The nature experiences of wilderness recreation leaders : throwing a stone

Through this descriptive exploratory study, the ways that wilderness recreation leaders experience nature are illuminated, deconstructing the assumed environmental benefits of and practices used in outdoor recreation (Haluza-Delay, 2001). This study also offers a foundation for advancing an environmental ethic among wilderness recreation leaders, participants, and organizations. With the continued degradation of and threats to natural environments, and the rising popularity of outdoor recreation participation, the outdoor recreation professional can be a leader in promoting human reconnections to the Earth (Henderson, 1999). Leaders of outdoor recreation experiences play an important role in encouraging these revived relationships to natural settings and can contribute to the necessary environmental consciousness shift needed within Western society (Hanna, 1995; Jordan, 1996). The purpose of this research was to describe the lived-experience in nature of wilderness recreation leaders. Specifically, a phenomenological method of inquiry was used to describe the meaning of nature, the connections and relationships to nature, and the behaviours and emotions experienced in nature by a group of wilderness canoe trip leaders employed by a residential summer camp. In addition to the implications of this research, achieving this outcome provides a rich descriptive understanding of wilderness leaders' experiences—a basis from which to extend future research endeavours and programmatic practices that promote effective environmental outcomes of outdoor recreation participation. Each of the five study participants was employed in the summer of 2003 by an Ontario residential summer camp organization that sponsors extended wilderness river canoe trips for youth. Two in-depth and semi-structured interviews were performed with each participant, asking them to reflect on the canoe trip that they led for the summer camp organization during 2003. Phenomenological data was analyzed according to Colaizzi's (1978) thematic analysis process. Consistent with van Manen's (1997) emphasis on phenomenological writing, the final result presents the essence of the nature experiences of wilderness recreation leaders in the format of a narrative description. This narrative piece is the culmination of this research effort. Throughout the journey, however, various foundations within the outdoor recreation field, such as minimum impact principles, environmentally responsible behaviours, anthropocentric and ecocentric worldviews, and effective leadership are deconstructed and discussed.

A survey of attitudes of agricultural society leaders toward leadership development education

It was the purpose of this study to investigate attitudes toward leadership development education of one client group served by the ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. The survey, answered by 175 participants, attempted to answer the following questions: (a) What is a common definition of leadership?, (b) What leadership concepts are important to leadership development education? and, (c) What are client attitudes toward leadership development education? A descriptive research approach was used and the data were analyzed according to a model developed by Colaizzi. Concept maps were developed under the broad areas of: (a) Developing leader qualities; (b) Past experiences that developed leadership skills that worked on the jOb; (c) Leadership skills developed from present day positions; and (d) How leadership skills may be developed in future situations. A description of the dynamics of leadership development was written and the essential dynamics of leadership skill development in one volunteer organization was described. This study supports the linkages perspective of leadership within voluntary organizations developed by Vandenberg, Thullen and Fear (1987). The linkages perspective consists of three major components: perception, property and process. As a perception, leadership is the set of beliefs each group member holds regarding the behaviours and qualities characteristic of effective leaders. As a property, leadership represents the qualities attributed by group members to persons perceived as effectively (or potentially) influencing the goal achievement process. As a process, leadership involves the use of non-coercive influence to facilitate group accomplishment of valued goals. Leadership concepts important for development in a leadership development education program related to personal, organizational and societal development. The top five concepts in terms of rank order are communicating effectively, forming and working with groups, working creatively (tie), developing followers, managing meetings, directing projects or activities, understanding financial matters, managing negotiations (tie), developing resources and understanding and developing oneself (tie). Several recommendations are relevant for extension personnel as educators. Theoretical concepts on leadership need to be shared to extension practitioners involved in leadership development. currently used teaching materials for leadership development should be evaluated to see if they include concepts from preferrred theoretical leadership perceptions.

