This study is an existential-phenomenological investigation into the experience of marital satisfaction. It sought to understand the meaning of marital satisfaction as lived. Five married individuals, three females and two males, who had been married for ten years or longer were interviewed. They were selected on the basis that they were experiencing satisfaction in their marriage by their own reckoning. They were located through personal referrals from friends and colleagues. Each person (co-researcher) was asked to tell the story of satisfaction in their marriage. The in-depth interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed and analyzed using an existential-phenomenological approach as outlined by Colaizzi (1978). The protocol analysis resulted in the explication of fifteen themes. The themes (or constituents) were described and then woven into an exhaustive phenomenological description of the experience of marital satisfaction. Finally a concise description of the experience was formulated. The results of the study show that there is a consensus of the experience and meaning of marital satisfaction by those (the co-researchers) living the experience. The study makes suggestions for future research and points out applications of the results in pre-marital and couples counselling. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

A descriptive study was conducted to investigate the adoption experience within the family. Adoptive families who participated in this study were assumed to be a relatively heterogeneous sample of the target population - families with at least one adopted child who had been adopted early in life, and who was presently 14-18 years of age. Thirteen adoptive families participated in the study. Qualitative data regarding each individual's perception of the adoption experience was obtained through semi-structured interviews. Each participant also completed the Family Environment Scale (Moos, 1974), which was used as a descriptive measure only. Data from the interviews underwent a qualitative data analysis to arrive at the themes and patterns that described the adoptee's and the adoptive parents' experiences. Parent-child perceptual discrepancies were also analysed to assess the similarities and the differences in family perceptions regarding the adoption experience. Conclusions that can be drawn based on the results of the qualitative analysis is that adoptive families appear to be vulnerable to problems during the adolescent stage of the family life cycle because of the adoptee's emerging curiosity and the problems of openly communicating these concerns within the family. Results from this study also point to the need for adopting couples to receive education regarding the role of adoptive parenthood, and counsellors who work with adoptive families should be aware of when the factors of adoption can contribute to family difficulties and dysfunction / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

This thesis identifies the causes of disputes between scientists who are involved in environmental impact assessment and management (EIAM), and suggests some critical elements of scientific dispute resolution processes, particularly peer review. It does this within the context of a case study, the environmental assessment, monitoring, and management of the Island Copper Mine marine tailings discharge into Rupert Inlet, B.C. The events of this case are analysed, drawing on literature on the scientist's role in impact assessment and management, and on the philosophy and sociology of science literature. The case study and literature review indicate that the causes of such scientific disputes are complex. The complexity and uncertainty of the physical and biological processes of a fjord system are one cause. Logistical failings in integrating scientists into the process are another: poor timing of scientists' efforts; failures of communication; and lack of accountability are examples. Poor methodology and inadequate research design also caused disputes. The transdisciplinary nature of the scientific problems common to EIAM causes disagreements of a different nature-- over the relevance of various disciplines' research foci to the problem at hand, and over what constitutes acceptable scientific practice. Value and interest conflicts between scientists, which influence both the trajectory of research and the interpretation of its results, complete the typology of the causes of disputes. The thesis recommends the elements of peer review processes necessary to resolve these disputes. Peer review should be pre-emptive, by focussing on research design where possible, and should be representative of the range of relevant scientific disciplines, and should facilitate constructive solutions rather than the defense of positions. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

This study investigated what judges looked for in an experimental science fair project and how the judges conducted a judging conversation. Audio-recordings of three judges' conversations with the same student and an in depth interview with each judge provided the data base for this study. This data base provided insight into the judging task and revealed aspects that these judges felt were important in evaluating a science fair project. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

