Keeping the Vermin Out: Perceived Disease Threat and Ideological Orientations as Predictors of Exclusionary Immigration Attitudes

Integrating evolutionary and social representations theories, the current study examines the relationship between perceived disease threat and exclusionary immigration attitudes in the context of a potential avian influenza pandemic. This large-scale disease provides a realistic context for investigating the link between disease threat and immigration attitudes. The main aim of this cross-sectional study (N=412) was to explore mechanisms through which perceived chronic and contextual disease threats operate on immigration attitudes. Structural equation models show that the relationship between chronic disease threat (germ aversion) and exclusionary immigration attitudes (assimiliationist immigration criteria, health-based immigration criteria and desire to reduce the proportion of foreigners) was mediated by ideological and normative beliefs (social dominance orientation, belief in a dangerous world), but not by contextual disease threat (appraisal of avian influenza pandemic threat). Contextual disease threat only predicted support for health-based immigration criteria. The conditions under which real-life disease threats influence intergroup attitudes are scrutinized. Convergence and dissimilarity of evolutionary and social representational approaches in accounting for the link between disease threat and immigration attitudes are discussed.

The family alliance assessment scales : steps toward validity and reliability of an observational assessment tool for early family interactions

We present the first steps in the validation of an observational tool for father-mother-infant interactions: the FAAS (Family Alliance Assessment Scales). Family-level variables are acknowledged as unique contributors to the understanding of the socio-affective development of the child, yet producing reliable assessments of family-level interactions poses a methodological challenge. There is, therefore, a clear need for a validated and clinically relevant tool. This validation study has been carried out on three samples: one non-referred sample, of families taking part in a study on the transition to parenthood (normative sample; n = 30), one referred for medically assisted procreation (infertility sample; n = 30) and one referred for a psychiatric condition in one parent (clinical sample; n = 15). Results show that the FAAS scales have (1) good inter-rater reliability and (2) good validity, as assessed through known-group validity by comparing the three samples and through concurrent validity by checking family interactions against parents' self-reported marital satisfaction.

Gait and foot clearance parameters obtained using shoe-worn inertial sensors in a large-population sample of older adults

In order to distinguish dysfunctional gait; clinicians require a measure of reference gait parameters for each population. This study provided normative values for widely used parameters in more than 1400 able-bodied adults over the age of 65. We also measured the foot clearance parameters (i.e., height of the foot above ground during swing phase) that are crucial to understand the complex relationship between gait and falls as well as obstacle negotiation strategies. We used a shoe-worn inertial sensor on each foot and previously validated algorithms to extract the gait parameters during 20 m walking trials in a corridor at a self-selected pace. We investigated the difference of the gait parameters between male and female participants by considering the effect of age and height factors. Besides; we examined the inter-relation of the clearance parameters with the gait speed. The sample size and breadth of gait parameters provided in this study offer a unique reference resource for the researchers.

Gibbard's expressivism: an interdisciplinary critical analysis

This paper examines key aspects of Allan Gibbard's psychological account of moral activity. Inspired by evolutionary theory, Gibbard paints a naturalistic picture of morality mainly based on two specific types of emotion: guilt and anger. His sentimentalist and expressivist analysis is also based on a particular conception of rationality. I begin by introducing Gibbard's theory before testing some key assumptions underlying his system against recent empirical data and theories. The results cast doubt on some crucial aspects of Gibbard's philosophical theory, namely his reduction of morality to anger and guilt, and his theory of 'normative governance'. Gibbard's particular version of expressivism may be undermined by these doubts.

