University of Guelph hosted OJS journals
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FarmWorks – providing community-based capital for farms and food
No full textFood production is fundamental to strong, rural communities and a key component of rural economic strength. Over the last half century, Atlantic Canada has witnessed a progressive erosion of food security, and an increased reliance on imported food. In December 2011, a small group of community leaders launched FarmWorks Investment Cooperative Ltd., a for-profit cooperative focused on providing strategic and responsible community investment in food production, processing, and distribution. Since 2011 FarmWorks has raised over $1 million in private investments under the umbrella of Nova Scotia’s Community Economic Development Investment Fund (CEDIF) program. FarmWorks is promoted to community members as an investment vehicle that keeps financial resources in the Region and supports the local agri-food economy, Investors benefit from significant tax rebates under CEDIF. In less than 4 years of operation, FarmWorks investments have had measurable success in supporting agri-food business start-ups and expansion, focusing on both market pull (restaurants, and processors featuring local products) and primary production (farms and food distributors). To date some 35 businesses have received FarmWorks loans, following rigorous review of business plans and financial viability. This presentation will describe the evolution of the cooperative and its impact on rural innovation and sustainability
Big data for small places
No full textThe challenge is that small municipalities and rural community organizations are becoming increasingly overwhelmed with data from many sources. While the ever-increasing availability of data can facilitate comprehension of the relationships among complex issues, the overwhelming volume of data can also increase confusion. Small rural communities and organizations are faced with:
hiring data consultants – often with unsatisfactory results due tounfamiliarity with the local context
avoiding data analytics due to being overwhelmed - making policy and program recommendations based on tradition, political priorities, or “gut instinct”
The Big Data for Small Places pilot project involves 5 partner municipalities or organizations. Each partner has a case that has potential relevance across their organization and with other similar organizations - demonstrating the usefulness of data analytics with an issue in comprehensive community development and making their community a better place to live, work, play, and invest.
The project will focus on capacity-building for the effective use of available data for evidence-based planning, priority setting, and progress tracking, will test the effectiveness of particular mentoring, networking and training activities in this field, and will develop recommendations for the roll-out of the results of the pilot to a broader audience.
(Note: Project is currently at the proposal stage – expecting funding announcement in April – project activities planned for May to July 2015
Le projet « Salish Weave Box Sets: Art and Storytelling » au Centre de ressources curriculaires autochtones à l’Université Simon Fraser: Art and Storytelling Project at SFU\u27s Indigenous Curriculum Resource Centre
No full textThe Salish Weave Box Sets: Art and Storytelling Project is a project carried out for the Indigenous Curriculum Resource Centre (ICRC) at Simon Fraser University (SFU) Library, with the goal of providing resources to include Indigenous art in the post-secondary classroom. The project looked at the concept of art as literature, using the concept of Indigenous Storywork (Archibald, 2008). In this paper, we provide further context on the ICRC at SFU Library, the Salish Weave Box Sets, and present the approach, project themes, and lessons learned from the Salish Weave Box Sets: Art and Storytelling Project.Le projet « Salish Weave Box Sets: Art and Storytelling » a été mis sur pied au Centre de ressources curriculaires autochtones (CRCA) à la bibliothèque de l’Université Simon Fraser (SFU) dans le but de fournir des ressources permettant d’inclure l’art autochtone dans l\u27enseignement post-secondaire. Le projet s’est penché sur la notion d’art comme littérature en utilisant le concept de narration autochtone (Archibald, 2008). Dans cet article, nous présentons le contexte du CICR à la bibliothèque SFU et les « Salish Weave Box Sets, » ainsi que l’approche, les thèmes du projet et les leçons tirées du projet « Salish Weave Box Sets: Art and Storytelling.
