Martha Macdonald - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Martha Macdonald

Gender and the Contours of Precarious Employment, 2009

The distribution of precarious employment by social group and sector is an important focus of nat... more The distribution of precarious employment by social group and sector is an important focus of national and comparative research. However, its spatial distribution has received less attention in the literature. Precarious employment by definition is insecure, lower paid and unprotected compared with 'standard' work norms. The literature focuses on the resurgence of such work, especially associated with certain employment forms such as temporary, parttime and self-employment. However, there are longstanding spatial dimensions of labour market insecurity that have been largely overlooked in the recent interest in precarious employment. Three such dimensions are regional, rural/urban and intra-urban employment disparities. Precariousness is created not just by specific job characteristics but by the spatial contexts in which such work occurs. Precarious employment affects individuals in particular locations and is shaped by spatial dynamics. Spatial analysis is closely related to temporal considerations in the study of precarious employment. Temporal analysis includes not only the evolution of employment forms and the forces that constitute and reconstitute precarious employment over time, but the dynamics of people's participation in such work. Aspects of interest include the duration of precarious employment and life-course patterns (see Fuller, this volume). Gender is central

Northumbria University has developed Northumbria Research Link (NRL) to enable users to access th... more Northumbria University has developed Northumbria Research Link (NRL) to enable users to access the University’s research output. Copyright © and moral rights for items on NRL are retained by the individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners. Single copies of full items can be reproduced, displayed or performed, and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided the authors, title and full bibliographic details are given, as well as a hyperlink and/or URL to the original metadata page. The content must not be changed in any way. Full items must not be sold commercially in any format or medium without formal permission of the copyright holder. The full policy is available online: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/policies.html

The Privatization of Care, 2019

Oxford Scholarship Online, 2018

Organizing Site Visits: Methodological Considerations considers the practical challenges of team ... more Organizing Site Visits: Methodological Considerations considers the practical challenges of team ethnography fieldwork. The selection of sites and organization of the site visit are central to the success of the rapid site-switching methodology. The method relies heavily on the commitment of team members to take a turn organizing site visits in their jurisdictions and on both their local knowledge and skills. Issues around site selection and site visit organization are discussed from the perspective of a team member responsible for organizing site visits in one Canadian jurisdiction. The chapter reviews the process from the initial selection of sites to follow-up with the host facilities. Decentralized, collaborative decision-making is essential when planning fieldwork in multiple jurisdictions with widely dispersed team members. Relationships are key to a successful site visit and all aspects of local arrangements must be considered through this lens.

Journal of Canadian Studies, 1992

This paper examines three types of policies affecting the Atlantic fishery: subsidies to the priv... more This paper examines three types of policies affecting the Atlantic fishery: subsidies to the private sector, income maintenance of individuals (UI), and fishery regulatory policies. Case study material from six Nova Scotia communities shows how general social and economic policies affect women and men in households. We show the pervasiveness of these policies, how women and men act and react to them both as individuals and as household members, and how women and men are differentially affected by both policies and household strategies developed in response to them. By integrating the family household and its women and men members, we hope to add an essential dimension to analysis of apparently non-family related policies.

Journal of Canadian Studies, 1999

As a significant component of the institutional structure of the economy, social security reform ... more As a significant component of the institutional structure of the economy, social security reform has been at the policy forefront in Canada in recent years. This paper reviews the debate around reform and the programme changes that resulted, focussing on how these changes intersect with economic restructuring and their gender implications. Social security reform, like economic restructuring, has gendered impacts and reflects particular assumptions about gender relations. Changes to Employment Insurance and to the funding of welfare, social services and child benefits are discussed in this light, and comparisons are made with American reforms. The expected impacts by gender, work pattern, level of income and family situation are considered. The paper demonstrates the harmonizing down that has occurred and the penalties imposed on people in non-standard jobs and on welfare, who are disproportionately women.

Studies in Political Economy, 1984

Studies in Political Economy, 2015

Abstract Provinces and territories differ in how publicly regulated long-term residential care is... more Abstract Provinces and territories differ in how publicly regulated long-term residential care is financed. Although the costs of “care” are funded publicly, all provinces and territories except Nunavut require contributions from individuals to cover so-called accommodation costs. These vary widely. This paper examines trends and variations in long-term residential care fee structures and the implications for equity (within and across jurisdictions), including gender equity.

