Dynamic social representations of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic: Shifting patterns of sense-making and blame

We investigate dynamics of public perceptions of the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic to understand changing patterns of sense-making and blame regarding the outbreak of emerging infectious diseases. We draw on social representation theory combined with a dramaturgical perspective to identify changes in how various collectives are depicted over the course of the pandemic, according to three roles: heroes, villains and victims. Quantitative results based on content analysis of three cross-sectional waves of interviews show a shift from mentions of distant collectives (e.g., far-flung countries) at Wave 1 to local collectives (e.g., risk groups) as the pandemic became of more immediate concern (Wave 2) and declined (Wave 3). Semi-automated content analysis of media coverage shows similar results. Thematic analyses of the discourse associated with collectives revealed that many were consistently perceived as heroes, villains and victims.

Bad sleep? Don't blame the moon! A population-based study.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to evaluate if there is a significant effect of lunar phases on subjective and objective sleep variables in the general population. METHODS: A total of 2125 individuals (51.2% women, age 58.8 ± 11.2 years) participating in a population-based cohort study underwent a complete polysomnography (PSG) at home. Subjective sleep quality was evaluated by a self-rating scale. Sleep electroencephalography (EEG) spectral analysis was performed in 759 participants without significant sleep disorders. Salivary cortisol levels were assessed at awakening, 30 min after awakening, at 11 am, and at 8 pm. Lunar phases were grouped into full moon (FM), waxing/waning moon (WM), and new moon (NM). RESULTS: Overall, there was no significant difference between lunar phases with regard to subjective sleep quality. We found only a nonsignificant (p = 0.08) trend toward a better sleep quality during the NM phase. Objective sleep duration was not different between phases (FM: 398 ± 3 min, WM: 402 ± 3 min, NM: 403 ± 3 min; p = 0.31). No difference was found with regard to other PSG-derived parameters, EEG spectral analysis, or in diurnal cortisol levels. When considering only subjects with apnea/hypopnea index of <15/h and periodic leg movements index of <15/h, we found a trend toward shorter total sleep time during FM (FM: 402 ± 4, WM: 407 ± 4, NM: 415 ± 4 min; p = 0.06) and shorter-stage N2 duration (FM: 178 ± 3, WM: 182 ± 3, NM: 188 ± 3 min; p = 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our large population-based study provides no evidence of a significant effect of lunar phases on human sleep.

Collective victimisation and collective guilt in the former Yugoslavia : the interplay between individual, local and societal levels

