This investigation, comprising two studies, examined the number of barriers to physical activity (Study 1) and barrier strength (Study 2) reported by middle-aged and older adults using a social ecological framework (McLeroy et al., 1988). Researchers were interested in assessing age group (45-54; 55-64; 65-74 yrs) by physical activity group (active, less active) effects for barrier responses using analyses of variance. In Study 1, 180 participants completed a physical activity level survey (Godin & Shephard, 1985) and answered open-ended questions about barriers. Results indicated that 45-54 yr-olds reported more barriers overall, and more intrapersonal barriers than older groups. Less active 45-54 yr-olds reported more organizational-interpersonal barriers than the other groups. Descriptive analyses of coded themes demonstrated that common intrapersonal barrier sub-themes cited by younger adults related to family commitments, while sub-themes reported by middle-aged and older adults related to having a health problem or an injury. In the organizational-interpersonal category, the most common barrier sub-theme related to the workplace. In Study 2, 116 participants completed a survey assessing weekly physical activity and barrier strength for items pertaining to ecological categories and barrier sub-factors. Results showed that less active adults reported each of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and physical environment barriers more strongly than active adults, irrespective of age; the intrapersonal category was relatively the most constraining for our participants. In terms of barrier sub-factors, results showed that significantly higher barrier strength scores are most often associated with physical activity level (i.e., less active), and only occasionally associated with age group. The overall investigation can provide valuable information for improving physical activity interventions for middle-aged and older adults.

While Western science education has always been ubiquitous in the Canadian educational system and society, many researchers have recognized the scientific and educational values of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). This study aims to contribute to the understanding of TEK and the integration of TEK into science curricula. The prevalence and representation of TEK in grades 7 and 8 official science curriculum documents used in Canada were examined. To describe TEK in the documents, both quantitative and qualitative content analyses were conducted. The results show the high variation of the prevalence and representations of TEK. Overall, Nunavut and Saskatchewan show the highest prevalence and representation of TEK in their curriculum documents, which could establish a benchmark for developing a national learning framework for integrating TEK.

Commonly employed executive function measures may be of limited use due to their modest ecological validity. A novel task was developed - the Multitasking in the City Test (MCT) - in an attempt to improve ecological validity. The MCT involves task demands that resemble the demands of everyday activities. In study one, healthy participants were recruited in order to explore ‘normal’ performance on the MCT and its relationship with other cognitive measures. The MCT showed poor associations with executive tests and significant correlations with non-executive tests. This suggested the MCT may evaluate executive functioning in a different way from other executive measures such that it does not simply measure component executive processes but the integration of these components into meaningful behaviour. Patients with stroke and traumatic brain injury were recruited for study two to further explore the ecological validity and MCT performance characteristics. Only the MCT and a semantic fluency task demonstrated good ecological validity via significant relationships with a behavioural rating scale. Patients and normals made qualitatively similar types of errors although patients made these errors more frequently. Patients demonstrated better planning ability but completed fewer tasks than normals on the MCT. This discrepancy was attributed to impaired initiation. In study three, the MCT and verbal fluency tasks were administered to brain-injured individuals both pre- and post-executive function rehabilitation to evaluate their utility as treatment outcome measures and to assess ecological validity via a different behavioural rating scale from the one used in study two. Strategies trained during treatment generalized to MCT but not verbal fluency performance. Both MCT and semantic fluency performance were found to have good ecological validity. Overall, the findings from this research project suggest the MCT and semantic fluency tasks have good ecological validity. They further suggest that several common executive function measures lack adequate ecological validity and may not be predictive of real world behaviour. Moreover, these results support the concept of an executive function ‘system’ that can be fractionated into a variety of executive processes and that impairments in one process (e.g., initiation) can exist alongside intact functioning in other processes (e.g., planning).

