Spanish Councils Research Articles

Exploring Barriers to Innovation in Public Administration

This study deepens our knowledge on innovation barriers within Public Sector Innovation (PSI) processes in local governments. It analyzes the barriers to PSI from a mixed method approach using an original survey directed to innovation managers in the largest Spanish city councils and semi-structured interviews within a case study. This study shows the most relevant barriers to innovation in different stages of development, the strategies used to overcome these barriers and the relationships among them. This research contributes to PSI literature by shedding light on the barriers' dynamics and how they operate in local governments within contexts of high levels of digitalization. Results suggest a significant prevalence of institutional barriers, more common in countries with a Napoleonic administrative tradition, and uncover the relevance of politics and human resource management foster innovation at the local level.

Psychiatry resident physician duty hours, resting times and European Working Time Directive compliance in Spain

Introduction There is a growing interest in understanding the impact of duty hours and resting times on training outcomes and the well-being of resident physicians. Psychiatry resident’s duty hours in Spain comprise a regular working schedule of 37.5h per week and a minimum of 4 mandatory on-call shifts. The most recent duty hours regulations in Spain were transposed from the European Working Time Directive (EWTD). According to Spanish Law, doctors cannot work for more than 48h per week and need to have resting times per day (at least 12h), per week (at least 36h) as well as annual leave (at least a month). However, there is practically no data on this situation in psychiatry resident physicians.Objectives Our aim is firstly, to describe the number of shifts performed by psychiatry resident physicians in Spain. Secondly, to describe compliance with the daily and weekly rests compared to those set in national and European law. Finally, to analyse the difference by demographic variables (gender and year of residency), in both the number of on-call duty shifts and compliance with rests.MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional study was designed through an online survey adapted from the existing literature. The target population were Spanish psychiatry resident physicians undergoing PGT who started their specialist training during the years 2018–2021. The survey was disseminated through the Spanish regional medical councils to all active psychiatry resident physicians by mail as well as through informal communication channels. The study was authorised by the Spanish Medical Organization’s General Assembly which is the highest ethical and deontological body of physicians in Spain.Results 55 responses were obtained, of which 61.82% identified as females. The mean number of on-call shifts in the last 3 months was 14.05. This mean was highest in women 14,32 and in the cohort of 2020 15.46 (first year of residency). Among the resident physicians surveyed, 66.07% exceeded the 48h per week limit set by the EWTD and 7% of them did not rest after a 24-h on-call shift. Furthermore, 22% of respondents did not have a day-off after a Saturday on-call shift. The mean working hours when not resting after an on-call-shift were 7 hours. The comparison by gender and year of residency of the main variables can be seen in figures 1 and 2 respectively.Image:Image 2:ConclusionsPsychiatry resident physicians in Spain greatly exceed the established 48 h/week EWTD limit. Likewise, non-compliance with labour regulations regarding mandatory rest after on-call duty and minimum weekly rest periods are observed. Differences can be seen by gender and year of residency. The situation described could potentially create a high-risk situation for the health and psychosocial well-being of resident physicians, hinder learning outcomes and could lead to suboptimal patient care.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Financial sustainability and earnings manipulation: Evidence from Spanish provincial councils

While earnings manipulation has a broad literature in the private sector, there is a lack of research on this topic in the public sector. This paper aims to explore the level of earnings management in Spanish provincial councils. The use of accrual accounting may be viewed negatively by stakeholders such as the central government, opposition parties, and citizens. The public choice theory highlights the conflicting interests of politicians seeking re-election and citizens aiming to maximize their welfare, leading to potential manipulation of earnings. Discretionary accruals are used as a proxy for earnings management in this study. Additionally, the impact of financial sustainability measures on earnings management is examined. The analysis covers the period from 2017 to 2020 and reveals how certain financial sustainability ratios and pre-election years can influence the extent of earnings manipulation. This paper contributes to the existing literature on earnings management in local governments by examining the connection between financial sustainability indicators and this behavior. Specifically, it focuses on the relationship between budget vulnerability and sustainability, and their influence on the magnitude of discretionary accruals.

