ABORIGINALITY AT LARGE: VARIETIES OF RESISTANCE IN MALISEET LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION

Maliseet is one of many Canadian aboriginal languages that are projected to become extinct within the next twenty years. This article examines the events surrounding Maliseet language instruction that contributed to enactments of resistive strategies that corresponded to varieties of power relations—a process I call aboriginality. The local acts of resistance are situated in the Canadian nation-state ideology of “two founding cultures.” I argue the local acts of resistance challenge local asymmetrical power relations while also addressing nation-state ideologies of dominance and coercion. Initially, the focus of resistance was confined to local domains, but over a period of three years, resistive strategies changed to confront global dominance and coercion. I argue the implications of such shifts in strategies and scales of resistance reflect an “aboriginal social imaginary,” which holds promise for the survival of aboriginal languages as well as meaningful participation in the “modern social imaginary” called modernity.     

Do Canadian Social Workers Practice Advocacy?

Involvement in advocacy and social action activities by direct practitioners as well as community organizers is essential if social workers are to develop the capacity to oppose economic and social oppression. Little is known, however, about advocacy as a component of social work practice or those factors which determine whether a social worker engages in such activities. Although a number of researchers have examined the prevalence of advocacy practice among social workers in the United States, no similar studies of advocacy have been conducted among Canadian social workers. The author examines the prevalence of case, self-help, and class advocacy practice among social workers in southwest Ontario. The prevalence of social action-related activities (lobbying for legislation, protests, and involvement in politics) is also assessed.     

Equity vs. Invisibility: Sexual Orientation Issues in Social Work Ethics and Curricula Standards

The responsibility of the social work profession to be inclusive and equitable in its service provision is reviewed via policies relating to professional training regarding sexual orientation issues. A comparative review of Canada, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (USA) and international standards regarding sexual orientation issues in social work codes of ethics and curricula standards was undertaken. A consistency exists in the USA between its ethics code and curriculum standards further backed by a mandated approach, but it is weak in the area of ethically principled practice skills. Both Canada and the UK are less consistent and comprehensive and lack a mandated approach. The results speak to where consistencies exist and where they need to be established in order to develop an infrastructure that properly trains social workers in cultural competency for these populations.     

The Mobility of Elderly Residents Living in Suburban Territories

Abstract

Many authors have observed die elders' unanimous aspirations to age in place. Such residential aspirations echo theoretical concepts such as “environmental-fit.” Aging residents adapt to their residential environment according to their autonomy level, their financial and social resources, as well as the meanings they invest in both residential situations and lifestyle (Lord, 2004; Wagnild, 2001). Therefore, the suburbs constitute a challenge for aging residents' intentions to remain in their home for as long as possible. These low-density environments encourage car dependency for almost every daily activity. In that regard, many studies have investigated the daily mobility patterns of elders living in such areas. However, most of them have focused on aspects linked to transportation and driving security (Rosenbloom, 2003). In this context, with a socio-anthropological (in-depth interviews) method, the elders' daily mobility is explored in a complex layering of issues. Two interdisciplinary qualitative researches on the daily and residential mobility of elderly suburbanites have been used: a group living in Quebec City's Post-War suburbs in Canada (n = 56) and another in Marseille's periurban suburbs in France (n = 36). The results show that we must investigate beyond the elders' “emotional attachment”to their “home” in order to explain the everyday tensions underlying accessibility and daily mobility. Aging in a single-family house is more than a deliberate choice. Moving away from one's neighborhood is considered a last resort alternative by the majority. Instead, the elderly from both milieus will adapt their lifestyles to the environment by redesigning their daily activities and their mobility practices in order to age in place. Therefore, adapting daily mobility practices to social interactions and social representations all become a sine qua nonecondition.     

Genealogies and Gene-ideologies: The Legitimacy of the Beta Israel (Falasha)

The migration of the vast majority of Beta Israel (Falasha) to Israel has been accompanied by major shifts in the discourse regarding their ‘Jewishness’ and ‘Ethiopian-ness’. This article discusses the adoption of traditions of Danite descent in place of traditions of Solomonic descent and the emergence of genetics as the most important identity marker, replacing reckonings of lineage. The first shift is connected to the migration of the Beta Israel from Ethiopia to Israel; the second to changing concepts of what represents ‘proof’ of identity in the modern and post-modern world.     

加拿大的卫生政策及其对中国卫生改革的借鉴

卫生政策在改善与增进人口健康中发挥了重要作用。文章通过对加拿大卫生系统相关立法进程的系统回顾与分析。发现加拿大医疗系统的特点是公共筹资而非私人运作,而全覆盖、可携带性、综合性、可及性以及公共管理等五项基础性原则保证了加拿大卫生系统的成功运行。文章着重回答了有哪些政策可以借鉴,如何借鉴。以及哪些政策的不良后果可以避免等。     

Lone mothers,workfare and precarious employment: Time for a Canadian Basic Income?

Abstract   The growth of precarious employment poses significant challenges to current social assistance income support policies yet it remains largely neglected in policy-making arenas. Drawing upon qualitative data from a study in Ontario, Canada, this paper examines the particular implications of these challenges for lone mothers, who figure prominently both in non-standard employment and as targets for workfare policies. In the context of changing labour markets, the article considers the potential strengths and limitations of Basic Income approaches to achieving economic security for lone mothers.     

The Changing Conception of Pension Rights in Canada, Mexico and the United States

Relying on four conceptualizations of the welfare state (universalism, redistribution, state capacity, and intergenerational equity), this article presents an overview of recent pension reforms in Canada, Mexico and the United States. Each country has introduced important reforms in the past 25 years and is currently engaged in debates to make other adjustments. The state is reducing its financial and programmatic commitment towards current and future retirees and is promulgating reforms tightening the link between contributions and benefits. In Canada, the government raised contribution rates substantially to maintain the same level of benefits while it sought to alter its universal flat-rate benefit. In the USA, changes to Social Security have resulted in a higher retirement age and lower replacement rates. In the case of Mexico, the most important public schemes have actually been privatized.     

加拿大地方治理创新及其启示

面对着经济全球化、政治民主化以及国内外一系列经济、政治、社会困境,加拿大不仅对联邦政府的职能、府际关系、运行形式等进行了一些调整,而且还对地方政府的政府职能、组织结构、公民参与形式等治理机制进行了一系列创新。遵循着有利于节约、有利于公平、有利于消除地区冲突的加拿大地方治理创新,虽然与当代中国地方治理的发展在各个方面有很大的不同,但是,它的内在逻辑对于每一个国家包括像中国这样的转型性的社会主义国家却都是共同的,从而也为我国地方治理发展带来一些启示。      

美国与加拿大多元文化教育的功能透视与未来展望

美国和加拿大都是移民国家,其主流文化一直占据着重要的位置。20世纪 60年代的民权运动推动了两国多元文化主义的兴起,多元文化教育也被提上议事日程。多元文化教育的主旨是把少数民族文化视为两国民族文化富有特色的组成部分,目的是使各民族文化群体不分种族、性别和社会阶层都能得到平等的受教育机会。多元文化教育是两国时代发展的产物,多元文化教育的最终目标是消除种族歧视,促进多元文化社会的繁荣与发展。