Representation of Canadian Women at the Cabinet Table

This examination of the appointment of elected women to Canadian federal, provincial and territorial cabinets from 1917 to 2002 analyzes both the numbers of women appointed to cabinets and the nature of their cabinet posts, revealing that while female legislators have had a competitive advantage over their male counterparts when it comes to cabinet representation, the allocation of cabinet duties continues to reflect a gendered division of labour.Cet examen de la nomination des femmes élues aux cabinets fédéraux canadiens, provinciaux et municipaux de 1917 à 2002, analyse tant le nombre de femmes nommées à des cabinets révélant que tandis que les femmes législatrices ont eu l'avantage compétitif sur leurs confrères quand il en est de la représentation du cabinet, la répartition des fonctions des cabinets continue de refléter une division du travail différienciée selon les sexes

Kim-Speak : l’effet du genre dans la médiatisation de Kim Campbell durant la campagne pour l’élection nationale canadienne de 1993

À l’occasion d’une élection opposant des chefs de parti de sexe différent, il se peut que la couverture médiatique reflète une conception du leadership politique marquée par la spécificité de genre. Les auteures ont cherché, dans leur étude, à vérifier la présence et l’ampleur de ce phénomène par la comparaison de la couverture médiatique de Kim Campbell et celle de son principal adversaire, le chef libéral Jean Chrétien, lors de l’élection fédérale de 1993, dans le quotidien anglophone national The Globe and Mail. À l’aide de techniques d’analyse de contenu et de critique du discours, elles ont analysé les représentations de la personnalité de chaque chef, ainsi que de son comportement et de ses discours durant la campagne. Bien que la couverture fasse état du sexe de Campbell, le discours journalistique l’inscrivait néanmoins dans une arène mâle, où elle était présentée comme étant aussi combative et pugnace que son adversaire masculin. L’effet du genre était particulièrement évident dans les descriptions des discours électoraux des chefs, où les auteurs ont observé que Campbell était plus souvent jugée sur des questions de style oratoire que son adversaire. De plus, ces jugements marqués par le genre étaient profondément négatifs. Se basant sur ces résultats, les auteures soutiennent que la représentation médiatique des prestations électorales de Kim Campbell a pu affaiblir la perception de sa légitimité en tant que chef politique et de sa capacité à diriger le pays à titre de première ministre.Media coverage of elections contested by competitive male and female party leaders may reflect gendered norms of political leadership. To determine the presence and extensiveness of gendered mediation of political leadership, our study compared coverage of Kim Campbell and her primary opponent, Liberal leader Jean Chrétien, by Canada’s English-language national newspaper, the Globe and Mail, during the 1993 Canadian federal election. Using content and critical discourse analysis techniques, we analyzed representations of the two leaders’ personas, campaign performances and speech acts. We found that although Campbell’s sex was noted in the coverage, she was written into the masculine game frame for election reporting and presented as equally combative and pugilistic as her male opponent. Gendered mediation was most clearly revealed in descriptions of the leaders’ campaign speeches, as Campbell’s speaking style was significantly more likely than Chrétien’s to be described and evaluated and assessments of her public speech were gendered and profoundly negative in tone. Based on these findings we argue that representations of Kim Campbell’s campaign performances may have damaged perceptions of her legitimacy as a political leader and capacity to succeed in the prime ministerial role

“Wildrose Wild Card”: Alberta Newspaper Coverage of the 2009 Wildrose Alliance Leadership Contest

This study uses quantitative and qualitative methods to examine Alberta newspaper coverage of the Wildrose Party’s 2009 leadership contest. We compared the overall visibility of the two candidates, Danielle Smith and Mark Dyrholm, and contrasted news framing of their public and private personas and assessments of their ideological positions and leadership skills. Smith was more visible than her male opponent, reflecting her front-runner status during the leadership race. Somewhat surprisingly, Smith was not framed as a woman candidate, nor were evaluations of her performance marked by sexism or gender stereotypes. We argue that these findings are atypical and other women leadership contenders are not likely to receive the glowingly positive assessments Smith enjoyed. Smith’s conservative ideological position, and the possibility that she had the skills and public appeal necessary to topple the longstanding governing party, prompted the remarkably adulatory coverage accorded her candidacy by the Alberta press corps

