Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Spain'

Globalization abates barriers and makes the world similar, but also leads countries to perform like companies seeking and competing for global capitals. In this competition the „nation brand‟ becomes a critical tool to stand out and attract any sort of foreign investments. In this research, the factors which affect the nation brand, presented in the Anholt´s hexagon model, will be tested through the combination of theory on nation branding and empirical data. The study analyzes how different organizations affect and promote the commercial image of Spain in Sweden. Up to seven entities susceptible to affect the brand Spain were analyzed; the ICEX, the economic and commercial office of Spain in Stockholm, the embassy of Spain in Stockholm, Invest in Spain, the Elcano Royal institute, the Hispanic-Swedish chamber of commerce in Madrid and the Swedish trade council in Madrid. The study also presents an outline of the current context of the brand Spain and its projection in Sweden, as well as an overview on the trade relationship between both countries. The individual commitment of most of the organizations investigated, under the guidance of the Ministry of foreign affairs and the Ministry of industry, tourism, and trade of Spain, appears as one of the main findings. Despite the limited scope of this investigation, the relative novelty of this field of study leaves room for further research in different directions, questioning those who claim that globalization threats local diversity.

The Western Mediterranean realm is considered as a region highly sensitive with regard to climate changes and landscape transformations. Within its semi arid and semi humid areas, even slight climatic changes but also human interventions may result in far-reaching consequences in respect of environment and ecological systems. Thus, research on landscape development has a high relevance in geosciences, especially in the light of current climate change research. It is a major concern to reveal regularities and patterns in past landscape evolution in order to provide a basis for the assessment of future developments. For the reconstruction of late Quaternary environmental conditions fluvial sediments play an important role as they almost uniquely reflect landscapes and landscape changes on a regional scale. This is due to the fact that fluvial dynamics and all enclosed processes are based on multi-causal relationships and a variety of factors like climatic conditions, vegetation development, human impact, or tectonic activity finds expression in fluvial dynamics. About 70 % of the Iberian Peninsula is influenced by moist Atlantic air masses, but in the whole area there is a considerable research gap concerning the exploration of fluvial archives. Taking this into account, this dissertation aims to systematically work out fluvial sediment successions of two river systems, namely the Jarama River in central Spain and the Guadalete River in southwestern Spain. For complementary considerations, first stratigraphic results from the middle to lower Guadalquivir River in southern Spain will be consulted. In a first step, the objective is to intensively study and document sediment profiles for the purpose of deriving a valuable composite profile for each river system. In a second step, the significance of these composite profiles regarding palaeoenvironmental conditions as well as changes will be examined. Beside the reaction of fluvial systems towards climatic changes, relationships with other influencing factors are a main issue. On the basis of a supra-regional comparison a possible coupling of fluvial geomorphic systems and large-scale climate fluctuations shall be analyzed. Furthermore, it is intended to address issues like system connectivity or varying response times and response durations. The bases for these considerations are abundant sedimentary profile records supported by electrical resistivity tomography and percussion drillings. Stratigraphic work includes the differentiation of sediment units, the identification of soil horizons, and the correlation of specific layers and horizons across different profile sections based on sedimentologic and pedogenetic characteristics. Subsequent soil-chemical and sedimentological laboratory analyses on certain key-profiles imply grain-size analyses, the measurement of organic carbon content, calcium carbonate content, pedogenic and total iron contents, as well as magnetic susceptibility. Laboratory analyses are used to strengthen results of field work and to differentiate between soils and soil sediments in ambiguous cases. The chronological resolution of the sediment successions will be provided by radiocarbon dating. The final aim is to work out a detailed fluvial sedimentation history for the late Quaternary. The precise characterization of the catchment areas, together with a comparison of the stratigraphic findings and secondary archive information from the literature, will enable the identification of relationships between fluvial dynamics and different influencing factors. In this dissertation, 36 profile sections have been worked out intensively. Furthermore, 13 percussion drillings were conducted in floodplain positions with insufficient exposure conditions. For the chronological frame 70 radiocarbon samples have been dated. The obtained results show a significant pattern of sedimentation periods and phases of stability associated with soil formation for each river system. The sedimentation history of the Guadalete and Guadalquivir Rivers could be reconstructed for the last 15 ka, while conclusions with regard to sedimentation dynamics of the Jarama River could be drawn for a period of 43 ka. Thanks to an abundance of available studies on other terrestrial archives with climatic or environmental relevance, it was possible to assess the influence of different parameters such as climate, vegetation, humankind, tectonics, and base-level changes on fluvial sedimentation dynamics. It emerged that, first and foremost, rapid climate changes had significant impact on the mobilization of sediments in the catchment area as well as their deposition in floodplain positions. On the other hand prolonged periods of climatic amelioration caused floodplain stability along with soil formation, as documented for the time spans between 13.3 and 12.7 ka, 7 and 5.1 ka, 2.8 and 2.3 ka, 1.4 and 1.2 ka, as well as 0.8 and 0.5 ka cal. BP in several river systems. Periods of increased sedimentation were initiated by phases of climatic aridification that affected fluvial systems through the weakening of the vegetation cover and the accentuation of the hydrological discharge regime. Corresponding patterns have been found for the time intervals between 8 and 7 ka, 5 and 3.8 ka, 2.2 and 1.5 ka, as well as around 1 ka and 0.4 ka cal. BP. The supra-regional effectiveness of the factor climate is contrasted by a strong regional individuality of the river catchments that is expressed by further, regionally limited phases of fluvial activity. Crucial to this development – apart from regional climate differences – are, inter alia, tectonic movements as evidenced for the Jarama River system in central Spain, or late Pleistocene and Holocene sea-level fluctuations that primarily affected fluvial dynamics along the lower course of the Guadalete River in southwestern Spain. Furthermore, it can be shown that variations in time and duration of fluvial system response are attributable to differing buffer capacities of river catchments towards external influences. The increase of human impact during the late Holocene apparently provoked a reinforcement of the effects of climatic impulses. There are clear evidences for the participation of humans in the mobilization of sediments; however, concerning the degree of influence it is hardly possible to differentiate between the factors humans and climate
Der westliche Mediterranraum gilt als landschaftlich und klimatisch hochsensible Region, für deren semiaride bis semihumide Gebiete bereits kleinere klimatische Änderungen, aber auch Eingriffe des Menschen, mit weitreichenden Folgen für Umwelt und ökologische Systeme verbunden sein können. Forschungen zum Landschaftswandel nehmen hier vor allem vor dem Hintergrund des derzeitigen Klimawandels einen hohen Stellenwert in den Geowissenschaften ein. Ein wichtiges Anliegen ist dabei, in früheren Landschaftswandeln Muster zu entdecken, welche als Grundlage für Bewertungen zukünftiger Veränderungen dienen können. Für die Rekonstruktion spätquartärer Umweltbedingungen kommt fluvialen Sedimenten eine besondere Rolle zu. Wie kein anderes Archiv spiegeln fluviale Sedimentabfolgen Landschaftszustände und -entwicklung auf regionaler Ebene wieder. Dies ist dem Umstand geschuldet, dass fluviale Dynamik mit allen inbegriffenen Prozessen auf polykausalen Zusammenhängen beruht und somit eine Vielzahl an Faktoren, wie klimatische Verhältnisse und Vegetationsentwicklung, menschliche Einflussnahme oder tektonische Aktivität Ausdruck in fluvialer Dynamik finden. Von feuchten atlantischen Luftmassen geprägte Gebiete nehmen etwa 70 % der Fläche der Iberischen Halbinsel ein, allerdings besteht hier eine erhebliche Forschungslücke im Bereich der Analyse fluvialer Archive. Diesem Umstand soll in vorliegender Dissertation in Form einer systematischen Aufarbeitung der fluvialen Sedimentabfolgen zweier Flusssysteme in Zentralspanien (Rio Jarama), sowie in SW-Spanien (Rio Guadalete) Rechnung getragen werden. Für ergänzende Betrachtungen werden dabei erste Befunde zur stratigraphischen Gliederung des Guadalquivir-Mittellaufes in S-Spanien herangezogen. Ziel der Arbeiten ist es zunächst über umfangreiche Aufnahmen und Dokumentationen von Sedimentprofilen ein belastbares Standardprofil für jedes Flusssystem zu erarbeiten und dieses hinsichtlich der Aussagekraft in Bezug auf Paläoumweltbedingungen und vor allem -wandeln zu prüfen. Neben der möglichen Reaktion fluvialer Systeme auf klimatische Änderungen, stehen dabei vor allem auch Beziehungsgeflechte zu anderen Einflussfaktoren im Vordergrund. Anhand eines überregionalen Vergleichs soll eine mögliche Kopplung fluvialmorphologischer Systeme an großräumige Klimafluktuationen untersucht werden, zudem soll weiteren Themenkomplexen, wie der Konnektivität verschiedener Systeme oder unterschiedlichen Reaktionszeiten und -geschwindigkeiten nachgegangen werden. Grundlage für diese Betrachtungen bilden dabei aus zahlreichen Geländeaufnahmen resultierende Profilaufnahmen, sowie Ergebnisse geoelektrischer Messungen und Bohrsondierungen. Stratigraphische Arbeiten belaufen sich zunächst auf die Untergliederung verschiedener Sedimenteinheiten, die Ausweisung von Bodenhorizonten, sowie die Korrelation einzelner Schichten und Horizonte über unterschiedliche Profile hinweg anhand charakteristischer sedimentologischer und pedogenetischer Merkmale. Nachfolgende bodenchemische und sedimentologische Laboruntersuchungen an ausgewählten Profilen sollen über die Bestimmung von Korngrößenverhältnissen, Gehalten an organischem Kohlenstoff, Kalk- und Eisengehalten, sowie der magnetischen Suszeptibilität die Geländebefunde stützen und in unklaren Fällen eine Unterscheidung von Böden und Bodensedimenten erleichtern. Die zeitliche Auflösung der Sedimentabfolgen soll über Radiokarbondatierungen realisiert werden, mit dem letztendlichen Ziel, eine detaillierte fluviale Sedimentationsgeschichte für das Spätquartär zu erarbeiten. In einem weiteren Schritt werden begleitend zu einer detaillierten Einzugsgebietscharakteristik die chronostratigraphischen Befunde einem intensiven Vergleich mit in der Literatur verfügbaren Studien an Sekundärarchiven zugeführt, um Beziehungsgeflechte zwischen fluvialer Dynamik und verschiedenen Einflussfaktoren aufzudecken. Im Rahmen dieser Dissertation konnten zunächst 36 Profilaufschlüsse detailliert bearbeitet und zudem 13 Rammkernsondierungen in Flussauenpositionen abgeteuft werden. Für den chronologischen Rahmen wurden 70 Radiokohlenstoffproben datiert. Die Ergebnisse zeigen ein deutliches Muster von Sedimentationsphasen und Zeiten der Stabilität mit einhergehender Bodenbildung für jedes Flusseinzugsgebiet. Dabei konnte die Sedimentationsgeschichte der Flusssysteme Rio Guadalete und Rio Guadalquivir für die letzten 15.000 Jahre und des Rio Jarama für die letzten 43 ka rekonstruiert werden. Dank der Fülle an verfügbaren Studien an terrestrischen Vergleichsarchiven mit klima- und umweltrelevantem Bezug war es möglich, den Einfluss der unterschiedlichen Parameter Klima, Vegetation, Mensch und Tektonik, bzw. Erosionsbasis auf die fluviale Sedimentationsdynamik zu prüfen. So zeigte sich, dass vor allem rasche Klimaänderungen in der Lage waren die Mobilisierung von Sedimenten im Einzugsgebiet und deren Ablagerung in den Flussauen zu initiieren. Dahingegen bewirkten anhaltende klimatische Gunstphasen eine Stabilisierung mit einhergehender Bodenbildung, wie für die Zeiträume zwischen 13.3 und 12.7 ka, 7 und 5.1 ka, 2.8 und 2.3 ka, 1.4 und 1.2 ka, sowie 0.8 und 0.5 ka cal. BP für sämtliche Flusssysteme zu verzeichnen ist. Perioden verstärkter Sedimentation folgten in der Regel Phasen klimatischer Aridifizierung, welche über eine Schwächung der Vegetationsbedeckung und Akzentuierung des hydrologischen Abflussregimes in der Lage waren auf das fluviale System Einfluss zu nehmen. Entsprechende Muster konnten für die Zeiträume zwischen 8 und 7 ka, 5 und 3.8 ka, 2.2 und 1.5 ka, sowie um 1 ka als auch 0.4 ka cal. BP dokumentiert werden. Dem überregional wirksamen Einfluss des Faktors Klima steht jedoch eine starke landschaftsgeschichtliche Individualität der verschiedenen Regionen gegenüber, welche in weiteren, regional begrenzten Phasen fluvialer Aktivität zum Ausdruck kommt. Ausschlaggebend sind hier neben der Ausbildung regionaler Klimaunterschiede unter Anderem tektonische Verstellungen, welche für das in Zentralspanien gelegene System des Rio Jarama belegt werden konnten, oder spätpleistozäne und holozäne Meeresspiegelschwankungen, welche sich vor allem auf die fluviale Dynamik im Unterlauf des in SW-Spanien gelegenen Rio Guadalete auswirkten. Desweiteren können Unterschiede in Reaktionsdauer und -geschwindigkeit fluvialer Systeme mit variierendem Puffervermögen der Flusseinzugsgebiete gegenüber äußeren Einflüssen erklärt werden. Das intensivierte Wirken des Menschen im Spätholozän führte allem Anschein nach zu einer Verstärkung der Wirkung klimatischer Impulse, wobei sich klare Evidenzen für eine Beteiligung des Menschen an der Sedimentmobilisierung erkennen lassen, der Umfang des Einflusses des Menschen aber in der Regel nicht klar von dem des Klimas zu trennen ist