Studies in Political Economy, 1991

ike the ubiquitous prefix "post," "flexibility" has become a common buzzword of the 1980s in a wi... more ike the ubiquitous prefix "post," "flexibility" has become a common buzzword of the 1980s in a wide variety of academic writing. The two are in fact often connected, for the essence of this "post" period-whether postmodern, post-fordist, or post-industrial-is said to be flexibility-flexible specialization, flexible accumulation,' flexible firm, labour market flexibility, the "Age of Flexibility." Essentially, the debate surrounding post-fordism/flexibility has to do with the way firms, industries and indeed national economies and world capitalism are restructuring in this era of technological change, heightened international competition and rapidly changing markets. Whereas the postwar period is characterized as one of mass production/consumption, planning, control and stability, the current age, it is argued, requires flexibility and rapid response to change by capital, and hence by labour. The debate is about the extent and nature of these changed conditions, how we can understand these processes, and what the implications are for political strategy. Post-fordism, like postmodernism, is grounded in the sense of dislocation and unease brought about by the rapid changes in the world order since the early 1970s. In scholarly work in political economy there has been a rush to interpret these developments, and an eagerness to declare a "new era," one which supersedes the extended postwar boom. While the left has flirted with both postmodernism and post-fordism, each approach has critically challenged some aspects of left analysis and political strategy and each has been developed to a large extent by those working in

Studies in Political Economy, 1983

Ageing International, 2015

The marketization and privatization of nursing home care has grown in many countries along with e... more The marketization and privatization of nursing home care has grown in many countries along with expenditures. Using documents and government reports, this study explored three research questions about nursing homes in California, Ontario, England, and Norway. What were: (1) the contextual and privatization differences; (2) payment methods and trends in revenues and expenditures for direct care, administration, and profits; and (3) the financial reporting and accountability systems? The findings showed nursing homes were highly privatized in all locations except Norway.

World Development, 1995

This paper examines Canadian policy responses to economic and political restructuring over the pa... more This paper examines Canadian policy responses to economic and political restructuring over the past decade and the attempts by feminist groups to influence this agenda. It considers the success of these attempts to have gender issues taken up in the macro policy environment and relates feminist policy positions to theoretical themes emerging from the feminist economic literature on macroeconomics and adjustment.

Feminist Economics, 1998

ABSTRACT Social security reform is high on the agenda of many governments around the world. In th... more ABSTRACT Social security reform is high on the agenda of many governments around the world. In thinking about gender and social security policy it is useful to consider the implications of work in feminist economics for the evaluation of existing policies and proposed reforms. This paper identifies six key points and applies these to a range of social security provisions, including unemployment insurance, maternity benefits, family allowance and child benefits, pensions, social assistance and tax-based measures. The problems with traditional social security provisions are emphasized, drawing on the experiences of a variety of countries. Finally, the paper summarizes some implications regarding incentives, eligibility and benefit levels, and funding of these programs, taking into account countries at different levels of development.

Canadian Journal of Political Science, 1993

The Canadian Journal of Economics, 1995

... f6ministes. I. INTRODUCTION The feminist critique of neoclassical economic theory is by now w... more ... f6ministes. I. INTRODUCTION The feminist critique of neoclassical economic theory is by now well established (Ferber and Nelson 1993; Woolley 1993). While ... $1.50 ? Canadian Economics Association Page 2. 160 Martha MacDonald in ...

Anthropology & Aging

In this paper, we explore the needs of older adults for social interaction by investigating how l... more In this paper, we explore the needs of older adults for social interaction by investigating how local and everyday communities are produced by service organisations and experienced by their patrons. We approach the social needs of older adults through the lens of ‘community,’ both as a concept and as a lived experience. Our attention to communities of peers and arenas for everyday interaction is discussed in the context of the dominant policy discourse of ‘ageing in place.’ In this discourse, ‘place’ is predominantly interpreted as physical infrastructure, with little formal recognition of the importance of the arenas of social everyday interaction for older adults outside the home/family.Our exploration draws on the empirical study of three organisations in Toronto, Canada and Bergen, Norway that, in various ways, represent places for everyday interaction. We discuss how belonging is understood from the perspective of different older groups and how it is facilitated by organisation...