Pliensbachian magnetostratigraphy: new data from Paris Basin (France)

Sampling of an industrial drill string from the northeastern Paris Basin (Montcornet, France) provides early Jurassic magnetostratigraphic data coupled with biochronological control. About 375 paleomagnetic samples were obtained from a 145 m thick series of Pliensbachian rocks. A composite demagnetization thermal up to 300 C and an alternating field up to 80 mT were used to separate the magnetic components. A low unblocking temperature component (<250degreesC) with an inclination of about 64 is interpreted as a present-day field overprint. The characteristic remanent component with both normal and reversed antipodal directions was isolated between 5 and 50 mT. Twenty-nine polarity intervals were recognized. Correlation of these new results from the Paris Basin with data from the Breggia Gorge section (Ticino, southern Alps, Switzerland), which is generally considered as the reference section for Pliensbachian magnetostratigraphy, reveals almost identical patterns of magnetic polarity reversals. However, the correlation implies significant paleontological age discrepancies. Revised age assignments of biostratigraphic data of Breggia as well as an objective evaluation of the uncertainties on zonal boundaries in both Breggia and Moncornet resolve the initial discrepancies between magnetostratigraphic correlations and biostratigraphic ages. Hence, the sequence of magnetic reversals is significantly strengthened and the age calibration is notably improved for the Pliensbachian, a stage for which sections combining adequate magnetic signal and biostratigraphic constraints are still very few. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Gender, family and employment in comparative perspective: the realities and representations of rqual rpportunities in Britain and France

In this paper, we will explore how contrasting national discourses relating to women, and gender equality have been incorporated into and reflected in national policies. In the first section, we will outline the recent history of EU equal opportunities policy, in which positive action has been replaced by a policy of 'mainstreaming'. Second, we will describe the evolution of policies towards women and equal opportunities in Britain and France. It will be argued that whereas some degree of positive action for women has been accepted in Britain, this policy is somewhat alien to French thinking about equality - although pro-natalist French policies have resulted in favourable conditions for employed mothers in France. In the third section, we will present some attitudinal evidence, drawn from national surveys, which would appear to reflect the national policy differences we have identified in respect of the 'equality agenda'. In the fourth section, we will draw upon biographical interviews carried out with men and women in British and French banks in order to illustrate the impact of these cross-national differences within organizations and on individual lives. We demonstrate that positive action gender equality policies have made an important impact in British banks, while overt gender exclusionary practices still persist in the French banks studied. In the conclusion, we reflect on the European policy implications of our findings.