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This paper is based on a research project carried out by the «Centre de Recerca del Treball i la Vida Quotidiana» (QUIT) of the Universitad Autònoma de Barcelona on prison work in Catalonia. Our starting hypotheses were as follows: working and learning a trade contribute to reintegration into the labour market and thereby to the future social integration of inmates; and the more resources the penitentiary system in question provides, the better it will fulfill the duty that society entrusts to it. For the basis of our study we used a representative survey of inmates who work in the nine prisons of Catalonia. In addition, we conducted in-depth interviews with experts and people in charge of the penitentiary system, and visited various prison workshops to observe the inmates at work and conduct interviews with them. The result of the study has allowed us to confirm that prison work acquires several functions. Firstly, it provides inmates with earnings that enable them to meet personal or family needs. Working in prison allows them to make better use of their time and helps to avoid conflictive situations. It also provides working habits and improves social relationships. In spite of the fact that only a few of the jobs enable inmates to learn a trade, they appreciate the work they do inasmuch as it helps them to “normalize” everyday life in prison, while at the same time offering them prospects for future reintegration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notion of field played a central role in the scientific projects of Kurt Lewin and Pierre Bourdieu. In this paper we carry out a comparative analysis of their theoretical and methodological use of this concept in their prolific output in the fields of psychology and sociology, respectively. For this purpose we focused on five crucial issues that both researchers explored in the process of developing their respective field theories: the break with partial objectifications, the construction of the object, the internal dynamics of fields, the delimitation of their boundaries, and the mathematical representation of psychological and sociological facts. We conclude with a summary in which we highlight some important coincidences and differences in the respective field theories of Kurt Lewin and Pierre Bourdieu. Both assigned it similar epistemological functions, but in Lewin we can find more mimicry with regard to the idea of field from physics and its mathematical formulation possibilities, whereas Bourdieu's notion of field is inseparable from those of habitus and capital, which facilitates a more integrated analysis of micro and macro-social phenomena, a more sophisticated appraisal of its temporal dimensions, and more precise criteria for establishing the boundaries of a field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The manipulation of the Spanish electoral system carried out by the political elites that led the political transition has been proved by several studies. This manipulation moves through the existence of a large number of low-magnitude districts and its interaction with malapportionment, the Hondt formula and, above all, the variance effect of district magnitudes. In this paper I will discuss another bias that has not yet been studied by researchers, and which also paved the way for UCD victories: the turnout bias. I will show how the manipulation of the electoral system led UCD to win systematically in the districts where there was low turnout and how its opponents won in districts with high turnout. Therefore the "price" of the seats for UCD was lower. This bias has remained and it favours those parties that have support in the districts with low turnout which are, at the same time, more overrepresented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I argue that the State's agenda deals basically with issues of development, governance, and equality. Starting out from this premise, I explore whether the differences between countries in terms of these three variables have a structural pattern and, if so, how stable this pattern is throughout the period under study. Using cluster analysis, I conclude that the world can be divided in two main groups whose composition remains relatively stable. In addition, it is shown that the governance gap between the two groups tends to diminish, but this is not followed by a concomitant improvement in development and equality gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between individual behaviour and social perception regarding Spaniards' behaviour on environmental issues in the theoretical context of the cognitive biases of false consensus and false uniqueness. A survey carried out by the CIS (2005, study no. 2590) on 2,490 citizens from a representative sample of the Spanish population was used. The results showed that individuals with a moderate frequency of pro-environmental behaviours tended to project their own behaviour on all Spaniards. However, individuals with a more extreme kind of conduct, because of high frequency of pro-environmental behaviours, tended to attribute to others a different conduct from their own. These individuals considered themselves to be different from the rest of the population. It was also found how the differences in social perception of the behaviour of Spaniards on environmental matters are associated with different perceptions of environmental deterioration and concern for the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methodological adequacy of survey when measuring racism and xenophobia has been discussed in previous studies. The aim of this paper is to improve measurement through survey methods. First, a theoretical approach is made to the concepts of racism and xenophobia, considering the different forms and aspects of their measurement according to existing theoretical and empirical research. Secondly, the main errors that may crop up when recording such phenomena are dealt with. Then, we move down to the level of the indicators used. The effectiveness of the traditional indicators used in CIS surveys, which are compared with «new» indicators applied earlier in the European Social Survey (2002-2003), is assessed using the articulation of multivariate analytical techniques (cluster and discriminant) in both analysis and validation samples. These «new» indicators end up by showing greater effectiveness when measuring attitudes against immigration, due mainly to the question format adopted in the questionnaire. Nevertheless, measurement errors are still detected and some proposals for dimensions, indicators