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AbstractThe ecological thesis in urban sociology has long treated suicides as a symptom of urban pathology. Historians who have studied the problem in Paris in the nineteenth century have accepted that official statistics mirrored reality and have explained higher rates in the capital than elsewhere in France by the failure of immigrants, marginal groups and working classes to adapt to the urban milieu. The purpose of this article is to determine the validity of these conclusions. The method adopted to do so consists, first of all, in creating a reliable data base using three different sources: the Morgue registers, statistics published annually by the Ministry of Justice and compilations made from individual suicide dossiers in the 1850s. It consists, secondly, of an analysis of crude data and global rates, and a more detailed examination of the incidence of suicide by gender, civil status, age group and profession and across Parisian space. The argument that is presented denies the validity of the ecological thesis. It is argued that rates do not increase across the period and that immigrants, the marginal, the working class are not overrepresented among suicides. It is further argued that the methods used to end one's life were more passive than brutal and that suicides were less important among causes of death than they would be in the twentieth century when Parisian rates had become the lowest in France.

Keywords: Modèle de croissance spatiale, croissance d'entreprise, proximité, région non métropolitaine

AbstractProductivity growth in the U.S. economy jumped during the second half of the 1990s, a resurgence that many analysts linked to information technology (IT). However, shortly after this consensus emerged, demand for IT products fell sharply, leading to a lively debate about the connection between IT and productivity and about the sustainability of the faster growth. We contribute to this debate in two ways. First, to assess the robustness of the earlier evidence, we extend the growth-accounting results in Oliner and Sichel (2000a) through 2001. The new results confirm the basic story in our earlier work – that the acceleration in labor productivity after 1995 was driven largely by the greater use of IT capital goods and by the more rapid efficiency gains in the production of IT goods. Second, to assess whether the pickup in productivity growth is sustainable, we analyze the steady-state properties of a multi-sector growth model. This exercise generates a range for labor productivity growth of 2 percent to 2 ¾ percent per year, which suggests that much – and possibly all – of the resurgence is sustainable.

The exercise of a remedy precludes a party who is entitled to demand the respect of his prerogative, and one that must meet its obligation. Therefore, the interests are opposed by nature as each party will work to emerge triumphant from the conflict. Thus, there is a significant risk of abuse which justifies punishment. A litigant should not be prejudiced by the exercise of a right. His interests are protected by the moderation of the implementation of the rights of other individuals. Furthermore, the notion of abuse should be framed such as not to prejudice the interests of the various parties. Indeed, the litigants may be deterred by the sanction in the case of an abusive legal process. It would thus violate the access to rights which is fundamental to the achievement of individual rights. The consecration of loyalty would prevent such abuses.

Keywords: Abus, caractérisation, intérêts, action, voie de droit, exécution, Abuse, criteria, interest, action, remedy, execution

This article analyzes the positions advanced by Parliamentarians and other interested parties, including the Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada, surrounding Bill C-72. This article concludes that in 1988, a clear and significant majority of Parliamentarians considered that the federal linguistic regime would be greatly improved if the Commissioner were given standing to participate in, or maintain court proceedings. It was deemed advisable that the Commissioner assume a leading role in the courts, notably as a plaintiff—a point of view based on the Commissioner's expertise and on his budget. That being so, the Minister of Justice of the time noted that the Commissioner should assume this new role only in cases of necessity. This view differed significantly from that of official language communities in a minority situation. These communities advocated for the establishment of an administrative tribunal devoted to the status and use of French and English and their rights, and that could, when needed, sanction federal institutions. The Commissioner in 1988 recognized the advantages of providing for a court remedy for breaches of statutory language rights, but seemed reticent to the idea that he would play an active role in the courts. This article concludes that since 1988, the Commissioner has seemed reticent to use all of the legal powers that have been invested in him.

Keywords: Commissaire aux langues officielles du Canada, langues officielles, recours judiciaire, intention du législateur, Loi sur les langues officielles, politique linguistique, ombudsman, projet de loi C-72, Commissioner of Official Languages, official languages, court remedies, legislative intent, Official Languages Act, language policy, ombudsman, Bill C-72

This article is part of the ongoing debate about the existence of an implicit social clause within the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the law of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The article highlights the difficulties of complying with the requirement of "necessity" of Article XX (a) and XX (b) of the GATT, which any trade restrictive measures aimed at eradicating child labor would face. To this end, the article relies on the jurisprudence of the Dispute Settlement Body of the WTO and takes into account the position of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and United Nations Fund for Childhood (UNICEF) on trade sanctions and child labor. The analysis is complemented by the results of a field study conducted by the author in Ecuador on hazardous child labour in the flower industry and the potential effects of trade sanctions on minors.

Keywords: Accord général sur les tarifs douaniers et le commerce (GATT), clause sociale, Fonds des Nations Unies pour l'enfance (UNICEF), mesures restrictives du commerce, moralité publique, Organisation internationale du travail (OIT), Organisation mondiale du commerce (OMC), protection de la vie et de la santé humaines, travail dangereux des enfants, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), hazardous child labour, International Labour Organization, social clause, protection of life and human life, public morals, trade restrictive measures, United Nations Fund for childhood (UNICEF), World Trade Organization (WTO)

Considering the difficulties associated with learning through reading in history, this study seeks to better understand the relationship between the reading resources made available and the learning through reading (LTR) of Grade 6 students in LTR situations that include teachers' support. The objectives pursued are to: 1) describe students' LTR in the context of a textbook or of documentary works and fiction; 2) compare the advantages and limitations of these two choices for the students' LTR; 3) describe in an exploratory manner, students' spontaneous use of images as informative support. For this study, a mixed research methodology was used: a multiple case study analysis (Yin, 2003) inserted into a pre/post design. The results are consistent with previous studies that validate Cartier's (2007) model of LTR, showing the interaction between the assigned activities, the texts selected, opportunities for LTR, and the field of study. They specifically illustrate the beneficial effect of planning for and supporting LTR in the specific context of textbook use and, simultaneously, the many challenges raised by the use of a body of work in the context of LTR. The results also highlight that students do not spontaneously use background images as informational sources in an LTR context, which requires thinking about how to channel more specific supports in that direction.

Keywords: Apprentissage en lisant, histoire, choix des textes, manuels scolaires, oeuvres documentaires, oeuvres de fiction, Learning through reading, history, selection of texts, textbooks, documentary works, fiction

The Act to improve the legal situation of animals, unanimously adopted in 2015, is the last major legislative evolution in Quebec animal law. This law changes the legal status of animals, from property to sentient beings, and introduces a stricter legal framework for the welfare and safety of domestic animals. Despite these legal changes, many animals are still denied their sensibilities and their biological needs, especially on farms, creating situations that are more than absurd: a pet pig must be protected from excessive heat under penalty provided by law while on the farm, pigs die of heat, literally, during heat waves. How to explain such a shift? Why are sentient animals not all protected in the same way? The interest-convergence theory provides that a social change in favour of a minority group can only take place when the interests of the majority and those of the minority “converge” similarly toward that change. Interest-convergence is a plausible explanation for this legal gap. This article focuses on the context that led to the adoption of the Act to improve the legal situation of animals. The content analysis carried out on parliamentary proceedings shows that besides a concern for the animal, economic and social reasons are also at the source of the new legislation, and that economic interests explain its limits, thus confirming the presence of the phenomenon of interest's convergence during its creation.

Keywords: Situation juridique, animal, convergence des intérêts, droit animalier, analyse de contenu, travaux parlementaires, Legal status, animal, interest convergence, animal law, content analysis, parliamentary proceedings