Declining fertility in developed countries along with rising number of immigrants and different fertility behavior exhibited by the immigrants make the immigrants’ fertility an interesting topic in field of demography. However most of the studies on immigrants’ fertility consider the female immigrants as their subject on the assumption that they represent the immigrants’ fertility. This study took another perspective and tries to study male immigrants’ fertility. Spanish Immigrants’ Survey 2007 was used to see how the different migration related factors affect the male immigrants’ fertility. Poisson regression was applied on a sample of 3797 childless males who are 16 or older. This study found tentative support to selection hypothesis but no clear support to adaptation hypothesis on male fertility behaviors. There exist differences in the fertility between male immigrants from different regions. Effect of education, number of parent’s siblings and mother language on male immigrants’ fertility was also analyzed.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2001.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 91-92).
The Spanish public pension system is currently based on the pay as you go (PA YOO) principle. This thesis examines the current structure of this public system and its financial viability in the face of expected demographic changes. First, demographic and macroeconomic models were created extending out to 2050 and, based on them, the finances of the system were estimated assuming that the current regulations would remain largely unchanged. The simulations indicate that the system will show small surpluses for the next years followed by an alarming deterioration beyond 2020, mainly driven by demographic factors such as increasing life expectancy and the reduction in fertility rate observed in the last two decades. The baseline demographic and macroeconomic scenario results in a projected deficit of about 7% of GDP by 2045. This outlook includes a reduction of unemployment and an increase in labor force participation within reasonable limits. It is also shown that high immigration, fertility and productivity growth, again, within reasonable limits, while improving the financial outlook, do not resolve the issue. Without significant reforms, the system will be faced with a reduction in benefits and/or an increase in the payroll-tax by the second quarter of this century. The model is further used to test the effectiveness of potential reforms. We conclude that a permanent solution could be supported on three pillars: 1. The creation of a Pension Fund with the surpluses of the PAYOO system and a creative investment policy such as that recommended by Modigliani et al. 2. The contribution of the prospective surpluses from the unemployment system (INEM) to the fund during a transitory period. 3. Reforms in the pension calculating procedures that will foster participation in the labor force and eliminate some of the distortions introduced by the current system. These reforms would maintain financial viability without having to raise the payroll-tax. Furthermore, the tax could be reduced gradually beyond 2045. Additionally, this reform would combine advantages from funded pension systems, such as deepening of the capital stock and consolidation of the financial markets, with those of PAYOO schemes, such as their redistributive aspects and "defined benefit" character.
by Pedro Sainz de Baranda.
M.B.A.

