Catalog All books
Jean-Paul Betbèze
French people's economic fear
France has economic possibilities, but it remains blocked in several areas. Although the country's leaders are aware of this, they seem unable to make the necessary reforms to move forward. France seems to be the prey of fears that paralyse it, but which have benefited a new class of economic as well as social rentiers who constitute a powerful economic, ideological and political group. These new rentiers are fully cognisant that the defence of their acquired privileges is not a practical long-term solution - as has been shown by rising deficits, decreased competitiveness and job losses. The author argues that it is necessary to make changes and implement reforms - and to do so it is essential to understand and overcome existing fears. It cannot be expected that everything will be changed at once, but some initial efforts must be made. The single reform that will fix everything does not exist, he says, but this is hardly an excuse for refusing to make a start. In other countries, programmes for economic reform are being implemented. Yet France is only beginning to consider such reforms. The object of this book is to provide a greater understanding of the present situation, in the form of a how-to manual. A ruthless analysis of some of France's psychological blocks, apprehensions and economic fears, this book can be regarded as a sort of economic psychotherapy. In addition, the author provides a critique of the false solutions that hinder modernisation and proposes his own solutions for change and reform. Jean-Paul Betbèze is a professor of economics at the University of Paris Panthéon-Assas and a member of the French prime minister's Council for Economic Analysis. He is a consultant to the president and the C.E.O. of a major bank and the author of Les Dix Commandements de la finance, which was awarded the Risques-Les Echos Prize in 2004.
Claude Béata
Dog Psychology Stress, anxiety and depression
Many dogs suffer from such psychological problems as phobias, hyperactivity, separation anxiety and depression. This book recounts the stories of seven dogs, whose behaviour had become so erratic that their owners were on the verge of getting rid of them. Their veterinarian (the author) presents their stories as an investigation, taking the reader back to the origin of each disorder and then describing the form of therapy he used to enable each dog and its owner to cohabit in harmony. Written in a lively, often humorous style, this practical book will help readers understand the emotional life and behaviour of dogs. The chapters are presented in the form of accessible stories interspersed with sidebars containing relatively more technical information. Claude Béata is a behaviourist veterinarian and a member of the European College of Behaviourist Veterinarians. A specialist in emotional attachment, he is the co-author, with Boris Cyrulnik, of several interdisciplinary studies in comparative pathology.
Jacques Fricker
Maigrir vite et bien (Nouvelle édition)
How should you eat to keep healthy while remaining slim? What should you do to maintain your ideal weight, without having to diet constantly and without putting on excess kilos over the years? If you have successfully followed a diet, how can you keep from putting the extra weight back on? How can you avoid the cycles of weight loss and weight gain? Above all, how can you keep your figure, as well as your health, and safeguard against illness by eating an optimal diet? How can you stay slim while remaining energetic and without feeling tired - i.e. by keeping at the top of your physical and mental form? This book shows how a single diet can enable you to simultaneously achieve these three goals - figure, form, health - since all food types that are good for your figure are also good for you and, inversely, those that are bad for the figure are also bad for you. All you have to do is follow some basic dietary rules and adapt them to your own lifestyle. In this practical, useful book the author offers advice that is both scientifically sound and applicable to everyday life: choosing and cooking the most suitable foods to meet the three goals, making the best shopping selections, composing balanced menus in relation to age and lifestyle. He also addresses such questions as: What other means, besides diet, are there to meet the three goals? What role does exercise play? What should you do to have a flat tummy? Numerous recipes are given at the end of the book. Jacques Fricker is a physician specialising in nutrition at Hôpital Bichat, in Paris, and the author of Le Guide du bien maigrir, Maigrir vite et bien and Bien manger pour être au top.
Bertrand Roehner
Social cohesion
The methodology of physics is now being applied to the social sciences. Social cohesion, which assures social stability and continuity, is both observable and measurable. It may be observed in events that repeat: in test events such as the destruction of the mosque in Ayodhya, India (1992), and of the twin towers of the World Trade Center in Manhattan (2001); in catastrophes such as the Great Fire of London (1666), the earthquakes and fires of San Francisco (1906) and Tokyo (1923); in the riots of rejection in Lawrence, Mass., U.S.A. (1984), and in Aigues-Mortes, France (1893); in the protest riots in Brixton, U.K. (1981); and in resistance to foreign occupation, as in France (1940). Social cohesion can be measured through the reactions of a given society in the aftermath of a shock: for example, in the number of Hindu temples that were burned down or mosques that were destroyed following the first two test events listed above. By borrowing the methods of physics, social scientists have been able to make predictions in their own field. Bertrand Roehner is a member of the Laboratory of Theoretical Physics at Pierre et Marie Curie-University of Paris VII. He is the author of Un siècle de commerce du blé en France (Economica), Theory of Markets (Springer), Application of Physics in Economic Modelling, Pattern and Repertoire in History (Harvard University Press) and Separatism and Integration (Rowman and Littlefield).
