Suchergebnisse

"Despite Canada's economic success over the past thirty years, the country's ranking in productivity has continued to decline when compared to other industrialized nations. Economic experts and pundits repeatedly call for means of improving productivity, arguing that it is the lynchpin to prosperity. However, there is growing evidence to the contrary. In Productivity and Prosperity, Karen Foster zeroes in on the paradox of productivity: that it is the key to economic prosperity and yet its connection to well-being and median incomes has all but disappeared. Drawing together three case studies including the development of Statistics Canada, the National Productivity Council, and the evolution of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Foster argues that there is a 'productivist regime' guiding policy development in Canada and abroad. By analyzing and critiquing the inherent assumptions of productivism the author destabilizes the myth that economic growth is essential for quality of life."--

AbstractInspired by Jane Jacobs's writing on "habitat maintenance," this paper seeks to identify the ethics that sometimes compel rural residents to act in ways that preserve their communities in the long run, despite short‐term incentives to do otherwise. Data from focus groups in four rural Atlantic Canadian communities suggest shared ethics around entrepreneurship, market competition, buying local, and subsistence, some of which underlie the rural practices and perspectives that appear, to some outsiders, as irrational and "backwards." Understanding these ethics and the practices they incite as components of habitat maintenance—and judging them by their situated pragmatism rather than their fit with the placeless ideologies of growth‐centric global capitalism and competitiveness—highlights their rationality and utility. Findings could help direct discussions of rural economic development toward notions of prosperity, sustainability, and economy that fit better with rural realities.

Abstract This article draws on interviews, observations, and surveys from two mixed-methods sociological studies of people's relationships to paid and unpaid work to argue that the concept of the work ethic is a fruitful entrypoint for exploring critical issues of work, leisure and consumption in rural places, and indeed anywhere there are efforts to realize degrowth strategies. Then, I survey some of the major themes about work in a selection of widely-cited degrowth writings and argue that the work ethic could use more attention—particularly the question of how the dominant work ethic at any place and time might constrain or enable degrowth as a political-ecological aspiration. This question is actually a hopeful one, because it suggests that in-depth studies of instances where something other than the Protestant, capitalist (i.e. expansion-oriented) work ethic dominates can (and already do!) show us the kinds of culturally-embedded relationships to work that are complimentary to a degrowth agenda. Moreover, such studies show that alternative modes of working are viable. In other words, sociological and anthropological studies can provide empirical evidence that vibrant, meaningful human life can continue in the absence of constant economic growth. Keywords: Degrowth, employment, work, work ethic, sociology, anthropology, rural

Abstract This article draws on interviews, observations, and surveys from two mixed-methods sociological studies of people's relationships to paid and unpaid work to argue that the concept of the work ethic is a fruitful entrypoint for exploring critical issues of work, leisure and consumption in rural places, and indeed anywhere there are efforts to realize degrowth strategies. Then, I survey some of the major themes about work in a selection of widely-cited degrowth writings and argue that the work ethic could use more attention—particularly the question of how the dominant work ethic at any place and time might constrain or enable degrowth as a political-ecological aspiration. This question is actually a hopeful one, because it suggests that in-depth studies of instances where something other than the Protestant, capitalist (i.e. expansion-oriented) work ethic dominates can (and already do!) show us the kinds of culturally-embedded relationships to work that are complimentary to a degrowth agenda. Moreover, such studies show that alternative modes of working are viable. In other words, sociological and anthropological studies can provide empirical evidence that vibrant, meaningful human life can continue in the absence of constant economic growth. Keywords: Degrowth, employment, work, work ethic, sociology, anthropology, rural

Just what is a generation? And why, if at all, does it matter? This book asks what generation means to ordinary people, arguing that generation is real and it matters, but not in the ways that we think. Generations are not groups of people who can be categorized and attributed with static, immutable and universal characteristics, nor are they reducible to cohorts, as is the tendency in much social research. Rather, the book reveals generation to be a social phenomenon and a mechanism of social change - as a constellation of ideas and discourses that explains what happens when ideas a

Just what is a generation? And why, if at all, does it matter? This book asks what generation means to ordinary people, arguing that generation is real and it matters, but not in the ways that we think. Generations are not groups of people who can be categorized and attributed with static, immutable and universal characteristics, nor are they reducible to cohorts, as is the tendency in much social research. Rather, the book reveals generation to be a social phenomenon and a mechanism of social change - as a constellation of ideas and discourses that explains what happens when ideas a.

