TITRE : L'ART ORATOIRE DANS LE DOMAINE COMPTABLE INDUIT-IL UN RISQUE SPECIFIQUE ?

La présentation de l'information comptable a pris le pas sur l 'élaboration des comptes, générant à la fois un risque actionnarial de surréaction à l'annonce des résultats prévisionnels et définitifs, un risque salarial d'incompréhension sur la portée réelle du résultat net comptable et de mépris de la part des dirigeants plus soucieux d'efficacité informationnelle que de transparence comptable et financière. L'analyse de ce triple risque repose sur une approche linguistique dont la finalité consiste à démontrer que la présentation des comptes constitue un art oratoire susceptible d'influencer les motivations psychologiques et sociologiques des producteurs et utilisateurs de l'information comptable.Risque actionnarial; risque salarial; mépris; résultat net comptable; bénéfice; charges; psycholinguistique; psychologie cognitive; sociolinguistique; endogroupe; exogroupe; théorie des conflits réels; théorie de l'identité sociale; discours comptable; langage comptable.

L'art oratoire dans le domaine comptable induit-il un risque spécifique ?

International audienceLa présentation de l'information comptable a pris le pas sur l 'élaboration des comptes, générant à la fois un risque actionnarial de surréaction à l'annonce des résultats prévisionnels et définitifs, un risque salarial d'incompréhension sur la portée réelle du résultat net comptable et de mépris de la part des dirigeants plus soucieux d'efficacité informationnelle que de transparence comptable et financière. L'analyse de ce triple risque repose sur une approche linguistique dont la finalité consiste à démontrer que la présentation des comptes constitue un art oratoire susceptible d'influencer les motivations psychologiques et sociologiques des producteurs et utilisateurs de l'information comptable

How to coexist with fire ants: The roles of behaviour and cuticular compounds

tBecause territoriality is energetically costly, territorial animals frequently respond less aggressively toneighbours than to strangers, a reaction known as the “dear enemy phenomenon” (DEP). The contrary,the “nasty neighbour effect” (NNE), occurs mainly for group-living species defending resource-basedterritories. We studied the relationships between supercolonies of the pest fire ant Solenopsis saevissimaand eight ant species able to live in the vicinity of its nests plus Eciton burchellii, an army ant predatorof other ants. The workers from all of the eight ant species behaved submissively when confrontedwith S. saevissima (dominant) individuals, whereas the contrary was never true. Yet, S. saevissima weresubmissive towards E. burchellii workers. Both DEP and NNE were observed for the eight ant species, withsubmissive behaviours less frequent in the case of DEP. To distinguish what is due to chemical cues fromwhat can be attributed to behaviour, we extracted cuticular compounds from all of the nine ant speciescompared and transferred them onto a number of S. saevissima workers that were then confronted withuntreated conspecifics. The cuticular compounds from three species, particularly E. burchellii, triggeredgreater aggressiveness by S. saevissima workers, while those from the other species did not

Non-interactive fish communities in the coastal streams of North-western France

1. Spatial patterns of freshwater fish species at regional and local scales were investigated to explore the possible role of interspecific interactions in influencing distribution and abundance within communities occupying coastal streams of North-Western France. 2. Nine sites from nine streams situated in the same biogeographical region were sampled annually over the 6-year period from 1990 to 1995. 3. Similar habitats (sites) with richer regional colonization pools exhibited proportionally richer local communities in terms of number of species, total density and total biomass of individuals. Furthermore, no negative relationships were found between density and biomass of each of the most common species and local species richness. 4. Results of dynamic regression models (applied to the above-mentioned species) suggest an absence of strong competition between all pairs of species. 5. The evidence on lack of density compensation for species-poor communities and absence of perceptible interspecific competition between species suggest that the communities studied are non-interactive. 6. Two main explanations can be advanced. First, the local abundance of species in the communities studied could be determined through differential responses to unpredictable environmental changes, rather than through biological interactions. Second, as a result of historical events, the communities studied are reduced in congeneric species which can limit, in turn, the influence of interspecific competition in structuring these communities. 7. These results underline the strong influence of regional processes in shaping local riverine fish communities and minimize the possible influence of species interactions in governing these communities

Non-interactive fish communities in the coastal streams of North-western France

1. Spatial patterns of freshwater fish species at regional and local scales were investigated to explore the possible role of interspecific interactions in influencing distribution and abundance within communities occupying coastal streams of North-Western France. 2. Nine sites from nine streams situated in the same biogeographical region were sampled annually over the 6-year period from 1990 to 1995. 3. Similar habitats (sites) with richer regional colonization pools exhibited proportionally richer local communities in terms of number of species, total density and total biomass of individuals. Furthermore, no negative relationships were found between density and biomass of each of the most common species and local species richness. 4. Results of dynamic regression models (applied to the above-mentioned species) suggest an absence of strong competition between all pairs of species. 5. The evidence on lack of density compensation for species-poor communities and absence of perceptible interspecific competition between species suggest that the communities studied are non-interactive. 6. Two main explanations can be advanced. First, the local abundance of species in the communities studied could be determined through differential responses to unpredictable environmental changes, rather than through biological interactions. Second, as a result of historical events, the communities studied are reduced in congeneric species which can limit, in turn, the influence of interspecific competition in structuring these communities. 7. These results underline the strong influence of regional processes in shaping local riverine fish communities and minimize the possible influence of species interactions in governing these communities

