Academic literature on the topic 'YMCA. Canada'

Missiology can become so preoccupied with abstract global, national, or regional analyses of the Christian missionary task that it loses sight of the fact that all genuinely Christian missionary activity models the incarnation, practicing a theology of the neighbor that concerns itself with the felt needs of actual persons in everyday face-to-face encounters, whatever the context. This article illustrates this principle by tracing the roots of three of this century's outstanding mission accomplishments in India and Nepal to a “chance” encounter between two men in a YMCA shower in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, in December of 1929.

AbstractThis paper evaluates the sociocultural integration of newcomers, paying special attention to language proficiency while taking into account the importance of the assimilation, cultural fit, and social network perspectives. Analyses are based on administrative data collected by the YMCA of South Western Ontario regarding 2,493 of their clients. Results reveal that newcomers’ length of residency, ethnic origin, and social networks play a significant role in the sociocultural integration of newcomers. The longer the newcomers have resided in Canada, the higher their level of sociocultural integration. Non-Europeans displayed a lower level of sociocultural integration than Europeans. However, the most important predictor of sociocultural integration was language proficiency. Not only did language proficiency have a strong and independent effect, but it also tended to level out differences in sociocultural integration of those who had resided in Canada for a short period compared to those living in Canada for a longer period. Similarly, language proficiency decreased sociocultural integration differences between Europeans and ethnic minority newcomers. The policy implications of the results are discussed.

Youth inactivity and inappropriately high weight is a problem in the United States, Canada, and much of the industrialized world. Physiological and behavioral changes associated with the Youth Fit For Life protocol, a physical activity and nutrition education treatment based on self-efficacy theory, were assessed in 7- to 12-yr.-olds ( N = 43) from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Body Mass Index, strength, and cardiorespiratory endurance significantly improved over a 12-wk. period when contrasted with changes based on normative data. Significant within-group improvements in measures of self-efficacy, vegetable intake, and voluntary moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were also found over 12 wk. Multiple regression analysis indicated that score changes in measures of self-regulatory and task self-efficacy, and general self, accounted for changes in voluntary physical activity. Implications for use of behaviorally based methods for large-scale obesity prevention treatments in preadolescents were discussed.

IntroductionCancer care has expanded from a disease-focused, survival-oriented model to an approach that now considers how survivors can live well in the aftermath of intensive therapy, where they may deal with significant changes to their bodies, mental health or emotional well-being. Research evidence supports the benefit of exercise during and following cancer treatments for cancer-related symptoms, physical functioning and fitness, and health-related quality of life. To move this efficacy evidence into practice, we designed and launched a 5-year study to evaluate the relative benefit from implementing a clinic-to-community-based cancer and exercise model of care.Methods and analysisA hybrid effectiveness and implementation trial design is being used to evaluate the effectiveness of delivery of community-based exercise and to collect data on implementation of the programme. The study opened in January 2017, with estimated completion by January 2022. The programme will be delivered in seven cities across the province of Alberta, Canada, with sites including three academic institutions, six YMCA locations, Wellspring Edmonton and Calgary, and six municipal fitness centres. Participants are adult cancer survivors (n=2500) from all tumour groups and stages and at any time point along their cancer treatment trajectory, up to 3 years post treatment completion. Survivors take part in a minimum of 60 min of mild-to-moderate intensity full body exercise twice weekly for a 12-week period. The primary effectiveness outcome is the proportion of participants meeting or exceeding 150 min of moderate intensity exercise per week at 1-year follow-up. The Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework will be utilised to capture individual-level and organizational-level impact of the exercise programme at 12 and 24 weeks and 1-year follow-up. The cohort of survivors participating in the study will allow for long-term (>5-year) evaluation of rates of cancer recurrence and secondary cancers beyond the funding period.Ethics and disseminationThe study was approved by the Health Research Ethics Board of Alberta. The study is funded by Alberta Innovates and the Alberta Cancer Foundation. The study will help to answer critical questions on the effectiveness of cancer-specific community-based exercise programming in both the short-term and the long-term. Collectively, the findings will help to inform the acceptability, adoption, feasibility, reach and sustainability of community-based exercise.Trial registration numberNCT02984163; Pre-results.

Most insightful historical work pinpoints the rise of freshman orientation programs in the mid 1920s as one instance of administrative specialization emerging to fill the advising and socialization void left by faculty taken with academic particularization. Although the press of the historical moment is indeed relevant, institutionalized freshman orientation did not emerge in the historical moment of the 1920s sans progenitor. Rather, specific students sensed the needs of their peers and acted upon their intuition much earlier as a latent orientation function of their manifest religious intent. This research illustrates the lineage of freshman events and college socialization interventions that accumulated over several decades and demonstrates that they were initiated originally by students themselves, specifically through the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) Student Associations found across the United States and many parts of Canada.