The thesis examines the impact of collective war victimization on individuals' readiness to accept or assign collective guilt for past war atrocities. As a complement to previous studies, its aim is to articulate an integrated approach to collective victimization, which distinguishes between individual-, communal-, and societal-level consequences of warfare. Building on a social representation approach, it is guided by the assumption that individuals form beliefs about a conflict through their personal experiences of victimization, communal experiences of warfare that occur in their proximal surrounding, and the mass- mediatised narratives that circulate in a society's public sphere. Four empirical studies test the hypothesis that individuals' beliefs about the conflict depend on the level and type of war experiences to which they have been exposed, that is, on informative and normative micro and macro contexts in which they are embedded. The studies have been conducted in the context of the Yugoslav wars that attended the breakup of Yugoslavia, a series of wars fought between 1991 and 2001 during which numerous war atrocities were perpetrated causing a massive victimisation of population. To examine the content and impact of war experiences at each level of analysis, the empirical studies employed various methodological strategies, from quantitative analyses of a representative public opinion survey, to qualitative analyses of media content and political speeches. Study 1 examines the impact of individual- and communal- level war experiences on individuals' acceptance and assignment of collective guilt. It further examines the impact of the type of communal level victimization: exposure to symmetric (i.e., violence that similarly affects members of different ethnic groups, including adversaries) and asymmetric violence. The main goal of Study 2 is to examine the structural and political circumstances that enhance collective guilt assignment. While the previous studies emphasize the role of past victimisation, Study 2 tests the assumption that the political demobilisation strategy employed by elites facing public discontent in the collective system-threatening circumstances can fuel out-group blame. Studies 3 and 4 have been conducted predominantly in the context of Croatia and examine rhetoric construction of the dominant politicized narrative of war in a public sphere (Study 3) and its maintenance through public delegitimization of alternative (critical) representations (Study 4). Study 4 further examines the likelihood that highly identified group members adhere to publicly delegitimized critical stances on war. - Cette thèse étudie l'impact de la victimisation collective de guerre sur la capacité des individus à accepter ou à attribuer une culpabilité collective liée à des atrocités commises en temps de guerre. En compléments aux recherches existantes, le but de ce travail est de définir une approche intégrative de la victimisation collective, qui distingue les conséquences de la guerre aux niveaux individuel, régional et sociétal. En partant de l'approche des représentations sociales, cette thèse repose sur le postulat que les individus forment des croyances sur un conflit au travers de leurs expériences personnelles de victimisation, de leurs expériences de guerre lorsque celle-ci se déroule près d'eux, ainsi qu'au travers des récits relayés par les mass media. Quatre études testent l'hypothèse que les croyances des individus dépendent des niveaux et des types d'expériences de guerre auxquels ils ont été exposés, c'est-à-dire, des contextes informatifs et normatifs, micro et macro dans lesquels ils sont insérés. Ces études ont été réalisées dans le contexte des guerres qui, entre 1991 et 2001, ont suivi la dissolution de la Yougoslavie et durant lesquelles de nombreuses atrocités de guerre ont été commises, causant une victimisation massive de la population. Afin d'étudier le contenu et l'impact des expériences de guerre sur chaque niveau d'analyse, différentes stratégies méthodologiques ont été utilisées, des analyses quantitatives sur une enquête représentative d'opinion publique aux analyses qualitatives de contenu de médias et de discours politiques. L'étude 1 étudie l'impact des expériences de guerre individuelles et régionales sur l'acceptation et l'attribution de la culpabilité collective par les individus. Elle examine aussi l'impact du type de victimisation régionale : exposition à la violence symétrique (i.e., violence qui touche les membres de différents groupes ethniques, y compris les adversaires) et asymétrique. L'étude 2 se penche sur les circonstances structurelles et politiques qui augmentent l'attribution de culpabilité collective. Alors que les recherches précédentes ont mis l'accent sur le rôle de la victimisation passée, l'étude 2 teste l'hypothèse que la stratégie de démobilisation politique utilisée par les élites pour faire face à l'insatisfaction publique peut encourager l'attribution de la culpabilité à l'exogroupe. Les études 3 et 4 étudient, principalement dans le contexte croate, la construction rhétorique du récit de guerre politisé dominant (étude 3) et son entretien à travers la délégitimation publique des représentations alternatives (critiques] (étude 4). L'étude 4 examine aussi la probabilité qu'ont les membres de groupe fortement identifiés d'adhérer à des points de vue sur la guerre critiques et publiquement délégitimés.

Acknowledgment and psychiatric symptoms in police officers in Switzerland

The way supervisors acknowledge specific contribution and efforts of their employees has an impact on occupational health and wellbeing. Acknowledgement is a protective factor when it is sufficiently provided. We carried out a study about occupational health in police officers with special emphasis on acknowledgment and reward. A questionnaire was sent to 1000 police officers and inspectors working for a cantonal administration in Switzerland. In total, 695 participants answered the questionnaire. We used the TST questionnaire (French version of the Langner's questionnaire on psychiatric symptoms) to identify cases characterized by potential mental health problems. Multiple choice items (5 modalities ranging from "not at all" to "tremendously") were used to measure acknowledgment. The score for psychiatric symptoms was high (TST score >or= 9) for 86 police officers and inspectors for whom health might be at risk. Compared with police officers having low or medium scores for psychiatric symptoms (TST score < 9), police officers with high TST scores were more likely to report the lack of support and attention from the supervisors (odds ratio [OR] 3.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.0 to 5.1) and the lack of acknowledgment by the hierarchy (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.9 to 4.8). They were also more likely to mention that judicial authorities have a low consideration for police officers (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.7 to 4.3) and that the public in general have a low appreciation of police officers (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.9). Preserving mental health in occupations characterized by high emotional demand is challenging. Our results show that acknowledgment and mental health are associated. Further research should address a potential causal relation of acknowledgment on mental health in police officers and inspectors.

Décrire et convaincre: rhétoriques visuelles de la cinématographie en médecine [Describe and convince: visual rhetoric of cinematography in medicine]

The tools of visualisation occupy a central place in medicine. Far from being simple accessories of glance, they literally constitute objects of medicine. Such empirical acknowledgement and epistemological position open a vast field of investigation: visual technologies of medical knowledge. This article studies the development and transformation of medical objects which have permitted to assess the role of temporality in the epistemology of medicine. It firstly examines the general problem of the relationships between cinema, animated image and medicine and secondly, the contribution of the German doctor Martin Weiser to medical cinematography as a method. Finally, a typology is sketched out organising the variety of the visual technology of movement under the perspective of the development of specific visual techniques in medicine.

