The river, the railroad tracks, and the towers: How residents' worldview and use value transformed Wilton Manors into a diverse, gay-friendly, urban village

This case study examines the factors that shaped the identity and landscape of a small island-urban-village between the north and south forks of the Middle River and north of an urban area in Broward County, Florida. The purpose of the study is to understand how Wilton Manors was transformed from a “whites only” enclave to the contemporary upscale, diverse, and third gayest city in the U.S. by positing that a dichotomy for urban places exists between their exchange value as seen by Logan and Molotch and the use value produced through everyday activity according to Lefebvre. Qualitative methods were used to gather evidence for reaching conclusions about the relationship among the worldview of residents, the tension between exchange value and use value in the restructuration of the city, and the transformation of Wilton Manors at the end of the 1990s. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with 21 contemporary participants. In addition, thirteen taped CDs of selected members of founding families, previously taped in the 1970s, were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. My findings indicate that Wilton Manors’ residents share a common worldview which incorporates social inclusion as a use value, and individual agency in the community. This shared worldview can be traced to selected city pioneers whose civic mindedness helped shape city identity and laid the foundation for future restructuration. Currently, residents’ quality of life reflected in the city’s use value is more significant than exchange value as a primary force in the decisions that are made about the city’s development. With innovative ideas, buildings emulating the new urban mixed-use design, and a reputation as the third gayest city in the United States, Wilton Manors reflects a worldview where residents protect use value as primary over market value in the decisions they make that shape their city but not without contestation.^

A profile of travelers who are willing to stay in environmentally friendly hotel

The purpose of this study is to describe travelers that have indicated they are willing to stay in green hotel in order to better understand the market segment. There is very little knowledge about these types of travelers, thus making it difficult for hoteliers to know how to create marketing campaigns that target them. Data were collected via an online survey company. Behavior characteristics provided a more distinguishing profile of the traveler than did demographics or psychographics. Most travelers were willing to pay the same amount for a green hotel as a traditional hotel. Implications, future research, and limitations are discussed.

The process of implementing a new baby-friendly hospital initiative for nurses: a grounded theory study

Maternity nursing practice is changing across Canada with the movement toward becoming “baby friendly.” The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) as a standard of care in hospitals worldwide. Very little research has been conducted with nurses to explore the impact of the initiative on nursing practice. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to examine the process of implementing the BFHI for nurses. The study was carried out using Corbin and Strauss’s method of grounded theory. Theoretical sampling was employed, which resulted in recruiting and interviewing 13 registered nurses whose area of employment included neonatal intensive care, postpartum, and labour and delivery. The data analysis revealed a central category of resisting the BFHI. All of the nurses disagreed with some of the 10 steps to becoming a baby-friendly hospital as outlined by the WHO. Participants questioned the science and safety of aspects of the BFHI. Also, participants indicated that the implementation of this program did not substantially change their nursing practice. They empathized with new mothers and anticipated being collectively reprimanded by management should they not follow the initiative. Five conditions influenced their responses to the initiative, which were (a) an awareness of a pro-breastfeeding culture, (b) imposition of the BFHI, (c) knowledge of the health benefits of breastfeeding, (d) experiential knowledge of infant feeding, and (e) the belief in the autonomy of mothers to decide about infant feeding. The identified outcomes were moral distress and division between nurses. The study findings could guide decision making concerning the implementation of the BFHI.

