1,102 research outputs found

    Cavity-Controlled Collective Scattering at the Recoil Limit

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    We study collective scattering with Bose-Einstein condensates interacting with a high-finesse ring cavity. The condensate scatters the light of a transverse pump beam superradiantly into modes which, in contrast to previous experiments, are not determined by the geometrical shape of the condensate, but specified by a resonant cavity mode. Moreover, since the recoil-shifted frequency of the scattered light depends on the initial momentum of the scattered fraction of the condensate, we show that it is possible to employ the good resolution of the cavity as a filter selecting particular quantized momentum states.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

    Analyse des conduites de salariés en transition de fin de carrière : Le cas de travailleurs et travailleuses en situation d’emploi atypique

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    Cet article propose une analyse des conduites d’investissement de travailleurs et travailleuses dans les différents domaines de leur existence. S’inspirant de l’approche du parcours de vie (life course), il s’appuie sur une enquête qualitative conduite au Québec auprès de 78 salariés âgés de 45 ans et plus, en situation d’emploi atypique depuis au moins trois ans. Les résultats mettent d’abord en évidence le large éventail des conduites observées. Ils montrent aussi la diversité des rapports à l’âge et à l’avenir professionnel des sujets. La prise en compte de ce regard subjectif porté par les travailleurs sur leur étape de vie et leur situation professionnelle s’avère éclairante pour interpréter la diversité des conduites d’investissement observées. Dans une perspective complémentaire, l’article examine dans quelle mesure ces différentes conduites sont statistiquement associées à quelques variables sociobiographiques et de situation professionnelle.Over the last twenty years, we have witnessed an expansion in non-standard forms of employment and, as its corollary, more heterogeneous and more unstable career trajectories. Older workers, whose numbers in the workforce in Western countries have been growing, have been particularly affected by these changes. These workers have been affected by acute vulnerability in their lives both at work and outside work. Their end-of-career trajectories and the transitions associated with them have been less and less certain. This article examines the involvement behaviours of a group of older workers whose recent career trajectory has been based on non-standard jobs. More specifically, the article first describes the types of behaviour observed, then presents the relationship between age and the subjects’ future, and then examines whether the latter is associated with these types of behaviour. Lastly, in addition, it assesses whether these behaviours are also statistically linked with the socio-biographical characteristics of the individuals and their employment situation.The approach adopted is based on the life course perspective which places emphasis on the study of occupational transitions, such as the end-of-career transition. From this perspective, the authors selected four principles guiding their study: the worker’s status as an actor, capable of making choices and formulating plans; a main focus on the subjectivity of the individuals, in particular their representations of their age and the stage of life they are in; the necessary interpretation of present experiences in terms of one’s previous life course and expectations for the future; and the interdependency of the various spheres of life. This approach proves to be particularly useful in the current context of evolving end-of-career trajectories, which can, based on this analytical framework, be interpreted as a triple trend towards disinstitutionalization, dechronologization and destandardization.This study is based on a corpus of 78 semi-structured interviews conducted in Quebec with men and women aged 45 or older, who have been in non-standard employment for at least three years.The content analysis brought out four types of involvement behaviours in different spheres of life, at the end-of-career stage: (1) shifting to a new stage of life, characterized by gradual disinvolvement from the work sphere with increased involvement in family life and leisure activities (29.5%); (2) reinforced and decisive involvement in the work sphere and the decision to relegate non-work projects to the background (17.9%); (3) choosing an equal distribution of commitments, both psychological and temporal, to both life at work and life outside work (19.2%); (4) starting a socio-occupational dropping out process, marked by psychological disinvolvement from the work sphere, without significant re-involvement in other spheres (33.3%). Each of these types of behaviour proved to be associated with experiences specific to the workers’ recent career trajectory.In accordance with the life course approach, a second typology was developed to understand the workers’ subjective representation of their advancing age and the stage of life they are in, based on their past experiences and their plans for the future. Three distinct types emerged. Thus, some of these workers view their age as a strength which guarantees their labour market retention (26.9%); some see their age as a social limit holding back any new career plan and get into a position of waiting for retirement (35.9%); and some think of their age as a source of multiple vulnerabilities and discrimination, which undermines their future at work (37.2%).The authors then bring out a statistical link between the relationship with age and the future and the observed types of involvement behaviour. Taking into account this subjective variable proves to be particularly revealing for interpreting the diversity of behaviours. Moreover, the examination of several socio-biographical variables or variables linked to the employment situation at the time of the survey (gender, age, education level, family situation, employment insecurity, financial satisfaction) reveals a number of statistically significant links which are, in general, consistent with the scientific literature.In the discussion, the authors place emphasis on both the range of behaviours observed among older non-standard workers and the low frequency of the normative behaviour expected at the end-of-career stage, namely disinvolvement from work in favour of life outside work. Based on the life course perspective, this result is seen as an indicator of a destandardization of end-of-career trajectories which, however, might turn out to be a double-edge sword for workers. The diversity of behaviours observed also illustrates the relevance of considering simultaneously life at work and life outside work. As regards the workers’ subjective view of their advancing age and the stage of life they are in, attention is drawn to the phenomenon of early psychological disinvolvement from work, which can be interpreted as premature aging, the consequences of which are worrying at individual, organizational and societal levels. Lastly, as regards the link between types of involvement behaviour and the relationship with age and the future, it may be relevant to consider the workers’ subjective view of their employment situation, since the latter is moreover dependent on their perception of their career and biographical trajectories. The authors suggest that this association between types of behaviour and the relationship with age and the future can be interpreted as the linkage between individual biographical temporalities (past/present/future).Este articulo propone un análisis de conductas de implicación de trabajadores y trabajadoras en los diferentes campos de su existencia. Inspirándose del enfoque de trayectoria de vida (life course), el artículo se apoya en una encuesta cualitativa efectuada en Quebec con 78 asalariados de 45 años y mas, en situación de empleo atípico desde un mínimo de 3 anos. Los resultados ponen en evidencia, en primer lugar, la variedad de conductas observadas. Ellos muestran también la diversidad de actitudes frente a la edad y el porvenir profesional de los sujetos. Tomar en cuenta esta visión subjetiva manifestada por los trabajadores sobre su etapa de vida y su situación profesional resulta esclarecedor para interpretar la diversidad de conductas de implicación observadas. En una perspectiva complementaria, el articulo examina en qué medida estas diferentes conductas son estadísticamente asociadas a ciertas variables socio-biográficas y ocupacionales

