Zoonotic Diseases in the Changing Arctic

Compatible with the biotic uniformity of northern regions, the occurrence of certain organisms which cause zoonotic diseases is general throughout the Arctic. In the past, most frequently affected by such diseases have been aboriginal peoples whose way of life involved encroachment upon naturally occurring parasite-host assemblages. Now, as changes take place in socioeconomic conditions in the Arctic, the importance of zoonotic diseases as a cause of morbidity may lessen among such peoples, but on the other hand, more nonaborigines may be affected. Although my remarks relate mainly to Alaska, again the biotic uniformity of the North seems to have its effect even with regard to man's activity, for similar changes are occurring throughout the arctic zone. Thus far, the natural environment has not been extensively disrupted at higher latitudes, and the arctic regions remain important for basic research in the natural history of zoonotic diseases. Because of the biotic peculiarities of these regions, conditions there especially favor the investigation of parasite-host relationships and the transmission of disease among the inhabitants. Significant benefit to the human population, in the temperate zone as well, can be expected to accrue from future studies in an undisturbed arctic wilderness.

Tuzla City (BiH): an example of geohazard induced by salt extraction

Salt deposits characterize the subsurface of Tuzla (BiH) and made it famous since the ancient times. Archeological discoveries demonstrate the presence of a Neolithic pile-dwelling settlement related to the existence of saltwater springs that contributed to make the most of the area a swampy ground. Since the Roman times, the town is reported as “the City of Salt deposits and Springs”; "tuz" is the Turkish word for salt, as the Ottomans renamed the settlement in the 15th century following their conquest of the medieval Bosnia (Donia and Fine, 1994). Natural brine springs were located everywhere and salt has been evaporated by means of hot charcoals since pre-Roman times. The ancient use of salt was just a small exploitation compared to the massive salt production carried out during the 20th century by means of classical mine methodologies and especially wild brine pumping. In the past salt extraction was practised tapping natural brine springs, while the modern technique consists in about 100 boreholes with pumps tapped to the natural underground brine runs, at an average depth of 400-500 m. The mining operation changed the hydrogeological conditions enabling the downward flow of fresh water causing additional salt dissolution. This process induced severe ground subsidence during the last 60 years reaching up to 10 meters of sinking in the most affected area. Stress and strain of the overlying rocks induced the formation of numerous fractures over a conspicuous area (3 Km2). Consequently serious damages occurred to buildings and infrastructures such as water supply system, sewage networks and power lines. Downtown urban life was compromised by the destruction of more than 2000 buildings that collapsed or needed to be demolished causing the resettlement of about 15000 inhabitants (Tatić, 1979). Recently salt extraction activities have been strongly reduced, but the underground water system is returning to his natural conditions, threatening the flooding of the most collapsed area. During the last 60 years local government developed a monitoring system of the phenomenon, collecting several data about geodetic measurements, amount of brine pumped, piezometry, lithostratigraphy, extension of the salt body and geotechnical parameters. A database was created within a scientific cooperation between the municipality of Tuzla and the city of Rotterdam (D.O.O. Mining Institute Tuzla, 2000). The scientific investigation presented in this dissertation has been financially supported by a cooperation project between the Municipality of Tuzla, The University of Bologna (CIRSA) and the Province of Ravenna. The University of Tuzla (RGGF) gave an important scientific support in particular about the geological and hydrogeological features. Subsidence damage resulting from evaporite dissolution generates substantial losses throughout the world, but the causes are only well understood in a few areas (Gutierrez et al., 2008). The subject of this study is the collapsing phenomenon occurring in Tuzla area with the aim to identify and quantify the several factors involved in the system and their correlations. Tuzla subsidence phenomenon can be defined as geohazard, which represents the consequence of an adverse combination of geological processes and ground conditions precipitated by human activity with the potential to cause harm (Rosenbaum and Culshaw, 2003). Where an hazard induces a risk to a vulnerable element, a risk management process is required. The single factors involved in the subsidence of Tuzla can be considered as hazards. The final objective of this dissertation represents a preliminary risk assessment procedure and guidelines, developed in order to quantify the buildings vulnerability in relation to the overall geohazard that affect the town. The historical available database, never fully processed, have been analyzed by means of geographic information systems and mathematical interpolators (PART I). Modern geomatic applications have been implemented to deeply investigate the most relevant hazards (PART II). In order to monitor and quantify the actual subsidence rates, geodetic GPS technologies have been implemented and 4 survey campaigns have been carried out once a year. Subsidence related fractures system has been identified by means of field surveys and mathematical interpretations of the sinking surface, called curvature analysis. The comparison of mapped and predicted fractures leaded to a better comprehension of the problem. Results confirmed the reliability of fractures identification using curvature analysis applied to sinking data instead of topographic or seismic data. Urban changes evolution has been reconstructed analyzing topographic maps and satellite imageries, identifying the most damaged areas. This part of the investigation was very important for the quantification of buildings vulnerability.

