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Graduate Theses & Dissertations
Pages
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- Potential Contribution of Mobile Processing Services to Food System Sustainability in the Regional Livestock Production Industry of Central Ontario
- This qualitative study examines the applicability, impact, best practices, sustainability and livestock welfare implications of mobile processing service operation in central Ontario. Grounded theory concepts were utilized to analyze data generated from semi-structured interviews and a community focus group, supplemented by an initial exploratory literature review, and focused review approach to refine emergent categories. It was found that there is interest in, applicability for, and food system-sustainability benefit from mobile processing services, but market competition and regulatory context impede the profitability of operation, not just for mobile service, but for existing provincial plants. Public support for mobile or regionalized processing resources could address many of the sustainability concerns in our regional livestock production and consumption systems, but where appetite for such political action does not exist, solutions are required if we hope to address the continuing centralization, commodification, traditional profit-maximization and negative externality generation of our industrialized agri-food production system. Author Keywords: agri-business production and distribution, livestock welfare, mobile abattoirs and livestock processing, regional food systems, rural-urban relations, sustainability
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- Understanding Dimensions of Environmental Sustainability in a Northern Indigenous Context
- Although the concept of environmental sustainability has become increasingly popular, the literature offers little practical guidance to direct priorities or actions to support environmental sustainability in northern Indigenous communities. A case study in Hopedale, Nunatsiavut, and a systematic literature review was undertaken to understand: 1) what aspects of the local environment are of value to a northern Indigenous community; and 2) what does existing literature identify as key elements of a community-based approach to monitor valued aspects of the environment in a northern Indigenous context. Hopedale residents spoke to the importance of going off on the land and identified a number of categories of places in their local environment of importance to them, including: 1) valued areas for human-use, 2) areas to protect, 3) areas of environmental concern, and 4) areas to monitor. The systematic literature review highlighted trends on community-based monitoring (CBM) publications, and identified key 13 elements of CBM approaches that are pertinent to northern Indigenous communities. Insights from this study will inform environmental planning and management in the case community of Hopedale, as well as offer guidance to enhance current and future CBM activities in the North and elsewhere. Author Keywords: community-based monitoring, environmental sustainability, Inuit, Labrador, participatory mapping, systematic literature review
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- Factors Influencing the Prioritization of Sites for Conservation on Private Land in Southern Ontario
- Conservation organizations use strategic prioritization methods to order complex environments, evaluate landscapes, and distribute efficiently resources for conservation. This study explores how strategic prioritization decisions are made, drawing on a case study of the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). This thesis identifies the factors affecting prioritization and their influence on the public perception of the NCC. The case study revealed that the NCC utilizes comprehensive science-based methods when prioritizing for conservation but its methods are also influenced by the 'opportunity function' (funding, threats, public/political support). How these factors are communicated depends on the audience (e.g. NCC Conservation Blueprints stress the scientific value of the environment; the NCC uses its media sources to emphasize the human-environment connection). These differences indicate the multi-dimensional nature of planning for conservation, its links to values emerging from science, politics, and society, and the need for collaborative conservation efforts and earning and maintaining public trust. Author Keywords: biodiversity conservation priorities, collaboration, Nature Conservancy of Canada, opportunity function, private conservation organizations, science-based conservation
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- Developing a Sustainable Resort
- Sustainability-related issues have been drawing considerable attention in the resort and hotel industry. This research explores the meaning of a “sustainable resort” and to identify the opportunities and challenges of developing a “sustainable resort” as well as the opportunities and challenges of engaging employees in this process, through a case study of a family resort in Central Ontario, Canada. A significant finding is that a “sustainable resort” in the context of a family business highlights cultural sustainability, which emphasizes on keeping family roots and passing on family legacy, as well as addresses economic, social, and environmental sustainability. The nature of the selected case, a traditional family resort, provides some valuable insights on the issues of sustainability and employee engagement in the resort and hotel industry. To improve sustainable outcomes for the resort, a holistic approach of collaborating with different key stakeholders, particularly emphasizing employee engagement as a core strategy, is proposed. Author Keywords: employee engagement, family resort, resort and hotel industry, sustainability, sustainable development
