The Celtic Languages in the Age of Globalisation: Problems and Possibilities [In Russian]

The article discusses the current state of Celtic languages ​​in the UK and Republic of Ireland, as affected by recent developments in globalization and devolution. After a brief history, the current position of the lanuages Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic is discussed. The importance of the influence of the media is considered, paricularly developments in ICT

'We have to become the quasi-cause of nothing, - of nihil' : an interview with Bernard Stiegler

In this interview Bernard Stiegler situates his philosophy with respect to the theories of Kant, Husserl, Derrida and Deleuze. It also contains an extensive comment on the attacks on the French news paper Charlie Hebdo

Language death and revival with particular focus on Celtic languages

Language death is nowadays a very real and serious problem. It can affect any language and society across the world. There is not one language which can be considered safe over a long period of time. Some of them, e.g. English have really good chances to ensure their survival, but even their future cannot be guaranteed. Such languages should not, however, be concerned about their future for the time being. It is the small, minority languages which are under threat of disappearance and exactly these languages should be given a great deal of public attention and help in order to prevent them from disappearing. Each of the current 7, 102 languages in the world is equally important. Each of them has its own history, culture and communities, and none of these should be neglected. There is no backward or primitive language, because each language is beautiful in itself. To lose a language means to lose its speakers’ history passed down for generations. Language is also a very important integral part of its speakers’ identity – to lose one’s language would mean to lose one’s identity; losing a language would also mean losing a culture – crafts, clothing, dance, art, music, etc., all mutually interconnected via language, would be forgotten and lost if it was not for the language and the opportunities it provides for them to be used. Language diversity should not be seen as an obstacle to progress, but rather as a treasure – a treasure which is to be cherished and valued. If there is something to be done in order to slow down or even reverse language death, it is high time to roll up our sleeves and start working. Some people take the problem of language death for granted because the languages at risk are languages they may not have even heard of. They are not, however, aware of how fast their own languages can end up in same situations. Endangered or ‘safe’, precaution measures have to be taken to avoid language death. Revival models are the best precaution measures, because they try to slow down or stop language death. In order to succeed, these must be supported by both government and community. In cases where this union was formed, languages have been saved successfully. The six living Celtic languages described in this thesis find themselves at different levels of endangerment. Their future is by no means secure, mostly because they live for centuries next to the world’s most powerful language. On the other hand, if it was not for the revival movements, no matter how successful or unsuccessful they were, the position of the Celtic languages would definitely be much worse. Language revival models should therefore be supported no matter where, because they are the first step towards long term preservation of a language

Science Hackathons for Cyberphysical System Security Research: Putting CPS testbed platforms to good use

A challenge is to develop cyber-physical system scenarios that reflect the diversity and complexity of real-life cyber-physical systems in the research questions that they address. Time-bounded collaborative events, such as hackathons, jams and sprints, are increasingly used as a means of bringing groups of individuals together, in order to explore challenges and develop solutions. This paper describes our experiences, using a science hackathon to bring individual researchers together, in order to develop a common use-case implemented on a shared CPS testbed platform that embodies the diversity in their own security research questions. A qualitative study of the event was conducted, in order to evaluate the success of the process, with a view to improving future similar events

Language ideologies and language practices in France and Spain : the case of Breton, Occitan, Catalan and Galician

PhD ThesisThe aim of this dissertation is to investigate the situation of minoritised languages in France and Spain, by developing a comparative framework for the analysis, and taking into account the theoretical and empirical sociolinguistic research context with regard to language planning and language ideologies. To date, theoretical and empirical studies have tended to focus on one region, have adopted a comparative approach that focuses on individual languages without an explorative comparison of the regimes behind those languages, or have preferred to adopt a generalised theoretical approach that does not discuss in great detail the specifics of any one region. In my comparison of languages spoken in France and Spain that are not the state language, I explore the impact of contrasting political regimes on language planning to discover if state regime is an important factor behind the long-term survival of minoritised languages. The subject matter for this investigation concentrates on two languages from each country: Breton and Occitan for France, and Catalan and Galician for Spain. The empirical data for my investigation consists of questionnaire responses by native, non-native and non-speakers of the languages in question that covers an age-range from eighteen to eighty-five, rural and urban dwellers and lifelong residents and incomers. In addition, I have obtained data from language planners and I have analysed language plans and surveys via means of the Internet. The Internet has formed a key part of the research for this PhD, so that the methodology has taken advantage of new technology that could provide a change of direction for future research programmes.School of Modern Languages, Newcastle Universit

