Drama in education : deconstructing the role of movement in text

The purpose of this study was to conduct a comparative textual analysis on the role of movement in 3 texts in Drama in Education in Canada. As the subject is holistic and encourages creative, active participation, movement was expected to appear, even inadvertently, in both theory and practice. It was hoped that guidelines for the use of movement within Drama in Education would emerge from the texts and that these guidelines would serve as models for others to use. A total of 26 Drama in Education experts in Canada were each asked to list the 10 most important texts in the field. Those who answered were assigned numbers and charted according to age, gender, and geography. An objective colleague helped narrow the group to 16 participants. A frequency count was used, assigning 10 points to the first text on each list, and descending to 1 point for the tenth text listed. Based on the highest number of points calculated, the 5 most frequently used texts were identified. These were compared to ascertain the widest representation ofthe authors' geographic location and gender, as well as differences in theory and practice. The final selection included 3 texts that represented differing approaches in their presentation and discussion of Drama in Education theories and practices. Analysis involved applying 5 levels of commitment to determine if,how, why, when, and with what results movement was explicitly or implicitly addressed in the 3 texts. Analysis resulted in several unexpected surprises around each of the 3 texts. The study also provided suggestions for extending and clarifying the role of movement in teaching and learning in general, as well as for Drama in Education in particular.

"Re-huminization": the role of human-animal similarity in predicting prejudice towards immigrants and non-human animals

Research implies that there ~ay be an association between attitudes toward margil1alized human outgroups and non-human animals. Very few studies, however, have specifically tested this relation empirically. The general purpose of the present research was to determine if such a relation exists and if perceptions of human-animal similarity avail as a common predictor of both types of attitudes. Ideological orientations associated with prejudiced attitudes (Social Dominance Orientation, Right-Wing Authoritarianism, and Universal Orientation) were also examined as individual differences in predicting perceptions of human-animal similarity. As predicted, people who endorsed prejudiced attitudes toward human outgroups (Study 1) and immigrants in particular (Studies 2 and 3), were more likely to endorse prejudiced attitudes toward non-human animals. In Study 2, perceptions that humans are superior (versus similar) to other animals directly predicted higher levels of prejudice toward non-human animals, whereas the effect of human superiority beliefs on immigrant prejudice was mediated by dehumanization. In other words, greater perceptions of humans as superior (versus similar) to other animals "allowed for" greater dehumanization of immigrants, which in turn resulted in heightened immigrant prejudice. Furthermore, people higher in Social Dominance Orientation or Right-Wing Authoritarianism were particularly likely to perceive humans as superior (versus similar) to other animals, whereas people characterized by a greater Universal Orientation were more likely to perceive humans and non-human animals as similar. Study 3 examined whether inducing perceptions of human-animal similarity through experimental manipulation would lead to more favourable attitudes toward non-human animals and immigrants. Participants were randomly assigned to read one of four 11 editorials designed to highlight either the similarities or differences between humans and other animals (i.e., animals are similar to humans; humans are similar to animals;~~nimals are inferior to humans; humans are superior to animals) or to a neutral control condition. Encouragingly, when animals were described as similar to humans, prejudice towards non-human animals and immigrants was significantly lower, and to some extent this finding was also true for people naturally high in prejudice (i.e., high in Social Dominance Orientation or Right-Wing Authoritarianism). Inducing perceptions that nonhuman animals are similar to humans was particularly effective at reducing the tendency to dehumanize immigrants ("re-humanization"), lowering feelings of personal threat regarding one's animal-nature, and at increasing inclusive intergroup representations and empathy, all of which uniquely accounted for the significant decreases in prejudiced attitudes. Implications for research, theory and prejudice interventions are considered.

