Verrou ou vitrine? : politiques du visa Schengen en Algérie et en Chine

L'Algérie et la Chine figurent toutes deux sur la liste, commune aux États membres de l'Union européenne (UE), des nationalités soumises à l'obligation de visa Schengen pour voyager à destination d'un ou plusieurs pays européens. En Chine, plus de 95% des visas demandés sont délivrés par les consulats des pays Schengen, mais en Algérie, près d'un dossier sur deux est refusé. Partant d'un tel écart, la thèse interroge le visa Schengen comme l'instrument d'une mobilité à deux vitesses. Ce faisant, elle propose de questionner la production, la légitimation et l'éventuelle contestation de la répartition inégale de la liberté à se déplacer. D'un point de vue théorique, la thèse s'appuie sur l'approche de l'instrumentation, qui conduit à décomposer l'analyse du visa Schengen en quatre niveaux (communautaire, politico-diplomatique, bureaucratique, public). D'un point de vue méthodologique, cette recherche articule deux enquêtes de terrain auprès des consulats français d'Alger et Beijing, et une série d'entretiens menés avec les décideur∙ses français∙es et européen∙nes entre Bruxelles, Paris et Nantes. Tout d'abord, la thèse souligne que le visa Schengen comprend, dès sa négociation par les acteurs européens, des conceptions antagonistes de la mobilité, orientées vers la lutte contre l'immigration irrégulière, mais aussi vers des considérations économiques ou encore d'ordre diplomatique. Ensuite, les fonctions de régulation du visa Schengen sont redéfinies au cas par cas. Dans le cas de l'Algérie, la rareté du visa se comprend à la lumière de la relation postcoloniale avec la France, qui adopte dans ce pays tiers une « politique du robinet des visas », où le verrouillage de l'accès à la mobilité coexiste avec des facilitations soit exceptionnelles, soit réservées aux élites. En Chine, on assiste à l'inverse à une mise à l'agenda du visa au service de l'attractivité touristique. À Beijing, les consulats européens se disputent les parts du marché global des demandeur∙ses de visa chinois∙es, cadré∙es comme touristes dépensier∙es dont il faut faciliter la mobilité. Cette politique du chiffre crée alors une dissonance chez les agent∙es visa, socialisé∙es à l'impératif de lutte contre le « risque migratoire ». Enfin, la thèse met en évidence, à travers l'immersion ethnographique dans chaque terrain, que les bureaucrates et les demandeur∙ses de visa détiennent un pouvoir discrétionnaire, leur permettant de renégocier, selon des dispositions organisationnelles et individuelles, la distribution de la mobilité. À la lumière de ces différents résultats, la thèse permet d’établir que la régulation de la mobilité à plusieurs vitesses par le régime de visa Schengen se joue à plusieurs échelons : entre pays exemptés et ceux obligés ; entre pays de la liste négative ciblés par des logiques différentes, et entre ressortissant∙es d'une même nationalité. Cet instrument donne donc à voir une production complexe des inégalités de mobilité globales et infranationales, créant des lignes de démarcation entre désirables et indésirables.Algeria and China both feature on the European Union's (EU) list of third country nationals that are subjected to Schengen visa requirements for short-term travel to one or more European countries. In China, over 95% of visa applications are accepted, while in Algeria, almost one out of two visa applications are refused. To understand this discrepancy, the thesis examines the Schengen visa as the instrument of a two-tier mobility. Hence, this research, analyses the production, legitimation, and possible contestation of the unequal distribution of mobility. The theoretical framework of the dissertation relies on the approach of instrumentation, which leads to investigate four levels of analysis of Schengen visa policy (EU policymaking; bilateral migration diplomacy; implementation by bureaucrats and appropriation by applicants). The methodological approach rests on multisite fieldwork, including ethnographic observation of Schengen visa policy implementation by French consulates in Algiers and Beijing, and a series of interviews conducted with French and European decision-makers in Brussels, Paris, and Nantes. Firstly, the thesis highlights that, from the EU policy-making process onwards, the Schengen visa embodies antagonistic conceptions of the regulation of mobility: it seeks to curb irregular immigration, but also to promote economic growth and foster diplomatic relationships. As a result, the Schengen visa policy is a regime of compromise, entailing a contingent and random distribution of mobility. Then, the instrument and its functions are redefined on a case-by-case basis. In the case of Algeria, French consulates implement a restrictive visa policy. The Schengen visa primarily serves an immigration-reducing function from the former colony. The "locking policy" coexists with exceptional facilitations for elites only, which make the visa a rarity. By contrast, the case of China reveals the agenda-setting of a policy focused on tourism attractiveness. In Beijing, European consulates compete for the global market share of Chinese visa applicants, framed as “big-spender”-type tourists whose mobility must be facilitated. This run for attractiveness engenders a dissonance among consular agents, since they are conditioned to the fight against "migratory risk". Eventually, ethnographic immersion enables to emphasize that in both cases, bureaucrats and applicants all hold a discretionary power. It allows them to proceed to organisational and individual arrangements, which renegotiate the distribution of access to mobility. Overall, the thesis demonstrates that the regulation of multi-speed mobility by the Schengen visa regime is played out at several levels: between exempt and obliged countries; between countries on the negative list targeted by different logics, and between nationals of the same third country. In brief, his research reveals how one single instrument can assume very antagonistic regulatory functions. Schengen visa policies thus structure an unequal mobility regime, creating global and social demarcation between desirable and undesirable foreigners

