On y voit rien. Le recours aux sources de presse pour l'analyse des mobilisations protestataires

Aujourd'hui la PEA est devenue la méthode la plus employée dans le champ des études de mobilisation. Toutefois, il est frappant que les limites, nombreuses, de cette méthode, demeurent peu explorées, malgré une abondante littérature critique. C'est à ces questions des biais propres aux sources de presse dans le cadre de la PEA et aux moyens de les explorer que ce working paper se consacre. Nous commencerons par montrer, en deux temps, comment la question de la systématicité gagne à être explorée à partir d'enquêtes qualitatives, en nous appuyant sur un travail inédit mené naguère auprès du journal Le Monde, dans le cadre d'une recherche collective sur les transformations de l'activisme environnemental en Europe, dont les données seront comparées avec des sources de police, le dépouillement des dépêches de l'Agence France-Presse sur six mois, et surtout une série d'interviews avec des journalistes spécialisés dans l'environnement. L'on revient dans un second temps à la question de la sélectivité des sources en tentant de montrer comment dans toute une série de circonstances et pour toute une série de groupes, les luttes ne sauraient se réduire ni aux événements protestataires ni à un appel à l'Etat ou à l'opinion. L'on espère ainsi proposer des moyens de se garder d'un défaut commun à tout conventionnalisme méthodologique qui, ici comme ailleurs, frappe la recherche, soit la réitération de mesures conventionnelles ayant pour effet de les institutionnaliser en dehors de toute réflexion sur leur pertinence. Protest Events Analysis (PEA) has by no doubts become one the most used method in the field of social movement research. Yet, the numerous biases of that method have not been explored completely, despite a rich litterature. Our paper first proposes a discussion of the systematicity of biases, based on an empirical research on environmental journalists in various French newspapers and Agence France press. Secondly, we deal with the question of selectivity of biases. Finally, we propose some methodological recommendations in order to improve our understanding of social movements and to avoid methodological conventionalism.

Early intervention for conversion disorder: neurologists and psychiatrists working together

It has been shown that for the reaction catalyzed by "biodegradative" L-threonine dehydratase from E. coli strains K-12 and 980 in 0.5 M phosphate-carbonate buffer, pH 8.4 and pH 9.5, the plots of initial reaction rate (v) versus the initial substrate concentration ([S]0 are characterized by several inflection points, i. e. an intermediate plateau. The plot of v versus the allosteric activator (AMP) concentration have very complicated shapes: there are several inflection points, and also the maximum at L-threonine concentration equal to 3-10(2) and 5-10(-2) M. High AMP concentrations inhibit the enzyme at high substrate concentrations. The reduced glutathion dose not influence the enzyme and does not alter the activating effect of AMP. On the basis of the data obtained it is proposed that the substrate and AMP shift the equilibrium between multiple oligomeric enzyme forms differing in catalytic activity and kinetic manifestations of allosteric interactions between the active and allosteric AMP-binding sites towards polymerization. Thus, the functioning the enzyme under study is discussed in the frames of the model of dissociating regulatory enzymes with multiple intermediate oligomeric forms.

How Reliable Is Ki-67 Immunohistochemistry in Grade 2 Breast Carcinomas? A QA Study of the Swiss Working Group of Breast- and Gynecopathologists.

Adjuvant chemotherapy decisions in breast cancer are increasingly based on the pathologist's assessment of tumor proliferation. The Swiss Working Group of Gyneco- and Breast Pathologists has surveyed inter- and intraobserver consistency of Ki-67-based proliferative fraction in breast carcinomas. METHODS: Five pathologists evaluated MIB-1-labeling index (LI) in ten breast carcinomas (G1, G2, G3) by counting and eyeballing. In the same way, 15 pathologists all over Switzerland then assessed MIB-1-LI on three G2 carcinomas, in self-selected or pre-defined areas of the tumors, comparing centrally immunostained slides with slides immunostained in the different laboratoires. To study intra-observer variability, the same tumors were re-examined 4 months later. RESULTS: The Kappa values for the first series of ten carcinomas of various degrees of differentiation showed good to very good agreement for MIB-1-LI (Kappa 0.56-0.72). However, we found very high inter-observer variabilities (Kappa 0.04-0.14) in the read-outs of the G2 carcinomas. It was not possible to explain the inconsistencies exclusively by any of the following factors: (i) pathologists' divergent definitions of what counts as a positive nucleus (ii) the mode of assessment (counting vs. eyeballing), (iii) immunostaining technique, and (iv) the selection of the tumor area in which to count. Despite intensive confrontation of all participating pathologists with the problem, inter-observer agreement did not improve when the same slides were re-examined 4 months later (Kappa 0.01-0.04) and intra-observer agreement was likewise poor (Kappa 0.00-0.35). CONCLUSION: Assessment of mid-range Ki-67-LI suffers from high inter- and intra-observer variability. Oncologists should be aware of this caveat when using Ki-67-LI as a basis for treatment decisions in moderately differentiated breast carcinomas.

