Resolution of February 22, 2024 of the Center for Sociological Research publishing the call for grants for training and research in matters of interest to the organization, by 2024

The CIS welcomed the professors of the Sociology I Department at UNED this Wednesday. The institution's president, José Félix Tezanos, showed them around the facilities and explained the center's long history, captured in the exhibition celebrating the CIS's 60th anniversary, which can be visited in the building's auditorium. José Félix Tezanos has shown them the most historic places in the CIS, such as the historical archive, the library, and the top floor, where the former office of the former Minister of Culture, Jorge Semprún, is still preserved.        

The book presentation of "Social Networks: Theory, Methods, and Applications in Latin America" will take place on March 20th at 3:00 PM. This work is the fruit of the scientific work of a community of researchers with extensive experience in this field. The editors are Francisca Ortiz Ruiz and Alejandro Espinosa-Rada, sociologists specializing in the field of social networks, to which they have dedicated a large part of their professional careers. The systematic study of social networks has been of great interest in recent years for representing and understanding complex social phenomena. The general objectives of this book are to promote the use of social network analysis in the Spanish-speaking community by discussing theoretical and methodological aspects; and to serve as a regional reference on how to conduct research on social networks, presenting comparative empirical studies in Latin America and case studies in specific countries within the same region.       This book offers an overview of the current state of the field of social media, useful for researchers, professors, and students interested in social theory and research methods who wish to gain a critical perspective on the origins of the field and the current state of this area of study in the social sciences. The manuscript consists of four sections: theoretical aspects, methodological aspects, comparative empirical studies in Latin America, and case studies in Latin American countries. The event can be followed on the ChisocNet YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chisocnet    

The CIS (Central Statistics and Census) conducted a post-election survey on the elections held on February 18 in Galicia. The study addresses Galicians' interest in the elections, when they decided to vote, and how they were informed during the campaign, among other issues. 62.7% of Galicians followed the election campaign with "a lot or quite a lot of interest," while 33.3% were not interested at all. Regarding what they saw and heard during the campaign, 47.7% indicated that it helped them "see the differences between the parties," 40% "better understand the candidates," 34.5% "learn about the programs and proposals of each party or coalition," and 30.8% "helped them decide their vote." Voting fidelity Nine percent of respondents changed their vote for one party or another during the election campaign. Of that percentage, 88% changed their vote once, 5.9% did so up to two times, 2.3% three times, and 3.6% four or more times. For 11% of Galicians, the Amnesty Law was the most discussed issue by parties and candidates throughout the election campaign; for 8.4%, it was healthcare; and 6.8% said it was the environment, following the pellets on the Galician coast. Furthermore, 23.4% stated that they always vote for the same party, 20.4% said that they “generally” always vote for the same party, and 33.2% do “whatever feels most comfortable at the time, one party or the other, or they don’t vote at all.” Voting decision 54.2% of Galicians had decided their vote before the election campaign, 9.4% decided at the beginning of the election campaign, 8.9% during the last week of the campaign, 2.1% decided during the day of reflection, and 2.8% stated that they made their decision on the day of the vote. Following the election results, 97% indicated they would vote for the same party again; only 2% would have voted for another. Election information 64% of respondents learned about these elections from television, 34.5% from online media, and 27.9% from social media. More than from radio (21.3%) or print media (19%). Regarding the websites they used for information, 45.4% used media outlets, while 41.8% used social media such as Twitter or Facebook. Another 10.7% used political party or candidate websites. Furthermore, 61.3% watched "a debate or interview with candidates" on television or listened to the radio; 56.4% watched or listened to "a political party's campaign propaganda program," and 48% said they "read a political party's campaign letters or leaflets." In contrast, only 2.2% of respondents said they attended "a breakfast, lunch, or dinner organized by a political party." Thirty-two percent reported that during the campaign, a representative or collaborator of a political party contacted them directly to ask for their vote. Of that percentage, 78% had contact with the Popular Party, 66.7% with the PSOE, and 61.8% with the BNG. Election polls 71.8% of Galicians have heard about some type of electoral survey or poll conducted during the last election; of these, 85.9% indicated that they were not influenced by these polls. These and other data are collected in the monthly barometer conducted from March 6 to 9 with 4,077 interviews.

