Combiner espaces sémantiques, structure et contraintes.

This paper presents the methods that we developed for the tasks 1 and 4 of the DEFT'14 Text Mining contest. In the task 1 the goal was to automatically categorise the literary genre of short texts, while in the task 4 the goal was to assign the session where a scientific paper is presented in a conference by analysing its content. These methods we developed rely on a common representation of the input texts in semantic spaces constructed using Random Indexing. In these high dimension spaces, each text and each term is represented a vector. For this edition of the DEFT, we tried to address the proposed tasks by designing methods that combine classical machine learning algorithms for clustering and categorisation with (i) rule based methods to represent for instance the patterns of poetic texts in the task 1 (ii) constraints solving methods to take into account the informations we had about the organisation of the sessions in the task 4. The results obtained NDCG=0.4278 (rank 2) in the task 1 and FScore=1 (rank 1) in the task 4 show the great performance of these hybrid methods.JRC.G.2-Global security and crisis managemen

New methods for chicken embryo manipulations

The capacity to image a growing embryo while simultaneously studying the developmental function of specific molecules provides invaluable information on embryogenesis. However, until recently, this approach was accomplished with difficulty both because of the advanced technology needed and because an easy method of minimizing damage to the embryo was unavailable. Here, we present a novel way of adapting the well-known EC culture of whole chick embryos to time-lapse imaging and to functional molecular studies using blocking agents. The novelty of our method stems from the ability to apply blocking agents ex ovo as well as in ovo. We were able to study the function of a set of molecules by culturing developing embryos ex ovo in tissue culture media containing these molecules or by injecting them underneath the live embryo in ovo. The in ovo preparation is particularly valuable, because it extends the period of time during which the developmental function of the molecule can be studied and it provides an easy, reproducible method for screening a batch of molecules. These new techniques will prove very helpful in visualizing and understanding the role of specific molecules during embryonic morphogenesis, including blood vessel formation

Geographical queries reformulation using a parallel association rules generator to build spatial taxonomies

Geographical queries need a special process of reformulation by information retrieval systems (IRS) due to their specificities and hierarchical structure. This fact is ignored by most of web search engines. In this paper, we propose an automatic approach for building a spatial taxonomy, that models’ the notion of adjacency that will be used in the reformulation of the spatial part of a geographical query. This approach exploits the documents that are in top of the retrieved list when submitting a spatial entity, which is composed of a spatial relation and a noun of a city. Then, a transactional database is constructed, considering each document extracted as a transaction that contains the nouns of the cities sharing the country of the submitted query’s city. The algorithm frequent pattern growth (FP-growth) is applied to this database in his parallel version (parallel FP-growth: PFP) in order to generate association rules, that will form the country’s taxonomy in a Big Data context. Experiments has been conducted on Spark and their results show that query reformulation using the taxonomy constructed based on our proposed approach improves the precision and the effectiveness of the IRS

Le Maroc, est-il un paradis fiscal ?

