An entrepreneurial model of economic and environmental co-evolution

A basic tenet of ecological economics is that economic growth and development are ultimately constrained by environmental carrying capacities. It is from this basis that notions of a sustainable economy and of sustainable economic development emerge to undergird the ‘standard model’ of ecological economics. However, the belief in ‘hard’ environmental constraints may be obscuring the important role of the entrepreneur in the coevolution of economic and environmental relations, and hence limiting or distorting the analytic focus of ecological economics and the range of policy options that are considered for sustainable economic development. This paper outlines a co-evolutionary model of the dynamics of economic and ecological systems as connected by entrepreneurial behaviour. We then discuss some of the key analytic and policy implications.

Making Temporary Permanent: The Silent Transformation of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program

During the mid-2000s the number of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) present in Canada increased dramatically, more than tripling in eight years. The bulk of the increase was due to an expansion of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) to include lower-skilled occupations. The stated reason for the expansion was to address short-term labour shortage s. Contrary to expectations, upon the onset of the economic downturn in 2008, the number of TFWs did not decrease significantly, and appears to be increasing again in 2010 and 2011. This paper tracks the evolution of the TFWP from a stable program designed to address short-term labour needs in high-skilled occupations into a broader labour market tool. The paper examines the most recent available statistical data for the TFWP and other documentary evidence to argue the role of the TFWP in Canada’s labour market has quietly shifted, becoming a permanent, large-scale labour pool for many industries, reminiscent of European migrant worker programs. The paper also examines the potential labour market implications of an expanded, entrenched TFWP

Class Action: Building Political Activism Among Union Activists

New research into the political attitudes and behaviours of union activists challenges traditional beliefs about the prospects for politicizing unionists in Canada. A study of union activists in Alberta finds two significant results. First union activists are more politically active than the average Canadian. This contradicts conventional wisdom about union activists. Second, unions can play a direct and important role in fostering political participation among their activists, a finding that has the potential to extend to the general membership. However, to be effective in mobilizing unionists politically, unions need to approach the project differently than they do at present. It is a project of action, not words, and it must be grounded in the lived experience of union workers. In particular, perceptions of class play a central role in shaping the political decisions of unionists. Relational articulations of class lead to political mobilization, and thus union actions must reflect the lived experience of being working class in Canada

A New Perspective On The Universality Debate: Reverse Moderate Relativism In The Islamic Context

The goal of the human rights movement to formulate a jurisprudence of rights valid for all of humanity is considered laudable by some,\u27 offensive to other

The Relationship of IMF Structural Adjustment Programs to Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights: The Argentine Case Revisited

Perhaps as important as what this Note is, is what it is not: Economic theories abound concerning the causes of the Argentine crisis, some of which directly analyze the IMF\u27s causal connection to the Argentine catastrophe. A Note on this subject would be one of economic theory, not international human rights law. While at certain points in the analysis of the human rights implications of SAPs, it will become difficult to avoid some speculation of economic theory, it is not the primary focus of this Note. Rather than implicate the IMF as part of the cause of the crisis, this Note explicates the ways in which it is an imperfect solution from the standpoint of ESC rights. It does not attempt to argue against the prevailing economic theories for the crisis, but rather discusses ways in which certain provisions of SAPs-provisions also often present in stronger economic periods-are inconsistent with ESC rights. To the extent that the ESC rights law discussed in this Note may appear contrary to the theories embodied in the economic studies cited above, this may reflect an underlying inconsistency between ESC law and macroeconomic scholarship, an inconsistency which should be dealt with in greater detail in future scholarship

Division of Student Affairs Student Employees Make Meaning of Their Intersecting Identities and Work

A constructivist paradigm guided research to explore how student affairs student employees at two institutions made meaning of their multiple and intersecting identities in the context of their student affairs employment experience. Four current students at one institution provided data via interviews, a focus group, and participant journals while 12 former students at another participated, one via a phone interview whereas the rest submitted written email responses. Document analysis and a researcher journal also served as data sources as meaning and understanding emerged during this study. Through intentional and unintentional development opportunities, students shared stories and painted a picture of the way employment in a division of student affairs supported their development as they came to making meaning of their identities. Conclusions indicated work experiences helped students develop confidence, a sense of self, a sense of belonging, and realize new appreciation for and understanding of their own and others’ identities. Additional findings indicate students experience and witness discrimination of minoritized identities regularly in their student employment environments and privileged identities may allow students to forego fully processing their identities and experiences. Finally, while development opportunities in the work place may help students in the processing of their identities, more consistency and intentionality are needed when providing these types of experiences

International Administrative Tribunals and Cross-Fertilization: Evidence of a Nascent Common Jurisprudence?

