Centre Émile Durkheim

Studies with low statistical power increase the likelihood that a statistically significant finding represents a false positive result. We conducted a review of meta-analyses of studies investigating the association of biological, environmental or cognitive parameters with neurological, psychiatric and somatic diseases, excluding treatment studies, in order to estimate the average statistical power across these domains. Taking the effect size indicated by a meta-analysis as the best estimate of the likely true effect size, and assuming a threshold for declaring statistical significance of 5%, we found that approximately 50% of studies have statistical power in the 0-10% or 11-20% range, well below the minimum of 80% that is often considered conventional. Studies with low statistical power appear to be common in the biomedical sciences, at least in the specific subject areas captured by our search strategy. However, we also observe evidence that this depends in part on research methodology, with candidate gene studies showing very low average power and studies using cognitive/behavioural measures showing high average power. This warrants further investigation.

There is a striking contrast between the dissemination of the concept of neopatrimonial rule in Africa and its more parsimonious mobilisation outside the continent. The increasing assimilation of the African neopatrimonial state to integral and predatory forms of politics has contributed to its perception as a global prototype of the ‘anti-developmental’ state. The article contrasts this trajectory with those observed in Latin America, South East Asia, Russia and Central Asia. There, patrimonialism and neopatrimonialism have been associated with a greater axiological neutrality than in Africa due, inter alia, to the preservation of an analytical dichotomy between regulated and predatory forms of neopatrimonialism. Neglected for all too long, the study of regulated forms of neopatrimonialism in Africa calls for fresh empirical and theoretical attention.

BACKGROUND: Therapeutic communities (TCs) are drug-free residential settings, focused on psychosocial rehabilitation. While TCs are considered an effective method, the bulk of the research evidence is from poorly controlled studies. The goal of this study was to evaluate TC effectiveness in terms of abstinence and to determine if there were predictive factors of abstinence. METHODS: The search used Medline up to January 30, 2011 and was based on a systematic review method. Studies on retention in treatment and/or substance use were considered. RESULTS: Of the 321 studies retrieved from Medline, 12 met selection criteria including overall 3,271 participants from 61 TCs. On average, subjects stayed in TC a third of the planned time. The completion rate ranged from 9 to 56%. All studies showed that substance use decreased during TC, but relapse was frequent after TC. Treatment completion was the most predictive factor of abstinence at follow-up. Surprisingly, psychiatric comorbidities did not appear associated with relapse or with dropout. CONCLUSIONS: There was a drop in consumption after TC, but long-lasting benefits were uncertain. Further studies are needed in order to compare the efficacy of TC programs and other types of treatment settings for substance-related disorders.

Neopatrimonialism, a system whereby rulers use state resources for personal benefit and to secure the loyalty of clients in the general population, is central to any teaching or conceptualisation of contemporary African politics. This book is a theoretical and comparative study of neopatrimonialism in Africa and across world regions. Although such practices are widespread in other parts of the world, the African neopatrimonial state has also become a global prototype of the anti-developmental state. This volume calls for a reappraisal of the genesis and interpretations of the concepts of patrimonialism and neopatrimonialism. Expert contributors consider recent debates in Africa through the study of democracy, clientelism, the 'big man' syndrome (Kenya), the rise of 'godfatherism' (Nigeria), 'warlordism' (Liberia) and the neopatrimonial state on a day to day basis (Niger). They discuss patrimonialism and neopatrimonialism from Latin America to Europe, Central Asia and Asia-Pacific, to weave a comparative analysis of the interplay between public policies and private interest. Neopatrimonialism in Africa and Beyond is an important and timely volume that will be of interest to students and scholars of international politics, African studies, sociology and international development.