Physical activity and healthy eating are key components of healthy living, and they reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases. Current research indicates that Canadian early years children are not active enough for healthy growth and development. Additionally their diets are high in processed foods and lack fresh and locally grown foods. Parents play a key role in establishing healthy behaviours; however caregivers also have a strong influence, as many early years children spend a large portion on their day in care centres. To date, very little is known about the factors influencing rural caregivers in the provision of healthy opportunities for early years children in their care. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to use an ecological framework to identify facilitators and barriers that rural caregivers face when providing physical activity and healthy eating opportunities in care centres. Methods: Caregivers (N = 8) in rural settings participated in one on one semi-structured interviews. Perceived facilitators and barriers reported by caregivers were categorized using the ecological model as (intrapersonal, interpersonal, institutional, community, and policy). Results: Caregivers identified facilitators and barriers. (i.e., personal health and wellness, caregiver perceptions of lack of parental knowledge, parental support and access to facilities and local foods in the community), that influenced their ability to provide physical activity and healthy eating opportunities for children in their care. Similar barriers and facilitators were clustered together to create themes within each ecological category. A total of 12 key themes emerged from the data. Conclusion: Rural caregivers identified a number of factors that facilitated and inhibited their ability to provide opportunities for engaging in health promoting behaviours. Interestingly caregivers did not identify any intrapersonal barriers. Factors in the interpersonal category were the most commonly reported. Thus behaviours of others were the often indicated as a key factor influencing caregivers in the provision of healthy opportunities. In the institutional and community categories caregivers identified a number of facilitators that supported them in the provision of healthy opportunities. Additionally, some caregivers discussed practices they used to overcome barriers and this in turn, facilitated the promotion of physical activity and healthy eating within the care centres. Research in rural areas is limited and the majority of studies focus the barriers to living in rural areas. This study contributes to the literature because it identified, not only challenges, but also benefits to living in rural areas. Furthermore, the use of an ecological framework allowed barriers and facilitators to be classified into distinct categories. This is important, as classification of specific factors can aid in designing initiatives that target facilitators and alleviate barriers. Such initiatives can then support early years caregivers in the provision of healthy opportunities for children. In turn, this will aid Canadian early years children in establishing lifelong physical activity eating and healthy eating patterns.

Physical activity and healthy eating are key components of healthy living, and they reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases. Current research indicates that Canadian early years children are not active enough for healthy growth and development. Additionally their diets are high in processed foods and lack fresh and locally grown foods. Parents play a key role in establishing healthy behaviours; however caregivers also have a strong influence, as many early years children spend a large portion on their day in care centres. To date, very little is known about the factors influencing rural caregivers in the provision of healthy opportunities for early years children in their care. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to use an ecological framework to identify facilitators and barriers that rural caregivers face when providing physical activity and healthy eating opportunities in care centres. Methods: Caregivers (N = 8) in rural settings participated in one on one semi-structured interviews. Perceived facilitators and barriers reported by caregivers were categorized using the ecological model as (intrapersonal, interpersonal, institutional, community, and policy). Results: Caregivers identified facilitators and barriers. (i.e., personal health and wellness, caregiver perceptions of lack of parental knowledge, parental support and access to facilities and local foods in the community), that influenced their ability to provide physical activity and healthy eating opportunities for children in their care. Similar barriers and facilitators were clustered together to create themes within each ecological category. A total of 12 key themes emerged from the data. Conclusion: Rural caregivers identified a number of factors that facilitated and inhibited their ability to provide opportunities for engaging in health promoting behaviours. Interestingly caregivers did not identify any intrapersonal barriers. Factors in the interpersonal category were the most commonly reported. Thus behaviours of others were the often indicated as a key factor influencing caregivers in the provision of healthy opportunities. In the institutional and community categories caregivers identified a number of facilitators that supported them in the provision of healthy opportunities. Additionally, some caregivers discussed practices they used to overcome barriers and this in turn, facilitated the promotion of physical activity and healthy eating within the care centres. Research in rural areas is limited and the majority of studies focus the barriers to living in rural areas. This study contributes to the literature because it identified, not only challenges, but also benefits to living in rural areas. Furthermore, the use of an ecological framework allowed barriers and facilitators to be classified into distinct categories. This is important, as classification of specific factors can aid in designing initiatives that target facilitators and alleviate barriers. Such initiatives can then support early years caregivers in the provision of healthy opportunities for children. In turn, this will aid Canadian early years children in establishing lifelong physical activity eating and healthy eating patterns.

