Le nectar et l’ambroisie : La consommation des boissons alcooliques chez l’élite de la Nouvelle-France au xviiie siècle

À l’époque moderne, consommer du vin et des liqueurs constitue un marqueur identitaire pour l’élite, au même titre que le bas de soie ou la perruque. Au xviiie siècle, les membres de l’élite de la Nouvelle-France boivent en se conformant aux normes en vigueur chez leur homologue métropolitaine, depuis le choix et le service des boissons jusqu’à leur absorption et, parfois, de l’ivresse qu’elles procurent. On prend également soin de respecter les prescriptions sociales liées au Boire, particulièrement celles relatives au genre. Cette façon d’afficher des manières de boire bien françaises sert à marquer la distance qui les sépare des gens du peuple et ainsi de s’éloigner du spectre de la « sauvagerie », mais sert aussi à affirmer leur filiation identitaire avec la France, en perpétuant leur appartenance à la culture française et, par extension, à la « civilisation ».During the early modern period, drinking wine and liqueur was an identity marker for the elite, in the same way as wearing silk stockings or wigs. In the 18th century, the elite of New France adopted the same drinking norms as their metropolitan counterparts, from the choice and the service of drinks to their consumption and the inebriation that sometimes followed. The elite also took care to respect the social mores of drinking, especially those relating to gender. This display of a typically French style of drinking not only helped the elite maintain their social distance from the popular classes and thus remove themselves from the spectre of « savagery », but also reaffirmed their French identity, by reinforcing their participation in French culture and, by extension, in « civilization »

Mémoires tabagiques. L’usage du tabac, du XVe siècle à nos jours

Plante inconnue hors de l’Amérique avant le XVe siècle, le tabac est rapidement exporté hors de son terreau traditionnel sous l’impulsion des grandes explorations de la Renaissance. En quelques décennies à peine, son usage se répand simultanément en Europe, en Afrique et en Asie, où il s’adapte aux cultures locales avec une facilité déconcertante et devient, le plus souvent, un puissant marqueur identitaire. Étudier le développement du tabagisme peut donc servir à mieux comprendre la construction de l’identité de certains groupes sociaux et l’expression de cette identité dans les écrits politiques ou médicaux, les arts ou la littérature. Par un tour d’horizon à la fois historique, sociologique et anthropologique du tabagisme dans les sociétés américaines et occidentales, cet article vise à contribuer à l’interprétation des rapports complexes entre l’Homme et le tabac depuis le XVe siècle. Sans prétention d’exhaustivité, l’article propose d’examiner le rôle du tabac dans l’expression de la convivialité et de l’identité, notamment au niveau du genre et du groupe social. En suscitant certaines réflexions, l’approche pluridisciplinaire qui a été privilégiée souhaite permettre une compréhension plus complète de l’imbrication du tabagisme dans les cultures, en plus de soulever quelques hypothèses quant à son avenir dans les sociétés postmodernes.Unknown outside the Americas before the 15th century, tobacco was quickly exported from its traditional birthplace during the extensive explorations of the Renaissance. In just a few decades, its use spread simultaneously throughout Europe, Africa and Asia, where it adapted to local cultures with a disconcerting facility, most often, as a powerful identity marker. A study of the development of tobacco can help us better understand the construction of the identity of certain social groups and the expression of this identity in political or medical writing, as well as in arts and literature. By offering a historical, sociological and anthropological overview of tobacco use in American and western societies, this article seeks to interpret the complex relations between Man and tobacco since the 15th century. Without claiming to be exhaustive, the article examines the role of tobacco in the expression of conviviality and identity, particularly in terms of gender and social group. By eliciting reflection, the use of a multidisciplinary approach seeks to provide a more complete understanding of the interlacing of tobacco use in various cultures, as well as raising several hypotheses in regard to its future in post-modern societies.El tabaco, planta desconocida fuera de América antes del siglo XV, fue rápidamente exportado de su territorio tradicional bajo el impulso de las grandes exploraciones del Renacimiento. En algunas décadas apenas, su consumo se extendió simultáneamente en Europa, África y Asia, donde se adaptó a las culturas locales con una facilidad desconcertante y se transformó, a menudo, en un poderoso marcador identitario. Por ello, el estudio del desarrollo del tabaquismo puede servir a comprender mejor la construcción de la identidad de ciertos grupos sociales y la expresión de dicha identidad en los escritos políticos o médicos, las artes o la literatura. Este artículo se plantea como objetivo contribuir a la interpretación de las relaciones complejas entre el Hombre y el tabaco a partir del siglo XV, mediante un panorama a la vez histórico, sociológico y antropológico del tabaquismo en las sociedades americanas y occidentales. Sin pretender ser exhaustivo, el artículo propone examinar el papel del tabaco en la expresión de la buena convivencia y de la identidad, principalmente en lo que respecta al género y al grupo social. El enfoque pluridisciplinario que se ha privilegiado busca, al suscitar ciertas reflexiones, obtener una comprensión más completa del entrelazamiento del tabaquismo en las culturas, además de generar ciertas hipótesis en lo que respecta a su futuro en las sociedades posmodernas

