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While the division between the people and the elite created by populism is typically understood within a national framework, the aim of this article is to analyse how the understanding of the people and the elite is constructed by the use of interwoven scales. By focusing on the scalar politics of the Spanish party Vox, the discursive articulation of space through scales are analysed. By means of a qualitative discourse analysis of six Twitter (now X) accounts of the most prominent leaders, we argue that the use of political spaces is strictly connected to the party’s broader political narrative. Concretely, the analysis of the spatial imaginaries evoked by Vox on Twitter shows the importance of different scales – local, regional, national and global – to organize its populist antagonism spatially. In so doing, this paper makes a contribution to the literature on ‘scalar politics’ of radical right parties, which has recently focused on different geographical constituencies. We argue that the national scale maintains its predominance in opposition to the global scale (dominated by the cosmopolitan elites), the regional one (where separatism represents a threat against Spain's unity), the local scale which is nationalized against migrants and people who do not feel as Spaniards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social networks such as Twitter can promote social alarm about conflicts concerning anti-hate speech legislation. The protests after the prison sentences of the rappers Valtònyc (2018) and Hasél (2021) are two paradigmatic cases in Spain. This research analyses how citizens' desire to combat hate speech may be frustrated when the law is applied. Using a quantitative and qualitative methodology, we observe the users and the media reactions on Twitter in both cases. In the first phase, we conducted a content analysis (n = 694) to identify the position of users and the media. In a second phase, discourse analysis examined the presence or absence of the features of constructive journalism in the news coverage. The results show that the anti-law stance is predominant in Twitter messages, but there are few references to freedom of expression and censorship. While there is a considerable presence of an angry style of communication and polarised messages in users' tweets, the media adopt a rational and informative approach. The media discourse in both cases is still far from the traits of constructive journalism. Therefore, this research shows that informative actions based on the principles of constructive journalism could mediate between citizen sensibility and legislation. This could promote a sense of citizenship that avoids hate speech. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Connectives have been shown to confirm or reverse the prediction of upcoming discourse content. Whether the non-conceptual meaning of other types of discourse markers can further constraint the upcoming discourse remains mostly unexplored. This study evaluates the predicting effect of two scalar focus operators, Spanish hasta (even) and nada más (only). In a visual-world paradigm experiment, participants heard sentences that included either one of the scalar focus operators that guided the prediction of one of four simultaneously displayed images. Results showed that the utterance of the focus operators triggered anticipation of the corresponding visual element according to a higher or lower position of the scale. Also, looking times suggest different processing demands for each of the focus operators. These results shed light on the way non-conceptual meaning contributes to building expectations about upcoming discourse, and provide evidence of the scalar organisation of elements in the shared discourse knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A positive experience of sexuality during youth is key to good sexual health later in life. Addressing young people's sexual health needs and sexual and reproductive rights is thus essential. This study aimed to identify unmet sexual health needs among youth in the city of Barcelona (Spain) through mixed methods research. We analysed the narratives of young people (n = 50) aged 14–24 years with different genders, origins, sexualities and socioeconomic backgrounds, collected from January to April 2019. A descriptive statistical analysis was also conducted on the records of visits to sexual health services and reasons for consultation. We found that 21% (n = 32,161) of young people aged 14–24 years had used sexual healthcare services in Barcelona between 2015 and 2017, while the reasons for consultation differed across sex, gender and socioeconomic background. Young people declared that they needed more information to enjoy their sexuality, to know where to go in case of an unexpected situation and to learn how to combat gender-based violence. They stated that the sexuality education they had received was sparse and focused on risks. We found that formal sex education is scarce, with informal sex education thus acquiring a major role. Current services can be improved by expanding coverage, training professionals and reducing acceptability and accessibility barriers. Sexism is ubiquitous in young people's sexual, dating and personal relationships. We recommend planning sexual health care services and formal sexual education, in which a strong gender strategy is embedded, as part of the same strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of contemporary youth gender cultures within an educational context illustrates the emergence of new possibilities of self-expression as well as more favourable attitudes towards diversity, at a time when stereotypical gender mandates still persist. This study aimed to deepen understanding of gender identity construction by analysing conversations with 14 students in a secondary school on the southern outskirts of the Community of Madrid. The selected students stood out among the rest due to a combination of high social status and an understanding of gender categories as less stereotyped and rigid. Analysis showed how monoglossic meanings may be confronted by experience within one's close environment – that contradicts or reaffirms the norm, as well as by personal beliefs and desires. The result is a complex process of adjustment, which swings between believing in individual choice, personal experiences of inequality, and the need to feel part of the group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at describing the eating experience of people diagnosed with and treated for laryngeal cancer. Going beyond the mere conceptualization of "after-effect" or the quantification of the disease's impact on the basis of standardized questionnaires, we present a qualitative analysis of the narratives of such experiences. Ethnographic study. Data is obtained from conversations, semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and written documents. A discourse