Le vélo comme outil d’empowerment : Les impacts des cours de vélo pour adultes sur les pratiques socio-spatiales

Les cours de vélo pour adultes existent dans de nombreuses villes à travers le monde et leur public est souvent composé en majorité de femmes issues de l’immigration. Cet article explore les impacts socio-spatiaux de tels cours dans cinq villes suisses au prisme d’un cadre théorique original. Ce dernier est basé sur le concept d’empowerment et plus particulièrement sur ses dimensions spatiales. Il est opérationnalisé autour de trois axes : (1) l’individu et ses capacités, (2) l’individu dans son environnement proche et (3) l’individu dans la société. L’analyse proposée montre que l’apprentissage du vélo est susceptible d’accroitre la capacité à être mobile, la confiance en soi, de permettre la (ré)appropriation de son corps et de l’espace et de favoriser l’autonomie et l’accès à diverses opportunités et activités. Cycling lessons for adults exist in many cities across the world and women with a migration background often constitute an important part of the participants. This paper explores the socio-spatial impacts of such lessons in five Swiss cities through the prism of an original theoretical framework. The latter is based on the concept of empowerment and in particular on its spatial dimensions. It is operationalized around three thrusts: (1) the individual and his/her capacities, (2) the individual in his/her close environment, (3) the individual in society. The analysis shows that learning bicycle can increase the capacity to be mobile, improve self-confidence, and enable a (re)appropriation of one’s body and space. It can enhance autonomy and give better access to various opportunities and activities

Organic farming to preserve water quality?Comparison of three emblematic cases of successful management of drinking water catchment area

Protecting water resources from pollutants generated by agricultural activities is becoming more strictly regulated in Europe today, with an obligation to achieveresults. This means that towns willing to improve quality of their domestic water supply are required to regulate farmers’ practices in the water catchment areas. In this paper, we studied three cases (Munich and Augsburg in Germany, and Lons-le-Saunier in France) often listed as successful initiatives/ experiences of preservation of water quality by local authorities that have developed coordination with farmers. In this paper, we carried out a comparative analysis of the construction of city-farmer agreements, based on in-depth surveys and with a particular focus on the role of conversion to organic farming in these agreements. We highlighted several significant differences between these three case studies, with regard to the delimitation of the city’s field of action, the nature of compensation proposed to the farmers, the direct involvement of the city council in the acquisition of land in the vulnerable zone, and the importance granted to organic farming. However, in all three cases we also found similarities, such as the importance, for successful city-farmer coordination, of a facilitator as an intermediary between the two parties, as well as dialogue and contracts that span sufficiently long periods. When these conditions are met, which is the case in the two German cities, the results on the water quality are positive. From this point of view, the German water utilities’ status as “private companies owned by the city” seems to be highly conducive to the introduction of truly environment-friendly practices by farmers. In contrast, in the French case, the greater weight of regulatory constraints on the establishment of direct relations with farmers tends to prevent any fluidity in modes of action and to trigger tensions. Finally, the specific study of the role of conversion to organic farming in the solutions proposed and accepted by the farmers highlights a number of factors needed for the territorial development of this typeof farming: a strong political will that translates into high financial incentives, guaranteed local markets for organic products, and necessary technical support. These factors nevertheless remain insufficient in two of the three case studies, and only the city of Munich, starting off with a particularly favourable situation, has been able to achieve a territorial development of organic farming in tandem with the preservation of its water resources

Les proximités mobilisées par un méga-système de panier halieutique, l’AMAP Poisson Yeu-Nantes

The aim of this contribution analyses how mains collective organizations territorialized forms (COTF) in farming and fishing supply chains participates in a more sustainable relocation of food systems in Pays de la Loire region. More exactly, we try to show how proximity supply chains are building crossing of organizational and spatial logics. To do this, our reflexion leans on two COTF cases. The first case named Bio Loire Ocean, joins about sixty organic farmers engaged in an organic fruits and vegetables supply chain structuring. The second case, a community support fishing between Yeu-Nantes, organizes a short food supply chain between Yeu’s island fishermen and Nantes’ city consumers

Co-Designing an organic framework: the ”REF’AB” Project in France

To help the development of Organic Food and Farming (OFF) systems, there is the need to consolidate conversions to OF, to support entry into organic farming, and to develop existing organic farms. Therefore a group of extensionists, researchers and educators has being working 2 years long to co-design a framework for OFF, taking into account the need to (i) embrace all forms of OFF, and at the same time to (ii) address the specificities of OFF. This project, called REF’AB (REFerentiel de l’Agriculture Biologique, 2010-2012) aims at designing the organization of set of references produced on shared methodological bases. The approach consisted in identifying key-issues of OFF systems, defining indicators, identifying relevant databases and references to feed the framework, and providing recommendations for governance to optimise the establishment and circulation of references. The outcomes of this project is that first it was not necessarily clear what a framework for OFF should be, and therefore a conference of consensus was used as a methodological tool to share views by multi-stakeholders. Second, we used sustainability assessment as an integrative process of the three levels (technical-economic, environmental, and social) and third, to manage to share a more transversal approach, we proposed a framework with 3 levels of key-proprieties: 1) security and efficiency, 2) durability through the protection of resources, and 3) autonomy and resilience

