Spanish Peers Research Articles

“A mí no me gusta España mucho” vs.“Yo quiero ir a toda España, me encanta España”

Abstract Research on heritage speakers abroad constitutes a growing field. Of particular interest is linguistic accommodation by heritage speakers in Spain. Previous work suggests that such accommodation may be affected by participants’ social networks and Spanish fluency. Most work, however, has not directly examined interactions with local peers, nor has it considered participants’ receptiveness to Spain as a possible factor. This study analyzes the linguistic choices of four heritage speakers in interaction with Spanish peers at the midpoint of a semester-long program in central Spain. Spain was the desired destination of two participants, while the other two would have preferred Latin America. However, all showed minimal accommodation. Receptiveness to Spain does not seem to explain their choices; rather, their language use in interaction was likely driven by their identity stances and their desire to create relationships of either closeness or distance with their particular Spanish interlocutors.

Healthy lifestyles and physical fitness are associated with abdominal obesity among Latin-American and Spanish preschool children: A cross-cultural study.

SummaryBackgroundIdentifying environmental factors that influence health in children are necessary to develop preventive strategies.ObjectiveTo determine the association between the lifestyles of children (i.e., Mediterranean diet (MD), physical activity (PA), fitness and screen time (ST) with abdominal obesity (AO) of preschoolers from three Spanish‐speaking countries (Chile, Colombia and Spain) with different socioeconomic levels and Human Development Index (HDI) indicators.Material and MethodsThis cross‐sectional study included 982 schoolchildren (aged 4–6 years; 56.8% girls) from Chile (n = 409), Colombia (n = 281), and Spain (n = 292). Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist‐to‐height ratio (WtHR), adherence to the MD, PA, ST and physical fitness were evaluated.ResultsSpanish preschoolers reported a lower WtHR (p < 0.001), greater physical fitness (Z‐score) (p < 0.001) and higher adherence to the MD (p < 0.001) than their Chilean and Colombian peers. In addition, Colombian preschoolers had a better lifestyle (PA + ST) than their Chilean and Spanish peers (p < 0.001). Chilean preschoolers reported a higher prevalence of AO than the Spanish preschoolers (65% vs. 51.9%; p = 0.001).ConclusionLifestyle had a significant association with AO among Spanish‐speaking preschool children, with physical fitness especially being a relevant factor regardless of the country of origin. The findings of the current study may support the development of public guidelines focusing on healthy lifestyles in children to create effective plans that contribute to the early treatment of AO in preschool children.

Generational cohorts versus national origin: Explaining the educational attainment among children of Latin American immigrants in Spain

Over the last 25 years, Spain has experienced a significant increase of Latin American immigrants, which has raised questions about their children’s adaptation process. Yet, there is little evidence on the factors that explain school success or failure among this group. This paper aims to fill this gap by using data from the Longitudinal Study of the Second Generation in Spain (ILSEG is its Spanish acronym). The findings show that the children of Latin American immigrants are more likely to attain lower educational levels than the children of Spanish natives. However, concentrating on the national origin variable risks obscuring some underlying adaptive processes—associated with generational age cohorts—involved in differential educational outcomes among immigrant children. The data analyzed show that Latin American immigrant children born in Spain are likely to attain the same educational levels as their native Spanish peers. This finding highlights the importance of being raised in the host country in easing adaptation to the new society and the school system. The paper concludes with some policy suggestions in the field of education. Instead of treating all child migrants uniformly, public policies should address the specific needs of the target groups, emphasizing later arrivals.