Nowadays, economists, lawyers, financiers and journalists are constantly talking about tax havens, which seem to be easy to recognize by all, but at the same time remain difficult to define unanimously. Although the decision to set up in a tax haven is dictated in most cases by a single objective, which is the search to reduce the tax burden as part of a strategy of optimization, evasion or tax fraud, the characteristics of these havens differ from one country to another. The objective of this article is, on the one hand, to define the concept of "tax haven" as it has been defined by various international organizations. On the other hand, to draw up a portal of the evolution of these havens throughout the world as well as their weight and impact on the international economy. And finally; to focus on the main operators who use these havens. They are mainly rich people, multinationals, criminals, bankers, legal professionals and experts in numbers. The case of Morocco remains ambiguous and too controversial. Its classification by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Union on the gray list of tax havens since 2017 has not ceased to raise questions and queries from both public and private authorities. Especially we have noticed that some countries of the American and European continent where real tax havens are located such as Delaware, Switzerland, Monaco and others; were not on any list, whether black or gray. It is this paradox that led us to conduct this study which, beyond the search to locate tax havens in the international sphere, sought in the framework of a descriptive and comparative approach; on the one hand to analyze the similarities and differences of these havens where they are located; on the other hand to situate the case of Morocco in relation to the issues of international standards in tax matters.   Keywords: Tax Haven, Taxation, Taxes JEL Classification:  H2-H7 Paper type:  descriptive and comparative researchDe nos jours des économistes, des juristes, des financiers et des journalistes ne cessent de parler des paradis fiscaux qui semblent être faciles à reconnaitre par tous, mais qui demeurent en même temps difficiles à définir de façon unanime. Quoique la décision de s’installer dans un paradis fiscal est dictée dans la plupart des cas par un seul objectif, qui est la recherche de réduire la charge fiscale dans le cadre d’une stratégie d’optimisation, d’évasion ou de fraude fiscale ; les caractéristiques desdits paradis diffèrent d’un pays à un autre.    L’objectif donc de cet article est, d’une part, cerner le concept du « paradis fiscal » tel qu’il a été défini par les différents organismes internationaux. D’autre part ; dresser un portail de l’évolution de ces paradis à travers le monde ainsi que leurs poids et impact sur l’économie internationale. Et enfin ; mettre l’accent sur les principaux opérateurs qui recourent à ces paradis. Ce sont principalement des riches, des multinationales ; des criminels ; des banquiers ; des professionnels du droit et des experts en chiffres. Le cas du Maroc demeure ambigu et trop controversé. Son classement par l’Organisation de Coopération et de Développement économiques et l’Union européenne sur la liste grise des paradis fiscaux depuis 2017 n’a pas cessé de soulever des interrogations et des questionnements à la fois de la part des pouvoirs publics et privés. Surtout l’on n’a constaté que certains pays du continent américain et européen où siègent de vrais paradis fiscaux tel que Delaware, Suisse, Monaco…et autres ; ne figuraient sur aucune liste, qu’elle soit noire ou grise. C’est ce paradoxe qui nous a amené à mener cette étude qui, au-delà de la recherche, de situer les paradis fiscaux dans la sphère internationale ; à chercher dans le cadre d’une approche descriptive et comparative ; d’un côté  d’analyser les similitudes et les divergences de ces paradis là où ils se trouvent ; d’un autre côté de situer le cas du Maroc par rapport aux enjeux des standards internationaux en matière fiscale.   Mots clés : Paradis Fiscal, Fiscalité, Taxes, Impôts. Classification : JEL : H2-H7 Type de l’article : Recherche descriptive et comparativ

Higher education and Syrian refugee students: The case of Iraq

"This report on the tertiary education for young Syrian refugees in Iraq is part of a broader regional study commissioned by UNESCO. The project aims to assess the impact of the conflict in Syria and the results of the crisis on tertiary education in host countries, including Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt and Turkey. This report presents the findings of an investigation that aims to identify major lines of action in tertiary education in emergencies, namely, legal frameworks and policies implemented by key actors within the sector, and it gives insights into the current status of tertiary education for Syrian refugees and displaced persons in Iraq. The report employs a qualitative approach and intends to explore and understand the challenges and opportunities for Syrian refugee students in accessing tertiary education. The study’s findings underline the understanding of the vital role of tertiary education in improving living conditions and giving a sense of hope for the future in the context of protracted situations. The results show that the large number of refugees, who have changed the national demographics within the country, present a challenge for the state and local communities in meeting the needs of both the refugees and the host communities. Several of these challenges pertaining to the education sector are: (1) legal issues including lack of accreditation and citizenship alongside restrictive host country policies, (2) ignorance of university application procedures or lack of academic and career guidance which provide pathways to the labor market or further education, and (3) financial shortcomings. The demand continues to far outstrip the opportunities available. The study offers policy and program recommendations to decision- and policy- makers for the national and international communities, national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), donors, education stakeholders and other institutions with the overall goal to improve and guide further practice and research in supporting displaced persons in protracted situations to access tertiary education.

