Spanish Case Research Articles

Participation in bilingual education programs as a key factor to linguistic success: the Spanish case

As in other countries, bilingual/multilingual education has become widespread in Spain. However, research either focuses on Spanish programs’ implementation, students’ performance or teacher training, but not on their contribution to graduates’ self-perceived linguistic success (understood as a combination of intercultural competence, international mobility and employability). Therefore, this paper studies whether Spanish bilingual education results in higher self-perceived competences. An instrument examining these three elements is applied, and Facebook Audience Insights is used for sample targeting. Findings prove that Spanish bilingual education graduates have higher self-perceived intercultural competence and international mobility. In terms of gender, women who have participated in Spanish bilingual education show higher self-perceived intercultural competence, whereas men who have studied in these programs consider themselves more interculturally competent and mobile. Conversely, there is no evidence of more positive self-perceived employability than in monolingual education. All in all, participation in a Spanish bilingual program is demonstrated to be an influential factor in self-perceived global linguistic success, employability, and intercultural competence.

Fine tuning European geographic quality labels, an opportunity for horticulture diversification: A tentative proposal for the Spanish case

European horticulture, especially in the southern states, must exploit new qualities to increase the added value of its vegetables. This article aims to analyze the situation of the European geographical quality labels Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) to ascertain whether they are useful for this purpose. To this end, we studied the registers of the current horticultural products awarded PDO or PGI status, and we surveyed the authorities responsible for managing the labels for these products. We found that protected labels have grown steadily since their inception about thirty years ago, becoming a powerful mechanism for landrace conservation and a source of added benefits. The strongest points in the management of these labels include anchoring the products in the local history and culture roots and defining the prominent characteristics of their external appearance, and the weakest points are the lack of information about chemical traits and especially about sensory traits (texture, odor, taste). To strengthen PDO and PGI labels, we propose increasing the requirements for sensory descriptions, homogenizing protocols for analyzing sensory traits, incorporating methods combining trained sensory panels and instrumental methods such as spectroscopy, and involving public administrations in both obtaining and managing the labels. As an example of the potential impact of European geographical labels on territorial rebalancing and the organization of European horticulture, we propose a panoply of products in Spain that are good candidates for protected status.

Addressing the potential for improvement of urban building stock: A protocol applied to a Mediterranean Spanish case

Current plans to combat the environmental global impact of the building sector have encouraged research on sustainable actions for increasing the renovation rate of many buildings whose performance is far from meeting current energy standards.This paper presents a protocol for analysing the existing residential stock towards planning building upgrading actions. A Geographic Information System with building-related data is used to assess the housing stock following a bottom-up approach. The urban study sample is established using several criteria at building level. The potential for improvement of buildings is ascertained using DOE 2.2 energy models which incorporate standard passive strategies to reduce the current primary energy demand and the associated CO2 emissions.The protocol is applied to the existing public housing developments built in the southern Spanish city of Córdoba, under Mediterranean conditions, during the urban expansion period which spanned 1951–1980.The extrapolation of results to the urban study sample shows a 25 % reduction in CO2 emissions and a 40 % decrease in annual energy demand. Furthermore, the impact of typology and position on the energy behaviour of a given building is acknowledged.The benefits achieved aim to help stakeholders in the implementation of energy retrofitting urban plans.

Energy-carbon-investment payback analysis of prefabricated envelope-cladding system for building energy renovation: Cases in Spain, the Netherlands, and Sweden

Buildings have become a major concern because of their high energy use and carbon emissions. Thus, a material-efficient prefabricated concrete element (PCE) system was developed to incorporate construction and demolition waste as feedstock for residential building energy renovation by over-cladding the walls of old buildings. By conducting life cycle assessment and life cycle costing using the payback approach, this study aims to explore the life cycle performance of energy conservation, carbon mitigation, and cost reduction of the PCE system in three European member states: Spain, the Netherlands, and Sweden. The results show that the energy payback periods for Spain, the Netherlands, and Sweden were 20.45 years, 17.60 years, 19.95 years, respectively, and the carbon payback periods were 23.33 years, 16.78 years, and 8.58 years, respectively. However, the financial payback periods were less likely to be achieved within the building lifetime, revealing that only the Swedish case achieved a payback period within 100 years (83.59 years). Thus, circularity solutions were considered to shorten the PCE payback periods. Using secondary materials in PCE fabrication only slightly reduced the payback period. However, reusing the PCE considerably reduced the energy and carbon payback periods to less than 6 years and 11 years, respectively in all three cases. Regarding cost, reusing the PCE shortened the Swedish payback period to 29.30 years, while the Dutch and Spanish cases achieved investment payback at 42.97 years and 85.68 years, respectively. The results can be extrapolated to support the design of sustainable building elements for energy renovation in Europe.