Commonly employed executive function measures may be of limited use due to their modest ecological validity. A novel task was developed - the Multitasking in the City Test (MCT) - in an attempt to improve ecological validity. The MCT involves task demands that resemble the demands of everyday activities. In study one, healthy participants were recruited in order to explore ‘normal’ performance on the MCT and its relationship with other cognitive measures. The MCT showed poor associations with executive tests and significant correlations with non-executive tests. This suggested the MCT may evaluate executive functioning in a different way from other executive measures such that it does not simply measure component executive processes but the integration of these components into meaningful behaviour. Patients with stroke and traumatic brain injury were recruited for study two to further explore the ecological validity and MCT performance characteristics. Only the MCT and a semantic fluency task demonstrated good ecological validity via significant relationships with a behavioural rating scale. Patients and normals made qualitatively similar types of errors although patients made these errors more frequently. Patients demonstrated better planning ability but completed fewer tasks than normals on the MCT. This discrepancy was attributed to impaired initiation. In study three, the MCT and verbal fluency tasks were administered to brain-injured individuals both pre- and post-executive function rehabilitation to evaluate their utility as treatment outcome measures and to assess ecological validity via a different behavioural rating scale from the one used in study two. Strategies trained during treatment generalized to MCT but not verbal fluency performance. Both MCT and semantic fluency performance were found to have good ecological validity. Overall, the findings from this research project suggest the MCT and semantic fluency tasks have good ecological validity. They further suggest that several common executive function measures lack adequate ecological validity and may not be predictive of real world behaviour. Moreover, these results support the concept of an executive function ‘system’ that can be fractionated into a variety of executive processes and that impairments in one process (e.g., initiation) can exist alongside intact functioning in other processes (e.g., planning).

This investigation, comprising two studies, examined the number of barriers to physical activity (Study 1) and barrier strength (Study 2) reported by middle-aged and older adults using a social ecological framework (McLeroy et al., 1988). Researchers were interested in assessing age group (45-54; 55-64; 65-74 yrs) by physical activity group (active, less active) effects for barrier responses using analyses of variance. In Study 1, 180 participants completed a physical activity level survey (Godin & Shephard, 1985) and answered open-ended questions about barriers. Results indicated that 45-54 yr-olds reported more barriers overall, and more intrapersonal barriers than older groups. Less active 45-54 yr-olds reported more organizational-interpersonal barriers than the other groups. Descriptive analyses of coded themes demonstrated that common intrapersonal barrier sub-themes cited by younger adults related to family commitments, while sub-themes reported by middle-aged and older adults related to having a health problem or an injury. In the organizational-interpersonal category, the most common barrier sub-theme related to the workplace. In Study 2, 116 participants completed a survey assessing weekly physical activity and barrier strength for items pertaining to ecological categories and barrier sub-factors. Results showed that less active adults reported each of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and physical environment barriers more strongly than active adults, irrespective of age; the intrapersonal category was relatively the most constraining for our participants. In terms of barrier sub-factors, results showed that significantly higher barrier strength scores are most often associated with physical activity level (i.e., less active), and only occasionally associated with age group. The overall investigation can provide valuable information for improving physical activity interventions for middle-aged and older adults.

