Dissertations & Theses @ RRU

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RRU learners can now make their theses available online through DSpace@RRU, our institutional repository: a digital archive of open access, scholarly works by RRU students, faculty and staff.

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Now showing 1 - 5 of 1074
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    Developing Human Capital to Accelerate Time to Autonomy for Petro-technical Professionals in the Upstream Oil and Gas Industry
    (2024) Appiah-Brafoh, Edward, Samuel; Jorgensen, Frances
    AbstractThe importance of continued development of petro-technical professionals in the upstream oil and gas industry cannot be over emphasized. The deep knowledge-base of upstream geoscience and engineering operations, coupled with its attendant long learning curve, the continued awareness and appreciation of health, safety and environment considerations in upstream operations, and the global talent crisis among petro-technical professionals requires that petro-technical professionals are provided with a structured, consistent and relevant training programs to develop their capacity to accelerate the time to autonomy. The main aim of the research study was to develop a competency framework to help develop human capital to accelerate time to autonomy for petro-technical professionals in the upstream oil and gas industry. The research study employed a pragmatism paradigmatic approach to the inquiry and adopted the mixed-methods exploratory sequential design. Qualitative data consisting of individual in-depth interviews were collected from 13 individuals: two CEOs or corporate leaders, three human resources or learning and development professionals, five petro-technical managers and three petro-technical professionals. Following analysis of these data, a survey was constructed and then distributed to 152 petro-technical professionals. The findings of the study contribute to theory development and practice by demonstrating that developing petro-technical professionals to accelerate time to autonomy requires a competency framework with an eclectic approach to training and development, utilizing a blended learning system to provide the employee with holistic training. The findings of the study also indicate that the competency framework must guide learning from the known to the unknown, simple to complex and concrete to abstract, adding new knowledge in an incremental manner. Finally, the study emphasizes that the competency framework must include critical developmental elements such as coaching and mentoring, career planning and progression systems, a goal-oriented performance management system with a two-way feedback mechanism, and a comprehensive post training evaluation system.
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    Before the Handshake: Wise Practices for the Support of Unpaid Officials in Athletics in Alberta
    (2024) Evans, Sharon; Agger-Gupta, Niels
    The sport of track and field involves many unpaid volunteers, called officials, who judge and assess athletic performance. In Alberta, Canada, not enough new volunteers are signing up to replace retiring officials. This recruitment gap was the catalyst to explore how Athletics Alberta, the provincial governing body for track and field, might better support the recruitment and retention of sanctioned officials at all levels in Alberta. This research followed a framework of action research engagement. The researcher used focus groups, with an appreciative stance, to engage officials of varying levels in collaborative dialogue to share their experiences of officiating. Reflexive thematic analysis distilled the 88 unique findings into three key themes connected to (a) relationship, (b) motivation, and (c) knowledge. The findings also supported self-determination theory (SDT), as an effective way to understand the motivation of officials and their desire to continue. SDT asserted the importance of autonomy as it relates to human motivation. Further analysis of findings led to a framework of job embeddedness (JE) to reveal why officials devoted their time to officiating long term. In the literature, JE was described as a web or net that connected an employee to their work within an organization. The resulting recommendations provide important considerations for developing long-term volunteer programming.
