MacPhail, Fiona

Malaysia and Ghana are two countries that both experienced European colonial rule and shared similar socio-political settings prior to independence. Both inherited underdeveloped economic and political systems from the exploitative colonial administrations. For both countries, the post-independence era saw the implementation of ambitious programs for national development, mainly through the adoption of the Developmental State model, which involves state-led macroeconomic planning for economic development. Currently, however, the two countries present contrasting levels of economic development, with Malaysia outpacing Ghana on several economic indicators. This study explains the differential levels of development by using the Applied Thematic Analysis Approach and concludes that Malaysia’s economic success has its basis in a relatively conducive socio-political setting, stable political environment, viable institutional and bureaucratic structures that engendered efficient harnessing of resources, and continuity in implementing development plans.

The thesis investigated how conflicting gender ideologies influenced Nigerian-immigrant women's experiences of domestic violence in Canada. Nigeria, the participants' country of heritage, practices patriarchal social stratification while Canada, the country of current residence, has egalitarian structures. Using a qualitative research orientation and non-probability purposive snowballing sampling procedures with ten (10) Nigerian immigrant women to Canada, data collection procedures involved electronic phone interviews. The data analysis process involved transcription, categorization, coding, and theme generation by the researcher. The nine major themes identified that the study participants experiences a change or shift in gender ideologies towards more egalitarian ideologies while some of their partners did not experience the same change, thereby resulting in conflicting gender ideologies that influenced their experiences of domestic violence. The thesis concluded with recommendations for culturally sensitive services that combat domestic violence, and ease adjustment into Canadian communities for the study participants and immigrant women in general.

This research explores the experiences of women participating in CDOs (community development organizations) in communities in northern British Columbia and how that participation affects their capabilities. Data was gathered through interviews, electronic surveys, and participant observation. This data was then assessed within the combined theoretical frameworks of the capabilities approach and participatory development. Through analysis, the positive impacts of women’s participation in CDOs on their capabilities and communities were brought to light.

Punjabi Sikhs migrating to Canada form a disproportionately large population of the migrants from South Asia. There has been limited research or current literature on the schooling experiences of the second-generation children of these migrants despite the large numbers of this group migrating to Canada. The effects of minority status within the K-12 British Columbia school system regarding school experiences of second-generation students of Punjabi Sikh descent are presented throughout this research process. The investigation focused on the research participants’ perceived school experiences and whether there were differences based on the school type’s demographic composition of responders. I categorized these school types into three: small minority population, large minority population, and large majority population. I hypothesized that schools with large majority populations would have greater perceived satisfaction with school experiences. I found that I could further analyze by subscale and total scale groupings, based on my original correlational analysis. I found differences on school experiences (SE) and home experiences (HE) subscales based on school type, school type being differentiated by schools with a minority population, a large minority population, or a large majority population of the responder demographic of second-generation students of Punjabi Sikh descent. I found that responders from small minority population schools and large minority population schools showed a statistically significant difference in responses than responders from large majority population schools.

Recent literature published by some practitioners, consultants, and researchers in the area of Business Process Management (BPM) identified that BPM is a new and emerging field of research and practice. The objective of this paper is to identify the conceptual framework of BPM, identify if connections exist with prior process improvement concepts such as Business Process Re-engineering (BPR), Total Quality Management (TQM) and Business Process Improvement (BPI), and apply BPM in a case study to determine the effectiveness of the current methodology. An extensive literature review was conducted, identifying multiple similarities between BPM and prior process improvement concepts, suggesting an evolving nature of the concept. The BPM methodology was then applied in a controlled case study, identifying a major inefficiency in the methodology. The findings of this paper are useful to researchers, educators, students, and managers to understand the evolution of BPM, and determine how it can be applied.

Over the last decade, the number of Honduran migrant children traveling undocumented to the United States and Mexico increased substantially and both countries have focused on the detention and return of these children. While several organizations in Honduras assist returned children, these efforts have been insufficient as returned children migrate again and more children are migrating for the first time. This thesis aims to examine organizations’ challenges in promoting returned children’s human rights during their reintegration. Through a qualitative research design, data were collected from the literature, institutional documents and interviews with representatives from organizations in the government and non-government sectors. Results reflect challenges to implement the human rights approach and some principles such as non-refoulement, the right to life, survival and development and the best interest of the child. Also, practical challenges were found including the lack of inter-institutional coordination, financial and human resources, and monitoring mechanisms.