A typology of arguments in defence of a coercive language policy favouring a cultural minority

Abstract

What kind of arguments can be used to justify a coercive language policy favouring the language of a cultural minority over the majority language of a state? To answer this question we will focus mainly on the language policy of the Catalan government and, to a lesser extent, on the language policies of the Basque Country and Quebec. Our aim is to develop a typology of arguments and try to show that each argument resorts to a different reason for coercion and has both virtues and flaws.     

Restoration of isolated and small coastal sand dunes on the rocky coast of northern Spain

The coastal dunes of the Basque Country have suffered a significant anthropic process of regional-scale destruction and fragmentation. This has led to the loss of seven, and endangerment of 14, of the 37 species of plants recognized as exclusive to these dunes. In response to this situation, the restoration of one of the lost dune systems, the Laida Dune, began in 2002 with the installation of sand trapping devices and the plantation of two dune-building species of plants. This study shows the results of a program that monitored the process of natural colonization of plant species in the restored dune over a period of seven years, until the loss of the dune by the action of storms in 2008. The results show that the vegetation dynamics in the restored dune followed a process of primary succession, with a progressive increase in species number, coverage and heterogeneity. The establishment of species was driven by the strong environmental gradient present perpendicular to the coastline. The results indicate that natural colonization in this coastal sector is now possible due to the large number of dune species present, and in spite of the isolation of the restored dune system and the loss and fragmentation of the dune habitats in the region. Over the seven years, 42 plant species became established on the dune, of which 18 were dune-exclusive species, representing 62.1% of the total number of species of the same type in the region. Five of these species are considered to be rare or threatened. Comparison with reference data allowed the evaluation of the trajectory of the plant community assembly. The results indicate that the highest similarity to a reference dune system was to the one located closest to the restored dune.     

典型喀斯特地区石漠化景观格局对土地利用变化的响应

土地利用是人类活动最基本的表现形式,探讨石漠化与土地利用变化之间的响应关系,对于石漠化治理和区域的可持续发展是非常重要的。基于贵州道真县2005年、2015年LANDSAT和石漠化数据,再利用ENVI 5.3进行监督分类,将道真县土地利用分为8种类型。通过景观格局空间分析技术和3S技术,对道真县土地利用时空演变和石漠化景观格局进行综合分析,结果表明:(1) 2005—2015年间,道真县建设用地和灌木林地面积增加,大部分灌木林地由水田和旱地转化而来,其面积增加了7.51%,建设用地增加了1.30%。(2)近10年间,研究区石漠化等级间的转移表现为轻、中、重度转化为潜在石漠化,其斑块转移面积分别为11.26、38.79、2.71 km2,表明研究区石漠化景观得到了恢复,低等级石漠化斑块面积增加,降低了原有高等级石漠化斑块的优势度。(3) 2005—2015年间道真县土地利用和石漠化景观格局,多样性指数分别下降了0.6434和2.4309,均匀度指数各减少了0.0552和0.5436,分维度指数各提高了0.0061和0.0801,蔓延度指数各增加0.1751、25.5396和聚合度指数分别增加1.8688和2.9112,景观形状指数分别减少0.9812和4.536,石漠化景观格局的变化对应土地利用景观格局指数的变化,随着人们土地利用方式的改变,石漠化也发生相应的改变。通过该研究的进行,有助于提高人们对石漠化和土地利用景观格局的认识,基于景观生态学背景对石漠化治理成效进行评估,为之后的石漠化治理工作的进行及研究提供了参考。     

Constructed identities and Iberia

The category of Iberian identity includes national identities within Spain, Portugal and Latin America. The case of Spain and Spanish national identity has been particularly neglected in academic literature, although this situation has been changing since the mid-1990s, in comparison with analyses of alternative national identities within the Spanish state. This is related the discrediting of Spanish nationalism during the Francoist dictatorship later democratic devolution which encouraged an analogous diversification in the study of national identities within Spain. Since the asymmetric of Spain, Spanish interpretations of nationhood have reflected the premise of the 1978 Constitution that the nation's unity is complemented and strengthened by its national and regional diversity. Variety within broad category of Iberian identities is augmented by the incidence of labour migration into Spain and Portugal and development of popular culture, this case music, in Latin America and specifically Colombia.     

L’évolution des assemblages lithiques des niveaux du Paléolithique moyen de l’Abrigo de la Quebrada (Valencia,Espagne)

Abrigo de la Quebrada offers an exceptional sequence with nine occupation levels which seven belongs to Middle Paleolithic. The division between levels II to V and VII to IX by a sterile level VI allow us to study diachronic changes on raw materials and knapping systems. This data is compared with other contemporary sites to evaluate technological trends and the raw material availability in the central region of Mediterranean area.     

DNA polymorphisms detect ancient barriers to gene flow in Basques

This work features the first district-by-district analysis of all provinces in the Iberian Peninsula with an autochthonous Basque population, and indicates the existence of genetic heterogeneity. The populations cluster in three groups arising from processes of genetic drift which probably occurred in pre-Mesolithic times, and were probably those which repopulated the southern areas of the Basque Country after the Last Glacial Maximum. It seems that from that period onwards, the population settled in three major groups (West Basques, Central Basques, and East Basques), along geographical axes which appear substantial in the maintaining of each population unit. This genetic structure is probably reflected in other aspects such as the existence of ancient tribes and the dialects of the Basque language, the boundaries of which may be related at origin and which are quite similar to those detected in this work. Our results indicate that the populations of the Basque Country are genetically close to other neighboring populations, such as that of Aragon, which may indicate an outgoing gene flow from the Basque area down the River Ebro towards the Mediterranean seaboard. While our short tandem repeat data suggest that population structure within the Basques dates back to the Mesolithic, our findings are also consistent with the hypothesis that patterns of modern European genetic diversity have been shaped mainly during the Neolithic.     

Steps to a sustainable Northern Australia

Summary Northern Australia's globally significant savannas and rivers face major threats, from cattle to weeds to land clearing to climate change. In the face of imperatives and pressures such as reducing carbon emissions, nature conservation, alleviating Indigenous disadvantage, the resources boom and global food security, how should development be managed to protect its globally significant ecosystems? Nine planks in a ‘Sustainable Northern Australia’ agenda are proposed: (i) enhance investment in mitigating pervasive landscape threats; (ii) strengthen support for Indigenous Caring for Country activities and incorporation of Traditional Ecological Knowledge into land management; (iii) align and strengthen invasive species control and management; (iv) facilitate new economic development pathways focused on sustainability; (v) build climate resilience by maintaining and enhancing landscape‐scale connectivity; (vi) protect free‐flowing rivers from dams and major water resource development; (vii) establish and effectively manage a large interconnected network of protected areas; (viii) develop cooperative governance arrangements; and (ix) enhance knowledge generation and research and monitoring capacity.