Interdependence in Southern Africa: an examination of the relations between Zimbabwe and South Africa

Most research on southern Africa focuses on the total dependency of the region's states--Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, zambia and Zimbabwe--upon the dominant power, South Africa. This thesis examines the relationship between South Africa and Zimbabwe and argues that these two states are more interdependent than dependency scholars would acknowledge. Although a study of the historical period reveals that dependency theory, as defined by Raul Prebisch, Andre Gunder Frank and A. Valenzuela, is helpful for understanding the development of relations between the two states, it is unable to account for many of the characteristics of the relationship which are found in the contemporary context, especially since 1980. An examination of various economic areas of interaction, including investment, trade and transportation, as well as the political realm, indicates that each state exhibits a degree of dependence upon the other. Thus, it is possible to characterize the relationship as one of "mutual dependence," or interdependence as defined by Robert Keohane and Joseph S. Nye. Interdependence is further examined through the concepts of sensitivity and vulnerability. Sensitivity signifies the ability of a state to respond effectively to policy changes made by another state wi thin a given area of interaction without incurring large costs, while vulnerability denotes that an actor is unable to respond, or only at great cost. By applying these concepts to the relationship between Zimbabwe and South Africa, it is determined that although South Africa tends to be sensitive while Zimbabwe is generally vulnerable, the degrees to which these two states are sensi ti ve and vulnerable varies over time and issue area. As the changes wi thin South Africa start to affect relations wi th the rest of southern Africa, it wi 11 be necessary to understand the interaction between the states from an interdependency perspective if cooperation within the region wi 11 be successful. By appl ying an interdependence framework, this study aims at contributing to the understanding of relations among the countries of southern Africa in general, and between South Africa and Zimbabwe in particular.

Explaining voice behaviour: The roles of personal resources, social interdependence, and supervisor leadership style

This study contributes to current research on voice behaviour by investigating several under-explored drivers that motivate employees’ expression of constructive ideas about work-related issues. It draws from the concept of psychological climate to examine how voice behaviour is influenced by employees’ (1) personal resources (tenacity and passion for work), (2) perceptions of social interdependence (task and outcome interdependence), and (3) supervisor leadership style (transformational and transactional). Using a multi-source research design, surveys were administered to 226 employees and to 24 supervisors at a Canadian-based not-for-profit organization. The hypotheses are tested with hierarchical regression analysis. The results indicate that employees are more likely to engage in voice behaviour to the extent that they exhibit higher levels of passion for work. Further, their voice behaviour is lower to the extent that their supervisor adopts a transformational leadership style characterized by high performance expectations or a transactional leadership style based on contingent rewards and contingent punishment behaviours. The study reveals that there are no significant effects of tenacity, social interdependence, and behaviour-focused transformational leadership on voice. The findings have significant implications for organizations that seek to encourage employee behaviours that help improve current work practices or undo harmful situations.

Collective learning within nursing clinical groups /

This qualitative study examined collective learning within nursing clinical groups. Specifically, it explored the influence of the individual on the group and the impact of the group on the individual. The study was organized using the concepts from Debbie Kilgore's theory of collective learning (1999). The sample consisted of 1 8 second-year university nursing students and 3 clinical instructors. Data were collected via individual interviews with each participant and researcher's observations during a group conference. The interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using key concepts from Kilgore's framework. Several interesting findings emerged. Overall, it appeared that individual components and group components contributed to the quality and quantity of collective learning that occurred in the groups. Individually, each person's past group experiences, personality, culture, and gender influenced how that individual acted in the group, their roles, and how much influence they had over group decisions. Moreover, the situation which seemed to cause the greatest sense of helplessness and loss of control was when one of their group members was breaking a norm. They were unable to deal with such situations constructively. Also, the amount of sense of worthiness (respect) and sense of agency (control) the member felt within the group had an impact on the person's role in group decisions. Finally, it seemed that students felt more connected with their peers within the clinical setting when they were close with them on a personal and social level. With respect to the group elements, it seemed that the instructors' values and way of being were instrumental in shaping the group's identity. In group 2, there were clear examples of group consciousness and the students' need to go along with the majority viewpoint, even when it was contrary to their own beliefs. Finally, the common goal of passing clinical and dealing with the fears of being in the clinical setting brought solidarity among the group members, and there seemed to be a high level of positive interdependence among them. From the discussion and analysis of the findings, recommendations were given on how to improve the learning within clinical groups.

