The experience of successfully ending a relationship with an abusive partner is seldom explored, although abuse has been experienced by 29% of married Canadian women (Johnson, 1996, cited in Morrow & Varcoe, 2000). This study used a phenomenological design and a critical social science approach to explore the lived experience of women who ended a relationship with an abusive partner. Seven in-depth interviews were analyzed, and encounters with social support from the justice system, counselling agencies, and transition houses were examined. A five-stage model to describe the change process emerged from the data. Metathemes illuminated important internal and external aspects of change during each stage. Childhood gender socialization influenced participants to stay in abusive relationships. Nevertheless, resistance to abuse was seen to have occurred from the beginning. Changing beliefs about gender roles and relationship expectations emerged as an important part of learning and influenced decision-making. Loss of hope and realization of harm led to a shift in decisional balance that culminated in determination to end the relationship. Simple goals evolved to become complex goals as change continued. Participants who attempted to understand their experiences reached a stage that included evolving and healing. Healing also involved a balanced lifestyle, in accordance with the bio-psycho-social-spiritual model. The model's terminology describes a woman in the successive stages of change as a learner, an actor, an evaluator, a survivor, and a thriver. The model is compared with the Transtheoretical Model of Change, and surprising reports of very low self-efficacy at the point of ending the relationship are discussed.

This thesis reports findings from a study that analyzed the sponsorship strategies, objectives, and benefits of the Canadian Hockey Association's women's ice hockey support program. There has been a notable increase in recent years in the number of women sport spectators and sport participants in ice hockey, which has increased the sport's potential for sponsorship. Women's ice hockey is Canada's fastest growing sport with approximately 40,000 females registered from coast to coast - an increase of over 400% in the last 10 years. (http://www. canadianhockey.ca). Although small in size compared to the men's program, (Women= 37,700, Men= 470,714) these numbers suggest that women's hockey is a good candidate for targeted sponsorship marketing approaches such as direct marketing and relationship marketing. Relationship and direct marketing are approaches to marketing and business communications that have emerged recently in the literature and can be used to enhance the benefits of sponsorship. Relationship marketing can be described as an integrated effort to identify, maintain, and build a network with individual customers and to continuously strengthen the network for the mutual benefit of all parties involved (McDonald and Milne, 1997). Direct marketing methods can be used to help identify, build and maintain relationships with customers and prospective customers using database technologies. According to Shani (1997), database marketing is a necessary tool to implement relationship marketing and involves the collection of information about past, current, and potential customers to build a customer database. The thesis study was designed to assess the marketing and sponsorship activities of thirteen major corporate partners involved in the women's program at the premier ($500,000+), broadcaster, or associate/program ($100,000+) levels. Eight corporate partners participated in the study. Interviews were conducted, in each case, in the offices of the respective corporations. Each interview was recorded and transcripts were prepared of the tape recordings. In addition to the audio recordings and transcripts, observations were made on-site and a wide range of sponsorship-related promotional materials were collected. The data were analyzed according to the corporate objectives, strategies and benefits obtained and the marketing & sponsorship methods that were utilized. Four major sponsorship objectives were found, ranging from traditional goals such as brand (and corporate) image & awareness and community involvement to more innovative objectives in sales and integrated promotions and advertising. Nine core corporate programs offered to the sponsors by the CHA are outlined in the thesis including: the Initiation Program; Skills Development Program; Experience a Dream; Fun Days; Medals of Achievement; Schools Program; PlayRight; the Coaching Certification, Development and Rewards Program; and Women in Coaching and Role Model Seminars. The research found a number of benefits of these core programs for the sponsors, including opportunities for relationship marketing, direct marketing, and niche marketing. Although for the most part CHA sponsors were very optimistic and supportive of the women's ice hockey program, there were a number of barriers and issues that concerned them. This research shows, however, that corporate partners for the most part were able to overcome these barriers and that they felt it was important to support the women's game of ice hockey in Canada.

