Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The Sikh turban has been a powerful symbol of ethno-religious diversity, contestation and struggle in Canada over the last quarter century. Recently, Ontario’s mandatory motorcycle helmet law has become one such site for the articulation of resistance. In March 2008 an Ontario judge ruled against a Toronto man’s right to ride a motorcycle with his turban and did not provide with him an exemption from a helmet. Perhaps fearing a snow-ball effect, but citing public safety and potential costs to the national health care system the court contended that the Highway Traffic Act takes precedence over a baptised Sikhs’ religious rights and the Ontario Human Rights Code. This paper examines the roles and contradictory behaviour of the State under the conditions of late modernity through an analysis of court documents and media reports. It will specifically address the rule of law in maintaining the marginal status of ethno-religious minority groups and trivialising identity under the auspices of risk management and public welfare.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Morality politics are often simplified and framed in elementary and non-technical language by active participants. But what happens when the morality issue does not lend itself to simplified frames for public and political debate? Stem cell research poses this problem for elites who oppose this type of research on moralistic grounds and liken it to the abortion debate where an “innocent” life is being “killed.” Yet, stem cell research is complicated and the potential benefits are far reaching, making it a more difficult issue to frame in “black and white” terms. What arguments do supporters and opponents use to frame the embryonic stem cell research debate? Does the public view stem cell research as a morality issue? What is the public’s support for stem cell research, and what factors shape an individual’s support for or opposition to stem cell research? Namely, do religious and political factors play similar roles in shaping opinions about stem cell research as they do in other morality issues? This research uses a unique public opinion survey of Georgian voters conducted in September 2006 to investigate public opinion in the stem cell research controversy.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Objective: This study investigated how a diverse group of older African-American women evaluated aging and their courses of action to live long and healthy lives. Methods: Thirty-seven older women were interviewed in-depth in their homes. Questions included: “What do you like and do not like about growing old?” and “What would you attribute your long life to?” Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded twice. Responses were classified into: financially independent/healthy, financially dependent/healthy, financially independent/not healthy and financially dependent/not healthy groups. Results: Average age was 77.7 years;50 percent were homeowners; 34 percent were subsidized housing residents; 58 percent lived alone. Declining health and limited financial resources reduced opportunities to pursue well-being in old age. Financially independent/healthy women enumerated multiple positive elements whereas financially dependent/not healthy women enumerated numerous negative elements about growing old. Financially independent/not healthy women and financially dependent/healthy women were limited by their lack of mobility and resources to pursue opportunities for well-being, respectively. The women’s strategies for living long and healthy lives had both physical and mental elements. The most cited physical and mental health strategies were avoiding risk behaviors, having a positive outlook, maintaining relationships with family, friends and a divinity, and altruism. Conclusions: Health promotional efforts should consider the health and financial status of the individual. The unhealthy groups would benefit most from treatment interventions both for physical and mental needs. Financially independent/healthy women could benefit from preventive interventions since their concerns rested with future health deterioration.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper will explore how television comedy shows (Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, the Tonight Show and the Late Show) affected the 2008 Presidential Election Race. Due to the writers strike these shows were dark during the early primary races – leaving an intriguing void in the media coverage of the race. After the strike was settled, the coverage of the race seemed to change as did popular perception of the candidates. Saturday Night Live is getting high ratings based on its political skits and candidates seek out any opportunity to be a guest on a nightly show. Studies have shown that younger voters are getting their news more from Jon Stewart than from Brian Williams which means that these sketches and appearances have a great effect on how the public views the candidates and the election. This paper intends to consider these effects in the hopes of determining how much of an impact these shows have on the election and its results

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Work is a ubiquitous feature of life in modern American society. It structures people’s time in a way paralleled by little else. Yet, despite the universality of work, there are stark differences in work experiences across segments of the American populace. Specifically, race plays a defining role in structuring how people relate to work. Almost every imaginable indicator points to the distinctive experiences of African-Americans, Asian Americans and Latinos in the workplace. Job satisfaction, job authority, wages and much more vary along lines of race, generally to the disadvantage of people of color. What are the political implications of the differential ways racialized populations experience the workplace, its benefits and its disadvantages? In this paper, I use survey data and in-depth interview data to detail the association between work and politics. I focus on the perceptions and experiences of racially and economically marginalized people in the workplace and the consequences thereof for their political attitudes and actions. While previous research has explored the relationship between work and politics, none of it has done so with an eye toward the unique experiences of marginalized people.