Corporate Social Responsibility before CSR Practices at the Company Aluminium du Cameroun, 1950s-1970s.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a relatively recent phenomenon for companies and their stakeholders. However, we cannot ignore its historical roots. Many companies, especially in industry, developed social and environmental policies and practices a long time ago. These practical and historical dimensions still remain absent from the academic literature on CSR. In this paper, we set out to study a case over an extended period—from 1950s until 1970s—in order to understand how manufacturers took into account the various economic, social and environmental aspects of their activity, when they made an investment and subsequently ran an aluminium production site. The case of the company Alucam, implanted in Cameroon, shows how manufacturers integrated the Triple Bottom Line well before the ‘invention’ of CSR. Since i ts creation in 1957, this plant designed to produce primary aluminium has systematically applied a policy that simultaneously integrated the economic, environmental and social impacts of its activity. However, such visible permanency masks important changes in the way that CSR has been applied over time. This case study provides a better understanding of the process of building CSR in the aluminium industry. With that goal in mind, our methodology is historical. Research was mainly carried out by means of studying the Alucam archives. Such empirical research, highlighting the reality of the practices implemented in companies, constitutes an original contribution to the history of CSR.responsabilité sociale des entreprises; case study; history; environment; development; paternalism; Corporate Social Responsibility;

L'entreprise verte et les boues rouges. Les pratiques controversées de la responsabilité sociétale à l'usine d'alumine de Gardanne (1960-1966)

La responsabilité sociétale de l'entreprise (RSE) qui fait l'objet depuis quelques années de travaux de recherche abondants et féconds (Aggeri et al., 2005 ; Capron & Quairel Lanoizelée, 2004 ; Igalens et Joras, 2002), a des racines historiques largement méconnues. La multiplication récente des discours d'entreprises produits sur le sujet ne fait que révéler la problématisation d'un phénomène dont on trouve des traces dans l'histoire des entreprises. L'objet de cet article est précisément d'illustrer, au travers d'un cas approfondi, comment une entreprise a, dès les années 1960, tenté de gérer un problème d'environnement entre volonté d'anticipation et contraintes. Ce n'est pas la première fois que Pechiney (ou une de ses sociétés constitutives) est confronté à la question environnementale . C'est pourquoi quand, au cours des années 1960, ses dirigeants envisagent de déverser les boues rouges issues de la production d'alumine dans la Méditerranée, l'entreprise se fait « verte » en anticipant les éventuelles conséquences de cette décision. Pechiney entame ainsi un exercice de responsabilité sociétale précoce en programmant, avant même d'officialiser la décision du déversement, une série d'études destinées à montrer l'innocuité de celui-ci.histoire; responsabilité sociétale

Les herbivores sympatriques peuvent-ils être en compétition en période hivernale ? : [P43/12]

L'utilisation des ressources alimentaires par les herbivores dépend de contraintes intrinsèques, telle que la taille corporelle et les caractéristiques morpho-physiologiques qui déterminent les aliments qu'ils tolèrent et les contraintes environnementales, telles que les interactions interspécifiques, qui déterminent la disponibilité des ressources. Nous avons analysé 150 panses d'herbivores vivant en sympatrie (chevreuils #Capreolus capreolus#, chamois #Rupicapra rupicapra#, mouflon #Ovis musimon gmelini# et le cerf #Cervus elaphus#) sur le massif des Bauges afin d'étudier leurs chevauchements alimentaires. Les quatre espèces herbivores étudiées sont classées sur le gradient "brouteurs-paisseurs". Les résultats montrent que le chevreuil est l'espèce la plus différente des 3 autres. Le cerf et le chamois ont un régime alimentaire à base de graminées avec en complément du troène, du sapin et des dicotylédones dans le cas du chamois et du lierre et des pommes dans le cas du cerf. En revanche, le mouflon a un régime alimentaire basé que sur des graminées et le chevreuil a un régime basé sur de la ronce, du sapin et du lierre. Nous constatons également que le chevreuil utilise la ressource plus riche (fort N/ADF) par rapport aux 3 autres espèces. Le mouflon a un chevauchement alimentaire important avec le chamois et le cerf en hiver, tandis que la similitude dans le régime alimentaire avec le chevreuil est faible. Nous pouvons conclure qu'un fort chevauchement dans la ressource alimentaire peut créer de la compétition entre herbivores, mais seulement si les ressources sont limitées et que les espèces utilisent les mêmes habitats. (Texte intégral