The present work concerns International Administrative Tribunals (IATs), the dispute-resolution bodies between staff members and the administration of international organizations, existing at the cross-roads of international law, institutional law, and administrative law. It argues that, contrary to popular belief, the some twenty-five different IATs currently in existence are no longer functioning individually but rather citing to each other with increasing frequency and, in so doing, developing a common jurisprudence of international administrative law. Over fifty years ago, when only a handful of IATs existed, M.B. Akehurst, a commentator in the field, made the observation that “[i]nternational administrative tribunals behave as if the internal laws of different organizations formed part of a single system of law” and that it was “clear that the internal laws of different organizations bear a remarkable resemblance to each other, and can therefore establish strong precedents for each other” (Akehurst, The Law Governing Employment in International Organizations 263 (1967)). The present work aims to take stock of whether Akehurst’s statement remains true today, or if the proliferation of tribunals has instead led to divergences in jurisprudence. Much like the debate in international law writ large, the question to be answered is one between fragmentation and universalization. Engaging in a thorough review of all IAT jurisprudence the first comprehensive study of its kind the present work argues that indeed Akehurst’s statement has proven correct, perhaps beyond what he could have ever imagined. Far from the divergence and fractures that some have warned against as the number of IATs has grown, there has been a convergence, as IATs have increasingly cited each other in an exercise of reciprocal growth, sharing the task of creating and developing an ever more universal international administrative law

The Relationship of IMF Structural Adjustment Programs to Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights: The Argentine Case Revisited

Perhaps as important as what this Note is, is what it is not: Economic theories abound concerning the causes of the Argentine crisis, some of which directly analyze the IMF\u27s causal connection to the Argentine catastrophe. A Note on this subject would be one of economic theory, not international human rights law. While at certain points in the analysis of the human rights implications of SAPs, it will become difficult to avoid some speculation of economic theory, it is not the primary focus of this Note. Rather than implicate the IMF as part of the cause of the crisis, this Note explicates the ways in which it is an imperfect solution from the standpoint of ESC rights. It does not attempt to argue against the prevailing economic theories for the crisis, but rather discusses ways in which certain provisions of SAPs-provisions also often present in stronger economic periods-are inconsistent with ESC rights. To the extent that the ESC rights law discussed in this Note may appear contrary to the theories embodied in the economic studies cited above, this may reflect an underlying inconsistency between ESC law and macroeconomic scholarship, an inconsistency which should be dealt with in greater detail in future scholarship

Sursum Corda: ritual and meaning of the liturgical command in the first five centuries of the Church

This dissertation explores the ritual and meaning of the Sursum Corda in the first five centuries of the Church. The original text and structure was forceful and abrupt - reminding those gathered of their heavenly position in Christ via their baptisms. When the priest shouted the command, those assembled assumed the orans position of prayer in the same manner as they did the first time they prayed the ‘Our Father’ after being baptized. In turn, the Sursum Corda brought spiritual and social order to often troubled Eucharistic assemblies. Certain third through fifth century Fathers employed various meanings of the command as they related it to the rites of entrance into the Church. When the initiated had their ‘hearts on high’ it resulted in the ability to ward off the attacks of the devil (evidenced by earthly concerns, attitudes, actions and perceptions) and, therefore, properly perceive the liturgical service as well as the Eucharistic gifts as the Body and Blood of Christ. In the sixth to eight centuries, the Great Entrance, coupled with its accompanying hymns the ‘Cherubikon’ and ‘Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence’ that contained exhortations to ‘lay aside all earthly cares’ (previously connected to the Sursum Corda), replaced the original meaning of the command as the gathered understood the entrance to be that of the Consecrated Gifts. This liturgical evolution resulted in the Sursum Corda transitioning textually and thematically to the exhortation ‘Let us lift up our hearts’ whereby the assembled ascended to the New Jersualem. When the heart made this journey it united with God in the Eucharist: the end result being a realized eschatology. Thus, the Sursum Corda evolved from a command to remember or realize one’s heavenly identity in Christ via baptism to that of a spiritual ascent to the heavenly city of God in the Divine Liturgy