We prove some results on the polynomial hierarchies of infinite abelian groups. In particular, we show the polynomial hierarchy over an infinite group of exponent a prime number p collapse if and only if it is the case in the classical theory.

(No abstract is available for this citation).

In this chapter Nathalie Bulle and Francesco Di Iorio present critical realism’s take on methodological individualism, their affinities and differences relating to notions of structure and agency in interpreting social reality, and challenge Margaret Archer’s criticisms of MI, which seem to combat a “straw man.”.

This paper investigates how reticulate evolution contributes to a better understanding of human sociocultural evolution in general, and community formation in particular. Reticulate evolution is evolution as it occurs by means of symbiosis, symbiogenesis, lateral gene transfer, infective heredity, and hybridization. From these mechanisms and processes, we mainly zoom in on symbiosis and we investigate how it underlies the rise of (1) human, plant, animal, and machine interactions typical of agriculture, animal husbandry, farming, and industrialization; (2) diet-microbiome relationships; and (3) (...) host-virome and other pathogen interactions that underlie human health and disease. We demonstrate that reticulate evolution necessitates an understanding of behavioral and cultural evolution at a community level, where reticulate causal processes underlie the rise of synergistic organizational traits. (shrink)

The explanatory power of structures in analytical sociologists’ agent-based models brings into question methodological individualism. We defend that from an explanatory point of view, the syntactic properties of models require semantic conditions of interpretation drawn from a conceptual research framework; in such a framework, social/relational structures have only partial, explanatory power ; and taking the explanation further through generative mechanism modeling necessitates calling upon methodological individualism’s generic framework of interpretation that relies on social actors’ rational capacity. According to this interpretive (...) framework, forces in action in society are governed by the subjective meaning of/the reasons for individual actions. (shrink)

We analyze the transition of central banks from lenders to market makers of last resort. The adoption of unconventional monetary policies characterizes this transition. In their new role as market makers, central banks engage in the latter by extending and reinforcing interventions in other markets than the traditional bank reserves market. We then explain that the difference between the two roles is one of degree rather than kind. In both cases, the prevention of liquidity shortages is a primary concern. As (...) conventional policies become inadequate, central banks resort to unconventional policies to escape a general liquidity shortage at the zero lower bound. However, these unconventional policies do not solve the structural problems in financial and real markets. Both conventional and unconventional monetary policies cause price distortions, in particular on asset markets. The policies of the market maker of last resort prevent necessary readjustments of cyclical divergences between real and financial markets. (shrink)

Cet article entend cerner la spécificité de la critique littéraire de l’art telle qu’elle fut pratiquée par les écrivains et poètes en France entre 1850 et 1950, dans le sillage de Diderot, à partir d’un examen des écrits sur l’art de Diderot, Baudelaire, Zola, Stendhal, Huysmans, Valéry, Proust, Reverdy, Leiris. Au-delà des différences individuelles de goût, de statut, de sujets traités et de la prolixité discursive évidente dans la pratique, on peut mettre en lumière les points de convergence qui s’observent (...) dans leurs écrits, afin de cerner le propre de la critique littéraire de l’art du point de vue de la démarche, de la méthode et du style. Ces convergences prennent fond dans une posture commune aux écrivains, qui est celle du non-spécialiste, cultivant résolument la pensée libre et subjective. (shrink)

In this special issue, Steins and Edwards introduced the notion of nested platforms for resource use negotiation as a tool to facilitate collective action amongst multiple-users in complex common-pool resource management scenarios. Five discussion statements were put forward to aid the debate on multi-use platforms. This paper is a synthesis of the responses to these statements by the other contributors to this special issue. It aims to further stimulate the debate on the management of complex, multiple-use common-pool management scenarios.

