Local Community Characteristics and Cooperation for Shared Green Reputation

This article examines how basic socioeconomic and political factors are associated with higher levels of cooperation to garner a local community's shared green reputation. We analyze panel data on participation efforts in a collective voluntary environmental program, the Ecological Blue Flag Program, by the entire population of beach communities in Costa Rica between 2001 and 2009. Collective voluntary environmental programs are relatively new and aim to improve environmental performance and shared “green” reputation through joint participation and certification of multisector groups comprising businesses, governmental institutions, and nongovernmental organizations. Our results indicate that higher levels of within‐community cooperation for shared green reputation are more likely in seashore localities with lower income inequality and/or a higher number of businesses. These findings run counter to research suggesting these same characteristics are associated with lower levels of cooperation in the management of common pool natural resources such as fisheries and forests. We also find that within‐community cooperation is positively correlated with a greater proportion of expatriates from industrialized countries and/or with higher levels of democratic political participation.     

Extra-regional linkages through MNCs in organizationally thick and specialized RISs: a source of new path development?

ABSTRACT

This paper explores how global innovation networks (GIN) within multinational companies (MNCs) act as extra-regional sources for path development in a regional innovation system (RIS) specializing in the oil and gas sector. We combine the literature on intra-firm knowledge dynamics in MNCs’ GIN with the literature on RISs to better understand their interrelatedness and their dynamics. Based on interviews with 15 MNCs located in the south-west of Norway, we find that firms are highly dependent on competence throughout the MNCs’ entire networks, as well as interaction with the overall RIS. The findings expose that MNCs’ GINs can act as extra-regional sources for path ‘extension’ in thick and specialized RISs through intra-firm mobility, observation and sharing of routines and best practice, mainly resulting in incremental innovations. We find some signs of potential path ‘renewal’, including radical innovation ideas. However, there are hampering factors linked to strong internal competition for innovation projects, pressure for local profitability and ownership motivation. At the level of RISs, new initiatives going beyond existing cluster initiatives and specializations need support.     

Occupational genders and gendered occupations: the case of water provisioning in Maputo,Mozambique

Taking issue with how associations between technical prowess or entrepreneurship and masculinity tend to be taken for granted or are seen as stemming from natural or intrinsic gender differences, over the last two decades feminist scholars have developed theoretical approaches to understand the gendering of professions and abilities as the performative outcome of particular cultures and histories. We build on these insights to explore how associations between masculinities, technology and entrepreneurship shape ideas and practices of small-scale water provision in Maputo. Our findings show how activities (i.e. technical craftsmanship, hard physical work) or abilities (i.e. risk-taking, innovativeness) regarded as masculine tend to be considered the defining features of the profession. This shapes how men and women make sense of and talk about their work, each of them tactically emphasizing and performing those aspects best fitting their gender. Our detailed documentation of men’s and women’s everyday involvements in water provisioning challenges the existence of sharp boundaries and distinctions between genders and professional responsibilities. It shows that water provisioning requires many other types of work and skills and male and female household members collaborate and share their work. The strong normative-cultural associations between gender and water provisioning lead to a distinct under-recognition of women’s importance as water providers. We conclude that strategies to effectively support small-scale water businesses while creating more space and power for women involved in the business require the explicit recognition and re-conceptualization of water provisioning as a household business.     

Effectiveness of Phosphocitrate as Salt Crystallization Inhibitor in Porous Materials: Case Study of the Roman Mosaic of Orpheus and the Beasts (Perugia,Italy)

Salt crystallization in porous materials constitutes one of the major causes of decay of buildings/archaeological sites in a wide range of environments. Desalination is among the most common methodologies of conservative treatment for salt decay. However, classic desalination techniques might be not suitable for long-term conservation. During the past decade interest has been an increasing towards crystallization inhibitors as a new means of controlling crystallization damage. This study deals with the first in-field application of an environment-friendly inhibitor system— phosphocitrate (PC). In particular, the case study of the Roman mosaic of Orpheus and the Beasts in Perugia (Italy) is presented. The inhibitor is completely soluble in water or alcohol, non-toxic, and easy to apply, thus enabling its use in accordance with the volatile organic compounds emission control and safety during the conservation works. Relevant samples from control and treated mosaic areas were collected and analyzed comparatively by means of Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectrometry to study the potential of the inhibitor system in preventing/controlling salt damage in such archaeological site.     

Middle Stone Age Bifacial Technology and Pressure Flaking at the MIS 3 Site of Toumboura III,Eastern Senegal

African Archaeological Review - Over the past decade, the increasing wealth of new archaeological data on the Middle Stone Age (MSA) in Senegal and Mali has broadened our understanding of...     

Imperial Inspections: Archaeology,War and Violence

The political-ethical complexities of archaeological work have led to this publication of a theme issue that attempts to critically consider our privileged positions as scholars, but also the limitations of our work in the context of violent conflicts. At the same time these papers show how practical remedial initiatives sought for distressing situations in which archaeologists may find themselves can often only intensify the problems.     

Isotopic evidence for the reconstruction of diet and mobility during village formation in the Early Middle Ages: Las Gobas (Burgos,northern Spain)

Strontium, carbon, and nitrogen isotopes of human bone and tooth remains have been used to reconstruct residential mobility and diet of early medieval populations at Las Gobas from the sixth to eleventh centuries. Most non-local individuals correspond to the tenth to eleventh centuries and were mostly women and infants. This residential mobility coincided with the formation of Laño village and the abandonment of artificial cave settlement. Carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of bone collagen indicate an omnivorous homogenous diet based on terrestrial plant resources, with few animal-derived proteins from livestock. Millet consumption was restricted to an earlier period of time (seventh to ninth centuries); and in later periods (tenth to eleventh centuries), mainly C₃ plants such as wheat and barley were consumed. In general, there were no dietary differences between individuals according to sex or age. Sex-related dietary differences have only been observed in the tenth to eleventh centuries, when females consumed a more vegetarian diet and less animal protein. The higher δ ¹⁵N values in infants reflect the weaning effect, while the differences in δ ¹⁵N values between young adult men and young adult women can be explained as a physiological factor related to pregnancy or different origins. In a comparison with contemporaneous medieval populations in the northern Iberian Peninsula, both δ ¹³C and δ ¹⁵N values suggest similar foodstuff resources and diet among Christian and Muslim populations.