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    Empowering Leadership: A Participatory Inquiry into Enhancing Leader Self-Efficacy at M.O.S.A.I.C
    (2024) Koch, Laurie; Etmanski, Catherine
    This thesis focuses on the perspectives of coordinators and managers within an immigrant and refugee settlement organization named M.O.S.A.I.C. (Multi-lingual Orientation Service Association for Immigrant Communities), aiming to understand their suggestions for enhancing leader self-efficacy (LSE). Working with the methodology of action research, this study employed PhotoVoice interviews, focus groups, and an anonymous survey to inform the development of recommendations. The study adhered to established ethical principles, including those outlined by Royal Roads University, guiding the entire research process. This study investigates strategies to enhance leader self-efficacy (LSE) among coordinators and managers within M.O.S.A.I.C. Participants in the focus groups, PhotoVoice sessions, and surveys articulated twenty-five recommendations that coalesce around four overarching themes to enhance LSE at M.O.S.A.I.C. Theme 1 focuses on the need for tailored leadership training, including personalized growth plans and specialized programs addressing self-efficacy needs. Theme 2 emphasizes the importance of internal support and resources, advocating for increased financial allocations, streamlined processes, and community-building initiatives. Communication and collaboration, explored in Theme 3, highlight the significance of open dialogue, transparent communication channels, and technological enhancements. Finally, Theme 4 examines organizational culture and values, urging the promotion of inclusion, environmental responsibility, and a positive leadership culture. These findings provide a roadmap for fostering LSE, encouraging collaboration, and nurturing a supportive organizational environment within M.O.S.A.I.C. Keywords: Leadership effectiveness, leader self-efficacy, action research, M.O.S.A.I.C., organizational development, not-for-profit.
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    In Her Place: Addressing Women’s Equity Through Evidence-Based Planning Practice
    (2024) Agnello, Kristin, N; Viswanathan, Leela
    This research examines how urban planners can better understand and improve gender-based interventions and address the individual, institutional, and systemic biases that have contributed to women’s inequality in the urban environment through data-driven analysis and evaluation. Rooted in a pragmatic, social constructionist theoretical perspective, this research acknowledges that lived experience is intrinsically linked to both knowledge about and action relating to the socio-spatial environment. A portfolio of three, interrelated scholarly works – woven together by themes of evidence-based decision-making, systems thinking, and personal and professional reflexivity – demonstrates a multilevel approach to addressing women’s equity through planning practice. The portfolio components include: (1) a published, co-authored journal article describing how a systematic review methodology can be modified to support informed decision-making in planning practice; (2) a sole-authored journal article exploring the role of, and relationships between, multilevel, gender-based planning instruments within an overarching theory of change; and (3) an academic book proposal providing evidence of the disparate impacts of gender-based planning interventions on a diverse population and providing recommendations for addressing individual and systemic bias in planning practice. By devoting attention – and intention – to understanding the roles and impacts of planning instruments, institutional structures, and personal biases on women’s equity, this portfolio of epistemic objects guides planning practitioners as they weigh planning decisions, address organizational path dependencies, confront personal, institutional, and systemic biases, and ensure that women’s inequity does not continue to be manifested and embedded in spatial patterns and decisions. Supplementary materials have been provided to augment the findings outlined in this synthesis paper. A complete catalogue of the Canadian gender-based planning instruments found through this research has been compiled into a summary table. The table includes the city and province of each intervention, year, instrument name, instrument type, stage of activity (e.g., planning, engagement, operational, monitoring and evaluation, etc.), Council and operational supports, and participation in the UNESCO Inclusive Municipalities program. The supplementary materials also include an intervention matrix, which summarizes the priority area, categorical objective, aspect targeted (e.g., policy, leadership, accountability, etc.), intersectional characteristics identified, instrument type, target audience, stage of activity, and indicators identified for each women’s equity objective statement found in the research.
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    Camping on Traditional Lands: What is the Value of Developing Campgrounds on Indigenous Land?
    (2024) Kirkman, Jeffrey , Bruce; White, Brian
    The demand for camping in British Columbia has been growing rapidly for over a decade, but with private campgrounds slowly on the decline for various reasons, such as the encroachment of urban development or park redevelopment due to owners cashing in on high real estate prices, the demand for new campgrounds has been steadily on the rise. This research investigates what value expanding the Indigenous camping industry brings to Indigenous communities and how non-Indigenous entities can offer meaningful assistance. Using a grounded theory approach, this qualitative study uses ten semi-structured interviews with members of the Indigenous tourism industry and the British Columbia camping industry. This research revealed a positive outlook for expanding and developing an Indigenous camping industry by showing the added value communities have received, such as Indigenous youth education, culture protection, and Indigenous knowledge sharing.