Matrices cellulaires reconfigurables en point flottant dédiées au traitement des signaux

RÉSUMÉ Les processeurs scalaires sont majoritairement utilisés de nos jours, pour le traitement des signaux numériques, par comparaison aux processeurs matriciels qui offrent pourtant plus de vitesse de calcul due à leur architecture parallèle traitant de nombreuses données en temps réel. Il existe une multitude d’architectures de matrices cellulaires. Cependant la grande majorité est très spécialisée pour le calcul d’une ou deux fonctions de traitement de signaux et seuls quelques processeurs matriciels sont reconfigurables afin de traiter la plupart des fonctions de traitement de signaux. Ce mémoire présente l’architecture d’un processeur matriciel construit à partir de cellules complexes de calcul appelé "Module de Traitement Universel" (UPM). Ce processeur peut servir comme un module de propriété intellectuelle (IP block) destiné à être utilisé dans un FPGA pour le traitement des signaux. Des mêmes matrices d’UPMs sont reconfigurées en vue d’effectuer la plupart des opérations de Traitement Numérique des Signaux DSP incluant des fonctions de filtrage adaptatif récursives ou non et des fonctions d’analyse spectrale. Ce processeur peut être reconfiguré pour appliquer diverses transformées, filtres adaptatifs, filtres en treillis, en générations de fonctions, corrélations et en calcul de fonctions récursives qui peuvent être exécutées à grande vitesse. Pour une plus grande précision la conception est faite de manière à traiter les données en arithmétique point flottant. Afin de permettre le calcul de fonctions récursives l’unité de traitement UPM est construite avec un module de contrôle de récursivité. En outre l’UPM est conçu de manière à être mis en cascade afin d’augmenter l’ordre des opérations de traitement. La conception logicielle de matrice 2x2 UPMs et 6x4 UPMs, qui sont programmées en langage Verilog-HDL, est simulée et testée avec les mêmes cellules reconfigurées en plusieurs fonctions telles que le filtrage adaptatif, l’analyse spectrale et le calcul de fonctions récursives. La même matrice de cellules à été simulée sur Matlab Simulink sous différentes configurations.----------ABSTRACT Scalar processors are commonly used today in contrast with array processors which offer a higher computation speed due to their parallel architecture dealing with a great number of data in real time. Several cellular arrays architectures exist. However, the vast majority is highly specialized for the computation of one or two signal processing functions and only a few are reconfigurable to handle most of the of signal processing functions. This thesis presents the architecture of an array processor constructed using building blocks which are complex computation cells named Universal Processing Module (UPM). This array processor may serve as an intellectual property (IP block) to be used in FPGA technology and dedicated to signal processing. The same UPMs matrices are reconfigured to perform most of digital signal processing DSP operations including adaptive recursive and non recursive filtering, and spectral analysis functions. This processor can be reconfigured in order to compute transforms, adaptive filters, lattice filters, function generations, correlations and recursive functions, all performed at high speed. For greater accuracy the processor is constructed in floating point arithmetic. In order to enable computation of recursive functions, the UPM is built with a recursion control module. This processing element can also be indefinitely with the intention to increase filtering order. The software design of a 2x2 UPMs and a 6x4 UPMs arrays which is programmed in Verilog-HDL language, is simulated and tested using same cells reconfigured in order to compute DSP algorithms such as adaptive filtering, spectral analysis and recursive functions. The same matrix of cell is simulated on Matlab Simulink through different configuration. The processor is tested with all proposed reconfigurations and offers an acceptable computing precision

Trois essais sur l'impact des incitatifs financiers sur la productivité du système de la santé au Québec

