Forest and urban change analysis in Puerto Rico: A study utilizing TerrSet and remote sensing methodologies

This study presents a methodology for analyzing forest and urban transformations in Puerto Rico, using high-resolution GHS-POP population data and MODIS Vegetation Index (VI) products. The GHS-POP data, providing detailed total population per pixel distribution at a 100m resolution, and MODIS VI products, capturing vegetation dynamics at a 1km resolution, are interpolated using ArcGIS Pro to ensure spatial and temporal compatibility. Advanced analysis is conducted with TerrSet, a geospatial platform integrating IDRISI GIS and Image Processing tools, employing applications like the Land Change Modeler (LCM) and Earth Trends Modeler (ETM) to project land cover changes and analyze environmental trends. The study uses GDAL conversion utilities to integrate TIFF files into TerrSet for Empirical Orthogonal Teleconnections (EOT) analysis, identifying spatial-temporal patterns and exploring the relationship between urban expansion and vegetation changes. This framework provides critical insights into the interplay between urban development and ecological dynamics, informing sustainable development and conservation strategies in Puerto Rico

Post-school transition planning: creating a pathway to success

Supporting students with diverse abilities as they transition from the K-12 education system to post-school life requires appropriate transition planning and programming. However, from the author’s perspective this has not been a major focus in education in British Columbia, Canada. The literature review explores how the United States, and many other countries, have developed best practices and programming for post-school transition planning, as well as laws requiring it begin by age 16 for all students, especially students with diverse abilities. This study used a mixed methods approach to investigate the current knowledge levels and beliefs about postschool transition planning with the goal of influencing the degree to which it is included in classrooms across British Columbia. The hypothesis is that post-school transition planning was not a well-known topic in education in British Columbia, nor was it widely being implemented. An online questionnaire and follow-up semi-structured interviews were used to gather data from 29 individuals. Three individuals participated in both the questionnaire and interview, while the remaining 26 completed only the questionnaire. This study found that while more post-school transition planning is being done than initially believed, it is not being done in an explicit, consistent, or structured way across the province. Implications are shared for the education system, including an increase of province-wide over-sight and increased teacher training; and individual teachers, including making it a student-driven process that starts earlier in a student’s school career and directly teaching self-determination skills

In Her Own Words: An Experiential Inquiry into Outdoor Adventure Narratives in British Columbia

2025This research explores outdoor adventure narratives, blending insights from outdoor literature and personal lived experience. Using an intuitive inquiry methodology, this study consists of five iterative cycles. In cycle 1 the research topic is selected and refined. Cycle 2 then critically examines paradigmatic texts to identify key themes. These are presented alongside personal statements to create a set of preliminary research lenses. In cycle 3, I undertake a series of solo backpacking trips in British Columbia and report them from an embodied, first-person perspective. Cycle 4 then revisits previously articulated lenses in light of subjective insights gained from cycle 3 to highlight transformations in understanding. Cycle 5 synthesizes the findings and discusses potential relevance for the broader outdoor community. Findings indicate the need to expand upon existent narratives to include diverse voices, particularly those of women and individuals with intersecting identities, to promote inclusivity and representation within the outdoor community

Teacher Well-Being in British Columbia Independent Schools: The Influence of Transformational Leadership and Job Resources

2025This study investigates the well-being of teachers in independent schools in British Columbia, Canada, with a particular focus on the role of transformational leadership and job resources. Using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey (MBI-ES), the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5X), and open-ended questions related to teacher-wellbeing and job resources the research examines how different leadership styles and current available job resources influence teacher well-being (TWB). The findings reveal that teachers generally report moderate levels of emotional exhaustion, low levels of depersonalization, and high levels of personal accomplishment. Transformational leadership, characterized by behaviors that support job satisfaction, self-efficacy, and professional growth, was identified as a significant positive influence on teacher well-being. Teachers reported higher levels of well-being when administrators engaged in transformational leadership practices, provided adequate resources, and fostered a supportive work environment. The study also highlights the variability in resource availability and its impact on teacher well-being. Schools offering more comprehensive support, including professional development, mental health resources, and opportunities for collaboration, saw better well-being outcomes among teachers. The research highlights the importance of administrators engaging in transformational leadership that can help further support teacher wellbeing. Additionally, the study suggests the need for further research to explore the long-term effects of transformational leadership and resource availability on teacher retention and whole school outcomes. These findings contribute to the understanding of how leadership and organizational support can mitigate teacher burnout and promote a healthier, more effective educational environment