Late-life disability trajectories in Yoruba Nigerians and the Spanish population: a state space model in continuous time

Objectives We compared the trajectory of activities of daily living (ADL) in a nationally representative sample of older Nigerians with their Spanish peers and identified factors to explain country-specific growth models. Methods Data from two household multistage probability samples were used, comprising older adults from Spain (n = 2,011) and Nigeria (n = 1,704). All participants underwent assessment for ADL. Risk factors including sex, household income, urbanicity, years of education, depression, alcohol consumption and smoking were assessed using validated methods. State-space model in continuous time (SSM-CT) methods were used for trajectory comparison. Results Compared with Nigerians (µADL80=0.44, SE = 0.015, p < 0.001), Spanish older adults had higher disability scores (µADL80=1.23, SE = 0.021, p < 0.001). In SSM-CT models, the rate of increase in disability was faster in Nigerians (Nigeria: β = 0.061, p<.01; Spain: β = 0.028, p < 0.010). An increasing course of disability in the Spanish sample was predicted by female sex, lower education and depression diagnosis. Conclusion The rate of increase in disability was faster in older Nigerians living in an economically disadvantaged context.

Spanish input accelerates bilingual infants' segmentation of English words

We asked whether increased exposure to iambs, two-syllable words with stress on the second syllable (e.g., guitar), by way of another language – Spanish – facilitates English learning infants' segmentation of iambs. Spanish has twice as many iambic words (40%) compared to English (20%). Using the Headturn Preference Procedure we tested bilingual Spanish and English learning 8-month-olds' ability to segment English iambs. Monolingual English learning infants succeed at this task only by 11 months. We showed that at 8 months, bilingual Spanish and English learning infants successfully segmented English iambs, and not simply the stressed syllable, unlike their monolingual English learning peers. At the same age, bilingual infants failed to segment Spanish iambs, just like their monolingual Spanish peers. These results cannot be explained by bilingual infants' reliance on transitional probability cues to segment words in both their native languages because statistical cues were comparable in the two languages. Instead, based on their accelerated development, we argue for autonomous but interdependent development of the two languages of bilingual infants.

Abstract B024: Impact of a Spanish peer support group for women with breast and ovarian cancer

Abstract Introduction: Cancer is the most frequent cause of death for Latinos in the United States (American Cancer Society, 2018). Language barriers prevent Spanish-speaking patients from fully understanding their diagnosis and from becoming involved in patient centered decision making (Moore, RJ., et al., 2004). 30-45% of women with breast cancer experience substantial psycho-social morbidity in the first two years of survivorship (Burgess C., et al., 2005). LatinaSHARE support groups seek to address these issues by providing emotional support and information about members’ cancer diagnosis in Spanish. Methodology: We conducted an anonymous, in-person and telephone survey in a 30-day period to determine how, if in any way, our Spanish language peer support groups have impacted its members and to identify strengths and areas for improvement in these support groups. Out of 250 current support group members, we collected 89 responses (36%). 52 responses were collected in-person in support groups and 37 responses were collected over the phone. The survey instrument included 19 questions: 4 open-ended qualitative questions, 13 multiple choice questions, and two Likert scale questions. The questions focused on whether women were emotionally supported, acquired more information about their diagnosis, and are more comfortable advocating for themselves with their doctors. Results: 100% of respondents reported that attending the support group helped them generally. 89% reported they were helped by receiving support. 76% of respondents reported they were helped by receiving information. 100% of respondents felt more confident when talking about cancer with their doctors or their friends. 87% of respondents felt more confident when talking about their cancer with their family. In the qualitative analysis, some themes emerged around what was most beneficial to group members, including: information and education, emotional support, peer guidance, community, fellowship, and sharing with others. When support group attendees were asked what they found least beneficial, one important theme emerged, that the once a month groups should meet more often. Conclusions: The results demonstrate the importance and effectiveness of Spanish language peer support groups for breast and ovarian cancer survivors. These groups provide support, information and prepare members to better communicate with their doctors, friends and family about their diagnosis. It is unclear why some respondents did not feel more confident speaking about their diagnosis with their spouse/partner (33%). However, some respondents may not have a spouse or partner so this question should be included in future research. To address the qualitative theme that groups would like to meet more often, programs staff will investigate the feasibility of adding more frequent meetings. Some limitations include small sample size and a lack of validity testing of the instrument. Citation Format: Olympia Cepeda, Stephanie Blaufarb, Bremda S. Acosta, Monica Escobar, Maria T. Estrella, Jennie Santiago, Ivis Sampayo. Impact of a Spanish peer support group for women with breast and ovarian cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr B024.

