published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Health promotion research and practice reveal that goal setting and monitoring have gained increased acceptance at international, national, provincial/state, regional and local levels as a means to guide health planning, promote health-enhancing public policy, monitor reductions in health inequities, set health priorities, facilitate resource allocation, support accountability in health care, and track the health of populations. The global adoption of health goals as a strategy for population health promotion has occurred even though few protocols or guidelines to support the health goals development process have been published; and limited study has occurred on the variation in approach to health goals planning, or on the complex, multiple forces that influence the development process. This is an exploratory and descriptive case study that endeavours to advance knowledge about the process and contribution of health goals development as a strategy for population health promotion. This study seeks to track the pathways to health goals in British Columbia (BC) and to uncover influential factors in rendering the final version of health goals adopted by the government of BC. Specifically, this study explores the forces that obstructed and facilitated the formulation and articulation of health goals. It considers also implications of health goals development for planning theory, research and health promotion planning. Data collection consisted of twenty-three semi-structured interviews with key participants and systematic review of BC source documents on health goals. Data analysis uncovered nearly 100 factors that facilitated or obstructed the BC health goals initiative, organized around three phases of health goals development. Key factors influencing the premonitory phase included (a) government endorsement of health goals that addressed the multiple influences on health, (b) expected benefits of health goals combined with mounting concern about return on dollars invested in health, and (c) effective leadership by a trusted champion of health goals. Key influencing factors in the formulation phase included (a) the positioning of the health goals as a government-wide initiative versus a ministry-specific initiative, (b) the "conditioning" of the health goals process through the use of pre-established health goals and "orchestrated" consultation sessions, and (c) the make-up and degree of autonomy of the health goals coordinating mechanism. The articulation phase of health goals development revealed several influencing factors in relation to two chief issues that characterized this phase: (a) the lack of specificity of the health goals, and (b) the variable portrayal of the "health care system" as a priority area in the BC health goals. This study also revealed several concessions and trade-offs that characterized the BC health goals process. For example, the formulation of health goals that addressed the broader health determinants yielded health goals without the capacity for measurement, (b) the operational and bureaucratic autonomy of the health goals coordinating mechanism led to feelings of alienation from the health goals process and product among some branches of the Ministry of Health and some established health interests, and (c) the use of pre-determined health goals and the delivery of educative sessions based on the determinants of health generated claims of bias and a lack of trust and fairness in consultation processes and mechanisms.

In the past, little has been written about the practical aspects of outreach. This thesis investigates the value of outreach and how it is put into practice in British Columbia's community archives. Interviews with managers of four community archives were conducted. The findings reveal that three of the interviewees regard outreach as a high priority and a fundamental part of regular activity. For these respondents, outreach activities have been positive and beneficial. They have successfully used outreach to augment and assist with acquisition, preservation and use of archival records. Only one interviewee presented a passive and cautious approach towards outreach. Results of this study indicate that outreach activities are not influenced by the administrative setting or the budget of the archives. This study identified the essential components necessary for the implementation and delivery of successful outreach initiatives as: a regular source of funding, incorporation into an annual work plan, district goals and objectives that are relevant to the mandate of the institution, attention to the target audience, community co-operation and support, and evaluation of results. This study reaffirms the value of archivists practising outreach, and provides encouragement to those who are looking for concrete methods of approaching outreach.

Experiencing Freefall is an inquiry into outdoor experiencing. It focuses on both my experiences with a group of Grade 10 students in an outdoor adventure education program and my personal experiencing of the outdoors. I explore the awareness we embody within moments of unexpected happenings while negotiating Whitewater rapids or searching for a handhold while clinging to the side of a cliff face. Also in this thesis I explore the 'phenomena of experiencing' which emerges out of our actions and interactions within outdoor activities. The challenge of this dissertation is capturing in prose, the phenomena of experiencing and 'embodied awareness' arising through such unexpected instances. Hence, the thesis, in trying to articulate the complexity of experiencing in the outdoors, uses stories, poetry and the metaphor of life, breath, and mountaineering to invite the reader on a journey of inquiry. This thesis escorts the reader, like a true pedagogue, into an outdoor environment of experiencing that opens the reader to ponder pedagogical possibilities. I explore several themes in the thesis which include 'freefall,' community, 'turning points,' and 'embodied respect' using a methodology of 'enactive inquiry.' The thesis takes a journey through each theme by weaving students' stories from the study, my own personal stories of the unexpected, and the theory of enaction. The thesis creates an opportunity for readers to embrace their own struggles, fears, and inquiry. Through the use of outdoor stories to illustrate moments of freefall into the unfamiliar or unknown, we may imagine pedagogical possibilities. As an enactive inquiry, this research thesis embodies an "education" or way of being, living, experiencing that explores unexpected happenings. In articulating an ecological perspective of experiencing, the thesis juxtaposes encounters in the outdoors with enactive theory to move beyond traditional representationalist models of cognition. Specifically, I focus on the embodied awareness that arises through phenomena of experiencing and its relation to pedagogy. The thesis contributes to the theory of the enactive approach by bringing examples of human experience which unfold, not only our interactions within the ecological web of the outdoor world, but an emergent space of pedagogical possibilities. As such, this thesis is an experiential work through which the reader may realize their own interpreting of possible pedagogies for many educational contexts.

