An Architectural and Historical Survey of Public Libraries in Iowa 1870-1940, 1980

The public library movement f the early twentieth century was a national phenomenon, in which Iowa, along with its neighboring states, played a prominent role. In 1900, the Iowa Library Commission noted 48 free public libraries in the state. Today there are approximately 500, in towns ranging in size from Beaman, with a population of 222, the Des Moines, the state capitol. Iowans took enthusiastic advantage of Andre Carnegie's library philanthropy. In 1919, the Carnegie Corporation stopped funding libraries, 101 building has been erected in Iowa with Carnegie funds. Iowa place fourth among the states in terms of the number of communities obtaining Carnegie buildings, fifth in dollar appropriation per one hundred population and eighth in the total amount of money given by Carnegie to a state. These figures provide some measure by which interest in popular education among Iowans of the period can be judged. Today these early libraries, often the most distinctive public libraries in small or medium-sized towns, are physical foci in the townscapes of their communities and centers for a variety of educational and social activities. This survey was initiated by the Division of Historic Preservation in 1977. It grew out of the need to provide a framework within which libraries could be evaluated for National Register action. Several libraries (Des Moines, Grinnell, Eagle Grove, Carroll) has been recent candidates for the Register. There was every indication that enthusiasm for old library buildings was increasing and that more nominations could be expected in the future. The attrition rate among early library buildings was (and is) growing. Most libraries were built on limited budgets (Carnegie did not squander his money) and, despite the fact that future expansion was usually a conscious consideration in their design, they are rapidly becoming obsolete, due to expanding collections and changing styles of librarianship. If the protection of the threatened with demolition or alteration, action needed to be taken.

Translating in the "Tongue of Perrault". The Reception of the "Kinder- und Hausmärchen" in France

To translate the Kinder- und Hausmärchen into French is to confront the spectre of Charles Perrault and his Histoires ou contes du temps passé. Avec des moralités, which have haunted the fairy-tale genre in France since the end of the 17th century. Celebrated for their alleged simplicity and naivety by literary critics and folklorists, Perrault's "contes" have become the paragon of a genre against which fairytales translated into French are implicitly? measured. On the one hand, Perrault has come to play an integrating role, linking foreign texts to the French literary heritage and thereby facilitating their reception. On the other hand, he is simultaneously used as a contrast, to emphasise the originality of foreign authors and emphasise cultural differences. Drawing on contemporary and 19th century examples emphasising the influence of the Histoires ou contes du temps passé on French translations of the KHM, I will show that the Grimms' fairy-tales are translated less in the "tongue of Molière" than in the "tongue of Perrault".

Damn Platonism! Concrete Persons' Skin, Flesh and Bodies: Three Phases of a Won Battle in Miquel Àngel Riera's poetry

The aim of this article is to show how, throughout M. A. Riera's poetry, an evident anti-metaphysical sensibility can be easily detected, which in its turn makes the poet to praise concrete person's skin, flesh and bodies, thus avoiding any personal Platonic or idealistic experience of human love. In the author's opinion, an accurate reading of his poems makes us discover Plato and Platonism as one of the great responsible thinkers for the contempt of carnal love, which has been undoubtedly the origin of a real human pain as a result of denying the somatic side of eros.

Assessment of debris-flow susceptibility at medium-scale in the Barcelonnette Basin, France

Debris flows are among the most dangerous processes in mountainous areas due to their rapid rate of movement and long runout zone. Sudden and rather unexpected impacts produce not only damages to buildings and infrastructure but also threaten human lives. Medium- to regional-scale susceptibility analyses allow the identification of the most endangered areas and suggest where further detailed studies have to be carried out. Since data availability for larger regions is mostly the key limiting factor, empirical models with low data requirements are suitable for first overviews. In this study a susceptibility analysis was carried out for the Barcelonnette Basin, situated in the southern French Alps. By means of a methodology based on empirical rules for source identification and the empirical angle of reach concept for the 2-D runout computation, a worst-case scenario was first modelled. In a second step, scenarios for high, medium and low frequency events were developed. A comparison with the footprints of a few mapped events indicates reasonable results but suggests a high dependency on the quality of the digital elevation model. This fact emphasises the need for a careful interpretation of the results while remaining conscious of the inherent assumptions of the model used and quality of the input data.

France's Charter for the Environment : of Presidents, Principles and Environmental Protection

France amended its constitution in 2005 to include a Charter for the Environment. The Charter lays out France's commitment to supporting the right to a 'balanced environment'. This article first traces the Charter's origins to a legacy-building presidential initiative. Jacques Chirac decided to invest in a neglected policy domain in which his own majority had shown little interest. He was obliged to intervene repeatedly in order to bring this project to a successful conclusion. In doing so, he staked out environmental affairs as an area of potential presidential supremacy. Next, the content of the Charter is examined. In this document, French traditions of universalism come together with an international movement for anticipatory environmental protection. This is reflected in the constitutionalisation of the precautionary principle, which emerged as the most controversial part of the Charter. The debates this provoked tended to caricature a risk-management principle whose meaning has been carefully refined to forestall objections. Finally, the Charter's potential efficacy is analysed. The post-Charter record of legislative and judicial activity concerning the environment is meagre, but not wholly inauspicious.

Occupational exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation of outdoor workers in France

Question: Outdoor occupational exposure could be associated with important cumulative and intense exposure to ultraviolet (UV) solar radiation. Such exposure would increase risk of skin cancer. However, little information exists on jobs associated with intense UV exposure. The objective of this study was to characterise occupational UV exposure in a representative sample in France. Methods: A population-based survey was conducted in May-June 2012 through computer-assisted telephonic interviews in population 25 to 69 years of age. Individual UV irradiation was computed with declared time and place of residence matched to UV records from satellite measurement (Eurosun project). We analysed factors influencing exposure to UV (annual average and seasonal peak). Results: A total of 1442 individuals declared having an occupational exposure to UV which represents 18% of population aged 25 to 69 years. Outdoor workers were more frequently men (58%), aged 40-54 (43%), with a phototype III or IV (69%). Occupations associated with highest UV exposure were: construction workers (annual daily average 62.8 Joules/m2), gardeners (62.6), farmers (52.8), culture/art/social sciences workers (52.0) and transport workers/mail carriers (49.5). The maximum of UVA exposure was found for occupation with a strong seasonality of exposure: culture, art or social sciences works (98.1 Joules/m2), construction works (97.2), gardening (96.7) and farming (95.0). Significant factors associated with high occupational UV exposure were gender (men vs. women: 53.6 vs. 42.6), phototype (IV vs. I: 51.9 vs. 45.5) and taking lunch outdoors (always vs. never: 59.8 vs. 48.6). Conclusion: Our study showed that some occupations were associated with particularly intense UV exposure such as farmers, gardeners, construction workers. Other unexpected occupations were also associated with high UV exposure such as transport workers, mail carriers and culture/art/social sciences workers.