In subhumid to arid climates throughout the world, recharge to groundwater in urban areas is often found to be higher than pre-urbanization rates, despite an increased percentage of impermeable surfaces. Groundwater recharge in the city of Lethbridge is substantially higher than recharge rates prior to urbanization, resulting in the formation of perched water table conditions. High perched water table conditions, typically at depths between one and 2.5 metres, have created problems for the City and University of Lethbridge, including the increased occurrence of slope failures along nearby coulees. This study estimates of the volume of excess water available for groundwater recharge through the practices of urban turfgrass irrigation, and water storage. Between May and September, 1990-1996 irrigation was applied far above evapotranspiration demands, resulting in large volumes of water available for groundwater recharge in the Varsity Village subdivision of the City of Lethbridge. The relationship between the amount of water applied and the development of perched water table systems was strong enough that equations between inputs and water table depth could be derived, and used to predict water table elevation. / xiii, 190 leaves : ill., maps ; 28 cm.

German-speaking Mennonite people from Mexico are moving into Southern Alberta. They are mainly employed as farm labourers. Their low level of income makes it difficult to provide for the needs of their large families. Many also encounter difficulties because of their lack of English and literacy, unfamiliarity with Canadian ways and laws, and a lack of understanding and trust in the helping agencies and school system. By using the Participatory Action Research approach and te principles of Community Development, representatives of community health services were able to enter into a unique partnership with the Mennonite people to work toward meeting their identified needs. A family-centred approach was used, with special attention being given to cultural and religious traditions and values. Programs that were developed addressed the needs of the Mennonite people including English as a Second Language, literacy, nutrition, health, safety, dental, socialization, education, and German literacy for the children. A key finding of the research study was that a participatory action research approach did allow the Mennonite people in this study to find more effective ways of making the transition from life in Mexico to life in southern Alberta. Participants did take steps towards their goal of a better quality of life. As well, agency people found new ways of working with the Mennonite people and with each other. Finally, this study shows that as Mennonite people adapt to life in Canada changes do occur in their ways of interacting with each other and with the broader community. / vii, 167 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm.

The perceptions of staff wellness by Registered Nurses (RNs), Registered Psychiatric Nurses (RPNs) and Licensed Nurses (LPNs) employed in acute care in a southern Alberta hospital were investigated. From a total of 372 staff nurses, 75 nurses were randomly selected to complete a 129 question survey questionnaire. 45 nurses completed the questionnaire. Respondents reported experiencing a wide variety of stress-related symptoms including headaches, sleep disturbances, tiredness, frustration, moodiness and anxiety. Other findings from the study identified stressors in the workplace, sources of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction, and concerns about recognition and empowerment. The greatest stressors at work identified by respondents included no control over workload, feeling undervalued, inadequate staffing, highly demanding patients/family, work overload, and coworkers who don't make an equal contibution at work. The majority of respondents were satisfied with their jobs, the hospital as a place of work, and the quality of care provided to patients. However, sources of job dissatisfaction included pay and benefits (for LPNs), the gap in communication with administration, lack of support for continuing education, and poor promotional aspects. A discrepancy was also identified by the respondents in the importance of recognition from the different levels of management and the actual frequency of recognition. Recommendations to improve staff wellness, according to the respondents, included recognition programs, reducing workload, exercise facilities, improved communication with management, support groups and increased educational support. / vii, 153 leaves : col. ill. ; 28 cm.

Like its counterparts in other provinces, the Alberta New Democratic Party has a formal relationship with organized labour. This thesis will examine the logic of the underlying relationship that persists between the two parties despite the difficult political and economic environment in Alberta. This thesis will discuss the complex and changing relationship between labour and the NDP in Alberta, making use of data from a variety of sources, but will rely heavily on data gathered from a series of interviews conducted with union and party officials in 2008. The thesis will deal particularly with the increasing fragmentation of the union movement in Alberta and the increasing independence of labour union campaigns during elections as challenges for the Alberta NDP in the future. / vi, 176 leaves ; 29 cm

Metabolic were used to evaluate Enterococcus as an indicator of faecal pollution. Enterococci were isolated using m-Enterococcus agar and speciated using conventional biochemical tests. Forty percent of the isolates were identified and metabolically characterized by the automated Biolog system. The biochemical test scheme recognized 16 enterococcal species, while Biolog recognized nine. Both methods identified E. faecalis at the greatest frequency. Overall species frequencies varied between the two methods. Biolog was unable to identify 31% of the isolates; 7% of the isolates were unidentified by the biochemical test scheme. Of the identified isolates, metabolic profiling with Biolog achieved speciation with 60 substrates. Unique profiles were obtained for 89% of the isolates. Isolates also demonstrated inter-trial differntial metabolism of substrates. This and the large number of unidentified isolates suggest great diversity among enterococci. Diversity and inter-trial metabolic inconsistencies will complicate use of enterococcal metabolic profiles as a source-tracking tool. / xxiii, 264 leaves ; 29 cm.