analysis of the narrative information was conducted, with process coding and using the constant comparative method, inductive content analysis, category analysis, units of meaning associated with each other, and triangulation. The impact of cancer on eating processes is not limited to nutrition, but also affects the social and cultural value of food, which is put into question. The symbolic and social values which accompany the traditional way of eating are modified, which is connected with impaired quality of life. The impact on the eating process and its relationship with quality-of-life impairment are clear and connect with the importance of eating ways in culture and social organization. Greater attention should be paid to these contexts in clinical practice, which can affect even more than the impact on communicative processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the participation processes displayed by women with physical functional diversity in Spain, from the perspective of feminism and human rights. Responses from 18 participants with physical functional diversity allowed us to describe the female participants, as well as to explain their participation histories and plans, including any enabling or obstructing elements. This feedback also allowed us to interpret the participation models of women in positions or situations of influence. This paper, using qualitative methodology, combines grounded theory, intersectionality, and discourse narration to analyse the life contexts and elements that impede access to social participation on a level playing field for these women. The results present emancipatory tools for women and arguments for political decision-making that can help women overcome oppression and violence, thereby facilitating their integration into society. The defence of people's rights is a professional endeavour grounded in social work theory and involves drawing attention to inequalities, in this case, those faced by women with functional diversity. Social work training should prepare social workers for advocacy based on human rights and be led by people with disabilities themselves. Research into disability in social work yields advances in strategies for social and civic participation, particularly for women with functional diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spanish universities must guarantee optimum accessibility to facilitate the teaching-learning process of students with disabilities. The objective of this study was to investigate how Spanish students with disabilities perceive access to Higher Education and the day-to-day of their academic life. A qualitative design was performed, using sequential discourse analysis adapted to the area of studies with people with disabilities. Two focus groups and sixteen interviews with university students with disabilities were analyzed. The discursive strategies of the students presented an asymmetry between the normative and the factual, although within a framework of inclusion and integration into university life. Six types of barriers were identified: computer, bureaucratic, and architectural -more intense in the traditional universities-, and learning, personal, and social barriers -stronger in online universities. To ensure the inclusion of students with disabilities, there is a need to increase information and training and to establish common procedures across Higher Education institutions. Despite the legislative measures regarding inclusion in Higher Education, the representativeness of students with disabilities in Spain is low. Students with disabilities found six different types of barriers in accessing university studies in Spain. Research shows that Spanish university students with disabilities consider dropping out of Higher Education due to the difficulties they encounter on a day-to-day basis. Spanish university students with disabilities detect barriers that are specific to society, in general, and to the university system, in particular, that prevent a real equality beyond the deficits of their disabilities. Improvements should be oriented towards the training and awareness of the entire university community and its standards of practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to investigate the importance of family care in mental health and identify the shortcomings of the Spanish model of health care for the mentally ill. The empirical process comprised three qualitative procedures involving 37 experts from different regions of Spain. In order to guarantee the rigor of the data, a social worker discussion group was set up to create an interview script. Interviews were then carried out with 22 professionals who take care of people with mental illness in various public facilities throughout the country. A second focal group met three times to validate the categorizations analyzed in the interviews. The results of the empirical process indicate a need to remodel the mental health care system, which can be described with reference to five critical characteristics: 1) a lack of financial and human resources for mental health, 2) a lack of effective coordination among all the institutions and authorities involved, 3) a lack of quality resources aimed at rehabilitation and social reintegration as alternatives to institutionalization, 4) a lack of integrated care, and 5) a lack of a common healthcare framework for all professional workers in all the regions. A remodeling of the system is necessary to enable the rehabilitation, recovery, empowerment and development of people with SMD and thus ease the burden and improve the quality of life of family caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immigrants' neighbourhood choices are key to understanding today's dominant socio-territorial dynamics, especially in urban areas. We analysed the factors involved in the housing search at the early stages of the economic migrant influx in Seville, Spain (Andalusia region, Europe's southern border) and their impact on the development of residential segregation in this city. Using a qualitative methodology approach based on focus groups, unstructured interviews and discourse analysis, the implicit and explicit social determinants that influence economic migrants' residential behaviours were examined. In line with previous studies, the results highlight the importance of socio-economic determinants and a trend towards self-segregation. Social discourse analysis reveals how the host society's ethnoracial preferences and prejudices – from the outset of the economic migrant influx – translate into barriers to accessing the housing market, which plays a crucial role in understanding economic migrant residential mobility and its impact on and consequences for the residential segregation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lexical-grammatical divide has been a widely addressed topic in aphasia. Speech parts are generally classified as either belonging to a lexical or a grammatical