Fragile, limited, human

As Rubén Blades sang, life is full of surprises. Some are experienced individually, others have a social dimension that overflows one’s own will. In the last year, 2020, with the spread of the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, we have suffered a surprise with unusual effects and planetary scope. Routines that seemed immovable have been broken. Events of proven worldwide impact, such as the Tokyo Olympic Games, have had to be postponed. Or our own IV ISA Forum of Sociology, scheduled for July 2020, has had to be moved to February 2021, changing to a virtual format. And something similar has happened with personal projects and plans. The world’s agendas are filled with cancellations and changes

e-Social work and digital society: re-conceptualizing approaches, practices and technologies

Introduction The digitalisation of society is changing our behaviour, our institutions and the helping professions, among them social work. Adapting to this new environment is one of the main challenges facing social work as both a scientific discipline and a helping profession. This new technological environment is not only impacting on teaching methods in higher education, but also diagnostic and social intervention techniques. At the same time, processes of social exclusion are taking place in the digital domain that require social workers to become more specialised. In introducing this themed issue of the journal, we examine how social work can benefit from e-social work to adapt to the new demands and needs of today's digital society..

The Social in the Future of the Applied Economy: A Sociocybernetic Contribution

Partiendo de una perspectiva sociocibernética se proponen algunos interrogantes para pensar lo social en el futuro de la economía aplicada. Primero, se aborda lo social y lo económico considerando el debate del ‘embeddedness’. Segundo, se plantea la tensión de las ciencias sociales entre describir y prescribir atendiendo a la gran transformación provocada por la digitalización de los procesos sociales. Tercero, se discute la influencia de los reguladores de los mercados financieros, donde el ‘oráculo’ de Draghi en agosto de 2017 sirve como ejemplo. Por último, se platean unas claves para pensar lo futuro. Starting from a socio-cybernetic perspective, some questions are proposed to think about the social future of applied economics. First, it addresses the social and the economic considering the debate of ''embeddedness''. Second, there is the tension of the social sciences between describing and prescribing on the framework of the great transformation provoked by the digitization of social processes. Third, the influence of financial market regulators is discussed, where Draghi's 'oracle' in August 2017 serves as an example. Finally, some keys are posited to think about the future

An efficient method for enzyme immobilization evidenced by atomic force microscopy

Immobilization of proteins in a functionally active form and proper orientation is fundamental for effective surface-based protein analysis. A new method is presented for the controlled and oriented immobilization of ordered monolayers of enzymes whose interaction site had been protected using the protein ligand. The utility of this method was demonstrated by analyzing the interactions between the enzyme ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase (FNR) and its redox partner ferredoxin (Fd). The quality of the procedure was deeply evaluated through enzymatic assays and atomic force microscopy. Single-molecule force spectroscopy revealed that site-specifically targeted FNR samples increased the ratio of recognition events 4-fold with regard to the standard randomly modified FNR samples. The results were corroborated using the cytochrome c reductase activity that gave an increase on surface between 6 and 12 times for the site-specifically targeted FNR samples. The activity in solution for the enzyme labeled from the complex was similar to that exhibited by wild-type FNR while FNR randomly tagged showed a 3-fold decrease. This indicates that random targeting protocols affect not only the efficiency of immobilized proteins to recognize their ligands but also their general functionality. The present methodology is expected to find wide applications in surface-based protein–protein interactions biosensors, single-molecule analysis, bioelectronics or drug screening

Social Enterprise in Spain: A Diversity of Roots and a Proposal of Models

The term “social enterprise” was first used, at the end of the 1980s, by organisations that promoted the social and labour integration of persons at risk of social and labour exclusion and other similar social activities. The social economy sector has since slowly introduced this term to describe its entities in order to gain recognition by society, and it is working to promote a generally accepted definition of social enterprise’s behaviour based on the principles and values of the social economy (participation, general interest...). According to Article 5 of Spanish Law 5/2011 on the Social Economy, work integration social enterprises and so-called “special employment centres” are part of the social economy, and so are all firms and entities carrying out activities following the values and principles of the social economy sector. In this context, organisations of the social economy sector also are beginning to use the “social enterprise” concept. In Spain, a debate still exists regarding its exact definition. A mix of perspectives on this concept, with different nuances, can be observed. Besides, the current context of reduced governmental budgets and social services in Spain causes social organisations to adopt new approaches to this term of social enterprise, as this type of organisation is more likely to receive funds from the European Union. This paper’s objective is to analyse all perspectives on the concept of social enterprise as well as the various social enterprise models existing in Spain. The document structure is organized as follow. In the first section, we present the context and the main concepts related to social enterprises in this country. In the second section, we provide an analysis of changes in the evolution of social enterprise criteria to identify established models and emerging patterns. In the third section, we put forward another typology, based on institutionalisation stages. Finally, we conclude by recommending an approach to future work and provide a basic bibliography on the subject

