Life In Spain Research Articles

Joining Forces Toward Social Inclusion

The expansion of MOOCs (massive open online courses) is very much associated with instructors interested in the craft of teaching, innovating, and experimenting with different methods to improve and expand students’ learning experience. The Erasmus+ project MOONLITE has worked to create cross-institutional scenarios and new educational pathways for migrants and refugees, devising, among other things, two Spanish language MOOCs (LMOOCs). They are the product of the joint efforts of university academics, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and refugee support groups (RSGs), together with volunteers, refugees, and migrants, who formed a community in order to design courses that effectively addressed the needs of refugees and migrants arriving in Spain. Using a design thinking process, all parties involved attempted to collaboratively identify strategies and solutions to a given problem that might not be obvious upon first inspection; in this case, the specific linguistic needs of migrants and refugees arriving in a new country. Results show that this continuum of academics— NGOs/RSGs—volunteers—refugees/migrants was highly effective for the learners, with an overall completion rate in both MOOCs of 96%. The participants’ perception is that these MOOCs helped them in their goal of integrating into life in Spain in key situations, such as communicating in a job interview or understanding the process of looking for accommodation and completing bureaucratic procedures.

Assessing universal accessibility in Spanish beaches

Accessible tourism constitutes a current social priority for the World Tourism Organization and the European Network for Accessible Tourism. Trips to the beach are beneficial in terms of improved health and psychological well-being. They form an integral part of life in Spain, a country with the world's second highest number of tourist visitors and more than 3500 beaches. However, Spain does not have a common beach accessibility management policy. In this study, an analysis is made of the actual universal accessibility conditions of a selected sample of Spanish urban and semi-urban beaches which have received the most widely recognized quality certificates/awards for beaches: UNE 170001 Universal Accessibility Certification, Blue Flag, Blue Flag – Inclusive Beach, and Q for Quality Tourism. Beach evaluation was made through the development of a Beach Accessibility Index (BAI) on the basis of three categories: Equipment and infrastructures, Services, and Management. The main results indicate that Spanish beaches have universal accessibility needs that require improvement, with Management the most precarious aspect. None of the certificates/awards guarantee minimum universal accessibility conditions, although the best results were obtained for the UNE 170001 Universal Accessibility Certification. While examples of good practice do exist at local level, the results clearly suggest that a national approach is needed to standardize accessibility criteria.

Nydelsesturisme in extremis

In the 1950s, the Spanish beach initiated a process of radical change because the Franco regime decided to use the beach in an international branding of Spain as a tourist destination. This way the beach witnessed a cultural meeting between the Spaniards and the outsiders (the tourists) and an evolution of the infrastructure and cultural meaning of the Spanish beach began. In addition, international and national literature gave an account of this development and contributed to the symbolic understanding of beach life in Spain. This article shows how this evolution manifests itself in literary works by Carmen Laforet, Juan Goytisolo, Ernest Hemingway, James Michener and J.G. Ballard. It also argues that the Spanish beach due to its virgin nature as a tourist destination presupposed an open space, which demanded a new and particular meaning. The Spanish beach became synonymous with pleasure and sensuality and formed a parallel universe, which contrasted with the political reality of Spain. This development was taken to extremes in the literary testimonies and, it is argued, that the literary afterlife of the beach contributes to the cultural understanding of beach life in Spain today.

Spain’s suicide statistics: do we believe them?

There is a widespread belief that suicides around the world are under-counted. A substantial proportion of suicides may have been inappropriately registered as accidental or of undetermined cause or intent. There is reason to explore to what extent low suicide rates in some nations could be partly attributable to under-counting. Mortality statistics of most countries are available on-line. Numbers of suicide deaths in Spain, and in England and Wales (E & W), in male and female 5-year age groups, in each year between 2014 and 2018, were documented, along with deaths coded to ICD-10 accident or 'undetermined death' categories. Crude mortality rates were calculated using official population figures. Single year suicide, undetermined death, and non-transport accidental death rates of 12 other nations were calculated. Spain's crude suicide rate per 100,000 remains low (7.89) compared to other nations; its event of undetermined intent (EUI) death rate was 0.09 (contrasting with E & W's 1.74). Its accidental poisoning rate is much lower than that of E & W. The study showed much higher rates of ill-defined/unknown cause deaths in late life in Spain (both genders) than in E & W, and age-associated increases in accidental drowning rates parallel with increased suicide by drowning. Reportedly low suicide rates in Spain could be partly attributable to increased rates of 'hidden suicide' (accidental drowning, male accidental poisoning, and possibly ill-defined/unknown cause deaths, but not EUIs). It would be appropriate (and not just in Spain) to increase numbers of verbal and/or forensic autopsies in questionable 'undetermined' cases.

