Un exemple de fragmentació de l'estructura latifundista? Intent d'explicació de les causes de l'augment del nombre d'explotacions a la província de Jaén : 1962-1972

Dans la période comprise entre les deux recensements agraires de 1962 et 1972, la croissance économique espagnole a été très vive; elle s'est traduite par una réduction continuelle de la population active agraire, tant en termes relatifs comme en termes absolus. Compte tenu de la tendence à la concentration des unités productives qui s'observe dans le développement économique du capitalisme, il n'est guère étonnant que le nombre d'explications agraries recensées en 1972 soit inférieur à celui de 1962. Il existe néanmoins des exceptions, telles les provinces de Jaén, Valence, ..., où le nombre d'exploitations se trouve être croissant entre les deux recensements. Cet article reproduit les conclusions extraites de l'étude d'un des cas "anormaux": la province de Jaén. On essaie de prouver deux hypothèses. En premier lieu, on considère que l'augmentation dans le nombre d'exploitations ne peut s'expliquer uniquement par les variations dans la surface exploitée; on pourrait donc parler d'un procés de non-concentration et même de déconcentration des unites productives. La deuxième hypothèse, sur laquelle le travail est centré, tourne autour du rôle de l'olivier, culture majoritaire dans la province, et qui, par son caractère non mécanisable expliquerait l'évolution particuliere de la structure agraire dans le cas qui nous occupe.In the period 1962-72 -between the two agricultural census- the rate of economic growth in Spain was very high, coinciding with a continnual reduction in rural active population, both in absolute and relative terms. Bearing in mind: (a) the change in circumstances and (b) that capitalist economic development involves a concentration of productive units, it is easily understandable that the number of agricultural holdings had decreased between 1962 and 1972. Nevertheless, in spite of the general decreasing tendency, certain provinces, such as Jaen and Valencia, did, in fact, register an increase in the number of holdings between the dates in question. This article outlines the conclusions reached from the study of the province of Jaen, one of the exceptions. In the case of Jaen two parallel hypotheses are tested. The first proposes that (a) the increase in the number of holdings can not be accounted for solely by variations in the surface area included in the census, (b) no process of concentration can be detected, and (c) on the contrary, a certain tendency towards the fragmentation of production units has existed. The second hypothesis, on which the study focuses, attempts to explain this "anomolous" evolution within capitalist development in the light of the fact that olive production, the major agricultural resource in the province, cannot be mechanized

Strengthening impact assessment: a call for integration and focus

We suggest that the impact assessment community has lost its way based on our observation that impact assessment is under attack because of a perceived lack of efficiency. Specifically, we contend that the proliferation of different impact assessment types creates separate silos of expertise and feeds arguments for not only a lack of efficiency but also a lack of effectiveness of the process through excessive specialisation and a lack of interdisciplinary practice. We propose that the solution is a return to the basics of impact assessment with a call for increased integration around the goal of sustainable development and focus through better scoping. We rehearse and rebut counter arguments covering silo-based expertise, advocacy, democracy, sustainability understanding and communication. We call on the impact assessment community to rise to the challenge of increasing integration and focus, and to engage in the debate about the means of strengthening impact assessment

Use of a voltammetric electronic tongue for predicting levels of nerve agent mimics

[EN] An electronic tongue (ET) based on pulse voltammetry containing a set of eight metallic electrodes (Au, Pt, Ir, Rh, Cu, Co, Ni and Ag) encapsulated on a stainless steel cylinder has been used to discriminate and predict levels of nerve agent mimics in aqueous environments. Analysis including principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least square techniques (PLS) have been applied for data management and prediction models. A good discrimination from other organophosphorous derivatives was found for the nerve agent simulants diethyl-chlorophosphate (DCP) and diethyl-cyanophosphate (DCNP).We thank the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnologia (project CTQ2006-15456-C04-01), and Universidad Politecnica de Valencia (project PAID-06-07-3243) for support. I.C. thanks the Universidad Politecnica de Valencia for a Doctoral Fellowship.S3253281

Indis, cowboys i mestresses de casa : construcció i deconstrucció d'arquetips del somni americà al western i melodrama de Hollywood dels anys 50 /

