Spanish System Research Articles

“To the South, Always to the South”. Factors Shaping Refugee’s Socio-Economic Integration in Spain

This article, based on qualitative research, focuses on socioeconomic integration trajectories of the refugee population in Spain. In the period between 2014 and 2020, refugees’ arrivals in Spain have continuously increased. Despite protection provided by the Spanish Reception System, refugees emulate the same precarious integration outcomes as refugees in other developed countries, such as unemployment, underemployment, poor and unstable housing, low incomes and economic uncertainty, gender inequalities, etc. We believe that a holistic analysis of integration outcomes, overcoming traditional human-capital theories, must include other social and structural factors -economic and institutional frameworks, gender, and ethnic discrimination- that shape their settlement.

Creating European citizens through citizenship, geography, and history education: a temporal and regional analysis of the Spanish curriculum

The European Dimension in Education (EDE) is a policy promoted by the Council of Europe and the European Union that aims to foster active, critical citizenship based on common democratic values. It is also associated with the idea of promoting better knowledge of the European Union and of the concept of European citizenship. Ever since the policy was initially launched, EU Member States have been trying to add a European dimension to their education systems, although little progress has been made. In this paper, we study the way EDE has been integrated into the Spanish education system. Our research is based on an analysis of the national and regional curricula for Social Sciences (Geography, History) and Citizenship Education in compulsory secondary education, as these are the main subjects within which Spanish students are taught civic education. Results showed few signs of progress in the integration of EDE into the Spanish curriculum. In fact, a regressive trend was observed in some cases. The curriculum has varied a lot over the years in line above all with the ideology of the national government. It has also varied considerably across Spain’s different regions, which play an important role in the inclusion of EDE contents in the curriculum. The inclusion of specific subjects on Citizenship Education has provided a considerable boost to the integration of EDE into the Spanish curriculum. However, EU-related content is usually scarce and is never considered as important as content explaining the Spanish political system, citizenship, geography and history. Our paper concludes that a stronger European focus in the national curriculum would be highly recommended, so as to fully embrace EDE. In addition, a cross-party consensus should be reached on citizenship education and its contents, stressing the important role it can play as a separate subject.

Unified Protocol in a Group Format for Improving Specific Symptoms of Emotional Disorders in the Spanish Public Health System.

The Unified Protocol (UP) for the transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders (EDs) has demonstrated its efficacy in improving dimensions shared by EDs, but there is insufficient evidence regarding the specific symptoms of each ED. The main objective of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of the UP applied in a group format compared with individual Treatment as Usual (TAU), in improving specific ED symptoms. The study sample (n=243) was a subset of participants of a randomized controlled trial conducted in the Spanish public health system. Specific symptoms assessed from pre-treatment to the six-month follow-up were: depressive, agoraphobic, generalized anxiety, panic, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Personality dimensions and quality of life were also measured. There were statistically significant changes after the UP in all the study variables (0.44 = d = 1.35). Changes in depressive symptoms, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and perceived quality of life were superior in the UP. The results support the efficacy of group UP for improving both transdiagnostic dimensions and specific ED symptoms, as well as quality of life, through the public health-care system.

Data envelopment analysis efficiency in the public sector using provider and customer opinion: An application to the Spanish health system

Measuring the relative efficiency of a finite fixed set of service-producing units (hospitals, state services, libraries, banks,...) is an important purpose of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). We illustrate an innovative way to measure this efficiency using stochastic indexes of the quality from these services. The indexes obtained from the opinion-satisfaction of the customers are estimators, from the statistical view point, of the quality of the service received (outputs); while, the quality of the offered service is estimated with opinion-satisfaction indexes of service providers (inputs). The estimation of these indicators is only possible by asking a customer and provider sample, in each service, through surveys. The technical efficiency score, obtained using the classic DEA models and estimated quality indicators, is an estimator of the unknown population efficiency that would be obtained if in each one of the services, interviews from all their customers and all their providers were available. With the object of achieving the best precision in the estimate, we propose results to determine the sample size of customers and providers needed so that with their answers can achieve a fixed accuracy in the estimation of the population efficiency of these service-producing units through the use of a novel one bootstrap confidence interval. Using this bootstrap methodology and quality opinion indexes obtained from two surveys, one of doctors and another of patients, we analyze the efficiency in the health care system of Spain.

