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In this paper. I analyze how political, economic, and administrative issues were major factors in the BC Liberal government's creation of a complex hybrid operating structure for BC Ferries. The model evolved as the result of a number of circumstances, including the former NDP government's "fast ferry" debacle and the Liberal government's decision to conduct a Core Services Review of all government services, including those provided by Crown corporations. BC Ferries' new structure has similarities to other administrative models that have been introduced as a result of New Public Management initiatives and other factors in a number of Westminster jurisdictions. The resulting operating entities are having significant impacts on the nature and scope of public accountabilities and on reporting structures.

Public participation is a central objective of environmental assessment process and a means by which the concerns and interests of the public are considered before a project proceeds. However, there have always been concerns as to the real influence of the public in the environmental assessment process. Using a qualitative comparative case study approach, this study considered two types of assessment established in the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, comprehensive studies and review panels, to understand which of the two process options results in more meaningful consideration of intervenor concerns. The results indicate that though proponents were responsive to intervenor comments during comprehensive studies, panel reviews resulted in more uptake of intervenor concerns. On the issue of which process option provided more opportunities for public participation, the findings suggest that there were no significant differences between the two options because the entry points for public participation were similar.

The concept of environmental justice captures the notion that particular communities characterized by, for example, ethnicity or socioeconomic status, may be disproportionately affected by harmful environmental hazards. There is also evidence indicating that these same environmental hazards threaten non-human species, causing (sometimes irreversible) changes to the fundamental ecological services that support all life on earth. This study merges social and ecological determinants of health, two principles that should but rarely do intersect, by incorporating the concept of ecological integrity into a new environmental justice framework. A systematic review of 104 articles was carried out to analyze how environmental justice is currently defined in the literature. Study findings indicate that environmental justice discourse is anthropocentric and fragmented, that current approaches are reactive, and that environmental injustice requires participatory solutions. These findings guided the development of a new environmental justice model founded on the social-ecological concepts of resistance, resilience and restoration. The study further applies the concepts of the model through the processes of appreciation, assessment and action in a toolkit. The model and toolkit aim to improve human and non-human health outcomes by ultimately highlighting the interdependence between human and ecosystem health.

This study examined emotional reactions that occurred when participants compared the fairness of own outcomes to that of peer outcomes. The mediating role of emotions (pride, guilt, envy, or anger) on the fairness perceptions and the intention to engage in organizational citizenship (OCB) or counterproductive work behaviour (CWB) was assessed. Two hundred and sixty nine undergraduate business students participated in the main study. Peer evaluation vignettes were used to simulate four fairness conditions. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to test the hypotheses. The results indicated that perceived fairness to self interacted with perceived fairness to others, which led to emotional reactions, including pride, guilt, envy, and anger. Perceived fairness also directly influenced behaviour. However, only the negative emotions of anger and envy acted as mediators. As such, anger decreased OCB intention and increased CWB intention. Envy decreased the intention to engage in OCB. Implications of the results were discussed. / x, 128 leaves ; 29 cm

Corporate political activity (CPA) has been recognized as a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Its proponents, mostly nonmarket strategy researchers, argue that political capital enables firms to influence their regulatory and policy environments, shape their competitive space, and improve their performance. Consequently, there is a widely held view that the performance of firms depends not only on the ability of managers to exploit economic markets but also on their ability to succeed in political markets. To test the value of political activism, recent scholarship has probed the relationship between CPA and firm performance. However, random mixed findings and the fragmented nature of the field raise more questions than provide answers to the nature of this relationship. This systematic review examines scholarly articles for evidence of the impact of CPA on firm value. Drawing on 56 articles contributing to the topic and applying the CIMO-logic method of synthesis, this study discusses the findings within a framework of four elements. First, it examines the contexts within which CPA has been investigated. Second, it presents findings on the strategies that are studied. Third, it investigates the performance outcomes of CPA. Fourth, it explores the mechanisms that underpin the performance outcomes of CPA. The findings suggest that CPA is positively related to firm performance, an indication that there is value in political activism. However, counter evidence is reported by a few studies. The evidence also reveals that institutional contexts impact the political strategies used by firms or studied by researchers. Even though most of the studies lack theoretical grounding, social capital, cronyism and agency relationships are the popularly cited or implied mechanisms underlying the CPA-firm performance relationship. Following from the discussion, two propositions linking contexts, interventions, and outcomes are developed. The study suggests future research directions based on the gaps/limitations identified in the literature.

