[{"titre":"Aspects novateurs de la mécanique des fluides appliquée à la biologie des coraux","pubDate":"Sat, 24 Oct 2026 08:07:41 +0200","id":3238635,"description":"dc.contributor.author: Allard, Marianne dc.date.issued: 2026-10 dc.description.abstract: Les coraux, étant des animaux filtreurs, sont indispensables aux écosystèmes marins, créant des points chauds de biodiversité. Les pressions humaines grandissantes sur les coraux menacent leur survie et crée un changement de dominance des coraux durs aux coraux mous. Cette étude révèle la présence de vibrations chez plusieurs espèces de coraux mous à partir de données récoltées en laboratoire et en plongée. Les paramètres principaux influençant la fréquence de vibration sont le diamètre des branches, la vitesse d’écoulement et la présence des polypes (structures servant à capturer la nourriture). La dynamique d’interaction entre les coraux et leur environnement changeant se verra modifiée dans les prochaines années en raison de l’augmentation de l’intensité des tempêtes liée aux changements climatiques, risquant d’impacter leur capacité d’alimentation. Les déversements pétroliers représentent également une menace importante pour les coraux. Leur toxicité a été démontrée dans des études précédentes, sans toutefois qu’une ingestion directe n’ait été observée. Dans cette étude, deux espèces de coraux mous et trois espèces de coraux durs ont été exposés à trois types d’huile différents (canola, poisson et moteur) pour évaluer leur réaction et leur interaction avec les gouttelettes d’huile. L’ingestion des trois huiles a été confirmée chez les coraux mous, et l’ingestion accidentelle de l’huile de canola a été constatée chez une espèce de corail dur. Les deux autres espèces de coraux durs ont montré un gonflement des polypes lors de l’exposition aux trois types d’huile. Les coraux mous sont donc potentiellement plus vulnérables aux déversements de pétrole, alors que les coraux durs pourraient servir d’indicateurs d’exposition. Cette étude est significative car elle est la première à se pencher sur ces deux aspects des menaces anthropiques sur les récifs coralliens.; Corals are filter-feeding animals that play a vital role in marine ecosystems, creating biodiversity hotspots. Growing human pressures on corals are threatening their survival and creating a shift from hard to soft coral dominated reefs. This study revealed the presence of vibrations in several soft coral species, from diving and laboratory data. The main parameters influencing vibration frequency are branch diameter, water flow velocity, and the presence of polyps (structures that capture food particles). The fluid-structure interaction between the coral and its environment is expected to change in coming years due to stronger storms from climate change, potentially affecting their feeding capacity. Oil spills also pose a major threat to corals. While toxicity has been demonstrated in past studies, direct ingestion had not been observed. In this study, experiments were made exposing two soft coral species and three hard coral species to three oil types (canola, fish, and motor) to test their reaction and interaction with oil droplets. All three oils were ingested by soft corals, while only canola oil was accidentally ingested by one hard coral species. The other two hard coral species showed polyp swelling after exposure to all three oils. Soft corals may thus be more vulnerable to oil spills, while hard corals could serve as exposure indicators. This study is significant as it is the first to examine these two aspects of human threats on coral reefs. dc.type: Thèse ou mémoire /","source":"Faculté de droit Travaux récents","url":"https://hdl.handle.net/1866/46820"},{"titre":"The (Currently) Uneven Intelligence of AI in Comparative Constitutional Law","id":3218421,"pubDate":"Thu, 15 Oct 2026 08:26:22 +0200","description":"This article belongs to the debate » Thinking Machines, Thinking Lawyers14 October 2026The (Currently) Uneven Intelligence of AI in Comparative Constitutional Law From Years of Research to a Single Prompt? Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to accelerate and improve the quality of research. This potential has inspired numerous projects exploring how AI could help scholarship on constitutional law. For example, there is research using AI to interpret constitutions,1) apply constitutional principles,2) and predict court rulings.3) Even the question of whether AI could improve the process of constitution-making has been studied.4) AI’s potential is particularly significant for comparative constitutional research. Systematically comparing legal systems requires locating sources from different jurisdictions, which are often difficult to access and only available in local languages. The creation of comparative legal datasets has thus involved considerable personnel, time, and financial resources. AI can overcome many of these obstacles. AI models can search for and translate foreign-language sources, filter them, and convert the filtered information into a dataset. In doing so, AI offers the prospect of datasets — which previously required years of research and the efforts of numerous experts and research assistants to compile — being just a prompt away. However, whether AI models can generate comparative law datasets that are qualitatively comparable to human-coded