Climate change, with the possibility of an ice free Arctic ocean by 2015, has generated a renewed interest in the Arctic. This interest is being driven by the possibility of easier access to the abundant supply of resources such as oil, gas, minerals, and fisheries. Interest in Arctic tourism is also growing. Retreating sea ice will provide opportunities to avail of shorter routes for maritime traffic to and from Asia, North America, and Asia via the Arctic Ocean and Northwest Passage. In addition, the rate of population growth of local inhabitants in the Canadian Arctic is the fastest in Canada and one of the fastest in the world. A growing population will increase the demand for sealift resupply to Canada's northern communities. This work presents the first attempt to examine the role of privatization of icebreaking services in light of the present and projected shortages of infrastructure to support development in the Arctic. A unique combination of multiple methods within marine transportation, comprising of Delphi, grounded theory, and quantitative survey, is applied to investigate the potential for private involvement in the delivery of icebreaking services in the Canadian Arctic. This includes a novel application of Strauss and Corbin's Grounded Theory approach to develop hypotheses and relationships grounded in expert opinion. Although the Arctic Ocean may be ice free during the summers, there is still the issue of winter freezing and the threat of lingering multi-year ice which will impede marine transportation especially during periods of darkness and fog. The research shows that the future growth and development of the Canadian Arctic will undoubtedly require the use of designated icebreakers and ice strengthened vessels. However, Canada's fleet of Arctic icebreakers is ageing and considered unsuitable for future demands. While Canada has earmarked CAD $750M for the construction of one new icebreaker scheduled for delivery in 2017, the research shows that Icebreakers can be built outside of Canada for considerably less money and in less time. Also, the management and operation of the Canadian Coast Guard is under considerable security by the Auditor General of Canada. The research shows that not unlike others Arctic nations, there is potential for the creation of private-public partnerships in the delivery of Canadian Coast Guard services, principally icebreaking, in the Arctic.

The purpose of this thesis is to counterargue Simon Dalby’s claim that the national security perspective should be replaced by a global security perspective. Dalby argues that the national security is inappropriate to capture the current issues regarding the environmental security. To counterargue Dalby’s claim, I represent the national security perspective by using the perspective of states’ energy security, and compare current trends and issues regarding states’ energy security and the environmental security. This is done to argue that states can either chose to enhance their own energy security or the environmental security. Prisoners' Dilemma is then used as a theoretical framework on an explanatory example to provide insights about a dilemma, called the Energy- Environment Dilemma in this thesis, that curbs states’ ability to commit themselves to the cause of protecting the environmental security. The explanatory example used is the strategic importance of the Northwest passage for the U.S. and Canada. The results of this thesis suggests that the national security perspective, in combination with Prisoners’ Dilemma, is useful to provide insights about the Energy-Environmental Dilemma. Replacing it with a global security perspective would be to ignore a perspective which can provide insights about a challenge for states to commit to the cause of protecting the environmental security.

Seen as a valuable shortcut from Europe to Asia, the Northwest Passage could become an important shipping route, and Canada wants to be able to control it. However, the current Conservative Party government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper has led an aggressive, complex neorealist approach to securing sovereignty over the Passage consisting of loud diplomacy, military drills, and rejection of multilateral cooperation in the region. But this strategy that perceives Canada as a principle power is not sustainable. The government must accept that Canada simply cannot afford to unilaterally control and develop the Northwest Passage, and a liberal internationalist approach is what is needed. Rather than continuing to fight for international acknowledgment that the Passage is a domestic strait, Canada needs to recognize that the strait can be managed and developed much more effectively if it oversaw a multilateral development effort through the International Maritime Organization. This thesis will consist of five chapters: 1. The history of Canada and the Northwest Passage, 2. The benefits of a more accessible Arctic, 3. Challenges to developing a more open Arctic, 4. Three theoretical perspectives of Canadian foreign policy, 5. Returning to multilateralism: and effective Northwest Passage policy. Powered by...

The British Empire is often traced back to the late sixteenth century and Sir Francis Drake's circumnavigation, but Tudor monarchs had been eyeing expansion beyond Britain long before Drake. John Cabot, commissioned by Henry VII in the late fifteenth century, became the first European to step foot in the Americas in five centuries. Half a century later, adventurers like Richard Chancellor and Sir Hugh Willoughby sought a possible Northeast Passage to Asia, interacting with the Sami and Russians along the way. These expeditions and others like them, funded by the English monarchy and merchants, aimed to expand the kingdom’s economic base and help England find its place in the world. Although the Northeast Passage and Northwest Passage were not successfully charted during the European Age of Exploration, these Tudor explorers contributed to geographic, social, and cultural knowledge and laid the foundation of the largest empire in world history.

