Search Results (191)

In French-speaking Belgium, new science curricula are being introduced for pupils aged 12 to 15 and will gradually be implemented in classrooms until 2028. At a time when the reference frameworks for the rest of the compulsory curriculum (ages 16 to 18) are being rebuilt, we wanted to ascertain—via qualitative and textometric analyses—the importance of inquiry-based approaches in the new common core reference framework (ages 12 to 15), as well as in the current upper secondary framework (ages 16 to 18) it is being developed to replace. More broadly, we examine and compare the ways in which didactic research findings on these approaches, and the major epistemological orientations underlying them, are operationalised; in this way, we draw up some guidelines for rewriting upper secondary science reference frameworks. Our analysis shows that the common core reference framework is much more explicit about epistemological orientations and inquiry-based approaches than that for upper secondary, although it does not include research in science didactics. Full article

In the adoptive family, discourses of love have been mobilized to attach the adoptee to the intimate space of the nuclear family, thereby detaching them from other spaces and meaningful others. In this article, I engage with the question of what kinds of love have been erased in the adoptive family, how understandings of love impact upon adoptees’ subjectivity and which ways of imagining the self, in its connection to present and absent others, thereby become disabled. In order to assess whether alternative understandings of love, self and kinship can be imaginable within the adoptive family, I turn towards two works of autofiction written by adoptees: Shâb ou la nuit by the French author Cécile Ladjali and The girl I am, was and never will be by US author Shannon Gibney. In examining their articulations of love and the difficulties of finding words for that which might exist outside of dominant, quasi-hegemonic discourses, I draw on Maria Lugones’ articulation of love as connected to her theory of world-traveling. This enables us to understand adoption narratives and searches as attempts to reconnect with pre-existing worlds and meaningful others, made inaccessible by the Euromodern institution of adoption. Full article

Land cover mapping is essential for territorial management due to its links with ecological, hydrological, climatic, and socioeconomic processes. Traditional methods use discrete classes per pixel, but this study proposes estimating cover fractions with Sentinel-2 imagery (20 m) and AI. We employed the French Land cover from Aerospace ImageRy (FLAIR) dataset (810 km² in France, 19 classes), with labels co-registered with Sentinel-2 to derive precise fractional proportions per pixel. From these references, we generated training sets combining spectral bands, derived indices, and auxiliary data (climatic and temporal variables). Various machine learning models—including XGBoost three deep neural network (DNN) architectures with different depths, and convolutional neural networks (CNNs)—were trained and evaluated to identify the optimal configuration for fractional cover estimation. Model validation on the test set employed RMSE, MAE, and R² metrics at both pixel level (20 m Sentinel-2) and scene level (100 m FLAIR). The training set integrating spectral bands, vegetation indices, and auxiliary variables yielded the best MAE and RMSE results. Among all models, DNN2 achieved the highest performance, with a pixel-level RMSE of 13.83 and MAE of 5.42, and a scene-level RMSE of 4.94 and MAE of 2.36. This fractional approach paves the way for advanced remote sensing applications, including continuous cover-change monitoring, carbon footprint estimation, and sustainability-oriented territorial planning. Full article

This article focuses on the experience of internal exile in Samuel Beckett’s work, focusing on two fundamental axes: bilingualism and silence. Beckett’s conscious switch from English to French after World War II is not an aesthetic or practical choice, but an act of linguistic self-exclusion, through which he repositions himself in the face of word and meaning. Drawing on Derrida’s concept of the “monolingualism of the other” and Kristeva’s definition of the foreigner, this study treats bilingualism not as an expressive enrichment, but as a sign of a deep division within the creative subject. Meanwhile, silence is not seen as an absence of speech, but as the most sincere form of expression, a way of giving voice to what cannot be said. Analyzing works such as The Unnamable, Not I, and Krapp’s Last Tape, the article argues that Beckett does not write about exile, but from a permanent state of exile, conditioned not by geographical space, but by separation from language, identity, and meaning. The article aims to bring a new approach to the literature of exile, considering it as a fundamentally linguistic and existential experience, beyond the usual framework of national identity or cultural affiliation. Full article