This thesis contains the results of a biocultural conservation research conducted between 2008 and 2011 in home gardens in Vall Fosca, Catalan Pyrenees, northeastern Spain. Vall Fosca is a valley where traditional agroecosystems still survive, but whose inhabitants are divided in defining the most suitable development model for the region. This dissertation examines the existence of landraces and knowledge associated with them in a rural area in an industrialized country. It shows who preserves landraces and why they do so. It also estimates the association between individual centrality in the network of seed exchange and conservation of landraces and associated knowledge. This thesis also discusses the ecosystem services provided by home gardens, as well as the differences between men and women when assessing these ecosystem services. The results establish the existence of landraces and knowledge associated with them in a rural area in an industrialized country. Specifically, my results show the existence of 39 landraces belonging to 31 species, in home gardens with a variety of 148 different species. Women, people over 65 years of age, experienced gardeners and people who grow the garden with organic techniques conserve more landraces than people without these characteristics. Also people who have a more active role in the seed exchange network and have higher levels of intermediation in the network retain more landraces and traditional knowledge than people who have a more passive role in social networks of seed exchange. Home gardens provide a wide range of services, often not very prominent in the literature on ecosystem services. Among these, cultural services are the most appreciated. In this regard, an interesting contribution of this work is that the most valued home garden ecosystem services differ significantly from the services provided by other farming systems. Another interesting contribution of this work is that women value the ecosystem services more than men. The explanation for this finding is part of the socialization theory that assigns women roles on family care and protection. My analysis provides new data that facilitate the understanding of the relationship between pro-environmental attitudes and gender socialization. This thesis has found that home gardens and landraces are symbols of cultural identity in the valley and that both permanent residents and visitors consider that home gardens are key elements in the landscape of the valley and should be preserved as part of biocultural heritage. In addition, the ecosystem services provided by the home gardens, particularly the cultural services, can help develop relations between people, relations that might contribute to strengthening cultural identity and to create bonds of respect with the environment. The results of this thesis can contribute to make biocultural diversity visible in the valley and generate endogenous rural development models based on the sustainable exploitation of ecosystem services generated by traditional agroecosystems. Key words: ecosystem services; landraces; rural development; socialization theory; Spain; traditional ecological knowledge. / La presente tesis recoge una investigación en conservación biocultural realizada entre el 2008 y el 2011 en los huertos domésticos de la Vall Fosca en el Pirineo catalán, nordeste de España. La Vall Fosca es un valle en el que aún perviven agroecosistemas tradicionales, pero que se encuentra dividido a la hora de definir el modelo de desarrollo más deseable. Esta tesis analiza la existencia de cultivos de manejo local y el conocimiento asociado a ellos en un área rural de un país industrializado; muestra quién y por qué se conservan los cultivos de manejo local; y estima la asociación entre la centralidad individual en la red de intercambio de semillas y la conservación de los cultivos de manejo local y su conocimiento asociado. En esta tesis también se analizan los servicios ambientales proporcionados por los huertos domésticos, así como las diferencias entre hombres y mujeres en el momento de valorar estos servicios ambientales. Los resultados del análisis establecen la existencia de cultivos de manejo local y el conocimiento asociado a ellos en un área rural de un país industrializado. Específicamente mis resultados muestran la existencia de 39 cultivos de manejo local correspondientes a 31 especies, en huertos con una diversidad de 148 especies diferentes. Las mujeres, las personas de más de 65 años de edad, los hortelanos con experiencia, y la gente que cultiva el huerto con técnicas orgánicas mantienen más cultivos de manejo local que las personas sin estas características. Asimismo las personas que tienen un papel más activo en las redes de intercambio de semillas y que tienen mayores niveles de intermediación en la red, también conservan más cultivos de manejo local y tienen mayor conocimiento tradicional que las personas que tienen un papel más pasivo en las redes sociales. Los huertos domésticos proporcionan un amplio abanico de servicios, a menudo poco destacados en la