This research focuses on husbands' and wives' perceptions of parent-child relationship quality in stepfamilies. One goal was to examine the links between parents' ways of coping with family stressors and changes in parent-child relationship quality over time. A related goal was to consider the difference in relationship quality for parents' own children and parents' stepchildren. This difference was referred to as the "stepgap". It was expected that characteristics of the family, characteristics of the children, and parents' ways of coping with family stressors would all have an impact on relationship quality. It was also expected that some of these characteristics would alter the "stepgap". Multilevel analyses of family data (Snijders, 1995) were used to replicate consistent findings in the stepfamily literature and extend them by allowing for the drawing of within-family conclusions. For Time 1 relationship quality, characteristics of children and characteristics of the family were modeled on parents' perceptions of relationship quality with individual children. At both levels, the influence of these characteristics on the "stepgap" was also considered. The initial sample interviewed at Time 1 consisted of 154 couples. Of these, 142 couples also participated at Time 2. Husbands initially rated the closeness and tension they perceived in their relationships with 404 children (191 stepchildren, 213 own children). Wives rated the closeness and tension they perceived in their relationships with 407 children (204, stepchildren, 203 own children). Results provided evidence of a "stepgap" in relationship quality for both husbands and wives. However, results also indicated that relationship quality was affected by child age, amount of time spent in the family home, whether there were children from the current union, and the number of years the stepfamily had been in existence. A subsample of these families (81 couples) also provided daily diary data that were used to explore lagged daily relations between parents' reports of affection and tension with children and stepchildren, and parents' ways of coping with family stress. Three ways of coping relevant for interpersonal stressors were examined: compromise, confrontation, and interpersonal withdrawal. Results provided evidence of a direct relationship between parents' ways of coping with family stress and changes in daily relationship quality in terms of affection from children and tension with children. To link the microlevel and the macrolevel, aggregated variables describing parents' typical way of coping with family stressors across a seven-day period were used to explain changes in relationship quality two years later. Results of these analyses indicated that husbands' and wives' coping predicted change not only in the quality of their relationship with children in the stepfamily, but also affected their spouses' stepgap in relationship quality.

Little has been written about women's career development that specifically addresses the process of women becoming successful in their occupations. As well, the literature has neglected to include the experiences of lesbians. Yet there is reason to believe that lesbians, by virtue of their lesbian identity, may have unique work experiences that are different from heterosexual women, leading to different paths to occupational success. The purpose of this study was to investigate the process of lesbians becoming successful in their occupations by utilizing a grounded theory approach. Fifteen women (age range 35 to 69 years) who were identified as successful in their occupations (i.e., they were perceived as leaders in their fields) and who represented a variety of occupational fields, were interviewed about their experience of becoming successful in their careers. The grounded theory analysis of the data led to conceptual development, ordering, and a description of a psychological process "striving for holistic integration." The central process begins by these women "managing their lesbian identities in the workplace." The process involved women "taking risks and being out" at work along a continuum that represented women "working 'in' silence," "working quietly," and being "boldly 'out' spoken." Other salient categories in this central process included: facing ongoing fear, handling homophobia, and fighting for social change. Holistic integration involved participants integrating their lesbian and work "worlds." This integration facilitated enhanced working relationships based on honesty, and, for many participants, holistic integration became transformational as they became empowered by being open and disclosing their lesbian identities in the workplace. This process involved a dynamic, synergistic interaction between the influencing conditions (i.e., changing social times, personal background, serendipitous conditions, love and support, and a gay friendly work environment) and the unfolding of the process of striving for holistic integration. This research contributes to our understanding of lesbians' occupational success and is an important first step for further research. The women in this sample were primarily out in their respective fields and experienced benefits from doing so, despite the barriers many of them encountered along the way. The findings of this study provide guidance for future research in the area of lesbian career development and success.

This thesis is an ethnographic account of how people in a particular situation of bureaucratic domination developed tactics and adopted discourses to present themselves as active agents capable of mobilizing resources, individually and at a collective level. Specifically, it involves a description and analysis of power dynamics, experienced efficacy, and associated processes of defining self and others in the context of a newly forming injured workers support group in their relations with a Workers' Compensation Board. Appropriate to the study of an injured workers group, the thesis draws upon a body of literature which focuses on the everyday practices of people in concrete social contexts. James C. Scott's work on domination and resistance privides a primary framework for the study, elaborated by Michel De Certeau's concepts of 'strategy' and 'tactic' as well as Foucault's notion of 'carceral' networks. Among the main findings was the recognition of the extent to which individual group members engaged in creative, and often effective tactical acts of resistance against the WCB and yet also against their own formal association. Moreover, as the group appropriated elements of bureaucratic and trade union discourses it shifted toward also engaging in strategic social action. The thesis concludes with practical recommendations concerning the ways such associations are formed and operate, as well as policy options for workers' compensation boards in general. / ix, 215 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm.

Progressive development projects are aimed at enforcing the process of dwelling evolution which has been observed in informal settlements by providing conditions that are favourable for housing development. This study suggests that, under these created environments, dwelling evolution presented particular characteristics that differentiated it from similar processes in other contexts. / A long-term assessment of the phenomenon of dwelling evolution was conducted at "El Gallo", a progressive development project in Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela. Dwelling evolution was examined by observing aspects of the process that were relevant to the case study. These included changes in the dwelling area, spatial configuration and functional layout. The case study provided different levels of user participation in the early stages of development that were also considered in the analysis. / The findings indicated a marked change from the temporary dwelling to the permanent structure. This process differed from the gradual replacement of initial shacks that is characteristic of informal settlements. The findings also revealed that the early involvement of the user, as well as the utilization of user-responsive designs for the permanent structure, resulted in lesser stages of dwelling evolution and higher degrees of dwelling development.