Studio dell'intrusione salina all'interno di un acquifero freatico costiero (Ravenna; Italia)

L’acquifero freatico costiero ravennate è intensamente salinizzato fino a diversi km nell’entroterra. Il corpo dell’acquifero è formato da sabbie che poggiano su un substrato argilloso ad una profondità media di 25 m, i depositi affioranti sono sabbie e argille. Il lavoro svolto consiste in una caratterizzazione dello stato di salinizzazione con metodologie indirette (geoelettrica) e metodologie dirette (letture dei parametri fisici delle acque in pozzo). I sondaggi elettrici verticali (V.E.S.) mostrano stagionalità dovuta alle differenti quantità di pioggia e quindi di ricarica, le aree con depositi superficiali ad alta conducibilità idraulica (sabbie) hanno una lente d’acqua dolce compresa tra 0,1 e 2,25 m di spessore, al di sotto della quale troviamo una zona di mescolamento con spessori che vanno da 1,00 a 12,00 m, mentre quando in superficie abbiamo depositi a bassa conducibilità idraulica (limi sabbiosi e argille sabbiose) la lente d’acqua dolce scompare e la zona di mescolamento è sottile. Le misure dirette in pozzo mostrano una profondità della tavola d’acqua quasi ovunque sotto il livello del mare in entrambi i mesi monitorati, Giugno e Dicembre 2010, presentando una profondità leggermente maggiore nel mese di Dicembre. Dalla ricostruzione litologica risulta un acquifero composto da 4×109 m3 di sabbia, per cui ipotizzando una porosità media del 30% sono presenti 1,2×109 m3 di acqua. Dalla modellazione numerica (Modflow-SEAWAT 2000) risulta che l’origine dell’acqua salata che si trova in falda trova più facilmente spiegazione ipotizzando la sua presenza fin dalla formazione dell’acquifero, residuo delle acque marine che regredivano. Un’altra problematica analizzata è valutare l’applicazione della metodologia a minifiltri in uno studio sulla salinizzazione delle acque di falda. É stata implementata la costruzione di un transetto sperimentale, che ha permesso la mappatura dell’interfaccia acqua dolce/salmastra/salata con una precisione finora non raggiungibile.

Geomorphological and statistical analysis on Ravenna dune fields changes, based on Terrestrial Laser Technology

Coastal sand dunes represent a richness first of all in terms of defense from the sea storms waves and the saltwater ingression; moreover these morphological elements constitute an unique ecosystem of transition between the sea and the land environment. The research about dune system is a strong part of the coastal sciences, since the last century. Nowadays this branch have assumed even more importance for two reasons: on one side the born of brand new technologies, especially related to the Remote Sensing, have increased the researcher possibilities; on the other side the intense urbanization of these days have strongly limited the dune possibilities of development and fragmented what was remaining from the last century. This is particularly true in the Ravenna area, where the industrialization united to the touristic economy and an intense subsidence, have left only few dune ridges residual still active. In this work three different foredune ridges, along the Ravenna coast, have been studied with Laser Scanner technology. This research didn’t limit to analyze volume or spatial difference, but try also to find new ways and new features to monitor this environment. Moreover the author planned a series of test to validate data from Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS), with the additional aim of finalize a methodology to test 3D survey accuracy. Data acquired by TLS were then applied on one hand to test some brand new applications, such as Digital Shore Line Analysis System (DSAS) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), to prove their efficacy in this field; on the other hand the author used TLS data to find any correlation with meteorological indexes (Forcing Factors), linked to sea and wind (Fryberger's method) applying statistical tools, such as the Principal Component Analysis (PCA).

