Group size of a permanent large group of agile mangabeys (Cercocebus agilis) at Bai Hokou, Central African Republic

in Folia Primatologica : International Journal of Primatology = Internationale Zeitschrift für Primatologie = Journal international de Primatologie (2013), 84

Le city Branding

Conference given outside the academic context (2013)

Les villes sont sujettes à des croissances internes, des cycles de déclin, des chocs externes et des forces au-delà de leur contrôle. Le déclin de certaines industries, le chômage, la fermeture des ... [more ▼]

Les villes sont sujettes à des croissances internes, des cycles de déclin, des chocs externes et des forces au-delà de leur contrôle. Le déclin de certaines industries, le chômage, la fermeture des commerces, la migration des résidents et des entreprises, le crime, la drogue,… poussent de nombreuses villes vers la dépression. La plupart de ces villes possèdent un réel potentiel de revitalisation. Comment réaliser un plan marketing pour une ville ? Quelles sont les stratégies d’amélioration de l’attractivité ? Comment positionner une ville ? Qui sont les cibles privilégiées du marketing des villes ? Comment les villes gèrent-elles leur image ? Qui participe au marketing des villes ? Comment les publics-cibles des villes font-ils leur choix ? Quels sont les moyens de communication à disposition des villes ? Voici quelques-unes des questions auxquelles nous essayerons de répondre ensemble. [less ▲]

Femina chez Sénèque : apports et limites de la statistique textuelle

Conference (2013, February 21)

In Terra Incognita. The Middle and Upper Palaeolithic of Central Asia: New data from Uzbekistan.

Scientific conference (2013, February 20)

Nouveautés dans le diagnostic des allergies

Conference (2013, February 19)

La lasagne pur-sang et la société low-cost

Article for general public (2013)

Pour satisfaire des consommateurs en quête de toujours plus de pouvoir d’achat, la Commission européenne soutient des gros producteurs low-cost pour une nourriture low-cost (avec des contrôles limités ... [more ▼]

Pour satisfaire des consommateurs en quête de toujours plus de pouvoir d’achat, la Commission européenne soutient des gros producteurs low-cost pour une nourriture low-cost (avec des contrôles limités). Stop! Et vive l’agriculture locale. [less ▲]

Fluxes of the greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4 and N2O) above a short-rotation poplar plantation after conversion from agricultural land

in Agricultural and Forest Meteorology (2013), 169

The increasing demand for renewable energy may lead to the conversion of millions of hectares into bioenergy plantations with a possible substantial transitory carbon (C) loss. In this study we report on ... [more ▼]

The increasing demand for renewable energy may lead to the conversion of millions of hectares into bioenergy plantations with a possible substantial transitory carbon (C) loss. In this study we report on the greenhouse gas fluxes (CO2, CH4, and N2O) measured using eddy covariance of a short-rotation bioenergy poplar plantation converted from agricultural fields. During the first six months after the establishment of the plantation (June–December 2010) there were substantial CO2, CH4, and N2O emissions (a total of 5.36 ± 0.52 Mg CO2eq ha−1 in terms of CO2 equivalents). Nitrous oxide loss mostly occurred during a week-long peak emission after an unusually large rainfall. This week-long N2O emission represented 52% of the entire N2O loss during one and an half years of measurements. As most of the N2O loss occurred in just this week-long period, accurately capturing these emission events are critical to accurate estimates of the GHG balance of bioenergy. While initial establishment (June–December 2010) of the plantation resulted in a net CO2 loss into the atmosphere (2.76 ± 0.16 Mg CO2eq ha−1), in the second year (2011) there was substantial net CO2 uptake (−3.51 ± 0.56 Mg CO2eq ha−1). During the entire measurement period, CH4 was a source to the atmosphere (0.63 ± 0.05 Mg CO2eq ha−1 in 2010, and 0.49 ± 0.05 Mg CO2eq ha−1 in 2011), and was controlled by water table depth. Importantly, over the entire measurement period, the sum of the CH4 and N2O losses was much higher (3.51 ± 0.52 Mg CO2eq ha−1) than the net CO2 uptake (−0.76 ± 0.58 Mg CO2eq ha−1). As water vailability was an important control on the GHG emission of the plantation, expected climate change and altered rainfall pattern could increase the negative environmental impacts of bioenergy. [less ▲]

Creative Spatializations: New Cartographies in Contemporary Black Canadian Fiction

Doctoral thesis (2013)

My dissertation explores the ways in which contemporary black Canadian novels rewrite national space by integrating into it what might be called past and present black spatialities. Regardless of its ... [more ▼]

