Five Arguments for Deliberative Democracy

Five arguments in favour of deliberative democracy are considered. These focus on its educative power, on its community-generating power, on the fairness of the procedure of public deliberation, on the epistemic quality of its outcomes and on the congruence of the deliberative democratic ideal 'with whom we are'. The first four arguments are shown to be inadequate. The fifth argument, it is claimed, not only provides the most convincing defence of deliberative democracy but can also be used to decide rationally between competing interpretations of the deliberative ideal. By way of illustration, the essay concludes with a critical discussion of the rival versions proposed by Rawls and Habermas.     

Que sont devenus les fidèles fonctionnaires de I'administration publique canadienne?

La Fonction publique canadienne vit, depuis quelques années, un important changement culturel: les programmes et services ont ete repensés, les méthodes administratives modifiées, les services à la clientèle adaptés aux nouvelles technologies, et la taille de lÉtat considérablement réduite. Des programmes d'encourage-ment au départ anticipé ont été offerts à de nombreux employés. Pourquoi a-t-on décidé de quitter la Fonction publique canadienne? Si tout était à recommencer, prendrait-on la même décision, au même moment et aux mêmes conditions? Comment réagit-on à la perte d'emploi?À quels types d'activites consacre-t-on son temps depuis que l'on a quitté son emploi? Y a-t-il des projets d'avenir? Les reponses a ces questions different-elles selon que l'on est aujourd'hui retraité ou retraité-actif? 930 ex-fonctionnaires de l'administration publique canadienne de la région du Québec ont été interrogés, dont 616 retraités et 314 retraités-actifs. Des différences ont été observées entre les deux groupes en termes de profils, de motivations à quitter la Fonction publique canadienne, de valeurs et d'intérêts, de réactions vis-à-vis de la perte d'emploi et en terme de réceptivité vis-à-vis les alternatives au départ anticipé qu'aurait pu leur offrir la Fonction publique canadienne. Également, les analyses montrent que la Fonction publique canadienne a manifesté un intérêt très limité dans la mise en place de stratégies qui lui auraient permis de maintenir en emploi une bonne proportion de pré-retraités qui auraient préféré, par exemple, le désengage-ment progressif à la fin d'emploi. Abstract: There has been a major cultural change over the last few years within the Canadian Public Service: programs and services were reformulated, administrative methods were modified, client services were adapted to new technologies, and the scope of the government has been greatly reduced. Early-retirement incentive programs were offered to many employees. Why would an individual decide to leave the Canadian Public Service? Were he or she to start all over again, would the same decision, at the same time and under the same conditions, be taken? How is the individual responding to the loss of employment? To what type of activities is time devoted since leaving employment? Are there projects with a future? Are the answers to these questions different depending on whether or not the individual is retired? Nine hundred and thirty former Canadian public administration employees in the Quebec area, including 616 retired and 314 retired but working, were interviewed. Differences were noted between the two groups in terms of profile, reasons for leaving the Canadian Public Service, values and interests, reactions to the loss of employment, and receptivity to the alternatives (other than early retirement) that the Canadian Public Service could have offered them. Analyses also show that very little interest was shown by the Canadian Public Service for implementing strategies that would have allowed it to retain among its employees a high proportion of early retirees who would have preferred, for example, gradual disengagement instead of outright termination.     

What's Gender Got to Do with It? Incivility in the Federal Courts

The current study examines experiences of interpersonal mistreatment in federal litigation among a random sample of 4,608 practicing attorneys. Using both quantitative and qualitative survey data, we documented the nature and interplay of general incivility, gender-related incivility, and unwanted sexual attention. Nearly 75% of female attorneys had experienced some form of this misconduct in the previous five years, compared to half of male attorneys. An in-depth examination of instigators revealed that not only fellow attorneys but also federal judges, court personnel, marshals, and court security officers instigated the inappropriate behavior. We further found that most attorneys responded to this mistreatment with avoidance and denial; few used or trusted existing reporting mechanisms. The current study surpassed simple prevalence estimates to document effects of interpersonal mistreatment on the professional well-being of targeted attorneys. We discuss implications of these results, drawing on theories of social dominance, sex-role spillover, cognitive stress, organizations, and intervention.     

Hanging deaths in children

During the 16-year period of 1972-1987, there were 11 hanging deaths in children in Western Australia. We report the circumstances and medical findings of each case.