Xiang’s talk, “The Intermediary Trap: International Labour Recruitment, Transnational Governance and State-Citizen Relations in China,” will take place Nov. 5 at 519 91ŃÇÉ« Research Tower, Keele campus. A reception will begin at 2:30pm, followed by the lecture at 3pm. Everyone is welcome to attend the event hosted by the 91ŃÇÉ« Centre of Asian Research (YCAR).

Xiang Biao

“Dr. Xiang is a young and exciting anthropologist working on migration in Asia. His work comprises detailed ethnographic studies in multiple contexts including India, China, Singapore, Korea, Japan and Australia. He epitomizes the 'open' and 'non-territorial' concept of Asia-as-region that we espouse at YCAR,” says Philip F. Kelly, YCAR director.

Xiang’s forthcoming book Making Order from Transnational Mobility (Princeton University Press) is the result of four years of field research across East Asia.

Beyond the appeal of Xiang's pan-Asian ethnographies, his work on the transnational governance regimes that regulate migration will also be of interest to a wide range of scholars at 91ŃÇÉ«, says Kelly.

Xiang’s lecture will trace how transnationally-linked commercial labor recruiters gain a dominant position in cultivating, facilitating and controlling migration.  These intermediaries render themselves indispensable both for migrating workers and for the states seeking to make order from migration.

The intermediary trap is more dynamic and complex than a simple “capture” by identifiable interest groups and is deeply implicated in changing state-citizen relations in China. Rooted in Chinese and other Asian states’ agenda to liberalize socioeconomic life without compromising sovereign power, the intermediary trap may become a worldwide phenomenon with the resurgence of state power alongside a continuing neoliberal hegemony beyond Asia.

Through its Asia Lecture Series, YCAR showcases some the best of scholarship on Asia and initiates discussion in both academic and non-academic communities about major issues relating to Asia in a global context.

For more information about YCAR, visit the YCAR website.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91ŃÇɫ’s daily e-bulletin to research stories on the research website.

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The report said it's estimated that roughly 65,000 young people are homeless or living in homeless shelters throughout the country at one time or another during a given year.

, associate dean of research and professional development in 91ŃÇÉ«'s Faculty of Education, used to work in the youth homelessness sector in the '90s. He said the approach in Canada has remained much the same since — namely, the focus on provision of emergency services.

“The longer I’m involved in this issue, the more upset I am that we allow 15-, 16- and 17-year-olds to languish in emergency shelters rather than to provide them with better solutions and better options,” he said. He co-authored the report with , an associate professor in 91ŃÇɫ’s department of anthropology, and researcher Tara Patton.

Gaetz noted that other countries, such as Australia and the U.K., have evolved approaches focusing on prevention and moving individuals out of homelessness and into housing. He said while emergency services are needed, the real emphasis should be on preventing young people from becoming and remaining homeless.

He said research in Canada is pretty consistent in showing that between 60 and 70 per cent of young people come from households where they’ve experienced physical, sexual or emotional abuse. Yet even in situations where they’re leaving households where they may have been abused, it doesn’t mean their relationship with all family members has soured, he noted.

Even though family conflict is probably at the core of the majority of youth homelessness, it doesn’t mean that those relationships are irreconcilable, Gaetz said. In certain cases, there may not be a history of abuse but perhaps family conflict which can often be addressed. That means more intensive support is needed for both the youngster and their family.

“If there’s conflict parents may not know what to do. There may be anger management issues that need working on; there may be mediation. There may also just need to be a cooling-out period.”

The report profiles the Family Reconnect program run by , which operates three shelters in the Toronto area and works with homeless and at-risk youth aged 16-24 to get them off the streets permanently.

The program provides youngsters with support through various channels, including counselling, to help get them on track to potentially return home or move into the community, ideally with family support.

Between 2005 and 2010, the program helped 376 clients. Among them, 62 per cent of youth became more actively involved with family members and 14.5 per cent reconciled with a family member after repairing a damaged relationship.

Parents are also able to benefit from the program.

Gaetz said it will require a unified approach from all levels of government to develop strategic responses to homelessness.

At the provincial level where funding is controlled for most service delivery, they recommend establishing an inter-ministerial working group that spans all sectors. They’re also asking municipal governments to develop strategic plans to address youth homelessness.

“I really believe that the knowledge is there about how to do this and, in many cases, the commitment is there to do things differently.”

also covered the report April 13.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile– 91ŃÇɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Some 65,000 young people are homeless or at risk of homelessness across Canada. In Toronto, approximately 1,700 youth are on the streets on any given night, about half of them in emergency shelters.