Dynamics of coastal aquifers: data-driven forecasting and risk analysis

This work is focused on the study of saltwater intrusion in coastal aquifers, and in particular on the realization of conceptual schemes to evaluate the risk associated with it. Saltwater intrusion depends on different natural and anthropic factors, both presenting a strong aleatory behaviour, that should be considered for an optimal management of the territory and water resources. Given the uncertainty of problem parameters, the risk associated with salinization needs to be cast in a probabilistic framework. On the basis of a widely adopted sharp interface formulation, key hydrogeological problem parameters are modeled as random variables, and global sensitivity analysis is used to determine their influence on the position of saltwater interface. The analyses presented in this work rely on an efficient model reduction technique, based on Polynomial Chaos Expansion, able to combine the best description of the model without great computational burden. When the assumptions of classical analytical models are not respected, and this occurs several times in the applications to real cases of study, as in the area analyzed in the present work, one can adopt data-driven techniques, based on the analysis of the data characterizing the system under study. It follows that a model can be defined on the basis of connections between the system state variables, with only a limited number of assumptions about the "physical" behaviour of the system.

TIME LAPSE SEISMIC OBSERVATIONS AND EFFECTS OF RESERVOIR COMPRESSIBILITY AT TEAL SOUTH OIL FIELD

One of the original ocean-bottom time-lapse seismic studies was performed at the Teal South oil field in the Gulf of Mexico during the late 1990’s. This work reexamines some aspects of previous work using modern analysis techniques to provide improved quantitative interpretations. Using three-dimensional volume visualization of legacy data and the two phases of post-production time-lapse data, I provide additional insight into the fluid migration pathways and the pressure communication between different reservoirs, separated by faults. This work supports a conclusion from previous studies that production from one reservoir caused regional pressure decline that in turn resulted in liberation of gas from multiple surrounding unproduced reservoirs. I also provide an explanation for unusual time-lapse changes in amplitude-versus-offset (AVO) data related to the compaction of the producing reservoir which, in turn, changed an isotropic medium to an anisotropic medium. In the first part of this work, I examine regional changes in seismic response due to the production of oil and gas from one reservoir. The previous studies primarily used two post-production ocean-bottom surveys (Phase I and Phase II), and not the legacy streamer data, due to the unavailability of legacy prestack data and very different acquisition parameters. In order to incorporate the legacy data in the present study, all three poststack data sets were cross-equalized and examined using instantaneous amplitude and energy volumes. This approach appears quite effective and helps to suppress changes unrelated to production while emphasizing those large-amplitude changes that are related to production in this noisy (by current standards) suite of data. I examine the multiple data sets first by using the instantaneous amplitude and energy attributes, and then also examine specific apparent time-lapse changes through direct comparisons of seismic traces. In so doing, I identify time-delays that, when corrected for, indicate water encroachment at the base of the producing reservoir. I also identify specific sites of leakage from various unproduced reservoirs, the result of regional pressure blowdown as explained in previous studies; those earlier studies, however, were unable to identify direct evidence of fluid movement. Of particular interest is the identification of one site where oil apparently leaked from one reservoir into a “new” reservoir that did not originally contain oil, but was ideally suited as a trap for fluids leaking from the neighboring spill-point. With continued pressure drop, oil in the new reservoir increased as more oil entered into the reservoir and expanded, liberating gas from solution. Because of the limited volume available for oil and gas in that temporary trap, oil and gas also escaped from it into the surrounding formation. I also note that some of the reservoirs demonstrate time-lapse changes only in the “gas cap” and not in the oil zone, even though gas must be coming out of solution everywhere in the reservoir. This is explained by interplay between pore-fluid modulus reduction by gas saturation decrease and dry-frame modulus increase by frame stiffening. In the second part of this work, I examine various rock-physics models in an attempt to quantitatively account for frame-stiffening that results from reduced pore-fluid pressure in the producing reservoir, searching for a model that would predict the unusual AVO features observed in the time-lapse prestack and stacked data at Teal South. While several rock-physics models are successful at predicting the time-lapse response for initial production, most fail to match the observations for continued production between Phase I and Phase II. Because the reservoir was initially overpressured and unconsolidated, reservoir compaction was likely significant, and is probably accomplished largely by uniaxial strain in the vertical direction; this implies that an anisotropic model may be required. Using Walton’s model for anisotropic unconsolidated sand, I successfully model the time-lapse changes for all phases of production. This observation may be of interest for application to other unconsolidated overpressured reservoirs under production.

