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In situ data are an essential need in the analyses of past and current climate change. All over the world, different data rescue activities try to extend existing time series and to retrieve data in spatial and temporal data sparse regions. Also in Europe, part of the historic data is still only available in paper archives, without any digital access to these sources. The EUMETNET Data Rescue activity was started in order to investigate the potential for additional long‐term stations, to monitor the progress of data rescue in European countries and to support participants with know‐how exchange and international connections to facilitate data exchange. The activity raised the awareness of the need for data rescue and ongoing activities. This paper will provide information on the data rescue activities of 4 EUMETNET countries focusing on different aspects and in different states of the data rescue process. While Austria, Croatia and Slovenia are connected by a partly common history which is also displayed in the history of their meteorological network, Catalonia has a different historical background. Nevertheless, the problems data rescue is confronted with are similar for all activities. Therefore, the selected countries will provide a good overview of the problems and solutions discussed during the EUMETNET meetings. This paper wants to offer insight into different strategies for data rescue as well as into ongoing activities. Moreover, the importance of cooperation in regard to data rescue is underlined and examples of possible partnerships are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wake of the 2008 financial crisis wrought economic havoc in Spain, resulting in the widespread protest of the indignados movement. Catalonia in particular saw a flourishing of various new forms of activism and socio‐economic collaboration, such as cooperative networks, eco‐villages and alternative currencies. This paper explores emerging forms of alternative currencies and commoning practices in Catalonia, Spain. It is based on ethnographic research to explore emergent grassroots innovations that theorise and practice degrowth proposals in diverse ways. In particular, it investigates developing forms of social currency and social debt, most of which are associated with the Catalan Integral Cooperative and FairCoop. This latter organisation is a network of cooperatives developing tools around Faircoin, a cryptocurrency based on social and ecological principles. In doing so, it contributes to alternative currencies scholarship. This paper shows how these self‐organised grassroots innovations are making use of technological and digital elements in order to build an alternative financial infrastructure. Furthermore, it demonstrates how these alternative social currencies and blockchain initiatives clearly show that non‐capitalist and degrowth oriented technological innovation can generate economies in more progressive and community‐led ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of World Food Policy is the property of Wiley-Blackwell 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 expression "lightning never strikes twice" is questioned in this paper because, among the randomness of lightning impacts, some spots are hit even more than twice year after year. This article introduces the recurrent lightning spots (RLS) concept, which are locations periodically impacted by cloud‐to‐ground lightning every consecutive year over a certain period. RLS are investigated in two regimes, with markedly different lightning climatology but similar orography, for 10 consecutive years: Catalonia (North East of Spain, Europe) and Barrancabermeja (North Central Colombia, South America). Results revealed 148 and 916 RLS in Catalonia and Barrancabermeja, respectively. RLS in both regions are typically found to be related to tall structures, mountain peaks, and steep terrain. The method allowed us to identify those tall towers and orographic relief frequently affected by lightning that are not detected with the mere computation of the ground flash density. In the case of Catalonia, some RLS are found offshore. Besides the scientific interest in understanding lightning, the new concept of RLS provides additional and valuable information applicable to lightning protection engineering. Plain Language Summary: The expression "lightning never strikes twice" is questioned in this paper because it shows that some spots are hit even more than twice: year after year. The RLSs (RLS) concept is presented, which are locations where lightning strike them periodically. The two regions of study with markedly different lightning climatology but similar orography are Catalonia (North East of Spain, Europe) and Barrancabermeja (in North Central Colombia, South America). RLS in both regions are typically found to be related to tall structures, mountain peaks and steep terrain. In the case of Catalonia, some RLS are found offshore. RLS new concept provides valuable information to lightning protection engineering. Key Points: Recurrent lightning spots (RLS) are targets with at least one cloud‐to‐ground lightning per year during a certain number of consecutive yearsIn Catalonia (Spain), 13% of the RLS are tall towers, 72% are mountainous peaks and 5% are offshore sitesThe method effectively finds tall structures affected by lightning in tropical climates [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on my ongoing ethnographic research with people living with HIV in different European countries, the paper focuses on RD, a Catalan man I have interviewed three times since 2014. In RD's life narrative, 'crisis' is a recurring theme including both the most blatant forms, like the severe housing crisis in Spain that followed the global financial crisis, and the most ordinary ones like domestic violence. Analysing the impact of crises in RD's perception and experience of the present, interwoven with the past(s) and the future(s), the paper discusses two main benefits of longitudinal ethnographic research. First, it allows to capture how crisis is not just a moment or a phase in RD's life, but acts as context generating a recurring experience of an 'uncanny present' shaped by logics of return and repetition of the past, and anticipation of the future. Second, it supports RD's self‐awareness around his ability to navigate the unknown when experiencing the 'uncanny present'; this highlights the ethical care dimension entailed by such methodology. The paper presents two main benefits of longitudinal ethnographic research. First, it allows to capture how crisis, for some people, is not just a moment or phase but acts as context generating a recurring experience of an 'uncanny present'. Second, it supports participants' self‐awareness around their ability to navigate the unknown, this demonstrating the ethical care dimension of the research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over a year ago, the editorial board of the I Regional Science, Policy and Practice i ( I RSPP i ) journal thought that the independence movement (or, in a broader sense, the "right to decide" the relationship to be maintained with the rest of the Spanish state), which is happening in Catalonia, was relevant enough to prepare this Special Issue. As Wagner and Marin point out in their paper, "the Catalan question has become the EU's most serious territorial integrity crisis in recent years and its effect on the perceptions of the European Union remains largely unstudied". Although it is very difficult to specify percentages, without a specific referendum about that, the population of residents in Catalonia who, according to the surveys, seem to want to exercise the "right to decide" (without necessarily meaning that they are in favour of independence) revolves around 70%-80%, while the supporters of independence are around 45%-55%. [Extracted from the article]

