Treball de recerca aplicada a la intervenció social entorn els joves d'Andorra i el seu temps lliure

Aquest document, es fonamenta d'acord amb diferents teories i pensaments sobre la importància del temps lliure en els adolescents i joves, com també a partir de les experiències de Catalunya, entorn aquest tema. Concretament és una observació del temps lliure dels adolescents i joves, des d’una aproximació a la seva realitat i també analitzant els diferents agents que intervenen en aquest àmbit concret, com del context global d’Andorra. La intenció és identificar i reflexionar entorn les principals característiques de l’oci i el lleure del col·lectiu com també de la participació juvenil per poder prioritzar actuacions socioeducatives encaminades a l’educació en el lleure. És per aquest motiu, que paral·lelament amb aquesta investigació aplicada a la intervenció socioeducativa, també s’ha realitzat un diagnòstic d’Andorra i unes propostes de millora relacionats amb els resultats obtinguts.

Tobacco control policies in hospitals before and after the implementation of a national smoking ban in Catalonia, Spain

Background: Diverse projects and guidelines to assist hospitals towards the attainment of comprehensive smoke-free policies have been developed. In 2006, Spain government passed a new smoking ban that reinforce tobacco control policies and banned completely smoking in hospitals. This study assesses the progression of tobacco control policies in the Catalan Network of Smokefree Hospitals before and after a comprehensive national smoking ban. Methods: We used the Self-Audit Questionnaire of the European Network for Smoke-free Hospitals to score the compliance of 9 policy standards (global score = 102). We used two crosssectional surveys to evaluate tobacco control policies before (2005) and after the implementation of a national smoking ban (2007) in 32 hospitals of Catalonia, Spain. We compared the means of the overall score in 2005 and 2007 according to the type of hospital, the number of beds, the prevalence of tobacco consumption, and the number of years as a smoke-free hospital. Results: The mean of the implementation score of tobacco control policies was 52.4 (95% CI:45.4-59.5) in 2005 and 71.6 (95% CI: 67.0-76.2) in 2007 with an increase of 36.7% (p < 0.01). The hospitals with greater improvement were general hospitals (48% increase; p < 0.01), hospitals with > 300 beds (41.1% increase; p < 0.01), hospitals with employees' tobacco consumption prevalence 35-39% (72.2% increase; p < 0.05) and hospitals that had recently implemented smoke-free policies (74.2% increase; p < 0.01). Conclusion: The national smoking ban appears to increase tobacco control activities in hospitals combined with other non-bylaw initiatives such as the Smoke-free Hospital Network.

Tobacco control policies in hospitals before and after the implementation of a national smoking ban in Catalonia, Spain

Background: Diverse projects and guidelines to assist hospitals towards the attainment of comprehensive smoke-free policies have been developed. In 2006, Spain government passed a new smoking ban that reinforce tobacco control policies and banned completely smoking in hospitals. This study assesses the progression of tobacco control policies in the Catalan Network of Smokefree Hospitals before and after a comprehensive national smoking ban. Methods: We used the Self-Audit Questionnaire of the European Network for Smoke-free Hospitals to score the compliance of 9 policy standards (global score = 102). We used two crosssectional surveys to evaluate tobacco control policies before (2005) and after the implementation of a national smoking ban (2007) in 32 hospitals of Catalonia, Spain. We compared the means of the overall score in 2005 and 2007 according to the type of hospital, the number of beds, the prevalence of tobacco consumption, and the number of years as a smoke-free hospital. Results: The mean of the implementation score of tobacco control policies was 52.4 (95% CI:45.4-59.5) in 2005 and 71.6 (95% CI: 67.0-76.2) in 2007 with an increase of 36.7% (p < 0.01). The hospitals with greater improvement were general hospitals (48% increase; p < 0.01), hospitals with > 300 beds (41.1% increase; p < 0.01), hospitals with employees' tobacco consumption prevalence 35-39% (72.2% increase; p < 0.05) and hospitals that had recently implemented smoke-free policies (74.2% increase; p < 0.01). Conclusion: The national smoking ban appears to increase tobacco control activities in hospitals combined with other non-bylaw initiatives such as the Smoke-free Hospital Network.