Factors and Beliefs that Condition the Attitude of Health Science Students towards End of Life in Spain and Bolivia: A Multicenter Study.

Health Science students in Spain and Bolivia should be trained in the management of the processes of death and dying of patients. The aim of this study was to examine the degree of training, self-perceived safety and preferences in relation to the care of terminal and non-terminal patients. It was a descriptive, cross-sectional, multicenter study with students of Medicine, Nursing and Physiotherapy in Spain and Bolivia. The following variables were evaluated: care preparation and emotional preparation to caring for terminally ill and non-terminally ill patients, the Death Attitude Profile Revised (PAM-R) and the Bugen Scale for Facing Death. The self-perceived preparation of students for caring for terminally ill patients can be considered “fair” (mean 2.15, SD 0.756), and this was also the case for their perceived emotional preparation (mean 2.19, SD 0.827). In contrast, the score obtained for their preparedness for treating non-terminal patients was higher (mean 2.99 and 3.16, respectively). Working with terminally ill patients, including terminal or geriatric cancer patients, was the least preferred option among future health professionals. The results obtained show a limited preference for end-of-life care and treatment, highlighting a lack of preparation and motivation among health science students in Spain and Bolivia for working with these patients.

The discounted money value of human lives lost due to COVID-19 in Spain

PurposeTo estimate the discounted money value of human lives lost (DMVHL) due to COVID-19 in Spain.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs the human capital approach to estimate the DMVHL (assuming Spain's life expectancy of 83 years and a 3% discount rate) of the 20,453 human lives lost in Spain from COVID-19 as of 19 April 2020. Sensitivity analysis was conducted alternately assuming (a) 5% and 10% discount rate; and (b) global life expectancy of 72 years, and the world's highest life expectancy of 87.1 years.FindingsThe 20,453 human lives lost due to COVID-19 had a total DMVHL of Int$ 9,629,234,112, and an average of Int$ 470,798 per human life lost. Alternate re-estimation of the economic model with a 5% and 10% discount rates led to 19.8% and 47.4% reductions in the DMVHL, respectively. Re-calculation of the economic model using the global life expectancy of 72 years, while holding the discount rate constant at 3%, diminished the DMVHL by 41%. While the re-run of the same model using the world's highest life expectancy of 87.1 years instead, it increased the DMVHL by 18%.Research limitations/implicationsThe study omits the value of health systems inputs used in preventing, diagnosing and treating COVID-19 cases; and the negative impact of COVID-19 on the agriculture, education, finance, manufacturing, travel, tourism, and trade sectors.Social implicationsThere is a need to use this kind of evidence to advocate for increased investments into the strengthening of the national health system, IHR capacities, and coverage of safe water and sanitation facilities.Originality/valueIn Spain, no other study had attempted to estimate the net present value of human lives lost from COVID-19.

Research Review of the Tolerance of Muslims with Non-Muslims in Spain and its Impacts

Islamic ideology is the basis and source of Islamic state, which sets out the rights of Muslims as well as the Dhimmis. Islam teaches the tolerance and fairness to non-Muslims citizens. Islam gives the non-Muslims religious freedom. Quran says, “There is no compulsion in Faith”. Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) says, “If anyone wrongs a Mu'ahid, detracts from his rights, burdens him with more work than he is able to do, or takes something from him without his consent, I will plead for him on the Day of Resurrection”. Arab Muslims conquered Spain in 711 A.C. The Muslims defeated Christians there, while the Jews also existed there. When the Muslims (Moors) conquered this country, they behaved and treated the people here with fairness and tolerance. The tolerance of Muslims has had a profound impact on non-Muslims and the environment here. Many of non-Muslims converted to Islam with their own consent. Muslims gave them full enfranchise to worship according to their own religion; the priest did not need to hide their religious status. Muslim Spain had complete freedom of education which led to students coming from other countries for pursuit education. Non-Muslims adopted culture, living style and ways to dress of Muslims. They learned Arabic and began to read poetry in Arabic. Arabic literature translated into Hebrew and Latin by non-Muslims. In Muslim Spain there was freedom of expression. The Jewish scholar Ibn Naghrila spoke on the beliefs of Muslims under the Muslim rule in Spain.Hasdai ibn Shaprot (d.970) established a madrasa for Jews in Cordova to teach the Holy Scripture and Talmud. Katie Magnus (d.1924) says, “Like a dream in the night – Life in Spain”. Due to the tolerance of Muslims, Europeans became aware of civilization and from that time renaissance began. Muslims behaved non-Muslims with tolerance, contrary to non-Muslims, while they overcome on Muslims, wherever their attitude with Muslims is always regrettable. With the fall of the Muslim’s empire, Spain fell into the darkness of ignorance. Stanley lane-Poole (d.1931) says, “The Moors were banished, for a while the Christian Spain shone, like the Moon, with a borrowed light, then came the eclipse, and in that darkness Spain grovelled ever since”.

