This study investigated the nature of second language (French) skills lost by grade 12 students over the course of the summer vacation, and the role played by attitudes and motivation in promoting language achievement and language maintenance. The results demonstrated that students rated many of their skills somewhat weaker after the summer vacation, but these effects were more general for items dealing with understanding skills than for speaking skills, and somewhat intermediate for reading and writing skills. Comparisons on objective assessments appeared to indicate improvement over the summer months on some skills, except for grammatical accuracy, that decreased, but these were interpreted as quite probably reflecting measurement artifacts. Although the attitude and motivation measures correlated quite meaningfully with the various measures of French proficiency, they did not correlate with loss of skill as indexed by simple change scores. A causal modelling analysis indicated nonetheless that attitudes and motivation were implicated in second language acquisition and retention, the latter primarily because motivational variables determine the extent to which individuals will make use of the second language during the summer period.

As the business world becomes more complex, the role of professional higher education in the development of “reflective practitioners” becomes more cogent. In this article, the authors argue for the Bases of Competence model, which articulates base competencies required of today’s higher education professional graduates, as a tool in learner-centered, self-reflective pedagogy and self-assessment. The purpose of this article is to describe the Bases of Competence model and to demonstrate its use in two learner-centered, self-reflective course-level initiatives.

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The purpose of this paper is to present a model of four `base competencies' mobilizing innovation and change, managing people and tasks, communicating, and managing self-developed from 18 workplace skills. The base competencies constitute generic skill sets necessary for advanced-level corporate jobs and provide a succinct model of the managerial competencies which advanced level employees, not just managers, need to complement their technical expertise. The analysis is based on the Making the Match Between University Graduates and Corporate Employers-Phase II project consisting of three surveys (1987-8, 1988-9, and 1989-90) of two cohorts of university students (early university and pre-graduate) and three cohorts of graduates (job entry, job change and stabilized). A total of 816 students from five Ontario universities and 794 university graduates working in 20 Canadian corporations returned questionnaires in all three years. The skills and base competencies are examined across the three years and the five cohorts. Base competency ratings of men and women are also compared.

ABSTRACT. This study examined food consumption patterns of native (Indian and Metis) Canadians living in a boreal forest area with good access to both store-bought and country foods (traditional foods from the land, such as wild animals, birds, fish and berries). Frequency of use by season of 48 country foods by 120 households was examined by interview with the female household head. Wenty-four-hour recalls of individual food consumption on four separate days over two seasons were obtained by interview with 178 persons (71 males, 107 females) age 13-86 years, and the mean values per person were used to represent their usual intakes. The mean reported household frequency of use (number of occasions per year) was as follows: all country foods 319, including large mammals 128, berries 63, fish 62, birds 32, and small mammals 27. The upper quintile of households used country food two and one-half times more often than the sample as a whole. Recalls of individual food consumption showed that country food was consumed on average 4.2 times per week and averaged 0.5 kg per week. Country meat, birds and fish accounted for one-third of the total consumption of meat, birds and fish. Young people consumed less country food than did their elders. Thus, country food constitutes an important part of the food supply, especially of meat and fish of many native people of this region. Key words: country food, food consumption patterns, Indians, Metis, native Canadians RÉSUMJ?. Cette étude se penche sur les schémas de consommation alimentaire des autochtones canadiens (Indiens et Métis) qui vivent dans une zone de la forêt boréale et possedent un accès facile à la fois aux aliments achetés en magasin et aux aliments recueillis dans la nature (aliments traditionnels provenant de l'environnement même, comme animaux sauvages, oiseaux, poissons et baies). La fréquence saisonnitre d'utilisation de 48 aliments provenant de la chasse, de la pêche et de la cueillette, dans 120 foyers a été ,déterminée lors d'interviews avec la maîtresse du foyer. Des données sur la consommation alimentaire individuelle recueillies sur 24 heures durant quatre journées non consécutives réparties sur deux saisons, ont été obtenues lors d'interviews avec 178 personnes (71 de sexe masculin, 107 de sexe féminin), âgées de 13 à 86 ans, et les valeurs moyennes par personne ont été utilistes pour représenter leurs consommations habituelles. La fréquence d'utilisation moyenne rapportée par foyer (le nombre de fois où l'aliment est consomme dans une année) était la suivante: tous les aliments provenant de la chasse, de la pêche et de la cueillette, 319 -ce qui inclut les gros mammifères (128); les baies, 63; le poisson, 62; les oiseaux 32, et les petits mammiftres, 27. Le quintile supérieur des foyers utilisait des aliments provenant de la chasse, de la pêche et de la cueillette deux fois et demie plus souvent que I'échantillon en général. Les données de consommation alimentaire individuelle ont montré que les aliments provenant directement de la nature (chasse, pêch...