Understanding collective violence : the communicative and performative qualities of violence in acts of belonging

This chapter explores the motivations for joining violent groups across arange of circumstances. In particular, the chapter will explore the similarities in the role of violence as a marker of identity within groups as diverseas street gangs and ethnic communities. Frequently, membership inviolent groups is explained in terms of individual material gain or theattainment of individual fame, in very rationalist and individualistic terms.This focus on individual choice and motivation suggests the use or disinclination to use violence is an expression of individual agency. Indeed, many of studies on civil wars or other armed conflicts treat joining these violent groups and the participation in violent acts as being anti-social, as if the choice to engage in violence is one wholly against social norms or social values. However, much can be gained by seeing these groups in completely the opposite light: gangs, communal factions, militias, even terrorist organisations can be seen as highly social environments. This chapter will examine the performative qualities of violence and the role that violence plays in the experience of belonging in large groups and in collective identity formation.PostprintPeer reviewe

The emergence of a lumpen-consumerate : the aesthetics of consumption and violence in the English riots of 2011

Within hours of the outset of unrest in the August 2011 English Riots, the government asserted that they were the doings of “criminal gangs”. In doing so, government officials and journalistic commentators cited television images of rioting and plundering youths. Although this assertion was subsequently abandoned, it reflected an on-going process: the criminalization of youth in Britain. The recycled images of flames and hooded teenagers came to serve as the proof of youth “gone bad”. This paper explores both the actions supposedly captured in the images depicting the riots and the discourses surrounding the reproduction of those images. It seeks to connect the youth politics of the everyday—especially the problems of being ignored as political subjects—to the formal political structures that rely on youth to be socially unruly on one hand and disciplined consumers on the other. Segments of British youth are cast out, seen as unneeded or unwanted in this disciplinary project and constitute what I call here a “lumpen-consumerate”. The paper concludes with a comparative analysis of the consumer images that both discipline young people and serve as a model for framing the unrest. The paper builds upon Deleuze, Badiou, Bourdieu, Bauman and others in order to examine how spontaneous, uncoordinated action came to be read through mass media spectacle as dismissible and intolerable images of “criminal gangs” to be policed.PostprintPeer reviewe

The rise of Jobbik, populism, and the symbolic politics of illiberalism in contemporary Hungary

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Introduction des placements alternatifs dans l'allocation d'actifs des caisses de pension: une solution pour contrer les taux bas

Les rendements faibles des placements traditionnels poussent les institutions de prévoyance à remettre leur allocation d'actifs en question. Elles se doivent de continuer à assurer leurs engagements vis-à-vis de leurs assurés et pour cela, se tournent de plus en plus vers les placements alternatifs. Mon travail cherche à savoir si ces placements dits non traditionnels sont adaptés pour les différentes formes de caisses de pension et comment celles-ci peuvent-elles les inclure dans leurs allocations d'actifs. En quête de rendement à long terme, une caisse de pension doit se rendre compte que tous les placements ne sont pas adaptés à sa situation financière et à sa stratégie opérationnelle. Ma recherche consiste donc à analyser les différentes formes de placements alternatifs potentiellement intéressantes pour ces institutions. Certaines sont déjà bien utilisées dans les allocations d'actifs, d'autres moins. Une analyse de différentes caisses de pension suisses est ensuite proposée afin de comprendre les différents cas de placements alternatifs utilisés. Quelle typologie de caisse peut se permettre de prendre plus de risque ? En comparant 10 institutions différentes, nous souhaitons comprendre leurs allocations d'actifs et qu'est-ce que les placements alternatifs leurs ont apporté. Est-il possible de mettre en relation leurs performances passées avec leur taux d'utilisation de placements non traditionnels ? Ces analyses permettront également de faire ressortir les différentes lois et réglementations légales que les institutions de prévoyance doivent respecter. Quelles risques peuvent-elles prendre avec la prévoyance de leurs assurés ? Finalement, quelles recommandations peut-on faire à une caisse de pension qui souhaite obtenir un meilleur rendement de ses placements ? Les placements alternatifs ne sont pas le remède miracle du manque de rendement mais peuvent contribuer au bien-être des institutions de prévoyance à long terme

