Art and culture

A day in Bath, Somerset

8:17 AM. delicately among the ancient statues presiding the

Bath Spa Station. ruins and you can imagine men and women of the
time, strolling in the corridors, going from bath to
As you get out of the train, the fresh wind of the bath, varying temperatures. In the chambers in
countryside lashes your cheeks and brightens your which the ceiling survived the workings of time,
eyes. The sun is hiding behind large streaks of blue you can see the reflection of the pure water
clouds, yet drops of light shine in the windows of undulating on the cold stones in an almost mystical
the awakening town. You begin your walk in the way. After you have finished tasting the thermal
main alleys of the center, bordered by high water - which was a rather unpleasant experience -
columns; you can already feel the roman history of you make your way outside and find yourself in
Bath. Your steps bring you to the entrance of the front of Bath’s Abbey, iconic landmark of the city.
Roman baths, one of the best Its construction first started in the
preserved ruins of the era in The sun is hiding 7 t h C e n t u r y, a n d s i n c e i t s
Europe. In the first century, reconstruction in the 1860s, it has
behind large streaks
Romans built a bath complex and a marked the daily life of the people
temple in the honour of Sulis, a of blue clouds, yet living in the centre. As you are
goddess often tied to Minerva, thus curious in nature, you take part in a
drops of light shine in
giving the latin name Aquae Sulis, guided tour of the Abbey’s tower,
first appellation of Bath. The hot the windows of the the historically highest viewpoint
springs, sacred to the first awakening town. of the town. The spinning staircase
inhabitants of the city, were brings you to your first stop, the
redirected through tunnels into the roof of the cathedral, from which
main basin of the thermal baths. When walking the city looks like a children’s book illustration in
around the emerald pool, the bubbling water the orange light of the afternoon. Under your feet
liberates hot vapour as it bursts into the air. The stands an architectural marvel: the ceiling of the
mist created by the natural temperature climbs abbey. Against the opinion of the most renowned

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specialists of the 19th century, its design was
physically possible despite the lack of backbone to
support it. After having crawled through the tiniest
door you have ever seen, you end up behind the
clock of the tower. The small room is illuminated
from the filtered light, and as you notice the active
mechanism of the clockwork, you feel encapsulated
in the workings in time. The last step of the tower
projects you onto the top of the town, and a raging
wind throws back your hair and bites your skull.
The sky has been eaten by a nascent storm; it is
definitely time for a warm cup of tea. Back in the
old city, you stumble upon Pulteney Bridge. The
first cafe seems quite inviting and you look at one
of its windows. Two women are having tea, face to
face, over a blossom of fresh yellow petals. You
can almost hear their laughs. When the steam of the
hot cups dissipates, the view behind them appears.
The scene in the window’s frame could have been a
picturesque painting, if the Avon were not rushing
down its bed, gliding in a deep green rumble. The
bridge, a typical neoclassical construction, is
representative of Bath’s Georgian Renaissance. In
the end of the 18th century, the city flourished as an
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elegant summer gathering for the British elite. The
Royal Crescent, a circular alignment of posh
houses, rising above a green private park, is a
witness of the sophisticated era. When you walk
around the neighbourhood, you can imagine the
aristocracy of the time, animated in polite
discussions about everything and nothing. By
attracting a high class population, Bath became a
hub for literature and arts, where writers such as
Jane Austin dipped their pen in the spirit of the city.
At every crossroad sits a museum, reminding you
about the wealthy cultural heritage that was once
alive in these streets. As the evening rises, the brisk
January cold catches up your limbs. It is time to go.
Walking back towards the train station, you say
goodbye to Bath’s Roman, Medieval and Georgian
ancestors. The lights accelerate as the train emerges
from the ink of of the night, and soon, the
countryside is seized by the dark.
Aliénor BIERER