Social Investment Policies in Times of Permanent Austerity

The objective of this paper is to identify the political conditions that are most likely to be conducive to the development of social investment policies. It starts from the view put forward by theorists of welfare retrenchment that in the current context of permanent austerity, policy is likely to be dominated by retrenchment and implemented in a way that allows governments to minimise the risk of electoral punishment (blame avoidance). It is argued that this view is inconsistent with developments observed in several European countries, were some welfare state expansion has taken place mostly in the fields of childcare and active labour market policy. An alternative model is put forward, that emphasises the notion of "affordable credit claiming". It is argued that even under strong budgetary pressures, governments maintain a preference for policies that allow them to claim credit for their actions. Since the traditional redistributive policies tend to be off the menu for cost reasons, governments have tended to favour investments in childcare and active labour market policy as credit claiming tools. Policies developed in this way while they have a social investment flavour, tend to be rather limited in the extent to which they genuinely improve prospects of disadvantaged people by investing in their human capital. A more ambitious strategy of social investment sees unlikely to develop on the basis of affordable credit claiming. The paper starts by presenting the theoretical argument, which is then illustrated with examples taken from European countries both in the pre-crisis and in the post-crisis years.

Leadership at the upper echelons : three essays

"IT'S THE ECONOMY STUPID", BUT CHARISMA MATTERS TOO: A DUAL PROCESS MODEL OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OUTCOMES. ABSTRACT Because charisma is assumed to be an important determinant of effective leadership, the extent to which a presidential nominee is more charismatic than his opponent should be an important determinant of voter choices. We computed a composite measure of the rhetorical richness of acceptances speeches given by U.S. presidential candidates at their national party convention. We added this marker of charisma to Ray C. Fair's presidential vote-share equation (1978; 2009). We theorized that voters decide using psychological attribution (i.e., due to macroeconomics and incumbency) as well as inferential processes (i.e., due to leader charismatic behavior) when voting. Controlling for the macro-level variables and incumbency in the Fair model, our results indicated that difference between nominees' charisma is a significant determinant of electoral success, particularly in close elections. This extended model significantly improves the precision of the Fair model and correctly predicts 23 out of the last 24 U.S. presidential elections. Paper 2: IT CEO LEADERSHIP, CORPORATE SOCIAL AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE. ABSTRACT We investigated whether CEO leadership predicted corporate financial performance (CFP) and corporate social performance (CSP). Using longitudinal data on 258 CEOs from 117 firms across 19 countries and 10 industry sectors, we found that determinants of CEO leadership (i.e., implicit motives) significantly predicted both CFP and CSP. As expected, the most consistent positive predictor was Responsibility Disposition when interacting with n (need for) Power. n Achievement and n Affiliation were generally negatively related or unrelated to outcomes. CSP was positively related to accounting measures of CFP. Our findings suggest that executive leader characteristics have important consequences for corporate level outcomes. Paper 3. PUNISHING THE POWERFUL: ATTRIBUTIONS OF BLAME AND LEADERSHIP ABSTRACT We propose that individuals are more lenient in attributing blame to leaders than to nonleaders. We advance a motivational explanation building on the perspective of punishment and on system justification theory. We conducted two scenario experiments which supported our proposition. In study 1, wrongdoer leader status was negatively related to blame and the perceived seriousness of the wrongdoing. In study 2, controlling for the Big-Five personality factor and individual differences in moral evaluation (i.e., moral foundations), wrongdoer leader status was negatively related with desired severity of punishment, and fair punishments were perceived as more just for non-leaders than for leaders.

Particle exposure scenarios for research and production activities involving nanomaterials

Nanomaterials with structures in the nanoscale (1 to 100 nm) often have chemical, physical and bioactive characteristics different from those of larger entities of the same material. This is interesting for industry but raises questions about the health of exposed people. However, little is known so far about the exposure of workers to inhalable airborne nanomaterials. We investigated several activities in research laboratories and industry to learn about relevant exposure scenarios. Work process analyses were combined with measurements of airborne particle mass concentrations and number−size distributions. Background levels in research settings were mostly low, while in industrial production, levels were sometimes elevated, especially in halls near busy roads or in the presence of diesel fork lifts without particle filters. Peak levels were found in an industrial setting dealing with powders (up to 80,000 particles/cm³ and up to 15 mg/m³). Mostly low concentrations were found for activities involving liquid applications. However, centrifugation and lyophilization of nanoparticle containing solutions resulted in very high particle number concentrations (up to 300,000 particles/cm³), whereas no increases were seen for the same activities conducted with nanoparticle−free liquids. No significant increases of particle concentrations were found for processes involving nanoparticles bound to surfaces. Also no increases were observed in laboratories that were visualizing properties and structures of small amounts of nanomaterials. Conclusion: When studying exposure scenarios for airborne nanomaterials, the focus should not only be on processes involving nano−powders, but also on processes involving intensively treated nanoparticle−containing liquids. Acknowledgement: We thank Chantal Imhof, MSc and Guillaume Ferraris, MSc for their contributions.