Cognitive coaching : a multiple case study /

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the application of Cognitive Coaching as a school-based professional development program to improve instructional thought and decision making as well as to enhance staff perceptions, coUegiality and school culture. This topic emerged from personal and professional issues related to the role ofthe reflective practitioner in improving the quality of education, yet cognizant of the fact that little professional development was available to train teachers to become reflective. This case study, positioned within the interpretive sciences, focused on three teachers and how their experiences with cognitive coaching affected their teaching practices. Their knowledge, understanding and use of the four stages of instructional thought (preactive, interactive, reflective and projective) were tested before and at the end of eight coaching cycles, and again after two months to determine whether they had continued to use the reflective process. They were also assessed on whether their attitude towards peer coaching had changed, whether their feelings about teaching had become more positive and whether their professional dialogue had increased. Three methods of data collection were selected to assess growth: interviews, observations and joumaling. Analysis primarily consisted of coding and organizing data according to emerging themes. Although the professed aim of cognitive coaching was to teach the process in order that the teachers would become self-analytical and self-modifying, this study found that the value of the coaching, after trust had been established in both the coach and the process, was in the dialoguing and the time set aside to do it. Once the coaching stopped providing the time to dialogue, to examine one's meanings and beliefs, so did the critical self-reflection. As a result ofthe cognitive coaching experience though, all participants grew in their feelings of efficacy, craftsmanship, flexibility, consciousness and interdependence. The actual and potential significance ofthis study was discussed according to implications for teacher supervision, professional development, school culture, further areas of research and to my personal growth and development.

Cortical and autonomic modulation of attentional control /

Whereas the role of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in cognitive control has received considerable attention, much less work has been done on the role of the ACC in autonomic regulation. Its connections through the vagus nerve to the sinoatrial node of the heart are thought to exert modulatory control over cardiovascular arousal. Therefore, ACC is not only responsible for the implementation of cognitive control, but also for the dynamic regulation of cardiovascular activity that characterizes healthy heart rate and adaptive behaviour. However, cognitive control and autonomic regulation are rarely examined together. Moreover, those studies that have examined the role of phasic vagal cardiac control in conjunction with cognitive performance have produced mixed results, finding relations for specific age groups and types of tasks but not consistently. So, while autonomic regulatory control appears to support effective cognitive performance under some conditions, it is not presently clear just what factors contribute to these relations. The goal of the present study was, therefore, to examine the relations between autonomic arousal, neural responsivity, and cognitive performance in the context of a task that required ACC support. Participants completed a primary inhibitory control task with a working memory load embedded. Pre-test cardiovascular measures were obtained, and ontask ERPs associated with response control (N2/P3) and error-related processes (ERN/Pe) were analyzed. Results indicated that response inhibition was unrelated to phasic vagal cardiac control, as indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). However, higher resting RSA was associated with larger ERN ampUtude for the highest working memory load condition. This finding suggests that those individuals with greater autonomic regulatory control exhibited more robust ACC error-related responses on the most challenging task condition. On the other hand, exploratory analyses with rate pressure product (RPP), a measure of sympathetic arousal, indicated that higher pre-test RPP (i.e., more sympathetic influence) was associated with more errors on "catch" NoGo trials, i.e., NoGo trials that simultaneously followed other NoGo trials, and consequently, reqviired enhanced response control. Higher pre-test RPP was also associated with smaller amplitude ERNs for all three working memory loads and smaller ampUtude P3s for the low and medium working memory load conditions. Thus, higher pretest sympathetic arousal was associated with poorer performance on more demanding "catch" NoGo trials and less robust ACC-related electrocortical responses. The findings firom the present study highlight tiie interdependence of electrocortical and cardiovascular processes. While higher pre-test parasympathetic control seemed to relate to more robust ACC error-related responses, higher pre-test sympathetic arousal resulted in poorer inhibitory control performance and smaller ACC-generated electrocortical responses. Furthermore, these results provide a base from which to explore the relation between ACC and neuro/cardiac responses in older adults who may display greater variance due to the vulnerabihty of these systems to the normal aging process.

