The Mills report,the Manley subsidy proposals,and the business of major‐league sport

Abstract: This article examines the debates over subsidies to professional sports teams that have been the focus of much attention and passion in Canada over the past several years, debates that led to the report by Dennis Mills,Sport in Canada: Everybody's Business, and to John Manley's ill‐fated proposals to offer subsidies to Canadian professional sports operators. The article reviews the arguments put forward by the sports industry: that major‐league hockey and baseball teams make substantial economic contributions, both directly and indirectly, to the cities in which they are located and that Canadian teams, especially those based in smaller cities, need substantial reductions in their public costs (taxes and/or rents) in order to “level the playing field” with their US. competitors. The authors argue that the commissioned studies on which these claims are based systematically overstate the economic impacts of professional sports and are not supported by independent research. The authors also argue that the difficulties facing Canada's “small market” teams are not primarily the result of higher taxes; rather, they follow from changes in the sports industry over the last decade (notably, much higher player salaries). This means that in order to remain competitive, teams must be able to generate far greater revenues than were needed only a decade ago. When one examines the new economy of professional hockey, in particular, with its heavy reliance on local television and advertising revenues and on the purchase of luxury seating by the local corporate sector, it is hard to avoid concluding that even with public subsidies teams based in provincial Canadian cities may no longer be able to compete in the major leagues. Finally, the authors consider the cultural argument that nhl hockey is a Canadian tradition and warrants support on “heritage,” as opposed to economic, grounds. However, the authors conclude that both professional sports and Canada have changed so much in recent decades that commercial sport is not an appropriate candidate for public subsidy. Sommaire: Dans cet article, on examine la question des subventions aux équipes de sports professionnels qui a fait l'objet d'un vif débat au Canada au cours de ces dern‐ières années. Ce débat avait entraîné le rapport de Dennis Mills,Sport in Canada: Everybody's Business, et les propositions soumises ans succès par John Manley pour offrir des subventions aux exploitants de sports professionnels au Canada. On y présente les arguments du secteur des sports: les équipes de hockey et de baseball des ligues majeures font un apport économique direct et indirect considérable aux villes oú elles se trouvent, et les équipes canadiennes, surtout celles basées dans des villes plus petites, ont besoin d'une réduction substantielle de leurs coûts publics (impôts et/ou loyers) afin d'égaliser le terrain de jeu par rapport à leurs concurrents américains. Selon les auteurs, les études commanditées qui justifient ces prétentions exagèrent systématiquement les retombées économiques des sports professionnels et elles ne sont pas appuyées par des recherche indépendeants. Par ailleurs, les difficultées auxquelles font face les équipes de petit marché au Canada ne découlent pas d'une forte impositoin mais plutôt de l'évolution survenue dans l'industrie du sport au cows de cette dernière décennie (notamment, la forte hausse du salaire des joueurs). Pour rester concurrentielles, les équipes doivent recueillir un revenue très supérieur à celui d'il y a dix ans. Lorsqu'on examine la nouvelle économie du hockey professionnel en particulier, fortement tributaire du revenue prodigué par la télévision et la publicité locales et de l'achat de siges au prix fort par les entreprises de la localité, il est difficile d'éviter la conclusion que, même avec des subventions publiques, les équipes basées dans des villes provinciales au Canada auront du mal à survivre dans les lques majeures. Enfin, les auteurs examinent l'argument culturel voulant que le hockey de la lnh soit une tradition canadienne qui mérite d'être appuyée à titre patrimonial plutôt qu'économique. Leur conclusion: les sports professionnels et le pays lui‐même ont tellement évolué ces dernières décennies que le sport commercial n'est pas un candidat valable pour des subventions publiques.     

