West Of France Research Articles

Mapping wetland functions using Earth observation data and multi-criteria analysis.

Wetland functional assessment is commonly conducted based on field observations, and thus, is generally limited to small areas. However, there is often a need for wetland managers to obtain information on wetland functional performance over larger areas. For this purpose, we are proposing a new field-based functional assessment procedure in which wetland functions are evaluated and classified into hydrogeomorphic units according to a multi-criteria analysis approach. Wetland-related geographic information system layers derived from Earth observation data (LiDAR, multispectral and radar data) are used in this study for a large-scale functional evaluation. These include maps of a hydrogeomorphic units, ditches, vegetation, annual flood duration, biomass, meadows management, and wetland boundaries. To demonstrate the feasibility of this approach, a 132km2 international long-term ecological research site located in the west of France was assessed. Four wetland functions were evaluated: flood peak attenuation, low water attenuation, denitrification, and habitat. A spatial distribution map of the individual wetland functions was generated, and the intensity levels of the functions were highlighted. Antagonisms between functions within individual hydrogeomorphic units were also identified. Mapping of hydrological, biogeochemical, and ecological wetland functions over large areas can provide an efficient tool for policy makers and other stakeholders including water authorities, nature conservation agencies, and farmers. Specifically, this tool has the potential to provide a mapping of ecosystem services, conservation management priorities, and possible improvements in water resources management.

Spatio–Temporal Clustering and Active Learning for Change Classification in Satellite Image Time Series

Active learning (AL) has emerged as a versatile approach to reduce the training data required for remote sensing image classification, but its use for the analysis of satellite image time series (SITS) has not been explored yet. This study targets to explore a new object-based framework for change detection in SITS, combining the state-of-the-art spatio-temporal clustering and the use of different machine learning algorithms. Indeed, this study aims at testing whether standard machine learning algorithms can detect changes in long time series and whether AL can improve the results compared to traditional supervised learning. The tested AL algorithms comprise random forest-based heuristics that use a combination of uncertainty and diversity criteria, and a classical SVM breaking ties heuristic. The different implementations are evaluated with two datasets that depict changes around the Arcachon basin (West of France) and around the city of Colmar (East of France) spanning over more than 20 years and comprising four change classes (urban sprawl, forest gain, forest loss, and other). The tests demonstrate that steeper learning curves can be obtained with AL when compared to supervised learning. However, the performance of different AL algorithms depends on the dataset.

Potential of vehicle-to-grid ancillary services considering the uncertainties in plug-in electric vehicle availability and service/localization limitations in distribution grids

The aim of the paper is to propose an approach for statistical assessment of the potential of plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) for vehicle-to-grid (V2G) ancillary services, where it focuses on PEVs doing daily home-work commuting. In this approach, the possible ancillary services (A/S) for each PEV fleet in terms of its available V2G power (AVP) and flexible intervals are identified. The flexible interval is calculated using a powerful stochastic global optimization technique so-called “Free Pattern Search” (FPS). A probabilistic method is also proposed to quantify the impacts of PEV’s availability uncertainty using the Gaussian mixture model (GMM), and interdependency of stochastic variables on AVP of each fleet thanks to a multivariate modeling with Copula function. Each fleet is analyzed based on its aggregated PEV numbers at different level of distribution grid, in order to satisfy the ancillary services localization limitation. A case study using the proposed approach evaluates the real potential in Niort, a city in west of France. In fact, by using the proposed approach an aggregator can analyze the V2G potential of PEVs under its contract.

Where do people live longer and shorter lives? An ecological study of old-age survival across 4404 small areas from 18 European countries

BackgroundFurther increases in life expectancy in high-income countries depend to a large extent on advances in old-age survival. We aimed to characterise the spatial distribution of old-age survival across small...

A newly discovered antler flint-knapping hammer and the question of their rarity in the Palaeolithic archaeological record: Reality or bias?

