Contesting Digital Futures: Urban Politics,Alternative Economies,and the Movement for Technological Sovereignty in Barcelona

Scholars have offered important critiques of the socio-spatial processes of contemporary technological development, including the rise of “smart city” urban development models. While these critiques have been essential for understanding contemporary forms of techno-capitalism and their reach into new areas, this paper calls for a consideration of alternative modes of digital development in urban life beyond the logics of securitisation and capital accumulation. In particular, I examine the critical discourses and experimental practices of a grassroots movement focused on claiming “technological sovereignty” (TS) in Barcelona. The TS movement is a broad, de-centralised network of cooperatives, associations, and community initiatives experimenting with alternative practices of locally rooted, open-source digital development. These groups explore democratic and cooperative practices of work, property, production, and consumption in relation to digital technology, based around an ethics of care and a commitment to working through and within local communities. In examining the values, beliefs, and practices of the TS movement, I bring ongoing discussions around digitalisation and the “smart city” into critical conversation with the extensive literature on prefigurative urban politics and postcapitalist economies.     

The Mollö Cog Re‐Examined and Re‐Evaluated

As part of a research project on medieval trade and maritime transportation in the former Norwegian province of Bohuslän, western Sweden, a dendrochronological analysis of the so‐called Mollö cog was undertaken. The wreck, which was first salvaged in 1980, was previously dated by ¹⁴C analysis. Since this provided a nearly 400‐year time‐span for the building of the vessel, a more precise dating was considered essential. In conjunction with dendrochronological sampling, several features not previously reported were recorded. This paper presents the find, the research history and the results of the dendrochronological investigation. © 2012 The Authors     

Tree‐Rings,Timbers and Trees: a dendrochronological survey of the 14th‐century cog,Doel 1

In 2000, the remains of a cog, Doel 1, were found in Doel, Belgium. Wood species identification of all ship timbers and smaller elements was performed. European oak was the dominant species, followed by alder that was used for the fairings. In total 150 ring‐width series were recorded. The construction date was set at AD 1325/26 and the timbers proved to originate from forests along the rivers Elbe and Weser. For the bottom strakes a strict symmetrical layout was observed. The keel plank was hewn from a trunk with a slightly earlier felling date. Repairs were performed with high‐quality boards, some with a southern Baltic provenance.     

Reviews

The Bulkies: Police and Crime in Belfast, 1800–1865 Brian Griffin, 1997 Dublin, Irish Academic Press pp. xi + 166, ISBN 0.7165.2670.0, £29.50 (hb)

The Hungry Stream: Essays on Emigration and Famine E. Margaret Crawford (ed.), 1997 Belfast, Institute of Irish Studies, Queen's University pp.215, ISBN 1.85589.677.1, £25 (hb); ISBN 0.85389.674.7, £9.50 (pb)

The Feminization of Famine Margaret Kelleher, 1997 Cork University Press pp.258, ISBN 1.85918.077.9, £40.00 (hb); ISBN 1.85918.078.7, £16.95 (pb)

The Two Irelands, 1912–1939 David Fitzpatrick, 1998 Oxford, Oxford University Press pp. xviii + 301, ISBN 0.19.289240.1, £8.99 (pb)

The I.R.A. and its Enemies: Violence and Community in Cork, 1916–23 Peter Hart, 1998 Oxford, Oxford University Press pp. xvi + 350, ISBN 0.19.820537.6, £40.00 (hb)

The Politics of Illusion: a Political History of the IRA Henry Patterson, 1997 London, Serif pp.320, ISBN 1.897959.31.1, £14.99 (pb)

Peace or War? Understanding the Peace Process in Northern Ireland Chris GILligan & Jon Tonge (eds), 1997 Aldershot, Ashgate Publishing pp. 167, ISBN 1.85972.519.8, £35.00 (hb)

The Irish RMs: The Resident Magistrates in the British Administration of Ireland Penny Bonsall, 1997 Dublin, Four Courts Press pp.224, ISBN 1.85182.331.X, £30.00 (hb)

