Climate change is a threat to food system stability, with small islands particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events. In Puerto Rico, a diminished agricultural sector and resulting food import dependence have been implicated in reduced diet quality, rural impoverishment, and periodic food insecurity during natural disasters. In contrast, smallholder farmers in Puerto Rico serve as cultural emblems of self-sufficient food production, providing fresh foods to local communities in an informal economy and leveraging traditional knowledge systems to manage varying ecological and (...) climatic constraints. The current mixed methods study sought to document this expertise and employed a questionnaire and narrative interviewing in a purposeful sample of 30 smallholder farmers after Hurricane María to identify experiences in post-disaster food access and agricultural recovery and reveal underlying socioecological knowledge that may contribute to a more climate resilient food system in Puerto Rico. Although the hurricane resulted in significant damages, farmers contributed to post-disaster food access by sharing a variety of surviving fruits, vegetables, and root crops among community members. Practices such as crop diversification, seed banking, and soil conservation were identified as climate resilient farm management strategies, and smallholder farmer networks were discussed as a promising solution to amass resources and bolster agricultural productivity. These recommendations were shared in a narrative highlighting socioecological identity, self-sufficiency, community and cultural heritage, and collaborative agency as integral to agricultural resilience. Efforts to promote climate resilience in Puerto Rico must leverage smallholder farmers’ socioecological expertise to reclaim a more equitable, sustainable, and community-owned food system. (shrink)

The contribution describes the legal phenomenon as a playing field characterized by a progressive regression of the law, understood as a sovereign will from top to bottom, both in the vision of formalist legal positivisms in continental Europe and in realist terms, in the United States. Soft law represents the main strategy to subordinate the law to the interests of the economy, elasticizing environmental law, making it favorable to the market, reducing ecology to the simplistic metric of CO2 emissions. The (...) consequence is a retreat of the statist vertical normativity of law which is not replaced by a de facto power granted to those who control the technology, built by design to close spaces for pluralism and democratic action, in the interest of surveillance and concentrated power in private and government oligopolies. The author concludes by advocating the urgency for genuinely innovative categories, particularly in the legal education, such as the commons, capable of including sustainability into a “new ecological jurisprudence committed to inclusion and solidarity rather than exclusion and struggle”. (shrink)

This paper focuses on accountability in school-based education in England. It explores notions of accountability and proposes a new framework for its analysis. It then identifies a number of types of accountability which are present in school-based education, and discusses each in terms of who is accountable to whom and for what. It goes on to examine the sanctions associated with each type of accountability and some possible effects of each type. School performance cross-cuts virtually all facets of accountability, but (...) is fundamental to hierarchical and market accountability where it is associated with a high likelihood of severe sanctions. This, it is argued, means that schools are likely to focus on these forms of accountability as opposed to participative or network accountabilities that involve collaboration with others. The final section proposes that there is a case for accountability systems to focus more broadly on a variety of processes and outcomes related to the overall goals of education. The existing regime in England is heavily focused on hierarchical and market accountability: a greater focus on participative and network accountability may foster a less individualistic approach to education and greater social cohesion. (shrink)

Ethical difficulties arise in health-care practices. However, despite extensive research findings that demonstrate that most nurses are involved in recurrent ethical problems, institutions are not always able to effectively support nursing care professionals. The limited availability of ethics consultation services and traditional nursing training fails to meet the frequent and strong requests by health workers to support their ethical dilemmas. A questionnaire was administered to 374 nurses attending a specialist training and a lifetime learning programme in Italy. The respondents reported (...) a high frequency of ethically sensitive situations, and they described the poor development of ethics support and a scarcity of ethics training programmes. The results suggest the importance of promoting ethics services that include consultation and ethics training. A need for systematic ethics educational activities was identified for improving the capacity of nurses to manage ethical issues in patient care. (shrink)

Initially identified as a key phosphoinositide that controls membrane trafficking at the Golgi complex, phosphatidylinositol‐4‐phosphate (PI4P) has emerged as a key molecule in the regulation of a diverse array of cellular functions. In this review we will discuss selected examples of the findings that in the last few years have significantly increased our awareness of the regulation and roles of PI4P in the Golgi complex and beyond. We will also highlight the role of PI4P in infection and cancer. We believe (...) that, with the increasing number of regulators and effectors of PI4P identified, the time is ripe for a more integrated approach of study. A first step in this direction is the delineation of PI4P‐centered molecular networks that we provide using data from low and high throughput studies in yeast and mammals. (shrink)