The use of soft (bone, antler, tooth and wood) hammers and retouchers is a key innovation in early stone tool technology, first appearing in the archaeological record with Lower Palaeolithic handaxe industries (e.g. Boxgrove, UK ∼500 ka). Although organic knapping tools were undoubtedly a component of early human toolkits and are essential, for example, for the manufacture of finely-flaked handaxes, Mousterian scrapers and Upper Palaeolithic blades tools, such archaeological finds are exceptionally rare. In this study, we present qualitative and quantitative analyses (focus variation optical microscope, scanning electron microscope, micro-CT scanning and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy), of a newly discovered antler flint knapping from Laugerie-Haute West (France). This specimen was originally identified as a waste-product from splinter manufacture, and the use-damage appears to have been overlooked by earlier workers. The new analysis shows that prior to being used as a flint-knapping percussor, the red deer antler had been modified to reduce the length of its beam and to remove the tines. Although minimally used, characteristic use-damage includes attrition (pits and scores), compression of the antler matrix and flint chips embedded within some of the percussion features on the base of the burr. An AMS radiocarbon date of 12,385 ± 55 BP (12,647 ± 335 BC calibrated) confirms a Magdelenian context for the hammer. The fact that the Laugerie-Haute knapping hammer went unrecognised in a well-studied and accessible collection where it was stored for almost 200 years, suggests that antler hammers may be more common than generally assumed. Only further re-examination of prehistoric antlers in museum collections will confirm whether the apparent rarity of antler hammers during the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic is real phenomenon or the result of analytical biases.

Development of On-Line Solid-Phase Extraction-Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method to Quantify Pharmaceutical, Glucuronide Conjugates and Metabolites in Water

The present work describes the development of an analytical method, based on automated on-line solid phase extraction followed by ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (SPELC- MS/ MS) for the quantification of 37 pharmaceutical residues, covering various therapeutic classes, and some of their main metabolites, in surface and drinking water. A special attention was given to some glucuronide conjuguates and metabolites of active subtances. Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) was chosen and two transitions per compound are monitored (quantification and confirmation transitions). Quantification is performed by standard addition approach to correct matrix effect. The method provides limit of quantification inferior to 20 ng.L-1 for all compounds. The methodology was successfully applied to the analysis of surface water and drinking water of 8 drinking water treatment plant in west of France. The highest drug concentrations in surface water and drinking water were reported for ketoprofen, hydroxyibuprofen, acetaminophen, caffeine and danofloxacin.

An approach to holistically assess (dairy) farm eco-efficiency by combining Life Cycle Analysis with Data Envelopment Analysis models and methodologies

Eco-efficiency is a useful guide to dairy farm sustainability analysis aimed at increasing output (physical or value added) and minimizing environmental impacts (EIs). Widely used partial eco-efficiency ratios (EIs per some functional unit, e.g. kg milk) can be problematic because (i) substitution possibilities between EIs are ignored, (ii) multiple ratios can complicate decision making and (iii) EIs are not usually associated with just the functional unit in the ratio’s denominator. The objective of this study was to demonstrate a ‘global’ eco-efficiency modelling framework dealing with issues (i) to (iii) by combining Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) data and the multiple-input, multiple-output production efficiency method Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). With DEA each dairy farm’s outputs and LCA-derived EIs are aggregated into a single, relative, bounded, dimensionless eco-efficiency score, thus overcoming issues (i) to (iii). A novelty of this study is that a model providing a number of additional desirable properties was employed, known as the Range Adjusted Measure (RAM) of inefficiency. These properties altogether make RAM advantageous over other DEA models and are as follows. First, RAM is able to simultaneously minimize EIs and maximize outputs. Second, it indicates which EIs and/or outputs contribute the most to a farm’s eco-inefficiency. Third it can be used to rank farms in terms of eco-efficiency scores. Thus, non-parametric rank tests can be employed to test for significant differences in terms of eco-efficiency score ranks between different farm groups. An additional DEA methodology was employed to ‘correct’ the farms’ eco-efficiency scores for inefficiencies attributed to managerial factors. By removing managerial inefficiencies it was possible to detect differences in eco-efficiency between farms solely attributed to uncontrollable factors such as region. Such analysis is lacking in previous dairy studies combining LCA with DEA. RAM and the ‘corrective’ methodology were demonstrated with LCA data from French specialized dairy farms grouped by region (West France, Continental France) and feeding strategy (regardless of region). Mean eco-efficiency score ranks were significantly higher for farms with <10% and 10% to 30% maize than farms with >30% maize in the total forage area before correcting for managerial inefficiencies. Mean eco-efficiency score ranks were higher for West than Continental farms, but significantly higher only after correcting for managerial inefficiencies. These results helped identify the eco-efficiency potential of each region and feeding strategy and could therefore aid advisors and policy makers at farm or region/sector level. The proposed framework helped better measure and understand (dairy) farm eco-efficiency, both within and between different farm groups.

