Search

Given that our urban centres have been dominated by the private car for a hundred years, this paper asks what is next for Canadian cities. Previous research on the future of urban mobility, and specifically city planning and autonomous vehicles, has been from an American or Australian context. Working from a uniquely Canadian perspective, this paper fills a gap in the research by analyzing data from twenty-six semi-structured interviews with Canadian planning professionals from Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg and Toronto. The interviews discuss how Canadian planners are preparing for new technologies, including autonomous vehicles, and increased privatization. We recommend that large cities move forward with autonomous vehicle research with a goal of improving mobility for all, while ensuring a strong agreement framework with all for-proft mobility providers is in place that requires robust data sharing agreements and appropriate consultation with municipalities before, during, and after launching. Further, planners should further embrace the political realities of their positions and advocate for equitable mobility for all residents both in their day-to-day work and in public engagement settings. Keywords: mobility, autonomous vehicles, city planning, advocacy, Canada Vu que nos centres urbains sont domines depuis une centaine d'annees par la voiture privee, le present article s'interroge sur ce qui s'ensuit pour les villes canadiennes. Jusqu'a date, la recherche sur le futur de la mobilite urbaine et, plus particulierement, sur l'urbanisme et les vehicules autonomes, s'est effectuee dans un contexte americain ou australien. Le present article vise a remedier a cette lacune d'une perspective uniquement canadienne en analysant les donnees ressorties de vingt-six entrevues semi-structurees avec des professionnels canadiens de l'urbanisme de Vancouver, d'Edmonton, de Calgary, de Winnipeg et de Toronto. Les entrevues cherchent a savoir comment leur planification tient compte des nouvelles technologies, dont les vehicules autonomes, et de la privatisation grandissante. Nous recommandons que les grandes villes entament des recherches sur les vehicules autonomes, dans l'optique d'une amelioration de la mobilite pour tous, en assurant en meme temps qu'une forte structure d'accord avec tous les fournisseurs de mobilite a but lucratif soit en place qui necessite des accords robustes de partage de donnees et une consultation appropriee avec les municipalites avant, durant et apres le lancement. En plus, les planificateurs devraient saisir pleinement les realites politiques de leurs positions et promouvoir une mobilite equitable dans leur travail quotidien et a travers leur engagement publique pour tous les citoyens. Mots-cles : mobilite, vehicules autonomes, urbanisme, planification urbaine, plaidoyer, Canada, Introduction In 1903, the President of Michigan Savings Bank warned his client against an investment in Henry Ford's newly-formed motor company, saying, 'The horse is here to stay but the [...]

Given the varied nature of resource dependent communities, the gendered experiences of women and men may vary in unexpected and contradictory ways. Building on a review and critique of existing theoretical approaches and studies of US and Canadian extractive resource communities in both the feminist and rural social science literature, we provide an analytical approach to engage with gender in the context of these dramatic changes. Our framework, which integrates key insights from recent feminist theorizing, summarizes emergent constructions of masculinity and femininity in a given context by emphasizing the possible contradictions along three broad lines: material, material-discursive, and discursive. (Contains 1 table.)

In this paper we hypothesize that farmers with a stronger valuation of family farming will be more resistant to converting farmland to tree plantations. Our survey data analysis from 106 farmers in northern Alberta reveals that general opposition to trees on farmland is the strongest predictor of farmers' resistance to the establishment of poplar tree plantations on privately-owned land. Valuation of family farming is the strongest determinant of resistance to trees on farmland. Among the potential intervening variables influencing support for tree plantations, including county, age, gender, number of children, and percent of income from farming, number of children and percent of income from farming had significant direct effects on valuation of family farming. This study suggests that economic incentives alone are unlikely to influence farmers' willingness to convert their land to non-traditional uses, and that intergenerational transfer of land, and its relationship to valuation of family farming, deserves further attention in rural sociological scholarship. (Contains 3 figures, 4 tables, and 5 footnotes.)

