Digitized Theses and Dissertations

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Making family and choosing kinship ties: inclusion of lesbian and gay couples in Canadian adoption legislation
(2000) Greatheart, Garth; Callahan, Marilyn
This study critically examines Canadian adoption legislation for the inclusion of gay and lesbian couples in four specific eligibility criteria: who can adopt, who must consent, what is the effect of the adoption order, and what are the best interests of the child. A fifth criteria is added to ascertain if any statutes make a specific reference to sexual orientation either forbidding or allowing lesbians and gay men to adopt children. A cross-country survey of both provincial and territorial adoption statutes reveals many commonalities, differences and some exceptions. The exceptions expose the use of neutral and non-specific language as the avenue through which gay and lesbian couples are included. One of these exceptions is the British Columbia Adoption Act 1996. The examination of the 1996 BC Adoption Act reveals the function and intention of homogenized inclusion (inclusion through neutral and non-specific language). Four critical information sources between 1994 and 1996 are examined to illustrate this new concept: the recommendations contained in the 1994 Lord Report, the parliamentary debate conducted in June 1995, the Ministry For Children and Families public adoption newsletters and the Adoption Homestudy Assessment Guidelines (1997). These findings reveal that while the use of neutral and non-specific language may not overtly exclude gay and lesbian couples from the right to adopt, the use of homogenized inclusion--as a political strategy--effectively facilitates compliance with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms while marginalizing gay and lesbian couples further and fragmenting our communities internally.
The lived experience of waiting for counselling
(1999) Gray, Linda Lee; France, Honoré
A phenomenological research method is used to explore the lived experience of four co-researchers for themes and insights into the process of waiting for counselling service. The method employed revealed value to the inclusion of the expressive arts in the data gathering process. The structure of phenomenon of waiting for counselling service is a process in three parts: initiating change, the intake interview and no man's land. The quality of the experience is affected by subjective variables including the characteristics of the participant and her problem, and the larger context of her life. The factors co-researchers used to decide whether they would have preferred less wait or increased number of counselling sessions were mutually exclusive. Implications for counselling are considered and suggestions for further research are made.
Healing words: narrative themes in journal writing and disability
(2000) Gabel, Sheila Lynn; Uhlemann, Max R.
This narrative study examined the writing process throughout the change process of adjustment to disability. Personal journals of the researcher over a period of twelve years were reread, with particular emphasis on the period of time following a motor vehicle accident and leading up to elective leg amputation. Recurring themes in the journals, as well as salient features, were identified and discussed with reference to the literature on therapeutic writing, amputation, and disability. Writing was found to be of benefit in making positive meaning of disability, mainly through developing the relationship with self, expressing strong emotion, and allowing opportunity for creativity. Rereading the journals in the present was of healing benefit in providing perspective, facilitating forgiveness, and encouraging positive action. Implications for counselling and future research are discussed.
Coastal zone management: the Cowichan Estuary
(2000) Corpé, Cimarron Roy; Wood, Colin J. B.
This research examines planning process for coastal estuarine management. Its goal is to review a plan life cycle to identify conditions that permitted plan implementation and those that limited amendment following a review. Such factors were identified through a comparative analysis of the 1986 Cowichan Estuary Environmental Management Plan (CEEMP) and the follow-up 1995 CEEMP: Plan Review and Update (PRU). The results are based on the perspective of representative government staff and public participants involved with these processes. The specific objective was to prepare, through a case study, a plan life cycle framework for coastal estuarine management based on information: 1. cited in the literature on Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), estuary management, and environmental planning and policy; 2. cited in newspapers, government documents and correspondence; and 3. cited by government staff and public participants involved in the CEEMP processes. The study began with a detailed review of the literature on planning, and natural resources, coastal zone and estuary management. The general themes extracted from this review suggest that coastal estuarine management planning process requires: 1. clearly defined objectives and strategies; 2. meaningful public participation facilitated by a mediator early in the planning process to reduce conflict at a later time; 3. a program to ensure a plan is administered consistently over time; 4. political will; and 5. creating a flexible plan with the capacity to incorporate amendments and new information on an ongoing basis. The second phase of the research consisted of a review of government correspondence and letters relevant to the PRU process. This archival review gave context to the study and provided a basis for the interview questions. Interviews were conducted with twenty-eight participants representing three levels of government, Cowichan Tribes First Nations, direct economic and non-economic interests involved with the CEEMP and/or the PRU. The semi-structured interviews were designed to solicit the participant's interpretations of the plan life cycle process. Interview tape-recordings and written notes were subjected to content analysis. Common themes or categories were extracted from transcribed text to describe the planning process. The Delphi procedure, using ranking of management issues, was applied to supplement the interviews. Collectively, this information provided a comprehensive basis for comparative analysis of the plan life cycle for the Cowichan Estuary. While there are lessons to be learned from analysis of the CEEMP life cycle, the primary objective of balancing industrial development and environmental protection appears unsatisfactory using the existing planning framework. This can be attributed to the absence of a terms of reference, and unclear objectives, strategies and roles. The significance of this study should be immediate in the form of support for government planners who will likely revisit this process in the near future and in the long-term as a contribution to the existing knowledge of ICZM, estuarine management, and the plan life cycle concept.