Safety of Patient-Controlled Analgesia After Surgery in Children And Adolescents: Concerns And Potential Solutions

Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) is common practice for acute postoperative pain management. Postoperative PCA use decreases pain intensity and improves patient satisfaction when compared to non-PCA routes of medication administration. Although PCA has several advantages regarding efficacy and safety, adverse events remain a concern. Programming errors and protocols, patient monitoring, and PCA by proxy or with continuous infusion are recurring silent dangers of PCA use in children and adolescents. Innovative considerations need to be emphasized for future improvement of PCA devices for elective surgical patients. With technology within the healthcare setting advancing at a fast pace, smart pump technology is something to look forward to

Ultraviolet emission lines of Si II in quasars --- investigating the "Si II disaster"

The observed line intensity ratios of the Si II 1263 and 1307 \AA\ multiplets to that of Si II 1814\,\AA\ in the broad line region of quasars are both an order of magnitude larger than the theoretical values. This was first pointed out by Baldwin et al. (1996), who termed it the "Si II disaster", and it has remained unresolved. We investigate the problem in the light of newly-published atomic data for Si II. Specifically, we perform broad line region calculations using several different atomic datasets within the CLOUDY modeling code under optically thick quasar cloud conditions. In addition, we test for selective pumping by the source photons or intrinsic galactic reddening as possible causes for the discrepancy, and also consider blending with other species. However, we find that none of the options investigated resolves the Si II disaster, with the potential exception of microturbulent velocity broadening and line blending. We find that a larger microturbulent velocity ($\sim 500 \rm \, kms^{-1}$) may solve the Si II disaster through continuum pumping and other effects. The CLOUDY models indicate strong blending of the Si II 1307 \AA\ multiplet with emission lines of O I, although the predicted degree of blending is incompatible with the observed 1263/1307 intensity ratios. Clearly, more work is required on the quasar modelling of not just the Si II lines but also nearby transitions (in particular those of O I) to fully investigate if blending may be responsible for the Si II disaster.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap

“As long as the absence shall last”: proxy agreements and women’s power in eighteenth-century Quebec City

In pre-industrial societies, the exercise of power within the family was closely linked to the legal context and to patriarchal norms. The role played by women, particularly married women, in the family’s economic activity is often hidden from history. The study of women entitled to act by proxy in Quebec City, the capital of Nouvelle-France in the eighteenth century, allows a better understanding of the way the couple could function in a colonial context often characterized by the physical absence of males. The analysis of agreements authorizing wives to stand proxy for their husbands, combined with a prosopographical study, reveals the context and the issues at stake in this circumstantial transfer of power. This approach shows that it is possible to penetrate, at least in part, the silence of history concerning the activity of married women, and to shed light on the complex question of complementarity and trust within the couple

« Quelque longue que soit l’absence » : procurations et pouvoir féminin à Québec au xviiie siècle

Dans les sociétés préindustrielles, l’exercice du pouvoir au sein de la famille est étroitement lié aux contingences juridiques et aux normes patriarcales. La connaissance du rôle joué par les femmes dans les activités économiques de la famille, en particulier les femmes mariées, échappe le plus souvent aux historiens. L’étude des procuratrices à Québec, capitale de la Nouvelle-France au xviiie siècle, permet de mieux comprendre le fonctionnement du couple dans un contexte colonial marqué par l’absentéisme masculin. L’analyse des actes de procurations octroyés aux femmes, combinée à une étude prosopographique de nature sociodémographique, révèle les enjeux et les circonstances de ce transfert circonstanciel de pouvoir. Cette voie montre qu’il est possible de contourner partiellement le silence entourant les activités des épouses pour éclairer la délicate question de la complémentarité et de la confiance au sein du couple.In pre-industrial societies, the exercise of power within the family was closely linked to the legal context and to patriarchal norms. The role played by women, particularly married women, in the family’s economic activity is often hidden from history. The study of women entitled to act by proxy in Quebec City, the capital of Nouvelle-France in the eighteenth century, allows a better understanding of the way the couple could function in a colonial context often characterized by the physical absence of males. The analysis of agreements authorizing wives to stand proxy for their husbands, combined with a prosopographical study, reveals the context and the issues at stake in this circumstantial transfer of power. This approach shows that it is possible to penetrate, at least in part, the silence of history concerning the activity of married women, and to shed light on the complex question of complementarity and trust within the couple