Connecting in the coulee: a hermeneutic study of young children’s place-based experiences

This study is a hermeneutic inquiry into the questions, How do place-based experiences cultivate a child’s sense of place? and How do place-based experiences impact student engagement? It explores student perspectives of place-based experiences and interprets how these opportunities foster the development of sense of place. Grade three and four students engaged in place-based learning at a local coulee near their school were interviewed about their experiences and learning in relation to the coulee. Through a hermeneutic lens, conversations were analyzed through reading, building understanding and expanding interpretations. The findings demonstrate how meaningful and intentional place-based experiences nurture a multidimensional sense of place. The complexity of the topic is examined through providing insights into different components of the concept. The study further explores the potential of place-based learning in creating a meaningful curriculum and offers opportunities for continued discourse around sense of place

Factors influencing reward-seeking behaviour in rats and the implications for problem gamblers

Depression and impulsivity have been repeatedly implicated in gambling pathology, but the relationship between these factors is not fully understood. There is evidence of overlapping neural circuitry that may explain the relatedness of these disorders. The following thesis will characterize the neural dysfunction of gambling addiction, depression, and impulsivity, and will argue for the use of animal models to further our understanding of these relationships. Two series of experiments were conducted to examine how these factors influence reward-seeking behaviour. In the first, we will see that depression can lead to compulsive reward-seeking in rats; and in the second, we will present evidence that proves just how motivating gambling-like schedules of reinforcement truly are, and what that means for impulsive problem gamblers.Alberta Gambling Research Institut

Community Assessment of the Kanadier (Mexican) Mennonites: Final Report

63 p. ; 28 cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. 35-36).A needs assessment was completed with the target group, the Kanadier Mennonites. This assessment was successfully completed through a partnership between the School of Nursing, University of Lethbridge Advanced Community Nursing class, the Barons- Eureka-Warner (BEW) Health Unit (now part of the Chinook Regional Health Authority) and the Mennonite Central Committee local office, the Kanadier Concerns. Thirteen student teams conducted interviews with 22 key informants and 44 household informants. Male and female interpreters, fluent in English and Low German, were used as translators and cultural interpreters. The limitations include the inability to randomize the sample, the need to use interpreters which may have led to a loss in understanding, the misinterpretation by the student teams of some of the questions, or the in accurate completion of the demographic information sheets by some of the student teams

The effect of cattle grazing in riparian areas on winter biodiversity and ecology

x, 118 leaves ; 29 cmLivestock grazing in riparian habitats alters the vegetation structure, which has a detrimental effect on wildlife. This study examined the effect of cattle grazing in riparian habitats on winter bird biodiversity, small mammal biodiversity, and microclimate. Study sites were ungrazed, moderately grazed, and heavily grazed riparian habitats along the Oldman River, Alberta during winter 2005 and 2006. Bird species richness, individual abundance, and diversity indices were higher in ungrazed habitats than in grazed habitats. Deer mouse population sizes were not different except during spring 2006, when populations were larger in ungrazed sites. Microclimate data were collected in riparian sites and upland sites in winter 2006. Temperatures were higher and wind speeds were slower in riparian sites than in upland sites. Wind speeds were faster in heavily grazed riparian sites than in lightly grazed sites. Faster winds in heavily grazed sites may account for the decreased winter biodiversity in these habitats

Please understand me : effective leadership practices and strategies that increase graduation rates

