Economic performance of the Spanish regional public service broadcasters according to the political party in government: An empirical analysis (1995-2016)

This article analyses and quantifies the influence that the political party ruling the regional government has upon the economic performance of the corresponding public service broadcaster. An analysis of the economic performance of regional broadcasting companies was undertaken over the period from 1995 to 2016, studying variables such as expenses per employee, total expenses, total assets, ROA, assets turnover and total share; and their relationship with the political party ruling in the region. The correlation analysis, based on the Krukal-Wallis test, confirms the political parties' influence on the broadcasting entities' management approach. The results obtained indicate that there are significant differences in economic performance depending on the political party (Partido Popular, Spanish Socialist Workers Party and nationalist-regionalist parties) which governs the Autonomous Community, and suggest research areas of interest in order to examine in greater detail the impact of these parties in each case

Registre geològic, paleoambients i successió dels darrers dinosaures del sud-oest europeu

El registre geològic i paleontològic del Campanià i Maastrichtià del sud-oest europeu ofereix una de les millors oportunitats per estudiar els darrers 15 milions d’anys abans de l’extinció del Cretaci-Paleogen més enllà del registre de Nord Amèrica. En aquesta tesi doctoral s’ha estudiat i caracteritzat el registre de dinosaures i els seus paleoambients associats, i s’han datat successions sedimentàries mitjançant magnetostratigrafia amb l’objectiu d’aprofundir en el coneixement sobre les darreres comunitats de dinosaures de l’illa Ibero-Armoricana de l’Arxipèlag europeu. Els treballs integrats realitzats a la part mesozoica del Grup Tremp (Conca sud-pirinenca) inclouen l’estudi de les petjades de l’icnogènere Hadrosauropodus, associat a dinosaures hadrosaures. Aquestes empremtes són molt abundants en les planes costaneres fluvials del Maastrichtià superior. A més de l’ambient fluvial, els hadrosaures també van colonitzar l’ecosistema costaner (per exemple llacunes), tal com mostra el jaciment de L’Espinau, entre d’altres localitats. Per contra, els sauròpodes van ser dominants en els ambients costaners i continentals de la regió durant el Campanià i el Maastrichtià inferior, tot i que van persistir fins el Maastrichtià terminal tal i com evidencia el seu registre osteològic, oològic i de petjades, incloent-hi impressions de pell. Amb tot, les seves restes fòssils són molt més escasses que les d’hadrosaure en aquesta edat. La successió faunística de dinosaures del sud-oest europeu s’ha millorat gràcies a 1) la millora del coneixement sobre la distribució paleoambiental dels diferents grups, 2) la integració del registre paleontològic de de l’Alta Vall de l’Aude, una important zona fossilífera del nord dels Pirineus, gràcies al seu estudi magnetostratigràfic, 3) la millora de la calibració del sector Isona del sinclinal de Tremp, a la banda sud dels Pirineus, i 4) la integració de dades provinents del registre campano-maastrichtià de la resta d’àrees fossilíferes de França, Espanya i Portugal (Provença i Ibèria). Amb la millora de les datacions, s’ha pogut desenvolupar un nou model de canvi faunístic de dinosaures durant el Maastrichtià. Enlloc d’un reemplaçament ràpid de faunes herbívores dominades per sauròpodes cap a comunitats dominades per hadrosaures concentrat al voltant del límit entre el Maastrichtià inferior i el superior, les noves dades d’aquesta tesi mostren que les extincions i noves aparicions de clades no van coincidir en el temps. Ans al contrari, el reemplaçament faunístic entre grups de dinosaures va durar uns dos milions d’anys a la regió, existint un període de coexistència entre formes antigues i els nous habitants de l’illa Ibero-Armoricana. El canvi faunístic no es va produir com a conseqüència d’esdeveniments climàtics concrets, sinó per successives migracions durant episodes de trencament de barreres geogràfiques a Europa.The terrestrial Campanian/Maastrichtian geological and paleontological record from southwestern Europe is one of the best outside North America to study the last 15 milion years previous to the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction. The narrative of the last dinosaur communities from the Ibero-Armorican Island (European Archipelago) is addressed by studying their occurrences, associated paleoenvironments and magnetostratigraphic dating. Such integrated works in the Mesozoic portion of the Tremp Group (South-Pyrenean Basin) includes the study of footprints of the ichnogenus Hadrosauropodus, linked to hadrosaur dinosaurs. These tracks are abundant in the fluvial coastal plains of the upper Maastrichtian. In addition to the fluvial ecosystem, hadrosaurs also colonized the coastal environment (e.g. lagoons), as reveals the L’Espinau site (amongst other localities). In contrast, sauropods were dominant in the Campanian and the lower Maastrichtian coastal and inland environments of the region, but were still present in those settings until the uppermost Maastrichtian, as evidenced by bones, eggshell and tracks, and skin impressions. However, their remains were much scarcer than those of hadrosaurs at this age. The dinosaur faunal succession of southwestern Europe has been improved by means of: 1) habitat understanding, 2) dating and integrating the Aude record (northern Pyrenees), 3) improving of the age calibration of the Isona sector (southern Pyrenees), and 4) integrationg of the Campanian-Maastrichtian dinosaur fossil record from the rest of France, Spain and Portugal (Provence and Iberian areas). Dating refinements permit a new model for the Maastrichtian dinosaur faunal succession. Instead of a rapid faunal shift from titanosaurian-dominated herbivorous assemblages to hadrosaur-dominated communities around the early-late Maastrichtian boundary, the achieved data show that the extinction of major clades and the apparition of new ones took place diachronously and was not time coincident. On the contrary, a coexistence period of about two milion years between older and newer Ibero-Armorican dinosaur inhabitants have been identified. This dinosaur turnover was not the response to environmental changes, but probably to faunal migration episodes after geographical barriers disappeared

