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Background: Following the 2008 economic crisis many countries implemented austerity policies, including reducing public spending on health services. This paper evaluates the trends and equity in the use of health services during and after that period in Spain – a country with austerity policies – and in Germany – a country without restriction on healthcare spending. Methods: Data from several National Surveys in Spain and several waves of the Socio-Economic Panel in Germany, carried out between 2009 and 2017, were used. The dependent variables were number of doctor's consultations and whether or not a hospital admission occurred. The measure of socioeconomic position was education. In each year, the estimates were made for people with and without pre-existing health problems. First, the average number of doctor's consultations and the percentage of respondents who had had been hospitalized were calculated. Second, the relationship between education and use of those health services was estimated by calculating the difference in consultations using covariance analysis – in the case of number of consultations – and by calculating the percentage ratio using binomial regression – in the case of hospitalization. Results: The annual mean number of consultations went down in both countries. In Spain the average was 14.2 in 2009 and 10.4 in 2017 for patients with chronic conditions; 16.6 and 13.5 for those with a mental illness; and 6.4 and 5.9 for those without a defined illness. In Germany, the averages were 13.8 (2009) and 12.9 (2017) for the chronic group; 21.1 and 17.0 for mental illness; and 8.7 and 7.5 with no defined illness. The hospitalization frequency also decreased in both countries. The majority of the analyses presented no significant differences in relation to education. Conclusion: In both Spain and Germany, service use decreased between 2009 and 2017. In the first few years, this reduction coincided with a period of austerity in Spain. In general, we did not find socioeconomic differences in health service use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Pulp industry plays an important role in the structure of European economy and society. Paper pulp manufacture, the industrial utilization of plant biomass, is increasing every year. In Spain, Eucalyptus is the dominant raw material and the Kraft cooking and total chlorine free (TCF) bleaching processes lead the procedures of Eucalyptus paper pulp production. This paper aims to identify and quantify the environmental impacts associated to Eucalyptus TCF pulp manufacture by using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as an analytical tool. The system has been defined using a cradle-to-gate perspective, that is to say from forest activities to the exit gate of the pulp mill. The production of chemicals consumed in the cooking and bleaching stages as well as the on-site energy production system is the elements that contribute the most to all impact categories analyzed (more than 50% of total contributions), except for the eutrophication potential where forest activities and waste treatment play an important roles (about 52% of total). Specific actions associated to the recovery boiler, lime kiln and digestion stage could considerably reduce the environmental impact and improve the environmental performance of the Spanish paper pulp industry. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Building hygrothermal performance, indoor air quality and energy consumption depend heavily on envelope airtightness. Over the last three decades, single-family dwellings have been amply studied in this respect by researchers in North Europe, the United States and Canada. However, very few studies have been conducted on airtightness in multi-family housing in warm climates such as Mediterranean Europe. This paper aims to enhance the understanding of building airtightness in early twenty-first-century multi-family buildings in southern Spain. Blower Door tests were conducted in 45 units in seven such buildings. The main airtightness parameter values found are reported and compared to the data for other buildings in southern Europe. The paper includes a statistical analysis of the findings, characterises building types and describes the protocol used to identify and quantify air leakage pathways. The conclusion drawn is that although a rough predictive model can be developed, the results are widely scattered due to the impact of the random component of manual construction, even in buildings with identical construction characteristics and types. The values recorded are nonetheless consistent with the findings for other European surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This paper focuses on the issue of intimate partner violence and, specifically, on the distribution of femicides over time and the existence of copycat effects. This is the subject of an ongoing debate often triggered by the social alarm following multiple intimate partner homicides (IPHs) occurring in a short span of time. The aim of this research is to study the evolution of IPHs and provide a far-reaching answer by rigorously analyzing and searching for patterns in data on femicides. Methods: The study analyzes an official dataset, provided by the system VioGén of the Secretaría de Estado de Seguridad (Spanish State Secretariat for Security), including all the femicides occurred in Spain in 2007-2017. A statistical methodology to identify temporal interdependencies in count time series is proposed and applied to the dataset. The same methodology can be applied to other contexts. Results: There has been a decreasing trend in the number of femicides per year. No interdependencies among the temporal distribution of femicides are observed. Therefore, according to data, the existence of copycat effect in femicides cannot be claimed. Conclusions: Around 2011 there was a clear change in the average number of femicides which has not picked up. Results allow for an informed answer to the debate on copycat effect in Spanish femicides. The planning of femicides prevention activities should not be a reaction to a perceived increase in their occurrence. As a copycat effect is not detected in the studied time period, there is no evidence supporting the need to censor media reports on femicides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The main aims of this paper are to analyse the monetary value of informal care time using different techniques and to identify significant variables associated with the number of caregiving hours. Data and methods: A multicentre study in two Spanish regions in adult caregivers was conducted. A total sample of 