x, 160 leaves ; 29 cm.The primary purpose of this study was to examine how leadership strategies and practices contribute to student retention and sustained improvement in student graduation rates. The issue of students' success and graduation is important because educational attainment is positively correlated with every single important life outcome, and high school completion is widely regarded as the minimum education qualification needed to be able to earn an adequate income in the labour market (Levin, 2006). The conceptual framework of the study was built on Leithwood's transformational leadership model: setting direction (visions, goals and higher expectations), developing people (individualized support, intellectual stimulation and modeling), and redesigning the organization (culture, structure, policy and community relationships). Nine principals, were interviewed from four zone six Alberta school jurisdictions with significantly larger than provincial average three and five-year completion data, to determine how these formal leaders relate or support leadership strategies and Leithwood's Leadership practices to positively effect retention and graduation. Although many of the factors that impact on educational outcomes lie entirely outside the scope and responsibility of the school system, school leaders can utilize Leithwood's transformational leadership practices to increase the commitment of teachers to boost graduation rates. Leaders can and should seek to engage the support of teachers for this vision for the school and to enhance their capacities to contribute to achieving this goal. In general, leaders need to recognize the multi-faceted nature of the concept of at-risk and its affect on retention and graduation rates, and need to develop broad, multi-faceted prevention strategies and practices

An apple a day won't keep the violence away : listening to what pregnant women living in intimate partner violence say about their health

xi, 153 leaves ; 29 cmResearchers have provided evidence that living in intimate partner violence while pregnant negatively impacts the health of both the women and their unborn children. The purpose of this narrative study was twofold, first to gain understanding of the meaning of health as described by pregnant women who lived in intimate partner violence, and second to gain strategies for health care professionals. Six purposefully selected women participated in two interviews. The data were arranged under five themes: loss of body health, loss of mind health, loss of spirit health, coping with loss of body, mind and spirit health, and advice for health care professionals. The results revealed that these women’s health was negatively affected by living in intimate partner violence while pregnant. Universal screening, coalition building, further research, changes in health care policies, and changes in nursing education and practice are needed to properly address this serious health issue

4-methyl-N'-(2,2,2-trichloroethanimidoyl)benzene-1-carboximidamide

Sherpa Romeo green journal. Open access article. Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) applies.Ye

Character matters : perceptions of teachers and administrators

vii, 88 leaves ; 29 cm. --In a time when school violence and insensitivity to others have become everyday realities, many educators are seeking an all-encompassing solution. Simultaneously, interest is growing in efforts to instil values in youth, to help families by reinforcing a sense of right and wrong, and to show students the kind of people we hope they will become. Teachers and administrators today are challenged to educate children morally as well as academically. Character education programs can provide our youth with the information and skills they need to mature into ethical and virtuous people. One School's response to this current issue was to implement the Community of Caring program. To gain a better understanding of the implementation of the Community of Caring program and its effects on a school community, this study explores the perceptions of teachers and administrators in a large urban school. This case study focuses on one particular school that implemented the Community of Caring program in September 2003. Results show that teachers and administrators through their involvement in and support of the program were able to impact school climate and student character development. Analysis of preand post-survey data determined that the implementation of the program had made a positive effect on the critical elements of school culture and the strong support of administrators and teachers is crucial to the success of the program

Play in a first grade classroom

59 leaves, ; 28 cmThe specific purposes of this study were to determine: 1) the extent to which various categories of play were evident in a learning centers period in a first grade classroom: 2) whether specific activities and levels of play promoted various social groupings and levels of interaction: 3) whether the teacher's and children's perceptions of the program were similar. Data collected during a learning centers period in a self-contained first grade classroom (N=20) in southern Alberta. A target child procedure was used to observe individuals in order to record activities and language. Individual behaviours were then coded into task, social and language categories. As well, interviews with the children and teacher were conducted to obtain information regarding the perceptions of individuals about the program. In order to analyze the data, frequency tabulations were made of the number of activities contained in the 800 half-minute observation segments. These frequencies were then converted to levels of play in order to determine the range and relative frequencies of the various levels of play. Further analysis involved grouping social interactions into various levels in order that trends might be reported. Finally, the field notes from the interviews were analyzed in terms of themes in order that the perceptions of the teacher and children might be reported. The results of the study indicate that approximately 36% of the observed behaviours were considered play and that a significant proportion of the play was of the functional or constructive type. These lower levels of play accounted for the majority of the solitary and parallel social formations. The results of the study suggest implications for the range and choice of materials and activities which might be used to promote play as well as the role of the teacher in promoting play and facilitating play during the structured time