The clothing and textile industry has become one of the world's greatest polluters as tremendous volumes of clothing are produced, used, and disposed of at alarming rates. The industry must transition from its linear take-make-waste model towards a circular economy where textile products are kept in circulation and waste is minimized or eliminated. Product stewardship, an environmental management strategy where producers take responsibility for their products through design to the end-of-life stage, is one option to enable the circular economy. The aim of this research was to explore stakeholder drivers, barriers, and strategies for product stewardship participation in New Zealand. Qualitative data gathered through interview and survey methods of 25 stakeholder perspectives including designers, manufacturers, and retailers were analysed for emerging themes. Key findings suggest that product stewardship operating within the current linear system can only go so far; changes must occur at every stage of the value chain with all stakeholders making efforts towards circularity. Given the complexity of the product stewardship system, greater government regulation and incentive policies are likely needed to mainstream product stewardship and increase its material impact. The results of this study highlight the importance of contextual factors and capacities for tailoring regional product stewardship schemes to local needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we hypothesize that farmers with a stronger valuation of family farming will be more resistant to converting farmland to tree plantations. Our survey data analysis from 106 farmers in northern Alberta reveals that general opposition to trees on farmland is the strongest predictor of farmers' resistance to the establishment of poplar tree plantations on privately-owned land. Valuation of family farming is the strongest determinant of resistance to trees on farmland. Among the potential intervening variables influencing support for tree plantations, including county, age, gender, number of children, and percent of income from farming, number of children and percent of income from farming had significant direct effects on valuation of family farming. This study suggests that economic incentives alone are unlikely to influence farmers' willingness to convert their land to non-traditional uses, and that intergenerational transfer of land, and its relationship to valuation of family farming, deserves further attention in rural sociological scholarship.

Collectively, current resource-development literature has given little attention to organizational features of ownership as important variables in community resilience. By drawing from six local buyout cases in Canada's forest sector, we reveal the complexity and numerous constraints on local ownership and expose a more nuanced context than most sociologists tend to consider. Our findings suggest that the meaning of local ownership and community resilience varies depending upon the composition (e.g., private vs. public; mill vs. forest license vs. coupled mill & forest license), type (social, cooperative, trust and/or direct-share ownership), extent of ownership (percentage of local versus extra-local shares), and the level of control (e.g., proportion of locally held seats on the Board of Directors) associated with ownership. Future research on local ownership should more carefully differentiate between the nature of local ownership and its associated outcomes.

Local control of natural resource processing facilities in small rural communities is often viewed as beneficial to community development. This paper employs social impact assessment tools to examine the social and economic effects of change in the ownership of forest products mills in two communities. Our analysis documents (1) the degree to which local ownership of the new, locally owned corporations led to local reinvestment of profits, and (2) whether the goals of the architects of these buyouts were realized: the maintenance of jobs, income, population, and a way of life. Overall, both communities were able to maintain jobs, population, and real estate values, and profits were reinvested in mill upgrades. After the buyouts, however, both communities experienced a rise and then a decline in community cohesion, and changes in local social and power relations, in which local ownership was short-lived; benefits to relationships within the community were mixed.

Technological disasters are rarely just events limited to a specific space or time but are more often part of a process of decisions leading to the disaster and occurring after the disaster. The Exxon Valdez oil spill is a good example because preventive and cleanup efforts were undermined by ineffective contingency plans and reduction in necessary staff both on the oil tanker and in the Coast Guard to cut costs. The process of planning disaster prevention needs to be better understood so that adequate policies can be devised to prevent and respond to a technological disaster.

Women are the primary farm managers in Lesotho and therefore deserve special consideration in the implementation of any new agricultural technology. Eighty-two female Basotho farmers newly-involved in commercial irrigated vegetable production were interviewed to determine their receptivity and adjustment to irrigation systems. The time-use patterns of these agriculturalists were examined to determine the potential constraints imposed by the implementation of more labor-intensive agriculture. Further, respondents were queried as to their access to credit, extension agents, training, and as to their specific problems with irrigation. In addition to describing their responses, the analysis includes comparisons with female and male respondents involved in mechanized, dryland agriculture and with the responses of male irrigators. The findings suggest that among the primary threats to the long-term viability of irrigation systems in this environment are the time constraints faced by women irrigators. Time constraints may serve to exacerbate the other threats such as the 'donor-dependency syndrome' found among farmers in Lesotho. Suggestions for accommodating potential conflicts include educating women to hire additional laborers during peak labor periods, providing alternative sources of child care, and taking action to decrease dependency.

