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Diver Motivations in Selecting a Diving Destination
Get PDF2024This study aims to explore the impact of diver and dive destination attributes on the selection of a dive destination. Broadly, the available literature discusses topics that impact destination selection such as dive type, dive shop offerings, non-dive related amenities, sustainability, diver profile, diver motivation and personal challenge. Most of the literature focuses on factors related to the dive activity itself when discussing diver motivation for selecting a location which was echoed in the findings of this study. In reaching these findings, collection and analysis of the data for the 61 participants was done utilizing a Google survey and a quantitative methodology. The five key findings of the study suggest that a diver’s primary focus for selecting a dive destination was viewing marine life followed by operator safety, warm water, good visibility and the opportunity for rest and relaxation respectively. In addition to the studied group, a gap was identified involving occasional divers or those interested in becoming divers. This demographic has not been researched as extensively as experienced divers and should be considered by each dive destination marketing organization when exploring a target market for diving promotion. In addition to strategically marketing to established divers based on the study results, expanding their focus to this overlooked group would contribute to the growth of the industry by increasing the number of divers, improving the level of service and ultimately the satisfaction of each diver’s experience. Keywords: Scuba diving, destination, motivation, influence, vacation, expectation
Impacts of the Built Environment on Cycling Mode Share and Subsequent Greenhouse Gas Reductions
No full text2024Between the years of 2005 and 2019, the number of vehicles in Canada increased by42%, while national road transportation emissions increased by 17.69% and accounted for approximately 20.73% of total Canadian greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Environment Canada, 2022). In May of 2017 - with a primary goal of encouraging individuals to adopt cycling as their main mode of transportation - the City of Victoria opened its first protected bi-directional bicycle lane connecting the Johnson Street Bridge to Cook Street by means of Pandora Avenue (Egan-Elliott, 2019). This marked the first step in the creation of Victoria’s All-Ages and Abilities (AAA) Bicycle Network, which has continued to expand throughout the city and into the surrounding municipalities of the Capital Regional District (CRD). While it is understood that implementing municipal active transportation (AT) infrastructure could reduce on-road GHG emissions, there is currently little research that attempts to quantify the GHG reduction effects of AT infrastructure. To address this knowledge gap, the impacts of cycling infrastructure on GHG emissions were explored by comparing temporal cross-sectional Greater Victoria transportation mode data pre-intervention (in May 2017) to that of data from 2017 to 2019. Additionally, bicycle suitability (bikeability) maps were created for the Greater Victoria region based on 2021 and spring 2023 cycling infrastructure and a review of research exploring best practices for cycling uptake and safety. Due to the impacts of COVID-19 on transportation trends, transportation data from 2020 onwards was not assessed. Findings of this research indicate that expansion of the cycling network is positively correlated with an increase in cycling mode share; however, further expansion of AAA quality facilities into other municipalities is likely required to achieve greater mitigation of on-road transportation GHG emissions within the region
Purpose, Partners, and Purses: Removing Barriers in Funding Postsecondary Education
Get PDF2024This research explored how creating an opportunity for stakeholders to dialogue about funding might enhance Royal Roads University Student Services’ purpose of reducing barriers for students. Adhering to ethical requirements, data were collected through a virtual world café and an online survey. Key findings revealed (a) barriers to funding postsecondary education (PSE), (b) traditional and nontraditional funding methods for PSE, (c) systemic obstacles to PSE relating to government and institutional supports, and (d) students found their own innovative ways to achieve their PSE goals. Recommendations are to (a) convene an annual meeting of diverse stakeholders to dialogue, (b) establish a task force comprising stakeholders to advance recommendations for actionable solutions, (c) elect task force members from the participants present, and (d) ensure task force members meet monthly to advance the recommendations into actionable solutions for Royal Roads University Student Services
Understanding persistence in engineering education through a comprehensive survey tool
No full text© 2024 American Society for Engineering Education. This paper was originally published as: Dick, B., Rivera, K., Sjoerdsma, M. (2024). Understanding persistence in engineering education through a comprehensive survey tool [Paper presentation]. 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition. https://peer.asee.org/48194
Conference paper: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition. Location: Portland, Oregon. Conference dates: June 23-26, 2024.The purpose of this practice paper is to describe the development of a survey instrument aimed to broadly capture the engineering student experience from their entry into first-year through to graduation. Engineering education faces significant challenges related to addressing student persistence and retention within engineering programs. Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are stated areas of priority for post-secondary institutions (PSIs) in British Columbia (BC) with the goal to ensure that students of all backgrounds, identities, and demographics are provided an opportunity to thrive without compromise. However, there continues to be a lack of appropriate, desegregated demographic data that can inform how well this goal is being achieved by engineering programs at public PSIs in BC.
