Power to change: Analysis of household participation in a renewable energy and energy efficiency programme in Central Australia

The Australian government funded a national Solar City program (2008-2013) to support communities to increase adoption of energy efficiency measures and renewable energy technology. One community was Alice Springs, a town with about 9000 households in the geographic centre of Australia. The programme offered a package of support: free energy audits, discounts for the purchase of renewable energy technology and energy efficiency measures, and ongoing information. Households that adopted solar hot water and photovoltaic systems reduced their electricity usage immediately after adoption by 10% and 34% respectively, and this was maintained in the long term. A small rebound effect of 15% was observed in the photovoltaic adopters. It was observed that, on average, households that adopted only energy efficiency measures did not have a significant reduction in their electricity usage over the long term. However, consistent with expectations, this study did show that there was a significant correlation between the number of energy efficiency measures adopted and the greatest household reduction in electricity usage. These contrary results indicate that there are additional factors involved. The connection between the effective use of measures, coincident behavioural change or increased energy awareness and greater energy reduction is discussed

Le Regard à l’œuvre. Lecteurs de l’image, spectateurs du texte [actes colloques]

Pour télécharger le volume entier, cliquer ici : http://www.unicaen.fr/recherche/mrsh/laslar/2674. Pour télécharger une contribution individuellement, cliquez dans le sommaire (http://www.unicaen.fr/recherche/mrsh/laslar/2673) sur le lien correspondant.International audienceLes contributions réunies dans ce volume sont issues du colloque international et interdisciplinaire organisé par le LASLAR, qui s’est tenu à l’université de Caen Basse-Normandie du 16 au 18 novembre 2011. Né du souhait de faire se rencontrer les approches spécifiques de la relation texte / image dans les études littéraires, théâtrales, cinématographiques et iconographiques, largement ouvert à des spécialistes de champs apparemment éloignés, il se proposait d’explorer les liens entre visibilité du texte et lisibilité de l’image. L’expression « regard à l’œuvre » implique en effet qu’une œuvre n’existe que dans l’échange, la coïncidence ou la confrontation de plusieurs regards : celui des auteurs, celui de l’énonciateur, celui des personnages, celui des acteurs, celui du spectateur, celui du lecteur. En rapprochant les modalités de production et de réception de l’image dans le texte – soit que le texte se substitue, avec ses moyens propres, à l’image, pour donner à voir, représenter une œuvre picturale, théâtrale, cinématographique, photographique, qu’elle soit réelle ou fictive, soit qu’il intègre, juxtapose l’image à l’écriture –, et du texte dans l’image – là encore, par mimétisme ou par inclusion de la structure textuelle dans la mise en scène, théâtrale ou cinématographique –, il s’agissait d’étudier les propriétés et les similitudes des regards du lecteur et du spectateur

Le Regard à l’œuvre. Lecteurs de l’image, spectateurs du texte [actes colloques]

Pour télécharger le volume entier, cliquer ici : http://www.unicaen.fr/recherche/mrsh/laslar/2674. Pour télécharger une contribution individuellement, cliquez dans le sommaire (http://www.unicaen.fr/recherche/mrsh/laslar/2673) sur le lien correspondant.International audienceLes contributions réunies dans ce volume sont issues du colloque international et interdisciplinaire organisé par le LASLAR, qui s’est tenu à l’université de Caen Basse-Normandie du 16 au 18 novembre 2011. Né du souhait de faire se rencontrer les approches spécifiques de la relation texte / image dans les études littéraires, théâtrales, cinématographiques et iconographiques, largement ouvert à des spécialistes de champs apparemment éloignés, il se proposait d’explorer les liens entre visibilité du texte et lisibilité de l’image. L’expression « regard à l’œuvre » implique en effet qu’une œuvre n’existe que dans l’échange, la coïncidence ou la confrontation de plusieurs regards : celui des auteurs, celui de l’énonciateur, celui des personnages, celui des acteurs, celui du spectateur, celui du lecteur. En rapprochant les modalités de production et de réception de l’image dans le texte – soit que le texte se substitue, avec ses moyens propres, à l’image, pour donner à voir, représenter une œuvre picturale, théâtrale, cinématographique, photographique, qu’elle soit réelle ou fictive, soit qu’il intègre, juxtapose l’image à l’écriture –, et du texte dans l’image – là encore, par mimétisme ou par inclusion de la structure textuelle dans la mise en scène, théâtrale ou cinématographique –, il s’agissait d’étudier les propriétés et les similitudes des regards du lecteur et du spectateur

Predictive medicine in multiple sclerosis: A systematic review

International audienceBackground:One of the main challenges in multiple sclerosis (MS) is to predict disease progression based on patient characteristics and therapeutic strategies. We therefore performed a systematic review to critically appraise the composite tools available for this purpose.Methods:We performed electronic database searches in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library. We included studies in English or French that developed and/or validated a predictive model for MS patients. Two reviewers independently screened articles by title and abstract. Three teams of two reviewers assessed the full text of each relevant study.Results:Database searches yielded 6,035 studies after deduplication. Among the 42 screened full texts, 15 articles satisfied the eligibility criteria. Of these, six articles examined the development of predictive tools, six articles aimed to validate existing tools and three articles proposed both development and validation. We identified numerous methodological pitfalls, especially the lack of adequate validations in terms of discrimination and calibration. Only two scoring systems were externally validated several times: the Rio and the modified Rio scores. Nevertheless, their accuracies were highly variable, ranging from 65% to 91%.Conclusions:Overall, there is a lack of validated predictive tools in MS, and further external validation of the existing ones are required. Demonstration of the clinical usefulness is also needed prior to being transferred into clinical practice. Finally, our study illustrates that the MS literature needs to integrate good standards in developing and validating predictive models

Cognitive-Behavioural Treatment of Musical Performance Anxiety

This pilot study evaluated the effectiveness of a treatment approach for musical performance anxiety that combined progressive muscle relaxation, cognitive therapy, and temperature biofeedback training. Twelve competent pianists who complained of debilitating performance anxiety were randomly assigned to a treatment group; and eight subjects were placed on a wait-list control group. Following a six-week programme of group therapy, signifi- cant differences between pre- and post-measurements were observed for the treatment group in performance anxiety, and trait anxiety. The results suggest that it is possible to lower debilitating stage fright in performance- anxious musicians through a cognitive-behavioural treatment approach.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69063/2/10.1177_0305735689171002.pd

The Challenge of Return to Work after Breast Cancer: The Role of Family Situation, CANTO Cohort

International audienceReturn to work (RTW) after breast cancer is associated with improved quality of life. The link between household characteristics and RTW remains largely unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of the family situation on women’s RTW two years after breast cancer. We used data of a French prospective cohort of women diagnosed with stage I-III, primary breast cancer (CANTO, NCT01993498). Among women employed at diagnosis and under 57 years old, we assessed the association between household characteristics (living with a partner, marital status, number and age of economically dependent children, support by the partner) and RTW. Logistic regression models were adjusted for age, household income, stage, comorbidities, treatments and their side effects. Analyzes stratified by age and household income were performed to assess the association between household characteristics and RTW in specific subgroups. Among the 3004 patients included, women living with a partner returned less to work (OR = 0.63 [0.47–0.86]) and decreased their working time after RTW. Among the 2305 women living with a partner, being married was associated with decreased RTW among women aged over 50 (OR = 0.57 [0.34–0.95]). Having three or more children (vs. none) was associated with lower RTW among women with low household income (OR = 0.28 [0.10–0.80]). Household characteristics should be considered in addition to clinical information to identify vulnerable women, reduce the social consequence of cancer and improve their quality of life