Renewable Electricity in the EU: Are We Meeting the Targets?

This paper analyses differences in the degree to which European Union countries have achieved the renewable electricity (RES-E) targets set by the European Commission for each Member State for 2010. After defining an RES-E target achievement (TA) indicator, both conventional and novel techniques are used to examine the main features of its distribution, including the degree of inequality, external shape and intra-distribution dynamics, for the 1996–2006 time period. The analysis demonstrates that disparities in TA have been strongly reduced and that intra-distribution mobility was very high.     

Regional Productivity Distribution in the European Union: Which are the Influencing Factors?

The aim of this paper is to analyse some relevant aspects on productivity distribution in the European Union at regional level. Firstly, the paper examines its external shape and intra-distribution dynamics. Subsequently, an analysis of the factors that might be behind the productivity distribution and its dynamics is carried out. The results, represented by means of a relatively new visualization tool, highlight the role played by factors such as geographical location, compensation per employee and investment per employee in explaining this issue.     

Geographic variation in bone carbonate and water δO values in Mendoza,Argentina and their relationship to prehistoric economy and settlement

Questions of mobility, settlement pattern, and their relation to economic organization and resource use are central to ongoing work in central-western Argentina. Here we analyze geographic patterns in the distribution of 178 human bone carbonate δ¹⁸O samples, 46 human tooth enamel carbonate δ¹⁸O samples, and 48 water δ¹⁸O samples from throughout the Andean Cordillera and Monte Desert and evaluate their implications for prehistoric mobility and economy. We confirm and refine previous generalizations regarding a highland/lowland dichotomy in water δ¹⁸O values and show that the range of human carbonate δ¹⁸O values generally reflect available water sources. While there is little within-lifetime change in patterns of water use, we show that most individuals have stable isotope signatures consistent with water use from multiple areas or areas other than where they were ultimately interred. These data indicate high levels of residential mobility, and we conclude by discussing their implications for our understanding of regional prehistory.     

Stable isotopes and human diet in central western Argentina

Central western Argentina is the southern boundary of prehispanic maize in the archaeological record. This paper explores the stable isotope information from human bone (δ¹³C, from collagen and δ¹³C from apatite) and tooth (δ¹³C from enamel) samples in order to characterize the temporal and spatial trends of these isotopes and to understand them in terms of human diet. We analyzed 104 human individuals from the last 6000 years. Using the Kellner and Schoeninger (2007) model the results shows a high variation in human diet with few human individuals with a notably high significance of C₄ plants (probably maize) as an energy source and these samples have a chronology around ca. 1000 years BP. On the other hand a high variation in an individual’s dietary life history is shown by differences between δ¹³C collagen, apatite and enamel.     

Earthquake Protection of Colonial Bell Towers in Colima,Mexico with Externally Prestressed FRPs

A methodology for the seismic vulnerability reduction of old masonry towers with external prestressing is presented. It is applied at the Colonial bell-towers of the Cathedral of Colima, Mexico, characterized for being a high seismic area (M>7.5). The 3D FE models are calibrated with experimental data and assessed through nonlinear static approaches including the seismic demand and an accurate validated masonry model. Based on an extensive parametric study on different configurations of old masonry towers, it is selected an optimal prestressing force and device. The Colonial towers are retrofitted with four prestressing devices of FRPs to convert them into a high energy-dissipative reinforced masonry. The external vertical prestressing is included at key points identified in the seismic vulnerability assessment. This technique is in compliance with the demand for architectural conservation and may be located without drilling and unbounded in order to be fully removable. The seismic performance is enhanced by increasing force, displacement, and internal confinement. It is observed an upgrading of 35% and 20% of displacement capacity. With these results it is corroborated that external vertical prestressing allows a substantial increment of ductility for seismic energy dissipation purposes.     

Guanaco (Lama guanicoe) isotopic ecology in southern South America: spatial and temporal tendencies, and archaeological implications

We synthesize and discuss available isotopic data on Holocene guanaco samples from southern South America, extending from Tierra del Fuego Island to northern Patagonia and the Pampean region. We evaluate temporal and spatial tendencies on the basis of 91 samples (mainly based on δ¹³C_collagen values), presenting implications for paleodietary research in archaeology. We conclude that there are no strong correlations with latitude in the macro-spatial scale, while there is a set of interesting patterns at smaller regional scales. These patterns lead us to evaluate the role of ecologic and topographic variables (e.g. canopy effect, variations in altitude, ecotones) in structuring isotopic variability. Finally, on the basis of the present analysis we suggest a number of hypotheses and perspectives for the use of stable isotopes as geographic tracers of guanaco distribution in the past, and specific implications for the paleodietary study of human samples.     

Policy Support for the Diffusion of Innovation among SMEs: An Evaluation Study in the Spanish Region of Madrid

Innovation is increasingly supported by public authority action focused on regions and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In this line, the region of Madrid launched a programme to create Technology Diffusion Centres (TDCs) in order to promote innovation culture among the SMEs of the region. This article analyses the nature of innovation activities in these firms, and the achievements of the TDCs through their work with them. Different types of TDCs are compared according to the approach they applied and the agent to which they were linked. Ten indicators were used to examine the degree of embeddedness and performance of the different TDCs among the SMEs. Results show that a sectoral approach in conjunction with links to business association is the best option for the TDCs in urban and industrial areas. However, in the peripheral or less favourable areas, such as rural ones, a territorial approach in conjunction with links to local entities is the most effective alternative.     

Late Prehistoric High-Altitude Hunter-Gatherer Residential Occupations in the Argentine Southern Andes

Test excavations were conducted at Risco de los Indios (RDLI), a site at 2480 masl with 29 residential features and a well-developed midden containing abundant floral, faunal, lithic, and ceramic materials. Analyses indicate the site was intensively used ca. 500 cal b.p. as a residential base for groups focused on hunting guanaco, supplemented by locally-available wild flora and fauna as well as domestic beans transported from the lowlands. Ceramic and obsidian artifacts indicate these groups were highly mobile and in contact with groups on the eastern and western margins of the Andes. These patterns compare favorably to those seen in the region’s other high altitude villages. It appears that the development of these patterns began with population increase and economic intensification in the lowlands ca. 2000 cal b.p. and that the move to slightly lower elevation settings like RDLI may have been conditioned by the onset of the Little Ice Age.     

Literatura y realidad histórica en Las conversiones de Martín Recuerda

Abstract

Kathleen M. Glenn and Mercedes Mazquiarán de Rodríguez, eds. Spanish Women Writers and the Essay. Gender, Politics, and the Self. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1998. 294 pp. $34.95.

Watson, Janell. Literature and Material Culture from Balzac to Proust. The Collection and Consumption of Curiosities. Cambridge University Press, 1999. x + 227 pp.

Anne J. Cruz. Discourses of Poverty: Social Reform and the Picaresque Novel in Early Modern Spain. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999. 320 pp.