The president of the Center for Sociological Research, José Félix Tezanos, received the Medal of the UNED International Doctoral School this morning at a solemn academic ceremony held in the auditorium of the Faculty of Education at the University City of Madrid. The Rector of the UNED, Ricardo Mairal Usón, presented the medal to the president of the CIS "in recognition of his work and dedication to this School," as part of the celebration of the International Doctoral School Day, on its tenth anniversary. The prestigious scientist Mariano Barbacid was responsible for delivering a keynote lecture on "New Therapies in Oncology."         Mariano Barbacid on the left, in the center the Rector of the UNED, Ricardo Mairal and José Félix Tezanos Tezanos receives congratulations from the Rector of the UNED  

On March 21, the award ceremony took place at ANECA headquarters, during which the director of the Department of Publications and Research Promotion, Mª Rosario H. Sánchez Morales, received this award from Inma Aguilar, the general director of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT). The event was also attended by the director of the Teacher Evaluation Division, Susana Quicios, and the president of UNE, María Isabel Cabrera. This was the first edition of the CEA-APQ seal of quality for academic monograph publishing. In this call, a total of thirty-five individual monographs were awarded, from thirteen prestigious university and scientific publishers, after passing a demanding evaluation process. The CEA-APQ seal has become established as an indicator of scientific quality for publications and as a recognition granted by the National Commission for the Evaluation of Research Activity (CNEAI), in accordance with the criteria for evaluating research merits claimed for the various forms of faculty accreditation carried out by ANECA. More information about this book in the CIS bookstore: https://libreria.cis.es/libros/la-construccion-emocional-de-la-extrema-derecha-en-espana/9788474768893/

During the presentation of the book edited by the CIS, Juan Díez Nicolás, Francisco José Llera Ramo, Pilar Antolínez Merchán, and Mayra Martínez Avidad, co-authors of the work. This book, "The Globalization of Values in the World and in Spain," is part of the Monographs collection and is available for purchase in our bookstore. This book offers the most comprehensive analysis in Spanish of values research (EVS and WVS) spanning forty years (1981–2022) across seven waves, in 117 countries, with a total of more than 650,000 personal interviews, representing more than 85% of the world's population, to compare attitudes toward the values that should be taught to children. It is a comparative analysis offered for four levels of analysis: seven waves, ten geo-cultural regions into which the countries have been grouped, ten selected countries, and, of course, Spain, to which three chapters are dedicated. The analyses are descriptive and explanatory, and aim to identify the variables that best explain the differences between the different units of analysis. A wide variety of explanatory variables have been used, such as the classic socioeconomic variables grouped into the social position index, the materialism-postmaterialism index, generation, exposure to traditional media and new social networks, ideology, and many others whose construction is explained in the appendices. The theoretical framework used primarily included Inglehart's theory on value change in industrial and post-industrial societies, Galtung's theory on the diffusion of attitudes and values from the center to the periphery, and others cited in a wide-ranging social science literature. A novel contribution is the construction of a Traditional-Modern Values Index based on the eleven qualities or values that have been questioned as to whether they should be taught to children. This is an alternative to Inglehart's theory, with which it shows a strong correlation. The authors are members of the INCISO research group and the Center for Values Research, both at UCJC.

50 students from the Faculty of Political Science and Sociology at the University of Granada visited the CIS facilities this Thursday, the 4th, where they were able to see the institution's 60th anniversary exhibition, as well as the center's various facilities, such as the library where all the surveys are kept and the rooms where the qualitative studies are conducted. The students were accompanied by Mr. Francisco Javier Alarcón González, Professor of Political Science and Administration at the Faculty of Granada, and by Carmen Cortés Cabillas from the Student Delegation of the Faculty of Granada.           Visit to the exhibition Visit to the exhibition

