KITCHIN, Rob (ed.). Mapping worlds: international perspectives on Social and Cultural Geographies

Rob Kitchin, geógrafo muy activo y prolífico, mantiene una intensa actividad editorial, puesto que dirige colecciones de temas geográficos y forma parte de los comités asesores de varias revistas internacionales de primera línea, entre ellas, Social and Cultural Geography, que se publica bimensualmente desde el año 2000 y de la que es director. Precisamente, en esta revista dedicada a temas relacionados con la geografía cultural y social se halla el origen de este libro, uno de cuyos propósitos iniciales fue desafiar la hegemonía anglosajona que domina el panorama geográfico internacional.

Still in the Era of Area Studies? Political-Scientific Perspectives on European Competition Policy in the 2000s

This note reviews the political-scientific literature on European competition policy (ECP) in the 2000s. Based on a data set extracted from four well-known journals, and using an upfront methodology and explicit criteria, it analyzes the literature both quantitatively and qualitatively. On the quantitative side, it shows that, although a few sub-policy areas are still neglected, ECP is not the under-researched policy it used to be. On the qualitative side, the literature has greatly improved since the 1990s: Almost all articles now present a clear research question, and most advance specific theoretical claims/hypotheses. Yet, improvements can be made on research design, statistical testing, and, above all, state-of-the-art theorizing (e.g. in the game-theoretical treatment of delegation problems). Indeed, it is paradoxical that ECP specialists do not pay more attention to theoretical questions which are so central to the actual policy area they study.

Gènere i bilingüisme: connectant experiències i teories. Introductory paper in Santaemilia, José, Patricia Bou, Sergio Maruenda i Gora Zaragoza International Perspectives on Gender and Language

Peer-reviewed

Perspectives on the green construction of the new European Energy Policy

The EU has been one of the main actors involved in the construction process of an international climate change regime, adopting it as an identity sign in the international arena. This activism has reverted in the European political agenda and in the one of its Members States. Therefore, climate change has become a driver for the EU growing participation in energy policy and for its governance evolution. In this context, much attention has been paid to the climate and energy policies integration agreed after the 2007 spring European Council. Apparently, this decision meant a decisive step towards the incorporation of the environmental variable in the energy policy-making. Moreover, the Action Plan [2007-2009] “Energy Policy for Europe” outlined priority actions in a variety of energy-related areas, implying the new European Energy Policy commencement. Against this background, there is still much left to understand about its formulation and its further development. Rooted on the Environmental Policy Integration approach, this paper traces the increasing proximity between environment and energy policies in order to understand the green contribution to the European Energy Policy construction.

Modern Perspectives on Fiscal Stabilization Policies

The present paper describes recent research on two central themes of Keynes General Theory: (i) the social waste associated with recessions, and (ii) the effectiveness of fiscal policy as a stabilization tool. The paper also discusses some evidence on the extent to which fiscal policy has been used as a stabilizing tool in industrial economies over the past two decades.

Modern perspectives on stabilization policies

The present paper describes recent research on two central themes of Keynes General Theory: (i) the social waste associated with recessions, and (ii) the effectiveness of fiscal policy as a stabilization tool. The paper also discusses some evidence on the extent to which fiscal policy has been used as a stabilizing tool in industrial economies over the past two decades.

Cultural differences on seeking information: an eye tracking study

The main goal of this research is to investigate how people with different cultural background differ in their interaction style and visual behavior on search engine results pages (SERP), more specifically between groups from the Middle Eastern region vs. Western Europe. We conducted a controlled eye-tracking experiment to explore and evaluate the visual behavior of Arabs and Spaniardusers when scanning through the first page of the search results in Google. Big differences can be observed in the 4 aspects studied: U.A.E. participants stayed on the SERPs for longer, they read more results and they read each snippet in a more complete way than Spaniards. In Spain, people tended to scan the SERP, reading less text on each snippet, and choose a result among the first top rankedones without hardly seeing those in bottom positions.

HEPCLIL Higher Education Perspectives on CLIL

Programa i resums de les comunicacions de HEPCLIL Higher Education Perspectives on CLIL celebrat a la Universitat de Vic els dies 27 i 28 de març de 2014.

Impact of geographical and cultural factors on clinical trials in acute mania: lessons from a ziprasidone and haloperidol placebo-controlled study

Clinical trials today are conducted in multiple countries to enhance patient recruitment and improve efficiency of trials. However, the demographic and cultural diversity may contribute to variations in study outcomes. Here we conducted post-hoc analyses for a placebo-controlled study with ziprasidone and haloperidol for the treatment of acute mania to address the demographic, dosing, and outcome disparities in India, Russia and the USA. We compared the baseline characteristics, outcomes and discontinuations in patients and explored the relationship between the outcome measures across these countries. We found substantial differences in baseline characteristics of subjects, administered dosage and disease severity in India compared to the USA and Russia. Conversely, US subjects had a higher placebo response compared to subjects in Russia and India. These results are probably due to demographic differences in patient populations and psychiatric clinical practice across countries. While we offer initial ideas to address the disparities identified in this analysis, it is clear that further research to improve our understanding of geographical differences is essential to ensure globally applicable results for clinical trials in psychiatry.

