Education can be viewed as a challenging profession, even more so for educators teaching learners with severe intellectual challenges (SIC). The diagnostic criteria of learners with SIC are a significant sub-average ability in intellectual functioning and concurrent deficiencies in adaptive behaviour such as social and daily living skills. The majority of learners with SIC display disruptive and challenging behaviour such as aggression, hyperactivity, talking inappropriately, and inappropriate sexual behaviour. Educators teaching learners with SIC are confronted, daily, with a wide range of challenges such as an excessive workload, minimal progress, and challenging behaviour displayed by the learners with SIC. The intensity of the physical and emotional challenges experienced by the educators, consequently, results in negative outcomes such as stress, burnout, high staff absences, and premature resignations. Earlier studies conducted in this field of specialisation found that educators, overall, were not very keen to teach learners with SIC. South African research conducted within this field of specialisation determined that, despite similar negative challenges, the educators did not necessarily share the pessimistic view towards this teaching environment as experienced in other countries. Local studies indicated that some educators experienced less stress and better physical health than others. The aim of the research was to gain an understanding of the nature of, and possible contextual influences on, those experiences that contributed to some educators experiencing job satisfaction and working effectively, while others did not, to ultimately present possible guiding principles to develop support systems for educators teaching learners with SIC. This qualitative study was planned from a descriptive and explorative case study design by making use of the phenomenological method of inquiry. Ethical permission to conduct the study was obtained from the North- West University. The research group consisted of six educators who perceived themselves as effective in this strenuous teaching environment, working at two selected schools for learners with SIC in the Tshwane South District, Gauteng. Data were obtained by making use of semi-structured interviews, open-ended sentences, and follow-up interviews. Data analysis and interpretation were guided by Creswell‘s application of Tesch‘s method by an in-depth analysis, identifying possible themes and topics. The various categories were identified and described. A literature control was executed in order to interpret and evaluate the data. The final step involved recounting the findings in the format of a written article. Based on the research findings, it was concluded that the participants, despite the various challenges, experienced high levels of job satisfaction and motivation. However, the study also confirmed that specific challenges such as the behaviour that learners with SIC display and a lack of acknowledgement could have a detrimental effect on motivational levels. The literature indicated that low motivational levels have a negative impact on job satisfaction and effectiveness. The emotional wellbeing of educators was recognized to be an important determining factor towards their effectiveness and ability to cope. The need for the development of appropriate support systems to enhance the educators‘ emotional wellbeing was confirmed. / Thesis (MA (Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Motivation, engagemang och delaktighet bland medarbetare är viktiga faktorer i organisationers ekonomiska framgång och överlevnad på marknaden. Huvudsyftet med denna studie var att undersöka om det fanns skillnader i inre motivation och delaktighet utifrån grad av tillfredsställelse av de tre grundläggande psykologiska behoven mellan organisationens olika yrkeskategorier. Vidare syften var att undersöka om ohälsa kan prediceras med grad av inre motivation samt om det fanns skillnader i skattningarna av delaktighet på arbetsplatsen och inom organisationen. En web-baserad enkät skickades ut till samtliga 914 medarbetare i organisationen och 205 valde att delta. Resultaten visade att det inte fanns någon skillnad i tillfredsställelse av de grundläggande psykologiska behoven kopplat till yrkeskategorier samt att medarbetarnas inre motivation kunde användas som prediktor för deras självskattade ohälsa. Resultatet av studiens explorativa frågeställningar visade att delaktighet och inre motivation i arbetet skattades som viktigt av medarbetarna. Resultaten indikerade att Organisationen hade en stark organisationskultur med fokus på delaktighet, som delades av medarbetare från olika yrkeskategorier.

The Kurds are the largest stateless ethnic group in the world, numbering around 30 million globally, and after more than a century of fighting for self-determination the tangible success is minimal. Turkey and Iraq both have significant Kurdish populations that are growing in size respective to the Turkish and Arab communities, and yet the only semi-autonomous territory the Kurds have is the Iraqi province of Kurdistan. With continued instability in the Middle East, and an increasingly powerful, numerous, and ideological Kurdish community present, the recipe for conflict is present. This thesis analyzes the Kurdish claim for self-determination, and the different levels of success the groups in Turkey and Iraq have faced, through secondary literature. A multi-level approach reveals how complex the Kurdish Question really is, and what other minority groups and national governments can learn from the Kurds' experience.

