A Comparative Study of the Aquaculture Innovation Systems in Quebec's Coastal Region and Norway

This paper examines the actors and activities and the institutional–spatial dynamics that characterize innovation and knowledge processes within the aquaculture industry and its support organizations in the coastal region of Quebec, Canada. It aims to identify the main features and components of such support organizations and their roles in entrepreneurial and knowledge processes. Comparing this Canadian case with the more developed Norwegian innovation system in aquaculture, the paper concludes that the market possibilities for the products of aquaculture are almost the same in Norway and Quebec. However, it is the policy and institutional settings, as well as the historical trajectories of the respective innovation systems, which seem to explain the growth of the aquaculture industry in Norway and its less successful development in Quebec. The paper also investigates the conditions and institutional arrangements that may stimulate the building and development of a more mature aquaculture innovation system support in Quebec's coastal region.     

Solifluction-induced modifications of archaeological levels: simulation based on experimental data from a modern periglacial slope and application to French Palaeolithic sites

The taphonomic study of Petit-Bost, Croix-de-Canard and Cantalouette II, three Palaeolithic sites that were recently discovered near Périgueux and Bergerac (Dordogne, France) in a colluvial context, has enlightened the difficulty of adequately appreciating the relative role of cultural and natural processes in site spatial patterning. Periglacial solifluction was thought to have played a significant role in site formation. Because the nature of the modifications induced by solifluction was still poorly understood, a simulation was made using data of soil movement recorded at La Mortice (French Southern Alps, 3100 m in elevation) in a modern periglacial environment. The results show that, for a knapping location, the first steps of deformation are typified both by a downslope translation of the location center and by an anisotropic diffusion of the artifacts. The knapping spot becomes elongated along the slope, with a dense relic concentration of artifacts in the upslope portion. This type of pattern has been obtained after 100–200 years of simulated displacement according to the climatic and soil conditions that characterise the La Mortice site. The ultimate stages of deformation show that the artifact distribution tends to homogenise on larger surfaces and resemble a random distribution. The ability of the simulated patterns to closely fit those observed in archaeological contexts is evaluated at three sites from Southwestern France. At Petit-Bost, the hypothesis of limited solifluction explains accurately the association of both cultural (artifact concentrations) and natural (artifact preferred orientation) features. At Croix-de-Canard, long-term solifluction can be proposed. By contrast, the simulated patterns do not describe the structures observed on the steeper slopes at Cantalouette II, where the knapping spot transforms into distinct solifluction lobes.     

Human occupation and geomorphological evolution of the Thessaloniki Plain (Greece) since mid Holocene

The plain of Thessaloniki is an important area from a historical standpoint. Numerous reigns and empires have occupied the area, leaving behind numerous archaeological remains. The literature and historical evidences show that the city of Pella was located near the sea and its harbor was the starting point of various conquests of famous kings such as Philip the 2nd and Alexander the Great. At present, the ancient capital is located 28 km inland the large fertile plain of Thessaloniki.