My dissertation explores the ways in which contemporary black Canadian novels rewrite national space by integrating into it what might be called past and present black spatialities. Regardless of its official policy of multiculturalism, Canada appears unable to reflect the diversity of its population, one of the most multi-ethnic in the world, which results in the social and spatial exclusion of minorities—whose presence is perpetually construed as ‘recent’—from the dominant national narratives. Starting from Henri Lefebvre’s assertion that “[a] social transformation, to be truly revolutionary in character, must manifest a creative capacity in its effects on daily life, on language and on space” (54), and from the conceptualization of fictional literature as both a product and a producer of geographical creativities, this work considers the literary respatializations of black Canada in five recent novels, At the Full and Change of the Moon (1999) and What We All Long For (2005) by Dionne Brand, Any Known Blood (1997) and The Book of Negroes (2007) by Lawrence Hill, and Soucouyant (2007) by David Chariandy. I specifically examine four topographies through which these writers relate ‘blackness’ to ‘Canadianness,’ namely, the ocean, the city, the rural suburb, and the home space. More specifically, this dissertation illuminates how these literary representations of Canadian space locate this nation within the paradigmatic locations of black history but also show how the country’s social and geographical landscape is marked by the black history that took place in the country itself. Through a multidisciplinary approach which looks at theorizations of space emanating from literary, geographical, and sociological fields of study, I examine how these writers shift the terms of Canadian identity by disrupting the founding narratives of the nation which rely on the country’s wild landscapes and construct Canada as a white-only space. Finally, this dissertation engages with racialized bodies whose interconnectedness with both physical and imaginary spaces allow for a multiplicity of creative spatializations to emerge. [less ▲]

A cross-sectional study to assess knowledge about HIV/AIDS transmission and prevention measures in company workers in Ecuador

in BMC Public Health (2013), 13

Background: HIV/AIDS was first reported in Ecuador in 1984 and its prevalence has been increasing ever since. In 2009, the National AIDS Program reported 21,810 HIV/AIDS cases and confirmed that the ... [more ▼]

Background: HIV/AIDS was first reported in Ecuador in 1984 and its prevalence has been increasing ever since. In 2009, the National AIDS Program reported 21,810 HIV/AIDS cases and confirmed that the worker population was amongst the most affected groups. The objective of this study was to assess knowledge about HIV transmission and prevention measures in company workers in Ecuador. Methods: A cross-sectional survey based on a random sample of 115 companies (1,732 workers), stratified by three large provinces and working sectors (commerce, manufacturing and real estate) was conducted. A validated instrument developed by Family Health International was used to evaluate HIV prevention knowledge and common local misconceptions about HIV transmission. Descriptive statistics, chi square test and logistic regression analysis were performed using SAS. Results: Incorrect knowledge about HIV/AIDS transmission were found in 49.1% (95% CI: 46.6-51.6) of subjects. Incorrect knowledge was higher among males (OR=1.73 [1.39 –2.15]), older subjects (OR=1.35 [1.02 – 1.77]), subjects with lower education (OR=3.72 [2.44 – 5.65]), manual labor workers (OR=2.93 [1.82 – 4.73]) and subjects without previous exposure to HIV intervention programs (OR=2.26 [1.79 – 2.86]). Incorrect knowledge about preventive measures was found among 32.9% (95%CI: 30.6-35.2) of respondents. This proportion was higher among subjects with lower education (OR=2.28 [1.52 – 3.43]), married subjects (OR=1.34 [1.07 – 1.68]), manual labor workers (OR=1.80 [1.34 – 2.42]), and subjects not previously exposed to HIV intervention programs (OR=1.44 [1.14 – 1.83]). Conclusions: HIV intervention programs targeting company workers are urgently needed to improve knowledge and reduce HIV transmission in Ecuador. [less ▲]

Random generation of dichotomous CAT response patterns with the R package catR

Conference (2013, February 14)

The purpose of this talk is to briefly introduce the R package catR that permits random generation of response patterns under a computerized adaptive testing (CAT) framework. First, an outline of the CAT ... [more ▼]

The purpose of this talk is to briefly introduce the R package catR that permits random generation of response patterns under a computerized adaptive testing (CAT) framework. First, an outline of the CAT is proposed, with emphasis on the main concepts (item bank, ability estimation, next item selection, stopping rule, item exposure and content balancing). Then, the performance of the catR package is described by making connections between the general CAT framework and the functionalities of the R functions within catR. An example will be displayed, either as a “live” demonstration of catR or as part of the talk. Potential extensions of catR will also be discussed. The catR package was jointly developed by Gilles Raîche (Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada). [less ▲]