The Step by Step Change to Selective Migration Policy―The Case of German Labor Migration Policy in Last Decade

Introduction: 　Investigating the recent migratory movements, above all the recent increasing migration from the southern European countries to Germany, we can find influence of the economic (financial) crisis in it. However, despite economic crises in Europe, the governments in Europe have never been closing the door for the labor migrants from third countries outside EU, and the many governments increasingly have been opening the door wider for the skilled migrants and care workers from third countries. Overviewing the development of the immigration policy of the European countries in last one and a half decade, we can observe the change from the ‘zero-immigration policy’ to the ‘selective immigration policy’, in which the governments promote the ‘desirable migration’, namely the migration of the highly-skilled as well as the skilled engaging in the type of job being scarce in a domestic labor market, while the governments and EU try to constrain ‘undesirable migration’, refugee migration and irregular migration. Several state like the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom and Denmark have introduced harsh measures against family reunion by imposing a language test or a test with questions about knowledge about the society and the institutions of host country or some restrictive requisites on applicants, in order to select migrants of family reunification and if possible decrease the volume of migration for family reunion. Parallel to the change to selective immigration policy, integration policy also has transformed in the direction of emphasizing the improvement of social and language skills and selecting immigrants by connecting the achievement of the integration course with the renewal of residence permit and advantage in naturalization. The core of ‘selective immigration policy’ is the flexible management and selection of immigration, not any more restriction nor limitation of immigration based on the static ideas, adapting to the shifting paradigms of state intervention in national economy and the supply of welfare as well as manpower； it is combined with the enhancing restraint on ‘not desirable’ migration like illegal migration and family union, and with the ‘selective’ integration policies, in part, in the sense of Joppke’s (2007) ‘civic integration.’ Rather than focusing on the adaptation and incorporation of entire immigrants to national society on some universalist and assimilationist principle, the selective immigrant policy centers on the competence and competitiveness of immigrants, growing language and life skills of them, promoting the incorporation of ‘competent’ immigrants and excluding ‘burdensome’ immigrants, on the principle of utility and selection (Kuboyama 2008). 　This paper deals with the transformation from zero-immigration policy to selective immigration policy developed in Germany in last decade, mentioning similar cases in other European countries. The paper is composed of two parts. In the first part, I show how several major host states in Europe, above all German and the United Kingdom, put the zero-immigration policy behind to take a course of selective policy from the late 1990s to the beginning 2000s. Germany failed to carry out the reform of immigration policy planned because of power relationship in party politics, as Germany enacted Immigration Act in 2004. The second part elucidates how Germany has constructed step by step selective migration policy, not only in the field of labor migration policy, but in other areas of migration policy, leading to the establishment of the system of selecting immigration and immigrants. The paper is based on the analysis of documents including parliamentary protocols, print media (on the web site), and secondary literature, and the interviews with ministry officers, regional office officers, members responsible for migration policy of labor unions and business circle and civil society actors

The transformation from restrictive to selective immigration policy in emerging national competition state: case of Japan in Asia-Pacific region

"This paper introduces and reports a part of my own research project 'cross-national analysis of immigration reform politics' in several OECD countries during the last decade. The research aims primarily to make a theoretical explanatory model to explain this paradigm change of immigration policy and secondarily to investigate the different domestic political processes in comparative perspective. The paper attempts to explain the recent transformation of immigration 'policy paradigm' in European destination countries, focusing on the historically contingent modality of state intervention, taking the cases in West Europe since the late 1990s, and using the arguments of 'national competition state' by Philip Cerny, and others. Then the paper applies this time the explanatory model to a case in quite different region, Japan where the government in past pursued the most restrictionist immigration policy among OECD countries and the neo-liberalist and reformist conservative government since 2001 opened the way to immigration policy reform, in the changing international and regional circumstances. Although we have experienced few outcomes of the reform, Japan has been launching the policy paradigm shift with the emergence of 'national competition state' and by the foreign and trade policy's imperative in Asian-Pacific region and it has transformed in part even the form of immigration politics in which the ministry bureaucrats and the governing party politicians dominated in past." (author's abstract

siEDM: an efficient string index and search algorithm for edit distance with moves

