Les représentations sociales des technologies du vivant en Europe

Depuis une vingtaine d’années de multiples controverses publiques se sont développées à propos de l’usage des biotechnologies. En matière de biotechnologies « vertes », c’est-à-dire principalement liées à la fabrication de plantes transgéniques, l’accent a été mis sur les risques encourus par les consommateurs et l’environnement, et l’on a souvent souligné le défaut de bénéfice immédiat pour les consommateurs. En ce qui concerne les biotechnologies « rouges », c’est-à-dire pour l’essentiel celles qui concernent le domaine médical, la notion de risque est sans doute plus ambiguë puisque les bénéfices attendus pour les patients paraissent plus directs. Mais au-delà du calcul risque-bénéfice, les biotechnologies « rouges » ont des conséquences possibles dans le domaine de l’éthique qui sont apparues pour la première fois de façon éclatante au moment du clonage de la brebis Dolly. L’analyse d’enquêtes par sondage réalisées au sein des pays de l’Union Européenne (Eurobaromètres) permet d’explorer l’univers des représentations sociales des Européens dans ce domaine.Over the past twenty years, there has been considerable public controversy on the use of biotechnologies. With the “green” biotechnologies, that is, those mostly connected with the engineering of transgenic plants, the focus has been on the risks to consumers and the environment and the lack of immediate benefits for consumers. For “red” biotechnologies, that is, those chiefly related to the medical field, the notion of risk is undoubtedly more ambiguous as the expected benefits for patients seem more direct. But beyond the risk-benefit calculation, “red” biotechnologies have potential ethical consequences, which first exploded onto the scene with the cloning of the sheep Dolly. An analysis of surveys conducted in European Union countries (Eurobarometers) allows us to explore Europeans’ social representations in this area.Desde hace 20 años se han venido desarrollado múltiples controversias públicas a propósito de la utilización de las biotecnologías. En materia de biotecnologías “verdes”, es decir, aquellas relacionadas principalmente con la fabricación de plantas transgénicas, se ha hecho énfasis en los riesgos que éstas conllevan para los consumidores y para el medio ambiente, y con frecuencia se subraya la falta de beneficio inmediato para los consumidores. En cuanto a las biotecnologías “rojas”, es decir, esencialmente aquellas relacionadas con el área médica, la noción de riesgo es sin duda más ambigua, puesto que los beneficios esperados para los pacientes parecen más directos. Pero más allá del cálculo riesgo-beneficio, las biotecnologías “rojas” tienen posibles consecuencias en el área de la ética, surgidas por primera vez con gran evidencia en el momento de la clonación de la oveja “Dolly”. El análisis de las encuestas a través de sondeos, realizadas en los países de la Unión Europea (eurobarómetros), permite explorar el universo de las representaciones sociales de los europeos en esta área

Données pré- et post-électorales au CEVIPOF, printemps 2012:Présidoscopie 2012, la Boussole présidentielle, Mediapolis, enquêtes postélectorales, données écologiques

La séquence électorale de 2012 a été l'occasion pour le CEVIPOF à la fois de prolonger ses dispositifs habituels d'enquêtes électorales (panel et enquête post-électorale) et de proposer de nouveaux dispositifs. Sans constituer l'équivalent français des grands dispositifs d'enquêtes internationaux (type British election studies par exemple), ces différents dispositifs représentent une contribution significative à l'ensemble de la production de données réalisée par la science politique française en 2012. Cette contribution montre les apports du CEVIPOF à cette dynamique des études électorales en 2012 et leurs complémentarités: l’enquête par panel Présidoscopie (6000 répondants) qui permet d’analyser l’évolution des changeurs d’intentions de vote tout au long du printemps électoral ; les enquêtes post-électorales constituées de deux sondages menés simultanément, en CATI et en CAWI, dans la période suivant immédiatement le second tour de l’élection présidentielle ; le dispositif Boussole présidentielle 2012, première application universitaire en France des enquêtes en ligne de type Voting Advice Application (VAA), en collaboration avec Kieskompas (application développée par André Krouwel, Université Libre d'Amsterdam) ; les enquêtes de l’ANR Mediapolis permettant de saisir et mesurer les pratiques informationnelles des Français. Enfin, comme après chaque scrutin le CEVIPOF enrichit la base de données électorales nationale à tous les niveaux géographiques.The election studies at CEVIPOF in 2012 : Présidoscopie 2012, Presidential Compass, Mediapolis, Post-election surveys, ecological data The 2012 elections sequence was the occasion for CEVIPOF both to extend its usual election studies (panel study and post-election study) and to develop new and innovative surveys. Without being the French equivalent of the large infrastructures developed in some other European countries (such as British election studies, for example), these different surveys and data collections represent a significant contribution to the overall production of data produced by the French political science in 2012. This paper shows the different contributions of the CEVIPOF election studies in 2012 and their complementarities: the Présidoscopie panel study (6000 respondents); the post-election surveys are constituted by two simultaneous polls, CATI and CAWI, in the period following immediately the second ballot of the presidential election; the presidential Compass 2012 is the first academic application in France of Voting Advice Application (VAA) surveys, in association with Kieskompas (application developed by André Krouwel, VU University Amsterdam; the ANR Mediapolis surveys allows to measure and to understand the informative practices of the French people. Finally, as after every election, Cevipof enriches the national electoral database at every geographical level

