“Illegalizing” Families: State,Status, and Deportability NPS Christian Bay Best Paper Award Winner,APSA 2018, Boston

There is a paradox within United States immigration policy. Immigration policy separates families while also promising family unity. We address this paradox by arguing that state actors use “family” as a state-granted status. The state perceives some households as families and grants them benefits, while forcing other households to live as legal strangers. Individuals may form familial relationships, but the privileges and status of family are controlled by state actors and institutions. When state actors separate low-wage immigrant worker families, the state's family-status-granting power keeps these workers and their families in a state of “deportability”-a legally ambiguous limbo-satiating business interests and securing a captive low-wage workforce. Lacking legal legitimacy, but financially and socially tied to their families and communities in the U.S., these immigrants have few options but to accept off-the-radar work and to raise their children while living as “outlaws.”     

Undiagnosed progressive supranuclear palsy in a patient with neuroleptic malignant syndrome due to use of neuroleptics: the utility of autopsy in deaths due to known drug reactions

Medical examiners must decide whether or not a complete autopsy is warranted in evaluation of deaths that have been referred to their office. This decision is influenced by many factors. In most cases, the choice to perform only an external examination occurs in deaths where the decedent had previously documented potentially lethal natural disease or well-documented trauma. We report a patient who apparently died of the sequelae of a well-known complication of pharmacotherapy (neuroleptic malignant syndrome following Haldol administration). The death was referred to the medical examiner's office, where, based upon the history, an external examination was performed. Subsequently, the family requested an autopsy by the treating hospital. The autopsy established the diagnosis of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). The patient's presenting signs and symptoms were not typical of the disease; however, PSP most likely played a role in the neuroleptic malignant syndrome-like manifestations the patient exhibited following the Haldol administration. The results of the complete autopsy highlight its importance in identifying and enhancing our understanding of the underlying conditions in natural disease-based causes of death involving known therapeutic complications.     

Patriarchal Investments: Marriage,Dowry and the Political Economy of Development in Bangladesh

This article explores why dowry inflation persists in Bangladesh, despite the country being widely heralded as a development success, especially with regard to gender. The article asks three questions. Does rural Bangladesh show changing patterns of marriage similar to those reported elsewhere in South Asia and more broadly? What might explain the persistent spread and inflation of dowry payments? How might changes in marriage and the inflation of dowry be related to the broader political economy of development in Bangladesh? Analysis of primary data from rural Bangladesh affirms shifts in norms of marriage arrangement and conjugal relationships, but also emphasises considerable continuity. The political economy of development in Bangladesh is briefly described. Dowry is argued to function not as compensation for perceived weakness in women’s economic contribution, but to bolster men’s. In mobilising “additional” resources, dowries help sustain the economic system and indicate ongoing commitment to cultural idioms of masculine provision and protection, against a background of widespread corruption and political and gender violence.     

Early childhood education and care reform in Canadian provinces: Understanding the role of experts and evidence in policy change

In over half of Canada's provinces, a recent commission has recommended major reform of ECEC systems; in response, provincial governments in nearly all cases have chosen to implement full‐day kindergarten funded by the province and delivered through public schools. We analyze the commission processes that led to changes to investigate the relationship between experts, policy makers, and policy outcomes. Our analysis of processes in BC, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and PEI leads us to conclude that governments rarely fully implement the programs supported by the evidence base and recommended by their own experts. Instead, recent policy changes have been driven by a highly selective and path‐dependent approach to the complex issue of early childhood care and education.     

Wetlands on trial: Ontario Municipal Board decisions affecting wetlands, 1980–1993

Abstract: There has been a continued loss of wetlands in Ontario as pressurcs from conflicting land uses escalate. This paper examines the manner in which the Ontario Municipal Board has treated the issue of wetlands protcction in hearings on land-use disputes in the provinw. Bastul on a review of nine wetlands caws dating from 1980 to 1993, the decision-making process of the Ontario Municipal Board was examined with regard to wetlands prokxtion. Analysis of the cases revealed a number of issues: the lack of relevant information at hearings; the role of policy and legislation in thc decision-making process; the use of negotiation and mediation in the hearing process; and the significance of private property rights versus the public interest in wetlands protection. This paper dismsses these issues in the context of the role of the Ontario Municipal Board in the planning and management of wetlands in Ontario. Sommaire: AG mesure qu'augmentent les pressions résultant des utilisations contra-dictoires des terres, la pcrte de terres humides continue en Ontario. Cct article examine la manière dont la Commission des affaires municipales de l'Ontario a traité cette question au cours des audiences sur les disputes concernant l'utilisation des terres dans la province. En analysant neuf cas relatifs aux teres humides datant de 1980 à 1993, on a examiné le processus décisionnel de la Commission en ce qui concerne leur protection. L'analyse des cas a révélé plusieurs questions telles que le marque d'informations disponibles pendant les audiences, le rôle des plitiques et des lois dans le processus décisionnel, l'emploi de la négcriation et de la médiation dans le processus d'audience et enfin, la prise en compte des droits fonciers privés par rapport à l'intérêt public dans la protection des terres humides. L'articlc examine ces questions dans le contexte du rôle que joue la Commission des affaires municipales de l'Ontario dans la planification et la gestion des terres humides dam cette province.