Volume 8 (2012)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10222/15510
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Item Open Access A Voice for the Community: Public Participation in Wind Energy Development(2013-02-23) Wright, Zena MWind energy is expanding globally and locally in Atlantic Canada. It is a promising emission-free energy alternative in a context of increasing climate change concerns. Public surveys have reported high levels of public acceptance for wind energy in general; however, this acceptance has not always been reflected in community responses to local wind projects. Public participation has been proposed as an approach for addressing the “gap” between public support and local opposition. However, public participation must not be solely viewed as a means of removing opposition but rather as the democratic right of local communities to influence decision-making processes. This paper proposes that the participatory processes currently available to host communities are limited in form and substance. Increasing the quality and quantity of public participation would provide a range of benefits, including moving towards the larger societal goal of true public governance of natural resources and the environmental.Item Open Access The Breast vs. Bottle Battle: Infant Feeding Mis/Information(2013-02-23) Rothfus, MelissaThat “breast is best” is a truism even infant formula manufacturers do not openly dispute, and the choice to breastfeed has increasingly become part of the measure of a good mother in modern Canadian society. Yet the information in support of breastfeeding’s purported benefits is problematic, even as public discourse vilifies the alternative. This paper examines the issues surrounding infant feeding choices and the way in which information is utilized and manipulated by both sides of the emotionally charged breast vs. bottle debate. While there are good reasons to support breastfeeding practices, the current state of our knowledge of its benefits does not justify the often strident tone and harsh judgment adopted by breastfeeding advocates.Item Open Access Qualitative evidence, knowledge translation, and policy-making, with reference to health technology assessment(2013-02-23) Penney, JordanAlthough efforts to draw qualitative evidence into health-related policy-making and health technology assessment (HTA) processes have increased in recent years, the range of sources consulted are still limited and the theoretical foundations for consulting them are underdeveloped. This essay builds on such recent scholarship, first, by opening conventional models of knowledge translation up to the possibilities of qualitative evidence, and second, by demonstrating the utility of this wider range of qualitative evidence, signally that of humanities scholarship, in health-related policy-making. The second of these will consist of two themes – pain and narrativity – that will illustrate both the particular complexity of policy-making in HTA, whereby social, ethical, and moral variables are at play, and the mitigating affect humanities scholarship, at its best, might have on this fraught process.Item Open Access Managing Current Complexity: Critical Energy Infrastructure Failures in North America(2013-02-23) Oldreive, Melissa E; MacDonald, Colin; Pegolo, EricThis paper applies the competing theories of High Reliability Organizations (HRO) and Normal Accidents Theory (NAT), two competing views of risk management in highly-complex and tightly-coupled systems, in analyzing the 1998 Ice Storm and the 2003 Blackout to examine vulnerabilities in North America’s critical energy infrastructure (CEI). Inferences are then made by highlighting the similarities and differences in the two cases, which are then used to draw lessons for public managers regarding the protection of CEIs. As CEIs are highly-complex and tightly-coupled systems, failures stemming from complex and uncertain risks are inevitable. There is an increasingly low tolerance for failure in energy infrastructure because society’s critical infrastructures have become increasingly interdependent. Public managers must regulate CEIs in order to ensure an emphasis is placed on safety and security while also finding ways to reduce unnecessary complexities. It is through the adoption of such measures that public managers will aid in minimizing the cascading effects of inevitable failures.Item Open Access Sad Cows and Empty Pockets: How Reviews, Recommendations, and Word-of-Mouth Can Affect Your Life(2013-02-23) Hartford, KevinFor financial endeavours that affect their immediate financial and physical well-being – finding a doctor, hiring a lawyer - people turn to trustworthy sources like family and friends for advice. For more frivolous matters – what movie to see, what restaurant to frequent – people are more comfortable seeking a stranger's opinion via online reviews and recommendations. This paper examines the ways in which the presentation of online and offline information affect the decision-making process, as well as investigates the relevance of validity in subjective opinions.Item Open Access Becoming Public: Library Design And The Creation Of Public Space(2013-02-23) Clark, MeganThis paper examines the impact of architectural and interior design on communicating the role and philosophy of the public library. It further analyzes the use of public built space to understand the ways in which the interaction between a library patronage and its design reveal how the contemporary library is understood and used by the public. This study is based within the theories of public space as an important sphere of unique interaction and possibility.Item Open Access Taking The Game Out Of Gamification(2013-02-23) Chorney, Alan IvanGamification purports to take elements from video games such as points, badges, levels, etc. and use them to motivate people to perform tasks outside of traditional video games. This paper challenges these claims by arguing that the core of video games is actually content, not game mechanics. It illustrates how game mechanics are not exclusive to video games and are used only to enhance the content naturally found in games. It further explores how gamification uses mechanics to limit the amount of content provided to players while at the same time gathering valuable personal information from players.Item Open Access An analysis of Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food by Paul Greenberg, 2010, Penguin Publishing.