Improving Access to Psychological Therapies in Spain: From IAPT to PsicAP.

Anxiety and depression are very prevalent in primary care, with high rates of chronic cases, comorbidity and lost quality of life, along with huge economic costs. The Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) project, launched in the United Kingdom in 2007, has become an international benchmark for the treatment of common mental disorders. In Spain, Psicofundación developed the PsicAP clinical trial, following the precedent set by the IAPT. This study reviews and compares and contrasts the methods, results, and contributions of the IAPT and PsicAP. The IAPT is a project for the pragmatic implementation of evidence-based psychological therapies in primary care. PsicAP is a randomized clinical trial whose results demonstrated that adding a psychological treatment (seven group sessions of transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioural therapy) to treatment-as-usual (TAU) for anxiety and depression in the primary care setting was more effective and cost-effective than TAU alone. The therapeutic gains and the cost-effectiveness were maintained at a 12 months follow-up. Moreover, the percentage of reliably recovered patients was comparable to the numbers from the IAPT. This brief psychological treatment should be implemented in the Spanish public health system, similar to the precedent set by the IAPT initiative.

Underrepresentation of the construct in Spanish standardized foreign language exams: a computer assisted exam proposal

Standardized tests are a reality in a globalized world and, consequently, in the Spanish system. Language test developers have already claimed that the current model of assessment has little to do with real language use, as factors such as the shift from paper to computer, information search and other uses of language or multimodal communication are not being considered (García Laborda & Fernández Álvarez, 2021). This theoretical paper proposes (1) a novel construct for testing that incorporates new functionalities which have been shown able to test appropriately language performance in academic settings; and (2) the proposal and design of an online multimodal exam that adapts to the new needs for language assessment in the University Entrance Examination. It begins with an analysis of current research to show the need for a change in the construct, and concludes by proposing a model for this high-stakes exam, based on a new construct of language proficiency and multimodal interaction for computer-based exams. The paper concludes that this model can change the way we understand technology-based exams and could be applicable to most current exams.

Improving Operational Ocean Models for the Spanish Port Authorities: Assessment of the SAMOA Coastal Forecasting Service Upgrades

The Puertos del Estado SAMOA coastal and port ocean forecast service delivers operational ocean forecasts to the Spanish Port Authorities since 01/2017 (originally set-up for 9 ports). In its second development phase (2019–2021), the SAMOA service has been extended to 31 ports (practically, the whole Spanish Port System). Besides, the next generation of the SAMOA service is being developed. Research is being focused on (1) updating atmospheric forcing (by combining the AEMET HARMONIE 2.5 Km forecasts and the IFS-ECMWF ones), (2) upgrading the circulation model (ROMS), and (3) testing new methodologies to nest SAMOA systems in the Copernicus IBI-MFC regional solution (with emphasis on its 3D hourly dataset). Evaluation of specific model upgrades is here presented. Model sensitivity tests have been assessed using the available in-situ and remoted sensed (i.e., RadarHF) observations. The results show that SAMOA outperforms IBI-MFC in sea level forecasting at meso- and macro-tidal environments. Improvements by the herein proposed upgrades are incremental: some of these set-ups were used in the last SAMOA operational releases (i.e., the SAM_INI and the SAM_ADV ones; the later currently in operations), whereas the latest test (SAM_H3D) ensures more nesting consistency with the IBI-MFC and improves significantly surface currents and sea-surface temperature simulations.