EXPLORING CHANGES IN DETRITAL FLOCCULENT LAYER DYNAMICS DUE TO SHIFTS IN MACROPHYTE COMMUNITIES IN THE NORTHERN EVERGLADES

A shift in plant communities of the Water Conservation Areas (WCAs) within the Everglades has been linked to changes in hydrology and high levels of nutrient loading from surrounding agicultural areas. This has resulted in the encroachment of dense cattail stands (Typha domingensis) into areas that had previously been a ridge and slough landscape populated primarily by native sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense). In order to study ecological management solutions in this area, WCA-2A was broken into study plots; several of which became open water areas through the application of herbicide and burning regimens. The open water areas allowed for Chara spp (a submersed algal species) to replace Typha domingensis as the dominant macrophyte. This study investigated the polymer and ionic profiles of Chara spp, Typha domingensis and Cladium jamaicense and their contributions to detrital flocculent (floc) in the study plots where they are the dominant macrophytes. Floc is not only an important food source for aquatic species; it also supports many algal, fungal and bacterial communities. Data gathered in this study indicated that the floc sample from a phosphorus enriched open water study plot (EO1) where Chara spp was the dominant macrophyte may contain cell wall polymers from sources other than Chara spp (most likely Typha domingensis), while the chemical and polymeric profile of the floc of the study plot where Typha domingensis is the dominant macrophyte (EC1) suggests that the floc layer has contributions from algal sources as well as Typha domingensis. Additionally, monoclonal antibodies to Arabinoglalactan protein (AGP) and (1,4)-β-D galactan were identified as possible biomarkers for distinguishing algal dominated floc layers from layers dominated by emergent vegetation. Calcium labeling could be a useful tool for this as well because of the high amount of Ca2+ associated with Chara spp cell walls. When looking into the soluble phosphorus content of the macrophytes and paired floc samples of WCA-2A, it was found that Chara spp may be contributing a greater amount of Ca-bound phosphorus to floc layers where it is the dominant macrophyte when compared to floc layers from study plots dominated by emergent macrophytes. Floc layers also appear to be acting as a nutrient sink for soluble phosphorus. The findings of this study support the overall hypothesis that the shift from native emergent macrophyte communities to submersed macrophyte communities in study sites of the northern Everglades is affecting the polymeric/chemical profile and ionic content of detrital floc layers. The effects of this shift may contribute to changes in complex flocculent community dynamics.

L'expérience de Iéna démontre les avantages de la diversité végétale pour les prairies

A number of studies suggest that there could be a positive relationship between the productivity of a plant community and its floristic diversity. Besides, for grasslands, productivity is not the only desirable advantage. The Jena trials, constituting a large-scale and long-duration experiment, were set up to tackle these questions. In the plots of the Jena trials, the number of species varies from 1 to 60. Various sub-trials deal with the effects of the composition and the diversity of a pasture sward on its productivity, the diversity of certain organisms, and several ecological processes. The results from the first 6 years show clearly that there exist positive relationships between the number of species, the presence of legumes and/or the functional diversity on the one hand, and on the other the productivity, the resistance to encroachment by plants and to pathogenic fungi, and the cycles of nutrients. The positive effects of the floristic diversity on the processes at the scale of the eco-system are of importance to the agricultural production and to the general environmental impact.