The Geopolitics of Anglo‐Irish Relations in the Twentieth Century G. R.Sloan, 1997 London, Leicester University Press pp.320, ISBN 0.718.51356.8, £45.00 (hb)

Hope Deferred: Experiences of an Irish Unionist Basil Mcivor, 1998 Dundonald, Blackstaff Press pp. 163, ISBN 0.85640.620.1, £12.99 (pb)

Who Are ‘The People'? Unionism, Protestantism and Loyalism in Northern Ireland Peter Shirlow & Mark Mcgovern (eds), 1997 London, Pluto Press pp. 192, ISBN 0.7453.1213.6, £35.00 (hb); ISBN 0.7453.1208.X, £13.99 (pb)

Crisis and Decline: the Fate of the Southern Unionists R. B. Mcdowell, 1997 Dublin, Lilliput Press pp. x + 227, ISBN 1.8746.7592.9, £16.99 (hb)

Crime in Ireland 1945–95: Here be Dragons John Brewer, Bill Lockhart & Paula Rodgers, 1997 Oxford, Clarendon Press pp. 268, ISBN C.19.826570.0, £40.00 (hb)

Explorations in Law and History W. N. Osborough (ed.), 1995 Dublin, Irish Academic Press pp. 193, ISBN 0.7165.2451.0, £24.95 (hb)

Decadence and Danger: Writing, History and the fin de siècle Tracey Hill (ed.), 1997 Bath, Sulis Press pp.228, ISBN 0.9526.856.1.2, £35.00 (hb); ISBN 0.9526.856.2.0, £13.95 (pb)

Deeds Not Words: The Life and Work of Muriel Gahan Geraldine Mitchell, 1997 Dublin, Town House pp.224, ISBN 1.860589.046.2, £9.99 (pb)

In Search of Ireland: A Cultural Geography Brian Graham (ed.), 1997 London, Routledge pp. xiv + 240, ISBN 0.415.15007.8, £47.50 (hb); ISBN 0.415.15008.6, £15.99 (pb)

Space and Place: The Geographies of Literature Glenda Norquay & Gerry Smyth (eds), 1997 Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University Press pp.414, ISBN 0.9527.97802, £15.00 (pb)

Women Divided: Gender, Religion and Politics in Northern Ireland Rosemary Sales, 1997 London, Routledge pp.256, ISBN 0.415.13766.7, £14.99 (pb)

Gender and Sexuality in Modern Ireland Anthony Bradley & Marianna Gialanella Vauuus (eds), 1997 Amherst, University of Massachusetts pp.336, ISBN 1.55849.130.9, US$50.00 (hb); ISBN 1.55849.131.7, US$16.95 (pb)

Irish Women in England: An Annotated Bibliography Clare Barrington, 1997 Dublin, Women's Education, Research and Resource Centre, University College Dublin pp.72, ISBN 1.898473.80.3, £5.00 (pb)

Edmund Spenser's Irish Experience: Wilde Fruit and Salvage Soyl Andrew Hadfield, 1997 Oxford, Clarendon Press pp.240, ISBN 0.10.818345.3, £35.00 (hb)

Salvaging Spenser: Colonialism, Culture and Identity Willy Maley, 1997 Basingstoke, Macmillan pp.260, ISBN 0.3336.2942.6, £40.00 (hb); ISBN 0.3336.2943.4, £12.99 (pb)

Between Nations: Shakespeare, Spenser, Marvell, and the Question of Britain David J. Baker, 1997 Stanford, Stanford University Press, and Cambridge, Cambridge University Press pp.221, ISBN 0.8047.2997.2, US839.50, £30.00 (hb)

Locating Swift: Essays from Dublin on the 250th Anniversary of the Death of Jonathan Swift 1667–1745 Aileen Douglas, Patrick Kelly & Ian Campbell Ross (eds), 1998 Dublin, Four Courts Press pp.208, ISBN 1.85182.317.4, £35.00, US$45.00 (hb)