Although several self-indexes for highly repetitive text collections exist, developing an index and search algorithm with editing operations remains a challenge. Edit distance with moves (EDM) is a string-to-string distance measure that includes substring moves in addition to ordinal editing operations to turn one string into another. Although the problem of computing EDM is intractable, it has a wide range of potential applications, especially in approximate string retrieval. Despite the importance of computing EDM, there has been no efficient method for indexing and searching large text collections based on the EDM measure. We propose the first algorithm, named string index for edit distance with moves (siEDM), for indexing and searching strings with EDM. The siEDM algorithm builds an index structure by leveraging the idea behind the edit sensitive parsing (ESP), an efficient algorithm enabling approximately computing EDM with guarantees of upper and lower bounds for the exact EDM. siEDM efficiently prunes the space for searching query strings by the proposed method, which enables fast query searches with the same guarantee as ESP. We experimentally tested the ability of siEDM to index and search strings on benchmark datasets, and we showed siEDM's efficiency.Comment: 23 page

Regional differences in the incidence of severe brain damage in survivors with cardiac disease and witnessed out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

Background: Brain damage can occur after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) leading to permanent disability.Aims: This study investigated the incidence of severe brain damage and associated risk factors in survivors with cardiac disease after OHCA.Methods: The Utstein database for Japan was used to identify 23,640 survivors with cardiac disease and witnessed OHCA between 2005 and 2012. Survivors were assessed at 1 month. Odds ratios (ORs) for the incidence of severe brain damage according to regional variables were determined with logistic regression analysis.Results: The incidence of severe brain damage was 37.3%. Automated external defibrillator use and cardiopulmonary resuscitation were associated with significant improvement in cerebral function; adrenaline administration and longer duration from request for transport until hospital arrival were associated with deterioration of cerebral function. Twenty of 47 prefectures showed significant ORs for the incidence of severe brain damage.Conclusion: Regional differences in the incidence of severe brain damage were found among survivors with cardiac disease and witnessed OHCA

Politics of the people in Glasgow and the west of Scotland, 1707-c. 1785

This thesis analyses the political development and the growth of popular political awareness in Glasgow and the west of Scotland from the Union with England of 1707 to the burgh reform movement in the mid-1780s, examining political disputes among the urban elite as well as the activities, arguments, and ideology of ordinary people. Through the rapid growth of Atlantic trade and manufacturing industries, Glasgow and the west of Scotland in this period experienced social and economic changes which had significant implications for the ways that political control was contested and political opinions were expressed. The region also possessed a distinctive tradition of orthodox presbyterianism and loyal support for the Revolution Settlement and the Hanoverian Succession, both of which underpinned the growth of popular political awareness in the mid- and later eighteenth century. By taking these social and economic changes as well as traditional religious and political characteristics of the region into account, this thesis establishes a dynamic picture of eighteenth-century Scottish politics which has in the past been overshadowed by an image of its stability. Chapter One outlines the conditions, structure, and operation of urban and popular politics in eighteenth-century Glasgow. Chapters Two and Three demonstrate the existence of challenges to the political management by the great landowners and point out the popular dimension of these struggles. Chapter Four analyses how and why popular political consciousness developed in the age of the American Revolution, which led to the emergence of the burgh reform movement. Chapter Five examines popular disturbances, revealing the agency and vibrancy of the politics of the people. Chapter Six explores popular political ideology, focusing on the widespread appreciation of the British constitution and a distinctive Scottishness in the concept of liberty. This thesis concludes by asserting the importance of understanding politics in its broadest sense and also of incorporating the popular element as an integral part of any understanding of eighteenth-century Scottish politics

