Environmental and social predictors of phosphorus in urban streams on the Island of Montréal,Québec

Researchers have identified the importance of social characteristics for understanding ecological patterns in cities but the use of these characteristics in urban stream research has yet to be fully explored. Urban development is currently the second-largest cause of stream impairment in North America due in part to nutrient loading. However, research into factors that influence nutrient concentrations in urban streams is lacking. We sampled seven streams on the island of Montréal daily to measure phosphorus (P) concentration and P flux in each stream. We then compared stream P concentration and flux to several watershed characteristics commonly used to predict stream nutrients (e.g., watershed imperviousness, land use, existence of a riparian buffer) as well as several socio-economic characteristics of the watersheds (e.g., average home value, median household income). Overall, impervious surface cover and measures of land use were most effective at explaining the variation in P concentration and P flux in streams on the island of Montréal, while the riparian buffer and socio-economic variables were less effective. However, dollars spent on fertilizer per hectare of residential land and percent residential land use became important predictors of stream P concentration when impervious surface cover was removed from the regression model. This suggests that after accounting for the impact of physical watershed characteristics, social factors may be important predictors of urban stream P concentration. The results of our study suggest that more research is needed to determine the role that socio-economic variables play with respect to urban stream P.     

Examining the Diversity of Prosocial Behavior: Helping,Sharing, and Comforting in Infancy

Prosocial behaviors are a diverse group of actions that are integral to human social life. In this study, we examined the ability of 18‐ and 24‐month‐old infants to engage in three types of other‐oriented behaviors, specifically helping, sharing, and comforting. Infants in both age groups engaged in more prosocial behavior on trials in which an unfamiliar adult experimenter required aid (experimental conditions) than on those in which she did not (control conditions) across two of the three prosocial tasks (i.e., helping and sharing). The infants engaged in these behaviors with similar frequency; however, there was no correlation between the tasks. The implications for the construct of prosocial behavior and the presence of a prosocial disposition are discussed.     

Labour Mobility and the WTO: The Limits of GATS Mode 4

This paper explores the development of the labour mobility provisions within the multilateral GATT–WTO system in parallel with smaller regional and bilateral agreements. Because expanded labour mobility provisions have failed to generate a critical mass of support within the WTO, it is argued that developing countries seeking market access for lower‐skilled workers are better off seeking alternative venues, even though this is a more costly strategy. At the same time, it is useful for states to continue labour mobility negotiations within the WTO system because the regime serves as an important forum for the negotiation of common administrative processes and definitions. Multilateral efforts to increase transparency and reduced administrative costs will not only help to improve effective market access for commitments already in place, but will increase confidence in the ability of the WTO system to contribute to the management of global labour mobility.     

Rates of Asymptomatic Nonurethral Gonorrhea and Chlamydia in a Population of University Men Who Have Sex With Men

ABSTRACT

Objective: To evaluate a text message (SMS) program as a booster to an in-person alcohol intervention with mandated college students. Participants: Undergraduates (N = 224; 46% female) who violated an on-campus alcohol policy over a 2-semester period in 2014. Methods: The SMS program sent drinking-related queries each Thursday and Sunday and provided tailored feedback for 6 weeks. Response rates to SMS drinking-related queries and the associations between weekend drinking plans, drinking-limit goal commitment, and alcohol consumption were examined. Gender differences were explored. Results: Ninety percent of SMS queries were completed. Weekend binge drinking decreased over 6 weeks, and drinking-limit goal commitment was associated with less alcohol consumption. Compared with women, men had greater reductions in alcohol consumption when they committed to a drinking-limit goal. Conclusions: Preliminary evidence suggests that an SMS program could be useful as a booster for helping mandated students reduce weekend binge drinking.     

“We been dying,and you got me on a call helping you stay alive”: Black and Latinx youth organizers' experiences of racism in gun violence prevention organizations

This study explored Black and Latinx youth organizers' experiences of racism within national gun violence prevention organizing spaces. Interview data were analyzed from 17 Black and/or Latinx youth (M_age = 20.17, 47% women) across the United States who organized against gun violence. The findings identified three forms of racism that Black and Latinx organizers experienced in national organizations: (1) being tokenized for their racial identities and experiences without having real decision making power; (2) feeling a burden to educate their white peers about the structural causes of gun violence and how to improve organizing spaces for other youth of color; and (3) being silenced in their racially conscious organizing efforts to address the structural causes of gun violence in their communities. This research highlights how Black and Latinx youth gun violence prevention organizers contend both with structural racism in their everyday lives and racism in organizing spaces.     