Arctic Canada has seen significant ecological changes since the 1990s, leading to sea ice melt, increased temperatures, and increased accessibility to the Northwest Passage. The increased accessibility to the Northwest Passage has allowed for vessels to easily access maritime routes that were not previously accessible. Changes to the Arctic landscape has led to the beginning of open water shipping seasons in Arctic waters, attracting international audiences for trade, tourism, fisheries, and other economic activity. This new passageway increases options for companies to reduce costs in shipping, while also facilitating new and emerging hazards and risks for operational vessels. Comprehensive risk analysis and full assessments need to be completed to aid policy- and decision-makers to support and manage the increasing maritime traffic in Canadian Arctic waters. To fill this knowledge gap, the overarching aim of this master’s level research was to identify and preliminarily evaluate a comprehensive list of hazards (impact drivers) and risks (future impacts) for Maritime ship operations within Arctic Canada and to complete a preliminary assessment of identified maritime shipping hazards and risks throughout Arctic Canada. Hazards and risks were identified using several text-based sources, including social media, grey literature, and peer reviewed journal articles, in order to conduct a comprehensive content analysis to identify the perspectives and trends emerging among the online community. Natural language processing methods were then used, such as word frequencies, word correlation, and topic modelling to identify key phrases, terminology, and thematic groups. This allowed for the creation of an inventory of relevant hazard and risk themes and categories that could be used as a strong basis for informing a risk analysis. Emerging themes included: sea ice, navigability issues, geopolitical concerns, and operational challenges, among others. Following the identification of hazard and risk factors, a ‘failure modes, effects, and criticality analysis’ (FMECA) approach was used, along with a consequence-probability Rettinger ix matrix, as means of performing a preliminary risk analysis. The method enables the collection of information regarding hazard and risk descriptors, consequence, probability, control mechanisms, impacts, and data quality information, to establish a validated risk rating score. Risk rating scores are calculated using consequences and probability scores to determine average risk ratings for individual hazards and risks and at the sector-based category level. A total of 154 variables were inventoried: 55 hazards were identified and 99 risks were noted that influence maritime ship operations in Arctic Canada. Five variables were classified as ‘VERY HIGH’: three hazards (hydrocarbon releases, transportation of dangerous goods, and multiyear sea ice) and two risks (community member displacement and socioeconomic impacts on indigenous peoples). Five thematic groups were seen as priority risk ratings, two of which identified with “HIGH” data quality indexes (Sea Ice, Environmental). A total of 35 hazards and 36 risks are recommended for further investigation, being classified with a ‘VERY HIGH’ or ‘HIGH’ data quality score. Results of this research supports a preliminary attempt at a comprehensive risk analysis that can be used in the future to conduct a full risk assessment.

La théorie transgouvernementale s’appuie sur l’existence de réseaux transfrontaliers entre composantes de l’État exerçant des fonctions similaires dans une optique de gestion de problèmes communs. Le transgouvernementalisme canado-américain se caractérise par un faible abandon de souveraineté des partenaires, une forte participation des acteurs régionaux, une informalité dans les relations et une intégration des secteurs privé et public et de la société civile au sein de réseaux mixtes. Le modèle de gouvernance binationale en place dans la région du bassin du Saint-Laurent et des Grands Lacs présente toutes les caractéristiques du modèle typique d’intégration transgouvernementale canado-américain. Une analyse poussée révèle en effet une matrice complexe et solide de réseaux transgouvernementaux dont les multiples ramifications s’étendent aujourd’hui beaucoup plus loin que le strict cadre des ententes sous l’égide desquelles ces réseaux ont pris naissance. Si le modèle de l’intégration par réseaux transgouvernementaux apparaît comme la solution retenue par les pouvoirs publics dans la gestion collaborative du bassin du Saint-Laurent et des Grands Lacs, s’agit-il du modèle à privilégier en ce qui a trait à la gouvernance du Passage du Nord-Ouest? Bien que le modèle en place dans la région du Saint-Laurent et des Grands Lacs ne puisse être reproduit intégralement relativement à la gestion du Passage du Nord-Ouest, un modèle d’intégration transgouvernementale, du « bas vers le haut », axé sur la mise en place d’une réglementation commune en matière de navigation et sur une intégration opérationnelle visant à assurer la mise en œuvre de cette règlementation, s’avère approprié pour la gestion du Passage du Nord-Ouest. / Transgovernmentalism is based on the existence of transboundary networks between sub-national entities exercising similar functions in order to address common issues. Canada-United States transgovernmentalism can be characterised by limited relinquishment of sovereignty by partners, significant participation of regional actors, informality in the relations and the integration of the private and public sectors and civil society into mixed networks. The governance model in place in the St. Lawrence basin and the Great Lakes region presents all the features of the typical model of Canada-United States transgovernmentalism. A thorough analysis indeed reveals a complex and strong matrix of transgovernmental networks which ramifications now extend far beyond the strict framework of agreements under whose auspices these networks arose. However, if transgovernmentalism is the solution adopted by both governments for the collaborative management of the St. Lawrence basin and the Great Lakes, it is an appropriate governance model for the management of the Northwest Passage? Although the model in place in the region of the St. Lawrence basin and the Great Lakes can not be entirely reproduced for the management of the Northwest Passage, a “bottom-up” transgovernmental model focused on the implementation of common rules in the field of navigation, and on collaboration at the operational level to ensure the implementation of this regulation, is appropriate for the management of Northwest Passage.

