Macroeconomic volatility, debt dynamics, and sovereign interest rate spreads.

While the relationship between volatility and risk is central to much of the financial literature it has not been incorporated systematically into assessment of sovereign debt sustainability. This paper attempts to fill this gap by studying how the probability distribution of sovereign debt to GDP ratios depends on the stochastic properties of underlying variables such as the real interest rate, the real growth rate, and the primary budget deficit. Due to the highly non-linear relationship between these variables and the debt ratios, Monte-Carlo simulations have to be used to estimate the probability distribution at different horizons. Using the right-hand tail of the distribution as a measure of the risk, we are able to show how the volatility of the underlying variables as well as potential interactions between them influences country risk. Using estimates of volatility parameters of a sample of developed and emerging markets, we construct risk measures for each of them. We hypothesize that this risk measure should be positively correlated with the spread of sovereign bonds of the countries. Preliminary econometric tests suggest that this is indeed the case. Thus, while conventional analyses of the determinants of sovereign spreads have not focused on volatility dynamics, financial markets seem to have incorporated it in sovereign bond pricing.Macroeconomic volatility, debt dynamics, sovereign spreads

The Impact of Communication Skills Training in Oncology: a Linguistic Analysis

This study aimed to investigate the impact of a communication skills training (CST) in oncology on clinicians' linguistic strategies. A verbal communication analysis software (Logiciel d'Analyse de la Communication Verbale) was used to compare simulated patients interviews with oncology clinicians who participated in CST (N = 57) (pre/post with a 6-month interval) with a control group of oncology clinicians who did not (N = 56) (T1/T2 with a 6-month interval). A significant improvement of linguistic strategies related to biomedical, psychological and social issues was observed. Analysis of linguistic aspects of videotaped interviews might become in the future a part of individualised feedback in CST and utilised as a marker for an evaluation of trainin

Exploring barriers to consistent condom use among sub-Saharan African young immigrants in Switzerland.

No study to date has focused on barriers to condom use specifically among young immigrants to Europe from sub-Saharan Africa. Based on a qualitative study in sociology, this paper explores generational differences in barriers to condom use between first-generation immigrants (born in Africa and arrived in Switzerland after age 10) and second-generation immigrants (born in Switzerland to two native parents or arrived in Switzerland before age 10). Results are based on in-depth, semistructured individual interviews conducted with 47 young women and men aged 18 to 25 to understand how individual, relational, and cultural dimensions influence sexual socialization and practices. Six main barriers to consistent condom use were identified: reduced pleasure perception, commitment and trust, family-transmitted sexual norms and parental control, lack of accurate knowledge on HIV transmission, lack of awareness about HIV in Switzerland, and gender inequalities. The three first barriers concerned both generations of immigrants, whereas the three last revealed generational differences. These findings can help sexual health providers identify social causes for young sub-Saharan immigrants not using condoms. The findings also highlight the necessity of offering accurate, accessible, and adapted information to all young immigrants, as well as the particular importance of addressing families' lack of discussions about sex, understanding the sexual norms transmitted by parents, and taking into consideration cultural differences among young people born in immigration countries

Les émotions au travail (scientifique): enjeux éthiques et stratégies méthodologiques d'une enquête en terrain intime

Based on a qualitative approach, the article proposes to illustrate the different stages of the elaboration of a methodological package, focusing on emotions that are actively put at work. The investigation was conducted on an intimate field, as it deals with themes such sexuality and HIV. The principal aim of the study is to understand how immigrant women of sub-Saharan origin living in Switzerland manage the secret of their HIV / AIDS positive status. Facing multiple vulnerabilities, the studied population is particularly precarious. This raises several ethical questions that are explored in the text. In particular, the emotional implications for the investigators and the impact of the research on the interviewee’s life are questioned. Reflecting on the mobilization of emotions in the process of research, one epistemological question emerges: could knowing subjects be emotional subjects and vice versa? Finally, the emotions mobilized both by the investigators and the interviewees constitute the raw material on which a situated, felt and committed methodology take place