The social disembedding of business theory and practice. A (neo-)institutional analysis of the homo economicus and corporate social responsibility, and the inherent responsibility of business scholars

Aim Structure of the Thesis In the first article, I focus on the context in which the Homo Economicus was constructed - i.e., the conception of economic actors as fully rational, informed, egocentric, and profit-maximizing. I argue that the Homo Economicus theory was developed in a specific societal context with specific (partly tacit) values and norms. These norms have implicitly influenced the behavior of economic actors and have framed the interpretation of the Homo Economicus. Different factors however have weakened this implicit influence of the broader societal values and norms on economic actors. The result is an unbridled interpretation and application of the values and norms of the Homo Economicus in the business environment, and perhaps also in the broader society. In the second article, I show that the morality of many economic actors relies on isomorphism, i.e., the attempt to fit into the group by adopting the moral norms surrounding them. In consequence, if the norms prevailing in a specific group or context (such as a specific region or a specific industry) change, it can be expected that actors with an 'isomorphism morality' will also adapt their ethical thinking and their behavior -for the 'better' or for the 'worse'. The article further describes the process through which corporations could emancipate from the ethical norms prevailing in the broader society, and therefore develop an institution with specific norms and values. These norms mainly rely on mainstream business theories praising the economic actor's self-interest and neglecting moral reasoning. Moreover, because of isomorphism morality, many economic actors have changed their perception of ethics, and have abandoned the values prevailing in the broader society in order to adopt those of the economic theory. Finally, isomorphism morality also implies that these economic actors will change their morality again if the institutional context changes. The third article highlights the role and responsibility of business scholars in promoting a systematic reflection and self-critique of the business system and develops alternative models to fill the moral void of the business institution and its inherent legitimacy crisis. Indeed, the current business institution relies on assumptions such as scientific neutrality and specialization, which seem at least partly challenged by two factors. First, self-fulfilling prophecy provides scholars with an important (even if sometimes undesired) normative influence over practical life. Second, the increasing complexity of today's (socio-political) world and interactions between the different elements constituting our society question the strong specialization of science. For instance, economic theories are not unrelated to psychology or sociology, and economic actors influence socio-political structures and processes, e.g., through lobbying (Dobbs, 2006; Rondinelli, 2002), or through marketing which changes not only the way we consume, but more generally tries to instill a specific lifestyle (Cova, 2004; M. K. Hogg & Michell, 1996; McCracken, 1988; Muniz & O'Guinn, 2001). In consequence, business scholars are key actors in shaping both tomorrow's economic world and its broader context. A greater awareness of this influence might be a first step toward an increased feeling of civic responsibility and accountability for the models and theories developed or taught in business schools.

Libertad de cátedra del profesor universitario. Contenido y amenazas en el contexto actual de reforma del modelo de universidad pública

[spa] Asistimos, desde hace algunos años, a un proceso de profundos cambios en la Universidad. Reformas que no sólo están afectando, entre otros, a su financiación, a su gobierno y gestión o a la estructura de las enseñanzas que en ella se imparten. También, y de forma muy especial e intensa, se están proyectando en su profesorado modificando su proceso de selección y transformando su función docente. Precisamente, en relación con ésta última, el papel que está llamado a desempeñar el docente está garantizado por la Constitución que les reconoce el derecho fundamental a la libertad de cátedra. La proclamación al más alto nivel normativo de este derecho del profesor ha obligado a conjugarla con otros derechos, igualmente fundamentales, presentes en el sistema educativo, en especial, el de la educación, y con otras potestades que se encomiendan a poderes públicos y universidades derivadas de la concepción de la educación como un servicio público. No obstante, en la actualidad las amenazas que plantean las nuevas exigencias derivadas del EEES pueden suponer un paso más allá actuando en la misma esencia de contenido de la libertad de cátedra perdiendo su sentido originario y condicionando su ejercicio a límites no permitidos por el propio texto constitucional.

Oikeudenalajaotus : strategista valtapeliä ja normatiivista argumentaatiota

Ylänimeke: Oikeudenaloja

Parents - child role reversal in trilogue play: case studies of trajectories from pregnancy to toddlerhood

Role reversal, whereby a child attempts to meet her parent's adult needs for parenting, intimacy, or companionship, has been identified as a risk factor for developmental disturbances. It has been defined from diverse perspectives as a child attachment strategy, a parent - toddler relational disturbance, and a boundary disturbance between parents and child. The recently discovered infant's triangular capacity, namely the sharing of her attention and affects with both parents, allows one to analyse the infant's contribution to early family dynamics. Role reversal was detected in 4 out of 45 father - mother - infant interactions observed in trilogue play from pregnancy to toddlerhood. The developmental trajectories towards role reversal are explored by means of case analyses. Results are compared with cases of problematic triangulation encountered in the same sample. In role reversal, family interactions are rigidly organized around a "two against one" coalition, whereby the normative hierarchy between parents and child is reversed. The child's triangular capacity is overactivated, controlling the tension between her parents by provocation - animation strategies

