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This study compares the quality of responses to eight matrix questions (36 variables) included in a survey administered on paper and by computer in two equivalent samples. Three criteria have considerated: 1) the average of non-response questions for each mode; 2) the repetition (or not) of the same response in different question items (differentiation); and, 3) the choice of extreme and middle response alternatives on the scale (easy responses). The paper questionnaires provided a greater number of non-response questions, with no change in non-response rates when taking into account scale range: 4, 5, 10 and 11 categories. The electronic questionnaire showed slightly greater differentiation and fewer extreme responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines associative participation in Spanish society from a gender perspective, focusing on participation levels, associative integration and forms of associationism. The following research questions were formulated: “Do levels of associative participation differ between men and women?” and “Do men and women participate in the same type of associations?”. To respond to these questions, data from the 2019 Survey on Social Capital in Spain was analyzed. This data is representative at a national level, and descriptive, correlational and ordered logistic regression analyses were performed. It was concluded that evidence supports a burden of gender roles in terms of associationism, especially for political associationism, creating a ceiling effect for participation and even social trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eventual disconnection between voters´ preferences and specific policies is of special concern in decentralized countries, where any policy initiative might be simultaneously seen either as an erosion or a reinforcement of selfrule. The aim of this paper is to apply this framework to the harmonization of the Spanish Inheritance and Gift Tax (IGT). We econometrically contrast whether citizens´ living in Autonomous Communities (ACs) that led a tax race to the bottom regarding this tax or in those that exert a greater taste for political autonomy are more likely to oppose a more nationally uniform tax than the rest of Spaniards. Empirically, we exploit data from the 2019 wave of the Institute for Fiscal Studies Fiscal Barometer. According to our main results, citizens living in low taxation ACs and citizens living in some more pro-self-rule regions are even more likely to favor harmonization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spain has one of the highest in-work poverty rates in Europe and a high degree of job instability. Reducing in-work poverty requires an understanding of the entry and exit mechanisms specific to this situation, as well as the protective and risk factors involved. Based on data from the Spanish Living Conditions Survey (2017- 2020), this paper shows that households with children are more likely to experience in-work poverty, and that in-work poverty is more persistent in these cases. That said, entry into and exit from poverty is mostly associated with employment-related events, and to a lesser extent, with changes in household composition. The concentration of in-work poverty in households with children results from a process of erosion and accumulated risks, whereby wage losses have a greater effect on the risk of poverty, and the social protection system appears to be insufficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the efforts to combat gender-based violence in Spain since the passing of Law 1/2004. This is the applicable legal framework in the fight against gender-based violence (GBV). Based on the official data on the complaints and on the victims of genderbased violence, an empirical analysis was carried out to assess whether the public policies implemented by the Spanish government in the fight against gender-based violence have been effective. The results indicate that, even though Spain is one of the most advanced countries in this area, 15 years after Law 1/2004 was passed, the legal actions contained in it are still insufficient for the eradication of genderbased and domestic violence. The paper concludes with a series of recommendations to broaden the debate on the fight against genderbased violence in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the prevailing conflict framings of national (El País and El Mundo) and Catalan (La Vanguardia and El Periódico de Cataluña) newspapers in response to the management of the regional independence conflict (2010-2014). For this, a new conflict framing typology was developed, based on level of substantivity. The study has verified that territorial origin affects, but does not determine, the media's definition of the conflict and its preference for specific territorial models. The alignment between parties and the media appears to be the variable that best explains the orientation (pro-independence, constitutionalist, or federalist) of each newspaper. We have also verified the media's action as a polarizing agent based on territorial model preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with how to recognise if the patterns of homophily found in a social network are resilient to small disturbances that may occur in that network. Data from a survey of students in a secondary school in the Canary Islands were replicated using an agent-based model. The model calculated homophily indices and their statistical significance and then simulated small alterations in the distribution of links. The results clearly show that some homophily indices resist these kinds of perturbations and others do not. Evidence suggests that the distribution of individuals across the social network communities is a key factor in explaining why certain patterns of relationships are more resilient than others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a paucity of research that has linked participatory budgeting to tax revenues, and no studies that have attempted to find a potential causal relationship between participating in this type of process and increasing individuals' tax compliance. This paper therefore seeks to make a small contribution to the field by providing empirical evidence on this topic. Based on 530 questionnaires from a municipality with a track record in participatory processes, a system of structural equations was