Anticipating intergenerational management transfer of family firms: A typology of next generation’s future leadership projections

A key assumption in family business research and practice is that for family businesses to have a future, succession must be secured. Because family businesses are hybrid organizations with partially or totally overlapping family and business identities, a second consensual assumption is shared by most family business scholars and entrepreneurs: the business needs to stay in the family, so intra-family succession is the optimal ownership and management transfer solution. Yet both assumptions adopt the perspective of the business founder or the current family business leader. Next generations are rarely asked to express their thoughts and feelings about the future of the family firms that they are expected to protect, develop and pass on to their own children. Do next generation members share these two assumptions or do they envision their potential leadership role differently, expressing alternative views about the meaning and scope of family business succession? In this article, we present and discuss four alternative future leadership projections generated by a group of 14 next generation members participating in a training workshop held in the west of France in August 2013.

Localising the Social: The Rediscovery of Urban Poverty in Western European ‘Affluent Societies’

AbstractConcentrating on the production of knowledge of poverty and homelessness, this article discusses how particular spatial settings influenced the construction of social problems in the 1960s and 1970s. Exploring the practices of three kinds of knowledge producers – social scientists in academic circles, ‘practitionerscumactivists’ engaging in advocacy research and experts in governmental committees – the analysis focuses on the early stages of a rediscovery of poverty in Western Europe as it was debated in international fora as well as in West Germany and France. It shows that the way in which poverty was represented as a new challenge to Western ‘affluent societies’ was in many respects an urban story, as the ongoing housing crisis and newly defined problem areas served as major points of reference for the revived interest in social deprivation. Moreover, urban actors – locally active NGOs and municipal authorities – played a preeminent role in launching debates on the apparent paradox of poverty in affluence. With their own work often grounded in particular urban problem zones, many contemporary observers tended to spatialise poverty. For them, poverty was bound to particular places; it was an exceptional sphere that helped generate a particular behaviour that made it difficult for ‘the poor’ to rise. While a growing part of the population had access to housing of a standard previously reserved to the middle class and had become able to choose where to live, life in peripheral shantytowns or dilapidated inner cities became the ultimate signifier of a social position beyond the established class structure.

Predictions of future grazing season length for European dairy, beef and sheep farms based on regression with bioclimatic variables

SUMMARYGrazing season length (GSL) on grassland farms with ruminant production systems can influence farm economics, livestock disease transmission, environmental impact, milk and meat quality, and consumer choice. Bioclimatic variables are biologically meaningful climate variables that may enable predictions of the impact of future climate change on GSL on European farms. The present study investigated the spatial relationship between current GSL (months) measured by EUROSTAT on dairy, beef and sheep farms in 706, 774 and 878 regions, respectively, and bioclimatic variables. A stepwise multiple regression model revealed a highly significant association between observed GSL and bioclimatic variables across Europe. Mean GSL was positively associated with the mean temperature of the coldest quarter and isothermality, and negatively associated with precipitation in the wettest month. Extrapolating these relationships to future climate change scenarios, most European countries were predicted to have a net increase in GSL with the increase being largest (up to 2·5 months) in the north-east of Europe. However, there were also predictions of increased variability between regions and decreases in GSL of up to 1·5 months in some areas such as the west of France, the south-west of Norway and the west coast of Britain. The study quantified and mapped the potential impact of climate change on GSL for dairy, beef and sheep farms across Europe.

