This thesis is about ethics in the dentist-patient relationships. Using cultural-historical activity theory and discourse analysis as theoretical and methodological frameworks, I investigate (a) how ethics emerges in dentists' discourse when they talk about dental-patient relationships; (b) how dentists deal with conflicts that emerge in their interaction with the patients; and (c) how a dental clinic is organized and works on a daily basis. I also discuss the implications of a theory of unknowability of actions for dentistry practice. My database is composed of dentists' narratives during videotaped interviews, and an ethnographic study in a private dental clinic in Canada. I conclude that ethics is embodied in the dentists' actions; that the development of phronesis helps dentists to solve conflicts in the workplace: and that the trajectory of the dental treatment is conducted in states through a complex division of labor and often in more than one activity system.

School Effectiveness Research (SER) is concerned with efforts to better understand the effectiveness enhancing relationship between student and school variables and how these variables primarily influence academic achievement (Scheerens, 2004). However, one identified methodological shortcoming in SER is the absence of cross-cultural perspectives (Kyriakides, 2006). This is a concern as what may prove effective in one nation does not necessarily mean that it can be easily and seamlessly imported into another with the same results. This study looked at the relationships between science self-beliefs and academic achievement in science across all nations who participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2006. It further explored the variance accounted for by cultural, social and economic capital (the elements of the PISA socioeconomic status variable) for each country in PISA 2006 when predicting scientific literacy. Lastly, it used hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to analyze data from PISA 2006 for nations experiencing high rates of immigration (i.e., Germany, Spain, Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand). The outcome measures used for these countries were achievement scores in science, mathematics and reading. The variables examined at the student level were science self-efficacy, science self-concept, immigrant status and socioeconomic status. The variables examined at the school level were student level aggregates of school proportion of immigrants and school socioeconomic status. In the correlation analysis between science literacy and either science self-concept of science self-efficacy, findings suggest that at the student level, students with both higher science self-concept and higher science self-efficacy tend to achieve higher academically. However, at the country level the relationship was negative between self-concept and academic achievement in science (i.e., countries with higher science self-concept tend to achieve lower on scientific literacy). When the variables that comprised each of the cultural, social, and economic components of SES were regressed on scientific literacy for the PISA sample, cultural capital accounted for 16% of the variance in scientific literacy scores compared to 14% for social capital, 13% for the composite Economic Social and Cultural Status (ESCS), and 12% for economic capital. In the HLM null models, the intraclass correlations for the all countries except for Germany ranged from .16 to .29 (Germany’s was between .57 and .68). In the final models, at level-1 country, immigrant status tended to negatively influence achievement (i.e., non-native students are predicted to have lower performance), while science self-efficacy and science self-concept positively influenced achievement. The student level ESCS variable also impacted achievement positively. At the school level, level-2, school mean ESCS or school proportion of immigrants were found to significantly influence the level-1 predictors; however, a good deal of variability across nations was observed. The findings from this study demonstrate that there are some distinct national differences in the relationships between science self-beliefs, immigrant status and academic achievement.

Mindfulness-based inter\ interventions have been growing in popularity. and numerous quantitative studies have documented the effectiveness of such interventions in stress reduction and improving overall health and well-being. Relatively little research has been conducted to explore the lived experiences of individuals who practice mindfulness. The current research addressed the questions: (a) What is the lived experience of individuals who practice yoga and/or mindfulness for wellness. and (b) What is the role (if any) of shared experience (group practice) in mindfulness practices? Qualitative interviews were conducted with six females between 26-45 years of age. Findings in the areas of practitioners' experiences of mindfulness in formal practice. and the experience of mindfulness in relationships with the self. with others and with the environment are discussed. Implications for research and counselling practice are discussed. including the potential role of mindfulness in enhancing relationships.

Elite athletes are highly motivated people. and need high levels of motivation to prevail through the tough training sessions and through set backs (Hardy, Jones & Gould. 1996). Therefore. research on motivation and specifically what contributes to a rower's motivation becomes significant from both a theoretical and practical view. The purpose of this study was to first. identify and understand motivational differences and similarities between the genders of elite rowers, using the framework of the Achievement Goal Theory. Second, it was to further explore these motivational differences and similarities between practice and competitive situations. This study investigated the phenomenon of motivation through a qualitative approach by interviewing 8 female and 5 male rowers from the Canadian Olympic Rowing team. where significant statements were identified and clustered into themes. Overall, there were more similarities than differences between the genders. Both genders had the goal to win, expressed the importance of the process rather than the end product and agreed that their teammates were very important to them and greatly influenced their behaviours and performances. Among the different situational environments, the rowers' responses illustrated that it was not only possible to be task, ego and socially involved at the same time, it tended to be the norm. Results from this study also challenged the traditional framework of the Achievement Goal Theory, including illustrating the importance of social orientation amongst the elite rowers. Several implications for athletes, coaches and sport organizations were mentioned to improve an athlete's performance.