Current situation, trends and challenges for efficient and sustainable peach production

In Spain, the total surface occupied by deciduous fruit species in 2019 was 190,414 ha. Peach is the second most important Prunus species with 77,464 ha and a production of 1,480,000 t per year. Labour is the main production cost, amounting to 45% of the total cost in 2020 and primarily involving pruning, thinning and harvesting. The common trend regarding agronomical orchard models, in deciduous fruit species, is planting intensification, combining mid to low vigour rootstocks and training systems based on small, bi-dimensional canopies. Size-controlling rootstocks such as Rootpac-40, Isthara or Adesoto-101, Among others, resulted in better yield efficiency and improved fruit quality compared with GF-677. In 7-year-old trees of ‘Luciana’ nectarine cultivar, the use of size-controlling rootstock Rootpac-40 and an intensive orchard trained in central leader allowed both earlier and higher yields, resulting in a difference of 102 tha−1 compared with the standard Spanish gobolet system on GF-677. With ‘Noracila’ and the same combinations, the difference was 109 tha−1. The central leader/single row and central leader/double row training systems, despite requiring a greater orchard establishment cost, gave earlier and higher yields in ‘Ambra’ and ‘Luciana’ cultivars grafted on G-677, around 48% for double row and 30% for single row, compared to the Spanish gobelet system. Planar canopies allowed an efficient use of mechanical and manual pruning and flower thinning, which improved harvest efficiency (kg.h−1) by 28%. As a result, a production cost reduction of around 15% was recorded in comparison to the Spanish gobelet system. Greater efficiency in total labour per season enabled a reduction of 39%, from 651 h.ha−1 for the Spanish gobelet system to 398 h.ha−1 for the central leader system. Additionally, an increase in fruit quality, particularly fruit size and SSC content, due to a more uniform light distribution was observed. In these planar intensive systems, including palmette, a reduction in light interception of 17% was recorded when compared to the open vase system. Yields obtained were more related to planting density and canopy architecture than the average of intercepted light. Currently, the central leader and bi-axis are the most important systems used in intensive orchards in Spain, with planting densities from 1,900 to 3,100 trees.ha−1. All these results support the sustainable intensification concept and make peach tree production more economically sustainable for growers.

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Axicabtagene Ciloleucel vs. Tisagenlecleucel for the Management of Relapsed/Refractory Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma in Spain.

Simple SummaryCAR T therapies axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel) and tisagenlecleucel (tisa-cel) have been approved in Spain for patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), given their favourable outcomes for overall survival and progression-free survival. However, the cost of these treatments must be weighed within the context of the Spanish health system. In this study, we assessed the cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of axi-cel vs. tisa-cel from the Spanish National Health System perspective. Using commonly applied willingness-to-pay thresholds in Spain, our analysis shows that axi-cel is highly cost-effective when compared to tisa-cel in R/R DLBCL. These results could be used to support decision-making criteria for axi-cel financing.The study aimed to assess the cost-effectiveness of axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel) vs. tisagenlecleucel (tisa-cel) for the treatment of relapsed/refractory (R/R) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) after ≥2 lines of systemic therapy in Spain. A lifetime partitioned survival mixture cure model, which comprises pre-progression, post-progression, and death health states, was used to estimate the accumulated costs and outcomes in terms of life years gained (LYG) and quality-adjusted life years (QALY). A matching-adjusted indirect comparison was used to reweight patient-level data from ZUMA-1, the pivotal clinical trial for axi-cel, to aggregate-level data from the pivotal tisa-cel trial, JULIET. The analysis was performed from the National Health System perspective, thus only direct costs were included. Sensitivity analyses (SA) were performed. Axi-cel yielded 2.74 incremental LYG and 2.31 additional QALY gained per patient compared to tisa-cel. Total incremental lifetime costs for axi-cel versus tisa-cel were €30,135/patient. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of axi-cel versus tisa-cel resulted in €10,999/LYG and the incremental cost-utility ratio in €13,049/QALY gained. SA proved robustness of the results. Considering the frequently assumed willingness-to-pay thresholds in Spain (€22,000/QALY and €60,000/QALY), axi-cel is a cost-effective treatment vs. tisa-cel for adult patients with R/R DLBCL in Spain.

