NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
L'articulation entre le rapport de Socrate aux dieux et son rapport à la raison : le cas du signe divin

To very few philosophers the history of the Western thought granted a place  as significant as to Socrates: we quite naturally learn how to identify him as a hero of  rationality and to recognize in him the very figure of the critical philosopher. In  several respects, this representation of praise appears justified to us, although, from  another point of view, it can make us sink in confusion, since our glance carries  simultaneously, and like producing a contrast, on the image of Socrates obeying to  the daimonion, his uncanny divine sign. How can we justify, starting from the  Platonic corpus, both the engagement of Socrates with respect to rationality and his  subordination to a seemingly irrational phenomenon?  From this disconcerting question was born the present study which is thus  devoted to the problem of the articulation between the relation of Socrates to the  gods and his relation to the critical reason. More precisely, we sought to determine if  there existed, on the epistemological level, a hierarchy between the daimonion and  the method of rational investigation peculiar to Socrates, the elenchos. Such an  exegetic study required, initially, a systematic and thorough analysis of the few  passages related to the divine sign. We then adduced two paradigmatic solutions, that  of G. Vlastos as well as that of T.C. Brickhouse and N.D. Smith. Lastly, we added to  this second part besides a specific examination of Phaedrus and Timaeus, also a  broad survey of the modes of divination, satisfying a triple aim: to make sense of the  divine sign in comparison with the traditional art of mantic, to determine the role  allotted by Plato to the reason in the divinatory process, and thus to be able to solve  our principal question.

Keyphrases: Platon, Socrate, Divination, Daimonion, Elenchos, Plato, Socrates, Greek religion, Rationalism, Epistemology, Divination, Divine sign, Daimonion, Elenchos
Étude spectroscopique d'étoiles naines blanches riches en hélium de type DB et DBA

New model atmospheres are presented, including improved neutral helium lines from Beauchamp (1995) and the occupation probability formalism for that atom. These models are used to compute a grid of synthetic spectra for helium rich atmospheres with different hydrogen abundances. This grid is used to determine the principal atmospheric parameters of the stars in our sample, e.g. effective temperature, surface gravity and hydrogen abundance. There are 102 high quality spectra of helium-rich white dwarfs in our sample, making it the largest sample of this kind. 29 of these spectra were observed for this project. Synthetic spectra using different values of the α parameter from the mixing length theory have been calculated in order to determine the correct value of this parameter for DB model atmospheres. Finally, we have computed the mass distribution of our sample and the DB luminosity funtion. The mass distribution shows a clear cutoff at 0.5 solar masses which is predicted by stellar evolution theory and gives a significantly higher mean mass for the DBA stars of the sample. However, the global mean mass of our sample is very close to that of DA stars. With our luminosity function, we found a number ratio of DB stars over DA stars of about 25%.

Keyphrases: Stars : white dwarfs, Stars : luminosity function, Models : mixing length
Redundancy gain : manifestations, causes and predictions

Response times in a visual object recognition task decrease significantly if targets can be distinguished by two redundant attributes. Redundancy gain for two attributes is a common finding, but redundancy gain from three attributes has been found only for stimuli from three different modalities (tactile, auditory, and visual). This study extends those results by showing that redundancy gain from three attributes within the visual modality is possible. It also provides a more detailed investigation of the characteristics of redundancy gain. Apart from a decrease in response times for redundant targets, these include a decrease in minimal response times and an increase in symmetry of the response time distribution.   This study further presents evidence that neither race models nor coactivation models can account for all characteristics of redundancy gain. In this context, we discuss the problem of calculating an upper limit for the performance of race models for triple redundant targets, and introduce a new method of evaluating triple redundancy gain based on performance for double redundant targets. In order to explain the results from this study, the cascade race model is introduced. The cascade race model consists of several input channels, which are triggered by a cascade of activations before satisfying a single decision criterion, and is able to provide a unifying approach to previous research on the causes of redundancy gain.   The analysis of the characteristics of response time distributions, including their mean, symmetry, onset, and scale, is an essential tool in this study. It was therefore important to find an adequate statistical test capable of reflecting differences in all these characteristics. We discuss the problem and importance of analysing response times without data loss, as well as the inadequacy of common methods of analysis such as the pooling of response times across participants (e.g. Vincentizing) in the present context.   We present tests of distributions as an alternative method for comparing distributions, response time distributions in particular, the most common of these being the Kolmogorov-Smirnoff test. We also introduce a test yet unknown in psychology: the two-sample Anderson-Darling test of goodness of fit. We compare both tests, presenting conclusive evidence that the Anderson-Darling test is more accurate and powerful: when comparing two distributions that vary (1) in onset only, (2) in scale only, (3) in symmetry only, or (4) that have the same mean and standard deviation but differ on the tail ends only, the Anderson-Darling test proves to detect differences better than the Kolmogorov-Smirnoff test. Finally, the Anderson-Darling test has a type I error rate corresponding to alpha whereas the Kolmogorov-Smirnoff test is overly conservative. Consequently, the Anderson- Darling test requires less data than the Kolmogorov-Smirnoff test to reach sufficient statistical power.

