Sociétés, Acteurs, Gouvernement en Europe

The resurgence of political Islam and the endurance of broad religious belief in the most modern of societies—America—has created a crisis of faith among secularists. If modernity no longer implies a secular outlook, and secularism, by definition, cannot generate any values beyond an indifferent tolerance of all belief, what role will religion play in the 21st century? In an interesting confluence of reflection, Jürgen Habermas, one of Europe's leading secular liberal thinkers, argues that secular citizens must be open to religious influence, especially since the very identity of Western culture is rooted in Judeo‐Christian values. In his political afterlife, Tony Blair has converted to Catholicism and established a Faith Foundation to press for religious literacy because “you can't understand the modern world unless you understand the importance of religious faith.” Similarly, when Pope Benedict XVI visited secular France in September, President Nicholas Sarkozy scandalized the lay establishment by saying, like Habermas, that “rejecting a dialogue with religion would be a cultural and intellectual error.” He called for “a positive secularism that debates, respects and includes, not a secularism that rejects.” Despite the flurry of controversy over a recent spate of books extolling the virtues of atheism in the wake of Islamist terrorism, the more interesting issue by far is the emergence of post‐secular modernity.

A new computationally efficient algorithm for sequential least-squares (LS) estimation is presented in this paper. This fast a posteriori error sequential technique (FAEST) requires 5p MADPR (multiplications and divisions per recursion) for AR modeling and 7p MADPR for LS FIR filtering, where p is the number of estimated parameters. In contrast the well-known fast Kalman algorithm requires 8p MADPR for AR modeling and 10p MADPR for FIR filtering. The increased computational speed of the introduced algorithm stems from an alternative definition of the so-called Kalman gain vector, which takes better advantage of the relationships between forward and backward linear prediction.

Left medial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) is associated with verbal memory impairment usually related to hippocampal damage. We used functional MRI (fMRI) to investigate the patterns of functional activity in healthy volunteers and MTLE patients engaged in verbal episodic memory tasks to look for evidence of a reallocation of verbal memory in epileptic patients. fMRI data were collected from seven MTLE patients with left-sided hippocampal sclerosis and 10 healthy right-handed control subjects on a 3T scanner. Subjects were instructed to learn a list of 17 words (encoding) and then to recall them (retrieval) on successive trials. Healthy volunteers and patients both exhibited bilateral activation (right higher than left) of the parahippocampal gyrus during the retrieval. This effect was more marked in the control subjects. In contrast to the control subjects, patients exhibited consistent and extensive left prefrontal activations in all the memory tasks. These findings show that verbal memory tasks did not involve the same functional patterns in patients and healthy volunteers. This may be interpreted as a dysfunctional response due to the epilepsy and left hippocampal sclerosis, and could reflect the early onset and progressive course of the disease.

Most of the personal attributes of elites such as personality, motivation, values, political attitudes, and professional expertise are acquired in a long process of personal and political socialization. Moreover, the opportunities for advancement into elite positions are rooted in the relatively stable social and political structures of a society. The resources of elite power and influence, rather than being personal assets, are mostly tied to the elite position. While individual attributes determine how elites use these positional resources, elite behavior is shaped by institutional constraints and the expectations of their selectorates. To be effective and maintain status, elites must balance contradictory expectations of different elite groups and their electorate—in non-democratic settings, their clientele. Analyses of policy-making networks in consolidated democracies confirm that such networks include representatives of governmental agencies and other organized groups and only a few non-elite persons. Network members are engaged in a complex process of bargaining that takes place in a variety of formal and informal committees.

Introduction: From to distinction studies Part 1: The genesis and career of 1. Elements for the history of a research: Constructing social space, from anatomie du gout to Distinction by Monique de Saint-Martin 2. The international career of Distinction 3. The intellectual reception of Bourdieu in Australian social sciences and humanities Part 2: The legacy of in France 4. From petit-bourgeois to petits-moyens , an invitation to explore short-range upward social mobility 5. Cultural intermediaries: reproduction strategies, resistance to social downgrading and self-fulfilment 6. Continuity and change: Cinematographic tastes in France 7. Culture at the individual level: Questioning the transferability of the habitus dispositions 8. Cultural distinction and material consumption Part 3: Variations on 9. The Swedish social space of 1990: Investigating its structure and history 10. Constructing social spaces: Scandinavian experiences 11. Cultural Distinctions in an Egalitarian Society 12. Bourdieu's space revisited: The social structuring of lifestyles in Flanders (Belgium) 13. A carnal critique of the judgment of taste: Corpulence, class bodies and symbolic violence 14. The Australian space of lifestyles in comparative perspective 15. The space of cultural practices in Mexico 16. Emerging forms of cultural capital

Riffe T, Acosta E, Aburto JM, et al. Data Resource Profile: COVerAGE-DB: a global demographic database of COVID-19 cases and deaths. <em>International Journal of Epidemiology</em>. 2021;50(2):390-390f.

