A qualitative study using an action research methodology was conducted to observe what value a national community of practice (CoP) had for the resiliency of Canada's geographically dispersed, non-profit, environmental education (EE) network leaders. Research suggests that North America's non-profit sector faces a looming leadership crisis as its executive leaders are subjected to escalating anxiety, burnout, and feelings of isolation (Cornelius, Moyers, & Bell, 2011). Peer support networks, alternately known as a CoP, have been proposed as a potential means of sustaining such beleaguered executives. This research reveals that Canadian EE leaders found value in a CoP as a forum for networking and relationship building, as a medium for professional development, and as a source of support and inspiration. This thesis recommends the establishment of a national CoP for Canada's EE network leaders and outlines recommendations to inform the creation of such a community.

The health of children and immigrants has been paramount to the economics literature in recent years. A strong relationship between parents’ socioeconomic status and children’s health has been well established. The vast short- and long-term consequences of children’s health outcomes, like low birth weight, have been emphasized. Similarly, empirical studies have attributed considerable importance to immigrants’ health. The healthy immigrant effect (HIE), a phenomenon where immigrants are healthier upon arrival but their health diminishes through time, has been evidenced in Canada. However, the link between children’s health and the HIE has not been made. Using birth weight as a health measure, the intergenerational transmission of the HIE through social capital is examined. With the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth this study provides robust evidence of the perpetuation of the HIE. However, social capital does not appear to be a determinant of birth weight for immigrants’ children in Canada.

Participatory design is often linked to community development, but studies seldom explore the ongoing effects the built design can have on a community. This study examined whether a participatory design process and the resulting public space acted as catalysts of community development. A case study was conducted in Barrio Grenada, Nicaragua, where a park was designed and built with community participation in 2010. The study explored participation in the design process, use of the park, and perceptions of subsequent development in Barrio Grenada. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews of external agents and local residents who participated in the park design and construction. Results suggest the design process and park each catalyzed development in distinct ways. Contacts made through the design process aided infrastructure development through financial and logistical support, while use of the park enabled social development through increased communication among neighbours, and recreation opportunities for children and youth. / Estate of Richard and Sophia Hungerford

Greater public participation has been recognized in the socio-political sphere as a growing imperative and a recent phenomenon is a shift in governance towards the "politics of inclusion" at the local and in some cases, the provincial level. Democracy is fundamental to sustainable development because when people participate in the decisions that affect their lives, they are more committed to their implementation. Once community buy-in is garnered, people are empowered to engage in organized action and advocate for the causes they stand for which can affect the necessary changes in moving towards a sustainable community. Our Street London is a grassroots collective that supports alternatives to mainstream modalities of transportation such as biking, walking, and public transportation, as well sustainable urban form. My objective is to understand the richness and detail of the social constructions of the actors in the lived environment. My research explores successful community engagement strategies and how the knowledge generated through the inquiry process can benefit Our Street London members to mobilize group capacity, hence affecting the future directions of the group. My main method of data collection consisted of semi-structured, open-ended interviews with experts on community engagement. Participants consisted of academics, long-time practitioners, and employees of small to medium-sized sustainability/environmental and social justice organizations. This research does have an action-oriented intent to work with Our Street London beyond the scope of this project in translating recommendations into action.

