Utopias as a Tentative Horizon for Spatial Justice

International audienceResearchers have already very extensively explored utopias: this issue of Justice Spatiale/Spatial Justice wishes to present more than a collection of articles on the history of utopias, a field widely covered by historians, town planners, philosophers, etc. The historical aspect will not be central here, even if going back over these analyses is essential for understanding the conditions of the articulation of the contemporary form of utopia in connection with justice. If some of the articles offered here reflect on the lessons drawn from past utopias, this reflection is always related to the use of this philosophy in the present. What we are interested in is the connexion of a utopian discourse with very contemporary demands for more justice, and the spatial issues engendered by this expression, which mobilizes very diverse scales, from the world to the community, in relationships that are at times mutually exclusive or contradictory

Assessing the vulnerability of SMEs: a qualitative analysis

International audienceThe Very Small Business (VSB) and the Small or Medium-sized Enterprise (SME), like any other socioeconomic entity, faces multiple risks (fire, loss of a major supplier, work-related accidents, failure of a partnership, industrial espionage, etc.). However, unlike their larger counterparts, they do not have at their disposal dedicated tools for global risk management and thus lack ways to ensure their sustainability. In this context, the AFNOR Group, in collaboration with the Centre for Research on Risks and Crises of MINES ParisTech, carried out a research project to address this issue

Reducing the Risks Faced by Small Businesses:The Lifecycle Concept

International audienceThe deployment of a comprehensive risk management approach within an SME (Small or Medium-sized Enterprise) requires reconsideration of enduring preconceptions. However, it also calls for a description and explanation of their idiosyncrasies, in relation to their specific needs and expectations, which change over time. It is therefore appropriate to use the lifecycle concept to study the various phases of development of SMEs. The concept highlights the modifications and changes in configuration that this type of organization experiences during its development. This article aims to define and legitimize the use of the lifecycle concept as a basic component of a global risk management approach in an SME. It describes an operational approach to reducing vulnerability based on the level of organizational maturity

The contribution of the Life Cycle Concept to Reduced Vulnerabilities in Small Businesses

International audienceThe focus of this article lies in the deployment of a comprehensive risk management approach within an SME (Small or Medium-sized Enterprise) which calls for a description and explanation of their idiosyncrasies, in relation to their specific needs and expectations, which change over time. It describes the evolution of the business using the lifecycle concept which highlights the modifications and changes in configuration that this type of organization experiences during its development. This concept is used in order to characterize the vulnerabilities of SMEs using a model which brings together hazards, consequences and the stage of company development. This article aims to define and legitimize the use of the lifecycle concept as a basic component of a global risk management approach in an SME. It describes an operational approach to reducing vulnerability based on the level of organizational maturity

Logical topology design for IP rerouting: ASONs versus static OTNs

IP-based backbone networks are gradually moving to a network model consisting of high-speed routers that are flexibly interconnected by a mesh of light paths set up by an optical transport network that consists of wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) links and optical cross-connects. In such a model, the generalized MPLS protocol suite could provide the IP centric control plane component that will be used to deliver rapid and dynamic circuit provisioning of end-to-end optical light paths between the routers. This is called an automatic switched optical (transport) network (ASON). An ASON enables reconfiguration of the logical IP topology by setting up and tearing down light paths. This allows to up- or downgrade link capacities during a router failure to the capacities needed by the new routing of the affected traffic. Such survivability against (single) IP router failures is cost-effective, as capacity to the IP layer can be provided flexibly when necessary. We present and investigate a logical topology optimization problem that minimizes the total amount or cost of the needed resources (interfaces, wavelengths, WDM line-systems, amplifiers, etc.) in both the IP and the optical layer. A novel optimization aspect in this problem is the possibility, as a result of the ASON, to reuse the physical resources (like interface cards and WDM line-systems) over the different network states (the failure-free and all the router failure scenarios). We devised a simple optimization strategy to investigate the cost of the ASON approach and compare it with other schemes that survive single router failures

Splicing Programs and Cancer

Numerous studies report splicing alterations in a multitude of cancers by using gene-by-gene analysis. However, understanding of the role of alternative splicing in cancer is now reaching a new level, thanks to the use of novel technologies allowing the analysis of splicing at a large-scale level. Genome-wide analyses of alternative splicing indicate that splicing alterations can affect the products of gene networks involved in key cellular programs. In addition, many splicing variants identified as being misregulated in cancer are expressed in normal tissues. These observations suggest that splicing programs contribute to specific cellular programs that are altered during cancer initiation and progression. Supporting this model, recent studies have identified splicing factors controlling cancer-associated splicing programs. The characterization of splicing programs and their regulation by splicing factors will allow a better understanding of the genetic mechanisms involved in cancer initiation and progression and the development of new therapeutic targets

Molecular and Sensory Basis of a Food Related Two-State Behavior in C. elegans

Most animals display multiple behavioral states and control the time allocation to each of their activity phases depending on their environment. Here we develop a new quantitative method to analyze Caenorhabditis elegans behavioral states. We show that the dwelling and roaming two-state behavior of C. elegans is tightly controlled by the concentration of food in the environment of the animal. Sensory perception through the amphid neurons is necessary to extend roaming phases while internal metabolic perception of food nutritional value is needed to induce dwelling. Our analysis also shows that the proportion of time spent in each state is modulated by past nutritional experiences of the animal. This two-state behavior is regulated through serotonin as well as insulin and TGF-beta signaling pathways. We propose a model where food nutritional value is assessed through internal metabolic signaling. Biogenic amines signaling could allow the worm to adapt to fast changes in the environment when peptide transcriptional pathways may mediate slower adaptive changes

Maîtrise des risques dans les Très Petites Entreprises (TPE) : proposition d'un outil de diagnostic des vulnérabilités fondé sur le concept de cycle de vie

Au regard de son poids économique et social, la Très Petite Entreprise (TPE) devrait faire l'objet de toutes les attentions (qu'elles émanent des acteurs de la vie politique, sociale, économique...) dans le but de comprendre et de diminuer sa mortalité. Pourtant dans les faits, en France et en 2010, près de 97% des entreprises défaillantes sont des Très Petites Entreprises (TPE). Ce constat trouve son origine dans l'incapacité (ou la non volonté) individuelle et collective à définir précisément les caractéristiques de ce type d'organisations, empêchant ainsi une identification pertinente de leurs attentes et de leurs besoins