Workplace Aggressive Behaviors: Three Essays

Abstract¦This thesis examines through three essays the role of the social context and of people concern for justice in explaining workplace aggressive behaviors.¦In the first essay, I argue that a work group instrumental climate - a climate emphasizing respect of organizational procedures -deters employees to manifest counterproductive work behaviors through informal sanctions (i.e., socio-emotional disapproval) they anticipate from it for misbehaving. A contrario, a work group affective climate - a climate concerned about others' well-being - leads employees to infer less informal sanctions and thus indirectly facilitates counterproductive work behaviors. I additionally expect these indirect effects to be conditional on employees' level of conscientiousness and agreeableness. Cross-level structural equations on cross-sectional data obtained from 158 employees in 26 work groups supported my expectations. By promoting collective responsibility for the respect of organizational rules and by knowing what their work group considers threatening their well-being, leaders may be able to prevent counterproductive work behaviors.¦Adopting an organizational justice perspective, the second essay provides a theoretical explanation of why and how collective deviance can emerge in a collective. In interdependent situations, employees use justice perceptions to infer others' cooperative intent. Even if moral transgressions (e.g., injustice) are ambiguous, their repetition and configuration within a team can lead employees to assign blame and develop collective cynicism toward the transgressor. Over time, collective cynicism - a shared belief about the transgressor's intentional lack of integrity - progressively constrains the diversity of employees' response to blame and leads collective deviance to emerge. This essay contributes to workplace deviance research by offering a theoretical framework for investigations of the phenomenon at the collective level. It organizations effort to manage and prevent deviance should consider.¦In the third essay, I solve an apparent contradiction in the literature showing that justice concerns sometimes lead employees to react aggressively to injustice and sometimes to refrain from it. Drawing from just-world theory, a cross-sectional field study and an experiment provide evidence that retaliatory tendencies following injustice are moderated by personal and general just-world beliefs. Whereas a high personal just-world belief facilitates retaliatory reactions to injustice, a high general just-world belief attenuates such reactions. This essay uncovers a dark side of personal just-world belief and a bright one of general just-world belief, and participates to extend just-world theory to the working context.

Cognitive Predictors and Risk Factors of PTSD Following Stillbirth: A Short-Term Longitudinal Study.

This short-term longitudinal study investigated cognitive predictors and risk factors of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in mothers following stillbirth. After a stillbirth at ≥ 24 weeks gestational age, 65 women completed structured clinical interviews and questionnaires assessing PTSD symptoms, cognitive predictors (appraisals, dysfunctional strategies), and risk factors (perceived social support, trauma history, obstetric history) at 3 and 6 months. PTSD symptoms decreased between 3 and 6 months (Cohen's d ranged .34-.52). Regression analyses also revealed a specific positive relationship between Rumination and concurrent frequency of PTSD symptoms (β = .45). Negative Self-View and Negative World-View related positively and Self-Blame related negatively to concurrent number of PTSD symptoms (β = .48, .44, -.45, respectively). Suppression and Distraction predicted a decrease and Numbing predicted an increase in time-lagged number of PTSD symptoms (β = -.33, -.28, .30, respectively). Risk factors for PTSD symptoms were younger age (β = -.25), lower income (β = -.29), fewer previous pregnancies (β = -.31), and poorer perceived social support (β = -.26). Interventions addressing negative appraisals, dysfunctional strategies, and social support are recommended for mothers with PTSD following stillbirth. Knowledge of cognitive predictors and risk factors of PTSD may inform the development of a screening instrument.

Who's fault is it ? : An analysis of the press coverage of football betting scandals in France and the United Kingdom

Sport betting is a lucrative business for bookmakers, for the lucky (or wise) punters, but also for governments and for sport. While not new or even recent, the deviances linked to sport betting, primarily match-fixing, have gained increased media exposure in the past decade. This exploratory study is a qualitative content analysis of the press coverage of sport betting-related deviances in football in two countries (UK and France), using in each case two leading national publications over a period of five years. Data analysis indicates a mounting coverage of sport betting scandals, with teams, players and criminals increasingly framed as culprits, while authorities and federations primarily assume a positive role. As for the origin of sport betting deviances, French newspapers tend to blame the system (in an abstract way); British newspapers, in contrast, focus more on individual weaknesses, notably greed. This article contributed to the growing body of literature on the importance of these deviances and on the way they are perceived by sport organizations, legislators and the public at large.