Place branding : a conceptual and theoretical framework

Within the context of rising competition between territories, identity has become the most important element of recognition, differentiation and commodification in the communicative process within which cities, regions and countries position themselves. Geographical spaces thus compete in terms of this identity, which is then subjected to fierce comparison and competition (Nogué, 1999; Anholt, 2007a). The territorial brand thus entails the reinvention of places through a process of brand construction (branding) based on the promotion of the individual and collective identities of geographical spaces; these identities, in turn, are imbued with the intangible factors associated with their respective territorial identities.

El aprendizaje servicio universitario: materializando el compromiso social de la universidad desde una educación basada en la excelencia

Este artículo está basado en el proyecto de Aprendizaje Servicio (ApS) (Puig, 2006) Jardín Miquel Martí i Pol, iniciado en el año 2005 en la Universidad de Vic (UVic). En el mismo, universitarios junto a personas en situación de exclusión social por motivos relacionados con la enfermedad mental, la pobreza y/o la inmigración han creado y mantenido un jardín abierto a toda la ciudadanía y dedicado al poeta Martí Pol. Es un ejemplo de cómo los campus universitarios pueden ser un vivero de proyectos que integren la excelencia en la docencia con el servicio a la comunidad en el espíritu del ApS. Pero además posee el potencial de mejorar la salud y el bienestar de los estudiantes. Sobre el proyecto Jardín Miquel Martí i Pol se ha desarrollado la tesis doctoral La palabra y la acción; lucha contra la pobreza, ciudadanía y salud ocupacional mediante nuevas praxis universitarias (Simó, 2011).

The Effect of a Physical Activity Program on the Total Number of Primary Care Visits in Inactive Patients: A 15-Month Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract Background: Effective promotion of exercise could result in substantial savings in healthcare cost expenses in terms of direct medical costs, such as the number of medical appointments. However, this is hampered by our limited knowledge of how to achieve sustained increases in physical activity. Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of a Primary Health Care (PHC) based physical activity program in reducing the total number of visits to the healthcare center among inactive patients, over a 15-month period. Research Design: Randomized controlled trial. Subjects: Three hundred and sixty-two (n = 362) inactive patients suffering from at least one chronic condition were included. One hundred and eighty-three patients (n = 183; mean (SD); 68.3 (8.8) years; 118 women) were randomly allocated to the physical activity program (IG). One hundred and seventy-nine patients (n = 179; 67.2 (9.1) years; 106 women) were allocated to the control group (CG). The IG went through a three-month standardized physical activity program led by physical activity specialists and linked to community resources. Measures: The total number of medical appointments to the PHC, during twelve months before and after the program, was registered. Self-reported health status (SF-12 version 2) was assessed at baseline (month 0), at the end of the intervention (month 3), and at 12 months follow-up after the end of the intervention (month 15). Results: The IG had a significantly reduced number of visits during the 12 months after the intervention: 14.8 (8.5). The CG remained about the same: 18.2 (11.1) (P = .002). Conclusions: Our findings indicate that a 3-month physical activity program linked to community resources is a shortduration, effective and sustainable intervention in inactive patients to decrease rates of PHC visits. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00714831

Comunicar con los visitantes: una nueva faceta profesional para los conservadores-restauradores

Heritage resources are more exposed than ever to visitors. For this reason, the transmission of cultural content is not enough: the present situation demands the inclusion of some messages able to foment a sustainable relation between the visitor and the resource. And this can best be achieved with the Preventive Difusion, a sensitizing strategy to inform and persuade visitors about the extreme fragility of the heritage resources. In addition, this strategy is a magnificent tool at the service of the corporate identity of the heritage resources and of the conservators: usually, preventive conservation actions and policies are not clear to visitors. But if they are included into the visit discourse, the public receive an accurate vi-sion of the efforts done in that sense, and it allows them to have a clear idea of these efforts, leading to the image that they have about the resource in question and, by extension, of their conservators.

Contenciones mecánicas en geriatría: propuestas técnicas y recomendaciones de uso en el ámbito social

The bibliographical revision of national gerontological literature reveals some confusion in the use of terms that refer to mechanical contentions, lack of dialogue with regards to ethical conflicts that suggest their use, a significant generalization of the claims against and the absence of positive references despite its high prevalence as shown by some authors. This paper presents some technical proposals on the definition, the use of terms and the use of mechanical contentions in the social sphere such as putting the ethical dialogue before the argumentation based on the prevalence, define them in terms of their intent, agree on a classification of the different contention methods, identify the types and levels of risk and intervene specifically and in terms thereof. Finally, recommendations are added with regards to risks, the decision process, prescription and the withdrawal process.

