Can Host Innovation Systems in Late Industrializing Countries Benefit from the Presence of Transnational Corporations? Insights from Thailand's Manufacturing Industry

Innovation systems in late industrializing countries are said to be ill-developed and fragmented, lacking crucial key resources and access to technology and knowledge. At the same time these national innovation systems (NISs) host subsidiaries of transnational corporations, which could contribute to the development of the NIS due to their advanced technology and capabilities. This paper considers data from innovation surveys, self-assessment of technological capabilities and qualitative interview information in order to establish two things: firstly, the technological activities and capabilities of foreign affiliates and domestic firms in Thailand (as compared to Singapore, Penang and Europe), and secondly, the main mechanisms by which foreign affiliates foster upgrading in domestic firms and in the innovation systems themselves.     

Nunc autem a Gothis subversa: the province of Alicante and the Spanish Mediterranean towns between the Byzantine and Visigothic periods

The transition between the sixth and the seventh centuries in the towns of Iberia has been a matter of much discussion, leading to the development of the ‘urban renewal’ model, by which the Visigothic process of state formation generated a new urban munificence. A similar process can be seen in the towns of the Byzantine area, and our aim is to discuss the evolution of the urban settlements of the modern province of Alicante, reassessing the available evidence and comparing it with the models proposed for the Byzantine and Visigothic areas.     

An Ethnoarchaeological Study on Anthropic Markers from a Shell-midden in Tierra del Fuego (Southern Argentina): Lanashuaia II

ABSTRACT

For many years the identification of activity areas has been carried out through the spatial distribution of lithics, zooarchaeological remains and specific features such as fireplaces. However, these data are rarely combined and integrated with results from specific analytical techniques such as phytoliths, organic matter, carbonates and multielemental analysis. This research presents the first results of an intrasite spatial analysis on a layer from the site Lanashuaia II, a shell-midden located on the Beagle Channel coast (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina). Ethnoarchaeology is used as a methodological tool to give content to the concept of anthropic markers by means of formulating archaeological hypothesis on the basis of ethnological information. This paper presents the application of specific anthropic markers, which have been designed and applied to identify ashy remains and waste areas through different combinations of proxies. The results show how an approach that integrates different techniques enhances data interpretation and allows to give visibility to activities that may not leave visible evidences.     

Designing cultural policy in a postcolonial colony: the case of Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico became a territory of the United States in 1898 with the end of the Spanish-American War. In 1952, the island became a ‘Commonwealth’ through the development and approval of a local constitution. While this political status allows Puerto Rico some degree of autonomy, it nevertheless continues to subject the island to United States federal authority. For the last 60 years, discussions on whether Puerto Rico’s Commonwealth status is a permanent or transitional status has fuelled much of the political debate and public policy of the region, and has been highly influenced by political status ideologies: to become a state of the United States, to maintain the current status, or to become independendent. Budgetary, legal, and commercial dependence on the United States causes constant conflicts in the design and implementation of Puerto Rican public policy in areas such as education, law, and economic development. Likewise, culture has not been exempt from these debates. In fact, cultural differences have caused conflict at all levels – from the theoretical conceptions of culture, to cultural policy and arts management. Moreover, the implementation of cultural policies has also been subject to political ideologies and the concept of culture has variably been seen as an obstacle or strength for specific political purposes. In the midst of a sustained economic crisis, the current Puerto Rican government has proposed the development of a comprehensive cultural policy through a participatory process. The objective of this paper is to present this process as a means of analyzing Puerto Rico’s experience through the challenges in designing and implementing cultural policy within a ‘postcolonial colony’ scenario. This paper will place emphasis on the government’s role, cultural public institutions, and cultural production.     

