Public service reform and the role of the Auditor General /

The objective of this thesis is to study the involvement of the Auditor General in the proposal, implementation and review of major public service reform initiatives during a period spanning nearly forty years, from the early 1960s to 2001 . This period began with the Glassco Commission and concludes at the end of the term in office of Auditor General Denis Desautels in 2001. It has been demonstrated throughout this work that the role of the OAG has varied, from proponent to critic, from instigator to reviewer. In the past forty years the OAG's mandate has changed to meet the requirements of critical analysis of government operations and this has been aptly demonstrated in the office's relationship to the issue of public service reform. It has been argued that many of the problems facing the public service are cultural in nature. Reform initiatives have taken on a number of various forms with each addressing a different set of priorities. However, there has been a great deal of consistency in the cultural values that these initiatives articulate. Throughout this thesis attention has been paid to values. Values define a culture and cultural change is required within the Canadian federal public service. How and when this cultural change will occur is but one question to be answered. During the period under consideration in this thesis the government undertook several significant public service reform initiatives. Those examined in this thesis include: The Royal Commission on Government Organization, The Special Committee on the Review of Personnel Management and the Merit Principle, The Royal Commission on Financial Management and Accountability, Increased Ministerial Authority and Accountability, Public Service 2000, Program Review and finally La Releve. The involvement, or interest, of the Auditor General's Office on the subject of public service reform is generally articulated through the means of its annual reports to Parliament although there have been supplementary undertakings on this issue. Such material relevant to this study include: Towards Better Governance: Public Service Reform in New Zealand (1984-94) and its Relevance to Canada and Reform in the Australian Public Service. Annual reports to Parliament include: "Values, Service and Performance," (1990), "Canada's Public Service Reform and Lessons Learned from Selected Jurisdictions," (1993), "Maintaining a Competent and Efficient Public Service," (1997), and "Expenditure and Work Force Reduction in Selected Departments,"

A discursive analysis of children's recreational adult-organized sport : when do children get to play?

Adult-organized children's sport attracts millions of participants in Canada and the United States each year. Though there is a great deal of research that considers children's sport, little of it focuses on recreational or house league sport and less of it offers a deep examination of children's experience of their participation. Using observations, interviews, and focus groups involving ten participants in mixed-gender recreational basketball, this qualitative research project examined their experiences. With Foucault's concepts of correct training and the panoptic gaze in mind, I used discourse and deconstruction analyses to consider the children's descriptions along with my observations of their basketball experience. I was particularly looking for prevalent discourses on sport, childhood, and gender and how they affected their experiences. Despite the league's discursive emphasis on fun, participation, fairness, and respect, that was not necessarily what the children experienced. While most stated they enjoyed their season many also expressed serious disappointments. Size and particularly skill very much determined who was most involved in the action and thus actually played baskethaW. Gender also played a significant role in their sport experiences. My findings invite questions about what genuine sport participation actually is and how it might be alternatively imagined.

An analysis of the photoelectron and Rydberg states of formaldehyde /|nby Carol R. Lessard. -- 260 St. Catharines [Ont.] : Dept. of Chemistry, Brock University,

Although it is generally accepted that Rydberg orbitals are very large and diffuse, and that electron promotion to a Rydberg orbital is not too different from ionization of the molecule, analysis of the two types of transitions proves otherwise. The photoelectron spectrum of the 2B2 (n) ion has very little vibrational structure attached to the origin band; on the other hand, several of the Rydberg transitions which involve the promotion of the n(bZ) electron exhibit a great deal of vibrational activity. In particular, the members of the n=3 Rydberg\ series interact with and perturb each other through pseudo-Jahn-Teller vibronic coupling. The vacuum ultraviolet spectrum contains a number of features which are difficult to explain, and two unusually sharp bands can only be identified as representing some form of electron promotion in formaldehyde.