Importance of vegetation, topography and flow paths for water transit times of base flow in alpine headwater catchments

The mean transit time (MTT) of water in a catchment gives information about storage, flow paths, sources of water and thus also about retention and release of solutes in a catchment. To our knowledge there are only a few catchment studies on the influence of vegetation cover changes on base flow MTTs. The main changes in vegetation cover in the Swiss Alps are massive shrub encroachment and forest expansion into formerly open habitats. Four small and relatively steep headwater catchments in the Swiss Alps (Ursern Valley) were investigated to relate different vegetation cover to water transit times. Time series of water stable isotopes were used to calculate MTTs. The high temporal variation of the stable isotope signals in precipitation was strongly dampened in stream base flow samples. MTTs of the four catchments were 70 to 102 weeks. The strong dampening of the stable isotope input signal as well as stream water geochemistry points to deeper flow paths and mixing of waters of different ages at the catchments' outlets. MTTs were neither related to topographic indices nor vegetation cover. The major part of the quickly infiltrating precipitation likely percolates through fractured and partially karstified deeper rock zones, which increases the control of bedrock flow paths on MTT. Snow accumulation and the timing of its melt play an important role for stable isotope dynamics during spring and early summer. We conclude that, in mountainous headwater catchments with relatively shallow soil layers, the hydrogeological and geochemical patterns (i.e. geochemistry, porosity and hydraulic conductivity of rocks) and snow dynamics influence storage, mixing and release of water in a stronger way than vegetation cover or topography do.

Plant diversity and ecosystem multifunctionality peak at intermediate levels of woody cover in global drylands

Aim The global spread of woody plants into grasslands is predicted to increase over the coming century. While there is general agreement regarding the anthropogenic causes of this phenomenon, its ecological consequences are less certain. We analysed how woody vegetation of differing cover affects plant diversity (richness and evenness) and the surrogates of multiple ecosystem processes (multifunctionality) in global drylands, and how these change with aridity. Location Two hundred and twenty-four dryland sites from all continents except Antarctica, widely differing in their environmental conditions (from arid to dry-subhumid sites) and relative woody cover (from 0 to 100). Methods Using a standardized field survey, we measured the cover, richness and evenness of perennial vegetation. At each site, we measured 14 soil variables related to fertility and the build-up of nutrient pools. These variables are critical for maintaining ecosystem functioning in drylands. Results Species richness and ecosystem multifunctionality were strongly related to woody vegetation, with both variables peaking at a relative woody cover (RWC) of 41–60. This relationship shifted with aridity. We observed linear positive effects of RWC in dry-subhumid sites. These positive trends shifted to hump-shaped RWC–diversity and multifunctionality relationships under semi-arid environments. Finally, hump-shaped (richness, evenness) or linear negative (multifunctionality) effects of RWC were found under the most arid conditions. Main conclusions Plant diversity and multifunctionality peaked at intermediate levels of woody cover, although this relationship became increasingly positive in wetter environments. This comprehensive study accounts for multiple ecosystem attributes across a range of levels of woody cover and environmental conditions. Our results help us to reconcile contrasting views of woody encroachment found in the current literature and can be used to improve predictions of the likely effects of encroachment on biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Moving forward on facilitation research: response to changing environments and effects on the diversity, functioning and evolution of plant communities

