Etymological notes on Aleut (III). With methodological notes on (Eskimo-Aleut) historical linguistics

[EN] The goal of this contribution is twofold: on the one hand, to review two relatively recent contributions in the field of Eskimo-Aleut historical linguistics in which it is proposed that Eskimo-Aleut languages are related genealogically to Wakashan (Holst 2004) and?/or Nostratic (Krougly-Enke 2008). These contributions can be characterized by saying that their authors have taken little care to be diligent and responsible in the application of the comparative method, and that their familiarity with the languages involved is insufficient. Eskimo-Aleut languages belong to a very exclusive group of language families that have been (and still are) used, sometimes compulsively, in the business of so-called “long-range comparisons”. Those carrying out such studies are very often unaware of the most basic facts regarding the philological and linguistic traditions of those languages, as a result of what mountains of very low quality works with almost no-relevancy for the specialist grow every year to the desperation of the scientific community, whose attitude toward them ranges from the most profound indifference to the toughest (and most explicit) critical tone. Since Basque also belongs to this group of “compare-with-everything-you-come- across” languages, it is my intention to provide the Basque readership with a sort of “pedagogical case” to show that little known languages, far from underrepresented in the field, already have a very long tradition in historical and comparative linguistics, i.e. nobody can approach them without previous acquaintance with the materials. Studies dealing with the methodological inappropriateness of the Moscow School’s Nostratic hypothesis or the incorrectness of many of the proposed new taxonomic Amerindian subfamilies (several of them involving the aforementioned Wakashan languages), that is to say, the frameworks on which Krougly-Enke and Holst work, respectively, are plenty (i.a. Campbell 1997: 260-329, Campbell & Poser 2008: 234-96), therefore there is no reason to insist once more on the very same point. This is the reason why I will not discuss per se Eskimo-Aleut–Wakashan or Eskimo-Aleut–Nostratic. On the contrary, I will focus attention upon very concrete aspects of Krougly-Enke and Holst´s proposals, i.e. when they work on “less ambitious” problems, for example, dealing with the minutiae of internal facts or analyzing certain words from the sole perspective of Eskimo-Aleut materials (in other words, those cases in which even they do not invoke the ad hoc help of Nostratic stuff). I will try to explain why some of their proposals are wrong, demonstrate where the problem lies, and fix it if possible. In doing so, I will propose new etymologies in an attempt at showing how we may proceed. The main difference between this and handbook examples lies in the reality of what we are doing: this is a pure etymological exercise from beginning to end. I will try to throw a bit of light on a couple of problematic questions regarding Aleut historical phonology, demonstrating how much work should be done at the lowest level of the Eskimo-Aleut pyramid; it is technically impossible to reach the peak of the pyramid without having completed the base. As far as Aleut is regarded, I will mainly profit not only from the use of the traditional philological analysis of Aleut (and, eventually, of Eskimo) materials, but also of diachronic typology, bringing into discussion what in my opinion seems useful, and in some cases I think decisive, parallels. It is worth noting that this paper makes up yet another part of a series of exploratory works dealing with etymological aspects of the reconstruction of Proto-Eskimo-Aleut, with special emphasis on Aleut (vid. i.a. Alonso de la Fuente 2006/2007, 2008a, 2008b, 2010a), whose main goal is to become the solid basis for an etymological dictionary of the Aleut language, currently in progress.

The acquisition of gender agreement in L3 English by Basque/Spanish bilinguals

211 p.

Two new species of Zospeum Bourguignat, 1856 from the Basque-Cantabrian Mountains, Northern Spain (Eupulmonata, Ellobioidea, Carychiidae)

Two new species of the genus Zospeum Bourguignat, 1856 are described from caves in the Sierra de Aitzgorri (Gipuzkoa) and the Sierra Salvada (Burgos) in Northern Spain. The taxa Z. vasconicum sp. n. and Z. zaldivarae sp. n. have recently, without a formal name, been included in a molecular study of worldwide members of the Carychiidae. In the present paper, the shell morphology and variation of these species is described and illustrated.

Project work in a Basque L2 classroom: students’ perceptions

[EN] Project Work has been acknowledged as an efficient medium for language learning for more than two decades (Stoller, 2006) according to the numerous successful applications of project-based programmes that have been reported. In spite of the lack of sufficient controlled studies to assess the benefits of project work, and the existence of some studies giving evidence of students discontent with project work, the reports given by second language (SL) and foreign language students (FL) who have experienced project based instruction give support to the success attributed to project-based learning, as they recognised having improved language skills, learnt content, developed real life skills, as well as gained in self-confidence and motivation (Sierra, 2008 and 2011; Stoller, 2006). The aim of the present study is to explore some key issues involved in implementing a project-based programme focusing on the students’ perceptions of learning gains, their views on the collaborative assessment scheme used in the programme, and the students’ overall evaluations of the implementation of project work in a post-compulsory secondary education context in Navarre, Spain, with students learning Basque as a second language. A group of 12 students enrolled in a project work based programme participated in the study. Results showed that the students’ perceptions were very positive concerning doing projects, learning gains and group work, although more grammar instruction and teacher-fronted activities were requested by the students. However, the collaborative assessment process and the use of a Notebook/Diary as a reflection tool bore mixed evaluations.

Environmental and economic impacts of sea-level rise on the Basque Coast

257 p.

Citizenship, immigration and the Basque State

Immigration is directly related to citizenship, the nation and the state, revealing as it does the constructed nature of those categories. Here the impact of immigration on Euskal Herria is examined from this perspective, looking first at the processes of migration to it which have produced the make-up of present-day Basque society to a large extent. This is followed by a consideration of the way migratory movements have been viewed by the movement for the development of Euskal Herria into a state, the Basque nationalist movement, since these attitudes have played a fundamental role in defining Basque citizenship. After some observations about multiculturalism, the chapter concludes with a look at how the creation of a Basque state might contribute to this and the issues that will be raised.

