Unveiling the Influence of Consumer Wine Appreciation Dimension on Purchasing Behavior

Consumption values and different usage situations have received extensive interest from scholars; however, there is a lack of understanding regarding how these two constructs interact when it comes to the purchase decisions of consumers. This study examines the relationship between consumption values, consumption situations, and consumers’ purchasing decisions in terms of their willingness to pay and the purchase quantity. First of all, my model proposes that all four consumption values and different situations have a positive effect on consumers’ willingness to pay as well as the quantity they purchase. It also proposes that varying usage situations moderate the effect of consumption values on consumers’ purchasing decisions. In my conceptual model, I have also integrated the epistemic and conditional values where there is a gap in the existing literature. Prior literature has isolated the consumption values when studying how they affect consumer behavior and has not examined how consumption situations moderate the relationship between consumption values and purchasing decisions. Also, the existing literature has mostly focused on how consumption values affect purchase intentions, brand loyalty, or satisfaction, whereas my study focuses on purchasing decisions. For my study, the participants were randomly chosen from the general wine consumer population and the age range was between 20 and 75, which included 83 male respondents and 119 female respondents. The data received from my respondents support my hypotheses for the model. In my final chapter, I discuss the theoretical and managerial implications as well as suggestions for future research.

Office of the University President Sous fonds: Dr. James A. Gibson

Dr. James A. Gibson was born in Ottawa on January 29, 1912 to John W. and Belle Gibson. At an early age the family moved to Victoria, B.C. where John W. Gibson was a director of the Elementary Agricultural Education Branch, Department of Education. Gibson received his early education in Victoria, receiving a B.A. (honours) at UBC in 1931. In 1931 he was awarded the Rhodes scholarship and received his B.A., M.A., B.Litt and D. Phil at New College, Oxford. This was to be the beginning of a long and dedicated relationship with the Rhodes Scholar Association. Upon his return to Canada, Dr. Gibson lectured in Economics and Government at the University of British Columbia. In 1938 he was married to Caroline Stein in Philadelphia, and the same year joined the staff of the Department of External Affairs as a Foreign Service officer. Within twenty minutes of his arrival he was seconded to the Office of the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for External Affairs, W. L. Mackenzie King in charge of War Records and Liaison Officer. This was a critical time in the history of Canada, and Dr. Gibson experienced firsthand several milestones, including the Royal Visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1939. Dr. Gibson was present at the formation of the United Nations in San Francisco in 1945, being part of the Prime Minister’s professional staff as well as attending conferences in Washington, Quebec and London as an advisor to the Canadian delegation. Gibson contributed many articles to the publication bout de papier about his experiences during these years. After his resignation in 1947, Gibson joined the staff of the fledgling Carleton College, as a lecturer. In 1949 he was appointed a professor and in 1951 became Dean of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Gibson acted as President from 1955 to 1956 upon the sudden death of Dr. MacOdrum. In 1963 Dr. Gibson accepted the invitation of the Brock University Founders’ Committee, chaired by Arthur Schmon, to become the founding president. Dr. Gibson guided the new University from a converted refrigeration plant, to an ever expanding University campus on the brow of the Niagara Escarpment. Dr. Gibson remained firmly “attached” to Brock University. Even after official retirement, in 1974, he retained the title President Emeritus. Gibson’s final official contribution was an unpublished ten year history of the University. In retirement Gibson remained active in scholarly pursuits. He was a visiting scholar at the Center of Canadian Studies, University of Edinburgh; continued his ongoing research activities focusing on W. L. Mackenzie King, the Office of the Governor General of Canada, and political prisoners transported to Van Dieman’s Land. He remained active in the Canadian Association of Rhodes Scholars, becoming editor from 1975 to 1994 and was appointed Editor Emeritus and Director for Life in 1995 in honour of his dedicated and outstanding service. In 1993 he was awarded one of Canada’s highest achievements, the Order of Canada. Gibson retained close ties with Brock University and many of its faculty. He maintained an office in the Politics Department where he became a vital part of the department. In 1996 Brock University honoured Gibson by naming the University Library in his honour. James A. Gibson Library staff was instrumental in celebrating the 90th birthday of Gibson in 2002, with a widely attended party in the Pond Inlet where many former students, including Silver Badgers. The attendees also included former and current colleagues from Brock University, Canadian Rhodes Scholars Association, family and friends. Gibson was later to remark that the highlight of this event was the gift of his original academic robe which he had personally designed in 1964. In 2003 Dr. Gibson moved to Ottawa to be near some of his children and the city of his birth and early career. In that year “two visits to Brock ensued: the first, to attend a special celebration of the James A. Gibson Library; his late to attend the 74th Convocation on Saturday, October 18, 2003. A week later, in Ottawa, he went for a long walk, returned to his residence, Rideau Gardens, went into the lounge area, took off his coat and folded it up, put it on the back of his chair, sat down, folded his hands in his lap, closed his eyes, and died”. With sources from: Carleton University The Charlatan, Gibson CV, and Memorial Service Programme

