I would like to thank the members of my thesis committee for their effort in helping to make this project a success. My thesis supervisor, Dr. Robert S. McLean, allowed a reasonable degree of independence and guided me with a common sense of justice and fairness while remaining true to the discipline of research. Committee members Dr. Lynn E. Davie and Dr. George S. Tracz provided valuable input. Dr. Stacy Churchill joined us in the final stages and was particularly helpful in preparing me for the thesis defense. Thanks also to external members of the thesis examination committee: Dr. G.A.B. Moore of the University of Guelph, and Barbara Johnson of the University of Toronto, Faculty of Nursing.

Obviously, the project could not have been implemented without the cooperation of the nursing students who participated in the study. I wish them all the best as members of the nursing profession. Also, I am grateful to the members of the nursing faculty who facilitated my work at their institution: Professor Joan Brailey, Leslie Young, and Pamela Khan.

To my friends and colleagues I wish to express my appreciation of their time and moral support. In particular, I would like to thank Terry Fogg, Merle Jacobs, Brian Richmond, and George Toth.

Finally, a very special thanks to Elizabeth Fear, my friend and co-worker, who always held out a positive view for me, who assisted me with several tasks in the preparation of the thesis, and who was the most consistently friendly and supportive person I have known throughout the six years of this undertaking.

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