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Bureaucratic Sorceries In The Third Policeman: Anthropological Perspectives On Magic & Officialdom, Alexandra Irimia

Languages and Cultures Publications

This article discusses The Third Policeman through the lens of a dialectic of enchantment and disenchantment that is firmly anchored in the history of anthropological discourse on bureaucracy (Malinowski, Lévi-Strauss, Tambiah, Herzfeld, Graeber, Jones). From this angle, Flann O’Brien’s novel is examined as an aesthetic illustration of an essentially anthropological argument: although bureaucracy has been described as an eminently rational form of social systematisation, regulation, and control (since Weber), it also functions, paradoxically, as a symbolic site for irrationality and supernatural occurrences, haunted by madness, mystery, and delusion. The novel is intriguing partly due to its nonchalant, humorous entwining of …

Fertility Behavior Of Immigrants In Canada: Converging Trends, Gebremariam Woldemicael, Beaujot Roderic

PSC Discussion Papers Series

Using data from the 2002 Ethnic Diversity Survey (EDS), this paper compares fertility behavior across four groups of generations: recent and long-term immigrants of 1st generation, plus second and third generations. Several important findings emerge from this study: First, consistent with previous studies, we have documented higher current fertility among recent immigrants, but childbearing is lowest in the second generation. Second, although cumulative fertility tends to be significantly higher among long-term immigrants than recent immigrants, it becomes more similar to that of second and successive generations after adjusting for socio-demographic composition. This suggests that it is not generation per se, …

Child And Young Adult Headed Households In The Context Of The Aids Epidemic In Zimbabwe, 1988-2006, Daniel Ciganda, Alain Gagnon, Eric Tenkorang

PSC Discussion Papers Series

The emergence of Child-Headed Households (CHH) and Young Adult Households (YAH) has largely been taken as an indicator of the erosion of the traditional safety nets in sub-Saharan countries and a direct consequence of the increasing number of orphans in the region. However, the initial evidence presented so far suggests that the process of formation of CHH and YAH is more complex than it appears to be. Using the four available waves of the Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Surveys (1988, 1994, 1999, and 2005/2006) we find that the proportion of households with no adults have remained stable in the last …

Child Care: Preferences And Opportunity Costs, Beaujot Roderic, Zenaida R. Ravanera, Ching Du

PSC Discussion Papers Series

Family and work questions over the life course can be analyzed as constrained choices within structural and normative contexts. We focus here on the preferences and opportunity costs associated with child care, using data from the 2006 General Social Survey on Family. We start with the extent of usage of various forms of child care, for respondents with children aged 0-4, along with the reasons for the choice and the preferences for alternate forms of care. Among respondents with children under five years of age, 48% are currently using regular child care of some kind, and 79% of persons using …

Conditions De Vie Durant L’Enfance Et Longévité: Évaluation D’Une Base De Données Créée À Partir Du Recensement Canadien De 1901 Et De L’État Civil Québécois, Laurence Pilon-Marien, Alain Gagnon, Bertrand Desjardins, Robert Bourbeau

PSC Discussion Papers Series

Depuis longtemps déjà, certains chercheurs soupçonnent un possible effet à long terme des conditions de vie vécues dans l’enfance sur la santé et la mortalité aux âges subséquents. Cette niche n’ayant pas été explorée pour la population canadienne, nous avons mis sur pied un projet visant le jumelage du recensement canadien de 1901 et des actes de décès de l’état civil québécois dans le but d'établir l’âge au décès d’enfants sur lesquels il existait des informations socio-économiques. Le but de la présente contribution est de tester la validité des données collectées en les comparant avec des tables de mortalité calculées …

Once Were Farmers: Occupation, Social Mobility, And Mortality During Industrialization In Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec 1840-1971, Alain Gagnon, Marc Tremblay, Hélène Vézina, Jamie A. Seabrook

PSC Discussion Papers Series

We study men’s adult mortality and longevity by socio-occupational status during industrialization in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec. Data were extracted from the BALSAC database (Université du Québec à Chicoutimi), which comprehensively traces the demographic history of the region since the beginning of the French Canadian settlement in 1840 up to the early 1970s. Using five occupational classes and controlling for year, age at marriage, urbanrural residence, and literacy, we found no evidence for the emergence of socioeconomic differentials in mortality. At least until the early 1970’s, mortality in the region appears to be driven by ‘occupational risk’ rather than ‘fundamental social causes’.

Life Course And Structural Factors In Childlessness: The Waiting Game And Constrained Choices In The Second Demographic Transition, Zenaida Ravanera, Beaujot Roderic

PSC Discussion Papers Series

No abstract available

Social Integration Of Young Canadians: What Do Types Of Attachment Tell Us?, Zenaida Ravanera, Rajulton Fernando

PSC Discussion Papers Series

No abstract available

Low Fertility Lite In Canada: The Nordic Model In Quebec And The U.S. Model In Alberta, Roderic Beaujot, Juyan Wang

PSC Discussion Papers Series

Among the factors that are responsible for low fertility, the risks experienced by young people are particularly relevant. In that context, it is noteworthy that fertility is rising most in Alberta and Quebec, that is in provinces where young families have had the security of either good job opportunities or supportive social policy.