Liens sociaux, secrets et confidences. Le cas des femmes migrantes d'Afrique subsaharienne et séropositives

Les femmes migrantes d'Afrique subsaharienne et séropositives cumulent les vulnérabilités. Fondé sur une recherche qualitative menée auprès de 30 femmes atteintes du VIH, cet article se propose d'analyser comment elles investissent les diverses sphères sociales (familiales, professionnelles, communautaires, etc.) et créent différents types de liens. Si le statut légal, l'expérience migratoire, l'origine, la précarité sociale ou le genre tendent à orienter les pratiques de sociabilité, nous montrerons que l'usage du secret comme stratégie de gestion de l'information relative au VIH reste l'élément déterminant dans l'organi­sation des relations sociales des femmes interrogées. La proximité sociale et l'investissement affectif sont forts dans le milieu médical et associatif, alors que par crainte de stigmatisation, ils le sont moins au sein des communautés africaines, ce qui réduit les possibilités d'entraide et de solidarité. Fortement liée aux représentations négatives du VIH/sida, la pratique du secret conditionne également les relations au sein de la famille et du couple où se mêlent soutien et violence

L’engagement (scientifique) sensible

Starting from a qualitative research concerning the management of the secret of the HIV among immigrant women from sub-Saharan origins living in Switzerland, this article focuses on the methodological and ethical issues requested from such kind of survey. The notions of posture, commitment and participation are here explored. In order to illustrate the ethical dimensions and methodological difficulties, the article is organized in two parts. The first one analyses the institutional constraints due to the research in a public hospital. The second one concerns the political dimension during the delicate stage of the results’ feedback and its impact on women life. Here, the notion of participation in the production of scientific (sociological) data shows the emergence of the concept of scientific citizenship.A partir d’une recherche qualitative portant sur la gestion du secret de la séropositivité chez des femmes migrantes originaires d’Afrique subsaharienne et séropositives vivant en Suisse, cet article s’intéresse aux dimensions méthodologiques et éthiques liées aux enquêtes sur des terrains sensibles. Les notions de posture, d’engagement et de participation sont ici explorées. Afin d’illustrer les enjeux éthiques, les difficultés et les choix méthodologiques que ce type d’enquête soulève, le texte se structure en deux parties. La première partie propose une réflexion autour des contraintes institutionnelles liées à une recherche en milieu hospitalier. La deuxième partie porte sur la dimension politique de la recherche: ses retombées (réelles, imaginées ou espérées) ont une portée pratique dans la vie des femmes interviewées. La notion de participation révèle l’émergence d’une forme de citoyenneté dans la production et la restitution des résultats

L’engagement (scientifique) sensible

Starting from a qualitative research concerning the management of the secret of the HIV among immigrant women from sub-Saharan origins living in Switzerland, this article focuses on the methodological and ethical issues requested from such kind of survey. The notions of posture, commitment and participation are here explored. In order to illustrate the ethical dimensions and methodological difficulties, the article is organized in two parts. The first one analyses the institutional constraints due to the research in a public hospital. The second one concerns the political dimension during the delicate stage of the results’ feedback and its impact on women life. Here, the notion of participation in the production of scientific (sociological) data shows the emergence of the concept of scientific citizenship.A partir d’une recherche qualitative portant sur la gestion du secret de la séropositivité chez des femmes migrantes originaires d’Afrique subsaharienne et séropositives vivant en Suisse, cet article s’intéresse aux dimensions méthodologiques et éthiques liées aux enquêtes sur des terrains sensibles. Les notions de posture, d’engagement et de participation sont ici explorées. Afin d’illustrer les enjeux éthiques, les difficultés et les choix méthodologiques que ce type d’enquête soulève, le texte se structure en deux parties. La première partie propose une réflexion autour des contraintes institutionnelles liées à une recherche en milieu hospitalier. La deuxième partie porte sur la dimension politique de la recherche: ses retombées (réelles, imaginées ou espérées) ont une portée pratique dans la vie des femmes interviewées. La notion de participation révèle l’émergence d’une forme de citoyenneté dans la production et la restitution des résultats