Byline: Pamela D. Neumann, Naomi T. Krogman, Barb R. Thomas This paper describes the differences between expert and public perceptions of plantation forestry and calls for greater public participation in the development and establishment of plantations. The debate over the social acceptability of varying land-uses is essentially a debate over how land is valued and the effects of land-use change on local peoples. This study reports the findings from 31 interviews with key informants, indicating central themes such as farming identity, trust and economic competition as important to an overall assessment of community perceptions of hybrid poplar plantations. Specifically, we suggest that all of these themes are linked to complex attachments to traditional rural land-use and fear of externally motivated change. Findings from this study contribute to a greater understanding of the public values at stake around tree plantations, where experts have emphasised ecological impacts and economic trade-offs and generally disregarded the social concerns raised above.

Byline: Leslie Treseder, Naomi T. Krogman The paper addresses the ability of forest co-management, within the Western Canadian provincial context, to co-exist with the industrial model of forestry. This paper draws on a two-year qualitative study of a new First Nation co-management process in Northern Alberta and a review of other First Nation forest co-management arrangements in Western Canada. Qualitative methods used included 23 semi-structured interviews with key co-management participants, non-participant observation of board and related meetings, and content analyses of previous board minutes. Our findings indicate that co-management has led to the incorporation of diverse values in forest management planning, cooperative relationships among parties to the Board, and shared decision making in forest management. We argue that co-management does not directly challenge the industrial model, but modifies it through a process of incremental change toward a more well-planned industrial presence in First Nation traditional territory. By giving a high priority to cultural sustainability criteria, First Nation participants in the co-management process in Northern Alberta challenge the forest industry to re-think the pace of development, the rates of return required to be profitable and measures to improve First Nation employment within the industry. Ultimately, tests of co-management success should incorporate First Nation priorities to maintain traditional and cultural practices in the context of industrial forestry. Such tests should evaluate the practice of provincial consultation requirements with First Nations, and cooperative efforts to develop Northern boreal forest resources. The success of co-management also depends upon industry practices to reduce the impacts of their activities on First Nation uses of the forest, and overall, on ecological evidence of sustainable forest management, including maintenance of biodiversity.

Department of Sociology, Utah State University, Logan UT 84322-0730 Department of Sociology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80521 Journal of Asian and African Studies Vol. 28 (1993) pp. 162-179 [...]