Equalised Odds is not Equal Individual Odds: Post-processing for Group and Individual Fairness

Group fairness is achieved by equalising prediction distributions between protected sub-populations; individual fairness requires treating similar individuals alike. These two objectives, however, are incompatible when a scoring model is calibrated through discontinuous probability functions, where individuals can be randomly assigned an outcome determined by a fixed probability. This procedure may provide two similar individuals from the same protected group with classification odds that are disparately different -- a clear violation of individual fairness. Assigning unique odds to each protected sub-population may also prevent members of one sub-population from ever receiving equal chances of a positive outcome to another, which we argue is another type of unfairness called individual odds. We reconcile all this by constructing continuous probability functions between group thresholds that are constrained by their Lipschitz constant. Our solution preserves the model's predictive power, individual fairness and robustness while ensuring group fairness.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figures, 2 table

An Exploration of Polygamous Marriages: A Worldview

Polygamy remains one of the key topics in various societies. It is through cultural practices, beliefs and also on the individuals’ choices that people decide to be committed to polygamy lifestyles. Polygyny remains widespread across the world. Over seventy percent of the societies known to Anthropologists permit men to marry more than one wife. There are consequences to each type of marriage that certain individuals might adapt to. Women who have entered into polygamous marriages have different experiences that can be enriching to those who practice monogamy.This paper highlights what people in polygamous marriages face on a daily basis. It argues that there are more disadvantages for women who are in polygamous marriages than there are for their counterparts in monogamous relationships. The paper further suggests that the patriarchal power structure appears to play a powerful and effective role in polygamous marriages in our societies. However, there is also a realization that many people practsing polygamy are happier. There is also an exploration of the complexities of polygamous marriages from a worldview with the hope of understanding the nature and evolution of polygamous marriages. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n27p105

Chemical availability versus bioavailability of potentially toxic elements in mining and quarry soils

Abandoned mining and quarry areas are sources of potentially toxic elements (PTEs), through lixiviates or transfer processes of bioavailable fractions from mining wastes and tailings. In this study, earthworms (Eisenia fetida Savigny, 1826) were exposed for 28 days to two mining soils from a lead/zinc mine and two quarry soils from an old serpentine quarry. Despite their pseudo total metal contents, a previous characterization of these soils pointed out for a low chemical availability of PTEs. Therefore, a multibiomarker approach was used and the response of E. fetida to soils was assessed through the analysis of neurotoxic, oxidative stress, energy metabolism and DNA damage biomarkers (acetylcholinesterase, catalase, glutathione-s-transferase, lactate dehydrogenase, lipid peroxidation and DNA strand breaks). Metal bioaccumulation was also assessed to evaluate bioavailability and organism's exposure. Results showed that high contents of PTEs were recorded in the whole body of earthworms exposed to lead/zinc mine. However, the bioaccumulation factors for worms exposed to soils from both sampling sites were <1 due to the high PTEs contents in soils. Earthworms exposed to both types of soils displayed neurotoxic and energy metabolism effects. However, significant levels of oxidative stress and DNA damage were recorded only for earthworms exposed to lead/zinc mine soils. This study demonstrated that despite the low availability of PTEs showed by previous sequential chemical extractions, the results obtained from the direct toxicity assessment performed in this study, highlight the importance of a multibiomarker approach using soil organisms to provide a better evaluation of soils pollution.publishe

In-line monitoring of electrolytes and urea during continuous renal replacement therapy

The individualization of dialysis treatment using a customized dialysate composition usually requires a continuous measurement of electrolytes and urea in blood. The current practices are spot measurements of blood samples either with blood gas analyzers or in the laboratory, involving considerable personnel effort. Furthermore, the measured values are time delayed and not available in a continuous fashion. In this paper we investigate an in-line concept for continuous monitoring of important blood parameters such as sodium, potassium, calcium and urea concentrations in blood serum using ion-selective electrodes. This concept is evaluated in a preclinical study with human packed red blood cells as a test medium over a period of 7 h. It has been shown that the electrolytes can be well monitored. In addition, we present first measurements with ion-sensitive field-effect transistors in a miniaturized sensor assembly. Therefore, new low-cost electronics for such ion-sensitive field-effect transistors have been developed