Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Social structure – Ontario – Toronto'

This thesis examines the socioeconomic situation of young adults (21-35 years old) of the second generation Sikhs in Toronto. The research tries to better understand the social and economic process of integration, in particular the path they follow pertaining to their studies and profession. The theoretical framework indicates that family and community structures are especially important for immigrants and their children. The empirical analysis is based on the qualitative data collected during a series of semi-structured interviews conducted with ten participants, five women and five men. The results of the research show that young adults of the second generation Sikhs in Toronto attain a high socioeconomic status with the help of their family and the influence of their ethnic community, as well as with the benefits they obtain from the Canadian mainstream society.

With issues such as energy crises, climate change and environmental degradation becoming evermore prevalent on national and international levels, industrialized societies are beginning to take heed of the impact they are having on the natural environment and we are beginning to see movements towards socially and environmentally responsible decision-making. With the impact that buildings have on the environment, it is important to understand what barriers are preventing or slowing investment in socially and environmentally responsible property. The present study was conducted to determine whether LEED certification has a significant impact on the market value of office buildings in Toronto, Ontario – value determined by the average net asking rent for each building. For some 68 subject and control buildings, we matched information on the net asking rent for 16 LEED certified (subject) buildings to 52 otherwise comparable properties (control buildings). Using ordinary least squares (OLS) analysis, we looked to find what relationship exists between net asking rent and the LEED label. Controlling for other variables historically shown to have an impact on property value, we expected the results of this study to determine whether there is a business case for LEED certification in the downtown Toronto office market. The results of the study have shown that LEED certification has had no impact on the market value of the sample of office buildings in Toronto. This is a surprising result, given the growth in the number of LEED buildings in Canada, but interviews with three senior executives in the industry have helped to provide insight into this trend. It seems that with time LEED will likely have an impact in this market, but it hasn‘t arrived yet.

This study examines the ways in which residents of a Canadian gated community in southern Ontario, Canada socially construct the meaning of both "community" and "safety". In particular, the study examines whether the assumptions and findings on community safety found in the literature on American gated communities apply to similar communities in Canada. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with four participants to explore the underlying assumptions and stereotypes that participants used in the discussions of community safety. Participants defined a safe community as one that is: homogeneous; excludes strangers and 'others'; provides both physical and social security; built on a sense of community life; and governed by rules and regulations. This study found empirical evidence that helps to validate many of the assumptions in the existing literature: the restriction of access helps residents feel safe; physical infrastructure is needed in order to feel safe; the ability to recognize who is a member of the community makes residents feel safe; and gated communities are viewed by their residents as nostalgic neighborhoods.

