Urban Aboriginal and First Nations perspectives on casinos and the First Nations gaming industry in Alberta,Canada

There is a surprising paucity of information about urban Aboriginal gambling behaviours and practices, considering that the urban Aboriginal community is the fastest-growing demographic group in Canada and that indigenous people have some of the highest rates of gambling and problem gambling. Interpreting the focus group findings from First Nations and urban Aboriginal participants in Alberta, this study provides insights into urban Aboriginal and rural First Nations attitudes to gambling and the perceived value of the provincial First Nations gaming industry. Although the First Nations focus groups were aware of gambling's associated positive and negative outcomes, they were generally supportive of their communities' decision to pursue casinos. The urban Aboriginal focus group, however, identified little positive about the casinos, even if its participants supported the First Nations' capacity to pursue casino development. These tensions demand policymakers' attention.     

Female Leadership in French Voluntary Associations

Drawing on a recent national survey, this article focuses on the female representation on executive committees in French voluntary associations. To begin with, we observe that this representation is very unequal according to the different officer positions. It is especially low among presidents while it is markedly higher among secretaries. Then, we study the relationship between the associations’ attributes and the likelihood of women being appointed as executive committee members. Our investigation bears out some findings from previous studies on nonprofit female leadership. For instance, we show that the proportion of female officers is higher in organizations whose activities pertain to social service, health, and humanitarian sectors. It is lower in the oldest associations and it decreases as their geographical area of activity increases and as their budget becomes larger. But we also emphasize new results. First, the probabilities that women hold president, treasurer and secretary positions are highly correlated to each other. Second, the likelihood that associations have female presidents is higher in associations with few volunteers. We consider possible explanations for the latter result.     

Community Relationship Building: Local Leadership in the Risk Communication Infrastructure

This study examined the impact of the risk communication infrastructures-local emergency planning committees (LEPCs) and citizens advisory committees (CACs)-on risk communication activities in communities where chemicals are manufactured, stored, and transported. Findings indicated low unawareness of both types of organizations and low use of such organizations as information sources or forums for voicing concerns. These organizations played a minor role in communication activities in the community that lacked local city government. Findings suggested that a fully functioning communication infrastructure leads to a healthier community that responds to risks as manageable uncertainties. Infrastructures that can exert little control and are weak cannot be corrected simply by the creation of such committees as LEPCs and CACs. In addition, problem recognition, uncertainty, control with approval, involvement with stake, and knowledge are the focal variables motivating active communication behaviors.     

Leadership in Collaborative Community Health Partnerships

This article examines key leadership issues in community health partnerships. We assert that leadership in a partnership is differentiated from that in a traditional, hierarchical organization in that participation is voluntary and egalitarian and often entails cooperation by organizations with different cultures and agendas. Partnership leaders, accordingly, often lack formal control over members and their actions. Using qualitative analysis of 115 site‐visit interviews of participants in four partnerships in the Community Care Networks demonstration program, we identify and discuss five themes of collaborative leadership: systems thinking, vision‐based leadership, collateral leadership, power sharing, and process‐based leadership. We then discuss the multiple challenges that collaborative leadership faces in a community health partnership.     

The essential role of cultural safety in developing culturally-relevant prevention programming in First Nations communities: Lessons learned from a national evaluation of Mental Health First Aid First Nations

Mental Health First Aid is a population health approach that educates people to recognize and respond to mental health challenges. Since 2012, the Mental Health Commission of Canada has worked with six First Nations communities to develop a culturally-relevant version of the program called Mental Health First Aid First Nations (MHFAFN). This paper presents mixed methods, multi-informant data from a national evaluation to assess the extent to which the course was experienced as culturally safe by Indigenous participants, factors that contributed to these experiences, and ways in which cultural relevancy of MHFAFN can be improved. Our evaluation team conducted participant interviews and surveys, as well as facilitator interviews. Nearly all Indigenous participants (94.6%) experienced the course as safe. Participants and facilitators identified a range of factors that promoted cultural safety, including the knowledge and skills of the facilitators and the cultural components of the course. Participants that did not experience safety identified trauma-related factors and facilitation style. The findings suggest that MHFAFN may be situated in a way where shared cultural backgrounds are imperative to the success of the course. Further evaluation of the MHFAFN curriculum, with the goal of continual improvement, may help to further enhance participants’ experiences in taking the course.     

First Nations and community economic development: a case study

A training project in a northern Canadian community providedan opportunity to examine participatory planning approachesand the meaning of work in First Nations communities. Focusgroups conducted three years after the unsuccessful interventionof a community economic development (CED) project suggest thatcomplex factors such as lack of support from community leadersand rate of pay for workers determine whether CED is alwaysappropriate in northern, First Nations contexts.     

