Le Japon s’entrouvre à l’immigration internationale

Dans le souci de parer à ce que les économistes qualifient de “bombe démographique à terme”, résultant du déclin persistant de la population du pays et face aux résultats limités de la stratégie de “backdoor immigration policy” , Abe va faire voter en décembre 2018, la loi acceptant plus de 345 000 immigrés, au Japon d’ici 2025 qui entre en vigueur en avril 2019. Car fort de son expérience au pouvoir (depuis 2012) et par une stratégie de grignotage de l’opinion publique -encore réticente à l’accueil des immigrés - Abe a tenté ce qu’aucun responsable politique nippon avant lui n’a osé faire en raison de la forte sensibilité politique et culturelle d’une telle entreprise. Ce faisant Abe va inaugurer ainsi “la troisième ouverture du pays” sur le monde depuis les Tokugawa. L’article passe en revue l’évolution et analyse la stratégie nipponne en matière migratoire et spécule sur les opportunités offertes à l’économie et à la société nipponnes par cette initiative d’Abe , sans toutefois omettre de soulever les difficultés qui puissent en découler sur le court et le moyen terme

Aproximación pragmática a la traducción de las inferencias entre el árabe y el español

Tesis doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Departamento de Lingüística General, Lenguas Modernas, Lógica, Filosofía de la Ciencia, Teoría de la Literatura y Literatura Comparada. Fecha de lectura: 28-01-2020Esta tesis tiene embargado el acceso al texto completo hasta el 28-07-202

A Quantitative Assessment of Forest Cover Change in the Moulouya River Watershed (Morocco) by the Integration of a Subpixel-Based and Object-Based Analysis of Landsat Data

A quantitative assessment of forest cover change in the Moulouya River watershed (Morocco) was carried out by means of an innovative approach from atmospherically corrected reflectance Landsat images corresponding to 1984 (Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper) and 2013 (Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager). An object-based image analysis (OBIA) was undertaken to classify segmented objects as forested or non-forested within the 2013 Landsat orthomosaic. A Random Forest classifier was applied to a set of training data based on a features vector composed of different types of object features such as vegetation indices, mean spectral values and pixel-based fractional cover derived from probabilistic spectral mixture analysis). The very high spatial resolution image data of Google Earth 2013 were employed to train/validate the Random Forest classifier, ranking the NDVI vegetation index and the corresponding pixel-based percentages of photosynthetic vegetation and bare soil as the most statistically significant object features to extract forested and non-forested areas. Regarding classification accuracy, an overall accuracy of 92.34% was achieved. The previously developed classification scheme was applied to the 1984 Landsat data to extract the forest cover change between 1984 and 2013, showing a slight net increase of 5.3% (ca. 8800 ha) in forested areas for the whole region

Le Kodokushi ou Mourir en Solitaire

The purpose of this paper is threefold : (1) to define and to understand the Kodokushi phenomenon and its causes ; (2) to apprehend and discuss its implications to Japan and its society in the time when its population is shrinking; and (3) to assess the measures and initiatives taken by the all implied actors (State, local governments, civil society…) in order to diminish this phenomenon and to see how the Japanese experience especially on the level of civil society, could be imitate and multiplied in other countries which face the same problem

Seismic evaluation method for existing reinforced concrete buildings in North of Morocco

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10518-019-00643-yThe purpose of this study is to seismically evaluate reinforced concrete buildings in the northern region of Morocco. In the past, the area have suffered from numerous earthquakes, lately the 2004 earthquake near the city of Al Hoceima (Mw of 6.4 causing more than 600 fatalities) and the region is constantly subject to seismic threats. A total number of 2746 residential buildings from the cities of Al Hoceima and Imzouren have been investigated for the purposes of this study. The proposed method adapts the Japanese Seismic Index Method making it more time-efficient and tuned to the context of the Moroccan construction. The method is based on a visual inspection of buildings and an in-depth insight of how constructions are designed and built in the region. The results show that Imzouren is more exposed to damage than the city of Al Hoceima is, mainly due to the soil nature. The method also shows that as the building’s height increases, it becomes more vulnerable. Furthermore, constructions that comply with the seismic regulations have a significant capacity to withstand damage without collapsing unlike other non-engineered buildings that have an almost non-existent ductility and can collapse soon during intense earthquakes.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Influence of gravel and adjuvant on the compressive strength and water absorption of concrete.

