Protests under Occupation: The Spring inside Western Sahara

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis (Routledge) via the DOI in this record.The emergence and empowerment of Sahrawi civil protests and pro-independence activism inside the Western Sahara territory under Moroccan occupation have to be seen in the context of varying sets of opportunity structures which this peripheral movement has actively seized in the past two decades by symbiotically combining domestic non-violent resistance and international ‘diplomatic’ activities. Different forms of recognition received from the two reference centres – the Moroccan state and the Polisario Front – plus the international community have been crucial in this process, with the last representing the most significant achievement of the movement. The Arab Spring has been a particularly fruitful window of opportunity in this regard

The International Recognition of Governments in Practice(s): Creatures, Mirages, and Dilemmas in Post-2011 Libya

This is the final version. Available on open access from Oxford University Press via the DOI in this recordThe international (non)recognition of governments is a composite macro practice that has grown in visibility in recent years in response to contentious domestic political processes such as coups d’état, revolutions, and civil wars, yet it remains understudied in international relations. Doctrinal debates in international law and foreign policy reveal the normative vacuum and normative competition that have long surrounded this phenomenon, but say little about its specific operation and effects. This article brings together insights from recognition theory and international practice theory, and uses post-2011 Libya as an in-depth case study, drawing on elite interviews with diplomats, international officials, and other practitioners. The aim is to sketch a new research agenda by building a generalizable typology of smaller-scale government recognition micro practices (declaratory, diplomatic, informal engagement, intergovernmental cooperation, and support practices), and uncovering their guiding logics and consequences. I argue that, first, the international (non)recognition of governments is endowed with a distinct generative power, as it produces its own creatures through a range of micro practices that have identity formation and change, material empowerment, political legitimation, and sovereignty line-drawing effects. Secondly, it is geopolitically inevitable, as external actors involved in a country cannot ultimately avoid engaging with territorially grounded domestic political actors. Thirdly, it is not a black-and-white situation, as it involves a broad variety of practices guided by different, often contradictory logics. Finally, international government recognition practices are likely to run into three dilemmas stemming from three tensions: international versus domestic recognition, legitimacy versus effectiveness, and coherence versus inclusivity in conflict mediation.British Academ

The ‘subaltern’ foreign policies of North African countries: old and new responses to economic dependence, regional insecurity and domestic political change

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis (Routledge)via the DOI in this record.This article introduces the special issue by explaining why researching change and continuity in the foreign policies of North African states is relevant in spite of these countries’ peripheral and ‘subaltern’ position within the global system. It situates the special issue’s content in the context of the extant academic literature on the foreign policies of dependent/Third World/Global South countries, the foreign policies of MENA states and the consequences of the 2011 Arab uprisings in terms of international relations. It then moves on to discuss the case study selection by outlining key commonalities and differences between Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt in terms of historical, political and economic foreign policy determinants. The country case studies each focus on a particular level of analysis, from the global – Tunisia’s financial predicaments and foreign debt negotiations – through the (sub)regional – Egypt’s relationship of necessity with Saudi Arabia, Algeria’s half-hearted policies towards the conflicts in Libya and Mali – to the domestic sphere – Morocco’s power balance between the monarchy and the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) heading the government, Libya’s extreme state weakness and internal power competition among proliferating private actors –, reaching also the deeper non-state societal level – Mauritania’s new forms of social activism questioning the official religious identity and the socio-political makeup of the state. The last part of the introduction critically relates the empirical findings of the special issue to theoretical debates on subalternity in International Relations and Mohammed Ayoob’s subaltern realism in particular.The research leading to this article was funded by the grant ‘The International Dimension of Political Transformations in the Arab World’ (CSO2014-52998-C3-3-P), awarded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain to the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha

Predictor factors of perceived health in family caregivers of people diagnosed with mild or moderate Alzheimer's disease

