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Aim: To evaluate the output of scientific publications in obstetrics and gynecology journals from Mainland China and six other countries, to compare the difference of research situation between Mainland China and the developed countries in order to measure the trend of number of publication in the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Methods: Information on article amounts, impact factors (IF), citation and publication in high‐impact obstetrics and gynecology journals by seven top‐ranking countries between January 1, 2007 and August 31, 2017, was extracted from Web of Science databases. Results: A total of 137 661 articles were published between 2007 and 2017 in the 98 obstetrics and gynecology journals. The cumulative IF and citations of articles from USA were the highest. The highest average citation was France and Mainland China ranked fourth. There were 52 631 papers published in the top 10 obstetrics and gynecology journals and the USA accounted for the majority of these papers (33 978, 64.6%), followed by England (8347, 15.9%). Articles from the USA were most often published in American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (10658) and those from Mainland China were mostly published in Fertility and Sterility (809). Conclusion: The USA published the most articles having high IF, making the greatest contribution to the field of obstetrics and gynecology. Although the number of scientific publications from Mainland China has rapidly increased from 2007 to 2017, the quality of these publications has not been as satisfactory. It implys that Chinese current academic evaluation system should pay special attention to the quality of academic papers, instead of the number of papers published by scientists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides new stylized facts about labor earnings inequality and dynamics in France for the period 1991-2016. Using linked employer-employee data, we show that (i) labor inequality in France is low compared to other developed countries and has been decreasing until the financial crisis of 2009 and increasing since then, (ii) women experienced high earnings growth, in particular at the bottom of the distribution, in contrast to the stability observed for men. Both result from a decrease in labor costs at the minimum wage and an increase in the hourly minimum in the aftermath of the 35h workweek policy, (iii) top earnings (top 5 and 1%) grew moderately while very top earnings (top 0.1 and 0.01%) experienced a much higher growth, (iv) inequality between and within cohorts follow the same U-shaped pattern as global inequality: it decreased before 2009 and then increased until 2016, (v) Individual earnings mobility is stable between 1991 and 2016, and very low at the top of the distribution, (vi) the distribution of earnings growth is negatively skewed, leptokurtic, and varies with age. Then, studying earnings dispersion both within and between territories, we document strong differences across cities aswell as between urban and rural areas, even after controlling for observable characteristics. We also observe a continuous decrease in earnings inequality between territories. However, a larger inflation in rural territories mitigates this convergence. Finally, we document a strong reduction in inequality within rural and remote territories, again driven by changes at the bottom of the wage distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to identify which factors have an impact on tax morale and tax compliance in a selected sample of developed countries, and particularly France, Germany and Austria. Empirical evidence retrieved from other contemporary studies is utilized for this purpose, based on an extended literature review performed by the authors. The methodology used is that of descriptive analysis. Comparative profiles for each of the three countries were developed, with reference to various aspects of shadow economy, including corruption, tax avoidance, social contribution avoidance, undeclared or illegal work, shelf consumption, illegal acts (black or underground economy). The determinants depicted in the findings of MIMIC approaches are underlined. Our ultimate aim is to use the three countries as benchmarks and input for future work; specifically, for the performance of a qualitative analysis and the comprehension of tax evasion in the case of Greece, so that we can reach essential and thorough proposals to the Greek government in order to contain the problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With increasing volumes of goods, the world economy has never been so dependent on the sea than before. The main concern of developed countries is therefore to guarantee the safety of maritime transport and above all to optimize logistics operations within port sites. Internationally, many countries such as China have been able to distinguish themselves with increasingly efficient ports. Innovating and improving the logistics organization of seaports has become a real challenge for them. Nevertheless, many authors question the management of ports in France. Some speak of the weakness of French ports in terms of containerization. Thus, France must review its port infrastructures in order to compete with other world powers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to study the place of eco-innovation in industrial firms' current strategy and to understand how they achieve this change in their technological trajectory. This is mainly based on the interviews conducted