Depression is the most common mental illness worldwide, and although aspects of the social environment, including social capital and neighbourhood disadvantage, have been linked to depression, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Debates within the social capital and neighbourhood disadvantage literatures have yielded mixed findings in studies of depression and an understanding of how social capital may differentially relate to symptomatology in men and women must be solidified. In the first manuscript of this thesis, I assess whether (1) network and psychosocial measures of individual social capital are each associated with depressive symptoms, and (2) the association varies according to whether the capital lies outside or inside an individual’s neighbourhood. The second manuscript investigates whether: (1) neighbourhood disadvantage has a stronger association with depression in women compared to men and (2) if specific social capital factors mediate the association between neighbourhood disadvantage and depression. Data came from the Montreal Neighbourhood Networks and Healthy Aging Study conducted in 2008. Data included telephone interview responses from 2624 adults from 300 census tracts in the Montreal metropolitan area. The CESD-10 instrument was used to assess depressive symptoms. Name and position generator instruments and self-reported questions were used to assess psychosocial and network components of social capital. Multilevel logistic regressions adjusted for a range of socio-demographic and economic characteristics. Manuscript 1 results indicated that core tie diversity as well as the psychosocial measures of generalized trust, trust in neighbours, and perceptions of neighbourhood cohesion may be beneficial to those suffering from depressive symptoms. Manuscript 2 results, stratified by gender, indicated that neighbourhood disadvantage was associated with depressive symptoms in women only and that perceived neighbourhood cohesion mediated this association. Core tie diversity, generalized trust and trust in neighbours were associated with depression in women but did not act as mediating variables. It is suggested that network and psychosocial, as well as general- and neighbourhood specific measures of social capital be included in studies of depressive symptoms. Health promotion initiatives meant to combat depression may wish to consider the gender differences in the design and implementation of neighbourhood or peer-based programs. / Thesis (Master, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2012-09-21 09:32:28.57

The overall purpose of this research was to investigate barriers to and opportunities for adaptive co-management of artisanal fisheries in coastal Uruguay, with comparisons to Paraty (Southeastern Brazil). Following a qualitative approach, two case studies were developed; one in the Piriápolis area (Río de la Plata coast) and one in Praia Grande/Ilha do Araújo (Rio de Janeiro State), the former with more depth than the latter. Findings indicate that, first, artisanal fisheries have been under a social-ecological crisis (e.g. catches have been declining; fishing effort has increased; relationships among fishers have been eroded), opening windows of opportunity for alternative management. Second, a multilevel social capital analysis conducted by studying the relationships embedded in the bonding, bridging, and linking networks among fishery stakeholders (artisanal fishers, fish buyers, unions, universities, NGOs, government agencies) enabled the identification of more barriers than opportunities for co-management. For example, fishers are only weakly organized, and these bonding connections at the local level were undermined by conflict-laden linking relationships. Third, fishers from the two sites stated that they would like to be involved in resource management, and the proposed fisheries law in Uruguay (before the Parliament) would be an enabling policy for a consultative degree of participation, through the creation of national and zonal councils. Nevertheless, the negative impact that external agents have had on fishing communities are among the causes of low fisher participation. Fourth, findings from a participatory research initiative involving fishery stakeholders in Piriápolis (creating a multi-stakeholder body, POPA) showed that this approach can help overcome some of the barriers to co-management. These barriers include conflict-ridden relationships between fishers and the fisheries agency; stakeholders’ lack of capacity; and weak fisher organization. Moreover, the case showed that participatory research can pave the way for adaptive co-management by injecting a dynamic learning element into the early stages of the collaborative process. These findings, as well as the multilevel conception of social capital, represent contributions to adaptive co-management theory. The thesis identified contributions to policy based on the barriers and opportunities found for this transition, and suggested areas for further research.

As North American cities begin to age, our impermanent building methods inevitably lead to urban decay. Much of the housing stock has an expected lifespan and although this can be extended with proper and regular maintenance ultimately, much of this housing will face the bulldozer. Consequently, we are constantly engaged in the continuing cycle of urban revitalization, striving to keep our cities new and novel. This requires an immense amount of reinvestment and for some neighbourhoods, this is not an issue. This is not the case however for neighbourhoods considered to be ‘in distress’ which, face challenges not seen in more affluent areas. Revitalization efforts in at risk areas need to be more sensitive in their approach as they can displace, gentrify, and otherwise exacerbate the problems. This practicum is an exploration of that approach to renewal in grass roots fashion, using urban agriculture as a means to building community.