La théorie transgouvernementale s’appuie sur l’existence de réseaux transfrontaliers entre composantes de l’État exerçant des fonctions similaires dans une optique de gestion de problèmes communs. Le transgouvernementalisme canado-américain se caractérise par un faible abandon de souveraineté des partenaires, une forte participation des acteurs régionaux, une informalité dans les relations et une intégration des secteurs privé et public et de la société civile au sein de réseaux mixtes. Le modèle de gouvernance binationale en place dans la région du bassin du Saint-Laurent et des Grands Lacs présente toutes les caractéristiques du modèle typique d’intégration transgouvernementale canado-américain. Une analyse poussée révèle en effet une matrice complexe et solide de réseaux transgouvernementaux dont les multiples ramifications s’étendent aujourd’hui beaucoup plus loin que le strict cadre des ententes sous l’égide desquelles ces réseaux ont pris naissance. Si le modèle de l’intégration par réseaux transgouvernementaux apparaît comme la solution retenue par les pouvoirs publics dans la gestion collaborative du bassin du Saint-Laurent et des Grands Lacs, s’agit-il du modèle à privilégier en ce qui a trait à la gouvernance du Passage du Nord-Ouest? Bien que le modèle en place dans la région du Saint-Laurent et des Grands Lacs ne puisse être reproduit intégralement relativement à la gestion du Passage du Nord-Ouest, un modèle d’intégration transgouvernementale, du « bas vers le haut », axé sur la mise en place d’une réglementation commune en matière de navigation et sur une intégration opérationnelle visant à assurer la mise en œuvre de cette règlementation, s’avère approprié pour la gestion du Passage du Nord-Ouest. / Transgovernmentalism is based on the existence of transboundary networks between sub-national entities exercising similar functions in order to address common issues. Canada-United States transgovernmentalism can be characterised by limited relinquishment of sovereignty by partners, significant participation of regional actors, informality in the relations and the integration of the private and public sectors and civil society into mixed networks. The governance model in place in the St. Lawrence basin and the Great Lakes region presents all the features of the typical model of Canada-United States transgovernmentalism. A thorough analysis indeed reveals a complex and strong matrix of transgovernmental networks which ramifications now extend far beyond the strict framework of agreements under whose auspices these networks arose. However, if transgovernmentalism is the solution adopted by both governments for the collaborative management of the St. Lawrence basin and the Great Lakes, it is an appropriate governance model for the management of the Northwest Passage? Although the model in place in the region of the St. Lawrence basin and the Great Lakes can not be entirely reproduced for the management of the Northwest Passage, a “bottom-up” transgovernmental model focused on the implementation of common rules in the field of navigation, and on collaboration at the operational level to ensure the implementation of this regulation, is appropriate for the management of Northwest Passage.

During the 1740’s, Hudson Bay went from an obscure backwater of the British Empire to a locus of colonial ambition. Arthur Dobbs revitalized Northwest Passage exploration, generating new information about the region’s environment and indigenous peoples. This study explores evolving English and British representations of Hudson Bay’s climate and landscape in travel and natural history writing, and probes British anxieties about foreign environments. I demonstrate how Dobbs’ ideology of improvement optimistically re-imagined the North, opening a new discursive space wherein the Subarctic could be favourably described and colonized. I examine how Hudson Bay explorers’ responses to difficulties in the Arctic and Subarctic were seen to embody, even amplify, central principles and features of eighteenth-century British culture and identity. Finally, I investigate how latitude served as a benchmark for civilization and savagery, subjugating the Lowland Cree and Inuit to British visions of settlement and improvement in their home territories.

