Product Categories as Judgment Devices: The Moral Awakening of the Investment Industry

Product categories are more than classification devices that organize markets; when reflecting market actors\u27 purposes, they are also judgment devices. Taking stock of the literature on product categories and drawing on the distinction between the faculties of knowing and judging, we elaborate a framework that accounts for how and why market actors include or exclude normative attributes in a product category definition. Based on a field study of the development of Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) funds in France, we describe the phases and conditions of a judgment framework for category definition, for both established and nascent categories. We discuss implications for research on product categories and the workings of markets more broadly

L’enseignement de l’allemand et la réforme du collège 2016

La réforme du collège, appliquée depuis la rentrée 2016, a suscité de nombreuses contestations, en particulier la décision de supprimer les sections bilangues, lorsqu’il n’existe pas d’enseignement d’« une langue autre que l’anglais » à l’école primaire. Les enseignants d’allemand y ont vu une menace contre leur discipline car les sections bilangues proposant l’apprentissage de l’anglais et de l’allemand représentaient jusque‑là 90 % des élèves germanistes de sixième. Cet article se propose d’étudier les ressorts discursifs du débat autour des conséquences de cette réforme sur l’enseignement de l’allemand en France. Du côté des opposants, il s’agit de diffuser un discours alarmiste en mettant en perspective des engagements passés (le traité de l’Élysée) et des prévisions funestes ; à ce discours de crise répond un discours contraire, résolument positif, qui vise à asserter l’idée d’une réforme favorable à l’enseignement de l’allemand, conforme aux engagements bilatéraux, en combinant en particulier la force argumentative des chiffres et celle des valeurs partagées par tous (l’égalité, l’élitisme républicain ou l’excellence).Die Reform der Mittelschule, die im September 2016 in Frankreich in Kraft getreten ist, ist auf Widerstand gestoßen, insbesondere von Seiten der Deutschlehrer: Sie wenden sich gegen den Beschluss, die zweisprachigen Klassen abzuschaffen, in denen bereits ab dem sechsten Schuljahr zwei Fremdsprachen gleichzeitig erlernt werden können. Lediglich Kinder, die bereits in der Grundschule mit Deutsch angefangen haben, dürfen nun eine zweisprachige Klasse besuchen. Die Deutschlehrer sehen ihr Fach bedroht, da 90 % der Deutschlernenden der sechsten Klasse sich bislang für eine zweisprachige Klasse entschieden haben. Dieser Beitrag befasst sich mit den diskursiven Sprachmitteln, die in der Debatte um die Folgen dieser Reform auf den Deutschunterricht in Frankreich eingesetzt wurden. Die Gegner der Reform dramatisieren den Diskurs, indem sie Vereinbarungen aus der Vergangenheit (wie den Élysée-Vertrag) mit pessimistischen Prognosen in Verbindung bringen. Diesem Krisendiskurs steht ein gegenläufiger, explizit positiver Diskurs, der die Idee einer für den Deutschunterricht günstigen Reform geltend macht, und ihre Übereinstimmung mit den bilateralen Verträgen beteuert, indem er sich unter anderen auf die Argumentationskraft der Zahlen und der allgemein anerkannten Werte (Gleichheit, republikanischer Elitismus und Exzellenz) stützt.The reform of the French secondary school, that came into effect in September 2016, has met with significant opposition. Particularly, the decision to abolish bilingual classes, when German is not taught in the primary school, has been heavily criticized. Teachers of German were of the opinion that the decision would affect their subject in a negative way. The bilingual classes offering English and German have accounted for 90 % of the pupils learning German in the (French) sixth grade. This article will examine the linguistic devices used during the debate about this reform’s consequences on the teaching of German in France. As regards the opponents, they use an alarmist discourse by putting into perspective past commitments (the Treaty of Élysée) and pessimistic forecasts; those in favor of the reform respond with an opposite discourse that stresses the positive sides by asserting the idea of a reform favorable to the teaching of German, consistent with the bilateral commitments. The proponents’ discourse relies, among other things, on the argumentative force of numbers and of shared values (equality, republican elitism or excellence)

1D Sediment Transport Modeling for a Sustainable Sediment Management: Two Case Studies of Reservoir Flushing

Sediment Transpor

Structure and Activity of the Type VI Secretion System

International audienceThe type VI secretion system (T6SS) is a multiprotein machine that uses a spring-like mechanism to inject effectors into target cells. The injection apparatus is composed of a baseplate on which is built a contractile tail tube/sheath complex. The inner tube, topped by the spike complex, is propelled outside of the cell by the contraction of the sheath. The injection system is anchored to the cell envelope and oriented towards the cell exterior by a trans-envelope complex. Effectors delivered by the T6SS are loaded within the inner tube or on the spike complex and can target prokaryotic and/or eukaryotic cells. Here we summarize the structure, assembly, and mechanism of action of the T6SS. We also review the function of effectors and their mode of recruitment and delivery