This study describes the formation of nutrition gardening and pond fish farming communities of practice (CoPs) among small-scale farmers of the Malayalis tribe living in the Kolli Hills region of Tamil Nadu, India. We examine the factors that have shaped the formation of these CoPs, their purpose and function, who is involved, what activities hold these communities together, and their role in strengthening sustainable food production and consumption practices. Data were obtained through participatory rural appraisals (PRAs), key stakeholder interviews, and participant observations during four months of fieldwork. The primary motivations that led the nutrition gardeners and pond fish farmers to become part of CoPs were to improve the health and nutrition of their families and to obtain expert advice in sustainable food production practices. Both CoPs are in the early stages of development and differ not only in the types of food they produce and the skills and tools needed for their success, but also in their structure; nutrition gardening takes place at the individual and/or household level, whereas pond fish farming operates at the group and/or community level. The ways in which members experience being in a community also differs. Nutrition gardeners rely on open-ended conversations and community creation through relationship building; in contrast, fish farmers find that group meetings and maintaining transparent record-keeping are most important. Sustainability of these practices and the CoPs depended on factors internal to the communities (e.g., leadership, knowledge mobilization) as well as external factors (e.g., rainfall and market potential). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sub-culture of "locavore" chefs is playing a critical but under-examined role in addressing concerns about the conventional, industrialized food system by re-localizing the sourcing, processing, and preparation of food. The values that underlie why certain chefs decide to work in this niche market, their strategies to overcome the situational challenges of sourcing locally produced food, and the ways they develop the knowledge and skills needed to prepare and incorporate these ingredients into appealing menus all point to the unique position that these chefs occupy in the local food movement. This paper presents insights from a study that utilized in-depth interviews to investigate the culinary practices of twenty-three local food-promoting chefs in Alberta, Canada. Using a social practice theory framework, these chefs' culinary practices were examined based on what material conditions they encountered, how they employed particular skills and competencies and why they decided to become "locavores." This study reveals that although issues of product accessibility, distribution, cost, and consistency of quality and volume are constraining factors, chefs' ability to innovate and reskill, to foster supportive relationships with farmers and consumers, and their commitment to alternative values are keys to their success in niche "local" markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The legitimacy of wetland decisions depends on how science and values are integrated and reflected in wetland management decisions. Natural capital and ecosystem services (ES) have become integral to how we think about ecosystem management however there is no consensus on how these concepts should be applied in management. Through the example of Alberta’s wetland policy, we show how policies designed to mainstream natural capital and ES in decision-making are aligned with liberal governance arrangements that emerged in the nineteenth century. There is a governance gap between individual wetland decisions and collective ecological outcomes. The Alberta wetland policy highlights three challenges to embracing the natural capital metaphor in a liberal government context: lack of consensus on policy objectives; case by case enforcement of policy leading to continued wetland drainage; and minimal consequences for non-compliance. The combination of norms about what is fair in terms of government intervention in land use decisions and scientific uncertainty about wetland ecosystem function makes it difficult to achieve consensus on limits to wetland loss contributing to continued loss of wetland ecological function. The discussion highlights the necessity of renewed political discourse about freedom, power, and justice in relation to collective economic and ecological security. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Resource booms, including those currently occurring in northern Canada, are anchored in narratives of economic opportunity. As a consequence, the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Nunavut are currently seeing an increase in immigration from some non-traditional source countries of the global South. Those who arrive in Yellowknife and Whitehorse have different expectations of experiences of the North. Relatively little literature has explored the ways in which place is being constructed by such new Canadians. Where do these notions of place and place identity in northern communities fit within broader and dichotomous discourses of the North as "hinterland or homeland"? This article examines how transnational labour migrants position their life experiences in relation to dominant discourses of neoliberalism and resource frontier values-historically sites of economic opportunity that have valorized characteristics such as masculinity and individualism that have come to ideologically define resource-based communities. Data for this article is drawn from thirty-five narrative interviews with new Canadians who had resided in Whitehorse or Yellowknife for between three and six years on average. The results suggest that transnational newcomers into the North negotiate multiple socio-economic challenges as they engage in place making within a rapidly changing northern economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In April 2008, more than 1,600 migrating ducks died after landing on a toxic tailings pond in the Oil Sands region of northeastern Alberta. The responsible company was found guilty and paid the largest