The European Citizens' Initiative: Not Such a Good Idea

The regulation governing how the European Citizens' Initiative is to be implemented is due to be adopted at the beginning of 2011. During the negotiation procedure no major difference in opinion emerged with regard to this on the part of either the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament. This consensus contrasts with the significant effect that this tool of participatory democracy may have on European institutional dynamics. Various issues are raised: the disruption caused by its implementation with regard to the European Commission exercising its competence in terms of legislative initiative; reconciling divergence between the signatories of the citizens' initiative and the positions adopted by the European Council, the Council of MInisters, the European Parliament and even the national parliaments; the potential disturbance of the regulatory role played by the Court of Justice

Paradoxical Bodies: Femininity, subjectivity and the visual discourse of ecstasy

The aim of this research is to explore the possibility of the articulation of an embodied feminine subjectivity within visual culture. Tracing the tropes and discourses of visuality operating around the female body in representation via Warburg’s notion of the pathos formula, I examine the extent to which specific images acquiesce or resist dominant narratives of femininity within patriarchal visuality. The search for an embodied subjectivity leads to encounters with paradoxical bodies whose apparent passivity and ecstatic submission mask potential articulations of subjecthood through networks of visual and bodily memory. When the female body is represented in extreme states, where it can be both subject and object, desiring and desired, it becomes engaged in discourses of concealment and revelation, veiling and penetration, interiority and exteriority, which are played out in terms of drapery, skin and the body’s boundaries. These visual articulations of femininity are at the heart of Western visual culture, traversing the boundaries of context, period and genre, yet bodily representation often remains problematically linked to phallic and fetishistic modes of viewing which perpetuate the alienation of a feminine subjectivity. Beginning with The Ecstasy of St. Teresa by Bernini, the first chapter presents the impasse met by traditional art history and begins to propose, around the figure of Mary Magdalene, the notion of the ‘Caravaggesque’ body. The second chapter traces the phallic structure of viewing through representations of Venus and sculptural drapery, finishing by interrogating the engagements of Cindy Sherman and Orlan within these discourses. Chapter Three articulates potential areas within visual culture, from Caravaggio to Artemisia Gentileschi to Hildegard of Bingen, where depicted subjectivity begins to emerge beyond a dualist structure of the body and mind. Finally, a theorisation of the visuality of pregnancy leads to the possibility in Chapter Four of a feminist articulation of subjectivity based on a body marked by a pre- and post-maternal temporality

Messages visuels et destinataires dans les espaces publics et privés de la Rome antique

Les Romains ont pratiqué toute la gamme des messages visuels, aussi bien dans les espaces publics que privés, tantôt dans un but pédagogique, en usant de tous les procédés de la rhétorique appliqués aux images, prolongeant et améliorant les modes d’expression hérités des Grecs, tantôt en voilant méthodiquement la signification du contenu des images, non par des procédés arbitraires, mais en usant des mêmes procédés d’expression de tradition grecque, dans le but de conférer à l’image le statut et la forme du langage oraculaire. Il y a là le double témoignage d’un besoin de recourir aux images visuelles dans toutes les circonstances de la vie privée et publique, et d’une rare maîtrise dans le maniement des langages adaptés aux différents publics auxquels les messages étaient adressés

Journaliste et traducteur : deux métiers, deux réalités

Cet article explore quelques points de contacts entre journalisme et traduction, principalement du point de vue du traducteur professionnel. Après avoir rappelé les différents aspects de la traduction des médias, de son usage le plus classique (à l’université) aux récentes évolutions dues à Internet, les auteurs commentent des cas où les journalistes sont amenés à traduire, et analysent quelques exemples de traductions qui leur ont paru contestables. Il en ressort un traitement différent du discours, les journalistes ayant tendance à interpréter en dramatisant, de façon à accrocher leur public ou à suivre l’orientation de leur média, contrairement aux traducteurs qui gardent une certaine neutralité. Leur position par rapport à la langue elle-même est différente, les traducteurs montrant plus de réticences, du fait de leur formation, à utiliser des calques et des emprunts que les journalistes, qui tendent à refléter les usages les plus actuels.This paper points out some contact points between journalism and translation, mostly from the viewpoint of the professional translator. The different aspects of media translation are first described, from the most traditional (at university) to the latest evolution via Internet. The authors comment on instances when journalists have to translate texts themselves and then analyse a few examples of seemingly questionable translations. They point out that journalists have a different approach to discourse and tend to interpret and dramatize it in order to capture their readers’attention or to follow their medium’s editorial line, unlike translators who remain more neutral. Their approach to language itself is also different, since translators, due to their training, seem to be more reluctant to use calques or borrow foreign words than journalists who tend to reflect trendy practices

Computer modelling of crack growth in rubber-toughened polymers.

