The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) manages wildlife management areas (WMAs) to provide wildlife habitat and hunting and fishing opportunities, along with opportunities for compatible wildlife-related recreation. Despite having responsibility for managing 39 WMAs, comprising more than 200,000 acres, VDGIF had only anecdotal information about who recreated on Virginia's WMAs, to what extent, and how they felt about management of the WMAs. My goals were to (1) determine the types and amount of recreational use WMAs receive, (2) describe and compare VDGIF managers' and WMA users' current attitudes and perceptions toward land management, and (3) determine if a methods bias existed between surveys administered online and through U.S. mail. I observed diverse recreational use totaling > 90,000 annual recreational user days on the 10 WMAs included in the study. Most visitors were satisfied with their visit, agreed with the use of most land management practices presented, and were willing to continue to visit a WMA if an annual fee was imposed. Co-orientation analysis revealed low agreement and low accuracy, suggesting a need to improve awareness and recognition of managers' and stakeholders' attitudes toward land management. Addressing areas where agreement already exists, but may not be recognized, should be a top priority. Areas of greater disparity will prove difficult to address, but attention is critical to successfully implement WMA management objectives. Wildlife value orientations differed between VDGIF managers and WMA users; VDGIF personnel were predominantly Utilitarian (54%, n=35), whereas WMA users were predominantly Pluralist (63%, n=381). Value orientations did not relate strongly to opinions of land management. Demographics differed between web and paper respondents, with slightly younger, more urban and more educated respondents electing to complete the web-based survey more often. Value orientations toward wildlife and attitudes toward land management did not differ between web and paper respondents, suggesting little influence of values and attitudes on the survey mode selected. Increasingly diverse stakeholders and limited funding sources continue to challenge state wildlife agencies. Specific engagement techniques should strengthen interpersonal relationships and collaboration between the agency and its stakeholders. / Ph. D.

But : Ce projet de recherche a comme objectif principal de mieux comprendre diverses facettes de la relation entraîneur-entrainée. Cette relation entre un entraîneur masculin et une athlète féminine en volleyball sera observée selon trois niveaux de compétition des athlètes – secondaire, collégial et universitaire. Trois aspects seront étudiés à travers les questions posées dans cette recherche : (1) Est-ce que la perception que les athlètes ont de la relation entraîneur-entraîné est différente selon le niveau de compétition de l’athlète? (2) Existe-il des différences dans la nature de la relation à l’intérieur d’un même niveau? (3) Est-ce que le nombre d’années qu’une athlète a passé avec le même entraîneur affecte la qualité de la relation?. Méthodologie : Évoluant sur le circuit québécois, les six équipes de volleyball et leur entraîneur respectif représentent l’échantillon de la présente étude. Les tests utilisés afin de réaliser les analyses univariées et bivariées de cette étude sont : le Test de Welch, les corrélations de Pearson ainsi que les tests post-hoc de Games-Howell. Résultats : (1) Les athlètes du secondaire partagent une relation de meilleure qualité avec leur entraîneur que celles du cégep et de l’université. (2) Dans un même niveau de compétition, ce qui différencie la qualité de la relation est : le rôle de la joueuse dans son équipe ainsi que le nombre de sports organisés dans lesquels elle participe (relations proportionnelles). (3) Une relation inverse existe entre le nombre d’années vécues par la dyade entraîneur-athlète et la qualité de la relation. / Objective : The main purpose of this study is to better understand certain aspects of the coach-athlete relationship. The relationship between a male coach and a female athlete in volleyball will be analyzed based on three different levels of competition: high school, cegep and university. The specific objectives of this study will be examined through three research questions: (1) Is the athlete’s perception of the coach-athlete relationship different based on the level of competition in which the athlete participates? (2) Is there any difference in the nature of the coach-athlete relationship within the same level of competition? (3) Does the number of years that an athlete plays for the same coach affect the nature of the relationship? Method: The sample of this study consists of six volleyball teams, playing within the Quebec conference, and their respective coaches. The univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted using the following tests: the Welch test, the Pearson correlations and the Games-Howell post-hoc tests. Results: (1) High school athletes have a relationship with their coach that is of higher quality than athletes from cegep and university. (2) The quality of the coach-athlete relationship differs within a same level of competition based on the athlete’s role in her team as well as the number of organised sports in which she participates (proportional relationships). (3) There is an inverse relationship between the number of years the athlete and the coach have been working together and the quality of their relationship.