Background/Objectives: Speech perception typically takes place against a background of other speech or noise. The present study investigates the effectiveness of segregating speech streams within a competing speech signal, examining whether cues such as pitch, which typically denote a difference in talker, behave in the same way as cues such as speaking rate, which typically do not denote the presence of a new talker. Methods: Native English speakers listened to English target speech within English two-talker babble of a similar or different pitch and/or a similar or different speaking rate to identify whether mismatched properties between target speech and masker babble improve speech segregation. Additionally, Dutch and French masker babble was tested to identify whether an unknown language masker improves speech segregation capacity and whether the rhythm patterns of the unknown language modulate the improvement. Results: Results indicated that a difference in pitch or speaking rate between target and masker improved speech segregation, but when both pitch and speaking rate differed, only a difference in pitch improved speech segregation. Results also indicated improved speech segregation for an unknown language masker, with little to no role of rhythm pattern of the unknown language. Conclusions: This study increases the understanding of speech perception in a noisy ecologically valid context and suggests that there is a link between a cue’s potential to denote a new speaker and its ability to aid in speech segregation during competing speech perception. Full article

The growing number of public one-way and two-way immersion schools (French/German) in the Swiss cantons of Bern, Jura, and Neuchâtel has resulted in an increased need for teachers who are explicitly prepared for those schools. This need led to the thoughtfully conceptualized two-way immersion curriculum “Cursus bilingue/Bilingualer Studiengang,” jointly offered by two universities of teacher education located in the French- and German-speaking areas of Switzerland. This study explores the professionalization process of future primary teachers from Bern, Jura, and the bilingual program who are confronted with professional requirements. A scientific tool, used in a longitudinal perspective (2020–2023), documents how students of the two-way immersion and the French and German programs (n = 1021) weigh these requirements in the competence and challenge dimensions. A linear mixed-effects model was used to analyze their appraisal within each dimension across time and context. Independently of the context, the competence weighting increases for all students between t₁ and t₃. However, the challenge weighting exhibits a peak at t₂ in all contexts, maybe due to the consciousness-raising of faced challenges after half of the program. With teaching internships in two linguistic regions, two-way immersion students demonstrate a capacity for adaptability. Research-based and practitioner-informed implications for an induction program aiming to foster the further professionalization needed to master the new complexities during the career-entry stage are presented. Full article

Background: The success of forensic genetics has led to considerable numbers of DNA samples that must be stored. For example, the genetic casework unit of the forensic institute of the French gendarmerie analyzes more than 70,000 casework samples per year mainly from swabs that are fully consumed during DNA extraction. The only way to process further analyses is to preserve DNA. Currently, the most common technique used for the long-term preservation of DNA is to freeze the extracted DNA at −20 °C or −80 °C. However, this preservation method involves significant constraints (large equipment), risks (equipment failure), and is not ecologically sustainable due to its high energy consumption. Many solutions for DNA preservation at room temperature exist based either on fibrous supports or on anhydrobiosis. However, few studies have examined the efficiency of these systems in preserving very-low DNA amounts, such as those in forensic samples (≤1 ng), while ensuring full recovery and the ability to retest the samples many years later. Methods: We choose to evaluate the ability of the anhydrobiosis technology from GenTegra^® LLC to preserve DNA extracts from one month to one accelerated year from different DNA quantities (from 1 ng to 0.2 ng) and sources (NIST, mocked samples, and true casework mixtures). We studied the quantity, integrity of DNA, and also the quality of the STR genetic profiles obtained. Results and Conclusions: Our results prove the high potential of this technology to preserve and to allow an effective recovery of the DNA extracts for forensic purposes. Full article

Given the highly contested nature of the debate over secularization in modern literature, this paper examines the ways in which four contemporary French novelists address questions of human and divine absence in their fiction, focusing on Joël Egloff’s J’enquête, Gaspard-Marie Janvier’s Le dernier dimanche, Jérôme Ferrari’s Le sermon sur la chute de Rome, and Sylvie Germain’s Tobie des marais. It argues that some of the most pressing questions of our secular age—including questions of intersubjectivity and human and divine absence—are addressed in these competing narratives of secularization. It then examines Jean-Louis Chrétien’s notion of cardiognosie, or knowledge of the heart, and his argument that profanation, rather than secularization as such, is of central importance in the modern novel’s construction of meaning before concluding with a close reading of Jérôme Ferrari’s Le sermon sur la chute de Rome and a consideration of the heart in Sylvie Germain’s Tobie des marais as a first step toward establishing the means by which profanation has been faced and overcome in recent fictional texts. Full article