Occupational therapist and client experiences of a mental health group

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the client and occupational therapist experiences of a mental health group. A secondary aim was to explore the extent to which this group seemed to have reflected a client-centred approach. The topic emerged from personal and professional issues related to the therapist as teacher and to inconsistencies in practice with the profession's client-centred philosophy. This philosophy, the study's frame of reference, was established in terms of themes related to the client-therapist relationship and to client values. Typical practice was illustrated through an extensive literature review. Structured didacticexperiential methods aiming toward skill development were predominant. The interpretive sciences and, to a lesser extent, the critical sciences directed the methodology. An ongoing support group at a community mental health clinic was selected as the focus of the study; the occupational therapist leader and three members became the key participants. A series of conversational interviews, the . core method of data collection, was supplemented by observation, document review, further interviews, and fieldnotes. Transcriptions of conversations were returned to participants for verification and for further reflection. Analysis primarily consisted of coding and organizing data according to emerging themes. The participants' experiences of group, presented as narrative stories within a group session vignette, were also returned to participants. There was a common understanding of the group's structure and the importance of having "air time" within the group; however, differences in perceptions of such things as the importance of the group in members' lives were noted. All members valued the therapeutic aspects of group, the role of group as weekly activity and, to a lesser extent, the learning that came from group. The researcher's perspective provided a critique of the group experience from a client-centred perspective. Some areas of consistency with client-centred practice were noted (e.g., therapist attitudes); however the group seemed to function far from a client-centred ideal. Members held little authority in a relationship dominated by the leaders, and leader agendas rather than member values controlled the session. Possible reasons for this discrepancy ranging from past health care encounters through to co-leader discord emerged. The actual and potential significance of this study was discussed according to many areas of implications: to OT practice, especially client-centred group practice, to theory development, to further areas of research and methodology considerations, to people involved in the group and to my personal growth and development.

Focus Group Report

Report to Terry O'Malley from Tom highlighting favourable responses from a focus group on the "Butter It" campaign.

Group Shot

circa mid 1960. Any specific information would be greatly appreciated.

The exercise leader's gender and physique salience : effects on self-presentational concerns in an exercise context

