Mara Fridell | University of Manitoba (original) (raw)
Papers by Mara Fridell
Paediatrics & Child Health
Background Recent data indicate that rates of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are increasing and t... more Background Recent data indicate that rates of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are increasing and therefore, studies exploring risk factors for ASD that can further support early diagnosis and intervention are needed. A link between immigration and autism has been made by several international studies, but despite high rates of immigration, a Canadian study examining this association has not been conducted. Objectives To determine the proportion of children diagnosed with ASD at Manitoba’s primary autism referral site (the only publicly funded site for ASD evaluation of children <6 years of age) that were born to immigrant parents, and compare it with the known proportion of immigrants in Manitoba. Also, to compare demographic and clinical characteristics of children whose parents are immigrants with those whose parents were born in Canada. Design/Methods We conducted a retrospective chart review of >2000 electronic records that identified all children <6 years diagnosed with...
In the fall of 2005, Nestle in the United Kingdom announced with great fanfare, the launch of a n... more In the fall of 2005, Nestle in the United Kingdom announced with great fanfare, the launch of a new brand of soluble coffee, Partners Blend. In its press release, carried by major media outlets around the world, the company boasted, ‘This represents a fundamental, serious commitment to help some of the poorest farmers in the world’ (BBC News 2005). This declaration of corporate responsibility, and the accompanying statement of approval from the Fairtrade Foundation, was very valuable for Nestle, one of the most boycotted companies in the world. For years, Nestle’s corporate behavior has made it easy for activists to portray it as a rapacious exploiter of both workers and consumers in the Third World. Most famously, it marketed instant milk as a superior substitute to breast feeding in the developing world, a move that justifiably angeredmany who argued, correctly, that it was less nutritious than breast milk and obviously more expensive. Worse, Nestle was aware of the instant milk’s nutritional inferiority yet continued with the strategy (Sikkink 1986). Nestle’s unethical corporate image did not sit well for a company trying to market family-friendly foods. This negative image was reinforced by the growing awareness among consumers of the poverty and environmental damage that was part and parcel of the conventional coffee industry.
Does fair trade facilitate social justice? Mark Hudson and Mara Fridell, co-authors of Fair Trade... more Does fair trade facilitate social justice? Mark Hudson and Mara Fridell, co-authors of Fair Trade, Sustainability, and Social Change, will discuss the potential of fair trade as a means of poverty alleviation, and as a means of revealing the people, relationships, and environments that lie behind the commodities we often unthinkingly consume. While contending that fair trade is well-positioned to help advance social justice goals, the authors highlight the limits of fair trade as a movement and a mechanism that is embedded in the market. Drawing on political economy and social movement theory, the talk will chart the recent trajectory of the fair trade movement, indicating its impressive success, as well as some troubling signs for the future of fair trade’s ability to realize its potential. http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/fair-trade-sustainability-and-social-change-ian-hudson/?K=9781137269843https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/soc_corr_social_justice_lectures/1001/thumbnail.jp
The most fundamental goal of fair trade is to improve the lives of developing-world producers. If... more The most fundamental goal of fair trade is to improve the lives of developing-world producers. If it fails in this goal, the rest of the project is completely immaterial. In fact, if developed-world consumers were paying $12 for a bag of coffee that failed to improve the social and environmental conditions for coffee growers, the whole project should undoubtedly be abandoned. Fair trade promotional literature is littered with anecdotes about how fair trade transformed producers’ lives from those of destitution and hopelessness to survival and optimism. These testimonials are from the former TransFair USA site: The fair price is a solution. It has given us the chance to pay a good price to our farmers. Those who are not in Fair Trade want to participate. For us it is a great opportunity. It gives us hope. —Benjamin Cholotio Thanks to the Fair Trade market, our standard of living has substantially increased. With your support, we look forward to a more promising future. —Miguel Trigoso, Marketing Manager, APARM coffee
Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks, 2013
It is Christmas 2008. Despite the economic turmoil of falling stock markets and rising unemployme... more It is Christmas 2008. Despite the economic turmoil of falling stock markets and rising unemployment, people are busy trying to purchase gifts for those they care about or for whom they are obligated to buy. In a slight contrast to the annual tradition of expressing affection in well-wrapped commodity form, TransFair USA entreats Christmas shoppers who stop by their web site to ‘Give gifts of fairness for the holidays.’ It is obviously not actual fairness (however that is defined) that is being given by gift donations of $25 for a coffee shade tree, but TransFair USA’s holiday offering does highlight some interesting questions about fair trade.
Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks, 2013
On April 1, 2008, as part of their ‘Earth Month’ marketing campaign, Walmart stores rolled out th... more On April 1, 2008, as part of their ‘Earth Month’ marketing campaign, Walmart stores rolled out their very own Fair Trade CertifiedTM coffee. The press release, sub-titled ‘Retailer Answers Coffee Drinkers’ Demands for Guilt-Free Gourmet Taste,’ read: ‘Bolstering Walmart’s ongoing commitment to environmental issues, these first Sam’s Choice brand coffees… are part of an Earth Month expansion of eco-friendly products that help consumers live better without compromising budget.’ They further reported that the new coffees (including not just a fair trade option but also a brand certified by the Rainforest Alliance, and a United States Department of Agriculture [USDA]-certified organic blend) were all roasted by the world’s first CarbonNeutral® coffee roaster.
Palgrave Macmillan eBooks, Aug 16, 2013
Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks, 2013
Like a good magician, the commodity attracts attention to the end product while distracting peopl... more Like a good magician, the commodity attracts attention to the end product while distracting people from the often grim reality of how it was produced. As consumer culture adds additional layers of meaning to commodities and the physical distance between production and consumption is increased, the illusion that shrouds both social and environmental conditions has become all the more difficult to detect.
Toward a Market-dominated Citizenship? 84 III. ECONOMIC INEQUALITY AND IMMIGRATION 90 Inequality ... more Toward a Market-dominated Citizenship? 84 III. ECONOMIC INEQUALITY AND IMMIGRATION 90 Inequality Between Ethnic Swedes and New Swedes: Segregation 93 Economic Inequality between New Swedes and Ethnic Swedes 97 Racism and Class Inequality 99 x Chapter Page Low Xenophobia and Racism in Swedish Attitudes 104 Political Economy of Immigration: A Relationships Framework 114 A Relationship between Inequality and Immigration in the U.S. 117 Cross-national Relationships between Inequality and Immigation 127 "Controlling" Immigration by Demobilizing Capital .. 132 11 This means that civil society may simply be defmed as the market. Hegel and Marx, however, defined civil society as voluntary groups as well as the economy-or all those human group associations apart from the state. Some modem theories of civil society (Arato and Cohen 1992) depart from the original liberal understanding of civil society further by positing civil society as excluding the economy, instead including the sphere of uncoerced human associations.
Fair Trade, Sustainability and Social Change
World Review of Political Economy, 2017
This study of neoliberal inclusion politics and policy in twenty-first century Sweden investigate... more This study of neoliberal inclusion politics and policy in twenty-first century Sweden investigates how conservative-liberal tactics target, and dismantle, the institutionalization of relatively resilient socialist-feminist small-state governance. Analyzing authoritative conservative-liberal discursive tactics, particularly how they construct a state of moral emergency out of population change (immigration) within the high-capacity state and society, exposes their political target: How the state's capacity to include semi-sovereign labor, to relieve the economic and geopolitical limits upon citizenship, is girded by the state's internalization of social reproduction, particularly its capillary connections through female employment in a welfare state oriented to substantive rationality. Forged at the patrimonial-capitalist turn of the twentieth century, via socialist-women's movements alliance, to stem mass population hemorrhaging and allow stunted Swedish society and econ...
Review of Social Economy, 2019
One of the most important economic debates surrounding the feasibility of government efforts to r... more One of the most important economic debates surrounding the feasibility of government efforts to redistribute income is the extent to which economic integration leads to policy convergence. The convergence hypothesis argues that when trade and finance flow freely between political jurisdictions, economic policies will tend to converge. This article uses two Canadian provinces, Manitoba and British Columbia, to conduct a comparative analysis of redistributive policy convergence. We do find observable differences in the redistributive policies of the two provinces. The extent to which this translated into measurable improvements in economic and social outcomes is less pronounced, but will be of interest to scholars of inequality.
