Ceremonial Leaders and Funeral Practices: The Role Relationships of Clergy and Funeral Directors in Newfoundland

In the Western Christian tradition, the primary ceremonial leader of a funeral was the local clergy. However, with the rise of the professional funeral industry, funeral directors emerged as a second group of ceremonial leaders. These individuals orchestrate the preparation and disposal of the body, and are increasingly involved in providing "aftercare" for families. This paper analyses the conflicts which might occur between these two professions, both of which organize the marking of death in our culture. After a discussion of sociological research on this role conflict, the paper presents data from a 1999 mail survey of clergy in Newfoundland and Labrador. The survey covered the clergy's own reflections on their interactions with funeral professionals. The paper concludes with observations on how changes in one profession's terrain can influence the operation of other, closely aligned, professions

Towards inclusion of Biodiversity in Life Cycle Assessment

Biodiversity- crucial for ecosystem health and its products and services – is being lost at an alarming rate. While it is clear that human consumption is the main driving force of the considerable losses, conversion of natural habitats for production is continuing and the subsequent intensification of those systems is likely to cause even further biodiversity decay. Insights in consumption-based biodiversity loss, or biodiversity footprints, offer starting points for policy to reduce global biodiversity loss. To assess environmental performances of production systems, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) can be applied. This is an internationally recognised methodology to map the environmental impact of a product, chain or activity from the beginning to the end of the life cycle. While certain impacts, such as those of climate change, are readily incorporated into standardised LCAs, methodologies for impacts on biodiversity are still being developed.This thesis aims at contributing to improved methodology for assessing the impacts of land use and land use change on terrestrial biodiversity in LCA. Particular attention is given to what is needed to enable more societally and ecologically relevant assessments of impacts on biodiversity and how biodiversity indicators can be developed that quantify impacts on biodiversity accordingly. The results show that in current life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) models, the use of so-called baseline references dominates, implicitly striving for ‘naturalness’ and how this contrasts the aim of biodiversity conservation frameworks. Furthermore, it is discussed how inclusion of genetic attributes could increase the relevance of current assessments and it is tested how LCIA modelers could make use of genetic data generated by metabarcoding approaches of environmental DNA.Recommendations given include the development of reference situations in LCIA models based on biodiversity targets aligned with society’s conservation frameworks. This means that impact on biodiversity will be defined as a distance to a target measure, rather than impact on the ‘natural’. In addition, next steps are identified that are needed to include genetic biodiversity metrics in LCIA models

In Their Own Image: Community Broadcasting Initiatives and Economic Development in Southwestern Newfoundland

This research examines various applications of a model of community economic development which includes a central role for the use of communications technologies (film, video, cable television, etc.). The paper begins by arguing that we need to include culture and communications in our definitions of "community economic development." It then analyzes a number of projects which have tested this model of development over the past 30 years. These include the "Fogo Process," the work of Memorial University of Newfoundland's Extension Service, the Communication for Survival Initiative, and the development of community-owned cable television systems which produce some of their own programming. The paper then offers an analysis of a cross-section of community-based programs from southwestern Newfoundland and comments on some of the problems of local broadcasting in one-industry towns. The paper concludes by recognizing both (i) the value of the community-directed use of communications technologies in developing local consensus and confidence; and (ii) the continuing difficulties in measuring the success of such innovations

Freelance Language Teachers' Professional Development On ... And With ... And Through Twitter

