Thesis (M.S.M.)--Regis University, Denver, Colo., 2006. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on May 18, 2006). Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1935. / Issued also with vita. Bibliography: p. 223-229.

Aim of this diploma work YMCA such as a center of young people education in Czechoslovakia 1919 {--} 1951 is to document activity and authority of this christian social-educative organization to the young in Czechoslovakia in the given years. The diploma work started up by virtue of analysis of archive materials stored in the National Archive in Prague, printed sources and study of scientific literature. Activity of the organization is monitored from period of her entry to Czechoslovakia to period of her disestablishment by communistic authoritarianism, during which time particularly educative sphere is accented with a view to activity at summer camps. Next to the chapters describing function of the organization against a background of various periods of historical evolution of Czechoslovak republic is paid a special attention to phenomenon of young people education at summer camps in a final chapter. This activity sphere of the organization is stressed above all, that YMCA effort in organization of the summer recreation was, in context to the others functional organizations (mainly scout movements), one of the most important in Czechoslovakia in that time.

Overweight and obesity in U.S. children has reached epidemic proportions, affecting one in three of children and adolescents (ages 2 to 19). Chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, previously linked with adult obesity, are now observed in youth. Early intervention is key to reversing this trend. However, successful translation of clinical obesity prevention interventions to the broader community remains a major challenge, in part, due to ineffective adaptation of interventions from controlled clinical settings to more diverse settings. A process evaluation framework - RE-AIM - was used to guide "real world" translation of a family-focused diabetes prevention trial at the YMCA for overweight and obese 9-12-yr-olds (E.P.I.C. Kids), with particular attention paid to factors influencing adoption, implementation, and maintenance by the program by this established community organization. Preliminary evaluation suggested a moderate to high potential for successful implementation and dissemination of the E.P.I.C. Kids program on a larger scale, thereby laying the foundation for replication in other community settings.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University

American summer camps employ over one million individuals every summer. However, little research has been conducted evaluating the experiences and outcomes for the camp staff. In particular, research efforts have done little to examine the subset of staff members working in formal leadership positions at summer camps. Often college-aged emerging adults (ages 18-25), these individuals are entrusted with significant managerial duties and leadership responsibilities during the summer months. This qualitative study addresses the leadership skills developed by individuals in these camp leadership positions and how these acquired skills manifest in subsequent, non-camp professional endeavors. This case study focused on the American residential summer camps of the Becket-Chimney Corners YMCA organization in Western Massachusetts. Interviews with 18 former senior staff members who worked on the camp leadership teams were conducted. The findings from these interviews were then corroborated via a brief questionnaire in which 82 distinct former senior staff participated. The statements from both the interviews and questionnaire were analyzed against a well-known taxonomy of leadership skills. Ultimately, the results indicate that a variety of leadership skills are developed by emerging adults serving these camp leadership roles, particularly leadership skills related to working with people (human, communication, and interpersonal) and working with ideas (conceptual, flexible). Nineteen discrete job activities spanning four major categories were identified as experientially fomenting the development of these leadership skills. The conclusions of the study foment recommendations for camp administrators with respect to talent acquisition and retention, former senior staff members seeking to utilize and market developed skills, as well as for organizations looking to hire individuals with leadership skills which are of particular relevance in the modern workplace.

No description available.

This research has identified meanings attached by participants to the YMCA’s Christian basis within the context of volatile environments by engaging with voices in a qualitative, inductive, small-scale research project within the English YMCA. My proposition was that people working in the YMCA were appointed on the understanding that it was Christian-based, that the corporate and collective agreed means of association were located primarily in the Christian basis and that the YMCA attached significant meaning to its Christian basis whilst operating within an inclusive environment. Thematic descriptions of voices in communication were identified using a mixed set of research methods. The data were analysed in a between-method triangulation to produce adialectic towards meaning. Methods included: a literature review, interviews in a pilot study, a comparative historical review, facilitated groups, field visits and website surveys. I engaged various literary sources for interpretative perspectives on voices to differentiate participant’s relationships with the Christian basis in terms of audibility, affinity and attitude. The majority of participants felt that they had been appointed on the understanding that the YMCA is Christian-based, but very few had actually been given an opportunity, or felt it necessary, to make sense of it in their work. The Christian basis did not command a universally accepted meaning amongst participants. Instead, it was often perceived to have limited meaning, but with a degree of historical status attached to it. For the majority of participants, the actual corporate and collective agreed means of motivation was defined as care for young people within an inclusive environment and without any overt reference to the Christian basis and its meaning. However, where the Christian basis did feature locally it elicited communication that was complex, layered and variable in its nature. In these circumstances it produced powerful models of inclusive Christian service. The research identified three implications for further consideration: (a) ineffective communication between member YMCAs resulting in; (b) the creation of disjointed and remote islands of understanding about the Christian basis; and (c) in turn generating informal disassociations as a key factor in diminishing the value of the Christian basis within local member YMCAs.