This thesis draws on David Harvey’s concept of “accumulation by dispossession” and an international political economy (IPE) approach centred on the institutional arrangements and power structures that privilege certain actors and values, in order to critique current capitalist practices of primitive accumulation by the global corporate extractive industry. The thesis examines how accumulation by dispossession by the global extractive industry is facilitated by the “free entry” or “free mining” principle. It does so by focusing on Canada as a leader in the global extractive industry and the spread of this country’s mining laws to other countries – in other words, the transnationalisation of norms in the global extractive industry – so as to maintain a consistent and familiar operating environment for Canadian extractive companies. The transnationalisation of norms is further promoted by key international institutions such as the World Bank, which is also the world’s largest development lender and also plays a key role in shaping the regulations that govern natural resource extraction. The thesis briefly investigates some Canadian examples of resource extraction projects, in order to demonstrate the weaknesses of Canadian mining laws, particularly the lack of protection of landowners’ rights under the free entry system and the subsequent need for “free, prior and informed consent” (FPIC). The thesis also considers some of the challenges to the adoption and implementation of the right to FPIC. These challenges include embedded institutional structures like the free entry mining system, international political economy (IPE) as shaped by international institutions and powerful corporations, as well as concerns regarding ‘local’ power structures or the legitimacy of representatives of communities affected by extractive projects. The thesis concludes that in order for Canada to be truly recognized as a leader in the global extractive industry, it must establish legal norms domestically to ensure that Canadian mining companies and residents can be held accountable when there is evidence of environmental and/or human rights violations associated with the activities of Canadian mining companies abroad. The thesis also concludes that Canada needs to address underlying structural issues such as the free entry mining system and implement FPIC, in order to curb “accumulation by dispossession” by the extractive industry, both domestically and abroad.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine the associations among gender-differentiated motivational orientations (integrative and instrumental), acculturation success, and risky behaviours (illicit substance use and gambling behaviour) among Iranian youth who have immigrated to Toronto. DESIGN: Given the exploratory nature of the proposed research, a cross-sectional research design was used. SUBJECTS: A combination of purposive-proportional quota sampling and snowball sampling methods were employed. The sample for this research was comprised of 308 participants (M=155, F=153) who 1) were born in Iran, 2) had recently immigrated to Canada from Iran 2-8 years ago, and 3) were currently attending high school, enrolled in Grade 9, 10, 11, or 12 (ages 15 to 18) in Toronto. RESULTS: The results of the current study confirm 1) the findings in the existing literature that adherence to an instrumental motivational orientation is positively correlated with risktaking behaviours; 2) confirm some of the existing literature findings, which suggest that lower levels of acculturation are negatively associated with problem behaviours; 3) show that males possess an instrumental motivational orientation significantly more than females, and that females possess an integrative motivational orientation significantly more than males; 4) indicate that male participants show significantly lower levels of acculturation while female participants demonstrate higher level of acculturation, which confirms that acculturation is significantly determined by gender; and 5) partially support some of the claims in the literature; for example, it found males are more at risk for illicit drugs, while females to be more at risk for alcohol consumption. DISCUSSION The current study is among the first to examine the interrelationships among illicit substance use and gambling behaviour, acculturation success/stress, and motivational orientation among Iranian adolescent immigrants. To understand the predictors of success or failure among adolescent youth, replication of the current study is necessary.
Psychology
D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

This thesis presents evidence that income polarization is accompanied by increasing social-spatial disparities between areas of the city that were developed in different societal contexts, with different planning approaches, and that have different land use and transportation dynamics. An analysis of the social structure of the Toronto Metropolitan Area finds indications of widespread gentrification in the inner city, socioeconomic decline in the postwar suburbs, and sustained household affluence in the ever expanding outermost suburbs of the metropolitan area. It is argued that, as a political and social endeavor that is embedded in broader development regimes, urban planning influences social-spatial polarization to the extent that it influences urban form.

This dissertation, “‘Hire the Handicapped!’: Disability Rights, Economic Integration and Working Lives in Toronto, Ontario, 1962-2005,” argues that work significantly shaped the experience of disability during this period. Barriers to mainstream employment opportunities gave rise to multiple disability movements that challenged the social and economic framework which marginalized generations of people with disabilities. Using a critical analysis of disability in archival records, personal collections, government publications and a series of interviews, I demonstrate how demands for greater access among disabled people to paid employment stimulated the development of a new discourse of disability in Canada. Including disability as a variable in historical research reveals how family advocates helped people living in institutions move out into the community and rehabilitation professionals played an increasingly critical role in the lives of working-age adults with disabilities, civil rights activists crafted a new consumer-led vision of social and economic integration. Separated by different philosophies and bases of support, disability activists and allies found a common purpose in their pursuit of economic integration. The focus on employment issues among increasingly influential disability activists during this period prompted responses from three key players in the Canadian labour market. Employers embraced the rhetoric and values of disability rights but operated according to a different set of business principles and social attitudes that inhibited the realization of equity and a ‘level playing field.’ Governments facilitated the development of a progressive discourse of disability and work, but ultimately recoiled from disability activism to suit emergent political priorities. Labour organizations similarly engaged disability activists, but did so cautiously, with union support largely contingent upon the satisfaction of traditional union business first and foremost. As disability activists and their allies railed against systematic discrimination, people with disabilities lived and worked in the community, confronting barriers and creating their own circles of awareness in the workplace. Just as multiple sites of disability activism found resolution in the sphere of labour, the redefinition of disability during this period reflected a shared project involving collective and individual action.