We present results from a computer modelling study of fracture propagation in a rubber-toughened polymer subject to external uniaxial tension. Using a simple lattice model comprising two bond types (one for rubber and one for polymer), simulations have been performed on both 2- and 3-dimensional systems. Each bond is characterised by two parameters : an elastic constant and a mechanical strength. All bonds behave in a purely elastic manner up to fracture; this limits the model's applicability to impact failure of brittle glassy polymers. We employ a stochastic breaking process based on Eyring's reaction rate theory, and allow the system to equilibrate fully after each bond breakage. It is found that the Conjugate Gradient method is the most efficient technique for calculating these equilibria. The model allows straightforward measurement of the total damage at failure, which is a crude approximation of the material toughness, and the stress distribution during the damage evolution.We show that, for a wide range of bond parameters, as the rubber loading is increased the damage goes through a sequence of behaviour : embrittlement; toughening; saturation; and weakening. This sequence is consistent with experimental data for rubber-toughened Poly (methyl methacrylate) (RT-PMMA). Our results show that the embrittlement and saturation stages are sensitive to the ratio of the two elastic constants but that they disappear as this ratio approaches unity. The toughening achieved is sensitive to both the concentration and the mechanical strength of the rubber bonds, the most damaged systems being those with large rubber mechanical strength at approximately 50% concentration. We also find that the damage is dependent on the spatial distribution of the rubber bonds, the greatest toughness being achieved using a homogeneous rubber distribution.We also find that the evolution of the system's failure goes through four regimes. In the first of these, the damage is evenly distributed throughout the system but showsa propensity for occuring adjacent to rubber bonds. Subsequently, short cracks develop between some of these weakly damaged sites. As more of these develop, a number of long rubber-bridged cracks appear. In the third regime, the stabilising effect of the bridging rubber bonds forces the damage to extend throughout the system, leading to branching and interconnecting of rubber-bridged cracks. Finally, the stress experienced by the crack-bridging rubber bonds becomes unsustainable and catastrophic failure occurs. Zones of material consistent with each of these four regimes can be observed in experimentally fractured RT-PMMA. The main toughening mechanisms in operation in our model are, therefore, crazing (which occurs mainly in the second regime) and rubber-bridging (which occurs in the third). The former is enhanced by using a lower rubber elastic constant, whereas the latter is prolonged by a large rubber mechanical strength.We also apply the model to simulations of 2D and 3D systems containing rubber macro-particles, i.e. large volumes of connected rubber bonds, and we present visual results of the damage and the stress field evolution in such systems. In these, the damage appears to develop in accordance with the four regimes described above. The stress maps of multi-particle 2D systems show the gradual stress transfer which takes place as cracks develop, from initially high-stressed inter-particle polymer regions to the crack tips and, then, to the rubber particles along the crack lines. These visual results also highlight three possible modes of particle-crack interaction : particle debonding, particle splitting and crack reflection

Langages et communication : écrits, images, sons

Cette vingtaine de contributions propose une sorte de bilan des formes changeantes et multiples de la communication entre les hommes sur une longue période, de l’Antiquité au monde actuel. Le Congrès national des sociétés historiques et scientifiques rassemble chaque année universitaires, membres de sociétés savantes et jeunes chercheurs. Ce recueil est issu des travaux présentés lors du 139e Congrès sur le thème « Langages et communication »

La Fundación Sergio Urrego (FSU) y la lucha por la creación de entornos escolares incluyentes