The rise and fall of spatial inequalities in France: A long-run perspective

This paper uses a unique database that provides value-added, employment, and population levels for the entire set of French departments for the years 1860, 1930, and 2000. These data cover three sectors: agriculture, manufacturing, and services. This allows us to study the evolution of spatial inequalities within France and to test the empirical relevance of economic geography predictions over the long run. The evidence confirms the existence of a bell-shaped evolution of the spatial concentration of manufacturing and services. In contrast, labor productivity has been converging across departments. Last, our study also confirms the presence of strong agglomeration economies during the full time-period. Market potential during the first sub-period (1860-1930), and higher education during the second (1930-2000), together with sectoral diversity, account for the spatial distribution of these gains.economic geography ; agglomeration economies ; human capital ; economic history

The Art and Media Communications course : a case study of one teacher’s perspective

This study investigates the teaching experience of one Texas high school visual art teacher as she integrates the Arts and Media Communication course into her curriculum for the first time. Through an open-ended interview and class observation, this case study inquires how the teacher teaches the lessons and curriculum. This study examines literature on learning theories, digital and media literacy and technology in the secondary art classroom. The explanations of the results highlight the efficacy of the course and how the students responded to the projects. The findings of this study suggest that technology is an effective tool for the Art and Media Communications class and a student-centered instructional approach works well for this course. Therefore, it is proposed that teachers, principals, school districts and other community organizations may find that art and technology curricula are valuable, assessable, and supported.Art Educatio

“No One Will Do This For Us”

This book presents a portrait of actively engaged young people representing four linguistic minorities in Europe: the Kashubs (in Poland), the Upper Sorbs (in Germany), the Bretons (in France), and the Welsh (in the United Kingdom). In numerous statements cited in the book, drawn from interviews conducted by the author, young people speak for themselves and serve as guides to their minority cultures. They draw attention to the difficulties and challenges they encounter in their day-to-day life and activism. Based on their statements, the book examines the sociolinguistic situation of each of the minorities, the prevailing linguistic ideologies and the role of minority education; it also distinguishes different types of minority language speakers. The analysis focuses on the cultural and identity-forming practices of young people in the context of different forms of community life and their different pathways to becoming engaged representing their cultures and languages

From Political Radicalness to Citizen Participation? Current Reconfigurations of the Breton movement.

This article aims at analyzing the recent mutations of the Breton repertoire of contention. To do so, it proposes to look at the example of an association called "Dibab", which praised participatory democracy by organizing local votes on nationalitarian topics in small Breton towns during the year of 2015. Having a look at the trajectory of Dibab activists shows that many of them had started their militant career years ago, and were familiar to more radical pro-independence organizations. How do these activists have managed to play with different political strategies without losing their ideological frames? How have they expressed different kinds of commitment through their political practices and discourses? Observations, document studies and semi-structured biographical interviews disclose that the construction of a new participatory ideal by radical Breton activists does not prevent them from being multipositioned in the militant field, widening their action spectrum by doing so. That is why the Breton repertoire is better understood as a continuum. Indeed, long term processes and the juxtaposition of different spaces of mobilization must be taken into account in the analysis

RIO Country Report 2017: France

The R&I Observatory country report 2017 provides a brief analysis of the R&I system covering the economic context, main actors, funding trends and human resources, policies to address R&I challenges, and R&I in national and regional smart specialisation strategies. Data is from Eurostat, unless otherwise referenced and is correct as at January 2018. Data used from other international sources is also correct to that date. The report provides a state-of-play and analysis of the national level R&I system and its challenges, to support the European Semester.JRC.B.7-Knowledge for Finance, Innovation and Growt