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This study examines the relationships between microcredit and entrepreneurial re-engagement in traditional rural societies. We focus on the psychosociological dimensions of this process in the face of often precarious contexts where innovation is not the norm. Our results show that although they start from relatively similar background, individuals gradually differentiate themselves from each other. We thus identify three forms of re-engagement : subsistence, diversification and growth. Our recommendations in terms of selection and support of beneficiaries consist in a plural approach and entrepreneurship, considering with equal interest mainly commercial orientations and not only lucrative approaches integrating social and solidarity values, with in particular the preservation of certain traditions.

Keywords: microcrédit, engagement, pauvreté, entrepreneuriat, traditions, lean manufacturing, management control systems, alignment, lean accounting, microcrédito, compromiso, pobreza, emprendimiento, tradiciones

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has spotlighted the face mask as an intricate object constructed through the uptake of varied and sometimes competing discourses. We investigated how the concept of face mask was discursively deployed during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. By examining the different discourses surrounding the use of face masks in public domain texts, we comment on important educational opportunities for medical education.Method: We applied critical discourse methodology to look for key phrases related to face masks that can be linked to specific socio-economic and educational practices. We created an archive of 171 English and Mandarin texts spanning the period of February to July 2020 to explore how discourses in Canada related to discourses of mask use in China, where the pandemic was first observed. We analyzed how the uptake of discourses related to masks was rationalized during the first phase of the pandemic and identified practices/processes that were made possible.Results: While the face mask was initially constructed as personal protective equipment, it quickly became a discursive object for rights and freedoms, an icon for personal expression of political views and social identities, and a symbol of stigma that reinforced illness, deviance, anonymity, or fear.Conclusion: Discourses related to face masks have been observed in public and institutional responses to the pandemic in the first wave. Finding from this research reinforce the need for medical schools to incorporate a broader socio-political appreciation of the role of masks in healthcare when training for pandemic responses.

Reforms of the justice system aimed at improving access to justice have resulted in the creation of proximity justice. While the modern judicial principles of independence and impartiality may seem foreign to this notion of proximity, a postmodern conception of justice pursues the quest for access to justice through the development of proximity justice in the context of governance. This article proposes to explain proximity justice from the perspective of the law of governance. The requirements of governance define proximity justice in terms of territorial, temporal, participatory, structural, procedural and reflexive proximity. This typology of proximity justice then makes it possible to analyze certain justice phenomena, such as municipal courts, administrative tribunals, mental health courts, and proximity justice centres.

Centered around concerns of climate change, energy security, and the need for low-cost clean electricity, many jurisdictions that have access to maritime areas are developing offshore wind energy. The province of Nova Scotia, Canada – home to some of the strongest offshore wind resources in the world – is one such place. Yet before development, governments need to listen, understand, and respond to the views of a diverse set of stakeholders, and affected publics. Using online and in-person open house comments, this exploratory study was conducted to determine the level and type of socio-political acceptance during the initial planning stages of offshore wind energy in Nova Scotia. Content analysis revealed that many people who participated in these consultations were initially ambivalent/unclear (with more opposed than supportive) – with regard to offshore wind energy. Consultees most opposed were Indigenous peoples/representatives, members of the general public, and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs). Thematic analysis identified six main themes, with the most referenced being concerns around biodiversity impacts and general environmental concerns. We close the paper with a discussion of the broader implications of our work, including relevance to future research, planning, and policy.

Keywords: offshore wind energy, énergie éolienne en mer, planification, planning, acceptabilité sociale, social acceptance, Canada, Canada