 Geopolitics
Venezuela
The country is actually in what could be easily
described as the worst crisis of its history. The
Venezuela is divided between two presidents, a
complex political issue which reinforces its
harshest economic crisis it has ever known.
What has led to this situation?
Nicolas Maduro has been elected in 2013, after the
death of the beloved Hugo Chavez. Chavez was
one of the leading figure against the American
domination at the beginning of the 21st century.
Relying on nationalization of the massive
Venezuelan resources of petrol, Chavez allowed the
country to reach prosperity and economic growth
between 2000 and 2013. However, since the
election of Maduro, the price of petrol has
drastically fallen. In 2016, the situation was already
difficult for the population. The BIP has fallen of
14% in only two years (according to the Central
bank). Simultaneously the prices have risen
incredibly. This unstoppable inflation was
estimated around 800% in 2016. The country faces
since 2014 numerous shortages of food. The
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contestations against Maduro have done nothing
but expanded ever since. Many protests ended in a
blood bath in 2017. Around two hundred people
died asking Maduro to leave the power.
Yet, in May 2018, Nicolas Maduro was reelected
with a strong majority of 68% of the vote; an
alliance of 14 Latin American nations and Canada,
known as the Lima Group, immediately released a
statement calling the vote illegitimate, accusing
Maduro of electoral fraud and decreasing their
diplomatic relations with Venezuela. In August
2018, Maduro even survived an apparent
assassination attempt after several drones armed
with explosives flied toward him during a speech at
a military parade. His unpopularity increases month
after month. He was supposed to take the oath on
the 10th of January for his reelection. However, the
internationally contestation was strong.
On the 5th of January, the Venezuelan Parliament -
only organ controlled by the opposition - declared
Maduro illegitimate. The Parliament accused him
of threatening the democracy by accumulating all
the powers, since the revision of the Constitution
ordered by Maduro. This vote of the Parliament
was led by Juan Guaido, new president of the
Assembly. This vote remained however only
symbolical. Since 2016, the Supreme Court –
known to be very close to the President Maduro-
declared null all the decisions of the Parliament.
Maduro took therefore the oath on the 10th of
January despite this rejection of the Venezuelan
Parliament. China, Russia, and Turkey have all
recognized officially Maduro as new president of
Venezuela.
On the 21st of January, around thirty military men
took control of a military quarter, saying that they
did not recognize Maduro as the president and
asked the population to revolt against the power.
Even if there were arrested several hours later, it
triggered many riots in Caracas. The American
vice-president declared the next day that he
supported the opposition, and asked for free
elections. The 23rd, violent fights erupted, twelve
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people died. The supreme Court announced then a
penal investigation against the members of
Parliament, accusing them of trying to overthrow
Maduro.
Later on, the same day, Juan Guaido declared
himself the new president of Venezuela. Straight
away, Donald Trump announced that he recognized
Gaido as the actual president of Venezuela,
followed by Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Canada, Chili
and other Latin countries. The international
community stays divided on the question. Turkey,
Mexico, Bolivia and Cuba have reassured their
support to the regime of Maduro.
Who is Nicholas Maduro?
Name: Nicolás Maduro
Birth: 1962 – Caracas (Venezuela)
Political party: United Socialist Party
Main opponent: Juan Guaidó
Maduro comes from a working-class family. He
never graduated but attended a “communist training
school” in Cuba. He then was a bus driver in
Caracas and started to be involved in politics,
representing the worker’s union. He also was
bodyguard for the president Rangel. In 1994, he
campaigned for Chávez’s release, imprisoned after
an unsuccessful coup d'état against the Democratic
Action Government of President Pérez. In 2000, he
was elected to the National Assembly and from
2006 to 2013, he served as Foreign Minister. In
2012, he was endorsed by Chávez to succeed him,
the latter facing his fourth surgery for cancer. He
won the presidential election in April 2013 with
50.6% of the vote; however, due to poor political
decisions from both Chávez and Maduro the
Venezuela has been suffering from an escalating
crisis ever since.
Can Guaido win over Maduro?
In 2014 and 2017, Maduro already went through
months of street protests, however, nowadays, Juan
Guaido represents both a hope for the population,
and a threat as nobody asked him to be the new
president of the country. He is the young face of the
opposition. He is 35 years old and leader of
the Venezuelan socialist party Popular Will. He
declared himself interim president, saying the
constitution gave him powers to form a transitional
government until new elections.
The reaction of the international community will be
the key element in his victory or failure. Guaido
was quickly backed up by the United States and
Canada, along with Brazil, Argentina and
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Columbia. Donald Trump said Mr Guaidó had
"courageously spoken" against Mr Maduro. The
United States also announced sanctions against
Venezuela's state-owned energy company PDVSA.
Russia is, on the other side, protecting Maduro,
while helping the country financially as well.
The outcome will depend partly on the military and
its decision to either remain loyal to Maduro, or to
support Guaidó. However, if the military forces are
divided, the crisis could get a lot worse.
What future for Venezuela?
The lack of political stability, the spreading of
crime and corruption combined with hyperinflation
have sparked months of protests; due to shortages,
people have huge amount of cash but nothing to
buy. Inflation in Venezuela hit 80,000% in 2018,
the highest rate in the world. Drastic measures have
thus been taken by Maduro, with the introduction
of a new Bolívar eliminating five zeros compared
to the previous currency.
Three million Venezuelans have left their home
country since 2014, according to the UN, and this
trend is far from decreasing. The future of the
country depends on the days to come, and
moreover, on the decision of the army.
Pauline Heraud and Guillemette Giraud
 News
A small update about Venezuela
Since a few months, we regularly hear about the
crisis in Venezuela, but most of us do not know
precisely what is currently happening there. In
order to understand it and to draw a portrait of the
Venezuelan situation, we need to closely look at the
chronology of the country’s context until now.
In 1998, Hugo Chavez is elected as the 52nd
president of the Bolivarian republic of Venezuela.
He finally get at the head of the government after a
failed putsch in 1992, that led him to a 2 years
incarceration. He claims to be of the Bolivarian
political movement and wants to build the “21st
century socialism”. He died in 2012. Within the 14
years of his mandates, the statement is mitigated:
indeed, we can actually observe a massive
reduction of poverty, a huge increase of provided
healthcare in the country, the increase of university
seats, child malnutrition has drops of 40%, more
than 95% of the population has now access to
drinking water, a million hectares had been given
back to indigenous, child are freely fed in school
and the GDP per capital went from 4100$ to
10810$, amongst other things. All these numbers
can make the Venezuela to be seen as the Eden on
Earth, but obviously, it is not that simple to make
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everyone benefit, without paying a salty bill at a
certain point. Indeed, even though Venezuela rely
on one of the biggest petrol reserves in the world,
and could therefore be expected as being amazingly
rich, the country expensively pays his former
economic direction. But we shall no go too far for
the moment.
At the death of Chavez, Maduro, at this time vice
president, logically accesses to the power. Within 4
years, he directly faced the bounce back of all the
former economic and politic policies. The range of
the disaster can be expressed in a few points: since
Chavez, successive governments really made a
mess with the economy, as they did not deal well
all the successive nationalisations, that ended up
with a poor management of the PDVSA, the petrol
national company, all of this while an increase of
60% of the Government spending. Consequently,
since 2014, a decrease of one third of the GDP has
been recorded, as well as an inflation of 700%.
Another fact that can be pointed out is that 10% of
the population has ran away of the country since
then, seeking a better life elsewhere, illustration of
the situation for Venezuelan citizens.
To come back to the current situation, Maduro has
been re-elected in 2018. He took the oath on the
constitution the 5th of January 2018. On the same
day, Juan Guaido, a political opponent, contests it,
denouncing a usurpation of the presidency from
Maduro. He is arrested on the 13th. On the 21st of
the same month, some military forces, including
officers, calls to the rebellion and to overthrow
Maduro. They are arrested on the following days.
Demonstrations are organised in support to the
arrested militaries, and on the 22nd of January,
Washington declares supporting the opposition,
through the support of Mike Pence, followed by
Donald Trump. In reaction, Maduro denounces a
putsch organised by the foreign countries and
therefore breaks relation with Washington. The
23rd of January sees pro and cons-government
demonstrations that end up in violent riots, while
Guaido self-proclaims president. On the 27th of
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January, Washington called all the countries to
cease commercial relation with Venezuela and
called the army to pacifically surrender.
The story is currently happening, and no one can
surely predict what will happen. Even though the
situation is a disaster, Maduro is still supported by a
great part of the population and the army.
Furthermore, a lot are supporting him not for what
he wants or is, but because they want to denounce
and counter the American imperialism. The
situation is really stretched at extreme between the
side, and the story has to be followed with attention
in the next few weeks.
Louis Gautier
 The car crash
A 13 year-old boy and his father got into a car
crash. The father dies instantly. An ambulance
rushes the boy to the hospital. Arrived there, the
best surgeon is called on to perform an emergency
surgical operation. The surgeon sees the boy and
says: “I can’t operate him, he’s my son!”
How is it possible?
(check the bottom of the page for the answer)
You might have been quite puzzled upon reading
this the first time. The first thing that came to your
mind was probably: “how can the surgeon perform
an operation if he’s dead?” Although this enigma
should be fairly easy to solve, something lured you
into assuming that the surgeon is a man; you have
just experienced a cognitive bias. This does not
mean that you’re a bad person, as bias are an
integral part of the individual’s thinking. (If you
found the answer right away though, I bow to you,
but please keep reading this article). Biases affect
our judgement, shape our prejudices and,
unfortunately, can have a negative impact on the
society. Let us see what a bias is – gender bias in
particular-, how it affects our thinking on a daily
basis and, on a larger scale, our society.
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The origin of biases
The human brain is extremely powerful and
constantly processes tons of information from its
environment. However, as there often is too much
information to process, and as our brains are kind
of lazy, it likes to take the shortest path which
means that instead of using reason and logic, it
makes assumptions, called biases. They are
unconscious and subjective perceptions based on
our habits and common beliefs, and they keep us
from making an objective reasoning. The more
primitive, intuitive part of the brain is in charge of
this. As you identify a sharp metal object as
“dangerous”, you will more easily label a woman
as “kind”, “beautiful” and a man as “smart”.
In an experiment where scientists studied societal
gender stereotypes, it has been found that most
people associate women to family and men to
careers. Similarly, people associate women more
strongly with liberal arts, and men with science.
This is the reason why most people struggle to
solve the previous enigma; even though they might
agree that it exists smart women who are surgeons,
they instinctively think of the doctor as a man.
This is a bias caused by a gender stereotype, and
more precisely, an occupation stereotype; scientists
have identified three other stereotypes: personality
traits (women are emotional), domestic behaviour
(woman should take care of children), physical
appearance (men should have short hair). It is quite
surprising that such beliefs are equally common
among both genders; for example, women tend to
apply feminine stereotypes to other women and to
themselves (a woman would have as much
difficulty as a man to find the answer of the
enigma).
It is true that our society is evolving towards better
gender equality, but the perpetuation of stereotypes
through means such as media or advertisements is
an obstacle to that. However, it is encouraging to
see the public opinion becoming more and more
concerned about subjects such as, for example, the
representation of women in advertisements (see the
uproar about the “Are you Beach Body Ready”
tube ad).
At workplaces

