La politique québécoise de desengorgement des urgences

Sommaire: Depuis le milieu des années 70, au Québec, l'engorgement des services d'urgence est un problème qui refait surface de facon épisodique. En 1986, le gou-vernement québécois adopte un vaste plan visant à corriger la situation. En 1990, l'échec relatif de cette politique mène à I'adoption d'une nouvelle politique qui sera elle-même modifiée en 1993. Dans cet article, nous examinons les processus récur-rents d'émergence, de formulation et de mise en euvre de la politique québécoise de désengorgement des services d'urgence. Nous recourons, pour ce faire, à une version étendue du modèle proposé par Kingdon pour expliquer la mise à I'ordre du jour de certains problèmes publics par le gouvernement. Nous soutenons que le prolonge-ment donné au modèle de Kingdon permet de rendre compte des différentes phases de réalisation de la politique. Abstract: In the Province of Quebec, the overcrowding of hospital emergency wards has been a problem since the mid-seventies. In 1986, the Quebec government adopted a vast plan to correct the situation. The relative failure of the plan led to the adoption of a new policy in 1990, later modified in 1993. In this paper, we study the recurring emergence, formulation and implementation of Quebec policy towards emergency ward overcrowding. This study is based on an extended version of the model put forward by Kingdon to explain how some public problems appear on a government agenda while others are left aside. We contend that Kingdon's extended model is helpful to further our understanding of the policy process towards emergency wards in Quebec.     

Motor vehicle collisions and their demographics: a 5-year retrospective study of the Hamilton-Wentworth Niagara region

This retrospective study examined population demographics associated with motor vehicle collision (MVC) fatalities over a 5-year period in the Hamilton-Wentworth Niagara region. Variables were drawn from the five factors proposed by Fierro (1) for investigating deaths caused by transportation: human, chemical, environmental, vehicular, and highway. Factors analyzed included age, gender, position to the vehicle, site(s) of injury, toxicology, environmental contributors, and vehicular findings. From 1999 to 2004, there were 321 MVC fatalities that primarily involved males 20 to 29 years of age and commonly drivers or pedestrians. Cars and trucks were the most frequent vehicles. Fatalities occurred most often on local and regional roads on Fridays and Sundays between 6 pm and 6 am. Mechanical failure and weather conditions were not significant contributors. Toxicological analyses (275/321) were performed on the majority of the study population. Ethanol was present in isolation and with other substances, especially cannabis, mostly in male drivers 20-59 years of age.     

The Two Browns: Policy Implementation and the Retrenchment of Brown v. Board of Education

The colorblind individualism that pervades American politics and society keeps schools segregated although Americans support integrated public education. While the 1954 US Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education has never been overruled, later cases and policies have encouraged its retrenchment. We argue in this multi-disciplinary review of published literature that there are two different versions of Brown—the iconic, pro-integration symbol supported by most Americans, and a formal, juridical requirement that permits continued school segregation. The formal, juridical Brown is supported by the implementation of multiple educational policies, particularly neighborhood schools, magnet schools, and charter schools, all built on the firm belief that there is no violation of Brown. Rather than promoting a vision of Brown that champions a strong integration goal, these policies bolster the second interpretation of Brown: one that allows segregation to occur, so long as it is not outwardly deliberate.     

Michel Crozier et L'analyse stratégique du phénomène bureaucratique

Nous proposons d'appeler système bureaucratique d'organisation tout système d'organisation dans lequel le circuit erreurs‐informations‐corrections fonctionne mat et où il ne peut y avoir, de ce fait, correction et réadaptation rapide des programmes d'action, en fonction des erreurs commises. Le phéornène bureaucratique. Essai sur les tendances bureaucratiq ues des systèmes d'organisation modernes et sur leurs relations en France avec le système social et culturel. Par mictjel crozier. Poris: Éditions du Seuil, 1963. Pp. 413.