between 2009 and 2011 within eight corporations settled in France. The study revelaed that in a context of crisis, firms consider eco-innovation as a new path which generates growth in future. To refocus their strategy, 'knowledge capital', a concept which is considered as a tool to study the dynamic capabilities needed to achieve a change, was reorganized. The capability to develop collaborative research appears central to develop eco-innovation for two reasons: the necessity to share the costs and the risks of development; and the necessity to comply with the various aims and objectives of the stakeholders involved in this type of innovation oriented towards sustainability. Even if the importance of collaboration to develop eco-innovation is confirmed in the literature on eco-innovation, the study is based on eight cases, and is aimed at extending to develop the understanding of eco-innovation development at the firm level. This will also be done notably by including small firms in the population in order to understand the role of size in the development of capabilities needed for scientific and technological networks management. This paper contributes to the literature on the capabilities needed to achieve change; improves the analysis of the roles of collaboration in the case of eco-innovation; and illustrates these ideas with original cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the implications of offshoring by French manufacturing firms on their productivity and profitability. Offshoring is considered as endogenous and its impact is estimated on ex post measures of firm performance. The dataset used allows the distinction between two forms of offshoring: vertical foreign direct investment (FDI) and international outsourcing. It also gives us the possibility of distinguishing between offshoring to developed and developing countries. The results show, first, that offshoring has a stronger effect on profitability and, second, that the implications on performance are significant only in the case of international outsourcing to developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The prevalence of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in the world has grown and has attracted particular attention on the international level and governments, has considered prevention interventions and managing the symptoms of the disease to reduce the economic burden and has improved the quality of life of these patients necessary. One of the most important strategies in this field is MS population-based registry. Accordingly, this study was designed to identify the components of MS population-based registries within the developed countries. Evidence Acquisition: The present study is a review article that was conducted in 2018. The population of the study consisted of MS population-based registry systems of developed countries such as USA, France, and Denmark. Based on the combination of related keywords, about 60 papers appropriately and after extraction, categorization and integration were formulated in the form of proper sequence for the purpose of the study. Results: The main components of MS population-based registries in developed countries included registry goals, information resources, Minimum Data Sets (MDS), types of processes, types of reports, quality control measures, data transmission time limits, responsible for recording and collecting data, responsible organization and executor, data transmission method and the privacy practices Conclusion: With regard to the results, it is suggested that the developing countries must consider creating an MS population-based registry as a national program due to their health system and the MS population-based registries structure in developed countries, so that they can adopt a suitable strategy for preventing and controlling the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The governments of Britain, France, and the United States are seeking to promote renewed investment in nuclear power through metagovernance. Metagovernance describes the way governments can leverage state power and resources to shape the behavior of networked actors to advance policy goals. To metagovern, governments use a variety of policy tools but the factors shaping the design of these policy tools remains unclear. Grid-group cultural theory is used to show that the design of the policy tools used in metagovernance reflects both an underlying cultural bias within government and prevailing institutional circumstances. The paper demonstrates the utility of cultural theory in the study of metagovernance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2021, the federal government of the United States expanded a set of income transfers that led to strong reductions in child poverty. This research note uses microdata from more than 50 countries and U.S. data spanning more than 50 years to place the 2021 child poverty rate in historical and international perspective. We demonstrate that whether using the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), relative poverty measures, or an absolute poverty measure, the U.S. child poverty rate in 2021 was at its lowest level since at least 1967. The U.S. tax and transfer system reduced the 2021 SPM child poverty rate by more than 75% relative to the pre-tax/transfer child poverty rate; this reduction was three times the mean reduction effect between 1967 and 2019. These policy changes improved the country's standing from having a relative poverty rate twice that of Germany's in 2019 to the same as Germany's in 2021. Moreover, the