High performance underwater UHF radio antenna development

International audienceThis study presents the development of a UHF radioantenna for underwater transmissions in order to rapidly transmit large size files and real-time video

Transnational mobility, strong states, and contested sovereignty: Learning from the ChinaTaiwan context

Mobility across the Taiwan Strait has intensified since the border was opened in 1987. The crossborder social, cultural and economic exchanges, however, have remained closely embedded in the nationalistic logic specific to cross-Strait relations. Employing a state-centered approach and building on a comparative analysis of the interaction between Beijing and two groups of crossStrait migrants (mainland spouses in Taiwan, and Taiwanese investors in China), this paper examines the various ways in which a state may still exert influence over migrant communities in a context of increased mobility and exchanges. This paper argues that the nation-state may still shape migrants' experiences, particularly when sending and receiving governments have unresolved disputes. Under these conditions, state actors may use migrant communities to achieve their nationalistic goals

Modified Gravity and Cosmology

In this review we present a thoroughly comprehensive survey of recent work on modified theories of gravity and their cosmological consequences. Amongst other things, we cover General Relativity, Scalar-Tensor, Einstein-Aether, and Bimetric theories, as well as TeVeS, f(R), general higher-order theories, Horava-Lifschitz gravity, Galileons, Ghost Condensates, and models of extra dimensions including Kaluza-Klein, Randall-Sundrum, DGP, and higher co-dimension braneworlds. We also review attempts to construct a Parameterised Post-Friedmannian formalism, that can be used to constrain deviations from General Relativity in cosmology, and that is suitable for comparison with data on the largest scales. These subjects have been intensively studied over the past decade, largely motivated by rapid progress in the field of observational cosmology that now allows, for the first time, precision tests of fundamental physics on the scale of the observable Universe. The purpose of this review is to provide a reference tool for researchers and students in cosmology and gravitational physics, as well as a self-contained, comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to the subject as a whole.Comment: 312 pages, 15 figure

Socialization, Adaptation, Transnationalism, and the Reproductive Behavior of Sub-Saharan African Migrants in France

Background:  Migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) move from a region with high fertility to regions with low fertility. Yet very few studies have examined the reproductive behavior of international migrants from SSA. Objective: This study examines the roles of origin and destination socialization on the fertility and fertility ideals of SSA migrants in France. The study draws on measures of assimilation to systematically examine the effects of socialization and adaptation as well as transnationalism for the effects of sustained origin ties.  Methods: Data are from the TEO (“Trajectoires et Origines”) survey conducted in France (2008/2009). Logistic regression is used to examine current fertility (the odds of having a birth in the preceding five years), and Poisson regression is used to examine cumulative fertility (children ever born) and fertility ideals (reported ideal number of children in a family). Results: Controlling for sociodemographic factors, first-generation SSA migrants have higher fertility than second-generation SSA migrants and non-immigrants. But first and second-generation SSA migrants have higher fertility ideals than non-immigrants. Among SSA migrants, first and second-generation migrants do not differ in fertility and fertility ideals when adaptation is accounted for. Most measures of adaptation are negatively associated with actual fertility and fertility ideals. Transnationalism is associated with higher fertility ideals but less so with actual fertility. Conclusion: The study finds some evidence for origin socialization, but the findings are more strongly supportive of adaptation to the host society. Origin socialization appears to have a stronger influence on fertility ideals than actual fertility

Global surveillance of cancer survival 1995-2009: analysis of individual data for 25,676,887 patients from 279 population-based registries in 67 countries (CONCORD-2)

