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This collaborative inquiry sought to answer the primary research question “How can a series of facilitated dialogues focused on mindfulness and adventure enhance student success within the Adventure Studies Department at Thompson Rivers University?”. Guiding this inquiry was the intention to work with the department and its students using an action research methodology that considered the Action Research Engagement model and an appreciative stance. Five second-year diploma students from the Adventure Studies Department participated in three dialogical methods of learning circle, participant journaling, and a focus group. Any interaction with participants adhered to the Royal Roads University Research Ethics Policy. Using both an inductive qualitative analysis and a deductive analysis the following four themes emerged: understanding mindfulness, mindfulness and adventure education, community, and emotional intelligence. Each conclusion ultimately informed recommendations that center on implementing mindfulness into the program and are worth pursuing. The recommendations are: adopt mindfulness into the Adventure Studies Department’s strategic plan, encourage staff to explore mindfulness for their own sake, and integrate mindfulness into the existing curriculum using guiding principles.

In the Canadian Armed Forces, leadership is essential for the conduct of endeavours, which sometimes involve life and death. Consequently, leadership development is important. Mentorship is viewed as a component of leadership and its application is often seen as a long-term way of growing leaders. The Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) is a unit of the Canadian Army and ostensibly employs mentors. This study sought to answer the question: How might reflection and interactive dialogue on mentorship by various ranks of the Royal Canadian Regiment enhance leadership? The study was conducted using insider action research and relied on interviews and a focus group to achieve data collection. The study adheres to the Royal Roads University Research Ethics Policy as well as the Department of National Defence’s Defence Administrative Orders and Directives on research. The findings highlighted that informal mentorship was variably occurring, however, as access to mentorship was unequal, it was recommended that a formal program be initiated.

Pressed specimen of Pyracantha coccinea https://viurrspace.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/27236/Arendt2.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y

There is a pressing need to develop a coherent and appropriate conceptualization of ‘resilience’ in the context of agricultural production as well as a tool for its practical assessment. Here I do both. I use a systematic and integrative approach to review and assess recent conceptualizations of ‘resilience’ and analytical frameworks. Following this review, I develop six conditions enabling resilience in agroecosystems, which inform the development of a conceptual framework and the selection of variables and indicators. Applying the conceptual framework to the Canadian agroecosystem in a general manner serves to identify opportunities for farmers and policy-makers to assess, discuss, and manage agroecosystem resilience. The high-level assessment demonstrates that important changes underway in the Canadian agroecosystem support resilience through re-organization, adaptation, and learning. However, the current focus on maximizing productivity and efficiency often leads to reduced diversity; increased connectivity; protection against disturbances; reliance on anthropogenic inputs; and missed opportunities for shared learning and experimentation. This focus on productivity may not support the long-term resilience of agroecosystem. Therefore, ensuring that agroecosystems can adjust to big and small disturbances in the future requires that we shift our thinking to recognize and support the complex adaptive nature of agroecosystems and adopt adaptive management approaches.

Research shows that non-profit organizations are essential to the fabric of society in social, political, and economic ways (Tink & Kingsley, 2021) and contribute to the betterment of the people they serve (Guo & Saxton, 2014). However, due to social and political changes, funding for non-profit organizations has been continually decreasing, despite an increasing demand (Dees & Elias, 1998; Tan & Yoo, 2015; Tink & Kingsley, 2021). Due to this pressure, non-profit organizations have been forced to find new ways to secure funding. One option is to establish a social enterprise, an organisation that embraces commercial philanthropic activities (Dees, 1998) in order to generate revenue while meeting the needs of the community (Di Zhang & Swanson, 2013; Stecker, 2014). Extensive research has been conducted on social enterprise and non-profit organizations; however, very little research has been conducted on what elements need to be present within a non-profit organization to establish a social enterprise that will be primed for success. This research used the case study method to explore the elements important to establishing a successful social enterprise. Six participants were interviewed to explore what elements were present in their non-profit organizations and what elements might currently and ideally lead their social enterprises to be successful. In addition, there is a review of how supportive Alberta is towards these types of organizations. Themes arising from these semi-structured interviews, their practical applications, and their implications for future research are explored.

This inquiry brought together young people aged 15-24 and arts organizations to explore how arts organizations in Victoria could be more responsive to young people’s lived realities, needs, and aspirations. The question guiding this inquiry was: How might the courageous imaginations of young people inform the future of arts organizations in Victoria? This action research inquiry was informed by the tenets of Participatory Action Research, Youth Participatory Action Research, and Critical Participatory Action Research. It employed arts-based methods and small group dialogues to explore the benefits, constraints, and possibilities for the future of arts organizations. The inquiry concludes with six action-oriented recommendations to support arts organizations to actively engage young people in the arts and live into young people’s aspirations for the radical transformation of arts organizations in the future.

An Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) was established in British Columbia, Canada, by provincial legislation in 1973 with the objective of protecting agricultural lands and encouraging its use for agriculture. The regulation restricts the use of reserves lands to agriculture and related purposes, but approval for permitted non-farm uses can be granted by the reserve’s oversight body, the Agricultural Land Commission. This study assessed whether permitted non-farm use activities serve to enhance or detract from agricultural use of the land subject to the decision. A methodology to track and assess agricultural land use post non-farm use approval was developed and applied. This included a review of documentation related to approved non-farm use decisions in six contiguous municipalities in the greater Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada, from 1997 to 2016. followed by contemporary land use assessment and data analysis. As such the study comprised three stages. Overall, approved non-farm use applications do not lead to more or less agricultural use of ALR lands. Most parcels not farmed prior to approval of non-farm use, remained not farmed and those used for farming continued to be farmed. As such, the analysis indicates that on balance there was neither an outright positive or negative outcome. Study results provide a snapshot of a period of time and are not intended to suggest a causal relationship. This study contributes to a greater understanding of the impacts of approved non-farm use decisions on land designated for agriculture.

Commercial trucking is one of the largest employers of working-aged men in North America and considered one of the most dangerous occupations. Commercial vehicles are involved in approximately 20 per cent of collisions, most of which involve passenger vehicles. Due to the size disparity between the vehicles, occupants in the smaller vehicles experience a high rate of fatalities and injuries whereas the driver of the truck typically survives or experiences physical injuries. What has not been extensively explored are the emotional and mental health consequences of such events on those surviving truckers. The effects of job-related trauma on professionals in a broad range of occupations has been explored in qualitative and quantitative studies, however, studies on trauma experienced by truckers are less abundant. Current and former commercial truck drivers conceptualized their direct experience of work-related catastrophic and fatal collisions using Photovoice, a qualitative, arts-based method combining visual and narrative inquiry that invites a phenomenological and intimate exploration of the research topic. Participants completed a weekly photo and narrative assignment for seven weeks and authored their assignment topics in weeks four through seven. The data they created indicated that truckers experience negative mental health effects post-collision along with unique challenges and barriers to recovery while also providing an exploration of related aspects of trucking culture and community. This insight could be used to: 1) inform peer and professionally delivered mental health and psychosocial interventions; 2) identify mental health as a workplace vulnerability and potential hazard in trucking; and 3) guide medical and mental health professionals on customization of services for this population. Keywords: Truckers; commercial vehicle; trauma; job-related trauma; mental health; collision; Photovoice; psychosocial supports; workplace; potential hazard; trucking culture; trucking community.

This paper aims to explore the demand for wellness tourism and how it has grown in the last decade. This growth is in part due to increased stress levels from various factors. Some of these factors are heightened stress in society such as COVID-19 and high inflation, people working longer hours, unhealthy lifestyles, and higher obesity rates. The study focused on the demographic cohort known as millennials, ranging from 25 to 40 years of age. Millennials are projected to account for 75 percent of consumers and travelers by 2025 globally. The study aimed to determine how Destination Marketing Organizations (DMO) can rethink their approaches for targeting millennial consumers and travelers and the preferences of Canadian millennials specifically related to their perceptions and their needs from wellness tourism within Canada. The material presented in the literature review represents the relevance of wellness, wellness in tourism, the importance of wellness in Canada, the impact of COVID-19, and millennials' characteristics and influence on tourism. The study uses a qualitative approach for interviews with DMOs on how to approach their marketing strategies and a mix-method approach on surveys for millennials on how they perceive wellness tourism. The qualitative research assisted in identifying the elements of millennial travel and DMO's influence in marketing to the demographic. Appreciative Inquiry (AI) was the critical component in developing the questions for the interview and survey. The questions focused on AI's four D's: Dream, Destiny, Discovery, and Design. The purpose of AI is to help anticipate if the best-case scenario occurred more frequently within the wellness tourism industry in Canada instead of analyzing problems. The data gathered produced a list of the critical factors pertaining to millennial consumer and travel behavior, the importance of wellness tourism for the millennial demographic, and DMO's marketing techniques to target millennial travelers within Canada. Additionally, the data also produced recommendations for the future of wellness and tourism.

This research explores the perspectives of faculty members teaching in undergraduate tourism programs across British Columbia (BC), Canada regarding curricula revitalization in consideration of macro changes that have occurred in the tourism industry worldwide including the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing climate change crisis, and the urgent need for indigenization. With a focus on programs that offer bachelor’s degrees in tourism management, this qualitative study investigates the perspectives of nine faculty members representing Capilano University, Royal Roads University, Thompson Rivers University, and Vancouver Island University. Data was collected by conducting semi-structured interviews. A reflexive thematic analysis indicated one overarching theme: collaboration; two themes: tourism management higher education must 1) craft leaders who embody 21st century skills and 2) be as dynamic as the tourism industry; and three subthemes: 1) multi-disciplinary, 2) work-integrated learning, and 3) macro changes. Due to the rapid pace of change in the tourism industry, the current curriculum offered in tourism management degree programs across BC must be reimagined. Recommendations include course content revitalization, mandatory work-integrated learning, and the renewal and maintenance of collaboration across institutions. The study’s findings are relevant to tourism management students, faculty members and higher education institutions in British Columbia.