Egypt in 2011: A regime that no longer knows how to adapt? Fluid conjunctures and regime transformations in perspective

The popular uprising that took place in Egypt in January and February 2011 may eventually lead to regime change. Whatever the end result of the ongoing process, however, the theories of authoritarian consolidation – which view the capacity of a political regime to adapt to a changing environment as key to its durability – provide an interesting framework to analyze the process of crisis of early 2011. The work conducted by Michel Camau on Tunisia’s authoritarian regime and its transformations in the 1980s, in particular, is worth being considered and put in perspective with the recent developments in Egypt. It underlines how factors of a different nature can combine and create a fluid conjuncture to which political actors – regime leaders included – may find it difficult to adapt. The Egyptian context of January 2011 can be viewed as one of these critical moments of political fluidity in which transformation or rupture are at stake for the regime, depending on the capacity of its leadership to adapt. The prospect of the presidential succession is seen as a window of opportunity for changing the balance of power within the political system. The social effects of liberal economic policies and the growing political awareness of youth have led to major social transformations. Growing tensions within and between the main institutions of the regime have progressively undermined the ruling elite’s cohesion. Because it takes place in such a critical conjuncture, the multisectorial mobilization of early 2011 contributes to the blurring of the leadership’s calculations and capacity to adapt. The regime undergoes a process of fracture and disintegration whose eventual result remains unclear

Construction d'Orthogonaux dans les Groupes abéliens finis eet confusions d'effets dans les plans factoriels

RésuméCet article est consacré aux plans factoriels obtenus par la méthode DSIGN de Patterson (1976). Comme Bailey (1977) l'a montré l'étude des confusions d'effets dans ces plans d'expériences peut être menée en recherchant les orthogonaux de sousgroupes du groupe abélien fini des traitements. Le même procédé permet également de construire des plans vérifiant des confusions d'effets données. Nous présentons ici un algorithme de construction de tels orthogonaux qui passe par la décomposition primaire du groupe des traitements puis par la construction d'orthogonaux dans des p-groupes.AbstractThis paper is devoted to factorial designs generated by Patterson's (1976) DSIGN method. As stated by Bailey (1977), the identification of confounded effects may be done here by constructing annihilators of given subgroups of the treatment group

« La France vue d’Irlande. L’histoire du mythe français de Parnell à l’État Libre », Pierre Ranger

Alors que plusieurs historiens se sont intéressés à la façon dont la question d’Irlande a été perçue en France (L. Colantonio, J. Julienne), Pierre Ranger propose une étude thématique et chronologique de la façon dont les nationalistes irlandais, surtout séparatistes mais aussi constitutionnels, ont construit et utilisé dans la presse et dans leurs discours, à des fins de propagande, une image mythique de la France. Cette image s’appuya sur des événements fondateurs tels que la création de br..

Daniel O’Connell and India

Even though O’Connell came from a Gaelic background and is well-known for this struggle in favour of the emancipation of Irish Catholics and the Repeal of the 1800 Act of Union between Ireland and Great Britain, he also took part in other struggles such as the abolition of slavery. He also developed an interest for India. This paper wishes to examine how the Irish leader took part in the debates on the 1833 parliamentary Bill, which renewed the Charter of the East India Company and in the campaigns led in 1839 and 1840 by two associations – the British India Society et the Northern Central British India Society. It will try to determine if there were links between O’Connell’s campaigns against British rule in India and against the 1800 Act of Union, which should lead to a discussion and assessment of O’Connell’s attitude towards the British Empire.Bien que d’origine gaélique et connu pour son combat pour l’émancipation des Catholiques irlandais et pour l’abrogation de la loi de 1800 rattachant l’Irlande à la Grande-Bretagne, O’Connell s’est aussi engagé dans d’autre combats comme l’abolition de l’esclavage. Il s’est aussi intéressé au cas de l’Inde. Cet article se propose d’examiner la façon dont le chef de file irlandais participa aux débats renouvelant la charte de la Compagnie des Indes Orientales en 1833 ainsi qu’aux campagnes menées en 1839 et 1840 par deux associations: la British India Society et la Northern Central British India Society. Il s’agit d’établir si des liens peuvent être repérés entre le combat que O’Connell mena contre la façon dont l’Inde était administrée par la Grande-Bretagne via la Compagnie des Indes Orientales et celui qu’il entreprit pour dénoncer l’Union entre l’Irlande et la Grande-Bretagne. Ce faisant, on s’interroge plus largement sur l’attitude que O’Connell choisit d’adopter vis-à-vis de l’Empire britannique