Aunque Colombia es uno de los países con mayores casos graves de acoso escolar, organizaciones como la Fundación Sergio Urrego han trabajado por años para luchar contra este fenómeno y por crear ambientes escolares seguros e incluyentes. El trabajo de la Fundación Sergio Urrego ha consistido no sólo en la prevención del acoso escolar y la discriminación, sino que también se ha adaptado a las nuevas demandas sociales logrando dar soporte a migrantes y a casos de violencia de género e intrafamiliar. Es en este contexto en el que desarrollan iniciativas innovadoras como la Línea Salvavidas 24/7 y el Sello Sergio Urrego como certificación para colegios que promueven ambientes escolares seguros y libres de discriminación. Este artículo presenta el resultado de una sistematización de experiencias que permite dar cuenta de los aspectos de innovación social presentes en las actividades de la Fundación Sergio Urrego tales como la participación, el liderazgo, la creación de capital social y la transformación social. De acuerdo a lo encontrado se recomienda principalmente a las entidades públicas realizar mayores esfuerzos para que las comunidades educativas puedan identificar la necesidad de tomar acciones para prevenir y manejar los casos de acoso escolar teniendo en cuenta que ya existen rutas de atención disponibles en el marco normativo colombiano.Even though Colombia has one of the highest number of serious bullying cases worldwide, organizations like the Fundación Sergio Urrego have worked over the year to fight against bullying and for safer and more inclusive school environments. Fundación Sergio Urrego’s actions have consisted not only in preventing bullying but discrimination as well and have adapted to new social demands supporting immigrants and victims of gender and domestic violence. In this context, new initiatives have emerged like the Línea Salvavidas 24/7 and the Sello Sergio Urrego which certifies schools promoting safer and discrimination-free school environments. This article presents the results of the systematization of experiences that allows social innovation aspects to be visible on the different Fundación Sergio Urrego’s activities some of which are participation, leadership, social capital creation and social change. According with what’s been found, it’s recommended for public entities to work harder on making sure schools and their communities are more aware of bullying, how to prevent and face it taking into account the already available legal frame in Colombia

Préface

Ce volume qui réunit une vingtaine de contributions donne une image très partielle des communications présentées pendant cinq jours au Congrès de Nîmes en mai 2014. Les unes ont été réparties dans divers autres volumes, tandis que d’autres n’ont pas été proposées pour la publication par leur auteur. Les études publiées ici ont été regroupées sous cinq intitulés : L’écrit sous le regard de tous ; Violence et communication : nuire par la parole ; La diversité des langages visuels, de l’Antiqui..

Interroger l’ornement après Riegl

Avons-nous su tirer des travaux des grands Viennois, Alois Riegl en tête, toutes leurs conséquences ? L’effort éditorial en langue française amorcé dans les années 1980 a-t-il suscité autant de commentaires et de débats, de renouvellements des problématiques, des objets et des méthodes que les récentes éditions en langue anglaise en ont suscités chez nos collègues outre-Atlantique ? Quand la traduction de Spätrömische Kunstindustrie (Vienne, 1901) et de Altorientalische Teppische (Leipzig, 18..

The Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS): Experiment Data Distribution

The six sensors of SEIS (The Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure) [- one of three primary instruments on NASA's Mars Lander Insight] cover a broad range of the seismic bandwidth, from 0.01 hertz to 50 hertz, with possible extension to longer periods. Data are transmitted in the form of three continuous VBB (Very Broad-Band) components at 2 samples per second (sps), an estimation of the short period (SP) energy content from the SP at 1 sps, and a continuous compound VBB/SP vertical axis at 10 sps. The continuous streams are augmented by requested event data with sample rates from 20 to 100 sps. SEIS data products are downlinked from the spacecraft in raw CCSDS (Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems) packets and converted to both the Standard for the Exchange of Earthquake Data (SEED) format files and ASCII tables (GeoCSV) for analysis and archiving. Metadata are available in dataless SEED and StionXML. Time series data (waveforms) are available in miniseed and GeoCSV. Data are distributed according to FDSN (Federation of Digital Seismograph Networks - http://www.fdsn.org) formats and interfaces. Wind, pressure and temperature data from the Auxiliary Payload Sensor Suite (APSS) will also be available in SEED format, and can be used for decorrelation and diagnostic purposes on SEIS