Expérience migratoire antérieure et déqualification : étude de cas portant sur des immigrants russophones à Montréal

Malgré la politique d’ouverture à l’immigration, à la diversité et au multiculturalisme du Québec, les immigrants récents rencontrent de nombreuses barrières sur le marché du travail. Selon la vision néo-classique, le capital humain détermine l’intégration des immigrants et leur degré de déqualification. Bien que l’origine puisse influencer les caractéristiques professionnelles et personnelles des immigrants qualifiés, certains d’entre eux peuvent être de même origine mais avoir des caractéristiques différentes. L’expérience migratoire, définie comme le fait pour un individu d’avoir émigré une 1ère fois de son pays d’origine vers un pays étranger, avant d’émigrer de nouveau de ce pays vers un 3ème, pourrait modifier ces caractéristiques du capital humain et qui influence l’intégration des immigrants ainsi que leur degré de déqualification. Arrivés d’un pays très diversifié, étant instruits, et allophones, les immigrants d’ex-URSS se constituent un groupe représentatif pour cette étude. De surcroît, certains immigrants de ce groupe possèdent une expérience migratoire. Cette recherche a pour but d’examiner le rôle de l’expérience migratoire antérieure dans l’intégration des immigrants russophones sur le marché du travail québécois et de voir son impact sur la présence et le degré de déqualification. L’approche qualitative adoptée pour ce travail permet d’observer pleinement les opinions des immigrants quant à leur intégration professionnelle et d’examiner l’effet de l’expérience migratoire. Nous avons découvert que l’expérience migratoire peut modifier la situation des immigrants sur le marché du travail. D’une part, elle leur permet d’acquérir un diplôme et une expérience de pays économiquement développés, ce qui a plus de valeur au Québec que les diplômes et l’expérience de pays d’ex-URSS. En plus, cette expérience permet aux immigrants d’améliorer leurs compétences linguistiques. D’autre part, l’expérience migratoire peut modifier les caractéristiques comportementales, telles que les méthodes de recherche d’emploi ou l’adoption d’un comportement ouvert et flexible qui peut aider à l’intégration. De surcroît, l’amélioration des caractéristiques professionnelles et personnelles par une expérience migratoire peut avoir un effet de compensation qui diminue l’effet de la stratégie familiale sur la présence et le degré de déqualification. En somme, nous pouvons conclure que l’expérience migratoire antérieure a un effet sur l’intégration des immigrants russophones sur le marché du travail québécois, et particulièrement, sur la présence et le degré de déqualification.Despite the policy of open immigration, diversity and multiculturalism in Quebec, recent immigrants face many barriers in the labor market. According to the neo-classical view, human capital has an influence on the integration of immigrants and their degree of deskilling. While origin can influence the professional and personal characteristics of skilled immigrants, some of them might be of the same origin, yet possess different characteristics. The anterior migratory experience is defined as the act for someone, to migrate for the first time from their country of origin to another country, prior to migrate again from this country to a third one. That allows to the immigrants to alter characteristics of human capital, which then influence the integration of immigrants and their degree of deskilling. Being from a very diverse country, being educated, and being allophones, immigrants from the former USSR are a good representative group for this study. In addition, some immigrants in this group have previous migratory experience. This research aims to examine the role of previous migratory experience in the integration of Russian-speaking immigrants in the Quebec labor market, and to evaluate its impact on the presence and level of deskilling. The qualitative method adopted for the work allows for clear observation of the immigrants’ opinions relative to their professional integration, and an evaluation of the effect of the migratory experience. We have found that migratory experience can change an immigrant’s situation in the labor market. On the one hand, it allows them to get a degree and experience from an economically developed country, which holds more value in Quebec than qualifications and experience gained in countries of the former USSR. In addition, it allows them the opportunity to improve their language skills. On the other hand, migratory experience can shape behavioral characteristics, such as job search methods or the adoption of open and flexible behaviors which could help with integration. The improved professional and personal characteristics derived through migratory experience can also have a compensating effect which reduces the impact of family strategy on the presence and level of deskilling. In the end, we can conclude that previous migratory experience does have an impact on the integration of Russian-speaking immigrants in the Quebec labor market and, in particular, on the presence and level of deskilling

Electroform/Plasma-Spray Laminates for X-Ray Optics

Electroform/plasma-spray laminates have shown promise as lightweight, strong, low-thermal-expansion components for xray optics. The basic idea is to exploit both (1) the well-established art of fabrication of optical components by replication and (2) plasma spraying as a means of reinforcing a thin replica optic with one or more backing layer(s) having tailorable thermomechanical properties. In x-ray optics as in other applications, replication reduces the time and cost of fabrication because grinding and polishing can be limited to a few thick masters, from which many lightweight replicas can thereafter be made. The first step in the fabrication of a component of the type in question is to make a replica optic by electroforming a thin layer of nickel on a master. Through proper control of the electroforming process conditions, it is possible to minimize residual stress and, hence, to minimize distortion in the replica. Next, a powder comprising ceramic particles coated with a metal compatible with the electroformed nickel is plasma-sprayed onto the backside of the nickel replica. Then through several repetitions and variations of the preceding steps or perhaps a small compressive stress, alternating layers of electroformed nickel and plasma-sprayed metal-coated ceramic powder are deposited. The thicknesses of the layers and the composition of the metal-coated ceramic powder are chosen to optimize the strength, areal mass density, and toughness of the finished component. An important benefit of using both electroforming and plasma spraying is the possibility of balancing stresses to a minimum level, which could be zero or perhaps a small net compressive stress designed to enhance the function of the component in its intended application