Academic Advising at Western: Some Feedback from Alumni

Executive Summary: Repeated studies in recent years, both at Western and elsewhere, have found students less satisfied with advising services than with instruction or various university services. For example, 77% of recent Western alumni are very or mostly satisfied with the undergraduate courses they took at Western, while 41% are similarly satisfied with the academic advising they received from all sources at Western. Satisfaction with advising received from faculty and major departments was lower than satisfaction with advising from the Academic Advising Center. Because of the concerns these studies raise, Western\u27s Academic Advising Center requested that our 1992 alumni survey of the class of \u2791 include a special set of questions on the Center. The focus of these questions was to provide feedback to the Center on ways to improve services, but the entire issue of advising is of great enough concern that a report was written to be more generally available. A total of 1412 (75.9%) alumni of the class of \u2791 completed our survey about one year after their graduation. Of that total, fewer than half (43%) of the class of \u2791 report that they used the Academic Advising Center at least once, and only ten percent more than once. Most of the 57% who never used the center report that they never felt a need. One in six say they were unaware of the office. Of those who used the Academic Advising Center, half (49.8%) sought advise on at least one occasion regarding class scheduling or selection. Two-fifths (42.9%) sought help choosing a major or making major life decisions. Another 41.7% asked about specific university policies. A similar number, 39.8%, asked for information concerning transfer courses or GURs. Nearly one-third (29.2%) asked about pre-professional courses or programs. Another 9.8% sought other types of advice. The Academic Advising Center is more often used by students who are younger, who study more but who get less good grades, who entered Western as native freshmen, who changed their majors more often, who received financial aid while at Western, who value well-rounded education more than occupational training, and who found departmental advising especially weak

Western Educational Longitudinal Study (WELS) Spring, 2007, Follow-Up Survey of Students Who Had Entered as Freshmen in the Fall, 2003

This report presents findings from the spring, 2007, four-year follow-up survey of students who had entered as freshmen in fall, 2003

Western Educational Longitudinal Study (WELS) Spring, 2007, Follow-up Survey of Students Who had Entered as Transfers in the Fall, 2005

This report presents findings from the spring, 2007, two-year follow-up survey of students who had entered as transfers in fall, 2005

Western Educational Longitudinal Study (WELS) Baseline Survey of Freshmen Entering in the Fall, 2007

This report presents findings from the fall, 2007, baseline survey of entering freshmen. The sample was of all entering freshmen, with or without college credit from high school, a total of 2392 students. There were 1484 online responses, and 302 phone responses, a total of 1786 (a 75% response rate). Survey topics included Summerstart, logistic confidence, motivation and expectations, academic and social engagement and challenges while in high school, a current assessment of academic skills and competencies, academic priorities and study strategies, and issues related to health, wellness and alcohol use

Western Educational Longitudinal Study (WELS) Baseline Survey of Students Entering as Transfers in the Fall, 2008

This report presents findings from the fall, 2008, baseline survey of entering transfers, a total of 973 students. There were 483 online responses and 297 phone responses, for an 81% response rate. Survey topics included transfers students’ previous education, attendance at Transitions (summer program for transfers), academic confidence, expectations as they enter Western, majors and minors, and personal backgrounds

Freshmen First Quarter Credit Load Assessment

Focus group formed to obtain student perceptions of reasons for taking fewer than 15 credits during their first quarter, to explore potential solutions to low credit loads in the first year of college at Western and to ascertain the impacts of taking low vs. high credit loads

Western Educational Longitudinal Study (WELS): Fall 2003 Freshmen Transitions Survey

This survey is the follow-up to the WELS Baseline survey. By exploring prior high school and early college experiences of new freshmen, patterns in student characteristics and behavior may shed light on the problem of first-quarter transition