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Critical geopolitics conceives of the internal organization of the state as a relevant geopolitical subfield. In this context, this paper aims to develop a geopolitical interpretation of the covid-19 crisis management in Catalonia and Spain from March 2020 to mid-April 2020. The paper begins by providing an overview of internal geopolitics literature by Spanish geographers, focusing on the Catalonia/Spain conflict, followed by a thorough analysis of written and oral materials compiled for that purpose. Three discursive periods are identified: up until the declaration of the State of Alarm in mid-March 2020, the first two weeks with this in force, and the first half of April 2020. The paper evinces that the examined materials support contested visions about the distribution of territorial powers within Spain, while also unearthing some specificities that ultimately relate to the Catalan national question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at studies which highlight how, in the first phase of expansion of the industrial system in Catalonia, Spain, the greater harshness of industrial work and reproductive burdens led married women to keep their jobs right up to the moment when their wages could be replaced by their children's. They could then devote their time to the non-remunerated domestic tasks that were considered more important than income. Therefore, women's work changed throughout the family life-cycle, depending mostly on the ratio of active/inactive family members. From the mid-19th-century to the first third of the 20th century, Barcelona maintained a diversified and flexible demand for female labor. European historiography has gathered evidence suggesting that employment strategies also changed on the opportunities available to women in the labor market, and on cultural, ideological and institutional factors. The author argues that more research is needed into what underlies the differing intensities with which working-class families resorted to married women and child labor in various places in Catalonia.

Even though the doctoral degree was originally designed for an academic career, there is an increasingly important labour market for doctorate holders outside academia, mainly because of a shortage of job opportunities within it. Doctoral degrees are granted only by universities; thus, universities are the only suppliers of the doctoral workforce to the labour market. Understanding the needs of non-academic employers is thus crucial if universities are to adapt their doctoral education curriculum. Many studies have analyzed labour markets for doctorate holders at national and transnational scales, but few studies focus on the regional scale. The present study explores regional data for Catalonia in Spain on the employment situation of doctorate holders in order to define the characteristics of the regional, non-academic labour market for doctorate holders. Descriptive statistics suggest a high retention rate of doctorate holders within the region and a large part of doctorate holders (two-thirds) having a job that does not require a doctoral degree. This study highlights the existence of a skills mismatch that might be linked to the preference for a better paid or more stable job, or to the lack of development of skills that represent added value in the eyes of employers. These characteristics can be formulated as hypotheses to be tested in further qualitative or quantitative studies. They have several implications for universities, non-academic employers and regional policy-makers, such as the need to work on the valorization of the doctoral degree in the non-academic labour market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article traces the emergence of winemaking cooperatives in Catalonia, one of southern Europe’s main winegrowing regions. It analyses the stimuli that led to the creation of winemaking cooperatives in the early twentieth century and the difficulties that they faced in a depressed wine market, such as financing the construction of winemaking facilities, the governance and organisation of cooperative services, and marketing their produce. I explore the reasons why many more wine cooperatives were created in Catalonia in early twentieth century than in Spain’s other winegrowing regions and I try to identify the obstacles that hindered their further development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background:The literature has shown that the way active labour market policies (ALMP) aimed at youth are designed and implemented can influence the labour and educational prospects of youngsters. The evaluation of the Catalan PQPIs (initial vocational qualification programmes) presented here seeks to provide new evidence on the effectiveness of ALMPs for a social, economic and geographical context – the south of Europe – in which such evaluations are scarce but particularly necessary, given current unemployment conditions. Purpose:This evaluation focuses on the impact of the PQPIs on participants’ labour and education outcomes during the period 2009–2013. Research questions are: Does participation in the PQPIs increase the probability of finding a job? What is the impact of the PQPIs on the probability of returning to formal education? Does the impact of the PQPIs vary according to characteristics of the participants, such as age and gender? Programme description:First launched in 2006, PQPIs target 16–25-year-olds who are unemployed and who left education without earning the certificate of compulsory secondary education (GESO). PQPIs have two objectives: (a) to increase the labour prospects of participants, and (b) to facilitate their re-engagement into formal education, either by completing the GESO or by enrolling in middle vocational courses (CFGM). PQPIs take one academic year to complete and they include vocational training, work internships and preparation for returning to formal education. Sample:Our evaluation focuses on the two main types of