The impact of gender stereotypes Data shows that there are less women in STEM
( S c i e n c e Te c h n o l o g y E n g i n e e r i n g a n d
Mathematics) and in managerial positions. While
Where are can they be observed? How do gender some people are trying to find reasons to this
stereotypes affect our lives? (“fewer women are interested in science”, “women
In everyday life. tend to choose a less demanding career in order to
I suggest you this little game: next time you take have a family life”…), a research published in 2012
the tube, take a look at the advertisements and try revealed a disturbing truth. In an experiment,
to identify as much social researchers from Yale sent fictitious
stereotypes as you can (Did the I suggest you this little applications to graduate schools for a
advertiser assume that men need game: next time you lab position. The content was
to show off their wealth with perfectly identical, except for the fact
take the tube, take a
expensive cars in order to seduce that half were given a male name, and
attractive women ? That only guys look at the the other half a female name. As you
do sports and need energy drinks? advertisements and try might have already guessed,
That taking care of one’s skin with “Female” applicants were penalized:
to identify as much
face masks is a girl’s stuff?); you they were rated lower in competence
will be surprised at how many you social stereotypes as and hireability, and the salaries
can find, even in seemingly you can. offered to “female” applicants were
gender neutral advertisements. 12% lower than “males”. This
The same observations can be made about movies, experiment has proven the existence of
songs - actually pretty much anything you want. discrimination against women in science.
What we see every day stuffs up our brain with
gender stereotypes whether we want it or not. It
consolidates existing stereotypes and affects our
unconscious mind, creating situations we are
familiar with, and sustaining our biases.