On 1 October 2017, Catalonia held an independence referendum. The Spanish state had previously declared this referendum illegal and activated political and security devices to prevent it from being held. The referendum was the tipping point of the so‐called Catalan 'Process', which would continue with the suspension of Catalonia's self‐government and the imprisonment of several Catalan politicians and activists. Heated political discussion has centred current Spanish (and sometimes even European) politics on issues related to the legitimacy of both the Process and the actors involved in it. This paper aims to understand how the different Catalan political parties framed the Process by looking at the parliamentary discourses which prevailed in the Catalan Parliament one month before and one month after the holding of the referendum. The data are analysed using a mixed‐methods approach. We combine topic models (used to generate different frames associated with different political leanings inductively) with an in‐depth examination of the contents of these frames. The results shed light on how the Catalan Process is framed according to different political leanings and contribute to our understanding of stateless and state‐wide nationalism strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Regional Science Policy & Practice is the property of Wiley-Blackwell 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 examine how schools in Catalonia (Spain) are responding to the needs of migrant students by challenging the limitations of the curriculum. The paper presents some of the findings of an ongoing project titled Migrant Children and Communities in a Transforming Europe (MiCREATE). It is based on 31 semi‐structured interviews and 6 focus groups conducted with 78 participants (teachers, school representatives, and community members such as child psychologists, social workers, and other collaborators) from six state primary and secondary schools in Catalonia (Spain). Analysis of the interviews showed that Spain still has a monolithic conception of the curriculum, with Eurocentrism and ethnocentrism at its core. Nonetheless, school staff are producing pedagogical practices that challenge this position in order to respond to the needs of migrant students. We argue that it is necessary to consider other frames of reference such as critical interculturality, decolonial perspectives, and critical cosmopolitanisms in order to create collective and multiple experiences of belonging that go beyond the dominant cultural identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consequences of social trust are comparatively well studied, while its societal determinants are often subject to debate. This paper studies both in the context of Catalan attempts to secede from Spain: First, we test whether Catalonia enjoys higher levels of social capital that it is prevented from capitalizing on. Second, the paper examines whether secessionist movements create animosity and political divisions within society that undermine trust. Employing the nine available waves of the European Social Survey for Spain, we only find weak indications that social trust levels are higher in Catalonia than in the rest of the country. Interestingly, we further find testimony of a purely transient "exuberance effect" after secession became a real option, indicating that the long‐run evolution of social trust may best be thought of as a stable punctuated equilibrium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social‐democratic parties face a dilemma between the universalist ethos of their socialist tradition and the nationalism that they share with the other political actors of the state where they act. In this paper, we examine comparatively the position of the Spanish party Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE) and the Catalan party Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) on three political debates that pertains to the link between welfare and identity in Spain. We show how these parties experience opposite tensions between nationalism and the universalism of their left‐wing ideology. Whereas ERC calls for a withdrawal from the Spanish system of social security, the PSOE advocates imposing on Catalonia a symmetric form of solidarity with the rest of Spain, despite recognising the region's different identity. Above all, both parties take identity for granted as a pre‐political factor that 'naturally' justifies differential treatment, according to ERC, or equalising federalism, in the case of the PSOE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses knowledge transfers between Catalonia and Romania in the interwar period, in order to cast new light on the nature of national history writing in early‐twentieth‐century Europe. To do so, it discusses the historiographical works of the Catalans Josep Puig i Cadafalch (1867–1956) and, to a lesser extent, Antoni Rubió i Lluch (1856–1937) and of the Romanians Nicolae Iorga (1871–1940) and Constantin Marinescu (1891–1970). It pays particular attention to Iorga's and Marinescu's contributions on the history of medieval Catalonia in the Eastern Mediterranean and to Puig's studies on Moldavian painted churches. In doing so, the paper challenges the view that the historiography of foreign scholars regarding one's own national history was often disregarded as incompetent. At the same time, the paper also responds to the debate on the creation and validation of cultural knowledge across borderlands, outside of cultural cores. It builds on recent work on the creativity of cultural peripheries and argues that, while France continued to operate as a reference in the exchanges between Catalans and Romanians, their historiographical exchanges responded to local research and political agendas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes a conceptual model with the capacity to substantially explain the boycott behavior. As a