Evidence of reduced individual heterogeneity in adult survival of long-lived species

The canalization hypothesis postulates that the rate at which trait variation generates variation in the average individual fitness in a population determines how buffered traits are against environmental and genetic factors. The ranking of a species on the slow-fast continuum - the covariation among life-history traits describing species-specific life cycles along a gradient going from a long life, slow maturity, and low annual reproductive output, to a short life, fast maturity, and high annual reproductive output - strongly correlates with the relative fitness impact of a given amount of variation in adult survival. Under the canalization hypothesis, long-lived species are thus expected to display less individual heterogeneity in survival at the onset of adulthood, when reproductive values peak, than short-lived species. We tested this life-history prediction by analysing long-term time series of individual-based data in nine species of birds and mammals using capture-recapture models. We found that individual heterogeneity in survival was higher in species with short-generation time ( 4 years). Our findings provide the first piece of empirical evidence for the canalization hypothesis at the individual level from the wild

A protocol for assessing bias and robustness of social network metrics using GPS based radio-telemetry data

Background: Social network analysis of animal societies allows scientists to test hypotheses about social evolution, behaviour, and dynamic processes. However, the accuracy of estimated metrics depends on data characteristics like sample proportion, sample size, and frequency. A protocol is needed to assess for bias and robustness of social network metrics estimated for the animal populations especially when a limited number of individuals are monitored. Methods: We used GPS telemetry datasets of five ungulate species to combine known social network approaches with novel ones into a comprehensive five-step protocol. To quantify the bias and uncertainty in the network metrics obtained from a partial population, we presented novel statistical methods which are particularly suited for autocorrelated data, such as telemetry relocations. The protocol was validated using a sixth species, the fallow deer, with a known population size where ∼85% of the individuals have been directly monitored. Results: Through the protocol, we demonstrated how pre-network data permutations allow researchers to assess non-random aspects of interactions within a population. The protocol assesses bias in global network metrics, obtains confidence intervals, and quantifies uncertainty of global and node-level network metrics based on the number of nodes in the network. We found that global network metrics like density remained robust even with a lowered sample size, while local network metrics like eigenvector centrality were unreliable for four of the species. The fallow deer network showed low uncertainty and bias even at lower sampling proportions, indicating the importance of a thoroughly sampled population while demonstrating the accuracy of our evaluation methods for smaller samples. Conclusions: The protocol allows researchers to analyse GPS-based radio-telemetry or other data to determine the reliability of social network metrics. The estimates enable the statistical comparison of networks under different conditions, such as analysing daily and seasonal changes in the density of a network. The methods can also guide methodological decisions in animal social network research, such as sampling design and allow more accurate ecological inferences from the available data. The R package aniSNA enables researchers to implement this workflow on their dataset, generating reliable inferences and guiding methodological decisions

Identifying the environmental drivers of corridors and predicting connectivity between seasonal ranges in multiple populations of Alpine ibex (Capra ibex) as tools for conserving migration

