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

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

This paper addresses aspects of alternative proposals taking place in the public educational system, based on an anthropological, ethnographic, comparative study of alternative schools and educational projects in Catalonia. More specifically, it first explores educational change in Catalonia through time and on the present, with a special focus on the public sector, stressing its historical dimension and the process of its current depoliticization. Then, based on a specific ethnographic case and on daily dynamics of exclusion, school choice and parental involvement, attention is drawn to aspects of the privatization of educational innovation and the reproduction of inequalities. It is argued that, apart from a firstlevel educational segregation due to economic resources, a second level appears that divides families according to cultural criteria. In the end, the potential for social transformation such educational proposals hold is highlighted, along with a few factors that would facilitate its unfolding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

The analysis of suburbanization patt erns and processes necessarily implies looking beyond towns and cities. Suburbanization is a blendscape because it occurs within the transition zone between urban and rural areas surrounding urban centres. Therefore, a tension emerges between the growth expectations of small- and medium-sized municipalities and the supra-local authorities (e.g. metropolitan, provincial or regional public bodies) that provide essential (mostly financial) support to those municipalities. Supra-local authorities hence perform the governance role of institutional blendscapes because they can mediate between those growth expectations and more efficient, area-wide land management. By using the Barcelona Province as a case study, this paper examines three inter-related issues in suburbanization processes: (i) the question of land transformation; (ii) the relation between municipal size and suburban patt erns; and (iii) the role of supra-local authorities in the management of suburban areas in the city outskirts. Findings show that, overall, while municipalities up to 9,999 inhabitants have a housing stock that is predominantly suburban in character (i.e. 76.5 per cent single-family dwellings), it is small-/mid-sized municipalities between 10,000 and 49,999 inhabitants that have the highest proportion (31.2 per cent) of suburban residential areas within the Barcelona province. These small- and mid-sized, often rural, municipalities tend to rely on financial and technical support from the supra-local authority of the Barcelona Diputación - a key governance actor in suburbanization processes. As an institutional blendscape, on the one hand, the Barcelona Diputación can steer a more efficient land allocation and management through environmental protection and assistance in developing (supra-)local spatial plans. On the other hand, by distributing essential financial help to provide basic public services in small- and mid-size suburban municipalities, it also partially mitigates the planning, construction, and maintenance of suburbanity in (very) small- and medium-size municipalities 'far from the city' and rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Education Policy Analysis Archives / Archivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas / Arquivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas is the property of Educational Policy Analysis Archives & Education Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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

