Search

Abstract Question In people who have undergone surgical carpal tunnel release, do sensorimotor-based exercises performed on the touchscreen of a tablet device improve outcomes more than a conventional home exercise program prescribed on paper? Design Randomised, parallel-group trial with concealed allocation, assessor blinding, and intention-to-treat analysis. Participants Fifty participants within 10 days of surgical carpal tunnel release. Intervention Each participant was prescribed a 4-week home exercise program. Participants in the experimental group received the ReHand tablet application, which administered and monitored exercises via the touchscreen. The control group was prescribed a home exercise program on paper, as is usual practice in the public hospital system. Outcome measures The primary outcome was functional ability of the hand, reported using the shortened form of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (QuickDASH) questionnaire. Secondary outcomes were grip strength, pain intensity measured on a 10-cm visual analogue scale, and dexterity measured with the Nine-Hole Peg Test. Outcomes were measured by a blinded assessor at baseline and at the end of the 4-week intervention period. Results At Week 4, functional ability improved significantly more in the experimental group than the control group (MD –21, 95% CI –33 to –9) on the QuickDASH score (0 to 100). Although the mean estimates of effect on the secondary outcome also all favoured the experimental group, none reached statistical significance: grip strength (MD 5.6 kg, 95% CI –0.5 to 11.7), pain (MD –1.4 cm, 95% CI –2.9 to 0.1), and dexterity (MD –1.3 seconds, 95% CI –3.7 to 1.1). Conclusion Use of the ReHand tablet application for early rehabilitation after carpal tunnel release is more effective in the recovery of functional ability than a conventional home exercise program. It remains unclear whether there are any benefits in grip strength, pain or dexterity. Trial registration ACTRN12618001887268. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus L.) is a serious weed capable of piercing polyethylene (PE) plastic mulch used in horticulture. A biodegradable plastic, PE and four different papers were tested for 2 years in fields highly-infested with C. rotundus in Zaragoza (Spain). All four papers were able to withstand all weed species. C. rotundus plants penetrated the biodegradable plastic mulch most, possibly because this material had least resistance to slow perforation. Differences in weed biomass between mulching materials were lower because of small size and weight of C. rotundus. Therefore all mulching treatments had a similar impact on weed biomass reduction 63 days after transplanting; biodegradable plastic had most biomass and papers the least, the differences being significant some years, only. Tomato yield was very similar for all mulching treatments and significantly higher than in the non-mulched plots. No effect of treatment was observed on fruit quality parameters. Commercial paper used as mulch without special additives can satisfactory control C. rotundus in processing tomato provided that climate is appropriate to maintain the paper dry during most of the time. Also the crop needs to cover the soil fast enough before the buried part of the mulch degrades allowing wind to lift and tear the mulch. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

So far in the literature, the two-parameter Weibull distribution and its other extensions are frequently implemented to analyze the wind speed energy data sets. However, based on our study of the literature, there is no published work about analyzing the wind speed energy data sets using new probability distributions that are developed via trigonometric functions. In this paper, I attempt to cover this amazing and interesting research gap. Therefore, I incorporate a trigonometric function, especially, the sine function to introduce a new statistical distributional method. The proposed method is called a new modified sine- G family of distributions. Some distributional properties of the new modified sine- G method are obtained. Using the new modified sine- G method, a new extension of the Weibull distribution called a new modified sine-Weibull distribution is studied. The new modified sine-Weibull distribution is applied to analyze four wind speed energy data sets. All three data sets are taken from the weather station at Sotavento Galicia in the Canary Islands, Spain, located at 43.3544 North and 7.8812 West. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine the institutions, journals of choice and topics of investigation of the most prolific and highly cited Spanish optometrist researchers. As a primary search strategy, the Scopus database (Elsevier) was queried with the terms (optometr* OR "contact lens*" OR refracti* OR *ocular) and the affiliation country filter "Spain". The list of authors returned by the primary search was used in a secondary manual search based on co-authors and institutions. Authors were included in the analysis if they had an h-index > 10, were of Spanish nationality, were affiliated to Spanish institutions, and possessed an optometry degree. Authors were ranked by h-index, number of publications and number of citations. Topics of research interest and target journals were determined by analyzing the 10 most highly cited papers of each author. A total of 32 authors with an h-index > 10 were identified, of whom 14 (43.7%) were female. Only one author had an h-index > 40, and 7 (21.9%) authors had an h-index over 20. The Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery was the first journal of choice (19.1% of highest cited papers), followed by Optometry and Vision Science (10.3%). The Universidad Complutense de Madrid hosted the largest percentage of authors (18.7%), followed by the Universitat de València (15.6%). Main topics of research interest were topography (6.5% of papers), cornea (6.2%) and contact lens (5.0%). Optometry in Spain is a fertile field of research, with an increasing number of highly cited authors publishing in high impact journals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social innovation (SI) has been championed as an integral feature of community-led rural development. However, the choice of the term "innovation" prompts a number of questions about the intensity and novelty of SI initiatives. In this paper, these issues are examined through the lens of radical and incremental innovation theory. By analysing features of radical and incremental SI, we can better understand the different social reconfigurations that can respond effectively to a range of rural needs and opportunities. The article aims at explaining the meaning and operationalisation of radical and incremental SI in rural areas. A multiple case study method was adopted for the research. Empirical data was gathered from two initiatives located in rural areas of Spain and Scotland and the main methods used were semi-structured interviews and qualitative content analysis. The findings illustrate how radical and incremental SIs can lead to sustainable development and social change. However, they imply social reconfigurations of different intensity that respond to the different attitudes and aspirations of the actors involved. The paper shows three diverging development trajectories for SI initiatives and discusses the role of conflict, skills and planning in these processes. Further, the more fluid nature of SI compared to technological innovation is clarified. In the conclusion we argue that public actors should identify the different aspirations of local actors and set the stage for the activation of the local society. In radical SI processes, conflict management mechanisms and new skills need to be promoted. • The intensity of social innovation (SI) in rural areas is examined through the lens of radical and incremental innovation. • Actors' attitudes and aspirations in relation to community needs influence the degree of radicalism of SI. • The way SIs challenge the status quo of local communities is key in distinguishing radical and incremental processes. • Radical SI usually requires longer adoption periods and can bring about conflicts. • The emergence of conflicts depends on the temporal context and the specific nature of the actors involved. • SI initiatives are fluid and can evolve into different radical and incremental processes over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the impact of photovoltaic installations and the fact that their performance depends on the type of day, this paper presents a classifier that makes use of fuzzy logic to classify daily irradiance profiles as a human would do. To do this, the system must be linguistically interpretable, so the classifier must be simple enough, but without losing accuracy. This is why the article combines the use of data mining and supervised learning algorithms to obtain an initial system and then exploits simplification techniques such as the concept of fuzzy classifiers with incomplete rule bases, as well as fuzzy tabular simplification of rules to obtain a compact and simple final system. The classifier obtained handles the ambiguity presented by the daily irradiance profiles with precision. Once the system has been obtained, a large number of days in southern Spain are classified, analysing the performances of a photovoltaic plant obtained in each of the classes. Then, a neuro-fuzzy system is designed to predict the performance of the photovoltaic installation, considering the type of day, the maximum ambient temperature reached during the day, and the degradation of the installation over time, proving its usefulness in alerting about anomalous behaviour of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contribution of this paper is twofold: 1) it develops a replicable socio-hydrology-inspired model that elicits agents' preferences while accounting for the two-way feedbacks between complex human and water systems; and 2) it integrates the resultant socio-hydrology model into robustness-based frameworks to inform the adoption of policies that show a satisfactory performance under most plausible futures. The socio-hydrology model is used to produce a database representing multiple plausible futures that quantifies uncertainty regarding scenario assumptions under alternative adaptation strategies. Using a robust decision-making framework, the mechanistic outputs from the database of plausible futures are combined with heuristic methods through