unfair business competition can be handled by nonprofits and the changing criteria for tax-exempt status in Oregon. The dissertation concludes with the changing criteria for tax-exempt status in Oregon and fundamental philosophical and political issues yet to be decided. Included are recommendations such as a periodic review of tax-exempt status of nonprofits, the need for nonprofits to continually review their mission and exempt purpose, the need for nonprofits to maintain their relationships with the community they serve, and how nonprofits need to develop a self-governing program before government develops one for them.