258 research outputs found
Financial services in the euro-mediterranean partnership : banking
Towards the goal to gather a better understanding of the banking structure and the regulatory practices in place, the Working Group on Financial Services in the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership developed a survey. This survey is based on a questionnaire which was addressed to the States of the MEDA region. The questionnaire tackled various topics related to the banking regulation, supervisory institutions in charge and the prevalent market conditions such as current market data. Furthermore the jurisdictions were asked to assess the compliance with the Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision (BIS 25) in their countries. Essential Banking laws and regulations are now in place in most countries of the region and Central Banks are upgrading their oversight capacity. Management systems are becoming more and more sophisticated and often include enhanced risk-based supervision functions procedures, with related manuals for supervision and training of staff. Bank Corporate governance as well as regulatory compliance with capital adequacy ratios have signifi cantly improved as a result of staff better prepared to carry out their newly introduced or strengthened obligations. Despite progress and a number of successful reforms, several challenges remain and need to be addressed to prepare the banking industry. Some of the necessary reforms would also facilitate fi nancial integration in the region accommodating the envisaged free trade: - Strengthen the soundness of the banking systems in all countries. In particular it is important to reduce the high level of non performing loans, to restructure state-owned banks, and to secure compliance with prudential rules ; - Increase competition in the banking system. Notably, extensive state ownership and restrictions on foreign bank entry stifl e competition and fi nancial deepening in the region; opening up the banking sector for commercial banks both for domestic credit institutions and those abroad is a solution ; - Deepen the fi nancial markets where they are bankdominated. Financial markets (money, interbank, foreign exchange, equity, and securities markets) are nascent or shallow in most countries, and nonbank fi nancial institutions are generally underdeveloped ; - Upgrade financial sector infrastructure. In particular, accounting and auditing practices, transparency and corporate governance, the legal and judicial framework, and the payment systems need to be strengthened.Euromed MEDA; Banking; Convergence; Mediterranean countries; European Union
Conception d'une plateforme d'Animats destinée à l'étude d'aglgorithmes d'apprentissage appliqués à la survie en environnement réel
RĂSUMĂ
Le prĂ©sent mĂ©moire rĂ©sume les travaux de maĂźtrise rĂ©alisĂ©s dans lâoptique de proposer une plateforme de dĂ©ploiement et dâanalyse dâalgorithmes dâapprentissage appliquĂ©s aux animats. Les animats dĂ©signent des agents minimalement Ă©quipĂ©s aussi bien sur le plan mĂ©canique quâen termes de puissance de calcul. NĂ©anmoins, la thĂ©orie gravitant autour de lâĂ©tude de ces entitĂ©s vise Ă mettre en avant des mĂ©thodes dâapprentissages permettant Ă ceux-ci dâĂ©voluer Ă partir de ce quâils auront appris de leur expĂ©rience dans lâenvironnement. Ă lâimage des ĂȘtres vivants, les diffĂ©rences de perception du milieu environnant devraient permettre de voir naĂźtre des particularitĂ©s et des comportements diffĂ©rents pour chacun dâentre eux. Par ailleurs, ces animats devraient avoir la facultĂ© de pouvoir communiquer entre eux dans le but de permettre, sâils le dĂ©sirent, de pouvoir partager de lâinformation et de se servir dâune connaissance et dâun apprentissage communs pour assouvir ce qui devrait ĂȘtre leur principal objectif : survivre dans leur environnement. Le domaine de recherche des animats comprend aussi bien lâĂ©tude des animats simulĂ©s que celle des animats rĂ©els. Alors que le premier permet un dĂ©ploiement facilitĂ© par lâabstraction rendue possible par les langages de haut niveau, la nĂ©cessitĂ© de devoir simuler un environnement avec lâensemble de ses singularitĂ©s induit une erreur de modĂ©lisation qui nâexiste pas lorsque les animats sont physiquement rĂ©alisĂ©s. Par consĂ©quent, si une telle plateforme Ă©tait disponible, il serait alors seulement nĂ©cessaire de se concentrer sur les algorithmes dâapprentissage plutĂŽt que sur des problĂšmes de modĂ©lisation. Par ailleurs, bien souvent, des algorithmes puissants lors des simulations se retrouvent inadaptĂ©s pour des problĂšmes rĂ©els de par le manque de fidĂ©litĂ© entre lâenvironnement simulĂ© et rĂ©el. Notamment, quâadviendrait-il si un capteur devenait dĂ©fectueux? Si une situation inconnue Ă©tait rencontrĂ©e? Si le bruit ou la prĂ©cision des capteurs avait mal Ă©tĂ© modĂ©lisĂ©s?Dans ce contexte, nous proposons dâĂ©tudier et de concevoir ce qui sera la base dâune plateforme de dĂ©veloppement et dâanalyse dâalgorithmes dâapprentissage. Ă la diffĂ©rence des plateformes existantes, la principale originalitĂ© de cette plateforme rĂ©side dans la prise en compte des problĂšmes Ă©nergĂ©tiques. En effet, pour pouvoir survivre lâanimat devrait ĂȘtre capable dâestimer et de prĂ©voir ses dĂ©penses Ă©nergĂ©tiques prĂ©sentes et futures et de les prendre en considĂ©ration dans le choix des tĂąches Ă effectuer.----------ABSTRACT This masterâs thesis summarizes the achievements realized towards proposing a platform for deployment and analysis of machine learning algorithms applied to animats. Animats are agents minimally equipped on the mechanical plan as well as in terms of computing power. Nevertheless, the theory describing the study of these entities aims at discovering learning methods allowing them to evolve using what they learnt from their experience in the environment. Just like human beings, differences in perception of the surrounding environment should allow peculiarities and several behaviors for each of them. Besides, these animats should be able to communicate between them so as to allow, if needed, to share information and to use common knowledge and learning in order to succeed in what should be their main objective: survive in their environment.
