Effectiveness of Canada’s Employment Equity Legislation for Women (1997-2004): Implications for Policy Makers

This study focuses on the effectiveness of the federal Employment Equity Act (EEA). We assess the EEA with regard to female employees using quantitative data from employer reports published under the provisions of the EEA and the Canadian Census. Data in this study cover the period 1997 to 2004.Women constitute the largest of the designated groups, so the effectiveness of the law could have major implications for the welfare of a significant proportion of the Canadian workforce. The most significant finding is that employment equity has increased over time, but at a diminishing rate. In fact, there may be something of a downturn in employment equity for women in the industries covered by the EEA.It is clear from our analysis that women employees in the companies covered by the EEA continue to be under-represented, especially in large companies. Monitoring and enforcement of employment equity in these firms by the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) needs to be undertaken and is essential, since it cannot be taken for granted that larger firms do well in employment equity, overall. Our results and analysis indicate that smaller firms had higher employment equity than larger firms. It may also be necessary for the CHRC to examine the particular occupational groups within larger companies where employment equity is either low or non-existent relative to the Census.The continuing underlying pattern of sex segregation has changed to only a limited extent. For instance, employment opportunities for women continue to be problematic (that is, senior managers, skilled crafts and trades workers) and will require continued and perhaps intensified efforts to resolve. There are large discrepancies between employment equity in primary (i.e., full-time, permanent jobs) and secondary (i.e., temporary and part-time jobs), with employment equity being much lower in the primary sector. Human Resources and Social Development Canada need to have active labour market policies to correct this imbalance.Cette étude questionne l’efficacité de la Loi canadienne en matière d’équité en emploi (LCEE) dans le cas des femmes en emploi. Elle fait appel à des données quantitatives provenant de deux sources : les rapports que doivent soumettre les employeurs en vertu des dispositions de la LCEE et le recensement du Canada mené par Statistique Canada, et couvre la période 1997 à 2004.Comme les femmes constituent le plus important des quatre groupes désignés dans la LCEE, l’efficacité de la LCEE pourrait avoir des conséquences pour une proportion significative de la main-d’oeuvre canadienne. Le résultat le plus significatif de l’étude est à l’effet que l’équité en emploi pour les femmes s’est effectivement améliorée durant la période sous étude mais à un rythme décroissant. En fait on pourrait même assister à un renversement de l’équité en matière d’emploi pour les femmes dans les industries couvertes par la LCEE.Il ressort clairement de notre analyse que les femmes en emploi dans les entreprises couvertes par la LCEE continuent d’être sous-représentées, particulièrement dans les grandes entreprises. L’application et la mise en oeuvre de l’équité en emploi doit être assumée par la Commission canadienne des droits de la personne (CCDP) puisqu’il ne peut être pris pour acquis que les plus grandes entreprises s’en tirent bien dans l’ensemble en matière d’équité en emploi. Nos résultats et analyses suggèrent en fait que les entreprises de moindre taille affichent une plus grande équité en emploi que celles de plus grande taille. La CCDP serait également avisée de se pencher sur les groupes professionnels au sein des grandes entreprises pour lesquels l’équité en emploi reste faible ou non existante selon les données du recensement.Le comportement sous jacent à la discrimination sexuelle s’est modifié au fil des ans mais de manière limitée. Par exemple, les chances d’emplois pour les femmes continuent d’être problématiques (dans les cas des gestionnaires seniors, des ouvriers qualifiés et des employés de métier) et nécessiteront des efforts continus et intensifiés pour une amélioration satisfaisante. Il y a aussi de grandes disparités en matière d’équité en emploi entre les emplois primaires (permanents, à temps plein) et secondaires (temporaires, à temps partiel), celle-ci étant beaucoup plus faible dans le secteur secondaire. Ressources humaines et développement des compétences Canada (RHDCC) se doit d’avoir des politiques actives du marché du travail pour corriger ces déséquilibres.Este estudio focaliza la eficacia de la Ley de equidad en el empleo (LEE). Se evalúa la LEE respecto a las empleadas femeninas en base a los datos cuantitativos de los informes de los empleadores publicados según la LEE y del Censo Canadiense. Los datos de este estudio cubren el periodo 1997–2004.Las mujeres constituyen la mayoría de los grupos designados, por tanto la eficacia de la ley puede tener implicaciones mayores para el bienestar de una proporción significativa de la fuerza de trabajo canadiense. El resultado más significativo es que la equidad en el empleo ha aumentado con el tiempo pero en una proporción cada vez menor. En efecto, puede existir un cierto descenso en la equidad del empleo para las mujeres en las industrias cubiertas por la LEE.Nuestro análisis refleja con claridad que las empleadas mujeres en las compañías cubiertas por la LEE continúan siendo sub-representadas, especialmente en las grandes compañías. Se necesitaría que la Comisión de derechos humanos de Canadá se comprometa a promover el monitoreo y el refuerzo de la equidad en el empleo en estas firmas, puesto que no puede darse por sentado que en general las más grandes empresas actúen correctamente en cuanto a la equidad del empleo.Nuestros resultados y análisis indican que las empresas más pequeñas tienen una equidad de empleo más elevada que las grandes empresas. Puede ser necesario que la Comisión de derechos humanos de Canadá examine los grupos ocupacionales particulares dentro de las más grandes compañías donde la equidad de empleo es baja o inexistente según el Censo.El modelo continuamente subyacente de segregación sexual ha cambiado sólo de manera limitada. Por ejemplo, las oportunidades de empleo para las mujeres continúan siendo problemáticas (esto es, altos directivos, oficios calificados y trabajadores de comercio) y requerirán esfuerzos continuos y quizás intensos para resolverlos.Hay amplias discrepancias entre la equidad de empleo entre los empleos primarios (tiempo completo, empleo permanente) y los empleos secundarios (temporario y a tiempo parcial); la equidad del empleo es mucho más baja en el sector primario. El Ministerio de Recursos Humanos y Desarrollo Social de Canadá necesita desarrollar políticas activas de mercado laboral para corregir este desequilibrio