Les incitatifs financiers dans le réseau de la santé sont reconnus avoir un effet sur le comportment des différents acteurs : médecins, patients, gestionnaires d’établissements. Ils peuvent prendre la forme de modèles de financement comme le financement à l’activité ou le financement selon la meilleure pratique ou bien des récompenses/pénalités financières offertes/appliquées selon le niveau des résultats atteints par rapport aux cibles fixées. Ces incitatifs financiers peuvent être liés directement au financement de l’établissement de santé ou à la rémunération médicale ou les deux simultanément. L’impact de ces leviers a été très peu testé dans le contexte québécois. L’objectif de cette thèse est de contribuer à la littérature d’évaluation de cet impact sur différents aspects de la productivité du système de santé au Québec. Ce dernier étant un système public caractérisé par une gouvernance coordonnée par le ministère de la santé et des services sociaux (MSSS). Les modèles de financement du réseau étant basé sur le modèle historique alors que la rémunération des professionnels de la santé étant majoritairement basée sur l’acte médical. Ces deux enveloppes budgétaires sont distinctes et le médecin prend le statut de travailleur autonome. Dans le premier chapitre, nous étudions l’effet causal d’un programme de financement à l’activité, le programme d’accès à la chirurgie, sur l’accès aux services et la qualité des soins. En utilisant des données administratives du Québec et un groupe de contrôle (données similaires de la Colombie britannique) et en se plaçant dans le cadre d’une approche de différence en différence, nous montrons que ce programme instauré depuis 2004 pour le secteur de la chirurgie et pour l’ensemble du réseau de la santé a permis de baisser les délais d’attente moyens aisni que les durées de séjour à l’hôpital, notamment pour les chirurgies de hanche et de genou, sans qu’il y ait détérioration dans certains indicateurs de la qualité des soins. En plus, l’effet de ce financement est non seulement positif mais aussi croît avec le niveau de financement. Dans le deuxième chapitre, mon analysons l’effet causal de l’introduction d’un programme de dépistage du cancer colorectal pour certains établissements pilotes. En utilisant les données des établissements non traités comme groupe de contrôle et à l’aide d’un modèle de transition multi-états, nous montrons l’effet positif de ce programme sur la qualité des soins ainsi que sur la santé de la population. Étant introduit au début en tant que stratégie clinique et combiné par la suite avec un financement récurrent selon la performance, ce programme a contribué à la baisse des durées de séjour pour un retour à domicile et à la diminution des coûts de traitement pour une chirurgie colorectale. Contrairement aux résultats du premier chapitre, cette analyse n’a pas permis de démontrer un effet positif du financement sur la baisse des durées de séjour. Ceci peut être dû à la courte durée de notre échantillon à partir de la date de l’annonce du financement additionnel pour les établissements pilotes. De l’autre côté, ce financement à la performance a contribué à une utilisation accrue d’une approche de traitement moins invasive. Dans le dernier chapitre, nous réalisons une analyse coût-efficience de ce programme de qualité afin de juger de la pertinence de poursuivre l’application de cette stratégie basée sur les protocoles cliniques ainsi que la pertinence de poursuivre le financement additionnel. Nous démontrons que le ratio bénéfice-coût de la stratégie clinique (tests de dépistage et protocole clinique) est non seulement supérieur à l’unité mais aussi supérieur à celui du programme incluant le financement additionnel. Ces résultats suggère une revue de la stratégie des incitatifs financiers en lien avec ce programme. Dans cette thèse, nous montrons comment les incitatifs financiers peuvent contribuer au changement du comportement et améliorer certains aspects de la productivité du système de la santé. Les leviers financiers ont été capables d’agir sur le comportement des médecins, dans la majorité des situations, malgré qu’ils ne sont pas directement liés à la rémunération médicale. Ceci témoigne d’une façon d’agir de la part des médecins qui n’est pas encore complètement documentée mais qui n’est certes pas détachée du contexte financier de l’établissement de santé. Cependant, ces leviers financiers doivent être utilisés dans le cadre général d’une stratégie clinique offrant un certain seuil minimal de conditions de réussite et d’atteinte des objectifs. Ils ne peuvent agir seuls dans le sens de l’objectif à atteindre mais certes en cohérence avec toute stratégie clinique basée sur un partenariat clinico-administratif.Financial incentives in health network system are supposed to have an effect on the behaviour of the different healthcare stakeholders : physicians, patients, facilities managers. They may be proposed as funding models such as activity based funding or best practice paiement or rewards / financial penalties offered / applied according to outcome indicators achieved and compared to targets. Financial incentives could be linked directly to the healthcare facility funding or to medical payments or both. The