This study investigates impacts on Western Canadas rural communities that may result from land usage change from conventional agriculture to that of forestry, in part or in whole. Many of Western Canadas rural communities in the agriculture regions near the tree line have developed around cash crops (cereal/oilseeds) and livestock production. Through the Government of Canadas commitments to achieve targeted greenhouse gas emission levels, a market may develop where landowners will be adequately compensated to initiate a switch from conventional agriculture to that of forestry. This study finds that forestry and agricultural regions have over time developed different business structures to support local industry demands. Because of this, converting land use to forestry from agriculture will likely have a significant impact on the rural communities that serve the local economy. Results also showed that population change is significantly influenced by the percentage of people employed in agricultural and by proximity to larger urban centres.

Little is known about Registered Nurses (RNs) and their work in northern Canada and the care of older adults with dementia in this setting. As the prevalence of dementia is predicted to increase over the next 30 years, the purpose of this project was to discover key concepts that depicted salient issues in dementia care in northern Saskatchewan from the perspective of RNs working in northern health care facilities. A sequential exploratory mixed method design was chosen for this study with a qualitative lead complemented by a secondary analysis of quantitative data. <p>Interviews were conducted with 14 RNs, employed in small northern Saskatchewan communities, about their experiences with dementia caregiving and their perceptions of dementia care resources. The grounded theory method used in analysis of the interview data resulted in the construction of the theory, Insulating and Expanding the Awareness of Dementia in Northern Nursing. The study identified three categories of conditions that influenced awareness of dementia: Dementia Care and Community Caregiving, Characteristics of the Northern RN, and Northern Nursing Worklife. The quantitative secondary analysis, using a north-south comparison of data from the national survey (Stewart et al., 2005) in the multi-method study The Nature of Nursing Practice in Rural and Remote Canada (MacLeod et al., 2004), was used to explore contextual elements identified in the grounded theory analysis. The comparison of nursing practice in northern (n = 597) and southern (n = 2154) rural and small town communities found that fewer RNs in northern Canada reported dementia as a client characteristic, worked in long-term care, or in home care nursing positions, compared to RNs in southern Canada. Findings from both the qualitative and quantitative studies contribute to an understanding of the RNs awareness of dementia. Recommendations for increasing the awareness of dementia in northern nursing practice include enhancing the resources and services available to older adults with dementia in small northern communities. It is hoped that further exploration of dementia within northern communities will result in improved care for individuals with dementia and their families.

Successful knowledge transfer is all about relationships. As anyone who has conducted research with non-academic partners knows, it takes a considerable amount of time and effort for these relationships to be fruitful. The great benefit of placing this work within the context of a community of practice is that it gives researchers and decision makers a structure within which to interact.<p> This study explored ways in which a community of practice framework can be used to develop and nurture relationships between researchers and decision makers. Further, it investigated how these communities of practice can be supported by online communications technologies. Its major contribution is the development, testing and refinement of a checklist of six ways that researchers can connect with decision makers in communities of practice, both in person and online. This checklist provides concrete, practical suggestions on how to develop an effective community of practice. Items in the checklist are based on both the academic literature on knowledge transfer and communities of practice, and the authors experience as part of an academic research unit focused on conducting collaborative research with community and government partners. Each item in the checklist was validated through interviews with members of two communities of practice. While the initial checklist had five items, a sixth was added following analysis of the interviews.<p> This checklist is generalizable, in that it can help guide any kind of community of practice, not just those in which members work on early childhood development issues, nor those communities in which researchers and decision makers interact. It is a valuable contribution to knowledge transfer methods at a time when both interest levels and efforts to improve knowledge implementation are widespread. The final checklist reads as follows:<p> A community of practice should:<p> 1. provide opportunities for regular interaction between community members;<p> 2. allow members to participate at varying levels that can change over time;<p> 3. provide both public and private spaces for interaction;<p> 4. document its goals, activities and outcomes, in order to develop a knowledge repository;<p> 5. identify and document the value of the community itself; and <p> 6. enlist the guidance of a technology champion in order to use online communications technologies effectively.

