Social isolation is a concern for the health of older adults in Canada. Community-engaged arts (CEA) programs are thought to support social inclusion but how such programs contribute to building community connections for older adults at risk of social isolation is poorly understood. This study, therefore, is aimed to explore the experience of community for this population in the context of a CEA program as well as the role the program plays in that experience. A qualitative study using ethnographic methods was conducted to answer two research questions: (1) What does community mean to seniors in the Arts, Health and Seniors program? (2) What is the role of the Arts, Health and Seniors program in the participants’ experience of community? Data were collected over a six week period using participant observation, semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The sample was a group of 20 urban-dwelling seniors at risk for social isolation who participated in a CEA program once a week. Regular group art sessions were observed by the researcher and extensive field notes were recorded. Interviews were conducted with five senior participants and four other key informants (including two artists, a senior worker, and an administrators), and documents related to the community were reviewed. Data were analyzed throughout the data collection process and interpretations were noted. Through immersion in the data and a movement between the data and interpretations, themes were developed. Connections between themes were explored and taken back to the data. Findings were presented as a detailed description of the participants’ experience of community. Community for the participants focused around the Seniors Centre where the program was held. The participants expressed that the meaningful relationships at the centre made it ‘another home’ and was a place they could find resources to adapt to challenges. The CEA program provided a unique experience of community through working together as a group and making new social connections. For health professionals working with older people at risk for social isolation, this research will add to the understanding of how community is experienced by older adults and how community is supported by CEA programs. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Nursing, School of / Graduate

The objective of this thesis is to analyze the philosophical implications of Ambedkar’s approach to Buddhism. This approach created a new social philosophy based on Buddhist ideas and a political commitment to social justice, particularly for the Dalits of India. What was the purpose of this social philosophy? To transform Buddhist philosophy? Or rather, to oppose Brahmanism and empower the lower castes? After a twenty-year-long study of Indian society and history, and Indian philosophical and religious traditions, Ambedkar came to the conclusion that Buddhism could have the power to transform the situation of the Untouchables. Why did he think that Buddhism would have this radical transformative impact not only for Dalits, but for Indian society as a whole? In 1956, in what became a historical event, he led a movement of conversion of more than five hundred thousand Untouchables from Hinduism to Buddhism. Ambekdar saw Buddhism as a way and as a tool to empower the lower castes of India. But what type of Buddhism did he envision? In 1956, in that historical event, Ambedkar founded what he called Navayana Buddhism. He used the word Navayana to refer to the birth of a new school. Nava means “new,” Yana means “vehicle”. Was he indeed creating a new yana, or new vehicle? What type of Buddhist school was this? What innovations did he introduce? Is the result still Buddhism, given Ambedkar's vision? This thesis aims to address all these questions.

The purpose of this qualitative, single case study was to explore strategies that leaders used to engage employees. The conceptual framework for this study was Saks's multidimensional approach to employee engagement. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 5 leaders from an office design company in the midwestern region of the United States who had a minimum of 2 years of experience of engaging employees. Company archival documents related to employee engagement were also collected. Data analysis consisted of compiling the data, coding for emergent and a priori codes, disassembling the data into common codes, reassembling the data into themes, interpreting the meaning, and reporting the themes. Seven themes emerged from data analysis: (a) communication, (b) employee involvement, (c) employee development, (d) top-down approach with manager buy in, (e) flexibility with time, (f) tailored strategies for different demographics, and (g) engagement with the workspace/environment. The implications of this study for positive change are that organizational leaders can incorporate these strategies to engage employees to achieve a competitive edge over competition. Engaged employees could benefit local communities and could have the flexibility to participate in community activities and foster positive social change.

Previous research has examined the various types of online infidelity, gender differences in online sexual behaviors, and relationship consequences of online affairs. Despite this attention, there remains a research gap regarding ways to prevent online infidelity. When couples seek therapy to address this issue, therapists report a lack of specific preparedness. This qualitative research project focused on methods for assisting couples by studying how they develop an agreement regarding appropriate and inappropriate online behaviors. Grounded theory was used to analyze the data from dyadic interviews with 12 engaged heterosexual couples. The interviews generated five common steps in the process of developing an agreement: (a) discuss the various online activities the couple participates in online; (b) define online infidelity; (c) discuss which activities are appropriate and which are not appropriate; (d) develop rules; and (e) state what occurs when an agreement is violated. Three couples had developed an agreement prior to the study and two couples developed an agreement through the process of the interview. Seven couples reported, however, that an agreement would not be beneficial in their relationship. These couples suggested using alternatives to an online behavior agreement including have mutual respect, eliminate questionable activities, get to know their fiancé or fiancée, and not participate in any online activities that they would not do in front of their partner. Although the study presupposed that couples would embrace the development of a mutual agreement, most couples elected to use other approaches. The results raise useful questions about couple readiness for structured prevention strategies and therapist approaches for clinical intervention. / Ph. D.