It is important to understand the drivers of green consumption, because of growing concern for the health of the planet. In this paper, the assumption that a virtue-green product relationship exists is tested. The objective is to understand how product morality can influence the valuation of green products. Relying on virtue theory and positive spillover as conceptual bases, the research implicitly and explicitly tests and confirms green product virtue. The results demonstrate that perceived green product virtue leads to positive emotions, (...) which explain heightened purchase intentions. In line with the conceptualization, I show that the effect is moderated by the importance consumers place on their own morality. Importantly, explicitly framing green products as virtuous activates positive spillover by consumers; when green products are branded with a virtue cue, they encourage consumers to be more virtuous. Beyond being perceived as better people, when consumers interact with green products they effectively engage in more moral acts, such as making donations. The results confirm the perception of green products as moral agents and provide marketers with insights into the marketing value of virtue cues in green product consumption. (shrink)

In the 1990s, Building Information Modeling (BIM) software significantly altered architectural approaches to planning and building. Based on parametric methods, BIM technologies sought to simulate the construction process prior to a building’s realisation. These computer simulations challenged the existing practice of representing a building through plan, section and elevation, proposing that one computational model could create a more efficient way of building. The history of BIM explorations and applications, while hardly linear, can be traced back to developments in computing since (...) the post-war period. This article maps some of these histories by examining how the computational model became an organisational infrastructure, collecting data about design and building parameters, and facilitating knowledge transfer across industries. Special attention will be given to the foundational role of Charles Eastman’s work on a Building Description System (BDS) in the 1970s, as well as Robert Aish’s contribution to RUCAPS, one of the earliest applications of Building Modeling for the design of parametric structures. I will further address research on interface technologies and computational curve modelling as well as the popularisation of Building Information systems through the office of Gehry Partners. By highlighting the interrelated nature of technology and cultural shifts in the making of BIM, this contribution sheds light on the epistemic status of computer simulations in architecture, and the dynamics of the design and building processes in which they are used. (shrink)

Universal Darwinism provides a methodology to study the evolution of anatomical form and sociocultural behavior that centers on defining the units and levels of selection, and it identifies the conditions whereby natural selection operates. In previous work, I have examined how this selection-focused evolutionary epistemology may be universalized to include theories that associate with an extended synthesis. Applied evolutionary epistemology is a metatheoretical framework that understands any and all kinds of evolution as phenomena where units evolve by mechanisms at levels (...) of an ontological hierarchy; and it provides three heuristics to search for these units, levels and mechanisms. The heuristics are applicable to language and sociocultural evolution, and here, we give an in-depth analysis of how the unit-heuristic can be implemented into language origin and evolution studies. The importance of developing hierarchy theories is also more fully explained. (shrink)

In this chapter Nathalie Sigot argues that Bentham’s interest in international trade lies in the consideration of the redistributive effects of trade and its consequences on happiness for one’s society. Sigot demonstrates that Bentham’s view on international trade changed between 1786 and 1821, when the principle of the limitation of industry by capital disappeared from his writings. Sigot explains how Bentham’s approach is driven by a focus on security and on a calculus of gains and losses in terms of (...) happiness. (shrink)

A substantial portion of produce harvested around the world is wasted because it does not meet consumers’ shape expectations. Only recently has research begun investigating the causes underlying misshapen produce rejection by consumers. Generally, this limited research has concluded that misshapen produce is subject to an ugly penalty, leading consumers to form biased expectations regarding product attributes (e.g., healthiness, tastiness, or naturalness). In this research, we propose that this ugly penalty extends to the moral valuation of misshapen produce and that (...) this moral penalty is rooted in the feelings of disgust evoked by the visual appearance of such produce. Across five studies and two pilot studies, we show that misshapen fruits and vegetables are disgust elicitors, and that felt disgust causes consumers to make negative moral associations with produce which, in turn, leads to decreased preference. We also show that pairing misshapen produce with a positive unconditioned stimulus (i.e., an image of attractive individuals) is an efficient solution to counteract the effect of this stereotype. This research contributes to the growing body of work demonstrating the link between consumption behaviors, consumer preferences, and morality. (shrink)