Battery Sizing Optimization in Power Smoothing Applications

The main objective of this work was to determine the worth of installing an electrical battery in order to reduce peak power consumption. The importance of this question resides in the expensive terms of energy bills when using the maximum power level. If maximum power consumption decreases, it affects not only the revenues of maximum power level bills, but also results in important reductions at the source of the power. This way, the power of the transformer decreases, and other electrical elements can be removed from electrical installations. The authors studied the Spanish electrical system, and a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm was used to model battery sizing in peak power smoothing applications for an electrical consumption point. This study proves that, despite not being entirely profitable at present due to current kWh prices, implanting a battery will definitely be an option to consider in the future when these prices come down.

From Refoundation to Decline: A Century of Catholic Church Hospitals in Spain (1880s–1980s)

Abstract This paper analyses the contribution of the Catholic Church to Spanish hospitals for more than a century, from the last three decades of the nineteenth century to the 1980s, when the health system model changed and when the transfer of healthcare to Spain’s Autonomous Communities was initiated. The refoundation of Catholic Church hospitals can be observed in the last thirty years of the nineteenth century, as the result of the confiscation of Church property that took place during this century. The new hospitals incorporated contemporary scientific innovations and medical specialisation. Over time, the Catholic Church ran a substantial number of hospitals (surgical, maternity, children’s, psychiatric, shelters, etc.). This work of healthcare provision still continued into the early 1940s, when the Church hospitals were integrated into the national hospital system. Catholic Church hospitals accounted for 15 to 17 per cent of the total number of beds in the Spanish health system. The most common were surgical hospitals – each with around 100 beds – located in urban areas. The contribution of Catholic Church hospitals to psychiatric care was notable (30 per cent of all beds for this purpose in Spain). This study also analyses the ten-percentage point reduction in the number of beds and hospitals dependent on the Church that occurred in the 1980s.

PENAS IBÁÑEZ, Beatriz. (Universidad de Zaragoza) - El papel de la traducción indirecta en la ralentización de la modernización cultural: el papel intermedio de las primeras traducciones al español de Hemingway

Las traducciones españolas de la narrativa de Hemingway son traducciones de segunda mano, que no traducen directamente del texto en lengua inglesa del autor, sino que utilizan sus primeras traducciones al español como texto fuente. Los textos meta previamente elaborados han suplantado a los textos fuente en su función de referente de las nuevas traducciones. Dicha suplantación tiene efectos significativos, por una parte sobre la consideración que el lectorado español pueda tener acerca del rol del autor dentro de la literatura española y la universal. Por otra parte, la traducción indirecta, especialmente en el caso aquí estudiado, ha jugado un papel esencial en la ralentización del flujo intercultural, por ejemplo la resistencia a la adopción de ideologías de género modernas, en la etapa (post)franquista. La traducción indirecta parece haber sido una práctica cultural instrumental en la implantación de una forma aguada de (auto)censura tras la desaparición de la censura formal en España.

A framework for implementing and reporting United Nations sustainable development goals in Spanish higher education institutions

PurposeThis study aims to explore a holistic framework for implementing and reporting sustainable development goals (SDGs) in universities. The aim is to define elements of the content as well as the context, which will allow us to understand and compare sustainable development processes at the university level. Using the 2030 Agenda context, this research describes a university profile which is accountable to its stakeholders, thus aligning its sustainability report with the SDGs.Design/methodology/approachThis research has considered the entire Spanish university system and relies on data collection from sustainability reports published by 50 public universities and 34 private universities. Through an analysis of the contents of public reports, the aim is to build an index like the social responsibility dissemination index, but specific to the 2030 Agenda in the university context.FindingsThe holistic model, based on a dissemination index, showed diverse methods of implementing and reporting contributions to the SDGs, with varying degrees of depth, priority, reach, suitability and visibility. The proposed index was also used as a classification variable to group Spanish universities into two conglomerates, one that leads the contribution to the 2030 Agenda and another that follows the previous ones.Research limitations/implicationsThis research work could be extended to include any European university educational systems. Case studies could add qualitative value to the implementation of the SDGs.Originality/valueAs a pilot study, the developed index can be used to analyse the sustainability reports of Spanish universities to determine the use of reporting to render accounts to stakeholders.

