Implementing sustainability strategies through accounting controls: An exploration of practices in seven multinational corporations

in Proceedings of the 36th Annual Congress of the European Accounting Association (EAA) (2013, May)

Women in the Top Management of Belgian Family Business : Obstacles, Contributions and Advantages

Poster (2013, May)

Le pape François se trompe-t-il ?

E-print/Working paper (2013)

La crise de panique généralisée à laquelle nous avons assisté depuis 2007/2008 – pour reprendre l’analyse qu’en fait l’homme le mieux informé du monde, Ben Bernanke –, n’est rien d’autre que le double ... [more ▼]

La crise de panique généralisée à laquelle nous avons assisté depuis 2007/2008 – pour reprendre l’analyse qu’en fait l’homme le mieux informé du monde, Ben Bernanke –, n’est rien d’autre que le double d’une crise de confiance trouvant son origine dans l’accélération de l’information et la difficulté du pouvoir politique à en percevoir et à en accepter les conséquences. [less ▲]

Computation of worst operation scenarios under uncertainty for static security management

in IEEE Transactions on Power Systems (2013), 28(2), 1697-1705

This paper deals with day-ahead static security assessment with respect to a postulated set of contingencies while taking into account uncertainties about the next day system conditions. We propose a ... [more ▼]

This paper deals with day-ahead static security assessment with respect to a postulated set of contingencies while taking into account uncertainties about the next day system conditions. We propose a heuristic approach to compute the worst-case under operation uncertainty for a contingency with respect to overloads. We formulate this problem as a non-convex nonlinear bilevel program that we solve approximately by a heuristic approach which relies on the solution of successive optimal power flow (OPF) and security-constrained optimal power flow (SCOPF) problems of a special type. The method aims at revealing those combinations of uncertainties and contingencies for which the best combination of preventive and corrective actions would not suffice to ensure security. Extensive numerical results on a small, a medium, and a very large system prove the interest of the approach. [less ▲]

Statistical analysis of modulated codes for robot positioning -- Application to BeAMS

Report (2013)

Positioning is a fundamental issue for mobile robots. Therefore, a performance analysis is suitable to determine the behavior of a system, and to optimize its working. Unfortunately, some systems are only ... [more ▼]

Positioning is a fundamental issue for mobile robots. Therefore, a performance analysis is suitable to determine the behavior of a system, and to optimize its working. Unfortunately, some systems are only evaluated experimentally, which makes the performance analysis and design decisions very unclear. In [4], we have proposed a new angle measurement system, named BeAMS, that is the key element of an algorithm for mobile robot positioning. BeAMS introduces a new mechanism to measure angles: it detects a beacon when it enters and leaves an angular window. A theoretical framework for a thorough performance analysis of BeAMS has been provided to establish the upper bound of the variance, and to validate this bound through experiments and simulations. It has been shown that the estimator derived from the center of this angular window provides an unbiased estimate of the beacon angle. This document complements our paper by going into further details related to the code statistics of modulated signals in general, with an emphasis on BeAMS. In particular, the probability density function of the measured angle has been previously established with the assumption that there is no correlation between the times a beacon enters the angular window or leaves it. This assumption is questionable and, in this document, we reconsider this assumption and establish the exact probability density function of the angle estimated by BeAMS (without this assumption). The conclusion of this study is that the real variance of the estimator provided by BeAMS was slightly underestimated in our previous work. In addition to this speci c result, we also provide a new and extensive theoretical approach that can be used to analyze the statistics of any angle measurement method with beacons whose signal has been modulated. To summarize, this technical document has four purposes: (1) to establish the exact probability density function of the angle estimator of BeAMS, (2) to calculate a practical upper bound of the variance of this estimator, which is of practical interest for calibration and tracking (see Table 1, on page 13, for a summary), (3) to present a new theoretical approach to evaluate the performance of systems that use modulated (coded) signals, and (4) to show how the variance evolves exactly as a function of the angular window (while re- maining below the upper bound). [less ▲]

The Négraille’s Testament: Translating Black-Label

in Batchelor, Kathrin; Bisdorff, Claire (Eds.) Intimate Enemies: Translation in Francophone contexts (2013)

The present article discusses issues raised in the translation into English of this major long poem by one of the founders of the Negritude movement: it explores the sense of uncertainty that pervades it ... [more ▼]

The present article discusses issues raised in the translation into English of this major long poem by one of the founders of the Negritude movement: it explores the sense of uncertainty that pervades it and comments on effect of Caribbean references, the rhythmic significance of repetitions and enumerations, departures from standard language and the difficulties related to rhyming lines and idiomatic phrases. [less ▲]

Biotechnology, Controversy, and Policy: Challenges of the Bioeconomy in Latin America

in Technology in Society (2013)

This special issue explores cases from Latin American countries, studied in comparison to global trends in the arenas of public participation, scientific knowledge production, regulation and governance ... [more ▼]