“I make Mexico at my home”: social media usage, diasporic discourse, and cultural endurance of Mexicans living in Barcelona, Spain

While many works have focused on Mexican migrants living in the United States of America, little attention has been paid to diasporic communities of Mexicans in Europe. The purpose of this article is to understand how social media serves as a link in between Mexicans living in Barcelona, Spain and their homeland, and how these migrants use the virtual spaces not only to share real-world information to improve their daily lives in Spain, but to preserve their cultural identity. Fieldwork consisted in 17 “in situ” semi-structured interviews to Mexicans living in Barcelona, whose ages are between 21- and 60-years during June and July of 2016. Subjects were contacted through a Facebook Group named “Mexicanos en Barcelona” (Mexicans in Barcelona) that has more than 5,000 members. This group is conformed not only by Mexicans living in Barcelona, but it also includes Mexicans in Mexico with the interest of studying, touring or working in the city.

Fatores associados ao uso de substâncias psicoativas em estudantes de uma universidade pública do sul do Maranhão

O uso de substâncias psicoativas (SPA) pela humanidade é extremamente antigo e seu consumo no decorrer da história possui amplas finalidades. No Brasil, o seu uso fez parte da cultura dos povos antigos na realização de rituais e festas, sendo um fenômeno conhecido desde os tempos da colonização portuguesa. O beber e a utilização de outras drogas fazem parte da cultura brasileira, traduzindo-se em um ato dinâmico que se modifica no intercurso do tempo e espaço. O presente trabalho se propõe a analisar uma parcela específica da população, assumindo que o uso de SPA é um comportamento relevante a ser considerado e estudado no Brasil contemporâneo. Essa parcela escolhida trata-se do público universitário que, devido ao seu protagonismo no desenvolvimento da sociedade, é merecedor de uma análise mais aprofundada para que se compreenda os fatores associados ao uso das drogas. Dentre os aspectos que justificam a escolha, está a vulnerabilidade a que essa parcela da população está sujeita, vez que o período de ingresso nas universidades, convenções sociais a serem cumpridas, festas com fácil acesso às drogas, pouca experiência social e necessidade de pertencimento a um grupo, fazem desta etapa da vida um cenário favorável ao contato e futuro envolvimento do estudante com essas substâncias. O presente trabalho se propôs a analisar os fatores associados ao “uso de SPA na vida” dentre universitários, através de uma amostra de 309 alunos, e utilizou como método de análise o preenchimento de questionários. Verificou-se que esses fatores são múltiplos e amplos, e abrangem hábitos sociais, familiares, religiosos, culturais e educacionais. Baseado nessa diversidade, o presente estudo sugere a necessidade de novas pesquisas para que se complementem os resultados obtidos e para que novas abordagens sejam desenvolvidas face à necessidade de mudança no ensino brasileiro em relação ao consumo de substâncias lícitas e ilícitas.