A territorial approach to R&D subsidies: Empirical evidence for Catalonian firms

Using a database of 2,263 responses to R&D public calls in Catalonia, during the period 2007–2010, this paper proceeds to analyse the potential interaction of the territorial and policy dimensions with the propensity to apply for, and be awarded, a public R&D subsidy. Controlling for characteristics at the firm and project level, we estimate models using a twostep procedure. In the first step, our results suggest that large firms which export and which belong to high-tech manufactures are more likely to participate in a public R&D call. Furthermore, both urban location and past experience of such calls have a positive effect. Our territorial proxy of information spillovers shows a positive sign, but this is only significant at intra-industry level. Membership of one of the sectors prioritized by the Catalan government, perhaps surprisingly, does not have a significant impact. In the second step, our results show that cooperative projects, SMEs or old firms shows a positive effect on the probability of obtaining a public subsidy. Finally, the cluster policy does not show a clear relationship with the public R&D call, suggesting that cluster policies and R&D subsidies follow different goals. Our results are in line with previous results in the literature, but they highlight the unequal territorial distribution of the firms which apply and the fact that policymakers should interlink the decision criteria for their public call with other policies.

Aprendizaje Servicio Universitario: creando empleo a partir de la emprendeduría social

La Universidad debe erigirse como motor de la sociedad civil y abordar con decisión los desafíos sociales contemporáneos, como es la situación de paro en España. La metodología del Aprendizaje Servicio Universitario permite integrar un aprendizaje basado en la realidad con el servicio a la comunidad concretizando la responsabilidad social de la Universidad. El artículo presenta el proyecto interfacultativo EcoSPORTech desarrollado en la Universidad de Vic cuya finalidad ha sido la creación de empleo juvenil desde la emprendeduría social. La política de comunicación ha sido clave en este proyecto.

Buenas prácticas textuales e interpretabilidad de la letra pequeña

El examen de una normativa para mejorar la información al consumidor plantea observaciones pragmáticas sobre buenas prácticas textuales. La orden 385/2003 de la Generalitat de Catalunya establece el tamaño mínimo de la letra en contratos para facilitar su legibilidad. La interpretación de esta normativa permite considerar el uso pragmático de la letra pequeña. Y se recoge también el ejemplo publicitario de una empresa energética que paradójicamente utiliza, en la actualidad, como recurso de prestigio la letra pequeña en documentos contractuales. GOOD TEXTUAL PRACTICES AND INTERPRETABILITY OF THE FINE PRINT IN CONTRACTS. The review of legislation to improve consumer information raises pragmatic observations on textual practices. The order 385/2003 of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia (Spain) sets the minimum font size in contracts for readability. The interpretation of these rules allows us to consider the pragmatic use of the fine print. And the paper also includes advertising from an energy company that paradoxically used as a resource for prestige the fine print in contract documents.

