Human impacts on ocean ecosystems are driving declines in marine biodiversity, including marine mammals. Comprehensive spatial data are vital for making informed management decisions that may aid species recovery and facilitate the sustainable use of ocean ecosystems. However, marine mammal studies are often data limited, thereby restricting possible research questions. Developing novel analytical approaches and incorporating unconventional datasets can expand the scope of analysis by increasing the information content of existing data sources. The goal of our research is to support conservation and management of marine mammals in British Columbia (BC), Canada, through the application of advanced spatial statistical methodology to characterize spatial distribution and density patterns and provide assessments of data uncertainty. Our first objective is to generate statistical models to map spatially continuous predictions of marine mammal distributions and densities within BC’s north coast and apply methodology from spatial statistics to identify hotspots of elevated use. We use species observations collected from systematic line transect surveys previously adjusted to generate estimates of density per nautical mile of transect. We predict the distribution and density patterns of nine marine mammal species by employing a species-habitat model to relate species densities to environmental covariates using a generalized additive model. We use spatial statistical hotspot analysis (Getis-Ord Gi*statistic) and an aspatial threshold approach to identify hotspots of high density. Our analysis reveals that hotspots selected using a top percentage threshold produced smaller and more conservative hotspots than those generated using the Gi*statistic. The Gi*statistic demonstrates a robust and objective technique for quantifying spatial hotspots and offers an alternative method to the commonly applied aspatial threshold measure. We find that maps show agreement with prior research and hotspots align with ecologically important areas previously identified by expert opinion. Our second objective is to apply map comparison techniques to compare cetacean density maps from disparate data collection methods (systematic surveys and citizen science) to evaluate the information content of each map product and quantify similarities and differences. Discrepancies are quantified by performing image differencing techniques on the rank order values of each map surface. We subsequently use the Gi*statistic to isolate regions where extreme differences occur. To assess similarities, a Gi*statistic is applied to both maps to locate spatially explicit areas of high cetacean density. Where clusters of high density values in both maps overlap we infer higher confidence that the datasets are representing a true ecological signal, while areas of difference we recommend as targeted locations for future sampling effort. We contextualize map similarities and differences using a dataset of human activity in the form of cumulative human effect scores. Overall, our analytical approach integrates novel spatial datasets from systematic surveys, citizen science, and remote sensing to provide updated information on cetacean distributions in BC. Our study generates geographic data products that fill knowledge gaps and results provide baseline information valuable for future decision-making. The methodology applied in this study can be generalized across species and locations to support spatial planning and conservation prioritization in both marine and terrestrial contexts. / Graduate / 2017-11-13

From the perspective of a system developer, this study presents an in-depth analysis of the CiRM implementation process in Malaysian local government. The study was motivated by the lack of studies examining the CiRM implementation process initiatives in the local government sector. Furthermore, the performance of the Malaysian Government in this initiative has been subjected to various criticisms, i.e., not properly servicing its public. This raises the question as to what has happened during the period of the CiRM implementation process in Malaysia. As there has been a demand for local governments to invest more in CiRM projects, the need for existing and potential system developers in the Malaysian government to have an implementation framework that could guide their effort in implementing the system has become more vital. This study combines the case study research and grounded theory approaches. Twenty in-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted with system developers from ten local governments (i.e., five interviews from four pilot-cases and fifteen interviews from six primary-cases). The analyses of these data were divided in three main phases. The first phase involved a within and cross-case analyses of the pilot cases. The second and third phases involved a within and cross-case of the primary cases. These analyses enabled a set of determinants on CiRM implementation in the Malaysia local governments to be developed. The determinants were established by fitting their characteristics to the lifecycle of the CiRM system implementation process. Some of the determinants were found to be common to the existing literature while others were found to be enhancing the existing knowledge in CiRM implementation process. These determinants were then developed to shape a theoretical framework for the CiRM implementation process in the local Malaysian governments. This framework not only describes the main determinants in the implementation process, but also the forces and activities that lie within it.

To effectively provide services to citizens, local governments have had to be creative. One approach has been the creation of volunteer programs to meet demands and expanding needs. Volunteer programs hold promise for creating meaningful engagement opportunities for citizens. However, limited organizational capacity, inadequate volunteer management practices, and difficulties in maintaining volunteer retention are concerns plaguing local government volunteer programs. Volunteer programs are often structured around a set of best practices thought to be necessary for ensuring the retention of volunteers. To apply best practices across the board would suggest that local government volunteer programs are similar in organizational structure, budget size, amount of citizen engagement, accountability concerns, and that they adopt similar bureaucratic procedures. Using human relations and bureaucratic theories as theoretical frameworks, four research questions are asked and answered: 1) What are the managerial and political challenges in volunteer management and retention for local government volunteer coordinators?, 2) What challenges are local governments' volunteer coordinators facing in using volunteer management practices?, 3) What strategies are helpful in retaining volunteers in local government volunteerism?, and 4) What challenges do local government volunteer coordinators face in engaging citizens? Data collection for this qualitative study was conducted using online surveys and telephone semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest that creating meaningful work for volunteers and coordinating this work with local government managers was an important "best practices" challenge. Although local government volunteer programs also have a mission of engaging citizens, the practices actually used may directly conflict with their mission. Many volunteer management practices are supporting organizational goals rather than supporting the needs of volunteers. The study findings suggest that the best practices used by local governments are not given equal weight and "one size does not fit all." Instead, local governments must prioritize their practices carefully.

