Les pratiques de fonctionnaires canadiens et québécois au chapitre des innovations du travail

This research focuses on the evolution and transformation of work organization and labour relations in the public service in Quebec and Canada. It seeks to determine the nature of innovations in the workplace and the level of employee participation in the innovation process. A survey of 2308 employees in six departments and agencies of the public service in Quebec and Canada reveals that the autonomy of employees, participation and shared responsibility for the development of innovations reflect an important transformation of the workplace. The effect of these innovations depends on the departments in which they occurred. However, the survey results do not permit an analysis of the scope of transformation of the organizational structure. Finally, this article shows that employees and managers are key players in the innovation process.     

A political genealogy of political economy

If, at the end of the eighteenth century, political economy became the prevailing representation of economic phenomena, this was due to the fact that, better than other economic or political discourses, it constructed a political framework in which three forces could co-exist. These forces were those that all the authors of this century tried to articulate: the state, capitalism, and those who tried to protect themselves from their power.     

The Word: An Essay on Seeing,Owning, and the Sacred

In the classical period of ancient Greece, Logos had a variety ofmeanings, most or all of which connoted one aspect or another ofHeraclitus's conception of the term, ``the rational governing principleof the universe'. The triadic semiotics of Charles Sanders Peircesuggests that, through the linguistic sign, humans construct structuresof meaning, which form the cognitive Worlds in which humans exist, thesubstantive content of consciousness, and which, as such, provide theexplanation for the Cosmos. The three-term Peircean Sign becomestriadic, however, only in conjunction with Peirce's Ground, whichprovides particular substantive values that form the basis ofconstructing the meaningful World. Thus, it is possible, for example, totrace in the heterogeneity of judicial doctrine in United States law thealternative sets of values that are available; the function ofWorld creation proceeds when the Ground is suffused with a particularvalue set. If Logos is conceptualized in terms of these value sets, thenit can be understood in terms of ``the rational governing principle ofthe World.' In this understanding, the substantive content of theGround becomes equated with the Sacred. This conceptualization alsoprovides an alternative way of understanding the opening of the Gospelof John in the Christian Bible and the concept of the Trinity inChristian doctrine in terms of the creative powers of humans through theSign. The fact of this same creative power also provides a way ofunderstanding the strong limitations in ancient Israel on pronouncingthe Tetragrammaton.     

Governance Structures and Political Processes in a Public System: Lessons from Quebec

Debates about the form and nature of changes in the management of public systems have for some time now been articulated under the theme of governance. All definitions of governance are related to the problems of securing convergence among a diversity of actors and organizations, of redistributing power in an organizational or social field characterized by a high level of heterogeneity and of gaining sufficient legitimacy to act in the name of the collectivity. This paper concentrates on the dynamics involved in the emergence of new governing capabilities in public systems. More precisely we study the implementation of regionalization policies in the health care field (in this case of Canada) conceived as one major attempt to renew the governance structures in a large public system. Our study draws on the comparative analysis of empirical regulation in three health regions as contrasted with three ideal type models of governance in regionalized systems. The first model is inspired by an economic approach to organizational behaviour and focuses on mandate‐giving, execution and control. The second model is based on a political interpretation of behaviours and focuses on negotiation processes between actors. Finally, the third model is based on the theory of deliberation as well as the institutional school of policy analysis and focuses on direct public participation in public affairs. Evidence for this article is primarily derived from interviews with key informants and documentary analysis. Our analysis shows that none of the three models is sufficient in itself to grant regional structures the authority and legitimacy they need to create added value in terms of regulation that could ensure their survival. Regional Boards are thus forced by environmental constraints to conceive and implement original mixes of these models. The two predominant logics in regional action are inspired by the first two models although the last one also has an influence. Overall, our study also suggests that the implementation of new sources of governing authorities in a public system is rather fragile because of dependence on existing institutions. Clearly, the attempt to modify the dynamics of governance in a given system must be conceived as a political exercise and not just as a technical problem consisting of the rational adjustment of policy instruments.     

Industry–University Research Centers: A Multivariate Analysis of Member Retention

Although a growing literature documents the benefits of industry–university research centers, most centers experience a significant amount of turnover among their industrial members. In order to gain a better understanding of this phenomenon, the current study attempts to identify factors that predict member renewal (DV). Questionnaire data were collected from industrial respondents (N=249) participating in 39 centers funded by the NSF IUCRC program. Structural, member benefits and administrative process variables were used to predict the dependent variable. Logistic regression analyses identified three significant predictors: professional networking benefits, research relevance and administrative operations. Implications of these findings for public policy, cooperative research management and future research are discussed.     

Preparation of a Ytterbium‐tagged Gunshot Residue Standard for Quality Control in the Forensic Analysis of GSR

Preparation of a ytterbium‐tagged gunshot residue (GSR) reference standard for scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopic (SEM‐EDS) microanalysis is reported. Two different chemical markers, ytterbium and neodymium, were evaluated by spiking the primers of 38 Special ammunition cartridges (no propellant, no projectile) and discharging them onto 12.7 mm diameter aluminum SEM pin stubs. Following SEM‐EDS microanalysis, the majority of tri‐component particles containing lead, barium, and antimony (PbBaSb) were successfully tagged with the chemical marker. Results demonstrate a primer spiked with 0.75% weight percent of ytterbium nitrate affords PbBaSb particles characteristic of GSR with a ytterbium inclusion efficiency of between 77% and 100%. Reproducibility of the method was verified, and durability of the ytterbium‐tagged tri‐component particles under repeated SEM‐EDS analysis was also tested. The ytterbium‐tagged PbBaSb particles impart synthetic traceability to a GSR reference standard and are suitable for analysis alongside case work samples, as a positive control for quality assurance purposes.     

Forensic Use of A Subtropical Blowfly: The First Case Indicating Minimum Postmortem Interval (mPMI) in Southern Brazil and First Record of Sarconesia Chlorogaster from a Human Corpse

Southern Brazil is unique due to its subtropical climate. Here, we report on the first forensic entomology case and the first record of Sarconesia chlorogaster (Wiedemann) in a human corpse in this region. Flies' samples were collected from a body indoors at 20°C. Four species were found, but only Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann) and S. chlorogaster were used to estimate the minimum postmortem interval (mPMI). The mPMI was calculated using accumulated degree hour (ADH) and developmental time. The S. chlorogaster puparium collected was light in color, so we used an experiment to establish a more accurate estimate for time since initiation of pupation where we found full tanning after 3 h. Development of C. albiceps at 20°C to the end of the third instar is 7.4 days. The mPMI based on S. chlorogaster (developmental time until the third instar with no more than 3 h of pupae development) was 7.6 days.