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This paper discusses the strengths of using ethnographic research methods in cross-national comparative research. It focuses particularly on the potential of applying such methods to the study of migrants and minority ethnic youth in education, where large-scale quantitative studies or single-sited ethnographies are currently dominant. By linking findings and methodological reflections from a research study into the schooling experiences and life projects of migrants and minority ethnic youth in England and Spain, the paper shows how cross-national comparative ethnographies enable researchers to (1) contextualise and compare topics identified by research participants in the course of the fieldwork, (2) analyse topics, which only appear in one research setting and (3) explore and challenge how concepts and categories are employed by research participants in different settings. This, it is argued, makes such research methods particularly well placed to identify issues, which young people themselves find important to their schooling, and explore how these interlink with local practice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Introducing continental European approaches to UK child welfare practice raises a problem of comparison: to what extent are the problems and issues similar to or different from one country compared to another. Social pedagogues trained in continental Europe and working in English residential care services often encountered the phrase ‘our young people are worse’ from their English colleagues, with the implication that the social pedagogic approach was not suitable for the client group. This paper examines two propositions: (1) that in the context of introducing the continental European approach of social pedagogy into children's residential care services in England, young people are ‘different’ in England compared to other European countries and (2) that the placement options and practices for young people living away from their birth parents in continental European countries differ from those in England. Using data from a five nation study of young people from public care backgrounds, the paper argues that while family backgrounds are remarkably similar there are marked differences in the child welfare systems that might account for the perception that young people in care are ‘worse’ in England. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the diversity in patients' experience of biomedicine and contrasts it with the normative view characteristic of health professionals. Ethnographic fieldwork among Polish migrant women in London, Barcelona and Berlin included interviews about their experiences with local healthcare and health professionals. Themes drawn from the narratives are differences between the cities in terms of communication between patients and health professionals, respect for patients' choices and dignity, attitudes to pregnancy and birth (different levels of medicalization), and paediatric care. It is argued that patients continuously negotiate among their own views and expectations based on previous experiences and knowledge from personal communication; internet forums and publications; and the offer of medical services in the countries of their settlement. Patients experience pluralism of therapeutic traditions within and outside bio-medicine. In turn, representatives of bio-medicine are rarely aware of other medical practices and beliefs and this leads to various misunderstandings. By highlighting the pluralism of medical practices in European countries and the increasing mobility of patients, this case study has useful implications for medical anthropologists and health professionals in a broader Western context, such as raising sensitivity to different communication strategies and a diversity of curing traditions and expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much comparative research into education-related beliefs has exploited questionnaires developed in one culture for use in another. This has been particularly the case in mathematics education, the focus of this paper. In so doing, researchers have tended to assume that translation alone is sufficient to warrant a reliable and valid instrument for cross-cultural research, prompting concerns that a number of necessary equivalences are unlikely to have been addressed. In this paper, we consider the nature of these equivalences before examining the literature of a different field, healthcare research, to synthesise an approach to instrument adaptation that is pragmatic but rigorous. Finally, we demonstrate how this pragmatic approach, incorporating extensive cognitive interviews, enabled us to adapt and refine a mathematics-related beliefs questionnaire, developed in Flanders, for use with students aged 14–15 in England and Spain. Analyses indicate that the instrument so developed is multidimensional, reliable and cross-culturally valid. Some implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In recent years, the Internet has become a place for participation, collaboration, and social exchange thanks to Web 2.0 tools. Museum websites are starting to incorporate these tools to involve audiences in ways that reach beyond the physical museum visit. This paper presents research exploring the extent to which museums in five countries (Italy, France, Spain, England, and the USA) have adopted Web 2.0 tools on their websites. Two hundred and forty museum websites belonging to four categories (arts, natural sciences, social sciences, and specialized) were analyzed, with results showing a low overall presence of Web 2.0 tools on museum websites, as well as significant differences in the use of Web 2.0 tools among countries and categories. The paper concludes with a discussion of the diversity of approaches in the use of Web 2.0 tools on museum websites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the mid-1990s, a proposal for a World of Language museum was planned in London. This paper discusses the motivation behind the proposal, outlines its content, and explains the strategy behind it – as well as the reasons for its failure. Initiatives of a similar kind in other countries are