Contemporary theoretical and political approaches have sought to integrate both a material politics of redistribution and a cultural politics of recognition into a relational theoretical framework. Such frameworks consider the intersecting ways individuals and groups suffer from over-determining social inequalities that are rooted in the economic, cultural and political orders of society. In this thesis, I identify approaches that seek to explain the intersection between economic, cultural, and political variables as “integrated” theories of justice. At the forefront of integrated approaches that have cut across disciplinary and epistemological divides, I critically engage with Nancy Fraser’s integrated theory of justice (1995, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005). I also examine similar, yet alternative approaches advanced by Jacinda Swanson (2005) and others that have attempted to reconcile the economy/culture/politics relationship. I argue that while integrated theories of social justice provide a correction to previous “reductionist” and “essentializing” theories of social justice, they do not go far enough to capture the over-determining interconnections between economics, politics, culture, and agency. As a result, they are unable to adequately address the complexity of social inequalities. To address this problem in the literature, I re-work integrated theories of social justice that attempt to reconcile the economy/culture/politics divide through an integration with a realist meta-theoretical approach. A realist approach offers several theoretical, methodological and political gains for recasting complex theories of social justice.

The notion of ‘absolute’ power underpins my own interest in power relations in Child Welfare practice but I shift the focus to the perspective of frontline child protection social workers. Missing in social work literature are the stories from workers in child protection practice. How do workers conceptualize power? How is this grey space of practice – which is not easily discussed – understood by practitioners themselves, the academy, and the system in which they practice? My completed master’s research draws on narrative methodology, adopted from Fraser’s (2002) model. It is a collection of six narratives. By using this open-ended approach, practice narratives were shared without limitation or parameters. From this rich data I analysed workers’ experiences, drawing out examples of power relations. My conclusions include; (a) the ways that frontline workers conceptualize power are strongly impacted by dominant notions of power, (b) relational practice with clients is occurring – and does so in isolation of the larger system of child welfare, and finally, (c) there is value in examining the perspectives of frontline child protection social workers as they are the one which have the greatest potential to initiate structural change from the bottom-up through transformative practice, which is happening every day.

Child protection is a reactive, non-linear, social process carried out in a context of unpredictability, uncertainty and complexity. One way professionals respond to this context is by negotiating almost every aspect of the work, negotiating both with people and through practice problems. This negotiation process has a cultural basis. I contend that: 1) skillful negotiation is culturally embedded in the activities and practices of child protection teams and individual workers; 2) child protection practice in this team is the skillful negotiation of practice problems while maintaining a balance between helping and enforcement activities that protect children; and 3) workers’ negotiation is not only activity-based but also a cultural way of thinking and being in the midst of this complex environment. I use the idea of a cultural repertoire as a framework for how professionals think and act and use ethnographic observation and participant interviews to explore its use in every-day practice.

In this thesis, I work from a poststructural feminist framework to examine the pedophile monster as a Western cultural discourse. I argue that in the formation of this discourse, medical and moral discursive strands are conflated to produce the pedophile monster as a subject. I undertake a genealogical exploration to trace the historical emergences of the pedophile monster discourse from the Victorian Era forward. Here I critically deconstruct two contemporary forms of media as case studies to illustrate the current work of the pedophile monster discourse in distributing responsibility for child sexual abuse between subhuman monsters, mothers and the child victims themselves. I argue that, with the exception of their role as patriarchal defender, men are artfully neglected in the construction of commercial child sexual abuse as a social problem. I then make use of a Foucauldian discourse analysis to study text from online forums and chat rooms used by men to discuss commercial child sexual exploitation. I was specifically interested in the discursive strategies used by the men to construct their subjectivities in relation to that of the pedophile monster. This thesis is an attempt to challenge the dominance of the pedophile monster discourse by implicating men in the problem of commercial sexual exploitation of children beyond the polarised categories of protector and monster. My goal in this thesis is to bring visibility and shift responsibility to men who perpetrate commercial sexual exploitation of children.

This thesis explores the alternative dispute resolution method of family group decision making that is used in child welfare in Ontario. Using a qualitative case study, my research sought to answer the question: What are the experiences of caregivers who have participated in family group decision making in the District of Algoma? I examined the legislative framework, policy directive and guiding policies surrounding the use of FGDM in child welfare in the District of Algoma in rural Ontario. I also collected data through interviews with five participants and transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. The themes that emerged relate to the process of FGDM empowering families, the outcomes for children, and the ability for families to implement and maintain long-term plans for children. These themes and sub themes are discussed along with the implications for policy and practice and directions for future research.

While it is generally agreed that family homelessness is rapidly increasing, there is very little research to find out how families have exited homelessness and become stable. There is even less research to investigate the strengths that were employed by family members as they journey toward housing stability. Is it possible that this potentially dis-empowering experience can be enriched by the care and support of fellow community members and helping professionals? More importantly, can family members draw on this experience to recognize their inner strengths and move toward greater happiness and self-sufficiency? This thesis shows how families who have been displaced from their community due to an experience of homelessness can be better supported to return to a stable life. A narrative lens was used to investigate the findings from semi-structured, one-on-one interviews with three mothers. One of the main criteria was that they found and retained stable housing for at least one year. The families in question currently live in Victoria, B.C. Canada, where this research took place. Examination of participant’s narratives revealed a five-stage process in which inner strengths and outer community supports combined to assist them in moving toward their goals. Participant mothers were able to access new ways to view the situation that did not leave them feeling marginalized. They also built both material and social assets that led to greater happiness and stability. Participants were able to develop resilient behavior by drawing upon past experience for knowledge, insight and inspiration. They overcame inner and outer barriers to these strengths by communicating their needs and reaching out to family, friends or services in a more confident way.