Copyright of Education Policy Analysis Archives / Archivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas / Arquivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas is the property of Educational Policy Analysis Archives & Education Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Providing accessible audiovisual content which caters for diverse user needs is one of the challenges of today’s digitized society. Easy-to-understand language is currently being explored as a powerful tool to foster accessibility among different user groups, including persons with cognitive disabilities and reading difficulties. Audio description is an access service that provides an aural translation of visuals for those who cannot access the images in audiovisual content. This paper discusses whether audio description could incorporate the principles of easy-to-understand language in order to produce easy-to-understand audio descriptions by focusing on the Catalan working context. Specifically, the paper reports on a survey distributed among experts in Easy-to-Read and Plain Language in Catalonia and a focus group which brought together audio description and Easy-to-Read experts working in Catalonia to discuss the feasibility and potential means of implementation of an easy-to-understand audio description. Both research actions were undertaken in the framework of the EASIT project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The simiot is a creature in the Catalan Pyrenean mythology. The term can be translated as "a kind of ape" or "similar to an ape". According to a medieval legend, around the tenth century, these wild beasts terrorized Arles, a Catalan village in the Vallespir region. Up until now, the number of scholarly studies dealing in depth with these beings is very small. Books and papers by several twentieth-century folklorists, such as Joan Amades, have not contributed to clarifying their origin. By and large, authors propose that simiots are remnants of an ancient and pagan religion, perhaps linked to canid cults or forest deities. However, considering their probable etymology, their origin can be traced to the thirteenth-fourteenth centuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catalonia is in a situation of political conflict with the Spanish State regarding its right to self-determination, a conflict that has been exacerbated in recent years by the growing demand from a part of Catalan society for an independent state. Throughout this situation rumours have appeared in relation to events as they unfold. One of the key moments in the conflict was the referendum on self-determination, which was approved, prepared, and held on 1 October 2017, in the face of continuous opposition from the Spanish State. The tensions, uncertainties, and fears experienced by those in favour of the referendum were fuelled by rumours that in many cases were ultimately proven to be false. The present paper will analyse the rumours that emerged in relation to the referendum and the political atmosphere at that time. The study will analyse the rumours relating to aspects such as the logistics required to hold the referendum, the key figures in the process, the organizations that support it and the actions of the media, among others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The challenge of sustainability is not about producing more or better managerial knowledge. It is in fact a transformation of the systems and structures that perpetuate environmental problems that is emerging as the key sustainability goal. In this paper we show the relevance of this argument, by using wildfires as symptoms of the challenges posed by global change to western societies, where wildfires are becoming increasingly problematic. Climate change, land abandonment, exurban expansion and fire suppression schemes are some of the main reasons behind this. Tackling the increasing intensity and complexity of wildfires is consequently emerging as an important research and policy topic. A central question in the literature is how to achieve a more sustainable coexistence with wildfire. Fuel reduction treatments, fire restoration, the reform of current suppression policies and adaptive institutional arrangements have all been debated. However, the social-ecological transformations needed to effectively implement these management options are not sufficiently understood. This paper looks at the efforts of the Catalan wildfire management system to cope with wildfire risk over the last decades. In particular, the emergence of GRAF, a group of wildfire fighting specialists in the Fire Department, is described. Emphasizing the need to understand wildfires as an inherent part of Mediterranean ecosystems, the expansion of GRAF highlights how learning to coexist with wildfire in Catalonia has triggered a set of transformative processes in institutional arrangements and power relationships of the wildfire management system. Our data also illustrate how coexisting with wildfire entails a dramatic social-ecological transformation in terms of land-uses, settlement patterns, energy supply systems and social values about wildfires. Moreover, we warn that in the absence of such systemic changes, management improvements might paradoxically reinforce risk. We conclude that wildfire researchers and practitioners should link the proposed management options to a deeper debate on how to produce alternative, less flammable landscapes, as agents of a broader social-ecological transformation to sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Review of International Affairs (04866096) is the property of Institute of International Politics & Economics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The main aim of this paper is to build a Real Time Leading Economic Indicator (RT-LEI) that improves Composite Leading Indicators (CLI)'s performance to anticipate GDP trends and turning points for the Spanish economy. The indicator has been constructed using a Factor Analysis and is composed of 21 variables concerning motor vehicle activity, financial activity, real estate activity, economic sentiment, and industrial sector. The data sources used are Google Trends and Thomson Reuters Eikon-Datastream. This work contributes to the literature, studying the dynamics of GDP, CLI and RT-LEI using Fractional Cointegration VAR (FCVAR model) and Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) for its resolution. The results show that the model does not present mean reversion and it is expected the RT-LEI reveals a bear trend in the next two years, alike IMF and Consensus FUNCAS′ forecasts. The reasons are mostly associated with escalating global protectionism, uncertainty related to Catalonia and faster monetary policy normalization. • Experimental study on PV/T system using activated alumina saturated with water.. • System was tested at different solar radiations of 600, 800 and 1000 ​W/m2. • Energy generation has increased by 309% at 600 ​W/m2 more than stand-alone system. • Energy generation increased by 319.5% at1000 ​W/m2 compared with stand-alone panel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

Due to the continuous increase of the tourism industry, tourism destinations need to be managed under a sustainable framework, with the main aim of minimizing the adverse eff ects caused by tourism fl ows. In recent years, several attempts have been made to measure those eff ects and value the level of sustainability of every destination. A clear example of this is the European Tourism Indicator System (ETIS). In the paper, the results are presented of a project which aimed to test indicators of sustainable tourism in coastal destinations of Catalonia, Istrian Region, and Tuscany Region. The results of 33 collected indicators are available on the online platform of the project INTERREG MED MITOMED+. During the fi rst year, in every category of indicators (economic, social-cultural and environmental) only some indicators were collected, which was expected because diff erent regions apply diff erent methodologies. The collected data is the starting point that shows destinations how the indicator can be obtained and what its purpose is. Furthermore, collected data can help local and regional tourism stakeholders to prevent factors of risk, to take decisions and to improve the implementation of policies for sustainable maritime and coastal tourism development in the Mediterranean area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Becoming wealthy in the Middle Ages was as viable as in any other period of history. However, the feudal system imposed many limitations, especially on those who did not belong to the privileged elites. My goal in this paper will be to point out and analyse one of the strategies of enrichment used by the remenees, unfree peasants, of Old Catalonia during the 14th and 15th centuries: leasing the collection of seigneurial rents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

