Search results for "History (General)"
showing 9 items of 9 documents
The significance of climate variability on early modern European grain prices
2021
AbstractGrain was the most important food source in early modern Europe (c. 1500–1800), and its price influenced the entire economy. The extent to which climate variability determined grain price variations remains contested, and claims of solar cycle influences on prices are disputed. We thoroughly reassess these questions, within a framework of comprehensive statistical analysis, by employing an unprecedentedly large grain price data set together with state-of-the-art palaeoclimate reconstructions and long meteorological series. A highly significant negative grain price–temperature relationship (i.e. colder = high prices and vice versa) is found across Europe. This association increases a…
New economic geography and economic history: a survey of recent contributions through the lens of the Spanish industrialization process
2021
This paper aims to provide a synthesis of a number of articles that over the last few years have explored the industrialization process in Spain from the perspective of the new economic geography (NEG). To this end, we present some of the seminal theoretical papers of the NEG literature from which originated the main theoretical predictions that have been tested through empirical analysis applied to the case of Spain. We also look at those papers on the economic history of Spain that through the use of an economic geography framework have analysed how the location and regional concentration of manufacturing has evolved over the years. Altogether, this paper aims not only to present the dete…
Bridges Baltimore 2015: Charmed by Mathematics in Charm City
2016
In 2015, the Bridges World Conference, the most significant annual international gathering to be held for exploring connections between mathematics and the arts, met in Baltimore, USA. The conference program included lectures by recognized scholars and artists, the world largest exhibition of mathematical art, thematic theatre performances, a poetry afternoon demonstrating how mathematics can interrelate with literature, and a short film festival as well as workshops organized by researchers, educators and artists. nonPeerReviewed
Book Review: Lavoisier in Italia
2004
Mario Salvadori and Mauro Picone: From Student and Teacher to Professional Fellowship
2007
The correspondence between Mario Salvadori and Mauro Picone during the years 1934–1972 sheds light on the history of the Italian Institute for the Applications of Calculation. The IAC was a groundbreaking institution for mathematics in Italy, and great attention was given to the new means of mechanical calculation, first analogue, then electronic. It was in relationship to this that Mario Salvadori consulted with his former professor. The correspondence allows us to see also how that relationship changed from one of student-teacher to one of fellowship between professional
Perspective on Curved Surfaces in the Age of Pozzo: The Nuova Pratica di Prospettiva of Paolo Amato
2016
The study focuses an almost unknown treatise on perspective, The Nuova Pratica di Prospettiva, written by the priest Paolo Amato (1634–1714) in the last years of his life and published posthumously in 1733. The main points of interest of the Nuova Pratica is the perspective projection on cylindrical surfaces, which exceeds the coeval ‘practical’ treatises on perspective. A detailed resume of Amato’s treatise is accompanied by geometric schemes illustrating the perspective method proposed by the author. None of the paintings made by Amato has come down to us, but the vault covering a hall added to a Norman church in Palermo shows a trompe l’oeil that was painted by one of his favorite discip…
Technology as 'Applied Science': a Serious Misconception that Reinforces Distorted and Impoverished Views of Science
2005
The current consideration of technology as "applied science", this is to say, as something that comes "after" science, justifies the lack of attention paid to technology in science education. In our paper we question this simplistic view of the science-tecnology relationship, historically rooted in the unequal appreciation of intellectual and manual work, and we try to show how the absense of the technological dimension in science education contributes to a naive and distorted view of science which deeply affects the necessary scientific and technological literacy of all citizens. Fil: Gil Perez, Daniel. Universidad de Valencia; España Fil: Vilches, Amparo. Universidad de Valencia; España F…
Operative Gesichtspunkte bei der Diskussion des Weberschen Gesetzes
1977
The analysis of structures of argumentation in historical controversies is considered to be a basic contribution to the dynamics of theories. In this paper attention is drawn to the occurence of operational arguments in the history of physics. This is to be discussed especially in respect to the nineteenth-century debates on the consistency of Wilhelm Weber's electrodynamic law with the principle of conservation of energy.
Teaching of energy issues: A debate proposal for a global reorientatiom
2007
The growing awareness of serious difficulties in the learning of energy issues has produced a great deal of research, most of which is focused on specific conceptual aspects. In our opinion, the difficulties pointed out in the literature are interrelated and connected to other aspects (conceptual as well as procedural and axiological), which are not sufficiently taken into account in previous research. This paper aims to carry out a global analysis in order to avoid the more limited approaches that deal only with individual aspects. From this global analysis we have outlined 24 propositions that are put forward for debate to lay the foundations for a profound reorientation of the teaching o…