Registre geològic, paleoambients i successió dels darrers dinosaures del sud-oest europeu

Premi Extraordinari de Doctorat concedit pels programes de doctorat de la UAB per curs acadèmic 2016-2017El registre geològic i paleontològic del Campanià i Maastrichtià del sud-oest europeu ofereix una de les millors oportunitats per estudiar els darrers 15 milions d'anys abans de l'extinció del Cretaci-Paleogen més enllà del registre de Nord Amèrica. En aquesta tesi doctoral s'ha estudiat i caracteritzat el registre de dinosaures i els seus paleoambients associats, i s'han datat successions sedimentàries mitjançant magnetostratigrafia amb l'objectiu d'aprofundir en el coneixement sobre les darreres comunitats de dinosaures de l'illa Ibero-Armoricana de l'Arxipèlag europeu. Els treballs integrats realitzats a la part mesozoica del Grup Tremp (Conca sud-pirinenca) inclouen l'estudi de les petjades de l'icnogènere Hadrosauropodus, associat a dinosaures hadrosaures. Aquestes empremtes són molt abundants en les planes costaneres fluvials del Maastrichtià superior. A més de l'ambient fluvial, els hadrosaures també van colonitzar l'ecosistema costaner (per exemple llacunes), tal com mostra el jaciment de L'Espinau, entre d'altres localitats. Per contra, els sauròpodes van ser dominants en els ambients costaners i continentals de la regió durant el Campanià i el Maastrichtià inferior, tot i que van persistir fins el Maastrichtià terminal tal i com evidencia el seu registre osteològic, oològic i de petjades, incloent-hi impressions de pell. Amb tot, les seves restes fòssils són molt més escasses que les d'hadrosaure en aquesta edat. La successió faunística de dinosaures del sud-oest europeu s'ha millorat gràcies a 1) la millora del coneixement sobre la distribució paleoambiental dels diferents grups, 2) la integració del registre paleontològic de de l'Alta Vall de l'Aude, una important zona fossilífera del nord dels Pirineus, gràcies al seu estudi magnetostratigràfic, 3) la millora de la calibració del sector Isona del sinclinal de Tremp, a la banda sud dels Pirineus, i 4) la integració de dades provinents del registre campano-maastrichtià de la resta d'àrees fossilíferes de França, Espanya i Portugal (Provença i Ibèria). Amb la millora de les datacions, s'ha pogut desenvolupar un nou model de canvi faunístic de dinosaures durant el Maastrichtià. Enlloc d'un reemplaçament ràpid de faunes herbívores dominades per sauròpodes cap a comunitats dominades per hadrosaures concentrat al voltant del límit entre el Maastrichtià inferior i el superior, les noves dades d'aquesta tesi mostren que les extincions i noves aparicions de clades no van coincidir en el temps. Ans al contrari, el reemplaçament faunístic entre grups de dinosaures va durar uns dos milions d'anys a la regió, existint un període de coexistència entre formes antigues i els nous habitants de l'illa Ibero-Armoricana. El canvi faunístic no es va produir com a conseqüència d'esdeveniments climàtics concrets, sinó per successives migracions durant episodes de trencament de barreres geogràfiques a Europa.The terrestrial Campanian/Maastrichtian geological and paleontological record from southwestern Europe is one of the best outside North America to study the last 15 milion years previous to the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction. The narrative of the last dinosaur communities from the Ibero-Armorican Island (European Archipelago) is addressed by studying their occurrences, associated paleoenvironments and magnetostratigraphic dating. Such integrated works in the Mesozoic portion of the Tremp Group (South-Pyrenean Basin) includes the study of footprints of the ichnogenus Hadrosauropodus, linked to hadrosaur dinosaurs. These tracks are abundant in the fluvial coastal plains of the upper Maastrichtian. In addition to the fluvial ecosystem, hadrosaurs also colonized the coastal environment (e.g. lagoons), as reveals the L'Espinau site (amongst other localities). In contrast, sauropods were dominant in the Campanian and the lower Maastrichtian coastal and inland environments of the region, but were still present in those settings until the uppermost Maastrichtian, as evidenced by bones, eggshell and tracks, and skin impressions. However, their remains were much scarcer than those of hadrosaurs at this age. The dinosaur faunal succession of southwestern Europe has been improved by means of: 1) habitat understanding, 2) dating and integrating the Aude record (northern Pyrenees), 3) improving of the age calibration of the Isona sector (southern Pyrenees), and 4) integrationg of the Campanian-Maastrichtian dinosaur fossil record from the rest of France, Spain and Portugal (Provence and Iberian areas). Dating refinements permit a new model for the Maastrichtian dinosaur faunal succession. Instead of a rapid faunal shift from titanosaurian-dominated herbivorous assemblages to hadrosaur-dominated communities around the early-late Maastrichtian boundary, the achieved data show that the extinction of major clades and the apparition of new ones took place diachronously and was not time coincident. On the contrary, a coexistence period of about two milion years between older and newer Ibero-Armorican dinosaur inhabitants have been identified. This dinosaur turnover was not the response to environmental changes, but probably to faunal migration episodes after geographical barriers disappeared