But : Ce projet de recherche a comme objectif principal de mieux comprendre diverses facettes de la relation entraîneur-entrainée. Cette relation entre un entraîneur masculin et une athlète féminine en volleyball sera observée selon trois niveaux de compétition des athlètes – secondaire, collégial et universitaire. Trois aspects seront étudiés à travers les questions posées dans cette recherche : (1) Est-ce que la perception que les athlètes ont de la relation entraîneur-entraîné est différente selon le niveau de compétition de l’athlète? (2) Existe-il des différences dans la nature de la relation à l’intérieur d’un même niveau? (3) Est-ce que le nombre d’années qu’une athlète a passé avec le même entraîneur affecte la qualité de la relation?. Méthodologie : Évoluant sur le circuit québécois, les six équipes de volleyball et leur entraîneur respectif représentent l’échantillon de la présente étude. Les tests utilisés afin de réaliser les analyses univariées et bivariées de cette étude sont : le Test de Welch, les corrélations de Pearson ainsi que les tests post-hoc de Games-Howell. Résultats : (1) Les athlètes du secondaire partagent une relation de meilleure qualité avec leur entraîneur que celles du cégep et de l’université. (2) Dans un même niveau de compétition, ce qui différencie la qualité de la relation est : le rôle de la joueuse dans son équipe ainsi que le nombre de sports organisés dans lesquels elle participe (relations proportionnelles). (3) Une relation inverse existe entre le nombre d’années vécues par la dyade entraîneur-athlète et la qualité de la relation. / Objective : The main purpose of this study is to better understand certain aspects of the coach-athlete relationship. The relationship between a male coach and a female athlete in volleyball will be analyzed based on three different levels of competition: high school, cegep and university. The specific objectives of this study will be examined through three research questions: (1) Is the athlete’s perception of the coach-athlete relationship different based on the level of competition in which the athlete participates? (2) Is there any difference in the nature of the coach-athlete relationship within the same level of competition? (3) Does the number of years that an athlete plays for the same coach affect the nature of the relationship? Method: The sample of this study consists of six volleyball teams, playing within the Quebec conference, and their respective coaches. The univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted using the following tests: the Welch test, the Pearson correlations and the Games-Howell post-hoc tests. Results: (1) High school athletes have a relationship with their coach that is of higher quality than athletes from cegep and university. (2) The quality of the coach-athlete relationship differs within a same level of competition based on the athlete’s role in her team as well as the number of organised sports in which she participates (proportional relationships). (3) There is an inverse relationship between the number of years the athlete and the coach have been working together and the quality of their relationship.