The Importance of Cultural Ecosystem Services Provided by Collective Gardens in Geneva, Switzerland

2025Collective gardens (CGs), also known as community gardens in North America, provide cultural ecosystem services (CES) to their membership. CES are the non-material benefits people obtain from nature. They include recreation, aesthetic enjoyment, physical and mental health benefits, and spiritual experiences. The objectives of this research were to determine which CES are obtained by CG members and which CES were impacted by Covid-19 in Geneva, Switzerland. To accomplish the objectives of this research, qualitative, semi-structured interviews took place with five members of collective gardens in Geneva. Building upon the themes presented by membership through the interview process, a quantitative survey was then distributed to 41 collective gardens and their membership across the canton. The survey received participation from 27 people with representation from across five CGs. This was done to inform a more comprehensive understanding of the CES provided by these urban spaces. CES were the most highly ranked ecosystem service (ES) provided to CG membership. Three primary CES were indicated as most obtained by collective garden members: connection to nature, mental health, and connection to food (including the satisfaction associated with the process). The three primary CES impacted by Covid-19 were connection to nature, mental health, and aesthetic enjoyment. This research provides a vital assessment of the communities surrounding CGs in Geneva, Switzerland, and the CES provided by these spaces. This research fills a gap in existing research pertaining specifically to CES of CGs in Geneva

Understanding How Impact Investing Can Transform Canada’s Post-Secondary Sector: An Intermediary Typology

2025In Canada, availability of quality post-secondary education is not a problem. However, equitable participation is. Underrepresented learner populations including Indigenous peoples, immigrants, low socioeconomic and single parents participate at rates well below Canada’s population (aged 25 to 64 years) participation rate of 54%. Situating impact investing as a mechanism to address this inequity in post-secondary participation rates in Canada, I first focus on understanding why impact investing is not currently used in the higher education space by exploring what institutional conditions are preventing the use of impact investing. Next, conditions poised to enable impact investing and how these institutional conditions can be transformed are explored to facilitate use of impact investing as a potential solution. Most importantly, drawing on this context, I address the role of an intermediary in bridging the supply of impact investment and post-secondary institution demand for funding with the theoretical conceptualization of an intermediary typology of ideal types. To gain insight into how impact investing could be implemented to affect participation rates, 25 semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 Canadian college and university presidents and senior administrators and 12 social finance ecosystem actors including government executives, impact fund presidents and executive directors. Findings comprise two systemic institutional conditions contributing to limiting underrepresented populations’ participation rates: grade-point average (GPA) as the dominant admissions criteria, and a profound inertia of entrenched colonialism. Also, the findings identify enabling conditions which include: 1) external pressure as triggering potential for transformation, 2) the imperative of access as a core institutional value, 3) a case for building organizational capacity, and 4) the need for social impact investing market infrastructure in the higher education sector. With this contextual frame, findings culminate in an intermediary typology of ideal types being the Leveraged Traditionalist, Informed Specialist and Relational Collaborator. This dissertation argues that these different types of intermediaries have distinct functions and deliverables and play an important infrastructure role in the development of impact investing field. The study finds that the Relational Collaborator is the most promising intermediary type for achieving transformational and scalable results. Opportunities for future research stem from the provision of a standard impact investing intermediary typology to examine across various sectors facing other wicked social problems and to advance a broader or evolving typology globally

Assessing the Risks Posed by Metal Contamination to Environmental and Human Health in Millstream Creek, Canada

