Search

The construction of large renewable energy projects is characterized by the great uncertainties associated with their administrative complexity and their constructive characteristics. For proper management, it is necessary to undertake a thorough project risk assessment prior to construction. The work presented in this paper is based on a hierarchical risk structure identified by a group of experts, from which a Probabilistic Fuzzy Sets with Analysis Hierarchy Process (PFSAHP) was applied. This probabilistic analysis approach used expert opinion based on the Monte Carlo Method that allows for extracting more information from the original data. In addition, the coherence of the experts’ opinions is assessed using a novel parameter known as Confidence Level, which allows for adjusting the opinions of experts and weighting their judgments regarding impact and probability according to their coherence. This model has the advantage of offering a risk analysis in the early stages of the management of renewable energy projects in which there is no detailed information. This model is also more accurate than the classic fuzzy methodology when working with complete distribution functions, whilst it avoids the loss of information that results from the traditional mathematical operations with Fuzzy numbers. To test the model, it was applied to a 250 MW photovoltaic solar plant construction project located in southeast of Spain (Region of Murcia). As a result of the application of the proposed method, risk rankings are obtained with respect to the cost, the time, the scope and from a general point of view of the project. [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]

Rationale and objectives: Economic theory classifies an intervention as socially beneficial if the total Willingness to Pay (WTP) of those who gain exceeds the total Willingness to accept (WTA) of those who are harmed. This paper examines the differences in health system users’ valuation of a health care service in primary care setting based on the WTP and WTA perspectives, discussing the impact of personal and service variables, including risk attitudes, on these disparities. Method: Six hundred and sixty two subjects who asked for care in health centres in the Region of Madrid (Spain) were interviewed, using the contingent valuation method to estimate WTP and WTA. Patient sociodemographic characteristics, health needs, satisfaction with the service and risk attitude and behaviour under risk (measured by self-reported scales and lottery games respectively) were collected. Generalised Linear Models were used to estimate the association between the explanatory variables and the WTA/WTP ratio. Results: We obtained the WTA/WTP ratio for 570 subjects (mean 1.66 CI 95%: 1.53–1.79; median 1, interquartile range 1–2). People with higher education or in high social groups expressed WTA values closest to WTP. The opposite occurred in patients with the greatest health needs or who were born abroad. Self-reported expression of risk aversion appeared also related to increases in the WTA/WTP ratio. Satisfaction with the service evaluated was the most influential factor in the WTA/WTP ratio. Conclusion: Health need, difficulty in obtaining substitutes and satisfaction with the service could serve for profiling people averse to loss for health care services in primary care setting. Self-reported expression of risk aversion could also be related to increases in the WTA/WTP ratio. This would mean that these characteristics should be taken into account both in the design and implementation of new healthcare interventions, as in the making decision for disinvestment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women participation in Spanish sociological journals is analysed during the period 2001-2005, by means of bibliometrics and Social Network Analysis. There is a predominance of men (75,08% of authors) compare to women (24,92%), despite the fact that there is a majority of women ending University studies. This inequality starts to be perceived from the beginning of their research and professional development and it intensifies with time. As a result, only a reduced number of women reach the highest positions in the academic rankings, which correspond to authors with the highest productivity. Related to that, it has been observed a phenomenon of bottleneck, according to it as the number of women writers reduces, the productivity threshold increases. There must be studied in depth the barriers that make difficult the development of a professional course among women and to carry out a diachronic monitoring of the professional occupation and their contribution to papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper has been structured in three areas. In the first one, the author shows the relevance that words and conversations among individuals have on social research, both terms being very important to the well-known sociologist and writer Franco Ferrarotti. In the second part, the author explains the necessary qualitative methodology to be used when analysing a main topic. In the third one, the author analyses the reality of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from the gender perspective to detect if they are or not a reflection of that Spanish reality regarding sex discrimination. Finally, this paper states the challenge the Spanish society needs to face to outweigh sex inequality without excluding the NGOs or any other form of association. This paper calls for the involvement of society, which along with the state and market, has an important task to accomplish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper situates contemporary evaluations of the 'success' of Spain's Mondragon cooperative complex within a tradition of debate about the politics of economic transformation. It traces the long-standing suspicion of worker cooperatives among political and social analysts on the left, revisiting both the revolutionary and gradualist socialist critiques of cooperativism. Taking the set of problems identified by Beatrice and Sidney Webb as leading to the inevitable failure of producer cooperatives, the paper examines Mondragon for evidence of 'degeneration.' The ethical decisions made by Mondragon cooperators with respect to product, pay, profit, innovation, management, disputes and membership are discussed with a particular focus on the management of surplus production, appropriation and distribution. The paper calls for more sophisticated analyses of the economics of surplus distribution and the centrality of ethical debate to the construction of diverse economies and non-capitalist economic subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper recapitulates and summarizes the achievements and failures of sociology of religion in Spain as of December 1976. The author explains that this paper is by no means the first attempt to elaborate a historical synthesis of socio-religious research in Spain. According to him, other authors have tried at various times to analyze the situation of sociology of religion in Spain by studying the main periods of its evolution and development. He points out however that the acritical attitude adopted by most of these papers is of very little interest in 1976; analysis of what was done in the past has no meaning unless it is related to contemporary trends in research, as well as to the elaboration of certain priorities with regard to future research. While this paper limits itself to a historical review of the prior development of sociology of religion in Spain, it tries to point out to the future by critically weighing the acquisitions in this field. The author confesses that the present effort of recapitulating and summarizing the achievements and failures of Spanish sociology of religion inevitably places him in a rather delicate and even uncomfortable situation. According to him, criticism in this case becomes self-criticism in so far as it concerns a group of investigators to which he himself belongs.