This special issue explores cases from Latin American countries, studied in comparison to global trends in the arenas of public participation, scientific knowledge production, regulation and governance. The authors demonstrate the complexity of these cases, both in terms of regional differences and the different spaces of public, policy, and scientific knowledge production into which such innovations are inserted. The articles are based on rich empirical data collected in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Paraguay. Authors show that the top-down circulation of policy narratives on biotechnology is challenged, complemented and even partly undermined by local bottom-up dynamics. Conversely, articles also focus on those grassroots dynamics and the ways they are influenced and conditioned by macro-sociological and political economic factors. Lastly, a great deal of attention is paid to the ways states and national actors actively contribute to their own insertion in globalized markets where bioengineered living resources are increasingly tasked with solving the most pressing economic and social issues. We believe that this collection of works challenges scholars, intellectuals, policy-makers and relevant stakeholders to open up their views of biotechnology as a dynamic construct that interacts with local situations in a variety of ways. From a more distanced perspective, the aggregated findings of the contributors to this special issue suggest that the important tasks for scholarly work on bioeconomy today become (1) to observe and critically assess the de-localization and re-localization of the concept of bioeconomy in Latin America where biological resources have become increasingly strategic over the last decades; (2) to analyze the bioeconomy as a site of struggles among countries and/or social groups who articulate strategic visions as part of narrating activities. [less ▲]

Study of interface trap density in a GeSn MOS structure by numerical simulation of the electrical characteristics

Conference (2013, May)

The semiconducting alloy germanium tin (GeSn) is expected to play an important role in the development of high mobility channel materials for next generation CMOS and optoelectronic devices. The two most ... [more ▼]

The semiconducting alloy germanium tin (GeSn) is expected to play an important role in the development of high mobility channel materials for next generation CMOS and optoelectronic devices. The two most interesting features of this material, which is compatible with mainstream Si technology, are its tunable direct band-gap and the possibility to induce strain due to the lattice mismatch with Ge and Si, thereby increasing the holes and electrons mobilities. It has been shown that the interface trap density can be under- or overestimated in Ge-channel MOSFETs when applying conventional measurement techniques such as the conductance method. As this effect is common in low band-gap materials, we expect that it also occurs for GeSn. Following our previous work on metal/GeSn/Ge structures, we have therefore applied our home-built numerical simulation software to a metal/oxide/GeSn MOS structure in order to investigate the result of the presence of such interface states. We discuss possible effects of the interface trap density, interface trap energy and temperature on the electrical characteristics. Successive simulations of both the steady-state and ac small-signal regimes give access to measurable quantities such as the admittance spectrum and the C-V curves. A physical interpretation can be attributed to their variations and an overall comparison can be made with results obtained from equivalent electrical circuit analysis. [less ▲]

First report of banana mild mosaic virus infecting plantain in Ivory Coast

in Plant Disease (2013), 97(5), 693

Contribution à l'étude des amylases du sorgho et leurs utilisations dans la transformation des produits amylacés

Doctoral thesis (2013)

Les amylases sont des enzymes largement utilisées dans le secteur industriel. Elles occupent d'ailleurs une place primordiale dans le marché mondial des enzymes. Les travaux présentés dans ce manuscrit se ... [more ▼]

Les amylases sont des enzymes largement utilisées dans le secteur industriel. Elles occupent d'ailleurs une place primordiale dans le marché mondial des enzymes. Les travaux présentés dans ce manuscrit se sont intéressés à la production d’amylases à partir d’une source végétale peu coûteuse et disponible, le sorgho et aux possibilités de les utiliser dans la transformation des produits amylacés. Dans la première partie de l’étude, après avoir caractérisé et malté sept variétés de sorgho blanc sélectionné à l’ISRA de Bambey (Sénégal), la meilleure variété, la F-2-20 (sans tanins, faible teneur en composés phénoliques et bonnes activités amylasiques) a été retenue pour la suite de l’étude. Dans la deuxième partie des travaux, les paramètres physico-chimiques tels que le pH optimum, la température optimale et la thermostabilité des amylases (α et β) du malt ont été caractérisés. Les deux amylases ont le même pH optimal 5,5 et la température optimale est de 65 °C pour l’α-amylase et 55 °C pour la β amylase. Par ailleurs, le gène de la β-amylase a été aussi étudié. Les résultats de la troisième partie des travaux ont montré la capacité des amylases du malt de sorgho à être utilisées dans des processus d’hydrolyse d’amidon (maïs et blé) et farines (blé et manioc). L’ajout d’ions calcium n’améliore pas significativement les rendements d’hydrolyse. Enfin, suite aux résultats obtenus, l’hydrolyse a été réalisée à plus grande échelle afin de produire des dextrines de différents DE. Les dextrines ont été analysées chimiquement et physicochimiquement pour déterminer leur composition en oligosaccharides et leurs propriétés physiques en vue de leur application dans les secteurs agroalimentaires. [less ▲]