L'insertion sociale plurielle des femmes cadres supérieurs en Suisse : contribution à l'étude du bien-être subjectif au quotidien : approche qualitative intégrative

RESUME« L'insertion sociale plurielle des femmes cadres supérieurs en Suisse. Contribution à l'étude du bien-être subjectif au quotidien. Approche intégrative qualitative. »Depuis une quarantaine d'années, nombreux sont les travaux qui étudient les relations entre les différents milieux de vie au quotidien et, plus particulièrement, l'impact de leurs articulations singulières sur la santé. Nous y identifions deux axes principaux : l'un aborde ce phénomène selon une perspective de « conflit travail-famille » en termes de « stress », l'autre se focalise davantage sur la promotion du « bien-être » au travers d'une approche d'« équilibre travail-vie ». Or, l'ensemble de ces recherches considère comme «pathogènes» les désajustements, les contradictions et les tensions vécus au quotidien. Selon cette tendance, le « bien-être » apparaît comme un état d'équilibre ultime indépendant du contexte de vie du sujet. Toutefois, peu de recherches portent sur la dimension située du bien-être dans son rapport à l'activité concrète au sein des milieux deNotre étude s'intéresse à cette question auprès des femmes cadres supérieurs, selon une perspective critique et développementale en psychologie de la santé (Lyons & Chamberlain, 2006 ; Santiago-Delefosse, 2002,2011 ; Malrieu, 1989 ; Vygotski, 1985). En effet, cette population constitue un terrain privilégié pour comprendre le sens donné à l'activité à partir des contraintes, responsabilités et demandes perçues dans des contextes parfois contradictoires, et pour analyser le rôle de ces derniers dans un bien-être subjectif.En cohérence avec notre positionnement théorique, nous avons mené des entretiens qualitatifs focalisés sur l'activité quotidienne auprès de 20 femmes, et ceci en deux temps (T1-T2) (40 entretiens). Les résultats issus des analyses du contenu des discours permettent de définir le vécu de l'articulation des milieux de vie chez nos participantes, selon trois axes à la fois interdépendants et autonomes. Chaque axe se définit par une série de supports spécifiques jouant un rôle structurant dans leur bien-être subjectif. Ainsi, le premier axe se caractérise par des supports de maîtrise subjective, ainsi que par l'appropriation de contraintes sociales et corporelles, selon un rythme de l'activité soutenu. Le deuxième s'accompagne de supports qui favorisent la prise de distance au travers du relâchement du rythme et du lâcher prise de la maîtrise, par la création d'espaces personnels et sociaux « pour soi ». Enfin, le troisième porte sur le positionnement de soi par rapport à autrui en termes de « personnalisation ».Construits en rapport à la corporéité et à autrui au sein de contextes spécifiques, ces différents supports prennent leur sens au sein d'un système de pratiques global, unique pour chaque femme. Selon cette conception critique, le bien-être subjectif chez les femmes cadres se définit comme le fruit d'un processus mouvant issu des tensions vécues entre les trois axes de l'articulation des milieux de vie. Il est par conséquent social, corporel et psychologique.Nos résultats ouvrent des perspectives de recherche et d'intervention, notamment en santé et travail. Ces ouvertures sont orientées vers une approche intégrative en psychologie de la santé, c'est-à-dire, de la prise en compte dans des questions de santé et de bien-être du processus de construction du sujet en relation à son insertion sociale plurielle.ABSTRACT« Plural social participation among women senior managers in Switzerland. Contribution to the study of subjective well-being in everyday life. An integrative and qualitativeapproach.»For the last forty years, a large body of literature has studied the relationships between different social realms in everyday life and, more particularly, the impact of their singular intertwinements with health. We identify two main trends : The first one focuses on this phenomenon through the « work-family conflict » perspective in terms of « stress » whilst the second one is more concerned by the promotion of « well-being » through a « work-life balance » approach. However, both of these trends consider disadjustments, contradictions and tensions in everyday life as « pathogenic ». According to this conception, « well- being » appears as an ultimate state of balance which is indépendant from the subject's life context. Nevertheless, few studies have examined the situated dimension of well-being in its link to concrete activity in social realms.Our research is concerned with this issue among women senior managers from a critical and developmental perspective in Health Psychology (Lyons & Chamberlain, 2006 ; Santiago-Delefosse, 2002, 2011 ; Malrieu, 1989 ; Vygotski, 1985). In fact, this population represents a favourable field so as to study : how the meaning of daily activity is constructed accross different and often conflictive social realms ; to understand the many ways in which this population deals with perceived constraints, responsibilities and requests, and to analyse the role of situated plural activity in subjective well-being.Consitent with our theoretical framework, we have designed a qualitative method. We have conducted two-time (T1-T2) interviews with 20 women by focusing on their daily activity (40 interviews). The Thematic Content Analysis reveals that four different social realms are articulated among our participants through three main axes, which are at the same time interdependent and autonomous. Each one of these axis is defined by a certain number of specific supports that play an important role in these women's subjective well- being. The first axis is concerned by several supports that signify a « feeling of control » along with the appropriation of social and body constraints by means of a rapid pace of activity. The second one regards the use of supports that contribute to « put things into perspective » by means of the slowing down of the pace of activity and through letting go of the feeling of control. This mechanism includes the creation of personal and social spaces of « one's own ». The third axis is defined by the positioning of the self in regard to others through a process of « personnalization ».Developed in specific contexts through the intertwinnements between the body and social others, supports belonging to these axes acquire significance and meaning on the basis of their relationship to a global system of activities of which they are part. However, this articulation is uniquely defined for each participant. According to this critical approach, subjective well-being among women senior managers emerges as a meaningful and changing process, situated in a plural social context. This is, it appears as the result of conflictual interactions defining the three different axis that we have identified. Subjective well-being is hence a social, embodied and psychological phenomena that is closely linked to the articulation of different social realms. Our findings open new research and practice perspectives, especially concerning health and work issues. These perspectives convey an integrative approach in Health Psychology by considering health and well-being by taking into account the process of construction of the subject in regard to his or her plural social participation.