To optimize the management of groundwater resources in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (BFC, France) region, data from the Size-Eaux database were cross-referenced with the French Reference Framework for Groundwater Bodies (GWB). The information contained in this dataset was synthesized using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), followed by Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering (AHC) of GWBs based on their average coordinates along the main factorial axes. The results reveal 11 distinct GWB groups, each internally homogeneous in terms of chemical composition and ongoing processes responsible for intra-group variability. The distribution of the groups aligns with the region’s structural geology, lithology, and agricultural activity patterns. Livestock farming areas, prone to fecal contamination, and cereal-growing areas, characterized by high nitrate concentrations, stand out distinctly. Furthermore, the analysis of GWB groups highlights regional processes such as denitrification, confirming the existence of spatial structuring of these mechanisms beyond local specificities. The major physicochemical and bacteriological zones show strong contrasts between groups while maintaining significant internal homogeneity. Despite the region’s vast size and diversity, spanning three major watersheds, further subdivision was not necessary to obtain applicable results. These findings confirm observations made in other regions and pave the way for an optimized monitoring and surveillance strategy. Full article

Background/Objectives: Different strategies were proposed to enhance dyslexic children’s performance. This study aimed to investigate the effect of combined cognitive and motor training on reading, writing, and motor coordination in dyslexic children. Methods: Twenty-four children with dyslexia (9.33 ± 0.48 years) were randomly allocated to either a Control (CG, 9.25 ± 0.45 years, n = 12) or a Trained Group (TG, 9.42 ± 0.51 years, n = 12). The intervention lasted eight weeks with a pre/post measurement (Δ) design in each group. It consisted of a combined cognitive and motor program composed of two 45 min sessions per week in TG. Reading and writing capabilities were measured using the word reading task based on the French battery (BALE) and the word dictation task, inspired by the ODÉDYS-2 French battery, respectively. The visuospatial orientation and the upper limb coordination parameters were evaluated using the Judgment of Line Orientation Test and Bruininks–Oseretsky test of motor proficiency, second edition, short form test, respectively. Results: Two-way ANOVA for repeated measures showed no significant difference between CG and TG in pre-intervention in all tests. Reading (p < 0.001, d = 1.19, Δ% = 15.07) and writing (p < 0.001, d = 1.13, Δ% = 19.69) scores increased significantly at post-compared to preintervention in the TG group. Comparable results were obtained in the visuospatial orientation (p < 0.001, d = 0.97, Δ% = 63.50) and the upper limb coordination (p < 0.001, d = 0.69, Δ% = 110.42) scores. No significant change was observed in CG comparing pre/post-intervention. Conclusions: A combined cognitive and motor training program could allow better cerebellar integration, leading to the improvement in reading, writing, and motor abilities in children with dyslexia. Further studies on a larger number of dyslexic children will be necessary to explore such issues. Full article

This article analyzes the French fairy tale “La Belle et la Bête” (“Beauty and the Beast”), the German folk tale “Das singende springende Löweneckerchen” (“The Singing Springing Lark”), and the Spanish folk tale “El lagarto de las siete camisas” (“The Lizard with the Seven Shirts”) from the vantage point of feminist fairy tale studies and posthumanism. In particular, the article discusses the ways in which the female protagonists and their enchanted, beastly husbands become-with-each-other. The relationships between the female protagonists and their husbands are here taken as indicative of a recognition of the necessary, but often complex and disharmonic, allyship between the human and the nonhuman. The tales showcase different degrees of feminist potential and different ways of acknowledging such transcorporeal interrelations. Moreover, while they arguably transmit patriarchal and aristocratic lessons, their potential for challenging anthropocentric thinking emerges in an affirmative reading. Hence, this article seeks to demonstrate the eco-activist potential of the Western fairy tale tradition. Full article