Face grosseira, hipotonia e regressão do neurodesenvolvimento

Inborn errors of metabolism are a heterogeneous class of multisystemic diseases which, although individually rare, are collectively quite common. Central nervous system is usually affected. The authors report the case of a five-month-old girl, daughter of non-consanguineous parents, born after an unremarkable full-term pregnancy and delivery. Hypotonia and neurodevelopmental regression were noted from the age of five months, along with progressive onset of facial dysmorphism, hepatomegaly, seizures, and dilated cardiomyopathy. Gangliosidosis type 1 diagnosis was confirmed by biochemical, enzymatic, and genetic findings. This report enhances the relevance of multidisciplinary approach and follow-up.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Emergence of a tunable crystalline order in a Floquet-Bloch system from a parametric instability

Parametric instabilities in interacting systems can lead to the appearance of new structures or patterns. In quantum gases, two-body interactions are responsible for a variety of instabilities that depend on the characteristics of both trapping and interactions. We report on the Floquet engineering of such instabilities, on a Bose-Einstein condensate held in a time-modulated optical lattice. The modulation triggers a destabilization of the condensate into a state exhibiting a density modulation with a new spatial periodicity. This new crystal-like order directly depends on the modulation parameters: the interplay between the Floquet spectrum and interactions generates narrow and adjustable instability regions, leading to the growth, from quantum or thermal fluctuations, of modes with a density modulation non commensurate with the lattice spacing. This study demonstrates the production of metastable exotic states of matter through Floquet engineering, and paves the way for further studies of dissipation in the resulting phase, and of similar phenomena in other geometries.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure

Floquet operator engineering for quantum state stroboscopic stabilization

Optimal control is a valuable tool for quantum simulation, allowing for the optimized preparation, manipulation, and measurement of quantum states. Through the optimization of a time-dependent control parameter, target states can be prepared to initialize or engineer specific quantum dynamics. In this work, we focus on the tailoring of a unitary evolution leading to the stroboscopic stabilization of quantum states of a Bose-Einstein condensate in an optical lattice. We show how, for states with space and time symmetries, such an evolution can be derived from the initial state-preparation controls; while for a general target state we make use of quantum optimal control to directly generate a stabilizing Floquet operator. Numerical optimizations highlight the existence of a quantum speed limit for this stabilization process, and our experimental results demonstrate the efficient stabilization of a broad range of quantum states in the lattice.Comment: (10 pages, 3 figures

Comparison of two paradigms based on stimulation with images in a spelling brain-computer interface.