Vejamen de Alfonso de Batres para la academia de 1638

Durante el mes de febrero de 1638 se celebraron en el palacio del Buen Retiro las fiestas de carnestolendas. Entre las actividades programadas, se realizó una academia literaria en la que participaron poetas y cortesanos. De ella se conservan tres vejámenes: el de Alfonso de Batres, el de Antonio Coello y el de Francisco de Rojas Zorrilla. En el presente artículo se analiza y edita críticamente el vejamen que Batres defendió ante sus majestades en el Salón Real del Retiro el 11 de febrero de 1638.

On Automatic Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease based on Spontaneous Speech Analysis and Emotional Temperature

Alzheimer's disease is the most prevalent form of progressive degenerative dementia; it has a high socio-economic impact in Western countries. Therefore it is one of the most active research areas today. Alzheimer's is sometimes diagnosed by excluding other dementias, and definitive confirmation is only obtained through a post-mortem study of the brain tissue of the patient. The work presented here is part of a larger study that aims to identify novel technologies and biomarkers for early Alzheimer's disease detection, and it focuses on evaluating the suitability of a new approach for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease by non-invasive methods. The purpose is to examine, in a pilot study, the potential of applying Machine Learning algorithms to speech features obtained from suspected Alzheimer sufferers in order help diagnose this disease and determine its degree of severity. Two human capabilities relevant in communication have been analyzed for feature selection: Spontaneous Speech and Emotional Response. The experimental results obtained were very satisfactory and promising for the early diagnosis and classification of Alzheimer’s disease patients.

Patriarchal Hauntings: Re-reading Villainy and Gender in Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca

Criticism of Daphne du Maurier’s popular classic Rebecca (1938) can be divided into two mainstream interpretations. On the one hand, it was traditionally marketed as a gothic romance where the hero and the heroine conquered the evil women that separated them. On the other, certain feminist critics have recently provided a very diff erent view of the story, aligning it with gothic narratives that deal with the dangers women suff er under the patriarchal control of their husbands. Th is would imply that du Maurier’s novel should not be read as a traditional romance that promotes patriarchy, as the former interpretation suggested. In this article, I propose, through a Gothic Studies and a Gender Studies reading, that villainy in this novel is not exclusively linked to gender and, therefore, the victim and abuser statuses cannot be equated to femininity and masculinity, respectively. Instead, I argue that villainy in the novel is inextricably connected to being in a powerful position within patriarchy, and that it is the desire to maintain this position and perpetuate the patriarchal system that leads the main characters (men and women) to commit acts of villainy.

“¿Cómo ha ido la Feria?” Estimación del impacto económico de acontecimientos turístos: tres estudios de caso

Los acontecimientos pueden contribuir al desarrollo turístico de una ciudad y beneficiar a sus habitantes y empresas. Sin embargo, para poder diseñar los acontecimientos correctamente, es necesario comprender qué características determinan su impacto económico. Esta investigación pretende contribuir a tal entendimiento mediante la estimación y comparación del impacto económico de tres acontecimientos. Para estimar el impacto económico adoptamos un modelo básico de tres factores: (1) número de visitantes por (2) gasto medio por turista por (3) multiplicador. Primero estimamos el número de visitantes particulares y profesionales mediante diversos sistemas de conteo, encuestas personales e información suministrada por el organizador de los eventos. En segundo lugar, obtuvimos los importes y componentes del gasto de los visitantes por medio de una encuesta; también contamos los gastos de organización de los eventos a partir de sus respectivos presupuestos. Y, tercero, utilizamos multiplicadores de tablas input-output para analizar el impacto de los gastos directos sobre la producción, el valor añadido y el empleo y su distribución entre sectores económicos. Además, calculamos y comparamos ratios de rentabilidad de los tres eventos y dimos recomendaciones para aumentar su impacto económico.

La renda salarial a Osona. Estimació, distribució espacial i mesures de desigualtat

Aquest estudi analitza la distribució de la renda salarial a la comarca d’Osona, en comparació amb la resta de comarques de Catalunya i la seva distribució entre els municipis, utilitzant una base de dades original creada a partir de la informació sobre salaris de l’Enquesta d’Estructura Salarial i sobre la població dels censos de 1996 i 2001. La unitat espacial utilitzada, la secció censal, permet obtenir estimacions per als diferents àmbits geogràfics i calcular i descompondre índexs de desigualtat que mostren les característiques de les distribucions.

