French Output Research Articles

French vocabulary development of early-elementary students in a dual language immersion program: The role of out-of-school input and output

Aims: The current study seeks to better understand the effects of input quantity, input quality, and output on the French vocabulary development of early-elementary school students attending a French–English dual language immersion (DLI) program in the United States. Design: The participants were 42 early-elementary students attending a French–English DLI program, who participated in a longitudinal study. At the beginning of the study, they experienced variability in out-of-school French input and output. Data and analysis: Data on out-of-school French input and output came from parents’ responses on a survey. Children’s French receptive vocabulary was measured using their scores on the Échelle de Vocabulaire en Images Peabody, while their French expressive vocabulary was measured using the number of different words employed on a picture description task. Their vocabulary skills were assessed over one year, and data from the five time points were used to fit a longitudinal growth model. Findings: Students who were exposed to more French input had higher scores on the French receptive vocabulary measure at baseline, whereas those who produced more French output had higher scores on the French expressive vocabulary measure at baseline. Maternal French proficiency had no significant effect on French receptive and expressive vocabulary scores at baseline. Originality: Few previous studies, if any, have analyzed the associations between input, output, and vocabulary development in the DLI context; that is, the extent to which children’s vocabulary trajectories in the partner language are affected by their out-of-school input and output experiences. Implications: Bilingual programs ought to emphasize both input and output in the target language given their unique contribution to children’s receptive and expressive language skills. Also, future research on bilingual vocabulary development should examine input and output in both languages.

Excellence everywhere? Regional development of French scientific output and visibility

ABSTRACTThis paper investigates the notion of scientific ‘excellence’ at the heart of public research policies by comparing it with the situation regarding the regional development of scientific activity in France. The case presented is based on bibliometric analysis of chemistry publications in French cities between 1985 and 2010, during which the policies of excellence were still not effective. It is asserted that the trend was towards an identical level of excellence across the country's different cities and that the dynamics of regional cities depends on them being ‘equipped’ with researchers, internationalized and specialized in emerging fields.

Public spending structure, minimal state and economic growth in France (1870–2010)

There is now a vast literature on the effects of the various functional components of public spending on growth. This contribution focuses on the effects of the composition of public spending on growth with reference to France for the period 1870–2010. Using a new database we show that the only functional component of expenditure that clearly contributes to the growth of French output is the expenditure which is aimed at the protection of property rights. Public interventions in support of the economy, on the other hand, have no impact on growth. In the area of social spending, only health expenditure contributes to output growth. In the case of France the empirical evidence therefore seems to confirm not only the crucial importance of the protection of property rights highlighted by neo-institutional theory, but also Smith's minimal state hypothesis: the restriction of the size of the state and the delimitation to its essential functions tends to favour output growth.

