Beyond the Model Reform Image: Morocco's Politics of Elite Co-Optation

Since coming to power in 1999, Morocco's King Mohamed VI has strengthened his rule by reinforcing his father's strategy of elite co-optation and ­rotation. However, after two decades of economic predation, the gradual waning of rent-distribution channels, and the lack of genuine democratisation, the king's ­strategy of power consolidation may be running out of steam. Mohamed VI's rule has coincided with the adoption of large-scale neo-liberal reforms, which have created new opportunities for economic co-optation and strengthened the monarchy's alliance with local economic and political elites. However, this neo-liberal turn has come with important costs for low-income groups. The last 20 years have been marked by an increase in the obedience of the local elite and the weakening of formal channels of political participation. The king has also been able to take credit for successful policies while simultaneously blaming the administration or elected officials for failed ones and contributing to the de-institutionalisation of the country's politics. Increased inequality and an established culture of contempt towards the "losers" of liberalisation and privatisation policies mean that those dissatisfied with the regime will increasingly turn to coping mechanisms that have a direct impact on European security (e.g. drug and human trafficking, international terrorism, and violent political contestation). A stable and prosperous Morocco is vital to Europe's security. However, inclusive and sustainable economic growth is only possible if genuine democratic reform allows for effective implementation of the rule of law, respect for human rights, and the development of robust democratic participatory channels through which popular grievances can be addressed

Nasal sarcoidosis

A 19-year-old woman with a two years history of dragging oto-rhino-laryngeal infections, purulent rhinorrhea and sinusitis, polyarthralgia, and an episode of granulomatous uveitis. Clinical examination showed destruction of nasal wing, hepatomegaly and splenomegaly. A rounded lesion with atrophic center in the forearm. Laboratory tests revealed upper limit calcemia, the angiotensin-converting enzyme was high 323 UI/L. Nasal biopsy revealed non-caseating epithelioid-cell granulomas. Differential diagnosis includes granulomatous disease of the nose such as leprosy, tuberculosis and Wegener´s granulomatosis. Special staining for typical mycobacterium and lepra bacilli were negative. The polymerase chain reaction for mycobacterium tuberculosis was negative. There was no renal involvement and the cytoplasmic antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (cANCA/PR3/ANCA) was negative. The diagnosis of nasal sarcoidosis was retained. The patient was treated with prednisone and azathioprine with favorable outcome

Dynamic Adaptation for WPANs Collision Prevention in eHealth Environments

© 2013 IEEE. This paper presents several adaptive mechanisms to dynamically update the wireless personal area networks (WPANs) parameters that are essential in wearable devices, especially in healthcare environments. Instead of collision detection and recovery, collision prevention is achieved using the proposed algorithms to guarantee a collision-free environment. We present a binary integer programming model for the optimal solution. To avoid the increased complexity, we introduce six suboptimal algorithms. The presented algorithms try to minimize network disruption by updating the parameters of a minimal number of the WPANs. The simulation results show how the algorithms trade off minimal disruption and time complexity

Measuring the Effectivity of Environmental Law

This book presents a new method for measuring the effectivity of national and international environmental law. It took four years of research and experimentation to develop a way to construct evidence-based legal indicators. The existing environmental indicators evaluate only statistical, scientific or economic data. With legal indicators, governments, parliaments and other public and private actors, including environmental NGOs, will be able to assess accurately and concretely, on a scientific basis, what the gaps, progress and setbacks in the implementation of international conventions and national laws are. The legal indicators will also serve as innovative tools for decision-making, in particular to carry out legislative reforms in full knowledge of the facts and not blindly, as well as to avoid regressions in environmental law. The mathematical method used makes it possible, through a questi onnaire addressing all the legal and institutional stages of the application of legal texts, to provide data highlighting both the points to be improved and the strengths of the application of the law. This essay is an update of a first book published in 2018 by the Institut de la Francophonie pour le développement durable. It is the result of a partnership between the International Centre for Comparative Environmental Law and the Normandy Chair for Peace

Super-Node Topology In Collaborative Learning: Concrete Examples And Benefits

In the context of education, collaborative learning is one of the pillars of teaching and learning approaches. It has been encouraged for its notable advantages in creating an active learning environment. Incorporating new and effective collaborative learning strategies in teaching would increase students\u27 interest and understanding, boost curiosity and willingness to do better, improve students\u27 interpersonal and leadership skills, increase engagement, and improve the overall learning experience. This paper proposes a supernode-based approach for student groups\u27 formation, a new method inspired by the peer-to-peer topology for file sharing systems. This method can be applied to a variety of courses, including networking and software development courses. Its benefits range from developing students\u27 awareness of each other\u27s academic needs to increasing interactivity and willingness to help each other, optimizing the teaching time, and enhancing the learning outcomes in general

Monique LE PELLEY FONTENY (dir.), ADOLPHE ET GEORGES GIRAUDON. UNE BIBLIOTHEQUE PHOTOGRAPHIQUE cat. expo, Paris, Somogy, 2005, 230 p., 175 ill., bibl., ind.

