Laïcité and multiculturalism: the Stasi Report in context1

French republican universalism – expressed most strongly in the principle and practice of laïcité– and multiculturalism have constituted opposite poles on questions of citizenship and integration. The report of the Stasi Commission on laïcité on 11 December 2003 and the following legislation on the donning of religious symbols in French public schools have once again, spurred debates over the meanings and practices of laïcité. The report and the law have been interpreted in different ways. Some have presented them as a reaffirmation of a historically constituted laïcité under new circumstances, others as a divergence from the real problems of racism, unemployment and gender inequality. In this article, I offer an alternative reading by supplementing a critical reading of the report with an analysis of its historical and immediate institutional context. I evaluate the Stasi Report in its immediate context of institutional change, and in the historical context of selected developments concerning laïcité since the 1905 law separating churches and State. I argue that the Stasi Report marks a fundamental break with French republican universalism, and I show that this break occurred contemporaneously with key gestures of multiculturalism: the establishment of the French Muslim Council and the creation of Muslim high schools under contract with the French state. This double movement to narrow the boundaries of laïcité, and for the state to expand the boundaries of identity‐specific, Muslim public institutions and private schooling constitutes a reorganization of the public sphere in France which qualifies as a move towards multiculturalism.     

Socioeconomic differences in early childhood time preferences

This article examines the extent to which early childhood socioeconomic differences emerge in hyperactivity, impulsivity and persistence, all of which are psychometric analogues to how economists conceptualise time discounting. We control for a wide range of factors including parental investment and proxies for maternal time preferences. Our results show substantial social class variations across measures at age 3. We find weak evidence that these measures are predicted by differential maternal behaviours (e.g. savings behaviour, smoking) but relatively stronger evidence that these traits are transmitted through the parents’ own non-cognitive skills (self-esteem, attachment) and parental time investments (time spent reading to the child and teaching the child to write, sing).     

Conflicts in the habitus: the emotional work of becoming modern

This article argues that Bourdieu's concept of habitus, and, in particular, the way habitus is transmitted intergenerationally, can be enhanced by considering conflictual conscious and unconscious processes that emerge in relationships. We suggest that Christopher Bollas's discussions of the ‘unthought known’ and of ‘transformational objects’ add relational depth to the concept of habitus and thus contribute to developing a more psycho‐social understanding of the relation between agency and change. Drawing on in‐depth interviews with a socially mobile chain of a middle‐class grandmother, mother and daughter in a period of rapid change, we describe how conflicts in the habitus are produced relationally and can either impede or motivate desires for change. Relational and object relational psychoanalytic theories offer a way to move beyond what we consider a problem in Bourdieu's theory of habitus that derives from his assumption of a subject who either consciously opts for change in habitus when faced with new social demands or non‐consciously and unconflictually reproduces habitus.     

2,3,7-三羟基-9-(3,5-二溴-2-羟基)苯基荧光酮-CTMAB胶束荧光熄灭法测定微量钛(IV)

在阳离子表面活性剂存在下 ,依据Ti(IV) - 2 ,3,7-三羟基 - 9- (3,5-二溴 - 2 -羟基 )苯基荧光酮 (简称DBSPF)体系的荧光熄灭效应 ,拟定了一种采用荧光法测定微量钛的新分析方法 在pH5 2～ 6 8的HAc-NaAc缓冲溶液介质中 ,钛 (IV)与DBSPF形成 1 :3的无荧光络合物 试剂最大激发波长和发射波长分别为 362nm和 559nm 钛 (IV)含量在 5 0 μg/Ll范围内 ,钛浓度与荧光熄灭量呈现良好的线性关系 ,方法检测线为 (0 1～2 4) μg/ 2 5ml 拟定方法用于合金钢中微量钛的测定 ,结果满意     

Youth‐oriented active labour market policies and economic crisis: Explaining policy effort in Greece and Portugal

The starting point of this study is the implementation of seemingly similar youth‐oriented labour market policies in Greece and Portugal. Both countries have suffered high youth unemployment rates and have been pressured to restructure their labour market as part of the rescue programmes adopted during the European sovereign debt crisis. Despite convergence in terms of policy trajectories, there is a significant divergence in employment outcomes. In Portugal, youth‐oriented policies were better‐targeted and structured. Their implementation has been more effective and has involved the social partners from the outset of the crisis. In Greece, policy design failures, administrative weaknesses and unfavourable macroeconomic conditions have limited the dynamics of youth‐oriented policies thus increasing youth insecurity. Τhe analysis suggests that convergence in policy content can be compatible with divergence in terms of outcomes.     

Tâches,professions et salaires dans les pays de l'OCDE

Les auteurs examinent la relation entre les gains, le capital humain et les tâches. Ils reprennent le modèle théorique d'Autor et Handel (2013), tout en élargissant l'analyse empirique à 21 pays, grâce aux données de l'enquête de l'OCDE sur les compétences des adultes (PIAAC). Celles‐ci permettent en outre de caractériser plus précisément le capital humain des travailleurs, en fournissant une mesure directe des compétences cognitives. L'analyse empirique confirme l'influence du contenu en tâches de l'emploi sur les écarts de salaire, à la fois entre les catégories professionnelles et en leur sein. Les prédictions du modèle se vérifient dans la grande majorité des pays.     

Estimation of causal continuous‐time autoregressive moving average random fields

We estimate model parameters of Lévy‐driven causal continuous‐time autoregressive moving average random fields by fitting the empirical variogram to the theoretical counterpart using a weighted least squares (WLS) approach. Subsequent to deriving asymptotic results for the variogram estimator, we show strong consistency and asymptotic normality of the parameter estimator. Furthermore, we conduct a simulation study to assess the quality of the WLS estimator for finite samples. For the simulation, we utilize numerical approximation schemes based on truncation and discretization of stochastic integrals and we analyze the associated simulation errors in detail. Finally, we apply our results to real data of the cosmic microwave background.     

China’s development of a multi‐tier pension system

China has made a number of major changes to its pension system in the period 2014–2020, and is in the process of establishing a multi‐tier old‐age pension system, consisting of programmes provided by the government, voluntary programmes provided by enterprises, and voluntary programmes established by individuals. Policy objectives are to reduce the fragmentation in its pension system; deal with population ageing; and diversify risks by involving the government, enterprises as well as individuals. This article shows that while China has a complex system for urban workers, the coverage provided by its multi‐tier system is uneven, with the second and third tiers being in the early stages of development.     

Technologie,délocalisations et tâches constitutives des professions au Royaume‐Uni

Les auteurs examinent l'évolution des tâches accomplies par les travailleurs au Royaume‐Uni entre 1997 et 2006, qu'elle soit due à une reconfiguration des professions elles‐mêmes (marge intensive) ou à une variation de leur part respective dans l'emploi (marge extensive). Ils se fondent notamment dans cet examen sur des données de la Skills Survey, enquête britannique sur les compétences. Leur analyse montre que la variation à la marge intensive est notable et aussi importante que la variation à la marge extensive. Une analyse économétrique fait ressortir en outre que le progrès technique joue un rôle dans l'évolution à la marge intensive, mais pas les délocalisations.