literatura. Entre estos, los servicios culturales son los más apreciados. Un aporte interesante en este sentido es que los servicios de los huertos domésticos más valorados difieren significativamente de los servicios proporcionados por otros sistemas agrícolas. Otro aporte interesante de este trabajo es que las mujeres valoran los servicios ambientales más que los hombres. La explicación a este hallazgo se enmarca en la teoría de la socialización, que asigna a las mujeres papeles de cuidado y protección. Este análisis aporta nuevos datos que facilitan el entendimiento de la relación entre actitudes pro-ambientales y la socialización de género. En esta tesis se ha podido comprobar que los huertos y los cultivos de manejo local son símbolos de identidad cultural en el valle y que tanto los habitantes permanentes como los visitantes consideran que los huertos son elementos clave en el paisaje del valle y que se deberían preservar como parte de su patrimonio biocultural. Además, los servicios ambientales proporcionados por los huertos, en particular los culturales, pueden ayudar a tejer relaciones entre las personas que contribuyan a fortalecer la identidad cultural y a crear lazos de respeto con su medio ambiente. Los resultados de esta tesis pueden contribuir a visibilizar la diversidad biocultural del valle y generar modelos endógenos de desarrollo rural basados en la explotación sostenible de los servicios ambientales generados por los agroecosistemas tradicionales. Palabras clave: conocimiento ecológico tradicional; cultivos de manejo local; desarrollo rural; España; servicios ambientales; teoría de la socialización; variedades locales. / Aquesta tesi recull una investigació en conservació biocultural realitzada entre el 2008 i el 2011 en els horts domèstics de la Vall Fosca al Pirineu català, nord-est d'Espanya. La Vall Fosca és una vall en la qual encara perviuen agroecosistemes tradicionals, però que es troba dividida a l'hora de definir el model de desenvolupament més desitjable. Aquesta tesi analitza l'existència de cultius de gestió local i el coneixement associat a ells en una àrea rural d'un país industrialitzat; mostra qui i per què es conserven els cultius de gestió local, i estima l'associació entre la centralitat individual a la xarxa d’ intercanvi de llavors i la conservació dels cultius de gestió local i el seu coneixement associat. En aquesta tesi també s'analitzen els serveis ambientals proporcionats pels horts domèstics, així com les diferències entre homes i dones en el moment de valorar aquests serveis ambientals. Els resultats de l'anàlisi estableixen l'existència de cultius de gestió local i el coneixement associat a ells en una àrea rural d'un país industrialitzat. Específicament els meus resultats mostren l'existència de 39 cultius de gestió local corresponents a 31 espècies, en horts amb una diversitat de 148 espècies diferents. Les dones, les persones de més de 65 anys d'edat, els hortolans amb experiència, i la gent que conrea l'hort amb tècniques orgàniques mantenen més cultius de gestió local que les persones sense aquestes característiques. Així mateix les persones que tenen un paper més actiu en les xarxes d'intercanvi de llavors i que tenen majors nivells d'intermediació a la xarxa, també conserven més cultius de gestió local i tenen major coneixement tradicional que les persones que tenen un paper més passiu en les xarxes socials. Els horts domèstics proporcionen un ampli ventall de serveis, sovint poc destacats en la literatura. Entre aquests, els serveis culturals són els més apreciats. Una aportació interessant en aquest sentit és que els serveis dels horts domèstics més valorats difereixen significativament dels serveis proporcionats per altres sistemes agrícoles. Un altre aportació interessant d'aquest treball és que les dones valoren els serveis ambientals més que els homes. L'explicació a aquesta troballa s'emmarca en la teoria de la socialització, que assigna a les dones papers de cura i protecció. Aquesta anàlisi aporta noves dades que faciliten l'enteniment de la relació entre actituds pro-ambientals i la socialització de gènere. En aquesta tesi s'ha pogut comprovar que els horts i els conreus de gestió local són símbols d'identitat cultural a la vall i que tant els habitants permanents com els visitants consideren que els horts són elements clau en el paisatge de la vall i que s'haurien preservar com a part del seu patrimoni biocultural. A més, els serveis ambientals proporcionats pels horts, en particular els culturals, poden ajudar a teixir relacions entre les persones que contribueixin a enfortir la identitat cultural i a crear llaços de respecte amb el seu medi ambient. Els resultats d'aquesta tesi poden contribuir a visibilitzar la diversitat biocultural de la vall i generar models endògens de desenvolupament rural basats en l'explotació sostenible dels serveis ambientals generats pels agroecosistemes tradicionals. Paraules clau: coneixement ecològic tradicional; cultius de gestió local, desenvolupament rural, Espanya, serveis ambientals, teoria de la socialització; varietats locals.