604 people was available. A multivariate analysis was performed to identify the variables associated with the number of hours of caregiving time. In the monetary valuation of informal care provided, three approaches were used: replacement cost method, opportunity cost and contingent valuation (willingness to pay and willingness to accept). Results: The main determinants of the amount of time of informal care provided were age, gender, the level of care receiver´s dependence and the professional care services received (at home and out of home). The value estimated for informal care time ranges from EUROS 80,247 (replacement cost method) to EUROS 14,325 (willingness to pay), with intermediate values of EUROS 27,140 and EUROS 29,343 (opportunity cost and willingness to accept, respectively). Several sensitivity analyses were performed over the base cases, confirming the previous results. Conclusions: Time of informal care represents a great social value, regardless of the applied technique. However, the results can differ strongly depending on the technique chosen. Therefore, the choice of technique of valuation is not neutral. Among the determinants of informal care time, the professional care received at home has a complementary character to informal care, while the formal care outside the home has a substitute character. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Sarcoma Policy Checklist was created by a multidisciplinary expert group to provide policymakers with priority areas to improve care for sarcoma patients.Main Body: This paper draws on this research, by looking more closely at how France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom are addressing each of these priority areas. It aims to highlight key gaps in research, policy and practice, as well as ongoing initiatives that may impact the future care of sarcoma patients in different European countries. A pragmatic review of the published and web-based literature was undertaken. Telephone interviews were conducted in each country with clinical and patient experts to substantiate findings. Research findings were discussed within the expert group and developed into five core policy recommendations. The five identified priority areas were: the development of designated and accredited centres of reference; more professional training; multidisciplinary care; greater incentives for research and innovation; and more rapid access to effective treatments. Most of the countries studied have ongoing initiatives addressing many of these priorities; however, many are in early stages of development, or require additional funding and resources.Conclusion: Gaps in access to quality care are particularly concerning in many of Europe's lower-resourced countries. Equitable access to information, clinical trials, innovative treatments and quality specialist care should be available to all sarcoma patients. Achieving this across Europe will require close collaboration between all stakeholders at both the national and European level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows the results of a research project on relative social mobility patterns in Spain during the second half of the 20th century. The data were collected by the Spanish National Statistics Institute for the Survey of Incomes and Living Conditions (2005). This empirical material has not been used previously and it provides new data about the last decade of the 20th century. The social fluidity models created by Erikson and Goldthorpe in The Constant Flux (1992) have been applied. In short, this paper confirms that the rates of the social fluidity remain invariant during this period and that the patterns of core social fluidity for European countries closely match the Spanish case. Nevertheless, this mobility regime has certain particularities resulting from the characteristics of Spain's social and economic structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the need to promote Educational Guidance for Family Life as a means to support families in developing a Positive Parenting role, as suggested by the Council of Europe (2006). This Recommendation is discussed in some detail and some measures that had been put into practice in Spain to support families under special circumstances are reviewed; in order to do so, Programme-Agreements which had been developed in recent years sponsored by both the central government and the Spanish Autonomous Cities and Communities are described. Moreover, other preventive and community measures focused on socio-educative support for all families through Positive Parenting Programmes are mentioned. This paper ends with some suggestions about actions which require a multidisciplinary, collaborative, network approach among the diverse social entities and institutions working in favour of families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an attempt to present the experience of co-development in Europe and particularly in Spain. It is focus on the governmental initiatives since the end of the 1990's decade, as a consequence of a massive reception of migrants. Co-development is the policy in which this paper is focused, from its former periods in France to the moment in which it has been considered in Spain. In order to show this evolution and its effectiveness I use the Mexican case, because it demonstrates that there is a feasible link between migration and development. However, this it is only possible if the initiatives are coming from the migrants and their communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper has as its goal the measure of the accuracy of the pre-election surveys published in the Spanish media for the 2014 european Parliament, the regionals in the first half of 2015 and the locals in seven of the biggest Spanish cities. Starting with 120 analysed surveys, the aggregated distance model consists of the differences between predictions and actual results by every party and it develops an error coefficient that allows the measure and comparison of those predictions. Results are presented by election, communication group where predictions were published, research company producing them, political party and time distance to election day. Also it is analysed the existing relation between these and some other variables, such as sample size, and the error coefficient as dependent variable with the objective of knowing which are the most decisive factors affecting polls accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the dynamics of the reconfiguration of Bolivian migratory fields in the context of the crisis affecting European destination countries. At a global level, we show how the 2008 worldwide economic crisis, and, in