Norma E. Cantú, Caban?uelas: A Novel

Reviewed by: Cabañuelas: A Novel by Norma E. Cantú Ana Roncero-Bellido (bio) Norma E. Cantú, Cabañuelas: A Novel. University of New Mexico Press, 2019. Pp. 304. Cabañuelas: A Novel, by Norma Cantú, follows the adventures of Azucena “Nena” Cantú, whom we first met in Canícula: Snapshots of a Girlhood en la Frontera. In Cabañuelas, Nena travels to Madrid on a Fulbright scholarship to research the connections between the traditional festivities of Spain and those of southern Texas and northern Mexico. Readers follow Nena during her first days in Spain, sitting with her in the café where she has breakfast every day, walking with her to the National Library, and waiting with her for the texts she will examine at la colección de raros, the rare books reading room. Immersed in her reading at the Biblioteca Nacional, she soon realizes the best way to conduct her research is to travel to witness the celebrations herself and talk to the people participating in the fiestas she reads about. Cabañuelas then turns into an ethnographic account in which Cantú weaves different voices narrated in the third person and tells readers the fascinating history of many celebrations, such as the Falles de Valencia or the running of the bulls in Pamplona, as well as other religious holidays, like the festivity of Santa Águeda in Zamarramala (Segovia), Los Caballos del Vino honoring the Holy Cross in Caravaca (Murcia), and La Romería de la Virgen de la Cabeza, the dark-skinned virgin in Andújar (Jaén) who reminds Nena of La Virgen de Guadalupe (237). Intertwined with these ethnographic accounts illustrating the diversity of Spain and the commonalities among the fiestas in Spain, Texas, and Mexico is the personal account of the romance between Nena and Paco, a Spaniard with whom Nena experiences the post-Franco Spain not featured in the books she consults at the National Library. Strolls in El Retiro, one of Madrid’s most popular parks, nights at the opera and various tapas bars, and trips to cities such as Ávila, Barcelona, and Segovia allow readers to experience Spain through Nena’s eyes. Transcriptions of her most private correspondence with Paco unveil Nena’s most intimate thoughts. Photographs—of Nena’s family, friends, and other acquaintances; specific aspects of the festivities she studies; landscapes; historical monuments; and cultural artifacts—further immerse readers in Nena’s travels through Spain. It is with this combination of voices and genres that author and protagonist push readers to question [End Page 195] the boundaries between what is fictional and what is not, especially given the writer’s graphic and sincere language in the construction of the autobiographical I. The title of the novel, Cabañuelas, refers to a traditional method of forecasting the weather for the rest of the year based on the weather during the month of January. Nena learns this method from her father and will continue to refer to las cabañuelas during her time in Spain. This constant reference is but one of the main ways in which we see Nena’s homesickness for her family and for Laredo, her geographical, linguistic, and cultural borderlands. It is important to note that Nena’s account of her Fulbright adventure begins with her Christmas celebration at home, where her family makes her promise that she will come back after her trip. The weight of this promise will affect every aspect of Nena’s everyday life in Spain. Indeed, the transborder intercultural connections between Spain-Texas-Mexico are de/constructed not only through Nena’s research but also through many of her reflections about her life in Spain and her conversations with Paco about music, food, language, and culture, among other topics. The borderlands are integral to Nena, to her experiences, and to her writing, and Cabañuelas is a testament to this. Cantú uses Spanish throughout her text, mostly for specific concepts, festivities, and feelings, which are then paraphrased into the dominant language of the text, English. This bilingual writing further reconstructs the borderlands in which Nena finds herself through her research, her relationship with Paco, and her struggles to decide whether to stay in...

Travelling phonographs in fin de siècle Spain: recording technologies and national regeneration in Ruperto Chapí’s El fonógrafo ambulante

ABSTRACTThrough analysis of the zarzuela El fonógrafo ambulante (1899; music by Ruperto Chapí, libretto by Juan González), this article discusses how the arrival of recording technologies in Spain (1877–1900) was influenced by and in turn influenced discourses concerning modernity, regional difference and interregional mobility. With recent critical accounts of the early history of recording technologies having emerged mostly from the study of technologically advanced countries, this article is also a reminder of the role of cultural context: the study of the arrival of the phonograph in Spain indeed reveals how early users of recording technologies related their experiences to broader discourses of modernity and identity that had often been taken for granted elsewhere. Intended to entertain large contingents of people across a variety of social classes, El fonógrafo ambulante portrayed an aspect of late nineteenth-century life in Spain that its audiences would have been familiar with, that is, the travelling phonographs paraded through Spanish cities, towns and villages during the 1890s. The work also embodies views on sound-recording technologies which would have resonated with its audience – in accordance with zarzuela’s defense of an integrative, progressively industrialized, urban, somewhat relaxed in terms of social mores, yet still ideologically conservative Spain. In fact, whereas the arrival of a phonograph in an Andalusian village at the beginning of the zarzuela is initially presented as a potential danger to social practices, reservations are quickly overcome when it becomes clear that mobile recording technologies can make the Spanish pueblo thrive by encouraging mutual understanding between Spanish regions and ensuring the preservation of gender roles. However, El fonógrafo ambulante shies away from defending transformative uses of phonography that other, more regeneracionista sectors of the population anticipated; in doing so, it ultimately presents a sceptical view of modernity as the path to national regeneration.

