Michael Haan

Bio: Michael Haan is an academic researcher from University of Western Ontario. The author has contributed to research in topics: Immigration & Population. The author has an hindex of 13, co-authored 55 publications receiving 495 citations. Previous affiliations of Michael Haan include University of New Brunswick & University of Toronto.

The Homeownership Hierarchies of Canada and the United States: The Housing Patterns of White and Non‐White Immigrants of the Past Thirty Years1

Abstract: In this paper two gaps in North American immigrant homeownership research are addressed. The first concerns the lack of studies (especially in Canada) that identify changes in homeownership rates by skin color over time, and the second relates to the shortage of comparative research between Canada and the United States on this topic. In this paper the homeownership levels and attainment rates of Black, Chinese, Filipino, White, and South Asian immigrants are compared in Canada and the United States for 1970/1971–2000/2001. For the most part, greater similarities than differences are found between the two countries. Both Canadian and U.S. Chinese and White immigrants have the highest adjusted homeownership rates of all groups, at times even exceeding comparably positioned native-born households. Black immigrants, on the other hand, tend to have the lowest ownership rates of all groups, particularly in the United States, with Filipinos and South Asians situated between these extremes. Most of these differences stem from disparities that exist at arrival, however, and not from differential advancement into homeownership.

Gender, political ideology, and climate change beliefs in an extractive industry community

Abstract: This paper presents results from a survey on attitudes toward climate change in Alberta, Canada, home to just 10% of Canada’s population, but the source of 35% of the country’s greenhouse-gas emissions (Environment Canada 2011). Results show high levels of awareness, but much lower levels of perceived climate change impacts for one’s self or region. Women expressed significantly greater awareness and sense of perceived impacts about climate change than men; however, gender differences appear predominantly associated with socioeconomic factors. Indeed, in all, political ideology had the strongest predictive value, with individuals voting for the conservative party significantly less likely to anticipate significant societal climate change impacts. This finding, in turn, is strongly associated with beliefs regarding whether climate change is human induced. Particularly notable is the finding that the gender gap in climate change beliefs and perceived impacts is not attributed to gendered social roles, as indicated by occupational and familial status. Instead, gender distinctions appear to be related to the lower tendency for women to ascribe to a conservative political ideology relative to men.

Mental Health and Economic Concerns from March to May during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Canada: Insights from an Analysis of Repeated Cross-sectional Surveys

Abstract: Background The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the psychological wellbeing of populations worldwide. In this study, we assess changes in mental health during the early months of the pandemic in Canada and examine its relationship with another prominent problem during this time, economic concerns. Methods Analyses were based on two cycles of the nationally representative repeated cross-sectional Canadian Perspectives Survey Series (N=4627 in March and 4600 in May). We described the changes in mental health and economic concerns between March and May, and assessed the relationship between the two characteristics. Results Mental health declined significantly during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic: the proportion of Canadian adults who reported only good/fair/poor mental health grew from 46% to 52% from March to May. Economic concerns including food insecurity were an important correlate of ‘bad’ mental health, as was younger age, female gender, and Canada-born status. Contrary to expectations, however, economic concerns lessened during this time frame. Conclusions These findings suggest that policies to mitigate economic stress, such as Canada's Emergency Response Benefit, may have eased mental health deterioration in early pandemic months through a reduction in financial hardship. Interventions to increase the economic security of the population will have far-reaching consequences in terms of improved mental health, and should be continued throughout the pandemic.

The Decline of the Immigrant Home-ownership Advantage: Life-cycle, Declining Fortunes and Changing Housing Careers in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, 1981-2001:

Abstract: In the past, working-age immigrant families in Canada's large urban centres had higher home-ownership rates than the Canadian-born. Over the past 20 years, however, this advantage has reversed, due jointly to a drop in immigrant rates and a rise in the popularity of home-ownership among the Canadian-born. This paper assesses the efficacy of a fairly standard microeconomic consumer choice model, which includes indicators for age, income, education, family type and immigrant characteristics, plus several interactions with time, to explain these changes. It is found that the standard model almost completely explains the immigrant homeownership advantage in 1981, as well as the rise in home-ownership rates over time among the Canadian-born. Even after accounting for the well-known decline in immigrant economic fortunes, however, it is shown that only about half of the 1981-2001 immigrant change in homeownership rates is explained by the standard model.

Youth Religious Involvement and Adult Community Participation: Do Levels of Youth Religious Involvement Matter?

Abstract: The potential role that a religious background plays in determining adult levels of community participation in Canada has, to date, received limited research attention. The present study examines t...

Education at a Glance

Abstract: A detailed review of the education sector in Australia as in the data provided by the 2006 edition of the OECD's annual publication, 'Education at a Glance' is presented. While the data has shown that in almost all OECD countries educational attainment levels are on the rise, with countries showing impressive gains in university qualifications, it also reveals that a large of share of young people still do not complete secondary school, which remains a baseline for successful entry into the labour market.

ANNALS of the Association of American Geographers

Abstract: Thirty-three brothels in rural and small-town Nevada, which contain between 225 and 250 prostitutes, are legal or openly tolerated and strictly controlled by state statute, city and county ordinances, and local rules. Twenty-two of the brothels are in places with populations between 500 and 8,000, and the remaining eleven are in rural areas. The legal and quasi-legal restrictions placed on prostitutes severely limit their activities outside brothels. These restrictions in conjunction with historical inertia, perceived benefits of crime and venereal disease control, and the good image of madams contribute to widespread positive local attitudes toward brothel prostitution. Interactions between clients and prostitutes in brothel parlors are also restricted and limited to a few basic types which are largely determined by entrepreneurial philosophy. KEY WORDS : Nevada, Political geography, Prostitution, Restricted activity spaces.

Volunteerism Research: A Review Essay

Abstract: I use a volunteer process model to organize a review of recent research on volunteerism, focusing mainly on journal articles reporting survey research results. Scholars from several different disci...

Empire and Information: Intelligence Gathering and Social Communication in India, 1780–1870 . By C. A. Bayly. Cambridge Studies in Indian History and Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. xiv, 412 pp. $64.95(cloth).

Abstract: List of maps Preface Glossary List of abbreviations Introduction 1. Prologue: surveillance and communication in early modern India 2. Political intelligence and indigenous informants during the conquest of India, c. 1785-1815 3. Misinformation and failure on the fringes of empire 4. Between human intelligence and colonial knowledge 5. The Indian ecumene: an indigenous public sphere 6. Useful knowledge and godly society, c. 1830-50 7. Colonial controversies: astronomers and physicians 8. Colonial controversies: language and land 9. The information order, the Rebellion of 1857-9 and pacification 10. Epilogue: information, surveillance and the public arena after the Rebellion Conclusion: 'knowing the country' Bibliography Index.