Paris West University Nanterre La Défense

About: Paris West University Nanterre La Défense is a education organization based out in Paris, France. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Finite element method. The organization has 895 authors who have published 1430 publications receiving 21712 citations.

Balance theory, unit relations, and attribution: The underlying integrity of Heiderian theory.

Abstract: Fritz Heider's (1958c) book The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations and the handful of articles preceding it (e.g., Heider, 1944, Heider, 1946; Heider & Simmel, 1944) provide the cornerstone—and a major part of the foundation—of research and theory in social perception. Two very influential theories in social psychology, the causal attribution and psychological balance theories, grew out of the ideas and analysis of this seminal work. Heider himself viewed these developments as one may view a mildly wayward child, with a mixture of pleasure and a sense of regret (Heider, 1983). Heider had considered his ideas to be all of a piece, a relatively unified and coherent theory of social perception. Subsequent researchers had taken smaller bites and developed midrange theories, slightly out of the context of Heider's other ideas. Part of this result may be laid at the feet of Heider himself. None of the articles, and not even the 1958 book, fully developed the ideas, their connections, or his larger vision. Before the publication of his influential book, Heider's best-known papers were two—one on causal attribution (Heider, 1944) and one on balance (Heider, 1954/1958b)—both of which were available in the widely read Tagiuri and Petrullo (1958) volume on person perception.

International Remittances and Development: Existing Evidence, Policies and Recommendations

Abstract: In this paper we survey the recent literature assessing the development impact of international migrant remittances. We begin by arguing that international migration should be fully incorporated in ongoing debates on the impact of globalization. We show that, despite methodological challenges, there is an emerging body of evidence suggesting that migrant remittances can have an important impact on development and household welfare. Remittances appear to help in poverty reduction, accumulation of human capital, investment and saving. Finally, we offer an account of existing policies and recommendations to facilitate remittance flows and to take advantage of their developmental potential.

Controlling Diffraction Patterns with Metagratings

Abstract: Although various wavefront-manipulation capabilities have been demonstrated with metasurfaces, both fundamental and practical difficulties remain. This study elaborates on a synergistic approach that combines metamaterials and gratings to achieve complete control of diffraction patterns. Unlike in a metasurface, in a metagrating the number of scatterers is significantly reduced, relaxing fabrication tolerance. Strong control of diffraction with simple excitation, ultrawide bandwidth, and significantly fewer scatterers is particularly interesting at optical and infrared frequencies, for $e.g.$ efficient, reconfigurable antennas in microwave communication systems.

Use of experimenter-given cues by African gray parrots (Psittacus erithacus).

Abstract: One advantage of living in a social group is the opportunity to use information provided by other individuals. Social information can be based on cues provided by a conspecific or even by a heterospecific individual (e.g., gaze direction, vocalizations, pointing gestures). Although the use of human gaze and gestures has been extensively studied in primates, and is increasingly studied in other mammals, there is no documentation of birds using these cues in a cooperative context. In this study, we tested the ability of three African gray parrots to use different human cues (pointing and/or gazing) in an object-choice task. We found that one subject spontaneously used the most salient pointing gesture (looking and steady pointing with hand at about 20 cm from the baited box). The two others were also able to use this cue after 15 trials. None of the parrots spontaneously used the steady gaze cues (combined head and eye orientation), but one learned to do so effectively after only 15 trials when the distance between the head and the baited box was about 1 m. However, none of the parrots were able to use the momentary pointing nor the distal pointing and gazing cues. These results are discussed in terms of sensitivity to joint attention as a prerequisite to understand pointing gestures as it is to the referential use of labels.