Engaging in regular exercise has multiple health benefits--for example, physical (Anshel, 2003; Penedo & Dahn 2005); mental (Stathopoulou, Powers, Berry, Smits, & Otto, 2006); emotional (Berger Pargman, & Weinberg, 2002); and social (Anshel, Reeves, & Roth, 2003; Dishman, 1994; Lox, Martin, & Petruzzello, 2003). Unfortunately, there are as many barriers to people exercising (e.g., time, cost, and accessibility) as there are benefits. Consequently, approximately two-thirds of individuals living within the United States do not engage in regular exercise (i.e., 3 days per week for at least 45 minutes; CDC, 2006). Multiple interventions have been implemented to help individuals initiate regular exercise (e.g., psychotherapy, physicians, and community programs), but none of them review how an individual alters his or her thoughts about exercise that could lead to initiation. Addressing an individual's beliefs about engaging in regular exercise will add to the understanding of how modifying thoughts can help lead to initiation. The purpose of the current study was to monitor the use of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)-style interviews to help three male participants who have had difficulties beginning and sustaining regular exercise explore their thoughts about exercise and potentially begin an exercise routine. In this dissertation, a comprehensive background is provided, outlining and explaining definitions affiliated with REBT, exercise, and mental health. Then a thorough literature review is provided, which outlines previous research on exercise interventions. In response to the specific research questions posed, the results of the current study indicate that using a variety of active directive REBT style interviews helped three men modify their beliefs about exercise and consequently improve their motivation to routinely engage in the behavior. Finally, limitations, implications, and directions for future research and practice are provided.

In recent years, a growing body of research has examined the issue of work–life balance (WLB). WLB initiatives have been developed by organisations, not only to aid employees in leading healthier and more satisfying lives, but to attract and retain talent. One area where WLB issues have not been examined in detail is from the perspective of Chinese immigrant women. As one of the largest and growing Asian ethnic groups, the WLB issues faced by Chinese women are especially worthy of being examined and addressed. The primary purpose of this research was to explore the WLB experience of Chinese women in administrative roles at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). It also aims to contribute to the body of knowledge on WLB issues for minority ethnic groups and investigated Chinese women’s coping strategies for integrating work with their non-work roles. An exploratory qualitative case study approach was adopted for this study in order to compare and contrast organisational initiatives and policies for WLB with women’s experiences. A triangulated research design was also employed to glean qualitative data by virtue of multiple methods including archival evidence such as publicly available documentation, secondary research on WLB and AUT’s WLB policies, and semi-structured interviews. This study involved 12 Chinese female administrative staff and three staff members from the Human Resource Department (HRD), the Asian Staff Network (ASN) and the AUT Branch of Tertiary Institutes Allied Staff Association (TIASA). Participants were recruited by utilising sources such as the Asian Staff Network (ASN) and the researcher’s network of contacts within AUT. The findings of the study indicated that Chinese women’s WLB experience and ways of handling work–family conflict (WFC) and family–work conflict (FWC) were affected by their experiences of immigration and cultural backgrounds. In particular, their family situation had a critical influence on the way they organised their households and arranged for childcare or eldercare. Child/elder care responsibilities, personal/family emergencies, and personal/individual sacrifice engendered tensions around their ability to integrate WLB. In addition, work factors such as heavy workloads, meeting deadlines, and working longer hours, and cultural barriers caused emotional stress and physical consequences. While informal support from managers and colleagues and the WLB policies offered by the university helped women address their WLB issues, some policies were underutilised. A variety of coping strategies such as family members, win-lose strategies, time management, building clear boundaries, changing mindsets, and demonstrating commitment were actively adopted by Chinese women as mechanisms to cope with tensions between their work and family lives. The implications of these findings are discussed in light of the theory and practice of WLB.

This qualitative field study investigated cross-site knowledge sharing in a small sample of multinational corporations in three different MNC business contexts (global, multidomestic, transnational). The results disclose heterogeneous "worlds" of MNC knowledge sharing, ultimately raising the question as to whether the whole concept of MNC knowledge sharing covers a sufficiently unitary phenomenon to be meaningful. We derive a non-exhaustive typology of MNC knowledge-sharing practices: self-organizing knowledge sharing, technocratic knowledge sharing, and best practice knowledge sharing. Despite its limitations, this typology helps to elucidate a number of issues, including the latent conflict between two disparate theories of MNC knowledge sharing, namely "sender-receiver" and "social learning" theories (Noorderhaven & Harzing, 2009). More generally, we develop the term "knowledge contextualization" to highlight the way that firm-specific organizational features pre-define which knowledge is considered to be of special relevance for intra-organizational sharing. (authors' abstract)