Reading In English By Children In Korea: Frequency, Effectiveness, And Barriers

A study of the English non-textbook reading of fourth graders in Korea revealed that about 80% had done at least some reading, confirming that there is enthusiasm for English reading. About half, however, had read only five books or fewer. Non-readers said that the reason they did not read in English was the difficulty of English texts. Those who read more did better on a test of English spelling and vocabulary

Movimiento del Nuevo Teatro (신연극, Sinyeongeuk) en Corea

Las nuevas formas teatrales que aparecen a partir de los inicios del siglo XX sufrieron una transformación a lo largo del tiempo. Pasaron de los intentos iniciales de romper con el teatro tradicional de un modo radical, para luego redescubrir éste como elemento coreanizador de las nuevas expresiones de las artes escénicas. Esta investigación nos servirá para entender mejor los fundamentos históricos y artísticos sobre los que se asientan las nuevas tendencias en las artes escénicas coreanas que les han llevado a salir de sus fronteras para entablar un diálogo con otras expresiones teatrales del mundo y dar el salto hacia una visión más global de sus propias características artísticas. Han pasado más de 100 años desde la entrada del teatro occidental en Corea. Estos 100 años de acogida del teatro occidental han dejado una profunda huella en la historia moderna del teatro coreano. Las raíces que el teatro occidental ha implantado en su historia moderna dominan el mundo del teatro actual. Para poder entender apropiadamente este proceso de implantación del teatro occidental en la península y su influencia sobre las artes escénicas coreanas es necesario estudiar detenidamente una de las corrientes teatrales más influyentes en la primera mitad del siglo XX, el llamado “Movimiento del Nuevo Teatro” (신연극, Sinyeongeuk).Centro de Estudios Coreano

Isolated and Combined Effects of Electroacupuncture and Meditation in Reducing Experimentally Induced Ischemic Pain: A Pilot Study

Acupuncture and meditation are promising treatment options for clinical pain. However, studies investigating the effects of these methods on experimental pain conditions are equivocal. Here, the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) and meditation on the submaximum effort tourniquet technique (SETT), a well-established, opiate-sensitive pain paradigm in experimental placebo research were studied. Ten experienced meditators (6 male subjects) and 13 nonmeditators (6 male subjects) were subjected to SETT (250 mmHG) on one baseline (SETT only) and two treatment days (additional EA contralaterally to the SETT, either at the leg on ST36 and LV3 or at the arm on LI4 and LI10 in randomized order). Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) ratings (scale 0–10) were recorded every 3 min. During baseline, meditation induced significantly greater pain tolerance in meditators when compared with the control group. Both the EA conditions significantly increased pain tolerance and reduced pain ratings in controls. Furthermore, EA diminished the group difference in pain sensitivity, indicating that meditators had no additional benefit from acupuncture. The data suggest that EA as a presumable bottom-up process may be as effective as meditation in controlling experimental SETT pain. However, no combined effect of both the techniques could be observed

The influence of a series of five dry cupping treatments on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain : a randomised controlled pilot study

