Les Alpes, de la société de la vache au parc animalier

Le texte montre que sont aujourd'hui réunis, dans les Alpes, les éléments d'un zoo idéal: la grande faune sauvage y est abondante et diversifiée, le public avide de voir des animaux sauvages en liberté est nombreux et les techniques relevant de "l'éco-zoo-technie" de plus en plus performantes. Face à ces évolutions, les réactions des sociétés alpines s'avèrent contrastées. Bien des chasseurs se réjouissent de l'augmentation du gibier et les animaux sauvages sont devenus une nouvelle ressource touristique à exploiter. Mais les éleveurs et les agriculteurs voient dans la progression de la faune sauvage une cause de leur propre déclin et la manifestation d'un projet de société qui s'oppose au leur

Les justifications mouvantes de la patrimonialisation des espèces "remarquables". L'exemple du bouquetin des Alpes

International audienceIncreasingly, all living creatures are being turned into natural heritage. Yet, animal species that were initially considered "remarkable" continue to be more distinguished than others. This article proposes a longue durée study of the heritagization of a species that was protected very early on, the alpine mountain goat (or ibex). It focuses on the role of actors defined as "heritagization entrepreneurs". Drawing on pragmatic sociology and building on empirical fieldwork, it underlines the capacity of these entrepreneurs to continually reformulate and reinvent reasons for distinguishing their favorite animal. It thus sheds new light on the heritagization process, which appears to arise in particular situations rather than being founded on generic criteria such as those attached to the notion of "animal charisma". Beyond the relatively flexible justifications given to justify perserving a single species at a particular moment, the possibility of establishing a relationship with and elaborating a narrative around a given animal appears to be a key condition for its heritagization.Malgré la tendance à constituer l'ensemble du vivant en patrimoine naturel, les espèces animales initialement désignées comme remarquables continuent aujourd'hui d'être plus distinguées que les autres. L'article retrace, sur la longue durée, les justifications apportées à la patrimonialisation d'une espèce très tôt protégée, le bouquetin des Alpes. Il met en avant le rôle dans ce processus d'acteurs qualifiés d'" entrepreneurs de patrimonialisation ". En s'inspirant de la sociologie pragmatique et en s'appuyant sur une enquête de terrain, il souligne la capacité de ces derniers à sans arrêt reformuler et réinventer les raisons de distinguer leur animal de prédilection. Il apporte ainsi un nouvel éclairage sur le processus de patrimonialisation, qui apparaît davantage justifié en situation que fondé sur des critères génériques tels que ceux attachés au " charisme animal ". Au-delà des justifications relativement plastiques avancées à un moment donné, la possibilité d'établir une relation et de vivre une histoire avec une espèce animale apparaît comme une condition forte de sa patrimonialisatio

The Operation of Autonomous Mobile Robot Assistants in the Environment of Care Facilities Adopting a User-Centered Development Design

The successful development of autonomous mobile robot assistants depends significantly on the well-balanced reconcilements of the technically possible and the socially desirable. Based on empirical research 2 substantiated conclusions can be established for the suitability of "scenario-based design" (Rosson/Carroll 2003) for the successful development of mobile robot assistants and automated guided vehicles to be applied for service functions in stationary care facilities for seniors.User-Centered Technology Development, Knowledge-Transfer, Participative Assessment Methods, Robotics

Les éleveurs et leurs voisins. Etude du renouvellement des rhétoriques professionnelles d’une profession contestée

[paper in French] Today’s farmers are facing growing criticism about their activities, around questions of pollution, sanitary affairs, climatic change or animal welfare, non-professional actors promoting their own definitions of what farming activities should be – or should not be. This particular situation provides a good opportunity to explore the new professional discourses developed by a contested profession, fostered to re-elaborate the sense of its activities. Based on a survey in a rural mountain community, we present the criticisms addressed to cattle farmers by non-farmers in the village, which stress problems about land ownership, manure management, and pasture maintenance. We highlight two types of professional discourse developed by cattle farmers in response to the criticisms: The first one combines a victimisation figure with the threat of giving up the job; the second one claims responsibility and anticipation of the non-farmers’ demands, as far as technical constraints make this anticipation possible.profession, cattle-breeder, professional discourses, neighbourhood

Editorial: sedimentology and society

Earth surface processes are increasingly affected by human activities, often resulting in complex, or unexpected consequences for society. The on-going effects of land-use changes and release of pollutants to the natural environment are of growing concern. Societal awareness of these environmental changes has grown rapidly over the past decade, prompting a need to better understand and predict the implications of future changes, and to inform adaptation and mitigation policies and strategies. Sedimentology is critical in understanding complex interplays between human activities and earth-surface processes by characterizing and quantifying the response of nature to human impact and vice versa, the impact of natural processes on society. Thus, while key challenges exist, there are many opportunities for sedimentologists to advance the understanding of the human-nature relationship (Hodgson et al., 2018) and thereby contribute to achieving the UN sustainability goals (United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, 2015). Research Topics of this contribution include natural hazards, pollutant dispersal, carbon transfer and storage, and Earth's surface response to changing climate and sea level. This Frontiers in Earth Science special issue brings together a collection of papers that bridge key knowledge gaps in these critical areas, and document the challenges and opportunities within the theme “Sedimentology and Society.

The operation of autonomous mobile robot assistants in the environment of care facilities adopting a user-centered development design

The participation of the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA (Stuttgart, Germany) and the companies User Interface Design GmbH (Ludwigsburg, Germany) plus MLR System GmbH (Ludwigsburg, Germany) enabled the research and findings presented in this paper; we would like to namely mention Birgit Graf and Theo Jacobs (Fraunhofer IPA) furthermore Peter Klein and Christiane Hartmann (User Interface Design GmbH).The successful development of autonomous mobile robot assistants depends significantly on the well-balanced reconcilements of the technically possible and the socially desirable. Based on empirical research substantiated conclusions can be established for the suitability of "scenario-based design" (Rosson/Carroll 2003) for the successful development of mobile robot assistants and automated guided vehicles to be applied for service functions in stationary care facilities for seniors.supported by the WiMi-Care project [http://www.wimi-care.de] funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (FKZ: 01FC08024-27)

Assessing Nature? The Genesis of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)

International audienceBased on an anlysis of the creation of an IPBES, our contribution addresses the progressive stabilization of an institutional design for assessing Nature. As regards the implementation of new forms of environmental governance, social science literature has zidely promoted norms of transparency, openness and participation. But so far, few researchers have focused on the way this disclosure model now concretely weighs down on real institutions and institutionalization processes. Little attention has been paid to the way this requirement can combine with other requirements or older models of action. In the case of IPBES, our goal is to question how the requirements of participation and transparency are put into practice. We will highlight the role of UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) in the institutionalization process of IPBES and see how the disclosure model is combined with other requirements which simultaneously involve the re-creation of "enclosure" (i.e. the need for academic sound science, or the usual way in which things are done at UNEP, i.e. bureaucratic practices). OUr work is based on an empirical study including documentation analysis and interviews