Cultural politics pathology: the Charter of Québec values†
The paper argues that the Québec Government Bill 60, popularly known in English as The Charter of Québec Values, is symptomatic of a pathological strain in Québec's cultural politics.
A Remnant of the Past? Jewish Homeownership Gaps in Montreal and Toronto, from 1971 to 2011
Using the Canadian Censuses of 1971, 1981, 2001, and the Canadian National Household Survey of 2011, this paper compares the homeownership rates of Jews with non-Jews in Canadian urban areas as a whole, and in the cities of Montreal and Toronto. In this paper, I found that the housing career of Jews differs from that of non-Jews, with a lower homeownership rate, especially for seniors. For the entire period covered by this research, I found that Canadian Jews 60 years of age and older were substantially less likely to be homeowners. For Jews under the age of 50, I found a persistent lower homeownership rate in Montreal, while the homeownership gap of the younger cohorts appears to have faded in Toronto. I discuss the diaspora hypothesis as a potential explanation. In addition, I suggest that the results may indicate differences in the determinants of ontological security between Canadian Jews and non-Jews.
High-frequency hearing thresholds: effects of age, occupational ultrasound and noise exposure
AbstractPurpose
It has been suggested that high-frequency audiometry (HFA) could represent a useful preventive measure in exposed workers. The aim was to investigate the effects of age, ultrasound and noise on high-frequency hearing thresholds.MethodsWe tested 24 industrial ultrasound-exposed subjects, 113 industrial noise-exposed subjects and 148 non-exposed subjects. Each subject was tested with both conventional-frequency (0.125–8 kHz) and high-frequency (9–18 kHz) audiometry.ResultsThe hearing threshold at high frequency deteriorated as a function of age, especially in subjects more than 30 years old. The ultrasound-exposed subjects had significantly higher hearing thresholds than the non-exposed ones at the high frequencies, being greatest from 10 to 14 kHz. This hearing loss was already significantly evident in subjects with exposure <5 years and increased with years of exposure and advancing age. The noise exposure group had significantly higher hearing thresholds than the non-exposed group at the conventional frequencies 4 and 6 kHz and at the high frequency of 14 kHz. After stratification for age, there was a significant difference between the two groups at 9–10 and 14–15 kHz only for those under 30 years of age.ConclusionMultivariate analysis indicated that age was the primary predictor, and noise and ultrasound exposure the secondary predictors of hearing thresholds in the high-frequency range. The results suggest that HFA could be useful in the early diagnosis of noise-induced hearing loss in younger groups of workers (under 30 years of age).