Depopulating the Political Sidelines: CBC News Online Forum and Public Spheres in Canada

The subject of the Internet's potential to foster a public sphere has become a growing area of research in the social sciences in the last two decades. My research explores comments made by participants on the CBC News online politics forum during the May 2011 federal election in Canada. Based on conditions proposed by Jurgen Habermas in his concept of the public sphere and operationalized by Lincoln Dahlberg in his pioneering study of the Minnesota e-Democracy listserv, my thesis explores the potential for the CBC News online forum to foster a public sphere for Canadians. While examining the CBC News online forum against the criteria of the public sphere, I also interrogate Habermas' concept of a universal public sphere using the works of Nancy Fraser and other scholars, who argue for multiple public spheres.

Forgiveness in Two Minds: Understanding Forgiveness Through Dual-Process Theory

In this thesis, I examined the relevance of dual-process theory to understanding forgiveness. Specifically, I argued that the internal conflict experienced by laypersons when forgiving (or finding themselves unable to forgive) and the discrepancies between existing definitions of forgiveness can currently be best understood through the lens of dual-process theory. Dual-process theory holds that individuals engage in two broad forms of mental processing corresponding to two systems, here referred to as System 1 and System 2. System 1 processing is automatic, unconscious, and operates through learned associations and heuristics. System 2 processing is effortful, conscious, and operates through rule-based and hypothetical thinking. Different definitions of forgiveness amongst both lay persons and scholars may reflect different processes within each system. Further, lay experiences with internal conflict concerning forgiveness may frequently result from processes within each system leading to different cognitive, affective, and behavioural responses. The study conducted for this thesis tested the hypotheses that processing within System 1 can directly affect one's likelihood to forgive, and that this effect is moderated by System 2 processing. I used subliminal conditioning to manipulate System 1 processing by creating positive or negative conditioned attitudes towards a hypothetical transgressor. I used working memory load (WML) to inhibit System 2 processing amongst half of the participants. The conditioning phase of the study failed and so no conclusions could be drawn regarding the roles of System 1 and System 2 in forgiveness. The implications of dual-process theory for forgiveness research and clinical practice, and directions for future research are discussed.

Unaccompanied minors in Canada: How social and legal services affect their lives in Ontario

This qualitative research examines how service provisions affect lives of unaccompanied minors in Canada. In this study I utilized a semi-structured individual interview method. Among thirteen participants in my study, five came to Canada as unaccompanied minors and eight are professionals involved with service providing organizations in the Niagara region. The unaccompanied children that I interviewed had mixed experiences. Social and legal supports were made available to some of them while one was deported. This paper employs Bhabha’s postcolonial perspective and Foucault’s governmentality to illustrate unaccompanied minors’ post-arrival situation in Canada. This paper also attempts to look at children’s rights from Hanson and Nieuwenhuys’s (2013) perspective of living rights, social justice and translations. This paper explores how the change in recent immigration law affects the lives of unaccompanied minors. Findings of this study suggest that it is important to have a consensus on the definition of an unaccompanied minor; improved data collection and record-keeping on the number of unaccompanied minors; and, having a government-approved follow up mechanism. The study recommends policy makers, service providers and scholars pay increased attention to the experiences of unaccompanied minors to ensure that adequate social and legal services are offered to an unaccompanied minor in Canada.

Locating Intergenerational Sense of Self: Intersections of Genealogy with Leisure and Tourism

Situated at the intersection of leisure and tourism, there is currently a renewed interest and curiosity in ancestral lineages. Focusing on amateur genealogists who pursue, and travel for, a leisure engagement of genealogy, this qualitative research study endeavours to investigate their quests for personal identity and locations of an intergenerational sense of self. With the adoption of a narrative inquiry method, life story interviews were conducted with four amateur genealogists. Findings from an analysis of the narratives have been organized into five core themes, each of which contributes to our understanding of these amateur genealogists’ experiences of leisure and travel. While the amateur genealogists do not acknowledge their leisure engagements as a quest for personal identity, they make use of such engagements to locate an intergenerational sense of self and gain enriched self-understandings. Moreover, by facilitating intersections of genealogy, leisure, and tourism, several key insights are offered that may be of particular interest to scholars in both fields of study.

