Heroes and Hallelujahs — Labour History and the Social History of Religion in English Canada: A Response to Bryan Palmer

The importance of religion to social and labour radicalism in English Canada has been identified by several scholars, but few labour historians have built on these insights. Some scholars who study labour or socialist leaders at least briefly assess the impact of their subject’s religious background or their relationship to social gospel, while a few historians of working-class ethnic communities explore religion as a facet of their subjects’ lives. Discussion of religion, however, is usually a small part of a larger project. On this theme, Lynne Marks replies to Bryan Palmer’s critique of her book Revivals and Roller Rinks: Religion, Leisure and Identity in Late Nineteenth- Century Small-Town Ontario.Plusieurs universitaires ont conclu à l’importance de la religion pour le radicalisme social et ouvrier au Canada anglais, mais très peu d’historiens de la vie ouvrière ont donné suite à ces observations. Certains universitaires qui étudient à tout le moins brièvement les leaders syndicaux ou socialistes évaluent l’impact des antécédents religieux de leurs sujets ou leur rapport à l’évangile social, tandis que quelques historiens de collectivités ethniques de classe ouvrière s’intéressent à la religion comme à l’une des facettes de la vie de leurs sujets. Mais l’étude de la religion ne représente habituellement qu’un modeste volet d’un projet de plus grande envergure. Sur ce thème, Lynne Marks répond à la critique qu’a fait Bryan Palmer de son ouvrage Revivals and Roller Rinks : Religion, Leisure and Identity in Late Nineteenth-Century Small-Town Ontario

Feminism and Stay-at-Home-Motherhood: Some Critical Reflections and Implications for Mothers on Social Assistance

Feminism has not dealt adequately with issues of stay-at-home motherhood. Most feminists have seen the only solution for mothers' economic vulnerability as being decent paid work and adequate daycare. This ignores the real desires of some women to remain home with young children, alienating many mothers from feminism and failing to provide useful analysis to support those mothers on social assistance now being forced into the workforce by the welfare "reforms" of neo-liberal governments.Le féminisme n'a pas traité adéquatement les questions des mères qui restent à la maison. La plupart des féministes n'ont vu qu'une solution à la vulnérabilité économique des m ères comme étant un emploi bien rémunéré et des garderies adéquates. Ceci ignore les désirsréels de certaines femmes de rester à la maison avec leurs jeunes enfants, aliénant bien des mères du féminisme et ne donnant' pas une analyse utile pour appuyer ces mères qui sont sur le bien-être social qui sont maintenant forcées à entrer le marché du travail' par les réformes du bien-être social des gouvernements néo -libéraux

Self-confidence and executive presence an image consulting process

The purpose and goal of this abstract is to demonstrate that image consulting services help boost clients’ self-confidence. Our clients at London Image Institute are entrepreneurs and executives. Over years of honing our Executive Presence programs and courses for entrepreneurs we noticed that these techniques, skills and coaching programs are particularly effective in enhancing self-confidence, even in high level business people and entrepreneurs. We will share the agendas of the programs with the readers as well as some of the methods by which we shift mindsets and bring about sustained life-changing skill sets. At the end of each section there will be a short synopsis of the image consulting practices our clients reported were most effective in confidence-building.El propósito y objetivo de este resumen es demostrar que los servicios de consultoría de imagen ayudan a aumentar la confianza en sí mismos de los clientes. Nuestros clientes en el London Image Institute son empresarios y ejecutivos. Después de años de perfeccionar nuestros programas y cursos de Presencia Ejecutiva para empresarios, notamos que estas técnicas, habilidades y programas de capacitación son particularmente efectivos para mejorar la confianza en sí mismos, incluso en empresarios y empresarios de alto nivel. Compartiremos las agendas de los programas con los lectores, así como algunos de los métodos mediante los cuales cambiamos la mentalidad y generamos conjuntos de habilidades sostenibles que cambian vidas. Al final de cada sección habrá una breve sinopsis de las prácticas de consultoría de imagen que nuestros clientes informaron que fueron más efectivas en la creación de confianza.O objetivo e objetivo deste resumo é demonstrar que os serviços de consultoria de imagem ajudam a aumentar a autoconfiança dos clientes. Nossos clientes no London Image Institute são empresários e executivos. Ao longo de anos, aperfeiçoando nossos programas e cursos de Presença Executiva para empreendedores, percebemos que essas técnicas, habilidades e programas de coaching são particularmente eficazes para aumentar a autoconfiança, mesmo em empresários e empreendedores de alto nível. Vamos compartilhar as agendas dos programas com os leitores, bem como alguns dos métodos pelos quais mudamos a mentalidade e criamos conjuntos de habilidades de mudança de vida sustentada. No final de cada seção, haverá uma pequena sinopse das práticas de consultoria de imagem que nossos clientes relataram serem mais eficazes na criação de confiança

Spot-on or not? : an analysis of Seurat's colour theory

An analysis of mid- to late-nineteenth century scientific colour theories sets the stage for the introduction of the artistic style of French painter Georges Seurat. His traditional beaux-arts training, extraordinary skills as a draughtsman, and keen interest in the then existing science theories on colour combined in his person to create a new approach called Divisionism, (also called Pointillisme, pointillism, and melange optique). As Seurat's readings of scientific literature and his practical applications of the theories to his artistic style became refined, a new movement called Neo-Impressionism developed around him and through his example. Amidst both critical acclaim and scorn, Seurat proceeded with great determination from his novel drawing style to a refinement of his approach to colour. An untimely death ended the research of this singular artist just years before scientific findings were published which would have forced Seurat into a different approach. An intensive look at Seurat's theories and key pieces is considered in terms of his objectives: A major point is whether what we now consider to be Seurat's theory was really what he had in mind; have our present perceptions distorted his original intentions? The materials Seurat had at hand, the chemical composition of the pigments and the effects of time, grime and light are discussed as to their impacts on achieving his goals. An in-depth comparison of late twentieth-century colour research in perception via psychological, neurophysiological and artistic/emotional routes point out the strengths and weaknesses of Seurat's approach and explains what really happens in the visual process, as far as it is understood today. Scientific colour theories and artistic colour approaches can form a redoubtable partnership but could they ever have become one to exist in the optical mixture we believe Seurat had so wished to elicit

