Digital Commons Network^™

The Structures And Practices Of Collaboration Among Environmental Organizations In Waterloo Region, Felix P. Munger

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Background: Studies investigating organizational collaboration report increased goal achievement in the case of collaboration but identify that developing effective collaborations is challenging. An increasing number of researchers and practitioners are applying emerging research tools such as social network analysis to study collaborations and many of those who have applied social network analysis suggest, anecdotally, that it is a useful process tool aimed at increasing understanding of collaboration and informed decision-making among collaborative members.

Aims: The main objectives are to: (1) Empirically study networking and collaboration among environmental organizations in Waterloo Region; (2) Contribute to theory and practice development by examining …

Quantifying Rooftop Solar Power For The City Of Waterloo, Ontario, Shawn W. Macdonald

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Climate change, pollution, and energy security are driving a worldwide transition away from traditional fossil fuel generated electricity. As the world moves away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy, electricity generated from photovoltaic solar panels is one of the most promising and capable technologies available today. Arguably the most suitable location to generate this electricity is at the source of consumption. Placing solar panels on unused rooftop space can subsidize the electricity demand that that building requires. This research quantifies the amount of electricity that can be generated within the City of Waterloo, Ontario. Using Natural Resources Canada data, …

Integrated Spatial Analysis Of Volunteered Geographic Information, Haydn Lawrence

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) is becoming a pervasive form of data within geographic academic research. VGI offers a relatively new form of data, one with both potential as a sensitive way to collect information about the world, and challenges associated with unknown and heterogeneous data quality. The lack of sampling control, variable expertise in data collection and handling, and limited control over data sources are significant research challenges. In this thesis, data quality of VGI is tackled as a general composite measure based on coverage of the dataset, the evenness in the density of data, and the relative evenness in …

The Cord (November 6, 2013)

The Cord

No abstract provided.

The Cord (October 9, 2013)

The Cord

No abstract provided.

Issue 04: Inventory Of Services Provided To Immigrants And Refugees In The Waterloo Region, J. Fernando Reyes, Margaret Walton-Roberts, Jenna Hennebry

International Migration Research Centre

In this issue of Policy Points we have provided an inventory and assessment of immigrant services providers currently delivered in the Waterloo Region. Local communities play an important role in the settlement of newcomers and their integration into society. Waterloo Region has the fifth-highest immigrant rate in Canada (Statistics Canada, 2007), and in 2009 the Kitchener Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) was 11th highest nationally in terms of the number of immigrants arriving, and the fourth-highest in Ontario (Citizenship and Immigration Canada, 2011). Furthermore, Waterloo Region is expected to have a significant increase in the immigrant population over the next decades …

Inserting Migrants Into The Global Social Protection Floor, Marie-Hélène Ratel, Gabriel Williams, Keegan Williams

International Migration Research Centre

• The social protection floor (SPF) is a global initiative led by the International Labour Organization (ILO) to provide social security to vulnerable groups.
• The SPF neglects the rapidly growing population of international migrants and focusses principally on citizens from lower-income countries.
• The SPF requires a method to evaluate the social protection gap that exists between citizens and non-citizens in countries that receive migrants in order to improve protections for all.
• The SPF Advisory Group must collaborate more closely with transit and receiving countries, middle- and high-income countries, and regional organizations to reduce the gaps in social protection between citizens and …

Effectively Engaging Diasporas Under The New Canadian Department Of Foreign Affairs, Trade And Development, Manuelle Chanoine, Meredith Giel, Tâmara Simão

International Migration Research Centre

• With the amalgamation of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) into a new Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD), new opportunities will emerge for a coherent approach to diaspora engagement initiatives that combine the existing policy directions under a single umbrella.
• DFATD should work with diasporas in Canada to facilitate and improve engagement with the sending regions. This engagement can occur through current programs, as well as the creation of a new pilot project requiring cooperation between the different policy approaches.
• Engagement should vary according to the different …

South Asian Diasporas In Canada, Margaret Walton-Roberts

International Migration Research Centre

In May 2011 over 60 scholars gathered in Canada for a conference on; ‘Assessing the complexities of South Asian Migration’. This special issue of South Asian Diaspora on South Asian diasporas in Canada emerges from this event, and contains papers by scholars from multiple disciplines drawing upon various research methods and theoretical frameworks. As a collection the papers demonstrate the mature and evolving nature of research on Canada’s various South Asian immigrant communities (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives). This geographical diversity comprises what is termed ‘South Asia’, according to this journal’s aims and scopes at …