(2013-02-23) Cestnik, MichaelThe book report examines Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food by Paul Greenberg, as published by Penguin Publishing in 2010. Greenberg's offering to ocean governance literature is differentiated from comparable works in its depth of historical analysis to explain current state of affairs as well as its language used to undertake such a feat. His accessible analysis is divided into four chapters - one for each of cod, salmon, bass, and tuna - where he effectively provides species specific commentary on the science and the prospective good and previously faulty policies undertaken. For anyone interested in ocean governance, public policy, and what winds up on your plate, Greenberg provides a sound introduction to the topic and much food for thought.Item Open Access Stillborn: Regulated midwifery in Nova Scotia(2013-02-17) Taylor, BrettThe purpose of this paper is to investigate why midwifery policy has failed in Nova Scotia while it has succeeded elsewhere. The primary focus will be to analyse the Nova Scotia policy and its implementation through Paul Sabatier and Daniel Mazmanian’s framework for policy implementation analysis. This examination will make clear that the failure of Nova Scotia’s midwifery policy is due to its poor implementation, and in particular, the statutory factors that affect implementation.Item Open Access Sea level rise impacts in coastal zones: Soft measures to cope with it(2013-02-17) Blanca Cisneros Linares, PaolaSea level rise impacts are projected to cause multiple negative consequences in coastal zones such as coastal erosion, flooding, flood-related health problems, property damage and social-economic impacts. Thus, it is imperative to assess adaptation measures to minimize these devastating projections. Several responsive strategies to sea level rise (i.e. Retreat, Accommodate, Protect) have been developed. Within the Protect Responsive Strategy, ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ adaptation options have been widely implemented in coastal zones. This paper examines several ‘soft’ adaptation options (beach nourishment, dune restoration, afforestation and reforestation, and marine soft engineering technology), which provide interesting alternatives to address sea level rise in coastal zones. Advantages and disadvantages of these soft options are analyzed from an ecological and socio-economic perspective. The paper concludes with some proposed recommendations that could support soft structure approaches in coastal zone areas.Item Open Access Seafood Ecolabels: For Whom and to What Purpose?(2013-02-17) Lay, KaitlanEcolabelling is regarded as an important tool used as a means of promoting sustainable fisheries around the world, as they provide consumers with the opportunity to exercise a choice between different seafood products and producers, and encourage the purchase of ecologically sustainable products. Consumers are generally considered to be the main drivers behind ecolabels, as they are the end buyers of the products; however, there is very little existing peer reviewed research supporting this idea. This paper seeks to address the question of who is responsible for the market drive of seafood ecolabels. Through the examination of issues surrounding seafood ecolabels, this paper argues that the initiation and proliferation of ecolabels was a result of the interaction between non-government organizations, producers, purchasers and retailers, as the labels act as a useful insurance policy and marketing tool.Item Open Access “What do you mean I can’t just use Google?” Information Literacy in an Academic Setting(2013-02-17) Thorne, LauraInformation literacy has become one of the most crucial skills for the twenty-first century, yet many Canadians, including university students, are not information literate. Universities in Canada aim to prepare students not only as professionals in the workforce, but also to be responsible, informed citizens; yet information literacy is often overlooked when developing curricula and program goals. The responsibility of information literacy instruction often falls to academic librarians, as faculty do not have the time or interest. This paper will outline many of the methods used by librarians to teach information literacy skills to undergraduate students, also discussing the barriers and challenges faced by libraries and librarians when it comes to information library instruction. To conclude, potential future steps that can be taken in Canada, specifically by librarians, but also by universities, faculty, and national professional organizations, are identified and discussed.Item Open Access Evaluating the uses and realizing the benefits of social media use in politics(2013-02-17) McGoveran, CatherineSocial media use in politics is evolving to become significantly more complex. The increased use of social media in a political context presents several challenges. Among these are the impact of social media on the control of information, information literacy, and the digital divide. At the same time, the opportunities for sharing, collaboration, and engagement provided by the medium of social media are crucial to understanding how and why these tools can and should be used in politics.Item Open Access Risk Management For Unexploded Ordinance (UXO) In The Marine Environment(2013-02-14) Aker, Jana; Howard, Brett; Reid, Mike;After World Wars I and II large amounts of explosive ordnance remained undetonated. Already deployed ordnance was left uncollected and excess supplies were disposed of, sometimes recklessly. The result is that much of this unexploded ordnance (UXO) still exists in the environment, much of it throughout the world’s oceans, where it continuously presents a risk of serious harm to people and the environment. The purpose of this paper is to present a marine UXO risk assessment that could aid managers working in marine industries in mitigating the risks presented by marine UXOs. Using existing marine UXO literature, a list of 21 plausible UXO risk events was generated and then categorized into risk levels of low, medium, high, and very high using a novel risk matrix approach. The common pathways that determine interactions between people and marine UXOs were identified and the efficacy of a series of risk mitigation strategies were examined within the context of the identified risks.