Public and special acts.

Acts for 1972-<1974> issued in two or more vols.

Public and local acts of the Legislature of the State of Michigan.

Printed Detroit : J.S. Bagg (1836)

The National recovery administration; an analysis and appraisal,

Mode of access: Internet.

An encyclopaedia of gardening; comprising the theory and practice of horticulture, floriculture, arboriculture, and landscape-gardening, including all the latest improvements; a general history of gardening in all countries; and a statistical view of its present stat, with suggestions for its future progress, in the British Isles.

Mode of access: Internet.

Modelling trade offs between public and private conservation policies

To reduce global biodiversity loss, there is an urgent need to determine the most efficient allocation of conservation resources. Recently, there has been a growing trend for many governments to supplement public ownership and management of reserves with incentive programs for conservation on private land. This raises important questions, such as the extent to which private land conservation can improve conservation outcomes, and how it should be mixed with more traditional public land conservation. We address these questions, using a general framework for modelling environmental policies and a case study examining the conservation of endangered native grasslands to the west of Melbourne, Australia. Specifically, we examine three policies that involve i) spending all resources on creating public conservation areas; ii) spending all resources on an ongoing incentive program where private landholders are paid to manage vegetation on their property with 5-year contracts; and iii) splitting resources between these two approaches. The performance of each strategy is quantified with a vegetation condition change model that predicts future changes in grassland quality. Of the policies tested, no one policy was always best and policy performance depended on the objectives of those enacting the policy. Although policies to promote conservation on private land are proposed and implemented in many areas, they are rarely evaluated in terms of their ecological consequences. This work demonstrates a general method for evaluating environmental policies and highlights the utility of a model which combines ecological and socioeconomic processes.

The effect of mastery learning on a course in accounting information system (AIS): A comparison within public and private universities in Taiwan

The Accounting Information System (AIS) is an important course in the Department of Accounting (DoAc) of universities in Taiwan. This course is required for seniors not only because it meets the needs of the profession, but also because it provides continual study for the department's students.^ The scores of The National College and University Joint Entrance Examination (NUEE) show that students with high learning ability are admitted to public universities with high scores, while those with low learning ability are admitted only to private universities. The same situation has been found by the researcher while teaching an AIS course in DoAc of The Public Chun Shin University (CSU) and The Private Chinese Culture University (CCU).^ The purpose of this study was to determine whether low ability students enrolled in private universities in Taiwan in a mastery learning program could attain the same level as high ability students from public universities enrolled in a traditional program. An experimental design was used. The mastery learning method was used to teach three groups of seniors with low learning ability studying in the DoAc at CCU. The traditional method was used to teach the control group which consisted of senior students of DoAc of CSU with high learning ability. As a part of the mastery learning strategy, a formative test, quizzes, and homework were completed by the experimental group only, while the mid-term examination was completed by both groups as part of the course. The dependent variable was the summative test, the final examination. It was completed by both groups upon the course's completion.^ As predicted, there were significant differences between the two groups' results on the pretest. There were no significant differences between the two groups' results on the posttest. These findings support the hypothesis of the study and reveal the effectiveness of mastery learning strategies with low learning ability students. ^

What is social innovation? The paradigm shift and its relationship with Social Work

Innovation is a fundamental part of social work. In recent years there has been a shift in the innovation paradigm, making it easier to accept this relationship. National and supranational policies aimed at promoting innovation appear to be specifically guided by this idea. To be able to affirm this hypothesis, it is necessary to review the perception that social workers have of their duties. It is also useful to examine particular cases that show how such social innovation arises.

Migrant women’s employment in paid reproductive work through the crisis: the case of Italy (2007-2012)

Paid reproductive work, especially in the case of cleaning and home-care for elderly people, is an important sector for foreign women in Italy. For this reason, since the beginning of the current economic crisis, scholars have wondered about the impact of the recession on migrant domestic workers. They have looked particularly at possible competition with Italian women entering the sector for lack of better alternatives. Our paper takes this discussion a step further by assessing the overall changes affecting migrant women in the Italian labour market, 2007-2012. We will look at how their position has been transformed, by taking both an ethnic perspective, in relation to Italian women, and a gender perspective, in relation to migrant men. By way of a conclusion, the argument will be made that there is a substantial lack of competition between Italian and foreign women in the care and domestic sector due to differences in their earnings, hours of work and activities.

