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The introduction of legislation aimed at decreasing gender imbalances in Mauritius has not led to an increase in women's access to parliament. While Mauritius is not unique in this, it is an interesting case to examine because Mauritius prides itself on being a leader in Africa as a democratic and strong middle-income country that has achieved success in many socio-economic areas. But Mauritius is faced with a paradox: despite its abundance of gender-related legislation, it is lagging behind in gender equality at the national level, as manifest by the few women in parliament. Regarding this issue, little research has been done to examine the challenges of translating legislative gains into actual change. Albie Sachs, former judge on the Constitutional Court of South Africa (2002), summarizes the Mauritian case by stating: Mauritius can justly be proud of the admiration which its democratic life enjoys internationally. It cannot, however, hold up its head in terms of participation of women in political life. When half the population ends up with only a one-twentieth share of representation, it manifests a grave democratic deficit (as cited in Athal, 2012, p. 17).

This thesis explores whether it is possible to quantify personal learning environments by employing the concepts and culture that support the Quantified Self movement. Using an online ethnographic approach, it explores the synergies and opportunities apparent in a technologically mediated learning environment that promotes open learning. This research also asks if technology that promotes open, traceable and structured learning habits can encourage higher educational institutions and professional industries to be more inclined to recognize learning activities that happen within personal learning environments. While the technology can act as an enabler of quantified learning, this research indicates that the barrier between social and formal learning is more cultural than technological.

This research investigates how non-profit organizations achieve financially sustainability. Financial sustainability is defined here as the mix of revenue and expense management strategies that enable an organization to pursue its mission and mandate over the long term. The research closely examines five different community-based, non-profit organizations operating in Canada. It involves a review of their sources of revenue, the way they manage their expenses, and the beliefs, actions and decision-making practices that underlie their abilities to sustain the pursuit of their mission with vigor and determination. Themes prevalent within the literature as contributing to financial sustainability include: sound financial practices, active fund development, strategic planning and thinking, and the capacity to innovate. The title of this research is: "Non-Profit Financial Sustainability."

What is the role of trust when a team is in social flow? This research is my second exploratory step to discovering the answer. The model that emerged from this research predicts that social flow is grounded in inter-personal trust which cannot exist without self-trust. Inter-personal trust enables two of the six conditions for social flow: high performing teams and the willingness to lose one's sense of oneself. The building of self- and inter-personal trust also has a temporal element. Two additional conditions to generate social flow, high levels of concentration and mission-driven work, were identified by research participants. The final two conditions for generating social flow were identified from the literature: working in the zone of proximal development and decreasing distractions. Three virtuous cycles to build trust were identified; this study suggests that it is possible that the entire model is a self-reinforcing upward spiral which enhances the probability of the occurrence of social flow events. Some scholars identify trust as one of the conditions that enables social flow; this research shows that inter-personal trust is in fact the basic social process required to achieve social flow, and that this inter-personal trust cannot exist without self-trust.

Long before the introduction of a western-style formal education for the Inuit of Canada’s north, the people learned everything they needed to know from their immediate and extended family units. The goal of education for Inuit at that time was simple: learn the skills needed to survive. The current goal of education in Canada is similar, though ‘survival’ has a new context where governments and educators focus more on how to prosper and succeed (in addition to being able to survive). There have been many fundamental shifts in the methodology behind educating Inuit students but each paradigm has intended to better prepare children how to survive in the modern world. In 2012, for example, there is more of a focus on Calculus than on skinning caribou and students learn how to read sheet music instead of watching elders beat a sealskin drum and mimicking the rhythm. Curriculum focuses on scientific or historical facts rather than myths or legends to explain how the world works. This thesis examines the latest two paradigms in educational curricula in the territory now known as Nunavut. In 1999, the territory of Nunavut came into effect when the Nunavut Act was proclaimed. Before this, the area now known as Nunavut was part of a much larger and more culturally diverse Northwest Territories. In the years leading up to 1999, plans began to take shape that would lead to the separation of Inuit inhabited lands. Inuit desired a system of government that reflected their own distinct culture, and enabled them to make decisions and policies for those living within their boundaries. The Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (more easily remembered as IQ), a set of principles that refer to traditional Inuit knowledge and knowledge gathering, is a key example. The new government of Nunavut introduced IQ principles to guide decisions, policies and set values that would create a government that was truly representative of the people it served. Prior to this, the Northwest Territories used a syste

British Columbia's Ministry of Education has established fundamental policy standards for teacher practice. These standards ensure the safety and well-being of school children and youth. My study explores the lived realities of novice and experienced teachers focusing on the quantity and quality of their university training and their preparedness to implement standards. Participants' stories reveal vast differences in teacher training institutions curricula, practicums, and overall quality of education. However, there is one similarity; there is a general lack of training in relation to bullying, classroom management, and teaching strategies. Interestingly, teachers have been requesting training in these areas for decades. I contend that there is a gap between ministry policy and teacher training institutions' curriculum development. Thus, teachers graduate without the necessary skills to implement the government's teaching standards, especially in relation to student safety in school. I present practical recommendations for teacher training curriculum development, and I emphasize the importance of a mentorship program for novice teachers to ensure best practice and job satisfaction.