Examining the role of goals and motives for physical activity and eating behaviour in commercial weight-loss program participants

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between physical activity and healthy eating behaviour with the participant's motives and goals for each health behaviour. Methods: Participants (N 121; 93.2% female) enrolled in commercial weightloss programs at the time of data collection, completed self-reported instruments using a web-based interface that were in accordance with Deci and Ryan's (2002) Self-Determination Theory (SDT). Results: Multiple linear regression models revealed that motivation and goals collectively accounted for between 0.21 to 0.29 percent and 0.03 to 0.16 percent of the variance in physical and healthy eating behaviours in this sample. In general, goals regarding either behaviour did not appear to have strong predictive relationships with each health behaviour beyond the contributions of motives. Discussion: Overall, findings from this study suggest that motives seem to mattermore than goals for both physical activity and healthy eating behaviour in clientele of commercial weight-loss programs. Therefore commercial weight-loss program implementers may want to consider placing more attention on motives I than goals for their clientele when designing weight-loss and weight-maintenance initiatives.

Predictors of prejudice perceptions and the role of group identification in international students

The purpose of the present study was first to determine what influences international students' perceptions of prejudice, and secondly to examine how perceptions of prejudice would affect international students' group identification. Variables such as stigma vulnerability and contact which have been previously linked with perceptions of prejudice and intergroup relations were re-examined (Berryman-Fink, 2006; Gilbert, 1998; Nesdale & Todd, 2000), while variables classically linked to prejudicial attitudes such as right-wing authoritarianism and openness to experience were explored in relation to perceptions of prejudice. Furthermore, the study examined how perceptions of prejudice might affect the students' identification choices, by testing two opposing models. The first model was based on the motivational nature of social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1986) while the second model was based on the cognitive nature of self-categorization theory/ rejection-identification model (Turner, Hogg, Oakes, Reicher, & Wetherell, 1987; Schmitt, Spears, & Branscombe,2003). It was hypothesized that stigma vulnerability, right-wing authoritarianism, openness to experience and contact would predict both personal and group perceptions of prejudice. It was also hypothesized that perceptions of prejudice would predict group identification. If the self-categorizationlrejection-identification model was supported, international students would identify with the international students. If the social mobility strategy was supported, international students would identify with the university students group. Participants were 98 international students who filled out questionnaires on the Brock University Psychology Department Website. The first hypothesis was supported. The combination of stigma vulnerability, right-wing authoritarianism, openness to experience and contact predicted both personal and group prejudice perceptions of international students. Furthermore, the analyses supported the self-categorizationlrejectionidentification model. International identification was predicted by the combination of personal and group prejudice perceptions of international students.

Health-Enhancing Physical Activity and Well-Being: Is it How Often, How Long, or How Much Effort that Matters? A Test of Basic Psychological Needs Theory

The primary objectives of the present study were 1) to examine the relationship between health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA) and well-being across the previous day and 2) to examine the role of basic psychological need satisfaction as a potential mediator of the HEPA – well-being relationship. Participants (N = 203) were a convenience sample of undergraduate students with data collected cross sectionally. HEPA was generally associated with well-being (r‟s ranged from .18 to .62). Multiple mediation analyses supported psychological need satisfaction as mechanisms underpinning the HEPA – well- being relationship. Subsequent analyses demonstrated that effort put forth in HEPA activities, as opposed to frequency or duration, uniquely predicted well-being. The role of effort was further highlighted in the multiple mediation analyses. As such future research may wish to investigate the utility of a HEPA program that facilitates effortful engagement and fulfillment of basic psychological needs.

Intellectual property rights and the campaign for access to essential medicines : the advocacy role assumed by Médecins Sans Frontières

Non-governmental organizations and transnational networks have been increasingly successful a t gaining influence within issue areas traditionally controlled by the state. In many instances, non-state actors have been instrumental in forcing issues onto the global agenda, have aided in the development or transformation of global regimes, and have participated in securing state compliance for the adoption of new international norms. This paper argues that, consistent with social constructivist theory, ideas are important in influencing state preferences and change may be possible when certain factors are present. I f non-state actors can influence states, it is meaningful to understand how this happens. This paper focuses on a campaign led by Medecins Sans Frontieres that began in the late 1990s to acquire affordable medicines for patients in developing states that could not afford patented drugs. The campaign reached a measure of success in that member states of the World Trade Organization re-negotiated contested terms and meanings within the trade agreement for intellectual property rights and allowed concessions that would benefit lower income states. What factors contributed to the success of the campaign? And what were the most important factors - the issue, the actors or the mechanisms used?