Caring for a person diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease has a negative impact on family caregivers’ psychological health. This study examined the factors related to ‘perceived health’ and ‘presence of new-onset mental health problems’ in family caregivers of people diagnosed with mild and moderate Alzheimer’s disease. A cross-sectional observational study carried out in Almeria’s Healthcare District (Spain). A total of 255 family caregivers (42.4% cared for people with mild Alzheimer’s disease and 57.6% cared for people with moderate Alzheimer’s disease) participated in the study from January to December 2015. Mainly, caregivers were women (81.5% in the mild Alzheimer’s disease group and 88.4% in the moderate Alzheimer’s disease group), and their average age was 56.54 years (standard deviation (SD) = 13.13) and 54.47 years (SD = 11.71), respectively. Around 47% of the caregivers had been caring for the person with Alzheimer’s between two and five years. The Goldberg General Health Questionnaire was used to measure perceived health and the presence of new-onset mental health problems. An exploratory descriptive analysis and a multivariate logistic regression analysis were conducted. For caregivers of people with mild Alzheimer’s disease, ‘perceived health’ was related to ‘perceived social support’ (r = −0.21; p = 0.028), ‘person’s level of dependency’ (r = −0.24, p = 0.05), ‘severity of the person’s neuropsychiatric symptoms’ (r = 0.22; p = 0.05), and ‘caregiver’s emotional distress in response to the person’s neuropsychiatric symptoms’ (r = 0.22; p = 0.05). For caregivers of people with moderate Alzheimer’s disease, ‘perceived health’ was related to ‘perceived social support’ (r = −0.31; p ˂ 0.01), ‘presence of neuropsychiatric symptoms’ (r = 0.27, p = 0.01), ‘severity of the person’s neuropsychiatric symptoms’ (r = 0.32, p = 0.01) and ‘caregiver’s emotional distress in response to the person’s neuropsychiatric symptoms’ (r = 0.029; p = 0.01). The presence of new-onset mental health problems was detected in 46.3% (n = 50) of caregivers of people with mild Alzheimer’s and 61.9% (n = 91) of caregivers of people with moderate Alzheimer’s. When people are diagnosed with mild Alzheimer’s disease, intervention programs for caregivers should aim to regulate emotions and promote positive coping strategies. When people are diagnosed with moderate Alzheimer’s disease, intervention programs for caregivers must allow them to adapt to caregiving demands that arise with the progression of Alzheimer’s disease

International Recognition Meets Areas of Limited Statehood: Practices and Effects on Hybrid Actors in Post-2011 Libya

This is the final version. Available on open access from Routledge via the DOI in this recordThis article examines the impact of international recognition on intrastate conflict contexts and areas of limited statehood. We conceptualise international recognition-through-interaction in social-relational, process-oriented, non-dualistic and performative (practice) terms. We theorise plural effects beyond the government vs. rebels and conflict causation vs. transformation binaries. Based on two case studies on post-2011 Libya’s security/armed and migration governance actors, including original interviews, we show that the most distinctive power of international recognition-through-interaction lies in drawing (sovereignty) lines. Material empowerment effects are prominent, though only contextually subject to formal international recognition. Identity transformation remains partial and political legitimacy is influenced in complex wayBritish AcademyLeverhulme Trus

Design and psychometric analysis of the COVID-19 prevention, recognition and home-management self-efficacy scale

In order to control the spread of COVID-19, people must adopt preventive behaviours that can affect their day-to-day life. People’s self-efficacy to adopt preventive behaviours to avoid COVID-19 contagion and spread should be studied. The aim of this study was to develop and psychometrically test the COVID-19 prevention, detection, and home-management self-efficacy scale (COVID-19-SES). We conducted an observational cross-sectional study. Six-hundred and seventy-eight people participated in the study. Data were collected between March and May 2020. The COVID-19-SES’ validity (content, criterion, and construct), reliability (internal consistency and test-retest reliability), and legibility were studied. The COVID-19-SES’ reliability was high (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.906; intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.754). The COVID-19-SES showed good content validity (scale’s content validity index = 0.92) and good criterion validity when the participants’ results on the COVID-19-SES were compared to their general self-efficacy (r = 0.38; p 0.001). Construct validity analysis revealed that the COVID-19-SES’ three-factor structure explained 52.12% of the variance found and it was congruent with the World Health Organisation’s recommendations to prevent COVID-19 contagion and spread. Legibility analysis showed that the COVID-19-SES is easy to read and understand by laypeople. The COVID-19-SES is a psychometrically robust instrument that allows for a valid and reliable assessment of people’s self-efficacy in preventing, detecting symptoms, and home-managing COVID-19

Accompanied child irregular migrants who arrive to Spain in small boats: experiences and health needs