This paper is dedicated to review Catalan public and private efforts to keep managing tourism advances to the benefit of Catalonia, and in particular its capital Barcelona, since the celebration of the Olympic Games in 1992. As the paper will progress its focus will turn on analyzing the abilities for learning and teaching advances, tackling how advances should be managed in order to keep their positive effects as long as possible in time, as they seem to be precisely at the basis of the success and position of Barcelona in the worldwide ranking as a top urban tourism destination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

Tourist destination image (TDI) is considered crucial when planning a trip. The aim of this paper is to propose a methodology to analyse and measure the (in)congruity or gap between the two sides of the TDI (supply-side projected vs. demand-side perceived) based on the difference between proportions of appearance. This method is applied to an outstanding Mediterranean destination, Catalonia, based on three different information sources: induced (Catalan Tourist Board dossier), autonomous (Lonely Planet travel guide), and organic (UGC: user-generated content). UGC consists of a random sample of 80,000 online travel reviews written in English by tourists who visited Catalonia during 2015. Our findings emphasize discrepancies in three aspects of the TDI, namely spatial, cognitive and affective image. The measurement of the gap between these TDI components shows that organic images (perceived) are significantly different from autonomous and induced images (projected), and that, the last two resemble one another much more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to make a conceptualization of proximity digital media. It will define what is local and proximity communication as well as the history and evolution of online journalism and digital media features which are briefly reviewed. Business models that exist nowadays and the state of art in Catalonia (Spain) will also be briefly analysed. From this theoretical framework it will be explained the case of Nació Digital and its territorial media. Initially the history of this media group will be developed, as well as its journalistic and business models. The paper seeks to underscore the importance of the journalistic model based on the tradition of the profession, the proximity information and the technology developed for this online media. The Nació Digital is an example of a successful media outlet judging from its audience figures (the second online media in Catalonia) and its sustainable model business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Historia y Politica: Ideas, Procesos y Movimientos Sociales is the property of Departamento De Historia del Pensamiento y de los Moviemientos Sociales y Politicos (Madrid) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract: This article examines the governance structures for managing the location and operation of Intensive Livestock Farming Operations (ILFOs). The article focuses on the hog sector and compares two very different jurisdictions: Manitoba, Canada and Catalonia, Spain. Both are regions that have witnessed recent increases in hog production, including increasing spatial concentration of ILFOs and an increase in size of those ILFOs. Policy has both fostered and sought to manage the increased production. The paper draws on the literature on regulatory regimes, environmental regulation, and political economy to frame the comparative case studies of the impacts of environmental regulations on hog production. Following a brief background description of restructuring, the changing legislative frameworks for Manitoba and Catalonia are described. The paper concludes that environmental policy in Manitoba and Catalonia has been more successful in managing overall production (e.g., manure management, and location of operations) than in limiting total production. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper measures the effects of beach characteristics and hotel location with respect to the beach on sun-and-beach hotel prices by using a well-established hedonic perspective. The paper’s main results are that, after controlling for the relevant variables, location in front of a beach increases the price of a room in costal hotels of Catalonia by a figure between 13 and 17%, and that a Blue Flag increases the price by around 11.5%. The effects on hotels’ prices of other beach characteristics (such as beach length, width, sand type or beach services) are also estimated. With these estimates, the paper ranks beaches according to their characteristics and provides a setting to assess different policies regarding beaches from the point of view of hotels, such as regeneration, maintenance or achieving a Blue Flag award. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Education Policy Analysis Archives / Archivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas / Arquivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas is the property of Educational Policy Analysis Archives & Education Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper we show the results of an analysis of the production of individual class subjectivities in the context of strikes among both those in favour and those against. Among the several processes going on in the production of subjectivities of class, we consider strikes because we want to emphasise the active role that the subjects keep up within the class relationships of domination and exploitation. We start from a conception of the subjectivity understood as fragmentary and contingent that we apply to our analysis of class, but in this paper we limit production of individual subjectivities to context of strikes. Our analysis focuses on a case study from the beginning of the 1970s to the end of the 1990s, which was led by the workers of a company in the motor industry, situated in Catalonia. The main devices used to work on the empirical material are biographical interviews and informative interviews. We start the analysis by showing the various directions taken by that the subjectivities of workers and of the company in strike interactions, in individual terms. Then we look into the role of gender in the provisional configuration of these subjectivities in the context of a strike when these subjectivities became collective subjectivities. In this respect, we focus on the company's workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