The rediscovery of the Spanish Republic of Letters

ABSTRACTThis article provides a reappraisal of the history of proyectismo. Scholars have employed the concept to categorise early eighteenth-century Spanish authors and reforms, and have thereby severed them from their historical context. This article explores the imperial origins of this political culture by shedding light on the generation of knowledge in early eighteenth-century diplomatic and imperial spaces. The article focuses on the overlooked thinker Álvaro José Navia-Osorio y Vigil, Marquis of Santa Cruz de Marcenado (1684–1732) – long considered to be a proyectista – and his appeal to the Spanish Republic of Letters to assist him in his project for a universal dictionary; an enterprise that predated Chamber’s Cyclopedia and Diderot and D’Alembert’s Encyclopédie. Marcenado’s contributions to the establishment of Spanish intellectual connections with foreign thinkers were, moreover, symptomatic of the political approach of early eighteenth-century ilustrados – transterritorial, transnational, and transversal thinkers who drew on the peninsula’s ties with the Flanders and Italy to revitalise the intellectual life of Spain. These thinkers recovered the study of Muslim Spain, and envisioned the establishment of councils and academies in Mexico and Peru. The Spanish Enlightenment, then, originated in the early eighteenth-century from their rediscovery of the Spanish Republic of Letters.

Going It Alone in Later Life: A Comparative Analysis of Elderly Women in Sweden and Spain

This article compares the determinants of living alone in later life in Spain and Sweden, two countries with relatively similar levels of economic development from a global view point but different family systems and institutional contexts. With microdata coming from census (Spain) and linked administrative registers (Sweden), logistic regression techniques, including a nonlinear regression–based decomposition of differences between, are used to estimate the weight of different factors behind the residential choices of elderly women. Theoretical expectations are validated. Levels of living alone are associated with age, childlessness, marital status, and education in both populations. Population characteristics (compositions effects) explain only a small part of the differences in living alone between both countries, while behaviors (rate effects) account for the larger part of the variation. Therefore, among elderly women proximate determinants of living arrangements produce different outcomes in different sociocultural environments largely determined by existing family systems.

Gloria Fuertes: Poesía contra el silencio. Literatura, censura y mercado editorial (1954–1962) by Reyes Vila-Belda