Forskning visar att personliga assistenter är en yrkesgrupp som ofta har en bristande psykosocial arbetsmiljö på grund av att assistenterna många gånger arbetar ensamma hos kunden, har brist på tydliga riktlinjer från ledningen samt otillräckligt socialt stöd. Detta i kombination med kunders alkoholmissbruk och deras självbestämmanderätt kan ytterligare skapa utsatthet och etiska dilemman hos assistenterna. Syftet med vår studie var att undersöka hur personliga assistenter beskriver att deras psykosociala arbetsmiljö påverkas av kundens alkoholmissbruk. Vidare var det av vikt att belysa kundens självbestämmanderätt och assistenternas egna gränsdragningar i denna problematik. För att besvara vårt syfte valde vi en kvalitativ undersökningsmetod och intervjuade fem personliga assistenter som har erfarenheter av kunder som lever med alkoholmissbruk. Huvudresultatet av vår studie visade att personliga assistenternas psykosociala arbetsmiljö påverkas negativt av denna problematik genom att de upplever stress och oro. Det bristande stödet och otydliga riktlinjer var viktiga orsaker till den upplevda negativa psykosociala arbetsmiljön. / Research shows that personal assistans is a profession that has often been a lack of psychosocial work enwironment due to the fact that assistans often work alone with the client, the lack of clear guidance from management, and inadequate social support. This, in combination with the client's alcohol abuse and its soul discretion maw further create additional vulnerability and ethical dilemmas of the assistans. The aim of our work was to investigate how personal assistans describe that their psychosocial work enwironment is influenced by the customer's alcohol abuse. Further, it was important to higlight the client's autonomy and assistans own boundaries in this problem. To fulfill our purpose, we chose a qualitative research method and interviewed five personal assistans who have experience of clients living with alcohol abuse. The main result of our study showed that their prychosocial work enwironment is adversly affected by this problem in a way that causes stress and anxiety. The lack of support and unclear guidelines were important reasons for the perceived negative psychosocial work enwironment.

A substantial number of adolescent girls are insufficiently active to achieve the health benefits and well-being associated with physical activity (PA). Physical education (PE) classes can provide part of the solution, yet most girls opt out of PE when it is no longer mandatory. Improvements in PE course content and learning environments can motivate adolescent girls to participate. Self-determination theory (SDT) provides a framework to examine the motivational processes of girls in PE. This qualitative case study explored female students’ motivation towards physical activity in one elective PE 10-12 course tailored to meet their interests and needs. A secondary objective was to determine if the pre-requisites and outcomes of their motivation were consistent with the constructs of SDT. Emerging themes reflected the elements of SDT. The students expressed that their needs were supported by the teacher through the PE course content and learning environment. Many stated that they felt motivated because they now enjoyed PE. Positive outcomes included PA participation, positive affect towards PE and PA, meaningful learning, and a sense of well-being. This study provides physical educators with insight to improve physical activity motivation and participation of female students in elective PE.

Anishinaabeg (including Odawa, Potawatomi, Ojibwe, Saulteaux, and Chippewa) are striving to maintain and revitalize Anishinaabemowin (the Anishinaabe language) throughout their territories. This dissertation explores Anishinaabemowin revitalization to find out its participants’ motivations, methods, and mobilization strategies in order to better understand how Indigenous language revitalization movements contribute to decolonization and self-determination. Interviews with Anishinaabe language activists, scholars, and teachers inform this investigation of their motivations and pedagogies for revitalizing Anishinaabemowin. Interviews took place in six Canadian cities as well as four reserves: Brandon, Peterborough, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Toronto and Winnipeg; Lac Seul First Nation, M’Chigeeng First Nation, Sagamok First Nation, and Sault Tribe of Chippewas Reservation. A variety of language revitalization initiatives were explored including those outside the parameters of mainstream adult educational institutions, particularly evening and weekend courses, and language or culture camps. This investigation addresses the following questions: Why have Anishinaabeg attempted to maintain and revitalize Anishinaabemowin? What methods have they employed? Finally, how does this emerging language revitalization movement intersect with other efforts to decolonize communities, restore traditional Anishinaabe governance, and secure self-determination? The study concludes that Anishinaabemowin revitalization and Anishinaabe aspirations for self-determination are interconnected and mutually-supporting goals whose realization will require social movements supported by effective community-based leadership.

Regenerating haa-huu-pah is necessary for the development of a vision of self-determination, and the reclamation of land and freedom for Indigenous peoples. Tla-o-qui-aht and Checlesaht are Indigenous nations who recognize the need for an alternative to colonial processes and have begun looking for strategies for regenerating Quu'asminaa governance. Quu'asminaa leaders, called 'hawiih' (respected and knowledgeable people). were. and in some families continue to be, groomed from an early age to uphold their specific responsibilities. These responsibilities are both personal and collective and include adhering to the laws of the hahuuthlii (the territories, including land, sea. mountains and sky), as well as accountability to the muschim. Hawiih are taught these responsibilities through haa-huu-pah, which are the re-telling of stories, teachings, and ways of our people. Today, utilizing haa-huu-pah is vital to the regeneration of Quu'asminaa governance and to building strong movements toward self-determination within Indigenous communities.

