The long goodbye: beyond an essentialist construction of WMD
In: Contemporary security policy, Band 33, Heft 2, S. 384-406
ISSN: 1352-3260, 0144-0381
33790 Ergebnisse
Sortierung:
In: Contemporary security policy, Band 33, Heft 2, S. 384-406
ISSN: 1352-3260, 0144-0381
World Affairs Online
This paper discusses aspects of risk and uncertainty relevant in an interdisciplinary assessment of climate change policy. It opposes not only the objective approach versus the subjective approach, but also situations when precise probabilities are well founded versus situations of broader forms of error such as Knightian or deep uncertainty, incompleteness, vagueness. Additional human and social dimensions of ignorance: strategic uncertainties, surprises, values diversity, and taboos, are discussed. We argue that the broader forms of error affect all sciences, including those studying Nature. For these aspects the IPCC guidance notes provides an interdisciplinary unified approach on risk and uncertainty. This is a significant advance from a simple multidisciplinary justaposition of approaches. However, these guidance notes are not universal, they mostly omit the human and social dimensions of ignorance. ; Soumis à Philosophy Studies Ce papier discute les divers aspects du risque et de l'incertitude pertinents dans le cadre de l'évaluation interdisciplinaire des politiques climatiques. Il marque non seulement l'opposition entre l'approche objective (qui voit les probabilités comme des degrés de vérité) et l'approche bayésienne (qui les voit comme des degrés de certitude), mais encore l'opposition entre les situations de risque (quand on dispose de probabilités précises et bien fondées) et les situations d'incertitude (des formes d'ignorance plus générale, comme l'incertitude au sens de Knight, l'incomplétude ou le vague). L'évolution des directives IPCC sur le risque et l'incertitude entre le troisième et le quatrième rapport peuvent se lire comme un mouvement s'écartant de la position objectiviste et probabiliste, pour inclure des aspects plus complexes de l'incertitude. Cependant, il reste encore des dimensions humaines comme l'ignorance stratégique, les surprises, les aspects métaphysiques, les taboos et l'incertitude épistémique qui manquent dans les directives IPCC.
BASE
2295 2314 48 ; Senia ; Two-stroke engines have dropped out of the automobile market for a long time due to severe drawbacks. Unfortunately, the comparison with the performances of four-stroke engines was not in favour of two-stroke ones. Nevertheless, the needs of a more compact engine with a better ratio of the mass and size versus power motivated research efforts at the beginning of the 90's. Regrettably, these efforts did not result in commercial success and automobile manufacturers kept four-stroke engine architecture as base architecture. However, the two-stroke engine is a highly favourable concept for downsizing and cost reduction by reducing the number of cylinders without NVH penalties. All that added to the maturity of CFD calculations and the availability of high power electronic for control and fuel injection encouraged the Renault research division to have a closer look into its architecture. The study deals with a two-cylinder Diesel engine based on two-stroke valves engine. Air admission and exhausts gas are done through four valves per cylinder; fuel injection is done through ten holes nozzle at 1800 bar of pressure. The company Delphi, partner of the project, provided the injection system. The displacement of engine is 730 cm3 and the engine is designed for a range of power of about 35-50 kW and a range of torque of 110 - 145 N.m. The design of the scavenging was achieved with the help of 3D simulation based on the best 3D simulation tools available. More than 250 calculations were completed to determine the best design of the cylinder-head reaching the objective of scavenging performances. At the end of this step, the best compromise was determined between the mass of fresh gas and the mass of burnt gas in the cylinder respecting combustion and engine efficiency criterias. Air supercharging system was designed in cooperation between the partners Renault, Le Moteur Moderne and University of Technology of Prague. The injection and combustion testing and optimisation were done on a one cylinder ...