11
In politics
The Yale experiment focused on women in science,
but women face the same problem in other areas
such as management or politics, where they
struggle to get into a leadership / influential
position. Indeed, it is a common belief that a leader
has to be assertive and confident. The problem is,
those are masculine traits. Those traits, when
applied to women, become flaws: “assertive”
becomes bossy, “confident” becomes pretentious.
In contrast, showing too much femininity at work
could lessen one’s credibility – acting cute or
dressing in a too feminine way is seen as
unprofessional. As an example, just look at female
leaders such as Hillary Clinton or Angela Merkel;
people feel uneasy about their lack of femininity
and criticize them for “not acting like women”…
but would they succeed if they had exhibited
feminine traits ? It is highly improbable. In order to
succeed, women have to be able to switch on and
off certain masculine traits in order to fit to a male-
dominated world.
What if this conception of leadership was wrong?
What if we challenged the current perception of
what a leader should be? What if women can be
strong leaders while being themselves, and lead
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successful teams thanks to their compassion, their
ability to multitask and their communication skills?
What’s next?
Cognitive biases are unavoidable and omnipresent,
we will never really get rid of them. However, the
case is not hopeless. It is more than necessary to
acknowledge them, whether it is at the scale of the
individual (eg. hiring managers) or at broader
scales such as in politics, science, education,
management… Actions such as positive
discrimination and quotas can help compensate the
consequences of biased judgements. Although
being effective in lowering inequalities, those
solutions do not solve the problem at is root.
Stereotypes and discrimination can be countered in
various ways: we should prevent biases by teaching
tolerance to children; we should be aware about our
own biases and be mindful of the way we treat
people of different genders; and most importantly,
we should keep questioning the status quo.
[answer: the surgeon is the boy’s mother]
Tania Queuche
 Sports
CHEATING IN SPORT’S RESULTS:
WHAT IS THIS HABIT?