The Search for Scholarly Teaching in Elementary Education

Elementary teachers are expected to prepare students to work efficiently with others, solve complex problems and self-regulate their own learning. Considering the importance of a solid educational foundation in the early years, students would benefit if elementary teachers engaged in scholarly teaching. The purpose of this study was to investigate Boyer’s (1990) four dimensions of scholarship, application, integration, teaching and discovery, to better understand if there is scholarly teaching in elementary education. Four professional teaching documents were analyzed using a hermeneutic orientation. A deductive analysis suggests that we do have scholarly teaching in elementary education, with strong evidence that elementary teachers are scholars of application and integration. An inductive analysis of latent and manifest content suggests that underlying humanistic values run deeply through elementary education driving current curricular, instructional and pedagogical practices.

Raising Creativity: Exploring How Creativity Can be Nurtured in Educational Contexts

The question of how we can encourage creative capacities in young people has never been more relevant than it is today (Pink, 2006; Robinson as cited in TEDtalksDirector, 2007; Eisner as cited in VanderbiltUniversity, 2009). While the world is rapidly evolving, education has the great challenge of adapting to keep up. Scholars say that to meet the needs of 21st century learners, pedagogy must focus on fostering creative skills to enable students to manage in a future we cannot yet envision (Robinson as cited in TEDtalksDirector, 2007). Further, research demonstrates that creativity thrives with autonomy, support, and without judgment (Amabile, 1996; Codack [Zak], 2010; Harrington, Block, & Block, 1987; Holt, 1989; Kohn, 1993). So how well are schools doing in this regard? How do alternative models of education nurture or neglect creativity, and how can this inform teaching practice all around? In other words, ultimately, how can we nurture creativity in education? This documentary explores these questions from a scholarly art-based perspective. Artist/researcher/teacher Rebecca Zak builds on her experience in the art studio, academia, and the art classroom to investigate the various philosophies and strategies that diverse educational models implement to illuminate the possibilities for educational and paradigmatic transformation. The Raising Creativity documentary project consists of multiple parts across multiple platforms. There are five videos in the series that answer the why, who, how, what, and now what about creativity in education respectively (i.e., why is this topic important, who has spoken/written on this topic already, how will this issue be investigated this time, what was observed during the inquiry, and now what will this mean going forward?). There is also a self-reflexive blog that addresses certain aspects of the topic in greater depth (located here, on this website) and in the context of Rebecca's lived experience to complement the video format. Together, all video and blog artifacts housed on this website function as a polyptych, wherein the pieces can stand alone individually yet are intended to work together and fulfill the dissertation requirements for Rebecca's doctorate degree in education in reimagined ways.

The Implementations of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) in Beijing and Ontario Schools

Since the knowledge-based economy has become a fashion over the last few decades, the concept of the professional learning community (PLC) has started being accepted by educational institutions and governments as an effective framework to improve teachers’ collective work and collaboration. The purpose of this research was to compare and contrast the implementations of PLCs between Beijing schools and Ontario schools from principals’ personal narratives. In order to discover the lessons and widen the scope to understand the PLC, this research applied qualitative design to collect the data from two principal participants in each location by semistructured interviews. Four themes emerged: (a) structure and technology, (b) identity and climate, (c) task and support, and (d) change and challenge. This research found that the root of the characteristics of the PLCs in Beijing and Ontario was the different existing teaching and learning systems as well as the test systems. Teaching Research Groups (TRGs) is one of the systems that help Chinese to organize routine time and input resources to improve teachers’ professional development. However, Canadian schools lack a similar system that guarantees the time and resources. Moreover, standardized test plays different roles in China and Canada. In China, standardized tests, such as the college entrance examination, are regarded as the important purpose of education, whereas Ontario principals saw the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) as a tool rather than a primary purpose. These two main differences influenced principals’ beliefs, attitudes, strategies, and practices. The implications based on this discovery provide new perspectives for principals, teachers, policy makers, and scholars to widen and deepen the research and practice of the PLC.

A Case Study of Doctoral Research Assistantships: Access and Experiences of Full-Time and Part-Time Education Students

Graduate students’ development as researchers is a key objective in higher education. Research assistantships provide distinctive spaces where graduate students can be nurtured and shaped as novice researchers as they develop theoretical and methodological knowledge. However, few scholars have investigated graduate student research assistants’ experiences and the ways these experiences are influenced by institutional regulations, informal practices, and social relations. The purpose of this case-within-a-case study was to explore the research assistantship experiences of full-time and part-time doctoral students in Education at an Ontario university. I present separate subcases for full-time and part-time students, and an overarching case of research assistantships in one program at a specific period of time. The main question was how do institutional regulations, informal practices, and social relations influence full-time and part-time doctoral students’ access to and experiences within research assistantships. My objective was to draw from interviews and documents to acquire a thorough understanding of the organizational characteristics of research assistantships (i.e., structures of access, distribution, and coordination of participation) to explore the ways institutional regulations, informal practices, and social relations promote, prevent, or limit full-time and part-time students’ legitimate peripheral participation in research assistantships. Although I devoted particular attention to the ways students’ full-time and part-time status shaped their decisions, relationships, and experiences, I was conscious that other factors such as gender, age, and cultural background may have also influenced doctoral research assistant experiences.