Indis, cowboys i mestresses de casa. Construcció i deconstrucció d'arquetips del somni americà al western i melodrama de Hollywood dels anys 50 és una tesi doctoral que torna sobre els clàssics del cinema que han definit el cànon dels dos gèneres esmentats. S'observa com operen sobre el somni americà, un concepte que malgrat tenir una arrel geogràfica i temporalment precisa té un abast universal. L'objectiu és argumentar que, si bé el cinema nord-americà ha ajudat a gestar aquests arquetips, són les mateixes produccions dels grans estudis de Hollywood les que inviten a qüestionar-los en un context, com el dels anys 1950, en el qual la complaent imatge d'un Estat fort imposant-se com a potència mundial i opulent portes endins té en la seva indústria cinematogràfica un recordatori poderós de la seva fragilitat, marcada per una economia de consum que accentua la diferència de classes i el desencís que segueix a la victòria aliada a la Segona Guerra Mundial arran de la Guerra Freda. La tesi analitza com el cinema de Hollywood dels anys 50, i el western i el melodrama en particular, ajuda a construir i alhora a qüestionar subtilment l'agredolça utopia nacional. De cada un dels gèneres s'ha escollit un film i un cineasta clau per acotar l'àmbit de recerca: The Searchers (Centauros del desierto, 1956), de John Ford, i All That Heaven Allows (Sólo el cielo lo sabe, 1955), de Douglas Sirk. A partir d'aquí, la recerca se centra en els arquetips vinculats a la gestació del somni americà i l'escenari resultant: els indis, cowboys i mestresses de casa als que al·ludeix el títol. Nascuts als Estats Units en el context del Hollywood clàssic i del western en particular, indis i cowboys han arrelat amb èxit a l'imaginari occidental. La tesi aprofundeix en com els westerns dels anys 1950 juguen amb els codis i trets distintius d'aquests arquetips i obren la veda a una mirada més obertament crítica. D'altra banda, al costat d'indis i cowboys, el que també es consolida als anys 1950 és un altre arquetip clau del somni americà: la mestressa de casa sobre la que pivota el melodrama, un gènere cinematogràfic que també viu, en aquest període, anys d'esplendor. Un personatge que regna al paradís domèstic que culmina i dóna sentit a la penúria pionera relatada pel western. A l'hora d'explorar la simbologia interna pel què fa a la construcció i deconstrucció d'aquests arquetips s'aplica el concepte clàssic de paròdia, un terme referit a la lectura entre línies de la narració que ajuda a qüestionar-la subtilment, tal com apunta l'arrel etimològica del terme. En grec, parōidía és una "cançó cantada al costat d'una altra". El concepte s'aplica al western i melodrama del Hollywood clàssic, argumentant el seu clau en la multiplicació de lectures que generen.The doctoral thesis Indians, Cowboys and Housewives. Construction and Deconstruction of Archetypes of the American Dream in the Hollywood Western and Melodrama of the Fifties takes the cinema classics that have established the canon for the two genres quoted in the title to study how they operate in relation to a concept that, despite its geographical and historical specificity has achieved universal status. The research focuses on how American cinema has created these archetypes while questioning them in a context such as the 1950 in which the image of the United States as a powerful and self-satisfied country has its counterpoint in the film industry. The films mirror the economic boom and the tensions in class differences that this triggers as well as the end to the optimism generated by the victory in the Second World War that the start of the Cold War brings. The thesis analyzises how the Hollywood western and melodrama of the 50s, build and subtlety question the epic of national construction. Of each genre, the research focuses on a film and filmaker: The Searchers (1956), by John Ford, and All That Heaven Allows (1955), by Douglas Sirk. And from them its studies the archetypes of indians, cowboys and housewives quoted in the title

Covalently binding atomically designed Au9 clusters to chemically modified graphene

Atomic resolution transmission electron microscopy was used to identify individual Au9 clusters on a sulfur functionalized graphene surface. The clusters were pre-formed in solution and covalently attached to the surface without any dispersion or aggregation. Comparison of the experimental images with simulations allowed the rotational motion of individual clusters to be discerned, without lateral displacement, demonstrating a robust covalent attachment of intact clusters to the graphene surface

Sustainability appraisal: Jack of all trades, master of none?

Sustainable development is a commonly quoted goal for decision making and supports a large number of other discourses. Sustainability appraisal has a stated goal of supporting decision making for sustainable development. We suggest that the inherent flexibility of sustainability appraisal facilitates outcomes that often do not adhere to the three goals enshrined in most definitions of sustainable development: economic growth, environmental protection and enhancement, and the wellbeing of the human population. Current practice is for sustainable development to be disenfranchised through the interpretation of sustainability, whereby the best alternative is good enough even when unsustainable. Practitioners must carefully and transparently review the frameworks applied during sustainability appraisal to ensure that outcomes will meet the three goals, rather than focusing on a discourse that emphasises one or more goals at the expense of the other(s)

Potentiometric Electronic Tongue to Resolve Mixtures of Sulfide and Perchlorate Anions

This work describes the use of an array of potentiometric sensors and an artificial neural network response model to determine perchlorate and sulfide ions in polluted waters, by what is known as an electronic tongue. Sensors used have been all-solid-state PVC membrane selective electrodes, where their ionophores were different metal-phtalocyanine complexes with specific and anion generic responses. The study case illustrates the potential use of electronic tongues in the quantification of mixtures when interfering effects need to be counterbalanced: relative errors in determination of individual ions can be decreased typically from 25% to less than 5%, if compared to the use of a single proposed ion-selective electrode