experts' knowledge and opinion to co-design scenarios, identify vulnerabilities and quantify tradeoffs of proposed strategies, and subjectively propose new scenarios and choose the preferred adaptation strategy. Methods are illustrated with an application to the Cega Catchment in central Spain, one of the few major catchments in central Spain that remains non-regulated, and where the construction of a major dam has been projected. Following a robust decision-making process informed by our socio-hydrology model and involving all key parties to the decision, the status quo strategy (no dam construction) was revealed preferred. • We mainstream socio-hydrology modeling into robustness-based decision-making frameworks. • Socio-hydrology modeling quantifies impacts and uncertainties for selected strategies. • Models are combined with experts' knowledge and opinion to identify robust strategies. • Methods are illustrated with an application to dam construction in the Cega Catchment (Spain). • The status quo strategy (no dam construction) was revealed preferred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2020, the Conference of Chemical Engineering Directors and Deans (CODDIQ) proposed the creation of an observatory to monitor chemical engineering degrees in Spain. This representative radiography of Chemical Engineering studies offers an initial point to observe the future changes when Royal Decree 822/2021 and proposed challenges in the last Ministerial Conference on the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) will be implanted. The survey data from CODDIQ partners allow us to know important data such as (i) the 24 international quality accreditations at Spanish universities, (ii) the high demand and the required marks, an average of 7.25, for the Chemical Engineering Bachelor's degree, (iii) 9560 undergraduate students in this degree in Spain and their gender profile which is around 43% of women, similar than women lectures, (iv) the difficulty of this Bachelor's degree through some indicators like duration of studies (5.25 years), graduation rate (41%) and drop-out rate (26%), (v) the employability after obtaining the Bachelor's degree is very high (>70%). In addition, Chemical engineering undergraduate and graduate students indicate their expectations are covered. In this paper, some consequences of the pandemic on students' performance (lower than before COVID-19) are analyzed, despite lectures tried to innovate in their classes and the university provided adequate tools for online teaching. • Chemical Engineering Bachelor's degree in Spain is in high demand. • Quality indicators show the current situation of chemical engineering degree. • Chemical Engineering students are satisfied with their degree and their employability. • The gender profile is adequate because woman students and lecturers are around 43%. • The pandemic affected students' performance despite university efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the search for solutions for Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), decision-makers frequently face governance-related challenges such as the fragmentation of institutions, the interconnection with other essential services and overlapping competences. In many cases, solutions to these challenges involve strengthening coordination between different actors and sectors. Today different digital tools and resources are available to support related decision-making processes. These tools can (1) offer a context-specific assessment of the water governance system ("Diagnosis") and (2) provide, in some cases, context-specific recommendations to tackle identified deficits ("Therapy"). In this paper, we aim to advance the understanding of the potential of digital tools for water governance and management assessments. After reviewing relevant tools, we introduce the Diagnostic Water Governance Tool (DWGT) that builds on a clear diagnosis-therapy-logic. After presenting the empirical basis and functional logic of the DWGT, we test the DWGT in two case studies: the Guadalquivir river basin in Spain and the Emscher river basin in Germany. We find that the DWGT provides context-specific, evidence-based instrument recommendations that can enhance water governance and management, albeit accompanying suitability evaluations by governance experts remain critical. We conclude by discussing the limitations of digital tools for water governance and management assessments and sketch out fields of future research. • Most water governance online tools do not allow for case-specific assessments. • Diagnostic Water Governance Tool identifies context-specific coordination deficits. • The Tool gives case-sensitive recommendations for governance instruments. • Fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis provides sound methodological framework. • The Tool's analysis can supplement but not replace expert evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU has set itself demanding objectives to achieve complete decarbonisation by 2050. The building sector plays an important role for this purpose, hence monitoring its progress towards decarbonisation is essential to identify measures that work and to readjust policies when necessary. However, collecting information to monitor the building sector is a complex task due to the scarcity and low quality of available data. The European digital building logbook (DBL) has great potential in this regard because it allows the collection of data at the building scale, which could be combined at a national level. Thus, this paper proposes a new functionality for the DBL -as an enabler for the collection of data for the assessment of the progress of the main EU policy objectives related to the building sector decarbonisation-, and it evaluates the potential of the DBL for it. To do so, the main policy objectives were associated to a set of progress indicators –mandatory and optional- and matched to DBL indicators. Mandatory indicators are for all Member States and they have been included in the 2023 amended version of the proposal for the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive recast. Optional indicators are considered country-specific in this paper and are sourced from various literature references. Here we have studied the optional progress indicators for the case of Spain. Results show that the DBL has great potential to contribute to the collection of more than half of the mandatory indicators and a very high share of the optional ones for Spain. • Monitoring the decarbonisation progress of national building sectors is crucial. • Mandatory and optional indicators are needed to monitor buildings decarbonisation. • The DBL has great potential for monitoring national building stocks decarbonisation. • The DBL will provide the majority of the decarbonisation progress indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small-holder agriculture and rural societies are often presented as declining and deteriorating contexts in media as well as national and international policies. The solutions aimed at addressing this decline often is framed in terms of external (market and policy) interventions while simultaneously presenting agrarian-rural societies as static and impoverished. This essentialist view of agrarian-rural societies is based on a modernist knowledge politics that functions by creating asymmetries of power through the practices of definitions and categorizations of understanding and engaging with the world. Binary oppositional categories, such as the rural and the urban, knowledge and experience, and nature and culture, is one route through which this knowledge politics unfolds. Rather than providing sustainable solutions, approaches based on these binaries have often exacerbated the vulnerabilities and challenges of agrarian-rural societies in terms of resource depletion, loss of biodiversity and livelihoods, deterioration of social ties, and challenges to food, nutrition, and health. In this paper, we present a comparative study of two Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) from India and Spain, which are engaged in the constructive practices of building relational connections across these binaries in order to re-envision agrarian-rural societies beyond modernist knowledge politics. Additionally, the paper brings together the cases from India and Spain to reflect on the binary of global south and north to build relationality and solidarity. • Agrarian-rural societies are often presented as declining and deteriorating in media and policies. • This is based on a modernist knowledge politics that functions by creating power asymmetries through binaries (such as urban and rural). • We study two CSOs engaged in practices that build relationality, interdependence, and care across modernist binaries. • The cases from India and Spain enable reflection on the political South-North binary and the possibility of building global solidarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electricity markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, in part, to deal with unpredictability and imbalances in electricity prices. This paper assesses how electricity flows and generation from wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) power impact the volatility and mean of day-ahead electricity prices in Spain. It finds there is a merit order effect from wind and solar PV power at most times of the day, which varies in magnitude for each of the 24 h. Electricity production from wind power is also found to play a clear role in increasing price volatility at all hours. Electricity inflow is shown to decrease both the mean and volatility of the electricity prices. The volatility of electricity prices is revealed to be highly persistent, and thus prone to large transmission shocks. This volatility is also susceptible to new shocks, which may indicate a tendency by market participants to overreact to unexpected shocks in electricity prices, possibly due to the relatively small size of the Iberian electricity market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the dynamic nature of complementarities between technological and organizational innovation at firms. Using Spanish panel data of manufacturing firms (PITEC) over the period 2008–2016, it investigates how the formation and ending of the joint adoption of these two core types of innovation is associated with firm performance. We observe clear evidence that some sequential as well as simultaneous strategy switches towards combining