The research field of animats includes the study of simulated and real animats. While the former allows a facilitated deployment due to the abstraction made possible by high-level languages, the necessity to emulate an environment with all peculiarities can lead to modeling errors that may be avoided when animats are physically built. Consequently, if such a platform was available, it would only be necessary to focus on the learning algorithms rather than on the modelling problems. Besides, very often, powerful algorithms tested on simulation may prove themselves unsuitable for real problems in real environments. For instance, it is hard to predict what would happen if a sensor became defective, if an unexpected situation was met, or if the noise or the precision of the sensors was not properly modeled.In this context, we suggest studying and designing what will be the base of a platform for development and analysis of learning algorithms. Unlike the existing platforms, the main originality of this platform lies in the consideration of energy constraints. Indeed, to enhance its survivability, the animat should be able to estimate and to plan its present and future energy consumption and to consider it in the choices made. Besides, the objective was to design an animat sufficiently equipped to realize simple tasks but relatively primitive to make it necessary to take advantage of algorithmic parades, like for example the pooling of information. Therefore, the computing power embedded in the animat was purposely reduced to force the relocation of processing that proves too complex. On the other hand, a reduced size and a moderate price are necessary features to enable deployment of a colony of animats
Use of forest fragments by animalivorous bats in french Guiana
The effects of habitat fragmentation on animalivorous bats were studied on recent forest
islands created in 1994, at the time of the filling of Petit Saut dam in French Guiana. A
sampling strategy, including control sites located in a nearby forested area not fragmented
during the who le study period (1993-1997) was designed. Modifications affecting animali vorous
bat communities in a remote 28 ha island (island 2) and in 15 islets smaller than 6 ha
more or less isolated from the nearby continuous forest were analysed. Results were
compared to those obtained with the same methods for frugivorous and nectarivorous bats.
One hundred and forty eight gleaning animalivores, 41 aerial insectivores and 28 bats
belonging to other guilds (omnivore, sanguivore) were trapped during the whole study.
Capture analyses showed that species richness and abundance sharply declined in islets and
in the island 2 in 1995 and 1996. However no significant difference was found between
islands and continuous forest in 1997. There was no difference either in species richness or
in abundance between the island 2 and several islets of comparable isolation. On the contrary,
indices were significantly lower in far islets situated at more than 1 50 rn from the continuous
forest than in near ones. One possible explanation is the reluctance of understorey species to
cross open water to reach far islands.
Between 1994 and 1997, we failed to detect any difference in the relative proportion of
aerial insectivores and gleaning animalivores between islands and the continuous forest.
Among non-frugivorous species, gleaning animalivores represented 73 % of the total number
of captures made in the two habitats. Similarly no habitat differences were found in the
respective contributions of frugivores and animalivores to bat communities. Frugivores made
up roughly 80 % of the total number of bats captured during the study. Within the gleaning
animalivores guild, there was a positive relationship between abundance of a species in
islands and its abundance in the control area. Moreover, a positive correlation was equally
found between body size and abundance in all habitats.
