Environnement humain de l'érosion

Dans le cadre des évaluations économiques des mesures de conservation des eaux et du sol, on propose d'utiliser des méthodes et modèles existants pour déterminer les effets de ces mesures sur l'érosion et sur les bilans d'eau et d'éléments nutritifs et ensuite les effets des changements sur les rendements. Dans ce texte on présente des "feuilles de calcul", y incluant ces bilans et effets, afin de calculer les bénéfices des mesures de CES. Un exemple concerne l'évaluation économique des cordons pierreux au Burkina Faso. (Résumé d'auteur

Geomorphological mapping and geophysical profiling for the evaluation of natural hazards in an alpine catchment

International audienceLiechtenstein has faced an increasing number of natural hazards over recent decades: debris flows, slides, snow avalanches and floods repeatedly endanger the local infrastructure. Geomorphological field mapping and geo-electrical profiling was used to assess hazards near Malbun, a village potentially endangered by landslides, and especially debris flows. The area is located on the tectonic contacts of four different nappe slices. The bedrock consists of anhydrite and gypsum, dolomite, shale, marl, and limestone. The spatial distribution and occurrence of debris flows and slides is evaluated through a combination of geomorphological expert knowledge, and detailed visualization in a geographical information system. In a geo-database a symbol-based 1:3000 scale geomorphological map has been digitized and rectified into polygons. The polygons include information on the main geomorphological environment, the Quaternary material distribution and of geomorphological processes, which are stored in attribute tables. The spatial distribution of these attributes is then combined with geophysical information and displacement rates interpolated from benchmark measurements. On one of the landslides two geo-electrical profiles show that the distance to a potential failure plane varies between 10-20 m and that the topography of the failure plane is influenced by subterranean gypsum karst features. The displacement measurements show that this landslide actively disintegrates into minor slides and is not, therefore, a risk to the village of Malbun. The hazard zonation indicates that debris flows can pose a risk if no countermeasures are taken. Gypsum karst may locally accelerate the landslide activity. In contrast, the impact of debris flows is diminished because collapse dolines may act as sediment traps for the debris flow materials. This research illustrates how geomorphological expert knowledge can be integrated in a GIS for the evaluation of natural hazards on a detailed scale

The relation between self-event connections and personality functioning in youth with severe psychopathology

OBJECTIVE: One way in which individuals construct their narrative identity is by making self‐event connections, which are often linked to better functioning. Being unable to make connections is related to identity discontinuity and psychopathology. Work in the general population corroborates this association, but also highlights the importance of focusing on specific aspects of these connections and on vulnerable populations. METHOD: We examined the association of self‐event connections with personality functioning in youth with severe psychopathology (cross‐sectional N = 228, M (age) = 19.5, longitudinal N = 84), and the role of event and connection valence in the subsample of youth who made a connection (n = 188 and n = 68). Negative affectivity was controlled for in all models. RESULTS: We found no evidence that self‐event connections, nor connection valence and its interaction with event valence, are related to functioning. Positive event valence was associated with better functioning. Higher negative affectivity was strongly linked to lower functioning and explained the relation between event valence and functioning. No longitudinal associations emerged. CONCLUSIONS: These findings show that for youth with severe psychopathology making self‐event connections may not be associated with better functioning. Moreover, negative affectivity may be a distal predictor of both event valence and functioning

Barriers to home care for terminally ill Turkish and Moroccan migrants, perceived by GPs and nurses: a survey

BACKGROUND: Previous qualitative research proved that relatives of elderly terminally ill Turkish and Moroccan immigrants experience several barriers to the use of Dutch professional home care. The aim of this study was to explore how general practitioners and home care nurses perceive the home care for terminally ill Turkish and Moroccan migrants and their families in the Netherlands. METHODS: Questionnaires were sent to home care organizations and GPs working in areas where most of these migrants are living. 93 nurses and 78 GPs provided information about their experiences and opinions regarding home care for this group of patients. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. RESULTS: GPs refer relatively few patients from these migrant groups to home care. They often find it difficult to assess the needs of these patients and their families. In 40% of the GPs' cases in which terminally ill Turkish and Moroccan migrants were not referred to home care, the GP regretted this afterwards: the patients had not received sufficient qualified care, and their informal carers had often become overburdened. In addition, home care nurses often express dissatisfaction with the home care given to terminally ill Turkish or Moroccan patients, because of communication problems, the patients' lack of knowledge of the disease, or difficulties in making suitable appointments with the patient or with the family. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses and GPs cite chiefly similar factors influencing access to and use of home care as family members did in a previous study. However, according to GPs and nurses, the main barrier to the use of home care concerns communication problems, while relatives cited the preference for family care as the main reason for abstaining from the use of home care. (aut. ref.