The new fact that the environment is becoming the main factor of geopolitical transformations in the Arctic region has been triggered mainly by climate change. In the North, this recent aspect of geopolitics, in correlation with the environment, leads sometimes to tensions between countries, but also to a need for cooperation. The question brought by such conditions is, to which extent will this climate change provoke cooperation or conflicts between the Arctic states. The purpose of addressing the problem is to understand what kind of challenges would be facing the international relations between circumpolar countries and how the environment is playing a geopolitical role in them. The objective of the main research question is to assess the importance of climate change over the geopolitics of the Arctic through several spheres of geopolitics: environment and bio-diversity, economic activity of the region, sovereignty and territoriality, security of the circumpolar states, and international and diplomatic relations. The trans-border and transnational nature of environmental issues is another important factor, since nature does not respect human-made boundaries and an environmental concern, such as climate change and its aftermaths, cannot be exclusive to a state along the lines of its borders.

The importance of philosophy and the philosophical is not on the lips of many library and information science practitioners and scholars, even though pervasive in information science theory and practice. This investigation focusses on the relationship between information science, philosophy and the philosophical thinking attitude revealed through theoretical and practical concerns. This includes theory generation arising from the philosophical in exploring the role of philosophy and the philosophical. It takes into account perceived problems in recognising, accepting and rejecting the role of philosophical approaches and the impact in determining the nature and the theoretical and practical aspects of information science. The problem posed by not recognising philosophical approaches, is that the benefits of philosophical thought cannot be drawn on to understand how knowledge, information and its communication manifest through language and language expression. Three pathways are used in order to reveal philosophy and the philosophical in information science, the connection between information retrieval and language, and philosophical thinking attitudes at theoretical and practical levels. The value of the study lies in contributing towards knowledge and awareness of the effect of philosophical theories on problems seen as central research areas in information science and its domains. The methodological approach gives preference to the comparative and pluralistic epistemology of a journey. The study examines Peter Ingwersen’s cognitive perspective and information retrieval interaction, David Blair’s treatment of information retrieval with natural language as primary concern, and Fanie de Beer’s contribution on the inventive act of reading and knowledge organisation, as representative figures. It is argued that information science cannot avoid philosophy in its different manifestations. By understanding how philosophy manifests in information science, such as the role of philosophy revealed through language and information retrieval, an opportunity is offered to reconsider the discipline’s interdisciplinary nature in the existing scholarly and societal environment, and the contribution of its historical development to the assumptions and philosophies underlying the discipline. A further empirical study on how philosophy and the philosophical are embedded in information science research is recommended. It could investigate the influence of philosophy on decisions made by South African universities to redesign information science research and study programmes. / Biblioteek- en inligtingkundige praktisyns praat nie dikwels oor die belangrikheid van filosofie en die filosofiese nie, hoewel dit algemeen in die teorie en praktyk van inligtingkunde voorkom. Hierdie ondersoek fokus op die verband tussen inligtingkunde, filosofie en die filosofiese denkhouding wat deur teoretiese en praktiese aspekte blootgelê word. Dit sluit die skepping in van teorieë wat uit die filosofiese voortspruit met die ondersoek na die rol van filosofie en die filosofiese. Dit neem kennis van vermeende probleme met herkenning, aanvaarding en verwerping van die rol van filosofiese benaderings en die impak op bepaling van die aard en die teoretiese en praktiese aspekte van inligtingkunde. Die probleem wat veroorsaak word deur nie die filosofiese