Le « parti nationaliste irlandais » au xixe siècle : « facteur d’éloignement » et instrument de conquête

Cet article reprend un des arguments développés par Paul Brennan dans sa thèse d’Etat, selon lequel le nationalisme parlementaire irlandais fut un « facteur d’éloignement », pour poursuivre la réflexion sur les orientations politiques suivies par l’élite parlementaire irlandaise. Il apparaît que celle-ci présenta l’idée de la séparation d’avec la Grande-Bretagne sous une forme plus ambiguë que ne laissait entendre P. Brennan et l’histoire du parti parlementaire irlandais peut aussi être interprétée comme le résultat de stratégies visant la conquête des électeurs et du pouvoir politique en Irlande, de façon à peser davantage à Westminster.In his work L’État en Irlande, the late Prof. Paul Brennan argued that Irish parliamentary nationalism contributed to promote the idea that Ireland should distance itself from Great Britain. Using this idea as a starting point, this paper wishes to take the debate further and show that the moderate nationalist elite in Ireland dealt far more ambiguously than P. Brennan suggests with the idea of separation from Great Britain and that the Irish parliamentary party also resorted to strategies aiming at conquering political power in Ireland and gaining political weight at Westminster

Applying a Transnational Approach to the Question of Irish Home Rule: Ireland, New Zealand and Home Rule

The paper aims to examine the Home Rule question as a debate, which triggered an interest and some discussions beyond the borders of Ireland and the United Kingdom. Through the example of New Zealand, a British settlement colony, which enjoyed self-governance and had welcomed an Irish diaspora, the paper will attempt to shed light on several important facts. First, Irish communities settled abroad were a source of financial and moral support for the Irish Parliamentary Party and for the Irish organisations campaigning for Home Rule for Ireland. Secondly, like Canada or Australia, New Zealand was a colonial precedent, which Irish Home Rulers used to legitimize their demand for self-government. Lastly, the Home Rule issue also allowed New Zealanders to ponder over their own issues, such as their place within the British Empire and their identity.Cet article étudie l’intérêt et les discussions que la question du Home Rule irlandais a pu susciter au-delà des frontières de l’Irlande ou du Royaume-Uni. A travers l’exemple de la Nouvelle-Zélande, colonie britannique politiquement autonome et qui abritait une diaspora irlandaise, il s’agit de mettre en lumière plusieurs faits importants. Premièrement, les Irlandais émigrés à l’étranger et notamment dans les colonies de peuplement furent une source de soutien financier et moral pour le parti parlementaire irlandais et pour les organisations irlandaises favorables au Home Rule. Deuxièmement, comme le Canada ou l’Australie, la Nouvelle-Zélande servit de précédent que les nationalistes constitutionnels irlandais mirent en avant pour légitimer leur combat en faveur d’une autonomie législative retrouvée. Enfin, la question anglo-irlandaise permit aussi aux Néo-Zélandais de s’interroger davantage sur les problèmes qui les concernaient, notamment leur place au sein de l’Empire et leur identité

Home Rule, 1870-1914: an Introduction

Recent events have been raising the question of the future of the British Union. The results of the Brexit referendum in Scotland, which showed that a majority of the Scots backed the remain option, contrary to the Welsh and the English, have given fresh impetus to the idea of organising a second referendum on Scottish independence following the failure of the first one in September 2014. In Northern Ireland, where a majority of voters also supported the United Kingdom’s remaining in the UE, ..