Is technology a threat to education? : the contribution of George Parkin Grant

Thesis (M.Ed.)-- Brock University, 1995.

"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.

Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms might be destroying your intimacy : a test of mediational models in a community sample of couples

The present research focused on the pathways through which the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may negatively impact intimacy. Previous research has confirmed a link between self-reported PTSD symptoms and intimacy; however, a thorough examination of mediating paths, partner effects, and secondary traumatization has not yet been realized. With a sample of 297 heterosexual couples, intraindividual and dyadic models were developed to explain the relationships between PTSD symptoms and intimacy in the context of interdependence theory, attachment theory, and models of selfpreservation (e.g., fight-or-flight). The current study replicated the findings of others and has supported a process in which affective (alexithymia, negative affect, positive affect) and communication (demand-withdraw behaviour, self-concealment, and constructive communication) pathways mediate the intraindividual and dyadic relationships between PTSD symptoms and intimacy. Moreover, it also found that the PTSD symptoms of each partner were significantly related; however, this was only the case for those dyads in which the partners had disclosed most everything about their traumatic experiences. As such, secondary traumatization was supported. Finally, although the overall pattern of results suggest a total negative effect of PTSD symptoms on intimacy, a sex difference was evident such that the direct effect of the woman's PTSD symptoms were positively associated with both her and her partner's intimacy. I t is possible that the Tend-andBefriend model of threat response, wherein women are said to foster social bonds in the face of distress, may account for this sex difference. Overall, however, it is clear that PTSD symptoms were negatively associated with relationship quality and attention to this impact in the development of diagnostic criteria and treatment protocols is necessary.

Investigating Player Salaries and Performance in the National Hockey League

This thesis examines salary structure types (hierarchical or compressed) as predictors of team performance in the National Hockey League (NHL). Additionally, an analysis of goalie statistics is completed in order to determine what, if any, performance measures relate to salary. Data in this research were collected from the 2005-06 season up to the 2010-11 season. Salary inequality/equality (Gini coefficient) was used in a regression analysis to determine if it was an effective predictor of team performance (n = 178) (winning percentage). The results indicated that a hierarchical salary structure increased team performance, although the amount of variability explained was very small. Another regression analysis was completed to determine if any goalie performance measures (n = 245) were effective predictors of individual salary. A regression analysis was employed and indicated that goalie performance measures predicted 19.8% of variance to salary. The only statistical significant variable was games played.

Exploring Reciprocity in International Service Learning Programs

Using aspects of grounded theory methodology, this study explored the perceptions and practical implementation of reciprocity in International Service Learning (ISL) Programs. Data were collected through interviews with nine ISL practitioners representing a variety of organizations offering international service learning programs. Findings suggest that multiple conceptualizations of ISL programs exist. ISL programs are interdisciplinary in nature and that using reciprocity as a guiding framework is problematic. Further attention is needed in relation to shifting the guiding framework of ISL programs from reciprocity to interdependence.

Incorporating Language Skills Strategies into Library Instruction for ESL Students

a self-reflection study of the incorporation of language skills strategies in speaking, listening, reading, and writing in a library instruction classroom setting

The Fast Regulation of Photosynthesis in Diatoms: an inquiry into the physiological and physical origins of non-photochemical chlorophyll fluorescence quenching.

