How to promote informal learning in the workplace? The need for incremental design methods

Informal Learning in the Workplace (ILW) is ensured by the everyday work activities in which workers are engaged. It accounts for over 75 per cent of learning in the workplace. Enterprise Social Media (ESM) are increasingly used as informal learning environments. According to the results of an implementation we have conducted in real context, we show that ESM are appropriate to promote ILW. Nevertheless, social aspects must be reconsidered to address users' needs regarding content and access, quality information indicators, moderation and control

Trans-gram, Fast Cross-lingual Word-embeddings

We introduce Trans-gram, a simple and computationally-efficient method to simultaneously learn and align wordembeddings for a variety of languages, using only monolingual data and a smaller set of sentence-aligned data. We use our new method to compute aligned wordembeddings for twenty-one languages using English as a pivot language. We show that some linguistic features are aligned across languages for which we do not have aligned data, even though those properties do not exist in the pivot language. We also achieve state of the art results on standard cross-lingual text classification and word translation tasks.Comment: EMNLP 201

ER5, a tomato cDNA encoding an ethylene-responsive LEA-like protein: characterization and expression in response to drought, ABA and wounding

We report the isolation by differential display of a novel tomato ethylene-responsive cDNA, designated ER5. RT-PCR analysis of ER5 expression revealed an early (15 min) and transient induction by ethylene in tomato fruit, leaves and roots. ER5 mRNA accumulated during 2 h of ethylene treatment and thereafter underwent a dramatic decline leading to undetectable expression after 5 h of treatment. The full-length cDNA clone of 748 bp was obtained and DNA sequence analysis showed strong homologies to members of the atypical hydrophobic group of the LEA protein family. The predicted amino acid sequence shows 67%, 64%, 64%, and 61%sequence identity with the tomato Lemmi9, soybean D95-4, cotton Lea14-A, and resurrection plant pcC27-45 gene products, respectively. As with the other members of this group, ER5 encodes a predominantly hydrophobic protein. Prolonged drought stress stimulates ER5 expression in leaves and roots, while ABA induction of this ethylene-responsive clone is confined to the leaves. The use of 1-MCP, an inhibitor of ethylene action, indicates that the drought induction of ER5 is ethylene-mediated in tomato roots. Finally, wounding stimulates ER5 mRNA accumulation in leaves and roots. Among the Lea gene family this novel clone is the first to display an ethylene-regulated expression

Aptamer based electrochemical sensors for emerging environmental pollutants

International audienceEnvironmental contaminants monitoring is one of the key issues in understanding and managing hazards to human health and ecosystems. In this context, aptamer based electrochemical sensors have achieved intense significance because of their capability to resolve a potentially large number of problems and challenges in environmental contamination. An aptasensor is a compact analytical device incorporating an aptamer (oligonulceotide) as the sensing element either integrated within or intimately associated with a physiochemical transducer surface. Nucleic acid is well known for the function of carrying and passing genetic information, however, it has found a key role in analytical monitoring during recent years. Aptamer based sensors represent a novelty in environmental analytical science and there are great expectations for their promising performance as alternative to conventional analytical tools. This review paper focuses on the recent advances in the development of aptamer based electrochemical sensors for environmental applications with special emphasis on emerging pollutants

Nanostructured materials with highly dispersed Au–Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 nanodomains: A route to temperature stable Au catalysts?

Our strategy to inhibit Au(0) growth with temperature involves the preparation of ultrafine Au clusters that are highly dispersed and strongly interacting with a thermally stable high-surface-area substrate. Temperature-stable Au-cluster-based catalysts were successfully prepared through the controlled synthesis of 3.5 nm Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 colloidal building blocks containing tailored strongly bound Au-cluster precursors. With the objective of stabilizing these Au clusters with temperature, grain growth of Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 nanodomains was inhibited by their dispersion through Al2O3 nanodomains. High surface area Au–Ce0.5Zr0.5O2–Al2O3 nanostructured composites were thus designed highlighting the drastic effect of Au cluster dispersion on Au(0) cluster growth. High thermal stability of our Au(0)-cluster-based catalysts was shown with the surprising catalytic activity for CO conversion observed on our nanostructured materials heated to temperatures as high as 800 C for 6 h

Pertinence et limites des PPP - une analyse économique

http://www.centre-cournot.org/index.php/2014/05/07/pertinence-et-limites-des-partenariats-public-prive-une-analyse-economique/?lang=frLes partenariats public-privé désignent des contrats administratifs globaux de long terme par lesquels une autorité publique confie à un contractant privé tout ou partie des missions de conception, construction, financement, exploitation et maintenance d'une infrastructure concourant de la fourniture d'un service public. Le contractant privé amortit son investissement initial et rémunère le service rendu au travers des péages acquittés par les usagers (en fonction du trafic) ou des loyers versés par la personne publique (en fonction de la disponibilité du service requis et de la satisfaction de critères de qualité et de performance). Contestés pour leur coût, leur opacité et leur rigidité, dénoncés sur la base de certains échecs ou de difficultés dans leur mise en œuvre, les partenariats public-privé n'en constituent pas moins un outil pertinent pour porter certains projets et garantir une exploitation efficace d'actifs et d'infrastructures publiques. Ce prisme livre une analyse dépassionnée de ces contrats en mettant en évidence les paramètres économiques et financiers qui peuvent conduire des collectivités publiques à opter pour cette voie contractuelle dans le cadre d'une démarche transparente et fondée sur l'exigence du bon usage des derniers publics. En effet, le recours aux financements privés s'avère indispensable, au vu des contraintes s'exerçant sur les finances publiques, pour répondre aux besoins d'investissements dans les infrastructures . De la même façon, le partenariat public-privé peut construire un cadre incitatif efficace pour protéger la personne publique contre les dérives de coûts et de délais et garantir un service de qualité tout le long de la durée du contrat. Pour autant, le recours à ces contrats ne constitue pas une panacée, applicable pour les tous les projets et en toutes circonstances. Notre Prisme montre dans quelle mesure et sous quelles conditions le partenariat public-privé peut tenir ses promesses. Il place un accent particulier sur la dimension financière qui constitue la clé de voûte de ces contrats tant en matière d'efficacité que de soutenabilité budgétaire. Il s'attache enfin aux évolutions que connaît ce modèle, notamment celles liées aux changements des conditions de financement

Improved Screening of cDNAs Generated by mRNA Differential Display Enables the Selection of True Positives and the Isolation of Weakly Expressed Messages

The high percentage of false positives generated by differential display (as high as 85%) has previously limited the potential of the method. This report describes an efficient methodology that enables false positives to be discarded prior to cloning, via reverse Northern analysis. This first step of the screening also allows the detection of putative lowabundance differential clones. Following cloning, a second reverseNorthern combined with partial DNA sequencing and RT-PCR detection allows isolation of all differential cDNAs including very lowabundance clones. Use of the sequential screening procedure described here led to the isolation of novel tomato genes responding to the plant hormone ethylene while minimising labor and materials input

Une aide à l'interprétation de traces : application à l'amélioration de scénarios pédagogiques

Nous nous intéressons dans cet article à l'observation au sein d'un EIAH. Notre objectif est de comprendre le comportement des apprenants et, à plus long terme, d'améliorer les scénarios pédagogiques. Dans un premier temps, nous montrons comment récupérer des observations depuis différentes sources. Dans un second temps, nous proposons une méthode permettant de composer une trace à partir de ces observations. Cette trace reflète l'activité de l'apprenant et servira de base à l'interprétation de son comportement. Nous illustrons notre approche à travers une expérience réalisée sur un EIAH dédié