and question formats are given in order to help advancing in the complex detection of latent racism and xenophobia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea of democracy is probably one of the easiest to get consensus about in contemporary societies, while at the same time there are clear symptoms of political disaffection. The explanations for this political disaffection phenomenon are quite varied. While some argue that the lack of political implication is a consequence of individualism and «civic privatism» that threatens to break the bonds within the political community, others argue that this is a consequence of the crisis of the politics led by elites, which gives way to new forms of political participation driven by the masses. Lying behind these contradictory explanations there is a debate about the normative concept of citizenship or the «good citizen». In this paper I analyze empirically different conceptions of citizenship in Europe, as measured by how much value individuals attach to different civic duties that belong to the definition of citizenship from a normative point of view. In order to do that, I distinguish one dimension of normative commitment and one of community commitment. I then explain the value attached to each dimension at the individual level using multilevel analysis techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the old organization of politics based upon the Nation-State gave way to national social movements, the emergence of transnational social movements is decisively fostering the contemporary re-definition of post-national politics. In fact, it cannot simply be stated that globalization has produced transnational forms of collective action; globalization is, in part, the outcome of an early transformation of social mobilisation. Be that as it may, it looks as though social theory has not yet responded properly to the current displacement, from national movements, comfortably set up until now in the familiar framework of the Nation-State, to some transnational movements that do not respond to such a well-defined institutional context. This paper attempts to shed some light on these new transnational movements, paying special attention to the anti-globalization movement and a desire to explain its relations with the liberal political order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces an ethnomethodological reading on the concept of habitus in Bourdieu and Elias. It aims at showing the relationship between the generation of practical acquisition processes (ethnomethods) of some body activities and the development of a practical sense (the one that Bourdieu's habitus refers to) and certain affective economy (the one that the Elias' habitus refers to) throughout continued immersion in such activities. In order to do this, the study of a practical sense acquisition and a certain control over violence in the generation of normal patterns during the practice of aikido and boxing was chosen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes the analysis of disability from a sociological perspective similar to that of the Anglo-Saxon social model. It implies a critique of the traditional perspective, according to which disability is understood as an impairment suffered by an individual, abstracting it from the socio-cultural context in which it takes on meaning (the medical-physiological model). If this context is taken into consideration, we can verify that disability, as a social phenomenon, includes three interconnected areas: daily practices, social identity and social stratification. This analysis implies the development of a theoretical framework that sets disability in terms of «difference» in order to show the reasons by which it turns into marginalization, exclusion and oppression. In addition, that theoretical framework has to be created by developing empirical studies that gather the experience of disabled people themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All texts about sampling present the available methods for sample selection and the characteristics that the universe which is the object of study must possess, in order for the most suitable method to be selected. All of them point to the need to have prior knowledge of the universe before carrying out any sampling. This implies that there has to be some source that provides detailed knowledge of the object of study domain. This requirement poses some difficulties when the samples are selected from the population in general. These difficulties are due both to the limited access to documents reporting the characteristics of the population living in a specific area, and to the inaccuracies that these documents contain. This is why the samples drawn from the population in general use various methods of sampling jointly. In this paper, an evaluation of the quota sampling applied to the 2004 Barometers of the Sociological Research Centre is carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spaniards are getting married later and in smaller proportions. Gary Becker's economic theory of the family and Oppenheimer's theory of marriage timing try to explain these trends. The aim of this paper, focused on men's nuptiality patterns, is to determine whether the hypotheses derived from such theories apply to the Spanish case. To this end, the Spanish Labour Force Survey is used, and the method of artificial cohorts and logistic regression are applied. The findings show that unemployment, fixed-term contracts, the cost of access to the housing market and women's absolute rate of employment are negatively related to the likelihood of getting married. From these results, a discussion on how Spanish society has handled the socio-economic changes that have taken place in the last three decades with respect to the process of family formation is established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present the analysis of a work experience under the Methods Time Measurement (MTM). This analysis can help us shed some light on the enigma of how and why, in certain contexts, we sustain with our action relations of subjection that we experience as injurious and which we cannot accept as being legitimate. We shall defend the thesis that the special combination of commitment and resistance that is present in the production carried out by workers establishes them as subjects of the production bond, to the extent that they develop and express in that combination their sense of autonomy and their own dignity and self-respect. At the same time, however, we shall see how that resistance binds them to subjection, as it makes