For this study, 95 consecutive female victims who came to the attention of the police for a domestic violence incident involving a partner were interviewed. Victims' helpfulness ratings of police were very positive, and more than 80% would definitely call the police for help in the future. Most victims wanting their offenders arrested or wanting help with a restraining order received the help. However, many victims wanting help finding counseling were not helped. The impact on helpfulness ratings of receiving or not receiving desired assistance was mixed. Police arresting offenders despite victims' objections did not diminish victims' willingness to call the police in the future.

Suicide is a serious public health concern in Alberta, with, on average, over 400 Albertans taking their own lives annually. The case for concern is even more pronounced when one considers that for younger Albertans (those aged less than 45 years), suicide is the second leading cause of death. While trends in rates of suicide fluctuate over time, it is important to note that suicide rates for males have been at least three times higher than the corresponding rates for females since the 1950s. Furthermore, these differences have increased so that, by the 1990s the rate for male suicide was four times higher than that of females. In addition, rates are increasing at a faster pace in younger cohorts. Despite the existence of numerous positivistically orientated studies, and the introduction of a range of strategies to help prevent suicide, significant reductions in suicide rates have not been achieved. Similarly, while there is a substantial literature on the issue of suicide in Canada, there remain many gaps in our knowledge. Our understanding of the experiences and the meanings attributed to these experiences that motivate contemporary Albertan males to attempt suicide is far from complete. In order to design interventions to help reduce the suicide rate, whether these are interventions at the preprimary, primary or secondary level of care, it is necessary to gain a more detailed and comprehensive understanding of this highly complex behaviour. Consequently, there is an urgent need to better understand the particular life experiences and the meanings that individuals attach to these experiences. Accordingly, this paper makes the case for the use of hermeneutic, phenomenological investigations, as a means to further elucidate the lived experiences of suicidal Alberta males.

This study investigated a broad range of female victims of domestic partner abuse who came to the attention of the police. Ninety-five consecutive victims were interviewed by officers in a police department's domestic violence unit. Twenty-two percent of the victims matched expectations of women who were both afraid of their abusers and expected future abuse. Surprisingly, 46% of the victims were unafraid of their offenders and believed that future abuse was unlikely. A consistent pattern of findings supports the conclusion that a much broader range of victims than expected comes to the attention of the police. These results suggest exploring alternative police responses for different types of victims.

Designing online trainings or courses for large numbers of participants can prove to be challenging for instructors and facilitators. Online learning environments need to be structured in a way that preserves actual or perceived levels of interaction, participant perceptions of value and utility, and achievement of the learning objectives. This chapter describes five Large-Scale Interaction Strategies that offer guidance for addressing some of these online instructional design issues. Evaluation data are presented in support of two of the strategies, and recommendations are provided about how future research in this area might be conducted.