L’URSS face à la guerre du Golfe, une stratégie singulière

Soon after the opening of hostilities between Iran and Iraq in September 1980, the Soviet Union offered military assistance to Tehran while simultaneously suspending arms deliveries to Baghdad, a formerly faithful client. Following Iran s refusal of assistance, and possibly in reaction to a percieved threat from the spreading of Iran's Islamic revolution, Moscow re-opened arms shipments to Iraq. This ambivalent behavior on the part of the Soviet Union is partially explained by the history of its interests in the region. The Soviet Union has long Had strategic ambitions to bring Iran under its influence. Moscow welcomed any opportunity to increase economic and political des with Tehran even if in the short term the results were only partial. On the other hand, Iraq is an influential member of the Arab community - a useful relationship for the USSR, and one that while mutually1987 advantageous for both parties, has not required extensive commitments. One cannot ignore the possibility that important events in the Gulf War will cause an abrupt shift in Soviet attitudes and actions in the region

What the independence referendums in Québec suggest about Scotland

The current dynamics of the debate in Scotland recalls very much what Québec experienced in its referendums of 1980 and 1995, writes André Lecours. While there are striking similarities, such as the bulk of the argument against independence resting on the potential economic and financial implications of secession, there are also important differences, such as the absence of any debate about the majority required to trigger the process of secession. The Québec experience also suggests, among other things, that the SNP is unlikely to be tarnished in a post-‘no’ Scotland, and that the debate on independence is certainly not closed

Assistive robotic device: evaluation of intelligent algorithms

Assistive robotic devices can be used to help people with upper body disabilities gaining more autonomy in their daily life. Although basic motions such as positioning and orienting an assistive robot gripper in space allow performance of many tasks, it might be time consuming and tedious to perform more complex tasks. To overcome these difficulties, improvements can be implemented at different levels, such as mechanical design, control interfaces and intelligent control algorithms. In order to guide the design of solutions, it is important to assess the impact and potential of different innovations. This paper thus presents the evaluation of three intelligent algorithms aiming to improve the performance of the JACO robotic arm (Kinova Robotics). The evaluated algorithms are 'preset position', 'fluidity filter' and 'drinking mode'. The algorithm evaluation was performed with 14 motorized wheelchair's users and showed a statistically significant improvement of the robot's performance.Comment: 4 page

Décentralisation, mouvements nationalistes et politiques sociales : les cas du Québec et de l’Écosse

Cet article a pour objectif d’offrir une perspective comparative susceptible d’enrichir notre compréhension des rapports entre les politiques sociales et la décentralisation politique dans le contexte d’États multinationaux. Dans un premier temps, il s’agit de formuler une approche théorique permettant de mieux saisir les rapports complexes et changeants entre les questions d’identité nationale et celles de protection sociale. Tout en explorant l’impact possible des mouvements nationalistes sur le développement de l’État social, l’article montre comment ces rapports peuvent s’articuler. Empiriquement, ces questions sont analysées à travers une comparaison entre les cas québécois et écossais.The goal of this article is to propose a comparative perspective to strengthen our understanding of the relation between social policies and decentralisation of powers in multinational states. It starts by setting out a theoretical approach for understanding the complex and changing relations between issues of national identity and those of social protection. Examining the impact of nationalist movements on the development of the welfare state, the article documents how these relations are linked. The empirical focus is a comparison of Quebec and Scotland

Effects of fade distribution on a mobile satellite downlink and uplink performance in a frequency reuse cellular configuration

In a mobile satellite system with a frequency reuse cellular configuration, significant co-channel interference can be experienced due to the antenna sidelobe level. The signal will be subjected not only to its own fading, but also to the effect of the varying degree of fading on co-channel interferer, and this interference will behave differently in the up and in the down link. This paper presents a quantitative evaluation of the combined effects of fades and co-channel interference on a mobile satellite link