used to show how active engagement in a participatory budgeting process could lead to greater fiscal awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the estimates offered by political and social media on trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation in Spain. Estimates of the costs and economic benefits obtained by traffickers from their victims are calculated using different information sources. These sources are collected by the authors (interviews with key informants and traffickers, analysis of court rulings, ethnographic work, analysis of news items reported in the press, and memoirs from official bodies). The results question the contradictory and obsolete information used to refer to the number of victims, economic volumes, and the number of men paying for sexual services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European population practice insufficient physical-sports activity. A possible influential factor is work activity. This paper intends to know the association between compliance with WHO recommendations and labour variables, using data from the European Social Survey with a sample of 18,240 active workers from 20 countries. The results demonstrate that people who worked less hours were physically more active. In the same way, women and people with low incomes were more negatively affected by long work days. The geographical area, incomes and age were more conditioning for physical activity than work hours. Finally, the independence to organize daily work could contribute to a higher level of practice in women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the apparent familism of Spanish society, family policies have never occupied an important place in the political sphere. However, various issues related to family policy have started to appear in the agenda of Spanish political parties in recent years. This paper analyses family-related issues in the electoral programmes of the five national parties that stood for election on 28 April, 2019, namely, Partido Socialista Obrero Español, Partido Popular, Ciudadanos, Unidas-Podemos, and VOX. A qualitative methodology was used that combined both content and discourse analysis. The results point to important ideological differences between these political parties based on their different conceptualisation of the family, but also to significant similarities on various issues related to "family pragmatics". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to analyse the recent legislative changes in the domestic work sector in Spain, and to research into the impact of these changes on how the sector operates. Since 2011, numerous laws and regulations have been amended within the context of the financial crisis, which caused an uneven development and implementation of the applicable legislation. This paper discusses the results of a study that reviewed the legislation and the secondary sources related to the sector's composition and development in Spain. In-depth interviews were also conducted with domestic workers. The study shows the difficulties involved in reinforcing the changes made in the domestic work sector, due to its peculiar relationship with the productive and reproductive spheres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses emerging forms in which life and work are interwoven, based on 20 ethnographic studies conducted in enterprises in Spain. Whereas after the Industrial Revolution work processes tended to be autonomous from the living environments of production agents, in recent decades a trend in the opposite direction has been observed in some companies. This re-articulation takes place at several levels: a) through the blurring of the boundaries that separate work and everyday life, b) through the reintegration of affective dimensions into work processes, c) in promoting reciprocity and sociability in the economic sphere and d) in the production of meaningful experiences at work. Are we witnessing an emancipating balance between life and work? Or, on the contrary, is private life being colonized by the sphere of production? In this paper we seek to explore a third form of analysis, that of reflexive modernity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to present new theorisations of social structure in light of the new sociologies of the individual currently being developed in France. Although these sociologies are little known, they have significant value in rethinking today's society and sociology. Starting from a review of the concept and the main conceptions of social structure, I will focus on the most significant contributions of these new sociologies of the individual. To do this, on the one hand, it will be shown that the two classical traditions of social structure (institutional or cultural and as a class structure) are insufficient to explain today's society, in which the individual has become the main protagonist and key focus of sociology. On the other hand, in contrast with the old sociologies of the individual, which are centred on the micro level of social interaction, this paper analyses new structural constraints that limit the individual's action. The paper concludes with an invitation to develop these new sociologies at an individual scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the achievement of the poverty targets of the EU's 2020 Strategy. To this end, for the first time for all EU Member States, an alternative measure of monetary poverty is built using fuzzy set methodology, which helps to avoid some of the drawbacks of the EU's AROPE indicator. The results from the Fuzzy Poverty Indicator (FPI) reveal that the probability of a citizen being poor in the EU has increased slightly since the launch of the Strategy in just over 20 basis points. The EU is not achieving its intended aims and also shows a significant lack of coordination due to a lack of uniformity in objectives and different behavior among Member States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on changes in the distribution of housework between men and women. The main hypothesis suggests that the trend for a greater participation by men to domestic work does not lead to a reduction in the time that women devote to domestic tasks, especially the more routine ones. Based on the Time Use Survey (INE), this paper analyses the case of heterosexual dual-income couples. It uses the change in the time devoted to housework (according