ObjectiveGonadotoxicity is considered one of the most distressing side effects of cancer treatment. Although fertility preservation can be a valid solution, it also involves a challenging process. A clear understanding of the features of women who decide to pursue fertility preservation after cancer diagnosis is missing. The purpose of the present study was therefore to analyze the personality profile of female patients referred to oncofertility prior to gonadotoxic treatment.MethodsFifty-two female cancer patients took part in the study. The Temperament and Character (...) Inventory-Revised, the Response Evaluation Measure-71, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Y Form were administered to examine personality characteristics, defense mechanisms, depression and anxiety symptoms.ResultsCompared with reference data of the Italian population, our sample reported significantly lower scores in Harm Avoidance and trait anxiety, and significantly higher levels of mature defense mechanisms. Most of the patients reported low scores in immature defense mechanisms, depression, and trait anxiety, and medium scores in state anxiety.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that these women display functional personality traits and defensive style, in association with low levels of depression and trait anxiety. These features may enable a proactive attitude to cancer and the ability to make long-term plans. This may favor psychological adjustment to cancer and a projection toward the future. (shrink)

Étudier les actes de requête dans les discours prononcés aux Nations Unies s’avère d’une utilité certaine dans le travail de caractérisation de ce sous-genre diplomatique. La formulation indirecte des actes de langage et les procédés linguistiques qui éloignent les sources potentielles de confrontation révèle des discours contraints par l’exercice de la « politesse », au service de l’impératif institutionnel de valorisation du consensus. Ces discours qui s’éloignent du fonctionnement du langage ordinaire transfèrent la prise en charge de l’énonciation aux États-membres (...) qui sont ici de véritables locuteurs et qui partant parlent en leur propre nom. L’on observe alors l’impact d’un contexte socio-discursif sur le fonctionnement de langue. Les requêtes formulées dans ces discours reflètent les problématiques qui préoccupent les États membres, puisque dans bien des cas, une requête peut être l’aveu d’un manque. Les verbes illocutoires donnent un bon aperçu des « façons de parler » et témoignent d’ores-et-déjà d’une routinisation des pratiques langagières. (shrink)

Objective: Fertility loss due to cancer treatment can be a devastating experience for women and the couple. Undergoing fertility preservation can be a complex decision from both a medical and emotional point of view. The aim of the present study was to evaluate which socio-demographic and psychological factors predict a high motivation to undergo fertility preservation.Methods: Fifty-eight female cancer patients who accessed an Oncofertility Unit completed: a questionnaire to collect socio-demographic characteristics and the level of motivation, the Beck-Depression Inventory-II, the (...) State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Y, and the Fertility Problem Inventory.Results: Almost half of the sample declared a high motivation. At multiple logistic regression analysis only the “Need for parenthood” subscale of the FPI predicted a high motivation. We alternatively evaluated as possible predictor the construct “Representations about the importance of parenthood” in place of the two separate subscales. At multiple logistic regression analysis, only this variable predicted a high motivation to undergo fertility preservation.Conclusion: The most important predictor of a high motivation to undergo fertility preservation is the individual desire for parenthood. This implies that, regardless of socio-demographic characteristics, any woman of childbearing age should receive an appropriate counseling about fertility preservation. (shrink)

This paper discusses the concept of climate in relation to architectural space. By elaborating on the notion of atmosphere, that today permeates a wide range of architectural research, I intend to expand its relevance by outlining a relationship between atmosphere and climate analogous to what occurs in meteorological studies. While climate represents a rather stable (if evolving) cycle of recurring conditions, atmospheric events are fleeting and less predictable. Equally, architectural spaces can establish a general climatic scaffolding that increases the possibility (...) of particular atmospheres to unfold, without however evolving into a deterministic cause-effect relationship. By addressing and comparing philosophical notions and architectural questions, I intend to formulate a novel theorisation as a useful tool for both criticism and design. (shrink)

This paper discusses the concept of climate in relation to architectural space. By elaborating on the notion of atmosphere, that today permeates a wide range of architectural research, I intend to expand its relevance by outlining a relationship between atmosphere and climate analogous to what occurs in meteorological studies. While climate represents a rather stable (if evolving) cycle of recurring conditions, atmospheric events are fleeting and less predictable. Equally, architectural spaces can establish a general climatic scaffolding that increases the possibility (...) of particular atmospheres to unfold, without however evolving into a deterministic cause-effect relationship. By addressing and comparing philosophical notions and architectural questions, I intend to formulate a novel theorisation as a useful tool for both criticism and design. (shrink)

Bien loin de ne poser que des problèmes spécifiques dont aurait à s'occuper une éthique particulière réservée à des experts, la médecine confrontée à l'appareil technoscientifique moderne nous oblige à reprendre à la base les questions les plus générales et les plus radicales concernant l'homme et sa conduite. C'est pourquoi cet ouvrage questionne la philosophie, le droit et l'éthique jusque dans leurs fondements avant d'aborder les problèmes les plus brûlants de notre actualité médicale. Dans une perspective à la fois interdisciplinaire (...) et fondamentale, nous présentons ici trois approches - philosophique, juridique et médicale qui constituent autant d'entrées possibles. Ainsi regroupées et articulées, les différences qui existent entre les rationalités, les pratiques et les discours peuvent devenir des facteurs d'enrichissement réciproque au lieu de constituer des obstacles. (shrink)