Normal 0 false false false EN-CA X-NONE X-NONE Compared to other European countries, the employment rate of older workers in Belgium is rather low. This paper argues that one of the most relevant factors underlying the problems of this low employment rate in Belgium is the social policies directed at older workers. Indeed, when unemployment became a widespread phenomenon in the1970s and 80s, early-retirement schemes were designed to alleviate the financial implications on an aging workforce. The government encouraged anyone over (...) 50 to leave the labour market through early retirement schemes, unemployment payment programs, medical retirement, and career breaks. These practises were based on a wide consensus of government, business, and workers. However, for some years now, international organizations have been concerned about the viability of pension systems and their ability to achieve their objectives. In recent years, different factors have led policy makers to rethink this policy. But changing the trend and keeping people on the job has proven more difficult than foreseen. The transformations of public policies begun at the dawn of the 21st century radically changed the balance between the state, workers, and employers, who had all previously seen early retirement as favourable. This paper also tries to show how early retirement is not simply a desire to escape, but can also be explained as an aggression against the person by the labour market. Leaving professional life early thus seems more to be a case of necessity, in fact not a choice at all, but an obligation, or even a sacrifice, and must be seen in the perspective of professional duties and their evolution. (shrink)

Dans le cadre de divers contextes insulaires, les auteurs, adoptant des approches exploratoires et interdisciplinaires, analysent les processus de (re)médiation des apprenants au savoir, en situation d'interactions authentiques à l'école et hors de l'école, en intégrant la question des cultures plurielles.

Mon objectif dans cette contribution est d’explorer la pratique phénoménologique en jeu au sein même des descriptions de Michel Foucault. Un tel travail dépasse la portée d’un examen unique et ponctuel et supposerait de mobiliser les champs expérientiels multiples qu’a observés et traités Foucault de l’intérieur : la prison, la clinique, la sexualité. Il sera ici circonscrit à ce que je crois être le noyau de la pratique en jeu. Ce que Foucault nomme de son côté « le souci de (...) soi », « la pratique de soi » ou encore « la technique de soi », et c’est ce qui permet de mettre au jour la conception foucaldienne du sujet comme soi. Pour ce faire, je vais parcourir le Cours de 1981-1982 en suivant le fil conducteur des occurrences du thème de l’attention. Pourquoi cela? Je suis guidée, dans ce parcours, par l’hypothèse selon laquelle l’attention (plus que la réflexion qui est retour sur soi et clôture, donc en définitive objectivante) est, pour la phénoménologie, le nom concret, expérientiel, pratique de l’ épochè, c’est-à-dire de la relation à soi du sujet comme présence à soi. Foucault ne parlant jamais d’ épochè ou de réduction (ni d’ailleurs de réflexion), mais plutôt d’attention, en lien avec le souci de soi, la pratique de soi, ou encore l’exercice, il semble que les concepts méthodiques husserliens, ou toute philosophie réflexive résiduelle, ne peuvent que faire écran à l’intuition immédiate du sens de l’expérience et doivent être évités au profit de termes plus sobres et d’emblée intelligibles comme l’attention, le souci et le soin. (shrink)

he purpose of this paper is to show that the last part of the Theaetetus can be interpreted in a new way, by a discontinuous and thematic analysis and by referring to the central digression of the dialogue. The refutation of the so-called “Dream Theory” is then no longer a dead end. On the contrary it provides results certainly limited but nevertheless consistent. Indeed, through this examination, Socrates analyzes “the whole.” The words πᾶν and ὅλον, designate the general rule of (...) exhaustiveness. It is their common principle. But the two terms have also been differentiated by Socrates in the last section of the dialogue. These positive arguments are used to disqualify a false conception of the totality. All these points ultimately shed light on the central digression in which Socrates brings into conflict the positive activity of the Scientist and the negative activity of the Rhetorician. Basically the “whole” is the secret object of their desire and therefore the hidden stake of their debate. (shrink)

Cet ouvrage est né d'une réalité et d'un besoin. La petite Maëlle, enfant autiste, est devenue adolescente, alors il fallait la suivre pour mieux l'accompagner dans cette nouvelle étape de sa vie. Comme cela arrive chez les autres enfants qui entrent dans l'adolescence, tout est remis en question : les idéaux, l'identité, l'amitié, l'amour. Entre-temps, il y a eu la publication de la cinquième version du Manuel diagnostique et statistique des troubles mentaux (DSM-5). Il fallait donc étudier cette entrée dans (...) l'adolescence à partir des données diagnostiques les plus récentes. Autisme et adolescence est la suite de L'autisme, un jour à la fois et d'Accompagner un enfant autiste. Encore ici, la mère Catherine Kozminski et la psychologue Nathalie Poirier entrent en dialogue afin de se mettre à l'écoute des besoins de l'adolescente et d'élaborer les meilleures formes d'accompagnement. Il en résulte un ouvrage plein de sensibilité et rempli de solutions pratiques. (shrink)