This thesis explicates the translocal ruling relations embedded in the process that a Canadian corporation used to acquire collectively held land for a mine in Mexico. Using Institutional Ethnography, I begin from a disjuncture between the corporation’s statements that the mine holds “local support” and the contesting claims of an opposition movement. I contextualize this disjuncture by referring to the institutional discourse of “corporate social responsibility” in mining. I make visible the hierarchy of texts activated by the corporation to acquire land and produce the claim of “local support.” I overlay this problematic with a reconstruction of the legal disputes between the corporation and its opposition, indicating where the process is hooked into legislation that organizes multinational investment in mining. The inquiry illuminates the workings of power, illustrating how provisions for foreign investment enshrined in multilateral institutions and upheld in Mexican legislation hold primacy over provisions for “local support.”

Cette thèse porte sur l'analyse du changement systémique en République de Moldavie. Elle mobilise la problématique du capital social, au sens de Pierre Bourdieu, afin d'analyser la diversité de stratégies et de trajectoires des " intellectuels " - définis au sein de la société moldave de type soviétique par la possession d'un diplôme d'études supérieures ou supérieures incomplètes et par l'accomplissement d'un travail non manuel - dans le post-socialisme. Appuyant les résultats de deux enquêtes de terrain, par questionnaire et par entretien semi-directif, ce travail met en avant l'idée que cette diversité peut dégager les traits caractéristiques du type de capitalisme post-socialiste moldave. Il rompt ainsi avec une vision téléologique et universaliste d'un système pour le penser selon ses propres particularités institutionnelles, historiques, politiques, culturelles, etc. S'inscrivant dans une démarche socio-historique et conjuguant différents champs des sciences sociales, cette thèse propose alors une lecture comparative entre la trajectoire de ces " intellectuels ", de 1980 à 2000, période couvrant trois régimes spécifiques d'accumulation : un propre à la fin du système socialiste de type traditionnel, un autre propre au système socialiste réformateur, et un troisième relevant du système post-socialiste moldave. Elle montre que les tensions engendrées par les différents régimes d'allocation et de distribution des ressources peuvent être régulées par le volume du capital social accumulé par les individus. La problématique du capital social apparaît ainsi centrale, permettant de voir comment s'articulent la dynamique institutionnelle et l'action sociale.

Les investissements éducatifs des familles immigrées sont traités à travers leurs aspirations et pratiques pour favoriser la scolarité de leurs enfants. A partir d'enquêtes françaises quantitatives représentatives, cette étude compare les immigrés et les Français d'origine de même milieu social, puis au sein des migrants, les Maghrébins et Portugais. La prise en compte du parcours migratoire révèle l'hétérogénéité interne des populations immigrées et les inégalités face à la scolarité des enfants. Sont mis en évidence la force des aspirations des familles immigrées, qui apparaissent comme l'un des ressorts essentiels du parcours migratoire, et le décalage entre ces aspirations et leur concrétisation dans les pratiques. Ce décalage traduit en fait l'écart entre les ambitions des parents, les ressources à leur disposition et les moyens mis en œuvre Toutefois, l'école est l'objet d'investissements spécifiques. Certaines familles, notamment d'origine maghrébine, investissent davantage que les autres compte tenu de leurs moyens. Emergent Le rôle de la fratrie comme ressource éducative et le recours au soutien scolaire. Deux logiques éducatives apparaissent. Les Maghrébins aspirent pour leurs enfants à des études longues générales, les Portugais préfèrent des études techniques courtes pour accéder à un emploi. Cette recherche fournit ainsi des résultats quantifiés et originaux relatifs aux pratiques éducatives des familles en fonction de la migration et de l'origine nationale, et procure des clefs pour éclairer les processus mis en jeu dans l'échec et la réussite scolaire de leurs enfants. L'insertion professionnelle des jeunes issus de l'immigration est analysée dans le prolongement des investissements, envisagés comme le chaînon manquant des études sur l'insertion.

Cette étude montre comment les usages de la Mobile TV viennent compléter ou remplacer les usages des autres supports médiatiques. Elle défend la thèse selon laquelle les utilisateurs s'approprient ce service par le travail de leurs préférences médiatiques, et plus précisément par leur attachement opportuniste au genre journalistique. Le transfert des préférences, des supports fixes à ces services mobiles, est parasité par diverses contraintes d'usage incitant les usagers à sélectionner celles qui sont ajustées à la taille de ces écrans de poche, aux problèmes de réception du réseau téléphonique, à la brièveté des créneaux d'utilisation, etc. Ce transfert forme dès lors une épreuve pragmatique à travers laquelle les préférences sont renouvelées. En ciblant les usages développés durant les déplacements, nous montrons comment les utilisateurs traversent cette épreuve en opportunistes. Ils mobilisent les médias, dont les téléphones multimédia, et les contenus rendus opportuns par les ressources et les contraintes rencontrées durant la conduite des déplacements. Ils développent alors un rapport réflexif vis-à-vis des médiations techniques qui équipent leurs pratiques, des situations qui accueillent leurs usages, des co-présents qui cautionnent tacitement leurs réceptions médiatiques. A l'heure où la sociologie de la fréquentation des biens culturels patine sur le terrain mouvant de la diversification des pratiques médiatiques, il peut être bénéfique de décrire comment cette propension opportuniste converge, à toute fin pratique, avec la captation des médiations techniques tissant ainsi, à la voie passive, des entrelacements d'usage et des attachements culturels.