the production order possible and efficient. At least in this case, if the workers sustain an injurious bond it is because their actions take place in a veritable iron cage where their dignity has turned into one of the basic pillars of their subjection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the dimensions of the support given by Spaniards to the European Union (EU). In order to do this, the main theoretical approaches that exist tor explaining European public opinion, which are based on affective, utilitarian and national political factors, have been taken into account. The three theoretical viewpoints are tested, independently and jointly, through various regression analyses in order to find out which are the elements that most influence the Europeanism of Spaniards. Our research shows that the perception of the economic and social benefits that community integration carries with it continues to be the main dimension for explaining the favourable attitudes shown by Spaniards towards the EU. However, affective aspects, such as confidence in European institutions and identification with Europe, are also highly relevant. The political factors are of secondary importance, but it can be seen that satisfaction with the performance of national democracy is related to the integration of citizens into the European political system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows the results of an empirical and theoretical analysis intended to determine the current state of religiosity in Europe, that is, the degree to which Europeans give their allegiance to either a religious world view or a secular one. Applying multiple correspondence and cluster K-means analysis to the data gathered from the ISSP European survey «Religion-II», a new typology based on five basic cultural positions has been developed: religious; believers; skeptics; agnostics and atheists. These results show the quantitative extent and the qualitative importance of skepticism. Through an interpretation of the contents of each type, it shows that the skepticism regarding both religious and secular world views represents, at this particular moment in time, an essential key to European culture. We cannot affirm that there is a return to religious matters, but it is clear that the secularisation process has lost some of its original strength. Post-modern Europe is immersed in a cultural crossroads, and will have to decide about its future. The article ends by showing the three possible strategies for settling the doubt: the Kierkegaardian resolution, whereby Europeans will take up either exclusive religious or secular positions; the Borgian solution, whereby religious and secular content and forms will be hybridized; and the Hegelian dissolution, through which Europe may possibly develop a new cultural synthesis built from the remains of the old secular and religious world views. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several analysts have pointed out the emergence of a global consciousness that is closely related to the process of globalization of social life. It has been considered that this global consciousness, which is supported on an expansion of the geographical space of responsibility from which citizens feel they are being questioned, is encouraged by the revolution of information and communication technologies (ICT), the contents broadcast by the mass media and the action of international NGOs. From the context of these and starting from the data contained in a CIS survey (E-2419), this paper seeks to contrast empirically the hypothesis of the modifying action of the «cultural reference frameworks» of the international NGOs and its role in the proliferation of feelings of global solidarity, as well as the distribution of such sentiments in Spanish society. In order to do this, an operationalization of the empirical dimensions of solidarity is proposed first, and secondly, the influence that membership of various types of associations and organizations has on the dimensions of solidarity is analysed. Lastly, an examination is made of the degree to which the latter are associated with different positions of the social structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies the preferences for co-ethnic concentration among ethnic minorities in schools, one of the least known mechanisms of ethnic segregation. Using a survey carried out among Bangladeshi, Caribbean, Chinese, Indian and Pakistani people living in England and Wales, the paper indicates that both the proximity to the culture of origin and the perception of a context of discrimination are factors related to the preference for seeking a greater proportion of co-ethnics when choosing schools. The article also indicates that the preferences for co-ethnic concentration in schools seem to be independent from other processes of ethnic concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper points to the production of space as an appropriate methodological framework for social sciences in their aim to analyze how current processes of neoliberalization and global fluxes of capital actually work and affect our cities. The interest of this approach lies in the growing penetration of neoliberal policies in Spain, especially in the field of urban planning. Combining theoretical discussion with the presentation of a case study of the old centre of Palma (Majorca), I argue that the reason why urban regeneration projects proliferate in Spanish cities is the purpose of extracting surplus values through the production of space. Nonetheless, the economic success of these processes does not depend on pure market mechanisms but on the mobilization of social forces apparently alien to the market which, as a result, are dramatically reshaped so as to fall in line with the reproduction (and expansion) requirements of the accumulation system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Telephone surveys were first used in the context of electoral predictions (to be specific, in the United States presidential elections of 1936). From then on, their use in opinion and market research has increased steadily. This paper's aim is to analyse the impact that the lack of coverage has on electoral polls based on telephone surveys, revealing the dangers of electoral predictions which only consider homes with listed telephone numbers. In order to carry out our inquiry, we have used information from the barometers carried out in 2004 by the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The money used for financing political parties and election campaigns is regulated in most democracies, so as to