Le ministère de l'Education du Québec et la gestion de l'enseignement supérieur

Sommaire. Dans cet article portant sur la gestion de l'enseignement supérieur, au Québec, l'auteur fait porter l'essentiel de son analyse sur le rôle du ministère de l'Education comme principal gestionnaire du système universitaire québécois. Dans une première partie, il situe le ministère dans l'ensemble de ce système et décrit globalement le type de relations qui existent entre les divers agents ou intervenants en matière de planification et de gestion. L'accent y est mis, en particulier, sur la planification des ← missions → universitaires et sur le contrôle exercé par le ministère dans le cadre de la gestion de celles-ci. S'inspirant, dans une seconde section, d'une certaine typologie des contrôles, l'auteur tente d'en préciser la nature et d'en mesurer l'étendue dans un contexte où les établissements universitaires jouissent d'une large autonomie de gestion. Enfin, dans une troisième partie, plusieurs interrogations sont soulevées par auteur notamment à propos de l'efficacité des contrôles exerés par le ministère et des effets de ceux-ci sur le fonctionnement du système et son environnement. La démarche retenue par l'auteur amène le dernier, à faire quelques suggestions en matière de planification, budgétisation et contrôle de l'enseignement supérieur québécois. Présenté, pour la première fois, à la Commission d'etude sur les universités, en 1978, cet article a, par la suite, fait l'objet de modifications importantes, notamment au chapitre de l'évaluation de l'efficacité des contrôles exerés parle ministère de l'Education. Abstract. In this article on the management of higher education in Quebec, the author concentrates his analysis on the role of the Ministry of Education as principal administrator of Quebec's university system. He first establishes the ministry's place within the system and broadly describes the relationships between the various agents or interveners in the field of planning and management. Particular emphasis is given to the planning of university ‘missions’ and the extent of ministerial control over their management. In a second section, the author, on the basis of a certain typology of controls, seeks to define their nature and measure their extent in a context within which universities enjoy considerable administrative autonomy. Finally, the author poses a number of questions as to the effectiveness of the controls exercised by the ministry and their effect on the system's functioning and its environment. The method chosen by the author leads him to make a number of suggestions at the levels of planning, budgeting and control of higher education in Quebec. Submitted to the Commission d'étude sur les universités for the first time in 1978, this article has undergone major modifications, particularly in the section dealing with the effectiveness of the controls exercised by the Ministry of Education.     

Links with the past: mainland China's online literary communities and their antecedents

This article compares Chinese literary journals from the early twentieth century with a Mainland Chinese literary website from the early twenty-first century. In both these periods, literary practice underwent significant changes as a result of major changes in the technological processes involved in the production and distribution of texts. Five aspects of these changes are examined: the mixed media environment, the provision of information about authors' identities, engagement with social issues, community building, and the relationship with serious literature. The article argues that a very traditional Chinese view of literature as a socially embedded act of communication continued to play a significant role in both periods, and was even further enhanced through interaction with the new technologies. Despite the fact that both types of publication appeal(ed) to large readerships, it is argued that it is not helpful simply to consider them as ‘popular literature’. Both the journals from 100 years ago and the website of today represent literary communities that share a serious view of literature, albeit one that is not compatible with the familiar New Literature paradigm.     

Flemish immigration in wallonia and in france:

Flemish emigration during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is too complex to be dealt with definitively in a single article. Our main objective is to provide an overview of the migration towards France and Wallonia by looking at its chronology, and the spatial distribution of emigrants and their descendants. In this effort, patronym distribution is very helpful. As markers of migratory movements, patronyms from a collection of nominative lists give us a handle on migration flows as no other evidence can. Comparing France and Wallonia, the two destination areas, it is possible to see similarities between types of migrants: workers in heavy industry, workers in the agricultural sector, and workers engaged in domestic services. In addition, three phases may be identified in the arrival of a Flemish population in France and Wallonia: an emigration phase, an integration phase, and a redistribution phase. The last phase is also part of the urbanization process and is linked with upward social mobility.     

Reciprocal Prospective Relationships Between Loneliness and Weight Status in Late Childhood and Early Adolescence

Adolescents who do not conform to weight ideals are vulnerable to disapproval and victimization from peers in school. But, missing from the literature is a prospective examination of weight status and feelings of loneliness that might come from those experiences. Using data from the Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, we filled that gap by examining the prospective associations between loneliness and weight status when the sample was aged 10–13 years. At ages 10, 12, and 13 years, 1042 youth (572 females; 92% from French speaking homes) reported on their loneliness and were weighed and measured. Family income sufficiency was included in our analyses given its relationship with weight status, but also its possible link with loneliness during early adolescence. The findings showed that (1) weight status and loneliness were not associated concurrently; (2) weight status predicted increases in loneliness from ages 12 to 13 years; and (3) loneliness predicted increases in weight from ages 12 to 13 years among female adolescents, but weight loss among male adolescents. The fact that loneliness was involved in weight gain for females suggests that interventions focused on reducing loneliness and increasing connection with peers during early adolescence could help in reducing obesity.     

Sexual dimorphism in teeth: discriminatory effectiveness of permanent lower canine size observed in a XVIIIth century osteological series

Recent studies have shown that the most dimorphic tooth is the mandibular canine. We have carried out a study on a random sample of 146 skeletons dating from the plague outbreak in Marseilles (1722). We studied 1284 maxillary and 1432 mandibular permanent teeth. Sexual dimorphism was tested on 89 individuals. We selected a set of four dental indices and calculated the dimorphism percentage by ratio expression male/female. Dimorphic ranking was made, by allotting the first rank to the tooth presenting the highest dimorphism and the last rank to the one presenting the lowest ratio. Comparisons of means were made on both sexes (sex determined by post-cranial data) through a Student's test (t-test). We noted that lower canines and lateral incisor are the most interesting teeth in the dimorphic dental determination. The lower index presented the highest relative risk with RR = 1.56 [1.04-2.32]. In 58% of the cases, the lower dental index enabled a correct sex determination (determined on the basis of the post-cranial skeleton). These results showed the existence of a relative dental dimorphism (male > female mesiodistal diameters) with humans. In conclusion, this method, using dental measurements, may be used as an additional technique to determine sex on fragmentary adult skeletons, immature material, missing pieces or ambiguities on post-cranial remains.