first step for the validation of the proposed model, an empirical study has been carried out, focusing on the boycott promoted towards the territory of Catalonia (Spain). Following the postulates of the theory of reasoned action, the effect that the intention to participate in the boycott will have on effective behavior is considered, but social influence, the importance given to brands and the perceived legitimacy of a boycott are also included. Concepts as the attitude towards boycotts as a measure of pressure to change actions and decisions, the perceived usefulness of the boycott and animosity towards the boycott object are included in the model as antecedents to the intention to participate in the boycott. Finally, it is postulated that the legitimacy given to boycott behavior and the ethical ideology based on idealism are explanatory factors for the attitude towards boycott behavior. The relevance of the study is established by the need to respond to boycotts in an appropriate way. This paper can be useful, by pointing out the main factors that cause an individual to take an active part in a boycott. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the nationalist conflict in Catalonia and how it is lived and experienced by actors within it. It focuses on the people mobilised against independence who see themselves primarily as defenders of the Spanish Constitution and not of Spanish nationalism. Critics of civic nationalism in political theory and Nationalism Studies argue that anti‐nationalist rhetoric tends to be the expression of structural or hegemonic nationalism. Drawing on fieldwork carried out in Barcelona, I look at how the conflict has influenced discourse and language used in everyday life, how participants negotiate their identity, why people do (and do not) get involved in organisations that defend their political ideas, how they see themselves within the conflict and their perceptions of public space and its significance in relation to the constitution. An ethnographic approach explores these issues and discovers that although anti‐independence actors base their mobilisation in nationalism, civic nationalism cannot be reduced to just another form of nationalism. I aim to go beyond critics of civic nationalism to explore how my interlocutors act within and against nationalism, reproducing nationalist discourse in some aspect (boundaries of the nation) in order to challenge it in others (content and relevance of nationalism in everyday life). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the existing literature on industrial location by discussing the territorial levels that are used in location analysis. We use data for new manufacturing firms and analyse the advantages and disadvantages of performing location analyses at three levels: municipality, county and travel-to-work areas. We show that location determinants vary according to the territorial level used in the analysis and conclude that the level at which the investigation is performed should be carefully selected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Regional Science Policy & Practice is the property of Wiley-Blackwell 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 Regional Science Policy & Practice is the property of Wiley-Blackwell 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.)

Buried in the footnotes of his famous 1976 essay, Robert Brenner left the remark that Catalonia had experienced an agrarian transition to capitalism in parallel to England. This important claim has been completely forgotten by his followers of the political Marxist tradition, who since then have developed his views on the origins of capitalism. Building on the specialist literature, this article revisits the question of the Catalan transition through the prism of political Marxism and teases out its implications. In particular, it argues that the Catalan case illustrates the centrality of agency and subjectivity in the process of capitalist change. Contrary to Brenner's claim, this paper will argue that pre‐capitalist social property relations persisted in agriculture throughout the period of transition. Instead, the region's capitalist breakthrough was prompted by sociocultural struggles in its 18th‐century proto‐industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This research project aims to build a Machine Learning algorithm (ML) to predict first‐time ADHD diagnosis, given that it is the most frequent mental disorder for the non‐adult population. Methods: We used a stacked model combining 4 ML approaches to predict the presence of ADHD. The dataset contains data from population health care administrative registers in Catalonia comprising 1,225,406 non‐adult individuals for 2013–2017, linked to socioeconomic characteristics and dispensed drug consumption. We defined a measure of proper ADHD diagnoses based on medical factors. Results: We obtained an AUC of 79.6% with the stacked model. Significant variables that explain the ADHD presence are the dispersion across patients' visits to healthcare providers; the number of visits, diagnoses related to other mental disorders and drug consumption; age, and sex. Conclusions: ML techniques can help predict ADHD early diagnosis using administrative registers. We must continuously investigate the potential use of ADHD early detection strategies and intervention in the health system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is about the role played by the stock of human capital on location decisions of new manufacturing plants. I analyse the effect of several skill levels (from basic school to PhD) on decisions about the location of plants in various industries and, therefore, of different technological levels. I also test whether spatial aggregation level biases the results and determines the most appropriate areas to be considered in the analyses of these phenomena. My main statistical source is the Register of Manufacturing Establishments of Catalonia, which has plant-level microdata on the locations of new manufacturing plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the impact in Catalonia of the grape Phylloxera plague in Europe (1865–90). A statistical model is used to analyse the economic resilience of 35 districts in Catalonia to this external ecological and economic shock, and to explain why districts in the provinces of Barcelona and Tarragona resumed growing wine grapes after the plague, in contrast to districts in Girona and Lleida provinces. The opportunity cost of labour, the demand pull of Barcelona's commercial growth, and the agro-climatic suitability of land for growing grapes are used to explain the differing capacities of districts to endure the Phylloxera plague in Catalonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I will deal with some elements related to the analysis of theories of democracies and federalism in plurinational contexts. The paper highlights some flaws and