This thesis is a bridge to healing Between my grandmothers who have gone on before me And me and my daughter I've been told that I have a keen ability to expose and look at both sides of the story. No matter how ugly the truth may look I am likely to name it, voice it and admit it. This thesis looks at both sides of an Aboriginal adoption and reconnecting story. By both sides I do not mean the sides of the government and First Nations people. I will not give the government such pleasure to voice their opinion to my story. I will tell the sides of the stories of women who have been affected by the adoption scoops. The women, connected through genetics and sisterhood, all have similar roots but different stories. Different stories with different truths.

In Canada, little is known about the governance of private protected areas (PPAs) and their contribution to the public interest. This dissertation evaluates the extent to which PPAs in Canada adhere to generally advanced principles of good governance - Direction, Legitimacy, Fairness, Performance and Accountability - and it assesses their contribution to the public interest. Findings from descriptive analysis of six case studies of Individual, Corporate, Non-Government and First Nation authorities indicate that principles are adhered to with relative vigor and visibility and that the public interest is generally advanced. The governance pattern is not strongly differentiated and it is generally uniform in strengths and limitations. The cases studied were exceptionally strong in fulfilling the principles of Direction and Legitimacy. Management documents not only employed long-term, ecosystem-based approaches, the private areas were shaped by the collaboration and support of a diverse array of interested parties. Public participatory processes remain relatively ad hoc in nature. Issues management occurred in each of the private areas studied. There was no evidence, however, of intractable disputes, suggesting that the principle of Fairness was fulfilled. The principle of Performance was determined to be the weakest across the sector. Generally, appropriate standards are not well defined, monitoring is highly fragmented and there is an absence of reporting on performance outcomes, which creates uncertainty about the standing of protection and conservation values. Accountability is multi-dimensional: accountability to different stakeholders for various goals and activities through different mechanisms is salient. Independent oversight is employed infrequently. Findings also reveal subscription to a broad spectrum of protected area values that are achieved through moral. fiduciary and legal means. The desire to pass along a natural legacy to future generations is a leading feature. Formally expressed values that are widely shared include protection of ecosystems and biological diversity. Public access is generally constrained. Protection in perpetuity is most often guaranteed through instruments that impose obligations upon future land owners. Support for strengthened governance processes and structures would further the complementary role and contribution that this sector can make to the important mission that protected areas seek to accomplish.

Since 1982. the Canadian Constitution has "recognized and affirmed the Aboriginal and treaty rights of the Indian, Inuit, and Métis peoples of Canada," peoples that hold their unique status within the federation by virtue of their prior social organisation. The author argues that, when Aboriginal rights are invoked, analysis should focus on the community in which the right is said to reside. Contemporary rights-holding communities are those linked to the normative orders that preceded and survived those of the later arrivals: in this regard, the Métis are not dissimilar from the other recognised Aboriginal peoples. It is the community's capacity to determine the norms applicable to its members' lives that is important, not the actual content of that order at a particular time: Aboriginal societies must be afforded the latitude to pursue their own aims and ambitions, and their rights must not be limited to activities that appear objectively 'Aboriginal".

Farm-raised marine shrimp are Thailand's most important agricultural export, earning $US 2.4 billion annually in revenues for the government. Thailand's experience with intensive shrimp culture spans almost two decades. First generation marine shrimp farms. located mostly in coastal areas. have given way to a second generation of shrimp farms located in freshwater and brackishwater areas. The success of these second generation farms is attributed to the discovery by farmers that they can successfully cultivate a marine species of shrimp under low-salinity conditions. The nature of this innovation. referred to as inland or low-salinity culture. has greatly increased the potential for establishing shrimp cultivation much further from the coast than previously believed possible. While there are still many coastal shrimp farms. the most significant industry expansion since the mid 1990s has occurred in the irrigated floodplain and delta of Thailand's central plain. The output from low-salinity shrimp culture in freshwater areas now accounts for a large and rising proportion of total Thai production. and is a significant component of world production. This dissertation investigates the development of low-salinity shrimp culture in Thailand. The key findings were the firsthand documentation of the factors contributing to the development of low-salinity shrimp farming in freshwater environments. This study documents the innovations in hatchery and farming techniques. examines the development of the saltwater infrastructure required to sustain inland shrimp ponds. and identifies the land and water management challenges associated with low-salinity culture from both the government and producer perspective. The methodology adopted to achieve the research objectives consisted of secondary data review, farm and key informant surveys utilizing semi-structured interviews. informal interviews and discussions. and statistical description and analysis. The research was completed during four separate field investigations totaling ten months over an eight-year period from 1997 to 2004. Recommendations are offered to improve the environmental management of low-salinity shrimp culture.

In 1991, a political event took place in British Columbia that had a major impact on the provision of social services. The province, which for 16 years had been governed by a right-of-centre, pro-business political party was, for the first time since 1975, governed by the left-of-centre NDP party. This conversion of government brought with it a series of major shifts in the provision of social services throughout the province. The organizational change that was initiated continued for the entire 10-year mandate of the provincial NDP. This study explores the period of change and related issues using a hybrid model of methods derived from case study. Methods include participant observer research, a review of relevant literature and documents, and most significantly, key informant interviews with many of the leaders in provincial social services between 1991 and 2001. Findings reflect the relationship between leadership and change and in particular the importance of the former to the latter. Findings also explore the role of values in social services change agendas, the importance of stakeholder involvement in organizational change and the importance of communications and media in the context of change.