This thesis is a personal journey examining the applications of Ritual Poetic Drama Within the African Continuum as developed by my mentor Dr. Tawnya Pettiford-Wates, to the profession of the dramatic artist whether they are actor, director, educator or producer, to the training of the dramatic artist as a means of empowering generative, self defined, self validating artists, and as a means of developing community specific dramas in the hopes of facilitating individual and personal revelation. Using the author’s personal experiences as evidence, it intends to affirm Ritual Poetic Drama Within the African Continuum as an emergent methodology for theatrical practitioners.

The intergenerational relationships between the generation of young people and the generation of the elderly constitute the topic of this thesis. The theoretical part of the thesis deals with the specifics of generations of young and old people, demographic trends and aspects that have been occuring with an increasing number of seniors. Misunderstanding and intergenerational conflicts belong among the negative consequences of an aging society. In order to prevent intergenerational conflicts, it is necessary to create conditions so that the members of different generations can get to know each other better and comprehend the lifestyle of a different generation. Due to the transformation of the contemporary family - with grandchildren not having an opportunity to be with their grandparents in close contact as much as it used to be in the past - it is necessary to look for new ways to interconnect the worlds of young and old people. A volunteer project focused on an informal intergenerational learning is one of the options. Regarding the empirical part of the paper, it aims to determine whether the implementation of a volunteer project - that involves students as volunteers and seniors as clients of a home for the elderly - may contribute to the intergenerational rapprochement, whether common...

Master's thesis "Philosophy and community" looks into the origin of ancient greek term "polis" and inception of its citizen. It looks into it as specifical means of being of world and human. The correlation of polis and citizen is most apparent in philosophy of Plato. With an emphasis on his privilegy of spoken word over written one, he shows possible sources of philosophical hermeneutics. By understanding the situation, which leads to the decline of the reciprocal relationship between human and world, author would like to express that in Platos way of thinking are still unreflected possibilities of solution for the present day. Intention of this work is to contribute - by sketching and explication of the principles of political thinking - to the discussion - and not only to that of the political philosophy and political science.

Urbanisation is a key driver in the loss, fragmentation and modification of natural habitats resulting in the global loss of biodiversity. As the human population, and consequently the rate of urbanisation, continues to increase exponentially it is important to understand how to sustain and enhance biodiversity within the built environment. Cities comprise a complex assortment of habitat types yet relatively little is known of how its composition and spatial configuration can influence species presence or foraging activities. It is therefore necessary to examine habitat use and biodiversity patterns at multiple spatial scales to fully understand how species are responding to the urban matrix. There are few other orders of animals that are as strongly associated with people as bats (Chiroptera); for some bat species human habitations provide roosts and adaptations of the environment provide food sources. However bat species richness generally declines with increasing urbanisation indicating that many species are not able to persist in highly urbanised areas. In this thesis, I show that the behaviour, habitat preferences, and distribution of bats are strongly influenced by the built environment at both a local and landscape scale. Although many animal species are known to exhibit sex differences in habitat use, adaptability to the urban landscape is commonly examined at the species level without consideration of potential intraspecific differences. I found that female Pipistrellus pygmaeus show greater selectivity in foraging locations within urban woodland in comparison to males at both a local and landscape scale. There was a lower probability of finding females within woodlands which were poorly connected, highly cluttered, with a high edge: interior ratio and fewer mature trees. The results have important implications for our understanding of how to manage areas for breeding females and highlight the need to supplement acoustic monitoring with trapping data to assess sex differences in habitat use. Determining how morphological or behavioural traits can influence species adaptability to the built environment may enable us to improve the effectiveness of conservation efforts. The morphological similarities between P. pygmaeus and P. pipistrellus suggest that both species should respond similarly to the urban matrix, however I found differential habitat use occurring within a variety of urban habitats (e.g. woodland and waterways) and at a landscape scale. In urban woodland there was a higher probability of P. pygmaeus activity relative to P. pipistrellus in woodlands with low clutter and understory cover which were surrounded by low levels of built environment. Many bat species are strongly associated with aquatic or adjacent riparian habitats yet we know little about the utilisation of urban waterways by bats. After surveying urban waterways throughout the UK, I was able to show that the built environment can negatively affect a variety of bat species from the riparian zone up to 3km from a waterway. This indicates that beneficial urban waterway rehabilitation schemes for bats require management at multiple spatial scales, from retaining a vegetated riparian zone at the local scale to highlighting the necessity for conservation funding to be spent on the implementation of landscape scale environmental improvement schemes that encompass the entire urban matrix. Undertaking surveys to confirm species presence or to estimate population sizes can be difficult, particularly for elusive species such as bats. I was able to demonstrate a variety of ways to increase surveying efficiency (e.g. the use of an acoustic lure to increase bat-capture rate) and a significant relationship between bat activity and the relative abundance of certain species of bat which can maximise the knowledge of diversity in an area whilst minimising wildlife disturbances. Urbanisation has also had strong negative effects on many insect groups, such as moths, which are important components of the diets of many bat species. I found that woodland vegetation characteristics were more important than the surrounding landscapes in determining the abundance, species richness, and species diversity of moth assemblages within urban woodland. This indicates that management at a local scale to ensure provision of good quality habitat may be more beneficial for moth populations than improving habitat connectivity across the urban matrix. The findings presented in this thesis have important implications for our understanding of the adaptability of species to the built environment and for the management and monitoring of bat populations. It also highlights that even common bat species are negatively affected by urbanisation and much greater attention should be paid to securing their future within the urban landscape.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1986 R67 / Master of Landscape Architecture

D.Litt.et Phil. (Sociology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.A. (Community Development) / Please refer to full text to view abstract