Right: Report co-authors Daphne Winland (left) and Stephen Gaetz

“In Canada, we really need to radically reform our approach to youth homelessness,” says , associate dean of research in 91ŃÇɫ’s Faculty of Education and co-author of the Family Matters report. “We need to be much more strategic in how we address the problem, and this means placing a greater emphasis on prevention, family reconnection and rapid re-housing efforts. This not only improves lives, it’s also more cost effective.”

Prevention programs, including family mediation and support for the development of healthy family relations, are likely to produce longer-lasting results and a quicker exit from the streets, according to the report. Such interventions, which cost about $7,000 a year per youth, make better financial sense than putting a young person in a shelter for a year at a cost of more than $20,000. Unfortunately, such programming is rare in the sector, it says.

One exceptional initiative that the report says should be scaled up and replicated is the Family Reconnect Program, run by Eva’s Initiatives in Toronto. The Family Reconnect Program offers youth and their families access to free individual and family counselling to help them understand the nature of family conflict and resolve or better mitigate family problems. As a result, many youth decide to go back home, while others go into independent housing, supported by their community or family.

“The shelter system provides critical services, but it should never be the only option,” says Rachel Gray, director of the National Initiatives Program at Eva’s Initiatives. Between 2005 and 2010, the Family Reconnect Program helped 376 clients: 62 per cent of youth became more actively involved with family members; 14.5 per cent reconciled with a family member after repairing a damaged relationship; and the housing situation improved for more than 40 per cent of participants.

The Family Matters report also details the success of national youth homelessness prevention programs overseas that could serve as models for Canada. In Australia, work is done with school and community-based services to engage young people and their families before youth become homeless. In the U.K., family mediation programs help move young people out of the shelter system and back with their families or their community in a safe and planned way.

Part of the challenge in Canada is that emergency shelters are largely designed to provide young people with protection from abusive family situations. While this focus on protection is essential, given that 60 to 70 per cent of homeless youth flee households where they experienced physical, sexual or emotional abuse, the potential role of family or extended family members to help youth move on with their lives is largely ignored.

Left: According to the report, prevention programs, including family mediation and support for the development of healthy family relations, are likely to produce longer-lasting results for homeless youth

“For many young people who become homeless, family still matters,” says report co-author , a professor in the Department of Anthropology at 91ŃÇÉ«. “Just because one comes from a household characterized by abuse, doesn’t mean that there are no healthy or redeemable relations within the family.”

Given the gaps in the current Canadian response to youth homelessness, Eva’s Initiatives is launching an online toolkit that will give youth service providers across the country detailed information about how to incorporate prevention strategies into existing programs.

However, much more remains to be done if Canada is truly committed to ending youth homelessness, the report says. It calls for concrete measures and increased funding at the national, provincial and municipal levels to make prevention integral to Canada’s response to youth homelessness.

The Family Matters report and executive summary are available online as part of the Homeless Hub Research Report Series on the  website. The report, which includes detailed recommendations, also tells the personal stories of youth and families who have benefited from the Family Reconnect Program.

The Homeless Hub Research Report Series is a initiative based at 91ŃÇÉ«, highlighting the work of top Canadian researchers on homelessness. The goal of the research series is to take homelessness research and relevant policy findings to new audiences.

works with homeless and at-risk youth ages 16 to 24 to get them off the streets permanently. They operate three shelters in the Greater Toronto Area that house 114 youth each night. Eva’s also operates the Family Reconnect Program, which works with young people in a protected environment to support their efforts to address family conflict in a way that helps them move forward in their lives.

By Janice Walls, media relations coordinator at 91ŃÇÉ«, and Micol Zarb,  Media Relations at Eva’s Initiatives.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91ŃÇɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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The more proficient you become, the better, but "every little bit helps," said Ellen Bialystok, a psychology professor at 91ŃÇÉ« [Faculty of Health].

Much of the study of bilingualism has centered on babies, as scientists wondered why simply speaking to infants in two languages allows them to learn both in the time it takes most babies to learn one. Their brains seem to become more flexible, better able to multi-task. As they grow up, their brains show better "executive control," a system key to higher functioning – as Bialystok puts it, "the most important part of your mind."

Bialystok studied 450 Alzheimer's patients, all of whom showed the same degree of impairment at the time of diagnosis. Half are bilingual – they've spoken two languages regularly for most of their lives. The rest are monolingual.