Economía Social y Economía Colaborativa: Encaje y Potencialidades

La economía colaborativa es un concepto emergente en el ámbito de la empresa y la economía en los últimos an~os, que plantea la aparición de nuevas oportunidades de negocio y de generación de ideas basadas en las tecnologías de la comunicación. De forma recurrente, se asocian a este modelo económico aspectos como la confianza, la cooperación, una mayor redistribución de riqueza entre los participantes en ella, la búsqueda de justicia en los intercambios realizados... que hace que muchas veces se la vincule con el término «social», incluyendo en el mismo paraguas a las experiencias de economía colaborativa y economía social. Sin embargo, frente al diálogo que existe actualmente alrededor del término economía colaborativa, la economía social se muestra como un sector económico asentado y con unas características definidas, cuya actividad económica se basa en principios y valores como los expuestos arriba, pero que incluyen matices an~adidos. El objetivo de este artículo es cubrir este gap conceptual, realizando una aproximación teórica y descriptiva a las nociones esenciales vinculadas a ambos términos, y planteando los puntos en común y las diferencias existentes entre ambos conceptos. De esta manera, el artículo busca el establecimiento de puentes entre sendos ámbitos que permitan aprovechar las oportunidades y asentar las fortalezas que presentan cada uno de ellos

Una década de estudios de desarrollo en clave iberoamericana

La Revista Iberoamericana de Estudios de Desarrollo cumple diez años. Es momento de reconocer quién la sostiene, las características que la han llevado a avanzar en el conocimiento del Desarrollo, además de conseguir el reconocimiento internacional, y de dar gracias a las personas que la han apoyado y a quienes hoy aportan su gran valía en equipo. The Iberoamerican Journal of Development Studies celebrates ten years. It is time to recognize who supports it, the characteristics that have led it to advance in Development research, in addition to achieving international recognition, and to give thanks to so many people who have supported it and to those who today contribute their great value as a team. © 2022 Universidad de Zaragoza. All rights reserved

High-resolution scan of the Pyrenean crustal structure combining magnetotelluric and gravity data

The Pyrenees have undergone complex geodynamic evolution starting with experiencing significant tectonic events during the Variscan Orogeny, followed by the intrusion of large granitic complexes during the late Variscan stage, then the collision between the Iberian and European plates during the Alpine Orogeny, and finally, Mesozoic extension. Despite extensive studies and the application of various geophysical methods (two-dimensional seismic reflection data, gravity, and long period magnetotellurics) to investigate the Pyrenean structure, there are still fundamental questions regarding its basement and cover architecture. Specifically, the geometry at depth of significant bodies such as the Late Variscan intrusive granites and Triassic evaporitic accumulations, remains unclear. To better understand these issues, we have conducted joint magnetotelluric and gravity surveys along a 60-kilometer-long transect, spanning the boundary between the Axial and South Pyrenean Zones. Our final geological interpretation shows that the La Maladeta batholith consists of two distinct granitic bodies related to different intrusive pulses. In addition, we identify important Triassic evaporitic accumulations at depth. This work shows the high potential of integrating two geophysical models for understanding the geological evolution of structurally complex areas. The magnetotelluric and gravity data are complementary, with each dataset providing a different resolution for investigating the basement and cover architecture of the Pyrenees. These resolutions depend on the varied petrophysical properties of the rocks involved, including water content and deformation grade

Structure of the mantle beneath the Alboran basin from magnetotelluric soundings

We present results of marine MT acquisition in the Alboran sea that also incorporates previously acquired land MT from southern Spain into our analysis. The marine data show complex MT response functions with strong distortion due to seafloor topography and the coastline, but inclusion of high resolution topography and bathymetry and a seismically defined sediment unit into a 3D inversion model has allowed us to image the structure in the underlying mantle. The resulting resistivity model is broadly consistent with a geodynamic scenario that includes subduction of an eastward trending plate beneath Gibraltar, which plunges nearly vertically beneath the Alboran. Our model contains three primary features of interest: a resistive body beneath the central Alboran, which extends to a depth of ~150 km. At this depth, the mantle resistivity decreases to values of ~100 Ohm-m, slightly higher than those seen in typical asthenosphere at the same depth. This transition suggests a change in slab properties with depth, perhaps reflecting a change in the nature of the seafloor subducted in the past. Two conductive features in our model suggest the presence of fluids released by the subducting slab or a small amount of partial melt in the upper mantle (or both). Of these, the one in the center of the Alboran basin, in the uppermost-mantle (20-30km depth) beneath Neogene volcanics and west of the termination of the Nekkor Fault, is consistent with geochemical models, which infer highly thinned lithosphere and shallow melting in order to explain the petrology of seafloor volcanics