    Importance of dispersal for the expansion of a Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx population in a fragmented landscape

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    Dispersal allows recolonization of previous areas of habitat following severe depression of a population but the significance of this is not clear in felids. There is little evidence to support the general belief that subadult felids will colonize new areas, although this isa crucial assumption in reintroduction or recovery projects. Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx were reintroduced into the Swiss Alps and have subsequently spread over part of their potential range but the expansion halted in the mid 1980s. We postulated that high lynx densities would lead to an expansion of the population, and to assess the potential of this population to expand we compared the dispersal characteristics of 22 subadults from the north-west Swiss Alps, where an increase in lynx abundance occurred from 1995 onwards, to 17 individuals from the Jura Mountains, an area with a lower lynx density. Dispersal data came mainly from radio-telemetry. Dispersal rates and distances for subadults that completed dispersal were lower in the north-west Swiss Alps than in the Jura Mountains. In general, subadults exhibited little ability to cross major barriers such as highways. The hypothesis that high density alone will foster theexpansion of the population was therefore not confirmed. This has consequences for the reintroduction and recovery of carnivores in fragmented landscapes. Toestablish only one strong source population may notbe an optimal strategy, and population nuclei shouldtherefore be founded in several neighbouring patche

    Job loss in a group of older Canadian workers: Challenges in the sustainable labour market reintegration process

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    In Western countries, the loss of jobs among older workers is a highly worrisome situation, since it can be synonymous with long-term employment precariousness and definitive exclusion from the labour market. This precariousness is occurring while the labour force in these countries is aging, and governments are looking to extend people’s working lives. It is therefore particularly relevant to study different labour market reintegration processes and to understand their sustainability from a psychological perspective. The present article is examining these processes using a longitudinal study over an 18-month period with 61 older Canadian workers. Time 1 and Final Time were documented with semi-structured individual interviews. These data allowed us to qualitatively construct three reintegration processes (blocked, downgrading, and sustainable) that describe a large spectrum of workers’ experiences regarding occupational repositioning. Quantitative analyses likewise suggest moderate statistical links between the reintegration process and changes in subjective variables associated with the relationship to work and identity representations. Altogether, the results underline the importance of returning to the labour market in qualified, decent, sustainable work that allows people to have a decent and meaningful personal life. The results also suggest, in keeping with the psychology of sustainability, that interventions should promote occupational and personal enrichment, both at the individual and organizational levels