benaderings te erken nie, is dat die voordele van filosofiese denke nie gebruik kan word om te verstaan hoe kennis, inligting en die kommunikasie daarvan in taal- en taaluitdrukking manifesteer nie. Drie weë word gevolg om die filosofie en die filosofiese in inligtingkunde, die verband tussen inligtingontsluiting en taal, en filosofiese denkhouding op teoretiese en praktiese vlak aan te toon. Die waarde van die studie lê daarin dat dit bydra tot kennis en bewustheid van die uitwerking van filosofiese teorieë op probleme wat as sentrale navorsingsgebiede in inligtingkunde en sy domeine beskou word. Die metodologiese benadering gee voorkeur aan die vergelykende en pluralistiese epistemologie van 'n reis. Die studie ondersoek Peter Ingwersen se kognitiewe perspektief en interaksie met inligtingontsluiting, David Blair se hantering van inligtingontsluiting met natuurlike taal as primêre belang, en Fanie de Beer se bydrae oor die vindingryke handeling van lees- en kennisorganisasie, as verteenwoordigende figure. Daar word aangevoer dat inligtingkunde nie filosofie in sy verskillende manifestasies kan vermy nie. Deur te verstaan hoe filosofie in inligtingkunde manifesteer, soos die rol van filosofie wat deur taal- en inligtingontsluiting openbaar word, word die geleentheid gebied om die dissipline se interdissiplinêre aard in die bestaande wetenskaplike en samelewingsomgewing en die bydrae van die historiese ontwikkeling daarvan tot die aannames en filosofieë onderliggend aan die dissipline te heroorweeg. 'n Verdere empiriese studie oor hoe filosofie en die filosofiese in inligtingkundige navorsing vervat is, word aanbeveel. Dit kan die invloed van filosofie op besluite wat Suid-Afrikaanse universiteite neem om navorsings- en studieprogramme vir inligtingkunde te herontwerp, ondersoek. / Bohlokwa bja filosofi le bja tiriso ya filosofi bo bolelwa kudu ke basomi ba bantsi ba dithutamahlale tsa bokgobapuku le tshedimoso le dirutegi, le ge e le gore di tletse kudu ka go teori le tiriso ya dithutamahlale tsa tshedimoso. Dinyakisiso tse di nepisitse go kamano magareng ga dithutamahlale tsa tshedimoso, filosofi le maikutlo a go nagana ka filosofi ao a utollotswego ka dipelaelo mabapi le teori le tiriso. Se se akaretsa moloko wo o dirisago teori e lego seo se bakilwego ke tiriso ya filosofi go utolla mosomo wa filosofi le wa tiriso ya filosofi. Di hlokometse kudu mathata ao a bonwago ka go lekodisisa, go amogela le go gana mosomo wa mekgwa ya filosofi le seabe sa go tseba mokgwa le dilo tsa teori le tsa tiriso ya dithutamahlale tsa tshedimoso. Bothata bjo bo laeditswego bja go se lemoge mekgwa ya filosofi, ke gore mehola ya kgopolo ya filosofi e ka se diriswe gore re kwesise ka fao tsebo, tshedimoso le poledisano ka ga yona di ka phethagatswago ka polelo le tlhagiso ya polelo. Ditsela tse tharo di a diriswa ka nepo ya go utolla filosofi le tiriso ya filosofi ka go dithutamahlale tsa tshedimoso, kamano magareng ga go hwetsa tshedimoso le polelo, le mekgwa ya go nagana ka filosofi maemong a teori le a tiriso. Boleng bja dinyakisiso tse ke go ba le seabe go tsebo le go temoso ka ga seabe sa diteori tsa filosofi go mathata ao a bonwego bjalo ka dinyakisiso tse bohlokwa ka go dithutamahlale tsa tshedimoso le go makala a tsona. Tsela ye ya go dirisa mekgwa e rata kudu mokgwa wa papetso le wa go tseba dilo ka tsela ye e fapafapanego mo leetong. Dinyakisiso tse di lekodisisa mokgwa wa kwesiso le kamano ya go hwetsa tshedimoso tsa Peter Ingwersen, kwesiso ya David Blair ya go hwetsa tshedimoso le polelo ya tlhago bjalo ka selo seo se tlisago tlhobaelo ya mathomo, le seabe sa Fanie de Beer ka ga tiro ya boitlhamelo ya go bala le go beakanya tsebo, bjalo ka dilo tseo di tlisago kemelo. Go bolelwa gore dithutamahlale tsa tshedimoso di ka se kgone go efoga filosofi ka tirisong ya tsona ye e fapafapanego. Ka go kwesisa ka fao filosofi e diriswago ka gona ka go dithutamahlale tsa tshedimoso, go swana le ge mosomo wa filosofi o utollotswe ka polelo le ka go utolla tshedimoso, sebaka se a fiwa go lebeledisisa leswa seemo sa thuto ye sa kamano le dithuto tse dingwe ka seemong sa bjale sa dirutegi le ka setshabeng, le seabe sa tlhabollo ya yona mo nakong ye e fetilego go ditshisinyo le go difilosofi tseo di thekgago thuto ye. Dinyakisiso tse dingwe tseo di theilwego go boitemogelo ka ga ka fao filosofi le tiriso ya filosofi di tsentswego ka go dithutamahlale tsa tshedimoso di a sisinywa. Di ka nyakisisa khuetso ya filosofi go diphetho tseo di dirilwego ke diyunibesithi tsa Afrika Borwa go hlama leswa dinyakisiso tsa dithutamahlale tsa tshedimoso le go mananeo a dithuto. / Information Science / Ph. D. (Information Science)