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Sea cliff morphology and erosion rates are modulated by several factors, including rock control that reflects both lithology and rock structure. Erosion is anticipated to preferentially exploit 'fractures', broadly meant as any discontinuity in an otherwise continuous medium, where the rock mass is weakest. Unpicking the direct control of such fractures on the spatial and temporal pattern of erosion remains, however, challenging. To analyse how such fractures control erosion, we monitored the evolution of a 400 m‐long stretch of highly structured sedimentary cliffs in Socoa, Basque Country, France. The rock is known as the Socoa flysch formation. This formation combines decimetre‐thick turbidites composed of repeat triplets of medium to strong calcareous sandstone, laminated siltstones and argillaceous marls. The sequence plunges at 45° into the sea with a shore‐parallel strike. The cliffs are cross‐cut by two normal and reverse fault families, with 10–100 m alongshore spacing, with primary and secondary strata‐bound fractures perpendicular to the bedding, which combined delimit the cliff rock mass into discrete blocks that are exploited by the erosion process. Erosion, and sometimes plucking, of such beds and blocks on the cliff face was monitored using ground‐based structure‐from‐motion (SfM) photogrammetry, over the course of 5.7 years between 2011 and 2017. To compare with longer time change, cliff‐top retreat rate was assessed using SfM‐orthorectified archive aerial photographs spanning 1954–2008. We show that the 13,250 m2 cliff face released 4500 blocks exceeding 1.45 × 10−3 m3, removing a total volume of 170 m3. This equates to an average cliff erosion rate of 3.4 mm/year, which is slightly slower than the 54‐year‐long local cliff‐top retreat (10.8 ± 1.8 mm/year). The vertical distribution of erosion reflects the height of sea water inundation, where the maximum erosion intensity occurs ca. 2 m above high spring‐tide water level. Alongshore, the distribution of rockfall scars is concentrated along bed edges bounding cross‐cutting faults; the extent of block detachment is controlled by secondary tectonic joints, which may extend through several beds locally sharing similar mechanical strength; and rockfall depth is always a multiple of bed thickness. Over the longer term, we explain block detachment and resultant cliff collapse as a cycle. Erosion nucleates on readily exploitable fractures but elsewhere, the sea only meets defect‐free medium‐strong to strong rock slabs offering few morphological features for exploitation. Structurally delimited blocks are quarried, and with sufficient time, carve semi‐elliptic scars reaching progressively deeper strata to be eroded. Lateral propagation of erosion is directed along mechanical weaknesses in the bedding, and large episodic collapses affect the overhanging slabs via sliding on the weak marl beds. Collapse geometry is confined to one or several triplets of turbidite beds, but never reaches deeper into the cliff than the eroded depth at the foot. We contend that this fracture‐limited model of sea‐cliff erosion, inferred from the Socoa site dynamics and its peculiar sets of fractures, applies more broadly to other fractured cliff contexts, albeit with site‐specific geometries. The initiation of erosion, the propagation of incremental block release and the ultimate full failure of the cliff, have each been shown to be fundamentally directly controlled by structure, which remains a vital control in understanding how cliffed coasts have changed in the past and will change in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes, analyses and compares the evolution of the demolinguistic situation in the Basque Autonomous Community, in the Chartered Community of Navarre and in the Basque Municipal Autonomous Community in France. The position of Basque in Spain has improved significantly and the number of speakers of that language has also increased. In France, the revitalization of Basque began much later, but the first signs of increasing popularity of this language are beginning to emerge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Vasco-Cantabrian region of northern Spain, together with southwestern France, is one of the richest areas in terms of Paleolithic cave art, but, until recently, by far the highest concentration of sites had been in the central-western sector: the provinces of Cantabria and Asturias. In contrast, the eastern sector, the Basque Country--between the Asón River and the Pyrenees--was thought to have a significantly lower density of cave art loci, and few of them were major "sanctuaries." The density of cave art sites seemed to increase again in the central French Pyrenees. This unequal distribution was difficult to explain given the homogeneity in the distribution of undecorated (i.e., habitation) Upper Paleolithic sites, as well as the lack of major lithological or orographic differences between the eastern and central-western sectors of the region. In addition, the important geostrategic position of the Basque Country between southwestern France and northwestern Iberia seemed to contradict the marginal role traditionally suggested by the parietal art record. During the past decade, however, research projects aiming to address the issue of the so-called Basque rock art void have led to the tripling of the number of known decorated caves in the eastern sector. Some of the very recent discoveries, notably in Atxurra, Armintxe, and Aitzbitarte IV, fall into the category of major cave art sites. The evidence presented here contributes to a fuller understanding of artistic production, human connections, and settlement dynamics during the entire Upper Paleolithic among the Cantabrian, Pyrenean, and Aquitaine regions, underlining the importance of the Basque Country record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Basque Country, which is situated between Spain and France, is a culturally and politically rich country where three different national projects are being constructed by the mass media, using the passion generated by football. This competition clearly reveals the three opposing nations that cohabit in this small country. Furthermore, football in the Basque Country has shown that the mass media with their nationalist discourses, despite being a key actor, do not always obtain the reactions that are sought from citizens. The 2009 Spanish Cup Final between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao provided a good example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the progressive institutionalization of the Basque language policy (also called Euskera) in the French Basque Country (Iparralde) since the Second World War. In view of this, it questions how such a policy programme emerged in such a centralized country as France. According to this study, this policy shift was favoured not only by a combination of endogenous factors (for example, the new French territorial polity, the new institutional capacities reached after decentralization, the new relationship with central state services, the