Digital Commons Network^™

The Importance Of Reproduction In Evidence Based Policing: A Comment, Laura Huey

Sociology Publications

In the following comment, the author examines the importance of reproduction in evidence based policing. Moreover, she argues that failure to reproduce studies – including through the use of varied methodologies – is antithetical to the development of a solid evidence base upon which to ground effective and efficient community safety practices.

Canada's Oldest Old: A Population Group Which Is Fast Growing, Poorly Apprehended And At Risk From Lack Of Appropriate Services, Jacques Légaré, Yann Décarie, Kim Deslandes, Yves Carrière

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Discussion Paper Series/ Un Réseau stratégique de connaissances Changements de population et parcours de vie Document de travail

The future of population aging in industrialised countries, including Canada, will be driven not by lower fertility but by extensions in life expectancy. Declining mortality will have the most effect on the oldest age groups.

In this context, Peter Laslett’s (1989) ideas on rethinking traditional approaches to the life cycle are fundamental. He argues that we need to move from three stages of life to four: childhood; adulthood; then the new third age lasting from retirement until old age, which becomes the fourth age (or the oldest-old).

This report examines the present and future characteristics of the oldest old, and …

Parental Well-Being Surrounding First Birth As A Determinant Of Further Parity Progression, Rachel Margolis, Mikko Myrskylä

Sociology Publications

A major component driving cross-country fertility differences in the developed world is differences in the probability of having additional children among those who have one. Why do people stop at having only one child? We hypothesize that the experience of the transition to parenthood is an important determinant of further fertility. Analyzing longitudinal data from Germany, we find that the experience during the transition to parenthood, as measured by changes in subjective well-being, predicts further parity progression. A drop in well-being surrounding first birth predicts a decreased likelihood of having another child. The association is particularly strong for older parents …

The Converging Gender Trends In Earning And Caring In Canada, Beaujot Roderic, Jianye Liu, Zenaida R. Ravanera

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Discussion Paper Series/ Un Réseau stratégique de connaissances Changements de population et parcours de vie Document de travail

Following on our earlier work, this article updates the data on the central family activities of earning a living and caring for each other. We consider the gender side of participation in these activities, along with alternate models of the division of earning and caring. Our analysis of the data shows that the trends in earning and caring have moved in the direction of reduced gender inequalities, especially a greater sharing of paid work, and some change toward men’s greater participation in unpaid work. However, the differences remain large, and the inequalities are accentuated by the presence of young children.

The Perils Of Project-Based Work: Attempting Resistance To Extreme Work Practices In Video Game Development, Amanda Peticca-Harris, Johanna Weststar, Steve Mckenna

Management and Organizational Studies Publications

This article examines two blogs written by the spouses of game developers about extreme and exploitative working conditions in the video game industry and the associated reader comments. The wives of these video game developers and members of the game community decry these working conditions and challenge dominant ideologies about making games. This article contributes to the work intensification literature by challenging the belief that long hours are necessary and inevitable to make successful games, discussing the negative toll of extreme work on workers and their families, and by highlighting that the project-based structure of game development both creates extreme …

La Nouvelle Immigration Et L’Identité Ethnique, Christoph Schimmele, Zheng Wu

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Discussion Paper Series/ Un Réseau stratégique de connaissances Changements de population et parcours de vie Document de travail

Cette synthèse des connaissances fournit une évaluation à jour de l’influence de l’acculturation des enfants sur leur identité sociale. Bien que d’autres facteurs aient un impact sur le développement de l’identité, cette synthèse met l’accent sur le point de rencontre entre l’identité et les relations intergroupes. La plupart des immigrants arrivés après 1965 se heurtent à des circonstances économiques et à une barrière de « couleur » qui compliquent le processus d’acculturation. Comment ces forces structurelles affectent-elles le parcours qui mène à devenir un Canadien ou un Américain est une question dont la portée est étendue. Dans les groupes qui …

Population Change And Life Course: Taking Stock And Looking To The Future, Beaujot Roderic, Zenaida R. Ravanera

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Discussion Paper Series/ Un Réseau stratégique de connaissances Changements de population et parcours de vie Document de travail

This paper takes advantage of the insights from the culminating conference of the Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster (PCLC), a collaborative network of academic researchers and policy people, in partnership with a number of Canadian federal agencies. The PCLC focused on strategic issues regarding population change, and on research that takes a life course perspective, with the central objective of sharing the associated knowledge.