Web accessibility in Spanish city councils: a challenge for the democratic inclusion and well-being of citizens

Public institutions find an open window and greater transparency towards citizens in the digital sphere. So much so that the websites of local corporations can be considered an instrument of democratic inclusion and overall well-being. However, web accessibility continues to be a pending issue in order to encourage any person, regardless of their physical, mental or age capabilities, to interact without any kind of barrier. This paper analyses the web accessibility of 18 provincial capital city councils in Spain, comparing two periods to detect compliance with the requirements of adaptation to citizenship by applying the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. The results show that accessibility to the websites of local corporations is still an unresolved issue. The commitment to web accessibility is not related to the size of cities or their budgetary level. It is necessary to undertake the appropriate improvements if they want, in their commitment to all citizens, to not leave out two key groups: people with functional diversity and the elderly. The contribution of this work goes beyond the need to use a type of analysis model to evaluate the democratisation of websites as digital public services and, consequently, it raises a series of practical implications relevant to the political decision-making bodies of local councils.

Open data for monitoring COVID-19 in Spain: Descriptive study

BackgroundThe indicators of the pandemic have been based on the total number of diagnosed cases of COVID-19, the number of people hospitalized or in intensive care units, and deaths from the infection. The aim of this study is to describe the available data on diagnostic tests, health service used for the diagnosis of COVID-19, case detection and monitoring. MethodDescriptive study with review of official data available on the websites of the Spanish health councils corresponding to 17 Autonomous Communities, 2 Autonomous cities and the Ministry of Health. The variables collected refer to contact tracing, technics for diagnosis, use of health services and follow-up. ResultsAll regions of Spain show data on diagnosed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. Hospitalized cases and intensive care admissions are shown in all regions except the Balearic Islands. Diagnostic tests for COVID-19 have been registered in all regions except Madrid region and Extremadura, with scarcely information on what type of test has been performed (present in 7 CCAA), requesting service and study of contacts. ConclusionsThe information available on the official websites of the Health Departments of the different regions of Spain are heterogeneous. Data from the use of health service or workload in Primary Care, Emergency department or Out of hours services are almost non-existent.

Datos abiertos de monitorización de la COVID-19 en España: estudio descriptivo

BackgroundThe indicators of the pandemic have been based on the total number of diagnosed cases of COVID-19, the number of people hospitalized or in intensive care units, and deaths from the infection. The aim of this study is to describe the available data on diagnostic tests, health service used for the diagnosis of COVID-19, case detection and monitoring. MethodDescriptive study with review of official data available on the websites of the Spanish health councils corresponding to 17 Autonomous Communities, 2 Autonomous cities and the Ministry of Health. The variables collected refer to contact tracing, technics for diagnosis, use of health services and follow-up. ResultsAll regions of Spain show data on diagnosed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. Hospitalized cases and intensive care admissions are shown in all regions except the Balearic Islands. Diagnostic tests for COVID-19 have been registered in all regions except Madrid region and Extremadura, with scarcely information on what type of test has been performed (present in 7 Autonomous Communities), requesting service and study of contacts. ConclusionsThe information available on the official websites of the Health Departments of the different regions of Spain are heterogeneous. Data from the use of health service or workload in primary care, emergency department or out of hours services are almost non-existent.

From social mobilisation to institutional politics: Reflecting on the impact of municipalism in Madrid and Barcelona

ABSTRACT In the 2015 local elections, political formations with their roots in social movements took control of several Spanish city councils, including Madrid and Barcelona. The wave of protests that began with the 15-M movement in 2011 gave way to an electoral model that aspired to promote transformative politics and new ways of ‘doing politics’. The aim of the present study is to examine the scope and the limits of this move into the institutions in Madrid and Barcelona (2015–2019). The case studies involved in-depth interviews and a documentary review. Results reveal significant differences between the two cities.

Evaluating Inclusive Transparency in Spanish Local Government

This article defines and analyzes a new concept: inclusive transparency. Specifically, it conducts a comparative study of transparency portals in twenty-five Spanish local councils, all of which occupy prime positions in Transparency International’s Index of Municipalities. The evaluation aims to establish their degree of compliance with Spanish and European regulations, ensuring website accessibility for people with disabilities. To this end, an evaluation model (composed of 4 criteria, 11 variables and 45 indicators) has been generated, taking inspiration from electronic accessibility guidelines, which have been applied using automatic techniques and transparency portal revision manuals. The results of the research allow verification of a positive correlation between the levels of active and inclusive transparency. In other words, whether in terms of active advertising benchmark municipalities design and manage their portals in ways which also guarantee, alongside all other citizens, the right of access for people with limited capacities (hearing, visual, mobile and cognitive) thereby enahancing the exercise of their political citizenship and their social integration.

