University of SaskatchewanHARVEST
  • Login
  • Submit Your Research
  • About
    • About HARVEST
    • Guidelines
    • Browse
      • All of HARVEST
      • Communities & Collections
      • By Issue Date
      • Authors
      • Titles
      • Subjects
      • This Collection
      • By Issue Date
      • Authors
      • Titles
      • Subjects
    • My Account
      • Login
      JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
      View Item 
      • HARVEST
      • College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
      • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
      • View Item
      • HARVEST
      • College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
      • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
      • View Item

      Retelling the Polar Bear Story: Human Responses to Polar Bear-Human Interactions in Churchill, Manitoba

      Thumbnail
      View/Open
      SCHMIDT-DISSERTATION-2017.pdf (2.592Mb)
      Date
      2017-11-23
      Author
      Schmidt, Aimee 1985-
      Type
      Thesis
      Degree Level
      Doctoral
      Metadata
      Show full item record
      Abstract
      Polar bear-human interactions are increasing throughout the Canadian Arctic, pose a significant threat to both people and polar bears, and serve as catalysts for social conflict over how polar bears are studied and managed. Despite a relatively large body of scientific literature on polar bears there have been few studies on the human dimensions of polar bear-human interactions and conflicts. The purpose of this research was to examine the underlying assumptions and expectations that influence responses to polar bear-human interactions in Churchill, Manitoba. Data were collected using multiple social science methods including semi-structured interviews, talking circles, focus groups, and a problem solving workshop. This research investigated how understandings of polar bear-human interactions in Churchill, Manitoba are shaped by discourse. I found that study participants used discourses to create and impose boundaries that dictated where polar bears (and humans) were permitted and defined the possible ways humans and polar bears could interact. Understanding discursive boundaries and the processes by which they are produced provides insights into why stakeholders often hold divergent opinions over how people should interact with polar bears. This research also examined how local people and management agencies responded to a polar bear-inflicted human injury. My findings show that polar bear management agencies respond remarkably well to errors in procedure, but are often unable to address underlying systemic drivers of polar bear-human conflict. I also found that some community members had fatalistic attitudes towards polar bears, which may make them less likely to respond to educational efforts to reduce risk-taking behaviour around polar bears. Finally, this study documented local knowledge of polar bear behaviour during interactions, clarified perceptions and interpretations of polar bears, and examined the linkage between local experts’ knowledge, perceptions, and actions. I found that differences in perspectives on the predictability of polar bear behaviour and in interpretations of the nature of bears significantly influenced strategies for responding to bears. I also found that there is a need to develop richer models for understanding what motivates and influences human behaviours and responses towards bears. Overall, this disseration provides significant insights not only into how people understand polar bear-human interactions but also into how these understandings translate to specific on-the-ground practices.
      Degree
      Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
      Department
      School of Environment and Sustainability
      Program
      Environment and Sustainability
      Supervisor
      Clark, Douglas A
      Committee
      Barrett, MJ; Loring, Philip; Gaudry, Adam; Gore, Meredith; Brook, Ryan K
      Copyright Date
      May 2017
      URI
      http://hdl.handle.net/10388/8278
      Subject
      polar bear-human interactions, Churchill Manitoba, human responses, polar bear-human conflicts, human dimensions, local knowledge, perceptions
      Collections
      • Electronic Theses and Dissertations

      Related items

      Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

      • The Effects of Strategic HR System Differentiation on Firm Performance and Employee Outcomes 

        Schmidt, Joseph; Pohler, Dionne; Willness, Chelsea (Human Resource Management, 2018-09-04)
        The purpose of this research was to understand the extent to which firms apply different human resource management systems to different occupations within the same organization (HR differentiation), and how this influences ...
      • Clinical Trials, Cancer, and the Emergence of Human Research Ethics in Canada, 1921-1980 

        Razumenko, Fedir V. 1986-; 0000-0001-9303-2535 (2018-09-19)
        Clinical cancer trials in the 21st century take place only with the ethics review committee’s approval and the written informed consent of human subjects. How and why professionals reached these standards of a modern ...
      • Individual and collective rights in Africa and their interrelationships with economics and politics 

        Latukhina, Maria (2008-02-19)
        This thesis examines the relationships between various groups of human rights, and the effect of globalization and the state on human rights protection. Two hypotheses are examined in path analysis of fifty-two African ...
      University of Saskatchewan

      University Library

      © University of Saskatchewan
      Contact Us | Disclaimer | Privacy