Pension funds: guarantors of international legality in Western Sahara? Evidence from Norway and Sweden

Natural resources have been defined by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Polisario Front, and a number of non-governmental organisations not only as an essential part of the Western Sahara conflict, but also as a battlefield that has attracted the interest of the international community. This article explores how the ethical trade guidelines of two large institutional investors - the Norwegian and Swedish pension funds - have affected the behaviour of companies that export and exploit the natural resources of Western Sahara. The results of applying a triad-network model suggest that as pension funds have more instruments of influence, their strategy becomes more effective. Moreover, investments that follow ethical trade guidelines play a key role in pressuring companies to modify objectionable behaviours

Does the Ownership of Water Utilities Influence Water‑Saving Advice Provided to Service Users? An Analysis of the Spanish Water Sector

Regional Government of Andalusia (Consejería de Economía, Innovación, Ciencia y Empleo)The ERDF [grant number P18-RT-576]Agencia Estatal de Investigación and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) [grant number ECO2017-86822-R];University of Granada (Plan Propio. Unidad Científica de Excelencia: Desigualdad, Derechos Humanos y Sostenibilidad – DEHUSO)The Spanish Aid Program for Predoctoral Contracts for University Teacher Training (FPU) 2019 of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities

Towards a sustainable use of shower water: Habits and explanatory factors in southern Spain

One of the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 6 is the efficient use of water resources in all sectors in order to tackle water shortages. In the home, showering is one of the main water consuming activities. How can people make more sustainable use of shower water? To answer this question, this research analyses showering habits and explanatory factors of shower use. The study is carried out with data from 945 students of the University of Granada, Spain. Significant differences are observed in shower use during the summer and winter months: the average duration is 8.8 and 11.6 min, respectively, and the frequency is greater in summer (with an average frequency of eight showers per week). Determinants of different shower water use include gender, ideology, pro-environmental actions, inherent values, and connectedness to nature, among others. Those variables relate differently to duration and frequency of showers, according to the season, thus highlighting the importance of seasonality. The results show that there is room to achieve a more sustainable use of the shower, in terms of frequency and duration, through awareness measures that are tailored to groups that make a less sustainable use of showers. The main recommendation is that awareness campaigns should be designed on the basis of the user profile as well as the season.Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, Spanish State Research Agency (SRA) and European Regional Development Fund (project reference ECO2017-86822-R)Regional Government of Andalusia and European Regional Development Fund (projects P18-RT-576 and B-SEJ-018-UGR18)University of Granada (Plan Propio. Unidad Científica de Excelencia: Desigualdad, Derechos Humanos y Sostenibilidad-DEHUSO)Spanish Aid Program for Predoctoral Contracts for University Teacher Training (FPU) 2019 of the Ministry of Universities (FPU19/02396 and FPU19/00665)Funding for open access publishing: Universidad de Granada/CBU

Determinants of the acceptance of domestic use of recycled water by use type

In the circular economy model, the recycling of water is an alternative option that can reduce the pressure on water resources and guarantee water supply. This water policy measure is currently widespread in agriculture, but thus far few countries have opted for the domestic use of recycled water. In part, this is because it is the source of water with the lowest levels of public acceptance, which poses a threat to the success of the necessary investment. We analyse the degree of acceptance of recycled water for different domestic uses. The main contribution of this study is the analysis of the determinants of acceptance of recycled water by use type. The research was based on data from a questionnaire given to 844 university students in Andalusia, southern Spain. Results are obtained from ordinary least squares regressions that relate the determinants of recycled water acceptance to each of the water use classes. The 'yuck factor'—variously defined as ‘disgust’ or ‘psychological repugnance’—and the perceived risk are found to be the main determinants of the low degree of acceptance of recycled water for ingestion by people and pets. For other uses, such as body washing, laundry and cleaning, environ- mental awareness stands out as a determining factor. The main conclusion is that if au- thorities were to opt for measures to promote the use of recycled water, they should take into account the fact that the reluctance to use recycled water and the determinants of acceptance differ according to the intended useEuropean Regional Development FundSpanish Agencia Estatal de InvestigaciónRegional Government of Andalusi

Human rights in Spain: Protection of the right to water in families with affordability problems. Critical analysis for legal reform