Reviewed by: Gloria Fuertes: Poesía contra el silencio. Literatura, censura y mercado editorial (1954–1962) by Reyes Vila-Belda John Wilcox Vila-Belda, Reyes. Gloria Fuertes: Poesía contra el silencio. Literatura, censura y mercado editorial (1954–1962). Iberoamericana/Vervuert, 2017. Pp. 305. ISBN 978-8-48489-993-8. This detailed study, titled Gloria Fuertes: Poesía contra el silencio. Literatura, censura y mercado editorial (1954–1962), is divided into three parts. The first, chapters 1–3, is devoted to censorship in and of Fuertes’s early books of poetry. The second part, chapters 4–8, focuses on the oppression Spanish women suffered and ways Fuertes subverted a female writer’s marginalization. The third part, chapters 9–11, is a detailed review of the immense impact the Seix Barral publishing house had on renovating and internationalizing Spanish culture in the 1950s and 60s. For her analysis of post-Civil War censorship, Vila-Belda conducted extensive research in the holdings of the “Archivo General de la Administración” in Alcalá de Henares. She provides us with an illuminating account of the numerous facets of censorship and how Fuertes’s work was affected. She discusses topics the Regime deemed taboo and mentions that many books had to be published abroad. Focusing on Gloria Fuertes (1917–98), she notes her marginalization as a single woman, a lesbian—Fuertes’s “compañera” was the translator Phyllis Turnbull—and as a member of the working class who was preoccupied with social problems. Vila-Belda discusses where Fuertes found work, her TV performances, and her teaching (in the United States on a [End Page 148] Fulbright and in Madrid’s “Instituto Internacional”). There follows an overview of the three books that were censored: Antología y poemas del suburbio (37 poems, published in 1954 in Caracas, Venezuela); Todo asusta (30 poems, published in Caracas in 1958); Aconsejo beber hilo (70 poems, published in Madrid in 1954). It is quite fascinating to see the words and lines to which the censors objected. Vila-Belda provides a detailed commentary on the censorship of five poems in Aconsejo . . . (two of which see the light of day for the very first time in this study). Needless to say, these poems in no way inscribe the Regime’s arch-conservative role for women (house, home, kids, husband); they deal with poor, abused and lonely women, with prostitution, and with hunger and starvation. The study’s second section treats poetry as a subversive act. The Regime forbade writing about certain topics (e.g., the Civil War, death, suicide and burial). Vila-Belda provides detailed analyses of Fuertes’s poems on such topics and where they were censored. It is enjoyable to see how Fuertes at times was able to trick the censor and how she deconstructed the ubi sunt motif. Vila-Belda also examines in depth Fuertes’s testimonial and autobiographical poems: in a deliberate challenge to the Regime’s Pollyanna view of Spain, she incorporated into her texts the atrocious living conditions of the poor and downtrodden, and of starving children without shoes on their feet. An ingenious aspect of this discussion is Vila-Belda’s reading of how free verse foregrounds the horrors of post-Civil War life in Spain. Also, this critic’s study of Fuertes’s deployment of intertexts to resist the official Fascist culture is illuminating. The study’s second section concludes with an account of Fuertes’s public readings (in pubs, cafés, barrios, theaters), performances that were advertised on posters as “Versos con faldas,” in which Fuertes could read poems that had been censored or had only been published abroad. The third section of this study deals with the impact the publishing house Seix Barral had on culture in Spain from 1954 to 1964 with their “Biblioteca Breve,” their “Colliure” collection and with Castellet’s Veinte años de poesía española. Gloria Fuertes was the only woman published in the “Colliure” collection (with ten men), and no one less than Jaime Gil de Biedma was the anthologizer of the selection of Fuertes’s poetry that appeared in that collection in 1962. Seix Barral’s focus on social realism and its inclusion of...

Las últimas palabras by Carme Riera

Reviewed by: Las últimas palabras by Carme Riera Joan L. Brown Riera, Carme. Las últimas palabras. Alfaguara, 2017. Pp. 153. ISBN 978-8-42043-027-0. This work of historical fiction by Carme Riera, winner of Spain’s Premio Nacional de las Letras and member of the Royal Spanish Academy, is a short and riveting novel. It illustrates major trends in contemporary Spanish fiction: hybrid literature (mixing fiction with nonfiction), metafiction, and historical memory. It also demonstrates why Carme Riera is today’s pre-eminent living Spanish woman writer. Its beautiful sentences, tightly wound plot and wise cultural commentary make this a small jewel of a novel. Originally published in Catalan, this translation by the author makes a wonderful introduction to modern Mallorcan history, through the life of a man who helped make Mallorca (where Riera was born and raised) what it is today. For anyone who lives in Spain’s Balearic Islands, the name is familiar: Archduke Luis Salvador of Austria (1847–1915). A brilliant, fascinating and misunderstood figure, the Archduke discovered Mallorca in 1867 and lived there for much of his life. He was crucial to the island’s development. The Archduke wrote extensively about Mallorca’s resources and charms—writings that are credited with inaugurating tourism. He was an ecologist and a conservationist before those terms were invented, buying up huge tracts for preservation. The Archduke brought important artists, writers, scientists and even vintners to Mallorca (producing the island’s first prizewinning wines), raising the island’s visibility and becoming a hero to its residents. To commemorate the centennial of his death, 2015 was designated the Year of the Archduke in the Balearic Islands, with a major exhibition on his life and works in Palma de Mallorca. The title of this exhibition could also be the subtitle of this book: “Yo, el archiduque: el deseo de ir más lejos.” The novel is a fictional memoir that attempts to go beyond the often sensational facts of the Archduke’s biography, to explore what he was like as a man. Not coincidentally, the curator of that 2015 exhibition was none other than Carme Riera. In one of several metaliterary twists, an unnamed woman who resembles her appears in Part One, eager to acquire a long-hidden memoir that the Archduke dictated on his deathbed. Part Two is comprised of this found manuscript, dated 30 September 1915. The Archduke had forbidden its publication until everyone it mentioned was gone. Las últimas palabras reads like a detective novel. Instead of a murder, the mystery here has to do with unexplained aspects of the Archduke’s life. These facts are pieces of a puzzle that are gradually, tantalizingly assembled. The author knowingly plays with the reader’s knowledge of world history and of the Archduke’s biography, aware that in modern times readers approach [End Page 156] historical fiction with their laptops open. We know, or think we know, that the Archduke never married, that he dressed haphazardly and consorted with commoners, that his fiancée burned to death in front of his eyes when a cigarette ignited her dress, that he was attentive to his uncle the Emperor Franz Joseph, that he was fond of beautiful men as well as women, and that he left his fortune to the children of his assistant. Only some of these statements turn out to be true (no spoilers here) and even these “facts” have hidden elements—one being that the Archduke was actually a spy. Some historical events are recast in the Archduke’s telling, as he tries to correct misperceptions. He also adds personal details to events, such as the fact that he tried to prevent Francisco Fernando and Sofía from going to Sarajevo on the fateful day they were assassinated. Even more compelling than these historical exposés are the novel’s revelations about the Archduke. His recollections, faithfully recorded by his scribe Erwin, begin with the larger sphere of world history, which in his case is intertwined with Hapsburg family history. Gradually, over the course of his narrative—presented as one continuous flow, without divisions—the novel’s concentric circles move inward. An erudite and thoughtful man, the Archduke...