To identify the relationships between particular characteristics of archivists and their perceptions of users and reference service, data was collected from two surveys distributed to two survey populations of archivists. One survey asked archivists' own perceptions of reference service, the other asked archivists' perceptions of their colleagues' perceptions of reference service. Five hypotheses were developed, drawing upon models of reference process from the literature of library science and upon ideas expressed by authors of archival reference service literature. These hypotheses are that archivists' perceptions of reference service relate to 1) the type of repository with which archivists are most familiar, 2) the functions (e.g. arrangement and description) with which archivists are most familiar, 3) the forms of records (such as government records) with which archivists are most familiar, 4) the amount of time archivists have spent in reference service, and 5) the education level of archivists. The results suggest that the type of repository with which the archivist is most familiar relates to his or her perceptions of reference service. While the other categories also exhibited significant relationships, the overall analysis of the results of the other categories was less interesting than the results obtained from the category regarding the type of repository. Determining the existence of such relationships was the preliminary investigation upon which to base further research. The results of this study suggest that likely areas for further examination of this topic are the methods of reference service used in particular repositories. / Arts, Faculty of / Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS), School of / Graduate

My study examined whether and how the relationship between parent and teacher corresponds to the socioeconomic status (SES) of the family or to the achievement level of their child in reading and writing. Relationship was defined in terms of communication, perceptions of mutual support and reported levels of satisfaction. The constructs were assessed through questionnaires and interviews with seven parent-teacher dyads. Each dyad represented a unique profile of student achievement (high or low), SES of the family (high or low), and parental involvement (high or minimal). Successful relationships were characterized as having clear communication, perceptions of helpful mutual support, and high levels of success. No clear patterns in the success of the relationships emerged from examination of the SES or achievement of the children; however, successful relationships were aligned with the teachers' ratings of parental involvement. Teachers included newsletters and log book messages in their methods of communicating with parents, while parents considered only two-way interactions as communicating with their child's teacher. Teachers in higher SES schools reported giving suggestions to parents to assist their children but the parents did not report hearing the suggestions; however, teachers in lower SES schools did not report giving suggestions to parents but parents reported hearing the suggestions. Home literacy activities varied across families in high versus low SES schools. Parents in higher SES schools reported a broader range of activities in their home that supported their children's literacy acquisition than their lower SES counterparts. Activities reported by low SES families were more task oriented while activities reported by higher SES families were more entertainment oriented and corresponded better with school activities. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

This study explored the dynamics, challenges, and complexities encountered in forming, managing, and evaluating the interorganizational relationships of a nonprofit organization and its partners in the public, nonprofit, and commercial sectors. Using a partnership process model developed from various theoretical frameworks (Kouwenhoven, 1993; Oliver, 1990; Provan & Milward, 2001; Wood & Gray, 1991), this study examined three phases of partnership relationships (i.e., formation, management, and evaluation) to gain a better understanding of the interactions among partnering organizations in Canadian sport. Qualitative research methods were employed to investigate partnerships of one National Sport Centre (NSC). Data were collected from three sources: 28 interviews, 110 organizational documents, and attendance at three organizational meetings. Interviews, relevant document passages, and field notes were transcribed and analyzed using Atlas.ti, a qualitative analysis software program. Results indicated that environmental and organizational conditions facilitated the formation of partnerships. Interdependence among organizations, presence of a broker, presence of a network, and convergence of objectives were evident. Specific reasons for partnership formation included efficiency, stability, necessity, legitimacy, reciprocity, and asymmetry. Partnership management structures and processes were central to interactions between organizations. Partners struggled to find a balance between pressures to compete and pressures to collaborate. Power imbalances, political dynamics, and control issues primarily related to resource concerns existed, and in some cases weakened the bonds among partners. Some partnerships were formalized, while others were loosely structured and primarily based on mutual trust, previous history, and personal interest. Ambiguities regarding roles and responsibilities, and 'representativeness' influenced how partners interacted and contributed to challenges in managing partnerships. Allocating resources was a prime concern for the organizations. Several levels of analysis for outcome evaluation existed. At the community level, the performance of NSC athletes at international competitions' was a key measure of success. At the network level, effective coordination of programs and services contributing to improved performances of athletes was perceived as an important measure of effectiveness. Finally at the organizational level, factors including ability to attract and retain partners, ability to remain economically viable through resource acquisition, and achieving legitimacy were all viewed as criteria to evaluate partnership effectiveness. / Education, Faculty of / Kinesiology, School of / Graduate