Co-evolution of Policy Sectors: Health Care and Public Health in five Countries

Cette thèse analyse la co-évolution de deux secteurs dans la politique de la santé: santé publique (public health) et soins aux malades (health care). En d'autres termes, la relation entre les dimensions curative et préventive de la politique de la santé et leur développement dans la durée. Une telle recherche est nécessaire car les problèmes de la santé sont complexes et ont besoin de solutions coordonnées. De plus, les dépenses de la santé ont augmenté sans arrt durant les dernières décennies. Un moyen de réduire une future augmentation des dépenses pourrait consister en davantage d'investissement dans des mesures préventives. En relation avec cette idée, ma recherche analyse les politiques de la santé publique et les soins aux malades de cinq pays: Allemagne, Angleterre, Australie, Etats-Unis et Suisse. En m'appuyant sur la littérature secondaire, des statistiques descriptives et des entretiens avec des experts et des politiciens, j'analyse la relation entre les deux secteurs depuis la fin du dix-neuvième siècle. En particulier, je me focalise sur la relation des deux champs sur trois niveaux: institutions, acteurs et politiques. Mes résultats montrent les similitudes et les différences d'évolution entre les cinq pays. D'un c^oté, lorsque la profession médicale est politiquement active et que le pays consiste en une fédération centralisée ou en un gouvernement unitaire, les deux secteurs sont intégrés au niveau institutionnel, ralliant les professions et groupes d'intérêt des deux secteurs la cause commune dans une activité politique. Par contre, dans tous les pays, les deux secteurs ont co-évolué vers une complémentarité malgré de la politisation des professions et la centralisation du gouvernement. Ces résultats sont intéressants pour la science politique en général car ils soulignent l'importance des professions pour le développement institutionnel et proposent un cadre pour l'analyse de la co-évolution des politiques publiques en général. -- This Ph.D. thesis analyzes the co-evolution of the health care and the public health sectors. In other words, the relation between preventive and curative health policy and its evolution over time. Such research is necessary, because current health problems are complex and might need coordinated solutions. What is more, health expenditures have increased continuously in the last decades. One way to slow down further increase in health spending could be to invest more in preventative health policies. Therefore, I am connecting individual health care and public health into a common analysis, taking Australia, Germany, Switzerland, the UK and the U.S. as examples. Based on secondary literature, descriptive statistics and interviews with experts and policymakers, I am analyzing how the two sectors' relations co-evolved between the late nineteenth and the early twenty-first century. Specifically, I am researching how health care and public health were related on the levels of institutions, actors and policies. My results show that there are differences and similarities in the co-evolution of policy sectors between these countries. On the one hand, when the medical profession was politically active and the country a centralized federation or a unitary state, there was institutional integration and common political advocacy of the sectors' interest groups and professions. On the other hand, in all countries, both sectors co-evolved towards complementarity, irrespectively of the politicization of professions and centralization of government. These findings are interesting for the political science literature at large, because they underline the importance of professions for institutional development and propose an analytical framework for analyzing the co-evolution of policy sectors in general.

Evaluation of markets for irrigation water in the internal river basins of Catalonia, Spain

Irrigated agriculture has come under close scrutiny in Europe recently because of its high share of total water consumption and its apparent inefficiency. Several water policies have been advocated, in particular the use of economic instruments such as water markets. This paper simulates the impact of a policy based upon water markets on agricultural production in the internal river basins of Catalonia (Spain). This zone presents certain particularities that make it very interesting to study: competition between sectors for the resource (agriculture-urban consumption-recreational uses), recent periods of resource insufficiency and conflicts between irrigators as a result of the measures taken by the hydraulic administration in drought situations. The results show that these markets would guarantee an optimal reassignment of the resource in situations of supply restrictions, and although compared to the situation without markets they would not mean higher economic profits for the irrigators, they could prevent conflicts between them. Nevertheless, doubts exist about their acceptance by irrigators

La Comissió Jurídica Assessora i l'autonomia de Catalunya durant la Segona República: la creació del sistema polític i institucional d'autogovern

[cat] La tesi que es defensa en aquest article és la posició de centralitat que va tenir la Comissió Jurídica Assessora durant el període de la Generalitat republicana en la creació i la configuració del sistema polític i institucional d'autogovern a Catalunya. Per a demostrar aquesta tesi s'analitzen els avantprojectes de llei que va elaborar durant aquest període la Comissió Jurídica Assessora: la Constitució o Estatut interior, la Llei municipal, el Tribunal de Cassació de Catalunya i els recursos en les vies governativa i contenciosa administrativa. L'anàlisi d'aquests avantprojectes posa en relleu com durant aquest període es van forjar les institucions d'autogovern, es van posar les bases de la democràcia i de l'autonomia local, com també es va crear una jurisdicció contenciosa administrativa pròpia. L'avantprojecte de llei de recursos en les vies governativa i contenciosa administrativa serà un precedent rellevant, però oblidat, de les lleis estatals sobre procediment administratiu i jurisdicció contenciosa administrativa. En definitiva, el sistema polític i institucional català que hi ha en l'actualitat no podria entendre's sense els antecedents de la Generalitat republicana que, recollint la legitimació històrica de les institucions medievals, van saber configurar les bases d'un sistema adaptat a les necessitats de la societat contemporània.