impact of these levers has been little tested in the Quebec context. The objective of this thesis is to contribute to the literature of financial incentives impact assessment on various aspects of healthcare system productivity in Quebec. The latter being a public system characterized by a governance coordinated by the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS). Network funding models being based on global budget while the healthcare professionnels paiement is mainly based on fees for services. Both budgets are distinct and the physician takes self-employed status. In the first chapter, we assess for the causal effect of the first Quebec activity based funding program, access to surgery program, on access to services and healthcare quality. Using Quebec administrative data, a control group ( similar data from British Columbia ) and a difference in difference approach, we show that this program, introduced in 2004 for the surgery sector in all facilities, reduced waiting times and hospital lengths of stay, especially for hip and knee replacements, without deterioration in some healthcare quality indicators. In addition, the effect of this funding is not only positive but also increases with funding level. In the second chapter, we estimate the causal effect of the introduction of a colorectal cancer screening program for some pilot facilities. Using data from untreated hospitals as control group and a multistate model, we show the positive impact of this program on the healthcare quality and population health. Introduced at the beginning as a clinical strategy and combined later with recurrent performance payments, the program has contributed to the decrease of hospital lengths of stay with home discharge and also lower treatment costs for colorectal surgeries. Contrary to the results of the first chapter, this analysis did not demonstrate a positive effect of financial incentives on lower lengths of stay. This may be due to the short duration of our sample since the date of additional funding announcement. On the other side, financial incentives contributed to increased use of a less invasive treatment approach. In the last chapter, we perform a cost-effectiveness analysis of this healthcare quality program to identify the relevance of continuing implementing the strategy based on clinical protocols and additional funding. We demonstrate that the benefit-cost ratio of clinical strategy ( screening tests and clinical protocol ) is not only greater than unity but also higher than the program including the additional funding ratio. These results suggest a review of the financial incentives strategy for this program. In this thesis , we show how financial incentives can help behaviour move and improve certain productivity aspects in the healthcare system. The financial levers have been able to influence the physicians behaviour, in most situations, although they are not directly related to their payments. This reflects a way of behaving for physicians that is not yet fully known but is certainly not disconnected from facilities financial context. Finally, these financial levers must be used in the general framework of a clinical strategy providing a minimum level of success conditions and achievement of objectives. They can not act alone in the direction of the goal but certainly they should be consistent with any clinical strategy especially when based on clinical-administrative partnership

The Effects of Climate Change on Forest Industry and Environment : Finland and Morocco

The purpose of this thesis is to present the climate change problems and to describe how this affects the Finnish and Moroccan forest industry. This thesis also aims at explaining the scientific basis for climate change and the possible impacts of changing climate. The natural climate change, climate forcing, emission from forest industry, predicting climate change, and avoiding dangerous climate change are introduced and discussed to illustrate their potentials and impacts on the environmental and economic prospects domestically and internationally. As an application of the effect of climate change on forests, the experimental part in laboratory is about the effect of air humidity on hand sheet paper properties. Two different research methods were used to complete this thesis work in different chapters and also for different evaluations. The information in this thesis has been collected by researching and studying the existing literature and other sources on the relevant subjects with the supervision and guidelines from instructor. The second method used was team interview of experts on the effect of climate change on forests. The respondents are mainly from Finland and Morocco. Among the respondents contacted were a researcher, three experts on environment, six pulp mill operators and random questionnaire respondents. It was found out that pulp and paper industry is air emissions from recovery boiler and lime kiln as well as malodorous gases and chlorine compounds from bleaching chemical preparations are responsible for a big amount of greenhouse gas emissions which accelerate the climate change. It therefore becomes important that necessary corrective measures must be taken urgently