In this article, we compare the reception of Spanish sociology by domestic and international audiences using citation counts as an indicator of audience interest. We compare papers highly cited in a national language database with those highly cited in the Web of Science. We find differences that might prove worrying within a national research evaluation system that emphasizes publishing in high impact factor, Web of Science indexed journals. We suggest that in the social sciences, such an emphasis may induce not simply more research excellence, but also narrower research agendas with long-term consequences for the Spanish sociology community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyse participatory methodologies applied to the planning and management of landscape and compares this analysis with the experience developed for the participatory planning of mount San Cristóbal-Ezkaba in the metropolitan area of Pamplona-Iruñea (Navarre). We reflect on its capabilities and advantages paying special attention to the strategies for gathering the social senses and landscape perceptions in different social groups and to incorporate them into the participatory process. Our research explores the effectiveness of different methodological designs and techniques to achieve this goal. The peculiarities of our case study allows us to examine the participatory processes and its potential to encourage citizen engagement with the conservation, planning and management of everyday environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to offer a general perspective on the "victor/vanquished" dichotomy as a result of the new power balance in the period following the Spanish Civil War. The power balance administered by the Franco regime includes, inevitably, the "vanquished" management. I argue that the "victor/vanquished" distinction provides a sociological background to speak about the "two Spains" meta-historical metaphor as a social reality during Francoism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increase in interest for German scientific psychology followed the rise of liberalism in late nineteenth-century Spain. This paper deals with Spanish scholars' endeavors to participate in German psychology: It outlines the intellectual and institutional background of Spanish preoccupation with German philosophy and psychology, and deals with the personal experience and testimony of two Spanish philosophers, Eloy Luis André and Juan Vicente Viqueira López, who traveled to Leipzig, Berlin, and Göttingen between 1909 and 1914 to gain firsthand experience in the nascent science of psychology in Germany at that time. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of the paper is to study Jan Monk's contribution to the development of international gender geography, in particular in Spain. Our aim is also to explain the experiences and numerous connections among places, people and ideas that she has been weaving to foster international scholarship and, in this way, how she has challenged hegemonic approaches in feminist geography. Jan Monk comes originally from the Southern hemisphere and therefore she is well aware of the extent to which 'Northern' (or Anglo-American) ways of seeing the world define concepts, theories and ideas in geography (and also in feminist geography). Being an 'insider' and an 'outsider' as well as her sensibility to the important of place has permeated Jan's contribution to international gender geography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effects of Basque- versus Spanish-language schooling on the language attitudes of secondary school students in San Sebastian, in the Basque Autonomous Community (BAC) of Spain. By mandating the teaching of Basque (‘euskera’) in schools, and by requiring Basque proficiency of civil servants, the Basque government is attempting to increase the utility and use of Basque. By teaching people Basque, the Basque Government is also trying to create a link between Basque language and identity. I will show that schooling has no independent effect on language attitudes; rather, positive attitudes towards Basque are correlated with exposure to Basque in both the home and school domains. Further, whether they attend Basque- or Spanish-medium schools, students who speak only Spanish at home exhibit identical language attitudes. Finally, regardless of the language(s) they use at home and school, all students favour vernacular Basque, which is not used for instruction. This suggests that, in developing their policies and educational programmes, language planners should take into greater account how vernacular forms are used in domains outside the school, and the values students ascribe them, and how these compare with the language varieties promoted in schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]