University of Northern British Columbia: Open Journal Systems
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The Frosty Winters of Ireland: Poems of Climate Crisis 1739-41
Get PDFThe period between 1450 and 1850 in Europe is often referred to as the ‘Little Ice Age’ but it was in the years 1739-1741 that Ireland experienced some of the most severe weather conditions ever recorded in the country. The Great Frost, as it later became known, caused unprecedented disturbance in Ireland’s ecology: lakes and rivers were frozen, potato crops and grain harvests were ruined, and livestock and humans perished from hunger and disease. This devastation of the natural world was accompanied by upheaval in civic life, including the break-up of rural communities and an increase in crime and social unrest. Though the extraordinary weather witnessed at this time has largely been forgotten, it calls attention to the impact of climatic conditions on both human and non-human environments, as well as exploring the challenge these circumstances presented to existing human perceptions of the relationship between man and nature. Many of the poems written and published at the time explore this unprecedented experience, some drawing on the conventions of poetic representations of the natural world, others offering innovative expressions of diverse conditions. Using the work of well known figures such as William Dunkin and Laurence Whyte, as well as hitherto uncollected texts by lesser-known and anonymous writers, this essay will explore the poetic mediation of this important environmental event and consider its impact on our understanding of the natural world in Ireland in this period
A Race for Second Place: The 2011 Provincial Election in Newfoundland and Labrador
Get PDFThis descriptive summary of the 2011 Newfoundland and Labrador election profiles a campaign that had two signifi-cant, if predictable, outcomes: Kathy Dunderdale became the first woman in the province’s history to lead her party to victory and for the first time the New Democratic Party (NDP) placed second in the popular vote. As with the previ-ous election in 2007, that the Progressive Conservative (PC) party would continue to run the government was never in doubt, and the main question was again how many seats the Liberals and NDP would win. This time, however, there was plenty of intrigue about which party would form and lead the official opposition
Genocide, Reconciliation, and the Residential Schools: A Survey of Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Attitudes among Elected Officials in Canada
No full textThis article contextualizes and presents an online nationwide survey we have conducted at federal, provincial, and territorial levels across Canada. The survey is bilingual and has been supported by the SSHRC and the University of Guelph. Elected officials were approached in confidence to complete a survey concerning their attitudes towards Aboriginal history, changes in the current political system to facilitate increased Aboriginal representation, and the applicability of international law, specifically the UN Genocide Convention, to interpret Aboriginal experiences in the Indian Residential Schools. We argue that the qualitative and quantitative data we have obtained mirrors survey of the Canadian mainstream electorate in significant wars
Challenges to an Irish Eco-Criticism
Get PDFIf the term ‘Green Studies’ is a contemporary synonym for ‘eco-criticism’ then Ireland would seem a natural habitat (as it were) for the practice of eco-criticism. No country has been more identified with the green world; and had Irish Studies been called from the first ‘Green Studies’ few would have objected in the days before environmentalism and before other colours in the cultural, if not political, Irish spectrum were admitted. Irish paradigmatic perceptions and representations of the natural world still exert great cultural influence on and in our literature – the aesthetic, the scientific, the economic, the Romantic, the nativist, the religious, the folkloristic. Of these, only the economic and scientific have not been culturally celebrated by many literary critics, while science’s productions – from nature-writing to scientific papers and monographs – are largely ignored by critics and anthologists, and by writers who are scientifically unsympathetic, indifferent or not conversant. Yet eco-criticism requires the scientific paradigm, and while a truly environmental literature may not have come into being in Ireland there is nevertheless a great deal of Irish writing can stimulate future ecocrticial discussions
Beyond the “Tinbergen Rule” in Policy Design: Matching Tools and Goals in Policy Portfolios
Get PDFPolicies increasingly come in complex packages and the understanding the nature of design criteria for such portfolios of policies and instruments is increasingly important. However existing studies of policy mixes do not use consistent terminology and fail to carefully define the dependent variable of the inquiry. As a result theorization of policy design has lagged, the cumulative impact of empirical studies has not been great and understanding of the phenomena, despite many observations of its significance in policy studies, has not improved significantly over the past three decades. This paper aims to revitalize this important aspects of policy design work and studies by carefully distinguishing between mix types. It first draws a distinction between ‘instrument mixes’ and ‘policy mixes’ often glossed in existing studies, and then defines key types and sub-types of both kinds of mixes based on the complexity of design variables such as the number of goals, the number of policies and the number of levels of government involved in the design of a policy “portfolio” or “bundle”. The taxonomy helps to assess the validity and applicability of oft-cited design principles such as the “Tinbergen Rule” which suggests each policy goal should be addressed by a single tool and moves policy design studies forward in so doing
Voter Turnout in Manitoba: An Ecological Analysis
Get PDFThis article treats Manitoba as a case study in the community-level factors influencing the rate of voter turnout. Combining data from Elections Manitoba and the Manitoba Bureau of Statistics, it consists of an ecological analysis of electoral participation among the province’s fifty-seven constituencies from 1999 to 2007. The study reveals that, while conventional variables like age and affluence play a role, the competitiveness of the constituency is by far the most important factor in determining a district’s rate of voter turnout. This finding required analysts to shift their focus to “competitiveness” as the dependent variable, which, in turn, revealed that the best predictor of a district’s competitiveness was how close the race was in the previous election. The centrality of competitiveness to voter turnout in Manitoba raises important challenges for election officials and reform advocates, as it adds a dynamic, contextual variable that is difficult to manipulate
Race and Nature in Nineteenth-Century American Literature: A Conversation with Joshua Bennett, Brigitte Fielder, James Finley, Ian Finseth, Jennifer James, and others
No full textA roundtable discussion which took place on Thursday, May 30, 2013 at the biennial conference of the Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment (May 28-June 1, 2013) at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas
The 2011 Provincial Election in Prince Edward Island
Get PDFAn election that never seemed in doubt became interesting when the Globe and Mail newspaper revealed allegations that high-ranking officials in the PEI government were involved in fraud and bribery with regards to the provincial nominee (immigration) programme. However, in the end, the Ghiz Liberals fulfilled earlier predictions, returning to office on the strength of a landslide victory over the Crane PCs. The Liberals did see their seat total drop by one (from 23 to 22), while the PCs picked up a seat (for a total of 5). However, the real story was the sudden drop in voting turnout. At 76.5%, this is the lowest since Elections PEI began recording turnout. Three other parties fielded candidates in the 2011 election: the Greens, NDP and the new Island Party. None won seats