This thesis presents a study on the applicability of common roughness parameterization guidelines in determining values of the surface roughness length (z0). These guidelines are often used for vertical extrapolation of wind speeds in the renewable energy industry. The specific goal of this thesis is to determine whether these guidelines (most notably the Davenport roughness classification system) can provide a quality estimate of the roughness length for wind resource assessment purposes. To test this hypothesis, empirical relationships between calculated values of z0 derived from logarithmic profile fitting and those estimated from subjective terrain analyses guidelines are compared at two prospective wind farm locations in Southern Ontario. The results suggest that the use of roughness parameterization guidelines for extrapolating wind speeds can cause serious underestimation of the local wind resources, especially at locations where local topographic challenges exist. Their use in energy assessments should be avoided if possible through on-site measurements of the wind profile.

An oceanographic buoy with 10 atmospheric and oceanographic instruments was deployed in Clayoquot Sound on the west coast of Canada in 2007. The high-resolution time series was used to monitor the fine-scale variability in the coastal ocean. Over 700 CTD profiles measuring temperature, salinity and chlorophyll fluorescence made in the region of the buoy were used to relate the buoy data to spatial patterns. Analysis showed that large-scale upwelling in combination with the localized winds and tidal currents affect water properties at time scales of hours to days. At low tide the buoy represented inland water and at high tide the buoy represented offshore water. Both the buoy data and CTD profiles measured a strong offshore/onshore gradient. For temperature the gradient depended on the direction of the wind, salinity was always higher offshore compared to onshore, and the chlorophyll fluorescence was higher onshore in the early spring and higher offshore for the rest of the time series. The fine scale temporal resolution of the buoy was able to capture the variability measured by the CTD profiles in a 40km2 area. This work shows the importance of making high-resolution temporal measurements in the coastal ocean. However, these types of moorings also require frequent maintenance. In Clayoquot Sound, the optical sensors needed to be cleaned every 4-6 days.

Certain indicators are useful in examining the impact of health care restructuring on the population. Avoidable hospitalization rates are used as an indicator of access to primary care. The purpose of this study was to examine regional, temporal, and age-related trends in avoidable hospitalization rates among older adults during a decade of significant health care restructuring in British Columbia, 1991-2000. The specific objectives of this study were 1) to calculate avoidable hospitalization rates among older adults in British Columbia by regional health authority and health services delivery area, 2) to examine the extent to which avoidable hospitalization rates among older adults in each regional health authority and health service delivery area differ from the provincial avoidable hospitalization rate, and 3) to examine the temporal changes in avoidable hospitalization rates among older adults in British Columbia by regional health authority. Analyses draw on linked administrative health data from the province of British Columbia for the population of health system users age 55 and older. Analyses are stratified by age group (55 to 64, 65 to 74, and 75 and older) and regional health authority and health service delivery area. Age-sex standardized avoidable hospitalization rates for the years 1991 through 2000 were first calculated. Analysis of means for rate data were also undertaken to examine the extent to which avoidable hospitalization rates in each region differed from the provincial average. Additionally, joinpoint regression analyses of annual avoidable hospitalization rates were performed to examine temporal changes in the trends. Comparing the avoidable hospitalization rates observed in the health authorities and health service delivery areas to the avoidable hospitalization rates for the province revealed regional disparities, whereby the most rural and northern health authorities and health service delivery areas tended to have higher avoidable hospitalization rates. Joinpoint regression results showed significantly decreasing trends over time. The results also generally indicated that as age increased, so did the likelihood of encountering an avoidable hospitalization. This was consistent across geographical locations and time. The data suggest that access to primary care services may be problematic in several areas of the province, including northern British Columbia, and rural and remote areas. Although avoidable hospitalization rates decreased over time, it may be the case that health care restructuring initiatives in the 1990s have not completely addressed regional disparities in access to primary care. Additionally, the finding that the oldest adults tend to be more prone to an avoidable hospitalization is of concern. Policy efforts intended to reduce the overall number of avoidable hospitalizations should address the complexities associated with access to the primary care system.

The purpose of this thesis is to support White social workers who wish to become allies in their child welfare work with Aboriginal children, families, and communities. It is based on the premise that it is crucial for Aboriginal children to remain connected with their families, communities, and cultures. To this end White social workers need to consider practicing in a different way. Using the stories of five White social workers on their journey to become allies, this thesis identifies a process which can support other would-be White allies on their journey. An autoethnographical method informed by Critical Race Theory and White Racial and Social Development Models was used to create a thematic analysis of the journals of participating social workers. Five main themes emerged that contribute to a process others can use to guide their own journeys to becoming White allies in their practice.

