To be successful, future leaders of the school, district, or other levels will require very different characteristics than those expected of leaders in the last decade (Fullan, 2000). The purpose of this study was to identify the key characteristics needed by school district superintendents to meet the demands of this position in the twenty-first century. The key characteristics were identified by exemplary superintendents who had been recognized for their effectiveness. The ten most frequently identified characteristics were then analyzed for commonalities and anomalies. A selected group of survey respondents also participated in semi-structured interviews to develop an understanding of the context surrounding the characteristic selections.This study of the key characteristics of effective superintendent indicates that an effective Arizona school superintendent for the 21st century must be centered on having the capacity, knowledge and aspirations to develop a collaborative relationship-driven culture. This study suggested both quantitatively and qualitatively that the development of positive relationships with all educational stakeholders was imperative to the success of the superintendent. Practicing and future superintendents will need to have superior interpersonal skills to be successful in the 21st century. Practicing and future superintendents will need to have superior interpersonal skills and it is the responsibility of university programs and professional organizations to provide opportunities for the development of these skills.

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Unlicensed, non-credentialed counsellors pose a substantial risk for harm to those seeking counselling in Canada. Professional associations and legislative bodies in Canada are seeking protection of the public through certification and regulation processes that require evidence of professional competence. I examine and discuss the development process for and reliability and validity measures of a prototype for a Canadian standard entry-to-practice counselling competency assessment. Unique to this study is a focus on process orientation. Using a mixed methods approach, I observe and document the steps used by a pan-Canadian test development team to create a prototype for a valid, reliable, credible, and fair national assessment of counselling competency at the entry-to-practice level. Beginning with the formation of a national competency profile that delineates a scope of practice for the counselling profession, I move through the assessment creation process from conceptual foundations and rationale to assessment blueprint, item writing, beta testing, and strategic checks for validation and reliability. The culmination of this study is a replicable process for the creation of fair, valid, and reliable test instruments for the counselling profession in Canada.

Empathy development programmes (EDP) are currently implemented in several New Zealand primary schools. Research has indicated a variety of potentially beneficial outcomes to these programmes yet a gap in literature is evident in New Zealand regarding the social acceptability of school-based EDP’s. As social acceptability of any programme influences its efficacy and sustainability, this gap in literature indicates an apparent oversight for the successful implementation of these programmes. To address this gap in literature, 68 students training for a teaching career rated the acceptability of a scenario which outlined a hypothetical EDP implemented in a hypothetical class. Results of this study indicated that students found the notion of implementing an EDP in primary schools highly acceptable. Using the same hypothetical EDP, 33 parents of primary school-aged children rated the acceptability of two different scenarios outlining implementation in two age-specified hypothetical classes. Results of this study indicated that parents found the notion of implementing an EDP in both age-specified classes highly acceptable, although implementation in the younger class was found to be more acceptable than in the older class. As suggested by the results of both studies, the degree of acceptability was related to participant perceptions of the programme’s goals, procedures and potential outcomes, therefore implying that these meet the social needs of the public.

Objectives: Evidence suggests that physical activity reduces symptoms of clinical anxiety and depression, however, very little research has been published about service user’s experiences with physical activity interventions. The ABE Programme is a client-centred, individualised physical activity intervention for people with mental illness delivered by non-government organisation Richmond Services Limited. The objectives of this study were to investigate service users’ outcomes, experiences, barriers to physical activity and contributing factors for physical activity adherence, to make recommendations for health policy, community development, service improvements and further research. Methods: An explanatory concurrent mixed methods design was applied: for the quantitative component a simple quasi-experimental reversal study to analyse participants’ physical (blood pressure, body weight), mental (self-esteem, mental well-being) measures, physical activity level and smoking status; for the qualitative component a descriptive study conducting semi-structured interviews with participants of the programme. Results: Thirty assessment results were available for the quantitative data analysis. Self-esteem, mental well-being and physical activity levels showed significant improvements, whereas physical measurements and smoking status showed no changes. Thirteen interviews were conducted. Qualitative findings reinforced and enhanced quantitative results. Participants’ experiences were physical, psychological and social. Support was important to overcome barriers. Multiple factors contributed to maintaining physical activity. Clients made suggestions related to the support, structure and contents of the programme. Conclusions: The ABE Programme contributes to the improvements of participants’ mental and physical well-being. Professional support is crucial. Improvements are recommended regarding follow-up support, group activities and evidence-based physical activity adherence methods. Emphasis for policy should be on early intervention, collaboration between services and physical activity promotion approaches on multiple levels. Further research is recommended, for example, to develop efficient and cost-effective physical activity adherence approaches. Future research could include single subject studies, surveys and focus groups studies within Richmond and across the wider mental health sector.