to its classification into four groups of activities) as the dependent variable. The results show that the unequal distribution and segregation of domestic work between men and women remains although a decrease is seen in these differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using provincial data about age at first marriage and permanent singlehood, this paper presents a detailed analysis of marriage behaviour for men and women in Spain over the period 1887-2001. It shows that the great diversity between the Spanish provinces as far as marriage patterns are concerned was basically conditioned by the different numbers of people who never married, rather than by the different ages at which people usually married for the first time. It also concludes that the traditional patterns in each province continued to be replicated at least until the mid-twentieth century. The application of modern panel techniques confirmed some explanatory hypotheses that are often proposed in the literature on the subject (concerning economic, educational, and urbanisation levels) about the historical development of marriage behaviour in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how governance actors in regional business systems engage with foreign-owned multinational corporations which are present within their territory, in attempts to retain investment and link their regions to global production networks. This is done through a qualitative analysis of policy and practice in six sub-national regions in three advanced industrialized economies (Canada, Spain and the UK), thus permitting both international and intra-national comparisons. We find that while there are broad similarities in the types of governance mechanisms used, there are notable differences in the extent and intensity of forms of market, state and associational governance of foreign direct investment. These differences partly correspond to broader institutional differences in the nature of business systems, and partly to the socio-political construction of sub-national governance space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses media coverage of corruption scandals in Spain between 1996 and 2009. The fi rst aim is to determine to what extent the two most-read newspapers in Spain, El País and El Mundo, cover corruption scandals following different political orientations. Results illustrate highly partisan media coverage: there are important differences in how these newspapers cover corruption cases, depending on the political party involved (PP or PSOE). A second goal is to analyse whether the media influence citizens' perception of corruption as a public problem. Results show that, when the number of news stories on political corruption increases, the percentage of citizens that consider corruption as one of the most important problems in Spain also increases. Media impact on public opinion is high and occurs in the short- to mid-term. Finally, the paper analyses to what extent the perception of corruption is influenced by changes in the perception of the economic situation, by showing that this variable has low explanatory power compared to media coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the way participants change their mind in a deliberative forum. Its contribution lies in studying the extent to which these changes persist over time. We start from Mackie's assumption that changes of opinion in a deliberative context cannot be interpreted by considering isolated variables, but must be based on individual attitudinal networks in which preferences are embedded. The results show that certain changes after deliberation are not maintained by some individuals. The paper details the importance of certain variables in the change of opinion in the short and long term, as well as the relationship that exists between different attitudes (information, preferences, beliefs and political efficacy) at three different times before and after deliberation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work analyses three platforms that have emerged in different Spanish provinces (Soria, Teruel and Zamora) to report the neglect suffered from State institutions, the Regional Governments and its representatives when it comes to plan infrastructure and development policies. Firstly, the paper analyses the way these platforms emerge and the nature of these actors, who are compared and contrasted to the Nimby phenomenon. Further, the paper studies and compares -- through the tools used to analyse collective action -- their discourse, organisational structure and how they channel their demands. Finally, the paper offers a reflexion on the nature and impact of this new type of actor , present in the political arenas of some regions and it compares them to Nimby networks, social movements and pressure groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows the results of a research project on relative social mobility patterns in Spain during the second half of the 20th century. The data were collected by the Spanish National Statistics Institute for the Survey of Incomes and Living Conditions (2005). This empirical material has not been used previously and it provides new data about the last decade of the 20th century. The social fluidity models created by Erikson and Goldthorpe in The Constant Flux (1992) have been applied. In short, this paper confirms that the rates of the social fluidity remain invariant during this period and that the patterns of core social fluidity for European countries closely match the Spanish case. Nevertheless, this mobility regime has certain particularities resulting from the characteristics of Spain's social and economic structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on public policy making for homosexual unions in Europe. It addresses these policies from the perspective of recognition, a concept drawn on the literature on civil rights and minorities. As a criterion for evaluation, the test of recognition demands the satisfaction of a twofold condition: firstly, democracies must be prepared to accept even the most costly of the demands as presented by the representatives of sexual minorities (in this case the right of joint adoption); secondly, public policies must show respect to the prevailing model of citizenship, not imposing visions of difference when difference-based claims are treated with disregard in the political community, and, conversely, not pursing assimilation and homogeneity where the prevailing tradition points at policies based on the recognition of difference and diversity. Ultimately, this article seeks the development of a new interest on this subject among political scientists and sociologists. The paper draws on the analysis of law-making in Europe since 1989. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout history, homeless people have been associated with nomadism and with itinerant poverty. This paper aims to show that the social exclusion which affects those who live on the streets takes the form of a process of forced mobility. Firstly, the paper considers the factors or agents that promote this forced mobility, and then reflects on the legal measures that seek to give coherence to the various attempts that have been made to remove homeless people from certain places. These «anti-homeless laws» purport to promote a more effective regulation of public space. At present, however, the forced mobility of homeless people is related to the current predominance of certain narrow definitions of public space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper considers effervescence as a central category in Émile Durkheim's sociology, identifying its uses and functions in relation to collective representations. The aim of the paper is: 1) to contextualize the concept in the field of crowd psychology in 19th century France; 2) to trace the semantics of the concept in the different uses developed by the author; 3) to analyze the distinctive feature of effervescence in relation to nonconceptual collective representations; and 4) to characterize the opposite concept: vie sérieuse. This approach allows us: a) to consider the function of social effervescence without focusing its comprehension solely on the effects that it generates; b) to identify how collective representations work in integrating and regulating social processes, and c) to focus the understanding of collective representations in relation to communication processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six years after its sinking, images of the Prestige remain etched in our memory: an overturned, leaking oil tanker losing part of its load and being towed out to high sea over the course of six days, during which time the tanker split in two and sank to a depth of 3,500 meters. The fuel reached the coast in several waves, affecting Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, the Basque Country, and to a lesser extent, France and Portugal. Fishermen, shellfish gatherers, and thousands of volunteers took it upon themselves to prevent the worst consequences of the slick. Demonstrators gathered en masse in Santiago de Compostela… Never before in Spain had a disaster of this nature had such media, social, and political impact. What implications did this have for policies designed to prevent and combat environmental disasters? Did these public policies change as a result of this event? In this paper, frame analysis applied to public policy analysis is used to answer these questions. In other words, the paper analyzes the prevailing discourse regarding these public policies, how the problem is defined, what is identified as its cause, how the problem is situated geographically, to whom the problem and liability for it is attributed, what the proposed solutions are, what or who the targets of the policies are, the places at which these policies are aimed, and who should act to solve the problem. This analysis enables us both to conclude that the Prestige disaster did not bring about an essential change in Spanish public policies designed to prevent and combat marine oil pollution, and to draw lessons for improving the effectiveness of the public policies analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women participation in Spanish sociological journals is analysed during the period 2001-2005, by means of bibliometrics and Social Network Analysis. There is a predominance of men (75,08% of authors) compare to women (24,92%), despite the fact that there is a majority of women ending University studies. This inequality starts to be perceived from the beginning of their research and professional development and it intensifies with time. As a result, only a reduced number of women reach the highest positions in the academic rankings, which correspond to authors with the highest productivity. Related to that, it has been observed a phenomenon of bottleneck, according to it as the number of women writers reduces, the productivity threshold increases. There must be studied in depth the barriers that make difficult the development of a professional course among women and to carry out a diachronic monitoring of the professional occupation and their contribution to papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Created with the dual purpose of monitoring social change and bringing improvements into the creation and design of instruments for measuring that reality, the European Social Survey (ESS) has now completed its third round. This methodology paper expresses thoughts on the usefulness of analysing the accumulated data from the first two rounds in the process for ongoing improvement of the survey. And so, in the case of Spain, the experience accumulated in the earlier rounds has been used to 1) validate the questionnaire, 2) finely tune the sampling design to the characteristics of the country, and 3) substantially improve the quality of the data obtained. The paper shows how the coordinated effort of the Spanish ESS team and the polling agency has resulted in a remarkable increase in the degree of compliance with the survey targets, which is a fact that guarantees the representativeness of the sample finally obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the world of contemporary design, the individual genius of the creator is less important than his skill for harnessing the trends that are generated in the street. This paper analyzes the way in which designers create and one of the most important protagonists of creativity in the street: young urban tribes. In order to understand the link between both kinds of creator, it is not just cultural climates and atmospheres that are considered to be important. Beyond the fizzy metaphor, there is a suggestion that there is a pneuma (or spirit) that tribes help to create and which designers must know how to find their way through. The most important issues examined in this paper are how Aragonese designers navigate their way through this pneuma and how it is generated by the urban tribes of Zaragoza. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the same way as any other type of social organization, NGOs evidence the existence of gender inequalities in their structure and internal functioning. This paper aims at analysing this issue in the case of Development NGOs, through the study of the practices, dynamics and rhetoric that go on inside them. Particular attention is paid to one of its effects: the (in)visibility of women in this kind of organization, an examination being made of the two dimensions of this phenomenon. On the one hand, the paper studies the invisibility of gender issues, which arises out of the inequality that exists in such organizations. On the other hand, we focus on the excessive visibility of anything that goes against established rules, starting out from the processes of change in the gender roles that are occurring in some Development NGOs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electoral support for ethno-nationalist parties is based on the mobilisation of ethnic and cultural identities, which are generally understood to be primordial and, therefore, deeply rooted and highly stable. This paper poses the following question: to what extent do ethnic or national identities provide nationalist parties with a competitive advantage with regard to other parties, based on other types of allegiance, such as class or religion? In order to answer this question, the paper compares the incumbent nationalist and non-nationalist parties of the regional governments of Canada, Denmark, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom in the last five decades with respect to three empirical indicators: electoral performance, fluctuation of voting levels and how long governing parties stay in office. The results suggest that incumbent nationalist parties are, in general, less severely punished by voters at election time than non-nationalist parties, especially in coalition governments. However, this apparent advantage does not provide nationalist parties with longer periods in office. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses and compares two kinds of logic that explain electoral behaviour: the performance vote and the ideological vote. To be exact, this paper puts one of the main hypotheses of both theories to the test: that the rules guiding citizens' voting decisions are the same, regardless of their level of interest, knowledge and information about political matters. In order to do this, empirical material taken from post-electoral surveys in four democracies —Spain, Portugal, Hungary and Poland— is analysed. The data belongs to the second module of the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES 2005) programme which contains information on citizens' electoral conduct and knowledge of politics. The results indicate that while the influence of political knowledge on the logic of the performance vote is clear and conclusive, it is much less conclusive in the case of the ideological vote. All this suggests that democratic control of governments through sanctioning their performance requires citizens to have minimum levels of knowledge and information about politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the contradiction at the heart of Italian and Spanish immigration policies between the calls for integration on the one hand, and the marginalization associated with temporary and contingent immigration status on the other. I argue that this tension is structural and reflects an underlying contradiction in the political economy of these post-Fordist societies. In the second half of this paper, I examine this same tension in U.S. immigration policy, and explore the ways the current proposals for reform would bring U.S. immigration policy closer to that of Spain and Italy. I note that while the tension between immigrant marginalization and integration has always characterized U.S. policy, the contradiction has intensified as immigrants are an increasingly visible component of the U.S. workforce, complicating attempts at meaningful reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents some statistical data on the Hispanic population in the United States and its growth, caused by a sustained immigrant influx. The paper develops the following points: 1) the importance and relevance of the Hispanic population in the United States; 2) the role of Mexican and Central American migration as the main sources of manual labor for the American economy; 3) the importance of migrants in the regional and national development in the countries of origin; 4) the situation and perspectives of the second generation; 5) the long-term integration of the Latin American immigrant population in the United States. The supporting arguments of recent essays criticizing the presence of the Hispanic population in the United States are examined as being a threat to English dominance and a factor for cultural disintegration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following Coleman's statement about contemporary society being asymmetric, the purpose of this paper is to assess the differents kinds of public action that recur in present-day societies. Generally speaking, political and sociological literature has given priority to public action dominated by associations, which are observed as the protagonists of the defence of citizenry in an asymmetric society. In this respect, the design of public policies aimed at strengthening and expanding associative activity is legitimated. The main reason for this type of policy is that the decline of associative activity has often been linked with a decline in the democratic fabric of a particular community. In the second part of this paper, we suggest that far from producing this decline, we can confirm the emergence of other forms of participation which, while not starting out from the hypothesis of an associative movement, do share the political scenario with associations. We also demonstrate that both public administrations and civil associations are reporting on this type of participation, which makes its emergence both possible and easy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we compare the programs of Niklas Luhmann's General Theory of Social Systems (GTSS) and Bruno Latour's Actor-Network