Simulating archaeologists? Using agent-based modelling to improve battlefield excavations

The study of material culture generated by military engagements has created an emergent sub-discipline of archaeological studies centred on battlefields. This approach has developed a particular and sophisticated methodology that is able to deal with the fact that archaeologists will often not find either structures or a useful stratigraphical record on the site, as the material remains of the battle will basically be metallic objects carried by combatants. It is therefore rather complicated not only to test hypotheses about battle events based on archaeological data, but also to validate the methodology used. Here we propose the use of agent-based models to explore these issues in the case of eighteenth-century battlefield archaeology. The simulation is divided into four different steps. Firstly, a battle is simulated in order to generate realistic virtual archaeological remains left by an engagement between two armies of this era. We then simulate the loss of information that the passing of time produces in the battlefield. The third step involves simulating the archaeological survey, enabling us to explore different survey strategies and the impact on the interpretation of the event itself. Finally, we design a confidence index in order to compare the results of the different virtual excavations using spatial analysis and statistics. The results show that the methodology is fully functional in terms of understanding a battle, and it allows us to suggest new strategies to improve fieldwork and to develop new ways of exploring these particular archaeological sites. It is concluded that the described approach illustrates how simulation can be used to explore methodological issues of archaeological science.     

A Sample of the Mexican-American Population in 1940

Abstract

Researchers use a mathematical model to perform a counterfactual study of the 1854 Charge of the Light Brigade. They first calibrate the model with historical data so that it reproduces the actual charge's outcome. They then adjust the model to see how that outcome might have changed if the Heavy Brigade had joined the charge and/or if the charge had targeted the Russian forces on the heights instead of those in the valley. The results suggest that all the counterfactual attacks would have led to heavier British casualties. However, a charge by both brigades along the valley might plausibly have yielded a British victory.     

Absorptive Capacity for R&D: The Identification of Different Firm Profiles

Being competitive requires continuously performing product and process innovations nowadays. Because of this reason, the absorption of externally generated R&D is increasingly important for companies. It is well known that companies differ regarding their aptitude for knowledge absorption. This paper aims at the identification of different firm profiles by means of the identification and valuation of drivers that support the absorption of external R&D. For this, we have carried out an empirical work that is based on a random sample of companies located in the northern Spanish county of Biscay. We identify four company conglomerates according to their attitude to absorb externally generated R&D.     

Judicialization and Health Policy in Colombia: The Implications for Evidence‐Informed Policymaking

The existence of the tutela mechanism and the endemic weaknesses of the legislative and executive branches of the Colombian state have led to a de facto judicialization of health policymaking. The objective of evidence‐informed policy is to identify effective policy approaches and legitimize policy decisions. Questions arise about the basis on which judges take decisions with significant policy and budgetary consequences, and the forms of evidence they use to inform these. This article focuses on the extent to which courts take account of research evidence in judgements and assesses the implications for health policy in Colombia. We place these discussions in the context of a broader analysis of the ongoing reforms to the Colombian health system and the most recent literature on evidence‐informed policymaking. The judicialization of health policymaking offers a suboptimal means to achieve the objective of evidence‐informed policymaking. The emergence of a range of evidence advisory bodies in recent years is an attempt to address the issue of judicialization alongside the other constitutional and political weaknesses Colombia faces.     

Constructing America from the Sea: Maritime Archaeology Research,International Cooperation and Best Practices in the Underwater Cultural Heritage of Latin America

This article introduces this special issue of the Journal of Maritime Archaeology by giving a brief introduction to the current situation of the practice of maritime archaeology in Latin America, as well as reviewing the main challenges that the discipline faces here. An assessment of existing regional cooperation, the presence of maritime archaeology within the international community and its importance to develop new theoretical and methodological perspectives that advance access to knowledge is made. Finally, the article focuses on some of the current work carried out in Latin America.     

Calcium oxalate AMS C dating and chronology of post-Palaeolithic rock paintings in the Iberian Peninsula. Two dates from Abrigo de los Oculados (Henarejos,Cuenca, Spain)

Since 2005 we have been utilizing accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) ¹⁴C dating in research on calcium oxalate crusts associated with open air rock art of the Iberian Peninsula. In this paper we present two dates linked with three eye-idol pictographs at Abrigo de los Oculados (Henarejos, Cuenca, Spain). Radiocarbon ages for these motifs agree with the expected iconography-based archaeological chronology. Such oxalate dates could provide an independent basis for evaluating chronological theories for post-Palaeolithic sites, designated in the UNESCO World Heritage List as Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula.     

The governance of national cultural organisations: comparative study of performance contracts with the main cultural organisations in England,France and Catalonia (Spain)

In some European countries, performance contracts have become an instrument for the governance and control of major cultural organisations by the public administration. The negotiation and signing of a performance contract are mainly aimed at developing the goals of cultural policies by means of large organisations in order to achieve the traditional objectives of cultural democratisation and other instrumental objectives (economic development, urban regeneration or social inclusion). Nevertheless, the development level of performance contracts varies when we compare England, France and Catalonia (Spain). Each particular level of development is conditioned by the overall administrative and institutional context and the development level of results-based management and an accountability culture. The level of public funding and the degree of autonomy of management within each organisation can also explain why in some cases governance has been contractualised whereas in other cases either progress is more rhetorical than real.