Child care by choice or by default? : examining the experiences of unregulated home-based child care for women in paid work and training

This thesis aims to uncover the dynamics, causes and outcomes of women's reliance on unregulated home-based child care in Ontario, Canada, and the implications ofthis form of care for women's equality. Drawing on a longitudinal qualitative study, I examine the diverse experience of 14 women using home-based child care and engaged in both paid work/training and care work for children under the age of six, and draw comparisons with users of other forms of child care. I argue that home-based child care involves high levels of instability for continuity of care and is chosen largely as a default position based on economic considerations. It represents a compromise between the demands of social reproduction and paid work/training that entangles mothers in relations of exploitation with care providers. Doing so leaves both mothers and care providers socially and economically vulnerable and relying on social networks to fill in the gaps.

Social Economy and Developmental Disabilities: An Employment Option that Promotes a Form of Authentic Work and Fosters Social Inclusion

Typical employment options for people with developmental disabilities are insufficient. Most employment opportunities that are community-based provide typical workplace and geographical inclusion but tend not to support social inclusion and "belonging". This study explored the innovative employment alternative of social businesses and considered this form of employment for persons with a developmental disability as a viable avenue for meaningful work and social inclusion. A total of six business partners with a developmental disability were interviewed; two partners from three separate worker owned businesses. The partners' descriptions of their job and their workplace composed the interpretative findings. The social businesses provided an avenue for this group of people who tend to be segregated in isolated workshops or marginalized in mainstream work environments and who feel a sense of being "outsiders" to participate in meaningful work in community settings. This group of partners described their job as authentic "work" and discussed the many skills and the work ethic learned from their employment opportunity. In addition to the instrumental aspects of the job, the partners also discussed the group autonomy and self-determination of being their own "bosses". The partners confidently expressed feeling valued, understood in the context of others with similar life experiences, attached to the workplace and connected to a larger community as important outcomes of their businesses. These criteria of social inclusion (Hall, 2010) were complemented by teamwork, friendship and ultimately, with a feeling of being genuine "insiders". Replication of this innovative employment model would be recommended for groups of marginalized people with DD in other geographic areas.

Report by Jacob Misner on setting contracts for deepening and clearing ditches and estimates of quantities and costs of marsh drainage

Report by Jacob Misner on setting contracts for deepening and clearing ditches and estimates of quantities and costs of marsh drainage (3 ½ pages, handwritten). This is marked as a copy, July 14, 1855.

Receipt from Chatfield and Neelon, Specialties, Steamboat Work and Engineers’ Supplies, St. Catharines

Receipt from Chatfield and Neelon, Specialties, Steamboat Work and Engineers’ Supplies, St. Catharines for various fittings, March 31, 1887.

A tour from the City of New-York, to Detroit, in the Michigan Territory, made between the 2d of May and the 22d of September, 1818 : the tour extends from New-York, by Albany, Schenectady, and Utica to Sacket's Harbor, and thence throught Lake Ontario, to St. Lawrence river, and down that stream to Hamilton village. Thence along both banks of the St. Lawrence, from Hamilton to the Thousand Islands; thence to Sacket's Harbor by water; from that place by the route of great Sodus, Geneva, Cananaigua and Batavia, to Buffalo; and from thence to Black Rock, Fort Erie, the Falls of Niagara, Queenston, Lewiston, and the memorable fields of Bridgewater and Chippewa after viewing the interesting place of Niagara, the author traversed the south shore of Lake Erie to the City of Detroit, and visited in the latter range, Dunkirk, Erie, Cleveland, Sandusky, and other places of less note. The tour is accompanied with a map upon which the route will be designated; a particular map of the Falls andRiver of Niagara, and the environs of the City of Detroit /

Errata slip inserted.

Indenture between Samuel DeVeaux Woodruff and The Corporation of the City of St. Catharines

Indenture of agreement between Samuel DeVeaux Woodruff of St. Catharines and the Corporation of the City of St. Catharines regarding part of Lot no. 20 in the 5th Concession in the Township of Grantham - instrument no. 1013, December 8, 1877.

Indenture of bargain and sale between James and Margaret Boulton of the City of Toronto and to Joseph A. Woodruff of the Town of Niagara

Indenture of bargain and sale between James and Margaret Boulton of the City of Toronto and to Joseph A. Woodruff of the Town of Niagara for 2 acres in Lot no. 279 and 280 in the Town of Niagara, Mar. 20, 1854.

An examination of learning resulting from a transition from a directed to a self-directed work environment

~ This study focuses on the process of self-directed learning that individuals go through as they adapt to new work situations. This is a study of how one critical incident, specifically the transition from a traditional office structure to a home office structure, affected employees and what their learning process was as they adapted to the new environment. This study has 3 educational foundations: adult learning, self-directed learning, and the social context from which the learning will occur. Six women and 2 men were interviewed approximately 1 year following the transition. Analysis of the data revealed 5 themes of: impacts of the self-directed environment on participants' personal lives, their roles, skill set, productivity, and the physical environment; support offered by the organization, family, and office administration; personal development, specific learning needs, and personal skills; boundaries as they relate to family and work; and skill set and orientation requirements of new home office employees. The findings revealed the learning processes of the 8 participants. The learning processes of these participants were discussed within a theoretical framework of the learners, their immediate surroundings, and the larger social environment. The results indicated that the transition from a directed work environment to a self directed work environment is a complex, interrelated process. An element found throughout the theoretical framework is that of control. A second critical element is the need for participants to have a clearly defined work role and an opportunity to engage in discussion with peers and the community. Further findings reinforced the importance of climate and found that the physical environment is a key factor in a successful selfdirected work environment. The findings of this study revealed that no one factor makes an individual function successfully in a self-directed work environment, but that it is a complex interplay among the leamer, their immediate surroundings, and the social environment that will have the greatest impact on success. Recommendations are made which can be used to guide organizational leaders in facilitating employees' transition from a directed to a self-directed work environment. Additionally, recommendations are made for further research in the area of self-directed work environments.