Local community disaster planning on lower Vancouver Island: an evaluation of content and effectiveness
(1999) Bryan, Robert; Foster, Harold D.
A disaster is often a sudden and dramatic event which can occur anywhere at any time, leaving death and destruction in its wake. The goal of this thesis is to provide an objective, unbiased and detailed evaluation of existing emergency preparedness in Greater Victoria. The initial chapter introduces a number of fundamental emergency planning concepts which illustrate the need for this study. Obstacles to effective emergency planning for municipal governments are discussed. A general methodological background and plan are outlined and the four key components of emergency planning, preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery are defined. The relevant emergency planning literature addresses issues such as past, present and future trends in municipal emergency planning. Also, reviewed are academic studies which address systemic, governmental, coordination, and most importantly for this study, simulation gaming initiatives in disaster research. Quality variations in disaster plans are also discussed. Methodologically, this study stresses the importance of personal interviews and disaster simulations and games as effective tools for enhancing emergency preparedness and response activities among local municipal governments. The use of such data collection tools, in assessing the effectiveness of municipal government's emergency preparedness procedures, allows the identification of both the local strengths of disaster planning, and some of its weaknesses. Qualitative methods applied in this thesis include descriptions of how data is analysed and the experiences of the researcher and subjects during such analysis. Qualitative data used in this research is strengthened throughout by triangulation measures, in an attempt to increase the study's internal validity. Within-site case studies and the Suchman research evaluation methodology were used also to complement data analysis. This approach identified strengths in local municipal planning, such as the design and content of current disaster preparedness plans in Victoria, Oak Bay and Saanich and the availability of committed emergency planning officials. Weaknesses were discovered, however, in fundamental emergency planning issues involving coordination, communication and the nature of disaster response facilities. In summary local governments, in Greater Victoria, are generally aware of the hazards they face, the risks they take and, as a result, their associated vulnerabilities. However, they experience difficulties, to a varying degree, in planning effective mitigation, response and recovery programs. In, large part this appears to be because they have not yet developed specific and comprehensive disaster training methods.
A grounded theory of conflict between child care counsellors and adolescents in a juvenile justice facility
(2000) Woodman, Lesley Ann; Stuart, Carol
This grounded theory study explored the reported experiences of conflict between child care counsellors and adolescents within a juvenile justice program for young offenders. In particular, this research accessed the meanings that each party attributes to their experience of conflict, especially as it relates to the exercise of power. A critical theory lens was used to direct the guided conversations with participants. The nature of the influence exerted by the organizational system on the occurrence of conflict between the two and the meaning the participants attributed to that conflict was explored. Through grounded theory analysis the researcher develops a substantive theory of conflict with respect to the perception or expression of power between adolescents and counsellors and how conflict influences each parties experience of self and their roles within the juvenile justice setting. The application of this theory to practice and policy is discussed and indications for future research suggested. Practitioners are encouraged to broaden their understanding of the phenomenon of adolescents who act-out to include an appraisal of how systems can and do contribute to this phenomenon.
