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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.

This research is focused at the sites of Tumbo Island North and Tumbo Cliff (both on Tumbo Island within the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve [GINPR]), with supplemental data from Rocky Point Department of National Defense (DND) and Garry oak Preserve on Vancouver Island, and Waldron Island in Washington State. Field data is overlaid with a literature review of First Nations’ land management practices and acknowledges First Nations’ use of wildfire on traditional landscapes. Results comparing 2010 to 2018 vegetation data indicate an overall increase in exotic and native species and a net negative effect of fire application. Fuel loading levels are higher than expected and have a direct relationship to fire behaviour outputs. Canopy cover has a positive net effect on native species in grass strata and exotic species in forest strata and a negative net effect if found on exotic species in grass strata and native species in forest strata. An additional product of this research is a restoration plan for Tumbo Island North, which includes a comprehensive burn plan for reintroducing fire to Garry oak (Quercus garryana or p’hwulhp ) ecosystems with an aim to restoration, and with specific prescriptions for reducing conifer encroachment, reducing forest fuel loading, increasing oak sapling regeneration and survival, and increasing plant diversity of native plant species. This restoration plan can serve as a model that can be adapted and used at other Garry oak ecosystem sites. p’hwulhp is the Hul’qumi’num word for Garry oak (Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group, 2011,p.10).

Purpose – This study draws from ecological systems theory (EST) as the conceptual basis to answer the question: what affects the entrepreneurial resilience of rural women business owners in a time of crisis? Design/methodology/approach – Evidence was gathered from two in-depth interviews with each of 13 participants, three months apart, during the 2020-2021 pandemic. Thematic analysis was applied, along with measures to ensure trustworthiness. Findings – Immediate social contexts challenged entrepreneurial resilience with family care obligations, homeschooling, and unsupportive close relationships. Certain institutional contexts such as enterprises’ industry and business models also demanded more resilience – with healthcare and in-person-only retail operations being most affected. Beyond contexts, entrepreneurial resilience ebbed and flowed with recursive ecosystem interactions especially with close, personal relationships. Business owners demonstrated agency with coping strategies to bolster resilience including focusing on community and collaboration, employing clarity around roles to navigate business and personal commitments, appropriate distancing from ecosystem relationships at critical times, and strategic application of new ways of doing business to accommodate COVID restrictions. Originality/value – This study is unique in that it was conducted as a significant health and economic crisis was unfolding, offering insight into the development of entrepreneurial resilience, over time, and focusing on a relatively unexplored field of rural women entrepreneurship. Keywords – Resilience, Entrepreneurial resilience, Women entrepreneurs, Rural entrepreneurs, Ecological systems theory Paper Type – Research paper

The Grand Lodge of Alberta (GLA) supports and oversees all elements of Freemasonry in the Province of Alberta, Canada. The GLA’s membership has declined approximately 5.5% annually for the last decade, with similar challenges in retention seen across North America. Some grand lodges have developed retention strategies, and GLA is looking to follow suit. Taking an action-oriented approach through the use of a world café and two online surveys, this research identified retention and development opportunities within the organization. Communication, education, leadership, and outreach proved key. The inquiry focused on members’ satisfaction with the current system and views of what more idealized iterations of the organization might be. The recommendations are to integrate the mission, vision, and ethics statements, implement a standard of leadership training and mentorship across the organization, and develop tools members can use to achieve these newly clarified goals toward a shared future in Freemasonry.

Rapid suppression, or initial attack (IA), is the primary method of managing new fires, with relatively low costs and high containment rates. Factors contributing to containment are well understood, but consequences for the landscape-level distribution of fire risk are not. This research introduces a method of assessing IA impacts using spatially-explicit burn probability (BP) analysis, and applies it to a study area in Kootenay National Park. BP is assessed with and without the influence of suppression by combining the Burn-P3 model with a stochastic probability of containment algorithm. Results indicate IA impacts are spatially heterogeneous. Suppression was most effective in recently burned areas, whereas mature, contiguous fuels moderated its influence. IA was least effective in the management zone where natural fire is not permitted, suggesting supplementary tactics may be appropriate. Managers can use this method to compare emergent, fine-scale consequences of fire management policy and increase long-term management effectiveness.

Clayoquot Sound is a remarkable and rare coastal temperate rainforest ecosystem on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It is home to the Indigenous Ahousaht Nation and a place where chinook salmon and people are interdependent. The health and well-being of the Ahousaht community have been reliant on the Nation’s relationship to salmon for many generations. The Ahousaht stewarded the chinook salmon in the Megin River successfully and sustainably for generations through their complex traditional Indigenous legal system. Now, the genetically diverse population of chinook salmon in the Megin River is on the verge of extinction as the salmon face several human-caused ecological and socio-political threats. In this paper, I specifically explored the relationship between the decline of Megin River chinook salmon and the decline of Ahousaht traditional law as a wicked problem. I used a qualitative approach that combines Indigenous and Western methodologies, such as: systems thinking; describing the biophysical and socio-cultural attributes of the Megin River; ethnographic interviews with knowledge holders; developing a framework for articulating the traditional Ahousaht legal system; and, making recommendations to address the problem. I concluded that the timeline of replacing the traditional Ahousaht legal system (a legal system of spiritual and natural characteristics derived from the Ahousaht relationship to life-giving forces in the region) with that of Canadian law (a legal system of economic and social policy foreign to the natural cycles of the region) corresponds directly with the decline of the Megin River chinook and should be considered as one of the causes of decline. I recommend that additional research be conducted using a systems thinking approach to identify where systemic interventions are required to build new relationships, structures, and institutions that uphold Indigenous knowledge and legal frameworks to address conservation challenges.

