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As in many arctic regions, impacts of increasing environmental stressors such as climate change and industrialization (particularly mineral exploration and mine development) have led local Inuit in northern Labrador to notice changes in their environment. In addition, they have expressed concerns that research and monitoring programs aimed at understanding and tracking these changes are lacking in many areas and do not accurately reflect their knowledge and concerns. Many communities feel powerless in the face of these changes as they lack the resources needed to respond. In consideration of this, an integrated regional approach has been initiated in Nunatsiavut to ensure concerns from all stakeholders, including Inuit as well as major industrial and governmental organizations, are adequately addressed. The purpose of this study was to further the understanding of environmental changes in Anaktalâk Bay (the shipping route to the Voisey’s Bay Nickel mine) and the effects of these changes on local Inuit in order to inform the development of a multi-partner monitoring (MPM) program for the area. The research was conducted using a participatory approach that included documenting Inuit knowledge (IK) obtained during a workshop involving 14 long-term residents of Nain (>25 years; both genders) in December 2006. Trends identified during the transcript analysis highlight that often the most severe perceived effects on Inuit occur when environmental stressors work synergistically. Key linkages between environmental changes and effects were also identified. The workshop findings document the local desire for a monitoring program to track ecosystem-based changes, as well as the social, economic and environmental effects of these changes, to ensure that Inuit are able to mitigate these changes, and adapt when mitigation is not possible or sufficient. Workshop participants voiced an interest in participating in future monitoring activities and it is anticipated that program development will give both researchers and community members an opportunity to continue to work together and learn from each other, in order to develop and implement relevant and appropriate local solutions. Ultimately, this program should begin to address the Inuit desire in this region to strengthen and protect their relationship with the environment. / Thesis (Master, Environmental Studies) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-20 12:02:32.619 / Queen's University Environmental Sciences Group Nunatsiavut Government ArcticNet

This thesis is a collection of four manuscripts linked by the aim of extending strategic alignment thought into the knowledge management domain by explicitly including the concept of knowledge strategy into the discussion of strategic alignment. In the first paper, a set of common knowledge strategy dimensions was synthesized and used to link two existing knowledge strategy typologies. The key finding of the study was that the two typologies operated at different strategic levels, allowing for the creation of portfolios of the lower order types under each higher order type. In the second paper, a model of strategic alignment between business, information system and knowledge strategy was presented and tested using survey data. It was found that the combination of aligned information and knowledge strategies with their associated business strategy resulted in higher performance for defenders, analyzers and prospectors and that the alignment of non-viable strategies led to worse performance than individual non-viable strategies alone. In the third paper, case studies provided examples of alignment and misalignment which were used to populate a framework linking alignment and performance. Four explanations for firms’ location in the model were provided, focusing on appropriate versus inappropriate alignment, conscious versus unconscious misalignment, antagonistic alignment versus misalignment, and strategic alignment versus misalignment. In the final paper, the Strategic Orientation of Knowledge-Based Enterprises (STROKE) instrument was developed to capture the orientation of knowledge strategy employment in firms. During the development process, a new statistic was developed to aid in the validation of card sorts during the scale development step of instrument creation. / Thesis (Ph.D, Management) -- Queen's University, 2009-04-12 16:39:28.315

The bioeconomy, which would utilize biomass resources for the renewable production of energy, fuels, and products, has been proposed as a mechanism by which Ontario’s resource-dependent communities might be revitalized. This thesis applies a knowledge economy framework to the establishment of a bioeconomy, with a strong focus on bioenergy as a first step, in Kingston and the surrounding region. The knowledge economy approach was examined in relation to other measures of sustainability and security. A series of 25 expert interviews informed an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats on the topic of the knowledge-based bioeconomy study region. The ability of the knowledge-based approach to assess the requirements of the bioeconomy was then evaluated using a statistical assessment of the study region based on Florida’s ‘creative economy’ framework, and this assessment was compared to key factors noted in the SWOT analysis. Research findings indicate that basic necessities such as feedstock, technology and transportation routes are likely available across the study region. However, key elements of the knowledge economy are absent particularly human resources in the ‘creative’ class. The knowledge-based approach is not particularly well suited to capturing all aspects of the bioeconomy, as it overlooks physical geographical features, which may be better measured by other tools. More focused policy with regard to renewable energy locally, provincially and nationally is seen to be important for advancing the bioeconomy. Acting on opportunities and using regional strengths will insure a successful implementation of a knowledge-based bioeconomy that will provide the benefits of economic growth associated with knowledge economies. / Thesis (Master, Geography) -- Queen's University, 2012-09-28 14:01:25.454

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Examining the process of knowledge exchange and uptake (KEU) involved collaborating with a current decision-maker to determine what knowledge would be examined to increase the understanding why evidence is accepted or rejected as evidence for decision-making. The knowledge selected were the organizational values of a Regional Health Authority from a managerial perspective. The uptake was how the values informed decision-making. The secondary attributes were identified as the conditions and characteristics that enable or challenge using values. As decision-makers prefer usable tools as a research deliverable, a Continuous Improvement Model and Logic Model were populated with the results of a mixed method inquiry. The actionable recommendations are intended to counter challenges and encourage best practices, and provide evaluation indicators. This dissertation will add to the growing literature on how to influence the uptake of evidence through collaboration and effective knowledge transfer plans that aid in bridging the know-do gap.