The proceedings of Spanish Audiovisual Councils on discriminatory discourse

Mass media, and especially television, are powerful discursive instruments, responsible for the construction of social imagery through ideologically determined content. For this reason, the creation of a regulatory body with authority over the audiovisual sector in countries without one was urged by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in 2000. Spain is the only EU country without an audiovisual council with authority at the state level. Currently, only the Audiovisual Council of Catalonia (CAC), created in 2000, and the Audiovisual Council of Andalusia (CAA), which dates from 2004, operate in Spain. Within an environment increasingly marked by hate speech, this research analyzes the proceedings of the Andalusian and Catalan Audiovisual Councils between 2004 and 2019 as it pertains to discrimination against vulnerable groups. Every pronouncement made by both councils on potentially discriminatory discourses was retrieved (n=156). These were content analyzed by codifying, among others, the following variables: type of action, the source that motivated it, the disseminating media outlet, the evaluated content, the type of discrimination alleged, the decision taken, and the type of sanction imposed by the councils, as the case may be. The results indicate that most of the actions concerned involve discrimination against women, originate from third-party complaints and target content broadcast on public television.

Women Mayors in Spain: An Analysis of Gender Differences in the Management and Quality of Information on Municipal Websites

This article analyses the differences in the level of transparency and quality of information on the institutional websites of Spanish councils depending on whether the mayor’s office is held by a woman or a man. We focus on 605 Spanish municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants in which women mayors represent 26.3% (n = 159) of the total. The method is based on 52 quantitative indicators divided into two thematic blocks related to municipal transparency and to information for participation. The principal results reveal that municipalities led by women yield better results in terms of compliance with the indicators evaluated, with 50.68%, compared to the municipalities in which the mayor is a man, with 38.13%. In addition, a more detailed analysis reveals how women mayors obtain better results in all groups of indicators: transparency, quality of the information published on municipal websites and tools provided for citizen participation. The study reveals how the increase in elected women has a positive influence on the implementation of policies that allow for more transparent information and communication and that promote greater inclusion of citizens in the public debate.

Council Press Offices as Sources of Political Information: Between Journalism for Accountability and Propaganda

This study uses a qualitative approach to examine what political and technical leaders of municipalities understand transparency and public information to mean, and what role they believe the different subjects involved (government, opposition, and the public) should have. The websites of 605 Spanish councils with more than 100,000 inhabitants were analysed and three focus groups were held with political and technical leaders from a selection of sample councils. The results show that the technical and political leaders of the councils do not have a clear awareness of their function of management accountability or of the need to apply journalistic criteria to the information they publish, defending with nuances the use of propaganda criteria to focus on the actions of the local government, its information, the lack of space dedicated to public debate and the opposition’s actions. In relation to accountability and citizen participation, they have a negative view of citizens, who they describe as being disengaged. However, they emphasize that internally it is essential to continue improving in terms of the culture of transparency and the public information they provide citizens.

Searching for the optimal territorial structure: the case of Spanish provincial councils

ABSTRACT Modern states are organized in multilevel governance structures with economic and political authorities dispersed across them. However, although there is relatively widespread consensus that this form of organization is preferable to a centralized authority, the same cannot be said about its jurisdictional design – that is, how to transfer authority from central states to both supra- and subnational levels. This lack of consensus also exists in contexts with explicit initiatives to strengthen political ties such as the European Union (EU), and even within EU member countries, a situation which is aggravated by the relative scarcity of contributions that measure the advantages and disadvantages of different territorial organizations. We explore these issues through a study of one EU country, Spain, whose provincial councils (diputaciones) are often the subject of debate and controversy due to their contribution to increasing public spending and their purported inefficiencies, corruption and lack of transparency. Specifically, we combine a variety of activity analysis techniques to evaluate how they impact on local government performance. Results suggest that, in general, the presence of a provincial council has a positive impact on local government performance, but when their activity levels are too high, the effect can become pernicious.

Leander, Isidore, and Gregory

St. Isidore of Seville (d. 636) and Pope Gregory the Great (d. 604) had an intellectual exchange facilitated in part by Isidore’s brother Leander (d. ca. 600), who preceded Isidore as bishop of Seville, had met Gregory in Constantinople, and to whom Gregory dedicated his Moralia in Job. Isidore’s writings and contemporaneous records of Spanish church councils make clear that the Old Hispanic Rite was already largely, though not entirely, formed in his day, much as we find it in the earliest surviving liturgical documents: the Oracional Visigótico (ca. 711) and the Antiphoner of León (ca. 900). This is a rite deriving from a great exegetical project in which liturgical chant formed only a part. Its starting points were the various translations of the Bible and the writings of the church fathers, especially Gregory and Augustine. From this an elaborate and systematic repertory of chant was formed in coordination with prayers, readings, and sermons. All of this speaks to deliberate composition by Isidore, Leander, and their colleagues rather than to the writing down of a long-standing oral tradition. Gregory surely knew about this activity in Spain. Is it likely that Gregory and his colleagues were not engaged in any such activity or that such activity in Rome took place so much later than it did in Spain? Perhaps there is a good reason why the chant created in Rome is called Gregorian just as the Old Hispanic Chant was much later called Isidorean. In the absence of Roman sources we may never know. But the Old Hispanic sources suggest that we ought to wonder.