prevent quid pro quo corruption and stop inequalities in economic resources among individuals and social groups from being transferred to politics. This paper deals with the rationale for the regulation of political money and proposes measures for bringing the information and agency costs inherent in political representation under control. Its purpose is threefold. First, to state the problems of political financing in the language of economic regulation theory. Secondly, to show that the means available to regulators can only partially achieve the intended goals. Thirdly, to uphold the idea that full disclosure of contributions to parties and candidates and setting ceilings on electoral expenditure are the most promising ways of restraining the influence of money in politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the way in which voting decision combines factors regarding government performance and the representative nature of the rulers. We have selected four Spanish regions with different degrees of nationalism and different parties at autonomous regional and central government levels. Voters make decisions in a two-dimensional space (ideology and nationalism). We calculate the relative importance of each dimension and show that ideology affects all voters equally, whereas the nationalist dimension only affects nationalists. Using conditional logit estimation techniques, we analyse a 1992 survey of carried out by the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas, which shows us that (i) there is a coat-tail voting effect, so that the party in power is rewarded or punished at autonomous regional level, (ii) nationalist voters are more indulgent than non nationalist voters when they have a negative opinion of the regional government performance, and (iii) the more exclusionist the nationalism, the stronger this effect will be. We consider that these effects are due to the fact that nationalists vote on the basis of representation rather than government performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite increasing measures to control and regulate migration flows, irregular migration has grown in the last few years in Spain, Malaysia and the United States. This increase in irregular immigration has mainly been explained in relation to socio-economic factors. However, while these factors explain the presence of migration flows towards these countries, they do not succeed in explaining why an important part of these flows takes place on a non-regular basis. This can only be considered by taking into account the State and its immigration policies. Starting out from this statement, this research paper analyses to what extent, how and why the immigration policies of Spain, Malaysia and the United States produce «illegals«. This means not only analysing how and why immigration policies contribute to the increase in the number of irregular immigrants, but also how and why, by denying their rights and often their existence, they create the figure of the «illegal immigrant». As this research note demonstrates for the Malaysian case, irregular immigration is not despite immigration policies but because of them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this analysis we make an approach to the impact and importance of a transnational perspective when studying current international migrations. More specifically, the objective of this paper is to reflect on the impact of the monetary and «social» remittances of Peruvian and Ecuadorian immigrants living in Spain, considering their households as transnational. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union is undergoing important transformations on both the normative and the identity level. The «Others» in Europe are no longer merely those who do not hold citizenship of one of the member states of the Union. In the new European immigration context, «Otherness» as defined on a legal basis —the foreigner— has been complemented by a culturally and an ethnically coloured definition. This paper analyses the construction of categories and identity classifications underlying new forms of inclusion and exclusion that are to be found in the context of the emergence of Europe as a legal, political and cultural entity. It will focus more specifically on the formation of particular collective identities which are targets of stigmatization and derogation as a result of the process of «Europeanization» and the establishing of an «imagined European identity». In a context characterized by the increasing stress placed on the juridical dimension of social relations together with a rise in affirmative identities, this project attempts to analyse the processes of categorization and derogation of individuals and groups on the basis of «culture» or «ethnicity», and their consequences for both minority groups (mobilization, submission, retreat, etc.) and majority groups (the fight against discrimination, normative and cultural impositions, intercultural practices, etc.). An examination of the hypothesis according to which the definition of collective derogated identities —the «European outsiders»— is undergoing a transition from legal criteria (nationality) towards «cultural/ethnic» criteria («Blacks», «Roms», etc.) or even religious criteria («Muslims») is particularly important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sharp decline in fertility recorded in Spain in the last few decades is the outcome of a number of factors, one of the most relevant being the average age at first maternity, which has climbed by four years since the mid-1970s. This leads to increasingly unfavourable ratios between higher order and overall fertility. In the present paper, a regression model in which 99% of the variance could be accounted for was used to establish the relationship between variables and simulate several scenarios. The chief conclusion is that with the age at first birth patterns prevailing today, replacement level fertility cannot be achieved. Indeed, age at first child would have drop even to reach values of over 1.5: naturally, the higher the desired fertility rate, the lower the age required, since the age at which mothers have their first child determines the combination of birth orders, which in turn has an impact on the resulting fertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an analytical framework for understanding applied sociology, namely sociological research oriented towards resolving practical problems rather than providing new contributions to our understanding of social phenomena. The first part contains a brief historical account of the concept and