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- Assessment of Corporate Social Responsibility Compliance
- The modern world faces a number of social, economic, and environmental sustainability challenges. Since businesses are assumed to have a role in causing such problems, they must also play a role in finding solutions. In Canada, the extent to which corporate social responsibility is institutionalized in the oil and gas industry remains a contentious issue among stakeholders. This study examines the extent of corporate social responsibility compliance in oil and gas corporations through an assessment of the corporate social responsibility reporting of two oil and gas organizations. Comparative analysis was used to determine each firm’s operational level compliance with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines in terms of corporate social responsibility reporting. The study showed that firms' levels of compliance with social, economic, and environmental responsibility are unequal. As a result, a five-part mechanism is recommended to strengthen corporate social responsibility in the industry. Author Keywords: Corporate social responsibility, Corporate social responsibility compliance, Corporate social responsibility reporting, Sustainable development
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- Fostering sustainable development through cross-sector collaboration in university innovation initiatives
- This research explores cross-sector collaboration in universities’ innovation initiatives. To understand the current roles of the higher education sector and the influences shaping innovation initiatives through cross-sector collaborative projects, this study is focused on a case study of the Trent University Research & Innovation Park (TRIP) project. The following three central issues emerged from the thematic analysis performed through the case study: the roles played by universities in creating a context for successful innovation ventures; the construct of culture as a dominant driver in such ventures; and the implications of collective learning in cross-sector collaborations as an enabler of successful innovation projects. Based on the findings of this study, it is argued that the opportunities and potential of Universities' cross-sectoral innovation projects rely on three crucial factors: the local culture, the individuals involved, and their specialized skills such as those involved in the ‘High Ductility’ skill set. Author Keywords: Collective learning, Cross-sectoral collaboration, Higher Education sector, Innovation models, Organizational culture, Sustainable Development
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- Volunteer Experiences of Place-making for Sustainable Community Development
- This thesis explores the experiences of volunteers who came together to redevelop an abandoned convent into The Mount Community Centre (The Mount) for the purpose of sustainable community development. The goal of the research was to explore the relational processes of place-making at The Mount, to be achieved through two objectives: first, to describe the nature of collaboration among volunteers in place at The Mount; and second, to understand the experience of volunteers through their narratives and descriptions, with respect to the influence of The Mount as a place. Methods employed were participant observation and key-informant interviews with 24 participants conducted using a video-documentary approach. The result was a community-based, qualitative case study comprised of volunteer voices, in their collective narrative of experience of The Mount’s development trajectory. A thematic analysis of volunteer narratives indicated patterns of connectivity and the expansion of relational networks of place, implicated in strategic approaches in three experiential phases of Daring, Erring, and Groundswell along the development’s trajectory. In demonstrating how place influences community organization to address needs, The Mount provides an example for future inquiry that contributes to the advancement of knowledge in discussions of voluntarism, place, and sustainable community development. Keywords: Voluntarism, place-making, sustainable community development, community-based research Author Keywords: community-based research, Non-profit sector, Place, Place-making, Sustainable-community development, Voluntarism
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- Uncovering the Barriers to Sustainable Music Consumption
- The study sought to uncover the motivations influencing collectors when they buy recorded music. These motivations were analyzed through the lenses of environmental, economic, and cultural sustainability. Trent Radio Programmers were interviewed because of their frequent use of recorded music, sizable collections, and active participation in the local music scene. The study identified disconnects between artist, industry, and consumer motivations that hinder the achievement of a sustainable system. Environmental sustainability was not considered, while the artists’ economic and cultural sustainability were. This finding translates to the idea that in the music industry, to strengthen cultural sustainability, economics must be supported, which requires environmental impact. This research has the potential to catalyze critical conversations about digital media, artist welfare, and the state of the music industry. Author Keywords: College Radio, Cultural Sustainability, Economic Sustainability, Environmental Sustainability, Music Collecting
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- Emerging Dynamic Social Learning Theory of a Learning Community of Practice