This study was motivated by the writer's observation that the provision of solved examples to students learning to devise computer algorithms did not assist and even seemed to hinder in the development of such skills. It was surmised that this might be due to a number of factors. The learner might be delayed in hiso.development of the heuristics necessary to create algorithms using self-generated mediators. He might be misled in his expectation of the difficulty of performing such tasks independently. He might display rigidity (an Einstellung effect) in his later use of the techniques demonstrated by previously provided examples. Grade nine students were assigned to two groups at random. Both groups were given a printed introduction to computer program writing in the BASIC language and were asked to solve two problems, an easy problem and a harder criterion problem. Before the problems were assigned one group was given a solved example which was very similar to the easy problem. The second group was given a short history of computers to read. A Chi-square- test was used to test each of the following hypotheses: 1. The first problem was easier than the second problem for all students. 2. The example helped the first group in doing the easy problem comparing the proportion of correct solutions to the easy problem in each group. 3. The second group had a higher proportion of correct solutions for the "hard" problem than the first group. k. The second group had a higher proportion of correct solutions for the "hard" problem than the first group when only those students who correctly solved the first problem were considered. The first, second, and fourth hypotheses were found to be significant beyond the .05 level. The conclusion was drawn that the use of examples to teach algorithm development on the computer is at least sometimes inadvisable in that examples may hinder transfer of training from easy problems to harder problems and do not increase the numbers who can independently solve a harder problem. (This assumes that the independent solution of harder problems is the only instructional goal.) At best the provision of such examples may be a waste of time, at worst it may be a distraction. It was felt that further research using a greater number and variety of examples, classified in some way, and using a variety of textual material is both warranted and desirable. It was also felt that a test instrument could he devised which would identify those students who would most benefit from a course in algorithm development on the computer. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

The Fraser estuarine area is characterized by an abundance of biophysical resources interacting with high levels of human demand for food, recreation, transportation, industrial location, and other uses. Our society frequently relies on the market to allocate resources in a socially optimal fashion. But for estuarine resources this approach is often inadequate because externalities from resource uses are not considered, or because a competitive market is not operative. In such cases government intervention is considered necessary to allocate resources in accordance with societal preferences. This thesis seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of government intervention in allocating estuarine resources in the Fraser estuarine area for navigation and port development in a socially optimal fashion, through an examination of the planning process leading to the generation of a proposal to train the lower reaches of the main are of the Fraser River. The purpose of the proposal is to create, through a self-scouring channel, an improved draft for deep sea shipping. This proposal has been chosen for analysis because it represents a major demand on the resources of the estuary, and has considerable potential for affecting a wide range of interests. As such it should prove a good test of the effectiveness of government intervention in allocating estuarine resources in a socially optimal manner. This thesis thus has the following objectives: 1. To evaluate the effectiveness of the "ports provision system" in arriving at a socially optimal allocation of estuarine resources for navigation and port development. To achieve this objective it is necessary to achieve the following sub-objectives: 2. To identify those interests who will benefit and those who will bear a significant share of the costs that will result if the training works proposal is implemented. 3. To describe the activities and interactions among affected interests in the process of deriving the training works proposal. 4. To determine whether adequate information for the evaluation of alternatives has been generated. These objectives were pursued as follows. Normative criteria were derived for evaluating the effectiveness of an ideal process for allocating estuarine resources for navigation and port development. A basic assumption behind these criteria was that societal preferences can be elicited through a process of bargaining amongst legitimate interests. The interests affected by the training works proposal were identified by reviewing the potential effects on biophysical processes, by identifying other uses displaced by the project, and by a description of anticipated economic effects. The available literature on these factors was reviewed, and interviews were held with representatives of likely affected interests. Next, the involvement of interests in the planning process was determined. This historical antecedents to the training works proposal were outlined to place the project in context and to define the extent of past involvement by interest in port development. Those interests with a formal legislative basis for involvement in the process were then identified. The involvement of other interests was determined by reviewing written material and by informal discussions with as many affected interests as could be contacted within time constraints. For convenience, the planning process was considered in three stages: conceptualization of the problem, derivation of alternatives, and evaluation of alternatives. The decision stage, yet to come, was not considered. The effectiveness of the process in arriving at a socially optimal proposal was analyzed in terms of the extent to which affected interests were able to bargain "for the consideration of alternatives which they favoured, and the extent to which evaluative information generated on alternatives identified the effects on the various legitimate interests. Six general categories of information were evaluated. Finally, a number of behavioural factors which appear to have inhibited the generation of alternatives and of evaluative information were noted, based on a review of the literature on limits to rationality, and on interviews with actors involved in the planning process. The analysis showed that the planning process failed to meet the normative criteria and that the problem was of sufficient magnitude to seriously affect the optimal allocation of estuarine resources for navigation and port development. The ports problem was conceptualized in a manner that precluded the consideration of a wide range of alternative solutions, because only the values of those interests who would benefit from the proposal were brought to bear on the problem. Similarly, the alternative generated, and the evaluative information did not meet the concerns of many affected interests because they were excluded from the bargaining process. The attitudes of those interests involved were thus permitted to guide the process. There was little bargaining amongst interests to determine social preferences because many interests were excluded from the process or lacked the necessary evaluative information to become involved. Finally, elected representatives played a limited role in the process, permitting civil servants in powerful agencies to interpret societal preferences. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Unknown

