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This paper discusses the relevance of using physical situations to introduce the concept of angles at elementary school. We compare the effectiveness of two geometry teaching sequences. In the first one (physical sequence), the pupils learned the angle concept by experimenting on the playground (i.e. mesospace) and then modelling the situation. In the second one (paper-and-pencil sequence), the pupils worked solely in the space of a sheet of paper (i.e. microspace). In both sequences, pupils compared areas of space delineated by an angle between two directions. Pupils in two Grade 3 classes were exposed to one of the two teaching sequences. The unfolding of these sequences was videotaped and analyzed, and the pupils were tested individually, before and after teaching, to measure each sequence's effectiveness. Results showed that both sequences are effective to grasp the angle concept: Most pupils overcame the common erroneous conception of comparing angles' sides' lengths instead of angle openness. The comparison of areas of space delineated by an angle between two infinite directions, which is the two sequences' common core, seems to be the key factor underlying angle conceptualization. This paper ends with a discussion of these results' teaching implications and the merits of each sequence.

Schools are ideal settings to promote adolescent physical activity (PA), yet school-based interventions have shown limited long-term impact. This position paper presents key issues surrounding school-based PA interventions. Collaborative conceptual thinking drawing on multi-author expertise and available evidence advanced our understanding and opinion. Key arguments: 1) the adoption of a systems approach, which maximizes partnership action and leverages policy, is crucial for understanding the complexities of implementing whole-school programs; 2) a reorientation to an assets perspective optimizes existing strengths and resources allowing greater emphasis on the full range of physical, cognitive, emotional and social benefits that PA provides, and 3) a move beyond traditional positivist research designs to advance our knowledge of what works better, for whom and in what context is needed for greater progress We provide suggestions, specifically advocating for systems approaches, as a realistic way to improve how we support PA in schools in the future.

This paper discusses key themes of the 15th biennial conference of the Association for Language Awareness (2020), with a focus on increasing digital engagement in language education. The COVID-19 pandemic occasioned an abrupt transition to emergency remote language teaching and learning (ERLTL) worldwide. The ALA 2020 conference was also affected by this transition; originally planned as a located conference in Geelong, Australia, it was eventually held online, a first in ALA's conference history. The current paper engages with contemporary debates of language teaching and learning in two ways. Firstly, it traces recent discussions by presenting key findings from five papers given at the conference, and secondly, via a scoping review of literature focusing on critical lessons from the pandemic regarding language teaching and learning. The review captures recent research from the Australasian region. Key debates identified in the literature include the needs of teachers and learners during the transition to online learning, and how student engagement was affected. The literatures highlight that both educators and students have been developing new practices in teaching and learning resulting from the shift to online and blended modes, which may continue to shape language education and new pedagogies in the future.

We analyze the role of institutional founding conditions and institutional legacy for universities' self-representation in terms of diversity. Based on 374 universities located in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, and Poland, we can differentiate between a more idealistic understanding (logic of inclusion and equality) and a more market-oriented understanding (market logic) of diversity. Our findings show that the founding phase has no significant effect on the likelihood of a university focusing on a market-oriented understanding of diversity--however, we observe an imprinting effect with respect to the adoption of a diversity statement in general and an equity-oriented statement. Moreover, our findings show that there is a socialistic heritage for universities in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries that is at work and still influences universities' understandings of diversity today.

The aim of this pilot study is to evaluate the relevance of the use of history in mathematics education. This paper presents an experiment carried out in France with sixth-grade students (n=108) in which an ancient number system is used, an approach that is commonly suggested in French sixth-grade textbooks but has previously been unassessed. Based on the data of a pretest and a post-test surrounding an activity on an ancient Chinese numeration system, a statistical analysis using Rasch modeling shows a specific added value of the history of mathematics for students with low abilities in mathematics. For these students, a significant increase in observed abilities of +0.67 logit in mean is measured with a large effect size (Cliff delta +0.52). This effect is then weighted by considering the regression to the mean (RTM) effect, leading to a value around +0.14 logit in mean and a negligible effect size (Cliff delta +0.10). So, this pilot study shows the important effect of RTM, which suggests a very strong rebalancing of students' results. In the last part of the paper, we discuss how RTM can nonetheless be positively interpreted in this specific context where students' disorientation is one of the purposes of history in mathematics education.

This study investigated the added value of real-time adaptive feedback on seventh graders' performances in tablet-based geometry learning. To isolate the effects of the medium (ie, tablet) from those of the feedback, three groups were compared: paper-and-pencil, pen-based tablet without feedback and pen-based tablet with feedback. The feedback was provided by a tutoring system based on an artificial intelligence that automatically interpreted students' pen strokes on the screen. A total of 85 French students drew three geometric shapes, either on paper or on a tablet, and then performed a transfer task on paper. Results showed that using a tablet without feedback did not improve learning but seemed to enhance interest in the task compared to the paper-and-pencil group. Students in the tablet with feedback group performed significantly better than the other two groups on learning, as well as on transfer. This study was the first to combine media comparison and added-value approaches to test the effects on students' geometry performances of using a new educational app on a pen-based tablet in a naturalistic classroom environment. Results showed that it was not the medium used but the intelligent tutoring system-based feedback that improved students' performance. Our data therefore indicate that artificial intelligence is a promising way of providing learners with real-time adaptive feedback in order to improve their performances.