technological and organizational novelties are associated with significant performance premia at firms. Our findings point out the crucial role of technological innovation in these complementarities. In the case of giving up the adoption of new elements of the complementarity bundle of innovation types, the critical disadvantage for the firm is related to dropping the adoption of technological innovation. Giving up adoption of new organizational innovation while keeping the adoption of new technological innovation appears to have no negative effect, on average, on firm performance. Our findings suggest significant coordination failures at firms attempting to introduce both core types of innovation in tandem. For many firms, the retention of the joint adoption of technological and organizational innovation over time is a costly and hard-to-maintain choice and not necessarily the one with the highest performance benefits. • Sequential and simultaneous strategy switches creating synergy between technological and organizational innovations boost firm performance. • Giving up elements of the complementarity bundle affects firm performance. • Significant role of technological innovation in these complementarities [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the process of policy framing and narrative construction in the context of energy exclusion. Through qualitative analysis of case studies of collective, systematic, and recurrent electricity disconnections at the neighbourhood level in Spain, the study identifies two policy framings, the 'criminalisation' and the 'degradation' framing, in the process of building the phenomenon of energy exclusion as a policy problem. Highlighting the central role of problem construction in policy development, the research shows how this stage shapes the whole policy trajectory, not only determining the character of the problem but also how to solve it. The research uses textual material collected through in-depth qualitative interviews, news and press, and policy documents to critically analyse the framing process and narrative construction. The results show how conflicting interpretations of a policy situation can lead to different policy messages and the influence of structural elements, such as the dominant electricity model, in reinforcing these interpretations. • Unpacks energy exclusion through policy framing and narrative analysis. • Identifies key factors and policy frames in energy exclusion cases. • Demonstrates how problem construction shapes policy trajectories. • Analyses diverse relevant actors' perspectives on systematic disconnections. • Links conflicting scenario interpretations to varied policy outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the diverse actions, interventions and strategies initiated to address rising energy vulnerability among low-income households in the Barcelona region over the last decade. Drawing upon recent conceptual work around the politics of energy and in-depth fieldwork conducted over more than two years, we trace the different processes and sites through which the basic socio-material conditions of domestic access to energy have become politicised. We show how this involves a two-stage movement of deconfinement and reconfinement. In a context marked by austerity, an energy inefficient urban fabric and a centralised and oligopolistic energy system, energy vulnerability emerged from the domestic and private sphere to become framed as a public problem through parliamentary debate, social protest and local authority initiatives. Yet, energy access and vulnerability have also to some extent been recontained in the space of the household through the focus of recent local policy intervention on 'low cost' measurement, audit and equipment of domestic energy use. We argue that in reprivatizing what had become a public issue and thus redistributing responsibility for change to the household level, authorities and practitioners continue to ignore the systemic factors behind energy vulnerability situations and reproduce a status quo that benefits only energy utilities. The contribution of the paper is thus to show a politics of energy access that is increasingly constituted through entangled, fluid, blurred forms of relations between domestic and collective issues. This politics allows, for example, the need for systemic change to be framed as ostensibly a concern of households and to be met through fragmented, low-cost, metrological measures at that level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Border-crossing involves migrants' context-specific bodily performances. • Domestic employment requires and sustains gendered and racialized bodies. • Cross-border bodily circulation is based on the appropriateness of specific bodies. • Migrant bodies can be used as resources for improving living and working conditions. • Migrant marginalization abroad and (expected) privilege at home exist side by side. In migration scholarship, the migrant body has recently begun to gain recognition as a productive analytical scale for exploring politics of mobility: the highly differentiated ways in which migration is accessed and lived. However, a tendency to treat bodies as sites of gendered and racialized suffering can obscure migrant agency and differentiation as well as the ways in which migrant bodies can also be seen as sites of resistance and achievement. This paper aims to contribute to our understanding of the ways in which mobility politics shape divergent migrant trajectories by putting forward a translocal embodiment perspective. The paper argues that migrant bodies constitute key sites of struggle over mobility, and that looking at migrant embodied practice in translocal context can further unravel the differentiations that shape migrant trajectories across space and time. The paper's argument builds on theoretical notions of intersectionality, embodied cultural capital and translocality to enrich the discussion of mobility politics. Empirically, it draws on multi-sited ethnographic research with Nicaraguan families, focusing on female Nicaraguan migrants working in informal domestic employment in Spain, to explore how bodies and embodied practices matter throughout these migrants' trajectories. In particular, the paper intends to do justice to migrant agency by exploring how bodies that are often victimized can also be considered as stratified resources of translocal negotiation. The translocal embodiment perspective put forward in the paper shows that migrant bodies constitute a multi-faceted, non-erasable component of the unsettled yet situated mobility politics that shape divergent trajectories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coordination in the public sector among interdependent policies is considered crucial for their effectiveness. However, while coordination has been studied for decades, conceptual approaches to understand the functional and temporal dimensions of policy coordination are lacking. This paper attempts to address these gaps by integrating governance functions and action situations into the analysis of the policy cycle, thereby introducing the notion of holistic coordination. We argue that this approach is useful to get a more differentiated understanding of where and why coordination across the policy cycle breaks down, and to capture the political economy of policy-making. Empirically, we undertake an illustrative case study of the European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive (WFD) implementation in the Guadalquivir river basin, Spain, focusing on measures to reduce agricultural water consumption. We find that the failure to reach agreed policy objectives of reduction of water consumption can be traced back to the way governance functions were addressed and coordinated within action situations and across the overall policy cycle. Furthermore, the analysis shows that the lack of holistic coordination can be seen as an outcome of deliberate decisions by public actors involved in the policy, taken already at the beginning of the policy cycle. Thereby, expected benefits that agricultural water users associated with the policy have been deliberately increased, while their related expected costs have been decreased. Ultimately, this made the policy objective to reduce agricultural water consumption less credible and the policy more acceptable to water users and a powerful agricultural lobby. • Analysis of coordination of governance functions across the policy cycle. • Exploring holistic coordination to understand temporal and functional dimensions of policy coordination. • Approach uncovers coordination failures and the political economy of policy-making. • Illustrative case study of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) implementation in the Guadalquivir river basin, Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural forest regrowth on abandoned land represents a major land use change in some regions of Europe. This is driven by various factors related to land abandonment, particularly changing socioeconomic conditions for agriculture and rural depopulation. Little research exists about how the issue is addressed at the policy level. This paper looks into the policymaking related to natural forest regrowth in France and Spain, two countries where land abandonment and natural forest regrowth occur at significant scales. We conduct a policy discourse analysis building upon 27 interviews carried out between 2018 and 2020 with policy actors from various fields that connect with these topics. We find four competing storylines in both countries: extensive agriculture, forestry, landscape conservation, and wilderness. These storylines differ regarding the framing of natural forest regrowth as a problem or an opportunity, and the preferred policy solutions. While storylines rooted in extensive agriculture, landscape conservation and forestry tend to problematize the phenomenon, a wilderness storyline voices an opportunity perspective. In France, a few actors voice elements of an insignificance storyline. Given its spatial importance, natural forest regrowth will likely become more important for future policymaking in the EU. Engaging in further research across disciplines and policy fields is necessary to study the phenomenon and its possible management and governance options. • Policy actors narrate natural forest regrowth on abandoned land through storylines. • Interview results distinguish four storylines on natural forest regrowth. • Three storylines