Arctic marine mammals are exposed to numerous environmental contaminants and some of these compounds are known to damage mammalian nervous systems. Three methods were used to assess neurotoxicological risk of methylmercury (MeHg) exposure for beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in the eastern Beaufort Sea population: characterization of mercury (Hg) accumulation and speciation in brain tissue, neurochemical and molecular biomarkers, and behavioural observations. To conduct this research, I worked closely with the communities of Tuktoyaktuk, NT and Inuvik, NT to conduct three field-sampling seasons on Hendrickson Island, NT, which is a traditional beluga-harvesting site used by Inuvialuit. ...The weight of evidence based on the outcomes from these studies suggests that MeHg exposure may be of toxicological concern for beluga whales from the Eastern Beaufort Sea population. The implications of MeHg-exposure for beluga whales from the eastern Beaufort Sea population at both physiological and population levels are still unclear. --Leaves iii-iv.
This paper seeks to assess whether UNBC has successfully imitated similar institutions in the northern peripheries of the Nordic nations, and why (or why not). ...In his work on circumpolar post-secondary education, Douglas Nord sees northern universities as performing four vital tasks: improving access to education providing professional education and training assisting regional economic growth and diversification and encouraging new social and cultural development. ...In this paper, I will analyze UNBC to see if it conforms more to the Nordic or North American Models. I will also compare it to a Nordic exemplar university - the University of Tromsø (UiT) in Norway - so that I can assess whether Nord's argument holds true on a case-study basis, and so that I can directly compare UNBC's progress against an example of the Nordic Ideal. ...This research project has three related purposes. Its first purpose is to evaluate UNBC according to Nord's criteria for a successful circumpolar university, which I refer to as the Nordic Ideal in reference to the tendency amongst academics to idealize Nordic universities. The second purpose of this research project is to use historical institutionalism to explain why Canadian and Nordic universities differ. In order to do this, I will build on Nord's brief explanation for the key variables leading to differences between circumpolar universities (Nord, 2002, p. 187). Significant differences in institutional, ideological, and economic context exist between UNBC and UiT. These differences explain the disparity in their respective developments. Thirdly, this project will evaluate the Nordic Ideal constructed by Nord in his typology of northern Universities, and ask whether a Nordic university like UiT even lives up to all the standards it should theoretically exemplify. This research project will demonstrate that UNBC has not met many of the criteria Nord claims the Nordic Model exemplifies. It will also show that No
The media's role in shaping Arctic perceptions receives little attention among northern scholars, yet this is where most citizens obtain information about the Arctic. Given the region's geographical remoteness, the media take on substantial power to influence citizens' perceptions. This research critically examines how print media present resource development in the Beaufort Sea region. The project consists of a qualitative discourse analysis comparing local newspapers with national newspapers (i.e. north-south) as well as Canadian and American newspapers. To learn more about northern media, an additional component of this research includes interviews with six journalists who work in the north (Fairbanks and Yellowknife). The study shows how national newspapers tend to portray industry and the federal government as the main decision-makers when it comes to resource development, whereas local newspapers tend to assert the power of local Indigenous groups and municipal/state/territorial governments. --Leaf ii.
The purpose of the research is to examine the factors that prohibit and facilitate vertical and horizontal collaboration in the delivery of primary health care services in Quesnel, a small community in north-central British Columbia. Although barriers and facilitators to such collaboration have been identified in Primary Health Care Transition Fund projects (PHCTF) undertaken in urban settings, little research has been done to examine the factors at play in rural and northern communities like Quesnel, British Columbia. The four categories of barriers and facilitators to interdisciplinary collaboration examined include: financing/funding, regulation/liability, electronic health records and health human resources. The resulting conclusion is an expansion of the categories to include barriers and facilitators unique to northern communities: the geographic location of a community, community member participation, the importance of patients and the dependency on physicians.
...there is a clear gap between the system of First Nation governance envisioned in the Final Land Claims and Self-Government Agreements and the system as it currently exists. The agreements have yet to be implemented fully, or even close to fully. This means that there are a variety of policy fields which First Nation governments have the power to control, but have not yet assumed this power. For some, this implementation gap is one that will eventually be overcome if the necessary resources are invested. Using education policy in Yukon as a case study, this paper suggests that there appears to be a different relationship emerging between the Yukon Government and First Nation governments. It argues that in the policy field of education the Yukon Government and First Nation governments are moving towards a system of co-management, based on increased partnership and collaboration. To make this assertion this paper will compare the current trajectory of the relationship between Yukon and First Nation governments through a co-management framework. This framework is based on the body of literature that discusses regimes of co-management by Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal governments over natural resources. It is comprised of four parts: the underlying rationale or origin for the regime the structure of the regimes various bodies how power and decision-making occurs and how Aboriginal voice, or traditional methods and practices are incorporated. --P. 2-3.
In 1995 and again in 2003, British Columbia's provincial legislature considered legislation called the Community Charter'. In the 1995 version, the legislation proposed home rule', thereby strengthening the autonomy of British Columbia's local governments. However, the 1995 Community Charter' failed to pass the legislature. In 2003 a different Community Charter' was proposed that represented incremental policy change and minor autonomy increases when compared to the 1995 bill. This bill was passed and became the Community Charter. This thesis uses case study methodology to answer the question: What factors influenced the policy process between 1995 and 2003 such that local autonomy proposed in 1995 was eroded by 2003? Using the policy communities and networks approach, augmented with other public policy approaches, this thesis concludes that four major factors influenced the policy process to reduce the level of local autonomy in the final Community Charter' in 2003. The factors were: the influence of the provincial ministry responsible for local governments, the influence of focused business organizations, macro-political changes and partisan political maneuvering. The greatest influence was from the ministry and business organizations.
