L’émergence de la grappe industrielle de l'intelligence artificielle (IA) à Montréal

The paper analyses the emergence of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) cluster in Montreal and investigates two questions: (1) What are the different theoretical interpretations related to the emergence of industrial cluster? And (2) What are the factors underlying the emergence of the AI cluster in Montreal and to what extent have local and global factors been decisive in this respect? The AI cluster emerges through a process that brings into play the interaction between the local initial conditions and the birth of a new industry. Moreover, it also involves an interaction between the local and the global, which is supported by interactions with foreign actors located in different parts of the world.     

The Effect of Terrain on Entheseal Changes in the Lower Limbs

One of the main factors involved in entheseal changes (EC) aetiology may be related to the physiological limits of biomechanical loading fixed during bone development, such that higher load during childhood and the adolescent growth spurt leads to a lower frequency of EC during adulthood. In this sense, it is possible that ECs may be related to overloading beyond an individual's normal physiological limits as established during childhood and adolescence. This meta‐analysis tested this aetiological possibility by studying the influence of terrain on the entheses of the lower extremities. The hypothesis is that individuals who inhabited rugged terrain have lower EC than those living in flat terrain. This is because biomechanical loads associated with rugged terrain will lead to a higher normal capacity (defined during skeletal development) mitigating the probability of overloading compared to those living in flat terrain who will therefore have a higher frequency of ECs. To test this, papers reporting EC frequencies in the lower limbs were analysed alongside the local terrain. Terrain was defined into two categories: flat or rugged based on altimetry profile, i.e. the average elevation gains and losses along four specific paths (North‐South, East‐West, Northwest‐Southeast, Southwest‐Northeast). Odds ratios were calculated to compare rugged and flat terrain. The overall results are consistent with the hypothesis that overloading is a factor in EC aetiology. However, when the analysis is conducted by sex and side, this general trend does not always occur. Limitations such as the lack of standardized age ranges could be affecting the outcome, i.e. older individuals have a higher frequency of ECs. The findings of this analysis suggest that the theoretical assumptions associated with the cause of ECs require further testing and evaluation. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Capitalist Formations of Enclosure: Space and the Extinction of the Commons

Despite their theoretical and political potential, recent debates on enclosure usually lack an effective consideration of how space is mobilized in the process of dispossession. This article connects the analysis of enclosure's general spatial rationality to a range of illustrations of its particular formations and procedures. Enclosure is understood as one of capitalism's “universal territorial equivalents”, a polymorphous technique with variegated expressions in time but also with a consistent logic that uses the spatial erosion of the commons to subsume non‐commodified, self‐managed social spaces. In response to the ever‐changing nature of commoning, successive regimes of enclosure reshape the morphologies of deprivation and their articulation to other state and market apparatuses in order to meet shifting strategies of capital accumulation and social reproduction. Through a spatially nuanced account of these phenomena, I outline a tentative genealogy of enclosure formations that allows tracking diverse geographies of dispossession across different scales and regulatory contexts in various historical stages of capitalist development.     

Turning International: Foundations of Modern International Thought and New Paradigms for Intellectual History

Summary

This essay provides an overview of the disciplinary and analytical significance of David Armitage's Foundations of Modern International Thought in the context of the new international history, and the so-called ‘international turn’. It then goes on to discuss the significance of the absence of women in this new sub-field of intellectual history.     

Quantifying how much raw material is needed: A case study based on the weight of the lithic artefacts from the Brno-Štýřice III Epigravettian site (Moravia,Czech Republic)

This paper compares the quantification of different raw materials in a chipped stone assemblage by weight and by number at the site of Brno-Štýřice III in Moravia, Czech Republic. The use of the same reduction technology for all raw materials means that the Brno-Štýřice III assemblage is a good case study. The result demonstrates that semi-local raw material tends to dominate numerically, but in terms of weight, there is a significant change in the predominant raw material. The paper contextualizes the results in relation to other assemblages and discusses the possible reasons for this phenomenon.     

Neighbourhood food environments revisited: When food deserts meet food swamps

This study uses service area–based coverage and various count regression methods to assess neighbourhood-level healthy and unhealthy food environments, and food access associated with different socio-economic groups in Edmonton, Canada. We identify three types of vulnerable neighbourhoods according to different food environments: food deserts (i.e., neighbourhoods lack sufficient access to healthy foods); food swamps (i.e., neighbourhoods have excess access to unhealthy foods); and those with overlaps of food swamps and food deserts. We also identify neighbourhoods with superior access to healthy foods (i.e., food oases). Additionally, our results from regression analyses indicate: (1) child population is negatively associated with both healthy and unhealthy food resources; (2) good access to public transportation is associated with good coverage of all healthy food outlets and convenience stores; and (3) deprived neighbourhoods with higher percentages of minority populations have better coverage of both healthy and unhealthy foods in general. The results from this study can help the City of Edmonton identify the key neighbourhoods with high potential for local business and the hotspot neighbourhoods that require particular support. Tailored strategies are proposed to effectively and efficiently improve food environments with limited resources.     

Exploring motivation crowding around farmer incentives for riparian management in Nova Scotia

Incentive programs to encourage landowners to protect habitat should be carefully designed to avoid motivation crowding: basically, replacing intrinsic reasons such as a land ethic with extrinsic ones like payments. Little research on motivation crowding tests real programs, and no such work has been done in Canada. We surveyed farmers in Nova Scotia in 2017 to explore whether participation in a new incentive program called Wood Turtle Strides, or knowledge about a similar incentive program potentially available in the future, would alter reported motivations to use riparian setbacks and buffers. Motivations to use setbacks or buffers were heavily intrinsic across all four survey cohorts: wildlife stewardship and sacrifice motivated actions more than social pressures. We were not able to statistically test for motivational crowding due to low program uptake and thus post-program survey responses, but there was no evidence of second-hand crowding: farmers being motivated by hearing about a program in an adjacent jurisdiction. Findings point to the significance of wildlife stewardship for many farmers, and persistent resistance to conservation among others, as well as a risk of low additionality. More post-program research is necessary to fully understand the program's net impact on motivations and conservation.