Value In Spain Research Articles

Enhancing deadwood reporting for forest ecosystems: Bridge equations to convert deadwood measured at any diameter threshold to reference diameters

National as well as international requirements have led to an increased need to quantify deadwood stocks in forest ecosystems given their important role not only in terms of carbon storage and regulation of the carbon cycle but also as biodiversity refugia. However, differences in definitions and field monitoring as well as gaps in existing data on deadwood mean that comparisons among countries and retrospective analyses are difficult. In this research, we propose two potential approaches to solve the most common gaps in forest deadwood monitoring. First, we develop bridging functions capable of converting deadwood measurements with a specific reference diameter to 7.5 cm (minimum diameter value in Spain) and 10.0 cm (the most common minimum value for international statistics) diameters for the main forest types while also addressing the effect of raising the minimum measurable size on the quantification of deadwood. Furthermore, we aim to calculate the ratios between the amount of standing deadwood, the most common indicator monitored in National Forest Inventories, and the entire deadwood pool as a proxy for estimating complete deadwood stocks when data are not available. For this objective, we use information obtained from the Spanish National Forest Inventory, linear models and 10-fold cross-validation. We estimate the percentage of deadwood omitted when the minimum deadwood size is increased for the main eight forest types in Spain as well as for the entire country, using two different approaches. The ratio between the amount of standing deadwood and the entire deadwood pool ranged between 0.14 and 0.45 depending on the forest type. The lowest values of this ratio were found in Open woodlands and the largest in Mediterranean conifers. The validation statistics (R2 ranging from 0.82 in Evergreen broadleaves to 0.97 in Macaronesian broadleaves) indicate that the bridging functions we propose are robust and accurate. However, the ratios between the amount of standing deadwood and the entire deadwood pool performed poorer (R2 ranging from 0.26 in Macaronesian conifers to 0.65 in Macaronesian broadleaves) and led to an overestimation of the total stocks. Our results are of value not only for the purposes of comparison and harmonization but also for the implementation of new forest monitoring systems.

A hierarchical classification/regression algorithm for improving extreme wind speed events prediction

A novel method for prediction of the extreme wind speed events based on a Hierarchical Classification/Regression (HCR) approach is proposed. The idea is to improve the prediction skills of different Machine Learning approaches on extreme wind speed events, while preserving the prediction performance for steady events. The proposed HCR architecture rests on three distinctive levels: first, a data preprocessing level, where training data are divided into clusters and accordingly associated labels. At this point, balancing techniques are applied to increase the significance of clusters with poorly represented wind gusts data. At a second level of the architecture, the classification of each sample into the corresponding cluster is carried out. Finally, once we have determined the cluster a sample belongs to, the third level carries out the prediction of the wind speed value, by using the regression model associated with that particular cluster. The performance of the proposed HCR approach has been tested in a real database of hourly wind speed values in Spain, considering Reanalysis data as predictive variables. The results obtained have shown excellent prediction skill in the forecasting of extreme events, achieving a 96% extremes detection, while maintaining a reasonable performance in the non-extreme samples. The performance of the methods has also been assessed using forecast data (GFS) as predictors.

An updated paradigm for evaluating measurement invariance incorporating common method variance and its assessment

Measurement invariance is necessary before any substantive cross-national comparisons can be made. The statistical workhorse for conducting measurement invariance analyses is the multigroup confirmatory factor analysis model. This model works well if a few items exhibit clearly differential item functioning, but it is not able to capture, model, and control for measurement bias that affects all items, i.e., this model cannot account for common method variance. The presence of common method variance in cross-national data leads to poorly fitting models which in turn often results in biased, if not incorrect, results. We introduce a procedure to analyze and control for common method variance in one’s data, based on a series of factor analysis models with a random intercept. The modeling framework yields constructs and factor scores free of method effects. We use marker variables to support the validity of the interpretation of the random intercept as method factor. An empirical application dealing with material values in Spain, the UK, and Brazil is provided. We compare results with those obtained for the standard multigroup confirmatory factor analysis model.

