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INCORPORATING EFFECTS-BASED APPROACHES INTO ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT TO IMPROVE POST-DEVELOPMENT MONITORING
Get PDFOver the last 50 years, improvements in design of industrial facilities have significantly reduced environmental impacts. But impacts still occur and monitoring programs are the main mechanism to inform when modification/implementation of mitigation is needed. Informed decisions require adequate baseline (pre-development) data to predict impacts based on the development’s design and to understand when the post-development environment has changed. An adaptive monitoring plan provides an effective way to evaluate monitoring results and allow for proactive responses to environmental change before impacts become difficult or challenging to reverse. Unfortunately, baseline data gathered during an environmental impact assessment (EIA) is often inadequate to support an effective post-development adaptive monitoring plan. The primary objective of this dissertation was to demonstrate how post-development monitoring can be improved through forethought during the baseline and predictive assessment phases of an EIA.
Interpreting the key ecosystem attributes through a lens of ecosystem services that fish require defines measurable attributes that should form key components of pre-development and post-development evaluation and can aid in developing consistency across the phases of an EIA. A review of Canadian hydroelectric facility EIAs concluded that adaptive management would be improved if EIAs do more quantitative modeling that links to adaptive monitoring plans based on better pre-development baselines. A case study evaluated how fish surveys could be used to develop thresholds and decision points and concluded that more than four years of data are needed to develop sensitive monitoring and forecast triggers. Consistent times and locations are required for both adult and young-of-the-year sampling to ensure that data can be compared between years.
Practitioners should consider what is needed for an effective assessment and post-development adaptive monitoring plan early in the EIA process (i.e., before project specific baseline data collection starts) to ensure there is enough data to calculate quantitative models to estimate impacts and to be able to determine when post-development change has occurred. If we don’t have the proper information to evaluate if there is an impact and to define the cause, then monitoring has failed. Improvement of EIA and post-development monitoring will better focus environmental protection and adaptive management
Mutual avoidance behaviours when passing through an aperture: A lifespan approach
No full textAvoiding collisions with other pedestrians is a daily necessity for individuals across all age groups. While previous studies have examined older adult (OA) and middle childhood-aged (MCA) children’s road-crossing behaviours and mutual collision avoidance on a 90-degree angle, there is a lack of research examining how these populations mutually avoid head-on collisions with approaching pedestrians. Therefore, the objective of the present thesis was to determine whether OA and MCA children are able to use optical variables, such as retinal expansion rate, in a timely manner to predict and maintain passing order through an aperture. To meet this objective, two studies were conducted. First, the mutual avoidance behaviours of ten 10-year-olds (122.9 months ± 4.98, 142.4 ± 9.97 cm tall, 7 females) and ten 12-year-olds (148.8 months ± 3.77, 150.5 cm ± 9.42, 3 females). It was hypothesized that 12-year-olds would display more “accurate” or adult-like mutual avoidance behaviors compared to 10-year-olds. All participants interacted with the same female research assistant (RA) (19 years, 152 cm tall) across trials. Starting at opposite sides of a 10 m pathway, the participant and RA were instructed to approach one another, and mutually decide who would pass first through a 90 cm wide aperture located halfway (5 m) along the path. Kinematic trunk data and gaze were analyzed using the Optotrak motion analysis system and Tobii Pro 2 glasses, respectively. All participants completed a perceptual task measuring accuracy and response time. The results revealed that both 10- and 12-year-olds have similar accuracy on a perceptual task and similar mutual avoidance behaviours. However, 12-year-olds responded significantly faster on the perceptual task testing vision-for-perception and displayed more adult-like gaze behaviours during the mutual avoidance. Therefore, although 12-year-olds ability to use vision for action remains underdeveloped, they appear to have more mature perceptual processing compared to 10-year-olds. The second study examined the mutual avoidance behaviours of fifteen OA (69.9 ± 2.72 years, 12 females) and fifteen YA (23.1 ± 2.94 years, 8 females). It was hypothesized that OA would display more inversions in crossing order and contribute less to the avoidance than YA, indicated by smaller adaptations in their approach speed. Two participants were instructed to walk at a comfortable speed along a 15 m pathway with a 90 cm wide aperture located at the halfway point. Trials were randomized such that individuals interacted with another walker from the same age group and the opposite age group an equal number of times within an experimental session. Results revealed that a greater number of inversions occurred during trials when an OA and YA interacted, such that when the young adults gave way to the older adult. Additionally, whenever an OA was on a collision course with a YA, the YA contributed more to the avoidance regardless of passing order. Alternatively, when two individuals of the same age group interacted, there was no difference in the number of inversions in crossing order. This suggests that when two same-aged individuals interact, there is no need for one to compensate for the ability of another, possibly due to a better understanding of the other person’s (similar) capabilities for action. Collectively, the findings of the present thesis demonstrate that regardless of age, individuals can mutually avoid a collision when approaching a confined space. However, an individuals’ accuracy and efficiency in perceiving the optical information necessary to inform their avoidance behaviours appears to be influenced age
Social Interaction, Social Cognition, and Personality in Gartersnakes and Ball pythons
Get PDFSnakes are often considered non-social animals. However, this is mostly an untested assumption and the limited research that has been done has shown that snakes interact socially when given the opportunity. Here, the complexity of snake social interactions was explored through a social cognition and personality lens. Group and individual behavioural assays were used to explore flexibility and consistency in social interactions. The results provide evidence that elucidate the function, development, and evolution of these behaviours in snakes. In the first experimental chapter, chapter 2, social network analysis was used to provide a detailed description of aggregation behaviour in 4 separate groups of juvenile gartersnakes. This experiment demonstrated that snake social behaviour is consistent across an 8-day period, and conditionally consistent across different social contexts – akin to a social personality. It also demonstrated that snakes seek out social interaction and explore their environment together. A long-term analysis of gartersnake social interactions across development is reported in chapter 3. In this study, the social behaviour of a group of snakes was repeatedly assayed from 2 months of age to post-maturity. . This demonstrated social patterns similar to those found in other animals, such as: the gradual development of preferred associates; stable association patterns that restructure post-maturity; and sex-based social roles that change over time. In Chapter 4, the development of two personality traits in gartersnakes was examined through individual rather than group assays and in response to social isolation. The results suggest that developmental changes in gartersnake personality may facilitate sex-biased dispersal and, additionally, that the expression of the boldness trait may depend on sex differences in social ecology. In chapter 5, the relationship between boldness and social interaction was explored in gartersnakes. This experiment compared boldness across both social (with a partner) and non-social contexts. It demonstrated that in a social context, gartersnakes flexibly conform to the boldness of their partner, but also display individual differences in flexibility. In Chapter 6, the chapter 2 experiment was replicated with a species of snake thought to be less gregarious than gartersnakes – ball pythons. This demonstrated that contrary to common belief, ball pythons are highly social and share some patterns of social interaction with gartersnakes. This suggests that some components of snake social behaviour may be shared broadly, while others might be shaped by differences in ecology.