Questionable identities: a study of gay and evangelical christian identity conflict and resolution
(2000) Walton, Gerald; Devor, Holly
This study investigates the ways in which some men who identify as both gay and evangelical Christian integrate those identities into their lives. Analysis of interview data yielded a variety of strategies that the research subjects had adopted in order to facilitate identity integration. The theoretical focus was on two models of homosexual identity formation, namely, Cass (1984) and Troiden (1988). The efficacy of each model in describing homosexual identity formation of individuals who have also maintained an evangelical Christian one is examined. In spite of their strengths, each model has some limitations. A new model is proposed which more closely resembles the paths of gay identity formation of the men in this study, one that retains the strengths of the Cass and Troiden models. The thesis concludes with a discussion about political and research implications of the new model, including its possible application to identities other than gay and Christian ones.
Managing visibility: the process of managing equity issues for gay, lesbian, bisexual, two-spirited and transgender people in an academic environment
(2002) Vilches, Silvia Leonor; Ricks, Frances
In this thesis study I explored the experiences of gay, lesbian, bisexual, two spirited, transgendered and queer (GLBTTQ) people in the work and study context at the University of Victoria. I used grounded theory methodology to explicate how sexual orientation and transgender issues, and thus GLBTTQ people, were rendered invisible in their work and study contexts. Against this background of invisibility, GLBTTQ people responded to the challenges they were presented with by "Managing Visibility," a process that has policy and practice implications for inclusion of both GLBTTQ and heterosexual people. I compared and contrasted four sources of data to develop the grounded theory. These included: focus group testimony from a task force investigation into the experiences heterosexual and GLBTTQ people had with sexual orientation and transgender issues on campus; observations of interventions undertaken to create a healthier work and study environment by the task force advisory committee; the researcher's personal reflections on negotiating the complexities of being involved with the task force; and insights developed from learning together with the other advisory committee members. These multiple data sources provided means for comparing emerging concepts and developing a complex picture of both the interpersonal and organizational manifestations of Managing Visibility. Most GLBTTQ participants in the task force focus groups reported that they were "doing okay" but "don't think it isn't because we don't make it so." Analysis for the purpose of developing a grounded theory resulted in an understanding that sexual orientation and transgender identity issues, while not the same, were both rendered invisible by strong normative impulses (often described as heterosexism). Attempts to break through this "Blanket of Invisibility" led to either direct verbal or indirect physical hostilities, or to silence and alienation, thus pushing people back under the Blanket. The major problem, or barrier, was not simply sexual orientation or transgender identity, but the act of becoming visibly different within the environment. Thus, heterosexual people were also impacted when they broke silence to advocate on sexual orientation or transgender identity issues or support GLBTTQ friends and colleagues. The way that GLBTTQ and heterosexual people operated in relation to the Blanket of Invisibility was termed Managing Visibility, and included five main categories, or ways; researching, withdrawing, challenging, creating circles of support and acting with pride. Selecting particular strategies or combinations of strategies was accomplished by calculating risk and reward. Managing Visibility appears to be a basic social process which may be applicable to other invisible minorities.
Reconstructing self and relationships: mothers making meaning of high-conflict divorce
(2003) Treloar, Rachel Margaret; Hett, Geoffrey
High conflict divorce presents a multitude of challenges for a mother to navigate. Conflict and contradiction exist on personal, interpersonal, and cultural levels and may be perpetuated by the systems and people who are meant to help resolve it. Conflicting psychological, social, legal, gender and political discourses underlie the personal and interpersonal conflict that challenge a divorced mother. This research study is a qualitative in-depth interview study of four mothers who have experienced a high-conflict divorce and regard themselves as having been transformed by it. Until recently the voice of lived experience was absent from divorce research. Combining the voices of women who have successfully navigated the experience with what is already empirically "known" allows for a holistic picture of divorce. Thematic analysis of the data generated several general processes, all of which were central to transformation: transformation of self, transformation of relationships, and making meaning of the experience. In terms of changing sense of self, women described a process of moving toward internal authority for their lives, resulting in the redefinition of self as empowered and as a survivor. All participants made specific changes to relationships. Each found new ways of being in relationship which included a more autonomous and self-caring sense of self. They described positive relationships with their children that were deeply nurturing and fostered autonomy. Meaning-making is contemplated both as a psychological process and as social. Women described not only a cognitive process, but a sense of self that was redefined through recognizing the impact of socially conditioned ways of being and relating in their lives. Meaning making was the process by which women redefined their lives and drew strength from events that once seemed intolerable and incomprehensible. It is in being able to make sense of their divorce in positive ways that it becomes transformative. Divorce is an ongoing interpretive process which weaves into women's life story. Implications for intervention are discussed, primarily in light of what was learned from participants. This report also points to the need for a supportive and organized approach to divorce. Such an integrated approach would require greater cohesion and accountability on the part of individual disciplines and interest groups, as well as encouraging these groups to work in a complementary manner. Such action requires the same courage and monumental effort in reconstructing divorce that we expect from the divorcing parties in reconstructing their lives and relationships. This report is, in part, a call to the professions to lead the way in transforming the way divorce is construed.
