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Many erstwhile supporters of the New Democratic Party, particularly organized labour and poverty advocates, claimed that they were betrayed by NDP governments in Ontario and British Columbia in the 1990s. This paper considers this charge in light of the best available theoretical case for thinking that the NDP's policies could have been significantly more social democratic without leading to reduced private investment. The paper finds this alternative theoretical case—articulated by leading "globalization sceptics"—to be flawed in several ways, and so concludes that the NDP could not have served workers and the poor in these two provinces much better than they did. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The arguments of this paper are primarily methodological: that distinguishing characteristics of a group can be identified through an analysis of its social control activities; and that an examination of a group's control behaviours should begin with a study of its culture, with special attention to its central problematic. Elements within the culture of a group contain important sources of behavioural control and contribute to the nature of the social order within that group. It is within the culture that normal sanctions, and limitations upon sanctions are either inferred or are explicitly articulated. The mode of analysis is illustrated through the study of the culture of the La Leche League, a self-help organization for women who want to breastfeed their babies. The paper concludes that the League's success in encouraging its members to adapt a lifestyle with substantial costs can be attributed to some important characteristics of the content of its central problem and its articulation with other aspects of the culture. The data analyzed come from La Leche League publications; participant observation at League meetings; and interviews with League members. The research site is Ottawa, Ontario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 1975 study on the evaluation of the prestige of occupational titles specified as held by a man or a woman was replicated in 2000. Both surveys were collected in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. While the 1975 data revealed an average five-point advantage to men over women, this gender gap had disappeared by the year 2000. In more people-oriented work, women are now accorded higher prestige than men. The paper refers to how these social changes are linked with convergence over the quarter century in the sex typing of occupations. Sources of variation in ratings within the 2000 sample are examined and found to be minimal, although more highly educated respondents grade all occupations slightly on the low side. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the influence of gender and feminism on the professional projects of female-dominated professions, through a case study of dental hygiene in Ontario. Full professional status has eluded many female-dominated professions, including dental hygiene. Historically, dental hygiene was defined as work for women, to be performed strictly under the control of male dentists. In recent years, dental hygiene has pursued a professional project and struggled for greater independence from dentistry. Ideas about gender and, particularly, feminism have been central to their professional project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following paper examines trends in the social and economic correlates of food bank usage in the Greater Toronto Area through annual interviews with food bank users between 1990-2000. The analysis tests the thesis that the effects of social assistance rate reductions and housing costs contributed to the economic vulnerability of these already marginalized families and households. Descriptive statistics and multivariate regression modelling were used to assess changes in post-shelter income available to food bank users prior to (1990-1995) and following Ontario social assistance cuts (1996-2000). The results confirm the importance of social assistance rate reductions and housing affordability problems as factors contributing to the decline in post-shelter income available to food bank users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the 1987 introduction of a policy for policing labour disputes in Windsor, Ontario. The policy emphasizes the explicit use of consensus-building tactics over coercion in strike situations. Events leading to this policy are traced to the local politics of policing and to changing economic and industrial conditions representing the general decline in Fordist industrial relations. Changes within the police, such as the adoption of community policing, are also considered as important explanations. Both the labour-dispute policy and the broader police changes are understood as reflecting the decline of the Keynesian state and the movement toward neoliberalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]