category based on the frequency of acquisition of new members in their paradigms (open vs. closed classes), thus neglecting heterogeneity within categories. Such an approach has led to contradictory findings. First, prepositions form closed classes, but are classically taken as lexical items. Pronouns, also belonging to a closed class, are analyzed as grammatical elements. Second, both within the group of prepositions and pronouns, forms with different syntactic and semantic properties co-exist. Following the theoretical notions granted by a usage-based theory of grammar, the ProGram theory, and taking focalizability as the classification criteria, we hypothesize that individuals with non-fluent aphasias will experience more severe problems with grammatical prepositions and pronouns, given that these elements are secondary and dependent, whereas informants in the fluent group will experience more severe trouble with lexical forms, potentially primary and independent. We focused on the performance of nine Spanish-speaking individuals with aphasia from the Rosell (2005) corpus. Samples of 300 words were transcribed and analyzed. As predicted, grammatical prepositions were found to be more severely compromised in the speech output of individuals with deficits of motor predominance, whereas lexical prepositions are more severely affected in individuals with deficits of sensory predominance. Although less conclusively, the same tendency holds in the case of pronouns. Our results, consistent with previous findings, confirm the heterogeneity of prepositions and pronouns, which should no longer be analyzed en bloc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across many advanced economies, changing housing dynamics have destabilized traditional adulthood transitions. This article examines how such transformations, especially in the aftermath of the economic crisis, affect fundamental societal expectations and aspirations surrounding tenure choices and home leaving. Through a series of discussion groups and interviews among young adults in Spain – a salient context of embedded homeownership culture – the study reveals how the crisis has undermined life-course transitions and upended discourses surrounding tenure norms. Homeownership has transformed from a dominant symbol of stability and security to one of dispossession and financial risk. Conversely, where pre-crisis discourses dismissed rental, the tenure is portrayed as providing more security in the face of necessary flexibility. Our research reveals that, although traditional 'homeownership culture' has not disappeared from the collective imaginary and appears nuanced by social class, it has become increasingly detached from leaving the parental home. The paper exposes the extent to which dominant housing discourses may be upended even within the context of a particularly embedded Southern European homeowner society. We contend that when housing dynamics are coupled with underlying transformations in aspirations and norms, there may be significant societal outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The history of social work as a profession and academic discipline is inextricably linked with principles of human rights (HR) and social justice (SJ). The Global Standards for social work education promote HR and SJ as unifying themes, yet there is little understanding of how these themes are embedded in social work education in specific national contexts. This article, based on empirical research in England and Spain, explores social work educators' understandings of, and strategies used in learning and teaching about, HR and SJ. Using a critical realist framework, a web survey was followed by qualitative interviews with educators in each country to identify opportunities and challenges in stimulating students' theoretical understanding of HR and SJ, and their application in practice. Findings show that prevailing neoliberal ideology has pervaded social work in both countries (more strongly in England) placing pressure on social work educators to convey narrow understandings of HR and SJ and to adopt increasingly bureaucratic and distant relationships with students. Identifying a range of factors informing educators' understandings of HR and SJ, the research identifies spaces for strengthening the focus on HR and SJ in social work education. The article argues that while university-based social work education remains a fertile site for the deconstruction of neoliberal ideology that threatens the HR and SJ foundations of social work globally, social work and social work education require the development of a distinct, alternative, HR and SJ-based ideology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to analyze the difficulties in professionalizing the long-term care system in Spain. Since 2006, the new Spanish law has recognized care as a subjective right, and regulations are being designed to create a framework for its professionalization. Nowadays, family remains the most important group of providers who care for their elders, and women remain the main informal caregivers. Why do families resist using public long-term care services and professional carers included in the new law? The hypothesis highlights sociocultural factors as an obstacle to professionalization of long-term care services in addition to political and economic factors. The results show qualitative data about expectations, preferences, and discourses that women caregivers have in relation to their responsibility. The empirical material includes 25 interviews with different profiles of caregivers and six focus groups with family caregivers. The article suggests that the Spanish ideal of care is a problem for the professionalization of services because the family remains as the main provider of care—without specific skills, knowledge, and abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Immigration has consistently been one of the most controversial political topics in many European countries over recent years. Much research has consequently focused on highlighting and describing negative views of immigrants which dominate political debate. This has been particularly the case in studies of Spain. Yet such studies rarely examine positive views of immigration or explain the dominance of some views over others. This article offers a distinct contribution by examining the contested framing of Romanian immigration in Madrid's politics. At the same time that Romanian immigration has increased rapidly to form the largest single nationality population in the country and public opinion has registered specific concerns regarding this nationality, political debate has declared a 'magnificent atmosphere' of coexistence. The article explores why, highlighting the stability of discursive and institutional structures which emphasise values of democracy, equality and tolerance over potentially discriminatory acts and statements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]