Implementing “new public management”: The case of employment services in Quebec

Abstract: This article describes a reform to improve delivery of state‐funded employment services in the province of Quebec. It is based on a six‐year field study conducted during the reform process and presents the reform's objective, the way it was implemented, and some of the lessons learned during the reform process. This study focuses on three points: the key steps that led to the implementation of an output‐based contracting system between the state and non‐profit organizations; why the process of implementing private‐sector practices was unexpectedly long and complex; and the side‐effects associated with the reform.     

The effect of zinc chloride, humidity and the substrate on the reaction of 1,2-indanedione-zinc with amino acids in latent fingermark secretions

Anecdotal evidence from forensic practitioners and studies conducted under controlled conditions have indicated that the reaction between 1,2-indanedione and the amino acids present in latent fingermark deposits is highly susceptible to ambient humidity. The addition of catalytic amounts of zinc chloride to the 1,2-indanedione working solution--usually in the order of 1:25 to 1:4 molar ratio (indanedione:zinc)--significantly improves the colour and luminescence of fingermarks treated under dry conditions but appears to have a negligible effect on fingermarks treated in humid environments. The results presented in this paper confirmed that zinc(II) ions added to the 1,2-indanedione working solution act as a Lewis acid catalyst, stabilising a key intermediate during a rate-limiting hydrolysis step. Furthermore, studying the reaction using a chromatography-grade cellulose substrate method previously reported confirmed that cellulose substrates play a major role in facilitating the indanedione-amino acid reaction by acting as a surface catalyst in the early stages of the reaction and by directing the formation of the desired luminescent product (Joullié's Pink).     

Identifying Diagonal Cutter Marks on Thin Wires Using 3D Imaging

We present work on matching 2‐mm‐thick wires using optical 3D imaging methods. Marks on such small surfaces are difficult to match using a comparison microscope as this 2D imaging method does not provide height data about the sample surface. Moreover, these 2D microscopy images may be affected by illumination. Hence, the reference and investigated sample should be present at the same time. We employed scanning white light interferometry and confocal microscopy to provide quantitative 3D profiles for reliable comparison of samples that are unavailable for simultaneous analysis. We show that 3D profiling offers a solution by allowing illumination‐independent sample comparison. We correctly identified 74 of 80 profiles using consecutive matching striae (CMS) criteria, and we were able to match samples based on profiles measured using different 3D imaging devices. The results suggest that the used methods allow matching cutter marks on thin wires, which has been difficult previously.     

Optimization of the separation of organic explosives by capillary electrophoresis with artificial neural networks

The separation of 12 explosives by capillary electrophoresis was optimized with the aid of artificial neural networks (ANNs). The selectivity of the separation was manipulated by varying the concentration of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and the pH of the electrolyte, while maintaining the buffer concentration at 10 mM borate. The concentration of SDS and the electrolyte pH were used as input variables and the mobility of the explosives were used as output variables for the ANN. In total, eight experiments were performed based on a factorial design to train a variety of artificial neural network architectures. A further three experiments were required to train ANN architectures to adequately model the experimental space. A product resolution response surface was constructed based on the predicted mobilities of the best performing ANN. This response surface pointed to two optima; pH 9.0-9.1 and 60-65 mM SDS, and pH 8.4-8.6 and 50-60 mM SDS. Separation of all 12 explosives was achieved at the second optimum. The separation was further improved by changing the capillary to an extended cell detection window and reducing the diameter of the capillary from 75 microm to 50 microm. This provided a more efficient separation without compromising detection sensitivity.     

Determination of Inorganic Ion Profiles of Illicit Drugs by Capillary Electrophoresis

A portable capillary electrophoresis instrument with dual capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (C⁴D) was used to determine the inorganic ionic profiles of three pharmaceutical samples and precursors of two illicit drugs (contemporary samples of methylone and para‐methoxymethamphetamine). The LODs ranged from 0.10 μmol/L to 1.25 μmol/L for the 10 selected cations, and from 0.13 μmol/L to 1.03 μmol/L for the eight selected anions. All separations were performed in less than 6 min with migration times and peak area RSD values ranging from 2 to 7%. The results demonstrate the potential of the analysis of inorganic ionic species to aid in the identification and/or differentiation of unknown tablets, and real samples found in illicit drug manufacture scenarios. From the resulting ionic fingerprint, the unknown tablets and samples can be further classified.