Feminist community organizing involves members of a geographic locale or social network coming together to address a shared issue or problem affecting the lives of women in order to find a collective solution (Dominelli, 1995; Israel, Checkoway, Schulz & Zimmerman, 1994; Selsky, 1991). While the organizational theory literature has traditionally focused on the exchange of financial and material resources as the main reason for forming partnerships (Gulati, 1998; Kanter, 1989; Oliver, 1991), a growing body of feminist literature (Acker, 1995; Brown, 1992; Eisenstein, 1995; Feree and Martin, 1995; Reinelt, 1994) and community development literature (Dominelli, 1995, Israel et al., 1994; Kretzman & McKnight, 1993; Minkler & Wallerstein, 1997; Selsky, 1991) emphasizes the importance of other types of resources such as skills, lived experience, knowledge, information and social networks. In addition, feminist collectivity offers a promising alternative to hierarchy in terms of valuing and mobilizing the diverse pool of resources brought to a feminist community-based initiative by participants from varied social locations (Callahan, 1997; Dominelli, 1995; Reinelt, 1994). The purpose of my study was to investigate participant understandings of the resources they brought to a feminist community organizing initiative designed to increase the access of women on low-incomes to community recreation, and how emergent organizational practices affected resource utilization. A case study analysis of 'Women Organizing Activities for Women' (WOAW) that is comprised of a diverse group of women on low incomes, community partners, and university-based researchers was conducted. The research methods for this project included the analysis data obtained in Interactive Research Meetings (n=3) with each of the WOAW participant groups to determine individual and collective resources. Observations of Phase I WOAW meetings (n=9) were recorded using fieldnotes and verbatim transcripts and served as the data source for examining patterns of resource utilization given emergent feminist collective organizing practices. Fieldnotes and transcripts were analyzed using Atlas.ti data computer software. Participants from the three groups identified over 200 examples of resources they were bringing to WOAW and described a number of connections between resources, as well as multiple meanings of single resource types, which differed based on their roles and locations in the organization. These findings contribute to the literature by linking resource identification in new ways to the process of resource utilization. The results also contribute to practice by challenging assumptions about the types of resources brought by different collaborators and by identifying organizational practices that enhance or inhibit resource utilization. My analysis revealed that there was ambiguity between participant groups about who was bringing what resources, which led to assumptions being made about who would take on certain tasks in the group. I also found that while feminist collective organizing practices enabled participants to name and share resources in an empowering and respectful environment, that time constraints, ambiguity about roles and participants' lack of familiarity with the process were challenges to mobilizing available resources.

Facing retirement can be a stressful experience for sonne older adults. A cognitive-behavioural intervention was designed to help older wonnen cope with retirement anxiety, specifically targeting positive images of self in the future, described by Markus and Nurius (1986) as possible selves. Sixty-one preretirement women ranging in age from 49 to 71 (/W = 59.9) were randomly assigned to either a targeted-change group, a structured-discussion group, or a wait-list control group. The targeted-change group and the structured-discussion group met for 2 hours a week for 8 weeks. A modified state form of the State- Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg, & Jacobs, 1983), the Short form of the Multiscore Depression Inventory (Berndt, 1986), the Retirement Self-efficacy questionnaire (Poser & Engels, 1983), and a measure of possible selves were administered pre- and post-treatment, with a 3-month follow-up. Following the post-test, participants in the wait-list were assigned to one of the retirement seminars. It was predicted that from pre- to post-test participants in the targeted-change group would show a greater change in the measures than participants in the structured-discussion groups who would in turn, show a greater change than participants in the wait-list. The predictions were tested using planned orthogonal univariate tests. Retirement self-efficacy and positive possible selves increased more for participants in the targeted-change group and structured-discussion groups than for participants in the wait-list from pre-test to post-test. In addition, positive possible selves increased more for participants in the targeted-change than for participants in the structureddiscussion group from pre-test to the average of post-test and follow-up. It was concluded that the interventions were effective in changing how participants saw themselves in the future. Conclusions with regard to treatment efficacy, however, were restricted by observed change in the wait-list group on the anxiety measure following the initial interview, The results are discussed in terms of non-specific treatment effects, along with issues relating to research on possible selves, and implications for retirement programmes.