The European Union is the preferred destination of child irregular migrants arrived from northern Africa, who risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean Sea in small boats. Accompanied Child Irregular Migrants (AChIMs) are exposed to physical and psychological risk. The objective of our study is to describe and understand the experiences and health needs of AChIMs who arrive to Spain in small boats, through the testimony of adults who accompany them on the journey. A qualitative study, based on Gadamer's hermeneutic phenomenology, was performed. After obtaining approval from the Ethics and Research Committee, we conducted in-depth interviews on 32 adults who travelled with AChIMs. Two main themes emerged: (1) The journey a child should never have to take, with the subthemes 'AChIMs as a paradigm of vulnerability' and 'Crossing the sea, playing with death' and (2) Characterising emergency care to AChIMs, with the subthemes 'Prioritising specific care', 'Identifying high-risk situations' and 'The detaining of innocent children'. AChIMs, along with adults, risk their lives in such a dangerous and perilous journey, therefore, finding out about their experiences may contribute to improving the treatment of their specific health needs during the phases of rescue and emergency care

Experiences of mothers of extremely preterm infants after hospital discharge

The purpose of this study was to describe and understand the experiences of mothers of extremely preterm infants during the first twelve months at home following discharge from a neonatal intensive care unit. A qualitative, interpretative approach using Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics was carried out. One focus group and fifteen in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted twelve months after hospital discharge. Responses were recorded, transcribed and analyzed using computer-assisted qualitative data analysis. The study´s participants were twenty women. The following themes emerged from the data analysis: 1) 'The journey home: the discharge process', which included the sub-themes 'escaping the hospital environment: between desire and fear' and 'preparing parents for hospital discharge: practice and formal support'; and 2) 'The difficulty of living with an extremely preterm infant', including the sub-themes 'the challenge of an unexpected form of childcare', 'overprotection of and bond with a child with special needs' and 'disturbance in the social/familiar setting: when a mother becomes a nurse'. The process of hospital discharge and the first months at home are difficult. The birth and care of an extremely preterm infant affect the mothers' quality of life as well as their family and social life. Practice and early discharge programmes can make the discharge process easier. The knowledge and understanding of the experience of mothers of extremely preterm infants in the first months at home after hospital discharge could help healthcare professionals to develop educational strategies and counselling interventions in accordance with the mothers' needs. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Calidad docente percibida, motivación y rendimiento académico en estudiantes universitarios

52 p.¿Son de calidad los instrumentos que miden calidad docente? El interés internacional sobre el estudio de la calidad docente en los últimos 90 años ha ido creciendo hasta superar las 2000 publicaciones (Shao, Anderson y Newsome, 2007). La siguiente investigación, tiene como objetivo general la creación y validación de una herramienta de evaluación docente percibida basada en el modelo de Brady y Cronin (Brady y Cronin, 2001; Shih, Martínez, y Garrido, 2011), el cual esquematiza la calidad percibida de un servicio en función de: a) la interacción personal, b) el ambiente físico y c) la calidad del producto. El modelo se complementa con la variable motivación entendida como un conjunto de procesos que involucran la dirección, activación y persistencia de una conducta a través del tiempo además de considerar la taxonomía clásica intrínseca y extrínseca (Pekrun, 1992; Sánchez y Pina, 2011). Con esta variable veremos de qué manera la motivación intrínseca o extrínseca, interfieren en como el alumno universitario evalúa a sus profesores.Para esta investigación se utilizó una muestra de alumnos de dos universidades de la región del Maule, una universidad Privada, Universidad Autónoma de Chile sede Talca y otra estatal, Universidad de Talca. La muestra consta de un total de 418 alumnos, 210 de la institución privada y 208 de la institución estatal.Finalmente, nuestras variables criterio son rendimiento académico, además de la variable involucramiento referido al contexto educativo, lo que finalmente nos permitió obtener resultados positivos entre cada una de las variables de estudio y lograr un instrumento con adecuados índices de fiabilidad y validez.Palabras claves: Calidad Docente, Calidad Percibida, Motivación, Rendimiento Académic

Understanding violence against women irregular migrants who arrive in Spain in small boats

African irregular migrants risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean Sea in small boats hoping to reach Europe. Women irregular migrants (WIMs) are an especially vulnerable group that suffer from violence and sexual aggression, but little is known about their actual experiences. The objective of our study is to describe and understand the violence against WIMs who arrive in Spain in small boats. A qualitative study based on Gadamer’s phenomenology was used. The data collection included twenty-six in-depth interviews with WIMs. Three main themes arose: “Poverty and discrimination push WIMs into migrating”; “WIMs as a paradigm of extreme vulnerability”, and “WIMs in small boats should raise the alarm”. WIMs who arrive to Europe in small boats have a history of violence, rape, prostitution, forced pregnancy, and human trafficking. Emergency care must include gynecological examinations and must make detecting sexual violence and human trafficking of WIMs part of their care protocols