Keyphrases: Coactivation, Redundancy gain, Analysis of response time distributions, Coactivation
Évolution des systèmes quantiques ouverts :
décohérence et informatique quantique

Quantum information processing, briefly introduced in Chapter 1, relies on quantum correlations, namely on entanglement. Those correlations are difficult to maintain since a typical quantum system is not closed, but interacting with its environment. The analysis of an open quantum system requires specific tools which we introduce in Chapter 2. Using these concepts, we show in Chapter 3 that the interaction between the system and its environment will distinguish certain quasi-classical states, suggesting the emergence of a classical world from a quantum one. Furthermore, the entanglement created between the system and its environment will destroy the coherence of a superposition of such quasi-classical states. This phenomenon of decoherence exhibits mechanisms which we highlight in our original study of a quantum gyroscope in chapter 4. We demonstrate that a particle with large spin, used to measure the angular momentum of electrons, loses its coherence on a timescale much shorter than the characteristic timescale of relaxation. To protect the coherence of a system, essential to quantum information processing, several techniques have been developed. We briefly review them at the beginning of Chapter 5, before introducing a novel approach based on the preparation of the environment. Our analysis characterizes the existence of initial states of the environment allowing for decoherence-free evolution of the system in a large class of models in which the system interacts with a dynamical environment.

Keyphrases: Transition quantique-classique, Decoherence, Open quantum system, Quantum information, Quantum-to-classical transition
Les fonds mutuels éthiques américains : la présence de croyances organisationnelles au cœur de la performance sociale et financière

There are many ways to classify ethical mutual funds. One of them is to focus on the kinds of organizational beliefs we could identify in such funds. There are ethical mutual funds in which we could find out financial-oriented beliefs that try to explain or justify the choices made by the fund managers. Some other ethical mutual funds are rather characterized by their social-oriented beliefs that justily their social criteria. In some cases, ethical mutual funds have both kinds of beliefs. We have analyzed here three ethical mutual funds (Parnassus Equity Income Fund, Calvert Social Investment Fund Equity Portfolio", "Domini Social Equity Fund") in order to see if ethical mutual funds having financial-oriented and/or social-oriented beliefs would have a better financial performance than the S & P 500. We have found that the fund that has the better financial performance in comparison with the S & P 500 was the financial-oriented ethical mutual fund. The two other funds having social- oriented beliefs have a lower financial performance in comparison with the S & P 500.

Keyphrases: philosophy, ethics, economics, Ethical mutual funds, organizational beliefs, Social and financial performance, Ethical mutual funds, organizational beliefs, Social and financial performance
Relating Fragile States to Social and Human Fragilities

Fragile States is a way of naming this particular category of states that have weak performance, insufficient service delivery, weak administrative and government power, and lack of legal rules. Little consideration is usually made to the fact that their own societies may also be fragile and easily jeopardised by inappropriate economic measures or external events. Poverty traps and social exclusion, unjust inequalities with lack of equity, feelings of insecurity and vulnerability, usually undermine the social fabric. Moreover, the people bear their own internal fragilities, which are based on the lack of capabilities and recognition, and interfere in the relationships between the groups that constitute the society. Therefore, dealing with the issue of fragility requires to consider various decision levels, from the personal one to the State level. Such an approach could allow fragile states to conceive preventive policies that would avoid the surge of a political crisis resulting from the combination of social conflict and individual failure.