The practicum is regarded by many as the most important part of social work students’ program experience. The literature pertaining to Indigenous social work student experiences in field placements is minimal, as is the literature relating to the health and wellness of Indigenous students engaged in social work field education. This thesis is designed to begin to address the gap in the literature. Child protection services have been a destructive force in Indigenous communities in BC. Some research shows that frontline child protection workers suffer negative health consequences due to the stress of the work (Gold, 1998; Reid, 2006). The research questions that directed this study are as follows: How is the holistic health and wellness of Indigenous female students impacted during, and directly following, a government child protection practicum? What factors contribute to an Indigenous student’s resiliency in a Child Welfare Specialization field placement? What coping strategies do Indigenous students employ to stay healthy and balanced during the practicum? The ultimate goal of this thesis research is to create a space for the knowledge and voices of Indigenous women in social work, and to create knowledge that will be used to support future Indigenous practicum students. This research is a qualitative study. Five Indigenous women courageously shared their fourth year child protection social work practicum experiences in respective two hour interviews. All the participants were recent graduates of an undergraduate social work program in British Columbia. All of the study participants were enrolled in a Child Welfare Specializations program. The Indigenous women’s stories were documented using a blend of Indigenous and narrative qualitative methodological approaches. The findings of this thesis reveal that Indigenous student holistic health is significantly impacted during child protection practicum placements. All of the Indigenous women who participated in this thesis experienced stress at different points of the practicum, which had an impact on their mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health. A significant theme that emerged in the women’s stories was the importance that the supervisor plays in the child protection practicum. The findings of this study suggest that Indigenous students are more vulnerable to stress and ill health in government placements. Therefore particular care needs to be taken to ensure that Indigenous students are placed with supervisors who are sensitive to their needs. Students employ a number of strategies to rebalance their holistic health. Good attention to self-care, engaging in cultural practices and development of support networks are themes that emerged as strategies for coping with the stress of the practicum. This study concludes with recommendations to educators, MCFD policy makers and others who work with Indigenous students.

Debates between feminists and trans people are often narrowly framed in terms of inclusion and authenticity, or by questions about the extent to which trans identities challenge or reinforce normative conceptions of sex and gender. The terms of these engagements promote essentialist understandings of identity, difference, and community, and neglect to register the heterogeneity and differential locations of both women and trans people. This thesis examines several contemporary sites of contestation between and among feminist and trans scholars with specific attention to the unspoken assumptions and practices of erasure that shape and constrain these critical ‘border wars’, making certain kinds of subjects and conversations central, while rendering others peripheral, out of the question, or even impossible. Applying an intersectional trans/feminist analysis to the conceptual structure and discursive contours they assume, I investigate how such struggles, and our positions within them, might be deconstructed and reconceptualized in ways that disrupt dominant Self/Other relations and, in turn, make new political understandings and alliances possible.

Health promotion identifies health as a resource for daily living and emphasizes the reciprocal relationship between people and their environments in creating health (MacDonald, 2002). In this thesis. I explore how community gardening programs can be used to improve the health and well being of vulnerable populations by creating positive changes within their physical and social environments. Furthermore, I address how community gardens can educate and empower these populations to live healthier lifestyles. My research is based on the creation and exploration of a project in Victoria. BC, where homeowners share their backyard vegetable gardens with volunteer gardeners. It is a small-scale qualitative study in the tradition of ethnographic research where the aim is to enhance understanding of phenomena (Johnston, Gregory, Pratt, & Watts. 2000. p. 238). I facilitated the project and monitored the progress of three garden partnerships for six months during Victoria's long growing season in 2005. Using in-depth interviews and participant observation techniques. I was able to come to a deeper understanding of the participants' experience of the project. This thesis addresses how the project may have promoted their health and well-being with specific reference to physical, psychological and social health and well-being. Suggestions for improvements for future application of the project are also provided.

Drawing from principles of discourse analysis, this study provides a critical exploration of the contemporary debate surrounding spirituality and social work through the analysis of nineteen journal articles written by contemporary social work scholars. Two common problems identified by the scholars include the neglect of spirituality within contemporary practice and a lack of education and guidelines to address spirituality. The solutions identified by the scholars include provision of guidelines and education, the utilization of spirituality as a technique and the creation of spiritually aware social workers. The exclusion of general discussions surrounding macro level issues leads the author of this thesis to suggest that more research is necessary in order to explore how the concept of spirituality might serve to upset current power relations on a collective and systemic level in order to create a more significant impact upon contemporary social work practice and education.

This thesis develops a relational conception of consumption, exchange and contract, and applies it to understand the history and conceptual development of contract and sale of goods law and their impacts on problems of consumption and sustainability. Drawing on actor-network theory and geographies of consumption, consumer goods are understood as part of `"networks" and contract and sale of goods as particular stages within the wider processes of commodity networks. This provides the basis for a legal theory of the social and ecological role of the law of contracts, sale of goods (and other areas of law) in terms of the maintenance, enablement and regulation of commodity networks. This theory is applied to a genealogy of the concepts of consumer goods and of the consumer as embedded in nineteenth century English contract and sale of goods law, and of concepts of sustainable consumption found in contemporary debates and practices.