France ( in French), officially the French Republic (, ), is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in Western Europe and that also comprises a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents.For more information, see Category:French overseas departments, territories and collectivities Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and North Sea, and from the Rhine River to the Atlantic Ocean. French people often refer to Metropolitan France as l'Hexagone (the "Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory.

France is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Andorra, and Spain. In some of its overseas departments, France also shares land borders with Brazil, Suriname, and the Netherlands Antilles. France is also linked to the United Kingdom via the Channel Tunnel, which passes underneath the English Channel(La Manche in French).

The French Republic is a democracy which is organised as a unitary semi-presidential republic. It is a highly developed country with the sixth-largest economy in the world.Rank by nominal GDP: 6 (2006); Rank by GDP per capita: 17 (2005); Rank by GDP at purchasing power parity per capita: 21 (2005). Its main ideals are expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. France is one of the founding members of the European Union, and has the largest land area of all members. France is also a founding member of the United Nations, and a member of La Francophonie, the G8, and the Latin Union. It is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council wielding veto power, and it is also one of eight acknowledged nuclear powers. With almost 75 million foreign tourists each year,France is the most popular tourist destination in the world above Spain (52 millions) and USA (41 millions} .

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UC Davis News: General Interest

UC Davis Honors Arts Patron Barbara Jackson
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Arts patron Barbara K. Jackson has been awarded the UC Davis Medal, the highest tribute bestowed by the university. Jackson, one of two namesakes of the Mondavi Center's Barbara K. and W. Turrentine Jackson Hall, received the honor Saturday evening during the opening event of the Mondavi Center's 2008-09 season. "As a philanthropist of extraordinary generosity and an exceptional volunteer, Barbara has had a profound effect on the cultural landscape of our region," Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef said. "By her example, Barbara challenges each of us to discover our own particular passion, to do more, give more and achieve more in its service." The award recognizes individuals of rare accomplishment. Past recipients have included President Bill Clinton and UC Davis law professor Cruz Reynoso, the first Hispanic to serve on the California Supreme Court. Jackson's more than 50 years of contributions to the arts in Northern California have ranged from the humble -- she once cut up her dining room curtains and stitched them into petticoats and bloomers for a Gilbert & Sullivan show at the Davis Art Center -- to the lofty. Her 2001 gift of $5 million to name the Mondavi Center's main performance hall set a record at the time as the largest gift by an individual to the arts in the Sacramento region; it was instrumental in making the Mondavi Center a reality. Now in its seventh season, the Mondavi Center has established itself as a world-class performing arts facility and regional destination for the best in classical music, dance, distinguished speakers, jazz, theater and world music, as well as a center for education and public service. "Barbara is passionate about all aspects of musical performance. She helped make possible an extraordinary concert hall, one which performers of the highest caliber seek out because the acoustics are so good," said Jessie Ann Owens, professor of music and dean of the Division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies. "She also is deeply invested in the careers and lives of young performers. Imagine the enrichment her philanthropy makes possible -- the extraordinary musical experiences for audience members and performers alike. What a gift she has given us all!" Jackson moved to Davis in the early 1950s with her late husband when he joined the UC Davis history department faculty. During the next five decades, she served as president of the University Farm Circle, was a charter member of what is now the Sutter Davis Hospital Auxiliary and organized the Davis chapter of the Embroiderers Guild of America. She also helped to found the Davis Theatrical Costumers Guild, a group of volunteers who designed and sewed costumes for schools and community theater groups from the 1950s through 2006, working at sewing machines set up on card tables in the dining room of Jackson's Davis home. For 10 years, Jackson was an award-winning costume designer, seamstress and wardrobe mistress for the Sacramento Opera. She is also a trustee emerita of the UC Davis Foundation and a founding member of the Friends of UC Davis Presents. In addition to the $5 million gift to name Jackson Hall, Jackson has endowed the Barbara K. Jackson Chair in Orchestral Conducting, the Barbara K. Jackson Chair in Choral Conducting and the Barbara K. Jackson Endowed Fellowship in Student Conducting. Before her husband's death in 2000, the couple made numerous other gifts to the campus, including gifts to establish two new endowments in the Department of History: the W. Turrentine Jackson Chair in Western U.S. History and the W. Turrentine Jackson Graduate Fellowship. Jackson's support extends to the Bay Area as well. For more than 25 years she has sponsored young professional singers through the San Francisco Opera's Merola Program. In 2001 she was honored as philanthropist of the year by the California Capital Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. About the University of California, Davis For 100 years, UC Davis has engaged in teaching, research and public service that matters to California and transforms the world. Located close to the state capital, UC Davis has 31,000 students, an annual research budget that exceeds $500 million, a comprehensive health system and 13 specialized research centers. The university offers interdisciplinary graduate study and more than 100 undergraduate majors in four colleges -- Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science -- and advanced degrees from five professional schools: Education, Law, Management, Medicine, and Veterinary Medicine. The UC Davis School of Medicine and UC Davis Medical Center are located on the Sacramento campus near downtown.
Design, Construction Team Selected for Next Phase of Robert Mondavi Institute
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700