This study examines discourse on youth health embedded in the current Ontario Health and Physical Education curriculum in an attempt to unveil any discrepancies between students’ beliefs regarding physical activity and body image and the curriculum they receive in physical education classes. This study will explore how students who participate in this curriculum narrate and experience their bodies to explore any contradictory or complimentary relationships that exist between the curriculum and the students it serves. Recent academic work in the area of health and physical activity has placed undue emphasis on obesity and on an individuating view of the inactive, unhealthy individual to be remediated by a corrective physical education program. This is not only damaging to the self-esteem of youth, but unrealistic as a program aligned with middle-class access to resources associated with ‘active living’ in the ways advocated for by proponents of this version of health promotion.

In this thesis I explore neoliberalism and resistance to neoliberalism by focusing on the relatively recent rise of radical, local anti-poverty organizations in Canada, particularly on the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) in Toronto. To accomplish this exploration, I present a brief history of neoliberalization in two ways: first in theory, exploring the phenomenon in general, and then in a more specific context, through the study of neoliberalization in Ontario. Special emphasis is given to the ways in which contemporary processes of neoliberalization tend to discourage collective action and movement formation, and encourage the ideological, discursive, and practical depoliticization of issues and communities. In addition, I suggest that Ontario’s neoliberalization has led mainstream left forces to retreat to a more moderate support base in the middle class, leaving poor people and anti-poverty activists with little potential for meaningful participation in political processes. The lack of avenues for participation, I argue, discourages the development the development of a sense of agency for poor people and anti-poverty activists. This agency is framed here as political dignity. After presenting a history OCAP, I conclude by suggesting that radical, local anti-poverty organizations make an important contribution to combating some of the outcomes of neoliberalization presented here. By using a broad range of scholarship (including working-class focused sociology, post-colonial theory, and others), I argue that OCAP’s key contribution to antineoliberal struggles is the way in which the organization encourages political dignity building through engaged, confrontational participation.

This research tracks the emergence of ‘soft’ workfare in Toronto. This refers to a set of attitudes and practices apparent in the delivery of welfare-to-work programs through the Ontario Works framework, which use compulsion to push people towards employment while simultaneously encouraging limited and specific practices of individual choice. Research findings are derived from eight interviews and relevant policy reports, focusing on the experiences of three non-profit agencies and the City of Toronto, who provide employment assistance and financial assistance through Ontario Works, respectively. These findings indicate that grassroots organizations pioneered employment services for social assistance recipients, and, alongside the municipal government, had been calling for active employment programs. They made use of the distance between policy rules and their own programs to alleviate the most punitive features of OW, but judge compulsion as a means to meet a necessary end. This demonstrates how disciplinary tendencies reside within liberal governmentalities.