BASE
The word persecution refers to unfair, cruel and persistent prosecution. But the former did not hear the same realities behind the concepts of injustice and cruelty, which they understood more restrictively than those of us Modernes. Therefore, how can we judge whether legislation dating from Roman era was persecuting? In particular, can the imperial legislation targeting Jewish citizens of the Empire be described as persecuting? In order to answer this question, we must refrain from judging these laws in the light of our current criteria. This study therefore focuses on discourse and criticism of these laws by contemporary actors themselves, the imperial power on the one hand and the Jewish citizens concerned on the other. ; Persecution is an illegitimate, cruel and persistent annoyance. But the notion of illegitimacy, cruelty and harassment is a subjective one and moreover it fluctuates according to historical periods. It is therefore uneasy to say whether or not a Roman Legislation was persecutory. In particular, can we say that the Roman Imperial Legislation on Jews was persecutory? To answer this question, we shall not evaluate these Laws with modern criteria but rather consider the point of view of the time. To do so, we will focuse on comments and criticisms, which the Legislator on the one hand, and the Jewish Roman citizens on the other addressed concerning these Laws. ; The word persecution refers to unfair, cruel and persistent prosecution. But the former did not hear the same realities behind the concepts of injustice and cruelty, which they understood more restrictively than those of us Modernes. Therefore, how can we judge whether legislation dating from Roman era was persecuting? In particular, can the imperial legislation targeting Jewish citizens of the Empire be described as persecuting? In order to answer this question, we must refrain from judging these laws in the light of our current criteria. This study therefore focuses on discourse and criticism of these laws by contemporary actors ...
BASE
OBJECTIVES: Using judicial files on neonaticides, (1) to examine the frequency of the association between neonaticide and denial of pregnancy; (2) to assess the accuracy of the concept of denial of pregnancy; (3) to examine its usefulness in programs to prevent neonaticides. METHODS: Quantitative and qualitative analyses of data collected from judicial files during a population-based study carried out in 26 courts in 3 regions of France over a 5-year period. RESULTS: There were 32 cases of neonaticides identified; 24, perpetrated by 22 mothers, were solved by police investigation. Aged 26 years on average, the mothers had occupations that resembled those of the general population and 17 had jobs, 13 were multiparous and 11 lived in a couple relationship. No effective contraception was used by women in 20 cases. Psychopathology was rare but mothers shared a personality profile marked by immaturity, dependency, weak self esteem, absence of affective support, psychological isolation and poor communication with partners. No pregnancy was registered nor prenatal care followed. Two (perhaps 3) pregnancies were undiscovered until delivery. No typical denial of pregnancy was observed in the other cases. Pregnancies were experienced in secrecy, with conflicting feelings of desire and rejection of the infant and an inability to ask for help. Those around the mothers, often aware of the pregnancy, offered none. In the absence of parallel clinical data, it is not possible to calculate the frequency of the association between neonaticide and denial of pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: The term 'denial of pregnancy' cannot fully reflect the complexity of emotions and feelings felt by all perpetrators of neonaticide and is used differently by different professionals. The term itself and its excessive generalization contribute to pathologizing women while absolving those around them and has little operational value in preventing neonaticides. The authors suggest rethinking the terms presently used to describe the phenomenon of pregnancy ...
BASE
In: Historical Social Research, Supplement, Heft 24, S. 249-272
"After the peaceful revolution, politicians and scholars intensely debated the Labels which ought to characterize the East German brand of communism. Focusing on its totalitarian features, cold warriors called it an 'Unrechtsstaat' while former supporters of the SED preferred to speak about 'real existing socialism' as a failed experiment. In order to escape this polarization some scholars labeled the GDR a 'modern dictatorship', while yet others talked about an 'educational dictatorship' or a 'commodious dictatorship'. The conceptual challenge to which these efforts responded was the paradoxical character of the SED-regime that was clearly repressive, but also allowed many citizens a fairly normal life. Alluding to the party's emancipatory claims, but contrasting them to its repressive practice, the author therefore suggested the neologism of a 'welfare dictatorship'. The Right' s denounciation of it as too soft and Left's criticism as too harsh suggested that the new term might have hit upon a useful characterization." (author's abstract)
In this article we try to come back to reflections circulating through the group that is part of the University Extension Programme "The Right to have Rights" (UNLP). For these days, we are asking us about the possibilities for action by popular organisations to advance the fight for the law of the city. That question inevitably leads us to adopt a broad definition of that concept and put it in context or, rather, to place it in different contexts, namely: the theoretical discussion on human rights and the definition of the right to the city itself; reflections on the ways in which these rights are required, as opportunities in popular struggles, and how to exercise them; and the context of analysing the forms of production and ownership of the city today and historically, in order to enrich possible ways of fighting. We start this article by looking at how metropolitan urban area1 in our country, which has been released to market forces, has been built up, and we wonder whether the recovery of the economy that Argentina has experienced since the exit from convertibility has led to more and better possibilities of access to the city. We look at the mechanisms of collective production and differential ownership of the city, to see whether this has contributed some further elements to the understanding of the problem and the content of the popular demands. In the process of giving consensual content to the concept of the law of the City, we have found ourselves in discussions about the potential of fighting by means of requiring compliance with the obligations assumed by the State following the signing of international agreements and their inclusion in the National Constitution. We believe that something can be taken forward in this direction, provided that not all hopes are met there alone: the city's production and ownership is in line with the logic of the capital and attempts to enforce rights will never go beyond it if there is no impact on it. The debate on the law of the city necessarily involves rethinking ...