Why Criminal Defendants Cooperate: The Defense Attorney\u27s Perspective

Cooperation is at the heart of most complex federal criminal cases, with profound ramifications for who can be brought to justice and for the fate of those who decide to cooperate. But despite the significance of cooperation, scholars have yet to explore exactly how individuals confronted with the decision whether to pursue cooperation with prosecutors make that choice. This Article—the first empirical study of the defense experience of cooperation—begins to address that gap. The Article reports the results of a survey completed by 146 criminal defense attorneys in three federal districts: the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of Virginia, and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Our study provides an entirely new and enriching perspective on the cooperation decision, building on prior theories from the cooperation and plea-bargaining literature, and providing for a more nuanced understanding of cooperation and its motivations. In several closed- and open-ended responses, attorneys shared their opinions—at times remarkably consistent, at times strikingly and informatively different—about cooperation practices in their respective districts. The results of this study can be used to further explore the theoretical foundations of cooperation and plea bargaining and can be used to build experimental studies to test causal relationships that are otherwise nearly impossible to determine

Enemies in Agreement: Domestic Politics, Uncertainty, and Cooperation between Adversaries

Adversarial agreements, such as the nuclear weapons treaties, disarmament zones, or conventional weapons limitations, vary considerably in the information sharing provisions they include. This dissertation investigates why adversarial states sometimes choose to cooperate by creating restraining institutions, and how their choices for the form of that cooperation are constrained and motivated. I argue that uncertainties arising out of domestic political volatility, which includes leadership changes or public unrest, make arms control agreements more likely because these moments create the possibility of foreign policy change. When states consider one another as relatively cooperative, increasing uncertainty about the adversary's security incentives leads them to hedge and pursue low monitoring agreements instead of relying on informal cooperation. Conversely, under highly competitive conditions, increased uncertainty makes states more willing risk cooperation and form agreements with intrusive information provisions where no agreements were previously possible. I show support for the theory through tests using an original data set of all adversarial cooperation agreements (1816-2007) and their provisions. Controlling for other determinants of arms control, I show that both types of domestic political volatility contribute to a higher likelihood of an agreement. As expected, the effect of volatility on types of information provisions is conditional on the prior relationship between the states. A detailed study of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty (US-Soviet Union, 1987) traces how shifts created by Gorbachev's new leadership contributed to greater uncertainty among US policymakers about Soviet intentions, giving both sides the negotiating space to design an intrusively monitored treaty. I then demonstrate the generalizability of the theory across a wider range of cases by looking at the effects of domestic volatility on agreement outcomes for adversaries experiencing détente; for those engaged in post-conflict competition, and for asymmetric powers negotiating new weapons limitation.Governmen

Bargaining in the Shadow of the Truth: How Client Assertion, Perception of Guilt, and Predictive Inaccuracy Influence Plea Recommendations

Over the past few decades, the largely hidden, secretive, and widely used system of plea bargaining has caught the fervent attention of scholars. The Shadow of the Trial model has been central to much of the plea-bargaining literature, despite significant critiques about its oversimplification. The model posits that defendants and their attorneys make plea decisions based largely on the estimated probability of conviction and the severity of the sentence to which the defendant could be exposed at trial. The model, however, assumes that all actors are rational, equally risk averse, have no competing interests, and possess high predictive accuracy. It also does not take into account the nuanced relationship between defendants and their attorneys. In two studies, we examine the foundations of the Shadow of the Trial model by providing practicing defense attorneys with case files containing evidence and asking them to predict jury outcomes and make plea recommendations. Juror verdicts from a mock trial containing the same evidence were used to measure attorneys’ accuracy. We measured attorneys’ perceptions of client guilt and asked them whether they believed their clients’ assertions of guilt or innocence. Attorneys were also asked about their perceptions of the fairness of plea bargaining. Finally, we examined how real-world constraints influenced attorneys’ judgments, perceptions, and recommendations. Study 1 was a 2 (client assertion: guilty/innocent) x 3 (order of evidence viewed: increasingly exculpatory/increasingly inculpatory/randomized order) x 4 (case lean: incomplete file overall guilty/incomplete file overall innocent/complete file overall guilty/complete file overall innocent) between-subjects factorial design. Our model revealed that client assertion, perception of client guilt, and predictive inaccuracy significantly influenced plea recommendations. Study 2 was a 2 (race: White/Black) x 3 (inadmissible evidence: present and discovered early/present and discovered late/not present) x 2 (client assertion: guilty/innocent) between-subjects factorial design. We found no race effects, but our conceptual model revealed a strikingly similar pattern to the one in Study 1: client assertion of guilt or innocence, perceptions of guilt, and predictive inaccuracy played key roles in plea recommendations. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed

From the ethnographers’ side : Escaping rocks and pitfalls in swinger research

acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

Speaking with Swingers in Spain and France : Strategies from the Swinger World

This paper explores the ways in which swingers negotiate their world in swinger settings in Spain and France. This includes previously ignored subgroups in swinger subculture, such as single swingers, intergenerational and intercultural couples as well as cuckold couples. Demographics differ slightly from previous studies, including 7 nationalities, suggesting a higher level of multiculturalism among swingers in cosmopolitan and touristic areas, such as the south of Spain and south of France. Drawing on ethnographic data collected in Andalusia, Spain, and Cap d´Agde, France, as well as qualitative interviews with 40 participants, we demonstrate the ways in which swingers negotiate their world. Strategies by swingers were used to avoid misunderstandings, create boundaries, claim agency, transgress, and deal with stigma.Peer reviewe

Early Motor Balance and Coordination Training Increased Synaptophysin in Subcortical Regions of the Ischemic Rat Brain

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of early motor balance and coordination training on functional recovery and brain plasticity in an ischemic rat stroke model, compared with simple locomotor exercise. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats with cortical infarcts were trained under one of four conditions: nontrained control, treadmill training, motor training on the Rota-rod, or both Rota-rod and treadmill training. All types of training were performed from post-operation day 1 to 14. Neurological and behavioral performance was evaluated by Menzies' scale, the prehensile test, and the limb placement test, at post-operation day 1, 7, and 14. Both Rota-rod and treadmill training increased the expression of synaptophysin in subcortical regions of the ischemic hemisphere including the hippocampus, dentate gyrus, and thalamus, but did not affect levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor or tyrosin kinase receptor B. The Rota-rod training also improved Menzies' scale and limb placement test scores, whereas the simple treadmill training did neither. The control group showed significant change only in Menzies' scale score. This study suggests that early motor balance and coordination training may induce plastic changes in subcortical regions of the ischemic hemisphere after stroke accompanied with the recovery of sensorimotor performance

Brain and Spinal Cord Interaction: Protective Effects of Exercise Prior to Spinal Cord Injury

We have investigated the effects of a spinal cord injury on the brain and spinal cord, and whether exercise provided before the injury could organize a protective reaction across the neuroaxis. Animals were exposed to 21 days of voluntary exercise, followed by a full spinal transection (T7–T9) and sacrificed two days later. Here we show that the effects of spinal cord injury go beyond the spinal cord itself and influence the molecular substrates of synaptic plasticity and learning in the brain. The injury reduced BDNF levels in the hippocampus in conjunction with the activated forms of p-synapsin I, p-CREB and p-CaMK II, while exercise prior to injury prevented these reductions. Similar effects of the injury were observed in the lumbar enlargement region of the spinal cord, where exercise prevented the reductions in BDNF, and p-CREB. Furthermore, the response of the hippocampus to the spinal lesion appeared to be coordinated to that of the spinal cord, as evidenced by corresponding injury-related changes in BDNF levels in the brain and spinal cord. These results provide an indication for the increased vulnerability of brain centers after spinal cord injury. These findings also imply that the level of chronic activity prior to a spinal cord injury could determine the level of sensory-motor and cognitive recovery following the injury. In particular, exercise prior to the injury onset appears to foster protective mechanisms in the brain and spinal cord

Abdominal functional electrical stimulation to improve respiratory function after spinal cord injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives: Abdominal functional electrical stimulation (abdominal FES) is the application of a train of electrical pulses to the abdominal muscles, causing them to contract. Abdominal FES has been used as a neuroprosthesis to acutely augment respiratory function and as a rehabilitation tool to achieve a chronic increase in respiratory function after abdominal FES training, primarily focusing on patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). This study aimed to review the evidence surrounding the use of abdominal FES to improve respiratory function in both an acute and chronic manner after SCI. Settings: A systematic search was performed on PubMed, with studies included if they applied abdominal FES to improve respiratory function in patients with SCI. Methods: Fourteen studies met the inclusion criteria (10 acute and 4 chronic). Low participant numbers and heterogeneity across studies reduced the power of the meta-analysis. Despite this, abdominal FES was found to cause a significant acute improvement in cough peak flow, whereas forced exhaled volume in 1 s approached significance. A significant chronic increase in unassisted vital capacity, forced vital capacity and peak expiratory flow was found after abdominal FES training compared with baseline. Conclusions: This systematic review suggests that abdominal FES is an effective technique for improving respiratory function in both an acute and chronic manner after SCI. However, further randomised controlled trials, with larger participant numbers and standardised protocols, are needed to fully establish the clinical efficacy of this technique