Keyphrases: philosophy, ethics, economics, Capability Approach, Fragile States, Poverty, Public Policy, Vulnerability
Rôle de l’extrémité C-terminale dans l’expression du canal calcique Cav1.2 à la membrane plasmique

The L-type calcium channel, Cav1.2, plays an important role in the excitation-contraction coupling of the ventricular myocytes. It has been shown that the alternative splicing of Cavα1.2 subunit could lead to a truncated protein in the C-terminus at exon 45 (Liao, Yong et al. 2005). Many groups have studied deletions in the C-terminus (De Jongh, Warner et al. 1991; Gao, Cuadra et al. 2001). The currents, measured in the whole cell configuration, were significantly higher with the full-length channel. We chose to test some of these deletions (ΔC2030, ΔC1935, ΔC1856, ΔC1733, ΔC1700) in the presence or absence of the Cavβ3 auxiliary subunit which is likely to interact with the C-terminus of the Cavα1.2 subunit through its SH3 domain (Lao, Kobrinsky et al. 2008). The truncated Cavα1.2 subunit, expressed in Xenopus Oocytes, showed macroscopic currents that were greater than those of the full length channel in presence of the Cavβ3 subunit. In addition, the truncated Cavα1.2 subunits displayed currents in the absence of the Cavβ3 subunit in contrast with the Cavα1.2 full length subunit. To investigate whether the larger macroscopic currents resulted in an increase in the number of Cavα1.2 subunits at the plasma membrane, we chose the FACS (« Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting ») method. An HA-tag was inserted in an extracellular region of the Cavα1.2 subunit and a FITC (« Fluorescein IsoThioCyanate ») coupled anti-HA antibody was used to measure fluorescence. Our results showed that the Cavα1.2-HA subunit of L- type channel is expressed at the plasma membrane in the presence of the Cavβ3 subunit whereas the Cavα1.2-HA subunit is slightly or not expressed at the plasma membrane in its absence. The same results were obtained for the three C-terminal deletions tested under the same conditions (CaVα1.2-HA ΔC1935, CaVα1.2-HA ΔC1856 and CaVα1.2-HA ΔC1733). Taken together, these results suggest that the increased macroscopic currents observed after a partial deletion of the C-terminus is not caused by an increased number of Cavα1.2 proteins expressed at the plasma membrane. Keywords:

Keyphrases: Calcium, Gating, FACS, Electrophysiologie, Calcium, Ion channel, Gating, Directed Mutagenesis, FACS, Electrophysiology, Western-blot
La difficile prise en compte des inégalités socio- économiques par le commerce équitable: le cas du quinoa andin

This paper argues that fair trade schemes in the quinoa market of south Bolivia are not an effective instrument to reduce social inequalities. Beyond the façade of fair trade marks and labels, the reality of Bolivia points to an important way in which customer expectations are disappointed.

Keyphrases: Bolivia, Fair Trade, Inequalities
Praxiology of evil: Thinking about threats and their effectiveness

How can one rationally imagine the strategies of threat if one wishes to influence the actions of others? In this paper, the author attempts to show that threats of coercion do not function in dual situations without a social context. He shows that they only function if one adds social elements such as institutions. In other words, the effective threats between rational subjects function only if they are reinforced by institutions. It is a type of Hobbesian argument which shows that social power does not exist in the natural state. Social power is a social construction.

Keyphrases: Philosophy, Ethics, Economics, threat, wickedness, social institution, méchanceté, cruauté, institution sociale
What Is the Point of Development Ethics?

Research and teaching in societal development ethics face potentially four fundamental types of objection: first, that ethics is obvious already; second, that it is instead impossible, on epistemological grounds; third, that it is theoretically possible but in practice fruitless; and fourth, that it is in any case politically insignificant. The paper presents qualified rebuttals of the four objections. In the process of doing so, it builds up a picture of this field of thought and practice: its modes, methods and alternative forms of organization, and some of its pitfalls and potentials, exemplars and achievements.

Keyphrases: Philosophy, Ethics, Economics, development ethics, methodology of ethics, impact of ethics
Teaching ethics to employees of a state public utilities company in a developing country: A case study

In this case study of an ethics seminar, taught as the final module in a graduate program for public employees of a water works agency, we explore the results of several strategies used to emphasize the need for changes in personal and institutional behavior in order to improve service to customers. In particular, we explore some ways to openly discuss corrupt practices in a non-trivial manner without offending sensibilities or provoking indifference. As a starting point, participants are asked to point out institutional problems which they characterize as ethical, although some of them are seen later to belong in other categories. To avoid a purely theoretical approach to duties and obligations towards customers, these are derived from the mission of the agency as stated by the law which created it.

