Fordism at Work in Canadian Coffee Shops

Although many areas of work today are characterized by post-Fordist principles, there are still significant numbers of workplaces that have adapted and continue to operate using a Fordist model, and in particular, low-paying service industries that rely on a largely female an d part-time labour force. This paper explores how the Fordist model has been adapted and extended within the Canadian coffee shop franchise industry. Qualitative interviews were conducted with staff and managers in selected coffee shops to gain a better understanding of how work is organized and managed in this industry

The creation and organisation of cheap wage labour in the British Columbia fishing industry

This thesis is concerned with the manner in which labour has been employed in the British Columbia fishing industry, and with the more general historical development of a labour force which provides labour power at wages below full subsistence costs. The phrase "cheap labour" refers to this labour force. The thesis briefly traces the emergence of capitalism in feudal England and argues that labour power was priced in two ways. Organised male craft workers fought for the "family wage"; that is, for wages that would cover not only their own costs of production and reproduction, but also those of their dependents. This meant, however, that when women and children worked for wages, these were not designed to cover their subsistence requirements. They were employed as "cheap labour." With European colonisation, gender criteria were extended to incorporate racial criteria. It is argued that cheap labourers came to be distinguished by race and ethnicity, in addition to gender and age. The differentiation of labour based on biological criteria was adopted elsewhere, and the main body of the thesis is concerned with how this process occurred within British Columbia's fishing industry. The B.C. industry began with canners who had to recruit a new labour force in regions without large supplies of European workers. The thesis traces how canners employed native peoples and Chinese male labourers. The argument is advanced that these groups were paid wages below the costs of subsistence, and that the groups survived because they were embedded in pre-capitalist social relations. They subsisted through a combination of wage labour and unpaid work. The thesis examines Marx's labour theory of value for its utility in explaining the development of a "cheap labour force." Although the theory must be re-worked to incorporate two forms of labour power, it provides a more appropriate model than that of the dual labour market theories. The method of historical materialism, which Marx employed, can be used to re-work the labour theory of value. In particular, the method allows for an analysis of resistance by labourers (for example, through trade union organization, such as the United Fishermen and Allied Workers' Union). These theoretical applications are discussed in the thesis.Arts, Faculty ofAnthropology, Department ofGraduat

The meaning of playing-related musculoskeletal disorders to classical musicians

In creating and performing music, musicians can experience health problems from the high physical and psychological demands of their profession. Musculoskeletal disorders related to playing are painful, chronic and disabling conditions which are prevalent among classical musicians. The widespread study of the prevalence, etiology, and management of playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMDs) is a recent development known as performing arts medicine. Despite the rapid development of this new field, it is unclear how musicians identify themselves as injured, and how they make decisions about what, if anything, to do about these disabling injuries. The aims of our study were twofold. First, we aimed to provide musicians with the opportunity to define a PRMD in their own words. Second, we sought to understand the subjective meaning of the PRMD experience to musicians. Two key informants identified 30 study participants in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. As a form of data triangulation, participants included 27 musicians and three health professionals. Data were collected in semi-structured interviews which lasted, on average, 40 min. Data were transcribed, and were manually coded and analyzed. Participants defined a PRMD as pain and other symptoms which are chronic, are beyond their control, and which interfere with their ability to play their instrument at their usual level. Participants distinguished between "normal", mild everyday aches and pains, and a PRMD. Although a PRMD is not a medically serious or life-threatening illness, it is devastating to musicians physically, emotionally, socially, and financially. The overall theme of suffering captures the meaning of these problems which threaten the identity of the musician. The findings of this study are consistent with other studies of the experience of work-related musculoskeletal disorders, and other illnesses.musicians musculoskeletal disorders performing arts medicine