2025Potential metal contamination originating from race cars at an abandoned raceway in the region of Millstream-Langford on Vancouver Island is hypothesized to pose a risk to environmental and human health. This thesis uses Millstream Creek in the City of Langford as the study region for assessing whether the concentration of metals in sediment exceed federal and provincial guidelines for the protection of environmental and human health. Twenty-nine sediment samples were collected along Millstream Creek, which were then analyzed with an x-ray fluorescence spectrometer to identify the concentrations of metals contained within them. The results of the study indicated that sediment samples adjacent to the race track had higher statistically significant concentrations of copper and nickel. Similarly, the pH of the water was found to be higher. The study’s conclusion is that the analyzed metals pose no significant risks to environmental or human health, refuting its null hypothesis

Exploring the Noble Eightfold Path as a Catalyst for Awakened Leadership Development

2025This study explored the experiences of 20 Canadian leaders who participated in a 6-month virtual learning journey focused on the noble eightfold path, a pillar of Buddhist thought and practice, tentatively positioned as a secular social science. This research aimed to ascertain the suitability of the noble eightfold path as a framework for awakened leadership development and plausible strategies for integration in the corporate world. Over the past two decades, mindfulness, a subset of Buddhist meditative practice, has gradually blended into the corporate landscape, propelled by its secularization and scientific validation. However, mindfulness is only one of the eight interdependent components of the eightfold path, raising the question of the feasible integration of the remaining seven elements. Through a qualitative methodology, integrating phenomenology and grounded theory as two distinct phases of research, the results revealed the eightfold path as a valuable conduit for leadership development due to its transformative impact on participants. Findings exposed the expansion of intra- and interpersonal skills, reconnecting to values, and enhancing leadership presence. Results from this research expanded the existing awakened leadership conceptual framework and introduced a practical pathway for its development by adopting the eightfold path as its guiding catalyst. However, the findings also suggested limitations for its corporate integration and recommended modernizing the eightfold path to appeal to a contemporary leadership audience. This research contributes to a broader discourse blending ancient wisdom with contemporary organizational needs. By blending spiritual wisdom with secular practices, this research advances a broader discourse blending traditional wisdom with contemporary organizational needs

Bioaccessibility of Metals in Soils of Parks and Playgrounds – Fort McMurray, Alberta

2025This study assessed the concentration and bioaccessibility of metals present in soils at parks and playgrounds in Fort McMurray, Alberta. Sixty soil samples collected from 20 parks and playgrounds were analyzed for pH, total metal concentration by X-ray fluorescence. In addition, in vitro bioaccessibility assay (IVBA) was conducted for seven of the samples. The pH values of all soil samples were within the Canadian Council of Ministers of Environment (CCME) soil quality guidelines for residential/parkland use. The mean metal concentrations were below the CCME guidelines; however, a few samples had metal concentrations exceeding the guidelines. These included barium (1), cadmium (1), chromium (1), and nickel (3). The metal IVBA values ranged from 9.5% to 79.6%. Based on metal concentrations and the IVBA, the human health risk associated with the ingestion of metals in soils in the parks and playgrounds sampled was deemed low

The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth: Saving Canada’s Democracy and Building Trust With the Public Through Planning, Public Performance Reporting, and Citizen Engagement

2025One of the defining characteristics of a representative democracy is a commitment to public accountability and transparency to the public it serves. The need for governments to demonstrate accountability and transparency to the public is increasing, particularly in times when financial resources are not abundant and public needs and expectations are increasing. This study explores public accountability and transparency within the planning and performance reporting realm in public sector organizations at all levels of government: Federal, provincial, and regional in Canada. The research question, “How might planning and performance reporting practices and processes be used by government organizations to facilitate learning, encourage higher levels of citizen engagement and participation, and promote accountability and transparency?” generated results that indicate the need for improvements in public accountability, transparency, citizen engagement, and public performance reporting, and further unveiled the need to evaluate and assess an overarching political culture that is currently not conducive to making positive change. An interdisciplinary, constructivist epistemological approach was adopted, using an appreciative-oriented inquiry to interview 26 individuals consisting of 15 senior government bureaucrats, seven auditors, and four politicians. Planning and public performance reporting is indeed an avenue to connect with the public, to begin a journey of building trust with the public, and to ensure democratic principles remain intact. This can only come with a commitment to shifting a political culture that has become increasingly adversarial and driven by the pursuit of power as a primary goal