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This paper analyses the effect that the fulfilment of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) has got among engineers in the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector. The focus is on Spain, and the comparison of the technical and managerial knowledge and skills most demanded by the sector in 2008 and 2018, coinciding with the first decade of the EHEA. The study also examines whether the professional skills acquired by university students are consistent with those required in the job market. The following question is answered: Are ICT students adequately trained a decade after the introduction of the EHEA? An empirical study was carried out on the basis of a cross-section of Spanish ICT sector enterprises. The results reveal a gap between employer expectations and the skills acquired by students. Policy and practice performance is also discussed.

Purpose: To examine beliefs about bullying in physical education (PE) among PE preservice teachers and to examine opinions about training received in this area and the strategies they would use to deal with this phenomenon. Method: We interviewed 44 PE-PSTs (M[subscript age] = 23.91; SD = 2.96) from six Spanish universities in semistructured focus groups. The data collected were analyzed using hierarchical content analysis. Results: PE preservice teachers believed that while PE may favor the occurrence of bullying, with proper management, it could also be used to educate students and create a positive climate that could help prevent this behavior. The trainee teachers stated that they had not received any training on bullying at university. Overall, they lacked confidence to deal with this problem, and their proposed strategies lacked depth. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the need for universities to include bullying in their PE teacher training programs.

Background: In recent decades, Spain has seen a decline in girls' interest in pursuing the Physical Activity and Sport Science (PASS) degree. For example, in Catalonia (Spain), the number of women enrolled has decreased from 39.3% in the 2000-2001 academic year to 17.3% in the 2014-2015 academic year (Serra, Soler, Vilanova et al. 2019), which is in line with technological and scientific degrees. This fact is striking because more women than men are enrolling in university studies in Spain overall. Purpose: Drawing on Bourdieu's theoretical tools and the concept of social representation, the purpose of this study is to analyse how young people perceive the PASS degree, in order to understand why fewer women than men choose this degree. Method: A total of 4146 students (50.2% girls; mean age = 16.82 years; SD = 0.837) from 39 school centres were purposefully selected in three regions of Spain. Students were enrolled in the final course of Compulsory Secondary Education (4th ESO, 16 years old) and the first of 2 years of the pre-university course (1st year of Bachillerato, 16-17 years old). An "ad hoc" instrument was designed to measure the Social Representation (SR) of the degree "habitus" and students' interest in studying for the PASS degree. Statistical analyses were carried out using SPSS Statistics (v.23). Data were tested for normality. The statistical tests used were: Chi-square (X[superscript 2]) and Mann-Whitney "U" analysis. Findings: The results show that the SR of the degree "habitus" has a masculine characterization, which favours the number of men who study this degree. This SR could explain why the number of women in this field has been very low (around 18%) in Spain in recent years. Likewise, this SR would be a form of symbolic violence on girls who may wish to pursue these studies, but do not feel entitled to do so because it is considered a masculine field. The students are not able to identify this social construction, which eventually naturalizes the difference and makes the prevalence of men in these studies more socially acceptable. Conclusion: The SR of the degree "habitus" could be exercising a symbolic violence that would contribute to the discrepancy in the number of men and women who choose a PASS degree. To change the SR of the degree, it is necessary to substantially modify how it is constructed. Some of the options would involve a profound change in curriculum, built around a conception of body culture that is based on feminist political, philosophical, and ontological assumptions. This new construction would invoke a configuration of body culture not centred on the modern sport phenomenon and post-modern physical activity. The information that students receive to construct this masculine and instrumentalized SR of the degree should also be intentionally modified.

Objectives: To explore perceptions of bullying in children's football (8-13 years) based on the experiences of players, families, and coaches. Method: We conducted a multiple case study. Participants from four football clubs and one coaching academy in Catalonia (Spain) were selected to take part in nine focus group sessions (three for each group: players, families and coaches). Data from the sessions were analyzed by content analysis. Findings: Four main categories were identified: (1) type of bullying; (2) causes; (3) sites of occurrence; and (4) feelings and emotions towards bullying. These have included a series of direct quotes to reflect the main contributions made by the three sets of participants (players, parents, and coaches) based on their most significant experiences. Conclusions: The accounts of the participants show the existence of a wide range of bullying situations and experiences and highlight the need for immediate action towards the prevention and eradication of bullying in children's football.

This paper draws on research that aimed to explore the construction of gender relations in sport and physical education (PE) through a national study of Spanish university degree curricula. Spain is a useful case study through which to explore gender knowledge within sport and PE degrees, because, unlike many other countries, it has a common, national curriculum framework for its Physical Activity and Sport Science (PASS) degrees. In addition, it has recently passed a new law concerning the introduction of gender knowledge in higher education (HE). Drawing on Bernstein's (1990) framework of the pedagogic device, this paper examines how this HE gender policy becomes recontextualised as universities and lecturers interpret and translate this into the pedagogical texts that make up the PASS curricula. Purposive sampling was used to select 16 of the 37 universities offering PASS degrees in 2012/2013. The research analysed 16 PASS documents at the degree level and 763 individual subject handbooks. Using discourse analysis, the results showed where and how gender knowledge was incorporated and the extent to which the topic was presented coherently throughout the documents. The analysis revealed five categories of the (in)visibility of gender knowledge within the universities' instructional discourse. Gender knowledge is largely ignored in PASS curricular documentation, appearing, at best, in highly superficial ways. Despite a national policy requirement on universities to incorporate gender knowledge, this study shows how recontextualisation processes within specific universities' pedagogic devices operate to marginalise such perspectives within PASS curricula. The research also revealed the significance of individual agents committed to gender equity being situated, and having influence, throughout the pedagogic device. The paper concludes that without a much wider, critical engagement in knowledge about gender equity, PASS degrees will continue to reproduce rather than disrupt the gender relations that have traditionally characterised the field.

The relationship between music and mathematics has often been the subject of discussion, both inside and outside the field of education. As part of an exciting project on a European scale, the paper explores the changing contexts in Catalonia (Spain) and England (UK) in relation to the integrated approach to the teaching of music and mathematics. We analyse three areas: academic literature, the curriculum frameworks and publications and resources prepared by and for teachers. Our findings suggest that due to the more favourable attitude towards cross-curricular approaches in education, more progress has been made in England, in terms of developing resources to support an integrated approach to the teaching of music and mathematics, than in Catalonia. Nonetheless, teachers in both locations are very interested in developing these approaches. Although there is a need for further teacher training and support, there is evidence of progress already being made in schools.

Gender policies in sports have expanded considerably in most countries in recent decades. Nevertheless, the implementation of these policies in sports organizations is by no means an automatic process. This article explores what happens when gender equity policies are applied in an university sports organization. Participatory action research over a four-year period was developed by the authors to increase the participation of women, and it also aimed to explore the perceptions and thoughts of key actors regarding equity actions. The analysis shows the participation numbers in the specific promotional campaign and reveals a wide range of responses among staff, ranging from enthusiasm and interest to resistance and fear. Gender equity actions often encounter resistance which cannot, and should not, be ignored. This article highlights certain forms of resistance that proposals of this kind should be prepared for.

Introduction: Facilitating engagement in meaningful activities is a key intervention in the recovery process of people with serious mental illness. This study validates the use of the Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey in the Spanish mental health population for the purposes of measuring such engagement. Method: Two hundred and ninety-five people with serious mental illness (68.3% were male; M = 47.5, SD = 9.7 years) participated voluntarily and anonymously in the study. All gave written informed consent. A translation into Spanish and back-translation to English was made. Reliability and validity of the Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey was assessed by the internal consistency, temporal stability and dimensionality of the scale. Results: The Cronbach's alpha of the Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey scale was 0.91 and the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.76. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure of the scale (χ2 = 93.906, p <.001; comparative fit index =.96, Tucker–Lewis index =.95, root-mean-square error of approximation (90% confidence interval) =.05 (.03–.07) and standardized root mean square residual =.04). All the items showed significant standardized factor loadings above.59. Correlation between the two factors was.97 (p <.001). Conclusion: The instrument could be useful for assessing engagement in meaningful activities and helpful for recovery process interventions focused on enhancing community adjustment in people with serious mental illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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BACKGROUND: Portable oxygen devices simplify and facilitate patient therapy. This study was designed to compare SpO2 and patient satisfaction with a portable oxygen concentrator or a combined system consisting of a fixed device with continuous-flow oxygen dispensation and a portable device with pulse dispensation for ambulation. METHODS: This crossover trial assessed 25 subjects with COPD (92% men, mean age of 72.2 ± 7.4 y, mean FEV1 of 34.14 ± 12.51% of predicted) at 4 hospitals in Madrid. All subjects had previously used the combined system, consisting of a fixed oxygenation system and a portable system for ambulation, with 16 (64%) using stationary and portable concentrators and 9 (36%) using a stationary reservoir and portable liquid oxygen bag. Oxygenation settings at rest and while walking were determined at baseline. Subjects were maintained on the previous combined system for 1 week and then switched to the portable oxygen concentrator for 1 week. Mean SpO2 over 24 h was calculated using the software in the oximeter, and compliance was monitored (Visionox). RESULTS: Low SpO2 (< 90%) was significantly more frequent during use of the portable concentrator alone than with the combined system (37.1% vs 18.4%, P < .05). The portable system alone was preferred by 43% of subjects, and the combined system was preferred by 36%, whereas 21% were not sure. CONCLUSIONS: Subjects preferred using a single portable oxygenation system both at home and during ambulation. Portable systems alone, however, did not supply the same levels of oxygenation as the combination of fixed and portable systems. Before the widespread adoption of portable systems as a single device, additional studies are needed to determine best-practice protocols for adjustment of daytime and nighttime oxygenation settings. (ClinicalTrials.gov registration NCT02079753) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the marriage trends in Barcelona, Spain, during the early 17th century. The author comments on the concept referred to as labor inbreeding, in which marriage only occurs between two people in the same social standing as well as the same sector of employment. He examines the marriage records in Barcelona at the time, which were recorded in the esposalles (church registers) at the Catedral de Barcelona (Cathedral of Barcelona), with a particular focus on the period 1605-1607 and 1625-1627.

Abstract: Objectives: Genetic variations in the Insulin/IGF-I genes pathway have been related to longevity, dementia, metabolic diseases and cancer. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the 192bp allele of IGF-I gene promoter and its relationship with metabolic syndrome (MS) components, mental and nutritional state, muscle strength and functional capacity in an aged Spanish population. Design: Population-based study (Mataró Ageing Study), including 292 subjects (144 men and 148 women, mean age 77.0±5.4). Anthropometric variables, lipid profile, glucose and blood pressure (BP) were measured; mental state (MMSE), nutritional state (MNA) and Barthel scale were performed, and were correlated to the presence of the 192bp allele of IGF-1 gene promoter polymorphisms. Results: MS (ATP-III criteria) was found in 49.5% (41.4% in men and 57.6% in women). The 192bp allele of IGF-I gene promoter was distributed as: 41.9% homozygous, 44.3% heterozygous and 13.9% were non-carriers of this allele. A lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome was observed in homozygous (41.9% vs 54.9% in heterozygous+non-carriers, p =0.031). Mental state (MMSE), nutritional state (MNA) and Barthel scale were better in homozygous individuals compared to heterozygous and non-carriers (p =0.015, p =0.026 and 0.047, respectively). In men, MNA was better in homozygous with no differences in MMSE and Barthel scales. In homozygous women, BP was lower (p =0.009) and Barthel scale was better (p =0.05) with no differences in MMSE and MNA. Conclusion: Homozygosity for the 192bp allele of the IGF-I gene polymorphism suggests a healthier aging condition, with less prevalence of cardiometabolic disturbances, and better mental, nutritional and functional state. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Revista de Treball Social is the property of Col·legi Oficial de TreballSocial de Catalunya 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 Electronics & Electrical Engineering is the property of Electronics & Electrical Engineering 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 main goal of the Water Framework Directive is to achieve good chemical and ecological status of water bodies by 2015. The implementation of integrated river basin management, including sewer systems, wastewater treatment plants and receiving water bodies, is essential to accomplishing this objective. Integrated management is complex and therefore the implementation of control systems and the development of decision support systems are needed to facilitate the work of urban wastewater system (UWS) managers. Within this context, the objective of this paper is to apply integrated modelling of an UWS to simulate and analyse the behaviour of the 'Congost' UWS in Spain, and to optimize its performance against different types of perturbations. This analysis results in optimal operating set-points for each perturbation, improves river water quality, minimizes combined sewer overflows and optimizes flow lamination from storm water tanks. This is achieved by running Monte Carlo simulations and applying global sensitivity analysis. The set-points will become part of the knowledge base composed of a set of IF-THEN rules of the environmental decision support system being developed for this case study.

In order to assess the incidence of tuberculous disease in our health area, we reviewed the clinical records of patients from the three hospitals of the area under study during the years 1989, 1990 and 1991, who had positive bacilloscopy, positive Lowenstein's culture in any specimen and/or compatible anatomopathologic report. After excluding 26 patients because they belonged to other health areas, 885 patients remained in the study, out of which 251 (64% men and 36% women) were from the year 1989, 270 (64% men and 36% women) from the year 1990 and 364 (62% men and 38% women) from the year 1991. The mean age was 38.4 (SD 20.5). Fifty-one percent of the patients were between 20 and 35 years old. The rate of new cases was 65.87 per 100.000 population in 1989, 71.05 in 1990 and 95.53 in 1991. Seventy-four cases were HIV-positive (8%). Tuberculous meningitis was present in 12 patients. The highest mortality was 1.79 per 100.000 population in 1990. We conclude that tuberculosis presents a medium-high incidence in our health area.