Collective memory of the Spanish civil war: The case of the political amnesty in the Spanish transition to democracy

This article focuses on two interrelated, but relatively ignored, factors in the Spanish transition to democracy (1975–78): first, the most important political mobilizations of the period in which the people demanded an amnesty for the political prisoners of the dictatorship; second, the presence of a collective memory of the Spanish civil war (1936–39), whose repetition was now to be avoided at all costs. It argues that the many collective actions that took place in Spain in favour of an amnesty were, to a great extent, inspired by a widespread desire for reconciliation among Spaniards. Spanish society had suffered a deep split as a consequence of the civil war and, because of the presence of the Francoist regime, no symbolic measures to reach national reconciliation had taken place. The climate generated by the often violent confrontations between police and demonstrators (and not only during demonstrations in favour of the amnesty), and the number of resulting deaths and injuries, made the people remember the serious problems of public order that had confronted the Second Republic (1931–36), whose collapse marked the beginning of the Spanish civil war. These factors help explain why the main political parties of the left felt the need to contain the very mobilization process that they had helped to create. The generous amnesty of October 1977, passed by a democratically elected parliament, was interpreted as the symbolic overcoming of the division among Spaniards that resulted from the dramatic civil confrontation of the 1930s.     

Penile strangulation: report of a fatal case

Penile strangulation or entrapment is an unusual entity that requires urgent treatment due to its potential complications. Several cases have been reported in the medical literature, some of them describing serious injuries such as necrosis, gangrene, and amputation of the penis. However, as far as we know, no fatal cases have been described before. We present the death of an adult male secondary to the complications due to penile strangulation with a plastic bottle neck. The time of incarceration was unknown, but according to a witness it could be about 10 to 14 days. The findings of autopsy were penile strangulation, necrosis of the penis, acute pyelonephritis, and bronchopneumonia. The subject's refusal to ask for medical help was the cause of this atypical evolution.     

Public–private efficiency in the delivery of services of general economic interest: The case of urban transport

This paper studies urban transport, a public service with extensive initiatives towards deregulation and privatisation throughout the European Union and in other developed and developing countries. The relative merits of deregulation, public or private provision and the implications of different policies for the performance of public services have become important issues. A crucial question is what type of operating and regulatory environment is best suited to stimulate efficiency in public service delivery. This paper analyses specifically the effect of privatisation and deregulation on the technical efficiency of bus services in 73 cities, in order to compare performance in cities with bus services provided by public operators, private operators, both types simultaneously or in which the service is deregulated. The behaviour of the different types of operators analysed in this paper shows that competition – total or partial – is effective in controlling costs.     

Longitudinal Associations between Maternal Involvement,Cultural Orientations,and Prosocial Behaviors Among Recent Immigrant Latino Adolescents

Prosocial behaviors (i.e., actions that benefit others) are important markers of healthy social functioning, and understanding the factors that predict such outcomes among recent immigrant Latino adolescents is important. The current study examines the longitudinal associations between maternal involvement and prosocial behaviors via collectivism values. Data comes from a longitudinal project (Construyendo Oportunidades Para los Adolescentes Latinos) of 302 recently immigrated U.S. Latina/o adolescents (53.3% male, average age?=?14.51 years old). The current study uses data from three times points across 2 years. The results demonstrated that maternal involvement was positively associated with collectivism values. Collectivism was positively associated with changes in prosocial behaviors. There was also partial support for a reverse-causal model. Discussion focuses on the links among parenting, cultural values, and prosocial behaviors among immigrant U.S. Latina/o adolescents.