The Bog‐like Ground on Which We Tread: Arbitrating Academic Freedom in Canada*

Le sens de la liberté universitaire est en partie construit socialement au moyen de l'arbitrage. Cet article examine ce processus dans un contexte légal plus large et analyse les cas d'arbitrage de liberté universitaire les plus pertinents au Canada. Il étudie ce que nous révèle la construction sociale des arbitres concernant la liberté universitaire et comment les conditions conceptuelles et structurales de l'arbitrage influent sur son sens. The meaning of academic freedom is, in part, socially constructed through arbitration. This article examines that process in the larger legal context and analyses the most relevant Canadian arbitrations of academic freedom. It examines what the social construction by arbitrators tells us about academic freedom and how the conceptual and structural conditions of arbitration affect its meaning.     

A value based index for measuring national quality of life

A new index of the quality of life (QOL) of nations was created. The measured variables are selected based on a universal set of human values derived from the work of Schwartz (1994). The Basic QOL Index, designed primarily to discriminate between developing countries, includes seven variables: purchasing power, homicide rate, fulfillment of basic physical needs, suicide rate, literacy rate, gross human rights violations, and deforestation. The Advanced QOL Index, designed primarily to assess QOL in highly industrialized nations, includes seven variables: physicians per capita, savings rate, per capita income, subjective well-being, percent attending college, income equality, and environmental treaties signed. Combining the two indices produced a reliable measure of QOL that systematically covers diverse human values. The nations scoring highest on the Combined QOL Index were Canada, Switzerland, Netherlands, U.S.A., and Norway, and those scoring lowest were Ethiopia and Rwanda.