Keyphrases: Philosophy, Ethics, Economics, professional ethics, ethics teaching, institutional change, customers' rights, waterworks
The Money Question and the Good Life

This paper proposes a theory of the good life for use in answering the question how much money the rich should spend on fighting poverty. The paper moves from the abstract to the concrete. To begin with, it investigates various ways to get an answer to the question what is good, and finds itself drawn to objective theories of the good. It then develops, taking Bernard Williams and Martha Nussbaum as its guides, a broad outline of a theory of the good. It holds that something evil happens to people if they do not have a real choice from a reasonable number of projects that realize most of their key capacities to a certain degree, and in connection to this it points to the great importance of money. The paper goes on specifically to consider what criticisms of Nussbaum's version of the capability approach are implied in this outline of a theory of the good. Next, it gets more specific and asks how much money the rich can give -and how they can be restricted in spending their money- without suffering any evil. It does three suggestions: the tithe suggestion, the ecological (or footprint) suggestion, and the fair trade suggestion. To conclude, the paper returns to the question how much money the rich should spend on fighting poverty.

Keyphrases: Philosophy, Ethics, Economics, Good life, Capabilities
L’effet à long terme de la nutrition parentérale totale néonatale sur le métabolisme énergétique

Because of prematurity or other medical and surgical conditions, many infants require total parenteral nutrition (TPN) during the neonatal period. The metabolic impacts and adverse effects that can be observed during TPN administration and secondary to exposure of the TPN solutions to light have been studied. The concept that fetal and early life events result in permanent metabolic alterations is now accepted. However, long term consequences of neonatal TPN administration are unknown. The aim of the current study was to examine long term effects of a short neonatal period of total parenteral nutrition on adult energy metabolism. Between their third and their seventh day of life, guinea pigs received light-exposed or light-protected TPN and were compared to animals who were enterally fed. After day 7, all three groups received a similar nutrient intake provided exclusively enterally. The animals who received TPN display lower weight gain, enhanced catabolic state and have lower concentrations of energy substrates such as glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides. At 3 month, their liver has lower concentrations of cholesterol and triglycerides and display changes in enzymatic activity. Photoprotection of TPN lowers weight gain and liver concentrations of cholesterol and triglycerides. To our knowledge, our study is the first to explore long term effects of neonatal TPN. It opens the door to human studies that will, hopefully, improve the care of this population of fragile and immature newborns.

Keyphrases: programmation, photoprotection, total parenteral nutrition, energy metabolism, growth, programming, fatty acids, liver
Amibes à potentiel pathogène dans les unités dentaires

It has been well documented that the various tubing of a dental unit are covered with a thick biofilm. This biofilm mostly consists of bacteria, but amoebae can be found within the biofilm as well. Some amoebae are potential pathogens and may cause serious infections. Two cases of amoebic infections that were possibly linked with dental units drew our attention and stimulated our researches. Morphologic identification of amoebae in order to determine their possible pathogenicity requires much expertise, and is even difficult for proficient protozoologists. Therefore, the use of PCR is essential to detect potentially pathogenic amoebae with subjectivity. We elaborated new primers for the detection of Acanthamoeba spp. and Naegleria spp. Samples of water and dirt were taken in the environment, and samples of water and biofilm were taken in dental units. A part of each samples was cultivated for morphological identification, when a second part was utilized for PCR identification. Acanthamoebae and/or Naegleriae were detected in 100% of our samples, but the species varied from one sample to another. Potentially pathogenic amoebae were detected in dental units and in the environment, which could represent a health risk for some individuals.

Keyphrases: Acanthamoeba, Naegleria, PCR, Biofilm, Amoeba, Acanthamoeba, Dental Unit
Analyse bayésienne et élicitation d’opinions d’experts en analyse de risques
et particulièrement dans le cas de l’amiante chrysotile

Characterizing the carcinogenic potency of chrysotile asbestos fibres relies a great deal on subjective and uncertain judgements by experts and analysts, given heterogeneous and equivocal results of important epidemiological and toxicological studies. The probabilistic Bayesian approach in risk assessments quantifies these subjective judgements and their uncertainties, along with their impact on risk estimations, but it is rarely used in the public health context. This report examines how the Bayesian approach could have been applied to a recent elicitation of experts’ opinions to estimate the toxicity of chrysotile asbestos, the degree of convergence and divergence, as well as the uncertainty levels of these experts. The experts’ estimations on the relative toxicity of chrysotile and amphibole asbestos were similar in the case of mesothelioma. However, in the case of lung cancer, the heterogeneity of the studies resulted in diverging and incompatible probabilistic evaluations. The experts’ judgements seemed influenced by heuristic biases, particularly the affect and anchor heuristics associated with a controversial topic and to heterogeneous data. If the elicitation process had been prepared following a rigorous methodology, these heuristics and biases could have been mitigated.

Keyphrases: expert, bayesian, asbestos, heuristic, expert, elicitation, toxicity