This study seeks to explain the observed differences in the earnings of individual Canadians by sex. The study uses data from the micro data file of the 1986 Survey of Consumer Finances of individuals age 15 and over, with and without income. To a large extent, the study follows the examples presented in other Canadian studies conducted by Holmes (1974), Robb (1978), Gunderson (1980), Goyder (1981) and Ornstein (1983). Employment earnings account for an overwhelming proportion of the total income received by individuals. Thus, the examination of the earnings differential attempts to address the root causes of many of the problems faced by nontraditional families. Canadian society is no longer largely composed of the traditional family with a working father and the homemaking mother. The growing number of dual-earner couples, single and childless adults, and households headed by women presents a difficult challenge for social policy. The male-female earnings disparity is a key component in exacerbating problems that include the availability of credit for women, the feminization of poverty, access to affordable and adequate housing, and adequate incomes for retirement. To effectively address the problems that have resulted from the interaction of greater female participation in the labour force and the formation of alternate household types, planners and policy makers need to address the root problem of sexual inequality in the labour force, and not solely the symptoms. In the context of changing family structure and the economic position of women, the focus of this study is to identify the size of the male-female earnings gap, and to determine the extent to which the earnings gap can be explained by personal, work and productivity-related characteristics. The impact of these factors are analyzed from two points of view. First, the impact of individual factors on the level of earnings are analyzed through a simple comparison of mean earnings of men and women across a variety of characteristics. Second, the influence of these factors on earnings, and the degree of inequality between the earnings of men and women, is analyzed using multiple linear regression analysis. Regression analysis is used to estimate separate earnings equations for men and women. From the separate earnings equations, the wage gap can be partitioned into three parts, due to differences in (1) constant terms, (2) mean levels of the independent variables, and (3) the returns of the independent variables. Further, to assess the impact of occupational and industrial segregation on the earnings gap, a second set of earnings equations are calculated that do not include measures of occupational and industrial segregation. The calculations of separate earnings equations for men and women, for the selected sample, produced an unadjusted earnings ratio of 0.66. After adjustments were made for the ten productivity and productivity-related factors considered in the analysis, including occupational and industrial distributions, the ratio increased to 0.79. This left an earnings gap of $5,985 (1985 dollars) that could not be assigned to any of the measured variables. While part of the unexplained residual may be explained by variables not included in the analysis, or by more careful measurement of existing variables, it seems likely that at least 20 percentage points of the earnings gap is attributable to "an amalgam of different forms of discrimination which, taken together, disadvantage women relative to men", (Denton and Hunter, 1982). Discrimination is defined as different returns in earnings for equal productivity characteristics, as given by the regression coefficients. Of the total earnings gap of 34 percent, approximately 60% of this is attributable to wage discrimination, and approximately 40% is due to differences in productivity-related characteristics Occupational and industrial segregation account for a large proportion of the earnings gap. The adjusted earnings ratio, when occupational and industrial segregation are not considered endowments, is 0.69. Thus, the difference between the full-regression equation and the partial regression equation indicates that occupational and industrial segregation accounts for approximately 30% of the earnings gap. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

