Panorama of the Basque Country and its Competence for Self-Government

The aim of this article is to present a panoramic view of the Basque Country's capacity and competence for self-government. We have analysed the historical process of industrialization, the effects of the industrial crisis and new possibilities for development of the area's own regional policy based on new institutions (Government and Provincial Councils) that emerged from administrative decentralization in Spain after 1980. In the following section, we analyse the scope of authority in EU regions. Some of the cultural and transport infrastructure projects backed by these Basque institutions are studied. These projects have had a considerable impact on the Bilbao Metropolitan Area. The changes observed in the nation state, specifically in Europe, show contradictory effects. However, they have reduced the State's sovereignty but at the same time have prompted the State to retain powers rather than transfer them to lower institutional levels. This clashes with the desire of some regions or historical nations to access greater shares of self-government, such as the case of the Basque Country.     

Regional Network for Quality Promotion: A Case-study of the Basque Country

Quality promotion as a means of improving competitiveness is a major objective in many countries. This paper examines successful practices in the Basque Country over an 11-year period, with a view to shedding light on the theoretical literature. Research on policy networks has produced useful results but we are still some way from a plausible, consensus-based theory of policy networks. Based on experience in the Basque Country, an integrated approach to understanding the antecedents and consequences of a regional knowledge-driven network for quality promotion is offered. Other regions in developing countries could use this approach to achieve successful policy networks. Although Total Quality Management implementation in public sector entities has been studied before, evidence about Regional Quality Promotion experiences is scarce.     

Technology Transfer between Technology Centres and SMEs: Evidence from the Basque Country

Public policies (often at the regional level) favouring pre-competitive research and cooperative research and development have played a decisive role in the development of technology centres in Europe and all over the world. The technology offer model gave priority to the creation of technology transfer organizations and structures, but there is increasing evidence that this model did not attach enough attention to the needs of small- and medium-sized companies (SMEs) and in particular, to their capacity to take in knowledge. In this paper, based on qualitative research, we show in detail some of the main issues involved in the relationships between technology centres and SMEs in the Basque Country, a region that has developed intensive policies favouring technology transfer organizations over the years.     

Religion,secularisation and nationalism in Quebec and the Basque Country: a comparative approach

This article analyses the relationship between religion, secularisation and nationalism in Quebec and the Basque Country using a comparative approach. I will first outline the ethnic‐religious origin of these nationalist movements. Second, I will examine the extent to which the ‘new’ secular and violent nationalism (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna and Front de Libération du Québec) that emerged in the 1960s was fuelled in its origin by a transfer of sacrality. Third, I will address an aspect that has led some theorists to view religion and nationalism as analogous phenomena, in which nationalism is construed as a religion of blood sacrifice. Fourth, I will examine another aspect that leads to this view of religion and nationalism as analogous phenomena, as the latter also provides a framework of transcendent meaning through an imaginary of continuity between the different generations. The article concludes with a series of general considerations on the relations between nationalism, secularisation and religion.     

重置与转向:当代博物馆理念的梳理与思考

20世纪90年代,学界对当代社会生活领域的理解样式深受后现代阐释的影响。社会结构、生活模式、知识体系等层面的巨变引发了人文科学领域的全面危机与反思,博物馆世界也不例外。随着新博物馆学运动的持续发酵和不同研究范式的陆续出现,重新思考博物馆本质与角色的当代博物馆理念应运而生,具体表现在两个方面:一是传统博物馆管理、组织与沟通的角色重置;二是新博物馆学理论、方法与实践的价值转向。当代博物馆理念的梳理与思考对于理解诸多经验层面上的博物馆现象至关重要。     

Thinking Through Networks and Their Spatiality: A Critique of the US (Public) War on Terrorism and its Geographic Discourse

Conventional thinking about war is encumbered by an inappropriate geographic paradigm that conceptualizes "targets" in terms of fixed latitudinal/longitudinal locations. This paper reconceptualizes terms such as "war" and "targets" to recognize intangible problems and develop appropriate counter‐terrorist strategies. This requires geographic inquiry focused on spatiality, not on location. We frame our discussion about terrorist networks (Al‐Qaeda in particular) in terms of understanding a network's sense of place and sense of space . The former "places" a network's meeting and recruiting grounds; the latter clarifies the operational dynamics of a network across space, at different scales, from the body to the neighborhood, to the region, and across nations. We argue that the roots of terrorism lie in conditions of disenfranchisement in particular types of places, understanding, however, that the socio‐cultural fabric of a terrorist network such as Al‐Qaeda evolves across space as well as time. Counter‐terrorist strategies should target neither people nor places but rather the conditions that give rise to terrorism; further, "intelligence" should focus on network dynamics, beyond particular people in particular places. We draw from network theories (specifically actor network theory and network approaches in economic sociology) to unravel network dynamics, and we draw from the literature on spatiality to interpret such dynamics in space, over time. We advocate a non‐military engagement with terrorism on both moral and strategic grounds; here we focus on the strategic dimension, the value of which has received scant attention.     