What municipal websites supply and citizens demand: a search engine optimisation approach

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse if citizens’ searches on the internet coincide with the services that municipal websites offer. In addition, the authors examine municipal webpage rankings in search engines and the factors explaining them.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical study, conducted through a sample of Spanish city councils, contrasted if the information that can be found on a municipal website fits with citizens’ demands. This has been done by comparing the most-searched keywords with the contents of municipal websites.FindingsA positive relationship between the supply and demand of municipal information on the internet has been found, but much can still be improved. Analysed administrations rank the basic data of the organisation, as well as some of the fundamental competences thereof, at the top in search engines, but the results are not entirely effective with some keywords still highly demanded by citizens, such as those related to employment or tourism. Factors explaining internet ranking include the number of pages of the municipal website, its presence in social networks and an indicator designed to measure the difficulty of ranking the municipal place-name.Originality/valueThe results obtained from this study provide valuable information for municipal managers. Municipal websites should not only include information in which citizens are interested, but achieve accessibility standards, have a responsive web design, and follow the rules of web usability. Additionally, they should be findable, which also requires improvement in terms of the design of the municipal website thinking in search engines, particularly in terms of certain technical characteristics that improve findability. A municipal website that wants to have a good positioning should increase its contents and attain the maximum degree possible of visibility in social networks.

Reconstrucción del «Rito de Ordenación Episcopal Hispánico»

Various Spanish councils, several Spanish fathers -especially Saint Isidore- and certain liturgical books leave no doubt as to the existence of a rite of episcopal ordination in the old Spanish Liturgy. However, in none of the manuscripts of the Liber Ordinum -the book which should have contained such a rite- does there exist even fragmentary elements. This obvious gap is remedied to a certain extent in this study, in which the author, making use of a few surviving elements such as, principally, the Liber Commicus, the Antifonario de Leon, the Missale Mixtum and the Sacramentarios de Roda y Vic; and on the basis of a study of comparative liturgy, the structure as well as the text of this rite of episcopal ordination is reconstructed. The work consists of two parts. In the first the antecedents of the episcopal consecration are studied, among those which especially stand out is that relating to the choice of candidate. The author distinguishes three distinct moments in the election of the bishop: a) the Spanish-Roman epoch, b) during the barbarian invasion (with a different form in Galicia and Tarragona) and, c) the period of the catholic monarchy. The second part -without a doubt the more extensive, important and original- is dedicated to the reconstruction of the rite of ordination, although it also touches on that which relates to the immediate preparation and to the immediate post consecration. In so far as it refers to the rite as such, the author considers the following to be its structure: 1. The vesting of the candidate in the pontifical vestments in the sacrarium; 2. the oath against simony and the profession of faith before the altar, after the recital of the first reading or Propheta; 3. imposition of hands by the consecrating bishops; 4. the consecrating "benedictio"; 5. the anointing of the head with the chrism; 6. the traditio of the crozier and the episcopal ring; and, 7. the kiss of peace. The author excludes from the structure of the rite the traditio or impositio of the Gospel. The part previous to the consecration would consist of the offices Ad Vesperas and Ad Matutinum, in which the consecrating bishop would take part. The part which followed would include the ordination mass -in which the new bishop would not concelebrate- the procession to the church in which the new bishop celebrated his first episcopal mass, and the mass of the neo-bishop. To conclude, we might add that the author believed it to be more appropriate not to put together the texts in a complementary dossier, but to distribute them in the margin of each one of the parts of the rite. In this way it was thought that it would be easier to obtain a unified vision of the whole.

Análisis del uso de Facebook a nivel municipal. Una aplicación a municipios españoles

AbstractThe use of social networks and other Web 2.0 tools has gained great importance in the public sector since it enables a new form of communication between the administration and the citizens. Appropriate metrics and methodologies are needed to determine its impact. This work illustrates the application of different metrics of Facebook use at the municipal level, both by city councils and citizens, taking a sample of Spanish councils and public data. The results show that a considerable percentage of city councils do not use Facebook to communicate with the citizens. Also, municipalities that use Facebook reach modest levels of awareness and interaction and don’t use the media or content that generates the most impact on users. Therefore, local administrations must rethink their strategies regarding the use of these tools to improve their interaction with the citizens.