In recent years more and more freelance teachers have been employed in higher education and in further education, and they often struggle with barriers to professional development. Freelance language teachers are understood to work within various (self-) employment situations, often across educational sectors. For these teachers, access to professional development can be particularly challenging. Previous research has suggested that teachers’ use of the social media platform Twitter could lead to effective professional development (Carpenter & Krutka, 2014) and foster the formation of community among language educators (Wesely, 2013; Lord & Lomicka, 2014). Twitter is an Internet platform which enables registered users to communicate via text messages (tweets). While phenomenological research approaches have provided valuable insight into human experiences and perceptions of Twitter for professional learning, they tend to overlook the relational, human and non-human complexities involved (with)in the enactment of human practices. Drawing on the Deleuzo-Guattarian concepts of rhizome, assemblage and becoming (Deleuze & Guattari, 1987), this doctoral research seeks to provide answers to questions concerning how language teachers’ professional development on…and with…and through Twitter works and what it produces. Research data included online narrative frame questionnaires, tweets and online participant interviews. Data enquiry involved the working(s)-together of situational maps (Clarke, 2005) and social network analysis (Newman, 2010). This research suggests professional development and language teaching can be conceived of as entangled practices within human and non-human assemblages, which have the capability to produce unpredictable becomings, rather than as two distinct elements of a binary relationship. Recommendations from this investigation aim to make language educators, language education providers and education policy aware of the relational workings of social media practices, and to provide concrete suggestions for actions that connect with existing practices and programmes to improve freelance language teachers’ professional development

The Advisor-advisee relationship: A qualitative study of advisee perspectives

Attempts to understand the nature and course of advising relationships in clinical psychology doctoral training have been limited in number and scope. Furthermore, they have almost universally applied theoretical models derived for the explanation of different types of relationships, with very little empirical inquiry aimed at examining the advising relationship as it actually exists. The present study sought to better understand advisory relationships in clinical psychology doctoral training and propose a theoretical model related to the dimensions of the relationship that emerged. This was accomplished via semi-structured interviews with 18 clinical psychology Ph.D. candidates from training programs across the United States. There were four prominent themes which emerged from the interviews. First, participants consistently noted the importance of the interpersonal aspect of the relationship. Second, participants discussed the various goals of the advising relationship including: facilitating progress, developing research skill, and receiving professional advice. Third, participants noted contextual forces which shaped the relationship including: their history, the research lab and the department. Fourth and finally, participants discussed the dynamic nature of the relationship noting both gradual changes and critical shifts over time. These four themes were then integrated into a proposed theoretical model and contextualized within the prevailing literature

Probation officer prototypes: Perceptions of probationers with and without mental illness

In recent years the criminal justice system has managed large numbers of persons with mental illness, many of whom are supervised in the community on probation. Given that probation agencies are stretched to the maximum and have little extra time to take on additional challenges, probation officers (PO) may use typifications or perceptual shorthand as a means for efficiently managing their caseloads. Despite the role typifications may play in the processing of probationers, to date no research has attempted to characterize PO typifications; The reason for the dearth of literature in this area appears to be the result of many factors, including the lack of a solid operational definition for typifications. Fortunately, the widely studied and empirically validated psychological construct of prototypes can be utilized to help lay the foundation lacking in the typifications literature. Using this foundation, this study\u27s primary goal was to elicit, characterize and compare PO prototypes of both the typical or routine probationer (TRP) and the probationer with mental illness (PMI); Participants were 61 adult PO who completed a survey describing either their prototype of TRP or PMI. Qualitative analyses of the survey responses revealed that PO have multifaceted and unique prototypes of both TRP and PMI. The implications of these prototypes and directions for future research are discussed

A developmental framework for online language teaching skills

This article focuses on the need for teachers to develop online skills and describes how experiential, participant focused workshops can change the way in which language teachers can integrate technology into their teaching and help them to successfully implement these 21st century skills. It starts by briefly sketching the development of online language teaching in distance pedagogy and introducing the skills development for teachers and the necessity of online teaching skills before outlining previously developed frameworks in this area. The article then describes how – within a European context of increasing demands on language teachers’ technological competence – a dynamic framework for experiential teacher training workshops was developed that is based on a pyramid of online teaching skills. Bringing together insights from research and more than a decade of experience in online teacher training, this article sets out this developmental framework and argues for the need of participant focused, flexible and dynamic training opportunities for language teachers