Many professionally trained immigrant applicants receive high marks in the selection process for their perceived value to the host Canadian society and economy. Upon arrival, however, many new immigrants find that employers and industry-regulated accreditation boards do not recognize their foreign degrees and work experience. In this thesis, I interview 25 underemployed or unemployed foreign-trained engineers in Vancouver to investigate the diversity of their experiences in the labour market. I focus on how they perceive the obstacles they are facing and how they are responding to these barriers in seeking employment. This thesis is situated in a growing body of literature that considers labour markets as complex, place-contingent, socially and institutionally embedded constructs. Using a "socio-institutionalist" approach, which refutes conventional neoclassical economics' theories of labour markets as free, self-equilibrating, and uninterrupted markets, enables me to compose, then put to work, a multilogical theoretical model that examines the ways in which various institutions control, shape, and govern access to professional engineering jobs in Vancouver. In particular, I draw upon theories of regulatory, social and cultural institutions in the labour market. I find that regulatory institutions, such as the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia (APEGBC), create licensing obstacles that are indeed profound for new immigrants. In addition, many recent immigrants are excluded from local social networks that diffuse information about professional job availabilities; assistance is provided through inclusive immigrant and ethnic networks, but this rarely leads to professional employment. Lastly, many newcomers perceive their cultural institutional affiliation to be wanting, and so pursue Canadian academic credentials in an attempt to gain entrance into the market. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

Major questions regarding the roles of school psychologists and delivery system reforms have appeared in the school psychology literature over the last of couple decades (Benson & Hughes, 1985; Fagan & Wise, 2000; Jackson, Balinky, & Lambert, 1993; Jerrell, 1984; Lacayo, Morris, & Sherwood, 1981; Reschly, 1988; Reschly & Wilson, 1995; Roberts & Rust, 1994). Consequently, many U.S. national survey studies have been conducted (Anderson, Cancelli, & Kratochwill, 1984; Benson & Hughes, 1985; Curtis, Chesno Grier, Walker Abshier, Sutton, & Hunley, 2002; Fischer, Jenkins, & Crumbley, 1986; Hutton & Dubes, 1992; Lacayo et al., 1981; Reschly & Wilson, 1995; Smith, 1984; Smith, Clifford, Hesley, & Leifgren, 1992; Stinnett, Havey, & Oehler-Stinnett,1994). However, there is little current empirical research on the roles and functions of school psychologists in British Columbia. Research is needed to help assess the state of the art in this province and explain what psychologists are doing. The profession of school psychology is unregulated in B.C. and so it is possible that persons practicing in the schools have a variety of training and offer a variety of services. Further, there is much existing uncertainty regarding the future path of the profession (Benson, 2002). The purpose of this study is to explore the job roles and functions of practicing school psychologists in B.C. and to examine the impact of various personal, professional, and job-site characteristics and external influences on job roles and functions. Survey methodology (N=42) was used with five select follow-up interviews for a sample of school psychologists around the province. Results revealed that the majority of respondents held a masters degree in school or educational psychology. Although respondents allocated a majority of their professional time to the role of assessment, school psychologists occupied a broad number of roles and desired to increase their time allocated to the other roles of interventions, consultation, counseling, and research and evaluation. Further, job roles were impacted by the number of students and schools served by psychologists, and psychologists' supervisors' field of specialization. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

This thesis will deal with the hydrographic survey of the BC coast and the international boundary settlement conducted by HM ships Plumper, Satellite, and Hecate from 1857 to 1863. It will examine the geo-political importance of the pursuit of "knowledge as power" in light of American expansionism and the utilisation of the surveyors as a significant force of law and order; their importance to the social and commercial development of BC; and their contribution to the safety of navigation and the exploration of the BC coast. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

This study dealt with college registrars in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The purpose of this study was three-fold: (i) to gather information concerning the personal characteristics, career paths and academic preparation of college registrars, (ii) to identify the types of professional development activities to which these individuals subscribe, and (iii) to determine the professional development needs and preferences of college registrars. A review of the scholarly literature revealed a limited number of studies dealing with college registrars. No Canadian studies were found which dealt with this subject matter. Other related literature was sought out, particularly studies which dealt with the personal characteristics and work histories of other nonacademic post secondary educational administrators. A questionnaire was mailed to all college registrars in British Columbia (N = 18). Seventeen individuals responded. From the information gathered via the questionnaire, several conclusions were drawn and a profile of the average college registrar in British Columbia was developed. This profile identifies the registrar as being a male who is roughly forty-six years of age. He is employed by a comprehensive community college and earns approximately $64,000 annually. He has held this position for close to eight years. This individual has completed an undergraduate degree in the field of science or mathematics although, he believes that there is no "preferred" form of undergraduate education for potential registrars. He has developed an understanding of the computer technologies utilized at his college through "hands-on" experience and is largely self-taught. Prior to becoming a registrar he had worked full-time for twelve years and had held at least two other positions within a college or university. When desire or circumstances necessitate a job change, this person would seek a position such as Dean or Director of Student & Ancillary Services or Vice-President, Student Services and Administration. This individual did not actively pursue the goal of becoming a college registrar. Given that this individual did not intend to become a registrar, it is not surprising to find that his academic preparation was not planned with a view to future work as an administrator in an institution of higher learning. The college registrar enjoys attending workshops, seminars and meetings sponsored by the British Columbia Registrars' Association (BCRA). He is a member of this organization as well as the Association of Registrars of Universities and Colleges of Canada (ARUCC) and, the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO). Several conclusions were drawn and recommendations were made. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