Does Migrant Background Matter for Adolescents’ Fertility Preferences? The Latin American 1.5 Generation in Spain

This article examines the fertility preferences of Latin American adolescents of the 1.5 generation and their native peers in Spain. We compare their expected age at first birth as well as their expected family size. The fertility preferences of the 1.5 generation are likely to reflect the family values of two different socialization environments as well as the adaptation process to the childbearing norms of the host society. The analysis is based on the Chances Survey, which collected data from 2700 adolescents in secondary schools in Madrid in 2011. Results indicate that fertility timing preferences of Latin American adolescents reflect socialization influences from the society of origin, but also a quick adaptation to the childbearing norms in the host society, since their expected age at first birth is somewhat earlier than that of their Spanish peers but considerably later than that prevailing in their country of origin. The degree of social integration, measured by the number of the respondent's best friends who were Spanish, seems more important than age at migration for diminishing the gap between Latin Americans and Spaniards. Moreover, higher educational expectations are associated with preferences for postponed entry into parenthood. With regard to family size expectations, we find no significant variation between adolescents of migrant and native origin, confirming the argument that the "two-child norm" currently prevails in both middle- and high-income countries.

Are There Similar or Divergent Transitions to Adulthood in a Mediterranean Context? A Cross-National Comparison of Italy and Spain.

The purpose of this study was to examine the differences and similarities between Italy and Spain in regard to emerging adults’ perceptions of identity status, autonomy, attachment, and life satisfaction. The goal was to verify whether a Mediterranean model of transitions from adolescence to adulthood exists. Three hundred and forty undergraduate students (171 Italians and 169 Spanish) ranging in age from 19 to 22 completed measures of identity status, emotional autonomy, attachment style, and life satisfaction. Multiple correspondence analyses provided a graphic synthesis of results. The results indicate that no common model of young adult development exists in Spain and Italy and that Italian youth have a more complex quality of development compared to their Spanish peers.

Evaluating Iberian seaport competitiveness using an alternative DEA approach

This paper aims to evaluate the competitiveness of Iberian seaports through efficiency using an alternative DEA approach (Data Envelopment Analysis) and identifies explicit causes of inefficiency. This paper applying an alternative DEA approach (three stage DEA model) to provide a more useful insight about the cause of efficiency or inefficiency of the seaports. The average efficiency score under CCR equal to 83.74 meaning that, on average, the seaports analysed could operate at 83.74 % of their current levels while still returning the same output value. Unlike the ranking in terms of cargo throughput, the most efficient Portuguese seaports are Leixoes and Setubal and their Spanish peers are Algeciras, Barcelona and Tarragona. This has proven what has been reported in other studies: that seaport efficiency is not necessary influenced by its cargo throughput.