Evaluating the efficacy of a group intervention for children of divorced families
(1999) Spring, Jenny; Hett, Geoffrey
This study compares the efficacy of a group intervention for children of divorce (7-11 years old) versus the same group intervention for children with a concurrent group for parents. The program is designed to help children acknowledge their thoughts and feelings about divorce, and to equip children with problem solving. communication, self esteem building and stress reduction skills. The parents group is designed to help parents understand children's thoughts and feelings. to help parents with children's problem behaviour, and to provide parents with skills to help their families communicate more openly. Thirteen children and their parents were assigned to the child/parent concurrent group condition. Eleven children were assigned to the children's group only condition. Scores of children in the concurrent child/parent condition showed a significant decrease in paternal blame. Parents in the concurrent child/parent condition rated their family functioning as significantly less troubled. Self-esteem did not change significantly.
For better or worse?: the marriage of human rights and social movements, a case study in Canadian equality litigation
(2000) Spencer, Jennifer; Brodribb, Somer
The use of equality by social movements is complicated by the constraints of rights-based liberalism and dominant ideologies of the family. The tensions between legal victory and fully realized social change are explored through a case study of social movement Charter arguments on same-sex spousal recognition (M. v. H., Supreme Court of Canada, May 20, 1999). Using Dorothy Smith's work on ideological codes, I map how the dominant liberal legal code and a formal equality decision organize and contain specific feminist, lesbian and gay goals for family status and equality. Legislative responses to the legal ' victory' are assessed as reasserting and reinforcing traditional familial ideology over equality considerations. The theoretical discussion of the utility of rights highlights how pragmatic strategies alone do not necessarily sustain progressive feminist and lesbian visions of social transformation. Caution is advised when engaging human rights mechanisms as part of a strategy for progressive social change.
The intergenerational transmission of attitudes towards corporal punishment
(1998) Schwartz, Christine A.; Runtz, Marsha
This study examined the role of past corporal punishment experiences in moderating current attitudes towards corporal punishment among 399 university students. Support was found for the intergenerational transmission of attitudes towards corporal punishment: experiencing past corporal punishment as a child and viewing one's parent's use of corporal punishment as justified were related to greater acceptance of corporal punishment. Participant demographics were also relevant: males and Asian students (versus females and other ethnic groups) were more accepting of corporal punishment. Students who are parents and students who worked with children were less accepting of corporal punishment than those who had no such experience.
Effects of a script-based symbolic play intervention on children with developmental delay
(2000) Neville, Maryann; Bachor, Dan G.
