Canadian Social Research Newsletter
July 31, 2005

Welcome to the weekly Canadian Social Research Newsletter, a listing of the new links added to the Canadian Social Research Links website in the past week.

The e-mail version of this week's issue of the newsletter is going out to 1408 subscribers.

Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter to see some notes and a disclaimer.

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IN THIS ISSUE:

Canadian Policy Research Networks is looking for a new President and Chief Executive Officer.
Judith Maxwell will be leaving CPRN between now and the end of 2005.

Position Profile (PDF)
Position Description (PDF)
Two small files with more info on the position.

Interested? - this is where you'll find the necessary contact information.

The deadline for receipt of applications is September 1, 2005.
Starting date for the successful candidate is "on or before" January 2006.

Source:
Canadian Policy Research Networks

Related link:

Judy and Peter Went to Ottawa
by Edward Greenspon
Globe and Mail
February 11, 1995
- interesting article about Judith Maxwell and Peter Nicholson, both hailing from Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley --- Mr. Nicholson is currently (2005) Deputy Chief of Staff (Policy) for the Prime Minister of Canada.

Comment:
She may be diminutive in stature, but in the minds of many in the progressive social policy and social advocacy communities, she leaves behind some very large shoes to fill.
Best wishes and thanks, Judith Maxwell...
Upon hearing that Ms. Maxwell was leaving CPRN, Michael Walker, paterfamilias and Executive Director of the Fraser Institute, a Vancouver-based right-wing think tank, announced his own imminent departure.
I'm just kidding about the causal link --- Mr. Walker isn't doing the honourable thing by leaving to level the playing field; he stepped aside to become President of the newly-established Fraser Institute Foundation and a Senior Research Fellow. His successor as Fraser's Executive Director, according to a July 19/05 Fraser Institute news release, is Dr. Mark Mullins, effective September 1.

JobsNow (ON) and JobWave (BC)

At 12:30 on Tuesday August 9, tune in to The Other Side, on McMaster University's CFMU Radio 93.3FM. You'll hear a half-hour interview by program host Maggie Hughes with an advocate for welfare recipients in BC concerning the performance of the JobWave program in that province. Here's how to listen to the show:

The Other Side (CFMU Radio program - requires Real Player software installed on your machine and speakers or headphones)
NOTE: this is "streaming audio" content - in order to hear this content, you must have no access restrictions imposed by your network (govt. offices and universities, for example, usually can't access streaming audio for security reasons.)
"The Other Side looks at the issues that main stream media tends to downplay or ignore, by using interviews and lectures to show the affect that economic, corporate and political policies have on society."

Source:
CFMU Radio 93.3FM

Related Links:

JobsNow Part Of Province's Plan To Restore Integrity To Social Assistance Programs
JobsNow Ontario Press Release
JobsNow Backgrounder

Source:
Ministry of Community and Social Services

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JobWave
"JobWave™ is the most successful employment program in the history of British Columbia, continually bringing innovation to the field of job placement."

Source:
WCG International
WCG International will run the JobsNow pilot in six pilot communities in cooperation with municipal Ontario Works offices.

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- Go to the Ontario Government Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onbkmrk.htm

What's New from Justice Canada:

Child Protection Bill [C-2] Receives Royal Assent
July 21, 2005
" Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Irwin Cotler, welcomed the Royal Assent of Bill C-2, a comprehensive package of legislative reforms that provide increased protection to children from abuse, neglect and sexual exploitation and make the criminal justice system more responsive to the needs of children and other vulnerable victims and witnesses."
Backgrounder - highlights of Bill C-2

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Bill C-38 – The Civil Marriage Act – Receives Royal Assent
July 20, 2005
"The Honourable Irwin Cotler, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, announced today that the Civil Marriage Act has received Royal Assent."
Related Link:
Civil Marriage and the Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Unions

- Go to the Children, Families and Youth Links (Government) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chnbkmrk.htm
- Go to the Federal Government Department Links (Fisheries and Oceans to Veterans Affairs) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/fedbkmrk2.htm

What's New from The Daily [Statistics Canada]:

July 26, 2005
Employment Insurance - May 2005 (preliminary)
The number of Canadians (adjusted for seasonality) receiving regular Employment Insurance benefits in May dropped by an estimated 2.1% from April. Most provinces and territories showed declines in May with the largest occurring in Alberta (-4.1%), Manitoba (-3.6%), Ontario (-2.9%) and British Columbia (-2.5%). Northwest Territories (+2.8%), Newfoundland and Labrador (+2.5%), Prince Edward Island (+1.4%) and New Brunswick (+0.1%) reported increases. Compared to the same time last year, the number of regular beneficiaries has fallen 6.0% nationally.