shortcomings of traditional liberal democracies in these contexts and the challenge of establishing effective practices of a politics of recognition and constitutional accommodation of internal national pluralism (Section 1). Secondly, the paper analyses the case of Catalonia after the recent reform of its Statute of Autonomy (Constitutional Law) in 2006 and its relationship with the development of the Spanish Estado de las Autonomías. The Catalan case reveals some practical flaws and important difficulties in the political recognition and accommodation of internal national pluralism according to traditional decentralising patterns (Section 2). Finally, the article makes a number of concluding remarks relating the previously highlighted elements of the theory of democracy and federalism to the analysis of the Catalan case [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purchase of private health insurance (PHI) as a means to partially supplement the National Health System (NHS) coverage is often regarded as a potential signal for a declining support for the NHS. Exploiting the fact that PHI is typically purchased by the most affluent, in this paper we test the so called ‘secession of the wealthy’ hypothesis whereby the likelihood of expressing ‘lack of support for the NHS’ increases with having supplementary PHI. Using empirical data from Catalonia, we draw upon an empirical strategy that circumvents an obvious simultaneity problem by estimating both a recursive bivariate probit as well as an IV probit. After controlling for insurance premium, household income and other socio-demographic determinants, we find that the purchase of PHI reduces the propensity of individuals to support the NHS. We also find evidence that PHI is a luxury good and sensitive to fiscal incentives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the way workers and firms behaved in a highly cyclical sector such as the Catalan cotton textile industry. Using firm level evidence from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the paper shows that, in spite of weak unionization and the lack of regional or local collective bargaining institutions, piece rates in cotton spinning and weaving were not subject to competitive rate cuts and remained fixed over the cycle. When facing a negative demand shock, firms adjusted by reducing output, hours of work, labour productivity, and employment. The paper finally evaluates the possible sources of wage rigidity in the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spain suffered an outbreak of classical swine fever between June 14, 2001 and May 7, 2002, which affected 49 herds; this paper describes the epidemiological characteristics of the 39 herds that were affected in Catalonia, an area of high pig density in the north east of Spain. The outbreak took place in two waves, which affected first the province of Lleida and then Barcelona. A total of 291,058 animals were slaughtered, 59,595 belonging to infected herds; 22 of the infected herds were detected on the basis of clinical suspicion on the part of the farmer or farm veterinarian, and the other 17 were detected by surveillance methods. The transmission of the virus between herds was attributed to the movement of people in 23 per cent of the cases, to animals in 13 per cent, vehicles in 10 per cent, proximity 18 per cent, the pick-up service of the rendering plant in 8 per cent and slurry in 5 per cent; in the other nine herds (23 per cent) the route of entry of the disease could not be established. The viruses isolated in the two waves of the outbreak were 100 per cent homologous and belonged to subgroup 2.3. The origin of the outbreak remains unknown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Written sources show that livestock were traded during the Roman period. However, there is scarce information available to characterise this trade because of its invisibility in the archaeological record. In our paper, we shed light on this issue by applying both osteometric and genetic analyses on cattle remains from the Roman trading post of Empúries (Catalonia) to determine how livestock contributed to Roman trade and, thus, to the economy of the Empire. Analysis of 26 cattle metacarpals from Empúries has allowed us to document the presence of different cattle morphotypes in this city during its Early Roman occupation. The morphological and genetic differences seen in Empúries cattle can be explained through trade of different cattle varieties, more appropriate for milk production and/or traction than the local stock. Once arrived at the port of Empúries, these imported cattle would have then been distributed to surrounding villas. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gully erosion is an important land degradation process affecting soils around the world. This paper studies gully erosion in forest lands, analysing related local and environmental factors influencing its occurrence in Catalonia (north-east Spain). The data on gully erosion are based on observations from the Third Spanish National Forest Inventory, and include 157 plots with gully erosion and 9932 non-eroded plots for reference. The variables studied as potentially related to gully erosion occurrence included characteristics of the forest plots and variables describing drainage areas, such as land use configuration and edaphic and geological characteristics. For evaluating these factors affecting on gully erosion occurrence, a binary logistic model with stepwise selection of variables was used. The final model explained 30·4% of the variance. According to the results, the probability of gully erosion occurrence was increased with larger drainage area, steeper slope, presence of fine textured soils, increased urban land use and presence of unpaved roads. On the other hand, the dominance of forest and the presence of paved roads on the drainage area diminished gully erosion probability. The presented model can be used for mapping the areas with higher gully erosion risk, in an effort to direct land use planning and management in order to mitigate soil losses. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the linkages between migrant transnationality, locality, and the transformation of local government practices within the field of overseas development assistance (ODA). A growing literature critically analyses how migrants as development agents are embedded in, as well as challenge, local and transnational power hierarchies. This research field is not only centred on the dynamics in the countries of migrant origin but also includes the interaction between the social and institutional contexts in the receiving country and the transnational development practices of migrants. We explore these wider issues through an analysis of the overall trends in migrant access to ODA among Catalan local governments, which have dedicated a (small) part of their annual budget to ODA activities since the 1980s. We set up an original database with information from four consecutive comprehensive surveys of ODA practices of Catalan local governments between 1999 and 2008, each cohort representing more than 90% of the total Catalan population. Subsequently, we show that variation in migrant access to ODA funds across different local governments and migrant nationalities is related to both the size and diversity of municipalities and a range of institutional/political variables. These include the overall ODA spending of the local government, which party is in power, and the extent to which local governments pool their ODA resources within a regional development association for municipalities. In this way, the analysis contributes to our understanding of the potential of migration and migrant transnational practices to transform local institutional practices. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historiography on the phenomenology of nationalisms has often pointed to the importance of myths and symbols in the construction of these political movements, underlining how the past is transfigured and/or particular historical episodes are recast for use in creating a given political discourse in the present. By adopting this viewpoint, the aim of this paper is to analyse the evolution of historiographical thinking on the use of myths and symbols in contemporary politics, giving particular attention to how they were brought to bear in the early days of the Catalan nationalist movement. This initial period, covering the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, is of special interest in the case of Catalan nationalism because it was a phase of politicisation marked - much as it was in other nationalist movements across Europe - by a nationalisation of history, a selection of foundation myths and historical milestones, and a crystallisation of the movement's symbols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Outcome and context-focused approaches to climate change adaptation dominate the relevant literature. Taking into account values and perceptions of affected actors and decision-makers is a fundamental and necessary prerequisite for a more effective, legitimate and fair climate policy and has not been given the necessary consideration. This paper uses Q methodology to explore such values in the context of climate change in the Ebro Delta, in Catalonia. The delta is an area highly vulnerable to climate change, mainly because of its topography, but also as a result of human intervention. The study identifies five discourses on vulnerability and adaptation held by delta inhabitants and decision-makers. Social justice and security comprise shared values behind arguments; however, discourses differ in their approaches concerning the proper scale for applying these values with adaptation policy. Our results serve to improve policy dialogue and suggest that the adaptation policy agenda should focus on pursuing consensus over the crucial issue of scale. Our use of Q methodology to advance the incipient literature on value-based climate change vulnerability and adaptation is innovative and suggests that the approach has a capacity to contribute to advancing deliberative environmental decision-making on adaptation. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does the interaction between context and individual-level features affect political attitudes? By using the case of Catalonia, a receiver municipality of international and national migration since the fifties, this paper intersects a classic acculturation model and a newly reemerging literature in political science on contextual determinants of political behaviour to analyze how context affects subjective national identity. Results reveal that environment matters. The Percentage of Spain-born population in the municipality is statistically significant to account for variance in the subjective national identity, even after controlling for age, sex, origin, language and left-right orientation and other contextual factors. This conclusion suggests that researchers should not underestimate the direct effect of the environment on feelings of belonging in contexts of rival identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between September 2009 and April 2011, around one-half of the Catalan municipalities held unofficial referendums on independence from Spain, in which more than 800,000 citizens took part. However, the participation rates were unevenly distributed across Catalonia. In this paper, using an original data set, we aim to respond to two relevant questions: first, why in some municipalities the referendum took place and in others it did not occur. Second, why did the referendum achieve high rates of turnout in some localities and much lower participation in others. We find that the resources available to the movement, the intensity of the mobilization efforts, the participatory tradition of the municipalities and the size of the nationalist 'sentiment pool' in each locality explain to a great extent the internal variation in nationalist mobilization in Catalonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Cova dels Xaragalls is a small open karst system, located in the municipality of Vimbodí-Poblet ( Tarragona, Catalonia, NE Spain). It is an important Holocene archaeological site that was inspected in the 1970s but from which little has been published. New excavations starting in 2008 have exposed a deep Late Pleistocene stratigraphical sequence. In this paper, we present for the first time palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstructions of this Late Pleistocene succession on the basis of both the small-vertebrate assemblages and the charcoals. Results from the small-vertebrate associations along the sequence indicate that the landscape had open-woodland habitats in the vicinity of the Cova del Xaragalls, with wet points in the surrounding area. Woodland habitats were dominant throughout the sequence, as evidenced by the abundance of the species Apodemus sylvaticus, but were better developed during warm periods (layers C5 and C8), whereas during cold periods (layers C4 and C3) the environment was slightly more humid in response to higher mean annual precipitation and the opening of the landscape. The charcoal analysis indicates that the woodland surrounding the cave was composed mainly of Pinus (more than 90% was identified as Pinus), but that during the cold period ( C3- C4) it incorporated some Quercus ilex/ coccifera and Angiosperm indet., probably linked with greater precipitation. Comparisons are made with other long palaeoenvironmental sequences from the northeastern Iberian Peninsula and with global marine isotopic curves, providing a scenario for the palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental changes that occurred during the Late Pleistocene in the woodland areas surrounding the Cova dels Xaragalls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Important