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Radial-growth response of mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) trees to climate variations along a longitudinal transect, northwestern British Columbia, CanadaPenrose, Kelly-Anne 10 June 2008 (has links)
This research was initiated to develop an understanding of the differential radial-growth response of mature mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) trees located along a line of latitude in northwestern British Columbia. Increment core samples were collected from mountain hemlock stands located at five high-elevation sites between the Queen
Charlotte Islands and Smithers. Tree ring-width index chronologies were compared to historical precipitation and air temperature data from four climate stations, as well as the El Nino Southern Oscillation and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. No two mountain hemlock stands had the same growth response to monthly air temperature and precipitation, indicating that the trees are responding to site-specific limiting factors. The response to El Nino Southern Oscillation events was consistent along the transect, while the response to Pacific Decadal Oscillation phase changes was greatest at coastal sites and decreased towards the interior.
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"However Long the Night, the Dawn Will Break" / The hope in nonviolent direct action in the Niger Delta: A case study of nonviolent protests by women in the Niger Delta against ChevronFraser, Annette M. 03 July 2008 (has links)
This thesis assesses the impact nonviolent protest has on structural conflicts when used by groups of people who are marginalized by repressive socio-economic institutions of society. Conflict Transformation focuses on changing the relationships between oppressive societal institutions and its people into just cooperative relationships through third party processes. Veronique Dudouet’s Contingent Conflict Transformation model focuses on the efforts of ‘ordinary people’ to address the destructive effects of structural violence. This model will be applied to a case study where two groups of women from the Niger Delta executed nonviolent campaigns against the Chevron oil company. The case study methodology is employed to analyze data to support the model’s confidence to effect change as well as offer considerations for improvement. The women of this study moved from a position of disenfranchisement to a position of empowerment when they negotiated an Agreement that reflected their demands in light of Chevron’s broken promises.
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Snuneymuxw justice as an alternative to the Canadian justice systemCarey, Michael Allen 29 October 2008 (has links)
This thesis examines the current problematic relationship between the Canadian criminal justice system and the Snuneymuxw (Coast Salish) community. An historical analysis of the Canadian justice system, attempts to indigenize it and alternative indigenous justice processes were examined to determine their cultural relevance for the Snuneymuxw. The research also consisted of a qualitative analysis of twenty-one interviews with Snuneymuxw community members and Canadian criminal justice system officials along with my perspective as a police officer responsible for policing this community. In effect, this has added a deeper analysis of this issue with the goal of making substantive recommendations on how the Snuneymuxw peoples can establish a community-based and culturally relevant justice process, in accordance with their S’nuw’uy’ulh cultural teachings. Furthermore, this analysis will also recommend the relationship and connection of this process with the criminal justice system. This thesis is intended to guide the researcher, the Snuneymuxw community and potentially other indigenous communities with a process of developing and implementing a culturally relevant and appropriate model of justice for their community.
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Modeling residential fine particulate matter infiltration : implications for exposure assessmentHystad, Perry Wesley 20 November 2008 (has links)
This research investigates the difference between indoor and outdoor residential
fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and explores the feasibility of predicting residential PM2.5
infiltration for use in exposure assessments. Data were compiled from a previous study
conducted in Seattle, Washington, USA and a new monitoring campaign was conducted
in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Infiltration factors were then calculated from the
indoor and outdoor monitoring data using a recursive mass balance model. A geographic
information system (GIS) was created to collect data that could be used to predict
residential PM2.5 infiltration. Spatial property assessment data (SPAD) were collected and
formatted for both study areas, which provided detailed information on housing
characteristics. Regression models were created based on SPAD and different
meteorological and temporal variables. Results indicate that indoor PM2.5 is poorly
correlated to outdoor PM2.5 due to indoor sources and significant variations in residential
infiltration. A model based on a heating and non-heating season, and information on
specific housing characteristics from SPAD was able to predict a large portion of the
variation within residential infiltration. Such models hold promise for improving
exposure assessment for ambient PM2.5.
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Accessing personal information under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act of British Columbia.Elliott, Carol 28 April 2009 (has links)
Rapid advances in information technology have led to a considerable body of scholarly
research focused on the evolution of the “surveillance society.” This term is used by the author to
refer to governments’ increasing ability to monitor and control the actions of citizens as well as
their own operations. An associated area that is rarely examined in scholarly research is the
process by which citizens access their own personal information from public bodies and the
barriers that they encounter when attempting to do so. It is this area which will be the focus of
this thesis.
The thesis is based upon a descriptive study that involved a systematic investigation of how
the political and governmental context influences the process of accessing personal information
under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act of British Columbia. The goal of
the research is to examine factors that encourage and limit individual citizens’ ability to access
their own personal information. The thesis explores issues and circumstances that lead applicants
to appeal decisions, factors that facilitate and impede access, and the impacts of the request
process on applicants. Recommendations for changes that may improve access as well as enhance
government transparency and accountability are proposed. I approach the research from the
perspective that open and accountable government is necessary in democratic society, and that,
through increased public awareness and avenues for input, changes can be made which improve
access to personal information and government accountability.
The research involved a content analysis of fifty-three orders by the Information and Privacy
Commissioner of British Columbia and his staff. The content analysis of these documents is
supplemented by statistical analysis and personal reflection. The thesis relies on concepts and
theory proposed by Max Weber and Anthony Giddens to provide a viable framework for
understanding both the structure and culture of government, particularly how the access to
information process reflects the control and flow of information within the bureaucracy.