Feminist community organizing involves members of a geographic locale or social network coming together to address a shared issue or problem affecting the lives of women in order to find a collective solution (Dominelli, 1995; Israel, Checkoway, Schulz & Zimmerman, 1994; Selsky, 1991). While the organizational theory literature has traditionally focused on the exchange of financial and material resources as the main reason for forming partnerships (Gulati, 1998; Kanter, 1989; Oliver, 1991), a growing body of feminist literature (Acker, 1995; Brown, 1992; Eisenstein, 1995; Feree and Martin, 1995; Reinelt, 1994) and community development literature (Dominelli, 1995, Israel et al., 1994; Kretzman & McKnight, 1993; Minkler & Wallerstein, 1997; Selsky, 1991) emphasizes the importance of other types of resources such as skills, lived experience, knowledge, information and social networks. In addition, feminist collectivity offers a promising alternative to hierarchy in terms of valuing and mobilizing the diverse pool of resources brought to a feminist community-based initiative by participants from varied social locations (Callahan, 1997; Dominelli, 1995; Reinelt, 1994). The purpose of my study was to investigate participant understandings of the resources they brought to a feminist community organizing initiative designed to increase the access of women on low-incomes to community recreation, and how emergent organizational practices affected resource utilization. A case study analysis of 'Women Organizing Activities for Women' (WOAW) that is comprised of a diverse group of women on low incomes, community partners, and university-based researchers was conducted. The research methods for this project included the analysis data obtained in Interactive Research Meetings (n=3) with each of the WOAW participant groups to determine individual and collective resources. Observations of Phase I WOAW meetings (n=9) were recorded using fieldnotes and verbatim transcripts and served as the data source for examining patterns of resource utilization given emergent feminist collective organizing practices. Fieldnotes and transcripts were analyzed using Atlas.ti data computer software. Participants from the three groups identified over 200 examples of resources they were bringing to WOAW and described a number of connections between resources, as well as multiple meanings of single resource types, which differed based on their roles and locations in the organization. These findings contribute to the literature by linking resource identification in new ways to the process of resource utilization. The results also contribute to practice by challenging assumptions about the types of resources brought by different collaborators and by identifying organizational practices that enhance or inhibit resource utilization. My analysis revealed that there was ambiguity between participant groups about who was bringing what resources, which led to assumptions being made about who would take on certain tasks in the group. I also found that while feminist collective organizing practices enabled participants to name and share resources in an empowering and respectful environment, that time constraints, ambiguity about roles and participants' lack of familiarity with the process were challenges to mobilizing available resources. / Education, Faculty of / Kinesiology, School of / Graduate

This thesis reports findings from a study that analyzed the sponsorship strategies, objectives, and benefits of the Canadian Hockey Association's women's ice hockey support program. There has been a notable increase in recent years in the number of women sport spectators and sport participants in ice hockey, which has increased the sport's potential for sponsorship. Women's ice hockey is Canada's fastest growing sport with approximately 40,000 females registered from coast to coast - an increase of over 400% in the last 10 years. (http://www. canadianhockey.ca). Although small in size compared to the men's program, (Women= 37,700, Men= 470,714) these numbers suggest that women's hockey is a good candidate for targeted sponsorship marketing approaches such as direct marketing and relationship marketing. Relationship and direct marketing are approaches to marketing and business communications that have emerged recently in the literature and can be used to enhance the benefits of sponsorship. Relationship marketing can be described as an integrated effort to identify, maintain, and build a network with individual customers and to continuously strengthen the network for the mutual benefit of all parties involved (McDonald and Milne, 1997). Direct marketing methods can be used to help identify, build and maintain relationships with customers and prospective customers using database technologies. According to Shani (1997), database marketing is a necessary tool to implement relationship marketing and involves the collection of information about past, current, and potential customers to build a customer database. The thesis study was designed to assess the marketing and sponsorship activities of thirteen major corporate partners involved in the women's program at the premier ($500,000+), broadcaster, or associate/program ($100,000+) levels. Eight corporate partners participated in the study. Interviews were conducted, in each case, in the offices of the respective corporations. Each interview was recorded and transcripts were prepared of the tape recordings. In addition to the audio recordings and transcripts, observations were made on-site and a wide range of sponsorship-related promotional materials were collected. The data were analyzed according to the corporate objectives, strategies and benefits obtained and the marketing & sponsorship methods that were utilized. Four major sponsorship objectives were found, ranging from traditional goals such as brand (and corporate) image & awareness and community involvement to more innovative objectives in sales and integrated promotions and advertising. Nine core corporate programs offered to the sponsors by the CHA are outlined in the thesis including: the Initiation Program; Skills Development Program; Experience a Dream; Fun Days; Medals of Achievement; Schools Program; PlayRight; the Coaching Certification, Development and Rewards Program; and Women in Coaching and Role Model Seminars. The research found a number of benefits of these core programs for the sponsors, including opportunities for relationship marketing, direct marketing, and niche marketing. Although for the most part CHA sponsors were very optimistic and supportive of the women's ice hockey program, there were a number of barriers and issues that concerned them. This research shows, however, that corporate partners for the most part were able to overcome these barriers and that they felt it was important to support the women's game of ice hockey in Canada. / Education, Faculty of / Kinesiology, School of / Graduate