aspects of social history can sometimes be lost in legalisms. A long debate, recently continued in EME, has studied the right of aprisio claimed by those who took over wasteland on the frontier of the future Catalonia. This paper argues that previous treatments of the term have conflated many separate factors and misunderstood what aprisio actually was in practice. When studied at ground level it seems that, despite the role given to immigrant settlers by historians, landholders by aprisio need not have been newcomers, but locals using new rules for otherwise normal land clearances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines changes in the organization of the Spanish cotton industry from 1736 to 1860 in its core region of Catalonia. As the Spanish cotton industry adopted the most modern technology available and experienced the transition to the factory system, cotton spinning and weaving mills became increasingly vertically integrated. Asset specificity, more than other factors, explains this tendency towards vertical integration. The probability of a firm being vertically integrated was higher among firms located in districts with high concentration ratios, and rose with size and the use of modern machinery. At the same time, subcontracting predominated in other phases of production and distribution, where transaction costs appear to be less important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the organization of societies in north-eastern Iberia (present-day Catalonia) during the Iron Age, using data provided by domestic architecture and settlement organization. I offer an analysis of the social differences detected in the dwellings based on a sample of houses excavated at different types of settlement. Although many Iberian houses had simple layouts and small surface areas, some larger dwellings at the main sites are distinguished by the shape of their ground plans, their surface areas, architectural features, and central locations; these houses are believed to be the residences of the Iberian elite. Such dwellings are not found at all sites and the data suggest that there was a relationship between the category of the settlement (or its function) and the types of dwelling in it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article estimates the effect of Spanish regional trade agencies abroad on exports using the gravity model. The results indicate that regional agencies increase trade. The estimated impact seems to be larger than that of Spanish embassies and consulates. Moreover, a disaggregated analysis shows that this effect is not evenly distributed across Spanish regions. Este artículo estima el efecto de las delegaciones comerciales regionales en el extranjero sobre las exportaciones utilizando el modelo de gravedad. Los resultados indican que las delegaciones regionales fomentan el comercio exterior. El impacto estimado parece ser mayor que el de las embajadas y consulados españoles. Por otro lado, un análisis desagregado muestra que este efecto no se distribuye uniformemente entre las regiones españolas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the efficiency of Spanish local governments using non-convex frontier methods. More specifically, it analyses the total cost inefficiency and proposes its decomposition into three additive components: short-term variable cost inefficiency; capacity utilisation of fixed inputs; and scale inefficiency. The second and third components correspond to the long-term cost efficiency notion. The proposition is applied to a sample of Spanish municipal councils (municipalities with over 2,000 inhabitants located in Catalonia, the Spanish north-eastern region). The results confirm the existence of significant cost inefficiency coefficients related to both the long and short term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nurses’ attitudes to terminally ill patients Background. The care of terminally ill patients is a challenge for nurses that has raised special interest in recent years. Several studies have shown a stereotyped negative attitude in nurses towards terminally ill patients. However, all have used methods with several limitations. Aim. The aim of the study presented in this paper was to identify the nurses’ attitude to the terminally ill patient in Catalonia, Spain, and the relationship of this attitude to different socio-demographic data (type of centre, shift, years of experience, age and sex) by means of a new quantitative method based on the free word-association test. Methods. One hundred and seventy-five nurses working in 18 hospitals and hospices in Catalonia, Spain were included in the study. Data were analysed by the Associative Semantic Field Differential method by means of the computer programme CONTEXT and a quantitative evaluation of the degree of attitudes positivity was obtained. Results. The study revealed a general slight negative trend in attitudes towards the terminally ill patient. A more positive attitude was observed in older caregivers and in women. The positivity in attitude decreased from morning to night shift. No differences were observed between nurses working in hospitals and those working in hospices. Conclusions. We conclude that nursing attitudes can be analysed by methods such as that used in this study. Attempts can be made to modify this attitude in caregivers by means of training programmes and stimulating awareness of an adequate professional approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dynamic view of the evolution of the infections of SARS‐CoV‐2 in Catalonia using a Digital Twin approach that forecasts the true infection curve is presented. The forecast model incorporates the vaccination process, the confinement, and the detection rate, and virtually allows to consider any nonpharmaceutical intervention, enabling to understand their effects on the disease's containment while forecasting the trend of the pandemic. A continuous validation process of the model is performed using real data and an optimization model that automatically provides information regarding the effects of the containment actions on the population. To simplify this validation process, a formal graphical language that simplifies the interaction with the different specialists and an easy modification of the model parameters are used. The Digital Twin of the pandemic in Catalonia provides a forecast of the future trend of the SARS‐CoV‐2 spread and information regarding the true cases and effectiveness of the NPIs to control the SARS‐CoV‐2 spread over the population. This approach can be applied easily to other regions and can become an excellent tool for decision‐making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El Penedès is an area of Catalonia (northeastern Spain) characterised by its viticulture activity. Its landscape and territorial identity are marked by vineyards and the creation of still and sparkling