The First World War in Bande dessinée Scholarship

Bruno Denechere and Luc Revillon, 14-18 dans la bande dessinee: Images de la Grande Guerre de Forton a Tardi ['World War I in [Franco-Belgian] comics: Images of the Great War from Forton to Tardi'], Collection La bulle au Carre (Turquant: Cheminements, 2008), 167 pp. isbn 978-2-84478-697-5 (euro24). Vincent Marie and L'Historial de la Grande Guerre, Images de la Grande Guerre dans la bande dessinee de 1914 a aujourd'hui ['Images of the Great War in Comics from 1914 to the Present'] (Milan: 5 Continents Editions, 2009). 111 pp. isbn 978-88-7439-518-7 (euro25). In the world of comics one French artist appears to have garnered a monopoly on the representation of the First World War, or so it seemed during the 1970s and 1980s. Whenever the Great War was mentioned by European comic book readers, it was never long before the name of Jacques Tardi came up. His fascinating work on this dramatic period has appealed to many, but Tardi was neither the first nor the last to portray the Great War in comics. The war was present in the relatively young comics medium soon after the outbreak of the international conflict in 1914 and it is currently featured on a regular basis in the works of both prominent and lesser-known comics writers. However, this does not mean that the First World War has maintained a constant share in the largely increased comics production during the last century, as is made clear in two recent studies. 14-18 dans la bande dessinee: Images de la Grande Guerre de Forton a Tardi was written by Luc Revillon, historian and comics book author, and history teacher Bruno Denechere. Their dedication of the book to their grandfathers who fought in the First World War signals their personal interest in this historical episode. Their overall goal is to present a panorama of the themes, viewpoints and tones used in the comics-art representation of the First World War and, by doing so, to clarify how comics artists participated in the cultural history of their time. In particular, they show that comic strips have changed a lot since 1914, developing from a medium for children to a medium that appeals especially to adults and adolescents. In the introductory chapter, 'Drawing the War', Revillon and Denechere offer a short overview of the various comics publications in which stories about the Great War were published. Ignoring the images d'Epinal tradition, they cover the children's magazines published during the First World War period, the post-Second World War Uncle Paul stories (Les Belles histoires de l'oncle Paul ['Uncle Paul's Beautiful Stories']) in the Franco-Belgian comics weekly Spirou, and the more recent publications in hardcover comics for an adult readership. In the first instance, the authors make very fruitful use of six French children's magazines published during the Great War: Les Belles Images ['Beautiful Images'], L'Etoile noeliste ['The Christmas Star'], La Jeune France ['Young France'], Les Trois Couleurs ['The Three Colours'], L'Epatant ['The Swell'] and La Semaine de Suzette ['Suzette's Week']. Unfortunately it remains unclear why these titles were selected from the approximately fifteen relevant titles. Do they represent a certain variety in socio-political background of the involved publishing firms? Were there differences between the intended and reached (male or female) audience? These questions remain unanswered. The second chapter is 'un dossier specifique' entirely devoted to Jacques Tardi, a treatment that is explained by his inevitable position as a point of reference. This position is clearly illustrated by the fact that over 10 per cent of the BD titles listed in this study's bibliography, which covers the French comics output on the First World War since the 1970s, are works by Tardi. Denechere and Revillon consider him a man with a mission - to present the horror of real warfare - and characterise his work as hostile towards heroism and patriotism. Not only do Tardi's representations of life in the trenches not include any heroes in the traditional sense, he does not even have a main protagonist. …

France in the global economy: a structural approximate dynamic factor model analysis

This study identifies the main shocks that cause fluctuations in French output and their channels of transmission. It uses a large-dimensional structural approximate dynamic factor model. There are three main findings. First, common shocks, especially demand shocks, which seem to originate from the U.S., play an important role in explaining French economic activity. While international trade, relative prices, and foreign direct investment (FDI) flows are the main channels of transmission, the stock market, consumer confidence, and interest rates also matter. Second, France’s integration with the rest of the world has increased over time. Third, there is some tentative evidence of regional components in explaining French output fluctuations; country-specific components also contribute. The predominance of exogenous factors affecting French output, the asymmetry in the transmission of shocks, and France’s participation in a currency area argue for making French goods, services, and labor markets as flexible as possible.

Open access developments in France: the HAL Open Archives System

ABSTRACTThis article presents an overview of open access publishing and open access archiving in France. In natural sciences, most articles are published in international journals; authors must therefore comply with the policies of their publishers, irrespective of their nationality. For humanities and social sciences, where publication tends to be distributed among many small journals, portals have been created to provide electronic publishing, with varied access policies. Open archives repositories have been in existence in France since 2001; from 2006, a proactive policy led the main research agencies and universities to coordinate their actions towards a common archiving platform, HAL (Hyper Articles on Line), operated by CNRS (Centre National pour la Recherche Scientifique), with individual portals, either thematic or institutional. HAL stores now the majority of open access records – presently some 10–15% of French output – and is growing almost exponentially.