Être médecin diplômé à l’étranger au Québec : des parcours contrastés d’intégration professionnelle

En 2015, il y aurait au Québec plus de 5 000 médecins diplômés à l’étranger, dont près de 2 500 travaillent comme médecins et possiblement autant qui ont emprunté d’autres voies professionnelles, momentanément ou durablement. Les migrants très qualifiés sont réputés faire face à de multiples barrières sur le marché du travail, particulièrement ceux membres de professions réglementées. Le cas des médecins est exemplaire compte tenu de sa complexité et de la multiplicité des acteurs impliqués au cours du processus de reconnaissance professionnelle. Ayant comme principal objectif de documenter les trajectoires d’intégration professionnelle de diplômés internationaux en médecine (DIM) et leurs expériences sur le marché du travail québécois, cette thèse s’attache à comprendre ce qui pourrait distinguer les trajectoires d’intégration en emploi pour un même groupe professionnel. En observant notamment les stratégies d’intégration et les ressources mobilisées, nous cherchons à mieux saisir les parcours des DIM qui se requalifient et qui exercent au Québec et ceux qui se réorientent vers d’autres secteurs d’activités. La démarche méthodologique est qualitative (terrain 2009 à 2012), le cœur des analyses étant basé sur 31 récits de vie professionnelle de DIM ayant migré au Québec principalement dans les années 2000. Les données secondaires incluent 22 entretiens non dirigés auprès d’acteurs clés de milieux institutionnels, communautaires ou associatifs ainsi qu’auprès de DIM très récemment immigrés ou ayant le projet d’immigrer. S’y ajoute l’observation ethnographique ponctuelle, telle que des activités associatives. La forme retenue pour cette thèse en est une par articles. Le fil directeur est l’exploration de l’interface entre les politiques, les pratiques et les individus au cœur des trajectoires d’intégration professionnelle. Les trois articles (chapitres 4 à 6) visent des focales complémentaires avec le même objectif : l’exploration de la complexité des trajectoires d’intégration professionnelle et la dialectique entre les niveaux micro, méso et macrosociaux. Ces derniers renvoient respectivement à la puissance d’agir des individus et leurs contraintes d’action, les relations sociales, les institutions et les pratiques organisationnelles et plus largement les structures sociopolitiques. Les résultats de cette thèse mettent en lumière des aspects complémentaires de l’intégration professionnelle et en interaction dynamique : 1) dimension macrosociale et politique; 2) dimensions institutionnelles et relations sociales; 3) identité professionnelle. Suite à l’introduction, la problématique (chap. 1) et la méthodologie (chap.2), le chapitre 3 expose les types des trajectoires d’intégration des DIM, leur hétérogénéité, et met en relief leurs récits de vie professionnelle. Le chapitre 4 soulève le paradoxe entre les politiques d’attraction de l’immigration déployés par les gouvernements canadien et québécois et les mécanismes de régulation opérant sur le marché du travail. Le chapitre 5 explore les stratégies et ressources mobilisées par les DIM et met en lumière l’effet positif des ressources symboliques. Les ressources institutionnelles de soutien, quoique élémentaires dans le processus de reconnaissance professionnelle, ne sont subjectivement pas considérées comme un élément central. Ce sont plutôt les ressources informelles qui jouent ce rôle d’appui significatif, en particulier les pairs DIM. Le chapitre 6 adopte une perspective microsociale et explore le caractère dynamique et relationnel de l’identité professionnelle, mais surtout, la puissance des conditions d’appartenance qui obligent à une flexibilité professionnelle et parfois au retrait de la profession ou du pays. Le chapitre 7 discute au plan théorique de l’intérêt d’une combinaison d’échelles analytiques et d’une ouverture disciplinaire afin de souligner les tensions et angles morts en ce qui concerne les mobilités de professionnels de la santé et leur intégration professionnelle. Cette thèse explore l’interrelation complexe entre les ressources économiques, sociales et symboliques, dans un contexte de fragmentation des ressources institutionnelles et de corporatisme.

The role of networking and social media tools during job search: an information behaviour perspective.

