General child benefit fund experiments in providing differentiated services

Populations not autonomous in their administrative relations has difficulties with access to social benefits of the Caisses d'Allocations Familiales (CAFs). These difficulties, whether rooted in cultural, educational, social, or other issues, disrupt the management of their documents of social benefits and thereby weigh on their economic situations. From 1998 to 2000, five CAFs tested suitable solutions to situations of beneficiaries for whom standardized procedures have shown their limits, in the areas of housing, compensatory allocations of revenues, and given territories. They have defined goals, methods, and indicators for complex situations and have regular assessments of the management of the project as the project is going on. These results concern a better understanding of the beneficiaries, understanding of the services to provide them with, and the benefits for the beneficiaries, for the agents, for the CAF, and for its relations with the partners associated with their missions.     

The rhetoric and the reality of rural deprivation

In the development of the rural deprivation debate in the U.K. in the early 1970s, the cause of rural deprivation was largely attributed to the imbalance in the allocation of state resources between urban and rural areas. In subsequent campaigns to redress that situation, much emphasis was placed on identifying specific ‘rural’ as opposed to ‘urban’ explanations for the problems facing rural populations. Evidence presented in this paper, however, illustrates the essentially aspatial nature of the deprivation experience. From a detailed household survey in a range of rural environments in England, deprivation was found to result as much from the socio-economic inequalities within rural society as it does from any perceived processes of territorial injustice in the allocation of Central Government financial support to local authorities. In the light of such findings, the paper questions the advisability of the state's adherence to spatial policies in the pursuit of solutions to the problems of the deprived in rural areas.     

新西兰与南极

新西兰的地理位置和地缘政治因素决定了新西兰在南极地区具有重要的战略利益,这些利益源于新西兰的历史和早期获得的政治权利。本文概述了新西兰参与南极事务和在南极地区承担义务的原因;展示了维护新西兰南极存在和在谈判中负责阐述本国见解的新西兰各种机构;探讨了新西兰在南极大陆的核心利益,这些利益推动了新西兰南极政策的形成。     

Improving Australian Residential Aged Care Facilities: A Review of Minor Refurbishment Elements

The objective of this study is to identify elements pertaining to minor refurbishments of residential aged care facilities. A narrative review of relevant publications was conducted. Inductive content analysis was used to categorize coded data into major or minor refurbishment or staff practices. Further analysis identified minor refurbishment domains. There were 14 major refurbishment, seven minor refurbishment and two staff practices domains established. The minor refurbishment elements (n?=?7) identified were lighting, furniture, color and contrast, wayfinding, noise, signage, and flooring. Assessing these elements would assist residential aged care providers to prioritize the provision of minor improvements to the environment for residents.     

Canadian Sociology for Sale? Academic Branding in the ‘Neo-Liberal Age’

Narratives about the influence of neo-liberal forces on post-secondary education are legion within the contemporary literature. Some have recently argued that the promotional tactics used by Canadian sociology departments reflect the broader corporatization of the system, highlighting the vocationalization of the discipline at the hands of market forces. We conduct a mixed-methods analysis of the marketing practises used by English-speaking sociology departments in Canada and find only limited support for this argument. Instead, observed promotional tactics appear to be quite diverse, aimed at multiple stakeholders, and reflecting the complex institutional environment in which sociology departments operate.     

Food Security at Whose Expense? A Critique of the Canadian Temporary Farm Labour Migration Regime and Proposals for Change

Temporary farm labour migration schemes in Canada have been justified on the premise that they bolster food security for Canadians by addressing agricultural labour shortages, while tempering food insecurity in the Global South via remittances. Such appeals hinge on an ideology defining migrants as racialized outsiders to Canada. Drawing on qualitative interviews and participant observation in Mexico, Jamaica and Canada, we critically analyse how Canada's Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program is tied to ideological claims about national food security and agrarianism, and how it purports to address migrant workers’ own food insecurity. We argue remittances only partially, temporarily mitigate food insecurity and fail to strengthen migrant food sovereignty. Data from our clinical encounters with farm workers illustrate structural barriers to healthy food access and negative health consequences. We propose an agenda for further research, along with policies to advance food security and food sovereignty for both migrants and residents of Canada.     

Pregnant adolescent women’s perceptions of depression and psychiatric services in the United States

Problem

Adolescent mothers and their children are at high-risk for depression and the associated negative educational, social, health, and economic outcomes.

Professors and politics: Noam Chomsky’s contested reputation in the United States and Canada

There is an extensive literature comparing the politics, sociology and economics of the United States and Canada, but very little work comparing the role that public intellectuals play in the space of public opinion and how their ideas are received in both nations simultaneously. Noam Chomsky provides a theoretically useful example of an established academic and public intellectual whose reputation is deeply contested in both countries. Our comparative case study offers leverage to contribute to debates on the sociology of knowledge, reputations, intellectuals, and the politics of professors using data from six major Canadian and American newspapers from 1995–2009 and an innovative coding of media portrayal. Earlier work has demonstrated that Chomsky is discussed as a public intellectual more prominently in Canada than in the United States (McLaughlin and Townsley in Canadian Review of Sociology, 48(4):341–368, 2011). Here we examine the comparative construction of a “public intellectual” reputation in the context of significant political change. We document small differences between the Canadian and American receptions of Chomsky, show change in the patterns of portrayal and number of publications over time, and offer an analysis of differences between political attacks and consecrations. We demonstrate more engagement with Chomsky’s political view in Canada than in the United States, a rise in Chomsky’s fame post 9/11, and illustrate clear political patterns in attempts to marginalize him.     

The ‘illegal’ and the skilled: effects of media portrayals on perceptions of immigrants in Britain

Public perceptions often diverge widely from reality on the size and make-up of immigrant populations, with likely consequences for public opinion about immigration. Prior research has not established whether the media has any causal role in the construction of these perceptions. This paper examines whether and how actually occurring media portrayals of immigrants in Britain affect perceptions of immigrants among members of the British public. We begin by conducting a large-scale quantitative study of the British national press. We then report on an original survey experiment that tests for causal impact of news frames derived from the media study. Specifically, we focus on three depictions of immigrants: as ‘illegal’, Eastern European, or highly skilled. Results show that even subtle media interventions can shift public perceptions of immigration, in this case towards more realistic understandings of the overall size and make-up of the immigrant population in Britain. We suggest empirical, theoretical, and methodological implications for the study of media effects on public opinion towards immigration.