- In current knowledge-based economy, knowledge might be viewed as the most valuable organizational resource in sustaining any organization. Organizational knowledge originates from cognitive learning by individuals situated within organizations. In organizational learning, situated learning of knowledge by individuals is shared to create sustainable organizational competency. Yet, there is inadequate research to understand how situated learning operates as a social learning system within Community of Practice (‘CoP’). Through a case study of a multi-level, non-profit CoP in Ontario, Canada, this qualitative explanatory research contributes to the extant literature by building a unique theoretical framework that provides conceptual insights on linkages between organizational knowledge, social learning system, and organizational competency, in sustaining the organizational CoP. Using Straussian grounded theory methodology, qualitative primary data from in-depth interviews, participant observations, and documents were triangulated and analysed abductively to reveal an emerging dynamic knowledge-based social learning theory towards explaining how situated learning sustains this learning CoP. Author Keywords: Community of Practice, Grounded Theory, Organizational Knowledge, Organizational Learning, Organizational Sustainability, Situated Learning
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- Sustainable Development and Environmental Security in the Canadian Arctic
- This study identifies and examines interlinkages between climate change and sustainable development, environmental security, and adaptive capacity through a case study of two communities in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region: Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk. It seeks to understand how these two communities perceive climate change and define sustainable development, particularly in relation to oil and gas development. This thesis discusses the constraints that may be arising for local communities to benefit from emerging opportunities due to competing notions of sustainable development and environmental security. The findings indicate how notions of environmental security and sustainable development act upon multiple levels to impact the adaptive capacity of communities in the Arctic. The general findings also suggest that regionally specific understandings of sustainable development, sustainability, and environmental security need to be acknowledged in order to develop successful governance coordination and cooperation strategies and paradigms related to economic, social, infrastructure and environmental issues in the NWT and the Canadian Arctic. Author Keywords: Arctic, Beaufort Sea, climate change, Environmental Security, Inuvialuit, Sustainable Development
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- "Changing our community"
- Community-based research (CBR) is a method of discovery that can provide pragmatic methods of advocating for and enabling community change. CBR literature and practice has focused on securing educational and job skills training outcomes for students rather than the communities, and community outcomes CBR and partnership frameworks were truly meant to serve. This research evaluates the effectiveness of a research brokering organization, and the community outcomes that can be meaningfully related back to established partnerships and research. A linked contribution and realist evaluation were employed to consider the contributions of U-Links Centre for Community-Based Research to capacity building in Haliburton County, for host organizations, local municipalities and the public. A community survey (n=65), interviews with past project hosts and management committee members (n=26) anecdotal project exploration, internal document review, and participant observation from living in the region and working within the organization, offers qualitative and quantitative data to support this contribution narrative, while also theorizing key factors for developing projects with high contribution potential. Five key factors were found which can act as both contexts and mechanisms of community-based research mobilization: relevance, relationships, resources, rigour and reach. Author Keywords: capacity building, community, community-based research, contribution analysis, evaluations, research impact
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- Civic Agriculture
- This thesis re-imagines the social sustainability of civic agriculture. This entails critically examining the idea of sustainability and exposing why a tendency to undertheorize its social dimension is problematic for how we think about sustainability, and consequently for how we do sustainability. What is demonstrated is that we can overcome this tendency by adopting Stephen McKenzie's understanding of social sustainability as a positive condition and/or process within a community. Once brought into contact with the concept of civic agriculture as presented by Thomas A. Lyson, and expanded upon by others, this broadened understanding of social sustainability reveals that we can think of civic agriculture as both a means to, and an expression of, social sustainability. Specifically, this thesis argues that it is civic agriculture's community problem-solving dimension which animates civic agriculture in such a way that it creates the sort of condition and/or enables the sort of process which reflect aspects associated with a substantive and/or procedural understanding of social sustainability. This re-imagining of the social sustainability of civic agriculture provides ways to defend civic agriculture from its critics and is exemplified by drawing from a personal encounter with civic agriculture. In the end, it is proposed that in light of this research there are now good reasons to re-examine civic agriculture and to critically re-imagine what qualifies who as a civic agriculturalist so that the contextual nature of the social sustainability of civic agriculture can be better respected. Author Keywords: civic agriculture, community problem solving, local food systems, social sustainability, Stephen McKenzie, Thomas A. Lyson