THE USEFUL SIDE OF AMBIVALENCE: Ambivalent attitudes can be adaptive and socially valued

En s'inspirant de la littérature récente qui a dépeint l'ambivalence comme étant adaptative et en lien avec des comportements stratégiques, cette thèse examine le versant utile des attitudes ambivalentes. Elle met tout d'abord en évidence que son expression peut-être sciemment contrôlée et mise en avant pour des raisons d'auto-présentation. De plus, elle démontre que les individus peuvent présenter une attitude ambivalente afin de gagner l'approbation sociale sur un objet d'attitude controversé alors que l'inverse a été observé sur des objets consensuels (Première ligne de recherche). Cette thèse a également révélé que l'expression d'attitudes ambivalentes pouvait amener à être valorisé socialement. En effet, contrairement à des attitudes plus tranchées (pro-normatives ou contre-normatives), les attitudes ambivalentes ont été évaluées de façon plus importante sur la dimension de l'utilité sociale (une dimension qui indique la compétence d'autrui ou encore la propension à évoluer dans la hiérarchie sociale). La valorisation de l'ambivalence n'est apparue que sur la dimension de l'utilité sociale et non sur la dimension de la désirabilité sociale (une dimension qui indique la sympathie d'autrui ainsi que la propension à être apprécié socialement). De plus, ce résultat a été observé sur des thèmes controversés et non sur des thèmes consensuels (Seconde ligne de recherche). Dans l'ensemble cette thèse soutient une approche de l'ambivalence comme donnant lieu à des bénéfices. Elle peut également ouvrir la voie à l'étude de l'ambivalence en lien avec la pensée critique. - Drawing on the recent literature that portrayed ambivalence as being adaptive and linked with strategic behaviors, this thesis examines the useful side of ambivalent attitudes. It first revealed that the expression of ambivalent attitudes could be controlled and purposely displayed for self-presentational concerns. Furthermore, it demonstrated that people could put ambivalence forward to gain social approval when expressing it on controversial social issues, whereas the opposite was true on consensual social issues (First line of research). The thesis also revealed that the expression of ambivalent attitudes could lead to be socially valued. Indeed, contrary to clear-cut attitudes (either pro-normative or counter-normative attitudes), ambivalent attitudes have been evaluated the highest on the social utility dimension (a dimension indicating people's competence as well as the extent to which they are likely to climb in social hierarchy). The valorization of ambivalent attitudes only appeared on social utility and not on social desirability (a dimension indicating people's niceness as well as the extent to which they are likely to be socially appreciated). This effect was true on controversial social issues but not on consensual ones (Second line of research). Overall, this thesis provides support for an approach that conceives attitudinal ambivalence as leading to benefits. It also may open avenues for the study of ambivalence in relation with critical thinking.

La communauté n'est pas le communautarisme

Le concept de « communauté » possède la particularité d'être d'une grande popularité à la fois dans les sciences sociales, mais aussi parmi le grand public. D'autant plus, pourrait-on dire que sa définition semble à la fois floue et changeante. Il est un outil que les sciences sociales utilisent pour décrire et analyser la réalité sociale observée dans un usage « expert », fait par des spécialistes. Mais c'est aussi un terme utilisé bien plus largement, par des groupes qui se réclament d'une appartenance communautaire ou par la presse qui tente de définir un groupe. On croit à la communauté, comme une idée ou comme une réalité, le plus souvent les deux en même temps : nous le savons, croire qu'une chose est réelle, peut la rendre réelle dans ses conséquences ? La « communauté », issue de la description empirique d'une variété de processus sociaux, est en permanence bousculée par la « communauté » comme idéal et prescription normative, rendant souvent le travail de compréhension et d'analyse des anthropologues et sociologues difficile, car prisonnier de cette dualité.

