The ethnography of study abroad: what is study abroad as a cultural event?

Recent research in the field of study abroad shows that study abroad participation among all U.S. students increased 20% since 2001 and nearly 200,000 U.S. students currently go abroad each year. Additionally, about 8% of all undergraduate degree recipients receive part of their education abroad. Although quantitative studies have dominated research on study abroad, my research project calls for a qualitative approach since the goal is to understand what study abroad is as a cultural event, what authentic cultural immersion is, how program stakeholders understand and perceive cultural immersion, and how cultural immersion in programs can be improved. Following the tradition of ethnographic and case study approaches in study abroad research, my study also pivots on ethnography. As an ethnographer I collected data mainly through participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis. The study abroad participants were a group of undergraduate native speakers of English studying Spanish for seven weeks in Cádiz, a small costal city in southern Spain, as well as program coordinators, host community members, and professors. I also examined the specific program design features, particularly the in-class and out-of-class activities that students participated in. The goal was to understand if these features were conducive to authentic immersion in the language and culture. Eventually, I elaborated an ethnographic evaluation of the study abroad program and its design features suggesting improvements in order to enhance the significance and value of study abroad as a cultural event. Among other things, I discussed the difficulties that students had at the beginning of their sojourn to understand local people, get used to their host families’ small apartments, get adjusted to new schedules and eating habits, and venture out from the main group to individually explore the new social and cultural fabric and interact with the host community. The program evaluation revealed the need for carefully-designed pre-departure preparation sessions, pre-departure credit-bearing courses in intercultural communication, and additional language practice abroad and opportunities to come in contact with the local community through internships, volunteer or field work. My study gives an important contribution in study abroad research and education. It benefits students, teachers, and study abroad directors and coordinators in suggesting ideas on how to improve the program and optimize the students’ cultural experiences abroad. This study is also important because it investigated how US undergraduate learners studying the Spanish language and culture approach and perceive the study abroad experience in Spain.

Programa integral de atención a las personas mayores en una zona rural

We describe a community intervention program performed in three rural villages in the Alt Empordà region (Girona province). The study provides data on the services available to the elderly in a specific context, based on an initiative proposed by the villages, the local councils, and the elderly themselves. The program is a research-action plan which applies the participative and qualitative methodology characteristic of strategic planning. The study analyses how the initiative arose, the description of the process, and the different parts of the intervention program

A portrait of the Spanish accounting community

This study presents a portrait of the Spanish academic accountingcommunity in 1995, based upon a questionnaire circulated to Spanishaccounting academics in 1995 and upon an analysis of authorship andcitations in the main Spanish accounting journals. The approach tothese analyses is grounded in similar studies which have been carriedout in the United States, Spain and elsewhere. but the combination oftechniques used in this study is particularly broad in range.The results of the study are used to describe a range ofcharacteristics of Spanish accounting academics, for example,publications records and length of academic experience. The analysisof publications produces a ranking by institutional affiliation ofthe most significant contributors to current debates on accounting.Citation analysis is used to identify the range and extent ofinternational influences upon the Spanish academic accountingcommunity, and to provide an additional ranking by institutionalaffiliation of the most frequently cited sources A significantfinding was that the nature and extent of international influence hadchanged very little over the ten year period since Spain entered theEuropean Union and started to implement European Directives.Perceptions of journal quality were elicited by questionnaire. Fortyfive journals, Spanish and international are included in a listranked for perceived importance as outlets for publication. and assources of support for teaching and research. The results of thisexercise show that Spanish journals were ranked low relative tojournals published in the United Kingdom and United States.Finally the study examines the extent of purpose upon Spanishaccounting academies to publish, by presenting results of a questionabout criteria for promotion, and also by examining and increasingtendency to publish co-authored work.

Regional diversity in the fruit sector in the European Union

This article aims to identify the key groups of regions with respectto farms oriented to fruit and citrus production.Twenty variables of fruit and citrus oriented farms corresponding toforty-one regions of the European Union were analyzed. Seven groupsemerged from cluster analysis. Only two of them showed good perspectives. Regions in the South of the Community need an important modernisation and restructuring process, which entails serious social consequences.

Analysis of the association between chondrocalcinosis and osteoarthritis: a community based study

To analyse the association between chondrocalcinosis and osteoarthritis (OA) of the hands and knees in an unselected elderly rural population. METHODS--A community based cross sectional study was performed in individuals randomly selected from a previous epidemiological survey on the prevalence of chondrocalcinosis in people older than 60 years from Osona county, Catalonia, northeastern Spain. Radiological OA (grade 2 or more of Kellgren's classification) was evaluated in 26 individuals with chondrocalcinosis and in 104 controls. A total of 18 articular areas of both knees (medial and lateral tibiofemoral compartments) and hands (first, second and third metacarpophalangeal (MCP), first carpometacarpal, trapezium-scaphoid, radiocarpal and distal radioulnar joints) were studied. RESULTS--Radiological changes of OA in the knees were more common in subjects with chondrocalcinosis than in those without it, with an odds ratio adjusted for age and gender (aOR) of 4.3 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.6 to 11.8, p = 0.005). OA was also more frequent in almost all areas of the hands in individuals with chondrocalcinosis, though the difference reached statistical significance only in the MCP joints (aOR 3.1; 95% CI 1.1 to 8.8; p = 0.033). However, taking into account the side and the different joint compartments analysed, the association between chondrocalcinosis and OA was significant only in the lateral tibiofemoral compartment and the left MCP joints. CONCLUSIONS--In an elderly population unselected for their rheumatic complaints, there was a real association between OA and chondrocalcinosis. This association was particularly relevant in the lateral tibiofemoral compartment of the knee and in the first three left MCP joints.

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

Characterization of the freesound online community

There are many online communities with membergenerated and openly available multimedia content. Their successdepends on having active contributing users and on producing useful content. With this criterion, the community of sound practitioners that has emerged in Freesound is a successful case of interest to be studied. But to understand it and support it further we need an appropriate analysis methodology. In this paper we propose some qualitative and quantitative approaches for its characterization, focusing on the analysis of organizational structure, shared goals, user interactions and vocabulary sharing. We think that the proposed approach can be applied to otheronline communities with similar characteristics.

La gestión de la reputación on-line por parte de las compañías hoteleras : El papel del community manager

Mi trabajo de disertación se desarrolla en el contexto del Grado de Comunicación de la UOC y la finalidad es establecer un marco teórico actualizado sobre el concepto de reputación on-line aplicable al sector hotelero. En este sentido entiendo necesario partir del análisis de tres hoteles de Palma de Mallorca para obtener un diagnóstico de reputación y poderafirmar que existe una relación entre su reputación on-line y la obtención de mayores ingresos. Por este motivo, llevaré a cabo un estudio de caso comparativo con la herramienta de monitorización SocialVane del Hotel Gran Meliá Victoria con sus competidores más directos.