Showing papers in "Canadian Journal of Sociology in 2017"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors map the organization of corporate power within Canada's carbon-capital elite and identify a tightly-knit, local network of mid-sized carbon capital firms linked into the broader power structure.
Abstract: This article maps the organization of corporate power within Canada’s carbon-capital elite. It charts the elite’s accumulation base, its internal structure as a network of interlocking directorates and its ties to the financial sector and other segments of corporate capital – national and transnational. The analysis identifies a tightly-knit, local network of mid-sized carbon-capital firms linked into the broader power structure largely through mediating relations that involve the largest carbon-capital corporations. The architecture of corporate power resembles an entrenched oligarchy; however, both policy sociology and public sociology can contribute toward checking its power through effective regulation while facilitating discussion of energy democracy as a transformative alternative.
23 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors suggest potential trajectories and outcomes for these various conflicts over the costs and benefits of academic publishing, and suggest four main trends that will characterize the future of scholarly publishing: antagonism with scholarly associations, changes and innovations to peer review, scientific/intellectual Movements around Open Access, publishing and new professional niches in the publishing landscape.
Abstract: Digitization and the rise of Open Access publishing is an important recent development in academic communication. The current publishing system exhibits challenges with cost, where many universities are forced to cancel journal subscriptions for economic reasons, as well as access, as scholars and the public alike often lack access to research published in paywalled subscription journals. Open Access publishing solves the access problem, but not necessarily cost problems. Universities and researchers are currently in a challenging, interstitial stage of scholarly publishing. Subscription journals still dominate scholarly communication, yet a growing imperative to fund and support Open Access alternatives also exists. Stakeholders, including faculty, university administrators, publishers, scientific funding institutions and librarians and governments alike currently strategize and fight for their professional and economic interests in the broader publishing system. Four main trends are suggested that will characterize the future of scholarly publishing: 1) antagonism with scholarly associations; 2) changes and innovations to peer review; 3) Scientific/Intellectual Movements around Open Access 4) publishing and new professional niches in the publishing landscape. This article suggests potential trajectories and outcomes for these various conflicts over the costs and benefits of academic publishing.
17 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyzed interviews with low-income new and expectant parents (26 mothers and 8 fathers) in Victoria, B.C. who self-identified as being impacted by drugs or alcohol, and found fatherhood ideals framed how both paternal substance use and father absence were problematized.
Abstract: The re-invention of fathers as sensitive, involved “new men” is a social phenomenon that has largely excluded marginalized and low-income fathers. Especially where perinatal substance use is concerned, moralized mother-centric discourse still easily eclipses attention to fathers’ roles. In this exploratory study, we analysed interviews with low-income new and expectant parents (26 mothers and 8 fathers) in Victoria, B.C. who self-identified as being impacted by drugs or alcohol. Using thematic analysis, we found fatherhood ideals framed how both paternal substance use and father absence were problematized. Paternal substance use was seen as problematic when it impacted the health of children indirectly by compromising maternal support, directly by increasing probability or severity of domestic violence, or by otherwise undermining the ability of a father to fulfill his role as he understands it. Parents espoused targeted perinatal services for fathers to break the intergenerational cycle of addiction and disadvantage.
9 citations
8 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined how the revocation of Canadian citizenship was discussed in Canada's mainstream newspapers and found that the newspapers were more often critical than supportive of the revocation provision.
Abstract: Under the government of Stephen Harper’s Conservative Party (2006-2015), Canada witnessed numerous alterations of its immigration and citizenship rules. Under the new Citizenship Act (2014), dual citizens who have committed high treason, terrorism or espionage could lose their Canadian citizenship. In this paper, we examine how the measure was discussed in Canada’s mainstream newspapers. We ask: who/what is seen as the target of citizenship revocation? What does this tell us about the direction that Canadian citizenship is moving towards? As promoters of civic literacy, mainstream media disseminate information about government actions and legislation, interpret policies and are highly influential in forming public opinion. Our findings show that the newspapers were more often critical than supportive of the citizenship revocation provision. However, they also interpreted the measure as only likely to affect Canadian Muslims in general and omitted discussing the involvement of non-Muslim and, in particular, white, Western-origin Canadians in terrorist acts. Thus, despite advocating for equal citizenship in principle, Canadian Muslims were nonetheless constructed as less Canadian.
7 citations
TL;DR: This article found that some atheist activists express a libertarian rationalism consistent with Enlightenment values to maintain a lifestyle free from collectivist ideologies that promote social justice, and that their individual intellectual development takes priority over building a strong collective identity.