The contribution of our results to the understanding of the impact of habitat fragmentation
on animalivorous bats is limited due to rarity and low detectability of a high number
of species making up animalivorous bat communities in Neotropical forests. Therefore,
additional methods to collect and analyse data that take into account these features should be
implemented to evaluate more accurately the impact of habitat fragmentation on bat
communities at Saint-EugÚneLes effets de la fragmentation de l'habitat sur la communauté des chauves-souris
animalivores ont été étudiés dans les ßlots forestiers formés en 1994 lors de la mise en eau du
barrage de Petit Saut (Guyane française). Un protocole d'échantillonnage standardisé,
incluant une zone de référence restée intacte tout au long de l'étude entre 1993 et 1997, a
permis de suivre les modifications affectant la communauté des chauves-souris animalivores
dans une ßle de 28 ha (ßle 2) bien isolée et dans 1 5 ßlots d'une superficie inférieure à 6 ha plus
ou moins isolés selon les cas. Les résultats obtenus ont été comparés avec ceux obtenus dans
les mĂȘmes conditions lors d'une prĂ©cĂ©dente Ă©tude pour les chauves-souris frugivores et
nectarivores.
148 chauves-souris animalivores glaneuses, 41 insectivores aériennes, 28 omnivores ou
hématophages ont été capturées au cours de l'étude. L'analyse de ces captures montre que la
richesse spécifique et l'abondance des individus ont chuté fortement en 1995 et 1996 dans
l'ßle 2 et dans les ßlots mais pas en 1997. Aucune différence de richesse ou d'abondance entre
l'ßle 2 et les ßlots de degré d'isolement comparable n'a été détectée. En revanche, les indices
de richesse et d'abondance obtenus pour les ßlots éloignés de plus de 150 m du bloc forestier
sont significativement plus faibles que ceux obtenus pour les ßlots situés à proximité
immĂ©diate de la forĂȘt intacte. Il est suggĂ©rĂ© que le survol d'une Ă©tendue d'eau libre pourrait
constituer une barriÚre au déplacement notamment pour les espÚces animalivores glaneuses
de sous-bois.
Entre 1994 et 1997, la proportion relative de chauves-souris aériennes insectivores et
glaneuses animalivores dans les ßlots forestiers et dans le bloc forestier n'était pas différente,
les glaneuses animalivores reprĂ©sentant 73 % des captures dans les deux milieux. De mĂȘme,
il n'y a pas de différence dans la contribution respective des guildes animalivores et
frugivores aux peuplements insulaire et du bloc forestier. Les chauves-souris frugivores
représentent autour de 80 % des captures dans les deux habitats. A l'intérieur de la guilde des
glaneuses animalivores, il existe une forte corrĂ©lation entre l'abondance d'une espĂšce en forĂȘt
non perturbée et son abondance dans l'ßle 2 et dans les ßlots. Une corrélation positive entre la
taille corporelle et l'abondance a également été trouvée tous milieux confondus.
La portée des résultats obtenus ici est limitée du fait de la rareté et de la faible
piégeabilité d'un nombre élevé d'espÚces qui composent le peuplement des chauves-souris
animalivores en forĂȘt nĂ©otropicale. D'autres techniques de collecte et d'analyse des donnĂ©es,
qui tiennent compte de ces particularitĂ©s, devront ĂȘtre mises en oeuvre pour pleinement
évaluer l'impact de la fragmentation de l'habitat sur les communautés de chauves-souris
animalivores Ă Saint-EugĂšn
Modeling, design and implementation of a low-power FPGA based asynchronous wake-up receiver for wireless applications
Power consumption is a major concern for wireless sensor networks (WSNs) nodes, and it is often dominated by the power consumption of communication means. For such networks, devices are most of the time battery-powered and need to have very low power consumption. Moreover, for WSNs, limited amount of data are periodically sent and then the radio should be in idle or deep sleep mode most of the time. Thus using event-triggered radios is well suited and could lead to significant reduction of the overall power consumption of WSNs. Therefore this paper explores the design of an asynchronous module that can wake up the main receiver when another node is trying to send data. Furthermore, we implement the proposed solution in an FPGA to decrease the fabrication cost for low volume applications and make it easier to design, re-use and enhance. To decrease the static power consumption, we explore the possibility of reducing the supply voltage. The observed overall power consumption is under 5ÎŒW at 250 kbps. Moreover, using a new asynchronous design technique, we observed that power consumption can be further reduced
Practical remediation of 3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one wastewater
Limiting environmental impact is a top priority for the chemical industry, and manufacturing practices need to be well controlled to avoid any potential contamination. In order to reduce waste streams during the processing of 3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one (NTO), potentially evironmental hazardous at concentrations of 1â
g/l, we investigated the potential remediation and recycling of water using a wide range of commercial sorption media. We studied the effect of experimental conditions, including flow rate, initial contaminant concentration and temperature. This led to the selection of Amberlyst A26 OH in a batch process and Activated Carbon in continuous flow, as the most effective sorption methods. Using high performance liquid chromatography photodiode array detection (HPLC-PDA), NTO was quantified from solutions, before and after remediation, showing a complete removal from a 10â
g/l NTO solution. Our purification method therefore appears to be suitable for the remediation of NTO-contaminated wastewater
Financial services in the euro-mediterranean partnership : banking
Towards the goal to gather a better understanding of
the banking structure and the regulatory practices in
place, the Working Group on Financial Services in the
Euro-Mediterranean Partnership developed a survey.