establishment of stable territorial coalitions between civil society and local representatives, the new and more peaceful repertoire of collective actions among activists) but also by exogenous variables (for example, the rise of cross-border relations between French and Spanish Basque actors). In sum, the strong political institutions and social movements of the southern Basque Country partially compensated for the institutional weakness of French Basque actors and contributed, along with endogenous factors, to the institutionalization of a specific language policy for Euskera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Marine Biological Valuation (BV) has increased in importance in recent years, due to the need to establish accurate maps of biodiversity value. However, there have been few exercises undertaken in Southern Europe, in putting a value on marine biodiversity whilst at the same time looking at several biological components. This paper presents the complete Biological Valuation Map (BVM) of the Basque continental shelf and estuaries, using the methodology developed for the Belgian Continental Shelf. It includes all available biological data (zooplankton, macroalgae, macrobenthos, demersal fish, seabirds and cetaceans), from 2003 to 2010. BVMs aim to compile all available biological and ecological information for a selected study area, allocating an integrated intrinsic biological value to the subzones within the study area. Here, the results highlight specific areas (such as Jaizkibel or Cap Breton Canyon), as having high or very high integrated BV, using all of the components. Furthermore, some biodiversity ‘hotspots’ have been identified, according to a specific ecosystem component (e.g. mid-parts of the Oka estuary, for macroalgae, and the Cap Breton Canyon, for cetaceans). Comparison with the results obtained from other European countries, and with previously high-importance delimited zones within the study area, showed similar spatial trends and patterns. Therefore, the objectives of this contribution are: (i) to analyse and establish a spatial ecological value map of the continental shelf of the Basque Country (southern Bay of Biscay), using present BV methods; (ii) to compare the results obtained to other European countries, and (iii) to explore the application of these results to the Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) and the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) requirements. This map can serve as a baseline for future MSP and can also be used for the determination of the environmental status, within the MSFD, for the qualitative descriptor 1 (biodiversity). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The main limiting factor to carrying out toxicological bioassays with sea urchin larvae is the restricted period for the availability of viable gametes. Although studies have been undertaken of the reproductive cycle of the sea urchin for several areas of the Bay of Biscay, only limited information exists for the southeasternmost area (the Basque coast). Furthermore, this geographical zone presents some particular environmental conditions, e.g., relatively warm waters. In this study, the gonad state of a population of Paracentrotus lividus, settled on the rocky shores of the city of Donostia-San Sebastian have been monitored. These sea urchins are observed to behave like a typical Atlantic population, with generally high gonad indices and a single yearly main spawning period, between April and May. Further, females show a shorter spawning period than males, becoming the limiting organisms for the availability of larvae. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: According to coastal measurements, global mean sea-level has risen at a rate of 1.8mmyr−1 between 1950 and 2000, with large spatial variability at regional scales. Within the Bay of Biscay, trends computed from coastal tide gauges records have revealed that sea-level rise is accelerating over this period of time; this is in agreement with rates obtained from satellite imagery in the open ocean since 1993. The objectives of the present study are: (1) to assess the evidence of the relative sea-level rise on coastal morphology and habitats in the Gipuzkoan littoral zone (Basque coast, northern Spain) for the period 1954–2004, and (2) to evaluate the relative contribution of local anthropogenic versus sea-level rise impacts for explaining inter-supratidal habitat changes. A high-resolution airborne laser altimetry data (LIDAR) has been used to derive a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) of 15-cm vertical resolution. Coastal habitats were mapped for two periods, using historic airborne photography (1954) and high-resolution imagery (2004). Analysis of tide gauge records from Santander (northern Spain) has revealed that relative mean sea-level has been rising at a rate of 2.08±0.33mmyr−1 from 1943 to 2004; this is consistent with sea-level trends from other measurements within the area (St. Jean de Luz and Bilbao), obtained over shorter periods of time, and with previous results obtained in the Bay of Biscay. Based upon this sea-level trend and by means of a LIDAR-based DTM, the results have indicated that the predicted change along the Gipuzkoan coast due to sea-level rise was of 11.1ha within the 50-yr period. In contrast, comparison of historical and recent orthophotography has detected only 2.95ha of change, originated possibly from sea-level rise, and 98ha transformed by anthropogenic impacts. Hence, coastal changes due to sea-level rise might be overwhelmed by excessive human impacts, at the spatial and temporal scales of the analysis. This work highlights that local anthropogenic impact is the major threat to Basque coastal and estuarine habitats, compared with natural erosive processes and global climate change driving forces over recent times. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai, Psychologia-Paedagogia is the property of Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

For more than a century, state and sub-state nationalisms have competed in the Basque borderland. At present, this competition implies contested imaginations of the Franco-Spanish borderland. This article explores these imaginations in terms of cross-border and intra-state integration. Nationalist rhetoric substantially differs from daily cultural experiences and political practice. Paradoxically, the opening-up of the Franco-Spanish border as a result of European integration and the concomitant rise of cross-border cooperation have confined Basque national integration to the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country. In this respect, both the old state border and internal administrative borders in Spain have acted as strong barriers against the diffusion of ethnonationalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the environmental movement and nationalism in the Basque social movement. Basque's social movement include demonstrations and mobilizations of the population. It also focuses on political violence, urban management, media, discourses about social sciences, and on cultural identity.