Migration Theories and First Nations Mobility: Towards a Systems Perspective*

Au Canada, la recherche sur la migration des autochtones vers les centres urbains a mis en avant l'importance de facteurs économiques, les mou‐vements de retour étant expliqués comme un échec lié aux difficultés d'adaptation. Les facteurs sous‐tendant la migration vers les villes ont été peu étudiés, et des études récentes ont mis l'accent sur l'ampleur des mouvements plutôt que sur d'autres théories. Cet article suggère des voies selon lesquelles on peut avoir recours à une approche systémique pour intégrer des facteurs des contextes politique, économique et social ainsi que des liens individuels, institutionnels et de culture de masse. The migration of Canadian Aboriginal people to cities has usually been understood as economically motivated, with return migration to Aboriginal communities resulting primarily from failure to adapt to urban life. However, the reasons underlying migration have rarely been directly addressed, and recent studies of migration have focussed on the size of flows, rather than relating this migration stream to theories of migration developed in other contexts. This paper suggests ways in which a systems perspective on migration can be used to incorporate elements of the political, economic and social context, as well as individual, institutional and mass culture links between the two areas.     

The Resilient Community: Implications for Out of School Programming

Out-of-school programs are often adult dominated, with minor involvement of youth in programming. Youth are seen as future citizens, not citizens of the present and expectations are set low for youth’s ability to lead. The combination of low expectations and lack of opportunities for youth to meaningfully participate fails to promote youth development and social responsibility. In contrast, out-of-school programs which act as resilient communities support youth autonomy, social competence, and problem solving skills. This article presents a case study of a resilient community. The findings from this cross sectional exploratory study suggest that this resilient community promotes positive youth development outcomes.     

Leaning Out: Exploring Organizational Advocacy Activities From an Open Systems Perspective

This article explores the effect of organizational culture on engagement with advocacy activities, both traditional and electronic. The Competing Values Framework offers a model for understanding how organizations’ culture influences behavior. Using a sample of nonprofit providers from across the country, the author hypothesized that organizations that use electronic advocacy tools are more involved with advocacy activities of all types. A paper and pencil survey was used to collect data on organizational culture, advocacy tools and techniques, perceived effectiveness of the advocacy tools, policy goals, organizational sustainability goals as well as barriers and facilitators of electronic advocacy. The study used path modeling to describe the connections between organizational culture and engagement in advocacy activities. The article examines the barriers and facilitators of electronic advocacy, the penetration of electronic advocacy use in this sample of agencies and the perceptions of effectiveness associated with using these strategies; lastly, the implications of these findings for managers and organizational leaders are discussed.     

Under-detection of autism among First Nations children in British Columbia,Canada

This article shows that First Nations children diagnosed with autism in British Columbia, Canada are under-represented in publications regarding autism and the prevalence thereof, and that this group appears to be under-detected. The aim of this review of publications regarding autism and aboriginal populations in Canada and other countries is to examine possible explanations. The research review results suggest that possible reasons for under-detection of autism among aboriginal populations, and consequently First Nations peoples, can be diagnostic substitution and symptom presentation, ethnic or cultural, area of residence or the impact of historical oppression and discrimination.     

Gendered Leadership: The Effects of Female Development Agency Leaders on Foreign Aid Spending

This article examines the effects of gender on the leadership of bilateral development aid agencies, particularly their official development assistance (ODA) allocations toward gender‐related programming. Drawing on earlier research on gendered leadership, the article tests the hypothesis that female director generals (DGs) and ministers responsible for aid agencies will allocate more ODA than their male counterparts toward gender programming. This existing literature on gendered leadership is divided: some scholars argue that women and men have distinct leadership styles on account of their gender, while others argue that the only distinguishing factor is the institutional context in which they lead. Drawing on data collected on aid flows and agency leadership within the major Western aid donors of the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) over the period from 1995 through 2009, we use pooled time series analysis to examine the effects of gendered leadership on aid allocation. Our analysis reveals a tendency for female DGs and ministers to focus ODA on gender‐mainstreaming programs, while male DGs focus ODA on gender‐focused programs. We argue that these divergent priorities reflect the women's desire to reform gendered power structures within their respective aid agencies, and the men's desire to maintain existing gender power structures from which they benefit.     

The We-Lead Model for Bridging the Low-Income Community Leadership Skills-Practice Gap

There are several community leadership development programs that devote tremendous resources to help improve the vitality and wealth of individuals and communities through the development of local leadership capacities. One great challenge is that these programs fail to coordinate existing community resources to create opportunities to engage program graduates. This article interrogates the effectiveness of leadership development programs in creating opportunities for engagement. Expanding on U-Lead model, the article proposes a WE-Lead model that can bridge the skills-practice gap by emphasizing the importance of aligning community leadership development programs with community needs through building community coordinated coalitions.     

Urban Renewal From the Inside Out: Spatial and Critical Literacies in a Low Socioeconomic School Community

This article focuses on how teachers worked to build a meaningful curriculum around changes to a neighborhood and school grounds in a precinct listed for urban renewal. Drawing on a long-term relationship with the principal and one teacher, the researchers planned and designed a collaborative project to involve children as active participants in the redevelopment process, negotiating and redesigning an area between the preschool and the school. The research investigated spatial literacies, that is, ways of thinking about and representing the production of spaces, and critical literacies, in this instance how young people might have a say in remaking part of their school grounds. Data included videotapes of key events, interviews, and an archive of the elementary students' artifacts experimenting with spatial literacies. The project builds on the insights of community members and researchers working for social justice in high-poverty areas internationally that indicate the importance of education, local action, family, and youth involvement in building sustainable and equitable communities.