NEWS
News Editor ×
Lindsay Howe × n e w s @ c a p i l a n o c o u r i e r . c o m
MORE WORK, LESS PLAY New study shows quality of life in Canada is on the decline Connor Thorpe × Staff Writer
Despite Canada’s relatively graceful recovery from the worldwide economic meltdown of 2008, the quality of life Canadians experience is on the decline. According to the Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW), a study conducted in conjunction with the University of Waterloo, Canadians’ quality of life plummeted by 24 per cent between 2008 and 2010. Based on CIW findings, the culprit is an excessive focus on the economy and issues related to it. “In a society that is preoccupied with the economy and working hard, among the first casualties are those things that ironically matter to us the most,” says Dr. Bryan Smale, Director of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing. “In a society that celebrates working hard and ‘being busy,’ we forget to protect time for family and friends, and to enjoy those pursuits that bring meaning to our lives. We want to bring some balance to the conversation by reminding people that a good life includes those things that too many people regard as being less important than work and making money.” The correlation between wellbeing and economics has been demonstrated by earlier CIW studies. From 1994 to 2008, Canadian wellbeing – as measured by the CIW – rose by 7.5 per cent. In the aftermath of the economic crisis, and Canada’s subsequent recovery, that number dropped by 5.7 per cent in just a two-year period. “The concern then – and even more so now – was that policy was being driven primarily by a concern with the economy and little else,” Smale continues. “Our concern was that Canadians’ wellbeing was suffering because we were not attending to other aspects of our lives that contributed to quality of life. Certainly, the economy matters, but [not] to the exclusion of everything else that makes our lives worthwhile.” Canadian quality of life has primarily taken a hit in the broader areas of environment, time use
×× Peter pawloski and leisure and culture, though Smale explains that the CIW is based on 64 specific indicators. “Among the indicators that showed the greatest declines were such things as: fewer social contacts, worsening green gas emissions, a larger ecological footprint, an increase in the percentage of people with diabetes, continuing declines in visitation to our national parks and historic sites,” Smale explains. “Less volunteering for culture and recreation organizations, less time spent in social leisure, reduced economic security, increased long-term unemployment, longer commute times, and perhaps most troubling, [a] growing income gap between rich and poor.” In Smale’s opinion, that income gap and reduction of the middle class is where the problem lies. “The growth in an economy is not necessarily a bad thing, but the increasing income disparity with those at the lower end stagnating and the middle class shrinking that seems to be accompanying this period of slow recovery is jeopardizing other aspects of our lives,” he
continues. “Adherents to ‘trickle-down’ economics have failed to produce any evidence that the wealth generated at the top of society has benefited those at the bottom.” While it might seem that an economic recovery would increase social engagement, leisure time and cultural participation, the solution is not that simple unless “that recovery creates more opportunity for everyone.” “The wellbeing associated with engagement in leisure and cultural pursuits does not simply require having sufficient funds to purchase recreational products and services,” Smale explains. “There must be the will among policy makers to ensure that such opportunities are available to all and that economic pressures do not bring about the decline of leisure, recreation, arts and cultural services, programs and other opportunities. It is through our social relationships in leisure, our time spent in meaningful pursuits, and our enjoyment of the people and the world around us that enrich our lives, bring us closer together, and defines our humanity, that matter.”
It’s important to understand that the CIW’s definition of wellbeing does not equate to general public happiness. “Quality of life – or wellbeing – is a broader concept that includes both those things that are internal to us like our health, happiness and life satisfaction, as well as those things that are external to us that affect our quality of life, such as our social relationships, our environment, our communities and access to opportunities to enhance our lives,” says Smale. “Happiness is really linked to just emotion and general life satisfaction, although many others treat it as equivalent to wellbeing, perhaps because it is a more familiar concept to people.” Smale emphasizes, “Happiness is about emotion, whereas wellbeing is about flourishing in our lives.” Learn more about the Canadian Index of Wellbeing at Uwaterloo.ca/canadian-indexwellbeing.
NOT ALWAYS BUSINESS AS USUAL
the capilano courier
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46 issue N o . 8
New business program offers ESL students another option
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Lindsay Howe × News Editor Beginning in Jan. 2013, Capilano University will be adding another program to the long list of available options. Capilano University’s School of Business, English for Academic Purposes department, and the Centre for International Experience have pooled their knowledge and resources together to form a new program titled the Business Administration for International Students Diploma (BAID). The new program aims to give students who have an advanced level of ESL an opportunity to build their English language competency while learning business English and other academic course materials. Donna Hooker, the director of the Capilano Centre for International Experience explains that it was time for the implementation of this program. “Non-native English speakers often
get frustrated when they reach the more advanced levels of ESL study. By then, these students have often studied English for some time and want to get on with their academic studies,” she says. Although this particular program will be new as of January, the program does contain similarities to current ESL programs available at Capilano. Currently, Capilano offers an ESL Plus Business, and an ESL Plus Arts and Sciences program, both of which function in a similar manner to the new program. In the ESL Plus programs, however, students are able to choose any Business or Arts or Sciences class that is available upon registration, as opposed to more specific program requirements that will exist within the new program. “This new program is based on a cohort model, where students with similar language challenges are working together and faculty are introducing them to business English, business concepts and also to the typical Canadian classroom environ-
ment and expectations,” explains Hooker. “The non-ESL courses taught in this program tend to be more numeracy-based at the beginning with course demand and intensity increasing as the student’s language level increases.” Program requirements for the new program are equivalent to the requirements for the ESL Plus programs, where students study all ESL topics and take one academic elective. To be considered for entrance into either the new program or the existing ESL Plus programs, students must be able to meet the entrance requirements for EAP070, which can be found on the Capilano University website. As for the amount of interest surrounding the new program, Hooker comments, “There is a growing interest in this program … Capilano is considering reducing the program to a oneyear transition program which prepares students for second year of the Business Administration diploma or the Bachelor of Business
Administration degree. [The university] is also considering the development of other similar transition programs for students who are not native English speakers.“ As for what type of courses students will actually be required to take if registered in the new program, the required classes mirror many of the regular Business Administration diploma programs. Required classes in the new program include Business Statistics, Financial Accounting, Organizational Behavior, Marketing and many other business orientated classes, alongside advanced ESL courses. As for what careers graduates of the Business Administration for International Students diploma would be prepared for, Hooker says, “Students graduating from this program would be prepared to work in similar careers as any student graduating with a Business Administration diploma.”
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