Purpose: This paper aims to ask how the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) has orchestrated a sustainable development (SD) agenda in its international policy since 2020. Design/methodology/approach: By drawing on theoretical ideas around policy orchestration as a key UN governing strategy and applying them to the analysis of the progression of the SD agenda in the EHEA, the paper conducts a thematic analysis of six recent key EHEA international policy documents and 19 interviews with key Bologna stakeholders in France, Germany and Italy. Findings: The resultant analysis uncovers three overarching key themes that show the EHEA has the capacity to mitigate pitfalls in the UN's SD agenda; some weaknesses of the UN's orchestration of SD are translated into weaknesses in the EHEA's formulation of its SD agenda; and the further development of an SD agenda as an essential direction of EHEA's work. The paper then goes on to discuss how EHEA policies only mention SD discourse, omit concrete plans for its implementation and keep the very meaning of SD ambiguous throughout international policy documents. Originality/value: The authors offer three original recommendations that the EHEA should adopt in an attempt to mitigate the issues raised in the run-up to its 2030 deadline for implementing its policies--the EHEA should develop an explicit definition of SD; recognise the Euro-centredness of EHEA policies and open them up to other voices; and cite academic research when developing policy documents.

What do pupils learn from bilingual interventions of civic education? This paper addresses this question by analyzing survey responses of 301 pupils who participated in a bilingual role-play about a televised debate on the 2022 French presidential election in French foreign language classes. The study shows, first, that the intervention significantly strengthened the specific interest in the election campaign. Second, both internal efficacy and subjective knowledge increased, as did, third, pupils' actual knowledge about the election. Fourth, it appears that the pupils were able to sharpen their understanding of French political culture. However, it should also be noted that all other constructs that can be attributed to intercultural learning did not experience any changes as a result of participation in the intervention. This is also true for participants' general interest in politics, basal and advanced participation intentions, and external efficacy. I identify subjective knowledge about the French presidential election, internal efficacy, advanced participation intentions, and pupils' cultural self-reflexivity as key drivers for strengthening intercultural understanding about the French political culture. Our paper concludes by discussing the limitations of the study and its implications for empirical research and practice in bilingual civic education.

Research suggests that providing children with activities that involve using their bodies to form the shapes of letters can help them acquire pre-reading skills. Little is known, however, as to the extent to which such embodied learning interventions are superior to more traditional pencil-and-paper activities, which of specific arm or body movements are most effective, and whether this approach compensates or exacerbates the learning gap between high- and low-skilled pre-readers. Using a preregistered randomized-controlled experiment (N = 160 kindergarten students, M = 5.18 years, 54% girls), the present study assessed the educational effects of 6-week-long training sessions with increasing degrees of bodily movement integration (pencil-and-paper training vs. arm training vs. arm-body training) on five measures of letter knowledge and script. Aligning with theories of embodied cognition and cognitive load in instructional designs, results showed that integrating arm movement exercises into handwriting training bore the greatest acquisitions in pre-reading skills overall and were most beneficial to students with initially low pre-reading skills (compensatory effect against learning inequalities). Implications are drawn on the need to consolidate and replicate present findings, while highlighting their potential for supporting educational effectiveness and equity in kindergarten.

The purpose of this focused qualitative study was to examine two urban high school students' perceptions of a study-abroad experience, five years after the fact, with the intention of assessing long-term effects on increased global competency and awareness. The interviewees, selected from 11 participants, brought an already rich intercultural perspective and as such, their experiences illuminated the profound benefits of short-term study abroad experiences. Interviews were designed to elicit whether the principle of global competency could be discerned along two basic criteria, acquisition of cultural knowledge, and capacity/desire for close observation and self-reflection. Viewed through the theories of experiential learning, this paper will explore related pedagogical themes as well as point to the cognitive issues at stake in a longitudinal approach to qualitative research.

Purpose: Self-initiated international placements by students have been largely ignored in the literature on outward mobility in higher education. The support given to self-initiated international placement students, if any, has received even less attention. This study aims to address this lacuna. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on insights from global mobility literature, we conducted a survey of UK university students who engaged in self-initiated international placements to various countries such as France, China, Brazil and Ghana. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis. Findings: Findings reveal that these "voluntary" placements can improve language fluency, increase self-confidence, renew stress management abilities and enhance cross-cultural competencies and intercultural sensitivity. The study problematises the lack of support given to these students particularly in terms of career development. Originality/value: Our paper is one of the first to bring this under-studied population to the attention of career guidance scholars. We propose that scholarly attention should be directed toward the agency of self-initiated international placement students and that targeted career guidance must be provided through more inclusive career services.

For over two decades now, the application of Citizen Science to Education has been evolving, and fundamental topics, such as the drivers of motivation to participate in Citizen Science projects, are still under discussion. Some recent developments, though, like the use of Artificial Intelligence to support data collection and validation, seem to point to a clear-cut divergence from the mainstream research path. The objective of this paper is to summarise the development trajectory of research on Citizen Science in Education so far, and then shed light on its future development, to help researchers direct their efforts towards the most promising open questions in this field. We achieved these objectives by using the lens of the Affordance-Actualisation theory and the Main Path Analysis method.