U.S. progressed from reducing child poverty at less than half the rate of Norway in 2019 to a rate comparable to Norway in 2021. However, the U.S. success was temporary: after the expiration of the 2021 income provisions, the child poverty rate doubled and returned to being higher than in most other high-income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Population & Development Review is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Urban‐to‐rural migration is a rising trend across industrialized countries, the significance of which is not interpreted unanimously. The explanations tend to fall into two competing groups: (a) an alternative to capitalism or (b) perpetuation of the status quo, where, on one hand, the richer participants effect a green lifestyle choice, while the poorer participants follow a coping strategy, on the other. Instead of focusing only on the radical fringe, this article describes and analyzes the diversity of the present‐day neorural movement in France. It argues that the neorural movement is a multivocal critique of modern capitalist societies that rapidly transforms into an apolitical lifestyle choice once it is confronted with the capitalist value‐making mechanisms. It shows that the deradicalization of rural utopia has to do with social stratification and people's enormous difficulty in reappropriating their agency over their time‐use and lives at the household level. Finally, it suggests that the imagery of rural utopia could be mobilized for constructing a shared alternative, but one that would require rewriting the rules of socioeconomic interdependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Few studies have considered using environmental amenities to explain social health inequalities. Nevertheless, Green spaces that promote good health may have an effect on socioeconomic health inequalities. In developed countries, there is considerable evidence that green spaces have a beneficial effect on the health of urban populations and recent studies suggest they can have a positive effect on pregnancy outcomes. To investigate the relationship between green spaces and the spatial distribution of infant mortality taking account neighborhood deprivation levels. Methods The study took place in Lyon metropolitan area, France. All infant deaths that occurred between 2000 and 2009 were geocoded at census block level. Each census block was assigned greenness and socioeconomic deprivation levels. The spatial-scan statistic was used to identify high risk cluster of infant mortality according to these neighborhood characteristics. Results The spatial distribution of infant mortality was not random with a high risk cluster in the south east of the Lyon metropolitan area (p<0.003). This cluster disappeared (p=0.12) after adjustment for greenness level and socioeconomic deprivation, suggesting that these factors explain part of the spatial distribution of infant mortality. These results are discussed using a conceptual framework with 3 hypothetical pathways by which green spaces may have a beneficial effect on adverse pregnancy outcomes: (i) a psychological pathway, (ii) a physiological disruption process and (iii) an environmental pathway. Conclusions These results add some evidence to the hypothesis that there is a relationship between access to green spaces and pregnancy outcomes but further research is required to confirm this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Population (00324663) is the property of Institut National d'Etudes Demographiques and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The impact of international trade on labour markets in developed countries will be different according to the degree of competition in product markets, the flexibility of the labour market and the skill intensity of production. An econometric analysis of the impact of trade in France has been undertaken using sectoral data for the period 1985-1992. It is found that lower relative import prices reduce the relative employment of low skill workers in the first half the period and reduce their relative wages in the second half. In both cases the effect is more pronounced in sectors where the skill intensity of production is initially low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The population growth rates in the core were growing faster than in the ring over the last decade. • With the exception of France this has resulted in population recentralisation. • There is some variation as to when the population turnaround happened, and national policy seems to have had some influence on that. • The impacts of reurbanisation on suburbia strongly differ between prosperous and less prosperous urban regions. • There is a need to better understand the socio-demographic implications of reurbanisation on the different types of settlements in the ring. Following decades of urban decline in many European cities, there is now an abundant literature identifying a process of reurbanisation, which has now also reached many secondary cities, including those in post-industrialised regions. Reurbanisation is an umbrella concept involving several related but distinct processes, though has its roots in spatial cycle models that consider reurbanisation to be a specific stage in the development of urban regions. Most of the emerging reurbanisation debate, however, is primarily concerned with processes in and impacts on the urban core while suburbia (the ring) is notably absent from much of this discussion. This is all the more surprising since part and parcel of many definitions