From Abandonment to Hospitalisation: Evolution of Hospital Care in Rural Spain (1939-1975).

SummaryThe aim of this article is to explain the situation of the Spanish hospital system during the twentieth century and to analyse the reasons why the difficulties that a significant part of the Spanish population, resident in rural areas, had to access hospital services during the Franco dictatorship were perpetuated. The first section uses a conceptual perspective to discuss the repercussions that the new medical significance of the hospital had for the notion of ‘rural hospital’. The second section examines the projects for hospital modernisation that appeared before the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) and highlights what impeded the consolidation of these pioneering experiences in the country. The following section analyses the hospital situation in Spain’s rural world as well as the profound changes that occurred during the last decades of the dictatorship, just on the threshold of the health reform that was finally implemented in the democratic period.

New parties and matryoshka scissions in Spain. The case of Podemos and Más Madrid

The economic crisis which began in 2008, and was further exacerbated by the political-institutional crisis of 2011–2014, has led to a transformation in the traditional Spanish party system. Instead of an imperfect bipartisan system, it has moved to a moderate multiparty one with two practically sealed ideological blocs, of similar weight and with intra-bloc mobility. However, in each bloc the dominance of the traditional party has been maintained (PSOE-social democrats and PP-conservatives) but sharing the space, in order to govern, with new agents of recent creation: Podemos-left, Ciudadanos-liberals and VOX-extreme right. The political-institutional crisis prompted a new complexity in the partisan system with the entry into Parliament of new actors but without the departure of any relevant party, resulting in a dramatic increase in the fragmentation and polarization of the Spanish party system. In this article we focus on the competition within the left bloc, in particular, the division of Podemos in the Community of Madrid to form the political party Más Madrid. We analyse the power fight, competition and electoral transfer between both parties during the 2019 local, regional and national elections and show that for the first time a dual vote has been established in the Community of Madrid. An anomaly in Spanish territories where no historical nationalities coexist. Our results also show that the left-left space has not expanded with the shift of social democrats to the ideological center. The paper concludes asking about whether this electoral flight could spread to parties with similar political stances in the different Spanish territories.

CECRE: Supervision and Control of Spanish Renewable Energies in the Last 15 years

From its commissioning in 2006 to the present, the Spanish Control Centre for Renewable Energies (CECRE) has been a worldwide pioneer and reference centre in the integration of renewable energies in the electrical system. In the last 15 years, CECRE has allowed a high penetration of renewable energies in Spanish electrical system by means of the supervision and control of renewable facilities, while ensuring the power supply security. This paper defines the bases of renewable energy operation in CECRE and introduces forecasting systems for renewable energies. Furthermore, this paper describes the participation of renewable energies in balancing services and congestion management. Finally, new challenges for Spanish transmission system operator (TSO) are presented for the integration of renewable energies along with the energy transition and decarbonization.

Characterization of the PAZ X-Band SAR Using the HITCHHIKER Ground Receiver

With the start of the Spanish PAZ system, another earth observation satellite has become available to the scientific community. Following the launch of the PAZ science phase, we performed a number of ground experiments using different modes of the satellites SAR instrument, measuring the transmitted radar signal as well as its ground reflections using the HITCHHIKER receiver. The data acquired in these experiments is analyzed and used in collaboration with the PAZ calibration team at INTA to characterize the PAZ instrument and thus verify the system calibration. Further we obtained bistatic radar images from the data of the HITCHHIKER ground receiver.