The Security Council (SC) is a venue where many different countries gather to deal with matters of international peace and security. Spain has held a seat in the SC on four occasions (1969-1970, 1981-1982, 1993-1994, and 2003-2004). The presence of Spain in these different periods of its recent history allows us to examine the evolution of the Spanish foreign policy over that period. The conclusions that can be drawn are two: First, that the presence in the SC has consolidated Spain as a relevant actor in international relations; second, that Spain's role in the SC can serve as an inspiration for other countries that, like Spain, pursue a more active multilateral and supportive role in international affairs.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2008.
Title from first page of PDF file (viewed Mar. 24, 2008). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 299-321).

Thesis (M.S.) -- Central Connecticut State University, 2009.
Thesis advisor: Angela Morales. "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in International Studies." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-77). Also available via the World Wide Web.

This study combines participant observation with intensive, semi-formal interviews to explore anti-Americanism in Madrid, Spain. It focuses on the experiences of the researcher and American respondents living in Spain. First, a broad typology of the anti-Americanism found in the study is constructed. This typology, reflecting the most commonly occurring types found in the study, consists of academic, structural, and nationalistic anti-Americanism. Next, the substantive areas of Bush's war in Iraq, political ideology, and Mead's concept of the Other are discussed in relation to current anti-Americanism in Madrid. Lastly, conclusions and suggestions for further research are discussed.
Department of Sociology

Investment in human capital is a key tool for the social and economic progress in every country. Thus one of the most important public policies in the last century has focused on increasing the level and quality of education among the population. This goal has been reached by all developed countries. However, the rapid increase of the percentage of the population with high education in developed economies during the last decades has probably contributed to labour market inefficiency. It is observed that part of this population is not working in jobs that require their level of education; otherwise they end up in jobs that require workers with a lower level of education. This situation is called overeducation. This dissertation examines several aspects related to the overeducation phenomenon in Spain. In particular, the first empirical analysis studies whether overeducated workers obtain a higher return on this training – specifically, non-education training activities – than the rest of workers. If it is so, overeducated workers could overcome part of the wage penalty derived from their education-occupation mismatch. The results showed that non-formal education activities have a positive effect on wages, but only overeducated workers who have undergone non-formal education activities receive a wage premium. It seems that this type of training provides overeducated workers with new abilities that permit them to reduce the wage penalisation derived from the mismatch between their level of education and occupation. The aim of the second empirical analysis is to test a supported theory based on the existence of individuals’ skill heterogeneity to explain the wage penalty associated with overeducation. From such a perspective, the wage penalty associated with overeducation is due to the huge variation of skills between workers with the same level of education. Then, overeducated workers would not suffer a wage penalty. In fact, they would earn lower wages as a result of their lower skills. Our hypothesis was that the wage penalty associated with overeducation could be explained by lower skill levels. As a consequence, overeducated workers may not be suffering a wage penalty in Spain, but their earnings are determined by their skill level. Our results show that individuals’ skill heterogeneity explains only 18% of the effect of educational mismatch on wages in Spain. The wage penalty still remains for those overeducated workers who are not less skilled than properly matched workers. Finally, the last empirical analysis aims to identify a relationship between the situation of overeducation of parents and the educational performance of their children. Previous literature found that children of highly educated parents tend to perform better than children of less educated parents. One possible explanation for the positive relationship between parents’ human capital and students’ performance is based on children’s perceptions about the importance of education. In this sense, students whose parents have a high level of education and good jobs might be more aware of the value of education and, consequently, have higher motivation and perform better than other students. Under this point of view, our hypothesis is that the existence of parents’ job-education mismatch can modify the students’ perception about the importance of education and, consequently, have an effect on their performance at school. In particular, we analyse whether there is a relationship between parents’ educational mismatch and the educational performance of their children, and we checked whether it is similar across the performance distribution or, by contrast, whether there are differences between students at the top and at the bottom of the performance distribution. The results shows that students whose parents are overeducated have a penalty in their academic achievement in all three subjects analysed, this effect being stronger for students with lower educational outcomes. So, the results seemed to confirm our hypothesis.

Throughout all the chapters we have considered some union variables (particularly the proportion of workers representatives belonging to a given union) to capture any difference in bargaining power amongst unions.Concerning wage increases, we have not found any systematic difference amongst them in chapter 4 and we have found that regional unions obtain lower increases in chapter 5. Concerning wage levels (chapter 3) we have found that the variable representing the UGT union is associated with lower wage and higher employment levels. Jointly, they seem to suggest that the CCOO union adds more pressure to the bargaining process than other unionsThe effect of the strike variables on wage outcomes have been considered throughout chapters 3 (on wage levels) and 5 (on wage increases).In both chapters the set of strike variables have been found relevant (being the services wage equation an exception). However, whilst for services theestimated effect is of the same sign, for the manufacturing evidence is contradictory. In particular, for the latter sector, wage increase analysis suggests a negative relationship among wage increases and strike length. Onthe contrary, wage levels analysis suggests a positive relationship. Our suggestion for further work is to consider more carefully the specification of the set of strike variables, specially strike costs.As major conclusions on the wage setting process in Spain we would like to stress the implicit sequential bargaining structure and the extreme importance of aggregate setting. The first step of the implicit sequence is the wage increase setting, closely linked to aggregate setting (industry orupper) and to the achievement of the indexation clause. The second step, in which there is the bargaining over wage complements and the compensation for the expected productivity increase, is more closely related to the performance of the firm.Finally, we would like to remark that aggregate factors have a much greater influence in wage setting than the specific conditions of the firm.This structure can have several consequences. For instance, in an economy with null or small labour force mobility (as in Spain) the pressure of unit labour cost will squeeze out of the market, sooner or later, a significant number of firms.