Higher education, regional growth and cohesion: insights from the Spanish case

ABSTRACT In this paper we study the link between regional economic growth and higher education development in a macroeconomic regression for a panel of Spanish regions between 1985 and 2016. The regional economic growth is measured as gross domestic product growth per capita, whereas higher education development is calculated by the growth rate of the total enrolments. We find that higher education growth has a positive impact on the regional macroeconomic growth. As this effect is more intense in less wealthy regions, we may conclude that higher education plays a positive role in regional economic and social cohesion.

Health Care Systems: Organization and Response to COVID-19 with a Focus on Spain

This paper offers an overview of defining traits of national health care systems, and remarks on how to evaluate their performance in the current COVID-19 crisis. Beyond a description of the different health care provision schemes, we offer a critical review of some of the key considerations to account for in evaluating the performance of national health care systems during the pandemic. The text is organized in three parts. Part 1 provides an overview of the classification of international health care systems, and the role of the public sector in health care provision. These features condition the varying approaches taken to the pandemic and their relative effectiveness. Exploration of the particularities of the decentralized Spanish system concludes the part. Part 2 presents a snapshot of the financial situation of the systems before the impact of the pandemic. Part 3 reviews a set of factors that ought to be considered in performance evaluations of the COVID-19 response, with emphasis on the Spanish case as an illustrative example. These factors include caution in evaluating outcomes (cases, deaths), and the importance of accounting for the political and baseline demographic and socioeconomic factors that have shaped the severity of the pandemic in each country, among others.

Forging Political Cadres for Re-Peasantization: Escuela de Acción Campesina (Spain)

Bolstering the political formation of agrarian organizations has become a priority for La Vía Campesina and the Food Sovereignty Movement. This paper addresses the Spanish case study of the Escuela de Acción Campesina (EAC)—(Peasant Action School), which is a tool for political formation in the Global North in which the philosophical and pedagogical principles of the “peasant pedagogies” of the Training Schools proposed by La Vía Campesina are put into practice within an agrarian organization in Spain and in alliance with the rest of the Spanish Food Sovereignty Movement. The study was carried out over the course of the 10 years of activist research, spanning the entire process for the construction and development of the EAC. Employing an ethnographic methodology, information was collected through participant observation, ethnographic interviews, a participatory workshop, and reviews of internal documents. The paper presents the context in which the EAC arose, its pedagogical dynamics, the structure and the ideological contents implemented for the training of new cadres, and how there are three key areas in the training process: (1) the strengthening of collective union and peasant identity, (2) training in the “peasant” ideological proposal, and (3) the integration of students as new cadres into the organizations’ structures. It is concluded that the EAC is a useful tool in the ideological re-peasantization process of these organizations.

Public sector, open innovation, and collaborative governance in lockdown times. A research of Spanish cases during the COVID-19 crisis