Linking Ethical Leadership and Employees’ In-Role Performance: Exploring the Mediating Roles of Psychological Capital and Follower-Leader Relational Capital

This study investigates the mediating impact of psychological capital and follower-leader relational capital on the relationship between ethical leadership and in-role performance through the lenses of social exchange theory, social information processing theory, and psychological resources theory. Analysis of data collected from a sample of 171 employees and 24 supervisors from Pakistan reveals that ethical leadership has a positive effect on followers’ in-role job performance, yet this effect is fully explained through the role of psychological capital and partially through follower-leader relational capital. Significant implications of these findings for further research and practice are discussed.

Mirroring Enzymes: The Role of H-Bonding In HQuin-BAM Catalyzed Asymmetric Aza-Henry Reactions: A DFT Study into the Reactivity, Mechanism, and Origins of Selectivity

The exact mechanistic understanding of various organocatalytic systems in asymmetric reactions such as Henry and aza-Henry transformations is important for developing and designing new synthetic organocatalysts. The focus of this dissertation will be on the use of density functional theory (DFT) for studying the asymmetric aza-Henry reaction. The first part of the thesis is a detailed mechanistic investigation of a poorly understood chiral bis(amidine) (BAM) Brønsted acid catalyzed aza-Henry reaction between nitromethane and N-Boc phenylaldimine. The catalyst, in addition to acting as a Brønsted base, serves to simultaneously activate both the electrophile and the nucleophile through dual H-bonding during C-C bond formation and is thus essential for both reaction rate and selectivity. Analysis of the H-bonding interactions revealed that there was a strong preference for the formation of a homonuclear positive charge-assisted H-bond, which in turn governed the relative orientation of substrate binding. Attracted by this well-defined mechanistic investigation, the other important aspect of my PhD research addressed a detailed theoretical analysis accounting for the observed selectivity in diastereoselective versions of this reaction. A detailed inspection of the stereodetermining C-C bond forming transition states for monoalkylated nitronate addition to a range of electronically different aldimines, revealed that the origins of stereoselectivity were controlled by a delicate balance of different factors such as steric, orbital interactions, and the extent of distortion in the catalyst and substrates. The structural analysis of different substituted transition states established an interesting dependency on matching the shape and size of the catalyst (host molecule) and substrates (guest molecules) upon binding, both being key factors governing selectivity, in essence, offering an analogy to positive cooperative binding effect of catalytic enzymes and substrates in Nature. In addition, both intra-molecular (intra-host) and inter-molecular (host-guest, guest-guest) stabilizing interactions play a key role to the high π-facial selectivity. The application of dispersion-corrected functionals (i.e., ωB97X-D and B3LYP-D3) was essential for accurately modeling these stabilizing interactions, indicating the importance of dispersion effects in enantioselectivity. As a brief prelude to more extensive future studies, the influence of a triflate counterion on both reactivity and selectivity in this reaction was also addressed.

Incentives and Principles for Individuals in Rawls’s Theory of Justice

Philippe van Parijs (2003) has argued that an egalitarian ethos cannot be part of a post- Political Liberalism Rawlsian view of justice, because the demands of political justice are confined to principles for institutions of the basic structure alone. This paper argues, by contrast, that certain principles for individual conduct—including a principle requiring relatively advantaged individuals to sometimes make their economic choices with the aim of maximising the prospects of the least advantaged—are an integral part of a Rawlsian political conception of justice. It concludes that incentive payments will have a clearly limited role in a Rawlsian theory of justice.