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

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

Energy Retrofit of Social Housing with Cultural Value in Spain: Analysis of Strategies Conserving the Original Image vs. Coordinating Its Modification

Two renovation strategies were considered and compared in this paper for the energy renovation of social housing in condo buildings built in 1945–1969, situated in residential estates that have been declared urban areas of interest. One of the strategies, named here the image conservation approach, consists of renovating the building with very efficient solutions, except for the brick-facing walls, which will only have insulation in the existing cavities. The other strategy, the image coordination approach, consists of renovating the whole building with efficient solutions, including external insulation for existing brick-facing walls, and drawing up coordination plans for each of the residential estates in order to guarantee a coordinated new image of the residential estates. By means of three case studies in the city of Zaragoza and four scenarios of improvement, the two strategies are compared regarding the regulation compliance, the energy use, the emissions reduction, the thermal comfort, and the cost-effectiveness of the measures. The results show that the image coordination approach is the best strategy in regard to the studied aspects, achieving a 69%–79% reduction of CO2 emissions and a 75%–97% reduction of heating use, as well as being the only one capable of transforming these buildings into nearly zero energy buildings (nZEBs).

La huella generacional del magisterio femenino en Extremadura (1958-2018)

Tras los avances socio-políticos en favor de la igualdad de género, aún existen hombres y mujeres realizando roles diferentes, condicionados por valores del patriarcado en España. Tales circunstancias impregnan todos los ámbitos de la sociedad, entre los que se incluye el educativo. Este artículo muestra los resultados de una investigación sobre la evolución histórica del ejercicio del magisterio de cuatro generaciones de mujeres desde 1958 a 2018 en Extremadura. Tanto la perspectiva de género como la generacional, fueron los ejes de orientación para este análisis retrospectivo basado en las biografías de cinco mujeres maestras, a lo largo de sesenta años en la sociedad extremeña. Como estrategia espacio-temporal de investigación se realizan las entrevistas desde la concepción de la huella generacional, que profundiza en los procesos de transferencia de conocimientos, habilidades y actitudes entre las distintas generaciones de maestras en las organizaciones escolares extremeñas, materializado en la práctica docente.After the socio-political advances in favor of gender equality, there are still men and women performing different roles, conditioned by patriarchal values in Spain. Such circumstances spread all areas of society, including the educational context. This article shows the results of a research about the historical evolution of the teaching practice of four generations of women from 1958 to 2018 in Extremadura. Both gender and generational perspectives were the focal points of this retrospective analysis based on the biographies of five women teachers, throughout sixty years of changes in Extremadura society. As a space-time research strategy, it is approached from the conception of the generational trace, which deepens in the processes of knowledge, skills and attitudes transfer between the different generations of teachers in the Extremadura school organizations, materialized in teaching activity.

Cultural Heritage and Methodological Approaches—An Analysis through Initial Training of History Teachers (Spain–England)

Research on heritage education has progressed remarkably and a large number of studies point to a greater presence of active methodologies and the use of resources and primary sources in the classroom. At this point it seems important to investigate the perceptions and experiences of future history and social science teachers. Thus, this paper studies the value that 506 Spanish and English teachers in initial training place on heritage and its presence in the teaching-learning process of history, as well as their views on the existing connections between methodological perceptions and the use of cultural heritage in the classroom. It is a non-experimental descriptive and quantitative study with data collected through questionnaire. This questionnaire was built ad hoc to analyze the opinions and perceptions of teachers in initial training about history education in Secondary Education. The results show that teachers in initial training value highly or very highly the use of cultural heritage in Secondary Education to promote active methodologies, the critical teaching of history, and the development of historical skills. Teachers in training in Spain value more highly the use of heritage than English teachers. While English teachers in training value more highly the resolution of problems through historical documentary sources, Spanish teachers rate the emotional and motivational aspects higher.

La estrategia de marketing turístico de los Sitios Patrimonio Mundial a través de los eventos 2.0

The declaration of UNESCO World Heritage, as an international recognition of the destinations, represents a rising value in Spain. The change of paradigm that represents the tourism marketing 2.0 conditions its strategic management and the destabilization of the traditional demand of the territories. Cultural events linked to heritage, disseminated through social networks and multimedia platforms, undoubtedly contribute to strengthening the brand image of these destinations as they are resources that are identified as active, intentional and strategic tourism assets. The aim of this research is to analyse whether 2.0 events, planned by the destination management bodies (DMOs) in the social profiles of World Heritage Sites in Spain (cultural property category), represent a key factor in boosting their tourism promotion by being integrated into territorial marketing strategies. By means of content analysis, an exploratory study is carried out on 578 events with social profiles on Facebook and 508 on Twitter, which allows the effectiveness of communication and relationship management of the 2.0 events to be verified, based on three variables: audience analysis (publications and follow-ups), interaction and the interest aroused in new tourists as adprosumers.