PurposeThis paper aims to study the results of open innovation initiatives in Spain under the lockdown during the first stages of the COVID-19 crisis. Based on the most recent literature on open innovation in the public sector, this paper explores the following research questions, namely, what are the key features of collaborative governance processes that guided open innovation initiatives in the Spanish public sector during the COVID-19 crises? How open public innovation cases generated public value to the society during the COVID-19 crises in Spain?Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on two in-depth case studies of open innovation in the public sector: the collaborative platform Frena la Curva and the hackathon Vence al Virus, both launched during the first moments of the COVID-19 crisis. The methodology is based on 13 semi-structured interviews, content observation and documentary analysis. The data were interpreted according to the dimensions described in the analytical framework: descriptive dimensions of both initiatives but also their degree of elaboration, incentives and objectives, characteristics of governance and collaboration between actors and challenges for the accountability processes; and finally, their procedural legitimacy, considering the COVID-19 crisis context.FindingsThe results of the study show that citizens have played a key role during the hardest stage of the crisis, collaborating with governments and advancing their innovative capabilities, mostly in the digital sphere. The analysis also identified different outcomes, including the improvement of citizen’s involvement, deliberation practices or network building. Besides, this paper has identified some limitations and barriers to open innovation and collaborative governance processes in terms of accountability and legitimacy of these initiatives. Here, their contribution was constrained by the emerging stage of implementation and by the unique circumstances of the lockdown under the COVID-19 crisis.Research limitations/implicationsFuture advancements of open innovation initiatives to consolidate collaborative governance processes will need further exploration. Although this paper diversified the contacts and the data collection in the fieldwork to avoid social biases, the results of the interviews might reflect very positive outcomes. Despite the case studies that took place during the COVID-19 crisis and their planned actions to maintain their existence, the post-crisis analysis will be needed to assess the impact of these open innovation cases in collaborative governance structures.Practical implicationsOpen innovation is an emerging narrative and practice in the public sector requiring time and energy from public officials and managers. The study also highlighted the problem of how to legitimate open innovation cases in the public sector and the implications for their institutionalization. Public managers involved in these types of initiatives need to keep the momentum both inside and outside their organizations. Regarding the utilization of information and communications technologies (ICTs), open innovation processes do not need technology to develop their full potential, whereas the COVID-19 crisis and the ongoing digitalization of work settings, accessibility, etc., could transform ICTs into a critical tool for public managers leading innovation initiatives within their organizations.Social implicationsThe social implications of this paper are manifold. This study provides evidence of one of the future avenues of public management: open innovation. New avenues for the involvement and collaboration of citizens with public authorities are another social implication pinpointed by this paper. Democratic legitimacy and procedural accountability are assessed using the open innovation case studies during the COVID-19 crisis. Finally, transforming governments using collaborative platforms deserves social oversight understanding if they really contribute to build trust in political institutions.Originality/valueDespite their differences, both Frena la Curva and Vence al Virus demonstrated the potential and limitations of public innovation and collaborative governance to cope with an unprecedented crisis such as the COVID-19. The special features of this emergency, including the long period of confinement, posed challenges and also opportunities to develop these initiatives: as several interviewees stated, these projects helped to channel the civic energy to co-produce solutions in collaboration with a wide range of actors. Data allow us to identify the key features of collaborative governance that guided open innovation initiatives in the Spanish public sector during the COVID-19 crisis.

Differences in sleep duration in a territory with the same time zone according to the geographic longitude: the Spanish case

Objective/BackgroundIn some territories, such as Spain, daytime starts with around 1 h of difference between the easternmost and westernmost areas, but the time zone is the same in these areas. This difference might have an effect on children's sleep. The aim of this study is to assess if there are differences in the prevalence of short sleep duration between children under 15 years from easternmost (Catalonia) and westernmost (Galicia) continental territory areas in Spain. MethodsCross-sectional study using data from the 2017 Spanish National Health Survey (n = 6106). The final sample includes 1004 children under 15 years living in Catalonia and Galicia. We categorized sleep duration according to the National Sleep Foundation recommendations with respect to age in (1) not short sleep duration and (2) short sleep duration. We calculated overall percentages of short sleep duration, and unadjusted and adjusted Prevalence Ratios (PR) with 95% Confidence Intervals (95% CI), according to area and stratified by confounders and covariates. Unadjusted and adjusted PR were obtained through generalized linear models with Poisson family and robust variance. We adjusted the associations for confounders. ResultsChildren from Galicia were less likely to have short sleep duration than children from Catalonia, aPRGalicia = 0.61 (95% CI: 0.45,0.83). ConclusionsChildren living in the same country, potentially with a similar timetable, could be having shorter sleep durations according to their longitude position. Further studies are needed in order to consider promoting policies to apply timetables based on the sun position instead of on the national time zone.

Linguistic innovation during the COVID-19 pandemic: the Spanish language case

The paper contributes to the study of the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has produced and is producing at the present moment on the Spanish language. The impact is, of course, reflected at the lexical level as many new words and expressions have been coined to designate segments of new extralinguistic reality generated by the pandemic and the “new normal”. The article analyses recent “pandemic” updates of the Spanish Royal Academy dictionary electronic version DLE 23.4 and “covidic” neologisms and occasionalisms from semantical and morphological points of view.

Recent Trends in Investment Arbitration Concerning Legitimate Expectations

Abstract The article addresses how the obligation not to frustrate legitimate expectations has been interpreted and applied in recent investment disputes arising out of amendments in domestic regimes in the renewable energies sector. The analysis will address cases against Czechia, Italy and Spain, the Countries currently facing the majority of disputes for alleged breaches of the Energy Charter Treaty. Jurisdictional issues related to the case law at hand, such as those stemming from intra-EU arbitration, will not be addressed. The contribution is divided in three parts, next to the introduction. First, the notion of legitimate expectations will be analysed. Second, the Czech, Italian and Spanish cases will be addressed, briefly sketching the respective domestic legal frameworks. As a conclusion, it will be suggested that tribunals have considered the fact that a State is exercising its regulatory power, and a potential lack of investors’ due diligence, in diminishing the quantum of compensation, and that such case law adds to the establishment of general “interpretative elements” of FET.