- Go to the Federal Government Department Links (Fisheries and Oceans to Veterans Affairs) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/fedbkmrk2.htm

“Participating to Create a Different World: Shaping Our Own Future”
Conference
August 14-17, 2005
University of Ottawa
"The Participatory Development (PD) Forum would like to invite you to participate in its upcoming International Conference, Participating to Create a Different World: Shaping Our Own Future to be held at the University of Ottawa , August 14th – 17th, 2005 . The initial conference planning is made possible through the generous support of Human Rights and Participation Division, Policy Branch, CIDA, and of World University Services of Canada. We look forward to your participation in this exciting event.

This conference should be of interest to the following audience:
* community leaders and activists from women’s organizations, indigenous people’s organizations, and labour and workers’ movements
* development practitioners seeking a deeper understanding and enhanced skills in participatory development
* committed academics and researchers
* popular educators
* students and youth
* decision- and policy-makers seeking to move the development agenda forward including donors and government officials at all levels."

Source:
Participatory Development (PD) Forum
"...a network dedicated to promoting a philosophy of participation that advocates for people's capacity and right to define and control their own development in order to achieve social justice and equality"

- Go to the Conferences and Events Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/confer.htm

What's New - from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU) - University of Toronto

Each week, the Childcare Resource and Research Unit disseminates its "e-mail news notifier", an e-mail message with a dozen or so links to new reports, studies and child care in the news (media articles) by the CRRU or another organization in the field of early childhood education and care (ECEC). What you see below is content from the most recent issue of the notifier.

29-July-05

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WHATS NEW
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>> Moving forward on early learning and child care: Manitoba’s action plan -- Next steps
by Government of Manitoba. Department of Family Service and Housing
Report from the Government of Manitoba outlines how they will invest federal child care funds over the next five years; workforce, sustainability of non-profit centres among priority areas.

>> McGuinty government expands Best Start plan for children
by Government of Ontario. Ministry of Children and Youth Services
Press release from the Ontario government announces new details on provincial child care plan; 25,000 new spaces to be created and financial burden on municipalities to be eased.

>> Integration for a change: How can integration of services for kindergarten-aged children be achieved?
by Colley, Sue
Discussion paper from the Integration Network Project (U of T) explores some of the policy solutions to help overcome the abrupt division between care and education programs.

>> Lessons from the North
by Various authors
Six articles from Cafébabel (Europe’s multilingual current affairs magazine) explore the Scandinavian social model. Has it successfully combined a solid economy and social security?

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CHILD CARE IN THE NEWS
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>> Research debunks myth of self-reliant nuclear family [US]
EurekAlert! 28 Jul 05
Despite the long-cherished belief that the nuclear family is independent and self-sustaining, most families with working parents depend on a network of care to manage work and family demands, according to research by Brandeis University sociologist Karen Hansen.

>> Ontario to provide 25,000 new day care spaces [CA-ON]
Canadian Press, 28 Jul 05
About 25,000 new licensed day-care spaces will be opened in Ontario over the next three years with some of the new spots available as early as September. As part of the federal-provincial deal, municipal costs on the new child care funding will be waived, beginning in 2005-06 through 2009-10.

>> U.S. steers its own course on family leave [US]
Associated Press, 27 Jul 05
With little public debate, the United States has chosen a radically different approach to maternity leave than the rest of the developed world. The United States is one of the only industrialized countries that doesn’t provide paid leave for new mothers nationally.

>> Nova Scotia short on abuse screeners: More staff needed for checks, Children's Services official says [CA-NS]
Halifax Herald, 26 Jul 05
Making sure potential child abusers are not working at day-care centres, schools and other organizations that deal with children is overwhelming the Nova Scotia Community Services Department.

>> Quebec home day-care centres receive highest number of complaints of violence [CA-QC]
Canadian Press, 26 Jul 05
Nearly 80 per cent of complaints of violence in Quebec day-care centres were lodged against home-run centres, even though they represent less than half of all child care spaces, a government report says.