    Screening accuracy of a 14-day smartphone ambulatory assessment of depression symptoms and mood dynamics in a general population sample: Comparison with the PHQ-9 depression screening

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    Introduction Major depression affects over 300 million people worldwide, but cases are often detected late or remain undetected. This increases the risk of symptom deterioration and chronification. Consequently, there is a high demand for low threshold but clinically sound approaches to depression detection. Recent studies show a great willingness among users of mobile health apps to assess daily depression symptoms. In this pilot study, we present a provisional validation of the depression screening app Moodpath. The app offers a 14-day ambulatory assessment (AA) of depression symptoms based on the ICD-10 criteria as well as ecologically momentary mood ratings that allow the study of short-term mood dynamics. Materials and methods N = 113 Moodpath users were selected through consecutive sampling and filled out the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) after completing 14 days of AA with 3 question blocks (morning, midday, and evening) per day. The psychometric properties (sensitivity, specificity, accuracy) of the ambulatory Moodpath screening were assessed based on the retrospective PHQ-9 screening result. In addition, several indicators of mood dynamics (e.g. average, inertia, instability), were calculated and investigated for their individual and incremental predictive value using regression models. Results We found a strong linear relationship between the PHQ-9 score and the AA Moodpath depression score (r = .76, p < .001). The app-based screening demonstrated a high sensitivity (.879) and acceptable specificity (.745). Different indicators of mood dynamics covered substantial amounts of PHQ-9 variance, depending on the number of days with mood data that were included in the analyses. Discussion AA and PHQ-9 shared a large proportion of variance but may not measure exactly the same construct. This may be due to the differences in the underlying diagnostic systems or due to differences in momentary and retrospective assessments. Further validation through structured clinical interviews is indicated. The results suggest that ambulatory assessed mood indicators are a promising addition to multimodal depression screening tools. Improving app-based AA screenings requires adapted screening algorithms and corresponding methods for the analysis of dynamic processes over time

    Student's vocal participation trajectories in whole-class discussions during teacher professional development

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    Research studies have long shown that dialogic classroom interactions can have a positive impact on student learning. Despite this, in practice, monologic classroom discussions still predominate. This comparative scarcity of dialogic classroom discussions is linked to the considerable challenges inherent in cultivating them, both for teachers and their students. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the extent to which, during a one-year teacher professional development program, students' vocal participation in whole-class discussions can be successfully fostered. As data material, we used videotaped classroom discussions of six classes (three mathematics and three history classes) from pre-, post-, and delayed post-test intervention lessons, as well as from three practice phases of the training. The discussions were evaluated using quantitative analyses and content analysis. In all six classes, the pre-post-test comparison revealed an increase in students' talk share. In four of the six classes, more students participated after the intervention than before. The type of student contributions changed in all classes: The students more often justified their contributions and referred to other students' contributions. The insights gained regarding the mostly non-linear progression of individual developments, and regarding subject-based differences, yield useful hints for the design of professional development formats

    Generalized resistance to pruritogen-induced scratching in the C3H/HeJ strain

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    Previously the effect of the pruritogens, such as histamine and chloroquine, was tested in 11 inbred mouse strains, and this study aimed to identify resistant and sensitive strains, consistent with the observation that underlies the large variability in human populations. In the present study, we used the low responder C3H/HeJ (C3H) and the more sensitive C57BL/6J (C57) strain to find out if resistance and sensitivity to develop pruritus is restricted to only histamine and chloroquine or extends to other known pruritogens as well. We tested five additional commonly known pruritogens. We established dose-response relationships by injecting four concentrations of the pruritogens in the range of 0.3, 1, 3, and ten-fold in the nuchal fold. Then we assessed the scratching behavior for 30 min after injection with an automated custom-designed device based on the bilateral implantation of mini-magnets in the hind paws and on single cages placed within a magnetic coil. We found that the resistance to pruritogens is a general phenotype of the C3H strain and extends to all pruritogens tested, including not only histamine and chloroquine, but also endothelin, trypsin, 5-HT (serotonin), the short peptide SLIGRL, and Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA). C57 was more sensitive to all pruritogens and, in contrast to C3H, dose-response relationships were evident for some of the pruritogens. In general, comparable peak scratch responses were observed for the 0.3-fold concentrations of the pruritogens in C57 whereas C3H required at least the ten-fold concentration and still displayed only between 5 and 33% of the scratch responses observed in C57 for the respective pruritogen. The general resistance to pruritogens and the low level of scratching behavior found in the C3H strain is an interesting trait and represents a model for the study of the heritability of itch. It is accompanied in C3H with a higher sensitivity in assays of nociception