Economic performance of the Spanish regional public service broadcasters according to the political party in government: An empirical analysis (1995-2016)

This article analyses and quantifies the influence that the political party ruling the regional government has upon the economic performance of the corresponding public service broadcaster. An analysis of the economic performance of regional broadcasting companies was undertaken over the period from 1995 to 2016, studying variables such as expenses per employee, total expenses, total assets, ROA, assets turnover and total share; and their relationship with the political party ruling in the region. The correlation analysis, based on the Krukal-Wallis test, confirms the political parties' influence on the broadcasting entities' management approach. The results obtained indicate that there are significant differences in economic performance depending on the political party (Partido Popular, Spanish Socialist Workers Party and nationalist-regionalist parties) which governs the Autonomous Community, and suggest research areas of interest in order to examine in greater detail the impact of these parties in each case

Ontogeny and taxonomy of the hadrosaur (Dinosauria, Ornithopoda) remains from Basturs Poble bonebed (late early Maastrichtian, Tremp Syncline, Spain).

The lower Maastrichtian site of Basturs Poble (southern Pyrenees, Spain) is the first hadrosaur bonebed reported from Europe. It is an accumulation of disarticulated lambeosaurine skeletal elements, possibly belonging to Pararhabdodon isonensis. The sample shows high intraspecific morphological variability among many skeletal elements, suggesting the need for caution in choosing characters for phylogenetic analyses. Juvenile to adult individuals are represented in the sample, while hatchling remains are absent. Bone histology reveals that juveniles are over-represented and that the youngest individuals represented by tibia specimens were two years old. Adult individuals, with tibiae 550-600 mm long, were 14-15 years old when they died. However, individual variation in tibia length at skeletal maturity occurs within the sample, so individual maturity cannot be assumed on the basis of bone size alone. The Basturs Poble bonebed occurs within the upper part of the C31r magnetochron. Thus, lambeosaurine hadrosaurids were already present and abundant in the Ibero-Armorica Island at the end of the early Maastrichtian and P. isonensis spans the upper part of the lower Maastrichtian to the upper part of the upper Maastrichtian (upper part of C31r-lower part of C29r)

The Latest Succession of Dinosaur Tracksites in Europe: Hadrosaur Ichnology, Track Production and Palaeoenvironments