environmental fine in Alberta's history. To assess the nature of this environmental focusing event, we identified 747 newspaper articles that covered this event, published between January 2008 and June 2011. Each article was coded based on date of publication, voices represented, and solutions proposed. The coverage was concentrated following the original and related events, creating a focusing event, and expressed mainly the voices of powerful actors in industry, government, and environmental groups. Most of the solutions proposed were short term and depicted a zero-sum trade-off between environmental and economic interests. We suggest that more sustained media attention with a greater diversity of voices and solutions could foster greater dialogue around environmental challenges like toxic tailings ponds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three parallel lines of inquiry regarding individuals' support for the environment have developed within the environmental social sciences. These include individuals' concern for the environment, research on private sphere pro-environmental behaviour (PEB), i.e. household actions seeking to improve the environment (e.g. buying better light bulbs), and more recently, ecological and carbon footprints. Researchers have noted that the correlates of this third form of support for the environment are not necessarily the same as the predictors of the first two forms. Using Canadian survey data, this study examines the relationships among, and predictors of, all three forms. Evidence that there is not a link between private sphere PEB and household carbon footprints, and that measures of socio-economic status (education and income) have different effects on different types of support for the environment, invites a discussion of whether environmental social scientists are really counting what counts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background The overall aim of this research was to explore why some hospitals are more successful than others at reducing the acquisition rates of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO). Method Using a socio-ecological perspective on health systems adapted from works in ecological restoration, ecosystems management, and healthcare, a participatory comparative case study design was employed. The study was conducted on a surgical unit at a Netherlands hospital with very low rates of MDRO and a surgical unit in a Canadian hospital with higher rates of these pathogens. Research methods included a total of six unit observations, nine practitioner-led photo walkabouts of the units (n = 13), six focus groups (n=26), and the review of relevant policies and procedures. Results When looking at the whole system for infection prevention and control in the context of particular environmental design constraints, and where hospital staff have reinforced norms of vigilance to prevent cross contamination, there were multiple conditions or activities at the Netherlands hospital that differed from the Canadian hospital which may have had an impact on the lower MDRO prevalence rates. These conditions or activities included differences in ratios of hospital beds per capita, bed occupancy rates, equipment cleaning processes in place, bed cleaning systems (centralized versus manual) and the presence of an active grassroots Hygiene in Practice group engaging practitioners in several ongoing activities to promote infection prevention and control. Conclusion Given these clear differences between the two study sites, it is important to try to generate further evidence-informed rationale for these and other interventions in order to guide health system leaders who need to decide where to allocate finite resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents survey data from households in Alberta, Canada, examining the relationship between income and carbon footprint. Using multivariate statistics to scrutinize the role of income, the data demonstrate substantial disproportionality in the composition and size of household carbon footprints. Results show that household energy consumption (heating, cooking, cooling) comprises half of the average footprint, with automobile transportation contributing 30% and air travel another 15%. In a linear multiple regression model, the size of household carbon footprints is positively associated with income, in addition to other variables. The highest income quintile has household carbon footprints 2.2 times greater than the lowest income quintile. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Environmental trading programs are seen as promising tools for fostering sustainable development, yet little is know about how decision-making practices in these emerging policy spaces influence program outcomes. This study quantifies wetland compensation outcomes in Alberta, Canada, and compares these outcomes to statements made in government-issued compensation guidelines. Contrary to guideline intent, we found a strong tendency to skip over wetland avoidance in favor of compensatory payments for wetland loss; that compensation sites are frequently located outside the watershed of impact; and that distances between impact and compensation sites often exceed what is considered reasonable under the guidelines, without commensurate increases in compensation ratios. Agency capture was found to drive these implementation failures, and mechanisms producing capture in this case include overhead governance and organizational goal ambiguity. This study suggests that greater attention must be given to agency context if environmental trading programs are to be effective tools for managing environmental resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the prospects of the International Symposium on Society and Resource Management (ISSRM), the journal Society & Natural Resources (SNR) and the International Association for Society and Natural Resources (IASNR) in context of society and natural resources. It mentions contributions of Donald R. Field, professor of rural sociology, in the field of natural resource social science research. It informs that meetings at the ISSRM focus on job-related organizational challenges.

