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Oil spills disaster in Ogoniland : social and cultural perspectives
No full textDisasters are human creations, whether they originate from natural or technological hazards. The type of hazard that originates the disaster shapes how a community or group responds to or is affected by it. The time and speed of onset of the hazard also plays a critical role in the disaster that finally ensues. Disasters are complex events from the point of view of their conceptualization. The level of development and the vulnerability of a community is a critical factor in how a disaster eventually plays out. Disasters especially technological ones create a lot of uncertainties in communities that have been impacted by them. They also result in what experts refer to as corrosive communities. Technological disasters occur when a community is exposed to toxic substances in its environment aggravated by other elements. This research set out to investigate the Ogoni oil spill disaster, against these backdrops, to understand the social, cultural, environmental, institutional, policy, economic, and political contexts. How these contextual elements played out and shaped the susceptibility of the Ogoni people, how the Ogoni people were able to cope, and how the duration and the management of the disaster influenced their response. This research explored the historical perspectives, the social, cultural, and political life of the Ogoni people to determine how the livelihood of the community has been affected by slow onset oil spill disaster. From the lived experience of the Ogoni community, the study used a qualitative case study approach to develop an understanding of oil spill disaster in Ogoniland, in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria. The findings from this study are consistent with existing knowledge on Technological Disaster that have been researched in different environments.
Keywords: Oil Spill, Disaster, Natural, Technological, Hazards, Social and Cultural, Environmental, Political, Institutional, Community, Ogoni
Ecological, social, and economic factors influencing the suitability of a waterbody for walleye stocking with a focus on Alberta, Canada
No full textThis research provides a framework to evaluate waterbodies in Alberta to determine if walleye stocking will be ecologically appropriate and socially and economically beneficial. Data on ecological requirements and limitations for walleye, economic costs and benefits of walleye stocking and fisheries, and potential ecological and social costs and benefits were researched. This research was applied to Sylvan Lake, Alberta as an example. I discuss future research to improve analyses including detailed cost analyses and how stocking changes fishing pressure. This work may act as scientific advice for decision makers. Incorporation of ecological, social, and economic costs and benefits into stocking decisions provides a more holistic assessment. This may result in stocking waterbodies that will have direct net-economic benefits, accepting direct net-economic costs that may be offset by non-economic benefits, deciding to offset costs with special stocked waterbody licenses, or choosing to not stock walleye
Discovering the elements of success for outdoor education programs in public high schools
No full textThe study reported for this thesis sought to examine the design and process elements that are significant attributes for the successful implementation and sustained operation of programs of outdoor education (OE) in high school settings. A qualitative analysis was made of the results of semi-structured interviews conducted with twelve experienced OE practitioners about their views of the requirements for success in developing, implementing, and sustaining OE programs in high school contexts. The interviews focused on discovering and collating participants’ experiences and narratives concerning the factors that they had found to be important to sustaining OE programs in secondary schools. When the interviews were transcribed and collated the study participants described program formats that were important to the successful implementation of OE programs in high school settings with particular emphasis on developing effective relationships with community settings, an understanding of school culture, and effective student recruitment. Time use and scheduling patterns, staffing ratios, and funding for program equipment and student transportation were identified as potential program obstacles. Interviewees also described the personal attitudes, knowledge, and skills that they considered to be important for the success of teachers working in OE programs
Bird monitoring and banding project at Buttertubs West Marsh, Nanaimo, BC: 2022 data report
No full textSince 2013, Vancouver Island University (VIU) has operated a bird monitoring and banding
project at Buttertubs West Marsh, with overall objectives to: monitor migrant and resident birds to contribute to regional and continent-wide efforts to
monitor changes in population levels of these species; provide practical educational and training opportunities for VIU students and community
volunteers; and, conduct public demonstrations where people of all ages can learn about bird identification,
ecology, evolution, and conservation.
This project was conducted in partnership with the City of Nanaimo, Ducks Unlimited Canada,
and The Nature Trust of BC.
This report summarizes the activities and results of this project during 2022. Project activities are
described in the sections below and included: songbird monitoring and banding; and, swallow nest box monitoring.
