Academic literature on the topic 'Guipúzcoa (Spain) – Social conditions – 20th century'

Adult height is the most commonly used biological indicator to evaluate material and emotional conditions in which people grew up, allowing the analysis of secular trends associated with socio-economic change as well as of social inequalities among human populations. There is a lack of studies on both aspects regarding urban populations. Our study evaluates the secular trends and the disparities in height of conscripts born between 1915 and 1953 and called-up at the age of 21 between 1936 and 1969, living in districts with low versus middle and high socio-economic conditions, in the city of Madrid, Spain. We test the hypothesis that urban spatial segregation and social stratification was associated with significant differences in height. Results show that height increased significantly during the analysed period, both among conscripts living in the middle- and upper-class districts (5.85 cm) and in the lower-class districts (6.75 cm). The positive secular trend in height among conscripts from middle- and upper-class districts was sustained throughout the period, but the trend in height among the lower class fluctuated according to social, political, and economic events. Our findings support previous research that adult height is influenced strongly by the family living conditions during infancy and by community effects acting during childhood and adolescence.

Throughout history, each human activity has been demanding and building a specific furniture according to it. But it is arranged in a specific space, forming environmental conditions that must guarantee the appropriate response on each occasion. Sometimes there is a clear link between the two, especially in those cases in which both container and content have been devised unitarily, combining design decisions on the building and object scales. The different degrees of the interrelation between architecture and furniture will be exposed in the study of various cases, all of them carried out in Spain during the first third of the 20th century, whose temporal extremes are the Casa Batlló and the Capitol Building. The various modes of involvement and attribution of belonging to the different artistic movements developed in that period will also be shown.

The origin of the civil war is a central theme in the history of Spain in the 20th century and has given rise to intense debates. In the author's opinion, it was the result of the combination of structural conditions (economic and social underdevelopment, accelerated modernization pro-cess, resistance to it), all necessary, but not sufficient. The latter were determined by two factors: the existence of a conspiracy against the Spanish Republic since its very advent in 1931 and the inability of the republican governments to effectively cut it off in 1936. They did not know how to do so despite all the measures adopted but, at the same time Dessert, they could not either because from the first years of his life his monarchical adversaries had the help of fascist Italy. This was gradually materializing until an agreement was reached in March 1934, well known, but also very disfigured. It was the unequivocal signal that Mussolini was willing to curtail the republican experience in Spain in order to establish fascist influence in the western Mediterranean. The unequivocal signal was given in October 1935, in parallel with the in-vasion of Abyssinia. In June 1936, after victory, he turned again to Spain. His commitment materialized in contracts for the supply of war material, for a short war, on July 1 of the same year. The author has uncovered one of the most disfigured enigmas of the origin of the civil war.

<p>Building circularly means building with future reuse in mind. Since Pearce and Turner (1995) put forward their ideas on the circular economy, this approach has gained prominence in other disciplines, such as architecture. (McDonough y Braungart, 2005). However, until very recent times architecture has been "linear" if we understand this as the opposite of the aim of reuse: the initial purpose was disconnected from the final one. Thus, to have elements of analysis and comparison, in this text we will approach the way of building in Spain in the 20th century. We will focus on the case of railway social housing, which had an abundant production (around 20,000 dwellings) in the period 1939-1989, within the framework of the existing housing legislation at that time in which there was no purpose of reuse, as the context and needs were different. However, these are dwellings that are still in use where the principles of circular architecture are applied, in this case to improve and adapt to regulations regarding energy saving with the intention of making this continuity of use more sustainable.</p><p>The article is based on the analysis of the thermal envelope carried out based on the projects available, as well as the study and application of the regulations on thermal insulation in the period under study, which specifically did not exist until the 1979 basic standard on thermal conditions (NBE-CT-79). The aim is to simulate, after the study carried out and after the recent update of the basic document on energy saving, (CTE DB-HE 2019) what renovation actions are necessary in these dwellings to ensure compliance with the new and rigorous standards set with the aim of reconciling these dwellings, which are still in use and were built under criteria of minimum cost, with the lowest energy consumption and therefore with greater energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.</p>