The purpose of this study is to explore the role of social entrepreneurs or core visionaries in generating conceptual, financial, and community support and acceptance for a Healthy City/Community initiative in the Bryan/College Station area. This initiative affords all community members the opportunity to participate in long-term regional goals. Crucial questions were: what criteria were seen as beneficial to the community that would garner support to proceed with a Healthy City initiative, what would be desirable and more feasible - to enter into an agreement with an existing entity, an existing medical health provider, related entity or subsidiary, or to set up a new, independent entity to oversee the initiative, where would funding come from, what was the time commitment, and who would evaluate the initiative's success? Another purpose of this study is to explore how a Healthy City's process was adapted and developed for use in the Brazos Valley and how the initial community leaders or initiative "champions" went about initiating and organizing the movement, including identifying manpower needs, whether through the use of volunteers or the hiring of professionals, consultants, or full time staff to coordinate the various activities. Also of interest were the criteria that the initiative's leaders would use to divide their Healthy City's agenda or potential goals into topical components to be studied and analyzed by community representatives for inclusion (or not) into the final, formal Vision Statement for the community for succeeding by 2020. This was a qualitative study; interviews and observations of meetings were the information gathering methods used. According to the results, most participants found their involvement meaningful and enjoyable, but they also feared that no actions would come from the goals set by the community. Areas for further research or investigation might include: subsequent phases enacted by the Brazos 2020 Vision, changes made in dealing with future options after the Final Report was completed or distributed, resulting funding opportunities and movement of key leaders after the Brazos Valley initiative had entered subsequent phases. Another focus might be to continue to research or investigate the timeline for Brazos 2020 Vision up to the year 2020.

This study focused on the perceptions students have about the effectiveness of learning communities, a focus of the First-Year Success initiative at Texas A

Thesis (M. Div.)--Emmanuel School of Religion, 2007. / Vita. Description based on microfiche version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 68-73).

Thesis--Uppsala. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 172-177).

Thesis (M.S. in Operations Research)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 1990. / Thesis Advisor(s): Milch, Paul R. Second Reader: Halwachs, Thomas E. "September 1990." Description based on title screen as viewed on December 18, 2009. DTIC Identifier(s): Naval Personnel, Career Planning, General Unrestricted Line Officer, Officer Personnel, Computerized Simulation, Forecaster Model, Billets (Personnel), Gen Url, Theses, Women, Community. Author(s) subject terms: General Unrestricted Line Officer Community, GEN URL, Career Paths, Forecaster Model. Includes bibliographical references (p. 112). Also available in print.

Thesis (Th. M.)--Regent College, Vancouver, BC, 2001. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 165-170).

Globalisation has intensified the international movement of labour and South Korea is no exception. Korea, which in the past was itself a labour-exporting country, has seen a reversal in human mobility since the late 1990's with a rapid growth in immigration and a transformation of a previously almost ethnically homogenous society. However, studies on migrant and ethnic minority groups in Korea have primarily focussed on such areas as industrial law and social policy. In this context, the important questions about the cultural and political implications associated with the construction of minority representations in the media have remained highly unexplored. The starting point of this study is an examination of the vital role of public service broadcasting (PSB) in Korean society, where ethnic minorities have increasingly become visible. Korean PSB's mandate, following the BBC model, emphasises the broadcaster‟s responsibility to represent and reflect the range of public opinion and experiences beyond class, age, ethnicity and ideological orientation. Despite this commitment what this study shows is that PSB in South Korea has failed to fairly represent the culturally diverse groups within Korean society. The main purpose of this study is to empirically examine the means through which PSB generates discourses of We-ness and Otherness at times of change in the Korean society. Empirically, the study focuses on primetime PSB news visual and textual representations of migrants and ethnic minorities. With the use of critical discourse analysis (CDA) it demonstrates that PSB gives a concrete form to the ideological constructions of Otherness, sometimes transforming subtle cultural or social differences into fundamental and oppositional ones. Korean PSB appears to be ideologically biased toward nationalism, while in its visual and textual representations it constructs ideological systems of social and racial stratification, with Southeast Asian migrants constantly represented as the ultimate Others. The study shows the significant role of PSB in representing cultural diversity in public debates and the ways in which such representations and their dissemination reflect media power.