The recent growth of the Catalan separatist movement is traditionally interpreted as a consequence of the bad economic performance of the region, or rather the whole country. This paper, however, aims to prove that despite the economy's unquestionable role in the intensification of the nationalist conflict there may be other important factors involved. One of them is the case of the central government's loss of credibility and grievances felt by the Catalan people. This may have led to an increase in separatist tendencies. On the other hand, the general political environment can be seen as a determinant of bilateral trade. Th erefore, the bad relations between Catalonia and Spain and the increasing separatism in Catalonia affect negatively the mutual trade links between the region and the rest of the country. However, this effect acts in both directions, as trade diversification and internationalization may also have encouraged separatism. The lack of credibility of the government of Mariano Rajoy and the Popular Party has resulted in responses by the inhabitants of Catalonia which are the completely opposite of those expected by the prime minister and his party. The absence of dialogue from the central government encourages the separatist movement rather than discouraging it, and threats act as a very strong motivator for those who desire an independent Catalan state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews policies and practices related to the educational use of information and communication technology (ICT) and its role in improving education in Catalonia. Specifically, it analyzes the ICT educational practices developed at four schools in Catalonia, as well as the educational policies on the integration of these technologies promoted by the Administration over the last 25 years. These analyses indicated that the resulting practices, mostly centred on teachers' explanation or on teaching software, were in line with policies that have systematically focused on the provision of equipment and the uncritical use of ICT, regardless of actions for improving such practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Historia y Politica: Ideas, Procesos y Movimientos Sociales is the property of Departamento De Historia del Pensamiento y de los Moviemientos Sociales y Politicos (Madrid) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In certain regions of Southern Europe, mature coastal resorts are currently coexisting with rural tourism areas several kilometers inland. This paper analyzes the inter-relationship of these two types of tourism and the conditions for sustaining both in Mediterranean destinations. To do so, common and uncommon characteristics of the tourist product in rural and mass tourism are identified. The case study focuses on the region of Catalonia, Spain. By applying a hedonic price model, the valuation of some traditional mass tourism characteristics in rural tourism is tested. The results show that rural and mass tourism in the region share several attributes, some of them with opposite effects. The general conclusion is that both types of tourism are compatible, but should be developed and promoted independently to preserve the attractiveness of the destination. Some managerial recommendations for rural tourism in Catalonia are also derived from this analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

