Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Solidarités Sociétés Territoires

We present a model of opinion dynamics in which agents adjust continuous opinions as a result of random binary encounters whenever their difference in opinion is below a given threshold. High thresholds yield convergence of opinions towards an average opinion, whereas low thresholds result in several opinion clusters: members of the same cluster share the same opinion but are no longer influenced by members of other clusters.

Ecophylogenetics can be viewed as an emerging fusion of ecology, biogeography and macroevolution. This new and fast-growing field is promoting the incorporation of evolution and historical contingencies into the ecological research agenda through the widespread use of phylogenetic data. Including phylogeny into ecological thinking represents an opportunity for biologists from different fields to collaborate and has provided promising avenues of research in both theoretical and empirical ecology, towards a better understanding of the assembly of communities, the functioning of ecosystems and their responses to environmental changes. The time is ripe to assess critically the extent to which the integration of phylogeny into these different fields of ecology has delivered on its promise. Here we review how phylogenetic information has been used to identify better the key components of species interactions with their biotic and abiotic environments, to determine the relationships between diversity and ecosystem functioning and ultimately to establish good management practices to protect overall biodiversity in the face of global change. We evaluate the relevance of information provided by phylogenies to ecologists, highlighting current potential weaknesses and needs for future developments. We suggest that despite the strong progress that has been made, a consistent unified framework is still missing to link local ecological dynamics to macroevolution. This is a necessary step in order to interpret observed phylogenetic patterns in a wider ecological context. Beyond the fundamental question of how evolutionary history contributes to shape communities, ecophylogenetics will help ecology to become a better integrative and predictive science.

Abstract We present a model of opinion dynamics in which agents adjust continuous opinions as a result of random binary encounters whenever their difference in opinion is below a given threshold. High thresholds yield convergence of opinions toward an average opinion, whereas low thresholds result in several opinion clusters. The model is further generalized to network interactions, threshold heterogeneity, adaptive thresholds, and binary strings of opinions. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The increasing integration of technology into our lives has created unprecedented volumes of data on society’s everyday behaviour. Such data opens up exciting new opportunities to work towards a quantitative understanding of our complex social systems, within the realms of a new discipline known as Computational Social Science. Against a background of financial crises, riots and international epidemics, the urgent need for a greater comprehension of the complexity of our interconnected global society and an ability to apply such insights in policy decisions is clear. This manifesto outlines the objectives of this new scientific direction, considering the challenges involved in it, and the extensive impact on science, technology and society that the success of this endeavour is likely to bring about. Graphical abstract

Cities are particularly vulnerable to extreme weather episodes, which are expected to increase with climate change. Cities also influence their own local climate, for example, through the relative warming known as the urban heat island (UHI) effect. This review discusses urban climate features (even in complex terrain) and processes. We then present state-of-the-art methodologies on the generalization of a common urban neighborhood classification for UHI studies, as well as recent developments in observation systems and crowdsourcing approaches. We discuss new modeling paradigms pertinent to climate impact studies, with a focus on building energetics and urban vegetation. In combination with regional climate modeling, new methods benefit the variety of climate scenarios and models to provide pertinent information at urban scale. Finally, this article presents how recent research in urban climatology contributes to the global agenda on cities and climate change.

The World Urban Database and Access Portal Tools (WUDAPT) project has grown out of the need for better information on the form and function of cities globally. Cities are described using Local Climate Zones (LCZ), which are associated with a range of key urban climate model parameters and thus can serve as inputs to high resolution urban climate models. We refer to this as level 0 data for each city. The LCZ level 0 product is produced using freely available Landsat imagery, crowdsourced training areas from the community, and the open source SAGA software. This paper outlines the protocol by which LCZ maps generated by different members of the community are produced and evaluated. In particular, the quality assessment comprises cross-validation, review, and cross-comparison with other data sets. To date, the results from the different quality assessments show that the LCZ maps are generally of moderate quality, i.e. 50–60% overall accuracy (OA), but this is much higher when considering all built-up classes together or using weights that take the morphological and climatic similarity of certain classes into account. The training data contributed by researchers from around the world also vary in quality and in the interpretation of the landscape, which affects the final quality of the LCZ maps. The acceptable level of quality needed will depend heavily on the application of the data. However, initial modelling studies that use the level 0 products as inputs showed improved performance in simulating the urban climate when replacing the default surface descriptions with the WUDAPT level 0 data. This is also promising for the application of level 0 data in regional and global climate and weather models and supports the assumption that the current level 0 products are already of sufficient quality for certain applications. Moreover, there are various ongoing developments to improve the methods used to produce LCZ maps and their accuracy.

