Documents found
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11.More information
This article explores the use of case databases to support the development of competence in analyzing ethical issues and the public policy process in a public health learning context. A brief synthesis of the literature highlights the relevance of case studies for acquiring empirical knowledge or developing critical analysis skills. However, this synthesis did not identify any analyses of the use of case sets, such as case databases. To fill this gap, the article presents PolÉthicas, a collection of case studies describing ethical issues and the public health policy development process in Canada, and its user guide. The latter is based on the arguments and methods identified in the literature review, as well as on the cross-analysis of several cases dealing with related themes and structured in a similar way. The PolÉthicas case bank and its user guide enable us to reflect on the theoretical and empirical dimensions of collective public health choices in the development of public policies, based on a number of cases, and to question the values at stake in the development and implementation of public policies, the actors involved and their interactions, and the context in which these processes take place.
Keywords: banque de cas, étude de cas, guide d'utilisation, politiques publiques en santé publique, éthique en santé publique, case database, case study, user guide, public health policy, public health ethics
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This paper tries to identify the place of manpower policy in the spectrum of public policies, and more particularly economic and social policies.A manpower policy exists in relation to the labour market and, more specifically, labour market problems. The objective of manpower policy, in such a context, is to correct labour market problems and operating difficulties in a preventive or curative manner.Many public policies can influence one or more aspects of the phenomenon of work and therefore the labour market. On the other hand, the efficiency of many specific instruments of economic or social policies depends largely on the efficiency of work and therefore of the labour market. This suggests the dynamic interdependency and complementarity between manpower policy and economic and social policies.To better distinguish between different public policies it becomes necessary to try to determine the zone of performance of each of them, in the interest of better policy making and implementation.Public policy is defined here as the set of actions and decisions taken by the State in order to improve the functioning of society or of a particular group of Society. Such state intervention has become necessary since it has been proven that a certain number of problems cannot find a solution by themselves.The State can intervene by a series of instruments. It has been chosen to focus on the following: economic, social and education policies.Economic policy is defined as the set of actions and decisions taken by the State in order to improve the economic functioning of society or of a particular group of society. The effects of such a policy are not solely economic and are not necessarily equal for everyone. Nor are they equal for all parts of the territory. There is therefore a need of more specific complementary instruments aiming at solving particular problems for given groups and/or given regions.Social policy is defined as the set of actions and decisions taken by the State in order to insure income protection and to supply assistance to particular groups facing particular problems, in order to allow them to function "normally" in society. To the extent that such income protection and specific assistance are sought through the labour market, the interdependency and complementarity between social and manpower policies become obvious.The education policy is defined by the set of actions and decisions taken by the State in order to encourage, for each citizen, the acquisition of knowledge and skills. To the extent that such knowledge and skills are essential ingredients for the functioning of individuals on the labour market, the interdependency and complementarity between education and manpower policies become obvious.Manpower policy is defined as the set of decisions and actions taken by the State to improve the functioning of the labour market. As such, manpower policy has economic and social dimensions. Manpower policy cannot by itself find a solution to all labour market problems since the labour market is influenced by other public policies. Manpower policy must therefore adjust to other public policies, and vice versa, in order to maximize labour market functioning. Manpower policy therefore, plays a complementary role purely in the short or medium term because of the dynamics of the labour market, and because the long term aspect of the labour market is mostly in the spectrum of other public policies.In such a context, a grey zone between manpower policy and other public policies is inevitable.The most important difference between manpower policy and economic policy is that the former aims at offering selective actions for given groups with specific characteristics. Since the most important function of social policy is income protection, its link with manpower policy is such that manpower policy seeks to insure a more equitable distribution of opportunities for individuals on the labour market and a better quality of professional life.In the matter of skill and knowledge acquisition, the education policy mainly touches the consumption aspect of education, except perhaps for skill training of youth within the normal schooling network. Because of its nature, manpower policy then mainly touches the short and medium investment aspect of adult education. However, the subjective difference between investment in education and consumption of education makes it more difficult to generalize as to the specific zones of performance of education and manpower policies.It is therefore possible to offer a certain number of general criteria to help determine if such and such public policy instrument having an effect on the labour market is part of the zone of performance of manpower policy or not.a) manpower policy instruments- correspond to a specific need in the labour market;- direct and selective;- focus in the short and medium termb) Other public policy instruments- correspond to a general need of society or of a particular group but not for labour market purposes;- mainly macro;- direct in the long term;- indirect in the medium and long term.c) Grey zone instruments- direct, intended and controled but belonging to another public policy than manpower policy.
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AbstractContemporary societies are faced with a multitude of risks from natural, technological, industrial, economic, and social origins, in response to which decision-makers must formulate public policies. Despite the diversity of their intended objects, do these policies involving risk display any common characteristics ? In other words, is there a type of public action specific to risk management ? In terms of scientific expertise on the one hand, and democratically legitimate citizen participation on the other, do these public policies serve as privileged spaces that allow for shared responsibility in uncertainty management ? To address these issues, we first present a synthesis of the definitions and typologies of the concept of risk. Next, we analyse the particularities of public policies involving risk management according to the policy-formulation and implementation phases of the policy cycle. Finally, we conclude with a transversal analysis of these policies, which allows us to demonstrate their points of convergence.
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This first article of the issue acts as an introduction and proposes the identification of a set of characteristics that allow the analysis of Canada's relations with its North American neighbours on public policies. The authors suggest a continuum of bilateral relations on public policy in which the independent status is situated between the conflict and the harmony. The most pertinent characteristics for the Canada-US context are parallelism, coordination and collaboration - situated right at the mid-section of the continuum. The durable and emergent characteristics of Canadian relations in public policy in North America influence the politic and the management of the processes related with those relations. The implicit Canadian approach of the inherent North-American policy process has the tendency to be by sector, gradual and ascending (bottom-up). The result is a set of bilateral initiatives based on the common interests of the different sectors, and also a resistance to a more integrated vision of North America. This double thrust toward differentiation and integration, propped up and stimulated partially by an ascending economic integration, will probably remain at the heart of North American policies, and will contribute to increase the complexity, the richness and the flexibility of Canada's relations in public policy across the North American continent.
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20.More information
Quebec's public libraries constitute an economic strength and are very profitable. In fact, the return on the investment is about 5,4 times. In comparison with all other cultural institutions in Québec, the public library is the least expensive and is accessible by the most people.