This paper explores the contextual factors that promote and inhibit firms? motivations to adopt a voluntary environmental initiative that is good for the environment but does not provide a clear competitive or legitimating benefit to the firm itself. Using green electricity (e. g. , wind, solar, small hydro, and biomass) as an example of such an initiative, the study uses qualitative research to investigate the willingness of 20 Canadian businesses to voluntarily adopt green electricity for at least a portion of their total electricity requirements. <br /><br /> Although the corporate ecological responsiveness literature reveals that external factors (e. g. , economic, government, infrastructure), organizational factors (e. g. , industry cohesion), and individual factors (e. g. , leadership, individual interest, manager discretion) can all affect the types of environmental projects that firms will adopt, in the case of green electricity the external factors were the more significant obstacles to it being perceived as a viable means to improve corporate environmental performance. In firms currently using green electricity, these obstacles were largely overcome by the successful efforts of an internal champion motivated primarily by individual values. An important aspect of the champion?s success is her ability to attach her personal interest to a tangible business issue. This task is in turn aided by proactive or sustaining corporate environmental strategies that formalize continual environmental improvement processes and are predisposed to evaluating the success of an initiative on more than its financial or legitimizing contribution to the firm. <br /><br /> Based on these findings, the thesis concludes that the two most important factors associated with the willingness of firms to adopt an initiative that is good for the environment but not necessarily good for the firm are the development of decision-making criteria that extend beyond the bottom-line and the capability of concerned individuals to legitimize the initiative within the firm.

Once considered a 'green' industry, tourism and its associated ecological impacts are now widely acknowledged. Focus within tourism planning has aimed to reduce the ecological burden placed on a destination area, and move towards a more sustainable tourism industry. This research proposes the use of the Ecological Footprint (EF) as a tool to compare the ecological costs of different types of tourism. The EF shows the relative amount of productive land appropriated by the activities and choices of an individual tourist. The main goal of this study was to analyse and compare the ecological resource use of tourism in Ontario. Surveys were conducted with tourists staying at 9 different types of accommodations throughout Ontario. Additional data were collected from personal interviews with accommodation managers at each location and incorporated into the EF calculation. Four areas of tourism ecological impact were identified; tourists' personal consumption, transportation, activity, and accommodation costs. These four components contributed in varying degrees to each tourist Ecological Footprint, and this variation became the main area of analysis. The findings of this research demonstrated that air travel contributes significantly to the total ecological cost of a particular tourism experience. Comparably, travel by personal car made a much smaller contribution to the tourist EF. Thus, local area tourists who could drive to a destination had a smaller EF than those long-distance domestic and international tourists who flew. Accommodation ecological costs were primarily a factor of the amount of built space available, and total energy usage per guest. Accommodations that had a large number of occupants for a given area and level of energy consumption achieved a scale of efficiency. In this manner, larger, more efficiently constructed accommodations often made smaller contributions to the tourist EF than small-scale, but inefficient accommodations. The main conclusion was that the ecological impacts of tourism can be quantitatively recorded, and that a complete trip view of tourism ecological resource use is necessary. When considering practical applications in the tourism industry, an Ecological Footprint analysis could be used by tourism managers as an evaluative tool to compare the ecological outcome of various construction, programming, and operational changes. For the tourist, the EF can serve as an 'eco-label', to distinguish one type of 'green' tourism from another, creating a more informed consumer. Ultimately, the Ecological Footprint serves one purpose- to demonstrate that less ecologically consumptive tourism choices are possible for both tourists and tourism managers.