From the politics of antagonistic recognition to agonistic peacebuilding : an exploration of symbols and rituals in divided societies

Peer reviewed

From the politics of antagonistic recognition to agonistic peacebuilding : an exploration of symbols and rituals in divided societies

Peer reviewed

A personal perspective on the role of electrochemical science and technology in solving the challenges faced by modern societies

Non peer reviewed

From the politics of antagonistic recognition to agonistic peacebuilding : an exploration of symbols and rituals in divided societies

Peer reviewed

Complexity as key to designing cognitive-friendly environments for older people

The lived environment is the arena where our cognitive skills, preferences, and attitudes come together to determine our ability to interact with the world. The mechanisms through which lived environments can benefit cognitive health in older age are yet to be fully understood. The existing literature suggests that environments which are perceived as stimulating, usable and aesthetically appealing can improve or facilitate cognitive performance both in young and older age. Importantly, optimal stimulation for cognition seems to depend on experiencing sufficiently stimulating environments while not too challenging. Environmental complexity is an important contributor to determining whether an environment provides such an optimal stimulation. The present paper reviews a selection of studies which have explored complexity in relation to perceptual load, environmental preference and perceived usability to propose a framework which explores direct and indirect environmental influences on cognition, and to understand these influences in relation to aging processes. We identify ways to define complexity at different environmental scales, going from micro low-level perceptual features of scenes, to design qualities of proximal environments (e.g., streets, neighborhoods), to broad geographical areas (i.e., natural vs. urban environments). We propose that studying complexity at these different scales will provide new insight into the design of cognitive-friendly environments.

Accommodating Muslim Minorities in Secular Societies: Public Education in England, Scotland, Ontario, and Quebec

Abstract This thesis examines one of the most sensitive challenges facing contemporary democracies: the accommodation of Muslim minorities in public institutions and services. It focuses on the field of education, and on two particular issues: the public funding of Islamic schools and the accommodation of Muslim needs in public secular schools. The analysis is based on an examination of outcomes in four jurisdictions that differ significantly in the level of accommodation that has emerged: England, Scotland, Ontario, and Quebec. I seek to explain why such variation in outcomes exists among these four cases. I draw on four bodies of literature to underpin the theoretical framework: historical institutionalism, political mobilization by civil society, political parties, and ideationalism. My argument can be summarized simply; historic church-state settlements, unique in each case, are the most important factor explaining the variation in outcomes in England, Scotland, Ontario, and Quebec. In some cases, the historic church-state template is incrementally adapted to accommodate Muslim minorities. In other cases, relatively little accommodation occurs and the path-dependent trajectory of church-state relations remains entrenched. While the historic church-state template is a necessary factor in the explanation, it does not fully account for the variation. For a more complete picture, I demonstrate that there are several additional key factors that also shape the outcomes: first, national identity and public attitudes towards immigration and immigrants; second, the extent of mobilization by political agents, such as civil society organizations and historic churches; and third, the response of political parties to demands by Muslims for institutional accommodation. Ultimately, I conclude that Muslims in these jurisdictions are receiving some accommodation, but the process is slow and partial. This thesis makes important theoretical and empirical contributions to the discussion of Muslim integration in liberal democratic states. First, a framework has yet to be developed that considers the theoretical implications of institutional accommodation of Muslims; I address this gap. Second, this research demonstrates the utility of historical institutionalism in explaining the adaptation of church-state templates to accommodate Muslims’ demands. Last, this study makes an original contribution by comparing the cases of England, Scotland, Ontario, and Quebec in the accommodation of Muslims in education. A comparison of Canada with the United Kingdom has not yet been done.  

Net-surplus as a useful tool to analyse financial information in co-op societies

This paper aims to analyse a sample of Galician co-ops to verify whether or not it is possible to deduce different financial behaviours among co-op partners from the amount of net-surplus. To this end, our study adds net-surplus to the variation registered in some account entries so that other residual incomes yielded by the co-op may be considered. The distribution of these revenues shows that partners do not usually choose to fully anticipate residual incomes. This reveals that some firms follow a positive net-surplus strategy, which is actually different from the null net-surplus strategy asserted by the classical financial theory. Furthermore, results show that differences between both strategies are statistically significant. This opens a path to future research on determinants explaining why co-op partners voluntarily renounce to anticipating these residual incomes. Such behaviour only arises when yearly accounts render a positive result, thereby making the accounting net-surplus a useful tool to analyse financial information in co-op societies.