“New Critical Approaches to the History of the Early English Novel”

The critical appraisal of the rise of the novel in English has changed drastically from the publication of Ian Watt’s homonymous study in 1957. Some thirty years later, one of Watt’s disciples, Michael McKeon, suggested a new model to study the origins of the novel as a genuine type of prose fiction which was influenced mainly by Italian, French and Spanish sources, and which began earlier than the texts written by the eighteenth-century ‘fathers’ of the genre, namely Daniel Defoe and Samuel Richardson. Following McKeon’s model built around ‘questions of truth’ and ‘questions of virtue’, which nonetheless missed some remarkable (female) precedents of the novel tradition, other critics like Josephine Donovan, Paula Backscheider, Ros Ballaster and Janet Todd, among others, have been in charge of rescuing these texts, claiming their influence in the development of the genre. To illustrate their critical approach, and to stress the relationship between former and foreign sources and the incipient –and autochthonous— form of the novel in the late seventeenth century, I will use some examples extracted from Behn’s fiction.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Las empresas de participación ante el reto de la gestión del cambio demográfico

El cambio demográfico que se está viviendo a nivel mundial, y de forma particular en Europa, como consecuencia del envejecimiento de la población ante el incremento de la esperanza de vida y la drástica reducción de las tasas de fertilidad, ha hecho saltar las alarmas ante la necesidad de llevar a cabo una gestión adecuada que no ponga en peligro la viabilidad financiera de los sistemas de protección social. Los Estados Miembros han de acometer las reformas necesarias que conduzcan a la modernización de sus sistemas de protección social garantizando tanto pensiones adecuadas y viables como una asistencia sanitaria y una asistencia de larga duración de calidad, accesible y duradera. Para lograr estos objetivos existe el acuerdo generalizado de fomentar políticas de empleo que incentiven el envejecimiento activo y la prolongación de la vida profesional para frenar la salida prematura del mercado laboral de los trabajadores mayores de 45 años. Entre las medidas a adoptar para el mantenimiento de los trabajadores en las empresas están la adaptación de los contenidos de los puestos de trabajo, el aprovechamiento del conocimiento interno y la formación continua de los trabajadores. En los casos en los que ya se haya producido la expulsión del mercado laboral, serán las empresas de participación las que pueden representar una vía de salida ante la situación de desempleo. Pero para que los desempleados de mayor edad decidan emprender su propia iniciativa empresarial necesitan formación, asesoramiento y ayudas.The demographic change that is lived worldwide, and of particular form in Europe, as consequence of the aging of the population because of the increase of the life expectancy and the drastic reduction of the rates of fertility, has made jump the alarms because of the need to get a suitable management that does not put in danger the financial viability of the social protection systems. The members states have to make the necessary reforms that they lead to the modernization of their social protection systems guaranteeing both suitable and viable pensions and a sanitary assistance and an assistance of long duration of quality, accessible and lasting. To achieve these aims there is a widespread agreement to foment employment policies that stimulate the active aging and the prolongation of the professional life to stop the premature exit of the labour market of the 45-year-old major workers. Among the measurements to adopt for the maintenance of the workers in the companies there are the adjustment of the contents of the working places, the use of the internal knowledge and the permanent training of the workers. In the cases in which already there has been produced the expulsion of the labour market, the participation companies will can represent an exit of the situation of unemployment. But in order that the unemployed ones of major age decide to tackle their own managerial initiative they need formation, advice and helps