Evaluating the Sustainability of a Small-Scale Low-Input Organic Vegetable Supply System in the United Kingdom

www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainabilit

Development of ClearPEM-Sonic, a multimodal mammography system for PET and Ultrasound

International audience; ClearPEM-Sonic is an innovative imaging device specifically developed for breast cancer. The possibility to work in PEM-Ultrasound multimodality allows to obtain metabolic and morphological information increasing the specificity of the exam. The ClearPEM detector is developed to maximize the sensitivity and the spatial resolution as compared to Whole-Body PET scanners. It is coupled with a 3D ultrasound system, the SuperSonic Imagine Aixplorer that improves the specificity of the exam by providing a tissue elasticity map. This work describes the ClearPEM-Sonic project focusing on the technological developments it has required, the technical merits (and limits) and the first multimodal images acquired on a dedicated phantom. It finally presents selected clinical case studies that confirm the value of PEM information

Towards sustainable agricultural landscapes: Lessons from an interdisciplinary research-based framework applied to the Saint Lawrence floodplain

Abstract Floodplains are unique environments that provide a dynamic link between terrestrial and aquatic systems. Intensification of human activity – particularly agriculture and urbanisation – has resulted in the degradation of floodplains worldwide. Restoration and sustainable management of floodplains requires holistic assessment and compromise between stakeholders to successfully balance environmental, economic, and social benefits. Yet, understanding these complex systems sufficiently to provide evidence-based recommendations is a challenge. We present the lessons learned from establishing an interdisciplinary research-based framework on the agricultural floodplain of Lake Saint Pierre, Québec, Canada, whose mandate was to a) understand and define key environmental, agricultural, and socioeconomic attributes of the landscape, b) quantify the trade-offs and synergies between these attributes across different agricultural practices, regions, and land uses, and c) explore novel agri-environmental management practices to assess their role in sustainable floodplain management. Within this manuscript, we explore the benefits that such an approach offers in evaluating sustainable floodplain land use. We found that an interdisciplinary research-based approach demonstrated important benefits such as knowledge transfer, more efficient use of resources (e.g., personnel, funding), and a flexible yet robust research framework. A framework of individual research projects connected to broader interdisciplinary themes allowed a more holistic synthesis of the floodplain systems and assessment of agri-environmental practices. By implicitly considering spatial and social scales, we conceptualised not just how redistribution of the land use types can meet sustainable management objectives, but also explored how compromises within existing uses can optimise socio-economic, agricultural and environmental dimensions and move towards a sustainable multifunctional landscape

Aquaponics and global food challenges

As the world’s population grows, the demands for increased food pro- duction expand, and as the stresses on resources such as land, water and nutrients become ever greater, there is an urgent need to find alternative, sustainable and reliable methods to provide this food. The current strategies for supplying more produce are neither ecologically sound nor address the issues of the circular econ- omy of reducing waste whilst meeting the WHO’s Millennium Development Goals of eradicating hunger and poverty by 2015. Aquaponics, a technology that integrates aquaculture and hydroponics, provides part of the solution. Although aquaponics has developed considerably over recent decades, there are a number of key issues that still need to be fully addressed, including the development of energy-efficient systems with optimized nutrient recycling and suitable pathogen controls. There is also a key issue of achieving profitability, which includes effective value chains and efficient supply chain management. Legislation, licensing and policy are also keys to the success of future aquaponics, as are the issues of education and research, which are discussed across this book

The V471A polymorphism in autophagy-related gene ATG7 modifies age at onset specifically in Italian Huntington disease patients

The cause of Huntington disease (HD) is a polyglutamine repeat expansion of more than 36 units in the huntingtin protein, which is inversely correlated with the age at onset of the disease. However, additional genetic factors are believed to modify the course and the age at onset of HD. Recently, we identified the V471A polymorphism in the autophagy-related gene ATG7, a key component of the autophagy pathway that plays an important role in HD pathogenesis, to be associated with the age at onset in a large group of European Huntington disease patients. To confirm this association in a second independent patient cohort, we analysed the ATG7 V471A polymorphism in additional 1,464 European HD patients of the “REGISTRY” cohort from the European Huntington Disease Network (EHDN). In the entire REGISTRY cohort we could not confirm a modifying effect of the ATG7 V471A polymorphism. However, analysing a modifying effect of ATG7 in these REGISTRY patients and in patients of our previous HD cohort according to their ethnic origin, we identified a significant effect of the ATG7 V471A polymorphism on the HD age at onset only in the Italian population (327 patients). In these Italian patients, the polymorphism is associated with a 6-years earlier disease onset and thus seems to have an aggravating effect. We could specify the role of ATG7 as a genetic modifier for HD particularly in the Italian population. This result affirms the modifying influence of the autophagic pathway on the course of HD, but also suggests population-specific modifying mechanisms in HD pathogenesis