The fertility trend in Canada has seen a low point of 1.51 in 2002, rising to a total fertility rate of 1.59 in 2006. The trends and differences are placed in the context of family and work questions, including the division of paid and unpaid work by …

Why Should Men And Women Marry And Have Children? Parenthood, Marital Status And Self-Perceived Stress Among Canadians, Ali Muhammad, Alain Gagnon

PSC Discussion Papers Series

Based on the Canadian Community and Health Survey (2000), this study examines the stress perceived by parents and non-parents across marital statuses, adjusting for for age, education, work, income, and sense of community belonging. Results show that fatherhood increases perceived stress in all marital statuses, particularly among singles. Motherhood does not affect perceived stress among married or cohabitating women but single and postmarried mothers endure appreciably higher levels of stress. Interactions between working and parental or marital statuses are also observed. The sense of community belonging appears as an important coping mechanism lowering stress levels. Results are discussed in the …

Examining The Role Of Early Life Social Conditions On Adult Mortality Through Historical Record Linkage: Implications For Contemporary Public Policy, Nora Bohnert, Alain Gagnon

PSC Discussion Papers Series

This study examines the effect of early life conditions on adult mortality. The individual, household and community details of children residing in Quebec in 1901 are linked to their subsequent ages at death in late adulthood using the 1901 Canadian Census and Quebec death registers. Preliminary results of logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression analyses indicate that childhood poverty status is not significantly associated with risk of death after age forty. Sex, birth cohort, parental literacy status, farm status and number of siblings in the childhood household are found to significantly effect mortality after age 40. Gender differentials in …

Is There A Trade-Off Between Fertility And Longevity? A Comparative Study Of Three Large Historical Demographic Databases Accounting For Mortality Selection, Alain Gagnon, Ken R. Smith, Marc Tremblay, Hélène Vézina, Paul-Philippe Paré, Bertrand Desjardins

PSC Discussion Papers Series

Frontier populations provide exceptional opportunities to test the hypothesis of a trade‐off between fertility and longevity. In such populations, mechanisms favoring reproduction usually find fertile ground, and if these mechanisms reduce the chances for survival in old age, demographers should observe higher post‐reproductive mortality rates among highly fertile women. We test this hypothesis using complete female reproductive histories from three large demographic databases: the Registre de la population du Québec ancien (Université de Montréal), which covers the first centuries of settlement in Quebec; the BALSAC database (Université du Québec à Chicoutimi), including comprehensive records for the region of Saguenay‐Lac‐St‐Jean (SLSJ) …

Demographic Change, The Labour Force And Work-Family Conflicts: The Challenge Of Public Policy Adaptation, Roderic Beaujot

PSC Discussion Papers Series

Les changements démographiques (vieillissement, faible natalité et leurs conséquences) ainsi que l’évolution de la main d’oeuvre (féminisation, secteur service, phénomène 24/7) apportent des nouveaux conflits travail-famille. Dans un monde où on cherche à maximiser la participation à la main d’oeuvre et à assurer la reproduction de la population, ces conflits portent divers défis d’adaptation des politiques publiques. Nous considérons les changements dans les modèles de couples et les intérêts variés par rapport aux types de support de la société. Nous considerons les politques par rapport à divers types de familles.

Models Of Earning And Caring: Trends In Time-Use, Roderic Beaujot, Jianye Liu, Zenaida Ravanera

PSC Discussion Papers Series

Families may be defined as people who share resources and care for each other. These earning and caring activities have undergone change, especially in terms of the de-linking of gender to their division in families. After considering the basis of change in families, in the economy and in models of earning and caring, this paper updates the average hours of paid and unpaid work of women and men, based on the time use surveys of 1986, 1992, 1998 and 2005. The focus is on gender as well as marital, parental and employment status over the life course. Total productive activity, …

Abortion In Iran: What Do We Know?, Amir Erfani

PSC Discussion Papers Series

Abstract not available

The Measles Epidemic Of 1714-1715 In New-France, Ryan Mazan, Alain Gagnon, Bertrand Desjardins

PSC Discussion Papers Series

Abstract not available

Social Capital Of Women Measured: Differentials By Family Structures, Zenaida R. Ravanera, Rajulton Fernando

PSC Discussion Papers Series

Social capital has often been invoked to explain differences in children’s well-being by family structure; that is, developmental outcome for children in lone parent or step family is not at par with that of children from intact family because parental investments on children may be lower not only in financial and human capital but also in social capital. This proposition has been difficult to examine in greater depth because of lack of conceptual clarity and of data to measure social capital. Using a definition of social capital as the “ability to secure benefits through membership in networks and other social …

Membership In Organizations And Confidence In Institutions: Men’S Social Capital And Its Differentials By Family Structures, Zenaida R. Ravanera, Rajulton Fernando

PSC Discussion Papers Series

Abstract not available

Determinants Of Attitudes Toward Having Children Outside Marriage, Amir Erfani, Roderic Beaujot