Les concepts de Maison et Grande Maison sont utilisés par les gens d’Arama (Nouvelle-Calédonie) pour conceptualiser leur organisation sociale. Ils sont aussi très présents dans l’ensemble de la région Hoot ma Whaap, à l’extrême nord de la Grande Terre. Dans des cérémonies locales et régionales, l’actualisation de la Maison et de la Grande Maison met en œuvre des expériences pluri-sensorielles et intellectuelles intenses, en particulier autour de l’articulation soigneusement organisée de formes d’expression verbales et non verbales. En me fondant sur l’analyse des significations, des formes et des dynamiques d’action associées à ces expressions cérémonielles, je montre aussi en quoi Maison et Grande Maison ne sont pas des symboles et pourquoi je les nomme figures. Les symboles, en effet, sont un concept majeur de la tradition occidentale et de l’anthropologie, deux dimensions qui tendent à occulter l’existence d’autres modes sociaux de signification et rendent leur mise en évidence plus difficile. Les analyses présentées ici soutiennent la proposition anthropologique selon laquelle symboles et figures sont deux modes sociaux de signification, parmi d’autres. Elles permettent aussi de mieux comprendre l’imbrication du personnel, du collectif et du social dans cette société et ses relations régionales et de poser cette question de façon plus large en dialogue avec les recherches de Bernard Juillerat.

and multiple manifestations of the hierarchical relationship between scholarly communities, their institutions and their research output.

This Handbook explains the complexity of the concept of the Anthropocene, scientific and a political concept and also an ideological concept.

Avec la pandémie de covid-19 et l’entrée dans la récession, l’emploi s’est fortement rétracté en France : 30 % des actifs occupés le 1er mars 2020 sont à l’arrêt deux mois après. Mais la pandémie a également modifié les conditions de travail des Français, bouleversé l’usage du logement et renforcé les inégalités de sexe – au risque de se transformer en effets structurels sur le long terme. Ainsi, les cadres, qui ont plus souvent gardé leur emploi, ont massivement basculé en télétravail avec le confinement au contraire des autres catégories sociales. Pour les femmes, la crise sanitaire et désormais économique a nettement dégradé leur situation : elles ont plus souvent perdu leur emploi et leurs conditions de travail sont moins bonnes que celles des hommes. Si le télétravail recouvre des réalités différentes, il s’accompagne plus souvent d’une dégradation des liens avec les enfants.

Chapter 1. Introduction. Niilo Kauppi Part 1. European Social Movements Chapter 2. Contentious EU politics: A comparative analysis of protest campaigns. Donatella della Porta and Louisa Parks Chapter 3. The European lobbying space and the European Transparency Initiative. For a sociological approach of interest groups. Helene Michel Chapter 4. Fighting Together. Assessing Continuity and Change in Social Movement Organizations Through the Study of Constituencies' Heterogeneity. Olivier Fillieule and Philippe Blanchard Part 2. The European Nation-State Chapter 5. Borders, Mobility and Security. Didier Bigo Chapter 6. Setting the Policy Agenda for Higher Education Reform: Global University Rankings, European Union and OECD. Tero Erkkila and Niilo Kauppi Chapter 7. European Integration and Human Rights. Mikael Rask Madsen Part 3. European Elites and Citizens Chapter 8. On the National and Ideological Background of Elites' Attitudes toward European Institutions. Daniel Gaxie and Nicolas Hube Chapter 9. Europeans' Space-Sets and the Political Legitimacy of the EU. Ettore Recchi and Theresa Kuhn Chapter 10. Parallel Lives: Social Comparison Across National Boundaries. Jonathan White Chapter 11. Making European Citizens? Evaluating the Integrative Force of History Teaching. Stefan Seidendorf

International audience

Abstract An enigma lies at the heart of this article. In D ecember 2006, the mayor of S aint‐ É tienne, M ichel T hiollière, was elected as the fifth best mayor in the world by the internet site City Mayors . Yet no publicity was made locally around this award. Taking this anecdote as a starting point, this article deals with the motivations that can lead a city mayor to become involved in urban international relationships' policy (city twinning, participation in cities networks, study trips, etc.). On the one hand these activities provide resources for building up political legitimacy and for electoral control, and on the other they provide resources for policy solutions to urban problems in the public realm. Nevertheless, in a context of transformation of the process of legitimization of urban elected officials, the second kind of resources seems to be the most sought after in mayoral involvement in international activities.