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

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

In this paper, the implementation of effective waste management practices in construction projects and sites is analyzed, using data from a survey answered by 74 Spanish construction companies based in Catalonia. Most commonly implemented practices were found to be on-site cleanliness and order, correct storage of raw materials, and prioritization of the nearest authorized waste managers. The least widespread practices were the use of a mobile crusher on site, the creation of individualized drawings for each construction site, and the dissemination of the contents of the waste management plan to all workers, to help them to meet its requirements. Waste regulations for construction and demolition, and the corresponding construction waste management facilities, were designed before the recession in the Spanish construction sector. Current waste generation rates are still below predicted levels, and the infrastructure was designed for five times more waste generation. Even so, the percentage of reused and recycled waste currently amounts to 43%. Survey respondents highlighted various instruments and measures that would make the management of construction and demolition waste more sustainable. Most of the opportunities identified by construction firms are within the scope of government and related to a combined system of bonus and penalties and the establishment of environmental awareness and training programmes for all the stakeholders. Within the scope of authorized waste managers, firms suggested improvements such as the standardization of fees, a reduction of the time until the issue of waste management certificates, a higher number of inspections, and a change in the current model of a few large construction waste management facilities. This research is useful to better understand the current status of construction and demolition waste management in construction projects and sites. Thus, the results of this research will guide policy makers and relevant stakeholders such as contractors, clients, architects and engineers to achieve the EU target of recovering 70% of construction and demolition waste in 2020. In this sense, reliable information can help governments and professional associations to set future C&D waste management regulations, training programmes and dissemination tools, inspections, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ETSEIAT (Escola Técnica Superior d'Enginyeries Industrial i Aeronáutica of Terrassa) recently executed pilot programs to introduce generic and specific skills into its study plans. As these pilots are now concluding, an evaluation of their efficiency has been conducted. This paper analyses the answers given by professors who were interviewed (via inperson interviews and online tests) to determine how they developed and evaluated their students' skills. The results of these interviews offer clear data about the progress obtained by the pilot programs, how the professors understood the recently added dynamics and tools, and how the new skills are integrated into the various subjects and courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze the relationships seniors have with mobile communications in two different European contexts, Romania and Catalonia. By means of a qualitative approach, we describe the ways older individuals incorporate mobile phones in everyday life communication practices, and the motivations supporting these decisions. To understand motivations for using a given communication device -as the mobile phone- we took into account the channels individual has access to; individual's personal interest on using available devices in everyday communications; the location of the members of the individual's personal network; and the pricing system that determines the cost of mediated communication. The empirical analysis is based on two case studies conducted in Romania and in the metropolitan area of Barcelona (Catalonia) in different moments, between 2010 and 2012. Participants were 60 years old or over. Information was gathered by means of semi-structured interviews that were recorded and transcribed, while a common methodological design allows an enriched insight. Besides gender, we take into account heterogeneity of ageing for a more nuanced analysis. This paper constitutes the first step in the exploration of common trends in the relationship seniors have with mobile communication in different European countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Comprehensive climate-sensitive tree-level models for stand dynamics fit for 27 sp in Spain. • Models are integrated into a forest projection system to perform country/regional level simulations. • Spatial, temporal and environmental effects are addressed. • Allows multi-objective climate sensitive forest planning at stand, landscape & regional level. • A regional full simulation is assessed with alternative climatic & management scenarios. Projecting forest dynamics as a function of alternative management strategies and climatic conditions is key to develop sound forest policy and management planning. In Spain there is a need for a full set of climate-sensitive individual-tree growth and yield models suitable for country-level simulations. In this paper we present environmentally driven models for forest stand dynamics based on distance-independent individual-tree growth and yield. The data for model calibration are based on the second, third and fourth surveys of the Spanish National Forest Inventory, including 50,359 plots and 838,620 trees, representing a broad gradient in forest types and environmental conditions. The results develop a total of 182 models for diameter increment, height increment, total height, survival and ingrowth for 27 species and species groups. The models are integrated into a full forest projection system to perform simulations of forest dynamics and resulting changes in the provision of ecosystem services, including the effects of climate, and forest management. Its potential is illustrated through an array of simulations of forest dynamics in the region of Catalonia under alternative climatic and management scenarios. The resulting models and projections provide a solid basis for the simulation of national or regional climate-sensitive forest scenarios, with the possibility of being applied to other regions, and may be used for future management and planning efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

Copyright of Ager: Journal of Depopulation & Rural Development Studies / Revista de Estudios sobre Despoblación y Desarrollo Rural is the property of Rolde de Estudios Aragoneses and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract: There has been a growing literature on alternative food networks (AFNs); structures that reconfigure the systems of production, distribution and consumption of food. Part of this literature emphasises the local scale and the idea of proximity. In a world that is increasingly urban, AFNs at a local scale can be more easily developed by linking peri-urban farmlands and cities. However, agriculture in the rural–urban fringe struggles to survive in the face of urban pressures and sprawl; a process which undermines viable agricultural production in the city''s countryside. A widely used strategy to address these pressures has been farmland protection, undertaken in different ways depending on the legal framework of particular countries. This paper considers farmland conservation and AFNs development issues through a case-study of the Baix Llobregat Agricultural Park (BLAP) in metropolitan Barcelona. It concludes that AFNs in peri-urban areas are only possible if farmland preservation is guaranteed, and that the former does not come as a direct consequence of the latter. The specific conditions in which both can occur will be of interest for scholars as well as policy-makers and planners. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper analyses how the sixth and seventh centuries are explained and presented to visitors at Catalan archaeological sites that have been adapted for public access. We analyse the works that have been carried out at the sites (on the surrounding environment, archaeological structures, surfaces, routes, signposting, and related information centres and museums) and what information is transmitted to visitors through communication resources at the site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of gold coinage in the Medieval Catalonian counties has received considerable academic attention over the past forty years. A crucial factor, the characterisation of individuals using gold currency as their basis of accountancy, however, has to date been neglected. The main aim of this paper is to tackle this issue on the basis of the Diplomatari of Santes Creus. After crossing the data with those extracted from seven other documental sets in the Catalonian counties, the kinship and social links and the properties of 86% of users of gold currency in Santes Creus have been identified. Results show that accounting solutions based on gold weight or gold coinage were essentially used by a closed and not too extensive group of magnates of variable status, connected by kinship, vassalage and proximity links. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

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

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