Species that are introduced outside of their native ranges are an important threat to biodiversity. In southwestern Alberta, Canada, sport and bait fish have been introduced into most waterbodies. I examined the effects of introduced trout and minnows on the distribution, demography and behaviour of larval long-toed salamanders through a combination of field surveys, laboratory experiments and an outdoor mesocosm experiment. Results from field surveys at 30 high-elevation (>1500m) lakes confirmed previous studies showing an allopatic distribution of trout and long-toed salamanders. The same pattern was also documented at 27 low-elevation (<1500m) ponds. In a mesocosm experiment, salamander survival was significantly reduced in ponds containing trout or minnows. Surprisingly, larvae exposed to minnows were 28-65% smaller than larvae in control ponds, suggesting strong interspecific competition for zooplankton prey. In a series of laboratory studies, trout preyed directly on salamander hatchlings and larvae, whereas minnows injured hatchlings but did not consume them. In laboratory aquaria, salamander larvae spent significantly more time within a refuge when exposed to minnow cues, but showed no behavioural response to trout. This confirmed my expectation that long-toed salamanders lack specific behavioural responses to trout, but respond generally to disturbances within the water column. Thus, direct predation and a lack of specific antipredator behaviour are among the likely mechanisms responsible for the observed allopatic distribution of trout and long-toed salamanders. My data also show that gape-limited fish reduce growth and survival of salamanders, perhaps more so than trout, through mechanism such as competition and behavioural alteration. / ix, 76 leaves : ill., map ; 29 cm.

Despite the number of studies conducted regarding violence amongst youth, there is still much to be learned. The present study was designed in an attempt to better understand the nature of delinquent adolescent behaviour. The main objectives of this study are as follows: to understand the pattern and distribution of delinquent behaviour, including violence, vandalism, and theft among Lethbridge, Alberta's high school population, to identify possible factors that may play a role in one's likelihood of engaging in such behaviours, and finally, to contribute to Micheal Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi's (G&H) 'General Theory of Crime' (1990) by reconceptuahzing the concept of self-control. The present study includes 182 youth from two Lethbridge public high schools. Of the 182 respondents, 84 are female, and 98 are male. The youth involved in this study range from 15 to 19 years of age. Through the use of a questionnaire, a number of key variables are addressed. These variables are: empathy, impulse control, social bonds, and their relationship with violence, theft, and vandalism. The results of this study show that empathy and impulse control are significant predictors of violence and vandalism, while impulsive behaviour was found to be the only statistically significant predictor of theft among the variables included in the multiple regression analysis. Although social bonds were hypothesized to be a major predictor of all three delinquent behaviours included in this study, the results did not support such an assumption. It is suggested that perhaps the concept of social bonds was inadequately measured for use in this study. Future research using a better measure of social bonds, may find it to be a significant predictor of violence, vandalism, and theft. / vii, 100 leaves ; 29 cm.

The primary purpose of this study was to examine how leadership strategies and practices contribute to student retention and sustained improvement in student graduation rates. The issue of students' success and graduation is important because educational attainment is positively correlated with every single important life outcome, and high school completion is widely regarded as the minimum education qualification needed to be able to earn an adequate income in the labour market (Levin, 2006). The conceptual framework of the study was built on Leithwood's transformational leadership model: setting direction (visions, goals and higher expectations), developing people (individualized support, intellectual stimulation and modeling), and redesigning the organization (culture, structure, policy and community relationships). Nine principals, were interviewed from four zone six Alberta school jurisdictions with significantly larger than provincial average three and five-year completion data, to determine how these formal leaders relate or support leadership strategies and Leithwood's Leadership practices to positively effect retention and graduation. Although many of the factors that impact on educational outcomes lie entirely outside the scope and responsibility of the school system, school leaders can utilize Leithwood's transformational leadership practices to increase the commitment of teachers to boost graduation rates. Leaders can and should seek to engage the support of teachers for this vision for the school and to enhance their capacities to contribute to achieving this goal. In general, leaders need to recognize the multi-faceted nature of the concept of at-risk and its affect on retention and graduation rates, and need to develop broad, multi-faceted prevention strategies and practices. / x, 160 leaves ; 29 cm.

Building upon the ideas of decoupling and convergence, this thesis explores the structure of place-based community experience and levels of well-being for rural residents in southern Alberta. The research objectives are to: 1) measure and identify the experiential character of rural communities within the Behavioral, Cognitive and Affective Domains of community social life, and to understand the structure and complexity of this experience; 2) assess the aggregate differences in the intensity of these experiential structures by degree of rurality as represented by Metropolitan Influenced Zones (MIZs); and 3) model the extent to which these dimensions may account for differences in well-being. Sixteen unique dimensions of variation in rural community experience are identified – partially supporting convergence – and almost no differences are found in the intensity of these dimensions by degree of rurality (MIZs). The findings show a subset of experiential dimensions to be significant predictors of well-being in rural people. / x, 164 leaves ; 29 cm.

Surfaces is a novel which explores the lifestyle of exotic dancers who live and work throughout Southern Alberta, Canada. Several exotic dancers were interviewed and many academic and creative publications were consulted prior to the writing process. Elements of power, jealousy, obsession, drug addiction and depression turned up frequently in the research, and all are prevalent throughout the story. A young woman faces several problems when she returns to the world of exotic dancing: her boyfriend's jealousy pulls him into a downward spiral, an obsessive patron with deep pockets stalks her relentlessly and the forgotten mistakes of her past come back to haunt her. Those outside of the dancing industry try to persuade her to exit the field, yet she is diligent about dancing for a living. She does have long-term occupational goals that do not involve dancing, but she chooses to pursue them on her own terms. / v, 298 leaves ; 29 cm.