This study explored the relationship of migrants’ sociodemographic characteristics and social capital with HIV risk to contribute to our understanding of migration and HIV dynamics. The study was undertaken among Rajasthani migrants of age 18 and above in Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The data were collected from 1598 migrants through survey method and 73 migrants through qualitative methods from January to June 2007. Having casual partners, sex with a sex worker and no or inconsistent condom use with sex worker were used as the measures for HIV risk. There were significant differences among migrants. Mumbai had more people in the higher age category, married and with longer duration of migration. Ahmedabad had more migrants who were younger, unmarried, with regular jobs and more workdays per month. Migrants in Mumbai and Ahmedabad differed in the nature and content of social capital. Bonding and linking social capital were higher in Ahmedabad than Mumbai while bridging social capital was higher in Mumbai than Ahmedabad. Migrants engaged in high risk behaviour in Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Ahmedabad had more people reporting having casual partners (251; 31.6 percent vs. 134; 16.7 percent), sex with a sex worker (138; 17.4 percent vs. 80; 10 percent) and irregular or no condom use (96; 12.1 percent vs. 27; 3.4 percent) than Mumbai. Migrants at destination place had five times higher chances of having sex with a sex worker than villages. The nature of job, steady or fluctuating income and mode of salary receipt were the common significant variables in both Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Social capital was associated with the three HIV risk measures in overall, domain and component forms; however, the relationship was complex. HIV risk was mediated by ‘buddy’ and ‘daddy’ culture in Ahmedabad and Mumbai, respectively. Presence of senior community members in Mumbai lowered the risk in Mumbai while membership in buddy networks led to higher risk for migrants in Ahmedabad. In conclusion, migrant was not a homogenous category. The differences in sociodemographic characteristics and social capital informed the differential HIV risk in migrants. It is important to understand migrants’ lived experiences to plan effective HIV prevention programs.

Following a disaster, an organisation’s ability to recover is influenced by its internal capacities, but also by the people, organisations, and places to which it is connected. Current approaches to organisational resilience tend to focus predominantly on an organization's internal capacities and do not adequately consider the place-based contexts and networks in which it is embedded. This thesis explores how organisations’ connections may both hinder and enable organisational resilience. Organisations in the Canterbury region of New Zealand experienced significant and repeated disruptions as a result of two major earthquakes and thousands of aftershocks throughout 2010 and 2011. This thesis draws upon 32 case studies of organisations located in three severely damaged town centres in Canterbury to assess the influence that organisations’ place-based connections and relational networks had on their post-earthquake trajectories. The research has four objectives: 1) to examine the ways organisations connected to their local contexts both before and after the earthquakes, 2) to explore the characteristics of the formal and informal networks organisations used to aid their response and recovery, 3) to identify the ways organisations’ connections to their local contexts and support networks influenced their ability to recover following the earthquakes, and finally, 4) to develop approaches to assess resilience that consider these extra-organisational connections. The thesis contests the fiction that organisations recover and adapt independently from their contexts following disasters. Although organisations have a set of internal capacities that enable their post-disaster recovery, they are embedded within external structures that constrain and enable their adaptive options following a disaster. An approach which considers organisations’ contexts and networks as potential sources of organisational resilience has both conceptual and practical value. Refining our understanding of the influence of extra-organisational connections can improve our ability to explain variability in organisational outcomes following disasters and foster new ways to develop and manage organisational resilience.

This thesis examines whether the introduction of citizenship education in New Zealand would increase the levels of active citizenship of young migrant New Zealanders, using voter turnout as a measure. This research draws attention to an overlooked part of New Zealand political science research by studying young migrant New Zealanders. The theories and topics covered in this research include the notion of citizenship, education, political participation, social capital and multiculturalism. Both surveys and interviews are used to gauge young New Zealanders’ political attitudes and opinions, and their levels of political knowledge, interest, sophistication and socialisation are examined. The findings of this research suggest that citizenship education would not only be beneficial to young migrant New Zealanders but that citizenship education would benefit all young New Zealanders. It is argued that an increase in all young New Zealanders’ levels of political knowledge and interest are likely to have a positive effect on voter turnout levels. It is also argued that the current education curriculum does not explicitly encourage such learning. Using these findings in conjunction with theory, it is recommended that citizenship education is implemented into the New Zealand secondary school curriculum to ensure that New Zealand’s democracy is in good health for the current and future generations.