A Comparative Analysis of the Evolution of Gender Wage Discrimination: Spain Versus Galicia.

The aim of this paper is to analyze the degree of female wage discrimination in the Spanish region of Galicia relative to the rest of Spain. The analysis starts from an established fact: women’s average earnings are lower than men’s. First, we try to show the causes behind this wage differential. Next, we discuss the evolution of the wage gap between 1995 and 2002, in order to bring some light on the factors potentially accounting for wage discrimination persistence in Galicia and Spain. We will analyze the distribution of the degree of discrimination using Discrimination Curve and Discrimination Indexes proposed by Del Río et al. These indicators have the advantage of being decomposable, allowing a more exhaustive rendering of the factors characterizing wage discrimination, as well as the quantification of the incidence of discrimination for different social groups. Thus we can determine, not only if the degree of discrimination has had a similar evolution in both regions, but also if discrimination is more strongly exerted against the same social groups both in Galicia and Spain.

Gender wage discrimination in Galicia

The wage discrimination by gender in the Galician region is one of the highest in Spain, although it presents one of the smallest wage gaps between men and women. The aim of this paper is to extend wage discrimination analysis in Galicia through two complementary theories. First, we approximate global discrimination with the Oaxaca decomposition. This method calculates the discrimination using women and men median characteristics, providing a measure based on the wage distribution average. After that, considering individual discrimination experiences, we approximate wage discrimination by using indicators based on poverty literature, as the Generalised Lorenz Inverse (discrimination curve), and the family of indexes such as Foster´s, Greer´s or Thorbecke´s. These indexes have the property of decomposability, which allows to do an exhaustive analysis of the wage discrimination distribution in Galicia that can be the source of the differential behaviour observed at the aggregate level.

Temporary Employment in Tourism Activities: Regional differences in Spain

The great capacity of tourism to provide employment, especially between groups of workers with a more difficult insertion in the labour market, is one of its most well-known positive aspects. However Tourism employment is often described as low skilled, which is associated with average lower wages, higher percentage of fixed-term contracts, and longer working day than other industries. Nevertheless, this is not true for all tourism activities. Although this description could be close for hotels and restaurants labour market, it is completely different for land transport, travel agencies and tour operators activities. This could be related with the fact that each characteristic tourism industry provides a different percentage of his output to tourists, as it is shown in the Spanish Tourism Satellite Account. Given that, the aim of this paper is to analyse what factors can determine the incidence of temporary employment in Tourism activities in Spain and to discuss regional differences. As result, our first step is to identify the labour market characteristics of the different tourism activities. These results are clear influenced by the particularities of the different activities (labour market of transport activities is very different from hotels and restaurants activities) and not by a tourism characteristic. Thus, the second step is to analyse how tourism influence in the labour-market conditions after controlling for the particularities of the different tourism activities. In this case, we focus in just one characteristic of the labour market very associated with low-quality jobs; the share of workers with fixed-term jobs. Although Spain is one of the countries with the highest arrivals of tourists, those are not equally distributed by regions. This allows us to identify the degree of specialization of each region in tourism, and to analyse its impact in the share of workers with fixed-term contracts. Results show that the highest tourism specialization of the region decreases the share of workers with fixed-term contracts, after isolating the particularities of the different tourism activities. It seems that this low-quality characteristic disappear with the development of the sector in some regions.

El rechazo de una opción conservacionista e integradora. Galicia en el Plan General de Repoblación Forestal de España de 1939

En este artículo se tratan de analizar los criterios y objetivos con los que se conformó el Plan de Repoblación de 1939. Dicho provincial yecto, de carácter conservacionista y productivo, pretendía hacer de Galicia la mayor reserva de bosques autóctonos, productores de madera de gran calidad. Sin embargo, la oposición al mismo por parte de las instituciones públicas y de ciertos sectores económicos, fue la causa de su defenestración. Según la opción vencedora, Galicia, junto con otras áreas y regiones, debería convertirse en la base de la autarqula celulósica.This article attempts to analyse the criteria and objectives which formed the Reforestation Plan of 1939. This project, of a conservationist and productive nature, aimed to convert Galicia into the main reserve of indigenous forest, producing wood of a very high quality. However, opposition from public institutions and from particular economic sectors meant that the plan was rejected. According to the winning option, Galicia, along with other regions, was to become the basis of national self­sufficiency in cellulose

Presencia actual de la fonética en el aula de ELE y su reflejo en la enseñanza de la prosodia