Self-presentation is the process by which individuals attempt to monitor and control how others perceive and evaluate them (Leary, 1992; Leary & Kowalski, 1990). Self-presentational concerns have been shown to influence a number of exercise-related behaviours, cognitions, and affective responses to exercise (e.g., social anxiety). Social anxiety occurs when an individual wants to create a specific impression on others, but is unsure (s)he will be successful (Leary & Kowalski, 1995). Social physique anxiety (SPA) is a specific form of social anxiety related the evaluation of one's body (Hart, Leary, & Rejeski, 1989). Both social anxiety and SPA may act as deterrents to exercise (Lantz, Hardy, & Ainsworth, 1997; Leary, 1992), so it is important to examine factors that may influence social anxiety and SPA; one such factor is self-presentational efficacy (SPE). SPE is one's confidence in successfully making desired impressions on others (Leary & Atherton, 1986) and has been associated with social anxiety and SPA (Leary & Kowalski, 1995; Gammage, Martin Ginis, & Hall, 2004). Several aspects of the exercise environment, such as the presence of mirrors, clothing, and the exercise leader or other participant characteristics, may be manipulated to influence self-presentational concerns (e.g., Gammage, Martin Ginis et aI., 2004; Martin & Fox, 2001; Martin Ginis, Prapavessis, & Haase, 2005). Given that the exercise leader has been recognized as one of the most important influences in the group exercise context (Franklin, 1988), it is important to further examine how the leader may impact self-presentational concerns. The present study examined the impact of the exercise leader's gender and physique salience (i.e., the extent to which the body was emphasized) on SPE, state social anxiety (SSA), and state social physique anxiety (SPA-S) of women in a live exercise class. Eighty-seven college-aged female non- or infrequent exercisers (i.e., exercised 2 or fewer times per week) participated in a group exercise class led by one of four leaders: a female whose physique was salient; a female whose physique was non-salient; a male whose physique was salient; or a male whose physique was non-salient. Participants completed measures of SPE, SSA, and SPA-S prior to and following completion of a 30- minute group exercise class. In addition, a measure of social comparison to the exercise leader and other participants with respect to attractiveness, skill, and fitness was completed by participants following the exercise class. A MANOV A was conducted to examine differences between groups on postexercise variables. Results indicated that there were no significant differences between groups on measures ofSPE, SSA, or SPA-S (allp's > .05). However, when all participants were collapsed into one group, a MANOV A showed a significant time effect (F(3, 81) = 19.45,p < .05, 1')2= .419). Follow-up ANOVAs indicated that post-exercise SPE increased significantly, while SSA and SPA-S decreased significantly (SPE: F(I, 83) = 30.87,p < .001,1')2 = .27; SSA: F(I,83) = 11.09,p < .001, 1')2 = .12; SPA-S: F (1,83) = 42.79,p < .001, 1')2 = .34). Further, results of a MANOVA revealed that participants who believed they were less fit than other group members (i.e., made negative social comparisons) reported significantly more post-exercise SSA and SP A-S than those who believed they were more fit than the other participants (i.e., made positive comparisons; SSA: F(2, 84) = 3.46, p < .05, 1')2 = .08; SPA-S: F(2, 84) = 5.69, p < .05, 1')2 = .12). These results may indicate that successfully completing an exercise class may serve as a source of SPE and lead to reduced social anxiety and SPA-S in this population. Alternatively, characteristics of the exercise leader may be less important than characteristics of the other participants. These results also suggest that the types of social comparisons made may influence self-presentational concerns in this sample. Future research should examine how the type of social comparison (i.e., negative or positive) made to the other group members may either generate or reduce anxiety. Also, factors that contribute to the types of social comparisons made with other exercisers should be examined. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

A qualitative study of authority from the perspective of secondary school principals /

In this research study I examined how four principals of secondary schools interpreted authority and how these interpretations affected their practice. This study involved a presentation of the literature where the concept of qualitative methodology as well as general concepts of authority were reviewed. Four principals were interviewed and asked to reflect on their feelings and experiences as they related to the practice of authority. Five major themes emerged from their reflections and stories which were: Understandings of the Concept of Authority, Principals' Enactment of Authority, Thoughts and Experiences related to Challenges to Their Authority, A View of Principals' Challenge of Authority, and Changing Views on the Authority of Principals in Ontario. The stories of these four principals demonstrated that the practice of authority is complex, dynamic, and contains personal and social tensions. The sharing of these ideas and stories provided a window into the world of these secondary school educational leaders and their experiences with, and enactment of, authority. From this research four recommendations were made to improve educators' practice related to the issue of authority. The importance of this study is that it presents an understanding of the dynamic nature of the process and enactment of authority by these secondary school principals at a unique time in the history of education in Ontario.This qualitative research provides a snapshot of a particular group of educators at a particular time and place. Others need to add to these understandings and modify these ideas through further research. Understanding the experiences of educational leaders as they negotiate concepts of authority gives a window on this very complex, yet vital, component of education.