On 17 March 2020, the population in France entered into a strict lockdown due to the critical spreading of COVID-19. Students could no longer go to their learning institutions. The initial 2-week-lockdown lasted overall 10 weeks and higher education institutions remained closed until the end of the academic year, affecting then even longer students' study situation. Many students chose to leave the accommodation they occupied during the study period if they had the opportunity. Our paper explores the effects of the housing situation on students' academic success during this lockdown using two quantitative national surveys (one on students' living and studying conditions before the pandemic and the other on the situation during this lockdown to which 5994 students responded) and 33 semi-structured interviews conducted amongst students living in university halls of residence in the North of France. Our study confirms that in a period of lockdown, housing plays a pivotal and active role in influencing students' psychological distress, study success, and orientation.

Emergency situations are generally described as combining both threat and time pressure. Creative solutions to deal with such situations are important. The present studies (N[subscript total] = 1190) investigated how people are able to produce creative solutions in an emergency. Our first study was correlational, and assessed individual creativity and reactions to emergency situations using self-report questionnaires. It was complemented by three experimental studies. In those, critical features of emergency situations were manipulated (i.e., time pressure and/or threat level) to examine their putative impact on individual performance on creative tasks (Alternate Uses Task and Real Life Problem). Three dependent variables systematically qualified individuals' creative performance: "fluency" (i.e., the number of ideas proposed), "originality" (i.e., the average rarity of the ideas proposed), and "originality adjusted for fluency" (i.e., the rarity of the most original idea proposed). Taken together, the results observed tend to indicate that increasing emergency (i.e., increasing time constraint or threat importance) produced an average reduction in the originality of the ideas proposed. These results complement previously obtained results about the effect of stressful situations on creativity through the distinction made in this paper between two key components of emergency situations, namely time pressure and threat level.

Qualitative research has been strongly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the possibilities that Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technologies such as Skype, WhatsApp, and Zoom offer to qualitative scholars. Based on the experience of using such technologies to collect qualitative data for our PhD studies, we present how we dealt with the challenges of this interview mode. Precisely, we discuss problems related to rapport, technology, digital exclusion, and ethics frequently pointed out in the methodological literature on online interviews. Thereby we put forward strategies and techniques that helped us to 1) build a rapport, 2) manage technical difficulties, 3) reflect on risks of digital exclusion, and 4) comply with the ethical standards of our institution. In doing so, we draw on our qualitative data to support the arguments. The aim of this paper is, thus, to deepen the methodological debate on online interviews in social sciences.

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the protective and risk factors involved in student loneliness after the lockdown measures taken limiting social contact during the COVID-19 pandemic in France. Design/methodology/approach: Using a cross-sectional survey methodology, the authors collected data on a sample of 546 students pursuing management education in a French business school in several campuses. Loneliness was measured by the three-item UCLA loneliness scale. Logistic regression analysis examined the factors influencing student loneliness. Findings: The prevalence of loneliness was 23.4%. Risk factors for loneliness were social isolation especially in terms of intensity and isolation from friends (OR: 5.40), having a regular paid activity (OR: 1.62) and not getting academic help from other students (OR: 2.11) or taking meals alone during the lockdowns (OR: 1.94). Being a male student (OR: 0.47), practicing a sport (OR: 0.64) and studying at a specific campus (OR: 0.43) were protective factors. Practical implications: Understanding protective and risk factors affecting student loneliness helps higher education decision-makers to take the necessary actions to enhance student well-being which have an effect on learning processes. Originality/value: Loneliness is a major public health concern among students. Knowledge of the determinants for loneliness are limited and this article attempts to augment this by exploring several protective and risk indicators of loneliness among French students.

Fractions are challenging for both typically achieving children and adults. Although some prior research has focused on fraction difficulties of children with mathematics difficulties (MD), persistent difficulties encountered by adults with MD remain unknown. It is possible that these adults may be able to compensate for some deficits. In this study, we administered an un-timed, paper-based fraction achievement test to French adults with and without MD to compare their knowledge of fractions. Compared with controls, adults with MD performed worse in fraction number lines, fraction concepts, fraction arithmetic, and word problems. However, no difference in performance between the two groups was observed on symbolic representations. This suggests that adults with MD might be able to perform rote procedures such as transcoding from a verbal to a symbolic representation but are severely impaired for fraction number line, fraction concept, and fraction arithmetic. Exploratory error pattern analyses for fraction number line and fraction arithmetic further revealed mistakes similar to those observed in prior studies on children with MD, indicating core deficits in fraction understanding in individuals with MD.

Recent studies have highlighted the major challenges faced by managers in the higher education sector and shown the contradictory demands which foster paradoxical tensions. Previous works have also underlined some specific tensions and rigidities that business school deans regularly face in their role. Yet, few studies have empirically explored which paradoxical tensions deans face and how they cope with them. Our paper addresses this gap. Using a qualitative study, we explore the simultaneous and interrelated contradictions faced by deans in French business schools and address how they manage the tensions related to these conflictual and complicated situations. Our work reveals five main tensions that deans have to face and two individual categories of responses to these tensions. It underlines two types of cognitive mindsets (paradox mindset and dilemma mindset) adopted by deans to deal with paradoxical tensions and highlights how deans have become academic entrepreneurs with hybrid profiles in a paradoxical system.

Beginning in the mid-1980s, European governments have increasingly implemented performance-based funding systems for higher education. While a focus on the transnational pressures that contributed to the widespread adoption of performance-based funding in Europe accounts for the impetus for performance-based funding policies, it fails to address how and why the resultant performance-based funding policies are as distinct and different as they are. In this paper, I argue that an institutional logics perspective offers a theoretical account of the performance-based funding policy formation process. I use the United Kingdom (UK), Germany, and France as case studies. I contend that in these three cases, different local logics drove the performance-based funding policy formation process.