Content: 1. Introduction 2. Music in the curriculum of The Educación Obligatoria 2.1 Music in Educación Primaria - Listening and Comprehension - Music Making - Rational Analysis (Musical Notation) 2.2. Music in Educación Secundaria Obligatoria (E.S.O. Compulsory Secondary education) and Bachillerato (Pre-University Education) 3. Music in the Spanish Non-Compulsory Education 3.1. Elementary and Medium Levels 3.2. The “Title of Higher Music Education” 4. The new certificate of “Didactic Specialization” 5. Concluding remarks

The competitive dialogue procedure is a new public procurement award procedure first introduced by the Directive 2004118 for the tender of particularly complex contracts, when contracting authorities consider that the use of the open or restricted procedures do not allow for the contract to be tendered. It is not intended to be adopted freely as the open or restricted procedures, but contracting authorities may use it only when the need arises and specific grounds for its use are fulfilled. The procedure was introduced with the stated objective of increasing the flexibility of procurement, which had been already identified as a shortcoming of previous existing EU procurement framework. This thesis studies how the competitive dialogue has been implemented in Portugal and Spain. It covers both the legal transposition and aspects of its practice in these countries., through the use of empirical research methods. Through his research, the author has found that the procedure was implemented very differently in Portugal and Spain with consequences on its use. This study has tried to highlight similarities and differences in the transposition, illustrate how the competitive dialogue is being used in Spain and explain why it is being used only sparingly in Portugal.

This thesis explains how and why a popular radical movement developed in Spain during 1808-1844. It shows how this movement was characterised both by the demand that the liberal revolution take on a social agenda, and by the unpopularity of unreconstructed and adventurous elites. The first half (chapters 1 and 2) shows how radical elites appealed to the crowd in a 'vertical' manner, thereby bringing the people into the political process whilst failing to satisfy their grievances. The second half (chapters 3 and 4) shows how the radical crowd became an agent in its own making by calling its leadership to account and asserting its own 'social-liberal' agenda.

Analyzing cookbooks, gastronomic guides, literature and film, this dissertationoutlines the creation of a Spanish national cuisine. Studying the works of Carmen de Burgos, Emilia Pardo Bazán, Dionisio Pérez, Ana María Herrera, Juan Mari Arzak and Ferrán Adrià among others, the project examines the evolution of this nationalist discourse by identifying common and recurring themes in an effort to extrapolate and describe the historical and cultural evolution of food from 1900 to the present day. Within the framework of Food and Cultural Studies, this project treats cookbooks, culinary manifestos and guidebooks as texts. Influenced by a variety of culinary and gastronomic of critics such as Roland Barthes, Arjun Appadurai, Benedict Anderson, Stanley Mintz and others, this dissertation analyzes nationalism through the perspective of gastronomy as a cultural practice that contributes to individual and collective identity building. This dissertation concludes that Spanish national cuisine has been defined as a unique, pluralistic blend of regional cuisines since the early twentieth century. While early authors such as Pardo Bazán admit to heavy French influence and the centralized hegemony of Madrid due to its privileged status as economic and political capital of Spain, most subsequent authors acknowledge that Spanish national cuisine is a construction of various regional influences and by the 1960s, this regional view of national cuisine is universally accepted. Shaped during the twentieth century by civil war, Francoism and globalization, Spanish cuisine today continues to be a blend of regional cuisines that mutually influence each other while also exhibiting the effects of a globalized world by incorporating non-Spanish ingredients and techniques into nationally accepted dishes.

In the early 1990s, Spain faced the risk of losing the market for low-cost manufacturing outputs to Eastern Europe, and the threat of losing control of its complex service sectors to more sophisticated competitors from Western Europe. Most industries had few alternatives other than to upgrade. By the late-2000s, Spanish firms in complex services like Banking and Telecommunications were amongst the most efficient, profitable, and sustainable in the world but most manufacturing sectors had not achieved a comparable outcome. My thesis explains these changes in the Spanish productive structure through an analysis of the institutional structure beneath them. I argue that upgrading in Spain’s complex services was enabled by Peer Coordination (PC), a non-hierarchical variant of relational coordination based on the presence of public-private interdependencies and direct business-state interactions. Under PC, firms in complex services contributed to the fulfilment of public policy objectives in exchange for sector-specific advantages. PC enabled firms in these sectors to undertake significant restructuration that enabled them to reach the efficiency frontier in their industry. Liberalisation did not unravel PC in Banking and Telecommunications because national-level interdependences remained a structural feature of the two sectors. By contrast, PC imposed constraints on capital and skill intensive manufacturing sectors that required patient capital and stable demand to develop new complex products. Firms in these types of sectors found it difficult to secure capital and stable demand on their own, and the state had limited capacity to articulate top-down industrial strategies that could facilitate access to such resources. As a result, firms in capital and skill intensive sectors struggled to upgrade. In exceptional cases, regional institutional structures, based on forms of coordination other than PC, were able to provide support for these underserved sectors. In this regard, regional institutions complemented the national ecosystem and contributed to upgrading.

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics
The document herein described, provides detailed information of the development of PME.BOX Business Plan regarding the expansion to a detailed overview of the business model and strategies that PME.BOX looks to implement in order to maximize its business reach and in turn generate revenue. PME.BOX (firm) is an IT start up firm based in Madan Par the commercial rights of pme.box (software). Pme.box is a touch management solution intended to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in their day day business. It is a software provided under Software as a Service (SaaS). The value proposition of PME.BOX innovative, efficient, sustainable and affordable solutions to their customers. PME.BOX has an important social contribution, given that it provides free software for micro-enterprises and SMEs, to higher levels. Although SMEs represent a dynamic and important role on struggle for “survival” in a high global competitive context. The impending crisis has also affected SMEs severely, with a large number going into bankruptcy. This represents a huge opportunity to such affordable software as pme.box, pr reducing their operational fixed costs, transform those into variable importance of economies of scale for those SMEs. PME.BOX wants to grow fast and on a global scale in order to take advantage of the time market. It is looking for partnerships with available financial means and local market expertise to deal with local demands and local business expansion. Inside this objective, Spain seems to be a very attractive market to the PME.BOX business model.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Los Angeles, 2008.
Vita. Individual works cited are included for each chapter and are noted in the table of contents. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

The "International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health" (ICF) is a model that classifies health and health-related function. Of the ICF domains, least is known about participation. Although a few measures have been developed in English that tap the construct "Participation", none exist in Spanish. The Reintegration to Normal Living (RNL)-Index is the measure of reference to evaluate participation. The general objective of the present study was to translate, culturally adapt, and assess the psychometric properties the RNL-Index in Spanish for use in Spain. The translation and the cultural adaptation of the RNL-Index consisted of a five-step process, leading to the Spanish version of the RNL-Index (SRNL-Index). Psychometric evaluation consisted of a cross-sectional study design, with a longitudinal design used for test-retest evaluation. Thirty-two subjects with stroke and 36 with total knee arthroplasty completed the SRNL-Index twice, as well as the Six Minute Walk Test (6MWT), the Short-Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36), and for stroke subjects, the Barthel Index (BI). Descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance and post-hoc t tests were calculated, as well as Cronbach's alpha, Pearson's, and Intraclass correlation coefficients. The SRNL-Index was found to be internally consistent. Test-retest reliability was quite poor, being moderately low for the TKA sample and moderate for the stroke sample. Discriminant validity was demonstrated by the correlations between the SRNL-Index's Perception of Self and Daily Activity subscales with the Mental and Physical Component Summary scores of the SF-36. The SRNL-Index has convergent validity as shown by the high correlations between of the SRNL-Index and the 6MWT. Known-groups validity was shown in people with stroke grouped by Barthel Index scores, and in both samples when grouped according to gait speed. The SRNL-Index demonstrated acceptable validity and internal reliability for subjects with stroke and total knee arthroplasty. However, further studies are needed to reassess external validity, reliability, and responsiveness in other populations and other Spanish-speaking countries.