Special Bilingual Issue on Engineering in the Americas

As the ASCE’s first bilingual peer-reviewed technical journal publication, this special issue on engineering in the Americas represents a new era for ASCE publications. ASCE is a global organization with 15 international sections, 16 international groups, and thousands of international members. Through the publication of this bilingual issue, ASCE is developing a platform to collect and disseminate work on a global basis inmultiple languages. The hope is that this effort will pave the way for ASCE to develop other bilingual technical journal special issues and, eventually, journals dedicated to publishing in this format. This publication is a collaborative effort between many dedicated members of the civil engineering community. The ASCE International Activities Committee proposed the idea and made financial resources available for translations from the bequest of Robert B. Lea to support the “foreign relations activities” of the society. ASCE then partnered with the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile and their journal, Revista Ingenieria de Construccion (RIC), to turn the idea into reality. The Journal of Construction Engineering and Management (JCEM) and RIC editorial staffs took on additional work to pursue this endeavor. The JCEM provided an exceptional stage for this bilingual issue test case. Civil and construction engineers throughout the Americas are dealing with similar challenges in design, construction, operations, and maintenance of capital facilities, as will be discussed this October when ASCE conducts its 144th Annual Conference in Panama. Similarly, construction researchers in North and South America are addressing these challenges with a variety of unique approaches. By breaking down the language barriers that can inhibit publication opportunities and hinder the dissemination of research, the JCEM has opened new doors for authors to publish their work. As the Department of Construction Engineering and Management of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile’s first collaborative peer-reviewed journal publication, this special issue represents a milestone in internationalization. Published since 1986 by the Department of Construction Engineering and Management of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, RIC was the ideal platform for carrying out this effort because it has earned important international recognition, particularly among Latin American researchers. The collaboration agreement was the start, and the process then required a large number of peer reviewers from North and South America. This project became a reality only through this collaborative effort. To maintain the rigorous standards of the JCEM and RIC, a dual peer review process was undertaken through which authors from multiple countries were allowed to submit their work in their native language. Authors originally submitted papers in their native language for peer review. Accepted papers were then translated and reviewed again in the second language. Authors were required to address comments from both sets of reviewers. The papers were accepted for publication in this special issue only after being reviewed and approved by this dual review process. This special issue contains 14 pairs of papers that address a wide variety of research on engineering in the Americas. The articles cover an impressive scope of topics that are unified by their importance to the Americas. The issue publishes articles on earthquakes and the resulting structural responses, and others addressing knowledge management and sustainability. Construction design and methods, performance modeling, and reflections on how to improve engineering education are also included in this issue. We would like to thank Charles T. Jahren, who as Editor of JCEM in 2009, wholeheartedly supports this endeavored with the concurrence of Associate Editor (at the time) Jesus de la Garza and Senior Specialty Editor Carl Haas. The support of these individuals made this special issue possible. We would like to further thank Angela Cochran and Jennifer Parresol at ASCE journals, who worked tirelessly to overcome many obstacles in shepherding these first bilingual manuscripts through the peer review and publication process. We also thank Ximena Araya at RIC journals, who managed the Spanish peer review and translation process. As guest editors of this special issue, we hope that this journal breaks down barriers to publishing in multiple languages. We anticipate that this JCEM example will serve as a model of new avenues for authors to internationally disseminate their innovative research.

Miradas sobre intercambios internacionales y circulación internacional de ideas y modelos urbanos

El presente artículo busca indicar la productividad del abordaje de intercambios entre “locales” y “extranjeros”. Así, se recorren diversos trabajos que desde la historia cultural, los estudios culturales y las historias de la arquitectura y el urbanismo discuten el modo dependentista de abordar las relaciones entre contextos centrales y periféricos. Tales trabajos habilitan el abordaje de procesos de circulación internacional de ideas, técnicos y modelos urbanos visibilizando fenómenos que se han intensificado en las últimas décadas. La discusión teórica se articula con referencias a un trabajo de investigación previo que analiza cómo diversas redes de técnicos y profesionales, cuyas trayectorias, saber-hacer, posicionamientos políticos y perspectivas de intervención difieren, pugnan por definir diagnósticos sobre los problemas de la ciudad de Buenos Aires entre 1983 y 1992, para lo cual producen múltiples y cambiantes intercambios con pares españoles.