BASE
International audience Anthropological contributions that challenge several common perceptions on sacred sites are still poorly taken into account in conservation and ecological studies. This paper aims at filling this gap and providing a better framework for biological studies. Local concepts of natural sacred sites and their ritual administration were studied and the ritual practices relating to the vegetation of these sites were analyzed in the Bwaba cultural area in West Burkina Faso. Our research shows that these ritual practices are much more diverse and fluid than might have been supposed. Protection "by tradition" is thus rather different from what we call conservation. While vegetation does matter, its presence on sacred sites is not essential. In addition, under certain circumstances, sacred sites may be transferred or reproduced elsewhere. Attention is drawn to the inadequacy of "sacred woods" as a category, in an ecological as well as an anthropological sense. The idea that wooded shrines are "endogenous nature conservatories" is disproved.
BASE
International audience Sabaf, a world leading manufacturer of components for domestic gas cooking appliances, went through a transformation process between 1993 and 2005 to develop a strategic approach to corporate responsibility. This case describes the learning and change process within the company that set the ground for today's success.This teaching case builds on data gathered through sites primary and secondary data. The case research protocol explored the notion that the company was learning how to interact and respond to its changing context while its responses were creating the ground for internal organisational change that in turn would impact the relationship between the company and its context.Sabaf's case is not only a move from an implicit to explicit approach to corporate responsibility, but more profoundly it portrays a company that was engaged in developing a more 'humanistic' approach to management that permeated the whole organization. The term 'corporate responsibility' was used to describe much older concepts that valued people and the natural environment alongside economics. The case also shows the process of organizational leadership for learning, management innovation and change that supported the processes through which this approach was developed and integrated into the company.This case provides unique insights into the approach Sabaf adopted in its pioneering transformation to become a leading corporate responsibility company and a world leader in its sector. This case can be used as a benchmark for other companies that might embark on a similar process affecting the business as a whole.
BASE
ServPPIN is a research project focusing on the role of public and private services in growth and welfare and the particular role of public-private innovation networks (PPINs). Service public-private innovation networks (ServPPINs) are a new phenomenon across the EU. These collaborative alliances between public and private sector organisations bring together and develop complementarities and synergies between the different types of knowledge, technologies, competences, and services that each partner specialises in.The main objectives of the project were to identify the linkages between services, economic and social growth, and to understand the contribution of service innovations in the current economy and society, as well as any differences that may exist between the public and private sectors. This requires an understanding how public-private sector interactions function in the context of services, and how they can be better managed by private and public sector policy-makers to increase performance and welfare. It also requires an understanding of the characteristics of public-private service networks that induce innovation, and therefore growth, employment and welfare.The theoretical and empirical fieldwork has involved cross-country and cross-sector empirical analysis. To define the service innovation and service public-private innovation networks concept, and to guide the interface between theory and empirical research, the project has developed an analytical framework for studying multiinstitutional networks. The empirical research has followed a three-pronged approach at macro-, meso- and micro- economic levels including case studies covering the major service sectors of health, transport, tourism and knowledge intensive services.The key findings of the project are:1. Services are essential sources for growth which provide new value-added . There are different patterns of services development across the enlarged EU, and the variety of service economies models are embedded in diverse social andinstitutional ...