The sport'values in Spain. From regenerationism to the Civil War.

Los valores del deporte son una constante en la justificación política y social de laexistencia del deporte mismo. En este trabajo analizamos al deporte a partir de su aparición comohecho cultural progresista y progresivo; hecho este que, de facto, se inicia con las teorías regeneracionistasy liberal-progresistas de finales del siglo XIX, que encuentran un notable refuerzo cuando elejército hace suyas estas teorías, y apoya la expansión de la educación física y del deporte como unmedio de regeneración social y de mejora racial. En la valoración axiológica del fenómeno, es precisoreconocer un ampuloso discurso político y social sobre el valor objetivo del deporte y un interesadovalor subjetivo que es el que, de facto, aplican los gobernantes.

OP86 Identifying Surgical Procedures Of Low Or No-Added Value In Spain

INTRODUCTION:There is an increasing interest in divesting activities, giving rise to several initiatives both academic and governmental to identify and address one of the problems of health systems. In 2013 the Spanish Atlas of Variability in Clinical Practice (VPM) in collaboration with the Spanish Network of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Agencies started a project with the purpose of providing elements to support a national strategy aimed at minimizing the use of doubtful procedures in the Spanish National Health System (1).METHODS:The identification, selection and definition of low added value procedures and the determination of the most cost-effective alternatives were carried out jointly between the AtlasVPM group and the HTA agencies of Andalusia (AETSA), Catalonia (AQUAS), Galicia (Avalia-t), Basque Country (Osteba), Madrid (UETS) and Aragon (IACS). The process consisted of the following phases: (i) Literature review; (ii) Preliminary list of procedures of dubious value; (iii) Analysis of feasibility and construction of the indicators (variability); and (iv) Empirical validation of the defined indicators. Different lists and sources of evidence were used to identify the procedures and evidence that support their low-value.RESULTS:The synthesis of the evidence gave rise to an initial list of fifty-nine procedures of doubtful value that could be classified as: obsolete or outdated procedures in comparison to more effective / cost-effective alternatives (n = 31), procedures of doubtful value when used outside their main indication (n = 17) and procedures for which the evidence around effectiveness was still insufficient (n = 11). With the advice of clinical experts and coders, the original list was reduced to seventeen procedures and after some adjustments to thirteen.CONCLUSIONS:Identifying procedures of low-added value is a complex task and is context dependent. Literature could be useful to identify a preliminary list but the analysis of the clinical practice, its variability and reasons that justify it are required to determine which procedures are good candidates for disinvestment.

La incidencia de la calificación energética sobre los valores residenciales: un análisis para el mercado plurifamiliar en Barcelona

This paper studies in a novel way the incidence of the energy rating on residential values in Spain. Real estate sale values in metropolitan Barcelona are analyzed using a hedonic model. The results suggest that moving from a G to an A rating increases the value by 5.11 %, equivalent to an average of 16.07 euros/m2/step (although there is an extra for grade A housing).This surplus is, in relative terms, much lower than in other European cities and, in absolute terms, less than the previously reported extra costs expended on improving the energy rating. In addition, the huge lack of energy rating information in the market seems to respond to a strategy to hide the poor rating of the building stock and aggravate the information asymmetry. All together overshadows the effectiveness of the European Energy Efficiency Directive as has been implemented in our country, and calls for its redesign.

Ecosystem services values in Spain: A meta-analysis

We analyzed the state of the art in research on the economic valuation of ecosystem services in Spain. A review of 150 publications was conducted and included 649 economic value estimates. The results showed an increase in the number of scientific studies on the economic valuation of ecosystem services and a dissimilar distribution across regions. Cultural ecosystem services received the most attention, and coastal systems and forested areas were the most studied ecosystem types. We found differences in the economic value estimates among categories of services and among economic valuation methods, with provisioning services and market-based methods as those that elicited the highest economic values, respectively. Our results provide an overview of past and current economic valuation studies in Spain. In addition the results depict patterns that help in understanding the effects of different factors on economic value estimates and in providing insights for future research on ecosystem services assessment in Spain. We conclude that although economic assessments remain important in scientific and policy forums, we should also recognize additional approaches that are able to incorporate the plurality of values attached to ecosystem services.