The Geopolitics of Terrorism: A Commentary on Flint and Radil's Approach

An American political geographer and prominent specialist in electoral geography presents a measured and informative critique of the preceding paper by Colin Flint and Steven M. Radil (2009) on "Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism: Situating al-Qaeda and the Global War on Terror within Geopolitical Trends and Structures." Among the issues explored are the extent to which the observed patterns of terrorism might differ depending on whether "international" or "domestic" incidents are the focus of attention, and whether fatalities associated with incidents might prove a better metric of terrorism's psychological impact than per capita incident frequency alone. A deeper issue debated in the critique involves the thorny question of whether a singular focus on relative economic deprivation (and on its variations between countries rather than also within countries) offers an adequate explanation for the incidence of terrorism given the complexity of cultural (including ethnicity and religion), social, economic, and political factors that motivate terrorist acts in diverse settings across the world. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: I390, O100, Y900. 32 references.     

视觉文化背景下博物馆展示价值定位——自然博物馆陈列的新体悟

博物馆展示艺术是一种诉诸视觉器官的文化形态。为观众提供可欣赏、受教育的展示精品,是博物馆追求的永恒主题。本文通过对博物馆展示主题、创意设计、科技维新及视觉艺术四方面进行思考,发掘博物馆自身所蕴藏的艺术价值和文化价值是当代视觉文化背景下展示艺术的价值定位。     

Networks and spatial dynamics: The case of the Basque country

This article analyzes the relationship between the internal development capacity of a region and the establishment of external infrastructures which link various centres and create cohesive spaces. The methodological approach is based on two types of network (1) internal networks (INs) bring together a wide range of economic and institutional agents; (2) external networks of infrastructures (ENs) show an increasingly international orientation and accompany the spatial dynamic. The theoretical approximation serves as a starting point for the study of some important projects the aim of which is the diffusion of ENs in the Basque country (roads, railways, airports and telecommunications). These projects are occasionally connected with the dynamics of INs that tend to be set up in the metropolitan area of Bilbao.     

Nationalism and nostalgia: the case of radical Basque nationalism*

Abstract. This article argues that the myth of the Golden Age is a key mobilising element within radical Basque nationalism. By using an ethno‐symbolist approach, this article argues that nostalgia, a catchword for looking back, usually relates to an idealised past. It then proceeds to explain how ETA in particular has domesticated the past to justify its political violence which is currently exalted as a means of honouring the fighting spirit of their ancestors. From this perspective, violence is presented as a redemptive act that can stop the decay of the Basque nation and bring a new political future in which the inspiring ancient virtues will be rediscovered. This nostalgic gaze upon the past continually ‘reminds’ radical Basque nationalists of an imaginary, yet familiar, past which can only be regained by using revolutionary violence.     

现代技术与文博工作者的主体性——试论数字博物馆建设中“人”的作用

在人类各个技术发展阶段,技术与人的主体性之间互相消长,在数字博物馆建设中,文博工作容易出现傻瓜化倾向。为此,数字博物馆的建设应是文化创意的过程,在使用现代设备、系统、工作流程的同时,文博工作者要发挥自身的主体作用。     

历史类博物馆藏书结构及利用分析──以河南博物院为例

博物馆藏书结构与博物馆业务研究密切相关。本文分析了河南博物院图书室的性质、作用和藏书结构与业务研究的关系,提出了如何解决现有矛盾的对策。     

后普查时期博物馆藏品管理的新发展研究——以南京博物院为例

全国第一次可移动文物普查结束后,如何利用普查经验和结果,建立和完善与新时期博物馆发展相适应的藏品管理体系,是当前我国博物馆建设面临的重要任务。南京博物院藏品管理的实例说明,博物馆可以通过健全管理制度、构建网络管理平台、创新便于利用的管理模式、实时监测文物保护动态等手段,全面提升藏品管理能力,建立对藏品的规范化、信息化和精细化的管理体系,使藏品更好地服务社会。     

略论我国博物馆的陈列与展览

博物馆的陈列与展览在保存传统文化方面发挥重要作用,要使展览收到好的效果,就要求文博人集思广益、精心设计,提供人性化的服务,以吸引更多的观众。     

Anthropology and the British Museum: A conversation with John Mack

John Mack is Keeper of Ethnography at the British Museum, and until recently was also Senior Keeper. He curated The Museum of the Mind: Art and Memory in World Cultures as part of the British Museum's 250th anniversary programme. Major changes have taken place at the museum, including the return of the Museum of Mankind to the British Museum's Bloomsbury site. This site will by next year also house the Anthropology Library, one of the largest anthropology libraries in the world, the holdings of which were greatly enhanced by the gift of the Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI) Library to the British Museum Ethnography Department Library in 1976. John Mack can be contacted at J.Mack@british-museum.ac.uk .     

Damage assessment and conservation strategy for the largest covered market in Europe: the Ribera Market (Bilbao)

Facing a scarcity of land for urban development and demand for public services, the Municipal Council of Bilbao recognizes the need to make good use of its built heritage and to upgrade it, while maintaining its cultural and functional features. A good example is the case of the Ribera Market, the largest covered market in Europe. Deterioration of the market building and public pressure for improved services has led to proposals for its rehabilitation. To do so, the constructive condition of the building must first of all be assessed and, then, the most appropriate and compatible intervention technique must be selected. Today, there is a broad selection of intervention technologies, for the improvement of both mechanical behaviour and durability. However, in this article, it is demonstrated that these technologies are not always applicable in old buildings, because they depend on the severity of the pathology and the intrinsic characteristics of the building: for example, corrosion due to chloride ions originating from the concrete mass. The lack of knowledge on constructive techniques and the requirements for the application of new technologies complicate the interventions, which in turn further complicates decision-making with regard to the property.