"The Military Is the Wife and I Am the Mistress": Partners of Lesbians in the Canadian Military

Lesbian partners of servicewomen remain invisible despite policy changes regarding homosexuals in the Canadian Military. Based on interviews with these women, a defiant understanding of "the dependant wife" is presented. The everyday impact of the Military on the lives of partners, the psychological processes involved in managing such an erasing social context, and the tensions between the lesbian and military cultures are presented.Malgre les changements apportes aux politiques concernant les homosexuels dans les Forces militaires canadiennes, les conjointes des militaires lesbiennes demeurent invisibles. Des entrevues aupres de ces femmes, en brosse un portrait defiant qui ne correspond pas au terme d'« epouse dependante ». L'article traite de l'impact quotidien des pratiques militaires sur la vie de ces conjointes, des effets psychologiques qui en decoulent et de la tension qui existe entre les cultures lesbienne et militaire

Recherche sur la violence familiale : contribution des différentes épistémologies

Knowledge, over the last century, has been grounded mainly in the institution of empirical science. This epistemological tradition is tightly linked to positivism and objectivity. Feminists from various disciplines, including that of Criminology, have become disillusioned in the ability of traditional empiricism to produce knowledge that is relevant, historically and socially, to women, and based in their everyday experience. Feminists have proposed alternative epistemological frameworks to explore questions driven by political feminist agendas. In the present article, an overview of these new epistemological frameworks is presented to develop an evaluation grid. Using this grid, studies from different traditions in the area of family violence and violence against women are examined and critiqued to determine how each epistemological framework can advance (or not) the feminist agenda

Othering of Full-Time and Volunteer Women Firefighters in the Canadian Fire Services

Being discriminated against because of factors such as gender, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, and stature (i.e., height and weight) has been a common experience for women in traditionally men-dominated/identified occupations. Although women’s representation has risen in other men-dominated domains (Hughes 1995), within firefighting their presence remains extremely low in Canada (4.4% [Statistics Canada 2017]). Women firefighters mostly operate in a patriarchal context; they are often ignored, harassed, and treated poorly due to an intersectionality of factors (Paechter 1998). Thus far, most research has taken place in the US, UK, and AUS. In the present Pan-Canadian study, we examined the experiences of volunteer and career women firefighters (N=113). The Psycho-Social Ethnography of the Commonplace methodology (P-SEC [Gouliquer and Poulin 2005]) was used. With this approach, we identified several practices, both formal and informal (e.g., physical and academic standards, gender roles), which resulted in women feeling the effect of the intersection of gender and firefighting. Results indicated that women firefighters experience “Othering” manifesting itself in a variety of ways such as discrimination, hostility, and self-doubt. This paper focuses on Canadia women firefighters and ends with social change and policy recommendations to better their reality

The inner membrane complex through development of Toxoplasma gondii and Plasmodium

Plasmodium spp. and Toxoplasma gondii are important human and veterinary pathogens. These parasites possess an unusual double membrane structure located directly below the plasma membrane named the inner membrane complex (IMC). First identified in early electron micrograph studies, huge advances in genetic manipulation of the Apicomplexa have allowed the visualization of a dynamic, highly structured cellular compartment with important roles in maintaining the structure and motility of these parasites. This review summarizes recent advances in the field and highlights the changes the IMC undergoes during the complex life cycles of the Apicomplexa

TLR3 essentially promotes protective class I–restricted memory CD8+ T-cell responses to Aspergillus fumigatus in hematopoietic transplanted patients

Aspergillus fumigatus is a model fungal pathogen and a common cause of severe infections and diseases. CD8+ T cells are present in the human and murine T-cell repertoire to the fungus. However, CD8+ T-cell function in infection and the molecular mechanisms that control their priming and differentiation into effector and memory cells in vivo remain elusive. In the present study, we report that both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells mediate protective memory responses to the fungus contingent on the nature of the fungal vaccine. Mechanistically, class I MHC-restricted, CD8+ memory T cells were activated through TLR3 sensing of fungal RNA by cross-presenting dendritic cells. Genetic deficiency of TLR3 was associated with susceptibility to aspergillosis and concomitant failure to activate memory-protective CD8+ T cells both in mice and in patients receiving stem-cell transplantations. Therefore, TLR3 essentially promotes antifungal memory CD8+ T-cell responses and its deficiency is a novel susceptibility factor for aspergillosis in high-risk patients.These studies were supported by the Specific Targeted Research Project ALLFUN (FP7-HEALTH-2009 contract number 260338 to L.R.), by SYBARIS (FP7-HEALTH-2009 contract number 242220 to L.R.), and by the Italian Project AIDS 2010 by the Istituto Superiore di Sanita (contract number 40H40 to L.R.). A.C. and C.C. were supported by fellowships from Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia, Portugal (contracts SFRH/BPD/46292/2008 and SFRH/BD/65962/2009, respectively)

Mobility Boundaries Between Home, Community, and Beyond: Experiences of Exceptionally Old Adults Living in Eastern Canada

Mobility for older people is linked to various meaningful and celebrated ways of ageing, such as maintaining independence, community participation, and quality of life (Metz 2000). In this paper, we examine the lives of people aged 90 and over as they encounter mobility challenges in the face of a particularly neoliberal socio-economic political context. Fifteen Canadians, living independently, were interviewed using the Psycho-Social Ethnography of the Commonplace (P-SEC) methodology. They shared their experiences with managing physical and community-related mobility issues. The analysis reveals how the current public transportation system complicates the lives of the exceptionally old, and sheds light on the ways in which this population makes sense of and deals with these complications. With the goals of reducing social boundaries and enhancing community mobility of older adults, based on the findings, we offer social policy recommendations

Film Review: The Fruit Machine

The following is a review of The Fruit Machine documentary film directed by Sara Fodey. This documentary sheds light on a dark period in Canadian history. Using the testimonials of survivors and historical expert, The Fruit Machine film illustrates how a democratic state could legally wage a discriminatory campaign against its own citizens whose only crime was being (or suspected to be) “homosexual.” For fifty years, Canadian state institutions hunted down and interrogated thousands of individuals suspected of homosexuality. This film is a must see.Voici une critique du documentaire The Fruit Machine réalisé par Sara Fodey. Ce documentaire fait la lumière sur une sombre période de l’histoire canadienne. À partir des témoignages de survivants et d’historiens, The Fruit Machine illustre comment un état démocratique a pu légalement mener une campagne de discrimination à l’encontre de ses propres citoyens dont le seul crime était d’être « homosexuel » (ou d’en être soupçonné). Pendant cinquante ans, des institutions gouvernementales canadiennes ont traqué et interrogé des milliers d’individus soupçonnés d’homosexualité. Ne manquez pas ce film