Translated article] What Proportion of the Spanish Dermatology Caseload Corresponds to Primarily Sexually Transmitted Infections and Other Anogenital Dermatoses? Results From the DIADERM National Random Survey

Background and objectivePredominantly sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and infestations and other anogenital dermatoses are covered in the training of specialists in dermatology and venereology in Spain. This study aimed to analyze the proportion of the dermatology caseload these diseases account for within the public and private dermatological activity of the Spanish health system. Material and methodsObservational cross-sectional study of time periods describing the diagnoses made in outpatient dermatology clinics, obtained through the anonymous DIADERM survey of a representative random sample of dermatologists. Based on diagnostic codes of the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, 36 related diagnoses were selected, and classified into 12 groups. ResultsOnly 3.16% of diagnoses corresponded to STIs and other anogenital dermatoses. The most common diagnostic group was anogenital human papillomavirus infection, followed by molluscum contagiosum, and inflammatory anogenital dermatoses. Lesions with these diagnoses were usually the main reasons for first visits in the National Health Service. In private practice, the diagnoses usually came after referrals from other physicians. ConclusionsSTIs and other anogenital dermatoses account for a very small proportion of the dermatology caseload in Spain, although the inclusion of molluscum contagiosum diagnoses overestimates these conditions. The fact that no STI centers or monographic STI consultations were included in the random sample of dermatology partly explains the under-representation of these areas of the specialty. A determined effort to support and promote monographic STI centres and clinics should be made.

The invisible thread: women as tradition keepers and change agents in Spanish pastoral social-ecological systems

Pastoral social-ecological systems (SES) provide myriad benefits to humanity and face multiple challenges in the 21st century, including interacting climate and land-use change, political marginalization, and demographic shifts, leading to loss of traditional knowledge and practices associated with sustainable use. Research and policy increasingly recognize women's roles in sustaining pastoral SES in the Global South, yet women pastoralists in the Global North have received scant attention. In Spain, like other countries in the Global North, the rise of intensive industrialized agriculture contributed to rural depopulation, land abandonment, and the masculinization of rural spaces. In this qualitative study, we address the empirical gap in studies of women pastoralists in the Global North by investigating Spanish women pastoralists' roles in pastoral SES conservation, adaptive transformation, and abandonment (regime shift). Drawing on in-depth life-history interviews with 31 women from 4 regions of Spain, and participatory workshops with women in each region, we explored women pastoralists' diverse identities and roles in conserving, transforming, and abandoning pastoral SES, focusing on 3 levels of social organization: the household/enterprise and local community, the extensive livestock sector, and society broadly. We found that women contributed to all three processes and we highlight synergies between women's roles as tradition-keepers and change agents that could serve as a leverage point for adaptive transformation. Our analysis also revealed key contradictions in women's material and discursive practices; how these are shaped by intersecting axes of social differences such as age, class, origins. and family status; and their implications for policy and practice to foster adaptive transformation of extensive livestock systems. This work advances SES/resilience research by addressing social science critiques of resilience approaches through the application of feminist theories and methodology that center the voices and subjective lived experiences of women pastoralists and attend to the roles of gender and power in SES dynamics.

CHARACTERISTICS OF EXTREMIST POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES: THE CASE OF THE SPANISH FASCIST FRONT BASTION

This work analyses the concept and characteristics of extremist political ideologies through the study of previous works on European and American far-right extremism. This analysis explores how in some societies, like the Spanish one, certain types of extremist political ideologies are tolerated. The author proposes an additional characteristic to the ones analyzed, which helps to classify and understand these ideologies and their sympathizers. This proposed characteristic is based on the use of force to impose an ideology. The case of the Spanish extremist group Bastion Front, of fascist and Francoist ideology, is analyzed through the mentioned characteristics. The discourse given by Isabel Peralta in 2021 in memory of the Blue Division in Madrid is included to demonstrate the tolerance of extremist and fascist public speeches. A review of the main characteristics and values of Spanish national-Catholicism extremist political ideology is presented, as well as those of the historical fascist party Falange, still active today. This work exposes the rhetorical use of Russia by Western fascists as a supposed leader of an illiberal system opposing the American and English order. The author concludes that extremist political ideologies like fascism are tolerated in Spanish society and the Spanish legal system today.