Theory (ANT) from a systematic perspective based on the comparison of functional equivalents related to what are considered the main problems addressed by sociology. We propose to compare three specific concepts from the theoretical foundations of their sociological programs, namely: the definition of sociology's unit of analysis and its connections to the unitary factor of social order and the sequential factor of social change. Our hypothesis suggests that, although they diverge in emphasis and nuances, both programs converge in the dyadic definition of the sociological unit of analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines the epistemological and methodological specificities of the Biographic-Narrative Interpretive Method, developed in Britain (under the name 'BNIM') and Germany (where it is known as 'Interpretative Biografieforschung'). Based on phenomenology and hermeneutics, this method seeks to express subjects' past and present frames of meaning through the use of a non-directive interview. This interview is analysed by a reconstructive process that differentiates between the 'lived life' and the 'told story', and subsequently connects both dimensions. The main steps for the application of the method are explained through the case study of Adriana, taken from a R&D&i research project on immigration and the labour market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the demographic profile of couples in reconstituted nuclei with at least one child under 18 in Spain. In the last decade there has been an increase in these nuclei that is largely explained by the presence of couples of immigrant and mixed immigrant-Spanish origin. In addition to national origin, three other characteristics of these couples stand out: high rates of cohabitation, age difference between members of the couple and economic precariousness. However, our analysis reveals large heterogeneity in their profiles, mainly differentiated by the presence or absence of shared children as well as the sex and nationality of the parent who brings children into the relationship. We also find that the most important determinant in the decision to have a child in common in a reconstituted relationship is the number of non-common children, being much less important which parent brought them into the reconstituted family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to analyse the effect of candidates on voting behaviour in the regional elections of 2007 and 2011 in a number of Spanish regions (Autonomous Communities) included in the scope of the so-called 'dominant model of competition.' These are characterised by the total predominance of Spain-wide parties—and absence of any relevant nationalist/regionalist parties—in all electoral contests: Castile and León, Castile-La Mancha, Madrid region, Valencia region, Extremadura, La Rioja and Murcia region. Electoral research in Spain has focused mainly on the strong weight of ideology and party identifi cation in terms of voting behaviour, whereas the impact of the regional candidates themselves has not been analysed in so much detail. Using a series of logistic regressions, this study shows that approving of the regional leader is indeed one of the most signifi cant factors regarding voting decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers an ethnographic interpretation of how in a changing context of family care different Spanish home telecare services provide older people with social links to prevent their isolation, granting them "connected autonomy": the promotion of their autonomy and independent living through connectedness. To do so, services need to craft a network of "contacts". Different versions of the term iguration are employed to describe the practical materializations of the forms of relatedness put in place by such services: what roles become available and explicitly supported; what other igurations of relatedness (e.g., kinship, friendship, neighbourliness) they come across; what happens when these different igurations of relatedness meet. In doing this, our aim is to allow space to relect ethically on the practical relational promises and challenges of these forms of technologized care of older people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the outflows of the foreign-born population resident in Spain; specifically, it examines the variations in the probability of emigrating and the intensity of self-selection during the different phases of the economic cycle. In order to do this, survival analysis models were calculated using data from the Spanish Labour Force Survey between 2005 and 2010. The results show, on the one hand, an increase in the probability of emigrating from the start of the recession; and on the other hand, that the probability of emigrating is higher among immigrants with worse employment outcomes and a poorer educational background, as suggested by Neo-classical Economics. However, the effect of unemployment and of the deficit in human capital has been decreasing since 2008. That is, during the recession, negative self-selection is reduced compared to the period of economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Probit/logit techniques are applied to the data from Barometer No. 2,829 published by the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas to examine three problems related with public sector decentralisation. The paper concludes, first, that citizens' perception of efficiency gains from decentralisation have a positive effect on their support for decentralised government. Second, that citizens are more likely to perceive the efficiency gains from decentralisation if they correctly ascribe responsibility for education and health services to regions. And third, that citizens who most accurately identify regional responsibility for the provision of those services tend to be better educated, older, engaged in paid work or public employment, concerned about regional politics and resident in one region with higher initial level of devolved powers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the crisis in Spain, the youth face a situation of multi-dimensional disadvantage. In this paper we analyse the perspectives of different stakeholders on this situation, as well as how these perspectives inform the design and implementation of public policies. We carried out a qualitative study with an innovative theoretical approach, the capability