Once seen as anomalous, facilitative interactions among plants and their importance for community structure and functioning are now widely recognized. The growing body of modelling, descriptive and experimental studies on facilitation covers a wide variety of terrestrial and aquatic systems throughout the globe. However, the lack of a general body of theory linking facilitation among different types of organisms and biomes and their responses to environmental changes prevents further advances in our knowledge regarding the evolutionary and ecological implications of facilitation in plant communities. Moreover, insights gathered from alternative lines of inquiry may substantially improve our understanding of facilitation, but these have been largely neglected thus far. Despite over 15 years of research and debate on this topic, there is no consensus on the degree to which plant–plant interactions change predictably along environmental gradients (i.e. the stress-gradient hypothesis), and this hinders our ability to predict how plant–plant interactions may affect the response of plant communities to ongoing global environmental change. The existing controversies regarding the response of plant–plant interactions across environmental gradients can be reconciled when clearly considering and determining the species-specificity of the response, the functional or individual stress type, and the scale of interest (pairwise interactions or community-level response). Here, we introduce a theoretical framework to do this, supported by multiple lines of empirical evidence. We also discuss current gaps in our knowledge regarding how plant–plant interactions change along environmental gradients. These include the existence of thresholds in the amount of species-specific stress that a benefactor can alleviate, the linearity or non-linearity of the response of pairwise interactions across distance from the ecological optimum of the beneficiary, and the need to explore further how frequent interactions among multiple species are and how they change across different environments. We review the latest advances in these topics and provide new approaches to fill current gaps in our knowledge. We also apply our theoretical framework to advance our knowledge on the evolutionary aspects of plant facilitation, and the relative importance of facilitation, in comparison with other ecological processes, for maintaining ecosystem structure, functioning and dynamics. We build links between these topics and related fields, such as ecological restoration, woody encroachment, invasion ecology, ecological modelling and biodiversity–ecosystem-functioning relationships. By identifying commonalities and insights from alternative lines of research, we further advance our understanding of facilitation and provide testable hypotheses regarding the role of (positive) biotic interactions in the maintenance of biodiversity and the response of ecological communities to ongoing environmental changes.

Contaminación por fosfatos en el oasis bajo riego del río Mendoza

El oasis bajo riego del río Mendoza, en la provincia argentina del mismo nombre -al igual que casi todas las ciudades en la actualidadpresenta problemas de avance de la urbanización sobre las tierras agrícolas, multiplicidad de usuarios y disminución de la disponibilidad del recurso hídrico, tanto en cantidad como en calidad. Si bien se destinan esfuerzos e inversiones tendientes a asegurar la disponibilidad de agua (mejora de eficiencias, ahorro de agua) no pasa lo mismo en relación con la preservación de su calidad. La agricultura mendocina resulta víctima de la contaminación producida por la urbanización y la industria a través del vuelco (puntual y/o difuso) de sus efluentes a la red de riego. Estudios realizados en el Oasis Norte de Mendoza pusieron de manifiesto la existencia de altos niveles de contaminación fosfatada en las aguas del río Mendoza. El presente trabajo tuvo como objetivo evaluar la evolución espacio-temporal y detectar las fuentes de esta contaminación. Los resultados del diagnóstico basado en una serie de muestreos realizados en 2003 - 2009 ponen de relieve la existencia de una moderada contaminación por fosfatos en las aguas del río Mendoza que riegan el Oasis Norte provincial. Asimismo, se detectaron niveles considerablemente altos de fosfatos en tres sitios específicos del oasis: 1. la superficie regadía servida por los canales Cacique Guaymallén y Jocolí -se observa un incremento de seis veces el contenido de fosfatos del agua: de 0,2 mg L-1 (R I) a 1,2 mg L-1 (C II)-; en este último sitio sólo se riega un pequeño sector que se aproxima a las 7.300 ha; 2. la superficie regada por el Colector Pescara aguas abajo del punto D VIII (1.250 ha), en la que los valores medios arrojaron un contenido diecisiete veces mayor (8,5 mg L-1 ) que los del sitio D I (0,49 mg L-1 ) que recibe desagües agrícolas y urbano pluviales; 3. la zona del Bajo río Mendoza (en esta zona se registró un aumento de dieciséis veces más fosfatos entre la parte media y la cola del sistema, con valores medios de 0,2 mg L-1 en el sitio R II y de 3,25 mg L-1 en R III).