No description available.

Local communities have the right to participate in decision-making about environmental resources near where they live. Local governments have tried to gather feedback from communities to help improve the decisions they make, but have not always done a good job getting feedback from minority or urban communities. This dissertation provides one step toward obtaining this kind of public input in a majority minority community surrounding the Jordan River in Salt Lake City. Children and adults participated in this research. I present findings from two surveys, from work with children, and from adult interviews to understand how this community relates to their local river, what they like and do not like about it, and what they would like to see improved. This research revealed that communities have both positive and negative views of the river, but overall see it as an important community resource that is highly valued. Communities would like to participate more in river decision-making and have suggestions for how they would like to see that happen. The results in this dissertation can help bridge the gap between local city government officials and this minority community to help improve the river environmental quality and connections to the community.

This capstone project was part of a group project completed by three principals in elementary schools in Hillsborough County, Florida. The project began because of our passion to understand effective teachers. Our collective goal was to have more engaged teachers which would create more engaged students resulting in greater student and teacher success. Our overall group project purpose was to discover the behavior and characteristics an engaged teacher demonstrates and how these behaviors affect the learning environment and the students that are in that environment. The project was guided by the question, how does a culture of engaged teachers develop and support student engagement, choice, and voice? My area of focus was, how do children and adults benefit from an engaged learning environment? Selected literature was reviewed that concentrated on the impact of teacher engagement on student learning; student, teacher and parent voice, student and teacher mutuality, and building capacity for engaged learning environments. Results of two district-administered survey instruments were used as data sources: the School Climate and Perception Survey (SCIP) and the Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning (TELL). A secondary analysis of the 2014-2015 survey results was conducted for this project, using our three schools as the unit of analysis. Key findings in my area of focus included the importance of relationship and student voice in student engagement; the importance of teacher autonomy, self- and collective efficacy in teacher engagement; and barriers to engagement in the learning environment.

This thesis is an articulation of how the principles of socially-engaged Buddhism, a spiritual practice rooted in the teachings of the historical Buddha that integrates Buddhist practice and social activism, can enrich and enhance contemporary educational practice. It discusses Buddhist epistemology, metaphysics, ontology, psychology, ethics, and practice and relates these things to holistic education, critical pedagogy, SEL, and global education. On the basis of the theoretical understanding represented by that discussion, it articulates several theoretical principles that can be practically applied to the practice of teaching and learning to make it resonate with the theory and approach of sociallyengaged Buddhism. In integrating the implications of Buddhist teachings and practices with teaching and learning practice, it draws from bell hooks’ notion of “engaged pedagogy” in order to articulate a transformational, liberatory, and progressive approach to teaching called “socially-engaged pedagogy.” Socially-engaged pedagogy represents the notion that teaching and learning can be a practical site for progressive social action designed to address the real problem of suffering, both in the present and in the future, as it manifests in the world, exemplified by stress, illness, violence, war, discrimination, oppression, exploitation, poverty, marginalization, and ecological degradation.

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) projects, a type of complex information technology project, are very challenging and expensive to implement. Past research recognizes that escalation, defined as the commitment to a failing course of action, is common in such projects. While the factors that contribute to escalation (e.g., project conditions, psychological, organizational, and social factors) have been extensively examined, the literature on deescalation of projects is very limited. Motivated by this gap in the literature, this research examines deescalation, that is, on breaking the commitment to the failing course of action with a particular focus on ERP projects. This study is organized as a single-case study of a complex ERP project that was undertaken after a merger of two organizations. It examines how the project team members’ sensemaking is implicated in deescalation. Applying sensemaking as a theoretical lens, this engaged scholarship research contributes to practice by providing recommendations on how to better manage ERP project deescalation. It contributes to theory by providing a nuanced understanding of ERP project deescalation through project team members’ sensemaking activities.

This thesis is an articulation of how the principles of socially-engaged Buddhism, a spiritual practice rooted in the teachings of the historical Buddha that integrates Buddhist practice and social activism, can enrich and enhance contemporary educational practice. It discusses Buddhist epistemology, metaphysics, ontology, psychology, ethics, and practice and relates these things to holistic education, critical pedagogy, SEL, and global education. On the basis of the theoretical understanding represented by that discussion, it articulates several theoretical principles that can be practically applied to the practice of teaching and learning to make it resonate with the theory and approach of sociallyengaged Buddhism. In integrating the implications of Buddhist teachings and practices with teaching and learning practice, it draws from bell hooks’ notion of “engaged pedagogy” in order to articulate a transformational, liberatory, and progressive approach to teaching called “socially-engaged pedagogy.” Socially-engaged pedagogy represents the notion that teaching and learning can be a practical site for progressive social action designed to address the real problem of suffering, both in the present and in the future, as it manifests in the world, exemplified by stress, illness, violence, war, discrimination, oppression, exploitation, poverty, marginalization, and ecological degradation.