"The whole earth as village" : a chronotopic analysis of Marshall McLuhan's "Global Village" and Patrick McGoohan's The Prisoner

Marshall McLuhan's "global village", and his theories on communications and technology, in conjunction with Patrick McGoohan's television series The Prisoner (ATV, 1967-1968) are explored in this thesis. The Prisoner, brainchild of McGoohan, is about the abduction and confinement of a British government agent imprisoned within the impenetrable boundaries of a benign but totalitarian city -state called "The Village". The purpose of his abduction and imprisonment is for the extraction of information regarding his resignation as a government spy. Marshall McLuhan originally popularized the phrase "the global village" in The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making o/the Topographic Man (1962), asserting that, "The new electronic interdependence recreates the world in the image of a global village" (p. 31). This thesis argues that valid parallels exist between McGoohan's conception of "village", as manifested in The Prisoner, and McLuhan's global village. The comprehensive methodological stratagem for this thesis includes Marshall McLuhan's "mosaic" approach, Mikhail Bakhtin's concept ofthe "chronotope", as well as a Foucauldian genealogicallhistorical discourse analysis. In the process of deconstructing McLuhan's texts and The Prisoner as products of the 1960s, an historical "constellation" (to use Walter Benjamin's concept) of the same present has been executed. By employing this synthesized methodology, conjunctions have been made between McLuhan's theories and the series' main themes of bureaucracy as dictatorship, the perversion of science and technology, freedom as illusion, and the individual in opposition to the collective. A thorough investigation of the global village and The Prisoner will determine whether or not Marshall McLuhan and/or Patrick McGoohan visualize the village as an enslaving technological reality.

Expanding the research horizon in higher education : master's students' perceptions of research assistantships

This study explores how effectively current research assistantships impart research methods, skills, and attitudes; and how well those experiences prepare the next generation of researchers to meet the evolving needs of an ever-expanding, knowledge- based economy and society. Through personal interviews, 7 graduate student research assistants expressed their perceptions regarding their research assistantships. The open- ended interview questions emphasized (a) what research knowledge and skills the graduate students acquired; (b) what other lessons they took away from the experience; and (c) how the research assistantships influenced their graduate studies and future academic plans. After participants were interviewed, the data were transcribed, memberchecked, and then analyzed using a grounded theory research design. The findings show that research assistantships are valuable educational venues that can not only promote research learning but also benefit research assistants' master's studies and stimulate reflection regarding their future educational and research plans. Although data are limited to the responses of 7 students, findings can contribute to the enhancement of research assistantship opportunities as a means of developing skilled future researchers that in tum will benefit Canada as an emerging leader in research and development. The study is meant to serve as an informative source for (a) experienced researchers who have worked with research assistants; (b) researchers who are planning to hire research assistants; and (c) experienced and novice research assistants. Further, the study has the potential to inform future research training initiatives as well as related policies and practices.

The role of leaders in building organizational learning capacity

In a world in which social, economic, and environmental circumstances are continuously evolving and increasingly complex, leaders face the challenging prospect of navigating their organizations through unpredictable operating conditions. Finding a way to tap into the learning capacity of the people who comprise their organizations may be the answer to adapt and to survive. This qualitative research study explored the role of leaders in building this organizational learning capacity. The literature identified three domains of personal, interpersonal, and organizational capacity for learning in an organizational setting. Interviews with three senior leaders who had successfully built learning capacity in their respective organizations revealed four elements of leader commitment: (a) to the process of building learning capacity, (b) to organizational objectives and results, (c) to personal actions and behaviours, and (d) to the people of the organization. Each of the four elements of leader commitment spans the three domains of learning capacity that can guide leaders as they build organizational learning capacity.

Leadership and its impact on the success of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council funded collaborative research projects

This dissertation investigates the practice of leadership in collaboratively designed and funded research in a university setting. More specifically, this research explores the meaning of leadership as experienced by researchers who were, or still are, engaged on Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) funded collaborative research projects in a university setting. This qualitative study (Gay & Airasian, 2003) is situated within a social constructivist paradigm (Kezar, Carducci, & Contreras-McGavin, 2006) and involves an analysis of the responses from 12 researchers who answered 11questions related to my overarching research question: What is the impact of leadership on university based collaborative research projects funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council based on the experiences of researchers involved? The data that emerged supported and enhanced the existing literature related to leadership and collaborative groups in academia. The type of preferred leadership that emerged as a result of this research seemed to indicate that the type of leader that appeared to be optimal in this context might be described as a functional collaborative expert.