Los indígenas en la enseñanza de las Ciencias Sociales en España : Silenciamiento, burlas y romanticismo

En los manuales españoles de 1ro de Bachillerato, los pueblos indígenas quedan relegados a lugares marginales en la enseñanza de la Historia, no se presentan o se ocultan los procesos de usurpación territorial y agresión sufridos a manos principalmente de los occidentales. Tanto los libros como los alumnos aceptan además la arcaica doctrina de la terra nullius, despreocupándose por los derechos de propiedad de las sociedades más débiles. El alumnado no se interesa en general por los pueblos indígenas excepto como curiosidades, fuentes de ridículo o víctimas, aunque simultáneamente maneja una visión romantizada como pueblos felices y pacíficos a los que hay que conservar, defendiendo la ayuda humanitaria y el respeto a las otras culturas. Desconoce mayoritariamente la historia precolonial y especialmente aquella de las sociedades no industrializadas y conceptos básicos de antropología, estando más interesado por las grandes potencias y la historia nacional. El desinterés consiguió evitarse mediante material audiovisual emotivo, visualmente impactante y crítico con consumidores que la ignoraban. Los resultados incitan a un replanteamiento de la didáctica de las ciencias sociales que la libere de prejuicios etnocéntricos a través de paradigmas como el de la world history, y del recurso a actividades centradas en las necesidades e intereses del alumnado

Los indígenas en la enseñanza de las Ciencias Sociales en España : Silenciamiento, burlas y romanticismo

En los manuales españoles de 1ro de Bachillerato, los pueblos indígenas quedan relegados a lugares marginales en la enseñanza de la Historia, no se presentan o se ocultan los procesos de usurpación territorial y agresión sufridos a manos principalmente de los occidentales. Tanto los libros como los alumnos aceptan además la arcaica doctrina de la terra nullius, despreocupándose por los derechos de propiedad de las sociedades más débiles. El alumnado no se interesa en general por los pueblos indígenas excepto como curiosidades, fuentes de ridículo o víctimas, aunque simultáneamente maneja una visión romantizada como pueblos felices y pacíficos a los que hay que conservar, defendiendo la ayuda humanitaria y el respeto a las otras culturas. Desconoce mayoritariamente la historia precolonial y especialmente aquella de las sociedades no industrializadas y conceptos básicos de antropología, estando más interesado por las grandes potencias y la historia nacional. El desinterés consiguió evitarse mediante material audiovisual emotivo, visualmente impactante y crítico con consumidores que la ignoraban. Los resultados incitan a un replanteamiento de la didáctica de las ciencias sociales que la libere de prejuicios etnocéntricos a través de paradigmas como el de la world history, y del recurso a actividades centradas en las necesidades e intereses del alumnado

Los indígenas en la enseñanza de las Ciencias Sociales en España : Silenciamiento, burlas y romanticismo

En los manuales españoles de 1ro de Bachillerato, los pueblos indígenas quedan relegados a lugares marginales en la enseñanza de la Historia, no se presentan o se ocultan los procesos de usurpación territorial y agresión sufridos a manos principalmente de los occidentales. Tanto los libros como los alumnos aceptan además la arcaica doctrina de la terra nullius, despreocupándose por los derechos de propiedad de las sociedades más débiles. El alumnado no se interesa en general por los pueblos indígenas excepto como curiosidades, fuentes de ridículo o víctimas, aunque simultáneamente maneja una visión romantizada como pueblos felices y pacíficos a los que hay que conservar, defendiendo la ayuda humanitaria y el respeto a las otras culturas. Desconoce mayoritariamente la historia precolonial y especialmente aquella de las sociedades no industrializadas y conceptos básicos de antropología, estando más interesado por las grandes potencias y la historia nacional. El desinterés consiguió evitarse mediante material audiovisual emotivo, visualmente impactante y crítico con consumidores que la ignoraban. Los resultados incitan a un replanteamiento de la didáctica de las ciencias sociales que la libere de prejuicios etnocéntricos a través de paradigmas como el de la world history, y del recurso a actividades centradas en las necesidades e intereses del alumnado