The impact of meaningfulness of and responsibility for work on the relationships among work values, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction for part- time faculty in a community college

One hundred and thirty four subjects participated in this survey. Quantitative data were obtained and correlational analyses were used to test a model to study the relationships among the achievement of work values and organizational commitment and job satisfaction and to identify the moderating effects of the meaningfulness of work and responsibility for work on these relationships. Part-time faculty in the Faculty of Continuing Education of a community college were mailed a questionnaire on all the variables of the model. Several reliable, valid instruments were used to test the variables. Data analysis through Pearson correlation and stepwise multiple regression analyses revealed that the achievement of the work values of recognition and satisfaction with promotions did predict organizational commitment and job satisfaction, although the moderating effects of the meaningfulness of work and responsibility for work was not supported in this study. This study suggests that the revised model may be used for determining the relationships between the achievement of work values and organizational commitment and job satisfaction in a community college setting.

Postcolonial entanglements of Power, Race, Class and Privilege in Child and Youth Care Work Within a Brazilian Favela

This research assesses the various aspects of Child and Youth Care (CYC) work and how relationships between child or youth and care provider are limited and constricted within greater political, social and historical contexts. Specifically, this research takes place internationally in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil within a favela (slum) and unveils the entangled and complex relationship that I, not only as an ethnographer, but also as a CYC worker had with the many young people that I encountered. It will address a variety of theories that demonstrate the potentials of reproducing oppressive relationships, and argue that it is imperative for CYC workers to critically reflect on the greater contexts in which their work is situated in order to gain forces with those young people whom they are attempting to serve.

Social Organization on the Web: How Sex workers Rights Organizations Engage in Activism and Advocacy Work Online

The purpose of this study was to examine how sex workers rights organizations use their websites as a site of activist and advocacy work and ask (i) how do various organizations conceptualize sex work on their websites, and to what extent do they incorporate an intersectional feminist perspective? (ii) what communication strategies are used by the four organizations to target audiences in the viewing public? (iii) what audiences do the four websites target? (iv) how do the four organizations discuss successes and challenges on their websites? (v) in what ways do sex worker right organizations use websites to further their goals? The websites of Maggie’s, POWER, and Stella attempt to embrace an intersectional feminist perspective of sex work, while PACE does not. The four organizations strategically use their websites to target audiences with diverse needs, specifically through advocacy efforts in educating the general public about the legitimacy of sexual labour. Additionally, to increase the use of the websites by sex workers, using social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter augment the untapped potential for creating action, mobilization, interaction, and dialogue on the websites.

The Influence of Burnout Symptoms on the Relationship between Work-Life Balance and Self-Rated Health

The effects of stress at work are estimated to cost Canadian employers more than 20 billion dollars annually through absenteeism, sick leave and decreased productivity. Over the past two decades, Canadians have reported higher stress levels, increased work hours and more work performed outside of normal business hours. This work-life imbalance has far-reaching repercussions–affecting an employee’s performance as well as their health. Chronic exposure to these high levels of stress can also lead to burnout. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the magnitude in which burnout symptoms influence the relationship between work-life balance and self-rated health. The secondary purpose of this study was to determine if gender and age interactions exist in the relationship between burnout, work-life balance, and self-rated health. This cross-sectional study involved secondary analysis of 220 managers, workers and human service professionals who completed an Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers’ Mental Injury Toolkit (MIT) survey for the launch of the MIT. The MIT survey is a modified form of the short version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire and includes expanded questioning around burnout, stress, sleep troubles, cognitive, and somatic symptoms. There were no significant differences in self-rated health based on a respondent’s gender or age, indicating that no interaction of gender and age would be required. Respondents with low self-rated health reported significantly higher burnout and work-life imbalance compared to those with high self-rated health. The regression analysis demonstrated that the magnitude in which burnout mediates the relationship between work-life balance and self-rated health was 96%. These findings support previous studies that associate high levels of work-life imbalance or burnout with poor self-rated health or health outcomes. In this study, the shared variance between work-life balance and burnout also supports recent efforts to redefine the context and causes of burnout to include non-work factors. Based on our findings, the potential exists for the development of workplace health promotion strategies that address maintaining a balance between work and home as they may improve employee health and reduce burnout.

Letter which bears the letterhead “Tisdale, Livingstone and Robb, Barristers, Simcoe, Ontario”

Letter which bears the letterhead “Tisdale, Livingstone and Robb, Barristers, Simcoe, Ontario” (3 pages, handwritten). It was sent to John I Mackenzie regarding contracts on work to be done at Long Point. The lawyers suggest that John Glover (contractor) speak to S.D. Woodruff. There is a note on the back to S.D. Woodruff from Mr. Mackenzie stating that he has no more to add but he notes that the fisherman are starting a petition. There is an envelope addressed to S.D. Woodruff with this letter, Feb. 5, 1875.

Chart of land drainage for the Welland Canal final estimate of work done on sections no.1, 2 and 3

Chart of land drainage for the Welland Canal final estimate of work done on sections no.1, 2 and 3 on the road below lock no. 2 leading to Port Dalhousie. Work commenced Nov. 1846 and finished July 1847. Road work and the waste weir no.1 to Port Dalhousie work commenced Aug. 1847 and finished Sept. 1847, Nov.1, 1847.