Front-line maintenance supervisors play a key role at BC Transit, as this role directly interacts with and oversees front-line staff. These front-line leaders are responsible for overseeing most of the organization’s communications and change initiatives. This research investigates the front-line leadership role that organizations rely on as their main conduit for communication of organizational goals and change management initiatives to front-line staff. Front-line leadership roles are the roles in an organization that deal directly with the front-line staff daily. This research investigated the challenges a front-line leader can face while working in this role. This research study engaged BC Transit’s front-line maintenance supervisors and the front-line staff from two different sites within the greater Victoria, British Columbia area. The main research question asked was, “how can BC Transit assist in the development of front-line maintenance supervisors so that they develop the capabilities and skills to lead front-line staff effectively?” Based on this overarching research question, data was collected from a focus group and an online survey that revealed five themes: define and document roles and responsibilities, strengthen hiring processes, develop formal training, focus on team-building and resolve communication barriers. Recommendations offer strategies for the development of front-line leaders, including enhancing overall support for front-line leaders and relationships between front-line leaders and the front-line staff. Keywords: front-line leadership, communication, development, relationships, roles and responsibilities.

In sporting industries, including the golf industry, there is a long-standing history of gendered practices events, exclusion, and “typical ‘ expectations” (Breger et al. 2019 p. 274 These practices are evident in golf through gendered language, gendered dress code, gendered history, gendered leagues, and gendered tee blocks. Specific gendered practices within the golf industry, such as gendered language, contribute to participants’ experiences in important ways. Through gendered language such as “cart girl,” and “lady golfer,” the golf industry is perpetuating gendered ideals, and through a gendered dress code and gender marked tee blocks, the industry is propagating ideas about women’s ability levels in the sport. Women’s professional golf is a topic of increasing academic concentration (Bowes Kitching, 2020a), but there is a gap in research regarding how gendered language and practices impact women in the industry. Golf is historically referred to as a “gentleman’s game” (Billings et al., 2018 p. 97) and has been historically exclusionary to women (Bowes et al., 2020a). Golf participation rates are also lower for women than for men, ( Snelgrove, Wood, 2015 and women often leave the sport due to the experiences they have through their involvement. Augusta National Golf Club, one of golf’s most distinguished golf clubs (Swart et al. 2003 where the Master’s Tournament takes place, did not allow female members to join as members until 2012. When they finally allowed their first two female members, it was a great win for women’s golf (Andrews 2012 p. 2) and allowing for more equitable participation in the industry. In addition, there is a history of policies that discriminate against women in golf, and often the experiences women have as a result of these exclusionary policies impacts their participation and comfort in participating. Often, the policies can also limit their involvement in the sport or impact retention and lead to more women leaving the sport. Largely, little research exists on women’s experience as participants in the sport (Mitchell et al., 2016). In recent years, diversity and women’s golf initiatives have been prominent in Ontario and the rest of Canada. In 2020, the PGA of Canada created a Diversity Inclusion Task Force with industry professionals to allow underrepresented populations the chance to participate in golf (PGA of Ontario, 2020). Golf Canada and the PGA of Canada launched a Women in Coaching program (Golf Canada, 2020), and Golf Canada and Golf Ontario have recently launched a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategic Alliance with Korn Ferry (Golf Ontario, 2020). These initiatives bring together diverse and underrepresented voices to contribute to diversity and inclusion in the golf industry and are significant in allowing various populations to experience the sport. However, more research is needed in the area of women in golf to accurately understand women’s experiences. Research concerning women in golf is fundamental as Canadian women continue to gain employment in the golf industry and increasingly play the sport. Women also have increasingly busy work and home lives, and “fewer are maintaining lifelong roles as engaged sport participants” (O’Reilly et al., 2018 p. 16). The trouble goes beyond the sphere of sports participation. Oftentimes, golf is in fact used to host informal business meetings, and when women miss out on participating in these types of opportunities, it can impact their career advancement. It is also well known that golf provides opportunity to men to socialize and strengthen networking, but it does not always have the same social benefit for women (Agarwal et al. 2016 This research aims to fill the gap in the literature surrounding women’s experience in the golf industry, including gendered roles and the assumptions women face. This thesis in particular, aims to gain insight into the gendered practices in golf from an insider’s perspective and raise awareness of how gendered practices affect women in the golf industry. Interviews with 10 female golfers who work in the industry were conducted with the aim of understanding how gendered practices in golf have impacted women in Ontario. This research contributes to the areas of sport sociology, gender studies, and communications studies with regard to sports and gender.

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.

Canadian healthcare organizations are experiencing increasing challenges meeting the evolving health needs of aging and growing populations. The ability to manage conflict between multiple stakeholders with varying priorities, responsibilities and associations relative to the healthcare organization is critical to more effectively meet these challenges. The following qualitative research explores factors that contribute to conflict within a multidisciplinary healthcare teams setting and between regulated health professionals. Four registered nurses from an acute care hospital setting in a large metropolitan center were recruited to share their experiences of multidisciplinary team conflict through the use of facilitated focus group sessions. A thematic analysis revealed four main themes perceived as contributing to conflict: team discordance, professional expectations, relational conflict and communication barriers. These findings expand the current limited body of research while aiding the development of best practice tools and guidelines for healthcare organizations.