Facing retirement can be a stressful experience for sonne older adults. A cognitive-behavioural intervention was designed to help older wonnen cope with retirement anxiety, specifically targeting positive images of self in the future, described by Markus and Nurius (1986) as possible selves. Sixty-one preretirement women ranging in age from 49 to 71 (/W = 59.9) were randomly assigned to either a targeted-change group, a structured-discussion group, or a wait-list control group. The targeted-change group and the structured-discussion group met for 2 hours a week for 8 weeks. A modified state form of the State- Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg, & Jacobs, 1983), the Short form of the Multiscore Depression Inventory (Berndt, 1986), the Retirement Self-efficacy questionnaire (Poser & Engels, 1983), and a measure of possible selves were administered pre- and post-treatment, with a 3-month follow-up. Following the post-test, participants in the wait-list were assigned to one of the retirement seminars. It was predicted that from pre- to post-test participants in the targeted-change group would show a greater change in the measures than participants in the structured-discussion groups who would in turn, show a greater change than participants in the wait-list. The predictions were tested using planned orthogonal univariate tests. Retirement self-efficacy and positive possible selves increased more for participants in the targeted-change group and structured-discussion groups than for participants in the wait-list from pre-test to post-test. In addition, positive possible selves increased more for participants in the targeted-change than for participants in the structureddiscussion group from pre-test to the average of post-test and follow-up. It was concluded that the interventions were effective in changing how participants saw themselves in the future. Conclusions with regard to treatment efficacy, however, were restricted by observed change in the wait-list group on the anxiety measure following the initial interview, The results are discussed in terms of non-specific treatment effects, along with issues relating to research on possible selves, and implications for retirement programmes. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

Increasingly, Aboriginal women engage with feminist theory and forms of activism to carve their own space and lay a foundation for an Aboriginal feminism. I compile prominent writings of female Aboriginal authors to identify emerging theoretical strains that centre on decolonization as both theory and methodology. Aboriginal women position decolonization strategies against the intersectionality of race and sex oppression within a colonial context, which they term patriarchal colonialism. They challenge forms of patriarchal colonialism that masquerade as Aboriginal tradition and function to silence and exclude Aboriginal women from sovereignty and leadership spheres. By recalling and reclaiming the pre-colonial Aboriginal principle of egalitarianism, which included women within these spheres, they are positioned to create a hybrid feminism that locates egalitarianism within a contemporary and relevant context by combining it with human rights. In this way, Aboriginal feminism balances culture and tradition with principles of individual and collective rights. / ix, 142 leaves ; 29 cm

Note: / Images of Indian women shared by explorers and traders of the Northwest significantly infl uenced early Canadian government Indian policy. Under the policy of wardship, these images developed into stereotypical views. The government's goals of protection, civilization and assimilation, pertaining to Indian women residing on prairie reserves from 1880 to 1930, were to be accomplished by restructuring the domestic economy on reserve. Government and churches attempted to c hange this economy through formal instruction of Indian women in the domestic skills. Later, attempts were made to teach them to be better mothers. The state's view of Indians as inadequate housekeepers and inattentive mothers reinforced efforts to alter the way of life on reserves. Moreover, the stereotype of domestic slovenliness served to mask causes of endemic tuberculosis on the reserves . By 1930, the Canadian state had intervened in most areas of Indian womens' lives. This occurred well before unive rsal social programs were established. / L'image de la femme Amerindienne qu'ont rapportee les explorateurs et les trappeurs du Nord-ouest a influence de facon significative les premieres politiques du gouvernemnt canadien a l'egard de mis en tutelle du gouvernement federeal transformera ensuite progressivement cette perception en stereotypes. Les objectifs du gouvernement ayant trait a la protection, a l'avancement et a l'assimilation des amerindiennes vivant sur les reserves des Prairies entre 1880 et 1930 devaient etre atteints par un restructuration de l'economie interieure des reserves. Le gouvernement et les pouvoirs religieux ont tente d'y parvenir en enseignant les arts menagers aux amerindiennes. Plus tard on tentera de leur ernsigner comment etre de meilleures meres.[...]