This thesis seeks to illuminate the nature, extent and complexity of Templar interactions with their associates, particularly non-Christians, women and Mozarabs, by examining these interactions where the most evidence exists for them---northeastern Spain. Evidence for Temple associations with both Christians and non-Christians is strongest and most prolonged here. The overall nature of these interactions was friendlier than expected in a crusading group. In fact, Templars actively competed with the secular Church, nobility and the king in the Crown of Aragon for lordship over non-Christians because non-Christians were a lucrative tax base. Some non-Christians also sought association with the Templars because the Templars were a strong, international group with friendly ties to the Aragonese kings. The Temple could therefore offer protection from other lords against excessive taxation and exploitation, and physical attack. Documentary evidence shows mutually beneficial interactions as the Temple's (and its non-Christian associates') ongoing preference over time and space. Chapter one examines Templar interactions in general, both with associates and non-associates. Chapter two looks at Templar associations in Novillas, the first Templar house founded in the Crown of Aragon. Chapter three deals with the Tortosa and the lower Ebro Valley, which has the most varied surviving Templar documentation in the areas studied. Chapter four deals with Gardeny (in Lleida/Lerida), which has the largest number of surviving documents for all of the areas in the study. Chapter five looks at Monzon and Barcelona, the main Templar houses for Aragon and Catalonia respectively. The last chapter deals with Huesca, the northernmost house in the study.

This interdisciplinary examination of literary texts and photography captures how Surrealism co-determined the identity construction of Spain 1927-1937 and Mexico 1930-1956. During the second quarter of the 20th Century, Surrealism travelled outside the French borders. Surrealist poets and artists were welcome in Spain and Mexico. Amongst them was the French poet André Breton. Drawing on poetry, prose, plays and photography, this thesis explores spaces and symbolic relations between certain elements of the landscape that were essential to Spanish and Mexican Surrealists and that had a direct relationship with the French poet. The central aim is to explore key spaces in which, myth, history and nature are inserted in their work, to suggest a new and vanguardist landscape. This thesis reveals that Surrealism played a key role in constructing a national identity in Tenerife and Mexico through urban and natural landscapes as a response to historical events. The method interweaves intertextual analysis of key poems, prose, plays and photographs with a theoretical surrealist frame (the manifestoes of Andre Breton and other essays) and literary contextualization. Utilising texts by Surrealist authors as well as translations from French authors, such as Breton, Péret or Artaud, as the main source, the case studies in this thesis show how urban and natural landscapes were essential and inherent in the reflection and construction of identity. This interdisciplinary examination of literary texts and photography captures how Surrealism co-determined the identity construction of Spain 1927-1937 and Mexico 1930-1956.

On November 20, 1943 young Higgins landing craft operator Leon Cooper ferried U.S. Marines of the Second Division ashore on the island of Betio, Tarawa Atoll. The Tarawa landing was to be the first American amphibious assault in World War II and at Red Beach it challenged an entrenched force of 5,000 Japanese soldiers. The fighting lasted only seventy-six hours but it remains one of the bloodiest offenses during WWII. Nearly 1,700 Americans died and over 2,000 wounded during the battle at Tarawa. Most of the dead, both American and Japanese alike, were quickly buried in unmarked graves and cemeteries on the island. Since WWII, some American remains have been recovered, accounted for, and returned to the United States. However, the remains of 564 U.S. Marines and countless Japanese soldiers have yet to come home. Several years later... Leon Cooper had returned home and made a life as a computer company executive. Since retiring, the 89 year old Malibu veteran has stumbled upon a new fight in a familiar place. A few years ago he learned of a landfill covering the bodies of his fallen comrades at Red Beach. Outraged he began spending his own money and raising awareness about the build-up of garbage and debris on hallowed ground. His efforts have resulted in nationwide recognition and a documentary, Return to Tarawa: The Leon Cooper Story. However, the ultimate goal has yet to be realized. Leon has made it his last work to clean-up Red Beach. Apart from local and regional governments not cooperating, rising sea levels have also posed a threat to Leon's efforts. With an intending doom dictating the timeline, the clean-up of Red Beach pales in comparison to the relocation of 10,000 natives from their homes in one of the poorest regions on earth. If not addressed the issues at Red Beach will simply be underwater. The moral line made at this juncture divides right from wrong and outlines actions in each. Are mounds of trash atop soldier's remains simply 'out of sight and out of mind'? Or is their trash in our oceans atop forgotten hero's buried at sea? History tells a story of man's inhumanity to man; a tale of war that led men to kill other men for shared principals and the translation of that naivety into a nation dumping trash on a graveyard. It is the goal of this thesis to explore the qualities of humankind that are embodied in a soldiers sacrifice by creating an architecture that controls degrading conditions in spite of certain destruction. This, a municipal waste management facility, chooses to hold the sacrifices of soldiers above their deaths and carries their bodies from the trash into a memoriam that eases trauma into memory while instituting new possibilities, new activities, and new images for a hopeful future.

This thesis investigates the Spanish identity crisis through structural, political and representational intersectionality by means of the Law of Historic Memory, also known as LEY 52/2007 del 26 de diciembre. This work, written in Spanish, explores relational aspects of various contemporary themes within four post-Franco novels and four Spanish films: Réquiem por un campesino español by Ramón J. Sender and its corresponding film directed by Francesc Betriu; Soldados de Salamina by Javier Cercas and its corresponding film directed by David Trueba; La voz dormida by Dulce Chacón and its corresponding film directed by Benito Zambrano; and Los girasoles ciegos by Alberto Méndez and its corresponding film directed by José Luis Cuerda. Linked by a variety of human elements that affect the individual as much as the collective, the works explore sacrifice, betrayal, indifference and injustice. Each novel and movie pair offers a glimpse of individual memory that, at the same time, belongs to collective memory. Delving into the effects of LEY, this thesis considers the role of the Catholic Church, the general atrocities of war, the role of women in the Spanish Civil War, and the fractured family unit. Lastly, this thesis delineates how these effects apply to the healing of individual and collective memories so as to recover what it means to be Spanish.