Le rôle de l’évaluation économique dans la pratique des médecins de famille = The role of economic evaluation in the practice of family physicians

L’évaluation économique en santé consiste en l’analyse comparative d’alternatives de services en regard à la fois de leurs coûts et de leurs conséquences. Elle est un outil d’aide à la décision. La grande majorité des décisions concernant l’allocation des ressources sont prises en clinique; particulièrement au niveau des soins primaires. Puisque chaque décision est associée à un coût d’opportunité, la non-prise en compte des considérations économiques dans les pratiques des médecins de famille peut avoir un impact important sur l’efficience du système de santé. Il existe peu de connaissances quant à l’influence des évaluations économiques sur la pratique clinique. L’objet de la thèse est de comprendre le rôle de l’évaluation économique dans la pratique des médecins de famille. Ses contributions font l’objet de quatre articles originaux (philosophique, théorique, méthodologique et empirique). L’article philosophique suggère l’importance des questions de complexité et de réflexivité en évaluation économique. La complexité est la perspective philosophique, (approche générale épistémologique) qui sous-tend la thèse. Cette vision du monde met l’attention sur l’explication et la compréhension et sur les relations et les interactions (causalité interactive). Cet accent sur le contexte et le processus de production des données souligne l’importance de la réflexivité dans le processus de recherche. L’article théorique développe une conception nouvelle et différente du problème de recherche. L’originalité de la thèse réside également dans son approche qui s’appuie sur la perspective de la théorie sociologique de Pierre Bourdieu; une approche théorique cohérente avec la complexité. Opposé aux modèles individualistes de l’action rationnelle, Bourdieu préconise une approche sociologique qui s’inscrit dans la recherche d’une compréhension plus complète et plus complexe des phénomènes sociaux en mettant en lumière les influences souvent implicites qui viennent chaque jour exercer des pressions sur les individus et leurs pratiques. L’article méthodologique présente le protocole d’une étude qualitative de cas multiples avec niveaux d’analyse imbriqués : les médecins de famille (niveau micro-individuel) et le champ de la médecine familiale (niveau macro-structurel). Huit études de cas furent réalisées avec le médecin de famille comme unité principale d’analyse. Pour le niveau micro, la collecte des informations fut réalisée à l’aide d’entrevues de type histoire de vie, de documents et d’observation. Pour le niveau macro, la collecte des informations fut réalisée à l’aide de documents, et d’entrevues de type semi-structuré auprès de huit informateurs clés, de neuf organisations médicales. L’induction analytique fut utilisée. L’article empirique présente l’ensemble des résultats empiriques de la thèse. Les résultats montrent une intégration croissante de concepts en économie dans le discours officiel des organisations de médecine familiale. Cependant, au niveau de la pratique, l'économisation de ce discours ne semble pas être une représentation fidèle de la réalité puisque la très grande majorité des participants n'incarnent pas ce discours. Les contributions incluent une compréhension approfondie des processus sociaux qui influencent les schèmes de perception, de pensée, d’appréciation et d’action des médecins de famille quant au rôle de l’évaluation économique dans la pratique clinique et la volonté des médecins de famille à contribuer à une allocation efficiente, équitable et légitime des ressources.

The Capabilities Approach as a Foundation for an Ethical-Political Theory of the Good

L’approche des capabilités a été caractérisée par un développement fulgurant au cours des vingt-cinq dernières années. Bien que formulée à l’origine par Amartya Sen, détenteur du Prix Nobel en économie, Martha Nussbaum reprit cette approche dans le but de s’en servir comme fondation pour une théorie éthico-politique intégrale du bien. Cependant, la version de Nussbaum s’avéra particulièrement vulnérable à plusieurs critiques importantes, mettant sérieusement en doute son efficacité globale. À la lumière de ces faits, cette thèse vise à évaluer la pertinence théorique et pratique de l’approche des capabilités de Nussbaum, en examinant trois groupes de critiques particulièrement percutantes formulées à son encontre.

