Second generation Caribbean black male youths discuss obstacles to educational and employment opportunities: a critical race counter-narrative analysis

This study explores obstacles to navigating the high school-to-labor market transition experienced by Second Generation Caribbean Black Male Youth (CBMY) living in Canada's Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Drawing upon interviews with ten CBMY between the ages of 18–27, the article uses a qualitative phenomenological methodology to understand barriers to education and employment from their perspectives. Studies show that 45% of CBMY drop out of high school while 52% are precariously employed in the GTA [Allahar, A. L. 2010. “The Political Economy of ‘Race’ and Class in Canada’s Caribbean Diaspora.” American Review of Political Economy 8 (2): 54; James, C. E. 2012. Students “at Risk” Stereotypes and the Schooling of Black Boys. Urban Education 47 (2), 464–494.; Lewchuk, W., and M. Lafleche. 2014. Precarious Employment and Social Outcomes. Just Labour: A Canadian Journal of Work and Society, 22, 45–50.; Block and Galabuzi 2011. Canada’s Color Coded Labor market: The Gap for Racialized workers. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives?=?Centre Canadien de Politiques alternatives]. The ten interview subjects provide retrospective and introspective counter-narratives that expose the race, class and gender-based barriers that frustrate their efforts to secure stable employment. The study utilizes Critical Race Theory (CRT) and the concept of White Supremacy to challenge the view that educational and employment success is based on color-blindness, merit and hard work. The CBMY counter-narratives examined in this study offer profound insight into dominant ideologies and practices that perpetuate racial biases, and present many valuable suggestions, explicit and implied, regarding how to improve the opportunities, inclusion and well-being of CBMY.     

Stretching the borders: how international business travel affects the work–family balance

This study examined the consequences of international business travel for the balance between work–family domains by exploring how international business travellers and travellers’ partners manage the boundaries between work and family in order to maintain the balance. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used in analysing the semi-structured interviews of 10 male travellers and 10 partners. Because of its irregular nature, international business travel affects the personal life and the family of business travellers. Work-related travel also has an impact on how travellers and their partners construct, manage and negotiate borders between work and family in order to avoid an imbalance between these domains. Integration of work and family is usually inevitable in international business traveler families. Integration may lead to role blurring and thus lead to imbalance.     

When difference creates dissonance: understanding the ‘engine’ of intercultural learning in study abroad

Why do some study abroad students improve their intercultural skills, while others revert to less sophisticated ways of making sense of cultural difference? Both intercultural competence theory and transformative learning theory attempt to explain why student intercultural learning occurs, but they only provide partial answers. Building on our previous study assessing intercultural competence in a 2015 field school in India, this article applies the concept of cognitive dissonance to explain the process behind intercultural learning. In the context of study abroad, students experience cognitive dissonance when they encounter cultural differences or similarities that confound previously held expectations about culture. Adapting Maertz, Hassan, and Magnusson’s cognitive dissonance resolution framework, we employ qualitative analysis of students’ written reflections to show how the resolution of cognitive dissonance could act as the ‘engine’ of intercultural learning.     

Armchair detectives and the social construction of falsehoods: an actor–network approach

ABSTRACT

This paper examines two large-scale cases ? the 2013 Boston bombing and the 2015 Bangkok bombing, each of which spurred an online investigation conducted by concerned citizens to find the bombers. While both bombing cases had different cultural discourses, the processes and outcomes of the online investigation were similar: there were rampant speculation and rumor-mongering, as well as false accusations and harassment of innocent suspects. The aim of the paper is to understand how such acts of mob justice happened. Using actor–network theory, a theoretical and methodological tool for mapping out the networks human and non-human interactions, I discuss two types of networks found in both investigations. The two network types demonstrate how a claim can be construed as fact or fiction through such networks of interaction. In light of debates on the proliferation of fake news and alternative facts, the findings have implications for the current and precarious state of truth in today’s society.     

Relearning to Live Life Without Substances: A Grounded Theory of the Impact of Group Physical Exercise on Sobriety

Research has found significant benefits in using exercise as an adjunct treatment for substance use. This study used a qualitative grounded theory approach to explore the role of group exercise on maintaining sobriety. Sixteen persons (13 White men and 3 White women, age M = 31.81, SD = 8.23), recruited from a substance use recovery group that meets at a gym in an urban area in the Southeast part of the United States, were individually interviewed. Data were analyzed using Charmaz’s (2006) constructivist grounded theory strategies. Central themes revealed a parallel process between the steps taken to seek sobriety and those taken to maintain sobriety. The driving forces of sobriety success in both was 12 steps and group exercise programming that included elements of mentorship, structure, accountability, and fellowship or community. This study supported the use of physical group exercise as an adjunct treatment option for substance use treatment.     

基于灰粗集属性知识简约算法的海运规则发现

海运市场运营规则能够帮助海运企业找到盈利增长点,针对海运市场营运规则难于被发现的问题,将灰色系统理论和粗糙集理论进行融合,针对知识约简中分辨函数范式转化过程中的逻辑推演难题,提出了一种基于灰色粗集融合属性的改进约简算法,选取2007年、2010年、2013年、2015年典型年份作为样本年份,应用灰色系统、粗糙集和基于灰粗集知识约简算法分别进行海运市场盈运规则发现实证分析,通过比较证明了该算法的时效性,同时发掘出了当前海运市场的船型、货品、航线、运价、运力间的营运管理规则。     

边疆、边界与国家:韦伯的“农业-政治”研究的理论启发

本文以19世纪90年代中期德国的工业化和城市化过程为背景,以韦伯对"农业-政治"问题的讨论为核心,提出了国家的边疆、边界等问题,讨论人口、物资、资本等流动下的国家经济建设与政治结构。文中涉及的实质性问题包括：全球化、工业化背景之下的农村发展问题,国家建设与国家治理思路,以及国家边界的多重（政治、经济与文化）含义。本文认为,在法律、政治、经济等角度的国家观之外,可以建立一种社会取向的、以国民为核心的"国民-国家"观,即包容多元,建立共识,赋予国民以平等的基本权利,并建立国民共享权责和符合国民基本特质的政体制度。