In Canada, First Nations asserting authority over their lands are developing diverse strategies to overcome the state’s dogmatic insistence on jurisdictional sovereignty. This movement corresponds to the wider context of the challenges faced by indigenous people to use their own ways of knowing to resist or reformulate legal doctrines and political tenets based on colonial power. Interior Salish St’át’imc people identify themselves through a strong and ongoing social relationship with Satáqwa7, the Fraser River, and the “Valley of Plenty”— now known as the flooded Bridge River Valley – maintained through St’át’imc knowledge and cultural practice and demonstrated by talk of “the St’át’imc right to fish” and Tsuwalhkálh Ti Tmícwa (The Land is Ours). St’át’imc fishers are prepared to contest and resist any regulatory system that is understood to impact this right to fish while they advocate their own ways of sustainable fishing and water management. Based on ethnographic research in collaboration with St’át’imc people, this thesis explores some of these often successful contestations especially in the context of increasing territorial governance and by example of the rapidly transforming relationship between St’át’imc, BC Hydro and the Province of BC. Interior Salish St’át’imc people are currently navigating through a significant phase of increasing jurisdiction and authority and recognition of (unsettled) territorial property relationships. This very dynamic process is marked by strategic collaborations, compensation for ‘infringements’ on St’át’imc Title and Rights, and conservation efforts to protect their home. An important example is the changing relationship between St’át’imc people and BC Hydro – a relationship between two groups with radically different cultures and agendas: St’át’imc people in a struggle for self-determination, social justice and cultural survival and BC Hydro, a corporate culture, with the agenda to provide hydro-electric power to BC, maintain operation ‘certainty’ and to generate revenue. Exploring the different ways of relating to and acting on the land will allow for more holistic and shared cultural practices of co-governing land, working collectively, remembering history, co-existing in the present and sharing a common future according to the ethical ideals of reconciliation: accountability for wrongdoing, justice, sharing, respect, transcending of hegemonic silences and increased public knowledge. / Graduate

Over the last century, peer-support programs have emerged as viable treatment options for individuals in recovery from problematic alcohol use (White, 2009). During this time, researchers have generated a considerable amount of evidence suggesting that peer-support programs promote widespread benefits among group members (e.g., White, 2009). Despite a growing body of research in this area, little is currently known about the processes explaining how peer-support groups help people achieve positive recovery outcomes. The current study adopts a self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000) framework to explore the means by which peer-support programs promote well-being, group satisfaction, and sustainable behaviour regulation for limiting alcohol use. Eighty-one peer-support attendees responded to a brief web-survey about self-regulation, well-being, and peer-support group experiences. These participants were recruited as part of a larger longitudinal project (entitled “Sober Together”) on peer-support for problematic alcohol use. Preliminary findings indicated that peer-support attendees who perceived group environments as need supportive were more likely to experience psychological need fulfillment, and in turn, greater well-being, group satisfaction, and autonomous regulation for limiting alcohol use. Notably, participants who perceived a congruent “spiritual-fit” with secular or spiritually-based peer-support programs also appeared more likely to experience their group as need supportive, which in turn, bolstered perceptions of psychological need fulfillment. Findings highlight the importance of structuring peer-support environments in a manner that supports psychological needs. / Graduate / 0621 / 0622 / 0451 / tcarey@uvic.ca

The aim of the research in this thesis was to describe the motivations and health practices of participants in the Victoria Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation Run for the Cure, a mass physical activity charity event, and follow them forward approximately two andeight months post-event. Physical activity events are now established as part of nonprofits' repertoire of fundraising tools. These types of events can serve as a venue for ‘moving people to trial’ as they attract large numbers and foster mid-intensity participation in a non-competitive and fun environment. Understanding participants’ motives for and experiences in fundraising events can help to enhance the event for both the organization and the participant. Participants in this study were recruited through the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation’s database of registrants in the 2012 Victoria Run for the Cure. Sixty-four participants completed an online survey gathering demographic, motivation, and health information. Subsequently, twenty-four of these individuals agreed to undergo fitness assessments at two and six months post the event, complete physical activity and healthy eating motivation questionnaires and be interviewed. At T1 participants were not meeting physical activity guidelines and heavier than the average resident in the region. Scores from fitness levels were maintained from two months to eight months post-event, but increased levels of intrinsic motivation for physical activity (Z = .047, p < 0.05), and decreased levels of identified motivation for healthy eating (Z = .036, p < .05) were found. When looking at interview data, factors that largely guided initial event participation involved altruism, reciprocity, and self esteem. The fostering of autonomy and competence and providing a sense of belonging as a result of participation, helped to maintain commitment for both event participation and physical activity after the event. This research supports the notion that ‘fun runs’, provide an ideal environment to provide a context for health behaviour change at the population level, when SDT constructs and intrinsic and identified regulation are supported, especially for those not currently meeting health guidelines. The study offers practical and feasible strategies for the CBCF and other similar organizations to enhance its mandate, and to promote health and prevent disease. / Graduate / 0350 / 0523 / kemoncks@uvic.ca