Motion artifact cancellation for wearable photoplethysmographic sensor

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2010.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 65-66).Photoplethysmography (PPG) is a non-invasive and unobtrusive technique to measure heart rate from the surface of the skin, by exposing a section of the skin to an LED light and measuring the changes in reflected light due to the blood pulsing through under the skin. However, PPG signals are highly susceptible to motion artifacts, and in order for this technique to be useful for heart rate measurements around-the-clock, a motion artifact cancellation mechanism must be implemented to recover the blood volume pulse (BVP) from the corrupted signal. Various digital signal processing (DSP) approaches for motion artifact cancellation have been attempted in the past, but a reliable around-the-clock PPG sensor is yet to be out on the market. This thesis outlines a novel, analog implementation of the motion artifact cancellation system, to evaluate the impact of sensor front-end improvements on the performance of motion artifact cancellation.by Yuta Kuboyama.M.Eng

Ten Years after : Web Scale Discovery Service (WSD) implementation in Japan handling Japanese

EBSCO User Group meeting, October 25-26 2017, in Salt Lake City Uta

CONTROLE DE QUALIDADE DO PROCESSO DE PRODUÇÃO DE MUDAS CLONAIS DE EUCALIPTO

Em um mercado competitivo é necessário que as empresas se adequem às normas exigidas pelo respectivo setor, para que o produto final atinja a qualidade mínima que satisfaça às exigências dos clientes. A qualidade do produto final promove, dentre outros, a diminuição do retrabalho e de perdas no processo de produção, consequentemente promove a redução dos custos, tendo em vista que a aquisição de mudas florestais ocupa significante parte dos custos de implantação florestal. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar as atividades pré-selecionadas na produção de mudas clonais de eucalipto e verificar se as mesmas foram executadas dentro dos padrões ou limites aceitáveis de qualidade de execução, propostos pelo setor florestal. A pesquisa foi realizada em dois viveiros, localizados em Sooretama, Espirito Santo. A obtenção dos dados foi por amostragem, dados compilados em folha de verificação utilizando da ferramenta da Qualidade 5W + 1H. Se foi avaliado a qualidade dos tubetes, preparo e plantio das miniestacas, as seleções das mudas e a expedição das mudas a campo. Para a análise do processo foram usadas ferramentas do Controle Estatístico de Processos CEP, especificamente, gráficos de controle por atributos e outra ferramenta do Controle da Qualidade, os Diagramas de Pareto. Pode-se verificar que a maior parte das etapas avaliadas do processo de produção de mudas no Viveiro A estavam sob controle. Entretanto, algumas intervenções no seu processo produtivo devem ser adotadas, particularmente no preparo das miniestacas e na segunda seleção de mudas e toalete, operações que apresentaram sinais fora de controle. Já, no Viveiro B, observou-se que os níveis de controle em alguns casos eram críticos indicando a necessidade de inserção de medidas corretivas. O conhecimento detalhado das etapas, profissionalismo e mudança na postura operacional e gerencial são essenciais em quaisquer empresas objetivando sempre a busca da melhoria contínua. Palavras-chave: atividade florestal, ferramentas da qualidade, controle estatístico

A novel Rac1-GSPT1 signaling pathway controls astrogliosis following central nervous system injury

