VIURRSpace (Royal Roads University and Vancouver Island University)
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Planning for longstanding sustainability: Addressing the downfalls of green infrastructure planning
No full textCities worldwide face issues associated with sewer overflows, pollution, and the adverse effects of extreme weather patterns. Green infrastructure (GI) comprises natural vegetative systems and green technologies that collectively provide economic, environmental, and social benefits to communities. These natural assets can be harnessed to respond to these pressing problems and become an essential practice for the future of urban planning. This study analyzes existing barriers facing GI practices and from these barriers, proposes solutions on how to address these challenges in practice. This research comprises a literature review, semistructured interviews, and a case study analysis to identify several solutions to address the barriers facing the GI practice. The literature shows that GI is currently not as widespread as standard “grey infrastructure” practice, often making it an afterthought in city planning. Unlike grey infrastructure, which is an engineered system with just one primary function, GI provides co-benefits and a wide variety of ecosystem services by expanding green space. The case study analysis outlines a successful urban wetland project, demonstrating the value of urban wetlands (natural assets) and how they can be utilized as a sustainable and affordable practice for stormwater management. The results of the literature, semi-structured interviews, and case study analysis uncover four solutions to address the most pressing challenges within the GI practice.https://viurrspace.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/27263/MillerThesis.pdf?sequence=3Thesis/major project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Community Planning in the Department of Community Planning, Faculty of Social Sciences
The value of sourcing social work journals for critical discourse analysis
No full textUsing the contents of journals has been an underutilized research approach in social work. Journal archives represent what has been legitimated in the discipline as well as what forms the dominant social work canon. To theorize about journal archival sourcing as a research method, we cite the limited extant examples, drawing out from these the methodology used. We then make a case for the value of journal mining and in particular from the vantage point of critical social work and critical discourse analysis, position the Foucauldian history of the present as an appropriate tool for analysis. We draw this article together by describing how to employ this research method and argue that this might be an exceptionally useful tool at this point of the discipline’s history.https://viurrspace.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/27442/SchmidQSW2023.pdf?sequence=
Mapping institutional interactions in the Canadian CCA and DRR landscape: an exploratory social network analysis
No full textCanada is experiencing increased frequency and intensity of natural hazards from widespread and rapid changes to its weather, surrounding oceans, biosphere, and atmosphere. Recently, the IPCC urged that swift and coordinated international action was necessary to avoid the increasingly devastating consequences of climate change and irreversible risks should the world be unable to change course. However, while all levels of government and many institutions actively respond through Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) activities, international evidence suggests that the fields are working in silos and not coordinating with one another at the cost of effectiveness and efficiency.
In response, this study undertook an exploratory Social Network Analysis (SNA) to understand the current degree of DRR and CCA integration in Canada by visualizing their network and relations, identifying key actors, and surfacing clusters to make recommendations on increasing network effectiveness.
The key findings demonstrated that CCA and DRR organizations in Canada operate in silos. Further, a mix of federal government departments and non-profit organizations were central in the network, listing information collecting, organization, analysis, and dissemination as their organizational mandates. Results also demonstrated that risk management and climate-related data outputs are common ground between the two fields. Finally, the results revealed clusters within the current network. Overall, this study demonstrated relevant and significant opportunities in Canada to increase the integration of the CCA and DRR network to improve efficiencies of climate-related mitigation and adaptation activities
Concurrent movement patterns and habitat use on the Canadian tundra by grey wolves and barren-ground caribou
Get PDFKnowledge gaps within the current understanding of the movement ecology of the predator-prey relationship between barren-ground caribou and grey wolves need to be addressed due to declining barren-ground caribou population levels. Using three years of concurrent grey wolf and caribou telemetry data, the objectives of this thesis were threefold: (1) characterize grey wolf and caribou movement patterns while leveraging advanced analytical techniques, (2) quantify relationships between grey wolf and caribou movement, and (3) model grey wolf habitat selection. Objective one was successfully achieved using movement path segmentation coupled with a continuous time movement modelling analytical framework. This approach led to novel insights into the movement ecology of both caribou and grey wolves. New scale-insensitive unbiased barren-ground caribou movement rates were calculated, and the bias of previously used methods demonstrated. Grey wolf movement paths segmented into range resident versus non-range resident behaviour illustrate for the first time in high resolution the spatiotemporal patterns in how grey wolves alternate between these behavioural states. Furthermore, annual ranges were calculated following movement path segmentation, a novel approach to range estimation typically based on seasonal segmentation schemes. Spatial patterns in grey wolf range distributions were found to challenge the prevalent description that denning is limited to treeline. Objective two, aiming to build on past proven correlations between grey wolf and caribou concurrent space use on a monthly scale, measured the mean distances wolves moved to maintain proximity to caribou month to month. No evidence was found in support of correlated movement at the tested scales (pooled wolf to pooled caribou datasets or individual wolf to pooled caribou by herd datasets). Low sample sizes (short time series) may have limited the statistical power of finding significant relationships. Integrated step selection functions were used to meet the third objective and several environmental, climatic, and prey availability covariates investigated for their predictive influence on wolf movement. Wolves are found to be generalists with no explored covariates having consistent predictive power. Further methodological refinement of how prey availability is quantified on the landscape within these models is required
Teachers perspectives of inclusion in secondary schools