BACKGROUND: During university, students face some potentially serious health risks, and their lifestyle can have a direct effect on health and health behaviors later in life. Concurrently, university students are digital natives having easy access to the internet and new technologies. Digital health interventions offer promising new opportunities for health promotion, disease prevention, and care in this specific population. The description of the current use of and opinions on digital health among university students can inform future digital health strategies and interventions within university settings. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this exploratory study was to report on university students' use and opinions regarding information and communication technologies for health and well-being, taking into account sociodemographic and self-rated general and mental health correlates. METHODS: This field survey was conducted from March to April 2017. An informed consent form and a paper questionnaire were given to students aged 18 to 24 years in 4 university campuses in Bordeaux, France. The survey was formulated in 3 sections: (1) sociodemographic characteristics and self-rated general and mental health, (2) information about the use of digital health, and (3) opinions about digital health. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and tests of independence. RESULTS: A total of 59.8% (303/507 females) students completed the questionnaire. Concerning digital health use, 34.9% (174/498) had at least 1 health app mostly for physical activity (49.4%, 86/174) and general health monitoring (41.4%, 72/174,), but only 3.9% (20/507) of students had a wearable device. Almost all (94.8%, 450/476) had searched for Web-based health-related information at least once in the last 12 months. The most sought health-related topics were nutrition (68.1%, 324/476); pain and illnesses (64.5%, 307/476); and stress, anxiety, or depression (51.1%, 243/476). Although Wikipedia (79.7%, 357/448) and general health websites (349/448, 77.9%) were the most consulted sources, students considered institutional or official websites as the most credible sources (309/335, 92.2%). There were significant differences in digital health use by gender, field, and year of study. No statistically significant association was found between digital health use and self-rated general and mental health status. Concerning opinions on digital health, although 94.1% (475/505) of students estimated that today's digital health cannot replace traditional health services and medical consultations, 44.6% (207/464) of students declared that this could be possible in the future, provided that digital health interventions are promoted by institutional or official entities. CONCLUSIONS: University students are largely using the internet for health information seeking, but using less mobile health apps and very few wearable devices. Our data suggest that digital health has the potential for improving health and well-being at the university, especially if digital health interventions take into account students' profiles, interests, and needs.

BACKGROUND: The health of the agricultural population has been previously explored, particularly in relation to the farming exposures and among professionally active individuals. However, few studies specifically focused on health and aging among elders retired from agriculture. Yet, this population faces the long-term effects of occupational exposures and multiple difficulties related to living and aging in rural area (limited access to shops, services, and practitioners). However, these difficulties may be counter-balanced by advantages related to healthier lifestyle, richer social support and better living environment. The general aim of the AMI cohort was to study health and aging in elderly farmers living in rural area through a multidisciplinary approach, with a main focus on dementia. METHODS/DESIGN: The study initially included 1 002 participants, randomly selected from the Farmer Health Insurance rolls. Selection criteria were: being 65 years and older; living in rural area in Gironde (South-Western France); being retired from agriculture after at least 20 years of activity and being affiliated to the Health Insurance under own name. The study started in 2007, with two follow-up visits over 5 years. Baseline visits were conducted at home by a neuropsychologist then by a geriatrician for all cases suspected of dementia, Parkinson's disease and depression (to confirm the diagnosis), and by a nurse for others. A large panel of data were collected through standardised questionnaires: complete neuropsychological assessment, material and social living environment, psychological transition to retirement, lifestyle (smoking, alcohol and diet), medications, disability in daily living, sensory impairments and some clinical measures (blood pressure, depression symptomatology, anxiety, visual test, anthropometry...). A blood sampling was performed with biological measurements and constitution of a biological bank, including DNA. Brain MRI were also performed on 316 of the participants. Finally, the three-year data on health-related reimbursements were extracted from the Health System database (medications, medical and paramedical consultations, biological examinations and medical devices), and the registered Long-Term Diseases (30 chronic diseases 100% covered by the Insurance System). DISCUSSION: AMI is the first French longitudinal study on health and aging set up in a population of elderly farmers living in rural area through a multidisciplinary approach.