Promouvoir la diffusion et la préservation des produits de la recherche communautaire dans les dépôts institutionnels
No full textCommunity-based research often involves communities working in partnership with academic researchers to address issues and problems that the community has raised. Much of this work results in diverse publicly available materials that strive to inform public policy, strengthen funding proposals, empower community members, and advance social change. This article reports on a recent qualitative study exploring the role of institutional repositories in disseminating and preserving these community-based research products, informed by the perspectives, experiences, and motivations of academics involved in this work. Interviews with faculty members and university administrators at Canadian post-secondary institutions suggest that there is a widespread lack of awareness about ways that institutional repository services can leverage the impact and reach of public-facing work generated through these collaborations. Furthermore, a survey of Canadian scholarly communications librarians indicates that libraries do limited outreach to faculty members and administrators engaged in community-based research to promote these services. This article suggests ways that academic libraries can extend outreach strategies to bridge this observed gap between repository services and the dissemination and preservation of community-based research products directly informed by input from research participants. Doing so can advance widespread institutional commitments to community engagement and open science practices to benefit the public good.La recherche communautaire est souvent le fruit d’un partenariat entre les communautés et les chercheurs universitaires afin d’aborder des enjeux et des problèmes soulevés par la communauté. Une grande partie de ce travail se traduit par l’élaboration en collaboration de documents diversifiés, accessibles au public, qui visent à informer les politiques publiques, à renforcer les propositions de financement, à soutenir les objectifs des membres de la communauté et à faire progresser le changement social. Cet article rend compte d’une récente étude multiméthode explorant le rôle des dépôts institutionnels dans la diffusion et la préservation de ces produits de recherche communautaires, en s’appuyant sur les perspectives, les expériences et les motivations des universitaires impliqués dans ces travaux. Les entretiens avec les membres du corps professoral et les administrateurs universitaires des établissements postsecondaires canadiens révèlent une méconnaissance généralisée de la manière dont les services de dépôt institutionnel peuvent accroître l’impact et la portée des travaux publics générés par ces collaborations. De plus, un sondage auprès des bibliothécaires canadiens responsables pour la communication savante montre que les bibliothèques ne semblent pas promouvoir suffisamment ces services auprès des membres du corps professoral et des administrateurs engagés dans la recherche communautaire. En s’appuyant sur les contributions des participants à la recherche, cet article suggère des moyens par lesquels les bibliothèques universitaires peuvent étendre leurs stratégies de sensibilisation afin de combler le fossé observé entre les services de dépôt et la diffusion et la préservation des produits de la recherche communautaire. Ce faisant, elles peuvent faire progresser l’engagement institutionnel généralisé en faveur de l\u27engagement communautaire et des pratiques de science ouverte au profit du bien public
Les Salaires dans les bibliothèques canadiennes et la qualité de vie matérielle
No full textThis paper seeks to answer what material quality of life can be expected for someone working in a library in Canada, based on the salaries offered in a data set of three months of job postings on a national job board. The postings were categorized by provincial and municipal location and education level. These data were then compared to census information about the cost of housing in the community where the job was located, to approximate whether the pay was sufficient to provide financial stability, and therefore a good material quality of life.
The results of the study show that based on the average of all postings, library workers appear to have a good material quality of life. However, a significant number of individual positions did not provide financial stability. Positions that required an MLIS were more likely to provide a good material quality of life, while positions that required a technician diploma were less likely to do the same.
I conducted this analysis with the acknowledgement that library workers exist within communities both in the libraries where we work and in the broader sense of where we live. These contexts have power dynamics, and those who have greater financial stability have a responsibility to advocate for, or stand in solidarity with, other members of the community who have less.Cet article cherche à comprendre quelle qualité de vie matérielle à laquelle peut s\u27attendre une personne travaillant dans une bibliothèque au Canada, en se basant sur les salaires proposés dans un ensemble de données d’offres d’emploi sur un site d’emplois national sur une période de trois mois. Les affichages étaient catégorisés par province et par municipalité ainsi que par niveau de scolarité. Ces données ont été comparées aux informations du recensement sur le coût de logement dans la communauté où se trouvait l’emploi afin de comprendre si le salaire était suffisant pour assurer une stabilité financière et, par conséquent, une bonne qualité de vie matérielle.
Les résultats de l’étude montrent qu’en se fiant sur la moyenne pour toutes les offres, les employés des bibliothèques semblent avoir une bonne qualité de vie matérielle. Toutefois, un nombre important de postes ne fournissaient pas une stabilité financière. Les postes nécessitant une maîtrise en bibliothéconomie ou en sciences de l’information étaient plus susceptibles de fournir une bonne qualité de vie matérielle, tandis que les postes exigeant un diplôme de technicien semblaient ne pas offrir la même qualité.