South Asian Diasporas In Canada, Margaret Walton-Roberts

Geography and Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

In May 2011 over 60 scholars gathered in Canada for a conference on; ‘Assessing the complexities of South Asian Migration’. This special issue of South Asian Diaspora on South Asian diasporas in Canada emerges from this event, and contains papers by scholars from multiple disciplines drawing upon various research methods and theoretical frameworks. As a collection the papers demonstrate the mature and evolving nature of research on Canada’s various South Asian immigrant communities (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives). This geographical diversity comprises what is termed ‘South Asia’, according to this journal’s aims and scopes at …

Indirect Pathways Into Practice: A Comparative Examination Of Indian And Philippine Internationally Educated Nurses And Their Entry Into Ontario’S Nursing Profession, Margaret Walton-Roberts, Jenna Hennebry

International Migration Research Centre

In Canada half of all internationally educated nurses (IENs) are employed in Ontario, and in 2010 the top three countries where new IENs had received their training were the Philippines, India and China. This presentation reports on preliminary results from an ongoing research project examining the experiences of IENs from the Philippines and India who intend to enter Ontario’s nursing profession indirectly via temporary migration streams. The preliminary survey results will be presented, including differences in the characteristics and experiences of the two groups as they follow migration and occupational pathways to enter Canada and the nursing profession in Ontario. …

The Cord (October 11, 2012)

The Cord

No abstract provided.

The Housing Preferences And Location Choices Of Second Generation South Asians Living In Ethnic Enclaves, Virpal Kataure, Margaret Walton-Roberts

International Migration Research Centre

Canada has experienced the development of suburban ethnic enclaves by established immigrant diaspora groups surrounding major metropolitan centres. However, less is known regarding the housing and location preferences of their maturing offspring population, known as the second-generation. This paper seeks to explain the housing preferences and location choices of second-generation South Asians residing in Brampton's ethnic enclaves, a suburban city on the periphery of Toronto. This research draws on the home leaving process and integrates the theoretical perspectives of ethnic enclaves and the life cycle. A telephone survey conducted in Brampton's ethnic enclaves suggests a dominant preference of low-density, detached-style …

The Housing Preferences And Location Choices Of Second Generation South Asians Living In Ethnic Enclaves, Virpal Kataure, Margaret Walton-Roberts

Geography and Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

Canada has experienced the development of suburban ethnic enclaves by established immigrant diaspora groups surrounding major metropolitan centres. However, less is known regarding the housing and location preferences of their maturing offspring population, known as the second-generation. This paper seeks to explain the housing preferences and location choices of second-generation South Asians residing in Brampton's ethnic enclaves, a suburban city on the periphery of Toronto. This research draws on the home leaving process and integrates the theoretical perspectives of ethnic enclaves and the life cycle. A telephone survey conducted in Brampton's ethnic enclaves suggests a dominant preference of low-density, detached-style …

The Cord (May 30, 2012)

The Cord

No abstract provided.

Contextualizing The Global Nursing Care Chain: International Migration And The Status Of Nursing In Kerala, India, Margaret Walton-Roberts

Geography and Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

In this article I explore the issue of nursing status in Kerala, India and how over time a colonial discourse of caste‐based pollution has given way to a discourse of sexual pollution under expanding migratory opportunities. Based on survey and qualitative research findings, I caution that the improving occupational status of nursing in India is not directly mapped onto social status, and this is particularly evident in the matrimonial market. In the light of these findings I argue that global nursing care chain (GNCC) analysis must assess more than just workplace contexts in order to conceptualize how global care chains …

Contextualizing The Global Nursing Care Chain: International Migration And The Status Of Nursing In Kerala, India, Margaret Walton-Roberts

