This investigation examined the acute physiological demand associated with a typical Freeride Mountain Bike (FMB) ride. Measures of cardiovascular strain (heart rate, RPE) and neuromuscular fatigue (quarter squat and handgrip MVICs) were assessed in 22 experienced mountain bikers during an observed ride on Mt. Fromme in North Vancouver, British Columbia. The ride involved an initial ascent of 350 vertical meters over horizontal distance of 5.93km, (mean duration 46.61 min). The descent covered a 350m loss in elevation through intermediate to expert level trails spanning a horizontal distance of 4.24km, (mean duration 28.55 min). Heart rate monitoring was continuous. Blood Lactate was assessed pre-ride, at the top of the ascent (mid-ride), and following the descent (post-ride). RPE was assessed mid-ride and post-ride. Handgrip and quarter squat MVICs were taken pre-ride and post-ride. An a priori alpha of .05 was set for all statistical tests. Both measures of neuromuscular strain decreased pre-post ride, equal to 2.8% in quarter squat MVIC and 6.1% and 4.3% in handgrip MVIC for the right and left hands respectively. Blood lactate increased from rest to mid-ride and decreased from mid-ride to post-ride. The mean heart rates (- 80% PHRmax) and RPEs (-14.5) associated with the ascent and descent were not significantly different. The acute physiological and ride pattern data indicate that FMB satisfies the American College of Sports Medicine's guidelines for increasing cardiovascular health and fitness.

In British Colombia, youth are subject to risks that influence their capacity to develop into healthy adults. Community-based youth projects play an important role in supporting youth to develop the motivation, skills and knowledge to overcome challenges in their lives and surroundings. In this grounded theory study 1 examined how community-based youth projects can assist youth to make and maintain positive changes in their lives. Data were collected from staff as well as from people in the community involved with youth in the projects. The findings demonstrate that adults staff and people in the community) involved with the projects engage in a process, named in this thesis as "Supporting Transformation", a process that includes the following categories of action: "Figuring it Out", "Creating Willingness to Engage", 'Introducing a New Way", and "Maintaining Willingness to Engage". By articulating the process of Supporting Transformation, it is hoped that adults will increase their understanding of how to create the conditions that lead to sustainable change in youth.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the experience of front-line practitioners working with suicidal children and youth. Five front-line practitioners who had experienced working with children or youth who were suicidal participated in the semi-structured interviews. Transcripts of the interviews were analyzed and summarized under the following three areas of experience: Participants' Descriptions of Working with Suicidal Children and Youth, Knowledge Valued by Participants' to Inform their Practice with Suicidal Children and Youth, and Participants' Physical and Emotional Responses to Suicidal Children and Youth. There were a total of sixteen emergent theme clusters. The themes related to the experience of practice with suicidal children and youth provided a rich context for understanding the nature of meaning of the suicidal behaviors for participants. The emergent themes relating to the knowledge valued by participants to guide their approach provided a specific understanding of the multiple sources of knowledge participants were drawing from in the encounters. The emergent themes relating to the physical and emotional responses participants experienced in relation to their encounters with a suicidal child or youth provided an awareness of the impact the encounters had on participants. The major findings included the participants' broad scope of knowledge they used to guide their approach, as well as that encounters with suicidal children and youth did evoke strong physical and emotional responses amongst participants. The study concludes by describing the implications of these findings for Child and Youth Care practice and for future directions in research.

This study explores the health and well-being of eight racialized and Indigenous women between the ages of 21 and 28, who live in Victoria, BC. Participants use Photovoice, a participatory research strategy, to examine and discuss their intersecting everyday realities in the contexts of health, well-being and identity. Through this project, I aim to provide an in-depth understanding of social exclusion, as a social determinant of health, and investigate the micro-social processes that occur at the intersections of race, class and gender, among many other social relations. I draw upon transnational feminist, anti-racist and postcolonial theories to shed light on the complexity of our shifting and emergent identities. The stories that participants share indicate that historical processes of colonization, daily forms of racism, migration, nationalism, citizenship and cultural essentialization are key contributors to their processes of identity formation and subsequently, their experiences of health and wellness.

Western spruce budworm (Choristoneura occidentalis (Freeman)) is a native defoliator of the Interior Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca (Mirb.) Franco) forests of British Columbia, Canada. This thesis used dendrochronology and the software program OUTBREAK to reconstruct a defoliation history of Douglas-fir for nineteen forest sites near Kamloops in central British Columbia. By comparing the radial growth response of non-host ponderosa pine trees to Douglas-fir trees growing in nearby but separate stands, seven western spruce budworm outbreaks were distinguished over the past 300 years. Although there is considerable variation in the timing and duration of these western spruce budworm events at the stand level, synchronous outbreaks have occurred at approximately 43-year intervals. Climate variation appears to have been important to budworm outbreaks in the 20th century. Notable outbreaks tended to occur during years of early springs with average air temperature, following winters with lower than average precipitation. Based on this finding, it is proposed that with high overwintering survival, increased population growth rates, and a longer growing season, the extent of future outbreaks will shift northward and may increase in size.

The biochemical composition of conifer foliage in the Greater Victoria Watershed District (GVWD), Vancouver Island, Canada, was examined using hyperspectral remote sensing data. Imagery acquired from the airborne sensor Advanced Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) was compared to sampled foliar chemical measurements to provide regional maps of biochemical distribution. The biochemical concentrations of nitrogen, chlorophyll and moisture derived from AVIRIS data were analyzed to provide an analysis of the forest canopy, comprised predominantly of Douglas-fir. The AVIRIS data were preprocessed to correct for atmospheric and geometric distortion, degradation, and noise inherent in the data in order to properly represent the forest canopy at the time of image acquisition. The AVIRIS data were used to investigate the relationship between the reflectance, absorbance and derivative values present in the imagery corresponding to the sampled chemical data. A total of 29 plots were used in a partial least squares regression analysis to analyze the relationship between the data sets to extract chemical constituents in the forest canopy. Nitrogen and total chlorophyll models have r2 values of 0.73 and 0.68 respectively. Due to the complexity of moisture interaction with hyperspectral data, regression models were unable to be computed for the AVIRIS data over the GVWD. Regression models were then applied to the entire AVIRIS dataset for regional mapping of the canopy biochemistry. The distribution of nitrogen and total chlorophyll in the forested areas of the GVWD was mapped.

