Power in Firms as Political Entities: Dependency, Strategy and Resistance

International audienceConcomitant with the exacerbation of globalization, the firm has become a major institutional actor of economic change. However, it must be noted that the economics of the firm has been developed since the 1970s as a disciplinary subfield of economic science without paying any real attention to the concepts and practices of power. The firm is undoubtedly not only an economic but also a social and political entity. One cannot free the firm from the relations of power without missing a very substantial part of the constitutive elements of the firm, notably the struggling games and strategies of actors (firm members) who evolve in open institutional systems. Therefore, it is useful to turn to certain influent sociological and philosophical perspectives to understand power dynamics in the firm from an economic point of view. More precisely, to highlight the individual actors’ games that constitute the evolution of firms’ dynamics as complex and strategic systems, it is essential to pay particular attention to three aspects: (1) dependency; (2) strategy; and (3) resistance

Une expérience anodine ? Écouter et entendre les usagers dans l’évaluation et la construction d’un projet de service

National audienceLa participation des usagers de l’action sociale est souvent présentée comme une « injonction participative » de la part des autorités publiques (Bazin et Guerrier, 2014 ; Blondiaux, 2008; Carrel, 2017), particulièrement depuis la loi 2002-2 . Dans les établissements sociaux ou médico-sociaux en France, elle prend souvent la forme d’instances formelles telles que les conseils de la vie sociale (CVS) ou des « collèges d’usagers » au sein des instances associatives. Vingt ans après l’adoption de la loi, il existe une forme de consensus autour des limites de cette approche par les instances ou dispositifs participatifs (Gourgues, 2012, 2013). Pour être réelle, afin d’influencer effectivement les décisions prises et contribuer à une co-construction des actions menées, la participation des usagers ne peut qu’être polymorphe, plurielle et s’insérer dans un ensemble de dynamiques plus ou moins régulières. En un sens, il s’agit de diffuser au sein de ces établissements une forme de culture participative qui dépasse la vision par dispositifs ou par outils, mais s’immisce diffuse dans l’ensemble de l’organisation et influence, de fait, dans l’ensemble des décisions prises et des actions menées. Toutefois, cette ambition se heurte aux réalités vécues au sein de nombreux établissements du fait de leurs modalités historiques de fonctionnement, de ressources financières et humaines limitées, de la culture professionnelle de certains intervenants sociaux ou médico-sociaux. Par ailleurs, les modalités même d’intervention de certains établissements ou services rendent moins aisées les dynamiques de participation et de co-construction. Ceci est le cas selon nous des accueils de jours pour personnes sans-abri, fréquentés uniquement la journée, recevant un public souvent nombreux et en situation d’extrême précarité. La forte mobilité des usagers, le flux important de demandes, limitent souvent toute ambition participative. Cet article se fonde sur une expérience pouvant être perçue comme l’une des pièces possibles du puzzle de la prise en compte de l’expertise des usagers : la réalisation récente d’une enquête au sein de la péniche accueil, accueil de jour pour personnes sans-abri, dans le cadre de la construction d’un projet de service. Cette étude repose sur des entretiens semi-directifs réalisés uniquement auprès des usagers de ce service, sans intégrer d’autres parties prenantes (dont les professionnels), ainsi que sur des observations. Il avait pour objectif de comprendre les usages du lieu par les personnes accueillies, les évolutions de ces usages dans le temps, le rapport à l’équipe et les points de vue sur les améliorations possibles

Trajectory Tracking in Linear Complementarity Systems with and without State-Jumps: A Passivity Approach

This work is largely concerned with trajectory tracking in linear complementarity systems (LCS). The main analytical tool for stability analysis and control design is passivity and the associated linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Cases with and without state jumps, with and without parametric uncertainties, are analysed. Theoretical findings are illustrated with many examples from circuits with set-valued, nonsmooth electronic components, networks with unilateral interactions, and mechanical systems with unilateral springs