datasets has not yet been addressed (although Guha et al provide an example for a broader legal benchmarking exercise).5) We therefore conducted our own benchmarking study.6) We found evidence suggesting that recent AI models may be able to code simple factual data, but they are likely unreliable substitutes for expert human coders when conceptual or interpretive judgment is required. The Benchmarking Project: Seven Coding Tasks, Four Datasets, Two LLMs In our project, we tested the ability of two large language models (LLMs) to code different types of information relevant to comparative constitutional law. We specifically assessed whether LLMs can reproduce information from four existing comparative constitutional law datasets, all of which were compiled through human coding and which served as a ‘ground truth’ for our exercise. From these datasets, we asked the LLMs to code seven variables, which can be thought of as seven tasks relevant to the creation of comparative constitutional law datasets. Each of these tasks is either a test of fact-finding or reasoning abilities. First, from the Executive Term Limit Evasion Dataset,7) we drew information on whether presidents in 106 presidential systems have evaded constitutionally mandated term limits between 2000 and 2019. The dataset includes one variable on whether presidents attempt to overstay past the end of their term. The second variable captures what strategies executives use for doing so, such as amending the constitution, replacing it with a new one, or asking the court to interpret term limits out of the constitution. While determining whether a president overstayed is a fact-finding task, assessing the strategy used to do so requires reasoning. Second, from the Comparative Constitution Making Dataset,8) we drew information on the process by which constitutions were adopted in democracies between 1900 and 2015. This dataset also includes fact-finding variables such as (1) whether citizens were involved in the formulation, discussion, or submission of reform proposals, and (2) whether citizens participated in popular referendums at any stage in the process. The dataset’s most important variable (3) captures whether constitutions reflect ‘plural elite agreement,’ that is, whether all relevant elite factions in society were involved and represented during the process. The recreation of this variable requires reasoning. Third, from the Characteristics of National Constitutions Dataset9), we drew on its coding of 43 first-generation constitutional","source":"Scoop.it - Documentation juridique (Stéphan Cottin)","url":"https://verfassungsblog.de/the-currently-uneven-intelligence-of-ai-in-comparative-constitutional-law/"},{"id":3199077,"pubDate":"Tue, 06 Oct 2026 08:06:24 +0200","titre":"FTC recaps consumer complaint data for 2017: Whoâs on the list?","description":"FTC recaps consumer complaint data for 2017: Who’s on the list? lfair March 1, 2018 | 5:17PM FTC recaps consumer complaint data for 2017: Who’s on the list? By Lesley Fair Once bitten, twice shy. That fundamental principle of human behavior is why reputable businesses that work hard to earn consumers’ confidence should support the FTC’s ongoing efforts to fight fraud. According to the FTC’s 2017 Consumer Sentinel Data Book , consumers reported losing a total of $905 million to fraud last year. That’s close to a billion bucks people won’t be able to spend on legitimate products and services from credible companies. That figure is up $63 million from last year, although the total number of reports received from consumers is down from 2.98 million in 2016 to 2.68 million in 2017. Topping the list that no industry wants to be on is debt collection, making up 23% of the total number of complaints. But there are two caveats: 1) that number is down from 2016; and 2) the high number of debt collection reports was due in part to reports submitted by a data contributor who collects complaints via a mobile app. Second on the list is identity theft at 14%. The injury to consumers came in two equally unpalatable flavors. Credit card fraud was the most common manifestation. Tax fraud was next, but the glimmer of hope there is that the total number of tax-related identity theft complaints fell by 46%. Winners of the dubious bronze medal were imposter scams , with consumers reporting financial losses of a whopping $328 million. Imposters wear many masks: “I’m with [big-name tech company] and your computer is riddled with viruses,” “Help, Grampa! I’ve been arrested and need bail money,” and “We’re from [government agency] and we’ll arrest you if you don’t pay us today.” Nearly one in five consumers who reported an imposter scam said they lost money to the fraud. For the first time, the Consumer Sentinel Data Book breaks out fraud losses by reported age groups and here’s a result that may surprise you: Consumers in their 20s reported losing money to fraud more often than those over 70. Among 20-somethings who reported fraud, 40% said they lost money. Compare that with the over-70 crowd, only 18% of whom reported a financial loss. But there’s a troubling aspect to that surprising factoid. When older adults did report losing money to a scammer, the loss was much greater. For example, people 80 and older reported median losses of $1,092 compared to $400 for those in their 20s. Wire transfers continue to be scammers’ preferred payment method and in 70% of the complaints we received, the fraudster contacted the consumer by phone. The top states for reporting fraud were Florida, Georgia and Nevada, while Michigan, Florida and California had the most reports about identity theft, per capita. Stats cats tell us that they find our state-by-state data dive helpful, so we’ve created a new webpage to make it easier to evaluate the information. The bottom line for business people: Educate. Use your status in the community to spread the word to employees, industry colleagues, and friends about the latest forms of fraud. One way to stay in the know: Sign up for scam alerts from the FTC. Cooperate. If people you know suspect that their identity has been compromised, send them to identitytheft.gov to create a personal recovery plan. (And remember that your company may have a legal obligation to provide identity theft victims and law enforcers with transaction records related to ID theft.) Report. When you spot a scam, report it to the FTC . We’re talking about fraud directed to consumers and questionable promotions targeting small businesses. Your reports have helped the FTC and other law enforcement agencies put together cases against the con artists behind bogus business directories, office supply flimflams, and other forms of B2B fraud. Consumer Sentinel is an online database available to civil","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2018/03/ftc-recaps-consumer-complaint-data-2017-whos-list","source":"FTC USA Business Blog Posts"},{"titre":"Speaking of Spokeo: Part 2 â The companyâs allegedly bogus endorsements","id":3195787,"pubDate":"Sat, 03 Oct 2026 14:06:13 +0200","description":"Speaking of Spokeo: Part 2 — The company’s allegedly bogus endorsements wfg-adm109 June 13, 2012 | 12:25PM Speaking of Spokeo: Part 2 — The company’s allegedly bogus endorsements By Lesley Fair The lawsuit against data broker Spokeo is the FTC’s first Fair Credit Reporting Act case addressing the collection of online info — including data from social networking sites — when used in the context of employment screening. But that’s not the only way the Spokeo settlement touches on social media. The FTC also charged that Spokeo violated Section 5 by having employees post glowing recommendations of the company’s services on news and technology websites without disclosing their true identity. Perhaps just the work of a rogue cubicle occupant? No, said the FTC. According to the complaint , Spokeo directed its employees to write the comments. Spokeo managers then edited what they wrote and had the staffers post the endorsements using account names provided by Spokeo. The purpose, says the FTC, was to give readers the misleading impression that the laudatory words had been posted by independent consumers or business users of Spokeo. The FTC’s revisions to its Endorsement Guides made headlines a few years ago. Ironically enough, the provision that seemed to attract the most attention is one that didn’t change. It’s the law — and it’s always been the law under Section 5 — that consumers have a right to know when there’s a material connection between an advertiser and an endorser. Here’s how the Guides put it: \"When there exists a connection between the endorser and the seller of the advertised product that might materially affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement ( i.e., the connection is not reasonably expected by the audience), such connection must be fully disclosed.\" According to the FTC, by posting comments that conveyed the untruthful impression that they came from satisfied users of Spokeo’s services, Spokeo engaged in false and misleading practices. To settle the endorsement count in the lawsuit, Spokeo has agreed that it won’t misrepresent, expressly or by implication, the status of any user of a product or service — for example, that someone is an independent, ordinary endorser if that’s not the case. The company also will clearly and prominently disclose any material connection between an endorser and Spokeo (or any other entity advertising, selling, or promoting a product) when a connection exists. What about the bogus endorsements already posted? Spokeo has seven days to take all reasonable steps to pull them down. Looking for more about complying with the Endorsement Guides? Read The FTC’s Revised Endorsement Guides: What People are Asking and watch this video: While you’re at it, share this post and those resources with your marketing staff, your ad agency, your PR firm, and anyone else who plays a role in your publicity and promotions. Next: What the Spokeo settlement means for your business, your next ad campaign, and your job search","source":"FTC USA Business Blog Posts","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2012/06/speaking-spokeo-part-2-companys-allegedly-bogus-endorsements"},{"titre":"[Article] Document theory and document design","pubDate":"Thu, 23 Jul 2026 10:17:34 +0200","id":3047509,"description":"This paper reports on an experiment which connects document design with document theory. Document design is about what documents should do. We use the example of document graphs and of Cosma, a visualization program created during the HyperOtlet research programme, to show how theory can inform design decisions and help conceptualize results. This paper is currently under peer review.