The aspects of mid-nineteenth-century Canadian history which have received the fullest examination are the Rebellions of 1837, the Union of Upper and Lower Canada in 1841, the winning of Responsible Government in 1847-48, and Confederation in 1864-67. To a large extent these have been studies in imperial relations and the character of internal politics has received less attention. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the political system which evolved in Upper Canada after 1848 from the vantage point of the six general elections between 1848 and 1863. (The Legislative Council was made elective in 1856, but there was little interest taken in it or its elections and this study is concerned only with elections to the Legislative Assembly.) The thesis attempts to discover the internal wordings of politics in Upper Canada: the issues which aroused the most interest in the elections, the parties and their organizations, the electorate and the system of representation, and the various forces, both legitimate and corrupt which were used to influence the voters. In some instances there has been an attempt to arrive at quantitative or definitive conclusions, but in most cases this was neither desirable or possible. Instead, specific examples hove been used to give e general picture of how the political and electoral systems operated.

The total number of births among immigrants is on the rise and currently exceeds one fifth of live births within industrialized countries. The relation between adverse birth outcomes and migration remains unclear. The objectives of this thesis are to undertake a literature review to clarify the relation between migration and adverse birth outcomes, and to examine the interplay between duration of residence, maternal country of origin, and the residential environment using data on immigrants to Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas. The findings indicate that: a) Analyzing disparities in birth outcomes by migrant status with migrants defined as a single category is not informative. Rather, ethnicity and country of origin are important predictors of birth outcomes among immigrants. b) Duration of residence is linearly associated with low infant birth weight and preterm birth, mainly driven by decreases in gestational age with prolonged stay in Canada. c) The detrimental effects of long duration of residence on preterm birth are modestly attenuated, but not prevented, among immigrants living in urban neighbourhoods characterized by low material deprivation. d) Neighbourhood material deprivation has little, if any, influence on birth outcomes of recent immigrants, and only becomes influential after 15 years of stay in Canada. Maternal world region of origin constitutes a stronger predictor of adverse birth outcomes among recent immigrants. These findings stress the importance of the maternal country of birth and duration of residence as key predictors of immigrants’ health. They also support further research aimed at clarifying the nature of the association between time spent in Canada after migration and decreases in gestational age at delivery, and the identification of immigrant groups at high risk of adverse birth outcomes, based on these two key predictors.

In Canada today there exists a new form of segregation towards the Métis people, called the Powley points. Because of it, Métis are being forced to become a different version of themselves, counter to their own personal identity, thereby creating a new standard of identity for Métis, one that not all Métis are able to meet because of historical factors. What the research shows is an over representation of Western Métis politics regarding Métis identity and the formation of it. I therefore, propose a change to the current status quo regarding how Métis are defined and how they are expected to define themselves within this system. For this thesis I rely primarily on archival research and textual analysis, such as journal articles, census data, and published material from the Métis organizations, to establish the current situation in Métis politics as well as my position regarding these issues.