Diatoms are renowned for their robust ability to perform NPQ (Non-Photochemical Quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence) as a dissipative response to heightened light stress on photosystem II, plausibly explaining their dominance over other algal groups in turbulent light environs. Their NPQ mechanism has been principally attributed to a xanthophyll cycle involving the lumenal pH regulated reversible de-epoxidation of diadinoxanthin. The principal goal of this dissertation is to reveal the physiological and physical origins and consequences of the NPQ response in diatoms during short-term transitions to excessive irradiation. The investigation involves diatom species from different originating light environs to highlight the diversity of diatom NPQ and to facilitate the detection of core mechanisms common among the diatoms as a group. A chiefly spectroscopic approach was used to investigate NPQ in diatom cells. Prime methodologies include: the real time monitoring of PSII excitation and de-excitation pathways via PAM fluorometry and pigment interconversion via transient absorbance measurements, the collection of cryogenic absorbance spectra to measure pigment energy levels, and the collection of cryogenic fluorescence spectra and room temperature picosecond time resolved fluorescence decay spectra to study excitation energy transfer and dissipation. Chemical inhibitors that target the trans-thylakoid pH gradient, the enzyme responsible for diadinoxanthin de-epoxidation, and photosynthetic electron flow were additionally used to experimentally manipulate the NPQ response. Multifaceted analyses of the NPQ responses from two previously un-photosynthetically characterised species, Nitzschia curvilineata and Navicula sp., were used to identify an excitation pressure relief ‘strategy’ for each species. Three key areas of NPQ were examined: (i) the NPQ activation/deactivation processes, (ii) how NPQ affects the collection, dissipation, and usage of absorbed light energy, and (iii) the interdependence of NPQ and photosynthetic electron flow. It was found that Nitzschia cells regulate excitation pressure via performing a high amplitude, reversible antenna based quenching which is dependent on the de-epoxidation of diadinoxanthin. In Navicula cells excitation pressure could be effectively regulated solely within the PSII reaction centre, whilst antenna based, diadinoxanthin de-epoxidation dependent quenching was implicated to be used as a supplemental, long-lasting source of excitation energy dissipation. These strategies for excitation balance were discussed in the context of resource partitioning under these species’ originating light climates. A more detailed investigation of the NPQ response in Nitzschia was used to develop a comprehensive model describing the mechanism for antenna centred non-photochemical quenching in this species. The experimental evidence was strongly supportive of a mechanism whereby: an acidic lumen triggers the diadinoxanthin de-epoxidation and protonation mediated aggregation of light harvesting complexes leading to the formation of quencher chlorophyll a-chlorophyll a dimers with short-lived excited states; quenching relaxes when a rise in lumen pH triggers the dispersal of light harvesting complex aggregates via deprotonation events and the input of diadinoxanthin. This model may also be applicable for describing antenna based NPQ in other diatom species.

Investigating the Relationships Between Teacher Identity Norms and Collaboration

The purpose of this study was to investigate how teacher identity norms relate to teacher collaboration among the practices of elementary teachers in Ontario. Using quantitative research methods, the data indicated two clusters of teacher identity norms. The norm cluster of innovation, interdependence, and cooperation showed positive correlations with collaboration and the norm cluster of conservatism, individualism, and competition showed negative correlations with collaboration. The two clusters of norms also correlated with each other. The data showed that teachers highly valued collaboration as part of their teaching practice but did not always experience it in their school setting. The analysis suggested that if schools reinforce norms of innovation, interdependence, and cooperation, collaboration will be nurtured. Further, the data showed that if norms of conservatism, individualism, and competition are continued in school cultures, then collaboration will not be sustained. As a broad educational reform agenda, teacher collaboration is used (a) to support school cultures, (b) to change teaching practices, and (c) to implement policy-based initiatives. This research is expected to benefit teachers in its capacity to inform policy makers concerning the highly complex nature of teacher collaboration and some of the factors that impact it. With an understanding of the relationships between teacher identity norms and collaboration, it may be possible for policy makers to provide appropriate support structures that reinforce collaboration in teachers' practices as well as predict potential levels of collaboration within school cultures.

Personal Support Workers' Experience of Collaboration in a Long-Term Care Facility in Rural Ontario

The growing complexity of healthcare needs of residents living in long-term care necessitates a high level of professional interdependence to deliver quality, individualized care. Personal support workers (PSWs) are the most likely to observe, interpret and respond to resident care plans, yet little is known about how they experience collaboration. This study aimed to describe PSWs’ current experiences with collaboration in long-term care and to understand the factors that influenced their involvement in collaboration. A qualitative approach was used to interview eight PSWs from one long-term care facility in rural Ontario. Thematic analysis revealed three themes: valuing PSWs’ contributions, organizational structure, and individual characteristics and relationships. Collaboration was a difficult process for PSWs who felt largely undervalued and excluded. To improve collaboration, management needs to provide opportunities for PSWs to contribute and support the development of relationships required to collaborate.