France’s reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was initially conciliatory. However, the current French President’ statements, Macron, gradually changed, suggesting a potential shift in France's stance. The French president recently suggested troops could be sent to Ukraine to fight the Russians, a move that could significantly impact the course of the war. Our paper aims to address this possibility. How feasible would this be from a military perspective? Second, are there any other relevant political actors that will support it? Third, why has Paris changed its position to such a radical stance? We start from the theoretical design of realist constructivism. Postcolonial theories and the concept of locked-in path dependence supported this research. The methods follow the path of historical synthesis, discourse analysis of key political actors, and text analysis of defense white papers. Quantitative military variables are used to understand France’s and the EU’s military-industrial complex capabilities and assess its potential. The collapse of France’s neocolonial empire in Africa and Russia’s growing influence in the region partially explains Macron’s discourse change. This is correlated with the need to follow a more independent European security policy and the worsening military situation in Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decades, scholars have increasingly called for the 'deterritorialization' of the notion of citizenship. The realities concerning citizenship have changed with new expressions of transnationalism. However, whereas the main body of research has focused on the transnational aspects of citizenship among migrants in the form of their transnational political practices and dual nationalities, their descendants have received far less attention. This paper examines the political practices of Kurdish migrants' descendants in France and Germany and their narratives of identity and citizenship. We employ migrant descendants' political activism as an empirical entry point to gain insight into the meanings they attach to citizenship. The paper draws from two qualitative datasets collected in France (2015–2017) and Germany (2015–2023) with individuals of Kurdish background, who were born to migrant families arriving from Turkey in the 1980s and 1990s. The findings show that national contexts – both in grandparents'/parents' country of departure and the country of arrival – and the transnational, diasporic and even supranational space (EU) shape migrant descendants' political activism, identity construction and consequently resonate in the meanings they attach to citizenship. This study highlights the need to approach migrants' descendants as transnational citizens in their own right. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of "transit" is an understudied phenomenon in migration studies. Transit is not necessarily a linear and unidirectional temporal movement from origin to destination countries, nor is it a clearly demarcated event in time and space. This article examines the complex dimensions of transit, that is, the geospatial, social, economic, psychological, and relational aspects that both shape and are being shaped by asylum seekers. Drawing on a unique qualitative phenomenological approach, the study utilizes an in-depth case narrative to trace and analyze the transit of Mamadou, a Guinean 26-year-old male asylum seeker in France. The salient themes of the narrative fall into five parts: (1) Triggers of transit; (2) Transit as a survival strategy; (3) The complex legal hurdles of asylum; (4) The politics of discomfort and dispersal; and (5) Acts of resistance. Throughout the narrative, an analytic lens is interwoven as informed by relevant literature. The results highlight how Mamadou's migration trajectory is characterized by various cycles of trauma, while he simultaneously employs survival, livelihood, and resistance strategies to confront and overcome these different forms of trauma. This paper highlights the much-needed call to depoliticize transit through adopting a pragmatic approach to asylum that promotes a virtuous cycle of policies, which contribute to the wellbeing and integration of asylum seekers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how political challengers articulate new political divides in European political party systems and with what implications for representative democracy. Focusing on the case of France and the discourse and practices of Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, the paper identifies three strategies these actors have used to articulate a new political division beyond Left and Right: the discursive rejection of traditional Left/Right politics, the combination of elements from across the Left/Right divide and the identification of each other as opposite sides on a new cleavage. Our analysis also suggests that rather than addressing the democratic pathologies associated with the traditional Left/Right party system, this new divide has largely contributed to deepen them. Specifically, the new dichotomy carries risks in terms of representative deficits, electoral demobilisation and the further legitimation of illiberal politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper gives thought to the exploitation of Niger's natural resources by France, the European Union (EU), and the United States (US), among other countries. The objective of this paper is to deconstruct the exploitation of Niger's uranium, gold, and coal, among other natural resources, and the surge in terrorism. This paper adopts qualitative secondary research as its methodology and resource curse theory as its theoretical framework. The gap that the paper bridges is that most research about the exploitation of Niger's natural resources and the rise in terrorism ignores the involvement of France among other Western countries. Findings that develop from this paper reveal that France has exploited Niger's natural resources since colonisation. Similarly, the EU and the US, among other countries, have been accomplices in the exploitation of Niger's natural resources. Additionally, Western countries, namely France, the EU, and the US, including Britain and Russia, have been involved in supporting administrations or terrorists that advance their interests in Niger, among other issues. Further results show that successive administrations in Niger and those that took control through the coup in July 2023 enjoy the support of the major global powers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the recognition of the rising challenge from China have resulted in a closer alignment of American, British and French strategic interests. This policy paper explores how the strategic relationship between the United States, the United Kingdom and France has evolved amid this changed threat environment. The Russia–Ukraine war exposed the limitations of France's policy of 'strategic autonomy' and reasserted the importance of an American role in European security. The war has re-focused attention upon the Lancaster House framework in which the UK and France have the potential to enhance their contribution to European defence. The UK still regards its 'special relationship' with the US as being of critical importance to its foreign policy. But the UK's diminishing military power makes it a less valuable ally to the US whose attention is increasingly upon the Indo-Pacific region. The paper argues that the alignment between the three countries has been closer over the Russian war in Ukraine compared to attitudes towards China, where tensions between France and the 'Anglo-Saxons' persist. France has been unwilling to adopt the American approach towards China and has stuck to its vision of a multipolar world. The AUKUS deal arranged between the US, UK and Australia had the effect of alienating France. The policy paper contends that the temporary alignment between US, UK and French interests will erode as long-standing conflicts of interest re-emerge. In particular, the unpredictability of US leadership will damage the trilateral relationship if Donald Trump regains the presidency in November 2024. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the architectural dimensions of the remise, a courtly ceremony that marked the moment when a royal bride departed her homeland to be given into her new husband's possession. Staged in frontier zones, this ritual was often facilitated by ephemeral structures such as bridges and pavilions that, as part of their ritual function, marked out firm boundaries where none existed before. This study focuses on the remise staged in 1745 on a disputed island, the Isle of Pheasants, for the marriage of Princess Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain to the French dauphin Louis-Ferdinand. Using state papers, contracts, and ceremonial texts, the article reconstructs the ephemeral spaces in which the handover was transacted. In doing so, this study reveals both the architectural stage management of the Franco-Spanish relationship and, more broadly, the spatial and ritual practices that undergirded early modern European diplomacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the socio-political implications of sceptical metaphors in French discourse about the climate crisis. Existing literature has demonstrated the prevalence of religion metaphors in English sceptical discourse. Yet, in France, religious references in language use are limited as such references have been considered "anti-revolutionary" since the storming of the Bastille, in 1789. I thus ask to what extent sceptical metaphors in French climate crisis discourse differ from English sceptical metaphors. To this aim, I conduct a corpus-based study relying on texts published in the extreme-right wing French newspaper "Valeurs Actuelles". The metaphors identified in this corpus are analysed so as to uncover the mini-narratives related to sceptical metaphor scenarios. Consistent with existing literature, the analysis establishes the prevalence of the religion scenario. However, the research highlights significant argumentative exploitations: metaphor users define the source concept according to cultural viewpoints on religion and ideological understanding of the religious lexicon. I demonstrate that religion metaphors prevail because associated source concepts (environmentalism as islam) are not conceived as being part of the domain of religion, according to these (extreme-right-wing) discourse producers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an empirical analysis that examines the factors influencing service prices and frequencies of conventional high-speed trains (HSTs) in France. The study utilizes original data spanning from September 2019 to March 2020, focusing on the level of intermodal competition and the diversification strategy employed by the primary rail operator. The primary findings of the econometric analysis reveal that the determinants of the price per kilometer for both first and second-class conventional HST services exhibit some shared factors, particularly in relation to the technical characteristics of the routes and alternative options available. However, certain factors are specific to each category, such as the competitive environment, economic conditions, and demographic factors. The frequency of HST services is primarily influenced by travel time. In cases where conventional HSTs do not offer satisfactory service quality in terms of frequency and/or price, there is an auxiliary alternative option available to compensate for the limited frequency of conventional HST services. • Alternative modes compensate for the insufficient service quality of conventional HSTs. • Low-cost flights are emerging when round trips within a day are not feasible via HST. • The incumbent rail operator adopts a multi-product strategy to address the competitive pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic relatedness figures heavily in contemporary ethical debates on egg freezing, although the arguments lack empirical‐based evidence. Rather than adding another theoretical view on the moral relevance of genetic connections, this paper instead proposes an empirically grounded perspective based on two independent qualitative interview‐based studies conducted in Belgium and France. Three themes emerge from our empirical data: (1) prioritizing family building; (2) centering the gestational experience of motherhood; and (3) identifying the complexities and limitations of adoption. These themes suggest that the relationship between egg freezing, genetics, biological motherhood, and adoption is highly complex and less straightforward than what is often assumed in the egg freezing debate. Our study provides more detailed insights into women's ambivalent experiences regarding those reproductive options. We discuss the ethical implications of our empirical findings and hold that pursuing genetic desire is not necessarily the main moral reason why women freeze their eggs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe conceptualization of the neoliberalization of social housing has been largely dominated by Harloe’s models, which define it as the transition from a ‘mass’ to a ‘residual’ model. However, this definition fails to capture the emergence of ‘affordable’ housing policies. Blessing suggests instead conceptualizing neoliberalization through privatization and marketization. This definition helps analyze the focus on the diversification of the supply into mid-market rents. Drawing on mixed-method research, this paper demonstrates the relevance of Blessing’s analysis. To illustrate this, I will take the example of a large French intercommunality, which appears as non-neoliberal due to the absence of residualization. Our findings demonstrate that marketization and privatization have, however, influenced the nature of social housing provision by leading to an absolute decrease in low-rent units through demolitions and sales, and an increase in mid-market rent housing units. In conclusion, the findings emphasize the need for researchers to delve into the issue of social housing exclusion and its underlying mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the environmental ambition of 2023-2027 Common Agricultural Policy in France. Since conditionality and agri-environment-climate measures are only marginally improved relative to the previous period, attention is focused on the new environmental instrument of the eco-scheme that in France targets the whole farm. Results suggest low environmental progress since almost all French farms would reach the standard level of the eco-scheme by one of the three access paths with unchanged farming practices, and 85% of them would reach the superior level. The percentage of farms at the superior level would be lower for farms specialized in annual crops than for cattle farms. We then show that the payment difference of €20 per hectare between the standard and superior level is probably insufficient for