Abstract: This article addresses Edmonton secularists’ responses to the emergence of a social justice faction known as Atheism Plus (A+) within the broader secularist movement. I show that some atheist activists express a libertarian rationalism consistent with Enlightenment values to maintain a lifestyle free from collectivist ideologies that promote social justice. The data for this article comes from interviews and participant observation, focusing on three atheist organizations in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. I draw from literature focused on everyday lifestyle choices as a form of protest to argue that for some atheist activists, their individual intellectual development takes priority over building a strong collective identity. Given that some scholars claim that atheism perpetuates gender inequality (Amarasingam and Brewster 2016; Miller 2013; Schnabel 2015), this work additionally contributes to our understanding of how atheists conceptualize their activism as sub- and micro-political activities free from community constraints.
7 citations
TL;DR: This article examined the nexus of migration with sexual health among gay Latino migrants in Canada and found that migration can exacerbate vulnerability among those seeking to develop new social and sexual networks, as kin ties can be less confidently relied on among gay men compared to their heterosexual counterparts.
Abstract: This paper enquires into the nexus of migration with sexual health among gay Latino migrants in Canada. Interviews with 25 Spanish-speaking interviewees are examined in light of models developed from studies of Latinos in the United States. Canadian immigration policy appears to result in a somewhat different selection of immigrants compared to the United States. Migrants come from a wide range of national and regional backgrounds intersected by race, generation, and social class that influence their perceptions of and adjustment to Canadian society. Pre-migration HIV knowledge varied strongly by generation with older men recalling public panic concerning HIV and younger men receiving formal education about it. Migration enters into the mix of conditions as kin ties can be less confidently relied on among gay men compared to their heterosexual counterparts and by exacerbating vulnerability among those seeking to develop new social and sexual networks.
7 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compared trust among eight ethno-racial groupings: British, French, Canadian, other Europeans, Aboriginal Peoples, visible minorities, mixed-origins respondents, and all others.
Abstract: This paper considers ethno-racial differences in political trust, which leading scholars see as one of the two key dimensions of social cohesion in Canada. I compare trust among eight ethno-racial groupings: British, French, “Canadians,” other Europeans, Aboriginal Peoples, visible minorities, mixed-origins respondents, and all others. Building from the concepts of “social distance” and “social boundaries,” I test three sets of factors for explaining ethno-racial differences in trust: (1) three ethno-cultural “markers” – religion, language, and immigration status; (2) two socioeconomic influences –education and income; and (3) two social engagement indicators – voluntary association activity and ethnic diversity of friendships. Models also include controls for region, age, and gender. Using data from the 2008 General Social Survey, I find that, compared to more established groups like the British, two of the three most culturally distinctive minorities – visible minorities and French respondents – express higher political trust. Nevertheless, the third key minority community in the analysis - Aboriginal Peoples - exhibit lower political trust than all of the other groups. The findings suggests that some minorities, when treated or perceived by others as different or distant from the “mainstream,” may see government agencies as defending their minority rights and interests against discrimination. Aboriginal Peoples are a major exception to this conclusion, however. This underscores their unique position in Canada as the country’s original inhabitants, who have long endured processes of discrimination, exclusion, and racism that have influenced their trust in major government institutions.
6 citations
TL;DR: A response to Helmes-Hayes and Milne's article, "The Institutionalization of Symbolic Interactionism in Canadian Sociology" is given in this article.
Abstract: A response to Helmes-Hayes and Milne’s article, ‘The Institutionalization of Symbolic Interactionism in Canadian Sociology.’
6 citations
TL;DR: The Milgram-Holocaust linkage has been investigated by as discussed by the authors, who argued that the Obedience studies and the Holocaust share two commonalities that are so significant that they may negate the importance others have attributed to the differences.
Abstract: After Stanley Milgram published his first official Obedience to Authority baseline experiment, some scholars drew parallels between his findings and the Holocaust. These comparisons are now termed the Milgram-Holocaust linkage. However, because the Obedience studies have been shown to differ in many ways from the Holocaust’s finer historical details, more recent literature has challenged the linkage. In this article I argue that the Obedience studies and the Holocaust share two commonalities that are so significant that they may negate the importance others have attributed to the differences. These commonalities are (1) an end-goal of maximising “ordinary” people’s participation in harm infliction and (2) a reliance on Weberian formal rational techniques of discovery to achieve this end-goal. Using documents obtained from Milgram’s personal archive at Yale University, this article reveals the means-to-end learning processes Milgram utilised during his pilot studies in order to maximise ordinary people’s participation in harm-infliction in his official baseline experiment. This article then illustrates how certain Nazi innovators relied on the same techniques of discovery during the invention of the Holocaust, more specifically the so-called Holocaust by bullets. In effect, during both the Obedience studies and the Holocaust processes were developed that made, in each case, the undoable doable.
5 citations
TL;DR: The sociological relevance of meta-theoretical engagement, particularly with critical realism, has been explored in this article, where socologists need to more forcefully acknowledge the importance of engaging with metatheory if they are to think more productively and creatively about how the philosophical assumptions that have shaped the production of theories, research design, research practice, and the organization of our field facilitate and delimit the creation of insights about the multifaceted nature of sociological objects and practice.
