Social representations of nature: the case of the 'Braer' oil spill in Shetland

In this thesis, the work of Serge Moscovici on the human history of nature is made relevant to his theory of social representations. This theoretical synthesis breaks away both from the realist assumption of a given, immutable and non-socialised nature, and from the individualist conceptualisations of man-environment relations which still dominate environmental, ecological and social psychology. It is argued that social representations are not solely the concern of epistemology; they have ontological correlates and are involved in the social construction on nature. The empirical study investigates how social representations of nature functioned in Shetland - a society which combines traditional and late modern features - in the wake of the Braer oil spill in January 1993. The findings are based on the qualitative analysis of 17 individual interviews, five small group discussions, 375 articles from the newspaper The Shetland Times, the transcript of a public debate on the Cost of the Braer for Shetland and, more generally, participant observation. The analysis reveals the synchronic existence of three distinct, yet interrelated, social representations of nature: organic, mechanistic and cybernetic. Each of them is intrinsically related to a particular sense of identity, mode of knowledge, and mode of relations to nature. "Real Shetlanders" hold predominantly organic representations, whereby nature constitutes a repository of their history, a definer of their identity as a marginal but resilient community. It is known through direct engagement and participation in a life world. By contrast, "Sooth-Moothers" (outsiders) hold mechanistic and/or cybernetic representations which rest upon some universal, abstract knowledge of the systemic properties of "the environment". Their relations to nature oscillate between domination, mastery and protection. However, the imperatives facing the community, together with constant exchanges of information via the media, blur the boundaries between representations

Conjoncture et historicité de l'accession de la norme à sa juridicité : les droits linguistiques au Canada

"Thèse présentée à la Faculté des études supérieures En vue de l'obtention du grade de Docteur en droit"La présente thèse a d'abord pour sujet la fonction participative reconnue à l'interprète de la nonne, déniée par la doctrine classique au profit de la fiction qui fonde l'absolutisation de l'intention de l'auteur de la nonne. Faisant état des phases de l'avènement du sens de la loi dans le déploiement du cercle hennéneutique, nous analysons la doctrine classique et, abordant l'interprétation selon l'approche hennéneutique, nous dégageons et explicitons les conditions propres à l'avènement de la juridicité tant au niveau de l'autonomie du texte que de sa réception. La présente thèse a également pour fin d'évaluer le poids des contraintes sur l'interprétation et l'application à l'oeuvre en droit. Comment, dans le processus de l'avènement du sens de la nonne, l'interprétation juridique s'édifie-t-elle et s'enrichitelle des valeurs et des règles qui régissent la production du droit? Pour analyser et caractériser le rôle du juge dans l'avènement du sens de la nonne juridique selon une démarche dont la spécificité relève de la phénoménologie et de 1'hennéneutique philosophique, nous choisissons le domaine des droits linguistiques. L'analyse des données empiriques recueillies pennet de voir sur quelles voies, au-delà de la prédétennination et de la co-détennination du sens de la nonne, s'engage la «surdétennination» (concept propre à la théorie de «l'analyse systémale» et selon lequel le sens de la nonne émerge aussi en référence au champ de valeurs qui traverse la représentation de la réalité de la nonne) et dès lors d'en illustrer concrètement les manifestations propres. D'abord envisagée sous le règne de l'histoire, des principes fondateurs et des enjeux liés à la dualité linguistique, l'étude du contentieux linguistique est spécifiquement traitée sous l'angle des droits des minorités linguistiques et de la représentation des valeurs privilégiées. L'analyse des mémoires déposés par les IV parties et les intervenants dans les causes entendues en matière de droits linguistiques révèle que les valeurs identitaires dominent les interventions analysées. L'analyse de la réceptivité de la Cour et l'interprétation des juges confirme ensuite que la surdétennination est à l' oeuvre. Ce parcours théorique pennet que nous disposions d'une représentation raisonnée du rôle du juge dans la construction du sens en droit selon laquelle les trois moments du cercle hennéneutique - compréhension, interprétation, application s'unissent dans l'avènement du sens de la loi en une dynamique circulaire et anticipatoire propre à révéler les constituants du texte juridique. L'analyse empmque confirme quant à elle la participation du récepteur et interprète de la nonne sur le sens qui préside à son accession à la juridicité.This thesis deals primarily with the participative function of the interpreter of the law as it is acknowledged except by the c1assical doctrine that is more inc1ined to see the intention of the lawmaker as the absolute detenninant. Referring to the various stages in the meaning-making process through the creation of the henneneutical circ1e, we analyze the c1assical doctrine and, while dealing with interpretation of the law under the henneneutical approach, we put forward and explain the very conditions where the legal phenomenon appears at the level of the autonomy of the text and of its reception. This thesis also intends to assess the impact of the construction and enforcement constraints regarding the law. How, in the course of the meaningmaking process, is legal interpretation built and enriched by the values and rules which govem law-making? To analyze and characterize the role of the judge in the making of the meaning of the law with a specifie approach inspired by phenomenology and philosophical henneneutics, we have chosen the area of language rights. The analysis of the empirical data that was gathered enables us to see, beyond the predetermination and the co-determination of the meaning of the law, where overdetermination is headed (a specifie concept of the "systemal analysis" theory under which the meaning of the law also emerges by reference to the value system permeating the representation of the reality of the law) and therefore to concretely illustrate its very expressions. First approached from the perspectives of history, of the founding principles and of the issues related to the linguistic duality, the linguistic case law is specifically VI reviewed in the context of linguistic minority rights and of the representation of preferred values. An analysis of submissions filed by the parties and the interveners in linguistic rights cases shows the major role played by identity-related values in the reviewed interventions. The analysis of the Court's responsiveness and the interpretation of judges then confirm the existence of an over-determination. This theoretical exploration allows us to have a reasoned representation of the judge's role in the making of meaning in law through the three stages of the hermeneutical circle - understanding, interpretation, application - that are combined in a circular and anticipatory process aiming at revealing the constitutive elements of the legal text. The empirical analysis confirms the influence of the recipient and interpreter of the law on the meaning which leads it to become a legal phenomenon