"Freshwater killer whales": beaching behavior of an alien fish to hunt land birds

The behavioral strategies developed by predators to capture and kill their prey are fascinating, notably for predators that forage for prey at, or beyond, the boundaries of their ecosystem. We report here the occurrence of a beaching behavior used by an alien and large-bodied freshwater predatory fish (Silurus glanis) to capture birds on land (i.e. pigeons, Columbia livia). Among a total of 45 beaching behaviors observed and filmed, 28% were successful in bird capture. Stable isotope analyses (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) of predators and their putative prey revealed a highly variable dietary contribution of land birds among individuals. Since this extreme behavior has not been reported in the native range of the species, our results suggest that some individuals in introduced predator populations may adapt their behavior to forage on novel prey in new environments, leading to behavioral and trophic specialization to actively cross the water-land interface

Food-web structure in relation to environmental gradients and predator-prey ratios in tank-bromeliad ecosystems

Little is known of how linkage patterns between species change along environmental gradients. The small, spatially discrete food webs inhabiting tank-bromeliads provide an excellent opportunity to analyse patterns of community diversity and food-web topology (connectance, linkage density, nestedness) in relation to key environmental variables (habitat size, detrital resource, incident radiation) and predators: prey ratios. We sampled 365 bromeliads in a wide range of understorey environments in French Guiana and used gut contents of invertebrates to draw the corresponding 365 connectance webs. At the bromeliad scale, habitat size (water volume) determined the number of species that constitute food-web nodes, the proportion of predators, and food-web topology. The number of species as well as the proportion of predators within bromeliads declined from open to forested habitats, where the volume of water collected by bromeliads was generally lower because of rainfall interception by the canopy. A core group of microorganisms and generalist detritivores remained relatively constant across environments. This suggests that (i) a highly-connected core ensures food-web stability and key ecosystem functions across environments, and (ii) larger deviations in food-web structures can be expected following disturbance if detritivores share traits that determine responses to environmental changes. While linkage density and nestedness were lower in bromeliads in the forest than in open areas, experiments are needed to confirm a trend for lower food-web stability in the understorey of primary forests

Le risque de réputation en situation de communication de crise

Considérée comme la somme des opinions passées et présentes impactant l’avenir, la réputation d’une entreprise conditionne tout autant son image de marque que sa valeur boursière. Limiter le risque de réputation implique d’adapter sa politique de communication en situation de crise en anticipant les fluctuations erratiques d’une opinion publique guidée par des logiques mimétiques. Au travers de quatre cas spécifiques, BP, la SNCF, Adecco et la Société Générale, le risque de réputation est analysé au travers du prisme de son impact sur la gouvernance des entreprises étudiées.The reputation of a company, representing the sum of past and present opinions impacting its future, influences its image as much as its market value. To limit the reputational risk of a company implies adapting its crisis communication policy by anticipating erratic fluctuations of a public opinion driven by mimetic logic. Based on four specific cases –BP, SNCF, Societe Generale and Adecco– reputational risk is analyzed through the prism of its impact on corporate governance

From individual to shared responsibility for financial crime

Analysing individual acts committed by financial criminals requires not only addressing the collective perception of individual responsibility but also the need for shared responsibility in the fight against financial crime. Given that financial crime impacts both on the functioning and financing of society, this paper highlights the need to explore the far-reaching implications of every criminal act. Engaging the necessary resources to effectively and collectively combat this scourge cannot be achieved if analysis is restricted to the nature of criminal acts and motives of the perpetrators

Transit-Oriented Development in San Diego County: Incrementally Implementing a Comprehensive Idea

While transit-oriented development (TOD) has become an increasingly popular planning idea, very few studies have examined how localities plan for and implement transit oriented projects. This paper helps fill that gap by studying the TOD implementation process near stations on the oldest of the current generation of light rail lines – the San Diego Trolley. Interviews with planning directors in the region, supplemented by zoning data, archival research, and inspection of station-area land use, all suggest that TOD is a niche market in the region. There are several barriers which have constrained TOD implementation in San Diego County. TOD projects have been pursued most aggressively in cases where those barriers are less severe or do not apply. Overall, we argue that each city, while being sympathetic to regional rail goals, works within a framework of local goals and constraints. The net result is regional TOD implementation which resembles the incremental model of policy-making first popularized by Lindblom (1959). One implication of this is that a comprehensive reshaping of station-area land use will, at best, take years to be realized