Aspectos socioculturales de la precariedad laboral y de su impacto

This essay analyzes the current work crisis, its individual and social influence and its implications on human development and health. It discusses the main cultural perspectives on the notion of work and presents the hypothesis of a possible influence of the cultural meaning of the concept of 'work' on diminishing self-esteem and mental health problems among unemployed people. The essay also highlights possible implications of the current situation in the future taking into consideration socioeconomic and political aspects as well as global demographic growth. Finally, the essay discusses the role that Public Health should have not only in the prevention and control of health problems among the unemployed, but also in the social, economic and cultural changes that are considered necessary to mitígate the serious social differences and to improve the current situation.

Aspectos socioculturales de la precariedad laboral y de su impacto

This essay analyzes the current work crisis, its individual and social influence and its implications on human development and health. It discusses the main cultural perspectives on the notion of work and presents the hypothesis of a possible influence of the cultural meaning of the concept of 'work' on diminishing self-esteem and mental health problems among unemployed people. The essay also highlights possible implications of the current situation in the future taking into consideration socioeconomic and political aspects as well as global demographic growth. Finally, the essay discusses the role that Public Health should have not only in the prevention and control of health problems among the unemployed, but also in the social, economic and cultural changes that are considered necessary to mitígate the serious social differences and to improve the current situation.

Detecting Detection: International Perspectives on the Uses of a Plot

One of the problems with books which are relatively general in nature is that many of the individual contributions tend to be so narrow and specialised that only the author has any knowledge of (or interest in) the issues under discussion. At first sight this appears to be the case with Detecting Detection. Fortunately, however, first impressions are deceiving. Although the essays in the volume deal with writers as diverse and disparate as the Catalano-Spanish writer Juan Marse, the Bulgarian-French philosopher Julia Kristeva and the once-vaunted giant of English literature,Graham Greene, among numerous others, there is much to be enjoyed and learnt, even if some of the works under discussion are unfamiliar to the crime fiction reader and/or scholar to whom the book initially appears to be directed.

Perspectives tecnològiques: educació superior a Iberoamèrica 2012-2017

La sèrie d'informes Horizon és el resultat més tangible del Projecte Horizon del New Media Consortium, un esforç de recerca qualitativa iniciat el 2002, que identifica i descriu les tecnologies emergents amb més potencial d'impacte en l'ensenyament, l'aprenentatge, la recerca i la expressió creativa en l'àmbit educatiu global. Aquest volum, Perspectives tecnològiques: educació superior a Iberoamèrica 2012-2017, és la segona edició del Projecte Horizon Iberoamèrica i se centra en la investigació en els països de la regió Iberoamericana (incloent-hi tota Llatinoamèrica, Espanya i Portugal) i en l'àmbit de l'educació superior. Ha estat produït pel NMC i l'eLearn Center de la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya.

Teaching cross-cultural competence and CLIL: a CLIL approach in International Relations University Courses

International relations professionals need cross-cultural competence and English language communication skills to function in the international arena (Graddol 1997). English language communication skills are necessary not only to communicate with foreign colleagues (Bocanegra-Valle 2014) but also to access the vast amount of knowledge transmitted in English over the internet (Ku, Zussman 2010). This work reports the use of CLIL and cross-cultural training in the University of Messina International Relations Advanced Degree Program as a method to raise students’ level of English as quickly as possible while giving them the essential intercultural skills for work in the international field. The researchbased course program combined cross-cultural communication training (Storti, 1997; Lewis, 1999; Gannon, 2004, Harris and Moran, 2007; U.S Peace Corps Training Handbook 2012,) and intercultural competence skill development (Bennett, 1998). Two objectives were proposed: 1) develop cross-cultural communication competence; 2) bring students up to a B2 level as fast as possible. The final exam demonstrated significant growth in the areas of cross-cultural competence as well as an increase in European Common Framework level ranging from .5 to 1.0 depending on the student. Students expressed their belief that what they had learned would be useful for their future career. Combining CLIL with intercultural competence building seems to be effective in meeting two objectives: increasing English language fluency and developing cross-cultural communication competence. More research is recommended to further document this method for increasing English communication proficiency while developing interculturally competent international professionals.

English as a medium of instruction in teaching other languages: attitudes and practices

Internationalisation of HE and emergence of English as a global academic lingua franca used by people who share neither a common native tongue nor cultural and educational background have not only offered more opportunities but also raised challenges. According to recent European surveys, the percentage of pupils attaining the level of independent user in English varies from 14% to 82%, which evidences the potential and the complexity for English as a medium of instruction at tertiary level. This study aims to present the model of foreign language instruction at Vytautas Magnus University where one third of 30 languages are taught through English. It investigates the attitudes and practices of teachers in delivering their English-medium language courses by discussing the questions whether teaching other languages through English is psychologically, culturally and educationally preferable for teachers and students, whether it can limit the content taught and require a special methodology, how the teaching process changes with multiple languages used in the classroom and what level of English is necessary for teachers and students to ensure high quality of English-medium language teaching. The study is based on qualitative methodology with 12 language teachers participating as respondents. The results reveal areas in need of improvement.