Milling Cereals/Legumes and Stamping Bread in Mauretanian Tamuda (Morocco): An Interdisciplinary Study

African Archaeological Review - Recent archaeological excavations (2016–2019) in the city of Tamuda (northern Morocco) yielded evidence of commercial milling and bread-making facilities dated...     

Nationalism,religion, and abortion policy in four Catholic societies

Over the last decade, a growing number of scholars have tackled the changing relationship between national identity and social policy. In this article, we explore the relationship between abortion policy and the historical and political construction of national identity as it relates to religious norms and symbols. Focusing on two main cases, Ireland and Poland, Catholic societies in which abortion rights are severely restricted, we argue that, in political discourse and institutions, a strong relationship between the Catholic Church and national identity helps opponents of abortion enact and maintain such restrictions in the name of religious norms embedded in strong claims about national identity. After exploring these two main cases, we briefly turn to Spain and Québec, Catholic societies that, in recent decades, have witnessed a secularisation of their national identity correlated to a liberalisation of abortion rights. This suggests that, at least in Catholic societies, the decline of a religious national identity is likely to favour a liberalisation of abortion rights.     

Experiencing nature and children’s conceptualizations of the natural world

This paper examines young children’s concepts of nature, paying attention to the role played by types of daily experiences with nature on 832 children’s constructions of the natural world. We observed the roles of three types of experiences, as determined by the children’s place of residence (urban, rural mountain range, and rural agricultural) in Spain. Participants wrote what they thought about when hearing the word ‘nature’. Content analysis revealed a conceptual structure formed with four underlying and interconnected themes: (1) natural and non-natural elements, (2) the human–nature relationship, (3) emotional experience of nature, and (4) actions in natural settings. The type of daily experiences with nature (i.e. urban, rural mountain range, and rural agricultural) accounted for variability in children’s concept of nature. These results reinforce the importance of considering the role played by personal and situational characteristics in shaping children’s constructions of the natural world.     

Applying the technique of image classification to climate science: the case of Andalusia (Spain)

This paper proposes an empirical climate classification method based on the application of multivariate statistics. In this method, the technique of supervised and unsupervised image classification is used to classify the data and define climatic units. envi software is used to perform the image classification, specifically, the Iterative Self‐Organizing Data Analysis Technique algorithm. Supervised classification is also applied based on reference variables, fundamental parameters and a classifier. The obtained results display greater objectivity, reliability, operability, accessibility and reproducibility than previous climate classifications devised for the region of Andalusia (Spain), taking into account that these previous classifications were not based on quantitative criteria.     

Visions/versions of the war: Ramón Pérez de Ayala and Juan Pujol on the Italian front

In 1915, the Spanish journalist Juan Pujol visited the Italian front. His reports appeared in ABC, and were later incorporated in his book In Galitzia and the Isonzo (1916). A few months later, the Spanish writer Ramón Pérez de Ayala visited the same territories. His reports appeared in El Imparcial (Madrid) and La Prensa (Buenos Aires), and were later published in his book Herman in Chains (1917). The poetics evident in the reports of both writers were clearly different, not only for ideological reasons (Juan Pujol supported the Central Empires; Pérez de Ayala favored the Allies), but also for discursive reasons: the reflexive and digressive culturalism of Pérez de Ayala, for example, contrasted vividly with the direct narrative of Juan Pujol. However, since both writers shared some stereotypes about war and used a common repertoire of rhetorical and stylistic strategies, there are significant similarities between their texts.     

El episodio de los Horacios y Curiacios de Tito Livio en el Poema de Mio Cid

La declamación del Cid durante las Cortes de Toledo desemboca en el sangriento enfrentamiento entre una tríada de sus mejores soldados contra tres miembros del clan de Carrión. Este combate triple responde al nuevo sistema triádico que gobierna este tercer cantar. La crítica cidiana sostiene una influencia de la épica francesa para este episodio al igual que defiende la necesidad del autor del poema por mantener un patrón triple. Sin embargo, la peculiaridad del número de combatientes y el papel que el monarca Alfonso VI como juez desempeña durante la asamblea tienen una raíz literaria. Esta pugna entre ambas tríadas y el hecho de que el rey delegue la supervisión del pleito recuerda el episodio de los Horacios y Curiacios de Tito Livio en el libro primero de su Ab urbe condita. La influencia de la obra de Tito Livio durante la Edad Media, y en concreto el éxito de este episodio belicoso, posibilita argumentar una base literaria para la confección del episodio cidiano. Así, el cambio numérico de este último cantar y la postura del rey atesoran una matriz erudita que demuestra los intereses culturales del genio creador del Poema de Mio Cid.     

Urban sprawl in Spain: differences among cities and causes

Urban sprawl has a major impact on the environment, public health and the socio-economic evolution of cities. The causes are numerous, being mainly related to the generalized use of the automobile in modern cities. Urban sprawl has been especially relevant in US cities since the 1950s, rapidly spreading to other cities in the rest of the world. This paper studies the case of Spain using recent data. Spanish cities have grown rapidly over the 90s and 2000s. The country has completed the process of urbanization and has suffered the effects of a major real estate bubble. In this context, we are interested in measuring and explaining where and why urban sprawl has appeared in Spanish cities. Digital mapping carried out around the year 2000 providing full coverage of Spain is used to calculate an Urban Sprawl Index. It is applied to all urban areas and municipalities throughout the country, providing an objective, comparable measurement of sprawl and identifying which areas are most affected by this phenomenon. A second stage of analysis is conducted in an attempt to explain the causes of the differences in sprawl among Spanish cities with a regression model based on the literature. We have found that the cases most affected by sprawl are the latest urban developments on the Mediterranean coast as well as certain areas in the vicinity of large cities: the mountains to the north of Madrid and the coastline near Barcelona and Valencia. In some cases, urban sprawl is starting to become a problem for the environment and urban sustainability, with important consequences for the future evolution of the affected cities.