Astrogliosis (i.e. glial scar), which is comprised primarily of proliferated astrocytes at the lesion site and migrated astrocytes from neighboring regions, is one of the key reactions in determining outcomes after CNS injury. In an effort to identify potential molecules/pathways that regulate astrogliosis, we sought to determine whether Rac/Rac-mediated signaling in astrocytes represents a novel candidate for therapeutic intervention following CNS injury. For these studies, we generated mice with Rac1 deletion under the control of the GFAP (glial fibrillary acidic protein) promoter (GFAP-Cre;Rac1(flox/flox)). GFAP-Cre;Rac1(flox/flox) (Rac1-KO) mice exhibited better recovery after spinal cord injury and exhibited reduced astrogliosis at the lesion site relative to control. Reduced astrogliosis was also observed in Rac1-KO mice following microbeam irradiation-induced injury. Moreover, knockdown (KD) or KO of Rac1 in astrocytes (LN229 cells, primary astrocytes, or primary astrocytes from Rac1-KO mice) led to delayed cell cycle progression and reduced cell migration. Rac1-KD or Rac1-KO astrocytes additionally had decreased levels of GSPT1 (G(1) to S phase transition 1) expression and reduced responses of IL-1β and GSPT1 to LPS treatment, indicating that IL-1β and GSPT1 are downstream molecules of Rac1 associated with inflammatory condition. Furthermore, GSPT1-KD astrocytes had cell cycle delay, with no effect on cell migration. The cell cycle delay induced by Rac1-KD was rescued by overexpression of GSPT1. Based on these results, we propose that Rac1-GSPT1 represents a novel signaling axis in astrocytes that accelerates proliferation in response to inflammation, which is one important factor in the development of astrogliosis/glial scar following CNS injury

Mammalian heart cytochrome oxidase

Preparation of a cytochrome c-cytochrome oxidase complex was achieved, using crystalline beef cytochrome c and purified cytochrome oxidase from beef heart muscle, or from the Keilin-Hartree preparation. Succinate oxidase was reconstituted with the complex. A mixture of cytochrome oxidase, solubilized with nonionic detergent, and excess cytochrome c was exposed to sonic irradiation. The cytochrome c-cytochrome oxidase complex was isolated using gel filtration of the mixture. The ratio of the concentration of cytochrome c to cytochrome oxidase in the complex was increased with the length of sonic treatment. The complex with the maximum ratio of one was separated after a 45-60 minute period of sonic irradiation. Differential sedimentation and chromatography on Sephadex showed the complex to be an integrated entity of two components. The complex could be formed with cytochrome oxidase and either intact cytochrome c or guanidinated cytochrome c. However, both acetylated cytochrome c and succinylated cytochrome c completely failed to form any kind of complex with cytochrome oxidase. These results indicate that the interacting force between the two components is mainly electrostatic, Absolute and difference absorption spectra of the carbon monoxide compound of the complex showed a unique, distinct maximum at 415 mμ. On the other hand, a "free mixture" of both components exhibited no absorption peak at the same wave length in the presence of CO. The formation of this CO compound was prevented by sodium cholate. After separation by means of cation exchange resin, neither component of the complex showed the absorption maximum at 415 mμ in the presence of CO. From these and other observations, the possibility of a conformational change in the protein moiety of the cytochromes as a result of the interaction was hypothesized in reference to the electron transport mechanism Infrared spectrum of the complex showed no superposition of absorption bands of the two components but showed a unique band at 950 and at 1050 cm⁻¹. The physiological activity of the complex was verified by the functional reconstitution of succinate oxidase with soluble succinate dehydrogenase, the cytochrome b-c₁ particle, and the complex, The reconstituted succinate oxidase was inhibited by the usual respiratory inhibitors in the same manner as the Keilin-Hartree heart muscle preparation, the carbon monoxide inhibition of the reconstituted succinate oxidase was reversed by light. The behavior of the complex in the oxidation of ascorbate was the same as that of the heart muscle preparation. Addition of a catalytic amount of tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine dramatically stimulated ascorbate oxidation. The cytochrome oxidase (cytochrome a plus cytochrome a₃) was functionally and structurally reconstituted from cytochrome a and intact heme a. About sixty percent of the original cytochrome oxidase activity was recovered from an incubation mixture of cytochrome a, ascorbate-EDTA, cytochrome c and hematin a. Hematin a was prepared from cytochrome oxidase or directly from heart muscle mince by means of metalation of purified porphyrin a. After removal of excessive hematin a by Sephadex chromatography, the reconstituted oxidase showed spectral properties almost identical to those of the intact preparation; a slight difference was found at the α-band