In Manitoba there are an estimated 200 small and 10 large wastewater treatment systems contributing nutrients to surface water when effluent is discharged. The objective of this study was to assess the sustainability and social acceptance of wastewater irrigation in the southeast Interlake region. It was concluded that sustainably irrigating forage crops would be challenging. The combination of soils with only ratings of fair for irrigability and the low quality of wastewater limits the long term sustainability of irrigation. Only one study site maintains a high potential to develop a wastewater irrigation program due to sufficient suitable land and appropriate wastewater quality. The social acceptance of wastewater irrigation is mixed with only about half the survey respondents favourable to irrigation or reuse of wastewater.

This paper describes Inuit cultural considerations when defining and communicating electronic health concepts and personal health information services to urban Inuit audiences. Applying a two-eyed seeing model to build on and describe contextual meanings for Western and Inuit versions of health information and information communication technologies is critical to sustained relevance of electronic health information. Overarching concerns include reclaiming Inuit ownership and vision; sustainability; and; authority and capacity. It is within an electronic health space that Inuit can attain self-determination for the management of their own personal health data and develop a set of culturally safe and empowering practices for communicating ownership and cultural relevancy of health and health information in an evolving health care system.

In 2010 and 2011, Manitoba Hydro in collaboration with Manitoba Conservation collared 65 gray wolves (Canis lupus) as part of a larger multi-year boreal woodland caribou research project. There is insufficient data regarding populations of gray wolves in Manitoba or their movements throughout the province. The objective of this study was to typify wolf movements in Manitoba to provide recommendations for industry and government for the development of policy and integrated resource management plans of this species. Of the 65-collared wolves, 11 were selected to examine their movements in three regions of the Province. It was found that wolf populations overlap one another in the study area, to varying degrees. Their ability to move long distances, creates challenges for resource managers, as most management plans only consider management at a regional scale rather than a multi-jurisdictional level. In addition, this examination of gray wolf movements will assist in understanding their role as predators on the protected boreal woodland caribou and depressed moose populations within the Province.

Drawing on a multi-layered theoretical framework of consumption, this thesis explores food consumption practices using a socio-cultural lens. It attempts to map food practices, illustrate environmental influences, and explore processes of negotiating preferred practices of consumption in a northern Canadian context; specifically Thompson, Manitoba. This focus provides insight into the complexities of food consumption habits and produces a northern narrative of the food experiences of those living in Thompson. The thesis is based on a mixed methods approach, encompassing both survey and interview data collection strategies. The findings show that habitus, gender, and identity-values have a significant influence on food consumption practices and are expressed through food routines and traditions involving purchasing, selection and preparation. My findings also illustrate a mismatched relationship between Thompson’s food milieu and its diverse population. The findings of this research can be taken into consideration by political representatives as they evaluate and develop future plans for Thompson’s food environment.

This dissertation examines the broad social impacts of the multiple polio epidemics that occurred in Manitoba between 1928 and 1953, a period I refer to as the epidemic era. It argues that examining the six major polio epidemics as an era, and the disabilities it engendered are useful windows into twentieth-century social history, particularly in terms of the capacities and limits of the state to control and manage disease, illness, and health, and the myriad ways the family negotiated discourses about disability and the intersections of disability and gender. It also examines the changes to nurses’ labour during the epidemic era, particularly in terms of the introduction of two new technologies of care – respirators and the Kenny method – both of which led to nursing shortages in the later epidemic, exposing the lingering gendered conceptions about women and voluntary nursing. This project also considers the post-war development of rehabilitation programs, and argues that they worked to discursively transform people with an illness into people with disabilities, in need of reformation in order to become useful, contributing citizens. Finally, this dissertation examines the impact of polio-related disabilities on the lived experiences of a number of Manitobans, and argues that while polio and ideologies about disability worked to shape their lives in many ways, these were not the only forces to impact people’s lives and that people with polio-related disabilities negotiated the quotidian aspects of life much like anyone else. Polio tested, but did not break, the bonds of family. This dissertation draws on a variety of sources, including oral histories, the records of social welfare organizations, hospital records and annual reports, newspapers, and other public records. By exploring the broad social impact of polio, this dissertation adds to a number of literatures and works to bring the history of disability and people with disabilities out of the margins and into the mainstream of Canadian social history.

The lower Churchill River has been an important travel route for people living in its vicinity for a long period of time. Churchillians’ have used it for subsistence harvesting, as their potable water source and as a place of recreation and relaxation. Previous research has documented the importance of the Churchill River to the residents and has explored how the Churchill River Diversion affected the community of Churchill (Boothroyd, 1992; 2000; Four Directions Consulting Group, 1994; 1995). The purpose of this project was to identify how Churchill residents used the lower Churchill River (from 1970 to 2006), recognizing three distinct periods of time. Twenty interviews were conducted with former or current long-term residents of Churchill, as well as two interviews with experts on issues concerning the lower Churchill River. Many interviewees stated that additional negotiations and measures are required before they deem the mitigation compensation package from Manitoba Hydro to be adequate considering the impact of the diversion on the residents of Churchill.