Revisiting "How Professors Think" across National and Occupational Contexts

Revisiting How Professors Think through the lens of the evaluative cultures of Spanish peer reviewers and those of American policy experts raises diverse unanticipated challenges. Below I first discuss the three contributions that consider How Professors Think via cross-national comparisons (Diez Medrano, Lasen, and Valiente) before turning to the discussion of cognitive autonomy at the center of Medvetz’s comments, which are inspired by his own particularly illuminating study of American think tanks (Medvetz 2012). Before proceeding, I wish to thank our four colleagues for making time to seriously think about some of the implications of How Professors Think that I had not previously considered. I am greatly appreciative of their thoughtful contributions, as I am of Alvaro Santana-Acuna and Xavier Coller for suggesting this symposium and for so skillfully orchestrating it. They have created a much valued opportunity for me to reflect on How Professors Think four years after the publication of the book in English, and after that, it has made its way into various international audiences via translations in Korean, Chinese, and soon Spanish. How Professors Think concluded on whether it is desirable and possible for peer review “a la americana” to diffuse beyond U.S. borders. In the last chapter I described some of the conditions that make this type of evaluative practice possible in the United States (focusing on factors such as the significant demographic weight of the U.S. research community, the spatial distance and decentralization of its institutions of higher education, and the lengthy graduate education process that brings students in close contact with mentors who impact their self-concept while diffusing implicit evaluation standards). This chapter also suggested why it would not be reasonable to expect that the same customary rules of evaluation I described to appear in countries where different conditions for scientific work prevail. This has been confirmed in

Speaking and remembering in one or two languages: bilingual vs. monolingual lexicalization and memory for motion events

The aim of this study is to test whether balanced English–Spanish bilingual speakers behave like monolinguals in each of their languages when describing and remembering complex motion events. The semantic domain in question is motion, because some components (namely the manner of motion) are more difficult to lexicalize in Spanish than in English because of typological constraints (see Filipović, 2007; Slobin, 1996, 1997; Talmy, 1985). As a result, performance on a recognition task involving motion verbs could be expected to vary depending on the language used in the experiment. English and Spanish monolinguals and bilinguals performed the recognition task. Results from the monolinguals indicate that there is a language effect based on this typological difference. Specifically, English monolingual speakers performed significantly better than their Spanish peers in the recognition task in both of our conditions, i.e., with verbalization and without verbalization. The bilingual results on the other hand strongly suggest that these speakers tend to adhere to a single lexicalization pattern that is acceptable in both languages, which is the Spanish one in this case. We discuss further implications of these results for language processing and for memory of motion events in general.

Attitudes towards antipsychotic drugs and their side effects: A comparison between students of medicine in Spain and Serbia

Background. The appropriate use of antipsychotics by general practitioners is correlated with a positive attitude towards this group of drugs during their undergraduate studies. Objective. The aim of our study was to investigate and compare the attitudes of medical students in Spain and Serbia wards about the effectiveness and adverse effects of antipsychotic medications. Methods. In a cross-sectional study, 60 final-year medical students from Spain and Serbia were exposed to a case of a patient treated with antipsychotics who was experiencing side effects. A Likert-type questionnaire was then given to the students, capturing their attitudes towards antipsychotics. Results. Compared to the Spanish peers, the students from Serbia were more eager to use antipsychotics as a means of protecting the patients’ families than forto help the patients themselves. The majority of the Serbian students thought that psychotic patients were supposed to tolerate the side effects of their medications, while the Spanish students were ready to change their treatment. The Serbian students were older than their Spanish peers, mostly males and Orthodox . Conclusions. Additional educational efforts are needed to improve the attitudes of older and more religious students, but these efforts will pay off in the future with more appropriate drug treatment of schizophrenic patients and improved patient adherence to the treatment.

Is it worth establishing institutional repositories? The strategies for open access to Spanish peer-reviewed articles

We examine open access to the Spanish scientific literature through investigation of a sample of peer reviewed articles in seven subject categories. Of the 28,259 papers published in 2000, 26.89 % were freely accessible with the share varying among disciplines. Articles in the Social and Behavioral Sciences were the most available for free. This disciplinary divide applies also to the strategies used to offer open access to documents. In Clinical Medicine, Life Sciences, Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences open access was mainly based on the publishers side while subject based repositories were dominant in Physical, Chemical and Earth Sciences and deposit in home pages was the preferred strategy in Engineering, Computing and Technology. Institutional and general repositories seem to play a minor role in providing free access to the Spanish peer reviewed literature. Papers published in commercial journals are less accessible than those that appear in non-commercial journals and we found overlaps in almost 20% of papers deposited. The fastest way to gain open access is to deposit in subject based repositories and the longest delays are related to deposits in home