The historical game-changes in the philosophy of devotion and caste as used and misused by the Bhagavad-gita

This thesis considers that the purport of the Bhagavadgita is to prioritize the philosophy of loving devotion to God (bhakti), not the propagation of color-coded-caste (varna system). The distinction between bhakti and caste becomes clear when one sees their effect on human life and on the society. Jnana and karma, two of the other polarities with which the Gita contends, finally support bhakti towards betterment, not deterioration, if done selflessly and with balance. Caste, however, is a totally different tension, which is always detrimental to the well-being of the person and the society. In the Gita, the devotees' mystical or emotional love of, God apprehends their ~ oneness with the Supreme God and with all beings, and transcends the pitiless segregation of the caste system, and opens the path of salvation to all irrespective of race, color, caste, class or gender in life. In spite of much opposition from orthodoxy, the bhakti movement spread allover India, and bhakti itself rose to the level of orthodoxy and has become the faith of millions of people especially of the south, and surprisingly, of even of those of the so called highest caste. And yet, caste still remains as an indelible mark of every Hindu, even after they change their religion. Although caste is less venomous now, it is still openly present in all walks of Indian life and shows up its ugly head at important moments such as marriage, elections for public office, admission to school or employment. True, bhakti is the antidote for. caste; but only real bhakti can remove caste completely, not mere lip-service to it. This thesis claims that bhakti is the deliberate major thrust of the teaching of the Gita while caste seems to be a contradiction of this thrust.

Male and Female Perspectives on Female Principals in South Africa

In South Africa, women are at a high risk of discrimination and opposition to authority when they obtain leadership positions, especially in education (Gouws & Kotze, 2007). The purpose of this study was to inquire into 10 secondary school educators’ perceptions of female principals’ effectiveness in two South African schools. Qualitative case study research methodology included interviews, as well as participant observations and semi-structured interviews. These interviews were conducted within two school settings in South Africa. The participants were teachers, department heads, and deputy principals. When the data were analyzed, it was found that all participants wanted a leader who was transformational and there was a strong preference for those who had feminine traits. This research showed the strong desire for transformational leaders as well as how feminine characteristics are not only starting to become more accepted, but also are now becoming preferred.

Subjective Ambivalence and the Expression of Anti-Gay Bias

Univalent attitudes toward gay people have been widely studied, but no research to date has examined ambivalent (i.e., torn, conflicted) attitudes toward gay people. However, the Justification-Suppression Model (JSM; Crandall & Eshleman, 2003) proposes that ambivalence leads to biased expressions through intrapsychic processes which facilitate biased expression, particularly in contexts presenting strong justifications for expressing prejudice and weak pressures to suppress prejudice. I test these implications in the context of bias toward gay people. In Study 1, the measurement of ambivalence is examined in terms of both subjective ambivalence (i.e., the reported experience of “torn” attitudes) and calculated ambivalence (i.e., mathematical conflict between positive and negative attitude components). I find that higher subjective ambivalence is only associated with more negative attitudes toward gay people (and not positive attitudes toward gay people), and that higher subjective ambivalence predicts less gay rights support even after taking negative and positive attitudes toward gay people into account. Further, higher subjective ambivalence is associated with ideological opposition to gay people and more negative intergroup emotions (e.g., intergroup disgust). These findings suggest it is valuable to examine the unique component of subjective ambivalence separate from univalent negativity. Because calculated ambivalence measures are mathematically dependent upon a univalent negative measure, they cannot be examined separately from negativity. Therefore, subjective ambivalence is the focus of Study 2. The main goals of Study 2 were to determine why and when subjective ambivalence is related to bias. I examined the extent to which the negative relation between subjective ambivalence and opposition to anti-gay bullying can be accounted for by lower intergroup empathy and lower collective guilt, which may facilitate the expression of bias in keeping with the JSM. The relation between subjective ambivalence and anti-gay bullying opposition was examined within four social contexts based on a 2 (high vs. low offensiveness) x 2 (normatively unjustified vs. normatively justified) manipulation. I expected that higher subjective ambivalence would be most strongly related to lower intergroup empathy and collective guilt when there are the strongest justifications for bias expression, and that lower intergroup empathy and collective guilt would lead to less opposition to anti-gay bullying. Higher subjective ambivalence predicted less anti-gay bullying opposition. After accounting for positivity and negativity, the direct effect of subjective ambivalence was no longer significant, yet subjective ambivalence uniquely predicted intergroup empathy, which in turn predicted less anti-gay bullying opposition. These findings provide evidence that subjective ambivalence is largely negative in nature, but also presents evidence for a unique component of subjective ambivalence (separate from univalent attitudes) associated with low intergroup empathy and negativity. In contrast to previous research, I found very little evidence for the context-dependency of subjective ambivalence. Further research on subjective ambivalence, including subjective ambivalence toward other social groups, may expand our understanding of the factors leading to biased expressions.