In this preliminary trial we investigated the effects of dry cupping, an ancient method for treating pain syndromes, on patients with chronic non-specific neck pain. Sensory mechanical thresholds and the participants’ self-reported outcome measures of pain and quality of life were evaluated. Fifty patients (50.5 ± 11.9 years) were randomised to a treatment group (TG) or a waiting-list control group (WL). Patients in the TG received a series of 5 cupping treatments over a period of 2 weeks; the control group did not. Self-reported outcome measures before and after the cupping series included the following: Pain at rest (PR) and maximal pain related to movement (PM) on a 100-mm visual analogue scale (VAS), pain diary (PD) data on a 0-10 numeric rating scale (NRS), Neck Disability Index (NDI), and health-related quality of life (SF-36). In addition, the mechanical-detection thresholds (MDT), vibration-detection thresholds (VDT), and pressure-pain thresholds (PPT) were determined at pain-related and control areas. Patients of the TG had significantly less pain after cupping therapy than patients of the WL group (PR: Δ-22.5 mm, p = 0.00002; PM: Δ-17.8 mm, p = 0.01). Pain diaries (PD) revealed that neck pain decreased gradually in the TG patients and that pain reported by the two groups differed significantly after the fifth cupping session (Δ-1.1, p = 0.001). There were also significant differences in the SF-36 subscales for bodily pain (Δ13.8, p = 0.006) and vitality (Δ10.2, p = 0.006). Group differences in PPT were significant at pain-related and control areas (all p < 0.05), but were not significant for MDT or VDT. A series of five dry cupping treatments appeared to be effective in relieving chronic non-specific neck pain. Not only subjective measures improved, but also mechanical pain sensitivity differed significantly between the two groups, suggesting that cupping has an influence on functional pain processing

Induction of Lrp5 HBM-causing mutations in Cathepsin-K expressing cells alters bone metabolism

High-bone-mass (HBM)-causing missense mutations in the low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein-5 (Lrp5) are associated with increased osteoanabolic action and protection from disuse- and ovariectomy-induced osteopenia. These mutations (e.g., A214V and G171V) confer resistance to endogenous secreted Lrp5/6 inhibitors, such as sclerostin (SOST) and Dickkopf homolog-1 (DKK1). Cells in the osteoblast lineage are responsive to canonical Wnt stimulation, but recent work has indicated that osteoclasts exhibit both indirect and direct responsiveness to canonical Wnt. Whether Lrp5-HBM receptors, expressed in osteoclasts, might alter osteoclast differentiation, activity, and consequent net bone balance in the skeleton, is not known. To address this, we bred mice harboring heterozygous Lrp5 HBM-causing conditional knock-in alleles to Ctsk-Cre transgenic mice and studied the phenotype using DXA, μCT, histomorphometry, serum assays, and primary cell culture. Mice with HBM alleles induced in Ctsk-expressing cells (TG) exhibited higher bone mass and architectural properties compared to non-transgenic (NTG) counterparts. In vivo and in vitro measurements of osteoclast activity, population density, and differentiation yielded significant reductions in osteoclast-related parameters in female but not male TG mice. Droplet digital PCR performed on osteocyte enriched cortical bone tubes from TG and NTG mice revealed that ~8–17% of the osteocyte population (depending on sex) underwent recombination of the conditional Lrp5 allele in the presence of Ctsk-Cre. Further, bone formation parameters in the midshaft femur cortex show a small but significant increase in anabolic action on the endocortical but not periosteal surface. These findings suggest that Wnt/Lrp5 signaling in osteoclasts affects osteoclastogenesis and activity in female mice, but also that some of the changes in bone mass in TG mice might be due to Cre expression in the osteocyte population

A self-tuning mechanism in (3+p)d gravity-scalar theory

We present a new type of self-tuning mechanism for ($3+p$)d brane world models in the framework of gravity-scalar theory. This new type of self-tuning mechanism exhibits a remarkable feature. In the limit $g_s \to 0$, $g_s$ being the string coupling, the geometry of bulk spacetime remains virtually unchanged by an introduction of the Standard Model(SM)-brane, and consequently it is virtually unaffected by quantum fluctuations of SM fields with support on the SM-brane. Such a feature can be obtained by introducing Neveu-Schwarz(NS)-brane as a background brane on which our SM-brane is to be set. Indeed, field equations naturally suggest the existence of the background NS-brane. Among the given such models, of the most interest is the case with $\Lambda=0$, where $\Lambda$ represents the bulk cosmological constant. This model contains a pair of coincident branes (of the SM- and the NS-branes), one of which is a codimension-2 brane placed at the origin of 2d transverse space ($\equiv \Sigma_2$), another a codimension-1 brane placed at the edge of $\Sigma_2$. These two branes are (anti) T-duals of each other, and one of them may be identified as our SM-brane plus the background NS-brane. In the presence of the background NS-brane (and in the absence of $\Lambda$), the 2d transverse space $\Sigma_2$ becomes an orbifold $R_2 /Z_n$ with an appropriate deficit angle. But this is only possible if the ($3+p$)d Planck scale $M_{3+p}$ and the string scale $M_s$($\equiv 1/\sqrt{\alpha^{\prime}}$) are of the same order, which accords with the hierarchy assumption \cite{1,2,3} that the electroweak scale $m_{EW}$ is the only short distance scale existing in nature