Las lesiones por tráfico son un importante problema de salud pública en España. En 2004, el gobierno español estableció la seguridad vial como una prioridad política, y creó el Plan Estratégico de Seguridad Vial 2005-2008, que propone una serie de medidas dirigidas a disminuir el impacto de las lesiones por tráfico en España. Los objetivos de la tesis son revisar las intervenciones de seguridad vial que se han demostrado efectivas en reducir las lesiones y mortalidad por tráfico y evaluar el impacto en morbilidad y mortalidad por tráfico del conjunto de medidas implementadas en España a partir del año 2004 y de algunas de las medidas implementadas, concretamente el permiso por puntos, la reforma del Código Penal y los radares. El diseño de todos los estudios de evaluación consistió en estudios de series temporales interrumpidas. Las poblaciones de estudio fueron el número de colisiones, conductores involucrados en colisiones con lesionados y personas lesionadas por tráfico en España entre los años 2000 y 2008. Las fuentes de información fueron bases de datos de policía y hospitalarias. Se ajustaron modelos de regresión Quasi-Poisson, controlando la tendencia temporal y la estacionalidad. Los estudios incluidos en la tesis sugieren que la priorización de la seguridad vial en el año 2004 supuso un cambio en la tendencia de las lesiones por tráfico en España, y fue especialmente efectiva en reducir el número de lesionados graves. Entre las intervenciones incluidas en el Plan Estratégico de Seguridad Vial 2005-2008, se evaluó la efectividad de los radares, el permiso por puntos y la criminalización de una serie de comportamientos de tráfico – mediante la reforma del Código Penal –, medidas que redujeron el impacto de las lesiones por tráfico en España. Sin embargo, la revisión de la literatura incluida en la tesis identificó diversas medidas efectivas de seguridad vial, como el permiso de conducir gradual, que todavía no han sido implementadas y que podrían reducir todavía más el número de personas lesionadas en las carreteras españolas. Será necesario realizar esfuerzos importantes y adjudicar suficientes recursos para mantener el nivel de seguridad vial alcanzado. Además, se deberán implementar más medidas efectivas de seguridad vial para reducir el todavía inaceptablemente elevado número de personas lesionadas o muertas en las carreteras españolas cada día.
Road traffic injuries are an important public health problem in Spain. In 2004, the Spanish government established road safety as a political priority, and created the Road Safety Strategic Programme 2005-2008, which proposes a series of actions aimed to reduce the burden of traffic injuries in Spain. The objectives of the present thesis are to review the road safety interventions which have proven to be effective in reducing road traffic deaths and injuries, and to assess the impact on traffic morbidity and mortality of overall road safety interventions implemented in Spain from the year 2004 on and of specific road safety interventions implemented, specifically the penalty points system, the reform of the Penal Code and speed cameras. The design of all the intervention evaluation studies consisted in interrupted time-series studies. The number of injury crashes, drivers involved in injury collisions, and people injured in traffic collisions in Spain between the years 2000-2008 were the study populations. Police and hospital registries were used as sources of information. Quasi-Poisson regression models were adjusted, controlling for time trend and seasonal patterns. The studies included in the present thesis suggest that the prioritisation of road safety in the year 2004 changed the trend of road traffic injuries in Spain, being especially effective in reducing the number of seriously injured people. Among the interventions included in the Road Safety Strategic Programme 2005-2008, speed cameras, the penalty points system, and the criminalisation of a set of road behaviours - by means of reforming the Penal Code – were assessed for effectiveness and were observed to reduce the burden of traffic injuries in Spain. Nevertheless, the literature review included in the thesis identified several effective road safety interventions, such as the graduated licensing system, that have not been implemented as yet, and which could further reduce the number of people injured on the Spanish roads. Important efforts and enough resources will be needed to maintain the level of road safety achieved. Furthermore, additional effective road safety measures should be implemented to reduce the still unacceptably high number of people injured or killed on the Spanish roads every day.

Esta tesis doctoral analiza la eficacia del sistema de licencias parentales en España para facilitar la conciliación de la vida laboral y familiar y promover la igualdad de género. Para ello, el primer artículo explora los factores individuales e institucionales que influyen en el uso y la duración de la excedencia por cuidado de hijos, haciendo especial hincapié en las características que justifican la implicación de los hombres. El segundo artículo profundiza en las diferencias del contexto regional español con el objetivo de evaluar el impacto de las políticas desarrolladas por cinco Comunidades Autónomas en la utilización de esta licencia. El tercer artículo estudia los determinantes de la transición laboral de las madres a una reducción de jornada tras el nacimiento del primer hijo, teniendo en cuenta el resto de alternativas laborales disponibles; la excedencia por cuidado de hijos, el trabajo a tiempo parcial y la inactividad o el desempleo.
This PhD dissertation analyzes the effectiveness of the parental leave system in Spain to facilitate the reconciliation of work and family life and to promote gender equality. Accordingly, the first article explores the individual and institutional factors that influence the use and duration of full-time parental leave, with special emphasis on the characteristics that influence male participation. The second article delves into differences at the regional level and evaluates the impact of policies developed by five Autonomous Communities on the utilization of full-time parental leave. Finally, the third article examines the determinants of mothers’ transitions from full-time employment to part-time parental leave following the birth of their first child, while accounting for all other alternatives: full-time parental leave, part-time work and inactivity or unemployment.

Objective: To compare health status (sub-study 1), sleep health (sub-study 2) and health care use (sub-study 3) between the Spanish population and immigrants from the seven leading countries in terms of number of immigrants; to examine whether differences are accounted for by socio-economic characteristics, and to determine whether the patterns of associations differ by gender. Methods: Cross-sectional study using data from the 2006 Spanish National Health Survey (n=29,476). A sample of individuals from Spain and the seven countries with most immigrants in Spain (Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Romania and Morocco) was selected. For the first sub-study those aged 20-64 years (n=20,731) were elected and for second and third sub-studies individuals aged 16-64 years (n=22,224). Main results: In both sexes, people from Bolivia had poorer health outcomes, above all Bolivian males (fully adjusted ORs = 4.84, 95% CI= 2.47-9.48 for self-perceived health status and 8.81 95% CI= 4.41-17.62). Conversely, people from Argentina and Colombia had the best health outcomes, in some cases better than Spanish people. Regarding insomnia symptoms and non-restorative sleep (NRS), in both sexes, people from Bolivia had a higher prevalence of insomnia symptoms and NRS. Conversely, people from Ecuador, Morocco and Romania had less insomnia symptoms and NRS than Spaniards. No differences were found between Spaniards and Colombians, Peruvians and most Argentineans. Regarding health care use, Romanian men were less likely to use health care at all levels. Women from Argentina, Bolivia and Ecuador reported a lower use of primary health care, whereas Peruvian women had a higher use than Spanish women. Among females, there were no differences in emergency visits or hospitalizations. Bolivian men reported higher hospitalization rates, Ecuadorians had lower hospitalization and Argentinean men reported more emergency visits. Conclusions: In Spain there is heterogeneity in the relationship between immigration and health, sleep quality and health care use in Spain, which depends on the specific country of birth and gender.
Objetivo: Comparar el estado de salud (subestudio 1), la salud del sueño (subestudio 2) y el uso de servicios sanitarios (subestudio 3) entre la población nacida en España y población inmigrante procedente de los siete países que aportaban mayor número de inmigrantes; examinar si las diferencias se explican por las características socioeconómicas y determinar si los patrones de asociación difieren por género. Métodos: Estudio transversal con datos de la Encuesta Nacional de Salud de 2006 (n=29.476). Se seleccionaron las personas nacidas en España y las nacidas en los siete países con mayor número de inmigrantes en España (Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Perú, Rumania y Marruecos). Para el primer subestudio se selecionaron personas de 20 a 64 años (n=20731) y para el segundo y tercer sub-estudio los individuos de 16 a 64 años (n = 22.224). Resultados principales: En ambos sexos, las personas de Bolivia tuvieron peores resultados de salud, sobre todo los hombres de Bolivia (OR ajustado plenamente = 4,84, IC = 2,47-9,48 95% para el estado de salud percibido y 8,81 IC = 4,41-17,62 95%). Por el contrario, las personas de Argentina y Colombia tuvieron los mejores resultados en salud, en algunos casos mejor que los españoles. En cuanto a los síntomas de insomnio y sueño no reparador, en ambos sexos, la gente de Bolivia tenía una mayor prevalencia de síntomas de insomnio y sueño no reparador. Por el contrario, la gente de Ecuador, Marruecos y Rumanía tuvieron menos síntomas de insomnio y sueño no reparador que los españoles. No se encontraron diferencias entre españoles y colombianos, peruanos y la mayoría de los argentinos. En cuanto al uso de servicios sanitarios, los hombres rumanos utilizaron menos los servicios sanitarios en todos los niveles. Las mujeres de Argentina, Bolivia y Ecuador hicieron un menor uso de la atención primaria de la salud, mientras que las mujeres peruanas tuvieron un uso mayor que las mujeres españolas. Entre las mujeres, no hubo diferencias en las consultas de urgencia u hospitalizaciones. Los hombres bolivianos reportaron mayores tasas de hospitalización y uso de urgencias, los ecuatorianos tuvieron menos ingresos hospitalarios y más visitas a la atención primaria y los argentinos hicieron un mayor uso de las urgencias. Conclusiones: En España existe heterogeneidad en la relación entre la inmigración, la percepción de la salud, salud mental, los síntomas de insomnio, SNR y el uso de servicios sanitarios, que depende del país concreto de nacimiento y de diferencias de género.