The Spanish and Russian history of the 20th century includes the experience of civil war, mass emigration, changes of intellectual elites, tragic pages associated with repression and terror. Spain in the 1970s and the USSR in the 1980s with a difference of ten years embarked on a large-scale social and political transformation, the goal of which was the transition to democracy. The revitalization of the socio-cultural sphere and the complex interaction with the “difficult past” became an integral part of the political transit of the two countries. The use of comparative analysis allows us to identify the similarities and differences in the attitudes concerning the past, to determine the specifics of approaches to the formation of memory politics, as well as to study the features of “conflicts of memory”. For the Spaniards, the civil war of 1936—1939 and the Franco dictatorship were central to the formation of the memory of the past. As for the Soviet “difficult past”, here the researchers call the Great Patriotic War and mass repressions the “main traumas”. The Spanish and Soviet experience of interacting with the “difficult past” in the context of the transition to democracy demonstrates to us fundamentally different models due to the specifics of the historical stages preceding the transition, specific historical, political and social tasks solved during the transition period, the interest of political forces in matters of interaction with past. The main component of the Spanish model is the “pact of oblivion”, the choice in favor of building the future without solving the problems of the past. The basis of the Soviet model was the policy of glasnost. At the same time, a consensus on the future in the USSR was not formed, for its formation there were neither forces nor conditions.

Abstract. According to the DISASTER database the 20–28 December 1909 event was the hydro-geomorphologic event with the highest number of flood and landslide cases that occurred in Portugal in the period 1865–2010 (Zêzere et al., 2014). This event also caused important social impacts over the Spanish territory, especially in the Douro Basin, having triggered the highest floods in more than 100 years at the river's mouth in the city of Oporto. This work has a dual purpose: (i) to characterize the spatial distribution and social impacts of the December 1909 hydro-geomorphologic DISASTER event over Portugal and Spain; (ii) to analyse the meteorological conditions that triggered the event and the spatial distribution of the precipitation anomalies. Social impacts that occurred in Portugal were obtained from the Disaster database (Zêzere et al., 2014) whereas the data collection for Spain was supported by the systematic analysis of Spanish daily newspapers. In addition, the meteorological conditions that triggered the event are analysed using the 20th Century Reanalysis data set from NOAA and precipitation data from Iberian meteorological stations. The Iberian Peninsula was spatially affected during this event along the SW-NE direction spanning from Lisbon, Santarém, Oporto, and Guarda (in Portugal), to Salamanca, Valladolid, Zamora, Orense, León, and Palencia (in Spain). In Iberia, 134 DISASTER cases were recorded (130 flood cases; 4 landslides cases) having caused 89 casualties (57 due to floods and 32 due to landslides) and a further total of 3876 affected people, including fatalities, injured, missing, evacuated, and homeless people. This event was associated with outstanding precipitation registered at Guarda (Portugal) on 22 December 1909 and unusual meteorological conditions characterized by the presence of a deep low-pressure system located over the NW Iberian Peninsula with a stationary frontal system striking the western Iberian Peninsula. The presence of an upper-level jet (250 hPa) and low-level jet (900 hPa) located SW–NE oriented towards Iberia along with upper-level divergence and lower-level convergence favoured large-scale precipitation. Finally, associated with these features it is possible to state that this extreme event was clearly associated with the presence of an elongated Atmospheric River, crossing the entire northern Atlantic Basin and providing a continuous supply of moisture that contributed to enhance precipitation. This work contributes to a comprehensive and systematic synoptic evaluation of the second most deadly hydro-geomorphologic DISASTER event that has occurred in Portugal since 1865 and will help to better understand the meteorological system that was responsible for triggering the event.

Background/Context Throughout history, a country's economic and military strength has influenced its times of cultural splendor and the rise of famous intellectuals and artists. Spain has been an exception to this. At the turn of the 20th century, a surprising series of events that no one could have predicted occurred. At the time, Spain had recently lost the last of its overseas colonies. A few years later, the Moroccan War was also a failure. All these events sent Spain into a state of confusion and provoked strong political tensions within the country: popular uprisings, street fights, and a general state of economic, political, and military weakness. Simultaneously, the cultural and intellectual scene developed a fascinating degree of momentum. Spain became the cradle of some of the world's foremost painters, poets, writers, and intellectuals, such as Picasso, Machado, Lorca, and Buñuel. Among them, the Catalan pedagogue Ferrer i Guàrdia (1859–1909), who was important in the libertarian tradition of popular culture, became a world figure with his educational project, the Modern School. This project was specifically aimed at the lowest social classes so that they would have access to a scientific, democratic, quality education, thereby developing their skills in a society where education was limited to the upper classes and contributing educational development to improve social conditions. Both his project and Ferrer i Guàrdia himself were persecuted and attacked until he was finally sentenced to death in October 1909. Purpose This goal of this study was to analyze Ferrer i Guàrdia's indefatigable fight for an egalitarian, high-quality pedagogical project. Specifically, the figure of Ferrer i Guàrdia was analyzed in the context of a socially and militarily decadent country, which led to his defamation, persecution, and death—in contrast with the international impact and prestige he achieved. Research Design This research was based on historical methods, specifically drawing on analyses of literature review, historical documents, books, and articles (both scientific articles and newspaper articles from the time) regarding the life and work of Ferrer i Guàrdia and the historical context in which he lived. Findings/Conclusions The article concludes with a summary of the great current value of Ferrer i Guàrdia's libertarian approach to education, which consisted of transforming education to provide high-quality learning for all regardless of socioeconomic class.