Abstract Despite their multiplication over the last 15 years, studies on the support for assemblies composed of citizens selected by lot are rare and the few that exist analyse citizens’ attitudes towards such mini-publics as consultative bodies associated with traditional representative institutions. In this article, we examine support for citizens selected by lot as new policymakers who take the most important political decisions instead of political representatives. We contrast support for this radical democratic innovation with support for two other reforms that increase citizen participation: generic support for a greater involvement of citizens in policymaking, and specific support for citizen-initiated referendums. The goal is to understand whether the drivers of support for citizens selected by lot overlap or differ from the drivers of support for other forms of citizen participation. We rely upon data from the 2017 French Election Study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the replication validity of biomedical association studies covered by newspapers. METHODS: We used a database of 4723 primary studies included in 306 meta-analysis articles. These studies associated a risk factor with a disease in three biomedical domains, psychiatry, neurology and four somatic diseases. They were classified into a lifestyle category (e.g. smoking) and a non-lifestyle category (e.g. genetic risk). Using the database Dow Jones Factiva, we investigated the newspaper coverage of each study. Their replication validity was assessed using a comparison with their corresponding meta-analyses. RESULTS: Among the 5029 articles of our database, 156 primary studies (of which 63 were lifestyle studies) and 5 meta-analysis articles were reported in 1561 newspaper articles. The percentage of covered studies and the number of newspaper articles per study strongly increased with the impact factor of the journal that published each scientific study. Newspapers almost equally covered initial (5/39 12.8%) and subsequent (58/600 9.7%) lifestyle studies. In contrast, initial non-lifestyle studies were covered more often (48/366 13.1%) than subsequent ones (45/3718 1.2%). Newspapers never covered initial studies reporting null findings and rarely reported subsequent null observations. Only 48.7% of the 156 studies reported by newspapers were confirmed by the corresponding meta-analyses. Initial non-lifestyle studies were less often confirmed (16/48) than subsequent ones (29/45) and than lifestyle studies (31/63). Psychiatric studies covered by newspapers were less often confirmed (10/38) than the neurological (26/41) or somatic (40/77) ones. This is correlated to an even larger coverage of initial studies in psychiatry. Whereas 234 newspaper articles covered the 35 initial studies that were later disconfirmed, only four press articles covered a subsequent null finding and mentioned the refutation of an initial claim. CONCLUSION: Journalists preferentially cover initial findings although they are often contradicted by meta-analyses and rarely inform the public when they are disconfirmed.

Afin d’étudier en profondeur et de façon systématique l’origine des mutations institutionnelles, cet article propose une re-conceptualisation de la notion de « travail politique ». En tirant profit de ses usages antérieurs, notamment par les spécialistes du « métier politique », de la sociologie du travail et de l’analyse des politiques publiques, on propose de le définir comme un processus incarné impliquant la construction de « problèmes » et d’instruments d’action publique. Ce faisant, la légitimation des acteurs concernés, ainsi que celle de leurs objectifs, stratégies et relations sociales, est placée au cœur de la recherche. Le schéma d’analyse qui en découle est illustré par deux études de cas : l’une part de l’observation d’un acteur (le commissaire européen Leon Brittan) pour analyser l’institutionnalisation de la régulation de la concurrence communautaire, l’autre est centrée sur un ensemble d’acteurs écossais qui ont cherché à mobiliser la devolution britannique pour recadrer l’industrie du Scotch Whisky. En réinvestissant le concept de travail politique, l’article vise à ouvrir un dialogue avec tous les chercheurs en sciences sociales intéressés par la sociologie du changement et de la reproduction des institutions.

L'enjeu d'une analyse des critiques de la démocratie participative ne peut aucunement se limiter à une délimitation fictive entre approches distanciées et approches normatives. L'examen de la pluralité et des mutations des postures critiques qui traversent les recherches sur la participation et la délibération publique nous permet de dégager une partition plus significative entre des perspectives surplombantes et celles faisant une place aux évaluations, aux modes d'engagement et aux jugements des acteurs sociaux, généralement sévères à l'égard de l'offre publique de participation. Par-delà la diversité des cadres théoriques mobilisés, se dégage un mouvement général : la critique sociale joue un rôle actif dans toutes réflexions et orientations relatives à la participation, qu'il s'agisse de la production de l'ordre ou au contraire des résistances dont les pratiques participatives font l'objet. Cette consubstantialité des critiques théoriques et sociales invite alors à retenir une approche en termes de " gouvernementalité ", afin d'apprécier si, au regard de l'analyse singulière des rapports de pouvoir qu'elle défend, il y a là une posture et une voie analytique propre à renouveler la critique de la participation.