BACKGROUND: Worldwide data for cancer survival are scarce. We aimed to initiate worldwide surveillance of cancer survival by central analysis of population-based registry data, as a metric of the effectiveness of health systems, and to inform global policy on cancer control. METHODS: Individual tumour records were submitted by 279 population-based cancer registries in 67 countries for 25·7 million adults (age 15-99 years) and 75,000 children (age 0-14 years) diagnosed with cancer during 1995-2009 and followed up to Dec 31, 2009, or later. We looked at cancers of the stomach, colon, rectum, liver, lung, breast (women), cervix, ovary, and prostate in adults, and adult and childhood leukaemia. Standardised quality control procedures were applied; errors were corrected by the registry concerned. We estimated 5-year net survival, adjusted for background mortality in every country or region by age (single year), sex, and calendar year, and by race or ethnic origin in some countries. Estimates were age-standardised with the International Cancer Survival Standard weights. FINDINGS: 5-year survival from colon, rectal, and breast cancers has increased steadily in most developed countries. For patients diagnosed during 2005-09, survival for colon and rectal cancer reached 60% or more in 22 countries around the world; for breast cancer, 5-year survival rose to 85% or higher in 17 countries worldwide. Liver and lung cancer remain lethal in all nations: for both cancers, 5-year survival is below 20% everywhere in Europe, in the range 15-19% in North America, and as low as 7-9% in Mongolia and Thailand. Striking rises in 5-year survival from prostate cancer have occurred in many countries: survival rose by 10-20% between 1995-99 and 2005-09 in 22 countries in South America, Asia, and Europe, but survival still varies widely around the world, from less than 60% in Bulgaria and Thailand to 95% or more in Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the USA. For cervical cancer, national estimates of 5-year survival range from less than 50% to more than 70%; regional variations are much wider, and improvements between 1995-99 and 2005-09 have generally been slight. For women diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2005-09, 5-year survival was 40% or higher only in Ecuador, the USA, and 17 countries in Asia and Europe. 5-year survival for stomach cancer in 2005-09 was high (54-58%) in Japan and South Korea, compared with less than 40% in other countries. By contrast, 5-year survival from adult leukaemia in Japan and South Korea (18-23%) is lower than in most other countries. 5-year survival from childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is less than 60% in several countries, but as high as 90% in Canada and four European countries, which suggests major deficiencies in the management of a largely curable disease. INTERPRETATION: International comparison of survival trends reveals very wide differences that are likely to be attributable to differences in access to early diagnosis and optimum treatment. Continuous worldwide surveillance of cancer survival should become an indispensable source of information for cancer patients and researchers and a stimulus for politicians to improve health policy and health-care systems

Sending Country Policies

This chapter explores the twin central questions of how and why countries of origin reach out to expatriate populations. It first outlines basic concepts and typologies related to sending country policies, focusing particularly on key countries of origin of migrants settled within the European Union. Second, the chapter reviews central explanations for the emergence of sending country policies. However, sending countries do not reach out to their emigrants in equal measure. Differences are therefore examined in the outreach policies of sending countries and in sending countries' transnational relations with diasporas. The last part of the chapter discusses the nexus between sending country policies and migrant integration in the country of residence. On the basis of existing research, the chapter argues that sending country policies may intersect with migrants' integration in a number of ways. For example, migrant sending countries may seek to strengthen the upward mobility of their expatriate citizens in their place of residence abroad, and they may call for greater protection of migrant workers in precarious labour situations. Little is currently known about how migrants and diasporas respond to these policies and how they are perceived by political actors of countries of residence. This is an area for further study. More analysis is also needed to determine the extent that sending country outreach policies aimed at bonding with and supporting citizens abroad challenge territorial policy sovereignty and the strength of receiving countries in agenda-setting in international cooperation on migration and migrant settlement

Pakistani immigrant organisational spaces in Toronto and New York City

This study examines how ‘contexts of reception’ in two migrant cities shape the organisational infrastructure for Pakistani immigrant communities in Toronto and New York City (NYC). Previous research is divided into two epistemic camps, one focusing on locally oriented organisations promoting settlement/incorporation and the other on transnational organisations—thus obscuring the relationships between these organisations. The present study transcends this division by examining how the combined effect of state policies, socioeconomic incorporation, community characteristics and societal attitudes shape the composition and geographical orientation of an immigrant group's collective organisational space—comprised of local and transnationally oriented organisations. Data come from a newly constructed database of Pakistani non-profit organisations based in Toronto and NYC and from qualitative research conducted in both cities. Contrary to our expectations and previous research, we find that state-sponsored multiculturalism in Toronto is not associated with a larger or more transnationally oriented organisational space. Rather, it is the affluence of the Pakistani community in NYC that is associated with the larger and more transnational of the two Pakistani organisational spaces. Findings also reveal tensions between local and transnationally oriented organisations in both cities, reflecting a growing fragmentation between affluent cosmopolitan immigrant elites and the impoverished segments of Toronto and NYC Pakistani communities

Identificaci?n y propuesta de recuperaci?n del edificio antigua alcald?a de Ortega-Tolima