La présente recherche porte sur l’histoire du Regroupement ethnoculturel de parents francophones de l’Ontario (REPFO), un organisme de la communauté ethnoculturelle francophone dont le mandat consiste à représenter les parents dans leurs relations avec les autorités scolaires de la ville d’Ottawa, au Canada. Nous nous proposons d’explorer le contexte historique de l’arrivée des immigrantes et immigrants francophones venus d’Afrique et d’analyser leur intégration dans le milieu francophone minoritaire en Ontario. Plus spécifiquement, cette thèse explore l’histoire du REPFO depuis la fin des années 1990 jusqu’en 2010. Le cadre théorique sur lequel se base notre étude s’inspire des idées de Charles Taylor sur le besoin de reconnaissance égalitaire dans une société démocratique et multiculturelle ainsi que sur les complexités du phénomène de l’intégration d’une minorité au sein d’une autre minorité. Notre recherche nous conduit à aborder quatre questions de recherche. Dans un premier temps, nous analysons le discours public au sujet de l’intégration des nouveaux arrivants ethnoculturels francophones. Cela nous amène, dans un deuxième temps, à une analyse des perceptions des représentants du REPFO au sujet du système scolaire contrôlé par les Franco-Ontariens. Nous considérons, par la suite, les différentes tentatives de rapprochement du REPFO auprès des instances éducatives des communautés d’accueil. Pour finir, nous nous penchons sur les implications sociales, politiques et idéologiques de la reconnaissance (ou son absence) des francophones issus de minorités ethnoculturelles dans le processus de leur intégration aux communautés d’accueil franco-ontariennes. Si les élèves sont au coeur de ce processus d’intégration, il convient de souligner que les parents sont également impliqués, dans la mesure où ils sont amenés à jouer un rôle clé dans la gouvernance scolaire des écoles de leurs enfants. Nous concluons par une réflexion sur le conflit, d’une part, entre la valeur de l’apport démographique de l’immigration et, d’autre part, par les difficultés liées à un certain écart entre les référents identitaires collectifs des communautés franco-ontariennes et de ceux des des francophones issus de minorités ethnoculturelles. / This thesis looks at the history of an organized group in the Francophone ethnocultural community which claims to represent parents in their interactions with the school authorities in the city of Ottawa, Canada. To be more specific, the research looks at the origin and development of the Regroupement ethnoculturel de parents francophones de l’Ontario, the REPFO, during its short 10 year history. Since the 1990's, there has been an influx of Francophone African immigrants who strive to integrate into the minority French-language community in Ontario. The theoretical framework begins with the ideas of Charles Taylor regarding the vital human need for recognition in a truly democratic and multicultural society as well as the complexities of minorities integrating into minorities. The thesis examines the topic through four thematic questions. The first question explores public discourse on the subject of the integration of ethnocultural Francophones. This leads to the second question which analyses the perceptions of the main people behind the REPFO regarding the Franco-Ontarian school system. The third question explores the various efforts by the REPFO to integrate the school system of the host community and the final question seeks to understand the social, political and ideological implications of the recognition (or the absence thereof) of those ethnocultural Francophones by the host Franco-Ontarian community. The integration of immigrants into the school system not only relates to the children, but also to the parents who are challenged to play an active role in school governance. The conclusion highlights the conflict between the demographic advantages of the influx of immigrants versus the complexity arising from issues of collective identity by the host community as well as on the part of the immigrants.

This study examined whether the current generation of consumer-grade digital mobile computing technology, so called smartphone technology, is usable to perform and improve field data collection in the context of sustainable forest management. An electronic data acquisition system, based on a handheld smartphone device and desktop geographic information system (GIS), was developed. A proprietary timber cruise application and commercial mapping software were used with the smartphone/desktop GIS to record and process forest stand and geospatial data. Usability testing was carried out to measure workflow efficiency and system performance of the smartphone GIS compared to traditional paper-based methods. The smartphone GIS successfully met performance objectives and significantly increased workflow efficiencies by improving data transfer and processing times over conventional paper methods; however, use of the mobile device resulted in greater data entry errors, increased data collection times, and led to more equipment malfunctions than use of paper recording methods together with a GPS and digital camera. Overall, the prototype electronic data acquisition system was not reliable as a stand-alone solution solely responsible for collecting cruise data, but was found to be well suited for ad-hoc mapping of forest features.

No description available.

In Canada today there exists a new form of segregation towards the Métis people, called the Powley points. Because of it, Métis are being forced to become a different version of themselves, counter to their own personal identity, thereby creating a new standard of identity for Métis, one that not all Métis are able to meet because of historical factors. What the research shows is an over representation of Western Métis politics regarding Métis identity and the formation of it. I therefore, propose a change to the current status quo regarding how Métis are defined and how they are expected to define themselves within this system. For this thesis I rely primarily on archival research and textual analysis, such as journal articles, census data, and published material from the Métis organizations, to establish the current situation in Métis politics as well as my position regarding these issues.