A key factor in modern democracies’ legitimisation is the extent to which policies submitted for public approval before an election translate into material outcomes once a political party has won power. Current research finds no clear empirical evidence for partisanship in policy-making nor has any unified theory been offered or tested systematically. This article addresses that gap by offering a conditional approach to policy-making undertaken by parties in government. It suggests that partisan influence on policy depends on both office-holders’ capacity for implementing policies evoked during their electoral campaigns and on governing parties’ incentives to implement electoral promises. Data from French Agendas Project datasets is used to compare the contents of governing parties’ pre-election manifestos with legislation passed in France between 1981 and 2012. Panel negative binomial regressions on electoral and legislative agendas support the expected outcome, namely that issues featuring in governing parties’ electoral manifesto have had an impact on their subsequent legislative agendas, with the effect depending on both partisan capacities and incentives. Party programmes do matter in policy-making, albeit only under certain conditions.

Background: The most common reasons why adults use e-cigarettes are to stop or reduce tobacco smoking. However, it is unclear if this reason is evenly distributed between young and older adults. Objectives: describe the motivations for e-cigarette use amongst young adults aged 18–25 and compare the reasons for using e-cigarettes of people who currently or formerly used tobacco products to those who had never smoked tobacco prior e-cigarette use. Methods: PubMed ® , Scopus ® , Cochrane Library ® , SocINDEX ® , PsycARTICLES ® , Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection ® and PsycINFO ® databases were used. English written articles were screened up to March 2018. Depending on study design, quality was assessed using The STROBE or RATS checklists. Results: Six articles were included in the review, all with a moderate quality of evidence. Independently of smoking status, curiosity was the most frequently reported reason for initiating the use of e-cigarettes in young adults. Reasons for continuing to use e-cigarettes were various. The continued use of e-cigarettes could be either a means to replicate smoking habits, or a way for a different and personalized use of nicotine by inhalation. Conclusions: Reasons for using e-cigarettes in young adults are varied and are not limited to stopping smoking.

This article investigates the determinants of public support for consultative and binding mini-publics at the local level in Belgium. The study demonstrates that while enraged (politically dissatisfied) and engaged (politically efficacious) citizens are more supportive of both forms of deliberative mini-publics, citizens who are at once enraged and engaged are more likely to support more radical reforms of representative democracy, including binding uses of sortition that would lead to the replacement of elected politicians by citizens selected by lot.

Article published as introduction to the Special Issue 'Environmental Politics at a crossroads', edited by Nathalie Berny & Christopher Rootes, Environmental Politics vol.27.no.6, November 2018

The design of government portfolios – that is, the distribution of competencies among government ministries and office holders – has been largely ignored in the study of executive and coalition politics. This article argues that portfolio design is a substantively and theoretically relevant phenomenon that has major implications for the study of institutional design and coalition politics. The authors use comparative data on portfolio design reforms in nine Western European countries since the 1970s to demonstrate how the design of government portfolios changes over time. Specifically, they show that portfolios are changed frequently (on average about once a year) and that such shifts are more likely after changes in the prime ministership or the party composition of the government. These findings suggest a political logic behind these reforms based on the preferences and power of political parties and politicians. They have major implications for the study of institutional design and coalition politics.