In this thesis I explore neoliberalism and resistance to neoliberalism by focusing on the relatively recent rise of radical, local anti-poverty organizations in Canada, particularly on the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) in Toronto. To accomplish this exploration, I present a brief history of neoliberalization in two ways: first in theory, exploring the phenomenon in general, and then in a more specific context, through the study of neoliberalization in Ontario. Special emphasis is given to the ways in which contemporary processes of neoliberalization tend to discourage collective action and movement formation, and encourage the ideological, discursive, and practical depoliticization of issues and communities. In addition, I suggest that Ontario’s neoliberalization has led mainstream left forces to retreat to a more moderate support base in the middle class, leaving poor people and anti-poverty activists with little potential for meaningful participation in political processes. The lack of avenues for participation, I argue, discourages the development the development of a sense of agency for poor people and anti-poverty activists. This agency is framed here as political dignity. After presenting a history OCAP, I conclude by suggesting that radical, local anti-poverty organizations make an important contribution to combating some of the outcomes of neoliberalization presented here. By using a broad range of scholarship (including working-class focused sociology, post-colonial theory, and others), I argue that OCAP’s key contribution to antineoliberal struggles is the way in which the organization encourages political dignity building through engaged, confrontational participation.

The notion of ‘absolute’ power underpins my own interest in power relations in Child Welfare practice but I shift the focus to the perspective of frontline child protection social workers. Missing in social work literature are the stories from workers in child protection practice. How do workers conceptualize power? How is this grey space of practice – which is not easily discussed – understood by practitioners themselves, the academy, and the system in which they practice? My completed master’s research draws on narrative methodology, adopted from Fraser’s (2002) model. It is a collection of six narratives. By using this open-ended approach, practice narratives were shared without limitation or parameters. From this rich data I analysed workers’ experiences, drawing out examples of power relations. My conclusions include; (a) the ways that frontline workers conceptualize power are strongly impacted by dominant notions of power, (b) relational practice with clients is occurring – and does so in isolation of the larger system of child welfare, and finally, (c) there is value in examining the perspectives of frontline child protection social workers as they are the one which have the greatest potential to initiate structural change from the bottom-up through transformative practice, which is happening every day.

INTRODUCTION: In Canada, the role of Telehealth Coordinator is relatively new. Provider institutions and telehealth networks developed the role to support implementation and use of videoconferencing technology in health care delivery. As telehealth usage grows, an increasing number of Canadian nurses, other regulated health care professionals and unregulated workers are being called upon to function as Telehealth Coordinators. However, in some organizations, this role remains poorly understood and generally, little is known about the demographics of Canada’s Telehealth Coordinator community of practice. PURPOSE: Using Role Theory concepts and the tenets of Nursing Informatics, the broad aim of this qualitative study was to gain a better understanding of the demographics and role that nurses, other regulated health professionals and unregulated workers play in sustainable telehealth technology implementation and use in Canada. This is important in the context of leveraging technology to meet the challenges of an ageing population and increasing burden of chronic illness. METHODS: Qualitative exploratory study design using mixed methods. Telehealth Coordinators from the Canadian Society of Telehealth (CST) and Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN) were invited to take part in an online survey (33 items) and telephone interview (20 items). RESULTS: From two identified populations – a provincial sample from Ontario and a national sample from other Canadian provinces and territories, 47 Telehealth Coordinators provided responses that could be analyzed. Over half of the respondents (56%) reported being between the ages of 40 – 59 years and 75% were female. Nurses and other regulated health care professionals comprised 53% of the sample. Of the respondents, 66% reported working in a health care provider organization. Responses to the qualitative questions are presented within the context of Role Theory and Nursing Informatics. CONCLUSIONS: Canada’s Telehealth Coordinators are an eclectic community of practice with varying roles, responsibilities, educational backgrounds and experience. Although the role of Telehealth Coordinator varied across organizations and regions in Canada, important commonalities were also found. Participants expressed a need and desire for standards, ongoing professional education opportunities and credentialing – especially if the role involved patient care. Major factors contributing to Canadian Telehealth Coordinators work satisfaction were: 1. patient contact and knowledge that they were making health care more accessible 2. educating others in the use of videoconferencing technology and 3. autonomy. Organizational issues including a lack of resources and understanding of the role by senior executives provided the least satisfaction for Telehealth Coordinators. Strong organizational support for Telehealth Coordinators will increase the probability of successful videoconferencing technology implementation and use.

Child protection is a reactive, non-linear, social process carried out in a context of unpredictability, uncertainty and complexity. One way professionals respond to this context is by negotiating almost every aspect of the work, negotiating both with people and through practice problems. This negotiation process has a cultural basis. I contend that: 1) skillful negotiation is culturally embedded in the activities and practices of child protection teams and individual workers; 2) child protection practice in this team is the skillful negotiation of practice problems while maintaining a balance between helping and enforcement activities that protect children; and 3) workers’ negotiation is not only activity-based but also a cultural way of thinking and being in the midst of this complex environment. I use the idea of a cultural repertoire as a framework for how professionals think and act and use ethnographic observation and participant interviews to explore its use in every-day practice.