Homelessness is an important social problem in Canada, and the needs and experiences of women may differ from those of other homeless people. Little research has looked beyond rehousing to examine community integration following homelessness. Predictive models of three distinct facets of community integration for women who have experienced homelessness are presented and tested in this thesis. The first model examines physical integration, which is defined in terms of attaining and retaining stable housing. The second model predicts economic integration, defined in terms of participation in work or education. The third model predicts psychological integration, defined as psychological sense of community in one’s neighbourhood. Data for this research comes from a two-year longitudinal study conducted in Ottawa. Participants were women aged 20 and over (N =101) who were homeless at the study’s outset. Family status was an important predictor of community integration. Women who were accompanied by dependent children were more likely than those unaccompanied by children to be physically, economically and psychologically integrated in their communities. Having access to subsidized housing predicted becoming rehoused and living in one’s current housing for longer. Greater perceived social support predicted living in one’s current housing for longer. Past work history and mental health functioning predicted economic integration. Lower levels of education predicted returns to full-time studies. Living in higher quality housing and having more positive contact with neighbours predicted psychological integration, while living in one’s current housing for longer predicted lower levels of psychological integration. Overall, participants achieved a moderate level of community integration. The majority had been housed for at least 90 days at follow-up. However, only a minority were participating in the workforce or education at follow-up. Participants achieved only a moderate level of psychological integration. Results are discussed in terms of implications for policy and service provision. Improvements in the availability and quality of affordable housing, as well as employment support are recommended. Special attention needs to be paid to providing adequate and effective services for women who are unaccompanied by dependent children. / Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la societé et la culture

Homelessness is an important social problem in Canada, and the needs and experiences of women may differ from those of other homeless people. Little research has looked beyond rehousing to examine community integration following homelessness. Predictive models of three distinct facets of community integration for women who have experienced homelessness are presented and tested in this thesis. The first model examines physical integration, which is defined in terms of attaining and retaining stable housing. The second model predicts economic integration, defined in terms of participation in work or education. The third model predicts psychological integration, defined as psychological sense of community in one’s neighbourhood. Data for this research comes from a two-year longitudinal study conducted in Ottawa. Participants were women aged 20 and over (N =101) who were homeless at the study’s outset. Family status was an important predictor of community integration. Women who were accompanied by dependent children were more likely than those unaccompanied by children to be physically, economically and psychologically integrated in their communities. Having access to subsidized housing predicted becoming rehoused and living in one’s current housing for longer. Greater perceived social support predicted living in one’s current housing for longer. Past work history and mental health functioning predicted economic integration. Lower levels of education predicted returns to full-time studies. Living in higher quality housing and having more positive contact with neighbours predicted psychological integration, while living in one’s current housing for longer predicted lower levels of psychological integration. Overall, participants achieved a moderate level of community integration. The majority had been housed for at least 90 days at follow-up. However, only a minority were participating in the workforce or education at follow-up. Participants achieved only a moderate level of psychological integration. Results are discussed in terms of implications for policy and service provision. Improvements in the availability and quality of affordable housing, as well as employment support are recommended. Special attention needs to be paid to providing adequate and effective services for women who are unaccompanied by dependent children. / Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la societé et la culture

As a capital city, Ottawa is a national and international icon. On one hand, its inhabitants are players in a larger spectacle of national identity. On the other hand, they still have the requirements of an everyday life, which is the foundation of civic identity. This thesis explores this paradox in Ottawa through the design of a public building. It proposes to site the new Capital Library in Ottawa in the midst of an underused space in the Parliamentary Precinct, where the civic vitality of the downtown core meets the institutional zone. The siting has both clear political and urban agendas, and the program has a clear cultural agenda. The execution of the building uses an architectural language to promote participation, provide waterfront access, reveal a vista, cap an important axis and strengthen the quality of life in our capital city.

Wetlands exchange significant amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4)---two major greenhouse gases (GHG), and thus have significant impacts on the Earth's climate. In this study, fluxes of CO2 and CH4 were measured in a cattail-dominated marsh in Eastern Ontario, Canada. Eddy covariance measurements of net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) revealed that the marsh was an annual sink of 264 g C m-2, and that growing season net CO2 fluxes were strongly correlated with vegetation biomass and leaf area index. Fluxes of CH4 were measured from water, soil and plants using closed chambers and resulted in a net annual area-weighted emission from the marsh of 206 g C m-2. Consequently, the net (CO2 + CH4) annual carbon (C) balance of this wetland corresponded to a sink of 58 g C m-2. A simple radiative forcing model based on the marsh CO 2 and CH4 emission patterns suggests that, despite the net carbon uptake, this wetland is contributing to atmospheric warming because of the large CH4 efflux. Future potential climate impacts of this marsh were evaluated using different emission scenarios that could result in response to climatic or environmental changes. Overall, short-term impacts are driven by CH4 emission rate, while the CO2 flux determines the impacts on longer time horizons. Uncertainties in predicting future wetland GHG balance arise from uncertain feedbacks and responses. Future alterations of the marsh GHG emission and uptake patterns resulting from land use or climatic changes could lead to a shift in the marsh C balance, showing the importance of wetland ecosystems in national and global C budgets and GHG-related political decisions.