Abstract: This paper takes recent sociological debate about “transdisciplinarity” (Carroll 2012; Puddephatt and McLaughlin 2015; Misina 2015) as a springboard for elaborating on the sociological relevance of meta-theoretical engagement, particularly with critical realism. Sociologists need to more forcefully acknowledge the importance of engaging with metatheory if they are to think more productively and creatively about how the philosophical assumptions that have shaped the production of theories, research design, research practice, and the organisation of our field facilitate and delimit the production of insights about the multifaceted nature of sociological objects and practice. As meta-theorising promotes the neglected procedure of conceptualisation (as opposed to operationalisation) and because it is transdisciplinary (promoting the shedding of disciplinary boundary maintenance while remaining rigorous and methodical), it should be routinely engaged by social scientists to yield conceptual synthesis and fuller, more adequate forms of explanation of their particular objects of investigation.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the growth of symbolic interactionism as a specialization in English-language Canadian sociology, 1922-1979, and document three empirical indicators of the institutionalization of SI: faculty members hired, research published, and SI receptive programs established.
Abstract: This essay examines the growth of symbolic interactionism (SI) as a specialization in English-language Canadian sociology, 1922–1979. We do not focus on theoretical and/or methodological developments. Rather, we document three empirical indicators of the institutionalization of SI: faculty members hired, research published, and SI-receptive programs established. We find that Canadian sociologists institutionalized SI in two phases. From 1922 to 1959, SI institutionalized slowly. There were few SI “core” faculty and scarcely more “SI-accommodative” faculty. Little SI-based literature was published. McGill had Canada’s only SI-friendly program. After 1960, SI grew rapidly and, by 1979, was well institutionalized: over ninety SI and SI-accommodative faculty had been hired, SI literature (journal articles, textbooks) was commonplace. Many sociology departments offered an SI-accommodative program. Sometime in the 1980s, classical SI began to “de-institutionalize.” Ironically, as SI’s footprint grew and influence spread, it appeared to become less discernable, less coherent and less viable as a distinct and unified approach.
TL;DR: In a recent CJS special issue developed around their paper, "The Institutionalization of Symbolic Interactionism in Canadian Sociology, 1922-1979: Success at What Cost?" as discussed by the authors, Helmes-Hayes and Milne document the emergence and establishment of symbolic interactionism (SI) in English-language Canadian sociology, and then consider its fragmentation and decline from 1979 into the present period.
Abstract: In a recent CJS special issue developed around their paper titled “The Institutionalization of Symbolic Interactionism in Canadian Sociology, 1922-1979: Success at What Cost?” Helmes-Hayes and Milne (2017) document the emergence and establishment of symbolic interactionism (SI) in English-language Canadian sociology, and then consider its fragmentation and decline from 1979 into the present period. This is followed by commentaries from Jacqueline Low (2017), who gives a more optimistic impression of the present state of SI in Canada, and Neil McLaughlin (2017), who considers its sectarian nature as a social and intellectual movement. This is a worthy discussion in the history of Canadian sociology and the sociology of ideas. Certainly Canadian SI is an important part of our wider national sociology tradition, and it is important that we recognize its past, present, and future institutional development in light of as much evidence as possible.
TL;DR: A response to Helmes-Hayes and Milne's article, "The Institutionalization of Symbolic Interactionism in Canadian Sociology" is given in this paper.
Abstract: A response to Helmes-Hayes and Milne's article, 'The Institutionalization of Symbolic Interactionism in Canadian Sociology.'
TL;DR: The authors developed seven measures of the link between occupations and fields of study in the Canadian labour market, and discussed when each measure is most appropriate and provided an appendix listing values for the three best performing measures, calculated for Statistics Canada 4-digit occupational codes.
Abstract: Scholars have long been interested in the prevalence, causes, and consequences of workers being well matched or poorly matched to their jobs. When studying match along dimensions of education or skill, mismatch has been defined as a deficit or surplus in the level of skill or education, without necessary regard for the relevance of either. More recently researchers have moved beyond this deficit/surplus approach to studying mismatch to ask if workers’ skills or education are relevant to their jobs. In this article we argue that the next step for workers studying job-worker match is to consider the relevance of relevance. We argue in studying the relevance of workers’ education it is necessary to consider and measure the extent to which occupations draw broadly from across educational specialties or hire primarily from pools of workers trained in specific areas. The causes and consequences of not having relevant education will be different in occupations that are closely tied to particular fields of study than in those not linked to any field of study. To facilitate this research agenda we develop seven measures of the link between occupations and fields of study in the Canadian labour market. We test the validity and robustness of these measures. We discuss when each measure is most appropriate and provide an appendix listing values for the three best-performing measures, calculated for Statistics Canada 4-digit occupational codes.