Tracking the impact of COVID-19 on economic inequality at high frequency.

Pandemics have historically had a significant impact on economic inequality. However, official inequality statistics are only available at low frequency and with considerable delay, which challenges policymakers in their objective to mitigate inequality and fine-tune public policies. We show that using data from bank records it is possible to measure economic inequality at high frequency. The approach proposed in this paper allows measuring, timely and accurately, the impact on inequality of fast-unfolding crises, like the COVID-19 pandemic. Applying this approach to data from a representative sample of over three million residents of Spain we find that, absent government intervention, inequality would have increased by almost 30% in just one month. The granularity of the data allows analyzing with great detail the sources of the increases in inequality. In the Spanish case we find that it is primarily driven by job losses and wage cuts experienced by low-wage earners. Government support, in particular extended unemployment insurance and benefits for furloughed workers, were generally effective at mitigating the increase in inequality, though less so among young people and foreign-born workers. Therefore, our approach provides knowledge on the evolution of inequality at high frequency, the effectiveness of public policies in mitigating the increase of inequality and the subgroups of the population most affected by the changes in inequality. This information is fundamental to fine-tune public policies on the wake of a fast-moving pandemic like the COVID-19.

Introducing a Degrowth Approach to the Circular Economy Policies of Food Production, and Food Loss and Waste Management: Towards a Circular Bioeconomy

There is a growing debate surrounding the contradiction between an unremitting increase in the use of resources and the search for environmental sustainability. Therefore, the concept of sustainable degrowth is emerging aiming to introduce in our societies new social values and new policies, capable of satisfying human requirements whilst reducing environmental impacts and consumption of resources. In this framework, circular economy strategies for food production and food loss and waste management systems, following the Sustainable Development Goals agenda, are being developed based on a search for circularity, but without setting limits to the continual increase in environmental impacts and resource use. This work presents a methodology for determining the percentage of degrowth needed in any food supply chain, by analyzing four scenarios in a life cycle assessment approach over time between 2020 and 2040. Results for the Spanish case study suggested a degrowth need of 26.8% in 2015 and 58.9% in 2040 in order to achieve compliance with the Paris Agreement targets, highlighting the reduction of meat and fish and seafood consumption as the most useful path.

Analysis of the effect of COVID-19 on air pollution: perspective of the Spanish case.

The pandemic caused by coronavirus COVID-19 is having a worldwide impact that affects health and the economy and indirectly affects air pollution in cities. In Spain, the effect has evolved from being anecdotal in January 2020 to become the second country in Europe with the highest number of cases (614,000 cases by 17/09/2020), which has affected the health system and caused major mobility restrictions. In contrast, COVID-19 has affected air pollution and energy consumption in the country. This article analyzes the indirect effect produced by this pandemic on air pollution, referenced to various stages that occurred in Spain: first stage, without public awareness of COVID-19 impact (mid-January 2020); second is when Spanish Government alerted (late February 2020); and third, after the decree of alarm and mobility restriction of citizens by the government (March 2020) along with the various phases of the de-escalation. The indirect effect produced by this pandemic on air pollution in Spanish cities has been resulted in a decrement of 70% to 80% of average, taking into account dates after the decree of alarm and mobility restriction by the Spanish government (14/03/2020), compared to days prior to that date. Thus, the results of this analysis indicate a significant alteration in air pollutants; these alteration patterns have followed similar paths over different countries worldwide improving the air quality as discussed by Dutheil et al. (Environ Pollut (Barking, Essex: 1987) 263:114466, 2020).

Post-COVID-19 travel behaviour patterns: impact on the willingness to pay of users of public transport and shared mobility services in Spain

BackgroundThe COVID-19 crisis has meant a significant change in the lifestyle of millions of people worldwide. With a lockdown that lasted almost three months and an impulse to new normality, transport demand has suffered a considerable impact in the Spanish case. It is mandatory to explore the effect of the pandemic on changes in travel behaviour in post-COVID-19 times.MethodologyA nationwide survey was carried out during the lockdown in Spring 2020 to overview the recent changes. The survey collected both stated preferences (socio-demographic characteristics and mobility-related attributes), and revealed preferences (individuals’ habits, especially in the frequency of the trips according to the trip purpose, and opinions regarding the willingness and acceptability of these changes, and which actors would have to drive them, and how) of individuals. This paper aims to study and understand the willingness to adopt a set of measures to improve the safety conditions of public transport and shared mobility services against possible contagion from COVID-19 and the willingness to pay for them.ResultsThe results obtained show that some measures, such as the increase of supply and vehicle disinfection, result in a greater willingness to use public transport in post-COVID-19 times. Similarly, the provision of covers for handlebars and steering wheels also significantly increases individuals’ willingness to use sharing services. However, respondents expect that these measures and improvements would be implemented but maintaining the same pre-COVID-19 prices. The results of this research might help operators deploy strategies to adopt their services and retain users.

