University of Northern British Columbia: Open Journal Systems
Not a member yet
560 research outputs found
Sort by
Theis, Jeffrey S. Writing the Forest in Early Modern England: a Sylvan Pastoral Nation. Pittsburgh: Duquesne UP, 2009.
Get PDF
Creating an Enemy: Social Militarization in the War on Terror
Get PDFOne of the most prominent effects of social militarization is hostility toward anyone of the same nationality as the enemy. This is common in conventional wars, but has become even more pronounced in the War on Terror, as the enemy is hidden in the civilian population. Western fear of Muslims was common before this war, but has escalated since. Muslims are portrayed as a monolithic group that is intrinsically hostile to the west. The war narrative legitimizes xenophobia by associating individual actions with all members of a group, and for that reason, it is potentially dangerous to Canadian multiculturalism
Operationalizing ‘Policy Capacity’: A Case Study of Climate Change Adaptation in Canadian Finance Agencies
Get PDFAlthough a widely used term in the literature,
much of what we know about “policy capacity” in government
is limited to anecdotal evidence. Policy scholars have
not systematically investigated the ability of policy professionals
to provide good advice in relation to new policy challenges;
indeed many are skeptical that policy capacity (understood
as the potential for “evidence based policy learning”)
is an important driver of policy change in the first
place. Despite these empirical and theoretical problems,
governments remain committed to improving policy capacity
in the pursuit of better public policy. This paper offers some
preliminary observations on the difficulty of studying and
operationalizing policy capacity through an examination of
the finance sector in relation to climate change adaptation;
part of a large collaborative SSHRC CEI project. Drawing on
the existing literature on Canadian finance policymaking
dynamics, a survey of policy professionals in the area, and an
illustrative case study, the paper makes two claims. It suggests
that viewing capacity as involving both the cognitive
skills of professionals (or “analytical capacity”), and the
institutional arrangements in which policy research is conducted
(or “governance arrangements”), is a useful starting
point. However, as the findings in this paper highlight, if
capacity is the ability to provide effective advice in relation to
specific problems, then the nature of the problem itself (how
“wicked” or otherwise it might be) will also impact capacity
The Rise and Fall of the Ministry of State for Urban Affairs: Exploring the Nature of Federal-Urban Engagement in Canada
No full textFrom 1971 to 1979, the Ministry of State for Urban Affairs operated in Canada. The government, who largely ignored the concerns of municipalities until 1971, felt compelled to create the ministry and this study examines the causes that led to this dramatic reversal of policy and the factors that led to its demise. Utilizing a policy networks and communities framework, this study identifies five governmental and non-governmental actors who contributed to the rise and fall of the Ministry of State for Urban Affairs. Through episodic content analysis of newspaper coverage of Canadian urban issues and government publications, the story of the creation and dissolution of the Ministry of State for Urban Affairs will be studied. It is concluded that the Ministry of State for Urban Affairs ultimately crossed into provincial jurisdiction, causing the provinces to object to its existence
Policy Analytical Capacity and Policy Activities
Get PDFThe study of policy process involves the study of
policy actors - people involved in the development of public
policy in a particular geographic area. This paper investigates
policy actors in the context of Colorado climate and
energy issues with a particular emphasis on the types and
levels of their engagement in policy activities. The conceptual
framework guiding this study centers on policy analytical
capacity, the ability to acquire and use information in the
policy process. High policy analytical capacity is expected to
be associated with high levels, and more diverse kinds, of
policy activities. The findings partly confirm the expectations.
Actors from government and the non-profit sector
report the highest policy analytical capacity and highest and
most diverse range of policy activities. However, researchers,
despite relatively high levels of policy analytical capacity,
report involvement in just a few activities beyond conducting
research. Actors with strong educational backgrounds in the
physical sciences are more likely to be involved in conducting
research whereas those with strong backgrounds in the
social sciences are more likely to be involved in evaluating
and appraising policies and working with the public. The
conclusion contextualizes the findings by focusing on the
relationship between technical and scientific complexity of
climate and energy issues and the necessity for participating
actors to possess high levels of policy analytical capacity
What Is This Trash?: Closer Reading for an Endangered World
Get PDFThe dead metaphor of “trash fiction” is in need of resuscitation or, better yet, of reincarnation. To recognize most any printed material as a disposable commodity suggests that those who are interested in discovering ways in which literature and environment interact would do well to begin by addressing the discipline’s own contribution to the world’s mass of disposable prose. Though ecocritical scholarship has drawn attention to important new themes for literary analysis, such studies are often conducted in much the same way as the cultural and formalist approaches they aim to supersede—asking the same kinds of questions, using the same methods to answer them, and conducting these debates in the same kinds of venues. In focusing so intently on the text’s ability to cast light upon elements of the environmental unconscious, the book’s role as an unconscious element of our modern environment has often been elided
