Agenda setting at the municipal level: A comparison of strategies in two campaigns to increase wage standards in a mid-size Canadian city

In terms of understanding the social, economic and health conditions that will lead to viable communities, wage matters form a central consideration. Related to such are the concepts of how wage discussions transfer from the public to the policy arena through agenda setting methodologies. To that end, research in agenda setting theory rarely focusses on local level investigations, but this project examined two community-based parallel public campaigns focused on raising wage standards. The effectiveness of the “Windsor-Essex Living Wage” campaign and the “Windsor-Essex Fight for $15 and Fairness” campaigns was measured through an analysis of the level of public, political and media/social media penetration each group achieved as well as how effective they have been in accomplishing their campaign goals. Such was done to determine the effectiveness of the strategies employed in each to assess what factors had been successful in bringing the issue of increasing wage standards onto the municipal policy agenda and why. Through employing a research methodology which combined the cataloguing of public data found from traditional and new media sources, such as local newspapers, social media feeds and blog postings, as well as conducting interviews with politicians, political staff, other policy elites and other individuals identified through snowball sampling techniques as being knowledgeable about one or both campaigns, an examination of data was able to be undertaken which compared the organizational structures and distinctions between the two campaigns. Through the investigations undertaken, this research aims to provide a better understanding of how social movements can be more effectively organized and what strategies are successful in raising issue salience at the municipal level

City to city twinning relationships: Are there measurable benefits?

Logistical, economical, societal, human, cultural, political, legal and trade issues, associated with borders and border-crossing are a matter of daily consideration for border cities such as ours. However, some matters of municipal consideration arguably seek to transcend borders such as with the work of the Windsor’s International Relations Committee (IRC) respective of its twin-city undertakings. However, data relating to the benefits to be accrued from the establishment and maintenance of twin-city relationships is generally found to be lacking the world over. As such, this research was undertaken to fill in gaps in the field. Given that the City of Windsor has established and maintained long-standing relationships with a dozen international cities, this project aims at identifying the benefits of these associations. Archived records dating from 1978 were examined in combination with a general literature review of other Canadian and international twin-city agreements and outcomes, completing the first stage of this research. In undertaking an interview phase and speaking to people with knowledge of twin-city relationships, assessments will be made as to whether or not a schema to measure the value of these relationships currently exists. Evidence of such has not been found to date and so, additional research is in the process of being conducted directed at identifying methods which might be employed to measure the value of said twinning relationships in terms of their cultural, economic and social metrics. Interviews will be conducted with past and present members of the IRC, politicians, political staff and other policy elites and, possibly, representatives of Windsor’s twin-cities. Ultimately research outcomes will be directed towards employing a methodology to assess the value of the twin-city relationships and, as such, the research will contribute insight on the benefits and outcomes of city to city twinning relationships

Agenda setting at the municipal level: A comparison of strategies in two campaigns to increase wage standards in a mid-size Canadian city

Research in agenda setting theory rarely focusses on local level investigations but this project does. It examines two locally-based parallel public campaigns focused on raising wage standards. The purpose of this research is to determine the effectiveness of the strategies employed in the “Windsor-Essex Living Wage” campaign and the “Windsor-Essex Fight for $15 and Fairness” campaign to assess whether the campaigns have been successful in bringing the issue of increasing wage standards onto the municipal policy agenda and if so, why. The research methodology employed in this investigation involves a combination of cataloguing public data found from traditional and new media sources, such as local newspapers, social media feeds and blog postings, as well as conducting interviews with politicians, political staff, other policy elites and individuals who are knowledgeable about one or both campaigns. Examination of this data compares the organizational structures and distinctions between the two campaigns. Campaign effectiveness will be measured through an analysis of the level of public, political and media/social media penetration each group achieves as well as how effective they are in accomplishing their campaign goals. This research aims to provide a better understanding of how social movements can be more effectively organized and what strategies are successful in raising issue salience at the municipal level

Sharing Inclusive Practices Survey

Individuals with disabilities may encounter a variety of physical, technological or attitudinal barriers as they interact with others and the world at large. Accessibility relates to the degree which a product, device, service or environment is available to all intended audiences while creating viable, healthy and safe communities starts with everyday practices and general awareness of such things as accessibility and inclusivity. In an effort to share effective practices that reduce barriers and enhance access, the University of Windsor’s Accessible Education, Training and Awareness Committee (AETAC) prepared an online survey to facilitate the sharing of stories illustrating inclusivity and accessibility within our campus community. This “Sharing Inclusive Practices Survey” is consistent with the University’s mission to foster an accessible environment for everyone on campus. It will supplement the Office of Human Rights, Education and Awareness (OHREA) efforts to improve opportunities for people with disabilities through the identification, removal and prevention of barriers to participation in life at the University and beyond. Data collection for this survey will occur utilizing Qualtrics and practices will be shared online. In this manner, individuals can be recognized and share ongoing practices to make our campus learning community more inclusive and accessible. Practices could be adopted in new areas as a result of this sharing process, which would both advance knowledge about the lives of people with disabilities as well as enhancing the social, economic and health conditions that lead to inclusive communities. The two co-investigators, political science undergraduates and 2017/2018 AETAC and AICC student members, aim to inspire others on campus to become part of the next generation of social and technological entrepreneurs, scholars and leaders in developing further means of strategic thinking about the development of a truly integrated and inclusive environment