The paper presents a critical analysis of the extant literature pertaining to the networking behaviours of young jobseekers in both offline and online environments. A framework derived from information behaviour theory is proposed as a basis for conducting further research in this area. Method. Relevant material for the review was sourced from key research domains such as library and information science, job search research, and organisational research. Analysis. Three key research themes emerged from the analysis of the literature: (1) social networks, and the use of informal channels of information during job search, (2) the role of networking behaviours in job search, and (3) the adoption of social media tools. Tom Wilson’s general model of information behaviour was also identified as a suitable framework to conduct further research. Results. Social networks have a crucial informational utility during the job search process. However, the processes whereby young jobseekers engage in networking behaviours, both offline and online, remain largely unexplored. Conclusion. Identification and analysis of the key research themes reveal opportunities to acquire further knowledge regarding the networking behaviours of young jobseekers. Wilson’s model can be used as a framework to provide a holistic understanding of the networking process, from an information behaviour perspective.

Administrative justice and the control of bureaucratic decision-making: A study investigating how decision-makers in local authority education departments respond to the work of redress mechanisms

This socio-legal thesis has explored the factors responsible for explaining whether and how redress mechanisms control bureaucratic decision-making. The research considered the three principal institutions of administrative justice: courts, tribunals, and ombudsman schemes. The field setting was the local authority education area and the thesis examined bureaucratic decision-making about admissions to school, home-to-school transport, and Special Educational Needs (SEN). The thesis adopted a qualitative approach, using interviews and documentary research, within a multiple embedded case study design. The intellectual foundations of the research were inter-disciplinary, cutting across law, socio-legal studies, public administration, organization studies, and social policy. The thesis drew on these scholarly fields to explore the nature of bureaucratic decision-making, the extent to which it can be controlled and the way that learning occurs in bureaucracies and, finally, the extent to which redress mechanisms might exercise control. The concept of control was studied across all its dimensions – in relation both to ex post control in specific cases and the more challenging notion of ex ante or structuring control. The aim of the thesis was not to measure the prevalence of bureaucratic control by redress mechanisms, but to understand the factors that might explain its presence or absence in a particular area. The findings of the research have allowed for a number of analytical refinements and extensions to be made to existing theoretical and empirical understandings. 14 factors, along with 87 supporting propositions, have been set out with the aim of making empirically derived suggestions which can be followed up in future research. In terms of the thesis’ contribution to existing knowledge, its comparative focus and its emphasis on the broad notion of control offered the potential for new insights to be developed. Overall, the thesis claims to have made three contributions to the conceptual framework for understanding the exercise of control by redress mechanisms: it emphasizes the importance of ‘feedback’ in relation to the nature of the cases referred to redress mechanisms; it calls attention to the structure of bureaucratic decision-making as well as its normative character; and it discusses how the operational modes of redress mechanisms relate to their control functions.

Transition to Product Service Systems: methodology based on scenarios identification, modelling and evaluation

Part 4: Transition Towards Product-Service Systems

Être médecin diplômé à l’étranger au Québec : des parcours contrastés d’intégration professionnelle