Concrete is the most commonly used material in civil engineering, given its economic cost and ease of manufacture. Its strength depends on the characteristics of its constituents. A good mix makes it possible to build solid, durable and economical structures. The present work aims to characterize the gravel of the Eastern region (quarry of eastern Morocco) by granulometric analysis and water absorption. Then, the studied gravel is used to produce three types of concrete (B20, B25 and B30), which were assessed in terms of water absorption and compressive strength. The last step is to study the effect of an adjuvant, more specifically a water reducer, on mechanical characteristics of local concrete. B25 concrete was chosen for the last step since it is the most used type in the region. Results show that adding a water reducer adjuvant, in this case 'Chrysoplast', can improve the compressive strength of concrete if the percentage added is accurately determined

NEAR SURFACE VELOCITY STRUCTURE OF ANDALUCIA (SOUTHERN SPAIN) AND ALBORAN SEA REGION FROM 0.15-2.0 HZ RAYLEIGH WAVES

  A methodology that has been applied for a relatively short time on Seismology is the modelling of very shallow structures from the inversion of dispersion values (group velocity of short period Rg waves). This is possible, because the very short period Rg wave group velocity is sensitive to the variations in the structure of shear velocity for the shallowest layers of the crust. In this line, we have undertaken in the present work, the determination of the shear velocity models for Andalucia and Alboran Sea region (southern Iberia), by means of the generalized inversion of dispersion curves corresponding to Rg waves (short period Rayleigh waves). We use digital filtering techniques, which provide a significant improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio helping to determine a reasonable model for velocity of shear waves. The dispersion curves obtained shows the complexity of the average structure crossing for the waves in each path analysed. We have inverted the average dispersion curves obtained for every path analysed in order to obtain theoretical shear-velocity models, according to the generalized inversion theory. The results obtained show the existence, in the study area, of strong lateral variations in the physical properties of the materials for a rank of depths between 0 to 5 km. The higher velocity values correspond to paths which crossing older structures, whereas the lower values correspond to the paths crossing younger structures.Una metodología que ha sido aplicada desde hace poco tiempo en Sismología, es el modelado de estructuras muy superficiales a partir de la inversión de valores de dispersión (velocidad de grupo de ondas Rg de corto periodo). Esto es posible, debido a que la velocidad de grupo de las ondas Rg de corto periodo, es sensible a las variaciones en la estructura de la velocidad de cizalla de las capas más superficiales de la corteza. En esta línea, nosotros hemos emprendido el presente trabajo: la determinación de los modelos de velocidad de cizalla para la región de Andalucía y mar de Alborán (sur de Iberia), por medio de la inversión generalizada de curvas de dispersión correspondientes a ondas Rg (ondas Rayleigh de periodo corto). Nosotros usamos técnicas de filtrado digital, las cuales proporcionan una significativa mejora en la razón señal-ruido, ayudando a determinar un modelo razonable para la velocidad de las ondas de cizalla. Las curvas de dispersión obtenidas muestran la complejidad de la estructura media cruzada por las ondas en cada trayectoria analizada. Nosotros hemos invertido las curvas de dispersión medias obtenidas para cada trayecto analizado, con el objeto de obtener modelos teóricos de velocidad de cizalla, de acuerdo con la teoría de la inversión generalizada. Los resultados obtenidos muestran la existencia, en el área de estudio, de fuertes variaciones laterales en las propiedades físicas de los materiales dentro de un rango de profundidad que va desde 0 a 5 km. Los valores más altos de velocidad corresponden a trayectos que cruzan las estructuras más antiguas, mientras que los valores más bajos corresponden a trayectorias que cruzan las estructuras más recientes

Near surface velocity structure of Andalucia (Southern Spain) and alboran sea region from 0.15-2.0 HZ rayleigh waves