Plusieurs chercheurs considèrent qu’il existe un modèle québécois quant aux politiques sociales et économiques. Mais qu’en est-il sur le plan de la réduction des inégalités? Plus spécifiquement, est-ce que les citoyens du Québec perçoivent différemment les inégalités et sont-ils favorables lorsque l’État intervient pour les réduire? Et comment la presse québécoise réagit-elle vis-à-vis de cet enjeu? Ce mémoire se penche sur ces questions et vise à déterminer si le Québec se distingue de l’Ontario relativement à la perception des inégalités socio-économiques et à leur représentation médiatique. Deux types de données sont analysés : 1) une enquête de l’ISSP de 1992 portant sur les attitudes des Canadiens face aux inégalités socio-économiques 2) la couverture médiatique de l’élaboration d’une loi sur l’équité salariale visant la réduction d’une inégalité. Ces sources de données permettent d’étudier les différences de perceptions et de représentation des inégalités selon deux approches distinctes, mais complémentaires. De plus, dans une perspective comparative, le Québec est comparé à l’Ontario au cours des deux analyses. Les résultats de cette recherche montrent que sur le plan des perceptions et des attitudes, les deux provinces se ressemblaient quant à l’importance attribuée à la performance et au niveau d’études et de responsabilités pour déterminer le salaire d’un individu. De plus, les Québécois et les Ontariens allouaient un niveau d’importance similaire au réseau de contacts pour réussir dans la vie. Par contre, les Québécois étaient plus favorables à l’intervention étatique pour réduire les inégalités économiques et attribuaient davantage d’importance aux besoins familiaux pour déterminer ce qu’une personne devrait gagner. De manière marginalement significative, les Québécois considéraient dans une moindre mesure que les Ontariens, que les attributs personnels dont le sexe ou la religion affectaient les chances de réussite. L'analyse de contenu des quatre journaux a permis de constater à la fois des ressemblances et des divergences entre les deux provinces. Les deux couvertures médiatiques traitaient sensiblement des mêmes thèmes et rapportaient des sources similaires. Toutefois, il y avait trois différences majeures. Les journaux québécois se sont montrés moins favorables à la Loi sur l’équité salariale que dans la province voisine et ils ont davantage mentionné les conséquences économiques de la loi. Par ailleurs, les causes de l’iniquité salariale rapportées dans les articles au Québec concernaient davantage les différences de capital humain que la discrimination systémique vécue par les femmes, contrairement à ce qui est apparu dans les deux médias en Ontario. Le résultat le plus important de ce mémoire est que la couverture médiatique québécoise ne concorde pas avec l’opinion publique qui était favorable à l’intervention étatique pour réduire les inégalités. Ceci rappelle que les médias ne sont pas le simple reflet de la réalité ni de l'opinion publique. Ils présentent différentes facettes de la réalité à l'intérieur de certains paramètres, dont la structure organisationnelle dans laquelle ils se trouvent.
Many researchers consider that a Quebec model exists for social and economic policies, yet, how does this translate on the level of inequality reduction? More specifically, do Quebec citizens perceive inequalities differently than Ontario and are they quite favorable to government intervention to reduce them? What about Quebec’s press, do they react differently towards this issue? In this thesis, I investigate whether Quebec differs from Ontario in terms of perceptions about and attitudes towards social-economic inequalities. In order to answer this question, two data sources were used: 1) a 1992 ISSP public opinion poll 2) newspaper media coverage of the elaboration of a pay equity law aimed at reducing an inequality. These two data serve as lenses through which to consider differences in perceptions and representation and although distinct, they are complementary. I focus on the cases of Quebec and Ontario. The survey analysis revealed that perceptions and attitudes regarding the importance of performance, education levels, and responsibilities were similar in the two provinces in determining a person’s salary. Moreover, Quebeckers and Ontarians attributed similar levels of importance to social networks to succeed in life. This being said, Quebeckers gave higher levels of support to state intervention to reduce inequalities and granted greater importance to family needs in determining how much a person should earn. A marginally significant result also revealed that Quebeckers considered personal characteristics such as sex and religion less important in determining a person's chances of succeeding in life. The content analysis of four newspapers revealed that Quebeckers and Ontarians shared similarities: both media coverage had similar main themes and sources. However, there are three main differences. Quebec media was less favourable to the pay equity law than its Ontario counterpart and it more frequently mentioned the economic consequences of the law. Additionally, numerous explanations of pay iniquity brought forward by the Quebec press had more to do with differences in human capital than in systemic discrimination towards women, a situation not present in the neighboring province. The core findings of this thesis is that Quebec media representation was quite different from public opinion which was favorable to government intervention to reduce inequalities. This reminds us that the media is not a direct reflection of reality nor of public opinion It frames certain aspects of reality within given parameters notably the organizational structure within which it operates.