The bilingual patients had Alzheimer's symptoms and were diagnosed between four and five years later than the patients who spoke only one language, she told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Being bilingual does nothing to prevent Alzheimer's disease from striking. But once the disease does begin its silent attack, those years of robust executive control provide a buffer so that symptoms don't become apparent as quickly, Bialystok said. "They've been able to cope with the disease," she said.

Her work supports an earlier study from other researchers that also found a protective effect.

But people don't have to master a new language to benefit some, Bialystok said. Exercising your brain throughout life contributes to what's called "cognitive reserve", the overall ability to withstand the declines of aging and disease. That's the basis of the use-it-or-lose-it advice from aging experts, who also recommend such things as crossword puzzles to keep your brain nimble. "If you start to learn at 40, 50, 60, you are certainly keeping your brain active," she said.

Newspapers and online news sites around the world reported on Bialystok’s lecture remarks, including media across Canada, the US, Australia, Bangladesh, China, England, Iran, Ireland, India, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Qatar, South Africa, Scotland and Wales.

Bialystok’s study was also features in stories on radio and television stations around the world, including major networks in the US and Canada.

Republished courtesy of YFile – 91ŃÇɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Published by Duke University Press, Homophobias looks at these questions through critical interrogations and analysis of diverse sites where homophobic discourses are produced, including New 91ŃÇÉ« City, Australia, the Caribbean, Greece, India and Indonesia, as well as American Christian churches. The idea is to uncover the complex operational processes of homophobias and their intimate relationships to nationalism, sexism, racism, class and colonialism.

In the book's preface, Murray notes that the term "homophobia" had moved into the global sphere. This got him thinking about the term's meaning and the existence of homophobia. "Homophobia had gone global, and to be accused of being homophobic was to be accused of something more than just not liking homosexuals; furthermore, this accusation now carried potentially serious economic and political repercussions." He hopes the book will be the initial step in answering some of the questions the term homophobia raises.

Left: David Murray

Murray gathered researchers from a diverse range of ethnographic sites "to demonstrate how homophobia is a phenomenon that has no centre or origin, but more importantly, to examine how, or if, a transnational, comparative and ethnographically informed perspective might extend, challenge or change our understandings of homophobia."

In part one – "Displacing Homophobia" – some of the issues the contributors examine include homophobia in New 91ŃÇÉ«'s gay central, American Christian homophobia and homophobia as racism. In part two – "Transnational Homophobias" – they look at homosexual hate in Jamaica, political homophobia in Indonesia, as well as the Barbadian media. In examining these issues, Homophobias provides innovative analytical insights that expose the complex and intersecting cultural, political and economic forces contributing to the development of new forms of homophobia.

Murray, the director of the Graduate Program in Women’s Studies at 91ŃÇÉ«, is the author of .

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91ŃÇɫ’s daily e-bulletin

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Left: Naomi Oreskes

Oreskes, who is an adjunct professor of geosciences at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and provost of Sixth College at UC San Diego, began her career as an exploration geologist working in the mining industry in the Australian outback. For the past 20 years, she has studied the process of consensus and dissent in science.

The central questions that inform her research are: How do scientists decide when a fact is established? How do they judge how much evidence is sufficient to deem something scientifically demonstrated? And what happens when scientists can’t agree?

Oreskes will be at 91ŃÇÉ« to talk about her new book, Merchants of Doubt (Bloomsbury Press, 2010).

In the book, Oreskes and her co-author Erik Conway, an historian of science affiliated with the California Institute of Technology, explore how a loose-knit group of high-level scientists, with extensive political connections, ran effective campaigns to mislead the public and deny well-established scientific knowledge over four decades.

In seven chapters addressing tobacco, acid rain, the ozone hole, global warming and DDT, Oreskes and Conway roll back the rug on this dark corner of the American scientific community, showing how the ideology of free market fundamentalism, aided by a compliant media, has skewed public understanding of the most pressing issues of our era.

Oreskes’ lecture marks the official launch of 91ŃÇɫ’s new Institute for Science & Technology Studies. The institute, which launches today, was created to be a focal point for science and technology studies in Canada. Science & Technology Studies is a burgeoning field not only in Canada, but also the world, as scholars in humanities and social studies develop increasingly sophisticated intellectual and methodological tools for engaging with techno-scientific knowledge, practice and artifacts.

For more on the new institute, visit the Science & Technology Studies website.

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