International Migration Research Centre

In this article I explore the issue of nursing status in Kerala, India and how over time a colonial discourse of caste‐based pollution has given way to a discourse of sexual pollution under expanding migratory opportunities. Based on survey and qualitative research findings, I caution that the improving occupational status of nursing in India is not directly mapped onto social status, and this is particularly evident in the matrimonial market. In the light of these findings I argue that global nursing care chain (GNCC) analysis must assess more than just workplace contexts in order to conceptualize how global care chains …

The Cord (February 15, 2012)

The Cord

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Freezing On Soil Temperature, Freezing Front Propagation And Moisture Redistribution In Peat: Laboratory Investigations, Ranjeet M. Nagare, Robert A. Schincariol, William L. Quinton, Masaki Hayashi

Geography and Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

There are not many studies that report water movement in freezing peat. Soil column studies under controlled laboratory settings can help isolate and understand the effects of different factors controlling freezing of the active layer in organic covered permafrost terrain. In this study, four peat Mesocosms were subjected to temperature gradients by bringing the Mesocosm tops in contact with subzero air temperature while maintaining a continuously frozen layer at the bottom (proxy permafrost). Soil water movement towards the freezing front (from warmer to colder regions) was inferred from soil freezing curves, liquid water content time series and from the total …

The Cord (January 19, 2012)

The Cord

No abstract provided.

Shoreline Changes In Point Pelee, Canada: An Airphoto-Based Analysis, Abdullah Bamasoud

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Shoreline retreat has significant consequences for Point Pelee National Park’s (PPNP) ecological and economic systems. In this study, the shoreline changes of PPNP are examined in terms of their rates, their relationship to natural and anthropogenic influences, and methods for predicting shoreline positions.

The rates of shoreline change are analyzed for the period 1959-2004 using ortho-airphotos. The eastern shoreline of the Park exhibited varying recession in both rising and falling Lake Erie water level, especially in the Northeast Beach, where it averaged -3.14 m˖y-1. The western shoreline of the Park generally exhibited accretion and had an inverse relationship with Lake …

The Cord (November 23, 2011)

The Cord

No abstract provided.

The Cord (October 19, 2011)

The Cord

No abstract provided.

The Cord (September 21, 2011)

The Cord

No abstract provided.

Glacier Change, Concentration, And Elevation Effects In The Karakoram Himalaya, Upper Indus Basin, Kenneth Hewitt

Geography and Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

In recent decades the consequences of climate change for Himalayan glaciers has become of great concern. Glaciers in much of High Asia appear to be declining, some at globally extreme rates (Ageta 2001;Oerlemanns 2001). It had been widely reported that the Indus basin is threatened with severe losses. However, emerging evidence suggests that such reports were, at best, exaggerated (Raina 2009;Armstrong 2010).

Several inquiries have concluded that the behavior of Karakoram glaciers differs from those in the rest of the Himalaya and from the more intensively studied European and North American glaciers (Mayewski and Jeschke 1979; Kick 1989; Shroder et …

The Cord (March 16, 2011)

The Cord

No abstract provided.

Issue 02: Key Issues & Recommendations For Canada’S Temporary Foreign Worker Program: Reducing Vulnerabilities & Protecting Rights, Jenna Hennebry, Janet Mclaughlin

International Migration Research Centre

In this issue of Policy Points we have identified some of the most significant rights issues facing Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) in Canada based on our empirical research amassed over a decade of study. In order to address these problems, we have provided a number of recommendations for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) with an emphasis on some of the most vulnerable workers – those in the Pilot Project for Occupations Requiring Lower Levels of Formal Training (NOC C & D Pilot), and the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP). While recognizing that there are jurisdictional differences and many other …

The Cord (February 16, 2011)

The Cord

No abstract provided.

The Cord (January 12, 2011)

The Cord

No abstract provided.

Climate Services To Support Sustainable Tourism And Adaptation To Climate Change, D.J. Scott, Christopher J. Lemieux, Leslie Malone

Geography and Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

Tourism is one of the largest global economic sectors, is a vital contributor to the economy of many nations, and is highly promoted as an important means of future development and poverty reduction in developing countries. The interface between climate and tourism is multifaceted and complex, with broad significance for tourist decision-making and expenditures, as well as industry marketing and operations worldwide. With the close relationship of tourism to the environment and climate, the integrated effects of climate change are anticipated to markedly affect tourism businesses and destinations, as well as the destination choices and mobility of individual tourists in …