Bayesian networks and the evaluation of scientific evidence in forensic science

Résumé Ce travail de thèse étudie des moyens de formalisation permettant d'assister l'expert forensique dans la gestion des facteurs influençant l'évaluation des indices scientifiques, tout en respectant des procédures d'inférence établies et acceptables. Selon une vue préconisée par une partie majoritaire de la littérature forensique et juridique - adoptée ici sans réserve comme point de départ - la conceptualisation d'une procédure évaluative est dite 'cohérente' lors qu'elle repose sur une implémentation systématique de la théorie des probabilités. Souvent, par contre, la mise en oeuvre du raisonnement probabiliste ne découle pas de manière automatique et peut se heurter à des problèmes de complexité, dus, par exemple, à des connaissances limitées du domaine en question ou encore au nombre important de facteurs pouvant entrer en ligne de compte. En vue de gérer ce genre de complications, le présent travail propose d'investiguer une formalisation de la théorie des probabilités au moyen d'un environment graphique, connu sous le nom de Réseaux bayesiens (Bayesian networks). L'hypothèse principale que cette recherche envisage d'examiner considère que les Réseaux bayesiens, en concert avec certains concepts accessoires (tels que des analyses qualitatives et de sensitivité), constituent une ressource clé dont dispose l'expert forensique pour approcher des problèmes d'inférence de manière cohérente, tant sur un plan conceptuel que pratique. De cette hypothèse de travail, des problèmes individuels ont été extraits, articulés et abordés dans une série de recherches distinctes, mais interconnectées, et dont les résultats - publiés dans des revues à comité de lecture - sont présentés sous forme d'annexes. D'un point de vue général, ce travail apporte trois catégories de résultats. Un premier groupe de résultats met en évidence, sur la base de nombreux exemples touchant à des domaines forensiques divers, l'adéquation en termes de compatibilité et complémentarité entre des modèles de Réseaux bayesiens et des procédures d'évaluation probabilistes existantes. Sur la base de ces indications, les deux autres catégories de résultats montrent, respectivement, que les Réseaux bayesiens permettent également d'aborder des domaines auparavant largement inexplorés d'un point de vue probabiliste et que la disponibilité de données numériques dites 'dures' n'est pas une condition indispensable pour permettre l'implémentation des approches proposées dans ce travail. Le présent ouvrage discute ces résultats par rapport à la littérature actuelle et conclut en proposant les Réseaux bayesiens comme moyen d'explorer des nouvelles voies de recherche, telles que l'étude de diverses formes de combinaison d'indices ainsi que l'analyse de la prise de décision. Pour ce dernier aspect, l'évaluation des probabilités constitue, dans la façon dont elle est préconisée dans ce travail, une étape préliminaire fondamentale de même qu'un moyen opérationnel.

Quand la droite nationaliste montre les minarets : la médiatisation ambigüe d'une initiative populaire en Suisse

This contribution addresses the anti-minaret referendum accepted by the Swiss people in 2009, using data drawn from the main television news program in French-speaking Switzerland. The analysis tries to point out ambiguities in the media coverage of this referendum and to show how increasing the Muslims' visibility worked against their public recognition. The clarification of the concept of visibility pays attention to the ways in which certain actors (politicians of the nationalist right) force others (the Muslims of Switzerland) to appear in the public sphere, creating controversy and publicizing their identity aspirations. This investigation leads to an inquiry on the normative conditions necessary for democratic debate. Cette contribution revient sur l'initiative anti-minarets acceptée par le peuple suisse en 2009, à partir de matériau provenant du principal journal de la Télévision suisse romande. L'analyse tente de ressaisir les ambiguïtés inhérentes à la médiatisation de cette initiative et de montrer comment la visibilisation des musulmans a joué en défaveur de leur reconnaissance publique. L'élucidation du concept de visibilité se veut attentive à certaines formes d'instrumentalisation par des acteurs (des politiciens de la droite nationaliste) qui en forcent d'autres (les musulmans de Suisse) à apparaître dans l'espace public, afin de susciter une controverse et publiciser leur programme identitaire. L'enquête débouche sur une interrogation relative aux conditions normatives nécessaires à la tenue d'un débat démocratique.

