Showing papers by "Paris West University Nanterre La Défense published in 1996"

Is increased public spending for the preservation of historic monuments inevitable? The French case.

Abstract: There is a permanent expansion of the number of sites or properties listed as historic monuments in France. This expansion and the lack of productivity gains in the sector of restoration lead, within a stable economy, to an ever greater proportion of the national income being earmarked for upkeep and restoration. Hence the number of monuments to be subsidized grows. The policy does not include any mechanism of regulation. Ironically, laws governing this area have the effect of precipitating cost increases. Three possible alternatives are considered: appeals for sponsorship, merchandising, delisting.

The origins of French experimental psychology: experiment and experimentalism

Abstract: light of a history of French psychology which has still to be written. Taine, Ribot, Janet and Binet can be considered the founders in France of a psychology with scientific aspirations; the foundation can be dated roughly to the period 1870-1900. In 1870 there appeared two manifestos in favour of positive psychology, the prefaces to Taine’s De l’intelligence and Ribot’s La psychologie anglaise contemporaine. The new discipline was institutionalized by the creation in 1887 of a chair in Experimental and Comparative Psychology at the College de France to which Ribot was appointed in 1888 and by the establishment in 1889 of the Laboratory of Physiological Psychology at the Sorbonne. Beaunis, a physiologist from Nancy, was appointed director of the laboratory; three years later Binet became assistant director, and succeeded Beaunis in 1894. In the same year Binet published an Introduction à la psychologie exp6rimentale. In 1890, Charcot established a small psychological laboratory at the Salpetriere for his student Janet, whose thèse de lettres, a work

Une approche Gibbsienne des diffusions Browniennes infini-dimensionnelles

Abstract: Nous montrons qu'il y a correspondance biunivoque entre les lois de diffusions browniennes infini-dimensionnelles et les etats de Gibbs sur l'espace des trajectoires\(\Omega = C(0,1)^{\mathbb{Z}^d }\). Ce resultat est ensuite applique aux problemes de transition de phases, du retournement du temps et a l'etude des mesures reversibles. Le principal outil est une caracterisation des etats de Gibbs par une version infini-dimensionnelle de la formule d'integration par parties du calcul de Malliavin.

International bargaining in the presence of global environmental change

Abstract: This model deals with the greenhouse effect, that is to say with a problem of international pollution. Through a description of the bargaining process, it aims to determine the different forms that may be taken by cooperation agreements between the countries involved. We demonstrate, in particular, that under some conditions it is always possible for the countries to reach an agreement. Such agreements are the work of a group of so-called ‘leader countries’ characterized by their commitment in favour of cooperation. These leader countries use transfers to induce other countries to join them, but they can be insufficiently attractive to convince all the countries to cooperate. So as we show in the discussion, the cooperation is not necessarily total. Therefore, the key of a common problem can be a partial cooperation and not necessarily a common cooperation.

Gathered fruits and cultivated plants at Bercy (Paris), a Neolithic village in a fluvial context

Abstract: Recent rescue excavations at Bercy (Paris), a site on the alluvial plain of the Seine valley, yielded plant remains which are associated with the recent occupation phase dating from the middle Neolithic II (Chasseen), when a village was established on the former channel of the river Seine. Various contexts (the channel, the flat lower part of the bank, and several archaeological features) have been studied and 84 taxa have been identified. Cultivated plants are represented by Triticum aestivum/durum, T. dicoccum, T. monococcum and Hordeum vulgare. Among the wild plants with potentially edible fruits or seeds, only very few satisfy the various criteria for association with human activities: Corylus avellana, Vitis sylvestris, Cornus sanguinea, Quercus sp. and Prunus spinosa of which carbonized fruits were also present, were found in archaeological features and were very abundant. Though not found in archaeological features, we consider that Crataegus monogyna (carbonized and well represented) and Rubus spp. (especially abundant) were not deposited there naturally and had also been intentionally collected. Finally, it is suggested that the allochthonous (varied) origin of these taxa is the reason why there are no concentrations of their fruits in the channel. The exploitation of wild seeds and fruits appears to have been very selective. All other wild taxa can be attributed to natural deposition.

Female canaries display to songs of early isolated males

Abstract: We tested the sexual responsiveness of female canaries,Serinus canaria, to two sets of different types of male conspecific songs. In each set, three of the male songs had been recorded in a young bird which was isolated at an early age from conspecifics. Each bird was recorded during three stages of the song ontogeny (early plastic songs, late plastic songs and crystallized songs). We used copulation solicitation displays (CSD) as an index of female sexual response. Playbacks were performed during a period of natural sexual responsiveness of the females to song. We demonstrated that, in both experiments, very weak sexual displays of female canaries were recorded to the two stages of ‘isolate’ plastic songs. Each of the two different types of ‘isolate’ crystallized songs elicited high levels of CSD. These levels are not significantly different from the adult domesticated control song. Taken together, these results suggest that even isolate songs may convey sexual information. We discuss prominent acoustic features that must be present to ensure female sexual responses.

A monotonicity law for relative prices

Abstract: It is shown that relative prices of production, which depend on the rate of profit in a complicated manner, satisfy nevertheless a simple monotonicity law when the Hilbert's projective metric is used as a measure.

Éléments de validité des dimensions primaires de l'adaptation française de l'inventaire 16PF5.