Summaries of volunteer effort / training and public demonstration / education are also included.https://viurrspace.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/27335/VIU-Buttertubs-Banding-2022-Report.pdf?sequence=
The value of an online group for teaching group work skills
No full textThis is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Social Work with Groups on July 17, 2022, available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/01609513.2022.2101820.This article examines third year social work students’ perceptions of the value of a mandatory, self-help online support group for teaching group work skills. Students overwhelmingly identified the group’s worth as lying in the mutual support received. They also felt that participating in a live group fostered the translation of group work theory and skills into a concrete environment. Experiential group work is the foundation of group work pedagogy in face-to-face classroom settings. This research suggests that this experience can be meaningfully replicated in a virtual context. Other course activities such as journaling and formal reflection and assessment of group process and dynamics support the integration of group work knowledge and skills promoted through the group experience. It is thus a teaching strategy that instructors of online group work courses might incorporate in the course curriculum.https://viurrspace.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/27484/Schmid2022SWG.pdf?sequence=3Post-print versio
How can we better support female students with Autism Spectrum Disorder
No full textThe male to female ratio of all those diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is four to one. This study aims to examine why. Are female children are less likely to have ASD or are they simply less likely to be diagnosed? Since ASD diagnosis is based on research conducted with male children, female children with ASD are being under-diagnosed or misdiagnosed. Female children with ASD demonstrate and utilize a strategy called camouflaging behaviour that masks their disability, causing them to go largely unnoticed when observed. This can result in two main negative consequences: they do not benefit from early intervention strategies and lack of identification and support can impact mental wellness, leading to social issues and mental health issues. Through semi-structured interviews, this study aims to understand what teachers know, do, and need to know about identifying and supporting female students with ASD academically and socially-emotionally. Through data analysis, it was found that educator knowledge surrounding the female phenotype of ASD is lacking. Education and awareness, with focus on early recognition and social emotional learning, need to be increased so early intervention and gendered supports can be offered as young as possible in order to properly support female students with ASD.https://viurrspace.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/25709/Pohlod.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=
Engaging young people in an exploration of transformative possibilities for the future of arts organizations
No full textThis inquiry brought together young people aged 15-24 and arts organizations to explore how arts organizations in Victoria could be more responsive to young people’s lived realities, needs, and aspirations. The question guiding this inquiry was: How might the courageous imaginations of young people inform the future of arts organizations in Victoria? This action research inquiry was informed by the tenets of Participatory Action Research, Youth Participatory Action Research, and Critical Participatory Action Research. It employed arts-based methods and small group dialogues to explore the benefits, constraints, and possibilities for the future of arts organizations. The inquiry concludes with six action-oriented recommendations to support arts organizations to actively engage young people in the arts and live into young people’s aspirations for the radical transformation of arts organizations in the future
Diversity among rare and common congeneric plant species from the Garry oak and Okanagan shrub-steppe ecosystems in British Columbia: Implications for conservation
No full textThis article was originally published as: Hersh, E.W., Wheeler, E.J., Costanzo, B., Ramakrishnan, A.P., Miscampbell, A.E., Ritland, C., Whitton, J., Gorrell, J.C., & Harrower, W. (222). Diversity among rare and common congeneric plant species from the Garry oak and Okanagan shrub-steppe ecosystems in British Columbia: Implications for conservation. Botany: An International Journal for Plant Biology, 1-14. https://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjb-2022-0064It is often assumed that the northern peripheral populations of species’ ranges are genetically depauperate due in part to founder effects from postglacial colonization. The majority of federally protected plant species are peripheral in Canada, yet we have little information about their patterns of genetic diversity and structure. In British Columbia, the majority of these protected plant species occur in two threatened habitats: the Garry oak and Okanagan shrub-steppe ecosystems. Using universal noncoding chloroplast DNA markers, we investigated genetic diversity and genetic structure in four rare and common plant species pairs inhabiting these two ecosystems. We found that rare species had lower genetic diversity than their common congeners, and detected contrasting patterns of regional diversity and structure based on ecosystem. Species from the Garry oak ecosystem showed lower genetic diversity in the northern deglaciated region and significant differentiation between regions, likely due to limited dispersal between Vancouver Island and the mainland. Species from the Okanagan shrub-steppe, however, tended to have uniform diversity across their range and lack regional structure. This study provides an important first look at the phylogeographic patterns of four rare plant species in British Columbia.https://viurrspace.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/26088/GorrellCJB2022.pdf?sequence=3Funding was provided by the Ecosystems Branch of the British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy and the Environment and Climate Change Canada, Priority Places Funding
The Sheway way : how to sustain and enhance interdisciplinary practice for clients with complex trauma
No full textIn partnership with the Sheway program this engaged, and action-oriented research project examined how interdisciplinary practice can be sustained and enhanced in order to provide effective trauma-informed care for clients with complex-trauma. The Sheway program is located in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and serves clients who use substances and are pregnant or have recently been pregnant. In this project participants were recruited from the Sheway team and were first surveyed to answer on the current state of Sheway’s interdisciplinary practice, they then participated in a community-based method, a scavenger hunt, to explore their ideal state of interdisciplinary practice. The data was thematically analyzed and relationships between the current state and ideal state were created. Finally, a liberating structure in a large group method was used to generate critical reflection on those relationships and identify the structural barriers the Sheway team faces and the structural supports that would need to be implemented to sustain and enhance the interdisciplinary practice. This study found the ability to hold tension, emphasis on connection, and flexibility were key to sustaining the program. This study also found that structured debriefing, integrating Indigenous practice, and strengthening connection with community as ways to enhance the Sheway program