“Partner”, “Caregiver”, or “Co-Survivor”—Might the Label We Give the Partners of Cancer Patients Affect the Health Outcome of the Patients and Their Partners?

Having a life partner significantly extends survival for most cancer patients. The label given to the partners of cancer patients may, however, influence the health of not just the patients but their partners. “Caregiver” is an increasingly common label for the partners of patients, but it carries an implicit burden. Referring to partners as “caregivers” may be detrimental to the partnerships, as it implies that the individuals are no longer able to be co-supportive. Recognizing this, there has been some effort to relabel cancer dyads as “co-survivors”. However, many cancer patients are not comfortable being called a “survivor”, and the same may apply to their partners. Cancer survivorship, we argue, could be enhanced by helping keep the bond between patients and their partners strong. This includes educating patients and partners about diverse coping strategies that individuals use when facing challenges to their health and wellbeing. We suggest that preemptive couples’ counselling in cancer centers may benefit both patients and their partners.

Protected designation of origin as driver of change in goat production systems: Beyond added value

Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) is one of the EU tools for rural development. Most of the literature on this subject is focused on premium prices and consumers’ willingness to pay for local products, since PDO and other labels aim to provide premium incomes for farmers. Our assumption is that PDO drives unexpected changes of farming styles not only related to processing or market strategies but also related to local resources using and to stablishing of different approach to agriculture and food production. We analyzed the PDO Queso Palmero (La Palma cheese) as a case of a dual label system (brand–certification common label) because it gives us the opportunity to compare farmers involved in a PDO scheme with farmers who works outside such systems. We conclude that private brands are more important than common label certification in price formation, but both are complementary, since PDO reinforces farmers’ efforts to improve quality. Beyond premium price, PDO also drives a radical change in farm structures, since it reconnects products to local resources (grazing vs intensification) and redesigns relationships with markets (shortening and diversifying chains and widening product offer). This change is characterized by implementation of new farming strategies in the context of PDO structure that coexist with classical farming strategies closer to intensification, not only in terms of productivity but also in terms of decoupling from local resources and productive and market specialization. Therefore, PDO is a powerful tool for rural development in a wide sense (resilience, empowerment, local capacity and network formation among others) far beyond its narrow remit of promoting economic growth (local or regional). Therefore, the coupling with local resources and the strength of local network and relationships as source of resilience, knowledge and capabilities improvement, have to be included in performance assessment of GIs in order to broaden the appraisal of role in regional development. Highlights PDO as institution is a powerful tool of farm transformation not only a protection structure of collective heritage or asset. Private brand effect on price is larger than common label effect (PDO label). PDO as institution leads radical changes of goat production systems from more production – oriented toward more market – oriented styles. Market chains and product diversification, focusing on quality, concern about consumers and coupling with local resources are distinctive features of farms involved in PDO.

Will the sup be an Effective Legal Form for smes as Well as for Subsidiaries within the European Union?

In 2014, the Commission published a proposal for a Directive that introduces a single- member private limited liability company, under a common label: Societas Unius Personae (sup), into the national legislation of the eu-Member States. In this publication it is examined what kind of legal forms of capital companies already exist in the eu-Member States and whether the sup is a welcome addition. The proposed legal form of the sup is analysed in order to answer the question whether the sup is an appropriate legal form for smes and subsidiaries. Furthermore attention is paid to issues which generally arise when the European legislator attempts to introduce a new legal enterprise-form, such as the sup. The authors conclude that there are no irreconcilable differences between the laws of the eu-Member States that might hinder the introduction of the sup. Also the European principles of subsidiarity and proportionality will not constitute an obstacle.

Problematizing Social Uses of Information and Communication Technology: A Critical French Perspective

In France, the study of social uses of ICTs has given rise, since the 1980s, to a community of researchers referred to as the “sociology of uses” (sociologie des usages). Under this common label, many sociological works have been developed, primarily focused on the concept of use. In this article, we would like to briefly recall the main theories which have been the basis of research concerned with the social materiality. We would then like to recall some of the scientific requirements for the conduct of research that aim to describe and explain the social uses of ICT in an empirical and theoretical dialectic. Finally, we suggest a few ways to support a critical sociology of uses that could assess the social facts it examines.En France, l’étude des usages sociaux des TIC a notamment donné naissance, à partir des années 1980, à une communauté de chercheurs : la « sociologie des usages ». Sous ce label commun qui donne consistance et unité à ce qui n’a finalement plutôt été qu’un collège invisible, se sont développés des travaux sociologiques qui ont placé au coeur de leurs nrecherches la notion d’usage. Dans le cadre de ce court article, nous souhaiterions rappeler brièvement les principales approches théoriques sur lesquelles, en France, ces sociologies attentives à la matérialité du social ont fait fond. Nous voudrions, ensuite, souligner certaines limites de ces recherches. Enfin, nous avancerons quelques pistes pour étayer une sociologie critique des usages qui serait donc évaluatrice des faits sociaux dont elle rend compte.

The Uses of Cognition in Policy Analysis: A First Appraisal

Cognitive approaches have become very fashionable in the field of policy analysis. Nevertheless, despite a common label, cognitive policy analyses vary greatly from one author to the next. So, are policy analysts talking about the same thing? Drawing on the dichotomy established by Sperber between soft cognition and hard cognition, we guess that not all authors seek to transfer theoretical assumptions from one scientific discipline to another. In order to demonstrate this hypothesis, we propose to round out these formal categories with additional sub-divisions based on the degree of conceptual transfer from cognitive science to policy analysis..

The Avromani-speaking Area in Iran

One of the difficult tasks of linguistic geography is the clear delimitation of dialectal borders in a multi-dialectal and multi-lingual environment. Western Iran is exactly such a region, hosting a number of Iranian and non-Iranian dialects: Kurdish, Avromani, Gurani, Laki, Kalhori, Luri, Azari Turkish, etc. The demographic situation is rather complicated here as well: along with the localities that are inhabited by a single ethnic group, there are many townships and rural settlements having mixed populations of different ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. In addition, the indiscriminate use of the ethnonym Kurd, applied as a common label to almost all Iranian-speakers of the area, except for, of course, Persians. This paper tries to identify the area populated by the Avromans in the abovementioned region, with possibly accurate statistical data on the number of inhabitants, obtained through the author's personal efforts during several fieldwork periods. This is a part of a larger project on Gurani dialects, including Avromani.