Availability of six minerals (Ca, P, Mg, Mn, Zn, and Cu) in commercial wheat, triticale, corn and barley samples was estimated with three-week old growing chicks. Effects of soybean meal and wheat fed at different dietary concentration on availability of these minerals were studied. The availability of minerals from specific inorganic sources were also evaluated. Availability value was determined by a balance procedure corrected for endogenous minerals. Results indicated that the availability of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, zinc, and copper was 71.0, 67.4, 53.5, 48.4, 49.6 and 78.5%, respectively for the wheat and triticale samples. Copper availability was the highest in corn (87.2%), followed by calcium (70.0%), phosphorus (60.9%), manganese (60.0%), zinc (57.5%) and magnesium (51.0%). The availability of Ca, P, Mg, Mn, Zn and Cu in barley was 68.9, 68.8, 54.9, 54.9, 49.1 and 77.5%, respectively. Significant variation (P ≤ 0.05) exists among the cereal grains tested. Results indicate that mineral availability is influenced by the origin of the samples obtained. Availability of minerals is affected by the concentration of ingredients in the test diet. Significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) were observed in availability for all the minerals tested when soybean meal and wheat were supplied in the test mixture at five levels. Calcium and phosphorus from calcium phosphate were highly available to growing chicks. However, the availability decreased rapidly when the mineral level was in excess of the dietary requirement. Six levels of magnesium (150, 300, 450, 600, 750, and 900 ppm) from magnesium carbonate were evaluated. Results showed that magnesium was highly available to growing chicks. The values ranged from 82.3 to 61.9%. Excess amounts of magnesium in the diet tended to reduce the availability value. Various levels (25, 50, 75, 100 and 125 ppm) of manganese from manganese sulfate were tested. Manganese appeared to be poorly available for the levels tested. Zinc availability from zinc oxide was highly available for the chick. The availability values/ranged from 84.4 to 93% for all the diets containing 25 to 125 ppm of zinc. The availability of copper from copper sulfate was moderate to high (72.1-80.2%) for the low dietary copper concentrations (2-32 ppm). However, the copper availability values (61.8-63.6%) tended to decrease at higher dietary concentration (50-250 ppm). / Land and Food Systems, Faculty of / Graduate