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This message was forwarded through the Childcare Resource
and Research Unit e-mail news notifier. For information on the CRRU e-mail notifier,
including subscription instructions , see http://www.childcarecanada.org
The Childcare Resource and Research Unit (University of Toronto, Canada)
**************************************************************************

Related Links:

What's New? - Canadian, U.S. and international resources from Jan 2000 to the present.
Child Care in the News - media articles from January 2000 to the present
ISSUE files - theme pages, each filled with contextual information and links to further info
Links to child care sites in Canada and elsewhere
CRRU Publications - briefing notes, factsheets, occasional papers and other publications

Also from CRRU:

Early childhood education and care in Canada 2004
By Martha Friendly and Jane Beach
6th edition, May 2005, 232 pp
"Early Childhood Education and Care in Canada 2004 provides cross-Canada data and information on regulated child care, kindergarten, maternity and parental leave together with relevant demographic information."

- Go to the Non-Governmental Early Learning and Child Care Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/ecd2.htm
- Go to the International Children, Families and Youth Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chn2.htm

POVERTY DISPATCH Digest
Institute for Research on Poverty - U. of Wisconsin
This digest offers dozens of new links each week to full-text articles in the U.S. media (mostly daily newspapers) on poverty, poverty, welfare reform, child welfare, education, health, hunger, Medicare and Medicaid, and much more...
The Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison offers a free e-mail service that consists of an e-mail message sent to subscribers each Monday and Thursday, containing a dozen or so links to articles dealing with the areas mentioned above. The weekly Canadian Social Research Links Poverty Dispatch Digest is a compilation, available online, of the two dispatch e-mails for that week --- with the kind permission of IRP.

Here's the complete collection of U.S. media articles in this week's Poverty Dispatch Digest:
(click the link above to read all of these articles)

July 28, 2005

Today's subjects include: Governors' Medicaid Plan. Kids Count Report on Child Well-Being // Immigrants' Health Care Use // Unemployment - Opinion // Maternity Leave // Kids Count Report on Child Well-Being - Selected States // Health Care Program - Tennessee // Addressing Racial Disparities in Health Care - Boston // Social Service Computer Problems - Colorado // Welfare Agency - Milwaukee // Working Poor - Lima, OH // Charter School - Milwaukee // Early Childhood Education - West Virginia // Pre-Kindergarten Program - Florida // High School Dropouts - Arizona // Housing Vouchers - Indiana // Homeless Women - Denver, CO

July 25, 2005

Today's subjects include: Farm Subsidies versus Food Stamps - Editorial // Governors' Medicaid Plan - Opinion // Economic Inequality - Opinion // Evaluating Welfare Reform - Wisconsin // Bonuses for Welfare Program Administration - Wisconsin // Welfare Reform and Jobs - West Virginia // Welfare Reform - Texas // Welfare Rolls - Maryland // Program for Long-Terms Welfare Recipients - New Jersey // Plight of Welfare Recipient - Iowa // Housing for Low-Income Residents - Arizona // Working Poor - Lima, OH // Black Mayors and Poverty - Louisiana // Marriage and Fatherhood Initiatives - Michigan // Marriage Initiative - Oklahoma // Marriage Bonus Proposal - Washington, DC // Health Care versus Child Care - Minnesota // Plan to Charge Unwed Fathers for Birth Costs - Missouri // Low-Income Families and Medicaid - Michigan // Cuts in State Health Plan - Tennessee // Proposed Medicaid Cuts - South Carolina // Poverty and School Achievement - Colorado // Food Stamps - New York City

Each of the weekly digests below offers dozens of links or more to media articles that are time-sensitive.
The older the link, the more likely it is to either be dead or have moved to an archive - and some archives [but not all] are pay-as-you-go.
[For the current week's digest, click on the POVERTY DISPATCH Digest link above]

Subscribe to the Poverty Dispatch!
Send an e-mail message to John Wolf < jwolf@ssc.wisc.edu > to receive a plain text message twice a week with one to two dozen links to media articles with a focus on poverty, welfare reform, child welfare, health, Medicaid from across the U.S.
And it's free...

Source:
Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP)
[ University of Wisconsin-Madison ]

For the current week's digest, click on the POVERTY DISPATCH Digest link at the top of this section.
Recently-archived POVERTY DISPATCH weekly digests:

POVERTY DISPATCH description/archive - weekly issues back to October 2004 , 50+ links per issue
NOTE: this archive is part of the Canadian Social Research Links American Non-Governmental Social Research page.