Review of Radical Political Economics, 2007
Capitalist agriculture is highly exploitative of both producers and the environment. Fair trade i... more Capitalist agriculture is highly exploitative of both producers and the environment. Fair trade is a movement attempting to mitigate this exploitation, partly by baiting corporate actors into the arena of “ethical production.” In the coffee industry, major corporations are responding by discrediting fair trade and branding themselves as ethical. While falling well short of addressing the real demands of the movement, the proliferation of “ethical” labels resulting from this response threatens to destroy fair trade's own ethical brand.
Labour / Le Travail, 2014
films may at least pose a ludic alternative to neoliberal labour. In the final essay, Ib Bondebje... more films may at least pose a ludic alternative to neoliberal labour. In the final essay, Ib Bondebjerg provides a sweeping and illuminating account of documentaries on work and class, from classics of the 1930s documentary movement to later post-war developments in the USA, Canada, the UK and Scandinavia. Attention to important work since 2000 that is responding to immediate historical confrontations is welcome. The aesthetic innovations and global perspective of filmmakers like Josh Oppenheimer and Michael Glowogger are particularly encouraging for those interested in the continuation of radical traditions in documentary. Overall, this is an impressive, timely, and challenging collection. As promised, it builds on comprehending older films and responds forcefully to more recent work. It considers a fascinating range of work in films, including film/cultural labour itself, beyond older industrial conceptualizations and technologies. Neoliberalism is changing work and labour relations a...
xiv, 354 p. : ill. A print copy of this title is available from the UO Libraries, under the call ... more xiv, 354 p. : ill. A print copy of this title is available from the UO Libraries, under the call number: KNIGHT JV8222 .F75 2007
Fair Trade, Sustainability, and Social Change, 2013
Fair Trade, Sustainability, and Social Change, 2013
Fair Trade, Sustainability, and Social Change, 2013
Paediatrics & Child Health
Background Recent data indicate that rates of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are increasing and t... more Background Recent data indicate that rates of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are increasing and therefore, studies exploring risk factors for ASD that can further support early diagnosis and intervention are needed. A link between immigration and autism has been made by several international studies, but despite high rates of immigration, a Canadian study examining this association has not been conducted. Objectives To determine the proportion of children diagnosed with ASD at Manitoba’s primary autism referral site (the only publicly funded site for ASD evaluation of children <6 years of age) that were born to immigrant parents, and compare it with the known proportion of immigrants in Manitoba. Also, to compare demographic and clinical characteristics of children whose parents are immigrants with those whose parents were born in Canada. Design/Methods We conducted a retrospective chart review of >2000 electronic records that identified all children <6 years diagnosed with...
In the fall of 2005, Nestle in the United Kingdom announced with great fanfare, the launch of a n... more In the fall of 2005, Nestle in the United Kingdom announced with great fanfare, the launch of a new brand of soluble coffee, Partners Blend. In its press release, carried by major media outlets around the world, the company boasted, ‘This represents a fundamental, serious commitment to help some of the poorest farmers in the world’ (BBC News 2005). This declaration of corporate responsibility, and the accompanying statement of approval from the Fairtrade Foundation, was very valuable for Nestle, one of the most boycotted companies in the world. For years, Nestle’s corporate behavior has made it easy for activists to portray it as a rapacious exploiter of both workers and consumers in the Third World. Most famously, it marketed instant milk as a superior substitute to breast feeding in the developing world, a move that justifiably angeredmany who argued, correctly, that it was less nutritious than breast milk and obviously more expensive. Worse, Nestle was aware of the instant milk’s nutritional inferiority yet continued with the strategy (Sikkink 1986). Nestle’s unethical corporate image did not sit well for a company trying to market family-friendly foods. This negative image was reinforced by the growing awareness among consumers of the poverty and environmental damage that was part and parcel of the conventional coffee industry.