The Politics of Economic Activity confronts head-on deeply rooted understandings of how politics affects economics. The book proposes a robust, incisive alternative definition of politics: the mobilization of values to change or reproduce the institutions that orientate, and indeed make possible, economic activity.Drawing upon constructivist strands of institutionalism, political sociology, and industrial economics, this definition generates an analytical framework for understanding the 'political work' that constantly orientates the behaviour of both firms and public authorities. Specifically, a fundamental tension between the values of freedom and security is consistently examined. This is analysed by looking at conflicts within the definition of these two values, but also by examination of mobilizations of two subordinate values: equality and tradition. A hypothesis examined throughout the book's empirical chapters is that equality and tradition play either supporting, intervening, or silent roles within the freedom-security relationship that structures contemporary capitalism.Structured around controversies concerning the politics of economic activity at the global, European, national and local scales, the book examines the pharmaceutical, wine, local food, and car industries, as well as cross-cutting policies concerning issues such as regulating labour markets and inter-firm competition, geographical indications, and local economic development. Overall, the book's aim is to advocate a mode of thinking and research which challenges orthodox and dominant approaches to economics and its politics. It does so by placing a politics that is comprehensible, and therefore both 'studyable' and 'actionable', back at the centre of reflection about the economic and the political.

Abstract What happens when we focus primarily on violence as a central question—either within the gender regime approach or by making violence regime an approach in itself? The article first interrogates gender regimes theoretically and empirically through a focus on violence, and then develops violence regimes as a fruitful approach, conceptualizing violence as inequality in its own right, and a means to deepen the analysis of gender relations, gender domination, and policy. The article is a contribution to ongoing debate, which specifically and critically engages with the gender regime framework.

This edited volume takes a close look at Nicos Poulantzas’s thought as a means of understanding the dynamics of the capitalist, neoliberal state in the 21st century. Nicos Poulantzas has left us with one of the most sophisticated theories of the state in the second half of the 20th century. Poulantzas’s influential theory draws inspiration from Marx, Lenin, Weber, and Foucault, among other thinkers, conceiving of the relationship between capitalism and the state as particularly original. This book aims to use Poulantzas’s theory of the capitalist state in order to understand important political and economic trends that have taken place since Poulantzas’s death in 1979. By entering into a dialogue with current Marxist and critical research in diverse fields such as political science, philosophy, sociology, history, and geography, this volume purports to evaluate the actuality of Poulantzas’s thought.

Many studies have been devoted to the way electoral institutions shape the representative process in general, and of the relation between legislators and their local constituency. Yet, the majority of these have been hardly comparative. And when they compared countries, these countries rarely differed in many aspects of the electoral system. This article takes a different perspective by looking at the effect of the electoral formula, district magnitude and ballot structure on how important the constituency is for MPs in three countries that differ on these three components of the electoral system: Belgium, France and Portugal. And the results, though they should be confirmed by analyses on more countries, provide interesting insights. In particular they show that the difference in nature between single and multi-member districts is more important for constituency-orientation than differences between multi-member districts. Second, the article shows that the effect of electoral institutions is not straightforward: its impact is stronger on attitudes towards the constituency than on actaul behaviours of legislators regarding their constituency.

Cet article examine la fixation des prix des médicaments remboursés par l’État, en France, depuis ses origines au sortir de la Seconde Guerre mondiale jusqu’au milieu des années 2010. Nous analysons les formes successives prises par cette politique, de l’administration unilatérale des prix mise en place de 1948 aux années 1980 à leur négociation dans le cadre de conventions entre un Comité interministériel et les industriels à partir du milieu des années 1990. Nous défendons la thèse selon laquelle ce contrôle des prix par l’État articule deux types de gouvernement du marché : un gouvernement des valeurs , visant à apprécier les médicaments à partir de principes de justice sociale (promouvoir la santé publique, respecter l’équilibre des dépenses d’Assurance maladie, favoriser la recherche et développement et l’emploi industriel) ; un gouvernement des conduites , visant à apprécier les médicaments à partir de considérations de justesse marchande (s’assurer que les prix établis orientent les conduites des industriels et des acteurs du marché dans le sens de l’intérêt général). Loin d’aller de soi, la détermination du « juste prix » donne alors lieu à des affrontements, au sein du Comité économique des produits de santé et dans les négociations entre le Comité et les industriels, entre des acteurs porteurs de conceptions plurielles et antagonistes de la justice sociale et de la justesse marchande.