briefly reviewed, and the principles underlying the Linguamón House of Languages in Barcelona explained and compared to the London project. The paper concludes with a reflection on the possible future for such a project in the UK in the 2000s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to explore the grand narratives that have been produced in the post 9/11 era in Europe by looking at the March 11, 2004 attacks in Madrid, and the July 7, 2005 attacks in London. The paper will posit that the random nature of the Madrid and London attacks, and the apparent lack of meaning behind the 'message' of these attacks, destabilises a fundamental and mythological narrative of the European project: that the 'new Europe' is somehow beyond politics and has entered into a Kantian 'perpetual peace'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is now well recognized that in the century before 1670 English traders to the Mediterranean enjoyed remarkable success selling increasing quantities of textiles, with a growing proportion completely finished, downgrading Turkey and Italy to the position of raw material suppliers, and taking over a large part of the Mediterranean carrying trade. It is also clear that after 1700 it was the Mediterranean trade, especially that with Spain and Portugal, which redeemed England's very modest trading performance with Europe. The chief interest of the activities of businessman John Oldbury and his group of business associates is that they date from the generation, which separates these two periods and therefore shed some light on the main commodity trades in Anglo-Iberian commerce in the last thirty years of the seventeenth century. Spain and Portugal were two agricultural countries ruling large colonial empires, and yet lacking sufficient manufacturing capacity even to begin to meet metropolitan demands. The success of English textiles in the area is to be accounted for by the virtually total default of indigenous industry. All English exports were of central, if not crucial, importance to the receiving economies and their dependent colonies, and it was this basic fact, which underlay England's dominant position. Iberian trade to England, on the other hand, was not equally indispensable.

This paper reports a study of quality perceptions and attitudes towards farmed cod amongst 90 chefs in up-market restaurants in England, Norway and Spain. Findings show that the chefs perceived the quality of farmed cod as favourable. More specifically, survey results show that product attributes such as freshness, texture of flesh, skin colour, odour and flavour received high scores, albeit with some variation across the three countries. Qualitative interviews confirm the positive assessment, but also show that stability in supply and freshness are valued quality dimensions. The qualitative interviews also revealed that several of the chefs discovered that the farmed cod needs less cooking time than wild cod. Further, negative attitudes towards fish farming were found. Despite this, 65 percent said they were likely or very likely to purchase farmed cod in the future. Findings are discussed and marketing implications highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postgraduate education in gerontology is now widespread within European universities, but, even so, such developments remain very uneven. This paper outlines the variety of provision by describing Master's programmes in a sample of countries: England, Scotland, Finland, and Spain. These programmes illustrate some of the common problems: lack of funding for students, limited availability of academic staff, and reliance on a small core of dedicated teachers. They exhibit many strengths, including the breadth of curricula, high academic standards, high calibre and varied backgrounds of the students, the value of the qualification in employment, and meeting the demands of an ageing Europe. At the same time, these courses are faced with important issues about their sustainability. This paper argues that the demand for generalist courses such as gerontology taught Master's may fall in the coming years due to a combination of factors, such as employers' unwillingness to allow day release and demands by older people themselves for treatment and care by specialists. Generalist courses, this paper argues, may only survive in the biggest and best universities serving large populations and in cities able to attract overseas students. doi:10.1300/J021v27n03_03 [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the European context the continuing training of early childhood educators in terms of information and communications technology (ICT) remains limited and is in need of development. The KINDERET project has been funded through the European Commission’s Leonardo da Vinci programme aimed to identify and understand the theoretical and practical needs of practitioners and is developing course materials to support the development of courses (see ). The KINDERET project has therefore been structured according to five main objectives, namely to: identify and understand the theoretical and practical needs of kindergarten teachers with regard to ICT education;establish plans for the training of educators, in the application of ICT;develop interactive learning materials for educators in order to support the established plans for continuing training in ICT;implement pilot training schemes and promote transnational collaboration between tutors and students through the use of ICTs;evaluate the pilot training schemes. In the framework of these overall aims set by the KINDERET project, this paper reports upon the joint work that was developed by the partnership as the first stage of analysis in the training needs of kindergarten teachers. The analysis of the information that was collected at this stage has provided an empirical basis for the development of the pilot training schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the function of protected nature in rural living environments is discussed in relation to residential choice, appreciation of the residential environment and rural development policy. In five case studies a comparison is made between the situation of protected natural