Academic and social adjustment of teenagers in social rehabilitation : the role of intrinsic need satisfaction and autonomy support

Les études antérieures ont démontré les bénéfices de la satisfaction des besoins intrinsèques et du soutien à l’autonomie dans le domaine de l’éducation. Or, l’applicabilité des tenants principaux de la Théorie de l’Auto-Détermination (TAD; Deci & Ryan, 2000) n’a pas été investiguée auprès d’une population clinique d’adolescents. L’objectif de cette thèse doctorale est de faire la lumière sur la façon dont l'adaptation scolaire et sociale peut être favorisée par les agents de socialisation dans le contexte de la réadaptation sociale. Cette thèse est composée de deux études s’intéressant à l’application des tenants clés de la TAD auprès de deux échantillons d’adolescents vivant des problèmes d’adaptation et recevant des services d’éducation spécialisée et de réadaptation sociale. Les relations entre les concepts motivationnels de base sont étudiés afin de déterminer si, comme la TAD le propose, la satisfaction des besoins intrinsèques des jeunes peut être soutenue par le style interpersonnel des agents de socialisation (c.-à-d., le soutien à l’autonomie, l’implication et la structure). Il est aussi vérifié si ces concepts motivationnels améliorent la motivation ainsi que d’autres conséquences qui résultent de leur expérience, proposées par la TAD. La première étude a évalué si le style interpersonnel des enseignants peut favoriser la satisfaction des besoins des élèves, leur style de motivationl, tout comme leur ajustement scolaire. Les élèves en difficulté d’adaptation (N = 115) inscrits aux écoles internes des Centres de Réadaptation en raison de leurs problématiques émotionnelles et comportementales ont rempli les questionnaires à deux reprises, au début et à la fin de l’année scolaire. Les analyses de modèles d’équations structurelles révèlent que l’augmentation du soutien à l’autonomie et de l’implication (mais pas de la structure) des enseignants pendant l’année est associée à une augmentation de la satisfaction des besoins des élèves qui, conséquemment, conduit à une motivation scolaire plus auto-déterminée et à une diminution d’intentions de décrochage à la fin de l’année scolaire. De plus, l’amélioration de la satisfaction des besoins mène directement à une meilleure expérience affective à l’école. La deuxième étude consiste en une recherche expérimentale conduite auprès d’adolescentes en difficulté d’adaptation (N = 29). Le devis expérimental a permis de comparer l’impact de la présence (c. absence) du soutien à l’autonomie sur l’internalisation d’une tâche et sur les conséquences motivationnelles et expérientielles des jeunes. La tâche, fastidieuse mais importante, consistait à de la résolution de problèmes interpersonnels (activité clinique). Les résultats suggèrent qu’un style interpersonnel soutenant l’autonomie a augmenté la motivation auto-déterminée, la perception de la valeur de la tâche et son appréciation, ainsi que diminué les affects négatifs comparativement à la condition sans soutien à l’autonomie. Les résultats sont discutés en lien avec les implications théoriques et pratiques d’étendre la portée de la TAD à une population clinique d’adolescents aux prises avec des difficultés d’adaptation.