Strategic Capacity Investment under Holdup Threats: The Role of Contract Length and Width

This article analyzes the impact of incomplete contracts’ length on investment in a bilateral relationship. The seller has the power to set the contract terms whereas the buyer decides on the investment level, which acts as a cap on future demand. Two-part tariffs succeed at implementing the optimal investment and consumption even if commitment is limited, and the contract’s duration is irrelevant. Interestingly, this efficient solution is rendered possible by subsidies on consumption during the contract. In other terms, duration matters hugely for the contract details (the timing of transfers), not for its performance. Under certain circumstances that we discuss, linear pricing may have to be used, which leads to suboptimal investment. We show that longer contracts are less efficient, meaning that a degree of completeness (pricing width) may be strictly complementary to another one (contract length). The buyer’s surplus increases with respect to the contract duration, whereas the seller loses more in profit than the social surplus decreases. A longer contract actually protects expropriable investors rather than investment itself

Enrichissement en protéines du tourteau de coprah : sélection de champignons filamenteux en FMS = Protein enrichment of copra cake : selection of filamentous fungi in SSF

Les résultats ont montré que 11 souches sur 51 testées peuvent être retenues. Elles appartiennent aux espèces #Aspergillus sp., #Aspergillus niger, Penicillium italicum, Penicillium sp. et #Penicillium roquefortii$. Le rendement moyen d'enrichissement en protéines est de 20 %. Toutefois l'objectif n'est pas totalement atteint. Une optimisation des conditions de culture, en particulier, de la composition des milieux de culture, s'impose afin d'augmenter ces rendements protéiques et atteindre 50 %

A Nematode of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge Hydrothermal Vents Harbors a Possible Symbiotic Relationship

Deep-sea hydrothermal vent meiofauna have been the focus of recent research and the discovery of an abundant well-adapted free-living marine nematode on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge offers new perspectives on adaptations to the vent environment. Indeed, knowledge concerning biological interactions of microbes and meiofauna in marine extreme environments is scarce, especially for nematodes. In this study, we used microscopic observations [fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)] and metabarcoding of 16S rRNA to characterize the bacterial community of the nematode species Oncholaimus dyvae, an overlooked but ecologically important vent organism. Detection of bacteria in the buccal cavity and on the cuticle (SEM) and epibionts in its intestine (FISH) suggests that O. dyvae harbors its own bacterial community. Molecular results and phylogenetic analysis show that bacteria associated with this species are related to symbiotic lineages typical of hydrothermal vent fauna, such as sulfur-oxidizing bacteria related to Epsilonproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria. This multi-approach study suggests a potential symbiotic role of bacteria with its nematode host and opens new research perspectives on vent meiofauna

The epigenetic players and the chromatin marks involved in the articular cartilage during osteoarthritis

Epigenetics defines the modifications of the genome that do not involve a change in the nucleotide sequence of DNA. These modifications constitute a mechanism of gene regulation poorly explored in the context of cartilage physiology. They are now intensively studied by the scientific community working on articular cartilage and its related pathology such as osteoarthritis. Indeed, epigenetic regulations can control the expression of crucial gene in the chondrocytes, the only resident cells of cartilage. Some epigenetic changes are considered as a possible cause of the abnormal gene expression and the subsequent alteration of the chondrocyte phenotype (hypertrophy, proliferation, senescence…) as observed in osteoarthritic cartilage. Osteoarthritis is a joint pathology, which results in impaired extracellular matrix homeostasis and leads ultimately to the progressive destruction of cartilage. To date, there is no pharmacological treatment and the exact causes have yet to be defined. Given that the epigenetic modifying enzymes can be controlled by pharmacological inhibitors, it is thus crucial to describe the epigenetic marks that enable the normal expression of extracellular matrix encoding genes, and those associated with the abnormal gene expression such as degradative enzyme or inflammatory cytokines encoding genes. In this review, only the DNA methylation and histone modifications will be detailed with regard to normal and osteoarthritic cartilage. Although frequently referred as epigenetic mechanisms, the regulatory mechanisms involving microRNAs will not be discussed. Altogether, this review will show how this nascent field influences our understanding of the pathogenesis of OA in terms of diagnosis and how controlling the epigenetic marks can help defining epigenetic therapies