areas in the Netherlands, England and Spain. The research results show that protected natural areas are an increasingly popular endogenous quality of rural regions as they have the ability to influence the residential choice and satisfaction of households. Therefore, they have not only become an important driving factor in the attraction of residential and other consumption-orientated activities towards rural areas but also need to be considered in policy formulation. After all, choices have to be made when different functions need to be combined in rural areas. Different activities may have both positive and negative effects on each other and regulatory measures are needed to tune their co-existence. For a sustainable and balanced development of rural areas it is therefore very important to create basic conditions that will make the combination of activities possible within the specific national and regional contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The VAR has introduced a new element to football. Before, a decision to award a penalty kick could not be reversed. The player taking the penalty could take it relatively quickly after the referee called the foul. After the introduction of the VAR, every penalty kick decision is replayed by the VAR and also quite often reviewed on-field. As a consequence, time between the initial decision by the referee and the actual penalty kick has increased substantially. We examined the influence of the time-interval duration between the foul and the actual penalty kick on the conversion probability using a logit model. Also, we assessed the consequences of a VAR intervention, if any. We used data on all 2888 penalties awarded in top leagues in England, Spain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the UEFA Champions League, over the course of five seasons (2015/2016–2019/2020). We found that the duration between the foul and the moment the penalty is taken does not impact the conversion probability. However, whether or not the VAR intervenes with the referee's decision has a negative effect on the conversion probability of penalty kicks. Football teams and coaches should incorporate this element of uncertainty in training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyse the competitive effects of the centralised sale of football media rights in Europe, focusing on the "Big Five" countries (England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain). Contrary to the findings of European competition authorities, we consider that there are arguments in favour of the relevant market for domestic media rights being club- or even match-specific. This raises the question of what competition is restricted by the centralised sale if the rights on offer have limited or no substitutability. We conclude that the centralised sale of media rights is unlikely to be anticompetitive and may have procompetitive effects if the media rights of different clubs are complementary instead of substitutable. In addition, there may be efficiency gains from the bundling of media rights. Under a club or match-specific market definition, a no-single-buyer rule likely reduces the benefits from the centralised sale and may harm consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article recaps some meetings and lectures concerning mathematics held around the world in 2007. The XXV International Congress of Mathematicians was held in Madrid, Spain in August. There were two invited lectures on the history of mathematics: first one was given by Leo Corry and the other one was given by Niccolo Guicciardini. Robin Wilson conducted three lectures on modern mathematics at Gresham College in London, England.

The article presents a calendar of events relevant to comparative education worldwide from 1976 to 1977. A conference titled "Third World Conference of Comparative Education Societies" will be hosted by the Comparative Education Society in Europe (CESE) in London, England, from June 27, 1977, to July 2, 1977. The Sixth National Education Congress will be held at the University of Madrid in Spain from October 30, 1976, to November 2, 1976. The 11th annual conference of the British Section of the CESE will be held at the University of Leeds from September 17, 1976, to September 20, 1976.

People who have visual impairments exceed 250 million persons worldwide and represent an important cohort of museum visitors. However, they experience many constraints to participation in daily life. Few studies analyse the accessibility of museums to visitors with visual impairments, and many are confined to a single museum and to a small set of strategies for improving accessibility. This article aims to identify a broad set of strategies to increase the accessibility of museums to visitors with visual impairments and analyse the accessibility of museums in four European cities. Conclusions and implications for policy-makers and museum managers, designed to promote the creation of inclusive museums, are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In some European countries, performance contracts have become an instrument for the governance and control of major cultural organisations by the public administration. The negotiation and signing of a performance contract are mainly aimed at developing the goals of cultural policies by means of large organisations in order to achieve the traditional objectives of cultural democratisation and other instrumental objectives (economic development, urban regeneration or social inclusion). Nevertheless, the development level of performance contracts varies when we compare England, France and Catalonia (Spain). Each particular level of development is conditioned by the overall administrative and institutional context and the development level of results-based management and an accountability culture. The level of public funding and the degree of autonomy of management within each organisation can also explain why in some cases governance has been contractualised whereas in other cases either progress is more rhetorical than real. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The written account of Count Béla Széchenyi's 1862 trip to the United States, published in 1863, represents a unique chapter in Hungarian travel writing on the New World. The author was the first-born son of Count István Széchenyi, an iconic figure of Hungary's Age of Reform in the 1820s to 1840s. Following Hungary's defeat in the 1848–9 Revolution and War of Independence against the Habsburgs, István was locked up in a mental asylum outside Vienna, where he committed suicide in 1860. Unlike his father in the 1820s, Béla was allowed to travel to the United States, and his account clearly reflects the time he lived in and the concerns he entertained. Béla had done his Grand Tour in Germany, England, France and Spain, and was an experienced traveller. He sympathised with the more aristocratic South in the Civil War, although he never visited there. His book focuses on issues of slavery and race (Native Americans and African Americans), American democracy (he presents both the US and the Confederate Constitutions, but does so without any commentary), the character of the Yankee, and American progress. He then offers a detailed agenda for the development of Pest-Buda, but, unlike his father, separates issues of progress and national independence, arguing that the former would inevitably bring about the latter. This unique piece of travel writing combines the imperial view of West European travellers in the new world with the highly personal account of a young aristocrat who has just lost his father, and who was trying to come to terms with his loss. Amerikai utam is clearly censored, but in the absence of relevant documents it is impossible to draw the balance between self- and enforced censorship. This little book represents a transition in the history of Hungarian travel writing on the United States between the Age of Reform (which focused on political agendas, especially issues of democracy) and the Dualist period (1867–1918, which discussed American progress and emigration from Hungary). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the role of sociodemographic characteristics, educational and economic variables on sports participation in a comparative way in two European countries: Spain and England. Adopting a broad concept of sport, as in the common European approach, we analyse the determinants of sports participation in 40 different professional and nonprofessional sports and recreational activities in both countries. The research involves a comparative analysis between the data of England and Spain based on two logistic regressions. The regression equation of every country tests the effect of 17 binary explanatory variables on a dependent binary variable for participation. Higher education level, professional occupation, younger age and being male are all factors associated with more sports participation. Although there is no difference in the direction of the factor effects on participation between England and Spain, there is considerable variation in their relative strength, which has sport policy implications in the two nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research on football (soccer) fan cultures has documented the lived experiences of devoted football supporters. Few studies, however, have used participant observation and intensive interviewing to examine the deep-rooted inter-group oppositions that characterize avid football rivalries. Even fewer have done this involving both sides of a rivalry and in countries and cultures unknown or unfamiliar to the researcher. This essay examines the process of doing qualitative research in such settings. Fieldwork experiences in Italy, Spain, England and the Netherlands are used to report and reflect on the ethical and methodological challenges associated with comparative research into inter-group conflicts in the football context. There are specific dilemmas that relate directly to the task of studying multiple sides of a football rivalry. Accusations of partiality and ethical criticisms of the researcher’s betrayal of one side against the other are rife, particularly in situations where intra-group cleavages and a strong distrust of the police exist. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Islamist militants frequently lack a talent for tradecraft. In recent attacks in Britain and Spain, terrorists made numerous mistakes: receiving traffic citations while traveling in 'enemy' territory, acting suspiciously when questioned by the police, and traveling together during missions. Militants' preference toward suicide operations restricts their ability to acquire practical experience, particularly when they lose their lives during attacks. And their unyielding devotion to their cause blinds them to opportunities to improve their operations. This is good news for counterterrorism officials. Terrorists' poor tradecraft provides alert law enforcers with critical leads they can use to identify their attackers, unravel their plots, and-sometimes-disrupt their operations before they cause additional harm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the beliefs and attitudes that university students enrolled in teacher education programmes in Spain, England and the US (Texas) hold about individuals who differ. A beliefs and attitudes toward difference scale (BATD) was constructed using nine dimensions of diversity; culture, language, socioeconomic status/social class, religion, gender, sexual orientation, political ideology, disability and special talent. A two-way factorial analysis of variance indicated significant main effects due to the respondent groups on culture, religion and sexual orientation; significant main effects of worldview of difference on political ideology; and no interaction between the two factors on each of the nine domains of difference. An exploratory factor analysis was also performed in order to explore the viability of the theoretical model. The data suggest that attitudes towards people who differ include etic, emic and individual properties. These are discussed in terms of the uses of cross-cultural data and further research opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1948, Spain, under the regime of the General Franco, participated in its first summer Olympics since 1932, following the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War. Sixty-seven