Sex-selective Abortions and Infant Mortality in India: The Role of Parents’ Stated Son Preference

In India, millions of female foetuses have been aborted since the 1980s alongside an abnormally high infant girl mortality rate; this has generated a vast literature exploring the root causes of son preference. The literature is sparse, however, on how the decisions to abort or neglect girls are made. This paper examines mothers’ and fathers’ respective roles behind those decisions. Using the third National Family and Health Survey (NFHS-3) data, we show that sex-selective abortions are most commonly used if both spouses or if only the fathers prefer sons, while sex-selective neglect is used if only the mothers prefer sons.     

Public awareness programs and non-traditional career choices among women

Abstract: Achieving employment equity has become an important organizational goal. An important part of an Employment Equity Program (EEP) is to inform designated group members (i.e., women, members of visible minorities, disabled persons and aboriginal peoples) that career opportunities are available to them. Public awareness programs that provide this information, such as publicity campaigns and visits to schools and community centres, are infrequently used, however. The research reported in this article demonstrates that public awareness programs can be used to encourage designated group members to apply for jobs that are traditionally avoided. In this study, young women demonstrated a greater interest in and intention to choose non-traditional careers after participating in a public awareness program (an information session) about one specific non-traditional career (police officer). Implications of this research for recruiting and employment equity initiatives are discussed. Sommaire: L'éuité en matière d'emploi est l'une des principales préoccupations des organisations. 1 cet effet, les programmes d'équité en matière d'emploi (PEME) visent à corriger la discrimination dans l'emploi à 1'égard des groupes défavorisés (femmes, minorités visibles, handicapés et autochtones). Les programmes d'information publique offrant une telle information, par le biais de campagnes d'information, de visites scolaires et dans les centres communautaires, sont cependant peu utilisés. Dans cet article, les réultats de notre recherche démontrent que les programmes d'information publique peuvent encourager les membres des groupes défavorisés à soumettre leur candidature dans les secteurs d'emploi non-traditionnels. Dans cette étude, des jeunes femmes ont montré un intérêt plus prononcéà choisir une carrière non-traditionnelle après avoir participéà un programme d'information publique (une séance d'information sur la carrière d'officier de police). Pour terminer, nous discutons les implications de cette recherche sur le recrutement ainsi que les programmes sur l'équité en matière d'emploi.     

La Sémiotique simulée

Sans résumé     

Intersectoral Police Collaboration: An Exploratory View from the States

Modern policing in the United States is best conceived as a joint undertaking between public and private sectors. Over the last several decades there has been a gradual movement away from monopolistic state provision of police services toward a greater reliance on the private sector for protection and security. While the current activities of public and private police are well chronicled in the research literature, little is actually known about the coordination of policing activities across sectors. The purpose of this article is to describe the range of public-private police partnerships that have developed recently in the United States.     

Validation of Large White Pig as an animal model for the study of cannabinoids metabolism: application to the study of THC distribution in tissues

This study presents a new animal model, the Large White Pig, which was tested for studying cannabinoids metabolism. The first step has focused on determination of plasma kinetics after injection of Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) at different dosages. Seven pigs received THC by intravenous injections (50, 100 or 200 microg/kg). Plasma samples were collected during 48 h. Determination of cannabinoids concentrations were performed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Results showed that plasma kinetics were comparable to those reported in humans. Terminal half-life of elimination was 10.6 h and a volume of distribution of 32 l/kg was calculated. In a second step, this model was used to determine the kinetic profile of cannabinoids distribution in tissues. Eight Large White male pigs received an injection of THC (200 microg/kg). Two pigs were sacrificed 30 min after injection, two others after 2, 6 and 24 h. Different tissues were sampled: liver, kidney, heart, lung, spleen, muscle, fat, bile, blood, vitreous humor and several brain areas. The fastest THC elimination was noted in liver tissue, where it was completely eliminated in 6 h. THC concentrations decreased in brain tissue slower than in blood. The slowest THC elimination was observed for fat tissue, where the molecule was still present at significant concentrations 24 h later. After 30 min, THC concentration in different brain areas was highest in the cerebellum and lowest in the medulla oblongata. THC elimination kinetics noted in kidney, heart, spleen, muscle and lung were comparable with those observed in blood. 11-Hydroxy-THC was only found at high levels in liver. THC-COOH was less than 5 ng/g in most tissues, except in bile, where it increased for 24 h following THC injection. This study confirms, even after a unique administration, the prolonged retention of THC in brain and particularly in fat, which could be at the origin of different phenomena observed for heavy users such as prolonged detection of THC-COOH in urine or cannabis-related flashbacks. Moreover, these results support the interest for this animal model, which could be used in further studies of distribution of cannabinoids in tissues.     

Le Raisonnement Juridique: Une Pratique Spécifique?

Selon une thèse largement partagée, le droit et une pratique sociale et les contributions des participants sont complémentaires les unes des autres. Dans ces conditions, le raisonnement juridique consiste d’abord en une interprétation de ces pratiques et présuppose un point de vue interne de la part de celui qui souhaite en rendre compte. Le raisonnement juridique est ainsi conçu comme une argumentation pratique, subordonnée aux exigences de la rationalité car ceux qui participent à la pratique juridique sont contraints de donner des raisons à leur action et ces raisons tissent un réseau de contraintes. Très séduisante, cette thèse qui doit beaucoup à la critique des réalistes par Hart, n’en demeure pas moins justiciable de quelque critique.     

Organizational Report Cards: Significant Impact or Much Ado about Nothing?

Despite a recent spate of organizational report cards, relatively little is known about their impact on consumers' choices or public policy. This study identifies 32 report cards that compare government performance across states in a variety of policy domains. These report cards fall into four categories according to their issuer: governments, commercial enterprises, academics, and advocacy groups. Government-generated report cards are directed at improving consumer choice and enhancing service quality. Commercial enterprises seek to increase profits and readership. Academics generally take a value-neutral approach, looking to stimulate public policy debate. Public interest groups, think tanks, and foundations indirectly measure public policy impact by the amount of media attention generated.