Background: The growing population of older adults with intellectual disabilities is likely to experience secondary disabilities that affect well-being. Despite the established importance of mobility in the general population, there is little evidence of a scientific base on mobility limitations for people with intellectual disabilities. Objectives: The aim of this study was to better understand mobility limitations in adults with intellectual disabilities, age 45 and over, by describing the prevalence and severity of mobility limitations and determining the association with living in a high support setting. Methods: A systematic review of published literature on mobility limitations among adults with intellectual disabilities was conducted using a pre-determined search and extraction strategies. A cross-sectional study was then conducted among a representative sample of adults, age 45 and over with intellectual disabilities in South Eastern Ontario. Data was collected through standardized proxy response telephone surveys and analyzed descriptively to determine the prevalence and severity of mobility limitations in this population. A multivariate logistic regression model was then used to examine the association between mobility limitations and residential status. Results: The systematic review identified 32 publications that met all inclusion criteria. Publications were generally not focused on mobility, cross-sectional in design and few investigators addressed key methodological features in their report. Original data was collected for 128 older adults with intellectual disabilities. The prevalence of mobility limitations varied according to the definition employed. Using comparable definitions, this prevalence was higher than what is seen in the general Canadian population. The prevalence of mobility limitations was not found to increase with age but was greater in females than males. People with intellectual disabilities and mobility limitations had 3.6 times greater odds of living in high support residential settings than those without mobility limitations. This difference was statistically significant. Conclusion: Past epidemiological research on mobility limitations for people with intellectual disabilities is of poor quality. In addressing these limitations, this study found that mobility limitations are common among people with intellectual disabilities and are associated with meaningful outcomes, such as the place in which a person lives. / Thesis (Master, Community Health & Epidemiology) -- Queen's University, 2007-08-23 22:56:48.77

Purpose: This thesis focuses on the development of occupational therapy competencies to enable executive occupational performance with school-aged children and youth. Methods: Three studies were structured according to the knowledge inquiry, synthesis, and product stages of the Knowledge To Action cycle (Graham et al., 2006). A scoping review in Phase One explored how executive functioning is described in the occupational therapy literature. In Phase Two, a qualitative study was conducted to determine how occupational therapists who have worked with children and youth perceive executive functioning to be understood and addressed. Phase Three used established competency development processes to produce an occupational therapy competency model and framework for enabling executive occupational performance. Results: Although there is little consensus on how executive functioning is understood, literature reviewed in Phase One demonstrated its pervasive effect on performance of complex, novel, and goal-directed occupations. Emerging themes suggest that assessment requires occupational, dynamic, and performance-based approaches, with interventions rooted in metacognitive frameworks. The Phase Two qualitative study suggested that, although there are challenges to being able to “see” executive functioning, it is necessary to explicitly and systematically consider executive functioning during clinical reasoning. Learning to “see” through the executive functioning lens is a complex process. The competency framework development process utilized in Phase Three yielded the Competencies in Context Model. Responding to series of contextual challenges related to system, client, and occupational therapist factors, professional assessment, intervention, iii knowledge acquisition, and knowledge translation competencies are used to organize 16 specific occupational therapy practice competencies. Conclusion: Points of tension within the literature and the field have implications for occupational therapy curricula, research, practice, and professional development. Executive functioning issues have wide reaching effects on occupational performance of children and youth that have not been adequately recognized or explored in the occupational therapy literature. The competency model and framework developed through this research make a substantive contribution to the field in beginning to redress the dearth of occupational therapy-specific models, resources, and tools designed to support occupational therapists’ acquisition or implementation of the executive functioning perspective. / Thesis (Ph.D, Rehabilitation Science) -- Queen's University, 2012-08-26 22:27:09.05