PQPI, the PQPI-FIAP and the PQPI-SBS. Our sample consists of all students who started any of these courses during the 2008–2009 academic year – 2401 participants in the PQPI-SBS and 1220 in the PQPI-FIAP. Both sets of students were observed from the beginning of their courses until April 2013. Design and methods:Using propensity score matching, we estimate the intention-to-treat and treatment-on-the-treated impact of PQPIs on participants’ labour and educational outcomes. For labour outcomes, we focus on the monthly labour force participation from the moment that the programmes started (October 2008) until April 2013. For educational outcomes, we analyse the accumulated percentages of GESO and CFGM enrolments and graduations from the time the programmes finished (June 2009) until September 2012. Results:Results show that both the PQPI-FIAP and the PQPI-SBS are ineffective in increasing the labour prospects of participants. In contrast, both the PQPI-FIAP and the PQPI-SBS are significantly effective in re-engaging youths in formal education, although such gains are not translated into a higher level of attainment in post-compulsory education. The positive educational impact identified is concentrated among 16–18-year-olds, while the effects are null or even negative for all other age ranges. Conclusions:First, the study demonstrates the shortcomings of ALMPs and school-to-work transition programmes in increasing the labour participation of their participants. Second, despite these shortcomings, PQPIs do function as a mechanism for re-engaging early school leavers back into formal education. Third, the educational effectiveness of programmes such as the PQPIs question the capacity of comprehensive schooling to prevent early school leaving, especially when comprehensiveness is implemented without any margin of flexibility. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Using the number of trademarks registered as an indicator, this article explores the functioning of the economies of product differentiation that characterise industrial districts. In order to assess the role of districts in the creation of trademarks, the analysis focuses on knitwear production, a highly competitive industry and a pioneer in brand creation in Spain, and examines the development of the country's two main knitwear districts during the twentieth century. The article presents empirical evidence from trademark and business records to show that more trademarks were created in these two districts than in other areas. The imitation and rivalry characteristic of industrial districts favoured the proliferation of trademarks and encouraged firms to diversify their products through the creation of new brands. It also suggests that the success of the brands was uneven and depended on the industrial structure in each district and the kind of product specialisation. In conclusion, not only were the industrial districts an important factor in brand creation, but brand consolidation was decisive in raising levels of competitiveness in knitwear districts in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We apply social networks analysis to the study of an important database on investment and companies' share in the Catalonia (Spain) of the nineteenth century. In contrast with most of the existing related literature, usually addressing power relationships across administration boards, we focus on the structure of interactions among individual investors and firms. Centrality analysis uncovers interesting roles played by certain economic sectors (e.g. textile and financial). Furthermore, the diverse composition (in terms of economic activity) of communities in the network (subgroups more densely connected internally than with the rest of the network) reveals a high investment diversification, which nicely agrees with a known characteristic of traditional Catalan business strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States and Spain have had radically different immigration histories, and they also have very different education systems and policies, yet there are similarities. Despite official efforts to welcome immigrant youth, both education systems operate, paradoxically, in ways that are unwelcoming, relegating immigrant youth to the margins of school life. The authors draw on their ongoing comparative ethnographic research in high schools in California (U.S.) and Catalonia (Spain). The article highlights some contradictions between the strengths and shortcomings identified in each education system. In light of immigrant students' experiences in both countries, the authors provide suggestions for the improvement of educational practice for the children of immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During 1997-8, 1998-9 and 1999-2000 an educational project involving the rescue of an archaeological site dating back to the Neolithic was run in the municipality of Sant Quirze del Vallès (Catalonia, Spain) with the participation of the secondary schools of Sant Quirze del Vallès (IES Sant Quirze) and Barberà del Vallès (IES La Romànica). The project was designed with two objectives in mind: first, to test the implementation of a real research project led by professionals in the field with baccalaureate pupils and, second, to develop positive attitudes towards valuing archaeological heritage through understanding the historical significance of the site and the involvement of young people in its recovery for the municipality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the contributions of educational institutions on the promotion of national identity and regional autonomy in Spain. The nation is continuously searching for ways to meet the demands of people from Catalonia and Basque country, two of its region which suffered repression from the Franco regime. The compulsory use of their regional dialect, along with the national language in school teaching is one of the educational measures employed by the Spanish government to strengthen the national identity of these regions.