Learning Experiences and Challenges facing Black International Students at the University of Windsor

In the past two decades, the international-student population increased to about 600,000 (Canada Bureau for International Education, 2018). According to The Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC, 2019I), international students contributed an estimated $21.6 billion to the Canadian gross domestic product. With the COVID-19 pandemic, recruitment of international students, and the economic contribution they bring is under threat. More so, the lockdown imposed by the government, and schools’ adoption of online learning, further poses challenges and unique experiences to children, and young persona, especially international students. We used qualitative data from a focus group of 10 male Black students, aged 20 years and above, attending the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada. In addition, we include the experiences and concerns of a student in Nigeria. The findings show that students face a number of social and environmental factors that negatively impact their online learning experiences. These factors include: economic support from parents/guardians, availability and access to learning resources, the place of residence, and lack of academic support from instructors, administration, and peers. We conclude that many Black students feel dissatisfied and stressed by the lack of support and how they have been neglected during COVID-19. These experiences are likely to impact their mental health severely

Harassment, Sexual Harassment and Provincial Legislatures – A comparison of policy approaches in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador

In keeping with the Building Viable, Healthy and Safe Communities grand challenge, this presentation will attempt to explain the transfer of learning journey of comparative qualitative policy analysis, policy transfer and learning and feminist policy analysis through an exploration of 2014 and 2015 Canadian federal policies noting how such have proven to be relevant with respect to the 2016 and 2019 provincial policies of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. Specifically, in keeping with the grand challenge theme, discussion will provide an explanation and exploration of research conducted pertaining to sexual harassment and sexism in the Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador legislatures. Research questions guided an examination of the origins of the legislature-specific sexual harassment policies in each province; what (if anything) was learned from previous policy ‘failures’ and/or ‘successes’?; and what shortcomings remain in both cases. Said policy comparison took its inspiration from the 2018 federal lessons of Collier and Raney and undertook an in-depth content comparison of provincial legislative policies based on influences of: rape myths; party or independent investigation; type of sexual harassment training; public disclosure of perpetrators; policy review; parliamentary privilege protection; culture change; and other policy inputs - all of which will be explained as to their importance and prominence connected to how we can seek to understand socio-political aspects in order to advance knowledge about the lives of women working within Canadian legislatures

Immediate Feedback Assessment Technique (IF-AT) Testing in Undergraduate Political Science Education

Employing a poster format, student centered learning and learning centered teaching benefits of Immediate Feedback Assessment Technique (IF-AT) testing models will be showcased. Within University of Windsor undergraduate political science classes, as in all major disciplines and on college and university campuses elsewhere, multiple choice testing is a common form of student testing/assessment. While multiple choice testing holds an accepted place in academia, traditional multiple-choice testing has been found to be problematic and in some instances a contradiction to student learning. Research however reveals that IF-AT testing provides a learning centered teaching alternative that offers both the benefits of traditional multiple-choice testing without the negative aspects that can result from using such. This presentation aims to highlight how employing IF-AT testing methods can support instructors in creating courses that accommodate a student-centered learning perspective. An emphasis will be placed on showcasing and comparing the benefits and drawbacks of IF-AT testing relative to multiple choice testing techniques. Care will also be taken to detailing how the IF-AT model’s answer-until-correct format leads to: higher reported clarity and ease of completing response requirements, concentration and logical thinking during testing, perceived fairness of and learning during testing and retention of learning, and reduced perceived potential for academic dishonesty to the benefit of post-secondary students and faculty. How IF-AT testing has been effectively employed within UofW political science courses on campus will also be described

The 'Hard Form' of sculpture: marble, matter and spirit in European sculpture from the Enlightenment through Romanticism

The apparently distinct aesthetic values of naturalism (a fidelity to external appearance) and neoclassicism (with its focus on idealization and intangible essence) came together in creative tension and fusion in much late eighteenth-century and early nineteenth-century sculptural theory and practice. The hybrid styles that resulted suited the requirements of the European sculpture-buying public. Both aesthetics, however, created difficulties for the German Idealists who represented a particularly uncompromising strain of Romantic theory. In their view, naturalism was too closely bound to the observable, familiar world, while neoclassicism was too wedded to notions of clearly defined forms. This article explores sculptural practice and theory at this time as a site of complex debates around the medium's potential for specific concrete representation in a context of competing Romantic visions (ethereal, social and commercial) of modernity