Young people and youth policies in Spain in times of austerity: between juggling and the trapeze

The aim of this article is to present and discuss the situation regarding young people and youth policy in Spain via the parameters of the magic triangle linking policy, research and action: (1) the situation of young people in Spain today -some indicators are highlighted regarding the main challenges and opportunities for young people, with references to the so-called"Ni-Nis" (neither studying nor working)- and the movement of the"outraged" youth that occupied the streets of Spain"s major cities in May 2011; (2) the current approaches adopted by public youth policies in Spain and limitations and difficulties encountered by the government in attempting to meet the demands of young people; (3) social work with young people and professionals involved in youth policies. In the last section, we conclude with some open questions and proposals for the immediate future

La llibertat condicional a Catalunya

La recerca analitza quines són les claus actuals de l’ús dela LCa Catalunya. Per fer-ho, primer de tot explica quina és la realitat de les polítiques criminals i d’execució penal practicades a Catalunya i a Espanya i les compara amb altres realitats europees. Els resultats d’aquesta primera part fonamenten la conveniència de fer augmentar de manera significativa la seva aplicació i com aquest augment repercutiria positivament en la millora de les taxes de reincidència, en el desistiment del delicte i en la reinserció social de les persones encarcerades. En la segona part de l’estudi s’analitza el perfil de les persones que arriben a la LC però també de les que no hi arriben, tot i complir algunes de les condicions objectives per fer-ho. De l’estudi d’aquests perfils s’analitzen les similituds i diferències en les característiques dels penats i es fan propostes de millora en la classificació de grau penitenciari i la possibilitat de progressió sense que augmenti el risc teòric de reincidència ni el de recursos a assignar, tot i que sí resulti necessari pensar i fer-ne una redistribució dels actualment existents. La tercera part de l’estudi es dedica a analitzar els obstacles que té l’Administració per poder fer propostes de millora per augmentar la seva implementació. Entre les dificultats analitzades es comenten: el model d’aplicació espanyol sobre la LC, la satisfacció de la responsabilitat civil, els estrangers que es troben en situació administrativa irregular a Espanya, els retards en la concessió dels permisos ordinaris i les progressions de grau i el seguiment i control de la LC. L’estudi ha fet servir metodologies quantitatives i qualitatives simultàniament. La informació obtinguda es triangula i s’assenyalen aquells punts on el consens és més global i aquells punts més controvertits on els resultats no permeten extreure’n conclusions fefaents. En la part quantitativa s’han analitzat utilitzant diferents tècniques estadístiques 3.340 casos que es trobaven l’any 2012 en LC, 3r grau i 2n grau. En la part qualitativa, s’ha fet anàlisi de casos, entrevistes en profunditat, grups focals, tècnica Delphi i recull bibliogràfic i de legislació comparada. La recerca acaba proposant 23 propostes de millora agrupades en 6 blocs d’intervenció.

La libertad condicional en Cataluña

La investigación analiza cuáles son las claves actuales del uso de la libertad condicional (LC) en Cataluña. Para hacerlo, primero explica cuáles son las realidades de las políticas criminales y de ejecución penal practicadas en Cataluña y España y las compara con otras realidades europeas. Los resultados de esta primera parte fundamentan la conveniencia de aumentar de manera significativa su aplicación y cómo este aumento repercutiría positivamente en la mejora de las tasas de reincidencia, en el desistimiento del delito y en la reinserción social de las personas encarceladas. En la segunda parte del estudio se analiza el perfil de las personas que llegan a LC, pero también de las que no llegan, a pesar de cumplir algunas de las condiciones objetivas para hacerlo. Del estudio de estos perfiles se analizan las similitudes y diferencias en las características de los penados y se hacen propuestas de mejora en la clasificación de grado penitenciario y la posibilidad de progresión sin que aumente el riesgo teórico de reincidencia ni el de recursos a asignar, aunque sí hacer una redistribución de los actualmente existentes. La tercera parte del estudio analiza los obstáculos que tiene la Administración para poder hacer propuestas de mejora para aumentar la aplicación de la LC. Entre las dificultades analizadas se comentan: el modelo de aplicación español sobre la LC, la satisfacción de la responsabilidad civil, los extranjeros que se encuentran en situación administrativa irregular en España, los retrasos en la concesión de los permisos ordinarios y las progresiones de grado y el seguimiento y control de la LC. El estudio ha utilizado metodologías cuantitativas y cualitativas simultáneamente. La información obtenida se triangula y se señalan aquellos puntos donde el consenso es más global y aquellos puntos más controvertidos donde los resultados no permiten extraer conclusiones fehacientes. En la parte cuantitativa se han analizado 3.340 casos que se encontraban en 2012 en LC, 3 º grado y 2 º grado utilizando diferentes técnicas estadísticas. En la parte cualitativa, se han hecho análisis de casos, entrevistas en profundidad, grupos focales, técnica Delphi y recopilación bibliográfica y de legislación comparada. La investigación termina proponiendo 23 propuestas de mejora agrupadas en 6 bloques de intervención.