Does fair trade facilitate social justice? Mark Hudson and Mara Fridell, co-authors of Fair Trade... more Does fair trade facilitate social justice? Mark Hudson and Mara Fridell, co-authors of Fair Trade, Sustainability, and Social Change, will discuss the potential of fair trade as a means of poverty alleviation, and as a means of revealing the people, relationships, and environments that lie behind the commodities we often unthinkingly consume. While contending that fair trade is well-positioned to help advance social justice goals, the authors highlight the limits of fair trade as a movement and a mechanism that is embedded in the market. Drawing on political economy and social movement theory, the talk will chart the recent trajectory of the fair trade movement, indicating its impressive success, as well as some troubling signs for the future of fair trade’s ability to realize its potential. http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/fair-trade-sustainability-and-social-change-ian-hudson/?K=9781137269843https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/soc_corr_social_justice_lectures/1001/thumbnail.jp
The most fundamental goal of fair trade is to improve the lives of developing-world producers. If... more The most fundamental goal of fair trade is to improve the lives of developing-world producers. If it fails in this goal, the rest of the project is completely immaterial. In fact, if developed-world consumers were paying $12 for a bag of coffee that failed to improve the social and environmental conditions for coffee growers, the whole project should undoubtedly be abandoned. Fair trade promotional literature is littered with anecdotes about how fair trade transformed producers’ lives from those of destitution and hopelessness to survival and optimism. These testimonials are from the former TransFair USA site: The fair price is a solution. It has given us the chance to pay a good price to our farmers. Those who are not in Fair Trade want to participate. For us it is a great opportunity. It gives us hope. —Benjamin Cholotio Thanks to the Fair Trade market, our standard of living has substantially increased. With your support, we look forward to a more promising future. —Miguel Trigoso, Marketing Manager, APARM coffee
Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks, 2013
It is Christmas 2008. Despite the economic turmoil of falling stock markets and rising unemployme... more It is Christmas 2008. Despite the economic turmoil of falling stock markets and rising unemployment, people are busy trying to purchase gifts for those they care about or for whom they are obligated to buy. In a slight contrast to the annual tradition of expressing affection in well-wrapped commodity form, TransFair USA entreats Christmas shoppers who stop by their web site to ‘Give gifts of fairness for the holidays.’ It is obviously not actual fairness (however that is defined) that is being given by gift donations of $25 for a coffee shade tree, but TransFair USA’s holiday offering does highlight some interesting questions about fair trade.
Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks, 2013
On April 1, 2008, as part of their ‘Earth Month’ marketing campaign, Walmart stores rolled out th... more On April 1, 2008, as part of their ‘Earth Month’ marketing campaign, Walmart stores rolled out their very own Fair Trade CertifiedTM coffee. The press release, sub-titled ‘Retailer Answers Coffee Drinkers’ Demands for Guilt-Free Gourmet Taste,’ read: ‘Bolstering Walmart’s ongoing commitment to environmental issues, these first Sam’s Choice brand coffees… are part of an Earth Month expansion of eco-friendly products that help consumers live better without compromising budget.’ They further reported that the new coffees (including not just a fair trade option but also a brand certified by the Rainforest Alliance, and a United States Department of Agriculture [USDA]-certified organic blend) were all roasted by the world’s first CarbonNeutral® coffee roaster.
Palgrave Macmillan eBooks, Aug 16, 2013
Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks, 2013
Like a good magician, the commodity attracts attention to the end product while distracting peopl... more Like a good magician, the commodity attracts attention to the end product while distracting people from the often grim reality of how it was produced. As consumer culture adds additional layers of meaning to commodities and the physical distance between production and consumption is increased, the illusion that shrouds both social and environmental conditions has become all the more difficult to detect.
Toward a Market-dominated Citizenship? 84 III. ECONOMIC INEQUALITY AND IMMIGRATION 90 Inequality ... more Toward a Market-dominated Citizenship? 84 III. ECONOMIC INEQUALITY AND IMMIGRATION 90 Inequality Between Ethnic Swedes and New Swedes: Segregation 93 Economic Inequality between New Swedes and Ethnic Swedes 97 Racism and Class Inequality 99 x Chapter Page Low Xenophobia and Racism in Swedish Attitudes 104 Political Economy of Immigration: A Relationships Framework 114 A Relationship between Inequality and Immigration in the U.S. 117 Cross-national Relationships between Inequality and Immigation 127 "Controlling" Immigration by Demobilizing Capital .. 132 11 This means that civil society may simply be defmed as the market. Hegel and Marx, however, defined civil society as voluntary groups as well as the economy-or all those human group associations apart from the state. Some modem theories of civil society (Arato and Cohen 1992) depart from the original liberal understanding of civil society further by positing civil society as excluding the economy, instead including the sphere of uncoerced human associations.
