MacEwan Open Journals (MacEwan University)
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David Suzuki - A Man of Conservation
No full textAn environmentalist, a geneticist, a broadcaster and an all around conservationist, Dr. David Suzuki is a Canadian born “lover of the land”, directing the world’s attention to the environment and the damage that human life has bestowed on it. In his youth, Suzuki faced much racial discrimination as a Japanese Canadian born during the Second World War. He quickly grew fondness of nature and biology, spending most of his early life outdoors learning from nature. His professional career began as an Assistant Professor in Genetics at the University of Alberta, where it was quickly evident that he was an outstanding speaker. His speaking ability, combined with his love of nature, landed him many broadcasting positions; his most notable being his time spent hosting “The Nature of Things”. Aside from his many awards, one of Suzuki’s greatest achievements was his creation of the David Suzuki Foundation, a tool through which people could learn about and address environmental issues, a combined idea of Suzuki and his wife Tera Cullis. The foundation has not only provided challenges for individuals to make a difference, but has also government and industry leaders, inspiring people everywhere. “I have no Illusions that I am so important that I can turn everything around, I have no illusions that my foundation is going to make a huge difference, but I believe if millions of people like me and thousands of organizations like mine are all doing their small part we can become an irresistible force” – David Suzuki
Food Sustainability: Visually Speaking
No full textFood sustainability at Edmonton’s regional, city, community and personal level is visually presented within a VCPH 340 Documentary Photography final project. This article reveals how the final project inspired a group of design students to cultivate the concept of, raise awareness about and promote food sustainability activism within and around Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Echoes of Our Past
No full textThis article is a brief overview of Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond. In his book, the author makes a comparative argument about the effect human impact on the environment has on the success or failure of a civilization. He examines past and current societies using case studies to discuss social history, social change, and environmental impact. The historical and scientific details packed into this book help to demystify ancient cultures including Easter Island, and his delivery invokes images of their lives. He solidifies his compelling argument by focusing on current world trade and environmental policies
Communication Breakdown: The Media Effects on Ecuador\u27s Environment
No full textEnvironmental communication is an essential part of any society; it informs the population of new occurrences and happenings nearby, and around the globe. As technology evolves, so do the methods in which humans communicate and comprehend. The ways environmental issues are presented to and perceived by the public have increasingly influenced their decision making and continue to affect the way people live their lives. But what role do media outlets play in the environmental awareness of their audience? This research study demonstrates the importance of environmental communication in Ecuador and the various ways in which it can be distorted or controlled. It is critical that individuals are aware of their country’s actions and reactions to the environment, as well as their own personal footprints within it. Researching the media in Ecuador, alongside the population’s reaction to it, shows how important media is to the environmental awareness of its citizens, as well as their attitude towards conservation
The Potential for an Impending Sea-Level Rise
No full textSea level rise has become one of the most discussed topics regarding climate change. In the past the sea level has been known to rise several meters during interglacial periods. The rapid spread of human populations and new technological innovations have led to an outpouring of carbon dioxide over the centuries causing the global mean temperature to rise by 0.8°C. This slight increase in temperature has raised sea level from thermal expansion of the ocean and is having a dramatic effect on the cryosphere. Retreating glaciers continue to contribute to the current rate of sea level rise but the potential for the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets to melt from increasing global temperatures could raise the ocean by more than 1 m this century. Low-lying developing countries such as Bangladesh and Vietnam are the most vulnerable to a rise in sea level due to lack of infrastructure, high population densities, and geographic locations situated on a delta. In the developed world, Australia and Italy are at risk areas due to large populations found along the coast in both countries. If the rate of mass loss from glaciers and ice sheets continue a future sea level rise is imminent
The Harmony of Nature
No full textThis article is an exploration of the award-winning piece Earth’s Lonely Heart composed by Jeremy West. More specifically, a description of his influences, beliefs, and techniques, combined with his passion for the environment, his technical expertise, and his musical talents are presented. It was only after joining MacEwan’s music program that Jeremy realized his passion for composition and became more than simply a drummer. His inspiration for the piece was humanity’s symbiotic relationship with the Earth and how we as humans treat the Earth
Global and Local Integrated Teaching Approaches for International MBA Programs: Marketing Management Perspectives
No full textInternational MBA programs strive to develop better managers to deal with international experiences in the future. This paper aims at exploring how to cultivate and improve International MBA programs through the integration of global and local teaching-learning approaches. First, this paper explains why global and local integrated approaches are needed. Second, it analyzes how to integrate Western teaching with Eastern philosophical concepts, through the selection of textbooks, teaching practices, and learning processes
A Chinese Cinderella’s Global Debut: Internationalization of Business Programs at JUFE
No full textThis case study analyzes the factors that contribute to the success of the internationalization of the business degree program at the International School of Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics and also identifies potential challenges for the school. The International School can be taken as a representative case of business education internationalization in China, particularly in a relatively less economically developed region of a fast growing economy
Dwelling together: A visual approach to an ecovilage\u27s sense of place
No full textThis paper and photographic essay present an empirical characterization and theoretical treatment of an ecovillage. Informed by the principles of sensory ethnography, my representation aims to describe and interpret an ecovillage as a place defined by practice. The author approaches this characterization from a dwelling perspective, emphasizing the performances of ecovillagers in a series of photographic and textual vignettes. The author concludes that an ecovillage may be considered, in part, as a place where familiar tasks are undertaken in unfamiliar ways in a vast and varied physical and social landscape
Discovering the Future Canadians Want: Insights from the We Canada Cross-Country Tour
No full textIn 1972, the first United Nations Conference on Human Environment (UNCED) was held in Stockholm, Sweden. At the conference, government officials from industrialized and developing nations met alongside civil society organizations to create the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “This conference put environmental issues on the international agenda for the first time, and marked a turning point in the development of international environmental politics. It has also been recognized as the beginning of modern political and public awareness of global environmental issues” (Baylis & Smith, 2005, pp. 454-455). Twenty years later, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio Earth Summit, was held in Rio de Janeiro. One hundred and seventy two government officials participated, of which 108 were heads of state (United Nations, 1992, United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, para. 1). This conference was one of the largest gatherings of heads of state, civil society organizations, and individuals in human history to date. Stakeholders met with the purpose of charting a course for a more sustainable future. From the conference emerged agreements, most notably Agenda 21, which created a framework for developing global, national, and regional plans for sustainability. The Rio Earth Summit has since stood as an example of what is possible when governments and citizens work together. The outcomes of this conference still affect human lives today, mainly through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change meetings, which led to the Kyoto Protocol, the only legally binding agreement to cut down carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, also known as Earth Summit 2012 or Rio+20, is regarded as one of the most crucial events in United Nations history and has been referred to by the Secretary General of the United Nations (2011), Ban Ki-moon, as “the most important global meeting on sustainable development in our time" (The Future We Want, p 2)