Understanding the financial status of a group of high performance athletes

With the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games quickly approaching, there has been a heightened interest in the performance of Canadian athletes at international competitions (Duffy, 2007; Fidlin, 2005; Longley, 2006). Two significant documents outline Canada's goal to become the number one sporting nation at the 2010 Olympic Games, and improve Canada's performance at the 2008 Olympic Games: Own the Podium and Road to Excellence (Priestner Allinger & Allinger, 2004; Road to Excellence, 2006). These two documents represent heightened interest in the performance of our elite athletes, in conjunction with Canada's hosting status of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games. The requirements to train and compete at the international level have become more demanding both in terms of financial resources and time commitment. The need to financially assist athletes with their training and competition costs has been an important topic of debate over the past decades (Beamish & Borowy, 1987; Gatehouse, 2004; Macintosh, 1996; Munro, 1970; Owens, 2004). Two sources of fiinding for high performance athletes in Canada are the Athlete Assistance Program (AAP) provided by the Federal Government and the Canadian Olympic Excellence Fund provided by the Canadian Olympic Committee. The importance of these fiinds for athletes has been discussed in various forums (Ekos, 1992, 1997, 2005; Priestner Allinger & Allinger, 2004; Thibault «& Babiak, 2005). However, alternative sources of funds for high performance athletes have never been the object of research. As such the purpose of this study was to describe a group of athlete applicants from the time period of November 2004 to April 2006, and to contextualize these applications within the development of the Charitable Fund for Athletes.

From the ground up : understanding how teachers and administrators make sense of tension

Strategies designed to improve educational systems have created tensions in school personnel as they struggle to respond to competing demands of ongoing change within their daily realities. The purpose of this case study was to investigate how teachers and administrators in one elementary school made sense ofthese tensions and to explore the factors that constrained or shaped their responses. A constructive interpretative case study using a grounded theory approach was used. Qualitative data were collected through document analysis, semi-structured interviews, and participant observation. In-depth information about teachers' and administrators' experiences and a contextual understanding oftension was generated from inductive analysis of the data. The study found that tension was a phenomenon situated in the context in which it arose. A contextual understanding of tension revealed the interactions between the institutional, personal, and emotional domains that continually shaped individual and group behavioural responses. This contextual understanding of tension provided the means to reinterpret resistance to change. It also helped to show how teachers and administrators reconstructed identities and made sense in context.. Of particular note was the crucial nature of the conditions under which teachers and adlninistrators shaped meaning and understood change. This study sheds light on the contextual intricacies of tension that may help leaders with the complex design and implementation of educational change..

Transforming curriculum leadership: vice principals in independent Christian elementary schools /

The literature on the vice principalship characterizes the position as one filled with clerical record keeping and student discipline and paints a picture of role conflict and general discontent. Research suggests that vice principals desire to take on a more significant role, specifically a role in curriculum leadership. Using open-ended interviews, a focus group interview, document analysis, and my research journal, I have explored the work ofa group of vice principals who have taken on the role of curriculum leader in independent Christian elementary schools in Ontario. When asked to explain their understanding of curriculum, the participants referred to written programs of study. However, their leadership activities reveal a broader understanding of curriculum as something that is in fact dynamic in nature. This leadership is enabled and shaped by their middle position on staff that combines the authority of an administrator and the credibility of a teacher. Although this dual identity creates tension, it also provides opportunities for genuine curriculum leadership. As middle leaders, the participants in this study often pull together or connect elements of the curriculum (teachers, principals, and programs) that have become separated. Such connective leadership is characterized by transformational (Van Brummelen, 2002) tendencies. This research suggests that the further along the continuum one goes from the understanding of curriculum as planned (Eisner, 1994) to acknowledging a lived curriculum (Aoki, 1993), the more transformational one's leadership style becomes.

Geology of the Gander Group, Gander River Ultramafic Belt and Davidsville Group in the Jonathan's Pond - Weir's Pond Area, northeast Newfoundland /