Assessing residential building values in Spain for risk analyses – application to the landslide hazard in the Autonomous Community of Valencia

Abstract. This paper proposes a method of valuing the stock of residential buildings in Spain as the first step in assessing possible damage caused to them by natural hazards. For the purposes of the study we had access to the SIOSE (the Spanish Land Use and Cover Information System), a high-resolution land-use model, as well as to a report on the financial valuations of this type of building throughout Spain. Using dasymetric disaggregation processes and GIS techniques we developed a geolocalized method of obtaining this information, which was the exposure variable in the general risk assessment formula. Then, with the application over a hazard map, the risk value can be easily obtained. An example of its application is given in a case study that assesses the risk of a landslide in the entire 23 200 km2 of the Valencia Autonomous Community (NUT2), the results of which are analysed by municipal areas (LAU2) for the years 2005 and 2009.

Celebrity, class and gender in Spain: an analysis of Belén Esteban’s image

Belén Esteban is the most significant example in Spain of a new kind of celebrity that cannot be linked to traditional definitions of talent and work. She is often talked about with contempt, used as a synonym of ‘trash TV’ and seen as evidence of the loss of meritocratic values in Spain. This article analyses how her celebrity image provides a stage for political struggle that embodies current Spanish tensions regarding class and gender. Belén Esteban’s image offers a symbolic battleground upon which the debates about the place and roles of working-class women in Spanish society are acted out. In order to fulfil this aim, this paper analyses two stages upon which these debates are enacted. Firstly, there are the discourses of disgust surrounding her in the Spanish media. Secondly, there are her television appearances in Sálvame Diario (Save Me Daily) and Sálvame Deluxe (Save Me Deluxe), two celebrity gossip programmes in which she works and in which her celebrity image is mainly constructed.

Islamic Tolerance and the West: Early Encounters and Influences

This article is an attempt to explore the conception of tolerance as an inherent principle of Islam, and to show how it was practised when Islam was a political and cultural power. It will be argued that Muslim practice of religious and cultural tolerance proves to be one of the very first examples of multiculturalism and inclusion. The early instances of delivering this Islamic value in Spain, Turkey and during the Second Crusade provide evidence for the Muslim contribution to religious and cultural inclusion which is part of the belief system of Muslims.

Dominance and Nurturance as the Two-Factor Structure of BSRI

The objective of this study (female N = 1072, male N = 471) was replication of multidimensionality of Bem Sexual-Role Inventory (BSRI; Bem, 1974) defended by Fernandez and his research group in Spain. A methodological but not ideological approach is used to analyze the answers with an exploratory factor analysis. Methodological and substantive arenas will be examined. Excluding effects of social desirability and social evolution, a first selection of items provides clearly an orthogonal two-factor structure, in adult people. Reliabilities of both new re-named nurturance and dominance components are 0.80 and 0.78, respectively. There are sex differences in both new components: women’ score was higher than men score for nurturance factor, and lower for dominance factor. The results of a cross-tab analysis also indicate sex differences in fourfold typology combining both factors like Bem’s median split procedure. Finally, convergent validity with personality basic tendencies and their facets recommends making a re-conceptualization of both nurturance and dominance factors like personality traits. Implications for further studies of gender identity – social values in Spain are discussed from evolutionary approach.

Sedentarism and physical fitness in postmenopausal women

The aging process is accompanied by several changes, such as a decrease in physical fitness. To establish the relationship between a sedentary behavior (sit ≥4 hours/day) and physical fitness in 457 women aged 65 years or older. Physical fitness was evaluated by 8 adapted tests from "Senior Fitness Test" and "Eurofit Testing Battery". ANOVA was used to analyze differences between groups according to the hours of sitting and logistic regression analysis was used to study the association of the sedentary behavior with low fitness, using as reference the 20th percentile of the normative values in Spain (EXERNET Project). Sedentary women had lower balance, legs and arms strength, arms flexibility, walking speed and endurance (p < 0.05). In addition, those women who sat ≥4 hours/day had higher odds for having low fitness in most of the mentioned tests, regardless of the hours of walking (p < 0.05). Sitting for a long time has a negative influence on physical fitness among postmenopausal women independently of walking time.