PSC Discussion Papers Series

In the context of low fertility and a high proportion of persons who are not living in marital unions, it is important to study the attitudes toward having children outside of marriage. Based on a sample from Oxford and Middlesex counties in Ontario, Canada, we find that there are more positive attitudes toward having children outside of marriage for persons who have a more liberal orientation to gender division of labour and to cohabitation, those who are less religious, have smaller ideal family size, and where the first relationship was a cohabiting union. While the relation was not significant, there …

Low Income Status By Population Groups, 1961-2001, Roderic Beaujot, Jianye Liu, Don Kerr

PSC Discussion Papers Series

Abstract not available

Children And Youth In Canada: Recent Demographic Changes, Jianye Liu, Don Kerr, Roderic Beaujot

PSC Discussion Papers Series

Abstract not available

Informal Networks Social Capital Of Fathers: What Does The Social Engagement Survey Tell Us?, Zenaida R. Ravanera

PSC Discussion Papers Series

Using the General Social Survey on Social Engagement conducted by Statistics Canada in 2003, this paper examines social capital derived from informal networks and its variation among men categorized as: (1) men with no children, and (2) men living with children in (a) intact, (b) step, and (c) lone parent families. The focus on men stems from a concern that their role in families has not been as extensively studied as that of women. The results show that married men living with children have higher social capital - measured in terms of the number of friends, relatives, and neighbours, and …

Demographic Decisions And Demographic Well-Being, Rajulton Fernando

PSC Discussion Papers Series

Abstract not available

Inequality And The Life Course: Differentials In Trajectories And Timing Of Transitions Of Canadian Women, Zenaida R. Ravanera, Rajulton Fernando, Thomas K. Burch

PSC Discussion Papers Series

There has been a recent concern over polarization of family life among the younger Canadians; that is, differences in family life are accentuated by the differences in their social and economic situations. Using the retrospective data on life course events gathered through the 2001 General Social Survey, we show that there is basis for this concern - the timing of transitions and early life trajectories of Canadian women born from 1966 to 1975 do differ by parental socio-economic status. However, the influence of social inequality on the life course is not a recent phenomenon - results of our analysis show …

Changes In Economic Status And Timing Of Marriage Of Young Canadians, Zenaida R. Ravanera, Rajulton Fernando

PSC Discussion Papers Series

Abstract not available

What Happens To The ‘Healthy Immigrant Effect’: The Mental Health Of Immigrants To Canada, Yimin Lou, Roderic Beaujot

PSC Discussion Papers Series

This study examines the mental health of Canada’s immigrants, relative to that of the native-born population, and makes a comparison between the longer term (ten or more years of residence) and more recent immigrants. The pattern of mental health may be explained by selectivity, structural strain theory from a macro perspective, or stress theory with a micro approach. Given available data, the study focuses on stress theory which suggests that persons with better mental health are either exposed to fewer stressors, or they cope better with their stress and adversity. The data are from Cycle 1.2 of the Canadian Community …

Aggregate Level Community Characteristics And Health, Jianlin Niu, Roderic Beaujot

PSC Discussion Papers Series

This study links aggregate data from the 2001 census to individual data from the Canadian Community Health Survey, using dissemination areas as the unit of aggregation. Individual-level considerations are found to be more important to self-perceived health than community-level characteristics. Education and income adequacy are the most important considerations. Sense of belonging to community overshadows the features measured at the aggregate level, be they economic, family, cultural or geographic considerations.

Polygamous Marital Structure And Child Survivorship In Ghana: Age Dependent Effect?, Stephen Obeng Gyimah

PSC Discussion Papers Series

A key limitation of existing research on the influence of family structure on child outcomes in cultures characterized by widespread polygamy is the implicit view of marriage as monolithic and by default monogamous. In the African context, there is the need to make a distinction between polygamous and monogamous mothers since these marital circumstances imply varying levels of parental support necessary for optimum child outcomes. Using data from the 1998 and 2003 Ghana Demographic and Health Surveys, this paper assesses the effects of polygamy on child survivorship. The study is guided by competing theses on the interconnectedness between polygamy and …

Shifts In Social Development And Fertility Decline In Iran: A Cluster Analysis Of Provinces, 1986-1996, Amir Erfani

PSC Discussion Papers Series

Iran is experiencing the third phase of demographic transition (low levels of birth and death), following a sharp fertility decline experienced during 1986-1996 period and is still underway. Using the analytic framework of Davis and Black, we examined the impact of social development and contraceptive prevalence, respectively as the structural and proximate determinants, on rapid fertility decline in Iran. We found that the social development level of provinces had a great impact on fertility decline through contraceptive prevalence indirectly. The cluster analysis of social development indices in 1986 and 1996 revealed that 15 out of 24 provinces of Iran moved …

Cohort And Social Status Differentials In Union Dissolution: Analysis Using The 2001 General Social Survey, Zenaida R. Ravanera, Rajulton Fernando, Thomas K. Burch

PSC Discussion Papers Series

Abstract not available