The overall objective of this study is to do a comparative analysis of the principles and modalities that are shaping the transformation of social assistance policy in Canada, primarily in Quebec. It also takes a brief look at the experiences of Ontario and New Brunswick. It describes 2 models of government intervention in the conception and implementation of the new contract of social assistance reciprocity between the poor and the State: workfare, as developed in the United States, and insertion, the chosen model in France. The focus of the study is to describe, in relation to these 2 models, the social assistance configuration of rights and duties currently being institutionalized between women and the State within Canada and Quebec.

Canada's record of support to families with children has never been exemplary. Compared to other industrialized countries and to this country's proud accomplishments in health care and income support for seniors, Canada's showing in family income and other programs has been poor. The document looks at the perspectives on gender and social responsibility. Topics covered are: introduction and overview; a social responsibility framework; the causes of poverty and vulnerability in Canada; addressing poverty and vulnerability in a post-CHST (Canada Health & Social Transfer) world; and review and assessment of the National Child Benefit and Provincial Programs.

Jean-Nicolas-Louis Durand (1760–1834) regarded the Précis of the Lectures on Architecture (1802–5) and its companion volume, the Graphic Portion (1821), as both a basic course for future civil engineers and a treatise. Focusing the practice of architecture on utilitarian and economic values, he assailed the rationale behind classical architectural training: beauty, proportionality, and symbolism. His formal systematization of plans, elevations, and sections transformed architectural design into a selective modular typology in which symmetry and simple geometrical forms prevailed. His emphasis on pragmatic values, to the exclusion of metaphysical concerns, represented architecture as a closed system that subjected its own formal language to logical processes. Now published in English for the first time, the Précis and the Graphic Portion are classics of architectural education.