How to Choose the European Executive: A Counterfactual Analysis (1979-1999)

In this paper, we use data on roll-call votes by MEP’s in the five elected EuropeanParliaments (1979, 1984, 1989, 1994, 1999) to evaluate the likely impact of current proposalsin the Convention on the Future of Europe for the appointment of the European executive. Wefind (a) that the different procedures for appointing the Commission lead to quite differentresults in terms of the composition of the Commission, (b) that election of the President of theCommission by the national parliaments (our preferred mode of appointment) gives the resultthat is most in line with the observed composition of the Commission since 1979, whereas (c)election by the European Parliament creates a ‘built-in’ form of divided government betweenthe Council and the Commissio n that could prove counterproductive for the functioning ofEuropean institutions.European Parliament; European Parliament; European Convention; European Commission; European Council

Are leading papers of better quality? Evidence from a natural experiment

Leading papers in a journal’s issue attract, on average, more citations than those that follow. It is, however, difficult to assess whether they are of better quality (as is often suggested), or whether this happens just because they appear first in an issue. We make use of a natural experiment that was carried out by a journal in which papers are randomly ordered in some issues, while this order is not random in others. We show that leading papers in randomly ordered issues also attract more citations, which casts some doubt on whether, in general, leading papers are of higher quality.

Na-no-body : De l’oubli du corps sensible en nanomédecine

Essai / EssayCet article expose les réflexions sur lesquelles se fonde un récent projet artistique intitulé Na-no-body, présenté à la galerie montréalaise Espace Projet dans le cadre de l’exposition Art + Bioéthique. Résultat d’une collaboration entre l’artiste Stephanie Coleman et le sociologue Mathieu Noury, ce projet souhaite contribuer au dialogue éthique sur le développement de la nanomédecine et de son rapport au corps. S’intéressant particulièrement à la notion de « médecine personnalisée » promue par la nanomédecine, cet article montre que loin de développer une approche réintégrant la personne et son expérience personnelle de la maladie au cœur du processus de soin, la nanomédecine apporte une réponse purement moléculaire et technique au soin. Plus spécifiquement, il est soutenu que deux idées principales fondent le modèle de prise en charge du patient promu par la nanomédecine : 1) l’individualité du patient est pensée au regard du prisme de la pensée moléculaire ; 2) la relation de soin, et donc au corps du patient, est hautement dépersonnalisée et technicisée, radicalisant la désindividualisation du soin propre à la biomédecine.This article presents the ethical reflexion of a recent art project, Na-no-body, presented at the Montreal gallery Espace Projet in the context of theexposition Art + Bioéthique. Na-no-body is the result of a collaborative work between the artist Stephanie Coleman and the sociologist Mathieu Noury. The aim of this project was to open an ethical dialogue on nanomedicine and its relationship with the body. To do so, the article examines specifically the notion of “personalized medicine” promoted by nanomedicine. This article proposes that, far from developing an approach reintegrating the person and the personal experience of illness at the heart of the care relationship, nanomedicine brings a simple molecular and technical response to caring. It is argued that two major themes constitute the core of this notion: 1) a molecular conception of personalization, conception of personalization

“‘Bold Words Vouched with a Deed so Bold’ : Latent Orientalism and Narrative in John Milton’s Paradise Lost”

This essay explores, in sequence, the event of Eve’s dream, Raphael’s visit to Eden, and Satan’s temptation as presented in Milton’s Paradise Lost. To aid an interpretation of Raphael’s visit to Eden, in terms other than failure, is Edward Said’s seminal work, Orientalism. Said’s theoretical cruxes of “latent orientalism” and “narrative” propel an analytical reconfiguration of the events stated above. As Said’s claims work to question analyses of Raphael’s visit, present in scholarly discourse, Milton’s text works to reveal the analytical possibilities of Said’s work in ways that are otherwise absent from the discourse. By examining these moments in Milton’s text, Said’s claims also procure insightful dimensions and interpretations outside of their more theoretical and historical commonplace. Ultimately, Said’s main concern of the historical dynamics shaping the relationship between “east” and “West”, “Orient” and “Occident”, prove relevant to consideration of the dynamics of “earthly” and “heavenly”, God and man, in Milton’s epic poem

Characterization of a Multi-User Indoor Positioning System Based on Low Cost Depth Vision (Kinect) for Monitoring Human Activity in a Smart Home

An increasing number of systems use indoor positioning for many scenarios such as asset tracking, health care, games, manufacturing, logistics, shopping, and security. Many technologies are available and the use of depth cameras is becoming more and more attractive as this kind of device becomes affordable and easy to handle. This paper contributes to the effort of creating an indoor positioning system based on low cost depth cameras (Kinect). A method is proposed to optimize the calibration of the depth cameras, to describe the multi-camera data fusion and to specify a global positioning projection to maintain the compatibility with outdoor positioning systems. The monitoring of the people trajectories at home is intended for the early detection of a shift in daily activities which highlights disabilities and loss of autonomy. This system is meant to improve homecare health management at home for a better end of life at a sustainable cost for the community

Government‐opposition or left‐right? The institutional determinants of voting in legislatures

This study uses roll-call voting data from 16 legislatures to investigate how the institutional context of politics—such as whether a country is a parliamentary or presidential regime, or has a single-party, coalition or minority government—shapes coalition formation and voting behavior in parliaments. It uses a geometric scaling metric to estimate the “revealed space” in each of these legislatures and a vote-by-vote statistical analysis to identify how much of this space can be explained by government-opposition dynamics as opposed to parties’ (left-right) policy positions. Government-opposition interests, rather than parties’ policy positions, are found to be the main drivers of voting behavior in most institutional contexts. In contrast, issue-by-issue coalition building along a single policy dimension is only found under certain restrictive institutional constraints: presidential regimes with coalition governments or parliamentary systems with minority governments. Put another way, voting in most legislatures is more like Westminster than Washington