For whom the cruiser rolls: a retrospective analysis of factors relating to recidivism in a sample of graduates from a court-ordered alcohol education and awareness program

This study investigated, retrospectively, whether recidivism in a sample of court-ordered'graduates of an alcohol education and awareness program could be predicted. This alcohol education program was based on adult education principles and was philosophically akin to the thoughts of Drs. Jack Mezirow, Stephen Brookfield, and Patricia Cranton. Data on the sample of 214 Halton IDEA (Impaired Driver Education and Awareness) graduates were entered into a spread sheet. Descriptive statistics were generated. Each of the 214 program graduates had taken several tests during the course of the IDEA program. These tests measured knowledge, attitude about impaired driving, and degree of alcohol involvement. Test scores were analyzed to determine whether those IDEA graduates who recidivated differed in any measurable way from those who had no further criminal convictions after a period of at least three years. Their criminal records were obtained from the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC). Those program graduates who reoffended were compared to the vast majority who did not reoffend. Results of the study indicated that there was no way to determine who would recidivate from the data that were collected. Further studies could use a qualitative model. Follow-up interviews could be used to determine what impact, if any, attendance at the IDEA program had on the life of the graduates.

An Exploration of the Impact of Ontario Integrated Secondary Programs Through the Perceptions of their Graduates

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of participating in an integrated program at the secondary level on students’ lives based on their postsecondary perceptions. A basic interpretive qualitative design was employed in this study. Ten semistructured interviews were conducted with graduates of integrated program as the means of data collection. It was found that the integrated programs accomplished objectives in close alignment with the mandated curriculum expectations regarding integrated programs. Some of the most powerful impacts related to students' learning skills, such as collaboration and social skills, and how to create as well as participate in community. A strong connection between participating in integrated programs and vocational guidance was also identified. The results led to the recommendation that integrated programs be explored as a platform for delivering 21st century education as they closely paralleled the objectives prescribed by a number of authors who detailed the role of education in the 21st century.

The Cyclicality of Skilled and Unskilled Employment in Canada.

Rapport de recherche

Why Have Aggregate Skilled Hours Become So Cyclical Since the Mid-1980's?

This paper documents and discusses a dramatic change in the cyclical behavior of aggregate hours worked by individuals with a college degree (skilled workers) since the mid-1980’s. Using the CPS outgoing rotation data set for the period 1979:1-2003:4, we find that the volatility of aggregate skilled hours relative to the volatility of GDP has nearly tripled since 1984. In contrast, the cyclical properties of unskilled hours have remained essentially unchanged. We evaluate the extent to which a simple supply/demand model for skilled and unskilled labor with capital-skill complementarity in production can help explain this stylized fact. Within this framework, we identify three effects which would lead to an increase in the relative volatility of skilled hours: (i) a reduction in the degree of capital-skill complementarity, (ii) a reduction in the absolute volatility of GDP (and unskilled hours), and (iii) an increase in the level of capital equipment relative to skilled labor. We provide empirical evidence in support of each of these effects. Our conclusion is that these three mechanisms can jointly explain about sixty percent of the observed increase in the relative volatility of skilled labor. The reduction in the degree of capital-skill complementarity contributes the most to this result.

The determinants of education-job match among canadian university graduates

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

La qualité de l’emploi des nouveaux diplômés postsecondaires au Canada : déterminants et évolution dans le temps

Cette recherche porte sur la qualité d’emploi chez les nouveaux diplômés des études postsecondaires au Canada. Elle est motivée par les nombreux bouleversements vécus par le marché du travail, la pénurie de main-d’oeuvre qualifiée et le fait que deux Canadiens sur trois sont directement concernés par la qualité d’emploi. En s’appuyant sur la typologie de Cloutier (2008), nous nous sommes fixé deux objectifs. Le premier vise à examiner l’évolution de la qualité d’emploi des nouveaux diplômés postsecondaires au Canada entre 1992 et 2007. Le deuxième objectif consiste à évaluer l’influence du niveau d’études, du domaine d’études et du sexe des nouveaux diplômés sur la qualité de leur emploi. L’analyse est de type empirique qui s’appuie sur les données de l’Enquête nationale auprès des diplômés réalisée auprès des promotions de 1990 et de 2005 par Statistiques Canada. Concernant le premier objectif, nos résultats indiquent que les dimensions rémunération, stabilité d’emploi et qualification se sont affaiblies en 2007 comparativement à 1992. Quant au deuxième objectif, nous avons trouvé que le niveau d’études et le domaine d’études sont des déterminants importants des quatre dimensions de la qualité d’emploi considérées. Un niveau d’études élevé augmente la rémunération annuelle et la probabilité d’occuper un emploi à temps plein. À l’opposé, la probabilité d’occuper un emploi qualifié et celle d’avoir un emploi permanent sont négativement associées au niveau d’études. Par ailleurs, il ressort de nos résultats que le marché du travail valorise particulièrement les domaines qui permettent aux étudiants d’acquérir des compétences professionnelles. La rémunération, les chances d’occuper un travail à temps plein et la probabilité d’accéder à un emploi qualifié sont relativement plus élevées pour les finissants dans ces domaines. Concernant l'impact du sexe, les résultats obtenus indiquent qu’il n’est pas statistiquement significatif dans le cas des dimensions de la stabilité d’emploi et de l’accès à un emploi qualifié. Néanmoins, les hommes gagnent en moyenne plus que les femmes et sont plus susceptibles d’occuper un emploi à temps plein.

Interprovincial migration among chinese skilled worker immigrants to Quebec.

The purpose of this research is to find out whether higher levels of education cause the exodus of Quebec’s Chinese skilled worker immigrants to other provinces. I first examine the history of Chinese immigration in Canada; the federal and Quebec’s immigration policies and selection criteria, as well as statistics regarding Chinese migration to Quebec and their out- migration from the province. My study’s ethnographic findings suggest that higher levels of education are not the main cause of the exodus, nor is the lack of French language competence. Rather, kin ties, age, and marital status play an influential role on interprovincial-migration of Quebec’s Chinese skilled immigrants. While based on a small number of respondents, my study indicates that having personal networks in Quebec before immigration tends to retain immigrants in the province.