addresses the main problems which emerge when sharp distinctions between basic and applied research are made. The second part examines the knowledge resulting from applied sociology. We draw the main dimensions of typical organisational arrangements for doing basic and applied sociological work and analyse applied sociology as a set of social and political conditions where research is produced. These conditions usually give rise to descriptions and, on occasions, to empirical generalisations, whereas results contrasting important theoretical hypotheses from a disciplinary point of view are produced less frequently. Then the article examines some specific mechanisms such as methodological decisions, the availability of resources and time constraints to explain why applied sociology most often produces this kind of cognitive results. Finally, effects related to cognitive and organisational divisions are addressed taking into account two processes in current research systems: the large amount of resources devoted to applied sociological research that result in non-theoretical and non-accumulative knowledge and the decoupling of disciplinary sociology from the practical world of policy making. To conclude, some strategies for bridging this gap are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research note has three objectives: First, to discover what the attitude of citizens towards towards the subsidiarity principle is; next, to examine whether or not there is a consistent relationship between, on the one hand, the attitude towards the subsidiarity principle and, on the other hand, the opinions and preferences on the question of the distribution of power, functions and resources among the different levels of government; and thirdly, to identify the typical citizen characteristics that show consistent attitudes and opinions. The research focuses on the province of Barcelona and the Community of Madrid. The last section of the paper contains some thoughts about possible avenues to further research on these questions and a short discussion on the implications of our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the processes of transition experienced by young men and women as a privileged field for identifying elements of permanence and change in relation to schooling processes, professional insertion models and the emergence of new varieties of family emancipation. Taking a biographical approach to transition as the point of departure, some results of previous studies made by the GRET are presented and compared with the results of the Catalonia 2002 Survey on Young People. This allows us a glimpse at dominant and emerging professional insertion models in relation to models that are recessive at the present time. One of the major changes detected in relation to insertion models refers to the increase in qualification levels among young women and the fact that they are working in more qualified jobs, in comparison with their male counterparts. However, these changes survive with the old forms of employment inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to analyse self-help books using an analytical approach based on the civilization process theory of Norbert Elias, which explains the code for management of conduct and the emotions, here referred to as the «reflective civilization code». The study of the code involves a presentation of its contents as well as a statement of the arguments used to support advice and precepts regarding the regulation of conduct and the emotions. Finally, we propose a characterization of the social bases of the code taking the theoretical contributions of the so-called «Anglo-Foucaultian» theories as a model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern citizenship is in crisis. The reasons are complex. It is faced with problems that are both internal (such as political and cultural legitimacy, social regulation, resources and costs) and external (such as economic impulse, problems arising from the intermediate social formations, demographic changes, difficulty in managing social groups and social strata that are not connected with the State) to the political system. In this paper, the objective is to observe and bring to light the fact that all these problems focus on issues relating to the culture, specifically political, of a community. The cultural environment of citizens no longer generates motivations, values and rules that harmonize with the institutions of the modern, democratic nation-State. What are the alternatives? Is it possible to re-launch citizenship as a basis for democracy? In what sense? What are the conditions and possible developments? After reviewing the Marxist and Liberal visions of citizenship, the following conclusion can be offered: a new phase is beginning or, in sociological terms, a societary semantic in which citizenship takes the shape of a complex of rights- duties of the people and the associative formations which articulates the civic life in «universal autonomies» which are able to integrate the generality of the aims and self-management practices. This is the challenge that the complex society imposes on itself. This challenge is called «societary citizenship», or citizenship of the social autonomies, in a post-modern democratic State. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a review of the main models that have surfaced in the study of the construction process of gender identity. We analyse the conceptual frameworks that underlie each of them and, in particular, we give details of the research carried out on the role of the school in the configuration of gender identity. We finish by stating the theoretical model we defend. Also shown are some relevant conclusions whose aim is to discuss and analyse possible lines of research to be developed in the context of studies on gender and school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to measure the relationship between universities and research. The position of every Spanish university is mapped in relative scales of research capabilities, research efforts and research excellence. The method used is based on the analysis of aggregate outcomes, at the research organisation level, of the competition for research funding coming from national government. The period used for construction of the data corresponds to the R+D projects funded by public financing between 1996 and 2001, through National R&D Programmes and the Program for the General Promotion of Knowledge (POC). Special analysis will be devoted to research activities in the sphere of Social and Economic Sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the