Los estudios de fonética en el aula de ELE tradicionalmente han carecido del tratamiento que se merecen. La aplicación de los actuales modelos comunicativos en la enseñanza de lenguas debería haber ayudado a mejorar su presencia y utilización como elemento fundamental para conseguir una buena competencia comunicativa. El propósito de este artículo es comprobar cuál es la situación de la enseñanza de la fonética (concretamente la prosodia) en nuestros días; para ello se realiza un trabajo de investigación con estudiantes y profesores de español, en la Universidad de Alcalá, sobre las preferencias y uso de las diferentes competencias comunicativas, así como las actitudes y creencias de los participantes hacia el estudio la fonética. Así mismo, se examina la tipología de los ejercicios de práctica prosódica y el tratamiento que se da a la fonética en los manuales de ELE disponibles en el mercado. Esta investigación confirma el poco interés que la enseñanza y aprendizaje de la fonética sigue despertando (insignificante en el caso de la prosodia en español), la necesidad de preparación teórica complementaria por parte del profesor y cómo el contacto de los estudiantes con esta disciplina es casi nulo. Esta falta de atención se ve reflejada en los materiales didácticos, en la metodología y en la práctica diaria en el aula de lengua

La industria del aserrío mecánico en Galicia, 1856-1935.

Desde comienzos del siglo XX, el sector forestal gallego experimentó un continuo y constante crecimiento de su actividad, constituyéndose en uno de los principales ejes productivos del país. En este trabajo se pretende un acercamiento a los orígenes y evolución de la industria de primera transformación de la madera, en el período 1856- 1935, siguiendo su desarrollo cuantitativo y las principales líneas de innovación. También se ocupa de estudiar la evolución de la demanda y la disponibilidad de materia prima, tratando de estimar la producción anual maderable de los montes privados en el período indicado para, a partir de ahí, establecer la evolución de la superficie ocupada por el pino marítimo en Galicia a lo largo de la citada etapa. Para llevar a cabo esta investigación se utilizaron diversas fuentes, de tipo cuantitativo y cualitativo, cuyas características y valía son conocidas al haber sido empleadas en otras investigaciones. El desarrollo del aserrío se vio favorecido por la abundancia y el gran crecimiento del pino marítimo, los cambios en la estructura de la propiedad de la tierra y el aumento de la demanda de madera por parte de otros sectores industriales (minería, construcción, sector hortofrutícola). No obstante, la gran mayoría de las factorías se caracterizaban por tener dimensiones muy reducidas, muy pocos trabajadores, escaso nivel de capitalización, alto grado de dispersión y especialización en la elaboración de productos con escaso valor añadido.Since the early 20th century the Galician forest sector has experienced a continuous increase in activity; it is now one of the main producers in Spain. This article examines the origins and evolution of first‐stage wood processing industries (or sawmills) during the 1856‐1935 period, outlining their quantitative development and main lines of innovation. Following in the steps of prior research, various well‐known and highly‐valued quantitative and qualitative sources were used to estimate the demand and availability of raw materials, the annual timber production in private forests and, building upon this, the evolution of the area dedicated to maritime pine in Galicia. During this timeframe development of sawmills was favoured by the abundance and pronounced growth of maritime pine, changes in the structure of land ownership and increased wood demand by industries such as mining, construction and horticulture. However, most of the factories were very small, employed few workers, had low levels of capitalisation and a high degree of dispersion, specialising in the production of low value‐added products

Development of shRNA screens to identify effectors of three complex traits: neighbour suppression of tumour growth and proliferation and protection from lipotoxicity in β-cells.

RNA interference (RNAi) is a natural mechanism of cellular defence against exogenous double stranded RNA (dsRNA). The discovery of small dsRNA molecules which can be processed by the RNAi pathway in mammalian cells was one of the key advances in the study of functional genomics. These molecules can be designed to downregulate the expression of specific genes. Collections or libraries of dsRNA molecules targeting an extensive number of genes are now available. Using these libraries, numerous studies have implemented high-throughput screens for the study of molecular effectors of numerous phenotypes. The process of designing an RNAi screen requires the consideration of several critical factors during both the experimental and analysis phases. The experimental screen should aim to reproduce the biological phenomenon studied as closely as possible by choosing an adequate model and screening conditions. Phenotype evaluation and assessment of knockdown effects need careful consideration. The results obtained from large-scale RNAi screens are often complex. An analysis pipeline should be implemented which integrates the biological basis of the phenomenon and facilitates the interpretation of the data. This project designed and implemented an unbiased shRNA screen in two in vitro models relevant to carcinogenesis and diabetes. The first screen implemented used a model of neighbour suppression to study the molecular effectors of the response in tumorigenic cells to growth suppression cues from the surrounding tissue, a cellular interaction relevant in early tumorigenesis. The second screen studied two phenotypes relevant to diabetes: proliferation and resistance to lipotoxicity of β-cells in a reversibly immortalised cell line. An integrative analysis pipeline was also developed to apply network biology and functional enrichment analysis methods for the interpretation of the data obtained from both screens.Diabetes U

Education, Job Insecurity and the Within Country Migration of Couples

Abstract We consider the migration movements of power couples (couples where both members have at least a college degree), half-power and no-power couples within Australia. We explicitly allow for potential association of these movements with local labour market features including perceived job insecurity. The results support an urbanisation hypothesis; partnered college graduates like to live in major cities regardless of their gender or the qualifications of their partner. JEL Classification: J3, J