Transfer problem dynamics: Macroeconomics of the Franco-Prussian war indemnity

We study the classic transfer problem using the largest historical example, the Franco-Prussian War indemnity of 1871–1873 which saw France transfer to Germany 25% of a year's GDP. A dynamic, two-country model allows for debt finance, supply-side effects, and controls for wartime spending. The model can fit the historical paths of French net exports and the terms of trade. But explaining French output and consumption requires additional shocks. These results illustrate the usefulness of the DSGE approach to the transfer problem and provide striking evidence of the importance of international capital markets in the 19th century.

France in the Global Economy: A Structural Approximate Dynamic Factor Model Analysis

This study identifies the main shocks that cause fluctuations in French output and their channels of transmission. It uses a large-dimensional structural approximate dynamic factor model. There are three main findings. First, common shocks, especially demand shocks, which seem to originate from the U.S., play an important role in explaining French economic activity. While international trade, relative prices, and FDI flows are the main channels of transmission, the stock market, consumer confidence, and interest rates also matter. Second, France's integration with the rest of the world has increased over time. Third, there is some tentative evidence of regional components in explaining French output fluctuations; countryspecific components also contribute. The predominance of exogenous factors affecting French output, the asymmetry in the transmission of shocks, and France's participation in a currency area, argue for making French goods, services, and labor markets as flexible as possible.

France in the Global Economy: A Structural Approximate Dynamic Factor Model Analysis

This study identifies the main shocks that cause fluctuations in French output and their channels of transmission. It uses a large-dimensional structural approximate dynamic factor model. There are three main findings. First, common shocks, especially demand shocks, which seem to originate from the U.S., play an important role in explaining French economic activity. While international trade, relative prices, and FDI flows are the main channels of transmission, the stock market, consumer confidence, and interest rates also matter. Second, France's integration with the rest of the world has increased over time. Third, there is some tentative evidence of regional components in explaining French output fluctuations; countryspecific components also contribute. The predominance of exogenous factors affecting French output, the asymmetry in the transmission of shocks, and France's participation in a currency area, argue for making French goods, services, and labor markets as flexible as possible.

Production and Productivity Effects of Informal Contract Farming in Kenya's Smallholder Horticultural Sub-sector

This paper uses data from a 2001 household survey of small-scale farming households in Kirinyaga District, Kenya to explore production effects of informal credit contracts in French bean farming where formal markets for surplus production are seemingly shallow and imperfect. Specifically, it examines whether informal arrangements spur productivity and intensity of inputs use. A three stage least square (3SLS) modelling strategy is used to quantify the direct and indirect effects of contracts on French bean output conditional upon infrastructure, institutional and farmer-specific socio-economic factors. The results show that fertilizer, pesticides and High Yielding Variety seeds use, and French bean output price have direct positive and significant effects on productivity. On the other hand, the period under contract negatively and significantly affect productivity. Indirectly, however, informal contract - proxied by credit value - and farm size positively influence productivity through significant variable input use intensity whereas the input market prices negatively and significantly influence variable input demand. Policy implications are drawn. Keywords: Contract farming; smallholders; horticulture; productivity; Kenya Eastern African Journal of Rural Development Vol.19(1) 2003: 13-24

Évaluation et composition du produit industriel français avant 1914

Measuring pre-1914 French industrial output is still the subject of much controversy. The present reconstruction exercise, rather than focusing on sectoral growth rates, investigates the composition of the wage bill of the secondary sector as well as the level of return on its fixed capital. The study is based on information provided by the employment census of 1906 and the Enquiry on French production of 1910-12. Examining various assumptions in turn, the evidence at hand comforts the vision of a marked slowdown in industrial development at the end of the 19th Century, followed by an only timid spurt during the "Belle Epoque"; it calls for a fresh look at the reasons underlying this "retardation".

Comment on “Forecasts of Warfare in Fiction”

In his “Forecasts of Warfare in Fiction: 1803–1914”, I. F. Clarke considers for the greatest part English books and articles, with only a few references to the French fictional output on future wars in the nineteenth century. The most prominent place is given to Captain Danrit and his trilogy. Not a single well known French author is mentioned in the article, with the exception of Victor Hugo, who does not fit into the category of writings which interest Professor Clarke.