This thesis examines and evaluates the British Columbia Community Tourism Action Program (CTAP), a provincial program that aims to help communities broaden their economic bases by developing tourism. Specifically, it questions how isolated single-industry towns implement the British Columbia CTAP, and how they evaluate it, using the examples of Golden and Ucluelet, both of which have been using the program since 1991. The thesis does not base its conclusions on financial data, but on the communities' responses to a questionnaire about the CTAP, on meetings with each community's tourism action committee, and on a comparison of theories of tourism planning with the actual workings of the British Columbia CTAP. After establishing why single-industry towns may have a special need to diversify their economies, the thesis traces the evolution of the British Columbia CTAP from two other programs: its predecessor—British Columbia Tourism Development Strategy— and the Alberta Community Tourism Action Program. Following this history is a brief description of why tourism planning is necessary, including some of the environmental, economic and social effects of tourism, and then a review of the literature concerning tourism planning. A detailed study of the Golden and Ucluelet plans, several evaluations of the program, and recommendations for future research complete the thesis. Since the town representatives responses to the British Columbia CTAP have been favourable and since the program matches several of the most important theoretical requirements of tourism planning, the thesis concludes with qualified approval of the program. Reservations about the program's effectiveness include concerns about how well all the residents of a town are represented, how the program is evaluated, and how the program deals with sustainability issues. The final recommendations section sketches in how these problems might be addressed and also suggests some supplements to the CTAP. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

The sureness of the modern educational project has been undermined by shifting epistemological and material conditions. The shift from modernity to postmodernity develops its own incongruencies and anomalies as well as highlighting those extant during modernity. Institutions like British Columbia's community colleges cling to the artifacts of modernity, leaving postmodern environments and discourse unacknowledged. This study applies rhetorical strategies, devices and the methodologies of literature and poststructural social studies, including the use of deliberate ambiguity and unstable signification, to write in opposition to the plain prose privileged by the technical instrumentality of mainstream adult education discourse in the North American academy. This de-centring of traditional academic discourse reframes and challenges prevailing constructions of Canada, education in Canada and community colleges in British Columbia. Exhuming and exposing some of the operational myths of modernity as they found expression in Canada through academic discourse and quotidian practice while offering an alternate story is the means by which my narrative proceeds. This re-storying, in turn, is used as a strategy to challenge modern mainstream educational and educational administrative practice, while attempting to normalize ways of seeing community colleges in British Columbia based outside of modernist orthodoxies. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

In 1967, the Vancouver Art Gallery held an exhibition entitled Arts of the Raven: Masterworks by the Northwest Coast Indian in celebration of Canada’s centennial. The following thesis discusses the way in which the curators of the Arts of the Raven exhibit constructed the Northwest Coast “Indian-Master” artist as a strategy that figured into a larger, shifting cultural field. The intention of the exhibit organizers was to contribute to the shift from ethnology to art. While this shift can be dated to the turn of the century, this thesis deals primarily with the period from 1958-1967, a decade described by the preeminent First Nations’ political leader, George Manuel, as the time of “the rediscovery of the Indian”. How the formation of an Indian-master artist (and his masterworks) intervened in art historical practice, and dovetailed with the meaning that the affix “Indian” carried in the public sphere, is considered. In the 1960s, this meaning was fostered, in part, through a reassessment of Canada’s history in preparation for the centennial. This event drew attention to the historical relationship between Canada and aboriginal peoples through public criticism of the government by public interest groups, Indian organizations, and civil rights and anti-poverty movements. The category of mastery, which functions as a sign of class, taste and prestige in European art canons, “included” the Indian under the rubric of white male genius. Yet the Indian as a sign of upward mobility was incommensurable with the Native reality in Canada at the time. In other words, the exhibit produced an abstract equality that eclipsed the concrete inequality most First Nations peoples were actually experiencing. This thesis concludes by arguing that the Arts of the Raven exhibit came to serve the important purpose of creating a space for the “unique individual-Indian” from which collective political First Nations voices would speak. / Arts, Faculty of / Art History, Visual Art and Theory, Department of / Graduate

