Relatively little research exists on the life significance of outdoor education (OE) programs and courses. There is increasing interest in the OE field to move beyond simply focusing on program-specific outcomes to developing more evidence-based models that analyze the influence of specific mechanisms of change. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the significant life effect of a university OE course upon participants after the course, including the effect of the course upon participants’ intrapersonal, interpersonal and environmental relationships. The present investigation was a two part qualitative-quantitative study. The overarching research question was: What is the perceived life significance of a university undergraduate OE course? The current study involved in-depth interviews with a purposive intensity sample of 17 University of Ottawa alumni who had taken one of the university’s OE courses more than 20 years ago, followed by a web-based survey questionnaire completed by 46 University of Ottawa alumni and students who had taken one of the university’s OE courses between 1975 and 2009. Some of the survey participants had taken both the summer and winter OE courses offered by the University of Ottawa so there was a total of 65 separate course responses in the quantitative study. The findings from this study suggested that the OE course led to development of interpersonal skills, self-discovery, environmental impacts, leisure style change, and increased outdoor knowledge and skills amongst the participants. The idea that this outdoor knowledge and skills was transferred to others (e.g., students and children) also emerged from the data. In addition, in some instances participants expressed the idea that the OE course helped confirm or reinforce already-held beliefs about the outdoors. It is hopeful that the current findings can contribute to OE professional practice and demonstrate the need for OE in university settings.

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Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

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Background: Outdoor adventure can offer meaningful occupations that enhance health and wellbeing. Theory in relation to the meaning of outdoor adventure from an occupational science perspective, and the process by which people become engaged in occupation, is underdeveloped. Methodology: Phenomenological philosophy underpinned the methodology. Five elements are presented in this thesis, data were explored from: a systematic review and meta-synthesis of research exploring the meaning of outdoor adventure; focus groups exploring factors affecting sustained engagement in walking in a community context; adventure autobiographies as exemplars of engagement and outdoor culture; and interviews with participants who engaged in outdoor adventure. Concepts arising from the findings were thematically synthesised. Findings and discussion: The meaning of outdoor adventure was associated with a sense of connection to self, others, nature, the environment, time and place. Meaning was associated with engagement that was congruent with aspirations for identity, health and wellbeing, values, and beliefs. The meaning and process of engagement in outdoor adventure were influenced by the ability to establish confidence in relation to developing social networks, physical skills and the knowledge required to participate in chosen occupations. The process of engagement in outdoor adventure was influenced by convenience and the ability to accommodate participation alongside other work and family routines, in terms of time, location and priorities. The process of engagement in outdoor adventure was influenced by context. The findings also suggest a change in the meaning of engagement in outdoor adventure over time. Conclusion: The implications of the study are that these aspects of meaning and dynamic process could be considered within health promotion and occupational therapy practice to enhance initiating, sustaining and returning to occupational engagement in outdoor adventure. Further research would be beneficial in relation to evaluating the application of these concepts in occupational therapy practice.

The evaluation of Australian outdoor education activity has been conspicuous by its absence. While outdoor education in Australia is experiencing a dramatic growth in facilities and programs, while state departments of education are calling for 'school-based' evaluations, while accountability is becoming an increasingly likely prospect and while high-risk activities are acknowledged as common elements in outdoor education, Australian outdoor educators have yet to avail themselves of the benefits available through formal evaluation. One significant reason for this evaluation inactivity arises from the massive and often conflicting evaluation literature confronting outdoor educators. To help outdoor educators overcome both the daunting task of putting a sense of order into the myriad evaluation methodologies and the possibility of implementing an evaluation unsuited to the outdoor educator's needs, this study presents two dimensions from which the outdoor educator might usefully view evaluation methodologies. The first dimension is that of the prepositional and tacit knowledge value bases, which will help the outdoor educator to understand better not only his own aims/approaches to education, but also the type of knowledge valued as important by specific evaluation methodologies. The second dimension is that of program awareness, which will aid the outdoor educator to identify the levels of descriptiveness or depth and the type of personal involvement by the evaluator which the outdoor educator would be seeking through formal evaluation. Application of these dimensions includes a review and classification of evaluation literature within these dimensions, commencing with the 'pre-Tyler' period, thence Tyler, Glaser, Provus, Popham, Stufflebeam, Alkin, Cronbach, Scriven, Atkin, Eisner, Stenhouse, Stake, and Parlett and Hamilton. A number of outdoor education evaluations conducted predominantly overseas are then classified according to their propositional or tacit knowledge value base as a further demonstration of the applicability of the value base dimension for the outdoor educator hoping to gain useful information from evaluations conducted previously. Evaluations reflecting ambiguity in value base and outdoor education guidelines representative of the propositional and tacit knowledge value bases are also presented. Although suggesting the bi-polar nature of the value base dimension and the rather significant difference in degrees of program awareness available through formal evaluation, this study argues strongly that it is through an appreciation and understanding of alternative evaluation methodologies that outdoor educators might more capably be able to establish the nature of communication needed within a formal evaluation to best suit their needs and the needs of other audiences to whom evaluation reports will be directed.