Letter - The Ontario Paper Co. Limited to Mr. Arthur A. Schmon, 1949

A letter from The Ontario Paper Co., Limited of Thorold, Ontario. The letter, dated 15 August 1949, celebrates the Thirtieth Anniversary of association between Arthur A. Schmon and the paper company. The letter praises the work of Mr. Schmon, "a leader of progressive thinking and action, a man with a true sense of values, sound judgement and a deep sense of justice". There are ten signatures at the bottom of the letter.

The Influence of the Media on Shaping Perceptions of Leadership in Sport: A Within and Between Groups Design

An experimental design that included both between-group and within-group designs was used to assess media influence on perceptions of sport leadership. Participants were recruited and randomly assigned to three groups, where each group completed two separate survey sessions regarding leader personality traits and behaviours. During the second survey session, experimental Groups 1 and 2 watched a video on a separate, respective sport leader prior to filling out the survey. There were a total of 104 participants (N = 104) for the first session, and 99 (N = 99) participants completed the second session. One-way ANOVA, factorial repeated measures ANOVA, and ANCOVA were used for data analysis. Results indicate a significant change in Group 2’s results after watching the video clip, thus rejecting the null hypotheses. Results and implications are discussed, highlighting their relationships to sport and media related theories and sport management practice.

Broadside Reporting the Fenian Invasion of Canada, June 4 1866

The collection consists of 6 broadsides reporting the events of the Fenian invasion of Canada on June 2 and 3, 1866. Three of the broadsides are titled Leader Extra, two are titled Globe Extra, and the last is titled News Extra. This one is titled Leader Extra and leads with the heading "Fenian Prisoners Twenty-One of them in Toronto Jail. Also included, "Latest American Reports: Interesting News from the East".

Broadside Reporting the Fenian Invasion, June 2 1866

The collection consists of 6 broadsides reporting the events of the Fenian invasion of Canada on June 2 and 3, 1866. Three of the broadsides are titled Leader Extra, two are titled Globe Extra, and the last is titled News Extra. This one is titled Leader Extra and begins with 2nd edition and ends with 8th edition. The headings include: "First Engagement: Our Gallant Volunteers foremost in the Attack", "Victory! Victory!", "Fenian Leader Shot", Battle at Fort Erie".

Broadside Reporting the Fenian Invasion, June 3 1866

The collection consists of 6 broadsides reporting the events of the Fenian invasion of Canada on June 2 and 3, 1866. Three of the broadsides are titled Leader Extra, two are titled Globe Extra, and the last is titled News Extra. This one is titled "Globe Extra!" and headings include "Colonel Peacock's Force", "Col. Lowry Joins Col. Peacock with Reinforcements", "Colonel Dennis' Skirmish", "Colonel Booker's Skirmish!", "Fenian Movements at Ogdensburg", "Tereatened Raid at St. Albans", "Preparations at Cornwall!", "Latest! Bad News! The Fenians Escaped! The Whole Horde Fled Across the River."

Broadside Reporting the Fenian Invasion, June 2 1866 (evening)

The collection consists of 6 broadsides reporting the events of the Fenian invasion of Canada on June 2 and 3, 1866. Three of the broadsides are titled Leader Extra, two are titled Globe Extra, and the last is titled News Extra. This one is titled "Leader Extra" and the headings include: "From St. Catharines: The Queen's Own Behaved Well", "The Fort Erie Affair: List of our Men Taken Prisoners", From Port Colborne. Muir and Fahey only Wounded", "The Ridgeway Affair: List of Killed and Wounded", "Militia General Orders. More Troops Called Out", "Military Preparations. Latest from Head Quarters", "The Preparations in the East", "From Montreal. The American Authorities Waked up in the East", "Report from New Germany", "The Evacuation of Fort Erie. The Fenians Cross at two this morning".