approach. We reviewed secondary sources and undertook 21 in-depth interviews with 21 key stakeholders. Evidences show that current policies affecting the youth have a narrow focus on job creation, overlooking the multiple disadvantages that today's young face. This situation is aggravated by the lack of participation in definition and implementation of policies, and by partisan interests and short-term strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Spain cohabitation the prevalence of cohabiting couples is no longer marginal. Not only the incidence but also the nature of cohabiting couples is diverse: in Spain cohabitation is considered a temporal alternative that generally ends with the legalization of the union (marriage). The main purpose of this paper is to examine the incidence, duration and development of cohabitation using a life course comparative approach, identifying also the profiles of women who split up against those who decide to marry. Results show the prevalence of the transition from cohabitation to marriage in Spain, establishing this type of union as a prelude and not as a definitive alternative to marriage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes two possible determinants of disability, birth cohort and socioeconomic status, among Spanish elderly aged 65-89 living independently. We use microdata from the Spanish Health Interview Survey, particularly the self-reported ability to perform daily activities, to construct a continuous measure of disability. Multivariate linear regression models are applied separately for men and women controlling for the following variables: age, birth cohort, educational attainment and self-reported height. Results indicate stability in disability levels across successive generations as well as the existence of a socioeconomic dimension of disability especially among women and within ages 70-79. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The predominant theoretical viewpoint about the problem of income redistribution in capitalist democracies continues to postulate that the pressure towards redistribution is greatest in democracies with more inequality. However, this assumption does not seem to be corroborated empirically; perhaps this is because sometimes inequality only increases between the lower reaches of the distribution of income. In these cases, inequality increases the dispersion of earnings among the stakeholders of redistribution, and this increases their collective action problems. This paper proposes a new theoretical principle for the analysis of the relationship between inequality and redistribution, and develops an indicator consistent to this principle. A preliminary empirical exploration is carried out to illustrate how the proposed indicator is significantly associated with the levels of income redistribution in 19 OECD countries between 1974 and 2005. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After merely a brief, comparative reconstruction of the three most general theoretical models underlying contemporary Sociology (atomic, systemic, and fluid) it becomes necessary to review the question about the unity or plurality of Sociology, which is the main objective of this paper. To do so, the basic terms of the question are firstly updated by following the hegemonic trends in current studies of science. Secondly the convergences and divergences among the three models discussed are shown. Following some additional discussion, the conclusion is reached that contemporary Sociology is not unitary, and need not be so. It is plural, but its plurality is limited and articulated by those very models. It may therefore be portrayed as integrated and commensurable, to the extent that a partial and unstable (dis)unity may be said to exist in Sociology, which is not too far off from what happens in the natural sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the main conclusions of a research project on family care provided to elderly and dependent people in Galicia. Galicia has a high aging rate and a significant socio-demographic contrast between rural and urban areas, making it an interesting environment to examine how family care tasks are combined. This study examines the kind of intrafamily negotiations that lead women, usually unmarried daughters (but not other family members) to carry out caregiving work. Furthermore, it presents the type of working conditions related to family care, as well as their impact on the living conditions and health of the caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper updates a line of research on qualitative methodology from recent years, examining certain recent (and nascent) initiatives for the archiving of qualitative sociological research in Spain. The Spanish case is revisited and placed in a European context to focus attention on some of the pioneering archiving practices of different types (according to grade of visibility, institutionalization, etc.) currently being established in Spain. The case of the CIS qualitative studies archive is dealt with in depth; a strategic sample of its archived material serves to analyse the evolution that has taken place in transcription practices on the part of (among others) emblematic researchers. The results are compared to those obtained by other researchers with materials from the British archive, Qualidata. The concepts of quality and the backstage are related to the concept of the qualitative archive in order to lay out the fundamental methodological debate, as well as proposals to promote and improve a process now in progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to present a research on intergenerational occupational mobility in Spain. We use the Survey of Living Conditions (INE, 2011) that allows us to obtain occupational information about parents and sons. Traditionally the comparison between occupation origin (parents) and destination (children) has been performed using male population. Then, our question is: How are the results about social mobility in Spain when the female population is included in Origin and Destination? As a result we show that the inclusion of women in models of social mobility change the usual conclusion about the constant fluidity over time. There is greater fluidity, not invariant over time, that reveals the new role that women have been acquiring in our society in recent decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]