Abstract. The analysis of spatial pattern in plant ecology usually implies the solution of some edge effect problems. We present in this paper some explicit formulas of edge effect correction that should enable plant ecologists to analyse a wider range of real field data. We consider the local correcting factor of edge effect for Ripley's K ‐function, that can also be used for other statistics of spatial analysis based on the counting of neighbours within a given distance. For both circular and rectangular study areas, we provide a review of explicit formulas and an extension of these formulas for long and narrow plots. In the case of irregular‐shaped study plots, we propose a generalization of the method that computes edge effect correction by excluding triangular surfaces from a simple (rectangular or circular) initial shape. An example in forest ecology, where the soil characteristics determine a study plot of complex shape, illustrates how this edge effect correction can be effective in avoiding misinterpretations.

uOpérant une relecture systématique et critique de la littérature sociologique sur les professions, ce manuel vise à dépasser les antinomies fondamentales entre les approches fonctionnaliste et critique. Il en présente les auteurs, les théories, les démarches et les thèmes (travail, carrières, statuts, inégalités de genre, etc.), et met en évidence l’émergence d’un troisième regard centré sur les évolutions actuelles des contenus du travail. Il montre ainsi comment les pressions productivistes et la bureaucratisation des contextes de travail menacent la place des « pratiques prudentielles » dans nos sociétés.

At the Heart of the State argues against the idea of government institutions as the tools of politics and politicians and explores the inherent morality—or immorality—of such institutions supposedly designed for the public good. The result of a five-year investigation, conducted by ten scholars, At the Heart of the State describes and analyses the police, court systems, prisons, social services, and mental health facilities of France, analyzing the supposed neutrality of these government institutions. Combining genealogy and ethnography, the authors argue that government institutions are not simply concerned with the implementation of laws, rules, and procedures but also with the imposition of values, affects, and judgments.

In Juventude e contemporaneidade. Coleção Educação para Todos, Brasilia, UNESCO, MEC, ANPED, 2007, 15 pages (Réédition)

International audience

International audience

Societies have to both reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and undertake adaptation measures to limit the negative impacts of global warming on the population, the economy and the environment. Examining how best to adapt cities is especially challenging as urban areas will evolve as the climate changes. Thus, examining adaptation strategies for cities requires a strong interdisciplinary approach involving urban planners, architects, meteorologists, building engineers, economists, and social scientists. Here we introduce a systemic modelling approach to the problem. Our four-step methodology consists of: first, defining interdisciplinary scenarios; second, simulating the long-term evolution of cities on the basis of socio-economic and land-use models; third, calculating impacts with physical models (such as TEB), and; finally, calculating the indicators that quantify the effect of different adaptation policies. In the examples presented here, urban planning strategies are shown to have unexpected influence on city expansion in the long term. Moreover, the Urban Heat Island should be taken into account in operational estimations of building energy demands. Citizens’ practices seem to be an efficient lever for reducing energy consumption in buildings. Interdisciplinary systemic modelling appears well suited to the evaluation of several adaptation strategies for a very broad range of topics.

Abstract The main aim of this article is to test Richard Florida's hypothesis regarding the spatial mobility of the ‘creative class’ and the role of soft factors in their decisions concerning their place of residence. Empirical data from 11 European cities suggest that the European ‘creative class’ is not as mobile as Florida suggests. Cultural and institutional constraints contribute to lower mobility rates in Europe. In the article the role of ‘personal trajectories’, completely disregarded until now, is highlighted. On the basis of empirical research data, the role of soft location factors in the decisions of creative workers does not seem to be as relevant as has been implied by Florida and others. These factors play only a marginal role in attracting members of the creative class to a city. On the other hand, they do indeed play an important role in retaining them once they have relocated. This provides some support for policies aimed at bringing about the type of conditions characteristic of creative cities. Résumé L'article met à l'épreuve l'hypothèse de Richard Florida concernant la mobilité spatiale de la ‘classe créative’ et le rôle des facteurs intangibles (soft factors) dans le choix du lieu de résidence de ses membres. Des données empiriques collectées dans onze grandes villes d'Europe indiquent que la classe créative européenne n'est pas aussi mobile que Florida le suggère. Des contraintes culturelles et institutionnelles contribuent notamment à y abaisser les taux de mobilité. L'article souligne l'importance des ‘trajectoires personnelles’ jusqu'à présent totalement négligées. D'après les données de l'étude empirique, les facteurs d'implantation intangibles qui entrent dans les décisions des travailleurs créatifs ne sont apparemment pas aussi importants que ce que Florida et d'autres ont donnéà entendre. Ces facteurs ne jouent qu'un rôle marginal pour attirer les membres de la classe créative vers une ville. En revanche, ils présentent effectivement un grand intérêt dans la mesure où ils aident à les retenir une fois sur place. Cet aspect vient appuyer les politiques qui cherchent à réunir les conditions caractéristiques des villes créatives.