130 p.La educaci?n es un derecho fundamental consagrado en el art?culo 67 de la constituci?n colombiana de 1994, determinante en el desarrollo como sociedad, la preservaci?n y enriquecimiento de la cultura, el Derecho a la Educaci?n tiene 4 caracter?stica esenciales: Disponibilidad, Aceptabilidad, Adaptabilidad, Accesibilidad. Seg?n el plan de desarrollo creado para el municipio Ortega 2016-2019 se estima una tasa de analfabetismo del 18% superior al 14% de la regi?n, esto acompa?ado de una importante falta de infraestructura educativa y precarias pol?ticas estatales, dejan sin buen pron?stico el futuro educativo del municipio, a?n m?s preocupante es la preservaci?n cultural de este, sin embargo aunque en el plan de desarrollo se trata el tema someramente , no existen propuestas concisas para el fomento y preservaci?n de la identidad cultural del municipio, una identidad agr?cola y campesina, en gran medida esto es debido al PBOT del municipio que a la fecha de realizaci?n de este trabajo se encuentra sin actualizar, estando vigente la versi?n del a?o 2000. Atendiendo a la necesidad existente en el municipio se plantea el proyecto ?CENTRO DE FORMACI?N AGRARIA? para solventar la necesidad educativa y cultural mediante el an?lisis hist?rico, te?ricos, t?cnico y normativo en el dise?o de la revitalizaci?n y readecuaci?n de la antigua alcald?a de ortega como espacio acad?mico correspondiente a la cultura agraria Orteguna. Adem?s, de considerar el impacto social, cultural y ambiental en su implantaci?n.Education is a fundamental right enshrined in Article 67 of the 1994 Colombian constitution, determining in the development as a society, the preservation and enrichment of culture, the Right to Education has 4 essential characteristics: Availability, Acceptability, Adaptability and Accessibility. According to the development plan created for the Ortega municipality 2016-2019, an illiteracy rate of 18% higher than the 14% of the region is estimated, this accompanied by a significant lack of educational infrastructure and precarious state policies, leave the future without a good forecast. educational of the municipality, even more worrisome is the cultural preservation of this, however, although in the development plan the subject is briefly treated, there are no concise proposals for the promotion and preservation of the cultural identity of the municipality, an agricultural and peasant identity, To a large extent, this is due to the municipality's PBOT, which as of the date of carrying out this work, has not been updated, the version for the year 2000 being in force. In response to the existing need in the municipality, the project ?CENTRO DE FORMACI?N AGRARIA? is proposed to solve the educational and cultural need through the historical, theoretical, technical and normative analysis in the design of the revitalization and readjustment of the old mayor of Ortega as academic space corresponding to Orteguna agrarian culture. In addition, to consider the social, cultural and environmental impact in its implementation

Deep Underwater Compatible Wi-Fi Antenna Development

International audienceLarge file transfers or real time video underwater transmission at a low cost are becoming more necessary in the context of underwater observatories. Hence there is a need for increasing the current data rate capabilities both in shallow and deep underwater. Existing solutions (acoustic, mechanical or laser) suffer from different specific limitations: reduced data rate, insufficient positioning accuracy, high cost, etc. In this work supported by the French Europôle Mer organization, a high data rate underwater wireless radio system is being developed. We have chosen to modify some parts of the standard Wi-Fi architectures to keep costs low while obtaining performance that is currently unavailable under water. However, it is very well known that radio waves are strongly attenuated when they propagate in water. For this reason only wireless short range applications are expected to benefit from such innovations.Because modelling is necessary for electromagnetic (EM) design, we have first compared and selected an appropriate EM model of the sea. The most important parameters are the frequency, the salinity and temperature which varie with the geographic location, and sea weather variations. The attenuation computed in the band around 2.4 GHz differed, depending on the specific EM model that was used. A new underwater radio antenna is now under development. We have considered further specific constraints: easy integration into both remotely operated and autonomous underwater vehicles, insensitivity to variations of sea water electrical characteristics, resistance to very high hydrostatic pressures compatible with oceanic trench exploration, bio-pollution resistance, and low sensitivity to relative positioning of the transmitter and receiver. Polarization properties have been carefully chosen to improve the latter while simplifying the design.We are currently performing additional design optimizations and manufacturing an advanced antenna prototype in order to confirm the different simulation results and performance