Le travail de prévention auprès d’enfants en âge d’apprendre la propreté donne parfois à observer, lors de cette étape, un réveil aigu d’angoisses primitives d’assèchement et de liquéfaction qui entravent l’investissement normal de cette fonction et se relient à des vécus périnatals. En deçà de la symbolique d’échange et « d’objet-matières » à donner ou à garder telle que l’a définie Freud, les jeunes enfants associent également cette étape à la perte des eaux et à la naissance, et certains vécus (...) difficiles ayant entouré la naissance peuvent alors se raviver. Dans cet article, deux vignettes cliniques issues d’une pratique en crèche montrent que les notions théoriques d’angoisse de mort par écoulement et liquéfaction décrites dans le champ de la clinique de l’autisme peuvent éclairer cette étape de l’enfance. (shrink)

Jean-Paul Sartre, philosophe, écrivain, dramaturge et grande figure de l'intellectuel politique, aura profondément marqué le XX siècle. Penseur de la liberté et de son envers, l'aliénation, de l'engagement et de la responsabilité, du pour-soi et de l'en-soi, de la conscience et du monde, du sujet et d'autrui, de la morale et de la mauvaise foi, du groupe en fusion et de la série, de la totalité et de l'Histoire, il est une voix originale de la Phénoménologie. Pour Sartre, l'homme est (...) tout entier libre et responsable de ses actes, sans excuse, et tout entier aliéné, parce qu'il est conscience de monde, position de soi dans une certaine situation - qui n'a de sens que pour une conscience libre. On se propose ici de parcourir son œuvre difficile et dense, de la Transcendance de l'Ego à L'idiot de la famille en passant par l'Être et le néant et Morale et Histoire, notamment. D'abord, la vie politique de Sartre pour dégager la cohérence de ses engagements. Ensuite, sa philosophie de la liberté, la découverte des philosophies de Husserl et de Heidegger, puis l'invention proprement sartrienne, la voie transphénoménale, qui permet de repenser le rapport de l'homme au monde avec le concept de cogito préréflexif, au croisement de la problématique de la liberté et de l'aliénation. Puis on restitue sa compréhension de la genèse d'une société, de l'Histoire et de ses conditions de possibilité, la force des conditionnements mais aussi la marge d'action de toute liberté. Vient après l'histoire d'une liberté en particulier, celle de Gustave Flaubert. A la suite, on traite de la morale et du sens qu'elle peut avoir pour une philosophie de la situation. On s'intéresse enfin au Sartre théoricien de la littérature, du théâtre et des arts. (shrink)

In 2010, two years after the global financial collapse that triggered the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s, the best-selling publication in France was not that year’s Prix Goncourt,1 Michel Houellebecq’s La carte et le territoire (The Map and the Territory), a novel published by Flammarion, one of Paris’s leading publishing houses. That honor went to Indignez-vous! (Time for Outrage!), a 32-page pamphlet authored by 93-year-old Stéphane Hessel, a former hero of the French Resistance, a concentration (...) camp survivor and career diplomat. Hessel’s booklet, issued by Indigène Editions, a small provincial publisher, has since sold over 2 million copies, reaching an estimated 10 million .. (shrink)

The title of this essay is not to be taken literally: I will not be making the case that Marseille is actually the last working class city in France. My title is a reference to Chris Marker’s 1993 film The Last Bolshevik (Le Tombeau d’Alexandre), a film about Alexander Medvedkin, one of the pioneers of early Soviet cinema. Medvedkin was the inspiration for the Groupe Medvedkine, a film collective founded by Chris Marker and made up of French militant filmmakers who, (...) in December 1967, decided to document the labor unrest that had erupted in factories near Besançon by making experimental films that involved the active participation of the workers themselves. Marker first met Medvedkin at a film festival in Leipzig .. (shrink)