Traditional part-time grazing: a more sustainable sheep milk and cheese production in the Basque Country

[EN] The concept of sustainability when referring to food production rests, in general, on 3 main aspects: 1) respect for the environment; 2) economic and social benefits for all involved in production; and 3) production of sufficient quantity of quality food at an accessible price. In this contribution we focus on the main aspects of the traditional sheep's milk and cheese production (under the Denomination of Origin Idiazabal Cheese) in the Basque Country that contribute primarily to its sustainability. It is based on the local latxa or carranzana breeds of sheep, adapted to the mountainous terrain. The sheepherder takes advantage of local resources to reduce management costs by combining indoor dry forage and concentrates with outdoor grazing throughout lactation, according to local pasture availability, and thus avoiding having to buy large amounts of feed. This system facilitates recycling of manure, fertilising pastures and forest at the same time. Use of local breeds helps maintain biodiversity of sheep breeds. Cheese is produced industrially (44.5% of the total cheese produced in 2008) from milk of many flocks, or artisanally (38.3%) by the sheepherders with the milk from their own flocks. Transforming their own milk into cheese is advantageous for the following reasons: 1) higher economic returns as compared to selling the milk to cheese factories because cheese price directly sold to consumers is more competitive than industrial cheese sold in supermarkets; 2) increases the value of women's work (over 80% of the cheese makers are women) in the community and their self-esteem; 3) it creates rural jobs and contributes to rural development; 4) we have demonstrated both with experimental and commercial flocks that part-time grazing allows the sheepherder to obtain high yields of milk, and cheese, of high nutritional and functional quality. Currently a less sustainable, intensive sheep's milk production with foreign, imported breeds kept indoors constantly is gaining favour among milk producers because of its perceived higher economic profitability.

Intangible resources, competencies and business results: Evidences for Basque and Spanish companies

307 p. El contenido de los capítulos 4º y 5º está sujeto a confidencialidad.

Pulse vs. Optimal Stationary Fishing: The Northern Stock of Hake

Pulse fishing may be a global optimal strategy in multicohort fisheries. In this article we compare the pulse fishing solutions obtained by using global numerical methods with the analytical stationary optimal solution. This allows us to quantify the potential benefits associated with the use of periodic fishing in the Northern Stock of hake. Results show that: first, management plans based exclusively on traditional reference targets as Fmsy may drive fishery economic results far from the optimal; second, global optimal solutions would imply, in a cyclical manner, the closure of the fishery for some periods and third, second best stationary policies with stable employment only reduce optimal present value of discounted profit in a 2%.

Social Interactions and Subjective Well-Being: Evidence from Latin America

In this paper, we seek to examine the effect of comparisons and social capital on subjective well-being. Furthermore, we test if, through social influence and exposure, social capital is either an enhancer or appeaser of the comparison effect. Using the Latinobarómetro Survey (2007) we find that in contrast to most previous studies, the comparison effect on well-being is positive; that is, the better others perform, the happier the individual is. We also find that social capital is among the strongest correlates of individuals’ subjective well-being in Latin American countries. Furthermore, our findings suggest that social contacts may enhance the comparison effect on individual’s happiness, which is more intense for those who perform worse in their reference group.

Demand for Cultural Heritage

Prepared for the Handbook of the Economics of Cultural Heritage. Forthcoming in Edgard Elgar Publisher. Anna Mignosa and Ilde Rizzo (editors)

Individual notions of distributive justice and relative economic status

We present two experiments designed to investigate whether individuals’ notions of distributive justice are associated with their relative (within-society) economic status. Each participant played a specially designed four-person dictator game under one of two treatments, under one initial endowments were earned, under the other they were randomly assigned. The first experiment was conducted in Oxford, United Kingdom, the second in Cape Town, South Africa. In both locations we found that relatively well-off individuals make allocations to others that reflect those others’ initial endowments more when those endowments were earned rather than random; among relatively poor individuals this was not the case.

Methods for Measuring Aggregate Costs of Conflict

This paper reviews the methods for measuring the economic cost of conflict. Estimating the economic costs of conflict requires a counterfactual calculation, which makes this a very difficult task. Social researchers have resorted to different estimation methods depending on the particular effect in question. The method used in each case depends on the units being analyzed (firms, sectors, regions or countries), the outcome variable under study (aggregate output, market valuation of firms, market shares, etc.) and data availability (a single cross-section, time series or panel data). This paper reviews existing methods used in the literature to assess the economic impact of conflict: cost accounting, cross-section methods, time series methods, panel data methods, gravity models, event studies, natural experiments and comparative case studies. The paper ends with a discussion of cost estimates and directions for further research.

Discounting future pain: Effects on self-reported pain

Empirical results are presented showing that people who acknowledge pain anticipation when expecting an injury experience higher sensitivity to pain (GREP, Robinson et al., 2001). The positive correlation between sensitivity and anticipation is highly significant. However, no relationship is found between anticipation and pain endurance.

Lessons from the northern hake long-term management plan: Could the economic assessment have accepted it?

An economic expert working group (STECF/SGBRE-07-05) was convened in 2007 for evaluating the potential economic consequences of a Long-Term Management Plan for the northern hake. Analyzing all the scenarios proposed by biological assessment, they found that keeping the F in the status quo level was the best policy in terms of net present values for both yield and profits. This result is counter intuitive because it may indicate that effort costs do no affect the economic reference points. However, it is well accepted that the inclusion of costs affects negatively the economic reference points. In this paper, applying a dynamic agestructured model to the northern hake, we show that the optimal fishing mortality that maximizes the net present value of profits is lower than Fmax.