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In January 2017, the 'abortion pill' was finally used legally in Canada. This paper provides a sociotechnical analysis of the controversy surrounding RU486 in Canada, focusing on its entry into public discourse, 1990-1995. The case study draws primarily on statements made about the pill, both in Canadian media and in various actors' print communications. Using approaches from science and technology studies, the analysis identifies the multiple human and nonhuman actors, their discursive mobilizations of RU486 and each other, and their contingent alliances, illustrating how RU486 mediates and shapes the communication that attempts to define it. Unpacking the network's complexity illuminates how these sense-making practices established the early setting of the technology's path, a first step in understanding why Canada has been a laggard in making the pill available. The discussion illustrates the tensions, instabilities, and reversals in the network that have hindered RU486's movement from development to diffusion. Finally, the paper suggests a framework for future sociological research on controversial reproductive technologies in their shift from discursive to material diffusion, one that recognises the integral role of women as users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past decades, public health has increasingly addressed what has been called the children's obesity 'epidemic', most notably through large-scale initiatives promoting physical activity. Through a discourse analysis the current paper critically examines such efforts in Canadian and Australian public health. Public health websites in Canada and Australia were examined for information concerning children's health, physical activity and obesity and explored for how these issues were represented in the discourse. Bacchi's (2009) 'What's the problem represented to be?' approach to discourse analysis guided our interrogation of the taken-for-granted assumptions underlying Canadian and Australian public health discourse, the ideological and political influences involved in its construction, and the knowledge base upon which it rests. The article calls for critical reflection on how children's physical and leisure activities are being advanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the advocacy of mothers and intended mothers in the fields of autism and infertility. Mothers and intended mothers have developed a special competence in dealing with professionals, and in negotiating the delicate balance between expert medical discourses and expertise grounded in their situated knowledge and experiences. Drawing on the social movement and public policy literature, we seek to disrupt taken-for-granted assumptions about the gendered role of women and mothers in these complex and emotionally charged policy fields. We argue that (intended) mothers are far more likely than other women to take on the major advocacy role considering their need to respond to bodily, social, and/or cultural 'failures' imposed on them by the medical establishment. Issues of access to fertility treatments and care for autistic children not only provide a vantage point from which to study their experience in the policy arena, but also to ask broader questions about the role of the welfare state and the shifting authority of experts in policy processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public--private partnerships (P3s) with the for-profit private sector are increasingly used in Canada to deliver public infrastructure and support services within the health care sector (e.g., hospitals, clinics, community health centres). This paper examines the emergence and legacy of P3s in the Canadian health care sector, classifying them as a form of neoliberal accumulation by dispossession and discussing their inability to live up to proponents' promises. Economic and social costs are examined, and examples are drawn from operational P3 hospitals in Canada. The article also briefly examines how P3s have been affected by the recent global financial crisis, arguing that despite serious problems with the private finance component of these projects, ultimately the policy is poised to weather the storm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite recent critiques of contemporary obesity discourses that link 'modern Western lifestyles' to an 'obesity epidemic', the population's weight remains a central concern of current dietary guidelines. Food choices that are considered beneficial to maintaining a certain weight are understood to play a key role in one's health. This concern reflects medico-moral assumptions about the properties of food and what people should eat. However, the impact of obesity discourses on different individuals and social groups is rarely considered, although there is some evidence that people do generate, reflect and resist the norms and standards set for them, including those that relate to food/weight. In this paper, we will examine the perspectives on fatness and food choice amongst Black and White women and men living in Vancouver and Halifax, Canada. With this examination, we will challenge conventional assumptions about the singular 'modern Western lifestyle' that leads to obesity concerns by teasing out some of the social, cultural and political contexts within which people conceptualise issues regarding weight and make their food choices. By examining the experiences of both women and men we will also provide important insights into the gendered ways in which people engage with obesity discourses and the injunction to 'eat healthily' as a form of weight management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ovarian cancer affects many women globally, having numerous physical and psychosocial implications. However, misconceptions abound, symptoms are often overlooked, and diagnosis frequently occurs in advanced stages. As one step to addressing these issues, this research explores the social construction of ovarian cancer in women's magazines to identify the ideas and discourses surrounding this illness and interpret their explicit and implicit meanings. A constructivist discourse analytic approach guided analysis of 62 print and online articles from 8 women's magazines available in Canada over a 20-year period. Analysis resulted in identification of three discourses pertaining to: self-responsibility for health, ovarian cancer as uncertain and inevitably fatal, and ovarian cancer as a heroic endeavour. Critical interpretation highlights misinformation, contradictory beliefs, and unrealistic expectations surrounding this illness, which have implications for healthy and affected women. The findings emphasise the importance of identifying and challenging these discursive constructions to expose inconsistencies, minimise harm to women's well-being, and promote authentic portrayals of ovarian cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A research-to-practice gap was identified in a study on knowledge sharing regarding future cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk associated with a previous diagnosis of pre-eclampsia (PE) during pregnancy, where 41% of healthcare practitioners did not inform patients of increased risk more than 50% of the time. Employing an empirical, sociological lens, we conducted interviews with women and healthcare providers from the same sample as that study. In this article, we analyse participants' perceptions of and attitudes towards the relationship between PE and CVD risk, assessing how relationships between research findings, risk, pregnancy, and women's health are understood and acted upon in Canadian healthcare. Relating empirical observations to larger debates surrounding knowledge sharing practices, we argue that structural, practical, and ideological barriers impede knowledge sharing between healthcare practitioners and patients. Patient perceptions and experiences of the knowledge sharing gap must be addressed in practical and structural changes to healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we analyze data from Statistics Canada's General Social Survey, a cross-sectional and nationally representative survey of Canada's population, to assess the impact of three dimensions of social capital on self-rated health. We measure these dimensions, which consist of social networks and social support, civic participation and social participation, with a comprehensive set of 5 indicators. To avoid reverse causality due to the cross-sectional nature of the data, we employ an instrumental variable simultaneous equations bivariate probit regression model. Our findings indicate that all of the tested dimensions of social capital have a positive and significant impact on self-rated health. These findings suggest that social capital plays an important role in enhancing the health of Canada's population. Endogeneity was detected in all of our estimations. Consequently, this study also has important methodological implications in that we demonstrate that relying solely on naive estimations leads to biased results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Virtual memorials' intended to memorialize the lives of children imply significant shifts in the conceptualization of death, particularly for grieving parents. Created by parents in memory of their deceased children, on-line memorials constructed using templates reflect strong cultural beliefs about the nature of childhood deaths, grief and the development of a kind of digital afterlife. Virtual memorials create a new social value for the deceased, and shift death and bereavement from private into more public experiences. Building upon this work, we describe a kind of 'on-line immortality' created through virtual memorials where the virtual presence of the deceased in text and images, and practices intended to sustain a relationship with the deceased, can extend bereavement and the social lives of the dead indefinitely. While such memorials can offer solace, they also potentiate business opportunities for those hoping to create lasting customers. As such, they may also extend mourning indefinitely. This may be especially true for certain kinds of deeply problematic deaths, such as those of children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]