It has been well established that fear of crime is, at least in part, influenced by the media. Past research has shown that escalation of fear in many Western societies has resulted from increased media coverage of crime. Despite the diversity of media outlets, a common discourse emergescriminal behaviour is a product of bad people, from poor neighbourhoods, preying on innocent and undeserving victims. Critical approaches to the study of media show crime reporting as a political act, involving deepening stereotypes and Othering of marginalized people based on their age, race, and gender. Missing from the literature is a detailed portrait of the nature of media representations of crime and how it may shift over time. The goal of my research is to fill this gap by analyzing how differences between offenders and victims’ race, age, and gender as described in newspaper crime reports significantly impact the probability that these articles would contain language promoting a discourse of fear and marginalization. A combination of critical theoriesincluding critical criminology, feminism, postcolonial theory, and critical discourse analysisare used to develop themes related to media representations of gender, race, and language. Because race, gender, and age in the context of crime cannot be extracted from class, discussions of class also appear throughout the thesis. Four newspapersthe Vancouver Sun, Saskatoon Star Phoenix, Winnipeg Free Press, and the Toronto Starwere examined over a span of thirty years through a mixed methods approach combining content and critical discourse analyses. A total of 480 newspapers and 1, 190 crime articles constituted the empirical sample for this research. Two themesfear and marginalizationas well as twelve subthemes emerge from the empirical and theoretical literature. The research results show that differences in language can be observed in Canadian crime reports based on mentions of race, age, and gender of both the offenders and victims. Throughout all thirty years, articles indicated that crimes against white victims used fearful language, while visible minority victims were blamed for their victimization. White offenders were disproportionately criminalized and dehumanized with depictions that frequently undermined their claim to normal membership of their racial group through extraordinary character defect. Visible minority offenders were linked to poverty. Portrayals of female offenders accurately depicted them as generally low risk; both female offenders and female victims were treated in a largely equal manner. Women offenders were dichotomized into sexualized bad girls or malicious black widows. Female victims were either depicted as bad victims (i.e. racialized victims) who were blamed for their circumstances, or good victims who garnered sympathy through negative portrayals of their offenders. Young offenders and victims were often linked to gang activity, and language regarding them contained a mix of both fear and marginalization. The dissertation concludes by providing support to the critical paradigms with which it engages, demonstrating the need to include an analysis of critical criminology, race, gender, and a deconstruction of language. The study directs our attention to the necessity for further research on the benefits of educational programs for both those disseminating the discourse of crime and those consuming it.

Unlicensed, non-credentialed counsellors pose a substantial risk for harm to those seeking counselling in Canada. Professional associations and legislative bodies in Canada are seeking protection of the public through certification and regulation processes that require evidence of professional competence. I examine and discuss the development process for and reliability and validity measures of a prototype for a Canadian standard entry-to-practice counselling competency assessment. Unique to this study is a focus on process orientation. Using a mixed methods approach, I observe and document the steps used by a pan-Canadian test development team to create a prototype for a valid, reliable, credible, and fair national assessment of counselling competency at the entry-to-practice level. Beginning with the formation of a national competency profile that delineates a scope of practice for the counselling profession, I move through the assessment creation process from conceptual foundations and rationale to assessment blueprint, item writing, beta testing, and strategic checks for validation and reliability. The culmination of this study is a replicable process for the creation of fair, valid, and reliable test instruments for the counselling profession in Canada.

Global environmental deterioration demands the involvement of the academic community. Ecosystem management is a discipline within ecology that is especially concerned about doing interdisciplinary research in order to solve environmental problems. However, it is not clear what interdisciplinary work means, what its purpose is, and how it is practiced among ecosystem management researchers. The research presented in this dissertation has the goal of understanding ecosystem management researchers perspectives and practices concerning interdisciplinarity. It uses a pragmatic framework and a sequential mixed-methods research design to accomplish three particular objectives. First, it investigates the use of the term interdisciplinarity in the ecosystem management literature by evaluating citations and abstracts of 129 peer-reviewed, English language, journal articles via bibliometric analysis. Second, it explores the definition of interdisciplinarity among ecosystem management researchers by surveying 119 individuals using on-line questionnaires. Finally, it examines interdisciplinary perspectives among ecosystem management researchers by interviewing 15 key informants using semi-structured telephone interviews. Results show that ecosystem management researchers share a common understanding of what interdisciplinarity is. However, they are not especially concerned about discussing theoretical considerations of the concept of interdisciplinarity and its practice. In the context of the opportunities and challenges interdisciplinary work presents for the ecosystem management field, the research discusses the role of a deeper engagement with theories of interdisciplinarity. It encourages theoretical discussions of interdisciplinary work among ecosystem management researchers in order to enhance effective interdisciplinary research efforts and promote further contributions of ecosystem management to solving environmental problems.