<div><p>A comprehensive review and study of the rich dinosaur track record of the Tremp Formation in the southern Pyrenees of Spain (Southwestern Europe) shows a unique succession of footprint localities prior to the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event. A description of some 30 new tracksites and data on sedimentary environments, track occurrence and preservation, ichnology and chronostratigraphy are provided. These new track localities represent various facies types within a diverse set of fluvial environments. The footprint discoveries mostly represent hadrosaurian and, less abundantly, to sauropod dinosaurs. The hadrosaur tracks are significantly smaller in size than, but morphologically similar to, those of North America and Asia and are attributable to the ichnogenus <i>Hadrosauropodus</i>. The track succession, with more than 40 distinct track levels, indicates that hadrosaur footprints in the Ibero-Armorican region occur predominantly in the late Maaastrichtian (at least above the early Maastrichtian–late Maastrichtian boundary). The highest abundance is found noticeably found in the late Maastrichtian, with tracks occurring in the C29r magnetochron, within about the latest 300,000 years of the Cretaceous.</p></div

Ontogeny and taxonomy of the hadrosaur (Dinosauria, Ornithopoda) remains from Basturs Poble bonebed (late early Maastrichtian, Tremp Syncline, Spain)

The lower Maastrichtian site of Basturs Poble (southern Pyrenees, Spain) is the first hadrosaur bonebed reported from Europe. It is an accumulation of disarticulated lambeosaurine skeletal elements, possibly belonging to Pararhabdodon isonensis. The sample shows high intraspecific morphological variability among many skeletal elements, suggesting the need for caution in choosing characters for phylogenetic analyses. Juvenile to adult individuals are represented in the sample, while hatchling remains are absent. Bone histology reveals that juveniles are over-represented and that the youngest individuals represented by tibia specimens were two years old. Adult individuals, with tibiae 550-600 mm long, were 14-15 years old when they died. However, individual variation in tibia length at skeletal maturity occurs within the sample, so individual maturity cannot be assumed on the basis of bone size alone. The Basturs Poble bonebed occurs within the upper part of the C31r magnetochron. Thus, lambeosaurine hadrosaurids were already present and abundant in the Ibero-Armorica Island at the end of the early Maastrichtian and P. isonensis spans the upper part of the lower Maastrichtian to the upper part of the upper Maastrichtian (upper part of C31r-lower part of C29r)

Hadrosaur trackways in southwestern Europe.

<p>(A, B, and D) Bipedal trackways from the Areny 1, Moror B, and Sierra de los Gavilanes tracksites (redrawn from Barco et al. <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0072579#pone.0072579-Barco1" target="_blank">[19]</a>, Llompart <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0072579#pone.0072579-Llompart3" target="_blank">[18]</a>, and Herrero-Santos, <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0072579#pone.0072579-HerreroSantos1" target="_blank">[24]</a>, respectively). (C) Quadrupedal trackway from the La Mata del Viudà tracksite.</p

Chronostratigraphic correlation of uppermost Cretaceous deposits (Arén Sandstone and Tremp formations) in the southern Pyrenees (SW Europe).

<p>The standard geomagnetic polarity timescale is taken after Ogg and Hinnov <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0072579#pone.0072579-Ogg1" target="_blank">[41]</a>. See “Methods” section for further details on section abbreviations and magnetostratigraphical source data.</p

Geographic and geological setting of the study area.

<p>(A) Geological map of the southern Pyrenees with Tremp Formation outcrops and location of tracksites and measured sections (modified from López-Martínez and Vicens <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0072579#pone.0072579-LpezMartnez3" target="_blank">[26]</a>). (B) Geological map of the Isona sector (enlarged area in A) and location of tracksites and measured sections (modified from Riera et al. <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0072579#pone.0072579-Riera1" target="_blank">[6]</a>). Numbers (tracksites): 1, Fornons 3 and Dolor 2; 2, Serraduy Norte and Serraduy Sur; 3, Iscles-1, Iscles-2, Iscles-3, Iscles-4, and Iscles-5; 4, Areny 1; 5, Sapeira-1 and Sapeira-2; 6, La Mata del Viudà; 7, Moror A and Moror B; 8, La Massana; 9, Fumanya; 10, Cingles del Boixader; 11, La Pleta Resclosa and La Pleta Nord; 12, Camí de les Planes and Serrat de Santó; 13, Costa Roia; 14, Torrent de Carant; 15, Serrat de Sanguin; 16, Orcau-2; 17, Orcau-4; 18, Barranc de Torrebilles-5; 19, Basturs Poble; 20, La Llau de la Costa; 21, Tossal del Gassó; 22, Masia de Ramon Petjades; 23, Barranc de Guixers-1 and Barranc de Guixers-2; 24, Barranc de Guixers-3. See abbreviations for measured sections in ”Methodology” section.</p