of reurbanisation is the relationship between the core and the ring. This paper seeks to fill this gap, looking at four highly developed countries in Northwest Europe from a comparative perspective: England, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Far from being uniform, reurbanisation differs substantially between the countries in terms of temporal and spatial patterns due to differences in policy responses in both the urban core and suburbia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review had its origins in connection with the beginning of studies in industrial and work sociology in France, and with the activity of G. Friedmann who at the early beginning of the second post-war period was one of the major supporters of this sociological field of knowledge. The socio-historical orientation of the review has become more and more strong; deepnesa and flexibility of its investigation about the various industrial countries and the attention given to their historical process of evolution are its main characteristics. Besides the traditional industrial and organizational sociology topics, attention has been given to social movements, urban sociology, sociology of medicine. Sociology of development has been an area of constant interest, since the beginning of the review. The whole content of the first twenty years (434 articles and papers) has been ordered and classified into 17 classes which can be used both for systematic reading purposes and for having an overall evaluation of the contribution of « Sociologie du travail » to the development of industrial and work sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article provides information about the book "The tax system in industrialized countries," edited by Ken Messere. Eleven papers in the book examine tax developments between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s in ten industrialized countries, addressing what has changed and what has remained the same, as well as the nature and likelihood of tax reforms in these countries over the next few years. Papers present an overview of developments in the ten countries and the individual country studies for Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Background: Organ recovery costs should be assessed to allow efficient and sustainable integration of these costs into national healthcare budgets and policies. These costs are of considerable interest to health economists, hospitals, financial managers and policy makers in most developed countries. This study assessed organ recovery costs from 2007 to 2014 in the French healthcare system based on the national hospital discharge database and a national cost study. The secondary objective was to describe the variability in the population of deceased organ donors during this period. Methods: All stays for organ recovery in French hospitals between January 2007 and December 2014 were quantified from discharge abstracts and valued using a national cost study. Five cost evaluations were conducted to explore all aspects of organ recovery activities. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to test the methodological choice. Trends regarding organ recovery practices were assessed by monitoring indicators. Results: The analysis included 12 629 brain death donors, with 28 482 organs recovered. The mean cost of a hospital stay was E7469 (SD = E10, 894). The mean costs of separate kidney, liver, pancreas, intestine, heart, lung and heart--lung block recovery regardless of the organs recovered were E1432 (SD = E1342), 502 (SD = E782), E354 (SD = E475), E362 (SD = E1559), E542 (SD = E955), E977 (SD = E1196) and E737 (SD = E637), respectively. Despite a marginal increase in donors, the number of organs recovered increased primarily due to improved practices. Conclusion: Although cost management is the main challenge for successful organ recovery, other aspects such as organization modalities should be considered to improve organ availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The main goal of this study was to determine the knowledge and beliefs of otorhinolaryngologists in a secondary setting in selected economically advanced European countries concerning severe hearing loss, hearing aids, and cochlear implants (CIs). Secondary goals of the study looked into the information sources of the otorhinolaryngologists and into key topics of importance for these professionals. In Europe, many adults, who could benefit from a CI, do not have one despite their availability via national health care systems. This lack of coverage might be due, in part, to the knowledge and beliefs of otorhinolaryngologists.Methods: Otorhinolaryngologists in a secondary setting in Germany, England, France, Austria, and Sweden were emailed a custom-made questionnaire on their knowledge and beliefs regarding hearing loss and its treatments. Results were presented in relative frequencies (%) according to each nation.Results: Two-hundred and forty otorhinolaryngologists responded (50 from each nation except Sweden). Each nation regarded rehabilitation and hearing preservation as particularly important in CIs. National and international conferences and conversations with colleagues were much more popular methods of keeping abreast of medical issues than other information sources such as online media or company information.Conclusion: The otorhinolaryngologists of the surveyed nations share many common beliefs about hearing loss, hearing aids, and CIs, although some national variation in opinion is present. The otorhinolaryngologists of each nation