Objectives: The objectives of the study are to observe the overall work environment including infection prevention and control (IP&C) practices on the target surgical unit; to analyse the policies and procedures in the hospital and unit environments; to analyse the barriers and bridges to IP&C that practitioners identify in visual narratives of their unit environment and to collect monthly specific IP&C-related anonymised data. Design: In this qualitative case study analysis, a socioecological approach on health systems informed the research design and provided a framework to better understand the complexity of implementing effective IP&C. Setting: The study was conducted on a surgical unit at a Netherlands' hospital that reported successful reductions in the prevalence of targeted multidrugresistant organisms. Methods: Research methods included unit observations (n=3), review of relevant policies and procedures, five practitioner-led photo walkabouts of the unit (n=7), three photo elicitation focus groups with practitioners (n=13) and the review of related IP&C data. Results: The findings indicate some conditions and processes present that may influence the low prevalence of multidrug-resistant organisms, including the 'search and destroy' active surveillance strategy, low occupancy rates, a centralised bed cleaning system and the presence of an active grass roots Hygiene in Practice group, which engages practitioners in several ongoing activities to promote IP&C on the units. Conclusions: Further research on the benefits of practitioner-led community of practices on IP&C practices such as the Hygiene in Practice group is also recommended. Additional case studies to compare theses practices with other acute care hospital around the world would be a valuable way to better understand what IP&C programmes are most effective in which contexts and for what reasons. Further data are available by contacting the primary author directly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines qualitative research practices in feminist scholarship. The authors report on a content analysis which investigated epistemological and methodological trends in academic feminist literature in the social sciences. It is suggested that while feminist researchers have benefited from a wide range of theories, methodologies, and epistemologies, many scholars employ research strategies that are less inherently feminist than others that are available to them. The authors note that interviews and focus groups are predominant in feminist qualitative research, while other methods such as institutional ethnography and participatory action are less widely used. Narrative and discourse-centered research methodologies are also discussed.