Cultural Planning and community sustainability: The case of the Cultural Facilities Plan of Catalonia (PECCAT 2010-20)

The government of Catalonia has developed a planning framework that seeks to establish the provision of cultural facilities throughout the country. The Cultural Facilities Plan of Catalonia (PECCAT) is based on an analysis of historical gaps and establishes a minimum spatial scheme. The plan responds to problems associated with the absence of a former similar instrument, which has led to an inconsistent and inappropriate cultural infrastructure that fails to fulfill its fundamental mission of securing the cultural rights of the population. The paper sets forth the aims of this policy and describes the objectives and basic characteristics of the plan and the expected outcomes. With the plan, the government of Catalonia seeks to rebalance the infrastructure within the territory and to ensure universal access to basic cultural services, while avoiding a logic of standardization and taking local communities into account. With the development of local plans in the municipalities, local governments encourage community participation processes to adapt and decide on priorities for action based on needs assessments and cultural opportunities for local sustainable development. The local plans focus on local cultural strengths, take advantage of opportunities, and aim to realize the cultural dynamics of a place through establishing an infrastructure that can best respond to the needs and cultural demands of the local communities, taking into account economic, social, and environmental sustainability.

A territorial approach to R&D subsidies: Empirical evidence for Catalonian firms

Using a database of 2,263 responses to R&D public calls in Catalonia, during the period 2007–2010, this paper proceeds to analyse the potential interaction of the territorial and policy dimensions with the propensity to apply for, and be awarded, a public R&D subsidy. Controlling for characteristics at the firm and project level, we estimate models using a two-step procedure. In the first step, our results suggest that large firms which export and which belong to high-tech manufactures are more likely to participate in a public R&D call. Furthermore, both urban location and past experience of such calls have a positive effect. Our territorial proxy of information spillovers shows a positive sign, but this is only significant at intra-industry level. Membership of one of the sectors prioritized by the Catalan government, perhaps surprisingly, does not have a significant impact. In the second step, our results show that cooperative projects, SMEs or old firms shows a positive effect on the probability of obtaining a public subsidy. Finally, the cluster policy does not show a clear relationship with the public R&D call, suggesting that cluster policies and R&D subsidies follow different goals. Our results are in line with previous results in the literature, but they highlight the unequal territorial distribution of the firms which apply and the fact that policymakers should interlink the decision criteria for their public call with other policies. Keywords: Evaluation, R&D policies, territorial approach, clusters JEL Classifications: L53, L25, O38

Young Firms and R&D subsidies in Catalonia

Based on four different public R&D calls from the Catalan government, this article evaluates the propensity of entrants and young firms to apply for R&D public grants and, as compared to their counterparts, their capacity for obtaining subsides. This analysis is particularly relevant since entrants and young firms encounter greater market difficulties. Our sample contains 22,139 firms and corresponds to a merge of two databases: one from the Catalan agency responsible for promoting private innovation (ACC1Ó) and the other from the Mercantile Register. Merging these databases has two advantages. Firstly, participants and non-participants in the public R&D call (“InnoEmpresa”) are included and, secondly, it provides us with information at firm and project level. The period of observation is between 2006 and 2010, since some explanatory variables are lagged by one period. We apply a two-step methodology. Our results show that entrants and young firms show a lower propensity to apply for R&D subsidies and to obtain R&D public grants. Firm size, exports and participation in a previous call show a positive impact on the likelihood of applying, and firms located in the Barcelona metropolitan area have a greater propensity to apply. Additionally, project quality and R&D cooperative reports presented jointly with other partners have a positive impact on the likelihood of obtaining the R&D subsidy. Finally, firms that have previously obtained an R&D subsidy do not exhibit a greater propensity for obtaining subsequent grants. Keywords: R&D subsidies, entrants and young firms Classification JEL: L53, L25, O38