Cutting the cake: the Congress of Vienna in British,French and German political caricature

Although the Congress of Vienna was not a main topic for political caricature, it was anything but ignored. During the first five months of 1815, while monarchs and diplomats were deliberating on Europe’s future, caricaturists in Great Britain, France and the German-speaking states depicted the Congress as a major or minor subject in 20 satirical prints. Together these caricatures provide a multi-perspectival view of the way contemporaries assessed the diplomatic deliberations taking place in Vienna. To obtain an insight into this important part of contemporary public opinion on the Congress, the corpus of graphic satire was submitted to close scrutiny in two ways. Firstly, a context analysis ascertained the artists who produced them; how the prints were published and brought to public attention; and for what audiences they were intended. Secondly, a content analysis explored the political messages that the caricatures on the Vienna Congress tried to convey and the persuasive techniques that were applied to visualise these points of view. Notwithstanding different national origins and opposite political views, the message is a negative one: the satires denounce the territorial greed of the Great Powers and their disregard for the demands and aspirations of the peoples they seek to incorporate.     

Towards a Risk Management and Conservation Plan for the Djin Blocks at the World Heritage Site of Petra,Jordan: The Case of Djin Block No. 9

Cultural heritage is subjected to many pressures and risks. Over the past few years, the use of digital technologies has significantly changed the approaches to cultural heritage documentation for the purpose of condition assessment and conservation. The integration of novel approaches and techniques has permitted a detailed examination and assessment of damage, deterioration due to weathering and erosion, and their mechanisms. This study seeks to contribute to the preservation and conservation of the significant heritage of the so-called Djin Blocks at the World Heritage Site of Petra in Jordan. While these three dimensional cuboid rock-cut monuments have been subject to extensive conservation studies, this is the first time they have been subjected to 3D recording and multispectral photography, with the aim of recording damage caused by the ravages of time.

This study presents the results of the documentation of the case study Djin Block No. 9. A variety of systematic documentation techniques were used, including 3D recording with terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), close-range photogrammetry, multispectral imaging, and thermography records. In addition, pathological studies of the erosion from various causes and an analysis of the effect of weathering on Djin Block No. 9 are performed. Based on this data, the paper presents recommendations for developing risk management and conservation planning of Djin Block No. 9.     

On the Earthquake-Source Numerical Implementation in the Seismic Wave Equation

We present a detailed approach to implement a moment-tensor point source to compute displacements, particle velocities and accelerations using direct grid methods. Here, the wave modeling algorithm is based on pseudospectral methods to compute the partial derivatives. A comparison to the analytical solution in the 3D acoustic case verifies the discrete implementation of the source in the mesh. Then, the more general 3D elastic case is illustrated and simulations, with and without free surface, are performed that can be used as a reference solution for other grid methods.     

The lagging regions of the EC in the face of economic and monetary union

Nationwide economic policies required to satisfy the Treaty of Maastricht will have a deep regional impact. This paper reflects on the trade‐offs, possibilities and transformations which the process leading towards economic and monetary union imposes on the development policies of peripheral regions. The space left for regional policy is reduced. Regional governments of peripheral regions should decode the pseudo‐modernizing language of neo‐liberal positions, press for greater fiscal resources and propose supply strategies within the framework of industrial policies on a regional basis.     

The Use of a Large-Scale Seismic Vulnerability Assessment Approach for Masonry Façade Walls as an Effective Tool for Evaluating,Managing and Mitigating Seismic Risk in Historical Centers

ABSTRACT

The vulnerability assessment of the building stock in a given territorial area, such as a city or an entire country, is a key prerequisite for evaluating risk, not only because of the potential physical consequences resulting from the occurrence of an event, but also because it is one of the few aspects in which engineering research can intervene. In fact, the rigorous vulnerability assessment of existing buildings followed by the implementation of appropriate retrofitting solutions can help to substantially reduce the levels of physical damage and economic impact of future events. Particularly regarding the seismic vulnerability assessment of historical centers, the amount of knowledge that has been accumulated over the past decades, together with the broad damage data obtained from post-earthquake damage surveys, provides a singular opportunity to develop and calibrate innovative large-scale seismic vulnerability assessment approaches, which can be used to outline and support risk mitigation and management strategies. This article addresses this issue by discussing the use of a large-scale seismic vulnerability assessment methodology for masonry façade walls as a tool for evaluating the potential benefit resulting from the application of different seismic retrofitting strategies, both considering their contribution to reduce post-event urban losses and accessibility.     

