Profile 200 words

James' major research contribution has been in the development and application of research methodology and instrumentation for assessing the psychological, social, and educational effects of intervention programs, particularly in the context of outdoor education. James is recognised for his empirical studies of outdoor education outcomes, meta-analytic research and research reviews which have helped to identify and articulate the effects of outdoor education programs. James co-developed the Life Effectiveness Questionnaire, a psychometric tool used for assessing intervention program effects, has consulted on many outdoor education program research and evaluation projects (1994-), edited the Australian Journal of Outdoor Education (2001-2002) and developed solid industry relationships locally, nationally and internationally.

James continues to be an enthusiastic contributor to academic knowledge about outdoor and experiential education programs and in recent years has been sought as a keynote speaker, developed an academic website averaging over 10,000 visitors per day (http://wilderdom.com), and is currently working on designing and implementing server-based survey systems for researching and evaluating intervention program effects. James' PhD thesis titled "Enhancing personal effectiveness: Impacts of outdoor education programs", is due for submission 20/2/07 and involves a longitudinal, multi-level analysis of 3000 Outward Bound Australian participants.