Doctor of Philosophy / Psychological services in Australia are frequently provided in the context of third party payers who impose time limits based on reasons other than particular client (or therapist) characteristics. Time limits may function as a useful clinical factor in the provision of therapy, for example through accelerating treatment. Less is known about the third party imposition of time limits and the impact they may have on psychotherapy from the perspective of psychologists. The present study investigates the impact of time limits imposed in this manner from the viewpoint of practising psychologists. Practising psychologists took part in a mixed methods study. Twenty seven participated in a semi-structured interview, and eighty-five completed a mailed questionnaire. Interviews were analysed thematically, while both qualitative content analysis and statistical analyses were applied to questionnaires. The interview and questionnaire findings were congruent, both showing that a time limit makes a difference to psychologists. Psychologists are less satisfied with treatment that can be provided in the time limited as opposed to time unlimited context. However, they also perceived benefit in terms of improved client access to psychologists and improvements in the efficiency of therapy. Participants reported that the system of third party referrals had an impact on them that was over and above the impact that a time limit itself had, for example, the fact they were externally managed. The broader context therefore reportedly brought with it the need for psychologists to adapt their treatment to the context of the service. Psychologists reported that, in response to time limits, they often changed their treatment type, for example, from a psychodynamic to cognitive behavioural approach. They also made more general changes, such as moving quicker through the process of therapy and becoming more directive and less client-centred. Perceived outcomes were also affected by the time-limited context. How psychologists conceive of, report, and achieve outcomes is different in this context, and overall outcomes were perceived as weaker. In conclusion, this study has demonstrated that time limits impact upon psychologists in important ways with regard to the process and outcomes of psychotherapy. The broader system of third party referrals has implications for the delivery of psychological services in Australia, which clinical understandings of time limitation have not accounted for. Previous research has shown that the number of sessions available makes a difference, but the present research shows that a time limit cannot be separated from the system under which it is imposed, because once it is imposed, it has implications throughout the whole process.

A theoretical model of eating disorders called the shame and pride model has suggested that pride is a key psychological mechanism underpinning restrictive eating disorders and that it is also important in the maintenance of such conditions. Despite being included in this model, pride has been little investigated in the eating disorders field, especially when compared to shame, which has received extensive theoretical and empirical attention. Therefore, the overall aim of this PhD thesis was to investigate the role of pride related to eating disorders and its relation to motivation to change in clinical and non-clinical samples. Firstly, a systematic mixed studies review was conducted to examine the empirical evidence concerning pride and eating disorders. This review showed that this is an under-researched area (only 10 studies were identified). However, it provided initial evidence highlighting that low levels of pride in physical appearance precipitated the onset of eating disorder behaviours, such as food restriction, binge eating, and purging. It also suggested that over time, high levels of pride experienced through the ability to control food/calorie intake and weight loss, appeared to maintain eating disorders. Secondly, three empirical studies were conducted; a qualitative study, followed by two quantitative studies. The grounded theory qualitative study aimed to understand the meaning of pride in eating disorders from the perspective of women with anorexia nervosa. The second study aimed to develop and validate a measure to assess the component structure of pride in eating pathology. The third study investigated, over a period of 12 months: i. whether pride in eating pathology acted as a mediator between anorexia nervosa symptoms and the precontemplation stage of change (i.e. no motivation to change), and ii. whether pride in healthy weight and healthy eating interacted with anorexia nervosa symptoms to predict the action stage of change (i.e. actively engaging to change eating disorder behaviours). Both qualitative and exploratory component analysis indicated that pride in eating pathology is a multidimensional self-conscious emotion that is comprised of unhealthy and healthy aspects. In addition, findings from the qualitative study and the longitudinal mediational study demonstrated that pride in eating pathology evolves over time and predicted people’s unwillingness to change eating disorder behaviours after a year. Finally, results from the longitudinal moderational analysis revealed that pride in healthy weight and healthy eating did not act as a moderator between anorexia symptoms and being in the action stage to change eating disorder behaviours at 12 months. However, the qualitative study revealed that pride related to healthy eating behaviours promotes recovery in a clinical sample. Results from this PhD thesis provide empirical evidence to further develop the shame and pride model postulated by Goss and Gilbert (2002) and highlight the role of pride as a precipitating and maintaining factor of eating disorder behaviours. In addition, it was found that pride in eating disorders influences motivation to change. Clinical implications of the findings from these empirical studies are discussed throughout the PhD thesis, along with directions for future research.