Industrial districts and migrant enclaves: a model of interaction

So far, the relationship between Industrial Districts (IDs; clusters of interconnected local industries) and migrant enclaves (areas with a high concentration of international migrants from a single nationality) has been studied mostly by focusing on the emergence of ‘ethnic enclave economies’ within the district and/or by highlighting racist conflicts that achieved notoriety in the media. In this study, we contend that there is a more general and complex interaction between the two phenomena. This interaction is mediated by the local context, national regulations, and the organization of the international market, among other factors. By focusing on the case of the ceramic ID of Castelló de la Plana (Spain), we show how this ID with a high rate of job formality, combined with other job opportunities and a unique ‘institutional completeness’, set up the conditions for a non-conflictive Romanian migrant enclave that reached 14% of the town’s total population in 2012. Finally, and also considering another case study of ID and migrant enclave (Prato, and its Chinese enclave), we suggest a model of interaction that should be interpreted taking into account the general dynamics of the international organization of value and the requirements of flexibility and reduction of costs that frame IDs.     

Living in an Egyptian Oasis: Reconstruction of the Holocene Archaeological Sequence in Kharga

Within the Egyptian Western Desert, the Kharga Oasis was a particularly favourable and highly frequented area during the Holocene thanks to a permanent ground water supply. The high concentration and accessibility of archaeological sites here allows the cultural and economic changes to be documented at a local scale, when northeastern Africa was experiencing strong climatic variations and the transition to a food production economy. An expansive program led by the Institut français d’archéologie orientale (IFAO) which included systematic survey, sampling collections, tests and stratigraphic excavations has dramatically increased the amount of data available concerning the prehistory of the Kharga Oasis. Typo-technological analyses focusing on the lithic industries, and other aspects of material culture, plus a series of ¹⁴C dates have led to the definition of four main successive cultural phases: Kharga A, B, C and D. This paper describes this proposal of a new archaeological sequence for human occupation in the Kharga Oasis and discusses its integration in the wider frame of Egypt and the Eastern Sahara.     

Book reviews

The Political Economy of Spanish America in the Age of Revolution. 1750–1850. Edited by KENNETH J. ANDRIEN and LYMAN L. JOHNSON. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1994. Pp. viii, 263.

Mexico in the Age of Democratic Revolutions, 1750–1850. Edited by JAIME E. RODRIGUEZ O. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1994. Pp. xiii, 330.

Transiciones hacia el sistema colonial andino. By CARLOS SEMPAT ASSADOURIAN. Lima: El Colegio de México—Instituto de Estudios Peruanos, 1994. Pp. 304.

El Comercio Libre en el Perú. Las estrategias de un comerciante criollo: José Antonio de Lavalle y Cortés Conde de Premio Real, 1775–1815. By CRISTINA ANA MAZZEO. Lima: Fondo Editorial de la Universidad Católica, 1994. Pp. 279.

Barbarie y canibalismo en la retórica colonial. Los indios Pijaos de Fray Pedro Simón. By ALVARO FELIX BOLAÑOS. Bogotá: CEREC, 1994. Pp. 243.

America in European Consciousness, 1493–1750. Edited by KAREN ORDAHL KUPPERMAN. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1995. Pp. xiii, 428.

After Colonialism: Imperial Histories and Postcolonial Displacements. Edited by GYAN PRAKASH. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995. Pp. viii, 352.

A Plague of Sheep: Environmental Consequences of the Conquest of Mexico. By ELINOR G. K. MELVILLE. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. Pp. xiii, 203.     

Differences in Survival Strategies among Footwear Industrial Districts: The Role of International Outsourcing

During the 1990s, a further development of the industrial district model was observed in some developed countries and industrial sectors. Due to the intense process of globalization, footwear district firms have gradually relocated some manufacturing activities through an international extension of their business networks. In this manner, the traditional pattern of integrated shoemaking is being replaced by a global supply chain stretching across different countries and cultures. Even though Spain has always been positioned at the top of the rank of footwear exporters, little attention has been paid to how Spanish footwear districts are handling the global competition and strategies implemented in order to achieve superior efficiency rates. This paper attempts to describe the international outsourcing activities (one of the most expanded strategies) in four footwear industrial districts. To reach our objective, data about imports of components and outward processing trade in provinces of the districts considered are deeply analysed. Special consideration has been paid to differences between provinces and districts. Finally, based on the issues reviewed and results obtained in previous sections, our paper includes conclusions and implications for policy makers and practitioners.