Relatively little research exists on the life significance of outdoor education (OE) programs and courses. There is increasing interest in the OE field to move beyond simply focusing on program-specific outcomes to developing more evidence-based models that analyze the influence of specific mechanisms of change. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the significant life effect of a university OE course upon participants after the course, including the effect of the course upon participants’ intrapersonal, interpersonal and environmental relationships. The present investigation was a two part qualitative-quantitative study. The overarching research question was: What is the perceived life significance of a university undergraduate OE course? The current study involved in-depth interviews with a purposive intensity sample of 17 University of Ottawa alumni who had taken one of the university’s OE courses more than 20 years ago, followed by a web-based survey questionnaire completed by 46 University of Ottawa alumni and students who had taken one of the university’s OE courses between 1975 and 2009. Some of the survey participants had taken both the summer and winter OE courses offered by the University of Ottawa so there was a total of 65 separate course responses in the quantitative study. The findings from this study suggested that the OE course led to development of interpersonal skills, self-discovery, environmental impacts, leisure style change, and increased outdoor knowledge and skills amongst the participants. The idea that this outdoor knowledge and skills was transferred to others (e.g., students and children) also emerged from the data. In addition, in some instances participants expressed the idea that the OE course helped confirm or reinforce already-held beliefs about the outdoors. It is hopeful that the current findings can contribute to OE professional practice and demonstrate the need for OE in university settings.

This thesis reports on a study designed to investigate the nature of environmental education (EE) at one well-established school board operated outdoor education centre called Faraway Dale located in Ontario, Canada. The specific research questions that guided the study were: (a) What are the structures that characterize environmental education for educators at the outdoor education centre? (b) What are the main understandings of environment and education that guide outdoor educators work with environmental education? (c) What are the tensions and contradictions of providing environmental education through an outdoor centre? The primary data sources for this study were the nine outdoor educators who work at the facility. A variety of data collecting strategies were used, over a period of five months, to re-present their experiences of providing EE. Analysis of the data revealed that the nature of EE at the outdoor centre is significantly different from what occurs in mainstream, indoor settings. The overall goal for environmental education at the outdoor centre is to foster a culture that leads to healthy people and healthy environments by encouraging a more equitable interplay among people and nature. This overall goal can be divided into three structures that characterize EE at the centre. These are: connecting people to the environment, encouraging a care-based relational orientation towards the environment, and building agency for living low consumption low impact lifestyles. The findings also confirm that the nature of EE which educators espouse and practice is directly linked to their understandings of the terms ‘environment’ and ‘education’. The major tensions and contradictions of providing EE in an outdoor context are also illuminated. The discussion focuses on the implications of the findings for theory, practice and research in EE and the work of outdoor educators in the field.

Information Technology advances by leaps and bounds. The lines among traditional industries are hard to define; therefore, the burgeoning new media industries with integrated information and communications technologies are taking form. In the meantime, information technology not only breaks through but establishes rules of the game. As far as advertising is concerned, notably traditional modes of advertising are greatly impacted by new information technology. This research,¡§A Project of Applying the Wireless Internet to Narrowcasting Models,¡¨ is based on an affiliate project sponsored by the Taiwan Railway Administration, which is called ¡§ An Operational Project of Electronic Commerce and the Wireless Internet with the participation from the private sectors.¡¨ According to the assessment of business modeling, the result reveals, the revenues of delegated advertising are the main significant factors of this project, with an influence on the financial performance. Hence, the company should, before the prices in the market fluctuate, actively contact with the advertising channels and establish well-designed sales outlets to increase revenues, in support of the financial feasibility of the entire operation. Another result shows adopting the wireless Internet as transitional technology has an advantage over the other competitors. It can enhance the operational efficiency and reduce the operational cost. In 3 to 8 years, the usage of this advertising platform will remain growing. As the infrastructure and related applications of the wireless networks are getting completed, the project will relatively gain the upper hand in costs. Lastly, the research suggests the outdoor narrowcasting advertisers actively develop exclusive digital content to boost consumers¡¦ willingness to adopt the service.

Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references.