Abstract: Nous presentons ici des elements de validite de construct (structure factorielle) et de consistance interne (alpha de Cronbach) des 16 dimensions primaires de l'adaptation francaise de cet inventaire. La validite de la structure interne a ete testee au niveau des items par la methode confirmatoire controide de groupe (Multiple Group Method) sur un echantillon de 1000 sujets. La stabilite de la structure factorielle a ete testee en comparant les structures factorielles extraites a partir de deux sous echantillons issus de l'echantillon total (2 x N - 500). Les resultats obtenus confirment la convergence structure observee/structure hypothetique (decrite par R.B. Cattell), de plus la stabilite de cette structure factorielle est bonne. La consistance interne a ete testee au moyen du coefficient alpha de Cronbach. Dans une perspective exploratoire ou d'evaluation de groupes (alphas superieurs a 0.60), la consistance est satisfaisante pour quatorze echelles sur quinze. Une analyse complementaire montre que la methode confirmatoire utilisee conjointement avec un indicateur de consistance interne ne presente pas les defauts classiquement reproches aux methodes procrusteennes.

Vagueness and Type Theory

Abstract: The aim of this essay is to show that one can give a proof-theoretical semantics to vague predicates (most of the observational predicates). The starting point is the critic of the truth-conditional analysis of vagueness in terms of degrees of truth, and the solution proposed is based of the anti-realist principle meaning is use. Therefore the problem of vague is replaced by the problem of graduality.

Le complexe paléochrétien et haul-médiéval de Velika Gospa prés de Bale (Istrie): Première campagne de fouille

Abstract: Les auteurs presentent brievement les resultats de la premiere campagne de fouille de l'eglise Velika Gospa (Santa Maria Alta) pres de Bale en Istrie. Au cours de cette campagne il a ete possible de preciser le plan de l'eglise grâce au degagement de l'angle nord-ouest de la facade et au degagement de deux bases in situ sur le stylobate nord qui a permi de restituer les entrecolonnements.

Paul Ricoeur et l’écriture de l’histoire ou comment Paul Ricoeur révolutionne l’histoire

Abstract: L’auteur se donne comme objet de discuter de la valeur philosophique et scientifique de la contribution de Paul Ricoeur quant a l’ecriture de l’histoire, plus particulierement au regard du rapport entre l’objectivite et la subjectivite et du role de l’intentionnalite dans l’historicite et le devenir. Pour ce faire, il organise son analyse autour des trois tomes de Temps et recit (1983-1985) ou Ricoeur oppose a l’autosatisfaction triomphaliste de l’ecole des Annales sa proposition de dialogue entre la philosophie et l’histoire. L’auteur passe en revue un certain nombre de reactions aux propos de Ricoeur (entre autres de Certeau, Chartier, Ranciere, Duby) et compare sa position a celle d’autres historiens et philosophes anglophones (entre autres celle de Dray, von Wright, Danto, White, Taylor). Ces discussions lui permettent d’explorer systematiquement la pensee du philosophe-historien. On est ainsi amene a constater que, pour Ricoeur, la pratique historienne est en tension constante entre l’objectivite, a jamais incomplete, et la subjectivite du regard methodique qui doit se deprendre d’une partie de soi-meme. Cette tension, precise Ricoeur, regit le « contrat de verite » qui guide l’investigation historienne et fonde sa methode et ou la subjectivite de reflexion se trouve engagee dans la construction meme des schemas d’intelligibilite. Il n’est donc pas etonnant alors que l’objet de Temps et recit soit de penser l’articulation du temps qui doit apparaitre avec le temps qui est concu comme condition des phenomenes. C’est ce qui fonde le projet hermeneutique de Ricoeur, c’est-a-dire rouvrir le passe, revisiter ses potentialites a la lumiere de l’intentionnalite du locuteur analysant. Ce projet ne pouvait que mener Ricoeur a s’interroger sur l’evenement et son sens. A ce propos, l’auteur souligne ici l’importance de la contribution du philosophe au moment ou la mondialisation de l’information fait que la totalite sociale connait une extraordinaire dilatation de l’histoire, ce qui constitue une presentification conduisant a une experimentation nouvelle de l’historicite, ou l’evenementialite est redefinie comme approche d’une multiplicite de possibles et ou la lecture historienne de l’evenement n’est plus reductible a l’evenement etudie, mais envisagee dans sa trace situee dans une chaine evenementielle, donc a l’interieur d’un processus. Sur cette base, on comprend alors toute l’importance de la contribution de Ricoeur a l’histoire du temps present et l’incidence de ses travaux sur le rapport entre histoire et memoire, dans lesquels cette derniere est elle-meme erigee en objet historique. L’auteur souligne que ce renversement a une valeur heuristique, car il permet de mieux comprendre l’indetermination des possibles ouverts pour les acteurs, indetermination ou l’intentionnalite subjective des acteurs prend tout son importance dans la determination du regime d’historicite, ce dernier etant traverse par la tension entre l’espace d’experience et l’horizon des attentes. C’est ce qui fait que le regime d’historicite est toujours ouvert vers le devenir et ne peut etre la simple projection d’un projet social pense et ferme sur lui-meme, la logique d’action maintenant toujours ouvert le champ des possibles.