Hydrogen and oxygen isotope behaviors during variable degrees of upper mantle melting: Example from the basaltic glasses from Macquarie Island

We present measurements of hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in MORB glasses from Macquarie Island (SW. Pacific Ocean) coupled with determination of bulk H2O content by two independent techniques: total dehydration and FTIR. The incompatible trace elements in these glasses vary by a factor of 12 to 17, with K2O varying from 0.1 to 1.7 wt.%; these ranges reflect a variable degree of closed-system mantle melting, estimated from 1 to 15%. Water concentrations determined by the two techniques match well, yielding a range from 0.25 to 1.49 wt.% which correlates positively with all of the measured incompatible trace elements, suggesting that water is un-degassed, and behaves conservatively during mantle melting. Also, the agreement between the FTIR-determined and extracted water contents gives us confidence that the measured isotopic values of hydrogen reflect that of the mantle. Comparison of the range of water content with that of other incompatible trace elements allows estimation of the water partition coefficient in lherzolite, 0.0208 (ranging from 0.017 to 0.023), and the water content in the source, 386 ppm (ranging from 370 to 440 ppm). We observe a fairly narrow range in delta D and delta O-18 values of -75.5 +/- 4.5 parts per thousand and 5.50 +/- 0 .05 parts per thousand respectively, that can be explained by partial melting of normal lherzolitic mantle. The measured delta D and delta O-18 values of Macquarie Island glasses that range from nepheline- to hypersthene-normative, and from MORB to EMORB in composition, are identical to those in average global MORB. The observed lack of variation of delta D and delta O-18 with 1 to 15% degree of mantle melting is consistent with a bulk melting model of delta D and delta O-18 fractionation, in which water is rapidly scavenged into the first partial melt. The narrow ranges of delta D and delta O-18 in normal mantle are mostly due to the buffering effect of clino- and orthopyroxenes in the residual assemblage; additionally, fast ``wet'' diffusion of oxygen and hydrogen isotopes through the melting regions may further smooth isotopic differences. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ancrage de la légitimité économique dans les filières académiques: une approche représentationnelle de la socialisation et de l'autosélection

Cette recherche articule des processus de socialisation et d'auto-sélection à partir d'une perspective de représentations sociales (RS). Les deux études présentées montrent comment le passage dans une filière universitaire, par un phénomène de socialisation qui succède à un processus d'auto-sélection, permet d'ancrer les prises de position dans des groupes. L'Etude 1 (N = 177) montre que les étudiant-e-s interrogé-e-s choisissent leur filière en fonction des études menées avant l'entrée à l'université, et que les étudiant-e-s en commerce et en droit prennent plus fortement position en faveur de l'économie libérale que les étudiant-e-s des sciences sociales et politiques et des lettres. Les résultats de l'Etude 2 (N = 92) indiquent que ces prises de position normatives sont stables au fil des ans en commerce et qu'elles remettent de plus en plus en question l'économie libérale en sciences sociales et politiques. Enfin, les prises de position dépendent de l'orthodoxie des connaissances économiques, une mesure de la perception de la valeur explicative des connaissances économiques qui est propre aux filières.

The Fairness of Media Coverage in Question: An Analysis of Referendum Campaigns on Welfare State Issues in Switzerland

The mass media are assigned an important role in political campaigns on popular votes. This article asks how the press communicates political issues to citizens during referendum campaigns, and whether some minimal criteria for successful public deliberation are met. The press coverage of all 24 ballot votes on welfare state issues from 1995 to 2004 in Switzerland is examined, distinguishing seven criteria to judge how news coverage compares to idealized notions of the media's role in the democratic process: coverage intensity, time for public deliberation, balance in media coverage, source independence and inclusiveness, substantive coverage, and spatial homogeneity. The results of our quantitative analysis suggest that the press does fulfil these normative requirements to a reasonable extent and that fears about biased or deceitful media treatment of ballot issues are not well-founded. However, some potential for optimizing the coverage of referendum campaigns by the Swiss press does exist