J’ai mené cette analyse en reconnaissant que les bibliothécaires existent au sein de communautés, à la fois dans les bibliothèques où nous travaillons et dans le sens plus large de l’endroit où nous vivons. Ces contextes ont une dynamique de pouvoir, et ceux qui ont une plus grande stabilité financière ont la responsabilité de défendre ou d’être solidaires avec d’autres membres de la communauté qui ont moins de moyens
Cities According to the For You Page
No full textThis paper conducts a literature review on the impacts that social media platforms have on gentrification and digital placemaking in cities. The literature review analyzes a series of topics such as community building, big data, selective and exclusionary place marking, and creating new neighborhoods through rebranding on social media with case studies in Toronto, New York City and Los Angles. Recommendations to combat this form of gentrification and exclusionary place making include anti-displacement policies within municipal secondary plans with a case study on the Jane-Finch Secondary Plan and Urban Design Guidelines from the City of Toronto in response to the construction of the Finch light rail transit line being constructed
Municipal Agri-Food Systems Planning Capacity - Lessons Learned from Across Ontario
No full textMunicipal governments in Ontario play a key role in agri-food systems planning. Through land-use planning, economic development, and broader decision making, municipalities have the ability to encourage or hinder agri-food systems in their communities. While the provincial government provides a policy framework, local governments have the ability to determine how best to implement policies in their jurisdiction and have the ability to go beyond provincial mandates. This flexibility allows local governments to pursue policies, programs, and plans to support and respond to the agri-food sector. However, little is known about municipal government capacity to pursue agri-food systems planning.
This presentation will discuss the findings of a research project that looks at the capacity of municipalities in Ontario related to agri-food systems planning. More specifically this research addresses the following questions:
How can municipal agri-food systems planning capacity be conceptualized?
What factors contribute to municipal agri-food systems planning capacity?
What opportunities are available to help municipal planning departments build capacity in supporting sustainable and resilient local and regional agri-food systems?
This presentation will share key findings and insight from this research, including best practices for supporting and responding to local and regional agri-food systems. This research confirms that municipal capacity to support agri-food systems planning is variable. Factors contributing to municipal capacity include: department resources and characteristics, relationships with other municipal departments, relationships with external actors, and commitment to local and regional agri-food systems. This capacity positions municipalities to facilitate agri-food systems planning processes including the use of regulatory and non-regulatory tools, and leveraging partnerships in support of agri-food systems planning
Navigating Dreams and Realities: An Intersectionality Approach to Understand Rural Youth Aspirations in Colombia
No full textRural youth studies identify that rural youth aspirations and life courses are dynamic and change over time. They are the outcome of the relationship between the context and the agency. However, few studies have explored how different social characteristics (e.g., age, sex) might influence the development of aspirations and how these characteristics and the relationship with the context where violence is a cross-cutting variable could exacerbate power imbalances. In regions where licit and illicit economies coexist, the exercise of agency by rural youth becomes an act of rebellion. This study employs an “I will be” method, grounded in Possible Selves theory, agency, and intersectionality, to explore rural youth\u27s aspirations and life trajectories in La India, Colombia, from their own perspective. Findings reveal a significant tension between the aspirations of young men and women and the perceived attainability of their goals. In these communities, youth participation is limited, with their voices marginalized by social norms shaped by violence and historical conflict. This is particularly pronounced for young women, those without social support networks, and young adults living independently. Understanding the factors influencing rural youth decision-making is essential for developing context-appropriate policies and programs that can support their aspirations and provide pathways to meaningful change. 
Global Greenbelt Assessment
No full textThis project looks at lessons developed from the 2022 “Greenbelts Around the World Responding to Local and Global Challenges” report and expands the range of examined Greenbelts (and related agricultural protection policies), and takes a deeper dive into failed and unsuccessful policies from other jurisdictions. The focus is on examining what successful policies can be adopted, and how protection differs across the world. 
A Marxist Critique on Food as an Indicator of Wealth, Social Class and the Uses of Social Media
No full textThis paper discusses the idea of wealth indicators using following Marxist theories of social class within a capitalist society. This set of theories is used to discuss the modern use of social media and how modern Western culture presents food through a polished social media lens and how this is symbolism of social class indication.