This paper describes the pilot study that was used to develop a survey instrument that intends to fill this information void through a comprehensive, student-facing, and voluntary questionnaire that is made available to engineering students in their first year and their final year of study. Through a set of defined and open-ended survey questions, coded as addressing autonomy, competency, or relatedness to align with the self-determination theory (SDT) framework, and in-person interview sessions, the survey more broadly seeks details -- such as physical and mental health, home life, sexual orientation and gender identity, and belonging -- to better contextualise the student experience than what may typically be captured.
Direct-entry students to the engineering science program at Simon Fraser University and first-year engineering students from Vancouver Island University, one of SFU's incoming transfer pathways, were invited as survey respondents. As a follow-up, these students were given the option to take part in a one-on-one, in-person interview to better understand the general survey responses, as no survey response was linked to a specific individual. These conversations uncovered, gathered, and represented the direct student perspective and academic experience and, with the general survey responses, played a crucial role in honing the instrument. It is suggested that by analysing changes within the student cohort from their first to final year of study, an improved picture of the complex dynamics of persistence and retention can be obtained, while the efficacy of initiatives intended to address underrepresentation of specific demographic groupings may be examined. Further, this paper suggests how SDT may provide a framework for understanding the characteristics of those students who persist within their studies through graduation.
The next stage of this project is to expand the use of the survey instrument to other PSIs within the BC Transfer System, including both those hosting engineering schools and those from which students transfer to engineering schools after their first year of studies. It is expected that the instrument will continue to evolve, and support work to develop resources for engineering programs that enhance equity, allyship, and representation. Additionally, these tailored resources provide opportunities for like-minded students to establish support systems, fostering a sense of belonging that produces a unified and resilient student body of persisters.Conference session - Engineering Inclusivity: Challenging Disparities and Cultivating Resilience in Educatio
Cocreating Empowered Leadership Outcomes with Former Youth in Care in British Columbia
Get PDF2024Former youth in care (FYiC) face unique challenges and disproportionate rates of suicide, trafficking, homelessness, and poor employment outcomes. While the British Columbian government recently expanded support to FYiC to 27 years of age, this research shows FYiC participants ages 30–45 years continue to suffer significant and chronic traumas. Using community-based participatory action research, this thesis explored the inquiry question: How might we learn from the experiences of FYiC to influence equitable policies in leadership? Participants took part in a survey, interviews, and a group discussion. The recommendations are to involve FYiC in the decisions that affect them, create a list of trauma-informed leadership practices to enhance decision making and risk mitigation, leverage and celebrate the talents of FYiC, provide resources that empower FYiC to advance their personal circumstances, and invest in feedback mechanisms to support the implementation of policies that better meet FYiC’s unique needs, goals, and circumstances
Augmented Intelligence in Leadership Development: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of Real-Time Support Within Organizational Contexts
Get PDF2024Leaders in today's fast-paced world face complex challenges requiring quick decision-making skills. These challenges are global and intricate; leaders are expected to navigate them easily, even without formal leadership training. Moreover, given the rapid advancement of technology, it has become increasingly important to explore new solutions that can support leaders and their personal development. To address these challenges, this research aimed to explore the potential of augmented intelligence (AI) in assisting emerging leaders in an organizational context when needed. The research focused on the intersection of leadership development and augmented intelligence, using the theoretical frameworks of transformational leadership, social cognitive theory, and systems thinking to provide insights and potential solutions for leaders to navigate the challenging and ever-changing leadership landscape
Moral panic and electric micromobilities: Seeking space for mobility justice
