L'arachide au Sénégal : un moteur en panne

L'arachide, qui a été le moteur du développement de l'économie sénégalaise jusqu'au milieu des années 1970, en fournissant la majeure partie des revenus en milieu rural et en assurant 80 % des exportations, a connu un recul important cette dernière décennie. Cette crise rappelle celle qu'ont connue les pays voisins, il y a une vingtaine d'années, et qui a conduit à la disparition de cette culture. Inquiet de cette situation, le gouvernement du Sénégal a demandé à une équipe du Cirad de déterminer les raisons de la désaffection des paysans envers l'arachide, afin de pouvoir y remédier et relancer la production. Cet ouvrage est le résultat des travaux de cette équipe. Il montre que, contrairement aux idées selon lesquelles la crise de l'arachide serait principalement une crise de l'approvisionnement des huileries, avec un repli des producteurs sur le marché informel, on assiste à une 'grève' des producteurs. Par une méthodologie originale de recensement, les auteurs démontrent que la production a été longtemps surestimée. L'enquête auprès des producteurs explique la chute des rendements par la dégradation des facteurs de production (baisse de la fertilité des sols, diminution de la qualité des semences), par la disparition des services agricoles, par une politique du prix d'achat de l'arachide qui décourage les producteurs. Relancer la production de l'arachide ne suffit plus, il faut aussi prendre en compte les potentialités agricoles du pays, chercher à mieux valoriser les autres productions et tracer une politique d'appui en milieu paysan

On the moment limit of quantum observables, with an application to the balanced homodyne detection

We consider the moment operators of the observable (i.e. a semispectral measure or POM) associated with the balanced homodyne detection statistics, with paying attention to the correct domains of these unbounded operators. We show that the high amplitude limit, when performed on the moment operators, actually determines uniquely the entire statistics of a rotated quadrature amplitude of the signal field, thereby verifying the usual assumption that the homodyne detection achieves a measurement of that observable. We also consider, in a general setting, the possibility of constructing a measurement of a single quantum observable from a sequence of observables by taking the limit on the level of moment operators of these observables. In this context, we show that under some natural conditions (each of which is satisfied by the homodyne detector example), the existence of the moment limits ensures that the underlying probability measures converge weakly to the probability measure of the limiting observable. The moment approach naturally requires that the observables be determined by their moment operator sequences (which does not automatically happen), and it turns out, in particular, that this is the case for the balanced homodyne detector.Comment: 22 pages, no figure

Turning to God in the Face of Ostracism: Effects of Social Exclusion on Religiousness

The present research proposes that individuals who are socially excluded can turn to religion to cope with the experience. Empirical studies conducted to test this hypothesis consistently found that socially excluded persons reported (a) significantly higher levels of religious affiliation (Studies 1, 2, and 4) and (b) stronger intentions to engage in religious behaviors (Study 2) than comparable, nonexcluded individuals. Direct support for the stress-buffering function of religiousness was also found, with a religious prime reducing the aggression-eliciting effects of consequent social rejection (Study 5). These effects were observed in both Christian and Muslim samples, revealing that turning to religion can be a powerful coping response when dealing with social rejection. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed

Fit for work? Health, employability and challenges for the UK welfare reform agenda

This article introduces a special issue of Policy Studies entitled “Fit for work? Health, employability and challenges for the UK welfare reform agenda”. Growing from a shared concern over the need to expand the evidence base around the processes that led to large numbers of people claiming disability benefits in the UK, it brings together contributions from leading labour market and social policy researchers providing evidence and commentary on major reforms to Incapacity Benefit (IB) in the UK. This special issue address three key questions: what are the main causes of the long-term rise in the number of people claiming IBs; what will reduce the number of claimants; and what is likely to deliver policy effectively and efficiently? This introduction first explains and examines the challenges to reforms to IB in the UK, and then, in conclusion, highlights the answers to the previous three questions – first, labour market restructuring and marginalisation have driven the rise in numbers claiming IBs. Second, economic regeneration in the Britain’s less prosperous areas coupled with intensive and sustained supply-side support measures will bring numbers down. Third, delivery need to be flexible and tailored to individual needs and needs to be able to access local and expert knowledge in a range of organisations, including Job Centre Plus, the NHS as well as the private and voluntary sectors

Recognising Desire: A psychosocial approach to understanding education policy implementation and effect

It is argued that in order to understand the ways in which teachers experience their work - including the idiosyncratic ways in which they respond to and implement mandated education policy - it is necessary to take account both of sociological and of psychological issues. The paper draws on original research with practising and beginning teachers, and on theories of social and psychic induction, to illustrate the potential benefits of this bipartisan approach for both teachers and researchers. Recognising the significance of (but somewhat arbitrary distinction between) structure and agency in teachers’ practical and ideological positionings, it is suggested that teachers’ responses to local and central policy changes are governed by a mix of pragmatism, social determinism and often hidden desires. It is the often underacknowledged strength of desire that may tip teachers into accepting and implementing policies with which they are not ideologically comfortable

The role of empathy in psychoanalytic psychotherapy: A historical exploration

Empathy is one of the most consistent outcome predictors in contemporary psychotherapy research. The function of empathy is particularly important for the development of a positive therapeutic relationship: patients report positive therapeutic experiences when they feel understood, safe, and able to disclose personal information to their therapists. Despite its clear significance in the consulting room and psychotherapy research, there is no single, consensual definition of empathy. This can be accounted by the complex and multi-faceted nature of empathy, as well as the ambiguous and conflicting literature surrounding it. This paper provides a historical exploration of empathy and its impact on the therapeutic relationship across the most influential psychoanalytic psychotherapies: classic psychoanalysis, person-centered therapy and self-psychology. By comparing the three clinical schools of thought, the paper identifies significant differences in the function of transference and therapist’s role. Then, drawing on the different clinical uses of empathy, the paper argues that the earlier uses of empathy (most notably through Jaspers’ and Freud’s writings) are limited to its epistemological (intellectual or cognitive) features, whilst person-centered and self-psychology therapies capitalise on its affective qualities. Finally, the paper provides a rationale for further study of the overarching features of empathy in contemporary psychotherapy research

First Colonization of a Spectral Outpost in Random Matrix Theory

We describe the distribution of the first finite number of eigenvalues in a newly-forming band of the spectrum of the random Hermitean matrix model. The method is rigorously based on the Riemann-Hilbert analysis of the corresponding orthogonal polynomials. We provide an analysis with an error term of order N^(-2 h) where 1/h = 2 nu+2 is the exponent of non-regularity of the effective potential, thus improving even in the usual case the analysis of the pertinent literature. The behavior of the first finite number of zeroes (eigenvalues) appearing in the new band is analyzed and connected with the location of the zeroes of certain Freud polynomials. In general all these newborn zeroes approach the point of nonregularity at the rate N^(-h) whereas one (a stray zero) lags behind at a slower rate of approach. The kernels for the correlator functions in the scaling coordinate near the emerging band are provided together with the subleading term: in particular the transition between K and K+1 eigenvalues is analyzed in detail.Comment: 32 pages, 8 figures (typo corrected in Formula 4.13); some reference added and minor correction

Semi-classical Laguerre polynomials and a third order discrete integrable equation

A semi-discrete Lax pair formed from the differential system and recurrence relation for semi-classical orthogonal polynomials, leads to a discrete integrable equation for a specific semi-classical orthogonal polynomial weight. The main example we use is a semi-classical Laguerre weight to derive a third order difference equation with a corresponding Lax pair.Comment: 11 page