tend to highlight the threat of natural forest regrowth. • Natural forest regrowth has not yet received much political attention. • Shifts towards a rewilding perspective may strengthen an opportunity framing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the link between outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) and exports using Spain's flows to the top-50 recipient countries over the period 1995–2019. Methodologically, it addresses two often forgotten features of spatial data (heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence) by combining a heterogeneous panel approach with the treatment of cross-sectional dependence. Indeed, when addressing cross-sectional dependence, it removes one of its two components (spatial dependence) so that comparing raw and spatially filtered data yields relevant conclusions. Findings show that OFDI has a significant positive effect on exports in the long term, but it is exclusively due to spatial dependence. • The link between Spanish outward FDI and exports is analyzed. • A heterogeneous panel approach dealing with cross-sectional dependence is estimated. • A spatial filtering procedure is used to get rid of spatial dependence. • Complementarity between OFDI and exports, due to spatial effects, is revealed. • Results are robust to the inclusion of several control variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research into migration and social networks has suggested that migrants are relationally more vulnerable than non-migrants, especially those in endogamous couples. However, non-probability samples and lack of data about partners' networks have often impeded rigorous testing. This paper analyses the influence of migration and mixedness (unions between two persons from different geographical origins) on some compositional and structural measures of the core discussion networks of the adult population in Spain, paying special attention to the partner's role. Data from the 2013 Spanish General Social Survey (SGSS) were used. A graph census shows the predominance of complete graphs both for endogamous and exogamous couples, but more clearly in the case of natives. Multivariate models prove that, in general, Spaniards in mixed unions seem less partner-dependent, whereas endogamous immigrants seem the most affected by the effects of the geographical mobility on relational vulnerability. • Core networks tend to be complete graphs, especially for native population. • Endogamous immigrants have greater partner's exclusive multiplexity than natives. • Core discussion networks of the endogamous native couples are denser. • The partner in the endogamous natives' core networks has the highest centrality. • Spaniards in mixed couples have the largest proportion of independent confidants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Power is vested in institutional arrangements governing energy systems. • We track how institutional processes and local initiatives' trajectories co-emerge. • Energy initiatives' everyday negotiations with regulations are a site of politics. • Energy initiatives navigate regulatory constraints in experimental ways. • These experimental practices take shape in response to limits posed by regulations. Following critiques that scholarship on socio-technical transitions was overly normative and emptied of politics, a burgeoning stream of literature has begun offering understandings of transition that are more informed by politics. Whilst fruitful, there is a tendency in some of this work to constitute politics as the background or contextual frame in which socio-technical change unfolds, rather than as a process central to its emergence. Collaterally, relatively little attention has been given to how politics emerges in the everyday practices and struggles of energy initiatives. Engaging with recent work in urban studies, this paper explores how political processes unfold on the ground. We argue that one key site for this emergent politics is the institutional and regulatory arrangements that energy initiatives must navigate in carving out their activities. We do not address these simply as an externalised array of norms and procedures that variously impose upon and impede the efforts of energy initiatives. Instead, we explore how initiatives' trajectories are shaped by and entangled with the institutional and regulatory landscapes in which they operate. What we call politics emerges in and is exposed through initiatives' everyday efforts to negotiate and respond to regulatory strictures and opportunities. We explore the regulatory conditions that influence the everyday practices of three differently scaled energy initiatives in Scotland, Spain and Germany, each of which is variously involved in the generation, distribution and sale of energy. Our paper considers not only the ways that institutional arrangements generate obstacles for renewable energy innovation, but also how they may open up certain – albeit limited – possibilities for action, in some cases with larger ramifications for how the production and distribution of energy are governed. However, we note that where such possibilities arise, they are heavily determined by the terms set by existing institutional and regulatory frameworks, pointing to the limited scope for crafting new kinds of energy politics under current conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Debates on the political ecology of populism has not reached the conservation field. • Yet a new populist conservation model is appearing in different locations in Spain. • Populist conservation builds on neoliberal and participatory conservation. • It permits the co-optation and privatization of conservation. • It can be resisted from an environmental justice rationale. The global surge of right-wing populism and its impact on environmental policies are attracting the attention of political ecologists. However, little of this debate has reached the nature conservation literature. In this paper, I explore the emergence of populist logics in conservation as a result of the entrenchment of neoliberalism after the 2008 economic crisis. On the one hand, neoliberalism has incited the roll-back of public institutions that hitherto monopolised the management of protected areas (PAs), as well as the roll-out of market-based and network-based forms of PA governance. At the same time, it has also had a significant impact on rural communities, imposing austerity policies that have caused a great deal of social and economic precarity and vulnerability, generating feelings of abandonment, dispossession and disenfranchisement. To illustrate how these two phenomena intersect and motivate the surge of right-wing populism in conservation, this paper dissects a number of parliamentary debates on a recent policy reform that seeks to decentralise the management of PAs in Asturias, a region in the north of Spain. These debates brought together stakeholders and members of several rural groups with different political orientations and views, including public administrators and policy-makers, farmers and livestock breeders, farmers' unions, landowners, tourism business owners, hunters and academics. I analyse how right-wing populist discourses framed this policy change, scapegoated the public management of conservation for all the problems suffered in rural areas, and co-opted popular demands of rural communities, reducing them to the economic interest of private landowners. I will also describe the various attempts made to negotiate a left-wing, progressive democratic alternative that hinges on the recognition of the social complexity of rural communities and the diversity of problems that affect them. The paper ends with a reflection on the lessons that the critical studies of conservation and public participation can learn from this negotiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information and Communication Technologies provide valuable opportunities for companies to expand their business. In this sense, the availability of a multilingual corporate website can be of great help when it comes to reach international targets at a reduced cost. This is especially relevant in countries with remarkable tourism flows and foreign population, which is the case of Spain. The aim of this paper is to analyze the web presence and the multilingual dissemination of their corporate information of small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) from the tourist sector located in Andalusia (Spain). To meet this objective, a sample of 160 SMEs has been analyzed. A frequency analysis has been carried out as well as decision trees, the latter in order to identify drivers for influencing companies for having a website and its subsequent translation. Results show that, although around 70% of the companies had a corporate website, less than 40% of them translated their content and, if they do it, they mostly offered only one translated version of the webpage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities are making significant efforts to implement the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm, in which sensors collect data from heterogeneous sources, and advanced software systems can provide an accurate city context. Most initiatives focus on improving the quality of life through energy-efficient buildings, waste management, or reducing traffic congestion. One of the main applications of IoT is smart tourism. This concept focuses on using Information and Communication Technologies to give visitors better experiences without interfering with the city's daily life. This paper studies related concepts and related works in smart tourism, sustainability, and IoT, identifying challenges and literature gaps. Finally, we provide a brief analysis of the real case study of the mountainous Alpujarra region in Spain based on its specific characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to develop an assessment of the COVID-19 impact on key maritime sectors (small-scale and large fisheries) in Spain, one of the most important maritime regions in the world. We synthesize multiple data sources from across the seafood supply chain to show the relative seafood sector responses and variables of recovery during the pre-COVID-19 period (2015–2019) and during the pandemic (2020). Our results show that the reported landings made in 2020 by the different Spanish fleets (786,900 t) represented an 11 % reduction compared to the annual average landed between 2015 and 2019. On average, the fishing