particular, its severity in Spain, has reoriented Bolivian migratory flows towards regional Latin American destinations: economies undergoing larger relative growth, such as Brazil and Chile, are newer destinations, while migration to Argentina has a long history. In a more qualitative approach, based on fieldwork interviews with Bolivian migrants in Spain, we explore the key factors that determine migratory strategies: whether to stay, return or re-emigrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a study of a pecked pebble from the Middle Paleolithic recovered more than 30 years ago in Axlor rockshelter in the Spanish Basque Country. At the time of the discovery, the piece was described as being deliberately modified, but since then it has been either ignored or described only as problematic evidence of Neanderthal symbolic behavior. In this work, we provide a new description and additional documentation of the piece, and we discuss its anthropic nature and the possibility that its meaning can be related to the small but credible record of graphic behavior known for early hominin groups prior to the Upper Paleolithic in Europe. The linear design theme of the Axlor piece is similar to that of other items made by European Neanderthals. These artifacts confirm the capability of pre-Homo sapiens sapiens humans to create and use portable "art." This tradition is evidence of the emergence of "behavioral modernity" among late Neanderthals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I am exploring the criticism of the University-Academy contained in the books of sociologists Pierre Bourdieu and Jean Claude Passeron, and I analyze the also critical approaches to the University-Corporation in the work of Stanley Aronowitz and other academic researchers of the so called "academic capitalism". I place these criticisms in relation to professional and student movements of the 70. I use them by the questioning of the ongoing transformation of the European University, known as Bologna Process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the stratigraphic sequence of El Palomar Rockshelter, paying special attention to the levels associated with the Gravettian. The preliminary techno-typological study of the lithic collections of these Early Upper Paleolithic levels reveals a large number of splintered pieces that have previously been linked to two different activities--bipolar flintknapping and the use of intermediate tools (wedges) for working hard materials such as bone, wood, and antler. An experiment was carried out to determine the different characteristics resulting from each process, with special emphasis on macroscopic traces. All the main bipolar knapping features identified in this experimental program were also present in the splintered pieces from El Palomar, thus providing proof that the use of the bipolar knapping method was routine during this period. The implications of the use of this knapping method in El Palomar are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is double, to describe the scope of high school dropouts in Spain in comparative terms with Europe and to provide empirical evidence about its main determinants from a gender perspective. Using data from the Eurostat LFS for 1996-2009, the study makes evident a singularity for Spain: the important gender disparity at school. The multivariate statistical analysis shows that for females the academic performance, father's nationality and mother's educational level are the most determining factors in their education demand decisions. For males, father's occupation and labour market conditions are the most significant influences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent analyses have demonstrated that personality affects political behavior. According to the mediation hypothesis, the effect of personality on political participation is mediated by classical predictors, such as political interest, internal efficacy, political discussion, or the sense that voting is a civic duty. This paper outlines various paths that link personality traits to two participatory activities: voter turnout in European Parliament elections and participation in protest actions. The hypotheses are tested with data from a large, nationally representative, face-to-face survey of the Spanish population conducted before and after the 2009 European Parliament elections using log-linear path models that are well suited to study indirect relationships. The results clearly confirm that the effects of personality traits on voter turnout and protest participation are sizeable but indirect. They are mediated by attitudinal predictors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In late 2004, the Conference for EU-Related Affairs (CARUE) approved two agreements governing the participation of the autonomous communities in the Council of the European Union and its preparatory bodies. After more than seven years of implementation, the system is not bringing the expected results. The problems identified in practice in a context, moreover, of institutional and economic crisis, call for new approaches. The following paper analyses the main obstacles that have arisen since the implementation of the 2004 agreements with a view to determining future prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we introduce a system of composite indicators designed to analyze the digital gender divide. This tool, called Gender & ICT Indicators System (GICTIS), is an advance in the measurement and analysis of the difference between men and women in the Information Society. Its application allows us to a) make inter-gender comparisons, determined by their degree of e-equity; b) carry out intra-gender analysis according to the degree of e-inclusion of each sex; and c) contextualize the results obtained with the corresponding thirty-one European countries. Furthermore, this transnational analytical perspective is specified in the ranking of countries that are used to establish five classification categories according to the level of ICT use, combined with the degree of existing gender equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A Window Energy Rating System (WERS) provides a simple, approximate method to compare the energy performance of the various windows and to determine the different potential savings for the various weather conditions. The main aim of this paper is to obtain a WERS for two climatic zones in Spain. For this purpose, the heating loads and energy savings of a residential building with different types of windows were obtained by three ways. Firstly, the energy through the window was evaluated considering only the climatic conditions. Secondly, the study was