This survey is based on a questionnaire which was
addressed to the States of the MEDA region. The questionnaire
tackled various topics related to the banking
regulation, supervisory institutions in charge and the
prevalent market conditions such as current market
data. Furthermore the jurisdictions were asked to assess
the compliance with the Core Principles for Effective
Banking Supervision (BIS 25) in their countries.
Essential Banking laws and regulations are now in place
in most countries of the region and Central Banks are
upgrading their oversight capacity. Management systems
are becoming more and more sophisticated and
often include enhanced risk-based supervision functions
procedures, with related manuals for supervision
and training of staff. Bank Corporate governance as
well as regulatory compliance with capital adequacy
ratios have signifi cantly improved as a result of staff
better prepared to carry out their newly introduced or
strengthened obligations.
Despite progress and a number of successful reforms,
several challenges remain and need to be addressed to
prepare the banking industry. Some of the necessary
reforms would also facilitate fi nancial integration in the
region accommodating the envisaged free trade:
- Strengthen the soundness of the banking systems
in all countries. In particular it is important to reduce
the high level of non performing loans, to restructure
state-owned banks, and to secure compliance with
prudential rules ;
- Increase competition in the banking system. Notably,
extensive state ownership and restrictions on foreign
bank entry stifl e competition and fi nancial deepening
in the region; opening up the banking sector for commercial
banks both for domestic credit institutions
and those abroad is a solution ;
- Deepen the fi nancial markets where they are bankdominated.
Financial markets (money, interbank, foreign
exchange, equity, and securities markets) are
nascent or shallow in most countries, and nonbank
fi nancial institutions are generally underdeveloped ;
- Upgrade financial sector infrastructure. In particular,
accounting and auditing practices, transparency
and corporate governance, the legal and judicial
framework, and the payment systems need to be
strengthened
Financial services in the euro-mediterranean partnership : banking
Towards the goal to gather a better understanding of
the banking structure and the regulatory practices in
place, the Working Group on Financial Services in the
Euro-Mediterranean Partnership developed a survey.
This survey is based on a questionnaire which was
addressed to the States of the MEDA region. The questionnaire
tackled various topics related to the banking
regulation, supervisory institutions in charge and the
prevalent market conditions such as current market
data. Furthermore the jurisdictions were asked to assess
the compliance with the Core Principles for Effective
Banking Supervision (BIS 25) in their countries.
Essential Banking laws and regulations are now in place
in most countries of the region and Central Banks are
upgrading their oversight capacity. Management systems
are becoming more and more sophisticated and
often include enhanced risk-based supervision functions
procedures, with related manuals for supervision
and training of staff. Bank Corporate governance as
well as regulatory compliance with capital adequacy
ratios have signifi cantly improved as a result of staff
better prepared to carry out their newly introduced or
strengthened obligations.
Despite progress and a number of successful reforms,
several challenges remain and need to be addressed to
prepare the banking industry. Some of the necessary
reforms would also facilitate fi nancial integration in the
region accommodating the envisaged free trade:
- Strengthen the soundness of the banking systems
in all countries. In particular it is important to reduce
the high level of non performing loans, to restructure
state-owned banks, and to secure compliance with
prudential rules ;
- Increase competition in the banking system. Notably,
extensive state ownership and restrictions on foreign
bank entry stifl e competition and fi nancial deepening
in the region; opening up the banking sector for commercial
banks both for domestic credit institutions
and those abroad is a solution ;
- Deepen the fi nancial markets where they are bankdominated.
Financial markets (money, interbank, foreign
exchange, equity, and securities markets) are
nascent or shallow in most countries, and nonbank
fi nancial institutions are generally underdeveloped ;
- Upgrade financial sector infrastructure. In particular,
accounting and auditing practices, transparency
and corporate governance, the legal and judicial
framework, and the payment systems need to be
strengthened
Practical colorimetry of 3-Nitro-1,2,4-Triazol-5-One
A field ready colorimetric method of quantifying the concentration of aqueous 3ânitroâ1,2,4âtriazolâ5âone (NTO), several orders of magnitude below its environmental toxicity level, has been developed. The test allows for the immediate evaluation of the level of contamination in aqueous solution without the need for analytical equipment such as high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). The observed colours have been explained by the different NTO species present over the range of pH; these observations are supported by modelling and experimental results
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