Del mosaic tradicional a la dicotomia ciment-bosc

El paisatge, entès com el conjunt de components que confereixen a un determinat espai unes característiques pròpies, és el reflex fidel de l’evolució econòmica, social, política i ambiental que ha viscut un territori. Els intensos canvis que el paisatge ha experimentat en aquest segle a les comarques gironines es poden resumir en dues grans tendències contraposades: una forta pressió urbanitzadora i implementadora d’infraestructures, i un increment progressiu de la superfície forestal en detriment del tradicional paisatge en mosaic, que es caracteritzava per la seva heterogeneïtat. El resultat d’ambdues tendències ha estat una homogeneïtzació paisatgística progressiva que s’ha volgut il•lustrar amb el que s’ha anomenat “dicotomia ciment-bosc”

L'Evolució dels enfocaments metodològics en la geografia rural catalana, 1940- 1984

L’article pretén estudiar la introducció dels nous enfocaments metodològics en la geografia catalana en el període 1940-1984, tot estudiant la geografia rural. L’autor s’ha centrat en l’estudi de 19 tesi doctorals què estudien la geografia rural parcial o totalment

La primacia de la pràctica en la filosofia de l’últim Wittgenstein

Amb aquest treball ens proposem bàsicament fer una lectura de De la certesa, el veritablement darrer text de Ludvig Wittgenstein atès que les seves últimesentrades van ser escrites tot just dos dies abans de morir. Avui comença a ser acceptada la idea que Wittgenstein no va escriure dues sinó tres obres majors. El relat estàndard que parla de dos Wittgensteins (el del Tractatus i el de les Investigacions) va essent qüestionat o si més no matisat, a mesura que va creixent l’interès pels últims textos de Wittgenstein i en particular pel text que ens ocupa. El nostre treball de recerca serà doncs, una lectura de De la certesa, convençuts com estem de la seva rellevància, tant pel què fa a la comprensióde la pròpia filosofia de Wittgenstein i la seva evolució, com pel què fa a algunes qüestions centrals en el debat de l’epistemologia contemporània. Ensproposem dir alguna cosa sobre l’obra en si mateixa, el seu lloc en el corpuswittgensteinià, i sobre la rellevància dels seus plantejaments en el debat actual al voltant de l’escepticisme i el relativisme

Bottled natural mineral water in catalonia: origin and geographical evolution of its consumption and production

During the second half of the nineteenth century a major mineral water bottling industry appeared in Catalonia which vigorously lasted until the first third of the 20th century. The fact that the industry appeared in Catalonia and in other parts of Europe and the United States almost at the same time and had not existed before can be explained by a series of factors which coincided in time. This situation encouraged producers to pack, transport and sell bottled water from their respective sources. Among these factors there is the rise of hygienism, very influential in Catalonia, the declining water quality due to industrialization, the increase in population density, the improvement in transport, the emergence of thermal tourism or the invention of better containers used to store water. This project aims to explain thoroughly all the mentioned factors, and to give some light to why, when and how the Catalan bottled water industry appeared.

Embrutar-se les mans : una aproximació al pensament de la novel·la d'Ian McEwan

El treball pretén fer una aproximació al pensament de la novel·la de l'autor britànic Ian McEwan, fent especial èmfasi en els trets postmoderns de la seva producció enmarcats dins la nova ficció britànica.

Vicens i Vices i la història contemporània

Dins del marc del número monogràfic dedicat a Jaume Vicens Vives, l’autora fa un breu repàs per l’obra de l’historiador, destacant sobretot la preocupació de Vives per les qüestions de caràcter epistemològic i metodològic de l’anàlisi històrica

El llarg silenci : Una lectura de Càmfora, de Maria Barbal

Aquest treball de final de carrera proposa una interpretació de Càmfora, de Maria Barbal. Els objectes de l'estudi són l'anàlisi de la construcció psicològica i l'evolució dels personatges (sobretot els femenins) en un context de la migració rural dels anys seixanta cap a les ciutats i l'efecte que té aquest viatge en cadascun dels personatges, atenent al desarrelament, el trencament de l'estructura familiar, del canvi de paradigma relacional, del sistema de valors i l'oportunitat que representa la ciutat per a la protagonista. Així mateix, s'estudia la construcció de la novel·la a través de les diverses veus narratives i l'adscripció de l'obra al Cicle de Pallars, així com la seva recepció.

Eduard Toldrà : sis sonets per a violí i piano

Eduard Toldrà i Soler fou una persona important i significativa per a la societat catalana de principis del segle XX. La seva vida musical és increïblement ampla, ja que abasta facetes de violinista, compositor, director i pedagog. A més, Toldrà va estar sempre immers en la cultura catalana, en l'art en general, i en particular en la poesia. És per aquest motiu que trobem tanta poesia en la seva música. En el següent treball aprofundeixo en l'estudi d'una de les seves obres, Sis Sonets per a violí i piano. A través de l'anàlisi d'aquestes sis peces, coneixerem també al personatge d'Eduard Toldrà i el seu context cultural. Veurem que la seva música se situa fora dels trets estilístics “hispànics” de l'època i que, sota els tòpics de música española, les etiquetes no hi fan cap mena de justícia.

