Making Something Out of Everything

Abstract

The authors examine issues related to the ecological assessment of students with mild to moderate disabilities. Neither early attempts to assess internal states nor later efforts to identify person-specific variables linked to disabling conditions have proven useful. Accordingly, there is increased interest in the identification of both individual and environmental factors that correspond to either adaptive or maladaptive transactions in the natural environment—school, home, and community. Aspects of an ecological assessment model and recommendations for its use are discussed.

Shaping Toronto: female economy and agency in the corset industry, 1871-1914

“…The Textile and Fashion collection are housed within the World Cultures department, and include 50,000 objects from around the world, with the mandate of mounting exhibits that relate "stories that interweave cultures and societies and record intimate histories". 107 Access to the ROM involved registering with security, and receiving a visitor ID badge. Though.…”

“…The movement in general began in The United States in the 1850s, and grew elsewhere, as a reaction to the "long-held beliefs about women, their place in society, their health, and their spiritual well-being". 105 Dress reform was a reaction against contemporary women's dress, which include corsets, as well as crinolines, layers of petticoats, tight sleeves, and long trains; 106 components of dress which not only restricted movement, but were considered unhealthful, through trailing diseases from the outdoors in, 107 preventing circulation, and in the case of crinolines, increasing the risk of death by fire. 108 The dress reform movement was supported by several women's groups, which each had their own political or social ideology behind the desire for reform.…”

“…It was also assumed that women in the work force were temporary employees, single young women who earned wages prior to marriage for pin money, widows who relied on this income due to no longer having the financial support provided by a husband, or married women who needed employment while their husbands were ill or themselves unemployed. 107 The exploitation of female employees as cheap and unskilled labour was also justified by the repeated middle-class rhetoric of separate spheres, where men were the wage earners, and women remained at home. 108 Labour disruptions were also divided along gendered lines, not unlike the most famous garment strike in Toronto, the Eaton's strike of 1912, where women who stitched coat linings walked off the job after their roles were given to male colleagues, with no extra pay for the men.…”

“…In addition to the wages complaints, the windows of the factory had been screwed shut in spite of the summer heat to prevent the girls from "flirting with the workmen in the newspaper office across the street". 113 The strike lasted ten days, and once again ended in the 107 Frager and Patrias, 35. 108 workers' favour, as well as their short-lived incorporation into the Knights of Labour union, a trade union which often supported needle trades.…”

“…106 The practice of using live mannequins in static positions started in Europe in the mid-1800s, particularly with upscale dressmakers. 107 By the 1890s the models were no longer static, but moved through the show space. 108 Movement was particularly important for corset models to demonstrate comfort and ease of wear.…”