It has become increasingly clear that climate fluctuations during the Holocene interval were unusually frequent and rapid, and that our current understanding of the temporal and spatial distribution of these oscillations is incomplete. Little paleoenvironmental research has been undertaken on the windward side of the central Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. Very high annual orographic precipitation totals, moderate annual temperatures regulated by the Pacific Ocean, and extreme topographic features result in a complex suite of microclimate conditions in this largely unstudied area. Dendroclimatological investigations conducted on a steep south-facing slope near Confederation and Franklin glaciers suggest that both mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) and subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) trees at the site are limited by previous year mean and maximum summer temperatures. A regional subalpine fir chronology for the central and southern Coast Mountains indicates that subalpine fir trees at the study site experience physiological stress with warm summer temperatures, despite the high annual precipitation totals experienced there. This response is likely a result of the extreme gradient and the aspect of the slope at the sampling location, underscoring the importance of site characteristics on annual radial tree growth. Local (AD 1820-2008) and regional (AD 1700-2008) tree ring width chronologies were used to reconstruct previous July mean and maximum temperatures, explaining between 13% and 36% of the variance in climate. The proxy record features cool intervals that are comparable to other paleoenvironmental research from the region, and cyclical oscillations in temperature commonly associated with the El Niño Southern Oscillation and Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Century-scale fluctuations may be connected to changes in solar irradiance. Dendroglaciological investigations were undertaken at the confluence of the Confederation and Franklin glaciers with the intention of exploring the Holocene behaviour of low-elevation maritime glaciers in this region. These glaciers are suspected to be sensitive to variations in the mean position of winter freezing level heights and warm winter temperatures, and may respond differently to changes in climate than more continental glaciers. Buried wood samples were radiocarbon-dated and cross-dated to construct three floating chronologies. Float A (r = 0.467) suggests an early Little Ice Age advance of the two glaciers, and Float B (r = 0.466) suggests an early Tiedemann advance of Confederation Glacier. Float C (r = 0.519) is dated to the Garibaldi Phase of glacier expansion, but may not have been killed by glacial activity. The temporal synchronicity of these findings with glacial events documented throughout the region suggests a spatially coherent response of maritime and continental glaciers to the dominant climate–forcing mechanisms operating in Pacific North America throughout the late Holocene. The dendroclimatological and dendroglaciological findings of this study help to fill a spatial research gap in the current understanding of Holocene climate variations in British Columbia. Because of the complex and at times topographically-controlled response of conifers to climate in the study area, this region may provide a particular challenge in terms of reconstructing Holocene climate variability.

In this study, I document the steps taken to develop and apply a Bayesian belief network (BBN) model for identifying the probable black bear intertidal habitat quality of Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia. Initial model outputs provide a narrow range of probability values, resulting in three high quality intertidal habitat classes applied to the study area. Day-time, summer observations of bear intertidal utilization improve previous knowledge of bear behaviour and highlight preferred resources and habitat characteristics, along coastal margins. Black bear encounter rates are calculated for the individual and some combinations of the key environmental variables used within the model. Bear encounter rates increase with higher probability class. A revised BBN model is implemented through systematic methods applied to the comparison of the initial model conditional probability tables and black bear encounter rates. This final model improves the discrimination of intertidal habitats resulting in four classes. The range of probability values increases as do the encounter rates with successive higher probability classes. Future recommendations for improvements are presented.

