Mexican Mining Policy and its Relationship with Canadian Investment

Currently, Mexico receives more international investment in the mining sector than any other Latin American country. Throughout the past five years Canadian private investment has accounted for between 70-75% of all international investment. This project aims to explore Canadian investment in the Mexican mining industry in order to determine how, why and when investment occurs.

The ‘Benevolent Hand’ of the Turkish State: Housing Development Agency (TOKI)), State Restructuring and Capital Accumulation in Turkey

As it is accepted in both international organizations and nation states, housing for the urban poor is an urgent issue which cannot be left exclusively to market mechanisms. It is accepted that nation states have primary duties towards providing affordable houses for the lower income groups. This project reveals the changing role and structure of the state toward housing policies for urban poor with reference to shifts in development strategies in the Turkish context.

An Examination of Social Space in Rural Nova Scotian Municipalities

This research project will apply a theoretical analysis of social space in rural areas in Nova Scotia in order to examine how municipalities design space, and how citizens interact with and within it. Much of the existing literature in the field focuses on social space in urban areas, like populated downtown areas of cities. This project attempts to close a gap in the literature by examining rural space using its character, design, and history, in order to assess its impact on engagement in the community.

State-society relations at the margins: Control and Resistance in Turkey’s borderlands (1990-2004 and 2004-present)

There is a controversial relationship between the levels of democratization and violence. Although it is assumed that more democratic a country becomes less violence occurs, there are some counterarguments (Tezcur 2009). This project is an attempt to test the viability of whether democracy leads pacification. We will compare two time periods to evaluate the impacts of change in state strategy toward Kurds in Turkey’s borderlands. The first is the period from 1990 to 2004, which is a period of military domination. The second time period is commonly associated with political liberalization.

An emerging power: Brazilian South-South Cooperation in Mozambique and Haiti

This project considers how the rise of Brazil to global power status has changed its foreign policy direction, especially with regards to how it engages with other developing nations. In particular, this study considers how emerging powers like Brazil have dramatically increased the development assistance – what they call South-South Cooperation - they have provided to other developing countries over the previous decade. Why has assistance become such a valued foreign policy tool?

Understanding the migration and employment experiences of Chinese rural migrant women factory workers – The role of the household registration system, workplace and household

This proposed research project is for my doctoral thesis. The research focuses on the migration and employment experiences of Chinese rural migrant women factory workers. It will provide an in-depth analysis of factors that women themselves have thought relevant to their migration and employment status and experiences. The research will examine the role of three institutions, including the hukou (the household registration) system, the workplace, and the household, with a gender focus, in affecting rural women’s migration and employment experiences.

An Intersectional Analysis of the Impacts of Precarious Public Sector Employment on Women

This research project will examine how precarious work conditions (e.g., casual, temporary, contract-based, and normally poorly paid work) impact women workers, particularly those who are historically marginalized, including racialized women, Indigenous women, women with disabilities, and GLBTTQ women. It will also examine the impacts of precarious employment on women as users of public programs and services. This research is important for the Canadian Labour Congress because it will help them better understand the wide range of experiences that workers in Canada face.

The Voice of e-Democracy Panel in the City of Markham

The proposed project will help develop an online forum that can be used as a public consultation tool for governments as they make important public policy decisions. This forum will be developed and tested in the City of Markham as a case study. The model will then be refined so that it can be applied to other jurisdictions. The result will be a framework and online panel that can be used by various actors to communicate with and learn firsthand from citizens through digital technology.

Access and Allocation in International Fisheries Jurisdictions

The intern is expected to conduct a comparative study of what modifications are warranted to access and allocation processes of Canadian fisheries policy and legislation. Looking at the policies in place in other countries the aim is to identify policies that can be viably implemented into the Canadian context. It appears that within jurisdictions around the world, there have been successful implementations of innovating policies, which have enhanced the viability of resource management, and successful conservation measures.

Municipal Development: Finding Political Incentives for Economic Investors

The intern is confronted with a classical question in political economy: what kind of political institutions can facilitate economic development? The City of Vancouver represents a fascinating case study in which three important players are locked up in a strategic relationship that can either spur or damage the prospects of further economic development of the city. Player A, City Government, seeks to extract more revenues in taxation in order to accommodate the demands to provide welfare and services.

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