Beaver ponds are important parts of peatland landscapes and have high fluxes of CO2 and CH4. This study was undertaken in Mer Bleue Bog, Ontario, to determine the response of a beaver pond to drainage (lowering by 25 cm) as a sink or source of carbon. Plant distribution was changed in response to a new water table gradient. Each vegetation community and the remaining beaver pond were sampled for fluxes of CO2 and CH4 from mid-April to end-November, 1999, one year after the water table was lowered. / A flow-through chamber system was used to measure CO2 flux from vegetated sites. Mean daily CO2 flux ranged from 0.4--1.6 g CO2-C M-2 (positive denoting uptake from the atmosphere). Variations in CO2 flux amongst the sites along the gradient could not be related to differences in plant species composition, peat temperature, or water table. The mean daily CO2 emission measured by a static floating chamber on the pond area was -24.1 g CO2-C m-2. / A closed chamber was used to measure CH4 on vegetated sites. Daily CH4 fluxes ranged from 1 to -159 mg CH4-C m-2, increasing from the beaver pond margin to the open water surface. The water table explained 83% of the seasonal average CH 4 flux variability and the vegetation added another 11%. The mean daily CH4 flux measured by a static floating chamber on the pond area was -54 mg CH4-C m-2. / The seasonal measurements were integrated into an areal estimate of CO 2 and CH4 flux for the beaver pond area prior to and after drainage. The beaver pond area sequestered 96 g m-2 before drainage (104 g CO2-C m-2 and -8 g CH 4-C m-2), and the same area more than doubled the uptake to 231 g m-2 after being drained (233 g CO 2-C m-2 and -3 g CH4-C m -2).

The exchange of carbon and water between a temperate peatland and the atmosphere was studied directly for the vascular plants; Chamaedaphne calyculata, Kalmia angustifolia, Vaccinium myrtilloides, and Maianthemum trifolium and indirectly for the bryophytes; Sphagnum rubellum and S. magellanicum. In vascular plants, carbon and water fluxes were well coupled (∼2.27 mumol CO 2 mmol-1 H2O) except in the post-deciduous period where temperature constrained water flux more than carbon flux. The seasonal cycle of Sphagnum water content was driven by water table depth; rain depth, rain frequency and atmospheric vapor pressure deficit. In 2000, these factors combined to cause primarily over saturation with regard to optimal net photosynthesis in Sphagnum. Carbon and water exchange at the community scale was also studied and related to the leaf level patterns observed. Few leaf level patterns were observable at the community scale although the effects of species composition and leaf area index were well represented in the community signal.

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Homelessness is an important social problem in Canada, and the needs and experiences of women may differ from those of other homeless people. Little research has looked beyond rehousing to examine community integration following homelessness. Predictive models of three distinct facets of community integration for women who have experienced homelessness are presented and tested in this thesis. The first model examines physical integration, which is defined in terms of attaining and retaining stable housing. The second model predicts economic integration, defined in terms of participation in work or education. The third model predicts psychological integration, defined as psychological sense of community in one’s neighbourhood. Data for this research comes from a two-year longitudinal study conducted in Ottawa. Participants were women aged 20 and over (N =101) who were homeless at the study’s outset. Family status was an important predictor of community integration. Women who were accompanied by dependent children were more likely than those unaccompanied by children to be physically, economically and psychologically integrated in their communities. Having access to subsidized housing predicted becoming rehoused and living in one’s current housing for longer. Greater perceived social support predicted living in one’s current housing for longer. Past work history and mental health functioning predicted economic integration. Lower levels of education predicted returns to full-time studies. Living in higher quality housing and having more positive contact with neighbours predicted psychological integration, while living in one’s current housing for longer predicted lower levels of psychological integration. Overall, participants achieved a moderate level of community integration. The majority had been housed for at least 90 days at follow-up. However, only a minority were participating in the workforce or education at follow-up. Participants achieved only a moderate level of psychological integration. Results are discussed in terms of implications for policy and service provision. Improvements in the availability and quality of affordable housing, as well as employment support are recommended. Special attention needs to be paid to providing adequate and effective services for women who are unaccompanied by dependent children. / Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la societé et la culture

Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 1992. / Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Ottawa, 2008. / Includes bibliographies. Also available via the World Wide Web.