farms specialized in cereals, oilseeds and protein crops to offset the additional cost of the change in farm practices required to move from the standard to the superior level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the distinctiveness of French and francophone approaches to environmental justice. While off to a slow start, environmental justice research has received increased attention in France in the last 15 years. But there has been little to no attention to the French debates and movements in the English-language academic literature, with both bodies of knowledge largely evolving in parallel, conceptually and politically. This article attends to this gap by first taking stock of the empirical evidence of environmental injustices and inequalities in France. We then introduce some of the theoretical origins and discuss some of the main insights from the French literature in light of contemporary environmental justice scholarship. In so doing, our aim with this paper is to contribute to current scholarly efforts on diversifying the meanings and understandings of environmental justice in different academic and political contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the potential impacts of a hypothetical implementation of the Income Stabilisation Tool (IST) in France for the field crops sector. The IST is a risk management tool available within the 2014–2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to support farmers facing a severe drop in their incomes. This analysis was conducted using a farm‐level model relying on expected utility theory and based on positive mathematical programming with risk. The model was applied to a sample of 1375 field crop farms in France derived from Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) data. Simulation results show that the uptake rate of the tool is relatively low, less than 37% in all scenarios. It is strongly dependent on CAP public support and on how much premium farmers have to pay. Highest uptake rates are observed in farms specialising in Other Field Crops, such as potatoes, pulses and sugar beet, and farms located in regions highly exposed to climatic risks. Previous experience with insurance favours the acceptance of the IST. Model results also show that the IST improves adopters' income and reduces income inequality. However, its impacts on crop diversity, measured by the Shannon index, are negative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise of exclusionary populism is widely regarded as one of the most significant phenomena in today's political world. Despite this, the relationship between populism and security remains under-explored in the literature, including the affective power of populist security narratives. Against this background, this paper conducts a comparative analysis of radical right populist discourse in response to two recent shocking crimes in France and Ireland. The different expression given to security concerns in the two countries, such as a much less antagonistic 'flaunting of the low' in France, is suggestive of a more contingent and institutionally mediated relationship between security and populism than the existing literature would suggest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyse how State policies, on the book and in practice, shape family reunification. It focuses on child migration under constraint in France, by analysing the timing and factors of (non-)reunification among foreign immigrants, whose legal conditions for family reunification are much more restrictive than for those who obtained the French citizenship. Using a quantitative approach with a nationally representative survey, the article analyses to what extent and in what circumstances migrants took one or the other of three paths during the 1973–2009 period: bringing their children in France through the administrative channel of family reunification (de jure reunification), turning to an alternative channel of child migration (de facto reunification), or leaving their child behind in their birth country. Results show that de jure reunification is not the predominant option and strongly suggest that this pathway is impaired both by an official state selection based on socioeconomic criteria enshrined in law, and by an unofficial state selection in policy implementation due to discriminatory treatments and regional inequalities in administration resources. In response to these restrictions, families adapt either by turning to de facto reunification or by maintaining transnational ways of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Paris-Lyon line is the busiest High-Speed Line in Europe and has been open to competition in open access since December 18, 2021. The main objective of the paper is to explore the effects for users with respect to price and frequency compare with the existing literature. The analysis is based on a large database (n = 1243) collected by web scraping from September 2019 to October 2022. The method relies on a descriptive analysis with a similar route without competition (Paris-Bordeaux) in the comparison group. The results highlight an increase of frequency by 15% and a decrease in price by 23%. The prices charged by the newcomer are lower than those of the incumbent (−30% to −50%). The comparison with the control route suggests a positive effect on price that moderates the economic catch-up effect following the COVID-19 pandemic in an inflationary context. More specifically, SNCF appears to take a wait and see attitude to competitive pressure from Trenitalia. It has moderated its prices since the new offer was introduced and has maintained its trains. • Competition have a positive effect on user welfare. • Barriers to competition underscore the importance of public regulation for success. • Incumbent adopts a wait and see attitude in response to competitive pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the extent to which German import competition has contributed to the observed differential decline in manufacturing employment across French regions. The study employs an exposure research design that exploits differences in regional manufacturing specialisation across French départements combined with an instrumental variable strategy. The analysis does not establish a connection between German import competition and differential changes in regional French manufacturing employment. This result suggests that German import competition has neither driven nor halted the overall decline of French manufacturing employment. It also indicates that the sizeable and long-lasting negative regional employment effects of trade between China and developed countries do not necessarily generalise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The special status of satire in France is examined historically from the French Revolution to the Fifth Republic. It is argued that satire in France functions with a normative reference to the secular, universalist Jacobin values (hostile to church, aristocracy, and monarchy) that underpinned the foundation of the French Republic. Since the French Revolution, French journalistic satire has, in different ways, perpetrated what can broadly be categorized as either lèse majesté or blasphemy. Given France's turbulent history over the past two centuries, satire has frequently been used as an instrument to reaffirm the Republic's values vis-à-vis authoritarian regimes with different characteristics. The symbolic connection between satire and the French Republic's