The research confirms that barriers to access do exist and they are not in the places that one
might expect to find them. Recommendations concerning amendments to the legislation and
improvements to the processing of requests and the appeal process are suggested. However, the
most crucial change necessary is for the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner,
despite fiscal restraints, to engage in greater transparency concerning its own activities and for the
role of the Commissioner to focus more on public education and advocacy, such as support for
community programs that would offer free legal assistance and information concerning the
public’s rights under the Act, including guidance concerning how to make a request and pursue a
complaint or appeal.
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Girls and young women in Zambia, who have lost their parents to AIDS: attachment and/or resilience?Fenske, Penelope 05 May 2009 (has links)
This study considered if Zambian girls and young women who had lost parents to AIDS described themselves in resiliency terms, where did their resilience comes from, and how did I think it related to attachments they reported in the context of their life histories. I conducted semi-structured life history interviews with 18 participants (13 – 22 years old), who lost parents to AIDS, before 15 years of age. The analysis included a description of the life histories of four representative participants, a content analysis, which revealed 12 concepts that emerged from the data, and my interpretation, connecting the themes to attachment and resilience theory. I found that all but one of the participants reported having the capacity to keep going and credited this strength to a supreme spiritual being (God), and it seemed that they viewed God, as a surrogate attachment figure, who provided them with their necessities.
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To what extent does the Alberta Energy Resource Conservation Board’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Program affect the capacity, opportunity and volition of landowners and the oil and gas industry to resolve conflict?Cartwright, Vanessa 28 August 2009 (has links)
This research examines the capacity, opportunity and volition of participants of a landowner- oil and gas industry conflict in Alberta and the effect of the Alberta Energy Resource Conservation Board (ERCB) Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program. It explores whether the model used by the ERCB ADR program exists in a setting where Tidwell’s (1998) elements for conflict resolution are present.
Using Tidwell’s (1998) theory and case study methodology (Yin, 1994) the participants discuss their experiences of the conflict and the program. The findings illustrate participants did not each possess the capacity, opportunity and volition to resolve. Despite legal confines, the program aided in improving the capacity, opportunity and volition of participants, built relationships and created resolution. The study resulted in recommendations to improve the program and suggestions for industry to minimize conflict with landowners. These findings may be applied to other industries where parties have limited rights.
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High risk alcohol consumption and contraceptive use by young women in the Greater Victoria areaAdams, Julie L 31 August 2009 (has links)
High-risk alcohol consumption in combination with unprotected sexual activity can have deleterious results for the individual, their family and their larger community. In this investigation, a secondary analysis was performed on the female data of Wave 3 of the Healthy Youth Survey to determine rates of female drinking and unprotected sex and to create a predictive model of high-risk drinking behaviour. Three dependent variables were examined: heavy drinking, weekly binge drinking and having a CAGE score of 2 or more, and Jessor and Jessor's (1977) Problem Behaviour Theory is drawn on in the interpretation of results. Age, the influence of negative peers, physical victimization, and the presence of an addiction-prone personality were found to be predictive of engaging in heavy drinking and weekly binge drinking; the influence of negative peers was found to be predictive in having a CAGE score of 2 or more. A difference in contraceptive use was only found for the young women engaging in weekly binge drinking. The results of this study highlight the importance of how different drinking styles can impact the likelihood of engaging in high-risk sex.
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The most frail branch: a critique of the justifications for judicial hegemony in the interpretation of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.Down, Michael Stephen Roger 26 October 2009 (has links)
The legitimacy of judicial review based upon Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms
remains a topic of intense public debate. This thesis considers whether the typical
justificatory arguments in favour of judicial review can withstand critical scrutiny.
Chapter one canvasses the arguments of many of Canada’s Charter sceptics as well as
select international commentators. Chapter two examines Peter Hogg’s claim that it is
appropriate to consider the process of judicial review as a form of institutional dialogue
between courts and legislative assemblies. It is argued that judicial supremacy is a more
accurate description of current institutional arrangements. Chapter three scrutinizes the
claim that judicial review has some special capacity to provide appropriate protection for
minority rights. Finally, chapter four examines whether section 33 of the Charter can be
rehabilitated in order to recalibrate current institutional arrangements. I conclude that it
may be possible to limit judicial supremacy.
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Protection from discrimination because of disability in European community lawHosking, David Leigh 13 November 2009 (has links)
In 2000 the European Union adopted the Framework Equal Treatment Directive which prohibits discrimination because of a number of grounds including disability. This thesis examines the nature of that protection from discrimination because of disability and considers what contribution the directive may make to achieving the policy objectives of the disability rights movement in Europe. The discussion is based on the text of the directive, policy statements issued by the European Council, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission, academic commentary and decisions of the European Court of Justice. The dominant models of disability, the medical and social models, are described and analysed. A formulation of the disability rights movement's general policy themes in the European context is proposed. Conceptual tensions between policy approaches to disability and different understandings of the principle of equal treatment are outlined. A detailed analysis of the likely interpretation of the directive's provisions related to disability is based on the extensive European Court of Justice case law on other forms of discrimination. The directive is likely to provide protection for individuals who are discriminated against in the employment context where that discrimination is caused by bias against disabled people, stereotyping or failure to provide reasonable accommodation. The contribution of the directive to the policy objectives of the disability rights movement in Europe will vary among the Member States ranging from making little difference in those countries which already had non-discrimination legislation to being a major tool for promoting disability rights in those countries which had no history of such legislation.
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