- Go to the Links to American Government Social Research page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us.htm
- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (A-J) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us2.htm
- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (M-Z) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us3.htm

Kids Count - U.S.
"The 16th annual KIDS COUNT Data Book was released July 27, 2005. The entire report is available online with enhanced interactive features. The 2005 Data Book focuses on Helping Our Most Vulnerable Families Overcome Barriers to Work and Achieve Financial Success."

Source:
Annie E. Casey Foundation
"Since 1948, the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) has worked to build better futures for disadvantaged children and their families in the United States. The primary mission of the Foundation is to foster public policies, human service reforms, and community supports that more effectively meet the needs of today's vulnerable children and families."

Related Links:

KIDS COUNT REPORT ON CHILD WELL-BEING
1. "More kids living with parents with no jobs." By Kevin Freking (Associated Press). Washington Post, July 27, 2005.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/27/AR2005072700396.html

2. "Signs point to repercussions of kids being poorer." By Greg Toppo. USA TODAY, July 26, 2005.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-07-26-poor-kids_x.htm

3. "Kids Count: Rearing our future." Editorial. Seattle Post-Intelligencer, July 27, 2005.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/234051_kidsed.asp
Source:
Poverty Dispatch Digest

- Go to the International Children, Families and Youth Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chn2.htm

America's Children: Key National Indicators of Children's Well-Being 2005
July 2005
"...America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, is an annual indicators report that details the status of children and families in the United States. The report presents the latest available data on 25 indicators related to economic security, health, behavior and social environment, and education and on 9 background measures related to population and family characteristics. These indicators represent important aspects of children's lives. In addition, each year the report includes special features that present measures that are either not regularly available, merit special attention, or provide additional detail regarding a specific topic."

Highlights of the report

Earlier America's Children Reports - incl. links to this year's report

Source:
Childstats.gov
"This web site offers easy access to statistics and reports on children and families, including: population and family characteristics, economic security, health, behavior and social environment, and education."

- Go to the International Children, Families and Youth Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chn2.htm

New CDF Report: Millions of Children Would Benefit From an Increase in the Minimum Wage - U.S.
Press Release
May 18 2005
"In the report, titled Increasing the Minimum Wage: An Issue of Children's Well-Being , the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) shows that, in 2004, 9.7 million children lived in a household with at least one worker earning between $5.15 and $7.25 per hour. A parent supporting two children and w orking full time at the current minimum wage of $5.15 would end up with an annual salary $4,500 below the poverty line . The pernicious sting of poverty puts these children at greater risk of poor health due to lack of affordable health care, increases their likelihood of falling behind in school and leaves families unable to pay for adequate housing, nutritious food or quality child care."

Complete report:

Increasing the Minimum Wage: An Issue of Children's Well-Being (PDF file - 124K, 5 pages)

Source:
Children's Defense Fund

- Go to the International Children, Families and Youth Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chn2.htm
- Go to the Minimum Wage /Living Wage Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/minwage.htm

New CDF Report: More Than 13 Million Children Face Food Insecurity
Press Release
June 2 2005
"According to the most recent figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 13.3 million American children were food insecure in 2003; of these, 420,000 lived in households where someone had to go hungry. Overall, 36.3 million Americans experienced food insecurity in 2003, 1.4 million more than in 2002, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture."

Complete report:

Food Insecurity 2005 (PDF file - 122K, 6 pages)

Source:
Children's Defense Fund

- Go to the International Children, Families and Youth Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chn2.htm
- Go to the Food Banks and Hunger Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/foodbkmrk.htm

From the Council for Employment, Income and Social Cohesion (Paris):

Job Security : Facing the Challenges of Economic Change (PDF file - 136K, 17 pages)
March 2005
(France)
Selected content from this report:
- The rise in women’s employment - Greater employment in the service sector - Resorting to part-time work - Part-time jobs and personal service activities - The impact of new forms of organisation - Flexibility and manpower management - Trends in Employment Statuses - Why is it necessary to distinguish between job insecurity and employment insecurity? - Overall trends - Growing inequalities with respect to instability (young people, the over 50s) - Various uses of fixed-term or temporary contracts - Permanent and temporary contracts - An economic point of view on the employment legislation - Seeking overall coherence: the Dutch case - Job instability and social protection - health - pensions - Company supplementary insurance schemes - Unemployment compensation - Reforms have accentuated de facto inequalities - Continuing training - much more...

Online Information Service
Information and online resources organized under five themes: poverty, social minima, in-work benefits, minimum wage and return-to-work programmes. The last theme was just recently added to the list, so you should explore that one first. However, as you click through the myriad reports and studies on that topic as well as links to online resources for France and for the rest of the world, I'm sure you'll want to check out the remaining themes. Includes links and resources for Canada...