are knowledgeable, but could still benefit from an increased knowledge and awareness of hearing loss treatment modalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is now universally acknowledged that climate change constitutes a major threat to human health. At the same time, some of the measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, so-called climate change mitigation measures, have significant health co-benefits (e.g., walking or cycling more; eating less meat). The goal of limiting global warming to 1,5° Celsius set by the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris in 2015 can only be reached if all stakeholders, including households, take actions to mitigate climate change. Results on whether framing mitigation measures in terms of their health co-benefits increases the likelihood of their implementation are inconsistent. The present study protocol describes the transdisciplinary project HOPE (HOuseholds' Preferences for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in four European high-income countries) that investigates the role of health co-benefits in households' decision making on climate change mitigation measures in urban households in France, Germany, Norway and Sweden.Methods: HOPE employs a mixed-methods approach combining status-quo carbon footprint assessments, simulations of the reduction of households' carbon footprints, and qualitative in-depth interviews with a subgroup of households. Furthermore, a policy analysis of current household oriented climate policies is conducted. In the simulation of the reduction of households' carbon footprints, half of the households are provided with information on health co-benefits of climate change mitigation measures, the other half is not. Households' willingness to implement the measures is assessed and compared in between-group analyses of variance.Discussion: This is one of the first comprehensive mixed-methods approaches to investigate which mitigation measures households are most willing to implement in order to reach the 1,5° target set by the Paris Agreement, and whether health co-benefits can serve as a motivator for households to implement these measures. The comparison of the empirical data with current climate policies will provide knowledge for tailoring effective climate change mitigation and health policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Little is known about Sheehan's syndrome (SS), even though it is believed that its incidence is low. The aims of this study were to determine the clinical features and diagnostic delay of SS and to ascertain whether early signs could have allowed earlier diagnosis. Subjects and methods: All patients with SS diagnosed in reference units in the southeast of France between 1980 and 2011 were recruited for this study. Data on obstetrical history, clinical symptoms suggestive of hypopituitarism, early signs, hormone analysis, and magnetic resonance imaging were collected. Results: Of the 40 women found to have SS, 39 were studied. Mean delay in the diagnosis of SS was 9±9.7 years. We found that four of the 35 assessable patients were diagnosed with agalactia, 16 of the 29 assessable oneswithamenorrhea,19 of the 39with hypothyroidism, eightwith acute adrenal insufficiency, and 15 with asthenia. Among the patients for whom there was a diagnostic delay of more than 1 year (n=28), seven had headaches during the postpartum period, all assessable patients had agalactia, six of the 22 assessable ones had amenorrhea, seven of 28 had hypothyroidism, and 12 of 28 had asthenia. Conclusion: Most signs of SS are aspecific and classical signs such as agalactia and amenorrhea are often difficult to detect, which can explain the long diagnostic delay. We suggest that allwomen failing to lactate after postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) should be evaluated by measuring prolactin levels and women with signs suchas amenorrhea and asthenia, even several years after PPH, should undergo ablood test including assessment of thyroxine, TSH, 0800 h ACTH-cortisol, and IGF1 levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Worldwide, amoebic liver abscess (ALA) can be found in individuals in non-endemic areas, especially in foreign-born travelers. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of ALA in patients admitted to French hospitals between 2002 and 2006. We compared imported ALA cases in European and foreign-born patients and assessed the factors associated with abscess size using a logistic regression model. Results: We investigated 90 ALA cases. Patient median age was 41. The male:female ratio was 3.5∶1. We were able to determine the origin for 75 patients: 38 were European-born and 37 foreign-born. With respect to clinical characteristics, no significant difference was observed between European and foreign-born patients except a longer lag time between the return to France after traveling abroad and the onset of symptoms for foreign-born. Factors associated with an abscess size of more than 69 mm were being male (OR = 11.25, p<0.01), aged more than 41 years old (OR = 3.63, p = 0.02) and being an immigrant (OR = 11.56, p = 0.03). Percutaneous aspiration was not based on initial abscess size but was carried out significantly more often on patients who were admitted to surgical units (OR = 10, p<0.01). The median time to abscess disappearance for 24 ALA was 7.5 months. Conclusions/Significance: In this study on imported ALA was one of the largest worldwide in terms of the number of cases included males, older patients and foreign-born patients