Points saillants du rapport préliminaire sur le statut des étudiantes graduées en histoire au Canada

Dans le cadre du congrès des Sociétés savantes tenu à Victoria en Colombie- Britannique, on nous a demandé de participer en tant que groupe de femmes étudiantes à une séance de discussion portant sur la place de la femme dans la profession d’historien

Family Matters: Immigrant Women’s Activism in Ontario and British Columbia, 1960s -1980s

This article uses oral history interviews to explore the ways in which different attitudes towards family and motherhood could create major tensions between mainstream feminists and immigrant women’s activists in Ontario and British Columbia between the 1960s and the 1980s.  Immigrant women’s belief in the value of the family did not prevent immigrant women from going out to work to help support their families or accessing daycare and women’s shelters, hard fought benefits of the women’s movement.  However, these women demanded access to job training, English language classes, childcare, and women’s shelters on their own terms, in ways that minimized the racism they faced, respected religious and cultural values, and respected the fact that the heterosexual family remained an important resource for the majority of immigrant women.  Immigrant women activists were less likely to accept a purely gender-based analysis than mainstream feminists. They often sought to work with men in their own communities, even in dealing with violence against women. And issues of violence and of reproductive rights often could not be understood only within the boundaries of Canada. For immigrant women violence against women was often analyzed in relation to political violence in their homelands, while demands for fully realized reproductive rights drew on experiences of coercion both in Canada and transnationally.Cet article s’appuie sur des entrevues d’histoire orale pour explorer les façons dont différentes attitudes à l’égard de la famille et de la maternité pouvaient créer des tensions considérables entre les féministes traditionnelles et les femmes immigrantes activistes en Ontario et en Colombie-Britannique entre les années 1960 et 1980. L’attachement des femmes immigrantes aux valeurs familiales ne les a pas empêchées d’aller travailler pour aider à nourrir leur famille et de se prévaloir des garderies et des refuges pour femmes battues, avantages gagnés de haute lutte par le mouvement féministe. Toutefois, ces femmes ont exigé d’avoir accès à la formation professionnelle, aux cours d’anglais, aux garderies et aux refuges pour femmes battues à leur façon, de manière à minimiser le racisme qu’elles rencontraient, à honorer leurs valeurs religieuses et culturelles et à respecter le fait que la famille hétérosexuelle restait une ressource importante pour la majorité des immigrantes. Les immigrantes militantes étaient moins susceptibles d’accepter une analyse purement sexospécifique que les féministes traditionnelles. Elles cherchaient souvent à travailler avec les hommes dans leur propre communauté, même dans le domaine de la violence contre les femmes. Et les questions de violence et de droits génésiques ne peuvent souvent pas être comprises uniquement à l’intérieur des frontières du Canada. Pour les femmes immigrantes, la violence à l’égard des femmes était souvent analysée en liaison avec la violence politique dans leur pays d’origine, tandis que leurs exigences en faveur de la pleine réalisation de leurs droits génésiques s’appuyaient sur des expériences de coercition tant au Canada que dans d’autres pays

Social network analysis of stakeholder networks from two community-based obesity prevention interventions

IntroductionStudies of community-based obesity prevention interventions have hypothesized that stakeholder networks are a critical element of effective implementation. This paper presents a quantitative analysis of the interpersonal network structures within a sub-sample of stakeholders from two past successful childhood obesity prevention interventions.MethodsParticipants were recruited from the stakeholder groups (steering committees) of two completed community-based intervention studies, Romp &amp; Chomp (R&amp;C), Australia (2004-2008) and Shape Up Somerville (SUS), USA (2003-2005). Both studies demonstrated significant reductions of overweight and obesity among children. Members of the steering committees were asked to complete a retrospective social network questionnaire using a roster of other committee members and free recall. Each participant was asked to recall the people with whom they discussed issues related to childhood obesity throughout the intervention period, along with providing the closeness and level of influence of each relationship.ResultsNetworks were reported by 13 participants from the SUS steering committee and 8 participants from the R&amp;C steering committee. On average, participants nominated 16 contacts with whom they discussed issues related to childhood obesity through the intervention, with approximately half of the relationships described as &lsquo;close&rsquo; and 30% as &lsquo;influential&rsquo;. The &lsquo;discussion&rsquo; and &lsquo;close&rsquo; networks had high clustering and reciprocity, with ties directed to other steering committee members, and to individuals external to the committee. In contrast, influential ties were more prominently directed internal to the steering committee, with higher network centralization, lower reciprocity and lower clustering.Discussion and conclusionSocial network analysis provides a method to evaluate the ties within steering committees of community-based obesity prevention interventions. In this study, the network characteristics between a sub-set of stakeholders appeared to be supportive of diffused communication. Future work should prospectively examine stakeholder network structures in a heterogeneous sample of community-based interventions to identify elements most strongly associated with intervention effectiveness.<br /