En 2015, il y aurait au Québec plus de 5 000 médecins diplômés à l’étranger, dont près de 2 500 travaillent comme médecins et possiblement autant qui ont emprunté d’autres voies professionnelles, momentanément ou durablement. Les migrants très qualifiés sont réputés faire face à de multiples barrières sur le marché du travail, particulièrement ceux membres de professions réglementées. Le cas des médecins est exemplaire compte tenu de sa complexité et de la multiplicité des acteurs impliqués au cours du processus de reconnaissance professionnelle. Ayant comme principal objectif de documenter les trajectoires d’intégration professionnelle de diplômés internationaux en médecine (DIM) et leurs expériences sur le marché du travail québécois, cette thèse s’attache à comprendre ce qui pourrait distinguer les trajectoires d’intégration en emploi pour un même groupe professionnel. En observant notamment les stratégies d’intégration et les ressources mobilisées, nous cherchons à mieux saisir les parcours des DIM qui se requalifient et qui exercent au Québec et ceux qui se réorientent vers d’autres secteurs d’activités. La démarche méthodologique est qualitative (terrain 2009 à 2012), le cœur des analyses étant basé sur 31 récits de vie professionnelle de DIM ayant migré au Québec principalement dans les années 2000. Les données secondaires incluent 22 entretiens non dirigés auprès d’acteurs clés de milieux institutionnels, communautaires ou associatifs ainsi qu’auprès de DIM très récemment immigrés ou ayant le projet d’immigrer. S’y ajoute l’observation ethnographique ponctuelle, telle que des activités associatives. La forme retenue pour cette thèse en est une par articles. Le fil directeur est l’exploration de l’interface entre les politiques, les pratiques et les individus au cœur des trajectoires d’intégration professionnelle. Les trois articles (chapitres 4 à 6) visent des focales complémentaires avec le même objectif : l’exploration de la complexité des trajectoires d’intégration professionnelle et la dialectique entre les niveaux micro, méso et macrosociaux. Ces derniers renvoient respectivement à la puissance d’agir des individus et leurs contraintes d’action, les relations sociales, les institutions et les pratiques organisationnelles et plus largement les structures sociopolitiques. Les résultats de cette thèse mettent en lumière des aspects complémentaires de l’intégration professionnelle et en interaction dynamique : 1) dimension macrosociale et politique; 2) dimensions institutionnelles et relations sociales; 3) identité professionnelle. Suite à l’introduction, la problématique (chap. 1) et la méthodologie (chap.2), le chapitre 3 expose les types des trajectoires d’intégration des DIM, leur hétérogénéité, et met en relief leurs récits de vie professionnelle. Le chapitre 4 soulève le paradoxe entre les politiques d’attraction de l’immigration déployés par les gouvernements canadien et québécois et les mécanismes de régulation opérant sur le marché du travail. Le chapitre 5 explore les stratégies et ressources mobilisées par les DIM et met en lumière l’effet positif des ressources symboliques. Les ressources institutionnelles de soutien, quoique élémentaires dans le processus de reconnaissance professionnelle, ne sont subjectivement pas considérées comme un élément central. Ce sont plutôt les ressources informelles qui jouent ce rôle d’appui significatif, en particulier les pairs DIM. Le chapitre 6 adopte une perspective microsociale et explore le caractère dynamique et relationnel de l’identité professionnelle, mais surtout, la puissance des conditions d’appartenance qui obligent à une flexibilité professionnelle et parfois au retrait de la profession ou du pays. Le chapitre 7 discute au plan théorique de l’intérêt d’une combinaison d’échelles analytiques et d’une ouverture disciplinaire afin de souligner les tensions et angles morts en ce qui concerne les mobilités de professionnels de la santé et leur intégration professionnelle. Cette thèse explore l’interrelation complexe entre les ressources économiques, sociales et symboliques, dans un contexte de fragmentation des ressources institutionnelles et de corporatisme.

Public and user participation in public service delivery: tensions in policy and practice

Social-scientific analysis of public-participation initiatives has proliferated in recent years. This review article discusses some key aspects of recent work. Firstly, it analyses some of the justifications put forward for public participation, drawing attention to differences and overlaps between rationales premised on democratic representation/representativeness and those based on more technocratic ideas about the knowledge that the public can offer. Secondly, it considers certain tensions in policy discourses on participation, focusing in particular on policy relating to the National Health Service and other British public services. Thirdly, it examines the challenges of putting a coherent vision for public participation into practice, noting the impediments that derive from the often-competing ideas about the remit of participation held by different groups of stakeholders. Finally, it analyses the gap between policy and practice, and the consequences of this for the prospects for the enactment of active citizenship through participation initiatives.

The public interest of sports at non-profi t sports organizations that are supported by the government

This paper analyses the concept of public interest in sport and the criteria that must be taken into consideration in terms of Government support to clubs and sports associations. The data was collected through semi structured interviews that were applied to nine sports directors with board responsibilities: seven of them from sport clubs and sport associations, and two of them from public administration. The directors pointed out that sport is considered to be of public interest when: it is developed in the concept of “sport for all”, provides health benefi ts and serves as a means of education and social development. Regarding advantages used with public utility status, tax benefi ts and partnerships with the sports system organizations were the most mentioned aspects. Given a better use of fi nancial resources provided by public administration to clubs and associations, sport directors believe that the Government should have a strategy focused on setting priorities and ranking fi nancing criteria for sport. If the government had that strategy, the development of sports results would be much better. The participants also suggest that the Government should conduct an assessment of the social role of sport clubs and associations, according to the public and social interest of sport. In conclusion, sport and physical activity should be considered as public interest activities, provided that: are able to ensure positive effects on health plans and wellness, provide a qualitative and sustainable sport development, improve economic and social development of a population.