L'histoire des agences photographiques commence à sortir de l'ombre. À ce défrichage, le catalogue consacré à l'histoire de la maison Giraudon, qui joua un rôle essentiel dans la diffusion de la photographie d'oeuvres d'art en France à partir de 1877, apporte une contribution précieuse et remarquablement documentée. Dans un essai liminaire, repris du catalogue D'après l'antique (musée du Louvre, 2000), Catherine Mathon et Hélène Pinet proposent une étude synthétique de la reproduction photogr..

Super-Node Topology for Effective Students’ Advising

Academic advising plays a pivotal role in students’ academic success and progress. Several advising strategies were proposed and used to achieve satisfactory goals. Supernode topologies are known for their efficient use of resources and can be adopted in the provisioning of academic services to leverage their inherent advantages and improve the provisioning process. In previous work, we have applied the supernode topology in collaborative learning. This paper extends this concept to providing and managing university services, focusing on academic advising services. In a fine-grained version of the supernode-based advising service, experienced and skilled students provide extra advising support to their peers. This is referred to as peer-advising, and it brings several advantages, including increased advised students satisfaction, harnessing advising students’ communication and social skills, and reduced faculty advising time

Étudier ou rêver l’antique. Félix Ravaisson et la reproduction de la statuaire antique

A travers l’exemple « Les classiques de l’Art » dirigé par F. Ravaisson, cet article s’intéresse au renouvellement du regard sur la sculpture antique au XIXe siècle. Cet ouvrage qui regroupe un corpus de photographies de plâtres reproduisant des sculptures antiques a une visée pédagogique dans l’enseignement du dessin ; ainsi, il participe à la formation du goût des artistes du XIXe siècle. F. Ravaisson y présente des œuvres antiques peu diffusées, de plus il les fait photographier sous certains angles et dans une lumière qui leur donnent une dimension à la fois poétique et intemporelle. A cela, un cadrage particulier ajoute la touche finale à cette vision qui offre un nouvel univers des formes. Critiqué par certains et bien accueilli par d’autres, ce catalogue va faire des émules et laissera des traces dans l’émergence de certaines personnalités artistiques

Reputation-based Trust Management in Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Systems

Trust is required in file sharing peer-to-peer (P2P) systems to achieve better cooperation among peers and reduce malicious uploads. In reputation-based P2P systems, reputation is used to build trust among peers based on their past transactions and feedbacks from other peers. In these systems, reputable peers will usually be selected to upload requested files, decreasing significantly malicious uploads in the system. This thesis surveys different reputation management systems with a focus on reputation based P2P systems. We breakdown a typical reputation system into functional components. We discuss each component and present proposed solutions from the literature. Different reputation-based systems are described and analyzed. Each proposed scheme presents a particular perspective in addressing peers’ reputation. This thesis also presents a novel trust management framework and associated schemes for partially decentralized file sharing P2P systems. We address trust according to three identified dimensions: Authentic Behavior, Credibility Behavior and Contribution Behavior. Within our trust management framework, we proposed several algorithms for reputation management. In particular, we proposed algorithms to detect malicious peers that send inauthentic files, and liar peers that send wrong feedbacks. Reputable peers need to be motivated to upload authentic files by increasing the benefits received from the system. In addition, free riders need to contribute positively to the system. These peers are consuming resources without uploading to others. To provide the right incentives for peers, we develop a novel service differentiation scheme based on peers’ contribution rather than peers’ reputation. The proposed scheme protects the system against free-riders and malicious peers and reduces the service provided to them. In this thesis, we also propose a novel recommender framework for partially decentralized file sharing P2P systems. We take advantage from the partial search process used in these systems to explore the relationships between peers. The proposed recommender system does not require any additional effort from the users since implicit rating is used. The recommender system also does not suffer from the problems that affect traditional collaborative filtering schemes like the Cold start, the Data sparseness and the Popularity effect. Over all, our unified approach to trust management and recommendations allows for better system health and increased user satisfaction