Una metodología que ha sido aplicada desde hace poco tiempo en Sismología, es el modelado de estructuras muy superficiales a partir de la inversión de valores de dispersión (velocidad de grupo de ondas Rg de corto periodo). Esto es posible, debido a que la velocidad de grupo de las ondas Rg de corto periodo, es sensible a las variaciones en la estructura de la velocidad de cizalla de las capas más superficiales de la corteza. En esta línea, nosotros hemos emprendido el presente trabajo: la determinación de los modelos de velocidad de cizalla para la región de Andalucía y mar de Alborán (sur de Iberia), por medio de la inversión generalizada de curvas de dispersión correspondientes a ondas Rg (ondas Rayleigh de periodo corto). Nosotros usamos técnicas de filtrado digital, las cuales proporcionan una significativa mejora en la razón señal-ruido, ayudando a determinar un modelo razonable para la velocidad de las ondas de cizalla. Las curvas de dispersión obtenidas muestran la complejidad de la estructura media cruzada por las ondas en cada trayectoria analizada. Nosotros hemos invertido las curvas de dispersión medias obtenidas para cada trayecto analizado, con el objeto de obtener modelos teóricos de velocidad de cizalla, de acuerdo con la teoría de la inversión generalizada. Los resultados obtenidos muestran la existencia, en el área de estudio, de fuertes variaciones laterales en las propiedades físicas de los materiales dentro de un rango de profundidad que va desde 0 a 5 km. Los valores más altos de velocidad corresponden a trayectos que cruzan las estructuras más antiguas, mientras que los valores más bajos corresponden a trayectorias que cruzan las estructuras más recientes

S-wave velocity images of the Dead Sea Basin provided by ambient seismic noise

Based on passive seismic interferometry applied to ambient seismic noise recordings between station pairs belonging to a small-scale array, we have obtained shear wave velocity images of the uppermost materials that make up the Dead Sea Basin. We extracted empirical Green’s functions from cross-correlations of long-term recordings of continuous data, and measured inter-station Rayleigh wave group velocities from the daily correlation functions for positive and negative correlation time lags in the 0.1–0.5 Hz bandwidth. A tomographic inversion of the travel times estimated for each frequency is performed, allowing the laterally varying 3-D surface wave velocity structure below the array to be retrieved. Subsequently, the velocity-frequency curves are inverted to obtain S-wave velocity images of the study area as horizontal depth sections and longitude- and latitude-depth sections. The results, which are consistent with other previous ones, provide clear images of the local seismic velocity structure of the basin. Low shear velocities are dominant at shallow depths above 3.5 km, but even so a spit of land with a depth that does not exceed 4 km is identified as a salt diapir separating the low velocities associated with sedimentary infill on both sides of the Lisan Peninsula. The lack of low speeds at the sampling depth of 11.5 km implies that there are no sediments and therefore that the basement is near 10–11 km depth, but gradually decreasing from south to north. The results also highlight the bowl-shaped basin with poorly consolidated sedimentary materials accumulated in the central part of the basin. The structure of the western margin of the basin evidences a certain asymmetry both whether it is compared to the eastern margin and it is observed in north–south direction. Infill materials down to ∼8 km depth are observed in the hollow of the basin, unlike what happens in the north and south where they are spread beyond the western Dead Sea shore

Seismotectonics zoning of Morocco and adjacent region

In the present work, a new seismotectonics zoning of the Morocco and adjacent region is proposed. It is supported on a new database including recent geological (active faults, slip rates, geometrical characteristics, chronology of some recent tectonic phases) and geophysical (both instrumental and historical seismicity, focal mechanisms, nature of the crust) studies. In addition, the geodynamic context of the convergence of the Africa-Europe plates in the area, going from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea through the Strait of Gibraltar, has been taken into account. The newly suggested seismotectonics zoning is not limited to the borders of northern Morocco. It considers all the seismic sources (up to 400 km of distance) able to generate large and destructive earthquakes, such as the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, located in the Azores-Gibraltar transforming fault. New catalogues including the historical and instrumental seismicity since 1045 to 2005, and active faults were elaborated and used in this work. The most influential parameters having effects on the definition of the source area characteristics were determined with a suitable accuracy. The new performed zoning includes 12 shallow seismotectonics sources, each one corresponding to a certain volume of the Earth’s crust, whose known data were used to determine its static and dynamic conditions. Each seismotectonics zone has been analysed and interpreted, presenting certain homogeneity in the seismic potential and mode of deformation, obtained from the seismicity data, the strain and the stresses. For zones including faults, we have specified the geometrical characteristics, the chronology of the different movements corresponding to the successive tectonic episodes, and the associated seismicity. This new zoning will provide an improved contribution for both future probabilistic studies on seismic hazard, determining the ground acceleration, and seismic risk in the north of Morocco