Teacher-librarians have an important role in education today. That role encompasses a wide spectrum of responsibilities making them an equal and valued partner in the education process. Due to the limited nature of Canadian research into the perceptions of the role of the teacher librarian and School Library Resource Centres, the purpose of this study is to address the changing role through both the literature and models in practice in schools, and discover what change is occurring and will continue to occur, despite economical restraints that limit budgets and cut teacher-librarian positions. The major research questions of this thesis are the following: 1. Do teachers, teacher-librarians and administrators all have the same vision of the role of the teacher-librarian and School Library Resource Centre? 2. Is there a difference in the perception of the role of the teacher librarian in part time schools and full time schools? 3. Is there a difference in the perception of the role of the teacher librarian by teacher-librarians, based on degree of education held? The design of this thesis is survey research. A questionnaire was mailed to all of the elementary schools in one urban school district in British Columbia. In each school the administrator, teacher-librarian, one intermediate teacher and one primary teacher were asked to complete the form. The results, once analyzed, indicate that all of the respondents have a similar vision of the School Library Resource Centre. This vision correlates to that of the Canadian literature reviewed. It was perceived that the primary roles of the teacher-librarian are Instruction, Consultation and Library Management. While there are individual differences between the 4 subject groups based on how important they rate a task, all of the statements are consider a role of the teacher -librarian. Both the education of a teacher-librarian and the amount of time he/she holds in the position do not demonstrate significant differences in their view of the teacher-librarian. In addition, the results of this study also demonstrate some ambiguity between what is perceived as the role of the teacher-librarian by all subject groups and what is happening in elementary schools in reality. This is most evident in the anecdotal comments. While highlighted as a significant change to the School Library Resource Centre program, several teachers comment on the lack of cooperative planning and teaching that actually takes place. A last finding of this study is the importance of technology to School Library Resource Centres, and as a consequence, the importance of the role of the teacher-librarian in consulting with teachers and students to maximize and facilitate the use of that technology. Overwhelmingly, this study demonstrates that teacher-librarians and School Library Resource Centres are both crucial to the education process today. As the understandings of the importance of their role in education continue to increase, so will the support and recognition that are essential to their continued existence in times of restraint. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

Apprenticeship is an old and venerable method of teaching skills and knowledge stretching back to antiquity. Most of the traditional aspects of this teaching and learning method, the practice of apprenticeship, takes place in the workplace where few educational researchers venture. In addition, because apprenticeship bridges issues related to education, training, labour market, social policy, and anthropology, research reports cover a broad spectrum but do not offer a synthetic view of apprenticeship. This research, focuses on a single trade, in a single company, in order to document the practice of formal apprenticeship. To set the stage, a preliminary classification of the disparate literature on apprenticeship as well as a brief history of apprenticeship in Canada and in British Columbia is offered. The registered cook apprenticeship in British Columbia studied shows that four major themes undergird the 'program': context, progression, knowledge, and vocational training. Context directly affects what can and is practiced on the job, hence affects the outcomes of the apprenticeship. In addition, it can be assumed that micro contextual differences play a role as important as macro contextual differences in apprenticeship. Progression represents the journey from neophyte to master and impacts apprenticeship as it charts one's career progression; a clear view of progression also seems to affect apprenticeship outcomes. Knowledge and vocational education seem to be linked and represent, for the apprentices and the masters, external yardsticks of achievement which are used to confirm stages of the journey. The research shows that present day apprenticeships have retained much of their rich tradition. Historical elements can be recognized in the models which summarize writings about apprenticeship presented in this paper. The models help contrast the practice with the intent of apprenticeship; and allow for the creation of a composite model which best fits fit a real-life case. Suggestions about the current practice of apprenticeship can be made from the models. But future research will have to further clarify some of the issues raised here, as well as chart a coherent course for the study of apprenticeship. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

The objective of this project is to propose the addition of a new layer of housing in the typical Post WW II suburban residential context in order to provide more housing alternatives for today's diverse population. This project was also an exploration of ways that this new housing could address the transition of zones from residential to other uses such as commercial, industrial and agricultural. I chose Richmond as my prototype site for exploration because I believe it is typical of many suburban communities throughout North America. The image in North America of the traditional family of a married couple with young children with an employed husband and homemaker wife that characterized the 1950's and 1960's doesn't match today's demographics. Today other types of family structures account for nearly 79% of the households created, the fastest-growing household type is the single person living alone, which comprise 23% of all households and single-parent families account for 14% (Canada Census Statistics 1991 and projections). As household composition becomes more diverse I believe architects must develop new forms to accommodate these changes. The residential landscape we inhabit today is largely the result of Post WW II prosperity and values. In the 1950's the single-family house became the standard and bankers, builders and developers continue to concentrate the bulk of capital resources of housing on the model of the single family detached house despite the demographic shifts to new types of households. Today many individuals and families are experiencing difficulties in finding housing that meets their particular needs. The design solutions for the nineties will not work unless they challenge gender stereotypes glorified in the Post WW II pattern of development. This pattern of development implemented rigid zoning that separated activities of public life such as places of wage work from the activities of home life. Private life and public life, private space and public space are bound together despite cultural pressures to separate them, I believe even more so today more with emergence of the home office. In this project I explored ways to create more flexible forms of housing and much richer and complex sets of transitional spaces in order to accommodate the activities that are required to connect private life and public life effectively for today's population. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Graduate