Maternal health care challenges within African immigrant communities

Historically, immigration has had a significant impact on the changing demographic of the Canadian society. Each year more newcomers enter the country. There are more than 45 ethno-cultural associations and more than 100 different ethno-cultural groups residing in Nova Scotia. In the recent past, social science researchers are becoming increasingly involved in identifying ways of effectively addressing the social and health needs of this culturally diverse Canadian population. There is very limited literature on the Nova Scotian experiences of immigrant women especially those of African descent. For the government to develop public policy that ensures the inclusion of vulnerable and high-risk populations in our society such as recent immigrants and black people, their perspectives should be considered. Some steps are being taken by individual researchers to illuminate these perspectives. The paper will discuss the findings of a project that examined the health care experiences of immigrant women in a Canadian province with a goal of illuminating health care needs of recent immigrant women and facilitating community capacity building to create positive change for more accessible health care. The data collection method was primarily focused group meetings and workshops held with the individual immigrant communities. Although the project was conducted with immigrants from five regions of the world, this paper will focus on the experiences of first generation immigrant women of African descent with emphasis on their perspectives on the process mothering in a multicultural society. The paper will discuss their childrearing needs and their attempt to address these needs within the spaces of multiculturalism, the two predominant ones being the Canadian culture and that of their countries of origin. The paper will conclude with some suggestions for change at both the practitioner and policy level in order to effectively address the social and welfare needs of this population.     

The listen to me project: Creating lasting changes in voice and participation for children in care through a youth-led project

In this article, we present the results from a youth-led project on the voices and participation of children in state care in Ontario, Canada. The purpose of this project was for youth to share their voice about what they wish child protection workers and agencies could do to improve their experiences within the child protection system. Many youth in care in Canada and internationally report that their voices are not heard and that they are not involved in decisions involving their care. Seven themes were extracted from this voices of youth project asking child welfare workers and agencies to listen to [them] and believe [them], keep [them] informed and be honest, involve [them] in decisions, support [them], keep [them] connected,; ignite [their] passions, and don't give up on [them]. Suggestions from the youth involved in this project are offered on ways to create true and meaningful change in child welfare.     

New directions in welfare: rights-based social policies in post-neoliberal Latin America

What happens to the politics of welfare in the Global South when neoliberal values are questioned? How is welfare re-imagined and re-enacted when governments seek to introduce progressive change? Latin America provides an illustration and a valuable entry point to debates about ‘interruptions’ of neoliberalism and the changing nature of social policy. Drawing on examples of disability policies in Ecuador and care provision in Uruguay, we argue that there is a ‘rights turn’ in welfare provision under the left that reflects a recognition that previous welfare models left too many people out, ethically and politically, as well as efforts to embed welfare more centrally in new patterns of respect for socio-economic and identity-based human rights. Given Latin America’s recent contestation of neoliberal development as well as its history of sometimes dramatic welfare shifts, the emergence of rights-based social provision is significant not just for the region but also in relation to global struggles for more equitable governance.     

Piecing Together the ‘Turkish Puzzle’ on Female Labour Force Participation: Comparative Insights from Southern Europe

Southern Europe has seen remarkable turnarounds in female labour force participation (FLFP) over the past four decades. In Turkey, however, scores of women have yet to join the labour force. To address this ‘Turkish puzzle’, we present comparative data on women’s work in Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece (SE-4) and Turkey. Through Qualitative Comparative Analysis, we identify the factors behind rising FLFP in Southern Europe to explore the prospects for a steeper rise of FLFP in Turkey. We reveal two causal pathways to rising FLFP: (i) left party rule, or (ii) combinations of higher levels of take-up of early education and care, higher levels of tertiary education among women and larger size of service sector employment.     

构建高校大学生职业生涯规划教育体系

大学生职业生涯规划教育应该是一个系统工程,大学生职业生涯规划指导应贯穿大学生学习生活的全过程。高等学校应构建基于“全面——全程——重点”的大学生职业生涯规划教育的三维立体体系。     

对当前我国城乡社区建设问题的反思与探索

计划经济时期,我国对社会进行管理的路径是城镇单位制和农村政社合一的村社制.改革开放以后,随着社会的转型,单位制和村社制所覆盖的社会领域开始逐步退缩,继而兴起了以社区为依托的新型社会整合机制,并且各地进行了一些社区制度创新.但由于长期以来存在的城乡二元分割制度,我国社区建设存在着城乡发展不平衡等一系列问题,不利于社会的和谐稳定.当前要积极推进城乡基本公共服务均等化,进行一系列探索来统筹城乡社区建设.     

The regulatory state and the UK Labour Government's re‐regulation of provision in the English National Health Service

Following its election in 1997, the UK Labour Government embarked upon a 10 year program of reform of the National Health Service (NHS). By 2005, Labour had doubled the NHS budget and dramatically transformed the shape of the Service. In England, a basic characteristic of the NHS is the organizational split between provider and commissioning agencies. In this article I argue that Labour's re‐regulation of NHS provision is a coherent representation of the influence of the “regulatory state” in restructuring arrangements between government, market, and society. The article offers an account of the regulatory state based on a discussion of five key theses: The Audit Society, Regulation Inside Government, The New Regulatory State, The British Regulatory State, and Regulatory Capitalism. The article unfolds Labour's program of reform across themes common to these accounts: the division of labor between state and society, the division of labor within the state, the formalization of previously informal controls, and the development of meta‐regulatory techniques of enforced self‐regulation. It concludes that the key themes of the regulatory state are at work in Labour's transformation of NHS provision and it offers a discussion of the implications for both scholars of regulation and the UK and European health policy literature.     

Segmentation of Homebuyers by Location Choice Preferences

Edmonton, Alberta, has been experiencing rapid population growth and its associated housing pressures for the past decade. Municipalities like Edmonton are attempting to promote compact, transit-oriented, and infill housing development with policy while accommodating large increases in a population that may demand traditional suburban housing options. This article examined homebuyers’ opinions and preferences regarding their home location choice and found three distinct segments of homebuyers. These segments were established using a Q methodology to group homebuyers by their shared opinions as opposed to traditional sociodemographic or socioeconomic variables. These groups illustrate different perspectives regarding the everyday transportation choices, home attributes, and neighborhood predilections that comprise a home location choice. The identification of these groups of homebuyers provides insights for municipalities attempting to attract and retain citizens in redeveloped housing areas and assists to dissuade greenfield sprawling development.     

辽宁社会安全科技问题的发展战略研究与规划

文章在辽宁省社会安全相关领域的现状分析基础上,从发展战略的角度,对社会安全科技的有关问题进行了研究,提出了科技问题研究的基本思路和框架。     

Friendship and care: gendered practices within personal communities in Portugal

What is the role of friends in practices of care within intimate relationships, either towards each other, or in supporting caring practices towards other persons (children, parents or other kin)? And to what extent are these caring practices gendered? I explore how friendship either disrupts, or reproduces, the ethics of care that cross-cuts gender relations throughout society. I focus on the experience of Portuguese men and women and take as reference their personal community, understood as the active and meaningful personal ties they consider to be central in their lives. Drawing on qualitative data from 30 in-depth interviews, I explore their experiences of care in three dimensions: caring for others; caring for oneself; and being cared for. Results show that, while it is not possible to assert a complete centring of personal lives on friendship, friends stand out as important sources of care in these three different situations, providing both emotional and practical support.