Conceptualizing Success in Therapeutic Wilderness Experiences: The Creation and Maintenance of Instructor-Participant Relationships

Researchers have noted that relationships created between instructors and clients in therapeutic wilderness experiences are unique (Russell, 2003; Russell & Phillips-Miller, 2001; Sklar, Anderson, & Autry, 2007; Taniguchi et al., 2009), but little research has been done to explore these relationships. The present study is an investigation of how instructors build and maintain relationships with participants, conceptualize these relationships, and define success in these tasks. Nine instructors from a wilderness program for at-risk youth participated in interviews. Data were analyzed using a line-by-line coding technique. Results of this study add to existing research on wilderness therapy and therapeutic wilderness experiences, provide models of successful instructing, and guide programs and instructors in the services they provide to their participants.

Fair Housing Enforcement and Changes in Discrimination between 1989 and 2000: An Exploratory Study

Using paired testing data from the 1989 and 2000 Housing Discrimination Studies (HDS) and data on fair housing enforcement activities during the 1990s in the corresponding metro areas, we investigate whether 1989-2000 changes in the metropolitan incidence of racial/ethnic discrimination correlate with fair housing enforcement activity during the 1990s. We found that higher amounts of state and local enforcement activity supported by HUD through its FHIP and FHAP programs (especially the amount of dollars awarded by the courts) were consistently associated with greater declines in discrimination against black apartment-seekers and home-seekers. The evidence does not support similar conclusions for housing market discrimination against Hispanics where the level of enforcement is much lower.