Maria Edgeworth's Irish Writing: Language, History, Politics Brian Hollingworth, 1997 Basingstoke, Macmillan pp.256, ISBN 0.333.681.66.5, £40.00 (hb)

Verse in English from Eighteenth‐Century Ireland Andrew Carpenter, 1998 Cork, Cork University Press pp.640, ISBN 1.85912.103.1, £40.00, US$60.00 (hb); ISBN 1.85912.104.X, £15.95, US829.95 (pb)

Mrs S. C. Hall: A Literary Biography Maureen Keane, 1997 Gerrards Cross, Colin Smythe pp. 260, ISBN 0.86140.394.0, £33.00 (hb)

Yeats's Political Identities: Selected Essays Jonathan Allison (ed.), 1996 Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press pp.352, ISBN 0.472.10445.4, US849.50 (hb)

Yeats and the Drama of Sacred Space Nicholas Meihuizen, 1998 Amsterdam, Costerus New Series 116, Rodopi pp. 190, ISBN 90.420.0388.X, £19.50, US$34.00 (pb)

High and Low Moderns: Literature and Culture, 1889–1939 Maria Dibattista & Lucy Mcdiarmid (eds), 1996 New York and Oxford, Oxford University Press pp.259, ISBN 0.19.508266.4, £37.50 (hb)

Louis MacNeice and his Influence Kathleen Devine & Alan J. Peacock (eds), 1998 Gerrards Cross, Colin Smythe pp. 184, ISBN 0.86140.391.6, £27.50 (hb)

Samuel Beckett and Music Mary Bryden (ed.), 1998 Oxford, Clarendon Press pp.267, ISBN 0.19.818427.1, £40.00 (hb)

Talking of Joyce Umberto Eco & Liberato Santoro‐Brienza, 1998 Dublin, University College Dublin Press pp.86, ISBN 1.900621.13.4, £5.95 (pb)

The Boy in the Moon Kate O'riordan, 1997 London, Flamingo pp. 278, ISBN 0.00.225555.3, £12.99 (hb)

A Glassful of Letters Evelyn Conlon, 1998 Belfast, Blackstaff pp. 208, ISBN 0.85640.618.X, £7.99 (pb)

The Parchment Boat Moya Cannon, 1997 Oldcastle, The Gallery Press pp.45, ISBN 1.85235.202.7, £11.95 (hb); ISBN 1.85235.201.9, £5.95 (pb)

Thirst David Wheatley, 1997 Oldcastle, The Gallery Press pp.77, ISBN 1.85235.208.6, £12.95 (hb); ISBN 1.85235.207.8, £6.95 (pb)

Selected Poems Medbh Mcguckian, 1997 Oldcastle, The Gallery Press pp.94, ISBN 1.85235.204.3, £13.95 (hb); ISBN 1.85235.203.5, £7.95 (pb)

The Yellow Book Derek Mahon, 1997 Oldcastle, The Gallery Press pp.57, ISBN 1.85253.206.X, £12.95 (hb); ISBN 1.85253.205.1, £6.95 (pb)     

The Italian welfare state after the financial crisis

The essential characteristics of the Italian welfare state as it developed after the Second World War generated social cleavages and inequities that affected the Italian economy and provided grist for future reforms. At the same time, the welfare state provided political actors with incentives and resources that constrained attempts at reform. With the financial crisis beginning in 2008, serious reform was no longer optional. But austerity politics have generated pressures for changes to the welfare state which are unlikely to moderate most of the underlying inequities generated by the post-war system. Going forward, Italian policymakers must chart a path that is informed by efforts to overcome the pathologies of the past without further undermining the social and economic health of the country.     

Ushnus of the Inca provincial region: An analysis of two ceremonial platforms from Inca sites in Catamarca (Argentina)

The Inca polity deployed a variety of strategies in the establishment of imperial relations with the local communities of the southern provinces. These strategies included the translation of symbols materialized in architectural structures. In this sense, the ceremonial platforms denominated ushnus were spaces with particular significance and high hierarchy.