Endorheic currents in ecology: an example of the effects from scientific specialization and interdisciplinary isolation

ABSTRACT

Mainstream ecological thought is explored in three sections: (i) Epistemological traits. Given the typical scientific development and the necessity of preserving our intellectual heritage, the conservatism outlined in (i) is cyclical, so its stages are graphically summarized. (ii) Methodological benchmarks antithetically derived from (i), in order to get faster advancement consistent with the growing environmental challenges which spur ecological development. (iii) The renaissance of an old paradigm. This section exposes the misunderstanding of the physical concept of equilibrium by the mainstream ecological thought; this explains its current state. Consequently, section (iii) also summarizes the evolution of a recent set of proposals (organic biophysics of ecosystems) that rescues the foundational paradigm of ecosystem ecology based on physics, neglected by the mainstream thought before producing its most valuable results. We highlight that the main problems emerge from the weakness of integration between ecology, physics and epistemology, and spurious links between ecology and neoclassical economics.     

Reviews

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Good Faith and Truthful Ignorance: A Case of Transatlantic Bigamy. By ALEXANDRA PARMA COOK and NOBLE DAVID COOK. Durham: Duke University Press, 1991. Pp. xvi, 206.

Arqueología de Omagua y Dorado. Por ALEIDA ANSELMA RODRÍGUEZ. Rende, Italy: Mediterranean Press, 1990. Pp. 221.

History of a Voyage to the Land of Brazil, otherwise Called America. By JEAN DE LÉRY, Translated by JANET WHATLEY. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990. Pp. lxii, 276.

Religion in the Andes: Vision and Imagination in Early Colonial Peru. By SABINE MacCORMACK. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1991. Pp. 488.

Native Society and Disease in Colonial Ecuador. By SUZANNE AUSTIN ALCHON. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. Pp. viii, 147.

Mitos y utopías del descubrimiento. By JUAN GIL. Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 1989. Vol. 1, Colón y su tiempo. Pp. 302. Vol. 2, El Pacífico. Pp. 414. Vol. 3, El Dorado. Pp. 432.

The Noble Savage: Allegory of Freedom. By STELIO CRO. Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1990. Pp. xx, 182.

The First America: The Spanish Monarchy, Creole Patriots and the Liberal State, 1492–1867. By D.A. BRADING. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. Pp. viii, 761.

The Identity of Hispanoamérica: An Interpretation of Colonial Literature. By JOSÉ PROMIS. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1991. Pp. 137.

Mexico's Merchant Elite, 1590–1660: Silver, State and Society. By LOUISA SCHELL HOBERMAN. Durham: Duke University Press, 1991. Pp. xiv, 352.

Society, Economy and Defence in Seventeenth‐Century Peru: The Administration of the Count of Alba de Liste (1655–61). By PETER T. BRADLEY. Liverpool: University of Liverpool, Institute of Latin American Studies, 1992. Pp. 170.

A sátira e o intelectual criollo na Colônia: Gregório de Matos e Juan del Valle y Caviedes. By LÚCIA HELENA COSTIGAN. Lima/Pittsburgh: Latinoamericana Editores, 1991. Pp. 171.

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Feminist Perspectives on Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. Edited by STEPHANIE MERRIM. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1991. Pp. 189.

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The Baseline Stiffness Method for Damage Detection in Buildings Without Baseline Modal Parameters

A new method called the Baseline Stiffness Method (BSM), used to locate and quantify damage in buildings without baseline modal parameters (undamaged state), is presented. In order to determine this reference state, the BSM uses modal parameters from the damaged state of the building and the lateral stiffness matrix of the first story without damage. Afterwards, by means of an iterative process using singular value decomposition, location and severity of damage are obtained by comparing information about the damaged and non damaged states. Numerical and experimental examples are presented and discussed showing the advantages of the application of the proposed BSM.     

Buzz,Archipelago Economies and the Future of Intermediate and Peripheral Areas in a Spiky World

In a world where large urban agglomerations are increasingly regarded by scholars and policy-makers alike as the engines of economic development, the options at the disposal of intermediate and peripheral areas are dwindling. Doing nothing is, according to the dominating theories, likely to result in a steady decline which may jeopardize their very economic viability. Adopting active measures is thus the way forward. In this paper, we argue that the main solution being proposed—interactive learning through the promotion of local agglomeration (buzz option)—may yield limited results, if at all, as it would stifle the circulation of new knowledge and lead to lock-in. By contrast, promoting interaction outside the comfort zone of geographical, cognitive, social and institutional proximity (pipeline option) is more likely to succeed in generating interactive learning and in facilitating the generation, diffusion and absorption of innovation. We illustrate this point by resorting to the case of firm innovation in Norwegian city regions.     

Wari’s imperial influence on local Nasca diet: The stable isotope evidence

The highland Wari Empire established a presence within the Nasca region of south coastal Peru during the Middle Horizon period. To clarify the nature of this interaction, we analyzed stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of human bone collagen from individuals living in the Southern Nasca Region (SNR) before (1–750 AD) and during (750–1000 AD) imperial influence. The stable isotope data do not indicate that the Wari Empire transformed maize agricultural labor in the Las Trancas Valley of the SNR. In fact, during both time periods, Nasca people had access to a wide range of food items.     

Effect of Irregular Seabed on Seismic Motions

Several studies indicate that marine seismic activity is vast. Actually, about 90% of all natural earthquakes have epicenters in o_shore areas and may cause damage to subsea and floating structures. In this numerical study the indirect boundary element method is used to analyze the influence that some parameters, involved in this kind of problems, have on the dynamic response of marine waters under the incidence of theoretical seismic events. According with the results, the seismic amplifications depend on the seabed configuration and produce displacements which can be a serious concern.     

Services in Russia: past,present, and future

In spite of ambitious modernization plans of the government, structural change in Russia is not proceeding in the direction of highly developed economies. Part of the lag in the tertiarization process can be explained by the fact that, as during the Soviet period, the role of services in the economy is still ignored, particularly regarding innovation. This paper aims to contribute to the analysis of the evolution of services in Russia since the mid-1990s and its future prospects by compiling data from the World Bank, the International Labor Organization, Rosstat, and the World Input–Output Database. Two complementary and novel perspectives are adopted: a production system perspective and a spatial perspective. Regarding services in the Russian production system, comparison of interindustry linkages reveals that, in addition to traditional relevant activities like wholesale/retail trade and transport and communications, business services are acquiring great importance as production process inputs. Concerning the spatial perspective, we observe a greater presence of non-market services in less densely populated federal districts, while strategic service activities are highly concentrated in the most dynamic ones. Analysis of major Russian cities confirmed the trend of business services concentrating in densely populated and highly innovative cities. In brief, services, and in particular business services, can be a means to boost innovation and growth in Russia, but more attention from political leaders is necessary for these activities. The modernization process should abandon its current “high-technology industry myopia” and take into consideration the innovative, and especially, the knowledge-diffuser role, that services can exert.