Gardenia Memories

A dazzling stream of golden morning sunlight slants between claret coloured drapes to touch three gardenias on a mahogany dressing table

REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS AND THE IMMOVABLE PROPERTY MARKET IN ALBANIA

The experience of other Eastern and Central European countries would suggest that in Albania, as the market for real property develops, there should also be developments in services that support real property transactions. A competitive and transparent market is usually facilitated by the presence of real estate professionals who bring buyers and sellers together to maximize the opportunities of both. These specialists work primarily through the collection and management of market information relating to real estate and profit through the administration of the process of submitting offers, acceptances, and contracts of sale. The appearance of such real estate professionals began in Albania in 1991, immediately following legal reforms allowing individuals and groups of individuals in society to own real property. This report examines the development of the real estate profession in Albania from 1991 to 1996 and is based on interviews and meetings with representatives of the key actors in any real property market: realtors, builders, urban planners, architects, lawyers and notaries, appraisers, and construction companies. The study was sponsored by the Land Market Development Project for the combined purpose of (a) providing insight on the evolution of Albania's urban real property market prior to full implementation of the Immovable Property Registration System and (b) assisting with the establishment of an Association of Real Estate Professionals, which could improve the professional expertise of realtors and encourage nongovernmental legal and policy research relating to real estate market development.Real estate business--Albania, Real estate development--Albania, Land markets--Albania, Land Economics/Use,

Citizenship for a Modern Democracy: Youth Perspectives on the Canadian Multicultural Reality

The Independent Studies program closed in 2016. This thesis was one of 25 accepted by Library for long-term preservation and presentation in UWSpace.This paper explores the links between citizenship and multiculturalism in the Ontario secondary school curriculum Grade 10 Civics course and among Ontario youth. Contemporary citizenship theory suggests that a progressive approach to citizenship, fostering critical thinking, civic participation and commitment to social justice, is particularly necessary in a multicultural nation faced with complex issues like racism and inequity. However, this study offers preliminary support for the idea that Ontario’s approach to citizenship education remains generally conservative in nature and does not create a platform from which students could internalize critical perspectives on multiculturalism. Analysis of the Ontario Grade 10 Civics course and interviews with five recent Ontario high school graduates likewise suggests that students may also retain more conservative attitudes towards citizenship and superficial knowledge about its links to multiculturalism. This paper suggests that more research into how students understand these complex topics might assist educators as they develop more progressive curricula