BASE
the problem examined here is based on the following premise: there is a strong demand for urban public spaces (UPS) — defi nests as the primary material support for urban development — in cities and metropolitan areas. This situation is analysed in the first part as a real challenge for urban planning, given that 20th century planning thinking has almost ignored the UPR, with the exception of historical central spaces. The second part looks at Henri Lefebvre's legacy of thought and in particular his invention of the 'right to the city' to provide some insight into the debate on the possibility of UPR in central (pericentral) or suburban environments. The analysis underlines the weak relevance of this concept to the European city despite its call for the democratisation of urban planning. ; International audience The analysis rests on the premises that there is a strong demand for urban public spaces (UPS) defi ned as the material basis for public life in cities and metropolitan areas. First this situation is analyzed as a real challenge for urbanism since it has completely neglected UPS throughout the 20th century. Second the article questions the legacy of Henri Lefebvre and more precisely his invention of the 'right to the city' for the debate for the debate concerning the future of pericentral and periurban UPS. The conclusion underlines the limited contribution of this notion for the European city in spite of its claim in favour of the democratization of urban planning. ; the problem examined here is based on the following premise: there is a strong demand for urban public spaces (UPS) — defi nests as the primary material support for urban development — in cities and metropolitan areas. This situation is analysed in the first part as a real challenge for urban planning, given that 20th century planning thinking has almost ignored the UPR, with the exception of historical central spaces. The second part looks at Henri Lefebvre's legacy of thought and in particular his invention of the 'right to the city' to ...
BASE
In: Totalitarismus und Demokratie: Zeitschrift für internationale Diktatur- und Freiheitsforschung = Totalitarianism and democracy, Band 8, Heft 2, S. 251-272
ISSN: 2196-8276
The idea that better coordination between transport and urban planning policies is one of the conditions for sustainable urban development is widely accepted by researchers, professionals and policy-makers. While the objectives of reducing motorised traffic, controlling energy consumption or combating socio-spatial segregation have renewed the challenges, the question of the link between the development of transport networks, the organisation of travel flows and urban forms is far from new. This is evidenced, for example, by the works of Hausmann or Cerdà and the project of the famous 'Ciudad Lineal' (Cité Lineaire) by the urban planner Arturo Soria y Mata. Over the past 50 years, however, the objectives underlying this planning principle have evolved significantly. For example, the modern vision of an urban organisation largely dedicated to the flow of cars has replaced a new concept, in which "urbanity" has become a key value in the design of lanes and the sharing of traffic spaces between the different modes of transport (Wachter, 2003). In a comparative research between France and Switzerland, recently published in the INRETS collections, we looked at the way in which transport policy and urban planning actors in several major cities have understood this change of perspective from "automobile city" to "sustainable city". Several researchers from INRETS, Institut d'Urbanisme de Paris and EPFL have analysed planning documents, studies and projects developed over the past 50 years in four agglomerations in Switzerland and France: Berne, Geneva, Bordeaux and Strasbourg. This documentary analysis has also been supplemented by semi-directional interviews with local stakeholders in the present and past locations at the various sites. The issue of policy change was at the heart of our reflection. How have the local challenges, concepts and practices of coordination between transport and urban planning evolved? What are the factors that foster coordination and, conversely, can we identify sources of inertia and ...
BASE
The idea of ambience introduces non-material dimensions into the architecture such as light, sound and movement. These sensitive dimensions taken as such offer a material that reduces the architecture to a Yemenal experience while at the same time making it possible to emerge from the visual representation. The concept of training is proposed as a unit of analysis for the sensitive experience of devices and shapes built in terms of their ambient power. ; International audience ; The idea of ambience introduces non-material dimensions into the architecture such as light, sound and movement. These sensitive dimensions taken as such offer a material that reduces the architecture to a Yemenal experience while at the same time making it possible to emerge from the visual representation. The concept of training is proposed as a unit of analysis for the sensitive experience of devices and shapes built in terms of their ambient power. ; L'idée d'ambiance introduit des dimensions non matérielles dans l'architecture telles que la lumière, le son et le mouvement. Ces dimensions sensibles prises en tant que telles offrent une matière permettant de réduire l'architecture à une expérience phénoménale et permettant dans le même temps de se dégager de la représentation visuelle. La notion de formant est proposée comme unité d'analyse permettant de considérer l'expérience sensible des dispositifs et formes construites sous l'angle de leur pouvoir ambiant.
BASE
In: Politische Studien: Magazin für Politik und Gesellschaft, Band 60, Heft 423, S. 24-33
ISSN: 0032-3462
World Affairs Online