Bien loin de ne poser que des problèmes spécifiques dont aurait à s'occuper une éthique particulière réservée à des experts, la médecine confrontée à l'appareil technoscientifique moderne nous oblige à reprendre à la base les questions les plus générales et les plus radicales concernant l'homme et sa conduite. C'est pourquoi cet ouvrage questionne la philosophie, le droit et l'éthique jusque dans leurs fondements avant d'aborder les problèmes les plus brûlants de notre actualité médicale. Dans une perspective à la fois interdisciplinaire (...) et fondamentale, nous présentons ici trois approches - philosophique, juridique et médicale qui constituent autant d'entrées possibles. Ainsi regroupées et articulées, les différences qui existent entre les rationalités, les pratiques et les discours peuvent devenir des facteurs d'enrichissement réciproque au lieu de constituer des obstacles. (shrink)

An exploration of panpsychism in Harman's Object-Oriented Ontology.

Paul Mattei, Les frontières de l'Église selon la première tradition africaine (Tertullien, Cyprien, Anonyme De rebaptismate), p. 27-47. - «Hors de l'Église pas de salut » : l'article montre que cette formule de Cyprien, promise à un long avenir, s'enracine dans une définition, au demeurant complexe et parcourue de tensions, de l'Église comme sacramentum unitatis. La comparaison avec Tertullien, lui aussi «excfusiviste», fait percevoir où se situent à cet égard, entre les deux théologiens, rupture et continuité. Une présentation du (...) De rebaptismate, œuvre contemporaine de Cyprien, manifeste la difficulté qu'il y avait, au IIIe siècle, en Afrique, malgré qu'on en eût, à rompre avec la conception cyprianique ; ce qu'Augustin, plus tard, devait réussir (il est vrai pour partie seulement, mais un pas était fait) dans sa confrontation avec les donatistes. (shrink)

" Le nihilisme est devant la porte : d'où nous vient ce plus inquiétant de tous les hôtes? ", demande Nietzsche dans un fragment posthume. L'hôte est ici celui qui vient chez nous et non celui qui octroie l'hospitalité. Le nihilisme est donc cette figure étrange qui vient nous saisir dans notre maison et faire de nous, en dépit de notre résistance, des nihilistes. Mais alors, si " la catastrophe nihiliste " dont parle Nietzsche s'abat sur nous et nous pétrifie (...) sur notre propre seuil, comment devons-nous entendre la dénonciation nietzschéenne du nihilisme et sa tentative héroïque de le surmonter? Les auteurs réunis dans ce volume tentent d'éclairer le sens de la direction à prendre en ces temps obscurs où, toujours selon Nietzsche, nous ne savons plus où aller, où venir parce que nous avons perdu le sens de la terre. Le nihilisme est peut-être la seule lumière qui permet d'éclairer le caractère équivoque du monde moderne. Mais c'est une lumière noire. Ont participé à la rédaction de cet ouvrage : Yannis Constantinidès, Marc Crépon, françoise Dastur, Paolo D'Iorio, Thierry Gontier, Dominique Janicaud, Mathieu Kessler, Jean-Paul Larthomas, Marc de Launay, Jean-François Mattéi, Olivier Ponton, franco Volpi. (shrink)

Cet article s'interroge sur l'origine des quatre causes d'Aristote (formelle, matérielle, efficiente, finale), c'est-à-dire sur le coeur de la métaphysique. En effet pourquoi y a-t-il quatre causes? Qu'est-ce qui fait leur communauté et leur « systématicité »? Dans un premier temps, l'auteur montre que le système des quatre causes est articulé par deux couples d'opposition formant deux schèmes de la causalité : d'une part le couple cause formelle/cause matérielle, statique, qui renvoie à une causalité analytique (schème rationnel) ; d'autre part (...) le couple cause finale/cause efficiente, dynamique, qui renvoie à une causalité synthétique (schème causal). Dans un deuxième temps, l'A. montre que ce « système étiologique tétrapolaire » est déjà présent dans l'oeuvre de Platon : plus particulièrement dans le Timée, avec les couples d'opposition démiurge/milieu matériel (chôra) et formes intelligibles/monde sensible, mais aussi dans le Philèbe et le Sophiste, où une double opposition systématique analogique à la précédente est à l'oeuvre. Une fois mises en évidence ces « deux souches de la métaphysique », l'auteur montre que le schème rationnel l'emporte sur le schème causal, aussi bien dans l'oeuvre d'Aristote que dans celle Platon. (shrink)

« Sir, you shall present before her The Nine Worthies... as concerning some entertainment of time, some show in the posterior of this day... »« There’s no business like show business ! »Georges Duhamel voyait dans le cinéma naissant un divertissement d’ilotes. Le même mépris a pu accabler les pièces de Shakespeare dont la rudesse de langue chagrine les esprits éclairés depuis..