Standardizing admission and discharge processes to improve patient flow: A cross sectional study

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate how hospital capacity was managed focusing on standardizing the admission and discharge processes. Methods: This study was set in a 900-bed university affiliated hospital of the National Health Service, near Barcelona (Spain). This is a cross-sectional study of a set of interventions which were gradually implemented between April and December 2008. Mainly, they were focused on standardizing the admission and discharge processes to improve patient flow. Primary administrative data was obtained from the 2007 and 2009 Hospital Database. Main outcome measures were median length of stay, percentage of planned discharges, number of surgery cancellations and median number of delayed emergency admissions at 8:00 am. For statistical bivariate analysis, we used a Chi-squared for linear trend for qualitative variables and a Wilcoxon signed ranks test and a Mann–Whitney test for non-normal continuous variables. Results: The median patients’ global length of stay was 8.56 days in 2007 and 7.93 days in 2009 (p<0.051). The percentage of patients admitted the same day as surgery increased from 64.87% in 2007 to 86.01% in 2009 (p<0.05). The number of cancelled interventions due to lack of beds was 216 patients in 2007 and 42 patients in 2009. The median number of planned discharges went from 43.05% in 2007 to 86.01% in 2009 (p<0.01). The median number of emergency patients waiting for an in-hospital bed at 8:00 am was 5 patients in 2007 and 3 patients in 2009 (p<0.01). Conclusions: In conclusion, standardization of admission and discharge processes are largely in our control. There is a significant opportunity to create important benefits for increasing bed capacity and hospital throughput.

Nuevas técnicas de estadística espacial para la detección de clusters residenciales de población inmigrante

La estadística aplicada a la geografía ha experimentado un avance espectacular en las últimas dos décadas introduciéndose el espacio como eje fundamental del análisis. Este avance se ha visto acompañado por un rápido desarrollo de aplicaciones estadísticas integradas en los sistemas de información geográfica, constituyéndose de esta forma en un conjunto de herramientas imprescindibles en la planificación territorial. Por otro lado, en España, el incremento de población inmigrada en un corto intervalo de tiempo ha hecho necesario analizar su distribución espacial en las áreas urbanas. Los índices de autocorrelación espacial, tanto global como local, y su representación cartográfica constituyen una técnica adecuada para la detección de clusters y patrones espaciales y abre la posibilidad de plantear diferentes modelos econométricos. A partir del caso de la ciudad de Barcelona se aplican las técnicas descritas y se observan los diferentes comportamientos según el grupo de población estudiado.

Distribució espacial de la població immigrant a Osona. Una aproximació quantitativa

Un fet clau pel coneixement de la població immigrant i el disseny de polítiques d’acollida és la seva distribució territorial. Els indicadors de segregació residencial són una eina molt útil. En aquest article es proposen mesures contrastades internacionalment i s’apliquen al cas osonenc considerant Osona com a conjunt i també estudiant per separat el casos de Vic i Manlleu. Tot i ser una comarca amb un percentatge rellevant de població immigrant no es donen situacions segregatives que sí es troben en l’àmbit metropolità.

Indicadores cuantitativos de segregación residencial. El caso de la población inmigrante en Barcelona

La segregación residencial en una ciudad indica el nivel de desigualdad de la distribución de la población entre las diferentes zonas. Es interesante obtener una visión cuantitativa de la segregación residencial para prever y actuar sobre los territorios más afectados por este proceso. En este artículo se propone medir la segregación de los colectivos de inmigrantes desde diferentes ópticas, utilizando la estadística espacial y los sistemas de información geográfica. Con estas herramientas se realiza un estudio sobre la distribución de la población inmigrante para la ciudad de Barcelona. Los resultados apuntan a una disminución en la segregación entre 1996 y 2001. Aunque se aprecian diferencias significativas según la procedencia de cada grupo estudiado.

Población inmigrante y espacio urbano. Indicadores de segregación y pautas de localización

Given the importance of immigrant population growth in Spain, it would be interesting to study its distribution throughout the urban area. The field of statistics suggests different indicators that have a long tradition and permit the quantification of segregation of minority population groups. Through the application of these tools in the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona, this paper demonstrates the utility of analyzing segregation patterns within a city and detecting local patterns of this phenomenon. A new perspective of segregation can be obtained with the use of indicators designed for spatial statistics. The combination of these measures represents a useful procedure for the analysis of the distribution of the immigrant population in urban areas and its extension to different areas such as sociology, economics, urban studies, and housing policy.