A team of architects, engineers and builders has been selected to design and construct the building that will house a teaching and research winery as well as a brewery and food science laboratory for the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at the University of California, Davis. The newly selected team, chosen through a competitive bids process, includes BNB Norcal of San Mateo and Flad Architects of San Francisco; along with Gayner Engineering, KPW Structural Engineers, Creegan+D'Angelo, Civil Engineers and HLA Landscape Architects. BNB NorCal is a construction firm experienced in building wineries, breweries pilot plants and university facilities. Flad Architects specializes in planning and designing innovative facilities in the fields of academia, healthcare, and science and technology. Design plans for the one-story, 32,000-square-foot building are to be submitted for approval to the UC regents in January. Construction is slated to begin in June 2009, with completion anticipated in July 2010. This building will be located at the southwest corner of the new Robert Mondavi Institute's academic complex. On Oct. 10, UC Davis plans to host a public grand opening of the first three buildings in the complex, housing laboratories, offices and teaching facilities for the departments of Viticulture and Enology, and Food Science and Technology. The new building will house the small-scale Teaching and Research Winery and the August A. Busch III Brewing and Food Science Laboratory, including a brewery and pilot food-processing plant for tomatoes, milk and other California food products. It will be designed to meet or exceed environmental specifications necessary for the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED-NC Gold Certification. Funds for constructing and equipping the new building have been provided entirely by private donors, with lead gifts from the late Robert Mondavi for the Teaching and Research Winery and from the Anheuser-Busch Foundation for the August A. Busch III Brewing and Food Science Laboratory. More than 150 individuals, alumni, corporate friends and foundations have contributed to the $16.5 million budget for this phase of construction. Fundraising continues for further equipping the facility.
Campus Crime Report for 2007 Mixed
Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Crimes reported in calendar year 2007 on property owned or controlled by UC Davis increased in five of nine key categories and decreased in two, according to statistics prepared in compliance with the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. The five categories where reported crimes increased were forcible and non-forcible sex offenses, robbery, burglary and arson. The categories where crime reports were reduced were aggravated assaults and motor vehicle theft. No reports of non-negligent manslaughter or negligent manslaughter were recorded. The number of total reported sex offenses (forcible and non-forcible) increased from 68 in 2006 to 72 last year. These numbers reflect reports that were taken on campus, by police agencies that have jurisdiction adjacent to the campus, all off-campus properties and the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. Campus Violence Prevention Program Director Jennifer Beeman said increased awareness of available services does lead to an increase in reporting. "This increase in reported sex offenses does not necessarily mean that there has been an increase in sexual assault, domestic violence or stalking. Instead these higher numbers may reflect that the system is working and that victims feel confident enough to come forward and seek assistance," Beeman said. The mission of the 29-year old Campus Violence Prevention Program at UC Davis is making victims feel as comfortable as possible when making such reports. Approximately three-quarters of the reported sex offenses in 2007 were reported confidentially to the Campus Violence Prevention Program. Beeman says that the program has been fortunate to utilize funding from both campus and the federal Office on Violence Against Women to provide 24-hour victim assistance as well as consultation to those assisting victims. UC Davis has developed a comprehensive system of innovative risk-reduction, prevention and education programs, protocols and policies, along with confidential reporting options to help students report any sex offenses. Beeman says that the most recent data predicted just fewer than 3 percent of college women become victims of rape (completed or attempted) in a given nine-month academic year. "At first glance, the risk seems low, however, when calculated for a one-year period, the percentage translates into the disturbing figure of 35 such crimes for every 1,000 female students," said Beeman. "Sexual assault awareness means increasing public awareness of this 'silent crime.' It means asking our community to become knowledgeable about bystander interventions that may lead to eliminating sexual violence, and when it does occur to respond to survivors in a way that enables them to heal and regain control of their lives." The number of drug arrests increased from 81 in 2006 to 119 in 2007; while liquor disciplinary actions decreased from 312 in 2006 to 269 in 2007. The majority of the increased number of drug arrests on campus (18 in 2006 to 25 in 2007), were the result of increased patrol activity on or adjacent to the Davis campus by UC Davis police officers, noted UC Davis Police Chief Annette Spicuzza. Most of the drug arrests on campus were for marijuana. Drug arrests at the medical center and properties adjacent to it in Sacramento went from 58 in 2006 to 84 last year. Last year, UC Davis reported a decrease in aggravated assaults (17 in 2006 and 9 in 2007), which the campus police department attributes to more officers on patrol and, educating students about the Aggie Escort program. The goal of the service is to provide those on campus with an alternative to walking alone or within a small group. Those using the service are provided a ride home in a marked van or escorted on foot. "We are happy to see the decrease and will continue to work to get it even lower in the future," said Spicuzza. The decrease in motor vehicle thefts (38 in 2006 and 27 in 2007) is also related to beefing-up patrols in the many parking lots both on the main campus in Davis and at the medical center in Sacramento, according to Spicuzza. She said being vigilant in the parking lots most likely curtailed this crime. UC Davis did report a rash of thefts, which are included in the burglary statistic (99 in 2006 and 122 in 2007). These types of crimes are usually "crimes of convenience," noted Spicuzza. "Educating the campus community about the importance of securing valuables, not walking alone late at night and reporting illegal behavior will help to reduce those numbers." One hate crime was recorded in 2007. A male walking down a bike path was allegedly approach by four suspects who yelled a racial slur, and was punched. The crime was listed as a battery. The Clery Act requires colleges and universities to report statements of security policy and statistics for the specified crimes reported for defined locations on and adjacent to their campuses, their off-campus properties, and the properties of registered student organizations. Universities and colleges report the information to the U.S. Department of Education and must also make the information and annual statistics available to current and prospective students and employees each fall. Clery Act data for calendar year 2007 is available at the UC Davis Police Department's Web site: http://police.ucdavis.edu/clery/currentCleryStatistics.htm.

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