Women and Voluntary Blood Donation

This study explores the patterns of and motivations for voluntary blood donation by men and women in Toronto, Canada. Examining social systems with differently structured opportunities for altruism illustrates both the influence of the sex-role differential on altruism, and also the impact of these social structures upon sex-role behaviour. Data are drawn from a postal questionnaire completed by a random sample of about 1,000 males and 850 females who had voluntarily donated blood in Toronto, at least once between June 1974 and February 1978. The study finds men and women donate about equally in a voluntary system, in contrast to lower female participation with market-based blood procurement. Further, the reasons to begin and cease donor activity are basically similar for each sex, though observed differences are quite compatible with traditional role assumption. Implications are assessed for both altruistic behaviour and sex-role patterning

Workfare in Toronto: More of the Same?

This paper uses a recent survey of welfare leavers in Toronto to examine Workfare, a uniquely American initiative introduced into Canada, with its different welfare state history and traditions. When classic American workfare was imported by an enthusiastic government in Ontario, its application led to employment outcomes remarkably similar to those in the US (reduced caseloads, insecure and contingent employment, high recidivism). Yet, Canada\u27s earlier commitment to community and collective responsibility have not been entirely subsumed below the overarching American umbrella. Welfare programs in Canada-specifically, workfare-reflect both the difficulties of maintaining great difference, and also the possibilities of following an alternate path

Globalization, Precarious Work, and the Food Bank

This paper explores whether people are better off working in the precarious employment associated with a neoliberal globalized economy. Firstly, we show the impacts of globalization on the composition of food bank users in Toronto, Canada. We then compare two groups offood bank users, one with at least one household member working, the other without. Our findings demonstrate that the life experiences of the two groups remain depressingly similar: those employed remained mired in poverty and continued to lead marginalized, precarious lives. The lack of investment in education or training characteristic of \u27work-first\u27 welfare reforms leads to unstable, low-paid work for the vast majority of those leaving welfare

Technique bias in measuring acts of altruism : The case of voluntary blood donation

This study compared personal interviews and a postal survey, posing the same questions to two random samples independently drawn from the same population. It sought reasons why respondents began and may subsequently terminate, involvement as voluntary blood donors in Toronto, Canada. The priorities of respondents (ordinal rankings) were virtually identical in the two samples, notwith-standing a clear response rate and socio-economic differential between the modes. Differences in item response rates were compatible with explanations involving interviewer bias and question threat. The study suggested the low response rates of postal surveys may not necessarily imply relevant non-respondent bias. In certain cases at least, other aspects of technique bias may be a more important research concern.