Understanding social patterns in snakes has a number of important implications for their successful conservation, their captive welfare, and for understanding the evolution of sociality. Compared to some species, snakes do not have complex social systems: they tend not to cooperate, they do not form long-term social groups, and most species do not provide parental care. In this way, understanding snake social interactions provides valuable information on the type of social systems and social behaviours that can evolve without the added complexities found in some vertebrate social systems
Review of Combat Stress in Pre-modern Europe edited by Owen Rees, Kathryn Hurlock and Jason Crowley
Get PDFReview of Combat Stress in Pre-modern Europe edited by Owen Rees, Kathryn Hurlock and Jason Crowle
Review of Enduring Alliance: A History of NATO and the Postwar Global Order by Timothy Andrews Sayle
Get PDFReview of Enduring Alliance: A History of NATO and the Postwar Global Order by Timothy Andrews Sayl
Research as Activism: Bridging Knowledge and Action for Transformational Change
Get PDFResearch as Activism is the fusion of scholarly inquiry with intentional advocacy and action. It transcends academic exploration by actively challenging systemic inequities and injustices, engaging marginalized communities, and driving tangible social change (hooks, 2003). Research as activism embodies a commitment to using research methodologies, epistemologies, personalized and institutional privilege, and accessible dissemination to dismantle oppressive structures, promote justice, and empower and centre voices often unheard, dismissed, silenced, or marginalized in traditional academic discourse or in community spaces (Eizadirad et al., 2023; Battiste, 2013; Simpson, 2017). As Audre Lorde (1984) emphasizes, “There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives” (p. 138)
CARE TO CRIMINALIZATION: HOW ADULTS WITH LIVED CROSSOVER KID EXPERIENCE PERCIEVE THEIR EXPERIENCES IN THE CHILD PROTECTION SYSTEM AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
Get PDFCrossover kids are youth who were/are in the child protection system and cross over into the juvenile/criminal justice system. Children who have been in the child protection system are 52% more likely to end up in the criminal justice system (Baidawi, 2020; Bateman, 2021; Turpel-Lafond, 2009). This creates a concerning trajectory for youth who are in the child protection system, through no fault of their own, because criminal justice involvement can follow them into adulthood. Children are entering a system of care that is criminalizing them and moving them into a system of custody. There has been scholarship using extant data from both child protection files and juvenile justice files to explain how this crossover is happening. What is missing from the literature is perceptions of those with lived crossover kid experience, actual conversations with this population of people. This thesis gives voice to adults with lived crossover experience about their experiences with the child protection system, the criminal justice system, and their recommendations to prevent future crossover kids. To further contextualize the perceptions of adults with lived crossover kid experience, I situate their experiences within a broader media analysis of Twitter posts made by researchers, professionals and agencies who work with crossover kids. This study is examined through a life course theory lens, as there are transitions into each system, turning points that start the transitions, and life trajectories can be affected
“In the Eyes of the State”: The Construction of LGBTQIA+ Individuals in India
No full textIn India, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), a Hindu nationalist party, has been in federal power since 2014. The BJP systematically marginalizes and punishes LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual/Aromantic/Agender) people of different religions (Hindus, Muslims, Dalits, Sikhs, Christens, Catholics, etc.); directly and indirectly. This research examines how, and to what extent, BJP claims about LGBTQIA+ individuals in India are represented in media. While past research documents the prejudice and discrimination against non-Hindus in India, particularly among Muslims and Dalits, an in-depth analysis of how this discrimination is perpetuated and used is missing. This research employs a qualitative media analysis to describe how news media frame the social and political experiences and interactions of LGBTQIA+ individuals in India, which has a large social and political presence of the BJP. A social constructionist perspective is employed to understand if and/or how immorality, deviance, and criminality are constructed. This research aims to provide an analysis of how the media represents the Indian government\u27s statements and policies regarding LGTBQIA+ people. Additionally, by understanding these constructions and revealing how they work, this research will further the goals of challenging and disrupting these discourses and enacting social, legal, and political interventions to improve rights for LGBTQIA+ individuals residing in India