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<p>Research suggests that parents&rsquo / feeding practices play a critical role in the development of children&rsquo / s tastes, eating habits, nutrition and eventual weight status. Thus if parental feeding practices play such a critical role, the question arises as to whether there is a difference in parental feeding practices that determine different developments in children&rsquo / s nutritional habits. Furthermore, feeding practices are possibly based on the nutritional knowledge of parents. The aim of this study was to assess the Body Mass Index (BMI), nutritional knowledge and behaviour of primary care-givers. This study followed the quantitative research paradigm. A sample of 147 staff members, who were primary care- givers of children at a University in the Western Cape was self-selected to participate in the study. Only primary care-givers of children were invited to participate. The primary care-givers were asked to complete two online questionnaires, the Comprehensive Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFPQ) developed by Musher-E-Eisenman and Holub (2007), and the General Nutritional Knowledge Questionnaire (GNKQ) for adults. Data analysis was done by means of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS17). Results indicated that the majority of participants were overweight (46% of the participants). Primary care-givers across all body mass index groups did not lack nutritional knowledge but variations in behaviour were found with regard to feeding practices. However similarities were found in the BMI categories in the areas of teaching about nutrition, pressure to eat at meal times<br /> and encouraging balance and variety.</p>

Lake Winnipeg and the issue of its declining health are at the heart of this research. At stake is not only the integrity of this ecosystem but also the substantial commercial fishery that depends upon it. Finding a solution to this problem involves a complex mixture of social, economic and ecological considerations. In response to such multi-faceted questions there is an increasing awareness for the role of public participation in decision-making. In recognition of this, there is a move away from top-down governance to one that acknowledges the need for innovative approaches to governance as well as the role for the participation of non-state actors in decision-making. This type of participatory governance decentralizes power in order to permit citizens the opportunity to bring to bear their knowledge in the quest for sustainable solutions. One such source of knowledge is local knowledge. Accordingly, this research explores the local knowledge about Lake Winnipeg held by its commercial fishers and how that knowledge is included in the Lake’s governance. This goal is pursued through the examination of four specific objectives that are: 1) to establish the sorts of local knowledge that fishers hold and the ways in which they gained this knowledge; 2) to identify what informal and formal governance processes already exist for participation of the fishers in the governance of Lake Winnipeg; 3) to determine by what means and to what extent this local knowledge has been shared in governance processes about the Lake; 4) to identify opportunities for the incorporation of the fishers’ local knowledge into the governance of the Lake. A qualitative approach was used to address the goals of the research and included literature review, a focus group with fishers, and interviews with fishers and government personnel. Analysis revealed that the commercial fishers possess local knowledge extending across a broad range of topics from hydrology, ecology, weather, water quality and fish diet, habitat, behaviour and morphology. This knowledge was gained primarily through personal observation, but also from other fishers, scientists, and the media. The more formal participatory processes in which the fishers became engaged have been limited to issues relating to the fishery. These formal processes included the Lake Winnipeg Fisheries Management Advisory Board, the Manitoba Commercial Inland Fishers Federation, and the Lake Winnipeg Quota Entitlement Review Task Force. In addition to these formal processes there was also a less formal network of contact between fishers and those in government and science. This network has involved fishers sharing their local knowledge about the fishery and. to a lesser degree, about the Lake’s environment more generally. Taken together, these various processes have supplied, with variable success, some opportunities for fishers to share their local knowledge and influence fishery related decisions. However, the extent of their participation has been significantly impaired by a number of critical factors. Of these, the most detrimental barrier identified was a lack of meaningfulness and transparency in the key process, the Advisory Board. This, in turn, resulted in frustration, mistrust of government, and ultimately, withdrawal from that process. Reflecting on these problems, fishers made a number of recommendations including the creation of a co-management board and the use of interviews and surveys, public meetings, and collaborative research as ways to ensure that their knowledge is shared and that their concerns and recommendations are considered in meaningful ways that influence fishery and Lake-related decisions.

People usually have favorable evaluations when incoming information matches with their self view, which has been evidenced in cross-cultural research on advertisement appeals. However, the current paper demonstrates a counterintuitive finding in a retailing context. Results show that when an interdependent self-construal is made salient situationally, individually focused persuasion attempts (i.e. uniqueness) have a more positive impact on consumers’ trustworthiness toward the salesclerk and need for uniqueness than interpersonally focused persuasion attempts (i.e. connectedness). However, when an independent self-construal is activated situationally, persuasion attempts used by a salesclerk have no influence on consumers’ perceptions of trustworthiness toward the salesclerk and need for uniqueness. Five studies are presented that test these propositions and investigate their underlying processes. Study 1 conducted in Canada supported the hypothesized effects. Study 2 provided evidence for the robustness of the effect observed in Study 1 by conducting a similar experiment in China. Study 3, a field study, further supported the propositions when measuring self-construal as an individual difference. Study 4 provided support for the proposed underlying mechanism. That is, the observed effect in Study 1, 2 & 3 is due to persuasion knowledge through deliberate processing. Study 5 extended this result by recruiting participants from four different countries (France, Canada, China, and Israel).