This study uses a case study to investigate the experiences of Nigerian market women as leaders. The conventional leadership literature has relied on the experiences of White women within formal educational and organizational settings, which emphasise hierarchy. formal organizational knowledge, ability to negotiate bureaucratic structures, etc. However, my observation of Nigerian market women led me to question this vision of leadership and attempt to widen it to include a more inclusive view of women's leadership. Semi-structured interviews provided the data for this inquiry. Results of the audio-taped interviews and the notes were analyzed for themes and patterns. Findings of this inquiry suggest that their leadership is collaborative, and in the context of community without which an individual is nothing. It is also influenced by gender, which shapes their relationship to household subsistence, apprenticeship, wealth that is acquired or passed down from their female relatives, and economic clout acquired through marketplace trading.

The consideration of the end-point of exercise (teleoanticipation) may influence fatigue development. This study examined the effect of expected exercise duration on physiological and psychological variables. 20 male cyclists participated in a graded maximal aerobic cycling test and two 20 minute cycling bouts. Participants expected to cycle for 20 minutes for the first bout (20 MIN), and for 40 minutes for the second (40 MIN) VO, was higher at 2 minutes and lower at 17 minutes in the 40 MIN condition. RPE was lower throughout the 40 MIN condition. Following initial analyses, participants were separated into intensity groups based on whether they exercised above RER=l.00 at any time during either cycling bout. RPE was lower for 40 MIN in the lower intensity group only. Results suggest that teleoanticipation alters both physiological and psychological variables via separate mechanisms that may be intensity-dependent.

The importance of work, women's experiences of different work paths, and the effects abuse has on a woman's ability to work led to the question - how do women make meaning of the ways in which they have experienced the intersection of abuse and work? A qualitative research approach. within an overarching theoretical framework of social constructionism, and a narrative method forms the methodological basis for this work. Time-line drawings created by participants, concept maps. ghostwritten stories, and themes within and across participants formed the analysis. A major meta-theme across all participants related to the long-term effects of abuse experiences. The five women who shared their stories spoke of many barriers in their lives. At the same time. their stories shone with light and hope. Many of them reflected on how far they had come on their individual journeys of recovery and all had dreams for the future.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of family factors and family involvement in family literacy programs in Taiwan. The 617 participants consisted of five principals, nine schoolteachers, three local library heads, and 300 parent/grandparent and child pairs, the latter aged 3-8. Five questionnaires, 339 children's book logs, 17 interviews, and observations during 30 family visits were employed to gather data. Principal-component analysis, analysis of variance, and a grounded theory approach were utilized to analyze the information gathered, The 208 families in the 8-week home-school reading program and the 131 families in the follow-up 7-week home-library summer reading program were asked to read children's books provided by the school or borrowed from the local library, to record book logs on a daily basis, and to complete questionnaires. The participating principals, teachers, and local library heads were interviewed. Results showed that no one single factor in this study determined all of the outcomes and benefits of the family literacy programs, although several family factors (e.g., children's age, parental education, occupation, and gender) had statistically significant effects on some aspects of family involvement such as families' typical and favourite reading activities, and encouragement of children's participation in the programs. Families' commitment to reading with their children was a salient factor in involvement in the family literacy programs. The participating children read with their family members, tutors, and friends. Most of the parents reported that their children had positive attitudes toward reading after participating in the family literacy programs. Principal-component analysis revealed four factors of perceived benefits from the programs: social skill-related benefits, literacy-related benefits, action-related benefits, and cognition-related benefits. Families who had participated in a previous family literacy program reported more positively about the outcomes of the programs than other families. Choral reading was found unexpectedly in family literacy practices. The parents' active correction of their children's oral reading and their concern about their children's reading skills and comprehension abilities suggest that family involvement in the family literacy programs may be related to their high expectation of their children's academic achievement. Four types of family involvement in family literacy programs emerged and a theoretical model of family factors was proposed.

This multi method, quasi pre and post intervention design evaluated the impact of Hung Fut Gung Fu's ten basic stances (TBS) on quality of life (QOL) and postural balance in elderly females. The purpose of this inquiry was to explore the effectiveness of TBS as an appropriate and health promoting form of physical activity for senior populations. Five females aged sixty-nine to eighty-three, participated in the eight-week intervention. Pre and post intervention data were collected through a Quality of Life Profile: Seniors questionnaire, the Berg balance test, and a self-report calendar of slips, trips and falls. Post-intervention interviews captured participants' reflections of the experience. Quantitative findings indicate that the TBS sessions generated slight improvements in QOL and postural stability and significant reductions in slips trips and falls. Qualitative data analysis identified two themes as contributing to participants' QOL - acquiring knowledge and socializing with peers. The TBS appears to be a promising strategy for enhancing QOL and postural balance for senior populations.

This research project is about listening to and learning from the stories of committed environmental leaders in order to gain insight into the formative experiences that may have contributed to creating and fostering environmental leadership. Thick rich descriptions of the life experiences of environmental leaders will help attain that insight and may provide environmental educators with knowledge resulting in designing curriculum that can recreate the richness of those meaningful life experiences. There has been substantial research carried out on the formative experiences of environmental educators, however, there have been fewer research projects conducted on how those experiences may have contributed to the development of environmental leadership. This was a case study that involved the use of environmental autobiographies, semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire. Recommendations are presented for further research as are recommendations for the implementation of the findings.