Gouvernance municipale et information: étude exploratoire sur l’utilisation optimale des données 311

This article presents exploratory research into the potential for using artificial intelligence to analyze information obtained through requests made to municipal non-emergency call centers/centres municipaux d’appels non urgents (CANU). The research identifies three possible uses of information from a CANU, either for internal management, service delivery or strategic decision-making. These uses of information are explored through the analysis of the City of Gatineau CANU. The results determine two sets of hypotheses to promote optimal use of the data collected using sophisticated digital tools. Research shows that CANUs could be information nodes dedicated to the processing, distribution and strategic analysis of information.     

The Programme de recherche en démographie historique: past,present and future developments in family reconstitution

The Programme de recherche en démographie historique (Historical Demography Research Programme) (PRDH), founded in 1966 and based at the Département de Démographie of the Université de Montréal, has since its inception featured a central project, a family reconstitution database of Quebec’s Catholic population from 1621 to 1799 named the Registre de la population du Québec ancien (Population Register of Historic Quebec) (RPQA). This article, which marks the fiftieth anniversary of the project, explores the development of the RPQA over the five decades in the context of similar international databases, explains the current state of the database as well as our record linkage methodology, describes an important collaboration now underway to build a larger Quebec historical data infrastructure, outlines new and renewed international collaborations, and summarizes research conducted using these data as well as future research possibilities. The particular geographic context, historical development and manageable colonial population size of Quebec favoured family reconstitution of the whole colony from the beginning of the project. Today, the RPQA comprises 438,193 individual biographies and 74,000 family files encompassing up to nine generations. To reconstitute families, we must identify and incorporate into the database all demographic events, including those whose existence can only be inferred through other sources. Future efforts to link nineteenth-century parish acts will need to deal with large case counts, mixed Catholic–Protestant marriages, and increased geographic and social mobility. The integration of complementary data will provide information on household co-residence, occupations, help track the destinies of mixed-religion persons and persons outside nuclear families and provide additional points of observation.     

Frontiers of public service motivation research in Canada: A scoping review

The Canadian public sector employs around one-fifth of Canadian workers; they are responsible for policy making, stewarding public funds, and serving the public. Canadian governments struggle with job satisfaction, engagement, retention, and turnover, all of which may be associated with public service motivation (PSM). We conducted a scoping review of Canadian PSM research to synthesize what is known about these associations in the Canadian context. We identified 24 published studies and four works in progress. These demonstrate that PSM exists among Canadian public servants from the early stages of their career until later stages, and that PSM bolsters attraction to public sector work among students. No studies measured PSM among Canadian public servants using a validated instrument. Further research about the contributions of PSM to the quality of Canadian public services and how employers can nurture PSM is recommended, particularly given recent changes in work environments.     

CJDATS CO-OCCURRING DISORDERS SCREENING INSTRUMENT (CODSI) FOR MENTAL DISORDERS (MD): A Validation Study

Three standardized screening instruments-the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs Short Screener (GSS), the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview-Modified (MINI-M), and the Mental Health Screening Form (MHSF)-were compared to two shorter instruments, the 6-item Co-Occurring Disorders Screening Instrument for Mental Disorders (CODSI-MD) and the 3-item CODSI for Severe Mental Disorders (CODSI-SMD) for use with offenders in prison substance-abuse treatment programs. Results showed that the CODSI screening instruments were comparable to the longer instruments in overall accuracy and that all of the instruments performed reasonably well. The CODSI instruments showed sufficient value to justify their use in prison substance-abuse treatment programs and to warrant validation testing in other criminal justice populations and settings.     

Intimate partner violence and long-term psychosocial functioning in a national sample of American women

Using a nationally representative sample of American married or cohabiting women, this prospective study examined women who reported or denied intimate partner violence (IPV) at wave 1 and compared them on a range of psychosocial outcomes at a 5-year follow-up. This study also examined the rate of divorce or separation during the 5-year interval among women who reported IPV at wave 1 and explored whether certain predictors were related to ending an abusive relationship with an intimate partner during the period. Women with IPV at wave 1, compared to women without IPV, were significantly more likely to experience a greater degree of depressive symptoms and functional impairment and less self-esteem and life satisfaction at the 5-year follow-up. Also, nearly half of the women in an abusive relationship left the relationship within the period. Leaving the abusive relationship was associated with lower individual income and more social support at wave 1.     

L’évolution de l’exercice du contrôle dans l’administration publique fédérale canadienne

This article focuses on how control is exercised in the Canadian federal administrative system. More specifically, it aims to determine whether the management philosophy introduced by the Canadian federal government in 2000, which advocated for greater flexibility in the system, is reflected in government policies. The research examines the content of Canadian federal government financial management policies between 2000 and 2018.     

Pursuing gender-transformative change in customary tenure systems: civil society work in Zambia

This article examines activities undertaken by civil society organisations in Zambia to create gender-transformative change in customary tenure systems. It is based on primary data collected through interviews and group discussions with NGO representatives, lawyers and women’s rights advocates, chiefs, women leaders, and local community members. The findings show that organisations pursue change by leveraging global and national frameworks and discourses and working with traditional authorities, local magistrates, men and women at the village level. Promoting gender transformative change requires multi-level networking and working across hierarchies of power that extend from the household to the state.     

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORY AND TERRORISM STUDIES: THE ROLE OF LEADERSHIP,MEMBERSHIP, IDEOLOGY AND GENDER

This article demonstrates the relationship between new social movement theory and terrorism studies. The revolutionary dimension of new social movements can be correlated to terrorist groups. This article also uses new social movement theory to develop a fuller understanding of the leadership, membership, personal ideology and gender within a new social movement; these then can be used to follow the development of a politically violent group. This article uses the example of the American movement and its by-product—the Weather Underground.     

Exploring Factors Which Lead to Successful Reunification in Domestic Violence Cases: Interviews with Caseworkers

This exploratory study investigated factors that Child Protective Service caseworkers believe lead to change for the domestic violence abuser and victim, and ultimately lead to success in terms of reunifying children who have been removed from their parents due to domestic violence. In-depth interviews with six caseworkers examined both successful reunification cases and unsuccessful reunification cases. The interview was structured around three areas of interest: services, the caseworker’s relationship with the parents, and social supports, in order to identify variables that may influence the family’s ability (or inability) to make the necessary changes for reunification with their children. Results revealed that successful reunifications took place within the families who fully engaged in services, admitted the issues within the family home, set clear boundaries with each other, and sought and maintained an appropriate support system. Implications for caseworkers involved with families experiencing domestic violence, as well as directions for future research, are discussed.     

Intracoronary Thrombus Formation Following Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Thromboembolic events in the context of carbon monoxide (CO) exposure have been well described in the literature. Six cases of clinically significant coronary thrombosis following CO exposure were previously reported. However, factors affecting the development of coronary thrombus in CO exposure are poorly understood, and the significance of this finding in a forensic context is not clear. This article discusses a case of coronary thrombosis found at autopsy following a death in which CO poisoning was suspected. A 67‐year‐old man was found dead in his garage with four vehicles with their ignition in the “on” position and their tanks empty. At autopsy, severe coronary atherosclerosis and an acute nonocclusive coronary thrombus were found. Given the dissimilarities among cases and the presence of CO exposure, it was suggested that the coronary artery thrombosis is likely due to the inherent prothrombotic mechanism of CO, the only common denominator in all the cases.