Disability Policies in France: Changes and Tensions between the Category-based, Universalist and Personalized Approaches

In this article, the authors show that the current French disability policy is traversed by conflicts between three different approaches to disability which came about at different periods in history. They begin by looking at the origins of disability policy in France. This policy was developed during the 20th century, from notions of repair, indemnification and compensation through rehabilitation. It became institutionalized in 1975, when two laws were passed, giving it the form of a category-based policy. Between 1970 and 2000, affected by the international situation, this policy came into conflict with a universalist policy. More recently there has been a desire to develop a personalized approach. Finally, the authors use two examples (taken from recent debates on the implementation in France of the new law of 11 February 2005) to show the tensions that have led to the coexistence of these three approaches within current disability policy

Conservation of Mediterranean oak woodlands: understorey dynamics under different shrub management

The effect of experimental disturbances on the dynamics of a shrub community was studied on a ‘Montado’ ecosystem, in southern Portugal. The evolution of the community physiognomy, composition and diversity were monitored after shrub clearing followed by biomass removal, deposition on soil surface and incorporation with the soil, over a 9-year period. Maximum shrub density was recorded in the first year after the disturbances, excepting in mulched plots which showed the greatest number of individuals 1 year later. The increment of shrub leaf biomass was very fast in the first 3 years, whereas wood production was slower but occurred along the whole study period. At the end of the study, leaf and wood biomass was still significantly lower than in the predisturbance situation. The variation pattern of leaf area index was similar to that of leaf biomass. The evolution of total plant cover and diversity was similar across treatments. The highest species richness and diversity were recorded 2 years after cutting, decreasing afterwards with the increasing dominance of shrubs. Thus it seems likely that, although a 9 year period is too short for these communities to reach steady equilibrium, they are very resistant and resilient to disturbances, as regeneration was fast and vegetation dynamics was not influenced by differences among treatments. We can conclude that shrub clearing promotes biodiversity and the time of permanence of shrub patches depends on the particular goal we want to achieve

Conservation of Mediterranean oak woodlands: understorey dynamics under different shrub management

The effect of experimental disturbances on the dynamics of a shrub community was studied on a ‘Montado’ ecosystem, in southern Portugal. The evolution of the community physiognomy, composition and diversity were monitored after shrub clearing followed by biomass removal, deposition on soil surface and incorporation with the soil, over a 9-year period. Maximum shrub density was recorded in the first year after the disturbances, excepting in mulched plots which showed the greatest number of individuals 1 year later. The increment of shrub leaf biomass was very fast in the first 3 years, whereas wood production was slower but occurred along the whole study period. At the end of the study, leaf and wood biomass was still significantly lower than in the predisturbance situation. The variation pattern of leaf area index was similar to that of leaf biomass. The evolution of total plant cover and diversity was similar across treatments. The highest species richness and diversity were recorded 2 years after cutting, decreasing afterwards with the increasing dominance of shrubs. Thus it seems likely that, although a 9 year period is too short for these communities to reach steady equilibrium, they are very resistant and resilient to disturbances, as regeneration was fast and vegetation dynamics was not influenced by differences among treatments. We can conclude that shrub clearing promotes biodiversity and the time of permanence of shrub patches depends on the particular goal we want to achieve

Growth and characterization of Au catalyzed SiGe NW and alternatives metals catalyzed Si NW

International audienc

Au and alternatives metals for Si and SiGe NW catalyzed growth

International audienc

Catalyzed growth study and physical properties of SiGe and Ge NWs

International audienc

Supercycle at the Ecuadorian subduction zone revealed after the 2016 Pedernales earthquake

International audienceLarge earthquakes are usually assumed to release all of the strain accumulated since the previous event, implying a reduced seismic hazard after them. However, long records of seismic history at several subduction zones suggest supercycle behaviour, where centuries-long accumulated strain is released through clustered large earthquakes, resulting in an extended period of enhanced seismic hazard. Here we combine historical seismology results, present-day geodesy data, and dense local observations of the recent Mw 7.8 2016 Pedernales earthquake to reconstruct the strain budget at the Ecuador subduction zone since the great 1906 earthquake. We show that the Pedernales earthquake involved the successive rupture of two patches on the plate interface that were locked prior to the earthquake and most probably overlaps the area already ruptured in 1942 by a similar earthquake. However, we find that coseismic slip in 2016 exceeds the deficit accumulated since 1942. The seismic moment of every large earthquake during the twentieth century further exceeds the moment deficit accumulated since 1906. These results, together with the seismic quiescence before 1906 highlighted by historical records and marine palaeoseismology, argue for an earthquake supercycle at the Ecuador–Colombia margin. This behaviour, which has led to an enhanced seismic hazard for 110 years, is possibly still going on and may apply to other subduction zones that recently experienced a great earthquake