Pocs temes han generat tant debat en matèria de govern corporatiu com el de la remuneració de directius. Aquesta recerca analitza una pràctica tan controvertida com estesa en la contractació executiva, tal com és la concessió al directiu d'opcions sobre accions de l'empresa. Són les opcions sobre accions la resposta al desafiament d'alinear eficientment els incentius del directiu amb els de l'accionista? La clau radica en el disseny del contracte. Aquest estudi pretén contribuir a llançar llum sobre aquesta controvèrsia, a través d'una anàlisi sistemàtica del disseny dels plans d'opcions sobre accions de les empreses de major liquiditat i capitalització del mercat espanyol, representades en l'índex borsari Ibex 35. Les variables de disseny objecto d'anàlisi són el preu d'exercici, el període d'espera, el venciment del contracte, l'actualització del preu d'exercici i les restriccions a la venda posterior de les accions. Sobre aquests plans s'apliquen les teories de contractació òptima i extracció de rendes, per identificar desviaments del paradigma d'alineació d'incentius. Per avaluar l'eficiència en aquesta alineació d'incentius que es persegueix amb el contracte d'opció, es vincula el disseny de les variables a dalt esmentades amb la tornada ajustada per risc de les empreses que concedeixen opcions, a través d'una anàlisi de dades de panell.
Pocos temas han generado tanto debate en materia de gobierno corporativo como el de la remuneración de directivos. Esta investigación analiza una práctica tan controvertida como extendida en la contratación ejecutiva, tal como es la concesión al directivo de opciones sobre acciones de la empresa. ¿Son las opciones sobre acciones la respuesta al desafío de alinear eficientemente los incentivos del directivo con los del accionista? La clave radica en el diseño del contrato. Este estudio pretende contribuir a arrojar luz sobre dicha controversia, a través de un análisis sistemático del diseño de los planes de opciones sobre acciones de las empresas de mayor liquidez y capitalización del mercado español, representadas en el índice bursátil Ibex 35. Las variables de diseño objeto de análisis son el precio de ejercicio, el período de espera, el vencimiento del contrato, la actualización del precio de ejercicio y las restricciones a la venta posterior de las acciones. Sobre dichos planes se aplican las teorías de contratación óptima y extracción de rentas, para identificar desvíos del paradigma de alineación de incentivos. Para evaluar la eficiencia en esta alineación de incentivos que se persigue con el contrato de opción, se vincula el diseño de las variables arriba mencionadas con el retorno ajustado por riesgo de las empresas que conceden opciones, a través de un análisis de datos de panel.
Few issues in modern corporate governance have received as much attention lately as executive compensation. This research deals with a highly controversial yet widespread practice in executive pay: stock options plans. Are stock options the answer to efficiently align incentives, bridging the gap between cash-flow rights and control rights? A design that delivers that goal proves crucial. This study aims to contribute to the current debate on such a heated corporate governance issue by presenting a systematic analysis of stock option design in Spanish largest and most liquid companies, out of the entire population of the Ibex 35 stock market index. The specific design variables to be examined are strike price, vesting period, maturity, repricing and trading restrictions. A mix of the optimal contracting and the rent-extracting approaches are applied to explore for significant deviations from the incentive-alignment paradigm. Finally, panel data analysis is conducted to identify potential relationships between the above mentioned variables and risk-adjusted returns for Ibex 35 firms with stock option plans.

This thesis analyses the impact of the recession on the regional labour markets in Spain by considering three different aspects: the regional unemployment sensitivity to economic variations, the minimum wage effect on youth employment rate and finally, the role of the labour market determinants on internal migration. Firstly, we explore the inverse relationship between unemployment and GDP for the Spanish provinces and the period ranging 1985-2013. After testing the time series properties of provincial GDP and unemployment, we specify static and dynamic versions of the Okun’s law using VAR and PVAR techniques. Both static and dynamic analyses lead us to determine that provinces show large differences in their unemployment sensitivity to GDP shocks. In particular, provinces that show less diversified industries, a more developed services sector and higher rates of labour participation suffer from higher variations in unemployment rates. In the following analysis we evaluate the effect of minimum wages on regional employment rates, taking especially into consideration its influence on youth employment. The work contributes to the literature by focusing on the analysis of a recessionary period but also by considering spatial effects in order to capture the interactions between regional labour markets. The obtained results have shown a negative but quite small effect of the Kaitz index on the employment rate. The disaggregation of youth population into different age groups has allowed us to identify that the youth group most affected by minimum wages is the one between 20 and 24 years old, which is the most common age group of workers that face the school-to-work transition. Finally, we analyse the main determinants of migration between 45 Spanish Functional Urban Areas during the period of the recent economic downturn, in which factors traditionally related to internal migration such as real wages and employment have greatly declined. In order to perform the analysis, we have resorted to a gravity model for bilateral migration flows where several controls and different complex structures of fixed effects have been included in order to avoid potential endogeneity problems as a consequence of variables omission. Results show that real average wages are relevant migration determinants. They exert a strong influence, especially in foreigners and returned nationals and also, they behave as expected for the working age groups. However, the effect of employment rate on migration flows is less clear. The inconclusive results on the role of employment rate on migration are in line with results obtained in eighties and early nineties highly instability period, when migration phenomenon was labelled as “an enigma”.