This qualitative case study examines the way in which six adult learners and their teacher in a university language classroom narrativise their identities while reflecting on experiences in and outside of the classroom. This study determined that the identity positions of the student participants were strongly influenced by notions of normative cultural, national and religious identity categories, as well as the students’ experiences in environments that were characterized by high-stakes grading, and “native speaker” norms. Drawing on poststructural identity theories (Norton, 1995, 1997; Gee, 2001) and anti-colonial and anti-racist scholarship (Kubota and Lin, 2009), this research contributes to the growing body of knowledge that addresses the effects of subjective notions of identity and structural power relations on the experiences of adult learners. Additionally, it outlines some possible actions for teachers and policy-makers to counter some of the structural inequalities that negatively impact the identity negotiation of students.

In Canada, 20% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions result from burning fossil fuels to heat homes, buildings, and water. Solar thermal technologies convert the sun’s energy into emission-free heat. The Drake Landing Solar Community (DLSC) in Okotoks, Alberta uses a Central Solar Heating Plant (CSHP) with Seasonal Storage to achieve an astounding annual reduction of 89 % in fossil fuel consumption and more than 5 tonnes in GHG emissions per home. This thesis examines: (1) the role for solar thermal technologies in Canada; and (2) what social, economical, and environmental factors are critical to the implementation and ultimate success of the DLSC. The former was examined through a literature review and the latter through a qualitative case study. Data was collected from published articles, media reports, conference proceedings, and in-person interviews in Okotoks. International markets have shown strong solar thermal growth, yet Canada lags significantly despite its powerful solar resources and readily available technology. Europe has demonstrated that strong policies with ambitious targets have a critical role in the implementation of solar technologies. A review of recent public opinion polls demonstrates Canadians value the environment and would favour such policy developments. The case study sought to understand the roles and motivations of the municipality, home builder group, and homeowners. The municipality exhibited tremendous leadership when it embarked on a path towards sustainability that included controlled growth based on ecological limitations and investment in solar thermal technology for municipal buildings. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities was instrumental in exposing Okotoks and the home builder group to the CSHP successes in Europe. The flexibility and innovation of the home builder group provided conventionally-styled homes, which were able to seamlessly incorporate the technologies of the DLSC. For the homeowners, critical components of the success of the project included: a means to participate in environmental change, increased community cohesion due to aligned values; and price stability for their heating costs. Additionally, all of the homeowners interviewed stated that they would be willing to pay extra to support the technology, which indicates that future projects may require less subsidization. / Thesis (Master, Environmental Studies) -- Queen's University, 2009-02-03 14:08:18.825

This qualitative case study examines the way in which six adult learners and their teacher in a university language classroom narrativise their identities while reflecting on experiences in and outside of the classroom. This study determined that the identity positions of the student participants were strongly influenced by notions of normative cultural, national and religious identity categories, as well as the students’ experiences in environments that were characterized by high-stakes grading, and “native speaker” norms. Drawing on poststructural identity theories (Norton, 1995, 1997; Gee, 2001) and anti-colonial and anti-racist scholarship (Kubota and Lin, 2009), this research contributes to the growing body of knowledge that addresses the effects of subjective notions of identity and structural power relations on the experiences of adult learners. Additionally, it outlines some possible actions for teachers and policy-makers to counter some of the structural inequalities that negatively impact the identity negotiation of students.

There is widespread recognition of the importance of organizational learning to organizational performance and innovation. Recent research suggests that the use of analytics can play a critical role in enhancing organizational learning. However, the relationship between marketing analytics and organizational learning has not yet been well studied. More specifically, research is needed to help understand how analytics, marketing analytics in particular, facilitate organizational learning to develop a systematic, theoretical explanation of the relationship between organizational learning and marketing analytics. This phenomenon is studied in the very rich context of the health care industry. This research uses a case study to examine how organizational learning involving intuiting, interpreting, integrating, and institutionalizing can be facilitated by marketing analytics. Health care organizations are using marketing analytics to adapt to the changes in their rapidly changing environment. A conceptual framework has been developed to illustrate how marketing analytics capabilities in the organization are used to facilitate organizational learning. This study also provides recommendations on how health care organizations can enhance organizational learning with marketing analytics to improve their business performance.

