Your search

The article reviews the book, "More with Less: Work Reorganization in the Canadian Mining Industry," by Bob Russell.

The article reviews the book, "Alternatives to Lean Production: Work Organization in the Swedish Auto Industry," by Christian Berggren.

The article reviews the book, "Corporate Canada: An Historical Outline," by Gerry van Houten.

The article reviews the book, "People, Resources and Power: Critical Perspectives on Underdevelopment and Primary Industries in the Atlantic Region," edited by Gary Burrill and Ian McKay.

This article reviews the book, "Work Transformed: Automation and Labor in the Computer Age," by Harley Shaiken.

This article reviews the book, "The Militancy of British Miners," by V.L. Allen.

Class Relations in Canadian mining are explored as changes occur first as a result of the formal subordination of labour through capitalist penetration of petty commodity production then through the real subordination of labour within capitalism. It is argued that the once autonomous position of craftsmen and tradesmen in the surface and underground operations of hardrock mines are being subjected to de-skilling as capital uses technology and the division of labour to maximize its control. Parallel with the mechanization of mines and the automation of surface operations is the introduction of "people technology" in the form of modular training schemes, also designed to maximize capital's control and ease its ability to replace workers.

The article reviews the book, "C.B. Macpherson: Dilemmas of Liberalism and Socialism," by William Leiss.

Here is a hard-hitting look at Canada's wealthiest and most powerful mining company - the International Nickel Company of Canada. "Hardrock Mining" is the first in-depth study of both Inco Limited and the Canadian mining industry as a whole, an incisive look at both the effects of the technological revolution on a corporation and an industry which affects the lives of millions of Canadians. Respected sociologist Wallace Clement has interviewed hundreds of working men and women, and utilized unprecedented access to all facets of Inco's operations to build a fascinating and colourful portrait of a corporate giant. Clement documents the effect of the unions on the workers' welfare, the strikes and layoffs that are a fixture in the mining industry, and the effects of technological changes on health, safety, and the demand for specific skills. --Publisher's description

Comparative studies of welfare states are in the process of changing how they examine the relationships between class, gender and generations. Earlier accounts have focused on ideal types of regimes connecting social policy and labour markets. More recent accounts invoke families as key sites of investigation. The argument introduced here advocates for the combined connection between the intersections triad of social policy, labour markets and households as they reveal the relations embodied in class, gender and generation. Most of the illustrations locate households within the triad since they have received the least attention.

This interdisciplinary volume offers a powerful critique of how social structures and relations as well as ideologies shape workplaces, labour markets, and households in contemporary Canada. Contributors dissect recent transformations in work and expose the uncertainty, insecurity, and instability that increasingly characterize both paid and unpaid work. Using a progressive approach to political economy, contributors propose alternative policies and practices that might secure more decent livelihoods for workers and their families. -- Publisher's description

For more than two decades sociologists have debated the social and political consequences of an emergent postindustrial society. This comparative study addresses these debates, using original empirical data from five advanced capitalist economies - Canada, the United States, Sweden, Norway, and Finland. For some, the postindustrial world promises a new kind of capitalism that will draw its vitality from an expansion of knowledge and the creative capacities of working men and women. Others have highlighted postindustrialism's darker side and concluded that it is simply the next stage in the degradation of labour. For some, the massive entry of women into paid labour that accompanies postindustrialism will finally liberate women from domestic patriarchy. For others, it is no more than an extension of private patriarchy into the public sphere. The authors show that historical residues and the contemporary impact of major economic and political factors have produced not one but several postindustrial trajectories. They reveal how postindustrialism has brought a new distribution of productive forces and of effective powers over people, and show that the shape of that distribution varies considerably in different countries and different fields as a result of both institutionalized practices (inherited from industrial capitalism) and the contemporary effects of state policies, organized labour, and the women's movement. Addressing issues of class and gender, Relations of Ruling deals with problems involved in regulating paid labour as well as the relationship between paid and domestic labour. It will be of particular interest to specialists in gender issues and scholars in women's, family, and labour studies. --Publisher's description

Changing Canada examines political transformations, welfare state restructuring, international boundaries and contexts, the new urban experience, and creative resistance. The authors question dominant ways of thinking and promote alternative ways of understanding and explaining Canadian society and politics that encourage progressive social change. They examine how the evolution of capitalism is producing new types of transformations and new forms of resistance, and show that aspects of the state and the wider society are being contested. They also discuss the often paradoxical or contradictory effects of various social forces, such as the liberating but also constraining features of new communications technologies, new employment norms, and new household forms. --Publisher's description

This interdisciplinary volume offers a powerful critique of how social structures and relations as well as ideologies shape workplaces, labour markets, and households in contemporary Canada. Contributors dissect recent transformations in work and expose the uncertainty, insecurity, and instability that increasingly characterize both paid and unpaid work. Using a progressive approach to political economy, contributors propose alternative policies and practices that might secure more decent livelihoods for workers and their families. Contributors include Hugh Armstrong (Carleton), Pat Armstrong (York), Wallace Clement (Carleton), June Corman (Brock), Gillian Creese (British Columbia), Alice de Wolff (Independent Researcher), Ann Duffy (Brock), Andy King (United Steelworkers of America), Kate Laxer (York), Belinda Leach (Guelph), Wayne Lewchuk (McMaster), David W. Livingstone (OISE), Meg Luxton (York), Norene Pupo (York), Antonie Scholtz (OISE), Vivian Shalla (Guelph), Janet Siltanen (Carleton), Leah F. Vosko (York), Rosemary Warskett (Carleton), and Charlotte Yates (McMaster).