PhD Students

Iain Stewart-Patterson

Iain has been involved in Adventure Education since 1979. He spent ten years working for Outward Bound Western Canada and is currently working for Thompson Rivers University. He has been an instructor in the Adventure Programs Department, School of Tourism since 1992. His current research interest is in the human factors which effect expert decision makers.

Academic Qualifications

BPE (major Outdoor Pursuits) University of Calgary
MEd (Curriculum and Instruction) University of Calgary

Professional Qualifications

Association of Canadian Mountain Guides: Full Mountain Guide (International Federation of Mountain Guide Associations designation IFMGA/UIAGM); Professional member; Instructor/Examiner
Canadian Avalanche Association: Avalanche Safety for Ski Operations—Level 2; Professional member; Course Leader—Level 1
Wilderness Medical Associates: Wilderness First Responder
Douglas College: Facilitator Development Workshop
University College of the Cariboo: Instructional Skills Workshop

Research Interests

Ice Screw Strength: An analysis of the optimum placement angle in Waterfall Ice.
Decision Making in the Mountain Environment: A study of best practices in the training of decision making in mountain guide/leadership programs in France, Canada, Britain and the USA.
Shock to the System: A measurement of shock loading in belay anchor partial failure.

Publications

Developing Good Decisions, The Avalanche Review, Winter 2005
Guiding decisions - Are we as good as we think we are? ACMG News, Dec 2004
Decision Making in the Mountain Environment - Observations on how mountain guides are trained and assessed in decision making skills, International Snow Science Workshop Conference Proceedings Sept 2004 (in Press)
Climbing Rescue Systems, Proceedings of the 15th Annual ICORE 2001, Eds. Joyce P. and Poff R., Association of Outdoor Education and Recreation, Bloomington IL. pp. 12-15, 2001
(With W. March.) Climbing to the Top of the Heap. Catalyst. Vol.3 No.4 February 1990.