effort of the small-scale fishing fleets suffered a higher decline (16 %) related to the large-scale fleet (5 %), but the large-scale fleet experienced a higher reduction (25 %) in landing value between the pre-COVID-19 and pandemic. Although the decrease in catches affected almost all the Spanish-studied regions, the reductions were especially relevant in the Basque Country (-14 %) and Galicia (-11 %), since they are the main fishing regions responsible for 76 % of Spanish landings. The volume and value of imports and exports of fresh, frozen, and canned products in 2020 did not change (±5 %) compared to the previous period (2015-2019) but seafood trade was affected by country of origin and destination and by Autonomous Community. Overall, our study highlights that the fisheries sector in Spain was also able to implement a range of adaptive strategies, such as diversification of species portfolios or distribution of seafood door-to-door which appeared swiftly to compensate for the vanishing restaurant markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coastal sedimentary record of Galicia (NW Spain) is important to study sea-level oscillations during the Late Quaternary. The alluvial deposits preserved in the Ria de Coruña and Ria de Arousa are remnants of fluvial valleys flooded by the sea during the successive Pleistocene and Holocene transgressions. A first chronological study by Optical Stimulated Luminescence (OSL)- revealed a fast-component dominated, but dim OSL signal emitted by quartz from this area. Equivalent dose distributions, as obtained with the Analyst software, yielded large overdispersion values, which were negatively correlated to the potassium concentration in the sediment, thus suggesting the influence of beta dose rate heterogeneities. Nevertheless, for most samples many aliquots were considered in saturation, leading to a palaeodose and age underestimation – regardless of the model choice for age calculation. In this paper, we present new analyses using the open-source R package BayLum, as the so-called saturated aliquots may be incorporated in age calculation. Thus, we test this model performance and more commonly used models in retrieving large doses. Then, we discuss the implications for age calculation for these continental sediments formed during the Late Pleistocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wastewater treatment is important for pollutant reduction and reclaimed water production. Machine learning is increasing applied in environmental field for deciphering variables' relationships and processing large datasets. However, multifarious sewage treatment systems, technologies and data processing methods led to the widespread application of machine learning in wastewater treatment. Here, we evaluated a total of 398 publications focus on machine learning-based wastewater treatment from 1993 to 2022 using bibliometric method. We aimed to provide a quantitative analysis on research hotpots, global trends and development prospects of wastewater treatment. Results showed that the related topic began in 1993 and publications' number was significantly increased since 2018. In the past three decades, modeling-based prediction and optimization has always been a research hotspot in wastewater treatment, although the continuous increasing of multifarious research topics in this field. As the international collaboration network core, China published 22.9% of the literatures, followed by the United States (13.1%) and Spain (9.36%). Water Research is the most productive journal with 22 publications containing research articles and review papers. Pollutant and antibiotics removal prediction, and neutral network based regression prediction are three independent research categories. Future research focus will still be on modeling-based wastewater treatment prediction and optimization. The findings provide an important reference and international overview to recognize the potential opportunity for researchers whom are working on machine learning based wastewater treatment and related projects. [Display omitted] • Publications on machine learning-based wastewater treatment from 1993 to 2022 were evaluated. • The continuous increasing of multifarious research topics was found in this field. • Modeling-based prediction and optimization has always been a research hotspot. • China is the collaboration network core and Water Research is the most productive journal. • Three typical independent research categories were all focused on model prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decentralized and small-scale forms of organization are reappearing in Spanish's energy system. Co-operatives have a social approach based on three dimensions: the purpose of the initiative, the form of organization and ownership, and embeddedness. In this paper, we apply this analytical framework to twelve energy co-operatives in Spain. These collectively owned organizations are energy-marketing communities, and they have specific objectives: These are an ecological objective (to reduce energy consumption and generate renewable energy) and a social objective (to propose an alternative to the reality of the energy market and citizen empowerment). Energy co-operatives in Spain have been typified as social enterprises, and these social enterprises have experience in common energy service, with which they may mark their future role in local energy communities. These results show the consolidation of energy co-operatives as a sign of the maturity of Spanish society in the face of energy challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the role of Geographical Indications (GIs) in promoting the economic development of European regions. We consider all NUTS3 regions of Italy, France, and Spain between 1993 and 2014, and 728 GIs.. Our research aims to empirically assess the impacts of GIs on labor productivity and employment, for the agricultural and industrial sectors. We rely on a dynamic panel model and considere the spatial variation of the data. The main results show that GIs generate a positive impact on employment, both in the short and the long-run. Moreover, we find that the impact of GIs is not limited to the province where they are produced, but also triggers sizable spillover effects. Our results have important policy implications for further economic research. • GIs generate a significant socioeconomic impact in the short and long run. • The growth in GIs induces a positive employment effect for both agriculture and industry sectors. • The spatial analysis highlights sizable spillover effects of GIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analysis of the evolution of the legislation on coasts in Spain using the methodology of the cycle of public policies. This made it possible to recognize important differences in how the issue of coasts entered into the government agenda, the definition of the problem to be addressed and the design of each of the laws analyzed, mainly due to the influence of the political and economic context. The entry into the government agenda ranges from the need to take advantage of the coast to promote tourism, the recovery of State ownership of the maritime-terrestrial public domain (MTPD) and the attempt to recover private ownership of properties released from the MTPD. In the design, two important elements have been maintained in all three cases: the definition of public domain (PD) goods, and the establishment of easements on privately owned land. In the 1988 and 2013 Laws, the publicist and conservationist legal principles have been maintained, as well as the techniques of the PD and the impact on private rights over properties adjoining the MTPD. The implementation of the laws has been very contrasting. The first law was hardly implemented at all, while the two subsequent laws have been resolutely implemented by the state administration. Finally, the most important elements that are recognized in the evolution of the Coastal Laws is the protection of the PD and the affectation of private property through easements. However, that the legal framework is confusing as two current Laws coexist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the abundance and ubiquitous presence of microplastics in a protected coastal zone located in the southeast of Spain: The Mar Menor lagoon, an important tourist destination in this region. Seventeen sampling sites, corresponding to both intertidal and backshore points, were collected during winter 2017 and 2018, being situated in different protected areas according to international, European and Spanish environmental policies. The main objectives of the study were to examine microplastics in both protected and non-protected areas, and to test the importance of local activities on their presence. Northwest samples reported higher average microplastic concentrations than samples collected in the southeastern part of the coastal lagoon, likely due to the extensive use of sludge from wastewater treatment plants besides the fragmentation of low density polyethylene from plastic greenhouses, being microplastic films also higher for northwest than for southeast samples. Moreover, large inter-site differences observed in microplastic concentrations also demonstrated that local activities, mainly tourism and fishery, may play an important role as microplastic sources. The extensive amount of 17 different polymer types identified in this paper, much higher than most reported in similar studies, together with the variety of colors of microplastics most of them in a fragmented form (59.4%) and mainly detected in urban beaches, should be related to the geographical situation of this coastal lagoon, together with enormous environmental passives accumulated over the past 50 years. Only polyvinyl ester resins proved to be statistically higher in non-protected than in protected zones, probably related to their use in manufacturing boat hulls, although sources and pathways for microplastics are always difficult to assess. Measures to avoid microplastic pollution should be taken through educational programs, with also a clear commitment from plastic producers and transformers. Image 1 • Microplastic represented 51.1% of total microlitter. • Microplastic concentrations were highest northwest, consistent with water runoff. • Local activities; i.e., tourism and fishery, also influence microplastic abundance. • Film forms mainly made up of LDPE were present as a consequence of plastic greenhouses degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Government policy shall address the strategic nature of local resource use decisions. • Local resource users face linked coordination, prisoner's dilemma, and zero-sum/externality situations. • Governments shape the behavior of local resource users via bundles of policy instruments. • Policy instruments contribute to local collective action via a handful of mechanisms. This paper presents a diagnostic approach to the role and capacity of governments to facilitate local collective action and alleviate environmental problems. The paper adds to a nascent scholarship aiming to conciliate theories on "governance by government" and "governance by self-organization". We adopt two premises for that purpose: (1) policy instruments shall be tailored to the strategic nature of local resource management decisions; and (2) such nature is not static and can be modified via governmental policies. We first build on the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework to characterize the decision-making situations that local resource users face and the local rules that shape said situations. Then, based on common pool resource (CPR) and policy instrument choice theory, we identify four mechanisms through which different policy instruments can facilitate local collective action (change in payoffs and their perception, reduction of transaction costs, reduction of uncertainty, and normative consonance). This analytical approach is then applied to four illustrative cases of water management in Germany, France, Greece and Spain. As shown, local resource users are embedded in not one but many overlapping decision-making situations. In this context, the promotion of collective action is rarely accomplished via a single policy instrument or mechanism but via bundles of them. Also, the paper illustrates the importance of understanding how governmental policies modify the structure of rules and incentives that affect local resource users, potentially facilitating local collective action and the solution of environmental problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The paper describes a methodology to obtain an Urban Energy Sustainability Index (UESI). • This methodology can evaluate the global energy performance for any city. • UESI works through the measurement of 12 clearly-defined indicators and targets. • UESI is also a tool for designing effective actions towards energy-sustainable cities. • The index has been applied successfully to two Spanish cities (Malaga and Barcelona). Abstract The aim of the paper is to propose a methodology for evaluating the energy sustainability of a city based on the characterization of the energy end-use, energy systems and flows, as well as other intrinsically related concepts, such as the quality of air and the energy efficiency in transport and buildings. As a result, an Urban Energy Sustainability Index (UESI) has been proposed to measure the energy sustainability of the cities. Several indicators have been proposed to be used to build the index. These indicators have been grouped into three types depending on their influence on energy urban sustainability: basic, instrumental and complementary. For each indicator, an analysis has been done and as a result an expression for estimating it has been proposed. The value of the index is obtained from the combination of these indicators using the weighted average method. The proposed index can be used as an operational tool to improve the sustainability of cities. It also aims to have an international application as it is related to the global sustainability objectives defined by internationally recognized organizations. The proposed methodology has been used for two different Spanish cities, Barcelona and Malaga. The results show that it covers most of the issues related to the use of energy and sustainability in the cities and that it can also be applied to others cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immigrants in rural areas and immigrant employment in the agricultural sector have been studied from a variety of perspectives. However, we currently lack a bird's-eye view of these two phenomena covering all EU member states through time. This paper tackles that gap, first by describing the main features of immigrant settlement and economic integration in rural areas in the EU. Second, it offers an EU-wide overview of immigrants' integration in the agricultural sector. Then, it investigates empirically the degree to which the different characteristics of agricultural production in two member states – Italy and Spain – are associated with a migrant presence in the area. The study finds that, in the context of a shrinking agricultural labour force, the share of migrant workers in that sector in several regions is increasing over time. Migrants living in rural areas are more likely to be unemployed and face economic hardship than locals. Migrants employed in agriculture are, also, more likely to work in elementary occupations and temporary jobs. Finally, the case studies on Italy and Spain demonstrate that the relative size of the migrant population is related to the typology of agricultural land use and to the labour intensity and seasonality of cultivation. • Immigrants in rural areas tend to fare worse compared to the local population and to migrants living in cities and towns. • In the agricultural sector, migrant workers have steadily increased their share of total employment over time. • Migrants are more likely to work in elementary occupations, to be employees, and to have temporary forms of recruitment than locals. • In Italy and Spain migrants in rural areas tend settle where intensive agricultural production, a high degree of temporary employment prevails. • Quantitative analyses based on official stastistics face challenges in terms of under-representing the real number of migrants in agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer is one of the most frequent malignancies. The aim of the article is to analyse the cost-utility ratio and budgetary impact of talazoparib treatment for patients with locally advanced or metastatic gBRCA + breast cancer from the perspective of the Spanish National Health System. Analyses were based on the EMBRACA clinical trial and the model was constructed according to " partitioned survival analysis ". Two scenarios were considered in order to compare talazoparib with the alternatives of capecitabine, vinorelbine and eribulin: 1. Chemotherapy in patients pre-treated with anthracyclines/taxanes and, 2. A second- and subsequent-line treatment option. Treatment types following relapse were recorded in the mentioned clinical trial. The effectiveness measure used was quality-adjusted life years (QALY). The average health cost of patients treated at 43 months with talazoparib was 84,360.86€, whilst current treatment costs were 26,683.90€. The effectiveness of talazoparib was 1.93 years of survival (1.09 QALY) relative to 1.58 years (0.83 QALY) in the treatment group. The incremental cost-utility ratio was 252,420.04€/QALY. This represents the additional cost required to earn an additional QALY when changing from regular treatment to talazoparib. Regarding budgetary impact, the number of patients susceptible to receiving treatment with between 94 and 202 talazoparib was estimated, according to scenario and likelihood. The 3-year cost difference was between 6.9 and 9 million euros. The economic evaluation conducted shows an elevated incremental cost-utility ratio and budgetary impact. Taking these results into account, the price of talazoparib would have to be lower than that taken as a reference to reach the cost-utility thresholds. • As far as the authors know, this paper is the first economic evaluation of iPARP in advanced/metastatic breast cancer. • Talazoparib does not extend the median survival time compared to capecitabine, vinorelbine and eribulin. • As for low survival improvement of talazoparib, it should be used with caution in patients with breast cancer BRCA mutation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As socio-ecological systems, coastal wetlands constitute great economic, cultural, recreational and environmental value. However, due to rapid urbanisation and intensification of agricultural activities, these hybrid systems are continuously degraded, generating several ecological and social problems. This paper aims to deepen how agriculture-nature interactions and actor behaviour affect coastal wetlands' management while conditioning decision-making processes. El Hondo Natural Park (Alicante, Spain) is the selected case study in which 15 key stakeholders from the public administration, the rural community, and the civil society are selected. Data were collected between April and June 2018 through semi-structured interviews and analysed following the Grounded Theory principles and by computer-assisted qualitative and mixed methods data software, MAXQDA®. Results revealed how the rural community and civil society members agree on El Hondo Natural Park's cultural function, conceived as a mechanism to preserve local identity, protecting traditional agricultural practices and rural heritage. However, El Hondo Natural Park's origin and management generated discussion, including topics such as the natural park' declaration, public investment, and participation in decision-making processes (especially due to the lack of transparency and information). Furthermore, main challenges have been identified: farmers' survival, water scarcity and water quality standards, and social recognition and promotion of the natural park. Researchers and relevant authorities can use obtained results to customize their interventions based on previous and well-structured knowledge of how socio-ecological systems are perceived and which past or new conflicts generate frustration among confronted stakeholders' demands. • Coastal wetlands are continuously degraded, generating several ecological and social problems. • El Hondo Natural Park preserve local identity, agriculture and rural heritage. • Agriculture and environment coexistence in socio-ecological systems can be achieved. • Public investment without ensuring end-users participation could generate conflicts. • Comprehension and collaboration overcome frustration and promote trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper analyses the use of indicators for tracking the progress over time (2005–2010) of the municipal solid waste (MSW) management targets in the region of Cantabria (Northern Spain). The combined use of a set of material flow indicators together with estimations of carbon footprint (CF) is suggested. The MSW generation, the treatment of MSW (recycling, composting, incineration and landfilling), the recycling rates of glass, paper and cardboard and packaging wastes, and the landfill of bio-waste have been used as individual indicators. The main characteristics of different CF models applied to MSW management system are highlighted. Four CF models that allow indirect emissions accounting and that use a wide range of aggregated emission factors have been applied to the Cantabria MSW management system. According to the studied set of indicators based on material flows, some of the regional objectives for recycling rates have been achieved by 2010. Besides, the CF values have improved significantly in savings (−179,527tCO2e in 2005 to −310,566tCO2e in 2010) or in neat loads (74,443tCO2e in 2005 to 67,697tCO2e in 2010), depending on the CF model used. The decrease is due mainly to the implementation of the incineration plant at 2007 and the starts up of the municipal sewage sludge drying facilities. Further improvements on the MSW management indicators and additional reductions in GHGs emissions can be achieved through application of the specific actions on the Cantabria Regional Waste Plans by 2014. The analysed material flow indicators together with the CF data obtained in the present work would be useful in the regional planning decisions on the MSW management issue. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Ecological and social desirability of forest regeneration in uplands is disputed. • We propose a conceptual framework for comparative discourse analysis. • We identify three discourses within four European protected areas. • Discourses derive from different ecologies, ideas, interests and institutions. • Power struggles and discourse-coalitions shape forest regeneration policies. Forest regeneration is a major land-use change in European uplands, and whether or not this is a desirable change for biodiversity is disputed. While this debate seems to be largely situated in the field of natural sciences, this paper aims to also examine its social dimensions. To do so, we adopt a comparative discourse analysis with four cases of protected areas in France, Spain, and Scotland. We draw on a conceptual framework highlighting both the ecological and social factors underpinning the construction of environmental discourses. It notably emphasises the role of interests, ideas and institutions, and the power dynamics underpinning discourse-coalitions. We show how diverging discourses emerged, gained ground, coalesced and competed differently in different contexts, explaining the adoption of seemingly opposite discourses by protected area authorities. These findings reaffirm the need to conceive environmental governance as an on-going deliberative process in order to achieve environmental justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the passing of Royal Decree-Law 16/2012, Spain's national health system switched from a model defined by universal and free health care principles, to a private insurance system that excluded large population groups. Based on a qualitative research design, this paper examines the media treatment of undocumented immigrants' prerogatives to public health care in Spain (2012–2018). The analysis of 234 articles, drawn from three major Spanish newspapers, reveals three frames that underscore the media's "rhetorics of inclusion," which argue for the extension of free medical services to irregular immigrantsa topic traditionally underestimated by the literature. The moralist frame, supported by social justice arguments, is found in tandem with the cost-benefit frame that advocates for immigrants' health care access as a means for containing medical expenses. The overall predominance of the legalist frame largely relies on arguments that reflect a Spanish political culture rooted in the universality of health rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Commission and EU Member States have recently promoted legislation (under the REPower EU Plan) to accelerate renewable energy projects by allowing the elimination or reduction of environmental assessment and public participation in the approval procedure. To avoid adverse effects on the environment, these regulations propose the exclusion of certain areas (identified through available information on protected and/or environmentally sensitive areas) from the procedure. This paper aims to evaluate whether such measures are effective to avoid damage to biodiversity from the implementation of photovoltaic energy. To this end, we studied the distribution and abundance of a threatened bird species, the Black-bellied Sandgrouse, at two geographic scales: i) regional: Andalusia (southern Spain); ii) local: Campo de Tabernas (an excellent example of the semi-arid ecosystems of southeastern Spain) and evaluated the quality of the information that Administrations have on the species by comparing it with own censuses. We also assessed the effectiveness of the environmental impact procedure for photovoltaic plants planned in Campo de Tabernas. Data from the regional Administration reveal that Andalusian protected areas cover a minimal part (17.7%) of the species' range. Moreover, neither the regional nor the national Administration have reliable and updated information on the distribution of the species in Campo de Tabernas (only 17% of the current distribution area is known). The wrong choices made by developers about where to locate the photovoltaic plants together with wrong decisions of the regional Administration (with land-use planning competences, including the planning of power plant locations) have led to the loss of 630 ha of the species' range in Campo de Tabernas. Public participation of experts prevents, through allegations to the projects, an important part of the impact on the species. Policy implications: the information that the Administrations have on this species does not allow them to make proper decisions on where to apply renewable acceleration. Obtaining complete and updated information on the distribution of endangered species to elaborate detailed wildlife sensitivity areas is essential and urgent before implementing measures to accelerate renewables. • The new EU renewable acceleration directives are analysed here for the first time. • A threatened species becomes locally extinct due to solar power plants' poor planning. • Involving experts in EIA procedure greatly reduces the impact on a threatened species. • The design of renewable go-to areas demands specific research on threatened species. • Current EU legislation to accelerate renewables will negatively affect biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we explore ways of improving the field performance of oak plantations for the regeneration of open woodlands in Mediterranean environments. Using the evergreen, sclerophyllous holm oak species (Quercus ilex L. subsp. ballota (Desf.) Samp.), we analyzed the effects of the outplanting date (October vs. February), vegetation competition (weeding vs. untreated), the environmental conditions imposed by the outplanting site, and the interactions between all these factors. For test purposes, 3 blocks of 200 one-year-old holm oak nursery-grown seedlings were set up in four sites in SE Spain (Becerra, Mágina, Jarosa and Hinojosa). Half of each block (plot) was weeded to prevent competition from other vegetation. In each plot (weeded or not) half of the seedlings were outplanted in October 2019 and the other half in February 2020. In total, 2400 holm oak seedlings were planted to be monitored over the course of two growing seasons. Survival and growth-related parameters such as height, root collar diameter, number of leaves and total and fractional aerial biomass were recorded. Weeding was shown to be the most important factor affecting both survival and seedling growth, especially in sites with a milder autumn and winter, and a long, intense summer, such as Jarosa and Hinojosa. In colder locations, however, October outplanting was more advantageous, especially if accompanied by weeding (Becerra and Mágina). In cases where competition from native species is not controlled, it would be advisable to plant in October, in terms of both survival and development of the seedlings, especially in colder sites. In general terms, the best option was outplanting in October plus weeding, while the worst option was outplanting in February with no weeding. This study provides new tested recommendations on how to improve the success of oak plantations in different Mediterranean environments. [Display omitted] • Oak plantations (Quercus spp.) have a poor field performance in the Mediterranean. • Weeding, outplanting date and site were evaluated over two growing seasons. • Weeding is highly recommended, especially in warmer sites. • October outplanting showed better results than February outplanting. • Interactions between weeding and outplanting date and site were found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pertinent literature presents no evidence of the simultaneous effects of leader task-, relations-, or change-oriented behaviors on employee proactivity and extra-role customer service. Nor does it of cultural tightness-looseness as a moderator of the effect of proactivity on extra-role customer service. We propose and test the mediating impact of proactivity in the association between three types of leadership behaviors and extra-role service. We also test cultural tightness-looseness as a moderator of the impact of proactivity on extra-role service. Data obtained from hotel frontline employees in Spain were utilized to gauge the proposed relationships via the partial least squares structural equation modeling. Our findings reveal that proactivity mediates the influences of leader task- and relations-oriented behaviors on extra-role service. We have verified that cultural tightness-looseness strengthens the link between proactivity and extra-role service. The paper subsequently discusses the implications for theory and practice. • Leader-oriented behavior has contradictory implications for extra-role service. • Proactivity mediates the relationships above. • Cultural tightness moderates the proactivity -> extra-role service relationship. • The study shows how leader-oriented behavior influences hotels' service quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the effects of