Once a year for over forty years public relations’ practitioners in Sweden gathers, the political week in Almedalen, in the town of Visby. There they exchange knowledge and experience on all types of subjects using different and common communication models whether they are aware of them or not. The research on communication models is sparse, with one exception: Grunig’s model. Both practitioners and researches believe them to be important, even strategic. But too little knowledge about the models as such negatively impacts the understanding of public relations’ activities. It also contributes to the view that public relations is frittered. The thesis studies and analyses communication models of public relations. Models have been created by theorists and practitioners to describe the phenomenon, to understand communication as such and to facilitate communication between humans. The thesis addresses basic questions such as which models there are, where they stem from, who the originators were and the characteristics of each respective model. The basis of the study is comprehensive Anglo-American literature. All in all, over twenty different models have been analyzed in three different ways, i.e. the structure of a model, its historical deposits (sediment) and the application of the model. The result is manifold, since many characteristics form ten attributes and three families of models (a reduction). The characteristics can be seen as the models’ building blocks, e.g. the direction of the communication, the number of contacts and synchronism. Three model families are built on three differentiating characteristics, and the families are named correspondingly. Directional model (Riktningsmodellen), the Co-orientational model (Saminriktningsmodellen) and the Connectivity model (Konnektivitetsmodellen). The classification is of course not set in stone. It should be regarded as a first step to reduce the number of models in use and concentrate on the important characteristics of the models that help public relations researchers and professionals to solve problems and theorists to explain, foresee or guide to better public relations. Finally, five areas of future research are presented: a multinational study of models, a study of practitioners’ model use, a deeper history study according the concept of sediment, a notational system for models and, last but not least, a development of the Connectivity model. The last subject is the one that once inspired me to write a thesis. / <p>QC 20170426</p>

Le travail identitaire (TI) réfère aux actions par lesquelles des personnes (re)créent, présentent, précisent et préservent les constructions qui donnent un sens cohérent et distinct au soi. À cet égard, notre objectif de recherche était d’exposer les nuances de ce travail discursif à l’œuvre dans la conversation in situ, considérant que cela est encore aujourd’hui un des « chaînons manquants » à la littérature sur le TI. La dynamique conversationnelle qui a trop souvent été négligée lors de l’étude du TI est ici mise en exergue. Nous y portons une attention particulière grâce à notre approche basée sur la théorie sociale de George Herbert Mead et les concepts de l’analyse de conversation mobilisés pour l’observation des discussions guidées du Programme de leadership intermédiaire des Forces armées canadiennes (FAC). L’approche de recherche que nous privilégions nous a permis d’illustrer empiriquement différents aspects du TI dans la conversation in situ. Nous avons noté un TI tacite (non verbal) au fil des échanges entre leaders seniors des FAC, à savoir entre les personnes qui prenaient part aux discussions guidées que nous avons analysées. Nous avons surtout examiné leur TI verbal et explicite par l’entremise de leurs prises de parole. Notre examen montre que le conformisme du « moi » prévaut lors du TI, sans toutefois totalement éclipser la part d’individualité aussi à l’œuvre lors de ce travail. Malgré la forte identification à l’institution des FAC, nos analyses donnent à voir que ses membres profitent d’un certain espace discursif où ils peuvent mettre en valeur leurs particularités. Notre analyse le met en lumière et montre de plus qu’il y a un travail collectif qui s’opère à l’égard du TI comme leader et stagiaire. C’est à travers la convergence et la divergence des orientations que cet aspect collectif du TI a pu être observé, un travail collectif favorisant une certaine conscience de soi. / Identity work refers to actions by which people (re)create, present, specify and sustain constructions that are productive of a coherent and distinct sense of self. In this regard, our aim was to display the nuances of this discursive work within naturally occurring conversations, considering this is still one of the “blind spot” of the literature on identity work. Conversation dynamics, which have too often been overlooked in studies of identity work, were therefore closely examined. Our approach combines George Herbert Mead’s theory and conversation analysis concepts in the review of guided discussions held during the Intermediate leadership program of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). This combination actually enabled us to empirically describe various aspects of identity work in exchanges between senior CAF leaders. Tacit (nonverbal) identity work, as we have coined it, was certainly occurring throughout the guided discussions we studied. However, given our approach, we mainly examined the verbal and explicit identity work, through talk-in-action. In terms of actions, including what was invoked, our analysis shows that the “Me” and its conventions, as Mead conceived it, prevailed during our participants’ identity work. It did not totally overshadow the part of individuality, or the “I”, also at play during their work. Despite their strong identification with the CAF institution, the participants negociated a discursive space where they could highlight their particularities. Our analysis underlines it and shows that there was a collective work taking place in their identity work as leaders. It is through converging and diverging orientations that the collective aspect of their work was made visible, a collective work which also promoted self-consciousness.