La présente recherche porte sur l’histoire du Regroupement ethnoculturel de parents francophones de l’Ontario (REPFO), un organisme de la communauté ethnoculturelle francophone dont le mandat consiste à représenter les parents dans leurs relations avec les autorités scolaires de la ville d’Ottawa, au Canada. Nous nous proposons d’explorer le contexte historique de l’arrivée des immigrantes et immigrants francophones venus d’Afrique et d’analyser leur intégration dans le milieu francophone minoritaire en Ontario. Plus spécifiquement, cette thèse explore l’histoire du REPFO depuis la fin des années 1990 jusqu’en 2010. Le cadre théorique sur lequel se base notre étude s’inspire des idées de Charles Taylor sur le besoin de reconnaissance égalitaire dans une société démocratique et multiculturelle ainsi que sur les complexités du phénomène de l’intégration d’une minorité au sein d’une autre minorité. Notre recherche nous conduit à aborder quatre questions de recherche. Dans un premier temps, nous analysons le discours public au sujet de l’intégration des nouveaux arrivants ethnoculturels francophones. Cela nous amène, dans un deuxième temps, à une analyse des perceptions des représentants du REPFO au sujet du système scolaire contrôlé par les Franco-Ontariens. Nous considérons, par la suite, les différentes tentatives de rapprochement du REPFO auprès des instances éducatives des communautés d’accueil. Pour finir, nous nous penchons sur les implications sociales, politiques et idéologiques de la reconnaissance (ou son absence) des francophones issus de minorités ethnoculturelles dans le processus de leur intégration aux communautés d’accueil franco-ontariennes. Si les élèves sont au coeur de ce processus d’intégration, il convient de souligner que les parents sont également impliqués, dans la mesure où ils sont amenés à jouer un rôle clé dans la gouvernance scolaire des écoles de leurs enfants. Nous concluons par une réflexion sur le conflit, d’une part, entre la valeur de l’apport démographique de l’immigration et, d’autre part, par les difficultés liées à un certain écart entre les référents identitaires collectifs des communautés franco-ontariennes et de ceux des des francophones issus de minorités ethnoculturelles. / This thesis looks at the history of an organized group in the Francophone ethnocultural community which claims to represent parents in their interactions with the school authorities in the city of Ottawa, Canada. To be more specific, the research looks at the origin and development of the Regroupement ethnoculturel de parents francophones de l’Ontario, the REPFO, during its short 10 year history. Since the 1990's, there has been an influx of Francophone African immigrants who strive to integrate into the minority French-language community in Ontario. The theoretical framework begins with the ideas of Charles Taylor regarding the vital human need for recognition in a truly democratic and multicultural society as well as the complexities of minorities integrating into minorities. The thesis examines the topic through four thematic questions. The first question explores public discourse on the subject of the integration of ethnocultural Francophones. This leads to the second question which analyses the perceptions of the main people behind the REPFO regarding the Franco-Ontarian school system. The third question explores the various efforts by the REPFO to integrate the school system of the host community and the final question seeks to understand the social, political and ideological implications of the recognition (or the absence thereof) of those ethnocultural Francophones by the host Franco-Ontarian community. The integration of immigrants into the school system not only relates to the children, but also to the parents who are challenged to play an active role in school governance. The conclusion highlights the conflict between the demographic advantages of the influx of immigrants versus the complexity arising from issues of collective identity by the host community as well as on the part of the immigrants.

This study examined whether the current generation of consumer-grade digital mobile computing technology, so called smartphone technology, is usable to perform and improve field data collection in the context of sustainable forest management. An electronic data acquisition system, based on a handheld smartphone device and desktop geographic information system (GIS), was developed. A proprietary timber cruise application and commercial mapping software were used with the smartphone/desktop GIS to record and process forest stand and geospatial data. Usability testing was carried out to measure workflow efficiency and system performance of the smartphone GIS compared to traditional paper-based methods. The smartphone GIS successfully met performance objectives and significantly increased workflow efficiencies by improving data transfer and processing times over conventional paper methods; however, use of the mobile device resulted in greater data entry errors, increased data collection times, and led to more equipment malfunctions than use of paper recording methods together with a GPS and digital camera. Overall, the prototype electronic data acquisition system was not reliable as a stand-alone solution solely responsible for collecting cruise data, but was found to be well suited for ad-hoc mapping of forest features.

This study explored the responsiveness of two Ontario Colleges (called Eastern and Western for the purposes of this study) in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) to internationally trained immigrant (ITI) students accessing college education for retraining purposes. Many highly educated immigrants are unable to have their credentials recognized because professional regulatory bodies and employers are reluctant to accept their previous education and work experience. Therefore, many ITIs access Ontario college education in the hope that, upon graduation, they will find skill-related employment that will contribute to their settlement in Canada. The purpose of this research was to examine how the two participating colleges address the ITI students’ occupation-specific needs in their current institutional policies and practices. Qualitative research methods, interviews and document analysis, were utilized to examine the admission and program delivery practices at each of the study colleges. Interviews were conducted with 13 ITI student participants and 14 college personnel to provide an opportunity for them to voice their opinions about their college experiences. To provide direction for interpreting and analyzing the research findings, the single- and double-loop organizational learning framework developed by Argyris and Schon (1974, 1978) was used. The findings suggest that Eastern and Western Colleges have different approaches in valuing and placing importance in responding to ITI students’ retraining needs. The data indicated that ITI students at Eastern College were not perceived by college personnel as a unique group of students having specific retraining needs; rather, they were seen as part of the larger student constituency. On the other hand, Western College recognized the ITI students’ distinctive occupation-specific needs and made commitments towards improving its policies and practices to increase the College’s effectiveness in meeting the ITIs needs. Although limited to only two Ontario colleges, the study findings have some important implications for theory and practice. The findings have contributed to increased awareness and a better understanding of challenges ITI students face in accessing Ontario college education, and it has offered recommendations for college efforts to respond to ITI students’ educational needs.