Processus socio-territoriaux urbains à l’œuvre dans les trajectoires des femmes enceintes ayant accouché prématurement

Nous proposons ici une analyse des trajectoires de soins de femmes enceintes qui ont accouché prématurément. Cette analyse passe par une contextualisation des territoires urbains au sein desquels ces femmes évoluent. La méthodologie de cette recherche se base sur une étude de type ethnographique, menée en 2012-2015 dans quatre grandes villes françaises. Une dizaine d’entretiens auprès de soignants et environ 120 entretiens, auprès de femmes ayant accouché récemment d’un enfant prématuré ou avec un petit poids de naissance, ont été menés dans 8 hôpitaux. Les résultats de cette étude montrent que les trajectoires de soins durant la grossesse de ces femmes sont largement dépendantes de leur capital social et de leurs rapports avec les systèmes de santé. Nous mettons également en lumière le rôle prépondérant des contextes sociaux et historiques des territoires urbains dans la production des déterminants de santé qui participent, selon les lieux, à des situations défavorables autour de la grossesse et dont les profils observés sont différenciés.Epidemiological Context : Huge disparities, related to health outcomes, prognoses, and care given by health professionals, exist not only between high- and low-income countries, but also among high-income countries themselves, for babies born prematurely (Torchin, 2015). The risk factors associated with spontaneous preterm birth are numerous and interrelated. Instability and poverty are also clearly linked to minimal (or no) prenatal care, responsible for an increase in frequency of perinatal pathologies and in particular, prematurity (Lejeune, 2008). Consequently, it is the ensemble of the various social determinants of health that we have to take in count. For more than 15 years, researchers have shown that the social determinants of health can provoke pathogenic effects (McEwen, 1998). Disadvantaged socioeconomic situations bring about stress, increasing the risk of premature birth (Kramer, 2001; Roy-Matton, 2011 ; McDonald 2014). Scientific Position: However, the interactions between different social determinants of health are not identical in all places. This is the reason why the examination of socio-political and territorial factors informs us of the complexity of significant instability for women and in particular, of the differentiated levels of social and medical care for pregnant women, depending on location. Subsequently, the contextual mechanisms, both short-term and structural, that are at work in these interactions, can be observed by examining the trajectories of women’s lives. This approach is employed in research projects, related to access to care and care pathways for pregnant women who have given birth prematurely. It aims to highlight the spatial and social dimensions of women’s care trajectories. There is a real theoretical and methodological challenge to clarify the use of healthcare in light of spatial contexts (Gasquet-Blanchard & Hoyez, 2015). In the framework of our reflections, it questions how the context contributes to explaining health status and modalities of access to care for women during pregnancy. Framework: To do this, we propose an analysis of the care pathways of pregnant women who delivered prematurely. This analysis involves a socio-historical and institutional contextualization of the urban environments in which these women reside. Theoretical Position: Thus, we integrated the notion of “care trajectory” as it is theorized by A. Strauss (Strauss, 1978; Strauss and Baszanger, 1992). This concept, related to the process of care or an event such as pregnancy, places the context at the heart of the research. It allows us to discuss how the perinatal medical process triggers specific actions in caregivers and in those close to the patients; in particular, it illustrates the transition from “routine trajectories” to “problematic trajectories”. This framework thus associates the spatial, time-related, and social dimensions which allows us to take into consideration the links between stakeholders and also between stakeholders and institutions according to the different temporalities and spatialities at the center of different social worlds. Methodology : The methodology employed in this research is based on an ethnographical study, conducted between 2012 and 2015 in large French cities. 120 interviews with women who gave birth to a premature newborn were conducted in 8 hospitals, in the postpartum and neonatology units. The basis of these interviews was to ascertain information related to the modalities, strategies, practices, and contexts of the prenatal care pathways of women. All interviews were classified and transcribed. The analysis of the content of these interviews was conducted by theme, to describe the process of the use of healthcare and the modes of individual organization that determine the trajectories of these women. Results: We are focusing on the trajectories of women in precarious and/or unstable residential situations who we came across, although there were many women who we met who were in favorable social and economic situations. Entrance into a state of precariousness makes it possible to highlight in an acute way the dysfunctions at work within the studied territories. An example of a reading, by trajectory, that informs the urban contexts of this study Lille: socioeconomic instability of the native population In Lille, the identified profiles are linked to the industrial decline, associated to the economic crisis that strongly devastated the North of France, especially after 2008. Today, the unemployment rate remains very elevated in this region, notably among the young adult population. This socio-economic context can be seen in the life trajectories of the women with whom we spoke. It illustrates a significant level of instability, particularly among the young women native to the region in vulnerable socioeconomic situations, such as in the case of Tessa, aged 24 years old, who gave birth to her second child at 36 weeks GA. The couple separated during this pregnancy. Otherwise, her work was very tiring. She is a cash register clerk at a large-scale supermarket. This provokes her contractions at 6 months of pregnancy, causing firefighters to come to her work place and bring her to the hospital. With the threat of premature delivery, she is hospitalized and then on bedrest. This break from work causes her to be fired from her job. Facing this large company, she prefers not to file an administrative complaint after she is let go. Nonetheless, this situation of separation and unemployment makes this young woman vulnerable and contributes to the immense stress that she experiences during her pregnancy. Discussion & Perspectives: The results presented in the whole article here show that the practices and spatial logic associated with the prenatal care for these women are largely dependent on their social capital and their relationships with the healthcare systems. Here, we also wanted to not only highlight the dominating role of socio-historical contexts of urban territories but also the ways in which daily territories where we conducted the interviews contributed to the reproduction of the specific profiles of the observed trajectories