    Relations entre profils identitaires et profils motivationnels au lycée

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    International audienceLes années lycées correspondent aux années importantes en termes d'explorations et de choix dans des domaines qui comptent pour la construction identitaire (qui suis-je, qu'est-ce que je vaux, où vais-je ? etc). La motivation intrinsèque ou l'autodétermination (intégration d'une régulation externe de la motivation) des élèves sont des facteurs de réussite scolaire (Vallerand, Fortier & Guay (1997). De nombreux travaux menés auprès de lycéens ou de collégiens ont étudiés la présence de profils d'élèves autodéterminés ou non autodéterminés (Ratelle, Guay, Vallerand, Larose et Senecal, 2007). Dans le cadre d'une étude exploratoire, notre objectif est de définir chez les lycéens des profils motivationnels et d'étudier la façon dont ceux-ci se caractérisent du point de vue des statuts identitaires et du niveau d'autodétermination. L'échantillon de population est constitué de 427 lycéens scolarisés en Terminale dans des établissements des villes de Toulouse, Bordeaux et Grenoble (moyenne d'âge =16.84, ET= .87 ; 62.3% filles). Les dimensions identitaires sont évaluées à partir de la version française de la DIDS (Dimension of Identity Development Scale - Luyckx et al., 2008) validée par notre équipe (Zimmermann et al., EARA 2012) et les profils motivationnels à partir de l'échelle de motivation dans les études (EME-U28) de Vallerand et al. (1989). A partir d'une analyse en clusters nous identifions 4 profils allant de la motivation complète à l'a-motivation. Le croisement entre les profils motivationnels et le genre et les profils identitaires (statuts et processus) montrent des associations significatives. Par exemple, les garçons et les identités diffuses (en particulier les diffus insouciants) se retrouvent plutôt dans la classe des amotivés. Le croisement des clusters motivationnels et identitaires, en nous permettant de disposer à la fois des caractéristiques de la motivation, de l'identité et du genre, nous amène à identifier des profils d'élèves à risque de décrochage

    Preventing Lower Limb Graft Thrombosis after Infrainguinal Arterial Bypass Surgery with Antithrombotic Agents (PATENT Study): An International Expert Based Delphi Consensus

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    (1) Background: High-level evidence on antithrombotic therapy after infrainguinal arterial bypass surgery in specific clinical scenarios is lacking. (2) Methods: A modified Delphi procedure was used to develop consensus statements. Experts voted on antithrombotic treatment regimens for three types of infrainguinal arterial bypass procedures: above-the-knee popliteal artery; below-the-knee popliteal artery; and distal, using vein, prosthetic, or biological grafts. The treatment regimens for these nine procedures were then voted on in three clinical scenarios: isolated PAOD, atrial fibrillation, and recent coronary intervention. (3) Results: The survey was conducted with 28 experts from 15 European countries, resulting in consensus statements on 25/27 scenarios. Experts recommended single antiplatelet therapy after above-the-knee popliteal artery bypasses regardless of the graft material used. For below-the-knee popliteal artery bypasses, experts suggested combining single antiplatelet therapy with low-dose rivaroxaban if the graft material used was autologous or biological. They did not recommend switching to triple therapy for patients on oral anticoagulants for atrial fibrillation or dual antiplatelet therapy in any scenario. (4) Conclusions: Great inconsistency in the antithrombotic therapy administered was found in this study. This consensus offers guidance for scenarios that are not covered in the current ESVS guidelines but must be interpreted within its limitations
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