The "attitude—achievement gap" characterizing economically disadvantaged students of color is reexamined in a study of student perceptions of a higher education access program. Their descriptions of past and present experiences of teachers are contextualized in research citing the impact of stress, social stigma, and teacher misperceptions on economically disadvantaged students' capacity to engage with school. The contrast of their descriptions underscores the pivotal role that teachers play in shaping developing identities. Student descriptions reflect the aspects of their relationships with teachers that signify authentic care and commitment to their academic success. The findings indicate changes in students' understanding of the learning process and the connection between high school academic performance and college admission grounded in realistic self-assessment of their academic challenges. The findings suggest plasticity in educational identity development in older students and demonstrate the importance of including students' perspectives in research and evaluation of programs intended to support them.

Scholarship on young people's geographical mobilities tells us that young adults move away from their childhood communities for a complex mix of economic "push-pull" reasons, including relationships, aspirations, attachments to place, identity, and belonging. In this abundant research, particularly that which focuses on youth outmigration from rural and peripheral communities, there is surprisingly little attention paid to an issue that is top-of-mind for many young adults today: personal debt. In this paper, we draw insights from extant literature on youth mobilities to make the case for a greater examination of the role of personal debt in young people's migration decisions. We hypothesize that youth and debt increase a person's likelihood of moving away from peripheral regions. We test this hypothesis using data from a 2019 survey of Atlantic Canadians and find some support for it, and some interesting nuance, suggesting that there is good reason to examine debt's role in youth mobilities in greater detail.

"In this collection, researchers analyze rural societies, economies, and governance in North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia through the lens of rights and citizenship, across such varied domains as education, employment, and health. The provocative concept of a "right to be rural" illuminates not only the challenges faced by rural communities worldwide, but also underappreciated facets of community resilience in the face of these challenges. The book's central question--"is there a right to be rural?"--offers insights into how these communities are created, maintained, and challenged. The authors illustrate that citizenship rights have a spatial character, and that this observation is critical to studying and understanding rural life in the twenty-first century. Scholars and policymakers concerned with the health and well-being of rural communities will be interested in this book."--

"In this collection, researchers analyze rural societies, economies, and governance in North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia through the lens of rights and citizenship, across such varied domains as education, employment, and health. The provocative concept of a "right to be rural" illuminates not only the challenges faced by rural communities worldwide, but also underappreciated facets of community resilience in the face of these challenges. The book's central question--"is there a right to be rural?"--offers insights into how these communities are created, maintained, and challenged. The authors illustrate that citizenship rights have a spatial character, and that this observation is critical to studying and understanding rural life in the twenty-first century. Scholars and policymakers concerned with the health and well-being of rural communities will be interested in this book."--

Seeing Youth and Young People -- Youth in the Sociology of Work, Work in the Sociology of Youth -- Getting to Work -- Being at Work -- Young People, Neoliberalism, and Social Assistance -- Abjection and Poverty -- Everyday Life -- Conclusion -- Appendix 1: Demographic Profiles -- Appendix 2: Interview Guide -- Appendix 3: Overview of Ontario Works (OW).

Many Canadian communities, especially rural communities, are concerned about youth outmigration as a cause of population decline, which is associated with fewer services and amenities. Proponents of keeping underattended schools open argue that removing a school from the community means that fewer families will want to live there, and that more families will consider leaving. Others view school closures as a rational response to population decline. Still other perspectives complicate the correlation between schools and population, noting phenomena such as children "learning to leave" and "place attachment" that modulate the temptation to move away. This paper offers an empirical test of discursive connections between school closures and mobilities by studying the population change of school-age children in Canadian census subdivisions indexed by distance to the nearest school. Based on this method, we conclude that there is a positive correlation between the school-age population in a community and proximity to a school in that community. Although our data do not answer the question of whether school closures cause population decline, or such a decline causes school closures, or both, we provide a quantitative foundation on which to ask it.

Au Canada, des débats de longue date ont lieu sur la manière de concevoir des politiques efficaces pour répondre aux besoins des diverses communautés rurales. Le présent article fait le point sur les politiques rurales canadiennes en procédant à une analyse globale du contenu des stratégies, des plans et des programmes des gouvernements provinciaux et territoriaux. Cette analyse révèle que bon nombre des critiques récurrentes concernant les politiques rurales restent pertinentes aujourd'hui, notamment le cloisonnement sectoriel, le manque d'intégration des politiques et la perception permanente des régions rurales comme étant des sites d'extraction détachés de l'investissement. Cette étude souligne également l'importance des approches en matière de politique émanant des territoires du Nord canadien qui démontrent des approches intégrées du développement économique rural.