La Mesure en psychologie de binet à Thurstone, 1900–1930

The French psychologist Alfred Binet is at the origin of the development of the mental test intended for diagnosing the intellectual level of children. Initially conceived as clinical tests their importation to the United States during the 1910's has considerably altered their use, significance and interpretation. Turned into political tools by eugenicists and hereditarists and used in large-scale selection operations, the tests have changed the psychologists' conception of intelligence: initially conceived as multifacted and qualitative, intelligence had become a single quantifiable entity. Within this context, the American psychologist Louis Leon Thurstone criticized the lack of exactness of the statistical tools used in the intelligence scale. Once objectivized, his method became a general law intended to account for all mental processes.     

Fashion and Consumption of Painted and Printed Calicoes in the Mediterranean during the later Seventeenth Century: The Case of Chintz Quilts and Banyans in Marseilles

This article focuses on research into fashion and consumption in the early modern Mediterranean with an emphasis on chintz quilts and banyans in Marseilles during the last third of the seventeenth century. The success of these two products is key to a better understanding of the roots and outcomes of Asian textile fashions in Europe during this period. In this analysis, we are principally interested in their manufacture, trade and marketing. This paper also highlights the importance of connections and intermediations between the two continents: sellers and purchasers, wholesalers and retailers, merchants and manufacturers and shopkeepers and their clients.     

The Importance of Context and Comparison in the Study of European Spatial Planning

The European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP) was agreed in 1999 at Potsdam, Germany, as a non-binding framework intended to guide spatially significant policy-making at different spatial scales in order to achieve a more balanced and sustainable growth of the EU territory. This paper develops a conceptualization of the nature of transnational planning frameworks such as the ESDP and presents a framework for the investigation of the application of their policy orientations in the spatial planning systems of European states. It is argued that investigations of the application of transnational spatial development frameworks like the ESDP and the ‘Territorial Agenda of the European Union’ document adopted by EU member states in 2007, need to be sensitized to the diversity of territorial contexts in which these apply, and that a contextualized and comparative approach is therefore essential in evaluating their influence in Europe's varied territories.     

Le Pragmaticisme Comme épistémologie Sociale

Charles S. Peirce is neither known nor recognized as a social philosopher. Nevertheless, a careful reading of pragmaticist texts reveals that considerations of social and political theory are not absent from the American philosopher??s reasoning. This article highlights certain deliberations regarding the critique of the individual as well as the notion of community and social institutions. It thereby attempts to surmount the philological difficulties and provide a coherent interpretation.     

On the Territoriality of Cross-Border Cooperation: “Institutional Mapping” in a Multi-Level Context

Territoriality is mostly discussed as the political competence to exert control on a certain space, in particular with regard to the nation state. Globalization and European Integration have initiated some debate on this understanding, but cross-cross-border cooperation has rarely been linked to this debate. In these areas enormous political changes have been seen during the recent years. Still, the territorial dimension cannot be addressed, as territoriality as known from nation states is challenging politics. However, the territorial implications are manifold and are increasing throughout Europe. Against this backdrop is conceptual reflection. This paper starts with a brief overview of discussions and the empirical implementation of the territoriality debate. Based on this, the paper attempts to catch up with the political changes – the reflection of cross-border territorialities in a two-fold way. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to this field.

First, we propose a methodological approach to study the essential aspects. We study from a conceptual point of view, the dimensions of territoriality in cross-border contexts. These are explored as well as the political-juridical background of cross-border cooperation. Based on this, a C-B-IM-tool (Cross-Border Institutional Mapping) has been introduced, involving three steps: (a) (a1) multi-level mapping of cross-border institutions, (b) (a2) mapping of policy arenas and (c) (a3) mapping of the political topography in the sense of going beyond formalized and codified governance patterns. Secondly, with the example of the Greater Region around Luxembourg, the empirical and conceptual findings on cross-border territoriality are illustrated. We can state an establishing cross-border territoriality that does not replace domestic, state-centric territorialities but that inserts new and complex elements of a multi-level territoriality system.