Aim Seasonal migrations, such as those of ungulates, are particularly threatened by habitat transformations and fragmentation, climate and other environmental changes caused by anthropogenic activities. Mountain ungulate migrations are neglected because they are relatively short, although traversing heterogeneous altitudinal gradients particularly exposed to anthropogenic threats. Detecting migration routes of these species and understanding their drivers are therefore of primary importance to predict connectivity and preserve ecosystem functions and services. The populations of Alpine ibex Capra ibex have all been reintroduced from the last remnant source population. Despite a general increase in abundance and overall distribution range, ibex populations are mostly disconnected but display intra-population migrations. Therefore, its conservation is strictly linked to the interplay between external threats and related behavioural responses, including space use and migration. Location Austria, France, Italy and Switzerland. Methods By using 337 migratory tracks from 425 GPS-collared individuals from 15 Alpine ibex populations distributed across their entire range, we (i) identified the environmental drivers of movement corridors in both spring and autumn and (ii) compared the ability of a connectivity modelling algorithm to predict migratory movements between seasonal ranges of the 15 populations, using either population-specific or multipopulation datasets, and three validation procedures. Results Steep, south-facing, snow-free slopes were selected while high elevation changes were avoided. This revealed the importance of favourable resources and an attempt to limit energy expenditures and perceived predation risk. The abilities of the modelling methods we compared to predict migratory connectivity from the results of those movement analyses were similar. Main Conclusions The trade-off between energy expenditure, food and cover was the major driver of migration routes and was overall consistent among populations. Based on these findings, we provided useful connectivity models to inform conservation of Alpine ibex and its habitats, and a framework for future research investigating connectivity in migratory specie

Istradefylline protects from cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity and peripheral neuropathy while preserving cisplatin antitumor effects

Cisplatin is a potent chemotherapeutic drug that is widely used in the treatment of various solid cancers. However, its clinical effectiveness is strongly limited by frequent severe adverse effects, in particular nephrotoxicity and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. Thus, there is an urgent medical need to identify novel strategies that limit cisplatin-induced toxicity. In the present study, we show that the FDA-approved adenosine A2A receptor antagonist istradefylline (KW6002) protected from cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity and neuropathic pain in mice with or without tumors. Moreover, we also demonstrate that the antitumoral properties of cisplatin were not altered by istradefylline in tumor-bearing mice and could even be potentiated. Altogether, our results support the use of istradefylline as a valuable preventive approach for the clinical management of patients undergoing cisplatin treatment

Therapeutic targeting of cathepsin C::from pathophysiology to treatment

Cathepsin C (CatC) is a highly conserved tetrameric lysosomal cysteine dipeptidyl aminopeptidase. The best characterized physiological function of CatC is the activation of pro-inflammatory granule-associated serine proteases. These proteases are synthesized as inactive zymogens containing an N-terminal pro-dipeptide, which maintains the zymogen in its inactive conformation and prevents premature activation, which is potentially toxic to the cell. The activation of serine protease zymogens occurs through cleavage of the N-terminal dipeptide by CatC during cell maturation in the bone marrow. In vivo data suggest that pharmacological inhibition of pro-inflammatory serine proteases would suppress or attenuate deleterious effects of inflammatory/auto-immune disorders mediated by these proteases. The pathological deficiency in CatC is associated with Papillon-Lefèvre syndrome. The patients however do not present marked immunodeficiency despite the absence of active serine proteases in immune defense cells. Hence, the transitory pharmacological blockade of CatC activity in the precursor cells of the bone marrow may represent an attractive therapeutic strategy to regulate activity of serine proteases in inflammatory and immunologic conditions. A variety of CatC inhibitors have been developed both by pharmaceutical companies and academic investigators, some of which are currently being employed and evaluated in preclinical/clinical trials

La médiathèque Philippe Vial de Voiron : harmonisation de la politique documentaire sur le segment « documentaires » de Voiron en lien avec la charte réseau

Dans le cadre d’un master 1 Métiers du livre et de l’édition, j’ai effectué mon stage à la médiathèque Philippe Vial de Voiron. Ce rapport de stage rend compte de mon expérience professionnelle dans une médiathèque territoriale et tête de réseau comprenant dix-neuf bibliothèques. Dans ce travail, la structure et ses activités de traitement de documents, de valorisation et de médiation auprès des publics sont appréhendées sous le prisme du réseau. Ma mission d’harmonisation de la collection des documentaires au secteur adulte s’est organisée autour des problématiques de désherbage et de politique documentaire dans le cadre du réseau du Pays Voironnais. Dans ce rapport de stage, j’entreprends de développer une méthodologie de désherbage adaptée à la structure et à ses spécificités pour répondre aux attentes des responsables de la collection et de fait aux attentes et besoins du public