Participation in a combination of adult-led and peer-led activities appears to lead to favourable outcomes in sport (Côté, Erickson, & Abernethy, 2013). However, very little is known regarding the potential differences in how youth experience these distinct activities. Thus, the purpose of this project was to investigate the subjective and objective experiences of the same individuals across adult-led and peer-led sport activities. Recreational male soccer players (n = 27; Mean Age = 10.11) were examined using direct observation and experience rating scales in an effort to shed light on the impact that adult-led and peer-led sport activities have on the same athletes. The results clearly illustrated that the experiences of youth across these two activities are very different. In the adult-led activities, youth experienced high levels of effort and concentration, and spent more time being physically or mentally engaged. However, antisocial behaviours were also more frequent in the adult-led activities. Meanwhile, youth experienced high rates of prosocial behaviours, sport-related communication, as well as general communication during the peer-led activities. These findings suggest that rather than one approach being comparatively superior to the other, both adult-led and peer-led sport activities have the potential to yield unique benefits towards children’s experiences in sport. The results from the present study may have important practical implications if sport programs can utilize the benefits of both adult-led and peer-led activities to offer youth a sport experience which combines the best of both worlds. / Thesis (Master, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2013-08-22 17:29:14.363

Master of Science / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Anthony Jurich / Play is essential to child development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth. The integration of play and play therapy techniques with child and family therapy offers a creative, age appropriate way to provide mental health treatment. This report offers an overview of play therapy, the therapeutic value of play, the historical background, theory, techniques, materials, and settings. Further, it provides the reader with many therapeutic modalities in which to implement play in family therapy. Because play therapy is a specialized field, this report also provides the reader with information on how to use this to create a marketing niche. This report was written with the Masters’ or Doctoral student in mind, as well as practicing therapists; with hopes to provide them a creative avenue in which to enhance their current therapeutic modalities.

The analysis of cultural policy in the last decade suggests that creativity and the arts in general are extensively used in political agendas as means of capitalizing on the forecasted socio-economic potential of creative/artistic activities (e.g. Flew, 2005; Garnham, 2005; Hartley, 2005; Hesmondhalgh, 2007). Although some critical studies have highlighted instrumentalism, short-sidedness and practice/practitioners’ averse policy-making and intervention planning (Belfiore, 2004, 2009; Caust, 2003; Oakley, 2009; Newman, 2013), so far only very few studies have exposed the experiences and voices of particular groups of creative workers in the different national (country-specific) contexts to support this criticism. There has been a significant lack of studies that aim to understand how creative workers experience and cope with the changing policy context in their work. In particular, the voice of non-artists has rarely been considered when seeking a better understanding of the sector’s dynamics. This thesis explored the Scottish cultural sector through the eyes of cultural leaders. The study was carried out during a time of significant transformation to the funding structure, processes and relationships in the sector, catalysed by the establishment of a new funding agency (the funder). It focuses on cultural leaders’ understandings of an increasingly politicised cultural landscape that constitutes the context of their work. The thesis also looks at the influence of these understandings on the leaders’ role responsibilities, as well as the essence and the sustainability of the cultural sector. The empirical work for the thesis followed a qualitative research approach and focused on 21 semi-structured interviews with cultural leaders and industry experts based in Scotland. These individuals were purposefully chosen as a group of stakeholders who are able to engage in discussions about the cultural sector in the context of recent changes in the governance and financial subsidy of Scottish (publically funded) arts. The research findings illustrated the importance of leaders’ values and beliefs, which reflect the purpose of their work and shape their enactments in the sector. In particular, the intrinsic motivation, artistic ambitions, social and civic responsibilities of leaders emerged as crucial qualities of their work roles. The findings revealed a discrepancy between these artistic and civic concerns of cultural leaders and the socio-economic expectations of the funder, which contributed to a great deal of unproductive ('inorganic') tensions for which leaders had to find coping mechanisms. Bourdieu’s (1977, 1992) theoretical concepts were used as a starting point in understanding the cultural sector as a cultural field, and cultural leaders as actors enacting their work-related practices in the evolving socio-political and economic system of cultural production. However, upon further analysis of the data, the notions of a ‘worldview’ and ‘stewardship’ emerged and were used to better explain the greater complexity of work in today’s cultural sector. This thesis thus builds upon Bourdieu’s concept of ‘field’ and ‘artistic logic’ and explains the changing cultural sector as a holistic cultural field where cultural leaders enact their stewardship-like work responsibilities from within a strong and dynamic artistic worldview.