Educational issues perceived by expectant lesbian couples /

Despite the increasing public profile of lesbian childbearing, public health resources for expectant women often bear heterosexist assumptions and create barriers to accessing information relevant to lesbian mothering experiences. This descriptive, exploratory study examined one lesbian couple's perceived educational needs for effective support, barriers to access, strategies for locating care, and the impact of childbearing on their lives, as well as their reflections on inviting ways to offer supportive practices in a public health context. A case study approach used feminist ethnographic methodology and purposeful convenience sampling. A prenatal and a postnatal open-ended interview were completed with 1 white, middle-class, able, lesbian childbearing couple, each ofwhom has birthed as coparent and biological mother in this couple relationship. Despite this couple's immense situated privilege, they struggled to locate the support they sought for childbearing in a way that offered optimal emotional and physical care from the preconceptual to postpartum stages and which maintained confidentiality or anonymity as desired. They created meaningful care through personal networks. The findings were framed using invitational and feminist theories: how people, places, programs, processes, policies, and politics contributed to educational support. A three part conceptual framework emerged which identified components of access to support: perceived safety of resources, disclosure status, situated privilege, and public or private availability of information. The consequences of lack of public access to comprehensive childbearing care for lesbian women and their communities are described. Educational possibilities addressed systemic heterosexism through the development of sensitive educators, meaningful curriculum, program planning, explicit policies, community partnerships, and political leadership with respect to both institutional and research venues.

The neo-liberal state and the crisis of public service broadcasting in the Anglo-American democracies /

The NeO'liberal State and the Crisis ofPublic Service Broadcasting in the Anglo-American Democracies The purpose ofthis analysis ofthe present condition ofpublic service broadcasting in the Anglo- American democracies was to investigate whether such media can still be regarded as the primarypublic spherefor a dialogue between each nation 's civil society and the State. The motivationfor this thesis was based on a presumption that such fora for public discussion on the central issues of each society have become viewed as less relevant bypoliticians andpolicy-makers and thepublics they were intended to serve in the Anglo-American democracies over thepast two decades. It is speculated that this is the case because ofa beliefthat the post-war consensus between the respective States andpublics that led to the construction of the Keynesian Welfare State and the notion ofpublic service broadcasting has been displaced by an individualistic, neo-liberal, laissez-faire ideology. In other words, broadcasting as a consumer-oriented, commercial commodity has superseded concerns pertaining to the importance ofthe public interest. The methodology employed in this thesis is a comparative analysisfrom a criticalpolitical economy perspective. It was considered appropriate to focus on the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and the\ United States because they comprise the four largest Anglo-American nations with democratic political systems andprimarily market economies. Justificationfor this particular sample is reinforced by thefact that case study countries also share a common socio-political and economic tradition. The evidence assembledfor this thesis consisted almost exclusively ofexisting literature on the subjects ofpublic service broadcasting, global economic andpolitical integration, and the ascendance ofthe 'free-market ' ethos in Western democracies since the late mid- to late-1970s. In essence, this thesis could be considered as a reinterpretation ofthe existing literature relevant to these issues. Several important common features werefound among the political, economic and broadcasting systems of the four case study nations. It is proposed that the prevalence of the neo-liberal world view throughout the political and policy environments of the four countries has undermined the stability and credibility of each nation 's national public service broadcasting organization, although with varying intensity and effect,. Deregulation ofeach nation 's broadcasting system and the supremacy ofthe notion of 'consumer sovereignty' have marginalized the view of broadcasting on any basis other than strictly economic criteria in thefour case study countries. This thesis concludes that,for a reconstruction ofa trulyparticipatory anddemocraticpublicsphere to be realized in the present as well as thefuture, a reassessment ofthe conventional concept ofthe 'public sphere ' is necessary. Therefore, it is recommended that thefocus ofpolicy-makers in each Anglo-American democracy be redirectedfrom that which conceived ofan all-encompassing, large, state-ownedand operated public broadcasting service toward a view which considers alternativeforms ofpublic communication, such as local community and ethnic broadcasting operations, that are likely to be more responsive to the needs of the increasingly diverse and heterogeneous populations that comprise the modem Anglo-American democracies. The traditional conception of public broadcasters must change in accordance with its contemporary environment if the fundamental principles of the public sphere and public service broadcasting are to be realized.