Clcn7F318L/+ as a new mouse model of Albers-Schönberg disease

Dominant negative mutations in CLCN7, which encodes a homodimeric chloride channel needed for matrix acidification by osteoclasts, cause Albers-Schönberg disease (also known as autosomal dominant osteopetrosis type 2). More than 25 different CLCN7 mutations have been identified in patients affected with Albers-Schönberg disease, but only one mutation (Clcn7G213R) has been introduced in mice to create an animal model of this disease. Here we describe a mouse with a different osteopetrosis-causing mutation (Clcn7F318L). Compared to Clcn7+/+ mice, 12-week-old Clcn7F318L/+ mice have significantly increased trabecular bone volume, consistent with Clcn7F318L acting as a dominant negative mutation. Clcn7F318L/F318L and Clcn7F318L/G213R mice die by 1 month of age and resemble Clcn7 knockout mice, which indicate that p.F318L mutant protein is non-functional and p.F318L and p.G213R mutant proteins do not complement one another. Since it has been reported that treatment with interferon gamma (IFN-G) improves bone properties in Clcn7G213R/+ mice, we treated Clcn7F318L/+ mice with IFN-G and observed a decrease in osteoclast number and mineral apposition rate, but no overall improvement in bone properties. Our results suggest that the benefits of IFN-G therapy in patients with Albers-Schönberg disease may be mutation-specific

Sclerostin neutralization unleashes the osteoanabolic effects of Dkk1 inhibition

The WNT pathway has become an attractive target for skeletal therapies. High-bone-mass phenotypes in patients with loss-of-function mutations in the LRP5/6 inhibitor Sost (sclerosteosis), or in its downstream enhancer region (van Buchem disease), highlight the utility of targeting Sost/sclerostin to improve bone properties. Sclerostin-neutralizing antibody is highly osteoanabolic in animal models and in human clinical trials, but antibody-based inhibition of another potent LRP5/6 antagonist, Dkk1, is largely inefficacious for building bone in the unperturbed adult skeleton. Here, we show that conditional deletion of Dkk1 from bone also has negligible effects on bone mass. Dkk1 inhibition increases Sost expression, suggesting a potential compensatory mechanism that might explain why Dkk1 suppression lacks anabolic action. To test this concept, we deleted Sost from osteocytes in, or administered sclerostin neutralizing antibody to, mice with a Dkk1-deficient skeleton. A robust anabolic response to Dkk1 deletion was manifest only when Sost/sclerostin was impaired. Whole-body DXA scans, μCT measurements of the femur and spine, histomorphometric measures of femoral bone formation rates, and biomechanical properties of whole bones confirmed the anabolic potential of Dkk1 inhibition in the absence of sclerostin. Further, combined administration of sclerostin and Dkk1 antibody in WT mice produced a synergistic effect on bone gain that greatly exceeded individual or additive effects of the therapies, confirming the therapeutic potential of inhibiting multiple WNT antagonists for skeletal health. In conclusion, the osteoanabolic effects of Dkk1 inhibition can be realized if sclerostin upregulation is prevented. Anabolic therapies for patients with low bone mass might benefit from a strategy that accounts for the compensatory milieu of WNT inhibitors in bone tissue

Develop to Term Rat Oocytes Injected with Heat-Dried Sperm Heads

This study investigated the development of rat oocytes in vitro and in vivo following intracytoplasmic injection of heads from spermatozoa heat-dried at 50°C for 8 h and stored at 4°C in different gas phases. Sperm membrane and chromosome are damaged by the process of heat-drying. Oocyte activation and cleavage of oocytes were worse in oocytes injected with spermatozoa heat-dried and stored for 1 week than unheated, fresh spermatozoa, but in heat-dried spermatozoa, there were no differences in these abilities of oocytes between the samples stored in nitrogen gas and in air. The oocytes injected with heat-dried spermatozoa stored for 1 week could develop to the morula and blastocyst stages without difference between the samples stored in nitrogen gas and in air after artificial stimulation. Cleavage of oocytes and development of cleaved embryos were higher when heat-dried spermatozoa were stored for 3 and 6 months in nitrogen gas than in air. However, the ability of injected oocytes to develop to the morula and blastocyst stages was not inhibited even when heat-dried spermatozoa stored in both atmosphere conditions for as long as 6 months were used. When 2-cell embryos derived from oocytes injected with heads from spermatozoa heat-dried and stored for 1 week and 1 month were transferred, each 1 of 4 recipients was conceived, and the conceived recipients delivered 1 live young each. These results demonstrate that rat oocytes can be fertilized with heat-dried spermatozoa and that the fertilized oocytes can develop to term