Interactive quantum information theory

La théorie de l'information quantique s'est développée à une vitesse fulgurante au cours des vingt dernières années, avec des analogues et extensions des théorèmes de codage de source et de codage sur canal bruité pour la communication unidirectionnelle. Pour la communication interactive, un analogue quantique de la complexité de la communication a été développé, pour lequel les protocoles quantiques peuvent performer exponentiellement mieux que les meilleurs protocoles classiques pour certaines tâches classiques. Cependant, l'information quantique est beaucoup plus sensible au bruit que l'information classique. Il est donc impératif d'utiliser les ressources quantiques à leur plein potentiel. Dans cette thèse, nous étudions les protocoles quantiques interactifs du point de vue de la théorie de l'information et étudions les analogues du codage de source et du codage sur canal bruité. Le cadre considéré est celui de la complexité de la communication: Alice et Bob veulent faire un calcul quantique biparti tout en minimisant la quantité de communication échangée, sans égard au coût des calculs locaux. Nos résultats sont séparés en trois chapitres distincts, qui sont organisés de sorte à ce que chacun puisse être lu indépendamment. Étant donné le rôle central qu'elle occupe dans le contexte de la compression interactive, un chapitre est dédié à l'étude de la tâche de la redistribution d'état quantique. Nous prouvons des bornes inférieures sur les coûts de communication nécessaires dans un contexte interactif. Nous prouvons également des bornes atteignables avec un seul message, dans un contexte d'usage unique. Dans un chapitre subséquent, nous définissons une nouvelle notion de complexité de l'information quantique. Celle-ci caractérise la quantité d'information, plutôt que de communication, qu'Alice et Bob doivent échanger pour calculer une tâche bipartie. Nous prouvons beaucoup de propriétés structurelles pour cette quantité, et nous lui donnons une interprétation opérationnelle en tant que complexité de la communication quantique amortie. Dans le cas particulier d'entrées classiques, nous donnons une autre caractérisation permettant de quantifier le coût encouru par un protocole quantique qui oublie de l'information classique. Deux applications sont présentées: le premier résultat général de somme directe pour la complexité de la communication quantique à plus d'une ronde, ainsi qu'une borne optimale, à un terme polylogarithmique près, pour la complexité de la communication quantique avec un nombre de rondes limité pour la fonction « ensembles disjoints ». Dans un chapitre final, nous initions l'étude de la capacité interactive quantique pour les canaux bruités. Étant donné que les techniques pour distribuer de l'intrication sont bien étudiées, nous nous concentrons sur un modèle avec intrication préalable parfaite et communication classique bruitée. Nous démontrons que dans le cadre plus ardu des erreurs adversarielles, nous pouvons tolérer un taux d'erreur maximal de une demie moins epsilon, avec epsilon plus grand que zéro arbitrairement petit, et ce avec un taux de communication positif. Il s'ensuit que les canaux avec bruit aléatoire ayant une capacité positive pour la transmission unidirectionnelle ont une capacité positive pour la communication interactive quantique. Nous concluons avec une discussion de nos résultats et des directions futures pour ce programme de recherche sur une théorie de l'information quantique interactive.

Implementing Revisionism: Assessing a Revisionist Theory of Moral Responsibility

The aim of this paper is to examine a particular substantive theory among others in the set of “revisionist” theories of moral responsibility, namely, Manuel Vargas’ version of the moral influence account of the justification of responsibility- specific practices. Moderate revisionism, which Vargas (2005) endorses, advocates a clear distinction between descriptive and normative questions, which enables a naturalistically plausible account of responsibility that does not jeopardize the normative aspect. However, while Vargas provides a useful framework for thinking about revisionism, I argue that despite its initial appeal, an actual revisionist theory does not seem to track as closely as we would like what I call the “meta-theory” of revisionism, viz. what Vargas defines as the features of moderate revisionism. Outlining these differences enables the formulation of observations about 1) the role of revisionist approaches for theorizing about moral responsibility and 2) how revisionism can be integrated with scientifically informed approaches.

Aggressive incidents inside a Montreal barroom involving patrons, barmaids and bouncers : a micro level examination of routine activity theory

Objectives: This article further examines the phenomenon of aggression inside barrooms by relying on the “bouncer-ethnographer” methodology. The objective is to investigate variations in aggression through time and space according to the role and routine of the target in a Montreal barroom. Thus, it provides an examination of routine activity theory at the micro level: the barroom. Methods: For a period of 258 nights of observation in a Canadian barroom, bouncers completed reports on each intervention and provided specific information regarding what happened, when and where within the venue. In addition, the bouncer-ethnographer compiled field observations and interviews with bar personnel in order to identify aggression hotspots and “rush hours” for three types of actors within barrooms: (a) bouncers, (b) barmaids and (c) patrons. Findings: Three different patterns emerged for shifting hotspots of aggression depending on the target. As the night progresses, aggressive incidents between patrons, towards barmaids and towards bouncers have specific hotspots and rush hours influenced by the specific routine of the target inside the barroom. Implications: The current findings enrich those of previous work by pointing to the relevance of not only examining the environmental characteristics of the barroom, but also the role of the target of aggression. Crime opportunities follow routine activities, even within a specific location on a micro level. Routine activity theory is thus relevant in this context, because as actors in differing roles follow differing routines, as do their patterns of victimization.