shortcomings of the literature on strategic voting is the absence of empirical evidence in proportional representation electoral systems (PR systems). In this paper the existence of strategic voting in the 1996 regional elections in Andalusia is demonstrated using a pooled cross- section regression model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postmodern thought is one of the most known manifestations of a certain process of disenchantment about reason as a problem-solving tool which has developed in western societies. Using as a starting point both an empirical case-study and Lipovetsky's theory on the ubiquity of humour in postmodern society, this paper attempts to establish the requiriments that the specialized production of humorous discourse should fulfill in such state of affairs and asks about the possible functional relations which might exist between the fitting brand of humour for a postmodern cultural environment and said process of disenchantment about enlightened reason. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the target population of a survey comprises specialist collectives (doctors, lawyers, etc.) it is common to use the professional directories of each individual collective, but what happens when the study target is the population at large? This paper provides an answer to this question, analysing up to what extent it is correct to use the telephone directory as a population framework for personal interviews (face to face), telephone surveys or those done by mail. We show the results of a research study carried out with a postal survey, which was subsequently completed with a telephonic and then a personal survey. The hypothesis proposed claims that the main problem about using the telephone directory as a population framework is the difficulty in obtaining an appropriate level of representativeness of the reality that is the object of study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prevailing research claims that strong corporate cultures improve company performance. This paper addresses an unexamined implication of this argument by analyzing the effect of types of corporate cultures on company performance defined as the attainment of a complex system of values (goals). The approach goes beyond a concept of company performance merely as economic success, even if this implies negative consequences for some constituencies. I hypothesize that different organizational types defined as a combination of economic success, strength of corporate culture, flexibility and adaptability to the environment serve to obtain different effectiveness profiles. Results of the analysis of a sample of firms in the life and health insurance sector confirm our hypóthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the relationship between female incorporation into the labour market and the different European welfare systems is tackled. First, the most relevant literature about this topic is reviewed. Second, a general view of the evolution of female activity rates in the fifteen member states of the European Union (before the last enlargement) is shown. Finally, the article enquires into the factors that have most influence over the permanence of women outside the labour market, distinguishing between individual determinants and determinants related to welfare regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The central element that characterizes the new network society is precisely the increasing relevance of the network (relational systems) as a new organizational form structuring and articulating collective action. The terrorist attacks of September 11th and March 11th are clearly examples of this. One of the fundamental difficulties for understanding and dealing with these new phenomena is precisely their form and dynamics as networks, for which the dominant theoretical and methodological approaches found in Sociology (based on individual actors and categorical grouping) are not well suited. In this paper we will analyze the March 1 Ph terrorist network using the theoretical and methodological approach best suited to the phenomenon: network analysis. This approach allows us to analyze and visualize its composition and dynamics, the centrality of actors, and its internal cohesion. For this purpose we use relational matrixes, which contain the relationships (published by the mass media) among the accused, and specific statistical and visualization network programs (Ucinet6, Netdraw, Key Player). With this, we aim to demonstrate the importance and contribution of this new way of analysing social information in order to gain a better understanding of our social dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the psychological effects of the electoral system, paying attention to the influence that the size or magnitude of the electoral district has on the strategic use of the vote in the Spanish Congreso de los Diputados elections. In order to measure the incidence of the strategic vote on the behaviour of Spanish voters between 1982 and 2000, the various approaches proposed for studying this phenomenon are applied. The results make it possible to confirm that the institutional variable forming the electoral system - the size or dimension of the district, in other words the difference between large and small districts - has an influence on the behaviour of voters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysed in this paper are the dynamics of the generation and transformation of social institutions. Two basic paradigms are studied and compared. The utilitarian framework or rational choice theories, according to which institutions are an attempt to overcome market failures through institutional mechanisms that lead to socially optimum situations, in the sense that they are preferable for the individual protagonists involved. Theories of a more sociological or culturalist nature, on the other hand, emphasize the importance of the cultural component of institutions, as well as their socio-historical determinants that evolve through complex social processes. While the former provide theoretically contrastable solutions for a range of limited problems, the latter analyse deeper problems, although at the risk of producing less conclusive results. In particular, the difference between both conceptions of social institutions become clear when the factors that give rise to the development of institutions, as well as the processes through which institutional frameworks change and evolve in response to different factors, are analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]