Competitiveness and overtourism: a proposal for an early warning system in Spanish urban destinations

The tourism industry is undergoing accelerated changes that pose significant challenges for both destination and business managers as well as for researchers of the tourism phenomenon. Two of these challenges that are particularly relevant are the emergence of the sharing economy and its influence on the degree of overtourism perceived in the tourist destinations. This paper addresses the subject through the use of machine learning techniques. The findings show that machine learning techniques are especially well-suited tools for dealing with these kinds of tourism issues. The findings also show that for the Spanish case, tourism competitiveness is a key predictor of overtourism

Assessment of Cold Ironing and LNG as Mitigation Tools of Short Sea Shipping Emissions in Port: A Spanish Case Study

By the end of 2025 European ports are required to provide (Directive 2014/94/EU) facilities to ensure the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) use and on-shore electricity supply for vessels (Cold Ironing—CI). Even though this involves considerable port investment, many uncertainties about CI and LNG performance exist because their application depends on vessel operators’ willingness. Additionally, lag times for CI connection/disconnection along with methane emissions from LNG undermine their feasibility for Short Sea Shipping (SSS). Since, among the SSS aims are the reduction in berthing times and its effectiveness for-inter-islands’ traffic where, land electricity grids are frequently dependent on the fuel burning generation by penalizing the CI performance. This paper introduces a calculation method to evaluate the pollution savings in monetary terms by CI and LNG use in SSS. The method is applied to three European routes by testing the environmental performance of two fleets: feeder and Ro-Pax vessels. The results show that feeders reach higher environmental improvements by using port mitigation than Ro-Pax vessels. Additionally, the need for ensuring the sustainability of on-shore grids before the CI implementation was evinced, especially in insularity frameworks, where the environmental benefits from LNG use proved to be more effective.

Initial Needs Assessment in Intergenerational Centers. Reflections from a Spanish Case

ABSTRACT Initial needs assessment can be useful for obtaining information about the issues that should be addressed in newly launched intergenerational centers. However, there are few examples of how such studies should be conducted. This paper shares insights and lessons learned during a needs assessment study conducted nine months after the inauguration of an intergenerational shared site in Spain. In addition to presenting the needs identified, such as accurate and complete job descriptions, the paper offers methodological recommendations to practitioners embarking upon a similar needs study. The value of needs assessment as an educational endeavor is also highlighted.

The Digital Transformation of the Talent Management Process: A Spanish Business Case

The digital transformation means that companies are redefining the process of talent management. Previous models involved functions, practices and processes that ensured a correct flow of employees towards key positions or a generic talent management view. The digital breakthrough, together with the growing panorama of competition for talent in the market, requires a different focus to enable well-grounded and agile decision-making processes in a sustainable world. The current research considers the functions that applied research has established as the limits of talent management, and that are the key topics in an employee life cycle, namely, talent attraction and acquisition, training, evaluation, and development. In addition, new tools such as employee advocacy and/or brand ambassadors have been added towards to draw conclusions about the future trends of talent management. This article examines the employee life cycle of talent attraction, and acquisition, training, evaluation, and development in the study of the main digital tools utilized in the Spanish market, by both national and multinational corporations. The results indicate that future investments are needed to correlate the digital tools and take advantage of a better employee life cycle management. The main results show a rapid increase in the number and variety of tools used in the talent acquisition process, an expanded use of social networks to enhance the scope of those processes, and conversely, a minor use of digital tools for both talent development and talent retention processes.

The symbolic representation of women’s political firsts in editorial cartoons

ABSTRACT Women’s breakthroughs in public office provide a stage for the symbolic re-enactment of ideas about women’s political presence and about gendered social constructions related to women’s and men’s leadership qualities. Drawing on gendered mediation studies in print media and using content and discourse analysis, we investigate the symbolic representation in editorial cartoons of women occupying for the first time historically male-dominated political offices. Our empirical analysis of the Spanish case finds no systematic symbolic annihilation of these historic firsts. Women’s political breakthroughs are more often acknowledged than omitted but their portrayal is not free from trivialization, particularly by conservative cartoonists, who are also more likely to condemn trailblazers to scandalize gender quotas. In a more positive light, gendered mediation seems to present a decreasing trend, thanks to both the normalization of women’s political presence and the rising public prominence of the feminist movement.