It is a common misconception that shallow water biogenic carbonate development is inhibited in areas of active siliciclastic input. However, an increasing number of examples of ancient and modern coral communities are being identified which are affected by siliciclastic input and are developing in areas traditionally regarded as unfavorable. Corals can develop in nearshore settings affected by high sedimentation rates, turbidity, mobile substrates and episodic (storm-related) discharges of freshwater and terrestrially-derived sediments. Coral reefs in these systems are not necessarily impacted reefs, and represent natural states of development with coral abundance and diversity comparable to clear-water systems. Accepted models of shallow water carbonate production in clear water conditions only represent one end-member in a diverse range of shallow coral-dominated communities. In order to investigate the development of shallow water, biogenic carbonate development under the influence of siliciclastic input, two mixed carbonate-siliciclastic successions have been studied from the Tertiary of Spain. The Vie Basin (NE Spain) and the Fortuna Basin (SE Spain) provide contrasting examples of coral reef development within siliciclastic shallow marine shelf environments bordering temperate-humid and semi-arid land areas respectively. The methods employed in this investigation were 1) high resolution sedimentary logging and sample collection, 2) petrographic and palaeontological analysis of samples and 3) quantification of non-carbonate content through acid digestion. The correlation of logged sections, and development of a facies scheme for each study area, has enabled the temporal and spatial relationships between carbonate development and siliciclastic sedimentation to be deciphered. The Calders study area is situated within the Vie Basin. The broad environment of deposition was a moderate energy, northward-prograding siliciclastic shelf where high sediment input and unstable substrates inhibited the development of sessile calcareous biota. Carbonate development occurred following abandonment of the siliciclastic substrate. Abandonment facies, which developed on dune foresets and topsets, are dominated by large benthic foraminifera and coralline algae. Carbonate development, as high-energy foralgal shoals and muddy coral-dominated sediments, occurred down-slope. Carbonate units developed as very low angle clinoforms. Coral development was variable, existing as metre-scale patch reefs with associated debris and protected low-energy environments. Coral framework was only locally evident. Six isolated carbonate intervals are identified within the siliciclastic-dominated succession. The change from carbonate development to siliciclastic deposition is abrupt. It is proposed that sediments situated stratigraphically above the main Calders section in the Sant Amanc area are part of the Terminal Complex. The broad environment of deposition was a protected, inner-shelf that developed in the latest stages of marine sedimentation in the Pyrenean foreland prior to regional deposition of continental sediments. Nutrient-rich conditions persisted due to terrigenous input and terrestrial run-off. Metre-scale patch reefs developed through the baffling effect of the perennial seafloor vegetation that acted as a substrate for large benthic foraminifera. The Altorreal study area is situated within the Fortuna Basin. The environment of deposition was a marginal marine, high-energy fan delta system. Only robust organisms such as oysters were able to tolerate the periodic high-magnitude input of coarse-grained siliciclastics. The temporary abandonment of fan-delta lobes provided a site for coral colonization. Abandonment facies are siliciclastic packstones with laminar stromatolites in up-slope areas. Carbonates contain minor siliciclastic material and form laterally restricted sigmoidal units. Corals formed a framework, with variations in coral morphology a function of water depth. Carbonate production was halted through the combined affects of freshwater input, emergence and erosion. Eroded carbonate bodies were buried by fan-delta sediments as the locus of sedimentation changed. The main impacts of sediment input on photoautotrophs are physical burial, reduction in rates of photosynthesis though increased turbidity and changes in seawater chemistry, particularly salinity and nutrients. The amount and grainsize of siliciclastic sediment input has influenced the biota in both study areas. Siliciclastic-dominated sediments contain a low diversity fauna dominated by echinoids, molluscs and burrowing organisms. The reduction of siliciclastic input created a new environment that was initially colonized by organisms acting as r-strategists. These transitional settings are dominated by larger benthic foraminifera at Calders. At Altorreal, a prolonged period of non-deposition led to the formation of a hardground. Coral development at Calders occurred during a constant input of clay to silt-grade siliciclastics. In low-energy areas where sediment input was particularly high, constratal growth of branching corals is inferred. In marginal marine reef areas at Altorreal, coarse lithoclastic grains supported stick-like coral branches. Demise of coral communities is attributed to a number of factors. At Altorreal, emergence and erosion of the reef is inferred from erosional contacts. The development of columnar stromatolites is associated with a prolonged period of non-deposition and possibly a change in seawater chemistry that was detrimental to corals. The development of coral communities in siliciclastic settings can be aided through the existence of a protection mechanism. At Calders and Altorreal, temporarily abandoned siliciclastic substrates provided sites away from silts of high siliciclastic input. Autogenic factors such as delta lobe switching were the most important controls on coral development in the studied areas although allogenic factors such as climate and the tectonic regime influenced rates, magnitude and grainsize of input were also important.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 2003.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 271-288).
The region has emerged in the last two decades as a new field of trade-union activity. There is increasing interaction across Europe between unions, employer associations, and state actors at the subnational territorial level. These practices take different forms and cover a wide range of issues, with training and labor market policies being the most common. Some scholars see in the regional trade union the promise of union revitalization, providing a more adaptable alternative in today's flexible economy. Yet others consider it a recipe for weakness and fragmentation. This thesis argues that the region is an important site for trade unions because it is well suited for addressing employment problems and reaching out to "outsiders:" the unemployed, temporary workers, and others in the more insecure parts of the labor market. My research, which compares the experience of different Spanish regions, links successful intervention to two conditions. One is that the union fully connects its efforts in the region to collective bargaining. The other is that it works within the framework of national agreements and institutions, rather than in opposition to them. Contrary to the academic tendency to view the regional and national union in competing terms, these findings underscore the complementarities between them. Moving into this new field requires unions to develop local capacity in labor market policy, regional development, etc. But it also calls for the national level of the organization to provide coordination and to diffuse, compare, and evaluate regional practices in order to promote learning.
by Lydia M. Fraile.
Ph.D.

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics
After becoming a competitive player in the Portuguese toy market, Science4you aimed at internationalization as a viable option to increase its sales and establish itself as a reliable brand within the niche of scientific educational toys abroad. Despite being established only in 2008, the company has since acquired significant practical knowledge on negotiating with its partners to establish profitable and rewarding relationships. Within the internationalization strategy, focus was and is held upon European countries – with similar markets to the Portuguese – and upon Portuguese-speaking countries, with the intent on facilitating the process of entering the markets. Considering this context, it was not surprising that Science4you would start to sell to the Spanish market by the end of 2009 through an agreement with Fnac. While such partnership allowed for a quick and easy integration, such speedy process also had its drawbacks – as the company started selling to Spain that early, a research on the Spanish market and interpretation of its real opportunities, capacities and trends was never fully developed. As such, despite satisfactory results having been achieved thus far, I feel that this market holds many characteristics that differentiate itself from its Portuguese and other European counterparts, justifying a more thoughtful approach than that already in practice. Through it, Science4you can aim at achieving higher revenues by increases in sales, and to improve awareness in the local and European market. In this Work Project I will analyse what makes this company competitive, and a research of the industry for this target market will be provided. Then, and keeping in mind the company’s strategic objectives, I provide a set of recommendations that I find suited to improve not only its operations in the Spanish market, but to prepare the company for further expansion of its international presence. Maintaining the same mode of entry it employed when it first entered the market – exportation – some structural changes are suggested as well as developments in terms of its operations, partnerships and presence in the Spanish market, aiming to adapt properly to its specific demands.

Mestrado em Economia Monetária e Financeira
Os efeitos da crise financeira de 2007-2008 e da crise das dividas soberanas Europeias espalharam-se pelo sistema financeiro, os bancos e os estados soberanos. Estas crises expuseram as economias mais vulneráveis e causaram mudanças profundas na maneira como o risco é avaliado, incluindo o risco das dividas soberanas, aumentando o spread dos juros dos títulos de divida soberana. Esta dissertação analisa estes eventos, focando-se no caso Português e Espanhol depois de abordar a situação Europeia. A mudança do preço do risco soberano foi averiguada através de, uma análise em painel OLS/2SLS fixed effects num conjunto de países da Zona Euro e uma regressão SUR com Portugal e Espanha, ambas abrangendo o período entre 1999:11 até 2019:6. Os resultados mostram que o preço do risco soberano mudou com a crise e com o discurso "whatever it takes" de Mario Draghi. Nomeadamente, o preço atribuido ao risco de crédito, risco de liquidez e apetitite de risco da Zona Euro pelos mercados aumentou após as crises e diminui a seguir ao discurso de Mario Draghi. Não encontramos provas de mudanças no regime de preços após o discurso no caso Português e Espanhol.
The 2007-2008 financial crisis and the European sovereign debt crisis effects rippled through the financial system, banks and sovereign states. The crises exposed the most vulnerable economies and caused profound changes on how risk is assessed, including sovereign risk, raising sovereign bond yields spreads across the Eurozone. This dissertation analyzes these events, focusing on the Portuguese and Spanish case after providing an insight into the Eurozone. The change in the pricing of sovereign risk was assessed by performing an OLS/2SLS fixed effects panel analysis on a pool of Eurozone countries and a SUR regression with Portugal and Spain covering the period 1999:11 until 2019:6. Our main results show that the pricing of sovereign risk changed with the crisis and the "whatever it takes" speech of Mario Draghi. Specifically, markets pricing of the Eurozone credit risk, liquidity risk and the risk appetite increased after the crisis and it relaxed after Mario Draghi´s speech. We did not find evidence of pricing regime changes after the speech in the Portuguese and Spanish case.
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion