Teaching and Professional Practice

M11 - Three Minute Thesis Competition (Heat 2)

Date: May 31 | Time: 12:00pm to 01:00pm | Location: Classroom - CL 435 Room ID:15762

Sponsor / Commanditaire : University of Toronto Press | MITACS | Abacus Data

Chair/Président/Présidente : J.P. Lewis (University of New Brunswick)

Judges/Juges: Stéphanie Chouinard (Royal Military College) / Alexandra Manoliu (Université de Montréal)

Graduate Student Three-Minute Thesis - Terms of Reference
Ma thèse en trois minutes - Mandat

Disability’s Encounter with Legislation and Governance: Long-Term Care Homes in Ontario: Poland Lai (York University)
Abstract: Canada is aging. Public and media commentary tends to rely on the imagery of “silver tsunami” to convey the challenges related to an aging population and long-term care (LTC) is commonly conceived as one of those challenges. This research concerns changes to the regulation and governance of LTC homes in Ontario between 2004 and 2012. I content that incorporating a disability perspective can reframe a public policy problem that is usually singularly associated with aging. I conducted review of government documents, legal analysis and key informant interviews. There were few substantive changes in terms of entitlement, delivery and conditions of care and were intended to address safety and security of residents and staff while balancing other objectives, such as choice of residents. Most of the changes to the content of regulation were not significant and best described as formalization of existing practices or expansion of existing requirements. They reflected some of the criticisms from disability scholarship about care but still prioritized medical / clinical needs. However, there were many changes to processes and procedures that represented a re-orientation of how problems in the sector are to be solved in the future. I argue that the changes are significant for older women with disabilities and serious illnesses because any improvement to the treatment, care and living circumstances will be the result of all of these processes if properly implemented and funded, not just state-based regulation coupled with the necessary funding.

Remittances: A Tide that Does Not Lift All Boats: Yvonne Su (University of Guelph)
Abstract: For the last forty years, remittances have been the Philippines’ lifeline in times of crisis as well as everyday life. So, it was no surprise when the media and NGOs credited the diaspora with playing a significant role in post-disaster recovery after Typhoon Haiyan (local name: Yolanda) struck the Philippines on November 2013. This PhD thesis takes a critical view of this portrayal and argues that the rising tide of remittances do not lift all boats. While remittances may pour in after a spectacular disaster, they are differently experienced, have different impacts, and therefore, uneven post-disaster outcomes. My research highlights the class-based inequalities that structure the access to, and mobilization of remittances after post-disaster recovery. Through surveys, semi-structured interviews and participatory methods, I compare middle and lower class households in three communities heavily affected by Haiyan in Tacloban City, Philippines, to investigate who benefits, and who is excluded from, remittances in post-disaster recovery. Using the lens of a networked theory of social capital, this study examines the role that social capital ties play in the access and mobilization of remittances. The findings of the case study shed light on wider issues of poverty, class and vulnerability in the Philippines.