Infection prevention and control (IP&C) of multidrug-resistant organisms is an increasing challenge in hospitals worldwide. Objective In this study, we attempt to identify the barriers and bridges for IP&C on a surgical unit at a large urban Canadian hospital. Methods A socio-ecological perspective on health systems was adapted from work in ecological restoration and healthcare to inform the use of multiple participatory research methods including unit observations (n=3), review of relevant policies and procedures, four practitioner-led photo walkabouts of the unit (n=6), three photo elicitation focus groups with practitioners (n=13), and the review of related IP&C data. Results The findings indicate that despite active management support for IP&C, many challenges exist in the hospital environment. Key barriers included high patient occupancy rate, hospital design, the use of workarounds to adapt to these challenges, several common problematic practices, and the culture of the team or organization. Conclusions These findings confirm many challenges for IP&C that have been outlined in other literature for contemporary acute care environments. For example, to reduce the use of problematic workarounds, staff must be engaged in health system and organizational decision-making processes that affect their workload, workflow, and daily practices on the unit. Yet, the existence of problematic gaps between clinical, organizational, and health system governance has been identified as an issue for safety in healthcare. Additional research is needed to further our knowledge on how communities of researchers, practitioners, managers, and policy makers can collaboratively engage in studying and assessing their environments to design and implement meaningful, sustainable IP&C improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Forestry Chronicle is the property of Canadian Institute of Forestry and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Academic advocacy involves advancing convincingly reasoned arguments that are supported by research results and academic expertise. However, academics must recognize that their notions of “good” are context dependent. Advocacy is an important and useful service of the university and failure to advocate undermines the social relevance of academia. Nonetheless, advocacy can have personal cost for the advocate, and we consider it appropriate that institutions should minimize this. We offer the following four tenets on how scientists can effectively advocate positions in public debates: (1) Be open about values and speak to the “big picture”; (2) advocate with credibility; (3) address counterpoints and admit uncertainty; and (4) simplify complexity so the media will embrace the delivered message. Advocacy is a core academic activity essential for addressing environmental issues in a responsible and accountable manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Forestry Chronicle is the property of Canadian Institute of Forestry and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Large-scale hog operations have generated intense conflict in rural communities in North America, and more recently in Alberta, Canada. The structure and process of public involvement processes for intensive hog operations influences how well the core issues of concern are addressed by public officials and pork producer proponents. This study reports interview findings from 43 key players in intensive hog operation controversies across four cases in Alberta, and summarizes four inter-related areas of the public participation processes that affect levels of trust among stakeholders, thereby altering the perceived fairness and the balance of power: (1) the timing of the public participation process; (2) information sharing; (3) accessibility of the process; and (4) accountability of public institutions and policies. Recent changes to the regulations of intensive livestock operations will unlikely address core issues of conflict without incorporating the above elements of democratic public involvement processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the early 1990s, two Canadian newsprint mills formerly owned by large corporations were purchased locally through management or employee/management buyouts. This effectively established local control and decision making over mill and forestry operations for substantial amounts of land in Ontario and Manitoba. Over the last decade there has been considerable discussion in the literature regarding community forestry. Local ownership and control appear to be the most important criteria for determining whether community forestry exists. Our question is, "Do these examples of locally owned and operated forestry operations constitute community forestry?" We review definitions of community forestry, describe the circumstances of the two cases, and analyze qualitative interview data from both communities. Some criteria of community forestry are fulfilled in these cases, while others are not. The local buyouts did not last more than 6 years, but interestingly, the new corporate owners maintained some elements of community forestry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though professional development of language teachers has received increasing attention over the past decade, there is a lack of research on development of language teachers' teaching competencies in research universities. Informed by the institutional perspective and the framework of Scholarship of Teaching, this study investigates the development of 16 language teachers' teaching competencies in Beijing research universities. The findings show that language teachers' teaching competencies include English proficiency, professional ethics, pedagogical content knowledge, reflective thinking, and research-informed teaching. Factors influencing language teachers' teaching competencies range from the department level to the university level and the academia level. Pathways are proposed from the cultural-cognitive perspective, the normative perspective, and the regulative perspective to develop teaching competencies of language teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an overview of three approaches to forest management being applied by First Nations in Canada: industrial forestry, forest co-management and community forests. Industrial forestry, involving large-scale harvesting of timber, has been successful in increasing employment levels for some First Nations. However, industrial forestry is difficult to pursue due to the significant financial and timber resources it requires, and it may result in social conflicts between timber harvesters and traditional users of the forest. Forest co-management refers to shared management of forest resources by First Nations, government and/or industry. Benefits of co-management for First Nations can include better decision-making, increased employment opportunities, and cultural sensitivity toward First Nation forestry concerns. Disadvantages can include inequality of the partners in co-management arrangements and lack of public involvement in decisionmaking. Community forests often include local control, local investment of profits, and greater attention to the long term returns from the forest. The community forest approach may be hindered by a lack of profit, an absence of alternative tenure arrangements and other models to follow, and difficult access to financial resources and adequate land bases. The current state of institutional reform offers hope for the incorporation of Aboriginal objectives in sustainable forest management. New institutions can contribute to sustainability in forest-dependent Aboriginal communities by increasing commitment to and support of local forest management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stakeholder groups' arguments for or against regulations represent frames, or versions of reality and visions of solutions. Frame effectiveness, or the ability of a group convincingly to convey its grievances, increases its opportunities to gain valuable resources such as legitimacy, money, facilities, and labor to apply to its agenda for change. This paper uses the constructionist perspective to describe the basic frames advanced by each major group in a contemporary environmental controversy: the role of government in regulating wetland use in Louisiana. Using 91 semistructured interviews as the ma in data, this paper discusses stakeholder frames from regulatory, regulated, and environmentalist positions and the rhetorical strategies hidden within each group's frames. This paper suggests that the regulated community has greater interpretive dominance in the wetlands controversy than regulators and environmentalists/concerned citizens because the community advances a more diverse set of frames, more effectively "piggybacks" its frames on other central con- temporary government criticisms, and is more adept at using "diversionary reframing," whereby it disregards the costs of wetland loss and shifts the discussion to tangible costs to landowners. Future work on framing in social movements, especially in natural resource disputes, should refine the concept of frame effectiveness and identify recurring strategies that attract public support within disputes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wetlands in India supply crucial human and animal needs such as drinking water, protein production, fodder, water purification, wildlife habitat, and flood storage. Increased appreciation of uses and threats is essential to protect wetlands where justified. Three quarters of India's population is rural, it places great demands on India's wetlands and losses continue to occur. This paper is based on extensive discussions with natural resource managers, government employees, farmers, academicians, and resource users at dozens of sites in India, as well as an extensive literature search. Twelve important kinds of wetland loss are identified and mechanisms believed to be causing them discussed: (1) agricultural conversion, (2) direct deforestation, (3) hydrologie alteration, (4) inundation, (5) defoliation, (6) altered upper watersheds, (7) accumulative water demands, (8) water quality degradation, (9) wetland consolidation, (10) global climate change, (11) ground-water depletion, (12) exotic species and biodiversity. Wetland understanding, management, and Public awareness in India must continue growing if wetland resources are to remain functional. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]