Bonne année anomalistique !

International audienceQu'est-ce qu'une année ? Trois cent soixante-cinq jours sauf pour les années bissextiles qui comptent un jour de plus ? En général, on explique cela en disant que la Terre tourne autour du Soleil en trois cent soixante-cinq jours un quart. Si on consulte un dictionnaire, on trouve beaucoup de mots savants : connaissez-vous l'année anomalistique, l'année sidérale, ou l'année tropique ? Quelques explications ne sont peut-être pas inutiles

European Marine Sand and Gravel Resources: Evaluation and environmental impacts of extraction - an introduction

Marine aggregates (sand and gravel) have emerged as a strategic mineral resource; this is due to an increasing general demand and to stricter regulations on the exploitation of landwon aggregates, in EU Member States. Annually, approx. 40 million m3 of marine sand and gravel are extracted, alone, from the North European inner (<60m water depth) continental shelf (www.sandandgravel.com/extraction). In the near future, the extraction will increase significantly, to provide vast quantities of material needed for the realisation of large-scale infrastructure projects, planned for Europe’s coastal areas; this is combined with the burgeoning general urbanisation of the coastal zone. At the same time, European coastal zones are under increasing pressure from coastal erosion. Thus, beach replenishment and other coastal defence schemes, requiring large quantities of suitable aggregate material, are necessary to manage such coastal retreat and accommodate the development (SELBY and OOMS, 1996; HUMPHREYS et al., 1996).Such increasing demand, together with the conservation of coastal ecosystems and diverse stakeholders’ interests, require that resource sustainability, environmental prudence and careful management are crucial components of the practice and regulation of marine aggregate operations. There is an urgent need for integrated and coherent approaches to the effective prospecting of commercially-viable marine sand and gravel deposits, the development of a science-based approach to their sustainable management, together with an environmental impact assessment of their exploitation. Such objectives require an interdisciplinary approach, to develop a thorough understanding of the sedimentary, hydrodynamic and ecological conditions of the inner continental shelf and adjacent coasts. Likewise, the use of ‘state-of-the-art’ approaches and instrumentation is needed.The main objectives of the RTN project EUMARSAND were: (a) to train young European researchers in individual research approaches; and (b) to provide them with an integrated and balanced view of the diverse and complex issues involved, through the application of a wide range of scientific approaches. As such, close co-operation between marine geologists, biologists, hydrodynamic and morphodynamic modellers and coastal engineers was established. The task of such a grouping was to integrate the research approaches involved in marine aggregate prospecting. Likewise, the undertaking of the assessment of the environmental impacts of offshore mining activities, using ‘state-of-the-art’ approaches and instrumentation.Nine Partners, from 8 countries, have been involved in the project, as listed in Table 1

The Copy & The Real Thing: Changing Perceptions Between the Rubens Centennials in 1877 and 1977

In this paper I examine the changing relationship between mechanical reproductions and the original artwork in the context of the Rubens centennials in 1877 and 1977. Drawing on theorists such as Walter Benjamin, Dean MacCannell, Hans Belting and Boris Groys, I argue that the mechanism of copying generates a double logic of image perception: a simultaneous centrifugal and centripetal circulation of images that affects how people perceive art in modern society. I explore this perception dynamic by looking at two photo-exhibitions during the Rubens centennials

Moved by Rubens : the double logic of image perception in the age of mechanical reproduction (1877-1977)