The Role of a Literacy Coach in Supporting Instructional Improvement and Student Achievement

Using qualitative research methods, this study examines the professional development model of literacy coaching. Literacy coaches and classroom teachers were interviewed to explore the work of literacy coaching. The findings of this study indicate the importance of relationship building as part of the work of literacy coaching. It also indicates that literacy coaching is ongoing and requires a significant amount of time for implementation. Additionally, the principal not only has a significant impact on setting the purpose and providing support for literacy coaching but also impacting the teachers’ use of time within a school. Also, systemic support within a school was suggested as necessary to support literacy coaching during interviews had with the literacy coaches participating in this study

Réforme prévoyance 2020: enjeux démographique et économiques

Dans le cadre de l’obtention du diplôme d’Economie d’entreprise délivré par la Haute Ecole de Gestion de Genève, j’ai choisi de traiter les enjeux de la Réforme Prévoyances 2020. En Suisse, la retraite est assurée par le système des trois piliers. Le 1er pilier qui est l’Assurance-vieillesse et survivants (AVS), le 2ème pilier qui est la prévoyance professionnelle (LPP) et enfin le 3ème pilier qui est une épargne individuelle. Dans ce travail, je vais uniquement m’intéresser au 1er et 2ème pilier car la problématique de la Réforme Prévoyances 2020 ne concerne que les deux premiers systèmes. L’objectif de ce travail est d’analyser certaines mesures qui pourraient être refusées par les personnes qui voteront éventuellement pour le projet. Je vais expliquer les avantages et les inconvénients à l’aide d’exemples simples et concrets pour chaque thème, afin d’avoir une opinion sur le projet entier. Les thèmes abordés sont les mesures de flexibilisation (âge de référence et flexibilisation de la retraite), les mesures de compensation (abaissement du taux de conversion suivi de la suppression de la déduction de coordination et l’abaissement des taux de bonifications), ainsi que le relèvement de la TVA. Avec les résultats obtenus, j’aurai ma propre opinion pour effectuer mon choix lors de la votation de ce projet

Compulsive Social Behavior Emerges after Selective Ablation of Striatal Cholinergic Interneurons

The mechanisms underlying social dysfunction in neuropsychiatric conditions like obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette syndrome (TS) remain uncertain. Dysfunctions in basal ganglia, including reduced number of striatal cholinergic interneurons (SCIN), have been involved in their pathophysiology. To explore the role of SCIN in relation to perseverative behaviors we characterized a new transgenic mouse model in which inducible ablation of SCIN is achieved with high efficiency in a cell-type and region specific manner. Mice were subjected to an extensive behavioral testing including assessment of social behaviors and corticostriatal functional connectivity was evaluated in vivo. Selective SCIN ablation leads to altered social interactions together with exacerbated spontaneously emitted repetitive behaviors. Lesioned mice showed normal motor coordination, balance, and general locomotion. Interestingly, only environmentally-driven, but not self-directed, repetitive behaviors are exacerbated in lesioned mice. Remarkably, in mice with SCIN ablation the normal pattern of social exploration is continuously replayed. The emerging pattern of social interactions is highly predictable and invariant across time. In vivo electrophysiological recordings indicate that SCIN ablation results in an increase of the functional connectivity between different cortical areas and the motor, but not associative, region of the striatum. Our results identify a role of SCIN in suppressing perseverative behaviors including social related ones. In sum, SCIN ablation in mice leads to exacerbated ritualistic-like behaviors that impact on social performance providing a link between SCIN dysfunction and social impairments present in psychiatric disorders.Fil: Martos Schott, Yanina Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay; ArgentinaFil: Braz, Bárbara Yael. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay; ArgentinaFil: Beccaria, Juan Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay; ArgentinaFil: Murer, Mario Gustavo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay; ArgentinaFil: Belforte, Juan Emilio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay; Argentin