¿Qué sabemos de los estudiantes de los MOOC? Un estudio de caso

Este artículo presenta un estudio exploratorio inicial sobre el alumnado que cursó el MOOC titulado “Creación y retoque de imágenes con software libre”. Los cursos en línea masivos y abiertos (MOOC) se han popularizado en pocos años y cada vez son más las personas que los utilizan como medio de aprendizaje para su desarrollo personal y profesional. Su aparición ha venido acompañada de críticas debido a sus propias características, pero hay escasos estudios que preguntan a los estudiantes. A través de un método descriptivo se diseñó un cuestionario para recabar datos sobre las variables personales asociadas al alumnado del MOOC, sus motivaciones y el grado de satisfacción que manifestaron al término del proceso formativo. Los resultados obtenidos permitieron definir el perfil del alumno tipo, que es un hombre con estudios universitarios, de entre 26 y 45 años. Reside en España y trabaja por cuenta ajena. Ha realizado antes actividades formativas online y no es la primera vez que realiza un MOOC. El estudio concluyó que la motivación del alumnado para realizar el MOOC es la necesidad de mejorar su currículum y adquirir nuevos conocimientos. Motivación que se cumplió a tenor de los elevados niveles de satisfacción que manifestaron.

Child, Family, and Early Intervention Characteristics Related to Family Quality of Life in Spain

Family quality of life (FQoL) is considered one of the aims of early intervention (EI) services and a good indicator of service quality. Families were recruited from EI centers in 12 of 17 communities (states) in Spain. This study describes the FQoL of 250 Spanish families with children aged 0 to 6 years in EI services during a family-centered implementation process. We used an EI-specific FQoL scale that includes families’ perception of their child’s functioning as one factor. We also describe the relationships among individual, family, and service variables as well as FQoL. Type of disability, socioeconomic status, and family-centered practices impacted Child Functioning, Overall Life Situation, and Access to Information and Services factors, respectively. Fewer number of professionals involved was related with greater perception of child’s functionality. Family-centeredness, type of family, and type of disability were the most influencing variables for the Total score. Implications for practice are discussed.

Care of the newborn with perinatal asphyxia candidate for therapeutic hypothermia during the first six hours of life in Spain

The process of care and assistance from birth to the starting of therapeutic hypothermia (TH) is crucial in order to improve its effectiveness and prevent the worsening of hypoxic-ischaemic injury. A national cross-sectional study carried out in 2015 by use of a questionnaire sent to all level III units on the care of the newborn ≥ 35 weeks gestation within the first hours of life after a perinatal asphyxia event. According to clinical practice guidelines, the quality of care was compared between the hospitals that carried out or did not carry out TH, and according to the level of care. A total of 89/90 hospitals participated, of which 57/90 performed TH. They all used resuscitation protocols and turned off the radiant warmer after stabilisation. All of them performed glucose and blood gas analysis, monitored the central temperature, put the newborn on a diet, and performed at least two examinations for the diagnosis of hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy. Greater than one-third (35%) of hospitals did not have amplitude-integrated electroencephalogram, and 6/57 were TH-hospitals. The quality of care among hospitals with and without TH was similar, childbirth being better in those that performed TH, and those with a higher level of care. Level IIIc hospitals had higher scores than the others. The TH-hospitals mentioned not always having neonatologists with experience in neurological assessment and interpretation of amplitude-integrated electroencephalogram (25%), or in brain ultrasound (62%). In response to the recommendations of the asphyxiated newborn, there is a proper national health care standard with differences according to the level of care and whether TH is offered. More amplitude-integrated electroencephalogram devices are necessary, as well as more neonatologists trained in the evaluations that will be required by the newborn with hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy. El proceso asistencial hasta el inicio de la hipotermia terapéutica (HT) es crucial para mejorar su efectividad y prevenir el agravamiento del daño hipóxico-isquémico. Estudio transversal nacional realizado en 2015 mediante cuestionario a todas las unidades nivel iii sobre la asistencia al recién nacido (RN) con asfixia perinatal en las primeras horas de vida. Se comparó la calidad asistencial entre los hospitales que realizaban o no HT y según el nivel asistencial, de acuerdo a las guías de práctica clínica. Participaron 89/90 hospitales, 57/90 realizaban HT. Todos utilizaban protocolos de reanimación y apagaban la cuna tras estabilización. Fue universal realizar medición de glucemia y gasometría, monitorizar la temperatura, dejar al RN a dieta y realizar al menos 2 exploraciones para el diagnóstico de encefalopatía hipóxico-isquémica. El 35% no disponía de electroencefalograma integrado por amplitud; 6/57 eran hospitales que realizaban HT. La calidad asistencial entre los hospitales con/sin HT fue similar, siendo mejor la del parto en los que hacían HT, y la de aquellos con mayor nivel asistencial. El 25% de aquellos que realizaban HT no tenían neonatólogos con experiencia en la exploración neurológica o en la interpretación del electroencefalograma integrado por amplitud; ni en la realización de ecografía cerebral en el 62%. Atendiendo a las recomendaciones del RN asfíctico, existe un adecuado estándar asistencial nacional, con diferencias según el nivel asistencial y si realizan o no hipotermia. Son necesarios más equipos de electroencefalograma integrado por amplitud y formación de los neonatólogos en las evaluaciones que requerirá el RN con encefalopatía hipóxico-isquémica.

Maria dos Prazeres e Noi: à margem

Espantada com um sonho que teve, que segundo sua interpretação o veredito era de que sua morte estava próxima, Maria dos Prazeres, uma prostituta idosa, brasileira, que mora na Espanha desde jovem, cuida dos detalhes de seu sepultamento e treina seu cachorro Noi para ir visitá-la no túmulo e chorar por ela quando ela finalmente partir. “Maria dos Prazeres” é o sétimo conto da obra Doze contos peregrinos, de Gabriel García Márquez. Nesta obra podemos verificar que as personagens principais são latino-americanas e se encontram, por alguma circunstância, solitárias na Europa, sofrendo alguma desventura, peregrinando entre o velho e novo mundo. A proposta deste artigo é ler este conto considerando que as literaturas que florescem no subdesenvolvimento cultural adquirem lentamente a consciência nacional e universal, apresentando um olhar da margem, excêntrico, e então as literaturas latino-americanas deslocam-se das tradições europeias.

The Length of Working Life in Spain: Levels, Recent Trends, and the Impact of the Financial Crisis

While there has been considerable debate about extending the length of working life, relatively little is known about this issue. We use data from the Spanish Continuous Working Life Sample for 2004–2013 to calculate period working life tables, which in turn allows us to assess the impact of the financial crisis on working life expectancy in Spain. Before the recession hit, working life expectancy in Spain was around 38 years for males and 33 years for females. The recession had a tremendous impact on the Spanish labor market, but the effects differed considerably by gender and occupational category. Men working in skilled non-manual jobs were less affected, while men working in unskilled manual jobs lost close to 14 years of working life expectancy. Women were less affected than men. With working life expectancy decreasing, the average proportion of lifetime spent in unemployment and outside the labor market increased markedly, whereas the average number of years spent in retirement changed only a little. When we decompose losses in working life expectancy by age group, we find that economic fluctuations affect both older and younger workers. This result suggests that policies that focus on retirement ages only are incomplete. We also compare our findings to the results obtained by Sullivans method, which is based on prevalence rates rather than the incidence-based working life table approach. We find that the use of Sullivans approach does not accurately reflect the levels of and the trends in working life expectancy.