We first summarize and note some important observations from the Conference sessions that were dedicated to “taking stock”, specifically on: Aging and paid work; Health over the life course; Immigrants and migrants; Population composition: …

Understanding Video Game Developers As An Occupational Community, Johanna Weststar

Management and Organizational Studies Publications

The video game industry has rapidly expanded over the last four decades; yet there is limited research about the workers who make video games. In examining these workers, this article responds to calls for renewed attention to the role of the occupation in understanding project-based workers in boundaryless careers. Specifically, this article uses secondary analysis of online sources to demonstrate that video game developers can be understood as a unique social group called an occupational community (OC). Once this classification has been made, the concept of OC can be used in future research to understand video game workers in terms …

Error In Demographic And Other Quantitative Data And Analyses, Thomas K. Burch Prof

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Discussion Paper Series/ Un Réseau stratégique de connaissances Changements de population et parcours de vie Document de travail

This paper is about errors in statistical data. My remarks are in two parts. The first part deals with the proposition that the statistical data we consume, analyse and produce contain more error from more sources than we sometimes recognise. The second asks: How can we better deal with these errors?

The topic of error in statistics can become highly technical, but for the most part this is not a technical presentation. It deals with common sense and experience; much of it is anecdotal.

Vivre Et Travailler Plus Longtemps Dans Une Société Vieillissante: Vers Une Croissance Des Inégalités?, Yves Carrière, Jacques Légaré, Mélanie Léger St-Cyr, Chloé Ronteix, Viorela Diaconu

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Discussion Paper Series/ Un Réseau stratégique de connaissances Changements de population et parcours de vie Document de travail

L’accélération du processus de vieillissement de la population canadienne se poursuit alors que les cohortes du baby-boom franchissent tour à tour l’âge de 65 ans. Plus nombreuses à franchir cet âge, elles y survivront aussi plus longtemps. Au nom de l’équité intergénérationnelle, plusieurs pays répondent à ce bilan démographique en réformant leur système de revenu de retraite pour favoriser le report de l’âge effectif de la retraite. Au Canada, sans que l’on ait adopté de telles réformes, on observe ce report depuis déjà une vingtaine d’années. Aussi souhaitable que soit le prolongement de la durée de vie en emploi, il …

Les Mouvements Migratoires Des Premières Nations : Reflets Des Inégalités, Marilyn Amorevieta-Gentil, Robert Bourbeau, Norbert Robitaille

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Discussion Paper Series/ Un Réseau stratégique de connaissances Changements de population et parcours de vie Document de travail

Ce travail de synthèse s’inscrit dans le thème de la dynamique migratoire des Premières Nations, soit les Indiens inscrits et les Indiens non-inscrits, sous le prisme des inégalités. Réaliser une migration, c’est essayer de trouver un équilibre entre la situation actuelle d’un individu et celle qu’il aimerait avoir, pour améliorer ses conditions de vie. L’analyse de ces situations implique une prise de décision, qui mène un individu à choisir le type de migration qui lui apporte le plus de bénéfices.

Les Premières Nations constituent une population singulière au Canada. En plus d’être hétérogènes, elles présentent des caractéristiques sociodémographiques, culturelles et …

Bridging The Literature On Education Migration, Ann H. Kim, Gunjan Sondhi

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Discussion Paper Series/ Un Réseau stratégique de connaissances Changements de population et parcours de vie Document de travail

This research synthesis examines key themes and findings on international students and education migrants in Canada. Our review focuses on research related to the first wave of international student mobility (ISM), and we define the literature broadly to include studies on international students, foreign students, visa students, study abroad students, sojourning students, unaccompanied minors for educational purposes, and education migrants at all educational levels and legal statuses. ISM to Canada can be divided into roughly two periods, pre‐1990 and post‐1990. Studies are drawn from across the social sciences with a focus on literature from the perspectives of sociology, geography, economics, …

Health Inequalities Among Older Adults In Developed Countries: Reconciling Theories And Policy Approaches, Amélie Quesnel-Vallée, Andrea Willson, Sandra Reiter-Campeau

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Discussion Paper Series/ Un Réseau stratégique de connaissances Changements de population et parcours de vie Document de travail

Policies that are meant to support older people in Canada might worsen inequalities. Increasingly privatized pension schemes and lack of subsidized support services disproportionately reward those with the most social and economic means in old age. Those who benefit generally experience better health than those who are disadvantaged. Canada has opportunity to guard against such a skewed impact of programs for the elderly by drawing on approaches developed by the World Health Organization, international examples, and sociological theory and research. These approaches can to help design policies that transcend existing inequalities in older people, fostering more equitable health outcomes.

Les Oldest-Olds Canadiens : Une Population En Pleine Croissance, Mal Connue Et À Risque De Manquer De Services Adéquats, Jacques Légaré, Yann Décarie, Kim Deslandes, Yves Carrière

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Discussion Paper Series/ Un Réseau stratégique de connaissances Changements de population et parcours de vie Document de travail

Dans les pays industrialisés, et au Canada en particulier, le vieillissement ne sera plus dynamisé par la baisse de la fécondité, mais bien par l’allongement de la vie. Cette baisse de la mortalité sera surtout aux grands âges.

Dans ce contexte, les réflexions de Peter Laslett (1989) et sa remise en question de l’approche traditionnelle du cycle de vie sont fondamentales. De trois étapes, il a montré le bien fondé de passer à quatre : l’enfance, les âges adultes, le nouveau troisième âge, qui va de la retraite à la vieillesse, qui devient le quatrième âge.

Ce rapport s’intéresse aux …

(In)Visible Minorities In Canadian Health Data And Research, Mushira Khan, Karen Kobayashi, Sharon M. Lee, Zoua Vang

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Discussion Paper Series/ Un Réseau stratégique de connaissances Changements de population et parcours de vie Document de travail

This synthesis project is motivated by the apparent neglect of visible minorities in Canadian health data and research. The main question is: Are visible minorities invisible in Canadian health data and research? To address this question, we assess the nature, extent, and range of data and research available on the health and health care access of visible minorities in Canada. Specifically, we summarize: (1) mortality and morbidity patterns for visible minorities; (2) determinants of visible minority health; (3) health status and determinants of visible minority older adult (VMOA) health; and (4) promising data sources that may be used to examine …

The Healthy Immigrant Effect In Canada: A Systematic Review, Zoua Vang, Jennifer Sigouin, Astrid Flenon, Alain Gagnon

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Discussion Paper Series/ Un Réseau stratégique de connaissances Changements de population et parcours de vie Document de travail

Canada’s immigration admissions policy calls for individuals with high human capital (Knowles, 2007). Given the strong links between human capital and health (Jasso et al., 2004) and previous research which suggested the presence of a seemingly universal foreign-born health advantage among Canada’s migrant population, we expected to see the healthy immigrant effect across the life-course and for multiple health outcomes. What we found instead was a pattern much more complex than previously envisioned. Our review uncovered a clear survival advantage for immigrants, owing in part to positive self and state selection processes (at least for non-refugee migrants). However, there is …

Are Female Baby Boomers Ready For Retirement?, Lori Curtis, Kate Rybczynski

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Discussion Paper Series/ Un Réseau stratégique de connaissances Changements de population et parcours de vie Document de travail

Due to their life-course socio-economic conditions, many female boomers may suffer large decreases in well-being as they head into retirement. Pension reforms which increase retirement age will disproportionately disadvantage those already in low income. While changes to the CPP will reduce losses from poor or sporadic labour force participation, these changes are too late to help the early boomer women. Likewise, while research suggests that improving retirement outcomes must begin with improved labour market conditions, inequitable conditions persist. Therefore, any current policy change will miss helping the early boomers. Finally, with increasing rates of chronic disease and longer lifespans, policy …

A Review Of Research On Aging Families: Emerging Issues, Zheng Wu, Sean Browning

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Discussion Paper Series/ Un Réseau stratégique de connaissances Changements de population et parcours de vie Document de travail

Against the background of the demographic shifts of population aging, increased immigration, and growing ethno‐cultural diversity in Canada, it is important that we gain a better understanding of the needs of aging families. To date, family gerontologists have begun producing research on aging families to better understand how their needs can be met. In order to assess the state of the literature on aging families, we conducted a literature search (2009‐ 2014) of eleven top, peer‐reviewed journals. This literature was then assessed, revealing five prevalent themes: (1) structural diversity in aging families, (2) family relationships in later life, (3) caregiving …

The New Immigration And Ethnic Identity, Christoph Schimmele, Zheng Wu

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Discussion Paper Series/ Un Réseau stratégique de connaissances Changements de population et parcours de vie Document de travail

This knowledge synthesis provides an up-to-date assessment of how the acculturation experiences of the children of immigrants influences their social identities. While other factors affect identity development, this synthesis focuses on the interface between identity and intergroup relations. Most post-1965 immigrants encounter economic circumstances and a “color” barrier that complicate the acculturation process. How these structural forces affect the pathway towards becoming a Canadian or an American is a far-reaching issue. For groups that are able to achieve economic parity with Whites and encounter little racism, their “ethnicity” could recede across generations. Hence, recent immigrants could eventually adopt unhyphenated identities …

The Impersonal Is Personal: Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women Through The Lens Of Roberto Esposito’S Third Person, Claire Windsor

2015 Undergraduate Awards

This essay explores the issue of Missing and Murdered Women (MMIW) in Canada from a perspective that problematizes not only the racializing and gendering of indigenous women, but the normative conception of the human ascribed to settler Canadians as well. By examining these processes as part of a greater juridical-biological constitution of ‘the human,’ the ways in which this differentiation works to valorize the lives of some humans whilst simultaneously devaluing the lives of ‘others’ are revealed. This hierarchy is explored through the lens of Roberto Esposito’s book Third Person in order to illustrate how the subject-formations that have occurred …

The Technologization Of Politics: The Internet And The Electronic Citizen, Charlotte Yun

2015 Undergraduate Awards

Dramatic shifts in technology have transformed the structures of civic participation and communication in the latter half of the 20th century, and optimistic presumptions purporting the global establishment of “e-democracy” has become a commonly understood concept. But reality has failed to demonstrate this ideal and has instead proven otherwise: whether online or offline, it is politics as usual. This paper explores the ramifications of online platforms for political engagement from a critical perspective. The author argues that sustaining political activity online in “user-powered,” democratized digital spaces is ultimately fruitless without offline mobilization. While contemporary Web 2.0 platforms for political activity …

Solidarity Is For White Women, Aramide Odutayo

2015 Undergraduate Awards

Can a simple hashtag constitute a social movement? The answer is a resounding yes. Using the definition of a social movement proposed in the Blackwell Companion to Social Movements as a framework, this paper illustrates that #SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen is a perfect example of how social media and social movements have intersected to inspire profound change. Created by blogger and black feminist scholar Mikki Kendall, #SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen highlighted the justified resentment that many black feminists have against the white liberal feminist movement. This paper contends that Kendall’s hashtag activism satisfies the fundamental characteristics of a social movement, because it was a coordinated, collective, …

An Evidential Review Of Police Misconduct: Officer Versus Organization, Emma Rose Bonanno

2015 Undergraduate Awards

This paper explores the critical societal issue of police misconduct. Though a vast amount of literature surrounds the issue of police misconduct, conclusions regarding the correlates of police misconduct remain inconclusive. Previous research that attempts to explain police misconduct has consistently shown to be divided based on either individual or organizational correlates. Thus, the crux of the debate has become whether police misconduct is the product of a "bad apple" (individual or micro-level correlates), or a "bad barrel" (organizational or macro-level correlates). The aim of this paper is to explore existing empirical evidence, and discover which factors most strongly correlate …

Constructing ‘Farmer’ And ‘State’ Identities In Moral Discourses About Semi-Subsistence Agriculture In North-East Brazil, Karen E. Pennesi