presented with larger abscesses, suggesting that hormonal and immunological factors may be involved in ALA physiopathology. The long lag time before developing ALA after returning to a non-endemic area must be highlighted to clinicians so that they will consider Entamoeba histolytica as a possible pathogen of liver abscesses more often. Author Summary: Amœbiasis is caused by Entamoeba histolytica (E. histolytica), a protozoan specific to humans which infects humans by ingestion of contaminated food and water. According to some authors, amœbiasis could be the second leading cause of death from parasitic disease worldwide. It is endemic in tropical countries but can also be diagnosed in industrialized countries, essentially in travelers. One of its main clinical manifestations is amoebic liver abscess (ALA). Abscess can be medically treated by metronidazole, but percutaneous aspiration of the abscess is sometimes performed. Few studies have been performed so far regarding the existence of cases of ALA in the industrialized world. The results of our study reported the existence of 90 cases of imported ALA in France which should raise interest among physicians as well as tourists traveling to endemic areas. Male adults and foreign-born patients presented larger abscesses, suggesting that hormonal and immunological factors could be involved in ALA physiopathology. Foreign-born patients had a longer lag time between the return to France after traveling abroad and the onset of symptoms than European-born ones. This must be highlighted to clinicians who should think about this diagnostic even if a recent travel in a tropical area is not notified by patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human obesity can be viewed as a set of phenotypes that evolve over time in a sequence of stages that need to be precisely measured. Environmental, behavioral, genetic and biological factors interact to cause obesity. This presentation provides a clinical viewpoint on some biological processes that may explain some of the stages in the development of human obesity, its chronic maintenance and occurrence of complications, with a focus on brain structures, genetics, the profound alterations in adipose tissue biology and gut microbiota components. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery is an increasingly effective model to study in this context because it leads to major improvements in glucose and lipid homeostasis and to the amelioration of some systemic inflammatory markers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objectives:Food portion sizes have been increasing in industrialized countries and this is thought to be one of the risk factors of overweight. France is also facing the development of adiposity, particularly in its child population, where overweight rates are rising faster than in adults. Given this background, the objectives of the present study were, for each food category, to describe dietary intake in French children aged 3–11 years, and to assess the relationship between childhood overweight and portion size, adjusting for dietary energy density, physical activity and sedentary behaviour.Subjects/Methods:A representative sample of 748 French children aged 3–11 years was taken from the 1998–1999 cross-sectional French INCA1 (Enquête Individuelle et Nationale sur les Consommations Alimentaires) food consumption survey. Dietary intake was assessed using a 7-day food record. Portion sizes were estimated for 23 food categories. Weight and height, physical activity and sedentary behaviour were reported by parents or children in questionnaires.Results:In multivariate logistic regression adjusted models, overweight in children aged 3–6 years was positively correlated to portion sizes of croissant-like pastries and other sweetened pastries. Conversely, portion sizes of liquid dairy products were inversely associated with overweight in children aged 7–11 years.Conclusions:At very young ages, the increase in overweight may be driven in part by a shift in eating patterns towards larger portion size of energy-dense and nutrient-poor foods.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2009) 63, 382–391; doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602958; published online 21 November 2007 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the publication of a seminal book by the UN Development Programme in 1999, the concept of global public goods has become a key theme in the debate on international development. Supporters argue that an adequate provision of GPGs can help manage the negative consequences of globalization; moreover, considering that these goods provide benefits to both developed and developing countries, resources should be additional to foreign aid. Resistance has come both from developed countries, which question the issue of additionality, and from developing countries, which raise the issues of diversion of resources and the international decisionmaking process. This article shows how this concept has emerged and has been dealt with by policymakers in the Financing for Development Conference in March 2002 and the World Summit on Sustainable Development in August 2002. It also analyzes the work and final report of the International Task Force on Global Public Goods established by France and Sweden in April 2003. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By most measures, French labor is among the weakest in the industrialized world. Yet it has retained a high level of mobilizing and institutional power. This unusual position is partly due to the historical role of labor courts, one of France's oldest and most influential labor institutions. Based on a range of historical and contemporary evidence, this article shows that the involvement of the state and labor in these courts over the past two centuries has played a crucial role in the evolution of French industrial relations. This process unfolded along three main dimensions: the early establishment of labor courts strongly and durably influenced the mobilization patterns of the emergent labor movement, France's labor relations model was largely inspired by the judicialism embedded in labor courts, and a combination of more contingent events led to the emergence of a problematic notion of union "representativeness." These patterns have contributed to shape "French labor into its present condition of both weakness and strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union holds a place of distinction amongst the industrialized world as measured by its long-term support of the flax and hemp fiber sectors. More recently, EU fiber support has resulted from successful lobbying efforts by groups in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, and by the emergence of new technical applications for flax and hemp fibers. Relative to many other industrialized countries, the EU appears committed to green policies that hold promise of both environmental and social benevolence. However, EU hemp fiber support has encountered difficulties including subsidy chasing (as a result of hemp fiber aid rates higher than that of other row crops), expanded plantings thwarted by low yields, and disputable concerns over illicit marijuana production. After 30 years of hemp aid, fiber support levels have been cut while processing aid has been temporarily granted to bolster progressive industrial applications of short fibers. However, concerns persist that EU agricultural policy continues to favor the traditional textile fiber sector. A close look at the evolution in EU hemp regulation may provide valuable lessons for other countries contemplating commercial hemp production. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the seven industrialized countries selected for comparison concerning immigration and national health policies which includes France, Great Britain and U.S. It states that the immigration policies with special attention have been concisely reviewed being paid to the composition and size of the ethnic community, access to social and political rights from the immigrants of the society status and illegal immigrants' presence. It mentions that European countries do not consider itself that needs new citizens for developmental and demographic objectives unlike U.S. and Canada. It adds that the seven countries have an abundance of resources apportioned to their health systems such as financing, structures and organizations vary to entrepreneurial from comprehensive.

Crozier's Bureaucratic Phenomenon was a landmark in the development of both the sociology of organizations as a research approach and the study of French society in the 1960s. To understand its genesis requires an exercise in the history of contemporary thought, locating Crozier's magnum opus within the context of the influence of Gouldner, March and Simon. His initial intellectual preoccupation was with the role of trade unions in the US and France during the cold war. This led to his main cultural finding: the fear of face-to-face communication, requiring impersonal mediation to avoid confrontation with those in authority. France required a new style of authority and her intellectuals should provide it as a way of dealing with the problem of overcoming cultural lag and changing France into a modern industrial society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on causes of educational attainment, an issue that cannot properly be understood without considering its organizational and biographical contexts. The organizational context is established by the school's administrative organization, its curriculum structure, and its relation to the labor market. The biographical context is established by the lifetime attainment process in which education acts as a filter. Academic performance reflects the interaction of organizational and biographical determinants. Social origins indirectly affect attainment via academic factors, the attitudes of parents and teachers, and the aspirations of the students themselves. Sex effects on educational attainment in France are complex because France has both the greatest professional opportunities for females in Western Europe as well as a culture that provides many rewards for women choosing traditional, home-centered roles. Educational attainment depends on both ascription and achievement. Although the relative importance of these variables may be a function of exogenous factors such as industrialization levels, educational structure and values, institutional socialization as a complement to home socialization links educational attainment to both ascription and achievement in industrial societies.

The article discusses key issues concerning the French experience on the difficulties and complexities of educational planning in industrial societies. Key issues discussed include the motives of the state in engaging in educational planning, the social and economic background of educational planning and education policy in France, the key features of French educational policy, the peculiar difficulties and determinants of educational planning in France and the issues' implications for comparative education.