CSF1R mutations link POLD and HDLS as a single disease entity.

OBJECTIVE: Pigmented orthochromatic leukodystrophy (POLD) and hereditary diffuse leukoencephalopathy with axonal spheroids (HDLS) are rare neurodegenerative disorders characterized by cerebral white matter abnormalities, myelin loss, and axonal swellings. The striking overlap of clinical and pathologic features of these disorders suggested a common pathogenesis; however, no genetic or mechanistic link between POLD and HDLS has been established. Recently, we reported that mutations in the colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) gene cause HDLS. In this study, we determined whether CSF1R mutations are also a cause of POLD. METHODS: We performed sequencing of CSF1R in 2 pathologically confirmed POLD families. For the largest family (FTD368), a detailed case report was provided and brain samples from 2 affected family members previously diagnosed with POLD were re-evaluated to determine whether they had HDLS features. In vitro functional characterization of wild-type and mutant CSF1R was also performed. RESULTS: We identified CSF1R mutations in both POLD families: in family 5901, we found c.2297T>C (p.M766T), previously reported by us in HDLS family CA1, and in family FTD368, we identified c.2345G>A (p.R782H), recently reported in a biopsy-proven HDLS case. Immunohistochemical examination in family FTD368 showed the typical neuronal and glial findings of HDLS. Functional analyses of CSF1R mutant p.R782H (identified in this study) and p.M875T (previously observed in HDLS), showed a similar loss of CSF1R autophosphorylation of selected tyrosine residues in the kinase domain for both mutations when compared with wild-type CSF1R. CONCLUSIONS: We provide the first genetic and mechanistic evidence that POLD and HDLS are a single clinicopathologic entity.

CD3 delta establishes a functional link between the T cell receptor and CD8.

