Giuseppe Antonio Borgese and Italian propaganda abroad

After the outbreak of war, public and private institutions in Italy embarked on various propaganda projects without coordination. It was not until Vittorio Emanuele Orlando became prime minister (from 30 October 1917 to 23 June 1919) that the first serious efforts were made to organize propaganda abroad. G. A. Borgese, a contributor to the Corriere della Sera, took an active role in the defense of Italian intervention in the war and was assigned various missions abroad, commissioned by the editor of the newspaper and, after this first experience, by the army and naval authorities, and by Orlando himself. His unpublished report Dello spirito pubblico in Francia, written at the end of his mission to Paris in March and April 1917, describes Italian propaganda efforts in France and French public opinion on Italy and the Italians, making it an important text that reveals both the problematic relations between Italy and France and the mistakes and shortcomings of Italian propaganda.     

Ancestral memories and early medieval landscapes: the case of Sierra de Ávila (Spain)

This paper focuses on early medieval funerary practices from a landscape perspective in central Iberia. Rock‐dug graves constitute the most conspicuous remains in this region, but their informative potential has not yet been realized. The preliminary outcomes of an ongoing research project are presented here. This aims to contextualize such funerary cases by examining a mid‐altitude mountain study‐area. Through the use of intensive archaeological surveying and geographic information systems, the paper characterizes two basic funerary types: isolated graves and rural disordered cemeteries, which responded to two social strategies led by local households. By recalling ancestorship, they constituted effective mnemonic resources, contributing to claiming rights and forging identities among these dispersed and predominantly small‐scale herding communities.     

Advancing the Analysis of Past Human/Plant Relationships: Methodological Improvements of Artefact Pollen Washes

The ‘pollen washes’ technique, based on the analysis of the pollen embedded in the porous surface of archaeological artefacts, is developed for investigating past plant usage and consumption and to characterize the functionality of artefacts related to plant processing, gathering and storage. The research presented results in relevant methodological improvements of this technique, which has never previously been applied on materials from European contexts. The improvements allow: (1) faster analysis of a broad series of artefacts or those with large use‐surface areas likely to retain more pollen; and (2) a more thorough, deeper and precise cleaning method, allowing the study of smoother artefacts. Finally, the recovery of Trifolium‐group pollen from a macro‐lithic tool from Xicotó rock shelter (Montsec ranges, Spain) demonstrates that the pollen washes technique can reveal new insights into both the use and consumption of wild and domestic plants by prehistoric societies, and the functionality of archaeological objects whose interpretation is still problematic.     

Digitally Mediated Iconoclasm: the Islamic State and the war on cultural heritage

This paper puts forward the new analytical framework of ‘Digitally Mediated Iconoclasm’ (DMI) to analyse and interpret iconoclastic acts that are experienced through the propaganda (videos, social media, photographs, and other media) that the actor perpetrating the destruction makes available in global information networks for its consumption, duplication, and distribution. DMI captures three stages of the destruction (before, during and after the event) as both evidence of that destruction and as a perdurable digital archive. To demonstrate the relevance of DMI, we focus on an analysis of the videos and photographs depicting heritage destruction at pre-monotheistic sites targeted by the Islamic State (IS), such as Palmyra in Syria, the Mosul Cultural Museum, Nineveh and Nimrud in Iraq. The analysis focuses on the three stages that DMI comprises, showing the different photographic and audio-visual production techniques that the IS uses to enhance the tension that is built up leading to the destruction of cultural heritage while allocating material and human resources to produce digital propaganda. This analysis demonstrates how the analytical framework of DMI can be used to advance important work in heritage and media studies.     

A Novel Procedure for Simplified Nonlinear Numerical Modeling of Structural Units in Masonry Aggregates

ABSTRACT

Historical centers are always composed of masonry building aggregates often designed without respecting seismic design criteria. The current seismic Italian code does not foresee a clear calculation method to predict their static nonlinear behavior. For this reason, in this article the seismic response of structural units into masonry aggregates has been predicted through a simplified modeling approach. The implemented procedure has been calibrated on the results of a numerical model performed by using the Equivalent Frame Method (EFM), implemented within a Finite Element Method (FEM) calculation program, used to investigate a basic building compound representative of the constructive techniques developed in the past decades in the Southern Italy.

First, the whole aggregate has been modeled and analyzed in the nonlinear static field in order to evaluate the seismic behavior of both intermediate and head structural units.

Later on, the seismic response of these structural units, considered as isolated structures, has been assessed by considering in simplified way their position in the aggregate, as well as the influence of other constructions.

Finally, the achieved results on the above single analysis cases have been compared with those deriving from the investigation of the whole building compound, allowing to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed novel analysis procedure.     

Morphometric analysis and detection of invisible archaeological elements by spectral treatment of digital images

The aim of this paper is to describe the creation of a method to apply digital image treatment, consisting of a combination of filters and algorhythms, to prehistoric rock carvings, to enhance the information obtained from them. In the experimental phase a study was made of a laboratory piece and two highly valuable pieces of cave art from the Tamanart Valley in Morocco and the Casares Cave in Guadalajara, Spain. The results clearly demonstrate the potential of the proposed digital methodas information was obtained that could not have been achieved by the traditional techniques.     

INTERREGIONAL FEEDBACKS IN INPUT-OUTPUT MODELS: THE LEAST UPPER BOUND*

ABSTRACT. The least upper bound to the overall percentage error resulting from the omission of interregional feedbacks in input-output analysis is defined. This limiting value is the most informative of all upper bounds. A procedure for its computation is outlined and a number of experiments, using U.S. data, are discussed.     

ANALYZING THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC CAPITAL STOCK USING THE NEG WAGE EQUATION: A SPATIAL PANEL DATA APPROACH

ABSTRACT This paper examines the relationship between the level of public infrastructure and the level of productivity using panel data for the Spanish provinces over the period 1985–2004, a period that is particularly relevant due to the substantial changes occurring in the Spanish economy at that time. The underlying model used for the data analysis is based on the wage equation, which is one of a handful of simultaneous equations which when satisfied correspond to the short‐run equilibrium of New Economic Geography (NEG) theory. This is estimated using various spatial panel models with either fixed or random effects to allow for individual heterogeneity. Using these models, we find consistent evidence that productivity depends directly on the public capital stock endowment of each province, but also there is evidence of negative spillover effects from changes in capital stock in neighboring provinces.     

A Review of “The Power of Money in Congressional Campaigns, 1880–2006”

Bader, John B. Taking the Initiative: Leadership Agendas in Congress and the "Contract with America." Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 1996. Pp. xiv, 278. $19.95, softbound.

Campbell, James E. Cheap Seats: The Democratic Party's Advantage in U.S. House Elections. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1996. Pp. xxiv, 336. $22.00, softbound.

Evans, C. Lawrence and Walter J. Oleszek. Congress Under Fire: Reform Politics and the Republican Majority. New York: Houghton Miffin Company, 1997. Pp. xiii, 190. $15.56, softbound.

Koopman, Douglas L. Hostile Takeover: The House Republican Party, 1980-1995. Lanham, MD: Rowman &; Littlefield Publishers, 1996. Pp. viii, 181. $21.95, softbound.

Loomis, Burdett A. The Contemporary Congress. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1996. Pp. xii, 196. $45.00 hardbound, $21.95 softbound.