International audience

Qui, en gestion, en politique ou en sciences sociales, n'a jamais entendu parler de “captation” des clients, des électeurs, des personnes ? Et pourtant, qui sait vraiment quels sont les ressorts et les enjeux de “la captation des publics” ? La parabole du Petit chaperon rouge suffirait-elle à circonscrire ces pratiques ? Les auteurs du présent ouvrage tentent d'éclairer ces questions à partir de terrains aussi diversifiés que les techniques marchandes (emballage, étiquetage, merchandising), la banque, les cybermarchés, la démocratie électronique, la téléphonie ou les marchés financiers. Ils nous invitent à saisir la pluralité des opérations de captation, qui vont de l'attraction à la fidélisation, en passant par l'information et la séduction. Ils nous montrent que ces pratiques consistent à articuler dispositifs techniques de gestion et dispositions sociales des publics visés. Ils nous font surtout découvrir le caractère très ambigu de ces relations qui, loin de se limiter à de simples rapports de domination ou de manipulation, ouvrent rapidement sur la figure du capteur-capté. L'importance du sujet traité, mais aussi ses enjeux théoriques, pratiques, voire politiques, intéresseront un vaste public : étudiants et chercheurs en gestion, en sciences sociales et en sciences politiques, mais aussi praticiens et simples consommateurs et/ou citoyens soucieux de mieux comprendre et peut-être de mieux maîtriser les modalités de leurs rapports quotidiens.

International audience

RÉSUMÉ Cet article propose les éléments d’un cadre théorique permettant d’analyser des situations sociales comportant une part d’imprévisibilité. S’intéresser à des ruptures, des changements soudains, c’est en partie revenir sur de vieux tabous de la sociologie et plus généralement des sciences sociales : la contingence, l’événement, l’imprévisible. Une solution possible réside dans la définition précise de ce qui est considéré comme imprévisible et dans la prise en compte de différents niveaux de temporalité, à condition d’accepter l’idée que les temps « courts » peuvent parfois influer sur les temps « longs ».

En 1993, le numéro spécial de la Revue d’Economie Régionale et Urbaine consacré aux économies de proximité fondait une approche originale de la dimension spatiale des phénomènes économiques, et donnait une première expression aux travaux du groupe « Dynamiques de proximité », dont le postulat de base consiste à dissocier la proximité dans l’espace physique d’autres formes de proximité, d’essence non spatiale. Dans cet article, nous proposons une nouvelle typologie qui s’enrichit de certains travaux de la sociologie économique. Nous opérons d’abord une distinction de base entre une proximité spatiale et une proximité socio-économique. Dans un deuxième temps, la proximité socio-économique est décomposée en une proximité de ressources et une proximité de coordination. Cette dernière est enfin décomposée en une proximité relationnelle et une proximité de médiation. Sur cette base, nous insistons sur les interdépendances entre les formes de proximité et sur l’importance des processus d’encastrement et de découplage.

BACKGROUND: Data on health inequalities related to the dynamic of SARS-CoV-2 infection in France are scarce. The aim of this study was to analyse the association between an area-based deprivation indicator and SARS-CoV-2 incidence, positivity, and testing rates between May 2020 and April 2021. METHODS: We analysed data reported to the Système d'Information de Dépistage Populationnel surveillance system between May 14, 2020 and April 29, 2021, which records the results of all SARS-CoV-2 tests in France. Residential addresses of tested individuals were geocoded to retrieve the associated aggregated units for the statistical information (IRIS) scale, corresponding to an area comprising 2000 inhabitants relatively homogenous in terms of socioeconomic characteristics. A social deprivation score was assigned to each area using the European Deprivation Index (EDI). We fitted negative binomial generalised additive models to model the age-standardised and sex-standardised ratios for SARS-CoV-2 incidence, positivity rates, and testing rates, and to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and 95% CIs of their association with EDI quintiles, using the first quintile (least deprived) as the reference category, adjusted for week, population density, and region. FINDINGS: Analyses were based on 70 990 478 SARS-CoV-2 tests, of which 5 000 972 were positive. SARS-CoV-2 incidence was higher in the most deprived areas than the least deprived areas (IRR 1·148 [95% CI 1·138-1·158]) and positivity rates were also higher (IRR 1·283 [1·273-1·294]), whereas testing rates were lower in the most deprived areas than the least deprived areas (IRR 0·905 [0·904-0·907]). SARS-CoV-2 incidence and positivity rates remained higher in the most deprived areas than the least deprived areas during the second and third national lockdowns, and variation in testing rate was observed according to population density. INTERPRETATION: Our results highlight a positive social gradient between deprivation and the risk of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, with the highest risk among individuals living in the most deprived areas and a negative social gradient for testing rate. These findings might reflect structural barriers to health-care access in France and lower capacity of deprived populations to benefit from protective measures. FUNDING: None.