founding mythology has conferred upon the idiom a special status that endures today. The Fifth Republic, however, has presented a unique challenge to satire because of its authoritarian institutional character with personal power in the hands of the head-of-state. Three case studies are examined: the newspapers Le Canard Enchaîné and Charlie Hebdo and the satirical television program Les Guignols de l'Info. Today satire has found expression on online social networks in the form of memes, gifs, and videos. This marks a shift from satire produced by journalistic elites to more diffused and socially distributed satirical mockery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has recently been observed, that a change in the crop spectrum happened during the so-called Middle Neolithic in France at ca. 4000 BC. An agricultural system based on free-threshing cereals (naked wheat and naked barley) seems to shift to one based on glume wheats. This is a major change for traditional farmers and this paper aims to shed light on its possible causes. Here we describe the results of new investigations in a key area for the understanding of this process: the NW Mediterranean arch, where free-threshing cereals are the main cultivars since ca. 5100 BC. New data confirm that the shift towards glume wheats is also observed in some sites of the NE of the Iberian Peninsula and that among the glume wheats that spread at ca. 4000 BC we should not only consider emmer and einkorn but also Timopheevi's wheat. Stable isotope analyses indicate no major decrease in soil fertility or alterations in local precipitation regimes. The agricultural change may be the result of a combination of the spread of damaging pests for free-threshing cereals and presumably new networks being developed with the North-eastern part of Italy and the Balkans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will evaluate two acts of terrorism: the Toulouse and Montauban Terror Attack of 2012 and the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing. While a great deal of discussion has centered on these isolated attacks, limited research has bridged a comparison of these events and the pathways of radicalization. This study will integrate three criminological theories to explain why these atrocities were committed. First, using Social Learning Theory, the study will show that Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, known as the Boston Marathon Bombers, as well as Mohamed Merah, the individual responsible for the Toulouse and Montauban Terror Attacks, learned terror-related techniques from social and non-social sources. Second, Strain Theory will be incorporated into the discussion. Here, the blockage of goals, the removal of positive stimuli, the presentation of negative stimuli, and the inability to cope to these changes played an important role in the radicalization process of these individuals as well. Finally, Social Bond Theory will be utilized to illustrate that Mohamed Merah and the Tsarnaev Brothers had weak social bonds to their family, self, and community. This contributed to their radicalization and their motive to inflict harm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subsistence strategies of early farming communities have been highlighted since the beginning of the Neolithic, thanks to numerous studies on lipid residues from ceramic vessels conducted in various parts of continental Europe. However, after the Early Neolithic, evidence of subsistence strategies along the northern Atlantic coast are still lacking, especially for island contexts. This paper presents the results of lipid residue analysis of 129 potsherds from Beg ar Loued (Molène, France), an island site dating primarily to the Early Bronze Age (c. 2700-2600 to 1800 BCE). Aiming to understand the use of vessels, vessel treatment and culinary practices on the settlement, analyses of visible charred residues, sherds and ceramic surfaces/coating layers were carried out using chromatographic (n = 174) and isotopic techniques (n = 24) after lipid extraction by solvent (n = 174) or acid methanolysis (n = 31). The results demonstrate the extensive use of terrestrial products (ruminant carcass and dairy) in pottery, including occasional plant products (with possible mixtures of different waxes), while the detection of aquatic products is limited. Thus, combined with evidence from faunal remains at the site, the results indicate that terrestrial resources like ruminant meat and dairy products were preferentially processed in vessels, and aquatic products mostly without the use of ceramics. These findings demonstrate the significance of lipid residue analysis for studying the role of pottery in food production and consumption at sites along the Atlantic coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childcare is a need that inevitably emerges once migrants establish themselves and their families in their destination country. However, migrants' use of informal childcare still constitutes an under‐researched phenomenon. Using data from the 'Social Condition and Integration of Foreign Citizens' survey (2011–2012) for Italy and the 'Trajectoires et Origines' survey (2008–2009) for France, this paper examines differences between migrants living in the two countries in terms of their use of informal childcare and, more specifically, their informal childcare arrangements. We employ a comparative analysis because we hypothesised that parental choices would depend on the migrants' region of origin, the institutional context of their destination country and the interplay between these two elements. The results suggest that migrants' choices stem from a complex relationship between the norms and beliefs of the country of origin and those in the destination country, which are generally characterised by different family policies and levels of childcare availability. We show that the use of informal childcare is higher among migrants in Italy than it is among those in France, even among migrants from the same region of origin. The results also suggest that the use of particular informal childcare arrangements varies by region of origin regardless of destination country, supporting the hypothesis that migrants' cultural values and beliefs play a critical role in determining childcare arrangements. Finally, we demonstrate that household composition and parents' occupational status strongly influence migrants' childcare choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION Tax increases are the most effective but still the least-used tobacco control measure. The tobacco industry (TI) employs lobbying strategies to oppose the implementation of tax policies on its products. Over the past two decades, French tobacco tax policies have been characterized by a relative inconsistency. This research aims to understand why, by analyzing the arguments of French policymakers (MPs and government) between 2000 and 2020 in favor or against tax increases. METHODS To capture parliamentary debates, we performed an advanced term search on the French National Assembly website, using the keyword 'tobacco'. The search returned 5126 available documents out of which 1106 (12.6%, 645 questions, 461 responses) covered price and taxation and were included. They were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis (NVivo) and were compared, when relevant, to arguments raised in the international literature on TI lobbying against taxation increases. RESULTS We found 3176 arguments on tobacco taxation: 77.2% were against tobacco tax increases and 22.7% were in favor of tax policies. Arguments varied depending on the source: 92.4% of MPs' arguments were against tax increases, while 52.1% of arguments from government responses were in favor. The anti-tax arguments were similar to those identified in the international literature that singled out negative economic and social consequences (illicit trade, penalizing tobacconists). Other arguments that were more specific to the French context, highlighted the key economic and social role played by tobacconists in France. Pro-tax arguments highlighted the health, economic and social benefits of tax policies. CONCLUSIONS This is the first French tobacco research on parliamentary documents, although Parliament is a place of direct TI lobbying. It will enable public health actors to better understand the arguments used by the TI in order to counter them in front of MPs, and to better monitor debates in Parliament. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic inequality, in terms of income or wealth, is one of the most complex and perplexing challenges of our current capitalist economic system. While the dynamic relationship between income inequality and economic growth has been extensively investigated (since the beginning of the last century), the dynamic link between wealth inequality (or wealth concentration) and economic growth has been largely ignored in the literature, taking more attention in recent years. This paper asserts that the accumulation of non-productive assets/luxury goods is an important determinant of wealth inequality, as well as a determinant of the relationship between wealth inequality and economic growth. In this paper our aim is to show that an increase in wealth inequality is associated with a slowdown in economic growth. In particular, the paper shows that there is a negative relationship between wealth inequality and economic growth in France because poor households own a relatively large fraction of non-productive luxury goods. Nevertheless, this is not the case in the US, which is what explains that such negative relationship is not observed there. We conclude that a redistribution of wealth (from the rich to the poor) is important for attaining a sustained economic growth performance. • This paper contributes to the analysis of economic growth and wealth inequality in France and the United States. • We propose a macroeconomic model that includes both productive and non-productive assets. • Economic growth slows as the aggregate stock of non-productive assets increases as wealth inequality increases. • Redistribution will enrich the poorest households and therefore decrease their propensity to own unproductive assets. • Wealth inequality and economic growth may have a non-linear relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a data set resulting from the first round of a national monitoring program of forest reserves. It contains 9538 permanent plots, distributed across 111 study sites in mainland France (including Corsica). Notably focusing on dead wood measurement, this protocol has primarily been applied in strict forest reserves and special nature reserves (sensu Bollmann & Braunisch 2013), with 68% (6494) of the plots being currently located in strict forest reserves (unmanaged) and 24.7% (2363 plots) in forests unmanaged for at least 50 years. Sites cover a large variety of ecological conditions, from lowland to subalpine forests, but with an underrepresentation of Mediterranean forests (Table 1). The protocol assesses all the stages of a tree's life cycle, from seedling to decomposed lying dead wood. On each plot, a combination of three sampling techniques was used: (1) fixed‐area inventory for regeneration, standing dead trees, living trees, and coarse woody debris (CWD) with diameter over 30 cm; (2) transect lines for CWD with diameter <30 cm; and (3) fixed‐angle plot method for living trees with diameter at breast height (DBH) >30 cm (using a relascopic angle of 3%). Measurements include exact tree location (azimuth, distance), species, diameter(s), tree‐related microhabitats, decay stage and bark cover, and seedling cover. With ongoing climate change, the program network can also provide important information to monitor changes in forest ecosystems. It can also be used as forest management monitoring or conservation status assessment. These data are freely available for noncommercial scientific use (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 CC BY SA 4.0) with attribution, and this paper must be cited if this material is reused. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using cross-sectional data from a representative sample of the French population (the 2008 Disability Health survey), this paper examines whether the SF-6D, a widely used preference-based measure of health-related quality of life in economic evaluations, fully captures the variation in subjective well-being (SWB) due to chronic illnesses. We conduct a mediation analysis to disentangle the direct and indirect, through the SF-6D, effects of various chronic conditions on SWB (happiness). Our results show that the SF-6D reflects changes in happiness due to most illnesses except mental illness. Changes in SWB mediated by the SF-6D account for 74% of the total effect. The variation unexplained by the SF-6D is significant and increases substantially in the presence of multimorbidity when a chronic illness is combined with anxiety or depression. Overall, our results suggest that the SF-6D incompletely captures the subjective experience of chronically ill patients, especially those with comorbid conditions. • 74% of the effect of chronic illness on happiness is captured by the SF-6D. • The SF-6D does not fully capture the effect of mental illness on happiness. • The effect not captured by the SF-6D increases significantly with multimorbidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

France is one of the countries that have made commendable progress towards accomplishing sustainable development goals but still struggles with combating environmental challenges. Decarbonizing the energy sector by deploying clean energy and reducing fossil fuels in the energy mix are essential steps. The study uses annual time series data from 1980 to 2021 and employs the ridge regression estimation technique to estimate a twice-differentiable transcendental production function, which approximates the second-order Taylor series to explore the potential for such decarbonization for France. The study finds that substitution possibilities exist between clean energy and fossil fuels, with substantial substitution possibilities coming from nuclear energy. Nuclear energy and renewables are found to be complements that can be deployed concurrently, but since nuclear energy already constitutes a significant proportion of clean energy for France, the study recommends increasing the proportion of renewable energy in the overall energy mix as the most plausible path to decarbonization. Other complementary sustainable energy policies are recommended in the body of the paper. • The substitution elasticities between clean energy and fossil fuels were estimated. • A second-order Taylor series trans-log production function was specified. • Substitutability is found between clean energy and fossil fuels. • Nuclear energy currently dominates France's clean energy mix. • Increasing renewables in the clean energy mix is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]