From training to artisanal practice : rethinking choreographic relationships in modern dance

In the first part of the twentieth century early modern dancers created both a new art form and the forms of group social organisation that were its condition of possibility. This paper critically examines the balletic and disciplinary ‘training’ model of dancer formation and proposes that the assumption of training in dance can obscure other ways of understanding dance-making relationships and other values in early modern dance. An ‘artisanal’ mode of production and knowledge transmission based on a non-binary relationship between ‘master’ and apprentice and occurring in a quasi-domestic and personalised space of some intimacy is proposed as a more pertinent way to think the enabling conditions of modern dance creation

The Human Ecology and Geography of Burning in an Unstable Savanna Environment

According to new ecological theories, many savannas are inherently in disequilibrium and can flip from tree-dominated to grass-dominated landscapes depending upon the disturbance regime. In particular, a shift in a fire regime to a more frequent and intensive one can radically alter the tree-to-grass ratio in a given savanna. Drawing upon the ecological buffering model we argue that savanna persistence requires a relatively stable fire regime. We hypothesize that anthropogenic burning practices perform this function by producing a regular annual spatiotemporal pattern of fire that is linked to vegetation type. We test this hypothesis using a study of two areas, one in Mali and the other Burkina Faso. We use two sources of satellite data to produce an 11-year time series of the spatiotemporal pattern of fires and an example of the annual burned area pattern these fires produce. We combine the analysis of satellite imagery with interviews of rural inhabitants who set fires to understand the logic underlying the patterns of fire. Analysis of a time series of imagery reveals a strikingly regular annual spatiotemporal pattern of burning for both study areas, which cannot be explained by the regional climatic pattern alone. We conclude that the regularity of the annual fire regime in West Africa is a human-ecological phenomenon closely linked to vegetation type and controlled by people\u27s burning practices. We argue that the anthropogenic burning regime serves to buffer the savanna and maintain its ecological stability

Deep generative models for fast photon shower simulation in ATLAS

The need for large-scale production of highly accurate simulated event samples for the extensive physics programme of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider motivates the development of new simulation techniques. Building on the recent success of deep learning algorithms, variational autoencoders and generative adversarial networks are investigated for modelling the response of the central region of the ATLAS electromagnetic calorimeter to photons of various energies. The properties of synthesised showers are compared with showers from a full detector simulation using geant4. Both variational autoencoders and generative adversarial networks are capable of quickly simulating electromagnetic showers with correct total energies and stochasticity, though the modelling of some shower shape distributions requires more refinement. This feasibility study demonstrates the potential of using such algorithms for ATLAS fast calorimeter simulation in the future and shows a possible way to complement current simulation techniques

Deep generative models for fast photon shower simulation in ATLAS

The need for large-scale production of highly accurate simulated event samples for the extensive physics programme of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider motivates the development of new simulation techniques. Building on the recent success of deep learning algorithms, variational autoencoders and generative adversarial networks are investigated for modelling the response of the central region of the ATLAS electromagnetic calorimeter to photons of various energies. The properties of synthesised showers are compared with showers from a full detector simulation using geant4. Both variational autoencoders and generative adversarial networks are capable of quickly simulating electromagnetic showers with correct total energies and stochasticity, though the modelling of some shower shape distributions requires more refinement. This feasibility study demonstrates the potential of using such algorithms for ATLAS fast calorimeter simulation in the future and shows a possible way to complement current simulation techniques

Differences in standard metabolic rate at the range edge versus the center of an expanding invasive population of Xenopus laevis in the West of France

International audienc

Les relictes forestières de la falaise de Banfora : les dégradations au voisinage de Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso

Le suivi de la végétation et l'inventaire de bioindicateurs animaux, micromammifères et insectes, a permis de dresser un bilan des dégradations environnementales dans trois villages situés à proximité de Bobo-Dioulasso. Les dégâts apparemment les plus graves résultent de la coupe des arbres pour le bois de feu et de l'extraction minière du sable et du gravier pour les constructions. Ces activités sont la conséquence du développement urbain. Les dégradations environnementales dues à l'agriculture et à l'élevage paraissent moins importantes. L'ensemble de ces activités humaines fait que les terres maraîchères de Koro sont en train de disparaître, tout comme la forêt classée de Koua. Les suivis et inventaires, réalisés pour mieux cerner cette évolution anthropique de l'environnement, montrent que les espèces animales réagissent à cette forte perturbation du milieu amplifiée par les phénomènes fréquents d'érosion. En conclusion de cette étude, des mesures de protection et de reboisement sont proposées pour limiter l'érosion dans les champs et sur les berges de la rivière. L'extraction minière des matériaux de construction pourrait aussi être organisée pour moins impacter l'environnement ; mais cela risque d'être difficile à mettre en oeuvre car les intérêts individuels priment face aux besoins collectifs

Les relictes forestières de la falaise de Banfora : un peuplement original au voisinage de Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso

The Banfora cliff are home to a wealth of flora and fauna. Endemic species are found in its forests, as well as species of outstanding interest such as Albizia dinklagei, Acridocarpus chevalieri or Warneckea fascicularis, which are found nowhere else in Burkina-Faso. This is also the case with some insect species, such as Dicronorhina kouensis or Stephanorhina guttata. However, these forests are under threat, especially around Bobo-Dioulasso where the native fauna has already become partly extinct. Comparisons were made between the Banfora cliff sites and between these and other forest sites in the Bobo-Dioulasso region. Biological diversity is very high among these forests, and the dispersion of species suggests that they are remnants of much larger forest areas. The forest vegetation on the cliffs appears to be of three types: dense dry forest, characterised by Guibourtia copallifera, which may represent the original old-growth forest stock before it was invaded by savannah vegetation; dense humid forest, represented by most of the riparian species, which probably evolved along the river network from the humid forest mass; and relict old-growth mountain flora that depends on the sandstone cliff environment, with Warneckea fascicularis, to which rock species could be attached, as the sole representative. The rodent community in the Banfora cliff forest sites is a mixture of typically forest-dwelling species (particularly Praomys rostratus) in the least disturbed zones and highly anthropophilous species (like Rattus rattus) in the sites most severely degraded by human activities. Most insect species probably originated in the humid forests of Cote d'Ivoire, with some influence from Mali, like Coeliades aeschylus, or Togo, like Dicronorhina kouensis, both of which tend to be found in the Guinean savannah zone close to gallery forests. As these species are neither found in the South, nor respectively in the East and the West of Burkina Faso, the Banfora cliffs may be a meeting point for different types of fauna, hence its outstanding biodiversity interest