A humid electronic nose based on pulse voltammetry: A proof-of-concept design

[EN] We report herein the design, manufacture and use of a "humid electronic nose" prototype based on voltammetric techniques. It consists of an array of four working electrodes (i.e., Au, Pt, Ir and Rh) housed inside a homemade stainless steel cylinder, in contact with a fabric mesh made of nylon damped with a NaCl aqueous solution, used as the supporting humid membrane. The "humid electronic nose" was tested for the discrimination of different samples displaying different volatile compounds. The samples chosen involve aqueous solutions of different simple volatile products (i.e., ammonia, acetone, acetic acid and 6-amino-1-hexanol) and different food samples (i.e., onion, coffee and Roquefort cheese). Under working conditions, the volatile compounds from the corresponding sample were generated in the measurement chamber and were partially dissolved in the damped nylon fabric, which was in contact with the set of electrodes. It was envisioned that provided different samples offer different vapours, the application of a suitable set of pulses to the electrodes will differentiate the samples. This proof-of-concept study employed a Large Amplitude Pulse Voltammetry (LAPV) waveform. The increment for the potential steps was of 200 mV and potentials ranged from +1 to -1 V with each pulse applied for 50 ms. PCA studies from the response obtained by the "humid electronic nose" discriminated the different samples studied. The neural network Self Organized Map (SOM) was also used to analyze the electrochemical data obtained from the "humid electronic nose". © 2013 Elsevier B.VThe financial support from the Spanish Government (project MAT2012-38429-C04) and the Generalitat Valenciana (Valencian Regional Government; projects PROMETEO/2009/016 and GV/2012/094); is gratefully acknowledged.Bataller Prats, R.; Campos Sánchez, I.; Alcañiz Fillol, M.; Gil Sánchez, L.; García Breijo, E.; Martínez Mañez, R.; Pascual Vidal, L.... (2013). A humid electronic nose based on pulse voltammetry: A proof-of-concept design. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical. 186:666-673. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2013.06.033S66667318

Monitoring grape ripeness using a voltammetric electronic tongue

The use of a voltammetric electronic tongue as a tool to monitor grape ripeness is proposed herein. The electronic tongue consists of eight metallic electrodes housed inside a stainless steel cylinder. The study was carried out over a period of ca. 1 month (August 2012) on different grape varieties (Macabeo, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shyrah, Merlot and Bobal) from various vineyards near Requena and Utiel (Valencia, Spain). Apart from the electrochemical studies, the physico-chemical parameters, such as, Total Acidity, pH and °Brix, were also determined in grapes. The PCA models, obtained using the physico-chemical or electrochemical data, showed variation of ripenesswith time.Moreover the studywas completed by using partial least squares (PLS) regression in an attempt to establish a correlation between the data collected from the electronic tongue and Total Acidity, pH and °Brix values. A good predictive modelwas obtained for the prediction of Total Acidity and °Brix. These results suggest the possibility of employing electronic tongues to monitor grape ripeness and of, therefore, evaluating the right time for harvesting.The financial support from the Spanish Government (project MAT2012-38429-C04-01) and the Generalitat Valenciana (Valencian Regional Government; project PROMETEO/2009/016) is gratefully acknowledged.Campos Sánchez, I.; Bataller Prats, R.; Armero, R.; Gandía Romero, JM.; Soto Camino, J.; Martínez Mañez, R.; Gil Sánchez, L. (2013). Monitoring grape ripeness using a voltammetric electronic tongue. Food Research International. 54(2):1369-1375. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2013.10.011S1369137554

Applications and Advances in Electronic-Nose Technologies

Electronic-nose devices have received considerable attention in the field of sensor technology during the past twenty years, largely due to the discovery of numerous applications derived from research in diverse fields of applied sciences. Recent applications of electronic nose technologies have come through advances in sensor design, material improvements, software innovations and progress in microcircuitry design and systems integration. The invention of many new e-nose sensor types and arrays, based on different detection principles and mechanisms, is closely correlated with the expansion of new applications. Electronic noses have provided a plethora of benefits to a variety of commercial industries, including the agricultural, biomedical, cosmetics, environmental, food, manufacturing, military, pharmaceutical, regulatory, and various scientific research fields. Advances have improved product attributes, uniformity, and consistency as a result of increases in quality control capabilities afforded by electronic-nose monitoring of all phases of industrial manufacturing processes. This paper is a review of the major electronic-nose technologies, developed since this specialized field was born and became prominent in the mid 1980s, and a summarization of some of the more important and useful applications that have been of greatest benefit to man