J.W. McConnell (1877–1963) was one of the most successful Canadian businessmen of his time, and possibly the richest man in Canada for much of his life. A promoter of stocks early in his career, he soon became a major industrialist and investor. He was president of St. Lawrence Sugar Refineries Limited for almost fifty years and publisher of the Montreal Daily Star and other newspapers for almost twenty-five. Among the companies of which he was a major shareholder were the International Nickel Company of Canada, Brazilian Traction, Montreal Tramways, Montreal Light, Heat and Power, Ogilvie Flour Mills, Canada Steamship Lines, and Borden. His reputation spread to Wall Street and the City of London, not only for his business acumen but also for his great generosity to medical and educational causes. He was one of the principal founders of the Montreal Neurological Institute. From 1909 to 1927, he was one of the most effective fundraisers in the country, for the YMCA, the war effort through Victory Loans, and the hospitals of Montreal. And for the remainder of his life he was the most generous contributor to good causes in Montreal if not in Canada as a whole.With Lord Strathcona and Sir William Macdonald, he became one of the three greatest benefactors of McGill. After the death of Sir Edward Beatty, the Chancellor of the university, in 1943, McConnell was a natural candidate to succeed him. The board of governors, who were responsible for choosing a new Chancellor, were nearly all businessmen like him, and his assumption of the post would have been indeed in the tradition of James Ferrier, Strathcona, Macdonald and Beatty. But McConnell did not become Chancellor, and this is the story of why he did not. In abbreviated form, this was published in chapter 17 of the author’s biography of McConnell in 2008. This article however presents considerably more detail.ResuméJ.W. McConnell (1877–1963) fut un des hommes d’affaires les plus prospères de son époque, et possiblement un des hommes les plus riches du Canada pour la plus grande partie de sa vie. Promoteur d’actions au début de sa carrière, il devint rapidement un industriel et un investisseur d’importance. Il fut président de la compagnie St. Lawrence Sugar Refineries Limited pendant presque cinquante ans, et éditeur du Montreal Daily Star et de divers autres journaux pendant presque vingt-cinq ans. Il fut un actionnaire important de plusieurs compagnies, notamment International Nickel Company of Canada, Brazilian Traction, Montreal Tramways, Montreal Light, Heat and Power, Ogilvie Flour Mills, Canada Steamship Lines, et Borden. Sa réputation se progagea jusqu’à Wall Street et Londres, non seulement pour sa perspicacité en affaires mais aussi pour sa grande générosité envers les bonnes causes dans les domaines de la medecine et de l’éducation. Il fut un des fondateurs principaux de l’Institut neurologique de Montréal. De 1909 à 1927, il fut un collecteur de fonds les plus efficaces au Canada, au profit de l’organisme YMCA, de l’effort de guerre par le biais du programme des Prêts de la victoire, et des hôpitaux montréalais. Il demeura pour le reste de sa vie un fort généreux contributeur aux bonnes causes à Montréal, sinon au Canada tout entierAvec Lord Strathcona et Sir William Macdonald, il devint une des trois plus grands bienfaiteurs de l’Université McGill. Après la mort de Sir Edward Beatty, le chancelier de l’Université, en 1942, McConnell fut un candidat tout désigné pour lui succéder. Les membres du Conseil des gouverneurs, qui avaient la responsabilité de choisir un nouveau chancelier, étaient presque tous des hommes d’affaire comme lui, et il aurait été dans la tradition de James Ferrier, Strathcona, Macdonald et Beatty que McConnell accède à ce poste. Toutefois, McConnell ne devint pas chancelier, et ceci est l’histoire qui raconte pourquoi il ne l’est pas devenu. Elle a été publiée sous la forme du chapitre 17 de la biographie de McConnell. Cet article, toutefois, présente considérablement plus de détails.

In the last decade, nonprofit organizations have faced rapid shifts in their environment due to reductions in government funding and increased expectations from the public. Management skills and techniques, once considered applicable only to for-profit organizations, are being emphasized; and nonprofit boards are encouraged to take an active role in the strategic management of the organization. To this end, board members with business backgrounds are suggested as valuable resources on the nonprofit board because of their managerial expertise. This study addresses the issue of whether the composition of the board and its role in planning influence organizational performance. Also, whether Canadian associations differ from U.S. firms in these relationships is investigated. Board members with business backgrounds are singled out, and board activities include strategic management, administrative duties and fundraising. Organizational outcomes are the level of planning formality in the organization and four performance measures. Several hypotheses are tested. The proposition that formal planning improves organizational performance is verified in U.S. organizations with reference to the social performance indicator. In Canada, formal planning is negatively related to operating efficiency and level of funds raised. Hypotheses regarding the positive association between board composition, board activities and organizational outcomes are supported in both groups, with strong explanatory effects revealed via path modelling of the data. Board profiles for both U.S. and Canadian operations show that Canadian organizations have greater proportions of constituents represented on their boards. However, the involvement of these members is perceived to be lower in both countries, implying that representation may be at the expense of involvement. For researchers, the findings suggest that studies relying on univariate methods of analysis may be misleding, since intervening variables are not considered. For managers, implications for the role of formal planning and for the design and utilization of boards are presented.