Region Of Andalusia Research Articles

Predicting suitability of forest dynamics to future climatic conditions: the likely dominance of Holm oak [Quercus ilex subsp. ballota (Desf.) Samp.] and Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.)

Composite logistic regression models simulating the potential effect of global climate change on forests dynamics in the southern Iberian Peninsula identify Holm oak [ Quercus ilex subsp. ballota (Desf.) Samp.] and Aleppo pine ( Pinus halepensis Mill.) as the chief beneficiaries of the anticipated environmental shifts, whereas other oak species and conifers suffer a decline. The ten most important tree species (five oaks and five conifers) in Southern Spain were selected for the study. The study area, corresponding to the region of Andalusia, is located in an interesting position between Central European and North African climates. The territory also exhibits the most extreme patterns of rainfall in the Iberian Peninsula. This study aims to model the potential distribution of the ten species in response to climate change, in several time periods, including the present and two future twenty-first century dates. The potential distributions within the different scenarios were simulated using logistic regression techniques based on a set of 19 climate variables from the WorldClim 1.4 project. The scenarios were drawn from the RCP 2.6 and 6.0 in the CCSM4 Global Circulation Model. The resolution of the output maps was 30 arc-seconds. The simulation predicted increased distribution areas for Q. ilex and P. halepensis under the four future scenarios as compared to present. The eight remaining taxa suffered a severe retraction in potential distribution. Global climate change is likely to have a significant impact on forest dynamics in southern Spain. Only two species would benefit to the detriment of the others. Logistic Regression is identified as a robust method for carrying out management and conservation programmes.

Territorially unequal rural development: the cases of the LEADER Initiative and the PRODER Programme in Andalusia (Spain)

ABSTRACTThis paper studies the territorial effects of the LEADER approach in Southern Europe, by analysing the region of Andalusia (Spain). Our research has revealed that, in many cases, projects were concentrated in the most dynamic, most populated areas, with a well-established business network with the financial and organizational capacity required to access European funding. In these areas, the economic leadership of the most dynamic municipalities has been reinforced at the expense of more depressed areas with little social capital and few businesses. These programmes have not, therefore, helped to mitigate territorial imbalances. In a minority of rural areas, however, this trend was not observed, which shows that although territorial inequality is a widespread problem in the practice of neo-endogenous rural development, it does not affect all areas to the same degree.

The Evolution of Consanguineous Marriages in the Archdiocese of Granada, Spain (1900-1979).

In the 20th century Spain maintained some of the highest rates of consanguineous marriage in Europe. In many regions these rates were still high in the 1950s and 1960s but then decreased rapidly, and by the 1970s a generalized transformation in mating patterns was under way. In the following decades the marriage of persons closely related by birth became rare. Consanguinity and inbreeding have been much studied in Spain but almost exclusively in the central and northern regions of the country. This is the first study of a whole large diocese in the southern region of Andalusia. This article is based on the analysis of 15,440 records of consanguineous unions registered between 1900 and 1979 in the Archbishopric of Granada in Andalusia. In this period, the rate of consanguinity up to second cousins was 5.51%, and the mean coefficient of inbreeding, α, was 2.04 × 10-3. There is a high range of variability within the research area: the rate of consanguinity was more than three times higher in rural areas (6.74%; α = 2.44 × 10-3) than in the capital city (2.03%; α = 0.93 × 10-3). There was a high frequency of unions between first cousins and first cousins once removed. These amounted to 35.3% and 13% of all consanguineous marriages, respectively, and contributed to 70% of α-values. Consanguinity here has been strongly related to local endogamy. Thus, 76% of all consanguineous couples were born in the same locality, and 89% resided in the same locality at marriage. By the end of the 1960s premarital migration increased and local endogamy started to decrease. On the other hand, inbreeding is inversely related to spatial endogamy. The more inbred couples, such as uncles-nieces (C12) or first cousins (C22), show significantly higher exogamy rates than second cousins (C33) and third cousins (C44), and higher rates of premarital migration. Neither males nor females in intrafamily unions seem to be significantly younger than those in nonconsanguineous unions. Considering their temporal evolution, consanguinity rates increased in the first third of the century, reaching a maximum in the late 1920s, when over 7.4% of all marriages were consanguineous (8.3% for the rural areas), and the resulting α-value was the highest of the century (α = 2.71 × 10-3 for the whole diocese; α = 3.00 × 10-3 for the rural areas). Rates of inbreeding remained high until the 1950s and decreased thereafter in a period of accelerated emigration to cities, urbanization, industrialization, and social modernization. Overall, levels of inbreeding are similar and sometimes larger than those found in dioceses in the northwest of Spain, although marriages between uncle and niece were less common. Some of the counties in the diocese had very high consanguinity levels, not only the isolated area of La Alpujarra, previously studied, but also other ecological and historical microregions (comarcas). These results indicate that the widely accepted north-south divisions of the Iberian Peninsula in terms of consanguinity and inbreeding patterns require considerable reevaluation.

Devotional Bodies, Working Shrines: The Ritual Dynamics of Devotion in an Andalusian Marian Shrine

This article is focused a shrine of the Virgin Mary in the village of Alcala de los Gazules in the Southern Spanish region of Andalusia, a region known for its Marian devotion. Many villages contain their own shrines dedicated to a local Virgin in which the universal Mary is present in a localized, vernacular statue form. As a powerful instantiation of Mary, the Virgin of Alcala has received attention from outside the immediate area due to her many miracles; she is known to be especially helpful when curing infertility. The whole of the shrine complex, its presence, status, and role as sanctuary for devotees and pilgrims, is significant to understanding how shrines work. By analysing the shrine as an "architectural body" comparable in some ways to the Maori wharenui, and by looking at the working familial relationships that surround and emerge from it, I illuminate the shrine as a zone pregnant with ontological possibilities in which human and non-human persons engage with each other in real space and time.

ENOTURISMO Y TRADUCCIÓN DE CONTENIDOS WEB: ANÁLISIS DE SITIOS ANDALUCES TRADUCIDOS AL ALEMÁN

El presente trabajo se centra en la traducción al alemán de contenidos web relacionados con el enoturismo en la región de Andalucía. Se han seleccionado una serie de sitios web de promoción turística de las distintas provincias andaluzas, así como de bodegas, de cara a establecer su disponibilidad en otras lenguas. En el caso de las traducciones al alemán, se ha llevado a cabo un análisis de la corrección en el tratamiento de los textos y, especialmente, de los referentes culturales y la terminología vitivinícolas. Los resultados arrojan un panorama heterogéneo, en el que se ha detectado que la corrección de los textos es susceptible de mejora. Con este estudio, esperamos contribuir a una mejor promoción de los productos enoturísticos andaluces.

CLASIFICACIÓN DE LAS EMPRESAS DE ALOJAMIENTO TURÍSTICO UBICADAS EN ANDALUCÍA

El presente trabajo pretende exponer la normativa reguladora relativa a las empresas de alojamiento turístico con sede en la Comunidad autónoma andaluza, haciendo hincapié en las distintas categorías de empresas de alojamiento turístico que establece la normativa aplicable

University students\u2019 self-regulated learning using digital technologies

Analysing the process by which students—whether at university or not—manage and facilitate their own learning has been a recurrent educational research problem. Recently, the question arises about how the development of strategies taking place during the aforementioned process could be made easier by using technologies. In an effort to know whether university students really use digital technologies to plan, organize and facilitate their own learning, we have proposed three research questions. Which technologies do university students use to self-regulate their learning? What self-regulated learning strategies do they develop using technologies? What profiles could be identified among students based on their use of self-regulation strategies with technology? To answer these questions, the “Survey of Self-regulated Learning with Technology at the University” was designed. Information from a sample group with 711 students from various universities located in the region of Andalusia (Spain) was collected with this survey. The results indicate that university students, even when they are frequent users of digital technology, they tend not to use these technologies to regulate their own learning process. Of all technologies analysed, Internet information search and instant communication tools are used continually. In turn, the most generalised self-regulation learning strategies are those relative to social support. Nevertheless, students differ from each other regarding their use and frequency. There are groups of students who make use of self-regulation strategies when learning with technologies. In this regard, two distinctive groups of students have been identified, who show differentiated self-regulated levels.

Morphological, Pathogenic, and Molecular Characterization of Colletotrichum acutatum Isolates Causing Almond Anthracnose in Spain.

Almond anthracnose is a serious and emerging disease in several countries. All isolates causing almond anthracnose have been assigned to the Colletotrichum acutatum species complex, of which only C. fioriniae and C. godetiae have been associated with the disease to date. Here, we characterized Colletotrichum isolates from almond fruit affected by anthracnose in the Andalusia region. Two Colletotrichum isolates causing olive anthracnose were included for comparison. Morphological characteristics were useful for separating the isolates into groups based on colony morphology. Pathogenicity tests in almond, olive, and apple fruit showed differences in virulence and some degree of pathogenic specialization among isolates. Molecular characterization allowed clear identification of the Colletotrichum isolates tested. The olive isolates were identified as C. godetiae and C. nymphaeae, both previously identified in Andalusian olive orchards. Two phylogenetic species were identified among the almond isolates: C. godetiae, with gray colonies, which is well known in other countries, and C. acutatum, with pink-orange colonies. This species identification differs from those of pink-colony subpopulations described in other countries, which are C. fioriniae. Therefore, this study is also the first report of a new species of Colletotrichum causing almond anthracnose within the C. acutatum species complex.

¿Desarrollo rural o desarrollo de territorios rurales dinámicos? La contribución a los desequilibrios territoriales por parte de los programas de desarrollo en el sur de España, Andalucía

The territorial effects that have the Rural Development Programmes in Southern Europe, in the region of Andalusia (Spain) have been varied. Based on the maximum level of disaggregation of the approved projects under the LEADER and PRODER initiatives, it has been analized a set of synthetic variables at the project level, municipalities and local action groups in order to assess to what extent have performed such programmes to the development of the most disadvantaged areas of the region, or in the opposite way, have increased the pre)existing differences.The investigation has revealed in the region of Andalusia that most of the initiatives have focused on the most dynamic areas, the most populated, in which there was a business sector that has been able to take advantage of access to european funding, which has reinforced its leadership role against the most depressed areas with little social and business capital.

Collaborative backcasting for transport policy scenario building

Scenarios are often used to examine different futures where there is considerable uncertainty or where the business-as-usual is no longer appropriate. Backcasting is one form of scenario building where a normative view is taken about desirable futures, and the method then investigates different policy packages that can be used to reach those futures and the alternative pathways that can be followed. Where most difficulties have arisen in the past has been in bridging the conceptual elegance of the approach with the practicalities of implementation. Collaborative backcasting bridges this ‘implementation gap’ through a participatory approach in which different stakeholders take an active role in building scenarios, in identifying policy measures and packages, and in evaluating different pathways. Using the region of Andalusia (Spain), this paper brings together the different strands of this collaborative methodology where a set of alternative transport futures have been considered, together with the means to achieve a sustainable transport system for 2050. It discusses eight issues: (i) the selection of participants; (ii) the combination of participatory techniques; (iii) the development of learning processes; (iv) the need for and role of mediators; (v) the diversity of transport futures and integration of policy pathways; (vi) the timeline and future horizons; (vii) the acceptability of different pathways; and (viii) the legal and institutional constraints to effective implementation. Conclusions on the appropriateness of collaborative backcasting are drawn.

Status of Private Rheumatology in Spain

IntroductionRheumatologic care is offered by the National Health System in Spain. However, more than a quarter of health spending is carried out in private medicine. Currently, there are no data about the number of rheumatologists with private activity in Spain. ObjectivesTo evaluate the number of rheumatologists with private activity in Spain and to describe the profile and location of these professionals. Material and methodsA survey was developed and sent from the SER Commission on Private Practice to all SER active members. Data collection ends in December 2014. A descriptive statistical analysis and comparison of results was done. Results759 answers from a total of 980 surveys sent (77.45%) were obtained; 38% of Spanish rheumatologists have private activity; 13% exclusively private practice and 25% private practice shared with his or her public activity. The private practice rheumatologist profile is: male, 49 years old with 19 years of experience after finishing the specialty and with a working day of 42h per week. There is a clear predominance of private practice in the Autonomous Community of Catalonia with 28% of the total, followed by Madrid 18%, Andalusia 12% and Valencia 8%. Conclusions38% of Spanish rheumatologists are working in private practice. The profile of professionals working in private practice is different from that of those who work exclusively in public health.Private rheumatology is located in all regions, although most private rheumatologists are located in the regions of Catalonia, Madrid, Valencia and Andalusia, representing more than 50% of the total.

The ‘intergroup paradox’ in Andalusia (Spain): an explanatory model

ABSTRACTThe widely renowned theory of group-threat predicts anti-immigrant backlash when immigration societies experience economic downturns. However, despite skyrocketing unemployment and widespread misgivings about immigration’s impact, no discernible wave of anti-immigrant sentiment has emerged in Spain; the ensuing puzzle accentuates in the southernmost region of Andalusia, where jobless rates surged beyond 35%. This study examines why anti-immigrant animosity remained stable at low levels, even receded, amidst such inauspicious conditions. Our explanatory model expects increasingly adverse pressures of perceived group-threat on natives’ sentiment toward immigrants to be compensated by increasingly benign impact of various benevolent predispositions and situational perceptions. To test these assumptions, we compute a repeated logistic regression model, discern coefficient from sample effects and examine time-trends among vulnerable populations; data were collected at the crisis’ onset (2008) and nadir (2013). Defying expectations, neither perceived group-threat nor principled pro-immigration credos (Universalism; pro-diversity) were found to affect the evolution of anti-immigrant sentiment appreciably throughout the economic downturn; however, ideological polarisation and elite-bashing yielded increasingly benign impact. These findings suggest that intergroup tensions were kept latent by a dynamics of political competition that has side-lined immigration as salient social issue: the prevalence of anti-austerity, anti-corruption political rhetoric contributed to pre-empting anti-immigrant sentiment.

Adsorption of nutrients on natural Spanish clays for enriching seed coatings

Coating seeds with nutrients remains an effective way of supplying fertilizers for the establishment and development of seedlings. Clays have been proposed, among other coating materials, because of their low price and favorable properties. Nine natural clays (R1-R9), collected in the eastern Andalusian region (south of Spain), were evaluated for the retention of P, Mn and Zn, with the ultimate goal of designing enriched seed coatings. The clays were similar in composition, with high Ca content. Various equations were used for the fitting of kinetic and adsorption data. Adsorption rates of Mn were higher with R2, R6 was the clay in which Zn exhibited the most rapid kinetics, while P was adsorbed on R7 at the highest rate. Slower adsorption rates corresponded in all cases to Zn. The pseudo-second order model adequately explained the experimental kinetic data of Mn, Zn and P on the different sorbents. Adsorption isotherms indicated that the maximum adsorption capacity on the analyzed clays was ranged as Zn > Mn > > P. Clays were able to retain nutrients for long periods of time (up to 96 days) and desorption was inversely related with adsorption. Simultaneous addition on selected clays of Zn and Mn led to significantly higher nutrient desorption. The co-presence in clays of various compounds (nutrients and/or pesticides) affected their release, so this aspect deserves special attention in coating design. Results obtained suggest the feasibility of using these clay materials enriched with nutrients for seed coating.

Productivism and Post-Productivism in the Olive Groves of Southern Spain

Abstract This work examines changes in the cultivation of olive groves in the region of Andalusia since the accession of Spain to the European Common Market (1986). The first phase is marked by the triumph of productivism in which some of the basic elements of this model (specialisation and intensification) are overwhelming, according to the statistical sources used for this research, although the behaviour in terms of corporate concentration can be considered unique. Also notable, as we will explain later, are other less desirable effects of the process, which can currently be considered environmentally unsustainable. As the weaknesses and contradictions of the model have become evident, in the recent years - as a result of the new stimuli provided by the Common Agricultural Policy - more attention is paid to the opportunities offered by rural development. For the moment, the results of this approach have been limited, although the 2015-2020 planning period could be decisive for its reorientation.

Socioeconomic Factors of Immigrants’ Location Choices. Evidence for the South of Europe

This paper takes as a reference, empirical analyses conducted in northern European countries and the United States which associate socioeconomic factors to the location patterns of immigrants. It has been suggested that the socioeconomic context of southern Europe could impact immigrants’ location choices. We analyze data on the location of immigrants in municipalities of the Andalusian region in southern Spain with respect to the factors that most influence immigrants’ location preferences as discussed in the literature: a pre-existing immigrant community, economic dynamism, population size and other scarcely investigated factors such as the territorial characteristics of the municipality and its productive structure. We conclude that immigrant location patterns in Andalusia are very similar to those found in geographical areas outside Spain, with the exception of specific characteristics related to the social and labor model of the region.

Dynamic participation processes for policy packaging in transport backcasting studies

Scenario analysis is particularly useful when major changes are required to reach climate change goals over a longer time period. Backcasting provides one approach to develop policy packages that together will help achieve these objectives, but one missing element has been the role that stakeholder engagement can play in the identification of suitable policy measures, in the packaging process, and in determining the suitability, the feasibility and the timescale involved. This paper develops a novel dynamic participatory process to address the policy-implementation gap through the engagement of practitioners, policy makers and researchers in a series of workshops that allow these issues to be discussed in an open deliberative process. The spatial context taken is the Andalusia region (Spain), where there is a clear policy desire to implement a sustainable transport strategy for 2050. The paper outlines the methodological process, the development of the policy pathways, the dialogue process, the refinement of the policy pathways, the final strategy, and it then reflects on the usefulness of stakeholder engagement in the policy formulation process.

A Multidimensional Functional Trait Approach Reveals the Imprint of Environmental Stress in Mediterranean Woody Communities

Water availability is one of the most important factors determining species distribution, plant community structure and ecosystem functioning. We explore how the functional structure of Mediterranean woody plant communities varies along a regional gradient of aridity in the Andalusian region (south Spain). We question whether communities located in more arid sites show more similarity in their functional structure when compared with communities located in wetter sites or whether, instead, there is divergence in their functional spaces. We selected five aridity zones (three sampling sites per zone) and measured 13 traits of different functional dimensions (including leaf, stem and root traits) in 74 woody plant species. We quantified functional space differences using the n-dimensional niche space approach (hypervolume). We found a larger functional space for the wetter communities compared with the more arid communities, which showed greater overlap of the trait space occupation. Our results indicate that aridity acts as a key abiotic filter affecting various metrics of the community trait structure, in accordance with the plant economics spectrum. We have also documented consistent variation in the functional space, supporting lower functional diversity under more harsh climatic conditions. The trend of functional space variation along the aridity gradient was different when considering traits from only one plant organ. Thus, the filtering process driving the functional structure of the communities studied here largely depends on the trait axis considered; for example, the root dimension showed considerable variation in wet environments, whereas the leaf dimension exhibited a larger functional space in the drier habitats.

Association between executive function and outcome measure of treatment in therapeutic community among cocaine dependent individuals

The aim of this study was to examine the association between baseline executive functioning and outcome measure of treatment in 226 cocaine dependent individuals who initiated treatment in therapeutic communities TCs. The study was conducted across six TCs located in the region of Andalusia (southern Spain). Neuropsychological testing included tests of working memory, reasoning, inhibition, switching, attention interference and decision making. The outcome measures were type of discharge (treatment dropout vs. therapeutic discharge) and clinical impression of the TC outcome (clinically significant vs. non-significant changes). In the present study a prospective comparative design was used. We found significant performance differences on selective executive components which account for the type of discharge: treatment quitters had poorer attention response inhibition and attention switching than non-quitters, and the individuals who failed to achieve therapeutic objectives had poorer attention interference and inhibitory control than compliers. No significant differences were found between the outcome measure and the neuropsychological performance score on the other tasks. The results provide important information about the impact of executive components on in-treatment follow-up outcomes among dependence disorders in TC.

Impact of changes in mean and extreme temperatures caused by climate change on olive flowering in southern Spain

ABSTRACTDue to the severe increase projected in future temperatures and the great economic and social importance of olive growing for vast agricultural areas in the Mediterranean Basin, accurate climate change impact assessment on olive orchards is required. The aim of this study is to assess the flowering date and the impact of mean and extreme temperature events on olive flowering in southern Spain under baseline and future climate conditions. To that end, experimental data were obtained from ten olive genotypes: six well‐known olive cultivars in the region, one cultivar, ‘Chiquitita’, obtained via conventional breeding, and three wild olives from the Canary Islands. A site‐specific model calibration was conducted resulting in satisfactory performance with an average error of 2 days for flowering date estimation under baseline and future climate conditions, and a RMSE equal to 5.5 days in the validation process. The outputs from 12 regional climate models from the ENSEMBLES European project with a bias correction in temperature and precipitation were used. Results showed an advance in the olive flowering dates of about 17 days at the end of the 21st century compared with the baseline period (1981–2010), and an increase in the frequency of extreme events around the flowering period. A spatial analysis of results identified the areas in southern Spain that are most vulnerable to climate change impact caused by the lack of chilling hours accumulation (areas located on the Atlantic coast and the south‐eastern coast) and by the occurrence of high temperatures during the flowering period (areas located in the north and north‐eastern areas of the Andalusian region).

Spatial and Trend Analyses of Rainfall Seasonality and Erosivity in the West of Andalusia (Period 1945–2005)

Rainfall analyses are essential to evaluate the risk of soil erosion by water. Seasonality and concentration of precipitation need to be considered in the assessment of erosive potential of the rainfall. Spatial variations and trends in annual rainfall, seasonality and rainfall erosivity, have been studied in this work for the Western region of Andalusia in order to improve the analysis of soil degradation associated with erosivity and to determine potential alterations related to climate change. The present study is based on data from monthly rainfall recorded in the period 1945 to 2005 in a total of 225 rain-gauge stations spread all over region. Rainfall seasonality has been obtained by means of the use of two seasonality indices: (i) the Walsh and Lawler index (SI) and (ii) the precipitation concentration index (PCI). Soil erosion risk has been determined estimating the erosivity by the Modified Fournier Index (MFI). For each year, the SI, PCI, MFI, and precipitation values for different seasons (fall, winter, spring, summer, fall-winter, and spring-summer) were calculated. The time-series trend of the annual and seasonal precipitation and the annual values of the SI, PCI, and MFI indices have been examined by using the nonparametric Mann-Kendall test. The results show a marked seasonality in the rainfall. A small, although relevant, fraction of the area has a high erosivity index. Finally, a decreasing trend in the spring-summer rainfall has been detected in 72% of the rain gauges considered.