T cells expressing T cell receptor (TCR) complexes that lack CD3 delta, either due to deletion of the CD3 delta gene, or by replacement of the connecting peptide of the TCR alpha chain, exhibit severely impaired positive selection and TCR-mediated activation of CD8 single-positive T cells. Because the same defects have been observed in mice expressing no CD8 beta or tailless CD8 beta, we examined whether CD3 delta serves to couple TCR.CD3 with CD8. To this end we used T cell hybridomas and transgenic mice expressing the T1 TCR, which recognizes a photoreactive derivative of the PbCS 252-260 peptide in the context of H-2K(d). We report that, in thymocytes and hybridomas expressing the T1 TCR.CD3 complex, CD8 alpha beta associates with the TCR. This association was not observed on T1 hybridomas expressing only CD8 alpha alpha or a CD3 delta(-) variant of the T1 TCR. CD3 delta was selectively co-immunoprecipitated with anti-CD8 antibodies, indicating an avid association of CD8 with CD3 delta. Because CD8 alpha beta is a raft constituent, due to this association a fraction of TCR.CD3 is raft-associated. Cross-linking of these TCR-CD8 adducts results in extensive TCR aggregate formation and intracellular calcium mobilization. Thus, CD3 delta couples TCR.CD3 with raft-associated CD8, which is required for effective activation and positive selection of CD8(+) T cells.

Neuropeptide Y: a missing link?

Yet another 'orphan' molecule that had to find its place in life after isolation and sequencing, neuropeptide Y appears to be an important cardiovascular neuroregulator and also links the sympathetic and renin-angiotensin systems. The peptide's physiologic and pathophysiologic roles, as well as its potential therapeutic value, are examined.

The link between land-use management and fluvial flood risk : a chaotic conception?

There is much policy interest in the possible linkages that might exist between land use and downstream fluvial flood risk. On the one hand, this position is sustained by observations from plot- and field-scale studies that suggest land management does affect runoff. On the other, upscaling these effects to show that land-management activities impact upon flood risk at larger catchment scales has proved to be elusive. This review considers the reasons for why this upscaling is problematic. We argue that, rather than it reflecting methodological challenges associated with the difficulties of modelling hydrological processes over very large areas and during extreme runoff events, it reflects the fact that any linkage between land management and flood risk cannot be generalized and taken out of its specific spatial (catchment) and temporal (flood event) context. We use Sayer's (1992) notion of a `chaotic conception' to describe the belief that there is a simple and general association between land management and downstream flood risk rather than the impacts of land management being spatially and temporally contingent in relation to the particular geographical location, time period and scale being considered. Our argument has important practical consequences because it implies that land-management activities to reduce downstream flood risk will be different to traditional flood-reduction interventions such as levees. The purpose of demonstration projects then needs careful consideration such that conclusions made for one project are not transferred uncritically to other scales of analysis or geographical locations.

Direct numerical simulations of interface dynamics to link capillary pressure and total surface energy

The flow of two immiscible fluids through a porous medium depends on the complex interplay between gravity, capillarity, and viscous forces. The interaction between these forces and the geometry of the medium gives rise to a variety of complex flow regimes that are difficult to describe using continuum models. Although a number of pore-scale models have been employed, a careful investigation of the macroscopic effects of pore-scale processes requires methods based on conservation principles in order to reduce the number of modeling assumptions. In this work we perform direct numerical simulations of drainage by solving Navier-Stokes equations in the pore space and employing the Volume Of Fluid (VOF) method to track the evolution of the fluid-fluid interface. After demonstrating that the method is able to deal with large viscosity contrasts and model the transition from stable flow to viscous fingering, we focus on the macroscopic capillary pressure and we compare different definitions of this quantity under quasi-static and dynamic conditions. We show that the difference between the intrinsic phase-average pressures, which is commonly used as definition of Darcy-scale capillary pressure, is subject to several limitations and it is not accurate in presence of viscous effects or trapping. In contrast, a definition based on the variation of the total surface energy provides an accurate estimate of the macroscopic capillary pressure. This definition, which links the capillary pressure to its physical origin, allows a better separation of viscous effects and does not depend on the presence of trapped fluid clusters.