We will be known by the tracks we leave behind: Exotic lithic raw materials,mobility and social networking among the Côa Valley foragers (Portugal)

The aim of this study is to establish different socio-cultural models based on lithic raw material sourcing integrated with regional rock art distributions to infer social behaviours within the context of central Iberian Upper Palaeolithic societies. Specifically, we focus on Upper Palaeolithic hunter–gatherer mobility and social interaction in the Côa Valley. This study relies on a knowledge of regional geology and field work to identify the sources of the lithic raw material found at Côa Valley Upper Palaeolithic sites. We expose the context of use and discard of flint, which is naturally absent from the region, and other local materials. From this, we present a GIS based analysis concerning space, time and least-cost paths travelled. This analysis, along with the environmental data available, forms a baseline to evaluate different anthropological models on hunter–gatherer lithic use, mobility, and social networks. We conclude with a three-level model for social interaction, in the context of aggregation activities between different social meta-groups, which involves embedded procurement, long-distance raw material exchange, and symbolic community, reflected in the largest known open-air Upper Palaeolithic rock art concentration.     

Measuring Regional Cohesion Effects of Large-scale Transport Infrastructure Investments: An Accessibility Approach

Transport infrastructure is considered one of the main policy instruments to achieve the cohesion goal, although the inclusion of cohesion effects in assessment methodologies is scarce and uneven. Although most cohesion studies are constrained to the analysis of regional disparities in economic indicators, this approach can be broadened to include other regional performance indicators. One of these indicators could be accessibility measures, from the point of view that accessibility, representing a competitive advantage of locations, constitutes a “desirable good” closely related to the welfare of each region. This paper suggests using changes in the spatial distribution of accessibility as a proxy to assess regional cohesion effects of transport infrastructure investments. However, as the conclusions taken depend heavily on the formulation of the accessibility measure, we recommend computing a set of accessibility indicators and analysing their results in a complementary way. The proposed methodology is tested by assessing regional cohesion effects of the large-scale road and rail transport infrastructure investments carried out in Spain in the period 1992–2004. The results obtained show that cohesion has improved for the road mode, while regional disparities have increased for the rail mode. This paper identifies the main factors driving this final cohesion effect and explores the strengths and weaknesses of the different accessibility indicators that were considered. The approach suggested in this paper has the potential to be applied in transport planning processes, and may eventually complement existing strategic assessment methodologies.     

Book reviews

The Essential Codex Mendoza. By FRANCES F. BERDAN and PATRICIA RIEFF ANA WALT. Berkeley and Los Angeles: The University of California Press, 1997. Pp. xiii, 268, 148.

Cruzados, mártires y beatos: Emplazamientos del cuerpo colonial. MARIO CESAREO. West Lafayette: Purdue University Press, 1995. Pp. xi, 201.

Dineros de ventura: La varia fortuna de la emigración a Indias (siglos XVI‐XVII). By CARLOS ALBERTO GONZALEZ SANCHEZ. Seville: Universidad de Sevilla, 1995. Pp. 277.

La administración como un fenómeno social. La justicia penal de la Ciudad de Quito (1650–1750). By TAMAR HERZOG. Madrid: Centro de Estudios Constitucionales, 1995. Pp. 352.

The Countryside in Colonial Latin America. Edited by LOUISA SCHELL HOBERMAN and SUSAN MIGDEN SOCOLOW. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1996. Pp. 295.

Peasants, Politics, and the Formation of Mexico's National State. By PETER F. GUARDINO. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1996. Pp. viii, 319.

Poder terrateniente, relaciones de producción y orden colonial. By EDUARDO AZCUY AMEGHINO et al. Buenos Aires: Fernando García Cambeiro, 1996. Pp. 259.

Storms Brewed in Other Men's World's: The Confrontation of Indians, Spanish, and French in the Southwest, 1540–1795. By ELIZABETH A. H. JOHN. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, [1975] 1996. Pp. 805.

The World Upside Down: Cross‐Cultural Contact and Conflict in Sixteenth‐Century Peru. By SUSAN ELIZABETH RAMIREZ. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1996. Pp. 234.

Architecture and Power in the Ancient Andes: The Archaeology of Public Buildings. By JERRY D. MOORE. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Pp. xiii, 256.

Las crónicas y los Andes. By FRANKLIN PEASE G. Y. Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1995. Pp. 632.

The War with Spain in 1898. By DAVID F. TRASK. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, [1981] 1996. Pp. xiv, 654.

The Village and the Outside World in Golden Age Castile. Mobility and Migration in Everyday Rural Life. By DAVID E. VASSBERG: Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Pp. xvii, 253.