“Oh come on referee! We should have gotten a corner! Are you playing for the sake of the other
team or what?”
How many of you already have heard or even said this kind of sentence? How many of you
have already thought that a game was rigged? A non-negligible amount, I believe so.

What is match fixing?

It is the organisation of planning the results
of a sport event that did not occur yet. It is
basically cheating and preparing the number
of goals each team will score during a
football game for example. It can be “fixed”
by the athletes themselves, or the referees,
the coaches or people somewhat related to
the games in question (organisation,
leagues, etc). Of course, fixing a game is not
done for pleasure nor for the satisfaction of
one team compared to the other, there is a
huge financial aspect behind match fixing
which makes it an even more important
issue in the sport’s world as it creates new
b i a s e s . U s u a l l y, b e c a u s e o f t h e
consequences of finding out a match was
fixed, this kind of behaviour is subtlety done
and no one even really notices.

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When did it start?
The first notable case was in 1919 for a
baseball game. The team which was
expected to win intentionally lost… And
they were exposed shortly after for having
dealt with shady gamblers trading money in
exchange of losing the tournament. Another
Ethically wrong.
Stated in the UN Office on Drugs and Crime
report on Criminalization approaches to
combat match-fixing and illegal/irregular
betting: a global perspective of 2013:
“These illegal activities jeopardize the
integrity of the competitions, damage the
social, educational and cultural values
reflected by sports, and threaten the
economic role of sports”.
Match fixing tarnishes entire leagues,
careers, athletes and hopes. It destroys the
career of certain athletes without even
having really started them. It tarnishes the
global image of each sport it happens in
since it reflects cheating, which is the total
opposite of the values taught and highly
promoted in sport generally speaking.
It does not respect the “fair game” aspect,
neither the respect of the other team, nor the
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one, more contemporaneous was in 2007
with the NBA: a popular and well-known
referee was discovered to have fixed up to
15 games in his career, some of them being
major ones.
harshness of the sport itself. It undermines
what sport is and how hard it is. It makes it
an object, or a game for rich shady gamblers
which is not why sport has been created and
why it is mediatised and experiences such
an international success.
“Sport is an innately human activity often
idealized by valour, integrity, and fair
competition. Sports have attracted over a
billion people worldwide as participants and
spectators, mainly due to the thrill and
unpredictability of competition, and the skill
and determination of athletes. However,
these noble concepts of sport are coming
under serious threat in the form of match-
fixing - in recent years more than ever.” –
Report from the UNODC (2013)
Why is talking about it today?