Heats of formation of some hydrates /|nA. Phillipson. -- 260 St. Catharines, Ont. : [s. n.],

A great deal of data on the heats of formation of various hydrates has been compiled i n the J.A.N.A.F. and other tables such as the National Bureau of Standards circulars. Comparison of the heat of f ormation of a hydrate with that of the corresponding anhydrate exposes anomalies i n a surprising number of cases. Some of the results are so discordant that i t is apparent that one or the other value is seriously mistaken. No attempt has been made i n this work to determine which value may be correct, but measurements have been made of the difference between these two values. The procedure adopted has been to dissolve the hydrate and the anhydrate, to achieve the same final concentration of the compound in solution, and so to measure the difference in heats of solution .. Measurements were made at OOC in a modified Bunsen ice calorimeter, well insulated and surrounded by an icewater mixture . The observed differences in heats of solut ion were corrected t o 25°0 by using appropriate heat capacity data. These differences offer a direct measure of the enthalpy involved in binding a mole of water into the crystal structure and so should shed light on the nature of binding involved. The following hydrates were studied : MgS04.nH20 (n = 1,4,7), MnC12.nH20 (n = 1, 2), LiI. nH20 (n = 1,3), MnS04. nH20 (n = 1,4), CaC12. nH20 (n = 2,6) , K2C03.1~H20, LiCl.H20, LiBr.2H20, CdC12.2t H2o, and N2H4eH20.

Patterns of faunal change at an upper Cambrian trilobite extinction event, Nolichucky Formation, Tennessee and Virginia

During the Upper Cambrian there were three mass extinctions, each of which eliminated at least half of the trilobite families living in North American shelf seas. The Nolichucky Formation preserves the record of one of these extinction events at the base of the Steptoean Stage. Sixty-six trilobite collections were made from five sections In Tennessee and Virginia. The lower Steptoean faunas are assigned to one low diversity, Aphelaspis-dominated biofacies, which can be recognized in several other parts of North America. In Tennessee, the underlying upper Marjuman strata contain two higher diversity biofacies, the Coosella-Glaphyraspis Biofacies and the Tricrepicephalus-Norwoodiid Biofacies. At least four different biofacies are present in other parts of North America: the Crepicephalus -Lonchocephalus Biofacies, the Kingstonia Biofacies, the Cedaria Biofacies, and the Uncaspis Biofacies. A new, species-based zonation for the Nolichucky Formation imcludes five zones, three of which are new. These zones are the Crepicephalus Zone, the Coosella perplexa Zone, the Aphelaspis buttsi Zone, the A. walcotti Zone and the A. tarda Zone. The Nolichucky Formation was deposited within a shallow shelf basin and consists largely of subtidal shales with stormgenerated carbonate interbeds. A relative deepening is recorded In the Nolichucky Formation near the extinction, and is indicated In some sections by the appearance of shale-rich, distal storm deposits above a carbonate-rich, more proximal storm deposit sequence. A comparable deepening-upward sequence occurs near the extinction in the Great Basin of southwestern United States and in central Texas, and this suggests a possible eustatic control. In other parts of North America, the extinction IS recorded In a variety of environmental settings that range from near-shore to slope. In shelf environments, there is a marked decrease in diversity, and a sharp reduction in biofacies differentiation. Although extinctions do take place in slope environments, there IS no net reduction in diversity because of the immigration of several new taxa.

The interpretation of music videos : an interactive relationship between medium and viewer

There is a great deal of evidence to support the examination of an interactive relationship between the medium and the viewer in the interpretation of mainstream media. The exact nature of this relationship, however, is not well understood. The current study was carried out to assess the variables that may help explain why certain people interpret media, such as music videos, differently than others. Jensen's concept of reception analysis describes the relationship between the medium and the audience, and thus remains a strong focus within this study. Differences in the interpretation of music videos were investigated as a function of Absorption, gender role, screen size, age and viewing experience. Multiple regression analyses uncovered independent predictions of sexuality and violence scores by absorption and experience, as well as an interaction between absorption and screen size in the sexuality rating of the music videos.