wines such as cava. This article analyses the tensions between the three dimensions of sustainability (economic, sociocultural and environmental) among viticulturist practices and discourses in El Penedès. Through 2 years (2019–2021) of fieldwork in the region (participant observation and interviews), I have observed the (un)sustainabilities of viticulturists in four different contexts: the expansion of organic production, quantity‐oriented cava production, the effects of territorial policies on vineyards and the permanent farmers' demonstrations demanding just prices and a decent life (vida digna). Viticulturists are threatened by agro‐industrial drifts that squeeze their livelihoods and impede the sustainability of life. Thus, the viticulturists' current situation exemplifies the capital–life conflict explored by feminist economists in other fields. The article contributes to the study of sustainability in light of social reproduction in the viticulture sector and provides empirical evidence of other economic rationalities among viticulturists that differ from the hegemonic economic rationality based on capital accumulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Siblings' interactions and shared experiences influence their perceptions of quality of life. Recently, research about siblings of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities has been significantly expanded but data from Southern European countries is still missing. This research was carried out in Catalonia (northeast Spain) a region in the Mediterranean area with its own shared culture, language and traditions that equally embraces an important diversity of ethnicities and cultures. The main aim was to collect siblings' perceptions on quality of life from siblings' own voices. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 14 siblings aged 5–11 years old and thematically analyzed using the following domains: joint activities; mutual understanding; private time; acceptance; forbearance; trust in well‐being; exchanging experiences; social support; and dealing with the outside world. Siblings reported a variety of experiences in relation to having a brother or a sister with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), including unique characteristics of their quality of life perceptions. There were also some common factors amongst the siblings' experiences, such as the importance of being able to communicate properly with their brothers or sisters with I/DD. It emerged that having their own time with their parents was an important factor in their own development. This research echoes some siblings' beliefs that society needs to provide a conscious revision of values and ideas regarding disability. Implications for research and practice are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles within the issue on topics related to early medieval Catalonia, including the spiritual and political roles of bishops after the first millennium, the documentary cultures in Catalonia and England during the period, and the legal systems established in Catalonia and Italy.

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Background: Recognition of specific allergens triggering immune response is key for the appropriate prescription of allergen‐specific immunotherapy (SIT). This study aimed at evaluating the impact of using the commercially available microarray ImmunoCAPTM ISAC 112 (Thermo Fisher Scientific) on the etiological diagnosis and SIT prescription compared to the conventional diagnostic methods in patients with allergic rhinitis/rhinoconjunctivitis and/or asthma. Methods: 300 patients with respiratory allergic disease, sensitized to three or more pollen aeroallergens from different species, as assessed by a skin prick test (SPT) and specific IgE assays (sIgE), were included in this multicentric, prospective observational study. SPT and a blood test were performed to all patients. Total serum IgE and sIgE (ImmunoCAPTM) for allergens found positive in the SPT and sIgE allergen components (ImmunoCAPTM ISAC 112) were measured. Results: According to SPT results, the most prevalent pollen sensitizers in our population were Olea europaea followed by grass, Platanus acerifolia and Parietaria judaica. The molecular diagnosis (MD) revealed Ole e 1 as the most prevalent pollen sensitizer, followed by Cup a 1, Phl p 1, Cyn d 1, Par j 2, Pla a 1, 2, and 3 and Phl p 5. Immunotherapy prescription changed, due to MD testing, in 51% of the cases, with an increase of prescription of SIT from 39% to 65%. Conclusion: The identification of the allergen eliciting the respiratory disease is essential for a correct immunotherapy prescription. The advances in allergen characterization using methods, such as the commercial microarray ImmunoCAPTM ISAC 112, can help clinicians to improve SIT prescription. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Risk analyses for invasive species often assume that the characteristics of future invaders will resemble those already successful, but these features may change.Here, we use data from more than 3,500 fish sampling events, sequencing of mitochondrial and nuclear genes and analyses of several traits describing non‐native fish to describe the irruption and rapid expansion of non‐native loaches in Catalonia, north‐east Iberian Peninsula, and framing this surge in the knowledge of previous invasions.We report the establishment of at least five (Cobitis bilineata, Misgurnus anguillicaudatus, Misgurnus bipartitus, Paramisgurnus dabryanus, and a yet undescribed Barbatula species) non‐native loach species in Catalonia, most of which are currently spreading. Furthermore, one of the two regionally native loach species (Cobitis paludica) has been introduced and is spreading through river basins where it is not native.Genetic analyses were fundamental to understand loach invasions, by clarifying specific statuses, identifying the origin of non‐native populations and/or detecting independent introduction events. Genetic results also highlighted the unresolved taxonomy of loaches, particularly for European Barbatula.Loaches are recent, diverse, and successful invaders whose traits differ from those of most previously established invasive fish species, signalling potential weaknesses of prevention of biological invasions based on prohibited species lists. We call for the development of more flexible management tools (e.g. based on fish traits and not only on species identities) and prioritising prevention and rapid responses to new introductions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Early detection of symptoms and prompt diagnosis of ovarian cancer are considered important avenues for improving patient experiences and outcomes. Methods: This qualitative study used a phenomenological approach to perform patient interviews, collecting individual accounts of the prediagnostic phase in women diagnosed and treated for ovarian cancer in 