The future of environmental conservation ultimately depends on the collective impact of actions taken by individuals. While many people choose to engage in environmentally responsible behaviours, such as recycling or using public transit, some people are going a step further by volunteering with environmental organizations. These environmental volunteers undertake a variety of roles that are essential to the overall functioning and program delivery of most nonprofit environmental organizations. A major challenge of using volunteers can be the rate of volunteer turnover which increases the need to recruit and train new volunteers. Drawing on past volunteer motivation and satisfaction research, this study seeks to better understand what motivates environmental volunteers and to identify what factors contribute to volunteer satisfaction and retention. A questionnaire with Likert scale and open ended questions was completed by 148 environmental volunteers in the Victoria Capital Regional District. Factor analysis of the survey responses identified nine potential motives for volunteering with environmental organizations: Career, Environmental Values, Personal Growth, Protective, Social Norms, Social Interests, Efficacy, and Independence. The identified motivational factors were used to develop a cluster analysis, which identified six potential groupings or types of individuals attracted to volunteering with environment and conservation organizations. The six groupings identified were Practical Environmentalists, Concerned Environmentalist, Career Environmentalist, Budding Idealist, Social Environmentalist, and Other Helpers. Questions regarding volunteer satisfaction identified six factors that affect volunteer satisfaction: Organization Satisfaction, Individual Freedom, Personal Contribution, Environmental Impact, Intrinsic Rewards, and Personal Benefits. Satisfaction with these factors, however, was not enough to predict volunteer retention. Barriers to volunteering, such as health, location of volunteer activities, and other commitments also contribute to discontinuation of volunteer service. The results of this study can be useful for volunteer management and organization of volunteer programs in order to recruit and maintain satisfied volunteers.

Visitation to marine wildlife viewing tours has increased steadily in the last few decades. Despite concerns over negative impacts, one of the anticipated benefits to wildlife viewing is increased visitor support for marine conservation. In this study, sea otters were used as a case study to determine how wildlife viewing may alter visitor attitudes and behavioural intentions towards marine conservation. In particular, the effects of the inclusion of interpretation in marine wildlife observation were analysed. This study includes the experiences of marine wildlife visitors to boat-based tours in Tofino, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, as well as the experiences of visitors to the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre. A questionnaire was used to determine the importance of sea otters to wildlife viewing tours, how both aquarium and boat-based wildlife viewing experiences influence visitor learning, and what implications this has for marine conservation. Sea otters were found to be important incidentally-viewed species in the boat-based tours. Sea otters were oftentimes not the main draw, but visitors very much enjoyed their presence. The provision of interpretation on its own affected visitor attitudes and behavioural intentions. However, the most significant difference in the promotion of conservation attitudes and behaviours was when the observation of sea otters was coupled with interpretation regarding sea otters. The same trend was observed in both the boat-based tours in Tofino and the captive wildlife viewing at the aquarium. These results indicate that the most important role of the tour guide is in locating marine species, and providing targeted interpretation about the species during observation. Thus, marine wildlife tourism can increase overall visitor support for marine conservation through affecting attitudes and behaviours.

The current discourse on women who work in the sex trade is often viewed through a lens based on “victim and abuse” (Gorkoff and Runner, 2003, p. 15) positioning them as being helpless, needing to be rescued and reformed in hopes they will become upstanding citizens. Constructing a resilient identity of Indigenous women who have had involvement in the sex trade aims to shed new light on the identities of a population who are often portrayed negatively. One of the ways this reconstruction can be done is to focus on their familial relationships, thereby challenging the existing discourse that often blames the families of women in the sex trade as reasons for their involvement. Using narrative analysis, this qualitative study focused on the lives of five Indigenous women who have had involvement in the sex trade. The purpose of this study was twofold: First was to gain an understanding of the familial relationships of Indigenous women who have had involvement in the sex trade; second was to gain an understanding of how these relationships have contributed to their resiliency. The Indigenous women who participated in this study shared stories of their familial relationships highlighting the supportive and constructive aspects derived from their familial relationships. Secondly, they discussed the economic violence that found them making a constrained choice to engage in the sex trade as a means of survival. Thirdly, they spoke of how their familial relationships created family bonds, their connections to their families, and described their families as a source of strength, courage, and unconditional love, which positively contributed to their resilience. The fourth theme challenges the victim and abuse paradigm, as their narratives of resilience reveal how these women have sought to construct new identities and outlines the struggles they have encountered in their efforts to develop these new identities.

This thesis develops an interdisciplinary, theoretical framework for analyzing moments of legal pluralism in banishment cases in Samoa. In the first two chapters, select theoretical forms, discourses and practices from legal anthropology, comparative legal scholarship and law and society studies are critically analyzed. Chapter three examines the role of metaphors in theorizing legal pluralism and legal change in both comparative legal scholarship and law and society scholarship. In chapters four and five, elements that were critically analyzed in chapters one through three are drawn together and recombined to theorize legal pluralism in Samoa. As part of this recombination, I employ two metaphors to guide my analysis. Metaphor one, woven objects, is employed to represent select strands of legality existent in Samoa. Metaphor two, the weaving process, is used to analyze how people create moments of legal pluralism in Samoan banishment cases through the adoption of particular subjectivities, through articulation of legal information, and via relations of power.