Electronic, magnetic and thermal properties of Pb₂₋x AxCrO₅ (A = K or La)

Lead chromium oxide is a photoconductive dielectric material tha t has great potential of being used as a room temperature photodetector. In this research, we made ceramic pellets of this compound as well as potassium doped compound Pb2-xKxCr05, where x=O, 0.05, 0.125. We also investigate the properties of the lanthanum doped sample whose chemical formula is Pb1.85Lao.15Cr05' The electronic, magnetic and thermal properties of these materials have been studied. Magnetization measurements of the Pb2Cr05 sample indicate a transition at about 310 K, while for the lanthanum doped sample the transition temperature is at about 295 K indicating a paramagnetic behavior. However, the potassium doped samples are showing the transition from paramagnetic state to diamagnetic state at different temperatures for different amounts of potassium atoms present in the sample. We have studied resistivity as a function of temperature in different gas environments from 300 K to 900 K. The resistivity measurement of the parent sample indicates a conducting to insulating transition at about 300 K and upon increasing the temperature further, above 450 K the sample becomes an ionic conductor. As temperature increases a decrease in resistance is observed in the lanthanum/potassium doped samples. Using Differential Scanning Calorimetry experiment an endothermic peak is observed for the Pb2Cr05 and lanthanum/potassium doped samples at about 285 K.

Minute Books and Tyler’s Register of Plantagenet Preceptory No.8 Knights Templar

The Sovereign Great Priority of Canada is a national Masonic organization which consists of seventy-six preceptories that are organized within fifteen districts. The no.8 Plantagenet, St. Catharines is listed under the Hamilton District .The warrant (document issued to authorize formation of a lodge) was issued to this preceptory on November 14th, 1866. This preceptory is still active and meets on the first Monday of every month excepting June, July, August and September. with information from the website Sovereign Great Priory of Canada Meaning of the Tyler/Tiler’s Register: Historically speaking, medieval craft guilds guarded their trade secrets. They placed a guard outside their doors. This person would generally be a junior apprentice who was not entitled to attend trade discussions. The Masons continued this use of doorkeepers. In 1723 in The First Book of Constitutions Dr. James Anderson mentioned “another brother to look after the door, but shall not be a member of it” and in regulation XXVI charged the use of “doorkeepers”. In the minutes of June 8, 1732 this person’s specific title was referred to as “the Tyler”. The word “tyler” appeared in print in new regulation XXVI of the 1738 Second Book of Constitutions. The Masonic ritual of today calls him “a brother without the door”. The Tyler is usually a Past Master who is very knowledgeable in Masonic law and customs. He does not need to be a member of the lodge. He greets brethren and assures that they are “duly qualified”. He gives the first impression of the lodge and insures that visitors and members sign the Tyler’s Register. with information from www.masonicsites.org

Official Programme of the Niagara Falls Park Opening Celebration, 1885

Niagara Falls State Park is the oldest state park in the United States. It is also referred to as the State Reservation (this title appears on page 2 of the program). Frederick Olmstead was the landscape architect of the park and he also designed Central Park in New York City. In July 1885, the state of New York passed laws to issue bonds for the establishment of the Niagara Reservation. This park is a National Historic Landmark and covers over 400 acres. Close to 140 acres of that land is under water. In attendance at the opening were: the Governor of the State of New York, the officers of the State, members of the Niagara Falls Association of New York City and civil and military personnel. The commissioners at the time of the opening were: William Dorsheimer, Andrew H. Green, Martin B. Anderson, T. Hampden Robb and Sherman S. Rogers.

The Mediating Role of Perceived Scholastic Competence in the Relationship Between Motor Coordination and Academic Performance

Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) are often referred to as clumsy because of their compromised motor coordination. Clumsiness and slow movement performances while scripting in children with DCD often result in poor academic performance and a diminished sense of scholastic competence. This study purported to examine the mediating role of perceived scholastic competence in the relationship between motor coordination and academic performance in children in grade six. Children receive a great deal of comparative information on their academic performances, which influence a student's sense of scholastic competence and self-efficacy. The amount of perceived academic self-efficacy has significant impact on academic performance, their willingness to complete academic tasks, and their self-motivation to improve where necessary. Independent t-tests reveal a significant difference (p < .001) between DCD and non-DCD groups when compared against their overall grade six average with the DCD group performing significantly lower. Independent t-tests found no significant difference between DCD and non-DCD groups for perceived scholastic competence. However, multiple linear regression analysis revealed a significant mediating role of 15% by perceived scholastic competence when examining the relationship between motor coordination and academic performance. While children with probable DCD may not rate their perceived scholastic competence as less than their healthy peers, there is a significant mediating effect on their academic performance.