In the summer of 2007, a single neighbourhood in downtown Toronto contributed at least 13 percent of all residential grid???tie solar photovoltaic (PV) systems sold in the Canadian province of Ontario. On average, PV purchaser households produced 37 percent as much electricity as they consumed. This research investigates solar energy adoption in a community case study. Specifically, it investigates why some residents who sign up for a solar resource assessment through a community solar energy initiative (CSEI) decide to purchase, and others decide not to purchase in the short???term. Characteristics and perceptions of potential adopters are analyzed to better understand their motivations and barriers to adoption. Community energy projects became an official public policy goal in Ontario, with the passing of the Green Energy and Green Economy Act in 2009. Approximately 80 percent of Ontario???s anticipated generation capacity will need to be built, replaced or refurbished within 15 years. In this context, the Ontario Ministry of Energy, Ontario Power Authority, and Deloitte (one of Canada???s leading professional services firms), have partnered with a ???green benefit??? fund, the Community Power Fund, to help local community groups access resources to develop and establish renewable energy projects. Understanding solar energy adoption in a community context is therefore important to improve the effectiveness of such policies, including the disbursement of multi???million dollar grant funds. Differences between purchasers and non???purchasers in respect of adoption behaviour were found in this study to cluster around two general themes. The first theme concerns differences in compatibility of both the concept of solar energy systems, and their physical attributes, with characteristics of potential adopter households. Some compatibility issues are straightforward, e.g. availability of roof space with a southern orientation. Others are more complex, involving several interrelated perceptual and socio???demographic factors. For instance, while both purchasers and non???purchasers rated cost as a very important barrier, purchasers rated the motivation of solar energy systems to reduce climate change higher relative to the barrier of high financial costs than did non???purchasers. Purchasers were also more likely to possess a graduate degree, while non???purchasers were more likely to hold a professional degree. The second general theme relates to potential adopters??? trust and stake in the ability of the community???based initiative to reduce barriers in the adoption process. Since two types of solar energy systems are considered in the case study???PV and thermal (hot water)???differences are explored between each of three respondent groups: solar PV purchasers, solar hot water (SHW) purchasers, and non???purchasers. iv Surveys were used to gather data on adopter perceptions and characteristics. A participatory research design helped identify the research topic. Two main bodies of literature???community???based social marketing (CBSM) and diffusion of innovations theory???were drawn upon to conceptualize the adoption process and interpret the survey findings. These include five models of human behaviour that can be used to guide the design of CBSM campaigns. Diffusion theory was used as a basis for discussing ???perceived innovation attributes???. The study takes an integrated approach by considering both social and technical aspects of solar energy adoption, together with the issues of fuel substitution and household electricity demand.

In April 2005, a group of women gathered for a human rights workshop at a Toronto drop-in centre for women experiencing homelessness, poverty, and isolation. One year later, the group sent a representative to address the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This dissertation describes and analyzes the feminist participatory action research-intervention project that began with the workshop and led to the United Nations. Over the course of 15 months, more than 50 participants attended weekly meetings at the drop-in. They learned about social and economic rights, testified about their experiences of human rights violations, and planned and undertook actions to respond to and resist homelessness. This thesis draws upon observations of meetings, documents produced by the group, and interviews with thirteen of the participants, in order to examine the project from a number of angles. First, the project suggests a new understanding of women’s homelessness: testimonies and interviews reveal that homelessness is not only a material state, but more importantly a social process of disenfranchisement enacted through relations of harm, threat, control, surveillance, precarity and dehumanization. Understanding homelessness as a social process enables an analysis of its operations within and for a dominant social and economic order structured by colonization and neoliberal globalization. Secondly, the thesis takes up participants’ assessments of the project’s political effectiveness and its impacts on their well-being and empowerment, and reads these against the researcher’s experiences with the project, in order to explore how feminist participatory methodologies can contribute to resistance. Finally, the thesis concludes with recommendations for theory, research, service provision, and human rights advocacy on women’s homelessness.

This qualitative study uses narrative inquiry (Connelly & Clandinin, 1988, 1990, 2001) and self-study to investigate ways to further understand and facilitate the integration of holistic philosophies of education with media literacy pedagogies. As founder and director of the Youth Media Literacy Project and a self-titled Imagitator (one who agitates imagination), I have spent over 10 years teaching media literacy in various high schools, universities, and community centres across North America. This study will focus on my own personal practical knowledge (Connelly & Clandinin, 1982) as a culture jammer, educator and cancer survivor to illustrate my original vision of a ‘holistic media literacy pedagogy’. This research reflects on the emergence and impact of holistic media literacy in my personal and professional life and also draws from relevant interdisciplinary literature to challenge and synthesize current insights and theories of media literacy, holistic education and culture jamming.