Aunque los principales problemas de acceso al agua se presentan en los países pobres, estos también pueden tener alguna incidencia en los países desarrollados. En este caso el problema tiene que ver fundamentalmente con la asequibilidad, es decir, con la capacidad de las familias para hacer frente al pago de la factura de agua; y ello se agrava cuando como consecuencia del impago se producen cortes en el suministro. Esta situación puede presentarse si el marco regulatorio y legal no garantiza, o no de manera suficiente, el acceso de los colectivos más vulnerables y desfavorecidos a un bien básico como el agua potable. En este ensayo, a partir de un enfoque crítico, se analiza la protección del derecho humano de acceso al agua en España frente a situaciones de riesgo de pobreza y exclusión social para proponer una reforma legal. Las situaciones de exclusión social justifican un tratamiento diferenciado del derecho a un bien básico para la vida, al margen del conjunto de la protección social contra la pobreza, dado que esa realidad limita las oportunidades de acceso a los mecanismos de protección social. Una primera conclusión es que en España existe una insuficiente regulación legal en relación con la protección de este derecho. Una segunda conclusión es que la descentralización normativa conduce a que las medidas de acción social en materia de suministro de agua sean muy heterogéneas, de modo que existe una desigual protección del derecho humano al agua según el lugar de residencia.Although the main problems of access to water occur in poor countries, these can also have some impact on developed countries. In this case, the problem has to do mainly with affordability, that is, with the ability of families to pay the water bill; and this is aggravated when, as a result of non-payment, supply cuts occur. This situation may arise if the regulatory and legal framework does not guarantee, or not sufficiently, the access of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups to a basic good such as drinking water. In this essay, based on a critical approach, the protection of the human right of access to water in Spain is analysed against situations of risk of poverty and social exclusion to propose a legal reform. Situations of social exclusion justify a differentiated treatment of the right to a basic good for life, apart from the whole social protection against poverty, given that this reality limits the opportunities for access to social protection mechanisms. A first conclusion is that in Spain there is insufficient legal regulation in relation to the protection of this right. A second conclusion is that normative decentralization leads to social action measures in the matter of water supply being very heterogeneous, so that there is an unequal protection of the human right to water according to the place of residence.Esta investigación ha sido parcialmente financiada por el Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad, la Agencia Estatal de Investigación y los Fondos Europeos de Desarrollo Regional (Proyecto ECO2017-86822-R) y por la Junta de Andalucía, a través de la Convocatoria de Proyectos I+D+I del Programa Operativo FEDER Andalucía 2014-2020 (Proyecto B-SEJ-018-UGR18)

A cost-effective microfluidic device for determination of biodiesel content in diesel blends

The increasing production and extensive use of biodiesel in the latest years call for the development of fast and cost-effective procedures for point-of-care analysis. One of the main quality parameters is the biodiesel content in diesel blends, which needs to conform to regional legislations. In this work, a microfluidic device exploiting chemical derivatization of alkyl esters and detection by smartphone-based digital-image colorimetry was developed. It was designed to ensure proper experimental conditions for chemical derivatization, including re- agent release, and photometric measurements. Analytes reacted with alkaline hydroxylamine yielding the cor- responding alkyl hydroxamates, measured as colored Fe(III) complexes. Analytical response was based on the measurement of the G (green) channel from RGB color system. By taking methyl linoleate as a model compound, a linear response was obtained from 0.1% to 0.6%(v/v) (Analytical signal = 69.6 +2.1 C, r = 0.999), coefficient of variation (n = 10) of 4.0% and limit of detection (99.7% confidence) of 0.04%(v/v). Procedure consumes 1.2 µL of sample, 230 µg of hydroxylamine, 480 µg of NaOH, 14 µg of Fe(III) and equivalent to 1.2 µL of 69%(v/v) HNO3. Accurate results were achieved in relation to the MIR reference method, with agreement at the 95% confidence levelThe authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from Fundaç˜ao de Amparo `a Pesquisa do Estado de S˜ao Paulo FAPESP (proc. 2021/12242–5 and 2018/07687–5). and the support from the Spanish “Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad” (Project PID2019–103938RB- I00) and Junta de Andalucía (Projects B-FQM-243-UGR18 and P18-RT- 2961)

¿Qué queda de mí?

Este libro es una reclamación a quienes hemos sido, somos o seremos docentes. A quienes no hemos respetado a las personas que se han puesto junto a nosotros y nosotras, confiando su bien más preciado: la libertad. Estas páginas denuncian cada vez que convertimos una visión en la visión, una emoción en la emoción, un saber en el saber, un comportamiento en el comportamiento. Es un grito contra la imposición, la normalización, la neutralización y la universalización de una perspectiva particular. Una pugna contra cada proceso que no se ha conectado con las vidas de los aprendices. Un texto colaborativo realizado por alumnado de Educación y Cambio Social en el Grado en Educación Infantil de la Universidad de Málaga y coordinado por Ignacio Calderón Almendros