La diffusion d'une innovation portant les germes de son plafonnement: la réutilisation des hémodialyseurs au Québec

Sommaire: L'objectif de cette recherche est d'identifier les facteurs de diffusion d'une innovation ‐ la réutilisation des hémodialyseurs (rh) ‐ ainsi que de son plafonncment marqué par la controverse, à travers les motivations et stratégies des groupes d'acteurs clés. Plus particulièrement, cette étude vise à situer le rôle de la “ médecine fondée sur des données probantes ”dans la dynamique de la diffusion de cette innovation. Nous partons du constat que la rh est une pratique reconnue pour les économies qu'elle génère tout en étant perçue par certains comme risquée pour la santé des usagers et du personnel. Les résultats de notre étude montrent que la diffusion de la rh au Québec, loin d'avoir pris son assise sur des données empiriques solides, a plutôt résulté de comportements sociaux d'imitation à la faveur de contacts directs entre des centres de dialyse voisins qui subissaient alors de fortes pressions de leurs autorités afin de réduire leurs dépenses. Cependant, l'ampleur des investissements nécessaires à l'introduction de cette pratique, la perspective de devoir négocicr I'achat de matériel dédiéà la rh auprès d'un monopole, ainsi que les stratégies commerciales de fournisseurs peu motivés à promouvoir la vente de matériel de rh au détriment de celle, plus lucrative, d'hémodialyseurs en grande quantité (lorsque non réutilisés), ont grandement réduit l'attrait économique dc la rh aux yeux des dirigeants de centres de dialyse. L'incapacité des données empiriques à endiguer les craintes soulevées par les risques associés à la rh a eu la double conséquence (1) dc mener au plafonnement de cette activité et (2) d'induire des centres de dialysc qui effectuaient déjà la rh à se doter d'une gestion envers les patients basée sur la non transparence et la contrainte. Sur le plan conceptuel, les résultats de cette étude montrent que ce n'est que dans la mesure où les facteurs sociaux et d'intérêts (dynamiquc institutionnelle) sont pris en compte et qu'ils convergent avec les critères de rationalité technique, qu'une innovation améliore ses chances de se diffuser et de s'enraciner dans une organisation. Considérant ces conclusions, quelques propositions sont énonées dans le but d'améliorer le potentiel d'implantation de la rh en facilitant la prise en compte des données empiriques dans les centres de dialyse, tout en leur procurant un meilleur rapport de force vis‐à‐vis leurs fournisseurs et afin que les patients et le personnel clinique y trouvent davantage leur intérêt. Abstract: The purpose of this research is to identify the factors in the diffusion of an innovation ‐ hemodialyzer re‐use ‐ and the controversy surrounding the levelling off of its use, by looking at the motivations and strategies of key actors. More particularly, this study focuses on the role of “evidence‐based medicine” in the diffusion of this innovation. Starting with the observation that hemodialyzer re‐use is recognized for its cost‐savings while being perceived by some to be a health risk for both users and staff, our findings show that diffusion of this practice in Quebec, far from being based on solid empirical data, was instead influenced by the social phenomenon of imitation that resulted from direct contact with local dialysis centres that were at the time under great pressure from their management to reduce expenditures. The cost‐savings of hemodialyzer re‐use for the people managing the dialysis centres was, however, greatly reduced by several factors: the considerable investments needed to introduce this practice; the prospects of having to negotiate with a monopoly to purchase the hemodialyzer‐dedicated equipment; and the commercial strategies of suppliers who have little interest in promoting the sale of equipment for hemodialyzer re‐use over the more lucrative sale of large quantities of hemodialyzers (when not re‐used). The ineffectiveness of empirical data in allaying fears of the risks associated with the practice of hemodialyzer re‐use has had the dual effect of 1) causing this activity to level off, and 2) causing dialysis centres already involved in hemodialyzer re‐use to adopt an approach to patient management that is based on non‐transparency and constraint. On the conceptual level, our findings show that the likelihood of an organization adopting an innovation increases when social factors and interest factors (such as the institutional dynamic) are taken into account and align with criteria of technical rationality. Given these conclusions, we put forward some proposals for improving the potential of hemodialyzer re‐use by facilitating the dialysis centres' consideration of empirical data. As well, our proposals are aimed at obtaining a stronger position for the centres with regard to their suppliers and at ensuring that both patients and clinic staff benefit more from the practice of hemodialyzer re‐use.     