CERC Bulletins/Reports/Studies/Working papers
- Click on the French or English version, then on the links in the left margin of the CERC website home page for links to a large collection of online resources including a semi-monthly research bulletin
Register - To be informed of CERC activities and to receive the bulletin
Links to all CERC Bulletins

Source:
Council for Employment, Income and Social Cohesion - Paris
Conseil de l'emploi, des revenus et de la cohésion sociale - CERC[version française]
"The Council for Employment, Income and Social cohesion has been created by a Council of State decree, on April 7, 2000. "

Also from CERC:

Estimer la pauvreté des enfants (fichier PDF - 545K, 36 pages)
[available only in French]
Juin 2005
(France)

- Go to the Government Social Research Links in Other Countries page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/internat.htm

Global Health Watch 2005-2006
"Global Health Watch 2005-2006 is a collaboration of public health experts, non-governmental organizations, community groups, health workers and academics. It presents a hard-hitting assessment of inequalities in health and health care – and is aimed at challenging the major institutions, such as the World Health Organization, that influence health."
- use the links near the top of the page to download the report as one large file or individual chapters

Global Health Action 2005-2006 (PDF file - 2MB, 24 pages)
"Global Health Action is a campaign tool based on the first Global Health Watch, published in July 2005.

Source:
Global Health Watch
"... a broad collaboration of public health experts, non-governmental organizations, civil society activists, community groups, health workers and academics. It was initiated by the People’s Health Movement, Global Equity Gauge Alliance and Medact."

- Go to the Health Links (Canada/International) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/health.htm

Disclaimer/Privacy Statement

Both Canadian Social Research Links (the site) and this Canadian Social Research Newsletter belong solely to me, Gilles Séguin.

I am solely accountable for the choice of links presented therein and for the occasional editorial comment - it's my time, my home computer, my experience, my biases, my Rogers Internet account and my web hosting service.

I administer the mailing list and distribute the weekly newsletter using software on the web server of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
Thanks, CUPE!

If you wish to subscribe to the e-mail version of newsletter, go to the Canadian Social Research Newsletter Online Subscription page and submit your coordinates:
http://lists.cupe.ca/mailman/listinfo/csrl-news

You can unsubscribe by going to the same page or by sending me an e-mail message [ gilseg@rogers.com ]

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The e-mail version of this newsletter is available only in plain text (no graphics, no hyperlinks, no fancy bolding or italics, etc.) to avoid security problems with government departments, universities and other networks with firewalls. The text-only version is also friendlier for people using older or lower-end technology.

Privacy Policy:
The Canadian Social Research Newsletter mailing list is not used for any purpose except to distribute each weekly issue.
I promise not share any information on this list, nor to send you any junk mail.

Links presented in the Canadian Social Research Newsletter point to different views about social policy and social programs.
There are some that I don't agree with, so don't get on my case, eh...

To access earlier online HTML issues of the Canadian Social Research Newsletter, go to the Newsletter page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/news.htm

Please feel free to distribute this newsletter as widely as you wish, but please remember to include a link back to the home page of Canadian Social Research Links.

Gilles

E-MAIL:
gilseg@rogers.com

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After eating, do amphibians have to wait an hour before leaving the water?

What do they ship those styrofoam packing peanuts in?

Are female moths called myths?

Are part-time band leaders semi-conductors?

How can you tell when it is time to tune your bagpipes?

Are there any unguided missiles?

Are you breaking the law if you drive past those road signs that say "Do Not Pass"?

Are you telling the truth if you lie in bed?

Before they invented drawing boards, what did they go back to?

Do people in Australia call the rest of the world 'up over'?

Can fat people go skinny-dipping?

How did a fool and his money get together in the first place?

If a mirror reverses right and left, why doesn't it reverse up and down?

Could crop-circles be the work of a cereal killer?

Crime doesn't pay... does that mean my job is a crime?

Daylight savings time - why are they saving it and where do they keep it?

Did Noah keep his bees in archives?

Do blind dogs have seeing-eye humans?

Do blind Eskimos have seeing-eye sled dogs?

Do witches use spell checkers?

Do cemetery workers prefer the graveyard shift?

Do you need a silencer if you are going to shoot a mime?

Do crematoriums give discounts to burn victims?

Do hummingbirds hum because they don't know the words?


Source:
Somewhere on the web...