Usually, it happens for small games and not
international ones or ones with major
importance such as the World Cup in soccer,
and world competition in every other sport.
However, over the past few weeks, it is a
subject that has resurged in the news since
there are reasons to believe that match-
fixing is happening (not surprising), but in
major competitions (surprising).
The past few weeks, sport commenting have
been all about the Australian Open, its match
fixing and the actions of the ATP regarding it:
trying to keep it as quiet as possible. It is
understandable because, as mentioned above,
having a history of match fixing in its league
shows a weakness and tarnishes the sport itself.

Sources:
Instant Checkmate. 2019. Match Fixing: Illegal Conduct In Sports.
Criminalisatuin approaches to combart match-fixing, UN Report.

Sara Tézenas du Montcel.

15
London Life
AN ALTERNATIVE TRAVEL MEANS
Have you just about had it with having to
take the tube in London? We suggest you
try another increasingly popular alternative:
Santander Cycles. Indeed, it is difficult to
go around London without spotting the
signature red bikes: they have become a
staple for the capital. With 11,500 bikes
around London, at over 750 docking
stations according to Transport for London,
and with thousands of people using them
daily, it seems to be inconceivable that they
disappear. Having personally used them
daily for a semester, they are truly a viable
alternative to taking public transport. They
offer different advantages.
F i r s t l y, i n c o m p a r i s o n t o o t h e r
transportation means in London, Santander
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Paul’s wonders
bicycles are cheap. Pricing-wise, it works
as follows: you pay 2£ for 24 hours, and
during those 24 hours, every journey you
take that lasts less than 30 minutes is free.
So technically, you can use a bike 8 times a
day and only pay 2£ if each journey is less
than 30 minutes, which quickly becomes a
good investment when you consider a
return trip on the tube with a normal Oyster
card costs a staggering £4.4 or £2.2 for a
return trip on the bus (assuming you have a
standard travel card and not a Zip Card). If
you take a liking to the Santander bikes,
you can even get a yearly subscription for
only £90, after which you are provided
with a key to unlock bikes at any time.
Secondly, you get to explore London.
The tube, depending on when you take it,
can be grim. Often overpacked with people,
the bike is a breath of fresh air, and a lovely
alternative. Instead of travelling
underground, it allows you to discover new
areas of London as a whole. Plus, it’s
always sportier than the tube.
Thirdly, it is not actually as dangerous as
some people can make it out to be. Several
people have told me in the past that they did
not use Santander bikes because they feared
how busy London’s roads are. However, as
impressive as double-decker buses may
seem, in my experience, if you respect basic
rules, the streets of London are cyclist-
friendly, especially seeing as many streets
17
have cycling lanes. The biggest danger
actually seems to be pedestrians rather than
vehicles, that usually tend to walk hurriedly
or cross without checking the road.
Moreover, a company called Blaze has
installed laser-lights on Santander bicycles
that project green images of bikes in front of
you to warn pedestrians of your presence.
As a conclusion, for an operation that
started in 2010, and that in 2017, gathered
an annual ridership of over 10 million
people, Santander Cycles is proving to be a
popular public scheme.
Give it a go!
Paul Benney
 CAM’s January Edito
NOT TO BE MISSED

Diana: Her Fashion Story

Until the 17th of February – Kensington Palace

Good Grief, Charlie Brown

Until the 3rd of March – Somerset House, Temple

Tabula Rasa – Terrace Party

Until the 9th of March – Piccadilly Circus

Home Futures
Until the 24th of March – Design Museum, High Street Kensington

Retrospective Pierre Bonnard “The Colour of Memory”

Until the 6th of May – Tate modern

Christian Dior: Designer of dreams

From the 2nd of February – Victoria and Albert Museum

Mandela: The Official Exhibition

From the 8th of February to the 2nd of May –
Waterloo

Boilly, Scenes of Parisian Life

From the 28th of February – The National
Gallery, Charing Cross

Van Gogh and Britain

From the 27th of March – Tate Britain

18
 The Thames Dolphin would like to thank all the people who have
contributed to this edition’s creation.

The edition for next month will be about environment.

We hope you have liked reading us.

Thank you.

Literally yours.

All the opinion expressed are personal opinions and do not reflect the
opinion of The Thames Dolphin or Paris Dauphine international.

Edited by Mathilde Kolb and Sara Tézenas du Montcel.

January 2019

Edition N°9