The study area is situated in NE Newfoundland between Gander Lake and the north coast and on the boundary between the Gander and Botwood tectonostratigraphic zones (Williams et al., 1974). The area is underlain by three NE trending units; the Gander Group, the Gander River Ultramafic Belt (the GRUB) and the Davidsville Group. The easternmost Gander Group consists of a thick, psammitic unit composed predominantly of psammitic schist and a thinner, mixed unit of semipelitic and pelitic schist with minor psammite. The mixed unit may stratigraphically overlie the psammitic unit or be a lateral facies equivalent of the latter. No fossils have been recovered from the Gander Group. The GRUB is a terrain of mafic and ultramafic plutonic rocks with minor pillow lava and plagiogranite. It is interpreted to be a dismembered ophiolite in thrust contact with the Gander Group. The westernmost Davidsville Group consists of a basal conglomerate, believed deposited unconformably upon the GRUB from which it was derived, and an upper unit of greywacke and slate, mostly of turbidite origin, with minor limestone and calcareous sandstone. The limestone, which lies near the base of the unit, contains Upper Llanvirn to Lower Llandeilo fossils. The Gander and Davidsville Groups display distinctly different sedimentological , structural and metamorphic histories. The Gander Group consists of quartz-rich, relatively mature sediment. It has suffered three pre-Llanvirn deformations, of which the main deformation, Dp produced a major, NE-N-facing recumbent anticline in the southern part of the study area. Middle greenschist conditions existed from D^ to D- with growth of metamorphic minerals during each dynamic and static phase. In contrast, the mineralogically immature Davidsville Group sediment contains abundant mafic and ultramafic detritus which is absent from the Gander Group. The Davidsville Group displays the effects of a single penetrative deformation with localized D_ and D_ features, all of which can be shown to postdate D_ in the Gander Group. Rotation of the flat Gander S- into a subvertical orientation near the contact with the GRUB and the Davidsville Group is believed to be a Davidsville D^ feature. Regional metamorphism in the Davidsville Group is lower greenschist with a single growth phase, MS . These sedimentological, structural and metamorphic differences between the Gander and Davidsville Groups persist even where the GRUB is absent and the two units are in contact, indicating that the tectonic histories of the Gander and Davidsville Groups are distinctly different. Structural features in the GRUB, locally the result of multiple deformations, may be the result of Gander and/or Davidsville deformations. Metamorphism is in the greenschist facies. Geochemical analyses of the pillow lava suggest that these rocks were formed in a back-arc basin. Mafic intrusives in the Gander Group appear to be the result of magraatism separate from that producing the pillow lava. The Gander Group is interpreted to be a continental rise prism deposited on the eastern margin of the Late Precambrian-Lower Paleozoic lapetus Ocean. The GRUB, oceanic crust possibly formed in a marginal basin to the west, is believed to have been thrust eastward over the Gander Group, deforming the latter, during the pre-Llanvirnian, possibly Precambrian, Ganderian Orogeny. The Middle Ordovician and younger Davidsville Group was derived from, and deposited unconformably on, this deformed terrain. Deformation of the Davidsville Group occurred during the Middle Devonian Acadian Orogeny.

Athletic injury care training in high school coaches

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the client and occupational therapist experiences of a mental health group. A secondary aim was to explore the extent to which this group seemed to have reflected a client-centred approach. The topic emerged from personal and professional issues related to the therapist as teacher and to inconsistencies in practice with the profession's client-centred philosophy. This philosophy, the study's frame of reference, was established in terms of themes related to the client-therapist relationship and to client values. Typical practice was illustrated through an extensive literature review. Structured didacticexperiential methods aiming toward skill development were predominant. The interpretive sciences and, to a lesser extent, the critical sciences directed the methodology. An ongoing support group at a community mental health clinic was selected as the focus of the study; the occupational therapist leader and three members became the key participants. A series of conversational interviews, the . core method of data collection, was supplemented by observation, document review, further interviews, and fieldnotes. Transcriptions of conversations were returned to participants for verification and for further reflection Analysis primarily consisted of coding and organizing data according to emerging themes. The participants' experiences of group, presented as narrative stories within a group session vignette, were also returned to participants. There was a common understanding of the group's structure and the importance of having "air time" within the group; however, differences in perceptions of such things as the importance of the group in members' lives were noted. All members valued the therapeutic aspects of group, the role of group as weekly activity and, to a lesser extent, the learning that came from group. The researcher's perspective provided a critique of the group experience from a client-centred perspective. Some areas of consistency with client-centred practice were noted (e.g., therapist attitudes); however the group seemed to function far from a client-centred ideal. Members held little authority in a -relationship dominated by the leaders, and leader agendas rather than member values controlled the session. Possible reasons for this discrepancy ranging from past health care encounters through to co-leader discord emerged. The actual and potential significance of this study was discussed according to many areas of implications: to OT practice, especially client-centred group practice, to theory development, to further areas of research and methodology considerations, to people involved in the group and to my personal growth and development.

Fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry studies of ruthenium (II) polypyridy coordination complexes and of group V Triptycenes and related complexes

In order to investigate the use of Fast Atom Bombardment Mass Spectrometry (FAB-MS) as a tool for structural characterization, two groups of complexes are analyzed. The first group is a set of ruthenium(II) coordination complexes containing bidentate polypyridyl ligands. The positive and negative ion FAB-MS spectra are found to be sufficient to allow for an almost complete characterization of the central metal atom, the ligands and the counter anions contained in the intact complex. An unusual observation of mUltiply charged ions in the positive ion FAB-MS spectra (i.e. [RUL 3 ]2+) is explained to be as a result of the oxidative quenching of the excited state of the doubly charged ion by the matrix, 3-nitrobenzyl alcohol. An analysis of a mixture shows that the technique is a good one for identifying components therein. A group of triptycene and related complexes containing Group V elements is also analyzed by FAB-MS and the results. in terms of relative abundances of fragment ions, are found to be consistent with known metal-carbon bond strengths.

Mass spectral studies of some pentafluorophenyl derivatives of group V /|nby Andrew Tanner Rake. -- 260 St. Catharines, Ont. : [s. n.],

The mass spectra of compounds of t he series (C6F5 )3-n MP~ (n = 1,2,3, M = P and As ), (C6F5>3Sb, Ph) Sb and (C6F5 )2SbPh have been studied in detail and the important modes of fragmentation were e1ucidated, a ided by metastable ions. Various trends attributed to the central atom and or the . substituent groups have been noted and, where applicable, compared to recent studies on related phenyl and pentafluorophenyl compounds of groups IV and V. The mass spectra of fluorine containing organometallic compounds exhibit characteristic migrations of fluorine to t he central atom, giving an increasing abundance of MF+, MF2+' and RMF+ (R = Ph or C6F5) ions on descending the group_ The mass spectra of pentafluorophenyl , antimony, and arsenic compounds show a greater fragmentation of the aromatic ring than those of phosphorus. The mixed phenyl pentafluorophenyl derivatives show a characteristic pattern depending on the number of phenyl grm.lps present but show t he general characteristics of both the tris(phenyl) and tris(pentafluorophenyl) compounds. The diphenyl pentafluorophenyl der ivatives show the loss of biphenyl ion as the most import ant step, the los s of phenyl t o give the i on PhMC6F5 + being of secondary importance. The ,bis(pentafluorophenyl) phenyl derivatives fragment primarily by loss of PhC6F5 to give C6F5M+ ions, the abundance of t hese increasing r apidly from phosphorus to arsenic. This species then, exhibits a characteristic fragmentation observed in the tris(penta- fluorophenyl ) compounds. However, the abundance of (C6F5)2M+ species in these compounds i s small. I ons of the type C6H4MC6F4 + and tetrafluorobiphenylene ions C6H4C6F4 + also are observed on substitution of a phenyl group for a penta- fluorophenyl group. The fully fluorinated species (C6F4)2M+ is not observed, although octafluorobiphenylene ions , (C6F4)2+' are evident in several spectra . The appearance potentials of the major ions were obtatned from the ionisation efficiency curves. Attempts were made to correlate these to the effect of the central atom in substituent groups, but the large errors involved prevented the reaching of quantitative conclusions, although it would appear that the electron is removed from the ligand in the ionisation of t he parent molecule .