The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of a script-based symbolic play intervention on preschool children with developmental delay. A single-case research design, using an A B A post check format, was implemented in an inclusive classroom setting with five children who exhibited a delay in at least one area of development. Effects of the intervention were examined in two contexts, independent play and playing with peers. The results were analyzed to find (a) the frequency and diversity of symbolic play behaviors exhibited by the child in independent play for 7 minutes immediately following the intervention, (b) the frequency and diversity of symbolic play behaviors exhibited by a child in regular classroom play, (c) the frequency and diversity of words produced by a child during regular classroom play, (d) the type of social interaction with peers exhibited by a child during regular classroom play. Data were analyzed on an individual basis and across participants. Four of the five children exhibited gains in mean performance over baseline levels, in individual play and in shared play, in each phase of the study. Maintenance of treatment effects was observed two months post intervention. The number of symbolic play skills exhibited in independent play exceeded those exhibited in shared play in approximately a 2: I ratio, for four of the participants. The fifth participant exhibited gains in performance in return to baseline and post check sessions only. Findings supported the positive effects of modeling and transition training to promote generalization between contexts. The immediate emergence of sequenced symbolic play behaviors was noted. Parallel performance was found in language production and symbolic play frequency. Diversity of language decreased with increased word production for two participants. Four of the participants exhibited a trend toward more mature social interaction with peers. Recommendations for future research included increasing the number of intervention sessions for specific children, comparing script-based play interventions with non script-based play interventions, exploring alternate interventions for children with special needs that will promote generalization to inclusive classroom settings, and examining the efficacy of using script-based play interventions with older children, to attempt to augment language production and sequencing abilities. Recommendations for practice included paraprofessional involvement in implementing script-based play interventions, providing support to promote generalization of skills learned in an independent context, and implementation of a community-based or school-based program to teach parents play intervention techniques.
Towards a meaning of relationship and school based child and youth care work
(1999) Mazzocchi, Judith I.; Artz, Sibylle
This is a qualitative autobiographical study that focuses on a series of epiphanies or critical incidents involving inter-professional relationships in school based child and youth care work. The hermeneutic phenomenological inquiry process explicates the meaning of the essence of the lived experience and in doing so uncovers the nature of the experience for the individual employing this approach. While the understanding and the meaning are specific to the experiences of the researcher, the knowledge can illuminate and generate relevance for others in similar circumstances. Based on the analysis of a collection of letters, notes, journal entries and conversations recorded by the researcher during the school based experience, the study revealed the current focus on relationship in child and youth care research and literature does not speak to the inter-professional relationships that impact the practitioner and the work. This study found the lived experience of the researcher was vastly different from the expected experience.
Interplay of online & onground realities: internet research on youth experiences online
(1999) Maczewski, Mechthild; Riecken, Ted
The interconnected, interactive medium of the Internet makes visible the realities and multiple voices associated with western, post-modern societies. This study explores through online conversations with eight adolescents how onground social and cultural constructs of research practices, age, gender, self and relationships are transformed by frequent participation within an online space in which parameters of interaction and communication can be re-defined. In an online ethnographic research context, onground concepts such as ownership of data, researcher-participant relationship as well as confidentiality and consent are re-negotiated online. In the contexts of youth experiences online, research participants are able to explore their interests and themselves through challenging activities and supportive online relationships in addition to the opportunities available for them onground. Both online and onground experiences are considered real by youth, are interconnected and influence their development of self. Findings are presented through use of multiple voices and writing styles.
Moms, mentors and social support
(2002) Hobbs, Maureen Violet; MacDonald, Marjorie A.
The Moms & Mentors' program is a small group of young moms and experienced moms trained as mentors who created a social support network in the community. Four moms and four mentors were interviewed and three mentors and two moms participated in a focus group. Their interviews were analyzed according to thematic analysis. Findings revealed that building social support with moms and mentors, involved developing their identity by sharing in the experiences of being a mom, learning mothering skills, developing problem solving and decision making skills, and receiving encouragement for pursuing their goals. As a result of their shared experiences, moms and mentors increased self-confidence and self-worth. Moms & Mentors is an experience of empowerment, both for the individuals involved and the community.
Not a 'women's issue': divorce and the family as a political battleground for secularizers and Catholics from 1792 to 1816
(1999) Hartley, Samantha Audrey; Alexander, R. S.