Fair Trade, Sustainability and Social Change
World Review of Political Economy, 2017
This study of neoliberal inclusion politics and policy in twenty-first century Sweden investigate... more This study of neoliberal inclusion politics and policy in twenty-first century Sweden investigates how conservative-liberal tactics target, and dismantle, the institutionalization of relatively resilient socialist-feminist small-state governance. Analyzing authoritative conservative-liberal discursive tactics, particularly how they construct a state of moral emergency out of population change (immigration) within the high-capacity state and society, exposes their political target: How the state's capacity to include semi-sovereign labor, to relieve the economic and geopolitical limits upon citizenship, is girded by the state's internalization of social reproduction, particularly its capillary connections through female employment in a welfare state oriented to substantive rationality. Forged at the patrimonial-capitalist turn of the twentieth century, via socialist-women's movements alliance, to stem mass population hemorrhaging and allow stunted Swedish society and econ...
Review of Social Economy, 2019
One of the most important economic debates surrounding the feasibility of government efforts to r... more One of the most important economic debates surrounding the feasibility of government efforts to redistribute income is the extent to which economic integration leads to policy convergence. The convergence hypothesis argues that when trade and finance flow freely between political jurisdictions, economic policies will tend to converge. This article uses two Canadian provinces, Manitoba and British Columbia, to conduct a comparative analysis of redistributive policy convergence. We do find observable differences in the redistributive policies of the two provinces. The extent to which this translated into measurable improvements in economic and social outcomes is less pronounced, but will be of interest to scholars of inequality.
Review of Radical Political Economics, 2007
Capitalist agriculture is highly exploitative of both producers and the environment. Fair trade i... more Capitalist agriculture is highly exploitative of both producers and the environment. Fair trade is a movement attempting to mitigate this exploitation, partly by baiting corporate actors into the arena of “ethical production.” In the coffee industry, major corporations are responding by discrediting fair trade and branding themselves as ethical. While falling well short of addressing the real demands of the movement, the proliferation of “ethical” labels resulting from this response threatens to destroy fair trade's own ethical brand.
Labour / Le Travail, 2014
films may at least pose a ludic alternative to neoliberal labour. In the final essay, Ib Bondebje... more films may at least pose a ludic alternative to neoliberal labour. In the final essay, Ib Bondebjerg provides a sweeping and illuminating account of documentaries on work and class, from classics of the 1930s documentary movement to later post-war developments in the USA, Canada, the UK and Scandinavia. Attention to important work since 2000 that is responding to immediate historical confrontations is welcome. The aesthetic innovations and global perspective of filmmakers like Josh Oppenheimer and Michael Glowogger are particularly encouraging for those interested in the continuation of radical traditions in documentary. Overall, this is an impressive, timely, and challenging collection. As promised, it builds on comprehending older films and responds forcefully to more recent work. It considers a fascinating range of work in films, including film/cultural labour itself, beyond older industrial conceptualizations and technologies. Neoliberalism is changing work and labour relations a...
xiv, 354 p. : ill. A print copy of this title is available from the UO Libraries, under the call ... more xiv, 354 p. : ill. A print copy of this title is available from the UO Libraries, under the call number: KNIGHT JV8222 .F75 2007
Fair Trade, Sustainability, and Social Change, 2013
Fair Trade, Sustainability, and Social Change, 2013
Fair Trade, Sustainability, and Social Change, 2013
Is fair trade a radical movement aiming to transform global systems of production and exchange, o... more Is fair trade a radical movement aiming to transform global systems of production and exchange, or is it a marketing niche that delivers small benefits to Southern farmers and a clean conscience to Northern consumers? Schisms currently opening between the US-based Fair Trade USA and the rest of the international fair trade movement are reflective of this choice. This book evaluates the extent to which fair trade is likely to be a transformative movement. The authors show that fair trade's most significant, and threatened, contribution is its potential to reveal to otherwise 'blinded' consumers the qualitative aspects of labour and nature embodied in commodities. Integrating insights from economic and sociological theory and research, the book sheds new light on this potential of the movement, its role in producing social change, and, given the recent strategic trajectory of the movement, the serious problems it now faces.