Algebraic generation of minimum size orthogonal fractional factorial designs: an approach based on integer linear programming

Generation of orthogonal fractional factorial designs (OFFDs) is an important and extensively studied subject in applied statistics. In this paper we show how searching for an OFFD that satisfies a set of constraints, expressed in terms of orthogonality between simple and interaction effects, is, in many applications, equivalent to solving an integer linear programming problem.We use a recent methodology, based on polynomial counting functions and strata, that represents OFFDs as the positive integer solutions of a system of linear equations. We use this system to set up an optimization problem where the cost function to be minimized is the size of the OFFD and the constraints are represented by the system itself. Finally we search for a solution using standard integer programming techniques. Some applications are also presented in the computational results section. It is worth noting that the methodology does not put any restriction either on the number of levels of each factor or on the orthogonality constraints and so it can be applied to a very wide range of designs, including mixed orthogonal array

Evolution of clinical features in possible DLB depending on FP-CIT SPECT result

Objective: To test the hypothesis that core and suggestive features in possible dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) would vary in their ability to predict an abnormal dopamine transporter scan and therefore a follow-up diagnosis of probable DLB. A further objective was to assess the evolution of core and suggestive features in patients with possible DLB over time depending on the 123I-FP-CIT SPECT scan result. Methods: A total of 187 patients with possible DLB (dementia plus one core or one suggestive feature) were randomized to have dopamine transporter imaging or to follow-up without scan. DLB features were compared at baseline and at 6-month follow-up according to imaging results and follow-up diagnosis. Results: For the whole cohort, the baseline frequency of parkinsonism was 30%, fluctuations 29%, visual hallucinations 24%, and REM sleep behavior disorder 17%. Clinician-rated presence of parkinsonism at baseline was significantly (p = 0.001) more frequent and Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) score at baseline was significantly higher (p = 0.02) in patients with abnormal imaging. There was a significant increase in UPDRS score in the abnormal scan group over time (p < 0.01). There was relatively little evolution of the rest of the DLB features regardless of the imaging result. Conclusions: In patients with possible DLB, apart from UPDRS score, there was no difference in the evolution of DLB clinical features over 6 months between cases with normal and abnormal imaging. Only parkinsonism and dopamine transporter imaging helped to differentiate DLB from non-DLB dementia