The origins of federal public enterprises in Canada: an appraisal of two approaches

The Green Party of Canada, as a vital aspect of the Canadian green movement, and its connection to international green organizations can be examined primarily through the examp l es of both the Canadian Greens and the Green party of Ontario , by using original party documents and literature, information gained through Green party meetings and discussions with members, and commentary by Green theorists where app licable. As well, the influence on the Canadian green movement by the German Green Party is out lined , again mainly through party literature, documents and critiques of the party's experiences. This study reveals several existing and potential problems fo r t he Green Party in Canada, and the political fut ure of the Canadian green movement in general. Some, such as the real i ties of the Canadian political system are external to the movement, and may be overcome with adjustments in goals and methods, and a realization of the changing attitude towards environmental issues in a political context . On the other hand, internal party disfunctions in both organization and direction, caused mainly by the indefinite parameters of green ideology, threaten to expl oi t t he al ready problematic aspects evident in t he Green Party . Aside from its somewhat slow beginnings, the Green Party in Canada has developed into a strong grassroots social movement, not however from its political visibility but from the steady growth in the popul ari ty of ecological pol i t ics in Canada . Due to the seeming enormity of the obstacles facing the Greens in their effort 4 to achieve electoral success, it is doubtful that Parliamentary representation will be achieved without a major re-orientation of party organization and methods. UI timately the strength of the Green Party in Canada will be based upon its ability to survive as a significant movement, and its willingness to continue to challenge political thought and practice.

Everything that rises must converge: a neo-Marxist analysis of Canadian business-government relations

The following thesis presents an analysis of business-government relations within a neo-Marxist framework. Specifically, the discussion encompasses how the business interest group. the Business Council on National Issues, maintains consensus and unity amongst its monopoly capital members. Furthermore. the study elaborates on the process through which the group's interests are acknowledged and legitimized by the state under the "public interest" f8fue. Most of the literature pertaining to business-government relations within the context of interactions between business interest groups and the state, and such specific branches of the state as the government and/or the civil service. emphasize a liberal-pluralist perspective. Essentially, these writings serve to reflect and legitimate the current slatus quo. Marxist discourses on the subject, while attempting to transcend the liberal-pluralist framework. nevertheless suffer from either economic determinism .. ie., stressing the state's accumulation function but not its legitimation function or historical specificity. A cogent and comprehensive neo-Marxist analysis of business-government relations must discuss both the accumulation and legitimation functions of the state. The process by which the concerns of a particular business interest group become part of the state's policy agenda and subsequently are formulated and implemented into policies which legitimate its dominance is also studied. This inquiry is significant given the liberal-pluralist assumptions of a neutral state and that all interest groups compete "on a level playing field". The author's neo-Marxist paradigm rejects both of these assumptions. Building on concepts from nea-Marxist instrumentalism. structuralism. state monopoly capitalism, and forms and functions of the state perspectives. the author proposes that policies which legitimize the interests of the monopoly capital fraction cannot. be discerned only from the state's activities. per StJ. Clearly, if the liberal-pluralist 3 contention of multiple and conflicting interest groups, including those within the capitalist class, is taken at face value, M interest group such as the Business Council on National Issues (BCND, must somehow maintain. internal consensus Md unity amongst its members. Internal consensus amongst its members ensures that the state can better acknowledge and articulate its concerns into policies that maintain hegemonic dominance of the monopoly capital fraction under the "public interest" fllf.JJdq. The author contends that the BCNI focuses most of its interactions on the upper echelons of the civil service since it is this branch of the state which is most responsible for policy formulation and implementation. The author's paradigm is applied within the context of extensively analyzing newspaper coverage. BCN! publications, and other published sources, as well as a personal interview with an executive administrative member of the BeNI. The discussion focuses on how agreement and unity amongst the various interests of the monopoly capital fraction are maintained through the business organization, its policy scope, and finally its interactions with the state. The analysis suggests that while the civil service is an important player in expressing the interests of the BCNI's membership through policies which ostensibly also reflect the "public interest", it is not the only strategic target for the BCNI's interactions with the state. The author's research also highlights the importance of government officials at the Cabinet level and Cabinet Committees. Senior elected officials from the Federal government are also significant in avoiding intergovernmental or interprovincial conflict in implementing policies that legitimize hegemonic dominance of the monopoly capital fraction over other fractions and classes.

Agenda for the fifty-third annual meeting of the National Council of Women of Canada, 1946

The National Council of Women of Canada was founded in 1893 in Toronto to address the need for societal reform, such as better education for women and women’s suffrage. The first president was Lady Ishbel Aberdeen, the wife of the Governor General. The group’s early efforts focused on improving conditions for women prisoners, women working in factories, and women immigrants. The efforts of the Council also helped to achieve the passing of the Act to Confer the Electoral Franchise Upon Women in 1918. Members of the Council have advocated for the welfare of children, the family, the community, the environment and equal pay for work of equal value. The Council continues to be concerned with these issues, and presents an annual brief to the Prime Minister and Members of the Cabinet, as well as occasionally serving on special advisory committees.