State knowledge and recurring patterns of state phobia

This paper identifies some key underlying assumptions of critical political analysis by examining two moments that have brought these assumptions to the fore: the Klaus Croissant affair in West Germany and France in the late 1970s, and Edward Snowden’s revelations in the 21st century regarding the activities of the US National Security Agency. Interesting parallels can be identified between ‘distinction-collapsing discourses’ prominent in the two contexts. The core argument of the paper is that understanding Michel Foucault’s critical stance toward the description of West Germany as ‘fascist’ in 1977 and 1978, and more broadly, toward what he called ‘state phobia’, can help us resist undifferentiated condemnation of state representations under the sign of ‘post-politics’ today. An account of the 1977 Croissant affair, the critical discourses prominent at the time, and Foucault’s critical stance toward the notion of fascism provides an historical parallel for a critical reading of Badiou’s discussion of the state in Being and Event and other works. The final section briefly surveys a number of recent forms of epistemic activism that illustrate the shortcomings of a one-sided reading of state knowledge such as that offered by Badiou and seemingly confirmed by the NSA scandal.

The VIADUC project: innovation in climate adaptation through service design

Abstract. From the French National Adaptation to Climate Change Plan, the "Drias, les futurs du climat" service has been developed to provide easy access to French regional climate projections. This is a major step for the implementation of French Climate Services. The usefulness of this service for the end-users and decision makers involved with adaptation planning at a local scale is investigated. As such, the VIADUC project is: to evaluate and enhance Drias, as well as to imagine future development in support of adaptation. Climate scientists work together with end-users and a service designer. The designer's role is to propose an innovative approach based on the interaction between scientists and citizens. The chosen end-users are three Natural Regional Parks located in the South West of France. The latter parks are administrative entities which gather municipalities having a common natural and cultural heritage. They are also rural areas in which specific economic activities take place, and therefore are concerned and involved in both protecting their environment and setting-up sustainable economic development. The first year of the project has been dedicated to investigation including the questioning of relevant representatives. Three key local economic sectors have been selected: i.e. forestry, pastoral farming and building activities. Working groups were composed of technicians, administrative and maintenance staff, policy makers and climate researchers. The sectors' needs for climate information have been assessed. The lessons learned led to actions which are presented hereinafter.

Invasion genetics of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas in the British Isles inferred from microsatellite and mitochondrial markers

The Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, native to northeast Asia, is one of the most important cultured shellfish species. In Europe, Pacific oysters first settled along the Atlantic coasts of France at the end of the 1960s but rapidly spread and are now widely established. Twenty-two sites in the United Kingdom (UK), Ireland, Denmark, France and Spain were sampled to assess genetic diversity and differentiation. Hatchery-propagated stocks from two hatcheries located in the UK also were included. Two main genetic clusters were identified from pairwise genetic differentiation indexes, Bayesian clustering methods or neighbour-joining analysis, based on 7 microsatellite loci: (1) a Northeast cluster (including feral samples from East England, Ireland and Denmark as well as UK hatchery stocks) and (2) a Southwest cluster (including samples from South Wales, South West England, France and Spain). The Southwest cluster had significantly higher allelic richness (A) and expected heterozygosity (H e ) (A: 45.68, H e : 0.928) than in the Northeast (A: 26.58, H e : 0.883); the two diverging by a small but significant F ST value (F ST = 0.017, 95 % CI 0.014–0.021). A 739-bp fragment of the major noncoding region of the mitochondrial genome was sequenced in 248 oysters from 12 of the studied samples in Europe and in 25 oysters from Miyagi prefecture (Japan). A total of 81 haplotypes were found. Haplotype frequency analyses identified the same two clusters observed using microsatellites. This study highlights how the number and size of introduction events, aquaculture practices, genetic bottlenecks followed by genetic drift and natural dispersal can act concurrently to shape the genetic diversity and structure of introduced populations.

Cumulative Stressors Trigger Increased Vulnerability of Diatom Communities to Additional Disturbances.

Chronic, non-lethal stressors occurring gradually (in space or time) can result in cumulative impacts that are more dramatic than higher intensities or occasional critical levels of any single one of these stressors. The negative effects of the chronic stressors trigger lasting impacts that may grow in intensity and become problematic over time and/or to higher trophic levels. In rivers, aquatic organisms experience this type of cumulative stress along the up- to downstream gradient in natural and anthropogenic contaminants generally observed in inhabited watersheds. Diatoms are a major component of the periphyton in rivers; their richness and diversity in natural communities are directly related to their varied ecological preferences and sensitivity to disturbance. In this study, we monitored from 2003 to 2008 the changes in the diversity of taxonomic and non-taxonomic features along a small river (Riou-Mort, South West France), at three sites: one site upstream considered as a reference for this watershed, one intermediate site with high nutrient load, and one downstream site exposed to both nutrient and metal pollution. The cumulative impacts of nutrients plus metals led to a gradual decrease in species richness and diversity, and in a potential capacity to cope with additional stresses, e.g., climate change-related ones. This is reflected by a decrease in species richness downstream, more dramatic in the hot summer of 2003 than in cooler summers. With the increasingly protective environmental regulations (e.g., Water Framework Directive in Europe), accumulation of stresses on aquatic resources are recommended to receive increasing attention, in particular considering the expected changes in climate.

