NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Gwich'in Settlement Area, Sahtu Settlement Area, Dehcho Region, North Slave Region, South Slave Region, Qikiqtaaluk Region

Tags: social sciences

Objective(s): To explore and compare the lasting impacts that the Northwest Territories (NWT) Aquatics Program has had on previous NWT pool supervisors and pool assistants.

Project Description: This proposed study will explore and compare the lasting impacts that the Northwest Territories (NWT) Aquatics Program has had on previous NWT pool supervisors and pool assistants. The project will address the following research question: What are the lasting impacts the NWT Aquatics Program has had on previous Program employees? The Principal Investigator (PI) believes an exploratory case study methodology is the best fit for the research question. Gagnon (2010) stated that an exploratory case study “deals with a subject that is clearly important but has previously been neglected for various reasons”. The longer-term impacts, if any, the program has had on the employees of the NWT Aquatics Program, have not yet received scholarly attention, so an exploratory case study is most fitting for this research. For this research, semi-structured interviews will be conducted. A semi-structured interview is the combination of a planned and flexible interview that collects description of life experiences in order to interpret meanings of the described phenomenon (Kvale & Brinkmann, 2009). Semi-structured interviews will be used to understand employees' lived experiences and the lasting impacts the NWT Aquatics Program had on their lives, if any. The interviews will be limited to those who worked for the NWT Aquatics Program between 1967 and 2008. This will ensure that they are able to give an assessment of the program's long-term impacts. The PI hopes to interview 10 former pool supervisors and 10 former pool assistants to gain a variety of insights and in-depth information. The participants will be recruited when, and if the University of Ottawa and the Aurora Research Institute allow the research to go ahead as proposed. The PI will ask the NWT Recreation and Parks Association (NWTRPA) to contact the participants and then those who want to participate can then contact the Principal Investigator. There will also be an ad in the local paper and potential participants can contact the PI directly. Those who agree to take part in the semi-structured interviews will be given Dr. Giles' contact information. Once they contact her, they will be mailed consent forms to read and sign. All interviews will be conducted over the phone/Skype/Facetime or in person. The Principal Investigator would like to work with the NWTRPA staff to create interview guides for the semi-structured interviews and to identify participants who may be interested in being interviewed for the research. The participants will receive copies of the research outcomes. The hope is that the NWTRPA will use the findings from the research to strengthen its Aquatics Program. The PI also hopes that the communities will give input into the use of the results of this research project. The results of this study will be communicated back to the NWTRPA through a presentation and report when the research project is completed (the report will be sent to all communities in which participants live). Participants in the research project will also receive copies of the final results. The PI will try to have CBC Radio and News/North pick-up the story for greater coverage. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from May 21, 2014 to December 31, 2014.