Analyse des pratiques de lecture sur livres électroniques chez les étudiants universitaires

La lecture numérique prend de plus en plus de place dans l'espace global de la lecture des étudiants. Bien que les premiers systèmes de lecture numérique, communément appelés livres électroniques, datent déjà de plusieurs années, les opinions quant à leur potentiel divergent encore. Une variété de contenus universitaires numériques s’offre aujourd’hui aux étudiants, entraînant par le fait même une multiplication d'usages ainsi qu'une variété de modes de lecture. Les systèmes de lecture numérique font maintenant partie intégrante de l’environnement électronique auquel les étudiants ont accès et méritent d’être étudiés plus en profondeur. Maintes expérimentations ont été menées dans des bibliothèques publiques et dans des bibliothèques universitaires sur les livres électroniques. Des recherches ont été conduites sur leur utilisabilité et sur le degré de satisfaction des lecteurs dans le but d’en améliorer le design. Cependant, très peu d’études ont porté sur les pratiques de lecture proprement dites des universitaires (notamment les étudiants) et sur leurs perceptions de ces nouveaux systèmes de lecture. Notre recherche s’intéresse à ces aspects en étudiant deux systèmes de lecture numérique, une Tablet PC (dispositif nomade) et un système de livres-Web, NetLibrary (interface de lecture intégrée à un navigateur Web). Notre recherche étudie les pratiques de lecture des étudiants sur ces systèmes de lecture numérique. Elle est guidée par trois questions de recherche qui s’articulent autour (1) des stratégies de lecture employées par des étudiants (avant, pendant et après la lecture), (2) des éléments du système de lecture qui influencent (positivement ou négativement) le processus de lecture et (3) des perceptions des étudiants vis-à-vis la technologie du livre électronique et son apport à leur travail universitaire. Pour mener cette recherche, une approche méthodologique mixte a été retenue, utilisant trois modes de collecte de données : un questionnaire, des entrevues semi-structurées avec les étudiants ayant utilisé l’un ou l’autre des systèmes étudiés, et le prélèvement des traces de lecture laissées par les étudiants dans les systèmes, après usage. Les répondants (n=46) étaient des étudiants de l’Université de Montréal, provenant de trois départements (Bibliothéconomie & sciences de l’information, Communication et Linguistique & traduction). Près de la moitié d’entre eux (n=21) ont été interviewés. Parallèlement, les traces de lecture laissées dans les systèmes de lecture par les étudiants (annotations, surlignages, etc.) ont été prélevées et analysées. Les données des entrevues et des réponses aux questions ouvertes du questionnaire ont fait l'objet d'une analyse de contenu et un traitement statistique a été réservé aux données des questions fermées du questionnaire et des traces de lecture. Les résultats obtenus montrent que, d’une façon générale, l’objectif de lecture, la nouveauté du contenu, les habitudes de lecture de l’étudiant de même que les possibilités du système de lecture sont les éléments qui orientent le choix et l’application des stratégies de lecture. Des aides et des obstacles à la lecture ont été identifiés pour chacun des systèmes de lecture étudiés. Les aides consistent en la présence de certains éléments de la métaphore du livre papier dans le système de lecture numérique (notion de page délimitée, pagination, etc.), le dictionnaire intégré au système, et le fait que les systèmes de lecture étudiés facilitent la lecture en diagonale. Pour les obstacles, l’instrumentation de la lecture a rendu l’appropriation du texte par le lecteur difficile. De plus, la lecture numérique (donc « sur écran ») a entraîné un manque de concentration et une fatigue visuelle notamment avec NetLibrary. La Tablet PC, tout comme NetLibrary, a été perçue comme facile à utiliser mais pas toujours confortable, l’inconfort étant davantage manifeste dans NetLibrary. Les étudiants considèrent les deux systèmes de lecture comme des outils pratiques pour le travail universitaire, mais pour des raisons différentes, spécifiques à chaque système. L’évaluation globale de l’expérience de lecture numérique des répondants s’est avérée, dans l’ensemble, positive pour la Tablet PC et plutôt mitigée pour NetLibrary. Cette recherche contribue à enrichir les connaissances sur (1) la lecture numérique, notamment celle du lectorat universitaire étudiant, et (2) l’impact d’un système de lecture sur l’efficacité de la lecture, sur les lecteurs, sur l’atteinte de l’objectif de lecture, et sur les stratégies de lecture utilisées. Outre les limites de l’étude, des pistes pour des recherches futures sont présentées.