The CIS (Spanish National Statistics Institute) has conducted a new survey on "Sports Habits in Spain (V)," which asks citizens about what they do, whether they enjoy practicing sports, and their health and fitness, among other questions. With this study, the institution is resuming its previously conducted series on physical exercise in our country. 47.9% say they practice "one or more sports," while 34.9% say they "have practiced one, but no longer do," and 17.1% say they "don't practice any." 57.9% say they would like to improve their physical fitness, compared to 26.5% who say they are satisfied with their current condition. Only 14.9% are not overly concerned about their current fitness. Only 5.4% consider themselves to be in "excellent" physical shape, 36.6% say their fitness is "good," and 42.6% say it is "acceptable." In contrast, 14.8% say their fitness is between "poor and downright bad." State of health and happiness 82.5% say they feel "good or very good," and only 11.5% say they feel "bad or very bad." A further 5.5% said they felt "neither good nor bad." Regarding their own well-being, 86.5% say they feel "good or very good," and only 8.8% say they feel "bad or very bad." Regarding happiness in general terms, Spaniards pass with flying colors, giving themselves an average of 7.69 out of 10 as to whether or not they consider themselves happy. Habits and routines 66.2% say they usually go for a walk or stroll "with the goal of improving or maintaining their physical fitness," while 33.6% do not. Furthermore, 40.6% of Spaniards say they do so "every day or almost every day," 14.2% "two or three times a week," and 5.3% go for a walk on weekends. Regarding their daily work, 36.6% say they spend "most of the day sitting," 27.4% spend "walking, commuting frequently," and 23.8% "stand most of the time without exerting themselves." Only 9.5% perform "heavy work, requiring great physical effort." Sports practice Of those who currently practice sports, 33.3% say they do so "sometimes alone and sometimes in a group," 31.2% say they "mostly do it alone," and 20.8% say they do it "with a group of friends." The main reasons why they practice sports are: to improve or maintain their health (74.9%), followed by maintaining physical fitness (28.2%), thirdly, there is the option of having fun and passing the time (27.6%) and there is a 27.3% who say they do it because they like sports.  

On May 16 , at 2:00 p.m., the preliminary results of the Consumer Confidence Index ( CCI ) will be available to all media and interested parties on the website of the Center for Sociological Research (www.cis.es). The ICC monthly assesses recent developments and expectations of Spanish consumers regarding their household finances, employment, and their savings and spending possibilities. For any questions, please call the Communications office at 91 580 76 25 / 664 470 083.

This award, given annually to recognize scientific work in the fields of sociology or political science, aims to recognize academics whose careers have distinguished themselves by a significant contribution to the discipline, whether through their research or a unique work. In this edition, the jury highlighted the impact and depth of Oñate Rubalcaba's work, which has established him as a leading expert in the study of democracy, electoral systems, and political behavior.

This award, given annually to recognize scientific work in the fields of sociology or political science, aims to recognize academics whose careers have distinguished themselves by a significant contribution to the discipline, whether through their research or a unique work. In this edition, the jury highlighted the impact and depth of Oñate Rubalcaba's work, which has established him as a leading expert in the study of democracy, electoral systems, and political behavior.

This award, given annually to recognize scientific work in the fields of sociology or political science, aims to recognize academics whose careers have distinguished themselves by a significant contribution to the discipline, whether through their research or a unique work. In this edition, the jury highlighted the impact and depth of Oñate Rubalcaba's work, which has established him as a leading expert in the study of democracy, electoral systems, and political behavior.