Britons abroad or European citizens? The negotiation of (trans)national space and citizenship by British migrants in France

This paper uses the concept of ‘ordinary citizenship’ (Staeheli et al., 2012) to explore the relationship between mobility, citizenship and political space in the European Union. Drawing on in-depth interviews with Britons living in South West France, the paper examines the ways in which citizenship is meaningful to migrants as a complexity of legal frameworks, normative structures and everyday activities. While EU citizenship has been advanced to underpin the formation of a closer Union, we demonstrate that contemporary forms of citizenship among these lifestyle migrants are shaped to a large extent by performances of national belonging, and individual interactions with other people at the local or community level. We argue that a bi-national structure of citizenship, or one based on domicile better accounts for the experiences of these migrants than supranational EU citizenship.

Analysis of 210Pb peak values at Mt. Cimone (1998–2011)

The present study analyses the peak 210Pb activity concentrations observed all over the 1998–2011 period at the WMO-GAW high altitude site of Mt. Cimone (44.18N, 10.7E, 2165 m asl; Italy) in terms of meteorological conditions, links with other atmospheric species and population dose rate associated with this radiotracer. The highest 210Pb events mainly occurred in the warm period and were associated with prolonged anticyclonic conditions, high temperatures, and low relative humidity values. A correlation with the seasonal pattern of the mixing height was also observed, suggesting the importance of thermal convection promoting uplift of warm air from the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), transporting high concentrations of 222Rn and thus 210Pb. The main sources of high 210Pb concentrations were identified by means of clusters of back-trajectories applied at three different heights. Sources located at east (central Europe), at west (Spain and France) and south (northern Africa) of Mt. Cimone were distinguished. The clusters obtained at the three heights were compared in order to study the extent between ABL and free troposphere during the highest 210Pb events: a wide influence of the strong coupling among atmospheric vertical layers on 210Pb activity concentrations increases was demonstrated. The annual effective dose from the potential inhalation of this radionuclide during the peak concentration episodes was also calculated. The average dose increase during the selected events represents only a small fraction of the total dose from all sources; these results are nevertheless useful for providing information on natural background dose contribution from inhalation which is required for the accurate assessment of dosimetric conditions in the case of nuclear emergencies.

Retention of nutrients, suspended particulate matter and phytoplankton in a pondage associated with a run‐of‐the‐river type hydroelectric power plant

AbstractReservoirs associated with run‐of‐the‐river type hydroelectrical power plants (i.e. pondages) have short water residence times. For this reason, pondages are thought to have a limited impact on the fluxes of particles and solutes transported by rivers. The Malause reservoir (South West France) is such a pondage. Fed by both the Garonne and Tarn rivers, it has a water residence time of only a few days. Incoming and outgoing fluxes of nutrients, suspended particulate matter (SPM) and phytoplankton were measured weekly over the course of 1 year. Mass balance calculations showed that Malause pondage retained 24% of soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) supplied by both rivers on an annual basis. SRP retention occurred mostly in spring–summer, pointing to biological uptake. In addition, the pondage was a sink for SPM and phytoplankton, retaining 39% of SPM and 14% of chlorophyll a supplied by both rivers on an annual basis. The retention efficiency appeared to be constrained by water temperature and residence time. The pondage was a source of phytoplankton during summer, when temperature and water residence time was high. The pondage was a sink for SPM when water residence time was low (&lt;1 day). Our observations highlight the need to reconsider the impact of minor hydrological discontinuities on the functioning of the river continuum. The shallow depth of the pondage and the presence of dense stands of submerged macrophytes have probably favoured the retention of nutrients and the sedimentation of particles within the pondage. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Multiscale seismic reflectivity of shallow thermoclines