No full textSpecial education and inclusion are two important aspects of an educational program for students with a disability. When a student is not able to participate in certain classes or programs this really restricts what their educational journey may look like. Inclusion in secondary schools is an ongoing challenge due to the complex nature of a high school setting and makeup. With alternating bell schedules, longer days, and having multiple teachers over the course of a day are just a few examples of how difficult it can be to plan and implement successful inclusive practices in a secondary setting. This mixed methods study investigated the teachers’ perspectives of inclusion in their high school. A needs assessment methodology was used to identify the gaps between educators’ current knowledge, practices and support put into place to promote more inclusive opportunities for students. Data was collected through an online survey that contained both quantitative and qualitative questions so that teachers’ perspectives could be analyzed and studied. A descriptive analysis was used to determine the frequencies of the data and a thematic analysis was used to place educators’ responses to the qualitative questions into themes. The results of this study suggest that teachers are trying to be inclusive but still agree that they require further time to collaborate, more training/professional development and additional funding to hire more education assistants to continue improving their inclusive classrooms.https://viurrspace.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/27347/Biasutti.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=
STEM in Canadian teacher education: An overview
No full textThis is an Accepted Manuscript of a book chapter that was published as: Bowen, G.M., Wiseman, D., Shanahan, M.-C., Khan, S., Gonsalves, A., Sengupta, P., Simms, W., Knoll, E., & Carter, A. (2023). STEM in Canadian teacher education: An overview. In S.M. Al-Balushi, L. Martin-Hansen, & Y. Song (Eds.), Reforming science teacher education programs in the STEM era (pp. 53-70). Palgrave Macmillan.Since emerging as a concept in the 1990s STEM and STEM education has become an area of broad interest in Canada in the past 15 years. STEM programs are well-promoted in science faculties at Canadian universities and associated provincial education programs, raising the question as to the degree to which STEM and courses teaching (about) STEM are present in Faculties of Education in Canada. This chapter presents data drawn from Canadian Bachelor of Education (BEd) academic calendars (n = 56), Canadian academic conferences where research on STEM in BEd programs would be presented (n = 17), and publications from the Council of Ministers of Education to understand what STEM opportunities are available to prospective teachers. Four detailed, narrative descriptions of STEM courses at four faculties of education provide examples of the types of offerings available in Canadian teacher training programs. Overall, we report that in Canadian BEd programs few STEM courses are offered—and even fewer STEM programs—raising questions about the support offered by BEd programs for STEM school initiatives that exist both provincially and federally. Implications of this are discussed.Accepted Manuscrip
Digital business transformation adoption in SMEs and large firms during COVID-19
No full textThis is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Technology Analysis & Strategic Management on November 11, 2023, available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/09537325.2023.2282068/.The COVID-19 pandemic has presented significant challenges for businesses worldwide. Those who recognised the importance of an online presence and transformed their traditional business model into a digital one were better equipped to mitigate the pandemic's negative impacts. However, there is a lack of research on the differences in digital transformation between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large firms, as well as the main factors driving this transformation. This paper aims to address this gap by examining the successful digital transformation among these groups (SMEs and large firms) in the province of New Brunswick, Canada, as a case study. The study uses secondary data from the TechImpact survey to explore the primary factors of this shift for both SMEs and large firms. The study confirms the critical factors identified in the literature, while also revealing new factors specific to each group. For SMEs, these include adopting a digital business model, investing in low-budget social media and e-marketing, recruiting young digital experts, and accessing government grants and subsidies. For large firms, the factors include implementing mass customisation through online channels, providing remote work incentives, using a comprehensive content management system, and prioritising electronic customer relationship management and e-loyalty.Accepted manuscript versio
Social work journals: A key disciplinary resource
No full textSocial work journals are repositories of disciplinary knowledge. The recent critiques of Western and anglophone dominance in knowledge production and publication barriers experienced by scholars from the Global South and those non-anglophone have implications for journals and the knowledges they (re)produce. The lack of comprehensive lists of journals adds a further obstacle to the dissemination of non-dominant social work knowledges. To deal with this concern, we offer a novel list of international social work journals that includes journals omitted from existing English-language Northern lists and situates them as credible sources of social work knowledge.https://viurrspace.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/27454/Schmid2023.pdf?sequence=
Western red cedar
No full textPressed specimen of Thuja plicatahttps://viurrspace.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/27242/Mazus.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=
Grief ritual for therapists in dark times: emerging resilience post-covid through participatory action research
No full textAbstract
This thesis is an investigation of the potential benefits of a grief ritual as a grassroots approach to acknowledging losses and facilitating healing for healthcare practitioners in the aftermath of the global Covid-19 pandemic crisis. The context of ritual within this thesis is a structured practice of acknowledging events, sharing personal feelings, and initiating desired change. Drawing inspiration from ancient ritual practices, mentored wisdom, and literature, the study focused on eight health care practitioners from the Madrona Integrative Health Centre (MIHC), an independent wellness organization located on Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada. The research examined the impact of a grief ritual workshop on the grief and stress experienced by healthcare practitioners at MIHC. The research incorporated sharing circles, a ritual practice, anonymous surveys, interviews, and a collaborative collage, which were reviewed and approved by the Royal Roads University Research Ethics Board. The data collected for the research came in the form of surveys, interviews, facilitator field notes, and the collaborative collage.
The findings revealed that a grief ritual process was a beneficial modality for supporting the practitioners of MIHC in acknowledging and processing grief, however the need for emotional support for this group go beyond the limitations of one intervention. The recommendations reflect the findings and are supported by the relevant literature on pandemic studies, grief, and rituals. The grief ritual designed for this study may become part of proactive future strategies for MIHC practitioners to use to mitigate stress and prevent burnout.
Keywords: grief ritual, wheel of the year, post-pandemic, ceremonial leadershi