The Acquisition of Gender Agreement in the Determiner Phrase by Bilingual Children

In this paper, we looked at the acquisition of gender agreement in the DP by bilingual children acquiring both a Romance (Spanish or French) and Germanic (Dutch) language. The prediction was that gender agreement would be acquired earlier by bilinguals in their Romance language than in Dutch. Seven French/Dutch and nine Spanish/Dutch children participated in a sentence completion task created to elicit gender-marked determiners. It turned out that the French/Dutch bilinguals made more errors in gender assignment in Dutch than in French, which confirms this hypothesis. The Spanish/Dutch bilinguals showed atypical behaviour, omitting articles in both Dutch and Spanish quite frequendy, which indicated a delay in both languages. Since the French/Dutch bilinguals were more proficient in both languages than their Spanish peers, we suggest that a certain proficiency in the two languages must be attained in order to prevent a delay in acquisition.

Death Obsession in Palestinians

The authors explored death obsession level and correlates among a sample (N = 601) of Palestinians living in the city of Beit Jala, the village of Al-Khader, and the Aida refugee camp in the Bethlehem area. They live in war conditions; the houses of half of them have been demolished. The Death Obsession Scale (DOS) was administered. Its alpha reliability was .92, denoting high internal consistency. Among women, it yielded 1 factor, (General Death Obsession), whereas among men it yielded 3 factors: Death Rumination, Death Dominance, and Death Idea Repetition. Palestinian men and women attained significantly lower DOS mean scores than participants from 4 Arab countries: Egypt, Kuwait, Syria, and Lebanon in 7 out of 8 comparisons. However, Palestinian women had significantly higher DOS mean score than their Spanish, American and British counterparts, whereas Palestinian men had significantly higher mean DOS score than Spanish peers. The low DOS scores of Palestinians, in proportion to other Arab samples, may reflect their adaptation to strife and violence.

Differences in health complaints among university students from three European countries

Background The purpose of this research was to assess the prevalence of somatic and psychosomatic health complaints in a cross-national population of university students and to study risk factors associated with health complaints. Methods The analysis was based on samples of first-year students from Pamplona (Spain), Bielefeld (Germany), and Kaunas (Lithuania). The total sample included 2343 students. Ten health complaints were measured by a symptom checklist with a self-administered questionnaire. Sociodemographic and lifestyle data were also collected. Factor analysis was employed to develop three complaint scores. Results Multifactorial logistic regression analysis revealed substantial associations between the factors female gender and psychosocial stress and high levels (>median) of complaint scores. Furthermore, after adjustment for age, sex, and lifestyle variables Lithuanian students were less likely to report gastrointestinal complaints (OR 0.62, CI 0.43–0.90) and neck ache/backache (OR 0.41, CI 0.28–0.61) compared to Spanish students. In addition, German students were less likely to report psychosomatic (OR 0.49, CI 0.35–0.69) and gastrointestinal complaints (OR 0.47, CI 0.34–0.65) than their Spanish peers. Conclusions Although the results cannot be generalized to the general population of the respective countries, the different profiles of reported complaints should give rise to special interventions in this young population.

Differences in Crisis-Management Strategies in Tourism in the United States and Spain

This study compared strategies used by communications and marketing directors in the tourism industries of the United States and Spain to avert or to respond to crises. Analysis indicated that the 88 U.S. directors were significantly better prepared to manage crises than were their 70 Spanish peers.

DIFFERENCES IN CRISIS-MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN TOURISM IN THE UNITED STATES AND SPAIN

This study compared strategies used by communications and marketing directors in the tourism industries of the United States and Spain to avert or to respond to crises. Analysis indicated that the 88 U.S. directors were significantly better prepared to manage crises than were their 70 Spanish peers.