Identification of genetic variants associated with Huntington's disease progression: a genome-wide association study

Background Huntington's disease is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene, HTT. Age at onset has been used as a quantitative phenotype in genetic analysis looking for Huntington's disease modifiers, but is hard to define and not always available. Therefore, we aimed to generate a novel measure of disease progression and to identify genetic markers associated with this progression measure. Methods We generated a progression score on the basis of principal component analysis of prospectively acquired longitudinal changes in motor, cognitive, and imaging measures in the 218 indivduals in the TRACK-HD cohort of Huntington's disease gene mutation carriers (data collected 2008–11). We generated a parallel progression score using data from 1773 previously genotyped participants from the European Huntington's Disease Network REGISTRY study of Huntington's disease mutation carriers (data collected 2003–13). We did a genome-wide association analyses in terms of progression for 216 TRACK-HD participants and 1773 REGISTRY participants, then a meta-analysis of these results was undertaken. Findings Longitudinal motor, cognitive, and imaging scores were correlated with each other in TRACK-HD participants, justifying use of a single, cross-domain measure of disease progression in both studies. The TRACK-HD and REGISTRY progression measures were correlated with each other (r=0·674), and with age at onset (TRACK-HD, r=0·315; REGISTRY, r=0·234). The meta-analysis of progression in TRACK-HD and REGISTRY gave a genome-wide significant signal (p=1·12 × 10−10) on chromosome 5 spanning three genes: MSH3, DHFR, and MTRNR2L2. The genes in this locus were associated with progression in TRACK-HD (MSH3 p=2·94 × 10−8 DHFR p=8·37 × 10−7 MTRNR2L2 p=2·15 × 10−9) and to a lesser extent in REGISTRY (MSH3 p=9·36 × 10−4 DHFR p=8·45 × 10−4 MTRNR2L2 p=1·20 × 10−3). The lead single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TRACK-HD (rs557874766) was genome-wide significant in the meta-analysis (p=1·58 × 10−8), and encodes an aminoacid change (Pro67Ala) in MSH3. In TRACK-HD, each copy of the minor allele at this SNP was associated with a 0·4 units per year (95% CI 0·16–0·66) reduction in the rate of change of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Total Motor Score, and a reduction of 0·12 units per year (95% CI 0·06–0·18) in the rate of change of UHDRS Total Functional Capacity score. These associations remained significant after adjusting for age of onset. Interpretation The multidomain progression measure in TRACK-HD was associated with a functional variant that was genome-wide significant in our meta-analysis. The association in only 216 participants implies that the progression measure is a sensitive reflection of disease burden, that the effect size at this locus is large, or both. Knockout of Msh3 reduces somatic expansion in Huntington's disease mouse models, suggesting this mechanism as an area for future therapeutic investigation

The human right to water in Spain: An applied studio er in large cities

La mayoría de las investigaciones sobre la pobreza hídrica se centran en los países en desarrollo. Sin embargo, también son necesarias investigaciones en los países desarrollados, donde el agua puede ser demasiado costosa para algunos hogares. Este artículo examina el caso de España. Se utilizan datos de 16 ciudades que concentran el 35% de la población española. El objetivo es determinar si las familias de bajos ingresos enfrentan una verdadera amenaza de exclusión del suministro de agua. Con este fin, analizamos si el marco legal español permite que el suministro de agua se corte por falta de pago de la factura. También se realizan diferentes estimaciones del porcentaje de la renta familiar destinado al pago de la factura del agua, que en algunos casos puede superar el 4%. Las estimaciones tienen en cuenta descuentos, así como de los programas de asistencia disponibles para aquellos con más dificultades para pagar su factura del agua. Si bien no existe un problema de asequibilidad para una familia española promedio en general, llegamos a la conclusión de que las familias en riesgo de pobreza se enfrentan a una amenaza real de exclusión de los servicios de agua porque no pueden pagar por ellosMost research on water poverty focuses on developing countries. However, research is also needed in developed countries, where water may be too expensive for some households. This paper examines the case of Spain; using data from 16 cities that combined are home to 35% of the Spanish population. The objective is to determine whether low-income families face a genuine threat of exclusion from water supply. To this end, we analysed whether the Spanish legal framework allows that water supply is cut off for non-payment of the bill. We also did different estimates of the percentage of the family income spent on the water bill, which in some cases can surpass 4%. The estimates account for tariff discounts, as well asassistance programmes available to those who are struggling to pay their water bill. Although there is no problem of affordability for an average Spanish family in general, we conclude that families at risk of poverty face a real threat of exclusion from water services because they are not able to pay for the