The CIS has conducted a survey on artificial intelligence, its use, and the public's knowledge of it. 96.4% of respondents believe that technological advances are causing changes in people's lives. The feelings these advances generate most in people are: interest for 68.3%, uncertainty in second place for 67.2%, and concern in third place for 58.4%. Furthermore, the word most associated with technological advances among Spaniards is "power," with an average score of 7.72, followed by "progress" with 7.67, and "dependence" with 7.65. Legal limits of AI 92.7% strongly or somewhat agree that companies and organizations should disclose when they use artificial intelligence instead of humans, and 93.4% strongly or somewhat agree that the programming and training of artificial intelligence should be regulated. Data protection 93.7% say that data privacy on the internet is very important. Only 5.8% say they are not concerned about this privacy. Furthermore, 77% say they are "very or quite a lot" concerned about the use of their personal data on the internet by private companies. 21.2% say they are "a little or not at all" concerned about this issue. In the case of public institutions that have access to personal data, the percentage of those concerned about the use of that data drops to 59.2%, while those who say they are "somewhat or not at all" concerned increases to 39.9%. 89.6% believe it is "very or fairly likely" that when they provide their information online, it is so that it can be used to send them commercial offers. 89.7% say it is "very or fairly likely" that their data could be used without their knowledge. And 85.5% say it is "very or fairly likely" that they could be a victim of fraud. Disadvantages and benefits of AI 56.2% agree that AI can bring more harm than good to the labor market, 49.2% also believe it is detrimental to creation and art, while 66% agree that AI can bring many benefits to the field of health and medicine, and 62.3% believe it can also bring many benefits to industry. Furthermore, 53.4% believe it can cause harm to culture, values, and ways of life, and 51.3% hold the same view regarding the protection of people's rights. Among those familiar with artificial intelligence, 86.9% strongly or somewhat agree that AI can be used to spread misinformation and hoaxes, 80.6% believe it can facilitate the commission of crimes or illegal acts, and 72.2% say it can lead to greater global inequality. Artificial Intelligence Tools 92.3% say they have heard of artificial intelligence tools for creating texts or programming. Among those familiar with the new tools, 75.7% say uncertainty is the feeling they feel most strongly about them, 69.6% say it's concern, and 56.3% say it's interest. Furthermore, 41.1% say they've used ChatGPT in the last 12 months, which is one of the most well-known AI tools. As for some human actions that could end up being replaced by robots, one of the most uncomfortable for Spaniards would be undergoing a medical operation performed by a robot, or speaking to an artificial intelligence, for example, in an information or customer service department. Sale of personal data 76.8% strongly or somewhat agree that the collection of personal data for sale to third parties should be prohibited, and 75.8% strongly or somewhat disagree that privacy policies and online information about data processing should be clear and simple. And 41.8% agree that governments should be responsible for protecting personal information when using the Internet, while 32.1% say it's the companies that collect that information that are responsible. 43.5% of respondents have heard about the EU's Artificial Intelligence Act being passed in 2024, while only 34.9% are aware of the 2023 request from AI experts and industry executives to pause its development and testing. These and other data are collected in this survey conducted from February 6 to 15 with 4,004 interviews.

His Majesty the King presented the 2024 National Prize for Sociology and Political Science to Pablo Oñate Rubalcaba, Professor of Political Science and Administration at the University of Valencia, recognizing his brilliant professional and academic career spanning more than three decades, as highlighted by the award jury. The ceremony, held in the Gallery of the Royal Collections at the Royal Palace in Madrid, began with a speech by José Félix Tezanos, president of the CIS and the jury for the National Prize in Sociology and Political Science, who highlighted Oñate Rubalcaba's contribution to political science, both nationally and internationally. The laudatio for the awardee was then read by Fernando Vallespín, former president of the CIS. This award, given annually to recognize scientific work in the fields of sociology or political science, aims to recognize academics whose careers have distinguished themselves by a significant contribution to the discipline, whether through their research or a unique work. In this edition, the jury highlighted the impact and depth of Oñate Rubalcaba's work, which has established him as a leading expert in the study of democracy, electoral systems, and political behavior.

His Majesty the King presented the 2024 National Prize for Sociology and Political Science to Pablo Oñate Rubalcaba, Professor of Political Science and Administration at the University of Valencia, recognizing his brilliant professional and academic career spanning more than three decades, as highlighted by the award jury. The ceremony, held in the Gallery of the Royal Collections at the Royal Palace in Madrid, began with a speech by José Félix Tezanos, president of the CIS and the jury for the National Prize in Sociology and Political Science, who highlighted Oñate Rubalcaba's contribution to political science, both nationally and internationally. The laudatio for the awardee was then read by Fernando Vallespín, former president of the CIS. This award, given annually to recognize scientific work in the fields of sociology or political science, aims to recognize academics whose careers have distinguished themselves by a significant contribution to the discipline, whether through their research or a unique work. In this edition, the jury highlighted the impact and depth of Oñate Rubalcaba's work, which has established him as a leading expert in the study of democracy, electoral systems, and political behavior.