Spanish athletes competed in nine different sports and the reasons why these sports were selected will be analysed here. Focusing upon Spanish participation, this article explores the historical importance of the London Olympics for Spain as an international showcase. In order to achieve a balanced view of the attitude of Spain on this Olympiad, it is necessary to analyse both the official documents and the national press, controlled by the state by means of an iron censorship with some signs of a slight openness. Historical analysis of these documents will result in a comprehensive and rigorous study on the Spaniards' perception of the Olympic Games, the athletes' achievements, the attitude of the press and the political use of the event by Franco to gain international acceptance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the restructuring of education in England and Spain. Against a presumably homogeneous global streamlining of educational systems according to competition-driven goals, the comparison of teachers' work-lives and professional knowledge evidences a variety of experiences under-represented in discourses on global restructuring. Our argument highlights how in England political reforms have worked their way deep into the working lives of professionals, giving rise to a 'managerial' model of professionalism, whereas in Spain reforms are more loosely coupled with teachers' work, favoring a 'social service'-oriented model. However, despite the different professional ideals, teachers uniformly stressed the challenges they face were predominantly due to broader social transformations for which policy reforms provided few if any remedies. Our study emphasizes the variety of educational reforms and teachers' experiences in the European context and argues further educational change should be bound to the historical trajectory and the concrete needs of the professionals in question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report analyzes the actions taken by emergency responders in three case studies of post-9/11 terrorist attacks in Europe (Istanbul [2003], Madrid [2004] and London [2005]). It also assesses the targeting and tactical information gleaned from three European plots that either failed or were foiled by authorities. The focus of this report is on mass casualty, complex attack scenarios involving explosive or incendiary materials. Although such attacks are not limited to one particular strand of terrorism, the case studies assessed in this report are linked to or inspired by the global jihadist movement spearheaded by the al Qaeda network, since this currently constitutes the most significant threat of mass casualty bombings to the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on several upcoming congresses which includes the International Medieval Sermon Studies Society Seventeenth Symposium on July 16 to 20, 2010 in Salamanca, Spain, Forty-Fourth International Congress on Medieval Studies on May 7 to 10, 2009 in Kalamazoo, Michigan and International Medieval Congress on July 13 to 16, 2009 at the University of Leeds in England.

After the Madrid and London train-bombings, perceptions of the sources of Islamic terrorism changed. The British response to domestic jihadism was to apply community-policing principles to counter-terrorism enforcement. This essay describes the origins and intentions of the community-based policing of terrorism and partnership programmes with Muslim faith organisations. Collaboration with Muslim partners has helped to build confidence within government agencies that Muslim leaders are keen to curb terrorism, but has failed to build trust among the general Muslim public. The application of community-policing principles is, it is argued, an effort to bridge steep trade-offs between effective prevention and the social and political integration of Britain's Muslims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most surveys of bullying and school violence have not addressed the issue of aggression or social exclusion related to the ethnic, cultural or racial background of the recipient. The limited number of studies in this area tend to focus on whether children from different cultural groups are more or less likely to be victimized by peers overall, reporting no significant differences between cultural groups in terms of levels of victimization or bullying others. This study aimed to expand on the previous literature in a number of ways. Pupils from a variety of cultural backgrounds in two countries, England and Spain, were surveyed about their perceptions and experiences of seven types of victimization (three were explicitly related to the cultural background of the recipient). Pupils were disapproving of victimization, more so for cultural victimization. Pupils from cultural minority groups were more likely than those from cultural majority groups to report experiencing victimization based on their cultural background (name calling and social exclusion). Pupils reported being upset or angry as a result of the victimization. They were most likely to report the reason for cultural victimization as "being different". The findings are discussed in terms of the need for schools to address the issue of cultural victimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between July and September 2002, seven Spanish general practitioners (GPs) were recruited by County Durham primary care organisations (PCOs). They were inducted over a four-month period by the Northern Deanery in collaboration with the University of Northumbria at Newcastle (UNN), a local provider of English language teaching. Of these seven, five have continued to work beyond their initial year's contract. Lessons learned include the need for clarity in appointment procedures, significant help in relocation to the UK, good induction practice, and the provision of ongoing educational and personal support. Future recruitment initiatives will need to reflect on these lessons, not least at a time of increasing pressure on PCO finances and deanery induction capacity. INSETS: Box 1 Semi-structured interview;Box 2 Learning points for PCOs and deaneries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]