The accession of Ireland, Greece, Spain and Portugal into the European Community was a significant move towards manifesting everlasting peace by means of a single market. The incorporation of these four weaker countries into the European Union (EU) marked a break from the EU’s traditional purview. The paradigm shift of the EU’s approach to enlargement placed Member States onto a path that would harness the full capabilities of a common market in improving civilians quality of life while simultaneously achieving individual Member States’ objectives including growth, employment, and trade. The regional effects of the EU’s single market are drastically different from the effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). A much newer trading bloc (NAFTA came into effect on January 1, 1994), it lacks the wisdom and fine tuning of the EU. The governments of the United States, Mexico, and Canada signed the treaty1while hailing how it would “fuel economic growth and dynamic trade, stimulate investment while creating productive partnerships, work for small and medium sized businesses and provide fairness and certainty. NAFTA partners promote environmental protection, and provide greater job opportunities in North America”.2 Yet the effects seem to be the exact opposite. NAFTA has been called “one of the most innovative, astounding documents of the 20th century by the stoic…”3, but this so-called “innovative depth” has reduced barriers to trade and investment, without the necessary checks and balances. For Mexico, NAFTA merely expedited and formalized “the silent integration” that had been occurring since the Border Industrialization Project of 1965— without adding anything new to the table.4 Unlike the EU, NAFTA is a rigid document that has not reformed itself as needed to address issues of border control, immigration policies, and uneven socioeconomic development. In spite of sincere hopes for free trade and economic integration to raise living standards across the continent, the reality is that the unfettered markets have permitted NAFTA to persistently ignore the uneven economic development, and vulnerabilities each country faces. In so doing, the United States has been a quiet bystander to the inequalities proliferating from unchecked free trade. Both countries have been left vulnerable to NAFTA backlash. Mexico’s vulnerability stems from unsound economic development policies and overall slow growth. These factors have increased the US’ vulnerability, to migration. Fed up with uneven development, lack of job opportunities, poor working conditions, and low wages, many Mexicans are taking matters into their own hands and crossing the border, often illegally. Militaristic efforts to “defend” the border have done nothing but increase political tensions and migrant death tolls. NAFTA does not address the immigration problem and its root cause of unequal development. This paper begins with the European Union’s initial experience with enlargements and the experimentation process it underwent to reduce economic and social disparities between regions to further facilitate their single market objectives. After considering how the EU’s cohesion policy strengthened its own single market while simultaneously curbing migration, we present the NAFTA scenario, specifically against the backdrop of Mexico and the United States, in order to highlight the impotent mechanisms the United States relies upon to quiet the waves of economic migrants.

Defence date: 15 January 1999
Examining board: Prof. Jean-Louis Guereña (Université de Tours) ; Prof. Dominique Julia, director (CNRS, Paris) ; Prof. Raffaele Romanelli (Istituto Universitario Europeo, Firenze) ; Prof. Antonio Viñao Frago, co-director (Universidad de Murcia)
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digitised archive of EUI PhD theses completed between 2013 and 2017

This chapter reviews how material conditions improved in Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece over many decades from the postwar period to the onset of the Eurozone crisis and the Great Recession; how Southern Europe lost ground in the 2010s; and how changes in living standards affected different population groups. The chapter unfolds in 15 short sections. Section 4.1 sets the scene by briefly discussing similarities and differences between the four countries. Section 4.2 recounts how life in Southern Europe was transformed since the mid-20th century in terms of material well-being. Sections 4.3–4.14 look at changes in gross domestic product, consumption, investment, labour productivity, employment, education attainment, population health, social spending, income inequality, poverty and social exclusion, the distribution of wealth, and life satisfaction. Section 4.15 concludes.