Just over 10 years ago, the Ontario government passed legislation that resulted in baccalaureate degree-granting status for provincial community colleges. Since this fundamental shift in college credential delivery, the numbers of programs, students and graduates have continued to grow, and are expected to continue to do so. While employers were not an obvious driver behind this shift, understanding their expectations and perceptions as they pertain to these degree programs and graduates is critical for Ontario colleges and students. This research involved interviews with Greater Toronto Area employers who have hired college degree graduates. The interviews demonstrated that, while there is still a general lack of knowledge about college degrees, employers find value in the programs and essentially envision themselves as partners who can play a greater role in future program development and ongoing review. This includes having an impact on curriculum, graduate expectations, work experience opportunities and identifying skill gaps.

This study explores how higher education can enable the management accounting curriculum to include sustainability content and learning outcomes to encourage future accountants and leaders to use such information in organizational decision-making. It examines current systems thinking theories, and studies how the leverage points available through the management accounting function may assist organizations to embed sustainability into daily practice. To support this transformation, the research reviews the knowledge-base, activities, and tools of management accounting and suggests how to incorporate sustainability principles and criteria into the curriculum within a community college in British Columbia (BC) that has established sustainability as a strategic goal. Action research interviews explore how the management accounting curriculum within the school of business could be enhanced to support organizations - and by extension society - in embedding sustainability into practice, and identifies recommendations for curriculum re-design at the department level, and key elements of change-making to enable it.

While the growing global tourism industry currently provides best practices guidance and certification possibilities for ecotourism, green spas, and Indigenous tourism, no codes of conduct exist for spas operations that aim to sustainably integrate Indigenous-inspired healing modalities into their menu of services. I interviewed both Indigenous healers and wellness experts around the globe who incorporate ancient healing practices into spas. My analysis of these data culminated with recommended codes of conduct for Indigenous-inspired spas. The need for cultural sensitivity and guidelines unique to this sector are growing. Compared to examples such as handcrafts or cultural dance, wellness experiences are more personal, spiritual or at times even ceremonial. Spas that do not follow the codes of conduct may exploit culture amongst presenting other serious risks. Benefits to Indigenous communities when following codes of conduct include meaningful employment and the preserving of ancient healing practices that otherwise may be at risk of erosion. Benefits to destination spa or day spa clients include experiential cross-cultural learning and healing body therapies that reduce stress or improve well-being.

This interdisciplinary research paper explores the potential for transformative learning in senior school students who participated in a cultural immersion experiential education program offered by St. Michaels University School (SMUS) in Victoria, BC, Canada. In applying grounded theory methodology and narrative analysis to 12 semi-structured interviews I conducted with SMUS students and alumni who had partaken of the experiential program, I discovered learning and transformation of consciousness themes in their comments. From these findings, I have created a transformative learning process theoretical model that outlines the phases of transformational change or a personal shift experienced by the students and alumni during and following their international service trips. Among the insights I have gained from this study is the presence of each student's recognition of his or her maturation or growing up that occurred concurrently with his or her transformative learning process.

This study investigates the potential impact of nature-based leisure on the acculturation strategies of refugees in Canada, with a focus on the integration mode, and in particular, the inclination to participate fully in the larger society. The study is underpinned by Berry’s (1997) acculturation theory, which posits the integration mode as the least stressful acculturation strategy for newcomers in multicultural countries. Four refugees from Africa and the Middle East participated: two women with children, and two single men. Participants’ ages ranged from 20 to 36 years. Semi-structured interviews and photovoice were used to explore refugees’ experience of a large-group winter camping experience at Long Lake Outdoor Centre in Alberta, and how it might provoke integration. Nature’s vaunted ameliorative and restorative impacts (Kaplan, 1995) and nature-based leisure’s positive impacts (Knopf, 1987) were evident in refugees’ responses to their experience. Participants appreciated the opportunity to be away from the city (Kaplan, 1995), and to share the experience of group leisure with family and friends (Knopf, 1987). Refugees felt safe and cared for because of the presence of parks and social services staff members, pointing to the role of creating a welcoming environment and social acceptance for refugees in society generally, in order to foster integration (Berry, 1997; Berry et al., 2002). In addition, helping refugees overcome constraints to leisure (Crawford & Godbey, 1987, as cited in Kleiber, Walker & Mannell, 2011) and mental health problems (Ellis et al., 2014; Fazel et al., 2005), are important to prevent separation and marginalization (Berry, 1997) as acculturative strategies. Finally, nature-based leisure was found to strengthen the innate desire within the individual to integrate.

This thesis examines the evolution from theoretical construct to practice implementation of the Edmonton Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Ecosystem, with specific concentration on the alignment of the transition from theory into practice within a change management model and social innovation process. Because an entrepreneurship ecosystem focuses on generating a solution to an opportunity or problem and getting people engaged in generating that solution, an action research approach was used for the research, which included focus groups, consultations and collaborations and an extensive literature review. Self-realization by decision makers, who do not necessarily stay long in positions of decision-making, is one of the major impediments to sustainability of the entrepreneurship ecosystem. Success is thus determined not only by the initial change agents and processes employed to affect successful change, but also by the monitoring and recalibration of changes that are necessary to survive, maintain position and achieve fast-paced, successful and sustainable growth.