Anthropology Publications

Anthropological analysis elucidates how discourses about agriculture in one North-east Brazilian community reflect relational roles of citizens and the state, the position of farmers in society, and the relationship of individuals to their work. In these discourses, farmers are positioned as moral, hard-working, autonomous citizens, justifying their participation in low-paying activities. The declining numbers of agricultural workers is explained as a result of individual laziness or government irresponsibility. In using these discourses to take stances publicly on agricultural issues, speakers assign responsibilities and moral status to agents. In constructing rural identities, such moral discourses emphasise the symbolic value of subsistence …

The Capacity For Mobilization In Project-Based Cultural Work: A Case Of The Video Game Industry, Marie-Josee Legault, Johanna Weststar

Management and Organizational Studies Publications

Though dissatisfied with some management practices and working conditions, like most high-tech knowledge workers, videogame developers remain reluctant towards unionization. This article examines the factors of collective action among developers as an example, using data gathered from an international survey and interviews. We conclude that developers meet some conditions conducive to collective action but face many obstacles as well, both to collective action and to unionization proper. This does not lead us to share the belief of a decline in collective action, but rather raises the issue of conflating union action and collective action. Our study reveals how unsuited the …

Work Hour Congruence: The Effect On Job Satisfaction And Absenteeism, Bryon Y. Lee, Jing Wang, Johanna Weststar

Management and Organizational Studies Publications

This study examines the effect of work hour congruence on employee job satisfaction and absenteeism using a large, longitudinal sample from the Canadian Workplace and Employee Survey (WES). An employee is said to have work hour congruence when they actually work the number of hours that they desire. Results indicate a difference between employees who desire more hours and those who desire fewer hours: employee desire for and receipt of more hours was related to positive changes in job satisfaction, while employee desire for and receipt of fewer hours was related to reduced absenteeism. In addition, the results suggest that …

‘Questions About Dawlah. Dm Me, Plz.’ The Sock Puppet Problem In Online Terrorism Research, Laura Huey, Hina Kalyal

Sociology Publications

This paper explores the problem of deception in online terrorism research. While conducting research into the growing phenomenon of female migration to Islamic State-held territory by Western females, we began following a Twitter account exhibiting suspicious activity. The account owner – believed to be a Canadian teenage female – indicated interest in learning more about joining the IS. We tracked this account for three weeks in order to discover more information about its activities and thus to develop a set of key indicators that might help predict future migration risk. We subsequently learned it was a fake account (‘sock puppet’) …

The Changing Health Of Canadian Grandparents, Rachel Margolis, Natalie Iciaszczyk

Sociology Publications

Fertility postponement and mortality decline are shifting the demography of the grandparent population in Canada. The ways in which the aging of the grandparent population affects families depends in large part on the health of grandparents. In this article, we document the aging of Canadian grandparents between 1985 and 2011. However, despite being older, grandparents are healthier, signaling that the compression of morbidity is outpacing the postponement of grandparenthood. This shift is partly due to the higher educational attainment of this population and partly due to secular improvements in health over time. The improved health of grandparents in Canada has …

Growing Up Black In The Jordan Park District: The St. Petersburg African-American Experience During The Civil Rights Era Of The 1950s/1970s, Marvin L. Simner

Psychology Publications

To rectify the many injustices endured by African-Americans as the result of slavery, three Civil Rights amendments were inserted in the US Constitution around the end of the Civil War. Known as Reconstruction Amendments, the 13th Amendment, adopted by Congress on December 18, 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude. The 14th Amendment, adopted two years later, gave African-Americans the right to receive equal treatment under the law, and the 15th Amendment, ratified on February 3, 1870, prohibited federal and state governments from depriving any citizen of the (right to) vote on racial grounds. Although these three amendments were well intentioned, …

The Westray Mine Incident: Corporate Violence And Governmental Crime As The Roots Of Disaster, Melissa Hughes

2015 Undergraduate Awards

This paper addresses the catastrophic Westray mine disaster that rocked the East Coast of Canada in Plymouth, Nova Scotia, in May 1992 and outlines the causes and factors of the deadly explosion that resulted in the death of 26 miners. From a perspective of white-collar crime, particularly governmental crime and corporate violence, this paper asserts that the negligent actions of inspectors from the Nova Scotia Department of Labour and managers from Curragh Resources Inc., the corporation in charge of the Westray mining operation, led to the conditions in the mine that caused the explosion to occur. Despite there being no …