2016–2017. Purposive sampling was used to obtain a diverse sample of 24 participants, while thematic content analysis was used to extract themes and subthemes from interview data. Results: Three themes and nine subthemes were identified. The first theme was women's delay in recognizing symptoms and seeking care, with subthemes on the lack of knowledge about early signs of ovarian cancer, gender‐related barriers and false reassurance from negative test results. A second theme was missed opportunities during healthcare encounters, due to misattribution of women's symptoms by their physicians, underestimation of symptom severity and need for mediation and inadequate tests and/or false negative results. Finally, interviews highlighted the use of resources and alternative healthcare pathways, including complementary/alternative medicines, access to private health care and women's capacity for action and decision‐making (agency) about their health. Conclusion: Delayed diagnosis of ovarian cancer is rooted in both individual factors (lack of health literacy, reluctance to seek care) and systemic issues (missed opportunities in healthcare encounters, access to timely specialist care). Further research is needed to investigate the extent to which traditional gender roles and socioeconomic inequalities condition women's ability to manage their own health and to interact with health professionals and the health system. Patient and Public Contribution: In addition to the patient participation during the interviews, one author was a representative of a patient association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The circumstances surrounding the call for a referendum on national independence in Catalonia in October 2017 led to high levels of collaboration between two, at first sight, unlikely partners: anarchists and Catalan independentists. Unlikely as this alliance may seem, it was well grounded on a number of factors: first of all, in the State response to the independentist challenge—the massive repression and the blockading of institutional channels to process nationalist demands pushed both movements closer in opposition to the central government; and secondly, in the prolonged interactions (in specific regions and industries) and engagement in joint solidarity activities between anarchists and segments of the Catalan left who had been influenced by the bottom‐up approach of the indignados movement. Finally, this collaboration was also rooted on a long history of mutual engagement between anarchism and sectors of Catalan nationalism that, while not unproblematic, provided deep roots to this dialogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To understand geographical and temporal patterns in the diabetes gap, the excess mortality risk associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D), in three high‐income countries. Methods: Using databases from Canada (Ontario), Spain (Catalonia) and the UK (England), we harmonized the study design and the analytical strategy to extract information on subjects aged over 35 years with incident T2D between 1998 and 2018 matched to up to five subjects without diabetes. We used Poisson models to estimate age‐specific mortality trends by diabetes status and rate ratios and rate differences associated with T2D. Results: In more than 6 million people, 694 454 deaths occurred during a follow‐up of 52 million person‐years. Trends in all‐cause mortality rates differed between Ontario and England; yet, the diabetes gaps were very similar in recent years: in 2018, we estimated 1.3 (95% confidence interval: 0.8, 1.8) and 0.8 (0.2, 1.5) more deaths per 1000 person‐years in 50‐year‐old men with diabetes in Ontario and England, respectively, and 8.9 (6.1, 11.7) and 12.1 (9.1, 15.1) in 80‐year‐old men; between‐country differences were small also in women. In Catalonia, rate ratios comparing T2D with no diabetes in men in 2018 were 1.53 (1.11, 2.11) at 50 years old, 0.88 (0.72, 1.06) at 60 years old, 0.74 (0.60, 0.90) at 70 years old and 0.81 (0.66, 1.00) at 80 years old, indicating lower mortality rates in men with T2D from the age of 60 years; rates were similar in women with and without diabetes at all ages. The diabetes gaps in cardiorenal mortality mirrored those of all‐cause mortality: we observed consistent reductions in the proportions of cardiorenal deaths in subjects aged 80 years but variations in subjects aged ≤70 years, regardless of the presence of diabetes. Conclusions: By reducing the confounding impact of epidemiological and analytical differences, this study showed geographical similarities and differences in the diabetes gap: an excess risk of all‐cause and cardiorenal mortality in subjects with T2D is still present in Ontario and England in recent years, particularly in elderly subjects. Conversely, there were very small gaps in young men with T2D or even lower mortality rates in older subjects with T2D in Catalonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A long and complete series of monthly rainfall amounts corresponding to Barcelona city (Catalonia, NE Spain), exceeding two centuries (years 1786–2019), is analysed in detail. The obtained results of periodicity (annual scale), time trends (monthly, seasonal and annual scales), statistical distribution (seasonal and annual scale) and fractal/multifractal structures and self‐similarity at monthly scale depict the complex structure of this pluviometric regime, which is characterized by moderate increasing and decreasing trends on rain amounts, varying from +0.08 mm·year−1 (February) to −0.07 mm·year−1 (September) and quite evident changes on the pluviometric trends at annual and seasonal scales when the rainfall data are analysed for segments of 50 years from 1800 up to 2019. A good example could be the relevant change on the annual scale time trend, from +0.77 mm·year−1 (years 1800–1850) to −0.17 mm·year−1 (years 1950–2019). Clear evidences of decreasing pluviometry for spring, summer and autumn for the last segment (1950–2019) in comparison with the other three segments, including years 1800–1950, are also detected. Additionally, increasing rainfall patterns complexity, expected difficulties on monthly rainfall forecasting and the increasing irregularity of monthly amounts is also detected by interpreting fractal and multifractal results. Irregularity increases on the monthly rainfall series and on the rainfall regime complexity derived from multifractal parameters, could be associated with the very notable increase of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, globally varying from 51.1 × 106 metric tonnes (year 1820) to 36.6 × 109 metric tonnes (year 2019) and the tropospheric concentration increasing from 280.8 ppm (year 1850) to 397.5 ppm (year 2014), being the probable relationship between tropospheric concentrations and changes on rainfall patterns the objective of future researches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]