The humanities are often criticised for lacking a way through from the complexity they reveal to the challenges they might hope to address. In the face of the accelerating biodiversity crisis, we present two projects that aim to respond to the limitations and lack of interdisciplinary conversations in conservation and in humanities research. At field sites in Finnish Lapland and the French Pyrenees, we document how conservation humanities research can be used to develop a more pragmatic and integrated transdisciplinary approach to conservation in remote and fragile landscapes. Firstly, we show how sound and soundscapes are important subjects of study in both conservation biology and the humanities. We also highlight their importance to conservation planners and policy makers seeking to preserve biodiversity and landscape characteristics, as well as our social values thereof, which, together, are critical to their survival. Secondly, we demonstrate how integrated conservation humanities methods can lead to rich local-level insights on key conservation themes that can then be scaled via existing large-scale acoustic monitoring and spatial datasets to support decision making across much larger areas. Finally, we highlight how the participatory mapping approach at the core of our integrated methodology shows potential to generate change in the real world and meet the classic operationalisation challenge that academia faces. Full article

Background/Objectives: The methylation status of the O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter in gliomas has emerged as a critical biomarker for prognosis and treatment response. Conventional methods for assessing MGMT promoter methylation, such as methylation-specific PCR, are invasive and require tissue sampling. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was performed in compliance with the updated PRISMA 2020 guidelines within electronic databases MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, and IEEE Xplore. Search terms, including “MGMT”, “methylation”, “glioma”, “glioblastoma”, “machine learning”, “deep learning”, and “radiomics”, were adopted in various MeSH combinations. Original studies in the English, Italian, German, and French languages were considered for inclusion. Results: This review analyzed 34 studies conducted in the last six years, focusing on assessing MGMT methylation status using radiomics (RD), deep learning (DL), or combined approaches. These studies utilized radiological data from the public (e.g., BraTS, TCGA) and private institutional datasets. Sixteen studies focused exclusively on glioblastoma (GBM), while others included low- and high-grade gliomas. Twenty-seven studies reported diagnostic accuracy, with fourteen achieving values above 80%. The combined use of DL and RD generally resulted in higher accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity, although some studies reported lower minimum accuracy compared to studies using a single model. Conclusions: The integration of RD and DL offers a powerful, non-invasive tool for precisely recognizing MGMT promoter methylation status in gliomas, paving the way for enhanced personalized medicine in neuro-oncology. The heterogeneity of study populations, data sources, and methodologies reflected the complexity of the pipeline and machine learning algorithms, which may require general standardization to be implemented in clinical practice. Full article

The region of Lorraine in France witnessed the collapse of the steel industries in the late twentieth century, causing massive job losses and social devastation. Daewoo Electronics, a division of one of the great Korean conglomerates of the 1980s and 1990s, came to Lorraine in eastern France in 1987. It was lured there by generous French government subsidies and the chance to enter the European market. It opened three factories in consumer electronics and components, and also nearly acquired Thomson Multimédia, a state-owned consumer electronics factory, from the French government “for a single symbolic franc”. The resulting uproar, from political opponents and Thomson and Daewoo employees, ended the deal and soured its relationship with France. Daewoo employed just over a thousand people before it closed in 2003, a result of the collapse of the entire Daewoo Group. This article places this sequence of events, widely covered in the media, in the context of French anxiety about globalization, the loss of industrial substance, and France’s place in a changing world. It examines the process of privatization, and the ways in which it went so badly wrong in the Thomson case. This episode occurred at a critical juncture in the transformation of industrial capitalism into a service and digital economy. Full article

Our understanding of social cognition in brachycephalic dog breeds is limited. This study focused specifically on French Bulldogs and hypothesized that a closer relationship between dog and owner would improve the dogs’ understanding of nonverbal cues, particularly pointing gestures. To investigate this, we tested twenty-six dogs and their owners in a two-way object choice test in which the familiar person pointed to the bowl. As understanding of pointing gestures is influenced by human–animal interaction, we used the Monash Dog Owner Relationship Scale (MDORS) to assess various aspects of the dog–owner relationship, including dog–owner interaction, emotional closeness, and negative aspects of dog ownership and measured salivary oxytocin levels. This study examined the dogs’ correct choices and their straight approach patterns to a reward bowl. Several factors influenced the two measures of social cognition, such as the age and sex of the dog, dog–owner interaction, emotional closeness, and the choice time (time it took the dog to reach the reward bowl), but also that neutered dogs and those with no training history showed better cognitive performance. We found a very high number of correct choices, which could be attributed to the owners’ high scores on the dog–owner interaction scale. Oxytocin showed no direct effect on these measures. To increase the generalizability of the results, we suggest future studies focus on more than one breed to capture the temporal development of the owner–dog relationship and social cognitive abilities. Full article