Still something special?: A comparative study of public service journalists’ values in Spain and Sweden

Abstract While most studies of public service media changes in European media systems focus on regulatory policies and audience markets, this article investigates the development of professional journalistic values and newsroom practices among public service journalists. Previous studies have indicated that news values among public service journalists to a large extent have been guided by the principles of public interest and social significance. However, the majority of these studies were conducted mainly in the broadcast era, where competition was less important than it is today. In this article, the objective is to analyse public service journalists’ professional values and newsroom practices in a digital age. The study is based on a comparison between Spanish and Swedish journalists working within the public service media in the two countries, but within strongly diverging public service media conditions. The article compares professional values among public service journalists in the two countries, as well as between journalists working in the public and the private media sector in each country. Methodologically, the comparison is based on nation surveys among Spanish and Swedish journalists conducted during 2010. The results show similar perceptions of news values and between public and private journalists in both countries, but public journalists are more concerned about decreasing quality of journalism and increasing commercialization.

Experimental exposure of red-legged partridges (Alectoris rufa) to seeds coated with imidacloprid, thiram and difenoconazole

Pesticide coated seeds are commonly used in agriculture, and may be an important source of food for some birds in times of scarcity, as well as a route of pesticide ingestion. We tested the lethal and sub-lethal effects of treated seed ingestion by the red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa), a game bird of high socio-economic value in Spain. One year-old partridges (n = 42 pairs) were fed for 10 days in spring (prior to breeding) with wheat treated with difenoconazole (fungicide), thiram (fungicide) or imidacloprid (insecticide), using two doses for each pesticide (the one recommended, and its double to represent potential cases of abuse of pesticides). We investigated the direct and indirect effects on the body condition, physiology, immunology, coloration and subsequent reproduction of exposed partridges. For the latter, eggs were collected, measured and incubated and the growth and survival of chicks were monitored. Thiram and imidacloprid at high exposure doses produced mortalities of 41.6 and 58.3 %, respectively. The first death was observed at day 3 for imidacloprid and at day 7 for thiram. Both doses of the three pesticides caused sublethal effects, such as altered biochemical parameters, oxidative stress and reduced carotenoid-based coloration. The high exposure doses of imidacloprid and thiram also produced a decrease in cellular immune response measured by the phytohemagglutinin test in males. Bearing in mind the limitation of the small number of surviving pairs in some treatments, we found that the three pesticides reduced the size of eggs and imidacloprid and difenoconazole also reduced the fertilization rate. In addition, both thiram and imidacloprid reduced chick survival. These experiments highlight that the toxicity of pesticide-treated seeds is a factor to consider in the decline of birds in agricultural environments.

Values and adult age: findings from two cohorts of the European Social Survey.

Human values are assessed biannually in a multinational sample as part of the European Social Survey (ESS). Based on theories of adaptive ageing, it was predicted that ten lower order values and four higher order values would show age differences that would be invariant across (a) two sample cohorts (2002 and 2008), (b) gender and (c) 12 industrialised nations. The value categories measured by the ESS are the following: conservative values (tradition, conformity and security), openness to change values (self-direction, hedonism and stimulation), self-transcendent values (universalism, benevolence) and self-enhancement values (power, achievement). Of the ten lower order values, tradition shows the strongest positive relation with adult age, while the value of stimulation shows the strongest negative relation with age. With regards to the four higher order value categories, conservative values increased across age groups, while openness to change values decreased. Neither of these value types showed cohort or gender differences. Self-transcendence values were greater in midlife and older adults compared with young adults, were higher in women than in men, and higher in the 2008 compared with the 2002 cohort. Self-enhancement values showed a negative relation with age, with men of all age groups scoring higher in this value type than women. Age effects on the four higher order value types were replicated across all 12 countries in the sample, with the single exception of self-enhancement values in Spain, which show no relation with age.