AbstractSeismic oceanography is coming of age as an established technique of observation of the thermohaline structure of the ocean. The present paper deals with the seismic reflectivity of the Armorican Shelf seasonal thermocline, west of France, based on two seismic experiments performed with a sparker source. The peak frequency was 500 Hz for the ASPEX experiment, where the thermocline was located at 27 m water depth, and reduced to 400 Hz associated to a higher source level for the IFOSISMO experiment, where the thermocline was 12 m deeper. Despite these settings, only the first experiment could clearly highlight the thermocline reflector, providing the first seismic observation of a shallow oceanic structure. To better understand the limitation of high‐resolution seismic devices in detecting weak oceanic features, we develop a wavelet‐based seismic analysis and consider, as a first approximation, a simple thermocline modeled by a Gauss error function, allowing an analytical expression for the associated seismic reflectivity. We show that the acoustic impedance profile of the thermocline is mainly controlled by a sound velocity proportional to the temperature. We show that the seismic reflectivity is controlled by the reflection coefficient of the large‐scale structure of the thermocline and by an attenuation factor which depends on the ratio between the seismic wavelength and the characteristic size of the thermocline. Depending on this ratio, the strength of the thermocline‐related reflection may be too weak to be detected by seismic measurement.

Distributed modeling of ecohydrological processes at high spatial resolution over a landscape having patches of managed forest stands and crop fields in SW Europe

We simulated the ecohydrological processes of a forest-dominated landscape that comprises of managed maritime pine stands and crops in the Landes de Gascogne region of South West France. We used an improved model called STEPS that describes ecophysiological, biogeochemical and hydrological processes in a tightly coupled and spatially distributed manner, applicable to both pristine and managed ecosystems. Simulated gross primary productivity (GPP) and evapotranspiration (ET) showed large spatial variability over this landscape owing to the heterogeneities inherent in land cover, soil texture, topography and soil hydrology. Croplands (mainly maize) exhibited higher ranges of GPP (200–2500 gcm−2yr−1) and ET fluxes (150–800mmyr−1) variability, relative to other land cover types, primarily due to the presence of fallow versus cultivated lands. The pine stands also showed considerable spatial variability in GPP (426–1320gcm−2yr−1) and ET (234–570mmyr−1) but this occurred mainly as a function of stand age and the understory species compositions. Comparison of simulated values with measurements taken at the LeBray stand revealed reasonable model performance for both GPP (R2=0.92, RMSE=0.77gcm−2day−1) and ET (R2=0.81, RMSE=0.52mmday−1) as well as other ecohydrological indicators. Seasonal patterns of ET fluxes were more dynamic than GPP due to the presence of distinct subcomponent processes that were uniquely governed by several environmental factors. A sensitivity analysis of some parameters that are common to both GPP and ET simulation revealed that the most sensitive parameters were LAI, Ω and gs,max. This study will serve as the basis for further research on developing environmental management strategies specific to the Landes de Gascogne region of France.

Galadio de Didier Daeninckx et la question de l'identité nationale

In 2009, the French government launched a national debate to define French national identity. The people, as well as experts and intellectuals, responded to this initiative in many ways. The discussions often led to determining who belonged to the national community and who did not. Hence, descendants of immigrants often became a target in the debate. Didier Daeninckx, a well-known writer who often intervenes in the public sphere, published a short novel entitled Galadio (2010) as a response to the debate imposed by the government. It tells the story of a young man in 1930s Germany whose father, a tirailleur sénégalais, met his mother, a German, during the 1920s when French colonial troops were stationed in the Ruhr region to pressure Germany to honour the Treaty of Versailles. This analysis seeks to assess what this literary piece adds to the debate by focusing on its complex conception of identity. The form of the historical novel allows Daeninckx to remind us of the participation of the African colonies in both WWI and WWII. The main character's identity is also multidimensional, which is essential to the novel's effort to avoid simple definitions of national identity unambiguously tied to nationality. Finally, following a protagonist who has strong ties to Germany, colonial West Africa and France allows for a geographical and temporal displacement necessary for the allegory mechanism to function and for its meaningfulness to become obvious in 2010.