Get PDFThis article was orginally published as: Travers, Scott, N., Reed, K.J., Hall, P., Winters, M., Kwan, G., & Park, K. (2024). Moral panic and electric micromobilities: Seeking space for mobility justice. Sociological Perspectives, 67(1-3), 83-108. https://doi.org/10.1177/07311214231193355This article makes the case that electric micromobilities (EMMs) are the site of a moral panic and employs the lens of mobility justice to explain it. Through analysis of scholarly and media discourse, interviews with, and social media content produced by, EMM riders (eriders), and the auto ethnographic experiences of the lead author as an electric unicycle rider in daily life, as a participant in online and offline “erider” communities, and as a food delivery worker, we reinforce the conclusion that alternate mobilities face an uphill battle in gaining legitimacy and inclusion in transportation policy and infrastructure. While this is not a new finding—alternate mobilities have a long history of being demonized and excluded—this article offers insight into how individuals who find themselves unwitting scapegoats in conflicts over public space consciously engage in deliberate actions to resist EMM panic and achieve greater mobility justice.The author(s) received financial support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Knowledge Synthesis Grant Program
Running a Maker Day Workshop to Explore Southview Residents’ Perspectives on Livable Communities in Calgary, Alberta using Design Thinking
No full text2024AbstractThe research involved organizing and leading a Maker Day workshop in a neighbourhood of Calgary and was concerned with how to meaningfully engage the public by implementing alternative methods using design thinking. The research question: How might Southview change to suit the needs of the existing residents and community while also accommodating for a changing Calgary? guided this study. Participants reported feeling more comfortable sharing, safer in comparison to other meetings they had been at involving community matters, allowing them to converse more passionately and boldly. The research explored how engaging those closest to the problem using human centred design thinking in the scenario of a Maker Day process might cultivate new and invigorating ideas for decision makers to use moving forward. The results may lead to more creative solutions to the challenges this neighbourhood faces. Running a Maker Day workshop using design thinking methods was successful in engaging participants and through grounded theory analysis, thematic elements helped develop new pathways to explore for more localized, community design planning. Keywords: Maker Day workshop, Southview, neighbourhood, design thinking, design scenario, community, community plannin
A situated lens to designing assessments of citizenship competency
Get PDFThis article was originally published as: Waatainen, P.J. & Chu, M.-W. (2024). A situated lens to designing assessments of citizenship competency. Democracy & Education, 32(2), Article 2. https://democracyeducationjournal.org/home/vol32/iss2/2/As education systems increasingly emphasize teaching for the development of competency, teachers need support in how to design classroom assessments of competencies associated with their areas of learning. Teachers who engage students in learning democracy through deliberative dialogue and participation in real-world processes will find limited support in the literature on how to operationalize the development of associated competencies. In this first design cycle of an ongoing multi-stage design-based research study, a researcher and two classroom teachers in British Columbia collaborated to apply principles of authentic assessment (Koh, 2017) to the design of an assessment of the citizenship competencies Grades 6 and 7 students may have developed when deliberating as citizens in a real-world public engagement process. Findings suggest promising value in using a situated lens and an associated heuristic to operationalize these competencies, and the ability to prioritize to be a potentially transferable feature of citizenship competency
The Effect of Seasonal Vegetation Changes on Habitat Suitability and Predation Risk of the Vancouver Island Marmot
Get PDF2024Vancouver Island marmots (Marmota vancouverensis) are a critically endangered species with a small and fragmented population. They live in subalpine meadows, exclusively on Vancouver Island, Canada, but will also colonize logged habitats at lower elevations, which become population sinks for the species. Tree encroachment and vegetation shifts in these habitats are likely affecting seasonal vegetation cover and reducing the ability of marmots to visually detect predators, thereby increasing their risk of predation. Most marmot mortalities occur during the late summer, which may be related to peak vegetation growth during that period. This study assessed how these seasonal changes to vegetation in Vancouver Island marmot habitat is affecting habitat suitability and predation risk and involved the quantitative analysis of field data collected at the Mt. Washington marmot colony. Seasonal growth of herbaceous plant species significantly decreased line of sight visibility throughout active periods, likely decreasing marmots’ ability to detect predators. Climate change and shifts in alpine ecosystems are expected to reduce suitable habitat and increase predation risk for this threatened species