Second home use or cottaging is an increasingly desirable practice across Canada. In Manitoba, cottaging sub-divisions are generally situated along lakes and rivers in the province, many of which are situated on Crown land or in provincial parks. This study explored what is meaningful about cottaging to bring about a better understanding of the importance of cottaging as a culturally meaningful social practice. The objectives of the research were to identify what makes Flanders Lake and surrounding area of Nopiming Provincial Park a meaningful place for cottagers; determine if there are shared meanings among cottagers; and consider the implications of the cultural landscape of cottagers for natural resource management. The case study research considered the sense of place that is derived from cottagers’ experiences and what specifically contributes to the significance of cottage culture in the cottaging sub-division of Flanders Lake, Manitoba. A qualitative, interpretive research design was used for data collection. Photo-elicitation also known as resident employed photography was used, whereby cottagers were asked to photograph things, places or people that represented meaningful aspects about cottaging and the surrounding area. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with individual participants to validate and triangulate perspectives. Using NVivo 7 qualitative software to manage data and elicit themes, a cultural landscape framework of cottagers was developed. Cottagers cited recreational activities, connections with people, interactions with nature and the tonic-like effects of cottaging experiences, as the most meaningful aspects of cottaging. The study showed that it is possible to determine the most meaningful aspects of a place, and that many of those attributes are shared between community members. However, dissecting those meanings into constituent parts of a collective body of shared, interrelated and sometimes dependent meanings is complex, and not always possible. Further study on the cultural landscape of additional cottaging communities and of other area stakeholders is recommended given the increasing desirability and interest in cottaging, and potential for negotiating place meanings in multiple land use areas.

In 1957 the Southern Manitoba Broadcasting Company launched radio station CFAM in Altona, Manitoba. The privately owned outlet emerged from the province’s Mennonite community at a moment when its people were negotiating the powerful forces of social, economic, and cultural change that were transforming North American rural life. This study describes the origins of what became known as Radio Southern Manitoba and its development into a regional cultural institution as it cultivated a broad audience over its first two decades on the air. The primary focus of this analysis is Radio Southern Manitoba’s role in the Mennonite community, and its influence in the cultural reformulation that transmuted Mennonite group identity in the latter half of the twentieth century. Through an examination of the activities and materials pertaining to the production of the radio broadcast, and a limited consideration of sources describing its consumption, this thesis explores how the broadcaster reflected and attempted to shape the culture and practices of its Mennonite audience segment. It finds that through an unconventional mix of farm programming, classical and semi-classical music, religious broadcasts, and community services, CFAM (and its later sister stations) encouraged a version of Mennonite identity deemed acceptable by members of this ethno-religious group as it shifted from being a relatively isolated people to subjects in a pluralistic, modern society.

This thesis examines transportation planning at the University of Manitoba Fort Garry campus with the view to improving efficiency, equity and reducing economic loss. Through a broad approach of Transportation Demand Management (TDM) a number of avenues are explored including a comprehensive literature review of sustainable transportation planning; the documentation of selected university TDM programs including University of Colorado, University of British-Columbia and the University of Ottawa; a University of Manitoba commuter web survey, and key informant interviews. Cost-benefit analysis, geographical information systems and key informants interviews are used. Twelve key recommendations are outlined in the concluding chapter. The research suggests optimal solutions can be reached if there is strong leadership from the University of Manitoba central administration in Transportation Demand Management (TDM) including a more collaborative approach to transportation and land use planning, as well as working closely with its stakeholders in reforming current practices. A series of incremental changes can give higher priority to walking, cycling, transit, and car pooling ahead of those driving alone resulting in a more equitable and efficient transportation system and leading to a healthier population and a healthier environment for the University of Manitoba community. The author can be contacted by email at tompearce@hotmail.com

Stable carbon isotope ratios (δ13C) in tree-ring cellulose are modified by environmental conditions occurring during carbon fixation. Researchers have however not reached a consensus as to whether extractives, lignin and/or hemicelluloses, all with specific isotopic signatures, should be removed prior to dendroisotopic analysis. The topic of the first paper dealt with the comparison of Thuja occidentalis L. wood components and their suitability for subsequent dendroisotopic analyses. It was recommended that holocellulose be isolated since an alpha-cellulose yield may be too low for subsequent mass spectrometer analysis, especially when narrow rings are encountered and multiple stable isotope analyses are to be performed per sample. The second paper investigated the associations between the ring-width and δ13C chronologies with climate variables. The δ13C chronology spanned from 1650 to 2006 A.D. and incorporated dead and living T. occidentalis trees selected from two sites in central Manitoba, Canada. Compared to the δ13C values, ring width was more often associated with climate conditions in the year prior to ring formation. However, moisture stress was limiting for both radial growth and carbon assimilation. During the year of ring-formation, ring width was associated with spring and early summer conditions whereas, δ13C was more indicative of overall summer conditions. Nonetheless, each of ring width and δ13C contained individualistic climate information which could be used in tandem for long-term climate reconstruction.