Recognition and political accommodation: from regionalism to secessionism. The Catalan case

Having lived through a bloody civil war in the 1930s followed by four decades of General Franco’s dictatorship, the Spanish state carried out a transition to a democratic system at the end of the 1970s. The 1978 Constitution was the legal outcome of this transition process. Among other things, it established a territorial model – the so-called “Estado de las Autonomías” (State of Autonomous Communities) – which was designed to satisfy the historical demands for recognition and self-government of, above all, the citizens and institutions of Catalonia and the Basque Country .In recent years support for independence has increased in Catalonia. Different indicators show that pro-independence demands are endorsed by a majority of its citizens, as well as by most of the political parties and organizations that represent its civil society. This is a new phenomenon. Those in favour of independence had been in the minority throughout the 20th century. Nowadays, however, demands of a pro-autonomy and pro-federalist nature, which until recently had been dominant, have gradually lost public support in favour of demands for self-determination and secession. This paper analyses the massive increase in support for secession in Catalonia during the early years of the 21st century. After describing the different theories of secession in plurinational liberal democracies (section 1), we analyse Catalonia’s political evolution over the past decade focusing on the shortcomings with regard to constitutional recognition and accommodation displayed by the Spanish political system. The latter have been exacerbated by the reform process of Catalonia’s Statute of Autonomy (2006) and the subsequent judgement of Spain’s Constitutional Court regarding the aforementioned Statute (2010) (section 2). Finally, we present our conclusions by linking the Catalan case with theories of secession applied to plurinational contexts

Intertwined cultural demands of immigrants and minority nations

Since at least the last two decades of the 20th century, the normative debate on multiculturalism has been one-dimensional. It has deployed arguments related to cultural demands either linked to feminism and sub-cultural identities, immigration or national minorities. Little attention has been given to the relations between these dimensions, and how they effect each other in putting forward demands to the nation-state. The purpose of this article is to analyse the interaction between cultural demands of immigrants and minority nations. The basic objective of this paper is to give an overview of different reflections coming from three basic contributors: J. Carens, W. Kymlicka and R. Bauböck.

Poverty and children's work in Spain and Latin America. Some preliminary remarks.

In the first part of this paper we try to test the relationship between mothers earnings, fertility and children's work in the Spanish (Catalan) context of the first third of the 20th century. Specific human capital investment of adult working women had as an outcome the sharp increase of their real wage and also the increase of the opportunity cost of time devoted to house work including child rearing. Fertility evolution is endogenous to the model and decreases as a result of women real wage increases. Human capital investment of labouring women and mandatory schooling of children shift the labour supply function to a new steady state in which the slope is steeper. According to recent papers this model applies to 20th century Spain and it causes the abolition of children's work. Nonetheless the model do not apply to 20th century Latin America. Despite the positive evolution of literacy and life expectancy in this region, other factors involved poor results of the educational human capital investment. In this paper we remark the role of the increasing share of the informal sector of the economy ruled on the bases of women's and children's work. Second we stress the role of high income inequality evolution and endogamic school supplies to explain the limits of increasing literacy on more remarkable human capital improvements.

The Sustainable Debts of Philip II: A Reconstruction of Spain's Fiscal Position, 1560-1598

The defaults of Philip II have attained mythical status as the origin of sovereign debt crises. Four times during his reign the king failed to honor his debts and had to renegotiate borrowing contracts. In this paper, we reassess the fiscal position of Habsburg Spain. New archival evidence allows us to derive comprehensive estimates of debt and revenue. These show that primary surpluses were sufficient to make the king's debt sustainable in most scenarios. Spain's debt burden was manageable up to the 1580s, and its fiscal position only deteriorated for good after the defeat of the "Invincible Armada." We also estimate fiscal policy reaction functions, and show that Spain under the Habsburgs was at least as "responsible" as the US in the 20th century or as Britain in the 18th century. Our results suggest that the outcome of uncertain events such as wars may influence on a history of default more than strict adherence to fiscal rules.

Cantant entre guerres : música coral per a veus blanques a França i Catalunya a principis del segle XX

Aquest treball busca definir algunes característiques comunes d'obres musicals escrites a principis del segle XX per compositors francesos i catalans per a cor de veus blanques, mitjançant l'estudi de les seves biografies i l'anàlisi de les pròpies obres. Aquestes peces, compostes en llocs i moments diferents, convergeixen però en alguns punts estilístics, transcendint les fronteres per contribuir a l'elaboració d'un llenguatge propi d'un entorn cultural més ampli, de París a Barcelona.

The impact of investment in education on economic development: Spain in comparative perspective (1860-2000)

Throughout the 19th century and until the mid-20th century, in terms of long-terminvestment in human capital and, above all, in education, Spain lagged far behind theinternational standards and, more specifically, the levels attained by its neighbours inEurope. In 1900, only 55% of the population could read; in 1950, the figure was 93%.This no doubt contributed to a pattern of slower economic growth in which thephysical strength required for agricultural work, measured here through height, had alarger impact than education on economic growth. It was not until the 1970s, with thearrival of democracy, that the Spanish education system was modernized and theinfluence of education on economic growth increased.

The effect of divorce laws on divorce rates in Europe

This paper analyzes a panel of 18 European countries spanning from 1950 to 2003 toexamine the extent to which the legal reforms leading to easier divorce that took placeduring the second half of the 20th century have contributed to the increase in divorce rates across Europe. We use a quasi-experimental set-up and exploit the different timing of the reforms in divorce laws across countries. We account for unobserved country-specificfactors by introducing country fixed effects, and we include country-specific trends tocontrol for time-varying factors at the country level that may be correlated with divorcerates and divorce laws, such as changing social norms or slow moving demographictrends. We find that the reforms were followed by significant increases in divorce rates.Overall, we estimate that the introduction of no-fault, unilateral divorce increased thedivorce rate by about 1, a sizeable effect given the average rate of 4.2 divorces per 1,000married people in 2002.