Résumé Au début des années 1980, les investissements réalisés par les ménages de classes moyennes dans des logements et des quartiers anciens populaires pouvaient être interprétés comme des façons de compenser une socialisation professionnelle défaillante ou insuffisamment valorisante. L’article examine un cas contemporain de gentrification à la lumière d’une telle relation compensatoire entre vie professionnelle et vie résidentielle. Si certaines formes d’investissements dans l’espace résidentiel semblent toujours relever de cette logique compensatoire, on voit apparaître de nouvelles articulations entre vie résidentielle et vie professionnelle. Ainsi, l’expérience résidentielle de « gentrifieur » peut être mobilisée comme ressource dans certaines trajectoires professionnelles bien différentes de celles des « gentrifieurs » des années 1980. Ces nouvelles articulations reflètent les évolutions du rapport au quartier et du rapport au travail de certaines fractions des classes moyennes.

This paper examines the social, cultural and political factors that favor or disrupt deep geothermal energy projects in Alsace. The research was conducted in the Risk Governance package of the H2020 DESTRESS program, aimed at comparing public perceptions of deep geothermal energy in different contexts. The French case studies focus on two different contexts: one in Northern Alsace, where geothermal energy is fairly well accepted, and another in the Eurometropolis of Strasbourg, where some projects have raised substantial controversy. Several conceptual tools are used to understand variations in the public perceptions of geothermal projects. First, the distinction between “locally anchored” projects and “unbound” or exogenous projects account for the way these projects take shape, based on dialog or facilitated by a favorable economic and national political context, ignoring local specificities. Second, the concepts of social identity and social worlds allow us to yield insights into the acceptability of a project on a more sociological and cultural level, instead of adopting a limited risk perception focus. By considering the social and cultural contexts, we can better explain the weight that opponents place in their discourses on induced risks, local politics, or environmental issues during a technoscientific controversy. This ultimately leads us to underline the limitations of the communication models for project governance that are chiefly aimed at reassuring the local population.

International audience

International audience

This article attempts to understand the varieties of “rightsizing” strategies in French shrinking cities. Empirically, the article examines the issue of “rightsizing” in France. It reveals that urban shrinkage is still considered as a minor issue nationally, and that “rightsizing” ideas have not gained momentum on urban agendas or within the planning community. Despite this lack of interest, local strategies aimed at adapting the built environment to a reduced population have been “silently” implemented in France’s shrinking cities, over the last 15 years. The article focuses on the strategies elaborated in two cities: Saint-Etienne and Vitry-le-François. These strategies are both emblematic of an acceptation of population decline and of a will to reduce the housing stock. However, these two strategies rely on different actors and rationalities: the first is based on a selective understanding of “rightsizing” which aims at replacing deprived social groups by a long-awaited middle-class; the second is fueled by the worsening financial situation of the main social housing landlords. By pinpointing the factors that explain varieties of “rightsizing” strategies, the article calls for a more careful use of the notion of austerity urbanism, based on case studies which are sensitive to contextual issues.

IMPORTANCE: Long-term data of intravitreal injections of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitors are lacking. BACKGROUND: This study aims to assess visual and anatomic outcomes of eyes with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) after 10 years of anti-VEGF therapy. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of data from a prospectively designed database. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred and sixteen eyes with nAMD (94 participants) that started anti-VEGF therapy at least 10 years earlier. METHODS: Eyes were tracked by the Fight Retinal Blindness! registry. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mean change in visual acuity at 10 years vs baseline. Visual acuity was assessed by the number of letters read on a logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution chart. RESULTS: Eyes received a median of 27.5 injections over 10 years. Mean visual acuity was 57.5 letters (SD 17.5) at baseline. It increased slightly at 1 year, then dropped steadily by 18 letters (95% CI: 13.7; 22.3) at 10 years. Overall, 10% of eyes gained ≥10 letters, 64% lost ≥10 letters and 23% remained stable (±5 letters from baseline). Geographic atrophy and subretinal fibrosis were found in 93% and 71%, respectively, after 10 years, both mostly affecting the centre of the fovea. Pre-treated eyes (47.5%) had significantly worse visual acuity than treatment-naïve eyes at baseline and during follow-up and were significantly more likely to have atrophy and fibrosis. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Despite short-term stabilization, long-term visual outcomes of nAMD eyes under anti-VEGF therapy may be poor. Development of atrophy and fibrosis, resulting from the natural progression of the disease, may partly explain this evolution.

Contemporary policy making is deeply influenced by the borrowing, transfer and diffusion of ideas and models from other countries, levels of government and supranational institutions. This is the first book to analyze comparatively the micro-dynamics of transfer across regions, contrasting policy fields, multiple levels of governance, and institutional actors. Grounded in original research by specialists in the field, it provides fresh and arresting insights into competition among transfer agents, resistances, local coalitions, translation, and policy learning. This empirical depth informs a reinvigorated and nuanced theoretical framework on global policy transfer processes.