Beyond the silence : institutional racism, social welfare and swiss citizenship

Cette thèse doctorale étudie le rôle de la citoyenneté Suisse et le modèle libérale de l'Etat social dans la production du racisme institutionnel au sein des services sociaux en Suisse. Cette thèse pose la question comment le régime de la citoyenneté Suisse rend possible et contraint les travailleurs sociaux à racialiser et discriminer leur clients avec des différences culturelles alors que les normes de l'aide sociale (normes de CSIAS) ne prévoient pas des traitements différentialistes selon la culture ou l'origine. Le modèle théorique du racisme institutionnel développé se passe sur une approche néo- institutionaliste et des ethnie and racial studies, prenant en compte le niveau individuel, collectif et institutionnel. En incluant ces deux approches, on dépasse le déterminisme des structuralistes dans les études sur le racisme institutionnel. Cette recherche qualitative montre que les travailleurs sociaux utilisent les ressources de la citoyenneté Suisse, de l'Etat social Suisse et leur expériences personnelles quand ils interagissent avec des clients. En plus, cette thèse démontre que le workfare logique en combinaison avec l'idée de l'assimilation culturelle rend possible la production d'un discours sur la nécessité de mériter d'être un membre de la communauté nationale et d'accéder à l'aide sociale. Cette compréhension néo-libérale de la citoyenneté renforce et légitime les travailleurs sociaux de racialiser et pratiquer la discrimination à l'égard de leurs clients et les rend incapable de développer une réflexivité critique. Toutefois, cette thèse montre également que les travailleurs sociaux produisent du travail social interculturel s'ils ont pu développer une telle réflexivité critique dans les institutions de l'aide sociale qui mettent en avant une conception "individuelle" de l'aide sociale.-Cette thèse vise à aller au-delà du silence qui constitue les débats publiques et la recherche sur le racisme au sein des institutions publiques en Suisse. - This thesis questions the role of the Swiss citizenship regime and the Swiss liberal social welfare model in the production of institutional racism in social services in Switzerland. Considering the absence of intercultural formal guidelines in the norms of social welfare (SKOS norms), this research investigates how the Swiss citizenship regime constrains and enables social workers to racialise and discriminate against their clients with cultural differences. This thesis develops a model of institutional racism, taking into account ethnic and racial studies and a neo-institutionalist approach on institutions, addressing the individual, collective and institutional level. In this framework, this thesis allows to overcome the structuralist determinism in the studies on institutional racism. Based on a qualitative inquiry, this research shows that social workers use the resources from the Swiss citizenship regime, social welfare model and their personal experiences when they interact with their clients. This study also shows that the workfare logic in combination with the idea of cultural assimilation enables to produce a discourse on deserving social welfare and earning membership to the national community. This neo-liberal citizenship understanding reinforces and legitimises social workers to racialise and discriminate against their clients and hinders them to develop critical reflexivity. However, this thesis also shows that social workers are able to produce intercultural social work when they could develop such a reflexivity in social services with an "individual" social welfare conceptions. This thesis aims to go beyond a persisting silence regarding public debates and research on racism in public institutions in Switzerland.

Superiority of the Triple Combination of Bortezomib-Thalidomide-Dexamethasone Over the Dual Combination of Thalidomide-Dexamethasone in Patients With Multiple Myeloma Progressing or Relapsing After Autologous Transplantation: The MMVAR/IFM 2005-04 Randomized Phase III Trial From the Chronic Leukemia Working Party of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation.