occupational mobility on biological well-being from a long-term perspective. While it is well known that occupation and heights were closely related in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, our analysis shows that variations in the occupational status of parents and social mobility relative to grandparents also help to explain the evolution of biological well-being in subsequent generations. Drawing on data on height and socio-economic status for almost 4000 individuals born between 1835 and 1959, this paper analyzes the effects of occupational changes on statures over three generations in a period when opportunities for access to land improved in rural Spain. Our results indicate that (1): there was a strong positive relationship between fathers' occupational status and children's biological well-being; (2) improvements in the parental socioeconomic status had a rapid impact on the height of the male children if this improvement occurred during the period when the sons were growing up, and (3) the social mobility of parents in relation to grandparents also had a noticeable effect on the height of their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the influence of structural embeddedness (SE) on pioneering orientation (PO) in the Spanish shoe industry. The results obtained indicate that SE has a curvilinear relationship (inverted U-shape) with PO. This curvilinear relationship is moderated by both technological and marketing capabilities in opposite directions. While the relationship is weaker with an increase in technological capabilities, it is stronger with an increase in marketing capabilities. The paper contributes to the literature by delving deeper into the relationship between SE and PO, highlighting a number of drivers of SE that encourage or hamper PO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies uphold market orientation as a key factor in creating and sustaining a firm's competitive advantage. This research aims to explore this topic further by including within the model the concept of green innovation. In particular, this paper empirically tests the mediating role of green innovation performance in the relationship between market orientation and organizational performance. This study relies on a sample of 145 firms belonging to the Spanish automotive components manufacturing sector. The results obtained by applying Partial Least Squares (PLS) path-modeling, a variance-based structural equations modeling technique, reveal that market orientation exerts a direct impact on organizational performance. Subsequently, we observe how the green innovation performance construct partially mediates the market orientation-organizational performance link. The paper brings some theoretical conclusions and implications for research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deformation monitoring is a common practice in most of dams to ensure their structural health and safety status. Systematic monitoring is frequently carried out by means of geotechnical sensors and geodetic techniques that, although very precise an accurate, can be time-consuming and economically costly. Remote sensing techniques are proved to be very effective in assessing deformation. Changes in the structure, shell or associated infrastructures of dams, including adjacent slopes, can be efficiently recorded by using satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar Inteferometry (InSAR) techniques, in particular, Muti-Temporal InSAR time-series analyses. This is a mature technology nowadays but not very common as a routine procedure for dam monitoring. Today, thanks to the availability of spaceborne satellites with high spatial resolution SAR images and short revisit times, this technology is a powerful cost-effective way to monitor millimeter-level displacements of the dam structure and its surroundings. What is more, the potential of the technique is increased since the Copernicus C-band SAR Sentinel-1 satellites are in orbit, due to the high revisit time of 6 days and the free data availability. ReMoDams is a Spanish research project devoted to provide the deformation monitoring of several embankments dams using advances time-series InSAR techniques. One of these dams is The Arenoso dam, located in the province of Cordova (southern Spain). This dam has been monitored using Sentinel-1 SAR data since the beginning of the mission in 2014. In this paper, we show the processing of 382 SLC SAR images both in ascending and descending tracks until March 2019. The results indicate that the main displacement of the dam in this period is in the vertical direction with a rate in the order of -1 cm/year in the central part of the dam body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The depopulation of rural areas in Spain, a phenomenon that has given rise to what is currently known as 'empty Spain', has become a serious social problem. The mass exodus of the young to the country's cities poses the main threat to rural sustainability. In this paper, at attempt is made to determine the factors that prompt the young to leave the Celtiberian Highlands, one of the most sparsely populated areas in Southern Europe, and the socio-educational measures that could be taken to avoid this exodus. To this end, a mixed-method approach with a sequential design was employed, in which members of the region's Rural Development Groups were administered a questionnaire and interviewed, whose findings were supplemented by in-situ observations. The young people living in the Celtiberian Highlands are currently facing a series of professional, social and personal challenges that encourage them to emigrate. A worrying feeling of rootlessness and inferiority with respect to urbanites was detected among them. In light of this, it is essential to adopt socio-educational measures that contribute to strengthen their ties to the rural community and to raise their awareness about the serious problems to which depopulation gives rise and the role that they could play to prevent it. • There are few studies of the exodus of rural youth focusing on the most underpopulated area in Southern Europe. • The results suggest that fostering a feeling of belonging among the young to the community go to preventing their exodus. • A feeling of inferiority among rural youth with respect to urbanites has an influence on them when deciding to emigrate. • Rural youth should be made aware of the job and entrepreneurial opportunities open to them in their villages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Types of personal networks are described using centralization, cliques and components as criteria variables. • Four types of personal networks were identified: dense, intermediate, clustered, and fragmented networks. • Levels of structural cohesion and cohesive subgroups were key dimensions to classify the types of personal networks. • Mobility, social activity and personal transitions may introduce diversity in personal networks. The development of typologies is an efficient strategy in the descriptive study of individual differences in the interpersonal environment of relationships. In this paper, we developed a classification of personal networks using structural indicators with a representative sample (n = 403) in a medium-sized city of the metropolitan environment of Seville, in the south of Spain. The typology was based on the analysis of conglomerates with three criteria variables: centralization, number of cliques, and the number of components. The results allowed the identification of four types of personal networks: dense, intermediate, clustered, and fragmented networks. The classification was validated with descriptive data, linear discriminant analysis, and visual-classification procedure. The structural cohesion and the formation of cohesive sub-groups were two key dimensions to describe the variability of the personal networks in the sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Training in safety is needed for ChE and should be included in the curriculum. • Safety training in Spain is included as specific, 4th year, 4.5–6 ECTS credits course. • New methodological approaches to teach safety were developed. • Participative master class combined with role playing or case study are recommended. • Students express that new approaches are useful to improve professional safety skills. The dramatic growth of the chemical industry in the last century showed its great impact on the development of society but also its danger to humans and the environment, especially by the severe accidents at Seveso or Bhopal. As a result, public concern and perception of the impact and effect of these large installations on the safety of people and their environment led to changes in the chemical industry but also in Chemical Engineering as a discipline and profession. In the last 40 years, safety training has been introduced into the university curriculum of these professionals, especially promoted by accreditation agencies. This paper analyzes the curricular and methodological approach of the introduction of this discipline in the curriculum of Chemical Engineers and illustrates the current situation with the analysis of the curricula in the Spanish universities. Finally, it describes the implementation of this subject with the use of active methodologies in the case of the teaching of "Industrial safety" for Chemical Engineering degree students at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV). Results from assessment performed show benefits of the activities and methodologies developed to improve the level of learning and acquisition of professional competences of the safety-attending students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the first paper on the subject was published in 2002, the tourism-led growth hypothesis (TLGH) has constituted one of the most predominant topics in tourism literature. Spain is a leading country in the tourism industry and one where this hypothesis has been tested with several studies confirming the relationship between Spain's tourism development and its economic growth. However, the existing studies for Spain do not take into account recent turbulences such as the Global Financial and Economic Crisis and the Arab Spring uprisings that have shocked tourism markets. This paper re-examines the TLGH for the Spanish case in the light of these events in order to investigate the robustness of the relationship between tourism and economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]