Women Mayors and Management of Spanish Councils: An Empirical Analysis

ABSTRACTThis paper analyzes the relationship between the gender of mayors in Spanish local government and different budget items. It uses a sample of local budgets for 8,112 town councils between 2002 and 2010, totaling 64,361 observations. The Spanish context is characterized by decentralization of public responsibility to a greater extent than in neighboring countries, feeding the debate on the operational efficiency of local government and the importance of gender in public management. Results show that councils with women mayors have lower annual interest and debt repayment obligations and have higher expenditure on security, protection, and social promotion. Thus, the presence of women in politics may serve to improve councils’ economic situations, which is necessary not only for social justice but also for economic efficiency. In addition, in councils with more inhabitants, women mayors are more common, but women are less likely to occupy the office for longer periods.

Transparency in citizen participation tools and public information: A comparative study of the Spanish city councils’ websites

Communication is indispensable for institutions in regaining trust and credibility among citizens. In this context, transparency management and the promotion of citizen participation online are essential. After December 2015, when the Spanish transparency law 19/2013 was fully in force at the local level, all local municipalities were required to show all the public information on their websites published in a clear and understandable way. This requirement turns the Spanish local administrations into an interesting case study to assess efforts to improve their relationships with their citizens; hence this research aims to measure the Spanish transparency level on public information and participation. For that purpose, a set of indicators were used to analyze the content of those websites that corresponded to a representative sample of municipalities with 10,000 or more inhabitants (N=394). Findings pointed to a very low transparency level and major deficiencies related to online engagement with resources that are required by law.

E-Government Implementation, Work Process Changes and Competency Training in Spanish Town Councils

This paper aims to empirically explore whether changes in technological infrastructures and working processes have been perceived by local public employees, and if training programs have been used as a way to introduce these changes in a strategic manner. The analysis of the differences in the situation between 2005 and 2014 reveals an increased investment in technology and a decreased investment in training, and that public employees have not perceived a significant improvement in the way they work and in their efficiency levels. These findings emphasize the importance of competence-based management for the effective provision of public services. Purpose – This paper has as its aim to empirically explore whether changes in technological infrastructures and working processes have been perceived by local public employees, and if training programs have been used as a way to introduce these changes in a strategic manner. Design/Methodology/Approach – A longitudinal analysis was carried for this purpose asking about the presence of training actions addressed to the employees of Spanish public administrations and about the perception that ICT area managers have in regards to the effects caused by the introduction of e-government strategies. Findings – The results obtained show that town councils have increased their investment in technical aspects of e-government, but not in the development of competences to use the technology. In addition, the fact that public employees have not perceived a significant improvement in the way they work and in their efficiency levels leads to the conclusion that a decreased investment in competency training is not conducive to a greater sense of efficiency in the provision of public services. Research limitations/implications – The limitations of this paper lie on the lack of consideration of certain parameters which might influence strategic e-government implementation; plus incurring in single-bias response and considering only one case (Spain) in the research. The statistical analysis is merely descriptive, although it provides the researchers with clear results. Practical implications – Public managers and policy makers should reflect on the long-term effects of their e-government decisions or ‒ alternatively ‒ the absence of such effects. Shortterm ‘patches’ are only useful to meet a specific need during a certain period, whereas change management requires a more far-reaching, long-term look which can overcome the budgetary limits and the traditional bureaucratic barriers. Originality/Value – This paper presents the results of a longitudinal analysis carried out over nine years that explores first-hand opinions of e-government professionals, linking competency-base management and e-government success.

La doctrina Pneumatológica de las Sententiae de Isidoro de Sevilla

Isidore of Seville did not leave behind any specifically trinitarian, Christological or pneumatological treatises. We find his theological doctrine evident in sections throughout his works although, as a result of the effort of a good compiler and synthesizer, it is not difficult to trace the passages in which the bishop of Seville deals with each one of these subjects. With regard to the doctrine on the Holy Spirit, the chapter dedicated to the third person of the Trinity in the first book of the Sententiae offers a fairly complete summary of the matter. The following pages are intended to present the content of that chapter and to place it within the context of the rest of Isidore’s theological output. Therefore, in addition to paying close attention to the text of the Sententiae, we will seek its dependence or influence, as the case may be, on other treatises of Isidore, mainly in these three: Etymologiae, De fide catholica and Liber differentiarum [II]. Augustine, Gregory the Great and the theological contribution of the Spanish councils are presented as Isidore’s main sources.