On Liberalism’s Religion

ABSTRACT

This chapter addresses two crucial issues raised by Laborde’s superb Liberalism’s Religion. The first pertains to where the liberal democratic modern state draws the line between the self-governing prerogatives of religious nomos communities and their regulation by the civil law; the second pertains to the prerogative of the state to do the relevant line drawing. Theorists concerned with religious freedom focus on the first set of questions under the rubric of ‘accommodation.’ The issue is unfair discrimination. I focus on Laborde’s approach to the second. This is again an important issue due to the recent revival of jurisdictional political pluralism: an approach that challenges the supremacy of the civil law and of the authority of the sovereign state over domestic religious authorities. I suggest more work must be done to parry those challenges.     

Crop sales,shortages and peasant portfolio behaviour: An analysis of Angola

The article focuses on the influence of economic factors on sales of agricultural products in Angola. Between the early 1970s and the mid‐1980s the volume of sales declined by around 90 per cent, while during the late 1980s there was a significant recovery. This was partly due to non‐economic factors such as war and drought. However, the rural economy also experienced extraordinary regulatory changes which led to a severe shortage of consumer goods. The theory of peasant supply response in a rationed economy therefore provides a starting point for the analysis and is further extended to incorporate features particular to Angola.     

„Auch in unserer Zeit werden Götter in den Massen geboren“. Emile Durkheims Erklärungsansätze zur Entstehung gesellschaftlicher Ideale in der Moderne

The article focuses on Emile Durkheim’s complex and changing views concerning the evolution of morality and religion under conditions of modernity. While he foresaw a progressive weakening of traditional religions, Durkheim did not believe that modern societies would lose any sense of the sacred. He was convinced that a functioning morality needs a sacred object at its core. In modern times, with the increasing separation of religion and morals, the sacred object of morality is the human person. The article presents and discusses the account given by Durkheim of the emergence of the moral ideal of the person. It shows that Durkheim’s work contains two distinct accounts of this process: according to the course on Professional Ethics and Civic Morals, the modern ideal of the person is to a large extent a product of the state. In later texts, including the Elementary Forms of Religious Life, Durkheim increasingly emphasized the role of society itself: he tried to show, using examples from the French Revolution in particular, how ideals are forged in those particular moments of social excitation he used to call “collective effervescence”.     

Ethics in leadership: The case of local politicians

The mainstream literature on leadership has little to say about the role of ethics. Equally, much of this literature is concerned with the private sector and with managerial leadership. This paper addresses both these gaps, by reporting on the development of a scale for measuring ethical values in local political leadership, the public service values scale. This is one section of a larger instrument for assessing the skills of local political leaders: the Warwick Political Leadership Questionnaire. The paper reports on the use of this instrument in a 360 degree format, following piloting of a self assessment version. The responses of 19 elected members and 241 feedback givers are analysed. These data offer support for the validity and reliability of the public service values scale. The paper concludes with a research agenda, offering suggestions for how this scale can be applied to researching ethics in leadership.     

Mental Health Review Tribunals: A comparison of the content of tribunal reports for discharged and not discharged patients and for the effect of legal classification

Abstract

This study examined the content of reports provided for Mental Health Review Tribunals. A retrospective design was used to compare the tribunal reports of fifty patients. Two groups of twenty five patients were compared, one including patients discharged by tribunals and the other patients not discharged. Social combination theory and valence theory were used to analyse the content of the reports and to assess whether they were associated with tribunal outcome. Opinion statements discussing suitability for discharge were more closely associated with outcome than fact statements. For the statements presenting subjects positively or negatively, fact statements were more closely associated with outcome. The valence of both types of statements was also found to be related to outcome, with more positive values being achieved for discharged subjects. Comparison of reports written for previous tribunals before any of the subjects in the study were discharged indicated that those subjects who went on to be discharged at their next tribunal had the least negative valences. In addition to this, the effect of legal classification on outcome was explored, and indicated a difference in the valence of reports for discharged and not discharged patients, depending on classification of mental illness or psychopathic disorder.