performed taking into account the energy useful for the heating system considering the climate and the type of building. Finally, the different cases were simulated using TRNSYS16 and WINDOW5. This study was performed for different European climates. The WERS proposed here is based on the second method. It takes into account the U factor of the window, U factor of the frame, absortivity of the frame, solar heat gain of the glazing and infiltration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper focuses on analysis of public opinion towards European integration in Greece, Portugal and Spain, countries known for their positive attitudes toward integration. In particular, the article analyses how public attitudes towards Europe have been formed in these countries. Secondly, it examines the determining factors of citizens' positive attitudes toward integration and shows the types of variables that are essential to understanding the differences between Greeks, Spaniards and the Portuguese. It also examines traditional euro-optimism in these southern countries. The findings show the relevance of identity and the various impacts of party platforms and ideology in attitudes of support for European integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the evolution of women's presence in both chambers of Spanish Parliament —Congress and Senate— during the last three decades, as well as in the European Parliament since 1986. The patterns of transformation in female representation are then compared with a) other lower houses in the rest of the EU countries, b) Spanish regional parliaments and c) other levels of political power such as national, regional and local governments. Further, the question of gender in political parties is raised. Finally, we identify the main socio-demographic differences and similarities that characterize female MPs and Senators in comparison to their male counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents abstracts of research papers about plant diseases. Alternaria leaf blight of Aralia japonica caused by Alternaria panax in Europe; Natural hosts of tomato infectious chlorosis virus and tomato chlorosis virus in Spain; Stem rot of guiana chestnut caused by Pythium splendens.

Agricultural land abandonment is an increasing problem in Europe. The Comunitat Valenciana Region (Spain) is one of the most important citrus producers in Europe suffering this problem. This region characterizes by small sized citrus plots and high spatial fragmentation which makes necessary to use Very High-Resolution images to detect abandoned plots. In this paper spectral and Gray Level Co-Occurrence Matrix (GLCM)-based textural information derived from the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) are used to map abandoned citrus plots in Oliva municipality (eastern Spain). The proposed methodology is based on three general steps: (a) extraction of spectral and textural features from the image, (b) pixel-based classification of the image using the Random Forest algorithm, and (c) assignment of a single value per plot by majority voting. The best results were obtained when extracting the texture features with a 9 × 9 window size and the Random Forest model showed convergence around 100 decision trees. Cross-validation of the model showed an overall accuracy of the pixel-based classification of 87% and an overall accuracy of the plot-based classification of 95%. All the variables used are statistically significant for the classification, however the most important were contrast, dissimilarity, NIR band (720 nm), and blue band (620 nm). According to our results, 31% of the plots classified as citrus in Oliva by current methodology are abandoned. This is very important to avoid overestimating crop yield calculations by public administrations. The model was applied successfully outside the main study area (Oliva municipality); with a slightly lower accuracy (92%). This research provides a new approach to map small agricultural plots, especially to detect land abandonment in woody evergreen crops that have been little studied until now. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Up till now, knowledge of the history of gilt leather is still inadequate. It is little known that there was a huge production outside Spain in different centres in various European countries. This was particularly the case during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the period when the Spanish industry declined severely. This is also the period from which large quantities of gilt leather survive. This paper is intended to give an insight into the role of Spain in this international situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In December 1988, the Spanish government decided to build a new line from Madrid to the French border (via Barcelona). A line that would link up with the new Madrid-Seville line, having a total length (Seville-French border) of approximately 1200 km. This paper succinctly describes the path followed by Spanish railways for the purpose of being able to offer a high speed service. The main features of the Madrid-Seville line are described, and the plans currently envisaged for linking this line up with the French high-speed network via the new Madrid-Barcelona-Perpignan line are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Catalonia (in the north east of the Iberian Peninsula) is among the most prospected territories in Europe, from the ethnobotanical point of view. The aim of the present paper is to undertake a global analysis in the area considered, including plants, plant life forms, and ethnobotanical data within a physiographic and geographic framework. Methods: Data from 21 ethnobotanical prospection areas in Catalonia were collected, analyzed, and compared, with the focus on plant life forms and geographic divisions. Results: A total of 824 taxa constitute the Catalan ethnoflora, and 316 of them are shared by the six physiographic zones recognized in Catalonia. When three major geographic areas are considered (Pyrenean, inland, and littoral), 394 taxa have been reported in only one out of the three areas. Concerning life forms, phanerophytes and chamaephytes together, i.e., those taxa present all through the year, are the most cited (37.12%). Conclusions: This first study constitutes a new approach to ethnobotanical data analysis. The results show the particular importance of plants with a large distribution area and plants with available biomass throughout the year. Apart from this, other kind of plants, e.g., those present in only one territory, are of interest for its originality and sometimes for the local significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]