By the end of his life, Rubens’ work was dispersed over the European continent, not only through commissions in the framework of diplomatic missions, but also via prints produced by engravers in his own studio. Being one of the first Flemish masters who consciously engaged with the reproducibility of his work, Rubens set in motion a double logic of image perception: through remediation, reproductions initiate a centrifugal movement that spreads the artwork’s image towards a broader audience, simultaneously causing a centripetal force that enables us to see and approach these images as part of a comprehensive oeuvre. However, it is only by the end of the nineteenth century, with the advent of mechanical reproductions, that this mechanism of image perception got fully operative. Especially the festivities organized for Rubens’ 300th birthday celebration became an important catalyzer for the dissemination and circulation of Rubens’ oeuvre, conducting yet another centripetal trajectory: more and more people traveled to the must-see originals of the images that became part of a visual culture. Between Rubens’ 300th and 400th birthday celebration, in 1877 and 1977 respectively, reproduction technologies—photography, film and television—succeeded each other at an unseen pace. In a period of a hundred years, these pictorial media were increasingly successful in generating truthful representations. At the same time however, the physical appearance of mechanical reproductions developed according to the specific—printed and screened—features of reproduction media and hence increasingly further away from the original painted medium. Through reproduction media’s visual strategies, the original image and its meaning is deconstructed. Moreover, the formal characteristics of mechanical reproductions developed not only in relation to the originals, but also in the interplay between different reproduction media. Subsequently, what we look for in the original and what we remember from this experience is highly influenced by the mediation of mechanical reproduction, their technological development as well as their variable functions in modern society. Mechanical reproductions did not only bring us to the authentic originals, now they become the reference point to approach these originals. The Rubens centennials converged Rubens’ images—both reproductions and originals, even directly combined in the exhibition space—in the city of Antwerp, and at the same time dispersed his remediated image—both the oeuvre and persona—on a global scale. Instead of focusing on technical innovations or legal requirements that made modern technologies apt for reproduction purposes, I want to concentrate on what Erika Balsom described as copy rites: “extralegal social and historical conventions that shape the possibilities and meanings of image reproduction” (Balsom 2017, 8). Drawing on theoretical discourses initiated by Walter Benjamin, Dean MacCannel, Hans Belting and Boris Groys, among others, this proposal takes the Rubens centennials as a case-study to explore the double dynamic of image perception in modern society: a continual reciprocity of images and people, that mobilized our reception of art in a pre-digital age

Everyday mathematics of university students

In this poster abstract we highlight the preliminary results of an exploratory study investigating the ways in which university students use mathematics in their everyday lives. The study is part of wider research investigating the impact of mathematics computer games on mathematics anxiety in university students. A survey was distributed to 125 students across the University of Sheffield asking participants about the most common activities they take part in that involves mathematics, as well as any mathematics concepts involved. Responses predominantly came from undergraduates (49.6%). The most common activities included counting, measuring, and predicting. Future work would require the inclusion of students across different universities to increase the generalisability of the result

Validity of the SF-36 Health Survey as an outcome measure for trials in people with spinal cord injury

The SF-36 was interviewer-administered to 305 subjects at recruitment. Feasibility, content validity and internal consistency were assessed. We tested a priori hypotheses about discriminative, convergent and divergent validity. Interviewer-assisted administration was feasible. The content validity of several domains (Physical Function, Role Physical, Social Function and Role Emotional) was compromised by the irrelevance of some items and response options. Resultant ceiling and floor effects may limit the SF-36?s ability to detect changes over time. The SF-36 was able to discriminate differences between people with: tetraplegia versus paraplegia (in the Physical Function and Physical Composite scores); injuries that were recent ( 4 years) (in the Vitality, Social Function and Mental Health domain and Mental Composite scores), and who were employed versus unemployed (in the Physical Function, Social Function, Mental Health and Mental Composite scores). It was not able to discriminate between groups dichotomised by age, injury completeness or gender. The convergent and divergent validity of all SF-36 domains was as in other populations, except for correlations involving the Physical Function scale which were poor. Internal consistency was similar to that in other populations (Cronbach?s alpha from 0.75 to 0.92); the SF-36 has sufficient precision for population-based and clinical research in spinal cord injury. The SF-36 is useful for comparing the health status of people with spinal cord injury to that of other populations, but supplementation with a disease-specific health status measure may be necessary for trials of interventions in people with spinal cord injuries.Quality of life, outcome measures, sf-36

Juan Luis Vives. L'exemple des grands hommes

en collaboration avec Chantal Liaroutzos, Université Paris 7International audienceThe historical method of the famous Renaissance writer of Valence, Joan Lluis Vives, with a translation of an excerpt of his De disciplinis libri XX, in tres tomos..., Lyon, J. Frellonius, 1551, p. 349-353.La méthode historique de l'humaniste valencien Joan Lluis Vives, avec traduction d'un extrait du De disciplinis libri XX, in tres tomos..., Lyon, J. Frellonius, 1551, p. 349-353