Lilian Negura

Hiring substance abusers: Attitudes of managers and organizational needs

A survey was conducted with 70 managers responsible for hiring in large-, medium- and small-sized companies in the Montreal and Quebec City areas. A content analysis of the semi-structured interviews allowed us to examine the social representations underlying the managers’ attitudes towards the issue of substance misusing in the company or the hiring process. This examination in turn allowed us to develop a typology of the managers’ needs regarding the integration of this category of people into employment. Our results show how the representations of the determinants of drug addiction and of the role of the workplace generate attitudes that are closed-minded, ambivalent, tolerant or supportive, and that underlie the managers’ requirements for information on drug addiction, for internal rehabilitation services or external services supporting the reintegration of drug abusers into employment.

From Affirmed Privilege to Experiences of Discrimination: Majority Anglophones' Perceptions of Linguistic Majority-Minority Dynamics in Canada

Abstract:This paper explores the rarely addressed subject of linguistic majority in the context of Canadian society, through a qualitative analysis of 20 semi-directed interviews with majority Anglophone participants. It was found that while participants acknowledged a certain form of privilege related to their majority status within Canadian society, it was also common for them to experience situations in which they felt overlooked, marginalized and even discriminated against. Linguistic privilege has not been the subject of more studies because it is often seen as a default, taken-for-granted status in Canadian society. However, studying this form of privilege and its intersections with other dimensions of identity such as gender, class and race could lead to new insights on language, power and group identity. Moreover, studies on the majority are especially pertinent in a context where silent majorities are becoming increasingly vocal in stating their dissatisfaction and feelings of discrimination. This article can provide pathways to a better understanding of this emergent issue.Résumé:Le «privilège linguistique» est un concept peu exploité dans la littérature scientifique, puisquêtre anglophone en situation majoritaire constitue le statu quo de lidentité canadienne. Pourtant, létude de cette forme possible de privilège et de ses intersections avec dautres catégories sociales telles que la classe, le genre et la race savère un terreau très fertile pour lanalyse des liens entre la langue, le pouvoir et lidentité de groupe. Cet article sintéresse au sujet peu documenté de la majorité linguistique au Canada à laide dune analyse qualitative de 20 entretiens semi-dirigés réalisés auprès dindividus anglophones en situation majoritaire. Nos résultats montrent que bien que les participants reconnaissaient leur statut privilégié au sein de la société canadienne, ces derniers pouvaient également vivre des situations dans lesquelles ils se sentaient invisibles et marginalisés, voire discriminés. De plus, les études «sur la majorité» sont particulièrement pertinentes dans le contexte sociopolitique actuel où les «majorités silencieuses» prennent parole pour dénoncer leur insatisfaction et leurs sentiments dinjustice.