“We have nothing to hide”: Legitimacy narratives,researcher positionality and the ethics of accessing the Dutch deportation apparatus

This article presents a reflection on the contentious access negotiations involved in researching the Dutch deportation apparatus. Previous studies described how hostility towards researchers and the opacity within migration control regimes more generally lead to difficulties for conducting academic research. This article instead relies on a self-reflexive account of two successful access negotiations to question what acquiring access tells us about the workings of migration control, and what consequences entering into a relationship with powerful actors has for academic knowledge production. I argue that granting access as such serves an important function for the deportation apparatus, as it helps to legitimise state power and assert their moral authority. By selectively facilitating access and enabling scrutiny by researchers, journalists and the wider public, I argue that the deportation apparatus strategically performs transparency and “voluntary accountability.”     

Government Student Loan Default: Differences between Graduates of the Liberal Arts and Applied Fields in Canadian Colleges and Universities

Les programmes de prêts étudiants du gouvernement sont de plus en plus disponibles pour permettre aux étudiants de familles défavorisées un meilleur accès à l'éducation. En revanche, il est inquiétant d'observer des niveaux d'endettement élevés chez les étudiants et les difficultés qu'ont certains à rembourser ces dettes. Dans cette étude, des données de l'Enquête Nationale auprès des Diplômes 2005 (END) de Statistiques Canada sont analysées dans le but d'établir des liens entre les domaines d'étude et le non‐remboursement des dettes sur les prêts étudiants du gouvernement pour un échantillon de diplômés des collèges et universités. Les analyses prennent en compte les effets de facteurs alternatifs liés au statu socio‐économique et aux revenus. Les résultats démontrent que le niveau d'éducation (collégial versus universitaire) et les domaines d'étude sont des déterminants importants du risque de non‐remboursement des dettes sur les prêts étudiants deux ans après l'obtention du diplôme. De plus, ces résultats sont stables en tenant compte des différences de revenus. Government student loan programs have become increasingly available to provide opportunities and upward mobility for students of disadvantaged backgrounds. Rising student debt and its impact on the repayment experiences of recent postsecondary graduates has become an important concern. This study employs data from Statistics Canada's 2005 National Graduates Survey to examine the relationship between field of study and loan default on government‐supported student loans for graduates of community college and baccalaureate‐level university programs when controlling for many factors relating to sociodemographic characteristics and earnings. Overall, both level of schooling (college versus university) and field of study are significant predictors of whether graduates report defaulting on their government student loans within two years of graduation. However, these findings are relatively unrelated to earnings.     

Implementation challenges for seafarers’ social security protection: The case of the European Union

In a world of competing flag States and short-term employment, enjoying the benefits provided by a social security system is a difficult, if not impossible, task for many seafarers. The Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, has abandoned the flag State principle in favour of the residence principle for that reason. This article addresses the implementation challenges of this approach by examining the European Union case, and highlights the advantages of the residence principle in terms of administrative efficiency and effectiveness, enhanced coordination between social security contributions and personal income tax in cross-border situations, and better use of State aid measures.     

Historical Trends in Concerns About Social Issues Across Four Decades Among U.S. Adolescents

This study examined adolescents’ concerns about social issues and how these concerns have changed over historical time. Separate cohorts of U.S. high school seniors (N = 110,953; 51.1% female) reported their worries about four social issues (crime/violence, economic problems, hunger/poverty, race relations) every year from 1976 to 2015. Youth were most concerned with crime/violence, followed by economic problems, hunger/poverty, and race relations. Adolescents’ social concerns varied by demographic characteristics and cohort, paralleling specific historical events and appearing responsive to the political challenges of the time. Initiatives seeking to engage youth within the political process may benefit from providing opportunities for teens to participate in civic activities aimed to address these issues.