Copyright of Historia Contemporanea is the property of Historia Contemporania and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The present article includes the main conclusions from research carried out by professors of the Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea-University of the Basque Country (EHU-UPV) from 2003 to 2005. The research group considers that education in the area of communication is a basic tool to equip a person with an acceptable degree of critical independence when it comes to media. In this sense, the research was meant to reach the following objectives: to find out the amount of technological equipment Basque teenagers have, to find out their consumption of different media, to examine their cultural habits and to research their level of media literacy. The group used quantitative and qualitative techniques, including discussion groups, interviews of experts, and a survey of 1,882 teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18 years of age in 35 schools (public and private) throughout the Basque Country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Estudios Gerenciales is the property of Universidad ICESI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Sociologia, Problemas e Práticas is the property of Centro de Investigacao e Estudos de Sociologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper, we undertake a cross-national comparison of early partial immersion programmes, known as dual language or Modelo B programmes, in the USA and the Basque Country in Spain, respectively. We attempt to make sense of their growth, the expanded social uses of the minority languages, and address seemingly contradictory pedagogical principles. In both settings, the growth and the expansion of the use of the minority language in new social spaces is associated with inclusion of the majority populations much as the assertion of minority language rights. The evidence found in the comparison further suggests that the degree of exposure to the minority language cannot be disassociated from the broader sociolinguistic context and is significant for both minority and majority populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presented article is the result of extensive research carried out in 2002 on the situation of the radio in the Basque Country. In this study we looked into diverse topics such as programming content, ownership of the radio stations, their concentration within large media groups or the legislation which has regulated the granting of radiobroadcasting licences since the Statute of Guernica. This article focuses on the latter aspects: ownership, concentration and legislation until the passing of the controversial bill 53/2002, a complement to the General State Budget for 2003, by which autonomous powers to grant licences were restricted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conflicting definitions of Basque identity have been at the centre of Spanish political debate for more than a century, with linguistic and cultural differences spinning off from the core disagreement over territory and its autonomy. There also exists an internal struggle to define Basqueness that is waged between entrenched gender roles and those who seek their evolution. How do these rigid divisions of gendered space complicate and challenge the nation's campaign for independence? This article explores the cinematic representation of gendered Basque space in relation to the territorial and ideological conflict over the Basque Country in the patriarchal, centralist dictatorship of Franco and the liberal, pluralist Spain which emerged following the transition to democracy. The article includes analysis of Ama Lur, El proceso de Burgos, La fuga de Segovia, La muerte de Mikel, Yoyes, Salto al vacío and Días contados. It begins by questioning whether evolving notions of private and public spaces, which had for so long been synonymous with the female and male arenas, could be contained within the ideal of a Basque utopia, and proceeds to examine how the contemporary transformation of gender roles disrupted the stability of the new, autonomous Basque Country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revue Anthropologie et Sociétés is the property of Anthropologie et Societies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract: Blood samples from 204 unrelated Basque Country autochthonous individuals were typed and their allele frequencies were determined. Results demonstrate the assumption of independence within and between the loci analyzed. Therefore, a Basque population database can be used in identity testing to estimate the frequency of a multiple PCR-based locus DNA profile. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Haplotype, allele frequencies and population data of 17 Y-chromosome STR loci DYS19, DYS385, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, DYS448, DYS456, DYS458, DYS635 (Y GATA C4) and Y GATA H4 were determined from a sample of 168 unrelated male individuals from the Basque Country. Individuals were considered autochthonous if the 8 surnames and birthplace of their grandparents were of Basque origin. The haplotype diversity (99.03%) and discrimination capacity (82.14%) were calculated. The combined polymorphism provides a powerful discrimination tool for routine forensic applications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Paul Broca surmised that the short and broad-brachycephalic-skulls of the earliest European settlers had become longer and narrower-dolichocephalic-in modern populations due to the blending of different races. Swedish anatomist Anders Retzius had two brachycephalic skulls said to be from contemporary Basque individuals, a claim suited to test Broca's hypothesis. Broca worked with fellow anatomist and surgeon Pedro González Velasco, the founding father of Spanish anthropology, to gather a large number of Basque skulls. In its time, this was the most fascinating collection owned by the Anthropological Society of Paris. This article explains how Broca and Velasco were able to gather such a sizeable array of specimens, which they had collected at a location known at first by the code name of "Z." Although Broca finally concluded that the origin of the Retzius skulls could not be determined, his research was to spark anthropologists' interest in the language and origins of the Basque people.