A BCI Speller is a typical Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) system for communication purposes. This technology can provide users with severe motor disability with an assistive device controlled by brain activity. The present preliminary study, with only four subjects, is focused on the control of a 5x5 P300-based speller matrix for communication purposes. In this work, we study the effect of flashing stimuli used to highlight the letters in two conditions: pictures and red famous faces (that is, famous faces coloured in red). These preliminary results, based on performance and the Information Transfer Rate (ITR), showed that both conditions are similar, obtaining very good performance compared to conventional P300-speller. In this sense, the use of pictures does not make the performance worse, allowing to develop more attractive and usable interfaces. More tests would confirm if there is a difference in performance between the two conditions proposed.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Comparison of Two Paradigms Based on Stimulation with Images in a Spelling Brain–Computer Interface

A P300-based speller can be used to control a home automation system via brain activity. Evaluation of the visual stimuli used in a P300-based speller is a common topic in the field of brain–computer interfaces (BCIs). The aim of the present work is to compare, using the usability approach, two types of stimuli that have provided high performance in previous studies. Twelve participants controlled a BCI under two conditions, which varied in terms of the type of stimulus employed: a red famous face surrounded by a white rectangle (RFW) and a range of neutral pictures (NPs). The usability approach included variables related to effectiveness (accuracy and information transfer rate), efficiency (stress and fatigue), and satisfaction (pleasantness and System Usability Scale and Affect Grid questionnaires). The results indicated that there were no significant differences in effectiveness, but the system that used NPs was reported as significantly more pleasant. Hence, since satisfaction variables should also be considered in systems that potential users are likely to employ regularly, the use of different NPs may be a more suitable option than the use of a single RFW for the development of a home automation system based on a visual P300-based speller.This work was partially supported by the project PID2021-127261OB-I00 (SICODIS), funded by MCIN (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación)/AEI (Agencia Estatal de Investigación)/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER, UE (Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional). The work was also partially supported by the University of Málaga (Universidad de Málaga). Partial funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málag

The Politicization of the European Union

What are the consequences of EU politicization for the EU and European societies? This book shifts the analytical focus from EU politicization processes to their empirical and normative research on the effects of politicization on public opinion, public discourses, policymaking and European integration

Mitochondrial disorders: insights into diagnosis and management in the new era of genomic medicine

Objectives: The overall aim of our research project was to develop a Next Generation Sequencing strategy to identify nuclear disease causing-mutations in patients suspicious of mitochondrial disorders but without molecular etiology.This Research Project is support by FCT (Fundação da Ciência e Tecnologia) (PTDC/DTP-PIC/2220/2014) - Genetic Defects of Mitochondrial Diseases: a Next Generation Sequencing Approach.info:eu-repo/semantics/draf

Diagnóstico das Doenças Mitocondriais por Sequenciação de Nova Geração

Introdução e objetivos: As doenças mitocondriais constituem um importante grupo de doenças metabólicas de expressão clínica heterogénea, para as quais não existe uma terapia eficaz. Estas patologias podem ser causadas por defeitos genéticos quer no genoma mitocondrial, quer no nuclear. A sequenciação de nova geração (NGS) revolucionou o diagnóstico molecular destas doenças, uma vez que tem capacidade de gerar uma enorme quantidade de dados num curto espaço de tempo a um custo acessível. O objetivo deste estudo [Financiado pela FCT (PTDC/DTP-PIC/2220/2014) e pelo Norte 2020 (NORTE-01-0246-FEDER-000014)] é desenvolver uma estratégia de NGS para permitir o diagnóstico genético de doentes suspeitos de doenças mitocondriais.info:eu-repo/semantics/draf