An Assessment of Poaching and Wildlife Trafficking in the Garamba-Bili-Chinko Transboundary Landscape

An assessment of poaching and wildlife trafficking in the Garamba-Bili-Chinko transboundary landscape of the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Cong

Mindfulness-Based Reduction Stress Reduction for Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Depressive Symptoms: a Pilot Trial

Background : Despite their efficacy at controlling joint inflammation, current treatments of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) leave up to 40% of patients into non-remission. Non-remission, frequently due to persistently negative self-reported impact of RA, was found to be associated with significant persistent depressive symptoms 6-7 months after initiation of arthritis treatment. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is proposed to improve depressive symptoms and RA-related clinical outcomes. To pave the way for an eventual randomized controlled trial, a feasibility and acceptability study of MBSR has been realized. Methods: A standardized 8-week MBSR program was offered to groups of patients with controlled inflammatory disease but high levels of depressive symptoms.Qualitative interviews based on a theoretical framework of acceptability were conducted. Change in depressive symptoms (CES-D tool), fatigue and pain (SF-36), anxiety (GAD-7), pain, disease activity (PtVAS and SDAI scores) was measured over a 6-month period. Results: 27 patients have been recruited (3 distinct MBSR groups). Factors leading to a higher rate of success in recruitment were identified. Despite the small sample, the intervention was found to have a clear impact on depressive symptoms (p=0.004), anxiety (p=0.005), and social functioning (from the SF-36; p=0.04). Patients reported that MBSR gave them the opportunity to control their reactions in face of stressful situations.Perceptions were almost uniformly positive towards MBSR, and most appear to have integrated some part of the intervention in their daily life. Conclusions: Although recruitment was challenging, a MBSR trial on depressed patients with controlled inflammatory disease was found acceptable and feasible within this population. Preliminary clinical results showed positive impacts of such intervention. 

Mémoire sur la diversification des parcours au secondaire et, plus particulièrement, sur les programmes à vocation particulière

Les deux fonctions de l’enseignement secondaire, p. 7; La situation actuelle au Québec, p. 9; Impacts de la diversification des parcours scolaires induite par les programmes à vocation particulière, p. 13; Des moyens de satisfaire une clientèle hétérogène, p. 17; Effets des programmes à vocation particulière sur la formation et la profession enseignante, p. 19; Principes et valeurs qui sous-tendent les interventions de l’école, p. 21; Recommandations, p. 23

The luminescence of NaxEu3+(2−x)/3MoO4 scheelites depends on the number of Eu-clusters occurring in their incommensurately modulated structure

Scheelite related compounds with general formula Mn(XO4)m are of interest owing to their optical properties, stability and relatively simple preparation. Eu3+-containing scheelites are considered as red emitting phosphors and the main factors affecting their luminescence are thought to be chemical composition and particle size while the influence of their structure is generally ignored. Here we report eight compounds from the NaxEu(2_x)/3MoO4 series prepared by conventional solid-state reaction and present a detailed analysis of their crystal structures. Six of them have modulated structures, a common feature of SRCs, in which dopant Eu3+ ions are orderly distributed. Moreover, different amounts of Eu3+ dimers are detected in the modulated structures, characterized by weak satellite reflections appearing in the lower angle part of the XRD patterns. These reflections are indexed and incorporated into Rietveld’s refinement using superspace (3 + 1)-dimension symmetry. The remarkable feature of the compounds is that the characteristic luminescence parameters, overall and intrinsic quantum yields, Eu lifetimes, and sensitization efficiencies, correlate with the number of Eu3+ aggregates, but not directly with the composition x of the materials. This provides an efficient tool for understanding and controlling the luminescence properties of scheelite related compounds

Drivers and Challenges in Raising the Achievement of Pupils from Bangladeshi, Somali and Turkish Backgrounds

In this report we examine why attainment rates amongst Bangladeshi pupils have significantly improved over recent years while Turkish and Somali pupils continue to perform below the national average. We explore the experiences of pupils within the education system, the characteristics and policies of their schools, the support received from the local authorities and the impact of parental involvement and parents’ attitudes to school. We also suggest the factors and school strategies likely to have contributed to improved outcomes for underperforming ethnic minority pupils. Evidence will include examples of good practice in schools with high performing pupils from these groups. Wherever possible we identify factors that are specific to the three groups in this study, and in particular the factors that explain increasing attainment rates amongst Bangladeshi pupils