This thesis explores the political ramifications of divorce legislation and its relevance to France's progressive secularization in the nineteenth century, using legislative debates, newspapers, memoirs, and pamphlet literature. In looking at arguments for and against divorce a pattern is evident, tying divorce symbolically to the social and political changes produced by the Revolution. This pattern is illustrated by a chronological examination of France's political history beginning with the introduction of Enlightenment ideas of contract theory, individual liberty, and personal happiness. These arguments pitted Republican ideals against Catholic tradition -- divorce and contractual marriage represented the secularism of the Revolution, and therefore divorce was restricted under conservative regimes such as the Consulate, Empire, and Third Republic and abolished under the Ultraroyalist chombre introuvable. The pattern of republican and liberal support of divorce, overcome by periods of social conservatism, continued w1til divorce's reintroduction under the Third Republic in 1884.
Engendering social policy for single mothers: cross-national comparisons
(2000) Bourhis, Meredith Eve; Benoit, Cecilia
In this thesis, I explore the following questions: Do social policies vary across today's welfare states? What outcomes do variations across social policies have for women, especially single mothers? Finally, is single mothers' labour force participation facilitated by women-friendly social policies? These questions are answered through the examination of select welfare state social policies asserted by feminist scholars as necessary for: a) women's access to secure employment and equitable wages and b) women's economic independence/capacity to maintain an autonomous household. In particular, I examine family leave and benefits and childcare policies and how they might affect the employment outcomes of single mothers in three specified countries: Sweden, the United States and Canada. Chapter One outlines a select range of theoretical perspectives used by sociologists to examine contemporary welfare states. Chapter Two outlines the methodology employed in the study. In Chapter Three, the maternity, paternity, and parental policies of Sweden, the United States and Canada are examined with reference to the last decade and a half, referred to as the post-Fordist era. Chapter Four examines the main childcare policies and services available in each national case example. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight cross-national variation when Sweden, the United States and Canada are compared. Chapter Five pulls together the evidence to answer the three key questions posed in my purpose statement and concludes with a discussion of the study's limitations and lines for further research.
A descriptive survey of family law mediators on influences on outcomes in family law mediation in British Columbia
(1995) Bircher, Robert John; Hett, Geoffrey
A survey of family law mediators in the Province of British Columbia, Canada, revealed outcome rates and reported mediators' attitudes towards numerous factors that influence outcome in family mediation. The survey was restricted to lawyers certified by the Law Society of British Columbia to practice mediation; all 327 lawyer mediators in the Province were surveyed and 85 mediators responded. These mediators reported a 75.38% success rate (defined as a signed separation agreement or a consent order) which was achieved in an average of three to four sessions. Single issue mediations were reported to be more difficult to resolve than multiple issue mediations. The mediators ranked the levels of difficulty of ten common issues in mediation on a Likert scale with access reported to be the easiest to resolve and spousal maintenance reported to be the most difficult. Thirty-five factors that are believed to influence outcome were also ranked in order of significance showing that the clients' commitment to mediation is the most significant factor and whether or not the clients are common-law or married being the least significant. The results indicated that mediators believe men have no particular advantage in mediation due to better negotiating skills, higher income and assets or being more competitive. The results di9 indicate that mediators believe that mediation affords women a greater opportunity to express their views than other forms of dispute resolution and that they tend to be more satisfied with the process than men. Sixteen forms of power commonly seen in mediation were ranked in terms of difficulty to balance, with information and knowledge being the easiest to power balance and assertiveness and self-esteem rated the most difficult. The results of this study will give practicing mediators contextual background data on these factors which will allow them to better predict outcomes in given fact situations.
The learning of skill diagnosis by coaches in figure skating
(2000) Zackova, Zuzana; Turkington, H. David
This study was designed to investigate the development and current procedures used by coaches in skill diagnosis. Through a 32-item questionnaire and semi-structured interviews experienced figure skating coaches (N = 22) reported that in the beginning of their careers they reflected back on their experiences as an athlete, carried on the knowledge they gained from their own coaches and used trial and error when correcting the jumps. Later phases of their coaching involved learning in structured environments such as NCCP courses, seminars and workshops as well as from other coaches. Observing the whole jump and then focusing on parts of the jump, set up and take off in particular, is an observation routine used by the majority of coaches. The most common factors influencing the characteristics of this routine was the skill's stage of development and skater herself. When analyzing the jump, coaches reported that they reflect on the image of the jump just performed. By replying to questionnaires and interviews coaches provided invaluable information for future educational program for aspiring coaches.

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