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The purpose of this paper is to develop an integrated model on perceived employability in university students, based on personal and contextual factors.

The authors use structural equation modelling to estimate a model that includes a set of variables, previously validated at exploratory and confirmatory levels, in order to measure personal and contextual factors involved in perceived employability. The sample comprises 816 university students selected by a stratified procedure.

The model explains how perceived employability in university students is built up. It identifies the involved factors and their level of influence and provides statistically valid and reliable measures for these factors.

This study develops an integrated model which explains more than previous ones to know perceived employability of university students by combining personal and contextual factors. A limitation of the study lies in the use of a cross-sectional design, and the specificities of the cultural context as well as consideration of the labour market situation. Generalizing the results to other cultural contexts requires caution.

The model explains perceived employability in university students and provides validated scales at confirmatory level that can be used for futures studies in sociology, behavioural psychology, human resources management or education. The model and scales also serve as tools for evaluation that can be used by those responsible for such personal or contextual factors.

The development of an integrated model that explains perceived employability to a much higher degree than previous models.

Sustainable employability has emerged as a multifaceted construct that measures individuals' abilities to function in the labour market throughout their working lives. Therefore, it is no longer just about analysing how to achieve a successful transition from school/university to employment, but also about identifying the conditions that will allow people to continue to be capable and motivated in the long term. The aim of this work was to identify and rank the personal factors of an individual that contribute to his or her perceived sustainable employability.

The authors used a quantitative methodology to estimate the structural model proposed. A stratified random procedure was used to administer an online questionnaire to 202 university master’s degree students. Before testing the structural model, the validation of each scale was performed, both at the exploratory and confirmatory levels.

The results indicate that four groups were key to improve individual sustainable employability: (1) Health Status; (2) Career Competencies; (3) Core Self-Evaluations and (4) Overcoming Competencies.

The results are of interest to any individual, employed or not, insofar as they can reflect on the relevance of each category and how to improve them at the individual level.

This study contributes to research on sustainable employability focus on the analysis of young people by providing empirical evidence on its relationship with other key variables, in an area where the literature remains mainly conceptual and centred in workers.

The purpose of this paper is to explore Somos Escritoras, a creative space and writing workshop, for Latina adolescent girls (grades 6–8), as a program that supports not only writing and literacy development of girls, but also their college going identities.

This is a case study focused on the experiences of five Latina girls who participated in Somos Escritoras and what they define as the important aspects of the program that supported their personal and academic development.

Through girls writing, interview transcripts, and ethnographic conversations, their words illustrate how Somos Escritoras provided a safe space to examine their lives and find comunidad. Girls described the value they found in examining their lives through art and writing in ways that school did not invite them to do. Also, girls discussed the power they found in writing alongside Latinas their age and Latina mentors.

This study offers pedagogical implications for English language arts classrooms and schools to support Latina girls’ college-going identities.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the potential of Lesson Study (LS) as a tool for dealing with dilemmas in university teaching.

This paper is the result of a LS project which was developed over two academic years (2015-2016 and 2016-2017) in the Faculties of Education and Teacher Training at the Universities of Cantabria and Oviedo (Spain). The research asked the question “How can better learning be achieved?” The starting point for the research methodology was the identification and analysis of teaching dilemmas. The whole process was based on the triangulation of perspectives through the collection of data using techniques such as peer observation, focus groups, interviews, and the writing of the Teacher’s final report. The methodology the authors used was inspired by the Student Voice “movement.”

The findings show that the potential of LS methodology for professional development in higher education is very promising, enabling teachers to deal with the questions raised by practice collaboratively, broaden their professional knowledge, introduce improvements, and establish new ways of understanding the teaching profession based on a collegial approach.

LS methodology is beginning to be known in Spain. Developments have only taken place very recently and there are still few experiences within the university context. It is not common practice for teaching in higher education to become a public space for reflection and research breaking from the traditional isolation between teachers and incorporating the voices of students.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate ways of practicing political power in public space in the interaction between central and marginal users in Glòries, an area under transformation in Barcelona. Originally conceived as the core of its extension, Glòries is now a battle field where conflictive spatial-social manifestations are strongly linked to pending conditions and partially implemented infrastructural projects. The key actors are in large majority illegal migrants, which activities and spatial strategies are particularly uncomfortable for city administrators; challenging the traditional focus on actors that are stable and institutionalized, included and previewed by the tools for urban projects implementation.

To achieve insights on urban spatial articulations of appropriations by marginal actors around infrastructures, the method deployed is to look closely at the interplays between persecuted and persecutors and their ways of practicing power in space in the frame of the illegal street markets in Glòries. This is part of an ongoing PhD research on the complexity of involved processes. The research is executed in diverse work packages: mapping of material transformations (morphology, domain, accessibility and permeability), in diverse timeframes; surrounding functions and temporal fixities, appropriations catalysts; media presences and discussions; crossed references with immersive field work and exchange with locals.

A broad variety of illegal street markets have been monitored in Glòries, revealing an increase in scale, frequency and levels of tension. Around them, their dynamic properties can be extracted and measured: spatial configurations, sizes, timeframes, number of traders/visitors, the relation to other elements, the strategies of displaying, displacing and dispersing used by the police. In all, the relationship with the infrastructural elements shows crucial and a better understanding of their relations constitutes a path to understand how both infrastructures and collective behavior contribute to dynamic productive and power logics in space.

This research and case study are an outstanding framework to explore the concrete spatial interactions and interplays of different power or territorialization processes, i.e. the strategies to denote presence and agency – in novel ways. Focusing on their spatial outcomes in contemporary transformation processes where infrastructures are dominant components is a way to inform the design, practice and implementation of city project and management.

This research presents a review and assessment of the factors affecting the implementation of remodeling projects, during their lifecycle.

A mixed design approach comprising of qualitative and quantitative methods was utilized. The research commenced with a literature review to identify the factors affecting remodeling projects over their lifecycle phases, namely re-programing, design, construction, and operation and maintenance. A survey was administered, to solicit experts' evaluation of importance, on a sample of 90 professionals, including 30 architects, 30 contractors and 30 real estate developers, to obtain a diversified assessment of the factors. Based on the values of their relative importance indices, a set of 27 factors were ranked and correlated, among all areas, to expose the differentiation of their views.

The research has empirically determined that data availability of the remodeling project, contractor competency for carrying out the remodeling project, and safety during the disassembly and demolition (D&D) activities are the most important lifecycle factors leading to a successful delivery of the remodeling projects. These factors provide a practical guide for professionals endeavoring on delivering a successful and effective remodeling of built facilities.

This research explores professional practice in comparison to the literature and the legislative discourses, to ensure an effective delivery of remodeling projects over their lifecycle. This research provides practitioners, and regulators with a lacked area of research, while introducing a thorough investigation upon the factors affecting remodeling projects, their importance and ranking, from a project's lifecycle perception.