Cenozoic Pb−Zn−Ag mineralization in the Western Alps

International audienceMetallogenic models of polyphase mountain belts critically rely on robust geochronology. We combine petrology with Rb−Sr and U−Th−Pb in situ geochronology, paired at thin-section scale, to date mineralization in deformed hydrothermal Pb−Zn−Ag deposits along an east-west transect in the Western Alps, France. The Pb−Zn−Ag veins occur in shear zones with kinematic structures consistent with the mylonitized host rocks. The ore consists mainly of galena in a quartz-phengite gangue. The paragenesis can be related to hydrothermal crystallization during periods of variable strain. Both isotope systems yield only Cenozoic ages (ca. 35 Ma and 15−20 Ma) without any pre-Alpine inheritance, clearly indicating orogenic mineralization. The metallogenic model proposed here includes significant fluid circulation along major tectonic contacts between basement and sedimentary cover during Alpine convergence

Postharvest lipidomics of lettuce leaves

Lipidomics is a rather new method in postharvest studies. A recent analysis of RNA-seq data on lettuce leaves revealed important changes in gene expression linked to lipid metabolism. Here, we report a global lipid analysis in lettuce leaves over 14 days of postharvest life, in dark cold conditions, with or without an initial light treatment. Our LC-MS analyses cover 171 lipid compounds, among which digalactosyldiacylglycerol, triacylglycerol, and phosphatidic acid, showing significant variations in response to various postharvest conditions. Our results suggest the reallocation of phospholipid fatty acids to galactolipids through storage time, which may be associated to lettuce capacities to go through storage without rapid chlorophyll degradation contrary to other leafy vegetables. The unsaturation level of fatty acids increased over storage time. Intermittent light treatment at the beginning of storage stimulated phosphatidic acid accumulation, concomitantly with upregulation of phospholipase D gene expression. We also observed an increase in triacylglycerol content after light treatment. Usual indicators of membrane damage, electrolyte leakage, and malondialdehyde, were unchanged over storage time. Results are discussed in the light of known changes in postharvest life of lettuces and other leafy vegetables

Conditioning Public Pensions on Health: Effects on Capital Accumulation and Welfare

This paper develops an overlapping generations model that links a public health system to a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) pension system. It relies on two assumptions. First, the health system directly finances curative health spending on the elderly. Second, public pensions partially depend on health status by introducing a component indexed to society's average level of old-age disability. Reducing the average disability rate in the economy then lowers pension benefits as the need to finance long-term care services also drops. We study the effects of introducing such a 'comprehensive' Social Security system on individual decisions, capital accumulation, and welfare. We first show that health investments can boost savings and capital accumulation under certain conditions. Second, if individuals are sufficiently concerned with their health when old, it is optimal to introduce a health-dependent pension system, as this will raise social welfare compared to a system where pensions are not tied to the society's average level of old-age disability. Our analysis thus highlights an important policy recommendation: making PAYG pension schemes partially health-dependent can be beneficial to society

ON THE HEIGHT OF SOME GENERATORS OF GALOIS EXTENSIONS WITH BIG GALOIS GROUP

We study the height of generators of Galois extensions of the rationals having the alternating group An as Galois group. We prove that if such generators are obtained from certain, albeit classical, constructions, their height tends to infinity as n increases. This provides an analogue of a result by Amoroso, originally established for the symmetric group

Too hot or too disturbed? Temperatures more than hikers affect circadian activity of females in northern chamois

International audienc

Approche sectorielle de quelques visages de l'entreprise en droit administratif: L'entreprise publique locale, cible contrastée d'application du droit administratif

International audienceL'entreprise publique locale est au carrefour de plusieurs droits. Entreprise commerciale par nature, elle est pourtant attraite à la sphère administrative, en raison de l'implication déterminante de ses actionnaires publics. Une analyse détaillée permet de souligner que l'application du droit administratif n'y est pas uniforme : entravée au stade institutionnel, elle est assumée au stade actionnarial et tend à être contenue au stade contractuel

Editorial: Personalized health and precision medicine in practice

International audienc