PURPOSE This prospective multicenter phase III study compared the efficacy and safety of a triple combination (bortezomib-thalidomide-dexamethasone [VTD]) versus a dual combination (thalidomide-dexamethasone [TD]) in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) progressing or relapsing after autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASCT). PATIENTS AND METHODS Overall, 269 patients were randomly assigned to receive bortezomib (1.3 mg/m(2) intravenous bolus) or no bortezomib for 1 year, in combination with thalidomide (200 mg per day orally) and dexamethasone (40 mg orally once a day on 4 days once every 3 weeks). Bortezomib was administered on days 1, 4, 8, and 11 with a 10-day rest period (day 12 to day 21) for eight cycles (6 months), and then on days 1, 8, 15, and 22 with a 20-day rest period (day 23 to day 42) for four cycles (6 months). Results Median time to progression (primary end point) was significantly longer with VTD than TD (19.5 v 13.8 months; hazard ratio, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.80; P = .001), the complete response plus near-complete response rate was higher (45% v 25%; P = .001), and the median duration of response was longer (17.2 v 13.4 months; P = .03). The 24-month survival rate was in favor of VTD (71% v 65%; P = .093). Grade 3 peripheral neuropathy was more frequent with VTD (29% v 12%; P = .001) as were the rates of grades 3 and 4 infection and thrombocytopenia. CONCLUSION VTD was more effective than TD in the treatment of patients with MM with progressive or relapsing disease post-ASCT but was associated with a higher incidence of grade 3 neurotoxicity.

Working alliance in communication skills training for oncology clinicians: A controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of communication skills training (CST) on working alliance and to identify specific communicational elements related to working alliance. METHODS: Pre- and post-training simulated patient interviews (6-month interval) of oncology physicians and nurses (N=56) who benefited from CST were compared to two simulated patient interviews with a 6-month interval of oncology physicians and nurses (N=57) who did not benefit from CST. The patient-clinician interaction was analyzed by means of the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS). Alliance was measured by the Working Alliance Inventory - Short Revised Form. RESULTS: While working alliance did not improve with CST, generalized linear mixed effect models demonstrated that the quality of verbal communication was related to alliance. Positive talk and psychosocial counseling fostered alliance whereas negative talk, biomedical information and patient's questions diminished alliance. CONCLUSION: Patient-clinician alliance is related to specific verbal communication behaviors. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Working alliance is a key element of patient-physician communication which deserves further investigation as a new marker and efficacy criterion of CST outcome.

Working memory load improves early stages of independent visual processing.

Increasing evidence suggests that working memory and perceptual processes are dynamically interrelated due to modulating activity in overlapping brain networks. However, the direct influence of working memory on the spatio-temporal brain dynamics of behaviorally relevant intervening information remains unclear. To investigate this issue, subjects performed a visual proximity grid perception task under three different visual-spatial working memory (VSWM) load conditions. VSWM load was manipulated by asking subjects to memorize the spatial locations of 6 or 3 disks. The grid was always presented between the encoding and recognition of the disk pattern. As a baseline condition, grid stimuli were presented without a VSWM context. VSWM load altered both perceptual performance and neural networks active during intervening grid encoding. Participants performed faster and more accurately on a challenging perceptual task under high VSWM load as compared to the low load and the baseline condition. Visual evoked potential (VEP) analyses identified changes in the configuration of the underlying sources in one particular period occurring 160-190 ms post-stimulus onset. Source analyses further showed an occipito-parietal down-regulation concurrent to the increased involvement of temporal and frontal resources in the high VSWM context. Together, these data suggest that cognitive control mechanisms supporting working memory may selectively enhance concurrent visual processing related to an independent goal. More broadly, our findings are in line with theoretical models implicating the engagement of frontal regions in synchronizing and optimizing mnemonic and perceptual resources towards multiple goals.

Cannabis use and other illicit drug use: Do subjective experiences during first cannabis use increase the probability of using illicit drug use?

Background and aims: Few studies have examined whether subjective experiences during first cannabis use are related to other illicit drug (OID) use. This study investigated this topic. Methods: Baseline data from a representative sample of young Swiss men was obtained from an ongoing Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors (N ¼ 5753). Logistic regressions were performed to examine the relationships between cannabis use and of subjective experiences during first cannabis use with 15 OID. Results: Positive experiences increased the likelihood of using hallucinogens (hallucinogens, salvia divinorum, spice; p50.015), stimulants (speed, ecstasy, cocaine, amphetamines/methamphetamines; p50.006) and also poppers, research chemicals, GHB/GBL, and crystal meth (p50.049). Sniffed drugs (poppers, solvents for sniffing) and ''hard'' drugs (heroin, ketamine, research chemicals, GHB/GBL and crystal meth) were more likely to be used by participants who experienced negative feelings on first use of cannabis (p50.034). Conclusion: Subjective feelings seemed to amplify the association of cannabis with OID. The risk increased for drugs with effects resembling feelings experienced on first cannabis use. Negative experiences should also be a concern, as they were associated with increased risk of using the ''hardest'' illicit drugs.