In recent years, a growing body of research has examined the issue of work–life balance (WLB). WLB initiatives have been developed by organisations, not only to aid employees in leading healthier and more satisfying lives, but to attract and retain talent. One area where WLB issues have not been examined in detail is from the perspective of Chinese immigrant women. As one of the largest and growing Asian ethnic groups, the WLB issues faced by Chinese women are especially worthy of being examined and addressed. The primary purpose of this research was to explore the WLB experience of Chinese women in administrative roles at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). It also aims to contribute to the body of knowledge on WLB issues for minority ethnic groups and investigated Chinese women’s coping strategies for integrating work with their non-work roles. An exploratory qualitative case study approach was adopted for this study in order to compare and contrast organisational initiatives and policies for WLB with women’s experiences. A triangulated research design was also employed to glean qualitative data by virtue of multiple methods including archival evidence such as publicly available documentation, secondary research on WLB and AUT’s WLB policies, and semi-structured interviews. This study involved 12 Chinese female administrative staff and three staff members from the Human Resource Department (HRD), the Asian Staff Network (ASN) and the AUT Branch of Tertiary Institutes Allied Staff Association (TIASA). Participants were recruited by utilising sources such as the Asian Staff Network (ASN) and the researcher’s network of contacts within AUT. The findings of the study indicated that Chinese women’s WLB experience and ways of handling work–family conflict (WFC) and family–work conflict (FWC) were affected by their experiences of immigration and cultural backgrounds. In particular, their family situation had a critical influence on the way they organised their households and arranged for childcare or eldercare. Child/elder care responsibilities, personal/family emergencies, and personal/individual sacrifice engendered tensions around their ability to integrate WLB. In addition, work factors such as heavy workloads, meeting deadlines, and working longer hours, and cultural barriers caused emotional stress and physical consequences. While informal support from managers and colleagues and the WLB policies offered by the university helped women address their WLB issues, some policies were underutilised. A variety of coping strategies such as family members, win-lose strategies, time management, building clear boundaries, changing mindsets, and demonstrating commitment were actively adopted by Chinese women as mechanisms to cope with tensions between their work and family lives. The implications of these findings are discussed in light of the theory and practice of WLB.

Community-university partnerships have become more prevalent to support community-based research, especially as a collaborative approach to research with Aboriginal Peoples in Canada. One practice is the activation of a community-based research steering committee to initiate, govern, and review research pertaining to their local community. Within literature related to community-based research, perspectives on capacity strengthening and co-learning from the members of a community-based research steering committee are under-represented. A qualitative case study approach was used to explore the research question: What are the experiences of the Alexander Research Committee (ARC) members in defining and operationalizing capacity strengthening and co-learning across multi-sectoral research projects? Nine current and past members of the ARC participated in individual semi-structured interviews and five of these ARC members also participated in a subsequent focus-group discussion. Analysis of these qualitative data indicated that foundational relationships and a conducive learning environment are key factors for a community-based research committee to experience co-constructed knowledge and learning. The findings of this study highlight the importance of an operational foundation of trusting relationships in order to establish and sustain a working environment where a community-based research committee can learn together and from each other. This study also yielded insights about how this community-based research committee predicated capacity strengthening from the understanding that ‘we are all learners’, with each member bringing forward unique strengths, questions and growth to the research processes. / Graduate

Background: Access to safe and nutritious food is a universal right, which is essential for well-being. Food security exists when “all people at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious foods to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”. Despite a call by global leaders to ensure food security and eradicate food insecurity, food insecurity remains a serious public health concern in Canada. While public health nurses are ideally situated to advance this public health priority, they have been conspicuously absent from important research and decision-making tables where work to address these inequities take place. This is the impetus for this study. Purpose: To explore how public health nurses engage in work to address food insecurity. The study uncovers the dynamic interplay of structures, processes, and agency that enable and constrain public health nurses work. An understanding of the sociopolitical contexts of public health helps to strengthen public health nurses’ engagement in food insecurity thereby contributing to health equity in Canada. Methodology: A holistic qualitative case study approach informed by the tenets of critical realism was used to guide this study in Nova Scotia. Primary data sources were 19 individual interviews and a review of 33 documents. Data were transcribed verbatim. Data analysis was guided by Framework Analysis and matrix construction. The trustworthiness of data was ensured through Lincoln and Guba’s criteria for qualitative studies. Findings: Four major themes include: 1) Framing Food (In)Security, 2) The Role of Public Health Nurses; 3) Navigating the Terrain of Food Insecurity; and 4) Resources to Advance Food Insecurity Work in Public Health Nursing Practice. Discussion and Implications: The dynamic interplay among leaders with differing ideologies and organizational culture has an impact on health equity agendas and subsequently on public health nursing engagement in work to address food insecurity. Capitalizing on a “clash of cultures” is associated with effective community food security outcomes. We must continue to illuminate the tensions among public health nurses and other stakeholders as well as address issues of power relations both within and external to the public health system. Conclusion: Public health may benefit greatly from building capacity of public health nurses’ to engage in both upstream and downstream food insecurity work.